SoftWare: On we go!

Gakowa: Oh, this one.

Chapter Eight

Reality Check

(EV Leto, Kiros system)

Gakowa sat in his guest quarters aboard the Leto. They hadn't detected any Centennial cruisers for the time being, but Gakowa preferred to be careful. As he thought this, his

comm went off. "Gakowa, you're needed on the bridge." He picked up his weapons, clipped them to his belt, and walked to the bridge. Outside of the lift, he bumped into Sakowa,

who joined him in the lift. Inside the lift, Sakowa faced her brother. "Kinda reminds me of 'Take-Your-Kid-to-Work-Day.'" Gakowa snorted. "You wanted some bubble gum,

remember?" She giggled. "Oh, yeah, and Mom didn't think it was a good idea, because she didn't want me getting it in my hair in my human form." The twins kept laughing.

When they stopped, Gakowa sighed. "I wonder how Skywalker is doing." Sakowa faced him. "Which one? You've met two." Facing his sister, he said, "Which one have I saved

recently?" Sakowa nodded in understanding. Facing her brother, she asked, "What do you think Mom wants?" Gakowa faced her. "We'll see." As the lift arrived, they walked into

the bridge, where their mother and grandmother were waiting. Shaak spoke up. "We've detected an Olympus-class cruiser in the system." Gakowa faced his mother. "I thought

they were all heading back for Earth for supplies." Ahsoka nodded. "That's what confuses us. I figured you could use your detective skills to figure this out." Gakowa faced the

helmsman. "Do we have an IDC?" The helmsman nodded. "OG-07." That got Gakowa's attention. "The Apollo? But it was destroyed." The helmsman nodded. "Yes, sir." Gakowa

faced the viewer, and looked at the commsman. "Hail them." The commsman nodded. "Apollo, this is the Leto. Please respond." There was static. Gakowa faced the lieutenant.

"Scan for life signs." The officer nodded. Upon completing his task, he said, "No life signs, sir." That confused Gakowa. He faced his mother. "I think we should board it, see

what's going on." Ahsoka nodded. Facing her first officer, she said, "Commander, you have the bridge." The Commander nodded. Soon, the Eagle approached the cruiser, flying

underneath. There were scorch marks on the belly of the hull. As they got closer, they opened the starboard hangar, then boarded. They were surprised to see another ship in

the hangar, of the same design as the Eagle. Gakowa made up his mind. "I'm going to Engineering, see if I can get the power back online." Sakowa nodded. "I'm coming with

you." Ahsoka faced her mother. "I guess we'll go to the bridge." When they got there, Ahsoka manned the helm, and looked over what systems were still online. "We have life

support and shields, as well as sublight engines. THe hyperdrive is burned out, but I am detecting another device in the ship." She tapped her wrist comm. "Gakowa, I'm

detecting an unknown device in the ship. Can you see what it is?" The sound of typing came through. "The records state it as a 'reality-drive'. I'm not sure what that means, so

I'll keep looking at it." His comm deactivated. Ahsoka faced her mother. "Did you learn how to handle the Terran cruisers, like I suggested?" Shaak nodded. "It was a difficult task,

but it was beneficial." Ahsoka nodded. "I need you to man the comm, keep an eye on what systems are online. If we get the weapons online, I'll see if they still have power."

Shaak faced her. "What will you fire on?" Ahsoka faced her. "On that asteroid field over there." Shaak nodded. Just then, a bright flash enveloped the ship, then vanished just as

quickly. Ahsoka's comm went off. "Hey, Mom?" Ahsoka answered it. "Yes, Gakowa?" He sighed. "I have good news and bad news." She raised a facial marking. "Go on." His

voice did not betray his irritation. "The good news is I found out what the 'reality-drive' does. It sends the ship through parallel universes." Ahsoka faced her mother, then said,

"And the bad news?" Gakowa sighed on his end. "The drive just kicked in. We were sent to another universe." Ahsoka's eyes widened in shock. Facing her mother, she sighed,

and asked, "Does this mean the ship is from another universe where someone was able to create this device?" Gakowa answered. "Yep. This cruiser was commanded by a

Colonel Josh Edison. It was apparently commisioned in 3015. According to the log, they couldn't control the reality-drive, and abandoned the ship because of it. I don't know

what universe they're in now, so we can't help them." Ahsoka nodded. "Can you restore the rest of the power?" Gakowa answered, "I can get turbolasers and rail guns online, but

there aren't any missiles onboard." Ahsoka sighed. "How about the replicators?" Gakowa sighed. "Only the ones on the bridge deck and on the engineering deck." Ahsoka

sighed. "Well, that's a start." Gakowa sighed on his end. "Sakowa's checking out the rest of the ship, to see if she can find anything we can use. I'll check on her in a minute."

His comm went out. Right afterwards, Ahsoka's comm went off. She sighed. "What?" Sakowa sighed. "I found something I think you all should see. I'm on Deck 13." When they

got there, they found Sakowa standing in front of a cargo room, and they peeked inside. There lay the bodies of alternate versions of themselves, the only one with their eyes

closed being Sakowa's alternate self as well as Gakowa's alternate self. The alternate version of Ahsoka was cradling the twins' bodies, and Shaak lay nearby, holding onto

Ahsoka's shoulders. The sight shocked them, but they did make up their mind. "I'm going back to Engineering. Gotta get those weapons online, and I'm going to find out how to

get us back home, even if I have to get into the stupid drive to do it." With that, Gakowa went on his way. Sakowa faced her mother. "I'm coming with you to the bridge." Ahsoka

nodded. In Engineering, Gakowa typed in a command, and a positive result occurred. "Yeah, my baby still lives." He tapped his comm. "Weapons are online, so now I can get to

the drive itself. I'll let you know when-." He was interrupted by beeping from the console. Looking at it, he said, "Oh, no." Ahsoka's voice spoke up. "What is it?" Gakowa sighed.

"The drive is charging. It's at 95%, and will be fully charged in two minutes." Ahsoka's aggravated sigh on her end did not surprise him. "Can you stop it?" Gakowa sighed. "If I

had an extra minute, I could, but at least we have shields and such." Ahsoka sighed on her end. "Can you make the drive take us backwards?" Gakowa blinked. "That actually

might work. I'm amazed I didn't think of that." If she was amused by that, which was not the point of what he said, she gave no sign. "Get to it." Gakowa nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

He got to work. On the bridge, the drive went off, and they saw what looked like a star destroyer approaching them. Its shields had gone up, and its weapons were locked on the

ship. Ahsoka faced Sakowa. "Do you know how to handle the helm?" Sakowa nodded. "Gakowa taught me." Ahsoka nodded. "Get to it. Arm the rail guns, but wait to fire."

Sakowa faced her. "What about the shields?" Ahsoka faced her. "They've been active for the whole time we've been aboard." Sakowa nodded, and armed the ship's rail guns,

ready to fire. The star destroyer opened fire, its lasers having very little effect on the ship's shields. Sakowa returned fire, the yellow lasers of the rail guns striking the target. Its

shields took a beating. The star destroyer then deployed a group of fighters that were shaped like 'h's. Sakowa fired the turbolasers to deal with them. She hit several, but a few

managed to land some hits on the shields. Sakowa checked the shields. "Shields at 85%." Gakowa's voice came through on the comm. "I got the reality-drive to work in reverse.

It's also charging much faster. It's now at 85% and will be fully charged in 30 seconds." Ahsoka nodded. "Good work. How long before it charges after the jump?" Gakowa

answered. "Two minutes." Ahsoka nodded. "Good work. Be ready when we reach the last universe." Gakowa answered instantly. "10-4." When the device went off, Ahsoka

spoke up. "Everyone, to the hangar!" When they arrived, a person in strange black armor sported a blaster and fired at them. Gakowa easily blocked the shot, and the attacker

was hit. They boarded the Eagle and waited. As the reality-drive kicked in, they took off, and flew out of the Apollo's hangar, back to the Leto. As they boarded, Gakowa saw the

Olympus-class cruiser vanish, and said, "Goodbye, old friend."

A/N

Gakowa: That was not a fun adventure.

SoftWare: So? The readers will enjoy it.

Gakowa: True.

Computer: SoftWare, offline.