Private Broken things fixed

[Shai Maji]

Mandalore/Sundari​

Evening/Clear Skies​

After her talk with Kragr, Shai felt infinitely better. His pep talk certainly didn't fix everything, but he made her feel like she meant something, like she wasn't just a liability to the Union and her new people. But there were still her own doubts about her capabilities with her new arm. The doctors assured her that it was not any different to her original arm, but she still didn't believe them. Not with something as tedious as what she trained for.

Luckily she had a chance to test herself. As she explored Sundari, she found tbe house of what used to be a blacksmith. His personal forge was still intact and the tools were still there, but it was cold and begging to be restarted. Shai leaned into the room through the busted wall. She had to admit that she would never have found it if it wasn't for the fact that half the building was simply gone.

Slowly she entered the forge room and set her helmet down on a counter. For a few moments she looked around the place then finally she moved on towards the forge in the center of the room.

Her hand caressed the edge as a small smile crept onto her lips. "Kark this, let's get this thing started!" she shouted happily and immediately started to prep the forge to be restarted.

After finishing with that, she was wandering around and stealing armour from a few sith soldiers and even a sith Death Watch soldier she found not too far. Understandably a few people were rather taken back by the happy Mandalorian running around with armfuls of armour.

It might even catch the attention of another Mandalorian she hadn't seen in a while...

Adi'ka Awaud

 

[Adi'ka Awaud]

"Kriffed!", shouted a very familiar voice. "Mir'osik, vode Shai! DO! WEAR! YOUR! HELMET! Always! Especially on Mandalore! Especially when a battle is just over! Do you have a death wish or something? I almost shot you like a corpse eating scavenger Skrilling! You could ask the quatermasters, if you need armour parts, or'dinii!"

Shai haven´t heard, smelled, let alone seen the black clad small Mandalorian who had moved silently in her back. Half a dozen red laser points vanished from Shais body and a short nasty high impact repeating blaster was lowered.

The hot tempered Lepi Mandalorian relaxed and her next words were not so harsh as she continued: "B'tuur jatne tuur ash'ad kyr'amur! Glad you are alive, fuzzy little one!"

Adi'ka Awaud was here, unexpected as always.

Shai Maji

 

[Shai Maji]

As a voice shouted at her, she dropped the armour pieces and reached for her blaster. The voice quickly became familiar and she relaxed, looking for the Lepi wherever she was hiding. "Adi you almost gave me a heart attack!" she called out as she bent down and picked up the pieces she dropped.

"And don't get your ears in a twist, it's duraplast! You can get the stuff anywhere. Except for this kriffer, he's actually got good shit." she retorted, kicking the corpse of the traitor by her feet. A smile quickly adorned her face as she glanced around. "Why don't you come join me, then we'll see who's the 'fuzzy luttle one'." she teased as she glanced around again.

She started her walk back to the forge with the armour in her arms, whether Adi joined her or not. She hoped the Lepi joined her. Having a friend to help out would be great.

Adi'ka Awaud

 

[Adi'ka Awaud]

Curiosity kills the bunny. Of course Adi'ka graped some armor parts herself and followed the taller woman. It looked a bit funny how only armored rabbit ears and legs were to be seen behind a walking pile of metal junk. The Lepi was using her scanners to find her way around.

"What do you want to do with the stuff anyway? Sell it?", she wondered.

Than they reached the forge. Adi'ka whistled. "Are you an armourer?", she asked with awe. "Do you know the secret techniques to forge beskar?"

She sounded clearly impressed. "I am only a gadgeteer. I never learned to heat the forge or shape the sacred iron myself. Could you improve my armour by putting my toys in beskar casing too?"

The small Mandaolrian was enthusiastic to help. "What should I do? How can I help?" She even hopped up and down in excitement like a little girl.

Shai Maji

 

[Shai Maji]

Shai was glad that Adi helped her to carry the armour. But she couldn't stop herself from snickering as she watched the tiny Lepi get utterly buried by the armour pieces she lugged along. At least she knew the girl had her way to navigate even if her vision was obstructed by a hunk of armour. "That wasn't my plan but now that you mention it..." she quipped with a chuckle. "No, I wanted to experiment with the components. I... need to prove something to myself." she admitted on a more serious note.

When they reached the forge, Shai was surprised by Adi's reaction. "Um, yeah... well I was learning before all of this. I thought you knew." she commented with a look of surprise. "Anyway, yeah. I studied under my clan's armourer and then went out to look for other people where I can study as well. But with the rebellion and everything else... it's kind of fallen into the backlog." she explained as she stared at her right hand. She snapped out of her thoughts when Adi asked if she could modify her gear. "I'll definitely try. With the scarcity of Beskar, I haven't had a lot to train with. I'm gonna be milking the hell out of that Sith schutta we looted. As for what you can do... maybe start stripping the tech out of the armour. I don't wanna melt down useful components we can recycle." she flashed a wink as she spoke, turning to the forge in the center of the room.

A thought popped into her head as she watched the sputtering jets of flames start to reach their optimal temperature. "Hey Adi?" she spoke up as she removed her right crushgaunt and vambrace before nonchalantly holding her hand into the flames. The body glove melted away but she didn't even flinch. "You think it's hot enough yet?" she asked as she turned to look at her, holding her red-hot cybernetic hand up. With a snicker she turned and approached Adi, still holding the hand up. "Need a funky tattoo?" she joked, instead using the hand to pick up a duraplast cuirass and dropping it into the forge. "In all honesty, this has been my biggest concern." she admitted to her as she looked at her hand. "The rebellion took a lot from me. But if it's taken my ability to tinker with weapons, modify ships and fore armour, I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm hoping this little experiment with the armour will let me see if I still got it." she explained softly as she glanced back to Adi, giving her a small smile.

Adi'ka Awaud

 

[Adi'ka Awaud]

"Thanks, I have already got a branding. And that will be the only one till I dispose of those who made it."
She snickered. "Nice hand. Your mates must be really lucky. Do it has a sonic palm? Can it vibrate?"

She helped to strip the looted armor of their technological components as she had been asked to do. All the time she stayed in amor. "I hate burning holes in the pelt", she confessed a little vanity. "Besides: It the waaay!" She imitated really good the top brass propaganda holovids talking about the way to inspire clueless noobs to go happily on the battlefield like nerfs into the slaughterhouse.

As Shay explained her love of tinkering Adi'ka suggested: "Hone your skills at armoring. It really is the way. Dumb idiots wielding weapons are growing like weed. It is nothing special to be a warhero. Only skill and luck.
But to create our beskar´gam is holy and a lasting duty and honour. A warriors fame outlives him only in song but a good smiths fame will live in iron till the stars fall!"

Shai Maji

 

[Shai Maji]

She didn't fully comprehend the Lepi's comment at first, narrowing her gaze in confusion. "Why would..." she started, but fell quiet when she realized what she was getting at. She rested a hand on her hip as she shot her an unimpressed look. "Listen here you furry little shit." she started with an attempt to sound offended, but she couldn't stop the smile or snicker that bubbled through her comment. She shook her head and gave the woman a light shove. "Get your head out of the gutter! Though now that you mention it, I'm sure both teams could appreciate a vibrating hand." she agreed with a chuckle as she glanced at Adi.

As she stood by the forge and waited for the cuirass to melt down, she glanced at Adi when she spoke up. "I'm with you on that one. I got a few singes when I started out. I hate it as well when anyone is around a forge without any armour or something to cover them up. Speaking of which..." she walked over and slid her helmet back on to cover her mane and face. "Don't wanna set this on fire." she quipped as she gestured to where her mane would be. The metal was finally melted down and Shai tilted the crucible to lead it into the hydraulic press. It wasn't a traditional forge like the one she learned on, but she didn't complain. She only wanted to experiment, not make a masterpiece. As she walked over to the computer and activated the plans, she glanced at Adi. She listened closely to the Lepi's words, a sense of warmth and pride filling her chest. A broad grin spread along her lips behind her visor as Adi finished her sentence. She could only stare at her for a moment before remembering what she was busy with. "Um... let's start with something simple. Single piece cuirass..." she commented awkwardly as she selected a layout and let the machine hammer at the stalled metal.

The press loudly hammered away but it gave her time to approach the Lepi. Without hesitation she wrapped her arms around her and pulled her into a hug. Thankfully her hand had cooled off otherwise it would have been disastrous. "Thanks for that, Adi. You got no clue just how much that means to me." she admitted softly as she held the Lepi for a moment. When she finally let go, she gestured to the Beskar pieces. "That Beskar ready? If this cuirass works out, I wanna give the Iron a shot. See if I can make what you want." she commented as she walked back to the press. "Get on the terminal and start figuring out what you want. Let's see if we can get it right the first time."

The press lifted up and shut down, revealing the rough, heated form of a Mandalorian Cuirass. With a set of tongs she picked it up and carefully laid it on an anvil next to the forge. With hammer in hand she stood by the piece, but hesitated. She stared at it then at Adi. "Here goes nothing." she muttered before hammering away. For likely an hour she beat the metal, heated it and hammered again. She was in a zone as she worked, focused solely on the chestplate as it steadily took form. She finally quenched and cooled the cuirass then set it on the counter where the other pieces were. She removed her helmet with a nervous expression, studying the piece. "Only one way to know if it's good..." she muttered as she picked it up again. The piece was thrown on the ground and she picked up a heavy sledgehammer, swinging it down on the chestplate. A loud 'ding' rang out and the hammer recoiled... but it held up. Then, without warning, she drew her blaster and fired at the plate.

"Kark yes! KARK! YES!" she shouted in triumph as she tossed her pistol aside and turned to the exit. "SUCK ON THIS, IMPS! Shai Maji isn't out of the game yet!"

Adi'ka Awaud

 

[Adi'ka Awaud]

Adi'ka melted like the iron in the smelter in the embrace of the bigger woman. In amor she was always distanced, putting a literally iron fence between her fragile self and the universe. Shai circumvented that barrier with her openhearted hug.

Clearly two very emotional women have met and found each other as the triumphant Shai battered and blasted away at her creation.
"Uj'alayi, Shuk'orok!", the Lepi applauded. "The sound is clear like breaking ice on an cold morning. No microfractures on my scanners too. Good work, Shuk'orok! Really good!"

Crushgauntlet. Adi'ka has coined a fitting nickname for Shai. Perhaps a second one too. But sticky-sweet cake should better not be a nickname used by outsiders!

Shai Maji

 

[Shai Maji]

Shai beamed as Adi congratulated her. She felt like a weight was lifted off her shoulders. She was still worthy. Even if she couldn't kill or fight like the others, she still had the ability to support them in any situation. Though she didn't miss the names Adi called out only a few seconds before. "Sweetcake, huh?" she asked with a smirk as she approached Adi, wrapping an arm around her to mess up the fur on her head. "Sweetcake?! I'll show you who's a sweetcake!" she joked again as she lightly rubbed her knuckles against her head. She finally let go and pulled her into another hug. "I still got it, Adi!" she called out as she let go of her and picked up the cuirass from the ground.

It was scorched and scratched, but it was still holding up. "Hell, if we run out of Beskar, we should just use this. Stuff's karking amazing!" she quipped as she dropped it onto the counter.

She turned to Adi again with her head held high and a grin not faltering for a moment. "Alright, fur ball. What do you need? You need armour touched up, some gadgets, what would you like?" she asked her as she picked up one of the pauldrons, looking it over. "We just need to be careful. I don't wanna waste any of this. Any excess I wanna give to the guys in charge of the armoury. We're gonna need everything we can get after this fight." she explained as she placed it back on the table.

"So what'll it be?" she asked again, leaning against the table with a parsec-long smirk.

Adi'ka Awaud

 

[Adi'ka Awaud]

Adi'ka really liked the hugs it seemed. Perhaps it was an evolutional thing of a species snuggling together in narrow burrows.

The Lepi was thinking. "I have indeed some delicate hardware I didn´t add to my armor yet, because it would be exposed and trashed by colleteral damage. A minature flamethrower and a micro rail gun.
Really not some random missle pod which could be shouldered, fired and forgotten. I would trust you to encase the stuff im my lovely oldtimer armor without ruining it. I could wire it with my other verpine computer beasties when you do it."

She nodded. "I would really appreciate that, Shuk'orok ."

 

[Shai Maji]

Shai listened closely to the Lepi's request and gave a nod. It still intimidated her, having to work with the rare metal on something that would need very fine details. But at the same time, this was what she scavenged it for. When she finished, she gave a nod and gestured to her armour. "Well get the parts off where they're supposed to go, let's get those placements and measurements set up." she quipped as she walked over to the tool case to look for something to take the measurements. Sadly those tools seemed to have disappeared. She was going to have to eyeball it and make sure she didn't kark it up.

Once Shai got the placement and measurements, she got to work on smelting the Beskar. Throughout the whole process she was tense and wound tight. Only when she had the models structured for the hydraulic press and let it run its course did she relax with a heavy sigh. She walked back to Adi and stood next to the girl, watching the press hammer away as she rested an elbow on the girl's shoulder. "This is friggin nerve-racking, I won't lie." she quipped with a snicker as she glanced at her. "You know you can go, right? Catch some rest or something. I'm gonna be here hammering at the stuff for a while. Other than getting the components ready, I don't think there's much else for you to do." she suggested. Though she quickly wrapped her arm around the girl's neck to pull her close as she stared once more at the press. "Of course, I don't mind the company." she quipped as she gave her a light shake.

The press finished up and Shai let go to retrieve the molded piece, ready to work. She stood by the anvil and stared at the piece of Beskar. It was a small piece she had to work on and the shape needed to be perfect. This wasn't just any random piece, this had to house components. "Well... ma raised a queen, not a chicken. Let's do this." she muttered before she got to work. Just like she said, she was working on the piece for a long while. She only stopped to take a break when she needed to temper the component in the flames. With a sigh she pulled her helmet off and ruffled out her mane. "Even with the cooling systems I got in here, this takes a lot out of you." she muttered out of breath. "You got any water or something on you?" she asked Adi.

Adi'ka Awaud

 

[Adi'ka Awaud]

"Where my armor is I am," Adi'ka said as she was caught into another embrace. "I am going nowhere, ner vod."
She carefully undressed her beskar and removed myriads of tiny modules and hidden weapons.

Without her armor the lepi looked even more petite and lean. Not a chubby bunny but a lithe rabbit. She had to strip for her armor to be worked on. And so a pure white dot in the gloom of the forge was piling her equipemt and sorting her weapons. Adi'kas tiny droid scrambled around, helping her.

The white lagomorph had a branding tatoo in her pelt Shai recognized as marking of the Black Sun often used by swoop raiders.
"Yeah, of course, I got water. What a warrior i would be if not?" She fetched her canteen from her utility belt, take a sip herself and offered it Shai like sisters of the Mandalorian used to do. The Lepi smiled shyly and her dry odor was tasty and predatory at the same time for the fine nose of the canine Mandalorian. A fascinating scent, not so strong as sweating human apes and much more pleasant.

Patiently waiting was not the style of the lively Lepi and so she soon was tinkering with her equipment and helped at the smithy, but staying away from the flames.

 

[Shai Maji]

When Adi removed the pieces of her armour, Shai couldn't help but blink in surprise at her tiny frame. With what she saw of the Lepi's fighting capability, she expected her to be much more built under her armour. "How the kriff do you pack such a hard punch? Like damn, you barely got any meat on you." she quipped with a snicker as she waited for Adi to get her canteen from her kit. She accepted the canteen with a smile and took a swig of the water, letting a content sigh escape her lips. "That hits the spot. Thanks." she flashed a wink as she took another sip and handed the canteen back to her.

Her gaze lingered for a moment longer on the girl before she wandered back to the forge. Her helmet was back on and soon she was hammering away again. Though after a while she looked back to Adi, setting the housing for the flamethrower aside as she gave the hammer a twirl in her hand. "If... you don't mind me asking." she started, gesturing with the hammer to where she saw the branding on her pelt. "How'd you get that?" she asked her gently. She didn't want to bring up any bad memories, but she was quite curious. Especially since she used to do deals with Black Sun.

Adi'ka Awaud

 

[Adi'ka Awaud]

"Ehehehe, never jugde a datablock by the casing. Small species can be actually quite strong. Do you know the stories of old, as Ewok spear thrusts punched right through the best stormtrooper armor of the time?" She laughted. "I am kidding. I do my workout and my martial arts training. My muscles may be thin but they are strong like beskar. Wanna feel them?"
She hopped in a little dance around. "And the kicks of Lepi are considered even untrained as deadly weapons at court... I have heard", she added and looked cute and innocent.

As her branding was mentioned she instinctively rubbed her shoulder and her fur stands up. "I... I was yound and got in bad company. I didn´t know how the pheromenes of Falleen work, you see. And soon I was part of the gang, doing drugs, robbing people, racing pods and... earnings money with other things. My brain was bantha poodoo back than. I... I was just a kid proud to wear some marking to belong somewhere not realizing that it actually means to belong someone."
Adi'ka sighted. "And than came dad and rescued me. Gave me hope and a home." So tragic. A common backstory of Mandalorian foundlings but so touching coming from such a cute creature.

 

[Shai Maji]

Hearing her explanation of her physical stature made Shai chuckle. "Yeah, fair enough. You're lucky, though. Nobody would expect you to be able to mess them up. Everybody these days expect me to be able to deck them." she admitted as she gestured to herself. Adi never knew her before she joined the Mandalorians, but the difference in her physical build was immense compared to how she looked now. As Adi asked if Shai wanted to feel her muscles, Shai reached out and gave her upper arm a gentle squeeze. "Eh, not bad. Could make for a nice little snack." she teased, her golden canine tooth shimmering as she gave a large predatory grin. A cackling laugh escaped her as she moved back to the forge.

As she asked her question, Shai took note of Adi's discomfort. She listened closely to her story and nodded softly at her mention of a desire to belong. She glanced at the housing on the anvil and set it into the fire again. It could do with a little more tempering. "I know that feeling well. The desire to mean something and to have a family. My dad was a pirate and my mom a gun runner. After my dad died and my mom was sentenced to prison, I was alone in the galaxy. All I could do was work my ass off as a smuggler to try and pay for my mom's bail. It was only after I met Kragr and he took me in as a foundling that I felt like I meant something again." she spoke gently, looking back to Adi. A chuckle escaped her as she shrugged. "It's funny. How joining one of the most feared cultures in the galaxy managed to give us a reason not to off ourselves." she quipped as she approached Adi, ruffling the fur on her hair a bit. "At least we both got out of that life. It would only have led to an early grave for us... not that this life is any safer." she quipped with a snicker.

Looking back to the housing, she gave Adi a light bump with her shoulder. "I think it's done." she spoke as she pulled it out of the flames and quenched it in the water beside the anvil. The steaming housing was set down on the counter and Shai removed her helmet. "Now for the big question. Is the flamer gonna fit?" she asked with a nervous chuckle.

Adi'ka Awaud

 

[Adi'ka Awaud]

Now was the time for Adi'ka to shine. Her quick and delicate fingers work quickly and with great precision. She had put on some googles with verpine technology and used tiny tools to fit the thrower and the rail gun into the new frame.

As she had finished the work the lepi put the piece on and changed her googles with her helmet. She was calibrating the HUD for a short time and finally a little flame appeard at the tiny muzzle. The ignation spark for the melting hot flame. A red light indicated that the rail gun worked also smoothly.

"Oya!" she said. The Mandalorian version of "Groovy!"

"I am deeply in your debt, ner vod! I will praise your skill to any unfortunate sheb I will find. But now I would like to celebrate and invite you to a drink or two. This war will have left some cantinas still standing I hoped"

 

[Shai Maji]

Shai held her breath in suspense as Adi fitted the components into the housing. If it didn't fit, she would have to start all over again. And she really didn't want to do all that work from the top another time. A huge sigh of relief escaped her wheb Adi's systems all worked like they were supposed to.

She did nothing but smile at Adi as the Lepi congratulated her on her handiwork. "Now you're speaking my language, sis." she quipped as she grabbed her effects and shut the forge down. She waited patiently for Adi to suit up and join her as she smoked a cigarette outside. While there she glanced around and tried to get a view from the rooftops. Luckily there seemed to be a ruined cantina not too far from their location.

Touching down again, she gave Adi a nudge and started to walk. "There's a cantina not too far. Looks in bad shape but I'm willing to bet they still got some drinks stashed somewhere." she explained to her. When they reached the bar, Shai immediately scrounged around and managed to find a bottle of tihaar and two glasses that were in one piece. "There's a few other bottles but I love this stuff. Ill let you do the honours." she quipped as she set the glasses and tihaar in front of Adi.

While Adi poured, Shai unclipped her upper body's armour and set the arms and cuirass aside. With a sigh she unzipped her body glove and let it hang around her middle, giving her tank top underneath a tug. "Dude I feel karking flat after all that." she muttered, lying her face down on the counter.

Adi'ka Awaud

 

[Adi'ka Awaud]

Adi'ka saluted and drank her glass in one swill as Shai had seen once. But than she did not touch another one.

"I never drink much, you see", Adi'ka confessed. "I had this problem with spice back than and dad said, it would only be a new addiction if I drink too much. I would never again walk down that road. Besides, it is the same as with the helmet. In such a dangerous environment I want to keep a cool head."

She patted the head of the much bigger woman. "But drink without sorrow! I will protect you!"

 

[Shai Maji]

Shai lifted her head off the counter and listened to her story. She slowly reached out a d downed her shot of tihaar with a smile as Adi petted her head. "Oh please. If I get drunk, everybody else needs protection. I get... interesting when I'm drunk." she admitted with a snicker.

"You know you don't have to worry about danger in the area, right? The fighting's over. Relax a bit! Take your kit off, have a drink. Trust me, you won't get addicted from a shot or two." she reassured Adi as she refilled both their glasses. She stared at the girl with a warm smile for a moment before downing her shot. "Thanks for today, Adi. I needed this. We should definitely hang out some more." she muttered gently, her glowing crimson eyes staring at her with a happy glimmer. "Tell me about yourself. What do you do for fun when you're not stalking me in the ruins?" she teased with a wink.

Adi'ka Awaud

 

[Adi'ka Awaud]

Shai almost spilled her drink as Adi'ka answered: "Dancing!"

She shrugged at the surprised face of the other Mandalorian, "I really love dancing, My martial arts is even based on it."

She laughed. "Ah, and I am a Lepi , of course. I have many boyfriends. And girlfriends too. In every space port a different one, so to speak."