Star Wars: The Ancient Force

C H A P T E R . 6 -- Day Of Training

THE CHILDREN ENDURE REPRIMANDS from their supervisors, reprimands that stop the instant they see who the children are running to. The small ones surround Luke and his group as they walk towards the elevator building. Han grumbles from almost tripping over one, but Luke doesn't mind them. He touches the heads of the small ones as a loving father would and waves goodbye to the teens & supervisors waving from afar.

With Terigo walking in front of Luke, moving just as slow, surrounded just as much, he feels thankful to have such numerous and uplifting reasons to avoid looking at the woman. The teens get back to work immediately as the four enter the building, but the small ones wave at Terigo as she keeps her attention on them. Her attention stays on them long after they're in the elevator, fiddling with a leafy twig between her fingers. Her mind eventually wanders to the twig to think of memories, allowing it all to distract her from looking at Luke standing right across from her. Luke closes his eyes to meditate to avoid seeing her too, using the jarring noise of the freight elevator as practice for strengthening meditation focus.

.

Entering the Millennium Falcon, Luke and Han board first while Chewbacca and Terigo mosey well behind, each pair chatting with the other.

Luke replies, "And I thought I was the one up late."

Han says, "Well you know how I like first dibs on valuable secrets. And this one's hot. I sent word late last night on where I'd be going. It will get to the General soon enough, then Leia. Told them you might come along but I wanted to run it by you first."

"Go on." They both sit in the cockpit and keep the door open, listening for the other two.

"The planet has been uninhabitable until just recently. Been that way for thousands of years apparently. We're talkin' volcanoes, acid rain, the works. But they found loads of iron ore and a bunch of other age-old junk, so now everyone's fighting to get a piece. I didn't think you'd be interested except Lando mentioned the Imperials already have a base and are sending their newest technology, and that some Sith Lord is funding it directly."

"Hmm..." Luke says. "Our forces won't be able to get in there soon enough if a Sith Lord is that interested in it."

"I'll be heading there immediately but I can still drop you off if you're not interested. But there's a small group of Rebels scattered around the planet and then various neutrals, so I'm sure they're more than willing to accommodate for" —laying some sass— "Jedi Hero Luke Skywalker." When Luke rolls his eyes, Han realizes too late that this particular moment was not the best time to mock civilian's fascination with a Jedi. It was only by old habit, out of cynicism for pedestrian minds, not out of disrespect for Jedi skills, not anymore at least. Now, after seeing two Jedi take down twenty stormtroopers like that, he began to doubt his own skepticism of civilian interests.

Luke says, "I'm not so sure. If the Imperials are growing faster than others, they may find that siding with us is dangerous."

"Well—"

"But I'm in," Luke says with a determined, distracted look in his eye. Anything to take his mind off the recent mental chaos.

Han perks up, almost afraid Luke wasn't going to bite at adventure like he does. "Well, we'll see how things are. I can sift through the natives for info, but..."

"Yeah, we'll be on our own completely this time. No test assaults, no one to scout the enemy total. We could be there a long time, and meanwhile their troops will grow as soon as they hear a Jedi has landed."

"Well she can read minds," saying it thinking Luke would love the idea. "We can just throw her into a field of stormtroopers to fish for information." Now joking, "You know, with a little string attached, then reel her back in and see what we caught."