(closed) we do the impossible

[sfoils]

CHARACTERS ▶ Luke Skywalker & Wedge Antilles
LOCATION ▶ Shipyards
SUMMARY ▶ Luke and Wedge meet outside their Matrix for the first time
WARNINGS ▶ None
NOTES ▶ Gross feelings incoming

The shipyards never sleep. And it's a good thing, too.

Wedge works under the belly of a hovercraft, cables spilling out of its insides like the viscera of a mechanical whale. Four ships lost means more work for mechanics, tighter, hastened schedules. Hovercrafts must be replaced. There can't be gaps in the Zion Defense Grid. Their lives depend on it.

There's grease tracks on Wedge's forehead, dark brown fringe gone coal black. By now all the mechanics stink of metal and sweat and oil. It's an unspoken agreement not to bring up each other's stench. Politicians get to stay clean. Mechanics and engineers and soldiers and people who get shit done don't.

His shift ended two hours ago. But Wedge doesn't want to leave. He'd rather work past his feelings than acknowledge them. He's just come off a successful tour, he's primed to become a captain. Yet it's a hollow victory.

The people he truly wishes to celebrate with are not here.

Sithspit. He misses them so, so much.

"I need a break." Wedge jumps off the platform, clocking out. Heart-aching, gut-wrenching melancholy isn't an excuse for frying delicate electrical and mechanical parts. Wedge refuses to be the guy that pushes them off schedule.

So to clear his mind, he takes a stroll.

Comments

[last_ofthe_jedi]

Luke's jaw goes slack in mild surprise. "Thirty-four?" It sounds so old to him and it takes him a second or two to curb his reaction a bit. It's probably not helping. Maybe he should have focused on the part about him being a general. Much more respectful way of showing surprise at just how much further along he is than Luke.

"That means you've got almost ten years on me. Endor happened just before I was unplugged. I'll be turning twenty-three in a couple weeks, I think." It's tricky to keep track of time here, but Luke knows his birthday was only two months away the last time he was in the Matrix. It should be coming up soon.

Luke sits back a bit, setting his hands into his lap. "I'm almost afraid to ask what's happened in the last ten years."

[sfoils]

"What, you didn't notice the grey hairs?" Wedge parts his hair at his temple, showing off a sizable strand of grey hidden beneath a layer of dark brown. "Wes' pranks are catching up to me."

A decade. Sithspit, this will be awkward. Wedge will have to be careful not to divulge certain information that could hurt Luke. Absentmindedly, he wonders why this happened, and how it could've happened: in their Matrix, this particular problem is the stuff of spacer myths.

"You want me to hit the highlights?" Wedge shifts in place, settling for what could be a very long conversation.

[last_ofthe_jedi]

Luke immediately shakes his head in response. "It doesn't matter. Maybe it's best if you don't tell me for now." In the future he might want to know but for now Luke is in too fragile a state.

Thinking about all of the things that might have been, the things he could have experienced, the people he could have known, will only make him sad. That's not what he needs right now. They'll save it for another time when Luke is stronger.

As he pushes away those thoughts, Luke gets an eager glint in his eyes and he scoots forward slightly. "I want to know more about that pilot training program." It's clear that his mind is set on it, even if he might be forced to take a mechanic job for a while just to get his bearings.

[sfoils]

"Ah, alright."

In retrospect, that wasn't an empathetic offer, but Wedge isn't known for his skills with emotions. Not these kind of emotions, at least. He's rather emotionally stunted, and that's something Luke knows for a fact.

Wedge smiles an easy, lazy grin. "I knew you'd ask about it," he teases. "Well, we just lost some ships, so we need captains more than ever." Job openings through death are never pleasant to talk about, but this is a familiar situation to career rebels like he and Luke. "It's simple, really: you sign up, they put you through a battery of physical and psychological tests, some sims, and then they'll let you know if you're in or not."

"I just came back from a test tour. I did pretty well, all things considered." He ruffles his hair, mulling over his words. "It was an emergency situation: a ship crashed outside the dock gates, reporting that other ships went missing. We found a single survivor."

"Aside from the usual problems with green recruits, my crew did pretty well."

[last_ofthe_jedi]

Being a captain is something Luke could see himself pursuing in the distant future. It's one of those high goals he might set for himself that others would be quick to shoot down. Impatient and idealistic as ever. Sure, he's only been unplugged for a few weeks and he's still weak and learning his way around, but all he has to do is give it a little time and a lot of focused effort.

Luke's always been a very fast learner and his recovery has been very quick. He's never been one to gamble but he'd be willing to put down money on the bet that he could get captaincy well within six months if he really set his mind to it.

Getting his head out of this gloom first is a must, otherwise he won't be much of a leader, but there's no doubt in Luke's mind that he could do it.

Hearing Wedge talk about his test tour makes Luke smile sadly. He could almost pretend that Wedge is telling him all about a strafing run that he did with the rest of Rogue Squadron.

"It sounds like you're well on your way to gaining that position permanently," he says proudly. "Just remember to think of us little people, won't you?" Luke's been in such a high position of command for so long that it almost feels like a novelty to be back down at the bottom again. It's strange not having the authority, but there's something nice about being free of so much responsibility for a while.