Ask Building Up

[Hannibal Grayza]

Hannibal, of all people, was now the brand new possessor of an office on Yavin 4. All to himself, even. He called it an office, but it was more of a big open space that had a desk and stuff in it. It hadn't taken him long to add other things to it, including a better chair. Ergonomic power chairs for life. At the moment he was beginning the disassembly of his original lightsaber with a mix of the specialized tools he'd made for saber crafting and more traditional tools. It'd gotten quite toasted on Sullust and, although the Kyber was obviously unharmed, the rest of it was little better than scrap. He'd turned a side section of the office into a sort of mechanical workshop for such small and delicate work like he'd used to have on the Catspaw. If he was going to sit in here he wasn't going to be idle.

He'd also sent a message to Talak after the meeting asking him to come to his office at some point. There'd been no hurry or demanding, of course. That wasn't really Hannibal's style and he had other things to sort through. He trusted he'd stop by eventually. Hannibal and Talak certainly weren't bare-all close, but there were things they knew of eachother that others didn't.

Hannibal had been well of aware of Talak's relationship with Trys Aran. He knew Talak struggled with the Dark Side he'd known his entire life. He'd also supported him and knew he was trying, that he was a good man at heart despite what others might think. That he'd returned was a good sign and he hoped he'd show up in his office as well.

Besides, Hannibal didn't want to think overmuch about a return of the Arcanist.

@Phoenix

 

[Talak Rand]

Thus far things upon his return to the temple could have gone worse. And that was after someone had threatened to stab him, so that told you something about his expectations.

He didn't know when he'd be back here again, so he'd tried to make the rounds before he left. There was so much that was still unknown, and he knew that he probably should have just left as soon as possible, but Hannibal had sent him a message that he wanted to speak and that came as exactly no surprise to the Knight.

Of all the people, he probably should have told Hannibal that he was alive after Sullust, but he hadn't. He'd barely even come back to the Jedi. His mind was preoccupied, and more than anything, he felt like he was at a fork in the road.

The talk from the meeting was still ringing in his mind, but Talak found himself less and less inclined to actually remain in the Order longer. Teams were not proving to be his strong suit.

He walked through the temple, still all suited up the same as at the meeting, and spent way too long looking for the right room before knocking on the door to what he thought was Hannibal's new "office."

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

For a moment Hannibal was almost tempted to play that familiar thumping music from the club they'd met up before through the speakers he'd hooked up around the office, but in the end decided this wasn't the time for it. No music today. He waved a finger toward the door and to open it, not bothering to get up.

"There you are, Talak. You don't write, you don't call, no note. I was worried, y'know," he joked through a half grin while prying a bit of burned-through plating off the hilt on the workbench. A very strained half grin. Well, he was trying, but things were a little off at the moment. With a sigh of irritation he rolled the half-disassembled hilt away from him and turned his chair around to face the man he called his friend.

Though at the moment he was also quite tempted to call him Magic Man. This did him no comfort, not at all. Whatever had happened in the fortress had not been good. Hannibal's head tilted a little.

"Seat, drink, smoke? Somethin'?" he asked idly, retrieving a cigarra for himself and lighting it. He scooted his ashtray from the corner of the workbench to directly to his right and exhaled a cloud of smoke, silent for a fairly awkward amount of time as he wondered how best to ask the question. Better wing it, long-winded wisdom wasn't really his schtick.

"D'you wanna talk about it?"

@Phoenix

 

[Talak Rand]

The door opened and Talak walked in, closing the door behind him and looking at what Hannibal was working on. Tinkering was a great way to distract the mind, but from the looks of things, this was a practical repair as a result of the bad damage it had taken.

You should switch out for a dual-phase emitter, he said. The two of them had had many long conversations on the benefits and uses of a variety of different dueling techniques. Talak had always favored the added options that dual phase provided.

He knew he should have let Hannibal know he was fine earlier, but... there were too many things that had gotten in the way. It was a small miracle that he had even returned to the Jedi.

He finally slipped off his helmet for the first time since returning to the temple. Although fading and now difficult to see, flecks of gold still glinted in his eyes after Sullust.

I can't stay long, he said, but took him up on the offer of a drink, heading over and pouring himself a very large glass of adult beverage.

Trys isn't doing well. Not much more to say, he said, though that was only a half-truth. It was clear he was distressed and in even less of a talkative mood than normal.

I'm sorry for leaving you all in the meat grinder, he said. It was the same apology he had made to Max. He was just glad that his friend had made it out alive, though Talak had a feeling he wasn't unscathed. @Mr. Teatime

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

"I had a phase emitter. Custom work, three settings." Hannibal reached over to the table and picked a small, warped, blackened and scorched piece of metal that at one point clearly resembled a barrel-shaped assembly at some point in time. "I'll need to make a new one."

He tossed the bit of scrap back into a pile on the bench and waved off Talak's assertion he couldn't stay long. He knew what he meant. Trys isn't doing well? Well no shit, she was in a Sith prison. Hannibal didn't even think he needed to be a Jedi to tell that Talak was holding back. The lack of relief was almost palpable. That and he always waffled around talking about how he was doing. Force of habit, maybe.

"Talak. You were supposed to, that was the plan. Er, that I came up with after the fact. I'll heal."

Really aside from the healing time he didn't mind the physical injuries. Pain is an illusion, right? He'd always go to fight on behalf of others to keep them safe, even if it ended up being a stupid plan or at his own expense. That's just the kind of man he was. He sighed softly and turned in his chair to follow Talak as he went over to the minibar Hannibal had installed. Authority did have its privileges and all, but he probably would have installed one regardless of whether he was supposed to or not. Wouldn't have been the first time he'd told the Council he was now a part of to go pound sand.

"You are well aware I know better, Talak. I realize the Sith don't exactly teach a course on the benefits of friendship, but I also know you understand you can rely on me for more than stabbing people and blowing up gates." He took a drag of his cigarra and blew the smoke straight up and away from the two of them toward the vent van above somewhere above them embedded in the ceiling. He sat silent for several seconds.

"You don't have to struggle alone, y'know."

@Phoenix

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak knew Hannibal wanted more information than that - or perhaps just wanted to get Talak to open up - but he always struggled with the "care and share" angle of... well, anything.

He sat heavily in one of the chairs and began drinking from the glass he had poured. He did feel comfortable enough in the privacy of this moment to let a few of his walls down at the least.

He sighed heavily, feeling the crushing weight of all his anxieties and frustrations with every moment, and didn't know what to say about it all.

You know I'm just using you for your lightsaber, he said, forcing a smile. It wasn't actually true and he knew Hannibal would know that, but it might have been a funny analogy at another time. Or maybe it was now, too, who knew?

But even amidst his own struggles, he could sense something different about Hannibal. Something had happened on Sullust not just to him, but to the newly minted Councilor as well.

You first, he said, not in a way that was confrontational, but one that was actually genuine.

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

Hannibal winked at the other man, obviously catching on to the joke. There was always time for jokes and it was never too soon, that's his motto. With a flick of a finger he pulled a familiar-looking green bottle and a glass from across the room, a twirl and a curl of the hand guiding some of the liquid into the glass before both settled on his workbench. Hey, he had a fancy title now, he was allowed to play around a little. Not much else to do at the moment anyway.

He sipped at the drink, another thing his healer had advised him not to do, and took a drag from his cigarra. Talak's question made his smirk freeze in place, but it was a fair question. Hannibal knew quite a fun, uh, details about Talak's life. Friendship wasn't a one way street and all that. Fine.

"Well. I played a stupid game, won a stupid prize," he answered, chuckling dryly. "I tried to attack with what keeps me safe. Maybe it distracted the Eternal for a few moments, but I'm still paying for it. I, uh." He cleared his throat. Talak knew what he'd been like directly after Ryloth, fingers shaking and taking a pair of capsules. He couldn't fight unless he had those barriers up, and even then he had to pay for it afterwards.

"I saw some things, felt some things, that broke everything apart. I can't maintain my focus, so. I can't fight."

@Phoenix