[ The Resistance was buzzing as it always did. Poe Dameron would be in the hanger bay on top of Black One holding a datapad connected to certain parts from the one compartment. He seems to be in deep thought looking over all of the modifications while making the necessary repairs that he can do himself over the help of an astromech. However, it was greatly appreciated to have another set of eyes. There was something he couldn't quite figure out. ]
I thought I would have found it by now.
[ As a pilot and also a mechanic at times on his own, he should be able to figure out a simple fix. What was he missing? What other connect needed to be put back together? Poe ran all of the diagnosis he could. But he kept running into walls and kept getting further away from fixing the repair. He crouches on the wing looking over it to see if there was anyone around that he could call over. He spotted Ben not too far off. ]
Hey!! Can you take a look at this? Maybe give an opinion?
[Ben hadn’t set out to be a part of his mother’s Resistance but somehow, he’d found himself being dragged into it almost against his will. He’d spent a large portion of his childhood and teenage years being resentful of the fact that Leia always seemed to have abundant time for the universe but when it came to her own child, she never seemed to know what to do with him.
Well, up until the day when she’d shipped him off to train with his uncle Luke that was. Ben had tried to fit in there at his uncle’s Jedi Academy but even there amongst other younglings who could harness the same mystical abilities as him, he couldn’t ever seem to manage to fit in.
And that was the story of his life, wasn’t it? Being the odd one out, the guy who tended to subtly make those around him uneasy without even trying who never quite fit in anywhere. Maybe the Resistance with its rag tag group of equally out of place misfits was the perfect place for him.
Hearing that familiar voice call out to him, Ben looked up from the A-Wing deflector shield generator he’d been tinkering with. He’d always enjoyed tinkering with machinery and tended to find them easier to deal with than other people. But Poe Dameron wasn’t just anyone. He was one of the few people Ben Solo counted as an actual friend.] Yeah, sure thing, what’s up?
[The taller man asked as he crossed over to Poe’s fighter.]
[ Poe was glad that he could make a friend out of Ben, even if General Organa may have suggested it. He wasn't just going to force it from the other either. That's not how things worked. Talking, conversing, is mostly what the pilot did with others. He would try to get their full stories. So if he sees something that's bothering them out on a mission. He could try to help them come back to the reality when he needs them. There's many stories he has heard and he'll continue to try to get Ben's when he's ready to talk about it.
For now he would bring up things that Ben seemed to like. Machinery, fighters, anything that would help. Things like not following Leia's shadow. Since Ben was his own person too. Poe could make a name for himself, Ben Solo could too.
He offers a smile to him while walking over to him still in a crouched position. He hands turns the datapad so that Ben can give a look over at it. ]
I feel as if it's something small that I'm missing. A tiny repair that's not quite there. She's holding up pretty good in everything else. Yet, running everything the systems don't quite link up as they should.
[ The modifications seem fine, but several important systems don't seem to responding to them. Especially the weapons and speed. ]
I've tried reworking them in several ways but these two things are stubborn and I can't seem to figure out another way.
[ He looks a bit frustrated by that fact but he knew he could learn a thing or two from Ben. If he was willing to show him. ]
[Ben wouldn’t admit it out loud but he was secretly glad that the other man had been so willing to accept him into his circle of friends. Of course, that just seemed the kind of person Poe was naturally. The man radiated a friendly sort of charisma that people just seemed to react positively to the man no matter where he went.
A guilty, not very Jedi, part of Ben envied him that ability. But then, he'd never been a particularly good Jedi as his travesty of a time at Luke Skywalker's academy had proven. He had plenty of potential his uncle had repeated more times than he cared to remember but it was finding a way of harnessing that potential towards the Light that he'd always struggled with. Ben had never been good at suppressing his emotions and even from a young age, he'd sensed his parents' passing sense of wariness and uncertainty every time little Ben Solo had thrown a tantrum. It hadn't been until he was old enough to learn the tale of Anakin Skywalker and what he became that those uncertainties made more sense.
But the problem was, if people around you held their breath waiting to see if you would fail then really in the end, it just became a self-fulfilling prophesy. That was why he'd finally fled Skywalker's Academy and why he'd dropped off the radar for years before one of Leia's agents managed to stumble upon her wayward son embroiled in a bloody dispute with the Kanjiklub.
Being dragged back to his mother by his proverbial ear hadn't exactly left Ben in the most receptive of moves but Leia had managed to browbeat him into agreeing to at least give the Resistance a fair try. Ben didn't have his mother's idealism but even he could see that the First Order was bad news. There were apparently enough his mother's rebellious tendencies in the man that he'd stuck around thus far but he always seemed to be keeping a weather eye on the horizon in search of something better coming along.]
Yeah, sure, I'll check it out. [Ben accepted the datapad with a smile and started to read over the diagnostic read outs from Black One. Some of Ben's earliest—and happiest—memories were of hanging around with his Uncle Chewie helping him work on the Millennium Falcon. He’d teethed quite literally on hydrospanners much to Leia’s exasperated dismay and Han’s quiet amusement. Bots, machines, they all just made sense to him and despite the fact that he hadn’t been with the Resistance for too long, he’d already found a place for himself with the repair crews. Ben would have preferred being allowed to fly but his mother wasn’t completely convinced he wasn’t a flight risk still so that had been firmly shelved.]
They recently upgraded your engines with those parts we got in from the New Republic, right? The parts between the T-70 and T-85 are pretty compatible but if the chipset for the T-85s require more power. It could be drawing too much power from your system and it’s not able to keep up with the draw which would make things run sluggish and seem a little glitchy.
[ Poe would at least try to expand his friend's circle. Even if he would talk to anyone in the Resistance. It would do good to know them. Since they would be around a lot but friending Ben could have been a challenge. He knew that could be a possible and he would at least take his time. He always appreciated the other in showing him and thing or two on things he should already know. But he can easily miss something as a chipset.
There's a small tiny sigh as he rubs at his forehead. He sits down on the wing while looking down at Ben. ] I guess I have been looking too long at the datapad that I missed the chipset power completely. Yeah, it's the upgraded parts. That would explain a lot things that I was encountering and tried fixing.
[ He presses his lips together in thought. The question would be did the Resistance have the required chipsets that were needed. Poe was sure they could be within the hanger somewhere. ] You wouldn't happen to know how to give it more power. She'll still need to operate. I wouldn't want to get rid of the upgrades either knowing that it's possible to keep it. They'll come in handy.
Unless you were doing some pretty hefty mechanical work back in the Republic it's unlikely you or even the other mechanics here would have come across that particular problem. [Ben tried to reassure Poe somewhat awkwardly.] Only reason I happen to know about it is because I might have "borrowed" an T-85 from a Bothan who was being a real sleemo.
['Borrowed' was a pretty...generous term. He'd hijacked the Bothan's X-Wing and methodically taken the complicated piece of machinery down to it's frame just the prove a point before calling in an anonymous type letting the New Republic know where they could find their missing fighter. It hadn't been long after Ben had fled from Luke's academy and the young man had been full of piss and vinegar and ready to prove a point...any point. He wasn't particularly proud of that event but really? The son of a Hutt had it coming. Not only had he maligned everything his uncle, father and the rest of the people who'd flown against the second Death Star had done but he'd personally insulted his mother.]
We'll figure something out. [He clapped a heavy hand on Poe's shoulder and squeezed it briefly.] It's good you figured out something was wrong now rather than in the middle of a battle.
Not all the time. I would when it was needed and when I wasn't patrolling around. The other mechanics here all try to figure out how to do their own modifications on their ships. [ As did the rest of the Resistance. Everyone was basically finding things out on their own. ]
[ He tilts his head slightly at hearing the borrowing. His eyebrows knit together as if in thought. Perhaps he was recalling certain stories buzzing around in the hanger when he was still in the New Republic. ] I might have heard about that incident. I do remember someone being highly upset that their fighter suddenly went missing.
[ There's a small smile as he looks at Ben. ] Thanks, and you're right. It's a good thing that I came across this problem here and not up there. I would have had to try to be creative. It might have been rough if the power drained from the engines though.
Yeah, gotta make do with what we have. Still, it'd be nice if we weren't flying fighters that probably saw duty in the Clone Wars. [Ben said with a note of exasperation in his voice. He'd heard all about the privations and shortages the Rebellion and then the early New Republic had to deal with more times than he cared to remember. Leia had been dead-set in making sure her son understood the sacrifices that had been made in order to overthrow the Empire.]
Unfortunate, here I was hoping to hear he'd gotten in trouble having to explain how he managed to lose his snub-fighter. [Petty was definitely not a good look on anyone, especially an ex-wannabe Jedi. Though, there was a reason Ben had flunked out of Jedi school.]
Gotta take care of the best pilot in the Resistance, right? [His words could have come across as mocking or sarcastic but there was enough fondness in Ben's tone to steal any potential venom from his words. The taller man climbed up onto the X-wing with enviable grace and started to fiddle with the right engine.] Worst comes to worst, if we can't fix the power issue, we might have to pull the upgraded chip and see if we can manage a work around.
It's all we can do. Some of the fighters may be old, but they still do the job we need. [ Poe would wish for newer tech but he had to make do with anything the Resistance could get their hands on. Even if it may be doing trade deals in the dark, 'borrowing' other ships and maybe giving them back after the fight. He wasn't even sure how things would truly go but they all lived with what they had. Poe would appreciate everything. ]
Well... [ There's a sheepish grin. ] He did have to tell his major why it went missing. Since the guy was so flustered all he could keep saying was he didn't know. And the major kept saying did your astromech just fly off with it on auto-pilot repeatedly. Fighters just don't go missing like that. [ He gives a small shrug glad that it wasn't him. Poe would have made up some dumb story of it running out of fuel and begging another pilot to come fetch him. ]
If you so, Ben. [ Poe shakes his head a little with a smile at him. He would stand back up on the wing once Ben was on it so he could take a look at what he was doing. ] I mean... that might be the only option we have. If we work on it together we might be able to manage the work around.
As my mother is far too fond of saying, they had to make do with way worse during the Rebellion. So I guess there's no point in complaining. [The taller man said with a hint of exasperation or maybe irritation in his voice. It was hard, being what was essentially a second generation of rebels when your parents had paved the way in far more dire circumstances.
At least they weren't being hunted from one end of the galaxy to the next by the Empire and while the New Republic officially had written them off as persona non grata, there were still people like Leia and other sympathetic Senators who were helping to funnel them support and supplies underneath the nose of the Senate.] I'm not surprised his astromech left him to hang, we had a really enlightening conversation and apparently he wasn't just a kriffing ass to me but generally everyone in his vicinity. Not everyone treats their droids as nicely as you do, Poe.
[The pilot was ridiculously close to his droid but it was something he actually admired in Poe Dameron and had been one of the first things he noticed when they'd been introduced when Ben had been assigned to the base. There were a lot of people who took droids for granted and dismissed their own thoughts and feelings as them being nothing more than well...droids.]
I do say so and I've seen the recruitment posters to back that statement up. [He shot the other man a teasing smirk before turning his attention back to the engine. Ben's hands were as large as the rest of him but somehow, he managed to slide them inside the internal mechanisms of the engine all the same and after a minute with a hydrospanner, he was able to pull the power generator out along with the offending new part.] We could try and do a work around with a bigger power-cell but honestly, I don't want to do that and then have you head out on a mission only to have the entire engine fail at the wrong time. Let's get with the other mechanics and see if they can come up with any ideas. And see if BB-8 has any suggestions too.
It's better to appreciate what you have versus complaining about what we need. Sometimes we could just get lucky and those parts could be around. We could go digging ourselves if we get pointed in the right direction. [ Poe meant his words since he knew they could have way worse starfighters, more outdated things. Things could be breaking off versus being in way better condition than they were. The Resistance still had resources and supplies thanks to Leia being great on her connections. However, there were times where plans didn't always pan out. The First Order could get to those supplies before they could even swoop in for the taking. No matter how in the shadows they could have been. ]
Maybe I won't be the only one to treat astromech's with respect. If that guy couldn't be respective to a droid he wouldn't be able to be respective to the pilots he was working with. [ There's a small smile after that. ] I know I can get very opinionated over certain things but... I'm only trying to do the right things. [ Even if they may not be exactly right at the time. ]
Oh, have you? I'm sure you have. They can be a bit embarrassing. [ Poe shakes his head while pressing his lips up a bit at the tease.There may have been a small eye roll to go along with it. He watches Ben though carefully. ] I'm not heading out for a while. Unless something major happens but you never know around here. That sounds like a great idea. Going to find the other mechanics. BB-8 has already tried, he's probably with the other astromechs trying to get suggestions from them.
It helps that mom can get her senator friends to mark certain things that happen to fall in our lap as ‘military excess’ too. [Ben was all too aware of the shell games Leia and her compatriots in the Senate had to play in order to supply the Resistance under the table. The fact that she’d spent her youth in the original Rebellion and had trained at Bail Organa’s elbow had certainly helped sharpen her resourcefulness.]
That was sorta my thoughts too. Sure, Bothans can have a bit of an attitude to begin with but this guy was a real asshole. [And Ben had a pretty healthy respect for astromech droids or even droids in general. Sure, he didn’t have much patience for the protocol droids like C3P0 but he’d cut his teeth trying to tinker with R2 much to the foul-mouthed droid’s exasperation. The fact that he’d learned how to swear in binary from R2 and Basic thanks to his father just meant his childhood had been interesting and colorful.]
Me and just about everyone else on the base and probably a good portion of the New Republic Navy as well. I have it on good authority your recruitment poster hangs in more than a few cadet’s lockers. [When Ben smiled like that, all slow and sly, you could definitely see Han Solo’s influence on him despite Leia’s attempts to civilize her son and make him respectable.] Well, let’s not tempt the universe by saying that and just concentrate on getting you back in the air, flyboy.
[Again, there was that note of something akin to wistful envy in the younger man's voice honed with a trace of bitterness.]
Yeah, but, how much longer can those few friends of her keep that up? [ It's a worry he could question. Poe knew that it could go on for so long before it stops. The missions for those supplies could be tough never knowing if the First Order was right around to swoop in for them instead. ]
Glad you could do us all the favor and get him re-stationed to a different system. [ He grinned a bit because it's the truth in the end. Poe knew how to treat other astromechs and BB-8 could always surprise him by being doing things he wouldn't believe to do on his own. ]
I don't need to hear all or any of this. [ He looks at Ben with a small smile but it slowly fades at the tone of the other's voice. Poe moves a bit quicker to stop in front of him while looking up at Ben. ] Why don't you join me on my next mission? When the next one comes around.
I have no idea but I learned a long time ago not to underestimate my mom. [Leia had made a habit of making people regret having underestimated her time and time again.] 'Sides...just between you and me? I think she likes being a Rebel way more than she ever did being a Senator.
[Ben just smiled in a serene sort of way and held up the hydrospanner as though to illustrate his point.] Allegedly. And I will denounce you as a filthy, filthy liar if you ever tell anyone that story. [The taller man climbed from one side of the X-Wing to the next by using the s-foils as a bridge from one side of the ship to the next so he could get to the engine on the other side.] That's what you get for agreeing to be the Resistance's poster boy.
[He said with perfectly cheerful schadenfreude but some of that humor faded when Poe made that unexpected request. Ben's expression closed off abruptly and he spent a moment ignoring Poe while internally, he seethed.] No can do, I'm too much of a flight risk. Besides, mom isn't going to let me get right in the middle of the action." This time, he didn't even bother to try and mask his bitterness. Being dragged home to Leia like an errant schoolboy still chaffed his pride something fierce.]
What made you come to that conclusion? [ He had to be curious about it. Ben had a reason to say that. Poe had seen how her planning strategies goes. There's always little surprises that can be put in or she would expect Poe to figure things out on his own. ] You think so? I would think she would be great as a Senator too.
No one would believe that story of me as a liar. You can try though but I don't have to say anything. People may not believe me anyway. [ Poe smiles giving him a slight tease at that since it's Ben Solo. He follows after the tall man while sighing at the comment. ] I never asked for the job.
[ Leia Organa though would use it as a political move, trying to recruit more pilots, get more people to see their side. Poe doesn't argue over those things knowing that it's true. Plus Ben wasn't wrong about underestimating his mother. ] Flight risk, really? So did she ground you or is this just a suggestion don't do it kind of thing? You can't even do one simple supply run? That's all it would take for her to see you're not. Everyone out there is. We need more pilots and she knows that.
It’s easier to be a Rebel than trying to work within the lines, especially when it comes to something like the Senate. Sure, it might not be as corrupt as the Imperial Senate but you saw the way those bastards dragged her name through the mud when they found out about my grandfather.
[Anger kindled in the younger man’s dark eyes when he thought about that disastrous time and the air around the disgraced ex-Jedi trainee grew almost palpably thick. It wasn’t the Force per-se but there was definitely an air of menace surrounding the other man.] Let’s be honest, I doubt my reputation could get any worse so I guess it doesn’t matter either way.
[He finished pulling the second chip from Poe’s starboard engine and jumped down off the wing. His heavy boots made an audible thump when they hit the ferrocrete and that tall, lanky body absorbed the shock of recklessly jumping from such a great height with ease.]
She doesn’t trust me, Poe. [Ben said sharply as his hands curled into fists at his side.] She thinks I’m going to run off and pull another disappearing act again. [The ‘just like my father’ hung unstated bitterly in the air. And really, considering the fact that Ben Solo had quite literally dropped off the radar for years after he’d run away from his uncle’s Jedi Academy, maybe Leia was justified in her fear of her son pulling another disappearing act. But he wasn’t the same scared boy he’d once been!] Feel free to tell her that.
[He said with bitterness dripping from each word while he concentrated on cleaning some of the engine grease from his hands with a spare shop rag.]
It's probably easier to be a Rebel, but she's a General too. She has to keep other people in line. I'm sure some don't stay within their paths. [ He knows that he has to drive her nuts with his moving forward and decisions. A lot of them being reckless but they worked it got the job done. ] I know what they did. I don't like it. They would use anything to get people on their side. When we're so desperately trying to get people to understand our story. We're trying to get them to see who the real threat is.
[ He presses his lips together while moving to get in front Ben to get him to stop moving from whatever path he was going in. It almost felt routine as if he was on autopilot. ] She can't keep you grounded. I'm sure you're feeling as if you're not being able to do enough. [ Poe seems to go through a few emotions before looking as if he's agreeing with Ben. ]
I will tell her. You should tell her how you feel about this. If you're going to run off and disappear... I think... maybe... [ He glances away while putting his hands on his hips. ] I think you would have already done so.
That’s mom for you, always trying to save the universe. [Ben scoffed quietly but wasn’t able to mask the trace of bitterness in his words when he said that. Growing up in Leia Organa’s shadow was hard enough but her continued split attention between being a senator and being a mother had left the young man feeling as though he’d always come secondary in his mother’s list of priorities.] Look, let’s just…no talk about this anymore.
[Judging by the way the taller man’s shoulders had grown tense, Ben’s infamously notorious temper was at risk of boiling right over. Luke had tried to teach his nephew how to control his wild emotions and had tutored him in the risks of those very same emotions leading him on a path to the Dark Side.
But the way Poe physically moved to put himself in his path had the younger man jerking to a halt and for a brief moment, irritation flickered across his face.] I’m pretty sure she can keep me grounded. Can’t risk those Solo genes taking over and me turning into yet another flight risk.
[A sneer started to pull at the man’s lips when he spoke about his father before his expression started to turn rebellious and petulant.]I don’t need you fighting my battles for me, Poe.
[ Poe read up on his own parents when he got the chance to do so. He knew that they both helped Han Solo and Leia Organa. The life he lived was peaceful. A community home that his father built and on a ranch. Poe took in the stance of the other knowing that the conversation needed to end. ] You do know you can tell me things. When you're ready to tell them.
[ Sometimes certain conversations needed a bit more face to face interaction. ] She can. But, would you take the risk of disobeying her command and fly if you saw it to be the right thing to do?
[ Poe gives a nod at that. ] I'm not trying to fight your battles. I'm only offering to help if you don't want it, I can provide it somewhere else.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
For Ben Solo - Resistance AU
I thought I would have found it by now.
[ As a pilot and also a mechanic at times on his own, he should be able to figure out a simple fix. What was he missing? What other connect needed to be put back together? Poe ran all of the diagnosis he could. But he kept running into walls and kept getting further away from fixing the repair. He crouches on the wing looking over it to see if there was anyone around that he could call over. He spotted Ben not too far off. ]
Hey!! Can you take a look at this? Maybe give an opinion?
[ He was being hopeful. ]
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Well, up until the day when she’d shipped him off to train with his uncle Luke that was. Ben had tried to fit in there at his uncle’s Jedi Academy but even there amongst other younglings who could harness the same mystical abilities as him, he couldn’t ever seem to manage to fit in.
And that was the story of his life, wasn’t it? Being the odd one out, the guy who tended to subtly make those around him uneasy without even trying who never quite fit in anywhere. Maybe the Resistance with its rag tag group of equally out of place misfits was the perfect place for him.
Hearing that familiar voice call out to him, Ben looked up from the A-Wing deflector shield generator he’d been tinkering with. He’d always enjoyed tinkering with machinery and tended to find them easier to deal with than other people. But Poe Dameron wasn’t just anyone. He was one of the few people Ben Solo counted as an actual friend.] Yeah, sure thing, what’s up?
[The taller man asked as he crossed over to Poe’s fighter.]
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For now he would bring up things that Ben seemed to like. Machinery, fighters, anything that would help. Things like not following Leia's shadow. Since Ben was his own person too. Poe could make a name for himself, Ben Solo could too.
He offers a smile to him while walking over to him still in a crouched position. He hands turns the datapad so that Ben can give a look over at it. ]
I feel as if it's something small that I'm missing. A tiny repair that's not quite there. She's holding up pretty good in everything else. Yet, running everything the systems don't quite link up as they should.
[ The modifications seem fine, but several important systems don't seem to responding to them. Especially the weapons and speed. ]
I've tried reworking them in several ways but these two things are stubborn and I can't seem to figure out another way.
[ He looks a bit frustrated by that fact but he knew he could learn a thing or two from Ben. If he was willing to show him. ]
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A guilty, not very Jedi, part of Ben envied him that ability. But then, he'd never been a particularly good Jedi as his travesty of a time at Luke Skywalker's academy had proven. He had plenty of potential his uncle had repeated more times than he cared to remember but it was finding a way of harnessing that potential towards the Light that he'd always struggled with. Ben had never been good at suppressing his emotions and even from a young age, he'd sensed his parents' passing sense of wariness and uncertainty every time little Ben Solo had thrown a tantrum. It hadn't been until he was old enough to learn the tale of Anakin Skywalker and what he became that those uncertainties made more sense.
But the problem was, if people around you held their breath waiting to see if you would fail then really in the end, it just became a self-fulfilling prophesy. That was why he'd finally fled Skywalker's Academy and why he'd dropped off the radar for years before one of Leia's agents managed to stumble upon her wayward son embroiled in a bloody dispute with the Kanjiklub.
Being dragged back to his mother by his proverbial ear hadn't exactly left Ben in the most receptive of moves but Leia had managed to browbeat him into agreeing to at least give the Resistance a fair try. Ben didn't have his mother's idealism but even he could see that the First Order was bad news. There were apparently enough his mother's rebellious tendencies in the man that he'd stuck around thus far but he always seemed to be keeping a weather eye on the horizon in search of something better coming along.]
Yeah, sure, I'll check it out. [Ben accepted the datapad with a smile and started to read over the diagnostic read outs from Black One. Some of Ben's earliest—and happiest—memories were of hanging around with his Uncle Chewie helping him work on the Millennium Falcon. He’d teethed quite literally on hydrospanners much to Leia’s exasperated dismay and Han’s quiet amusement. Bots, machines, they all just made sense to him and despite the fact that he hadn’t been with the Resistance for too long, he’d already found a place for himself with the repair crews. Ben would have preferred being allowed to fly but his mother wasn’t completely convinced he wasn’t a flight risk still so that had been firmly shelved.]
They recently upgraded your engines with those parts we got in from the New Republic, right? The parts between the T-70 and T-85 are pretty compatible but if the chipset for the T-85s require more power. It could be drawing too much power from your system and it’s not able to keep up with the draw which would make things run sluggish and seem a little glitchy.
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There's a small tiny sigh as he rubs at his forehead. He sits down on the wing while looking down at Ben. ] I guess I have been looking too long at the datapad that I missed the chipset power completely. Yeah, it's the upgraded parts. That would explain a lot things that I was encountering and tried fixing.
[ He presses his lips together in thought. The question would be did the Resistance have the required chipsets that were needed. Poe was sure they could be within the hanger somewhere. ] You wouldn't happen to know how to give it more power. She'll still need to operate. I wouldn't want to get rid of the upgrades either knowing that it's possible to keep it. They'll come in handy.
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['Borrowed' was a pretty...generous term. He'd hijacked the Bothan's X-Wing and methodically taken the complicated piece of machinery down to it's frame just the prove a point before calling in an anonymous type letting the New Republic know where they could find their missing fighter. It hadn't been long after Ben had fled from Luke's academy and the young man had been full of piss and vinegar and ready to prove a point...any point. He wasn't particularly proud of that event but really? The son of a Hutt had it coming. Not only had he maligned everything his uncle, father and the rest of the people who'd flown against the second Death Star had done but he'd personally insulted his mother.]
We'll figure something out. [He clapped a heavy hand on Poe's shoulder and squeezed it briefly.] It's good you figured out something was wrong now rather than in the middle of a battle.
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[ He tilts his head slightly at hearing the borrowing. His eyebrows knit together as if in thought. Perhaps he was recalling certain stories buzzing around in the hanger when he was still in the New Republic. ] I might have heard about that incident. I do remember someone being highly upset that their fighter suddenly went missing.
[ There's a small smile as he looks at Ben. ] Thanks, and you're right. It's a good thing that I came across this problem here and not up there. I would have had to try to be creative. It might have been rough if the power drained from the engines though.
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Unfortunate, here I was hoping to hear he'd gotten in trouble having to explain how he managed to lose his snub-fighter. [Petty was definitely not a good look on anyone, especially an ex-wannabe Jedi. Though, there was a reason Ben had flunked out of Jedi school.]
Gotta take care of the best pilot in the Resistance, right? [His words could have come across as mocking or sarcastic but there was enough fondness in Ben's tone to steal any potential venom from his words. The taller man climbed up onto the X-wing with enviable grace and started to fiddle with the right engine.] Worst comes to worst, if we can't fix the power issue, we might have to pull the upgraded chip and see if we can manage a work around.
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Well... [ There's a sheepish grin. ] He did have to tell his major why it went missing. Since the guy was so flustered all he could keep saying was he didn't know. And the major kept saying did your astromech just fly off with it on auto-pilot repeatedly. Fighters just don't go missing like that. [ He gives a small shrug glad that it wasn't him. Poe would have made up some dumb story of it running out of fuel and begging another pilot to come fetch him. ]
If you so, Ben. [ Poe shakes his head a little with a smile at him. He would stand back up on the wing once Ben was on it so he could take a look at what he was doing. ] I mean... that might be the only option we have. If we work on it together we might be able to manage the work around.
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At least they weren't being hunted from one end of the galaxy to the next by the Empire and while the New Republic officially had written them off as persona non grata, there were still people like Leia and other sympathetic Senators who were helping to funnel them support and supplies underneath the nose of the Senate.] I'm not surprised his astromech left him to hang, we had a really enlightening conversation and apparently he wasn't just a kriffing ass to me but generally everyone in his vicinity. Not everyone treats their droids as nicely as you do, Poe.
[The pilot was ridiculously close to his droid but it was something he actually admired in Poe Dameron and had been one of the first things he noticed when they'd been introduced when Ben had been assigned to the base. There were a lot of people who took droids for granted and dismissed their own thoughts and feelings as them being nothing more than well...droids.]
I do say so and I've seen the recruitment posters to back that statement up. [He shot the other man a teasing smirk before turning his attention back to the engine. Ben's hands were as large as the rest of him but somehow, he managed to slide them inside the internal mechanisms of the engine all the same and after a minute with a hydrospanner, he was able to pull the power generator out along with the offending new part.] We could try and do a work around with a bigger power-cell but honestly, I don't want to do that and then have you head out on a mission only to have the entire engine fail at the wrong time. Let's get with the other mechanics and see if they can come up with any ideas. And see if BB-8 has any suggestions too.
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Maybe I won't be the only one to treat astromech's with respect. If that guy couldn't be respective to a droid he wouldn't be able to be respective to the pilots he was working with. [ There's a small smile after that. ] I know I can get very opinionated over certain things but... I'm only trying to do the right things. [ Even if they may not be exactly right at the time. ]
Oh, have you? I'm sure you have. They can be a bit embarrassing. [ Poe shakes his head while pressing his lips up a bit at the tease.There may have been a small eye roll to go along with it. He watches Ben though carefully. ] I'm not heading out for a while. Unless something major happens but you never know around here. That sounds like a great idea. Going to find the other mechanics. BB-8 has already tried, he's probably with the other astromechs trying to get suggestions from them.
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That was sorta my thoughts too. Sure, Bothans can have a bit of an attitude to begin with but this guy was a real asshole. [And Ben had a pretty healthy respect for astromech droids or even droids in general. Sure, he didn’t have much patience for the protocol droids like C3P0 but he’d cut his teeth trying to tinker with R2 much to the foul-mouthed droid’s exasperation. The fact that he’d learned how to swear in binary from R2 and Basic thanks to his father just meant his childhood had been interesting and colorful.]
Me and just about everyone else on the base and probably a good portion of the New Republic Navy as well. I have it on good authority your recruitment poster hangs in more than a few cadet’s lockers. [When Ben smiled like that, all slow and sly, you could definitely see Han Solo’s influence on him despite Leia’s attempts to civilize her son and make him respectable.] Well, let’s not tempt the universe by saying that and just concentrate on getting you back in the air, flyboy.
[Again, there was that note of something akin to wistful envy in the younger man's voice honed with a trace of bitterness.]
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Glad you could do us all the favor and get him re-stationed to a different system. [ He grinned a bit because it's the truth in the end. Poe knew how to treat other astromechs and BB-8 could always surprise him by being doing things he wouldn't believe to do on his own. ]
I don't need to hear all or any of this. [ He looks at Ben with a small smile but it slowly fades at the tone of the other's voice. Poe moves a bit quicker to stop in front of him while looking up at Ben. ] Why don't you join me on my next mission? When the next one comes around.
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[Ben just smiled in a serene sort of way and held up the hydrospanner as though to illustrate his point.] Allegedly. And I will denounce you as a filthy, filthy liar if you ever tell anyone that story. [The taller man climbed from one side of the X-Wing to the next by using the s-foils as a bridge from one side of the ship to the next so he could get to the engine on the other side.] That's what you get for agreeing to be the Resistance's poster boy.
[He said with perfectly cheerful schadenfreude but some of that humor faded when Poe made that unexpected request. Ben's expression closed off abruptly and he spent a moment ignoring Poe while internally, he seethed.] No can do, I'm too much of a flight risk. Besides, mom isn't going to let me get right in the middle of the action." This time, he didn't even bother to try and mask his bitterness. Being dragged home to Leia like an errant schoolboy still chaffed his pride something fierce.]
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No one would believe that story of me as a liar. You can try though but I don't have to say anything. People may not believe me anyway. [ Poe smiles giving him a slight tease at that since it's Ben Solo. He follows after the tall man while sighing at the comment. ] I never asked for the job.
[ Leia Organa though would use it as a political move, trying to recruit more pilots, get more people to see their side. Poe doesn't argue over those things knowing that it's true. Plus Ben wasn't wrong about underestimating his mother. ] Flight risk, really? So did she ground you or is this just a suggestion don't do it kind of thing? You can't even do one simple supply run? That's all it would take for her to see you're not. Everyone out there is. We need more pilots and she knows that.
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[Anger kindled in the younger man’s dark eyes when he thought about that disastrous time and the air around the disgraced ex-Jedi trainee grew almost palpably thick. It wasn’t the Force per-se but there was definitely an air of menace surrounding the other man.] Let’s be honest, I doubt my reputation could get any worse so I guess it doesn’t matter either way.
[He finished pulling the second chip from Poe’s starboard engine and jumped down off the wing. His heavy boots made an audible thump when they hit the ferrocrete and that tall, lanky body absorbed the shock of recklessly jumping from such a great height with ease.]
She doesn’t trust me, Poe. [Ben said sharply as his hands curled into fists at his side.] She thinks I’m going to run off and pull another disappearing act again. [The ‘just like my father’ hung unstated bitterly in the air. And really, considering the fact that Ben Solo had quite literally dropped off the radar for years after he’d run away from his uncle’s Jedi Academy, maybe Leia was justified in her fear of her son pulling another disappearing act. But he wasn’t the same scared boy he’d once been!] Feel free to tell her that.
[He said with bitterness dripping from each word while he concentrated on cleaning some of the engine grease from his hands with a spare shop rag.]
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[ He presses his lips together while moving to get in front Ben to get him to stop moving from whatever path he was going in. It almost felt routine as if he was on autopilot. ] She can't keep you grounded. I'm sure you're feeling as if you're not being able to do enough. [ Poe seems to go through a few emotions before looking as if he's agreeing with Ben. ]
I will tell her. You should tell her how you feel about this. If you're going to run off and disappear... I think... maybe... [ He glances away while putting his hands on his hips. ] I think you would have already done so.
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[Judging by the way the taller man’s shoulders had grown tense, Ben’s infamously notorious temper was at risk of boiling right over. Luke had tried to teach his nephew how to control his wild emotions and had tutored him in the risks of those very same emotions leading him on a path to the Dark Side.
But the way Poe physically moved to put himself in his path had the younger man jerking to a halt and for a brief moment, irritation flickered across his face.] I’m pretty sure she can keep me grounded. Can’t risk those Solo genes taking over and me turning into yet another flight risk.
[A sneer started to pull at the man’s lips when he spoke about his father before his expression started to turn rebellious and petulant.]I don’t need you fighting my battles for me, Poe.
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[ Sometimes certain conversations needed a bit more face to face interaction. ] She can. But, would you take the risk of disobeying her command and fly if you saw it to be the right thing to do?
[ Poe gives a nod at that. ] I'm not trying to fight your battles. I'm only offering to help if you don't want it, I can provide it somewhere else.