Star Wars: The Unlikely Hero
--sparkvallen
Disclaimer: Star Wars is copyrighted by Lucasfilm and associated companies. I do not own any of the Star Wars characters, settings, etc.
Chapter Eight
After a languorous dinner at a crowded and - to Falco - exciting diner far from the Jedi Temple, the student grilled his would-be master on a variety of technical topics. Falco Volt wanted to ensure Kire Finelli was as adept as Yoda had claimed with technology and repair work. The Jedi Knight bore Falco's scrutiny well, remaining patient as the boy approached the entire matter of a Padawanship with serious discussion. Once they'd returned to the familiarity of the Temple, Falco then asked for a demonstration of Kire's abilities. After successfully repairing an astromech that he had been working on for the hangar bay, Volt was suitably impressed. He allowed then for a more philosophical discussion, exploring the Force together before Finelli had again approached the topic of becoming his apprentice. Falco agreed, confident that if he could not train with Master Yoda, his destiny was still in good hands.
For all that it was said that Kire Finelli had come from doing the field work of a Jedi Knight, he and Falco remained largely at the Temple. At first, other than having someone else to work with in the repair shop, Falco thought that his situation was no different than the time prior to meeting the Knight in the Room of a Thousand Fountains. He had expected to live the life of Padawan Skywalker, traveling the galaxy on important missions with his master or at least training beyond the confines of the Temple; in this, Falco was sorely disappointed. While his sleeping arrangements changed to have a more private room adjacent to Kire's on a higher level in the complex and he had begun to grow his Padawan's braid, he still felt very much like one who might never become a Knight at all. Of course, none of this was spoken to his master. Falco understood that it was all a matter of patience and he did his very best to emulate Kire's manner of accepting what came at him daily… even if it was the usual comlink and droid repairs. Only after several weeks of working side-by-side with Kire did Falco begin to appreciate the change in his experience. Kire didn't teach him directly; there were no assignments save those that he still had to work on for an occasional course or seminar with another instructor. Instead, Kire's style was conversational, subtle. Falco realized he had to listen to learn because the lessons came as they experienced life together.
Their first mission together as Master and Padawan began with a summons from the Jedi Council early one evening. Kire's comlink had chirped with a message that requested their joint presence and he'd donned his outer woven brown robe. Falco did the same, staring wide-eyed at his Master.
"The… the Council? Like… are you sure you want to bring me in there with you?" Falco asked.
Kire was already well-used to Falco's self-doubts. He placed an assuring hand on the Padawan's shoulder. "Yes, I'm positive. Are you sure you want to be seen in there with me?"
"Yeah, right," he replied as though that was a concern.
The bearded Jedi and his ten-year-old Padawan made their way from their quarters - where they had been previously engaged in a game of dejarik - to the outer chamber of the Jedi Council room. It was a place within the Temple that Falco had never visited despite all the time he'd spent talking with and quietly working with Yoda. He was nearly trembling as they waited to be received and more than once Kire had to remind him of a Calming Meditation to soothe his nerves.
The twin copper hued doors slid open to admit Kire and Falco. They walked in together, Falco moving at a half-step behind his master in order to follow his lead. They stepped into the exact center of the room and Falco breathed an awestruck "Whoa…" when he saw what a view the windows of the Council room had of Coruscant. He was so stunned that it took a patient nudge from Kire to remind him to bow to the Masters of the Order. A murmur of laughter erupted from the High Council to see a new Padawan's reaction. Of the twelve members of the Council, there were only a half dozen assembled.
Falco smiled at Yoda who returned the gesture with a sage nod. He did not speak, though; it was the brown-skinned Master Mace Windu who served as the co-leader of the High Council alongside Yoda who addressed them instead. Windu gave no introduction or greeting but instead proceeded straight to the matter.
"Jedi Finelli, Padawan Volt, as you know, Chad is a swampy world that is nearly three-fourths water. The Chadra-Fan people have dealt with the rising waters and flooding that their homeworld is prone to, at the cost of their very lives."
Chad! That's where Siri was born! Falco thought excitedly. Even though she'd only lived on Chad in her infancy, he was still surprised and excited to know that was where his mission would take place.
"Chad runs an elliptical orbit, one that confounds science," Windu went on, "but recently, the flood waters have risen so high, the Chadra-Fan people facenear-extinction. Your mission is to travel to Chad and organize disaster relief efforts to evacuate the citizens to their recently settled moon until the waters settle. Do you have any questions?"
Kire shook his head no but Falco meekly raised his hand.
"Yes?" Mace asked, raising an eyebrow at the boy.
"Shouldn't Siri and her Master go on this mission since she's from Chad? I mean, I'm not complaining or anything but--"
"Ah, your friend she is!" Yoda said, immediately remembering the Chadra-Fan friend of Falco's. "True it is that from Chad she comes, but dangerous for Siri it would be to involve herself in this, yes."
"So we get to go instead?" Falco asked, dumbfounded. He misunderstood Yoda's mention of danger for physical danger and not emotional concerns for Siri.
"Assist the Chadra-Fan you will. Good lesson for you this will be."
"We'll be alright, Falco," Kire said, catching his Padawan's drift.
"A shuttle will be ready when you are prepared to depart," Windu said, concluding the brief meeting. "May the Force be with you."
"And with you," Kire and Falco said simultaneously. They bowed and exited.
Once outside the copper doors, Falco smacked his palm against his forehead and stared up apologetically at Kire. His agitation was clear and it took the Jedi Knight a few moments of silence before his Padawan could bring himself to speak. They boarded the turbolift that would take them back down to the Archives.
"I'm so sorry! I… see? I told you that you shouldn't have taken me in there!" Falco exclaimed.
Kire folded his arms across his chest, blue eyes gazing down at him. "Falco, what do you think went on in there?"
"I know what happened! I was stupid! Asking dumb questions of the High Council and--"
"You questioned a mission in order to gain clarification and information about our objectives," Kire interrupted, offering a different point of view. "I couldn't have been more pleased."
Falco blinked. "What? Are you serious?"
"Am I ever anything less than serious?"
At this, the Padawan laughed. He knew first hand what a jokester Kire could be, having been the victim of his practical jokes quite often. Falco was just getting the hang of getting his master back with little tricks and even in this, Kire was teaching him to think outside the cargo container to find new and creative ways of doing things.
"So you're not mad at me?"
"Hardly," Kire said, smiling. "It's good to question even the High Council. They are the wisest of the Order but learning more about the decisions they make is a good thing."
Master and Padawan spent the remainder of their evening in the Archives, learning and downloading everything they'd need to know about Chad and its peculiar orbit and weather problems. They learned that - just as Mace Windu had said - it ran an elliptical orbit and seasonally, the planet was prone to severe flooding. This was a large scale issue when the planet was mostly water-based. The Chadra-Fan lived in bayous primarily and most of the mainland was a marsh. Kire was able to bring up information from the HoloNet about the peoples' own efforts at evacuation and was appalled to see how poorly the work had gone. They surely needed the Jedi's influence and experience in rescues in order to get people to safety.
Kire and Falco retired to their adjacent quarters for a night of deep sleep before departing the following morning. Though Falco had been trained from his courses to know what sort of gear to pack and how to travel light, Kire still helped him in putting together a satchel of supplies and foodstuffs that would get them through the mission. Falco was also sure to pack his dissolvable vitamin packets; all he'd need was water in order to get the nutrients he needed and Chad had nothing at all if not water!
Instead of a shuttle as the High Council had stated, they were to depart in a modified Jedi Starfighter. The cockpit was cramped to accommodate two but serviceable enough. Kire insisted that Falco sit in the first seat, offering a greater view, and he sat behind him even though it put more of the controls in his Padawan's hands.
"Take her out slowly," Kire guided verbally. "Easy on the yoke… there you go… that's it…"
"Whoa." Falco stared straight ahead, smiling broadly as he piloted on his own for the very first time.
"You can see the ring we've been designated on your display. Good. Now guide the ship toward it…"
Falco did as he was told, his hand steady despite his nerves at this new test. There was a thunk! as he fit the starfighter into is clamps. Knowing what came next, Falco ensured the ship itself was ready for a hyperspace journey and on Kire's mark rocketed them into lightspeed.
The journey itself was uneventful though it was remarkable to Falco because he had been the captain for their journey. He didn't have much time to dwell on that though because his Master had them both meditate throughout the hyperspace journey. They came back to normal consciousness as the system alerted them to it being time to return to regular space.
"This is Jedi Starfighter 2KL003," Kire announced over the comm. to Chad's authorities. "Permission to land."
There was a pause then the distinctive tone of a Chadra-Fan's accented Basic which came over their earpieces as a screeching voice. With clearance to land on the main marshy continent, Falco brought the fighter down with Kire's guidance. The touchdown was a little rough and the R2 unit attached to the starfighter whined in protest but Falco didn't bother to read the translation on his display; he was relieved enough to have brought them down in one piece on his first time out.
"You see? I told you that you could do it!" Kire said as they raised the canopy.
"I wouldn't take such chances if I were you," Falco quipped in reply, smiling.
Climbing out of the Jedi Starfighter, Kire took the lead as the Chadra-Fan reception party met with them. He bowed and Falco matched him as the duo returned the gesture.
"Jedi Finelli and Volt?"
"We are," Kire said. "You both must be the Ambassadors Serry and Forty?"
"Yes," they said in unison. "We are glad you are here. Please, this way."
Falco had to smile at seeing Chadra-Fan on their homeworld. He'd only known Siri so it was interesting to see how they acted together. Siri wasn't kidding when she'd said that her people were very social and couldn't do anything alone. It was clear in the activities he observed as they walked with the two ambassadors.
"The main problem we have here is that people do not want to leave. There are those who feel that the floodwaters will subside and would prefer to stay in their homes," Serry explained. "Our moon shuttles have been flying at far less than capacity which wastes fuel even though we need to evacuate those who've gone willingly."
"Was this evacuation made mandatory?" Kire asked.
"It was," Forty replied. His voice was far screechier than Serry's. "However, some are resisting."
"But what do we do?" Falco finally asked. "Force people out and to the shuttles?"
Kire gave a roguish smile behind his beard. "Worst case scenario, Padawan."
"Good."
"We'll direct you to the areas with the highest concentration of people who are resisting and provide you with a droid as well to help with translation. I don't believe either of you speak our native tongue, do you?" Serry asked.
Kire looked to Falco who answered for them. "No, sorry. My best friend is a Chadra-Fan but she only spoke Basic."
"Who is she?"
"Padawan Siri Sarae," he said, smiling fondly to think of her.
"Sarae? I know of the family. Good stock," Forty said. "The droid should be able to answer any questions you might have as well. Thank you for coming and… good luck."
