Chasing Ghosts

[Kirie]

"It's funny how useless maps become when you enter uncharted territory."

-Journal of Kit Caraway, entry #6.

​

The ship reverted once again, arriving in the nearest system. It was only a short hop from planet to planet. But this close to the Centre her navicomputer was useless. Each jump had to be painfully measured and calculated by hand. It wasn't an easy task, especially when your routes were mostly guesswork. She was proud of how far she'd come. Kirie was a proficient spacer now. Almost good enough to call herself a real explorer. She knew Kit would be proud.

Her ear ached, and when her hand came up to rub it, it came back bloody. A thin trail of blood ran from the canal. No doubt damage she'd missed from the droid's megaphone on her shoulder. She supposed it didn't really matter. She had no hearing to lose. Still, it felt wrong to damage herself.

A new world lay ahead, appearing out of the viewport as the craft's nose dipped and it descended smoothly. It was barren, yellow, and desolate. As the ship descended into the atmosphere an alert appeared on the instrument panel, a bright light grabbing her attention.

"WARNING WARNING WARNING. TYPE IV ATMOSPHERE. ENVIRONMENTAL SUIT REQUIRED."

Kirie gave a slight nod. This was a planet inhospitable to most forms of life. From the trickle of information from the ship's sensors, the atmosphere appeared highly toxic and caustic. On bare skin, or if inhaled, it would wreak havoc. She would have to suit up. Already wearing the EVA suit, she just needed the sealed helmet, oxygen tank, thick gloves for protection.

Absentmindedly, she tapped a few buttons, initiating a scan for anomalies on the surface. It was habit more than anything. The likelihood of anything manufactured here was incredibly low on a planet so hostile. But then she got a ping.

It turned out some sort of shelter had been erected a few klicks from where she was descending. Kirie directed the ship to land by the anomaly, and stood up, making her way to the equipment locker and donning the rest of her gear. With the helmet on, she was unrecognisable, her features hidden by the silvery suit and its reflective visor. A few moments later, she felt the ship touch down on the loose, sandy earth.

The boarding ramp lowered, and she descended. As she reached the bottom she caught a glimpse of the shelter, a prefabricated model used on ships all over the Galaxy, basically a domed shaped hut made of rigid fabric, with a small generator and basic systems. Her mouth dropped open, and her heart sank. Inscribed on the wall, etched in by the machine that'd created the hut, was a simple logo, and few letters.

MPTC. The Mara-Perlemian Trade Council.

There could be no doubt. This was Kit Caraway's shelter.

[member="Nej Tane"] | [member="Aeron Tosh"] | [member="Cassius Droma"] | [member="Aeshi Tillian"] | [member="Castor Ren"]​

 

[Aeron Tosh]

"Girls are like spaghetti; They're only straight until you get them wet."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I cheered loudly in my mind, "Holy crap.... It actually worked! He killed him. Thank Lady Luck."

I didn't take any time to celebrate though, I wanted to get off this planet as soon as possible. I didn't have a clue where I was and I wasn't planning on finding out.

I threw on my seat belt and flipped all the switches on. I looked over to [member="Nej Tane"] and said, "Sorry, I lied about knowing where we were. Ya' know this is uncharted territory right? No one has this place mapped out, but don't worry getting out of here will be a piece of cake. All we have to do is turn back around and we'll be home free."

A silent pause filled the ship as it started lifting off the planet's floor, "So where do you want to go?"

[member="Kirie Ito"] | [member="Cassius Droma"] | [member="Aeshi Tillian"] |

 

[Cassius Droma]

A burst of blue-and-white sparks erupted, but once they subsided, Cassius pulled down his goggles around his neck and took a look at his handiwork. Not bad, for someone who wasn’t even a mechanic.

“Alright, I think that worked,” Cassius called as he began to slide out of the wall panel. He was in the lounge, getting himself out of a mess of wires and pipes that fed into the front port mandible. Sighing, he replaced the wall panel and bolted it back into place, liking how clean it still was. T-4D4 stood in the doorway.

“Are you sure?” the tall droid asked, hands on his hips rather disapprovingly.

“No idea,” Cassius said as he walked by, taking his gloves off and patting T-4 on the arm with them as he did so, “guess we’ll just have to find out.”

T-4D4 followed him towards the cockpit, saying, “You know that we could very well end up in a collapsing star, or even a black hole?”

“The Force is my ally, Tee-Four.” Cassius said as he slid into the pilot’s chair, knowing that his droid friend despised talk of a mythical energy field that he could neither see with his photoreceptors nor feel whatsoever. Cassius began the unlatching sequence for the magnetic locks on the landing gear. They had taken refuge inside of an asteroid in order to make repairs. He turned the mandible lights on, and they were greeted with the sight of rocky walls.

Very carefully, Cassius eased the Stardust Melody out of the asteroid and into open space to where they could make a jump. “Course plotted for… out of here?”

“Course plotted.”

“Alright,” Cassius muttered as he took hold of the hyperdrive handle. “Let’s hope this works…”

The stars stretched, the blue waves of hyperspace enveloped them…

And they were suddenly yanked out, Cassius straining against the crash webbing. “No permanent damage,” T-4 reported from the co-pilot’s seat, and Cassius could feel that he was right – if something had seriously broken on his pride and joy, he’d feel it. A gravity well had yanked them out, the gravity well of…

Another planet, and it looked very similar to the one they had just left. Without even thinking too much about it, Cassius began to pilot the ship towards the surface. Type IV… great. So they couldn’t even work on the outside of the ship without an EVA suit. Still, they needed to set down somewhere until they could figure this out.

“I’m picking up a familiar signature,” T-4 said, tapping away at the sensor readout.

“You’re kidding.”

“No. It’s… the ship of the deaf woman from before. This must be where she ended up.”

“Well, I suppose we can try and be friendly for a second time,” Cassius said as he plotted the course. They flew by rocky crags and shifting sands before they got close to the woman’s ship. Out of the cockpit’s glass, he could see a figure standing in front of a small domed hut – a temporary shelter of some kind. He set the ship down next to hers, hoping she would recognize it from before and not panic.

A few minutes later, the boarding ramp lowered, and Cassius filed out in his own white and dark gray EVA suit, T-4 following behind. The droid would help translate for him as he tried to communicate.

“Hello again,” Cassius said, clumsily raising an arm in greeting. “Navicompter’s still busted, ended up here…” his voice trailed off as he looked to the hut that she had been facing. It looked like it had been there awhile, from the amount of weathering. “Is this what you were trying to find?” Cassius asked, still shouting through the wind and his own helmet out of habit. He could feel a certain kind of sadness from the woman… finding this wasn’t exactly what she wanted. “I’m sorry, uh...”

“Look, if you want… I can read the history of objects through the Force. It should help you find out what happened here.”

While he was in his own state of distress, he would never stop trying to help people that deserved it, no matter where he was in the galaxy. Not to mention the fact that coming across the same person twice, as big as the galaxy was, with a malfunctioning navicomputer couldn’t be coincidence. He was meant to be here.

[member="Kirie Ito"]

 

[Kirie]

"It's only a few days before I go now. I've had a strange feeling in my gut for the past week now. It's not so much nervousness. No, it's almost peaceful. I have the unmistakable feeling that I'm approaching a precipice, that this journey is not something I'm supposed to return from. Maybe the Centre is not something meant for human eyes. If I witness it, I may not be allowed back. But, I don't know. Spacers have always been a superstitious bunch. I think I've probably been listening to too many stories."

-Journal of Kit Caraway, entry #7.

​

Kirie put her palm flush against the ridged surface of the habitat's hexagonal panel, leaning heavily against it as her vision. After the entire journey, many nights sat with a hot drink thinking about what she'd do, how she'd react, when she found what she was looking for. Now she was here, having finally found it, and the emotional shock was much more intense than she was expecting. Hot tears stung her cheeks, fogging up the visor of her helmet. Some part of her, some naive, stupid part, had held out in hope. Hope that Kit was alive and well. Waiting to be rescued, or still navigating her way among the dense mess of stars and planets around the Centre.

But here, on this deadly rock, this inhospitable pebble in the middle of nowhere, sat her emergency habitat. Abandoned, choked with dust, falling apart. She leaned against the polymer wall, barely noticing as a cloud of toxic dust and dirt enveloped them, signalling the arrival of the ship belonging to a man one of the others had called 'Jedi.' With one hand still pressed against the shelter, she turned to face him when he exited the ship, and read his lips as he offered his assistance.

Giving no response, she turned away. She couldn't bare to have him read the history of this dismal, dilapidated habitat. That was apparent enough in its ruined state. It would be too painful for him to tell her exactly how it had happened. It wouldn't be closure, it'd be salt in the wound.

Not meeting the man's gaze, she stalked around the shelter, over to the airlock that marked the entrance. Her expression grim, she twisted the lever, air hissing out as the pressure was released. Half-heartedly, she beckoned the man to join her inside, before slamming the door closed. It took a few minutes for the oxygen to pump into the atmospheric chamber, but when it did the interior door swung open, allowing them into the habitat.

It was dim and musty inside. The windows were caked in dust, and let in only the barest slivers of light. Automatically adjusting to the low light levels, a torch mounted on her helmet came to life, illuminating the scene. The rooms were as they had been left. Rubbish that had been yet to be disposed of was now cemented to a countertop, and crates of vital supplies were open, having been rummaged through months ago. It was clean, but dead. And there was no sign of any life. No sign of any death either. Kirie searched all the compartments but could find no trace of Kit, alive or dead.

Taking off her helmet to breath in the stale air, she sat down on a stiff plastic seat and began to cry, soon she was sobbing, and taking in wracking breaths. It all seemed so pointless, coming out all this way, looking for a woman who was obviously long dead. Still sniffling, she began to think. If Kit's body wasn't in here, then it couldn't be far. Nobody would last long here, even with an environmental suit. All of Kit's vital supplies were here. The habitat, her food. The ship...

Wait-

Kirie cracked a smile, standing up and looking straight at [member="Cassius Droma"]. Her suddenly hopeful features juxtaposed her running nose, red eyes, and tear-tracked cheeks. How could she have been so stupid? It was so obvious now. To think she'd broken down so easily.

"If this is where she had to make camp. If this is where she ended up, where is her ship?" She said the words aloud, her voice no doubt grating. It would likely surprise the Jedi, but these were words worth saying aloud. Words to savour. For if Kit was not here, then there was a chance she hadn't died alone on a dustbowl only a few systems from her final goal.

In short, there was hope.

| [member="Cassius Droma"] |​

| [member="Aeron Tosh"] | [member="Aeshi Tillian"] | [member="Nej Tane"] | [member="Castor Ren"] |​

 

[Nej Tane]

Where was that lady saying that she was going? The one that left him on the rock with the green dummy here?

As the ship started up, and Nej felt slightly more, but at the same time, less about his probability of survival- until there was a ping on the ship's navigational systems. The lady wasn't lying. She was transmitting her coordinates, just like she said.

That was a good way to find out how to punch her in the friggin' mouth.

Nej and his new pal raced off, while one was happy to be rid of his Bounty Hunter, one, was eager to punch someone in the face.

"Follow that signal. We got some punchin' to do."

[member="Kirie Ito"] l [member="Cassius Droma"] l [member="Aeron Tosh"]

 

[Aeron Tosh]

I paused for a moment to think about [member="Nej Tane"] request, "Hmm..... Ah, whatever. Why the hell not? I'm not doing anything else right now anyway."

I punched the coordinates into my ship and immediately went into hyperspace. In mere seconds we were looking at the surface of a planet that just reeked of danger. Just the thrill I was looking for.

"We're probably going to need some space suits if we plan on even standing on that planet's surface without getting melted like butter on freshly cooked pancakes." Great, now I'm hungry and who knows how long it'll be until I get my hands on good food?

I did the polite thing to do and got both me and my buddy a space suit. I lightly tossed it to him, expecting him to catch it, "Just throw this on and you'll be good to go!"

I began walking down the ramp of my ship, and in front of me I got caught a quick glance of the Jedi from earlier walking into this abandoned building.

"There", I pointed at the abandoned shelter, "I just saw that Jedi wander into that airlock, and frankly, I wouldn't mind thanking him for his help with the bounty hunter."

 

[Cassius Droma]

The woman was visibly distressed, and Cassius wasn’t exactly prepared to see it as well as feel it through the Force. A frown creased the corner of his mouth as he silently let her head towards the airlock. Cassius looked back to T-4D4. “Stick with the ship and try and figure out the problem with the navicomputer. I’ll be fine.” The droid nodded and turned back to the ship, happy to not have to expose his chassis to the dust and dirt of the outdoors.

The young Jedi followed the woman to the airlock and slipped in right as it closed behind them and began to filter the toxic atmosphere out and pump breathable air in. He stood there in awkward silence, and pondered the situation. Just what had he gotten himself into? His adventures had a tendency to start this way, by just stumbling into them. So much for Ragoon VI.

As the interior door granted them access, Cassius stepped over a small lip and into the shelter. It was small and quaint – only the essentials of what someone would need to survive. With a small twist and a hiss of air, Cassius’s helmet came off and he set it on a nearby table. He gave the room a quick scan. No signs of a struggle, or a hurry to leave… but this place hadn’t been occupied for some time, it seemed.

The sounds of sobbing made him turn around to see the young woman sitting in a chair and crying. His heart went out to her – to come all this way and not find what you were looking for, something important… it couldn’t have been easy to take. Kneeling, he gingerly placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, their EVA suits limiting the amount of real contact. It was just his silent way of telling her that he was here to help, despite having only known her for a few hours.

Her demeanor suddenly changed, and Cassius’s eyebrow quirked up as he stood as well. Her voice had an interesting tone to it – one that had to be developed without being able to hear oneself. The point was valid, though. From what Cassius could tell, this was meant for a singular person to live. It’s not like someone dropped her off here, right? There had to be a method of transportation.

“Good point,” he said, facing her so she could read his lips. “I might be able to figure out what happened.” Cassius knelt once again, and placed his gloved hand on the floor. He closed his eyes, and slipped into the history of the shelter. Something was a little off, though… things only came to him in flashes, and he didn’t have as much control as he usually did. Maybe he just hadn’t practiced in a while, or maybe there was something interfering with his Force abilities being so close to the Galactic Center.

“Haste,” he narrated images and feelings as he saw and felt them, hopefully to give the young explorer some context, “she set up quickly. Something outside…” in his vision, something had caught his attention – the sound of wind, as well as the pinprick taps of sand and dust hitting the shelter. Then, very clearly, an image hit him: a woman stumbling through the airlock, holding her side. There was blood coming from a wound, something metallic had embedded itself. The memory was so strong because of the emotions attached to it: Cassius struggled to not get too enveloped in them.

“Looks like there was a dust storm,” Cassius said, opening his eyes and looking up at the woman, “must’ve been what made them land and set this up. She got injured… patched herself up here. After that, it’s hard to tell. It’s like something is blocking me from seeing anything else.”

Suddenly, Cassius’s head whipped to the side as a chill ran up his spine. Someone else was here, someone familiar, with not so good intentions. “We’ve got company…” he said.

Just then, his comm unit on his belt beeped. “Another ship just landed. Looks like the two men from the last planet.”

Snatching the unit from his belt and holding it up to his lips, Cassius responded, “Yeah, I feel them. Kick the deflectors on full and prime the engines.” He attached the comm unit back onto his belt as he faced the woman he was with again. “Might be trouble.”

He turned towards the airlock, then looked back at her again. “My name is Cassius, by the way.” Might as well exchange names before they get into a possible firefight.

[member="Kirie Ito"] | [member="Nej Tane"] | [member="Aeron Tosh"]

 

[Aeshi Tillian]

[member="Kirie Ito"] [member="Cassius Droma"]
---------

Aeshi's ship hung in orbit over this new planet after things had escalated so rapidly and resulted in a blistering fast change of events, especially for some uncharted piece of rock. It was rather irksome to having all of these people intruding on her refuge. She had come to get away from the rest of the galaxy, not to have it come to her and bring their petty feuds with them. To con a drug lord, that is their problem. No reason to get involved with that mess.

She had received the coordinates and managed to navigate to the new planet where she now hung in orbit. No need to go down to the surface, not with the others already down there.

Aeshi powered up the long-rang comms and sent a message to the deaf woman's ship, trying to connect with her droid or ship communicator.

"Captain Tillian in orbit, do you need any assistance on the surface?"

 

[Nej Tane]

Nej affixed a breather to his face parts and turned to face his new pal before exiting their stolen ship, after putting on the space suit. Nej didn't have a lot of friends, but this guy seemed alright. "I'm Nej. Nej Tane." He smiled at his new friend and walked out the airlock, fist curled at his side.

Nej didn't give a rats ass and a half about the long-lost-underwear or whatever the Jedi and his bob-haircut friend were after. Nej was just pissed off.

So he stood in front of the shelter, his hands on his hips, pacing back and forth.

"Alright! You collective jackasses! You're gonna come outside and explain why you thought-" Nej paused. Nej was not a smart man, and had to think on ways to at least sound smart in these scenarios. Or slightly less stupid.

"That leaving me- and my green skinned companion there- on a planet- with no way off!"

His hand hovered near the disruptor pistol on his thigh.

[member="Cassius Droma"] l [member="Aeshi Tillian"] l [member="Kirie Ito"]​

 

[Kirie]

"Where you go, trouble follows. That is the truth that I and every other spacer, whether soldier or scoundrel, has to accept. The trick is to anticipate it, and be ready when it presents itself."

Journal of Kit Caraway, entry #8

​

Kirie felt a warm feeling spreading from her tartarine pendant as the Jedi reached out with the force. The crystal's luminous blue rays were mostly hidden by her environmental suit, but some of the light entered her helmet, reflecting off the metal interior and illuminating her features in a soft blue glow. As soon as he stopped, so too did the glow from the pendant.

The information he gave was useful. It seemed that Kit had been caught in a dust storm while landed on the planet. She'd been injured and forced to set up the habitat here. Judging by the lack of ship, it was likely that she’d patched herself out and got out of this desolate place. Whether she’d tried to turn back or continued on, there was no way to know, but Kirie had a feeling it was the latter.

She nodded grimly as he informed her of the presence of another ship. The same one from the planet they’d just left. If they were here to assist her, surely they’d have said something. She donned her gear and drew her pistol, just in case, and turned to the Jedi as he moved to the airlock to meet the newcomers. He introduced himself as Cassius, she nodded in response.

'I'm Kirie. I still need to look around here. Let me know if there’s trouble.'

As Cassius exited the habitat, Kirie stepped over to a porthole and trying to peer out at the new arrivals, her commlink flashed and she quickly read the message, then typed a response on the holographic keypad on her wrist.

<: “Captain Tillian, please land by our coordinates. We may need your help.” :>

She continued to look around the shelter, rummaging through boxes of gear and supplies, through discarded clothes and in the mostly empty shelves and drawers. Eventually, tucked under the blanket on one of the shelter’s uncomfortable beds, she found what she was looking for: A battered datapad, in a tough durasteel case. Picking it up almost reverently she stowed it away, making a final sweep of the shelter for anything else that could be useful.

Finding nothing, she returned to the airlock, and moved to join Cassius outside.

[member="Nej Tane"] | [member="Aeshi Tillian"] | [member="Cassius Droma"] | [member="Aeron Tosh"]​

 

[Aeron Tosh]

"Use that cooter; Stop a shooter"
- A facebook user
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I liked this guy's style. Finally someone in the galaxy who actually knows how to take risks and have some fun. I haven't been in a good tussle for a while since I left the military where I worked as a spy and did numerous assassination missions - some missions even involved taking down force users - something I was actually very good at.

As I saw both the jedi, [member="Cassius Droma"] and the deaf woman, [member="Kirie Ito"] leave the ship, I turned to [member="Nej Tane"] told him to, "Get ready for a fight"

Without even a second of hesitation I took out my cloaking device and turned invisible. You can't hit what you can't see.

"I have a ton of tricks up my sleeve for people like you. I hope your master will get a better padawan next time around."

 

[Cassius Droma]

Cassius’s ears perked up as he heard the voice of the disgruntled spacer from outside. Then his eyebrow quirked as he looked to Kirie, his face one of a little bit of confusion. Left them there? The Twi’lek had a ship, didn’t he? Then he realized that he probably looked quite stupid, as there was no way she could have heard the voices from outside.

She gave her name, and he nodded in return. When she also requested that he buy her a little bit of time for her to search around for the habitat, he gave her another non-verbal confirmation by way of a quick thumbs-up. Hopefully, these men would listen to reason. Grabbing his helmet from where he’d left it on the cheap, plastic table, he snapped it back onto his EVA suit and let it pressurize. Then he moved back into the airlock and let the air cycle through.

Stepping out into the harsh world once again, he made sure he kept his distance from the two men, hands up in a non-violent position. His lightsaber hanged from his belt, but he hoped that he wouldn’t have to use it.

“Gentlemen,” Cassius opened, trying his best to be diplomatic. “Now, from how I remember it, the Twi’lek had landed in a ship,” Cassius pointed to the ‘green-skinned friend’. “So I’d hardly classify that as stranding you. I apologize for any sort of slight you perceived by us…”

Just then, Kirie emerged from the airlock. Now it was two on two. Cassius could feel the tension in the air – a classic stand-off. This could go one of two ways. Either these men would simply forgive them for the misunderstanding and be on their way, or it could all go down in a hail of blaster fire. He was ready to push the men back with a wave of Force energy should that happen, or perhaps block any incoming blaster fire with his lightsaber… whichever one he could do first.

When Cassius looked back at the two men, however, the Twi’lek suddenly disappeared. A personal cloaking device. He took a small step back, and his hands lowered. He put a telekinetic lock on his lightsaber, so it would be ready to fly into his hand at a moment’s notice. “It doesn’t have to go this way. I implore the two of you – stop now before this turns ugly.”

He gave Kirie a small, sympathetic look. Here she was, in the middle of the galaxy, just trying to find someone whom she had lost, and now had to deal with a bunch of people who just happened to be here at the same time.


[member="Kirie Ito"] | [member="Aeshi Tillian"] | [member="Aeron Tosh"] | [member="Nej Tane"]

 

[Nej Tane]

This Jedi was bold.

But Nej was dumber, and more bolderer. And probably had a concussion.

"Look Jedi here, rude you're."

Nej stared at the Jedi for a few more seconds, his hands hovering above the disruptor pistol on his thigh. The Jedi might have been quick. He might have been fast. But was he faster than Nej in a quickdraw?

In this instance, yes. Every other instance, probably not.

Nej was suffering from a severe concussion and fell flat on his face, unconscious after his ordeal crashing the ship. He was going to tell the Jedi that the Twi'lek came to the planet, running from a Bounty Hunter, who Nej was just going to tell him he left on the planet. When in reality, he did. Nej never really lied. He just omitted the truth. He was like an intelligence agency, minus the intelligence.

The situation ended in a comical silence, leaving Nej's newfound travel buddy to fend for himself against the Jedi and the woman.

[member="Cassius Droma"] l [member="Aeron Tosh"] l [member="Kirie Ito"] l [member="Aeshi Tillian"]

 

[Aeron Tosh]

"We've been duped! Duped! Bamboozled! We've been smek-o-dwarfed! That's not even a word and I agree with ya!"
- Spongebob & Mr.Krabs (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l291zs8rLuM)

As I was about to make my next move, I noticed my partner fell face first on the ground. I'm guessing he had a concussion from his ship crashing on the last planet.

Great now we only have one comic relief character instead of two and I didn't write my character overpowered enough to take on a jedi, a spacer, AND a pilot.

I paused for a second, took a deep breath and realized what I should do.

"[member="Cassius Droma"], I don't want to fight you anymore. You big meanie" and then I threw down a smoke grenade, threw [member="Nej Tane"] on my shoulder and started running towards my ship without even glancing back at [member="Kirie Ito"]

"PP-420, get the ship started we need to get out of here quick"

 

[Kirie]

"I leave tomorrow, the day has come so fast."

Journal of Kit Caraway, entry #9

​

The datapad was heavy in her backpack, its corners dug into her back as she shifted, reacting to the antics of the two new arrivals. Her pistol slid smoothly into her palm as she watched them argue with Cassius, who was responding coolly. They shared a glance as he made his threat, and her hand tightened on the pistol grip.

Hopefully this didn't devolve into violence, but if it did she'd be ready.

Kirie opened to mouth to offer her support to Cassius, and to weigh in on the ridiculous notion that they'd somehow been abandoned despite having a perfectly working ship. That didn't sit right with her. People didn't just ignore obvious details like that. They sure didn't look like pirates, and they were, they were new to the business. Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that they were up to no good.

Then one of them tried to make a move and fell flat on his face. Kirie couldn't help but laugh. The fall was enough to spook his comrade, and he threw down a smoke grenade, hoisted his friend and turned tail. She waved goodbye as they rose into the air.

Turning back to Cassius, she signed once more.

'I found a datapad inside. Let's look at it in my ship.'

[member="Aeron Tosh"] | [member="Nej Tane"] | [member="Cassius Droma"] | [member="Aeshi Tillian"]​

 

[Cassius Droma]

His hand hovered his lightsaber, ready to draw if necessary. The wind howled around them. Dust flittered through the air. The enemy still visible to them started to speak, but then… collapsed. There was a moment of silence that passed between the two groups, and then Kirie laughed. Cassius’s eyebrow quirked up, but a smile had yet to break onto his face. That had been… strangely anti-climactic. And yet, Cassius was somewhat relieved.

Concern had just started to seep in when the Twi’lek from before suddenly grabbed the other human and ran back to their ship. Cassius’s stance relaxed at that. For the first time, the young Jedi had run into a problem that seemed to just fix itself. If only more things in his life turned out that way.

Kirie had found a datapad – no doubt a good source of information. He nodded to her and began to follow her back to her ship. Looking to the Stardust Melody, he held his communicator up to his lips. “Looks like we’re all clear here, Tee,” he held up a thumbs-up. “Stay put for now and keep the shields up and maglocks on.” He could see small yellow lights moving up and down from inside of the cockpit – the droid nodding his head. “I’ll see to it.”

Cassius nodded back and ended communication, heading towards the other ship. It was nice – Corellian, by the looks of it. The dashing pilot always liked those designs, except for when the cockpit was off-center. Couldn’t stand flying a ship like that.

[member="Kirie Ito"] | [member="Aeshi Tillian"] | [member="Aeron Tosh"] | [member="Nej Tane"]

 

[Kirie]

"Now that I'm back here, gliding through the void, I feel at-ease. With the pinprick light of stars all around me, and that field of endless black, I know I am home."

Journal of Kit Caraway, final entry

​

Later.

They'd clambered aboard Kirie's ship, brushing the yellow dust from their suits as they entered. Kirie moved quickly, shaking off her lingering misery as she paced down the central corridor to the living area, where she retrieved the datapad from her dirty backpack and placed it on the table with a hefty thud.

The Jedi, Cassius, joined her at the table, but she paid him no mind, her attention fixed to the device in front of her as she attached an external power pack and revived the dead screen. With a few light taps of her finger, she opened the device and skimmed the files, opening the most recent one- last edited a few months ago. Kirie gazed for a moment at the date, then blew out a sigh and opened the file.

At first, the file seemed incomprehensible, just lines and lines of numbers and characters, but as she squinted and looked closer, their meaning became clear, and Kirie felt her heart quicken as she realised what was on the datapad.

"Coordinates." She signed eagerly. "This is where she's gone."

She got up quickly and strode to the cockpit, entering the datapad into a waiting slot to begin programming the hyperspace route into her navigation system. Once finished, she looked briefly over the results, and passed a copy along to the Jedi.

"It's complicated. 21 micro-jumps, and some of them pretty sketchy, but it's doable."

She left Cassius to return to his ship. If he wanted to follow along, that was his prerogative. Kirie was going either way. As the Jedi crossed the barren flats back to his own vessel, her Corellian transport rumbled to life and rose up off the inhospitable surface, kicking up a cloud of dust that obscured the Jedi, his ship, and the squat, lifeless habitat below.

~~~
​

The ship reverted for the final time some hours later, and Kirie breathed a sigh of relief as the overstressed hyperdrive wound down. No damage. Then, the ship's sublight engines kicked into gear and Kirie looked up from her display, startled, and her eyes finally fell on the scene outside the window.

It filled up the entire window from edge to edge, a giant disc of superheated gas that stretched for light years in every direction, and spiralled elegantly towards the dark, half-obscured shadow at its core: the Galactic Centre. This was as close as she, as anything, could possibly get. Even at this distance the engines were having trouble resisting the black hole's massive gravitational pull. It was like she was perched on an invisible precipice, teetering over the edge of oblivion.

And, as far as she knew, she was the second person in written history to witness it with their own eyes.

An alert blinked on the dash and she tore her eyes away from the outside view. Automated scanners had detected an object not far from their reversion point- a ship with its thrusters holding holding it in position. Kirie paled, and her hands shook slightly as she steered her ship towards the other vessel.

Once she was closer, she immediately recognised the TCV Adiona silhouetted against the brightness of the disc. Kit had really made it. Kirie pictured her friend, gravely wounded, staring out at the expanse of the Centre as she herself had just done, mesmerised.

Kirie's ship docked with the Adiona, her MPTC transponder allowing her to attach without incident. Her display blipped again, alerting her that the Adiona's internal temperature was well below freezing. Kirie paused, then fetched the helmet of her HEV, and activated the airlock separating the two ships, which opened with a rush of icy fog.

It made a fitting tomb for the Kit Caraway, preserved within her ship, orbiting around the very center of the Galaxy she had spent her life exploring. Kirie spent a few minutes moving through the vessel, from the sleeping quarters where the spacer's body lay peaceful and at rest, through to the cockpit, where she pulled the ships logs and, selfishly, all personal files onto her datapad.

Then she sat for awhile, her breath fogging up the inside of her helmet as she gazed out the wide front windows. After a time, she rose and returned to her ship, disengaging the docking clasps and leaving the Adiona to her final watch of the Centre.

[OOC note: This is a wrap-up post to a thread started years ago and set in 854 ABY, seven years ago in board-time.]

Cassius Droma ​