Chapter 27: A day in the life of….

I hit the floor with a thud.

"Tssch! One more time!" I cried, jumping to my feet.

"You sure like getting your butt handed to you by a little girl, don't you? " Ahsoka teased.

"A force empowered little girl!" I rebutted, smiling.

"And who was it that asked me to use the force? Mr. I-don't-want-to-be-babied!" She replied.

"You're damn right I don't! I have to learn to fight against opponents stronger than me, those who have an advantage I don't!" I said, throwing a left hook at her, which she dodged with ease.

Just as she went to grab my hand, in a judo throw, I slipped it back, pivoting on my heel, and shoulder slammed into her, sending her tumbling.

Not letting go of the opportunity, I jumped at her, knees first, trying to nail her in the stomach.

Only, I didn't succeed, as she force pushed me off course, before spinning a roundhouse kick into my face.

And down to the mat I went, dizzy, like looking at the world from the bottom of a pool.

"Brbrbrbrb!" I shook my head clear and got back to my feet, scratching my head.

"You've certainly improved." Obi Wan praised.

"Just not as much as me." Ahsoka added playfully.

"Just you wait. A couple more weeks and I'll have you down on the floor." I laughed, "How about one more?"

"Yeah!" Ahsoka perked up, getting into a stance, when Obi Wan interrupted.

"No. I think you've had enough of that today. And you're needed in the docks. The last skirmish nearly downed our jet squadrons.

We need to repair them before the next battle.

"Besides, the repair crew is rather fond of your songs. It helps with the morale." Anakin added, "And we need all that we can muster. The separatists have a new general, far more deadlier than Grevious and twice as malicious."

"A new general?" I asked playing coy.

"Yes. General Hunt, was it?" Obi Wan said, thinking back.

"Yes. Mike Hunt." Ahsoka replied, as I tried to hold back my laughter, almost breaking character, "A sith. No one knows where he came from but everyone knows that he is responsible for the recent streak of victories the separatists have been having."

Who was this general Hunt, you ask?

Take a guess. Take three, even.

Yup. It was me. A name I had taken as a joke, but one that now threatened to expose my deception everytime it was spoken.

It's childish as far as jokes go, but that never stopped me from making a mockery of things, so why stop now?

And the competition was close.

I almost named this new character, Richard Cumdungeon, but that would have been too straightforward. They would have easily figured out it was an alias.

Mike Hunt though? It's a classic.

And nothing beats hearing Master Yoda say, 'Destroy my cunt, we must'.

Before I could hear anymore tales of the villainous vagina, I picked up my bag and bid the three farewell.

"The docks need me! See you later." I said, and made to leave as Ahsoka gave Anakin a look, and asked.

"Can I go to?"

"No. You are getting too attached to this music of his. As jedi we must..." Obi Wan interjected, when he saw Anakin's eyes roll.

"She's my padawan." He said.

"And you're mine. By proxy, she is too." Obi Wan replied.

"If you're going to be pedantic about it..." Anakin sighed.

"Fine. But don't waste too much time there. You need to focus on your training." Obi Wan relented.

"You know how fast he works. I won't be long." She said, running off.

"If only he had the same talent with martial arts." Anakin said.

"He does have talent. He plays far too careful in a fight. Loses the initiative. The complete opposite of you." Obi Wan replied.

In the hangar, I walked down the aisle, to the clammeding of tools and troops, when near my post, I could hear some people arguing.

"...too damaged. There's no saving it.  We need to scrap it before.."

"No. She's been my ship since the beginning. I'm not scrapping her. Not before he sees her!" A clone trooper argued, with the shift supervisor.

"Is there a problem here?" I asked, walking up to them.

"Oh great. You're here. You deal with this. I'm off.". The supervisor said, leaving.

"So what happened here?" I asked, confused.

"My ship. It caught the bad end of vulture wing. The crocker wants to scrap it for parts. Says it'll be too expensive to fix. Damn penny pincher!" He laid out.

"Let me see it first. Maybe there's still something to be done with what we have." I said, kneeling below the ship.

It really did take a beating. The entire stabilizer base was shorn through.

The engines were practically one beat away from blowing up, the nav computer was busted and singed.

I winced.

This was a near impossible repair job.

"You think it should be scrapped too, don't you?" The trooper asked, seeing my expression.

"It's near impossible to fix." I said, and he deflated like a balloon.

"But..." I continued, "There's nothing I can't fix with the right tools and a little bit of ingenuity. You really love this ship, don't you?"

"Yeah. Was my first. Served me throughout the first battle of Cortosis till now. Wouldn't wanna part with it!" He replied, misty eyed.

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"Fine. I'll see what I can do." I said, putting down my speakers and started my playlist, as troopers gathered round.

It had become an almost event, that when it was my time to work, bored troopers amd officers alike hung around to listen to the strange music my jukebox played.

Ahsoka for one had become nearly addicted to it.

If I didn't know better, I'd have expected her to steal my custom player.

As 'Come Get Your Love' began to play, I slunk beneath the ship, and began to disassemble the broken parts, removing them.

Then looking around, I found a used glider crate in the corner.

Bringing it over, I removed it's repulsor track, attcging it to the broken stabilizer, tuning it's output to match the rest of he ship.

Next I reached behind the nav computer and replaced its fuses, switching the boards out for cleaning. With a wipe here and there, I soldered them back into form, and reassembled the nav computer, which blinked to life, albeit with a cracked screen still.

Finally, I took the hammer and chisel to the engine, gently beating the pieces into their place, till it was all straightened up.

This where, Rick's experience with precision came into use.

Someone who can make a true level platform with a bandsaw and laser burner can certainly beat an engine back into working condition.

Finishing the aour plating by reising the torn pieces, welded to the bottom, the ship was back in working condition.

All within 15 minutes.

I wiped the sweat from my brow, and stood back up, looking at the finshed product. It looked shoddy, like it could fall apart in a stiff breeze, but thankfully, thete are no breezes in space.

"It's done. It should last another battle or two, at the very least. Enough for you to give it the proper farewell it deserves. Sorry, but it's the vest I could do." I said.

Best I could without revealing my true capabilities ar least.

I mean, I turned a camper van into a planet destroying super cruiser on a shoestring budget.

A dingy little fighter would've been a piece of cake if I had tried. But then they would have forced me to mass produce the radically improved versions arlt gunpoint. Not that it would have mattered, but still. I'd rather avoid the hassle of setting up a military industrial complex anew here.

As it is they treat me like a miracle worker at less than a tenth of my capacity.

"Thank you! Thank you so much. And no need to be sorry. I'm glad you tried!" The trooper grabbed my hand and pulled me into a hug.

I awkwardly returned the hug, before he let me go.

"Take it for a test run now. See if it works. Don't wanna test it in battle do you?" I suggested, wiping the grime off my hands.

The trooper nodded, and got into the craft, taking it for a spin, as the song switched to 'Hooked On A Feeling'.

Reminded me of the Guardians film as I watched the ship do donuts in the space adjacent to battleship.

Ahsoka came and stood beside me, watching the idiot, before noticing something.

"Why are so many of these songs about love?" She asked.

"What..oh. The songs? Well, it's a difficult question to answer. The easiest answer would be that people are horny. And they find any excuse to justify their urges. Given how most species live only to reproduce, eat and die, I can't say I'm surprised." I said, to a confused Ahsoka, who was looking at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Let me put it like this. Why do you think we're here?" I asked, noticing Anakin close behind us, within earshot, and an idea popped in my mind.

"Here, as in the Bothawui system? It's a strategic point of defense..."

"No. I mean why are we alive? What is the purpose of life?" I asked, steering the conversation to what I wanted.

Ahsoka looked oddly at me, before falling into thought.

"...I don't know." She admitted, "I have never thought about it."

"No shame in that. Most people don't. It's not that important anyways. Meaning or no meaning, life goes on.

But back to your question, it's something a wise man once said.

We are born, and we live, to love and to be loved in return. That, he thought, was the purpose of life." I explained.

"....that is profound." Ahsoka muttered.

Yeah. That is the exact sort of 'I'm 14 and this deep' shit she'd fall for. Though, in her defense, she was actually 14.

"It's a fat load of catshit is what it is." I shot it down, "Though, I am not one to judge. Maybe I'm wrong and he really was right and hit the jackpot on that.

But what's more to the point is that just like you, most people end up thinking too highly of such truisms and when these same people write songs about something they feel is meaningful, they tend to choose love nine out of ten times."

"Why are you so cynical about this?" Ahsoka asked cutting to the heart of the question.

"Because I think he's wrong. I don't think there is any point to life. It just came into being one day and it will end just the same on another."

"That is such a cold, sad way of thinking." Ahsoka replied.

"No it's not. Think about it like this, Ahsoka. If there is no point to life, no grand meaning or purpose, then that means we are truly free to do what we want. Free to choose what we want to do, who we want to be, no matter what identity is forced on us. It means we can give life any meaning we want! It's the most optimistic of views, if there can be any!"

"Is that what you believe or is it something another 'wise man once said'?" She asked, smiling playfully.

"A little bit of both. I believe the purpose of life is to explore, learn, understand and enjoy the time you have. To revel in your greatest gifts, in beauty and knowledge and to create more. Create anything and everything. Just look at this ship. It's a beautiful work of art, even if it is mostly used as a means to inflict violence. That does not diminish it's beauty. It's a miracle of engineering and science. And the tech used make it will someday spread far and wide, bringing relief and joy to people. The state of the art filtration systems will someday provide clean water to a settlement in the outer rim. The scrapped parts will in the future feed an orphan, much like myself, when he sells them in the market. The engines will be refurbished into heaters and kerp someone warm at night.

When you see how the web pans out, it just gives you this rush of energy. Jitters, to know more, create something wonderful. That is the meaning I gave to my life. And I'm sure someday you'll find one of your own, so long as you listen to your heart, instead of shutting it away, and it'll make you happy.

Maybe it'll even be 'to love and be loved'!" I laughed, teasing her with a poke to her sides.

"Sto~op it!" Ahsoka laughed, stepping back.

Some ways behind us, Anakin watched, a gentle smile on his face, as his eyes betrayed his inner conflict.

Exactly what I had wanted.

Will he follow his heart's desire to be with Padme in defiance of the order or will be bury his heart and be forever unhappy?

This was the question I wanted him to ask.

And with that, I had begun planting the first seeds of doubt in both of their minds.

And their produce would be mine to reap, in the near future as I accelerated the originally three year conflict to a measly one year.

Within the year, I will take over the galaxy, and then with my new ship, I'll move on, to greater heights.

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