Starlight: First Duty

"Starlight: First Duty" is a short story by Cavan Scott, set during the High Republic Era as part of the publishing initiative Star Wars: The High Republic. The first part was published in Star Wars Insider 201 on March 30, 2021, and the second part was published in Star Wars Insider 202 on April 27.
==Plot summary==
===Part 1===
Velko Jahen arrives on Starlight Beacon to take up her post as administrator and aide to Controller Rodor Keen, being awed by the space station's grandeur. In the hangar, she is met by the junior nurse Okana, who escorts her to Keen's current location in the medcenter. Velko quickly realizes that Keen and his Jedi counterpart, Master Estala Maru, don't get along because their personalities are too similar. Chief of Security Ghal Tarpfen is concerned that the lack of spacing between members of rival species will result in an incident, but Velko is left to see to some things as Keen and Maru head off on various tasks. Tarpfen has Velko talk with Ambassador Ceeril, a Skembo who insists he is in danger because two rival Hassarians are also being treated in the hospital, and his bodyguard droid has been disarmed since only Starlight staff are allowed to carry weapons. Velko is having a hard time dealing with him when she hears and responds to a situation: a Medoslean patient being treated by Okana and Doctor Gino'le is choking the nurse while responding badly to a treatment. Tarpfen receives a concussion in the process, but Velko grabs the injector and stabilizes the patient. A scream from a Rodian patient, however, draws Velko back to Ceeril's room, where the Ambassador's droid has been decapitated and he himself shot...
===Part 2===
It has been several hours since the assassination attempt on Ceeril, and Velko is still in shock when Marshal Avar Kriss arrives to investigate the situation, having just returned from a mission to the Malaga Cluster. Velko and Rodor show Avar the scene of the crime, where the security footage was scrubbed by the assassin, showing nothing between Velko running out of the room and Ceeril's bodyguard droid being shot. Controller Keen is concerned about the ramifications of the assassination attempt, and Ceeril, recovering from his injuries, wants to know what they plan to do about it, insisting that it must have been the Hassarians, a theory supported by the hair found in the droid's fist. However, both of the Hassarians in Starlight's medcenter are still recovering from injuries sustained in the Wazta emergence, making it unlikely they could have done the deed. Velko is asked to stay behind and write up a report while Avar and the others go to see the Hassarians, but Maru points her in the direction of the evidence room where the bodyguard droid's remains are located, a room his droid KC-78 has access to. There, Soikan and droid find out who the assassin is, and they bring this proof to the others.
Entering Ceeril's new room, Velko reveals that the Ambassador staged the assassination attempt himself, having rigged his droid to self-destruct after shooting him with a bolt just strong enough to maim. With the evidence in hand, Avar suggests that the Ambassador spend the rest of his stay in the detention center. As Keen tells Velko she still needs a tour of the station, a voice over the comms reports a distress call coming from the Kazlin system, and they decide to head to where the action is.
==Cover gallery==
File:FirstDutyPartOne.png|Part one
File:FirstDutyPartTwo.jpg|Part two
==Appearances==
==Collections==
*Star Wars Insider: The High Republic: Starlight Stories
==Sources==
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*Star Wars: The High Republic Character Encyclopedia
==Notes and references==
==External links==
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Category:Star Wars Insider 201 articles
Category:Star Wars Insider 202 articles
First Duty