The blue swirl of hyperspace broke and the
Light's Touch broke into realspace. Fenet swung the ship around, rolling it to bring Starlight Beacon in front and slightly above them before powering down the ships engines. Having broken back into the universe, she could feel the station now, like a dim echo through the Force. The open space around them only served to magnify the nebulous 'living things are here' sensation.
Even for a jedi, that sort of thing was common, but not as strong as hers. Fenet was never really able to explain it, the words failing her when she tried. It wasn't that she was different, she wasn't. The others could do much the same, just at shorter distances. It wasn't that she was really strong either, So'duun would attest to
that. She just had a knack for it, a sense of the flow, where to be. That sense was telling her to sit tight now instead of approaching the station.
"Unidentified ship, you are not transmitting a beacon. If you do not explain yourselves we will consider you hostile and open fire."
Fenet full body winced, arms coming up to her chest for a second. Oooh, not good. For half a second she froze up, then hit the controls to open comms. "Ah, yes, don't do that please. We're an exploration ship affiliated to the Jedi Order, I'm Fenet Y'si. My master is Ikmari So'duun."
"Explain why your beacon isn't transmitting."
"Would you believe me if I told you it was a gut feeling? I'm not actually sure
why I had to do it, I just... did. I did it at our last stop before the jump here and forgot to turn it back on. Rest assured So'duun will be more annoyed about it than you are."
"Heh. Jedi. You're cleared to dock at landing bay 12... with an escort, just in case. A security team will meet you at the dock to confirm your identities."
"Ah, thanks. I think. Could you let the administrators know we're just passing through? Our mission is to map out new hyperspace lanes, we're just stocking up before we go on another exploration run."
"Will do. Starlight out."
On the window of the ship in front of her, markers appeared, projected onto the viewport. Once lit up, she eased the engines on towards Dock 12 at a nice, languid pace while two fighters from their patrol broke off and took flanking positions behind them. She rolled the ship side to side in a wobble - tipping the ships non-existant wings - and got a wiggle in return. Good, the pilots had been told who they were.
"We've arrived already?" Fenet chanced a glance over her shoulder as So'duun made her way into the cockpit, taking the co-pilots seat next to her, but not touching the controls. She simply crossed her legs at the knee, hands in her lap, serene. "Why did I hear the station asking about our beacon being offline?"
"You heard that because I am a silly, silly girl who forgot to turn it back on when she had a hunch it should be off while we sat and waited. Honest mistake, really."
So'duun sighed, the deep sigh of forbearance one might give to a particularly dense child who is
really trying but doesn't quite seem to get it. It wasn't that she felt that way about Fenet, exactly. Sometimes she just felt a little like digging a hole in sand. "If you immerse yourself entirely in the Force instead of
paying attention to what you're doing, you're going to miss things. If you're going to insist on doing that sort of thing, at least have the ships computer remind you."
"Sorry, master." She really sounded like she meant it, too. "I promise I'll do better."
"That and a willingness to learn is all I ask. While I handle the administrators, I want you to hunt down our supplies. It shouldn't be too difficult, I think. Not this run."
"Lots of ships." They were approaching the dock now, the fighters flanking them slowing as they eased into the bay.
Light's Touch spun slowly in place, lowering it's landing gear and touching down. With a vibration that both of them felt through the ship, Fenet locked landing gear, disengaged all engine power and locked the controls. "We have officially arrived."
"Not too officially. Don't go spreading around who we are like last time, not everyone needs to know you're a padawan."
"I said I was sorry! I just thought maybe they'd cut me a deal. I didn't think they'd get that offended about it."
"Aliens are alien. They think differently to standard pattern humanoids. If you're going to negotiate with them, at least look them up on the datanet first."
Fenet didn't say anything, just pressed her lips into a thin line as she walked behind So'duun towards the ramp, the ship opening as she got lectured. Again. She'd had this chastisement before, but sometimes So'duun retreaded ground to the point of mildly aggravating her.
Nodding to Fenet over her shoulder, she left So'duun to approach the security team that had visibly relaxed as they walked down the offramp of the ship. Their robes made it obvious who they were and So'duun would handle the rest. Heading across the bay, she pulled out her datapad and flicked through it, bringing up the list of supplies they wanted to lay in. It was, quite frankly, a huge list. Spending a month or three in open space meant laying in deep supplies, or sometimes burning those supplies for humanitarian efforts.
She liked Starlight Beacon. It was still pretty new and still had that new ship smell. The walls weren't scratched or worn, everything seemed to be polished. Even the droids were mostly in good shape. She tapped the datapad as she called the turbolift up, thinking to herself. The best place to lay in
ship parts was always the refit docks, usually they had a sizable scrap heap she could dig through to find useful crap to throw into a closet for So'duun. She used to think the whole thing had been so silly, some of the parts they got would sit for months and months without being used. The time they got stranded in interstellar space with no hyperdrive had changed her mind on the value of spare parts
very fast.
Now though, it was her favorite part of these runs. She always found such interesting stuff, it was hard not to be curious about what she could find, like a treasure hunt where nobody told you what the treasure is. She loved to tinker and by now could probably strip down and rebuild the
Light's Touch single handedly, though it would probably take awhile. It wasn't exactly a small ship. She'd have described it as a mid-sized freighter, but she knew it was no freighter. Not in the traditional sense.
The turbolift did take her down though, leading her to the refit docks easily enough. Stepping out she nodded to herself.
This was more like it. This dock was not in any ways pristine, except where the walls stopped being about standard pattern humanoids general height. The floor was scuffed and piles of used parts lay around sorted by type. A half built fighter hung on a chain rig, several ugnauts climbing around on it. Only one of them was at ground level, directing the others in their odd language.
The foreman was wearing a red uniform with darker red trim. He caught sight of her as she approached and waved at the work crew, turning to face her. "I am Reg'im. You should not be here. Civilians are not allowed access to this dock and whoever allowed you into the lift to come here will likely be fined. You must return to the dock you came from. I have spoken."
"I'm not a civilian." She bowed slightly, standing back up. "I am a padawan to the Jedi Master So'duun. I have come to find spare ship parts before we leave for a deep space hyperlane mapping mission. I have spoken."
Reg'im watched her for a moment, stroking his chin in thought, then pulled the datapad off his hip and checked something. "Which dock did you land at?"
"We landed at dock 12."
He nodded, then slipped the pad back into his belt. "Show me the list. I will help you. I have spoken."
Without further delay she handed Reg'im her datapad, allowing him to wander off and begin the search with his teammates. Rather than get anywhere near their current project - that would be dreadfully rude of her - she meandered slowly along the edges of the bay, hands behind her back as she looked at the debris they had accumulated.
She was contemplating a broken astromech when Reg'im returned to her. "I cannot provide everything on this list. For that I apologize. I have highlighted the missing items here, here, here and here. Everything else can be provided to you within a standard daylength. I have spoken."
She nodded to him. "Entirely satisfactory and I thank both you and your team for your hard work. May I ask...?" She regarded the broken droid.
"Its chassis is broken. It cannot provide its function. We may repair it, in time, when other work is slow. You want it?"
She blinked, looking at the ugnaut in surprise. "Truly? I'd buy it from you. I like to work on things in my spare time, it would give me something to do in between jumps. What's its designation?"
"It is M8-720. Older model, not nearly as good as the N5's we use. That's why we have not prioritized it. You do not need to buy it. I have spoken."
She nodded slowly. "Your generosity both amazes and honestly confuses me. Thank you, but may I ask why you're so willing to part with it?"
"I have met only one other jedi. They were noble and strong. If you are even a fraction of the person he was, I would give this to you freely. It will be brought to your ship with the other parts. I have spoken."
She bowed again and Reg'im nodded, turning back to his project and promptly forgetting her entire existence. That was alright though. She really was thankful and vowed to find something interesting and exotic to bring back to him when they returned from their trip.
She didn't return to the docks. Instead, she decided to head to the shopping district, suddenly finding herself with spending money. Well, not
spending money. But money she could justify spending on things they would want rather than just what they need. When she left the turbolift she found the shopping district pristine, pulling the hood of her cloak up and passing into the crowd with the easy anonymity it provided, hiding her outfit and lightsaber.
As she weaved her way through the crowd, she let herself zone out a little, reaching out with the Force. The people around her seemed to flow like water suddenly, their courses and intentions and lives making a river around her, like wind without air. Eyes closed, she turned her head towards So'duun, feeling her out. She got an echo of calm, collected confidence that let her nod and continue on, reassured that everything was going alright.
By the time she found a restaurant suitable to her tastes, her stomach was getting downright rebellious. She brought up the menu on the table's holodisplay, choosing what she wanted and sending the order in just as a man sat down across from her, scruffy looking with worn clothes.
Fenet didn't really bat an eye. "Hello. Is there something you wish to discuss?"
"Most people say something like, 'can i help you'? You really kinda measured that out, huh?"
"I really kinda did. You didn't answer the question though."
The man grinned, grime slightly highlighting the lines of his face. "Yep. I heard you're passing way out into deep space, finding new places and things." He leaned in, glancing around and lowering his voice. "You're jedi, ain'tcha?"
She made a click in the back of her throat, wondering if word had gotten out through whoever So'duun had been talking to. "Might be."
"Roight, fair enough." He pulled out a small data pin, setting it on the table. "This here's a map. Me team? We do the same thing you're doin'. Ran into this just before we ran, ran
ran back here. Weren't nothin' there and the route to get into the system is pretty twisty, but we spent one night on the surface o' that place and I never wanna spend another. Something's wrong with that planet. More than we signed up for."
"Why are you giving it to me?"
"Wot, you expect me to give it to the bounty hunters and scrappers? No, no. If you see this place, you'll understand why it's staying quiet. Me friends, they're
solid, y'know? We've been through a couple scraps. One night there terrified the crap out of us and nothing even happened. At least give it to your master so you can avoid the place or have it hidden from the route maps. We left a beacon, but..."
"Heh, yeah. Alright." A server droid was rolling towards her with a platter and the man nodded.
"Right, leave ya to your business. See you 'round, maybe. We pass through here a lot."
"What's your name?"
"Karr. Karr Romeev. Our ship's the
Scrappers Aspiration." He gave a sloppy salute and melted into the crowd as the droid set her food down in front of her, almost on top of the data pin. She snatched it up and slipped it into a pocket, then dug into her meal.
Several levels above her, So'duun sat in Starlight Beacons jedi temple. The meditation room was full of greenary, water flowing in a circle around her along the floor while she sat, looking inwards. In the moment that Fenet slipped the datapin into her pocket, her concentration broke, a sharp sensation of falling for a fraction of a second despite the fact she had not moved. It left her disquieted.
