Jedi Artisan 005

Arriving at their shared quarters, Zane raised an eyebrow. There was only one bed! Granted, it was large enough to comfortably fit two, but that wasn't the point! 

“You did this on purpose.” Shaak Ti flatly declared, and crossed her arms underneath her chest with a huff. 

“Sorry? I haven't the faintest clue what you're talking about.” Zane went over to rummage through the luggage that had been placed inside by a droid ahead of time. 

Whilst he searched through his things to make sure everything was there, he made sure she had a good angle to sneak a peak. Now that he knew that she was taking a look at his-ahem, hard candy-he would make sure to show off any chance he got! As his mother used to say ‘if you've got it, flaunt it!’ 

“You. Know. You know what I'm talking about!” Shaak Ti began, momentarily became tongue twisted, and then got out. She stamped a foot on the durasteel deck, and clenched her fists, and then pointed at the bed. “When you filled out those shipping manifests, this, all of this was your idea.” 

“And what's wrong with two Jedi Knights sharing a room together?” Zane continued to ask as he roughly rummaged through a bag. “The way you're talking about this mission, I'm beginning to feel like we aren't friends anymore.” He playfully pouted. 

“So annoying.” Shaak Ti heavily exhaled through her nose, and rolled her eyes, yet the barest hint of a smile spread across her lips. 

“There's the Little Ti I know.” Zane teased as he found what he was looking for, and turned around to face her. 

His wide, unabashed smile had her turn to the side. “Wel…no touching, especially the lekku!” 

“Especially the what?” Zane rhetorically asked, as he brushed past her lekku at just the right angle. 

“I sai-Eep!” Shaak Ti jumped up in shock, and then retaliated with a push to his solar plexus, driving the air from him, and shoving him onto the bed. 

“Oof. So eager to-heuh, hah-take a nap?” Zane tried to keep up the coy act, but violently coughed in between his words due to the lack of oxygen. 

“Pfft, serves you right. You're such a child.” Shaak Ti held up a hand to cover her mouth, and lightly chuckled. She then sat down at the edge of the bed, and silently stared at the door. 

Zane sat up next to her, and slipped something into her hand. She somewhat recoiled due to the strange sensation, but he curled her fingers around the round, hard object, not letting her let go. 

“Don't be so hasty, this is my Happy Stone!” Zane said with pride. 

“Your naming conventions haven't improved since becoming a Knight, I see.” Shaak Ti drily remarked, however, she followed his suggestion, and held it up to examine it. 

She squinted her eyes, and took a whiff, then grimaced. “It smells funny, and looks like an ordinary, egg-shaped rock.” 

“Try rubbing it.” Zane said with a straight face. 

Shaak turned to him, and had an expression that read ‘do I look like an idiot to you?’ “Okay, where's the hidden holocam, you're going to share this prank with Master Oogway, aren't you?” 

“No prank. I'm serious. You don't really think I've been lying on my back doing nothing these last few months after my promotion to Jedi Knight, do you?” Zane asked, a smirk gently resting at the edge of his lips. 

Her deadpan stare, and signature in the Force made it blatantly clear that yes, she did in fact think such thoughts. 

“...” Zane's smirk somewhat wilted, and he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. “Ohh-kaay, maybe I slacked off a bit, but I was serious about all that Jedi Artisan stuff I spoke about when we were kids!” 

Her deadpan intensified, and this time, he could only roll his eyes, and fingerflick her lekku. She was prepared this time, and elbowed him in the side to escape. In the act of dodging, she had inadvertently rubbed the Happy Stone. 

“Uh!” Shaak Ti unconsciously moaned in pleasure. 

Eyes going wide, she covered her mouth, and stared at him with wide eyes. 

Zane's grin was all teeth as he saw a purple blush spread across her pretty red face. 

“Wh-what did you do to me!” She demanded. 

Zane curled an eyebrow, and glanced down at the rock in her hands. “Why ask what you already know the answer to?” 

“You, you made this?” She asked, slowing her breathing, and said in a curious, disbelieving tone. 

Zane was kind of disappointed she was so quick to compose herself, but then again, she was a future High Council member, so it made sense that even something like this wouldn't ruffle her for long. At the same time, he was beaming with pride, because even though she was incredulous, Shaak Ti was also impressed!

“Yup! That there, is my invention. One of a handful, actually. See? I'm a bonafide Jedi Artisan~” Zane wiggled his fingers, and proudly declared. 

Shaak Ti had a starry, unfocused look in her eye, a small, cute drop of drool began to accumulate at the corner of her mouth as she slowly, gently worked her finger up and down the smooth shaft. 

“I feel like I'm being massaged all over. My muscles are like puddy, and any thoughts of tension are vanishing as if met by an eraser. Zane, this, this is remarkable! Your Happy Stone could revolutionize treatments at the Temple. People at risk of falling could use this during meditation, and unplug themselves from their worries!” 

“Yes ma'am, to tell you the truth, I was thinking about you when I made it. Poured my heart and soul into this craft.” Zane said with a smile. 

Watching the stress & worry wash off her back like a warm soothing shower cleaning grime, Zane smiled, and secretly wiped a tear away. Shaak Ti hid it well to others, but she was under a lot of stress. They hadn't seen one another for months. The girl had been going on mission after mission, barely having any time to chill out and relax. Her only time to meditate, and commune with the Force was during missions. Despite being such good friends, he only saw her in the halls of the Temple twice as she was in between missions. He knew that she was doing good for the people in the galaxy-that orphanage was proof enough of that-but when you were on the clock everyday, a lot of unseen stress was sure to build up. 

Observing her sort of become loosey-goosy, it made Zane feel warm hearted, and a wholesome love blossomed in his heart for his best friend. Although he liked to joke, flirt, and lusted after the red skinned Togruta, the truth was, he loved her for more than her body. Shaak Ti was one of the kindest, purest souls he had ever met. 

“How does it work?” She curiously asked, and slowly ran a finger on it. Shaak Ti shivered, but her control was like iron, and now that she knew what to expect, didn't over react. 

The sudden question took him out of his self reflective, and he wiped his face to make sure there weren't any tears present. 

“Uhh, magic?” He weakly explained. 

“You never give me a straight answer.” Shaak Ti pouted, looking him straight in the eye. 

Zane felt his heart hitch, and an old memory flared up from when they were teenagers. He didn’t allow himself to go full flashback mode, but needless to say, that failed confession still hurt him to this day. 

“Heh. Maybe one day you'll be ready for it.” He weakly laughed off his hard feelings, and rubbed her forehead. 

Shaak Ti didn't dodge the hand, and leaned into it, like when they were kids. 

“Where do you want me to put this?” She asked, holding up the Happy Stone. 

“Oh, that?” Zane asked absent mindedly. “Keep it, it's my gift to you.” He waved her off. 

“...then I shall use it most responsibly. Thank you. Zan Zan.” Her good natured, genuine smile was like a bullet to his heart, and dealt critical damage. 

“Y-yeah, I'm going to go explore the ship, I'll see you around.” Zane quickly got out, and left the room in a hurry. 

“...I'll see you. Zane.” Shaak Ti whispered at his back. A quick glance at his retreating flank had her roll her eyes. Once he had left the room, she stroked the Happy Stone slightly faster, and began to mutter to herself. “That Captain Monogan, where does she get off making such an offer? C-calling them a pair of h-hard candy! As if she'd know! Afterall, when we sparred in the past, only I would know how firm or soft they were.” 

Zane left his quarters, intent on investigating Captain Monogan’s claim of ‘70 year old engineers.’ If he was a Jedi like Obi-Wan, this would be some mission to discover if the stern woman was full of bantha shit. To Zane, this was a mission to relieve his boredom! He'd been on 12 hour flights before, and now that he was stuck in this hunk of jun-ahem, pristine craftsmanship-for 12 friggin days, he had to amuse himself somehow. And what better way was there to find happiness, than to abuse the crew? 

“Where to, sir?” Foke asked once he stepped out of his room. 

“Engineering.” Zane demanded. 

“This way, please.” The mechanical man whirred, and took the lead. 

Zane smiled faintly to himself and turned toward the aft sections of the ship, silently following the protocol droid that had been assigned to him. The air grew warmer as he drew closer to his destination, the scent of oil, coolant, and the sharp tang of ionized metal made his nose twitch, reminding him of the industrial zones on Coruscant. By the time he reached the engine room doors, the internal dampeners were no longer as effective, and he could feel the deck vibrating under his boots. 

The doors slid open, and he found himself within a cavernous and cluttered room. There were consoles everywhere, bright lights, thousands of buttons, cables thick as a man’s arm snaking across the ceiling, and other sci-fi looking machines that he couldn't make heads or tails of. Tools lay everywhere, some were neatly arranged, whilst others were sloppily askew on the floor. 

Of course, the hyperdrive, and engines took up the bulk of the room, and thrummed with power. It was pretty cool, touring the engine room, and seeing all this tech. That said, it was noisier than a Wookie love song, and vibrated more than a Twi'lek harlot's toy. 

A small group of men stood near one of the access platforms. They turned as one when Zane entered. He sensed the weight of experience upon their shoulders, and felt a sort of stubborn pride from them. 

The youngest among them couldn’t have been under forty. 

Amongst this group, was one officer. He was the oldest in the pack, had a wild white beard, and shaggy hair that went against protocol. His uniform was worn & saggy, stained with grease and poorly patched in several different places. Holding a mug of caff, he stared at Zane with unreserved hostility. 

The old man squinted at Zane, took a long, noisy sip of caff, and scowled.

“Oh, kriff me sideways, it’s a glowstick.” The old man spoke extra loud to be heard over the engines…and also spoke like an old man with hearing issues. 

“So this must be the legendary old man Captain Monogan spoke about! I must admit, you don't live up to the hype! I heard your beard was this big.” Zane shouted back, and exaggerated the size of the lieutenant's beard with his hands. 

The old man snorted and waved the mug at him, sloshing caff dangerously close to the edge of a semi conductor. “Every time one of you Force-twisters shows up, something expensive explodes or I lose three hours of sleep and a perfectly good motivator coil. Go proselytize your religion somewhere else.”

One of the other engineers muttered, “Easy, Harl.” However, he didn’t sound particularly invested in stopping the old man. 

Harl took another gulp of caff and jabbed a finger in Zane’s direction. “Captain drag you down here to make sure we ain’t all dead yet? Or you here to tell me the engines ‘feel anxious’ or some such bantha spit?”

Zane glanced around the room, taking in the humming systems, the patched conduits, then back at the people who looked like they had been holding this ship together through sheer spite. In the Force, the engine room felt…stubborn. Alive in the way old things who refused to retire kept the shit company they worked at from going under. 

The mocking smile somewhat dropped from his face, as he began to feel the slightest bit of respect towards this group. 

“I was told this cruiser hadn’t left Coruscant in three hundred years. I wanted to meet the people responsible for making her flight worthy.” Zane patter a nearby bulkhead, and said in praise. 

Harl barked out a harsh, humorless laugh. “Meet away, then. You’re lookin’ at the fools who got volunteered for this rusted bucket’s last hurrah.”

The old man raised his mug in a crooked salute. “Welcome to the engines, Jedi. Don’t touch anything shiny, don’t hum to the hyperdrive, and if you start waving that laser sword around, I swear by the Maker I’ll feed you to the intake.”

Zane’s smile widened, just a little.

“Say, you boys up for a game of pazaak?” He grinned, taking a deck out from his robes.

“Pfah, everyone knows Jedi don't carry creds, buncha cheap bastards.” Harl waved him away in disinterest. 

“Oh? But you might be interested in this.” Zane shuffled through a pocket, and floated over a pair of Silent Muffs. 

The old man held the things, and glanced at Zane like he was an idiot. 

He rolled his eye, and gestured at Harl. “Put them on.”

“Bantha shit ain't worth less than 2 creds max.” Harl grumbled under his breath, then reluctantly placed them over his ears. 

Harl's eyes went wide, and a tear fell down his cheek. 

“Harl? Harl!” An engineer called out to the Lieutenant, noticing something was wrong. “You cultist bastard, what spell did you place on him!” 

Several engineers picked up nearby wrenches, or blowtorches, and gestured violently towards Zane. 

“HUH? WATCHA IDIOTS DOING?!” Harl's voice came out even louder than usual, causing everyone to flinch, and halt in place. 

Removing the Silent Muffs, Harl reluctantly tossed them back to Zane. “Lad, those things are magical…when I wear them, my tinnitus disappears, I can hear my own thoughts clearly…I may be a big talker, but even if we pooled all the creds we've got, it wouldn’t be enough to pay for those.” 

Zane grinned, and began to shuffle his deck. 

“Sounds like some coward's talk if I ever heard it.” 

“You little shit…” Harl growled in amused disbelief. 

Slamming his mug down, he reached into his worn coat, and pulled out a deck of his own. “Kriff it, I'm in!” 

Zane chuckled, and gestured towards a nearby table. 

“You'll be out of credits by the end of the day, Lieutenant.” 

“Heh, you'll be eatin those words, boy.” Harl cackled. 

Glancing at the fervent old man trying to hold back his excitement for appearances sake, Zane knew he had found the entertainment he had been looking for. He had a feeling he wouldn't be bored on this trip anytime soon. 

~~~~~~~~~

AN: As a reminder, we're on a schedule, with Uzumaki Survival filling up next week's secondary time slot. I'm pretty pleased with how popular this series is, and it will 100% make a return in March. By then, I'll hold a poll comparing it to the other side series, and whatever is popular enough might just receive 2 weeks of support a month.