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He hadn't realized just how much he'd missed tinkering on ships until he'd gone some time here without doing anything like it. Growing up, Luke had always been up to his elbows in some project or another, fixing droids for his uncle or modifying the speeder he used; later on, the tinkering turned into working on real ships like his X-Wing, the Falcon, and then Mara's ships. There was something comforting in it, in the logical way that components fit together--and right now, with so much having happened recently, Luke found that tweaking systems on his X-Wing to better than spec was the best way for him to organize his thoughts.

Jaina, Han, and Chewie showing up had been enough of a jolt to Luke's mind. Jaina wasn't the only child of his sister and best friend now; she hadn't watched her twin fall to the Dark Side. Chewbacca was, well, alive. Han was years younger. And then there was Jacen, who only had the tiny seed planted by the torment he'd suffered at the hands of the Yuuzhan Vong and their insidious mental shaping. And then there were those nightmares, and the strange surreal dreams that twisted aspects of his memories...

It was on Jacen that Luke meditated while he lay on his stomach, head and shoulders inside an access bay, using a hydrospanner to make adjustments to the shielding system and periodically sitting up to check the diagnostic readouts on the ship computer. It wasn't going smoothly, and he muttered a very un-Jedi Huttese curse after checking it again, and sighing.

It was really bad when a Jedi lost his center.

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Anakin had been going out of his way to avoid almost everyone. He had been doing this for quite some time, though his run in with the new Jedi-girl Jaina had sparked some sense back into him a bit.

Just a bit.

He had been in his own daze-like trance when he came upon Luke doing his tinkering. Perhaps it was once again the Force that brought them together, or that he wasn't really watching where he was going. Either way it didn't matter.

He almost smiled first at Luke, remember just how much he enjoyed working on mechanical things. The Jedi weren't always too thrilled by the enhancements he made on the droids within the Jedi Temple. But he still did it anyway.

Of course his expression shifted quickly into a smirk with the Huttese curse.

"I didn't know Jedi Masters used such language. I hope Obi-Wan doesn't catch you, finding a language he doesn't know proves to be difficult at times." After all, when he was younger, sometimes he tried to insult Obi-Wan in various languages he picked up on Tatooine.

Anakin stepped in closer and idly glanced at the ship computer. His mind already formulating hypothesis to what the readouts meant, but he made no comment on it otherwise.

Luke had been so focused on his work--or maybe his senses had been so befuddled by recent goings-on--he hadn't even noticed Anakin come in, much less come over to his ship. He dropped the hydrospanner, and it clanged off the fuselage and skidded across the floor.

"Sorry," he said, feeling silly for reacting in such a way. "Just frustrated, it got the better of me there." Sheepish, Luke rubbed the back of his head and gestured at the computer with his gloved hand. "I've been trying to get the shields up to point-five past base specs," he explained. "I know it's possible on this model, I've done it before, but I can't now for some reason."

Anakin glanced to where the hydrospanner fell and lifted his hand towards it. Using the Force he called the device to him, though instead of just handing it back to Luke, he let it linger in the air for several seconds and sort of absently watched it. He finally let it drop into his gloved hand before handing it back to the Jedi Master.

"Maybe it's not my place to say, but it could be that you are focusing too much? Sometimes you just have to relax and let the problem steer you to the solution."

He shrugged rather haphazardly. "But don't let Obi-Wan know I said that, he might get the wrong impression that I actually listened to him all those years."

"Thanks," he said as he took the tool, turning it over in his hands a moment. Leaning forward on his knees, feet inside the cockpit of the snubfighter, he placed it on one of the side consoles.

It was still odd to think he was talking to his father. Anakin had returned from--well, wherever he'd been, Stacy was a big ship and things had been happening with alarming speed after the bridge had been freed of pirates--and despite all that time to get used to the idea of him as this man, Luke still felt awkward. He'd met his father's Force-ghost once, and Sekot had appeared to him in the form of an apprentice Anakin, but those didn't prepare him for meeting a flesh-and-blood Anakin Skywalker.

And despite growing up on Owen's depictions of a brash and reckless hero, Luke could tell now that that wasn't the only side to his father. He smiled a little, running his hands through his hair (it stuck up all over) as he tried to center himself. "You're probably right," he admitted. "I was trying so hard to get my mind off everything else that's happened lately. Hard to fly through a nebula like that on sight alone. And don't worry." Luke grinned. "I'll keep it just between us. I can only imagine what Ben would say if he found out."

After her exploration of engineering, and the resulting discovery that it was less an engine room and more a construction center, Tali had decided figuring out which sections of the ship actually were what they were advertised as may be the best plan of action. She was almost scared to try the medical wing, despite her need for it. For all she knew, on this ship it was actually where scientific experimentations on living creatures were conducted rather then where to look for her immune enhancers. The hanger, on the other hand, had sounded like a safe enough bet.

She was pleased with the decision the instant she entered. Ships of all kinds, all shapes and sizes, most, undoubtedly, built with technology utterly foreign to her. She set out wandering immediately, weaving through the ships, looking, peering over edges and into any open compartments, even scanning a few with her omni-tool, but not tinkering with anything without permission. Tali was more than familiar with engineers who took personal offense to anyone touching their constructions without guidance. She was one of them.

Finally, she came across an occupied one. Not a happily occupied one, from the familiar hissing sounds of frustration that came when a machine refused to obey, but still another sentient. At a ship that Tali could not related to any craft from her universe, as well. She grinned under her helmet and crouched down a few feet away from the figure, tilting her head at him.

“Your vessel is not behaving itself?” Her slightly digitized voice still carried an undeniable note of amused interest.

Luke turned around a little too quickly and nearly slid headfirst into the access bay. Wriggling his hips and shoulders, he lifted himself out and swiped a hand across his forehead. It left a smear of grease that he didn't notice.

"No, it's just fine," he said, smoothing a hand over the fuselage almost fondly. "I'm trying to make her better than that, though. And it's not going as easily as I'd hoped." Luke grinned sheepishly. "Hence the very un-Jedi cursing. I'm sorry if you were offended by it." Stashing the hydrospanner in his hand, he hopped off the X-Wing and landed lightly on his feet, using the Force to soften it.

“Yes,” she replied with dry amusement. “My poor delicate senses have been most disturbed. Though that was many years ago when I first began working along side the militia. I believe I’ve managed to recover.”

Tali stood as he landed besides her, noting the slowed decent with a small noise of curiosity.

“I’m not familiar with this term, Jedi. You are another of the 'magic' users on the ship?”

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Things in Alia's life has seemed to magically have gotten better since Duncan's Arrival. And there the voice with in her tormented and screamed at her, they seemed to have a little less power, a little less force now.

For the first time, she felt, like she walked the halls freely, with out the weight of a mellenia of memories on her shoulders.

Her family had once commanded an armada of Thopters and Harvesters on Arakkis, but they where something she knew little about. She was not a pilot like her brother. But with the plethora of off world-ers here, Alia thought a glance around engineering could be nothing but interesting.

A harsh, alien word caught her ears, and she moved quietly across the hard floor, seeing Luke's Legs sticking out from some odd flying machine.

"Having troubles Master Skywalker?"

"Well, the Force isn't exactly magic," Luke said. "It's more like an energy field that Jedi can tap into for strength. It's created by all living things and connects us all together--you, me, this ship, the universe." Luke leaned back against the nose of his ship, curiously taking in the other's strange gear. He'd known plenty of beings who preferred to keep their faces hidden or otherwise sealed from the outside world, and it didn't bother him. It just made him curious.

"I'm Luke Skywalker, by the way," he said, bowing from the waist politely. "Just call me Luke. It's nice to meet you."

"Huh?" he said loudly, surprised. The hydrospanner clanked into the access bay, and he managed to keep his tongue while he used the Force to retrieve it and then wiggle his hips and shoulders to back out and sit on top of the snubfighter, legs dangling off the edge. The hydrospanner was placed safely on the seat inside the cockpit so it couldn't run off or roll away and do any damage.

"Oh, hello, Alia," he said with a smile. "No troubles, just frustration. I'm probably overthinking it." Luke swiped his hand across his face--leaving another smear of grease on top of the one already there. "How are you doing?"

“Skywalker seems an appropriate name for one having such a gift,” she commented with a small laugh. “Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, Tali is the part I am usually called by. It’s a pleasure to meet you as well…Luke.”

It was odd to call a human by their first name. It simply wasn’t done aboard a military vessel such as the Normandy, no matter how close to the individual one maybe. Nicknames, yes, but first names were new.

“This Force sounds intriguing, especially if it is capable of uniting organics and AIs. Do all humans from your universe practice using it?”

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"You've got a little something on your face-" Alia motioned to his cheeks, she smiled a little, it felt good to joke like this. "I'm feeling very well today actually. Despite everything that's been going on around here as of late. I hope you are fairing well yourself."

Alia came closer now, to see what he was doing, thought she understood it as little as she had from a few feet away.
"Looks complicated. I would be frustrated too I'm sure. Anything I can do that might... help?"

Yes that was the way... to secure herself to her own soul, connections with other beings became crucially important. But if Alia did not want to be the person from Sheanna's future, she would have to try hard to change herself... for the better.

A soft, scuffing noise of a shoe against the floor was hopefully enough to alert Luke to the nervous young girl behind him. Looking for Steve had been... taxing, to put it kindly. Still, she'd thought that maybe he'd be in the hanger, considering how much he liked mechanical things and the fact that he'd not been in the sensoriums.

She bit her thumb before speaking, and mentally sighed. Why was she the one chasing after him, when he'd been the one to kiss her? How unfair was all that? "E... Excuse me," Miku addressed Luke's back and bowed deeply. "I'm... I'm looking for someone." Augh, talking to strangers made her stomach twist into fearful knots. "Maybe you've seen him?"

He committed her name and face to memory. "Tali it is, then. When you consider that most of our family have been accomplished pilots too, the name begins to sound like a galactic pun." Luke grinned. It probably hadn't been coincidence either that both Mara and Han were excellent pilots themselves, and even though Han wasn't the least bit Force-sensitive, he was so sympathetic to their cause as to be practically an honorary Jedi.

"And to answer your question, no, not all beings from home can use the Force. It tends to run in families, sometimes in species, but it can arise spontaneously. The Force chooses its champions."

That soft scuffle gave him enough warning to keep a grip on his tool and lean up to peer at the girl over the edge of the access bay, then slide out and sit on the edge of the drive casing, looking at her. "Maybe, a few people have come through here," Luke said kindly. "Who is it you're looking for?"

Miku didn't lift her head, so Luke found himself talking to the top it, and Miku nearly spoke into her knees.. "My..." she paused. "Friend. He's really tall," well, taller than her, "with red hair? His name is Steve. Actually," Miku lifted her head and smiled, still brimming with nerves. "He... might not have given you his name."

She sighed and looked down, "It's really important that I find him, though."

"No, it just needs a mind that's not clouded with other thoughts. Probably not an uncommon thing right now with everyone. It's good to hear you're doing well though." Luke went over to the open toolbox by one of the landing skids and pulled out a grimy rag, scrubbing his face with it. It left a dark, greasy smudge behind--really just moving the stuff around and picking up very little.

"Fixing a ship, or in my case modifying it to make it perform better, isn't as difficult a task as it seems, and these snubfighters have a lot of ways you can, surprisingly." He paused, then his cheeks flushed a little. "Sorry. I get going talking shop and I sometimes forget that not everyone's a mechanic or a pilot."

“How very mysterious sounding.” Tali grinned at him from under the helmet. “Though you make it sound like a living thing. Surely it is no more uncommon than exceptional brilliance or talent, especially if it runs in bloodlines. A talent such a being a gifted pilot, for instance.”

She tilted her head slightly, her focus obviously shifting to the X-wing for a moment.

“I have never seen a craft such as this.”

Luke's smile was immediate and brilliant. "Steve? Steve Burnside? Yeah, I know him, he's--" Luke thought better about saying he's like my own son; the girl was already shy enough and that'd only make her clam up more, and that was definitely the last thing he wanted. "He's not here." He jumped down from the top of the ship, using the Force to make his landing light on his toes, like a dancer.

"He hasn't come by here recently," Luke said. "We can go look for him if you like, though. I could use the break."

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Alia hid a smile behind a folded hand, as Luke made no improvement to the mess on his visage.

"No! No, It's alright. It's interesting. I mean- I'm interested. If you find it soothing, perhaps, I should like to hear about it." Everyone here seemed to be learning something from someone else, what hard could it be to let him speak on about the ship. People often channeled their frustration through work, perhaps it was all a metaphor for inner clouds.

Alia rand a delicate finger of the lines of the crafts, tracing a single subtle corner, as if trying to appreciate it by feel, as well as sight.

"The Force is generated by life, and sometimes it does seem to have a life of its own. As for those who use it..." He trailed off, thinking a moment. "The Jedi Order is recovering, still," Luke said quietly. "In its history it was thousands of beings strong. When I was last at home, we had a little more than two hundred." It was his dream to see the Order back on the path to becoming as strong, numbers-wise at the least, as the old Order had been. But Luke knew that talent, true talent and well-trained Jedi were more important than sheer numbers. "Even at its height just before the Empire, there weren't that many Jedi, when you consider the innumerable beings in the galaxy compared to the size of the Order."

The various conflicts that the Jedi had been involved in--including one where they were hunted fanatically by the Yuuzhan Vong--hadn't done anything to help an Order building itself back from almost nothing, and now who knew how many Jedi had been left behind? But Luke put that from his mind; the Force would always have someone to speak for it as long as he and the others lived here.

"But this is a starfighter," Luke grinned, running a gloved hand over the X-Wing's lines. "It's an Incom T-65 X-Wing, one of the best snubfighters ever made. And it's a ship I've become real familiar with over the years."

"Oh." Miku puffed out her cheeks in consternation. Where on Stacy was he? Certainly, she could try putting up a message on the channel, but the idea of airing what was her private business made her skin want to break out into hives.

Especially since she wasn't very sure that he'd even respond. "Is that really okay?" Even if he needed a break, going after another sullen, gangly teenager probably wasn't restful. And that's what a lot of people needed right now: rest.

"I wouldn't want to talk about something we couldn't both appreciate," Luke said with a smile. "Besides, I don't want to sound boastful."

He slid off the fighter, landing beside her lightly, like a dancer. "I guess flying's just in my blood. My father was--is--a great pilot too." Luke grinned, unable to help feeling a little proud. Now that he'd had time to get to know his father a little better, it was easier to see the good man he'd been, rather than the specter of Darth Vader that had been in Luke's mind for so long.

"It's really fine. Steve and I are pretty close." Luke held out a greasy hand, looked at it, and thought better of it, instead bowing from the waist. "Luke Skywalker--just call me Luke."

“Starfighter,” Tali repeated the name fondly, the smile persisting. She approached the ship, coming up next to Luke, and traced a metal panel with a tridactyl hand.

“You have such apt names for things. It’s only a gunship, where I’m from. Very difficult to shoot down from the ground. Very destructive when used correctly. An odd choice, maybe, for someone who channels a life Force."

Tali paused for a moment, realizing she maybe being unintentionally offensive once more. It seemed to be her pattern since waking up on this ship. She turned back to facing Luke fulling, parting her hands in a small helpless gesture.

"Though I may be misunderstanding you. I’m not terribly familiar with human cultures from my own universe, never mind all of the ones from unknown places.”

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Your icon keyword made me think of Hard Gay.

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asdjlfs now i'm imagining Luke as Hard Gay idek

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