A Chat in the Engineering Bay

A Chat in the Engineering Bay
Date of Scene:	19 March 2025
Location:
Synopsis:
Cast of Characters:	Cayde Alexis, 159

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Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Throughout most of the trip to Jedha, Cayde has been hiding in the engineering bays, away from the others. As of the moment, he's lying on his back on top of some coolant tubing, holding a datapad in the air above his face and using the Force to doodle on it with a stylus. Sure, it'd be easier to do it with a hand, but it was good practice...

Athena (159) has posed:
The young padawan might find himself disturbed upon hearing footsteps coming down the hallway of the engineering bay he's currently in.

But who would come down here?

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde immediately searches for whose presence it might be, but finds nothing. Well then, it must be one of those strange blue people. Either that, or one of the droids. Either way, he doesn't pay it much mind, and just continues drawing.

Athena (159) has posed:
Indeed, it's the tall blue alien with the impossibly long name. He seems slightly surprised to find Cayde down here all by himself, but doesn't bother the young padawan.

Instead, he walks the length of the hallway, studying the coolant pipes.

However at some point, he clears his throat and gestures vaguely at the pipe Cayde is lying on.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde glances down at him when he clears his throat, his gaze following the gesture toward the pipes, then back up at the blue alien. But he isn't sure the man wants...

Athena (159) has posed:
The man then beckons Cayde, stepping backwards a few steps and inviting him to follow.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    After a brief pause, Cayde sighs and gets down from the tubes, putting the datapad away. What could he want this time?

Athena (159) has posed:
The man pauses but then shakes his head and points at the datapad he'd just put away.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Oh...he wanted to see the drawings. Cayde takes out the datapad again, but finds himself reluctant to show him...they weren't exactly the most pleasant of images. He glances up at the man apprehensively. Was he certain he really wanted to see them?

Athena (159) has posed:
The man seems concerned for a moment, but then smiles faintly at Cayde.

He pats Cayde on the shoulder gently, and then holds his hand out again for the datapad.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Finally, Cayde sighs and hands the datapad over.

    Upon studying the drawings, Thaarin would find that they are actually quite detailed, and...well, somewhat disturbing. One of them seems to depict the interior of a half-wrecked ship, full of poorly dressed people whose faces are twisted with fear and distress.

    Another seems to be of some kind of operating room, with surgical tools that look exaggeratedly cruel as if they were only meant to maim instead of heal. There is a doctor, whose garb suggests he might be some kind of cybernetic specialist, who wears a similarly twisted visage of fear. Except he seems to be more than just distraught like the ones on the ship...no, he looks tormented.

Athena (159) has posed:
Perhaps to Cayde's dismay, the tall blue man studies the images intently. His scarlet irises narrow, and he seems to be memorizing every detail.

He zooms in on the image of the operating room, studying the face of the doctor carefully.

Then, after a moment, he opens a new blank canvas and starts sketching. The young padawan may notice this time that the drawing he's making is significantly better than the ones he'd tried to create before -- but they're very different in nature. This time the depiction is a detailed image of the bolts on the coolant pipes. There's two pictures -- one of how the bolt looks now, with arrows encircling it. And then a second image, showing how it should look. He hands the datapad to Cayde, then points at the bolts, making a twisting motion with his hand - very similar to the one Cayde might use if he were to use the Force to tighten the bolts.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde stares at the picture, unsure at first what it's supposed to mean. But after the twisting motion, it becomes more clear. He flicks a wrist toward the bolts, and the bolts turn, tightening until they won't budge any further.

Athena (159) has posed:
The tall blue man seems satisfied. Pleased, even. He motions for Cayde to follow him, and points out other bolts that also needed tightening.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde sighs and tightens all the bolts, wondering why he couldn't do it himself. There were plenty of tools around here...

Athena (159) has posed:
But it may occur to Cayde that the tall blue man has no idea where they are, or even how to ask Cayde where they are and how to get to them.

It was simpler, to ask Cayde to assist.

He's watching Cayde now, observing his demeanor, his gaze unwavering. He seems to acutely aware of Cayde's reluctance to help.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde finishes tightening all the bolts, and then turns to face the man again. A pause, and he points at one of the bolts that happen to be easily visible and makes the sign for 'bolt'. Then picks up a loose one sitting on a workbench and shows it to him, again signing the word.

Athena (159) has posed:
The tall blue man nods, and mimics the sign perfectly. He sits down on the workbench and beckons for Cayde to sit down next to him.

He then points at the data pad again, motioning for him to give it to him again.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde nods and sits down, then takes out the datapad again and gives it to him. What now?

Athena (159) has posed:
He hesitates, then uses a blue color pen to do a vague impression of himself, and then a white one with a mess of yellow on top to represent Cayde. He adds a plus between the images of the two individuals, then turns to give Cayde an inquisitive look.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde studies the image, arching a brow at the somewhat crude representations. His hair wasn't -that- tousled, was it? He runs a hand through it a bit conscientiously, trying to smooth it out a bit. as he frowns pensively at the drawing. Did he want to go somewhere with him? Or do something? He writes a question symbol below it.

Athena (159) has posed:
This seems to please the tall blue man. He chuckles softly, giving the young padawan a faint smile. He circles the question mark, then points at the image of himself next to Cayde.

Then he waves a hand, and draws another rudimentary image of himself going out of the engineering bays, and adds a question mark. He then hands the datapad back to Cayde.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde looks at the drawing but then sighs and looks away, his face becoming melancholy again. He would rather stay down here for now...

Athena (159) has posed:
The tall blue man then draws a big red x on the previous drawing of himself going back out of the engineering bays, and draws another rudimentary image of himself and Cayde standing next to each other. Then he adds a question mark, and points at the drawing, his expression inquisitive again.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde studies the drawing again, then looks back up at the man. He suddenly wonders why this man is so interested in him. Very few people paid this much attention to him upon first meeting him, unless it was their job to do so. They usually would rather spend their time doing something else or interacting with someone else...easier.

    He shrugs and sighs, although he doesn't leave but draws his knees up against his chest.

Athena (159) has posed:
He places a gentle hand on Cayde's shoulder and removes the red x on the drawing of himself leaving, and then draws an arrow pointing to it. Then he draws a question mark next to it, and gestures at the stairs again, his expression still inquisitive.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde watches him change the drawing. Was he asking if he wanted him to leave? Well...

    He shakes his head, shrugging again. If the stranger wanted to stick around, it wasn't a bother.

Athena (159) has posed:
The tall blue man smiles faintly again, clearly pleased. He bumps Cayde's shoulder with his, very gently. Then he hands him the stylus and the datapad again, gesturing for him to continue drawing.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde takes the stylus again and holds it over the datapad as he tries to come up with something less disturbing to show him. But somehow, there's just no inspiration for anything of the sort.,,

    So he just starts drawing a likeness of the strange blue man. It's actually quite accurate.

Athena (159) has posed:
The tall blue man seems surprised but mildly pleased. He offers Cayde another faint smile. When the drawing is finished, he points at Cayde, then points at the datapad and the stylus.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Again, he seems kind of reluctant, but with a sigh he starts the requested self-portrait. The drawing depicts the padawan as quite alone though, with shadows around him and an expression that does not show much emotion but carries a subtle, melancholy tone.

Athena (159) has posed:
The tall blue man offers another faint smile and takes the datapad and stylus again. He draws himself in the image next to Cayde. The picture is rudimentary, but hopefully the young padawan will get the idea.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    The final drawing is a bit odd looking, given the rudimentary nature of the man's representation of himself within Cayde's more detailed imagery. He smirks ever so slightly, and starts trying to make it fit in better by adding more details and shading.

Athena (159) has posed:
This seems to please the tall blue man, and he watches Cayde quietly and intentionally, observing his methods in making the drawing better and more detailed.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    It's...moderately okay. It's kind of difficult to blend those stick person lines. But for some reason he doesn't seem to want to erase them. After a few minutes he puts the datapad down.

    [Thank you] he signs. Did the blue stranger remember that one? He'd shown him the other day, right after he'd awakened.

Athena (159) has posed:
/No, thank you/ the tall blue stranger signs back to Cayde, his execution flawless. Cayde might be surprised. It'd only been a day or two.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Indeed, he is a bit surprised. But clearly, this man is of considerable intellect. He still wonders why he's decided to pay so much attention to him. It was so strange, not being able to enter his mind...but maybe it was possible, with a little more work.

    But in the meantime, he takes out the datapad again and draws a big green checkmark next to the figure of the blue man.

Athena (159) has posed:
He offers Cayde another faint smile and pats him on the shoulder gently, seeming pleased.

Then he gets up and heads out of the engineering bay, back towards the upper decks.