Anika examines Matt out of the corner of her eye as he works, hoping he is too distracted to notice her scrutiny. She is wondering just what it is about him that she finds attractive. He isn't unattractive by any means, but his features aren't exactly classically handsome. Still, she finds something about the way he sets his full lips into a frustrated pout cute, even as it meant he had failed, yet again, at their task. Shocking.

"Here, watch me," she offers. She's relieved when he complies, pulling his hands from the control board and letting her take over. She moves slower than she normally would, letting him follow her motions. He's a fast learner, despite his stunning lack of experience with repairs. She usually only has to show him things once.

While she works, she hazards a guess his way. "They didn't really teach you how to do any of this in training, did they?"

Anika doesn't miss the guarded way he looks at her before answering. "No. I wasn't trained to do this job."

She makes a noise of sympathy. "What, is this a reassignment?"

"Yes. A reassignment," he agrees. She shows him the tool she picks up for a moment, making sure he recognizes it before completing the job.

"Is it an inconvenience?" Matt asks when she drops the tool back into the toolbox. She looks at him in confusion before he explains further. "Having to teach me everything?"

She frowns, understanding he's probably been treated rather rudely by her coworkers. She's his third mentor, after the first two became too irritated to work with him. They've been together for a few days now, and while she can see there might be frustration over the work taking longer, he really isn't that bad. A little socially awkward, perhaps, but not the worst company you can find around here.

"No, it's not," Anika answers finally. She's tempted to leave it at that, but the awkward exchange makes her ramble on. "I've got a lot of patience. You have to have a lot of patience to work here."

"Why is that?"

He sees her lift the cover panel and takes over holding it in place for her, so she can replace the screws that hold it on. She smiles slightly at the fact that she hadn't needed to ask, almost like he read her mind. "Well, a lot of what maintenance does at base is clean up after our Commander."

"You mean Kylo Ren," Matt says, and she notices his voice gets excited at the name.

"Commander Ren, yes," she corrects. Hopefully he knows to not just go around calling the Commander by his name without a title. That would be a quick way to get in trouble. "You'll see what I mean soon enough. He has a habit of breaking things."

"I heard he breaks things to channel his power. That he's extremely powerful in the force," Matt says enthusiastically. He pushes his glasses back up his nose, a habit she's noticed as the things don't seem to fit quite properly.

"I don't pretend to know why he does what he does. It's not in my pay grade," she says simply, fitting the last screw into place. She turns to give Matt a questioning look, but he still looks intrigued at their topic of conversation.

"You've never thought about him?" he asks persistently.

She sighs. "I guess I just thought maybe he broke stuff because he was overwhelmed." She regrets saying it almost as soon as it leaves her mouth. Anika knows better than to badmouth their Commander. Gossiping maliciously about Kylo Ren seems like a fast way to get a black leather glove around the neck. Not a bad mental image…She smirks at the thought, glad that she has managed to evade the Commander's notice, and therefore his mind reading.

If he saw half the devious thoughts floating through her brain, she'd probably be shredded into pieces. Then again, what does the First Order expect? You can't put a shadowy, masked man with special powers around sex-deprived females and not expect their imaginations to run wild. Anika knew she couldn't be the only woman to witness Kylo Ren levitating one of his officers in a rage, and later picture his skills put to use in a different setting. Of course, the logical fear of the Commander kept them all from ever speaking of such a thing.

But Matt looks even more curious, raising an eyebrow as if to encourage her to continue. "I just mean…the force is like an extra sense, right? Maybe it's just overwhelming sometimes. I know I'd get pissed off a lot more if I had to hear the stupid thoughts of all my coworkers, all day long," she explains, before standing up to dust her knees off.

"Most people wouldn't think about it like that," Matt says thoughtfully, joining her in standing and picking up the toolbox.

"You could have ended the sentence with most people wouldn't think," she retorts, giving him a slight grin to show she's joking. He looks almost confused at the expression on her face. What, do people not smile at him?

"I'm hungry. You up for lunch?" she asks finally, giving up on working a smile loose from his lips. He considers that before nodding.

She watches him in furtive glances as they walk down to the cafeteria. He's a lot taller than her, almost gangly in proportion, if it weren't for how broad he is. Her eyes drop to his body, before she forces herself to look away. Don't you dare make eyes at your trainee…

His walk is strangely purposeful, borderline intense. She has to walk faster than her normal pace to keep up with him, as he storms down the hallway like the cafeteria is the most important destination in the galaxy.

"So what did you do before?" Anika asks, attempting to fill the silence. She's never been good with long silences, feeling like she needs to fill them in with meaningless chatter.

"Before?" he asks. She flinches away from the sharp way he looks at her.

"Um, before you were assigned to be a tech," she explains. "Before the reassignment?"

"Oh! Oh," he says awkwardly. "Um…"

They arrive at the cafeteria, filtering in to join the queue, and he's still silent, eyes searching. "You don't have to tell me," she says finally, trying to give him an out. He seems to accept it, and they shuffle along the line, both piling unappealing food onto their trays.

Anika's mind is curious, wondering why he would be so reluctant to tell her what he'd done before. Was it something restricted? Could he have worked for Intelligence, perhaps? The blonde hair looks a little too light to be real, she thinks, considering dye. Has he changed his looks? I wonder if his name is really Matt…

They sit down, and Anika busies herself with shuffling the food around on her segmented square plate. She pushes it this way and that with the fork, hoping to find a place to start eating that looks moderately more appetizing. It doesn't work.

"This is disgusting," Matt complains after a moment. She looks up to see revulsion on his face. Wherever he'd been assigned before, they must have had better food.

"Unfortunately, this is about as good as the food gets here," she tells him sympathetically. "I'd stab a man for some chocolate."

He looks up at her, and she has to force herself to not smile at the pouty expression on his face. "I'd stab the man who made this food," he says seriously.

"Breakfast isn't as bad," she replies, trying to reassure him. "If you get here early, there are muja muffins. Though after a few months, you do get bored of those. Would it kill them to make some chocolate muffins…or chocolate anything…" She's lost in daydreams of chocolate.

Matt is examining her again before he asks studiously, "Are all women fixated with chocolate? Or just you?"

Anika smiles. "I'm not sure."

One Week Later

A mission went terribly wrong. Or so she heard, a few hours before receiving the orders to repair half of the consoles in the administration level. She's on her way there when her commlink buzzes, and she opens the message to see it is her friend Darial. She's reaching out to let her know LM-2059 didn't make it back from the mission. He'd apparently been cut down in enemy fire.

Anika finds an empty room to dart into as her brain catches up to the information. It isn't that LM-2059, or Liam as he went to his friends, was her boyfriend. No, it was nothing that defined or serious. Still, they had on occasion had their moments together. He had insisted they keep things casual, and she hadn't cared. It wasn't like the First Order openly embraced their employees having relationships, anyway.

Still, the thought of him dying was… bothersome. She wasn't distraught, but it was upsetting to her. He hadn't been a bad guy. A bit immature, perhaps. But definitely not a bad guy. Am I tearing up? No. No, I can't do this right now…

Anika tries to compose herself, pushing herself to bury the bad feelings down for the time being. She can't delay getting her work order done, or she'll be reprimanded.

She hastens towards the admin level, relieved to see Matt already there getting started on repairs. But when her eyes scan the room, she groans loudly. It looks like Commander Ren has taken his saber to the room, leaving everything slashed open and sparking. They'll have to retrieve new equipment, a good deal of this won't even be fixable. Which means installation and calibration, which means even more time.

"Fantastic!" she groans, practically throwing her toolbox onto the floor by the nearest electrical panel. At least this one looks like she can fix it easily, making it a good place to start. Her mind is still a little unfocused, so she wants to start where it is easiest.

Matt looks towards her, his brow furrowed. His oversized glasses slip down his nose a little bit, and he pushes them back up. "What is wrong with you?"

She shoots him a glare before forcing it off her features. It isn't his fault she's here. He's probably only asking because she's usually so even tempered. Her sudden bad mood must seem unusual.

"Nothing. I'm fine," she says tightly, getting started. It isn't long until she shocks herself, painfully, however. Her mind isn't focused on the work, and she swears, dropping her tool to stick the throbbing finger into her mouth. She attempts to soothe it with her tongue, sitting back.

"What's wrong?" Matt repeats persistently. She looks at him, a few feet away attempting to replace frayed wires. He's paused, staring at her intently, brown eyes serious.

Anika sighs. He's probably going to keep asking until I tell him. "I just…I found out that someone I know died."

His eyebrows raise a fraction. "Oh. Who?"

She realizes she shouldn't be talking about this with Matt. Whose to say he wouldn't rat out her inappropriate relationship to someone higher up? Still, she's already began, and her shoulders slump as she accepts she might feel better getting it off her chest. "Liam. LM-2059."

Matt looks confused, sitting down his wire stripper to cock his blonde head to the side a little. "LM-2059 was a stormtrooper, and you're a maintenance technician. How did you know him?"

She's surprised he knows Liam, but perhaps he is one of those people who remembers names easily. Or he could have known by the identification number, perhaps. She chews her lip nervously before answering. "We were… sort of involved."

He looks intrigued. "Involved how?"

She gives him a look. "You know…involved. Like… a casual…thing."

Matt stares at her. His eyes blink once. Twice. "I don't understand."

"We had sex sometimes, kriff Matt," Anika says finally, blushing a little. "What else do you think involved means?"

His eyebrows shoot up as he at least has the good sense to look likewise embarrassed. "Oh…"

She looks away, the atmosphere between them quickly growing awkward. He, however, seems to only have more questions. "I thought relationships were discouraged, even among lower personnel?"

She sighs, dragging her eyes back to his. "They are. Hence why it was just a casual thing. Please don't tell anyone, Matt. Please?"

He sits back off his knees, contemplating her. "Why would I tell anyone?"

"For the gossip? Because people love to gossip around here?" she says, shrugging.

"I don't gossip," Matt says as though it is obvious. "Why did you have sex with him if it was only casual? Is that a desirable arrangement for women?"

Anika's mouth falls open at his continued questions, as she realizes she's opened a can of worms. She had no idea Matt would be this intrigued in her sex life. To make matters worse, his questions make it abundantly clear he is rather inexperienced on the topic. And while that makes her feel slightly embarrassed to be informing him, she also finds it sort of cute. "Um…I think it's probably more desirable for men? I don't know."

His eyes narrow in thoughtfulness. "If a man found a woman willing to have sex with him, you'd think he'd want to guarantee the relationship. Rather than risk losing it."

Anika can't help the small chuckle that leaves her, as he does have a point. He must not realize the vast number of men that overestimate how much they can play the field. "I suppose…I mean that makes sense. But most men don't think like that."

"LM-2059 didn't think like that?" he presses.

"No. But I didn't care. He wasn't really my type," she says with a shrug. "I mean he was attractive enough, and he could be nice…"

"Why wasn't he your type, then?" Matt asks. She looks once again at his serious brown eyes behind the glasses. He looks fascinated, like he's found a new topic to study. She swallows nervously as she realizes that topic seems to be her.

"Um…he wasn't the smartest," Anika admits. Then, she cringes. "I shouldn't say that. He's dead now, I shouldn't say anything mean…But I don't mean to be mean, its just the truth. He was really not smart." She frowns, feeling guilty.

"But by having sex with him, you chanced any potential offspring inheriting his lack of intelligence," Matt points out.

She winces her eyes closed for a second, unable to refute his point. Still, having it pointed out to her that she might have been making a poor choice by sleeping with Liam in the first place is uncomfortable. "Um. Yes. I guess you're right," she concedes. "It's not really an issue though, with the implants."

"Implants?" he asks immediately, face showing his confusion. How does he manage to look adorable when he doesn't understand something?

She looks away, not liking the fact that she's still randomly finding him attractive. She can't entertain that line of thought, working with him so closely makes it inappropriate for her to go there. "Um, yes," she finally confirms. "The contraceptive implant?"

When he only succeeds in looking more confused, and therefore more adorable, she sighs. "They make all the women on base get them. Even with the discouraging relationships, I think they assume better safe than sorry," Anika explains.

"They make women use contraceptives?" he repeats. "But not the men?"

"Well they didn't jab a hormone-loaded little bead under your skin with a needle, did they?" she asks rhetorically. "There's a lot fewer women, so it's more efficient. I guess."

Matt actually looks disturbed. "That doesn't seem right. It's not a choice?"

Anika's eyes widen at the way he casually questions the way of life in the First Order. "It's just how it is, Matt. You join the First Order, and you're a woman, you get an implant."

He frowns. "But they shouldn't make you do that, if you don't want to."

"While I may personally agree with you…you probably shouldn't go around saying stuff like that," she tells him earnestly.

"Why?"

You really can't be this naïve, can you? "Because they don't really want you questioning command," she says as if it's obvious. "Not unless you want Commander Ren force choking you. Which, admittedly, doesn't sound half bad to me. But probably not your thing."

Anika instantly regrets the joke when she sees Matt's eyebrows arch sky high above the glasses, his eyes wide. "What do you mean? You want Kylo Ren to choke you?" he asks.

She shifts, dropping her gaze to the floor between them. "Um… I mean… I was just joking, because…" Her cheeks burn with an embarrassed flush. "It's just… it's this weird thing I've thought about."

She darts her eyes back to Matt, finding a matching red flush across his cheeks. Kriff, how did we end up here…I just had to go running my mouth. Why am I like this.

"You've thought about Kylo Ren using the force to choke you," Matt repeats, voice nearly hoarse with disbelief.

"Not to death," she spits out defensively. "Just as like a, hypothetical, fantasy, type… Never mind…" She groans, feeling extremely awkward from his reaction.

"Fantasy?" he echoes.

"Yes, fine, a sexual fantasy, okay!?" she practically yells at him, looking stubbornly anywhere but his face. She can literally hear him spluttering for words, taken aback. "Let's just drop it, okay? And don't you dare tell anyone about my weird thing with choking and Commander Ren," she snaps.

She gets back to work on the panel, ignoring it when Matt mumbles, "I told you, I don't gossip."

There is glorious silence for a while, and Anika fights the urge to break it with her random thoughts. She forces herself to focus on their work, letting Matt practice the skills she's taught him recently on his own. It works for a while, before Matt tentatively speaks up again.

"A buddy of mine saw Kylo Ren take his shirt off in the shower. He said that Kylo Ren had an eight pack," he says.

Anika drops her wrench to turn and give Matt an incredulous look. His eyes are leveled intensely at her, his face almost challenging. "I'm sorry, what?!" she gasps.

"He said that Kylo Ren was shredded," Matt adds.

Oh I did not need to hear that…It only adds fuel to a fire she's been quite successful in keeping burning low. She's been able to resist wondering about Kylo Ren, about what sort of man is lurking beneath the mask and dark robes. She prefers to keep it that way, but now with Matt's blunt confession she's stuck imagining way more than she needs to.

"I…Damn it, Matt," she splutters. He looks at her silently, pushing his glasses up his nose once more.

"We're done talking about Kylo Ren," she declares. "I need your help getting replacement equipment from the storage bay."