Breaking Point, Part I
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Running, hiding, and running some more. It was far more glamorous in holodramas than in reality, as the three occupants of the cramped Helix-class Light Interceptor, Ardent Venture, had soon discovered. The Republic-turned-Empire's reach was extensive, especially in the postbellum of the Clone Wars. No sooner would the trio arrive on a world to resupply and take a small break before the wake of the Empire followed. A cruiser or troop ship would arrive to search the area for Jedi and Separatist remnants, threatening the livelihood of the three Jedi in the meantime. It was often all they could do to sneak past by skirting the edge of a mining fleet or plowing through the murky soup of a proto-nebula to escape detection. The Empire had been alerted to their vessel of choice several months ago after their escape from Aleron. It had been suspected, of course, but although the ship was searched many times, no tracking device had ever been found.
One would have thought that during the threatening times, traditional education and training would have been suspended. Instead, Jedi Master Qira-Shir Rekkon took the opportunity to instruct her pair of twin teenaged Jedi Padawans as much as possible, teaching Jerek and Elias Zenduu methods by which they could appear unobtrusive within a crowd, to mask their trail and presence, even down to how they dressed and poised. A Jedi was a revered persona under the Republic, and younglings picked up, from early on, how to hold a commanding presence. But that presence was far too noticeable, even in a crowd. A little slouch of the shoulders, unsteadiness of gait and matching speed with the rest of the crowd could make one blend in much better. The typical garb of the Jedi had long been hidden away in the bowels of the masquerading fighter, literally, in a sense, as Jerek, the leaner of the two boys, had been required to crawl as far back as he could to stuff the bag of robes and tunics that easily marked them as Jedi. The only item the trio had retained had been their lightsabers, which were, at various times, stuffed into pockets, insides of jackets, or placed in a toolbox like a common hydrospanner.
A humming whine of the engines spun down as the Ardent Venture escaped the bleakness of hyperspace. The star system materialized outside the cockpit as a black void dotted sparingly with objects of various shapes. One shone brightly in the center, the star, while the others were arranged around it. The object of interest, however, was a sparking, blue-green orb. It's surface was almost completely unmarred by the blackened structures of durasteel and plastoid buildings that infected other worlds as viruses. The planet of Cera was as opposite as one could find to the Core worlds of Coruscant and Corellia, the native Cereans vehemently opposed to technology of any sort. At the request of the former Republic, they had built several Outsider Citadels to house visitors and immigrants uncomfortable with giving up technology, but that was the most the Cereans would afford. The world was fairly small, far from Imperial space, and unaligned with either side during the war, so there was no reason for any Imperial presence at all. That made the world a perfect place to stop by for supplies, perhaps even a well-deserved rest. Or so was the reasoning behind Qira-Shir's decision to come.
Seated in the forward pilot's seat of the ship, Jerek enjoyed the view of the space around him. He wasn't used to being able to see the transition from hyperspace to realspace from the cockpit of a ship, and the experience had been breathtaking. Flying wasn't something the Jedi typically included as part of their training, unfortunately, now that he thought about it. Not that the fourteen-year-old had wanted to be a Jedi Ace pilot, but to at least have some kind of know-how to understand what the array of controls in front of him did would be useful. At least Qira-Shir seemed to know what they did, and was guiding him on how to use them. Teaching him, it seemed, would be the better phrase. That's all she ever seemed to do, Jerek thought in a wistful manner. Everything was a lesson to him and his twin brother. Once they were chosen to be Jedi Padawans, he had expected the constant teaching would be at an end. Instead, he'd hoped, there would be more learning by doing, while side-by-side with his master in some dangerous mission on a backward planet. Instead, it had been more like constant lectures while going out for a walk in the most blandly arranged garden in the galaxy. Sure, there had been a few exciting times. But for the most part, it seemed as if the only thing different from being instructed by Jedi Masters in the Jedi Temple was simply not being in the Jedi Temple.
"Jerek, are you paying attention?" Even from the behind, the teen was sure he could see the look on his master's face as she chided him. "The moments after you exit from hyperspace are sometimes crucial ones in double-checking one's position and bearing." The aged Jedi Master continued to speak on about what should be done after exiting hyperspace. Apparently, one was supposed to check the position and bearing, make sure the hyperdrive was shut down properly, scan the radar for ships and stations in the region, and assess the next step. That usually just meant setting a course for the next destination, which, in the current situation, was the planet directly ahead. "Now, before we head straight for Cerea, let's do a little maneuvering practice first. I'll direct the ship away from the planet, and you steer it back. Simple as that."
Then again, simple included calculating the bearing and heading needed to alter the course back towards the planet, toggling the speed to achieve the necessary thrust, and carefully matching the course heading. At least most of it was computerized, the ship was top of the line technology, and the engines automatically adjusted their thrust amounts to compensate for the turn and the wing flaps didn't activate as they didn't detect enough atmospheric particles to make their addition useful. Jerek was no navigator, however, and instead of rolling sixty degrees and pitching twenty degrees at the same time, the sensitive controls essentially flipped the ship upside down and sent it on a course out of the system. The teen boy heard a stifled laugh from the back, "I suppose that's good for your first attempt, Jerek. But let's try to keep it on course this time."
So he did, and got much closer to the course intended. He struggled with the sensitive double joystick controls that the Helix-class employed for its sublight navigation. Of course, Jerek could simply enter the course in the computer and let the autopilot do all the work, but then he wouldn't get the training of actually piloting the ship. That was what he most wanted, and had been begging Qira-Shir for weeks to let him try. It felt great to him, to be in control of the ship, as if it were an extension of his own body. The controls were awkward, and it would take some time for him to become familiar with them. Altogether, though, it was everything he had hoped for and more.
The lush blue-green orb loomed before them, and Jerek heard Qira-Shir mention she would guide the ship down on the last leg of their journey. He simply nodded, it made sense, she would do a better job of not getting the ship destroyed in the process of landing. Though, as the ship rocketed past the forests and pastures that made up the Cerean landscape, he wished it was his hands guiding the vessel towards its destination, that he could have been the one requesting to land at the Outsider Citadel Vertigo Nine. Someday, he assured himself, he would. He just needed more training, despite his silent protests over its continuation during the last few months of running and hiding. Training, learning, was it ever over? Qira-Shir would no doubt use this planet as an opportunity for yet another lesson.
With the ship settled firmly on the ground, Qira-Shir activated the fold-up feature of the rear pilot/gunner console and swung her seat back out, allowing Jerek to do the same with his. The small region of controls, too small to really call a cockpit, was also too narrow to place seats in a side-by-side manner. The ship designers therefore placed the seats in a row, with a track that swung each seat to a wider point in the vessel's cramped interior, allowing the pilots to get in and out of the controls without crawling over seats and consoles. As the taller of the twins, Jerek always felt as if his head was going to be smash on the ceiling when he stood near the pilots seats. Even Qira-Shir had to duck to manage the sloping hull above them. As they strode to the back of the ship, the hull curved higher still, enough for all three of its occupants to stand comfortably. Jerek nodded to his brother, Elias, who had taken the ride in style by lounging on the bunk/couch on the ship's starboard side. He jerked his head at his twin, "Come on, Eli. We're going."
Grabbing the pack he had set by the port bunks, the teen swung it on his back. Inside were a few amenities for the time they would spend on the planet; clothes, food, hygiene items and an extra weapon. His lightsaber was tucked in the pocket of the synthleather jacket he wore over his other civilian clothing. It had felt strange at first when the trio had traded their robes and tunics for clothing more characteristic of galactic wanderers and those who operated in a more casual manner. It was more evident, as the three had moved away from the Core, that the clothing styles and mannerisms were both less proper and typically more violent. It wasn't uncommon or even illegal, on some worlds, for pedestrians to carry blasters freely, without any sort of permit or involvement with a law-enforcement body. Jerek often missed the heavy feeling of the attire he had once donned as a member of the Jedi Order, but necessity dictated that they forego the symbols of the Jedi to avoid detection, the characteristic robes, especially on Mid-to-Outer Rim worlds, being one of them.
Qira-Shir was already standing at the small ladder the ship employed for an entrance. Gesturing again to Elias, Jerek followed, and the three clambered down to the hanger deck below. It felt solid, as if it were the ground, but Jerek knew the structure extended many hundreds of meters upwards. Activating the controls that would lock the ship's ladder access, Qira-Shir handed the remote device to Jerek, a small attachment that would clip on to any standard comlink. Keep it safe, she told him, and he nodded in silent agreement before tucking the device in his pocket for safekeeping. With that, the three set out. The layover was needed to refuel and resupply the ship, and Qira-Shir had arranged that via the comms while in orbit. The ground crew would have it done before they returned, when Qira-Shir would make the necessary payment. In the meantime, she had intended for the three to do some catching up on galactic affairs since their departure from the mainstream of Core society. All in all, it would seem to prove to be just yet another learning experience.
Topic: [TDT] Jerek and Elias Roleplays (Read 3187 times)
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