StarWars. A Lifetime with Darkness. Padawan

[GorMartsen]

Repulsorlift engines were fine. Well, three out of five, but I didn't need more than that.

They whined a bit wrong at first, making me worry, but then settled, showing all green on the dashboard, even if it was on the edge of yellow.

Buckling up, I raised the ramp with a screech and tuned the radio to the Temple Control frequency.

"Temple Control, this is Jedi Knight Lose, over," I called, grimacing from the static in the speakers.

"Jedi Knight Lose, Temple Control. Go ahead. Over," a bored voice broke through the static loud enough to understand.

"Requesting a corridor from Gate Z-East-67 to the Engineering Bay," I said, double-checking the old flimsi clipped to the dashboard. "Over."

"Class? Over," they called back. No concerns, no identification, really. Just give me your profile size.

Why am I surprised?

"Cargo-shuttle. Over," I reported. It was a cargo shuttle now, as far as I was concerned.

"Stand-by."

That was expected, really. But I had a thing or two to do, too. Rising into the air, I moved the shuttle closer to the gate and tried to sync my wrist-comm with the shuttle's navigation comm. I needed an up-to-date map of the area around Temple.

It finally beeped, and I brought it on the screen, mapping my path, just in case. I had to go up two levels from under the City level, then do a half circle around to the west side…

"Jedi Knight Lose, Temple Control. Confirm departure from Gate Z-east-67 to the Engineering Bay. Over," the radio came to life again.

"Affirmative. Gate Z-East-67 to the Engineering Bay. Over," I replied, focusing back on controls. Still green.

"Roger. Sending flight plan. ETA 2 min. Over," Temple Control replied, and my navcomm beeped, receiving flight path. I had to give a bit wider arc around Temple than I had expected.

"Confirmed. ETA 2 min. Over," I called back, realising that… I forgot to figure out the Gate itself. But to my surprise, it began to open on its own.

Not that I was about to complain.

—

Touching down in Engineering Bay, a bit rough and almost losing power on one engine, I began to power everything down and lowered the ramp.

"Temple Control, Jedi Knight Lose. Flight complete. Appreciate the vectoring. Over," I called over the radio.

"Roger. Flight closed. Temple Control out," I heard over the static. They were no fun.

Leaving the captain's key in, I unbuckled and stood, touching the dashboard for the last time. It was nice to fly again.

Leaving the pilot cabin, I walked through the shuttle to the ramp, now more carefully looking around. The shuttle didn't look like something from a scrap yard. Whoever flew it before took good care of it, so that even two hundred years sitting in the hangar failed to erase it.

"Master Jedi," someone called as I stepped on the landing pad, and I looked around for the so-called Master.

"Master Jedi," said a red-skinned human again, approaching me.

Right.

"Just a Knight. Knight Lose," I replied, instinctively extending my hand.

They grinned with their sharp teeth and grabbed my hand with both hands, wildly shaking.

"Engineer Valt, Epsin Valt," she introduced herself.

It took me a moment to realise that a handshake wasn't really a widespread gesture, but apparently for this woman it meant something more than a greeting.

"So, how can we help you?" she continued, finally releasing my hand, and I resisted the instinctive desire to touch my missing braid.

"Need a full inspection, but I am short on time," I said, glancing back at the shuttle.

"Assault-Class shuttle, modification two. A bit rare now. Most of them have already retired, but don't worry. We will patch it up," she enthusiastically chattered, pulling out her datapad and already typing something. "You will be on your way to Thanium in no time."

"Right," I drawled.

"Hm," she frowned and looked up at me. "This one is in our database, but it says it was decommissioned one hundred and seventy-two years ago."

"Sounds about right," I agreed with a nod. "It was collecting dust in Z-East Hangar."

"Oh, that makes sense," she replied with a smile, but I wasn't sure it did to me. "With that daunting news from the Thanium sector, we need every ship we can put to use."

Osik, I really need to check on the news.

"Then you better inspect that hangar. I am sure you will find a few more fly-capable ships… after a proper service," I replied with a smile. "Just finish this one first. I have a ten-ton medical cargo to deliver."

"Sure thing, Jedi Knight Lose. What's your frequency? I will call you back as soon as it's ready," she said with a wide smile, and I pushed a few buttons on my wrist-comm to share my contacts.

My mission was becoming more and more doable.

"Now, do you know where I can order rations? I don't think the two-hundred-year-old supplies survived," I asked, moving on to the next point in my checklist. "I have a few spare credits."

—

"Librarian Tan," I greeted the white togruta.

I found her where I always did, at her station in the library.

"You are late," she said instead of a greeting, and I wasn't sure if she even realised I had been absent for two days by now.

"I have a mission," I cut to the core. "And I need a summary on Ryloth and fresh star maps for navcomm."

She didn't react and kept typing, but when I was ready to repeat myself, she grabbed a random datapad and began uploading something.

"Here," she said, passing it to me, "and return LB-101 in one piece, or at least its head."

"I beg your pardon?" I said, accepting the datapad and checking files.

By accident—or really not—it was the same datapad I had copied the old star maps onto before, but now it had a new galaxy-wide star map update, a profile on Ryloth, and a collection of holobooks. Neat.

"Librarian Tan! I object! I am Librarian Droid, not the field-ready one!" butted in the droid itself, and I nodded in agreement.

I had had enough of this menace last week. I didn't need him on the shuttle with me for another two.

"It speaks Ryloth, knows their customs and a thing or two about handling cargo," she replied, changing my mind. I needed one. Yesterday.

—

"Healer Vo," I greeted the purple minx from the doorframe of her office.

"Knight Lose," she replied with a smile, looking away from whatever she was reading, and I felt my heart jump in my chest. "How may I help you?"

"I got a mission," I said with a shrug, fully entering. "I thought I would check in before leaving."

"Thanium sector, too?" she asked worriedly, and turned to her terminal. "Let me see your vaccination records."

"No, not there. Ryloth," I replied, taking a seat. I was sure I felt the level of her anxiety drop significantly.

"Well, yours are up to date, so you should be fine," she turned back to me and asked casually, too casually. "For long?"

"On paper, two weeks, but who knows," I said, and sadness bloomed in my chest. By now, I wasn't even sure if we both felt it or if I was just picking up on her emotions.

"What about going out somewhere when I'm back?" I asked, surprising myself.

"Out?" she asked.

Right. Jedi.

"You know, see some places, eat some food?" I tried to explain, and another wave of mixed emotions hit me, almost drowning in them.

It was getting ridiculous.

"I like that, Knight Lose," she replied calmly, but for some reason I felt like she was about to squeal.

"Well, see you then," I said, standing up.

"May the Force be with you, Knight Lose," she said, her smile dimming slightly.

"And with you, Healer Vo," I replied, not running out. Just tactically retreating.

I had to check on the droid and rations delivery. I didn't trust LB-101 yet to handle that.

 

[GorMartsen]

"Master," I said as soon as my call was answered.

I was already at the MediCorp Group distribution hub, loading cargo. But droids did all the work, and I just had to wait for it.

And watch LB-101 trying to command them.

"You know, you can call me Yad now, right?" he asked.

"In due time, Master," I replied, smiling.

"Did you forget something?" he asked next, but before I said a word, he continued. "You know you can come anytime. I didn't change the passcode."

"I'll keep that in mind, Master, but no. I got a mission. Leaving Coruscant in an hour, tops," I said, feeling warm. I wasn't the only one missing things. "Could you keep an eye on my chinar tree? I will send you the passcode."

"I can do that. May the Force be with you, Taren," he said.

"And with you, Master Yad," I replied, hanging up the call.

Looking over the city skyline, I felt strange. I used to be an adult in my past life, and here I was again. Leaving childhood behind twice felt really weird.

"Master Lose, Master Lose," I heard LB-101 say. "The cargo is secured, but I have to insist that we file a report. MediCorp droids need an upgrade."

"Maybe next time, LB. And call me Knight," I said, sighing.

"I must object. That's against protocols, Master Lose," LB-101 replied, coming to a stop a few steps away.

My wrist-comm beeped, showing me the MediCorp form requesting confirmation.

"So, we got everything?" I asked LB, scrolling through the form. It matched what I had in my files.

"Yes, Master Lose. The rations cargo, one ton, the medical cargo, ten tons, everything is on board AC-m2 and secured according to protocols Tl-100-" he began replying, but I ignored the rest, signing the form.

It was time to hit the road. Well, space in this case.

All by myself.

—

The stars rushed across the viewport, forming a blue-white tunnel of hyperspace, and I checked readings for the last time. It was all green, this time without edging into yellow. Engineer Valt knew her job, and whatever they did to patch it up was close to a mechanical miracle.

Or perhaps AC was in better shape than I thought at first.

I didn't have much time to ask about that, and she didn't seem willing to chat. As soon as I signed forms, she all but ran somewhere.

Locking controls, I stretched in my seat, feeling hungry. Somehow in all the rush, I forgot to eat. It was good that I got that deal for a ton of rations. It was also a good time to check them out.

Glancing at the view—I wasn't sure I would ever get used to it—I rose from my seat and went out of the cabin to the galley slash common room. That was where I found LB, quietly sitting in the charging port.

Ignoring him, I checked the cupboards, expecting to find at least some rations already there, but found nothing except for the utensils and old caf machine.

Oh, that's what I forgot.

Glancing towards LB, I silently left, not really wanting to wake up that menace, at least yet. I was sure it would find me first, reminding me about work for Librarian Tan.

It was also a good chance to get to know my new buddy, the AC shuttle.

Walking out of the common room into the corridor, I crossed it and entered crew quarters, but there wasn't much to see. Just a few bunks and sealed closets. With mounting dread, I opened one and exhaled in relief. It had a few blankets, a fresh set of space-grade sheets, and toiletries.

Everything that I had forgotten about. It seemed like Engineer Valt did a bit more than I had expected.

Glancing into the sonic shower cabin, tight and clean, I went back into the corridor and looked around. To the right was the pilot cabin, to the left the cargo bay, and across the corridor the common room, which I had already checked.

Which left cargo, where most likely rations had to be.

Passing the airlock into the cargo bay, I looked around and pressed the switch by the exit. With a high-pitched noise, the lights turned on, but it didn't help much. Line upon line of crates stood from floor to ceiling, effectively blocking any light.

There wasn't even enough space to move between the crates. Only a narrow passage to the ramp was left after all the cargo was loaded. Perhaps I had to be glad even for having at least that. I still had another airlock entrance beneath the shuttle's belly, but it wasn't as accessible as the ramp.

Checking the manifest on the first few crates next to the airlock—medical equipment supplies—I began checking every single one along the passage. Until I reached the ramp itself.

But my rations? They weren't here.

Oh, for Force's sake.

Turning around, I marched back to the airlock. That blasted droid was gonna be the death of me. Where did he even put it all? One ton? Clearly not in the galley.

"LB, where are the rations?" I asked, walking into the common room.

"Greetings, Master," LB replied, waking up. "The rations cargo is secured safely in the cargo bay."

"That's great. Care to show me?" I said icily. I had spent fucking half an hour looking for it.

"That would not be possible, Master," the menace replied.

She asked only for its head to be returned.

"According to protocols, it is stored along the hull to maintain a proper balance," the thing said in such a convincing tone.

"LB, that wasn't cargo. That was my food supplies," I said, massaging the bridge of my nose.

"Ah. I wasn't aware, Master," LB said. "We certainly need to rebalance the cargo then."

"The next stop is thirty hours away," I said, sitting on the sofa. I really, really wanted to separate its head, even if he was technically right. Just as a precaution.

What a disaster.