Chapter 16: Chapter 5.3
"Listen Dzik," I interrupted the technician from his work, "in your opinion, what's better - the RR-7 or the PP-14?"
"What?" he asked, climbing out of the guts of a huge spider and looking at the parts I was holding. He clarified, "Gyroscopes? Hmm. That's a bit of an incorrect question. Although they have the same name, they are designed for slightly different purposes. The RR-7 is more geared towards performing a variety of acrobatic stunts, while the PP-14 focuses more on durability. Uh, for example, if you want your droid to perform various flips and be incredibly agile, then the RR-7 is the way to go. But if you want it to be hard to damage, then the PP-14 is the better choice."
"I see," I replied. "But with the 'PP' droid, will it at least be able to run?"
"Of course. It can run and jump. The point is that it will do it better," he said.
"Got it. Thanks," I said, looking at the two balls in my hands - one black and one grey.
"No problem," said the bald technician. "Hey, have you seen my peg wrench anywhere?" he asked, looking around.
"Huh?" I interrupted my thoughts. "Pimms took it, I think."
"That bastard," he said, sounding a bit lost. "Do we not have any more plasma torches? Why do people keep taking mine?"
"I don't know. But Pimms broke his three weeks ago," I replied.
"Why don't I know about this?" he asked.
"Because you've been dealing with this bus for three weeks. And I think someone told you about it," I said.
"Oh, really? Hmm. Okay, I'll go check it out," he said. While he dealt with the number of plasma torches, I thought about what would be best for my droid. On one hand, agility rules, but on the other hand, no droid compares to a Jedi in that regard. Flexibility or balance? Well, it doesn't matter. Let him be a non-toppling toy. After all, it's easier to catch a jumping droid.
By the way, recently, when assembling my droid, I started using Force-forging. Or rather, the basics that I managed to learn. Naturally, not to make the droid better, as my knowledge in that area is lacking. But for training - it's just the thing.
As it turned out, melting metals was really difficult, unlike shaping them. To do this, you had to feel... the essence of the object, so to speak. My mentor called it integrity, but in my opinion, that's not quite the right definition. Although, perhaps everyone sees it differently. And if you gather molten metal into some shape without this... understanding or not fully adhering to it, the object can very easily break. Even I could break a metal cube like it was graphite. So when working with the droid, I had to be very careful. I didn't actually melt anything, just made adjustments, but even such a small impact could ruin the entire job if I didn't notice the mistake in time. And yes, I sharpened my skills not only with metals, but with other materials as well. Like plastic, for example.
Overall, the assembly went quite quickly, and if I didn't try to understand what I was doing, which part was better and why, how it worked, what could replace it, then it would have progressed even faster. But I wasn't in a hurry, hoping to finish the shell by the end of the hypothetical academic year. After which, I would start working on the droid's "brains." Which, in my opinion, would be no less difficult, or rather, even more so. After all, I have no one to seek help from here.
Continuing to stare blankly at the gyroscopes, I suddenly thought: why don't I try to "probe" the balls in my hands? It's clear that this is not a piece of metal, but a complex structure, but I'm not going to change anything there. I'll just take a look.
In general, I couldn't resist. Still holding the gyroscopes in my palms, I imbued them with a small amount of the Force, just enough to create a connection through which I would "scan." And first of all, I tried to figure out the stuffing of the balls. Alas, there was such a mishmash there that trying to understand it was beyond my knowledge. I was about to give up on this idea, but then I thought: why do I need to understand something there anyway? No, really. If you think about it, any metal is also not simple. I, for example, don't know what its structure is and what it even exists by, but nevertheless, I am able to sense its harmony. So why not do the same here? In short, after thinking for a couple of minutes, I decided to take the risk. After all, they're not that expensive, these gyroscopes.... Well, okay, I'm lying - they're expensive, but I'll be able to pay for a couple of them. Besides, the PP-14 was bought with my money anyway. I just didn't know that Dzik had a part that was just as good as this one.
Taking a sharp breath, I focused once again on the objects in my hands, but this time I didn't try to look inside. Instead, I imagined the balls as a whole. I first "felt" the object itself, then "sensed" it through the Force, and finally combined the feelings and sensations. I was able to detect, perhaps, some kind of incorrectness inside the gyroscopes. I tried to understand it more precisely, but I got confused because, as I had already mentioned, I couldn't figure out what was happening inside. I repeated the process and when I felt something that was supposed to be wrong again, I instinctively sent an impulse inside one of the gyroscopes to correct it. To help you understand, it's like a tablecloth on a table - everything seems fine, but small creases catch your eye. So, with one movement, I smoothed out those "creases."
"Oh," I froze, hearing a fairly loud click.
"Hey," Dzik approached me from behind, "turns out this is the last working PP. Why did you freeze?"
"Um...listen, Dzik, I have a request for you. Could you test this part for me?"
"RR-7? What's wrong with it?"
"Well...I...it just doesn't feel right to me. I'm a Jedi, after all, right?"
"Hmm, alright. I'll check it."
"Just be quick, okay? So I can finally make a decision."
"Okay, okay, hurry up. I'll test it first thing tomorrow morning."
"Thanks, Dzik. You're the best guy in the world."
"Well...," he blushed slightly, "maybe not the best."
"For this particular youngling, undoubtedly."
Phew, I managed to avoid trouble. Something must have broken after that click. And here I am, not really involved, just sensing something...Damn, it's childish. I need to learn to take responsibility for my actions. And I will, but not this time. Yes, definitely. Damn, why did I have to "click" on my gyroscope?
"Oh-ho-ho. You've really embarrassed me, baldy," Dzik rubbed the mentioned part of his head. "So what are you going to do now?"
"I'll go meditate, actually," I glanced at my watch. "I still have some time. Not much, though. Alright, Dzik, see you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow, kid."
"Derosh," I addressed the R3T1 droid standing in front of Dzik, "don't disappoint your owner, curse as much as you want." In response, the droids immediately beeped in protest. I didn't know binary very well yet, but I could tell that the pair of tin cans were deeply offended. "Yes, yes, Arthritis," I chuckled, "you too."
"Arthritis," if anyone didn't understand, is my loose interpretation of the name R3T1. ar, three, te. I decided not to pay attention to the last digit. It's not entirely accurate, but that's why it's loose. How great that local folklore also includes profanity, otherwise I'd have to forget about such humor.
The next day our group had a new lesson - marksmanship training. For fifty minutes, we were given a lecture on various shooting devices, their application, danger to us and the enemy, when to use them, when not to, and of course, safety techniques. And finally, we were given a training blaster to shoot at a target. And let me tell you, it was cool. Almost as cool as a lightsaber. In my world, I only shot twice. Both times in the winter, and both times with five rounds each. And shooting in winter and in the army is not cool at all. And with an AK-74. Not that the AK-74 is bad, it's just... well... it's just an AK. But here, even though it was a training blaster, it was a blaster! Shooting with a glowing thing. No recoil. Fantasy surrounded me, familiar fantasy from childhood, but in moments like these, I felt it even in the tips of my hair. Not holograms, not spaceships, which I never really saw, not the view of Coruscant out the window, but a lightsaber, blaster, and telekinesis.
Shot after shot, I watched the blaster charge hit the target and listened to that cool sound "pew". Shot after shot. And another, and another. Here you go, motherf*cker, take that!
"Dakari!" Oops, it seems like I got carried away. "Who did I spend a whole hour preaching to here?" the instructor approached me. "How many times do I have to repeat that a blaster is not a toy to shoot from underfoot? Or do you think you're at an amusement park? Or maybe the whole Order is just a playground for you?" Here he glanced at the screen with the results of my shooting. "Dakari! Nineteen shots, and only six points?! Even a blind person shoots better! Even my grandmother shoots better with her left foot! What kind of result is that, Dakari!? And why are you silent, youngling? Answer!"
What a screamer, huh? And what does he want to hear?
"Well... I'm only six years old, so I thought six points..."
"Oh, six years old.... There are three hundred and sixty-eight days in a year, youngling," he said kindly, and then suddenly switched back to yelling. "So why do I see six points instead of two thousand two hundred and eight!?"
"Because it's against the laws of physics?"
"Telekinesis is also outside the laws of physics, but you use it, don't you?! Or can't you even use that?!" Damn, he'll come up with something no matter what I say. It's better if I just shut up. I'll pretend to be repentant.
And what was he really shouting about? I'm only six years old, can't he cut me some slack? Anyway, he ranted for about five minutes, stealing my time for shooting, but finally finished and left, and I returned to my previous activity.
Shot, another one. Look at the screen - thirty-eight points. Not enough somehow. Aim, shoot, glance at the screen. Aim again. Shoot, again, again. Damn, but how I love this activity. Shot, shot, shot... Come on, bitch, come on. What's gotten into me? Another...
"Dakari!"
Holy shit.
At the end of the school day, I set aside thirty minutes for meditation, and then went to see Dzik. I have nothing to do in the Archive today, I haven't finished reading everything yet, but the damn gyroscope still needs to be installed. Although... no. First, I'll finish reading what I've downloaded. And I'll spend the time that's become available on installation... That's also a question. What should I install first, the energy conduits or the sensors? In the first case, it's easier to lay everything out, first all those wires and pipes, and then a couple of sensor blocks. In the second case, I won't have to disassemble and re-lay everything if something goes wrong. If there are any problems, it will be with the energy conduits, which are visible. Well, screw it, I'll ask the bald guy.
Just as I entered the hangar, I noticed that besides Dzik, there were two other people standing near his workstation - a man and a boy of about thirteen, although I could be mistaken from this distance. The boy is also a person, by the way.
- Good evening, Master Paratus, - I greeted the Jedi who was quite rare in these parts on my way to Dzik.
- Go to hell, kid. Can't you see I'm busy? - he replied thoughtfully, circling around a three-meter droid.
As always, he was courteous. Kazdan Paratus was a Jedi of the alien race. Small, with a long elongated nape with spikes growing along the edges and a face like some kind of gremlin. That's who I wouldn't want to meet unexpectedly. Heart attack guaranteed. If anyone remembers the little one that Starkiller killed on the garbage planet, you'll understand what I'm talking about. I don't remember if it was exactly the same, but it was very similar. Despite this, like many races in Star Wars, the alien's terrifying appearance belied his kind character. But that's generally speaking. Nevertheless, Paratus was not malicious or even grumpy; he was rather a loner who preferred the company of droids. Accordingly, his character was directed to be left alone. Even so, this guy never sent me away if I asked him for help with something, but he avoided casual conversation as much as he could.
Perhaps it's worth noting that Paratus is a brilliant technician and engineer, and if it weren't for his antisocial character and the fact that he doesn't appear here very often, I would have asked him to be my apprentice without hesitation. And I would have succeeded. As I said before, he doesn't know how to refuse. By the way, another funny thing is that this little brute is none other than the head of the Order's Technical Department. That is, the most important one specifically here. The boss of the same Dzik.
- Hello BBR-3, - I waved to the three-meter droid.
- Help me, young sir, - he raised his right hand, - they want to kill me.
- Improve you, pile of iron, - Paratus kicked him, - improve you.
Heh. BBR-3 is always joking. He mercilessly teases his small creator. And he endures it.
So, greeting everyone in the hearing range and waving in the sight range, I approached the workplace of the beetle. And mine too.
- I'm sorry, Master Kenobi, but it's impossible, - Dzik shook his head. - Even if I rush to order the parts right now and then start fussing and doing everything to deliver them as soon as possible, even then they won't arrive earlier than the day after tomorrow.
After listening to the end, the young bearded man scratched his chin thoughtfully. And I stared at him and the kid. It was lucky to see such legendary people. By the way, the guy didn't impress me much, more like a thirteen-year-old boy who was tired of listening to adult conversation.
"Hmm," finally said Kenobi. "Too bad. I would even say it's bad."
"What a mess," muttered the boy.
"Anakin! What kind of language is that?"
"What's wrong with it? The situation calls for it."
"That's not a reason to swear."
"Really, teacher? Then what is the reason?"
"There's no reason to swear."
"Yeah, right," nodded the kid, glancing at me. "And I said we should have taken that ship."
"We couldn't do that, Padawan. The ship didn't belong to us."
"It didn't belong to anyone! Its only owner was lying dead at your feet."
"Ahem, Anakin," another sideways glance at me. "If that person had relatives, we would have been thieves."
"Relatives? Of a pirate? Ha!"
"Even such people can have relatives. And as you know, we didn't have time to check. Or an extra pilot."
"I could have flown it myself," said the Chosen One, but then waved his hand. "Oh well... You don't even believe in yourself, teacher. Let's go, maybe we can borrow a ship from someone."
"Yes, let's go. I wouldn't want to be late," he hesitated, looking at us and at Dzik. "Take care."
"Why don't you rent a ship?" I piped up.
To which Kenobi glanced at Skywalker with a disapproving look and grumbled, "Unfortunately, we don't have any cash right now."
"I don't think it would take much," I scratched my head. "If you want, I can give you a couple of coins."
"Money? You have money?" Skywalker asked with such a contemptuous expression that it made me want to give them money even more.
"Anakin," Kenobi called to him, then looked at me carefully. He glanced at Dzik. "Don't worry, youngling, I think we'll find the money if needed. But thank you for the offer."
"I'm always ready to help, Master Kenobi," I bowed.
"Well then," the man nodded with a smile to me, "in that case, we'll go. Master Dzik," he bowed slightly to him, "good evening. Let's go, apprentice."
"Hey, what's your name?" the boy asked me, not even looking at his departed teacher.
"Rein Dakari," I replied, trying not to grimace.
"Anakin!" Obi-Wan urged him on.
"I'll remember your name," he said patronizingly before running off.
Waiting until they were far enough away and definitely out of earshot, I said aloud, "An unpleasant boy."
"A child, what can you expect from him," the mustached man shrugged. "And Kenobi... he's too kind."
"What, is he a famous person?" I asked in surprise.
"I'll tell you about him later. And now, come with me, I want to show you something."
Leading me to his desk and pressing a couple of buttons on the built-in console, he pointed to the holographic screen that appeared.
"Here, take a look."
Well, I looked. But due to the specific terms, I didn't understand much.
"Dzik, I'm only six years old. Soon to be seven. But what did you expect by showing me this?"
"Hmm, you're right, I didn't think. Somehow...," he glanced at me, "nevermind. Anyway, these are the gyroscopic characteristics of the part you gave me yesterday."
Oh, I don't like the sound of that. Is he going to scold me?
"And what?" I asked cautiously.
"What-what... you were right, a strange little part came to you," he said and fell silent. "Heh-heh, okay, I won't torture you - the characteristics of this part are twice as good as those in the passport. And I, by the hutts, don't even imagine why. But that's not important. But now you don't have a rich choice, it's unreasonable to install the PP-14 when you have such a sample on hand."
Wow, wow, wow. So, does that mean I improved the part? Even though something quite scary clicked inside it? Damn it. Okay, Leha, calm down and get your thoughts in order. Done? And now... now I have to take a risk.
- How much does the RR-7 cost?
- Cost? - Dzik was surprised. - It costs a lot. Five hundred credits for this ball. Why? - he finished slyly.
- And how much could you sell this specific gyroscope for?
- You mean sell? - he pondered. - It will definitely go for seven hundred. But, Rein, to buy something similar, you'll have to pay around two thousand, so is it worth it?
- That's a big difference. But wait, I understand. The model isn't the same and we're not well-known manufacturers.
- Something like that, - the man nodded.
- In any case, it's all nonsense, - I said thoughtfully.
- What do you mean, anyway?
- Hey, do you have a tester in this hangar?
- Yeah, - he gestured somewhere behind him.
- Wait here, I'll be right back, - I said, then hurried to my place to find the PP-14. - Let's go to the tester, - I said to the man with the gyroscope in my hand.
- Wait, kid, explain what happened properly.
- Money, - I said, looking at him. - Do you need it?
- Who doesn't? - he scratched his bald head. But he didn't even think about getting up. In principle, he was right. A six-year-old boy starts running around and carrying all sorts of incomprehensible nonsense. Should he run around with me?
- Mmm... - I muttered, rolling my eyes. - Okay, listen.
Infuse the Force into the detail. Tune in. Feel, sense, feel. Smooth out.
Click.
- Hmm. I think you just broke your gyroscope, - Dzik noticed.
- Just like I clicked the RR-7 yesterday, - I replied. Then I suddenly thought that I should have presented this fact more gently.
- Heh, - the bald giant froze, looking at me with an expressionless gaze. But then he grimaced and did something resembling a "facepalm", running his palm over his face. - Re-e-ein...
- Why immediately Rein? I would pay if necessary. You know I have money, - I babbled. - No, really, I would pay. Come on, calm down. Breathe in, breathe out, think of something good.
- Rein.
- Rein? No, of course, I'm a good guy, but I meant something else.
- Give me the gyroscope, - Dzik said wearily.
- Here you go, - I immediately handed him the part.
- Let's go see what you did to it.
The tester was a pedestal, not quite ordinary, with many colorful bulbs and buttons. Similar ones were standing in our barracks. Although I didn't spend much time there, mostly staying in the headquarters, it was hard not to remember such a thing.
Approaching the tester, Dzik pressed a button on it and put a gyroscope ball into the opened interior of the pedestal. Then he started pressing the sensors on the "lid" of the tester.
"Well, what's happening, Dzik?" I asked him.
"Can't you see? I haven't even started the test yet."
"Oh, I see."
A holographic panel appeared, on which I could only make out a scale, similar to an equalizer. Something flashed inside the device, and then the scale jerked.
"What's going on?"
"Leave me alone."
Several more flashes, and the text on the panel began to change, while the scale would increase or decrease.
"Dzik..."
"Can't you just leave me alone? I'll tell you when I'm done."
Several more minutes of flashes, text changes, and scale jerking, and finally, everything went quiet.
"Not done yet?"
"Rein," the man turned to me, "I never knew you could be so...nagging."
"It's just so interesting..." I muttered.
"It's interesting to him...I'm interested too, but I'm not jumping around with impatience."
"I haven't even moved yet," I protested.
"Well, there's nothing for me to do. And stop bothering me. The more you distract me," he turned back to the tester, "the longer we have to wait for the results."
"Okay, okay," I raised my hands. Then muttered under my breath, "Damn it."
As someone interested, it's hard for me to say how long the scanning took, but it was at least ten minutes. All this time, I stoically endured and did not distract Dzik from his work, although, believe me, I really wanted to hurry him up. But finally, there was a shrill beep, and all the flashes of light, clicks, and flickering text on the screen stopped.
"So," the mustached man said and fell silent. At that moment, I almost kicked him in the butt. "Funny. The characteristics increased by one hundred and fourteen percent." Turning to me, he added, "That's even more than with the RR-7."
"And? Did the price increase?"
"It depends on what you compare it with."
"Dzik..."
- Heh, you're in a hurry. Anyway, surprisingly, you did improve the part. I'm impressed. The standard price for PP-14 is five hundred ten credits, and with the improvements, I could raise it two hundred credits more. That's two hundred credits in profit. It's not bad, but I don't understand your excitement. Well, let's say with RR-7 it'll be four hundred. So what?
- Dzik... - I said surprised. - Are you bald or something? You still don't get it? I improved this part in like five minutes right in front of you! Pathetic five minutes! I could do...um...twelve improvements in an hour. That's two thousand four hundred credits a day. Wait, let me do the math, - I started counting while the man's expression slowly changed. It seems like he's just starting to catch up now. - Ah, I messed up. In total, it would be around eight hundred eighty thousand a year. And that's working only one hour a day. - And scratching my head, I added: - I don't even have to spend my free time on it, I could do these miserable twelve improvements during the day. Wait. Dzik, would you even be able to sell that many parts?
- How much money do you have now? - he asked in response.
- How much? Well...almost one hundred forty thousand. Let's say one...thirty.
That's when his expression changed again.
- Well...well, well... Hm...okay. So...it's two hundred sixty parts...if we multiply that by five hundred credits...it's fifty-two thousand net profit. Less than a month's worth...Well, you know...I can sell them, with those specs and at that price, people will snatch them up, but you'll owe me two thousand per fifty.
- Agreed, - I thought and replied. It's even less than what I expected. About four percent. - But, you know, before we start, we should figure out what else I could improve and sell even more profitably.
- Sure, - the man shrugged. - But just like that, off the top of my head, I don't even know what to suggest. Something more expensive won't sell in that quantity. Although we need to clarify that. And something cheaper, you know, probably just won't be worth it. If we consider the work - a part in five minutes...Anyway, we need to look into it.
- Look, Dzik, you must see it.
- Okay, okay, - he waved his hand, smiling. - But... have you thought about what the Order will say about your business?
- What's wrong with it?
- As far as I know, it's not common for Jedi to have their own wealth.
- So what? - I smiled this time. - It's not common, baldy, key phrase - not common. There are no prohibitions here. If I want to earn money, I do it.
- You talk as if you're not a Jedi. And besides, it's quite strange aspirations for such a young person like you.
No, there was no suspicion in his words. Not even surprise. Just a joke. What could I say in response? That I'm not going to dedicate my life to the Order? Heh.
- I just don't want to end up in a situation like Master Kenobi, - I replied to the technician.
- ... - he took a breath. - Well, in principle, you're right, - Dzik said, clearly not what he wanted to say at the beginning. - I'm really not against earning some extra money, especially THAT kind of money.
- Lis-ten. How much do you earn?
- Two thousand a month, - he shrugged. - And believe me, as an adult uncle, that's a lot.
Wow. So with my help, he'll have another salary each month. Even a little more. Not bad.
- I have rich parents, - I sighed. - But you know, Dzik, as a Jedi, albeit a young one, I'll tell you that life is too unpredictable, and if something big happens... something global, I wouldn't want to rely solely on them.
- Well, you know... - the man smiled, putting his hands on his hips. - You have two things you can always rely on - your parents and the Order. And I can't even imagine what would have to happen for you to suddenly have to rely only on yourself.
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TheTranslateMan
TheTranslateMan All my energy is drained for today, I don't like how I managed this text, but I have no more power....and I smell again mistakes in this chapter, so please, notice them for correction!!!
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