Star Forge - Chapter 13

I found Queen standing in front of the grandfather's clock. The small sliver of survival instinct I had kept me from laughing at her new outfit. She wore a fluffy robe and a pair of slippers. The glare on her face and the rifle slung over her shoulder only made it funnier.

Her gaze snapped over to me as I joined her. She did a quick once-over of my outfit before turning her attention back to the clock.

"It won't open for me," she stated.

"Where are your clothes?" I asked.

"In the room," she replied. "I'm not putting them back on. The closet was empty."

I thought each of the rooms would come with a full wardrobe. That was probably too much considering the place came fully furnished.

"Come on, I have some new clothes that should fit," I said as I waved for her to follow. "I'll need to get that replaced with a door."

She grumbled something under her breath before following me. I led her back to the master bedroom and showed her the closet. It wasn't perfect, but she found something that worked. I stepped out to give her privacy. She joined me once she was dressed in a pair of black slacks and a white button-down shirt. The fluffy slippers had survived the wardrobe change.

"The shoes don't fit," she glared at me.

Another moment of survival instinct allowed me to stop myself from laughing. I turned away to hide the smile on my face and led her back to the clock-passage. It opened easily for me. She was still glaring at me when she joined me.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on now?" Queen didn't bother to look at me when she spoke.

"Do you want the truth or for me to make something up?" I asked in return.

"Truth," she growled out.

"I don't know," I answered with a shrug. "I really don't know. This just sort of happened one day. A godlike entity decided I was worth the interest? I have no clue." I held out my hand and the keycard appeared out of nowhere. "Any door I use this on leads here."

"You expect me to believe that?" Queen stared at me flatly.

I shrugged.

"Believe me or don't, it's the truth," I said.

We fell into a tense silence for the remaining ride down. I stepped out into the underground hideout first. There would be time to explore later, I wanted to check on Rain first. The med-bay had was calm, the only sound being the soft hum from the bacta-tank. Rain floated a couple of inches off the platform. She was completely submerged. Her armor had been removed and replaced by a couple of bandage straps strategically placed to prevent her from being nude. Other than that, she had a scuba mask thing so she could breath. Her leg had been set and the bacta was thicker around it.

Queen searched the area before coming to stand beside me.

"Her gear is missing," she stated.

"Apologies," the medical droid spoke up. "Her armor and underlayer needed to be cut away for a complete examination."

"What about her blaster?" Queen asked.

I had to hand it to her. She was professional enough not to take out her frustrations on a droid.

"The patient did not have a weapon when she arrived," the droid stated.

"What?" Queen cocked her head to the side. "Where is it?"

"Unknown," the droid replied.

Queen shifted her attention to me.

"I don't know," I shrugged. "She was still shooting when I pulled her inside."

"It wasn't on the floor up there," she motioned to the elevator.

"We'll have to ask her when she wakes up," I said crossing my arms.

"Now that you are both clean, please step forward for a physical examination," the droid patted an oddly shaped table beside him.

It took my brain a moment to realize it was an exam table. Something so incredibly mundane next to the droid just didn't click. I knew this place was from Earth, probably some superhero hideout given the hidden entrance, but the furnishings had adjusted to fit the current esthetic.

"Do I need to remove my clothes?" I asked as I walked over to the droid.

"Are you experiencing any pain?" It asked in reply.

"No," I shook my head.

The droid led me through a casual examination, asking the basic questions all the way through. Once I finished Queen did the same.

"You, and Rain once she's awake, are the only people who know about this place," I stated. "I haven't told my crew yet. I don't want anyone to know without my permission."

"How are we getting out of here?" Queen said waving a hand at the general area. "You said the door doesn't connect to Alderaan anymore. How do we get out?"

"It's connected to my ship," I replied easily. "I can change the front door to open to my quarters."

"Fine," she let out a tired sigh. "Then what?"

"We need to come up with a story of how we escaped," I answered. "The shuttle was close enough to see our last stand."

"Your girlfriend, right," Queen nodded.

I rolled my eyes at her.

"I got nothing," she added shrugging.

I walked over to the large computer desk and took a seat. It was my best option to interface with the Droid Ship since I didn't have my armor on. Potentially, I could purchase the extra slot and have it construct an escape pod, then place it in the orbit of Alderaan. The beacon would draw attention to anyone still in the area, failing that, I could contact the Zepplin. Problem being that I didn't have enough points to purchase the extra slot and I had no idea how long it would take to build an escape pod, or if it even had that option. Did a droid control ship need any living crew? There had to be at least one person to flip the 'ON' switch.

An emergency alert appeared on the screen before I could search for answers. It was an urgent message from the Zepplin. I didn't hesitate to open it. Anakin's tear-streaked face appeared on the screen. Various tools and smaller objects orbited him in shaky circles.

"KISKIN!" He yelled. "I knew you weren't dead."

A dozen little objects that had been floating in the air around him dropped to the ground.

"Hey, kid," I smiled.

"Where's your helmet? Where's your armor? How are you alive? Where are you?" His words somehow got fast with each question.

"It's getting repairs," I replied. "The other questions are harder to answer."

"Are you still on Alderaan?" Anakin asked.

"No," I shook my head. "Where are you?"

"We're on the Zepplin," Anakin said. He gave a sheepish smile. "I'm in your room. A blue Mandalorian lady told us you were dead."

"She thought I was," I sighed. "Is she there?"

"No," he shook his head. "It was a message."

"Go to the lounge, apologize to your mother and I'll be right there," I said.

"What?" Anakin scrunched his brow in clear confusion.

"Do you trust me?" I asked.

"Yes," he replied instantly.

"Then follow your captain's orders," I teased.

"Yes, sir," he gave me his best salute, then paused. "Wait, why do I need to apologize to my mom?"

"Did you yell at her before you locked yourself in my room?" I asked.

He muttered something in reply.

"That's what I thought," I gave him a gentle smile. "People say things they don't mean when they're scared or hurt. Your mother is a wonderful woman, she knows you didn't mean anything, but she deserves an apology."

"Ok," Anakin said softly.

"Now, get out of my room," I teased. "I'll be right there."

I closed the connection. Queen had watched the entire conversation.

"Is that your kid?" Queen asked. "He must take after his mother."

"That's my mechanic," I answered standing. "I would be honored to be his dad."

"Mechanic?" Queen asked.

She was still trying to figure out if I was trying to mess with her while I walked back to the elevator. It wasn't until the doors started to close that she began to move. I put my foot in the track to stop it closing completely. Thankfully, it worked like an elevator should and slid back to fully open. I could have lost a few toes if it hadn't.

Queen didn't take her eyes off of me on the ride up to the entry. She was very interested when the keycard appeared in my hand. I swiped the card along the seam between the doors. Her face went blank with disbelief as the wooden double-door transformed into a single, thick metal one. She stumbled after me as I stepped out into my ship.

"I'm telling you, mom," Anakin's voice came from the direction of the cockpit. "He's alive. I talked to him. I swear."

Queen followed me, her mouth hung open as she tried to take in everything. The familiar hum of Hyperspace travel only helped to complicate matters. Maybe she could convince herself of some lie if the ship had been in orbit, but there was no known method to board a ship in hyperspace.

"Ani," Shmi said softly.

"Don't be too hard on him," I said as I stepped into the doorway leading to the cockpit.

Shmi and Adyan screamed, Anakin ran over to me, and Mette wasn't in the room. I knelt down to give Anakin a tight hug. He pushed away after a moment.

"See, mom," Anakin beamed. "He's alive."

"How?" Shmi whispered.

My answer was cut off by a thud behind her. She turned around to see that Adyan had fainted. Her head had bonked the console. Shmi quickly adjusted the Twi'lek to an upright position while still managing to keep her eyes on me.

"Who's she?" Anakin asked.

"This is Queen," I motioned to the merc. "We were working together on Alderaan."

"Queen?" Anakin asked.

"It's a call-sign," I answered.

"What's your name?" Anakin asked. "I'm Anakin Skywalker, mechanic of The Zepplin and Mandalorian in training."

"Ani," Shmi sighed.

"Alice," Queen answered with a tremor in her voice. "I need to sit down."

I guided her out to the lounge, Shmi and Anakin followed close behind.

"How are you alive?" Shmi asked. "Miss Kryze told us you were trapped on the planet. Alderaan has been declared a dead world. Any ships trying to leave or land on the planet are destroyed."

"Glad I didn't go with the escape pod idea," I muttered.

"An escape pod?" Anakin asked.

"Nothing," I waved it away. "I can show you, but it comes with a price."

"Okay," Anakin didn't even pause.

"What price?" Shmi asked.

"You keep it secret," I replied. "Once I show you this, you're in it for the long haul. You're a permanent member of the crew."

Shmi went quiet at that. I looked around the open area.

"Where's Mette?" I asked.

"She's in her room," Anakin answered. "She was crying once we found out you were dead."

"Hm," I crinkled my brow in thought. "I should tell her I'm alive. Keep an eye on Queen, she's a bit pale."

"Your clothes are weird," Anakin said to the merc. "Did you fight the bugs in those slippers?"

I made my way over to the rooms before she could answer. There weren't any open rooms once Adyan and Mette joined the crew. They both had taken the two room across the hall from the other three. I smiled at the small pieces of art Mette had began to paint on her door. A rough outline of a greater picture that I couldn't see just yet.

People knocked in this universe, right? I did. It seemed to work well enough. Mette opened her door; her eyes were angled down making me think she was expecting Anakin. I could see the tears running down her cheeks as she adjusted to look me in the eyes.

"Who are you?" She asked taking a step back.

"Oh," I chuckled. "Right, you haven't seen me without my helmet yet."

She stared at me for a long moment. I could see the moment she recognized my voice. The modulation of the helmet didn't change it too much.

"It's me, Kiskin," I said softly.

"But…" she muttered. "But… you're dead."

"They thought I was dead," I replied. "Why are you crying?"

"Because you're dead!" She screamed.

I reached out a hand and booped her nose. She blinked in shock. Her hands grabbed onto mine. More specifically, my replacement hand. She pressed the synthetic skin against the metal bones.

"How?" She whispered.

"I'll tell you, and the others, but there is a price," I replied with a gentle smile. "If you want to know, then you can't leave. You'll have to keep my secrets."

"Fine," she replied just as fast as Anakin.

"Really?" I smiled at her. "No hesitation. What if I'm some horrible monster?"

"You rescued me, offered me a spot on your ship, and were training me how be more than just a bed warmer," she snapped at me with more venom than expected. "That is not a monster."

I'll admit that I blushed a little.

"Come on," I turned my hand in her grip to thread my fingers between hers. "The others will want to know too."

Mette held my hand tight as we walked the short distance back to the others. Queen, or Alice, I'd probably always think of her as Queen, looked like she was about to be sick. Adyan stood in the doorway to the cockpit watching me.

"If you want to know," I said. "Then you can follow me. I'll tell you what I know." I paused. "But that means you're here for good. You keep my secrets. If you don't think you can do that, you can stay here and wait for us to come back."

"Shut up and get to it already," Adyan said.

I led them back to the door to my quarters. They watched as it opened to the mansion entry.

[Come With Me]
+100
[And You'll Be]
+100
[In a World of Pure Imagination]
+100
[Roll – Bank – Shop]

The group, aside from Anakin and Mette were taking their sweet time to follow.

ROLL.

[COST: 400 FP]
[ITEM: CHICKEN-LEGGED HUT]
[A small, crooked hut standing on chicken legs of bronze and surrounded by a fence built of the bones of humans and beasts. The skulls perched atop the fence glow with an eerie light in the dark and produce an aura of all-pervasive terror in those that look upon it. The hut follows your will as if it were an extension of your own body but can also work autonomously to run around stomping on your enemies with its huge and immensely heavy bronze chicken feet. It is also extremely resistant to attack due to many powerful magical wards.]
[Purchase – Bookmark – Dismiss]
[Balance: 600 Forge Points]

DISMISS. I wasn't going to waste another hundred points for another roll. My streak of good luck seemed to be over.

"Come along," I waved them over.