The Layover

[Ben Merasska]

"Listen, I need some plasma coils for the - "

"I'm sorry sir, but unless you have an acquisition form signed by the quartermaster, I'm afraid I can't allow anything else to leave this storeroom," the protocol droid said in its best approximation of a sympathising tone of voice.

Ben shifted as he hefted the crate full of odds and ends for the Albatross's general repair. His job paid, and it wasn't bad pay either. But no amount of money could truly grease the wheels of the Wheel. It had to be useful, in working condition, and generally uncommon in order for Ben to bypass the system of acquisition forms and semi-bureaucratic mumbo-jumbo that he never understood all that well.

He'd have to start stocking up on odds and ends, in case he was ever in this position again.

"Fine," he sighed. "Even though everything else was signed for, by the same guy you're asking me to go see now, I'll go. But just wait. I'll have my revenge!"

He said the last with a tapering warble that robbed the statement of any real intimidation it may have had, and turned to leave, ignoring the droid's bland, 'Oh my'.

He looked down into the crate and started walking, until he nearly ran into someone turning the corner.

"Oh kriff," He laughed and gasped at the same time. "You scared me half to death. Sorry about that."

[Saricia Ask'lan]

She took a few steps back to avoid the collision, a hand against her heaving chest. The excitement of almost being knocked into one of the crewman had made her breathing a bit erratic.

"I am sorry too, but I did not think I was the scary kind of person," she said with a smile while catching her breath. Saricia felt foolish for having her mind preoccupied. She should have easily sensed or smelled this human and easily gotten out of his way. Recent events aboard the Wheel with s'Ilancy and Dan had made it difficult to keep her mind on the present, ever racing with what ifs about the future.

However, if there was one thing that this moment was giving her was better use of her basic. She still felt so formal and stiff when speaking.

[Ben Merasska]

The first thing Ben thought was that she spoke very properly, like one of those Mothmas from Chandrila. The second thought was the normal realization that she was pretty. The third was that she wasn't dressed in any military garb that he could recognize. Some sort of diplomat?

"Nah, you're not all that scary," Ben agreed mildly, before frowning in thought and looking more closely. "But I scare easy. Have I jumped in fear of you before? You look somewhat familiar."

[Saricia Ask'lan]

Ben's eye was true. Saricia was dressed in her usual white dress that hugged her curves but fell loose past her waist. A simple, black, belt also loosely hung around her waist. It was an elegant but a simple look. It fit her.

"Not all that scary?" she said cheerfully. "That would presume I was somewhat scary then."

Saricia narrowed her eyes to study the human and her nostrils flared subtly, briefly, to see if his scent was recognizable. "No. I would have remembered you. I am called Saricia Ask'lan and this would be the first time we meet formally."

[Ben Merasska]

"A figure of speech," Ben said airily. "Name's Ben Merasska. Nice ta meetcha, Saricia Ask'lan."

He shrugged cheerfully, glad to have met someone who seemed about as crazy as he was; crazy enough to be on this rebel boat, but not so crazy as to be mixing it up on the regular with the military and navy nuts.

"I could've sworn I've seen you somewhere before. Not trying to be weird or anything, but I don't see so many pretty faces that I forget one."

He thought for another moment. "Cirr!" he gasped.

"The first time I saw Cirr, there was this big fight in the mess hall, between some guy named... San... Samus, or something like that, and a bunch of snub pilots. I remember seeing you there and this intimidating lady with a scar over one eye. I hid under her table during the fight."

[Saricia Ask'lan]

"It is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Ben Merasska," she said politely and found him pleasant, and rather funny as he tried to remember where they might have met. Though she found it a bit difficult to hide the blush at the off hand comment about her appearance. She was never good at that.

When realization hit Ben, Saricia's face went from curious to sad within a heartbeat. "Sanis. His name was Sanis," she corrected but found a way to smile, not wanting her thoughts to go down that road. Ben's account of the brawl was still entertaining.

"You hid under the table? Some would think that was intelligent..." she paused and felt suddenly stupid! "I am so sorry! You are holding supplies and your arms must be getting tired. Let us talk along the way to your destination."

[Ben Merasska]

"Yeah, that's it! Sanis! I thought he was kinda intimidating, actually..." he trailed off, before nodding, glad that he was going to have some company. Xerxes was turning out to be not half bad as far as an on-board artificial intelligence, but Ben always preferred organic company to mechanical. He wasn't going to have a sit-down with Lyanie any-time soon, and Cirr was gone as well.

Ben Merasska was all by his lonesome.

"There's not all that much in here. A couple spare inertial dampeners, alluvial what-nots and a lot of those thingamajigs. I'm no mechanic or engineer, so starship repair is hit and miss for me. I gotta have backups of everything or I might have to jury-rig something, and jury-rigging an engine, not to mention a hyper-drive, is not my cup of caf, if you know what I mean."

He frowned, noting that despite her quick recovery, she'd dimmed a bit; even the tone of her dress seemed to darken with the slight drop of her mood. He took his eyes off her body quickly, hoping she wouldn't think he was staring.

"Sorry if I brought up some bad memories or something," he said, stepping to the side to allow some harried technician staring at a datapad past. "Something happen?"

[Saricia Ask'lan]

Sanis was intimidating but that was how he survived. It was just his way and there was no other way that he knew, or wanted to know.

Ben's explanation of his supplies distracted her thoughts leading down a road best left alone, even if she was completely confused as to what he was talking about. Alluvial what-nots and thinamajigs were parts that she was unfamiliar with, but the cavalier way in which Ben talked made him seem like an expert.

"I do not know what you mean. My knowledge of technology is ..." she paused searching for the right word. "Ah, non-existent. I grew up on a farm with just the essentials. So you are a master craftsman compared to me."

She did not notice that Ben had been staring since her thoughts were elsewhere. Mainly of her mother back home, helpless and mentally deteriorating everyday. Her eyes were focused forward as she played with the side of a nail upon her finger nervously, "No. It was nothing that I do not normally think about on occasion. Do not trouble yourself, Ben, but I thank you for asking."

[Ben Merasska]

"Do not trouble yourself, Ben, but thank you for asking."

"Oh," Ben replied, not necessarily believing her, but unwilling to force the issue. "Well, okay then. As for being a master craftsman, I'm not. I just fly things, and I know more about electrical systems and stuff than engines and parts."

They entered the hangar bay, a massive place that was packed with various ships, shuttles, and even an odd snub fighter. Ben weaved through the hodgepodge of people and starships easily, though keeping his pace down so Saricia could keep up.

"By the way, where is Sanis?" he asked, still oblivious to the correlation between his last mention of the man and her change in mood. "I haven't seen or heard much of him in the last couple times I've been back here."

[Saricia Ask'lan]

"You still know more then I about anything related to technology. Why my compliment," she challenged with a smile.

As they entered the hangar bay, it was clear he was a known quantity here by how many waves they were getting. Well, he was getting truthfully. She was taken notice, some stares lingered, but Saricia was too busy to notice since she was still trying to keep up Ben. Her tour of the ship lacked much in maneuvering around a busy hangar.

And then she almost smacked right into Ben but managed to catch herself before the misstep when he turned. "I ... I do not know actually," she said, her voice a mixture of embarrassment and something else that was difficult to place.

[Ben Merasska]

Ben stopped, barely stopping a collision with a trolley driving tech, and glanced back at seeing Saricia barely keep from running into him.

"Hey there, watch it!" Ben blurted out. In the hangar bay, things were much different than in the rest of the ships of the convoy. He was preoccupied, and so continued to remain mostly oblivious, that is, until he took a good look at her.

"Well kriff," he said. "I didn't mean to pry. Ain't none of my business anyhow, I guess, right?"

He nodded in response to his own question, and nodded to the WR-542 sitting off in the corner.

"So what brings you to this liveliest of places, eh?" he asked, before frowning. "You're not a Jedi are you? Not that I dislike Jedi, but they always creep me out. It's like looking at some animal that everyone says has been dead for years, but it's not."

He stopped his rambling and smiled apologetically.

"Sorry," he said finally, and nodded to the ship in front of them with smile. "Here I am talking away and not letting you get a word in edge-wise. So I take it you don't fly much. So what brings you here, then?"

[Saricia Ask'lan]

Saricia was more preoccupied with righting herself that she failed to notice Ben staring at her. She felt her cheeks flushed, embarrassed that he was able to read her so well.

"You did not know. No harm done, Ben," she said, forgiving him with a smile. His question was not malicious in intent. It was just conversation and how was he to know it was a sore topic with the Lupine?

Ben's response made her frown. Babbling as he was, and again no harm was really meant, the perception of Jedi was foreign to most. Meeting one with the preconceived notions the Empire projected would make even allies squeamish. Considering his disposition towards Force Users, it was a safe assumption to leave her Lupine heritage out of this conversation for now.

"Would it displease you that much if I were a Jedi?" she asked and then stopped in her tracks at Ben's ship curiously. She didn't want to expand on anything else until she heard his response.

[Ben Merasska]

"No," Ben answered honestly. "I don't hate Jedi or anything, you know? They're like wizards. Or dragons. Fairy-tales. People tell stories about them, but no one ever thinks they're real."

He shrugged.

"Have you ever seen something that you never once though you'd ever see in your life? Picture it, whatever it is. You see it, and everyone's treating it like it's normal. But you've only heard of it, and they were those fuzzy ideas and scenes in your head, not living breathing people. People who fight, who talk, who sneeze."

He grinned and shook his head, finally aware of why he was so nervous around Jedi now.

"If you're a Jedi, I'm talking to a real life fairy, from those fairy tales, with magic dust, and who is someone completely on a different level than me."

[Saricia Ask'lan]

Ben's insight into the legends of Jedi was rather whimsical and honest. It was perhaps the most endearing answer she had ever had the privilege of listening to.

"Well, I am not much of a fighter truthfully," she answers shyly, indicating that Ben was correct. That she was a Jedi.

"And you surpass me in various ways. You know the galaxy better then I, know the way of the mechanical and have far more friends here."

As if on cue, another technician waved at Ben with his hydrospanner before disappearing onto a lift to check the mounted turret on cargo freighter.

[Ben Merasska]

Ben accepted the compliments in stride. He was focused on understanding himself what was going on with his reaction to the Jedi.

"Sure, I'm good at some things that you're not," he agreed, dropping the box by the loading ramp and pulling down a panel on the underside of his ship. "But that's like saying I'm better at drawing than you, because I've had years of practice."

He was glad he was having this conversation, as it had broken the ice and smoothed over what would have likely been a bunch of stuttering and awkwardness, especially after learning Saricia was Jedi.

"I can't ever get what you have. You can learn this, but I can't learn to do whatever it is Jedi do."

He pulled out a small sphere from the panel, blew on it, and wiped it off on his shirt, before putting it back. Pulling out another one and repeating the process, Ben dropped the sphere into a corner of the box of parts and replaced it with another, cleaner looking sphere from the box.

"You want to learn something?" he asked. "These are sphere-thingies. That's not the right term for them, but as long as they work, and I can find more, I'm not worried. They're part of the ship's repulsor system. Something about magnetic fields and some science. If you have a ship that gives a warning about the repulsor system, the first thing to check is the sensor relays to make sure nothing's sending a bad signal, and then you check these."

[Saricia Ask'lan]

"Because you have not the ability to use the Force, does not make you any less special Ben Merasska," she said, smiling. Every entity in the galaxy was unique and had their place within the mechanisms of the Force, no matter how large or small an impact it may be. Just because she was able to wield what some considered to be an 'awesome power' that could not understand, did not make her any less mortal then the rest.

That hurdle appeared to be overcome with Ben, as he had jumped into a casual lecture of some parts and what they were used for. She narrowed her eyes in concentration, gazing down at the sphere-thingies, she titled her head curiously as a pup would do when listening to an elder's lecture. She was attentive and completely focused.

"If I understand correctly from a prior explanation," she paused and slowly pronounced the next word, "the re-pul-sors are what make the ship ..."

She frowned, eyes fluctuating together as she tried to remember the word Dan used. "Hover?" she said, unsure.

[Ben Merasska]

"Yep," Ben said with a grin, checking a couple more of the metallic spheres. "Like I said, something to do with magnetism and science-y stuff. I could swear there's mercury involved too, but that could be something I saw on a history holo."

He placed the panel back and made sure it was secure before turning back to Saricia. He hadn't checked all the spheres, but there wasn't anything wrong with the repulsors anyway. He needed to do something or he might get too nervous to keep up conversation.

"Do you want something to drink? I picked up some Chandrilan tea during my last run and my boss told me to keep some of it," he shook his head, feeling most of the nerves calm after finally asking. "I asked her what I would do with Chandrilan tea, and she told me that I could do anything I wanted. May as well use it for company, eh?"

[Saricia Ask'lan]

As Ben spoke, she tried to recollect anything that was memorable in her limited education. Science-y stuff, as he put it, was not a strong subject for either of them, but he had a rudimentary knowledge that was applicable to his job. Frankly, Ben still appeared to quite the mechanic since any issues with the sphere-thingies was analyze quickly.

With her introduction into the Alliance, Saricia had made it a priority to read up on aligned worlds, their cultures, species, everything to create less social awkwardness when interacting with personnel. She was familiar with the planet but not its imports.

"Tea is always best used for company, or to soothe a tired mind and body." She inclined her head, accepting the offer. "I would love to share a cup with you."

[Ben Merasska]

"Tea is always best used for company, or to soothe a tired mind and body."

"Uh, yeah," Ben replied, unsure how to respond to that. He chose to let it pass and gestured for her to follow him up to the Albatross (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/WR-542_Shooting_Star). "I wasn't expecting company, so it's not presentable, but not much I can do now."

The inside of the ship was not small, but not spacious either. It was spartanly decorated, and while it looked less than new, it was in far better condition than many ships in the Wheel itself.

It was only a matter of a few seconds before they entered the galley, off to the side of a small common room with seats, a small table (without a holoprojector), and a board along the wall with some darts stuck in it.

He dropped his box of parts absently on the floor and washed his hands in a tiny sonic sink before going about making the tea, kicking a lower cupboard door open and revealing a huge open box of what seemed to be tins of tea. He slid one out of the box.

"So make yourself comfortable," he said. "So you're learning to be Jedi, eh? How does that work? Incantations? Do they give you a wand or something?"

[Saricia Ask'lan]

"I promise I will not judge, Ben," she said to ease any concerns about presentation. Her own cottage back home on Sacorria was nothing overly special. Very few personal items from their past was openly displayed and the space felt necessary then homey. Since coming to the Wheel, she has learned that what the Rebels considered meager means were practically a luxury to the Lupine.

She casually glanced about the room as Ben rummaged through the cabinets - the strange target on the wall catching her eye. Moving closer, she cautiously placed the tip of her index finger against the end of the dart, feeling the light, almost feathery, quality of its end.

Smiling, because of Ben's comment, the odd item, or both - it was uncertain. "We do not require an object to use the Force. Just an open mind that is calm and willing to accept that the impossible, is possible."

She backed away and headed for the table. "It would be rather boring to those that training, I believe. Meditation, repeating skill drills, discussions of the Force and what it means to us and our place in the galaxy."

[Ben Merasska]

"Huh," he said, keeping an eye on the water levels in the ship's reserves. He'd need to refill soon, and the Wheel was no place to get more. He truthfully wasn't all that interested in the Jedi, or at least learning about what they did and how. It had been the easiest question to ask.

"So how did you get here?" he asked, turning around and leaning against the counter top. "I was dragged here by my Cap'n, Barton Henning. I was in debt, needed a job, and a pilot for the Supply Corps is what I could get. Life happened and now I fly this ship."

He grinned and watched Saricia inspect the common room and head for the table. He liked flying the Albatross, hell, he loved it; but sometimes he missed flying with Lyanie, and the Cap'n. It had been nice to have a full ship all that the time. Being alone during a job often led to introspection, something Ben avoided.

Xerxes had provided Ben with a great avenue of escape from his thoughts.

"What's your story, if you don't mind me asking?"