Technical Error

Chapter Four

Part One
Conflicts of Interest: Superior Style

Though it was overall awkward for you to rejoin the land of the living—Kylo Ren had failed to repeat his previous actions of stalking around after you, which left others free to be more open as far as their reactions went—there had been one thing that had brightened your week. Andel had taken advantage of her day off to pay you a visit. She was respectful as well as patient with the fact that you were busy with work. Your fellow technician even stooped down to help you once. Neither of you touched on the subject of the apparent sexual harassment of Kylo Ren. You preferred to avoid it. The mark that had been made on your neck from said man's saber had faded quickly when bacta was applied. Still, you thought you could see the slightest of scars when you turned at a specific angle.

As you fell further into the routine of showering and appearing for duty every day, you repaired the showerhead in one of the refreshers. It was the shower that Captain Phasma used, you discovered when the woman supervised your work. One of the settings had suddenly not worked; you found that this was due to the metal being jammed. The seams of a portion of the metal appeared almost as though they had been stripped from someone over-screwing the showerhead. With a shrug, you replaced the parts that needed replacing, and repaired the rest. It was the end of the week when you had been forced to return...to fix the same showerhead. You grumbled to yourself before you arrived; you had been looking forward to checking if Andel had messaged you at all.

Captain Phasma was not pleased in the least, though her anger and agitation did not rest with you. Thus you felt her silently bristling with irritation as you once more fixed the showerhead.

Only to be called in the following morning. You had to bite back a groan, wishing for all the world that they would call another technician to conduct these repairs. Really, a janitor could even take care of such things. But, alas, Captain Phasma had requested you personally. Perhaps this had much to do with, as General Hux had stated in the past, how quick you were at your job. Quick, but also efficient.

Repairing the showerhead for the third time, you heard boot steps as a third party entered the refresher. You paid this no heed—until the showerhead literally ripped itself out of your hands and went flying across the room. You tensed, looked over your shoulder, and remained perfectly still at the sight of Kylo Ren. Captain Phasma also turned her attention onto the man.

"Leave it."

"I prefer the other setting."

"No."

You did not want to be in the middle of their argument. But, alas, attempting to escape from the refresher would only draw their attention to you. So you sat there, quiet as ever, and waited while they discussed—both seemingly passive though you could sense the underlying tension—why it would be best to have, or to not have, the showerhead repaired. Kylo Ren did not like the setting that Captain Phasma preferred. They both appeared to utilize the same stall despite this difference in opinion.

"U-uhm..." You swallowed thickly as both visors turned to your direction. "It's, uh, adjustable."

"Then she should not leave it in an unpleasant setting."

"Perhaps you shouldn't twist it the wrong way to remedy this fact...sir," the chrome-armored woman responded, not giving in but also remaining the slightest bit polite.

Kylo Ren turned back to the taller woman. "It can be twisted both ways."

"Uh...uhm... Sir, this... this model can only...it can only be twisted one way... You, uh, have to go in a full circle to get it back to the other settings," you said, hating to be the bearer of bad news; the majority of the showerheads on the Finalizer could be turned either way, so you could easily see how he had made such a mistake.