"Sith!" The surge of success coming from Luke before he had jumped
into hyperspace assured Ani he would be coming back. Soon.
"I have to go." In a daze Ani wheeled back towards his ship.
"Hey!" Jain cried, catching hold of his friend's arm. "I bought you lunch! You're gonna fix this regulator!" Jain had seen the Tie fighters and figured that something about them had caused Ani to mutter about his son. Son? The kid was barely twenty-five. Anyway, he was not about sacrifice good credits to Ani's mysteries.
"Fine." Ani grabbed the faulty part, jumped into the maintenance well, opening himself to the Force. It was like coming home. Even though thoughts were whirling through his head, and he was still far from calm, the simple repair and installation were instinctive. Barely a half-hour later, he was back in his ship, seeing if he would be able to coax a little more speed from the sublight engines and reinforcing the shields.
In that brief touch with Luke's mind, he had seen the fact of the Knight's search for an ally to train. Knowing that Padme's tendency for stubbornness had to be in Luke somewhere, he had little time to get as far away from Ord Mantell as he could.
Ani's old affinity with mechanics was heightened by his conscious use of the Force. He stopped every once in a while to make sure that he was calm and using the light side, but otherwise he worked straight through the night and well into the next day.
Ani had no idea how much time had passed when he emerged from his ship. He headed to Jorrin's.
Once there, he headed to a shadowy corner with his drink and dinner, deep in thought. Luke is coming. I have to go, I can't destroy his life again. What was he even doing here? Where do I go from here?' He was so deep in thought that he didn't even notice Ogin plunk himself down in the seat across from Ani.
"So you're Ani?" The pilot said with a sneer. "Boss' looking for you. Saalot seems to think you're the Empire's gift to flying. I don't see it myself, but you know, whatever the boss says-. What's up with you?" Ogin glared across the table at him, finally noticing the complete lack of attention his successor was giving him.
Ani finally looked up. "Sorry? I didn't hear you."
"How could you not have heard me, I'm sitting right here? What's up?"
"I'm-uh, thinking of leaving for a while." Ani was only halfway into the conversation, not really thinking about his answers.
Ogin was, and he decided to take advantage of the easiest way of making unwanted competition disappear. "Well, that would be tragic Ani, but you know, I've worked with Saalot and the Starlight before, I could take over for you. It's not like you'd be leaving her in the lurch. What's the problem? You running from somebody?"
"Yeah, sort of, um, you mentioned Saalot, did she say she wanted me for something?" Ani rose to go.
"Oh no, I just thought-"
"Okay, I'll go, it was nice to meet you. Again. Ogin." Still deep in his own problems Ani walked out.
Ogin was fuming. He wasn't used to being ignored so completely. He was a large man, for a human, and he wasn't about to let some kid steal his job and then insult him. Jorrin came over to clear the plate and mug from Ani's table.
"Can you believe that kid, walking out on me like that? I've never been so insulted. He's running off on Saalot, did you know?
"What are you talking about? Ani's a decent guy. He's responsible and is never late with shipments; he wouldn't abandon her or the business. I think you're jealous." Ogin followed him over to the counter.
"Really? Than why is he so distracted? Saalot's been looking for him since zenith yesterday, and no sign of him. He just said he was running away from something."
"I don't believe you. Hey," Jorrin yelled to get the whole tapcafe's attention. "Anyone notice anything strange about Ani lately?"
"Yeah!" A voice spoke up. "Remember when those Ties screeched over yesterday?" Jain came over to where Ogin and Jorrin were standing. "Ani stopped dead for a minute, muttered something and then tried to bolt."
"What? Then what happened?"
"He tried to bolt. I stopped him, 'cause he owed me a repair job. He raced through it too, I'd complain, but it's flawless work; you can't even tell it was broken."
"Where'd he go after he fix it?"
"I don't know. Probably his ship. You know how he's been re- building that old wreck."
"Hasn't looked like a wreck lately." By this time all the regulars in the place were interested in their best mechanic/pilot. They all looked over at the veteran spacer who had spoken.
"What do you mean Roa?"
"I mean when Lwyll and I came in this morning, I went to look at it. It's done. I don't know what Ani's been working on so busily in there. Maybe tweaking things a little bit, but otherwise, she's spaceworthy."
This may not seem like big news to the average traveler, but these guys knew Ani. They knew how hard he had been working. They knew that this ship was more than just a repair job to him, it was an almost religious experience. Or at least, that's how they saw it.
"It wasn't done last week."
"Didn't he still have to put the hyperdrive in?"
"What's he gonna call her?"
"This must mean he'll be leaving!"
"He's abandoning Saalot!?!" The hue and cry over this was just what Ogin wanted. Ani may have been friends with everyone, but Saalot was beloved. She had pulled almost every spacer in the place out of trouble or ruin at least once. Chuckling to himself, Ogin slipped out into the night, while Jorrin tried to calm everyone down. 'Ha.' He thought 'That will teach you to move in on my job Ani. You better be getting out of here real quick, 'cause it'll get ugly for you around here. I'll make sure of it.'
***
Ani, meanwhile, was oblivious to all this. The next morning he was ready to go. He had already filled up his ship with enough supplies to last for a long while. He transferred his belongings from the locker on the Starlight, including the scrapbook he had picked up on Naboo. Now all he had to do was tell Saalot he was leaving. It was not going to be easy. Luckily, he was spared having to leave the ship. He opened the door just as Saalot was raising her hand to knock.
"Ani! Where have you been? I've been looking for you for days and then when I ask Jorrin if he's seen you, he starts mumbling that you're leaving. What in space is going on?"
"Jorrin's right, Saalot. I'm not sure how he found out, but he is right. I was coming to tell you, but anyway, I have to go and I can't explain."
"Excuse me? You think I can replace you that easily? Ani, where do you think I can find someone who is as reliable as you? I can't believe that you're-."
"Look, you aren't short, Ogin's here and he knows the Starlight and can do very well, if not better. If I stay-," Ani's voice trailed off in a sad shake of his head.
"What happened? Weren't things going well? I mean, everyone likes you. Um- is it the pay? I'll increase it, just don't," she sighed. "Don't leave."
For a long minute, they just looked at each other. They had grown to be friends, and both knew that they would miss each other. But, even so, Ani knew, just as strongly, he had to leave.
"Saalot, someone will come around looking for me. I don't, I can't see him right now. It's just too -. Anyway, could you just not tell him anything? You know me best and if he could stop looking for me, it would be the best thing for everyone."
"What are you talking about? Someone's looking for you? Ani, you don't get so much as a speeding ticket in spaceports. What is wrong?" Her inquiries fell on deaf ears. Infuriated at being so rudely treated after her best pilot told her he was bailing, she followed his gaze.
Across the landing bay, four stormtroopers, along with a maintenance crew, were investigating a cargo ship that had come in a few hours ago. Their voices carried. "Says it came in from Corpus Major, but the trajectory was more like Imperial Center." One of the mechanics said. A stormtroop replied, "That's rebel territory now, we'll have to question the owner." All of a sudden, the group seemed to change their minds. "Corpus major? Long trip, I- oh, hello sir." The mechanic greeted the captain of the stormtroopers, who looked thoroughly confused. "Everything in order?" Recieving an affrimative answer, the squad moved on.
That did seem odd to Saalot, but not worthy of the alarm that was scrawled across Ani's face. "Sith." His eyes started scanning the spaceport. He started talking, hurredly. "Saalot I need to leave now. I'll be back I guess. Maybe I can meet you at a Ships and Services conference sometime." He turned and ran up the ramp. As he drew it in and started to seal the hatch, Saalot heard a muffled, "May the-, Goodbye Saalot, I'll miss you." Less than two minutes later, the ship started to rise in one of the fastest cold-start procedures she had ever seen. The sleek shadowed blue and gray vessel streaked off through the atmosphere of Ord Mantell, into space. What had that been all about?
Saalot made her was back to Jorrin's tapcafe and sat down in a daze.
"He's gone." Jorrin came over to stand across her at the bar, proceeding to pour her a drink.
"Gone? Ani? Why? What was he thinking?"
"He mentioned that someone would be coming after him, but that doesn't make sense, he-. What does it matter? He's gone. He even flew through some excuse that he would try to find me someday. Oddly I belive him. Of all the men who I've helped and have left then lied, somehow I belive him." She stared deep into her cup, musing.
"You know you weren't acutally dating Saalot. It isn't as if-."
"I know that!" Saalot snapped back. "He's a good colleague. He saved the company serious credits in repairs, and time off runs. He'll be missed but not irreplaceable. I'll take him up on his suggestion and ask Ogin back. It will be as if he was never here."
"It'll be okay. He'll shake whoever is following him and come back, you'll see. Then you dump Ogin, or whoever you decide to have fill in for Ani."
"I have a terrible feeling that the next time I see him, he'll be completely changed. Like I never knew him."
"Why would you think that? Ani's about as predictable as a squad of stormtroopers."
"But that's just it! Why would he leave all of a sudden, out of the blue? Like before, when I caught up with him, he was definitely trying to get out of here and then he was watching a bunch of Imps and they seemed to change their minds about a ship they had thought suspicious and Ani got panicked. He practically bolted out of here. So, so quickly."
"Maybe it's the Imps. Jain said he bolted a few days ago after seeing a couple of Ties fly overhead."
"But he's been around Imps before. He's never acted quite this way."
"So Saalot, I hear you're short a pilot." Ogin plunked down precisely where he wasn't wanted. "When can we discus my rates?" Ogin never bothered to lower his voice so the whole tapcafe heard him.
"Who left Saalot? It wasn't Ani was it?! I'll kill him, he had no right to bail on you like that!" Were only some of the cries that assaulted neighboring ears. Others were dismayed. "Now who's gonna fix my hyperdrive for me? I'll have to use those cheap, over pricing Imp mechanics. Man, I wonder who's gonna win the trade races now? I'll have to place another bet." With all the commotion, none noticed a tow-headed man in black slip quietly out the door.
~~~~
Okay. The guy mentioned in the last paragraph was Luke. Obviously. He was also the one messing around with the Imperial minds. So what did you think? How bad was it? Listen, Ani is going to realize the magintude of what he did when he tried to save Luke and decide he needs to train again to use the Force. Will he go to his son? Will he strike out on his own? Is Saalot ever going to see him again? Should she, or should Ani remain faithful to the memory of Padme? And is Ogin just a jerk, or has he been up to something sinster for the past six months? All this and more when I get seven more reviews. Or maybe six. Thank you.
"I have to go." In a daze Ani wheeled back towards his ship.
"Hey!" Jain cried, catching hold of his friend's arm. "I bought you lunch! You're gonna fix this regulator!" Jain had seen the Tie fighters and figured that something about them had caused Ani to mutter about his son. Son? The kid was barely twenty-five. Anyway, he was not about sacrifice good credits to Ani's mysteries.
"Fine." Ani grabbed the faulty part, jumped into the maintenance well, opening himself to the Force. It was like coming home. Even though thoughts were whirling through his head, and he was still far from calm, the simple repair and installation were instinctive. Barely a half-hour later, he was back in his ship, seeing if he would be able to coax a little more speed from the sublight engines and reinforcing the shields.
In that brief touch with Luke's mind, he had seen the fact of the Knight's search for an ally to train. Knowing that Padme's tendency for stubbornness had to be in Luke somewhere, he had little time to get as far away from Ord Mantell as he could.
Ani's old affinity with mechanics was heightened by his conscious use of the Force. He stopped every once in a while to make sure that he was calm and using the light side, but otherwise he worked straight through the night and well into the next day.
Ani had no idea how much time had passed when he emerged from his ship. He headed to Jorrin's.
Once there, he headed to a shadowy corner with his drink and dinner, deep in thought. Luke is coming. I have to go, I can't destroy his life again. What was he even doing here? Where do I go from here?' He was so deep in thought that he didn't even notice Ogin plunk himself down in the seat across from Ani.
"So you're Ani?" The pilot said with a sneer. "Boss' looking for you. Saalot seems to think you're the Empire's gift to flying. I don't see it myself, but you know, whatever the boss says-. What's up with you?" Ogin glared across the table at him, finally noticing the complete lack of attention his successor was giving him.
Ani finally looked up. "Sorry? I didn't hear you."
"How could you not have heard me, I'm sitting right here? What's up?"
"I'm-uh, thinking of leaving for a while." Ani was only halfway into the conversation, not really thinking about his answers.
Ogin was, and he decided to take advantage of the easiest way of making unwanted competition disappear. "Well, that would be tragic Ani, but you know, I've worked with Saalot and the Starlight before, I could take over for you. It's not like you'd be leaving her in the lurch. What's the problem? You running from somebody?"
"Yeah, sort of, um, you mentioned Saalot, did she say she wanted me for something?" Ani rose to go.
"Oh no, I just thought-"
"Okay, I'll go, it was nice to meet you. Again. Ogin." Still deep in his own problems Ani walked out.
Ogin was fuming. He wasn't used to being ignored so completely. He was a large man, for a human, and he wasn't about to let some kid steal his job and then insult him. Jorrin came over to clear the plate and mug from Ani's table.
"Can you believe that kid, walking out on me like that? I've never been so insulted. He's running off on Saalot, did you know?
"What are you talking about? Ani's a decent guy. He's responsible and is never late with shipments; he wouldn't abandon her or the business. I think you're jealous." Ogin followed him over to the counter.
"Really? Than why is he so distracted? Saalot's been looking for him since zenith yesterday, and no sign of him. He just said he was running away from something."
"I don't believe you. Hey," Jorrin yelled to get the whole tapcafe's attention. "Anyone notice anything strange about Ani lately?"
"Yeah!" A voice spoke up. "Remember when those Ties screeched over yesterday?" Jain came over to where Ogin and Jorrin were standing. "Ani stopped dead for a minute, muttered something and then tried to bolt."
"What? Then what happened?"
"He tried to bolt. I stopped him, 'cause he owed me a repair job. He raced through it too, I'd complain, but it's flawless work; you can't even tell it was broken."
"Where'd he go after he fix it?"
"I don't know. Probably his ship. You know how he's been re- building that old wreck."
"Hasn't looked like a wreck lately." By this time all the regulars in the place were interested in their best mechanic/pilot. They all looked over at the veteran spacer who had spoken.
"What do you mean Roa?"
"I mean when Lwyll and I came in this morning, I went to look at it. It's done. I don't know what Ani's been working on so busily in there. Maybe tweaking things a little bit, but otherwise, she's spaceworthy."
This may not seem like big news to the average traveler, but these guys knew Ani. They knew how hard he had been working. They knew that this ship was more than just a repair job to him, it was an almost religious experience. Or at least, that's how they saw it.
"It wasn't done last week."
"Didn't he still have to put the hyperdrive in?"
"What's he gonna call her?"
"This must mean he'll be leaving!"
"He's abandoning Saalot!?!" The hue and cry over this was just what Ogin wanted. Ani may have been friends with everyone, but Saalot was beloved. She had pulled almost every spacer in the place out of trouble or ruin at least once. Chuckling to himself, Ogin slipped out into the night, while Jorrin tried to calm everyone down. 'Ha.' He thought 'That will teach you to move in on my job Ani. You better be getting out of here real quick, 'cause it'll get ugly for you around here. I'll make sure of it.'
***
Ani, meanwhile, was oblivious to all this. The next morning he was ready to go. He had already filled up his ship with enough supplies to last for a long while. He transferred his belongings from the locker on the Starlight, including the scrapbook he had picked up on Naboo. Now all he had to do was tell Saalot he was leaving. It was not going to be easy. Luckily, he was spared having to leave the ship. He opened the door just as Saalot was raising her hand to knock.
"Ani! Where have you been? I've been looking for you for days and then when I ask Jorrin if he's seen you, he starts mumbling that you're leaving. What in space is going on?"
"Jorrin's right, Saalot. I'm not sure how he found out, but he is right. I was coming to tell you, but anyway, I have to go and I can't explain."
"Excuse me? You think I can replace you that easily? Ani, where do you think I can find someone who is as reliable as you? I can't believe that you're-."
"Look, you aren't short, Ogin's here and he knows the Starlight and can do very well, if not better. If I stay-," Ani's voice trailed off in a sad shake of his head.
"What happened? Weren't things going well? I mean, everyone likes you. Um- is it the pay? I'll increase it, just don't," she sighed. "Don't leave."
For a long minute, they just looked at each other. They had grown to be friends, and both knew that they would miss each other. But, even so, Ani knew, just as strongly, he had to leave.
"Saalot, someone will come around looking for me. I don't, I can't see him right now. It's just too -. Anyway, could you just not tell him anything? You know me best and if he could stop looking for me, it would be the best thing for everyone."
"What are you talking about? Someone's looking for you? Ani, you don't get so much as a speeding ticket in spaceports. What is wrong?" Her inquiries fell on deaf ears. Infuriated at being so rudely treated after her best pilot told her he was bailing, she followed his gaze.
Across the landing bay, four stormtroopers, along with a maintenance crew, were investigating a cargo ship that had come in a few hours ago. Their voices carried. "Says it came in from Corpus Major, but the trajectory was more like Imperial Center." One of the mechanics said. A stormtroop replied, "That's rebel territory now, we'll have to question the owner." All of a sudden, the group seemed to change their minds. "Corpus major? Long trip, I- oh, hello sir." The mechanic greeted the captain of the stormtroopers, who looked thoroughly confused. "Everything in order?" Recieving an affrimative answer, the squad moved on.
That did seem odd to Saalot, but not worthy of the alarm that was scrawled across Ani's face. "Sith." His eyes started scanning the spaceport. He started talking, hurredly. "Saalot I need to leave now. I'll be back I guess. Maybe I can meet you at a Ships and Services conference sometime." He turned and ran up the ramp. As he drew it in and started to seal the hatch, Saalot heard a muffled, "May the-, Goodbye Saalot, I'll miss you." Less than two minutes later, the ship started to rise in one of the fastest cold-start procedures she had ever seen. The sleek shadowed blue and gray vessel streaked off through the atmosphere of Ord Mantell, into space. What had that been all about?
Saalot made her was back to Jorrin's tapcafe and sat down in a daze.
"He's gone." Jorrin came over to stand across her at the bar, proceeding to pour her a drink.
"Gone? Ani? Why? What was he thinking?"
"He mentioned that someone would be coming after him, but that doesn't make sense, he-. What does it matter? He's gone. He even flew through some excuse that he would try to find me someday. Oddly I belive him. Of all the men who I've helped and have left then lied, somehow I belive him." She stared deep into her cup, musing.
"You know you weren't acutally dating Saalot. It isn't as if-."
"I know that!" Saalot snapped back. "He's a good colleague. He saved the company serious credits in repairs, and time off runs. He'll be missed but not irreplaceable. I'll take him up on his suggestion and ask Ogin back. It will be as if he was never here."
"It'll be okay. He'll shake whoever is following him and come back, you'll see. Then you dump Ogin, or whoever you decide to have fill in for Ani."
"I have a terrible feeling that the next time I see him, he'll be completely changed. Like I never knew him."
"Why would you think that? Ani's about as predictable as a squad of stormtroopers."
"But that's just it! Why would he leave all of a sudden, out of the blue? Like before, when I caught up with him, he was definitely trying to get out of here and then he was watching a bunch of Imps and they seemed to change their minds about a ship they had thought suspicious and Ani got panicked. He practically bolted out of here. So, so quickly."
"Maybe it's the Imps. Jain said he bolted a few days ago after seeing a couple of Ties fly overhead."
"But he's been around Imps before. He's never acted quite this way."
"So Saalot, I hear you're short a pilot." Ogin plunked down precisely where he wasn't wanted. "When can we discus my rates?" Ogin never bothered to lower his voice so the whole tapcafe heard him.
"Who left Saalot? It wasn't Ani was it?! I'll kill him, he had no right to bail on you like that!" Were only some of the cries that assaulted neighboring ears. Others were dismayed. "Now who's gonna fix my hyperdrive for me? I'll have to use those cheap, over pricing Imp mechanics. Man, I wonder who's gonna win the trade races now? I'll have to place another bet." With all the commotion, none noticed a tow-headed man in black slip quietly out the door.
~~~~
Okay. The guy mentioned in the last paragraph was Luke. Obviously. He was also the one messing around with the Imperial minds. So what did you think? How bad was it? Listen, Ani is going to realize the magintude of what he did when he tried to save Luke and decide he needs to train again to use the Force. Will he go to his son? Will he strike out on his own? Is Saalot ever going to see him again? Should she, or should Ani remain faithful to the memory of Padme? And is Ogin just a jerk, or has he been up to something sinster for the past six months? All this and more when I get seven more reviews. Or maybe six. Thank you.