Star Wars: Immortal Devotion - The Spiral

Chapter 2 (Part 2)

Coran was already up at the break of dawn, fully dressed and ready to be back aboard his lovely vessel. As he walked out of the manor and towards his ship, he checked the forum on NetHire.

While he had expected at least a couple of the trillions of users to respond to his request, there was only a singular notification and message waiting for him. The user was named Gryphys Kentaega, and his profile revealed that he was a 60-odd year old Ranat, a rodent like species hailing from the outer rim territories.

His occupation was listed as "mechanical expert" and he had left a message specifically addressed to Coran. What was in this message momentarily took Coran aback.

The message read, "Dear Coran J'Bari. I have been trying to find you for a while now. And by the will of the force, I have located you on NetHire of all places. My name is Gryphys and I served on your mother's crew for nearly a decade. She told us all stories of you often, and while it feels like I almost know you, I know that you probably don't know me. I was saddened by your mother's sudden disappearance. However, if you are even half the captain that she was, I am more than willing to meet and discuss working on your ship if you would have me. Let me know what world suits you best to meet in person, and I will board the first shuttle there. Then, we can further discuss my arrangements. Best of luck, Gryphys Kentaega."

Coran was stunned. An old friend of his mother had just reached out to him. And he knew for a fact that his mother only flew with the best. This was the chance of a lifetime. A mechanic with that level of experience could do wonders for the Devotion, and if Coran could prove himself to this Ranat, the creature could turn out to be a loyal and valuable asset later on in the future. He just needed to get off the ground and find a good meeting place.

Coran was thinking of the nearby systems as he boarded his ship when his uncle's voice snapped him out of his mental frenzy. "Are you leaving so soon?"

Coran turned to face his uncle, who was watching the repair team collect their tools. "You know I don't like it here. I need to be out there, among the stars!" His uncle floated up the ramp with a holopad in hand, "well, I just wanted to tell you that Marco Cale's brother reached out to me and he wanted to give you a second chance. They need some scarn taken on a short run and he's out of smaller vessels to transport it in. He wanted to know if you could meet him today and do the job real fast."

"Well, I'm flattered that he doesn't blame me for his brother's death, but I actually need to meet a potential crewman. Some Ranat named Gryphys that used to fly with mom."

Jeremiah looked thoughtfully for a moment, before turning back to Coran. "Yes, I seem to remember her mentioning a Ranat once or twice. I believe he was her mechanic." Coran smiled, "that's the one! He wanted to meet on a nearby planet and I thought I might give him a try. Hopefully he hasn't lost his touch as he's grown older." Jeremiah handed Coran his holopad, "well, luckily for you, Cale's brother is only a few parsecs away. You might be able knock two birds out with one stone."

As Coran reluctantly took the holapad from his uncle's grasp, he looked down at the job description and felt a wave of relief. This was actually a system he'd always wanted to visit.

"Thanks old man," Coran said as his uncle descended back down the Devotion's boarding ramp. "Don't mention it, son. It's my job," he said with a slight smile. "By the way, I had my service crew spruce up those pod hatches in the back of the ship. When I ordered the Devotion, I had half a dozen custom made snub fighters come with her to be attached back, just in case I ever get into a dogfight. They're still back in the hangar collecting dust, so when you get back, we'll fit your ship with two or three of them for a little added protection."

Coran flashed a grin at his uncle, "You know what? You're not so bad."

As the door sealed shut, Coran made his way to the cockpit. He could hardly contain his excitement. Not only was he picking up the first member of his very own crew, but it was someone who knew his mother and who could help him understand the in's and out's of smuggling better than he did at the moment.

Aside from that, he was also getting to travel to the planet in every smuggler's greatest dreams, for a job that he would hopefully, finally get paid for.

As he primed the engines and unlocked the landing gear to prepare the liftoff sequence, he grabbed his holopad and opened up Gryphys's request. He thought about typing out an entire paragraph of questions and conversation pieces, however, he decided to leave those for the countless hours the two of them would be stuck on the Devotion together. Instead, he decided to simply reply with his destination. A single word:

"Kessel."