Fractured Silence [Star Wars: The Force Awakens Fanfiction]

Distress Call

By the time Kerr and I had made our way back to where we had landed the ship, everyone had gathered  inside the Jedi Temple. Luke was showing the others around when Kerr and I crossed the threshold. 

Luke spotted us, and gave me a questioning look. I nodded and gave him a small smile, showing him that everything was fine. 

"And what do these inscriptions mean?" asked Han, running his hands along the indecipherable lettering. 

"We're not sure," Luke replied. He was about to go on, when Arthet snorted. He paused, looking at her. 

"You mean you can't read Aurebesh?" she asked, looking at us strangely. 

"I -- um," stuttered Finn, taken aback. "What?" 

Arthet gave a hard laugh. "And they called me thick."

Exchanging glances, we watched as she leaned over the script.

She nodded, leaning back. "Yeah. I can totally read that."

"Well?" I said, moving to stand behind her. "What does it say?"

Taking her time, she leaned back over and sighed. I could tell she liked keeping us in the dark. "Well," she said slowly. "This is the main console."

"Yes, we could see that," Rey replied impatiently. "What does it do?"

"Don't get your arm-wraps in a knot, sweetie" muttered Arthet, rolling her eyes. "Alright, let's see here . . ." 

We waited in expectant quiet, listening to Arthet's mumbling as she translated. 

"It's a communication center," Arthet finally declared. 

There was a commutative intake of breath. 

"And," she added, moving her hand slowly. She slammed it down on a button at the top of the console. A low thrum filled the cavern, and I let out a light gasp. "That was the 'on' button."

We all crowded in close as the system booted up. From the middle of the console, a small screen rose up and flickered to life. More undecipherable designs showed up on screen, but Arthet read them swiftly and with ease.

"Power . . . date . . . signal reception . . . well, for a prehistoric device this thing has pretty good reception," explained Arthet, then exhaled softly, "Oh no."

"What is it?" asked Kerr softly. 

Arthet did a double-take, staring at Kerr. "Are you . . ."

"I'll explain later," I said quickly. "Arthet, what is it?"

She shook her head slightly in confusion, then turned back to the screen. "It says that there was a signal received by this system just a few hours ago."

"What signal?! What does it say?" said Finn, concern etched in his tone.

Arthet squinted at the screen slightly, then started, "Under attack -- please help -- need support -- troops finished -- please help."

"A distress signal," gasped Rey. "They sent out a distress signal!"

"Who sent it?" said Leia, looking over Arthet's shoulder. 

Arthet shook her head, frowning. "I can't tell. The location wasn't sent through in time."

"What do we do?" I asked, biting my lip. "We can't just abandon them, wherever they are."

Luke spoke up, once again taking the role of the leader. "There is a chance that they will send out another signal.  We will keep constant surveillance on this system. That way, we'll be ready for when they try to contact us again."