A Little Spot of Oil

[Briar Thorn]

A freighter had gone down on some planet that Briar forgot the name of. He was not good at remembering planet names for long. He had found transport there by working for his fee. He had come here having heard from a drunk pilot about having heard of the large cargo ship going down. He had come and sure enough it was there, and it had hardly been touched. He hadn't found a site so easy to find good parts in like this one. He had filled up his large satchel full of parts and a backpack. He decided to go back to town with his haul to try to sell the parts, while keeping the best parts he wanted himself.

Briar was covered in oil and dust as he came into town. He was smiling from how successful today was. He might be able to pay for transportation next time if things went well. His face was as grimy as his clothes were, but he didn't care. He could shower later, but who knew how long he would have to sell these parts before the shops got flooded with them. He had learned that one the hard way already. He wished parts were this easy to get back at the grain farm on Lothal. It would have made repairing all of the broken droids so much easier. He was still glad how things went today though, and just needed to find a shop willing to buy his parts.

[member="Abbey Ainsley"]

 

[Abbey Ainsley]

Quiet, peaceful discussion slowly became louder on one side. Rage filled the air, as the entire small building of machinery was fitted with yelling, accusing, and general nonsense. It was like a married couple. Soon a red-headed girl came running out of the shop with a literal misplaced BB unit's head with a giant laser bolt showing a clear hole in it's whole head. It was a tragic sight.

As a walking came to a small sprint, the red-headed girl kept her eyes peeled for more shops that hadn't already kicked her out for terrible prices. At the sight of the sudden oil coated boy, she stopped and jogged into his path, holding the BB unit's head. "Five thousand credits if you can fix ten of my droids." She said without a chance for introduction.

[member="Briar Thorn"]

 

[Briar Thorn]

[member="Abbey Ainsley"]

Briar just blinked as a girl with red hair suddenly ran in front of him and thrust a droid head into his face. She had said something about broken droids and payment for fixing them. Was this what happened when you were a mechanic, or waned to be one? He was use to it back on Lothal, but he knew the person doing it to him there. He didn't know this girl, although he did want to help her out. She seemed like she could use it and he was raised to always help someone out when they were in trouble.

Briar smiled at her in a slightly awkward way. He said, " What is wrong? Did ya need some help? I can take a look at yar droids for ya, but can't promise a thing. If that is okay with ya, where be the droids?" He got a better look at her now and noted that she was pretty. That didn't really matter to him though as far as him offering her help went. He just happened to notice that she was.

 

[Abbey Ainsley]

Abbey lightly bit her lip and held the droid's head closely, then pointed to the docking station where her (yet to be classified ship) sat shimmering in the sunlight. "They're right over there. All of them just have a few blasts holes in them, I promise it isn't that bad. Just please, please help me with them." Without so much as a warning, just as the first meeting of theirs went, she turned around and half jogged for her ship.

The damage to the droids was simply piled onto the side, barley hidden in a single leg nook. All of the droids were almost scrap, all various colors and slight designs. It looked like they were just put in a bucket and shot into with a small cannon.

[member="Briar Thorn"]

 

[Briar Thorn]

[member="Abbey Ainsley"]

Briar followed her to her ship and examined the droids. She had said they weren't that bad, but they might as well have been scrap metal by this point. He bent down to look at them closer. He said to her as he did, " Do ya have to have all of them working again or are ya okay with me usin' some of the worse off ones for scrap? I can try to save all of them ,but they are in pretty bad shape." He thought about it a bit longer before he added, " Maybe if I use me scrap parts I can save em?"

Briar pulled his backpack off and set it down on the ground. He pulled his satchel strap over his head. He set it down next to the backpack and pulled out some tools from inside of his satchel. He went to work trying to get the little droids working again. He was a little excited to be working on droids right now. He had left home to be a mechanic and maybe even craft some stuff, but had yet to find anyone willing to hire him on. He didn't know why that was, but he just went to work as a scavenger and salvager.

 

[Abbey Ainsley]

The girl stood still watching him work his droid magic, while idly pushing some of her fingers together in tiny little pulses. "I would want them all working, please, and I know the junk yard nearby is open because they'e about to go out of business. Please fix them! I have to take care of something now and I need them when I come back!" There was obviously a plea in her voice.

She bounced gently with her knees, pressing her hands closely together just so show how serious it really was.

[member="Briar Thorn"]

 

[Briar Thorn]

[member="Abbey Ainsley"]

Briar didn't notice her body language showing how in a rush she was. He was focused on getting the droids fixed. He wasn't sure he could fix them how they were right now, but he got into his scrap parts from his bags. He began to use them and components from the parts on the droids. He got more oil and grease on him as he did, but didn't seem to notice. He kept working. He had gotten some momentum picked up as he got the first droid completely fixed. He moved onto the next one and then the next after that when it was fixed as well. He had been at it for about an hour or two of none stop work. He couldn't tell how long he had been there, just knew it had taken some time.

Briar finally fixed the last of the droids. He let out a deep breath as he sat back. He was a little sweaty as he rubbed his cheek and smeared grease. He looked up at her with a smile and said, " I think I got em fixed. I'd be careful with em still. But they be fixed for ya. Hope it helps." He went to gather back up what was left of his scrap parts, but found he had used it all up. All that was left was tiny bits and pieces that weren't worth anything and the broken parts he had replaced. He frowned a bit as he picked up his packs. He put his tools into the satchel and got it back into place. He just held his backpack as he stood up. He didn't have any parts left, but at least he had helped her out. That was a good day of work in his book.

 

[Abbey Ainsley]

Abbey actually managed to run away in the time that it took him to fix most the droids, finishing whatever business it was that she was so rushed to attend to. At the time she came back, more time was spend staring and admiring the work that the mechanic did rather than throwing work in other people's hands as quickly as possible.

A light smile spread on her face at the news. She slowly went to a yellow one and turned it on, listening to it's squeaky binary talk. "Thank you... I said six thousand credits, right?" She dug in a single pocket, pulling out an anonymous credit chip that just recently appeared on her being.

[member="Briar Thorn"]

 

[Briar Thorn]

[member="Abbey Ainsley"]

Briar waved a hand in front of him as he said, " I think it was five thousand credit, but don't worry about it. I'm happy to help." He smiled to her. He was thinking about going back to the salvage site and looking for more parts to sell. He didn't think there was too many others working it over right now, since it seemed to be kept secret very well. He got his back pack back on as he thought about his next move. He looked around for something to wipe his hands on, but couldn't find anything so he settled for wiping it off on his pants.

Briar said, " If ya ever need anymore help let me know. I'd be happy to help ya again." He smiled and gave her a nod. He turned around and started to head back to the salvage site. He was going to need to sell something before he could afford to buy a room and board for the evening. He still had to work for his hot shower and hot meal.

 

[Abbey Ainsley]

As she slid the credits back into her pocket she quickly came to a realization that more time meant more repairs. Turning with her arms crossed, she called out after him before he could get a chance to leave too far. "If you can repair them completely with a paint job and all, I can give you six thousand and a week's stay at the best hotel in the city." She already had a reservation here, but the droids were more important to her right now. Besides, the beds in her ship weren't the worst, they were warm.

With a small raise of her eyebrow, she waited for the strange farm boy to come back and help her even more, though it was to her knowledge that he could fix anything, she didn't realize some things needed the proper parts.

[member="Briar Thorn"]

 

[Briar Thorn]

[member="Abbey Ainsley"]

Briar stopped when she came after him. He heard what she had to say, and wondered why she was offering so much for just a simple paint job. He said to her with a smile, " Painting? That is easy. I can do it for free. No need to take yar money or make ya rent me a room. Do ya have any paint in yar ship?" He waited to see what she had to say to him. He enjoyed helping people. It was more than just that he was raised to always help a neighbor out. He just genuinely enjoyed it when he was able to help someone and make their day a little better. He had always been that way as far back as he could remember.

 

[Briar Thorn]

[member="Abbey Ainsley"]

=== Ignore this post ===​

 

[Abbey Ainsley]

[member="Briar Thorn"]

She shrugged at the question, then slowly nervously shook her head left to right. "N-no? I-I can get some, I just needed them to look really nice, no matter the cost." More hesitation was in her voice. She didn't like to take this much advantage of people, but sometimes she needed to get done, with what she needed to get done with.

Even if that meant slaving a young farm boy.

 

[Briar Thorn]

[member="Abbey Ainsley"]

Briar could tell she was desperate, but he couldn't figure out why she was. He just looked at her while he thought about what he should say. He eventually smiled and said, " Alright. Get some paint and I'd be happy to paint them for ya." He could just go get some scrap parts later. She seemed to need his help now, so that was when he was going to give it to her. Helping others came before he helped yourself he always said.

 

[Abbey Ainsley]

She quickly brung her hands together in a quick fold as a thanks, then ran off to a nearby shop to simply purchase high quality droid paint, and come back without question. It took a max of ten minutes for her journey to end. "Can we meet up later, like, when you're done helping me with this?"

[member="Briar Thorn"]

 

[Briar Thorn]

[member="Abbey Ainsley"]

Briar just began to check on the droids again after she ran off. He enjoyed the time working on something for once. He had come to like scavenging and salvaging parts, but his true passion lay in working on things. He loved using his hands and making things better. She eventually came back with the paint and he went to work immediately on paining the droids. He looked at her as she spoke to him and smiled. He said, " That is okay with me. I'm not leavin' the planet yet."

 

[Abbey Ainsley]

[member="Briar Thorn"]

A simple clasp of her hands showed more than enough of her excitement in a single verbal motion. She was quite happy with the results. "Thank you. I don't think I know your name yet. I'm Abbey."

(Sorry for small posts I've been busy.)

 

[Briar Thorn]

[member="Abbey Ainsley"]

The paint was good quality and it wasn't taking him long to get the job done. It was actually almost done by the time she finished speaking. He got a little bit of it on his hands so now on top of the oil, grease, and dust were spots of blue, green, and red. He turned to her and said, " Pleasure to meet you Abbey. Me name is Briar. I think I got the job done, er, almost done. Anythin' else I can help ya with?" He smiled at her as he waited to see if she was done with needing help.

 

[Abbey Ainsley]

She thought for a small bit, then shook her head and instead gave a pleasant little smile to her helping little farmer's boy. "No, but I would enjoy taking you out for a small dinner if you have the time." She said with a tiny bit of a shy tone.

[member="Briar Thorn"]

 

[Briar Thorn]

[member="Abbey Ainsley"]

Briar finished up the painting job as she spoke to him. She didn't have any more work for him, but she did seem to want to repay him with food. The good old Lothal reward for helping someone it seems. He was glad to see not everything at home was completely foreign to the greater galaxy. He turned back to her and smiled. He said, " Dinner? I could eat. Thank ya kindly miss. When did ya want to go get the food?" He put the lid back onto the pains as he finished speaking. He stood up and dusted himself off as best he could. He smiled to her again as he waited for a reply.