Consequences

Chapter 37 - Into the Underworld

The sun has already sunk below the horizon of towering buildings, darkness creeping up from the other horizon, consuming the pink remaining from the sunset. I've been searching in the underworld all day and haven't gotten anywhere. Any possible clue I've gotten always leads directly to a dead end.

Now I'm flying through Level 1313 of Coruscant, a trip that will probably also lead nowhere. Pressing down on the gas pedal, I zoom off through a tunnel before exiting into open air again. Below me, a line of traffic – although with less vehicles than some other areas – is driving by. I drop the speeder down, falling in line with the rest of them.

As I push down on the peddle again, the whole speeder suddenly jolts as a sudden explosion violently shakes the speeder bike.

"Oh no," I groan as I struggle to regain control but instead am thrown right off the edge of it. I catch onto the steering bars as the speeder flips upside down and continues to speed along, with me hanging in the air.

And now I'm heading straight for a head on collision with a large cruiser. Struggling to get out of the way barely in time, I manage to get the speeder flipped over again and resituate myself on it. But I get the feeling that its continued functioning is going to be very short lived. Suddenly, just as I'm hoping it might be fine long enough to get somewhere safe, it starts plunging downwards almost as if in freefall. It's all I can do to steer it enough to avoid crashing.

I spot a platform ahead on the outside of what looks like a repair shop. Good. I can make it to there, but I don't know about any farther. The speeder strikes the ground with a crash, skidding across the area and flipping onto its side. It comes to a stop at the very edge with me holding onto the steering bars again.

I swing myself upwards and climb onto the platform. What was I even thinking buying something like that? Any clues nearby will be long gone by the time this thing is fixed. Perhaps I should have gotten a little more expensive speeder which would have been less likely to malfunction like this. It's practically a piece of junk. How am I supposed to continue now?

Just then, I hear the door of the repair shop opening behind me and glance up to see a human girl stepping outside.

"What a piece of junk," I groan as I inspect the damage, "Now, how am I gonna fix this?"

"Oh!" exclaims the girl, "Bad crash. Nice roll, though."

"Thanks... I guess," I mumble in response.

"That bike is trash," she observes from over my shoulder.

"I don't know what I was thinking when I bought it," I groan, "Look at this mess. The repulsor blew. The compressor is shot." I don't think there's anything I can even do to fix this out here.

"Sounds like you know a thing or two about engines," she remarks as she observes me.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" I inquire, turning towards her and rising to my feet, holding my hand to her in greeting. She accepts it.

"I'm Trace," she introduces herself, shaking my hand.

"Ahsoka," I reply after a moment of hesitation. Better to leave my last name unsaid.

"As for your bike," she declares, turning to it, and bending down to get a better look, "You're in luck. You happened to crash onto the best repair shops in 1313."

"So, you're a mechanic?" I query.

"I am. And I'd be glad to fix your bike... for a price." Yes, a price. Something I really don't have money for.

"I can fix my own bike," I object, glancing back at it, "With the necessary tools, of course."

"Have it your way," she replies, "But the tools are still gonna cost you." True enough.