Baze Malbus

Red has always been Baze's favorite color. He'd told Margolotta that red stands for strength and passion--the kind he is meant to have for the Force. It's the Guardian's color. He can't think of a better color for a Guardian's weapon to have.

And he's not about to apply paint to the aluminum pieces of his lightbow. No, he'll anodize the metal, converting it to its oxide form and making it porous enough to absorb metal dyes. Steel and iron won't work, but by choice, he constructed most of his bowcaster out of aluminum.

Baze is excited to set up shop in his fireworks-making workshop. He orders three plastic tubs from Bar and carts them upstairs gleefully, as well as a speeder battery. He also purchases a plastic jug to hold his neutralizing solution, made from baking soda and water.

For reagents, he gathers sulfuric acid, lye, red metal fiber dye, and distilled water. With a squeak of rubber over skin--which he has always hated the feel of--he dons a pair of gloves that cover up to his elbows and washes the metal. Fingerprints left on the surface can affect the results, so he's careful handling the pieces of his lightbow. Wrinkling his nose at the smell, he immerses the parts in lye for three minutes each.

Next, he prepares the sulfuric acid solution. Drawing a breath through his nose and noticing with amazement that the acid has no scent, he removes the metal pieces and rinses them with water. He connects a jumper cable to the battery and the first metal piece--the stock--and submerges it into the acid. Then he carefully--oh, so carefully--connects the other end of the cable to a scrap piece of aluminum and submerges it into the solution without touching the first part.

He turns on the power, listening to the satisfying hum of the battery. Watching the stock soak for an hour, he notices a lot of bubbles around the piece of scrap metal, but very little bubbling around the stock. Good.

Next, he prepares the dye, his favorite part of the process. He places the stock into the dye bath for twenty minutes for a deep, jewel-toned red. Smiling at the color, he boils the stock in water for thirty more minutes. The process seals the dyes, but also causes them to fade slightly. No matter. He got the color he wants.

With a beaming grin, he sets the stock aside to cool, and moves on to the next piece.

Because this is Milliways, when Baze requests a workshop for fireworks making, he gets one tall enough that he can test them indoors, soundproofed to the outside.

The challenge is to make a firework that sounds interesting and is possibly scented. But first, he must learn how to make a firework that, well, works. That requires a lot of trial and error.

He pastes shells, wrinkling his nose at the odor of the wheat paste. The shell innards include fuel, an oxygen producer, a binding resin, and color-producing agents all carefully mixed into a recipe. Baze weighs black powder, praying he doesn't blow his hand off. He blends potassium nitrate, charcoal, dextrin, and sulphur to make a "Tiger Tail" orange set of stars--the components that give fireworks their color.

His first attempts are duds. The first one has air holes near the time fuse--or spolette, as it's called. The second has too much black powder. Next come misaligned stars and a misplaced trigger. Then he learns he wasn't pasting the shells correctly. He corrects what went wrong with each version, and finally shoots off several orange peonies with resounding booms.

Next, he works on how to make a firework that sounds interesting. He learns that fireworks filled with lead oxide crackle, and narrow tubes create whistling sounds. There are also "screaming turbo candles," which screech. He builds several working prototypes of varying sounds and colors, learning how to measure out chemicals for each one.

Good. Now to figure out how to work scent into a fireworks show. He could just permeate the space with a sapir-infused mist, but where's the fun in that? Then, one night, while he's blowing bubbles into a bantha milk glass with a straw, the idea to use smoke-filled bubbles dawns on him. He takes apart a bubble machine and rebuilds it to produce bubbles filled with smoke using dry ice. Bar provides the oils that produce sapir scent, and Baze spends the next few days rebuilding several bubble machines to produce the thousands of bubbles he wants for a good show. The only downside is that Chirrut won't be able to see them to pop them. Baze will have to make sure plenty pop around him, to get the full effect of the scent.

Throughout this process, Baze has kept his cards close to his chest. He hasn't told Chirrut anything, except for the fact that Baze is making fireworks. The show on their birthday is mostly for Chirrut, but if other people enjoy it, that's great! Baze is looking forward to the party. He purchases 10,000 Roman Candles to round out the fireworks show, and continues experimenting until the day of.

The wooden slats on the bench in the sauna dig into Baze's thighs, but he doesn't mind at all. He melts in the heat so wet he feels like he's swimming while sitting.

He knows he's dreaming, but the whole thing feels so real. In the nature of dreams, Chirrut isn't with him, and then he is. Baze opens his eyes, and tastes emotion: peace and contentment. They taste of watermelon and hard candy, respectively. He smiles at his friend, and raises his hand to wave.

Then, her. She isn't with them, and then she is, wearing a yellow, polka-dotted swimsuit.

"Baze? Chirrut?" Eiko says, and Baze's heart leaps in his chest. She picks at the two-piece. "What's this thing?"

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single Baze in possession of tastebuds, must be in want of tea. He ambles up to the bar after morning forms, sweaty and tired but content, his now twice-as-heavy--thanks to Ibani's cortosis core--staff slung across his shoulders. He leans it across the counter, and pats the bar.

Bar provides a cup of tea--oolong and almond--and a datapad.

Curious, Baze picks up the pad and tests the tea, making an appreciative hum at the taste. He reads the first couple of lines.

Then he drops the cup.

He needs to find Chirrut.

Baze knows he shouldn't let Chirrut do it. It's a stupid idea.

Baze knows he shouldn't, and he's gonna let him do it anyway.

The two Jedhans have managed to maneuver a monster truck from the garage to the outside. It's the middle of the night, so--as Baze prays to the Force--they shouldn't hit anyone. Ibani is out and about, ready to provide healing should they strike any small animals or people.

Because Chirrut is going to drive.

Baze describes the brake and gas pedals--but especially the brake--and places Chirrut's hands on the wheel at ten and two. The larger man talks about gear shafts, and tire friction--which is something they're not used to--and how the engine works, courtesy of his research. He paints a picture of the muddy and blessedly empty terrain and pays particularly close attention to any trees in the distance.

And then he holds onto his seatbelt for dear unlife.

45 years Before the Battle of Yavin (BBY)
+ First Meeting, part I
+ First Meeting, part II
+ Fall-Back Plan
- The Birthday
- The Storm
+ All The Colors of the Rainbow
+ Chirrut's (little) Problem
- The Staff
+ Best Intention, Bad Idea
+ Rules of Engagement
- Shopping
+ Kidlets
+ Baze's Secret Thing
+ What is a life?
+ Sniffles and Sneezles Spread Diseasles
- Battlefield Etiquette
- I'm Just a Soul Whose Intentions Are Good
- The Healer
19 BBY
+ Order 66
+ Harvest Festival
+ Balm for the Soul
- Regrouping
13 BBY
+ The Temple
12 BBY
- A Gift of Tea
- The Rings
7 BBY
- Lightheaded
1 BBY
- The Flower
- The Importance of Health Insurance
- The Job
0 BBY
+ Yavin IV
Milliways
+ Where the Moon Don't Shine
+ Confrontation with Bodhi
+ The Brawl
+ The Tea Workshop
+ The Ankle
+ The Letters
- Chirrut, Take the Wheel
+ The Nightmare
+ Baze is a Sad Bantha
+ CWDP 2017: Eiko
+ The Workout
+ Fireworks
- Baze is So Done
+ Recording for Lyra: Baze Malbus
+ Recording for Lyra: Chirrut Imwe
+ Red: The Blood of Angry Men
+ Red: The Blood of Angry Men, Take II
+ Installing the Bacta Tank