New kid on the block

[ezra_of_lothal]

WHO: Ezra and anyone, shipmates especially welcome
WHERE: Network and hangar
WHAT: Introductions and settling in
WHEN: Mid Feb/first few days after Ezra arrives
WARNINGS: Some discussion of violence and body horror

.
A. Network [Video]

So, I'm new. My name's Ezra Bridger. I'm from Lothal, if you know where that is.

Mr. Vanth recommended I go by the hangar, so I'll be doing that in a little while, if you want to say hello face to face. It looks like I'm assigned to the Vanquish. Whatever that means, in a practical sense.

I guess my first question is - what needs doing around here? I have some experience scavenging and setting up base in only sort of habitable spots, but this situation doesn't quite fit anything I've done before.

How are we doing on, oh, food?

B. Hangar

He can see why people might congregate here. It's a relatively enclosed, defendable space, and the ships have systems that are probably easier to maintain than the entire infrastructure of a mostly abandoned city. And it's familiar to him, too, sharing ships about this size with a handful of people.

On the other hand, before he joined the crew of the Ghost, he'd had an entire communications tower to himself. It had taken him a while to get used to sharing a cabin with Zeb, and adjusting to all the demands of being part of a crew.

He hasn't made up his mind, which living situation he's leaning towards, here and now. He plans to pitch in, regardless, that's nothing wrong with having some space to himself again.

Once he actually lets himself onto the Vanquish, he's very open about looking around, and a little more cautious about touching than he'd been years ago, the first time he really was on a ship. Years of Hera being particular about her ship have made their mark.

Anyone he come across, he tries to shoot them a friendly smile.

Comments

[ezra_of_lothal]

"And it's nice to meet any brother of theirs, Echo," Ezra replies, warmly, before glancing around. "What are you up to? You asked if I was looking for something to do?"

[on_repeat]

Echo returns the smile. "And it's just as good to meet an ally and friend they can put their trust in." Without any prejudice or stigma attached. As it should be.

At the same time, he's fine with letting the teenager switch back to their previous train of thought. There's a lot to think about, but he kind of needs to clear his head again. "I was just about to go on patrol," he says, thumbing in the direction outside of the hangar. He then shrugs. "It's not even a real patrol at this point – more like a brisk walk around the city. Just to see if anything's out of place. Wanna tag along?"

[ezra_of_lothal]

"Sure," he replies, easily. "Seems like a good habit to stay in."

[on_repeat]

"Well, c'mon then," the clone chuckles, slipping the helmet back over his head. "Were you already given a general rundown of what's going on or are you still trying to find your footing?"

[ezra_of_lothal]

"I got the-" His hands, in green fingerless gloves, wave through the air, making an encompassing sweep. "Initial download? Agra 10, storms, and all that."

[on_repeat]

The helm shifts in acknowledgement of Ezra's experience. "Ah, right. There's that. It's kind of like flash training." Echo starts to walk. "So now you're ready to do whatever you can to make yourself useful."

[ezra_of_lothal]

"Rex mentioned...programming once," he says, frowning thoughtfully, then shakes his head slightly, refocusing.

"I'm used to filling in roles as needed on a small ship. Before that, I was basically on my own for a while, just getting by. So this is both familiar and...not at all."

[on_repeat]

"Programming?" Although Echo's gaze stares straight ahead, he briefly casts a sidelong glance the teenager's way. The pause is noticeable, but he doesn't call attention to it. "I guess it is. Every clone went through it."

He listens, though, brow furrowing as Ezra speaks. "...I think I understand how that feels," he replies after a moment. "We along with everyone else have been pulled out of our element. Adapting is an option, but it isn't always so easy."

[ezra_of_lothal]

"A slower pace than you're used to?" Ezra guesses.

[on_repeat]

He guesses right. "Yeah. It's similar to when I was first stationed at Rishi Moon Base," says Echo. "Back then, I didn't mind as much. But now..."

[ezra_of_lothal]

"I've been in enough combat to have an idea what you mean," Ezra replies, sympathetically. "Here, it seems like there's a lot of waiting around to see what happens next and we're mostly stuck here."

[on_repeat]

Different times, similar battles to fight. "Just like being stranded," Echo sighs. "It's probably a good thing we try to fill the time with whatever needs attending to. Having that level of control is better than dealing with spiders every single night.

[ezra_of_lothal]

"Hah, yeah. I heard about the spiders already. And they just, what, calmed down and disappeared?" he asks, a little skeptical.

[on_repeat]

He has every right to be skeptical. The clone shakes his head. "I'm not exactly sure. I just remember the explosions."

[ezra_of_lothal]

"Wait, wait, wait. What explosions?" Master Kenobi didn't mention those.

[on_repeat]

Oh. Right. He should explain that.

"When you're down there facing a swarm of those things, it's best to take 'em all out at the same time. Let's just say I borrowed several homemade incindiaries and almost burned up a few times in the process." Echo says this with a small laugh. Like it's normal. "Cal made a mistake tackling me to the ground the first time, but I'm sure it would've been a lot worse if he didn't."

[ezra_of_lothal]

"Maybe you...got their nest?" Ezra suggests, wrinkling his nose a little. He doesn't object to explosions in a general. He feels a little bad, if, as it sounds like to him, the spiders were driven to aggressive and are now wiped out.

[on_repeat]

"That was all in the tunnels," Echo says, now staring off into the distance. Another pause draws out before he realizes he's still talking to the teen. "We did find the nest and I'm sure some of them got away."

Which is not good if they ever do come back, but he's been thankful it's quiet again. He's fine with not having to deal with them for a long time.

[ezra_of_lothal]

"Well, hopefully, they'll stay away. If they're like the crawlers on Attolon, they're pretty single minded. Even if it's just one or two, relatively calm, I might not be able to coax them into leaving," Ezra muses, regretfully.

[on_repeat]

It's the right amount of optimism, Echo supposes. "Let's hope you're right." Although he arches a brow at the thought of coaxing the spiders away if they come back. "Is that how you usually solve problems involving large fauna?"

[ezra_of_lothal]

"It depends?" Ezra hazards. "I'd rather make a connection than use violence against them, if that's possible. Some are intelligent enough for two-way communication, and some are suggestible."

[on_repeat]

The helmet tilts slightly. "...I guess that's fair. Give 'em a chance before instinct takes over, huh? That would be useful if clankers reacted the same way."

[ezra_of_lothal]

"You know, we came across an enclave of Separatist droids still active once - me, and Rex, and Zeb, and my master - and we did manage to talk the droid general around?"

Which is the only reason he knows what Echo means by 'clanker'.

"Not until it put us through a battle simulation it'd had nearly two decades to drive it's programming loopy over, but the clankers were willing to team up against the Imperials long enough for us all to get away."

[on_repeat]

Like learning casual swears. It just becomes part of the vocabulary.

"Really," the clone quietly intones, genuinely surprised at the feat. "That sounds unbelievable. But after everything I heard about the Empire, it's good you were all able to get out of that situation unscathed."

[ezra_of_lothal]

"They were intelligent enough to understand that the war was over. And they'd been on their own a long time," Ezra points out quietly.

"That said, it was a pretty strange day for me, too." He changes mental track.

"How long have you been here?"