Some Assembly Required

[Gradoona Pod-Floewander]

More comfortable in wading through the minutiae than quoting timetables, Gradoona filled the dead air on the comm with a e-ee-cli-clisquee.

"Well..."

The Herglic engineer put her hands on her hips, now looking at a well and truly warped bracing strut that mated into a T bracket in the decking itself.

"...doon't suppoose you'd have a praablem checking in to a spare room, wouldja?"

[Kes Akiena]

"Pardon?"

It was not exactly the answer he was expecting. Still though, Kes pressed for clarification.

"How long is this going to take, Lieutenant?"

[Gradoona Pod-Floewander]

"Well sir, assuming we can pull the deck plating out and replace the decking support to the inner junction, yaknoo that's naat as easy as bobbin' for penguins, that's a good six hours as the spanner flies."

Gradoona's eyes traced the floor, her mind already thinking ahead to the next move on the chess set.

"Course we gotta be dainty about it. Schemo's got a rat's nest of comm and data main lines down here that would make a Nautolan kink up. Doon't wanna go willy nilly and put half the spire out in the dark. Doon'cha worry a hair though, preeetty sure we can splice around that. The less this looks like a Life Day tree, the better though."

[Kes Akiena]

Even without the flowery talk, he knew the writing on the wall. He - in some ways - expected it. Wasn't really the first time he'd had to make alternate sleeping arrangements. Still though... here? On a station that'd been so extensively assured was up to snuff? Even despite the rigors of a hard-space move, he'd been reassured many times over the stability of the station's structure.

In the face of things now though, those assurances were like anooba farts in the wind. Kes frown, his eyes squeezing shut as he mentally tried to arrange his situation.

"I'll find something adequate enough, Lieutenant. I trust your work won't extend too far into the future?"

[Gradoona Pod-Floewander]

"squeeeee well yaknoo the first rule in space is doon't ask about the timetables e-ee-quee!"

Awkward silence followed, and Gradoona gave a polite cough.

"That was a lil' joke, sir."

The Herglic sucked a breath of air through her bottom row of teeth as she sparked a laser cutter.

"As much as I might fancy the corner office and all, this isn't exaaaactly what I had in mind. Believe you me, I'd rather juggle less penguins than more of 'em. But I'll put her together better than when you saw her, you can count on that one! Coruscant wasn't built in a day, but she turned out a real beaut anyway."

[Kes Akiena]

Kes made a face, not sure exactly how to take the non-answer that was given to him.

"So then, am I looking at three days to a week, then?"

His option for berth were narrowing already.

[Gradoona Pod-Floewander]

"Oh well that's a little melodramaatic I think."

Still, he was pressing her into a timeframe nonetheless, and no amount of squirming would avoid it.

"I think two days, taaps. We'll have you snug in your own bed again lickety split."

[Kes Akiena]

A moment of though, and the redhead finally nodded to absolutely no-one. Perhaps if Gradoona were here it would mean something, but as it was, he was the only one in his office (for once).

Alright. Two days then."

Another thought.

"Will I be able to gather a change of clothes, then?"

[Gradoona Pod-Floewander]

"Ooh suuure!" Gradoona replied emphatically, followed by a fweeee expelled in certain punctuation from her blowhole.

"Commander, I'm just knaackin' out some walls and floors. It's not like there's a radiation spike oor we've sprung a water line leak. Like the Jawas say, su casa, yaknoo?"

[Kes Akiena]

A small consolation. Still though, the matter remained that he would not be sleeping in his own quarters for the evening, nor the one after. It was an annoying quandary.

"Understood, Lieutenant."

Walls and floors. And floors??! Kes clamped his eyes shut as he mentally pictured the ruin that would be his quarters. It was worse than when he was given the unenviable room assignment with Corporal Corax. That poor Rodian never could figure his kit out, and it was Kes' unfortunate duty to carry the weight. Even in those early days it had been a hell of a thing.

"I'll be by later this evening, then."

[Gradoona Pod-Floewander]

"Ookay suure. I'll make suure all your things are within easy reach."

Gradoona nodded along as she began cutting into the decking. The spitting crackle of her laser cutter growled over the comm line.

"Anyhoo, I won't keep ya, sir. I'm suure you've got a laat bigger things in your frying pan than this ol' penguin here."

[Kes Akiena]

A partial grimace that no one could see was given to the comm, and Kes nodded.

"Thank you."

A push of a button closed the connection, and the redhead leaned back in his seat, one hand going up to rub at the bridge of his nose as his mind raced, trying to find some sort of solution to this minor - yet very inconvenient - problem. His fingers pinched, and finally his arm moved back down to press another sequence of numbers into the touchpad on his desk. It was starting to become a very familiar number, and when the voice on the other line answered, Kes opted for the simplest order he could.

"K'ohta'rrou, I need a word with you."

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

"Commanderr..."

T'yeellaa's voice replied breathily on the other side of the comm, as if she'd been busy doing something before he'd called.

[Kes Akiena]

There was a moment's hesitation, but he pressed onward regardless.

"K'ohta'rrou Meorrrei, are you... "

And all of a sudden, Kes was not sure that he wanted the answer to the question he was about to ask.

"... busy?"

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

There was a distinct pause. T'yeellaa wiped a sheen of perspiration off her forehead as she decoupled from her midday Jaanni'saari hospitality visit. She'd opted for a little sheet time over chow, and fortunately the particulars were fairly easy to deal with on short notice. The marine, thankfully knew well enough to keep his mouth shut with the comm on. Suddenly aware of who she was talking to, K'ohta'rrou Meorrrei reached for the sheets to cover her naked breasts as she talked, for fear that Kes might somehow hear them.

"No morre than ussual, ssjirr. How can jI help?"

[Kes Akiena]

He knew those pauses. He'd been - in the past - the one to give such pauses. Unfortunately now, on the other side of the comm, Kes finally realized just how awkward the other end of the line felt. It was retribution he figured. Vengeance. And it was merciless.

Nevertheless, the redhead cleared his throat.

"Yes well. Good to know"

For the umpteenth time that day he felt a pinch forming in his left temple.

"I've got a bit of request to make, if it's not too much."

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

A request and not an order, with the further addendum of if it's not too much. K'ohta'rrou Meorrrei sat still on the bed, gesturing for her brief fling to get dressed and make himself scarce. It would've been easier if it was an order. Take care of visiting dignitaries, K'ohta'rrou. Sound battle stations, K'ohta'rrou. See why the gravity isn't working, K'ohta'rrou. A request was a rare breed of thing.

"jI'm ljisstenjing."

[Kes Akiena]

And now came... well, now came something. It was certainly not the norm, and he wasn't so sure that she wouldn't answer him with some sort of growling reply considering what he'd just no doubt interrupted.

"I need you to find me temporary quarters for the next two days."

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

Why was so far down the tip of her tongue that it almost slipped past her lips. T'yeellaa couldn't help but wonder at what might spur on such a request. The answers ranged from radiation leak to an unannounced visit from relatives. What she could tell him was that he was fresh out of luck.

"Ssjirr, between the cjivjiljian ssectorr to ourr enljisstedss and ourr contrractorr bjilletss, we barreljy have enough sspace asss jit sstandss."

Pinching the bridge of her nose, K'ohta'rrou Meorrrei gallantly staved off a headache. Surely there was a way to pass this buck down through a few two thousand other people. The gnawing dread in her middle knew that she wouldn't, howeverr.

"Ssjirr, jyou wouldn't assk thjiss wjithout a verrjy good rreasson, would jyou?"

T'yeellaa's ears began to droop gradually.

[Kes Akiena]

"Trust me, I wouldn't."

Leaning back in his seat, Kes looked forlornly at his empty mug of caf.

"It seems that my own quarters are unfit for habitability, and due to that I find myself in a bit of a quandary."

A sigh.

"If there are any sort of bunks you can scrounge up in short order, I'd very much appreciate it."