for soresumaster

[morally_cryptic]

[ooc: continuing from this thread]

Anakin frowns and crouches down by the device, running the fingertips of his recently re-attached prosthetic over it (he didn't bother putting the glove back on).

"I didn't mean actual cracking, Obi-Wan. But...the construction is strange. A lightsaber's overkill but some kind of blowtorch might work."

Comments

[morally_cryptic]

They're quickly getting back into the realm where Anakin could easily become distracted for quite some time without realizing how much time has passed. He's certainly fascinated enough to keep exploring what he can through the Force though he murmurs a bit distantly to Obi-Wan, "....some kind of seed....?"

[soresumaster]

"--A seed? Interesting; that would explain the sense of... hibernation... Can you show me?" he asks.

i don't know if you've read it but i'm having vague Rogue Planet flashbacks

[morally_cryptic]

"Think so." He pulls back enough to put his focus on Obi-Wan again, "it's worth a shot anyway."

And as soon as the other Jedi is ready, he'll take them both back in again...for lack of a better term for it.

ohhhhh man I have not read that book in a million years but you're right XD;;

[soresumaster]

Obi-Wan takes a moment to center himself, and then nods, reaching out to Anakin through the Force.

"Ready," he says.

:)

[morally_cryptic]

Anakin nods as well, lets his eyes slide closed, and reaches out to the device again.

With Obi-Wan there with him, he looks a little deeper. So far he's had no sense that they're actually disturbing anything so it seems worth looking if possible.

[soresumaster]

It feels as natural and as easy as breathing to let Anakin guide him here, through the maze of wires and circuits to the bright potential inside... The thought that the inner shell of the probe was capable of hiding this is both intriuging, and disturbing.

It's more than just a single seed.

[morally_cryptic]

"Oh," Anakin breathes. That was interesting. Somewhere in there he's started thinking of the probe as some kind of life sustainment device for what it's carrying inside the shell.

He doesn't really have to say it aloud, not when they're connected through the Force like this, so Obi-Wan can just as easily tell that his next thought is what the hell do we do with it?

[soresumaster]

And Anakin will be able to feel his own bafflement as well, and his fascination with the contents of the probe.

Open it up?

[morally_cryptic]

Sardonic amusement there. Easier said than done. Hadn't he been paying attention.

But then, with the two of them...

Time to find a way.

After all, there was pretty much nothing they couldn't do when working together.

[soresumaster]

It is not without reason that they are seldom apart.

Out loud, Obi-Wan says, "Someone activate the bio-containment field, please."

Just in case. Though he doesn't sense anything harmful here, it wouldn't do to contaminate the entire hangar.

[morally_cryptic]

Another reason they're often together: Anakin's response to possibly dangerous situations (when they're not involving people he's personally invested in, anyway) can generally be summed up by YOLO. So it's just as well Obi-Wan was there to be the more sensible of the two.

"Here goes nothing," Anakin says once the containment field is on.

Maybe they hadn't found the way to open it with purely physical means but with the Force there's little that can remain hidden for long. "Should just take the right nudge..."

[soresumaster]

"There," Obi-Wan agrees, and he draws back, just a little, mentally and physically. "Do it; I have your back."

[morally_cryptic]

"Never doubted," Anakin says with a trace of a smile and then he gives the probe that little nudge even if he's also mentally holding his breath a bit in case it blows up in their faces.

[soresumaster]

And here, finally, the probe shows its age. Invisible seams in the shells, outer and inner both, crack, yes, but the mechanisms that would fold them open, tuck them away, or otherwise move them... jam. And then they make a rather horrid noise, and Obi-Wan takes a half-step back, grimacing, and covering his ears.

[morally_cryptic]

Obi-Wan isn't the only one to cover his ears. Anakin scowls at the probe.

"Well. Things were moving along too easily," he remarks. "Guess it's time to get the tools again."

[soresumaster]

"At least we can see a bit more of what's under the shells," Obi-Wan remarks.

[morally_cryptic]

"True," Anakin says as he reaches for the light again, "maybe we can see what's jammed the mechanism too."

Hopefully.

[soresumaster]

"It may be a case of nothing more than time. We should try a lubricant first, I think." Though he does come up beside Anakin again, to peer more closely at the probe.

[morally_cryptic]

"If you insist, Master."

Lubricant is easily enough retrieved though it takes Anakin a few moments to decide where best to apply it.

[soresumaster]

"It can't hurt."

He steps aside again, making room for Anakin to work, and also to be ready to act, if he needs to.

[morally_cryptic]

He nods and sets to work, being fairly liberal with the lubricant because why the hell not?

"Should I try actually opening it again or....?"

[soresumaster]

"Perhaps try manipulating a single segment by hand?"

[morally_cryptic]

Anakin sits back for a moment to study the whole thing then leans in again. He starts with what he figures is the most likely part of the exterior components and smiles, pleased, when he manages to start it moving out of the way.

[soresumaster]

Some of the pieces that it's connected to shift along with it, just as smoothly.

"So far so good," Obi-Wan says, taking a half-step to the side to look at it from a different angle.

[morally_cryptic]

He nods and keeps picking and choosing pieces to move and manipulate, relying as much on the Force as regular old human inspiration.

Eventually he'll figure the exterior is open enough to try doing the same to the inner shell.