A returning Echo

Chapter Twenty Seven

The next morning, you woke up before both Fives and Echo. You managed to crawl out of their cuddle without waking either, and slipped out of the room silently. You headed over to the 17th's barracks, and were surprised to see them already up.

"Good morning, mesh'la," Sans said as you walked in. "We're up nice and early like you wanted us."

"How long have you all been up?" you asked, and he shrugged.

"Not too long, but we're almost ready to head out."

"I guess I should probably get ready too, then," you said before turning to leave.

"We'll be waiting for you on the venator," Hex called after you, and you gave him a thumbs up as you left. You quickly went back to the temple, changing into clean clothes and your new pair of boots. They weren't exactly comfortable, as you had gotten them on your break, so you hoped they could be broken in today.

Once you were ready, you ran out of your room and started running down the hall, nearly colliding with Codo.

"Off to somewhere in a hurry?" he asked, chuckling as you steadied yourself.

"Yeah, me and the 17th have an early mission," you replied.

"So you're not free to have breakfast with me?"

"Not today, sorry Codo."

"That's alright, my child. Just be safe and don't rush back into things," he said.

"Ah, you know me," you said as you started to walk away, "I never rush into anything." Codo rolled his eyes and shook his head at your comment, watching as you ran over to the elevator and left.

You went to the hangar, looking around for your starfighter. It had been a while since you'd flown it, and you didn't exactly remember where you had landed last. You wandered around for a few minutes in the main area, which is where you knew you normally landed, but you still weren't finding it.

"You look lost," a voice said behind you. You turn to see a Kel Dor standing behind you with his hands clasped in front of him.

"I can't remember where I landed my starfighter," you admitted. Plo let out a small chuckle before grabbing your shoulders and turning you. When he'd spun you to face the opposite direction, your eyes landed right on your ship.

"I swear I've never used that part of the hangar before," you mumbled, seeing the very obvious spot.

"Mm, perhaps someone used it then," he replied.

"No one better have touched my ship, I worked hard to keep that thing in one piece."

"Ah, it's alright, young Jinn. I believe the only person who has used it other than you is General Krell," he joked, but you just spun around and narrowed your eyes at him.

"That slimy besalisk better not have gotten anywhere near my starship," you growled through clenched teeth while poking him in the chest. Plo stopped laughing then, cleared his throat and shook his head.

"No, he did not. We just had one of the pilots move it a few weeks back, as we did not know when it would be used again, and we needed the space."

"Perhaps next time you should tell me so that I know where it is," you said while walking towards it.

"My apologies. I should have known how much it means to you."

"It's the only thing of my fathers that I have, of course it means a lot to me," you responded before shutting the top. Plo stepped back and watched as you flew out, and a wave of déjà vu washed over him. He smiled a small smile to himself, remembering the countless times he'd seen Qui-Gon fly the very same shuttle out of the hangar years ago.