- The following is meant to be a detailed record of my time spent serving in the New Republic. In the event of my disappearance or death, I ask that this be sent to the surviving members of my family.
Day 1 - 17:42:51, Coordinated Galactic Time.
Well hello everyone! I hope this record finds both you and I in good health, but if not, please know that I love you and miss you all very, very much. Anyway, enough of that, I had intended to begin writing this when I entered flight school, but it turns out there's a lot less free time than the promotional holos make you think. Don't worry though; you didn't miss much, just lots of drilling, briefings, debriefings, equipment training, and of course flying. I've never seen so many different kinds of ships in my life! I was placed into an x-wing group because they felt that's where I was best suited. I did well and graduated the academy about a week ago. I'm not the top of my class or anything but I'm not the worst either, average would be a good description I guess.
I thought I'd end up sitting around for a while after graduation, maybe get a chance to see some of Coruscant, but it turns out I've already been placed into a brand new squadron full of people fresh out of school like me. No, we don't have a name yet, so don't go searching the holonet for news stories of our miraculous feats, haha, those will come later. We all had to report this morning for briefing where we were introduced to each other for the first time. After that, they stuck us all on a big transport and shipped us out, which is where I am right now, apparently en-route to some ship called the Allegiance. I don't know why we have to be taken to the ship, or what exactly we'll be doing there, but I'm sure it's just some typical new squadron stuff. Anyway, I should probably go try to get to know some of my squadron mates! I'll write again soon.
Nicho Void tapped a button on the datapad he held, extinguishing the only light source in the small room, plunging him into relative darkness. Rising from the cold deck, he slipped the datapad back into a pocket and straightened out to stretch his cramped muscles. Sighing to himself, Nicho walked out of the room he had secluded himself to and stepped into the harsh light of the transport's lounge; if that's what you could call it. The pilots' "lounge" was nothing but an old cargo hold littered with dilapidated crash couches and battered tables. Netting hung from the walls and cargo containers that had no other place to go were stacked in the corners. The walls had been hurriedly repainted the standard cargo hold grey to cover the nicks and scratches they had received from loose cargo sliding about. Nicho figured it could have been worse; at least they had been thoughtful enough to install a temporary food prep station and a 'fresher.
The other pilots in his squadron were scattered about the lounge engaged in various activities. Some were talking quietly, others reading datapads or anything else they could find, and a few were even napping. Nicho spotted an open seat on a couch that looked as though it had served as some ship's forward shields and made his way across the hold to claim the seat. As he approached, the pilot occupying the other seat on the couch slid over to make more room without looking up from his reading. Nicho slumped down into the seat, surprised by the comfort it provided, and kicked his feet up onto a nearby table. After five minutes of silence and a dozen attempts at finding something to entertain himself with, Nicho surrendered to his curiosity and leaned to his left to try and catch a glance of what the other pilot was reading.
"It's a recipe for a dish from my homeworld." came the answer to Nicho's unasked question.
"Personal favorite of yours or are you just into cooking?" he asked, trying hard to start a conversation.
"Neither really," replied the alien with a short laugh, "I'm just bored out of my mind." He tapped a few buttons on his screen, turning it off, and slipped it into some hidden pocket in the sleeves of his garment. Turning toward Nicho, he stuck out a very large hand and introduced himself.
"Aurto Barills," he said with a smile, "I know we've done this before but I forgot your name and I'd rather ask now than wait two weeks and feel really awkward later."
"No problem," Nicho replied with a genuine laugh as he took Aurto's hand, "Nicho Void, nice to meet you…again. You said that was a recipe from your homeworld right?"
"Yes. Nothing special, it's just something to help with the homesickness."
"Yeah, I know that feeling." Nicho responded with a sigh. "Where is it you're from?" Nicho didn't consider himself traveled by any means, but he liked to think that he recognized a fair amount of the galaxy's species. His new friend's origin however, escaped him entirely. With large hands and tough, leathery looking skin, Aurto was a humanoid in appearance. He had a very muscular neck supporting a set of down-turned horns emerging from either side of his head, giving him quite a fearsome look. Luckily for Nicho, Aurto's looks apparently didn't reflect his disposition. With a friendly smile, Aurto turned to face Nicho a little better.
"I am Iktotchi. My homeworld is the moon of Iktotch, near the Brak Sector."
"Is that mid rim?"
"Nope, Expansion Region, right off the Corellian Run."
"Oh sure, I've got some friends out that way." Nicho said, finally registering the planet's location. "Are you living there now?"
"Sadly, no." responded Aurto. "I've been living on Coruscant for several years now. I originally came to Coruscant with the plan of starting my own hover-taxi business but once I got there, I found out my account was a bit short on credits."
"So what'd you do…?" asked Nicho, glad to finally have a conversation to entertain himself with.
The two pilots continued on with their conversation, hitting on all the details of Aurto's hover-taxi business plan and the things that had gone wrong with it. At Aurto's questioning, Nicho explained his homeworld to him, noting that like Aurto, he had moved to Coruscant a few years ago.
"It wasn't a very hard move for me though," continued Nicho, "Coruscant's very similar, just with a lot more buildings and people and stuff…" Nicho trailed off as he gave a nervous shrug, suddenly realizing that he didn't much want to talk about home. He was grateful Aurto didn't push the subject. After a brief silence, Nicho asked, "Aurto, what do you know about the other pilots here?" Aurto twisted in his seat to try to find a more comfortable spot.
"The girl sleeping in the chair over there is Callista Bree. She was in my class at flight school but I didn't get to know her until right before graduation. We met at a celebration dinner…" explained Aurto with the hint of a smile on his face.
"Ah, catch your eye did she?" Nicho asked, grinning at him.
"Yes…with a right hook."
"What! She threw a punch at you!" Nicho asked as he burst into laughter.
"Threw and connected…hard."
"You have got to be kidding me" replied an unbelieving Nicho. "There is no way that sweet, innocent looking girl hit you!" Looking at his friend, Nicho couldn't imagine himself attacking the huge Iktotchi and surviving for more than five seconds, much less Callista. Nicho himself wasn't a large man by any means, but his compact body and athletic build made him more than capable of handling himself in a fight. Callista though, hardly seemed like an imposing figure. Looking to be below average height with little muscle mass showing, she looked as though she belonged on a vid screen endorsing some beauty product rather than in the cockpit of an x-wing. The long brown hair pulled back into a tight pony tail and angelic features that composed her face didn't help to convince Nicho that she was a trained warrior. Still, perhaps the petite girl wasn't as delicate as she looked.
"Top of our class, graduated with honors," continued Aurto "and I wouldn't be surprised if she hunts Krayt Dragons in her down time. I heard rumors that the guy she was dating in flight school tried to make a move on her and wound up with an arm injury that bacta couldn't fix. Her friends say she's as loyal as they come, but you don't want to get on her bad side."
"Good to know." replied Nicho as he eyed the sleeping girl with a little more apprehension.
"Other than her, I don't know much about anyone really, a few names and homeworlds but you're the first one I've had a chance to sit down and talk with." admitted Aurto. Leaning forward, he pointed subtly to a knot of pilots standing and talking on the far side of the hold. "Those three seem to know each other from flight school. I don't know who the male on the left is, but the one standing next to him is Vosh…Oligard I think it is. I'm not sure where he's from though, I'd guess Coruscant by the looks of him. The female Chagrian standing with them is Malani D'jek."
With blue skin and thick pointed lobes, the Chagrian was hard to miss. Nicho silently wondered how Mevaki was able to wear a helmet.
"Must be modified." Interrupted Aurto absentmindedly, again answering Nicho's unasked question.
"How do you do that!" asked an openly baffled Nicho.
Aurto chuckled and began an explanation that Nicho felt was well rehearsed. "Members of my species are born with a sort of…precognition. Like most species specific skills, our ability to tell the future varies greatly between individuals. I myself am not able to tell the future at all, it's actually a rare gift that few possess and that even fewer can use accurately. The strange thing is that our precognition weakens as we move farther away from Iktotch. As you've noticed, I have a unique ability to know what someone's going to say next, comparable to what you humans call déjà vu. The difference is that it's much clearer for me and it happens more often, depending upon how far I am from Iktotch." He shrugged and gave a slight laugh. "I find it slightly annoying actually; it's not very useful and people always assume that I'm able to read their mind or something."
Aurto grew silent and Nicho took the hint, not wanting to push his new friend into talking about sensitive issues. The silence was just beginning to get awkward for Nicho when a voice came over the comm. system announcing that the docking process with the Allegiance was beginning and that the pilots should make sure their gear was in order for departure. Standing from their seats, the two pilots shook hands and went about their business. Nicho wandered over to the wall and pulled his bag of personal effects out of the spot he had left it in the crash webbing. Slinging it over his shoulder and falling in line with the other pilots, Nicho felt a slight bump as the transport docked with the Allegiance. He could feel his anxiety steadily rising as the line of pilots and crew members slowly made their way out of the ship. Pausing at the doorway, he couldn't help but shake his head and laugh at himself for acting like such a rookie. What's your problem? He thought to himself. It's just the beginning of your entire career...
Taking a deep breath and smiling slightly, Nicho stepped away from the transport and toward the rest of his life.