It was just another dark day in Sub-Korda, with day being subjective. Without a sun, it was easy to get lost in time, not knowing whether it was late or early. The place was somewhere Jade Augros easily acclimated to from how much it reminded her of the Coruscant slums she grew up in. But even then, she was only able to take it in small doses.
The young woman was working a gig at a Marshalls sponsored cybernetics clinic where she fixed up the limbs of those who were unfortunate enough to lose one. She was in the midst of working on an arm when the sound of a door opening caught her attention. “I’ll be just a minute!” She called out. Jade was accustomed to walk ins and appointments, what she didn’t like was how closed in she felt. The enjoyed the open door of a garage and getting to feel a natural breeze. Everything was so artificial and clinical at the clinic. <@1056685516441006091>
“Don’t mind me,” A familiar voice called out, “was just in the area so I thought I’d stop by.”
Tagrei stepped into the clinic with his arms folded behind his back, slowly working his way around its waiting area so he could survey the paintings they had on display. It had been a while since he last visited, but he was pleased to see that the place was still holding up well.
Hearing Tagrei’s voice stopped Jade in her tracks. She hadn’t seen the man for a few weeks so to hear the low timbre of his voice was a welcome experience. She set her tools down and turned to face the source, a smile on her face. “Tagrei,” she grinned. The young Selenian made her way towards him and the waiting area.
“What brings you to the clinic?”
He returned the smile with one of his own. “Just figured I’d check in on you while I had the time,” he replied, “I would have stopped by sooner, but things have been really busy at the shelter. The attack scared a lot of the newer volunteers off, so I’ve been pulling extra shifts there to help ease the workload for the others.
"How have you been?”
“That’s really good of you,” Jade said, her tone genuine. She had always admired how selfless and helpful Tagrei had been. “I heard about the attack and was meaning to reach out to ask if you’re okay, but I’ve been so busy. I’m really sorry about that.” The woman was also nervous to reach out to Tagrei in general.
“I can’t complain, though. Business has been steady, and I haven’t had to worry about too much outside of waiting for part deliveries. Been spending some of my free time here trying to help out.” Just like you
Ever the humble one, Tagrei shrugged his shoulders. “It’s what anyone in my position would do,” he said, “Just doing the right thing.”
But when he heard her apology for not reaching out, he waved his hand in hopes of assuaging her any pesky feelings of guilt that bubbled up in her mind. “Happens to us all, Jade. You don’t have to apologize to me.
"And so I’ve heard! I’m proud of you. Jan would be, too.”
Tears began to well up in Jade’s eyes as Tagrei mentioned her father. He was one of the few people who knew her dad and knew about what was going on. Most of her father’s clients and friends had slowly left after he got sick, not wanting to work with her instead of the legend that was her father. At least he was a legend to her.
“Thank you, Tagrei. Thank you so much. But you’re wrong. Not many would be helping if they were in either of our positions, but we’re here anyway.”
He offered her an encouraging smile upon seeing how she reacted, and even placed a hand on her shoulder. “We do what we can, and hope that’s enough to make a difference,” he replied, “On a lighter note, what were you working on before I arrived?”
Jade’s heart fluttered as Tagrei’s hand landed upon her shoulder. It took everything in her to not lean her cheek against it and bat her eyelashes at the man. Instead, she simply offered him a wide, proud smile. “And we do make a difference.” The woman reached up and placed a hand over Tagrei’s, grabbing it and twisting her body to pull him along towards her workstation to show him. “Come see, it’s pretty cool.”
Tagrei nodded and allowed her to take his hand and lead him through the shop. “Lead the way,” he said.
And lead she did. All the way to her workstation where they’d see a metal arm spread out in pieces atop a holder thing. “This guy’s arm was acting up so I took it apart and found out there was a lot more wrong with it than just the bearings.”
Tagrei leaned forward to take a look at it. He was genuinely curious despite not fully understanding what he was looking at. “What else was wrong with it?”
“Some other parts inside were rusted over, somehow, and other parts are just shoddy. I’m gonna replace pretty much everything with things that can’t rust and I’m going to send the guy to another clinic to get his blood checked to make sure this hasn’t been poisoning him.”
“Good idea,” he said, “You should send him to the LKC. I could take a look at him. That’s what it’s there for, after all. Free of charge, too.
"It’s amazing that you know how to do all this.”
“That’s an even better idea,” Jade agreed, flashing a bright smile at the man. A faint blush appeared along the Selenian’s cheeks as she was complimented, her heart fluttering once again. “Thank you. You’re pretty amazing too. At your job I mean.”
“So, how’s life in the city been treating you?” he asked, “Things have been a bit hectic lately, but hopefully you haven’t seen any of that in your neck of the woods.”
“It’s been good,” Jade said, fiddling with her shirt a bit. “The hecticness has actually been pretty good for business. It’s rare that I get enough free time for stuff like this. Usually, I have to bring a load of work home to try and get it done. You should come by sometime.”
“That’d be nice,” he said, picking up a hydrospanner to his left and holding it out. Despite meaning it as a joke, she actually took it. He supposed he knew a bit more than he thought about mechanics; or maybe it was just dumb luck, “We could have a nice drink or two. Just relax.”
Jade accepted the tool and put it to use, twisting a couple parts around and into place. “Thank you,” she said with a glad smile. “I’d really like that. It’s been hard to make lasting friendships ever since moving here. I’m so busy with work…” The Half-Selenian waved a hand, pushing the idea away. “Doesn’t matter. It’ll be nice to spend time with you.”
“Well, that won’t do,” he said, “A bunch of friends from the shelter and I are going to Estle City this weekend. You should come. It’ll be a good way for you to meet people. Good people.
"And you should hire an assistant. Or get a service droid. It’ll help free up your schedule a bit.”
The woman’s face brightened, her smile nice and wide as she set her spanner down. The last thing she wanted to do was mess something up while she was distracted by Tagrei’s wonderful voice. “I’d like that, I’d like that a lot. As long as you don’t ditch me, though. And I can’t afford an assistant and I certainly can’t afford a competent droid. And besides, it’s a family business. It would feel wrong to get outside help.”
“Hmm. I’ll see what I can do on the droid front,” he replied, stroking his chin while thinking, “Even just having one to check in customers while you work in the back would help you a lot, I’m sure.
Maybe building your own will make it feel less like outside help?”
“I appreciate that, Tag.” It seemed as if a permanent smile resided upon the half Selenian’s face. As long as she was with the older man, she couldn’t help but feel safe and at home. “It would definitely be a learning experience for me. Hopefully droids aren’t too different from cybernetics,” she chuckled a little anxiously. The undertaking seemed daunting but she wanted to give it a shot. “Do you know anything about building droids?”
“I don’t mention it’s that different, but you seem like a quick study, regardless.
"I know a little. But I may be able to point you in the direction of people who do. I know a guy who’s a whiz with that kind of thing.”
“always have been,” she said with a bit of a cocky smirk. “But forward me that guys comm info, maybe I can learn a thing from him. I don’t know how much help id want from him for the droid itself but some pointers could be useful.
"I can always come back to all this if you wanted to head out for a little bit? We could get something to eat?”
“That sounds good to me,” said Tagrei, “but don’t you have to finish your work here, first?”
Jade looked from her work to Tagrei and then her work again. She felt the urge to stomp her foot from just how illogically frustrated she was getting. “I mean I do but… Will you still be around?” The Selenian asked.
He nodded with an encouraging smile. “Today’s my off day, so I’m happy to hang around until you’re finished here. Doesn’t look like you have much left to do, anyway.”
Jade felt a genuine urge to jump up and down from sheer excitement. “Perfect!” She said, a little too enthusiastically. She got nice and settled in her stool and grabbed the last tools she’d need. “You can pull up a chair if you want but I really won’t be long. And you know where the vending machine is, right?”
Tagrei nodded and grabbed a chair from a nearby table, placed it next to her, and sat down. “I could raid the vending machine, but I don’t want to spoil my appetite,” he replied, “There’s a really good Selenian street food vendor near here who I think you’d like. But for now, I’m content to see you work your mechanical magic.”
“Hell yeah,” she said with a smile. She took a steadying breath and got back to work, talking as she did. Though her words were more measured and slow as she focused primarily on the arm in front of her. “Though, I wouldn’t call this magic. Just hard work and a really good teacher.”
“Of course,” he replied, “but that makes it no less impressive.”
He folded one arm across his knee and leaned against it while watching. Although Tagrei didn’t understand the intricacies of what she was doing, it was still fascinating to watch Jade skillfully manipulate the mechanical parts of the prosthesis.
“Dad always wanted me to be better than him someday, and I guess I am now…” She said as her hands flew across various parts and tools.
Before long, the woman had finished completely after humming the tune of one of her favorite songs a few times as she worked. “Aannnnddd done,” Jade said as she turned her tool one last time
“He’d be proud, I’m sure,” he smiled, before his eyes widened a bit when he realized how quickly she’d finished, “Oh, great! Now grab your bag and we can head out. It’s not that far, so we can walk.”
“Aaawwwwee you sure we can’t take my speeder?” She asked, a slight pout on her full lips. The Selenian would take any excuse she could to drive around on that thing.
“Hmm. You know, that’s not a bad idea,” Tagrei replied, “I hope you’ve gotten better since the last time I saw you drive one, though.” He chuckled.
“Hey!” Jade shouted, giving the man a playful pout. “I got cut off, you saw it.” She then crossed her arms. “Those trash cans had it coming, anyway,” her voice was filled with mirth despite trying to come off as annoyed.
“Uh huh,” he said playfully while gesturing for her to lead the way, “well, this’ll be your chance to redeem yourself. Let’s hope we won’t need my medical expertise by the end of it.”