sparky // a padawan story

chapter 71. fulcrum and dill.

"What's got you so excited this early in the morning, Arlo?" Korkie asks as I sit down next to him at the breakfast table in the Organa's castle. He wears a casual long-sleeved tunic and pants, an outfit that looks far more comfortable than his Mandalorian armor.

I roll my eyes at his comment, but can't help but to keep grinning from ear to ear. "You know why."

"Yeah, yeah, I do. Want a waffle?"

"Mhm."

Korkie uses a fork to take one of the waffles off of his plate and places it on my own. I say a quick thank you as Bail enters the room and sits down across from us. Following him is a waist-high droid with a blue and grey dome of a head, whirring excitedly.

"R2!" I exclaim as he rolls up to me and bumps into my chair with a squeal. I rub the top of his dome as if he's a animal to be pet, but he definitely likes it. "It's good to see you too, buddy! How're you doing?"

As R2-D2 beeps and boops his elaborate answer, Korkie, Bail, and I finish up our breakfast.

"First order of business," Bail begins, "here are your comlinks. Mine and Ahsoka's com channels are already programmed in there, and they also have each other's channels as well." He sets two handheld links in front of each of us. "Ahsoka runs the Fulcrum intelligence networks, so that's where your mission information will come from. My channel is there in case I have an emergency mission to send you on, or if I intercept an Imperial message that's urgent for you all to know. Very important to remember: no names over the comms, only callsigns. It's vital that our identities stay hidden in case of being listened in on.

"Second, R2, I need you to pull up that map I gave you." R2 does as he's told, and a holomap of the Outer Rim illuminates above the table. "I want you all to have a spot that you know is safe to come back to, just in case. I recommend somewhere around here." He points to a specific section of the map. "The Lah'mu system. After that, you'll be sent on your first mission. Ahsoka is waiting for you all in the hangar when you're ready. May the Force be with you both."

—

As I walk the large halls of the castle towards the hangar, I hear a small whine come from a room with a cracked door. It must be Leia's room. I walk up to the door and decide to take a peek in, and I'm met with the sight of Leia whimpering in her crib. Quietly, I open the door and pick her up out of bed, holding her up against my hip. She immediately calms down in my arms.

"Hi, Leia," I coo. "I don't think we've met. I'm your Aunt Arlo."

Leia obviously doesn't understand me, yet she smiles anyway.

"You look just like your mom, Leia. You'll be just as incredible as she was one day, I know it. Promise you'll let me know when that day comes?"

No response, other than her smile that lingered from a few seconds ago.

"I'll take that as a yes. But, hey, you really should be sleeping. Isn't it your nap time?"

Again, no words, but she does grab at my nose.

I giggle. "Right. Want to hear a song? Yeah? Okay."

I sway Leia back and forth as I softly begin Obi-Wan's song.

Quietly while you were asleep
The moon and I were talking
I asked that she'd always keep you protected...

And just like that, she's back out like a light.

I lay her gently back down in her crib before exiting, starting towards the hanger once again.

—

Korkie waves me over to where he currently sits on the ramp of his ship. I take a seat cross-legged next to him with a smile.