“Hello~!”

A smiling and enthusiastically waving unicorn called to them as the farm pony and human came around the last bend in the road before town. Applejack turned over a shoulder with a sly look at Titus, “Your number one fan is here to greet us again.”

“I imagine that has something to do with the item I left with her a few days ago,” he said and hopped off the back of the cart as they got closer and as he said this Twilight jogged to meet them. She had arrived much earlier than necessary after having run late the previous mornings because of getting tangled up with the ponies that were now making it a somewhat annoying habit of waiting for her in the morning, mainly the press after they had seen her interacting with the human. Floating along with her she had brought the precious cargo - his marvelous suit’s helmet - that he had left her which was carefully concealed in none other than a hat box, a gift from Rarity just for the purpose.

Rather than pass it off immediately she greeted her two friends, Twilight feeling comfortable labeling Titus as such because they had been having had a "purrgil of a time" (a saying of his she still didn't quite understand because the concept of spacewhales was rather unbelievable) absolutely dorking out together over his technology the past two days while working the crash site, his enthusiasm in explaining the workings feeding extremely well into her natural desire to learn. The prior day had been another departure from normal because rather than leave with Applejack back to his ship in the late afternoon he had opted to make the trip by himself in favor of once again grabbing an early dinner with Twilight at Peetzer Pizzeria to continue their conversation of how repulsor lifts worked and sit side-by-side with her to help with her notes and diagrams on them.

Additionally, before he had departed he had left the helmet and drone with her for her to study once again. This time, however, he did so with the express permission that she was free to take the latter apart if she wished because it was fairly broken and he would need to completely rebuild it anyway so taking it apart and returning the parts later would be doing some of the work for him. This had been an absolutely unexpected surprise so after confirming several times over that he was serious she had quickly teleported to and then from the library to get him a beginner's book on astronomy in meager exchange due to his having several questions regarding the subject throughout the day. It also gave her an excuse to get a library card form for him to fill out - "as a formality," she had said - so she not only was the only library with an extra-Equestrian patron (purely for bragging rights) but the other reason was that from the form she found out they were both roughly the same age, which had been a question she was uncertain how to broach as some stallions were sensitive about it.

As could be expected of Twilight, she had set up in her laboratory with her camera recording every second of her disassembly of the drone in excruciating detail which was interrupted when a half-awake Spike had come downstairs asking about breakfast. This revealed she had been up all night and the lab was an absolute mess of scattered notes and a nearly empty box of Peetzer pizza which she didn't even remember having delivered so if they were to get dinner again she hoped she could take him somewhere else because she was a bit pizza'd out.

Approaching the two she saw the familiar cover of the astronomy book tucked under an arm which brought her an odd sense of satisfaction. “Good morning, Applejack, I bet you're going to be busy today! Good morning, Titus, how are you feeling?” she greeted cheerfully, “Your ribs are doing better, I hope?”

“I think they're less painful than the last trip, given the spring in his step,” Applejack offered with a look to Titus who confirmed his ribs were giving him less trouble today before the farmpony jerked her head at the cart, “Comin' from using a cart without them, the suspension on these axles do wonders for the potholes! So, along with him, my product is getting to market in great condition. I'm not sure how I got by without them before!” Titus grinned sheepishly at AJ and her continued praise of the new cart before she made a joke about less bruises on him and her apples. AJ then urged Twilight to try one of the dozen of experimental new flavors where the human was reaching over the side and had already begun opening the baskets for the morning routine of picking out pastries.

The sides of the new cart were significantly taller than the old one due to its increased hauling capacity so she had trouble seeing over the side and she couldn’t teleport over because she’d land right in all the pastries, and the seat up front also was stacked with baskets. When she went around to the back to the swing-down ladder to try and get a look the baskets of new flavors toward the front of the cart were blocked by bushels of apples, “Gah! I wish I could see what I'd be picking, they all smell soooo good! What looks the best?”

Twilight moved back toward the front and reared up against the sideboard in her continued attempts to peer over and her look to Titus - who had no trouble as it only came to a little under an armpit - was misinterpreted. “Oh. All the new flavors are stacked here, do you want a look?” he asked quickly, thinking he had almost missed a cue from her for assistance, “I can help you up to the small space on the seat, if you’d like.”

“C-Come on, I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself while picking me up,” she said and took a step back to reinforce it wasn't necessary, “Raspberry is my favorite flavor anyway, and you've got a good track record of picking something I'd like so go ahead and choose for me again.”

“How about this: I'll choose one for you, and if it’s alright I’ll grab a few baskets down-” he said with a look to Applejack that it would be alright to set the baskets down on the road and got a nod “-and you can pick one for me out of them.”

Twilight thought that was a marvelous solution and soon enough she had selected a fruit-filled pastry with one of the little “New!” flags on a toothpick and helped Titus reload the baskets he had pulled down where she quietly noticed his small twinge lifting one of the heavier ones back into the cart. She had begun to get the impression he didn’t want her worrying about it, which she thought it might some sort of effect of coming from such a hostile environment and not wanting to look weak (although she had no idea how close she was to right about this), and while she still felt no small amount of guilt she simply smiled and wrapped his treat in a napkin as he had done for hers.

Rejoining Applejack at the front of the cart while Titus pulled his shoulderbag out of the back it appeared the farm pony had been watching them because she gave Twilight a curious grin. “Eh, nothin’~” was AJ’s response but it had a tone to it that didn’t quite feel like it was genuine which the unicorn challenged, “Can't help but notice it seems like you two are getting along great. Anytime I’ve gone by the hill you’re both diggin’ in the dirt and talkin’, whenever you're not busy smiling, that is. Somethin' going on?”

“I'm helping him recover technology to fix his ship which leads us to talk about it. AJ, you wouldn't believe some of the things humans and other races have accomplished with their machines! Frankly some of it I don't,” Twilight responded with a shake of her head before looking back to Titus as he slung his trademark bag over a shoulder gingerly, “These past few days we were talking about his engines and how his ship flies, but if we could replicate just what I understand of some of the more simple technology he would jump Equestria's technological level at least several generations forward, if not more.”

“Engines, hyperspace generators, droids, the galaxy at large - anything like that I'm happy to tell you about, but I won't explain my weapon systems,” Titus jumped in on the conversation, “I'm not going to be the cause of an arms race.”

“Well after seein’ the punch that little shooter of yours packs I dread to think what something on the scale of your ship could do!”

Applejack’s genuinely worried expression as they started down the road lead Titus to try and assuage her anxiety. “While it is outfitted and can hold its own against larger ships I'm going to leave the weapons systems powered down because I promised that to Princess Luna. I’ve dreamed of the galaxy having the relative peace like you have here nearly my whole life,” when she seemed to relax he gave Twilight an impish grin, “But me and the ol' girl got into our fair share of trouble.”

“Likely right off the bat, if I had to guess,” Twilight remarked and turned to Applejack to clarify for her, “Titus and a friend of his actually had to steal that ship so it wouldn't fall into the wrong hooves.”

“How does somepony steal something that big? That'd be like somepony making off with our barn...” Applejack understandably asked the human, and much like Twilight had she had identified with the necessity of doing something wrong to do something right and not needed to question it further. Twilight voiced a similar interest in his revealing exactly how one might make off with an expensive and highly noticeable thing like a space ship, especially one that had likely been well secured if it was a prototype as he had told her.

Though he wouldn't know it now, it wouldn't be the first retelling of the day, “It's an interesting story…”

A deep, hollow knocking echoed through the cargo hold and Titus, who was carefully lowering crates of spare parts for the speeder bike down out of the storage hold above him, had to wait through a third knocking because he was stacking the last crate. Sensing the presence outside he was compelled to answer but by the time he had walked across the cargo hold and made the cobbled-together keypad lower the door Princess Luna had already taken to the air to leave.

The door was hardly quiet so Luna had ample time to turn around and waited until the human was fully in view. “I am sorry to disturb you this evening,” she said as he stepped out and though she tried to be polite it was hard not to look at the human without his suit. He was still fully clothed and was now covered in loose fabric articles, mostly of earth tones, and seeing their relaxed nature she feared she had woken him and didn't land immediately, “We still hath nay received a friendship report since thine arrival and felt it justified that We should check on thee. We realize We are later than our last visit where we talked of your Order, however, might thee hath the time for another of the meetings We did speak of upon Twilight Sparkle's balcony, or were thou preparing for slumber?”

“No, Princess, I'm no stranger to working late so I wasn't going to bed just yet. It's still a bit of a mess in there, would it be alright to talk out here again?” he said and motioned to the flat area of the hull which was where they had sat before. She set down softly and indicated that would be fine if the darkness of the night did not bother him. To her surprise he brought his wrist device up and tapped away at it for several seconds and when he dropped it back down he nodded out into the shadows, “When you fly on the outer reaches of space and stare out into the void long enough a night like this hardly seems dark...” Out in the distance a single orb of light slowly glowed to life, then another and another until a ring of lights had formed around the visible bowl the ship had settled in. There was movement and a pack of quadrupedal creatures slank back to the safety of the shadows in a hasty retreat from the curiosity trespassing in their territory. Titus sat down stiffly and let his legs dangle off the side of the hull, “Still, it's nice to have a few points of light to look at.”

“We know the sentiment thou speak of well, Mr. Aelius. During Our banishment in the moon We were left alone with not much else but Our thoughts. We are familiar with the emptiness and, although We were still subject to the consciousness of Nightmare Moon, We had enough of Ourselves somewhere amid all the hatred and to hold on to Our sense of self the stars We could see became our fr-” Luna suddenly fell quiet and squirmed uncomfortably as she felt her cheeks burn, “O-Our apologies, Our words took a direction of their own.”

“Sometimes it is good to let them,” Titus offered and what she had said caused him to look up at the night sky, “Openness with another is a freedom in and of itself, Princess.”

“Freedom of words is... something We find We must measure carefully lest they be taken in a manner We did not intend, and from that have Our position undermined," she said, although for now Titus wasn't aware she was speaking of the trust she was trying to rebuild and not her status as a Princess, "There are some things We will not share with our sister because We know she still bears a misplaced guilt for having to banish Nightmare, and subsequently Us, and We would not add to a burden she wrongly carries.”

Titus grunted in acknowledgment, “With Master Krua it was hard to keep things from her, she had an eye for when something was troubling me. She would say ‘Little Koochu, are you constipated or is there something on your mind?’ -" This got a quiet giggle from the Princess which earned a grin from him before he continued. "-or some similar variant. I knew I could talk to her about anything, but I was never forced to. The ship hasn't felt the same...”

The way Titus fell silent left an unintended heaviness in the air whereupon Luna turned to him, formality forgotten in the moment, “If you need somepony to talk to, Mr. Aelius, if it is acceptable I would offer to make myself available.” She watched his eyes close as he chuckled and shook his head although rather than decline as she thought he was about to he stopped.

“If you'll excuse me for saying so, I think we could both use a friendly ear.”

“A… friendly ear?” Luna echoed with a look of curiosity.

“That's what I hope you see it as,” he replied, misunderstanding the emphasis she inadvertently used on the word. “I don't… condone the way you went through my memories, and if you had asked first I would have said no, but as I've stated I understand why you did and in the end I’m glad it enabled you to see what you needed to so you could trust me in that I mean you no harm. Simultaneously it also put you in the position of being the closest someone has come in a long while to understanding or knowing the true me.”

“Seeing your memories filled me with curiosity more than understanding, if I'm honest. What I gleaned from them was that you have a good heart,” Luna tapped her chest, “I appreciate your willingness to meet so that I might satiate my curiosity as I would like to come to an actual understanding. As well, I appreciate your offer and do accept.” She then looked up to the night sky and the stars she had arranged just a short time ago before making the trip out to Ponyville and returned to her previous statement to try and form a comfortable environment for him to speak by way of going out of her own comfort zone, “To keep hold of my own identity while trapped with Nightmare Moon the stars became my new friends because all of the pony friends I had ever known were left down below on Equestria. After a thousand years of banishment Nightmare returned and I was redeemed by the Element Bearers, but now I’m left to look up to see I've left my friends behind once again. I… stopped myself earlier because I can't help but feel embarrassed to share that with another.”

“It was a method of preservation, there's nothing to be ashamed of in that. Not like how I'll admit I talk to my ship all the time...” Titus followed quickly with a shrug.

This interested Luna, if her ears perking up was anything to go by, “Oh, and does he have a name?”

“I haven't had an inspiration for a name so for the time being it's just any fond variation of ‘girl.’ The ship is a her, by the way. It's tradition.” Luna, wearing a playful grin, turned to the door and offered the ship her apologies before she shifted herself to lay facing Titus and explained their airships were often named after stallions which was an amusing parallel between their universes. She then said she had seen many different ships across the span of memories - from mammoth city-sized vessels to “little zippy ones” that would give a Wonderbolt a run for their Bits. Titus joined the Princess and turned on his butt to face her, “Technically speaking, saying she doesn't have a name is inaccurate because ships are given a designation based either on their hull size, classification, or purpose. The holoprints title this working prototype as the ‘X-87 Wraith-class Privateer Yacht’ although I think that's a bit of a mouthful to be using as her name.”

“How does one come about a vessel such as yours?” Luna asked before taking a second look at the ship, “Tis the size of a rather large house, yet it could fly to the moon! Surely a ship like this must cost a good deal, and the humongous ones many multitudes more...”

Titus laughed, “Ships can be very cheap or ludicrously expensive, but I got this one for a five-finger discount.”

Luna repeated the phrase questioningly because, naturally, she did not know what it meant and Titus was left to explain. “Ah, I see. As a Jedi you must have had a good reason to steal it, correct? From what we discussed of your Order such crimes were not befitting one of your station.”

She looked relieved when he nodded, “The goal of stealing the ship was to keep it from getting into the hands of the Empire. This… isn't the version I told Twilight and Applejack when they asked, I left a few things out.”

“Oh? Is my sister's pupil bothering you? Or her friends?” the alarm in Luna's voice was evident and her eyes snapped up to Titus’, “Please forgive Twilight Sparkle, she can be very enthusiastic when it comes to studying new subjects and after monitoring her dreams I can say she is simply fascinated by you and your technology. Would you like me to talk to her again about giving you some space?”

“No, no, that's not necessary! Applejack has been meeting me at the road on her way to market to let me ride in her cart and Twilight has been meeting us at the hill to help me with salvaging. We end up talking while we travel or work.” He went on to say how he enjoyed nerding out about ships with someone as eager to hear about them because it was a luxury he wasn't used to and sorely had missed, although Krua had been more of a begrudging listener than contributor, “Twilight has been very friendly, and I appreciate the time we're spending together.”

Luna hummed thoughtfully and made a mental note to see if there was some sort of official position could be given to Twilight before she nodded to Titus, “I see, my sister has said her pupil has been making strides in her studies and it is a relief to hear things between you are amicable. Please, continue. I have not heard of a single occurrence of anypony successfully stealing one of our airships and am curious to hear how you might have made off with something much larger?” Luna didn't realize it but she was in for a story, and in the long run it would be only the first of many.

A sharp stinging sensation came with blurry, blinding lights as a young Titus collapsed out of the carbonite slab that had gotten him past the security sensors. That stinging became multitudes worse when the feeling of a hand touched his shoulder but it quickly died down to just an ache over several moments while, much to Titus’ relief, his eyesight returned. The red and black figure crouched next to him came into focus and, after shaking his head to restore the sensation of equilibrium in his ears, he slowly and carefully stood. What was odd was that the hand remained on his shoulder even as he looked around the small quarters that was being used as a storage space. Krua, like Titus, was stripped down to only the form-fitting underwear and seemed like she was looking off into the distance.

“Is everything alright, Master?” he asked softly and, with her hand still in place, lead the way over to the door to secure it while they prepared to make their move.

“Eyesight isn't recovering as quickly as I'd like but otherwise I'm just getting over the freezing. My pod opened before yours, likely because of a fragging cheap timer...” she grumbled with a glance at the makeshift carbonite controller, “Guess your little doodad came through, though.” She held out a hand which held both of their lightsabers but when he misunderstood and started to take both she deftly snatched hers back, “Hey! I can still kick your choobies.”

“Maybe fifty percent of the time now,” Titus countered but let her have the lightsaber. Donning the wristpad that had been snuck aboard with them while Krua fished out a small blaster pistol to wield in her off hand he checked the time as they were operating on a very tight schedule before asking just how bad her eyesight was. When she was done explaining that he was more or less a blob of nauseating pink flesh (endearingly as always) from her perspective he sighed and stepped to the door with his hand over the keypad, “In that case I'd better take point, Master.”

Slipping out into the hall she followed right behind him, her hand never leaving his shoulder when they were moving or where it would drift to the space between his shoulder blades when they came to a stop to check around corners when they came to them. They crept slowly along the corridors until they came across the first hiccup in their plan: a bulkhead blocked their path that wouldn't open without the access code. “I'm going to have to splice into this console,” Titus whispered as he pulled the interface cable out from the wristpad, “Intel wasn't available on what sort security programs we're dealing with here so I need to focus. Master, you'll need to keep an eye out-”

“Right, so we're putting the blind lady on watch,” she joked to the rolling of his eyes and quick remark "Lady? What lady?" which earned him a slug in the shoulder before she stepped back toward the corridors they had come down.

As she set up on watch Titus removed a junction panel and connected the cable and began examining the code he was fighting. It was very advanced stuff, some of it he suspected was even a homebrew code language that he struggled to grasp, “Whoa, there are some big files here… just what does this go to?” he muttered to himself as he explored until he recognized that the dormant program was related to piloting assistance which he quarantined behind a few extra lines of endless loop processes he wrote in for safety sake lest it activate upon their attempted theft and thwarted their escape. Following a string of the program he discovered it also had a lot of the usual security permissions - not necessarily an odd thing for a piloting assistance program to have, but this appeared to have the ability to modify its own permissions - though he saved this thought for later and quickly began splicing his own coding into the door to open it.

Suddenly Krua was beside him. “We have a problem. There's two coming aboard and they will be passing by here shortly,” she whispered, “They reek of the Empire.” Titus quickly tucked the wristpad and wires into the hole and replaced the panel, concealing any suspicious activity before he backed up against the nearby wall and urged Krua to do the same. Lightsaber in hand she looked at him dubiously, “Can you do it?”

“Yeah, one second.” He closed his eyes and focused. Meanwhile his Master prepared for combat, assuming a stance that would let her leap into close quarters the instant the approaching intruders came around the final corner.

“They're one corridor over, better make it snappy.”

“I’ve got this, if you'd just be quiet,” he said and deftly reached an arm out that pushed the lightsaber down to her side while a hand on her stomach kept her flush against the wall which also served to include her in his Force cloaking.

And not a moment too soon because a hair of a second later the pair of finely dressed Imperial officers came around the corner examining datapads. Suddenly they paused, looked about, then down at their datapads, and then alarmingly right at Titus and Krua. Both Jedi, however, sensed confusion rather than alarm and kept still, Krua glancing over a shoulder where a small sign pointed the direction to different rooms which she realized was the focus of their attention. The officers stared for a moment longer before exchanging a few words then headed down the corridor opposite to the door Titus was attempting to hack through and when they had disappeared through another set of doors Titus let the cloaking fade.

“T-Those were Imperial Intelligence uniforms…” Titus nodded with a concerned tone before resuming his task, “We weren't told anything of their involvement or interest in this ship prototype.”

“Likely because Intelligence generally operates on its own. You just focus on getting us to Piloting, I'll deal with them,” Krua growled and started slinking off in the direction of the officers until Titus warned her to not cause a scene and draw attention. She gave him a disappointed look like a toddler told to behave and sulked off after her prey which left Titus in peace and quiet to finish his coding. After a few minutes he had gotten the door to woosh open but in starting to disconnect the wristpad he noticed the program he had quarantined had somehow activated and before his eyes it devoured the lines of redundant processes he had dropped in that would have normally slowed such a program down to a standstill.

Kark!

Unclipping the wires from his wristpad he rushed through the door and into the helm of the ship to find it was similar enough to the details they had been given so he plopped himself down at the terminal that had been described as the pilot's. Several cables dangled out of the side so when it didn't light up after a second of him sitting down he quickly diagnosed it hadn't been entirely wired in yet, however this caused him little concern because when he had been digging through the files to get the door open he had found that the helm’s consoles operated off a central hub and could be freely switched to any other console with proper security clearance. The cables were labeled and it appeared whichever tech had been at work had opted to wait on finishing for another day so Titus was left to wire power into the console himself.

Immediately the screen lit up with a display of technical data about the ship was before him and thankfully everything they would need was showing an operational status. A standard menu system made it easy to navigate and to his surprise the security system didn't appear to have been set up yet because he freely pulled menu options from both the navigation and engineering consoles to his. They came through for us! Titus’ first order of business was to lock the ship down so he retracted the open cargo ramp and sealed it and the standard airlock. With the ship secured he moved on to subsystem power cycling and worked his way down the list from most subtle to least.

“< Hey, what's going on down there in hanger seventeen? >”

The voice came over the ship comm but Titus had known someone in the hangar monitoring system would have noticed something, and most certainly when they tried to leave. Detaching the earpiece from his wristpad Titus patched himself into the comms, “Just doing a power cycling demonstration-”

“< Who is this? Our manifest doesn't show any techs logged in there. I'm calling security. >”

Thinking fast to buy himself time Titus rubbed a finger on the mic while muttering angrily to create the effect of the earpiece being traded around before coming back to the comm, although the accent wasn't entirely planned but he just went with it, “'Who am I?' Who is ZIS?! I vant a name! You are interferzing in ah Imperial Intelligence inspection und if you delay zat further I vill have you spaced!”

“< Uh… what? No one told me of any inspection. W-Who is this? >”

“Oof course zey would not tell a peon such as you zese things, und you do not have ze clearance to have my name! Get your superior on ze comm zis instant!” Pulling the mic away from his face Titus told an imaginary technician to continue with the demonstration meanwhile his hands were flying over the screen. With the late hour down planet-side it was highly likely whoever the superior was that had security clearance to this restricted hangar got something of a normal sleep schedule, so hopefully that would buy them just a bit more time.

“< Alright, alright, it'll take a few minutes to get patched through to Ms. Wessex- >” There was an unnerving pause that coincidentally followed and Titus forewent working through the list of systems and just started turning them all on. “< Hey! Hey hey hey, I don't care what clearance you have, it's against regulation to power cycle weapons in the hangar! >”

One issue cropped up in their plan and as the attendant yelled at him about the dangers of weapons fire Titus ignored him and opened a ship-wide channel so Krua would hear, “We're still coupled to the dock crane! I need you to get up there and cut us loose!”

There was a second before the menus on his screen moved to one side and a window of video popped open. Krua, her nose flowing blood and an amused grin plastered on her face, appeared and looked into the camera, “Gimme a tick-” a blaster bolt sailed by her head from somewhere behind her which she dodged with a lean to one side and a second shot was swatted aside with a flick of her lightsaber. She casually brought her own blaster up and fired off a shot over her shoulder and somewhere in the background there was a cry before she grunted, duly satisfied, “Alright, on my way topside.”

“You weren't done with them?” Titus said before she had entirely gone which cause her to step back into frame with a frown, “You're getting slow in your elder years. Shall I get you a hover scooter at the next dock?”

“Hover scoo-? Right. I'll be back to deal with you shortly, Little Koochu,” she growled with a finger that jabbed at the camera before she disappeared to make her way onto the hull, her continued grumblings heard but growing increasingly quieter as she walked away.

Turning his attention back to the shouting agent it was clear he was running out of time before the whole hangar would be crawling with armed security droids and droids to hack their way in past the sealed airlocks. Being at half recommended crew strength put much more strain on Titus as he migrated other terminal functions to his station to reroute power through unfamiliarly wired systems in preparation for launch, and it was a fight against the clock he wasn't entirely sure he could win as the bank of screens that served as a view of the outside of the ship displayed flashing lights of alarms and the heavy hangar blast door descending on their only escape route. Meanwhile a security door off to one side opened and from it a flood of combat droids emerged; however, what immediately drew Titus' attention were the humanoids in familiar Imperial armor.

Alarmingly, rather than the usual white they wore entirely black.

What the frag are death troopers doing here?! A nearly-naked figure flipped into view on one of the screens to shoot off a barrage of blaster bolts at the advancing force, green flashes of light swiping at the various foreign hoses and lines attached to fueling and extraction points or deflecting incoming fire while charging across the outside of the ship. Reaching her goal she simply attacked the hydraulic cylinders of the claw fastened around the hull until it lost the pressure to clamp and dropped the ship onto its waiting repulsorlifts.

Titus had scarcely thought of looking for the maintenance hatch nearest to Krua when the screen viewing her spontaneously highlighted one and a button popped up on his console with just that function. What the-!? He wasted no time on further thought of it and mashed a finger repeatedly on the "Open" button and the metal iris promptly slid open. Amid reflecting back the hail of fire she was under in addition to firing her own blaster with her usual aplomb Krua immediately caught on and somersaulted through the air to drop through the hatch and out of view, and before Titus could do so manually the iris slid closed again on own.

The small arms fire of the security force was inconsequential as the armored ship was turned to face the blast door which was significantly more of a pressing issue. Titus was looking through the weapon options to blow the door open when a sharp pain erupted at his temples. Krua had come up behind him and was grinding her knuckles against either side of his head.

“Now then, My. Little. Koochu... How old do you think I am, exactly?” she growled and ground a little harder to elicit a response which not surprisingly came quickly.

“Ow ow ow! You're so graceful and refined it is impossible to tell!” Titus grunted and, per usual, at the offering of a flattering answer the pain ceased. "We've got problems," he said amid powering up shields unleashing the ship's fixed laser batteries on the blast door to no effect and the larger armament of turbo lasers weren't an option unless they wanted to find themselves in the radius of destruction. Turrets won't do anything, either. There had to be a solution so he went about finding it, "Blast door is down and there's a squad of death troopers out there, so I can't imagine backup is far behind."

"That would explain why it felt like some of that blaster fire was oddly accurate. They must have been the Intelligence officer's security detachment; however, that they were left outside the hangar rather than come aboard with them...? Odd, but better for us," Master Krua said as she sat down at the terminal and Titus swiped the weapon controls over to her screen. She selected the ventral blaster cannon and targeted things that looked important by shape alone due to her eyesight, the first being the hangar control bridge and subsequently the security forces that dived for cover after the former had exploded quite spectacularly. It didn't need to be said that she was buying time for him to find another way out and one idea almost immediately came to him, but it was also extremely risky.

Getting up from his terminal Titus pulled the splicing connectors out from his wristpad once again and went to work in the panel that had been left open. Once he was connected he navigated to the computer system expecting to find the piloting assistant program he had quarantined to be still stuck in the loop of processes however he found it had freed itself and was now running peacefully in an idle state, although some of its functions cut off as indicated by the missing hardwire connection tag that accompanied them. It doesn't appear to have been fully set up yet, thank the stars… Throwing caution to the wind as both he and Krua were already in a situation growing worse by the minute Titus connected what worked of the piloting assistant to the rest of the ship’s systems and hoped for the best.

Almost immediately screens that had been dark sprang to life as the whole vessel took on a new hum of energy and neither Jedi was expecting the voice to come through the console, “< Biometrics scanned and logged. Designation assigned. Greetings, Pilot, I am the Integrated Avionics and Navigation Assistant, or I.A.N.A. module. You may call me 'Iana' or 'computer' for short, whichever you prefer. How may I be of assistance? >”

“You could quit fragging yammering and get us out of here!” Krua shouted.

The computer, however, remained indifferent to her, “< Command issuing entity not recognized. Please speak with the Pilot to have a designation created. >” Several screens on the wall switched to zoom in on the remaining security force that was laying futile fire into the ship's shielding and a moment later the voice came back, “< Pilot, are you aware the ship is currently under fire by armed individuals? Shields are currently regenerating faster than they are depleting so there is no immediate danger, but- >”

“Yes, I'm aware. Computer, I need you to calculate a hyperspace jump,” Titus cut off the chatty program and slid behind his console again and entered the coordinates for the abandoned space station where they had been hiding out.

“< Of course, it would be my pleasure, Pilot! … Coordinates confirmed; as this is the first time the hyperdrive is being operated with my integration it is being rebooted. While we wait, protocol requires I caution you that we are still in a hangar and immense structural damage will occur in our wake should we make the jump from our current location. Would you like me to create a NAV marker to indicate a safe distance from the hangar or shall I proceed with the jump when the drive is charged? >”

“Unless you can get that door open we're-” he started but to his surprise the computer entity cheerfully responded she had begun remotely hacking into the door controls, then proceeded to explain she was doing so by hijacking the open comm to the security station agent he had been talking to previously. A second later the heavy blast door was slowly lifting out of the way but it suddenly came to a stop about half way up its tracks which wasn't enough for them to slip under.

"< The connection has been forcibly terminated from their end by way of induced hardware malfunction, I no longer have access. >"

Titus had originally been being sarcastic about the door but now that hardly mattered, "Looks like we're still jumping from here."

“Before we go, vent the-,” Krua said and again got the same response from the computer but this was cut off by Titus telling it to do what she said and it simply chimed in acknowledgment. The Zabrak continued with what she had been saying without a break in controlling the quad cannon turrets, “Vent the lounge trash chute.”

As the computer voiced it was done and a whoosh echoed from somewhere in the ship Titus looked at her dubiously, “Um... do I want to ask why?”

“Those Imperial Intelligence officers? Can't be bringing them with us,” she grunted before turning with a grin, “Their uniforms, though? You never know, those could come in handy!” As she said this the aft camera picked up two buck-naked figures that shot across the hangar into a wall to land in a heap. Titus had no clue why she would think they would need the uniforms or, stars forbid, what his Master might have planned if they were trying to go into hiding from Imperial forces but he was sure to hear of it later, for now they needed to focus on getting out of the shipyard.

"< Vessels closing on our location, ship tags indicate local and Imperial authority; five minutes out and closing at maximum impulse. Adjusting heading to avoid collision in the jump, >" The inertial dampeners meant neither Jedi felt the ship move but the viewscreens showed they had, "< Hyperdrive charged. Jump ready at your command, Pilot. >"

“Right. That gives me an idea. Iana, can you copy our warp signature to a pair of hyperspace probes to be fired when we come out of our jump?” Titus looked over his screen until he found the manual override and pushed it, causing a perfectly smooth orb to hover up out of either arm rest which he presumed were the flight controls he had wanted, though this form was entirely new to him. Putting a hand on each felt surprisingly natural and exerting pressure on either he felt the ship shift in kind to confirm this assumption and he also discovered that taps of his fingers on the orbs triggered the pressure-sensitive buttons he hadn't noticed at first glance. It took a moment for the computer to read their warp signature and tweak the probe's settings to be similar on account of the size difference, a moment that found Krua kicking back from the screen as little was left moving to shoot at them, and it wasn't long after this that Iana indicated the probes were ready.

Tapping his fingers on one of the orb’s buttons Titus sent the probe launch control over to Krua's station before he chose the well-known coordinates of a busy shipping lane that would further hid their tracks, “Iana, proceed to the new jump coordinates and then await secondary jump instructions.”

"< Warning: detecting foreign tracking device attached to hull. Engaging countermeasures, one moment... >" Iana chirped and over on Krua's screen the death trooper that had launched the tracker was highlighted for her to turn her turret on, "< Targeted ionic discharge complete. Device neutralized. Prepare for jump. >"

For the Jedi aboard the ship at least the jump into hyperspace went smoothly, but for the hangar left behind it was anything but. The wake caused a vacuum that tore the structural integrity of the hangar apart and carried a swath of debris out into space, tearing what was a significant portion of the orbital shipyard apart. With the Wraith project having been very secretive - hence the droid security team assigned to that wing of the shipyard - it wasn't as hard as it could have been for Lira Wessex to later sweep the disappearance of her prototype ship under a rug after learning of its theft. This she covered under the guise of corporate sabotage and threw together another design to satisfy Imperial Intelligence who were still dubious their officers had never landed for their inspection.

Coming out of their jump from the hangar things didn't go nearly as smoothly because in the instant of transitioning from hyperspace to normal space a fireball briefly filled the screens before the an imposing wedge-shape vessel replaced it. Knowing they would be dropping into a busy shipping lane - even if the coordinates plugged in had been of the outskirts of said lane - Titus had been ready for evasive maneuvers and the ship was snappy to respond to correct their course.

“< Jump successful, Pilot. Detected a minor impact across the bow; no damage registered. The shielding absorbed it in its entirety and is regenerating at one hundred percent the normal rate->”

“This thing is fragging chatty, isn't it?” Krua mumbled amid looking for an off switch and toggled it, pleased that whoever had programmed it hadn't locked that option behind a clearance level. With her attention on the screen the computer's text alert didn't go unnoticed and Krua was quick to read it off, “Uh… three vessels on an intercept course, and we're being hailed. Audio and video.” Thinking it better to not reveal their faces she only turned on the incoming call.

“< This is Rear Admiral Moores of the Imperial Star Destroyer Dominatus hailing unrecognized vessel. You are ordered to respond, >” a pale-faced Imperial Navy officer said as he stared into the camera.

“We'd better answer with something to buy the hyperdrive time to charge for the next jump,” Titus turned to tell Krua then he pointed to the three ships that had closed on their vessel and now took flanking positions, “I’d say they're ready to escort us, but if we don't say something to acknowledge the hail that's a good firing position, too.”

“You don't have tell me. Remember, you used to sit in my lap in my fighter when you were only so tall,” Krua held a hand a short distance below her console before turning her attention back to the screen, “Let's see, comm channel is… here.”

There must have been a pop of the mic because the officer had a small start of realization and he spoke again.

“< Unrecognized vessel, upon exiting hyperspace you collided with a pilot trainee during a flight exercise. We understand it was just a regrettable accident, please power down your engines and prepare to be brought aboard for a statement after which you will be let to go on your way. >”

Krua pointed a finger to indicate she had taken the voice comm and he was free to manage the systems to get them out of there. She then turned the mic on and off several times with a sporadic wait between each before flipping it on again.

“Dominatus, this is maintenance technician Ruak of the Corellian ship Tempus Fugit. Anybody out there?” Krua responded using one of her aliases with a fake tone of urgency and when she was acknowledged by the officer she continued talking over his repeated order to power their engines down, “Good to finally get through to you. Impact took out the bridge and crew, systems are a mess, and I've got an internal fire somewhere that's sealed the bulkhead between me and the engine room. It's going to be a minute.”

“< Understood. We will send a shuttle over to assist. >” There was a pause as a lesser officer ran up and whispered something in his ear that made him scowl before the Admiral gave the subordinate an order turned back to the camera. A moment later a single shot from a turbolaser crossed the bow of Titus and Krua's ship and the he barked authoritatively, “< I hope that has your attention. Our pilots don't see any damage to your vessel. Stop with the games and power your engines down immediately. This is your final warning. >”

Krua clicked the channel closed and cast a sidelong glance at Titus but he shook his head; the hyperdrive wasn't ready. That meant they had one option, and frighteningly Krua liked it because he grinned excitedly at him, “Let's see what this bucket of ours can do. I saw quadturrets on that weapon system list; I call dibs!”

“< Your silence has been taken as resistance to comply. Very well, prepare to be destroyed. >”

Titus ripped off the wristpad which he tossed to her and as she strapped it on he forwarded a route through the ship for her. “Just keep the fighters off us, at this range I can dodge the Destroyer's turbolaser fire,” he said as she popped a comm piece in her ear and took off. Outside, the fighters which had been keeping their distance started to close on an attack run when suddenly the communication to the Destroyer clicked again but now the Tie pilots could be heard as well.

“< Sorry ‘bout that, Admiral, had to step away for a minute, >” Krua grunted. Titus could see she had gotten to the turret and even though it could be automated she overrode that setting and took the seat, “< Now then. I know you fighter pilots can hear me, so listen up; return to your ship, your simulator training hasn't prepared you for this engagement. Now hailing the Dominatus: recall your fighters, power down your weapons and we will accept your unconditional surrender. This is your only warning. This has been Ruak of the Tempus Fug It, over and out. >”

A hail of fire from the Tie fighters was her answer as they made a strafing run over the hull but the shields shrugged it off.

“You don't need to antagonize them, Master! This is still a karking Star Destroyer we're up against,” Titus shouted into their comm as he jerked the ship to one side so a laser shot from the capital ship slid under them before rolling to another as the second followed it. “And don't be too hasty in destroying those fighters, they're-”

There was a muffled rumble as a small shockwave rocked them, followed by Krua's insincere voice, “Oops.”

“With the fighters engaged the Destroyer can't fire a full barrage at us or they run the risk of friendly fire, that's why I haven't activated the other turrets,” Titus explained amid more acrobatics as the fighters swung wide and regrouped. They were timing breaking off from their strafing runs with the fire from the Destroyer coming in which was an indicator they lacked the situation awareness to dodge the friendly fire in their nimble craft and showed just how green they were. Krua grumbled something in response and the subsequent spray fire of her turret forced the Ties to abort their approach.

When a text window popped up Titus couldn't afford to break his focus to read it, or any that would follow, and flipped the A.I.’s audio back on.

“< Pilot, I scan that they are powering tractor beams. On our current course toward the Destroyer we run the risk of being locked on and pulled aboard, however, we could get outside of their tractor range if we correct course now and proceed at maximum thrust. >”

“We can't outrun their fighters, if we turn tail they'll launch more and just swarm us,” he countered and continued with the bobbing and weaving around the incoming turbolasers, meanwhile a daring attack run by the Ties dropped their shielding to seventy percent efficiency. “We’re going to get inside the tractor range-” Suddenly there was another muffled whump that shook the hull.

“He flew into that,” Krua called over the ship's comm, “Zigged when he should have zagged.”

Kark. With the loss of the second fighter the destroyer doubled the strength of the barrage which left Titus in a near constant state of performing rolls and jukes but the nimbleness of their new ship kept surprising him as it effortlessly did what the controls asked it to.

“< Pilot, if you wish to close with the destroyer shall I optimize the engine tuning? >”

Titus didn't understand the statement, why was the navigational assistant asking about maintenance now of all times? “What? Now isn't the time,” he replied distractedly as one of the bolts glanced their shields which immediately dropped to forty percent.

“< I do not mean to contradict the Pilot, but I would suggest it is. By optimizing the engine tuning I estimate I can achieve a twenty-six percent increase in available thrust over the stock configuration. Our engines would nearly match the rating of those of the P-s4 twin ion engines that the Tie/LN starfighters engaging us are equipped with. >”

“Sure,” he grunted as a warning that the aft shielding was taking a beating thanks to the Tie that had comfortably found a spot where Krua's turret couldn't get a bead on it, “If we make it through this go ahead and optimize to your processor's content-”

“< Task completed, Pilot! >” Iana interrupted him with a chirp which got a confused exclamation from Titus that she was done so quickly, “< I achieved the estimated twenty-six percent increase, and once we are able to power the engines down at a safe time I estimate a further seven percent optimization is possible, with some testing, and using the current components. For now shall I proceed with the other systems I'm currently integrated with? I recommend shields next as a direct hit from the turbolasers would deplete current shields and cause hull damage. Optimization would result in seventy percent increased capacitor efficiency and- >”

“Yeah, go for it.” Titus’ job of keeping them moving erratically so the destroyer’s targeting computers had a harder time calculating effective shots was growing more difficult the closer they got but all he had to do was make it inside of their firing arcs and it would get much easier.

“< The starfighter pursuing us will have to be dealt with before I can proceed because I have to turn off shielding momentarily, >” Iana stated flatly as if they weren't on the brink of destruction with the meager percentage of shielding they had left and which was being chipped away by the Tie behind them. “< A small window is necessary to apply the optimizations before I will have shields restored and they begin regenerating. I suggest the Pilot avoid taking any fire during that time. >”

“Thanks for the advice,” he grumbled dryly and switched the comm open, “Master, can you take that Tie out?”

“Hot shot is being a slippery little sgragh staying low so I can't get an angle. He's right on us tasting ion exhaust!”

That close, huh? Titus checked their shielding numbers and with a little thought figured they were sufficient. “Copy that. Hold on back there,” he said and suddenly dumped their throttle and engaged reverse thrusters, causing the ship to lurch as they slowed down faster than the inertia dampeners could react.

It was also much faster than the novice pilot could react and as soon as Titus felt the impact at the aft of the ship he threw the engines to the new maximum output and they shot off before the Tie's explosion even engulfed them. “Alright, fighter dealt with. Get that shielding optimization underway!” he shouted as the shields dropped to a critical level from absorbing the crash.

“< Optimization changes calculated, please prevent any damage to the shield projector as the changes are applied, >” the A.I. instructed, then suddenly the view screens were filled with markers, “< Pilot, I detect a squadron of starfighters being deployed. They will be within firing range before calibrations are complete. >”

Selecting his terminal with the buttons on the flight controls Titus activated the ship's automated turrets, but even he was surprised as a display of the armaments coming online appeared on his terminal. In addition to the one being manually operated by Krua, five more quad cannons slid out of their housings that kept them flush with the hull when stowed away and all six batteries rotated forward to send a verifiable storm of laserfire ahead of the charging Wraith.

Next to none of their shots were effective, however. A quick diagnostic provided by Iana revealed that there were too many inputs for the unmodified targeting computer’s processor that had been put into the prototype ship just for test flight purposes so numerous Ties continued their rush toward the Wraith although a good portion swung wide to avoid the fire which momentarily delayed their engagement. "It's going to get a little hairy, shields are down!" Titus called to keep Krua in the loop as well as give her the opportunity to abandon the exposed turret for the safety of retreating into the hull.

“Leave them to me, you focus on flying!” she came on the comm, “But I swear, if you bungle up and get us killed I will find your choobies and still kick them, whether they're one with the Force or not!” Her comm connection clicked off as the viewscreen filled with the searing green bolts fired by the Ties that sped toward the unshielded vessel a moment later, seemingly hungry to tear into its hull.

And then, as the shots got close, they slipped to either side by only a narrow margin.

“< Modifications complete, Pilot. Ship shielding reengaged! >” Iana hummed cheerfully and a second later the blue film could be seen as it appeared on the view screens. Just in time, too, because the second salvo as the Ties broke formation around the Wraith impacted and was absorbed, though it did put a big dent in the available charge.

“Whatever you did, Master, it worked!” Titus cried excitedly but the confident response he was expecting never came. “Master? Are you alright?” Again, no response came and the channel was dead.

Titus flew straight through the Tie formation and they scattered before whipping their nimble ships around to give pursuit like an angry swarm of bees. Dodging a few more shots from the destroyer the Wraith was inside the ineffectual range of the turbolaser batteries and zipped along the hull. The defense turrets, which were lighter and more maneuverable than the turbolasers and meant as anti-fighter emplacements, tried to fend off the intruding craft by created an ever-changing web of green laser fire which Titus weaved through at a breakneck speed while Ties buzzed after him.

“< Pilot? The hyperdrive is ready to make the jump. Shall I proceed? >”

“As soon as we clear this Star Destroyer, Iana. First, what weapon systems can we use that aren't crippled by the targeting computer?” Titus asked after another attempt to reach Krua went unanswered, “Master would want to kick the hornet's nest while we're here. Let's not disappoint her.” The A.I. acknowledged his request and his terminal displayed a long list, some entries green indicating operational while the vast majority of others blinked red with a note stating the system wasn't installed; all that was available to him were the four turbolasers and some sort of long-range cannon that they were too close for.

Not great for their current situation Titus thought to himself. With Krua not answering her comm for whatever reason there’s no one to operate those turbolasers and the quadcannons barely do anything against that Destroyer's hull rating. A beep from the A.I. a second later was followed by the screen's focus filling with the two turbolaser turret diagrams.

“< Pilot, these systems are to be wired into the computer core, enabling automation. According to records, the technician assigned to the job did not finish before we left the hangar. At the moment I can only access the targeting systems so firing will have to be manual; if you are up to that task, would you like me to initiate? >”

“Kark yes!” Pulling up to skim parallel to the hull they sped along, the shields weathering what anti-fighter turret fire Titus couldn't dodge as he selected targets on the fly. The Dominatus was rocked as the small ship scooted along, battering it with firepower well outside its hull classification and destroying several turret emplacements as it went. Meanwhile, the Destroyer's Tie fighters couldn't get more than a few shots to land harmlessly on the shields due to the unrelenting wall of overlapping defensive laserfire that jarringly tracked their flight - there was just so much of it that the turret's terrible accuracy wasn't much of a detriment. Buzzing the command tower and executing a half roll Titus dove the ship down past the ion engines.

The screens lining the wall of the helm let him look over a shoulder as if there was a cockpit canopy and watch as the swarm of Ties flew over the tower after them before most adjusted their trajectory, the shielded ship safely flying through the sea of ion particles the destroyer's engine was spewing out. Several of them didn't realize this in time and still were affected as the ion charge played havoc with their flight systems, Titus grinning as two Ties wobbled erratically and collided in a large explosion while the third tumbled off and away into space. “Inputting new jump coordinates. Get us out of here, computer,” he said and before the Ties that had gone around the engines had caught up with them the Wraith had jumped to hyperspace.

“So you escaped the big ship… a Star Destroyer, was it? What happened after that?” Luna asked, “And what of the red horned one, your Master? What had happened to her?”

“Yes, we escaped. I made several concurrent jumps and fired the probes I had Iana prepare off at each stop to create additional ion signatures for them to track. On my last stop, before firing the remainder of the probes, I cut power to engines and used my momentum to drift to the abandoned satellite station we had been using as a temporary hideout using only microthrusters. With the ship on autopilot I went to check on Krua,” Titus replied. He was about to continue when there was an audible scratching on the inside of the cargo bay door which brought Luna's attention. She didn't say anything and instead stared at the door with her ears fully forward for several moments even after the scratching had stopped so her curiosity of what he was keeping inside was more than clear.

“That’s just Dex, my copilot. He likely heard an unfamiliar voice along with mine through the door and wants to be sure I'm alright. W-Would you like to meet him...?” Titus asked hesitantly.

Luna, meanwhile, could only imagine what sort of alien creature it might be that the humans keeping aboard and so it took a moment to overcome her imagination and acknowledge he had asked a question. “Your… copilot?” Luna tried the word, “Is that similar to a second-in-command?” Titus laughed and then apologized, explaining that out of habit he had referred to the dog's honorary position without a second thought. Hearing the name of a familiar animal Luna perked up, “Oh, a dog? Yes, certainly, I would enjoy meeting him!”

“He might be larger than you're expecting...” Titus cautioned as he got up and moved for the door's keypad, Luna also getting to her hooves, “That's why I haven't taken him to the hill with me, I don't want to cause a panic. He does follow me there but he hides at the edge of the forest.”

Luna thanked Titus for the warning and bid him to continue but when the door slid open both dog and Princess went still. It was no Cerberus, for sure, but it was closer to what she would call a hound than a dog as it triggered a memory in Luna of the ravenous wolves of old that once stalked Equestria. All she could do was just stare, not wanting to move a muscle and spook it.

Dex, meanwhile, looked at the winged and horned creature in front of him, listening and smelling cautiously; he had wanted to approach the other dog-sized things he had seen his owner talking with but he had been told not to and obeyed the command. Dex cast a look to his human, asking if he was still supposed to stay away but got a nodding gesture that he could approach this one.

Dex took a tentative step closer after Titus jerked his head toward her, his large ears perking straight up and pointing at her as he lead with his nose which sniffed at her. Luna raised a hoof to be sniffed but did so faster than the dog was ready for and it took an alarmed step back.

“She's friendly. See, buddy?” Titus said and crouched beside Luna, his shoulder coming to touch hers.

Luna watched Dex take this in for a second and he subsequently stepped forward much more confidently to sniff the offered hoof. Sniff sniff sniff. Three times without breaking eye contact with her when suddenly his maw opened to reveal the pointed, flesh-tearing teeth.

His tongue flapped out and he panted happily, his attention switching between the Princess and Titus with an expression that openly asked which one would be playing with him. Luna called some magic into her horn and following a soft *poof!* a bright blue toy was caught in her magic before it dropped. Luna wasn't prepared for how quickly Dex recognized what she was holding and he immediately sat politely in wait meanwhile Titus seemed surprised.

“I-If it is alright with you, of course…?” she asked and made to pass the chewtoy to Titus but he held his palms raised at her in a gesture that looked like he didn't even want to hold it.

“Of course! But it's your gift, so you should give it to him yourself,” Titus said and his raised hands swept her attention to the obediently sitting but anxiously excited dog whose tail could have flown off from how hard it was wagging had it not been firmly attached to his butt. Luna started to float it toward his paws but then Titus spoke up, “Maybe try tossing it up in the air, he'll catch it.” Luna did so and Dex deftly snapped it into his muzzle.

*squeak!*

Suddenly the dog froze at the noise before slowly biting down almost experimentally on his new toy. *squeak-ee!* Dex dropped to his belly right where he was, fully content and focused on chewing and gnawing on the delightfully noisy thing the big creature had given him.

*squeak-ee!*
*s-eeek!*
*eeek-eee!*

A noise that was hard to talk over which Luna discovered when she asked Titus to continue where he had left off before their canine side conversation. Magic glowed in Luna's horn once again and the squeaking stopped, although Dex didn't seem to notice because he remained enthusiastic in chewing on it. “I altered the toy to only be audible to him,” Luna explained before giving Titus an apologetic smile, “It is only after that I realize that it might have been hard to sleep through, if Dex had kept it with him.”

“No doubt he would have, just look at him,” Titus said, having scooted to his previous spot facing her to tell the rest of the story, “He'd normally be over by me looking for rubs and ear scratches but he flopped right at your hooves. I'd say you have another friend.”

“‘Another?’” Again Luna's ears perked up at what he was inferring but this time Titus caught them, “Despite my terrible trespass of your privacy, y-you would still view me as a friend?”

“Yes? I mean, I haven't had someone I feel comfortable talking about my past with in a long time, Princess, so that's something I appreciate. And like I said, ‘if you ever need a friendly ear,’” Titus replied timidly as he reached over and ruffled his dog's ears before snatching the toy when he was distracted and threw it off into the lighted area, “I'm attached to that ear so that's what I'd hope you see me as, too.”

“Although my sister tries to understand my situation, through an unfortunate series of events you are the only one who can truly understand how out-of-place I feel; how every word and action must be considered lest it be taken in a way I did not intend; how everything I was familiar with from a thousand years ago has changed, and my sister is the only face left after all that time,” Luna confided softly and watched as Dex tore off after the toy. “Having one to share such troubles with - a comrade - without the fear of creating undo guilt would be something I would appreciate, too, Mr. Aelius.”

“Glad to hear it,” he said with a smile that was mirrored excitedly, “I'm happy continue with my story, but two things first: can I call you Luna, and regardless feel free to just use my first name, and secondly can I get you a drink while we talk? Applejack gave me a case of her hard cider-”

“Yes!” Luna chirped enthusiastically, and maybe a little more than she meant to because she checked her volume for a second attempt, “Y-Yes, I would accept dropping such formalities as my title, and the famous cider of the Apple family sits on my personal bar and would be most thoroughly enjoyed… although, as tempting as it is, perhaps only a glass because I will be watching the dreams of our subjects following our bidding each other goodnight.”

Titus went inside for a moment and Luna contentedly played a short game of fetch with Dex until the human returned, bottle of cider in one hand while the other held another full bottle and a unpolished metal cup.

“Thou tempt me with the whole bottle, Titus…” Luna remarked lightly and he chuckled in good humor to it before shaking his head.

“Maybe, Luna, but that's because I put the bottles over the diods of the lamps you see in the darkness to soften the light. I figure you can have however much you want and when you felt you've had enough I can finish whatever is left in the bottle,” he said and when she agreed he poured what was a very full mug, “There, that should see you through the rest of my retelling-”

She hummed and floated the mug away before he could fully top it off and took a sip. “So… what happened after your jump away from the Star Destroyer?”

“After slipping into the hangar I rushed to the turret Krua had been in,” Titus pointed to a spot on the hull for her to see as he took a swig from his bottle of cider, “She was unconscious when I got there, slumped over the controls. I carried her to the medbay aboard our new ship where I had to boot up the medical droids so they could look at her and she came to a short time later.”

“Ah, good that she was alright,” Luna interjected, “Did she tell you how she protected the ship while the shields were down?”

“She did,” he said but shook his head, “I remember asking if she had deflected the shots, as you've seen from my memories Jedi can turn away blaster fire with the Force, but she laughed at the notion of doing so with so many and from starfighters nonetheless. She was gifted in such techniques but a feat like that would only be capable of those like Master Yoda, so instead she found a simpler solution: she reached out and used her willpower to contact the Tie pilots and get them to not follow their instincts or training in trying to lead their shots. Simpler, but still a strain to the absolute limit to have affected so many.”

Titus went on to talk of what he and Krua had done to evade pursuit by the Dominatus that had followed several weeks later, of his talking ship which she learned had not been fixed yet, as well as obliging her request to hear some of the adventures she had witnessed. Through all of this, Luna eventually just took the bottle of cider he had brought and drank from that, thoughts of keeping to only a glass let go as she relaxed and let herself enjoy the companionship.

“-my sprint across the landing pad with the schematics and datadisc containing project Hammertong being covered when Iana brought all of our quadcannons to bear on the Stormtroopers giving chase,” Titus continued the story that was one she hadn't seen so she was eagerly listening, “We made our escape to orbit, pursued by Ties scrambled from the planet's garrison, and the raised alarm had gotten the Star Destroyers stationed in orbit to establish a blockade. The old girl didn't get through that one without a couple of scars - some of which are still evident, if you know where to look - before I could make the jump to the Outer Rim. There I eventually found a mechanic that would take my credits without asking questions. It was shortly after that that I was flying the schematics I stole to a contact I think worked with the Resistance when I started to get pulled into Twilight's portal so I encrypted the data and fired it off aboard probes to rendezvous points for them to hopefully pick up. So, what did you think?”

“Zounds! T'was as if I was being read an action novel!” Luna exclaimed before looking at the ship disappointingly, “I am sorry to hear you had only just gotten your ship fixed before this happened, though.”

“Yeah well, she fared the landing better than I had expected. It might be awhile before I have her flying again,” he said.

“Oh, so you possess the knowledge to fix it?” she asked with a tone both carrying surprise and relief. He laughed and nodded before replying if he hadn't been a Jedi he likely would have ended up a shipwright or dock mechanic somewhere because machines just came naturally to him. Luna was glad to hear he was optimistic, “I have asked before but will ask again, is there anything you might need to aid in or expedite repairs beside the materials you mentioned before? Do you require anything for your healing?”

There certainly were things he would love to have, like a few repulsor anchors to get the ship flipped right side up, but asking for things they wouldn't have would be a poor joke at best, “I can’t think of anything at the moment, if I do I'll have Twilight’s little dragon send a letter. I will say, though, that a chance to take a break like this from getting potentially burned out on work is nice.”

“Ah yes, I can appreciate the necessity of a reprieve from work. Would you care to meet again like this? To talk or share stories?” Luna asked but did a poor job of hiding her hope that he would.

Titus couldn't help but grin as her ears stayed fully forward just like Dex's would when he was interested. “I had fun tonight, I hope you did as well,” he stated as a question which was confirmed she had so he continued, “In that case let's make getting together a regular thing. I know you had asked why I haven't been as surprised with your physical form as you all have been with mine, and next time I'll tell you about the equines I know of. Speaking of next time, maybe you'd tell me about… you?”

The question had a hesitant tone to it but Luna nodded; it was likely Twilight had given him something of a lecture of fundamental Equestrian history. “But of course, w-we are friends and it would only be fair,” she replied with a reassuring smile that he hadn't broached a taboo subject. Luna floated her empty bottle up, “Titus? Might we rely on another round of refreshments for our next visit?”

Titus grinned right back, “If that's what it takes for you to be here, absolutely, Luna.”