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“ Well, That was a close one. For a moment there, I thought we were done for,” Zeko remarked as he leaned back on his chair with all of his four arms supporting the back of his head while looking into the blue whirling vortex ahead as the Gauntlet traveled through hyperspace. “Thanks to my fast thinking,” Kara took credit for their daring escape they made back there. “ That and mostly because of my undisputed piloting skills,” he shot back at her with a confident smirk on his face. Kara gave herself a small chuckle at the face Zeko was giving. In these dark times, situations like this indeed brought some light to her heart and her surroundings. The last 15 years had been rough and with the future being even more rough and uncertain, Kara must enjoy the little things every now and then. Joining in the childish argument, R5 also beeped and booped, claiming all of the credit for their unconventional escape. “ What ?” Zeko exclaimed with a shocked expression replacing the confident smirk. “ You were reluctant to go through with it in the first place.” Zeko argued back at the droid, who continued to argue back with the Ardennian over who deserves more credit. Not wanting to get caught up in this petty fight of theirs, Kara got up from her seat and headed down from the cockpit to the common room to get herself a drink. After all that action, she deserved one blue bantha milk to quench her dry throat. Over at the common room, she found Karl already there sipping a drink of bantha milk, sas he sat with his right arm resting on the gray rectangular shaped table. As she approached him, he got up from where he was previously seated to obtain another drinking cup from the food storage behind him. He took the cup to the automatic refiller where he filled up the cup with bantha milk with the press of one button. With the cup full, he proceeded to bring the cup over to Kara and handed it over to her. “Thanks,” she muttered in appreciation as she took a sip from the cup. They were soon joined by Zeko and R5, who seemed to have ended their stupid argument about who deseved more credit at the cockpit.
“ So you’re gonna show us what you stole and more importantly why you stole it ?” Zeko questioned Kara about the supposed vital technology she had risked stealing from. The rest of them were clueless as to Kara’s intention. They only knew that it was Jedi-related, nothing more than that. “Before we dive into that, we need to address the rancor in the room.” Karl said out loud as he rolled his eyes over to Kara, directing the attention of the room towards her. “ Why are you looking at me like that ?” She asked him, oblivious to what he was trying to imply. Karl sigheds frustratedly before putting it in simpler and more blunt words since she couldn't get what he was trying to insinuate,
“ Kara used the Force back when we were trying to outrun the Imperials from the City,” “BEEP ??!!” Even someone who wasn’t familiar with binary would’ve understood the droid’s reaction upon hearing that Kara has done something incredibly careless and perhaps even stupid of her. “You did what ??!” Zeko’s voice was filled with a sense of shock and surprise. He had never expected her, of all people, to have been so careless. “Why don’t you tell them what happened Kara.” Karl said to her in a sarcastic manner. Zeko and R5 then turned their heads to her expecting an explanation. She owe them one now, thanks to Karl’s big mouth.
“ I just used the Force a little to nudge the patrol trooper off our backs. He had us at a blaster point and I had to act. It's not that of a big deal.” She admitted and justified her actions to the duo. Zeko however, is far from convinced. “ Are you trying to get yourself killed ? If they decide to take a look in the security tapes and find a stormtrooper being invisibly pushed to the sea with your hands pointed at him, what do you think it would look like ?” Zeko retorted. Zeko has a point, Kara thought. Not everyone could push a speeder bike off the streets by simply waving their hands. “ The Empire is hunting down Jedi Survivors and you’re making it easy for them,” The Ardennian further added “Zeko’s right. We definitely don’t need that Mirialan Inquisitor[ [1] on our backs again. Dealing with stormtroopers is one thing, a red blade wielding maniac, that’s something else entirely,” Karl concurred with Zeko’s concerns. In the past, they had barely escaped the clutches of that Inquisitor but it came with a cost. The Inquisitors were a mysterious group of Dark Side Users who served the Empire in hunting down any surviving Jedi Remnants. They were known for their ruthlessness, killing anyone in their path, be it a soldier or a civilian to get to their target. They were also cunning and masters of deception, deceiving others to help them in their objectives only to cast them aside or worse kill them once they had outlived their usefulness.
Kara understood their concerns well enough. Dealing with an Inquisitor was no easy thing. She too had dealt with one Karl was referring to during a mercy mission to Mygeeto. She had been using her Force abilities in the open long enough to be noticed. They barely survived that encounter, but it came with the cost of the lives of the very villagers they went to provide aid to. However, for some strange reason, they never encountered the Inquisitor again. Either Kara had been covering her tracks well enough or that she is not a priority target, for now. Regardless, it can be safe to assume that there is no one on their backs. “ We haven't faced her since Mygeeto. Maybe she’s not on to us anymore,” she cooly said, but deep down, even she knew that was a lousy excuse at best. “ After looking at the Security Tapes, she might just be again,” Karl shot back in a rather pessimistic manner. “ Let’s get back to the topic at hand.” Zeko interjected, “ What is it that you have brought us ?” He added. Kara owed them an explanation after all that had happened. Her efforts have led them to forgoing more important, meaningful missions like helping oppressed beings in countless star systems suffering under Imperial Rule. She placed her hand in her pocket and pulled out the small silver box she had earlier kept inside her pocket and showed it to them. Zeko, Karl and R5 are in the dark as to what it is she’s holding, only that it is Imperial and this small thing was of great value to the Empire, so valuable they even locked down the Spaceport according to chatter heard by R5. Zeko could not believe it, ‘the Empire threw in a lot of resources to stop them from escaping with this little thing ?’ He asked himself in his head
“Looks Imperial.” Karl commented on trying to figure out what it is. “ You’re right,” Kara replied. After all, Karl had indeed provided the most general answer on it. Seeing that no one else, including her droid, was familiar with what it is she held with her hands, Kara proceeded to explain to them, “This is an Imperial Navigation Software, Military Grade. It’s powerful enough to plot safe hyperspace routes to remote systems, bypassing any Space Anomalies that act as a hurdle to normal civilian navigation computers. It should be compatible with the Gauntlet’s main computer.” “Oh it will be compatible alright,” Zeko said confidently about his ship. “ The question is why do you need a military grade navi computer to chart new routes when there's already existing hyperspace routes connecting the galaxy ?” Zeko further asked. “Unless you’re looking for a new planet ?” Karl guessed based on what Kara had told them about. “ Your hypothesis is correct.” Kara pointed out to him. She was looking for a world, but why ? That’s what R5 asked her too. This was also shared by both Karl and Zeko. “ I’ll show you,” Kara said as she headed towards the ship’s holotable located just behind the cockpit. The circular shaped furniture projected holograms above its surface. The crew commonly uses it in planning their missions beforehand,though Karl occasionally uses it to watch Pod Racing tournaments[2]. Over at the Holotable, she pressed a few buttons over at the controls, in which the table projected a hologram of the galaxy with its millions of star systems scattered across it. Below each planet shown, is the name of the system identified in Aurebesh [3], the standard galactic writing system. Karl and Zeko soon surrounded the table to see what Kara is trying to show them.
“ Why are we looking at a holographic image of the galaxy ?” Zeko asked. It's common knowledge for space travelers to know how their galaxy looks like and for a somewhat experienced pilot like Zeko, he knew his galactic geography well enough and it would be a waste of time to just show a hologram of it. “For a while now, I’ve been having visions about this place. It’s like the Force is trying to reach out to me, telling me to go to this place,” Kara explained. “ What do you mean ?” Karl asked, confused as to what she meant. “ To be honest, I didn’t know what it meant either, so I had to seek out a place that is strong with the Force.” “What do you mean seek out ?” Zeko further queried. As far as he could recall, Kara never mentioned anything about seeking out any particular place. He then realized something, there was a solo mission in which Kara and R5 alone did, not too long ago. In fact, it was right before their heist on Corellia. “You and R5 went to Ord Mantell for a meet up with a supposed Rebel informant, that wasn't the case right ?” Zeko theorized. R5 beeped and booped in confirming Zeko’s theory. “He’s right. There was no meeting with any informant. Instead we went to Devaron.” Kara explained in admitting their earlier deception . “ What’s on Devaron ?” Karl asked, slightly incensed over their previous lie. “The ruins of an ancient Jedi Temple strong with the Force,” [4] Kara explained, “ It was the perfect place for me to seek guidance from the Force about my visions''. “ Why didn't you just tell us about going to Devaron ?” Karl pointed out to her. Usually the crew of the Gauntlet undertake missions together as a team, something that Kara strongly emphasized, in applying the importance of teamwork she was taught during her time as a youngling. Thus , it may seem hypocritical for her to had just wandered off without even telling them where she was actually going.
“ We would’ve tagged along with you,” Karl further added in a confused tone. He was unsure whether to be upset or confused at this and Kara could sense it in him. “ I’m Sorry I didn't say anything about this mission, ” She started off by apologizing for her actions first before she continued, “ But I did it for your own safety. For places like this, It was just too risky to go as a team without being caught.” she said in a slightly apologetic manner. Ever since the proclamation of the New Order, any and all remnants of Force-worshiping religions such as Ancient temples, some having stood for over a millennia, were demolished as they were deemed ‘unpatriotic’ by the new Empire and its remnants were closely guarded to prevent trespassers from entering. It was rumored that the purpose the Empire guarded the remains so well was to capture any Jedi survivor drawn to the spiritual energy of the site, a way to draw them out from hiding to their doom. Very few Jedi temples remain, hidden well enough that it became largely forgotten. Karl could not possibly blame her. After all, she was trying to keep them safe. But still, it was his decision to make, not hers. He chose to live as a fugitive, willingly and should have been allowed to face the consequences that come with it. But he decided to let it go.
“So did you gain anything from your guidance in this temple ?” Zeko asked. “ I know where I must go,” Kara answered as she used the Force to find her missing planet, to which it answered her, showing her where the region of space it was located in. She then pressed a button on the control panel to which the hologram zoomed in on the tail end of the galaxy near the outer fringes, showing a binary star system with a holographic image of a blue spherical shaped object which was identified as a planet. Below contained the supposed name of the planet. “This is the binary star system of Utthar. The Force for whatever reason is calling me there.” She said while pointing to the holographic image of the planet. Any Space Traveller would have at one point in their lives heard of the mythical Utthar System, infamous for being completely shrouded and isolated from any hyperlanes by maelstroms and dangerous Star Clusters, a common occurrence in Wild Space. Its extreme remoteness and the absence of any planetary photos or soil samples has rendered the system being labeled a mere legend by space travelers, a lost system where no space traveler, even with the most advanced hyperdrive in the galaxy can set foot on, let alone reach. In short, only a few knew of its existence or even heard of it, with none actually seeing the planet with their own eyes or setting foot on it.
“ Utthar ? haven’t heard of it.” Karl remmarked. No one could find fault with that. As stated earlier, very few have heard of this mythical and largely forgotten planet. “ That’s because it’s beyond the Outer Rim, near Wild Space. It’s a remote system, shrouded by Space Anomalies. Nobody has even set foot or seen this planet,” Zeko explained to Karl. “ If that’s the case, how does one know this system even exists ?” Karl further asked, confused. If such a planet had not been seen, how could it exist in the modern age of space exploration. “ Navigation Probes have in the past shown a planet in that sector of space when plotting hyperlanes to connect the Outer Rim systems but due to its location, it just couldn't plot a course there, no matter how much it tried to.” Zeko answered. “Not with this it can’t,” Kara drew attention to the Imperial Navigation Software she held in her hand. She then placed the navigator into a rectangular socket on the control panel. In what seemed like mere seconds, the imperial software effortlessly charted the safest route to the system and highlighted it in a bright yellow coloured line to the system in the holographic image. Zeko was impressed by the way the Imperial navigation software had managed to chart a safe route to the planet bypassing any anomalies normal navigation computers can’t chart for generations. Then again, the Empire poured in a lot of resources to expand their territories as wide as possible so it was expected for them to have the state of the art technology to do so. “ We now have a safe detour route to our lost planet.” Kara pointed to the route chart.
Karl was equally as impressed as Zeko with how fast Imperial technology managed to chart a route but he was also intrigued as to how this Utthar system was like, how its native species, if indeed there was life, would've evolved considering they’ve not been discovered or known to the larger galaxy. “ Who knows how the native, if any, would have evolved without outside interference ? Maybe they developed technology far beyond galactic standards,” Karl speculated. R5 countered that theory by arguing that perhaps due to its extreme isolation, it was entirely possible that the native species would be primitive in terms of their technological advancements. “And that too,” Karl gave little credence to the droid’s theory which annoyed R5. Zeko had seen enough to be convinced that the Imperial tech is indeed useful. “Alright,” He continued, “I’ll just install it to the Gauntlet’s main computer system, let it sync with it and we’ll be good to go,”. Kara however, did not share his view. “ There is no we, in this mission.” she said, attracting their attention almost immediately. “R5 and I will head off to this system by ourselves. You guys don’t have to tag along in this.”
“ What do you mean ?” Karl asked in a confused manner. She was doing this to them yet again after apologizing for it just minutes before. “ Drop us off at the nearest outline system. We’ll find a transport to take us there.” She said as she turned off the holotable and pulled out the navigator. “And why would we do that ?” The Ardennian intoned in a slightly sarcastic manner. “ I’ve already dragged the two of you for a stupid personal heist earlier.” Kara further explained, “There’s a good chance there could be nothing on this planet. You guys should stay in this Rebellion, not join me in chasing a stupid Force vision,” She urged them to stay back and continue the fight cause it was all that mattered right now. The Rebellion against the Empire, though small and mostly fragmented, was one that was growing in strength. Kara understood the importance of this growing resistance as a symbol of hope to everyone in the galaxy during this period of darkness. However, both of them appeared to be unswayed by her explanation. In fact, they seemed even more headstrong than ever to tag along with her. “ You may be a Jedi Kara, but that doesn’t mean we have to blindy take orders from you,” Zeko shot back in an adamant manner while folding all of his four arms together. Karl on the other hand gave a small hurrah to Zeko for finally speaking what he wanted to say to her for the past few minutes. “That means we’re coming along, whether you like it or not.” He concurred with the Ardennian. “I’ll just plug this in to the ship's computer,” Zeko said as he swapped the navigator from Kara’s hand without much effort and headed off to the cockpit to plug it in. R5 also followed him to help with running the navigator through the ship’s main computer.
For Kara, it appeared clearer than ever that her friends were adamant on going with her to Utthar and there was no stopping them from doing that. She had to admit, a part of her had wanted them to tag along to this lost world and was relieved with her friends' insistence to tag along. However, her thoughts faded away quickly as her mind brought back her focus to her vision, something that she still couldn’t figure out its meaning. Karl noticed Kara somehow bothered by her thoughts. At first he thought it had something to do with their adamant decision but his gut feeling said otherwise. “ You seem troubled by something ?” he asked, going by what his gut had felt. Kara was surprised that Karl had sensed her thoughts, partly because of her troubled facial expression but at the same time, she was glad that he asked. She needed to tell someone about her visions, and the orange skinned girl she had been repeatedly seeing in her visions. “ In my visions, there’s this adolescent girl with red and yellow hair stripes I’ve been seeing. It’s like she’s the reason that’s calling me to Utthar,” She said. To someone who is not Force-sensitive, it would have sounded delusional and Kara fel that Karl would’ve thought that “ I know it sounds crazy but there’s just something about this girl, if she even exists, I don’t know how to explain it,” Kara further added. She was annoyed at herself for not lending more sanity to her visions. Karl however, didn’t seem too bothered about this revelation.“ I guess we’ll find out when we get there.” he said to her as he headed up to the cockpit. Still, Kara could not comprehend her visions. Who was this girl, how is she connected to all of this ? These were the questions raging in her mind. Her visions were vague enough to not answer any of these. It only provided a name to this mysterious bacon haired girl she’s been seeing. “ Just who are you, Sunset Shimmer?” She muttered to herself.