Time Stands Still

[Brisha Syrehk]

The lights flickered, bringing a quick sequence of pitch black and blinding white in the cockpit.

This was not a good sign.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Brisha muttered under her breath.

Deft fingers danced over the controls; but nothing could stop the Kite's Wing from puttering before flying dead in space.

Thank the Force it occurred in between jumps. The ginger Knight had no inclination to be stranded in the depth of hyperspace.

"I regret to inform you that engines are," the voice of the freighter's AI crackled before turning to silence.

"Damn it."

Knowing there was nothing more she could do from the pilot's seat, she got to her feet and made her way towards the engine room.

At least, there would be no smart talk from the AI while she diagnosed the issues.

Her fellow Jedi and she had been on their way to the Outer Rim, to help an orphanage with Force potentials; but it seemed they would have to take the long way to get there, much to her chagrin.

She stopped by her friend's door, rasping her fingers against the metal.

"Domovoi?"

He had retired to his quarters to meditate a while back, and she hated to interrupt; but she had learned a long time ago that asking for help was a sign of humility and could also accelerate processes.

[Domovoi Draste]

"I regret to inform you that engines are-"

At the precise moment Domovoi’s eyes opened, the dim lighting in his quarters extinguished into near total darkness. All that kept that shadows at bay was the glowing pulse of the crystal, shimmering the faintest green in its container. Domovoi reached out toward it, stretching out to it with fingertips and feelings alike - but froze at the sound of a knock at the door, and Brisha’s voice outside.

Domovoi pulled back from the crystal, closing the protective case over it and in doing so, dousing what meagre illumination it provided. Exhaling a long breath, the Jedi Knight rose from his knees to his feet. Meditation and the many secrets of the Force would have to wait, for now at least. It was only a short walk to the door, one he had done so many times that he needed no light to avoid bumping into a bulkhead.

With a touch, the door slid open. Outside, there was an... unnatural stillness and silence in the ships hallway.

The lines at the edges of Domovoi’s eyes wrinkled as he regarded Brisha.

“How bad is it?”

[Brisha Syrehk]

Even in darkness, Brisha knew the ins and outs of the Kite's Wing, the ship having been the closest thing to home since her childhood at the Jedi Temple.

A Jedi's home is the Force, from the most humble dwelling to the vastest breath-taking skies.

Her late master's words still resonated deep within her soul.

It was also a reminder to care for all places and people, including the ship that had sheltered Domovoi and her, and allowed them to carry on their oath to serve.

Some emergency lights flickered at the bottom of the walls, several of them inoperative for years. They were Jedi and could rely on the Force to move around the freighter if necessary.

In the penumbra, she looked up at her friend when the door slid open.

"Hyperdrive is out. I'm hoping to restart at least one of the engines so we can get to the next planet."

She folded her hands before her, her short silhouette a serious but confident shadow.

"I could use your help with tools and repairs."

She could manage on her own; but they operated well as a team, and the quicker they were on their way, the better.

[Domovoi Draste]

The hyperdrive. Domovoi’s heart sank, though he suppressed the urge to sigh. Stepping out of one darkness into another, Domovoi followed Brisha’s lead, her grey shadow.

They had been travelling aboard the Kite’s Wing for so long that not only were mechanical problems now becoming the norm rather than exceptions, but the old freighter had become more like a family member than a simple method of conveyance. Entering the engine room and hearing an unusual clank or whirr was unsettling, but to hear nothing at all was so much worse.

A quick rummage in the engineering kit yielded a few hand-powered lamps and torches. Domovoi set one on the tool bench and offered another to Brisha.

“How much longer do you think she can limp along like this?” the pale Knight asked, while he watched Brisha step forward to assess the situation.

[Brisha Syrehk]

As Jedi they knew better than to develop unnecessary attachments to others, and especially to things. Yet, there was no denying that Brisha felt a pang of sorrow at the thought of the Kite's Wing eventually meeting its end. The freighter had been their home for so long. It really had been their haven, their temple away from what now stood as the merciless heart of the Empire. The way the struggling ship held it together was a not always so quiet reminder of how the two wandering Knights upheld their upbringing in a galaxy that had been trying so hard to eradicate their kind.

She led the way to the engine room, her heart skipping a beat at the eerie silence. She found her center of peace, nested in the confines of her mind.

"Chaos, yet harmony... Chaos, yet harmony," she quietly whispered to herself.

She sensed Domovoi shift near her and she took the lamp he offered her.

The redhead nodded her thanks in the dark before switching it on. She moved towards one of the panels, and checked a few things, only confirming that the hyperdrive was not likely to cooperate the easy way.

Retrieving her tool belt, she fastened it over her robes, and knelt near a larger panel, placing the light so it would give her some starting help, although her friend's help would be soon required.

She unscrewed the panel and attempted to smell for any burning scent; but thankfully there was none to be found.

"I don't know," she answered her companion.

"We've patched her up for years; and the nav system is doing much better. This, though..."

She gestured for him to shed some light over the cables and components before her.

"If we can get another hyperdrive, she would be set for another while. I'm just not sure how to get one."

[Domovoi Draste]

Domovoi angled the beam of the torch into the tangle of machinery. Of the two of them, Brisha had a far better chance of understanding how to give the freighter the push it needed to get down onto solid ground.

“I can’t imagine they come cheap,” he said, thinking aloud while he repositioned the torch in response to a small gesture from the red-head. Living and travelling together for so long, words were not always necessary to understand one another.

“There’s a good chance we’ll need to take work to afford a replacement.”

[Brisha Syrehk]

As always, Brisha was grateful for her friend's assistance. They possessed talents that complimented each other's; and since they were children they had been in tune so they could provide assistance to the other when needed. The Force had heightened their bond over decades of companionship and tragedies that had seen the two survivors of the purge hold on to the principles that made them Jedi.

She checked various connections and components, taking inventory on a notepad of what could be done and what would be needed.

"They don't," she replied in a whisper.

The redhead pushed away a strand of hair falling into her face as she began undoing connections and rewiring what she could to ensure that they would be able to fly within whatever system they had come to a halt.

"I am glad our old lady held on and the security system we installed a few years ago dropped us out of hyperspace."

She knew too well that the Force had watched over them once again. Had the hyperdrive and engines given up on their in the thick of hyperspace, they wouldn't have survived.

"I didn't check where we are yet. I wanted to check the damage first. We might have to stay for a while."

She hoped that they could at least get work and buy a new hyperdrive.

"If we end farming, it wouldn't be the first time that our training in the Agri Corps is useful, right?"

She smiled faintly, briefly recalling their childhood, when the Order made sure that they would know different subjects besides their training in the ways of the Force.

[Domovoi Draste]

At his side, Domovoi’s fingertips reflexively twitched a little, recalling the feeling of dirt. It had been a long time since the two of them had knelt, children, in the soil of an unfamiliar world, willing the Force to restore life to wilted crops. They had swapped roots and vines for cables and wires, but their hope now was the same as it had been then: to coax life back into a place where there was none.

“Is astrogation still online? Do we have any way of knowing where we are?”

[Brisha Syrehk]

While they had been able to stay under the radar and travel the galaxy to serve the Light where they could, Brisha missed living on an actual planet at times. She knew her friend did as well; but they also respected the will of the Force which had never let them stay in one place too long. They lived to uphold their oath and training; and so the Wing remained their home.

She kept going through diagnostics, eventually rebooting a couple of things that brought some of the lights back up. It wasn't much and she was extremely careful not to overwhelm the fragile ship; but it was something.

The redhead looked up over her shoulder at Domovoi.

"Astrogation may be minimal; but hopefully there's a viable planet nearby."

She didn't say more for fear wasn't the way of the Jedi. They trusted in the Force and found peace even in difficult times.

She eventually got back to her feet and headed to the cockpit, the small room still darker than usual. The ship was quiet but not dead.

The redhead sat down and checked, hoping for good news.

"Well, that's fairly off the grid; but there are people down there."

[Domovoi Draste]

Domovoi looked on from behind the pilot’s chair, his eyes shifting up from the ship’s command console - now flickering back to life - to the starscape that sprawled before them. The Galaxy was vast and unknowable, and yet it was rare to come across a star system that was not home to life in one form or another.

“The Force favours us once again,” the Knight said, willing truth into the words as he spoke them. He believed in the will of the Force and in doing so knew that life would rarely be easy or straightforward.

“Nevertheless… we should proceed with caution.”

[Brisha Syrehk]

Brisha's lips curved into a slight smile at Domovoi's words about the Force. They had been favored on many occasions, which was why they both were so willing to carry on with the life they had been raised in and wholeheartedly believed in. She did not wish for an easy life but she trusted in their purpose and what the Force had in store for them.

"Indeed," she replied to his observation about caution. Trusting in the Force did not mean recklessness.

They remained silent, their companionship a peaceful bond that had grounded them for decades. Brisha eventually brought the Kite towards the planet. It was a rough ride with the poor ship requiring some extensive love and repairs. They saw various colonies scattered across the region they chose to visit; but there was no organized air traffic station, which could be a blessing in disguise to stay under the radar.

It should only be a short walk to the settlement and there was no rain and the climate seemed rather breathable so it was a good start. Brisha briefly stopped by her quarters to change for fresh clothes out of respect for whoever they were about to meet. Black pants tucked into her old sturdy boots and a medium blue shirt with a dark grey outer vest completed the outfit. Her ginger hair was pulled back. They could come back to the ship to fetch a few more things if allowed to stay and needed to.

As they left the Kite's behind, she hoped that it would be okay. It seemed a lot of farming was going on and while they didn't have much money they were used to stay somewhere exchanging work for goods they needed. In this case it might require a few solid weeks with the parts they needed to be able to travel again.