Taking to the Air

"Take hold of my own dream,

Be as strong as the seas are stormy,

And proud as an eagle's scream.

I will ride, I will fly,

Chase the wind and touch the sky."

"Touch the Sky" by Julie Fowlis

Ansion, Dashbalar city, 22 BBY

Ro wasn't sure what she was seeing exactly, only that she had never seen its like before. It was a starship, at least forty meters in length, with dull grey plating. The two engines were seated to the rear of the ship, above wings that stretched out elegantly to the sides, curving inwards like crescents. The prow too curved slightly downwards, ending in a sharp point, giving the ship an overall appearance of a bird, moodily chained to the ground.

"A beaut isn't she?" asked a voice beside her.

Ro turned to smile into the grizzled face of her friend and mentor, Shiv Sanarl. "Yeah," she said. "She surely is."

The old Shistavanen dropped his graying muzzle to give her a smile, exposing his fangs. "You've got a good eye on you, little bit. She's a special one."

"What type of starship is it? I don't recognize the design."

"Well…" Shiv said, drawing the word out while raising one clawed hand to scratch behind a tattered ear. "She's not really any kind of specific starship. The hull used to belong to a light courier I got to pay off an old debt. Over the years though, I've gone and modified and changed and added so much, the old gal's pretty much become a class all of her own." Another fang-exposing smile. "Guess that's what happens when an old tinkerer like me gets to be retired."

Ro gasped slightly at that bit of news. "You built this? You never told me you built a starship." She had been living with Shiv and his wife, Eda, for a little over a year now and she had thought she had seen every one of Shiv's 'tinkerings'. How had he managed to keep this secret from her? "That is so sneaky," she accused him, utterly delighted. Living with the elderly couple was never boring.

Shiv chuckled, a sound that rumbled deeply in his broad chest. "Well, you know I did used to be a covert ops specialist. Sneaky is my middle name. As is devious and underhanded."

Ro smiled back at him, but her gaze was inadvertently drawn back to the strange ship, tucked away in the far corner of the hangar. As if of their own accord, her feet brought her closer, fingers tentatively touching the cool durasteel platings of the hull. She had to stand on tiptoe to do it. Being small was sometimes so annoying. But she could see now that Shiv had ben right, he had heavily modified the ship. The overall shape was that of a light, fast courier, but the wings looked suspiciously as if they might have come from a Naboo J-type star skiff and the engines could have come off of something from the Kuat Drive Yards.

"She's a mongrel ship, through and through," Shiv said, his one dark eye watching her intently.

Ro gave a thoughtful nod. "I guess she is." Then, without thinking about it she said, "I want her."

Shiv gave a laugh that was equal parts growl and howl. "Oh, I bet you do, little bit. I can see it on your face. But," and he waggled a claw-tipped finger in front of her face, "she's not the type of ship your Master came here for."

That was true enough and Ro cast a quick glance in the direction of Master Djinn Altis, standing at the far end of the hangar and inspecting another row of starships, all of them freighters. Next to him was another Altisian Jedi, Callista Ming and Shiv's wife, Eda Ikuzu. Eda, a tall and regal looking Human, made a sweeping gesture at one of the freighters, her face slightly disgusted. The owner of the freighter stood by, looking harried and ready to burst into tears. Eda Ikuzu drove a hard bargain. Ro glanced at the freighter. It was big, bulky, inelegant in every way, but seemed to fit the purpose Master Altis had in mind.

Ro turned back to the mongrel ship. She was as different to the freighter as night was from day: sleek, elegant and powerful looking. Under the yellow-white lights of the hangar, Ro could almost believe that at any moment, the ship would flex invisible muscles and take off into the bright sky of Ansion.

"Maybe she's what I came here for," she said, more to herself than to the old Shistavanen.

Shiv snorted at her declaration. "Forty years in the Republic navy and I never understood all that Jedi Force babble, but I've made it a habit never to argue. So," and he tilted his head at the girl in invitation, "while Eda is busy bargaining that freighter seller witless, why don't I give you a tour?" His face lit up with an eagerness that belied his advanced years and Ro found herself responding easily to his enthusiasm. When it came to his tinkerings, Shiv was very much a pup at heart.

He made his way to the back of the ship, the bare prosthetic that was his right leg glinting softly in the hangar's illumination. Shiv, fond of all things mechanical, never bothered covering it with synthflesh. Ro followed him eagerly, a small skip in her steps and nearly breathless with excitement as Shiv punched in a security code and the ship's loading ramp lowered to the hangar floor. The Shistavanen started talking almost as soon as one furred foot touched down on the ramp.

"I told you that during my time in Republic Intelligence I got to do a lot of traveling and spent more hours in hyperspace transit than I care to remember. And you know what they say about idle hands, eh," he said, turning to her and playfully wriggling his fingers at her. Ro giggled.

"So I had a lot of time to indulge in my hobby. RI never managed to supply its agents with the stuff we really needed, so I also came about building most of what I designed." At this, he waved his hand at the cargo bay they were now standing in. "This ship would be one of them."

Ro looked about. The cargo bay was modest in size, big enough to hold a small escape pod. Though there was no dust, she sensed that no one had used this space in a while. Like the outside of the ship, the durasteel plating was grey and unassuming.

Shiv limped towards one of the walls and pressed a small plate. The plate's color changed from grey to green and suddenly the walls of the cargo bay were moving, shifting, exposing dozens of hidden compartments of varying sizes. Ro gaped at the sight.

Shiv looked pleased at the reaction. "When I modified the original, I had this idea of the perfect spy ship. Every spooks dream, so to speak." And he waved at the hidden compartments. "You'll find these throughout the ship, specially shielded from scanners. Doesn't affect hull integrity, though," he added quickly. "The hull is triple-plated, with a thin layer of chromium between the durasteel. Makes this darling radiation resistant enough to survive an ion storm." And he slapped the wall with obvious affection, while activating the hidden panel and letting the compartments slide back closed. He motioned the girl forwards and Ro followed him obediently through the cargo bay and into the main body of the ship.

Before her stretched out a corridor, not wide enough to allow even two people to walk side-by-side. There were five doors spaced out evenly on each side of the corridor.

Shiv took up his narrative again, his low voice holding a rumble of pleasure as he pointed out the ship's features to Ro. "The original hull was only twenty meters. Now, I don't know about you, but I like my bit of space, particularly when I'm carting around folk I'd rather dump out the airlock." He gestured at the two doors closest to the cargo bay. "So I pretty much welded together two hulls of the same type and got twice the space."

Shiv made his way through the corridor, pointing to each door in turn. "Four cabins in all and one 'fresher. Could have added more, but like I said, I like room when I sleep and the extra space allowed me to install a real shower and not one of those sonic monstrosities." And the Shistavanen's two ears pressed close to his furred skull, as if in memory of some excruciating pain. Ro could sympathize. For a species with acute hearing, a sonic shower must be torture.

She had the chance to peek into two of the cabins and the 'fresher and had to admit that Shiv was right. There was space. Both cabins sported what could almost be called an actual bed, as well as a desk with chair. And Ro could see more compartments recessed into the walls. Like the cabins, the 'fresher was decently sized for a spaceship and included a shower with a sliding partition, big enough for a person of Shiv's size and bulk to comfortably stand in. Ro could see that Shiv had gone to great pains to use whatever available space there was for amenities, without creating a sense of overcrowding.

The corridor ended in a modest sized galley, a kitchenette along one side, with cupboards arranged above and to the side, and a small table and chairs on the other. The chairs, Ro noted wryly, looked like they might have been pilot chairs at one point, comfortably padded to absorb the stresses of atmo reentry. "Fully equipped galley," Shiv said, eying the space with his dark eye as if daring it to show a fault. "Cooking space and an oven; more than enough for a decent meal." He nodded towards the table bolted to the floor. "Can seat four comfortably and there are two jump seats that you can pull out from the wall." Then he gestured towards a ladder at the end of the galley, leading upwards. "Cockpit's that way."

Ro did a 360° turn, taking in the galley again, as she waited for Shiv to climb the ladder. There was a grunt from the lupine humanoid, which Ro took to mean that he was in the cockpit and she quickly clattered after him. The cockpit of the ship turned out to be as modified as the rest. Ro stared at the crescent of consoles that made up the front half of the cockpit, then glanced out through the sharply angled viewport. She stepped closer, letting her fingers trail over the sensors, noting that, like in the rest of the ship, there was no dust, though all the sensor lights were off.

"Two for a crew," Shiv said, leaning against one of the chairs. "Though of course, I finagled it so that one pilot can operate her alone, if need be." He stared at her, his black eyes serious and stern. "I recommend two for a crew though, or at least a decent astromech. Not a good idea, to be flying all by ones lonesome through space. Especially not right now."

Ro felt a shudder run down her spine. No, especially not right now. The battle of Geonosis and the slaughter of so many Jedi had only happened two months ago, but already the Force thrummed with further bloodshed and a rising darkness that scared Ro almost witless. Her nightmare had come with ever more frequency since the Republic had declared war on the Confederacy of Independent Systems and she was not the only Jedi to be disturbed by the unfolding events. The Altisian Jedi were in a veritable uproar about the Military Creation Act and the sudden appearance of a clone army. And the Jedi were meant to lead them. When she had heard that bit of news, Ro had scrambled for the nearest comlink, desperately trying to reach Garett. Garett, who was so close to being a Jedi Knight, who was counted as one of the most promising Jedi in the Temple. Ro's throat closed up as she remembered the weariness and the heartbreak in his voice, when she had finally managed to reach him. It had been their first conversation after he had called her to tell her about Geonosis. Their conversation hadn't gone well. He had brushed her off as soon as he could, telling her he was busy, that his trials were approaching and that the clone army was none of her business; after all, she wouldn't be fighting with them.

Their relationship had become so strained since Geonosis. That battle, seeing so many of his friends die...it had changed Garett, like it had changed the galaxy. And she didn't like those changes.

Ro felt a heavy hand fall on her shoulder, and she looked through her bangs to see Shiv standing very close to her, his muzzled face compassionate. "War is a bad time to be alone," he told her. "There's a lot of evil out there now and it's easy for a single ship to get caught between two armies."

His voice was a low growl and Ro could feel a shared pain and loss from him. Of course. Shiv had served the Republic as a soldier and spy for many decades. He had lived, if not through a galaxy wide war, then through several of the smaller and no less bloody conflicts the Republic had witnessed. He would know all about the dangers of these times.

"I have Artee," she said, trying to reassure him.

Shiv gave a derisive snort. He didn't think much of R3-T3, the astromech she had picked up on an excursion to Lotho Minor.

"That," he told her, "is not reassuring. You know the R3 series has none of the guts the R2s have. Now, maybe we should rejoin your Master," he suggested softly. "Maybe take a closer look at that freighter. I'm sure the Wookiee Gunner would serve the purpose Djinn has in mind." His tone had become slightly wheedling, as if he had only now realized the import of showing her the ship.

Under normal circumstances, Ro would happily comply with any of Shiv's requests, but right now, her mind was fully occupied with other matters. The purpose he had in mind. Those were weighty words. Not a week after Geonosis, a call had gone out to all Jedi to return to the Temple to discuss the Order's role in the war. Even Master Altis had been invited, though technically, the Altisians were only aligned with the Order in the broadest of definitions. But they had still been offered the opportunity to take up a rank in the new Grand Army and lead battalions of clone soldiers into battle. Master Altis had refused on behalf of his sect, though he had told his followers that any who chose to go would not be stopped. No one had, as far as Ro knew. Not yet, anyway. But Master Altis had determined that they could not stand idly by, while the galaxy was torn apart by war. So the Altisians had come to a tacit agreement with the Order and had taken up the mantle of relief aid, going to planets where there had been fighting and cleaning up after what the GAR had left behind. And that was beginning to turn out to be a bigger job than they had thought, which was why Master Altis had come to Ansion, to visit his friends and to procure more freight ships for the Altisians.

And that was wonderful. It really was. Because obviously, somebody had to deliver those emergency rations and medicine and what not, since apparently, the Senate couldn't be bothered with that consideration. It was just…she wasn't sure that that was what she should be doing.

"I want to hear more about this ship," Ro said firmly. It was just…that it didn't feel like enough to Ro.

Shiv cocked his head to the side, studying her very carefully, then he gave a single, heavy sigh.

"I see," he said and maybe he did. With another sigh that spoke of the years weighing on him, Shiv let himself fall into one of the padded chairs, gesturing for Ro to do the same. To her surprise, the chair immediately began to conform to her body, providing her with the maximum amount of comfort. Ro raised a pale eyebrow at that. Shiv really liked his little luxuries.

Shiv began pointing out the various controls to her, lecturing her about each function, explaining the special modifications he had made over the years.

"Like I said earlier, I wanted to build the perfect spy ship. Something that could outrun most fighters, but with enough fire power to get into a good scrap and come out on top. She makes 2000 kph in atmo with the sublight engines, the hyperdrive will push you all the way to a speed of class two." He looked at her in obvious self-satisfaction. "That's the speed most military starships manage now a days."

Ro gave an appreciative whistle. That was…really fast.

"As for fire power, well she's got two heavy repeating-fire laser cannons below the wings and an automated sentry gun on top that I managed to salvage from a busted tank. With the right person on the trigger," and he pointed out to her the targeting console, "you can blow pretty much anything out of the sky that happens to catch your fancy."

Ro studied the targeting array carefully, then turned back to Shiv, frowning. "You said you wanted a spy ship. This sounds more like a battle frigate."

Shiv made another rumbling sound that was the Shistavanen equivalent of a chuckle. "Nothing gets by you, eh? Take a look to your left. See that row of buttons and dials?"

Ro looked and nodded.

"Well, they ain't just there to brighten up the place. Those are the instruments needed to operate the cloaking device."

Ro was aware that she was staring now, like an Alderaani deer caught in the headlights.

"A-a cloaking device?" she asked, both awed and incredulous. Cloaking devices were rare and very expensive. And as far as she knew, they were never used in a vessel this small.

Shiv smiled at her slack-jawed astonishment, reaching out one hand to gently close her mouth. His fur tickled.

"A cloaking device." He confirmed. "I won't tell you how I got it, but suffice to say it wasn't entirely illegal and while I may have lost both my eyeteeth in the deal, I didn't have to barter away my firstborn."

It was a joke and Ro smiled, but she was suddenly feeling less confidant about all of this. A cloaking device! Sweet Force, those things cost a fortune. For the first time since she saw the ship, the question of credits entered her mind. For the past year, Ro had been paying back Eda and Shiv for her lessons and room by doing various chores and by selling some small bits of self-made jewelry in their shop, Odd Ends. But she had basically been provided for - as she had been all of her life. But she couldn't just expect Shiv to give her this ship. Not only must he have spent years building her, but even if he had salvaged most of her parts, he must have sunk a minor fortune into the project.

Shiv must have deduced her thoughts from the shifting expressions on her face, because his one eye softened perceptibly, as did the smile. "Worried about paying my asking price?"

"I," she swallowed. "You know I don't have a lot of creds." Early on during her stay on Ansion, during a lesson about alternate identities, Eda had established an account for Ro under her pseudonym Roweena Ikuzu. The account held a meager amount of creds from her earnings of the jewelry sell, which her mentors had insisted she keep in case of an emergency. But it would not be nearly enough to pay for a starship. Master Altis did keep a slush fund which all of his students had access to, but, it didn't feel right to use the slush fund for this kind of purchase. The money in that account was supposed to be for emergencies and necessities. And while Ro might feel that she needed this ship, she was pretty sure that others would not see it in that light. Not that anyone would contest her claim on the sect's finances, but Ro would feel dishonest doing so. Besides, she wanted this ship to be hers and buying it with the Altisian money would make it everyone else's as well.

"Hhmmm," Shiv leaned back in the seat, watching her intently, then looking about the cockpit deep in thought. "You know, Eda is most likely going to have my hide when she finds out we had this conversation. And I wouldn't blame her. I don't like the idea that I see forming in your head."

"Which is?"

"That you want to go out gallivanting in the galaxy all on your lonesome in this mongrel ship, just as the galaxy is beginning to tear itself apart." His face was serious as he leaned towards her, his bass voice lower than usual. "Ro, I want you to think about this very, very carefully. I've seen war and I've seen what happens to the people who try to do the right thing while the blasters are screaming. It's not a pretty sight and it rarely pays off. I won't lie to you," he smiled tiredly at her. "I know I can't and you know I care too much for you to do so. So I'll say it straight. If you feel like you have to leave," he paused for a moment, looking down, his face working. Ro felt her heart clench at the sight. "If you have to leave us," Shiv continued, "then I would prefer you go with Altis. There's safety in numbers and Altis knows a bit more about being in a war zone than he would ever care to admit."

"But that's not what you've been training me for," Ro said, her voice almost a whisper. She hated doing this to Shiv, hated seeing him so full of worry and fear for her. Eda, she knew, would be the same, though the fierce Human woman would hide it better. She didn't want them to worry about her; she didn't even really want to leave them. But she had to. Already HNE was full of stories about crime syndicates taking advantage of the sudden absence of the Jedi to engage in their own turf wars. Chaos was brewing and not just on the frontlines.

"Shiv," she carefully placed her much smaller hand into his big paw. "This is what I've been training for. My place isn't on a freighter filled with emergency supplies. It's out there, hunting down the bad guys, trying to protect people. And that has become more important than ever, now that most of the other Jedi are concentrating on the war. I have to do my part." She gave his furred paw a slight squeeze. "And I would like to do so in your ship."

He searched her face and Ro suddenly became very aware of the white fur that almost completely covered his muzzle and the white spots on his dark brown pelt, peeking out from beneath his clothing. Shiv was getting old. And so was Eda. The thought scared her. Would she be leaving them to grow even older, without anyone to look after them? Was this the danger of attachment? Worrying about someone to the point where you began to question your perceived duty?

Then Shiv's rubbery black lips pulled back and with the return of his smile, his face lost all traces of age. "And while you're in my ship, you'll be as snug as a bug in a rug." He gave an emphatic nod. "Safest place you could possibly be." He squeezed her fingers as well. "And you are right, this is what we have been training you for and I know that you can do this. But," and know he waggled a finger in her face, "don't think I'm going to let you off lightly with my ship. I've put a lot of sweat, years and credits into this darling and I won't sell her cheap, even for," he swallowed, "even for someone I consider my own flesh and blood."

Ro felt tears sting her eyes at that declaration. Shiv cleared his throat noisily, obviously a little uncomfortable at the sudden emotionality of the moment. "So I tell you what. You and me, we're gonna have a little chat in which you can tell me all the ways in which you can earn a living for yourself. Once we've got a few good ideas, we can figure out a payment plan." He raised his clawed hand to stop any effusive gratitude she might have voiced at that moment.

"I warn you though, you'll likely be paying me back till your pups have grey hair."

"I totally don't care," Ro said, and found herself squeeing a little before flinging herself at the seated Shiv in an enthusiastic hug. The old Shistavanen smiled indulgently, returning the hug and slightly patting her back.

"Now, now. No need to be getting all sentimental. I have a reputation to uphold as a mean old wolf, so you best be letting go now." But there was no reproof in his growling voice and Ro was still grinning from ear to ear when she pulled back.

"You won't regret this Shiv, I promise. I'll pay you back every credit and I'll take good care of the ship."

Shiv nodded. "I bet you will." Then he put a hand on the top of her head. "And don't go forgetting to take care of yourself as well and don't let anyone," he cast a significant glance out the viewport at the other Altisian Jedi, "make you doubt what you are doing. I respect Djinn immensely, but sometimes, he's a little too unwilling to pull that saber of his. The galaxy needs more than just peacekeepers and philanthropists. It also needs soldiers," and he leaned slightly closer to her, looking deeply into her teal eyes. "And it needs a few rogues who can fly into danger and make a stand."

He removed his hand from her head and stood up from his seat, leaving Ro blinking in surprised astonishment. How had he guessed at some of her deeper anxieties about buying this ship? Then she smiled at her own folly. Of course Shiv would know; he knew her like a father, because...well, because she confided in him like a daughter. She had always stood out a little among the Altisians, simply because she did not always share the more pacifistic tendencies of some of its members. Nor did she like indulging all the time in the endless philosophical debates that tended to dominate the day. If the Temple had been all about feeling your way through the Force, then the Altisians were more about thinking your way through. And Ro had always been stuck in the middle, never really able of coming down on one side of the argument. It wasn't always comfortable, being a part of a community with certain firm ideals that were sometimes at odds with your personal impulses. And Shiv knew that.

"I'm gonna go see how the others are doing and let Djinn know that you and I are gonna do some bargaining of our own," and Shiv began to make his way down the ladder into the galley.

"Wait," Ro called and the Shistavanen froze, the lower half of his body already out of sight.

"Yes?" he asked, slightly puzzled. "Having second thoughts after all?"

"No, that's not it," she told him, emphatically shaking her head and making her hair fly. "I was just wondering…what's her name?"

"Name?" Shiv asked, momentarily confused. Then his face brightened and a playful twinkle came into his eye. "Well, my beloved wife likes to call her 'that useless hunk of space debris taking up my time and her money', but I never did manage to fit all that on the hull, so…" And he gave an eloquent shrug, quite a feat for someone hanging off of a ladder. "I guess the naming part is up to you." And with that, he disappeared down the ladder.

Ro swiveled the chair back to the console, once more studying all the buttons, levers and dials and imagining them lighted up, with the engines revving. She drew a hand over the cool surface of the console before her, thinking hard.

What should she name the ship; a ship that would be her very own? A ship that would take her through a galaxy that had suddenly become a very dangerous and very dark place. A ship she would use to do…to do what exactly? To fight. But not to fight on the frontlines. No, Ro wanted to go someplace else, to places far darker than the battlefield. She had learned much in her time with Master Altis, had seen many a place she had never heard of and which the Republic had seemingly forgotten. And there was darkness there and monsters that prayed in that darkness and who were left in peace more or less by a government always more concerned with the 'big picture' than with the plight of the weak and the powerless. And she had a feeling that with this war, those people would only further fall between the cracks of the Senate legislation.

So she was going to hunt monsters in the middle of a war. Ro actually laughed out loud at the idea. Force, she was crazy. But the laugh had sent something deep inside of her in motion and Ro felt a soft tickling sensation at the back of her neck as the Force began to work around her.

"I want…" she hesitated, trying to pick her words carefully for once. "I want…something that laughs," she told the empty air. "I want something that can look danger in the eye and let it know it's not afraid. Something that can sail through the worst of troubles."

She tapped a finger against the console, then drummed out a quick melody, full of flourishes and brave cadences. And in the silence of the cockpit aboard that waiting starship and amidst the gentle flurry of the Force, a picture came to Ro's mind. She saw a small bird in a bright blue sky, buffeted by heavy winds, but gamely flying on to some unknown destination.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of machinery and durasteel. When she opened her eyes again, she was smiling once more. Deciding to indulge in a bit of archaic fun, she solemnly placed one hand flat against the console.

"I dub thee…Mockingbird." The name echoed for a moment through the cockpit, to be answered by an increase in the tickling sensation racing up her skin.

"We have work to do."

Author's Note: And so the first installment in my Mockingbird series comes to an end. I want to thank all of you for being such wonderful readers; for taking the time to join me in my little corner of George Lucas' sandbox and for leaving such wonderful reviews. Each and everyone of them was a balm to my soul.

The second part of the series, The Call of the Mockingbird, was scheduled to start posting as soon as this story came to an end. However, I am currently in the midst of the endex for my MA and though I wish it weren't so, that takes precedence. So I will post a preview of the next story on Monday and regular posting will commence on May 13th. Until then: Keep Calm and Carry a Book.