fandomtownies | Ye olde Shuttle Parking [morning]

Current Mood: busy

Entry tags:

Ye olde Shuttle Parking [morning]

Anakin was up on the roof of the (Y)MCA with a rolled-up set of schematics, a giant container of caf (no mere coffee today), a box of tools and a thoughtful look on his face. He was never going to be able to turn the shuttle into an X-Wing, but making it a little sexier couldn't hurt.

He dropped his robe in a messy pile away from the shuttle, popped open the compartment that held the hyperdrive and began fiddling, glancing over his shoulder every now and then to see if Luke was there yet.

[OOC: for, um, myself. And then Rose if she wants a ride today, not dirty. If you can think of a reason to be on the roof watching two boys get sweaty...come on up!]

Long Day - Matchbox Twenty

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"It works this way," Anakin repeated firmly. "Stop listening to your doubts and listen to me. Concentrate on the pieces of the hyperdrive."

Luke dropped further into the Force, feeling for the parts like he'd been instructed. "This is so strange," he muttered.

Then he paused. "Those two," he pointed, "they don't need to be there. They're an added redundancy, right?"

"Good," Anakin said, voice full of approval. "Don't mess with them unless you're really stuck somewhere and need the parts. But there are some parts that are purely excess and slow the system down. Can you find them?"

Luke was silent for a long time, carefully feeling out the pieces of the hyperdrive.

Couldn't his father have picked a system that wouldn't blow them through a sun if he was wrong?

He pointed tentatively to a section. "That?" he asked.

"Trust your instincts," Anakin said, smiling. "You're right. Let's take it out. It'll shave a few minutes off of our flights because the computer won't be checking the calculations another five times." He smiled. "Which is not helpful if you're trying to make a fast getaway."

Luke smiled and reached for the hydrospanner. "Fast getaway's different than running away, right?" he asked.

Anakin nodded. "There's absolutely no reason to stand around and get shot at once the mission's complete," he said. "Dying stupidly does no one any good." He smiled. "The first rule of Jedi combat: survive."

"Really?" Luke said. "I read about your missions with Ben...I wouldn't have guessed that."

"I never said I was particularly good at following it," Anakin said, poking at the hyperdrive. "I wasn't a very good Jedi."

"I don't believe that," Luke said. "You two were famous." He finished his work on the hyperdrive. "Did I do that right?" he asked.

Anakin closed his eyes and waved his hand over the work. "Very good," he said. "And we were famous because we didn't believe in odds," he continued. "The Council would send Obi-Wan and I in when the mission absolutely had to happen. They knew I wouldn't be bound by rules, and that worked for them in certain situations."

He bit his lip and moved his attention to the engines. "They just never considered that my rule bending was a character flaw and not a one-time thing. I'd do just about anything to save Obi-Wan. And your mother."

Luke glanced over at him. "Which is what led to..."

"Exactly," Anakin said, voice sharp. "The Dark Side is seductive. It promises you what you think you want. Change is the way of the Force--positive, negative, all change must happen. Holding onto to something--or someone--too tightly smacks of greed. I couldn't accept that...and you saw what happened."

Luke looked deeply unhappy about that answer. "I've lost enough," he muttered, poking too hard at the engine parts.

Anakin turned to look at him, eyes very serious. "Wrong answer, my son," he said quietly. "Mourn and move on."

"Oh, like you have?" Luke shot back, voice acidic. He rolled his eyes.

"I have a few more people to work through," Anakin retorted, "but I'm trying."

"There is no try," Luke pointed out primly. "There is only do or do not."

"Thank you very much, Master Yoda," Anakin said, rolling his own eyes. "Work on the engine."

Luke stuck out his lower lip but did as he was told.

Anakin looked over after about fifteen minutes of working silently together.

"Are you ready for finals?" he asked.

"I'm ready for classes to be over," Luke said. "Is that the same thing?"

"No," Anakin said with a snicker, "but I can understand the feeling." He paused. "Are you going back at all?"

"I don't know," Luke replied. "If Leia needed me for anything, sure, but I'm not good at politics."

He slanted his eyes at Anakin. "I have a feeling I'll learn more from you, anyway." He took a deep breath, then blurted, "even if you're being a complete idiot about certain things."