hadriel | [video]

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[video]

[ the video starts abruptly on the exasperated face of a man in his mid-twenties. ]

Okay, so, look: I hate to make an introduction here by going "hey, I'm Axton, I need some help," but.

[ he pans the camera over to an enormous sabre turret that seems to be somehow droopy on one side. there's part of a panel missing, and a person with a keen eye might notice that some of the metal is actually slightly warped.

axton will sigh from behind his phone. ]

If anyone has some usable tools, or is just some kind of like - mechanical genius, I'm willing to work out some kinda deal. I just can't leave her looking like this, guys: it's breaking my heart.

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[Maketh gives him that same unimpressed look.]

Why.

Because she's had my back for years and I'm not gonna rip her to parts the moment she's having a little trouble.

[Maketh doesn't bother hiding her confusion]

I don't understand. It's just a weapon.

[ he is making a face that seems to suggest that he cannot comprehend why she doesn't get it. ]

Some weapons are more than just weapons.

[What is this even.]

A gun is interchangeable with the next. That's the point of anything mass produced.

[She doesn't sound arrogant so much as really, really confused. Is this like the time Rudor got upset at her for ordering upgrades to his TIE fighter without telling him?]

[ he sounds exasperated and a little grumpy, here. ]

Who said anything about her being mass-produced?

[ well, axton. turrets kind of are. ]

Think we're just gonna have to agree to disagree on this one.

It's a turret.

[A pause. This is clearly important to him, though Maketh doesn't get why]

Did you make it yourself?

No.

[ he's so huffy that he really has no right to be offended if someone mistakes him for a preteen girl. ]

But I did the upgrades on her myself. She sticks by me through everything - the least I can do is return the favor.

[Maketh supposes that if pilots can get attached to their TIE fighters, then perhaps a man might feel sentimental concerning a broken turret. She frowns.] Similar upgrades could be made to the same model. Are such weapons...rare? On your world?

[She's fishing for an explanation that fits her logic. The Empire discourages sentimentality. Violently.]

Well. They are on Pandora, but I guess that depends on if you mean "planet," or - the whole - general concept of - whatever.

[ look, thinking about the whole the multiverse thing still kind of gives him a headache, so he just tends to not think about it. ]

Look, does it really matter why I'm not hacking her apart? 'Cause my mind ain't gonna be changed.

I meant more where you're from.

[She's quiet for a moment.]

I am trying to understand. People. Who are--

[Not the Empire. It's not working. Maketh makes a face.]

Never mind. It's not important.

Nah, go on.

[ he may still be a little sulky, but he's curious now too. ]

People who are what?

Not with the Empire, I suppose.

[Maketh sighs, tired all of a sudden. This was a bad idea in the first place, an experiment with a flawed premise.]

It's not relevant here.

Uh, yeah, sorry.

[ axton reaches up, rubbing the back of his neck a little awkwardly. ]

Not really sure which Empire you're talking about, here.

Primary governing body of my home world. Most of the galaxy as well.

[She smiles a little, ruefully.]

I was rather high ranked, once.

Huh.

[ axton had never really made it to "high ranked" at dahl, but he'd been okay with that. ]

Past tense 'cause you're here, or 'cause you got kicked out?

I imagine I would have been executed for treason by now.

[Not exactly the future she envisioned as a cadet. But it was her choice, in the end. Maketh shrugs.]

It's hard to understand people who don't think the way I do. But I think I need to, if I'm going to be useful.

Hey, join the club. [ the sulk has slowly given way back to good humor, his grin crooked and genuinely curious. ] I was almost executed by my bosses, too. Military had a nice firing squad waitin' on me and everything.

Would've been flattering if it hadn't been 'cause they were trying to kill me.

[Maketh actually grins at that.] A prestigious honor, I'm sure. Though I believe I was blown up.

[She would have preferred a firing squad, actually. Much cleaner]

An attempt was made, at any rate.

And yet, here you are. Clearly you have some talent for survival.

[ he doesn't really get it yet, hasn't fully grasped the strange concept of timelines here. of course she hasn't actually been blown up - he's talking to her right now, isn't he? ]

Yeah. And I was married to my CO, who, uh. I mean, we're not exactly married anymore, but she was nice enough to tip me off. So there's that.

[ it gave him enough time to go AWOL, at least. ]

You were allowed to marry your CO?

[She's vaguely offended by the impropriety. Remember that part where she's trying to expand her horizons? Yeah it's not working.]

[ is that improper? huh. he guesses it probably is. then again, dahl had been an unusual organization from the get-go. ]

Well, yeah, I mean. It's not like she was my CO when we actually got married or anything. [ sarah had always been way more ambitious than axton. ] And besides, you sign up with Dahl, you sign up for life, you know? Not like we're gonna have a lot of chances to meet other people.

It's like that with the Empire as well. Though fraternization within your command is discouraged.

Dahl. Was that a private army?

Yeah. Pretty huge, though. Dahl did a little bit of everything, uh - tons of weapons manufacturing, mining, stuff like that. Whatever seemed like it'd be most profitable at the time.

[Sounds like the Empire, if the Empire wasn't so formal. That's a terrifying thought.]

What was your position, if I may ask?