The Girl and The Robot

[Kaili Talith]

There was something about BB-units lately. Kaili couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was, but she could only assume that due to some kind of retrotastic implosion somewhere within the universe it would seem that almost the entire galaxy had decided to go back to the more simpler droid designs back from around the time when Luke Skywalker still walked the halls of the Jedi. Not that it truly mattered, the blueprints had long since then gone open market. Granted, by now most of the active units had gotten their insides, their very heart and soul, replaced with more up-to-date hardware. But even so the exterior still seemed the exact same and Kaili just couldn't figure out why.

In the end it was a bit like necromancy, if you really thought about it.

To be honest, the thought would never have struck Kaili until a new customer contacted her and asked for help. The customer in question was one [member="Allyson Locke"] and going by the message that Kaili had received there seemed to be a problem with her BB-unit. As much as Kaili wanted to tell herself she didn’t need to work repairs for a living she still had to face the monthly issue of making ends meet. After all, the market for custom-made droids had never really been a one of those ‘booming’ markets. It wasn’t rare to see the small-timers such as Kaili’s Droids branching out to touch upon the many other aspects of Droid Manufacturing. Some companies sold out and went military-tech, but others -- like Kaili herself -- merely started working repairs.

Not that the girl was going to complain. Most of the time repairing other people's droids and appliances proved itself to be a very good way to increase the size of your list of clientele. All that you really had to do was to stand out a little, and in Kaili’s case that was technomancy. Local reputation had her pinned as a ‘droid whisperer.’ She was the girl who could understand and fix droids without even taking a look at their insides. It was the kind of reputation that made her unsure whether she was supposed to feel proud of herself or if she was supposed to feel bad for using her powers to drive others into bankruptcy.

Perhaps in the end such things didn’t matter either. It was the way that the business worked. Cruel as it was.

By the time Allyson would arrive the door would already be propped open to let the salty breezes of Borleias sweep through the dim-lit shop.

Well, that and to get rid of the disgusting smell that screamed of "Ooops, it seems I forgot to dust off my equipment and open the window for yet another week." It was kind of either/or at this point.

[member="Allyson Locke"]

 

[Allyson Locke]

The droid shop wasn’t too far from where she liked to hang out, also the prices were the best yet so that was another incentive for coming here. Allyson knew she could have probably taken her difficult BB unit down to a corporate hub that was on Nar Shaddaa, but they were crooks and she would rather support the local small businesses. Not that Kaili Talith ‘s little droid shop was anywhere local on Nar Shaddaa. Still, here Allyson was dragging her BB unit along with her. The little droid was spouting constantly and zipped around trying to trip her on several occasions.

“Bait, I’m going to knock you out if you keep doing that!” Allyson shook her fist at the unruly BB unit. The little bugger seemed to have a mind of its own as it beeped sounding like laughter at her getting tripped up. Using mechu-deru, the little droid’s head spun and then stopped. In defiance it spurted back what sounded like droid insults. Ally ran after the little sucker and scooped him up and shoved him under her arm. He continued to beep as she headed into the shop. “I know you need a utility arm! I’m in the middle of repairing you Bait come on now.”

Setting him down on the ground he zipped forward and Allyson sighed softly. The trouble with Bait was that she found him lodged deep inside of a dead Super Star Destroyer. So he was missing some parts and she figured that’s why he was being defiant. But he’s refused repairs from her and not wanting to violate the droid, she didn’t use the mechu-deru. Bait moved quickly through the shop and rolled right up to Kaili’s feet and beeped demandingly. Allyson stood at the counter space and once again sighed. “Sorry about that, the little guy has no manners. Are you Kaili or one of her minions?” A sly grin spread across her face seeing the blonde girl being the one in charge of the shop.

It helps when the employees are cute, keeps the customers coming back.

[member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

Kaili wasn’t one to make apologies though. The cramped and musty smells and visuals of the shop brought a sort of charm that a customer wouldn’t find elsewhere on Borleias. Mainly because out of all the shops still available within a certain radius from the young one’s home, Kaili was the only one remaining. A bad market, an unexplored market at that, and the fact that it was hard to compete with a technomancer was all causes and reasons for the local ex-shopkeepers to curse the young Talith’s name. She felt it, but she ignored it. Business in the long run wasn’t about making actual friends as much as contacts. Contacts that you should never ever trust. Or at least that was what Kaili had gathered from her books.

The last few details of a previous job was getting stowed away. A man who had swung by the store to get an old protocol droid refurbished in memory of his father. It was cute in a sense, annoyingly common by another. Her work got interrupted by the abrupt thud of a small BB-unit. A half-panicked look set itself upon the chronometer on the wall. An equally panicked turn around on her heel had her staring at [member="Allyson Locke"] who seemed amused at something. Or well, kept looking at Kaili while grinning...

Nonetheless, Kaili instinctively reached down to grab a hold of the sphere that ‘Bait’ would use to move. Further resistance ensued and the girl struggled with getting him atop her workbench. The kid turned back to Allyson.

“Kaili Talith, that‘s me.” She mused with a smirk and a shrug. “Sorry for not welcoming you personally, got myself swept up in another job that is just about done.” Head jerked in the direction of the old 3P0-unit in the corner. Golden plates, red arm. Yeah, there was definitely something with imitations from the Skywalker era. “Anyway, it’s nice to meet you. Let me just take a quick look at your BB-unit real quick and then I’ll get back to you, okay?”

Kaili nodded and turned back towards the workbench and Henry decided to take charge of the customer-to-workshop interfacing. Light tapping emanated from the other side of the cashier’s counter from where Mrs. Locke stood and not long after that a small spider droid emerged. It stared at Allyson for a while before chiming up.

< “Hello to you!” > He sounded... Happy. Kaili perked her brow and turned to look at him. He was never this happy to meet a customer. Weird. < “My name is Henry, and uh, you can direct any questions to me while the young Mrs. Talith takes a look at your, uh, droid. Mrs...” > Henry didn’t have her name. He let the silence linger with curiosity.

“Locke. Allyson Locke.” Kaili finished before returning to the droid. Hand placed upon the droid’s chassis she closed her eyes and focused.

< “Right, well, it is good to meet you, Mrs. Locke.” > The little droid scuttled closer. < “She might not look like much, but don’t let age fool you. Master Talith is quite able, for a mere eighteen years of age.” >

Kaili shook her head and snickered as she withdrew her hand from the droid.

“The utlity arm is broken.” Kaili uttered as she approached Allyson by the counter. “The IFF subroutines are outdated and the sensors seem to have taken a nasty ding, but that shouldn’t prove too hard to fix.”

“I must say though. The modifications to the personality matrix suits him.” The kid shrugged. “Feisty, sure, but that’s nothing new.”

< “What’s that supposed to mean?” >

“Nothing, Henry.” Kaili looked to Allyson, pointed at Henry and quickly nodded her head up and down when the droid wouldn’t see. “Why don’t you go and do the last minute check up on Mister Kieran’s protocol droid, huh?”

< “Will do.” >

“Anyway.” Kaili turned her attention back to Allyson. “The job is pretty simple with the recent boom in spare parts for this particular unit. I would say... Three days, perhaps, to get it all wrapped up and good as new. We can talk prices once I’m done. Always thought it was bad mojo to risk the customer paying too much for potential dissatisfaction.”

“Though I would still wager that we’d land somewhere between... Let’s say a thousand credits at most. That sound okay with you?”

[member="Allyson Locke"]

 

[Allyson Locke]

Allyson watched as Bait seeme to enjoy the attention he was getting from the Droid Master Talith. She was never good with droids, ships on the other hand - yeah that was her thing. Leaning on the counter she watched and did her best to follow the discussion Kaili was having with her. It was interesting though, when the small spider droid popped out and made himself known. Blinking, Allyson didn’t know what to say to it and was thankful for Kaili answering for her.

The conversation was a bit one sided, with Kaili rambling on what was wrong with Bait. Of course, Allyson figured as such and was surprised at the comment about his personality. Allyson pressed her lips together in disagreement, but she did enjoy him more than a boring droid who was overly loyal and agreeable. Gave flavor to life right?

1000 credits?! Allyson thought quietly to herself as she listened to the young Talith explain what was wrong with Bait. The rest of the conversation went in one ear and out the other as the girl focused hard on the 1000 credit cost. A thousand credits was a lot especially to a spacer who worked minimum wage with the Rekali Clan. Allyson wondered how much the droid repair would have cost if she went to one of those big shops in the larger city like planets. Remaining her cheerful exterior though, she decided to try her hand at haggling, maybe, just maybe she can work the price down or offer a service instead.

“1000 credits eh? Probably the cheapest I can get it anywhere around here. Hmm…”She thought quietly and then looked at Kaili for a moment and the smile returned to her face. Leaning on the counter, Allyson propped herself up a bit and nodded. “How about instead, I show you a good time for the next three days. I have nowhere to be and I’m not leaving the little bugger here alone. So you’d be stuck with me anyways. I take you out for dinner, dancing, anything you want to do.” Charming right?

“Smart and pretty girls like you deserve a good time after work, so what do you say Ms. [member="Kaili Talith"]?”

 

[Kaili Talith]

And at the end of the counter-offer, Kaili blinked. She would be lying if she said it was an offer she had received before. From a woman at least. A thousand struck her as the average for her area, perhaps a little over, but if my mixed supply, demand and rent it was the lowest price that Kaili could afford and still make enough of a bonus to spend some money on herself. Or rather on Henry. He didn’t look the part, but over the months that passed Kaili would fix and trick him out, upgrade his AI in an effort to get a more ‘realistic’ and life-like personality out of him. It wasn’t quite there yet, but the wheels were most certainly in motion.

“I... Uhh.” Kaili blinked still. “Need to think on that.”

She could say yes and actually do something with another human being for the first time in a long time, or she could just say no and stay at home and work on whatever droid problems it was that her current client had. It was a battle that usually had a pretty obvious outcome. Usually it was a no. Kaili let her attention shift up and down along Allyson’s form, making no effort at hiding the fact that she was indeed inspecting her, rethinking the price of the service that was to be provided. After all, she didn’t exactly have the look of the average Borleian snob. Quite the opposite in fact.

“Six-hundred and twenty-five credits and a potential dinner.” She chuckled as she crossed her arms and leaned back. “I can’t go any lower than that without letting you bankrupt my business, Ms. Allyson Locke.”

“Though, you know, the part about keeping me company in the shop is entirely up to you.” Kaili didn’t know the woman. As much as making friends was good Kaili still tended to, you know, build her own friends rather than actually meet them. It was easier to do, no judgies. “I’d suggest any... ‘Outings’ should wait until we know if you and your droid will be leaving the workshop cursing my name or not.”

“So, three days. Six-hundred and twenty-five credits at the end of it, and you get to accompany me in the workshop. If things work out in the end I might just let you buy me a dinner.” Kaili shrugged. “Does that sound like a deal?”

[member="Allyson Locke"]

 

[Allyson Locke]

The price got lowered and Allyson felt the girl’s eyes on her. This meant two things, either she was sizing her up as a potential date or sizing her up to see if she could actually afford to take her out or the price tag on the droid repairs. To maintain her confidence though, Allyson easily assumed the first. Those Corellian Bloodstripes usually got all the ladies smiling and the fellas intimidated to the point where well you know. Still leaning on the counter top Allyson pretended to ponder the offer. The girl didn’t outright say okay, which meant she wasn’t a hussy - a good thing and a bad thing. It provided a challenge which was something Allyson has needed for some time.

“Alright, Six twenty-five sounds good. It's well within the means and leaving a little extra to treat you right.” Allyson gave a little wink and then turned her head to the shop. Place a was a bit dusty and seemed to not get as much traffic as she had assumed. The girl seemed to be the possible only employee along with that spider droid that had greeted her along with Kaili. The girl had leaned back, which allowed Allyson a moment to get a good look at the droid maker, repairer etc. The girl was young, which surprised Allyson though they both seemed to be in the same range and she hoped she was at least legal to galactic standards.

“I’ll stick around, get to know you a bit - let you get to know me. It's hard meeting people sometimes - I work for Rekali Clan mostly piloting and such. I miss working on ships instead of consistently freighting things around.” Allyson busied herself around the shop looking at all the knick knacks that were about. Looking towards Kaili, “So how does a cute girl like you get into droids? A planet like this, I would have assumed you would have been some sort of Princess or something. Are you?” Force she was pretty enough right? Allyson tested the waters and continued to playfully tease and question the girl. [member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

So it was a deal then. Kaili nodded at Allyson and let her client in on the work process. The added wink forced a smirk upon the young girl’s lips. Allyson seemed determined to breach Kaili’s code of conduct despite the fact that Kaili considered herself a professional. Besides, what few men Kaili had approached had almost all turned the other way at the sight of the bright orange orbs that were her eyes. Indeed, it had scared away enough people for Kaili to -- in a sense -- delay any plans she had when it came to finding her own soul mate. Perhaps men her age were simply far too immature or cowardly. Quite possibly both.

The kid brushed the rest of the dust off of the workbench on top of which she had placed Bait. He seemed to enjoy it, or perhaps a she. Some argued droids didn’t have neither of these. Kaili didn’t believe what they said, of course. Droids to her were people just like everyone else. In the end nothing truly separated them from any other sapient creature that Kaili had come across. They had personalities, tempers, dreams and fears. That made them worthy of the title ‘sapient’ as well.

Attention back at the shop Kaili snickered at the question if she was a princess.

“Hardly. I am just me. Kaili Talith.” She reached for a hydrospanner on the wall. “I have lived here all my life. My family home is not too far from here. Pretty much around the corner.”

She grabbed a nearby seat and rolled it over to Bait so that she could work more comfortably.

“Alright, big guy. You ready?” She asked before getting to work on the first few pieces of the bot’s hull. “I know, I know, I hate body maintenance as much as the next guy.”

Her attention set back to Allyson again as work continued.

“My father taught me about droids since I was just a kid.”

“... Or well, more of a kid than I am right now, sorta.” She looked over at Allyson who seemed to be investigating the shop. “Turned eighteen a little over two months ago. That makes it maybe... Fourteen years spent inside droids?”

“And you said Clan Rekali, right? I know of a Rekali, or well two. Ever heard of a Mira Rekali? Gyndar? Rekali? Aton Rekali? I used to know them a while ago, but that was around five years ago now.” She perked her brow. “In fact it was a while ago since the pack even saw each other, I should probably write to them and see what’s up. It was ages since I heard from Liam and Ibaris.”

Kaili could rant. In fact, Kaili loved to rant. She would talk forever if she could.

“So, uh, Allyson... How do you like the shop? I mean, if you ignore all the dust laying around.”

[member="Allyson Locke"]

 

[Allyson Locke]

Allyson listened as the girl rambled about her background with droids – it was something her father got her into. A small smile spread across Allyson’s face as she remembered moments with her father who was an engineer. The man worked closely with the ship builders creating things that pushed Corellian tech into the new age. Her father used to tell tales of the dark ages, how there was no tech in the galaxy. Slowly but surely life began to create and tech returned to the forefront. It was odd how something like a dark age could occur in these sort of world – but it happened. Allyson did her best not to continue to think of her father, that only brought up the reality of his death. Along with the deaths of her mother and younger brother.

Her mind had begun to wander and Kaili, unlike others had found a way to get her voice through the thick memories. "My dad got me into ships. Ever since I could hold a wrench..." Allyson looked over at the girl when she asked how the pilot enjoyed the shop. Of course there was the dust, but the shopkeeper already knew about that. It was cute how she asked that the dust not be minded. Allyson ran an index finger along one of the shelves and balled up the dust. “I like it. The dust adds a different feel to it. Most places are super cleaned up and makes you think they’re hiding something.” Continuing to move about the shop, Allyson started to piece together a few more things from Kaili’s ramblings. She knew this planet usually housed the wealthier people of the galaxy, so having the family home be here meant that the shop keeper had money – well her parents did.

That didn’t matter to Allyson, she came from a middle class family on Corellia. Money wasn’t something they had to spare, but they had enough to be happy. Her education had been paid for by a grant from her father’s company with a promise she’d work for them. Course that went out the door when she dropped out and ran away with Ember Rekali – speaking of.

“The Rekalis, Ehhh I don’t know many of them. Mostly heard their names in passing or such. I tagged along with Ember when he was being all vagrant and not very head of family.” Allyson shrugged, from what she heard about the others was that they were loyal, but they did their own thing. After examining the shop, a bit more, Allyson made her way back to the counter. Leaning on it again she looked over to see what was going on with the droid. “He seems to like you. That’s always a good thing.” Remembering the birthday comment, Allyson leaned over a bit more and smirked. “Did you do anything fun for your birthday? If you didn’t, that means you should consider dinner being an option – maybe more?” Allyson was upfront and never liked to beat around the bush.

Was that obvious? [member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

Kaili listened in return. They both got into their father’s side of their respective business it seems, with the only real difference being what they worked maintenance on. Allyson worked ships, Kaili worked droids. The only thing that really changed between those two was the hull size and voice modulator. Anything else was just self-righteous ramblings about how ‘just because they have circuits doesn’t mean they are droids, Kaili’ which the young girl would have none of.

“I like the guy too.” Kaili chuckled as she thrust her tool into Bait’s side panel. “Sorry, bud. This plate seems to be stuck.” She mused as she reached for a nearby crowbar and placed it by the robot’s side. The droid didn’t seem to like that very much at all. “Just a precaution. I know what I am doing, promise.”

Attention went back to Allyson again. Kaili spun around in her chair and turned to look at her client who was propped against the counter again. Eyes fell to the floor for a second. Kaili didn’t really know what to say at this point. Memories of Maila, of the others that she had seen in that shipwreck slowly crept up and flashed before her eyes like a bad reminder of what happened the last time she got attached to seeing someone around that wasn’t family.

It was still all her fault, deep down she refused to acknowledge anything else.

“I didn’t, but...” Kaili swallowed air. Thinking about how to turn someone down in the most polite way possible, perhaps. “I have my reason for staying in the shop all day.”

The chair spun around again and Kaili went back to tinkering on Bait.

The kid needed a change of subject. “Where did you two meet? Bait and you?”

It would have to do.

[member="Allyson Locke"]

 

[Allyson Locke]

Slowly but surely Allyson began to pay closer attention to Kaili and the way she responded to her flirtatious advancements. They weren’t off putting, but they didn’t do what they usually did when Allyson laid it on thick. It was curious matter and a part of Allyson felt guilty in a way. Deciding that this was something different and that Kaili was someone she couldn’t just lather up with compliments her plans changed. There was something special about the girl who was working on the BB-Unit. Allyson could sense from the droid that it felt cared for. It was the same emotion she felt from it when she had found it on the abandoned ship. After being put back together, Bait clung to Ally’s side. A smile, a genuine one spread across Allyson’s lips as she began to lower her own guard.

“It’s a great shop, I’d kill to have a place like this for ship building.” She continued to watch and pull at the memories of her and Bait. “I had gone on a salvaging run – on one of those desert planets. Seems like they’re the common place for ships to go and rot away…good parts can be fixed up and resold for credits or food.” Salvaging was a side job, she got things and sold them mostly to pay for her own repairs on her ship. Beyond that salvaging wasn’t the best job in the world. A hand rubbed the back of Allyson’s neck as she continued the story. “You can’t laugh but while I was pulling at some wires trying to see if they were useable, I kept hearing a whining sound in the back of my head. It wasn’t like I was hearing it, I could feel it.” Explaining how she sensed with mechu deru was always complicated. “I ended up following the sound and then this little guy was stuck under some debris in pieces. Packing him up, I took him back to the ship and pieced him back together. Ever since then he’s been my buddy.”

“He’s one of the old BB-Units, a lot of his parts have been hard to find and replace. I lucked out finding our place – hopefully you’ll be able to help him out.” A soft chuckle came from the spacer, “He’s purring.” Allyson wanted to pry more into why a girl like [member="Kaili Talith"] would lock herself away in a dust ridden shop like this, but she decided to continue playing the ‘lets get to know you game’. The game of getting into her pants had ended and now Allyson actually found herself interested in the blonde girl with the interesting eyes. “You shouldn’t look down, just keep eye contact especially with your eyes. They’re different – a good different.”

Brushing a strand of brunette hair from her face, “They got a story?”

 

[Kaili Talith]

The kid had special eyes. A good kind of special that seemingly made her stand out, feel like the odd one out in most circumstances. Her siblings didn’t have the same kind of issues with it, but in a sense Kaili had always been the odd one out in their family. No animal husbandry, no interest in anything other than droids. It was in that regard that she was, and most likely always would be, dad’s little girl. To get a complimen, even if one of many, caused a smile to tug away at Kaili’s lips.

“Thanks.” She uttered in a hushed whisper. “I got them from my father. It’s a Garhan thing. Me, my brother and sisters got some of the old bloodline into our genes, it seems.”

The kid still focused on the droid. Her hydro spanner finally managed to finally loosen up the side panel to expose the insides of Bait. A small cloud of dust spread into the already pretty dusty shop and for a second she grew worried for what the rest of his insides looked like.

“It sucks, trust me I know. Henry is a pain to maintain with all those small circuits of his too.”

< “What was that?!” >

“Nothing, Henry.” Kaili snickered and turned around towards Allyson again. “Could you get me the air compressor in the corner over there?” Kaili pointed to a corner right next to Allyson. “Big guy on the workbench need to be cleaned out proper before we go any further.” It wasn’t really a request as much as an order. It was Kaili’s shop, after all. “Thank you.”

Whether or not the air compressor was brought over, Kaili still kept on going. Ranting, if you would.

“So, when you say you felt him nearby on the crashed ship you mean that you had a sort of nagging at the back of your head, right? Like an itch, and you just couldn’t scratch it no matter how hard you tried?” Kaili tried to look Allyson in the eyes again. Eye contact, as her customer had requested. “A sort of feeling in your stomach that he was there, yet you had no way of knowing he actually was. You followed the... Signal? Yeah, signal. You followed the signal to where your mind was telling you to go only to find yourself ‘feeling’ Bait’s presence amid the ruins.”

“Would you believe me if I said I know exactly what you mean?” Kaili grinned as she spun around again and looked at the insides of the droid.

It was like staring at the mirror image of Tattooine almost. Not good.

[member="Allyson Locke"]

 

[Allyson Locke]

Allyson removed herself from the counter and went looking for the air compressor. She had seen several in her life, but why could she not pick out the one that Kaili was pointing too. It took her a few moments and several shifts of the miscellaneous items that were scattered around the shop to finally find the air compressor. A part of Allyson wondered if Kaili actually knew what was in the shop and if she had ever thought about cleaning it. All this dust probably wasn’t the best for the girl’s lungs. She could just air compressor the entire place out if she really wanted too. Lugging the air compressor back over, she handed it off to the blonde and looked at Bait.

“Guess I didn’t get all of it out…unless you’re hoarding the sand again…Bait…please.” Allyson face palmed for a second knowing that the droid had a horrible habit of collecting things and somehow managing to get them under his plates. She had a feeling, Bait would be seeing Kaili more times than not because of his disgusting habit. “I’ve never heard of a Garhaon, but yeah I dig the eye color.” She had to slip that in quick, because the girl began another steady rant. It was a good thing her voice as pleasant to listen too or Allyson would have backed away from the counter and would have eventually left.

Instead though, because of the pleasantries of Kaili’s voice, Allyson stayed and listened. It came up, there was someone else in this forsaken galaxy that knew exactly what she was talking about. Her face lit up when the other girl mentioned that she understood. “You…you can hear them too? The droids they talk to you, but not like how they converse with other people, but like you can really get a sense of what they’re feeling? Ships are the same way for me, they talk to me and I can figure out usually what’s wrong with them pretty quickly.” Catching her breath from her own rambling she quickly finished, “Because they tell me what’s wrong. They tell me how to fix them and what would make them better.”

She had never really explained this gift or whatever it was to anyone else besides Ember. There was a sense of relief that washed over her as she sighed and chuckled lightly. “I’ve only told one person about it – he called it something like Mechu Deru or whatever.” [member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

“Yeah, that was what father called it as well.” Kaili grinned as she grabbed the compressor’s handle, aimed it at the workbench and gave it a quick squeeze. The dust flew danced, twirled around her all the way into her nose. The air flow stopped. The compressor sprung back to life as it’s motor got back to work and Kaili sneezed. “Sorry.” She added under her breath before covering her mouth with her arm and sneezed once more. “Sorry again.” Nose itching, back curving in preparation. Her mouth opening ever so slightly the girl prepared herself to hold back another sneeze. Kaili placed her fingertips along the bridge of her nose and squeezed with all that she had.

A few seconds passed. No sneezes.

“Okay, all g-” Arm panickingly moving towards her nose. Sneeze. “Damn it!” The kid screamed into her armpit before removing it from her face. “Sorry. Again.”

“What were we talking about?” Kaili turned back to Allyson with her short-term memory temporarily impaired by a lack of oxygen. “Oh, right, the mechu-duru.”

“That’s what my dad called it as well.” Kaili unknowingly repeated herself. “Though I personally think technomancy sounds a lot cooler.”

“My parents say I have an inborn aptitude for it. Much like my siblings love their... Animals.” Kaili slowly shook her head at the mention of those primitive organic friends. “I will admit, Allyson. I rarely meet others who would actually know why I would so good with these mechanical things.”

“Anyway, you found Bait with the help of technoma- Mechu Deru, huh?” Kaili turned back to clean out the rest of Bait’s insides. “Tell you what...”

Kaili put down the compressor and grinned over at Allyson once more. Picking up Bait she quickly moved him from one bench to another. Or rather, a counter. Then, pushing herself from the counter Kaili let her chair roll over to a big crate full of neatly assorted and organised droid parts and withdrew the necessary parts to fix the droid’s utlity arm. With yet another push she rolled right back to the counter again.

“Here.” Kaili said and extended her hand for Allyson to grab the nuts and bolts and what-nots that was the utility arm. “Assemble this for me while I work on loosening what remains of the old arm.”

With her grin still going strong Kaili would show Allyson exactly what she could do. One way or the other.

[member="Allyson Locke"]

 

[Allyson Locke]

While Kaili spoke of her parents, Allyson did her best to hide the fact that it made her sad to hear about someone else’s parents. The wounds were still fresh from Corellia and even then both of her parents knew nothing of the force or Technomancy. Having someone being able to tell you what made you special or why ‘weird’ voices were always around you especially when you were at the shipyards, would have helped a lot and she probably would have developed her talents. Gathering the nuts and bolts along with other parts from Kaili, Allyson set them on the counter and looked at them. Droids were so small compared to ships, but they were still similar to a point.

Looking over the arm and with a little guidance from Kaili, she reached into the small pouch at her thigh and pulled out a small set of mini screwdrivers and the like. Piecing the arm together was pretty simple when she actually listened to the metals and the technology. Nothing wanted to be in pieces, everything wanted to be whole. That concept was true for machines and humans a like. “I like the sound of Technomancy, makes it sound a bit more professional I guess.” Looking at the arm, she rotated it and continued to piece it back together. “My parents weren’t force users, so they never knew anything that was going on with me. I was just good at it, so my dad started to take me to work with him. He used to build ships and engineer them on Corellia.”

Allyson fell silent for a moment as she inhaled deeply and held it for a second. She had never talked about her family beyond telling Ember what had happened to them and why she was now wearing the Corellian Bloodstripe. Putting one of the tools down she looked at Kaili and watched her for a moment, there was so much care that went into her taking care of Bait. At first she assumed it was because his partner was standing close by, but she soon came to realize that it was because she actually did care about the droids. Staring for some time, she finally caught herself and shook her head quickly snapping herself out. Allyson Locke didn’t stare; Allyson Locke didn’t do things like feel the sudden infatuation she was feeling. She kept saying this mentally to herself and began to busy herself with the droid arm.

“I think I’m going to call it Technomancy from now on, its less of a mouthful to be honest. It’s hard though, I’ve never met anyone like me even the guy that I was working under and told had no clue as to help me hone it. So I’ve just been relying on talent or whatever.” The arm was pieced back together and she slid it towards Kaili. “I think I got this right, but at the bottom there seems to be a place for extensions or a hook or something. You find anything else inside Bait?” Allyson couldn’t help but smile towards the girl, there was something about being understood by someone else that just made the day better. [member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

Kaili nodded along as Allyson spoke and listened without making interruptions. It was weird to have someone in the shop, Kaili could admit to that much, but just exactly how much she apparently needed to talk to someone hadn’t really occurred to her outside of Ms. Bebo Wali’s help and advice. Then again, that was what therapists did. They helped people with advice. The kid took notice of Allyson’s repeated usage of the word ‘were’ as she talked about her parents. ‘They were not force users’ and ‘she used to be brought along.’

Perhaps Kaili was reading too deep into it, but the idea of asking about Allyson’s parents felt like something she’d rather leave unanswered. At least for now. That’s what Kaili would have wanted if her parents were somehow gone. That was already what she was doing because of her friends being gone. The mere idea of her parents disappearing was...

A shiver ran down the kid’s spine. No, she would not go there. She simply put on as much of an understanding face as she could and continued nodding. A watchful eye followed Allyson as she screwed the pieces in place and assembled the arm. The grin had long since thinned out into a smile. Allyson was doing great and once she was done Kaili grabbed the arm. She bent it back and forth in a flexing motion to try the flexibility of the construct.

It was good, much like Kaili had expected. Though being able to tighten bolts and screws were merely the first step to the three-day plan. Allyson would get more information about that as they got there though.

“Yep. That’s the piece that you use to attach it to Bait again.” Kaili handed the arm back to Allyson and opened the panel she had pried open with her hydrospanner. “See that little claw-looking thing inside that little hole there?” Kaili reached for a nearby light and turned it on to shine some light onto the droid and let Allyson see the ‘claw-looking thing’ that she was going to connect the arm to. “Gently place the hooks within the claws and apply some pressure, the arm should snap into place.”

Kaili chuckled.

She didn’t know why, but she chuckled.

“It’s weird to... Talk to people, you know?” She looked over at Allyson again. Her... Friend? “I know it might seem weird, I rant on and on and on all the time, but I genuinely don’t really talk to people all that much.”

“It feels good.” She chuckled again. “So, I guess what I am trying to say is,” Kaili took a deep breath. “Thanks for listening, I appreciate it. Really.”

[member="Allyson Locke"]

 

[Allyson Locke]

A smile crept over her face as she nodded. It did feel good to actually talk to another person, work with the Underground didn’t allow much of that and neither did working for Ember. She mostly did freight work for the man and smuggling for the Underground. You really couldn’t trust anyone, but something about the droid shop keeper, told her other wise. “I’m enjoying myself, I don’t get to talk to many people now a days. I tend to just talk to this little guy or my engine room.” Seeing how odd that sounded Allyson proceeded to explain. “A ship’s engine room, is where its heart is. Its really the most calming and vocal part of the ship.” Holding the tool she listened to Kaili’s instructions.

Allyson was thankful nothing was asked about her parents, it seemed that Kaili was pretty close to hers and she had expected some sort of questioning to come after her little story. Their conversation shifted back towards the droid and its repairs, she nodded understanding where the arm went and proceeded to follow. Reaching in with the arm she pressed gently on the hooks to attach the arm to Bait. Who in turned made a series of beeps. “Oh don’t act like that hurt Bait I’ve see you fall from higher places and zip off laughing about it.” Shaking her head she removed her hands from the droids insides and looked towards Kaili.

“Don’t let him fool you, he’s a lot tougher than he likes to let on. There’s a reason why his name is Bait.” Smirking, she looked towards the droid. “He likes to go in first guns blazing, does a bit of cover work for me while I slip in and do what I need to do and we get out. I’m doing some research for some upgrades on the little guy” A finger ran down the side of her face. “I don’t really want to scrap him back together after he goes and tries to ankle burn an Imperial.” The droid let off another series of beeps as if it was laughing. “HAA yeah you got him good Bait...you got him good”

Allyson looked back at the girl she was with and thought about it quietly, it felt as if they had been friends for so long and not just today when she walked into the shop. There was a sigh of relief and then Allyson moved her small tools aside. “I really like it here and talking with you. Its nice to have someone else in this galaxy that is like you. Thought I was just weird and different, but here you are, just like me”

[member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

“You’re doing great.” Kaili added as Allyson locked the arm into place. Once the droid was done with its act Kaili too patted it on what would be its equivalent of a ‘head.’ “You too, buddy.”

“I like the name Bait. It’s not what I would have named my droids, but sometimes names just kind of click, don’t they?” She turned her focus back to the job at hand. Three days were promised, three days were going to be given. “You know, you kinda get it, Allyson. The whole tech thing. So many people look at droids and ships and see a moving husk of metal, but you and me, we see so much more. We feel them, we know them, and what we know is what few others ever will.”

“They live, just like you and me.” Kaili almost felt like a preacher, or a Jebooshabs Witness. A sermon about droids and ships wasn’t what she had planned. “I have felt Henry fear, sensed Alexandria’s joy as she got to question my brother about the morals of religion and history. I know that deep down, they truly are just like us. It is the fact that they have exchangeable parts that throws people off.”

Sudden stop. Kaili caught herself pre-rant.

“Sorry, I can talk about this for ages.” The kid put down the hydrospanner and grabbed a nearby flashlight to get a better look inside the droid. An annoyed groan sounded off around the room. “Looks like the board where the sensor is located is cracked.”

“It’s nothing too serious, but I don’t have the spares for that.” Kaili frowned. “I’d have to order in a new one from a nearby manufacturing plant. They should have some in stock, if we’re lucky.”

“Though I’m afraid that might take a day or so.” Kaili shook her head. “Can’t go on until we have that part.”

[member="Allyson Locke"]

 

[Allyson Locke]

Sad beeps echoed from Bait as he understood what Kaili was saying. Allyson felt terrible, she knew the board was broke, but brand new parts were expensive so she just kept salvaging what she could to help keep him functioning. Of course she knew that Bait understood and that he did care that she would dive into old ships even out in the middle of space. A hand rubbed the back of her neck, “That’s gonna cost a bit more than the offer you gave me eh?” If it was, Allyson wasn’t going to argue - she knew that Kaili had Bait’s best interest in mind. That made it easier to spend the credits.

“Either way we gotta get the part to fix him up. He’s my best friend. I believe everything that you said and agree with it wholeheartedly. I love salvaging old ships because they still have a life, they still have a story to tell, though they usually hold out long enough to tell their story and then their voice is gone…” Allyson wrinkled her nose for a second and then shook her head. Three days was the time she was to spend with Kaili, but without work to be done what was there to do. Assuming she would be sent off, Allyson tried to think of something to allow her to linger.

“Uh, so the hmm” For the first time, she was at a loss for words. Something had to be good enough to convince the blonde to spend more time with her even if its not working on Bait. “Is there any other projects you need help working on? Its not that late I don’t think...and I would uh...yeah.” Spend more time with you, talking whatever. Allyson thought silently to herself, she was forward in the beginning and it got her nowhere, maybe this was better that she didn’t say all of that. [member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

“N-no. No extra.” Kaili shook her head. In the end it would all even out by the time the next month that rolled around. Hopefully. “I insist, Bait should be allowed to move around without a malfunctioning sensor.”

Which really assumed that Kaili would find more clients by then. Last month hadn’t been looking the best, the current one most certainly didn’t either but Kaili wasn’t beyond buying herself into a fledgling friendship. Or rather, selling herself into it perhaps. Didn’t matter, the ends were bound to meet at the end of the month and it wasn’t exactly like Kaili was scraping to get by. The funds earned from filming Danger Arceneau’s wedding had most certainly been enough for Kaili to not have ends meet this month.

“Henry, call up Jibb and purchase a circuit board with fitters for a sensor, would you?” Kaili let out a weak smile. “Thanks.”

“Sorry,” Kaili turned back to Allyson again. “I usually have the parts at hand, but I guess not today.”

The kid looked around the shed. It wasn’t big, but it was something. Off in the distance was a compartment in which Kaili liked to live. A single bed, a couch and a holoprojector hooked up to the Net to allow the kid to keep up with the world. She looked back at Allyson and then Bait.

“I don’t have anything else to work on. Henry is bound to have finished up the work I was wrapping when you stepped through the door.” Kaili sighed and ran hand across her face. “Where do you stay?” The kid perked her brows. “I mean, not that it matters, or well, it does, but I mean... Small talk. We have a day at most before those parts get here.”

Kaili scratched the back of her neck. Yeah, it felt weird to ask where someone lived. Or rather, more so because of the previous questions and the stares. She wasn’t exactly unaware of what Allyson had tried earlier, but she didn’t really think much of it. At least not at the moment. All things considered they were merely friends-ish now. Very, very recent friends. It still felt as weird to think as the last few times that Kaili had thought it within the span of the last few minutes.

Her index finger rose towards the door.

“We could step outside, you know.” Kaili shrugged and let the same smile as before creep up on her. “I hear sunlight is a thing that people enjoy around here?”

The kid chuckled. “Might just be we need to close that loose panel on Bait first though. We already established dust was bad for him, right?”

[member="Allyson Locke"]

 

[Allyson Locke]

Allyson was caught off guard, she had assumed Kaili would usher her out the door since there was no work to be done. The girl seemed to be pondering the time they could spend hanging out and that put a smile on Ally’s face. Also it helped that Kai wasn’t going to charge her extra for the part. It was going to be a lifesaver and it leaves extra cash for dinner if Kai let Ally take her out. Still, how slow it was moving Allyson wasn’t used to it - she wondered if this was how things were supposed to move. Usually, she would say her demands and the other person complied or expressed their own desires. There was never chitchat about family or other things. Just raw lust.

It was a nice break, she enjoyed discussing things with Kai, but she found herself formulating ways that she could possible stay planetside. Maybe Ember wouldn’t mind her taking a break, possibly the underground really didn’t need her. She was getting ahead of herself, Kaili never expressed the desire to see her beyond the three days - it could after all just be a business partnership or something like that. Remembering that, Allyson’s emotions settled down and she looked around the shop trying to figure out what Kai was looking at or for.

“Where I’m staying?” Odd question especially for how things were moving. There was a wrench thrown into the game plan and Allyson suddenly worked up a bit of courage. In her most suave sort of way, she put a hand on her hip and another on the counter top. Swaying her hip slightly she tilted her head and the small smile turned into a wily grin. “Well, my ship is being serviced at the nearby hanger, so I’m staying currently at the hotel about a block from here. Nice room pretty snazzy, has a lounge and a massage parlor.”

Then the mention of outside came and Allyson was pulled back into reality. She asked, because she was curious, not because she wanted to go back and do stuff. Straightening up her stance, the wily smile faded and she chuckled trying to not feel as embarrassed as she did. “Uh yeah, let's go outside, I’ve never been to this planet before, maybe you can show me around and we can get some food. Bait would probably like to explore too.” [member="Kaili Talith"]