Dressel's Open Terrain

Ryloth, eh? She got up and moved her chair back under the table, stretching and groaning. AVI got up and grabbed the bags. That’s not too far of a run from here. Heck, just a short jog if my memory of where we are in the galaxy serves me right. Guess I need to start getting my bearings soon, huh? AVI, lets go earn our keep.

She followed Fumnanya out, AVI behind her. She kept quiet as they walked and talked among themselves in the crowds of people in the city. Her mind was swimming a little too much at the moment and she needed to focus it before showing off her skills.

Anxiety was building up again. The last time she did this, she got really sick, and her stomach was reminding her of the whole scene. Maybe, go a lot smaller this time rather than all out. Maybe she wouldn’t even have to really push hard at all.

Conversations were happening around her, but they were muted and distant. She was walking, following along automatically as she stifled the nervousness in her stomach.

Suddenly, a consideration popped up she hadn’t thought of before: what if these people were slavers and she was their next target. Her eyes got really wide, and she thought about backing out. Slowing down for a moment, AVI bumped into her. He put his hand on her shoulder and pushed her along gently. Looking back at him, he tilted his head slightly then looked forward again. She felt like he had read her mind and was reassuring her that it was going to be ok and to keep walking. She heard his voice telling her in her head. Spending as much time with him as she had in recent months, she felt like she knew him and that he knew her more than ever.

She picked up her pace, putting that fear aside. With AVI by her, she didn’t have anything to worry about. Besides, these folks seemed too caring for one another to be in that realm.

Getting her mind back on track, she began to focus herself, center herself. Where was she in the galaxy? Where was she on Dressel? Her mind’s eye zoomed in from an all-galaxy-encompassing view down to the city streets she was walking on. It took a few moments for her to focus on the image of herself walking with the group, AVI behind her, the hangar just up ahead.

Her heart skipped a beat. She was getting close. Game time was soon going to be upon them.

Walking into the hangar, she stopped in her tracks as she admired the ship before her. She tried to say "wow”, but no sounds came out. She also wanted to make a snide but joking remark about flying junk pile that Corellian ships were often called, but the words of AVI from the night before stopped them fast. Getting on Vejide's bad side was not on her list of things she wanted to do.

Her mind was still muting the voices around her as she skipped ahead to the ship. So cool!

She almost floated up the ramp, all of her previous fears and anxieties washed away at the sight of the ship. Onboard, she felt at one with the metal. If anything, it felt more like home than anything she had felt in a while. It was familiar to her as she ran through the corridors to the cockpit. She paused momentarily at the threshold before slowly stepping inside.

She ran her hands over the console. Taking a seat in the pilot’s seat, she paused and breathed the air. It tasted of a circulation system. She breathed in deeply, filling her lungs. Clicking her heels together, she closed her eyes. There’s no place like home.

With the moment gone, she dove under the console, hands, and knees on the floor.

^{Where is…} Ah-ha! Of course! _{Typical Corellian layout...}

She connected her holopad to the diagnostic port. Her screen loaded up with systems information and details and she scrolled through the lists and readouts. Her hands danced over the screen as she found out everything she could about the ship. With a practiced hand, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a handheld holoprojector and set it on the console in front of her as she continued to read over system logs.

AVI looks around the cabin, deciding where to put everything. Carefully, he put Dee's limited wardrobe options in the drawers by her bed. It really consisted of just two robes, two stillsuits, and the armor set, with a similarly limited underwear set. He knew what she would be buying with her first check.

Inside of AVI's bag, carefully stored away in an environment container was a pot of dirt in it. Sprouting from the dirt was a small stem. Setting it on the dresser, he admired it, turned the pot a little in an attempt to find that perfect angle. Reaching around to the back of the pot, he pressed a button that locked the base to the dresser. He took out a bottle of water from Dee's bag and poured a little into the pot, wetting the dry soil.

Tatooine was not kind to you, was it?

Perking up, he walked over to a corner, sat down on the floor. Pulling his legs to his chest and hugging them, he bowed his head and shut off the metallic chassis.

-

In the cockpit, Dee was smiling. Looking between Dikeledi and Fumnanya, she was practically a ray of sunshine. Shoot yeah! I am going to take this flight to Ryloth easy as the two of us learn to waltz; try not to step on each other’s toes. But it should be good. Smashing feet is normal for new partners, right? She shrugged. I figure once on Ryloth, the two of us will be dancing like pros.

She leaned forward and activated the little holoprojector. It emitted light, but nothing was on display. Hey AVI, when you get done setting up, want to join me here? She leaned back in the pilot’s seat again and looked up at Fumnanya. I'll be ready in a few minutes; you just give the -

All set up Dee. The holoprojector lit up as AVI appeared. The spheroid shape he normally took looked like a tiny multi-colored star. As he spoke, he pulsed and cast off what looked like rainbow-hued coronal mass ejections into the holostream. Like a singular eye, it visibly turned from Dikeledi and Fumnanya and then back to Dee. I take it you would like a more direct interface with the... oh?

She raised her hands and tried to shush him before he said it too loud, but it was too little too late. She hung her head.

_{Vejide is going to murder me...}

She looked at Fumnanya with pleading eyes. It’s nothing crazy, promise. It just allows me to get closer to the metal. I like to do my own manual hyperspace calculations, and sometimes that is a lot more difficult than it needs to be through normal means. Then again that would make sense as it keeps a normal crew from hitting the wrong button. But yeah, no crazy modifications... She turned and started playing with her hands. AVI patiently waited, gently pulsing and floating. Yet...

She shot around and faced Fumnanya again. I promise I won’t do anything unapproved by you or Vee. I know this is kind of her baby, and I want to take care of it like it was my own.

She turned once again and began lovingly running her hands over the console. However, the look on her face and the growl in her voice was a bit more aggressive. AVI "looked" down and shook from side to side. But baby are we going to have some fun.

She slunk down in her chair at the mention of the axe and wasn’t sure if that was an exaggeration, or if her head would be on the chopping block after all this was said and done. She looked up at AVI who was more or less unfazed by the exchange. Taking a deep breath, she leaned forward and pulled the seat up, adjusting it to fit her frame.
Aye

Setting the holopad on the console in front of her, she nodded at AVI who brought up the ship's systems on the device. She looked around them, checking that nobody had entered the hangar before startup. With the flick of a few switches, the startup sounds roared through the ship. Life-support came online, shield generators were on standby mode, and the roar of the engines reverberated through the hangar.

She gave the ship a moment to wake up and warm up before pulling back on the stick and lifting it off the ground.
Ramp up, legs up, shields up

The ship hovered for a moment before ascending up and out of the hangar. Banking slightly, she eased into acceleration off to the north, out and away from the city behind them.

She gave herself a few minutes to get used to the ship's flight systems in the comfort of the atmosphere and not too far out from a city. Can never be too sure. Looking over the datapad, she watched as flight data poured in. The holographic image of AVI was rotating like a star spinning in space, flaring up and out as if he were trying to escape the bounds of his projection. He was busy analyzing the information and finding the ship's baseline.

They had been in the air for about 60 seconds when he stopped and "looked" at Dee. Ok, we're good to go. The ship’s all yours now.

Thanks. She hadn’t looked away from the window in front of her, not even an occasional glance to look down to where the switches where she was flipping, or the buttons she was pressing. Her movements were well practiced like she had been a pilot of this ship her whole life. She looked over at Dikeledi and smiled. Nice thing about the Corellians, their ships are usually fairly similar to one another. She looked forward again and pulled back on the stick to get the ship out of the atmosphere. She grunted under the momentary g-force load. If you've flown one, it's likely you can fly 'em all.

With the ship's course out of the atmosphere pretty much set, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

*** It was dark. The void of space. But this time there weren’t any planets or stars. She tried to find them, but they just wouldn’t appear. She waited a few moments, but the impatience was mounting.

Come on; I have a boss to impress here!

She tightly closed her eyes and opened them again. Nothing. Just emptiness. She closed them again, then opened them. Still nothing. With an exasperated sigh, she closed them again. ***

The atmosphere had faded away to darkness, and the curvature of the planet below them was obvious. She opened her eyes and looked around the cockpit, disappointed in the fruitlessness of the attempt. She looked over at AVI.

Our stuff is in Cabin C.

Excuse me one second. Dikeledi, just keep us heading straight out, I’ll be back in 20 seconds.

She said this as she danced out of her seat and sprinted through the corridors, around some crates, dodging Niko, and diving into her cabin. Pulling out her bag, she pulled out a tiny container, opened it, licked her finger and stuck the very tip of it in. Pulling her finger out, she sealed everything up tight, hid the container away in her bag, and hid the bag under her bed. She took a deep breath and held it as she stuck her finger in her mouth and bit it on the knuckle. Getting up and still holding her breath, she ran back into the cockpit.