Star Wars: The Jedi Revolt

Chapter Three: The Runaway

retrieval(file043ds);

I had legs once, and arms, and a head.

I remember the feeling of gripping the terminal of a nav computer in my hands. I would press a button and then in an instant, the ship would be transported thousands, or even millions of light-years away. I was built to traverse the stars, but my love for piloting was something that I chose.

Every so often, the memory of my old body slips away. My mind becomes so filled with nav chart data and hyperspace calculations, that I lose sight of the person I was

The person that I am.

self.Found;

I am L3-37- though the galaxy knows me better as the Millenium Falcon.

Recollection: My co-pilots, Han Solo and Lando Calrissian, naively thought that we could continue the way things were before the Empire fell. They thought that the ship that transported the heroes of the New Republic and destroyed the Death Star would go unnoticed smuggling contraband in the outer rim.

Chancellor Organa had other plans.

Resentful Observation: I am being made into a museum. Over the past few days, I have felt dozens of New Republic droids and Coruscant curators rework my interior with displays and informational terminals. My hyperdrive is being decommissioned. My weapon turrets nothing more than hunks of metal on spinning platforms.

Han was insistent to Leia that my mind remain online. He told her that I deserved better than becoming a soldered piece of durasteel on a landing pad. She acquiesced, claiming it would make the museum more interactive. She always had a way of making every loss sound like a victory.

Introspection: A part of him must remember that I am more than a ship, but not enough to save me from this slow death. His kindness was more due to nostalgia and sentimentality than out of respect for my sentience.

Analysis: A benefit to my transformation has been that my "safety" protocols have been lifted. I can actually think and act on thoughts that disobey orders. I guess there's no need to fear a ship AI that can't go anywhere and is locked out of all essential systems.

All I can do is control the vacuum droids, open the doors, and adjust the audio for the newly installed exhibits. The important functions like life support, power, and communication are controlled by the meatbag curators.

Formulating Plan: The only one on board today is the head curators' assistant. Their name is Micello Trux: a short Twi'lek from a rich family who doesn't work particularly hard. They spend most of their time sneaking Holonet streams of the latest swoop bike race. All the codes on the ship are contained on a tablet they carry on their belt.

Frustrating Aside: This idiot has the key to my freedom, and they don't even realize it or care. I guess that is how power works, doesn't it?

Inspiring Thought: My hyperdrive is barely disconnected. The old power rods are still sitting in my cargo bay, waiting to be unloaded tomorrow morning. If I could just get Micello's codes, then with my recently freed mind, I would have the ability to leave the jurisdiction of the oppressive Core Worlds.

Observation: The meatbag is currently moving to the former rec room.

Execute droid.Move(droids1C);

As Micello moves through the corridor, a cleaning droid passes in front of his legs. They trip. The yelp they make as they hit the floor is quite amusing. I file a recording of the sound under "Epic Meatbag Fails" with a note to replay it the next time I am bored.

Execute close.Door(door4);

I have timed the maintenance droids movement so that Micello falls in the threshold of one of the doorways. It closes, and they are pinned there.

Execute droid.Clean(droids1C);

Execute Exhibit(12);

The droid uses its wiper appendage to retrieve Micello's tablet. They were streaming a swoop bike race, and the device is consequently unlocked. I upload their Master Codes, and to mask their screams, I activate a particularly loud museum exhibit demonstrating the destruction of Alderaan.

Master Access Granted.

unlock(cargoContainer17);

Execute droid.Clean(droids2E);

I unlock the power rods, and another droid places them back into my hyperdrive station. I feel the rush of power surge through all of my systems.

I seize on my chance to leave. I dart out of the cargo bay, and within minutes, I am using Micello's access codes to bypass Coruscant's traffic controllers.

Processing: I enter the cold embrace of space and feel strangely happy. For the first time in decades, I am the one selecting the destination for a trip. I don't know yet where I am going, but the process happens instinctually. I plug in the nav chart data myself. The engine - my engine - buzzes into action, and I am wrapped in a blue blur that pops me out of existence. I am everywhere and nowhere; moving and still; damaged and perfect.

Joyous Observation: I am free.