The Lodestar Legacy

[Intisar]

I've been meaning to post this for a while, but the early maintenance tonight gave me some free time. First a couple notes. Lodestar was my Legacy name back on the Shien server where my Republic characters got their start. I also specifically refer to the game story several times, which I gather is a no no, but this was originally written to tie all my characters together back when the legacy system was introduced. Finally there are some in-jokes that only Poptart and some other folks I've been gaming with since the Jurassic era will get. This is totally cheesy, so sorry in advance.

---

A brash smuggler and his first mate stepped off the turbo-lift onto the main concourse of Carrick Station, the military and social hub of the grand Republic Fleet. It was happy hour, and music from the cantina blared over the din of speeders and conversation as hundreds of humans, aliens and droids went about their business.

“So this guy points a big blue finger at me,” Captain Tyrian Cynosure explained to Corso Riggs, "and he says, ‘How do I know you're not gonna take these credits and blow them all on gambling?’”

Corso had flown with Cy long enough to know what was coming next. “And you said...”

“And I said, ‘Oh, I got gambling money!’”

Corso laughed. “I’m sure he loved that.”

“Absolutely. He loved it so much he tried to shove me out an airlock. This is after Zab had told me that Telorians have a highly developed sense of humor.”

“I believe their appreciation is more of the slapstick variety.”

“Tell me about it. After that I had to- Hutt’s choobies! Corso, get in front of me!” Cy ducked behind Corso, flipped up the collar of his jacket and tried to look as inconspicuous as possible as two heavily armed and armored Republic soldiers marched by.

Cynosure attempted to regain his composure as the troopers moved away.

“You know those guys? By their colors, I think they’re Havoc Squad.”

“I don’t know the weaselly looking ginger, but that big fellow has it out for me. It’s not even my fault, really. He was serving on a customs ship a couple years back. My papers were in order, but they boarded me anyway. Look, when I told the guy that he might put an eye out if he poked around the cargo, I didn’t know that he’d actually put an eye out. Nem’ro said the crates had farm animals, but I didn’t realize that the Nexu had delivered and was a little over-protective of her litter.”

“I don’t think Nexu are farm animals, Cap’n,” Corso pointed out.

Cy shrugged. “I don’t judge. You’d think the guy’d be thankful I kept the molly from chewing his whole face off, but no, of course not. I think I’m still wanted in the Vanis system over that. Havoc Squad, huh? Well, good for him. Weren’t they kind of a big deal during the war?”

Corso nodded, “They sure were. I think they had some kind of dust up on Ord Mantell while we were there.”

“I’m sure I didn’t notice.”

---

At the Fleet cantina, two young Jedi sat at a table, finishing a bottle of Zeltron spiced wine. Members of their crews milled around toasting the coming weekend.

“Well, no,” Intisar explained, somewhat embarrassed. “Generally, my lightsaber technique involves waving it around in front of me and hoping it scares off the bad guys.”

Intisar admired Li-Zhen’s restraint; the Jedi Knight did not out and out roll her eyes. Intisar had accomplished much since leaving Tython, but Warden of the Order or not, she was not known as much of a warrior.

Li-Zhen, on the other hand, was quickly earning a reputation as a fierce an unrelenting combatant. When diplomacy failed, the Jedi Council had to come to count on her.

Before Li-Zhen could enlighten Intisar as to the various Lightsaber fighting stances, Cynosure and Corso strolled into the cantina.

“For someone who prides himself on having the fastest ship in the fleet, you’re always late, Cy,” Intisar teased.

“Captain Cynosure!” Li-Zhen said with a rare and genuine smile. She stood up and gave Cy a hug, which he accepted awkwardly. “Oh, hey, Li. Nice to see you. How’s the Jedi Order treating you? Moving lots of rocks with your mind?”

“Many, many heavy rocks, Captain,” Li-Zhen said, getting as close to sarcasm as she could. “I’m afraid I can’t stay. Kira and I have business on Alderaan, but I hope we can do this again soon.”

“I look forward to it,” Intisar said.

“Take care, kid.”

Cy turned his head sideways and watched Li-Zhen walk away. “Boy, she grew up all right.”

Intisar slapped the back of Cy’s head. “Moons of Ivortar! How do you know her?”

Cy feigned outrage at the slap and paused before answering. “She was one of the kids I flew off Coruscant...” he said simply. He turned to get the serv-a-bot’s attention and ordered a glass of Devaronian rye.

Intisar did not push it. Cy didn’t like to talk about that day ten years ago. She’d known him a long time but only had heard the story from her parents. Intisar sometimes wondered if Cy regretted the choices he made that day. The course of his life certainly changed after that.

Intisar changed the subject to starships. She was a born Corellian and Cy a life-long spacer; they could talk hyperdrive motivators and ion drive exhaust systems until the nerfs came home.

Clearly less interested, Intisar’s crew dispersed around the cantina. Only Qyzen Fess, Intisar’s closest ally, stayed close, keeping his watchful eye on the Jedi.

“Yeah, so the Rumblehawke’s refit is taking longer than I expected. Skavak stripped everything of value out of her and left me nothing but a cargo hold full of trouble. I fell in with a crew on Coruscant, but lately I’ve had to pass that work on to Zab.”

“Wait! Zab? Last I heard she was trying to kill you.”

Cy threw his hands up into the air in mock surrender. “No! Well, yes, or not really. Listen, it’s not what you think. Really! For once it isn’t. We’ve reached an… accommodation. She’s going to stopping encouraging strangers to kill me and I’m going to stop doing dumb dwang that almost gets her killed.”

Qyzen laughed heartily, which, from a trandoshan, was a pretty scary sight.

“Oh, really? You’ve got something to add, green-genes? Let’s hear it?”

Qyzen rumbled a question, and Intisar laughed.

“He’s wondering how many points you’d be worth to the Scorekeeper if Zab killed you.”

Cy knocked back his drink. “Not many. Not many at all. Believe me, my score goes down by the day.”

---

“Is Corso hitting on Holiday?”

Cy finished his drink and grinned. “Yeah, I bet him a hundred credits he couldn’t get her comm-number.”

Intisar sighed and poured another round. “Well, I hope they get together. I really do. And after the wedding, you get to take Tharen too.”

Cy laughed. “It’s good to see you crack wise again, kid. I remember sitting here after you made starfall off of Taris. You were a wreck.”

Intisar nodded. “Everything about Taris was sad.”

“The news from that rock hasn’t been good for three hundred years.”

“I’d come to realize just how deep I’d gotten myself. Satele, Yuon, the whole council were counting on me for so much, but things were moving too fast. It felt like someone was questioning every decision I made. They had every right to; I still don’t know if I’m ready for what’s expected of me. This is not the life my parents wanted for me.”

“Sweetheart, your parents were two of my favorite people in the galaxy. They gave me work when I was a caught between a Hutt and hard place. Believe me when I tell you, they would be so proud of you right now.”

“But they didn’t want me to be a Jedi.”

Cy laughed shaking his head. “That not it at all. They wanted to raise their daughter. To know you, and for you to know them. They made the right choice. Look, I don’t know anything about mystical energy fields. I’m glad you’ve found your place with the Jedi, but I’m damn certain you still have a choice about who you are and who you’re gonna be. It’s like Bucky used to say…”

Intisar was listening seriously to Cynosure, but had to interrupt him at there. “Cy! Finnegan and that reprobate partner of his were nothing but a pair of drunks and con artists. I mean, they claimed to be transdimensional space travelers! How in the Denari Nebula can you take anything they said seriously?”

Cy shrugged. “I got a tour of their engine room once and I still can’t explain some of the stuff they had plugged in back there. As for being drunkards,” Cy paused and refilled their glasses for emphasis, “there is a certain amount of wisdom to be found at the bottom of a bottle.”

Intisar could not disagree.

“‘True north is not always the direction your compass points,’ he used to say. ‘Set your course by the lodestar. Its light will shine the way home.’”

Intisar smiled. “Cy, you do have your moments.” She gave him a buss on the cheek. “But I don’t believe for a moment Bucky ever said that.”

Cynosure stroked his mustache, grinned crookedly and leaned back in his chair. “Could be I’m paraphrasing.”

[Maishka]

thanks for sharing!

[Nimue]

Thanks for sharing, I loved the story!

“Generally, my lightsaber technique involves waving it around in front of me and hoping it scares off the bad guys.”

I'm sure Intisar and Faoileán would get along splendidly, they seem to use the same approach

[Kaurix]

I think Kaurax, my Vanguard with one good eye, might want to talk to Cy next time he is around.

[Sofija]

Thanks for the story Inty!