SWTOR: A Smuggler, Not A Patriot: Prologue:
Mechanical Monstrosities Need Love Too. As Do Their Mechanics.
Inspired by the new Bioware MMO set in the Star Wars universe. I own none of the characters, obviously.
Sulmad patted down the corpse and smiled when he found the last part Celestra needed to repair the generator. He also found a couple of credits and a Separatist ID card on the poor bastard who'd tried to fight him. There was a man in the fort who bought the ID cards. Sulmad didn't know why. On consideration, he'd decided he didn't want to know. None of the options were good and if the worst one (he was collecting names, for payback on their families after the war) was right, he'd feel the need to intervene and that would cause trouble as the man was a high ranking Republic bureaucrat.
A quiet and careful jog back to the generator (he thought he'd caught them all, but the Separatists had a disconcerting habit of appearing out of thin air, without even the courtesy of a stealth belt) brought him into sight of Celestra's deliciously padded rear waving in the air as she continued to work with the parts that hadn't been looted. Upon spying him (when he dumped the parts at her feet, okay, actually right in front of her face, situational awareness was not a priority for the engineer) she let out a squeal of happiness which contrasted impressively with the tall, slightly plump woman's general air of stoic seriousness.
Calloused hands grabbed the parts and began the intricate work of repairing the heavy generator and installing the shields that would keep out any Separatists planning a return trip. A thrumming sound indicated that the latter part was done, though the generator itself continued to whine in an angry manner that suggested that the overload continued to approach. And now, Sulmad noted to himself, he was trapped inside, with the about to explode generator. Excellent.
"Damnit, Damnit, Damnit!" She whispered. Exactly the sound you wanted to hear from the woman working to keep you alive.
Sulmad didn't say anything. He didn't distract medics when they were patching him up, either, as he wasn't an idiot.
Long minutes of frantic working, during which the whine only grew in intensity, made remaining silent a difficult trick, but he managed, until she spoke up again. "I need help." She said with surprising hesitancy. It's not like he was going to say no, given the circumstances.
"What can I do?" Sulmad asked.
"When I'm facing a really difficult problem, I need, well, you met my droid?"
"Yes. He sent me here." The 'and this has what to do with what you need me to do to help you keep us alive?' went unsaid, but clearly heard.
"He fucks me. It helps me focus." She said baldly as the machine's whine took on an even higher pitch.
Sulmad almost said something unkind. Then he almost said something sarcastic. Then he almost asked a silly question. Instead, he stepped forward, behind her waggling behind. "It would be my pleasure to help such a lovely woman focus." He said, sincerity dripping from his voice, into a not-at-all sarcastic puddle on the floor.
"Thank you." Sulmad could hear the engineer's blush, both at the fact that she'd been revealed as one of the perverts who has sex with droids (it wasn't uncommon, but it was widely regarded as degenerate behavior) and that she was asking an almost total stranger to have sex with her.