Wandering Around

[heypartner]

WHO: Cobb Vanth, Moonshade, & OTA
WHERE: Various locations
WHAT: September catchall
WHEN: Over the month
WARNINGS: Occasional cursing.



Gear Head - The Forge - OTA

The engine of his speeder thrummed lowly as he drew up outside the Forge. He let it power down slowly before he swung off and rapped his knuckles against the engine. This was a little scary, honestly. Cobb had built his speeder himself and the thought of modifying her was a little worrisome. What if she was changed when he went back?

There weren't power crystals on Tatooine. He reminded himself that he could always convert her back when he returned. It'd probably be easier because of all the junkyards in Mos Eisley and Mos Espa to get parts from.

Since no one seemed to mind the last time he borrowed tools and supplies Cobb set up right outside. He rolled up his shirtsleeves and started taking his speeder apart slowly and carefully. He had a few power crystals lying around and based on his Engineering knowledge the part he needed to convert his speeder to use them instead.

Anyone around would see him systematically laying out parts and occasionally talking to his speeder reassuring it that all would be well when he was done fixing her up. Sometimes, when he was really into it, Cobb would start singing in Bocce or Huttese.

---

Little Chilly - The Factory - for Moonshade

The weather already had a bite to it early in the mornings and when the sun went down. It was a persistent chill that bothered Cobb. He knew from a conversation with Ezra that it would only get colder as the season went on. He missed the Twins real bad when he couldn't escape the cold.

So, he needed to do something about it.

He stood outside the factory with his hands on his hips. He hadn't seen Moonshade for awhile but he knew she tended to stay here but it felt rude to invite himself on in just because he didn't see her.

"Hey, Moonshade!?" He called as he walked a little closer. "You around?"

A smart man would've sent her a message first. Cobb hadn't thought of that though not until he felt a little like a fool standing outside the factory shouting at a building.

Usually, he was drunk before he started shouting at buildings. Stone cold sober it was a little awkward.

"Gotta favor to ask ya?" Maker help him if she was in the other city.

---

A Visitor - Jedi Temple - OTA

Cobb figured the best time to catch all the Jedi at the Temple was the end of the day.

He had a little business with a handful of them. Checking with Ezra on the work in the mines. Find Luke to talk to him about building a vaporator for Kaz. All business. Well, if he saw Grogu he'd take a moment to chat with the kid. And probably check in with Obi-Wan since he hadn't seen the man in awhile.

Maybe not all business.

The thing was, he'd never been to the Temple before. He never had a reason to visit. Meditation didn't really seem useful when he didn't have any Force powers. If he wanted to learn to fight he'd just ask Din. Nice folks, the Jedi, but he didn't have many reasons to see them before now.

The Temple wasn't a big place but Cobb started wandering, looking to see what had been done. Seemed like they'd all done a decent amount of work. It was livable and there was space to do Jedi stuff. There was even what looked like it'd grow into a tree.

Not bad for the space philosophers.

Comments

[on_repeat]

"A few times. Mostly to scout and check in on the others to see if they need any help," Echo reported with a chuckle that leaned into a sigh. "There's just been a lot happening in between those trips."

Maybe more than he originally anticipated, but there was only so much Echo could prepare for on alien turf.

"I had to catch up on what I missed here. It sounded like the mines were just as exciting?"

[heypartner]

"Any of that a lot you need to get off your chest?" Not only could Cobb talk and fix up his speeder he could also listen and fix up his speeder if Echo needed a sympathetic ear. It was the sigh that made him think there was something Echo needed to get off his chest.

He chuckled and shook his head. "The mines turned out to be exciting. Still not exactly happy with the kids, but they discovered something. There's actual metal down there too. It's all ores and would need to be refined but it's there."

Cobb got to work taking off another panel over the engine. "Don't know why anyone's surprised whoever lived here was spying. They already are."

[on_repeat]

The corner of Echo's mouth tics. "Just the usual. No one around here follows any formal kind of protocol. You can't expect them to." Not exactly ranting, but stating the obvious Cobb might already know. "At least some folks have enough sense to not run headlong into the unknown..."

Hearing about the kids cemented that fact, leaving him to frown thoughtfully because their escapades led to a positive outcome. "Give them a challenge and they'll work at it," he murmured, absently scratching the right side of his head. "Can the metals be put to use, then?"

Another pause. The clone's brow creased. "Maybe they forgot." There was no denial. No disagreement.

[heypartner]

Cobb wasn't as worried about protocol as Echo. He did worry about folks getting hurt because they didn't think before doing something. He understood the frustration the other man must feel being in the military like he was. "Yeah, not sure what task to give 'em that'll keep them busy and out of trouble. Got Alberto fishing for us. Sort of hoped Grogu would be too busy with Jedi trainin' to cause any trouble. Not sure what to do about the rest of 'em."

Maybe they could all put their heads together and figure it out. Cobb had nothing against putting the kids to work. Nothing back breaking or dangerous but something to make them feel useful.

"Or willfully forgot." Cobb shrugged. "You and me, we're used to folks watchin' us all the time, aren't we? We don't forget that."

Cobb had his masters. Echo had his commanders.

[on_repeat]

"Only keeps them busy for so long," Echo lightly countered. "And we can't really control what everyone else does with their time. If they can be smart about their approach, then there's nothing to worry about."

It was easier bouncing plans and preparation off of commanding officers. And as far as he knew, more than half of the people in Temba were civilians. Common sense wasn't a shared trait, but he felt better when others showed as much.

Willfully forgetting was a possibility they couldn't write off, either. The way Cobb worded the question caught his attention, the slightest lift of his brow returning to furrow at the insinuation. "...No. We don't."

He didn't ask aloud, but he was easy to read.

[heypartner]

"Kids aren't smart. They're kids. They gotta grow into smart." Cobb didn't think any of the kids had hard childhoods like this. Grogu was a mystery but Alberto was bright and happy. He definitely didn't know the ugliness Cobb knew growing up.

There was no one else around, though Stark might be somewhere in the forge itself. Just the two of them. Cobb leaned against his speeder and tapped a finger against the scar on his forehead.

"You asked me about this once, brother. It's how I recognized the scar on you. I had a chip in me too." He looked down at the part in his hand for a moment and then back at Echo. "You had Commanders. I had Masters. And we couldn't tell 'em no because of the chip."

He wasn't a well educated man but he could put clues together. He could figure out a few things just from talking with Echo.

[on_repeat]

"While I'm worried about the children, I meant it more for the adults." The latter grew up in wildly different circumstances, after all, and they were further along in 'maturity' than the former.

That line of thought then passed as he stared at the prominent scar on the side of the Marshall's head, clearly recalling the moment he first asked about it.

Maybe it was the frankness of the delivery that lent a hand in knocking that piece of information into place, leaving him without a response. A small voice in the back of his head wanted to deny it, but the evidence and the knowledge that had been revealed to him so far said otherwise.

In being a good soldier, he had always followed orders. Or tried to. That was expected of him.

"...For how long?"

[heypartner]

"It's too late for the adults. They'll have to learn lessons the hard way." Cobb would do what he could to protect and help them but in the end they were adults and their choices were their own.

People not from Tatooine or the Outer Rim always seemed surprised when he talked about it. The Core Worlds were so far removed from the reality of slavery that it was a hard thing to hear.

"Forty years." It was almost his entire life. Cobb didn't think that needed explaining. Echo was a smart man. "You got yours out young. Plenty of time for you to get used to sayin' no. Trust me, feels real good to do it."

[on_repeat]

Surprised was a word for it. The actual feeling was indescribable, slowly numbing over after the initial gut punch came and went. He knew slavery was outlawed in the Republic, but...that was the Republic. They had a war to fight.

Forty years for a normal human being was a long time, but it was an extension of time that the clone couldn't begin to wrap his head around. Not at his age.

Letting his gaze drop off, he nodded. "I think I've been on my way with that," he quietly admitted, absently tracing the scarred line with his fingers. "It just might take a while."