diy energy weapon.

[t65]

Who: luke skywalker crudematter & cassandra deal
When: "ehhh prob around 5/10 or something idk"
Where: Hangar bay.
What: Luke Skywalker sticks his head inside an oven. It's okay; it's an electic oven.
Warnings: Second degree burns, unauthorized metalworking.

[Someone's been building in the cargo bay. Luke figures people won't notice, since he's in there pretty frequently to build droids. So what if he's also using the parts to construct a makeshift oven in the corner. Who will notice?]

[It's pretty small, about the size and shape of a few truck tires piled on top of each other. Most notably, it has no door, just an open hatch facing outward.]

[...It's an opening large enough for Luke to stick most of his upper torso inside of, and he has been, lying back on a wheeled board so he can enter and exit quickly. When Cassandra arrives, that's where she'll find him.]

Comments

[deal]

[She files away the fact that he's never seen the ocean before either for later, when she can plan something for them to do. They're bound to come across a planet with a really amazing beach to visit.

For now, though, she focuses on the lake he's pointed out, and leans forward in her seat to peer out. Like it's going to help her get a better look. A corner of her mouth tips upward and she nods, pointing down to it.]

It probably has sand and a beach around it. It's close enough. It looks safe from up here, maybe we can actually go in the water.

[t65]

Uh... [Luke squints.] The last time I did that, I, uh, almost... drowned. [Cough.] Maybe you go in the water. I'll make sure you're alright.

[He's pretty sure he could pull her out if there was any trouble with the current. It's the pulling himself out he has trouble with.]

[deal]

You don't know how to swim?

[She quirks an eyebrow, not out of judgment but because she sees an open to teach him something. He's done so much for her, it's something she can do for him.]

I could teach you. Not today, if you're afraid, but...eventually.

[It gives them something to look forward to, at least.]

[t65]

I'm not afraid, [he whines,] I just don't want you to have to pull me out. [That is completely different, obviously.] But I would like to learn one day... if you wouldn't mind? I'm not a good student.

[Bet just get that out of the way now. They land on the bank of the lake, and Luke takes a moment to make sure the transport is secure and powered down before he lets himself get up. Different kind of ship and all, best be careful. Also, he's stalling.]

[deal]

[She thinks that maybe he's stalling, but doesn't call him on it. Maybe she'll be able to get him in the water if she doesn't push it.]

I don't think I'd need to pull you out. But if I do, I'm strong enough to do it.

[The look she gives him then challenges him to disagree with her. The look doesn't last too long before she's getting up out of her seat, and hurrying her way off the transport. He may not want to go near the water, but she's about two seconds away from stripping off most of her clothes and climbing in.

She won't, though, because she values Luke's opinion of her. But the idea is tempting.]

[t65]

[If Luke's stalling, it's mostly because he's not sure what to do. It will take a lot more than almost drowning to make him afraid of water, something that he cultivated for nineteen years. She runs off, and Luke hurries after her,] Hey, wait-! [But he's smiling.]

[Luke finds a rock to sit on before pulling off his shoes and dipping his feet in.] Is there a lot of water on your planet?

[deal]

Earth is made up mostly of water. It's like seventy percent water, or something like it. But most of the still water like this is contaminated. Streams and rivers are bad too. The ocean is the only thing that's probably safe.

[Which explains why she's wanting to see one. She sits next to him on the rock and takes off her boots, setting them off to the side. Her feet dip into the water and she moves them about, enjoying the chill of the water.]

The pool back on the Moira is nice, but it's nothing compared to this.

[Outside is where she's comfortable, where she's used to spending most every day. She misses it, now that she's cooped up on the ship so often.}

[t65]

Seventy percent? [Luke leans forward, obviously amazed. Anything with that much water must be glorious to see.] What contaminated it all?

[deal]

A virus. And uh...those things we saw back on your home planet. They get into water and can't get out, so the water becomes contaminated. But the ocean is deep enough that it should be safe.

[Although now she's imagining zombie sharks and that has her eyes widening as she glances away.]

I hope.

[t65]

[Luke wants to reach out and comfort her, but he's not sure she'd appreciate it. He's not sure how much give and take should be from him, how much she would like him to invade her space in general. She seems like a very singular person, someone who can stand completely on their own. It's something Luke admires, and he doesn't want to imply it isn't there with unasked-for support.]

[If he can't help, he'll distract.] Well, this should be safe too. [And he jumps in.]

[deal]

Hey!

[Amused that he's the one that's leapt in first, she hops in right after him. She moves to dive beneath the surface, swimming out so she can experience the feel of moving through water. It's something she's missed doing. She pops up before too long, looking around until she spots him.]

You jumped in.

[She states the obvious, smiling as she skims her hand across the surface to splash at him]

Let me know if you need me to give you a hand.

pretend i remembered to have him take the prosthetic off first >>

[t65]

[Luke emerges choking and barely treading water, and paddles back to shore like a drowned rat. It's not that he's afraid of water, precisely, he just doesn't want to look ridiculous in front of Cassandra. He's done such a good job, he thinks, of impressing her; he doesn't want to ruin that now by displaying a skill he doesn't have.]

[He slowly climbs back on the rock, letting the Force give him a little boost.]

Very funny. [But he sounds genuinely amused as he reattaches the prosthetic arm.] Would you mind telling me more about your planet? I barely know anything about it.

yeah okay we will pretend that

[deal]

[She frowns a little as she watches him quickly get out of the water, wishing he would've stayed in. He went through the trouble of doing in the first place, and having him do it made her happy. But he clearly has an aversion to being in the water, so she figures they'll work up to it in baby steps.

She slowly swims her way back over toward the rock, but doesn't try climbing back up on it just yet. Instead, she looks up at him, nodding in response to his question.]

I've said it's called Earth, right?

[ha-ha, Cassandra. Not what he's looking for.]

It was a really pretty place, not that long ago. I mean, there were wars and shit, and things were really unjust all around the whole planet. But there was so much life, you know? What kind of things were you wanting to know, specifically?

[t65]

[If Luke has an aversion to anything, it's looking foolish in front of pretty girls. He gets enough of that... at almost every point in his life when pretty girls are present. He reaffixes his prosthetic and tests it a little, wiggling the fingers.]

What's it like growing up there? Do you miss anything about it? [It's not spacefaring, so he can't ask the usual questions-- who's in charge, what do they export, what do they think of the Alliance.]

[deal]

[She dips under the water for a second time, this time so she can pull her hair back and out of her face. When she pops back out, she moves to climb up on the rock, holding out her hand so he'll help her up.]

Growing up was okay. My parents worked all the time, and the city we lived in was rough. They immigrated to the US before I was born. So I don't know what it was like for them, living in Cambodia. But I knew they loved me and would do anything to make sure I was happy, which was more than a lot of kids who grew up with rich parents in nice places could say.

[She'll save telling him what she misses for when she's back up on the rock and comfortable.]

[t65]

[And Luke helps her. There's a temptation, for a moment, to use the Force-- it would impress her, he's sure-- but the Force isn't for that. He restrains himself, uses crude matter instead.]

Cambodia is a country? And the Yu-ess? [He's heard of pre-spaceflight planets having those, back before rapidfire travel across the planet made such borders effectively impossible to maintain.]

[deal]

[She smiles a little as she situates, nodding to answer his question.]

The US. United States. I guess people back on Earth think of it as the place where you can become anything, and a place where everyone can have a decent life. It's a lie, but it's a nice thought. It's a country, though. Just like Cambodia. There's a lot of countries, and inside each country there's smaller divisions like states or provinces. And then there's cities and towns inside those, and different neighborhoods in each city.

[She feels stupid, not being able to really explain it in a way that sounds interesting, but there's only so fascinating talking about the way people have divided up land can be. So she scoots in closer to him, because when she's right next to him, she feels a hell of a lot more interesting than she does the rest of the time.]

The thing I miss the most, though? Being able to speak my native language and have people actually understand and talk back. Oh! And things like carnivals. One would always come to town in the summer, and we'd go over and over again so we could ride and eat everything.

[t65]

[It is interesting to Luke, though; he's never been to a planet bountiful enough for the inhabitants to bother divvying up land.] On Tatooine, there were only towns and cities. Everything else was just parts of the desert.

Your native language? Maybe you can teach me some. [It's a small substitute, he knows, but his first instinct is always to help.]

[deal]

Yeah, I knew Khmer before I learned English.

[And since I am not going to butcher a wonderful language using google translate we can say she says a line of something here. And then explains that she's just said Thank you for spending time with me today.]

[t65]

[Luke repeats it back slowly, and does his best; he's not a natural by any stretch of the imagination, but he's trying.] It's a beautiful language. Better than Huttese, definitely.

[Everything is better than Huttese.]

And- thank you for spending time with me, too. [Demonstrative til the end (yet still too chicken to actually kiss her) he takes her hand once more, giving it a little squeeze.]

[deal]

[She appreciates the fact that he's hesitant with the contact, if only because it makes her feel like she has control over it in some way. That's important to her, after all that she's been through. The fact that Luke doesn't push her and cautiously gets in her space means that he respects her, in her mind. So she's relaxed with the contact of his taking her hand, and leans over to briefly rest her head against his shoulder.]

We should do it again sometime. [There's a pause, and she feels the need to add on,]

Soon.

[t65]

[With her head on his shoulder, Luke can't help but to break out into a large and lopsided smile. He's glad she can't see it; he must look ridiculous.]

Then we will. I promise. [He leans his head against hers, and briefly closes his eyes, trying to savor the moment.]

[deal]

[They probably sit like that for a ridiculous amount of time, and look like dorks. Luckily, they're the only ones around and the only things that see them are the local wildlife. So she feels content to just sit together the way they are, up until she starts to feel a little restless from sitting so still. ]

In a few nights, I'll bring you dinner. I can help you work on my droid, after.

[She enjoys being productive and working so doing it together is her idea of an almost date, okay. She's a loser.]

[t65]

[Luke, of course, loves every moment of it. This is, inevitably, the part where she impresses him; he has no idea why she'd want to sit so close to him for so long, quiet and still like this, but it's the best thing, he's sure, that he's ever done or felt.]

I'd love that- but then, your droid won't be a surprise when she's finished. [Because that was sure a genius plan.] I'm almost done.

[deal]

[That gets her to quirk an eyebrow. So, he wants it to be a surprise. That's pretty sweet.]

Okay, then you can surprise me when you're done with it. And we can have dinner together and then paint my speeder red instead. Deal?