Adrift in the vacuum of space Ko powered down the engines of his starfighter. Taking a break from traveling while the astromech in the rear of the vessel plotted out their course. Ko was really starting to wish that he had a bigger ship. Something that he could actually walk around in and stretch his legs.
He looked through the cockpit at the massive solitary asteroid he found himself parked next to. Only a hop, skip and jump away from him. An idea came to his mind before he communicated with the astromech droid. “Hey I’m gonna stretch my legs for a moment, keep the ship close.” Before the droid could respond Ko made sure everything was secure in the cockpit before opening it up to the vast vacuum he found himself in. The small pocket of air decompressed so quickly that audible warnings couldn’t even be heard and he felt a quick rush of cold enveloping his body. Red warning lights flashed and flickered over the catastrophic lack of air.
The Kel Dor’s body gently floated out of the cockpit and away from his starfighter. Feeling some mild swelling across his body but his secure antiox mask and leathery skin kept him whole and unharmed. Ko drifted slowly over to the large asteroid and rotated his body until his feet touched down softly on the solid surface. From his rough estimate the asteroid was likely a few dozen kilometers across. Dwarfing most modern warships yet…
The moment he moved himself to make a step he pushed himself off and away from the asteroid. Still its gravitational pull was so weak that even a single step could give Ko enough escape velocity to leave it forever. Ko would brandish a simple yet trusty grappling line from his belt and shoot it into the asteroid's surface. Creating a tether between himself and the large hunk of mass before pulling himself against its surface once more. Creating enough tension for him to stand securely.
Now secure Ko took a moment to look around and in the scenery. Even out here in the big nothing he could appreciate the environment. Only now did he begin to recognize how incredibly quiet it was. The only sounds being the ones that reverberated through his body. There was no air to carry any other noise. Looking above him he saw his ship still close by.
He looked through the cockpit at the massive solitary asteroid he found himself parked next to. Only a hop, skip and jump away from him. An idea came to his mind before he communicated with the astromech droid. “Hey I’m gonna stretch my legs for a moment, keep the ship close.” Before the droid could respond Ko made sure everything was secure in the cockpit before opening it up to the vast vacuum he found himself in. The small pocket of air decompressed so quickly that audible warnings couldn’t even be heard and he felt a quick rush of cold enveloping his body. Red warning lights flashed and flickered over the catastrophic lack of air.
The Kel Dor’s body gently floated out of the cockpit and away from his starfighter. Feeling some mild swelling across his body but his secure antiox mask and leathery skin kept him whole and unharmed. Ko drifted slowly over to the large asteroid and rotated his body until his feet touched down softly on the solid surface. From his rough estimate the asteroid was likely a few dozen kilometers across. Dwarfing most modern warships yet…
The moment he moved himself to make a step he pushed himself off and away from the asteroid. Still its gravitational pull was so weak that even a single step could give Ko enough escape velocity to leave it forever. Ko would brandish a simple yet trusty grappling line from his belt and shoot it into the asteroid's surface. Creating a tether between himself and the large hunk of mass before pulling himself against its surface once more. Creating enough tension for him to stand securely.
Now secure Ko took a moment to look around and in the scenery. Even out here in the big nothing he could appreciate the environment. Only now did he begin to recognize how incredibly quiet it was. The only sounds being the ones that reverberated through his body. There was no air to carry any other noise. Looking above him he saw his ship still close by.
. . .
For some time now Ko stayed still, laying himself down on the surface of the asteroid and looking out into the undistributed cosmos. No bright lights, pesky atmosphere or transparent windows to conceal any of it. By now it was so quiet that Ko could hear the beating of his heart, every tiny crackle or pop in his joints, even the blood flowing through his body. It was actually a bit unnerving to him but made Ko feel intimately aware of the natural commotion that goes on in his own body without any conscious effort on his part. Despite this it was peaceful, yet he didn’t feel entirely alone even all the way out here. The Force connects all things, and he wondered if he was just feeling the presence of the asteroid itself in The Force.
Gingerly Ko would begin to push himself back up onto his feet. Until suddenly there was a slight tremor, a vibration he felt through the asteroid, startling Ko. Still attached to the giant rock via his grappling line. He felt the asteroid shudder some more.
Ko doubted that there was any way that this space rock possessed any sort of volcanic or geological activity. Soon enough the source of these disturbances became clear. Glancing behind him the surface of the asteroid began to rupture not too far from himself. Cracking through the solid he finally saw what was really happening. Bursting out from within was what looked to the head of a giant pale worm. It was a massive Exogorth, and he was only seeing a small part of it.
He’d only heard of such creatures, but had never seen them. In fact this was the first time Ko had ever seen any void ecology bigger than a mynock. If it wasn’t so imposing and frightening he’d likely be overjoyed to be witnessing the marvel of nature even out here so far into the big nothing of space but…
The giant space slug seemed to turn its attention to Ko. Glaring down at him as he stood in awe of its presence. Ko began to wonder if his little road side picnic had disturbed the creature. Regardless he sensed its hostility towards him. The Exogorth opened its mouth and dove down towards Ko in an attempt to eat the Jedi whole. Having no desire to become part of its likely lush internal ecosystem Ko gathered his energy for a mighty leap and let go of his grappling line. Augmenting his jump with The Force. Practically flying away from the asteroid just in time to avoid its maw crashing into the surface where he stood only a second ago. Launching himself up back towards his starfighter. He could see that the engines were already reactivating, no doubt the astromech saw what was unfolding and knew that it was time for them to leave. As he approached the ship Ko looked back down at the asteroid and the exogorth as it slithered its massive body back beneath the surface. Ko couldn’t help but feel a little guilty for disturbing the creature and possibly awaking it from some kind of hibernation.
