It was tucked into a wall niche, half-hidden behind a cracked control panel.
A round metal plate, no bigger than a dinner tray, rested on a velveted mount. Dust dulled its edges, but the design was unmistakable—eight-pointed, enclosed by a thin circle. The lines were precise. Measured. Familiar.
Too familiar.
Toren reached out, his fingers trembling just slightly as he brushed away the years. Beneath the dust, the symbol revealed itself fully:
The emblem of the Galactic Republic.
He knew it. Not from this world, but from the one before. He'd seen it on wiki articles, in databank entries, fan mods, lore compendiums. It had been background decor in holofilm scenes, stamped on Jedi starships, carved into the Senate's rotunda.
Now it was real.
Solid.
Right here.
Not fiction. Not metaphor.
He stared at it in silence, unable to move.
His pulse drummed in his ears.
This wasn't just "some sci-fi world." He wasn't just in a far-off place with high tech and weird creatures.
He was in Star Wars.
The truth hit like cold air to the lungs.
He swallowed, struggling to keep his expression neutral. Mira was only a few meters away, prying a core unit from the wall with her usual grunts and muttered complaints.
She hadn't seen it yet.
He turned slightly, just enough to shield the emblem from view.
His mind raced.
If this was Star Wars—really was—then everything changed. The Jedi. The Sith. The Republic. The Empire. The Death Star. The Clone Wars. All of it—events, powers, people—might be real.
And he was on the edge of it. Unknown Regions. Off-map. Off-script.
But not for long.
The galaxy would find him.
Eventually.
And he had to be ready.
He carefully eased the emblem from its mount and slipped it into his pack, tucking it between layers of cloth. His hands were steady now. His breathing calm. He turned back toward Mira just as she swore, pulling a fused connector loose.
"Find something?" she asked.
"Couple things," he said. "Useful stuff."
She gave him a look. "You've got your weird face on again."
"What weird face?"
"The one that says 'I know more than I'm telling.'"
He smiled. "I always have that face."
She snorted. "True."
They didn't speak on the way out.