"Oh, it certainly was." After strapping herself in, Cora held still as the cockpit slid forward. "I knew that Coruscant was a city-planet, but it was still a surprise to see just how far it stretched, and how layered it was. If you stand at the cathedral's tallest spire on Axilla, you can see the treeline in all directions."
"Have you been to Monument Plaza? You really get a sense of just how much civilization has piled upon itself when you stand there looking at Umata's peak. I've lived in the Core for a long time, but nothing else around compares like Coruscant."
A trillion lives. A trillion minds. A trillion problems.
The Jedi temple on Coruscant would remain iconic, but he much preferred the relatively tranquil nature of NJO's new headquarters on Tython (following the hard work of reconstruction).
"I suppose it's good fortune that you didn't meet me first back then. I was…well, a little spoiled."
"It's fine, I just so happen always keep a red carpet rolled up on my utility belt," he gently teased with equal amounts of mirth.
"Your progress is admirable, but it'll remain at the ready in case I find you backsliding."
As they conversed, Hectate quickly sped through the more mundane checklists for him, every step lighting green on his HUD. A good chunk of a pilot's life consisted of checklists and maintenance forms, especially as it pertained to prototypes with virtually no prior documentation - essentially transcribing a new manual as testers went along. The cheery AI had become his deliverance from that administrative hell.
Every checklist was eventually cleared, a little splash of fireworks from Hecate spreading across the main console display in celebration.
Cute.
"Alright, activating primary display," he informed Corazona.
"It might seem a little odd at first, but I think you'll like it."
The transparent shell around their cockpits became opaque, enveloping them in darkness for a few moments, the only source of illumination coming from the dim readouts of the console panels. Then light returned as the holographic display became active. The pair now appeared to be floating right off the hanger deck, all evidence of the fighter's frame erased from the projection. Otherwise, the simulation appeared incredibly lifelike, as if they could hop right out of their seats and land on the deck.
A rumble shuddered through the cockpit as the engines activated and powerplant spun up to full power. Soon, it appeared they were drifting across the deck towards the bay's port exit by invisible locomotion.
As
Harute went through its automated takeoff routine, Mykel fetched his
mother's necklace from his bandolier, wrapping it around the middle of yoke by its thin silver chain. Many pilots kept a similar ritual, stocking their cockpits with treasured keepsakes as motivation. This was his, a warm reminder of his family and friends at the Silver Enclave.
He then relaxed into his seat, closing his eyes as he focused on
Harute itself, synchronizing his mind with the fighter. Its frame became his limbs, its sensors his eyes, and its weapons his sword. He felt every circuit, bolt, and servo. He was now
Harute.
Hectate brushed against his mind as he melded with the fighter, the Super AI a separate but connected entity working in tandem with the Jedi. As its processor's foundation had been a digitized mind, Hectate registered to him as both a machine and sentient, not unlike the technopath's current state.
Under his full control, the starfighter surged from
Nightshade's hanger into the depths of space. The projection immediately became dominated by a new vision of the large golden orb that was Fornax and its flaming bands of rings, the planet's body rapidly blotting out more and more of the blackeness of open space during their rapid descent from high orbit.
"So, one question," he asked Corzona as he opened his eyes again with a smirk.
"Safe or fun?"
Corazona von Ascania
Valery Noble
