My Soul is in the Sky

[Setzi Lunelle]

OOC: Timeline takes place prior to Ziost
Lianna City, Lianna

Setzi walked out of the final location that she had been scouting for the new Silver Jedi Agricultural Corps Headquarters. She had visited no less than ten office buildings today all across Lianna City, and while they weren’t quite as ramshackle as the offices she had toured on nearby Lola Sayu, they were too small to hold productive meetings or collect and ship the supplies she would need to be transporting around the galaxy. The main branch of the Jedi AgriCorps was donating her an office – and possibly a research facility if the space allowed - so the padawan really couldn’t afford to be picky, but while Lola Sayu’s choices were better, that planet’s proximity was not ideal because of the rumors of Darkside religious zealots knocking at neighboring Ziost’s door.

She had booked passage to Rudrig next. A safe and quiet planet with no weapons allowed, she felt that the AgriCorps headquarters would thrive there. She could recruit padawans and other volunteers from the nearby University of Rudrig. The planet was also lush and fertile and would be a great place for to conduct research on sustainable farming methods and healthier food production. But after turning the corner to the small hangar where her shuttle was to depart, she was dismayed to see her ride to Rudrig taking off without her.

“Wait!” she shouted, running after it. “I was supposed to be on that ship!” But in a cloud of vapor, it was gone. She checked her chrono and realized that it was off by five minutes and the next shuttle wasn’t for another two hours.

She sighed and rested her tired feet on a bench in the hangar. Exhausted and demoralized, Setzi sat in a funk for awhile until she remembered that AgriCorps had offered her the use of a freighter for her new branch and even personal missions if they would further the cause. The trouble was, she didn’t know how to pilot a freighter, even a dummy-proof one. Setzi had been on land and on sea for most of her life. Her only space experience was with Kaia Starchaser, and that had been a spacewalk, not a space drive.

This endeavor would be so much easier if I could pilot, Setzi thought. In recollecting her padawan friend, Kaia, her mental wheels began to turn, and she no longer felt so pessimistic. She sent a message off via her datapad:

To: [member="Coren Starchaser"]
From: Setzi Lunelle

I hope you are doing well. Remember me from the Frontier Corps dive on Arda? I certainly remember you, Cap-Coren. I was wondering if you knew of a pilot who was giving lessons in the Tion Hegemony region? I need some quick lessons in order to pilot an AgriCorps freighter, and since the Silver Jedi Order is under threat from that strange fanatical order headquartered in Bastion, I wouldn’t mind learning how to pilot a fighter either.

Please let me know.

Hopefully he would recommend a patient teacher as Setzi felt like her first lesson would be her asking a million times, What does this button do? She also knew that Coren was a pilot… perhaps he wasn’t that busy with FrontierCorps to teach her himself?

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Coren Starchaser had been around to make sure that the Frontiers Corps was translated properly into their new Silver Jedi overlords. Sure, they were on the same page as the Levantine Sanctum, but it wasn’t really that Coren agreed with either group on their religious background. The Sanctum had given him the freedom to be who he wanted to be, who he was, and kept him employed with a ship and some tasks for their Frontiers Corps, but beyond that? He wasn’t touching the Force order with a ten foot pole.

He offered to instruct people in what he knew, but he played a bit hard and loose with the Force, rushing in with what people would call ‘the dark side’ and finishing off with what people would call ‘the light side,’ but for him, it was just ways of fighting. How to take the strength from the others and how to stall them until they made a mistake. Simple, right? All he needed to do to ensure he won a fight was to get them in the sky. Then it’d be simple.

And he was offering his assistance to the AgriCorps, for whatever they needed. When the message from [member="Setzi Lunelle"] showed up, he smirked. Right, pilot help. Coincidentally, Coren was on a shake down flight, making his way from the LAA at Laekia out to Scout that was involved in exploration between the newly minted Coalition space and the Techno Union. And it was from one of those that called him Cap-Coren. Joy.

Lunelle-
Is your ship on Lianna? I’m on a shake down, can come swing by and get your feet off the ground, if you can make a trip to bring me where I’m going after.
-Starchaser

Simple, right? He could let the Ithorian pilot the Niathal ahead to the Scout and he could show the Padawan a thing or two. Was he even allowed to teach Silver Jedi folk to use the Force?

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

By the Holy Stars, what was a shake down?!? That sounded awfully criminal. Was Coren Starchaser also a racketeer like his good friend Walker? Were there any non-criminals left in the galaxy? Why, it almost seemed impossible to be pure and good anymore. She mused upon her sister Chastity who believed in the kindness of most sentients and the idealistic standards of the Jedi Order. But the older Lunelle sister?

As the years passed, the more cynical she became. But perhaps that is just wisdom, Setzi. And perhaps you are just extremely paranoid and “shake down” is just pilot slang, she mused. No need to be so over-dramatic.

Either way, Coren Starchaser made it known that he was willing to help her. Her spirits lifted and feeling less trapped in her circumstances, she sent him back this message:

“Starchaser,

I can have my new freighter sent to Rudrig. Right now I’m without a ship. But if you pick me up in Lianna City, Hangar B21 we can fly over and check it out. If you can get me in the air without me killing both of us, I will happily take you anywhere.

- Lunelle”

First lesson, pilots refer to each other by their last names.

[member="Coren Starchaser"]

 

[Coren Starchaser]

He received the message from the padawan and nodded. A quick change of course and the Niathal was heading to LIanna. As for Coren being a criminal? Not much more than any other spacer. Just relaxing cruise to not have to do anything, and just fly. Something people forgot that even spacers enjoyed the flight. He changed the course and sent off a quick message.

"Will meet you there."

There were still a few hours. Meant he needed to prep the ship. Taking on a passenger and getting her in the pilot seat wasn't an easy taks. But between Lianna and Rudrig? They'd be fine, then get her in the actual pilot seat of her vessel.

Simple, right?

Like teaching someone to drive Stick Shift.\\[member="Setzi Lunelle"]

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

Excellent, Starchaser was going to pick her up! She checked her chrono again and wondered if he would beat the next shuttle here.

What to do in the meantime though? Setzi wasn't good with being bored on a whole. It meant more time alone with her sometimes uncomfortable thoughts. If you keep busy, you don't have to think so much, she reasoned.

So she rose and walked to a nearby stimcaf shop to sit and make AgriCorp plans. There were really two things that she needed right off the bat - well, besides an actual office and not a Spacebucks in which to do business - something to grow, especially something hearty for those dusty or cold planets. And second, machinery in which to cultivate the soil and even give it nutrients. As she did more research she was frustrated by the labor droid market. The models all seemed either too limited to one or two functions, or were not focused enough on farming methods. Of course all of the giant food corporations across the galaxy had custom droids for their needs. A custom droid or two isn't a bad idea, Setzi, she thought. Especially one that could also defend AgriCorp since most of the worlds they needed to visit were in Sith or Primeval space.

And just as she suspected, the time flew by as she kept herself busy. Setzi finished her caf and went back to hangar B21 to wait for Starchaser to arrive.

[member="Coren Starchaser"]

 

[Coren Starchaser]

There wasn’t that much to do, it was a simple trip for Coren to make it to the docking bay where he was supposed to pick up the padawan known as [member="Setzi Lunelle"]. Alone time for Coren, though, was different than it was for most people. He had a lot of work, including mapping the Blood Trail out. Between that, which involved checking supplies, working on shift changes and rotations of the crew on the Event Horizon, and breaking through some of the three-dimensional maps he had, to figure out the best chance of a hyperspace path, he also had his course work and looking at the main new networks to find where to send Underground cells next.

Sure, he wasn’t in charge of the Underground, but he could direct the cells a little bit, especially the ones that weren’t active for a bit. Send them to worlds, show them who needed help, and use them to keep the Exchange out of jams. Beyond that it was a lot of paperwork for the Frontiers Corps, he was one of the Captains, which gave him a few mission commanders under his care.

Still, Coren had time to get out and fight the good fight. And teach a few people the finer points of space-man-ship. The Niathal was making her way to B21 and he could already sense the Padawan there. Good. Turning to the crew in the cockpit, he nodded. “You’ve got a few hours down time now. Catch some rack time, helping a student to learn to pilot.”

Simple, but everyone enjoyed downtime. Get some rack time, get on the holonet, simple pleasures.

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

With some thought-starters all typed into her datapad – or well half-hearted ideas at least, she wasn’t sure they were particularly good - Setzi stood in B21 watching the Nianthal land. It was the only ship in the deserted hangar, so it had to be Coren Starchaser’s. As he emerged she gave him a warm smile and with her hands on her hips she asked, “Are you sure you’re brave enough to show me the ropes? It’s not too late to pawn me off on another instructor!"

The padawan tried not to take his offer to teach her for granted. She was very grateful for his arrival. This time she wasn’t wearing in a bathing suit or a dive suit like the last time they had seen each other on the tropical world of Arda. Her hair wasn't wet, her face was not sandy and half-sunburned. She was dressed, not as a Jedi, but as a simple twenty-something girl looking at real estate on Lianna.

Spoiler

“How have you been, Starchaser?” she asked him.

On sea it was Cap-Coren, but in the air? Last names only.

She may be an extremely incompetent pilot, but Setzi was a quick learner.

[member="Coren Starchaser"]

 

[Coren Starchaser]

At least she had a sense of humor. That was good. It made it worlds easier to take someone up who could laugh a bit about it. Sure, he didn’t get to know her all that well on the trip out to Arda, being under the water was a great bonding experience, but you didn’t always get to know your crew. And he was fairly sure she was one of [member="Khaleel Malvern"]’s, but that didn’t matter. He seemed to not have turned Kaia wrong, so he knew a bit of what he was doing then. Thankfully.

He liked his business partners to know what they were doing.

He stepped down from the ship and nodded to her. “Of course I’m ready. I'm sure you won't be hard.” He was in stereotypical spacer clothes. White Henley shirt, denim pants, sneakers, bloodstripes and a leather jacket. Sunglasses because they had descended facing the sun. And well, style above all else.

“I’m doing well, thanks. You look like you’re doing alright. Whats got you out on Lianna?” Of all places. A dark world with dark masters. If he knew that. Which he wasn’t sure he did.

[member="Setzi Lunelle"]

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

Starchaser had a warm presence that immediately put the Silver Jedi Padawan at ease. She remembered that about him on Arda. The man was driven but also friendly and patient, especially with the younger students. Half instructor/half hot-shot was the impression she got. And of course it was a first impression.
Was he as much of a scoundrel as Walker? Perhaps, but she hadn’t gotten to know him very well just the same. He didn’t strike her as the type to be involved in dirty deals and back-alley extortion. But she didn’t know what he was mixed up in when he wasn’t with Frontier Corps.

And frankly, it wasn’t any of her business.

“I’m on Lianna looking for office space. I’ve been granted a position to head up a Silver Jedi Chapter of the Agricultural Corps. I have a small budget which also includes a freighter. I’m afraid I have no idea what type of freighter, and I fear that it’s in terrible shape as it’s been donated,” she said, shrugging.

“But it’s free for me to use. Just need to learn how to drive it.” She smirked, and her bee-stung, pale pink lips tilted upward, mirroring the subtle shift of her hips. Setzi wasn’t too bad with a speeder bike. She also knew her way around the controls of a tractor or combine harvester, but neither of those would help her in this circumstance.

“Do you want to pick up the freighter on Rudrig? Or will you teach me using the controls of your ship?”

[member="Coren Starchaser"]

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Coren grinned. Was he as bad as Walker? Nah, he knew his brother-in-arms meant well, but there were certain things that each did that the other did. Coren was former military and that meant he stuck to the PMC aspect of life. And that also meant readying a minuteman militia in the Underground to get people ready to fight the One Sith, and the Techno Union. Bring down the dark side, right? Something like that.

Even if he didn’t quite fit with his Silver Sanctum comrades all the time. But that was why he handled missions on his own, when he was not working on Frontiers Corps projects, or sometimes, even during the missions. Unless he needed a crew. But an exploration vessel could go a lot farther than most. He’d help make sure Exchange members would get where they needed to go, so long as they didn’t get his ship boarded.

Safety, and keeping hands clean, first.

“Ah, running a store front for the AgriCorps? Well… not a store…” he shrugged, looking at [member="Setzi Lunelle"]. She knew what he meant. “And you have no idea on the ship yet?” He indicated for her to follow him up into the Niathal. Frontiers Corps typically gave the best that they could construct, but sometimes even the explorers were using worn freighters and aging shuttles.

“We’ll pick up your ship, teach you in that. Until then, we’ll get you doing a little flying here.” He nodded as he took the pilots seat, the engines primed and he slowly started giving her a quick, hand-waved, and verbal lesson on the repulsors and when was best to switch to engines. He was not teaching her the smuggler tricks. Nope.

She could learn those on her own. “Once we break atmosphere, I’ll have you hop to the pilot seat, get us to hyperspace, and enter Rudrig’s atmosphere. I’ll land, this ship has to get somewhere, so we’ll teach you to learn in yours. I know a spot.” It was called Kessel.

It didn’t take long for them to get through atmosphere and into the vacuum, and that was when he transferred controls from the pilot seat to the co-pilot. “Show’s yours, Lunelle.”

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

“Oh, I have the ship model name somewhere," she exclaimed, searching her bag for her datapad. What was that starship called again? She tapped on the keys, pulling up the message which described the freighter that AgriCorps had offered her use of. “Here it is. It’s a Mobquet Medium Transport. Probably an older model, but I’m sure it’s been cleared for flight.”

And reciting the name of the starship - her starship - sent a surge of excitement through the brunette Padawan. Maybe by the end of the day, she would be able to fly it by herself, and then there would be no more running for shuttles and relying on colleagues and friends for rides around the galaxy.

After settling into the co-pilot’s seat of the Nianthal, she listened to Starchaser explain the basics of the engines and the repulsors. Setzi was a patient student, not interrupting to ask questions or pressing buttons wantonly when she didn’t know what she was doing. Sure, she had lots of questions. Tons of them, but hoped that she would be able to follow along with Coren's rapid fire tutorial.

Her heart skipped a beat when he ushered her into the pilot’s seat after exiting the hyperspace lane close to Rudrig. “Okay,” she said, settling in and scanning the controls. Setzi knew a little bit about the sensors in starships, having accompanied Walker on a few trips where she needed to use bioscanners to pick up heat signatures of living enemies. But taking a ship off of autopilot and manually flying it? She had up until now, only watched from the sidelines.

Her hands hovered over the various thrusters and she turned to him, asking, “Is it the lateral thruster or the attitude thruster?” And was it a thruster at all that she needed to engage to keep the starship flying forward?

[member="Coren Starchaser"]

 

[Coren Starchaser]

And he was trying to not be that guy, but it was kind of hard. She didn’t know what she was getting? Maybe it was just a him thing, but when a ship was being given to him, he would be memorizing the statistics of it, and knowing everything he could find out about it, down to the previous owner, and up to the reason it was created. Mobquet though, he knew that company. Decent ships. No Corellian or Silk vessels, but still, they got the job done. “I’ll make sure she’s fine when we get there.”

No need to get aboard a ship that might crash.

When he transferred the controls over, he relaxed a bit, and part of him reached out to her in the Force. This was a pretty clean space lane. Lianna’s own policing force and the Hegemony in charge of her did a good job of cleaning the space lanes from bogeys, so he really wasn’t worried, so long as Setzi didn’t crash them.

“Lateral will adjust you left and right, attitude is the way we’re looking at your flight path. In space, its… messy, but we’re just looking for primary drive thrusters.” He pointed to the proper controls. He tapped a button and the heads up started displaying a holographic waypoint. “We’re going there. So, lateral will steer, primary will get us where we’re going. Just don’t go crazy, we’re in a restricted speed area.” What was it, megalights? Right, he indicated the max speed.

It wasn't good to go beyond port speed.

[member="Setzi Lunelle"]

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

“Alright then,” Setzi said, engaging the primary drive thrusters. The ship lunged forward as her touch on the control panel was far from sophisticated, but soon they settled into roughly the pace of a tortoise if it flew in space. Coren didn’t have to worry about her going too fast. In fact she was taking it as slow as an elderly speeder taxi driver on Tatooine. When the brunette padawan sensed the ship drifting a bit to the left, she commanded the lateral thruster to straighten out the path.

Not too bad so far, she thought. But at the rate they were going it would take light-years to get to their final destination.

“Okay I’m ready to accelerate,” she said, looking over at her patient (and rather brave) instructor.

“What is the control for that? Is it the sublight drive?” she asked. She tentatively engaged what she thought was the sublight drive, and the ship was propelled forward suddenly, making her stomach drop and her head whip back against the seat.

[member="Coren Starchaser"]

 

[Coren Starchaser]

There was cautious slow and then there was this. Sure, there were tales of turtles and rabbits, but even the turtle would lap this ship in a road race right now. He was going to discuss a little bit about throttle control, but right now he needed to discuss more about having a leadfoot. Sure, the Niathal-class shuttle was not a starfighter, so it was set up completely differently, but that was good, for a beginner. Sometimes you had to learn to run before you could walk (Tony Stark, circa Iron Man 1), but other times? It was better to take it slow. He’d try to get her into some fighter one day or another, maybe.

But if she was going to be doing AgriCorps, that meant dealing with tractor and probably people playing banjos, and moonshine. Yeah, AgriCorps was to Nebraska what ExplorCorps was to NASA. And sometimes the toys that both were going to be using weren’t going to translate over well. “Alright, for that we’ll need throttle…”

And then she grabbed the main sublight drive. Right, not right away. “Need…” He reached out with the Force, a bit of minor, very minor mechu deru, something he could do to a ship when he knew the ship intimately, to slow it down. “To check inertial compensators before engaging the primary drive. This one.” He dialed up the inertial compensator as he could hear the crew shouting in the back.

“It’ll make it so you’re not thrown when you’re engaging the throttle. But… you can dial it to your own liking once you get used to a ship. Gives your more of a feel with what you’re flying.” He sometimes ran down as far as 94% in zero g, that mixed with his Liberation implant? Flying like the ship was his own body.

[member="Setzi Lunelle"]

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

Primary drive thrusters, lateral thrusters, altitude, throttle... there was so much to learn about piloting. Setzi tried to keep all of the terminology straight in her head, but when she shifted her focus to another one of the controls, she felt she lost everything Starchaser just taught her. Still they hadn't fallen out of the sky... yet.

When the padawan engaged the main sublight drive, she heard a protest from the crew over the sudden lurching of the ship. Starchaser did something to straighten her out, but oddly enough, she had not seen him use any of the controls. At the same time, she had instinctively picked up a subtle Force presence.

She turned to the dark-haired pilot and asked, "Did you do something with the Force now? To the ship?"

As she waited for his answer, this time she pressed down on the throttle with a gentler touch, trying to really feel the ship now. Trying to maneuver with instincts rather than knowledge, which quite frankly, was getting muddled in her head.

[member="Coren Starchaser"]

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Starships were complicated, Coren wouldn’t lie about that. He spent some of his hours working as an instructor at the Levantine Astro Academy teaching pilot hopefuls just what they needed to know. The intention was to make it so the ship was a second skin for the pilot. The cannons were firsts, the engines were legs and the hull was the body. The bridge, the cockpit, was where everything happened, it was the brain.

A pilot needed to be one with the ship. With their ship. With any ship. His own ships were able to be connected to him by his implant. And the Force, but that could be used anywhere, like here. When he reached to ship to change some settings. “Me? Just a simple trick.” He gave the Padawan a mischievous grin.

“Need to watch your settings. But take it easy. We’re not in a race here.” When they were? The pilot would need to take over. They’d need to set it all in their mind, let the ship and the crew knew what was going on. It needed to come from inside, the fight, the preparation. Being ready.

[member="Setzi Lunelle"]

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

What Starchaser had done with the ship seemed more than a parlor trick as he described it. From where she sat, it appeared he had slowed the ship down using his mind, which was no small feat. Certainly not a minor Force skill.

“I’m open to learning new tricks,” Setzi said smiling, amused at his cheeky grin. But it dawned on her that she was possibly asking a lot of the competent pilot without offering anything in return.

She checked some of the ship’s controls and added, “Coren, I’m grateful for all of your time today. If I’m not on an AgriCorps mission I will join the Frontier Corps wherever you need me. Please let me know how I can repay you.”

Unlike Starchaser, the padawan did not feel at one with the ship, but she was starting to feel a little more in control. As long as nothing catastrophic happened…

“If there is an emergency on the ship, what’s he first thing I should do?” she asked.

[member="Coren Starchaser"]

 

[Coren Starchaser]

It was knowing the ship, knowing how they worked. Most of the controls on a ship were designed for a varying degree of ergonomics, but the mechanics of them? That was all pretty similar once you got down to it. And the Niathal’s were a big ship used by the Frontiers Corps, so it wasn’t so beyond him to be intimate with one of these vessels. Almost on par with how he was with Tachyon Rising and ShortFin, though the last one he was building.

“Some of it takes time. The Force can do a lot, and once you’re around a ship enough, you’ll know how to manipulate her.” The ship, not women. He wasn’t Marek.

“And don’t mention it. Its what I’m here for, when I’m not running around the galaxy. Frontiers Corps does a lot of work with helping to get people in a ship, and get them flying. And you’re more than welcome to come on one of our trips. We’ve got a lot of ships, will probably be helping move some of the AgriCorps’s gear too.” Because Frontiers had the power and hardware.

“First things first, stop the engines, don’t get the ship going anywhere else. Shut down the big systems, engines, weapons – if you’re not using them, keep the life support going, and run diagnostics. Gotta figure out whats wrong first.” He pointed at the buoy on the holographic HUD. “Get us into hyperspace, I’ll take you around the ship, show you…” he waggled his hand. “What you’ll be expecting to see.”

[member="Setzi Lunelle"]

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

I’m really getting the hang of this, Setzi thought. Not too bad for a first-timer. But as she marveled at her new-found flying ability, she almost missed Starchaser’s description of what to do in an emergency.

Shut down the engines. Shut down the weapons. Keep life support going. Run diagnostics.

Got it.

“Hyperdrive,” Setzi said. “It’s the paralight system, right?” She engaged what she thought was the paralight system, giving the Nianthal the command to begin the hyperdrive process, which began as gamma radiation built up in fusion generator.

Once she had programmed the entire sequence, she rose and said, “Can we move around the ship while it’s jumping? Or you mean show me around after the jump?”

The padawan had only been in hyperspace a couple times, but had always been seated and belted in for her own safety.

[member="Coren Starchaser"]

 

[Coren Starchaser]

He’d seen reports of first timers and how terrible it was. Typically when Coren was teaching someone how to fly, or at least the reports went from his younger days, pre-Marriage-to-Kelly, he would make some credits off of fringe worlds by taking people up to fly. It was simple, it was fun, and apparently he scored more than just credits more than a few times. But that was the thing, find the right cantina, talk yourself up a bit, find people who either 1) had a feth ton of credits or 2) were really cute and wanted to learn to fly.

This Coren couldn’t even fathom doing that. He just… wasn’t written that way, it seemed. But remember, this character was around when the writer was 14, so a lot of flyboy playboy aspects came into the backstory. They had just… grew up and out, unlike some other writers.

“Good.” He nodded. And sometimes teaching people how to fly involved a fifth of whiskey. But not here, apparently. Kid knew her stuff, at least the basics. Wasn’t she one of Kaia’s friends? Could they… what?

“Yeah, we’ll be stuck for a few hours, unless we get pulled from the jump. Good for some rack time, but… Yeah we’ll tour the ship herself, go over some of the basics.” And hand wave the jump to get to her new ship so Coren could inspect it and ramble about how the Frontier Corps has better ships.

[member="Setzi Lunelle"]