The Perk- Thursday morning

[thatwaslucky]

You know what Rey had entirely missed in the time that she'd been gone, and hadn't realized she was missing out on now? Pumpkin spice lattes. It was a travesty.

Once she was done with training for the morning, she stopped off at the Perk and got one, and instead of going home right away she decided to hang out here for a while. Her place still felt too quiet anyway, she could take some time around people, even if she wasn't doing anything but drawing crude lightsaber sketches on coffee shop napkins.

[Open! Hoping my day won't blow up!]

Comments

[unusual_sith]

Apparently if there was something Jedi and Sith could agree upon, it was pumpkin spice lattes.

Lana was in for hers today, too, and gave Rey a nod. "Good morning. I haven't seen you since that battle. How have you been?"

[thatwaslucky]

"Hi. I'm good." Iffy. "Sorry I didn't actually get to talk to you then. Thank you for coming."

There'd been chaos and also trauma.

[unusual_sith]

That was war, unfortunately. "You're welcome. And there's no need to apologise. I'm glad to see you upright and in one piece." That was a win.

She gestured at the napkins. "Working on a new design?"

[thatwaslucky]

"The one I had got scrapped," she admitted. "I'm working on some details."

[unusual_sith]

"Do you have the parts you need?" Lana asked. "I remember Kanan had a hard time finding them in his time, and we've got plenty."

[thatwaslucky]

"I've got most of them," Rey assured her, and smiled a little. "I was a scavenger, I'm very good at finding parts. Some from here, some from home..."

[unusual_sith]

"A useful skill," Lana said, smiling back. "If you do find yourself needing something, let me know. The only thing it's sometimes a challenge to get is natural crystals. We mostly use synthetic, but unless I miss my guess, you won't want red," she said with a little laugh.

[thatwaslucky]

"I would prefer something else, yes," Rey said lightly. "I have found some issues in getting crystals. A few planets that were known for them are... no longer options."

[unusual_sith]

"The Jedi in my time mostly use Ilum, and I think Kanan mentioned it, too," Lana said. "Is it no longer an option, or just unknown?"

[thatwaslucky]

"The Empire and First Order mined kyber for their own weapons. Including turning Ilum into a planet-killing base. So Ilum is... not quite there anymore," Rey admitted.

[unusual_sith]

"They what?" Lana gave her a shocked and appalled look. "But...even apart from the crystals, the history!"

[thatwaslucky]

"I know," Rey sighed. "Some people think killing billions is more important."

[unusual_sith]

"Some people are idiots," Lana said fervently. "You might think they'd die out over time, but unfortunately it seems true no matter when you are."

She shook her head. "If you need anything old, let me know. It might not be exactly the same history as your version of the galaxy, but it would be something."

[thatwaslucky]

"Thank you. I appreciate that," she said with a smile. "So how are you doing?"

[unusual_sith]

"I'm doing well, thank you," Lana answered. "Things are busy as usual back home, but nobody's outright declared war on the Alliance yet, and another system signed a treaty with us. I don't know what Master Skywalker's take on diplomacy is, but I'm convinced it's the art of keeping everybody just happy and unhappy enough that no weapons are pulled."

[thatwaslucky]

"I think the end goal is the same. The details might differ," Rey said. "But that sounds encouraging."

[unusual_sith]

"It is." Lana nodded. "It's hard not to get discouraged by the fact that by Kanan's time, he'd never even heard of the Alliance, not even as an historical footnote. So, I live in the hope that it is a different version of the galaxy, and we do the best we can.

"What about you?" she asked. "I never was entirely sure what the political state of your time is."

[thatwaslucky]

Neither was JJ.

"Right now, I'm not really sure," Rey confessed. "I grew up somewhere the government didn't really touch, and then the First Order actually destroyed that government. Now that the First Order is gone, I'm not sure what comes next."

[unusual_sith]

Lana shook her head in sympathy. "I've got at least one Republic politician I could send to you, but believe me, you wouldn't want her. Still, that sounds like potential for a huge mess. And I don't suppose Fandom is up for annexing an entire galaxy. Or even a sector."

[thatwaslucky]

"I wouldn't know the first thing about it," Rey said. "The Jedi thing I can do, at least."

[unusual_sith]

"Careful, or they'll ask you to do it regardless," Lana said. Speaking as someone who had roped a warrior into leading an alliance that had become a government. "But you seem to have good people there, from the little I saw."

[thatwaslucky]

"We do. And the bright side of having had a galaxy wide war not that long ago is that some of them helped rebuild things last time." Ever the optimist.

[unusual_sith]

"Our galaxy has far too many of those wars," Lana said. "It's stupid and wasteful."

What did you want, Lana? It was in the franchise name!

[stykera]

Don't worry, Rey, Stark had consumed enough PSLs for at least 2 people.

Stark was, in fact, now ordering a PSL that ought to have been enough for 2 people.

"Morning, Rey."

[thatwaslucky]

"Morning," she returned. "How are you doing today?"

[stykera]

"Fine, so far." The day was still young, something weird could still happen!

"And you? Are you working on something?"

[thatwaslucky]

"Lightsaber designs," she said. "It's a project."

[stykera]

"Do you need a new one? Or is it for someone else?" Stark had no idea how anything about fancy laser swords worked.

"Projects are good though. Keeping busy is good."

[thatwaslucky]

"I need my own," she said. "I've been using my old Master's, and it's..." There was more baggage there now.

"One of the things a Jedi need to do is make their own. I've been lucky that I had one to use at all."

[stykera]

Stark nodded. There was clearly more to it than she needed to make her own but if Rey wanted to talk about it further she would.

"Is it difficult? Making one? Or do you not know yet?"

[thatwaslucky]

"It's not hard if you know what you're doing," she said. "I repaired the one I'm using and I have pretty detailed instructions. I just have to figure out what details I like."

[stykera]

"Are they all different then? Everyone's?"

[thatwaslucky]

"They are. Well, barring alternate universe things." Like her having the Skywalker lightsaber on an island full of Skywalkers. "It's just a thing I'm working on after everything."

[stykera]

Sometimes having an abundance of Skywalkers created minor issues like that.

"I hope it goes well. And you can make it how you want it to be. Is there someone at home who can help? Or is it just easier to do there?"

[thatwaslucky]

"I have to do it myself," she said. "I want to do it myself. It doesn't matter where, but the parts are here."

[stykera]

"Oh. But you'll come back, when you're finished? Or before. Summer said she helped you find a dress."

That segue made sense in his head.

[thatwaslucky]

"I'll definitely be back for the wedding," she said. "I'm all set for it, dress and all."

[stykera]

"That's good," Stark said, nodding. "Annie would miss you, I think. Did you have fun at the party?"