The Junkyard, Friday Evening

[weetuskenraider]

To make a new lightsaber, one needed -- among other things -- metal for the casing. The junkyard had plenty of that. If she'd been anywhere at home, instead of in Fandom, Tahiri would have started doing this before now; she was a little surprised at herself that she hadn't yet, actually.

With boots on to protect her feet from any sharp and/or rusty edges, she was picking through a couple of piles near her X-Wing for likely prospects. There were other things she'd need, of course: the electrical components, a power cell, and the part she didn't have the slightest clue how to find just yet, the focusing crystal. Still, she might as well get started with what she could.

[OOC: Open if you want to find her there, sure!]

Comments

[solo_sword]

Jaina had left her StealthX here, and every once in a while she got the urge to check up on it. Or she was really, really bored in her super quiet apartment and needed to be anywhere else. Either way.

She sensed Tahiri first, and then decided there was no reason not to actually look for her, greeting her with a "Hey." It was good to see her again, all not banished and everything.

[weetuskenraider]

Tahiri tossed the chunk of . . . she wasn't sure what it had been, actually, but it had been deemed Thoroughly Unacceptable for her purposes aside and wiped her hands on her jumpsuit, hurrying over.

"Jaina! I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to catch up with you since you got back!" It was good to see her again, too, even though it had only been a few weeks from Tahiri's perspective; it had been an eventful few weeks. "Um, wow. You look older. I thought time wasn't doing that any more."

[solo_sword]

"Yeah, surprised me too, and then guess who got stuck at home for five years," she said wryly. She smiled, though, adding, "It's really good to see you again."

Was this the place for a random hug?

[weetuskenraider]

Of course it was the place for a random hug, which Tahiri was already going for.

"I'm really glad you're back," she said with a sympathetic grimace for the five-years thing. "Routine visits have an awful habit of turning out not to be."

[solo_sword]

"Yeah, tell me about it," she said, hugging her back. "I'm really glad to be back here, though. How are you doing?"

Since she had heard a thing or two from Ben and there'd been worry.

[weetuskenraider]

Tahiri blew out a slow breath.

"Better," she had to admit. "Someone's got to have told you about the whole experience with the giant bugs and the other worlds by now, right? It was bad."

To understate things grossly.

"Your mom and I ended up in the same place, at least."

[solo_sword]

"Yeah, Uncle Luke mentioned that. It didn't sound like someplace I'd like to visit after hearing about it," she said, trying for light. "But it's better with some time?"

[weetuskenraider]

"It usually gets that way." Tahiri smiled crookedly. "Oh -- did the messages go over okay with everyone back home? If you remember now, that is, since it was years ago for you now."

[solo_sword]

Wow, did that seem like a lifetime ago. "Not as long as you'd think," she said with a little smile. She'd kept them with her the entire time until she saw Jacen and Tahiri again to give them theirs. "They went over... well, I guess. It was definitely emotional, but I think it helped. I almost had forgotten about that."

[weetuskenraider]

"Good," Tahiri decided. "How was everything else while you were there? Or do I want to know?"

[solo_sword]

Jaina paused, and then finally sighed. "I'm honestly not sure what I should or shouldn't tell you," she admitted. "It was okay for a longer time than it wasn't okay."

[weetuskenraider]

"If you think you shouldn't, then don't," Tahiri advised her. "I already know enough to give me a headache. Still, when the okay part outweighs the not-okay part, that's fairly impressive, isn't it?"

[solo_sword]

"It is," she said, realizing that didn't sound too enthusiastic. "The not-okay part enabled me to come back here, anyway. See, I can find bright sides in things."

[momslilassassin]

Ben watched her silently for a minute before asking, "Any luck?"

Not that he knew exactly what she was looking for, but he could guess.

[weetuskenraider]

Tahiri looked down at the small pile of rejected pieces of metal near her feet and sighed.

"Not so far," she half complained. "Everything I'm finding is either not the right size, or not sturdy enough. I'm almost tempted to actually use a flashlight casing this time."

[momslilassassin]

"It's not a terrible idea," Ben mused. "I found pretty decent stuff over at Stark's, too."

[weetuskenraider]

"I was thinking of that." Tahiri decided a break would be a good thing, and climbed up onto the S-foil of her X-Wing with a raised eyebrow meant to be an invitation for him to join her. "I'll probably end up there for the internal components, anyhow. I just thought, well, Tusken weapons are made of scavenged metal, so it seemed fitting to make my lightsaber out of it too."

[momslilassassin]

A slight blush crept up Ben's cheeks as memories of the last time they'd been on the X-Wing's S-foil sprang to mind, but he climbed up after her. "It's the internals that are more important anyway," he said. "You don't want something in there to short out."

He let his legs swing. "Have you figured out what you're going to use for a focusing crystal?"

[weetuskenraider]

"No." Tahiri, whose ears were slightly pink now because she was remembering what had happened last time they were up here, pulled her legs up to take the stupid boots off for a while, then reached over to poke him with her toes. "I suppose I could always synthesize one again, but I'd like to save that for a last resort. I'd like to find something more unique, if I can."

[momslilassassin]

"Just be sure the crystal itself is intact," he said, pulling her feet into his lap and starting to massage them. "I don't think I could pull off the one armed thing as well as Tenel Ka."

[weetuskenraider]

Tahiri made a quiet, happy noise and leaned back against her hands. "If you think I haven't heard that story ten billion times by now . . ."

[momslilassassin]

"I could do it in Dad's accent if you'd prefer," he teased.

[weetuskenraider]

"Don't you dare. I can practically hear him telling it if I think about it," Tahiri mock-threatened.

[momslilassassin]

He grinned at her and continued massaging her feet. "If I had a credit for every time I've heard that lecture, I could buy my own StealthX. It's not fair I'm the only Jedi here without one, by the way."

[weetuskenraider]

"No, you just have the fancy shuttle and can actually take people out for rides," Tahiri pointed out.

And cue more blushing, since she remembered what had happened the last time they'd gone out on a shuttle.