...

Going through his unarmed combat katas should have been soothing. The ache that he felt should have gone away. It had worked before he arrived on Telos. It had worked when he was still a commander under Revan. Some of the katas had been taught by Revan himself. Still, the need to do something else filled him. It made him mess up the katas he had known by heart since before Malachor. This simply added to his frustration.

In the end, he found himself in the cargo bay. There he found an old astromech that was fairly beaten up. It was odd to find one on a shuttle like this. Most would be in starfighters or larger vessels. Shuttles rarely had the use for them unless someone couldn't use a navigation chart properly. If that someone was in the cockpit he would worry about everyone on board's safety.

Running a hand over the old droid he found it covered in dust. Dust that dirtied his hands and made him frown. It had not been moved in many months but he didn't think the shuttle was that old. Surely its previous owner wouldn't leave a perfectly good astromech behind? The droids were costly even the older models.

Lukas decided he wanted to find out the little thing's secrets. Curiosity killed the Kath hound as his master used to say. Shioon always said his curiosity would get him into trouble one day. She had been right.

With rolled-up sleeves, he got to work on the droid. Its wiring had been eaten up by a rat of some kind. A few he could splice to fix but many needed complete replacing. Thankfully with the return of his things came the repair parts he collected. During his travels to the outer reaches, he had to do most of his own repairs. To get it done professionally would take longer than he was willing to wait.

Further inside he noticed that its power core had been damaged. Blaster bolt if he had to guess. That would need an entirely new power core. There was no way he could fix it. With gloves however he was able to pull it out.

From there he replaced one of the mechanical arms. It was a fairly easy fix as similar parts were used for everything. The wheel looked good though the joints needed to be oiled.

Back inside the interior, he found a few lights that were out. Replacing them had been the easiest thing so far. It was followed by fixing a broken reader that was not so easy. Finally, there were the sensors that told the droid where it was going. Like the power cell, it would have to be completely replaced. Something he did not have on the ship.

As he moved away wiping off his hands he felt a shift ever so slightly behind him. He took one up one of his tools and put all his strength behind threw it. It stopped mere inches from Kavar's head. Instead of looking angry or disappointed, he seemed amused.

Lukas dipped his head as he apologized, "I'm sorry, Master Kavar. I didn't mean to attack you."

Kavar replied with a gentle look, "Just call me Kavar unless it's a formal setting. I should have alerted you to my presence instead of surprising you. I'm sorry."

For a moment he blinked at the man before he said, "It's fine. I lost myself."

Kavar crossed the room and kneeled down beside him. He looked over the droid as well. After a few moments, he rolled up the sleeves to the shirt he reached inside.

Lukas froze in surprise. He had not expected this man to show any interest in his hobbies. Kavar checked the wires with a frown then reached for tools. Without a word exchanged between them the two worked on the droid. There wasn't a padawan and master bond between them. It would happen but not yet.

There were only a few changes that had to be made by Kavar. It was relaxing to be in the man's presence. When they were done Kavar sat back with a small grin.

"You did a good job," he said, "I didn't know you were interested in mechanics? When did that come about?"

Lukas rubbed a hand over the back of his neck as he replied, "I learned when I was under Revan. A tech specialist taught me most of what I know."

"He did a good job. You should continue if you like this."

"Really?"

"I'm not going to discourage your interest, Lukas," he replied coolly, "As long as it isn't self-destructive."

Lukas bit his lip but nodded cautiously