Training

Bao-Dur finished what he'd been working on at the workbench and put his tools away. It was awhile after the others had gone to bed; Bao could sense that even Toryn was deep at rest and he bid her a mental good night. Bao pulled himself up onto the workbench and rested his tired back against the cool, familiar wall of the Hawk. Physically exhausted, Bao-Dur was nevertheless fully awake and alert, and he fingered the new circuit board he'd put together for T3-M4. It was good work. Bao hoped Toryn wouldn't notice that he'd been working on the little droid. He knew she got mental pleasure and relaxation from poking around in T3's circuits, but while she was a skilled tech, droids as intricate as T3 needed real expertise. T3 came to him after Toryn was finished to make sure she hadn't messed anything up. There was an unspoken understanding between the man and machine that the woman need not be informed of their little arrangement. It worked for everyone.

Bao-Dur's quiet reverie was broken when Toryn appeared in the doorway of the garage. "Hey," she said, with a tired smile. "Whatcha doin' up there?"

"General! I thought you were asleep." Bao slid to the side of the workbench, giving her room to climb up. As he did so, he silently slid the little circuit board into the pocket on his away side. "I was just, you know...resting."

Toryn gracefully pulled herself up on the bench next to the Zabrak. Her faint earthy scent and the brush of her muscled thigh against his own caused Bao-Dur to grow warm.

Toryn smiled again. "Checking up on me, were you? I was resting, but I was meditating instead of sleeping. I felt how awake you were and decided to come join you." Toryn sat up straight, knees bent, her soft boots up on the bench. Her military posture didn't allow her to slump against the wall, but she seemed comfortable all the same.

Bao cleared his throat. "Always a pleasure to have you here," he said, somewhat formally. Their feelings for each other were still new; their nighttime trysts were wonderful but didn't happen often. Bao wasn't sure if she had appeared in the garage for his company, or for other, more mysterious reasons. Toryn was a former Jedi, that was something he understood. Military, that was a part of her Bao got, as well. Happily, she was a tech, and a lover of all things mechanical; that was something Bao not only understood but loved about her. But ultimately, Toryn Farr was a woman, and Bao was hiding something from her, and both made him uneasy.

"I was thinking about you during my training with Kreia, the other day." Toryn began, sounding a little unsure. "You're a great fighter, Bao-Dur, but...lightsabers are really sensitive and difficult to control. Fighting with one isn't like using a vibroblade or a blaster..." She trailed off. "I thought, if it was okay with you, that I could train you in the method Master Kavar taught me at the academy."

"You've regained more memories from your past, then?" Bao-Dur asked in his soft, gentle way.

Toryn nodded, her dark hair swaying gently around her face. "Not everything I would like to remember, but much of my Force training and weapons methods are coming back slowly. Useful stuff, thankfully."

Bao knew she wished to remember more personal things; the soldiers and others under her command during the war, for instance. But he was glad some things were returning. Bao-Dur would have been happiest spending their time tonight in other activities, but he knew she was right to train him. They were fast approaching Onderon and Dxun, responding to Master Kavar's urgent call from the Onderon Palace. Bao-Dur would be of more use to her if he were trained in more effective fighting methods.

"I would be honored to have your teaching, General. How do you suggest we start?" He helped Toryn off the bench with his hands on her waist. He knew she could have gotten down herself but wanted to be close to her anyway.

Toryn smiled up at Bao-Dur. "This is a good way to start, but not quite what I had in mind." She moved into the center of the room and whistled sharply.

Bao came into the center of the room, mystified at her behavior. What was she up to?

Toryn winked at him. "I spent some time thinking about the best way to go about this, and thought we could start by deflecting blaster bolts."

"So you called Atton in here to shoot at me?!" Bao said unhappily.

"No!" Toryn laughed. "Someone you like much, much better." As she said this, Bao's little remote floated into the garage bay, binking in a disgruntled manner.

"My remote doesn't shoot blaster bolts," Bao pointed out, relieved he wasn't about to be target practice for Atton.

"He does, now," Toryn replied slyly. "I figured since you'd been spending time modifying my droid, I could do the same for yours."

"You weren't supposed to know about that!" Bao-Dur frowned and looked down at his feet. "It was working out perfectly."

Toryn gave a short laugh. "Too perfectly, Bao. T3 is at his maximum condition right now. I know I didn't do half of his current modifications. I'm mostly letting it go, since you did such a great job, but I wish you'd talked to me about it."

"You call turning remote into a weapons expert 'mostly letting it go'!?" Bao asked, voice louder than usual, anger on his face. "That isn't what he was built for, that isn't-"

"Aw, give it up, Bao. We're even." Toryn interrupted. She stepped behind him, covering his eyes with a silky scarf that smelled of her soap. Bao's mind rocked back and forth between anger and amusement and desire. He didn't know how he was supposed to feel right now. "Okay," Toryn said as she stepped back away from him, "reach out with your Force senses to feel where Remote is. Activate your lightsaber and try to block the bolts he sends your way."

'What if I miss?' Bao grumbled halfheartedly.

"Then I'll heal you and sew up your shirt. Try not to miss."

Bao reached out with his Force senses as he had a hundred times in recent days. He could feel Toryn, a bright bundle of feelings and convictions somewhere in the vicinity of the workbench. He could feel the currents of air moving around a blankness he recognized as his remote. Pulling his saber off his utility belt, he ignited it with a flick of his good thumb.

"Okay, Remote, follow protocol 253," Toryn called out.

Even knowing it was coming Bao-Dur was caught off-guard by the bolts coming out of his remote. He almost missed the first bolt, sending it off into the corner. The second he hit square on, deflecting it in Toryn's direction. He was still pretty mad about what she'd done. He was gratified to hear her yelp and deflected the third bolt away from both of them into another corner.

Over the next few minutes, Bao worked up a sweat and a rhythm that suited him. Remote moved often, but Bao was so familiar with the little droid's presence that he wasn't tricked most of the time. The saber was perfectly balanced, good workmanship, and the hiss of the blade filled him with satisfaction. He began to imagine the bolts were coming from Sith troopers or Mandalorian soldiers, and he lost himself in a make-believe battle. Thoughts of Toryn and Remote fled as he swung the blade.

"Protocol 254!" Toryn called out.

The bolts came thicker and faster, sometimes from two directions at once. Bao ducked and rolled, coming up on the other side of the little droid. A bolt grazed his shoulder and he cried out, more in surprise than pain. The bombardment ceased and Remote binked sadly, hovering slightly above him. Toryn came over to where Bao knelt, pulling the blindfold from his eyes.

"Are you okay?" Her face was concerned, but oddly proud as well.

"I'll be fine. You could heal up this little burn, though," Bao said, looking deep into her green eyes.

"You did great, Bao," she said as she laid her hand over his injured shoulder. A cool sensation washed over the arm and then through Bao-Dur's whole body. "I didn't think we'd even get to the second protocol, tonight. There are definitely advantages to teaching these methods to a full-grown man, rather than a youngling."

Bao-Dur smiled and stood. "Thank you." He drew her in close, putting both arms around her and resting his cheek on her glossy hair.

"Let's not keep things from each other anymore. Not even little things, okay?" Toryn asked quietly. Then she brightened, pulling back slightly and looking at Bao with a gleam in her eye. "And how about keeping up this training? Maybe at the end of the week, you can fight me instead of your droid."

Bao-Dur laughed. "Okay, on both counts. Although, I'm not sure I really want to duel with you. I've seen you fight with your lightsaber and you're frightening!"

They broke apart after a laugh and a lingering kiss, and Bao watched her leave appreciatively, Remote floating at his shoulder. He wondered just how many different kinds of training he was going to receive at her capable hands.

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A/N Story inspired by this pic of Farlander's: Benched. Because, I wondered, just what were they doing on top of the workbench?