First Reply Down for Maintenance (Open to a Jedi)

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Open to a Jedi

Gatz wondered when The Vonnuvi was going to start feeling like home.

That was a weird thing to be pondering, as he patched a fuel line on the enclave's sole Defender-class light corvette. Gatz imagined that most mechanics and engineers didn't ponder superficial things like that when in the middle of repairs. But when it came to ships—flying, fixing, or otherwise—his body basically switched to autopilot, and left his mind free to wander. Hands that had performed this exact task a hundred times needed only muscle memory, and no thought.

Hence: Gatz was busying his brain by letting it think about his place here. He was a full-blown member of the enclave now, no longer a part-timer. He had a master in Inanna, and therefore a place where he belonged right here on the herdship. Hell, here he was performing a much needed duty on the enclave's primary vessel. He was actually of use for once, and that felt great.

Really... Gatz hadn't felt this good in a very long time.

So why did things still feel off? How was it that he still felt like an outsider—a Jedi imposter? His training and studies, while still a little on the slow side, were going so much better now that he could turn to Inanna Harth when he needed help. He'd actually constructed a lightsaber, and had basically done it all on his own. He'd spent the last year of his life trying to do good, even when it meant bodily harm. For all intents and purposes, he was on exactly the path he should be. He liked where he was in life right now. He had a sense of belonging now.

Yet, despite feeling more comfortable on the Vonnuvi than he ever had at the Temple on Coruscant, it still didn't feel like home, and he still felt a little... out of place.

"I wish I could patch my mind as easily as I can patch this fuel line," Gatz muttered to himself, but with a hint of a laugh.

 

[Vayla Mirana]

Current Outfit

Spoiler: Music OOC

Cities had existed for centuries. There were of course those on the floors of planets, or city-sized equivalents as with asteroid stations or space stations, but a spaceship with a population that matched a city was another thing entirely. Herdships, whatever their purpose, were oddly fascinating to one particular person.
Maybe it was the ingenuity in its technology and unity, especially when it came to this ship. More simply, maybe, was that it was actually pretty cozy in comparison. Bit of both? Bit of everything. Vayla could only wonder after entering the Vonnuvi, with the intention of going on a bit of a wander.

The Jedi Knight had arrived for reasons, business as much as pleasure, with her entrance naturally more permitted had she not been Jedi. However, she wasn’t already affiliated with the ship. This was her first time. She liked it already. How couldn’t she?
Botanical dome. Mental note made. She would check that out sooner or later along with other places. Though, at the moment, the Pantoran was positioned in the Private Hangar with her own ship, a 3-Z Light Freighter, the Star’s Sanctum.

The light corvette near her was definitely bigger. Knight-Errant was her name. The Enclave’s go-to vessel presently nestled for repairs. Vayla wasn’t assigned to help with them or anything of course, kind of already felt like a tourist, but she wanted a closer look so she began pacing around it.
“Try using a demagnetizer,” she suggested to the man patching up the fuel line. Hoping to get his attention, though not trying to break his concentration, she would offer him a grin. “For your mind, that is.”

Gatz Derrevar

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Vayla Mirana

“Try using a demagnetizer,”

Gatz jumped.

If he'd been paying attention to his surroundings, he'd have heard the woman approach. Seen her legs carry her to the corvette. Felt her presence in the Force. But, absorbed in his own problems as he was, Gatz hadn't noticed a thing. So there he went, two feet into the air, hydrospanner he was using to screw the bulkhead's plating back in flying out of his hand. His feet hit the ground with a thud, at the same time as his tool clanged on the deck.

"Shit, you scared me!"

Maybe not the best choice of first words to offer a stranger, but really, what else could he say? There was no playing off that reaction smoothly. And he couldn't be suave in the face of this attractive woman, not now that she'd seen him jolt like a frightened lothcat.

So, honesty it was.

“For your mind, that is.”

"Might work on my droid, but unfortunately my mind is all grey matter, and not metal." He sighed before realizing he hadn't introduced himself, "Gatz Derrevar. Jedi Padawan, and apparently The Vonnuvi's only starship mechanic."

Because really, if the enclave had another, why weren't they here patching the fuel line? This was their primary vessel for missions, it was kind of a priority repair. Gatz was happy to fill in, but he couldn't always be here to fix these things.

 

[Vayla Mirana]

Spoiler: Music OOC (Recurring)

Despite his predicament with his spanner and his little trip upward, this man was not bereft of amusement. He played with her jape and did not run away. His comment on grey matter made her grin widen. Vay was always glad to share in some good spirit of jocularity. Despite her own vocation, even a Shadow could smile on more than one occasion.

“Indeed.” In hindsight, Vayla had maybe been a bit too absorbed in the moment with her own curiosity of the ship to notice who or who wasn’t working on it. Now that she paused in a bit of peace and quiet (and by happenstance caused the man to nearly jump out of his pants), well, she spent a second or a spell wondering why he was the only mechanic in the pit.

“What is it? Some kind of punishment?” She probed, she poked, but it was as much a genuine question as another joke. “Or is there a new program in the course of Padawans wherein training to be a mechanic requires a hands solo approach?” Granted, Vayla was not immune to bad jokes, directly or indirectly. Par for the course, maybe.

“Vayla Mirana. Jedi Knight.” She left out the part about being a Jedi Shadow. That was not something to joke about anywhere anyhow. “So, need a hand with this?” She nodded at the ship. A genuine offer from Vay. "Or how about a break?" What might his master say?

Gatz Derrevar

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Vayla Mirana

“What is it? Some kind of punishment?”

"Not a punishment," Gatz clarified as he reached for a rag to wipe off his hands, "just wanted to make myself useful for a change. And the last thing I want is for someone to get stranded in space, all because no one bothered to patch a leaky fuel line. That'd be silly."

He made a mental note to bug Amani Serys about hiring an extra mechanic or two for the Enclave's hangar bay. Or maybe some pit droids. Or... maybe he could just temporarily fill in as The Vonnuvi Enclave's starship mechanic. She was busy enough as it was, being Queen of Alderaan, the Chief Healer, Master of the Enclave, training a Padawan, a mother to two...

Yeah, on second thought, didn't he bother her enough with questions about his studies? He didn't need to add to her already overfilled plate. He could silently bear the burden of fixing her corvette, and other Jedi vessels. Next to piloting, being a handyman was basically the thing he was best at. And if he got too overwhelmed... well, he could always ask Cato for a hand, right?

“So, need a hand with this?” She nodded at the ship. A genuine offer from Vay. "Or how about a break?"

Even after the last few months he'd spent among the Jedi, it still felt weird to be offered help. It was like Nar Shaddaa had altered him on a mental level, making him always expect someone to swindle or threaten him. Or, at best, be ignored by someone. Kindness and charity were so foreign to him, and they shouldn't have been, and Gatz wondered if he had actual psychological trauma that ought to be addressed.

Questions for later.

"Nah, I'm about wrapped up here. But a break wouldn't kill me. Probably." Gatz shrugged, "what brings you out to The Vonnuvi? Checking out the Enclave, or other business?"

 

[Vayla Mirana]

Spoiler: Music OOC (Recurring)

There was a deal that could be gleaned already from this man named Gatz in just his few sentences. Just a few moments. Granted, he was a bit jumpy if not a bit of a scaredy-cat, but Vay would put that much past him. Cats were cute to boot. Just as well. What she mainly observed in his words, of his character, was how he viewed himself.

Mind grey matter. Useful for a change. Self-deprecating? Maybe. He certainly seemed capable enough but, ultimately, it was healthy for a Padawan to not be too confident, no matter one’s age. Vay mainly noticed how, despite whatever the problem or predicament, there this man was where no one else was, patching a leaky fuel line by himself. With no complaints.

“Business. Pleasure.” Her turn to shrug. She wasn’t deliberately being cryptic or anything. Vay could just be vague unless the matter was worth being addressed. Maybe it would be, but there were better places to talk shop than at the shop.

“As for the latter, know of any good places to take a break? Cafes? Restaurants?” He was surely a lot more versed within this mini-universe than she was. “Or should the Padawan and the Knight sit atop the Knight-Errant swinging our legs and eating cheese sandwiches?”

Gatz Derrevar

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Vayla Mirana

“Business. Pleasure.”

"I hope you're not mixing the two." Gatz raised an eyebrow, "I made that mistake once. Twice. Maybe a few times... and it rarely ends well."

But Knight Mirana then moved on to ask if he knew a place or two for lunch. Gatz had spent some time exploring The Vonnuvi but he could really only think of one little vendor he'd stopped at for some soup. Truth was, he spent most of his time in the Enclave, trying to catch up on fifteen years worth of neglected training. What little exploration he'd allowed himself had been focused on checking out the ecological domes.

"Honestly?" Gatz shrugged, "I don't get out of here a whole lot. But I figure we could walk the station for a little bit and find something. Can't be that hard to find a food joint."

Gatz didn't miss his days in the criminal underworld, but he did miss all the traveling he used to do. A new planet every day, a new city to explore, new faces to... well, actually, the faces usually belonged to other criminals who were more than happy to pummel him or try and rip him off. But, point was: Gatz hadn't lived a sedentary life in eight years. Now that he was, he wasn't sure he liked it all that much.

Maybe if he had a home, he'd have liked putting down roots. But Jedi Enclaves weren't homes. Not really.

 

[Vayla Mirana]

Spoiler: Music OOC (Recurring)

Well, whatever food they find that should in turn prove to be delicious, walking and talking along the way had a whole different kind of taste to it. Vayla Mirana, as ever, was someone who could straddle the line more than usual maybe between this and that; business or pleasure; privacy or company; talkative in conversation or quiet and not given to engagement.

At this moment, maybe it was his character, but Gatz was someone that Vayla already felt comfortable in the presence of in the sense that it might not matter what they ate or where—getting to know each other as two Jedi, Knight and Padawan, would be its own adventure.

That and, well, Vayla had come here for no less, and to be honest she wasn’t that good of a mechanic to begin with.

“Agreed.” She was never shy about smiling wide. A jolly Jedi, she might identify as, though there was a reason she also straddled the line between the light and the darkness as a Shadow. “Worst comes to worst, we can settle for some cheap burgers!”

She also wasn’t so opposed to a fine dining establishment. Balance, yet again. Then again, Vay had once taken an erratic shortcut that led to an everyday hotdog tasting way better than the most expensive sausage.

“Question.” Mischievous grin. “Do you want to hold my right hand or my left?” Let a few seconds pass whether he hesitates. “Kidding. Ready?" Whether he needed to grab anything, she didn't, and nobody needed to lead. They would venture together out of the Private Hangar and Jedi Enclave, eventually the Administrative Sector and finally arrive at the Commerce Sector.

Gatz Derrevar

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Vayla Mirana

Getting out of the Enclave for a bit would be nice, Gatz mused. He liked being here, more than anywhere else in the galaxy really, but staying in one place too long left him feeling cooped up. Sure, exploring The Vonnuvi proper wasn't really much more than walking down the street, but if nothing else, it would provide some new stimulus.

Also he was rather hungry.

“Worst comes to worst, we can settle for some cheap burgers!”

"The Ithorians also have a lot of local cuisine. Never tried it myself, but maybe it's worth a shot."

Though, admittedly, Gatz wasn't sure if he wanted to try whatever it was that they ate. He could only imagine how different their diet was from a human's, or near-human's. He had a natural curiosity... but even he drew the line somewhere. Still, he supposed it wouldn't hurt them to peek their head in a doorway and find out just what kind of food Ithorians served.

“Do you want to hold my right hand or my left?”

Gatz blinked, and only hesitated for half a second. By the time Vayla clarified that she was joking, he was already in motion, snatching her hand up in his own. He tried to be better these days, about treating women like flings and making a pass at every girl he saw. But what was a little harmless flirting? It was just holding hands.

Also, she offered.

"Well, if you insist."

 

[Vayla Mirana]

See, as often could be the case with Vay, she was not so immune to making mistakes, Jedi Knight slash Shadow aside. Whether it came to speaking her mind, to offering truth even at the awkward moments in time, or simply having her jokes and japes get the better of her.
As proven at this very moment as Gatz actually grabbed her hand. Taken aback a bit, Vayla blinked back. Yet she didn’t pull away. “I…wasn’t being serious…” Was he also just playing? Or was he an idiot?

Though, in the moment, she just stood in his presence, hand in hand, skin on skin, sensing him. This wasn’t some kind of Psychometry or anything. Just some sense that with a grip like his he had held more than one woman’s hand in the past. For better or worse.

“I knew it.” Vayla lifted Gatz’ hand, tilting her head, studying the limb. Suddenly her expression was absent of jocularity. “This is the hand of the man that Master Wiz Dom promised.” She traded her gaze from his hand to his eyes.

If he hadn’t already noticed it he would that moment. Vayla’s eyes were cybernetic prosthetics. Black pupils. White sclera. But irises that were electric blue and no less beautiful. They didn’t blink as they burned into his own eyes.

“Tell me you are the one, Gatz Derrevar.” Her grip on his hand tightens. “That you are to be my...husband...unto the end of time...”

Gatz Derrevar

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: X

“I…wasn’t being serious…”

"There's a perfectly good hand here, and it's empty. Somebody has to hold it."

Was he just playing? Or was he an idiot? The answer to both was: yes. Gatz typically didn't like being this forward or bold these days, but this was a full-fledged Jedi Knight. If she didn't like that he'd taken her hand, she could break his fingers with no issue. Or, more likely, ask him to let go. But neither occurred, so Gatz figured she was going to play along.

And apparently his hand was awfully interesting, because she started lifting it and twisting it, inspecting it like it was a blaster she was thinking about purchasing. Well, that was fine. Gatz didn't mind being treated like an object. Frankly, he deserved far worse.

Vayla turned to him, scanning him with eyes that were notably not organic. Idly, he wondered if she could, like, see through his clothes with them. That'd be embarrassing. He was only pretty while his shirt was still on. But then she dropped one hell of a line...

“Tell me you are the one, Gatz Derrevar.” Her grip on his hand tightens. “That you are to be my...husband...unto the end of time...”

"I dunno, what's the dowry like?"

 

[Vayla Mirana]

Okay. So maybe he was an idiot beneath the surface of his skin. But he wasn’t such an idiot otherwise he wouldn’t have been the only mechanic working on Knight-Errant. So, okay, he just wanted to play. Yet it did take two to play this game so Vay did not pull her hand away from his grip.

Could she have? Would it have been that easy? Oh, yes, most certainly. Vayla Mirana was, after all, a Jedi Knight. She could break this Padawan’s fingers with no issue. She could have even asked him to let go. Although, though she didn’t personally see this as harmless flirting to begin with, they were just holding hands, granted, and what was a little harmless hand-holding? It’s a dance, then.

Whatever he saw in her eyes, she saw behind his eyes. He really did seem to be a flirt of a character already. But he wasn't a disappointment yet. Fortunately for him, whatever the power of her prosthetics, she didn’t picture him naked. Not in this instance.

“Significant. So I hope you have some side income from whatever it is you do when not fixing Jedi vessels. And, well, I will control every credit of it.” She squeezed his hand just a little bit in case that made her future husband decide to relinquish his grip that moment. “The dowry isn’t up for debate, however. I mean, who are we to argue with prophecy?”

Gatz Derrevar

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Vayla Mirana

Ha! Side income? Him? Not these days. He'd gone from being a broke, starving boy to smuggler with more credits than he knew what to do with... and then right back to a broke, starving man. If not for the Order giving him room and board, Gatz would literally be living in an alley on some backwater planet.

"Well, I guess I could start renting myself out as a handyman. And here I thought you were a sugar momma who was going to bankroll me. But, beggars can't be choosers so..."

Gatz shrugged.

She squeezed his hand then, clearly playing hard to be the victor of whatever game they were playing. A game of chicken, maybe? Trying to see which one of them backed out of this joke first? Unfortunately for Vayla, bad jokes were basically his lifeblood. He could keep this charade going for as long as he needed to.

"If you're so set on me being your destiny, I'm sure one of the Ithorian priests here would be more than happy to bind us in eternal matrimony."

 

[Vayla Mirana]

Well now. This man could dance. Somehow he wasn’t intimidated in the slightest by this Jedi Knight's grip or Vayla’s very presence. Then again, though she might feel intimidating that moment, she knew she really wasn’t.
Vayla could play. Mirana could joke. Bad jokes were basically her lifeblood. However, it was usually only when it came to her enemies that Vayla Mirana displayed her power and blades and then that’s when they would see just how intimidating she could be.

At the moment, though, it was all the Jedi Shadow could do to keep her grin from showing, to keep from bursting into laughter at the silliness of this sudden situation, the nonsense and amusement. Instead of giving in, however, she was determined to win whatever game was being played between this man and this woman.

“I am merely determined to follow what was promised to me. And who. If that is you then there is only one thing we must first do, Gatz Derrevar.” Her eyes went wide. “Something that must precede matrimony. Even breakfast, lunch and dinner.” Eyes narrow. “We must spar.” Let’s see how tough you really are.

Gatz Derrevar

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Vayla Mirana

Why was it that every Jedi he knew wanted to fight? It was maddening to Gatz. Here they were, an organization of people who were meant to be pacifistic at least in ideal, and he'd yet to meet someone who didn't want to solve every problem with their lightsaber. Well, okay, there were a few Jedi who seemed to not want to fight everything. But the vast majority of people he'd met since joining the Order were trigger-happy. Or... lightsaber-happy.

"Ah, but that's boring." Gatz countered immediately, "I get enough sparring practice from the Sword. And my real focus is as a Jedi Healer. Besides, the whole point of shacking up with you is having a cute Jedi Knight to hide behind when things get rough!"

He was so tired of fighting. And killing. And fighting and killing all at once.

Gatz figured that this jig was up, and the joke was done, but he was still curious to see where Vayla would take it from here. Now that he wasn't willing to fight her, he clearly couldn't be The One she'd been looking for all her life. A shame, really. He was awfully pretty.

 

[Vayla Mirana]

Why some other Jedi, from Padawans to Knights, couldn’t quite wrap their minds around the art of the spar was beyond this Jedi Knight's mind. Swinging a lightsaber to sever your enemy into itty-bitty pieces was one thing. However, she treated her lightsaber, never as a toy, but the same way one may treat a blaster: a mechanism for defense as much as for sport when the occasion calls for it like, say, at a practice range.

But, apparently, that was a story for later.

Boring, Gatz said, yet if Vayla was being honest (despite their game of japes) she was just as much testing whether he would say yes. Though, no, this was no simple man. Simply a man, maybe, but he wasn’t so…lightsaber-happy? That was a good thing, in the end.

Ah. A healer. Fascinating. There was certainly more to his story, that was for sure. If a bit pushy with the cutesy maybe… But Vayla would just as much be a liar if she pretended like she wasn’t having fun with all this nonsense. Maybe that was beginning to show in her eyes that weren’t so lifeless. Her eyes could lie, a Shadow with shadows if without eye shadow, but they weren't lying right now.

“I shall have you mind that I gain as much satisfaction from sweeping my blade over another’s as I do sweeping my gaze over a book. Just as much to learn from either…but a healer is a welcome touch. Pun intended.”

The Knight wasn’t hiding her grin now as it spread on her lips. She ran her thumb over Gatz’s hand as if a palm-reader but not quite.

“I see…great deeds ahead of you…Padawan Derrevar… Ah, yes… It starts with buying me breakfast.” Vay looked right, looked left. “Or whatever time it is.” Time and space were much the same in more than one way according to Vay.

Gatz Derrevar

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Vayla Mirana

Calling himself a 'Jedi Healer' might be a stretch, really. That was his goal, but at the moment he could barely heal more than a papercut. Ironically, he was at his best when he was holding a lightsaber. Gatz hated that. He'd left a life of crime because he was tired of piling up bodies... only to begin the life of a Jedi and start piling up even more.

He supposed that was his curse: to be good at killing.

But this was neither the time nor the place to wallow in his misery. So, instead, he chose to move on, and repress those thoughts for later. That was a totally healthy way to handle his trauma. Surely they wouldn't bubble up and overwhelm him at the worst possible time, right?

“I see…great deeds ahead of you…Padawan Derrevar… Ah, yes… It starts with buying me breakfast.”

The first half of that statement had seemed serious, and had filled him with dread. The last thing he needed was another expectation he couldn't possibly fulfill. Then came the second half, and Gatz had to stop himself from sighing in relief.

"Well, I think I can manage that much. There's a waffle place not far from the Enclave. Some of the stuff on their menu is downright sinful."

 

[Vayla Mirana]

Emphasis on ‘sinful’. Noticed. Noted. Japes. Games. Yet their hands were unbroken. In the sense that Gatz had yet to get his hand broken by a Jedi Knight and in the sense that neither man nor woman had broken their grip from one another’s hand.

“Waffles? Hope they don’t just have waffles. I am in the mood for pancakes. Ah, yes. I see…pancakes, eggs, toast, bacon and plenty of coffee.”

Vayla smiled, Vayla tilted her head in sustained excitement if with glee, pleased to see that Gatz was interested in breakfast, reading this man as if he was a sentence. Or a man whose execution was yet to be sentenced.

And Vayla waited. Somebody had to take the lead. Would he?

"After all, waffling down waffles as if the galaxy may suddenly go empty isn't so sinful...is it?"

Gatz Derrevar

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Vayla Mirana

At some point he should probably remove his hand from Vayla's. Gatz didn't particularly care if anyone got the wrong idea, but he wasn't sure the if Jedi Knight wanted to be affiliated with him in anyway. He still looked like a thug, after all, just one that carried a lightsaber. And few people wanted to say they had a former smuggler in their corner. Still, until she made a move to break their hands, Gatz wasn't going to bother with it.

More fun that way.

“Waffles? Hope they don’t just have waffles. I am in the mood for pancakes. Ah, yes. I see…pancakes, eggs, toast, bacon and plenty of coffee.”

"They offer that stuff too. Waffles are just their main schtick."

Gatz took the lead then. He knew the Vonnuvi decently, especially the areas near the enclave. The waffle house in question wasn't all that far away either. Close enough that he frequented it often.

"I dunno. Lot of carbs in waffles. Plus the syrup, or whatever you top it with. I'm sure it gets sinful once you add everything up."

 

[Vayla Mirana]

Well, that was unexpected. Or was it? What did she expect given her judgment of his character already? Presently maybe Vayla should have expected the unexpected or some such nonsense but she didn’t. Gatz hadn’t broken his grip with her hand. Neither did she, for that matter. So they walked, they talked, hand in hand. Just a woman. Just a man. Just nonsense. Ridiculous. If given in amusement no less.

“Lots of syrup if I’m being honest.” She was, of course, if maybe dishonest with this game of holding hands being her schtick. It was…different. Like each person had made a bet as to who would release their hand first and if that actually mattered to begin with. Stubbornness. Yes. Maybe that’s all it was in the end.

“Butter. Chocolate chips. Cinnamon. And pecans! Cream. Blueberries. Strawberries. Shredded coconut. Scrumptious” Just sprouting toppings and making herself hungry. “Even had eggs on top of my waffles in one instance. Ate a stack of pancakes along with. In one sitting.”

Vayla smiled proudly at Gatz, hardly swinging their hands or giving him a firm flirtatious grip; rather, she held his hand loosely, ever amused that the two appeared as boyfriend and girlfriend already to any who viewed them.

“Is that it?” She nodded toward a line of shops and restaurants. One of them had a sign that read: uHop. “Or that one?” She pointed at another sign that said: Waffle Hut. “Which one?”

Gatz Derrevar