Vel was lounging on the bridge one day when she decided to go down to her quarters. As the door slid open, she noticed Tech on the opposite side, performing some incredibly procedural calisthenics in an open corner. At the whoosh of the door, Tech stood up, momentarily pausing his routine.
"Ah, excuse me," he said, wiping a light sheen of sweat from his brow, "I assumed you would be upstairs for a longer period of time." He bent to pick up his armor, wearing only his black base layer.
"Sorry," she said, waving one hand in front of her dismissively, "Don't mind me, keep doing your thing."
Pausing for a moment to discern between any possible self-consciousness at being observed and the importance of maintaining his fitness routine, Tech watched her walk to her bunk. Returning the armor to the ground near a crate, he moved slightly to place a tall cargo pile between himself and her before continuing.
Vel saw him drop down out of the corner of her eye and found herself unable to resist a surreptitious glance. Was he... hiding? She smirked, a mix of cynicism and a shocking bit of warmth, and turned down to her book. She read for a moment, listening halfheartedly to the various quiet rustling sounds and occasional grunts coming from the opposite corner.
Finally, she could resist no longer, her curiosity far outweighing her desire to read. She stowed the book and stood, moving sideways until she could see Tech through a gap in the cargo. He was swiftly moving back and forth in some strange crawling motion, holding his body in a rigid plank while bringing alternating knees up to his chest before flipping onto his back and performing a similarly complex routine.
Entirely without her permission, she found herself noticing a surprising agility and strength she hadn't seen before. She marveled at the fluidity of his movement, not being familiar with this sort of exercise, when her unabashed assessment was interrupted by his awareness.
"Unlike Wrecker, I do not enjoy being observed while exercising," Tech stated, pausing his movement and sitting up on his knees to look at her. "I can continue later."
"No, sorry," she said, wincing at her own obviousness, "I just..." Just what? She paused, hating the feeling of being exposed, but decided to admit her curiosity. "I just haven't seen anything like that before."
"Of course not," Tech replied, with a hint of pride in his voice, "It is an adaptation of Noghri combat forms, blended together to provide a challenge for every muscle group of the human body. Some may criticize its lack of bravado or showiness," he continued, and Vel mentally replaced the "some" with "Wrecker" as he spoke, "But it is highly effective when executed correctly."
She found a small smile on her face as he rolled up his sleeves, adjusting his goggles and regarding her with patience. When she realized her expression, she quickly dropped the corners of her mouth to nonchalance.
"It looks hard," was all she could say, lowering her eyes to his forearms, unremarkable yet indescribably pleasing to the eye. She followed them down to his hands, splayed on the tops of his thighs as he sat on his knees. He noticed her gaze, lifting a hand to the back of his neck for a quick rub that belied his discomfort.
"Sorry," she said again, "I'll let you get back to it." But before she could decide her next move, their planetary arrival was announced.
"Coming out of hyperspace," came the voice from the bridge, and Vel braced herself for the inevitable forward jolt. The ship lurched to a cruising speed and Kashyyyk came into view.
The planet was impossibly green and dazzlingly blue, peppered with rich tones of brown and red. As they dropped low over the tree line, Vel pressed her face to the window, eyes wide. She had never seen such a place.
Canopies of trees stretched out as far as the eyes could see, interwoven with simple rope ladders that branched out like a spiderweb. Sparkling rivers flowed beneath, lined with reeds and bushes, weaving throughout the massive forest. The Marauder came to a smooth stop on a landing platform as Tech finished assembling his armor. Helmet under his arm, he moved toward the lift.
He had seen her gaping at the scenery, and he understood her awe -- it was a fantastic ecosystem and unrivaled by most of the planets he had seen. It had been months of missions to Outer Rim deserts or greasy Core underworlds, and this was a disproportionately refreshing sight.
"Would you like to see Kashyyyk?" Tech asked, his hand hovering over the control panel for the lift.
"What makes you think I haven't?" Vel replied, guarded and cocky by default.
"Your face," Tech answered bluntly, regarding her solemnly from his bespectacled helmet, "When we entered the atmosphere."
Vel laughed, caught off guard by his seemingly complete ignorance of her sarcasm. She felt herself let the walls down a little, surprised at his genuine honesty and intrigued by the invitation. "Sure," she shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant but feeling a growing sense of eagerness in her stomach. She joined him on the lift and the doors whooshed closed.
***
Their stay on Kashyyyk ended up stretching into days and then weeks as the team waited for their cargo to be ready. They coped with the extended stay in their own ways, from excessive exercise (Wrecker) to target practice with the locals (Crosshair). Tech found a local archive of the region, full of everything from mythology to botany, and set to work expanding and updating his own files.
Vel took some time to herself, meditating in the forest which was an entirely new experience. She tried to reach out to the Force but felt nothing but a dull ache. She strained to move a pebble, and it teetered onto its side after a valiant wobble. She let out a breath of frustration, flopping onto her back under the shady canopy of trees.
No wonder she had failed Jedi training. The only time she felt even remotely connected to the Force was in perfect moments like this, surrounded by lush nature that was an undeniably living, breathing entity on its own. When it came to the nuance, the precision, the rules, the complexity... She didn't have the focus. Once again, didn't have what it took.
Sunlight streamed through the boughs, casting little dancing reflections off of the bugs and dust that swirled through the air. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, folding her hands behind her head. She had no idea what she was doing. Was the plan to just cavort around the galaxy with this ragtag band of defective clones, like some kind of pathetic pit droid, fixing the ship and anything else that was needed?
A crunch of leaves behind her startled her to her feet, and she swung a large stick toward the intruder without ever consciously picking it up. Holding it in front of her like a sword, she squinted as he stepped through the foliage. Even with both hands in the air, one of them still held a datapad, and Tech took another step closer.
"If you would be so kind as to postpone my impalement," he began, hands remaining in the air as he approached, waving the instrument, "I found something nearby that I thought would be interesting to you."
She lowered her arm, casting the stick off to the side. It landed among some bushes with a swish, "Sorry," she said, "Old habits. What did you find?"
"There is a geological cache approximately two clicks east of here," he said, pulling his visor down as he continued to enter information for his scanner. "You told me about a part you used on the ion cannons of a cruiser that drew power from a particular mineral that is found on only two planets, of which this is one. I'm curious if the same process could be replicated on a smaller level to provide a boost to the hyperdrive when it begins to fail."
"There's only one way to find out," Vel replied, brushing off her pants, "Lead the way."
***
The geological cache ended up being a fascinating wealth of history and information about hundreds of minerals and elements. Vel found herself feeling childishly giddy, an age-old love of learning awakening within her, a curiosity she hadn't felt since she was young. She was still young, technically, but her life experiences left her feeling a million years old, and the voracious delight of discovery had faded long ago.
But here, it was different. Somehow, being unable to do anything else and being forced into a world as captivating as Kashyyyk had brought back some old yearnings, and in the dusty third level of the geological cache, Vel was pressed close up against a glass case containing a variety of minerals and describing the possible reactions between them all.
"Tech!" she exclaimed, pressing a finger into the glass, "Look at this!" He sidled up behind her, raising his visor to examine the text she was indicating toward. After a quick skim of the words, his eyes squinted behind his goggles.
"I would have never guessed," he said simply, regarding both the glass case as well as Vel with a newfound curiosity. There was a different sense about her suddenly, a disarmingly genuine enthusiasm for the content of their exploration. It was a refreshing departure from her typically morose behavior and borderline annoying apathy, and he found himself intrigued.
"It says there is a botanical archive as well, a sister site that can be accessed here," Vel said, reading a map at the end of the exhibit. "Can we look?" she asked, turning to look at Tech and realizing her appearance. She stuffed down the girlish delight and set her mouth in a casual line,
"I mean, it would be smart to check it out, since the Syren plant's fibers are worth a small fortune if we can extract the pheromones."
Tech did not miss the sudden change of composure, but it didn't seem to invite conversation, so he simply nodded in agreement, entering new coordinates on the datapad and pointing to an exit.
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