We didn’t exactly hurry, but after the group shed a few troopers, we were able to move quite a lot quicker, and in a matter of minutes, they’ve brought me to some sort of large door. It’s guarded on both sides by troopers, who are just sort of standing there.

They let me inside.

Now, I’ve never been inside a cockpit but I imagine it might look something like this. It’s a pretty large room, most of its walls being taken up by a glass window peering outside. I think there are four pilots at the very least, each sitting facing massive panels of buttons and screens and, most importantly, viewing the world through the window. Two other people sit watching screens, each on either side, along the walls. All these people wear black uniforms, but neither they nor the window is my focus. Well, apart from that the ship is apparently just circling Ilsa, not actually out in space.

The people in my view, however, are a total of three.

Oh, there’s Typhin! And that Lieutenant, too. He looks as full of himself as ever, but there’s a guy at his side that I haven’t seen before. Kind of a small one, almost as short as I am, and even thinner than Typhin. I can’t really tell what colour his hair is since he’s done well to hide it beneath a little hat, but his eyes are hollow and scared. Somehow, it kind of looks like he’s hiding behind the Lieutenant? Kind of weird, but-,

“Glad you could arrive so quickly, Mort. I see you’ve been outfitted with suitable clothing?” Typhin says, greeting me with a raise of an eyebrow.

“Yes, Ty-, erm, sir! I sure have, it’s good to wear clothes. Very soft.”

“Happy to hear it. Allow me to introduce the captain of this vessel and his first mate,” Typhin says, waving to the two other officers, “Lieutenant Gaugler Front and Ensign Fern Pothers.” Just looking at the face the Lieutenant is making, I can already tell that he finds this situation stupid at best, insulting at worst. The Ensign seems to retreat even further behind his superior the moment my gaze passes over him. Oh, lookie! He’s only got one red and one blue squared on his insignia thing!

“Pleasure to meet you, sirs!” I say, trying my best to be nice even though both of them seem unhappy just to see me.

“Make yourself at home,” the Lieutenant spits out.

Typhin clearly hears all of this, but since nobody has said anything clearly unkind yet, I guess he can’t really say anything, and neither will I. “Lieutenant, will you retell what you told me earlier so that our guest may hear it as well?”

The Lieutenant subtly rolls his eyes. “Of course. Since you aim to make your final report in person to avoid interference or surveillance, we will soon be heading for the Lonely Flight and related vessels, which currently temporarily reside in the Mon Calamari system in the outer rim. Due to where we are right now we will be unable to move into hyperspace, and therefore it might take weeks to get there. As for how we managed to pick you up this quickly, Commander, we happened to be in a nearby system on a different but easily resolved matter.”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Regardless,” Typhin continues in the Lieutenant’s place, “for now, we do need your help. Earlier, you said you ‘live’ in this asteroid field.”

“Uh, that is so, sir.”

“Navigating an asteroid field is no easy feat, even for experienced pilots. How do you suppose we’d best get out of this field without damaging our hull and losing men?”

...Uh? Wait, you’re-,

“You’re asking me, sir?”

“Indeed. If you have no answer we shall make do, but your additions may save the Empire many losses in life and ships.”

Shoot. Okay, um. I can’t really visualize what the asteroid field looks like right now, it’d work better if I was currently in space, so… “Sir, may I enter the asteroid field before saying anything?”

He seems a bit surprised. “If it’ll help you in making a suitable decision, then yes, by all means.”

“Thank you, sir,” and this time, unlike last time, I know to sit down before I switch consciousness. My mind seems to fly several kilometres before awakening back in my large body. Alright, alright, let’s get moving.

People up there are waiting for me to do this quick, so I waste no time assuming “stance: pudding” and then shooting up at speeds faster than Mach 1. I feel like it’s starting to get a little ridiculous, but compared to the last time when I left this planet, I practically pierce the bubble, shoot through the atmosphere and emerge into space using less effort than I thought I’d need.

The more I eat, the easier things get. Wack.

Alright, now that I’m back out in this here asteroid field, I can successfully make a few observations.

The most important one is that there aren’t that many small asteroids hanging around anymore, probably since I ate them. There’s still a fair few larger ones, but by this point, the ones larger than me in terms of diameter are few.

Right, I’ve got a plan, I guess.

I switch back to my small body, standing up to face the three officers.

Wait, hang on, they’re not looking at me, where are they-,

“Lieutenant, the unknown object seems to have left the atmosphere. Should we pursue?” One of the pilots asks, turning to look at his superior with an odd look on his face.

“Ye-,”

“No, remain in orbit,” Typhin says, cutting the Lieutenant off. “It was nothing to worry about. Now, Mort, have you come to a decision?” He turns to face me, and I’m put right on the spot, cuz all of a sudden everyone in the room is looking at me, trying to figure me out. And it feels very uncomfortable, but sitting cross-legged on the floor isn’t helping, so I stand up, dusting off my butt.

“Uh, I think so, yeah? See, there aren’t many smaller asteroids around anymore. The big ones stick to the inner and outer things. So, if we go in the middle, we will avoid the big ones and stay clear of small ones.” A little idea picks at the back of my mind. “Otherwise, I could probably protect the ships with my body? Would that help?”

“No, it won’t be needed,” Typhin says. “Lieutenant, inform your men to stick to the middle of the belt until we reach a proper area to leave the system.”

“Yessir. Ensign Pothers, send out the order to all ships.”

The Ensign does that same salute that Typhin taught me, “Will do, sir.”

“Now, Mort.” Man, hearing Typhin call my name has become refreshing all of a sudden. Being called “creature” feels really weird, to be honest, but having one guy holding my back is starting to feel damn good. “I would like to talk with you for a few minutes.” He peeks at his fellow officers, both of them standing over one of the technician’s panels. “In private.”

“Uh, of course, sir?”

“Good. Follow me,” Typhin says, not waiting for my response to move out of the cockpit just as the pilots start fiddling with the controls.