The thermal regulator's out

[for_everyone]

Pirates are definitely not an ideal encounter in the Outer Rim, though they're occasionally a little less fraught than the Imperials. The set of pirates the Ghost only just escaped, however, had slightly better ships and better armaments than the usual, which means they took a few hits on their way to a clear heading out of range of the rogues and their guns. Lightspeed is only useful when you're not headed straight into a gravity well.

"Well," Hera says, rubbing her hands together to keep her fingertips warm. "Good news is we have shields and our hyperdrive is minimally damaged. Our environmental controls are fried, though, mostly the thermal controls and water recycler, which is better than the oxygen generator being out."

She lifts her head, turning to shout back deeper into the ship.

"Any other damage reports, Chop?"

Comments

[for_everyone]

"Are -- are they alive? Is that why -- "

Maybe these are questions that shouldn't be asked, but Hera's filter isn't so good just now. The returning warmth is such a relief.

[notallofus]

"They - they are, sort of -"

His eyes shut tighter, and he leans a little more heavily against her. "It's hard to explain. But they're - alive in the Force, they s-speak through it."

[for_everyone]

"Is y-yours talking? All the t-time?"

What does it say, she wonders? Is it a comfort to hear, or a burden?

[notallofus]

"I'm usually - aware of it."

Even when he's tried to ignore it. "Like the Force."

[for_everyone]

"It's who you are," she says, very quietly, into the space between them.

"I know I d-don't understand, b-but it's g-good to hear you t-talk about it m-more. Even like th-this. You s-seem less l-lost, and it reminds m-me that we all h-have purpose. We c-can all do something."

[notallofus]

"I just -"

He blinks his eyes open, looking to her, as much as he can.

"I don't like - putting this on you."

[for_everyone]

"Who else is there?"

She manages to keep any stutter out of her words, in part due to the warmth, and in part due to how important this is.

"And even if there were anyone -- you know I have no shortage of secrets already. It's -- the ones we can share, I want to."

[notallofus]

"I know."

And he knows that it might seem absurd, to be worried that he's putting Hera in more danger. As if the Empire doesn't have reason enough to be after her. And yet -

"It - it felt like a poison, sometimes. And something I could spread if I wasn't careful."

[for_everyone]

Hera musters up a faint smile, huffing out a breath of what isn't quite laughter.

"I know it's not the same, but I feel that way, too, sometimes. Or I have, about the mission. So it's lucky we found each other, hm? We're already in as much trouble as we can be, for what we know. And what we do."

Well, almost in as much trouble, given the thing they don't talk about. But --

[notallofus]

"I don't think it was luck," he murmurs, into her shoulder.

His filter isn't quite so active, either.

[for_everyone]

Hera's heart rate picks up again, and her fingers tighten on Kanan's, just for a second.

She breathes.

"I'll admit I might think you're right about that."

[notallofus]

Kanan doesn't moves from her, but briefly lifts his face, up into the cold air.

"Okay," he says.

"I think it's your turn."

[for_everyone]

She almost shifts closer in to him, but the lift of his face into the chill and the fact that his question penetrates means she's saved from that current mis-step.

"Do you know the first time i ever sat in a ship as a pilot, it was the slowest, clunkiest, most broken-down freighter this side of the Outer Rim?"

[notallofus]

He smiles, leaning his face back from the cold again.

"It's hard to imagine anything you fly staying slow or clunky."

[for_everyone]

"There's only so much of a ship you can replace," Hera says dryly. "Without having to just invest in a new one entirely. Which -- "

Well, since Kanan said it flat out like that --

" -- is what happened after the first few runs, when they saw what I could make even that slagheap do."

[notallofus]

That's no surprise.

"Who wouldn't want to see what you could do with a decent ship."

[for_everyone]

"Imperials."

She chuckles a little, the sound more than slightly raspy.

"And even then, probably only some of them."

[notallofus]

"That's true," he agrees, also laughing softly.

But then, he wouldn't want to be on the other side of Hera firing her ship's cannon. Or any weapon system, when it came to that.

"When did you first pilot a ship?"

[for_everyone]

"First time behind the controls, or first time actually up in space, or first time actually moving anywhere up in space?"

They were all very distinct experiences.

[notallofus]

"Um."

It's true, but -

"What if you choose one?"

[for_everyone]

"The first time I was behind ship controls I was really small, and one of m -- one of the rebels on Ryloth let me keep quiet by pretending to fly while a meeting was happening. I imagined so many adventures for myself that day."

Her smile is faint, carrying a heavy load of wistfulness around the edges. She keeps her fingers from fidgeting between Kanan's by way of some effort.

"It was different the first time I actually got to fly. It was just a training flight I'd begged one of the port haulers to let me take, in trade for some nice electrical components I'd scavenged. It was -- it was so different from everything I'd imagined, but even with that heavy ship underneath me, and someone in the copilot's chair telling me what to do -- I knew it was where I belonged."

[notallofus]

"I'm glad that you found that."

Or maybe more, he's glad Hera has been able to keep it. Still, he's smiling again when he asks, "But are these the kind of adventures you imagined?"

[for_everyone]

"You know," Hera says thoughtfully, mouth curving in a very faint smile, "For the most part it really is. In between all the waiting around, which I definitely ignored in my tales to myself as a child."

But the rest of it --

"I find the downtime a relief now, for at least the first ten minutes."

You know, when it's not freezing.

[notallofus]

"Right."

Kanans sure, were it not freezing, Hera would have found something else to be doing right now. He'd never known her to enjoy downtime.

"I didn't imagine as much waiting, either. But then it usually meant - I had things figured out, for the next few hours, anyway."

It was a relief from the pressing, constant need to ensure his survival.

[for_everyone]

"I can see that, too."

She makes an effort not to look up at him, to see what look is on his face just now.

"A breathing space is worth a lot."