(Untitled)

[restoresbalance]

He hadn't realized just how much he'd missed tinkering on ships until he'd gone some time here without doing anything like it.  Growing up, Luke had always been up to his elbows in some project or another, fixing droids for his uncle or modifying the speeder he used; later on, the tinkering turned into working on real ships like his X-Wing, the

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[ignitethestars]

Anakin had been going out of his way to avoid almost everyone. He had been doing this for quite some time, though his run in with the new Jedi-girl Jaina had sparked some sense back into him a bit.

Just a bit.

He had been in his own daze-like trance when he came upon Luke doing his tinkering. Perhaps it was once again the Force that brought them together, or that he wasn't really watching where he was going. Either way it didn't matter.

He almost smiled first at Luke, remember just how much he enjoyed working on mechanical things. The Jedi weren't always too thrilled by the enhancements he made on the droids within the Jedi Temple. But he still did it anyway

[restoresbalance]

Luke had been so focused on his work--or maybe his senses had been so befuddled by recent goings-on--he hadn't even noticed Anakin come in, much less come over to his ship. He dropped the hydrospanner, and it clanged off the fuselage and skidded across the floor.

"Sorry," he said, feeling silly for reacting in such a way. "Just frustrated, it got the better of me there." Sheepish, Luke rubbed the back of his head and gestured at the computer with his gloved hand. "I've been trying to get the shields up to point-five past base specs," he explained. "I know it's possible on this model, I've done it before, but I can't now for some reason."

[ignitethestars]

Anakin glanced to where the hydrospanner fell and lifted his hand towards it. Using the Force he called the device to him, though instead of just handing it back to Luke, he let it linger in the air for several seconds and sort of absently watched it. He finally let it drop into his gloved hand before handing it back to the Jedi Master.

"Maybe it's not my place to say, but it could be that you are focusing too much? Sometimes you just have to relax and let the problem steer you to the solution."

He shrugged rather haphazardly. "But don't let Obi-Wan know I said that, he might get the wrong impression that I actually listened to him all those years."

[restoresbalance]

"Thanks," he said as he took the tool, turning it over in his hands a moment. Leaning forward on his knees, feet inside the cockpit of the snubfighter, he placed it on one of the side consoles

[earnmyplace]

After her exploration of engineering, and the resulting discovery that it was less an engine room and more a construction center, Tali had decided figuring out which sections of the ship actually were what they were advertised as may be the best plan of action. She was almost scared to try the medical wing, despite her need for it. For all she knew, on this ship it was actually where scientific experimentations on living creatures were conducted rather then where to look for her immune enhancers. The hanger, on the other hand, had sounded like a safe enough bet

[restoresbalance]

Luke turned around a little too quickly and nearly slid headfirst into the access bay. Wriggling his hips and shoulders, he lifted himself out and swiped a hand across his forehead. It left a smear of grease that he didn't notice.

"No, it's just fine," he said, smoothing a hand over the fuselage almost fondly. "I'm trying to make her better than that, though. And it's not going as easily as I'd hoped." Luke grinned sheepishly. "Hence the very un-Jedi cursing. I'm sorry if you were offended by it." Stashing the hydrospanner in his hand, he hopped off the X-Wing and landed lightly on his feet, using the Force to soften it.

[earnmyplace]

“Yes,” she replied with dry amusement. “My poor delicate senses have been most disturbed. Though that was many years ago when I first began working along side the militia. I believe I’ve managed to recover.”

Tali stood as he landed besides her, noting the slowed decent with a small noise of curiosity.

“I’m not familiar with this term, Jedi. You are another of the 'magic' users on the ship?”

[restoresbalance]

"Well, the Force isn't exactly magic," Luke said. "It's more like an energy field that Jedi can tap into for strength. It's created by all living things and connects us all together--you, me, this ship, the universe." Luke leaned back against the nose of his ship, curiously taking in the other's strange gear. He'd known plenty of beings who preferred to keep their faces hidden or otherwise sealed from the outside world, and it didn't bother him. It just made him curious.

"I'm Luke Skywalker, by the way," he said, bowing from the waist politely. "Just call me Luke. It's nice to meet you."

[depthundersands]

[restoresbalance]

"Huh?" he said loudly, surprised. The hydrospanner clanked into the access bay, and he managed to keep his tongue while he used the Force to retrieve it and then wiggle his hips and shoulders to back out and sit on top of the snubfighter, legs dangling off the edge. The hydrospanner was placed safely on the seat inside the cockpit so it couldn't run off or roll away and do any damage.

"Oh, hello, Alia," he said with a smile. "No troubles, just frustration. I'm probably overthinking it." Luke swiped his hand across his face--leaving another smear of grease on top of the one already there. "How are you doing?"

[depthundersands]

[restoresbalance]

"No, it just needs a mind that's not clouded with other thoughts. Probably not an uncommon thing right now with everyone. It's good to hear you're doing well though." Luke went over to the open toolbox by one of the landing skids and pulled out a grimy rag, scrubbing his face with it. It left a dark, greasy smudge behind--really just moving the stuff around and picking up very little.

"Fixing a ship, or in my case modifying it to make it perform better, isn't as difficult a task as it seems, and these snubfighters have a lot of ways you can, surprisingly." He paused, then his cheeks flushed a little. "Sorry. I get going talking shop and I sometimes forget that not everyone's a mechanic or a pilot."

[ghost_bait]

A soft, scuffing noise of a shoe against the floor was hopefully enough to alert Luke to the nervous young girl behind him. Looking for Steve had been... taxing, to put it kindly. Still, she'd thought that maybe he'd be in the hanger, considering how much he liked mechanical things and the fact that he'd not been in the sensoriums.

She bit her thumb before speaking, and mentally sighed. Why was she the one chasing after him, when he'd been the one to kiss her? How unfair was all that? "E... Excuse me," Miku addressed Luke's back and bowed deeply. "I'm... I'm looking for someone." Augh, talking to strangers made her stomach twist into fearful knots. "Maybe you've seen him?"

[restoresbalance]

That soft scuffle gave him enough warning to keep a grip on his tool and lean up to peer at the girl over the edge of the access bay, then slide out and sit on the edge of the drive casing, looking at her. "Maybe, a few people have come through here," Luke said kindly. "Who is it you're looking for?"

[ghost_bait]

Miku didn't lift her head, so Luke found himself talking to the top it, and Miku nearly spoke into her knees.. "My..." she paused. "Friend. He's really tall," well, taller than her, "with red hair? His name is Steve. Actually," Miku lifted her head and smiled, still brimming with nerves. "He... might not have given you his name."

She sighed and looked down, "It's really important that I find him, though."

[restoresbalance]

Luke's smile was immediate and brilliant. "Steve? Steve Burnside? Yeah, I know him, he's--" Luke thought better about saying he's like my own son; the girl was already shy enough and that'd only make her clam up more, and that was definitely the last thing he wanted. "He's not here." He jumped down from the top of the ship, using the Force to make his landing light on his toes, like a dancer.

"He hasn't come by here recently," Luke said. "We can go look for him if you like, though. I could use the break."

[hunters_luck]

"You kiss your wife with that mouth?"

Mara walked up to the ship, smiling. Even if it's a sign of his loss of focus, the glimpses of the man behind the famous name were always endearing to her. A little boost from the Force, something she was getting more comfortable with using around him, and she was next to him on the ship. She knelt down to rest her hand on him.

"Ships respond better to Verpian curses. I thought everyone knew that."

[restoresbalance]

"I usually wash it out beforehand," he said, a grin splitting his grease-streaked face as he wiggled up and turned so he was looking up at Mara--and, not to miss an opportunity, he leaned up on his elbows, kissing her. Not touching her with his hands though. He might kiss her with a filthy mouth, but Luke knew better than to touch her face with a hand that had been elbow-deep in greased starfighter innards.

It was a mark of how comfortable she'd become that she referred to herself as his wife, and it was one of those little things Luke had come to appreciate and bolster himself with since these nightmares started coming.

"Verpian, huh? I'll have to try it out sometime. Huttese is so much more satisfying though."

[hunters_luck]

She leaned down to meet him halfway, smiling even as she kissed him. It was hard to think of herself in any other way. Mara slept in his bed, his niece and nephew called her Aunt Mara. Almost everyone referred to Luke as her husband. The change had been so gradual, she still wasn't sure when she started to think of herself the same way.

"Huttese has a certain, guttural edge to it that's perfect for cursing. How bad is it, if you're insulting it's mother like that?" Mara leaned over to look in the access panel, trying to see what he'd been working on.

[restoresbalance]

"Not bad," Luke said, rolling onto his side again to peer in at the component he'd been working on. "Frustrating, though. I've been trying to improve the shielding, and for some reason, even though I've done this same modification before, it's not working this time." He sat back, passing a hand over his eyes.

"I think I'm overthinking," Luke said, blinking his eyes open again and smiling. "Either way I'm not able to concentrate as well as I ought."