Coruscant Skies
It was invigorating, the feeling one got from being in a Starfighter pilot seat flying over the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Ashlyn always felt free from everything up in the sky weaving in and out amongst the other fighters occupied by her friends. The sky around the Temple had been cleared of public traffic for this piloting lesson so that the Padawans could practice without having to worry about civilians.
"Nice shot Gav," Ashlyn commented as Gav blasted one of the targets.
Then as the group approached the next target blaster fire came from over their heads and hit the target as the Millennium Falcon appeared above them.
"It takes more than a lucky shot," Inoma said as she joined in on the com chatter.
"Hey, when did you guys get back?" Jania asked.
"Only just now," Inoma replied as she did a few fancy maneuvers.
"Do one more round and then come back into the hangar," Anakin ordered through the coms.
"Sure, thing Master," Ashlyn responded, "Let's see who gets the most targets," she challenged the others.
"That won't be much of a challenge," Raven said as he sped up past the others who quickly reacted to catch up.
Laser cannon fire started going everywhere and they were all starting to have to weave in amongst each other, almost crashing in some cases.
"Yeah!" Raven called over the coms in celebration as he hit his second target.
Daly hit the next one which tied the two boys but then as the group rounded the next corner of the Jedi Temple, Jania did a spin maneuver and hit the next three targets.
"You'll have to do better than that boys," Jania said as she laughed heartily.
Ashlyn came up alongside her and twisted her fighter over top of Jania's to shoot the next target, just managing to hit it before Gav did, who was close on their tail. There was only one more target before they reached the hangar entrance which would require a very complicated move to be able to aim at it properly.
"This is where the fun begins," Ashlyn quoted her Master's favourite line as she pulled back on the controls and started the backward loop before making a direct decline to come level with the target. The loop was a success but as she fired Daly came down in front of her and hit the target with a few bolts.
"Daly! Get out of the way!" Ashlyn warned and then the laser cannon fire she had sent hit his Starfighter. Alarms started going off as the back of the Starfighter was hit and Daly started scrambling with the controls with everyone yelling at him through the coms.
"What happened?" Anakin demanded in worry as he approached the entrance to the hangar.
"I got hit," Daly replied as he tried to stabilise the Starfighter.
Then Obi-wan's voice joined the many others on the comlink, "Can you get back into the hangar safely?"
"I'm not sure," Daly said and then he looked at one of the flashing alarms, "Master, my landing gear is gone, and the fighter is leaking hydraulic fluid," he added as he started to panic.
"Okay don't panic, pull the left guarder shaft, that will stop the leakage and come straight back into the hangar," Obi-wan ordered.
Daly nodded, "Okay I'll try," he said as he pulled the lever as directed by his Master and then started the incline up to the hangar opening. As he entered the others came in over the top of his fighter and they landed further away as he stopped the engines completely. Daly sat in the cockpit for a few moments as he saw everyone running over towards him, Ashlyn was the first to reach him as he climbed out.
"Are you okay?" Ashlyn demanded as she hugged him tightly.
"I'm fine," Daly reassured, hugging her back.
Then Ashlyn had stepped back and punched him in the arm, "Good, never do that ever again."
"Ash, I had everything under control," Daly stated confidently which his girlfriend didn't seem to believe one tiny bit.
"Ash is right Daly, that was extremely risky," Obi-wan warned, "I hope you've learnt a lesson from this."
"Yes Master," Daly acknowledged, knowing that even if he tried he wouldn't be able to lie to Obi-wan especially when they shared such a strong bond and the older man had sensed the panic that had filled his Padawan's chest. The two Jedi Masters walked back towards the benches where the others had gathered after Daly's safety had been confirmed.
"I'm just relieved that you're safe," Ashlyn mumbled into Daly's chest as she hugged him tightly again, "That could have turned out far worse if I had hit the engine, you would have plummeted down into the lower levels of Coruscant," she added worriedly.
"Ash, look at me," Daly requested in which she followed, "I would have been fine okay and this is why we have these classes. So that we make mistakes here on Coruscant instead of out there," he said, kissing her forehead lightly.
Ashlyn and Daly made their way over to the table where everyone was listening to Stret talk about the prototype for the project he had been working on for the past few years.
"It's finally finished!" Stret exclaimed in excitement and then he paused, "Well I think."
"Do you want to test it out?" Serin asked, eagerly volunteering for the job.
Stret thought deeply about it for a few moments in silence and then shook his head, "No it's not ready for a field test yet," he stated worriedly.
"Then it's not finished," Gav pointed out.
"It is finished. I just need some other way to test it before it gets a field test," Stret said thoughtfully.
Anakin and Obi-wan exchanged a look, then the younger Jedi Master casually suggested, "Well you could ask Master Dalliqui. He's the Jedi Representative of Republic Engineering so he might know what to do."
"Of course," Stret agreed as he gathered the prototype up in his arms and then ran off towards the door, "Thanks Master Skywalker!" he called out before disappearing out into the hallway.
"Well I better go meet Eric and the others in the hangar to help with the shipment," Inoma said as she headed for the door. Ashlyn exchanged a look with her Master who nodded slightly giving her permission to leave with the others. They all followed Inoma to the adjacent hangar where Eric had docked the Scoundrels Constellation to unload his shipment of supplies.
Obi-wan sighed heavily, "It felt like it was only yesterday when we collected her from Naboo and look how much she has grown and learnt."
"Tell me about it, won't be long now and she'll be off on missions by herself without me to watch over her," Anakin said as the grin wiped off his face. They started walking back towards the damaged Starfighter that Obi-wan's Padawan had managed to get back into the hangar safely.
"I understand how you feel my former Padawan, but she will never be completely alone, not while my Padawan is around at the very least," Obi-wan pointed out.
"Master?" Anakin asked in a low tone voice almost scared of the answer he was going to get, "Do you ever feel like when the time comes you won't be able to let go?"
Obi-wan looked up from where he was crouching on the floor, so he was able to inspect the damage more closely.
"I still have that problem," Obi-wan said softly as he rose to his feet and placed his hand on Anakin's shoulder, "If you remember correctly Master Yoda still hasn't cut our bond which most of the time I am grateful to him for but at the same time it worries me," he added.
Anakin quirked his eyebrow and asked curiously, "Worries you? How?"
"What happened the last time you thought I was dead?" Obi-wan inquired, "What happened to me when Qui-gon died?" he added for extra measure.
Anakin broke eye contact with his former Master and looked at his boots in deep thought, "You never actually told me what happened Master," he said, avoiding eye contact.
"I wouldn't wish it on anyone, not even my worst enemy," Obi-wan said in finality.
The group of Padawans entered the hangar to find Mayken and Paulo already inside talking to Alazea. They approached the ships as Eric, Stones, Gilgaro, Chewbacca and Inoma were exiting the ship with crates full of supplies.
"So how did the supply run go?" Jania inquired curiously as she approached the large collection of crates.
"Decent enough, I just wish that these weren't so expensive to buy," Eric replied sounding exhausted and frustrated.
"What are they?" Gav asked as Inoma placed a crate down.
The Smuggler answered the question by opening the lid to reveal medical supplies by the hundreds, "The Republic and Jedi Order pay good money to Smugglers to get these during difficult times."
"It shouldn't be hard to get this stuff," Raven said slightly confused.
"They usually aren't kid but with this new Sith Empire carving their territory out of the Republic's territory. Well let's just say this is all starting to feel like the Clone Wars again when the Separatists did the same," Stones responded as he thought back to the war and how hard it had been to get supplies from one point to another.
"Let's just hope that this doesn't get any worse than during those years," Gilgaro stated irritably as if talking about it would jinx the past into repeating itself, "I mean Smugglers had it pretty good for jobs, but you risked your life if you worked for both sides which just made everything a whole lot harder."
"You didn't work for both sides, did you?" Jania asked in slight accusation.
"Hell no, I usually work for the Hutt Cartel, didn't trust the Separatists to keep their word and the Republic only likes completely loyal people," Gilgaro snapped back, "Besides Smugglers are supposed to be free lancer's, not having to listen to anyone except your current boss."
"If you don't mind me asking, if you believe that then why are you sticking around the Republic for jobs?" Gav inquired curiously.
"The Hutt Cartel might be neutral, but they are not exactly the most lenient of employers and unless you're really good at the job you are basically writing your name on one of their prison cells or if you're lucky execution list," Gilgaro answered promptly.
A/N: A new day, the next book has arrived. Hope you guys enjoy Book 7.
Ashlyn Dubreas.