A ship for every Starchaser

[Coren Starchaser]

Coren did his best to roll with a situation. He was a pilot, and he was a character in a collaborative story where some people had ideas different than him, but unlike other people, his writer knew that everyone’s ideas were valid, so long as people were having fun, and not being a gaggle of foreskin. But that was besides the point. Sekot was something completely different. The mind of the planet was so… massive, and the world itself so large.

“Who helped you make her?” He nodded to Miri. Seemed like something [member="Spark Finn"] would enjoy. But Coren was just glad that they had Miri along. Still, he knew the risks, the troubles here, Vong, and whatever. Didn’t matter too much to him. He was ready, but he also was fairly sure he was navigating he and his niece towards the city.

Or what seemed like a city at the flyover. Seed partners was the rumor, lets see what it looked like.

[member="Audrey Starchaser"]

 

[Audrey Starchaser]

“No one,” Audrey piped up with a grin. “I made her myself.” She was proud of Miri, if she did say so herself. Although Audrey was never going to be an epigone of super slicer [member="Spark Finn"], Coren’s girlfriend/partner person, she knew enough to be able tinker around with Datapads’ operating systems and not break the damn thing. The personality wasn’t exactly right. Audrey had been going for snarky gay friend, but ended up with bitchy mean girl instead. Miri 2.0 would be have a much more adorable personality. Like Audrey herself.

There was a clearing up ahead that turned into a path. Along it lay a small village, with rustic, squat buildings that were peppered up a hill and into a packed and bustling city.

As they made their way through the village, it was hard no to miss the sprawling pastures containing these odd spikeball thingies. Were those the ship seeds?

A red skinned near human approached, dressed in a long robe, and leaning on a crooked staff. He smiled at the two Starchasers, speaking in a staccato foreign tongue that Audrey didn’t understand. She turned to Coren with a quizzical look, and her eyes never leaving her Uncle’s gaze asked Miri another question.

“Miri, do you know what language that is?”

“That, Audrey, is Langhesian. If someone would put down Space Tinder for one minute and update my language software, maybe I'd be able to translate it.”

[member="Coren Starchaser"]

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Coren was ready. He needed to find the right people on this world to get what he needed. The trick was that this world had a few species that were very similar to Yuuzhan Vong. The pilot looked at his niece and shook his head. There was some of that Starchaser ingenuity there after all. Maybe it wasn’t a knack for starships and piloting, but it was a knack with technology. Being raised on a starship was hard for some of the families that called the Dawn Treader home, but the Starchasers typically made the best of it. Probably because they preferred to fly.

Or space walk.

But Audrey was the exception.

The species on this world, though, they were very different. More worried on shaping biotechnology than traditional tech, and it was why Coren had brought Audrey here. He figured she had some knack for biology, and maybe it could bridge the gap to her being able to fly. Starchasers were notorious for having to approach things, typically the Force, from an out-of-the-box line of thought. Maybe since Audrey could do well with the Force, for her it was the flying bit?

When the Langhesi spoke, Coren nodded. Fairly well with intentions and somewhat of languages, the man grinned. It was going to take him some time to learn the language, it wasn’t really based on anything he was familiar with, but he nodded, making a motion with his hand, what he thought was the universal sign for ‘starship’ before looking back at Audrey, with a shrug.

[member="Audrey Starchaser"]

 

[Audrey Starchaser]

Audrey bit her lip and panned her gaze to the fields. Seed partners, are those you? Before the though even crossed the bow of her brain, her senses erupted. The spiky little things were responding to her thoughts. She had no clue what these strange feelings meant, but something was happening, perhaps the seed partner equivalent of deliberating?

She was excited. the Sekotan Personal ships were said to be some of the fastest in the galaxy, and she'd always loved joyriding with Kins in speeders as a girl. Her brow furrowed. Kinsey had been missing for far too long and it would be foolish to think that everything was ok with her. The thought that something bad happened to her younger sister filled her with dread, and she even felt the seed partners respond to her flashes of anxiety, flooding her with emphatic endorphins. Those little spiky things actually cared.

Audrey hoped that the seed partners wouldn't take too long choosing. If the Starchasers could build a living ship, could they build a living computer? And if they did, could she put Miri inside of it? Maybe she'd be a whole lot happier in there and then wouldn't be so mean.

[member="Coren Starchaser"]

 

[Coren Starchaser]

The trick here was that Starchaser wasn’t confident just how the seed partners were selected. He understood that it was a bit of a ritual, you paid credits, you spoke to the right people, and they allowed you the chance to partake in the shaping-and-construction ceremony. The being he was speaking to had lead them inside, to where another red-skinned Langhesi was speaking to a Ferroan. The Ferroan nodded as the trio entered the room. Coren understood the other to be excusing himself from the conversation with the Langhesi.

“Greetings. We’ve been expecting you. Not one but two members of the Starchaser clan.” The Ferroan spoke and smiled. Offering out two seats, the alien leaned against the desk. “I understand you may be looking for ships. It will cost, of course, but in this day and age, with the galaxy under fire from the Sith, Sekot understands the need to getting more and more Jedi…” He waved Coren’s hand away, a practitioner of the Potentium, the word Jedi was being used to mean ‘light sider’ and it all came out the same. “Able to fight the Sith on their terms. Using Vong is a dangerous slope.”

Coren nodded as he looked over at Audrey, and grinned. Girl could feel the Force pretty solidly.

“We’re looking to get more ships, Audrey here has a knack for more biology than conventional technology… Was hoping Sekot could assist her here. And for me, well, it’s a curiosity.” He grinned. The planet was listening, was sensing them, and understanding the two who came from the stars, and was able to commune with the Ferroan, who’s name was pushed off, but did have one.

“Completely understood. We can begin the ceremony this evening. We will send you to the rooms where seed partners are chosen. From there, the partners will select you, and based on the number that bond, typically three, we will begin construction on the vessel’s frame and systems.” Funds would be exchanged before the pair were prepared for their individual ceremonies. Two ships, two ceremonies.

[member="Audrey Starchaser"]

 

[Audrey Starchaser]

Morning came and with it even more excitement for Audrey's new ship. They'd found the seed partner things and had yet to be chosen by them, but apparently that was going to happen soon. Audrey wasn't sure exactly how she'd feel about rejection from a seed, but there was ice cream in the hotel fridge just in case she needed to eat her feelings. Even better the Starchasers didn't go traipsing into a Vong nest since they'd stepped on Zonama Sekot. So far the trip qualified as a success to her. On the agenda today was a meeting with the Sekot shipbuilders themselves to discuss the schematics, and that's where she currently sat, her Datapad laying neatly on her lap, Miri prepared for the barrage of eventual questions.

The Ferroans were an interesting sort. They didn't believe in the dark side or the light side of the Force, which kind of blew Audrey's mind. In theory it seemed simple, but when she started to think about it, it made her head hurt. Audrey supposed that if you lived on a planet that could just move away from Sith, it left you with a lot of spare time to philosophize.

"Ceremony?" She asked curiously. "What does the ceremony entail?"

[member="Coren Starchaser"]

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Sekot was being a welcoming host on Zonama. That was at least nice to know. A planet sized being was somewhat intimidating, and the fact that they weren’t being dropped into random pits was something nice to see. The next few hours, after the leave to rest, the pair were escorted through the shipbuilding process, and Coren was taking notes, well, mentally at least. The who was involved, the material being used. It was a simple process really. Based on the number of seed partners, the ship ended up being a particular size, and based on that, the frame was built. The shapers, and construction teams, they were all kind of one in the same, but some worked with biology, others worked with material, would work together with the Ferroans and understand how the ship was to be built.

That information was from the seed partners and their bond with their future pilots.

Simple, really.

When Audrey did propose the question, the Ferroan nodded. “Later today, you will be brought to a chamber, if we’re doing two ships, its two chambers. And from there, seed-partners will be introduced. As you rest, the partners will choose you. When the time is right, we will pull you from this chamber, and over the course of the next few days, your bonds will mature, and we will be able to understand the specifics of the ships. A lot of them remains the same, as its our nature, but there is individuality, as is the nature of the pilot and the partners.”

[member="Audrey Starchaser"]

 

[Audrey Starchaser]

Audrey’s eyebrows shot up. The Ferroan explained the process and it sparked more questions than answers for the Starchaser girl. Special chambers. Maturing bonds. What exactly did all of this stuff entail?

“We’re going to be put in our chambers today?” she asked, hoping her little floral sundress was appropriate enough for these super secret chambers they were entering. On the one hand, Audrey was excited to be a part of this strange and wonderful process. A living ship all her own! There was just one small problem. She sat on the edge of her seat, her palms sweating uncontrollably. Audrey didn’t like the idea of these chambers. At all. the young Force sensitive was was incredibly claustrophobic, which was part of the reason she didn’t like to pilot starfighters.

“Do the seed partners do anything to us while we’re, um, chambered?”

She didn’t want to come out of the whole thing transformed into a plant person or something. Green definitely wasn’t her color.

[member="Coren Starchaser"]

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Coren was glad someone was asking the questions. He didn’t really need to know, the man was known to just act. Make it up as he went along, and always defer to ‘plan B.’ But he didn’t feel like there was going to be any issues coming from this world. It all seemed like a relatively simple, if very organic, process. He shook his head though, with her nerves it was almost comical.

The Ferroan shrugged. “They latch on, not unlike a plant that has burrs. But its not nearly a sharp pain. They’ll attach and start to get a feel for you, and you a feel for them.” The alien looked between the two Starchaser. “Its not a real… chamber, its more of a room, there are a lot of potential seed partners, its really not much different than the size of the vessel you two came in on.

“But they will attach, they’ll be with you for a few days, learning you, learning your needs, wants, and preferences, that way when the ship is made, its in tune with you.” The Ferroan smiled as Coren nodded.

“That makes sense. I’ve been using an implant to basically commune with my starfighters, it saves a lot of time. If something could sense what I was doing before I wanted to do it?” He shrugged. “Sign me up.”

[member="Audrey Starchaser"]

 

[Audrey Starchaser]

Audrey knew that the Ferroans had the best intentions when explaining the process to the now somewhat distressed-looking Starchaser, but the phrase "latching on like burrs," didn't help to assuage her fears. She made a little noise deep down in her throat that was somewhere between a whimper and a sob. She wondered if anyone would notice if she crawled underneath her chair. Swallowing audibly, Audrey finally spoke up.

"So when these little guys "latch on," it's not a sharp pain, you say. But does it still hurt?"

Oh, she was liking the sound of this less and less. Did Audrey mention that she didn't like pain. Pretty sure she did. Probably a few posts back.

Audrey really wanted to give this living ship thing the college try, though. And she was a Starchaser, wasn't she? They were supposed to be adventurous and full of wanderlust. And since when was she afraid of a little ol' burr anyway? She used to get them stuck in her shoes all the time when the family traveled to the iridescent forests of Felucia. A deep breath came, then a whoosh of air as she released all her anxiety.

"I'm ready, too," she announced.

[member="Coren Starchaser"]

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Coren was a bit of a wanderer, a wanderlust in his early days and still not really a man of any notable citizenship, at least not since Corellia got split in half. He’d have to make a note to rescue the world from the clutches of the Sith when the time came. But for now? He was trying to focus on the world at hand, at Zonama Sekot, and the task of meeting seed-partners. To him? That was entertaining. Looking over at his niece, the Starchaser patriarch raised an eyebrow. He was a bit worried for her, but he knew she’d calm down, she was going to need to.

Some Master he was, though, not able to help calm her nerves.

The Ferroan looked to [member="Audrey Starchaser"] and shook his head. “No, its not a pain. Its… An attachment. You’ll be physically aware of them, but from that end? Its barely a discomfort, nothing sharp, no needles. They’ll be gentle.” Ish.

“You’ll be fine.” Coren muttered to Audrey, with a bit of that Corellian grin of his. Blue eyes traced back to the Ferroan who nodded as they were both ready.

“What will happen is that you’ll be put in chambers off the side of the main… shall we say ‘corral’ of the seed-partners. The doors will be open and over the course of the night, partners will choose you, or not choose you.” The Ferroan shrugged. “Average is three, there has been myth that somewhere near fifteen had been chosen to join one pilot.” Of course, that was two pilots, but who was splitting hairs?

Motioning for the pair to follow him, they were lead down a corridor of several rooms off of a main chamber. This was where they would be assigned. “Since you two have a strong connection, but are looking to make two separate vessels, we will separate your chambers. Audrey, you’ll take this one.” The Ferroan stated, opening a door. There was a cot, small wash closet, and a conservator that had basic staples to get everyone through the night. “We will check in on you in the morning.”

Coren was escorted a few chambers down and let into his own spot. The Corellian laid himself down on the bed, and started to reach out to the Force, to Audrey, to the seed partners waiting just off the chamber. It seemed like the center area was native growth of Zonama Sekot, and this facility was built around it. It was definitely an interesting construction, and he was idly falling into thoughts surrounding his ship, what it would look like, what it would feel like, how it would behave. It was then that he had started to drift off, part trance, induced by the life of the world and the seed-partners, and part actual sleep. He had no fears of how many would join him, if any did. It would be something to look forward to.

 

[Audrey Starchaser]

Audrey trotted after Coren and the Ferroan and peeked into her "chamber," which quite frankly looked a bit like a cheap room in a flea bitten Nar Shaddaa flophouse. Oh, Sithspit, she hoped the seed partners didn't hear her think that. She stood in the doorway, peering in, but frozen in place.

"OK, I guess I'm going in there now." she announced loudly, standing in the doorway, rocking back and forth on her heels, but making no move to enter. A small, impatient voice piped up from her backpack.

"Oh, stop being such a big baby, and get your ass in that chamber."

It was super weird for Miri to speak up like that, because Audrey didn't remember asking her a question, but nonetheless she listened to her Datapad, and scampered inside. "Sleep tight, Uncle Cor-!" she called out as the Ferroan shut the door.

She flopped down on the bed and lay there, looking up at the ceiling. What the heck was supposed to happen now? She didn't really know, but either way, she began to reach into the Force, branching out to see what would respond. The law of averages said that there had to be some seed partners who liked quirky brunettes, so those were the ones she searched for first.

[member="Coren Starchaser"]

 

[Coren Starchaser]

It wasn’t long before Coren was in his own cell, the trick of it was that he hadn’t really a clue as to what was going on. Open air to the corral of sorts on one side, and a door, not locked, but really frowned upon to be opened on the other. He wasn’t afraid here, but he was a bit now… bored. Taking a water from the conservator, he looked out at the corral. The seed-partners would come to them, and that would be that. He took a deep relaxing breath and continued to look out at them, the Aing-Tii had taught him a variety of techniques in the Force, but the most freeing? That was looking at the Force in an array of colors. Yes, evil was evil, but the rest of it? Fell to the wayside.

He didn’t need to worry if the seed-partners were light or dark, it didn’t matter, not on this world. Running a hand through his hair, he shrugged. That was going to all be answered in the morning, he assumed. What would happen, how it would happen. The man made to lay down on the cot, reaching out to the Force, to [member="Audrey Starchaser"], to the seed-partners in the other room.

The man had fallen asleep shortly, and when he awoke, the sunlight bleeding in, he was greeted by the Ferroan, well, another Ferroan, but aliens, all looked the same. He was smiling and slowly appraising the situation of the Master. “I count five. Very good, impressive. Some pilot, you’ll be.” The Ferroan nodded. “We’ll collect your niece and be on our way. The next few days the ships will be constructed, and the seed-partners will fully mature.”

 

[Coren Starchaser]

With permission of the other author, this author was going to push this thread towards completion.

That meant that Coren and Audrey were both collected from their room, Audrey collecting, or bonding, however, an astounding eight seed-partners to her uncle’s five. The male Starchaser figured the Ferroan was about to soil himself when he looked at the pair. Definitely a job well done, and something that was going to make the next few days very interesting. What it came down to was that the Starchasers were now part of a basic honor guest when it came to the Ferroans and Sekot. The red carpet, as it were, was laid out for them.

There were several ship frames laid out before them, and as they were walking through, the frames were being completed. Some variety between the pair, but they apparently based things on the way Sekot thought. Both frames were clearly organic in inspiration, and very similar, sister ships as it were, but different. Sekot clearly had an inkling as to what was going to be done for these ships.

The pair would both feel the seed-partners jump when they saw the frames. It was definitely interesting to feel in the Force. The other bit would be that some of the seed-partners, specifically a pair on [member="Audrey Starchaser"] seemed really interested in the datapad she carried, especially when it spoke.

The reason why didn’t cross the mind of Coren until after he was informed of the organocircuits that were used to link the ships mechanical and living parts. The fact that his future vessel was going to be alive was an interesting concept. What did it eat? Did it need to feed? He knew it was going to be a learning process for the both of them.

The next few days, as the ships were built, and the seed-partners matured, were spent in the height of Zonama Sekot luxury, allowing Coren and Audrey to relax, to bond with the seed-partners, and to discuss a few things, including piloting lessons.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

How many days had it been? A good few. The seed-partners had been away from their point of origin for just about a week at the point when the Ferroans came back to the Starchasers. Sure, they were taking the pair around the world, to show them monuments, and where the Yuuzhan Vong were living, something that Coren found interesting, but the jury was still out as to where Audrey felt that line was, and back to the ship foundry. On this trip, the ships frames were built, weapons systems, hyperdrives, and cyber systems were created, all that was missing were the seeds.

And they were collected by Shapers, not unlike the Yuuzhan Vong shapers, but ones Coren could feel in the Force. They had started to germinate the seeds, and over the course of the next few hours, worked with the mechanical engineers to meld the ship into one working being.

Coren sat with a bit of extra interest, watching and feeling the shaping in the Force, he was interested in how this was going to work, and hours, maybe the whole night, he wasn’t sure, the ship assembly was finished. Both ships. A mixture of traditional assembly, biotech shaping and the Force, and a bright green, really bright green, ship was sitting before him.

“The final step is to take the initial voyage…”