#dad!tech

"holoscreen. it emits holographic images."

she swiped her forearm across her nose, sniffling. "like uncle hunter?"

he paused, then nodded. "why, yes. like your uncle hunter's message that he sent you for your birthday."

she nodded, her attention turning to more buttons scattered across the dash. tech took a seat in the pilot's chair, placing his daughter on his knees. she grabbed the ship's steering with both hands, leaning to get a better look at all the colorful buttons and switches, pointing to various ones that flickered and beeped.

"what's this?"

"the ship's shield switch."

"and this one?"

"that is a sticker. you put it there."

"oh. what's this?"

tech sucked in a sharp breath, pulling her hand away from the big red button that scarcely made him sweat. "er, not for you. that is a very dangerous button, flower. it's an emergency switch — for emergencies only."

she hummed, pushing up her goggles once more.

"can i fly?"

"no."

"why?"

"you're not of age."

"why."

"you're very young, flower. when you are older, i may give you lessons."

"but i fly the sting sometimes."

"the sting is a defective speeder without a motor or parts to make it work. it can't be compared to driving the marauder."

"can i try?"

tech scooped her up by her armpits, turning her around so that she leaned back against the steering wheel. she had a pout on her lips that made him frown. was she really that frustrated about not being able to fly the ship?

"adi'ka," he murmured, tilting her chin up to push her goggles back in place. he made a mental note to adjust the size and make it smaller. "can you look at me, please?"

slowly but surely, she looked up at him. "i wanna fly the ship."

he sighed through his nose, his words holding a weight that made his shoulders sag. "you can fly when you are older."

"how long?"

"mmm," he took a moment to consider before shrugging. "perhaps when you are thirteen. i believe that is an adequate age for you to begin learning introductory lessons for flight."

his little flower sniffled, blinking with her big brown eyes.

"promise?"

tech smiled, holding up a pinky. she immediately grinned, curling it around her own.

"i promise."

putting the datapad on his belt, tech crouched and brushed the mess off of his little one's clothes, sighing. "i would prefer it if you remained by my side instead of running about like a feral tooka, my star."

"i can't stop," his little one huffed. "i have too much energy. i want to be like uncle hunter and uncle crosshair — like how they run and jump and run-"

"i understand," tech hummed, swiping twigs out of his child's hair. "but you need to be more cautious with where you step. i do not want to see you get hurt, adi'ka."

"i never get hurt, daddy," his little one murmured with an eye roll. "i'm instoppable."

"invincible."

"exactly," they cheesed, perching up to kiss his cheek before turning back to continue running up and down the boulders. tech sighed, wanting nothing more than to keep his child safe all without destroying their joy.

he continued walking through the rocky woods, occasionally glancing back at his little one as they shrieked and laughed with excitement.

but, as if honing into his fatherly sixth sense, tech felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. he turned around, looking up just as his small star ran up a large boulder without noticing its abrupt edge. when they reached the top, their eyes widened at the sudden drop and with a yelp, they slipped.

tech was there in the blink of an eye, catching his little one just before they could hurt themselves. he hooked his hands under their armpit and spun, gently settling them back down on their feet. their eyes were wide, chest rising and falling quickly at the realization that they could've gotten very injured.

without saying a word, tech simply arched his brow and his little one exhaled a heavy breath, leaning against his side.

"no more climbing?" he questioned them softly.

they nodded, taking his hand and squeezing it.

"no more climbing," they murmured, nervously looking back at the boulder that they fell from. "that was scary, daddy."

"i know, adi'ka," tech sighed, brushing their hair out of their eyes. "are you alright?" when they shook their head no, tech frowned. "you are safe now, my star. rest assured that i will try my best to always be there to catch you when you fall."

his little one looked at him with hopeful eyes, lips slowly curling into a smile.

"okay, daddy..." after a pause, they spared a longing look back at the rocks. "...but can i run? running is not climbing."

tech grimaced, then begrudgingly nodded.

"alright but-"

before he could get another word out, his little star cheered aloud and broke into a sprint, weaving all around the trees. tech just sighed and shook his head, smiling softly to himself.

"dad! dad, look!"

"i'm looking, adi'ka. i'm looking..."

"i can't do it, daddy," he quivered.

tech set down his own trinket, cocking his head. "do what?"

the little boy pouted, dropping the piece to curl his knees into his chest. he hugged his legs, jerking a chin at his abandoned project. "that. i can't do it. it's not working for me. i give up."

"adi'ka," tech hummed, scooting closer toward his son. he leaned down, picked up his boy's pieces and parts, and started to look over them. "this project is not meant to be stressful. it is meant to be enriching and peaceful. what seems to be the issue?"

"it's not going how i want it," he voiced clearly, frowning. "i can't do it right like vod did." he shook his head, pressing his forehead against his knee. "i don't want to do this anymore."

his daughter lifted her head, face falling. although the twins were scarcely seven, their emotional connection often surprised tech beyond belief. they were almost too intuitive for their own good, but he didn't really mind it. they were his children after all — attentive and observant.

"you can do it, vod," she assured softly, holding her hands out towards her father. tech gave her an odd look but listened anyway, placing the parts in her hand. she looked them over, a smile slowly forming on her face. "see? you have what you need, you just need patience like uncle crosshair says."

tech decided to sit back, watching with fond eyes as his son lifted his head, weary eyes flicking back and forth between his sister and his father. "i... i do?"

she nodded, scooting until she was shoulder-to-shoulder with her brother. cradling the parts in between them, she pointed to the various schematics and gizmos, reciting each piece with enough knowledge to make tech feel so, so proud of her.

"see? you have the red wire and the black wire, and you have the lightbulb, all you have to do is put it together and boom! you got it, vod!"

the little boy sniffled, unsure at first of his new attempt, but the confidence he gained from his sister seemed to be enough. tech cocked his head when they looked his way, offering a small smile.

"do either of you need my assistance?"

"no, daddy," his daughter responded with a grin, shaking her head. "we've got it. right, vod'ika?"

"i'm older than you," his son responded sharply, shaking his head.

"no you're not," she frowned, eyes narrowing. "mom says i'm the oldest."

"dad said i was born 0.3 million seconds before you."

tech cracked a small smile. "milliseconds, adi'ka."

they both looked at him and said in unison, "same thing, dad."

tech lifted his hands in surrender before gesturing to their trinkets. "do you think you can complete it now, son?"

his son nodded much more confidently than before. "yes, daddy. can you help me with the wires?"

tech couldn't wait to move and sit in between both of his kids. he had his own burst of confidence and joy, inspired by his daughter but strengthened by his son's desire to continue the task he was so quick to give up. he helped them both as best as he could, though his daughter continued insisting that she didn't need any help. naturally, he obliged, helping his son continue the task until the two of them finished.

"alright, my sun and moon," tech humphed, waving toward their completed projects on the floor. "time to turn them on and see if they work."

his son was the first to go, flicking the switch onto his project. the moment the power routed through it, the little device began to glow and spin, creating shadows of stars that cast all around the ship's interior. he gasped, shooting up to his little feet in excitement, hands flapping in excitement. "i did it! i did it!"

"see?" his sister pointedly sang, sassily raising her chin. "i told you. didn't i tell him, dad? i told him he could do it."

"that you did, my moon," he mused, "your turn."

she pressed her button and waited... and waited... and waited some more. with a frown, she picked it up and gave it a shake, her dismay only worsening when she met tech's apologetic look.

"what'd i do wrong?" she whined, bringing the trinket to her face. "i promise i did everything right-"

POOF!

tech blinked, wondering why everything suddenly went dark. he swiped a finger over the smoke on his goggles, coughing just once.

when he glanced at his kids, he pursed his lips.

the soot and smoke that came from the tiny explosion coated his kids' face. his son was smiling, black smoke on his teeth as he began to laugh hard enough to sprout tears in his eyes. his daughter, stunned by the explosion, coughed and looked at her dad with wide eyes.

"oops."

tech chuckled.

"you didn't use the right battery, did you."

that only seemed to make his son laugh harder, sending him to the floor while he held his stomach. when tech's daughter burst out laughing, soot-covering her whole face, tech couldn't help but join softly, endeared by his kids' first explosion.

"alright," he chuckled. "let's try this again."

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