Shadows of Bankor

Djanik had found a largely abandoned speeder garage that had gone out of business on the outskirts of Rygor's industrial region, rented the space, and moved in.

Now he was lying on a roller, under a large pylon holding an engine, trying to install some power converters.

It was a mixture of drinking kaff, cursing, and spot welding, and for all the protestations to the contrary, he was having a grand time.

Sure, his ship was still grounded, covered with tarps and sitting on hoists, but it was getting there. A metal pillar of a ship, with one engine pylon sticking out and up, the other still removed and undergoing repairs. He'd found this beauty, hit by a concussion missile some many years ago - it had blown apart one engine pylon, but the rest of the ship was still in great condition.

So, as soon as he could get this damn engine working again, and replace the hull plating, and replace the upholstery, and fix the sensor array that womp rats had chewed, and get the laser cannons to stop shorting out...

It was a work in progress, but it was already so much better than it had been.

Repairing a ship: Mechanics + Destiny, Boost for manual: 2eP+1eA+1eB+3eD 4 successes, 1 threat, 1 Triumph


(Very successful, also not sure what I can use the Triumph for - can it upgrade the ship or something?)

OOC: If you have the materials cost it can be fully repaired.

Djanik finished welding in the power converters and then gave the ignition a quick test flip to see if power would flow. In theory, it should still need some more work, but to his shock, the power not only flowed, but the engine coughed, and then began to spin, humming as it came to life.

With a celebratory whoop, he listened to the KSE-921 compression turbine humming for a good fifteen seconds, reveling in the smooth, steady hum.

It was working. Not just somewhat, but it sounded good as new.

Clicking off the power, he checked the leads, and realized what he had done. He'd thought the KSE engines needed a secondary shunt, but the compression turbines meant that it didn't need to ignite a secondary reaction chamber. He was a week ahead of schedule because he'd been thinking he had an entire 2nd section of engine to finish.

Pushing himself out from under the gantry, he got to his feet, picking his mug of kaff off the tool bench and gazing with immense satisfaction at the engine block.

This was perfect - now all he had to do was put the panels back on, run diagnostics, and mount the pylon. The interior was just a matter of twenty minutes, swapping out the chairs... He couldn't believe it. He would have a ship that could fly.

Today.

It was the best he had felt in years.

As he was putting the panel on, there was some slow clapping from somewhere behind him, towards the garage's front door.

Djanik glanced back, and broke into a wide grin.

"You got here just in time - I thought I was going to be at this for weeks, but the engine is actually in working condition after all."

He gestured at the part, up on the gantry, and added, thoughtfully, "Though I still have to do some leg work, getting it all assembled."

Waving an invitation in, he added, "If you want some kaff, there's a pot on the work bench. I haven't fixed the one inside the ship yet - it still leaks."

She nodded and stood up straight from leaning on the door frame, walking right over to the kaff pot.

"Where did you pick it up? Do not tell me you found it in that cave or something."

Ela poured herself a big cup of the dark liquid before starting to dig around for something.

"I found it in chunks, in the scrap yard. Someone had tried to take it apart and given up - it was only busted up in the pylon, otherwise she was in great shape."

Djanik began wheeling the gantry toward the main hull, pulling aside the tarps.

Now that the parts were lined up, it was clear what the ship would eventually look like.

"I had thought I'd need to do more work, so I was going to ask for help, but it turned out that all I needed was to fix the power inflow lines for the engine - really this ship was knocked out pretty cleanly, back when it took the hit that put it in the scrapyard. Only really lost the one engine."

"It does look kind of rough, yes. I can see how it would only be superficial damage, judging from what it look like you did to the outside."

Her voice kept fading in and out as she opened cupboards and drawers to stick her head in them.

Climbing the gantry, he flipped his goggles down to cover his eyes as he raised his new plasma cutter, and then after a moment, he lowered it, and lifted them back off his eyes.

"You looking for something?"

"Honey. I desire honey with my kaff to remove the bitterness," she said with the voice of someone very used to getting what they ask for. She even turned to him and pouted at not being able to find any.

Djanik was surprised. "I've never tried that before."

He pointed to the fridge at the end. "I've got sugar and cream at the end - that's all though. I didn't know you could get honey on Bankor."

With an apologetic shrug, he turned back to his welding. "So, is that a common Chiss recipe? Or did you pick it up while traveling?"

"Recipe? We do not have this 'kaff' in Ascendency space. But we do have honey. This is just me trying to wake up more without tasting like I am drinking the wringings from a Hutt's gym towel."

Finding said honey and cream she took them out, sniffing the cream curiously after taking the cap off.

"I don't make kaff that badly."

He was only half insulted - some people just didn't like the taste.

"Cream takes the edge off without totally removing the taste."

Running the fusion torch down the weld seam, he patiently sealed the join, working his way around the pylon at a steady pace.

"So, what do you think? She's a bit of an older model, but there is a certain charm to these older Kuat Systems Engineering designs, at least to me."

She poured in a generous amount of the cream, until the liquid was at the brim of the cup. Ela stirred it carefully, watching it, "I do no even know what the kaff you make tastes like; I just find it foul in general. not like kiss'thel root tea... As to the ship, it is certainly not offensive to the eyes; A nice symmetry and swept appearance. Not sure I would trust it as much landing in rough weather though."

"It does have landing spikes, that help balance, but yes... that could be an issue."

He beamed at it, all the same.

"Still, I'm told these old Rusalka class patrol boats handle better than you'd expect in a ship that size, enough so, maybe I could even take down TIE fighers."

It was a few moments after he had said it, and he was finishing another weld, that he realized what he had said.

He grew strangely quiet for a moment, leaning against the railing, wondering what had brought out that particular statement.

"Maybe. I suppose that depends on how many there were. I do not like the tie fighter design, but they most certainly make up for the weaknesses they have by just deploying millions of them. More seriously, I get what you mean. Not something I can say about my freighter. Not without some overhauling or some other crew at least."

Djanik chuckled at her clinical response, coming back to the present.

"Well, a freighter like that can, at least, comfortably berth a crew. This old girl is built for two."

Finishing the pylon weld, he sat himself under the join, and began hooking in power lines.

"Speaking of TIE fighters... and the Empire, I heard about them driving out the Scrap King. I hope they didn't give you any trouble."

"Apart from needing to repack in a hurry, no. I have my ship, so I went elsewhere while most others fled in landspeeders. Fortunately I had not been there long, so I had not put down branches, as it were. The King is much more angry than I."

"I imagine he is."

Djanik grabbed one of the support poles in the garage and slid down to ground level.

Walking over to Elaranu, he scooped up his own mug, and started getting a refill of his own.

"Still... it's stuff like that, like that crackdown against the Aznuri... it makes you wonder, doesn't it? If the Empire deserves their authority?"

She tilted her head curiously as she turned towards him, stirring stick in one hand as it dripped into the cup, "The government taking control of a lawless region is certainly welcome, as opposed to some crazy man and a gang running things and demanding tribute. And if they felt those Aznuri represented a threat to their authority..."

Ela held up her free hand, "Before you say anything, I do understand what you are saying. While a firm hand in government is an admirable goal, their methods lack tact and understanding. A better government would use diplomacy and the law, not brute force, slaughter, and terror. It is disproportionate in the extreme."

Djanik nodded. "Yes, and it's getting worse."

He claimed the cream, pouring in just a tiny dash.

Taking a slow sip, he thought about it, and then said, "I'd talked about it before, but I used to fight for the Republic. I fought to protect people... these people. Republic citizens."

Gazing at the ship, he added, thoughtfully, "I'm wondering if I ever should have stopped."

"Hmph. The Republic was weak and corrupt. It needed to change. Not to this, no. But something. Thankfully I am an engineer, not a politician. So I do not need to figure these things out. I barely know how to get a small group to agree on things. Never mind a whole galaxy."

"It was, but it also believed in the value of those who lived inside it."

He struggled for words, and finally said, "...Something that has been lost."

Glancing up at the ship, he added, "I'm not sure politicians will fix it. It might be the work of soldiers... and engineers."

"You think so? What can an engineer do about such things?"

Her nose scrunched a little as she took a sip of kaffe; It was still no root tea, cream or no cream.

"Well, you could make a tea dispenser that makes something more to your taste." He offered, with a laugh.

Then sobering up, he added, "If there ever are soldiers trying to make an opportunity for politicians to make a positive change... they will need engineers to help them. I've fought a war - and much of the war is won or lost before battle... by the engineers."

With a faint sigh, he added, "And as much as I want to believe that people can live in peace, I suspect the Empire will not allow it, in the long run."