Hangar

Control panels on a ship in distress would usually light up like a Coruscant red light district. Bishop Kenobi knew this both tirelessly and intimately.

Bishop knew this tirelessly because he had spent many a sleepless night tailing disreputable types in the bowels of that city-planet's most seedy of establishments.
Bishop knew this intimately because he had sat at the helm of more ships in distress than he cared to count.

The good news was the EE-730 transport that he had commandeered was definitely in distress. The bad news was the control panel was completely dark.

"Not good."

The Jedi Knight acted quickly, turning knobs and pushing buttons. At one point he even bumped the console with his hip like he saw in an old holovid one time, but still the only light came from the blazing fires that raced across the entire bow of the ship. An idea came to mind and Kenobi hastily crouched down and tore open the paneling from beneath the controls before to find a rats-nest of wires. As he began yanking them out, a shower of sparks came from a few and his face finally showed some signs of hopefulness and a mechanical voice chimed through the cabin.

= Partial system reboot commencing, Two minutes to completion =

"Definitely not good."

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Just as farmers tended their fields, so too the starship mechanics of the Jedi Academy tended their own endeavors.

Jaren Fanro had been working on the same Aethersprite for nearly a week now. This was his pride and joy. His crowning achievement. The final test of his skills as an apprentice mechanic. He had heard from one of the other journeymen that the final test ship was sometimes given to the mechanic as a reward for all their hard work and dedication, but he'd never seen it happen. He was determined to be the first.

The young Corellian slid out from beneath the forest-green Delta-7 and stood slowly, rolling his neck and shaking the stiffness from his legs. The paint of the ship gleamed so that he could see in its reflection the smear of hydraulic fluid on his cheek as it mingled with the sweat of the day. Smiling contentedly, he took the rag from his waist and wiped the grime away as he turned to the hangar at large and met the gaze of many envious apprentices.

Just then, a flash of light lit up the dusk sky far above the planet's surface, followed quickly by a dazzling display of fiery bursts. Jaren found himself joining the rest of the crowd as the current throng of hangar occupants were all drawn closer to the bay opening and the cool night air it brought.

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= One minute to completion =

"One minute? I might not have one minute!"

There was no one to hear the exasperated tone that accompanied Bishop's reply to the ship's automated systems. In the minute that had already passed the EE-730 had already lost enough of its outer plating to build a small town. The only small victory was that the ship had made atmosphere and was no longer as on fire as it had been previously. Hooray.

= Thirty seconds to completion = 

As Bishop strapped himself in for a final approach, his eyes kept darting from the display at his fingertips to the transparisteel windshield in front of him and the fields and hills that disappeared beneath him as quickly as they appeared.

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The quiet awe of the crowded hangargoers was replaced with murmurs of worry and confusion as all of the lights of the sky slowly faded - all but one. One of the lights seemed closer now than any other. And then it, too, went out. In its place now, though, was a smudge. A smudge that was quietly screaming through the sky at the horizon.

"Is that a bird?" Vartook asked, his eyesight long past gone from years of reading parts manifests and engine manuals.

"I think its some kind of plane..." Varnash replied, but Vartook's twin brother was identical in looks as well as sight.

Jaren turned and reached over into open cockpit nearby to retrieve a pair of electrobinoculars. He headed to the front of the crowd and looked to the sky.

"Oh no..."

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= Partial reboot complete in 3...2...1...Partial reboot complete =

"Finally!" Bishop exclaimed as the control panel began to light up sluggishly, emergency thrusters kicking on to slow the descent of the crashing ship, "Corellian Academy hangar control this is Bishop Kenobi do you copy? Corellian Academy I'm coming in hot please advise. Is anyone there?"

= Remaining systems reboot in 34 minutes = 

Bishop's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

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Jaren stared up in shock as he took Vartook's helping hand. He'd been knocked to the ground in the pandemonium that ensued from his description of the incoming vessel. Mechanics and Jedi alike were scurrying about the hangar as the moved as much of the hardware and works-in-progress as the could to the far edges of the bay. What ships could fly were quickly filled with pilots or whole crews and took flight from the hangar like rats fleeing a sinking ship.

= EE-730 this is Corellian Academy hangar control - do not land in the hangar - change course to heading 3372 =

Jaren gasps as he realizes that the Delta-7 is still in place near the center of the hangar. He takes hold of the surprised Vartook and races with him to the interceptor and the two are quickly joined by a few of the journeyman mechanics and a padawan in their efforts to push the starfighter out of harm's way.

"Come on...come on!" Jaren grunts, teeth clenched from the exertion.

= EE-730 please redirect to the emergency landing strip at heading 3372 - the hangar is not equipped for emergency landings = 

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"What does that even mean?! How can comms be 50% operational, what do I get every other word?" Kenobi yelled at the computer before taking a deep breath and concentrating on the task at hand, "This is fine. You've got this. You've been in tougher scrapes than this and come out unscathed. This time we're gonna land perfectly. Totally fine."

= -E-73- - -- ellian Academ- - --control =

"Yes! Corellian Academy this is Bishop Kenobi do you co-" before he could finish, the comms cut him off once more.

= EE-7---- Corel--- - - demy - - land in hangar - -- - - -=

"They must not be able to hear me but at least I can hear them." he said to himself. Things were looking up.

=do no  ---  - - -  change course - hangar - - equipped  - emergen - -andings =

Bishop smiled as he took the sticks in his hands, the manual controls all that remained in working order, and looked down at the altimeter. Thrusters were nominal, for once, and his descent was slowing, albeit not as much as he'd like. Finally it was close enough to deploy emergency landing gear. He had been pleased when he saw that they were intact when the control panel had lit up. He flipped the switch to engage them - and nothing happened. He frowned and flipped the switch off and on again. Still nothing. He did it once more. Still, no rumble of gears or happy sounds or indication of it working. He tapped the light on the control panel and it blinked out.

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Jaren laughed in disbelief as tears streamed down his cheeks. It had all taken the blink of an eye but the crash had seemed as if in slow motion. And there was no mistaking it - it was a crash if ever there was one. Pieces of wreckage were strewn about the hangar from the opening all the way to the back. Some pieces were on fire, some were already extinguished by the various mechanics and safety staff that had already recovered from the sound and light of it all. Acrid smoke wafted up in plumes from the various piles here and there - the source of many teary eyes. Jaren turned once more to the Delta-7 beside him, bleary-eyed now with ash and soot replacing the hydraulic smudge on his face, though he could no longer see his reflection in the equally-tarnished ship. It was unscathed, thankfully, as was pretty much everything else but the hangar floor itself. With that, Jaren's legs buckled beneath him as the adrenaline drained from his body. The last thing he remembered before passing out from sheer exhaustion was the sight of what he assumed was the crashed ship's pilot still on fire a little bit but arguing heatedly with the comm's operator as if nothing were wrong.

"You call this 'prepared for an emergency?' Where are the med droids? Why are there not more extinguishing units?" Bishop patted out the small fire on his left trouser leg while he berated the poor speechless woman.

"I'll have to have a talk with her supervisor." Bishop muttered as he made his way away from the hangar and into the Academy proper.

He would help clean up later as there were far more dire foreboding circumstances to discuss and time was of the essence.

Followed closely by Dar'Toral and his new apprentice I can't help but shake my head a little bit. While I wouldn't begrudge any jedi their own traditions the direct assignment of apprentices was not one I'd ever want to participate in, but I suppose some people do take a little kick in the pants to begin their journey as a master. I keep silent on the matter however as I make my way up the ramp of my old YT-1930 freighter Daystar letting myself relax just a moment as the familiar feeling of the ship envelopes me as I begin a my preflight check almost instinctually through the force as I make my way toward the port side cargo bay. There are crates full of mechanical parts stashed all throught the space, and tables with projects half assembled strewn about with no discernable sense of order, at least that's what I've been told I see an order to it, but that's probably just because it's my own workshop. Leading the two Jedi around a few tables to the back I reach out briefly with the force to release a latch hidden behind the bulkhead. As I do a section dislodges itself and slides to the side, revealing a small armory. Grab what you need and meet me in the cockpit. I say with my usual half smile as I turn and head that way myself, reaching out with my mind to finish my force assisted inspection of the ship's inner workings as I make my way toward the cockpit.