spncentral | When Sith Beat Jedi To The Prize (Of The Chosen One)

Give him a break, he can only do just so many things at one time. The ship needed putting in hyperspace once he'd made the needed repairs, so he did that.

"All right, starting from the beginning with everything school-related then," Garth'zel says with a nod. "Although that'll mostly have to wait until I've had a chance to get what you'll need. We'll start with stuff that's intended for children younger than you are, but I'm sure it shouldn't take you too long to catch up to about where you should be, had you actually been able to go to school. Probably only a matter of months."

Just what the child wanted to hear, he's sure.

He could have helped with the repairs! That at least, he understood what to do and wouldn't have left him feeling so lost.

Anakin mulled it over, thinking. He knew Huttese fluently, he knew Basic almost fluently - at least in speaking it. He could do basic math, it was needed for his work, but he really couldn't do it by working it out on a holodoc, he'd always had to do it in his head or scratched out in the dirt. So learning to read and such wasn't something he objected to. But..."I'm going to have to be sitting still a lot, aren't I?" Let's really focus on what he objected to.

Considering ship repairs were on a different scale than Anakin's usual, Garth'zel would rather not toss him at them right away, thank you.

"It does tend to be a little difficult to read and write when you're moving around," Garth'zel points out in an amused tone. "But yes, there's going to be enough of having to stay put while working on those things to result in getting bored."

At least he's honest.

Excuse you he's been building a podracer and who do you THINK did all of Watto's repair work?

In truth Anakin could sit still. Sit still, be quiet, and do what he was told - and for far longer than a boy of his age should be able to do. But generally it was fixing or repairing something. Not working at a screen. And he did want to learn to read and write. But it didn't sound enjoyable. "Yes Sir." Anakin's voice couldn't be less enthused, but there's no fight in it either. "When do I start?"

"Mmm, you have a few days. I do need to get the things you need, after all, and that won't be until we make planetfall." In the meantime, they'll spend those few days in hyperspace. And working on other things.

"Did you get around to exploring the ship to find your way around while I was busy?" Or does he need to give Anakin a walk-through so he could see what was where?

Anakin nods, playing with his fingers a bit as he considers, wondering what chores and work he'd have in the meantime. But he doesn't voice those questions or worries.

"I looked around a little. I found the 'fresher and the galley. The door to the cargo bay, I think. I didn't go in. And quarters." So he'd found a far bit, but mostly due to his own familiarity with ships in general and how they were laid out.

"On the note of the 'fresher, don't worry about how much water gets used. The ship has systems that will clean it and make it usable again." Then he grins slightly. "I would rather you not take so long I wonder if you managed to drown in the shower, though."

He hadn't actually thought the ship's refresher would have water instead of just sonics, and he almost wants to just run off and play in the shower. And he glances in the direction of the 'fresher, before snapping back to Garth'zel.

"Can you drown in the shower Sir?" He wouldn't have thought about that.

"Only if you make a deliberate effort to do so," he says dryly. Seriously, he was kidding about the drowning in the shower thing.

"Ok. Good." Anakin's shoulders relaxed, and he exhaled slowly, quietly.

"Did I miss anything important?" Places he needed to see, places he needed to stay away from.

Garth'zel needs a moment to mentally backtrack in the conversation to try to find the context for the latest. "It sounds like you've found most of the important places. Seems the only place you've missed is the medbay."

Really the only actual medical care he'd ever received was from the midwife who assisted his mother in his birth. So the medbay as a thing that existed and would be for use by him. Well it just didn't factor.

"Could-could you show me where it is?"

Garth'zel nods, starting to move off in the direction of it. "I can do that. Also, while I'm thinking about it, since I've got the captain's quarters, what bunk you take in the one for the crew doesn't matter."

Although it'll probably be a good idea for Anakin to take a lower bunk. Less distance to fall if he rolls out of bed in his sleep or something. (Or in case of unexpected maneuvers the ship is having to make.)

Once at the medbay, he points out where the various important things are so Anakin would know where to look if he needs any of it.

Anakin followed, planning to figure out where he would sleep later, assuming there wasn't something else to do. It would be nice to have some time to puzzle out what he wanted.

But once in the medbay, he pays rapt attention, asking questions when he didn't understand something. The machinery was certainly something which pulled his interest more than anything, and he was attempting to read Garth'zel well enough to know how much he could pester him with questions about them.

Hopefully, his questions don't try to poke too much into how things work, because that is not something Garth'zel knows overly much about.

Eventually, he has enough and shoos Anakin out. "Go figure out what bunk you want. I'll check on things in the cockpit."

Make sure nothing's come up he needs to deal with.

He does head in that direction a time or two, and certainly has a gleam in his eyes that suggests he wants to take a few of them apart. But he knows dismissal of questions and steers himself away.

Dismissed to go find himself a place to sleep however...that he'll take advantage of the time to figure out which bunk he wants and how and where to stow what belongings he'd had to bring with him.

And otherwise...he'll stay out of the way. Or try to.

It doesn't take Garth'zel too long to check on things; nothing's come up as it turns out. After stretching out with the Force to check on Anakin's location, he decides to leave the boy alone to get himself settled and just sits in the pilot's seat with his arms folded across his chest to watch the streaks the stars make as they travel through hyperspace and to think about what to do with the rest of the day.

He eventually has to shake himself out of the half-trance watching the starlines left him in to go look for Anakin. Time to see what he's up to and maybe work on something.

Given there was no other crew, and enough bunks, Anakin had taken a risk - calculated to him, and seemed reasonable - taking a middle bunk, but using some of his few tools to carefully work a couple screws loose on either side, and had sat down with a small knife, some wire, cutters, and pliers, making small loops to attach to a spare sheet. Just in case, it would at least keep him from pitching to the floor. He'd seen some foot lockers, and planned to ask for one to keep the rest of his belongings in.

It was actually simple work, if repetitive, and Anakin was being careful to bend each end of the wire back into its own twists so it was smooth and didn't leave sharp points to catch on him or his clothing. He'd gotten a small pile of them made and was continuing to work, making enough to string along the bottom edge as well, almost in a trance-like state himself as he worked. As his hands worked, his mind worked ahead, the next steps of the project shaping in his mind, seeing it spilling out ahead of him. Metal loops to attach to the screws, clasps to attach to the sheets, links to connect them.

Garth'zel watches with raised eyebrows for a few minutes before clearing his throat. "Should I even ask?"

He can decide on his reaction once he knows what Anakin is actually doing.

"Making chain link. These are the attachment ends. I still need to make the links and the clasp ends, but it won't take me long." His hands didn't stop working as he answered, nor did he look up, eyes mostly unfocused - he could do this by feel in all honesty.

"Let me rephrase. Why are you doing this?" He sees you decided to partly take apart one of the bunks, child.

He only took it apart a little. "Some of the pilots put netting up on bunks, so they don't get tossed out. I decided to make something like that with a sheet." Anakin picked up the loops, counting them out in his palm and replacing them in a small neat pile before adding the one he had finished.

"Ah." Thank you for the more useful answer, kid.

He shrugs after a moment. "Seems reasonable enough. Come find me when you're done."

He'll just... go read or something. Something interrupted easily enough. This probably isn't a good time to interrupt the kid, lest he later finds a pointy bit of metal by sitting on it or something.

"Do you care if I take one of the foot lockers?" There was some faint hesitation to Anakin's voice, a tension in the set of his shoulders, even if he didn't stop working.

Garth'zel was tempted to make a smartass comment but restrains himself and simply nods instead. "Yes. You do need somewhere to keep your things, after all."

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