Technical Error

Chapter Two

Obviously seeking solace, the man did not leave your side. On the contrary, he began to speak to you once more. He was whispering so as to not be overheard; however, given that the other parties were close by, this did not quite go as intended.

"Well, when you have to speak to the big boss"—he missed that your eyes darted to the front of General Hux's pants; the redhead, however, was not oblivious to this fact—"how do you approach him?"

"Uhm... Professionally?" You were blinking repeatedly, trying to keep your gaze from traveling back to your superior, who had noticeably shifted so that his back was to you. His actions had drawn Kylo Ren's attention, which was perhaps worse.

"Refrain from interfering with the technician's work," Captain Phasma's voice rang over all other conversations. You breathed a sigh of relief, meanwhile the man paled considerably. Due to her addressing the man, you were able to quickly finish with your duties.

You were reminded once more of your miserable luck when the man followed you off the bridge. As you were technically not doing work, he technically was not interfering with your job. "I... I didn't catch your name."

You hadn't given it. With a sigh, however, you rang out with how you were addressed. "TE-8500."

"Wh-what?"

"Tatey-five is what my friends call me. My badge number is TE-8500. Tatey-five," you said. Really your friends called you by your actual name when you were not on duty, yet you were not about to tell this man that. During the course of the workday, you were referred to as technician more often than you were your badge number. The man, whose name you did not know and didn't care to know, seemed at a loss for words. You forced a smile, nodded, and turned sharply on your heel to make a retreat.

"W-wait! Uh-er—Titty-five!"

"Tatey-five!" you snapped, whipping around and feeling rather appalled by his rendition of your name. Your cheeks heated up. How dare he!

"S-sorry!" His face flushed with a hot blush as well. He appeared to be genuinely sorry for his mispronunciation. That did not endear him to you in the least, however. You wanted to remain invisible when working, as you had been trained to do. He was preventing that from happening.

The triumvirate, followed by the ambassador and senator, exited the bridge. Not wanting to be caught loitering around in the hallway, you turned to leave. Apparently the man was oblivious to the newcomers, and he failed to correct his pronunciation when he called to you again: "Titty-five!"

"Tatey-five," Captain Phasma, General Hux, and Kylo Ren corrected in unison. Captain Phasma then repeated your designation, calling you to her side. You ducked your head as you obeyed. You stood beside her while General Hux escorted the two political figures away. Kylo Ren, meanwhile looked towards the man whose task was to address him.

The chrome-armored woman next to you pointed her helmet in your direction. "There are several blasters that experienced jams in this morning's training session. I want you to supervise their repairs; a trainee will do the work itself."

"Yes, ma'am," You glanced towards the man, who was doing his damnedest to not look at Kylo Ren. Captain Phasma cocked her head to the side when she, too, took in the sight. You could have beamed with pride when she rattled off a Good work, Tatey-five, but instead you kept an air of professionalism and refrained from cracking a smile. "Thank you, ma'am."

Kylo Ren appeared to be having a field day with the man's unease. He kept a predatory stance, nearly stepping into the man's field of vision, which caused the poor guy to avert his eyes whilst his voice cracked or else took on a high-pitch. This time you did feel bad for the man. But, alas, he had called you Titty-five, and you were much too insulted to feel too badly. Not to mention the praise you had received.