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The Short Fic Weekly Challenge Thread!


elliotcat

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I'll update the Index tomorrow. For now, have some commentary now that I've finally caught up. I may even post a story later, just need to do a little editing from it's Tumblr version I posted this afternoon (gotta take out those swear words....or at least disguise them :D)

 

Comments/Replies:

 

@Mirdthestrill: I enjoyed the Jess/Bowdaar piece. I felt like they were family and the snark about Akaavi being better at acting made me giggle.

As for Lunan/Jadely, no worries on the spoilers…..I totally understand!

 

 

@Charmedseed: Grats on the upcoming new addition to your family! Hopefully the tired/run down feeling phase passes for you soon. I was teaching 8th graders when I was pregnant with my first and all I did for those first couple of months was work and sleep. I felt bad for my husband because I was too tired to do much on the weekends.

 

Re your Description piece: That was very lovely and insightful. I enjoyed seeing the arrival on Tython from the perspective of an eager, excited, awed young Padawan.

 

 

@DomiSotto: Tag seems like a very focus on the present sort……follows orders, keeps it simple, and tries to focus on the task at hand. Saving the thinking for when he has the time or for others altogether. It was an insightful piece.

Then in the second piece, I love the insight to his creator with that. I have a fondness for Twi’leks (something that Smuggler Jax inherited in regards to his taste in women…..until Risha came along.)

@Alaurin

That’s an interesting account of how one would become a bounty hunter. Small steps, prep, getting used to it. Felt very realistic. Of course, a couple of jokes here and there didn’t go amiss as well. I can roll along with this character, that’s for sure.

Thanks! I don’t know how much I’ll actually delve into Jadely (aka Lunan) or her brother, Luken, but she’s definitely not the usual sort to enter that particular career and I’m not sure she’ll ever be entirely comfortable with it.

 

 

@Jokad: I’ve taken my comment for your story to a separate spoiler tag

@alaurin: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!

Jadely’s training feels very realistic. I like how you show that she doesn’t become a bounty hunter overnight, and her conflicting emotions about her new profession.

 

 

@frauzet: Awww, yessss! Iolith is back! I’ve just been dying to know what happened to her and love the affect she has on everyone except Thorns. He’s clearly unhappy with the way things turned out and I get a sense that he isn’t fooled by their suddenly demure guest.

I observe his search for a canteen. He returns, and I scan his face as he hands me the water. Nothing. But I know it was there. A small catch in his breath, the tiniest flicker in his eyes. He tested me. I failed. He knows.
I love this line…..gave me a little shiver.

Then the last piece, I really love Thorns little dig at Ciner and Mako’s reaction over his helm. Then this:

Thorns dragged a sobbing Mako away. He couldn’t avoid a glimpse of the woman’s face. The eyes are said to be the windows to the soul. Hers afforded a view into the void. Ciner was right. She should have chosen the quick death.
was very chilling indeed.

@alaurin: I liked the collection of small "training jobs", and especially liked 'I felt like I lost something I could never get back when I took that Twi’lek’s life,...'.

I am looking forward to see how Jadely being part of Braden's team before Hutta will affect the course of events.

Glad you enjoyed Jadely’s first training attempts. I tried to make it realistic and easy for someone who had no prior experience taking on bounties. That last one will stick with her for a very long time.

 

 

@Hadeedak: Oh, I really love the role reversal here and I’m glad Zeedor’s on the mend. I was laughing and cringing at the thought of him having to blend in with the rugged, rough and tumble crowd. Poor guy!

@alaurin - kudos on your first attempts at 1st person! Speaking as someone who writes primarily in that style, I can tell you're doing a fine job. It's a great format for getting your main characters thoughts and emotions across, as well as for setting a distinct tone (humorous, tense, etc.). Also kudos for looking up the technicalities of Chiss naming conventions. I vaguely remember them from reading the Thrawn novels from forever ago, but I couldn't claim to know them today. I love the intro to your BH character; reluctant and underprepared heroes are crucial to a good character arc.

Thanks for the lovely compliment. I was so nervous about trying something so very different for me and I’m glad I did alright with it. It was really great for the emotional aspect as well as the inner thoughts and turmoil Jadely (aka Lunan) is going through. As for the Chiss naming, I like to stick to cannon stuff whenever possible and am always looking for new ways to incorporate it into my fanfics. I’ve had a fair share of help from Wookieepedia for the different species and everyday objects as well as Kitar for the Mando’a language stuff.

 

 

 

Separate Comment for Spoilers: (BH Act 3 spoliers)

 

@Jokad: I’ve only completed the BH story once and that was a long time ago (Dekkyn is at Voss right now), and I also chose the LS option to spare Chancellor Janarus and kill Darth Tormen. I often wondered what the fallout would be after the fact for a BH that intended to remain with the Mandalorians and stay affiliated with the Empire. You just know Intelligence would be able to dig up the truth and I love what you did with Neyla and her choice with respect to her family and beliefs.

 

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And here's the next bit in my guys' little saga.

 

Title: The Calm Before the Storm

Prompt: Bad Timing, maybe a little Serendipity/Sure Bet

Character: Zevryn Varlok-Trooper, Dekkyn Varlok-BH, Jaxzin Roark-Smuggler, Aric Jorgan, Tanno Vik, Elara Dorne, Risha, Mako, Gault

 

Setting: BT Thunderclap

Spoilers: Trooper Voss

 

**warning: some adult conversation below....fairly tame for me, but I like to be safe and put up a warning.

 

“I still can’t believe after all this time….” Zev shook his head as he grabbed a couple of beers out of the conservator, “I mean, what are the odds?”

 

“Honestly,” Aric replied, accepting one of the bottles from his CO, “I never thought we’d see that karking thing again.”

 

“At least its back with the Republic,” Zev sighed, sinking into the couch across from the cortosis clad Jorgan and taking a long pull from his beer.

 

Both men decided to have a celebratory drink after leaving Voss, so once they got the ship into hyperspace and set course for Nar Shaddaa, Aric, Tanno, and Zev stripped off their plating and headed into the ship’s combined recand galley area while Elara got the first shower and Yuun tended to Forex.

 

“What’s with you two and that thing anyways?” Tanno asked, “I mean I wouldn’t mind seeing what that baby can do, but you two act like it’s some lost treasure.”

 

“My career got flushed down the fresher because of that thing,” Aric growled, taking a healthy swig, “or so I thought at the time.”

 

“Ha! I’m the one who helped those bastards find it!” Zev snorted, then he and Aric went on to explain about Ord Mantell and the Havoc traitors to Vik.

 

“Man,” the Weequay shook his head after they finished the story, downing the last of his beer, “That must’ve been a tense trip back to Coruscant. Honestly though, I can’t picture you as a desk jockey, Jorgan. You seem to be quite attached to that assault cannon and I gotta say, you know how to do some serious damage with it.”

 

“It seems like ages ago,” Aric admitted, “I thought a command post was everything I wanted, but now…….I’m not sure I’d ever go back to one.”

 

“What a long strange trip it’s been though, huh?” Zev grinned, clapping his XO on the shoulder as he got up to grab them another round from the conservator, “They’ve all been dealt with, Havoc is stronger than ever, we learned to work together, you figured out how to loosen up……”

 

“You finally managed to effectively talk to a woman without making an *** out of yourself……”

 

“Hey, I could always talk to women,” Zev defended himself, “It was Dek that had trouble in that area.”

 

“Oh, come on,” Aric retorted, “I was there when you met Elara, remember?”

 

“Well, she was different,” Zev grinned sheepishly, “Man, I had it bad right away for her, didn’t I?”

 

“That you did,” Aric snickered, “and it was both painful and amusing to watch.”

 

“Well, if it was anything like you at that bachelor party…..”

 

“Kiss my a**, Vik.”

 

“Speaking of women and bachelor parties,” Zev shot his XO a sly look, “Does your new girlfriend know you’re going to be on planet soon?”

 

“I’m not sure if you can call her my girlfriend,” Aric shrugged, “we never really came out and put a label on things……”

 

“You told us you have feelings for her,” Zev raised a brow at the Cathar, “and I’m assuming that’s still the case and you shared that with her at some point during your hot date.”

 

“Yeah,” Aric admitted, unable to keep the smile from crossing his face as he recalled how much fun they’d had going out despite the limitations of keeping up her cover and how good it felt to get everything off his chest once they’d gotten back to her apartment.

 

“And despite the fact that she seems mentally sound,” Tanno chuckled, “She seems to dig you.”

 

“Plus you’ve slept together,” Zev added.

 

“There wasn’t much sleeping,” Aric shot back, a wicked gleam in his eyes as some very pleasant memories came to surface.

 

“Let’s not forget the messages,” Zev teased, feeling truly happy for his friend, “Seems like every time I turned around, you were messing around on your datapad or on sitting at a Holoterminal.”

 

“Oh you missed a good one a couple of days ago, boss,” Tanno grinned, “She sent a rather risqué message wearing nothing but a……”

 

“Dammit, Vik,” Aric growled, “I thought you were out when I checked that!”

 

“I forgot my keycard and heard you talking when I came back for it,” Tanno shrugged, “I was curious so I peaked in your room…..and I gotta tell you, when a woman takes the time to send you a message like that, she’s definitely your girl!”

 

“I have to side with Vik on this one,” Zev confirmed, “So, I’ll ask again, does your girlfriend know we’re on the way?”

 

Aric nodded, a sheepish look on his face, “I called her a little while ago and told her. She’ll still have a few hours left on her shift by the time we get there, but we’re going to try and do something after……just depends on how much time we have.”

 

“Garza hasn’t contacted me yet with our next assignment, so you should have plenty of time for a decent date,” Zev flashed him a knowing smirk, “and whatever that leads to…….just keep your comlink with you and try to recall where your clothes are in case you need to get back here quickly.”

 

“And might I suggest wearing a shirt without buttons,” Elara commented wryly from the doorway, her damp hair pulled back in a loose ponytail, “She seems to have an issue with them where you are concerned.”

 

“I think you’ve been a bad influence on her,” Aric snorted at his CO as their medic sat next to him, “She never used to be the snarky type.”

 

“No,” Elara shot back as the ship’s Holo went off, “I just don’t feel like hearing SeeTwo complaining about the mending again.”

 

“Sewing small shirt buttons is not an easy task for me,” the protocol droid defended himself as he entered the room, “Master Zevryn, there’s a priority call coming in from your cousin.”

 

Puzzled, Zev got up and went out to the large terminal, immediately connecting the call. He was startled at the strained look on the other Zabrak’s face, “Dekkyn, what’s going on?!”

 

“Trouble……I’ll explain as soon as Jax connects,” Dek replied grimly as Mako appeared beside him.

 

“Hey man, what’s going on?!” Jax growled a moment later when he appeared clad in a bath towel wrapped around his waist, his grey fur and black mane dripping.

 

“Seriously, Jax?!” Zev snickered, “Put some clothes on for kark’s sake……I didn’t need to see that much of you!”

 

“Not my fault. Risha banged on the fresher door and said I had an urgent call from Dek just as I was getting out of the shower. I figured it was an emergency, so rushed out,” then Jax flashed him a feral grin, winking at the blonde standing behind the tall Zabrak, “You’re just worried Elara’s going to take one look at this bod and wonder what she’s doing with you when she could be with a real man. But don’t worry, I’ll keep my best asset covered so her and Mako don’t swoon.”

 

“More like be scarred for life,” Zev retorted, then he remembered the worried look on his cousin’s face, “Speaking of worrying, what’s up, Dek?”

 

“We’ve got a problem,” Dek began, going on to explain what happened with Skadge, then apologizing for even letting that bastard on his ship, “I should’ve just left him on Belsavis. Now they know we’re after Wilks and that we’re meeting on Nar Shaddaa. They’re also aware we know they’re after us, but don’t know how we found out.”

 

“It’s not your fault, Dekkyn. Under that brawny thuggish exterior, you’re just a big softie,” Mako patted his shoulder, “and I wouldn’t want you any other way.”

 

“How did this even come about?” Zev asked, “You aren’t exactly the chatty type cuz, and it was pretty obvious that you never intended for Skadge to become a permanent crew member.”

 

“No……I never put my trust in that scumbag and certainly never told him anything about our situation, but he was a sneaky, sleazy schemer and I don’t exactly hide my stress well. He must’ve picked up on it and started paying attention to see if there was anything he could exploit……sorta reminds me of Gault a little in that way.”

 

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t just hear you compare me to that revolting blob,” Gault muttered dryly, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall, “Besides, I’d know better than to make a call from a room I was sharing with the very people I was double crossing to the individual I was selling them out to. I’ll bet the idiot didn’t even bother to shut the door.”

 

“He didn’t,” Mako shook her head, “I just walked right in.”

 

“See!” Gault snorted, “He’s not that crafty……just greedy and very lucky.”

 

“Not so lucky anymore though,” Jax observed darkly, “Can’t say I’m upset about his demise. I’m just sorry Mako got hurt.”

 

“Thanks,”Mako smiled weakly, her voice still hoarse, “but I’ll be alright. I’m just glad I caught him before it was too late.”

 

“Do they know about Natalia?” Aric asked, fear spiking through him at the very thought, “Is she safe?”

 

“Skadge only overheard a couple of important conversations,” Dek answered, “So as far as I can tell from his notes, they don’t know about her or that we’ve been working with Balkar. It looks like he made contact with Manson Strategies shortly after we arrived on Voss. He must’ve overheard us talking after we found out Wilks dropped off the grid. I’ve went over that conversation several times in my head and I’m pretty sure we never mentioned Balkar by name or Natalia at all.”

 

“Well, now that they’re aware we know about them, they bound to look at all possible connections. One of us should contact Balkar,” Jax suggested.

 

“Agreed,” Zev nodded, “and I’ll give him a call when we’re finished. Aric, you might want to call your girlfriend again.”

 

“I’ll try,” he replied, ignoring the snickers, “but she’s still at work and I really don’t want to send this kind of info in a message.”

 

“What are we going to do when we arrive on Nar Shaddaa?” Risha asked, “I’m sure they’ll be watching for us now that they know we’re coming.”

 

“I thought about that already,” Dek answered, “and I had Mako slice into the ship registry on the orbital station and change the owner to one of Gault’s aliases.”

 

“I can pull rank and request a military hanger if there’s one available, but I don’t think these guys are stupid enough to attack a Republic Spec Forces ship.”

 

“You never know,” Jax countered, “With one of their informants dead and knowing we are hunting down Wilks, they could be getting desperate. I have a couple of people at the spaceport I can ask a favor from in order to keep my identity under wraps. I’ll just show up as a courier for Rendia Freight.”

 

“Dummy corporation?” Dek raised a brow.

 

"Sort of……used to be the name of Viidu’s warehouse back on Ord. After Syreena offed him, the warehouse got taken over and renamed. So I re-established the name for my own purposes and make use of it whenever I need to cover my tracks or don’t want my personal name involved in a deal.”

 

“Thought I recognized that name,” Aric mused.

 

“Even so, I don’t think any of us should stick around any longer than necessary,” Dek warned, “We should be fine once we leave since Skadge isn’t around to tell them where we’re going anymore.”

 

“Agreed,” Jax and Zev echoed, the latter turning towards his XO with an apologetic look on his face once they ended the call, “Sorry man, but I think your date night is going to be a bust.”

 

“I figured as much,” Aric told him, “maybe I’ll pop over to at least see her while you guys are meeting with Balkar.”

 

“As soon as I can manage it, I’ll get you a shore leave so you can spend some time with her……maybe once she’s extracted.”

 

“Thanks,” Aric nodded as he headed for the crew quarters, “Guess I’d better try and call her with this latest development.”

 

Zev watched the Cathar leave, his stooped shoulders giving away the disappointment he tried to hide. Zev followed a moment later, deciding to grab a shower while Tanno searched the HoloVid for the latest sports scores. He felt bad that his friend wouldn’t get to spend the evening with Natalia. Despite all the teasing and resulting grumbling ever since that ‘bachelor party,’ Zev noticed a slight change in his XO. There was a spark to Aric that hadn’t been there before, even more so after he and Vik took that last drop from Natalia, and Zev was happy for his friend. That’s why he hated cutting their time planetside so short. He sighed as he turned the shower on, feeling guilty that Aric wouldn’t get his date, but it was too risky now……for several reasons.

 

The truth was that he wouldn’t put it past any of those men to be watching for a way to get to him and after finding out about the danger to Jax’s friend Zara, Zev and Jax warned their families. Dek’s parents had both passed on and he was an only child, so his only remaining family was Zev and his parents, both of which would be hard to get to. Jax’s parents traveled between Coruscant and Cathar since his mother and one of his littermates, Sienna were both ambassador’s for the new Republic settlements on their recovering homeworld. They were always surrounded by a contingent of security teams which were all aware of the potential threat. Jax’s other littermate, Syarra, was a Knight in the Jedi Order and an unlikely target since she traveled with a crew that was guaranteed to draw attention if attacked.

 

Zev’s main concern at this point was for his squad. Havoc was like another family to the Zabrak, any of which could be used against him……and a man newly involved with a woman wasn’t going to be watching over his shoulder when he was focusing on his beautiful date. Despite that, however, Aric wasn’t his biggest worry. Zev had seen his XO in combat to know that even with a distraction, Aric wouldn’t be an easy one to take, but still saw no reason to chance it by sticking around Nar Shaddaa any longer than it took to meet with Balkar. No, it was Elara he was worried about. So far they’d been taking things slow, sneaking in moments here and there, and keeping it to themselves for the most part. The rest of the squad was aware since it wasn’t easy hide in such close proximity, but despite that, Elara preferred to keep things professional while others were around.

 

However, while they weren’t exactly going around flaunting their relationship, they did sneak in a moment here and there and if those men had spies out there keeping tabs…….void knows what they might’ve seen. Zev tried to force his weary mind to think back over the past couple of weeks and remember those stolen moments. He grinned as he finished washing, thinking of his clever medic and all the ways they managed to sneak in some heated moments during that time. Thanks to Aric’s snarky comment the morning after that last drop, the paperwork ruse wasn’t plausible anymore, but it was worth it seeing his uncharacteristically disheveled XO truly happy for once. Besides, they’d managed to find other ways to ditch the rest of the squad and enjoy some private time here and there. The grin broadened as he recalled the timely elevator malfunction on the Orbital Station over Voss. He still wasn’t sure who was more embarrassed when the door opened, but both Elara and Corso were as red as he’d ever seen them and Jax’s face wore a smart *** smirk every time he glanced at the Cathar for the rest of the day.

 

The hot water was beginning to make him feel sluggish, so Zev turned off the shower and quickly dried off. Then he grabbed one of the fluffy bath robes out of the cabinet, put it on, and stepped out of the fresher to find Tanno waiting for his turn. He shot the frowning Weequay a pointed look, “How much you out this time?”

 

“Broke even,” Tanno grunted, shrugging, “Woulda changed my picks if I’d known about Bodrick’s injury, but was a last minute substitute and we were out hunting down that bomb you and Jorgan have a hard on for.”

 

“Which is exactly why I wasn’t betting this week,” Zev shook his head, giving his explosives expert a sympathetic pat on the shoulder, “Kinda hard to keep tabs on sporting news on a planet like Voss.”

 

“Yeah, I know…..won’t make that mistake again,” Tanno sighed before trudging into the fresher.

 

Zev went into his quarters to contact Balkar, emerging a few minutes later in a pair of shorts and t-shirt after leaving the agent a secure message when he didn’t answer. He noticed the rec room was dark and figured the rest must’ve gone until he heard the chime of a comlink followed by Aric’s voice. Wanting to make sure their contact was safe, Zev went to the doorway.

 

“I was hoping you’d get my message,” Aric smiled at Natalia’s scantily clad form, “I felt bad bothering you at work, but something’s come up……”

 

“Hang on a sec,” Natalia interrupted as her head turned, “Come on guys…….can’t a girl get some privacy?!”

 

“You’re working the wrong biz if you want privacy,” Rose’s snarky voice shot back as the petite Twi’lek’s image appeared, “Heya Aric! I hear you’re gonna be planetside soon……”

 

“Ooooo…….is Naula talking to her boyfriend?!” another female voice called out and a second later, a humanoid female appeared, a Zeltron Aric guessed from the pink tinge of her Holo image, “So you’re the guy that finally got our sweet little Naula to make it with a guest after a party……very nice!”

 

“Jilli!” Natalia hissed, rolling her eyes before turning back to him, “Aric, I’m so sorry……I’ll call you back in a minute. Apparently I have to lock myself in the toilet to make a call without people making smarta** comments.”

 

“Now that was entertaining,” Zev chuckled from the doorway when Natalia’s image disappeared.

 

“Glad you enjoyed yourself,” Aric sighed as he sunk back into the chair, his tone lacking its usual sarcastic bite and once again Zev felt guilty.

 

“I’m really sorry you have to cancel your date, Aric,” he murmured remorsefully as he bowed his head, “I could tell how much you were looking forward to some time with her.”

 

“It’s not your fault, Zev,” Aric assured his friend, “You guys made the right call in keeping our time planetside short. Hopefully this’ll all be over soon and I’ll take you up on that shore leave offer.”

 

“Whatever it takes, I’ll make it happen,” Zev promised as Aric’s comlink went off again, “I’m going…..I heard more than enough already.”

 

Zev chuckled at Aric’s middle finger salute, then headed for his quarters to get some much needed sleep since Elara had already gone to bed, hoping he’d actually be able to with all the turbulent thoughts and worries whirling around in his head. Even if they kept their stop on Nar Shaddaa brief, there was a storm on the horizon and it was headed right for them.

 

Edited by alaurin
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So I'm finally de-Nyquiled after the world's most persistent cold*, and going back through some of the things I wrote in a haze of spaciness. Some of them were even TORy! Comments are coming tomorrow, with something I might be able to salvage with a lot of editing. Maybe.

 

Uh. This is for the description prompt. I'm not sure where it goes, since Angie's looked the same for pretty much all of the stories.

 

 

 

The third woman off the transport is nothing special. She's maybe a finger shorter than normal for a human female. She's dressed in simple clothes – a pair of loose pants that swirl around her feet. They're a dull beige, and they're faded at the knees and hem. She has on a heavy grey vest that hides most of her torso. The straps at her shoulder make it evident there's at least one blaster tucked under the leather. Her arms are bare, and corded with muscle. Her biceps bunch in the half-light of the spaceport as she shifts the case on her back. She's rawboned, but built solidly, with broad shoulders and a barrel chest.

 

There's not much in the way of fat on her. She doesn't wear any makeup. Her chestnut hair has a few strands of grey, and it is cut short, about the length of her pinky. It hangs only slightly longer around her face. Her eyes are a shock of cold blue steel against tan skin almost as dark as her hair. She has a spare, lean face with a narrow, pointed chin. Her eyebrows are darker than her hair, lending her face a certain intensity even in its current neutrality. There's dark shadows under her eyes, and wrinkles between her eyebrows. Her nose is short and puckish, with a dark smudge of grease marking it. Her lips are fairly thin, and lines mark the corners. One side of her mouth is quirked upwards, though not by choice.

 

It's puckered by a scar, the most prominent feature on her face. It is long and narrow, and it stretches from the corner of her jaw, almost under her chin, up towards her nose. The flesh is paler than the rest of her skin, with the smooth, overly shiny yellow hues of an old burn. There's speckles and divots around the central cut. It's the oddest thing about her, since the injury was clearly made by a lightsaber. There's a second scar on the front of her neck. It's rougher, a choker of disturbed flesh, and whatever made it didn't cut nearly as cleanly. The skin around it is slightly discolored, and the scar is mottled with red.

 

She could be anywhere between thirty and fifty. She moves quickly, her shoulders slightly hunched up around her ears. Her steps are rapid, and her hooded eyes are constantly moving, as though she's expecting an attack. Her fingers twitch and move independently, a singular nervous tick. She ducks and weaves through the crowd until she spots what she's looking for and ducks into the woman's restroom.

 

In a few minutes, the third woman off the transport comes out. She's changed, dramatically. She's in armor. Her legs are covered by an almost skin-tight layer of blastfiber, with a darker stripe of electronics and controls down the side. A thicker plate protects her thighs and calves, and her boots are slightly modified, with small jets behind her heels to stabilize her in flight. There's some red paint along the front of her legs, though it's seen a lot of wear, and any pattern is indistinguishable. She wears a solid chestplate with a low capacity shield generator and fuel reservoir built in, and a durasteel tube leading to a green and grey jetpack that looks almost flawless. The only sign of its age and use is the buildup of carbon along the exhaust vent and down the hunter's backplates.

 

Her helmet is decorated simply. There's some red paint along the sides. It looks like it may have been a decal at some point, but it's too worn to tell what, exactly, it was. The view slit is a dull black against the greys and reds of the helmet, and reveals nothing of the activity underneath the armor. She raises one hand, bunching her fingers into fists. Along the inside of her arm, a very expensive shield generator shows itself. The snub-nosed blaster at her side seems almost an oversight by comparison. On the outside of the same hand, the coil for a capture cord can be seen, if there was much doubt about the woman's profession.

 

She moves slower, now. She's certainly much heavier, and her footsteps snap into place with deliberation. She's taller, and wider, and she moves like it. The twitches are gone, and she bulls through the crowd serenely. Her helmet doesn't move as she strides off towards the exterior of the spaceport.

 

 

And if someone's patient, does Tumblr have groups? Is there a link for it?

 

*slight hyperbole

Edited by AKHadeed
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Index is up to date!

 

@AKHadeed: I liked the description piece. You did a fantastic job subtly showing her discomfort and unease at being dressed in regular, everyday clothing then her ease and relief after she'd gotten her armor on......she was confident and ready for anything. Nicely done!

 

As for Tumblr, I don't think there are groups like with Facebook......I've been on Tumblr for a year now and haven't come across any. I mainly started mine just to follow people that post/have posted in the fanfic and fan art forums here. Some of those people don't subscribe anymore, but still post swtor stories/art on Tumblr.

 

 

Now for the next part in the guys' saga!

 

Title: Healing the Inner Scars

Prompt: Affection, a little Words of Wisdom, and My First

Character: Zevryn Varlok-Trooper, Elara Dorne

Setting: BT Thunderclap, just after The Calm Before the Storm

Spoilers: Trooper Voss, a minor companion spoiler for Elara Dorne

 

warning: There's a risqué bit towards the end.....nothing too descriptive, but worth a warning. I've written worse :o.

 

A couple hours and a lot of tossing and turning later, an exhausted Zev was wide awake due to the multitude of worries over this latest development plaguing him, triggering some of those dormant memories of the past to surface. Every time he fell asleep, his mind replayed that fateful day in some form or other and a couple of times, his old squad was replaced with his current one. After waking in a cold sweat having seen Elara’s broken body lying next to Jax instead of Raney, Zev finally gave up and got out of bed, quietly going into the rec room and turning the lights on to their dimmest setting. He slipped on an earbud, pairing it with the HoloVid before turning it on and found an old action movie he liked. It wasn’t the best film, but enough to distract him from his turbulent thoughts and a few minutes later he was so engrossed in it that he nearly leapt out of his skin when he felt a small hand on his shoulder.

 

“I’m sorry, sir,” Elara murmured softly, stifling a laugh at his reaction, “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

 

“It’s alright, Elara,” Zev grinned sheepishly as she sat next to him, “and I thought we agreed none of the ‘sir’ stuff when we’re alone.”

 

“We did……just habit whenever I know the rest of the squad is around.”

 

“They are,” he smiled as he drew her closer, “but judging from the snores I heard when I came in here, they’re not going to hear us.”

 

Zev loved when she had her hair down and couldn’t resist running his fingers through those thick blond locks before leaning over to kiss her. He knew she was always hesitant to do anything when the others were around, so he kept himself in control and let her lead things, feeling a warmth stirring inside as he remembered the last time they were sitting on a sofa kissing like this……a small tea house on Voss-Ka he’d taken her to knowing how much she missed tea. They were sitting in a back corner table enjoying the quaint little shop, and figuring they had some semblance of privacy, Elara had shown her thanks for the lovely surprise with a very thorough kiss that led to several more. Much to Elara’s embarrassment, they’d been interrupted by the throat clearing of their server as he set their tea tray down. He felt guilty for letting things get that far, then he noticed they weren’t the only couple engaging in a romantic moment, something he pointed out to his blushing medic once the server left. She was relieved to see another couple of offworlders sneaking in a private moment a few tables away and managed to relax again.

 

Suddenly Zev’s heart began to race as he recalled something else from that blissfully lazy afternoon. They walked out of the tea shop hand in hand and he’d been unable to resist stealing a kiss as they exited the building, much to the amusement of his cousin, Dek, who’d been passing by with a couple of his crew…..one of which was Skadge. Zev stiffened, knowing it was highly likely that Manson Strategies now knew about his relationship with Elara, and pulled back as his fears returned to settle cold in his gut.

 

“What is it?” Elara whispered.

 

“Back on Voss-Ka……the tea house,” Zev sighed.

 

“What about it?” Elara asked, feeling her cheeks heat up with the memory of how forward she’d been.

 

“Skadge saw me kissing you when we left……remember, we ran into Dek and his crew,” Zev grasped her hands in his own large ones, as his dark tan skin paled visibly, “Oh, Elara…..I’m so sorry. He probably told those men about us…..I’ve put you in danger!”

 

“It’s not your fault, Zev,” Elara gently chided, her delicate hand pulling out from his to caress his tattooed cheek.

 

Shaking his head, he stood and began to pace, running his hands along his horned head in his frustration, “If something happens to you because if all this, I’ll never forgive myself.”

 

“Zevryn Varlok,” Elara replied as she stood up and blocked his progress, using that commanding tone that never failed to get results when she was tending to injured on a battlefield, “You will not do this to yourself! We’re soldiers…..we risk our lives quite frequently. We’re all in danger by the simple nature of our jobs.”

 

“It’s not the same, Elara,” Zev argued, his old fears clawing at him as images from his past entered his mind. J’ada lying dead on the ground, a single shot through the throat a raw contrast against her pale blue skin. Raney, broken and unmoving, pale eyes staring vacantly at the sky, Jax next to her with half his face nearly torn off. Quiet little Erin trying to get to them, falling to the ground half way as a shot rent through the air. His cousin going after her, only to be felled by multiple shots……then on the ground, blood pouring out of his chest where a sniper shot tore through it. His own hands covered in Dek’s blood as he frantically tried to staunch the flow. Then white hot pain across his back seconds before the blackness came. Not just soldiers, friends, family, people he cared about……like Elara, Aric, Tanno, and Yuun, “I can’t let that happen again.”

 

That last strangled whisper tore at the nurturing part of her and she felt the sting of tears as she realized how deep those inner scars from Zev’s past really were. She reached up and grasped his face between her hands, forcing those pained green eyes to look into hers, “None of that was your fault, Zev. The sole blame lies on a stubborn young man who disobeyed his commanding officer,” before he could argue, she went on, “No, you weren’t hard on him, but you were new to a leadership position and he was old enough to know better. He put you all in danger by refusing to abort his task and in my opinion, should’ve never been in Spec Forces in the first place. Instead of accepting his son’s mistake and shortcomings, his rich father decided to cover it up and shove off the blame on you, Dekkyn, and Jaxzin.”

 

“I wish we would’ve just left it alone at that,” Zev admitted, finally feeling some of the panic dulling with her calming influence, “I’ve managed to carve out a successful career despite the fallout, and both Dek and Jax are doing alright.”

 

“But why should you have to live with that false stain on your record?”

 

“Because unless we can find those lost recordings or Colonel Wilks surfaces, the only thing we’re doing is painting a target on our backs and the backs of anyone we care about.”

 

“Well then, we’d better press on and keep searching,” Elara nodded as if they were discussing an ordinary mission, “but I refuse to allow you to feel responsible for the actions of a corrupt Senator and his crooked Czerka friend. As for us being in danger, we’re all aware of it and are preparing accordingly. We have a reasonable plan of action and their informant is out of the picture. Once you meet with Agent Balkar and we all leave Nar Shaddaa, Manson Strategies won’t be able to keep tabs on our movements. If it makes you feel better, the rest of us can stay on the ship……I think you should take someone with you though, maybe Captain Jorgan or Sergeant Vik.”

 

“I’ll take Aric with me and we can pop over to Club Paradise so he can at least see Natalia for a few minutes,” Zev sighed, “I owe him that much.”

 

“He understands,” Elara squeezed his hand, pulling at him to follow her, “And I think it was very considerate of you to offer him shore leave as soon as she’s extracted. Now as your medic, I’m ordering you to go to bed and get some sleep.”

 

“I’m not sure if I can sleep,” he admitted, rubbing his neck to try and ease the tension as he allowed Elara to lead him to his quarters.

 

“That’s why I’m coming with you.”

 

“Are you sure, Elara?” Zev whispered as they entered the small room, his heart beating faster once again, this time not out of fear, but with the thought of her in his quarters…..in his bed. He paused just inside and turned to look at her. Thanks to his XO’s previous command experience, he was very adept at paperwork, so Elara’s ruse had only bought them some very steamy make-out sessions since Aric’s smug a** always managed to return before they could get any further, “I know you worry about what the others will think…..”

 

“Well, I think you need me more than I need to be proper,” she smiled, “and besides, I really don’t think we’re fooling anyone at this point. It was more of making an effort than anything else.”

 

“I do need you…..need to know you’re safe…..need to feel you next to me, even if it’s just to sleep.”

 

“I never said you needed to go to sleep right away,” Elara murmured, blushing at her boldness, “Just that you needed to sleep. We do have roughly twelve hours before we drop out of hyperspace……”

 

Zev needed no further encouragement and crushed his mouth to hers. The residual fears from his nightmares and his current worries left him emotionally raw and drove him to an almost primal urgency as he backed her up to the bed. Her gasp of surprise stilled him for a moment, and he broke the kiss, feeling guilty until she reached up and dragged him back down to her. Their heated gazes met for a second and seeing the certainty in hers, claimed her mouth again as his hands made their way under her nightshirt. The sliver of control he had over himself was significantly reduced when he discovered no bra hindering his progress and the husky little moan that came from her undid him completely.

 

That first time was intense and explosive as they quickly shed their clothing, Zev desperately needing to feel connected to his woman and Elara encouraged that, a wanton part of her thrilled with the untamed wildness unleashed in the man she’d fallen in love with. Neither gave thought to who might hear their pleasured cries for once and a short time later, both were gasping for breath, spent for the time being. Feeling calmer having burned away the restless anxiety, Zev turned to smile at the woman he’d come to love over the past year and felt ashamed when he saw some of the marks their frantic lovemaking had left on her.

 

“Stars, Elara, I’m so sorry,” he murmured, concern etched on his face he ran his thumb along her slightly passion bruised lip, “I didn’t mean to act like some rutting animal…..are you alright?! Did I hurt you?”

 

“Do you hear me complaining at all?” she grinned, looking like an erotic temptress with that blonde hair fanned out around her, “and no, you didn’t hurt me at all…..well, maybe a little soreness, but in a good way.”

 

“I feel bad that our first time was so wild and out of control like that…..can you forgive me?”

 

“Did you ever consider that being a little wild and out of control was just what I’d like?”

 

“Really?”

 

“Really,” Elara flashed him a sly grin as then those smoldering dark green eyes traveled down his long, heavily muscled frame, “but if you’d like to go for something a little slower, I won’t say no….”

 

Eager to make up for his gross lack of finesse earlier, Zev did just that, and they took their time, exploring one another, gentle caresses and tender kisses seeking out pleasure spots as they slowly made love again, their passions driven only by the desire to physically express their love and affection for one another. Afterwards, Zev held her close, pulling the blanket over them both as he felt the chilly air pr*ckling her skin.

 

He nuzzled her neck, placing feathery kisses along the soft skin, and unable to keep it to himself anymore, he whispered softly in her ear, “I love you, Elara.”

 

She turned towards him, her heart leaping with joy as she gazed into those bright green eyes and saw her feelings reflected in their depths, “I love you too, Zevryn.”

 

He kissed her then, a sweet promise before she rolled back to her side and snuggled up to him. He wrapped an arm around her waist and held her close as they both drifted off to a deep, contented slumber.

 

*****

 

Several hours later, a distant alarm was just beginning to register to Havoc’s CO when a loud pounding on the door brought him fully awake. Elara started to stir next to him when the knock came again. He slid out of bed as Elara opened her eyes, a blush creeping up her cheeks with the realization that the others must know where she slept. Zev smiled reassuringly at her as he quickly pulled on his shorts and went to the door.

 

“Sorry to….uh…..wake you,” Aric began as soon as the door opened, “but Balkar’s on the Holo.”

 

“Something happen?” Zev asked, seeing the anxiety on his XO’s face.

 

“I don’t know,” Aric shook his head, swallowing hard, “He just said there’s a situation at the club and told me to find you while he gets the others on the Holo.”

 

Edited by alaurin
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More oddness in this week’s Month of Meta prompt:

 

Week of October 17, 2014

Writer’s Revenge!: “Do not annoy a writer. They may put you in a book and kill you.” When looking for inspiration for a minor or background character, or even an important adversary, why not borrow the aggravating habits of someone familiar to you? The chatterbox co-worker who can’t stop telling stories--but none of them are interesting. The neighbor whose garage band meets daily--and loudly--at six in the morning. This week, take the best revenge on someone who irritates you: make them a character in a story. Death, of course, is optional. Have fun!

 

And, as ever,

 

Night of the Living Prompt: Keep on using any prompt you like! Check out the list at http://www.swtor.com/community/showpost.php?p=7489974post=2 and http://www.swtor.com/community/showpost.php?p=7489991post=3 (we’re up to two full posts!). Many thanks to Alaurin for maintaining the prompt archive and story index here.

 

 

This week's featured NotLP:

Myths, Legends, and Heroes - Everyone grows up with stories. Stories of fantastic people doing amazing things and having wondrous adventures. Our characters are well on their way to becoming heroes to the following generation. So who did your character look at as a role model? Whose footsteps did they want to follow? Whose stories did they read? Whose adventures did they follow on cheesy serialized animated holoprograms? Why are they so special to your character?

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@alaurin: There will be more of Iolith!

 

I like the way Jorgan thinks about the past. And it's nice he gets his own romance.

 

Privacy on the ship? It's hard to keep things secret. But as long as you try everybody can still act as if it is. I liked Jorgan obvious discomfort at the end.

 

@AKHadeed: I like the metamorphosis of the third woman off the transport. Put her back in her cocoon and she's got everything under control.

 

 

 

Prompt - Confessions

Title - Name-Calling

Class - BH (Thorns)

Words - ~1760

Spoilers - Minor spoilers BH Hutta

 

Takes place after ‘Wrong Choice’

 

Somehow I felt in need of a bit of fluff. Sadly I am still miles away from the fluffier parts of my story.

 

 

“Hey!” Thorns sat down on the edge of the bunk Mako was lying on. She was still sobbing. She hadn’t answered his knock, but then, it was his cabin as well.

 

Ungry climbed down onto the bed and went to search for Mako’s face hidden beneath her hair.

 

Mako shoved him away. “Leave me alone! Both of you!”

 

“Okay.” Thorns took off his helmet and got up to place it on the floor in the corner of the room. He rummaged through his bag and the pile of discarded clothes. “I’ll just take a shower and change into something more comfortable.”

He took some of Ungry’s treats out of the box and hid them between his things. He tossed one to the monkey lizard. “Why don’t you search for the rest while I take a shower.” This way the little guy would be occupied and leave Mako alone. The refresher was definitely not large enough for a man and a monkey lizard.

 

He took a shower and dressed. The sand-colored baggy pants and shirt were washed out and seedy. He doubted that Kaliyo would mind. He discarded the idea to put some effort into his mohawk. If Mako wanted to have her peace, he’d better hurry. The need to look intimidating should be over for today. All on board had seen him with helmet hair anyway. He usually would have checked and cleaned his armor and his weapons now, but they’d have to wait a few hours. There’d still be ample time before they reached Dromund Kaas. He made a neat pile of his armor and left the refresher.

 

Ungry had obviously found a way to open the treat box, and had nearly emptied it. Thorns scooped the monkey lizard up along with the box and sighed. Scolding him would do as much good as talking to the wall of the cabin. He’d have to get an other box now Ungry had figured how to open this one. He placed the little guy in his satchel. With luck he’d be tired enough to sleep. Thorns buckled on his belt and holstered his blasters. Kaliyo would not be expecting him yet. She’d know something was amiss. Maybe he should see if he was able to find something drinkable. Hadn’t Smilo mentioned Corellian whiskey? The stuff had always been too expensive to try. He had earned a glass today. He took some toothpicks out of his backpack, put one in his mouth, and stashed the rest away in his belt. He was ready to go.

 

He hesitated in front of the door. “I got my holo com with me, so…” Somehow he felt bad about leaving Mako alone.

 

She didn’t look at him. “Braden would have saved her!”

 

Thorns opened his mouth, but managed to shut it again. He had his doubts about Mako’s statement, but he had no doubt about her not wanting to hear them—not now. “It would have been good to still have him around.”

 

“It’s all your fault!”

 

From a certain point of view, which happened not to be his own, it was. “Yeah. If I had stayed on Tatooine none of this would have happened.”

 

“Then I wish you had stayed there.”

 

Thorns put the satchel down, stepped over to the bunk, and sat back down on its edge. He rested his elbows on his knees and his chin on his hands. “Were you with Braden the day he contacted me?”

 

She rolled onto her side and looked at him. “No. He told me a few days later.” A small smile appeared on her face. “Should’ve seen him. Grinning and laughing so much I thought his face would split in half. The Great Hunt was Braden’s dream. Talked about it for years.”

 

“He was so eager about teaming up for the Great Hunt. I had thought about getting off Tatooine. I had heard about the Great Hunt. But the way the Mandalorians talk about it—I’d never have even dreamed about competing. It’s not exactly everyday you get a shot at the Great Hunt. How could I have considered to say no? He believed in me.”

He turned his head to fully meet her gaze. “If you want to go back to Nar Shaddaa, or somewhere else, the payment from Kilran will be enough to afford your ticket.” He would have preferred to spend it on some better equipment, but it was only credits. There’d be other jobs on Dromund Kaas. After today it should be easy to get some of those.

 

“What are you talking about?” She sniveled and pushed herself to a sitting position.

 

“Bout? Ungry treat?” The monkey lizard had climbed out of the satchel and held the box up high.

 

Mako laughed, wiping her cheek with the back of her hand. She held out her other hand and Ungry hopped onto the bed and gave the box to her. She opened it and gave it back. “Here have the rest, not much left anyway.”

 

“Anyway.” Ungry nodded. “Ungry treat, anyway.”

 

Thorns watched Ungry eat. “After what happened today, if you want to quit…”

 

“Quit? But…—hey, look at me.” She waited until he did. “I am sorry. I was behaving childish again. I don’t want to quit. Winning the Great Hunt would have meant more to Braden than revenge. It’s just…—I miss him so much.” She sniveled.

 

“That’s okay, Mako. It’s not like you’d had proper time to mourn him.”

 

“You know, you’re right. He believed in you, and so do I.”

 

Thorns turned his head away from her. “I am not so sure you believe in the same thing Braden did.”

 

“I don’t understand. What do you mean?”

 

“I don’t know what Braden would have done, but if Kilran had told me to shoot her I would have done so.”

 

“But how can you say that?”

 

“Because it’s the truth, Mako.” He looked her in the eyes. “I am a bounty hunter, and she was my target. Maybe I am not one of the bad guys.” At least not anymore, he thought. “But I am not a good one either. I am hired to hunt people. And more often than not I am hired to kill them once I found them. That’s what I do. That’s what I am good at. That’s what Braden believed in. My world isn’t black and white. I can’t afford that luxury.”

 

Mako averted her eyes. Maybe this was the real reason Braden hadn’t taken her along on his missions. Maybe he hadn’t wanted to see this look in her eyes. Maybe he hadn’t wanted her to see it herself all too often when she looked into a mirror.

 

“I don’t kill just for fun. I try to avoid harming innocent bystanders. Have you ever wondered about the reason why so many bounty hunters don’t work in Republic space? The rules are different over there. Much more restrictive. But accidents happen even if you are careful.”

 

“This woman wasn’t an accident.”

 

“No, she wasn’t. She was a Republic spy. One who committed a crime according to the laws of the Empire. Apart from the fact that she tried to shoot me.” Thorns shook his head. “Sooner or later there will be war again, Mako. And judging from what we did today I’d say rather sooner. Participating in the Great Hunt is as good as choosing a side. Like it or not, the Mandalorians stand with the Empire.”

 

“I never thought about it this way.”

 

“You need to now. You need to choose. Fast.”

 

“This was what Braden dreamed of.”

 

Mako was too shocked to struggle when Thorns took hold of her chin and forced her to look at him. “I didn’t know him very well, but if he was only half the man I think he was, then he wouldn’t have wanted you to live his dream. Damned. Live your own dream, Mako. Maybe I am a fool for telling you, but you got so much potential. You can do anything you want to.” He let go of her. “Live your own dream!”

 

“This is my dream, *******. Maybe without a war. Seems dreams never turn out quite like you imagined them to be. I know we will need to do a lot of things I won’t like. I am not that naive. Despite all that I am still in. We will win the Hunt. It’s just reassuring to know Braden would have approved. Don’t think you can get rid of me this easily.” She grinned at him despite the tears in her eyes.

 

“I’d have to be even more dimwitted than some say I am to want to get rid of you.”

 

“Who says you’re dimwitted?”

 

“Who called me a ******* just now?”

 

Mako laughed.

 

“Just for the record,” he smirked, “my *** isn’t dumb, it’s damn near perfect!”

 

“I think I put that into the profile when Braden started to search for a hunter.” She ticked off points on her fingers. “Has to be able to shoot straight. Has to be able to talk in complete sentences. Has to be able to count to three. Has to have a perfect ***.”

 

“I wasn’t sure you had noticed.” He winked at her. “I am glad you’re staying. It will be good to have someone around who isn’t afraid to call me names when I am about to do something stupid.”

 

“I am glad you still want to take me along. I am sorry I freaked out. I saw her eyes, and…—what the Sith did was too horrible.”

 

He knew what she was talking about. He hugged her. After a moment of hesitation she leaned into him and laid her head on his shoulder. He held her and stroked the back of her neck.

 

“I’m not sure I’ll be able to sleep.” Mako shuddered.

 

“I’ll stay here and chase away your bad dreams,” he said.

 

“What about Kaliyo?”

 

“Forget about Kaliyo! She’ll survive the night without me. If you need me, I’ll be on the floor right in front of your bunk.”

 

 

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@Charmedseed- Thank you! I always feel bad about posting stuff that I feel isn't as good as it could be, so this makes me feel a lot better. Congratulations on your pregnancy! I hope it goes well for you :)

 

@DomiSotto- Maybe I'm interperating that hate as belligerent sexual tension, lol. Anyway, I still like it!

 

@Jokad- Goodbye! I'm sorry about your sub running out. Hopefully you can sub again someday and join us again. We'll miss you!

 

 

@DomiSotto- RE: A Game of Tag- Interesting musings by Tag on various people in the story. I guess there are upsides and downsides to doing too much thinking. You may find what's right and happiness, or you may come to the wrong conclusion and drag others into it with you.

 

RE: One Night When I Was Tired- Thanks for the insight into how you created this character! Glad to know I'm not the only one who does excessive daydreaming while in transit.

 

@Frauzet- I'm going to do all the Black Talon pieces together, since they're all on the same topic. You totally fooled me with the fake Io. I didn't realize it til the characters did. I still love reading about Ru, even when he's being creepy (I guess he's found himself a fangirl? IDK :p ) and I'm starting to wonder about Smilo too.

 

Poor fake Io! I don't really want to know exactly what Ru did to her, but Mako's reaction says a lot. I've heard people complain that Mako is too softhearted to be a BH companion, but I like how you did it here. She is softhearted, but it doesn't keep her from moving on when she needs to. It's cool to see some maturation that the game format doesn't really allow for.

 

@Hadeedak- Poor Zeedor! I'm sure he feels the loss of his dignity greatly. I would love to see a bit of his past sometime.

 

@Charmedseed- I love some of the imagery you use here, with her almost floating through life. It says a lot about both her as a person and her excitement at being on Tython.

 

@AKHadeed- I'm getting a great mental picture of Angharad, thanks for doing this! You got a ton of other information about her into a physical description, too.

 

@Alaurin- Sorry, I haven't done trooper voss either :(

 

 

So, my next two pieces take place in the space of a single day, and are a continuation of this story. They should be indexed latest of all Mallena stories so far.

 

Title: Welcome Home!

Prompt: Celebrations

Characters: Mallena Dayne (Trooper), Aric Jorgan, Elara Dorne

Length: Approx. 700 words

Spoilers: Alludes to Elara's backstory and Trooper Act 1 finale. Extremely minor.

 

 

Mallena tensed with excitement as the landspeeder brought her closer to her house. The tightly clustered building of the city near the spaceport were starting to turn into houses with yards and side streets. This was the first time she had been home since before her assignment to Havoc Squad, and she was determined not to miss a minute of it.

 

She felt Elara shift next to her and wondered what the expression on the Sgt.’s face meant. Was she thinking of her own family back in the Empire? They had never talked about her past much. Mallena wasn’t even sure if the medic had any family left. Or perhaps she was just counting traffic violations.

 

On Elara’s far side, Jorgan gazed out his own window. She hadn’t seen nearly as much of him since her injury, since he wasn’t directly involved in her medical workovers or physical therapy. He seemed a little uncomfortable around her and she wondered if it had something to do with her new prosthetic. But she couldn’t quite forget how he had been holding her hand when she woke up, either.

 

“Here we are,” said her father as the landspeeder pulled up to the house. Mallena jumped out and half ran to the door. She stopped. This was silly. She was twenty-two years old and she wasn’t about to burst inside like a little kid getting home from school.

 

She waited until Jorgan, Elara, and her father had caught up before opening the door. Instantly, a boy came running at her in a blur of blond hair. Fighting to suppress her combat instincts, Mallena let him collide with her. “Aron! How are you?”

 

“Great!” he replied, letting go of her and looking a bit embarrassed by his outburst. Typical thirteen-year-old boy. “Can I see your hand?

 

“Sure,” she replied, holding it out for him to inspect the prosthetic. She wanted to comment on how big he was getting, but she didn’t think he would appreciate it. At first, she had felt uncomfortable when people stared at her hand and scars, but it wasn’t too bad anymore. Besides, younger brothers were almost required to inspect things like this.

 

“It’s really cool, Lina.”

 

“Thanks. Where’s everyone else?”

 

“In the back yard.” Aron took off through the house and Mallena looked at the others. Her father had already started after her brother. Jorgan looked rather bemused and Elara’s expression was unreadable.

 

“Make yourselves at home. I don’t know where Mom is going to put you, but the ‘fresher is over there if you need to use it.” Why did this feel so odd? She could trust these people with her lives, they lived together, worked together. Surely she should feel comfortable having them in her house.

 

“Right,” replied Jorgan.

 

“Umm… I’m going out back.” She started towards the sliding door in the kitchen. “It’s perfectly fine if you want to come, too. I’m not saying you have to stay in here.”

 

Her squadmates followed her through the house and Mallena noticed both of them inspecting the living room and kitchen as they passed. You could never quite turn off your soldier’s instincts, even when you knew you should be perfectly safe. She was only more relaxed because this place was so familiar.

 

As they stepped onto the back porch, she felt her jaw drop. Not only her parents and two youngest brothers where there, but probably two dozen neighbors, classmates, and family friends. A table loaded with her favorite foods was pushed against one of the railings and someone had started a fire in the pit in the yard. The blood rose to her cheeks.

 

“You guys didn’t have to,” she muttered.

 

“You’re home, and everyone wanted to see you,” said her mother. “We thought you’d like it.”

 

“I do, it’s just… wow.” She hadn’t expected this.

 

Her mother smiled. “Don’t let me keep you from going to talk to them.”

 

“Thank you. It’s amazing.” If someone had asked her, a party was pretty far down on the list of things she would have wanted, but right now it seemed perfect.

 

 

 

 

Title: Constant Interruption

Prompt: Guilty Pleasures

Characters: Mallena Dayne (trooper), Aric Jorgan, Elara Dorne

Length: approx 1,300 words

Spoilers: Minor references to end of Trooper act 1

 

 

Mallena flopped down on the couch, picked up the remote, and sighed happily. The party had lasted for nearly three hours and she had caught up with nearly everyone she had known. Afterword, she had placed a call to Hartsin at the Fleet Officer Academy, though Carian was still on the front lines and would have to wait to call them when he got a break. Now her mother and Elara were putting together a breakfast casserole to bake tomorrow morning, her father had retreated to the study, and the younger boys were supposed to be going to bed, though she had no idea if they were or not.

 

An almost perfect day, and Mallena wasn’t quite ready to let it end yet. A holovid would be fun, and she hadn’t seen this one since her last visit home.

 

As the music swelled in the opening scene, she became aware of someone coming up behind her and snapped her head around. “Oh, it’s you,” she said, hitting the pause button on the remote.

 

“Mind if I sit down?” said Jorgan.

 

“Go ahead. Have you seen this one before?”

 

He crossed around to the front of the couch and sat down, next to her, but not very close. “I don’t think so. Never

really liked holovids. What’s this one about?”

 

“Neither did I, really, but this is one of my favorites. It’s about a guy who abandons the Sith and spends years escaping from an agent who’s trying to hunt him down. And there’s a bunch of other stuff that happens too.”

 

“Sounds interesting.”

 

Mallena restarted the holovid and the music continued to swell. The low chanting of the slaves in the shipyards turned to harsh, defeated song. Jorgan looked at her with one eyebrow raised. “A musical?”

 

“What’s wrong with musicals?”

 

“Everyone sings. All the time.”

 

“Yeah, that’s kind of the point.”

 

“But why? I don’t sing while I fight.”

 

“If you don’t want to watch, you don’t have to.”

 

But Jorgan stayed as the protagonist was discovered by the Sith and trained, only to abandon them after meeting a wise Jedi seer and working out his conflicted soul in song. “I guess I could stay for a while,” her muttered after nearly fifteen minutes. She grinned. The room was getting dark and she realized that they had ended up much closer to each other on the couch. Heat filled her face.

 

The lights turned on and Mallena blinked in the sudden light. “Hi, Mom, Elara.”

 

“I’m going to bed,” said her mother. “Do you guys need anything?”

 

“Nope, I think we’re good.”

 

“Alright.” Her mother turned disappeared into the dark hallway, with a disapproving glance at Jorgan. “Don’t stay up too late.”

 

“Want to watch, Elara? It’s not very far along.”

 

“No, I think I will go to bed as well.” They shared her old room, with Jorgan in Carian’s.

 

“OK. I’ll come in a little while.”

 

The story continued. The now former Sith took up residence on Nar Shadda and tried to blend into the background. He was in the middle of failing to save the life of twi’lek dancer when Jorgan said “I like your family.”

“Thanks. They’re kind of a pain sometimes, but I like them too.”

 

“Your brothers think I’m some kind of action hero.”

 

“I might be partially to blame for that. I told them an edited version of what happened on the Justice. They’re a little

in awe of you and Elara.”

 

“Ah.” He smiled, showing pointed teeth.

 

“You might have to show them a trick or two before you leave. I have before, but it’s much cooler when someone

you’re not related to does it.”

 

“I can do that.”

 

A pause. The Imperial agent who had been hunting the former sith burst into the room and a confrontation began.

 

“You know,” Mallena said softly. “I’ve never thanked you properly for saving my life.”

 

He shrugged. “You were busy. It’s fine.”

 

“No, it’s not. Thank you. You were a hero.”

 

“Sgt. Dorne helped too.”

 

“I know, and I’ll thank her in the morning. But I thought you should know. I- I’m really glad to be alive and I wouldn’t

be if you weren’t there.”

 

“I’m, uh, glad you are, Dayne.” His hand brushed hers and wrapped around it and a little shock went through her.

Did this mean-

 

The lights snapped on again. Quickly, Mallena pulled her hand out of Jorgan’s and he scooted a little further from her. Elara stood in the entrance to the living room, wearing a light blue bathrobe. Her long blond hair was loosely braided and she looked tired. “Sorry, Sir,” she said. “Just getting a glass of water. I hope I didn’t startle you.”

 

“It’s fine.” They settled back into the holovid. The sith rescued the twi’lek’s daughter and went into hiding again. Time passed, the daughter grew up, and another ex-sith, this one a young (and Mallena had to admit, rather handsome) pureblood, started to fall in love.

 

As they finished their duet, Mallena reached out for Jorgan’s hand. For a moment, she was terrified that he wouldn’t take it, but he had initiated earlier, hadn’t he? But he did, and she felt something unknot inside her.

The duet finished and the young sith returned to planning a revolution with his friends. “You know, this isn’t half bad,” said Jorgan. “The singing isn’t even that bad anymore.”

 

“I told you it was good.”

 

“Hey, I didn’t say ‘good’, I said ‘not bad’. There’s a difference.”

 

“But you admit you like it?”

 

He sighed. “I guess so.”

 

“It’s my favorite musical. I might have had to kick you off the squad if you didn’t like it.”

 

“It’s a good thing I do, then.” Another pause. “I meant what I said about being glad you lived. And not just because it would be hell trying to find Havoc Squad’s third CO in three years.” They were close enough together now that she was practically sitting on her lap and she could feel his breath on her face. “We’ve, uh, been through a lot together and I-“

 

“Come on, just kiss her already!” Mallena leaped off the couch, feeling her skin burn. Jorgan half-fell backwards, scanning the room for the source of the shout. A flash of blond hair in the kitchen told her all she needed to know.

 

“Soreth! Aron! What the **** are you doing?” she screamed.

 

Aron appeared, an impish grin on his face. “We wanted to see what you were doing.”

 

“It’s none of your business! Go to bed right now!”

 

“What’s going on out here?” Her father rushed into the room with her mother and Elara right behind him.

 

“They were spying on us!”

 

“Boys?”

 

Soreth came out to join his brother, face set in that innocent expression Mallena knew well. “We heard them still up, and wanted to know what they were doing. I guess we surprised them.”

 

“You shouldn’t be up, you shouldn’t be eavesdropping on your sister, and you especially shouldn’t be eavesdropping on Sgt. Jorgan, our guest.”

 

“Go back to bed,” her mother said more quietly. “And we will talk about this in the morning.”

 

“OK” Soreth and Aron started toward their rooms, heads slumped. Satisfied that the crisis was over, Elara and Mallena’s parents turned to leave as well.

 

“Sorry about that,” she murmured. She could still feel herself blushing.

 

“Wasn’t your fault.” Jorgan pulled himself off the couch and headed for the hallway. “I’m going to bed.”

 

“OK …Goodnight.” Mallena watched as he disappeared into the darkness before sitting back down on the couch, feeling strangely empty and cold. Wrapped herself in a blanket, she started the holovid going again.

 

 

 

Notes:

 

First off, I think this counts as my first official couple, at least in some sense. (I've referenced that Feyte and Iresso are together once, but it was a blink-and-you'll-miss-it thing in a very early story) EDIT: Never mind! I just realized that Jess and Corso are already a thing too. As I've said before, at this point, Mallena and Jorgan both like each other, but haven't actually come out and said it.

 

And yes, they were totally watching Les Mis in the second story. It's one of the RL Mallena's favorite things, and something I've always loved.

 

For those who are a little confused, the Dayne parents had 5 children: Carian is about 25 and also in the Republic Army, though he's not special forces. Mallena is 22 right now. (I know it's little young, but she had to conceivably be childhood friends with Ketturah, and I handwaived it by saying she joined right out of high school) Hartsin is 20 and in naval officer's school. Soreth and Aron are 15 and 13 respectively, and both live at home. There seems to be a trend of them following in their parents' footsteps...

 

Edited by Mirdthestrill
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@frauzet: Awww, I'm glad Thorns stayed with Mako. I can't imagine seeing what happened to the false Iolith would be an easy thing her to see. I also like how Thorns deals with her outburst and anger towards him, letting her keep her illusions about Braden, and encouraging her to follow her dreams if she wants out. I sometimes have a hard time wrapping my head around someone like Mako getting involved with Bounty Hunting, but you had a good answer for that......maybe Braden kept the harsher aspects of the biz from her.

@alaurin: There will be more of Iolith!

 

I like the way Jorgan thinks about the past. And it's nice he gets his own romance.

 

Privacy on the ship? It's hard to keep things secret. But as long as you try everybody can still act as if it is. I liked Jorgan obvious discomfort at the end.

Glad we haven't seen the last of Iolith! As for Jorgan, I wanted to have him reflect a little because he does change over the course of the Trooper storyline.....it would be hard not to after everything that happens to him depending on your choices. Romance wise, I can't resist with him......it's a problem, I know. :o Yeah, I think privacy on the ship would be impossible, but I think making an effort sorta helps mentally.

 

 

@Mirdthestrill: No worries on not making comments......I totally understand spoilers! I loved those two stories! I remember the first one from your Tumblr, and thought it was nice for Aric and Elara to meet her family. Then the second one, *sigh* so sweet.....gave me the warm fuzzies. Loved the Les Mis reference!! I couldn't help but giggle at the end. Being the youngest sibling, I almost feel bad for spying on my brothers after reading your story.......but in my defense, they were mean to me! I'll admit, I was bummed the likely kiss had been interrupted.

 

 

Okay, here's the next part (well, parts actually since I ended up separating it due to length) for my guys. First up, a longer one that has some warm fuzzies.

 

Title: Ready

Prompt: Another Day on the Job, some Affection, and an (Un) Invited Guest

Character: Natalia Bryce (aka Naula)-my version of an SIS Agent

Setting: Nar Shaddaa, at the same time as Healing the Inner Scars

Spoilers: none that I can think of

 

warning: There's a steamy bit below......nothing too descriptive though, I swear! ;)

 

“Stupid little punk,” the curvy little dancer muttered grumpily, frowning at her reflection before tipping her head up to put soothing drops in her irritated eyes. Natalia hated showering with her contacts in, but hadn’t wanted to remove them with Rose in the room. “I shoulda planted my foot in his nuts,” she grumbled as she dabbed at the excess tears, then began applying her makeup. Her shift had only started an hour ago and already it was looking to be a long night.

 

Fifteen minutes into her shift, a spoiled trust fund brat and his arrogant friends came into the club. Since it was early in the day, there were fewer dancers and Natalia had the misfortune of having them in her area. Apparently it was the kid’s birthday and now that he was old enough to get into establishments like Club Paradise, he was ready to party. They’d only been seated a few minutes when birthday brat waved her over with a credstick. Since she had no reason not to go over, she forced herself to smile as she sashayed to their table, stepping up to the pole and dancing for a moment before making her way over to the little snot, who immediately took that as his leave to reach his nasty hand into her g-string. Fighting back the urge to plant one of her narrow heels in his face, she slid away, shaking her head at him.

 

Birthday boy didn’t want to take no for an answer and grabbed her by the ankle, knocking a couple of drinks over in his clumsy haste. He jerked Natalia back towards him, the now slippery surface causing her to slip and fall and she landed on her butt hard enough to knock the wind out of her, much to the amusement of his friends. Rose was passing by the table as it happened and hollered for Jake as one of birthday boy’s friends decided to cop a feel from the ‘uppity dancer.’ Birthday boy spotted the pretty pink Twi’lek and decided he wanted some entertainment from her as well, pulling her into his lap just as Jake arrived at the table.

 

Now mix in roughly two hundred ten pounds of heavily muscled and very angry bouncer, who just happens to harbor serious feelings for the snarky Twi’lek, with a group of snotty rich kids and their sense of self entitlement and the result is a one hell of an explosive situation. Needless to say, birthday boy and friends were going to spend some quality time in a holding cell after being tended to by a medic, and the club had to lock its doors for half an hour to clean up the mess.

 

Once Jake and the other bouncer, Ryan, had the situation under control, Rose and Natalia went back to the dressing room to clean up. Rose’s uniform had been torn and Natalia needed a shower since she was a sticky mess, not to mention her favorite costume was ruined. She’d spent a lot of time getting ready earlier since Aric was going to pop in to see her during Havoc’s now very brief stopover and was pissed that she had to redo everything, knowing she wouldn’t have much time. A big part of her bad mood was frustration that the date she’d been looking forward to was now out of the question. She understood why Aric’s time would be cut short and was touched that they’d made the effort to warn her of the possible danger Dekkyn’s treacherous crew member put her in, but she was still disappointed. Aric had promised to call once they landed so she could arrange to have her break when he got there and they could least get to spend a little time together……as long as no other idiots caused a problem.

 

“Stars, I’m so ready to be done with this assignment,” she muttered without thinking as she began plaiting her damp strawberry blond locks. Then her eyes widened as she cursed her carelessness and she looked around to see if anyone heard that. Way to go idiot, she mentally chided herself, relieved that she was alone in the room. But that little slip was yet another reminder that she’d been undercover too long. The stress was getting to her and it was starting to hinder her focus and objectivity. Every day it was getting harder and harder to put up with grabby customers and she really had to fight the instinct to kick the crap out of that rich kid earlier.

 

That was the problem with being undercover for an extended period of time. Those that were placed amongst the enemy had it the worst, many times having to stand by and watch atrocities being planned and committed, unable to do anything for risk of breaking cover. Natalia felt bad for those agents, many of which needed months of therapy after being extracted and a few never went undercover again. Other agents had a hard time separating their undercover persona from their real self after a while and a few ended up trying to live out their cover identity instead of returning to their former life. Some agents are the opposite, missing their normal life and routine so much that they begin make careless mistakes, such as contacting an old friend, visiting their home, forgetting to keep up their new physical appearance. These brief ‘returns to reality’ were like revisiting an old childhood security blanket, but very dangerous and had resulted in a few agents being killed.

 

So far, Natalia hadn’t put herself at risk, other than her visit to Zara which she’d been extremely cautious in doing, but she missed her normal life and wanted to get back to it. She truly wanted to help Dek, Zev, and Jax, even more so after meeting them that first time and finding out the truth of that failed mission. She hated corrupt politicians and greedy corporate executives willing to do anything for a healthy bottom line, regardless of how lives were affected. She’d seen plenty of both growing up on Corellia and was all too happy to put Senator Bradley, Regan Mills, and their hired lackeys out of commission. So she agreed to stay in place and help the guys by spying on Manson Strategies’ employees, who’d begun to frequent Club Paradise. Her efforts had been fruitful in that she’d gathered a lot of information and was able to warn them Mako was a target, got Zara to safety before they snatched her to use as bait for Jax, and found out Bradley was going to take out his old military buddy and fellow conspirator, Colonel Robert Wilks.

 

Unfortunately, things had come to a screeching halt progress wise. Wilks had dropped off the grid and the trail was cold. Bradley was still determined to take him out by setting up a meeting he never intended to show for. The Senator’s hired help would show up instead, wait for Wilks to get impatient and leave, then they’d follow him, eliminating the officer discretely in some dark alley when the opportunity presented itself. Natalia got the feeling it would be a spur of the moment thing that Bradley would set up whenever Wilks finally surfaced so she made sure to take the late afternoon/evening shifts on a daily basis since that was typically when those men visited the club. It had been almost a week with no sign of the Colonel, no word about him from Bradley’s men, and the tension was starting to build. She was on full alert at all times, and unable to sleep well as a result, making her cranky and less tolerant of the Club’s more exuberant clientele. It was past time for her to come out and she prayed for a breakthrough soon.

 

She knew she’d never be the same person she was before beginning this assignment a year ago. Besides a relaxed sense of modesty, she’d also gained a major boost in her self-confidence with her Naula persona. She was one of the top dancers in the club, often requested for parties and private dances, second only to Jilli, and let’s face it, she snorted, its kinda hard to compete with a Zeltron. However, despite her new found sexual appeal and ease with men, she was ready to get back to her normal routine. Ready to wear normal clothing instead of skimpy dancer costumes. Ready to wear her comfortable letheris boots instead of narrow heels that even after all this time, still killed her feet by the end of a shift. Ready to go back to her comfortable flat instead of the dinky apartment with its noisy neighbors. Ready to go out on a date without worrying about keeping her cover…..not that her date with Aric had gone badly, quite the opposite in fact, but she was simply ready to be Natalia again.

 

She sat back in the cushy chair, closing her eyes as she took a deep breath to try and calm herself before having to return to her shift. A gentle sigh escaped her as she pictured bright green eyes, tawny fur, and a bod she couldn’t wait to see again. That sexy bedroom voice echoed in her mind as she recalled their last time together. She started to relax, berry pink glossed lips curving in a smile as she thought of their date last week. He’d been every bit the considerate gentleman after their impulsive bit of necking in the back alley.

 

Like any first date first date, they’d been able to get to know one another and even found quite a few common interests. They both enjoyed action, suspense movies and shared a love of comic books, something they discovered when they passed by a shop on the way to the Cinaplex. Aric even had a first edition print of ‘Captain Coruscant: Origin of a Hero’ and promised to show it to her the first chance he got. He took her to a small café near the Cinaplex and they had a light dinner before their movie started. Then at the Cinaplex, he bought her popcorn and they held hands through most of the movie. The whole time, he’d been careful not to mention anything from their shared past and other than a couple of near slipups, he’d remembered to address her as Naula.

 

That had been the hardest part for both of them…….not touching on that shared past until they were back to her apartment. She could tell he had something on his mind and she had her own concerns as well, the biggest being that she wasn’t quite the same person he knew back on Ord, and her worry he’d have a hard time with the fact she’d been working in a gentleman’s club for the past year. However, she finally felt confident enough to share her feelings with him, both past and present.

 

Aric had taken the lead on that, grasping her hands as soon as the door shut and telling her how relieved he’d been that she agreed to go out with him. That had taken her by surprise until he went on to admit he’d been thinking about her for the past three weeks and was worried she hated him for everything that went down on Ord. She’d immediately eased his mind, assuring her former commander that she’d never hated him before confessing her own concerns. He easily dismissed the first one, saying she wasn’t the only one who’d changed since her time on Ord, he looked a little sheepish as he admitted feeling a little jealous about other males touching her, but he understood it was just a job to her. She’d given him a more physical reassurance on that front, wrapping her arms around his neck as she leaned up on her tiptoes to brush his mouth with hers.

 

With the memories of the bachelor party and what happened after, and the lingering effect from their little make out session in the alley, that kiss rapidly turned into much more and mere moments later, they were tearing at clothes as they made their way to her bedroom. The memory of that fiery passion made her blood heat up and a quiet laugh escaped her as she remembered finding another button on the floor just this morning. She felt a little guilty for ruining his shirt, but she couldn’t wait to run her hands along the velvety soft fur that covered the corded muscles of his abdomen again. He’d also been eager to remove the barriers of their clothing, accidently tearing her delicate tank top in his haste to get his hands on her skin, but halted when one of his fingertips encountered the long, thin scar that ran from just above her navel to her right hip. He stopped then, those bright green eyes shining as they looked into hers.

 

 

“I can’t even begin to tell you how sorry I am for this…..for being such a jerk…….for nearly getting you killed,” he told her, his husky voice full of remorse. Then opened up to reveal how guilty he’d felt for months afterward, the doubts he’d had after, how General Vander had to send him off the planet for a few weeks….. “How can you not hate me?!”

 

She knew right then it was time for her to confess everything, “I could never hate you, Aric,” she finally replied, her heart racing, “I…..I had…..” she took a deep breath and took the plunge, “I had the biggest crush on you back then. That’s why I got snotty with you that night I broke curfew. I was so frustrated that you’d occupied so much of my thoughts and I was just another dumb grunt to you.”

 

“You weren’t a dumb grunt,” he shook his head and she could see the guilt written across his handsome face, “I liked you……everyone liked you. I was wrong to treat people the way I did……I had my reasons, but I can see now that it wasn’t worth it. I wronged you and so many other good soldiers just to make sure a few cocky idiots stayed in line.”

 

“You were in command of an entire infantry unit……you did what you had to in order to keep your unit performing as they should. I knew that and I know you were trying to help me with that patrol detail. The guys told me and I worked hard to improve at the physical stuff…..it just wasn’t my strong suit.”

 

“I relived that night so many times,” Aric whispered, looking down to where her scar was concealed with the tattoo, “I kept seeing you lying there, bleeding out, dying and it was all my fault.”

 

“I never felt that way at all,” she assured him, wiping at the dampness around his eyes, “You saved my life, stayed with me, holding me until the evac arrived. It was then I realized how much you cared for the troops that served under your command and why you were so rough on us. You didn’t want anything to happen to any of us and it tore at you when it did. How could I possibly hate a man like that?”

 

That seemed to free him from the demons that had haunted him all this time and with a groan, captured her mouth again as his hands resumed their journey across her bare skin. They made love slowly, tenderly, both wanting to savor every moment of their all too brief time together as they poured their very souls into one another with every touch, every caress, every kiss, until he finally joined them at last.

 

 

A dreamy smile lit up her face as a blush crept up her cheeks with the blissful memory of that night. She was thrilled what a thorough and very considerate lover she’d discovered in that formerly gruff, uptight officer. They didn’t sleep much, cuddling, talking, and making love through the night instead before reluctantly parting early the next morning when he had to get back to Havoc’s ship. Not an hour after he’d left, her datapad beeped and she felt a flutter in her heart as she remembered the sweet message he sent her once he was in orbit.

 

“Whoo-hoo, Rose to Naula, come in Naula,” a cheeky voice sang out, ending in a giggle before it went on, “Oh, you’ve got it really bad, girl.”

 

“So?” Natalia shot back, unable to contain the smirk, “Back to work?”

 

“Yup,” Rose confirmed, “Mess is cleaned up and rich boy was hauled out by Cartel Security.”

 

“You alright?”

 

“Yeah, I’m more worried about Jake.”

 

“His hand broken?”

 

“Nah, scans just show bruising,” Rose sighed, “But he seemed really upset.”

 

“Of course he was upset,” Natalia replied, following her friend out of the dressing room, “That guy was groping at you despite your obvious attempts to push him away.”

 

“He hasn’t gotten that angry when guys have tried that crap on you or the other dancers,” Rose countered.

 

“Maybe there’s a reason……ever consider that?” Natalia smirked, shaking her head at how completely clueless the other woman was about the fact their bouncer was smitten with her.

 

“Urgh, we’ll have to discuss this later……we got a new customer,” Rose gestured towards the entrance, “Hostess duty calls. Hrmmm, must be a first timer, he looks nervous.”

 

“Oh, that’ll be fun,” Natalia giggled, then her heart stopped when she spotted the man. The tall, middle aged, and slightly balding Human was dressed in plain clothes, but she would recognize that face anywhere after studying his file this past month. Even out of uniform and seemingly at unease, the officer still held the commanding presence he was known for. Colonel Robert Wilks had surfaced at last.

 

 

Author's Note:

 

I borrowed Captain Coruscant from someone on this thread, Yoshi I think, and made up the title of the comic book.

 

 

And the next part:

 

Title: Out of Sight, Out of Mind

Prompt: Out of time, Snatched from the Jaws of Defeat, and an (un) invited guest,

Character: Natalia Bryce (aka Naula)-my version of an SIS agent, Jonas Balkar

Setting: Nar Shaddaa, immediately after Ready

Spoilers: none really

 

 

“The guy looks a bit stiff to enjoy a place like this,” Rose observed, not missing the look of disdain on the tall Human’s features, “Wonder if he’s lost….”

 

The hostess’ snarky comment snapped Natalia out of her initial shock and her training took over, first thing, get him out of sight. Her eyes darted around the room, still blissfully empty save for the customers who’d been there before the skirmish. Thinking fast, Natalia grabbed Rose’s arm stopping her as the Twi’lek started towards the entrance.

 

“Rose, I need you to take that man to one of the back rooms right now,” Natalia ordered, “His name is Robert Wilks. Just tell him his friend ordered it and will be here shortly……then forget you ever heard that name!”

 

“But…..how do you…..”

 

“Please,” Natalia pleaded with her confused friend, knowing time was of the essence, “I promise I’ll explain what I can later, just do it…..and hurry!”

 

“I’m gonna hold you to that,” Rose nodded, then headed for the nervous man as Natalia turned back to where they'd just come from.

 

Natalia raced back to the dressing room, grabbed her comlink, and locked herself in the fresher. She quickly put in Agent Balkar’s frequency and a moment later his image popped up.

 

“Talk to me,” Jonas demanded, knowing something crucial must’ve happened for Natalia to risk calling him directly.

 

“Wilks is here!” Natalia hissed, “I’m going to hide him as best I can, but I’m willing to bet Bradley’s men will be here any moment so you need to get someone here pronto.”

 

“Dammit,” Jonas cursed, “All my field agents are out on assignment and the only people available are either too green or too recognizable. I don’t want to risk exposing your cover.”

 

“Well you’d better think of something because I don’t know how long I can keep him safe here and I’m certain he’s a dead man once he leaves the club,” Natalia told him. “Luckily he showed up before Bradley’s people, so hopefully they’re unaware he’s here yet. He’s safely stashed in one of the lap dance rooms and I’m taking him a disguise that will hide his identity for now.”

 

“What do you mean for now?”

 

“A few months back, some young Sith had a little consensual fun with one of our dancers after a party and left his outer robe. It has a hood that will cover most of his face and I’ll put him in the back corner where most of our Sith clients like to sit. Fortunately, the regulars usually don’t show up until later in the evening, so he shouldn’t be discovered, but all the same….”

 

“Probably best to get him out of there as soon as possible,” Jonas finished, “I know Dek, Zev, and Jax are en route to Nar Shaddaa…..let me call and see how far out they are.”

 

“I don’t think sending any of them is a good idea,” Natalia pointed out, “Those men planned to follow Wilks when he left and ambush him in a dark alley. They’re prepared for a fight and you can bet they’ll know something’s up if one of their prime targets shows up and leaves with a mysterious figure that’s in the club at the same time as Wilks was supposed to be.”

 

“I know, but one of them might have a contact on planet that can help us. Otherwise, I’ll come myself if I have to.”

 

“Hopefully it won’t come to that,” Natalia sighed, “But regardless of who comes, make sure they aren’t a recognizable tie to Dek, Zev, or Jax. Those men have done their homework.”

 

“Noted,” Jonas nodded, then smiled at her, “You hang tight, we’ll think of something and once the good Colonel is safe, I’m pulling you.”

 

“I won’t fight you on that,” Natalia replied, “I’d better go…..just hurry.”

 

She disconnected, and put her comlink back in her locker, grabbing a small ion spike out of her bag and tucking it in her belt before closing it. Then she went over to the closet where they keep props and stuff left behind. She snatched the long, black robe off a hanger and stuffed it in an old backpack, then dug around in the prop bin until she felt a cool metal cylinder. She grinned triumphantly at the fake saber hilt and tossed it in the bag, then rushed out the door. She caught Rose’s eye and the Twi’lek nodded, holding up four fingers. Natalia mouthed ‘thank you’ and headed for private room number four.

 

“What’s going on?!” Wilks demanded as soon as she entered the room, “I’m supposed to be meeting someone……”

 

“I know that,” Natalia interrupted quietly, tossing the bag down on the chair across from the officer, “and trust me, it’s not who you’re expecting.” Without further word, she took the spike from her belt, went into the corner and zapped the camera with it. Disrupting the camera feed was risky since it would be noticed right away, but she was banking on the maintenance crew still being on break after the scuffle earlier.

 

Wilks glared at her suspiciously, but his sense of self-preservation won out and he wisely waited for her to finish before speaking up. “What are you talking about?”

 

“I’m telling you that Senator Bradley has no intention of showing up here,” Natalia explained, “but his hired and very deadly goons will be along any moment.”

 

“How do you know this?” Wilks barked, an edge of panic to his voice, “How do you know me?”

 

“No time for that……and please try to remember we’re not on a military base. Let’s stick to quiet, indoor voices, huh?” Natalia shook her head as she dug the robe and hilt out of the bag she brought in, “put these on….”

 

“No!” Wilks crossed his arms, “I demand to know what’s going on……your boss is going to hear about this!”

 

Natalia grabbed his arm as he turned to leave, “Unless you want tomorrow’s headlines to read ‘High ranking Republic Officer found dead in back alley of top end gentlemen’s club,’ you’ll shut up and do what I say,” she hissed, jerking her head at the door, “See those men that just sat down? They’re Bradley’s hit men.”

 

“Are you sure?” Wilks whispered, sinking into a padded chair after spotting the men through the tiny darkened window, “I know Ed’s been up to something and they look like the sort he’d hire, but why me? Why now?”

 

“Because you’re a loose end,” Natalia told him, feeling a little sorry for the shaken man, “You know too much and you haven’t exactly been playing smart by demanding further payment for your part in Operation Landslide’s cover-up.”

 

“HA!” Wilks snorted, “I never got any payment…..I just wanted what they’d promised me in the first place!”

 

“Why did you wait so long to do anything about it?” Natalia raised a cool brow at him.

 

“Ed and Karen kept saying they had to be careful and insisted they’d make good on their promises when things died down,” Wilks admitted, “So I waited……and waited……and waited……but I wanted to return to the Core Worlds and retire.” He bowed his head in defeat, “I should’ve never agreed to help them in the first place. I knew it was wrong……those men were good soldiers and didn’t deserve to have their reputations tainted.”

 

“Well, you can start making amends now,” Natalia suggested gently, some of the frost leaving her tone, “First though, we need to get you out of here without attracting those goons’ attention. Put that robe on, fasten your belt around it, and pull the hood over your head. Hurry because someone’s bound to notice the monitors are off any minute,” she warned as she hopped up on the platform, hitting the music switch as she did, and began to dance, “Good, now hook that saber hilt to your belt…..don’t worry, it’s just a prop. As soon as they discover the issue with the monitors, maintenance is going to come knocking and we’ll have to leave the room. When you exit, turn to the right and go sit in the back corner booth……it’s where our usual Sith clients sit. A waitress will bring you a drink, accept it without speaking and keep the hood on.”

 

“That won’t be suspicious?!”

 

“Nope,” Natalia grinned, “That’s what most of ‘em do. Sure, we have the occasional one that makes a ruckus, but for the most part, our Sith regulars are decent clients. They keep to themselves and just want to watch the girls in privacy. I’ll try to dance in your section until you’re extracted, but if I’m asked for a lap dance, I gotta leave. I know this coming at you fast, you got any questions before we’re interrupted?”

 

“You probably won’t answer this, but who are you exactly?”

 

“You can refer to me as Naula for now,” Natalia replied, “but I’m an undercover SIS agent way overdue to be pulled from this assignment. I’m risking a lot by telling you that much so please respect that and don’t ask anymore until you’re with my superiors.”

 

“I understand,” Wilks nodded, “and thank you.”

 

“You can thank me by coming clean about Bradley, Mills, and the truth about what happened during Operation Landslide once you’re safe,” Natalia whispered and a moment later, a knock sounded at the door.

 

Edited by alaurin
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And the muse is on fire this week.......been a while since I've posted so much just a few days! :eek:

 

So I'm enjoying my morning coffee after getting the kids on the bus, scrolling through my Tumblr dash as I'm savoring the caffeine goodness. Then I come across someone's screenshot of their Trooper and Jorgan wearing these nifty (and I'll admit, a little sexy) berets. Of course I reblog the post......can't resist my favorite grumpy Cathar, and the OP lets me know where to get one! Makeb rep vendor for those unaware (not sure if its just Pub side or both). Well that picture and the thought of Mallay getting one for Jorgan sparked a story which I will share with you all now! It's been a while since I've written something for the Lauren girls.......I've missed them and their shenanigans!

 

Title: Too Sexy for That Hat!

Prompt: Fashion

Character: Mallayse Lauren-Trooper, Aric Jorgan, and Corso Riggs

Setting: Makeb, BT Thunderclap

Spoilers: I'll be safe and say general Makeb spoilers

 

warning: some warm fuzzies and innuendo below.........:cool:

 

“Hey man,” Corso called out, jogging to catch up to the tawny Cathar, “Haven’t been assigned with you guys these past couple of days……how’s it going?”

 

“Eh….not bad,” Aric shrugged, “Could do without the ground quakes though.”

 

“You and me both,” the Mantellian shuddered, then his concerned brown eyes took in the soldier’s subdued demeanor, “You alright, Aric? You and Mallay seem a little off today.”

 

“She’s been a bit moody ever since we got to Makeb,” Aric sighed, “There aren’t any hotels on the orbital station so the whole squad is bunking on the ship and you know Mallay……she gets a little antsy about fooling around when the crew’s on board. We have on occasion, and I could probably manage to convince her to now, but she’s always so tense around the squad afterwards that I feel bad.”

 

“I’m the same way, that’s why Bella had our quarters soundproofed a while back,” Corso nodded, “Before the twins were born, we were making supply runs for the Republic and cargo runs for the family businesses. We were spending more time on the Serendipity than at home and after I admitted feeling a little embarrassed that the others could hear us, she took care of the problem.”

 

“That’s sounds great, but the Thunderclap is military property,” Aric replied, “Any repairs or additions have to go through the Spec Force requisition officer and you have to specifically cite the work being done along with the reason. Somehow I don’t see Mallay filling out the form to get our quarters soundproofed so the rest of the squad doesn’t hear us having sex.”

 

Even Corso had to laugh at that, “Well, the orbital station does have a couple of nice cantinas…..maybe talk the others into giving you two some privacy for a couple of hours.”

 

“I tried,” Aric shook his head, “But Vik’s stupid a** started making wisecracks and Mallay was so embarrassed it killed the mood. He felt bad after Dorne cuffed him upside the head, but it was too late. I know she can’t help it, but honestly, it’s starting to get to me a little……makes me wonder if she’s not that attracted to me anymore.”

 

“If that were the case, she wouldn’t be moody about the lack of privacy,” Corso countered, clapping the Cathar on the shoulder as an idea came to mind, “Follow me…..I’ve got something that might help. Felix told me about these berets one of the vendors had.....you know, like the ones some of the mercs have. Well, he'd overheard Bella and Lissa after we'd finished up that first day. They were talking about the berets the Regulators were wearing and both admitted to liking the way they looked. So Felix bought one just for fun, and wore it back to the ship. I guess Lissa had also been reluctant about things with the others on board, but apparently she took one look at him wearing that hat and kicked everyone off the ship.”

 

“Really?” Aric mused as he followed the younger man towards the vender area, a little shocked by that since the young Jedi tended to be quite shy, “I’m not much of a hat person though.”

 

“I’m not either, but Felix talked me into it,” Corso grinned, “and trust me, you’re gonna be happy you snagged one.”

 

“I take it Bella reacted favorably to seeing you in it,” Aric raised a questioning brow at his brother in law, “Not that she’s ever been the shy sort in the first place.”

 

“Let’s just say that we had one hell of a shuttle ride off planet,” Corso answered, blushing a little as he remembered how bold his frisky wife had gotten during the short trip, “I felt bad for that poor pilot, but Bella tossed a pile of credits at him and we ran through the station to our hanger. Bella was tearing at my armor before we even reached the airlock and I’m sure we made quite the scene.”

 

“Eh, probably still not as bad as what Ros and Rusk were caught doing in the lake after we secured that area,” Aric snickered as Corso shook his head.

 

“Probably not…..and he didn’t even have one of those,” Corso gestured at the beret as Aric tried one on, “See, it’s not so bad……pretty comfortable actually.”

 

“Guess it’s worth a shot,” Aric conceded and paid the merchant.

 

******

 

“Hey guys,” Risha called out as she entered the lavish cantina, “Fifty credits says we’ll be seeing some Havoc members joining us in here real soon.”

 

“Why’s that?” Zenith asked as he brought a tray of drinks over to the large booth where the group had congregated.

 

“Because I just passed Aric on my way in here and he was wearing one of those berets,” Risha smirked, “and boy does he wear it well. If he wasn’t already taken, I’d have been seriously tempted to jump him right there. Mallay’s not gonna know what hit her!”

 

“Stars, that family’s going to have quite the reputation by the time we leave the planet……” Guss observed, shaking his head.

 

“I’m pretty sure they already do thanks to Ros and Rusk’s underwater adventures,” Kira snorted, “and if that wasn’t enough, having Bella and Corso rush through the station groping at each other like a couple of sex crazed teenagers probably sealed it.”

 

****

 

Aric muttered a curse under his breath as he keyed in the code to the ship’s entrance, knowing he was very late. He hoped Corso was right about the beret, otherwise his extremely punctual mate was about to tear into his hide. He approached the conference room quietly, enjoying the sight of her lithe little body reaching up to point at the map displayed on the wall. Visions of yanking out that jeweled hairstick to free those long auburn tresses from their coil entered his mind and his hands itched to do just that, and a hell of a lot more.

 

“……so tomorrow we’ll be hitting the Regulator camps along this plateau,” the petite CO of Havoc was informing her squad as she pointed at her map, her back to them. She paused when she heard booted footsteps approaching, “You’re fifteen minutes late, Captain Jorgan, and missed most of the briefing. I hope you have a good……” Her brisk voice trailed off as she turned around to glare at her tardy XO now leaning against the doorway.

 

“Sorry sir,” Aric replied, a roguish half smile forming as he watched his mate staring at him, those blue eyes widening as they took him in. She stood there, that tempting mouth still slightly open as that blush he loved began kissing the creamy skin of her cheeks and he made a mental note to thank his brother in law later, “I get held up by Corso and had to wait for another shuttle.”

 

Mallay was too tongue tied to respond as all sorts of images began to fill her head, most of them involving her oh so sexy husband wearing nothing but that irresistibly rakish beret while they did things that would make even Bella blush. Oh dear……..he’s looking way too dashingly hot right now and it’s been too long since we’ve had any time alone. Down girl, she told herself, it would be inappropriate to tear his armor off in front of the squad. But boy did she ever want to…..right this very minute.

 

“Sir?” Elara’s voice broke into her heated thoughts, “Are you alright?”

 

“Yes,” Mallay replied distractedly as her body temperature continued to shoot up several degrees under his smoldering green gaze, “So very hot..….oh wait……what was the question?”

 

“Feeling a little warm, Major?” Aric taunted, still leaning against the door as those wicked green eyes boldly raked her over, knowing exactly what he was doing to her and thrilled he could still cause that reaction.

 

That’s not fair! “I’m…..uh…..fine,” she finally managed, that bedroom voice of his still able to make her weak in the knees after all this time, and she found herself unable to recall what she’d been talking about when he arrived. She felt her cheeks heat up further when she heard Tanno’s gravelly chuckle, realizing just how much of a babbling idiot she was being right then and worried if she got any redder, the small implant that curved around her left eye would start lighting up.

 

“Are we done here, boss?” the Weequay asked as he stood, “Because you look like you’re about ten seconds from jumping Jorgan and I really don’t stick around for that show.”

 

Mallay finally snapped out of it enough coherently address her squad. “Dismissed,” she ordered thickly, glaring at her demolitions expert, “Now all of you out! Grab whatever you need to keep yourselves occupied for the next few hours and get off the ship! Except you, Captain, your tardy a** can stay right there! I mean it, don’t you dare move……I’ll deal with you as soon as the rest are gone!”

 

“As you wish……sir,” Aric replied as the others started filing out, knowing smirks on their faces. Then unable to resist going against her orders not to move, he snaked an arm around her tiny waist as she passed by him to watch the rest of the squad depart and brought her in close enough to whisper in her ear, letting his fangs tease her neck a little as he did so, earning a pleasured little sigh that shot straight to his groin, “So what are you going to do to me?”

 

He got his answer a moment later when the ship’s exit closed behind the rest of the squad and his mate turned around to face him. No words were spoken as her nimble fingers quickly unfastened his chest plating and unzipped his cortosis. Her lush lips quirked in an appreciative smile as she ran her hands along his bared chest before grasping the lapels and dragging him down to her, a sultry groan escaping her throat as their mouths met in a searing kiss.

 

 

Author’s Note:

 

I remembered later that the rep vendor that sells that hat is on the orbital station, but it worked better in my story to have it on planet. Unfortunately poor Mallay doesn’t have the rep required to get that hat for Jorgan, a situation I will rectify as soon as I’m able!

 

Also, I really need to start naming my character's ships one of these days. Bella's is the only one that has a name.

 

Edited by alaurin
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@Mirdthestrill: Thank you for the compliment, Ru feels flattered. Mako is my favorite companion. In my story she'll get all the time I feel she needs :)

 

I like both your pieces about Mallena coming home. They feel very realistic. With the little brother wanting to examine the arm, the surprise party, the interruptions. Her brothers spying and urging them on in the end was priceless!

 

@alaurin: I always saw Mako a bit as Thorns' conscience, keeping him from drifting off to the dark side. I think she lived with Braden long enough to be truly 'infected' with the dream of winning the Great Hunt. Then she has the goal to avenge Braden's death. Staying with the BH is her only option to achieve this.

 

Natalia handled the situation well so far, but what happens next? Will Wilks survive the day?

And yes, those hats do look good! Although I think it is a mistake to let the men know ;)

 

 

 

 

Prompt - Hide and Seek / Signed, Sealed, and Delivered

Title - The Prisoner - Part 1

Class - JC (Arkeo), Iolith (the real one, promised), JK (Phorik), Trooper (Nikeo), Smuggler (Gizalen)

Words - ~2230

Spoilers - Esseles

 

Takes place after ‘Stubble' and ‘Name-Calling

 

 

They had been about to enter the shuttle when the distress call came in. A group of agents escorting an Imperial prisoner to Coruscant was being attacked by boarders. A Sith on his way to join the fight had been spotted.

The Imperial ship had attacked the Esseles after they had refused to hand over Republic ambassador Asara. Their group had repelled most of the Imperial boarders, but the Esseles was trapped by the enemy’s tractor beam. All of them had volunteered to fly with a shuttle to the warship and disable the beam. Now it seemed the Imperials had a second objective aboard the Esseles.

 

“Did he just say Sith?” The lieutenant swallowed. “Kark! The agents will need support. Sergeant, you’ll go with the rest, I’ll head over to the detention cells!”

 

“She would have shot you the same as me, Nik, and you’re still willing to risk your neck for her. Don’t be such a fool.” The civilian zabrak, supposedly a freighter captain, scolded the young officer.

 

“Shut up, Giz! This is a military operation. If the Empire wants her back this desperately we will do our best to not let them have her!”

 

“Lie to yourself all you want, you’re still a fool.”

 

The lieutenant ignored him and started off towards the elevator.

 

“Stop, lieutenant!” Arkeo called. He wasn’t exactly sure about his power to direct, but he knew it was time to intervene.

 

The lieutenant looked at him. “Master Jedi?”

 

Usually Arkeo would have told him he was only a padawan, now he took advantage of the misunderstanding. “You got your task. You and Sergeant Jorgan are best suited to disable the tractor beam. I am the one best suited to take on the Sith.”

 

The lieutenant’s head swiveled back towards the elevator. Then he nodded. “Understood, sir.” He boarded the shuttle. The sergeant and the two civilians followed him.

 

Phorik sighed. “I don’t like this, Arkeo!”

 

“Neither do I, but that can’t be helped. The Force will be with me. I’ll deal with the Sith.”

 

“I am a better fighter than you are.”

 

“Herald won’t be alone!” Qyzen stated.

 

“No, Qyzen! I want you to go with Phorik.”

 

The Trandoshan didn’t hesitate. “As you wish, Herald! More glory for both of us!”

 

Arkeo looked his fellow padawan in the eyes. “There will be much more fighting over there. You have to get the soldiers to the tractor beam control. Don’t worry, Phorik. The Lieutenant will follow your orders. He may smell like a drunkard but I am sure he is sober. Just don’t forget to give him orders.” Arkeo winked. Both of them were used to be on the receiving end for commands.

 

Phorik nodded. “May the Force be with you!”

 

“One more thing. Keep an eye on the zabrak and Asara. I saw the captain talking to Officer Haken earlier. Haken might have given him some ideas. We don’t want the ambassador to suffer an accident.” Arkeo clasped Phorik’s arm. “May the Force be with you.”

 

Arkeo didn’t wait to watch the shuttle leave. He headed straight for the elevator. When he reached the right floor he traded a short status report with the bridge. He gave the order that everybody should stay clear of the Sith, and deactivated his personal com device. He concentrated, inhaled, exhaled, and with a wave of his hand he erased his guise from the visible world. He wouldn’t need further reports on the whereabouts of the Sith. He could already feel him in the Force. His opponent seemed to be too arrogant to disguise his aura, at least that was what Arkeo hoped. If what he felt was a disguise he’d be in for real trouble.

 

He rounded the corner into the corridor which led to the holding cells. A Sith and four Imperial troopers walked in front of him on their way to join the fight against the SIS agents. The Sith wore high boots and a hooded formfitting robe, moderately reinforced from what Arkeo was able to tell at first glance. He tried to sneak closer in the hope to be able to take at least one opponent out before the actual fight.

 

However, the Sith sensed him, turned around, and ignited his lightsaber. As expected it was fitted with a red crystal. The Sith flourished the saber in front of him. “Greetings, Jedi. Why don’t you come out to play?” He motioned for the troopers to proceed.

 

Drawing his double-bladed lightsaber as well Arkeo stepped out of the shadows.

 

“At last—a true challenge.” A hideous grin distorted the Sith’ chalk-white face even further than the scars at the corners of his mouth did.

 

“It is not too late for you to leave peacefully, Sith.”

 

“I was promised a battle and I will have it.” He pointed at Arkeo. “To destroy a dangerous foe… that is the way of the true Sith. When I carve your heart from your chest, your fellow Jedi will sense your defeat. As will my master.”

 

“Then I assume any further attempt of mine to end this amicably will be futile.” Arkeo changed his position as the Sith started to move. They circled each other with measured steps. Down the corridor Arkeo could hear shots and shouting.

 

“Peace is a lie, Jedi. There is only passion. And through passion, I gain strength. The power of the dark side is infinite… are you ready to face oblivion?”

 

Arkeo activated his saber. Blue versus red. “There is no darkness that does not flee from the light.”

 

“There will be no fleeing from this fight!” The Sith charged.

 

They traded some blows to test their respective adversary’s strength. Down the corridor the din of fighting grew louder. The Sith’ grin widened. He seemed to delve into the vibes from the fight down the corridor, to thrive with every shout of pain.

Arkeo pushed all this aside to concentrate on the fight at hand. He let the calmness of the Force flow into his mind. The slightest quivers in the Force told him which attack to expect, which move to counter, blow to parry, and feint to ignore. He was aware of his opponent’s fear, hatred and loathing, but they could not touch him, glanced off of his mental shield. He was filled with the light of the Force, there was no room for emotions.

 

As the fight progressed it became clear to Arkeo that the Sith’ saber technique was better than his own, maybe even better than Phorik’s. Nonetheless Arkeo wasn’t worried for himself. Even though the Sith managed to break through the Jedi’s guard several times, he wasn’t able to pierce his Force shield. With every deflected attack the Sith’s blows became stronger though, he drew on his anger which was nearly palpable now. Despite this they’d probably be able to go on like this for a while. And while the Sith had all the time he needed, Arkeo was aware of the fact the SIS agents were hard pressed.

 

Arkeo jumped back to evade the attacking Sith. He dove sideways circumventing the next blow and rolled out of the Sith’ reach. With the same motion he got back to his feet and deactivated his saber. The time the Sith needed to turn towards him was enough for Arkeo to step back into the shadows whence he had come from. He heard the Sith’ saber whiz past his head and nearly tripped over his own feet to avoid being hit as the weapon circled back to its master’s outstretched hand.

 

The Sith’ brow furrowed. Arkeo stepped behind his opponent just in time. The Sith’ lightning bolt shot through the empty corridor towards the still ongoing fight that was Arkeo’s destination. His opponent walked in the right direction, dousing his path with lightning to drive Arkeo out of hiding. Arkeo remained always in his back. Rushing headlong into the fight would gain him nothing with his foe following right behind.

 

They rounded the next corner and the Sith’ lightning felled one of his own men. The twitching body did little to discourage the remaining Imperial troopers, though. The Sith knew Arkeo was here. He started to turn and scan the shadows. Arkeo hurried past him and tried to stay out of the line of fire of the Esseles’ defenders. The time for negotiations had long passed. In activating his lightsaber again he dispatched of another one of the Imperial troopers before he whirled and engaged the Sith.

 

***

 

“Stay with me, agent.” She tapped the man’s cheek lightly. To do so she had to let go of the towel she used to apply pressure to the agent’s wound. “Kark! Kerin, give me the kriffing code for the stun cuffs.” She looked over her shoulder at the second agent who was firing his blaster over and over again at the attackers in the corridor outside. “I can’t stop the bleeding like this.”

 

“Good luck convincing me you actually want to do something useful for a change. How dumb do you think I am, Zairos?” He ducked back behind the door-frame and exchanged his blaster’s energy cell for that of his dying partner’s.

 

“Dumb enough to get all of us killed, obviously. Kark!” Iolith continued to apply pressure to the wound as best she could. “Can we put discrepancies regarding your IQ aside for a moment?”

 

Kerin didn’t bother with an answer. He was busy trying to shoot Imperial troopers; judging from the sound of returned shots, not very successfully.

 

“Free me and give me a weapon. Damned. I want to die just as little as Miko here.”

 

Miko’dres coughed.

 

“Don’t worry, Miko. You’ll be fine. Just keep your eyes open. Talk to me. Do you hear me! Tell me one of your terrible jokes!” She looked over her shoulder again and raised here voice. “At least I’ll die laughing when they shoot me after they took out your damned thickheaded partner. I swear three square meters of good old Kaasian jungle have a higher IQ than he does.”

 

“They won’t shoot you!” Miko whispered.

 

“What?”

 

The agent coughed again. “They… —Kilran wants you alive.”

 

“Kilran? What would Kilran want with me?”

 

“Marry. You’re be…” Another cough. “…betrothed.”

 

“Force, Miko. Your jokes have certainly been better.”

 

“No joke. Your family—they are all dead.”

 

She sat back in shock. Her brain did some somersaults to sort this new information into existing plans and possibilities. Her father, her sisters, if they were really dead that would make her—she’d be heir to House Zairos. She hoped the family crypt had been bolted. Her ancestors were probably already gathering for a protest march. Kilran didn’t want her; never wanted her. He wanted House Zairos. She had refused to be the breeding mare for a minor Sith lord; she certainly wouldn’t be one for Force-blind Grand Karking Moff Kilran.

 

Miko’dres groaned.

 

Iolith got back to preventing the man from dying. “Kilran can get stuffed! You hear me Miko? As far as I remember I turned him down the last time he asked me. Betrothed. Damned! Who does he think he is?”

 

“Conk him!”

 

“You bet!”

 

He whispered something she didn’t understand. He tugged at her arm. She got closer to him and he whispered it in her ear—the code for the stun cuffs.

 

***

 

There was another scream from the door to the detention cells. The Sith laughed. “Time to end this, Jedi!”

 

Arkeo retreated as the Sith rained blow after blow at him. Another life had ended in the adjoining room. He had not been able to prevent it. There was no death, there was only the Force. He was too slow in dodging a bolt of lightning. The electricity made his shield glow. His hair stood on end. Parrying was all he could do now. The Sith seemed to be even stronger.

 

Out of the corner of his eyes Arkeo saw the troopers approaching the door. A figure appeared in the door-frame.

 

“Stop, or I’ll shoot myself.” The woman pressed a blaster beneath her chin.

 

The troopers stopped their advance.

 

The Sith hissed and disengaged from Arkeo. He turned and yanked the blaster out of the womans hand with the Force. “I don’t think so.”

 

Arkeo didn’t wait for another invitation. He propelled himself forward and pushed the Sith into the closest wall. He followed this move with a kick as the Sith tried to regain his footing. The Sith stumbled once more and exposed a joint in his armor. Arkeo’s blade found its mark.

 

“Look out!”

 

Arkeo whirled, deflected one shot and dodged the next. With a twitch of his wrist he propelled the woman’s blaster at the helmet of one of the troopers.

 

The Imperials made the mistake to discard the woman as harmless and concentrated on the Jedi; a mistake one of them had no time to regret when she stabbed him in the back with a vibro-knife.

 

Arkeo killed another one of them with a deflected blaster bolt. Then he had reached two more who learned blue was as deadly a color as red.

 

The woman shot the last remaining trooper with one of their own weapons.

 

Arkeo looked at her over his still ignited lightsaber. “Are you one of the agents?”

 

“No, I am the prisoner.” She dropped the weapon, turned, and headed back into the room.

 

 

Notes:

I took some liberties with the endboss, placing the fight on board of the Esseles.

Part of the conversation between Arkeo and the Sith are from ingame.

 

 

Edited by frauzet
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Ooooohohoh, I got lots of comments!

 

 

 

@frauzet – I love how you approached this from another character’s perspective! I feel like I learned a lot about both characters.

And for the Laws & Governance piece… All I can say is this is what is wrong with the Empire. *snicker*

 

@DomiSotto – Your character description made me laugh! It’s fun to think back on how characters came about.

 

@Alaurin – Thanks for the good wishes. I’m coming up on the second trimester and I’m not nauseous ALL day now. “Morning” sickness my ***.

Your Bad Timing: I’m laughing at myself a little bit because I keep reading “Zev” and thinking inadvertently of Zeb from Rebels. XD But aside from that, I love that everything you write makes me laugh. The relationship between Zev and Jorgan is really engaging.

As for ‘Affection,’ not to mention ‘Ready’… Well. *fans self* Also the mention of comic books just made me giggle, I love it.

Annnndddd, I gotta keep working on catching up your stuff! You’re so prolific!

 

@ AKHadeed – Glad you’re feeling better! And I agree with Alaurin, her confidence is evident in her armor. That seems very Mando; that was one of the things I’d read about Boba Fett that really struck me in EU Legends stuff. I dig it.

 

@Mirdthestrill – I love the Celebration one. Connections to family are always so interesting. I love that we get the opportunity to explore that, and yours is so charming.

“But why? I don’t sing while I fight.” I laughed for literally 5 minutes straight. I’m still chuckling about it. But the whole piece was stunning. My poor little heart was sooo broken at the end of it.

 

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The fourth week of October’s Month of Meta, still one more left!

 

Week of October 24, 2014

Write a Theme: Star Wars is unusual in its almost universal appeal, and much of its success has been attributed to the Lucas’ incorporation of universal mythological themes in the story. Good stories (and modern myths) often have these kinds of themes tying the narrative together. The fall from grace, the epic journey, love conquers all, finding hidden treasures, discovering inner strength. What recurring themes weave through your characters’ stories? Sometimes these ideas aren’t obvious at the outset, but become so as you write or review previous stories. This week’s challenge: pick one specific to your character and write a story featuring it.

 

 

 

And, as ever,

 

Night of the Living Prompt: Keep on using any prompt you like! Check out the list at http://www.swtor.com/community/showpost.php?p=7489974post=2 and http://www.swtor.com/community/showpost.php?p=7489991post=3 (we’re up to two full posts!). Many thanks to Alaurin for maintaining the prompt archive and story index here.

 

 

This week's featured NotLP:

Hide and Seek - Sometimes our characters need to find something they just don't have. Sometimes they need to keep something hidden from somebody else. Write about a time your character was hiding, seeking, hidden, or sought.

 

 

Got an idea for a prompt? Send me a pm!

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@Charmedseed: Thank you, I am glad you liked it.

Hope you're feeling better and are able to fully enjoy this time. Take good care of yourself.

 

 

 

Prompt - Description / Thank you

Title - The Prisoner - Part 2

Class - JC (Arkeo), Iolith

Words - ~1760

Spoilers - None

 

Takes place after ‘The Prisoner - Part 1

 

Miko’dres was still breathing.

 

“Hey sweetie, open your eyes. I am still waiting for the joke you promised me.” She heard the Jedi enter the room behind her. “He is unconscious,” she said over her shoulder. “There has to be a first-aid-kit somewhere.”

 

The Jedi took a wide step over Kerin’s body, now as dead as he had been dumb. No, only more cautious than had been healthy for him in this case. She couldn’t really blame him. She hadn’t given him any reason to believe otherwise. And yet Miko had believed her. Maybe that was the reason she still wanted to save him. She wasn’t sure. Earning some bonus points now she’d be staying a while longer—an easy decision, really—had to be entered into the equation, too.

 

Iolith heard how the Jedi opened one locker after the other while he contacted the bridge and asked for a med team. Some clatter and rattling later he handed her the kit she had asked for. She took it without looking at him. She was still trying to cut Miko’s reinforced jacket and his shirt open without aggravating his injury.

 

“Here, let me help you. I’ll hold this while you cut.” The Jedi had shed his long dark robe and gotten down on his knees beside her. Now he took hold of the folds of the fabric she was working on.

 

She gave him a quick glance and nodded before she continued with her task. Maybe it was just imagination but after a look in those amber colored eyes among the Mirialan tattoos she felt calmer, warmer, almost secure. Was he influencing her through the Force? If he was it didn’t matter. If anything it helped with what she was doing. When the cut was wide enough she put the knife aside.

 

The Jedi had already opened the kit and had retrieved two packages. “Kolto plaster or bandage? There is also some spray in there.”

 

“The plaster will be fine.” She took it and unwrapped it. The Jedi kept the cut, she had made in the agent’s clothes, open, while she applied the plaster to the wound. “If you could apply some pressure here…”

 

Without hesitation the Jedi placed his hands on the plaster beside hers. They were bigger and more deeply tanned than hers, with long fingers. The fingernails were clipped off and clean. There was a green tint to the bronze skin. His bare arms touched hers. She could not fail to note the muscles in his upper arms. The med kit lay on his far side. He didn’t flinch when she leaned over his back to lift it. He smelled of fresh sweat and herbs, not unpleasant. She felt the movement of his body as he breathed in and out with deep and steady breaths.

 

The med kit contained several stims like she’d hoped. She got down on her haunches and took them all out. Then she noticed the glow emanating from the Jedi’s hands. His eyes were closed, his face looked calm. Was he healing Miko? Why hadn’t he done so immediately. Had he wanted to see what she would do?

 

He opened his eyes, looked at her, and smiled. “No, I can’t heal him.” He had sensed her confusion. She had grown careless in her time around Force-blinds. “This is just a meditation technique. I am trying to calm him. I hope this will help him until the med team arrives. What about the stims?”

 

They were all labeled, and she discarded one after the other after reading what they contained. At last there were two left. She held them up. “I am not sure which one is better suited.”

 

“Wait.” He lifted one of his hands and hovered it over the stims. He closed his eyes. His brow knitted in concentration, then his face relaxed. After a moment he opened his eyes again. His hand dropped to one of the stims. “Take this one.”

 

“You sure?”

 

He shrugged. “That’s what the Force tells me, but I am no medic.” He placed his hand back on the plaster. “If you don’t know more than I do, then it is better than guessing.”

 

To her it sounded the same as guessing. There was no point in arguing, though. She injected Miko with the stim the Jedi had chosen. Now all they could do was wait. She wiped her hands on one of the wet wipes from the med kit. “I think you can let go of the plaster.”

 

He did and got up. She noticed the padawan braid in his otherwise short jet black hair; no fully trained Jedi then. He washed his hands at the small sink in the corner. Then he retrieved his robe and donned it. It was open at the front and showed his cream-colored shirt and black trousers, which seemed to be made out of some kind of real leather as were his black boots. Had the shirt been black, red, or purple he would not have stood out among a crowd of young Sith—apart from his tattoos, of course. Much of the upper half of his face was covered with geometric symbols. The young man had obviously already achieved a lot. Iolith was not familiar enough with Mirialan culture to know what, though. With the tattoos and tan it was hard to tell how old he might be; beginning to mid-twenties maybe.

 

She stroked Miko’s hair out of his face. He seemed to take even breaths. There was hope.

 

“Why did you save him?”

 

She glanced up at the Jedi. Her fingers caressed Miko’s hair. She had been thinking about this question a few minutes ago. She shrugged. “Maybe because he treated me more like a person than a prisoner. Maybe because he was nicer to me than I would have been to him had our roles been reversed. Although his jokes could count as torture. Maybe because he is no undercover agent, no spy, just a lesser official. He is 29, married and has a daughter. She is four. He is faithful to his wife. He drinks his caf black and loves chocolate. When he is at home he watches ‘Corellia Clan’ with his wife. Have you noticed his feet are ridiculously big? Makes you wonder why he doesn’t trip over them all the time.” With a single gesture she waved all she had said away. “Honestly, Jedi, I don’t know. It seemed like the right thing to do.”

 

Running feet in the corridor announced the med team. The Jedi stretched out his hand, and when she took it, he pulled her to her feet. “Call me Arkeo.”

 

“Iolith.” She held his hand for a moment longer.

 

He didn’t pull away. “Thank you for saving me, too, Iolith.”

 

At first she didn’t know what he meant. “Oh. But I didn’t do much. And I wouldn’t have done anything if Miko hadn’t told me the Imperials wanted me alive and given me the code for the stun cuffs. So, you might want to thank him. By the way…” She walked over to the discarded cuffs and picked them up. She held them out for Arkeo to take. “Here. You need to configure a new code.”

 

He hesitated before he took them. She held out her wrists for him to attach the devices. He turned the cuffs over in his hands, studied them. Then he looked her in the eyes. “Tell me if we need them.”

 

She raised an eyebrow. Was he for real? He seemed to be serious about it. Again she felt the calm emanating from him. He just looked at her and waited for an answer. “No, we don’t need them.” To her own astonishment she meant what she said. She had nothing to lose. She didn’t plan to head over to Kilran. There was nowhere else to go. There was no point in threatening or harming anybody aboard the Esseles. There was no reason to make this any harder on anyone least of all on herself.

 

Arkeo nodded and put the stun cuffs on the desk behind him. “Please bear with me! I’ll need a few minutes. Why don’t you handle the med team.”

 

Iolith watched him walk over to Kerin’s body and drag him out of the doorway. He talked briefly to the arriving MO sending the woman over to Iolith with a gesture. Then he knelt beside Kerin. After she had reported to the MO, her help wasn’t needed in transferring Miko to a hover stretcher. She tried not to get in the way. When the team had left with Miko, she became aware the Jedi was no longer there. Kerin’s body lay outstretched with hands crossed above the heart, eyes closed. Iolith went to the door.

 

The Jedi was kneeling beside one of the Imperial troopers, crossing the corpse’s hands on its chest. A glance told her Arkeo had done this to nearly every other body. Now he got up and walked over to the dead Sith. He knelt just like he had done beside Kerin. Iolith thought she saw Arkeo’s lips move. He seemed to be muttering something under his breath. The gestures he used to cross the Sith’ hands and close the man’s eyes looked like a ritual. Arkeo panned his gaze across the corridor’s floor. When he found what he had been looking for he reached out and the Sith’ lightsaber sprang to his hand from where it had lain. Carefully he shoved it beneath the Sith’ hands. He got up and walked towards her.

 

“Ready to go?” He waited for her to nod in agreement. “According to the last report from the bridge all boarders have been dealt with. I think it’s best if we head to the mess to join the remaining passengers.” His gaze drifted once more over the bodies before he headed toward the elevator.

 

Iolith walked along beside him. “You prayed for them,” she said.

 

“There is no death, there is only the Force. I prayed for the Force to welcome them home.”

 

“I am not sure the Sith would agree.”

 

Arkeo smiled. “Most certainly he would not.”

 

“But you prayed for him anyway.”

 

“There is only one Force to take us back once our destiny is fulfilled whether we believe or not.”

 

Iolith couldn’t see what destiny the Sith had fulfilled here. He had died for nothing. But to each their own. She wasn’t keen on starting an argument about religion with a Jedi, all the more if the Jedi was a Mirialan.

 

 

Note:

The ‘Crossovers and Mashups’-pompt sparked the idea of Thorns and Mako watching ‘Corellia Clan’. The story has yet to be told. Writing it I will remember some good times with my BFF, who loved to watch ‘Denver Clan’—to you (at least those not quite so young ;) ) probably better known as ‘Dynasty’—and who never tired to enlighten me about the characters’ relationships.

 

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Writer’s Revenge! As a teacher I met many children, both wonderful and infuriating. I never said to them I’d write them into a story as revenge (or reward!), though now I think I should have! In their honor, Aitahea visits the Jedi Temple on Tython with Erithon and meets a former charge. The student is a bit of a combination of many of my ‘favorites’, most of whom were simultaneously the brattiest and sweetest of children.

 

I’m jumping to some conclusions about trials and positions taken on by Padawans, but I figure, hey, the Jedi are very good at putting people right where they need to be, when they need to be there. Even Ahsoka Tano spent some time teaching Initiates, so I figure I can’t be too far off.

 

Title: A Profound Purpose

Prompt: Writer’s Revenge

Character: Aitahea Daviin, Jedi Consular; Erithon Zale, Trooper; OC Padawan/Initiate

Setting: Tython, after Luminous

Spoilers: NA

 

 

Aitahea laughed merrily as the clutch of younglings ran up to her, grasping eagerly at her robes. One particularly amiable little Zeltron boy with a shock of navy hair, no more than four standard years, lifted his arms up to her. The Jedi obliged his adorable request with a sweet smile, hoisting the boy up to plop him securely on her left hip and pressing quick kiss to his forehead.

 

Turning to glance at Erithon, she found him looking chagrined, a hand on the back of his head. Two of the children were running in a circle around him, tapping on his plasteel armor and giggling madly. He cast a despairing look at Aitahea. “These are Jedi children?” he groaned. Aitahea answered with another bright laugh and shooed the tiny tormenters away from her companion, carrying her youthful cargo along.

 

“Force sensitive or not, they are children, at the end of the day,” the Consular replied, adjusting the position of the small boy in her arms. “Isn’t that so, youngling?” she asked the boy, who giggled and pressed his face into Aitahea’s shoulder in a fit of spontaneous shyness. She laughed in reply and hugged him before setting him down and watching as he ran back to his companions.

 

“I guess so. Somehow I thought they’d be… calmer,” Erithon confessed, observing as an impromptu game of tag broke out among the group.

 

Aitahea smiled teasingly at Erithon as she answered, eyes alight with mischief. “We all have our moments.”

 

Erithon lifted an eyebrow at her reply before breaking into his usual charming lopsided grin. Aitahea savored the fluttering in her chest his expression produced and had to fight to keep from kissing him right there. Their newfound love was exhilarating and enthralling, and Aitahea delighted in every minute of their time together. That was in fact the reason they were on Tython, bringing a petition to the Council to sanction their relationship.

 

Seeming to sense her struggle, Erithon reached out to squeeze her elbow before dropping his hand back to his side. She smiled gratefully and turned to watch the younglings gather around an older student who approached.

 

The young man – a Twi’lek no more than sixteen, leaf-green skin glowing with youth – opened his arms to the gaggle of children, who quickly gathered into a loose group before him. Aitahea observed with interest as he gave a few brief directions, confirmed that the youngest had understood, then clapped his hands to release the younglings to the requested task. As the students dispersed, he looked up to see Aitahea and Erithon standing before him. The Consular smiled warmly and the boy broke into a wide grin, dashing forward to meet Aitahea.

 

“Master Daviin!” The boy paused a few paces from Aitahea and offered a formal bow, unable to keep the broad smile from his face. The Jedi returned the greeting, then stepped forward to grasp the young man’s hands warmly.

 

“Telan, you’re well?” she asked, looking up to examine the boy’s face. “You’ve gotten so tall! Last time I saw you, you were barely to my shoulder.” Telan ducked his head, embarrassed but pleased.

 

“I am well, but if I keep outgrowing robes like I have, Master Rana says she’s going to shorten my legs with her lightsaber.” They both laughed at the empty threat, Aitahea shaking her head.

 

“Master Matea Rana? Are you her Padawan, then?”

 

Telan beamed in pleasure. “I am. She’s an excellent teacher, despite the endless teasing.”

 

“She chose you with the understanding that you’d be able to tolerate it, of course. Among your other talents, of course,” Aitahea praised, bringing a dark blush to the young man’s face. “You’ve chosen the path of a Knight, then.”

 

“After you left, Master Kellan took an interest in my saber skills. I learned a great deal.” He gazed at the Consular, affection and pride glowing in his green eyes. “But I wouldn’t have been ready for that learning without your teachings first.”

 

Aitahea laughed again, incredulous but smiling. “Telan, that’s kind, but I was only a Padawan.”

 

Telan shook his head, taking a step back. “You’re too modest, Master Daviin, even for a Jedi. Everyone says so. You’re still talked about, even from your days as an Initiate.” The boy glanced over his shoulder, noting that all the younglings save the little Zeltron had found their way to their duties. “I need to go supervise those younglings, but I hope I’ll see you later. I want to catch up!” He raised a hand in farewell as he trotted back to assist his youngest charge, gently ruffling the boy’s dark hair.

 

Erithon placed a hand on Aitahea’s shoulder. “Friend of yours?”

 

The Consular smiled contentedly. “A student of mine, somewhat. From the time I assisted the Minders, the way he does now. Many Padawans are given the responsibility of caring for Initiates during their training; I was no exception.” Aitahea leaned towards Erithon and allowed him to shift his arm around her shoulders into a casual embrace. She was so content she suddenly didn’t care who saw their display of affection, innocuous as it might be.

 

Erithon squeezed her shoulders gently. “Well, it looks like you did a good job, then. He’s a good kid.”

 

Aitahea nodded thoughtfully. “He was troubled as a youngling. Just so… angry.”

 

“That’s not really very Jedi-like behavior,” the trooper observed. “At least from what I understand.”

 

“No, but it wasn’t entirely his fault,” Aitahea admitted. “He was very nearly a casualty of the Separatist War on Ord Mantell. He was the only member of his family to survive the assault on his village.”

 

Erithon’s eyes grew dark. “I was on Ord Mantell, you know. First assignment. It was a nightmare, no matter what time of day it was. I don’t blame the kid for being angry.” Aitahea looked worriedly at his face, stunned at the righteous fury he poured into the Force. “I still dream about it,” he muttered, and the rage faded into regret and frustration.

 

Aitahea leaned her head on his shoulder, flooding the Force with comfort. The trooper calmed almost immediately and kissed the top of her head. “Telan did, too,” she added, sighing.

 

***

 

“Telan did it! I saw! Padawan Daviin!” A girl shrilled and pointed at the Twi’lek boy, arms folded and scowling. Before him on the ground sprawled another youngling, a Zabrak named Teo, reeling and looking confused. Aitahea, teenaged and exhausted, stood by in exasperation and shook her head. These were Jedi younglings? She didn’t ever recall being so… childish.

 

“Arriet, that’s enough. Everyone needs to sit, please. Practice your meditation,” Aitahea demanded, green eyes sweeping over the dozen younglings in her charge. They all turned to look at the slender older girl, dressed in a simple fitted tunic and pants, bright hair braided into a coronet atop her head, and a practice saber strapped to her back.

 

“But we already practiced meditation today, Padawan!” the same little girl, Arriet, argued. Aitahea closed her eyes for a split second, drawing hard on the Force for patience. Most of the other younglings had begun to settle down; Aitahea approached the human girl and took her hands, lowering her gently to a sitting position.

 

“I’ll tell you what, Arri, don’t tell anyone else, but I’d be okay if you even took a nap. How’s that sound?” The child nodded emphatically; she liked being singled out more than anything else, even if it was for something trivial. She immediately flopped to the ground and squeezed her eyes closed in mock slumber. Padawan Aitahea rolled her eyes and stood, brushing off the knees of her pants before walking towards Telan.

 

“What happened?” she demanded of both Twi’lek and Zabrak. “Quietly, please,” she amended, glancing at the students who had just settled into meditative positions.

 

Teo, finally recovered, jumped to his feet. “He pushed me! And not with his hands, either! It’s not allowed, Padawan!”

 

Aitahea tried unsuccessfully to shush him with a waved hand and pursed lips. A few of the more distractible students looked askance at the shouting boy. Aitahea shot them a pointed look and the majority of them closed their eyes again, at least feigning their meditations.

 

“Teo, please, quietly. I want to listen, but let’s not disturb the others,” the girl advised, looking back at Arri, who was peeking out of one eye. “Telan, what happened? Did you Force push Teo?”

 

The Twi’lek boy shrugged nonchalantly and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, but he started it.”

 

“I did not, I just-” Aitahea cut the furious Zabrak boy off with a frown, and he began to look embarrassed.

 

“Teo…” cautioned the Padawan, folding her arms. “A Jedi must be honest. Never mind that, all sentient beings should. Please.”

 

Teo huffed and looked away from Aitahea. “Okay, I called him some names. But I didn’t mean anything, Padawan Daviin.”

 

Aitahea gazed sadly at the Zabrak boy before gently grasping his shoulder. “Teo. Words are powerful, just as powerful as a lightsaber. You must use them with wisdom, not carelessness.” The boy’s shoulder’s drooped, and he glanced ruefully at Telan.

 

Telan just shrugged again and scowled at the ground. Aitahea spared him a solemn glance before turning back to the Zabrak. “Teo, please go join the others in meditation. You have a lot to consider at the moment.”

 

“Yes, Padawan,” the boy answered, drifting off to find an isolated spot.

 

Aitahea returned her attention to Telan, who stood rigid and aloof. His Force presence *****led with resentment and angst, despite his indifferent appearance. The Padawan observed him in silence for a few moments. Telan was only nine and had joined the Temple on Tython less than a standard year ago after he was discovered by a Jedi Knight brought in to support the Republic troops on Ord Mantell. He’d been hungry and dirty from living in the shadows of the war torn planet, alone for two years before he was found. It was the general consensus that the only reason he survived was because of his powerful connection to the Force.

 

But despite his strong Force sensitivity, Telan still struggled to fit in and find peace on Tython. Taking a deep breath, Aitahea suffused her Force presence with serenity and compassion, then reached to lay a hand on the youngling’s shoulder. To her surprise, he didn’t pull away or shrug her off, but instead sighed deeply and scrubbed at his eyes with one hand. Aitahea noticed the dark shadows under his eyes.

 

“Telan,” Aitahea began, “let’s sit down. Will you talk with me?” She motioned to a shady path a few yards away and the boy nodded his assent. Aitahea let him settle down first before sitting next to him, both of them silently watching the other younglings practice their meditation, some with more success than others.

 

“I’m sorry Teo was rude to you, Telan, and I think Teo is sorry as well,” the Padawan offered, and the boy looked at Aitahea, eyes pained.

 

“I’m not like he said, Padawan. I’m not lazy or a crybaby like Teo said,” he protested. “I’m just… I’m tired.”

 

“Why are you tired?” Aitahea asked gently, letting the boy lead the dialogue.

 

Telan hugged himself and looked away, across the Temple grounds. “I don’t sleep well, Padawan. I have nightmares.”

 

“Can you tell me about them?”

 

The boy swallowed thickly and shook his head, lekku swaying gently with the motion. “Don’t really wanna.”

 

Aitahea let their conversation fall silent, considering. She knew Telan’s history, a horrific childhood extraordinarily different from her own sheltered existence, despite her losses during the occupation of Coruscant.

 

“I used to have bad dreams, too, Telan,” she finally admitted, reaching for a connection. “You know I was one of the few Initiates to survive the Sacking of Coruscant, don’t you?”

 

Telan looked back at Aitahea then, eyes wide. “Yes, we’ve studied the attack. You were really lucky.”

 

Aitahea smiled warmly. Here was her opportunity, glowing as brightly as a lightsaber between them. “I don’t believe it was luck. The Force was guiding me, protecting me for something important I might do later.”

 

The boy turned away, eyes pensive and thoughtful. His Force presence was equally quiet. It was long moments before he spoke again.

 

“So… do you think the Force has a purpose for me, too, Padawan?”

 

Lifting her face to the brilliant Tython sunlight, Aitahea let her joy spill into the Force. She’d made a connection with the boy, and he himself had come to a profound conclusion without direct instruction. It was a powerful moment of learning and healing for them both. Telan started at the change in her demeanor and turned to look at the girl.

 

“Padawan? Are you alright?”

 

“Yes, Telan, I am,” Aitahea replied, standing and offering a hand to the boy. He took it with a quizzical look and allowed the older girl to bring him to his feet. “And as to your other question, yes, I believe the Force has a purpose for you as well. It has a purpose for all of us.”

 

A fresh light shone in Telan’s eyes, and he straightened his shoulders with a new resolve. “Padawan,” he began, gazing over at the other students, “I think I should spend some time in meditation.”

 

Aitahea smiled, placing a hand on Telan’s shoulder. “I believe I’ll join you.”

 

 

 

And some notes and commentary...

My revenge here was to see even the most challenged students succeed; perhaps this is less ‘revenge’ than my hope for the future, for all my students. The conversation Aitahea and Telan have was drawn from an extraordinarily similar conversation I personally had with a troubled 5th grade student just last month. Aitahea’s joy is a direct interpretation of my feelings after the real-life conversation; it felt like a great moment of success in my teaching career.

 

Also describing Aitahea as a Padawan results in one of those moments where I SO wish I could draw worth a damn. I want to just capture all those teenage gangly limbs and frustrated expression when she’s trying to get the kiddos settled.

 

 

I'm really super happy with and proud of this piece because it's so close to my heart, especially now that I've had to resign from teaching because of the pregnancy (a few complications, but nothing this Jedi mama can't handle). I hope you guys love it, too.

 

I owe some comments, trying to catch up this weekend!

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I have terrible endurance as a writer.

 

Title: NPCs

Prompt: Hide and Seek, more or less

Characters: Loreius (Sith Inquisitor), Rhiatavi (Jedi Consular)

Setting: Yavin IV, based on the announce trailer only

Spoilers: Sith Inquisitor finale

 

 

With arched eyebrows, Jedi Master Rhiatavi looked back and forth between the lieutenant and the Dark Lord, who studiously avoided her gaze under his mask. The officer flinched a little. Then, she said, completely deadpan: “Your people are incompetent.”

Darth Imperius gave a light cough. “You shouldn’t generalise like that …”

She cut him off. “Every imperial operation I’ve ever come across has been either ridiculously unfeasible, cartoonishly evil, or on the verge of failure. What do you teach them at imperial officer academies?”

“How to kill each other, mostly,” Ashara piped in. “You know there’s something wrong with your society when your officers are more apt at killing their superiors than their enemies.”

“Oh, don’t even pretend the Grand Army of the Republic is any more competent. What do you expect, from NPCs?”

“What’s an NPC?”

Treek said something spiteful-sounding in Ewokese. The others ignored her.

“It’s Imperial military slang. Stands for Not Particularly Clever. Isn’t that right, my good man?”

The lieutenant gulped. “Yes, Dark Lord.”

“Hush, you’re scaring the man!” Rhiatavi gave the officer a tolerant smile, purring a little. “You shouldn’t have lost it in the first place, but we’ll make finding it a priority.”

“Seriously …? Lieutenant, in the unlikely event that you survive this campaign, you can tell your grandchildren about the day your idiocy took a lord of the Dark Council and a master of the Jedi Council away from their duties. Take pride in that.”

“Y…yes, Dark Lord. As you say. Thank you, my lord. Master Jedi.”

“Carry on, then.”

The four of them – Jedi, Sith, Grey Jedi and unintelligible mercenary furball – took their leave. “What a pain,” Darth Imperius pronounced, scuffling ahead through the settled mud. “And here I always thought Dark Councillor was an office job.”

“Speak for yourself. I’ve barely been in the field since you people tricked us off Makeb. I’ve been hoping to get out again, I gain next to no experience from council meetings.”

“I told you, you should have joined me on Manaan and Rakata Prime. I gained quite a bit of combat experience, not to mention the chance to travel to some beautiful new locales … if I’d have to quantify it, before going to Manaan I had the life-experience of a 54-years-old. Now it’s more like 55.”

“I feel like I’m stuck at 53 and a half,” Rhiatavi dryly replied.

“My advice? Kill some people. If it’s the right people, you may even catch up to me by next week.”

Ashara rolled her eyes. “And here I almost forgot you were Sith, my lord.”

“I know, right? I should write a weekly column. ‘Ask Darth Imperius!’”

Rhiatavi laughed. “’Dear Darth Imperius, lately I’ve been feeling a bit strange. My skin is getting paler, and every time I look at my master’s back, I’m feeling restless and excited. Is that the first stage of Dark Side corruption? Love, Lord Terrible.’”

Treek said something in Ewokese.

“Oh, certainly. Don’t forget the little skulls over the ‘i’s.”

“High Galactic? Fancy.”

“The Dark Side is simply more stylish than the Light. What are we looking for, again?”

Rhiatavi sighed and rolled her eyes. “Excellent set-up for exposition, but would it kill you to pay attention once in a while?”

“Probably not, but why take the risk?”

“The lieutenant was in charge of a mixed scout team surveying enemy troop movements southeast of the temple. On the way back to their base camp, they ran afoul a Revanite patrol and took heavy casualties before retreating under heavy fire. In the confusion, they lost all records of the intelligence they had … hold on a second.” A beeping sound interrupted her. She threw a quick glance at the new message on her datapad, and couldn’t help but grin like a fool.

“Uh-huh,” Imperius made, glancing over her shoulder. “Message from your wallpaper?”

“Don’t call him that. Felix is my husband.”

“Riiight, that’s his name. Actually, I think I prefer wallpaper. Fits him rather well, don’t you think?”

Rhiatavi called upon the Living Force that bound all the universe together to make the distracted Dark Lord stumble over his own feet.

 

 

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Commentary/Replies: (I'll update the index later)

 

@frauzet: Oh, this just keeps getting better and better! I like the interaction between Nik and Giz, and that Arkeo takes advantage of the misunderstanding to redirect them. He has a good point though, Jedi are better suited to take care of a Sith. I loved seeing a soft side of Iolith but I cringed when Arkeo removed her cuffs. Hopefully he doesn't regret that kindness later! :eek: I loved the ending on that 2nd one where he sends a prayer to the Force for the fallen, even the Sith, and his explanation to Iolith after.

 

Natalia handled the situation well so far, but what happens next? Will Wilks survive the day?

You'll have to wait and see......the next part should help a little. :D

And yes, those hats do look good! Although I think it is a mistake to let the men know ;)

Probably, but I'm sure the guys will make letting the secret out totally worth it! ;)

 

 

@Charmedseed: I loved your Writer's Revenge story and can see your real life experiences coming though brilliantly. I could even see some of my own former students in some of the younglings, and it was a nice feeling.

“Force sensitive or not, they are children, at the end of the day,” the Consular replied, adjusting the position of the small boy in her arms. “Isn’t that so, youngling?” she asked the boy, who giggled and pressed his face into Aitahea’s shoulder in a fit of spontaneous shyness. She laughed in reply and hugged him before setting him down and watching as he ran back to his companions.

 

“I guess so. Somehow I thought they’d be… calmer,” Erithon confessed, observing as an impromptu game of tag broke out among the group.

 

Aitahea smiled teasingly at Erithon as she answered, eyes alight with mischief. “We all have our moments.”

I really loved this part!

 

@Alaurin – Thanks for the good wishes. I’m coming up on the second trimester and I’m not nauseous ALL day now. “Morning” sickness my ***.
Those were my sentiments for the first half of my 2nd pregnancy. Morning, afternoon, evening......it didn't matter where I was or what I was doing, all I know is wherever I went, I made sure to know where the nearest restroom was. I'd lost 10lbs by the 20 week checkup and hated the thought of food......which made taking care of my toddler son rough.

Your Bad Timing: I’m laughing at myself a little bit because I keep reading “Zev” and thinking inadvertently of Zeb from Rebels. XD But aside from that, I love that everything you write makes me laugh. The relationship between Zev and Jorgan is really engaging.

As for ‘Affection,’ not to mention ‘Ready’… Well. *fans self* Also the mention of comic books just made me giggle, I love it.

Glad you like Zev and Jorgan.......they really ended up bonding quite well and Dekkyn's relieved not to be the butt of Zev and Jax's pranks anymore now they've targeted Aric. LOL about the name. Someone else, DomiSotto I think, made a comment about Dekkyn's name sounding familiar as well. I haven't played any other MMO besides SWTOR and WOW, and while I've heard of Rebels, I haven't seen it......thought about looking it up to watch though. Also, yes, those parts got a little steamy.......I tend to write a lot of that, but unfortunately, that'll be the last warm/fuzzy/steamy bit for the boys. Things are about to get real.

Annnndddd, I gotta keep working on catching up your stuff! You’re so prolific!

Hehe, thanks! I'm not sure about that......tends to come in spurts lately. The guys' saga is one one giant document and some of these later parts have been written for a while now. I just needed to bridge a gap and once that was filled, everything else was ready to go.

 

 

@DogeDandilo: Welcome back! Interesting interactions between two opposing sides of the Force.

“How to kill each other, mostly,” Ashara piped in. “You know there’s something wrong with your society when your officers are more apt at killing their superiors than their enemies.”
This made me giggle! Then it was nice to see that Rhiatavi wasn't about to take the slight to her husband without comment/incident......the 'tripping' was very appropriate and deserved. ;)

 

 

Okay, time for that next part in my boys' little intrigue......I suppose it's not so little anymore though. Anyways, onwards......and for those fans of the ginger haired Jedi, Kitar's JC Ka'van will be making an appearance in this one!

 

Title: Calling in a Favor

Prompt: Allies, Mix It Up

Character: Jaxzin Roark-Smuggler, Dekkyn Varlok-BH, Zevryn Varlok-Trooper, Ka’van-Kitar’s JC, Jonas Balkar, Aric Jorgan, Gault Rennow, Mako, and Corso.....think that covers everyone

 

Setting: XS Freighter mainly, during Healing the Inner Scars and immediately after Out of Sight, Out of Mind.

Spoilers: Smuggler Voss, minor mention of JC Act 3, and hints at a companion conversation for Akaavi Spar

 

 

Zev wasn’t the only one having a difficult time sleeping and for once, it wasn’t the old nightmares keeping the Cathar awake. Dek’s call earlier had shaken Jax more than he’d let on. He trusted his crew, even Guss, and wasn’t concerned about a betrayal from any of them. Like his old friend, he was worried about their safety, especially Risha and Corso.

 

A smile eased the tense look on his face as his gaze traveled to the woman sleeping next to him. Ever since that first time they’d gotten together a couple of months back, she’d spent most nights in his quarters and Jax found that he didn’t need Ka’van’s gift very often when she did. Occasionally he’d have a nightmare, but Risha had become very adept at calming him with her soothing touch that often led to more once his terror was subsided. But those nimble fingers running through his mane wasn’t going to ease his stress when it was their owner he was afraid for.

 

Corso was another possible target if Manson Strategies decided to risk going after one of his crew. Over the past year, the two men had bonded and Jax thought of him more as a younger brother now. Corso was good in a fight and there wasn’t anyone Jax could think of that knew weapons better besides Aric Jorgan, but the young Mantellian was notoriously trusting to a fault, especially where women were concerned. Luring Corso out would be easy for those men if they’d done their homework on Jax’s crew. All it would take is a simple bait setup and thanks to Skadge, those men knew Jax was headed for Nar Shaddaa. While he might be able to keep his landing quiet, they would probably still have feelers out to see if any of them made an appearance. Then it was a matter of Corso being alone…..simply shopping in one of the several munition warehouses on the Hutt moon. The goons hire a woman, stage a mugging in a nearby alley, and Corso would be there in a heartbeat.

 

Jax knew warning his friend would be pointless because he didn’t have it in him to ignore a damsel in distress and Jax wouldn’t want him to. However, he could at least make sure Corso was aware of that possibility and maybe get Akaavi to tag along. He might not agree with the Mandalorian’s views about the majority of his crew, but he had to respect her skill and instincts. She’d likely grumble about Corso’s naiveté, but she wouldn’t let him fall into a trap.

 

After an hour of staring at the ceiling, trying not disturb his bed partner, Jax carefully slid his large frame from under the covers and pulled on a pair of shorts as he stood. He snatched the t-shirt off the floor and quietly crept out of his quarters to see if Akaavi was still awake, knowing he’d feel better once she agreed to look after their slightly gullible crewmate.

 

*****

 

Roughly eighteen hours later, the freighter was an hour from its destination and her Captain was in the rec area voicing his concerns over recent developments with his crew when the Holo went off again, the ringtone alone letting them know it was an urgent call.

 

“What’s going on?” Jax asked, bracing himself for bad news as Balkar’s image came up, followed by other familiar faces as both Dek’s and Zev’s ships connected.

 

“I just got a call from Agent Bryce…..Wilks is at the club,” Jonas explained, “She has him hidden but needs him extracted immediately since Bradley’s men are expected any time.”

 

“I’m still forty-five minutes out,” Jax told him.

 

“And I think we’re about fifteen behind you,” Zev nodded gravely.

 

“I know we’re further away than that,” Dek replied, his head turning to look over his shoulder.

 

“Hour and a half,” Mako’s voice called out, “and that’s pushing the fuel cells to the limit.”

 

“Dammit,” Jonas cursed, “The only available field agents I have that can get there before that are too green and if I go, there’s a good chance Agent Bryce’s cover will be blown wide open......something I’d like to avoid if at all possible.”

 

“Wait a sec,” Jax snapped his fingers as an idea occurred to him, “I might know someone. I’m pretty sure Ka’van is on Nar Shaddaa right now. He left Voss a couple of days ago and I recall him mentioning something about taking a brief hiatus while his squatters met with the Council and Nadia made arrangements for her father.”

 

“You think he’d be willing to help?” Zev shot Jax a dubious look, knowing the Jedi wasn’t the nicest member of the Order.

 

“After all the stuff he’s dragged me into, he owes me a favor,” Jax snorted, an involuntary shiver travelling down his spine as he recalled the rakghoul caverns on Tatooine.

 

“Actually, a Jedi would be perfect,” Jonas looked thoughtful, “Natalia said she was going to disguise the Colonel as a force user. Apparently the Sith regulars like to keep to themselves and stick to a quiet corner to watch. That’s where she stashed our man since the other customers typically leave them alone.”

 

“I’ll contact him right now,” Jax replied, stepping away from the ship’s Holoterminal to use his comlink. He decided to duck into his quarters to make the call while the others kept talking, and a moment later Ka’van’s image appeared.

 

“Captain Roark!” the ginger haired Human called out jovially, “How’s Voss treating you?”

 

“Got the dirt on those creatures and made a pretty good business arrangement with the Exchange rep, Scratch, and the Gormak liaison after taking out Jela’s little operation. I’m actually headed towards Nar Shaddaa right now,” Jax answered, then noticed the other man was in a bath robe, “Geez, you’re not dressed yet! Isn’t it late in the afternoon there?”

 

“It is indeed, but my schedule’s been a bit off and I stayed out late last night,” Ka’van smirked, “So you’re headed here, huh? We should hit the casino’s later.”

 

“I didn’t think the Order approved of gambling, Master Jedi,” Jax shook his head, wondering how in the void Ka’van was a member of the Order…..he made Syarra look like their poster child. Then his features sobered as he went on, “Actually, this isn’t a social call, Ka’van…….I need your help.”

 

“Name it, my friend,” Ka’van nodded, noting the use of his name and the mischievous twinkle left those deep blue eyes, replaced with concern.

 

“Remember how I told you about those guys after me, Dek, and Zev?”

 

“Yeah, Dek’s girl stumbled across something and it got their attention. You brought in Zev’s buddy and that led you to an undercover contact who agreed to help you out," Ka’van summed up, letting out a wistful sigh as he ran his fingers though his shoulder length hair, “Stars, I wish I’d been on planet for that party.”

 

“Sorry about that, but it was a last minute thing,” Jax grinned, knowing Ka’van didn’t think much of the Order’s strict policy on intimate relations. As a result, he didn’t exactly practice abstinence and appreciated women of all types.

 

“I know,” Ka’van grumbled, “So, I take it something’s come up and you’re not just rubbing in that night of debauchery I missed out on.”

 

“It has,” Jax confirmed, then went on to explain the current situation with Wilks.

 

“And you need me to go get him out of there,” Ka’van predicted once Jax finished.

 

“Yes, but you have to make it look natural……like you’re just meeting a friend and are leaving together. There’s a lot at stake with this guy and our contact is putting herself at risk to keep him safe.”

 

“Say no more,” Ka’van held up his hand, “I’ll just get dressed and head over there immediately. Just tell me what I’m going into.”

 

“Apparently she’s got him disguised as a force user and sitting in the back corner where their Sith clients congregate,” Jax informed him, bracing himself for the possible negative reaction to the next part, “So you’ll need to try and blend in, which means wearing your robes……..and I’m really sorry, but you’ll need to wear a hood as well. These guys have done their homework on me, Dek, and Zev and probably know who you are and what you look like.”

 

“Way to kill it for me,” Ka’van muttered, less than thrilled about the clothing limitations, “There goes my chances at having a little fun while I’m there.”

 

“Eh, you never know……some of those girls might be in to that,” Jax shrugged, “and I’ll make it up to you, I swear.”

 

“I’m going to hold you to that,” Ka’van muttered, crossing his arms, “So, I’m going to the club, Wilks is in the back corner disguised as a force user. I sit with him, watch the ladies, make chit chat for a bit, then head out.”

 

“Pretty much,” Jax nodded, “I’m not sure if we’ll be able to let our contact know who’s coming to get him since we’re trying to keep her cover intact, but she’s pretty hard to miss. She’s Human, average height…..maybe slightly under,” the Cathar looked around and lowered his voice, “nice curvy little body, a tattoo wrapping around her right side from navel to hip…..some kind of bird or dragon, I can’t quite recall now, long hair about the same color as yours actually.”

 

“Does she have a name?” Ka’van asked, an eager smile crossing his handsome face.

 

“She’s going by Naula right now……just don’t get too carried away while you’re there, alright,” Jax rolled his eyes, “I’ll take you back another time and buy you an hour in one of the private rooms with as many dancers as you want, I promise.”

 

“Stars, I should start calling you Captain Buzzkill,” Ka’van remarked dryly, “But seriously Jax, don’t worry, I’ll get your man out of there safely…….you have my word on that.”

 

“Thanks, Ka’van,” Jaz replied, relief visible on his face, “Hopefully this whole mess will be over with soon and I’ll make sure you’re set for life on Shento cigars, Alderaanian Ale, and Corellian whiskey.”

 

“You had me at the hour of private time with the dancers,” Ka’van grinned, “But I’m definitely in now.”

 

“We should be landing by the time you leave the club with Wilks, so just bring him to the spaceport and look for Rendia Freight……that’s what I’m landing under.”

 

“Got it,” Ka’van bowed, “See you soon, my friend.”

 

As soon as he disconnected the call, Jax returned to the ship’s Holo where the others were still in conversation.

 

“I don’t get it…….why the cloak and dagger stuff still?” Corso was asking, “I mean if Wilks can testify about what happened, why can’t you just go get him, Agent Balkar?”

 

“Because we want to try and keep Natalia’s cover intact,” Jonas explained.

 

“Is that really important?”

 

“You saw the names of those people she’s busted during her stint at Club Paradise,” Jax elaborated for his still confused mercenary crewmate, “If any of those people find out who was responsible…..”

 

“She’ll have a price on her head that’ll make Dek’s look like pocket change,” Gault finished, an involuntary shudder running down his spine.

 

“Were you able to reach Master Ka’van?” Zev asked.

 

“He said he’d do it,” Jax nodded, “He wasn’t happy about having to go to a strip club looking like a Jedi, but he said he’d head out as he got dressed. I told him to bring Wilks to the spaceport and look for my hanger……figure we’d be landing by the time he’s able to there, stay long enough to ward off any suspicion, and get Wilks out.”

 

“What about Natalia?” Dek asked, “Is there a way to let her know who’s coming?”

 

“Have Aric call her,” Tanno chuckled, a wicked gleam in his eyes, “No one’s gonna think anything of her getting a call from her boyfriend.”

 

“That’s a good idea,” Zev pointed out, snickering his scowling XO, “Oh, relax, Jorgan…….weren’t you supposed to call her once we landed anyways?”

 

“I was,” Aric conceded, “but she probably won’t have her comlink nearby and void knows when she’ll check it if she’s busy keeping an eye on Wilks.”

 

“Call the club directly then, and leave her a message,” Jonas suggested, pausing as he thought for a moment, “I know…….tell her you’re an hour away, but found out that an old Jedi friend is on planet and plans to wait for you at the club. Knowing how thorough she is about digging into backgrounds, that should be enough to clue her in on who’s coming.”

 

“I’ll go call now,” Aric nodded, then disappeared from sight.

 

“Alright guys, we’ve done everything we can,” Jonas sighed, looking grim, “It’s all up to Master Ka’van now.”

 

“He might be an a**hole at times, but he’s a friend,” Jax assured them, “If he said he’ll get Wilks out of there safely, it’ll happen.”

 

“Contact me as soon as they get to your hanger,” Jonas instructed, “I’m working on an exit plan for Natalia and once Wilks is safe, she’s coming out.”

 

 

Author’s Note:

 

For those of you new to my stories, Ka’van is Kitar’s JC that she’s been leveling with my Smuggler Jaxzin. Ka’van isn’t your typical Jedi by any stretch……something Kitar takes pride in. In fact, Ka’van really is an a**hole sometimes, but he and Jax have some rather amusing times together.

 

Shento cigars, Alderaanian Ale, and Corellian Whiskey can all be found on Wookieepedia.

 

Edited by alaurin
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@Charmedseed: I loved the way you showed little Jedi to be children, too. And how teaching and learning go both ways if it's done right.

 

@DogeDandolo: Very fitting explanation for 'NPC'. I laughed most at the advice to kill some of the right people when feeling stuck at 53,5.

 

@alaurin: Although Thorns is my favourite char, if I could meet one of them irl, I'd probably pick Arkeo. I think I could learn much from him in just one afternoon. As for Iolith, atm it's in her own best interest to stay put.

 

Zev's reasoning for being worried about the safety of Risha and Corso makes very much sense. I can picture our favourite hick being mugged in a dark alley by the woman he had been wanting to save. Involving Ka'van somehow has the feel of setting the fox to keep the geese. The crossovers between Kitar and you do work really well.

 

 

 

Before they get lost I better post the two pieces I already posted on tumblr a few days ago.

 

Title - The Prisoner - Part 3

Class - Iolith, JC (Arkeo), JK (Phorik), Trooper (Nikeo), Smuggler (Gizalen)

Words - ~670

Spoilers - none

 

Takes place after ‘The Prisoner - Part 2

 

 

“Why isn’t she wearing stun cuffs?” The lieutenant pointed at the woman in Arkeo’s company.

 

Arkeo raised an eyebrow at this rude interruption and ignored the soldier apart from sparing him a short glance. Phorik had seldom seen his friend show more distinct signs of irritation.

 

“As I was about to say, this is Iolith Zairos. She is the prisoner the Sith was after. Iolith, this is my fellow padawan Phorik.” Arkeo’s gaze panned over the rest of the group. Phorik saw the same as he did which matched with the vibes in the Force. Lieutenant Melga looked upset. Sergeant Jorgan seemed to be suppressing a growl. Giz had balled his hands into fists and tried to keep his stony features in check. Corso was blushing and looked at his feet. “I take it you know the others.”

 

The woman did her best to hide her bristling as she shook Phorik’s hand. “Pleased to meet you, Phorik. I am glad you managed to free the ship and return unscathed.” Her blue eyes swiveled to the lieutenant as she said the latter.

 

Arkeo put a hand on her arm and smiled. “I don’t know if I would have been able to beat the Sith without her help.”

 

“Back to playing the same old games.” Gizalen shook his head.

 

Lieutenant Melga held his hands up in front of him in an appeasing gesture. “I don’t know her hidden agenda, but I know this woman. She is an Imperial spy and she is dangerous.”

 

“I appreciate your concern, Lieutenant. But this woman did save not only my life but also that of one of the agents guarding her. Since the man is still incapacitated I undertook his duty. I already contacted SIS. There will be a team waiting for Miss Zairos at the spaceport tomorrow. Until then she is my concern. Should I require help I will let you know.” Arkeo’s smile never wavered. As his resolve wouldn’t waver.

 

“Force, this is…—I think I am feeling sick.” Gizalen turned his back on the group. “She found the next fool. I’ll be at the bar taking my medicine.”

 

“I’ll better keep an eye on him.” With a weak smile to everybody around Corso followed him.

 

“Guess that makes me the previous fool.” The lieutenant’s eyes narrowed. “What are you up to, Io?”

 

“You are still asking questions to which you would not believe the answers. Miko told me you were there to see me on Ord, I owe you my life. I guess I should say thank you.” Iolith guarded her feelings well. Phorik was unable to tell if the pain in her eyes was real.

 

The lieutenant looked briefly at Phorik and Arkeo. “I had some questions.” Questions he didn’t want to ask in front of two Jedi. “It was nothing personal.” And that was a lie.

 

“Yes. You were quite clear the last time we talked.” Iolith’s voice was frosty as she recalled the unpleasant memory.

 

The lieutenant nodded once in greeting and pointed towards the bar. “I think it’s best if I joined in damage control.” He turned and left.

 

Sergeant Jorgan shuffled his feet and nodded, too. When he started to turn, Iolith addressed him. “Lieutenant Jorgan…”

 

“Thanks to your friends it’s only Sergeant Jorgan nowadays.”

 

Iolith hesitated. “I’d like you to pass on a message to your superiors, someone from higher up in the ranks.” Her gaze drifted over to the bar. “You still have connections, don’t you?”

 

“Screw you!” Then the Cathar remembered their company. “Sorry!” he said to the two Jedi. “I think it’s time I left before I forget the rest of my manners.”

 

“Maybe you’d like to take information about the 208th with you…”

 

Lieutenant Jorgan whirled back to face Iolith. “What do you know about the 208th?”

 

“I know where the remaining survivors are.”

 

“There are no survivors.”

 

“You’re right, there aren’t. But if you had sufficient information and the heir of an Imperial house to trade for those nonexistent survivors…”

 

 

 

Title - The Prisoner - Part 4

Class - JK (Phorik), JC (Arkeo), Iolith

Words - ~680

Spoilers - JK Tython, minor quest Tython

 

Takes place after ‘The Prisoner - Part 3’

 

 

Arkeo and Iolith stopped. The SIS team was waiting for them at the foot of the ramp. She turned to Arkeo and looked him in the eyes. To Phorik's astonishment Arkeo took both her hands into his and bid her goodbye with a Mirialan farewell. “May you always find shelter and warmth.” Phorik had never heard him use it except with other Mirialans.

 

The smile Iolith bestowed upon his friend in return was warm. “Thank you, for everything.” She applied a gentle squeeze to Arkeo’s hands before she pulled away. “Farewell, Jedi.” She nodded towards both of them and walked down the ramp with her head held high. When she reached the agents she held out her wrists for them to attach a new set of stun cuffs.

 

Phorik observed Arkeo as he watched the group leave. He knew it was indecent to ask, but his curiosity got the better of him. “She stayed in your cabin.” It wasn’t really a question, at least not the one he wanted to ask.

 

Arkeo turned and looked at him. Under his friends gaze Phorik could feel his cheeks grow hot. He had known it was indecent. He should have known better than to imply his friend’s indiscretion. First of all he shouldn’t have implied his friend lacked self-control just because he himself did.

 

Phorik was thankful for the smile appearing on Arkeo’s face. “Let’s go.” Arkeo didn’t dwell on Phorik’s remark, didn’t begrudge him his curiosity.

 

And yet part of Phorik was disappointed he wouldn’t get an answer to his question, neither affirmative nor negating, no matter if or if not anything out of the ordinary had happened in his friends cabin during the last night. If Arkeo wanted to keep a secret he didn’t betray the slightest hint lest even silence would be interpreted in a certain way. Still Phorik wondered as they walked to the spaceport’s exit together.

 

If nothing had happened Arkeo could have said so. He never lied. Phorik would have believed him. The fact he hadn’t didn’t automatically portend something had happened, though. Phorik shook his head. Nothing, something, he wasn’t even able to use the word ‘sex’ in his thoughts. Sometimes he still had trouble to deal with what he’d done. A guilty conscience could lead to the dark side, but there was only so much meditation seemed to be able to achieve.

 

Arkeo usually was of great help when Phorik needed to sort his thoughts and emotions. Except regarding Phorik’s one big misstep on Tython. When Phorik had wanted to talk to him about his night with Ranna, Arkeo had refused to listen and had told him to talk to Master Orgus instead. Of course Arkeo had been right, Phorik had needed to talk to Master Orgus. Phorik had been in too much of a mental turmoil to think much of it back then, but Master Orgus had seemed kind of relieved when he had told him that Arkeo hadn’t offered his advice. Was there some history here that Arkeo didn’t want to, or wasn’t allowed to talk about?

 

If that was true, then another incident suddenly made sense. Back in their first days on Tython he had been asked to discover if two fellow padawans were cultivating a romance. The masters hadn’t approached Arkeo, and Arkeo hadn’t volunteered his help as he usually did. Phorik had felt like a hypocrite whenever he thought about this task after the night with Ranna. Had Arkeo evaded being a hypocrite?

 

The more he thought about it, the more he realized that he had talked about anything and everything with his friend except girls. Somehow Arkeo had managed to avoid the subject. They both already carried their lightsabers. After the chaotic events on Tython they had been sent to Coruscant to complete their theoretical studies in the archives here, but that was rather a formality. Upon their return to Tython they’d both be padawans no longer. If Arkeo was maintaining his silence under an agreement of non-disclosure, Phorik hoped it wouldn’t apply to knights. He needed someone to talk to.

 

 

 

Note

 

As you may have realized earlier, I am taking some liberties with the Jedi Classes here. Apart from feeling that Tython is a bit rushed when coming to a well-founded education of the JK and JC, and lacking in the necessary studies of theoretical subjects, I simply need them to be in the right place at the right time during several of the events to follow.

 

 

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Urgh, sorry all but it's been a crazy week for me (I must've been off my proverbial rocker when I volunteered to be a room parent) so I haven't had time to get the Index updated. I will attempt to remedy that this weekend after the Halloween excitement has passed (although I'm sure my kids' sugar high will maintain itself through the weekend).

 

 

Comment/Reply:

 

@frauzet: GAH! I must've missed those 2 on Tumblr! Oh, Iolith......the broken hearts you've left behind. I liked Nik, Giz, and Jorgan's reactions to her. I also love the bond Arkeo and Phorik have.....and I'll also have to look back at Arkeo's earlier stories to see what's going on with him since I seem to recall a bit that might apply to what's going on now.

 

Yes, I can definitely see Corso easily getting suckered in and Jax was actually worried more about him than Risha. Ka'van coming to the rescue.......well, you're about to get some more detail on that. ;)

 

As for Ka'van and Jax's crossovers......Kitar and I have had a lot of fun leveling those guys together and there have been a lot of stories born out of their adventures and out vent conversations. I think my favorite was probably the bit during the first Bounty event that I ever did. When Jax lost that flirt to Ka'van, I snorted into vent, saying something about Jax getting a complex over that.....I think we were laughing for half an hour and The Case of the Missing Mojo was born.

 

 

 

I do have a story to share for all of you that aren't sick of my boys yet. I posted it to my Tumblr a couple of days ago and originally wanted to update the index before posting it here.......sigh.

 

 

Title: New Revelations

Prompt: Discovery, Out of Time

Character: Natalia Bryce-my take on an SIS agent, Kitar’s JC-Ka’van, Qyzen Fess

Setting: Nar Shaddaa, just after Calling in a Favor

Spoilers: none that I can really think of

 

 

The tall ginger haired Human disconnected the call and went to the wardrobe, “If Jax’s furry hide thinks I’m going to wear brown Jedi robes, he has another one coming.”

 

Something didn’t seem quite right to the Jedi, but he shrugged it off in order to focus his attention on the task of dressing himself appropriately. Ka’van considered his friend’s briefing for a moment as he pondered his now limited choices. Wilks is disguised in hooded robes, tucked where the Sith clients usually sit…….those men probably know who I am and what I look like…….kark, this really sucks!

 

“No way around it,” the Jedi let out an exasperated sigh, resigning himself to the inevitable, “I’m going to the top end gentlemen’s club on Nar Shaddaa and am stuck wearing hooded robes.” He began looking through the robes hanging up in the back, frowning as he considered each. After a few minutes he found a set that would do……at least it was in his preferred color of black and the hood was large enough that the top half of his face would be concealed. He’d fit in with any Sith clientele there as long as he did a little mental preparation before going in.

 

Ka’van still felt off as he dressed, a nagging feeling insisting that things weren’t going to be as simple as his spacer friend thought. Not that Ka’van was afraid of a fight, but he knew Colonel Wilks was key to clearing Jax’s military records, something that meant a lot the Cathar, and the officer needed to be alive in order to do so. Deciding to err on the side of caution, Ka’van grabbed his comlink off the nightstand and called Qyzen to back him up.

 

A few minutes later, Ka’van was seated in his favorite chair in front of the hearth. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, opening up his mind as he began channeling the Force. His large frame was still and relaxed as the smoky darkness built around him. A few minutes later, he stopped, opening up his mind and allowing the heady warmth to be absorbed within him. He was careful to cut it off before letting too much in, then stood, checking his reflection in the small decorative mirror above the hearth. Satisfied with the deep blue eyes looking back at him, he raised his hood over his head, then left the apartment.

 

******

 

“Welcome to Club Paradise, gentlemen,” the hostess, a pretty rose colored Twi’lek greeted them, then nodded at Ka’van, “Oh, Jilli’s going to be happy to see you. She’s really into tall, dark, and mysterious types.”

 

“I’ll just have to keep an eye out for her then,” Ka’van flashed her a wicked smirk, inwardly cursing Jax for insisting he behave himself this evening. Although there’s no reason I can’t return once the good Colonel is safe.

 

“She’s on break right now, but hard to miss since she’s the only Zeltron working here. I’m sure she’d be pleased to dance for you.”

 

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Ka’van nodded, then he and Qyzen entered the main room.

 

“Soft things, pretty to look at, but no good for mate,” Qyzen observed as they walked in, “Weak hunters.”

 

“Trust me, my friend,” Ka’van snorted, taking in the beautiful, scantily clad dancers as he looked around for their contact, “I’m sure these lovely ladies are skilled hunters……just with a different sort of prey.”

 

Well now, she is quite the little temptress, Ka’van mused, those blue eyes spotting a dancer that fit Jax’s description entertaining at the back corner table, her lone client a medium built robed figure. He reached out with the force while he watched the curvy Human, her long, thick ginger plait swaying with her provocative movements. A glint caught his attention and he noticed a pink jewel dangling tantalizingly against her abdomen from the tiny golden ring piercing her navel. The tattoo Jax mentioned curving around the right side. An appreciative smile quirked his lips as he let his gaze remain on those suggestive hips for a moment before traveling up her slender waist towards firm and generous breasts barely covered by a scrap of hot pink lace. Perhaps once this is all over with, I’ll return and get to know her better.

 

He detected a small spike in the force coming from the corner as he approached the table, but other than the agent, there was only one other individual, a medium built robed figure that he assumed was Wilks. He reached out further, gently probing their minds and found the source.

 

“Ah…..someone has a secret,” Ka’van mused, his smug tone hinting at his surprise as he made his presence known in her mind.

 

“Not exactly a secret, Master Jedi,” Natalia replied, at ease with mental conversation. She gave Wilks a brief nod as Ka’van sat in the chair next to him, then went on, “It’s simply not something I regularly advertise. I’m not strong enough to warrant training, but I can sense sensitivity in others……as well as type. My superiors know and that’s why I’ll never go undercover as an Imperial.”

 

“A wise decision knowing Sith views on force sensitives. I doubt you’d survive Korriban. I am curious as to how you avoided their attention working here though.”

 

“Most people coming to this joint aren’t exactly focused on looking for force sensitives and I’ve gotten proficient in masking it when I need to.....Ka’van.”

 

Feeling Wilks’ tension next to him, Ka’van whispered a brief introduction, explaining that Jax sent him before turning his attention back to the intriguing agent, “Given your familiarity with my name, I take it you were expecting me, then?” Ka’van questioned, catching her eye as she came around again, “Jaxzin wasn’t sure if they’d be able to get word to you.”

 

“I received a cryptic message that told me enough,” Natalia acknowledged, a taunting smile curving those lush, berry pink glossed lips, “I’ve done my homework on each of them, their families, their friends……everything Manson Strategies knows, I know…..and then some.”

 

“Why spend time doing that?”

 

“After finding out they intended to use Zara as bait, I wanted to make sure I knew anything or anyone they could exploit. You however, interested me on a personal level.”

 

“Really? I’m flattered such a lovely young woman found me worth looking into.”

 

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, bud…..it wasn’t for that reason. Like you, I too was a foundling. From Corellia. Never knew my real parents and because I wasn’t an easy baby, never formally adopted. I grew up in an orphanage. So I felt a kinship when I saw you were an orphan as well and poked around a little further to see if you’d been luckier than I was.”

 

“By all means, do tell,” Ka’van returned, curious at what she’d learned about him. He wasn’t too concerned since his background was all but blank for all but his adopted family.

 

“Ah……it might not be as secure as you’d like to think. I’ll admit, the files were hard to come by, and left me rather curious myself…….a force sensitive foundling from Imperial occupied Balmorra. Sent off to the Jedi by a mysterious benefactor…….and a generous one at that,” Natalia prodded as she hooked a shapely leg around the pole before leaning back towards the Trandoshan, favoring him with a teasing wink, “Care to share more? Or talk about the darkness that resides inside you?”

 

“I felt it prudent to appear as a Sith since that’s how you hid our friend and opened myself up to the dark side of the force to throw off suspicion in case any real Sith were present,” Ka’van deflected, beginning to feel a little uneasy at the Agent’s line of questioning. He needed to divert her attention, and fast, before she picked up on his annoyance or discomfort. After all, she was important to Jax and clearing his past, but his family ties were best left in the dark for the time being and he didn’t want to resort to anything drastic to keep it that way.

 

Through their connection, he picked up on some of her background thoughts and feelings, and he had to admit, her mind was fascinating. She soaked up information like a sponge, storing everything neatly in different compartments. Not only that, her force sensitivity enabled her to easily focus her attention on multiple things at once. Even now as they carried on their mental conversation, she was aware of his presence, conscious of her environment, rapidly running multiple scenarios in case a real Sith showed up, or those men caught on, or Wilks got too antsy…..all while playing the part of the seductive vixen known as Naula, favoring customers with a teasing wink, a flirtatious smile, or a moment of personal attention while receiving a tip. It made her a natural at her job with the SIS, but combined with her slicing skills and voracious curiosity, it also made her a potential threat if he couldn’t put a lid on the latter where his family was concerned. After a brief moment, Ka’van found something to exploit in order to put her focus elsewhere. He pulled out a credstick and held it up.

 

“You may have called up the darkness to ward off any suspicion,” Natalia countered, sauntering over when she spotted the credstick, “but we both know it wasn’t exactly a challenge for you. No, the darkness is always there with you……at home inside. I just wonder if it was inherited or learned. If it was learned, does this mean your mysterious benefactor was a……..”

 

“I hardly think my origins are relevant to the matter at hand,” Ka’van interrupted, mixing in a force compulsion with his words. He was careful not to push too hard with her mind since it worked differently than a force blind and he didn’t want to inadvertently wipe out any of her training or cover information, but strong enough to redirect her attention. Then to further distract her, he tucked a very generous tip into that tiny hot pink g-string.

 

“Oh, hey!” her husky voice exclaimed as those brown eyes widened with her shock as one of those large hands wandered a little too far in when he tipped her. “Watch it, Master Jedi,” Natalia rebuked, losing her train of thought as she returned to the center of the table, “You’re getting a little too frisky.”

 

“Just trying to blend in,” Ka’van shot back, wisely heading her warning since neither of them wanted to draw any unnecessary attention. He was relieved that her mind seemed to have forgotten what she’d been hinting at a moment before, but he knew it was only temporary and that he’d have to pay her a much more personal visit in the near future in order to ensure she dug no further into his background.

 

“Oh, the tip is appreciated, but I’m seeing someone and he’s the only one who gets in my panties, buster!”

 

“Don’t I at least deserve a kiss for rescuing the lovely lady in distress? That always seems to work for Captain Roark.”

 

“Well, technically its Wilks that you’re rescuing, so feel free to hit him up for that kiss.”

 

“I get the feeling he’s a little too uptight for my tastes.”

 

Natalia couldn’t help but giggle at that thought, the tension of the day leaving her a little and she returned to the Jedi, favoring him with a broad grin as she brushed a brief kiss on his chiseled cheek.

 

“Now that’s more like it,” Ka’van teased, wanting to keep the mood light and playful now that she was warming up to him.

 

“Sorry about being so snotty earlier,” Natalia gave a mental sigh, “It’s just been a rough day and my shift’s not even half over yet. And to be honest, I’m well beyond ready to be finished with this assignment.”

 

Ka’van easily picked up on her stress of these past few weeks, the mental fatigue of being undercover for such a long time, and her eagerness to return to her normal life so she could explore her renewed feelings for an old crush from the past. He also detected a more physical fatigue, the aches and pains that accompanied a shift dancing in less than comfortable shoes as well as her bruised backside and stiff back which resulted from her jarring fall earlier. Still detecting no other force users in the club, Ka’van bowed his head, closing his eyes as he directed a healing wave of force energy towards her, easing her sore back and derrière.

 

“It can’t be easy doing what you do,” Ka’van admitted truthfully, admiring her inner strength and that feisty spirit.

 

“It’s not, but I don’t mind for the most part……okay, I could do without the occasional groping client, but other than that, this assignment hasn’t been too bad. I’m just ready to be myself again…….stars, I can’t believe I’m talking to you like this. I’m normally better at keeping it to myself than this.”

 

“You don’t often get the chance to let it all out without anyone overhearing though……and I promise I won’t breathe a word of your chattiness to anyone.”

 

“Thanks, Master Jedi,” Natalia winked at him, “I’d better move over to the next dance table now that more people are coming in.”

 

“I’ll stick around for a bit longer, then Qyzen and I will get the Colonel to safety.”

 

A little while later, the tall robed Human stood, the other robed figure and the Trandoshan following his lead and the trio headed towards the exit, weaving their way through the now crowded club. On the way out, Ka’van passed by the Senator’s cronies and caught their thoughts as the dancers shifted and Natalia hopped up on their table. Ka’van easily picked up their thoughts as he passed by…..anger that Wilks hadn’t shown and grim resolve to move on to their secondary target. He continued monitoring their thoughts and much to his surprise, he discovered Natalia was the new target a few seconds later.

 

He paused, pretending to watch the sultry beauty work her magic for Bradley’s hired men as he probed into the nearest one’s mind. He was relieved to find that they were still unaware of who she really was, but apparently they intended to use her as bait for someone. He retreated from the man’s mind before he could be detected, than reached back out to the agent to warn her of this new danger.

 

“You’ve got trouble. The Senator’s men are after you now.”

 

“Why?! Oh-no…..do they know who I am?!”

 

“Not that I could detect. They still think of you as Naula, but plan to use you as bait. I didn’t want to push too hard and risk being made, so that’s all I know.”

 

“It’s enough…….thank you.”

 

“What can I do?” Ka’van asked, impressed with her poise and control.

 

“Get Wilks out of here,” she insisted, “I’ll keep an eye on our friends and get a message out to Balkar as soon as I get a chance. My shift’s not over for another four hours and I highly doubt they’ll try anything in here.”

 

“All the same, I think Qyzen and I will return once Wilks is safe with Jaxzin,” Ka’van promised as they walked towards the exit, “Watch yourself until then.”

 

“I will.”

 

“Keep your hood up and head bowed,” Ka’van quietly instructed the Colonel as soon as they left the club, “I don’t want to risk anyone recognizing you until we’re in Jax’s hanger.”

 

“Understood……and thank you for coming. It’s more than I deserve after what I did.”

 

“You’d do better to thank that young lady if you ever see her again,” Ka’van replied, then turned to Qyzen, “Speaking of the lovely dancer, I want you to return to the club as soon as we get to the spaceport. I caught their thoughts as we passed them on our way out and they’re targeting her.”

 

“They know who she really is?”

 

“Not that I could pick up on, but I’d feel better if someone’s there watching her back. I’ll join you once he’s safe.”

 

****

 

Less than an hour later, Natalia finally got a brief break. On her way to the dressing room, she noticed that the men appeared to be content to stick around for the next set since they ordered drinks. She discretely waved Jake over, needing someone she could trust to make contact with Jonas in case something happened to her. Unfortunately, Rose also decided to join and Natalia knew she would have to deal with her friend’s questions about her earlier behavior.

 

“I’ve been waiting for you to go on break,” Rose hissed, “So what gives with that guy?!”

 

“Shhhh,” Natalia cut her off as they entered the empty room. After locking the door behind them, she turned to her two friends, “Look, there’s stuff going on that I can’t tell you about……not entirely. Let’s just say I’m doing a favor for an old friend in the SIS……”

 

“You’re playing spook?!” Rose cried.

 

“Shut up!” Natalia ordered, rounding on the Twi’lek, “Don’t speak of that again…..or mention that man’s name. I mean it. The people after him are extremely dangerous and I don’t want either of you put at risk. Unfortunately, those same men are after me now.”

 

“Why?” Jake asked, concern in his voice, “Did they find out you helped that guy escape?”

 

“No, but apparently they discovered my connection to the people wanting him safe and plan to use me as bait. That’s why I needed to talk to you both. Those men are here right now. I won’t tell you who they are because I don’t want you involved any more than you already are, but if something happens to me, I want you to call Agent Jonas Balkar,” Natalia handed Jake a small filmsiplast, knowing the bouncer was good at keeping his head during a crisis, “Here’s his direct line. Just tell him Naula’s in trouble. Can you do that for me?”

 

“I’ll do it,” Jake nodded gravely, “but I don’t like the thought of you in trouble.”

 

“I’ll be fine,” Natalia assured him as a teary Rose hugged her, “However, I might be going into protective custody after tonight…..at least until the danger is over. I’ll call the club so you know I’m safe, then burn that contact info Jake. Now both of you, get back out there before anyone notices you’re gone. I don’t want the boss hounding you for slacking off.”

 

Rose and Jake both hugged her then left, leaving Natalia alone with her thoughts. She grabbed her datapad out of her locker, sent Jonas a brief message, then feeling like the walls were closing in, decided to spend the last few minutes of her break getting what passed for a breath of fresh air. She donned on a robe, grabbing a small blade and a flash bomb out of her bag and tucking it into the pocket, then stepped out the back door into the alley behind the club. She realized her mistake as soon as the door shut.

 

“We were hoping you’d make this easy for us,” a burly Human stepped out from behind the dumpster, “Now be a good girl and come along quietly. No one wants you to get hurt.”

 

Natalia’s heart began to race as she backed up to the door, her eyes darting to each of the five men who must’ve left the club while she was talking to Jake and Rose. In her rush to go outside, she’d forgotten to check to see of Bradley’s men were still at their table……that was really stupid, Natalia, she mentally chided herself. Unfortunately, getting back inside wasn’t an option since the door automatically locked when it closed and there was no way she’d be able to key in the entry code before those men were all over her. She glanced up, and much to her dismay, the camera above the door had been ripped out.

 

“Right,” she shot back, allowing her voice to quiver in fear as adrenaline coursed through her body, “Because dancers never disappear in dark alleys on Nar Shaddaa. Sell that to someone else because I’m not buying.”

 

“We’re being honest, Miss Naula,” another spoke and Natalia recognized the young man who’d spoke out against the Senator when he was getting too grabby during that party, “We just need you to bring in…..”

 

“Shut it!” the first man barked, “We don’t have time for this. Come on, boys…..let’s grab her and get out of here before she’s missed or someone realizes that camera’s out.”

 

 

Author’s Note:

 

Hopefully the mental communication wasn’t too confusing. I tried to keep those parts in italics to help.

 

I took Ka’van’s mental prep/meditation before leaving for the club from Kitar’s Essles story.

 

Edited by alaurin
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In old Gaelic traditions, October 31 marked the end of half the year and the start of the new. A time when the borders between worlds were especially thin and beings could cross over from one to another. A fitting day for the final prompt the final round of this Month of Meta:

 

Week of October 31, 2014

Breaking the Fourth Wall:

Addressing the Audience: Characters aren’t supposed to acknowledge their audience. Suppose they did? How would they speak to all those who’ve been reading and enjoying their adventures? What might they say to the complainers?

 

Addressing the Creator: If your character could say something about their writer, what would it be? Would they complain about something? Take the opportunity to give you a piece of their minds? Maybe ask for a favor? Or would they be grateful and thank you? This one’s a lot more meta than we usually explore; roll with it and have fun.

 

 

And, as ever,

 

Night of the Living Prompt: Keep on using any prompt you like! Check out the list at http://www.swtor.com/community/showpost.php?p=7489974post=2 and http://www.swtor.com/community/showpost.php?p=7489991post=3 (yes, we’re up to two full posts!). Many thanks to Alaurin for maintaining these lists.

 

This week's featured NotLP:

April Fool! - Some of our characters and companions enjoy jokes more than others. Has your character ever played a prank or practical joke? Did it work or did it backfire? Perhaps your character is the eternal butt of someone else’s pranks. Do they get even? How? The galaxy isn’t all doom and gloom; write about about fools, jokes, and general silliness.

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The beginning of my inquisitor, V'enn's story. I'm attempting to build around the cut scenes from the main storyline and then go from there. :)

 

 

Chapter One- Welcome to Korriban

 

"This is it?" was V'enn's first thought as she stepped from the shuttle and onto the hard packed earth of Korriban. Taking a moment to let her eyes adjust to the brightness, she took a look at what was supposed to be a bastion of Sith knowledge and history. To say she was unimpressed was putting it mildly. Dust, dirt, and presumably more dirt covered the area as far as the eye could see. Statutes towered over the small group that preceded her, but left little impression, age having taken its toll.

 

Any other thoughts she may have had regarding the scenery disappeared as pain laced up her shoulder from a particularly hard shove as one of the other passengers from the shuttle passed her.

 

"Nerf herding son of a!" she cursed grabbing at the offended shoulder. She was unsurprised to find traces of blood on her hand when she pulled it away.

 

"Figures they wouldn't put much effort into patching up a slave headed to Korriban." she thought to herself. "After all, what are the chances of her actually surviving to make it off planet?

Her gaze shifted as the hooded figure who had passed turned around, sized her up and then seemingly finding her lacking, snorted in contempt. Never one for backing down, V'enn jutted her chin and sneered at him just as boldly. For a moment his eyes showed surprise before his scarlet face was masked with contempt and he turned away, following the others.

 

"Try that again and I'll show you why I got these force whip wounds." she growled, before following suit.

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

"Ah, the last one to arrive is finally here. I hope you don't think you’re special. It would be a shame if freedom went to your head or you somehow got the idea that you didn't need to pass your trial to become sith. Lord Zash has tasked me with sorting through you refuse to find one worth of being her apprentice and I intend to do just that. “The man growled, meeting each of the acolytes’ eyes before finally returning to V’enn.

 

“Well isn’t he just a ray of sunshine?” V’enn grumbled; taking a moment to size up what she assumed was the overseer. He wore a set of tunic and greaves typical of the lower sith with shoulder pads that looked like they has come off an X-wing fighter.

 

“Maybe that’s why all the doorways are so large, so they can at least fit through them” she mused, before turning her attention back to Harken.

 

“Please, don’t get all sentimental on us, we’ve only just met.” She answered back, quirking her lips in amusement when Harken’s glare intensified and unable to come up with a satisfying retort simply sneered.

 

“I won’t”

 

Harken then turned to the other acolytes.

 

“Now the rest of you gutter trash already know your trial. Get going while I bring our latecomer up to speed.” He barked, watching as they left the room. One of the acolytes paused in front of V’enn. She was a wisp of a thing, clearly malnourished, and her red hair streaked with dirt.

 

“Watch your back, friend. And don’t worry, he can’t kill us all.” She replied.

 

“Well, that’s reassuring.” V’enn retorted to herself. “Poor girl probably won’t last the day with that mindset. Best scare her off now.” She smiled wryly in return. “I’ll attack from the front, you take him from behind and we’ll see how he fares. “

 

The girl stepped back awkwardly, clearly not expecting that answer to her overture of friendship.

 

“Ah, yeah. Looks like you can handle yourself.” Then turning away, she made for the door.

Harken, who had clearly heard the entire exchange cleared his throat before settling his gaze on V’enn once again.

 

“Now, slave.” He paused here, clearly reveling in the status difference between them.

“For your trial. There’s a hermit named Spindrall who lives in the tomb of Ajunta Pall in the Valley of the Dark Lords. Spindrall’s a lunatic, but Lord Zash sees him as some kind of prophet. Once you find him he will test you.”

 

“It can’t be any more dangerous than a Hutt’s kitchen. The things those worms would do for a meal still give me nightmares.” Her mind shuddered. None of this showed on her face though when she answered.

 

“Fine, I will seek the insane hermit in the incredibly dangerous tomb and take his little test. “

 

Harken’s answer was just as flippant.

 

“Well there, you know your task. Spindrall lives in the tomb of Ajunta Pall in the Valley of the Dark Lords. Don’t keep Spindrell waiting, slave. “

 

Not wanting to spend another second with the man, V’enn passed through the doorway and toward the tombs where her first trial lay ahead.

 

 

Edited by h_weber
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Comments! You guys are so awesome.

 

 

@Frauzet: Re: Prisoner - Part 2 - You created this really serene, peaceful environment in the aftermath of the fight. That in particular really struck me, I can’t say why. Very, very cool.

 

And thank you for the comment! I actually find myself struggling more and more to write the ice-cold Jedi, especially when they’re young. It’s like the conversation the younglings have in the 3rd installment of Luminous, Master Faron talking about how emotion is a prerequisite for Force-sensitivity. Writing like this is really an interesting exploration of all the philosophy… aaannnnd, I probably like it a little too much.

 

Re: The Prisoner - Part 4 – The bit where Phorik is questioning the padawans-in-love incident et al kind of goes right back to what I was just saying. I (personally) HATED that quest and it kind of pissed me off, and I fought really hard to rationalize it (oh, you know, kids shouldn’t be fooling around anyway, when they’re older they can make those decisions BLAH BLAH RATIONALIZE). Anyway! I love that it was addressed, and yet there wasn’t really a solid conclusion. I always feel like Jedi fail when they work in very concrete, absolute terms (one of the major reasons I feel the Order collapsed during the prequel films).

 

tl;dr I love to talk Jedi philosophy and theory, we should totally do that. Hehehehe.

 

 

@Alaurin: You’re such a doll! I love how often I find current/former teachers amongst writers (and nerds ;D). Everyone can identify with student-teacher relationships, and they’re so intrinsic to SW, too. I’m glad it came across as honest and real.

 

Girl, hit up Rebels, it’s so awesome. You can watch online on Disney XD, I believe – and I think after they showed the pilot film on ABC last weekend, there’s a push to play it on network TV. The quality is really extraordinary, the writing is like, AUGH, I mean there are some great names on the list of writers, like Greg Weisman, who did Gargoyles back in the day.

 

ANYWAY! Re: Calling In A Favor – “…but the young Mantellian was notoriously trusting to a fault, especially where females were concerned.” Understatement of the year!

 

So I don’t know Ka’van, but he is pretty naughty. I’m dying at the conversation with him. Gonna have to go read Kitar’s stuff!

 

And finally… “Shento cigars, Alderaanian Ale, and Corellian Whiskey can all be found on Wookieepedia.” I am in love with little details like this. I should really pay more attention to adding these kinds of little subtleties.

 

Re: New Revelations – You need to know that the Fifth Element was playing in the background while I was reading and it was maybe the best thing ever.

 

“I’m sure these females are skilled hunters……just with a different sort of prey.” BOOM.

I AM SO WORRIED ABOUT NATALIA.

 

 

@h_weber – That’s a good start! I love V’enn’s attitude. Can’t wait to see more!

 

 

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So it's the most magical month of the year, which is part of my prolonged absences and distractableness. This year, I'm using the Nanowrimo metrics and everything. I even did some planning and storyboarding. And I've already broken my record for most words on a Nanowrimo project before I get distracted by some other thing, and remember what month it is on the 22nd and start crying. ...Which is honestly kind of sad, since it's only the second (and I didn't cheat and start writing early!), and I'm not sure why I admitted to that. Anyway.

 

 

Comments! Depressingly sparse, unfortunately.

 

 

Frau: I really like how gracefully the jedi was handled.

 

Charmed: That was about the cutest thing ever. My best wishes to you and your future endeavours. I hope you have a chance to keep doing what you love!

 

Doge: That was hilarious, and I'm glad to see you back.

 

Alaurin: I was crazy excited to see Akaavi mentioned. She's my favorite smuggler companion so far (though considering my smuggler is still on Balmora, that may change. DETAILS).

 

h_weber: Yay! New people! I love how you used the dialogue from the game and blended it in. Very neat!

 

 

 

I've got something I've been tweaking as a kind of idle activity writey thing that'll go up after I give it one more onceover. Maybe in two pieces. And I know for a fact Zeedor's in about the same boat. :p

Edited by AKHadeed
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Comments:

@Alaurin- Glad to see you've got your muse back! writer's block can be a bear.

 

RE: Ready and Out of Sight, Out of Mind- I've only been able to read this storyline in bits and pieces for spoilers, but I like that Jorgan found a girl :) I've always been fond of Pair the Spares. Hopefully they can get to the bottom of this and the senator gets his comeuppance!

 

RE: Too Sexy for that Hat!- :) I guess that would be a problem. In fact, privacy in general seems to be a problem on those ships. I mean, you've got 6-8 people living in an enclosed space for extended periods of time... Corso and Bella had a nice solution, though.

 

@Frauzet- RE: The Prisoner- I still haven't decided if I trust Iolith yet. I probably shouldn't, but she keeps making me want to... I'm totally fine with your liberties, as well. That's kind of the point of fan fiction, after all.

 

@CharmedSeed- Aww! This reminds me of teaching preschool at my church- sometimes you want to hug and smack and laugh all at once. Thanks for the good memories.

 

@DogeDandolo- I found this piece a little confusing, had a hard time figuring out who was talking, but I liked your forth-wall breaking wisecracks.

 

@H-weber- First off, welcome to the thread! We (or at least I) always love having new people join us! You're character is spunky, I like her. Looking forward to seeing more, this thread needs more inquisitors!

 

 

 

I promised a squeal to my Graduation Day piece a long time ago, and here it is, finally!

 

I'm also skipping a prompt in my "use all the prompts" quest. I have a plan for using it, but I need to get a little further in a certain companion' s storyline to make sure things turn out the way I think they will.

 

Title: Graduated Fallout

Prompt: What's In a Name?

Characters: Jessasi Silver (Smuggler)

Length: 900 words

Spoilers: None

 

Takes place 4 years and 9 months before the start of the Smuggler class story. Index just after Graduation Day

 

 

“What the hell did you do?” Koric Silver tried to keep his frustration from boiling over. It wasn’t easy. His daughter sat defiantly on an armchair in the living room, arms crossed over her chest and an innocent expression on her face.

 

“I bought a ship. With my own money.”

 

“That was your college money. It was your future!”

 

“But I don’t want to go to college! I want to be a starship captain.”

 

“Do you know what your chances of making it are?”

 

“I’m a good pilot, Dad. You’ve seen me fly!” She was gripping the arms of the chair now with an expression that he

recognized from her young childhood. She was not about to back down.

 

“You’re a wonderful pilot, Jess,” Khelbi interjected, moving to put her hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “But there are too many pilots out there and not enough jobs.”

 

“Somebody’s got to make it. Besides, I already bought the ship, and you’re not going to stop me.”

 

Koric felt the lid on his anger start to slide off. “Do not talk to me that way, young lady.”

 

“Why not? You don’t even care about what I want to do! You’re not listening to me! You never listen!” She burst into tears and jumped to her feet. Ignoring Khelbi’s attempts to step in, she continued to shout. “I want to be a pilot, and I swear, that’s what I’m going to do, even if I have to dig my way out of this hellhole with a rusty spoon!” She shoved her mother out of the way and dashed toward her room.

 

“You just do that!” Koric shouted after her. “She’s going to get herself killed. Why do I try telling her anything?

 

Khelbi sighed. “Give her a little time, and she’ll calm down. We’ll try again in an hour or two.”

 

“I know she will. It’s just, we put so much into making sure she grew up free, and now she wants to throw it away.”

 

“I know.” She leaned on his shoulder and wrapped him in a hug. “I know. And for what it’s worth, I’m scared too.”

 

* * * *

 

Jessasi fiddled idly with her datapad, looking at the ship registration form again. The thing still needed a name. She probably got a little carried away with her parents. But she had meant what she said. She was going to become a starship captain if she had to take on the Empire single-handedly to do it. Still, this whole self-imposed exile thing was getting old. She might have to apologize soon out of sheer boredom.

 

Someone knocked on the door. “Come in,” she said automatically, then cursed herself for it. Her parents walked in, her mother sitting on the edge of the bed and her father taking the desk chair. Jessasi set down the datapad and looked at them. “Yes?”

 

“We just wanted to talk about your decision a little more calmly than this afternoon.”

 

Her father cleared his throat. “We want to make sure you’ve thought this through.”

 

“I have!”

 

“Then why don’t you tell us about, it, Jess?” Her mother sounded sincere enough. “What are you planning?”

 

“I’m going to find someone with cargo to move, and charge them to take it where it needs to go. I’ll use the profit from the run to cover costs for the next one, and use the rest.”

 

“How do you plan to crew the ship?”

 

“It’s small enough I can do it myself. It’ll be a pain to get cargo unloaded, but I can hire people to do that.”

 

He nodded. “And do you know how to maintain the ship?”

 

“I can do that too.” She saw them exchange looks. “Or hire people to do it.”

 

“And how will you find cargo in the first place?”

 

“The normal way: I’ll look.” At the exasperated look her mother was giving her, she added “I’ll start with the local holoads, and work out from there.”

 

“You know that it won’t be long before someone asks you to take illegal cargo. What do you plan to do then?”

 

“I’ll take it, of course.”

 

“Jess-“

 

“I know what you’re thinking, Mom. But it’s what I love. It’s what I’ve always wanted to do. Please, just let me try this.”

 

Her father spoke. “We’re worried, Jess. The galaxy isn’t something to play around with, especially the underworld, and especially if you’re a twi’lek. You have- well, had, anyway- enough money to get started in college and we think it would be smarter to-“

 

“It’ll be different for me, I promise. Just give me a little time and I’ll show you! If I don’t make it in five years, I give up and do something else. But just let me try.”

 

Her parents were silent. Jessasi could see that she almost had them. “Five years?” her mother said. “Five years,

and then you’ll get a job?”

 

“Yes. I promise.”

 

“I guess we can’t stop you. You’re nineteen, and you already bought the ship.”

 

“Yep.”

 

Her father sighed. “I guess we’ll see how it turns out, then.”

 

“I’ll go start dinner,” her mother said, standing.

 

“‘Kay.” Jess was hungry, she realized.

 

Her father stood up. “You’re a fool, Jess, you know that?” he said, smiling a bit to soften his words. “But who knows? Maybe it’ll work out.”

 

“It will.” Jessasi picked up the datapad again and looked at the ship registration. An idea was forming in her mind. Selecting the box for the ship’s name, she carefully typed a response and smiled. The Fool’s Wager. Perfect.

 

 

 

Note:

 

To be honest, I sympathize a lot with Jess's parents here. I mean, yeah, it sucks to be discouraged from your dream, particularly by your parents, but their fears are hardly unfounded. Jess obviously isn't the most responsible person in the world, and the idea of her entering a difficult and dangerous profession like that would scare the heck out of most parents. Additionally, though this isn't stated outright in the fic, Koric and Kelbi bought their way out of slavery shortly after Jess was born and are terrified that she'll fall back into that.

 

This was partially inspired by my observation that as a non-slave twi'lek, your career options are apparently limited to minor gang lord, drug dealer, or exotic dancer.

 

 

I seem to recall being too busy during the description prompt week to get one done, but I really, really love describing my characters, so here's Feyte's way-too-detailed bit.

 

Title: Feyte Saien, Bar'senthor

Prompt: Description

Length: 200 words

Spoilers: Jedi Consular endgame rank

 

 

She was younger than he expected a Jedi Council member would be; perhaps twenty-five. She was a Mirialan, and that surprised him too. Though she was far from overweight, there was something extremely soft about her appearance: smooth curves and a rounded chin and full lips. Her ash brown hair hung just past her chin, with bangs almost covering the tattoos on her forehead. Those were a darker shade of the olive color of her skin and laid out in neat geometric patterns across her forehead, cheeks, and chin, with a thin line down her nose.

 

As he watched, she leaned forward on her elbows and folded her hands, a concerned expression in her purple eyes. The diplomat finished making his case and she rose to say her own part. Now that she was standing, she could see that she wore a floor-length skirt the color of dust and a loose-sleeved, light green blouse, both of plain fabric, under a long reddish-brown leather vest and a snow-white scarf. She spoke with her hands folded in front of her and her chin slightly bowed, but shoulders back and voice steady. Finished, she returned to her seat and sat down, bringing her legs up to sit cross-legged on the chair.

 

 

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So here I am giving it a go instead of doing serious stuff I'm supposed to do. And I have like 30 pages of your work to catch up with!

 

I can't remember the prompt but it was one making fun of game mechanics - I have a fond memory of DomiSotto's story about the Sith warrior and Malavai Quinn spying on the trooper with Aric collecting bulbs. And something else with a little droid in the mail... :)

 

I had the idea ages ago but felt like participating today. ;)

 

 

Title: Fire & Forget (For what it's worth)

Prompt: ? (Making fun of game mechanics) :p

Characters: Deckaard, arsenal mercenary; Mako, Gault

Setting: Nar Shaddaa, inside the docked Mantis .

Spoilers: Who the Bounty hunter companions are, a minor allusion to an oddity within the Great Hunt.

Also a tiny hint at grown-up occupations lol...

 

[Edited/added a few things.]

 

 

Sumtin unusual 'bout Mako. It's one of these days - she has one of these faces on her. Weak grin? Lousy mask. Y'know. Like when you come home and the akky doggy acts funny and won't look you in the eye. You know he's tryin and hide somethin, and it smells funny.

 

Not in the mood for her to punch my buttons. Not today. Not yesterday. Not next week. Not ever.

Umkay, I have a short fuse all right.

 

"What?!"

 

She jus stares at me with that cheesy-uneasy face, tryin to say sumtin.

Sumtin happenin' here. And what it is ain't exactly clear.

 

I *know* I didn't do anything *bad*. Not today. Not yet. Sumtin yesterday? Nah. Would of given me the old Hydian-no-no in the bunk. And well... we had a wild time last night, and then some. So... not me. I think.

But then again I'm not thinking too straight. Ooh, my head. My liver hates Nar Shaddaa.

Okay, actually, my liver hates me. But it hates me even more when my butt is on Narsh.

 

"Tell me already. What is it!"

 

She gives up. Was gonna yell and stuff anyways so let's get over it and be friggin' done with it.

 

"Hun... you're not gonna like this"

 

I growl. Really. In the morning, my already raspy voice really starts to sound like rattling of asteroid debris, shaken, not stirred. Sure as hell hope we're never under attack while I'm snoring. Nerfherding crew wouldn't even hear me croak an order.

 

Little Mako. She can't help looking at the holo. It's flashing. New messages.

 

A couple heavy strides an' am reading the damn thing.

 

"WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

Punched the console so hard it left a dent, and some damn circuits flickered and stopped working. You know, the stuff that activates when that other stuff beeps... nevermind.

One more dent.

 

"Like HELL I'm paying that!!!!! It's more then a mont's bounty!!!"

 

"There we go again...", a carefree voice from downstairs let slip.

 

"SHUT THE PHRIK UP, GAULT"

 

"Okay, okaaay... but it's not like I didn't warn you boss. Gotta count them!"

 

 

Banthafriggin spacer. How did he know?

 

"Hey, BRAINIAC. Right now have a half mind to collect the boon on you after all. Zip it. Now."

 

"Yeah you do that! And all mandos from here to Theta come after us. Hmmm. Wonder what the price tag would be... what's the rate for cheating on the great hunt and all that, this month?"

 

Dammit. It' as if the eejit was a talking nose. Dude thinks through his nose. Was so hammered once I even pictured him as a walking red nose. With little legs, and horns. On top of a hill of credit chips. Impersonating a rooster. Why am I even remembering this? Dawn damage's not helpin'. Last night is kinda sketchy now that I think of it. (Kinda sexy too, mmm...)

 

Anyway, he's lucky Torian is not on ship to hear that. Sent the kid to that cantina full o' gorgeous twileks. Why is the blasted devo not with him?

 

"Go space yourself, buddy.", I snort.

 

 

 

"Hun... calm down. We can afford it.", Mako chances.

 

"Like hell we can! I'm not paying a hundred grand!!"

 

"It's not like we're chasing accountants on Hutta anymore... held by Gammos that can't shoot straight. Those dread masters don't die cheap."

 

"Yeah..."

 

"Plus, hun... it's our lifestyle here. You know what? It's your... signature!"

 

With this she has me laughing. Throat clearing already. Mood too. Mind should follow anytime soon.

 

"Phrikin' A! That's my signature! Hey buddy! You've been jangoed! BOOM"

 

Laughed some more.

Gotta love my bad axe laughter. Them ladies luuuv it. My kinda ladies I mean. L'il Mako does.

 

"Damn. 100 grand. That much??"

 

"Hun... this is from Merr-Sonn alone"

 

"Merr-Sonn of a gun!!! You kiddin' me??!!""

Man, sometimes, I just keep 'em rollin'. Like I'm on barrage mode! HAR HAR HAR

 

"Yes. There's this whole other bunch too."

 

"Damn! Woman, give me some good news!"

 

She grins, glitter in her eye.

 

"Well... do have some good news! Remember I found this broker in the Industrial sector last time?"

 

"Yeah..."

 

"Well we're officialy buying wholesale! So that's a flat 12 % discount, plus totally handsome perks. Instead of 300 grand we're paying two-twenty, and best part is, in three installements. And the stuff is pristine."

 

"No way! That's my Mako!"

 

Now she's really smiling. Something in that smile makes my day.

 

"K. Lemme check that list out"

 

"Here's."

 

 

Dear customer,

 

Please find enclosed the consolidated invoice for your ORDNANCE, VARIOUS #49754AHAK orders these past 180 days.

 

Selka Corp Kolto pods: 36600 units**

Salus Corp Mandalorian iron warheads: 24600 units**

Qualdex Thermal coolant: 24130 units**

Merr-Sonn Tracer missile: 19880 units*

Kessler Heatseeker missiles: 16110 units*

Thalaxxian Power surge capacitors: 15440 units**

Tarascii Explosives "Death from above" missiles: 11400 units*

TasCorp Fusion missile: 12440 units*

Ubrikkian Rocket fuel cannisters: 6240 units*

Mier-lang Flamethrowing gas cannisters: 6200 units**

Nova-Tech Hydraulic override recharges: 6080 units*

SoroSuub Missile ("salvo" pairs): 5840 units**

Mier-Lang Concussion missile: 5220 units*

Taim & Bak Railshot power cells: 4980 units**

Saladar Systems Energy shield power cells: 4850 units*

PraxArms Electro net: 3830 units*

Saladar Systems Chaff flare: 3320 units*

Exotac Kolto missile: 3180 units*

PraxArms Electro darts: 2625 units*

Bothan Corps High velocity gas cannisters: 2540 units*

Tenloss Corp Decoys: 2160 units**

Neuro-Saav Destun adrenals: 1510 units*

Adascorp Combat Support cells: 1440 units**

Taim & Bak Heavy blaster power cells (modified): 940 units*

CryonCorp Stealth scan probes: 420 units*

LifeLine Onboard AED: 180 units*

 

*See table 2A for unit pricing

**See table 2B for synergies.

 

Total: 302,744 credits

Wholesale discount 12% 36,329 credits

subtotal 266,415 credits

Special customer bonus : 5% - 15,137 credits

Synergies: 24,837 credits discount

(see table 2B enclosed)

 

Grand Total 226,441 credits.

Invoice is to be paid in three installments

 

Congratulations! As a thank you for your Platinum Annihilator Membership, we have granted you 525 complimentary beryllius points.

 

Also, this month only! The Tenloss Syndicate generously presents you with 25 Tenloss Corporation thermal detonators for the purchase of a DX2 Disruptor Rifle!

 

You have 9870 beryllius points, of which 3449 expire in 60 standard days.

This month is kolto pod and shield power cell giveaway, get two units of each for every stack redeemed with your beryllius points!

 

Best regards,

 

Vol-tech Galactic Arms Broker

 

"Hun. I know how you like to finish them off with a missile salvo. But we really really REALLY need to cut down on fireworks. Otherwise all we'll have left to throw at them is that ugly Houk that's been freeloading since Belsavis..."

 

"Damn. I'll really think twice before popping a rocket now."

 

"It's not like I'm not telling you everytime..."

 

"Told U too!", shouted a nose from downstairs.

 

"Who would of figured? Should of gone powertech. Or pyro, at least. Torching stuff is way cheaper."

 

"But where's the fun in that? You get to showcase the whole arsenal this side of gree space"

 

"Heheh! That's my girl."

 

"Anytime, big boy!"

 

"We'll also need to cut down on kolto, missy."

 

"What? You can't be serious. No can do."

 

"It's the friggin' first item on the list! 36k units!"

 

"Any less than that, and you won't be needing anything anymore hun"

 

*Growl.*

"Mako you need to stop plastering me every time I get the littlest scratch!"

 

"Hey! Not my fault if we need the cloud going! The probes need to keep up with your pace! And speaking of PTs you *really* need to stop charging heavy droids on Oricon whenever you see one guarding a stash! Ever since you got that experimental Czerka gizmo you've been acting like you have a portable sky shield on your head!"

 

"Well it DOES absorb a lot of incoming..."

 

"Yeah, for a lousy six seconds, and whenever it wants! You want a PT shield? Get a PT suit! But you can't swell the quake and skip it too!"

 

Friggin hate when she thinks she can yell at ME and get away with it.

Friggin hate it even more when she yells at me and she's right.

 

"Hun," she continues, "You can't carry a full shield generator on top of all the ammo and hidden missile tubes on you. There isn't one millimeter left for anything more. For phrik's sake, you want a heavy generator, you'd need Skadge to run at your side carrying it! He'd be useful for once..."

 

"OKAY! OKAY! I'll be "more careful"! We need those stashes though. Tell you what. Next time, I stun the big droid right away. Then you zap the stupid dread guard. The rest of the suckers charge. Freeze nade. Then I toast them bomber style. I'll be careful not to wake the bucket o' bolts."

 

"Works for me."

 

"Great. But you ALSO need to stop plastering me with greens when I'm ok. And while we're there, LOS'ing the suckers is one thing, but remaining behind your rock while they're on a bumpfest with my butt is LOS'ing ME. THAT's when I need the damn kolto! Not when I'm half dead kissing the dirt and my own butt smells of barbecue!"

 

"Okay, FINE! FINE!"

 

"C'mere babe. I need you by my side, y'know that."

 

I open my arms, hug her. She squeezes me. Hard. Pressing her little face against my torso. For once, not armored. Damn. What's that in my chest? Shut up, old ticker. She'll notice. I smell her hair. It's like the moment lasts forever. Part of me wishes it did.

 

 

"Speaking of Skadge... we really need more room to stockpile that arsenal hun. Hint hint?"

 

"Yeah... tell you what, next time we go to Belsa, he's getting "heavily refreshed" at the prison cantina. And in for a little surprise when the booze wears off. Deal?"

 

"Deal!"

 

 

 

Edited by BenduKundalini
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