Private Returning to the Nest

[Evelyn Shaw]

“Oh you’re very correct on the cable management, I take pride in keeping it all neat. Doesn’t matter what kind of technology is, if it’s got some form of cabling? It’s going to be kept manageable.”

There was no denying the pride Lionel had as he spoke, and Amea’s comment certainly brought a smile to the older man’s face. Once upon a time his occupation had been maintaining machines of war, jury rigged repairs in the middle of battlefields. It either came as a surprise or not at all, that someone like Lionel would years later appreciate the finer points of a neat system.

“It’s a long, slow process. But it’s always worthwhile when you have to go digging through the internals later on.” Lionel was sure Amea had seen some truly horrible sights over the years.

He kept his distance as she worked, but he was watching carefully. Lionel was convinced Amea had Mechu-deru, but he wasn’t completely sure. It explained how easily she was able to identify his exoskeleton, almost as if the technology spoke to her.

Lionel pushed away from the desk, stepping over and around to get a better look at what Amea had drawn. He hummed quietly, eyes flickering across the diagram. “Has a problem with the CPU?” He mumbled the answer as he was deep in thought, but barely half a minute later his eyes widened.

“Of course! Even though I upgraded the CPU from its basic one, the model itself was never intended to deal with a higher allocation of memory. As a simple labour droid it only ever required enough to follow a basic pattern. So upon introducing much more higher proficient hardware, it didn’t know what to do with it all. Thus, it couldn’t efficiently manage it, and became bloated.”

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

“Yes, the CPU!” Amea exclaimed happily and snapped her finger at Lionel again. “You are right, even if it’s just part of it. The processing power increased, but the memory never kept up. The data transferred between the two gets hindered by the one unit’s superior processing power, forms a sort of queue where the data just sort of bottlenecks until it flows over.”

Amea continued to scribble on her paper that seemed to grow more and more incomprehensible for each stroke that met its flimsy surface. With a hydrospanner in one hand and pen in the other she proceeded to ease the processing unit out of its slot and held it out before her. The pen laid down on the table and she grabbed the hardware in both her hands to give it a spin around in her hands to inspect it from all angles.

“This X-44 model has always been a reliable companion in many other droids I’ve found and dug around inside of, so I don’t suspect that is our big problem.” Amea smiled at the man and put the unit back in its slot with a sheepish grin. “I just wanted to check it out. It’s really cool.”

Next she poked at the memory banks themselves. They were a set of older units, there was no denying that. Given the age Evelyn was in some of those pictures it was fair to assume that Bob very well could have been using some severely outdated units once upon a time. The memory banks had to be the same or they wouldn’t be afraid to change it.

“What did you do to Bob around the time his memory banks began to corrupt?”

Amea glanced upon the clock on the wall. It was getting later than anticipated.

 

[Evelyn Shaw]

Lionel mused quietly as he watched Amea work, her scribblings becoming increasingly all over the place, but there was a method to the madness, one which he understood well. Sometimes you just needed to physically write something down, rather than typing it up on a datapad or terminal.

It reminded him of a memory, from years and years ago when he had tried building Evelyn’s interest in his line of work. He; along with Dolores, had hoped their daughter would’ve taken on that responsibility. But well...that obviously never happened. Lionel knew their granddaughter loved them, but the pain her parents caused had burned her too much.

Catching her snooping about his account had been an odd source of relief. Following up on it and talking to Evelyn, learning that she was okay, and doing well for herself. Had even met someone whom had claimed her heart.

Lionel snapped back to reality as he heard Amea speak. He let out a chuckle, noticing the X-44 model in her hands, carefully placing it back into its place. “That it is.”

The elder Shaw winced slightly as he watched Amea poke around the memory banks. Not that he was concerned by the interaction, but the reminder of the sloppy mistakes he had made in the original construction.

“Unfortunately I didn’t catch the corruption until after it had got a root or two in. With Evelyn flying from the nest, Bob wasn’t as active as before. I only caught it when he collapsed from a simple task.” Lionel sighed as he looked at the droid’s chassis. “I immediately brought him here, ran a diagnostic to figure out what had happened. The moment I did, I powered him down, disconnected the power source.”

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

Memory problems were complicated. In a sense it got an empathetic frown from Amea as she glanced at the droid, faced with the idea of wiping all it knew in order to let it live — or let it die while keeping what little semblance of integrity the data might have had at this point. Live with nothing, or die for everything. It drew thoughts from her mind she didn’t like to think about. Dark ones on her own wipe and what had happened since then. It was enough to make her stare through the abyss that was housed within the droid’s carcass.

Amea’s joyful expression sombered into a blank, hollow glance at her own hands and then the droid’s. She wanted to look over at Lionel to ask what he knew of memory wipes, some sort of snag to try and see if Evelyn had told him about hers.

“I— I don’t know if this is something I should be doing after having spent a few hours traveling here, y’know?” She lied, her mouth agape as she tried to find a better excuse. “Wouldn’t want to let Dolores and Evelyn tell each other too much, right?”

Her hand rubbed at her neck.

“Memory operations are best left to well-rested professionals.”

 

[Evelyn Shaw]

He frowned slightly as he watched Amea stare into the chassis, her posture gradually sinking. Lionel couldn’t see her face fully, but something had caused her mood shift into a downwards spiral. He’d seen it plenty of times in the past, but he wasn’t about to push and pry about it.

“That’s fair I suppose.” He said, gaze shifting over at the clock. It was getting a bit late, but the call to leave it for the night did surprise Lionel. “Though I’m surprised, I figured you were the type to pull all nighters over a problem.” He looked back over at Amea, flashing her a knowing smile. “Especially if it involves Evelyn.”

It was clear he had seen through the lie, but he said nothing about it, didn’t call her out on it. Lionel knew Amea had her reasons, so far be it for him to press the matter. Evelyn had told them that she was a complicated person, but had never gone into any detail.

Both he and Dolores knew their granddaughter hadn’t told the full story, but it had in turn further cemented just how much she cared for Amea.

“Come on then, Evie’s likely at her wits end trying to keep up with Dolores desire to know everything.” Lionel led the way back across the workshop, towards the doors they had entered through.

“She was happy…” He suddenly spoke up, stopping before passing through the threshold. Lionel turned his head, glancing over at Amea. “When we spoke with Evie before this. She was so happy, couldn’t stop talking about you once you were mentioned.”

So you already know your feelings then?

I do, I love her.

But you’re not entirely certain it’s returned?

It’s not that, it’s...I know the reason why she keeps relationships at a distance. But-

It’ll come in time, sweet pea. Some people just take a bit longer to find it.​

“Having seen her today, with you, she’s practically glowing, overjoyed.” Another knowing look was sent Amea’s way. “Something happened to you, between those two points of time. Something on Dantooine that changed your perspective on things.” The look in Lionel’s eyes said it all, there was no point in denying it. The older man had been in that exact same situation many years ago.

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

“I would, but… This is a personal matter.” Amea frowned as she stepped out of the door. “Maybe I’ll tell you later, if I find a way to describe it.”

Lionel was a good man. Amea had spent only a few hours with him and it was clear as day to her that he seemed to care greatly for his granddaughter. He had built a droid for her, and now that droid was in danger. Of course Amea would have pulled an all-nighter over it, but some things just didn’t feel right to do while in her state.

They walked along the corridor and Amea grew increasingly absent until Lionel mentioned happiness. She snapped back and looked at the man. He mentioned her joy, the way she spoke of Amea. But, he had seen through all of it. A pointed question was fired in her direction and Amea couldn’t help but stop as her eyes seemed to close on reflex.

“I saw…” She began with a shiver to her voice. “A woman. A widow, cradling her dead husband.” Amea exhaled, eyes closed beneath the hand that moved up to cover them. “A man that I had helped murder.” She pushed against her nose bone to try and stem the emotions that swelled in her chest. “And in that moment, I knew where my path at the time would have led me if I didn’t stop.”

Amea looked up at Lionel, eyes glossed over. “So I’ve decided that for her, I want to try and change.”

“Evelyn is unlike anyone else that I have ever met. I love her.”

 

[Evelyn Shaw]

Lionel gave Amea and understanding nod, not saying anything in response. Personal matters were often deeply rooted, and difficult to bring up. The fact Amea had brought up the fact it was one, was evidence enough that she was somewhat comfortable about mentioning it to him. Lionel imagined that if it was anyone else, anyone not related to Evelyn, she’d have not given an answer.

He watched as Amea immediately closed her eyes, falling back on the feelings and emotions she had felt in that moment on Dantooine. Lionel’s lips thinned, knowing he was looking into a mirror. There was a particular moment that had always surfaced for him too, which had been the deciding factor from himself and Dolores then.

“Death...we grow numb to it incredibly quick, especially if you’re faced with it often enough.” Lionel looked away for a moment, his stare seemingly just zoning out like before until he slipped out of it. “But it’s different when you see the other side of it, the effect it has on the people that has lost a loved one. Doesn’t matter who it is, even if it’s the enemy. It hits you all the same, you see yourself in their place. Your loved in the place of their dead.”

He turned to face Amea fully. “I had a friend, Adam was his name. A fellow engineer who was Force trained. Had this fancy ability...Mechu-Deru was its name.” Lionel paused, trying to catch a reaction from Amea. “One day we were heading back to our camp, until one of our men accidently stepped on a sonic mine. The little bugger was wired to trigger no matter what, even the Force couldn’t help. It went off, and Adam was closer than me. An unfiltered sonic mine is nasty on the body, even from the distance I was at.”

Lionel sighed, looking down at his legs. “Was in a hospital for the rest of my service, paralyzed and focused on recovering. Dolores made sure she was stationed there, looked after me. She was there when Adam’s wife came to collect his...body. The look, the emotions, everything she saw that day changed things for us.”

Once the topic had shifted away from the more personal stuff, they continued their walk. Lionel smiled as Amea mentioned his granddaughter, and her love for her.

“That she is. Evie’s gone through a lot even as a child. There’s always been a hidden strength in her that’s kept her from falling too deep.”

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

There was a knowing nod from Amea as she took in what Lionel was saying. There was no denying that as death came in increasing doses it grew less difficult to handle. The initial shakes and shivers after the trigger had been pulled grew easier to suppress for each breath taken as life after life rolled off your conscience and into the gutter one slug at the time.

As they moved on to happier subjects, Amea seemed to brighten up again.

“You can tell that she thinks the world of you.” Amea said as they continued through the estate. “It’s that gleam in her eyes, the slight shiver in her lip as she smiles. The gentle raise in pitch as she speaks to you.”

“I’m just glad that I can try to make her feel better. Not that much seems to phase her.”

 

[Evelyn Shaw]

The older man smiled, but it was a mixed one. He was happy but also conflicted at the same time. “We made sure to raise her the best we could, despite our age. It certain had its times when it wasn’t easy.” Neither Lionel or Dolores had expected to be the ones to raise their granddaughter. There had been the creeping fear when Evelyn’s parents had enlisted to fight in a new war, but they held hope things wouldn’t turn out bad. It was a foolish hope, as the battlefields had changed dramatically on how they were fought these days, compared to their generation.

Dolores had felt a personal sense of guilt towards her daughter and son-in-law. Both were Echani and very much loyalist to their government. They had followed Dolores' path in serving her people in a time of war. Even though she had no way of knowing what would happen after, Dolores never got over her responsibility for it.

“It did warm my heart to see her so happy to see us. Dolores and I feared she had left because she hated us. Bit of a daft thought in hindsight, she never hated us, but I think it was impossible to completely detach from the memory of her parents, while being here.”

The sound of Evelyn and Dolores began to become clear as the pair got closer. So Lionel stopped their progress, before they were in earshot of the two women. He turned to face Amea.

“It wasn’t always like that, at a young age there was a lot that phased her. Experiences over the years led to her building walls, ones that she worried had been built too high and compact.” Concerned that she had numbed herself, cut herself from feeling any emotion, good or bad. “But no defence lasts forever, time will erode it away and force it to crumble. Evie told us about what happened before you entered her life. Something tells me she would’ve fallen hard if you hadn’t been there to keep her afloat.”

There was much more to what Lionel wasn’t saying. But it was clear the elder Shaw wasn’t going to mention them. It was a conversation for Amea to have with Evelyn some day. They had opened themselves up to the other, but neither had done so completely.

“So thank you Amea, truly.”

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

A knowing nod brought Amea’s head up and down as she listened to Lionel. While she wanted to say it was a surprise that she was the one who kept Evelyn afloat it would have been a lie to say so. Although Amea had only seen Evelyn in need of her help once, it was a situation where many others would have broken if they hadn’t had help. At the time it didn’t seem that way, but time had a certain way with offering clarity.

What Amea had done with the ship, with Hoshi, and everything after that, was not something a lot of people would have done. Evelyn herself had expressed her gratitude, but in many ways so had Amea. Although she hadn’t cared in the moment, that wave of guilt as she realized that she had endangered Hoshi by setting the tree he was resting in on fire had triggered something within her. A spark of… Guilt. That was the only way Amea could care to put it.

“No,” Amea said and put her hand on the old man’s shoulder. “This is not the accomplishment of just the one person. You two are still a key ingredient in all of this. She still keeps photos of you in her cabin. She looks up to you.”

The two shared a warm smile between one another before Amea let her fall from Lionel’s shoulder. “So hey, come on. Let’s go say hello again.”

The duo stepped back into the room and Amea quickly swept up next to Evelyn with a quick kiss on her cheek.

“Not quite done. We’ll continue tomorrow once we’re rested.”

 

[Evelyn Shaw]

Lionel's eyes seemed to mist up slightly at the mention of Evelyn keeping photos of them. She had mentioned saving some personal items when her ship prior had been wrecked. Yet neither Shaw had figured that some of those would be memories of them.

There had been a great deal of fear when Evelyn had decided to leave home. Leaving a potential career in her wake, to explore the galaxy. But both Lionel and Dolores knew they only had themselves to blame for that. They had instilled the notion of following one's heart, and not necessarily going down the path laid out before you.

She had two generations of experience to know that.

Feeling a hand on his shoulder, Lionel turned to look at Amea. He gave her a grateful nod, before leading the way back into the kitchen.

“Ahh, there you two are. We were wondering if you had just decided to fix Bob up right now.” Dolores spoke with a twinkle of amusement in her eyes. Though that emotion was swiftly brushed aside as she saw the look on Lionel’s face. Amea replied and moved over to Evelyn, while the two elders stepped to one side themselves. The Echani’s eyes had lit up at seeing Amea, and immediately wrapped an arm around her waist.

Barely a minute later both Dolores and Lionel broke from their mute conversation. Not a word had been said, but it seemed neither required open communication to know what the other was thinking.

“So what were you two talking about while we were gone?” Lionel looked between his wife and granddaughter, but it was the latter who spoke up.

“We were making plans for tomorrow, grandma and I are going to go to the city market.” Evelyn paused as she looked at Amea. “I know I was going to wait until the last day, but the market is getting fresh stock tomorrow so I want to get there as early as possible.”

“And we’re presuming you and Amea are going to be busy with the repairs?” Dolores asked.

“Pretty much, from what we’ve gathered from Amea’s insight, is that it’s going to require a lot of work. So it might take the better part of tomorrow.” Lionel spared a glance over at Amea.

Oh, he knew full well that if she had any say in it, it was going to be tonight rather than tomorrow.

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

An arm wrapped around Amea’s waist, and Amea let her own arm snake around Evelyn’s in return. A warm smile spread on her lips as she pulled Evelyn just the littlest bit closer. As Evelyn spoke all she got was a toothier smile and another squeeze. Not a word, just silent affirmation.

“We’ll be busy as bees.” Amea chimed up as her new partner-in-garage spoke too her, indirectly. “Lots of wires and switches to plug and unplug. Memories to preserve.”

“Best be on your tippy-toppest!” She exclaimed before she laughed it off. “Lionel has shown that he is a very good mechanic and I wouldn’t want to disrupt his work by being a sloppy, tired mess.”

 

[Evelyn Shaw]

Evelyn smiled warmly as she leaned into Amea, feeling her girlfriend hold her close. The Echani let out an amused snort at her responses, but did give the woman a curious side glance. She knew Amea well enough to know that tone was either she was starting to get sleep and a bit silly, or she was trying to hide something; and probably up to something at the same time.

Her eyes flickered over to her grandpa, wondering what they had talked about. There was a part of her that was concerned about what might’ve been brought up. But it was quickly pushed away. Evelyn knew her grandpa; grandma too, they both had raised her and she wouldn’t have revealed anything too personal.

The mention of sleep drew out a yawn from the Echani. As if the mere mention of the idea was contagious, Evelyn did indeed feel tired.

“Sleep sounds good to me, we can get a fresh start tomorrow.” Evelyn smiled, giving Amea a little squeeze. “I definitely got to show you around the city while we’re here.”

With that the two bid Evelyn’s grandparents good night, then retreated to the bedroom. There was some idle chatter, Amea inquiring about what the Echani was going to pick up from the markets, and Evelyn trying to pick away at what Amea had planned for repairing Bob.

She got changed in something more appropriate for sleeping, and let Amea rummage through her closest. Albeit there was a distinct lack of catsuits in this one. Once that was settled, both got into the large bed, shuffling around until they found their usual comfortable position.

“Good night, ‘mea.”

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

“Sounds great.” Amea squeezed back. “Well, we’ll see you tomorrow.”

The spacer bowed her head at her girlfriend’s grandparents in parting before they went back towards the room that housed the signed movie poster and an absolutely insane mixture of other hidden gems. Between the closets, the details on the walls, and just the view outside there was much to glean and Amea kept her focus between what she saw and who it all belonged to with an increasingly warm smile.

It took a while to find a comfortable position to sleep in, but by the time they both found it Evelyn seemed to be fast asleep. Amea’s eyes had been closed, her breathing slowed as she focused on the things that usually got her to fall asleep, but rest eluded her. An hour passed before she tossed around to try and find a better position to fall asleep, her back against Evelyn’s until her patience wore too thin.

The thoughts of Bob wouldn’t stop. Memories ripped, body not holding up unless something was done — and fast. He was a stagnant corpse of the past, and it was a feeling that Amea was all too familiar with. She might not have been able to help herself, but if there ever was someone she could have helped it was this poor soul.

With a quick check on Evelyn, Amea proceeded to slowly sneak out of bed once she had assured herself that she was in fact in a deep slumber. Pants came on and that was about it. It and a once-oversized t-shirt that belonged to a teenage Evelyn would have to do. The path to the garage was fairly straightforward and with a gentle step and closing of the door, Amea cracked her knuckles and began to work.

The minutes turned to hours, and the hours turned into the night. As Amea worked she found herself closer and closer to the solution until the first ray of sunshine began to poke up from across the horizon. By then, and only then, would the sleep that she had required managed to find her.

By the time the others woke up, Amea was fast asleep. Her arms splayed across the workbench, hair spread out to cover her eyes from the sun as her neck craned to an uncomfortable extent. A pool of drool had taken shape on the table before her that dampened the few stands of hair that seemed to get a little too close.

At the very least she wasn’t dead. The rise and fall of her shoulders would indicate that much.

 

[Evelyn Shaw]

It was almost midday by the time Lionel quietly walked into his workshop. He had popped his head in earlier, suspecting and confirming his suspicion that Amea would be there. She was very much like him, though more so when he was her age. These days he just didn’t have the same energy. But seeing her there, sleeping against the workbench, oblivious to the world, brought a small smile to his face.

The scene reminded him of old memories, of himself in the same kind of position after a long night.

Silently, he closed the door behind him and began to approach Amea. You’d admittedly be convinced she wasn’t alive, given the uncomfortable looking position. But the gentle movement of her shoulder was sign enough she was slumbering.

Now if Lionel remembered his younger self well enough, it was going to be a dangerous affair trying to wake up a slumbering technician. He began by calling her name.

“Amea?” Nothing. “Amea?” Still nothing. Lionel got closer each attempt, garnering no response from the sleeping technomancer. So...he decided to nudge her, albeit very gently.

“Amea, wake up.” He placed a hand on her shoulder, giving it a slight shake. It got a response, but it was merely a grumble and shift ever slightly.

Lionel stepped back, pondered something before he departed from the workshop.

He returned a bit later, this time with a cup of caf in hand. Step by step, he carefully approached and held the cup down close to Amea’s face.

“Amea, you going to sleep the whole day away?” He asked, moving the cup around a bit to waft the caffeined fumes. There was more movement, even an audible mumble, yet Amea refused to stir. Lionel frowned as he tried to think of something, only for an idea to immediately spring to mind.

But first he stepped a fair distance away, just in case there was some flailing limbs.

“Amea, Evelyn is about to walk through the door!”

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

An annoyed grunt, a grumble equal to a death threat. A smack of her lips and a suckle on her own tongue. Amea’s mind had dropped the reins and passed out to let instinct take control for a bit while it recovered. Lionel tried, but the body before him was not willing. Sleep the day away? Yes, please.

Wait. Evelyn? A hand grasped at the nearby screwdriver as arms did indeed begin to flail around violently and with precision.

“I didn’t do it!” Amea exclaimed in her newly awoken state before drowsy eyes set on her girlfriend’s grandfather. It took a moment for the adrenaline to drop. Amea gave Lionel a confused look. “Lionel.” She blinked. “How long have you been there?”

A hand wrapped around the cup before her as she put it to her lips and took a sip. The relief was instantaneous, the liquid of hot and steamy ecstasy entered her system almost immediately.

“I uh,” She cleared her throat. “I couldn’t sleep.”

 

[Evelyn Shaw]

Lionel raised an amused eyebrow at Amea's choice of outburst waking up. He leaned against one of the nearby worksurfaces, waiting until her clouded senses cleared up enough to look in his direction.

“Not too long, I was here first thing, but let you be as I figured you had only just fallen asleep a bit before.” He was ultimately guessing, for all Lionel knew Amea had been sleeping for an hour or two before he first checked.

He let out a small laugh, nodding knowingly. “Yeah, I didn’t quite buy your excuse last night, about not wanting to start while being tired. I lost count the amount of times I’ve forced myself to remain awake throughout the night to fix some problem.”

Lionel pushed away from the table and walked over to where Bob was sitting. He didn’t get too close, but he was clearly examining Amea’s work from the exterior. “Probably would’ve joined you, but alas my old bones aren’t like they were.”

There was a slight solemn look in Lionel’s eyes, as he gazed over the large deactivated droid. But the expression shifted away as he looked over at Amea.

“Evie was concerned when she woke up, discovering you weren’t there. But I told her about finding you in here. She just just nodded, smiling brightly. ‘Of course she is.’ And don’t worry, tempted as she was, Evie didn’t peek.”

Lionel let out an amused snort. “Not like Dolores gave her a choice, she wanted to be in the city soon as possible, for when the market opened.”

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

“Well, thank you.” Amea rubbed at the back of her neck that undoubtedly pained at this point. “I think I would have liked to work alone anyway. Easier to focus that way.”

She glanced at the older man and then over at Bob who had been given a shine. Her attention set on the old man again with a small if pained smile.

“The memory harmonizers that divvied up allocation between the two central processors had a small short-circuit embedded within it that sent the poor bot into an infinite feedback loop when the voltage got to high, and given the old and inefficient power usage of some of the earlier models it was almost an inevitability that something like this would have happened.”

“Not due to any error on your behalf, I’ve already checked that several times over. It seems that Bob was running on a circuit board that was recalled roughly five years ago due to its misshaped form factor. I took the liberty of replacing it with a replacement I found in your, uhhh…” Amea pointed at a nearby disassembled piece of hobby equipment, high-end but broken down beyond repair. “That.”

“But,” Amea snapped her finger and Bob immediately began to boot. “This is a reality now, so…”

The droid slowly pushed itself from its seated position and stood up on the ground. It’s eyes set on Lionel...

 

[Evelyn Shaw]

“Music to my ears.” Lionel chuckled as he listened to Amea’s explanation. And it truly was to the elderly Shaw. He could listen to technobabble for hours on end, and never grow bored of it. The same couldn’t be said for Dolores or Evelyn, albeit the latter always maintained a degree of decency to not fall asleep immediately.

Dolores on the other hand didn’t, she had given up on that years ago. The memory just drew out an amused smile from Lionel.

His gaze lingered over to where Amea had pointed, towards a now disassembled bit of equipment. “Oh, that’s alright.” He wasn’t even the slightest bit upset, as the tech was merely a pet project he had idly tinkered with. Lionel had to have something, always something to work on even if it’s to no real end goal. A technician's mind needed to keep busy, no matter the age.

Lionel was startled a bit when Bob suddenly began moving at the snap of Amea’s fingers, for a moment he had forgotten about her abilities. He turned around, stepping forwards a bit as Bob pushed himself off the workbench. The tall droid shifted on the spot, readjusting itself like someone who had just woken up from a long sleep, stiff limbs ‘n’ all. His mechanical eyes immediately snapped down towards the older man, metal ‘eyelids’ widening in recognition.

“Hello Bob, can you hear me?” Lionel looked up at Bob, the droid didn’t hesitate to nod in response. It brought a wide smile to the man’s face. “How are you feeling?” An odd question to ask to a droid perhaps, but anyone who knew, knew it was simply code for ‘run a diagnostic. He already figured Bob was in tip-top shape because of Amea, but it was an old habit Lionel was never able to kick.

Bob seemed to freeze, straightening up as he followed the command. His optics had a slight rotating glow to them as the process was initiated and followed through. It barely took a minute before Bob looked down, raising an arm and curling thick metal fingers into a thumbs up. The droid was smiling too, although the movement in the optics was the only real telltale sign, given the lack of an actual mouth.

Lionel turned his head to look at Amea, a wide and proud smile on his face. “Fantastic work.”

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

Bob was alive. Lionel was happy. Amea was surprisingly calm about what she had done. A stillness lingered over her as she practically cradled the cuppa-caf in her hands and held it to her lips to take in the taste and smell. Three drops of soy milk, a splash of cinnamon and vanilla, topped with just a hint of citrus. Evelyn had made this one. A smile tugged on Amea’s lips at the thought as she took care not to drink it too fast lest she forget to savor it. As much as she hated caf, this combination at least made it bearable.

“Thank you.” She smiled and took another careful sip from the cup in her hands. “He meant a lot to Evelyn. I couldn’t leave knowing I would be able to do something about it, and…” She chuckled. “I think both of us would be willing to move a planet for her, if she so desired.”

Well, metaphorically at least.

“After all that she has been through, and after all she has helped me through, I feel like it’s quite literally the least I could do.” Amea frowned. For a moment she felt pathetic as a slight longing took a hold of her heart. She wished Evelyn was here for this. “She deserves it.”

Although it was melancholic at best, Amea looked back up at Lionel with a smile.

“Know when they will be back?”