Galaxy (GIVEN UP)

Chapter 6

"Where'd you find the Lightsaber?" Roman asked. Virgil let out a growl under his breath and seriously considered running Roman through with his cutting tool.

"In a junk heap." He said sharply, focusing on fixing the speed-shield. "Now, shut up. I need to concentrate."

Roman rolled his eyes and tapped his heels. He'd resigned himself to sitting in a corner of the engine room, watching the taller boy work. Or at least, watch his back hunch and relax every so often. He couldn't see much else.

Roman had about a million and one questions for Virgil. Where is he from? How did he come to T-3.5? Why did he shudder at the word 'Jedi'? Why did he have a gun and a Lightsaber? Did he know what a Lightsaber even did? Why-

"Done." Virgil said with a sigh. "Now we can go wreck your already very wrecked ship."

"Hey, it has a name." Roman said, jumping up indignantly. Virgil raised an eyebrow at him. He reached up and grabbed the rim of the hatch and started pulling himself up.  Roman stared up after him.

"Jesus Christ, how strong are you?!" He asked.

"Strong enough to kick ya in the face and break your nose." Virgil growled, his teeth clenched in effort. "Be quiet or I'm going to fall."

His accent seemed to have disappeared again. It didn't make any sense. Why did Virgil feel the need to hide that?

"Well?" Virgil asked, leaning over the hatch. "Ya comin'?"

"I can't reach the hatch!" Roman protested. Virgil shrugged.

"Not my problem." He said. "Jump if ya have to, just get up here. And grab my stuff, would ya?"

Roman rolled his eyes and grabbed Virgil's bag, discarded on the engine room floor. He threw it up and, after receiving a thumbs up from Virgil, started the arduous task of trying to get out of the engine room.

Virgil ran ahead of Roman, leaping onto the hood of the X-Wing. He landed like a cat, one hand pressed in front of him to keep balance. Hooking his fingers under the export hatch, he wrenched half the roof off.

"Hey!" Roman protested. "Be careful with that!"

"She ain't good for nothin' else." Virgil said with a shrug. "I know how to work ships, believe me." He threw his fringe out of his face and slipped down into the pilot room.

Virgil rolled his eyes. "I can't work like this!" He protested and threw his elbow back into the chair. Like he'd hoped, the chair fell back with a violent bang that jolted Virgil's head. He sat up, rubbing his neck.

"I really gotta get protection." He noted in his head before turning his attention to the ship itself.

"Oh for fuck's sake!" He snapped. Roman's head appeared in the gap that used to be the wind-shield.

"What is it?"

"We waited too long." Virgil snapped. "Half the steering's gone." He rolled his eyes and sighed. "Might as well get what's left before someone else does."

He pulled his cutting tool out of his bag and turned it on, the blue light giving his thin face a sickly look.

"Don't." He said to Roman, not even looking at him. "If I'm right an' they haven't changed the design, X-Wing's have a whole hatch of useful shit."

Virgil's finger danced over the metal control panel, eventually settling on an insignificant hatch near the window.

"Boom!" He shouted excitedly. Concentrating, he cut around the hatch very carefully. It fell away with a clang and he pocketed the metal.

"Double damn boom!" He said with a grin wide enough to split open a planet. "Bullseye, hit the gold."

"I understood absolutely none of that." Roman said frankly. Virgil wasn't paying attention. Instead, he was rifling through his bag and producing a whole load of tools Roman hadn't ever seen in his life.

"Golden wiring, right here." Virgil explained in excitement. "All the good shit. Fuel, Light speed, shields, weapon hold. All just in the wiring."

Quickly, he started pulling apart the mass of wiring in the hatch. "Gotta be careful." He muttered. "Gotta be very, very careful."

"Why?" Roman asked, craning his head to try and see what was so special about the nest of wires in the (previously hidden) hatch.

"Cause if I knock the wrong one, it'll all disconnect." Virgil said, his voice slightly hazy. "And it won't be worth half a snick shit."

"A what?" Roman said, blinking rapidly.

"I'll explain later." Virgil said, waving his free hand. "Now, move. Ya blockin' my concentration."

Virgil in his element - whatever that element that may be - is brilliant
Bye,
Blaize