BALANCE | A Star Wars story

XXIII

     I had begun to type in the coordinates for Korriban when I realised that this ship doesn't have a hyperdrive.

     I also realised that Korriban is a very long journey without using hyperspace.

     When I started panicking my stomach let out an extremely loud growl which alerted me to my need to eat and my throat suddenly became incredibly parched.

    So that's why I'm now approaching the ice locked planet of Csilla home of the Chiss species. It's not exactly on my top 10 planets to visit but it was the closest one, I can only home they have some food to spare me.

    As I get closer to the surface the air in the TIE becomes colder and colder and before long I'm shivering and my teeth rattle together.

    The air outside is an icy mist that blocks my view, I'm solely reliant on the autopilot knowing where to go.

     Then I hear engines coming from either side of me and the I can feel the presence of two people on my left and right. The overhead speaker crackles for a second before I voice as cold as this planet comes through.

     "You are not authorised to be here, state your business." Hastily I lean over the speaker on the dashboard and press the button to activate it.

     "J—just h—here to see if—f I c—could pick up s—some food—d. I have—e a long journ—journey ahead an—d need some—e provisions." I shutter the cold making it hard for me to speak correctly. It's a minute before he speaks again, probably conferring with someone.

     "You are granted access but you and your ship will be searched and you will be accompanied by a guard wherever you go as a precaution." Not very friendly towards their guests are they? No wonder no one bothers them.

     "O—okay."

     "Head to hanger 5." Then he's gone and I clutch the wheel as the capital comes into view. Well the spaceport that is. I once read in the archives that Csaplar, the capital, is mostly below the ground apart from the spaceport and a few industries.

     The spaceport is fairly large with several large holes in the ground for the ships to stop in, the surface is bumpy with a few buildings dotted around but a apart from that it's nothing but ice.

     I wonder briefly which one is hangar 5 but then the circumference of a circle to the far side begins to flash and instinctively I steer the ship in that direction.

     Thankfully the port is empty so I lower the TIE into the hole where I can already see several blue faced humanoid people waiting for me in their snow white uniform with blasters lying across their chests.

     Once the TIE is settled on the floor of the port I grab the flash drive and tuck it into my shoe just by my foot. I panic for a moment wondering what I'm going to do with my lightsaber but I can feel the cold presence of the Chiss approaching so I settle on tucking it into my trousers and hoping my arm covers the bulge and I don't accidentally stab myself. I stand up and open the hatch where I climb out into the freezing air.

My uniform from Iokath doesn't do much to protect me against the icy temperatures and within seconds of being out in it my lips are already blue. I'm fitting in here already.

     I jump down from the ship and immediately people jump onto the ship and drop inside of it, they also swamp me and begin patting me down.

      I'm not hiding anything, can we do this somewhere warmer? I want to ask but my growling stomach forbids me incase that's seen as rude and they throw me off this godsforsaken planet.

    One pats at my side where my lightsaber is not so carefully concealed and lifts my top slightly so to pull out the weapon.

     "A lightsaber ma'am," he says handing it over to a woman flanked by guards, she must be some kind of leader.

     "Yes I can see that," she says picking up my lightsaber and examining it. She flicks it on and the amber glow swirls to life reflecting some warmth which I bask in for a small moment until she turns it off. "So a Jedi in a TIE, that's not something you see everyday, come." She says attaching my lightsaber to her belt, "we'll talk somewhere warmer."

     She walks off into the side of the hole where a door leads to an elevator. I follow her and we, along with a few guards, ride the elevator downwards.

     It's a very long awkward elevator ride. My teeth chatter together and I'm still shivering despite the warmth of the elevator but every one else is silent so I try to not make so much noise.

      Eventually we reach what must be the bottom because the doors ping open revealing an extremely busy capital city.

Giant structure reach up tall into the artificial ceiling which is designed to be like the misty skies above ground. Small ships fly overhead in long lanes that entwine around the city, we enter on a large concrete flat with a fountain in the middle. The temperatures are slightly warmer here although I'm still shivering uncontrollably.

"Get this young woman here a thick coat" the woman turns to a guard next to her and the guard rushes off somewhere to the right.

We walk past the fountain, that has no water in as it would just freeze, and into the heart of the city. People stop and stare at us as we walk down the large concrete road, ships flying above my head and tall structures painted a light grey are either side of me.

I glance around in awe. This city was literally built from nothing, it's just a hole underground that stretches for miles and miles. And judging by the screens that light up the sides of buildings this is a well advanced city.

"This place is incredible," I gush gazing around me unable to believe the sight in front of me.

"Thank you." the woman says curtly.

"I bet it took a long time to build."

"You could say that," I got the feeling she wasn't in a very talkative mood so I stayed silent and silenced admired the wonders about me.

We eventually reach what must be the heart of Csaplar because the tallest and grandest building in this city sits the the centre of a circle of concrete.

The building is made mostly from glass with light grey concrete for its structures. Intricate little designs are etched into concrete and the glass is tinted so that you cannot see inside, just your reflection.

"This is the Cupola," the woman says boredly and strides ahead of me, pushing open the glass doors and gesturing for me to follow.

A guard knocks into my back and I stumble forward hastily following the woman inside the Cupola.