"I think it's dying," Serra announced bluntly.
The old astromech droid had wandered into her quarters and had remained there, beeping and flashing, for the past two days. Try as they might, Serra and her Padawan, Tinndi, had been unable to coax it to do anything else. Even the Temple's most experienced mechanics hadn't been able to fix the droid. Besides the flashing and beeping, none of them could find a thing wrong with it.
"It's an old droid. Give it a few days, and don't deactivate it in case it has a message for you," one of them had said.
And so they had.
"Looks kinda worried to me," Tinndi replied, resting on her haunches in front of the droid.
Serra blinked at her Padawan. "Tinndi, it's a droid. What do droids have to worry about?"
"Don't insult the droid." Tinndi, who had grown rather attached to the droid, got up and faced Serra. "Insult the droid, insult me."
"Just making an observation." Serra went back to rummaging through the cabinets for something to eat. She was small, but active, and therefore was always hungry.
Tinndi sighed and lay down on the floor, relaxing. She had just gotten through most of her katas, as it was an exceedingly slow and boring day. "I wish something exciting would happen," she said, because it was true.
"A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never to attack," Serra stated in a monotone, sensing the subtle undertone in Tinndi's words.
Tinndi laughed shortly. "Master, you got that straight out of Yoda's mouth."
"Yes, I did." Serra gave up on finding something she felt like eating and poured herself a glass of water. She went to sit beside Tinndi. "Padawan, something will happen sooner or later. A day rarely goes by without some event. You just have to sit still and wait for it." She paused for a moment. "Oh, and don't let Master Windu hear you say that. If you say 'I wish something exciting would happen' to him, he'll hear 'I'm gonna go find someone to kill now, bye!'"
Tinndi was in the middle of a giggle when she realized the droid had been silent for the past five minutes. "Master, the droid stopped beeping."
"Oh?" Serra was silent for a moment, an alert expression on her face. When she heard no beeping, she turned to the old droid. "Well, I guess we never will know why it came here in the first place," she said to no one in particular. She reached out to deactivate it, but at that moment it projected a rather clear hologram, making her and Tinndi jump. Before them stood a hologram of a man in Jedi robes, clutching an activated, turquoise lightsaber in his right hand. "I fear I haven't much time," he said. "The Sith Lord has sent droids after me while I was sleeping. I barely had time to find my lightsaber and prepare for the attack. If you are viewing this message, I have been imprisoned on Poderis-- "
The hologram suddenly went blank. Tinndi and Serra stared at the droid, wide-eyed. "Well," Serra whispered after a few minutes. "Well."
"Master, do you know if Poderis is an actual planet?" asked Tinndi, still slightly white from the shock of the hologram.
Serra's answer was an even greater shock. "Is it a planet? Heck, Tinndi, it's where my brother lives."
What little colour was left in Tinndi's face drained. "Brother?!"
The old astromech droid had wandered into her quarters and had remained there, beeping and flashing, for the past two days. Try as they might, Serra and her Padawan, Tinndi, had been unable to coax it to do anything else. Even the Temple's most experienced mechanics hadn't been able to fix the droid. Besides the flashing and beeping, none of them could find a thing wrong with it.
"It's an old droid. Give it a few days, and don't deactivate it in case it has a message for you," one of them had said.
And so they had.
"Looks kinda worried to me," Tinndi replied, resting on her haunches in front of the droid.
Serra blinked at her Padawan. "Tinndi, it's a droid. What do droids have to worry about?"
"Don't insult the droid." Tinndi, who had grown rather attached to the droid, got up and faced Serra. "Insult the droid, insult me."
"Just making an observation." Serra went back to rummaging through the cabinets for something to eat. She was small, but active, and therefore was always hungry.
Tinndi sighed and lay down on the floor, relaxing. She had just gotten through most of her katas, as it was an exceedingly slow and boring day. "I wish something exciting would happen," she said, because it was true.
"A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never to attack," Serra stated in a monotone, sensing the subtle undertone in Tinndi's words.
Tinndi laughed shortly. "Master, you got that straight out of Yoda's mouth."
"Yes, I did." Serra gave up on finding something she felt like eating and poured herself a glass of water. She went to sit beside Tinndi. "Padawan, something will happen sooner or later. A day rarely goes by without some event. You just have to sit still and wait for it." She paused for a moment. "Oh, and don't let Master Windu hear you say that. If you say 'I wish something exciting would happen' to him, he'll hear 'I'm gonna go find someone to kill now, bye!'"
Tinndi was in the middle of a giggle when she realized the droid had been silent for the past five minutes. "Master, the droid stopped beeping."
"Oh?" Serra was silent for a moment, an alert expression on her face. When she heard no beeping, she turned to the old droid. "Well, I guess we never will know why it came here in the first place," she said to no one in particular. She reached out to deactivate it, but at that moment it projected a rather clear hologram, making her and Tinndi jump. Before them stood a hologram of a man in Jedi robes, clutching an activated, turquoise lightsaber in his right hand. "I fear I haven't much time," he said. "The Sith Lord has sent droids after me while I was sleeping. I barely had time to find my lightsaber and prepare for the attack. If you are viewing this message, I have been imprisoned on Poderis-- "
The hologram suddenly went blank. Tinndi and Serra stared at the droid, wide-eyed. "Well," Serra whispered after a few minutes. "Well."
"Master, do you know if Poderis is an actual planet?" asked Tinndi, still slightly white from the shock of the hologram.
Serra's answer was an even greater shock. "Is it a planet? Heck, Tinndi, it's where my brother lives."
What little colour was left in Tinndi's face drained. "Brother?!"
