Star Wars Jedi Lyra: The Search

by currentlemon

Chapter 34

“Padawan, wake up!”

Lyra groaned. She rolled about on her backside, plucking her lips. Her master was calling to her, but she paid no attention to him. Despite the urgency in his voice, or at least that’s what she thought he sounded like, she didn’t want to wake up. Right now, she was having the nicest dream she had in years. And that’s a good enough reason for her to stay in bed.

“Padawan, you’ve slept long enough. Wake up! We need to get off the ship now!”

“Ugh, master, how are the others waiting outside? We’re still in hyperspace and got a long ways to go until we reach Coruscant,” replied a weary Lyra.

“Lyra, we’re not in hyperspace anymore. We just reached Coruscant and Hider already made landfall.”

“W-what?” Opening her eyes, Lyra slowly rose from her bunk bed to find Master Darran looking directly at her. Letting out a yawn, she looked around the crew quarters to see if anypony else was still sleeping. To her surprise, however, only her master and herself were present. “Huh? Where is everypony?”

“Gone,” answered the Jedi Master. “They all woke up a while ago, your mother included. Last I saw, your kin were gathering at the bike garage.”

“Wait, so you were serious earlier? We’ve already made it to Coruscant?”

Darran nodded her head. “Indeed, we have. And Hider has already made landfall at a public spaceport. Granted, I suggested that we dock at the Jedi Temple, but Hider received last minute instructions from Master Vandar to dock at the port next to the Senate building.”

“We’re already here?” Lyra shouted as her eyes shot open wide. “I don’t get it. How did time go by so fast? And why did no one wake me up?”

“The effects of hyperspace I suppose. And yes, Padawan, your kin did attempt to wake you up. However, their effort was fruitless. You are a heavy sleeper, Lyra. Without an alarm or Dantooine’s sun, I’m afraid you just drift away.”

Lyra groaned as she leapt out of her bed. “Mom could’ve at least tried to wake me up,” she pouted while trotting over to a nearby metal bin.

“Believe me, she did. But after failing to wake you up several times, she came to me for assistance.” Suddenly, a smile cracked on the Jedi Master’s lips. “In all my years as a Jedi, I’ve never been scolded so verbally before. At least, not since my Padawan days.”

“W-wait, mom scolded you. For what?”

“For allowing you to become such a heavy sleeper.”

Lyra facehoofed. “Oh, Force. I’m so sorry about that, Master. Mom can be a little… demanding at times when it comes to planning ahead and making schedules,” she said while putting on her tunic.

“You don’t have to apologize for her, Lyra. What she did was very understandable for military personnel. I’m certain that any officer in the Republic Navy would agree to her.”

Lyra rolled her eyes as she strapped her belt around her waist. Reaching inside the metal bin, she grabbed her lightsaber and hooked it on her belt. “So, anyone important meeting with us at the port today?” she asked.

“I believe a personal aid to the Supreme Chancellor will be waiting for us at the exit,” explained the Jedi Master as he and Lyra stepped out of the crew’s quarters. “As for the Chancellor himself, we will meet with him inside the Senate building.”

“Oh, okay,” Lyra replied. Her lips curled as she looked down on the metal floor. “Gosh, I never would’ve imagined that I’d be meeting with the highest political figure in the galaxy. It’s nerve racking to be honest.”

“Don’t take it too personally. Supreme Chancellor Ulgo is a fine man. He’ll be more than happy to help you and your kin out, especially after your actions on Alderaan.”

“Really? What makes you say that?”

“The Chancellor hails Alderaan himself, Lyra. And he is from one of its Great Houses. House Ulgo to be specific. They are patriots who served the Republic both politically and in the military. So, don’t be surprised if he takes your side in the Senate debate. You did, after all, drive the Mandalorians out of his home world.”

“Yeah, but with the war going on, I doubt that’s the last time we see the Mandalorians attempt to invade for the Core Worlds.”

“We shall see,” said Master Darran as the two Jedi finally made it to the bike garage. However, to their surprise, the room wasn’t as crowded with ponies as they’d thought. Rather, only one mare and a Trandoshan. “Ah, Private Drops. Good to see you wide awake. And a good morning to you as well, Chessk.”

“Good morning to you, Master Darran. And to you as well, little Jedi,” Chessk said as he greeted both Jedi with a bow.

“Yeah, glad to see you’re finally awake,” said Sweetie Drops. “Seriously, how much of a heavy sleeper are you, Lyra? The Captain and I tried to wake you up so many times, but you just wouldn’t move!”

“Hey, I’m awake now, aren’t I?” Lyra argued. “Besides, it’s not like I had much sleep these days. With all the fighting and the research I’m doing. It tires a mare out.”

“May I remind you my Padawan that on the night before we left Dantooine, you slept for nine hours straight. If it weren’t for the alarm clock I gave to your mother, we would’ve have left the planet so early,” replied Master Darran.

Lyra groaned. “Okay, fine. I admit I have a problem, geez. But can we please stop talking about me for just a moment! Where is everypony? And why are you two the only ones here?”

“Orders from Captain Impact, little Jedi. She told us to wait here for you,” explained Chessk. “She estimated that Master Darran might have some trouble waking you up, so she ordered the two of us to standby until you came here.”

“Okay. But what about Hider and T3-G4? Where are they right now?”

“Outside with everypony,” answered Sweetie Drops. “Apparently, he got some kind of call saying that someone else is out there waiting for us. Though from what I heard from Hider that guy is the personal assistant to the Chancellor himself. I think he was called the Vice Chair or something?”

“Vice Chair¹? You mean the Supreme Chancellor’s right-hand man?” asked Chessk.

“Indeed,” said Master Darran. “It appears that the Chancellor preferred to send his most trusted assistant out to meet with us instead of greeting us here. Not that I have any issue with that as we will meet the man eventually. What worries me is how we’re going to get to the Senate building.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was on the comm-link with Hider before we made landfall. By orders of the Supreme Chancellor, as well as a few members of the Senate and Republic Navy, we were given orders to dock at a hangar bay closest to the Senate building.”

“Are they planning on making us walk there?” asked Sweetie Drops.

“I pray that we don’t. Reaching the Senatorial Chambers on foot will only draw unnecessary attention. Hopefully, the Chancellor has provided us a means of transportation in place of walking several blocks.”

“Your concern is justifiable,” said Chessk. “A new species walking down a busy skywalk would definitely draw attention, including unwanted ones.”

Lyra rolled her eyes. “I’m sure we’ll be fine, master. Besides, taking a stroll through the Senate plaza is an opportunity, don’t you think? I mean, it’ll be the first-time ponies ever stepped hoof onto the streets of Coruscant! Well, besides me of course, but you get the picture.”

“We get it, okay. No need to rub it in,” said Sweetie Drops with a groan. “Still, I can’t help but worry. Aside from maybe the Pegasai, some of our kin won’t take too kindly walking on skyscrapers or high towers. Me included.”

“Don’t worry, Sweetie, you’ll be fine. I’m sure you and everypony else will get used to the skyscrapers and sky platforms in time,” said Lyra with a slight confidence in her voice. “Well… eventually that is.”

“Eventually? Lyra, your blind optimism does not make me feel better about non-Pegasi here. In fact, that carefree attitude of yours is making me anxious.”

“Oh, don’t be so stingy, Sweetie. I’m sure our kin can handle it. Besides, isn’t there anything else you’d like to talk about?”

Sweetie tilted her head. Lyra’s question only confused the mare only further, but what she didn’t know was that the question was an attempt to get her to open up. Lyra still remembered the conversation she had with Chessk the other day, so any attempt to get her friend to talk was good in her eyes.

Too bad Sweetie wasn’t in the mood for talking. The moment Lyra had asked her a question, she turned tail and left the bike garage.

“Well, that was rather rude of her,” said Master Darran. “Any reason why she turned her back on you like that, Padawan?”

“Don’t worry about it, master. She just has a lot to think about,” answered Lyra.

“Indeed. Just give her time, little Jedi. I’m sure she’ll talk eventually,” replied Chessk, to which Lyra nodded in approval. She and her companions would leave the bike garage behind to join Sweetie and the others at the boarding ramp. When they got there, no one was present.

“No one is here,” said Master Darran. “Perhaps they are already outside?”

Wanting to see what’s outside, Lyra quickly exited the ship, where she soon found herself staring at a large port. Upon first glance, it was much larger than the other ports she’s seen. Taris and Ord Mantell were nothing compared to this one. And it looked fairly clean for the most part.

“Huh, fancy.”

“So, you’re finally awake!”

Ears flopping, Lyra spun her head around and saw both her mother trotting toward her. “Took you long enough, dear,” said Platinum. A scowl grew on her face. “Ugh, I can’t believe my own daughter grew up to be such a heavy sleeper. So shameful.”

“But I’m awake, aren’t I? Come on, mom. You don’t have to be all stingy,” said Lyra, casually. However, her words didn’t seem to sway or calm Platinum at all. “Mom, please. Don’t stress yourself over something like this.”

“She is correct, Captain,” replied Master Darran who had just recently stepped out of the Omega. “There is no need to cling onto an issue so miniscule, as I have already taken full responsibility for Lyra’s issues. Just let it go. I’ll handle it personally when we’re finished here.”

Platinum sighed. “As you wish. But don’t let me catch you sleeping off like that again, dear. Because if I do, nopony in the galaxy will stop me from beating some sense into you.”

“Ha! You’ll have to get in line, ma’am.”

Lyra winced. “E-excuse me?”

“I was joking, my Padawan. So, where exactly are Hider and the others? I was informed that they were already out here with the Chancellor’s Vice Chair.”

“They are,” replied Platinum, who pointed in the direction of the port’s exit. “That important human you mentioned is meeting with the others right now. Says his name is Larson Husbro, I think? I’m not certain. Human names are tongue twisting in my opinion.”

“I’ll go check him out,” said Lyra as she quickly darted in the direction to where her mother had pinpointed. When she got there, she saw Hider sitting on top of a metal canister. And Geefour was with him as well.

“Hey, kid. Nice to see you’re finally awake,” her captain greeted. T3-G4 gave Lyra a bleep as well. “The tin can said hello too, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“Good morning to you too, Hider. Sorry I couldn’t join you all earlier. My heavy sleeping got the better of… me?” Lyra went stiff as she saw her captain approach her while wearing an unusual set of clothes.

“Eh, don’t mention it. Stuff like that happens to the best of us sometimes. By the way, our little errand boy over there wants to meet with you. Says he wants a little talk before our little trip to the Senate building.”

“Y-yes, of course! I’ll meet with him right away. But I gotta ask, what’s with those clothes you’re wearing? Did something happen to your jacket?”

“Oh this? Since we’re meeting with the Supreme Chancellor and all, I figured I’d dress for the occasion,” Hider replied while pointing to his outfit. “Well that, and I heard from Lieutenant Dodonna via comm-link that my family will be present during the Senate meeting.”

T3-G4 gave the ship captain a rather euphoric beep. “Shut it, tin can. It’s not like I had a choice! The freakin’ Lieutenant she’d let my pass transactions go if I present myself well.”

“What? They’re letting you go just like that?”

“That’s what I’ve been told, but I’m gonna take it with a grain of salt. Last thing I want to do is to put my faith into military personnel. Even if it’s my own folks, I can’t shake the feeling that they got something planned up their sleeves.”

“Hey, overstress yourself like that. I’m sure they’ll understand. Besides, you may have been in on this mission for the credits, but you stuck with us till the very end. Even if it led you to imminent danger. And that, Hider, is admirable. Regardless of what your true intentions were.”

Hider smiled. “Thanks, kid. I really needed that,” he said before looking at the crowd of ponies behind him. “You should probably go now, Lyra. Can’t keep that Larson guy waiting.”

Returning a smile of her own, Lyra trotted past her captain to join the other ponies who had circled around the Chancellor’s Vice Chair. When she spotted the man, she quickly examined him. He was a human male. Tall, but somewhat skinny compared to Hider. And lacked in any muscular structure. Though to be fair, most of his body were covered by the clothes he wore.

Immediately, the man spots Lyra out of the crowd. “Ah, so you must be Padawan Heartstrings,” he greeted.

“Yes, I am,” Lyra replied as all eyes fell on her. “You’re the Vice Chair, right? The person who’s going to escort us?”

The man nodded. “Allow me to properly introduce myself. My name is Larson Husbro, personal aid to the Supreme Chancellor Ulgo himself. He has given me orders to lead your group over to the Senate building, where he will meet with you in person at the lobby.”

“And why couldn’t he just meet us here?”

“He wanted to; however, the duties of the Supreme Chancellor kept him preoccupied.”

“Ugh, fair enough. But isn’t it a little risky to send only you to this vicinity? Not to be rude, but I don’t think a group this large should be escorted by only a few individuals, despite two of us being Jedi and all.”

“Do not fret, Padawan Heartstrings. This port is used by high ranking members of the Republic Senate and its Navy. In fact, we are being monitored as we speak, by high security officers of the Republic.”

“Okay, but how are we getting to the Senate building? Is there a shuttle we can take or are we walking?”

The Vice Chair answered by pointing his finger toward a moderately sized spaceship at the far end of the port. It wasn’t as big if compared to the Omega. In fact, it didn’t even look like the ship was built for space travel at all. It looked more like a large shuttle rather than a ship to be completely honest.

“That shuttle over there was provided by the Chancellor. We’ll be using it to get to the Senate Building,” Larson explained.

“Ah, so that means we’ll be flying our way there!” replied Lyra with a beaming smile. “That’s great! I was hoping we’d take a brief tour of Coruscant’s skies.”

“What? Flying?” shrieked a pony from the group. This immediately caught the attention of Lyra as she quickly spun around to see a dark orange earth pony mare shivering in her place.

“Hey, what’s wrong with her?”

“Oh, don’t mind, Tangerine. She has a mild case of acrophobia,” replied a stallion from the group. Lyra took a look at the pony. It was Stalwart Shield.

“Acrophobia? You mean the fear of heights?”

“Yup. The poor mare experienced an accident back at home. Fell off a hot air balloon during mid-flight. Before you ask, no, she suffered no serious injuries. She merely fell into a pond that the balloon was hovering over. But that incident occurred when she was a filly, and she’s been traumatized ever since.”

Lyra winced at this information. She recalled the warning that Sweetie made earlier, regarding the possibility that her kin may not adapt to Coruscant’s city-planet environment so quickly. However, there was one thing that bothered her about that mare. “How did she overcome her fear?” the Padawan asked. “I mean, she did fly on several spaceships already. I’m guessing she got over it in some capacity?”

“She did, but not entirely,” replied Stalwart. “The only reason she managed this far was because her colleagues, Cotton Swirl and Wishful Vision. Because of them, she somewhat got over her fears; but if you seat her next to a window in any flying vehicle, she’ll have a hard time coping.”

“Not a problem. There are some seats on the ship that aren’t close to any windows. With some assistance from your kin, I’m sure she’ll be fine,” said Vice Chair Larson who appeared to be listening in on their conversation. “Is there anyone else in your group that has similar phobias?”

“Not that I’m aware of, no. It’s only Tangerine,” answered Stalwart.

“Then I will make sure that her trip will be safe and secure. By the way, where are the rest of your group? I was told a Jedi Master would be here.”

“We’re right here.” Right on cue, Jedi Master Gizar Darran approached the Vice Chair. Alongside with him were the remaining crewmembers of the Omega and Platinum Impact, to which Master Darran hastily introduced.

Seeing that everyone was accounted for, Vice Chair Larson instructed the crowd to follow him, which everyone did. When they made it to the shuttle, they were greeted by two alien Republic guards. Both were male; however, one was a Twi’lek and the other a Zabrak.

“Is the ship ready for takeoff?” asked Larson

“Sir, yes sir!” shouted the Zabrak as he and his fellow guardsman saluted before the Vice Chair.

“Good. Then let us make haste. We can’t keep the Chancellor waiting. Oh, and just a heads up, we got one passenger here that has a fear of flying. Keep a close eye on her, please. And make sure she’s not sitting anywhere near any windows.”

“Sir, yes sir!”

“Wow. I guess military protocol is the same no matter where you are in the galaxy. Guess you and the captain would feel right at home. Don’t you think so, Stalwart,” said one mare from the group. Lyra looked back. It appeared to be Cotton Swirl; and apparently, she was talking to Stalwart Shield.

“I suppose so, Cotton,” the Stallion replied. “I have to admit. Seeing these soldiers up close makes me wonder if I could make a career here too.”

“I wouldn’t get ahead of yourself, Stalwart. We still have a home to protect first.”

“I know that, Cotton, but I just can’t help myself. Aside from Lyra herself, we’re the first ponies who’ve stepped hoof onto another world. I’m sure that everypony here wishes to learn more about this world and the galaxy as a whole.”

“Oh, so now you know how I feel then?”

“In a manner of speaking, yes.”

“Save the chit chat you two. You’re holding up the line,” said Platinum bluntly from behind as she batted Cotton Swirl at the back of the mare’s head.

“Why you little… well excuse me, Captain! I guess waiting patiently in line is out of the question for a highly important mare such as you!” Cotton rebuked. “Tell me, is it really necessary for you to act so uptight all the time that you’re willing to prevent your own subordinate from putting a ring on this horn?”

“E-excuse me?” shouted a now twitching Stalwart Shield.

“Quiet, Stalwart! Let me deal with this love disrupting pony first and then we’ll go back to hitting on each other!” shouted back Cotton Swirl.

“W-what?”

“Wow. I never thought I’d wake up and see the day where talking animals are literally hitting on each other,” said the Twi’lek guard.

“You’re telling me,” said the Zabrak. “I know these equines are intelligent and all, but this feels weird. One of them is a Jedi though, so it’s not all that bad.”

Lyra facehoofed. Did those guards really have to make a comment like that? It was bad enough that her mom and Cotton were causing a scene, but now the perspective has shifted to the aliens thanks to their stupid comment. Even the Vice Chair and her Master couldn’t help but sigh at this moment of idiocy.

“Hey, you take that back!” shouted one stallion. “We’re not weird at all!”

“Tell it to the ones who are currently flirting out loud in public,” shot back Zabrak.

“Enough, all of you!” shouted Lyra. Much to her delight, her voice was loud enough to gain everyone’s attention again. “Cotton Swirl, can you please save your little chat with Stalwart for another time? I know you like him but now is not the time for that sort of thing. As for everypony else, don’t take these guards’ comments too seriously. This is a new experience for them too, so take it easy.”

“Well said, Padawan Heartstrings,” replied Larson. “Come on. Let’s not keep the Chancellor waiting. Everyone on board!”

Lyra observed as her mother and Cotton stared at one another for a minute, only to breathe a sigh of relief as the two mares followed the Vice Chair in silence. But not before the latter let out a disgruntled huff at the former.

With a roll of her eyes, the young Padawan followed the ponies into the ship; however, she didn’t notice Hider coming from behind. “Nice work, kid,” her captain said as he playfully patted and rubbed his hand on Lyra’s mane. “You avoided a disaster in the making there.”

Annoyed, Lyra quickly used her magic to brush Hider’s hand aside. “Yeah, well, it’s not that big of a deal. I only did what I thought was right,” she replied.

“Maybe. But man, that Cotton pony really looked like she was ready to pounce. Though now that I think about it, I heard from the little Private that there’s some bad blood between her and your mom. Mind telling me why?”

Lyra shrugged as she and everyone else boarded the shuttle together. “I think it has something to do with my dad. You see, mom says that he and Cotton are professors at a university back in Equestria. They compete over prestige among their peers, or something like that. I’m not entirely sure.”

“Prestige? You mean they fight one another for recognition?”

“I guess. I don’t really know the details, but apparently, my dad got a lot of recognition from his colleagues after he discovered the abandoned Republic ships from a decade ago.”

“Ah, I get it. The mare must’ve gotten jealous of your old man for his discovery.”

“That jealousy will be her undoing if she doesn’t let it go.” Both Hider and Lyra turned around to see Master Darran approaching them slowly. He was alone, however. Chessk and the others weren’t with him. “If you are wondering where the others were, there’s no need to ask. They’ve already boarded the shuttle.”

Hider rolled his eyes. “No one asked, old man.”

“And I never asked for your opinion, Hider,” Darran replied with a snarky comment of his own. “I apologize. That came out of nowhere. I suppose your derisive attitude has been rubbing off on me a little bit.”

“Hey, there’s no need for any apologies, Master Jedi. It’s good to know my sense of humor is rubbing off on you.”

Lyra tilted her head. “Uh, is that supposed to be a good thing?”

“To me, yes. But let’s not get into that. I for one am more interested in our little pony friends.” Suddenly, a mischievous looking smirk crept onto Hider’s lips. Something that Lyra found strange. “You think they’ll take it in well? We already got one mare who has a phobia of flying. Maybe the others might have some hidden fears lurking at the back of their heads.”

“You shouldn’t mock someone’s fears, Hider,” replied Master Darran.

“I never said I was, old man. I’m just making a bet, that’s all.”

“A bet?” asked Lyra.

“Yeah, a bet. I made one with the tin can earlier. If a certain amount of ponies’ faints or overreacts at the sight of the city’s skyscrapers, Geefour will have weapon cleaning duty for three days.”

“Wait, what? Why would you do such a thing?”

“Because I can, that’s why. Besides, me and the tin can have been wanting to see what these ponies’ reactions might be at the sight of a futuristic city planet. So, we made a little game out of it to ease our boredom.”

“And what if you lose this silly little game of yours?”

“Well, if nothing happens, then I give away one of my customized blasters to the tin can.”

Lyra’s ears drooped. “Hider, are you sure you want to do this? Gambling your blaster over a pony’s phobia isn’t really a smart thing to do. In fact, I think this is one of the stupidest things you’ve ever done.”

“Wow. Harsh much, kid?”

“She’s not wrong, Hider,” cautioned Master Darran.

“Ah, don’t worry about it. It’s just harmless fun, that’s all. And besides, even if a couple of ponies’ faint at all the sightseeing, like that mare with the phobia, I’m sure you Jedi can take care of it.” In that moment, Hider’s mischievous smirk grew even wider. “Oh, I can’t wait. Just thinking about the tin can doing all the chores gets me pumped.”

Lyra sighed. As much as she wanted to convince her friend not to go with his gamble, she decided against it. No amount of words will prevent her friend from doing something stupid. The only way he’ll learn such a harsh lesson is by letting this play out.

---

And she was correct. The flight to the Senate building went about as smooth as she liked. There weren’t any fainting nor overreactions. Even the mare with the phobia did okay, though she was forced to sit away from the windows.

As for the rest of her kin, they seemed to take in the environment fairly well. Most had gathered at the windows to stare at the buildings passing by. They were completely enamored at the sights. So much so that even her mother couldn’t hold back her curiosity. And by the time they made landfall, everypony was excited to see what the outside might bring.

Lyra followed suit; but on the way out, she spotted Chessk comforting a crying Hider in the corner, while T3-G4 gave off piratic beeps. Her master was with them as well, though he didn’t seem to care for Hider’s weeping.

“Guess I should have seen that one coming,” she muttered.

Upon leaving the shuttle, Lyra was immediately taken by surprise. Eyes widened, she stared straight at the large dome-like building in front of her.

“Behold, equines. The Senatorial Chambers²! The epicenter of Coruscant itself!” shouted the Vice Chair Larson who was boldly standing in front of the entire group.

Lyra’s jaw slacked. She had read and seen holo-records of the Senatorial Chambers before, but she never imagined that she’d be able to see it first hoof. Boasting a shield-shaped dome as its room, the Senate building stood tall, eclipsing the many tall buildings surrounding it.

“Wow, this place looks big,” said Sweetie Drops from within the group of ponies. “It’s nearly as big as the Royal Castle on Canterlot. Maybe even bigger.”

“I don’t know, Sweetie. There are plenty of buildings here that are just as big or even taller than what we’re staring at now,” replied Cotton Swirl. “And they actually look normal.”

“What do you mean by that, Cotton?”

“Gee, I don’t know. Maybe it has something to do with that big dome thing at the top!” Cotton shouted at the top of her lungs. “Seriously! I’m no architect, but the design of that thing leaves a lot of questions.”

Lyra opened her mouth to object but was stopped as a creamy hoof covered her mouth. “There’s no need to drag this out,” said Sweetie Drops. “Just let it go, okay?”

“But Sweetie, they got it all wrong!”

“And you arguing about it doesn’t make our situation any better!”

“Settle down! Both of you!” shouted Platinum. Her piercing glare caused both mares to shut up.

Lyra curled her lip. Her throat suddenly became parched as she found herself losing the will to argue back. Giving a quick glance at her friend, she had realized that Sweetie was in the same position as her. Frozen and stiff. Without saying another word, Platinum shook her head before leaving the two ponies alone.

With the coast clear, Lyra let out a sigh of relief. “You know, I keep forgetting that my mom is a military personnel. Does she always do this to you or other recruits too?” she asked Sweetie Drops.

The mare in question rolled her eyes. “You don’t know the half of it,” Sweetie replied. “According to Sergeant Shield, the Captain is always one to take things seriously. Especially during duty.”

“Well, she could’ve at least taken it a little easy.”

Sweetie rolled her eyes. “Lyra, we’re about to meet the highest political figures in the entire galaxy. Taking it easy is the last thing the Captain wants to do. And besides, why are you complaining? Didn’t Master Darran and the other Jedi Masters do the same thing to you?”

“They did, yes, but I doubt it’s nothing compared to what the military does. In fact, the worst scolding I’ve ever gotten was when a clanmate and I decided to—ack!” Lyra flinched as her head suddenly throbbed in pain so bad that she had almost lost her balance. If not for Sweetie, she would’ve collapsed right there on the metal platform.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” asked a now worried Sweetie Drops.

“There’s something wrong. A disturbance in the Force,” Lyra answered slowly. The pain in her head prevented her from communicating properly. “We’re… not the only ones here.”

“Well, duh! There’s probably like thousands, if not, hundreds of thousands of people within the vicinity. So what’s the big deal?”

“That’s not what I’m talking about, Sweetie! For some reason, I’m sensing more Jedi within the vicinity. And before you ask, no, I’m not referring to just my master.”

Looking back at the shuttle she took; Lyra reached out with the Force to check with her master. He hadn’t left the ship yet. Most likely due to whatever antics Hider and T3-G4 were doing after their silly little bet. She then looked at the Senatorial Chambers. There, she could feel it. A dozen or so Force Sensitives made themselves known through the Force.

“Other Jedi, huh? You think it could be any of those High Council members?” asked Sweetie.

Lyra shook her head. “No, it’s not. If it were, then I may be able to recognize their Force signature. But I’m certain it’s not any one from the High Council. Although, I am sensing a rather powerful Force user coming from inside the Senate building.”

“Should we be worried?”

“I don’t think so. I’ll alert my master once he gets off the ship with the others; however, I’m not sensing any danger coming from the building. Just keep your guard up. I know you’re not Force sensitive but stay alert and look for signs of any trouble. I get the feeling our meeting with the Supreme Chancellor will attract some unwanted attention.”

Author's Note:

1. Vice Chair
2. Senate Building

Comments

[JMP]

Hmm. Getting kinda...episode 3 vibes. A dozen unknown Force-sensitive presences? Duran will definitely take this seriously, and I'm curious what other insight he might have.

And Hider....don't bet against the droid. He's clearly smarter than you.

[Norwegian boy]

'Ears flopping, Lyra spun her head around and saw both her mother trotting toward her.'

I think you meant; saw her mother trotting towards her.

[currentlemon]

10641204
If I told you, I'd be spoiling the story.