A Place of Our Own

[Eugen Aker]

​

Silver Rest, Kashyyyk

Jyoti had finally done it.

She had gone one upgrade too far on the Tumbleweed, found by [member="Valae Kitra"] while in the middle of ripping out the guts of the ship for the umpteenth time to make room a bigger reactor to power a host of new armaments and subsystems. Namely, a proton beam cannon. Slowly but surely, the little old freighter was becoming nearly unrecognizable as a rugged gunship.

It was at that point that it was gently suggested she get her own clunker to fix up.

Seeing as how Jerit had been helping her with the Tumbleweed, she set her sights on his freighter next. Her apprentice was all too happy to have his ship become the next target of their projects.

He had inherited a TL-1800 Light Freighter. The first time she had set eyes on it in the hangars, the freighter had reminded her of a giant brick with some oversized engines strapped to the back. Apparently the base models were supposed to move like a brick, too, if the manuals were to be believed.

She approached the underside of the nose, giving it a light knock.

"So what do you call this thing?"

[member="Jerit Kolomor"]

 

[St0rmSlaSh]

As he lead his Master down the hangar to his ship, Jerit felt a bit nervous but it was alright for the boy. With his encounter in the forest with his inner demons, the padawan feels more alive now than anything.

"You are going to love this, don't worry!"

As they grew nearer, Jerit began to fasten his pace until they finally reached it. His Father's light freighter. Jerit decided to give it a name to make it sound cooler, so he went with the Thunder Phoenix. He thought it sounded pretty cool but the soldiers deem it the opposite of that. But he didn't care. All that the padawan cared about what that it was his and it held great value to him.

He heard Jyoti's question of the name and Jerit responded with the most pride.

"It did not have a name when my Father had it, but I decided to give it one. I call it: The Thunder Phoenix! I will have to admit that it doesn't look the the prettiest ship... or the most fastest... but it holds a lot of value to me. Plus I think I need to upgrade this puppy what with being a Jedi and all instead of a learner on Lothal."

Jerit looked up at the nose of the ship with Jyoti. A smile went across his face. He was excited about the upgrades they would make to it and can only wait for its completion. He could probably link himself to the ship. The ship was sort of outdated and old with a more distinct mark on the bad side, much like Jerit's inner demons. So with his newfound peace, he decided to fix the 'ol ship up and have it running in combat hopefully!

[member="Jyoti Nooran"]​

 

[Eugen Aker]

While answering her question, Jerit let it slip that he had been a student on Lothal. Jyoti had visited the world a few times, making pilgrimage to the the Lothal temple whenever she did. It was a shame that Lothal may very well be taken by the First Order if the Galactic Alliance didn't get its act together.

"The Thunder Phoenix," she repeated as she gave the nose another knock. "Nice name. I've never been quite good with giving interesting names to my ships. Maybe I'll let you help me out one of these days. Now, we're actually starting off in a good place with the Phoenix. As a freighter, it has plenty powerful engines for hauling large amounts of cargo. Though turning is never the best with these types of craft."

She stepped away from the nose, taking in the sight of the freighter as a whole.

"So, will you let me take us out for a spin in this thing?"

[member="Jerit Kolomor"]

 

[St0rmSlaSh]

"I added the thunder in the name because it sounds cool ahaha! Although you are spot on with the Phoenix part." Jerit responded to his Master.

The boy walked around the ship, admiring its beauty. He did not know the entire history of the ship other than it was his Father's who stole it from somebody. Well, whoever that person is they probably won't get it back unless they don't want a hand. Jerit looked at the many scars it had before he possessed it as his ship. It was either from his Father or the Previous Owner. Whichever it was, Jerit could not tell for the life of him.

"So, will you let me take us out for a spin in this thing?"

Jerit was hesitant at that comment, but he knew his Master would be careful with it. She would not be reckless. He would not tell her about how much the ship meant to him. He would have to trust her.

"Of course! It flies kind of weird, but I think you'll get used to it."

Jerit opened the ramp and climbed into the ship. It was kind of dirty. He had not cleaned it at all since his arrival to the SJO. It was a bit musty but the boy ignored it. He went into the cockpit and sat in the co-pilot's chair. If his Master followed him, Jerit would exclaim:

"Whenever you're ready!"

 

[Eugen Aker]

Her first few steps inside the freighter, she could tell this thing definitely belong to a boy. From the smells and sights of the refuse along their way to the cockpit.

If we do nothing else tonight, it will be to power wash this interior.

She plopped into the seat and took a few minutes to toy with the controls. A little different from the YT freighters she was used to, but easy enough to understand after some inspection.

"Okay...I think I'm ready."

She flipped on the ignition, then gingerly manipulated the yoke and pedals to slowly inch them off the ground for the entrace. She was very careful as the craft was new and it wasn't hers (mostly the latter, Jyoti was normally a speed demon).

"Here we go..."

She licked her lips as she finally cleared the hangar, and then pushed the throttle. The freighter responded with a satisfying whine as the ion thrusters finally kicked in behind the repulsorlifts. She pitched the freighter back for a high angle, space being her final destination. As they ascended, she applied more and more power to the engines until there was a nice red flare from the rear, giving credence to the name Thunder Phoenix.

Soon, the blue and grey skies of Kashyyyk transitioned to the black starry scape of space.

"These big engines give her some some good straight-line acceleration," she noted as she finally pulled back on the throttle. "Now let's see how she handles in a snap."

Without warning she jerked the throttle left to engage in a sharp turn. Here, the Phoenix didn't performer nearly as well, turning about as well as a giant asteroid.

"It might have taken us a hemisphere to do it, but we turned."

[member="Jerit Kolomor"]

 

[St0rmSlaSh]

As Jerit saw his Master fiddle with the controls, he had a vague suspicion that she did not know the control. Fortunately it went away as soon as Jyoti flipped the ignition to power the ship on. The young padawan could feel the ship shake slightly as it was coming to life. He looked to the ceiling and the walls to find numerous little lights popping in and out of light and dark. Even though Jerit had been in this ship many times, he still is so amazed by the ship's interior. It felt like seeing all for the first time over and over again.

As they lifted off, Jerit noticed that Jyoti was being slightly more slow than usual. It was alright with him. After all, if he were in someone else's ship he would try to go slow too.

When Jyoti put more power into the engines, he heard the whirring of the ship. He thought it resembled the purring of a cat but that did not fit the name of the ship. Jerit noticed Jyoti's comments about the engine and he nodded in agreement.

"Ya. She is good at getting away but not too sure on trying to turn or anything like that fast enough. We might have to fix that."

He felt the snap of the immediate turning and Jerit chuckled a bit on the initial moment of it.

"It might have taken us a hemisphere to do it, but we turned."

"We might need to fix that. Do you want to head back down or try more stuff with the ship?"

Jerit was now more than eager to fix up the ship. He admits that the Thunder Phoenix does need some work on it to make it more versatile instead of just owning a freighter. He just hoped he could take into battle soon.

[member="Jyoti Nooran"]​

 

[Eugen Aker]

"Definitely, if you ever plan to use this in a combat scenario," she agreed. "Fighters would be all over this. I have some ideas. We can tweak rudders, replace them with nozzles, add some vernier thrusters. Though there's no rush."

Now that she was up in the air, she felt like for a while, making lazy rolls and loops through open space, getting a better feel for the freighter all the while.

"Hmm...the cafeteria in the Rest doesn't have the most exciting meals. Why don't you pick us a spot to go to for lunch? We can go anywhere you like in the sector, we have the time."

Now making small talk, her thoughts returned to his revelation about his origins on Lothal. She found that interesting and wanted to know more.

"Admittedly, I don't know very much about you before the time we met on Kashyyyk. You said you lived on Lothal? How was it there? Why did you leave for the Silver Order?"

[member="Jerit Kolomor"]

 

[St0rmSlaSh]

"Hmm...the cafeteria in the Rest doesn't have the most exciting meals. Why don't you pick us a spot to go to for lunch? We can go anywhere you like in the sector, we have the time."

Jerit actually did not know any planets besides Kahsyyyk in this sector. All the planets he knew included Voss, Coruscant, Kashyyyk of course, and Lothal. He didn't really want to decide where to eat so he wanted Jyoti to give a place.

"I don't really know where we could eat at. Maybe you could be the one to pick something out? I usually just eat at the cafeteria so I do not really know the best places around here to get a nice meal."

The boy wanted to sound modest and not forceful on his master. After giving the answer he was questioned of his origins. On Lothal.

"Lothal was nice. It was beautiful. There was no Empire, no Jedi. It was peaceful in a lot of ways. I lived on the planet with my Mother and Father until..."

The memories came flooding back of his family's death. He tried to hide it through the force so his master did not know what was happening. He wanted to tell her but just could not. He did not want to relive that moment ever again. He recited the first two lines of the Jedi code in his head before going on.

"I would rather not share that part. Maybe another time. So! Where are we going to eat?"

[member="Jyoti Nooran"]​

 

[Eugen Aker]

Jerit didn't offer much about his past on Lothal, only hinting at a tragic event with his family before turning away from the subject. She didn't prod, leaving him in peace on the matter, and turned back to the subject on food. Maybe he would trust her enough to share one day.

"We can head out to Randon. A nice urban planet with plenty of options for good food. I was feeling a hankering for...cheeseburgers, if you're ever had them."

A savory hot sandwich consiting of a ground meat (usually bantha or nerf) patty served up on a pair of buns, it was one of her favorite dishes, something quick but delicious that could be enjoyed on the go. However, there was nothing better than relaxing at the diner taking her time with a burger, enjoying a heap of golden fries and a chocolate malt at the same time.

"I suppose this is a good opportunity to show you something. Tell me, what do you know of instinctive astrogation?"

[member="Jerit Kolomor"]

 

[St0rmSlaSh]

Cheeseburgers? Jerit had never heard of such an entree before. It sounded very interesting nonetheless.

"I have never heard of the food before, but it does sound exciting! We can do that! I also have never been to Randon before but I do not mind. That will be an addition to all the planets... which is only like 6."

Jerit laughed a bit loud at what he just said. He thinks his Master has been around everywhere in the galaxy. Then there was him. A Jedi padawan who has been to a small number of planets. Inside, Jerit always loved staying in the same place for a long time which is why he was mostly sad that they had to leave the temple on Voss. He loved Voss but had no complaints about Kashyyyk. He just wished he stayed there for a bit longer.

Jerit looked out to the stars before his Master questioned his ability of something called "Instinctive Astrogation". It was something Jerit had heard of but only once. He actually forgot the meaning of it so to him it was brand new.

"I have heard of it but I forgot the meaning. What is Instinctive Astrogation, Master?"

[member="Jyoti Nooran"]​