Pass The Hydrospanner

[Tionne Thanewulf]

Despite its rarity and unique design, Tionne's KR-TB "Doomthreader" (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/KR-TB_%22Doomtreader%22) was an outdated ship. It was not the inert Skakoan atmosphere that did the damage, but the advancement of technology in the quarter of a century during which the ship was not flown. Just prior to the Jedi Purge, it went through a major overhaul; fitted with the finest equipment credits could buy, the vessel represented the pinnacle of multifunctionality needed by a travelling Jedi Watchman. Also, Thanewulf was not the most skilled of pilots; often she hit pieces of space debris and made rough landings. With a bump here and there, once a formidable starship turned into nothing more but a rusting, flying toaster.

The lights in The Valiant's hangar were dimmed, all decent Rebel folk fast asleep at this time of night, yet one single light shone at the far end, directed right under the wings of the only KR-TB in the radius of several thousand light-years. Tionne lay on the floor, forcefully trying to unwind the screws that held the lid of the deflector shield generator on the outer hull. The Knight panted and growled, hissed and puffed before the fine hydrospanner she was using eventually broke.

"Damn it!" she cursed and tossed it across the floor, then deliberately tipped the toolbox with a kick of her booted leg. Another more massive hydrospanner fell out; wetting lips with her tongue, Thanewulf locked on and grabbed it through the Force, dragging it with a simple thought for a few meters before it landed in her gloved palm.

[Acacius Blade]

"Acacius Blade, Supreme Commander of Chocolate foodstuffs - personal log. I am very sorry to say that the Valiant is in desperate need of more chocolate. What's more, the current supplies of chocolate are very inaccessible. Granted, this is a military ship but it is still crewed by living, breathing (or in one or two cases non-breathing) living individuals. And they need chocolate."

He walked through the central corridor that lead from the Bridge to the elevator that would take him straight down to the hanger bay. It was late but there was still the odd crewman or woman (or something else, this is space afterall!) They gave bewildered looks towards the Jedi Master as he spoke seemingly pointless thoughts. But little did they know how much better things would be once Acacius had finished his current project.

There was a small-ish breakout room adjacent to the corridor. Acacius entered it. The doorway was in the corner of the room, looking directly at the next corner, while the room itself was to his left. There were several tables with metal benches, and a spartan kitchen of sorts on the far wall. In the corner directly opposite him, it was bare - about twelve feet away.

"Perfect!" he exclaimed. "It'll be an absolutely perfect location for a vending machine. Just enough distance from the door for the thought process of what to buy. Too close and you'd be standing in front of the damn thing with no clue what to buy and so you'd move on. Too far away and you'd reconsider whether or not it was worth the effort. Perfect!"

He entered the location into his personal log before leaving and making his way to the elevator.

It was a quick journey down to the hanger, where it was only slightly more illuminated than the rest of the ship. Despite it being after official duty hours, the hanger's contents of ships, weaponry and heavy machinery called for a degree of safety that the pitch black did not accommodate.

There were several large lamps on the other side of the vast room, along with the odd clang and curse. He ventured over to see what was going on. Once there, he found Tionne lying on her back with her body partially hidden under what he could only assume was her ship.

"Good evening my dear. We meet again for the first time!"

He stood with his fists resting on his hips. One of the lamps had fallen over and was shining directly up at him. An immense Acacius-shaped shadow loomed over the entire hanger bay, like some Galactic Demon of Evil.

"Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!" His laugh echoed through the darkness.

"You'll never get that open with that!."

[Tionne Thanewulf]

Acacius' sudden appearance managed to startle Tionne; whilst concentrating all her efforts at opening the hatch, she remained oblivious to a familiar signature approaching. The hydrospanner fell to the floor with a loud clang, the Knight cursing in Huttese upon sliding from under her ship.

"Damn it, Acacius. Can you not do that?" the redhead voiced in mild annoyance, scooping a dab of motor oil from her forehead and then wiping her hand against her already stained, sweat-ridden tank top. With ruffled hair and dirty, Thanewulf looked like she really delved into the role of a mechanic.

"Oh yeah? Watch me." said the Coruscanti, picking up the hydrospanner from the floor and jabbed it in the crease between the hatch and the hull. She swung backwards, using her own weight as leverage, but the darn thing still remained intact. As metal rusted over years of extensive usage, it locked the opening mechanism in place.
"Comeeee onnnnnnnn...." Tionne hissed, applying all strength she could muster. Lastly, the Jedi called upon the Force, incidentally making the hydrospanner break. Again. The ginger-haired woman fell backwards, landing on the durasteel floor with a dampened thump, her vision blackened for but a briefest of moments.
"Ow."

[Acacius Blade]

"See? Told you so!"

He sat down next to her and brought the lamp to bear down on the panel for a closer look.

"This vessel's older than I am! No wonder these tools won't open it, they're too recent - they're not compatible. You'll be lucky if you can get it open but you damn sure as hell won't re-secure it. What are you up to anyway Tionne - and at this hour of the night as well!"

As he turned to look at her, he swivelled the lamp head in the same direction - her facial features were completely saturated by the intense light and all he could see was a stark, bright white ball with fiery hair.

[Tionne Thanewulf]

"Uhhh..." the Knight grunted, bright light burning into her eye sockets - "Away with it, please."
Her lids instinctively closed, gloved hand pushing the reflector sideways to divert the light away from her face. The luminance of the bulb reminded Tionne how tired she was, yet so much tuning had to be done on this forsaken ship. Sometimes it seemed easier just purchasing a new one, now that she had spare credits lying about. Sheer sentimentality kept Tionne from selling the ship as secondary raw materials.

"This is the only time of the day when it's quiet here and when I can work, without space jockeys parading about. Perhaps even try to upgrade this ancient piece of flying junk, Force permitting." said the redhead,wiping sweat off her forehead - "You?"

[Acacius Blade]

He looked away sharply.

"Me? Sorry - can't say. Top secret. You know how it is!"

He stood up and took a few lunges backwards to get a better look at the ship. As he perused the aging hull, the lamp followed his gaze, lighting up the ship as his eyes moved.

"Surely you can't hope to find compatible upgrades on such a modern ship. Even by scavenging spare parts from the various support ships that dock here, your ship pre-dates them all by at least two starship component overhaul phases. I can tell just by looking at the engines that you won't find a useful fuel flow regulator anywhere but the Outer Rim if you're lucky. Reputable traders won't even stock what you're looking for because nobody wants it. If you want to get this ship in ship-shape shape then what you don't need are late nights on the Valiant using the wrong tools and the wrong parts."

He stepped forward and struck the hull with the bottom of a clenched fist. A dull ring echoed across the darkened hangar and reverberated through the rest of the hull. A layer of dust and dirt flew up from where he hit it.

"What you do need is a treasure hunt!"

[Tionne Thanewulf]

"Hey, don't insult my ship! It was a gift, from my grandfather who was also a Jedi. He confiscated it in the Stark Hyperspace Conflict, directly from Iaco Stark (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Iaco_Stark) himself. In that regard, the ship is more than fifty years old - almost as old as I am." the Knight asserted nonchalantly, testing to see if Blade was actually paying attention to anything she said. Tionne slid from under her ship and stood up, tossing tools back into the repository box. Wrenching was never her strong suit.

"Treasure hunt?" the redhead repeated mockingly - "More like a plunge into Raxus Prime junkyards."
The Knight approached him, then casually leaned onto her ship, back pressing against the dusty hull.
"Is that an offer, Acacius?" the Coruscanti quizzed, offering a cryptic smile.

[Acacius Blade]

Acacius' eyes lit up wildly as a crafty grin sauntered across his lips.

"Just think of it! The two of us, catapulting ourselves across the galaxy in search of ancient technology in an effort to breathe new life into this awesome vessel, pursued every step of the way by space pirates intent on boarding and stealing it. There'll be insidious aliens along the way, all too paranoid and suspicious to share their secrets with us who won't be content until we're rotting in their cistern-prisons. And don't get me started on the renegade droids who'll try to ambush us on the way back - they need the components to upgrade their rusting, obsolete, failing parts or they're doomed. The adventure! The excitement! The danger! Thrills, spills, chills - and who knows, if we stop off at a mine we might even find some drills!"

His animated talk seemed to have disturbed a nearby astromech droid who was adjusting the power relays on a nearby A-Wing; he wobbled off into the darkness in a hurry.

"Incidentally, mining drills make very good defensive weapons during a boarding action. And when nothing else is available, they can be substituted as cooking utensils but make sure you have plenty of paper towels and for Heaven's sake wear goggles!"

[Tionne Thanewulf]

After a long, long time, Thanewulf laughed. Wholeheartedly, unrestrainedly, candidly. Laughter reverberated though the hangar bay, echoing against steel hulls of surrounding ships. The smile delineating on her face signalled she liked this man already. Unlike the rest of the Jedi, Acacius was casual yet daringly erratic. In that sense, probably also clinically insane.

"Maybe we should pay Hutts a visit. I haven't been around Hutt space for over twenty five years. All the junk we need should be piled up there." she said, more to herself than anybody else. Somehow, she doubted Blade would listen to anything she said in the first place.

"More importantly... would you be able to fix my ship once we get the parts? I'd bake you cake in return." Tionne offered with a nod - "Chocolate even."

[Acacius Blade]

Acacius gave a confident shrug and smiled.

"Please! I could carry out the repairs in my sleep..."

He suddenly became a little more serious. He held her shoulders and gave a reassuring frown.

"But I would never do that - I enjoy playing golf in my sleep. I have no idea what it is, and I've never had a dream about playing any kind of sport. But if I did, I'd play golf. Golf..."

He took a step back, breathed in deeply and then, with great gusto...

"Golf!

It wasn't particularly loud, but it was certainly the definitive utterance of the word since he invented it a moment ago.

"I think it's a great name for a sport. Perhaps we can invent it on the way to Nar Shaddaa. I'd normally be ready to leave right away but with such an epic quest I think it would be prudent to pack some things. Shall we leave in the morning? Or perhaps after lunch. I tend to act a bit silly if I don't eat two meals before going to Nar Shaddaa - anywhere else and I'm fine."

[Tionne Thanewulf]

Tionne lifted an amused brow. Acacius Blade was a bundle of unrestrained, slightly schizophrenic fun - not many Jedi she met were so beautifully spontaneous and vivacious. It was a feat she learned to appreciate more and more by the minute, some of his enthusiasm inevitably brushing off on her too.
"Golf? Sleep? Nar Shaddaa?" the redhead repeated, not knowing what to make of his trail of thought.

"There's no such thing as golf!" she voiced dismissively, waving a hand - "You just made that one up!"
An accusatory finger prodded him right into the middle of his chest. The Knight looked up at him, his hands still grabbing her by the shoulders.

"I tell you what... Let's meet here after breakfast tomorrow and stop at a diner somewhere, to grab lunch. Like Kwenn Space Station (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Space_Station_Kwenn), just before Hutt space. You know, the last place before Hutt space where they serve your food dead." said the redhead, knuckles pressed against her hips.

[Acacius Blade]

"Careful where you poke me - I might just poke back - Missy!"

He turned away, rubbing his chest gingerly. He started heading for his shuttle to return to the Whaledon for the night. He stopped on the loading ramp and turned back to the crimson vixen.

"And you're just jealous because you never made it up first!"

Placing his hands by his ears, he wiggled his fingers and stuck his tongue out. The loading ramp began to close before he stepped inside and started up the engines. As the shuttle raised off the glossy hanger floor, Acacius activated the external speaker system, and in a low, sinister tone, he spoke...

"Sweet dreams, Firefly. Sweet dreams. Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha..."

The Valiant's automated security field de-activated and he was clear to leave. His voice returned to it's usual carefree tone.

"Nighty night Tionne. See you bright and early!"

And like that - WHOOSH! - he was gone.

[Tionne Thanewulf]

Chuckling, Thanewulf returned to her ship once he was finally gone. She sauntered though the narrow corridor to the back room and jumped right into the woven hammock, not even bothering to take her clothes off. The muscles of her arms ached, yearning for a warm bath and a massage, but those were luxuries she could not afford tonight. Just as she closed her eyes, her thoughts drifted to the Felucian hermit. Drin was to go look for him tomorrow, if he didn't return.

"Stop thinking about it." she voiced internally, biting her lower lip - "No good will come of it. Deal with it. He doesn't want to be around you."
The Knight covered her face with her palms and exhaled deeply, her fingers then pressed against her temples in an attempt to vent some tension.

"I should have thought about that before you ever so conveniently jumped into bed with him. What was I thinking?" the redhead berated herself silently, then turned in the hammock to face the wall. Blowing a hiss through her teeth, she shook her head in disdain.
"Sleep, now."


***

Seated atop a crate, Tionne drank her morning coffee and smoked her pipe. A flight officer had already warned her to extinguish it, yet received nothing more than a plethora of insults in Huttese. The Jedi waited patiently, silently watching the vivacious beginning of yet another day in the Valiant's hangar bay.

[Acacius Blade]

The same small shuttle from the night before sluggishly drooped down onto the hanger deck with a thud. Ten minutes later, the ramp opened and Acacius slowly made his way down it. He walked towards Tionne; his eyes barely open. He seemed as if he was on autopilot.

"Morning..." he said as he walked past her, heading for a door on the opposite side of the hanger; the flight deck canteen. He called back to her.

"I'll be with you in a few minutes..."

Well it was more of a loud mutter really.

[Tionne Thanewulf]

"Take your time." the redhead voiced after him, hopping off the crate to finish her coffee. Caffeine-infused, she was ready for rumble through Hutt space. The Knight strapped a handy utility belt around her waist, carefully securing the hilt of her lightsaber from behind, out of plain sight. An electrum lightsaber would attract too much attention in the scoundrel-infested crucible of Nar Shadaa.

Cotton shirt was pulled off, leaving her in a short top ending just where the chiselled platelets of her abdomen began. Tionne pulled a worn leather trench coat over her frame, leaving it unbuttoned for undergarment to show. Surely, such feats would secure them favourable bargains with the smugglers, or at least the Jedi hoped. The Jedi gave her cargo pants one final tuck, buckling up the utility belt to keep her slightly oversized trousers in place. As a final touch, she put on a pair of stylish shades and a pair of fingerless gloves, wild red locks cascading down her back and sides, framing her freckled visage.

[Acacius Blade]

A moment later, Acacius emerged from the canteen with a steaming flask of coffee and a small container. He sat on a crate next to Tionne and opened it, revealing four fried eggs and several slices of buttered toast.

"I need my wake-up fuel or I'll be useless for the next five hours."

He inhaled deeply.

"Mmm - ignition sequence started." he said, smiling.

He sipped at the piping hot coffee when his glance wandered back to Tionne. He noticed her lower stomach and suddenly the brown liquid sprayed out of his mouth and he started coughing.

"Hot! Too hot!"

He reached for the food once more. He folder an egg into one of the slices and sank his teeth in. He muttered something, being sure to keep eye contact with her.

"I'n yay unhin ih hooheh houn!"