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Chapter 14
Magic
It was an eerie morning on Coruscant. The sun was weaker for overnight rain. The streets were quiet, somber. Everyone shared some psychic affliction.
Obi-Wan stood on the landing pad, looking up at the Dawn Tangent. It was a fine ship, with a narrow nose, thick neck, and half-circle for a body. Its orange finish was fading, but it didn't look old.
It was perfect for their purposes, attracting neither envy nor pity.
Doctor Julian Landrieu was a either prophet or a pessimist. His equipment demands were nothing short of extraordinary.
In the doctor, Obi-Wan found a duality of kindness and arrogance. Julian spoke gently, with a dreamer's brown eyes, but described his accolades at excruciating length. Worse, he held war on a pedestal of romantic honor. Obi-Wan suspected suspected their journey would change this.
Miler and Aayla walked past, laughing intimately. Quinn trailed after them, pained by their behavior.
Obi-Wan didn't expect a harmonious journey. With these disparate passengers, the Dawn Tangent was to be a cauldron of agendas. It would take a leader to keep them together. Obi-Wan was dubious of his casting in the role.
"Hope you know what you're doing, Boss," Landon said. "I know the Jedi are stretched, but this ain't a dream team."
Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"Well, let's see here. You've got a tortured hero—the last survivor of his squadron—a tentacled Jedi with a habit of losing mentors, the fearless doctor who thinks war is adventure, an ornery politician out of her depth, and…"
"And?"
Landon smiled darkly. "A handsome drifter who'd sell you out."
Obi-Wan watched Julian dragging scanners up the ramp. "We're not here by chance. The Force brought us together."
"I ever tell you your hocus pocus is insufferable? You think your whole life's controlled by magic. Whenever you screw up, you call it your destiny."
Obi-Wan smiled serenely, adjusted the satchel on his shoulder. "Our destinies, be they dark or light, are irrevocably linked. I suspect you'll believe in 'magic' before all this is over."
He made his way to the ship, leaving a frowning Landon staring after him.
The ship was too clean for Landon's taste. He didn't trust sterile places or immaculate people. Nevertheless, the Tangent was home now. He had no money or loved ones, no port or purpose. He carried on living as a matter as a habit.
Landon stored the essentials he'd been furnished by the Jedi. Then he wandered from his cabin through the heart of the ship.
He passed the infirmary; modest crew cabins; stellar cartography; an engineer's work room; and finally the cockpit.
He smiled upon noting a damaged panel. Soothed by the flaw, he slid into the pilot's seat, stretching his fingers before skimming the console.
"How's she look?" asked Miler.
"It'll fly. Least 'til Kenobi gets us killed."
"If ya end up dead, ya can thank that mouth a'yours."
"Maybe," Landon conceded. "But I ain't gonna die for conviction or glory." He looked Miler in the eye. "You remember one thing, kid: you look out for yourself. Won't no one else do it, Jedi or not."
Miler blinked and looked down.
Obi-Wan placed two boxes of sabers on the cargo hold floor. He'd learned his lesson on Tattooine, when he and Kit Fisto were forced to fight hand to hand.
"Hello there," he greeted Padme. "All set for our vacation?"
She rewarded him with a smile. "Must you be so glib?"
"Milady, what could be more relaxing than a desolate desert world?"
"Well, I suppose it's no worse than the Senate. But I may come to miss their dignified incompetence. Judging by our armaments, you're not planning to negotiate."
"It never hurts to be prepared."
"My Obi-Wan: pragmatic as always."
There was a long pause at her expression of possession. She held a breath until Obi-Wan smirked.
When Aayla joined them, Padme forced a posture too casual to be casual.
Aayla said, "We'll be underway in a few minutes. Miler says the engines are in great shape." She smiled, adding a bad imitation: "'Damndest machinery ya ever'll see.'"
Padme cleared her throat and said, "I'll… make sure the last of our supplies was brought on board." She smiled awkwardly and left.
Aayla stared at Obi-Wan.
"What?" he demanded.
"Nothing," she said innocently.
The doctor regarded his med bay with a sense of accomplishment. It wasn't cushy, but it was his. No nurses, colleagues, or emergency call buttons. He was alone on the great frontier.
Miler strode in, giving a look of appreciation. "Ya made quick work of this."
"Just being prepared," said Julian. "You never know what's waiting in the dark. A doctor's work is eighty percent preparation."
"And the other twenty?"
"Kismet."
"Right. I'll try to remember that."
Julian's eyes went to Miler's collar, which had a rhombus-shaped pin. "Hmm. That's curious. Your file said Lieutenant Crata."
Miler shifted uncomfortably. "I was promoted this morning. Something about 'honor under extreme conditions.'"
"Congratulations! You must be very proud."
"Yeah, I am."
"You don't sound proud, but you should be," Julian insisted. "I heard what you did. Pulled them from the wreckage, got them off-planet. You quite literally carried Kenobi."
Miler smiled despite himself. "Ya got a vivid imagination."
"Don't I know it. Keeps me warm on a lonely night." Julian paused and added, "Not that I have many."
Miler rolled his eyes, imagining the doctor trolling a bar for impressionable girls. But there weren't many in deep space. "Keep that imagination, Doctor. It's gonna be a long trip."
Quinn regarded his cabin with mild disdain. He was used to spacious accommodations, both on cruisers and in the temple. Despite their vow of poverty, Jedi lived comfortably.
He sat on his bunk, examining a tablet with bios of his companions. He resolved to know them before they reached Halm.
Landon looked up as Obi-Wan entered the cockpit.
"Start your pre-flight diagnostics," Obi-Wan said. "I want this ship in the air."
"What's the hurry, Boss? Ain't that magic chair of yours ancient? I'm sure it'll keep."
"We're not the only ones looking for it. And the Sith don't pause to banter."
Landon waved him off. "Yeah, yeah. Good and evil; race against time. I got it."
Obi-Wan walked from the cockpit to stellar cartography. He found Padme there smiling brightly.
"We have a last-minute addition," she said. R2D2 appeared from behind her. He looked new and polished. There was no sign of his ordeal.
"R2! Hello, old friend. I was afraid I'd lost you." His grin briefly faltered. "Wait—they didn't—"
"Wipe his memory?" finished Padme. "No, he's the same droid you remember."
Obi-Wan's grin widened. R2 could drive him to madness, but somehow his life was incomplete without the infernal droid.
A chiding whine killed the moment.
"How was I supposed to know?" Obi-Wan fired back. "Last time I saw you, you were hardly in fighting shape." He sighed at R2's low beep. "I see you're as ornery as ever."
Padme left them to their bonding. Obi-Wan and R2 studied their flight plan. The entire room was bathed in holograms, so that they stood in the midst of a massive star field. Across the middle of the room was a dotted line, leading to a tan-covered planet, which spun in the air.
The dotted line represented their route. The journey looked smooth; there were no other ships sharing their path.
"This is incredible," Julian marveled upon arriving. "The detail is extraordinary. It's like I'm floating through space."
Obi-Wan pressed a button, causing the planet's vitals to appear in the air.
"Not very hospitable, is it?" Julian remarked. "Nothing but desert and mines."
Obi-Wan said, "The kind of place that has secrets. When you bury something beneath rock and dust, few have mettle to look for it."
"Nothing can hide forever."
"No. Not from me."
Landon flipped three switches. "Rocket boosters online. Everything reads normal."
"Control tower, this is DT-1," Miler said into the radio. "Request permission to depart."
After a moment, a voice replied: "Permission granted, DT-1. You're all clear. Have a safe flight."
As the ship eased off the ground, Obi-Wan joined them. The Tangent pressed through the clouds, then the stratosphere, before sliding into space.
"Prep the hyperdrive," said Miler. "Another five thousand kilometers and we're in the clear."
Landon bristled at being ordered. "Sure thing, Captain."
"There's still time to turn around. I'd be happy to drop ya off."
"Now why would I want that? I'm honored to take orders from a Republic icon."
"Then again, I could toss ya out the airlock."
"Kid, you don't shut up and I'll—"
"Gentlemen," Obi-Wan interjected, "can we have a little decorum in here, please?"
Landon snarled but continued his work. Miler angled around, correcting course. The ship gave a slight jerk as the hyperdrive powered on.
"We're in the clear," said Miler.
Obi-Wan stared into the great unknown. "By all means, Captain…"
The Dawn Tangent leapt forward into hyperspace.