Anakin's Fortress - Book II (temporary cover)

Thirty-two - Karma

Non-violence might be a weapon of the strong...but I never claimed to be so.
Year 13

——————

Kat

The golden-lined planet becomes visible the moment I exit hyperspace, and I can't deny my excitement. I would never wish to live on Coruscant, but having only been here twice before, it is still a rather novel place to me.

It's been nine months since I met Ahsoka and mutilated a body. Almost eleven since I was stranded on Eriadu and then trained by a Jedi Master. While my day-to-day of keeping Mustafar secure hasn't changed much, everything else has. Every four weeks or so, Anakin sends me somewhere. I make friends, and I make...not necessarily enemies, but...negative relations, I suppose. Anakin says that's just the way the galaxy works, but I know the truth. I'm not everyone's cup of caf—and my boss is even less so.

I am, to put it simply, unbothered. My life is a whirlwind, and I find very little time to worry about how I am perceived. The only one whose opinion truly matters is Anakin's, and as a result, his children's. My other friends? Well, I'm afraid they either take me as is or don't.

Worrying about what an employee thinks of my demeanor, for example, seems irrelevant when I'm about to have a holocall with none other than the Emperor—which has happened twice now. The first was when he discovered my actions on Lothal. I told Anakin, of course, the entire truth the moment we were alone together. He coached me in preparation for the inevitable, and I believed my story in my soul. It was...damaging. But Palpatine showed no suspicion.

The second was supposed to be with his lead guard while finalizing his planned visit to Fortress Vader, and was awkward. Still not sure what that was all about.

I met a doctor about a month ago, an esteemed man who specializes in organ cybernetics. Though his nervous demeanor irritated me, I scheduled a follow-up to meet his partner and develop a working plan for Anakin. I'll see them next week.

In my spare time, I'm working on something...new. Azadi's words continue to ring in my mind. We're ants, and I want to give the ants a way to communicate. Just like with Zena, I began with little idea of where I was headed. The only thing I kept thinking about was pheromones.

Let's just say I haven't gotten much further than that.

And that's about it—except one thing.

It turns out I... might... like flying. Who knew?

It started with the TIE simulation on Lothal. It was terrifying. Everything about it is designed to feel real. From the flight suit to the pressure to the sounds, it was awful.

I didn't stop thinking about it, though. And then one day, I read about a new model of TIE being tested out for possible atmospheric defense.

The experimental design has been dubbed the striker, and it boasts some truly impressive stats meant to protect Imperial bases. Only a few exist so far, and I was just...intrigued. I brought them up to Anakin one morning and I've never seen his eyes light up so fast. He was ordering one within seconds.

At first, I took the gunner seat. I got familiar with the feeling of flying around Mustafar and the controls—and deeply enjoyed time with Anakin. And then, one day I took the pilot's chair with him as the gunner. And I enjoyed it. It's a thrill to fly at speeds so high that one mistake means death. With Anakin there, I can be confident a mistake will be caught by him. So though I still haven't flown any TIE without him, ships such as the shuttle I'm in now feel like nothing.

I don't know if I'm going to enjoy this trip or not. I'm getting tons of stuff in preparation to update Anakin's body and suit, including meeting with some big whig at a medical supplies company. Since that's not until the morning, I booked a hotel room and will have my first night away and alone in quite some time.