Learn to Fly

[Taataani Onashi]

Taa could hear the sound of workin' being done before she'd opened the speakeasy-style false door to the hangar. A BRRT!, a BZZZ!, and a klang! rattled through the air. The mongrel girl paused to take in the sight of the ugly rust-bucket called Alderaan. Ben weren't nowhere to be seen, so that meant him and that bug was probably raisin' hell on the inside. Humming a ditty, Taa patted her relatively-fat chit purse and began to unfasten her gun belt. She bounded up the gangplank, letting the belt slip to the floor the moment she saw something interesting.

"Hmmm..."

Blue eyes brightened and she slipped a little smile at the pallet of sundries stacked just inside. Little stuff like bottled water and blue milk concentrate and rations. But also treats like self-cooking steam buns. Taa happily helped herself to two of those, peeling open the bulk packaging to liberate one for each hand. She pinched open the insulated foil liner of the first. Once it was exposed to oxygen, the magic within caused the food item to heat and rise before her eyes. A pleasing wisp of meaty-flavored steam curled upwards, and Taa breathed it all in. She took a greedy bite too soon...TOO HOT and let the parcel of bitten bun fall off her reddened tongue with a bleech, watching it land on the deck plate between her boots. Rather than clean the mess, Taa simply wiggled her feet out of her shoes, opting for continuing the rest of her tour of the ship on bare feet.

"Ben?"

She peered around a corridor, pausing to blow more steam off the bun in her right hand. She made a determined face, taking another bite, smacking open-mouthed as she tried to chew and suck in some air to cool it at the same time.

"MmmBrrenmm?"

[Ben Hadrana]

The air inside the ship was stifling and heavy with steam and smoke.

"Okay, Ruz! I think I got it! Give it a shot!"

The ship whirred and shook, rumbling to life as the reactor core was pushed to work harder.

"Oh shit, turn it off turn it — "

Sparks flew from the access shaft where Ben was buried, and the sweaty shirtless seventeen year old scrambled out of the reactor core, breathing heavily and looking around the ship as if he could see through the decking and plating to see what was giving him trouble. The Verpine standing in the ring corridor by a control console made to push a button, but Ben reached out to halt it and began beaming as the ship hummed and vibrated with a regular flow of power.

"We did it! Hah! We did it!" Ben laughed, punching the air. "It's working!"

The human slapped the Verpine's back and turned, a slight look of surprise on his face as he caught sight of Taa.

"Ah, Taa." His beaming started up again and he held out his arms, presenting the ship to the girl. "Look! She's working, finally!"

[Taataani Onashi]

"Hrrm?"

Taa glanced, still air-smacking until her mouthful of steam bun reached minimum safe temperature. Ben sure seemed pleased with himself, and she followed his gesture to glance at the innards of the ship. It was making a humming sound rather than the previous no sound at all, and that had to account for something. The Onashi girl wiggled her toes on the cool deck as she rocked back and forth. She swallowed, then immediately nommed another piping hot mouthful.

"Mmoh yehh thrrt looksh grrd mm...nom...grrd jrrb."

She sniffed the air.

"Mmwhrrts brrning?"

[Ben Hadrana]

Ben frowned.

"Come on," he sighed. "Couldn't you have eaten something before getting on the ship? There's plenty of food in the house you know. Spent good credits on all this stuff. Huh, what?"

He sniffed, and his eyes went wide again.

"Ruz! Turn it off! Turn it off!​"

[Ruz'im]

"It izzz fine, Ben Hadrana!" Ruz'im chittered from the reactor core. "Juzzzt rezzzidual from the core powering up."

The Verpine had to duck as its lanky frame exited the reactor core.

"Oh! Hello, Taataani! It izzz good to see you again! Thizz one hopezzz your excurzzzzion wazzz fruitful. Fruit izzz tasty. That izzz a good turn of phrazzzze."

It's antennae waggled in an ostensibly friendly manner, while the translator/vocabulator device that allowed the insectoid to speak blinked a red light in regular intervals.

[Taataani Onashi]

"Mmif yww hav' mmnuff crredits frr steammbunmms..." the Onashi girl horked another bite as she smugly raised a finger in counterpoint, "thrrn yww hav' mmnuff crredits frr th' new drress fund...mmnom."

Taa pivoted in the corridor, stuffing the unopened steam bun down her shirt while she shimmied up a tool cabinet to sit at the top. That's when she noticed the bug was talkin' to her. She didn't know what to think of it yet. Sure acted friendly, but it was still a big ol' bug. Everything seemed to be a click and a buzz with it, and Taa wouldn't be surprised to find out it was snugging a smashball-sized nest of babies somewhere in the engine room. Gave her the willies.

"Yep." she puncuated her smacks with a reply, wiping a gravy smear off her mouth with the back of her hand before wadding up and tossing the foil wrapper down the hall.

"Helped a few townies let us help ourrselves to some pocket chits I guess they didn't need."

Taa burped, and reached into her shirt to retrieve the second steam bun.

"Thrree hunnerrt crredits ain't bad forr a half day's worrk."

[Ben Hadrana]

Ben grimaced as Taa clambered up the cabinet and perched there languidly like some red and brown lothcat staring down at him in smug superiority despite the fact that it relied on him. That dress had been her most deadly ace up her sleeve, especially since he was spending all he could get on making sure Alderaan could fly at all, much less fly well. He felt guilty about what he'd done to the thing, but Taataani's attitude since he'd met her was steadily wearing down on his regret.

"Well, how're we lookin' now, Ruz?"

Ruz'im canted its head and waggled its antennae.

"If you mean how the ship izzz faring, then I have good newzzz! There izzz nothinng keeping the ship from flying right now!" The Verpine spread its arms wide and tossed its head. "At least azzz far azzz this one izzz aware. Many more issues perhaps within."

"Great!" Ben beamed. "Let's give it a shot!"

He turned and nearly ran up to the cockpit access ladder, scrambling up and inside like a child eager to play with a new toy.