Chapter 13: Arrival at the Planet-Wide City

It only took a quarter of an hour to arrive at Currasuant, though after an intercom announced this, it took another hour before the ship managed to land. The red tape surrounding The Liberator’s landing was immense from security checks to cargo inspections. Fama complained it would be easier to just take shuttles. Still, Rey could see how sending out dozens of unshielded shuttles carrying high-profile political figures could pose a security risk. The Jedi Master did not doubt that the Admiral wanted a secure base to fall back on if things went wrong.

During this time, despite Fama’s periodic pestering, Rey managed to clarify her next course of action. Ultimately, Admiral Primidian’s logic was irrefutable, and his offer was too tempting. Rey knew in her heart a Jedi was meant to be detached from their desire for material passions, but the resources this ex-imperial had at his disposal could be the catalyst that let the Jedi Order flourish once more. It may not be the way of the Jedi, but for the sake of the future, she knew she couldn't view this situation as black and white.

A few seconds at the room's computer was all it took for her to send the Admiral her response. Not even ten minutes later, she received a response brimming with gratitude. Rey had no doubt the man was genuinely pleased, though she had firmly promised herself at the first sign of anything fishy she would renege. Even if it cost her all the Jedi relics, she would not be a pawn in a malicious scheme. In this way, she hadn't completely resigned herself to this alliance but was taking everything one step at a time.

As Lex had mentioned in politics, the Force was insignificant before connections and leverage. Seeing how the Admiral placed such importance on her assistance, she felt she had gained both. When Rey also considered her New Republic allies and scattered connections in the Corporate Alliance, she was pleased to realize she had unknowingly established a rather impressive support network.

When it finally came time for them to leave, a knock came from their door. Upon opening it, the two Jedi found Midnight 7 with a casual expression, dressed in classic white armor and a welt under his left eye. In a sarcastic tone, she said, “I drew the short stick and got babysitting duty.”

Rey smiled back at him curtly and responded, “The only baby here is you.”

The man’s eyes glimmered with amusement, and continued, “That may very well be true.” With a gentlemanly gesture, he added, “May I escort the actress and her cousin to the landing dock.”

Fama spoke up at this confidently, “You may.”

Midnight 7 nodded and put his helmet on, “Follow me.”

They left the Passenger Wing, which was now nearly empty, and maneuvered through some bak routes before arriving at a maintenance hatch. Rey didn't look impressed and asked, “This is supposed to be?”

The stormtrooper stomped on the hatch twice and responded, “The main exits are all under strict surveillance. Admiral thought keeping your journey with us off the record would be best.” He added humorously, “For whatever reason that may be.”

At this point, the hatch flew open, and the sound of bustling mechanics rushed through; Fama looked down the hole and asked, “Where’s the transport? It's a long fall.”

Midnight 7 checked his wrist and answered, “The two of you will need to jump in 32 seconds.”

Both Master and Padawan exclaim at the same time, “Jump?!”

The stormtrooper nodded, “Yup, the transport can only do a flyby to avoid unwanted attention. That and a few select power outages should get you away scot-free.”

Rey considered this rapidly. They either really needed to jump, or this was the most ridiculous assassination attempt in galactic history. She could almost see the headlines, “ Jedi Master and Pawan Dead After Leaping from Bottom of Star Destroyer .” Ultimately, she could only bend down and pick Fama up into her arms. Worst came to worst; she could use the Force to save the girl and maybe even survive herself with a pair of broken femurs. The little girl yelled at this, “We’re really going to jump.”

Rey grunted as she positioned the child, “We're going to jump.”

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Midnight 7 kept looking at his wrist and chimed, “Five Seconds, Four seconds, Three seconds…” After the countdown finished, he shouted, “Go!”

Rey jumped down with her heart racing and fell cleanly into the back seat of a zooming speeder. Fama screamed as this happened, and both breathed deep sighs of relief once safe. The Master could vaguely feel the speeder coming, but everything was so fast even her Jedi senses could barely keep track of it. Fama yelled out happily, “We’re alive.”

A familiar male voice said, “I'm not that bad a driver am I?”

Rey sat up in the back seat, adjusting her wind-blown hair, and scoffed, “Jay, what are you doing here.”

The blue-haired man looked back excitedly, calling over the sound of the wind, “Escorting. I'm familiar with Curasuant, and the Admiral thought a familiar face would make you feel more relaxed.”

Rey noticed the young man was dressed in a sharp grey uniform, which Fama recognized and couldn't help but exclaim, “What’s with the uniform.”

Jay was sailing, smoothing around in ascending circles through what looked like a vast, vertical tunnel of metal, and easily managed to respond simultaneously, “Oh, DiDi and I re-enlisted. Since we have academy training in four years, we can transfer from active duty to administration on one of the Core Worlds.”

Rey considered this and asked, “Is it worth it.” She had a big issue with the Remnant General requiring military service for a person to get citizen rights. Even if you were born to citizens, you would still have to serve two years at a local base. If you didn't have citizen status, you would face high taxes, couldn't work in the government, and would find it much harder to buy land or own a business.

The blue-haired man shrugged, “It's not ideal, but with our level of training, the benefits are great.” With a thoughtful tone, he added, “We’re used to this kind of life, and things look way better than when the First Order was in charge.”

Rey nodded and responded, “I hope the two of you can quickly find happiness.”

Jay looked back with a happy and appreciative smile, “Thank you.” After brief eye contact, he returned to the road and added, “My orders say you must arrive at the New Republic, Landing Platform 76, in two hours. Anything you want to see before then.”

Fama perked up at this and asked, still wary of her situation, “Is that safe.” Rey admired the girls, understanding that their situation was precarious. Still, she didn't want the girl to overburden herself.

Jay smiled in the rearview mirror and explained, “This speeder is from a public landing platform. Its maps and records have been adjusted to show that's where we've come from.”

Rey shook her head, amazed by the Admiral’s resourcefulness on such short notice. With no major worries, she waved casually, “It's my first time on Curasuant. If anything comes to mind, it would be the Old Jedi Temple.”

Jay chuckled and responded, “I thought you’d say that.” He added informatively, “Sadly, the tours are only by reservation and are completely booked up now. But we can do a driveby.”

It disheartened the Jedi to hear that the once-great Temple had been degraded to a tourist attraction, but a driveby was better than nothing. A few moments passed where the Jedi Master focused on collecting her thoughts, but all of this concentration was blown away as they emerged from the landing shaft. It was almost sunset, and the light of a distant sun reflected brightly in endless buildings, creating an ocean of light. The city's sprawl was endless, and countless speeders, ships, and people were amongst it.

Fama gasped in awe at this marvelous sight while Rey couldn't help but swallow with amazement. She had seen a few holograms and heard stories of the planet-wide city, but seeing it in person was completely different. It gave her a sense of age and triumph, as if the city was a monument to civilization throughout the galaxy. To construct it was the work of hundreds of generations, and from the glory of the Galactic Republic to the tyranny of the Galactic Empire, it had stood unwavering.

For a moment, Rey felt incredibly small and knew in another hundred years, she would be gone, but this place would still be thriving. The current view would be no more, covered by a few more layers of building and hover pads, as was the nature of history. Her only wish was when that day came, the people who lived here would be able to know what it meant to be free.

The driver sighed happily and called, “The view never gets old.”

Fama giddily leaned over the vessel's side and called, “It's so pretty!”

Jay glanced back as they shifted into a long lay of fast-moving traffic, calling, “Don't lean out too far. Your head will go past the atmospheric regulation field.”

Rey was confused by this, but the padawan lurched back a moment later, holding her nose gagging and shouting, “Ewe, it wreaks.”

Jay nodded at this and responded chiddingly, “Yah, the views are great, but all the exhaust vents from over a thousand levels empty up out of her. These local plants deal with the toxins, but it's still nasty air.” He patted the ship's control board confidently, “Don't worry, almost everywhere you go will have a local regulator, so it’s bearable.”

Curries, the Jedi Master, stuck out her head and were confronted by the most putrid odor, like rotten Kunut eggs and spoiled yama milk left out in the sun for a week. She lurched back and gasped for clean air as Fama snickered teasingly. The child grew silent under an intense glare at which Rey diverted her attention and called over the sound of the wind, “You're certainly right.”

Jay steered them into a higher lane with an even better view, causing both passengers to become more distracted. Now that the tight maneuvering was done, he set the autopilot and let out a sigh of relief. Turning back, he reported, “Well, we're on our way.”