Snowhere to Go: Chapter Five

I considered myself pretty lucky. Senator Amidala didn't bother to bring along her personal pilot, and Master Obi-Wan was allowing me to fly her ship myself. My Master usually allowed me to fly during most missions. He didn't care for it, he'd told me, which I couldn't understand at all. There's nothing like being in control of a machine that's catapulting you through the stars at hyperspeed.

"Do keep in mind, this is an expensive vehicle, and the Senator is trusting you with it."

I fought not to roll my eyes at the exasperating reminder my Master had just shared. This ship was so advanced it could basically fly itself, but I wasn't about to tell him that. Instead, I replied as I always do with a respectful, "Yes, Master."

"We have plenty of time to get there and we're not trying to break any speed records. Just keep to the flight plan."

"Yes, Master."

"I'll warn you of any trouble ahead of time."

This was getting ridiculous. Did he honestly believe there'd be trouble out here? The Commenor Trade Route wasn't exactly Galactic City and the heavy barges that we did pass were far too big and slow to be a threat. This J-type skiff was sleek, fast, and maneuvered like a dream. I foresaw no issues at all. But instead of saying any of that, I replied, "Yes, Master," as I always did.

It irked me sometimes how very little faith Master Obi-Wan had in my flying capabilities. Didn't he understand how difficult it was for a human to fly in a podrace? Especially a nine-year-old human? And not only to fly in one but to actually win it? I would love to remind him of that fact but learned long ago not to argue with the man. It was much simpler and saved so much more time just to agree with him and pretend to be ignorant.

I knew what I was doing and was prepared for anything.

Except for maybe that little red light that just started blinking.

"What's that?" Master Obi-Wan asked me.

I glanced at the warning light and cringed. "Something wrong with sublight engine two cooling system."

"That's just great."

My Master's tone of voice indicated yet again his lack of faith in my abilities. Not only had I flown in that damn podrace and win it, I actually built the pod myself! I was an expert mechanic as well as a pilot. I just wished he'd realize that!

"Shouldn't be a problem," I told him. "I'll go down there and take a look at it. That is if you can manage to keep the ship moving forward." I teased him.

He smirked at me before taking the pilot's seat. "I'll have you know, I was flying before you were born."

"I didn't realize that way back then, hyperspace travel had been invented yet."

"Funny," Master Obi-Wan chuckled cynically. "Just get that cooling system repaired or we'll be short an engine."

"Yes, Master."

I ducked out of the cockpit and made my way down to the engine room, which was cramped, to say the least. It was located beyond the galley and through a half-wall sliding access door. Once inside, I had to crawl across several grates to reach the coolant pumps.

What I found there was perplexing as well as surprising. It seemed to me as if someone had intentionally removed two of the power flex cables connecting to the turbines. It was an easy fix and immediately cooled the number two hyperdrive engine, but still didn't answer who would do such a thing and why. Seeing as there were only four people on board, and Master Obi-Wan had been in the cockpit since we left Galactic City, that only left the Senator and her handmaiden.

I didn't believe for a second the Senator would vandalize her own ship, which only left that little handmaiden of hers. What was her name? Oh yeah. Dormé.

I decided to inform Padmé of what was going on so she could keep an eye on her bodyguard. But when I crawled back to the access door, I discovered it had been locked somehow. Which was strange since there wasn't a locking mechanism on the door. It was definitely not opening as it should. I pushed, pulled, and even spun around to kick at the thing, but it didn't budge.

Time for more aggressive negotiations. I reached for my lightsaber in order to cut my way out only to discover that I'd left it in the cockpit.

Great. Just great! As if Master Kenobi's advice about flying hadn't been enough to endure, now I had to hear his discourse on how my 'lightsaber is my life and should be with me at all times.' Blah, blah, blah.

Before that, however, I had to figure out a way to get out of here.