Chapter Text
He came awake just as the ship docked at port, his ears and brain attuned to the distinct, deep sound and vibration of airlocks engaging and sealing, the sound waves traveling through the hull but otherwise lost in the vacuum of space. This was followed by the hum of the engines powering down and then he could hear the crew making their way to the hold to set up umbilicals for the dock droids to move cargo to and from the station and between the ships in port.
He began to gather his bags and put his robe on properly as he had been using it as a blanket in the chill cabin. He was looking forward to a nice long soak in a real tub with potable water instead of washing up in a spring-fed communal bathhouse as he had the past six years. He had not expected to be gone for so long, but he was a servant of the Force and would follow its will. That didn’t mean he hadn’t been looking forward to familiar foods, his own bed, and time with his friends and family he had only heard from sparingly in holo-communications and text transmissions. Still, his small sacrifices had been worth it. The planet he had left behind was in an objectively better state than when he had arrived. Not that he was hoping for a similar mission going forward. He was getting too old for that sort of thing.
The crew began directing passengers through the airlock and into the port so they could board shuttles to the planet’s surface. The orbiting dock was still quite a distance away in both space and time, but it served to cut air traffic and congestion on Coruscant by limiting the number of ships that entered and left the planet’s atmosphere. Ships could still land and take off from the planet, provided they were able to find a landing platform that could accommodate their size, but for large cargo and passenger ships the dock, a small city it is own right, made for better logistics and helped direct people so they didn’t end their voyage across the vastness of space stranded on the wrong side of the planet with their luggage missing.
Still wiping sleep from his eyes, he followed along with the crowd, he had his ticket chip scanned to log his arrival, then stopped off at a public refresher to relieve himself and comb his hair before making his way to the various shuttle services that ran out to the planet and its habitable moons.
Not much had changed since he had left except the fare, which had gone up. There was a regular shuttle to and from the Main Temple Complex, landing in the relatively new adjacent space port several times each day, but the local public transit shuttle ran more frequently, dropping passengers at several transportation hubs where he could catch a ride home. There were also several other companies that offered more extensive local routes or could be commissioned to take passengers directly to their final destination.
The Temple shuttle was running on time, but not due back for another hour and would not depart for another two. The next public shuttle to Cocotown was leaving in half an hour but would make several stops before then and he would likely spend as much time on the public shuttle and the subsequent airbus as he would waiting for the Jedi shuttle to leave.
The Jedi shuttle had a tea service.
He opted to wait.
The Jedi shuttle had a simple area to wait near the boarding gate, with a few rows of benches and a civilian attendant on duty. The attendant smiled at him as he registered for the next trip, recognizing him as a Jedi by his robes and identity chip but not knowing who he was. Not that he expected them to. Six years was a long time and this person did not work in the Temple proper as he had before.
“Welcome, Master Jedi.” The attendant handed back his ticket chip, then knelt down next to the desk to offer a selection of ration bars in a basket, knowing many Jedi arrived at the port hungry, if not starving.
“Thank you I do.” He selected a savory spiced bean bar.
“Have you been away for long, Sir Jedi?” the attendant asked, motioning to the tea kettle to ask if he should get some started.
“Six years. Yes, thank you.”
“Six years, my goodness.” He offered the box of tea tins, letting his passenger choose. “That’s a long time.”
“Heh. Old I am. Long and short both it is.” He considered a caffeinated brew, but the Force pushed for a calming herbal. He wondered what time it was at the Temple right now, much less what time it would be when he arrived, then decided he didn’t care. It would be whatever time it was supposed to be whenever that happened.
The attendant nodded at his choice and set up a larger pot, knowing whatever he and his passenger failed to drink would be happily consumed by the Jedi shipping out when the shuttle arrived.
Enjoying the scent of the steeping tea, he climbed up onto the bench and settled into what the attendant likely assumed was a meditative pose and not him just resting his eyes in a relatively quiet, safe place.
“Excuse me!”
Well, relatively safe then.
“Yes, Ma’am?”
He opened his eyes to see a harried-looking woman with a mid-Rim accent had come up to the reception desk. She had an infant in a carrier strapped to her chest, a large, half-filled duffel in one hand and she looked a little lost and overwhelmed. “I’m trying to book passage to the Jedi Temple on the planet.”
The attendant took her in, trying to decide if she was a tourist, a con artist or just lost. “This is the Jedi Temple Shuttle, Ma’am, but it serves the Jedi and their guests only, not civilians or tourists. If you are trying to visit the Temple, Pilgrim Tours offers packages of various Coruscant religious sites, while Necti Shuttles offers transport to tourist attractions in general.”
The woman heaved a deep sigh. “I’m not a tourist. I need to have my baby . . . tested. I’m willing to pay.”
The attendant held up a hand. “As a shuttle service, testing is not something we offer.”
He wondered how often the shuttle staff were asked for just that.
“If you need a simple midichlorian test, the clinic in the main hub can provide that and save you the fare, though it should have been available on your homeworld. If the numbers are high enough to warrant a visit to the Temple, the public transport system is the most affordable. The Cocotown stop is the closest to the Temple Complex.”
The woman sighed, calculating how many credits that would end up being from her already dwindling funds. “I live in the Outer Rim. Near Hutt space. Med droids are hard to come by, much less fancy blood tests. The village elder told me my daughter was special. She moves stuff around and charms animals. Can’t I just bring her to a Jedi and let them decide? It took so long to get here and we’re running out of food.”
“Check the baby I can,” he called, and the attendant startled, having forgotten he was there in his silence.
“You’re a Jedi Knight?” she asked, equally hopeful and skeptical.
“A Jedi Master I am,” he explained. “A smaller size I am. Shrunk in the wash I did. A laundry accident it was.” He tsked and shook his head. “Bring over the child, please.”
She complied, sitting down and lifting the baby out of her carrier to show her better. The infant murmured as she was woken from her fitful slumber, but after a moment was staring at the little master with rapt attention, bright and clear-eyed.
“Hrmm, yes.” He smiled at the mother. “Bring her to the Temple you should.” He nodded at the attendant. “My guest she is. Some tea and rations appreciated would be.”
“Yes, Sir Jedi,” the attendant bowed his head in the fashion of padawans, then poured her a generous cup.
“Angry at the attendant be not. Many tourists this shuttle try to take. Strong in the Force your little one is. Discuss this more and decide at the Temple you can. Give you food and a good night’s sleep also we can.”
“Thank you, um, Sir Master.”
He snorted and held out his three-clawed hand. “Yoda I am. Fancy titles here I need not. Your names are?”
“Maya,” the woman sighed. “And this is Harmony.”
“Harmony,” he nodded. “A fitting name for a Jedi.”
“I don’t want to let her go, but I know I can’t give her the life she was meant to have.”
“Answer all of your questions we will. Explain how much contact allowed is we will. Decide what is best you can when rested you are.” He yawned unexpectedly. “When rested we are,” he corrected himself. “But think I do that a place with the Jedi Harmony has.”
The woman tried to read his face, her own both sorrowful and hopeful. “I hope so, Yoda.”