Chereads / Here be Dragons (SW SI) / Chapter 22 - 22 Chapter

Chapter 22 - 22 Chapter

I climb off my pillar and stretch everything that will stretch while burring up my feathers, yawning widely. Pulled a double shift on the bridge to give my Chief Engineer the evening off.

She didn't volunteer details and I didn't ask, as quite frankly, she has been working hard enough to earn it and I used the time to hunt down bugs in the VI software anyway.

VIs are not something you want serious bugs in, especially as the fractal algorithms build up the procedurally generated basic VI structure. Too many major errors and you might get a seed AI that turns the universe into marshmallows.

Sure, that's pretty much worst-case scenario, but still... Borking things up too badly can make the VI unstable. The code can compensate for some things, but I basically wrote this thing from memory and it's not exactly small, it took months to write.

I shake my head and eye my soft pillows, thinking about heading to bed before yawning again and exiting my quarters, making my way towards the mess hall to grab some food. It's the middle of the ship's 'night' and the lighting is turned down.

Entering the food court I glance towards the windows before blinking, there is a short figure standing there in the dark, looking outside so I turn the light up to half, to reveal Padawan Mara.

She turns around and her eyes go wide while I simply nod, "Jedi Mara," and make my way behind the counter to dig up something to eat.

Nicole gulps and nods, "H-hello Captain." and waits until I return with a tray of fruit and leftover meat. "Captain...I want to apologize...I'm sorry I..." she starts and I interrupt.

"Got caught?" she shakes her head.

"No! I-it's a bad...habit. I guess. Nobody but other Jedi have noticed before and it was the first thing I learned to do, even before coming to the temple. It was how my family discovered I could use the force. I was almost too old…. but they took me in any way."

I nod "I could have killed you." and she nods

"I-I know," and blushes, "I think you actually managed to break my habit," before she gives me a curious look "That thing you did when you struck...are you a Jedi?"

Sighing, I shake my head and put my food down on a nearby table. "I am not... when I arrived in this area of space, I was already too old to train. What you saw is the ability of the males of my species. What did you see?" I ask and she frowns before shaking her head,

"I don't remember, it happened so fast. Just a picture of light and beauty."

I snort, "That's a fair description." before I frown

"Do you mind if I ask a question, Jedi?" and she shakes her head while jumping up to sit on the edge of a table.

"Go ahead."

I frown and eat a piece of fried meat the size of her head before continuing, "How do you avoid the Dark Side?"

She blinks at me and swallows, "Why do you ask?"

I tilt my head, eating another fruit, "Because my abilities are not limited to my glamor anymore. Something changed when I arrived in this area of space. And I use the force by instinct when I am in personal danger or when I get angry enough. I surely don't need to tell you how this can be a bad thing."

Swallowing again she nods, "Y-yes...I-I don't know...meditation perhaps? The Jedi Code..." At this, I snort,

"I do not have time to curl up and meditate all day, I've got a ship to run and things that need to be done. The Jedi code is not suitable for me, I am not a Jedi, nor do I ever intend to become one. Any other ideas?"

She sniffs and frowns, "It works. And just because you don't want to put the time in, doesn't mean meditation wouldn't solve your problems."

I eat another piece of meat and shake my head, "Some need to work for a living. If I had the money to sit around all day meditating I might try it, princess. Best I can handle is an hour before sleep."

Nicole stands up and glares at me, tears in her eyes "This is not a question for a padawan that's almost been kicked out twice for breaking the rules! You have contact with Master Yoda, ask him!" and then she storms out!

I blink at the door she left though and glance down at my meal. Well, now I feel kind of bad... before I look at the door again. That was a pretty serious emotional reaction from a Jedi, even for a padawan.

Wonder what's going on...