Private Flyboy? Meet Flygirl!

[Seth Denko]

ORDER OF SHIRAYA TEMPLE, NABOO

The hum of the repulsorlifts settled into a soft purr as the N-1 touched down, polished chrome catching the late morning sun like a blade held to the sky. Seth killed the engines, popped the canopy, and let the warmth of Naboo’s breeze roll over him. The Temple loomed behind him, all clean lines and gold accents, stately and serene as ever. But it was the landing pad that held his attention today — not the Council chambers, not the archives, not the business of duty. Just this.

Just a good day for flying.

He climbed down from the cockpit, gloves tucked into his belt, jacket slung over his shoulder. A lopsided smile was already playing at the corner of his mouth. He wasn’t usually one for playing instructor — not outside the occasional spar or field op, anyway. But when one of the Padawans had mentioned in passing that Tasia Palpatine, the one newly knighted, had always wanted to learn to fly?

Well. Seemed like as good a reason as any to volunteer for a little role reversal.

And truth be told, he was looking forward to it. There was something endearing about the way she carried herself — that quiet sort of hunger to learn, not for rank or status, but just because knowledge felt good in your hands. Seth respected that. Could see a little of himself in it, maybe.

He spotted her coming up the walkway, boots soft against the stone, that mess of dark curls catching the light as she walked.

“Morning, Knight Palpatine,” Seth called out, tipping an imaginary hat as she approached. “Figured I’d meet you out here where all the cool kids hang out.”

He jerked his thumb toward the N-1 behind him. Sleek. Shiny. Just enough muscle under the hood to remind you it was royalty-made.

“So — Padawans always get stuck fetching caf or cleaning the flight deck. But Knights? Knights get the fun gigs.” He gave her a wink, motioning toward the ladder. “You ready for your first lesson, or should I go grab a safety harness and some crash pads for my own peace of mind?”

There was no malice in the grin that followed, just an easy warmth. The kind of smile that said hey, no pressure — but this could be fun if we let it be.

Seth leaned back against the side of the fighter, arms crossed, waiting to see if she’d call his bluff.​

Tasia Palpatine​

 

[Tasia Palpatine]

Carrying: Palpatine's Saber
Wearing: Leather flight suit
Tag: Seth Denko

Tasia was nervous in a calm and controlled way, it was more a sense of anticipation. She didn't really like flying, it had never been much of a necessity in her life so she just hadn't bothered to learn. Not like her padawan who wanted to be behind the stick as soon as she could and had recently taken an N-1 all the way to denon on her own.

She knew she was meeting one of the older padawans for a lesson, she had not met him yet but a couple of the other jedi had mentioned him as a talented pilot, a couple of the women had made other comments about his looks that made Tasia wonder if there was a human resources department. That she would have to judge for herself.

He walked towards her and the half kiffar woman smiled and dipped her head respectfully. "Good morning Padawan Denko." she added laugh at his joke and raised her eyebrows. "Preparedness is a virtue, maybe you should. And call me Tay, yeah." she hadnt joined the order for rank and power, she joined for family, and family didn't use titles for each other.

She looked past him at the N-1's as she adjusted her flight suit. They were beautiful little ships, she had been in the two seater variant several times and had even had a go at the controls a couple of times, but usually in space with nothing around to crash into, and only for very short periods of time.

"Also, who said padawans always get stuck fetching caf. Mine is four thousand light years away dealing with some senator's kid who got led astray by the elastic in her pants." she laughed and placed her hand onto the metal of the ship, it was cool under her hand and she got a brief glimpse in her mind of it doing barrel rolls through space, narrowly dodging asteroids on an advanced flight course, there was even blaster bolts shooting across the prow of the small ship and Tasia looked at Seth. "Hmm, we can start a bit more slowly perhaps?" the fact that she was referencing her psychometric vision might make little sense to the other Jedi, but she certainly wasn't ready for combat maneuvers. She would be happy just to get this thing safely out of the atmospher.

"Are we riding together or in separate ships?" she asked her teacher for the day.

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[Seth Denko]

ORDER OF SHIRAYA TEMPLE, NABOO

Seth’s grin only deepened at her reply — easy, unbothered, the kind of expression that lived somewhere between charmed and genuinely amused. Yeah, he liked her already. Not just because she could throw a joke back at him without blinking, but because there was a steadiness there beneath the humor. The kind of quiet confidence that didn’t need to puff its chest to stand its ground.

“Tay, huh? Alright. Tay it is,” he nodded, pushing off from the hull of the N-1, boots soft against the landing pad as he closed the distance. “Given your resume, I don't think we'll need to worry too much about crashing. And you can call me Seth. We'll save 'Padawan Denko' for on-the-clock.”

Her remark about her Padawan made him snort, and he shook his head with a grin that couldn’t quite hide the sympathy.

“Force help her. Four thousand light-years away playing babysitter to a Senator’s kid with elastic-based ambitions?” He gave a mock shudder. “That's more interesting than any of my assignments. Closest I’ve come to that level of chaos was throwing hands while you got Knighted. Congrats on the promotion, by the way.”

He gave the sleek silver craft behind him a light slap on the side panel. “Now, this one’s a trainer model. Two-seater. You’ll be at the controls, for real—but I’ve got override if things go sideways. Safety nets all the way down.” There was an ease to the way he said it, but no condescension. Respect for the process. For her.

“We won’t be doing barrel rolls. Not today.” His smile turned softer, more sincere. “Just out past atmo. Designated training sector, so it’s nothing but open sky out there — no traffic, no obstacles, and patrol’s on standby in case we hit any snags.”

He gave a small shrug, that lopsided grin returning like it never left. “My hope is to get you comfortable enough that the ship feels like an extension of your hands. Like you belong behind the stick, not just strapped in the seat.”

Seth stepped aside, gesturing toward the ladder with a little flourish. “So. You ready to make this official, Tay?” His eyes gleamed, but his tone stayed easy — leaving the door open for her pace to lead the day.

After all, she’d already shown him enough. She was game. She was grounded. And he could respect the hell out of that.​

Tasia Palpatine​

 

[Tasia Palpatine]

Carrying: Palpatine's Saber
Wearing: Leather flight suit
Tag: Seth Denko

"Force help the senator's kid." she laughed in response. "Yaz is pretty unique." she added before walking in and looking at the cockpit controls. She had seen them before, she had played with them before but the fact that they would soon be under her control made them look entirely different to the innocuous dials and levers she had seen before.

She was pleased that he would be flying being her with full control if necessary. She understood what he meant by making the craft an extension of oneself. "You make it sound like riding an Aihwa." maybe it was, but those were smart and flew themselves with just a little guidance. She glanced back at the man with her tattooed face and clipped her helmet onto her head. "Ok, no sense on putting this off then. I'll just slip in yeah?" she climbed in and stood on the cockpit for a few moments allowing him to slip in behind to the copilot seat before she sat down. Why did she let him sit first, interesting? She inspected her motives and found nothing wrong.

"So Seth, you will be pleased to know I at least know how to turn this thing on." she laughed and ignited the engines, listening to the gentle roar of small well built engines. She went through a mental list of preparations she had seen other pilots go through before looking over her shoulder at the padawan instructor. "You ready?" she with a wild smile of friendship before hitting the button that opened the canopy. Then quickly hitting the correct one to close it.

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[Seth Denko]

ORDER OF SHIRAYA TEMPLE, NABOO

"Riding an Aihwa?" Seth repeated, the easy chuckle in his voice carrying clearly even over the rising hum of engines. He slipped smoothly into the co-pilot's seat, gloved hands deftly buckling his harness while she settled herself into position. "You make it sound easier than it is, Tay—trust me, the Aihwa probably does more work than we'll let this bird do today."

He watched quietly, allowing her to go through the mental checklist without interference. It wasn’t just about muscle memory or protocol; flying was a dialogue between pilot and machine. Her confidence, even tempered by a bit of healthy caution, was exactly the kind of attitude a new pilot needed. It brought a quiet smile to his lips as she laughed, ignited the engines, and then went right for the canopy controls.

"Looks like you're ahead of the curve already," he replied warmly, helmet secured now, voice crackling slightly through the commlink embedded in the gear. He gave her an affirming nod as the canopy slid closed, sealing them into their own pocket of calm amidst the mechanical hum of the N-1.

"I'm good back here," he confirmed, mirroring the wild friendliness in her smile. "Take her up nice and steady—bring the engines to about seventy percent for initial liftoff. Don't worry too much about direction; just point us skyward, and if you need help with your heading, keep an eye on the heads-up display. I'll step in if necessary."

"Whenever you're ready," he added lightly, settling comfortably into his seat and glancing toward the expanse of blue sky ahead. Anticipation brightened his features beneath the helmet as the ship vibrated gently beneath them, engines humming in harmony with his growing excitement. Flying was always good, but sharing the experience with someone who matched his enthusiasm—someone he may be able to call a friend—made it even better. Seth smiled easily to himself, genuinely looking forward to seeing how she handled herself once airborne.​

Tasia Palpatine​

 

[Tasia Palpatine]

Carrying: Palpatine's Saber
Wearing: Leather flight suit
Tag: Seth Denko

She slowly increased the throttle and the ship eased forward along the hangar bay, the pale blue of the sky got closer and closer until the small vessel was hanging free in the sky with nothing below it but trees. Tasia pulled upwards. "Good thing about space, it's usually easy to find?" She laughed as she felt the control stick resisting her to try and pull the ship level again. Their altitude was going up rapidly and they were already well above the height that Aiwha could breathe at. "So obviously you know who my ancestors were right? Well, there is this story, I don't know if it's true. His final defeat happened because no one in his fleet could find space without being told which direction it was. I'm going to guess.. up?" She smiled, but then stopped as she heard a buzzing noise she didn't recognise.

The fighter was simply informing her that the engines were no longer breathing air as they were passing out of the atmosphere and it stopped shortly after. The blue sky of Naboo was replaced with stars and she could see one of the moons.

"Ok, so I haven't crashed yet. Woo! Which way now?" She had entirely lost her bearings while concentrating on flying and with very few reference points. She was pointing in the wrong direction and technically upside down in relation to their planned path, not that it was easy to tell in space.

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[Seth Denko]

NABOO - ORBIT

The grin was already in his voice before he keyed the comm.

“Well—haven’t crashed yet. I’ll mark that down as ‘ahead of the curve,’” he teased, the hum of the ship’s systems wrapping the cockpit in that familiar comfort only flight could bring.

He let out an easy laugh at the story, shaking his head as his hands moved over the controls with practiced calm.

“Can’t say I’ve heard that one about your ancestor, but… fair warning, Tay—if you start blaming the nav on your crew every time we get turned around, I’m gonna start charging by the hour.”

The fighter gave a soft shudder as Seth quietly nudged the control stick, righting their orientation and sliding them gently back onto the programmed course. The stars shifted across the canopy, and the HUD flashed green — a calm ping sounding as the system confirmed arrival at the training zone.

“There we are,” he said smoothly, nodding toward the viewport. “See those faint glints out there, just off the bow? Those are training buoys, also known as your targets.”

Several small beacons drifted against the black, their positioning subtle — difficult to spot against the clutter of space without knowing where to look.

“Don’t lean on the targeting system yet. Feel it first. Get used to the sight picture through the canopy — track the movement with your eyes. When you’re sure, line up your shot. Then let it rip.”

He gave a small gesture toward the weapons panel.

“Cannons only. Call your shot before you take it.” His smile was warm, encouraging. “Your ship, your trigger. Let’s see what you’ve got.”​

Tasia Palpatine​

 

[Tasia Palpatine]

Carrying: Palpatine's Saber
Wearing: Leather flight suit
Tag: Seth Denko

Tasia was actually enjoying this, despite how unnatural it all felt too her but she listened to the voice of her instructor as she turned the fighter towards where he said the beacon was "I cant see... hmm... oh yeah, there it is. It's tiny!" she leaned the craft a little more attempting to line up the cannons with the target. She hunted and she hunted from horseback so she knew about leading the target and all that stuff but she found it so much harder up here to judge speeds and direction.

She had it. She squeezed the trigger once and a single round left each barrel leaving the guns curious as to why they were being used like this. Tasia was so used to rifles and bows that in her nerves she had entirely forgotten about the concept of fully automatic cannons. She thought she heard a little laugh in her comms and she blushed before pulling the trigger and holding it properly allowing twin lines of bolts to issue forth from the starfighter.

She missed.

The fighter buzzed past the target drone and she could have sworn it's sensors winked at her. Tasia allowed a little distance to open up before going into a loop to get back to the target. "I'll try again. Out of interest, what would our speed be now roughly if we were on the ground?"

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