Instinctive Astrogation Control
More than 500, less than 4706
In the cramped confines of the stolen secondhand starship, its interior dimly lit by faltering lights, Axl and his companions, each bearing the physical and emotional damage of the last several hours, secured themselves into their seats. The vessel, an… shall we say “unloved relic” of more ornate times, creaked and groaned under its newfound and unexpected burden. The air was thick, punctuated by the hum of the ship's already strained engines and the intermittent flicker wrapping around its elongated and opulent design features.
The uneven light also haunted those boarding, casting ghostly shadows across their faces. Domi, her arm bandaged crudely, winced with every jolt of the ship. Erailic, valiantly masked their discomfort, a thin line of blood trickling from a cut above their eye. Vasilisa, her expression ever stoic yet eyes betraying a hint of concern, checked her recovered saber hilt for what seemed like the hundredth time. Sten, the most severely injured apart from his eldest son, grimaced as he applied pressure to his side, a makeshift dressing barely containing the wound.
His weathered whisper broke the silence. "We need to leave Bar Neth. Head for home in Hutt Space, Nar Shaddaa. Regroup where we have the best footing."
“The Hydian Way to Malastare,” Vasilisa coldly countered, “Wince is there, she owes us a patch job and a hole to hide in after last time.”
“You lot sort this out while Dom and I see if this pleasure cruiser is even going to get us to upper atmo,” Axl shed a loose plate of armor as the pain from his dislocated shoulder reminded him of its presence. With his opposite hand he ushered Domi toward the bow of the ship.
The pair took their seats in the cockpit, bracing themselves for whatever complication would plague them next. Domi fingered the dials and levers with a deftness that had never been lost on or ignored by Axl. She was a natural. Those hands were capable of the most delicate things, be it art or precision work with a blade– but also in convincing technology to love her and cave to her will as much as anyone with a heart would. The cockpit whirred to life and its signature warmth accentuated the curve of her self-impressed grin.
As the ship ascended, it cut through the lingering smoke and dust of their recent rampage—a maelstrom both intentional and… less so that Axl had wrought upon those who had dared to step between him and his family. Outside the cockpit window was a swirling tapestry of destruction and retribution, a physical manifestation of the tumultuous path he had blazed. As well as the carcass of The Morrow Wind, billowing and bellowing below.
The ship groaned and rattled in its ascent, its frame protesting against the turbulence. Axl, his hands steady on the controls despite the tumult, navigated through the chaos with an almost preternatural calm. Beside him, Domi's gaze was fixed on the horizon, her expression a blend of determination and apprehension.
Through the racket of their ascent, amidst the violent jostling of everything surrounding them, their hands found one another. It was a fleeting moment of connection, a silent promise amidst the storm. Their fingers intertwined, a small island of calm in the raging sea of uncertainty. In that brief touch, they shared every unspoken word.
The ship pierced the final layer of clouds, breaking into the upper atmosphere. The violence of the upward trek gave way to the serene vastness of space, the infinite expanse a stark contrast to the bedlam they had left behind. The stars, distant and unjudging, greeted them with the cold indifference of the cosmos. It was a moment that commanded a breath, a pause in the relentless march of events, a respite from the gravity of the planet and of their situation.
It didn't last. Axl and Domi shared a long, knowing glance, an unspoken acknowledgment of the road ahead and the choices they had made. Without a word, they rose from their seats, the weight of responsibility settling back upon their shoulders as they left the cockpit to consult with the others.
Vasilisa, ever the strategist, her face etched with lines of worry, was convinced that their actions had not gone unnoticed. "Tiln has associates," she said, her voice a low but urgent murmur. "They'll be arriving soon. They will be armed–"
“Unlike their friend,” Axl cut her off and immediately shifted the tone of the proceedings. “Let's make sure we're elsewhere before that becomes relevant.”
He paused long enough that his tongue flapped several measures between his lips as he considered.
“I know of a place. About as far away as you can physically get from here. Thick jungles, few humans. Not a hotspot for the Empire. Going that far off the grid, though…” he glanced face to face to face. Precisely one of them knew what he had in mind.
Vasilisa’s gaze met Axl’s, a silent exchange of understanding passing between them. They were the matriarch and the heir, their decisions borne out of a fierce desire to protect their kin. Vasilisa nodded, a subtle yet definitive gesture. “Varonat,” she agreed, her voice echoing a mix of resignation and trepidation. “It’s certainly not any of our first five hundred choices, and that works to our advantage.”
Sten lacked the energy to again effectively protest his preferred route home to Nar Shaddaa in Hutt Space, where they could be assured they knew every way in and out of familiar nooks and crannies in the Vertical City.
Domi, pragmatically chiming in to execute the plan and get as much distance behind them as possible offered, “Why not cut straight through the core worlds? If we aren't interested in making any stops back home or to pick up supplies, that's the fastest route.”
Axl nodded. Pragmatism won. Pragmatism and that pensive pout she formed when she was singularly determined.
Upon returning to the cockpit, Axl took a labored breath. The adrenaline and dark energy that had fueled him on the adventure had run its course, and was now replaced by the indescribable pain, stiffness, emotional dissociation, and anesthetized senses.
Outside, the stars shone indifferently against the vast tapestry of space, each a witness to the countless stories unfolding beneath them. Inside, under the flickering lights, the family faced a crossroads and all paths could lead to disaster. “Disaster,” he drifted in thought, “literally ill-starred, ill-fated.”
He flicked a dial, and… Nothing. He rocked it to and fro. Nada. He side eyed Domi to clock if she had noticed. She had. Her hands overlapped his, trying to rectify his false start of booting up the hyperspace astronav system.
In finding a new ship they hadn't spent any of their 10 minutes concerning themselves with something they so frequently had taken for granted.
A few more flips and palm slams, and there was… a response.
Something began to sizzle and smoke, and they were both fairly certain it was the very same navi computer. A few sputters more and the gravity set in.
Axl's fingers danced over the navigational console with a deftness born of desperation. The route from Bar Neth to Varonat, a path fraught with as much uncertainty as it was with hope, now lay obscured by the acrid smoke rising from the ship's fried navigational computer. He prodded and pried, his actions a chaotic blend of pretend technical expertise and blind hope, but the console remained unresponsive, its screens a tableau of static and darkness.
His brow furrowed in frustration as he confronted the grim reality: the navigational system was beyond repair, its circuits irreparably damaged. A harsh, bitter laugh escaped his lips, a sound devoid of humor and filled with self-derision. The irony of their situation was not lost on him: a ship capable of traversing the stars, now rendered directionless, its path as uncertain as theirs.
The weight of the predicament pressed heavily upon Axl. Without a functioning navigational system, they were blind in the vast ocean of space. The possibilities whirled in his mind, each more harrowing than the last. Becoming lost in the endless expanse, adrift without hope of salvation. Or worse, miscalculating a jump and crashing into some forgotten moon, obliterating not only himself but his entire family—the thought was unacceptable.
Amidst the turmoil of his thoughts, a whisper crept into his consciousness, a murmuring at the edge of perception. The Force, an ever-present entity, spoke to him in hushed tones, its words a siren song of guidance and temptation. But Axl recoiled from its call, a mix of fear and shame clouding his judgment. He remembered, with a shiver, what it had asked of him earlier, the demands that had left him questioning the very nature of his power.
He would never again entertain the idea that the Force could ask of him to sacrifice or needlessly endanger his love for some ill defined sick greater narrative design. A power that could demand that, that would presume his complicity, that was a power that would not take hold.
He turned back to the console, his hands moving aimlessly over the dead screens. The others, unaware of his inner conflict, looked to him with a mixture of trust and expectation. Axl felt the weight of their gazes like a physical burden, a reminder of the responsibility he bore for their lives.
The ship, a silent witness to his struggle, drifted aimlessly, its course uncharted, its destination unknown. Axl glared into the abyss of space, the stars a distant tapestry of light and shadow. The future, once a path to be chosen, was now a labyrinth with no calculable exit.
“We have no droids,” Axl spoke through the corner of his mouth, “and judging from both of our reactions, I'll guess neither of us have the confidence or tools to fix this.”
Domi nodded, “we can't risk the core worlds. Even if we could make some repairs to the circuits we couldn't trust those readings.”
Truly, if trying to navigate the rim without reliable nav was suicide, through the core would be mass genocide.
“But if we do this is a few segmented jumps and have fate conspire to prevent us being obliterated by some dwarf moon,” Axl couldn't believe he was entertaining the idea, “we don't know if the hyperdrive itself or even the life support systems are in any better shape than the nav. We could be marooned in wild space. I'll be damned if in the best case scenario I lose you to pirates.”
A blank expression swept across Domi's face. Something unspoken in that moment left them both without breath. Some universal truth on an unknown plane of existence, dancing around them.
She rebounded, reluctantly. A moment. Then, “we can do this. You and me. Reach out.”
His hand made its way to the nip of her neck, gently.
“Not like that, flyboy.”
He gave a halfhearted wink.
“At least not until we make it to Varonat,” she offered warmly and cheekily.
They closed their eyes and drew that stale artificially recycled oxygen deep into their chest through their stinging nostrils.
Axl disappeared into his own mindscape. He saw stars stretching out before him in an expanse his eyes would never have permitted.
Axl stood at the threshold of perception, where reality blurred into the realm of the Force. His eyes, closed to the physical world, opened to the ethereal landscapes that the Force unveiled. There, in the solitude of his own mind, he began to conjure the image of Varonat, a distant planet whispered about in the corners of the galaxy, untouched and untamed.
The visualization process was like weaving a tapestry from strands of thought and feeling. With each thread of the Force he pulled, the image of Varonat grew more vivid. He saw its dense jungles teeming with unseen life, the canopy a vibrant emerald and jade interspersed with bursts of exotic colors from flora unknown to most of the galaxy. He could almost hear the cacophony of sounds, the distant cries of creatures, and the rustling of leaves in the wind. Varonat pulsed with life, a rhythm that was both alien and inviting.
But it wasn't enough. He could feel the world, but not with the certainty and clarity to FIND the path to it. He needed a better model to follow to gain perspective.
Much like his father's lessons to him about gravity being a matter of objects longing to be together, he felt the pull of this jungle haven, but didn't fully know how to navigate that attraction and make it actionable, no matter how willing the Force was to facilitate the journey once he had his confidence and bearings.
He considered. Another analogous time and place arrested his mind.
Domi, Domi, Dom–
The memory proved vivid and unbidden, surfacing from the depths of his consciousness at the beck and call of the Force itself. It was a recollection steeped in desperation and longing, a moment when the force had been his only guide through the abyss of uncertainty and separation —a moment when the Force had been his only guide to find Domi. They had been separated, each flung into different corners of chaos, and the void her absence created was palpable, a chasm that echoed with the raw need to be reunited.
He remembered the overwhelming sense of loss, the void left by Domi's absence. She was more than just a companion; she was the north star in his tumultuous sky, a beacon of direction and meaning. In his mind's eye, she was a vivid oasis in the barren desert of his existence, the singular point of vibrant color in a world turned monochrome by her absence.
Driven by a need that transcended physical space, Axl had reached out with the force, allowing it to flood his senses. It was more than just a search; it was a yearning, a call to the universe to reunite what was meant to be whole. His thoughts, his essence, extended beyond the confines of his body, seeking her.
In this state, he visualized Domi as his destination, not merely a location but a sanctuary, the culmination of every journey he had ever embarked upon. She was the embodiment of every dreamt paradise, the epitome of peace and belonging that he sought in the galaxy. He did not just see her; he felt her presence, as tangible and vital as the air he breathed.
In the pulsating heart of a crowded city, Axl found himself adrift, a lone figure swept along by a tide of bodies and voices. The force, his ever-present ally, was a tumultuous sea within him, its waves crashing against the shores of his consciousness. He sought Domi, his soul's counterpart, through their quantum entanglement, a connection that was both his compass and curse.
The streets teemed with life, a cacophony of colors, sounds, and smells that assaulted the senses. Axl's focus, however, was singular. Driven by a need that transcended physical space, Axl had reached out with the force, allowing it to flood his senses. His thoughts, his essence, extended beyond the confines of his body, seeking her. He could feel her presence, a beacon in the fog of his mind, but the path to her was obscured.
With each step, Axl's frustration grew. The force, usually so clear and guiding, now seemed to mock him with its ambiguity. The entanglement, a bond that should have led him to her, was a tangle of possibilities, each more confounding than the last.
As he navigated the throng, the force ebbed and flowed, a tide that pulled him first in one direction, then another. He took a turn down a narrow alley, certain it was the right path, only to find himself at a dead end, the walls a silent testament to his failure.
Retracing his steps, Axl emerged back onto the bustling street, his senses stretched to their limit. It was then that he saw them - a battalion of Imperial Stormtroopers, their white armor a stark contrast against the drab surroundings. Among them, unmistakable in his black armor, was a Purge Trooper, an ominous harbinger of death for any force-sensitive being.
Axl's heart skipped a beat. The presence of the troopers was a clear and present danger, not just to him but to his family. If the Purge Trooper alerted the Inquisitors, it would mean certain death. His entanglement to Domi, all-consuming as it was, had blinded him to the world around him, a world fraught with peril.
In that moment, survival instincts took over. Axl ducked behind a nearby food cart, its vendor oblivious to the drama unfolding. He crouched low, his breath shallow, as the troopers passed by, mere meters from his hiding place. The Purge Trooper paused, his helmeted head turning slightly as if sensing something amiss. Axl held his breath, his heart pounding in his ears.
The seconds stretched into an eternity, each one a lifetime of fear and anticipation. Then, as suddenly as he had stopped, the Purge Trooper moved on, the battalion continuing their march, unaware of the near miss.
Axl remained hidden for a few moments longer, gathering his composure. His attempt to find Domi through the force had failed, leading him not to her but to danger. The realization was a bitter pill to swallow, a reminder of the limitations of even his considerable powers.
With a deep breath, Axl emerged from his hiding place, his resolve hardened. He would use his wits, his knowledge of the city, and every other skill at his disposal. The force, for all its power, was not the only tool in his arsenal.
And so, Axl melted back into the crowd, just another face in the sea of many.
This path was not marked by coordinates or directions, but by a pull that he felt deep in his core—a gravitational force that drew him inexorably towards her. He navigated not by sight, but by a profound sense of belonging, an unerring knowledge that each step brought him closer to where he belonged.
As he followed this path, the space around him seemed to warp and bend, the laws of physics yielding to the indomitable will of the Force. Distances that should have taken hours to traverse were crossed in moments, obstacles that should have impeded him were swept aside as if they were mere illusions.
With each step, the path between them became more defined, fault lines in space that only he could perceive. They were lines drawn by destiny, a roadmap etched by their shared fate.
And then, suddenly, there she was. Domi, a vision amidst the chaos, her presence a balm to the storm that raged within him. The moment their eyes met, it was as if the universe had realigned, the fragmented pieces falling into place with a resounding click. In that instant, Axl knew that no matter the distance, no matter the obstacles, the Force would always guide him back to her. They were two souls, entwined by fate and bound by a power that transcended the physical realm—a connection that was as eternal as the stars themselves.
This quantum entanglement between them, an unbreakable bond that defied the laws of physics– it was key. Distance was a mere concept, irrelevant in the face of defined, certain connection.
Varonat, Varonat, Varo–
His palm caressed the hyperdrive lever, biding its time.
As he delved deeper, Axl felt an inexplicable connection form between himself and the distant world. It was as if the planet's essence had reached across the vastness of space, entwining with his own. This quantum entanglement, a concept so abstract yet palpably real within the Force, bridged the undefined space between them. Varonat was no longer a mere destination; it was an extension of himself, a place that resonated with the same frequency as his soul. His physical form responded to the invisible currents that now linked him to Varonat. It was as if the planet itself called to him, its voice a siren song that resonated with the very core of his being. Within this trance-like state, a path began to form, a trail forged by instinct and destiny. It was a route that only he could sense, a path that existed beyond the realm of charts and coordinates.
Axl's body swayed gently, guided by an instinctual path that began to form. It was a surreal experience, feeling a planet's pull, its gravitational and spiritual allure drawing him in. He could sense the paths that wound through its jungles, the streams that cut across its terrain, and the peaks that scraped its skies. The Force flowed like water, finding the path of least resistance, guiding him to this uncharted world.
The more he focused, the stronger the connection became. It was as if he was standing on the precipice of two worlds, one foot in the physical realm aboard the ship, and the other treading the lush grounds of Varonat. The sensation was disorienting yet exhilarating, a testament to the boundless power of the Force.
In this heightened state, Axl began to understand Varonat in ways that maps and scanners could never reveal. He felt the ebb and flow of life on the planet, the natural cycles that governed its existence. He sensed the subtle shifts in its biosphere, the delicate balance that sustained it. The planet, in its secluded corner of the galaxy, was a living entity, its heartbeat a faint drum in the cosmic orchestra.
As he gradually retracted his consciousness, pulling back the tendrils of thought and sensation that had stretched across the stars, Axl was left with an imprint of Varonat etched into his being. The connection remained a faint line drawn in the fabric of space, a tether that he could follow when the time came.
But it was more than a visual spectacle; Axl felt Varonat. He felt its pulse, a rhythmic, vibrant life force that coursed through the planet's veins. It was an energetic resonance that spoke of a world untamed, a world that thrived in the chaos of natural order. Their connection was ethereal yet palpable, a bridge constructed not of steel or stone, but of energy and consciousness.
With each passing moment, the path grew clearer, more defined. It wound through the cosmos, a silken thread that beckoned him forward. Axl felt as if he was being pulled, not unwillingly, toward Varonat. The planet, once a mere destination, now felt like a part of him, as vital as a limb or an organ.
As the vision gradually receded, Axl was left with a profound sense of purpose. Varonat was no longer just a refuge; it was a calling, a piece of a larger puzzle that he was destined to solve. The Force had not just shown him the way; it had revealed a part of his destiny he would spend decades trying to unravel.
His confidence rose, the image of Varonat etched into his mind, its presence a constant, pulsating echo.
Axl reached out with his senses, letting the Force envelop him. It was like stepping into a river, feeling the current tug at him, guiding him in its inexorable flow. He surrendered to it, allowing it to carry him along its winding path. In his mind's eye, the galaxy unfolded, a cosmic tapestry that he was now a part of.
He saw the fault lines, those unseen fractures in the fabric of space that would guide him on his journey. They were like glowing threads, weaving their way through the darkness, beckoning him to follow. With each decision, each adjustment of the ship's course, he felt the lines shift, guiding him ever closer to Varonat.
The journey was not without its hiccups and near hits. The Core Systems loomed like a maze of lights and gravity wells, a siren's call that threatened to draw him off course. But Axl steered clear, his path curving away from the well-trodden routes, into the uncharted reaches of Wild Space.
It was as if he were astral projecting, his consciousness floating free of his body, watching as celestial bodies passed him by. He saw nebulas, those great clouds of dust and gas, their colors vibrant against the blackness of space. He passed by rogue planets, untethered from any star, wandering the galaxy in lonely solitude. Each was a waypoint, a marker on his journey to the remote world.
As the ship hurtled through hyperspace, Axl felt a sense of unity with the universe. He was no longer just a traveler, but a part of the cosmic dance that played out across the galaxy. The Force was his guide, a constant presence that whispered secrets and showed him the way.
The fault lines in his vision began to converge, coalescing into a single, glowing path that led straight to Varonat. Axl opened his eyes, the starlines in the viewport stretching into the familiar streaks of hyperspace travel. He knew that they were close now, that their destination was just within reach.
The Force slammed into him like a brick wall, as he urgently pulled back on the lever controlling the hyperdrive. To say he had stopped on the edge of a credit, and a moment more would have spelled catastrophe would have been…
Quite an overdramatization. In fact, they came to a halt far more than a safe distance from their destination, and at normal speed, it would take another several hours to make their entry into its atmosphere. But they had made it.
Axl glanced at Domi beside him. In a surprise to no one, she had been on a similar journey as he had, helping to navigate beside him. Her hand had been resting on his the entire time, both having pulled back on the hyperdrive in tandem. What Axl hadn't yet realized was Vasilisa stood over his shoulder, also having been instrumental in mentally guiding the pair on the odyssey.
…
Amidst the silence of the cockpit, Axl, the bearer of a burdened destiny, felt a disturbance ripple through the Force, a premonition that sent a chill down his spine. The ship, a silent vessel hurtling through the vastness of space, became a crucible for the tumultuous thoughts that now plagued him. The Force, his constant guide, whispered a sinister truth, a warning shrouded in the metaphors of the cosmos.
As he had reached out to Varonat, forging a quantum entanglement with the distant planet, the Force had responded, a living entity that both nurtured and warned. It spoke to him of the inherent danger in such deep connections, the peril of two entities becoming irrevocably intertwined. The entanglement with Varonat was more than a navigational triumph; it was a mirror, reflecting the deeper, more personal bond he shared with Domi.
The Force, in its alleged wisdom, cautioned him. Such profound connections, while powerful, bore the seeds of potential tragedy. In the tapestry of the universe, threads that were too tightly woven risked unraveling, not just themselves, but the fabric around them. Axl’s bond with Domi, much like his connection to Varonat, was a double-edged sword, capable of guiding him to unseen heights or plunging him into unfathomable depths.
Axl pondered this revelation, his heart heavy with the weight of this newfound knowledge. His love for Domi, a beacon in the often murky waters of his existence, was now cast in a foreboding light. The Force showed him visions, echoes of potential futures where their entanglement led to ruin. In one, Domi was torn from him, a casualty of the cosmic forces they dared to defy. In another, it was he who brought destruction upon her, his own power the harbinger of her demise.
Axl grappled with the implications, his mind a battleground where love, duty, and destiny clashed. The Force, though a conduit of power, was also a conduit of truth, and its truths were not always kind. To love was to risk, to connect was to expose oneself to the potential for loss and sorrow.
Yet, in the depths of his soul, Axl knew that to sever these connections was to deny a part of himself. A part he refused to ever do without.
