Shadows of Bankor

There was a lot of work to be done.

Petrus found himself in a room... somewhere in the base. Or, what would hopefully become a base. It was hard to imagine it, looking at it. Dirty, damaged, most of the systems non-functional, it was going to take more than just a a bit of elbow grease to get it fixed up.

"Urgh..." Grimacing, Petrus twisted his hydrospanner, loosening the bolts on the section of the environmental system he was working on; a long metal affair, with lots of tubing. He paused a moment, brushing one hand across his brow. It was hard work, and even in the tank-top he wore, his leanly muscled arms bare, it was hot work, too.

He didn't seem to be making much progress, either.

A hand patted his bum.

Xanna was wearing as little as decency would allow. It was too hot for Petrus, which meant it was like being in an oven for a Pantoran.

"Listen, I am thinking you are needing a series 7H hydrowrench. That 6C simply does not do what the manufacturer suggests. Also why do we not have a fan in this place?"

Her hair was tied back and she was streaked with grease. Mainly because she kept having to stop to wipe the sweat from her brow.

Well, that certainly got his attention. With a slightly startled exclamation, Petrus turned around. His eyes widened, first in recognition, and then in wonder as he realized just how much of her blue skin was exposed.

"So is that how we're saying hello to each other now? I'm gonna have to remember that." Grinning, he leaned in, brushing his lips briefly but enthusiastically against hers; after that pat, he pretty much had to kiss her, but he was concerned that she was going to melt or something.

"Yeah..." Petrus' lips quirked. "I lost my 7H in the evacuation. I've been making do... sorta. You got a 6C?"

She kissed him back affectionately but gave him an almost scolding look. "Petrus Karath, we are both covered in grease from who knows...well I suppose we both know what." A brief smile and then she turned and reached back into her tookit giving him quite the view.

"Here, I have a 7H." She lifted it and turned to put it in his hand. "You know, you really are quite good with pipes. I am thinking I might need a heavy hydrospanner for all this repair work we are doing now."

"Yeah? You look gorgeous in grease." His blue eyes sparkled at her. "I think we should tune up the ship's engine later, too." She would hear him take a deep, appreciative breath as she turned around and bent over to retrieve the hydrowrench.

Smiling his thanks, Petrus turned, grunting as he turned a bolt, successfully this time. "Better. Thanks. I'm gonna miss that 7H I had. A heavy hydrospanner'd be nice, too..."

He cast a glance back at her. "Did you get everything out okay?" He asked gently. Or, everyone?

"That...is not a bad idea." She sat back and waved a thin sheet of transparasteel as a fan. "I do not think I am going to enjoy this heat. At least there is a breeze on the surface."

She shrugged lightly, waving a hydrospsnner. "I did not have much I called my own, so all of that is here. And I have friends who will take over running the kitchen until I can return. Unless the Empire closes it down. But if that is the case then I am hoping they will start up again somewhere else. Until we can liberate the planet."

Reaching for some water flasks she handed one to him and popped the lid on the other. She would need a replacement soon.

"And you? Did you manage to get everything you needed?"

"Thank you." Petrus breathed, taking the water. He took a long drink, splashing a little on his face, before sealing the top again. He leaned back against the massive machine, resting, giving a little encouraging nod towards the space next to him. "Once we get the environmental systems up and running, it'll be a lot better." He reassured her.

He smiled. "Good. I'm gonna guess they don't have quite the skill of soup master Xanna," a quick grin, "-but people are still getting the help they need. I'd worried... but I guess they can keep things safe until we get back, huh?"

Petrus grimaced. "Everything except my 7H hydrowrench, I think." He shrugged, his bare shoulders rising and falling. "It was a mess. The lady Inq- no. Neela made a surprise inspection not long before, and we had to deal with that. Then all the chaos a few hours later... it was a mess. I gotta check around, make sure everyone's holding up okay." He gave Xanna a fond glance; she seemed to be holding up okay.

She nodded at his confidence. "I hope so Petrus. I cannot go to meetings looking like this." A brief gesture to her scant clothing.

"I hope that things will continue in Rygor without me. If not... Then I will simply have to start it up again after we defeat the Empire here."

A slight frown crossed her face as he mentioned Neela. "I was wondering if we should tell him. It might be a hard burden to bear." She had come to enjoy the artist's company.

"I suppose not." Petrus said, smiling just a little, admiring her. Xanna was gorgeous, of course... but it had been his courage that had first made him notice her. "And I think they will. You set a good example, Xanna." His lips quirked. "I mean, I did do those hydroyoga poses, didn't I?"

Pressing his lips together a moment, Petrus nodded. "Yeah, I think we should. He deserves to know, even if it's hard. If I was in his position..." Petrus considered that a moment, then shook his head, "-I'd want to know. Maybe... maybe he can help her? I don't know."

He crossed his arms over his chest. "What do you think happened to her?"

She smiled sadly. "Thank you Petrus. Yes. I would want to know. And I am fairly certain that what happened to her was Lord Vader."

"Yeah." Petrus sighed. "Probably." Well, that conversation took a dark turn.

Reaching out, Petrus nudged Xanna's side playfully. "But hey, that's why we all stick together, huh? Jays for life, right? I..." He chewed his lip a moment, "-I was having a pretty rough time before all of this. Since I lost my master..." He spread his hands. "But now, hey, I might be covered with grease, and stuck in a room that's about a million degrees, but I feel like I'm making a difference again, y'know?"

She turned to sit next to him and placed her head against his shoulder. "Jay's for life." Was she nuzzling against his skin, or rubbing grease onto him? Maybe both.

"You are making a difference Petrus. Even if we do not always succeed, we are doing our best." Her eyes closed and she listened to his heartbeat. "It is so hot I think I am getting sleepy."

"Thanks." Petrus murmured. "That means a lot, coming from you, y'know." He couldn't help but smile as she nuzzled against him, even if it was a little bit slimy from the grease.

His heartbeat was steady and strong; Petrus shifted, just a little, letting her head rest more comfortably against him. Very carefully, he settled his arm around her, barely touching, his fingertips just resting on her; contact, intimacy, without transmitting too much body heat to her.

He kissed the top of her head, breathing in as he did so. "I think we've earned a break. You wanna take a nap? I'll wake you when we have to work again, I promise."

She enjoyed the embrace for several long moments, then stretched and yawned before shaking her head. "If I go to sleep in this heat I might not wake up again today."

She kissed his cheek and then started taking another look at his work. "So, how about you tell me a story to keep me from sleeping?" The bottle was raised again. This was thirsty work.

Petrus gave Xanna a quick concerned look. "Hey, once we're done here, we'll go outside a bit. The ocean breeze is cool; you'll love it.'

The kiss on the cheek made him smile; this was all still new to him. "A story, huh? Yeah, I could do that. Hmm... I could tell you about the time Master Kenobi scolded me. That one's pretty good." He pursed his lips a moment. "There's also a fairy tale... but I'd need your help with that."

"It is very nice out there Petrus. Quite romantic even, if you like walks on the beach. Or searching for buried treasure?" She started working on the systems.

"Why not first one, then the other? Tell me the story of Master Kenobi. What were you doing to upset him?" She paused. "Does it involve cleaning?"

"Romantic, huh? I'll remember that." And he certainly would; Petrus was no dummy.

Petrus snorted. "It doesn't start with cleaning. But it ends with cleaning. A lot of it. No, this happened about..." he pursed his lips a moment, "-ten or eleven years ago."

He shifted to the other side of the machine, making adjustments on the opposite side of the panel; it was only about waist high, so they could see each other. "It was a time that me and a few of the other younglings got in trouble. Would you believe I was a troublemaker back then?" He flashed her a quick smile. "I mean, Liua's got me beat, obviously, but I had my share of incidents."

"Ten or eleven years ago? I was on Devaron." She worked away, passing him tools when he needed them since she was closer to the kit.

"Back then?" She laughed. "Ahem. Oh, were you expecting me to say no?" With a wink she gestured: "Please tell me what you did to poor, long suffering, Master Kenobi."

Petrus grinned. "Nope. Not really."

He took a deep breath. "So, okay. There was this new holovid that had just come up; yeah, naturally it has something to do with a holoplayer. The Pirate King of Corellia, I think it was." He chuckled. "So, me and a few of the other Padawans managed to get a hold of it. But, of course, we didn't have a vid player. And we couldn't ask the masters. It had an Adult Sapient rating."

Petrus paused a moment clearing his throat; he was pacing the story slow, letting it build, making the distraction last. "Anyway, we figured in for a credit, in for a full stick, right? So we got some other contraband, at least by the standards of the Order. So, y'know, a bunch of soda. We snuck down in the middle of the night, me and another youngling managed to bypass the safeties on the library viewer, and we started to watch."

He groaned. "As I recall, it was just when the female lead took her top off that I heard, coming from behind us, the words that sent a chill down my spine." Petrus shuddered. "Hello there." It was a pretty good impression of the famously dry and sarcastic master.

"Master Kenobi!" She laughed musically for a little while. "That is exactly how he sounds!"

"You were such a naughty boy. Soda and nudity in the library?" She wondered what Master Yoda would have said if he had caught them. "But they did not throw you out of the Temple... or did they?" She grabbed a wrench and started working on another pipe.

"So what was your punishment? Is this some long-winded way of explaining to me why you cannot wash dishes anymore?"

Petrus couldn't help but join in with Xanna as she laughed, the musical sound infectious. "No, no. But it was almost as bad. He lectured me." Smiling ruefully, Petrus shook his head. "I don't recall this being part of youngling training, and perhaps you would do better in your training if your masters didn't wear shirts, hmm?" Petrus gave an exaggerated shudder.

Then he grinned. "And good guess. I was put on scullery duty for a week. I must have washed a thousand dishes." He stroked his chin. "Maybe I used up all the dishwashing in my life then..."

She paused and thought about that. "Well now. Master Kenobi did keep himself in good shape. I think I would enjoy those classes..."

With a wink she got back to work. "I am thinking you were more of a floor sweeper than a dishwasher. After one thousand plates I would have expected you to have cleaned at least one by now. Or do you have a thing about bowls?"

"Yeah... wait, what?" Petrus blinked, but Xanna's wink made him grin. His arms flexed as he tightened the bolts on a panel he'd finished with; in fact, Petrus kept himself in pretty good shape, too.

He grinned again, raising his free hand as he worked. "Hey, it's not my fault. There's been one thing after another. Next time we get aboard, I'm gonna break out the Spongemaster 9000 and really go to town with it."

Pausing for a moment, Petrus set down his hydrospanner with a clank. "I dunno. I spent a fair amount of time in the kitchen. Washing dishes was almost relaxing. But... " He sighed. "Until recently, I've kinda been staying away from Jedi stuff, y'know? Like, we were all gone, and it didn't matter anymore. Only now it does, and that's a good thing." He shrugged, bare shoulders rising and falling.

"I can understand feeling all alone. But we both knew that it mattered. Even if we were all gone." She wiped her brow and tapped the pipe with the wrench. "I think this is good."

Sitting back she pulled out a cloth and started to wipe off some of the grease. "And now we are not alone. But we cannot be complacent. So I will keep making soup, or at least food of some sort. And Petrus Karath should learn to accept his fate as Jedi Dishwasher. Junior rating. 4th class."

And then she stuck her tongue out at him. The cloth flew across the space and landed on his head.

Nodding, Petrus closed up his end of the pipe. "Yeah. I think you're right, on both counts."

He grinned as she stuck her tongue out at him. "That sounds good to me. Except hold on, fourth class? I feel like-mmph-" He fell silent as the cloth landed on his head.

Reaching up, he pulled it from his head. "Alright, I see what's up." He walked around the machinery, his eyes glinting; once he had a clear shot, he snapped the cloth at her, as best he could. "But just so you know, I'm not gonna be satisfied until I make first class. Still junior. I know my limits."