Private Spanners in the Works

[Acaadi]

Acaadi was hunched over the hull of his Twintail startfighter with arc welder in hand. He wore black googles, but the skin around them was darkened by grease and residue from his work. The fighter had taken a few knocks over Ossus and he was trying to get it flight ready again.

He had asked Phalsi Drynchen to come and help. Partly because she seemed to have much more experience with ships, partly because it would be company whilst he worked. Mostly it was so that he could show off the starfighter he had been tuning for the last six months.

A couple of X-Wings were left dormant on the other side of the hangar, even the droids had left now. Stripping the plating from the rear foil to see if he had structural damage was the next bit of work and it was going to be tiring.

 

[Phalsi Drynchen]

Incoming threats from the borders, and outside of them, were a tiring constant across the news boards across the holonet. The good guys taking the fight to the enemy was a popular title. At least had been initially, until people figured out the cost of such things.

If they even bothered to look that far beyond the headline.

Phalsi had not ventured far beyond the temples safety, watching silently as others took off towards the borders of their influence. To defend and protect people that resided there.

Ossus had been the latest planet to receive their protection. A number of Silver members had been present, but one in particular had caught her attention.

Acaadi had gone.

And come back. Mostly intact given he had asked for her help fixing his starfighter. Which was why she was coming into the garage prepared for work. Overalls covered a dark colored shirt. Thick soled boots with two sets of gloves in each back pocket. She'd learned from her own adventures with the Sanguine, the importance of thick soles, having acquired a new scar on the inner arch of her foot.

Thankfully it had mostly healed before his return, spying the other padawan working as her hair was tied up and pulled back. She wasn't being particularly quiet, but worry might have tempered her steps as she came around to see him working.

A single knock on the hull was all the warning she gave to her approach, giving Acaadi a warm if worried smile.

"Hey. Ships work better if you don't get hit." She made to tease him, still smiling as she looked over the twin tail before looking back to him.

Acaadi

 

[Acaadi]

"I wasn't the plan!" he called down to her. He twisted a valve to make the arc welder safe, letting the bright spark hiss out. Acaadi lifted his goggles up his forehead, streaking more black across his forehead and cultural tattoos.

"Kept me in one pieces though!" he added, placing the flat of his palm to a smooth, untouched piece of hull as if thanking the ship.

"Didn't even have torpedoes loaded, jumped to hyperspace before the sith fleet even arrived at Ossus."

 

[Phalsi Drynchen]

"It's never the plan bantha brain." She shot back, a little of her worry coming through as teasing.

"It did. And it came back in one piece. Bit scuffed and scratched, but one piece." She affirmed, eyes hanging onto the scorch mark of a hit before letting out some more worry under her breath. "This time."

"Oh for force-you left without torpedoes!?" Her eyes were wide as her tone wavered between upset and awed.

 

[Acaadi]

"Well...yeah! When I left there weren't any sith at Ossus," he protested.

"Hey techs can you load some explosive warheads please I'm just taking a trip to a temple..."

Acaadi grinned, hoping that he didn't sound as if he was mocking Phalsi. He wasn't. Acaadi was of a mind that she was much more independent and interesting than him.

"Don't think there's any serious damage, but need to get these plates off and look underneath."

 

[Phalsi Drynchen]

The pair of lighter work gloves came from one of her back pockets, and promptly launched his way with the teasing she received in turn. A stern look from her for a moment before switching to a grin.

"They are pretty stingy with torpedoes anyway. Why do you need those? You are supposed to be peace keeping. How does that thing hold fourtey torpedoes?" She did say in a mocking tone of the techs that usually ran the garage.

"You have any issues coming back?" Nodding to the cockpit. Wiring issues had a way of cropping up on return trips, and they way he focused on it made her ask.

The thicker gloves came on before putting a hand up his direction to pull her up.

 

[Acaadi]

"Hyperdive is in tact, but the controls were off on the atmospheric landing," Acaadi replied.

He offered his hand to help her up. He just about managed not to go falling off the edge of his ship because of his haste.

"Can your ship hold forty torpedoes?" he asked. Her impression had been a joke, but Acaadi was prone to take things literally.

 

[Phalsi Drynchen]

When he mentioned atmospheric controls were off, the sharp pang of worry struck. And colored her words with a tone of worry.

"How bad?" Obviously not bad enough to land, but it made her look at him with an expression nearing the scolding mark.

The worry swept away in the moment of their combined failure, him nearly falling as she nearly slid off with her first step with a sharp squeal, going to a knee before scrambling on.

"Standbard B wings hold two tubes, ten torps each. Tempest has four tubes, meaning twice the fun. Could probably level a mountain, and it gets me a concerned-" She scooted across the surface, looking over the damage with a pause.

"-Look every time I go to inventory."

 

[Acaadi]

"How bad?"

"Had to rely on the repulsorlifts to keep level on the way down," he replied. There were so many avionic systems involved in keeping the four-winged ship level in atmospheric conditions that he couldn't say whether it was something catching the wind or a system failure.

"Ship doesn't have the astromech to work these things out mid flight..."

She looked worried. She had definitely looked worried about him. Cool.

"Do you really need that many torpedoes though? Does anyone?"

 

[Phalsi Drynchen]

His response to the controls made her wonder. But wonder did little if they couldn't find a problem.

"Not hard to plug in some droid brains if you can't get an astromech inside." She wasn't relenting on some streamlining. "Easier to fly something like this with one. Had to with the Tempest."

"I don't carry that many. Half at best. But have to cycle them if I don't use them or else they flash rust. Part of using an assault ship is having the ordinance."

 

[Acaadi]

"It would probably help trying to pick up issues mid-flight," he agreed. "I probably should have thought of that at the time, but I was really excited about fitting a turret at the back!" he admitted.

The port where an astromech would usually fit was a sealed door right now.

Acaadi slid his goggle back down his face. Normally this work wouldn't need cutting tools, but the later blasts had disintegrated the release mechanisms.

"I figure if I take this hull panel off, the one that needs replacing, then should be able to see if the systems underneath could be damaged...

"I probably should have asked you to help before seeing as you actually know what you're doing..."

 

[Phalsi Drynchen]

She shrugged when he mentioned the thought of putting one in.

"Can't get everything the first time. That's how mark one's and two's come around. Improvement with time. Ironing out issues. Learning." She offered, still looking at the cut section he was working on. She felt the release port, the handle feeling connected to something deeper when she gave it a cursory tug.

"Naw. I know a little about a lot, but this is your ship. The handle seems stuck, melted or warped into the mechanism. You had that figured probably." She sat back a moment, nodding to the cutting implement. "Cut around the latch before you start yanking though. Otherwise your back and some ship systems are going to hate you."

 

[Acaadi]

Phalsi always seemed so much more sensible than other padawans. She certainly had more real world experience. She had been on a wanted list for committing crimes which still seemed far too cool for anyone allowed to join the Silver Jedi.

"Yeah..." he replied, looking at where he had been cutting. He slightly adjusted the path he was following as he continued cutting.

"So been, er, up to much recently?" he asked.

 

[Phalsi Drynchen]

He started cutting again, and she covered her eyes while he worked. His question seemed to come out of left field.

Then again, it might have only seemed like that given how sparse she had seen people of late. She curled up where she sat, sneaking a look his way while he was framed by the cutting torches light.

"Nothing exciting as Ossus. Studying, practicing. Tried to go watch a movie but-" She shrugged. "Ended up watching it in my room with everyone being so busy. Other than Ossus, how have you been?"

 

[Acaadi]

"I was supposed to be going there for some final tests before the trials," Acaadi replied.

"Hardly fun. Can you grab the suction pads to grab this plate before I finish cutting?" he asked.

"And I think I'll be staying here a while, if you want to watch a film some time?" he offered. Goggles were excellent to hide behind.

 

[Phalsi Drynchen]

She gave a small whistle to his reason for going to Ossus.

"Didn't know you were already that close to the trials. Good on you. Or are you meaning trials for the ship?" Her frown was there and gone, feeling a strike of shame for her own lack of progress before she felt happy that someone was at least.

A sound of affirmation had her grabbing the pads and slapping them down with a satisfactory thunk as she waited for him to finish cutting.

"That would be nice. Something easy. Don't imagine you want any more action after Ossus for a bit." She teased him a little, pulling lightly on the suction pads in preparation.

 

[Acaadi]

"Don't say something like 'trials for the ship' too loudly around here," Acaadi said. He finished the curve and turned off the cutting torch.

"Someone will decide this thing is outside spec and take it away."

Acaadi decided not to admit how nervous he was slowly growing about the trials. He knew it wasn't one shot at the knighthood. Plenty before had been turned down and managed to join the ranks after more training.

"Yeah that was some pretty scary sky..." he admitted. She hadn't just dismissed him on the idea. That was nice.

 

[Phalsi Drynchen]

She laughed at the ship comment, knowing full well just what he meant. "They do get prickly about that." She held fast as the torch shut off before realization struck.

"Is something not spec on this?" She side-eyed him for a moment, more suspicious than scolding in her tone. It shifted quickly at his mention of a scary sky, the worry working its way back in.

"Hey, you came back. I'm here. If you want to talk about it, I can at least listen when you are ready. Chit ain't how they romanticize it in the stories." She assured him before getting a far off look.

"I remember the first time I was genuinely scared out in the field. Had an old bot surprise us with a stun staff. Those jedi hunting droids with the eye on its chest." She shuddered at the memory of that mission. "I can't imagine-anyway."

 

[Acaadi]

"Not going to lie and say it wasn't terrifying," Acaadi said. He hadn't really thought about whether he needed to talk about it. He had a habit of struggling through on his own more often than not.

"Not as bad as when we nearly got caught by a Sith Lord once, but more confusing. Kind of chaotic."

He lifted the goggles to his forehead, once again smearing more dirt across his forehead.

"Apparently..." he said, moving to help lift the damaged panel away, "...the authority to fly for the twin tails under concord military is based on certification that includes the astromech."

 

[Phalsi Drynchen]

She was quiet at first, cheek squished against her shoulder as she watched him speak. She wouldn't push the topic, especially as he switched gears.

"A lot to keep track of when flying." She gave a snorting laugh as he smeared more dirt across his forehead, lips curling in as she giggled to herself as she spoke. "Hard work suits you."

She pulled with his help, trying to pull with her arms as she sat on her knees and felt something catch.

"Droid brain will be easier to snake in there if space-" She struggled for a moment against the vaught piece. "But a full astromech is far handier. Fethin-"

She moved to stand, the panel popping free with the different angle making her lose balance and fall backwards, still holding the panel. Eyes near as wide as the cafeteria serving trays in panic.