| abstract | - Starport 115 -- Military Headquarters Devoid of the mass of civilians that clog the many public starports of Coruscant, Starport 115 is quiet in comparison. The landing area itself is large enough to accommodate ships up to the size of medium transport. Once the ship is landed and offloaded, military personnel guide the ships to their assigned hangar bay. The open area of the landing area extends down a narrow strip along the north WALL. A large section of the main floor to the south is actually a large lift which is how many of the ships are moved to hangar bays on the lower levels of the Starport. Of the ships housed in hangars on the main level, most are government and military vessels, but a few civilian vessels are also located on this level. As expected, there is a strong military presence everywhere in the starport. The polite, unofficial request for the General's presence had actually been sent en route to the headquarters from the Reprisal, and Mitali had been rather nervous about sending it off to begin with, still a bit shaken from the events that had occured in the undercity just a day previous. He's taking advantage of being given a day off by.. well.. from the looks of it, sitting in Hangar Bay 3 of the military headquarters, staring at the charred remains of Ghost 4 with his chin propped up in his hands. He's physically quiet, and he's trying to be emotionally quiet as well, but it's difficult - he's in mourning, he's angry, he's frustrated, but more than all of those, he's feeling determined, and maybe just a little bit lost. Having been summoned to the hangar bay, Luke comes walking into the cavernous structure, being followed by his trusty astro-droid. When his eyes fall on the slightly familiar Mitali, he picks up his pace and turns his eyes next onto the wreckage of Ghost 4. "Deck Officer Mitali?" Mitali doesn't quite startle, but Luke's voice does get him pushing himself up to his feet quickly enough that it might look like it. "Sir! Thank you for coming, I really hope I wasn't out of line by asking.." He looks a bit bashful even as he's straightening up to sketch off a salute. "It's okay," replies Luke, who turns his eyes toward Ghost 4. "At ease," he adds, almost as if it were an afterthought. "I would presume you had a very good reason for summoning me," he says, his voice quiet and empty of emotion, save for a thoughtful sound to his voice. "Does this have to do with Kyrin?" Mitali nods once. "I wanted to show you something," the tech says, quickly spinning on his heel and hurrying to retrieve a ladder, the sorts used by pilots to get up into their cockpits. "And.. well, ask you something about it. Lieutenant Blackledge asked me to help her look it over, and I noticed something." He takes a step back once he gets the ladder properly settled and gestures up. "It's been bugging me since I noticed it and I can't really explain it, since her droid's memory dump didn't give us enough.. but her chair, it's still there, and an area around it looks practically untouched." As Mitali spins into action, Luke's empty demeanor starts to fill with a sense of mild intrigue. He looks at Mitali for a moment, then toward the ladder. "May I?" he asks, then starts climbing the ladder, with brisk movements. He crouches over the edge of the charred and mangled cockpit, and looks for the area Mitali has spoken of. He's silent for a few moments as he inspects the area. "What do you make of this?" "Of course, please," Mitali says promptly, taking another step back and gesturing at the ladder. He looks up after Luke from the floor, and once the question is asked, he begins to gesture with his hands. "It wasn't a TIE that did this to the ship, it was a turbolaser from above, right onto the cockpit. If you climb up and onto the back, you'll see that the shield generator's completely fried - I think maybe her droid boosted the shields over the cockpit when the shot came to soak up as much damage as it could. The canopy blew out and some damage obviously did seep in, but the fact that the seat looks as clean as it does is driving me nuts. This ship shouldn't have a front half anymore, nevermind be here in this hangar." He sets his jaw. "I think she bailed out and had her droid bring it home. I just can't back it up. I was.. that's why I called you," he adds, some sheepishness coming back into his voice. "My people worship a form of the Force, Master Skywalker. I don't know how it works.. just that it does. I was hoping.. I guess I was hoping maybe you would be able to see something I couldn't." Following Mitali's prompting, Luke climbs himself over the back end of the mangled cockpit, and examines the markings made by the blast. "Hmmm." He runs a hand over the carbon scoring. "Yes, normal blaster cannons leave pock markings much smaller than this. You... I think you're right." He stares at the markings for a moment or two longer, as he listens to Mitali's sheepish suggestion. Bobbing his head a few times, he looks over his shoulder and directly down into the technician's eyes. "The Force can truly lend us some truths here." He looks back to the ship, amazement in his eyes. "I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner." Mitali can't help but blink a few times at such a direct look from the Jedi Master, but he doesn't flinch away from it; in fact, he's beginning to look - and feel - distinctly excited. "I think everyone has been very, very distracted lately," he says, bowing his head slightly. "We all forget things when we're stretched in too many directions at a time." He pauses, and bashfully adds a "Sir." "Well, you're right about that, for sure," replies Luke. He crawls back into the cockpit, and looks about himself for a moment. "Okay, Mitali, I'll need you to be patient. This could take a while." Slowly, the Jedi begins to close his eyes as he draws the Force into him, reaching out to connect with the energy that flows in and around both he and Mitali... the ship... the hangar bay, even the planet itself. Apparently, Mitali is taking the Jedi's words to heart. He takes a small step back from the fighter and reclaims his earlier position - sitting crosslegged on the deck with his hands resting lightly on his knees. This time, though, he seems to be having much more luck keeping his mind quiet, and almost all of his earlier negative emotions have been replaced by excitement and hope. "Take your time," he says quietly. "It's my day off." As Luke settles into his focus on the Force, there's no sign outwardly yet of what's happening. However, as he rests his hand on the side of the cockpit, his mind's eye starts to see the battle that took place only days ago. His face begins to frown, and he crawls to the left in order to place his other hand against the pilot's seat. His other hand then rises to touch the back end of the cockpit, closest to the fried shield generator, and a gasp escapes his lips. "You're right," he says, his voice sounding only half-present. "A turbolaser... the shields." He can see it all played out in his mind as the Force recalls the history buried within its grasp. "She ejected." He shifts then, scrambling over to the front end of the cockpit, where the controls are fried and melted together. "She... she was alive when she ejected." He grips down on the edge of the fuselage, and seems to grow yet more and more focused, eyes squinting. It's the gasp that gets Mitali's attention. The tech's attention darts back up to the cockpit, but he stays where he is, worried that if he moves, he'll disrupt the Jedi's concentration and all the headway he's made will be lost. He mentally stomps down on his own excitement for the same reason, staying silent, save for the sounds of the tech climbing back to his feet. He can't be sitting for this, he just can't. There are a few more moments of silence, before Luke tears his hands off the fuselage, and lets out a loud breath of air. "Blast," he curses, and rises to his feet. "I can't get any further, not without a... flight suit, or a helmet, something to be in contact with." He turns and looks around the remains of the starfighter, as if trying to find something that might link it all together. "We could try to find her droid?" Mitali suggests helplessly, taking a step towards the ladder and gesturing at it questioningly, silently asking for permission to join Luke up on the ship. He stops short, though, and his eyes light up. "What about the droid's seating? Would that work? The droid was still operational when the ship got back here, right?" Luke shakes his head from side to side. "No, no, that won't be any different. The droid didn't go with /her/, it stayed with the ship." He plants his hands on his waist and seems to consider the knowledge he's gained, the excitement on his face slowly being tempered away into a controlled focus. After a moment, he heads for the ladder and turns to begin descending. "I need to speak with one of my students." "Oh, now I get it," Mitali says, lightly slapping himself on the forehead and taking a step back, to clear enough room for Luke to descend back to the deck. "If your talk with your student helps, can you let me know?" he asks hopefully, stuffing his hands into his pockets to keep himself from wringing them. Feet falling on the floor, Luke nods his head to Mitali. "I'll be sure of it." He strides over then, and puts a hand on the tech's shoulder, looking into his eyes earnestly. "Good work, Mitali. This has been a critical discovery. Tell Lieutenant Blackledge what we've discovered. I must be going." Moving away, he looks to his droid. "Artoo, come on." The droid chirps loyally and makes to follow Luke as he heads for the exit. Mitali can't help but crack a smile, quickly nodding his head in response. "Thank you, Master Skywalker. I'll go tell her now." As Luke turns to leave, he offers a quick wave to Artoo before he turns to go running out of the hangar's other exit, hoping to catch the next shuttle back to the Reprisal before it can leave without him.
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