Terran Alliance: A Jedi and the Hammer Squadron

Chapter 11- Trust in the Force

Chapter 11- Trust in the Force

(June 29, 2026)

"So, where are we going?" Jonathan asks as he walks out to his fighter, Alex behind him and Jared off to his side.

"I don't know. But the Force will guide us," Jared says. The following morning, he had chosen Jonathan to go with him to wherever Qui Gon was sending him. The rest of the Squadron and the Rangers would be staying behind on Naboo until Jared and Jonathan returned.

"Hmmm," Jonathan hums skeptically. Being a starfighter pilot, he doesn't want to just trust his safety in a journey through hyperspace to someone trying to just feel their way through hyperspace.

"Trust me, Captain. We'll make it. Just trust me on this one. And if we fail, you can haunt me for eternity," Jared says, ending with a bit of a smile.

"I'm gonna hold you to that," Jonathan says. He then glances back at Alex, and the two shake their heads slightly.

Up ahead, ground crews are finishing getting Jared's SF-23 and Jonathan's SF-15 ready to fly. Jared and Jonathan start doing the walk around before take off while Alex climbs into the backseat in the cockpit of the SF-15.

It takes only a few minutes to do the complete walk around. Once the two have finished their walk around, Jared and Jonathan look at each other, give each other a thumbs up, and then climb into their cockpits, ready to go.

In his cockpit, Jared looks at the picture of Lacy and Brooklyn he keeps taped to the side of the cockpit. He smiles a bit as he just stares at the photo for a few moments before he starts powering up the fighter.

Within a minute, both fighters are fully powered up, and Jared and Jonathan close their canopies. A few seconds later, both fighters lift off the ground. Both fly forward for a few hundred yards as they start picking up speed, then start to pull up into a climb.

As the two fighters exit the atmosphere, Jonathan is watching Jared's fighter intently, waiting for anything from him. However, Jared is meditating, trying to feel for what Qui Gon instructed him to search for. As he meditates, numbers begin to come to him. Hyperspace coordinates. As they come to him, Jared begins to program them into his navicomputer.

After a minute, Jared says, "Jonathan, I'm sending you sets of hyperspace coordinates for our journey. I'll make the jump first, and you just stay locked on my tail through hyperspace."

"Okay," Jonathan says hesitantly, still worried about something going wrong. However, he listens to Jared, and has his astro droid program the navicomputer.

Once the coordinates have been input, Jonathan calls out over the radio, "Alright, Hansen. We're ready."

"Copy that. Standby," Jared says. He flips one final switch, then places his hands on the hyperspace throttles and pushes them forward. The stars seem to lengthen out before Jared's SF-23 jumps to hyperspace. About two seconds later, Jonathan follows Jared into hyperspace.

(June 30, 2026)

"Alright, Captain. On my mark," Jared calls out to Jonathan on the radio. He can sense through the Force that they have almost arrived at their destination.

"Copy that. On your mark," Jonathan responds, resting his hand on the hyperspace throttles.

Jared waits patiently, his hand on the hyperspace throttle, waiting for the right feeling in the Force. Then, right as he feels it, he calls out, "Now!"

Both Jared and Jonathan pull back on the hyperspace throttle, and their fighters drop out of hyperspace. As they come out of hyperspace, a dark red planet appears up ahead, a handful of asteroids in orbit around it.