Chapter 3
When I awoke, several hours had passed. The sun was low in the sky and getting lower. I realized I had activated some kind of 'flash learning' files. My head felt full of strange and wonderful knowledge. In a slight daze, I took up my sword, climbed out of the cockpit and went back to my campsite to have some dinner and go to bed.
All night long, I dreamt of files, commands and controls. When I awoke the next morning it was to a startling realization that I fully understood everything that had been 'flash-burned' into my memory. I understood it on a level of my psyche so deep that only meditation had touched before.
I had a quick breakfast and trained for a few hours. Around noon, I stopped my exercises, cooled off in a nearby river and went back to the clearing from the day before. Again, sitting there was the aircraft that my newly acquired knowledge identified as an Incom T-65 Space Superiority X-wing Snubfighter.
I climbed back into the cockpit to see what would be learned and was not disappointed. This cycle continued for about a week. During that time I learned just about everything there was to learn about the ship. I now knew the basics of fight or flight but I knew I would need practice on both. I had already opened the access hatch on the back of the ship I had seen that first day, and crawled in and identified all the parts and subsystems that were accessible by the pilot, in this case, me.
My supplies almost gone, I had to return to the world and plan my departure. I had already made up my mind to use the ship and leave my homeworld. In learning the ship's systems, I had also figured out why I had always felt like there was something larger in store for me. I finally understood why all my life, I had been drawn to the stars. Something was waiting for me out there, and I aimed to find out what.
Chapter 4
In preparation for my return to the world, I knew that I would need to hide the ship from accidental observation. On the inventory in the main computer, I saw a listing for something called: 'Optic prism camouflage, Type 3 Net'. When I removed the crate from the small storage area underneath the cockpit, I read the instructions on how to use it. During my 'flash-learning' sessions, I had also been taught how to read and write Galactic Standard, or Basic. While its spoken form is identical to spoken English, its written form is more reminiscent of Egyptian hieroglyphics. This was all to the good as that the directions were in Basic and I wouldn't have been able to read them without the language lesson otherwise.
I took the net out of its box, spread it out on the ground flat and pressed a micro-switch in each corner. This activated the 'optic prism' aspect of the net causing it to basically take a picture of what it was lying on. When I turned the net over, I found an identical match to the ground that the net was on. After spreading it over the ship, I took a few steps away and saw that the ship now matched the surrounding forest perfectly. Anything flying overhead would ignore it and unless someone or something physically walked into it directly, they would pass it by without the slightest notice.
From there, I cleaned up my former campsite leaving it better than when I had found it, and drove home.
At that point in my life, I had a part-time job at the dojo and a regular job in town. My parents were both deceased and I had one older brother, a devout bachelor and one older sister who was married and had three children. No girlfriend, no lover, and no wife of my own so I knew at least that part of my life could be left behind easily. I turned in a two week notice to my job in town citing career reasons and at the dojo saying that I was about to go on a training journey that I didn't know if I would ever be returning from.
After giving my remaining family first choice of anything they wanted, I proceeded to sell everything I owned in this world but my sword. My brother and sister confronted me one day, afraid I was preparing to commit suicide. I laughed at first but when I saw they were serious, I decided to tell them the truth. More specifically, I decided to show them the truth.
After everything was sold and done, I placed all of it in a savings account after assigning my two older siblings the 'power of attorney' that they would need to oversee it. If I was able to come back, I might need it. After that, I took them on a little camping trip.