Star Wars: Jedi's Will of Justice

Chapter 20: Initiation - Part 2

I do not own any of the Star Wars and DC characters and ideas represented in this work.

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R2-D2's scomp-link was hooked to a console in the Watchtower's control room. The center that was the heart of the League itself was currently buzzing alive with busy technicians, engineers, and other Watchtower volunteers dedicated to serving the League in smaller but critical roles. Radio chatter was in the artificially controlled air, with technicians running reports on any maintenance services done at the moment and volunteers scanning for threats or disasters happening on Earth or looking for any signals that they could receive from outer space.

It was a well-organized and developed system that heavily reminded R2 of his and Luke's time during the Rebellion. Of course, that was when the Rebellion and, to a lesser extent, the New Republic wanted to be organized.

While it might be the very first time here for the newly inducted heroes, for Luke and RD-D2, not so much.

Because of Luke's and R2's prestigious roles in the newly expanded Justice League, they were here just last week to prepare the league for its gathering today. That included prepping the Justice League's newly introduced fleet of Javelin-Wings, or J-Wings for short, and having Luke train a select number of Watchtower personnel to fly the ships.

Since R2 has a lot of technical expertise due to his programming as an astromech, he was granted the role of man technician at the Watchtower. To make it easier for him to troubleshoot and fix the inevitable problems for the space station, several computer interface ports were put in place around the watchtower's interior and service areas to make R2's mechanical life easier.

This was everything that R2 was made for. Ever since he got here, he's been doing multiple service jobs, maintenance work on a J-Wing, and other projects for the watchtower. Sure, he had done some things back on the island, like helping Luke with his training, which should be done soon. But he has done more things here in just an hour than in the few months he's been on the island combined. He has no problem with it.

Yes, for R2-D2, life is going particularly well... until his name is called on.

"R2! Please come over here; we might need your assistance." The deep voice that called to R2 in basic came from J'onn J'onzz, currently standing at the main station of the control center.

R2 disconnected his computer rod and rolled over to J'onn's position. Speaking and chirping in binary, he asked J'onn what the problem was. Of course, J'onn and more or less everyone in this universe couldn't understand a lick of Droidspeak if their lives depended on it. Because of that, Luke and R2 had helped the League download and translate Binary into the watchtower's mainframe. So if any League member or personnel needed a translation, they could quickly use any screen or tablet that has a binary translator to put R2's words into English.

Some did say that it might make it easier for R2 to have a vocabulary that could speak Basic or any organic language. But personally, he would much rather have his own way of speaking; he likes that some people can't understand him, which makes it easier for him to make fun of people right in their faces without them understanding it.

R2's words went into English on J'onn's screen. "We might need your technical skills at the moment," the Martian explained. "I recently sent a team over to Chong-Mai to investigate a radiation anomaly, but the last transmission I received from them was that they made contact with the local government and were told that they were no longer needed." He looked over to another screen that had a visual map of the region where the J-Wing landed. "I gave them orders to return to the tower, but scans are showing they haven't taken off yet." He gazed down at R2 with his red Martian eyes and curled his forehead as if he had hair to make an eyebrow. "What do you think?"

R2 bounced off his question into at least a hundred different electrical signals and calculations that he derived from his programming and experience in solving communications issues. He then responded a second later, saying that the radiation in the area might be causing the problem.

J'onn looked over the screen to see R2's words. "Is it possible that the radiation is strong enough to disrupt their flight capabilities?"

Needing more information, R2 went to a computer jack next to J'onn's station and looked over the scanners to see the situation. Using the watchtower's satellites and scanning equipment, he saw the radiation anomaly in that part of the Chong-Mai countryside.

It was definitely abnormal. The anomaly radiated enough energy to power an entire heavy cruiser. Instead of staying at one place and dissipating like other leaks of radiation from its source, the radiation anomaly kept wandering slowly around the Chong-Mai region and kept retaining its radioactive material. R2 deduced that it wasn't a stationary nuclear energy station but rather a possible vehicle that has a nuclear reactor with a leak.

R2's main processor came up with conclusions and answers that were dead ends. His answer to J'onn, though, was that the radiation leakage wouldn't be strong enough to disrupt the J-Wing's flight systems.

J'onn nodded after looking at the screen. "Then it seems that their problems are merely communications. If it's alright with you, I'll send you down there to run repairs on their J-Wing," he studies at the screen that is fixed to their coordinates. "It's possible they don't want to depart until their communications are back up."

R2 gave an acknowledgment.

"I'll send you the coordinates," J'onn said. "There shouldn't be any trouble with the Chong-Mai government since we've agreed to leave."

R2 sent a chirp that he'd just do that and went outside the control center and into the nearest turbolift. Pressing the lift's button with one of his arms, he sent the turbolift to turn the tower's hangar bay. The hum of the elevator sounded off in the cabin as he passed from level to level. Halfway down, the lift slowed its speed and stopped at a level to let new passengers come in.

The turbolift door slid open to expose R2 to the lift's newest riders. Across the durasteel-like threshold, there were two female human heroes in two distinct colors.

The female in green had a green top that exposed her tanned midriff and green pants; she had a long flow of light green hair with a green headband. R2's photoreceptors feed data into his memory banks, which search for this female's designation. Her name was Fire; she was a hero from Brazil who had the power of pyrokinesis.

The woman next to her was just as colorful. With short white hair and fair skin, the female had a bodysuit that had colors of white and baby blue. This one's name was Ice, a hero from Norway with the power of cryokinesis.

From what he knew about them through the towers' data banks on hero records and history, these two have been friends for some time. Partners would be the term for it. It seems like the two females were busy talking to each other rather than noticing R2 as they walked into the lift while continuing their discussion before they entered the turbolift.

"So," Fire said teasingly with a noticeable Latin accent that R2's audio sensors picked up. "What do you think?"

They both stepped in and turned around, facing the doors, without acknowledging R2. "Well," Ice said, dragging out the word thoughtfully and saying it with a traceable Nordic voice. "The food court looks good so far, and the training area was definitely a sight to see. Oh! And our rooms look very... "

Fire cuts off her female friend with a shake of a head and says, "No, I didn't mean that!" She said, most offended, pressed a button for their destination and leaned in closer to Ice as if someone else were in the room with them. "What do you think about the men?"

Ice let out a light gasp. "Men? Beatriz, this will be a place of work, and the men here are our comrades; this isn't a place to have boarding school gossip!" Ice protested innocently.

Fire pulled up an eyebrow. "Really?" She put a hand over her hip. "So nobody here catches your fancy?"

"No," Ice strongly stated.

"Absolutely no one?"

"No one here, Beatriz," she said, folding her arms onto her chest.

"Didn't you used to have a crush on Superman?" The emerald-haired Brazilian said.

Color flushed into Ice's face, and she darted her eyes away from Fire. "That's not, that's isn't even—you can't," she stumbled onto her words. "That was a while ago, Beatriz!"

Fire looked at Ice amusingly and said, "I'm just kidding, Tora. I'm just saying that you can never say never." She shifted her eyes and said, "I definitely have some on my list. And I feel like you should too."

As though the Norwegian was charmed and convinced by her Latin friend, she eased up and got somewhat curious: "Not saying that I would, which I will never, who exactly?"

Fire tapped repeatedly on her chin and made a look that suggested she was in deep thought. "Let's see... maybe Vigilante? He's definitely, the country type."

Ice shifted her expression downward. "The cowboy? I don't want to sound offensive to Beatriz, but he seems too American for me."

Fire shrugged. "Fair enough, Hawk; he's got muscles that rival Superman even."

"Hmmmm," Ice let out a cautious hum, "I've heard from his brother that he has a temper problem."

"Okay... What about Green Arrow?"

"The man with the bow and arrow? I thought I heard him say that he was leaving the league or something."

Fire shook her head. "Who knew you were THAT picky, Tora? If I were you, I would just—" she stopped when she heard R2 slightly swivel his head a little.

Tora detects the sound too, and the both of them look behind them, then correct their views at the source downward to R2. Fire commented on their last minute observation, "Uh, how long have you been here?" She asked R2.

R2 beeped out that he's been here since the both of them got here.

Clearly, R2's droidspeak of chitters and chirps meant nothing but confusion beset on them.

"I, uh," Ice said with uncertainty, "I think he said no."

If R2 had the impossible chance of his eye-rolling through his one photoreceptor, he would in that instant.

"It seems that Skywalker's little robot friend was just scratching a ride with us," the white-haired Nordic remarked.

Then, it seemed like a lightbulb activated in the Brazilian's head as she snapped her fingers. "Oh! What about Skywalker?" She gave Ice a devious look: "He has a cute 'boy next door' look to him; definitely doable for you."

Ice went extremely flustered. "Yeah, but..."

"But what?"

"He just seems a little weird," Ice expressed openly. "I read his background, and he's some kind of space monk or something. I guess I can say he's cute, but I don't think he'll be my type."

Fire sighed theatrically, "I guess so... although the benefits of getting with a monk are that he might teach you the kamasutra with you."

Ice's color on her face went from pale to a red that looked similar to the red sun on Tatooine. "BEATRIZ! That's not funny! Don't tease me like that! You shouldn't say such things!"

"I'm just pointing out the benefits, Tora." Fire spoke as if she were innocent. "No need to get mad about it; I just thought he'd be good for you," she said, lifting her shoulders up. "But since you don't want him, then I guess I could take him."

The white haired woman protested, "But you can't do that, Beatriz! He's our teammate now."

Fire gave her a curious look. "Oh? I thought you weren't interested in him."

"I'm not!"

"Then why are you getting mad over me getting interested in him? Unless, of course, you want him for yourself."

R2 never thought a standard baseline human could get so red from emotion after Ice realized that she stepped into Fire's manipulation of words. "FIRE! YOU ARE JUST!-"

This continues for at least some time, a back and forth between Fire laughing while teasing Ice and Ice herself, getting a mixture of anger and embarrassment. According to his in-built chrono, this petty and teasing argument lasted for about twenty one seconds and forty-eight milliseconds. That was, at least, the argument in the turbolift as they reached their stop and continued their talk. They didn't even look at the turbolift level panel to see if they went to the desired level they wanted to go to; they just kept looking at each other and walked off to the hallway.

When the doors sealed themselves and cut off the fire's laughter from R2's audio sensors, the lift continued down to the launching bay. Was it him, or do human females from Earth just talk more than any organic creature or human, for that matter, he's seen? Then again, he wasn't a protocol droid like Threepio; those matters of sentience and understanding were the golden droid's whole purpose.

Finally, the tubrolift descended to the level, and the lift's doors slid open to give an image of the reason why he was here.

The Watchtower's Hangar Bay.

The large room, circular in shape, had several launching bays inside the tall internal wall. In the middle of the circle was a tall tube where the turbolift stations led and stopped at the bay's main control area. Shell-like, the controls are hugged around the tube, halfway up between the bay's floor and upper ceiling. Spread evenly, starting from the control room to the outer edges of the bay staging areas, scaffolding allows personnel and heroes to go to their designated areas for their J-Wings. Huge flat-open elevators lift and lower J-Wings to individual launching bays, other special craft, equipment, and other required resources needed elsewhere.

Though on technicality, he didn't design the Watchtower, like the J-Wing and R2, and to a lesser extent, Luke in this case did help streamline some components, systems, and areas to make them as efficient as any other space station from their Galaxy. That fact about his involvement in this well-rounded system gave R2 a trickle of electrical pride through his processor.

R2 was moving out of the turbolift when a worker dressed in a purple utility suit made out of a highly-specialized flame retardant walked up to him with a data pad. R2's data banks recognized his name tape and uniform designation as the current traffic controller for this shift.

"R2, sir," said the traffic controller, "we have J-Wing eight already prepped and ready for you at bay two. Just like what Mr. J'onn specified."

It took a single second after the man's words were spoken that R2 paused, took a moment to process the necessary requirements for finishing the task at hand, and picked the right outcome. R2 beeps respectfully that he will not need a J-Wing for his mission and would like the current ground crew to quickly prep his own ship.

The controller looked down at his datapad, which automatically translated R2's droidspeak. The man looked momentarily surprised. "Oh, well, sir, are you sure about that?"

R2 chirped that there was no reason for him to take a J-Wing out when he didn't expect that he would need one. Though he suspects that the J-Wing in the Chong-Mai assignment might have some communication issues, knowing the J-Wing's diagrams and schematics would be a simple problem to fix.

The man nodded. "If you insist, sir, We'll try to get her ready for you then." He then pressed his ear comlink and started to issue commands and procedures for the ground crews at R2's request.

Rolling his way out of the busy buzzing control traffic tower and into a scaffolding that led down to his ship, R2 saw his and his master's pride and beauty.

Red-five

Staring alone in her own loading bay, she had some ground crew personnel give her the last ounces of fuel and final pre-flight procedures for her take-off. When done, a ground crewwoman gave R2 a silent thumbs up, and most of the crew went back to their stations. With the help of a crane, R2 locked himself into the X-Wing's astromech port and started to fire up the ship.

Engines roared in anticipation of the mission, and computers and control modules were routing power to several key systems. Getting the go-ahead from flight control through the watchtower's network, R2 thrust the X-wing through the flight tower that led out to the Earth-Moon system. The ray shield had already turned off when he flew out of the tower, and the blue and green orbs hit photoreceptors with the ship's navigation computer, plotting the best and most direct course to Chong Mai.