(no subject)

[aimedforthemoon]

after this:

This is level three.

This is the seventh door on the left.

This is Esfir's door.

Esfir's door is locked.

Esfir is very busy.

And Esfir's door is not sound-proof.

Comments

[aimedforthemoon]

She mutters something under her breath in Russian.

"Hold these together while I hammer?"

[rebel-falcon.livejournal.com]

"What did you just say?"

Han moves a little to hold the pieces together.

[aimedforthemoon]

"Mooshskoy."

[rebel-falcon.livejournal.com]

"I gathered that. What's it mean?"

[aimedforthemoon]

"Men. Male. Depends on context."

Bang, bang, goes the hammer.

[rebel-falcon.livejournal.com]

Han does not swear, because she does not smash his fingers. This is much appreciated.

"Mooshskoy," he repeats, quietly.

[aimedforthemoon]

She'd only ever hit his fingers on purpose.

"It interests you? New languages?"

[rebel-falcon.livejournal.com]

"I can read, understand, and speak a handful fluent already," he says. "Talk my way out of bad situations and swear in a few more. I...yeah, they do."

[aimedforthemoon]

"I just know two," she says, shifting to pick up another piece of wood. This one to go on the back.

"But, it is interesting, the way you think differently."

[rebel-falcon.livejournal.com]

"I had to know them," he admits. "A lot of it I picked up when I was running spice for Jabba. I'm more familiar with Hutt than I'd like to be."

Han holds that piece in place as well.

"And I picked up Shyriiwook when I was a kid. Wookies can't speak Basic. When I...when Shrike..."

He stops, and it's obvious he's trying to figure out how to word what he wants to say.

[aimedforthemoon]

She can wait. She has wood to hammer into place.

[rebel-falcon.livejournal.com]

"Long story short, he had a whole gang of us abandoned kids. Slaves," he hates that word so damn much but he says it anyway. "And he also had a Wookie on as a cook. Dewlanna. After her mate died, she stayed around to raise me."

Han focuses on the wood and his hands, to make sure that he doesn't get in her way and get smacked.

"She...was the closest thing I had to a parent. To a mother. Taught me Shyriiwook and made sure I got patched up after getting knocked around, that sort of stuff. I just...always liked learning it. I guess it's carried on."

[aimedforthemoon]

Esfir nods, although she is still silent.

One nail in, two, three (and her fingers brush against his),

"Different for me. I...have to know things. I told you, about invasion. All the bombs, and my mother was killed. So, it was up to my aunt to take care of me and my brother. And my grandmother, I think everything sent her odd. To keep us occupied in the camp, Aunt Katya would teach us. How to read, how to write, maths, how to do things.

After my brother died, it became something to fill pain with. And then I just..."

Forth nail in.

"...didn't stop learning."

Beat.

"Don't ask why I have to understand things, though, I don't know where that comes from."

[rebel-falcon.livejournal.com]

"You stop adapting and learning you might as well give up fighting," he says. "Because you're going to get yourself killed."

That's a little bit 'dramatic' but it's true.

Han nods.

"It makes sense, though. Why learn something if you don't understand it and if you can't use it?"

[aimedforthemoon]

A crooked smile.

"A little like that. But. Do you know how the artificial gravity works?"

[rebel-falcon.livejournal.com]

"I know how to fix it when it stops working," he says. "Which is something in itself. I know that I stripped some of it out of the Falcon, which is why the grav-shift can get interesting sometimes."

[aimedforthemoon]

"But you don't know how it works?"

[rebel-falcon.livejournal.com]

"It projects artificial gravity to compensate for the orientation of the ship while in space. You have to take into account speed, direction of travel, any outside influences and gravitational pulls...there's no up or down in space, but most species can't handle being all twisted around. If there wasn't a grav-shift, when you jumped to hyperspace, you'd get thrown all over the place."

He holds something in place for her.

"I've modified the Falcon by removing some of it. It takes up a lot of space, and I feel like she handles better when I can feel her."

[aimedforthemoon]

"I'm used to feeling things when I fly," she says, carefully banging in the nails. "In A-wings, you can dampen it...but I don't."

Those who do are idiots, as far as she is concerned.

"But, it's...odd. I don't understand how it works. The gravity. On Earth, they were talking and having ideas, and there were things about having the space station rotating, so you use the centrifugal force. And when I fly to Moon, I have no gravity. But, on Liberty and you Falcon, I can walk and don't have to push off the walls."

[rebel-falcon.livejournal.com]

"Right. It's like an energy field, I guess. Creates a space around the transmitter that allows everything within that space to feel the effects transmitted akin to gravity. It's adjustable. Some planets have a stronger pull than others and it can affect different species in different ways."

Han hands her nails as she needs new ones.

"The Liberty, and Home One...the Calamari are good shipbuilders," he says. "They know what they're doing. I can't really explain...the technology is different from builder to species to specific model of ship."

[aimedforthemoon]

"At least that makes sense."

Beat.

"Thank you."

[rebel-falcon.livejournal.com]

"Your welcome."

Han smiles a little.

"You know, I hear they have a library here too."

[aimedforthemoon]

"They...oh, yes. They do. I'm just not used to the idea of giving books back."

[rebel-falcon.livejournal.com]

Sneaky glance.

"Well I don't think they'd notice if some went...borrowed for a long time."

[aimedforthemoon]

"True enough."

Stealing? What stealing?