driftfleet | (no subject)

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Who: Armitage Hux and anyone aboard the S.S. Bishop
Action: Anywhere on the ship.
When: Through out the month.

Finally, Hux had managed to put together the mouse droid he had started to work on a while back, and a second one for Pidge. It had taken him a lot longer then he wanted, with having to find the necessary parts and adjust the supplies he found to what he needed. Not to mention he had been busy working on the construction site and working with the Iron Bull as well. This was a project he spent working on when he had the spare chance.

Then with the added bonus of Looma's new pet he had to make sure the mouse droids were durable enough to withstand any possible damage that thing could do. Granted the mouse droids tended to flee when ever a commotion was around. This was just in case it decided to be persistent and chase after them.

Both of the mouse droids were set to do cleaning and repair work, however Pidge is free to make any changes to hers. They could be spotted rolling around the ship. Hux had sent Pidge's toward the the engine room where she tended to reside. It was a distinctive green making it easy to tell whose it was.

Currently, Hux was in the common area keeping an eye on the mouse droids to see how they were working. He had tested them out a couple of times earlier in his work area, but now it was time for the big test.

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After seeing the little green mouse droid doing its work close to the engine room, Pidge couldn't help herself; she started following it around. Observing it, taking mental notes on its behavior and its tasks, trying to decide whether or not it would be worth trying to make tweaks to boos its efficiency. But for the most part, it's distracted her from her routine, and eventually both she and the mouse droid end up wandering into the common area where Hux was.

Of course, Pidge still wasn't over the first impression Hux had made on her. She could hold a decent grudge when she felt the slight against her was major enough, and that weight against him was still there. But she did love the mouse droids. That made it hard for her to stay completely abrasive towards him. She didn't wander too far into the room, keeping a fair distance between Hux and herself, but she didn't bother hiding the little smile on her face while she watched all of the mouse droids hard at work.

"No explosions yet," she remarked with a little shrug. "That's always a good start."

"I wouldn't be letting them loose around the ship if I felt they were of danger." Hux calmly stated. He had been wondering when Pidge would appear. He had a feeling that she would be curious about it and observe how it operated.

"The green one is yours. You're more then welcome to make adjustments to it should you decide to. I would prefer the other one to be left alone. It's my personal one."

"What?" Pidge blinked, straightening up slightly at that comment. She turned her gaze away from the mouse droid in question for what was probably the first time in about an hour, looking over at Hux with a look of surprise on her face.

"Why would you just let me have one of them?"

There was no note of accusation in her voice. Just genuine surprise and confusion. After all the shit she's given him since they met, the idea that he'd simply offer the droid up as a gift was a hard one for Pidge to wrap her head around.

"Is this a peace treaty or something?"

"Consider it as a peace offering. You had also wanted to see what I could do, so I provided an example." Hux gave a mere shrug as he took a sip of his tea.

The conversation with Keith had helped give him a different insight. He was willing to try and give her another chance despite his own pride. He knew if he was going to interact with Keith and his group that he had to defuse this situation first. Let alone they were both engineers for the ship they had to eventually work together.

Another slow, confused blink, and then Pidge was looking back over at the droid. She did have to admit that he made a high quality droid. A kind she'd never seen before, though that was also easily chalked up to him being from a different corner of the multiverse. Still, he made two that were completely functional and was open to her making customizations to one of them. Customization was probably something that was part and parcel when it came to droids of this kind for all she knew but...

There was no way to deny that she liked it. It also helped things that Hux wasn't going to hold a grudge against her, despite her own admittedly childish behavior.

"Thank you." She even managed a little smile, though she couldn't quite direct it in Hux's direction just yet. Connecting with people was still hard for her, after all. "And... I'm sorry. For being an asshole."

The apology caught Hux by surprise. It easily showed in his usual neutral expression. He truly wasn't expecting an apology from her. At the most he was content with a compromise. He had stated to Keith that he would have preferred her to apologize, but it had to be from her and not because she was told to. This was a genuine apology that much Hux could tell.

"I should apologize as well. I wasn't much of a help in the situation." Hux replied and extended his hand out to shake hers. He wasn't one to apologize as well and when he did he meant it. He also felt the situation was important enough to back down a bit from his own pride.

Admittedly the extended hand came as something of a surprise to Pidge. Sure, she'd apologized, but she honestly hadn't thought it would lead to what seemed to be an honest truce. She looked to the hand first, then to Hux's face, then back to the hand. And then, with a firm nod that was more to herself than anything else, accepted the handshake.

"It's okay." She didn't yet feel the need to explain herself to him, but at least the apology was out. Shiro and the others would probably be proud of her. This was a huge step. "We're cool."

He gave a nod in return as he let go of the firm handshake. "I'll admit that I don't easily connect with people. Do let me know if something I've done or said went to far. Can't guarantee what I would do in response...but I can try to adjust it."

Hux awkwardly explained. He never went that far to offer such a statement before or admit such a weakness. He could tell that she had a hard time connecting and from what Keith had said she had a history of it and was trying to improve. Why couldn't he try to improve too? Keith had went out of the way for him he could try to return the favor.

"What in the world is that?"

Mantis was going to take his cup of tea somewhere with a view of the stars, but he'll settle for these odd little robots. They look like little tanks in his mind.

"I didn't know we had anyone on the ship trying to seriously make things."

"They're called Mouse Droids and they're something from my home world. I took what ever scraps of materials I could get to make them. They're not exactly the original model, but close enough. We use them to do various tasks around the ship. It allows the rest of us to work on more important tasks," Hux replied from where he sat.

He had been quietly watching the other observe his droids before he finally spoke.

Mantis walked closer and let the tea find it's own place on the floor as he crouched down. They're not the friendliest looking robots he's ever seen, but most of the ones he's seen were significantly larger than him.

"I like them. The universe could use more toolboxes that can find their own tasks." He tries to gently touch one, just to see what would happen. "It's nice to see more of the crew out and about on the ship. I used to work with a team of six, including myself. A part of me misses all the noise."

The mouse droid made squeaking noises and backed away from Mantis. Just far enough so it wasn't in reach. The droids weren't used to this type of contact with people. They were programmed to concentrate on their tasks alone. It was also just a safety precaution that Hux had programmed so that way they were able to flee if necessary.

"I'm used to a bigger ship and larger crew myself. This is very small and I can't help but feel that it is inadequate."

He made a surprised noise, then laughed. It reminded him of the little robots that had been crawling around the abandoned town many planets back.

"I can see why they are called mouse droids. Real ones are usually destructive or kept in labs to test medicine." He stands up and brings the tea up with a small flick of the wrist. "Would it happen to be a military ship? You have the air of an administrative type, but the difference between civilian and not is pretty apparent."

"Indeed it was and one of the finest ships the fleet had to offer. I had been a general for the ship." Hux quietly explained. He warily eyed the floating tea cup. It reminded him of the Force and it brought about memories he was trying to forget. He never had good experiences with the Force.

Once left alone the mouse droids went back to cleaning and doing repair work. Their little squeaking sounds could be heard in the distance.

"Do you have magical abilities?" he questioned.

"A general! I had a commanding officer of my own. Our team was in the middle of a hostile takeover when I ended up here."

Mantis shakes his head at the question, then shrugs.

"I don't consider it magic, but it looks very similar. Where I come from, we call them psychic powers. I have three that I can use."

"Indeed. I was considered the youngest highest rank officer we had in my military. I was in charge of a fleet and had the best ship. We had been in the middle of a war when I arrived here. I am not to thrilled with being interrupted from it.

As for your powers....they seem similar to that of the Force. They could do things like what you were doing with that tea cup. Among many other abilities." Hux explained. From what he could recall it wasn't from the mind like Mantis was explaining but through another mean a source that everyone had. Only that source some people could connect with while people like him couldn't connect to.

Yes, Kylo, he had been paying attention to your explanations whether he appeared to or not.

"My boss was trying to start one. Not the kind of life I would choose for myself, but he made it easier to do what made me happy and that made him happy."

Mantis lets the cup float between his hand as he listens to Hux. It's an odd thing to hear that there are other variations of his powers. "The Force. That doesn't sound at all familiar to me. You make it sound like there are a number of people who can use the ability. Where I come from, my powers are considered rare."

"I doubt they are the same, it's just similar," Hux replied with a shrug.

"My experiences with the Force weren't that great. What was the purpose for the war your boss was trying to start?"

"Similar enough. I wouldn't mind meeting one of these Force users."

Mantis takes the cup long enough to move his mask out of the way for a sip. "What any good warmonger desires: total annihilation of his enemies in the name of making a warrior's paradise. I never believed in that kind of thing, but he made life a little more...interesting for me."

"Sounds very crude," Hux replied wrinkling his nose at the same time. "We were seeking for some kind of order. Ours was already in a chaotic mess and needs more definition.

And exactly what made it interesting for you?"

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