Kashyyyk

(Just a note for you guys. The normal quests are implied. It's not worth the effort and tedious work to track everything when I'm more focused on trying to improve the quality of my writing. Larger quests with more important impact will be the only ones mentioned from now on. The logic behind this, aside from not wanting to burn out, is that as a Padawan, his only quest is to follow his master. It is one long quest with unimaginable rewards at the end when he passes his Jedi knight trials. Sorry if this upsets you.)

*BVVVVVVV*

The humming of the shuttle we were in irritated me to no end. I truly preferred traveling in larger vessels where I can't hear or feel the thrusters.

It also didn't help that I was irritated for other reasons. For example, I was about to hear the report on the skyscraper in Coruscant that was to become our guild hall. With my luck being how it is, my master summoned me for a mission and I had to leave immediately.

The Republic was currently pushing the Empire out of the mid rim. We were winning battles on all fronts but there are valid concerns that the Empire wasn't actually trying to maintain the positions that we were retaking. The unsettled nature of the force was leading me to believe that these notions were, in fact, true.

I was updated on all of this as soon as I boarded the Rendaran Class Assault Shuttle that we my master had arrived with. Our current destination was Kashyyyk; home of the Wookiees. Maybe I could get my own Chewbacca while I was there? That's something to look forward to at least.

The humming just wouldn't stop while we were in hyperspace. We'd only be traveling like this for another few minutes but it had already been hours.

In that time, I had gotten acquainted with and developed a hatred towards protocol droids, read the boring report on the skyscraper we had purchased, and sent a message that all of the schematics for our fleet that would be manufactured by KDY must be approved by me. I was qualified to do so since I'm an engineer and all that jazz.

The boring skyscraper report was probably the only pleasant part of this flight. It was in one of the business areas bordering the senate district. With 500 floors, it held 1.25 square kilometers (13.5 million square feet) and was over 2.1 kilometers tall (7000 feet). Ten of the floors were hangars and the roof was also completely open and usable.

Satine brought in two teams of interior designers from Earth. It would take a few weeks for us to receive options on how the interior would look. Based on the report, we would have the two design firms bid on the job as long as their plans fulfill our requirements. The requirements included a wide variety of floors. We not only wanted this to be a guild hall, but we also wanted it to be an all inclusive community for people even outside of the guild. It would grant us a huge amount of income.

Renting out space to restaurants, retailers, and service providers would be a huge boon that would allow the building to pay for itself. Some of the types of areas we would have aside from that would be workshops, training areas, and offices for guild officials. Each division within the guild would be getting their own office space.

Most importantly, we would also have multiple reception halls that could be used for events and parties. This would allow us to maintain full independence and ensure the security of both our guild members and our guests. I genuinely looked forward to the plans that the design firms would present to us.

"Please brace for our exit from hyperspace."

With this coming over the intercom, I grabbed onto a handle that was on the wall. This message generally comes about 10 seconds before dropping out of hyperspace.

Looking out the window, I watched the streaks of light grind to a halt as stars materialized around us. I keep saying it but I will never get over the view of stars from space.

Heading to the bridge, I found my master standing behind the two pilots. "Master, I just need to ask this. Why can't the Wookiees handle this themselves?"

He looked back at me and then back to the windshield through which Kashyyyk was visible. "They have tried, my padawan. On top of that, many of their people have gone missing. I hope we can find the cause quickly."

I sighed, glancing at the long range scanner on the dashboard. I pointed at a blinking white dot. "What's that?"

The copilot glanced at it and nodded. "We'll find out, sir."

I nodded, remaining silent after that. Would we be more capable than the Wookiees here? We had 16 troopers with us and two of them were pilots. How much could we really do?

The copilot pressed a button on the dashboard and a block of text with an image appeared on the display in front of him. "Sir, their signature is quite odd. The registration is over a century old. With the appearance of the freighter and the age of the registration, it is a tell-tale sign of smugglers."

I nodded. "Hail them. They are in Republic space, we have every right to do so."

The copilot nodded. "Immediately, sir."

He then pressed another button on the dashboard. "Freighter AX-25771, please identify yourself. I repeat, freighter AX-25771, identify yourself immediately."

After nearly 30 seconds of silence, the copilot turned to me with an anxious look on his face. "Sir, I don't believe they plan to respond."

As I was about to speak, the pilot interjected. "Sir, their shields are charging."

My eyes widened slightly. "Hail them again."

The copilot nodded nervously and opened the comm channel again. "Freighter AX-25771, this is your last warning. Identify yourself immediately."

The pilot barely waited for the copilot to finish before she spoke. "Sir, the scanners show that their weapons are coming online."

Ven firmly gripped the pilot's seat with his left hand. "CHARGE THE SHIELDS! NOW!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a hail of red lasers appeared in the darkness of space. They appeared as dots, revealing that they were headed straight towards us.

I screamed. "EVASIVE MANEUVERS!"

I barely managed to remain standing as the shuttle pitched sharply to the right. The only reason I didn't eat shit was because my master had grabbed my arm without even turning his head to look at me. That was pretty badass.

By now the, now hostile, freighter was in view. As I looked closely, I was able to see a panel sliding open on the side of the ship. After squinting my eyes, I was able to see the ends of massive barrels pointed at us.

I grimaced. "SHIT! THAT'S ARTILLERY!"

Undoubtedly calmer than I was, my master dished out his orders. "Make haste to reach the surface. We are outgunned. All troopers strap in at once."

*BSHHH*

The entire shuttle shook violently as we were struck with heavy laser fire. After stabilizing myself, I glanced back at the artillery that was pointing. I was just in time to see the barrels lighting up.

The artillery fire was nearly blinding. I was still able to watch the artillery barely miss us. Unfortunately, that wasn't the end.

*BOOM*

The shells exploded near the shuttle, causing another round of violent shaking to ensue. This time, however, I was ready and didn't fall over because I was holding onto the copilot's seat.

My master pointed towards the planet below us. "THRUSTERS AT FULL!"

The copilot glanced at us. "Sir, our shields are at 40%. If we take one more round of artillery, we are dust."

Closing my eyes, I took deep breaths, spending the next thirty seconds trying to clear my mind and be ready for anything. The odds were heavily stacked against us but I still held a sliver of hope.

*BZHHHH*

Those thirty seconds quickly came to an end as a series of explosions rocked the shuttle. They were much less intense than the artillery so I presumed that it was the heavy lasers.

The copilot hesitated for a moment but then spoke. "Shields at 10%."

I smacked the back of his seat. "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING? SHOOT BACK?"

The copilot tensed up for a moment before responding timidly. "S-sir, our heavy lasers only point forwards and our light weapons wouldn't even leave a scratch."

I balled my fist. "SERIOUSLY? WHY IS THIS EVEN CALLED AN ASSAULT SHUTTLE?"

My master shook his head. "This shuttle is meant to transport troops and supplies to the front lines. It isn't built for aerial combat."

I shook my head. "Then, can't we ask for help?"

The copilot shook his head. "Comms are jammed. Our scanners aren't even working."

My expression sank as reality settled in front of me. "Well, shi-"

*BOOOOOM*

I was thrown across the cockpit and slammed into the wall shoulder first. Despite the pain, I was immediately able to tell that my shoulder had been dislocated. "FUCK!"

The copilot coughed. "Sir, we've lost our starboard thruster and wing."

Brazenly, I stood up and started the process of relocating my shoulder. "Try and hold her steady if possible."

The pilot didn't even hesitate as he snapped back. "AND HOW THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO DO THAT?"

I hissed in response. "Just fucking do it."

The shuttle stabilized slightly after a few seconds. I let my arm hang to the floor while leaning forward slightly. Then I slowly arched my back, keeping my arm hanging down. Once my arm was behind me, I pressed slightly with my left hand on my right shoulder. The tension became apparent quite quickly until I felt it pop.

My eyes shot open. "AGHHH FUCK!"

Fortunately, my arm was functional again. Quickly, I took a syringe off of my belt and jammed it into my shoulder. The bacta quickly diffused the pain, allowing me to think clearly again.

My master was staring at me with an intrigued look. "You'll have to teach me how to do that."

I shook my head. "Later. Let's strap in before we get catapulted through the windshield."

He nodded as we both started heading out of the cockpit. Outside of the cockpit, we found the 14 troopers we came with already strapped in and holding their restraint bars firmly.

I quickly strapped into a seat and braced for another two minutes. I started to get concerned. "Why has it been so quiet?"

My master shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe they flew away?"

One of the troopers sitting with us interjected. "They might be waiting for us to crash. Since we are alone, they might want to preserve any intel we might have."

As soon as he finished speaking, the copilot's voice came over the intercom. "Brace for impact in T-1 minute."

From here, I couldn't see anything outside of the shuttle so I had no idea what was happening outside. Honestly, I wasn't sure that I'd want to see what was outside.

*PSSHHHH* *BOOM*

After the violent shaking and explosion subsided, I realized that I couldn't hear the thrusters anymore. I nearly shit my pants as I realized what that meant. "We lost our other wing."

Slowly, I felt the shuttle start spinning. It became faster and faster as there was nothing to stop the acceleration. I felt my blood rushing to my extremities and pooling, creating immense pressure.

Then, a panicked voice screamed through the intercom. "BRACE!"

Instantly, everything went black.