My knowledge of Star Wars spacecraft, and, well, any scifi fiction spacecraft is horribly limited. So please excuse my lack of Starfighter jargon.
4.
"This never gets old for me," mused Danny from behind the pilot seat, looking at the vast expanse of space before him. "To think that I'd visit outer space almost regularly nowadays – a younger me would've called me crazy."
"It is a sight to see," admitted Annette. She was holding Taylor in her lap, using the ship's interface to set the coordinates to the star system Capella, about 13 parsecs away from Earth. They were currently floating slightly next to the Earth's moon. "But it does get lonely sometimes."
"Well, we're here. Maybe you won't get that lonely now."
Annette smiled at her husband. The navicomputer had finished the calculations necessary for the trip – she'd found out the possible lanes for hyperspace travel for nearby star systems many years ago, and by using an old template of the routes she could cut down the mathematical part of the travel by hours. It was a bit dangerous, with the possibility of debris or asteroids interjecting the path Mirage would take, but the chance was still minimal. And besides, it was little Taylor's naming day. She couldn't not take her to the stars.
No matter in which system Annette had been, the highlights had always been the stars. They were just so beautiful, giving light and guidance to the beings in all existence. Sometimes when she fell deep into meditation, she could almost feel them calling out to her, whispering to her. Not as often as before, when the Jedi Order still was, but often enough.
She quickly checked the readings, determining that the Simurgh was on the opposite side of the planet, and not right next to them. She'd have nothing to do with that abomination of the Force if she had any say in it. Even after living many years on Terra, she had very little idea what the Endbringers actually were. And from what she'd seen and felt, she didn't want to know.
"Prepare for the jump into hyperspace, passengers," said Annette, taking her thoughts away from those Force-damned things. "The motivator is motivated, our ion drive is functional once again, and nobody is in vacuum."
She flicked a switch, making the lights inside flicker and the ship shake slightly. It wasn't dangerous – she had designed the whole thing to instill a sense of responsibility to her daughter. If she knew that equipment could break down and cause terrible consequences, she wouldn't grow up to be reckless.
Taylor also liked the flashing lights. But Annette wasn't fulfilling her child's wishes, no. She was merely being responsible.
"This really doesn't seem that safe," commented Danny from the back. Annette wisely ignored his concerns, turning her attention to Taylor, who was watching raptly at distant lights of space.
"Do you want to do the honors?" she asked, getting an exaggerated and fast series of nods as an answer. "Go ahead, then."
Taylor wiggled forward in her lap, reaching out to the interface in front of both mother and child. Annette could sense a feeling of excitement from her.
If someone had told Annette that she'd willingly have a child and grow to adore her and teach her ten years ago, she would have been insulted and amused at the same time. After all, she'd been one of the staunch believers of the Jedi Code and its tenets. For someone to imply that she would break the rules, the Code, voluntarily? Not even the greatest precognizant Force users would have convinced her of it.
But, well. That had been ten years ago, before the rise of the Sith. Before her escape to an unknown, nigh-lifeless part of the galaxy, with beings twisted in the Force. Before- before the fall of the Jedi. And even with all that happening, she often still wondered if she was right to actually care so much for her.
"Three, two, one…" started little Taylor, biting her lip like Annette often did. "And… go!"
The darkness of space soon turned into blue, seemingly endless tunnel. It was like gliding through a storm, except you didn't have to worry about lightning, radiation, errant Barri, or navigation. While the journey could turn dangerous easily, Annette was lucky enough to have Mirage by her side. The old Starfighter wasn't in the best of states aesthetically or martially, but the upgrades she had gotten throughout it's years were state-of-the-art.
A cloaking device she had socialized from Nar Shaddaa, capable of blocking all emissions and making the Mirage invisible to the naked eye and sensors, powered by some Terran parahuman-made fuel instead of stygium crystals. A class 0.75 hyperdrive to make traveling faster, easier and smoother. A reclining pilot's seat. And multiple little modifications and fixes to the spacecraft, done to make the Mirage better in all ways. The maintenance was a major drain on her funds, but well worth it.
"Oh god," mumbled Danny feebly. "This is nauseating."
"This is fun!" giggled Taylor.
They soon entered realspace once more, the blue tunnel fading away. Annette had visited this particular star system once before, so she wasn't that amazed. Her family on the other hand was, if their simultaneous gasps were any indication.
It was, in all honesty, one of the most beautiful systems she had ever been in. Two giant stars circling each other in their blazing glory, bigger than any planets or stars nearby Terra. They were accompanied by two smaller dwarfs further away, also in a binary system. The Mirage had stopped a few million klicks before them, coming to a full stop. The spacecraft could go much closer, but Annette didn't want to risk anything.
"Woow," went her daughter, her face glued to the transparisteel. The alloy had turned slightly opaque to protect their eyes from the luminous stars. "So pretty."
"Incredible," whispered Danny.
The biggest star flared up, particles and plasma colliding in force, causing a blue blaze to erupt from the surface. The Mirage's sensors caught huge amounts of radiation about to sweep past it, and the shielding was automatically activated, averting any possible danger. The spacecraft was illuminated in blue light, a soft glow permeating the vicinity of the gas giant.
"A good gift for your naming day, is it not?" Annette commented on an enthralled Taylor. Her daughter nodded dumbly, face still nearly stuck on the transparent alloy.
There they sat, the whole family, watching something that very few people ever saw in their lives. Annette could feel the Force thrum, connecting them all. She could feel the Unifying Force, binding and existing in all universe. She could see further than usual, getting glimpses of familiar planets in a more familiar part of the galaxy in addition to the twisted planet of Terra. Ilum, Kalee, Ansion – even Coruscant, if looked for.
She could feel Taylor, her little owl, and they existed together in the universe, not as a mother and a child, or a teacher and a pupil, but as wielders of the Force, both Living and Unifying. She knew that Taylor could feel it too, with their bond clearer than ever. Even Danny, a sentient non-Force-sensitive, had some understanding that something was happening.
Her daughter reached out to her, hands seeking comfort and safety. The little girl was experiencing something new and odd, and Annette could sense her nervousness easily. If she had been teaching an initiate or any other youngling, a brisk reprimand would've been in place – the Force is to be trusted and followed, not to be afraid of. But she was with a child of her own. Her flesh and blood. Someone that believed in her without any reservations. Someone who would've never existed, if all would've ended well in the war.
Annette pulled Taylor closer, sending out reassurance and comfort. Her daughter was a natural empath, and soon enough the little girl picked up on it, relaxing slightly. She and Danny shared a fond look.
The stellar storm was passing them by, the faint blue glow slowly disappearing from the inside of the ship. With it the awareness of the Force faded back to normalcy, the extrasensory awareness reverting with it. Little Taylor peered up cautiously at Annette.
"Well, little owl. That was something, wasn't it?" she asked, patting her daughter's head. It bobbed up and down adorably.
Taylor took a while to answer. "Yea'," she eventually said. "It was."
Her daughter spent a few minutes in contemplation, pondering about what had just happened. Annette was proud of her – while Taylor wasn't the calmest of learners, she exemplified many Jedi values. This feeling of proudness turned soon into bemusement, when a meteoroid flew past the ship and her daughter insisted on following it. The time after that was spent chasing it around through space.
They came back to Terra with some bumps in the V-19's plating and a piece of a meteoroid as a souvenir for her little girl.
-o-