The dream is so real. I'm flying among the clouds, wings spread wide, and the clouds far below. The wind ruffles my feathers as I rise higher and higher, faster and faster.
The atmosphere keeps getting thinner and thinner but I keep rising, going faster and faster, as the sky starts to get darker, the stars slowly appearing far above.
It almost feels like I can reach out and touch them, when my wings suddenly lose all lift and I fall. Faster and faster, down down and down, down against the clouds, through them and towards the dark ground. I keep falling, going faster and faster as I fall. Suddenly, I start to twist and change, then, all of a sudden, there is a white flash! I barely have enough time to get a impression of a structure, colored white and brown, and then a flash of water before I hit it.
I dont know where I am. Everything feels fuzzy as I try to move, it's like when you wake up after a good long sleep, that half-awake experience where you just float along and enjoy it, but I'm having problems getting out of it.
My body feel strange and my thoughts sluggish. Slowly things start to clear but my thoughts feel different. It takes awhile before I realize why that is such a important matter.
They are not in swedish. Nor are they in English...the only languages I know more than a few words from.
Creole.
The word just came to me. I'm thinking in Creole. But that's impossible! Creole is the language of the Morrigi. A fictional race from a video game.
Slowily, more and more things start to fit together in my mind, my thoughts become more focused, and I remember things once more. I remember my life.. and yet,I also remember things I should have no memory of. Drone building, interstellar navigation at FTL, and antimatter reactor calculations.
It's a intriquing mix, a human life and the technical knowledge from somewhere…
I slowly opened my eyes and let out a sigh. Things just felt so...alien to me. That feeling peaked when I noticed something unusual in my field of vision. Something jutting out of my face.
I jerk upwards and scramble backwards at the sight, falling off the medical bed, my wings flailing wildly, knocking something over as I feel all over the beak.
It take me I don't know how long it take for me to stop panicking. Catching my breath after the freakout ,I curl up on the stone floor, closing my eyes in shock.
Naturally, that did nothing to settle my unease. Humans weren't evolved with four hearts or eight lungs, and the sensations of them are VERY confusing at first.
And that wasn't even counting the wings, scales, and new limbs I had just discovered.
Slowly I began to pull myself together, and to calm down, my hearts no longer racing in my chest.
I opened my eyes and saw a small green thing sitting on the thing I fell off. Instantly I recognized the small green thing, it's Yoda, the little green Muppet from Star Wars.
He's just sitting there, holding his cane, blinking at me, in astonishment I think. The most noticeable thing is that he looks tiny...like pick up and hold in your hand, tiny. But then again if I really am a Morrigi like my thought patterns and body keep telling me, then he would be tiny compared to me.
Yoda, at least, what I thought was Yoda did his signature "Hmmm" and then made some sort of noise at me. I just blinked curiously at him and tilted my head.
I think he's speaking Basic but it didn't sound even remotely like English...not that I can actually remember what the hell English sounds like. But that doesn't mean I can't answer as good as I can anyway.
"Where am I, dustling?", I spoke, using the general Morrigi word for alien species. Yoda just did another one of his Hmmms, and said something else I didn't understand as I looked around.
The room is small, or at least, is small to my new oversized body, and contains a number of instruments and equipment that have a medical air to them. The thing I knocked over when I panicked looks like some kind of medical drone of some kind considering the room I am in.
Turning my attention back to Yoda I find him looking at me before saying something else that I couldn't understand yet again, before jumping off the morrigi sized medical bed and walking over to the doorway, leaning on his little walking stick.
When he reached the door he stopped for a moment, and turned around, motioning for me to stay put before he left.
I watched the medical droid move slowly, apparently so it wouldn't inadvertently scare me again as it get back to its consoles before I looked myself over. Most of my new body is now covered with feathers, colorful ones no less, purple with dark blue parties along my back and wings.
Speaking of wings...I carefully stand up onto my four legs and pushed myself away from the wall. Balance is surprisingly easy to gain with having four legs, two wings and a tail for balance but considering I used to be human not long ago, controlling this body is surprisingly easy. It's like I was hatched into it.
I carefully spread my wings, giving them a slow flap before folding them up again as I find that I can't spread them fully, they'd hit the walls. Then I start to slowly check myself over for any other changes that have been done to me.
Six legs. Top pair seem to function as arms and hands with seven fingers on each hand, check.
Two long wings, check.
Colorful feathers and scales, tail ending in a spread of feathers, check.
I slowly raise my hands to my beak as I open it wide, the slower part of the beak splitting in half, making it tripart, check.
I carefully feel my way down my body with my new hands, finding three breathing holes along my body on my sides with even intervals between my limbs for six of my eight lungs, check.
Blinking once more, I laid down on my stomach. All evidence points towards me being a morrigi male in Star Wars. Sometime in the past Star Wars as that was Yoda and the place I'm in don't look like a mudhut.
I don't even understand the language and I'm pretty sure Yoda just did some mind mojo on me to calm me down when I was freaking out. While I got advanced technical knowledge, it's almost as obsolete in this world as my pure human knowledge would have been.
And I'm not even in my own body...and I'm pretty sure I lost any chance of ever getting laid again looking like this as far as I know, there is no such thing as female Morrigi around.
Snorting, I shook my head and pulled the mattress down from the medical bed to rest my head on. No, I'm pretty sure that last one is false.
Humans as a species will sleep with anything.
AN/
First of all I want to thank Night_stalker for betaing this chapter for me, but i need more betas as well. Don't want to pile all the work on him :). So anyone that feel like taking the grammatical bullet for the rest of the readers, feel free to apply. I would prefer if you are a native English speaker though.
Also, here is a bit of scale. The picture on the right are a male morrigi compared to a male human. Picture on the left are two females...just to give you some size comparisons.
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I slowly open my eyes, I must have fallen asleep.
Letting out a small breath I eye my beak. So it wasn't a dream. Looking around reveals that I'm in the same room as before, nothing seemed to have changed. The Droid is still standing by the instruments, pushing buttons.
I carefully push myself up on all six before pulling my hands from the ground to stay on just my legs as I work my beak, stretching it to its limit before relaxing as I ruffle my fathers and wings.
Moving over I look over the droids shoulder. Most of what's on the screen is in the oddly flowing script you always seen in star wars, the only thing I recognize is a medical scan of my body. It match what I remember about Morrigi biology, both from my life as human and my pure knowledge from the Morrigi life.
After taking a few moments trying to figure things out I give up and look around for something to occupy my time until Yoda returns. Finding nothing but medical equipment I likely shouldn't be playing with and a droid I don't understand anyway I head to the door to look over the control panel.
The droid make noises behind me but I ignore him. The control panel looks simple enough. Two small buttons over a bigger one.
I try the big one and such enough the door whooshes open. Poking my head outside I look both ways down the corridor. No sign of anyone.
Carefully I exit through the doorway...while big for a human it's more than a bit cramped for me and once I have squeezed through I glance back at it, wondering how the hell they got me in there in the first place.
The droid makes more noise and I ignore it again as I look each way down the corridor. Marble floor and light brown walls with alcoves and decorations. Not having any idea where it go in either way I start to make myself down it to the left.
It don't take long until I reach another door. Pressing the button don't cause it to open at once, causing me to assume it's locked.
As I turn to try heading in the other direction the door open to reveal a tiny room and I turn back, poking my head inside. On the left there is a panel with a large number of buttons on it with symbols on them.
An elevator then.
I hmm and head-tilt. It looks kind of small, but maybe I can...
Waiting until the doors start to close again I put a claw between them to see if it got a closing safety thing modern elevators got.
I trill happily as it touches the claw and immediately opens again.
Feeling confident it is safeish I then try to fit myself into the elevator. It take quite a bit of work curling up in it and once I actually manage to get my long prehensile tail inside I fill almost the entire elevator.
Turning my attention back to the button panel I look at it closer. Still not recognizing any of the symbols I just press one at random, around the middle and top of the three rows of buttons.
The doors close and I fold my wings a bit tighter. Turns out Morrigi instincts protest about being squeezed into a tight space barely bigger than themselves. At least there is no gorram elevator music.
Half a minute later the doors open again to reveal four tiny humans and a bigger one, wearing some kind of brown and white robes. They all pretty much blink at the sight of a elevator looking like it's filled with scales and feathers with a beak and a pair of big eyes.
I blink back and then try pressing another button, closing the doors again. As the elevator start to move again I trill in amusement at what must go through their minds at the moment.
Next time the doors open it's another corridor, this time its empty so I slowly start to extract myself from the elevator. It take a bit of work and I snort at it. Why cant these people make their rooms at a decent size?
I shake my head and then streeeetch, giving my wings a small shake before making my way down the corridor again. Only a few minutes later I reach a section with windows. Looking out confirms my suspicions.
Outside there are a field of massive buildings, swarms of small air vehicles and far, far below there are beings the size of ants moving around. I'm on Coruscant then.
Likely in the Jedi temple.
I stand there, looking out over the planetwide city for another few minutes before closing my eyes and shaking my head, tearing myself away from the sight to continue down the corridor, glancing out the window again from time to time.
On the way I pass several doors before I reach the end of the corridor to find another door blocking my path. I frown slightly and, hoping its not another elevator, I press the large button which causes it to open to revealing a rather large room filled with fountains and pillars with large windows showing the city far below.
I blink and squeeze myself through the door before looking around. The entire room has a peaceful feeling over it and the air is warm and moist from the fountains.
Hmming I head deeper inside, looking around before heading to look out the window again before turning back to the room. Those pillars look comfortable.
Now that's something I never thought as a human.
I make my way over to the pillar closest to the window and start to climb up it, digging my claws into the carved rock as I coil around it in a spiral, my tail wrapping around it and then tightening before I relaxes, my claws and position keeping me from falling and its actually kind of comfortable.
As soon as I'm in position I turn my head to look out the window again.
I'm not sure how long I was looking at the traffic and ships flying around but it end when I hear the door to the chamber open.
I turn my attention back to the inside and spot Yoda once again walking inside, leaning on his cane.
He make noise at me and the hmmms?
I just blink at him "I still don't understand you, dustling. Am I not allowed to be here?"
He hmms and walk over to sit down on a small soft pillow before looking up at me before touching his chest "Yoda."
I blink and head-tilts before pointing at him "Yoda."
He make small happy sounds before pointing at himself again "Yoda." before pointing at me.
Oh yeah...I need a name, don't I? Better make up something Morrigi like that I like...I'm likely going to be stuck with it so I might as well pick something sounding good.
I point at myself "Atreus." before pointing at him "Yoda."
He hmmms and nods "Atreus." while pointing at me before pulling out a small metal object and making noise at it.
Moment's later the door open and a small human walk inside. He is wearing brown and white robes with hair cut short and a thin braid. The boy is carrying a big serving plate covered with a selection of fruits, vegetables and meat, both cooked and raw selections of both.
The human put the huge plate down on the edge of a fountain close to my pillar while giving me a bit of a nervous look before backing out of easy pouncing distance.
Yoda get up and walk over, pointing at the tray and then at me before taking a small fruit to eat.
He then point at himself "Yoda." and then at me "Atreus."
Turning he then point at the boy, maybe 14 years old at most "Dooku."
AN/ Many Thanks to Mr Zoat for betaing this chapter.
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Soon after Yoda and Dooku left, leaving me with the food.
I climbed down to try it and found most of it ok, even if a few of the vegetables were a bit too bitter. The raw meat smelled nice enough, but I didn't do more than taste it. The taste was a bit off so I stuck with the cooked meat, vegetables and the fruit. Some of it tasted outright bizarre, but the green orange looking thing was almost like a blueberry.
Tasty.
After finishing my meal I gathered up as many as the small pillow things as possible in a pile, before curling up the best I could. Outside the sun had started to set by now, and I'm exhausted.
When I wake up again, the sun is shining on me and a small green muppet is poking me with his stick. I give him a sour look and simply roll over. The little green bastard has the audacity to chuckle at me.
Then he pokes me again.
I turn to look at him, to see him offering me a purple fruit of some sort. I take it and slice it in half with my lower beak, only to find it to have some sort of sweet juice in it. It tastes like water melon, soaked in sugar and lemon.
Eating the rest, I roll onto my feet and stand up to stretch and spread my wings to their full width. I guess I'll forgive the muppet this time.
I spot another pile of food on a platter on the edge of a fountain, so I move over and dig in. The vegetables and the raw meat I rejected last time are not present this time.
As I eat Yoda climbs up to sit on the edge of the fountain to watch, before pulling out his communicator and saying something into it.
I glance up as the door opens and some sort of droid floats inside. It's like half a sphere, the upper side flat and a pair of arms hanging from its sides.
As I watch it, the drone floats up in front of me. It's barely bigger than Yoda and has a coppery shell. I blink as a hologram appears into existence above it, and one of the arms raise to point at it before it says something.
The other arm then motions towards me and I suddenly understand what it wants. It's a first contact droid.
I name the shape and it repeats it after me, before repeating the word it said first. Apparently 'cube' in what I assume is Galactic Basic.
The shape is then replaced with a pyramid.
And so it goes on. Geometric shapes followed by counting, math symbols and more advanced objects and even concepts such as fear, anger and danger.
It takes a week, but in the end the droid has good enough of a concept of Creole to do basic translations between me and someone else. It's also constantly learning and adjusting faster than I would ever have been able to. The process even taught me a few words of basic.
During this time I stayed in the fountain room. The droid stayed with me, Yoda visiting every day, if even for only a few moments some days.
I wake up as the sun shine on me to find Yoda sitting on the edge of the closest fountain.
"Yoda. There will be a time when waking me up to find you sitting and staring like that, will cause you to go out of the window."
The droid translates as good as it can for him, and he chuckles before answering, the drone translating back to me. "You not violent."
I snort at him. "So what's today? More lessons?"
He shake his head. "You see tower?" and I blink.
"You plan to give me a tour of the tower?" and he listens to the droid before nodding.
"Show tower, yes. Atreus want?"
I blink and then nod "Yes", before finishing my meal and following him as he starts to walk out with his cane. The droid floats along after us.
The path takes us along corridors and stairs (thankfully no elevators) until we reach a big hall. The doorway is large enough for me to easily get through as I follow him inside. Within there are other aliens, humans and other dustlings.
All of them equipped with lightsabers.
I blink and stop to watch as the groups go through motions, following and copying the adult leaders. "Yoda, is this place training warriors?"
The droid translates, and he shakes his head. The droid translate back even as I recognize a few of the words. "No, protectors, negotiators. Jedi, guardians."
I nod, and then look at the younglings again. "Why close range weapons? Wouldn't something ranged be more efficient?"
He hmms as usual and walks over to a small locker, before picking a handle out and walking back, handing it over to me before answering through the droid. "Weapon symbol of Jedi. Made for defense, not attack. If weapon drawn, Jedi already failed."
I look over the handle in my hand. It is simple with a single button and a rubbery grip. The size is actually big enough for my hand, so I guess the Jedi do have other species my size.
Pointing the weapon away from me and everyone else I press the button, causing an emerald blade to emerge with a wum sound.
Giving it a small wave in front of me, I do the equivalent of a small frown. Close range combat is pretty much against every combat instinct I have. Close range combat is for women.
I turn it off and then hand it back to Yoda. "I do not believe this weapon is suitable for someone my body shape."
He hmmms, and nods. "Not fitting indeed. Neither shape of body, or symbol. Lightsaber for Jedi. Potential you have. Instruction in it, you will not get."
I just blink at him as he moves to return the large handle of the training saber to the storage locker. Did I just imagine things, or did Yoda just say I was force sensitive?
As he returns, I follow him outside again further down until we reach a large hall with a giant open gate. This one is framed by giant pillars. There are a number of dustlings milling around, moving around their business. Almost all of them wearing those brown robes and I barely draw any looks as we make our way through the hall and outside into the sunshine.
"Leave the temple you do here. If wish, you leave. Stuck, you not." the droid translates for me and I nod back.
"I understand, I am not a prisoner. Can I stay if I wish to?" and he hmmms yet again.
"Stay, Atreus. Learn. Jedi guardians, teachers. No turn away needy being." I look down at him and lower my beak in respect.
"Thank you, Khan Yoda."
AN/ Many thanks to SakSak for betaing this part.
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"Atreus, the eldest of the Jedi wishes to meet with you." Yoda says through the first contact droid, after a greeting and an offering of fruit. It's been two weeks since the tour of the temple and I have been given freedom to roam through all public areas during that time, constantly trailed by the first contact droid which also had been programmed to act as a tour guide if asked.
It likely reports onwards what I do as well, but I don't mind. I have also been relocated from the meditation room to a guestroom scaled for big species. Most of the furniture had to be replaced or removed, but it's comfortable enough.
I blink at him before nodding "The khans of the Jedi. I will answer their questions."
Yoda hmms. "You assume we have questions?" and I snort in response.
"I have questions, so you should as well. I do not know how I came to this place." He watches me silently, before nodding
"Come, come. The rest of the elders wait." I follow him through the corridors before he stops and frowns at the elevator.
"Elevator is the only way up..."
I sigh and nod, accepting the inevitable. "Go first. The elder chamber is at the top, I will follow."
He enters the elevator together with the first contact droid, and I call the next one before squeezing myself inside. No more comfortable than I remember from the last time. I then press the top button and wait.
The doors open and I try to extract myself from the confined space in as dignified manner as I can, while Yoda watches with an amused look on his face.
I finish unruffling my feathers, before I follow him into the main chamber, the droid following along.
The big doors open to reveal a large circular chamber with a big window. There are 12 chairs spread in a circle around the middle. Most of those chairs are filled with either physically present beings, but three of them are holograms.
Yoda gives me a nod before hobbling over to his own, empty, chair before climbing onto it and sitting down.
I blink before entering the circle, the droid hovering by my side. The seat directly facing me contains a human, one with pale skin and white hair even though he doesn't look old. He gives me a small nod.
"Atreus, do you understand me?" The droid dutifully translates, before I answer.
"No, khan. No more than a word or two. But the drone now knows my language enough, to translate in a somewhat accurate manner." He in turn nods, as he gets the translation.
"My name is Megal Tenok. I am the current leader of the Jedi khans." I lower my beak in respect before he continues, "We wanted to ask these questions earlier, but we wished to be sure the understanding would be as correct as possible."
I nod. "I have waited for the same reason, Khan. How did I come to this place?"
My question causes some whispering between the council members before he answers. "That was one of the questions we wished to have answered. Everyone here felt an immense disturbance in the momentum over time, when you fell from the sky into the senate square fountain."
I tilt my head in incomprehension. "Momentum over time?"
Tenok frowns. "Teacher Yoda have not approached this subject?" and looks over at the small green being, who shakes his head in response.
"I have not. Atreus has shown potential, but no indication that he knows about the momentum over time. His people might not know about it."
I frown as the droid keeps a running commentary for me. "May I ask what it is you are discussing? I do not understand what elementary physics have to do with how I appeared at this place."
Tenok sighs and then nod "The...and do not translate this word, droid...Force is a basic energy field in the universe. Some beings are sensitive to this field and can feel disruptions in it, as well as use it to some effect." He lifts his hand, causing the pad laying in it to float gently into the air.
I watch before nodding in comprehension. "Like the Liir."
Tenok frowns in response. "We do not know of this race."
Once again I sigh in disappointment. "And I do not know of any race I have seen here so far, but yours."
He hmms in thought, and leans back in his chair "You have seen humans before, but no others?"
"Yes. I am curious, what else can this 'force' do."
He frowns. "Many things. The force is as diverse as the universe. It can read minds, create illusions...many other things."
I blink. "Then I can use the force", I claim, and he looks at me before frowning once again.
"Show us."
Bowing my beak slightly, I get ready to release my glamor. It's nothing I have actually ever done before, but I just know how to do it and that I can.
I let it flow through me, as I slowly spread my wings. Every member in the council that are physically present draw breath.
Yoda watches me for a moment, before closing his eyes. "Do you control what each of us see?" he asks, and I let the glamor go.
"I do not. Your own mind forms a divine image; if you are female it's an attractive one as well."
Tenok frowns. "Where did you learn to do this?" he asks. I shake my head in denial.
"I did not. It's an ability males of my kind have. It evolved under millions of years, as the women of my kind developed stronger and stronger resistances. We find a woman especially attractive if she can resist it, and they find a male likewise highly attractive if he can fool her. During time, both ability and resistance to it have grown."
He slowly nods. "Speaking of the subject, where do your kind live?"
"I do not know. I have seen several maps of the galaxy, but none have the star cluster the morrigi federation is in." I sigh and fold up my wings tightly. "Is there a way for me to go back?"
Yoda simply shakes his head.
"If we don't know how you arrived here, we do not know how to send you back. I am sorry."
I nod in understanding. "I figured much the same...what is to become of me now?"
At last, Tenok smiles slightly.
"You may stay in the temple as long as you wish, until you are ready. You are under the protection of the Jedi. As for what comes when you decide to leave, I do not know. What would you wish to do?"
"The stars. I want the stars again." I answer immediately.
He smiles, and nods. "There are teachers in navigation and piloting, as well as related subjects, available in the temple. If you wish, once you have mastered Galactic Basic to a sufficient level, we could arrange lessons."
I blink and then lower my beak in respect. "I would be grateful."
Sighing Tenok nods. "We may have more questions in the future, Atreus, but for now our curiosity is sated. You are free to go back to learning. How is your knowledge of Basic coming along?"
I give him a small nod while collecting my thoughts, before answering in a language the droid doesn't have to translate. "I speech some words. Basic easy but new." My stumbling words draw a small smile from many of the council members, and even Yoda chuckles
"Good, you do. That I am not the one teaching you, good it is."
The droid didn't translate and I understood maybe half the words he said, so I just give him a nod. "Khan." I turn to exit the chamber, the droid floating along as I leave.
Time to resume the battle with the fiercest foe in all the galaxies.
The elevator.
AN/ Once again thanks to SakSak for taking the grammatical bullet for the rest of you.
Also, keep in mind almost all the speaking is done through a still learning translator droid so the translations are not exact.
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It's been a month since the meeting with the council and I'm enjoying the air on one of the open roofs of the academy. Doing nothing more than looking out over the city the tranquility is broken as I hear a cane tapping against the floor. Glancing back I see Yoda as he approaches.
"Atreus. Good Morning."
I gave him a small nod in reply. "Good Morning, Khan."
He smiled as he stepped up next to where I was curled. "Your Basic, better it is."
I snorted "Better yes, but I have been told my accent is quite bad at times."
He hmmmed "Still, understandable you are. And your reading?"
I gave a quick nod. "Improving. I need to do it slowly, but I can do it." The reason as to why Basic became a galaxy spanning language; is because it's extremely easy to learn not to mention most species are capable of vocalising it. Barring Wookiees of course. The literacy side of things, however, is like any other kind of reading that involves learning a new alphabet.
Not easy.
"Perhaps, ready for your first flying lesson, you are?" Yoda asked with a smile.
I glanced down at him. "I looked in the hangar, I will not fit in one of the tiny ships you use to train Jedi in piloting." They use small double seat fighters for it. Not the model from the movies, it is introduced later, but an older version.
Yoda chuckled. "First big being the Jedi need to teach to fly, you think you are? Different craft for such a occasion, we got. Only minor modification we need to do."
I just blinked down at him. "I... didn't think of that, khan." He hmmmed before nodding.
"Hangar 11, lower levels. Know where it is you do?" He asked and I nodded in confirmation before he continued. "Meet me there you will. Open, the doors will be." He promptly turned to walk away.
I stared after him for a moment before my head feathers raised themselves, displaying my happiness for all to see. Other than a quick test glide I had been grounded.
Morrigi, even males, can't fly under our own power but we glide pretty damn well. Catch a good thermal and I could stay up for hours.
The reason I was grounded is simple, and called bird strike... or shall we say morrigi strike. Too much air traffic in this damn place.
I climbed onto the edge of the flat roof and then simply threw myself off. The wind whistled across my face, ruffling my feathers as I let out a happy cry before I spread my wings, catching the air and pulling out of the dive.
Wheeling to the right I avoided one of the towers before slowly swooping lower in lazy S turns. I stayed relatively close to the outer wall of the temple, but not close enough that the crosswind might throw me up against the side.
I was almost down in-between the temple and the building next to it when I spotted the number 11 written, in Basic, above a open hangar. I shifted my weight and feathers slightly and slowly turned into it before going in for landing.
Spreading my wings wide and cupping the air I breaked as hard as I could, pulling up with all my might. My claws scratched softly against the metal floor and then I folded up my wings, landing with only a couple of extra steps.
Then, I looked at the craft sitting in the middle of the hangar and my eyes widened. It was most certainly not a specially modified fighter, or even a light freighter like I had expected.
What's sitting in the hangar was an old, but very much functional, Jedi-modified Consular-class cruiser. The Jedi 'modifications' were removed weapons... well, at least the visible ones. The craft is still painted red from her service as a diplomatic ship, signaling her diplomatic immunity for all to see.
I had just started to wonder if I had read the number incorrectly and I was in the wrong hangar when the elevator doors opened and Yoda entered.
"Found the right hangar, you did. Good, good. Your teacher, arrive soon he will."
I moved over to him. "Khan, is it really safe to learn in such a big craft?" He chuckled.
"Fit in another ship, you do not. Redesigned for training years ago, she was. Worries not, simulator first, orbital maneuvers second. Landing and taking of from closed hangar, far in future hmmm?"
I slowly nodded in agreement before eying the cruiser again. The elevator chimed, turning my attention to it as it opened to reveal someone that looked like they might be Mace Windu's great-great grandfather. He did, however, not wear the robes of a Jedi but a similar style I had seen outside the temple of mostly white with some red added in... and his beard was truly epic. It reached all the way to his belt!
"I am Kelron Menton, Republic Navy Flight instructor, currently assigned to the Jedi temple. You are Atreus, correct?" He asked while looking up at me and I nodded.
"Correct."
He simply nodded. "Very well. If you would follow me, we will be going to one of the upper chambers to proceed with assessing your theoretical knowledge in order to see what holes in it we need to fill. If we are lucky, we might start running simulations in two to three months."
That's something I didn't consider...something I should have. I knew better, in both sets of knowledge. You don't simply walk into a cockpit. Oh well, at the very least I already knew how the morrigi did things...hopefully that would speed things up.
I nodded in acquiescence, "Yes, teacher." before looking down at Yoda. "With your permission, khan."
He nodded, and gave a few parting words.
"Have fun."
Right as I turned to follow the human towards the...
Oh damn.
Behind me I can hear Yoda chuckling.
AN/ Many thanks to Keeper of Storms for betaing this part.
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#109
"White boned, dirt digging, weak beaked..."
I'm swearing softly in Creol as I try to reach into the maintenance hatch of the cruiser. My goal is to perform an emergency repair of the main power relay to the helm controls, before we re-enter the atmosphere and crash.
The simulation is that we hit a piece of space debris, that actually pierced the shields and took out both primary and secondary helm power relays and we had 20 minutes until we hit atmosphere.
That's all the information I was given.
So now I'm muttering to myself in Creol as I try to replace the damn thing...knowing what to do isn't the hard part. I swooped past the theoretical section in a month, as it turn out lots of things about space travel is pretty universal no matter what your techological base is.
Turned out though that the Republic instructors don't go halfway when it comes to teaching people to fly. Even less when I actually went for heavy freighter qualification; anything smaller, and the modified living quarters would cut too much into the cargo space.
I grunt slightly and press tighter to the deck as I finally manage to press the damn thing in place, before taking the spanner and tightening the bolts.
My own personal pain in the tail is standing to the side, leaning against the bulkhead with a timer in his hand, as I quickly get back to the controls to stabilize the orbit with almost four minutes to spare.
The ship doesn't have a proper control pillar, but after ripping the seats out I can at least reach all the control.
Kelron nods slowly and stops the clock. "16 minutes. More than I would like, but I guess I have to take your size into account", before he moves over to the instructor seat at the back of the cockpit.
I give him a slightly curious look as he turns off the simulation mode, and brings up the actual sensor readings. He runs a check on the power coupling I replaced. "I think you are ready for some basic orbital maneuvers."
I blink and ruffle my feathers happily as the engines start to hum, and he contacts Coruscant control before he continues. "Copilot, we are clear to take off at heading 090. 001. 310. Launch window in 4 minutes."
Nodding, I enter the information into computer, causing a countdown to come up as well as the HUD to show us the needed flight path.
This is something they never really showed in the movies. You just don't fly around on a feeling, on a world like Coruscant. You might get away with it on a place like Tatooine, but here? They would take your license and you would get so many fines you wouldn't be able to fit them in the cargo hold.
I keep my hands off the controls, as my teacher takes off with barely a shiver of the ship. As the landing gear folds in, he slowly slides the craft out of the hangar before following the course when the timer ticks down to zero.
It doesn't take long, only twenty minutes to orbit, even following Coruscant speed limits. As we reach stable orbit he gives me a nod. "You have the controls now. Contact Coruscant control and get us an escape trajectory for hyperspace, towards...say...Nal Hutta."
I nod and start entering information into the computer to calculate the course needed, before getting Coruscant orbital on the comms. "Coruscant control, this is Training Flight 436173. Requesting permission to break orbit, at course...302. 132. 271. for hyperspace towards Nal Hutta." The answer comes a few moments later and it's clearly a droid speaking
"Training Flight 436173, this is Coruscant Control. You are clear to break orbit on course 302. 132. 271 for Nal Hutta in 512 seconds."
I enter the timer into the computer. "Coruscant Control, this is training Flight 436173. Thanks, and confirmed. Transferring to hyper injection point in...500 seconds. Training flight out", before glancing back at my teacher.
He nods, pleased. "You have the controls."
I take the ship out to the gravity threshold for hyperspace, before he nods to me again. "Very good. Now reverse course, as if we just arrived from hyperspace, and get us back into a stable parking orbit."
The maneuver takes me another hour, as well as more communication with Coruscant Control, before we are finally back into orbit.
Kelron nods. "Very good. I have the controls", before he takes over to bring us back down to land again, at the hangar at the temple.
As the engines power down he hmms. "Very well done. A few more months, and you might be ready for your license."
I nod. "I do my best to learn fast, teacher. The Jedi have done much for me...I do not wish to take advantage of their kindness longer than I have to."
He leans back in his seat before nodding. "I can understand that. Still, it might be difficult for you to get a job as a pilot, considering your different body size."
I slowly nod. "I understand. I...have been thinking of that as well. But there is nothing else I can do. I need the stars."
"You could buy your own ship", he comments, frowning. I snort in response.
"With what? I have no credits. What bank would give me a loan of that magnitude?" and he smiles.
"You wouldn't be the first freight captain the jedi give a loan to, in return for the ability to call on your ship for transport if needed."
I tilt my head to the side in thought. "...Maybe. But they have already given me so much..."
And again he smiles. "They are the Jedi", as if it explains it all.
And I guess it kind of does.
AN/ In the future Creole will be written in Italic.
Big thanks to SakSak for betaing this part.
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#130
I'm coiled around the carved stone pillar in my quarters while reviewing some engineering schematics of the hyperdrive. To think something like this actually exists...it's as stunning to my morrigi side as my human one.
Humans back at Earth can barely claw their way into LEO at a regular basis.
The Morrigi on the other hand have the fastest mobile FTL drives in the known universe. The more ships in a fleet, the more efficient and faster it is… up to a limit.
A void mastery gravimetric ftl drive in an optimized fleet can push the fleet up to a staggering...32 times the speed of light. And now I hold in my hand the blueprints of a drive that let you cross the galaxy in a couple of weeks.
That does get me thinking though. So far I have been too busy learning and just plain trying to adapt. So far this new technology has proven to be much more advanced, even more resilient than Morrigi tech.
I have noticed some things though...their VI are clumsy. Morrigi VI coding is based off an elegant fractal code that lets the program learn and adapt as well as grow. It's not a true AI however.
The droids I have encountered here are...well to be frank they are stupid and not very adaptable.
I put the PADD down and slide off the pillar to head out the door towards the food court of this place. Another thing I have noticed is the lack of power armor. To be fair though they might have it, I haven't just seen any and don't remember any from the movies.
I give the elevator a look of disdain as I move past, taking the ohh so conveniently located stairs instead.
The knowledge needed to create power armor is something I DO have. All male Morrigi learn to craft them as part of the ritual to descend. Descending from the skies wearing armor you crafted yourself is MUCH more impressive than using armor somebody else made (unless there was a extra cunning story on how you got your hands on it)… or worse still, taking a shuttle down.
When dealing with Women it was all about presentation after all.
I let out a small sigh as I enter the food court and head over to the fruits I know I already like. The biggest problem I'm facing is that the focus of male education was more into social matters, art and maintaining already built equipment rather than researching new things and constructing ships...which doesn't exactly help in this situation.
The reaction from a female morrigi when faced with the possibility of a male building ships would be some variant of an amused "A male? In a foundry? *amused snort* He would hurt himself."
Which sadly mean my actual knowledge about how to create some of the equipment from scratch is limited, aside from some very specific exceptions.
I shake my head as I fill a plate with a mix of fruit before making my way over to a table. I would prefer a pillar to coil up around, but that would mean leaving the food court and I am too lazy to return the tray later.
As I dig into the fruit I keep thinking. This Jedi thing...I am clearly force sensitive, even if I only know how to use it one way. I should still be able to do the rest of it...in theory at least.
I cut one of the blueberry tasting fruits in half with my split lower break before crushing it against the roof of my beak with my tongue as I think things through.
I already know I will not receive Jedi training...nor do I really wish to. It's not the life for me, either as morrigi or human. But then again, being force sensitive I am vulnerable to becoming a rampaging megalomaniac choking people with my mind.
Eating another fruit I hmmm. On the other hand the force is too big of advantage not to use. Besides, it's part of who I am. A male without his glamor? To be frank, the thought is more than a bit pathetic.
As I slowly finish my meal I return the tray to the collection area and start making my way back up, meeting some groups with younglings on the way. By now I barely rate a second look, even if one of them can't resist petting the plume of feathers on my tailtip on the way past.
You kind of get used to that when spending time around young dustlings for several months.
As I return to my quarters I glance between the pillar, the PADD and the console built into the wall...then I turn and leave again, heading down towards the library.
If I am to ask the Jedi for a loan to buy a ship, I want to know If I can actually pull it off and make the idea a success. So it's off to the semi public area of the Jedi archives to research likely ship types sorts, compare them to see which might suit my needs and also go through common trade routes.
My eyes narrow slightly as I almost stalk through the corridor, as I dwell on of making profit and gathering objects to impress women...even if they would only be a dustling women.
This is what I do.
These are is pure Morrigi thoughts, untainted by any human perspective.
The Ferengi wouldn't stand a chance.
AN/
A huge thank for jpdt19 for betaing this part!
MovingTarget said:
wow hiver your realy pumping the snips out :)
When the muse say jump, you dont ask how often :p
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#226
My research into ship classes has been... annoying.
As I review the data again in my cabin I shift my wings in annoyance. Every single ship I have checked is a compromise in some capacity. And they would all need to be modified.
A quick look caused me to rate all the light freighter classes as too damn small. Technically, I could fit in something like a YT-1300(which are brand new right now) but it would be cramped to fly and claustrophobic to the extreme to live in...and it would cut down on my cargo space so much it wouldn't be worth it.
Leaving me with bigger, and more expensive ships.
I pick a fruit from my personal stash and slice it up before swallowing the sweet fruit as I refocuse my attention on my list.
At the top of the list is the Action IV. It's big enough and has a ton of cargo space as well as being rumored of being easy to modify. The drawback though is that it's expensive, both to buy and to operate.
That ship would be stellar.
Scrolling to the next ship on the list is the Vena-class freighter. It's even bigger than the Action IV, but it's also slow as hell and completely unarmed pirate bait. It is, however cheaper to operate than the Action IV and cheaper to buy. It also has plenty of interior space as the cargobay's are on the sides, while the middle, thinner, part of the ship is almost completely crew and passenger compartments.
But then again... pirate bait.
Next on the list is the CR70, the predecessor to the CR90.
It's brand new from CEC and is both the fastest and carries the best armament of all of the ships my list. It is a brand new corvette though, and as such is Expensive with a big E. Very modular and with plenty of space it would be perfect... but I simply don't know if I can talk the Jedi into bankrolling one.
Fourth on the list is the HT-2200.
Smaller than the others on the list, technically a light freighter as such it would be a bit cramped but it does actually have enough cargospace for me to cut into it slightly for more room. At least enough to be able to stretch out if needed.
It would be like a biped living in a heavy fighter, but it would be possible. This one is my backup if the Jedi nix the other three options. It is also brand new and while cheaper than the others, still not exactly cheap.
The door to my quarters open and Yoda slowly enters. "Atreus, talk to me, you wished?" He says with a smile and I nod in agreement.
"Yes Khan. My pilot training is almost complete... I hesitate to ask more of the Jedi, you have given me so much already..."
He hmmmms and jumps up to sit on my console. "Assistance to buy a ship you need?" He asks and I blink down at him, yet again, in shock.
"How did you...oh. Of course you keep track of me..." Yoda chuckles, shaking his head.
"Spy on you, we did not. Talked to your flight instructor, I did." I feel like beak desking.
"Well...yeah, that does make more sense." I say as he chuckles.
"Show me your research, you will." I promptly hand the PADD with the list over.
He slowly nods as he scrolls through it "Expert, I am not. Hear good things about CR70, I do though." I nod, again, in agreement.
"Me too. But it is also the most expensive one on the list, Khan... and it either needs a refit if bought used, something unlikely for the CR70 as it's brand new, or have the design modified as it's being constructed. Being bigger than 99% of all sapient lifeforms has its drawbacks."
He chuckles and nods, "So dooes being smaller." before giving me an amused look prior to getting more serious.
"Normal condition for Jedi funding, your teacher told you?" I nod.
"Provide emergency transport for Jedi in need." He nods with a serious look.
"Dangerous, it could be. Risk you are, willing to take?" I tilt my head and sigh.
"The alternatives are: Being hired as a pilot and with the modifications needed, that wont happen. Getting a loan from a major bank and if I miss a single payment they are likely to take my ship. Getting a loan from gangsters and if I miss a single payment I would likely to be killed. The possibility to having to get a couple of Jedi from time to time would be worth it... besides, your interest rates are VERY low."
He slowly nods, flicking his ears as he does so. "Jedi transport, rare they would be. Emergency only... own transport we usually use. If not emergency, ask and pay, even you, we would."
I offer him one of those blueberry fruits and he takes it, starting to peel it as I crush another in my beak. I had no idea you were meant to peal those...
Shaking my head I swallow the sweet fruitmeat before speaking. "Those are acceptable terms. The question is how much your council is willing to invest in me after having already given so much."
Yoda chuckles while digging deep in the fruit with his entire hand, scooping out meat to eat. "Worth-while investment, we think you are. Even save single Jedi, worth it, it would be."
I nod in understanding. "If I can, I will. This I promise you Khan."
He nods and then jumps down from my console, leaving two thirds of his fruit uneaten, taking the PADD with him. "Take this matter up with the council, I will. Give you our decision, we will."
I lower my beak in respect as he leaves before pulling out a reserve PADD. Some ships I did completely skip, like miners. While it would be a safeish and steady income, mining is such a feminine task.
AN/ The art training I mentioned earlier was less making art, that is indeed a female thing, but more about 'knowing' art. Think art critic and dealer more than painter.
Also, big thanks to Keeper of Storms for betaing this part.
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"Our decision, made it has been." Yoda says as he walks up to me, utilising his cane to the fullest.
I swallow and nod in greeting. "Khan." He hmms in response, I wonder if there's an actual meaning to those...
"Accept your list, we do not." I sighed in dissapointment.
"Yes Khan. I accept your decision. I will find funding somewhere else." He chuckles in response and I get the feeling I'm missing something.
"Declining to fund you, we are not. Accepting your list, we are however, not." I blink down at the tiny Jedi in confusion. I'm definitely missing something.
"Did I overlook something when I made my list, Khan?" His nod is decidedly smug.
"Overlook, yes. Newer ships you focused on." I frown slightly, spreading my head feathers as I try figure out his meaning.
"I figured they would be easier to maintain and find spare parts for." He chuckles, and again it is decidedly smug.
"In some cases. In others, old ships are so common, spares easy to locate."
I blink down at him, "Have the Jedi found something better and cheaper?" and I start to feel hope again. The ships I had picked were on the expensive and new side...a failing I had as a human as well. I tended to overlook older and used things back then as well.
He smiles and hands over a PADD and I quickly turn it on. "Corellian Star Shuttle?" I blink as he nods before I continue. "I actually thought about this class, most are in Republic service and they are almost as expensive as the CR70 to buy directly from the shipyard." I glance down at him as I resume. "And the few used ones the dealers I have been in contact with were not in acceptable condition."
Yoda hmms, there has to be a meaning behind those, with a smile. "Impounded one, the Coruscant customs have. Used to smuggle, it was." I blink down at him in shock, something seems to be happening fairly regularly.
"Someone actually used one of these to smuggle? What could they possibly smuggle that they would need that much space?" He gives me a sad look as he replies.
"Slaves. Using diplomatic transponder they did, pretend to be ambassador, they hoped."
Oh.
I sigh and nod. "If this is the deal the Jedi are offering, I will take it. It will still require some refitting though." He smiles, and once again I can feel the smugness radiating off of him.
"Already claimed by the Jedi from the customs, it has been. Transferred to the orbital shipyards, it's being."
Swallowing, I lower my beak. "I accept the deal, Khan Yoda. I am in the debt of the Jedi."
Yoda hmms and smiles up at me, patting my right front leg. "Pay us back, you will. Honorable, I think you are." He turns and starts hobbling along with his cane.
"Come, come. Shuttle to the yards, we will take."
I swallow before nodding and following him, glancing down at the schematics of the Star Shuttle. There was another reason I didn't put it on my list even though it had a ton of cargo, passenger and living space as well as being fast and well shielded.
It is completely unarmed and it is not easy to fix that particular failing. This... will be interesting.
AN/ Another part, could have been part of the last section really, but...eh. :p
Anyway, thanks to Keeper of Storms for betaing this one as well.
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"You want me to do what!?" Taldi Var, the twi'lek in charge of the refit of 'MY' new ship asked while staring up at me.
I nodded, "I want you to install two turbolaser turrets, one dorsal and one ventral, of the same model as on the CR70. Can it be done?"
He sighed, "Well..." and bit his lower lip, "Maybe. The smugglers did install a stronger power core so it should be able to take the drain. It will require cutting into the superstructure but we already need to pull out almost the entire interior to get the cells removed and the other changes you requested so... Yes, I think we can."
I trilled happily at that. "Oh, and I want them retractable into the hull so they are not visible from the outside."
He just stared at me. "Can't be done. They're too big."
I give him a look. "Can't be done, or too big of a job?"
He shook his head. "Cant be done. Not if you want to keep ANY cargo space left. We are already cutting your passenger carrying capacity in half with widening corridors and raising the ceiling to a the level you want as well as installing the larger Captain's quarters."
I gave him a unhappy look as he played with his PADD before continuing, "How about this instead? Instead of the large turbolasers like on the CR-70, we install smaller quad-lasers like on the YT-1300? Those are small enough that we can squeeze in the ability to retract them and close gun-ports without compromising the rest of the design to much."
I checked the specifications for those on my own PADD as he sent over the info and I slowly nod. "Acceptable... but I want five of them. Two dorsal, two ventral and one aft to cover the blind-spot created by the engine nacelles."
Sighing, Var glanced up at me again. "Retractable?"
I nodded, making him suck air in through his sharpened teeth. "It... it might be doable? I can't make any promises about it. I'll need to go through the design again. Get back to you in a couple of days about it?"
Tilting my head, I looked at him for a few seconds before nodding. "Acceptable."
He nodded before making a note and continuing, "Now, about these compartments around the outer rim of the vessel... What are those for? If you skipped those, we could bring the passenger compliment up another fifty or so," as he pointed them out on the design.
Along each side of the vessel shown, there were compartments like large airlocks hidden behind camouflaged exterior panels around the hull. There were twenty of them, each one having just over five cubic meters of space in them along with a power coupling.
I shook my head at him. "Special equipment. Actually, the special equipment isn't built yet and wont be for some time, but I want the ship ready for when they arrive."
Var just shrugged. "You're the customer. You decide how you want your ship, I just try to make it happen."
Snorting, I shook my head. "You know who's bankrolling this. They are likely to get me and my ship in enough trouble that I'm going to need everything I can possibly get as a edge."
He chuckled. "Right, you are about that, Boss, right you are... Well, I think that's all for now. Contact me if you think of any other changes, OK?"
I nodded before turning to leave the rather cramped office. "Indeed, I will."
As I exited, he called out for me, "Hey, I almost forgot. What colors do you want her in? Can't keep her red. Its limited to diplomatic transports and Republic ships."
I took a moment to think before nodding, "Keep the pattern but make her purple and blue, my colors. Purple replacing the red."
He snorted softly and nodded. "Purple and blue... Got it. Have a safe flight."
I headed of for the shuttle.
Time to get surface side again... I have some Want ads to post. I needed a crew... Eight of them. Four are needed for each shift so technically, I could get away with less... but I wanted the ability to run them around the clock in 10 hour shifts if absolutely necessary.
I frowned slightly as I headed up to the terminal for the shuttle to take me down. I might need a couple more actually if I am to take passengers.
Droids could work but sapiens do like 'real' staff. Combined with slightly larger, more luxurious cabins, it could attract higher paying customers to make up for the loss of passenger space.
Slowly, I stopped making my way towards the shuttle to loop around back towards the shipwright's office.
Somehow, I get the feeling that he is going to hate me by the time the ship is finished...