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“... and he is stuck on Coruscant right now. Unless we find a replacement, there are not going to be fireworks this year.”
Crosshair stopped in his tracks and then walked a few steps back. Batcher whined in confusion and cocked her head.
“You’re looking for someone who can do fireworks?” Crosshair asked. Shep looked at him with hopeful eyes.
“You know how to do them?”
“No, but I know the right person for the job.” Crosshair gave him a grin.
He leaned against Wrecker and wrapped his arms around him.
“Hi, Wrecker,” Crosshair drawled.
“Uhm, hi Crossy!” Wrecker was a bit suspicious already, for how his brother was behaving.
“I got you a job,” Crosshair said, still with a grin. “For the, uhm whatever, festival. Already forgot what it is called.”
“Oh.” Wrecker absolutely didn’t look happy. “But I’m already helping with the stalls and stuff.”
“Nah, you’re gonna do something else now.” Crosshair was still grinning, immensely enjoying teasing Wrecker. He knew his brother would be overjoyed. Didn’t mean he couldn’t draw this out a bit. Hunter had a different opinion and gave him a glare from across the table.
“I don’t know, Cross.”
“Oh, I promise, you’ll love it.” He leaned in closer to whisper in his ear. “Shep really needs someone to do the fireworks show.”
Next thing he knew was that he was swept up in a crushing hug.
“Wrecker!” Crosshair wheezed, flailing a bit until the pressure eased.
“Sorry!” Wrecker didn’t sound apologetic, a huge smile on his face. “This is the best thing ever!”
Wrecker looked up from his work when the door opened. He had set up in a small warehouse where he could work on his fireworks without any complaints. Didn't mean he couldn't be disturbed, of course. It was Tech, carrying a stack of datachips and two datapads.
Wrecker straightened up.
"Hey, what do you have there?"
"I have compiled every record I could find of the fireworks shows of the previous years, and also a list of colors Shep wants to have included." Tech dropped the datachips on a free surface, setting one of the two datapads beside it. "I thought you could use the data so yours can be in line with what they expect."
"Oh. Uhm." Wrecker stared at the stack of datachips. He hadn't thought about checking in with Shep, already decided on what he wanted to do. And it would be a beautiful and colorful show. 15 minutes seemed a bit short in his opinion, but he'd take it. There was a datapad somewhere around here with a crude plan he had jotted down once he had decided what to do. Not that he needed it - he was a master at his craft and remembered exactly which fireworks needed to set off when. But he hadn't thought that there might be guidelines? And he didn't have the time or the focus to read through it. And he was pretty sure he'd make the best fireworks show there had ever been on Pabu - he had actually watched the one last year and found it a bit underwhelming. And if it was the same guy doing it … well,he didn't have much expectations.
"What list of colors?" Wrecker finally asked, hoping Tech would tell him without much prodding. He knew he had read the list, it was Tech after all - of course he had read it. The question was mostly if you'd get the information out of him without him taking off on some tangent.
"Huh?" Tech looked up from Wrecker's box of special chemicals.
"What colors?"
"Oh, well you see-"
Tech began to list off the colors and added what significance they had to the inhabitants of Pabu. Wrecker listened as best as he could while mixing up some potassium chlorate with barium, mentally comparing Tech's list with his plan. It seemed to work out; Wrecker was able to continue his work and Tech was busy talking and wouldn't get his fingers in his work. Win-win.
Until Tech finished with the significance of the colors. The silence only lasted for a few seconds, before he asked: "And what are you working on right now?"
"Blue," Wrecker responded, eying Tech suspiciously. He was sitting crosslegged on a crate right now, watching Wrecker back. He was waiting for Tech to jump on the topic and start rattling off his knowledge again, like he usually did. And while Wrecker usually didn't mind, this was his speciality, and he didn’t like when Tech explained it to him like he didn't know anything about it. Sure, it happened to his other brothers too. Still annoying.
"Blue is the hardest color to produce."
"I know."
"If you mess up the formula, it will wash out or not be visible."
"I know."
"So, how are you doing it?"
Wrecker paused, mouth open. He ... hadn't expected that. He'd been ready to respond "I know." for the next hour.
"Uuuhm. Well, I want a really bright blue, you know? So I need a lot of different chemicals and copper." He threw Tech a small glance, but his brother was still sitting on the crate, mouth closed, apparently listening. So, Wrecker picked back up, talking about different mixes of chemicals and the colors he aimed for and how he'd try them out tonight when it was dark and what he had planned.
"And then I'll end the whole show with a quick series of rings and coconuts and snowflakes in different colours and a loud boom!"
"I think we will need to pass out ear protection to all the attendees."
"Okay, maybe a slightly less loud boom." Wrecker couldn't stop grinning. The afternoon had passed fast, and he had made good progress. And talking with Tech was actually fun when he for once didn't talk at him, but with him. Tech also seemed content, he had leaned back against a crate, only sometimes typing away at his datapad.
"Now, Shep also asked me to tell you that he wants a rough outline of how the fireworks show is gonna be."
Wrecker's smile fell. "Uhmm." He really didn't want to write it down. Wasn't it enough to have it in his head? Maybe the ... very rough draft would be fine.
"I think I have a datapad around here somewhere."
"No need. I've noted down what you told me and can pass it along to Shep, if you want to."
"Oh! Yes, thanks Tech!" And his grin was back.
The warm light of the evening sun filtered through the window, illuminating dust dancing in the air. With all the talking and working, Wrecker hadn't noticed the time passing. But his stomach told him it was late, too.
"I think I'm ready for dinner," he exclaimed, packing away the more expensive stuff into boxes for safekeeping. For the rest, he'd simply lock the warehouse so no curious kid could accidentally set off some fireworks in here. He was not thinking of someone specific, but if he had to, it would be Deke. Not that he was. That all was a coincidence, of course.
Tech had been silent since Wrecker had said that, even the tapping form his datapad had stopped and when Wrecker noticed and looked over to him, he looked a bit more rigid than before.
"What's wrong?"
"I was also supposed to remind you that it's your turn to make dinner today."
"Oh."
"Yeah."
"I guess we're getting takeout then," Wrecker said. Didn't even feel bad about it.
The day of the festival came quicker than anticipated. Wrecker wasn't even able to enjoy it much, too giddy for his fireworks show. They had gotten some ear muffs in the end, and really good ones for Hunter too, so his sensitive senses wouldn't be strained too much. Wrecker wanted to hear them, though.
The first loud boom echoed through the streets, prompting everyone to shut off their lights, casting the island in darkness. A minute later, the show could start.
He was happy when his brothers joined him at his observation spot. It wasn't the perfect spot to watch the show, but Wrecker also needed to keep an eye on the tech, so up here it was.
It was still brilliant, at least in his opinion. The colors were strong, even the blue stood out beautifully against the night sky. And everything went off perfectly. Brilliant sparkles and shapes illuminated the sky, accompanied by the loud explosions. The soundwave was tangible, even to Wrecker. Kinda like on a battlefield, but way way better. Wrecker couldn’t stop grinning. It was the perfect night, here, with his family. He missed explosions, but if he got to do this for the rest of his life? It would still be perfect.