November, 11 ATC

The lanky greybeard darted along the wall to meet Fixer Thirty-Four, who had just stepped into the dance hall with her uniform boots swapped out for heels. "Pacha! My lovely!" His voice was pitched just barely under the music while he held out his hand. "I had hardly hoped to see you again! Where is your Chiss friend?"

"Oh, he was a one-time deal. Three? Three-time deal. Out of town now."

He squeezed her hand fervently and released it. "Then we are all the poorer. Seeing you on the dance floor again, you and he were spectacular. Such skill! Such chemistry!"

Pacha's smile was wide and sly. "Is that just your way of saying you'd rather somebody other than you be my partner, Vors?"

"Far from it, far from it, my dear, I will offer my humble best any day you should care to call."

"Then make it today," she said. "Are you guys in the market for an instructor?"

The man started. "Pacha, I thought we lost your talents as an instructor years ago."

"I wasn't feeling it. I think I'd like to now, though."

"Wonderful! This is wonderful! The one and only Pacha has returned! If I meet this Chiss again, I will shake his hand for bringing you back to us."

Pacha made an only-mostly-annoyed face. "What, don't I get any credit for this decision?"

The old man beamed. "Oh, you get better than a handshake, my dear. You get to dance."

Old Vors is just…like that.

The Apatros system put the outer in Outer Rim; the place was desolate and way off the beaten hyperlanes. It was also in a pocket of space perfectly situated for the atmospheric reaction that put coruscating halos around a hundred distant stars. The view was really something, and the venue was sufficiently out of the way that Ananz and Vette weren't likely to be bothered.

So they lay beneath the stars, side by side on a big blanket, and they talked.

“I was a slave before I was free before being a slave,” said Vette.

Ananz processed that for a few seconds. “What?”

“My mom and my sister and me were all captured as slaves when I was really little. I told you how Nok Drayen wiped out my owner’s business and set me free after that. I was eleven when Nok Drayen disappeared and I went my own way on Nar Shaddaa. So I did my thing for a few years as a free Twi'lek, until I got caught raiding tombs on Korriban."

"And they enslaved you rather than killing you?"

"Hey, somebody really wanted to use a shock collar on something that day. I won't complain. Much." She nudged his elbow with her own. "So, your turn."

Ananz stared up at the stars and tried to think of a way he could put it off.

“Ananz? Don’t leave me hanging here.”

“No, of course,” he said. “I was just sorting out how much weirdness I want to drop on you.” And they hadn't even hit the Force ghost experience. “I…” When would he next get the chance to talk to her alone? Never, possibly, depending. “I’ve never kissed a girl – a woman before.”

A pause. “Huh. How old are you again?”

“Twenty-four.” Yup, this was going to go badly.

“Never ever?”

“I didn’t really have a say in…things like that. For a long while. And I wasn’t exactly eager to repeat the experience on my own time. After a few years free I tried, once, with a man – it’s all I knew anything about – and it just didn’t go anywhere. Nothing else made me want to even try.” He swallowed hard. “Until you, anyway.”

“And that’s why you’ve spent all this time not making a move? You should’ve said something.”

“Yeah, well. It’s not my favorite subject.”

She rolled onto her side. “Listen. We don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to.”

“But I do. I mean, it's up to you, but…" He turned his head to meet her gaze. "I do," he said quietly.

"All right then. Guess there's only one way to sort things out." When she moved he forced himself not to shy away; she raised herself on her elbows, then hands, to lean over him. She was blue in the starlight, haloed by the lights in the distant sky. She lowered her face to his and brushed her lips against his, very lightly, before easing into a warm slow kiss.

Then, abruptly, she lifted herself away. “Bad?” she chirped.

He laughed nervously. “No.”

“Okay, good." She kissed him again, drawing everything in him to that one perfect point of contact, then throwing him into total disarray with one fingertip running lightly down one of his lekku. When he dared to raise a hand to cup her face she didn't stop him; she only raised herself a tiny bit to say again, "Bad?"

"No." He pushed himself up to meet her again, traced curves at the base of her lekku, fitted a hand to her slim waist. She leaned into him, like nothing he had ever felt, and that was the thing: her presence wasn't his fears, not at all, it was new, new and right.

She broke away with a quick unsteady breath. "I've…got one more fact you should know."

Confusion crashed with anxiety in his head, leaving just enough presence of mind to say "Okay."

"Fair warning. I'm…I don't…you know. I made a promise to my mother, years ago. That I would wait to go all the way until I was married."

He stared. He didn't mean to, but he stared. It had never occurred to him that a young, beautiful Twi'lek who had spent time as a slave should have had that luxury. It was a wonderful thought. "Of course," he said. "Of course. We don't have to do anything." He edged to one side, away from her.

"Uhh, I didn't say kissing wouldn't happen." She pulled him back. In the starlight everything about her shone. Ananz joined her, smiling, and for once felt that things were entirely good.

If phase 1 of my fanfic bingeing was "Quinn Quinn Quinn," phase 2 seems to be "the sex lives of small blue people."

Is it Wynston wearing an old-man hologram?

@bright_ephemera, at least Pacha can still have fun! And the Vette piece was wonderful.

@Lesaberisa, Skadge wouldn't even register as a trophy to me. Just...a big paperweight, I guess?

@Anyone I may have missed, keep up the good work! I am reading these as time allows!

Dankin wrapped his arm around Akaavi's shoulders. She sat, slumped as if depressed, in Dankin's bed. He smiled and tapped her nose. She finally smiled–a little.

"What's wrong, cyar'ika?" he asked. He usually used Mando'a for her benefit.

"It's my armor," she said.

He knew. She had been searching for a new set of Mandalorian armor for months now. She'd come close to getting a set on Hutta before the greasy merchant had taken it off the market. She'd tried trading it with other Mandalorians, taking it off corpses, and everything in between, but she'd never been able to scrounge up a full set.

"I know," he said. "I'm trying to find you one."

She nodded. "I know. But look at me. I look like a common, dishonorable mercenary that comes cheap at places like Port Nowhere. It's disgusting."

He had to admit, she had a point. Her chest plate was red, almost garishly so–a replica of some pirate called the Red Blade who no one ever saw outside his armor. Her greaves and boots were common mercenary greaves, painted tan–Akaavi insisted the colors looked well together. Her gloves she had gotten from a military supplier on Balmorra. And her helmet was a slit-visor helm similar to what the Mantellian separatists had worn, painted gray and brown.

"I gotta admit," Dankin said, "it's...not the prettiest thing I've ever seen."

She punched him in the shoulder. He laughed and rubbed his arm–and turned away quickly to grimace in pain. He turned back, forcing a grin.

"We'll find a set," Dankin assured her, "eventually. I promise."

She nodded. "All right. Thanks."

"Let's go find something to smuggle, kill, or cheat," he said with a grin.

She hopped off the bed to follow him.

There's no Mandalorian armor on the Cartel market. This annoys me. The Red Blade chest piece I got cheap on the GTN so it's what Akaavi is currently wearing and it is, as I said, garish.

SQUEE

Oh, my first one. I hope you don't mind if I SQUEE you right back

@frauzet, I like the background on how Thorns got his tattoo. That probably would have been too hard a memory for him to share with Mako, especially so soon. And the girl telling him it gets easier to kill someone was chilling.

He's got some nice memories of this girl too, maybe I'll write them down properly, but they are definitely not going to be shared with Mako

@frauzet, effective (and sad) use of the wretched state of Coruscant post-Sacking. And then, with Thorns, poor Mako...every reminder of (BH intro) has got to hurt.

Yes, and I think there will be many reminders, while she is traveling with the BH.

Got the spoiler hint

@frauzet Loving Thorns's backstory and beginnings. That last part with Mako was also very nice. Awesome picture, I don't see enough people using those full tattoos.

Thank you. I must admit, that the tattoo was kind of an accident. I hadn't really planned on playing Thorns, so I hit the random button several times, until I liked the outcome. I got caught by his voice. The backstory came much later.

@EverSteam: Not being able to communicate with ones loved ones is bad in times when probably everything is alright. It must be horror when the probability is very high, that something has happened to them.

@bright_ephemera: I like your Wynston stories as always. I briefly wondered, if Pacha should have slapped Cipher Nine before spending a last night with Wynston in AFFECTION, but only very briefly.

@YoshiRaphElan: I'd like to read an POV from Havoc Squad on 'Interruptions', were they also relieved?

Mandalorian Armor for Akaavi, I haven't played her much, but I understand the problem. I was so dissapointed after I sent a smuggler hat to one of my imperial chars!

@marissalf: *sigh* Had Mel planned on needing the scarf to hide something from Mako later?

Minimum resources, maximum results.

Very efficient

"I couldn't figure out how to work it."

Being able to disassemble and reassemble all weapons blindfolded probably with one hand tied to his back and being overchallenged with the umbrella, I really like him. He might be related to one or two guys I happen to know

For a few minutes, Zash's Force-ghost remained where she was, motionless. Then, she rested her ethereal head in ethereal hands and started to cry.

I am even tempted to pity her.

@irishfino: Azasha, the name is great!

@alaurin: Your story reminds me of my little sisters

@Lesaberisa: I can absolutely see, why there are so many BHs not liking Skadge, but if you plan an mounting him on the wall, you should find a fitting helmet for him first, one with closed visor

She couldn’t sleep, so Mako decided she might as well go to the bridge, to read a bit more of the ship’s manual. Finding the manual on the holonet had been the easy part. But matching the descriptions to the actual ship wasn’t easy at all with the customizations that had apparently been applied over the years. They had already dropped out of hyperspace, so it would be save, to experiment a little bit. The ship’s computer navigated on its own given a proper destination, and the droid had been very helpful so far but it would be good to know how things worked in case of any malfunction.

‘Always be prepared for the worst, then you can afford to be optimistic.’ She could hear Braden’s voice in her head as clearly as if he was standing next to her. She started to smile, when the feeling of loss hit her. She missed him so much. Tears started to fill her eyes, and she wiped them away angrily. She would concentrate on her memories of happier times, when Braden had been still alive. All the things he had taught her. The feeling of being part of a family albeit a peculiar one he had given her, being valued and loved like his own child. She wouldn’t let fear and anger take that away from her! When she reached the bridge she was smiling again.

The bridge was dark, so she turned on the light upon entering. There was movement in the front of the cockpit. Thorns lay there on his back, gazing out into space. Squinting because of the sudden light, he raised his head.

“Sorry. I didn’t know you’re here, I didn’t want to disturb you.” she apologized, already turning to leave him alone.

“That’s ok, come in.” With a worried look he asked, “Are you ok?”

S***, she thought, had he noticed that she had been crying? She wouldn’t want him to see her as a little girl after all. If he revoked his decision to take her with him, she ... No! She wouldn’t even think about it. He had given his word and so far had been true to it. They had gotten along well on Dromund Kaas.

“I’m fine, just couldn’t sleep. Thought I’d try to figure out some more of those switches and buttons. What are you doing down there?”

“Turn off the light and I’ll show you.” He moved over and patted the floor beside him, inviting her to join him.

Mako turned off the light, and waited for her eyes to adjust to the gloom. She was a little nervous. He had been flirting with her, that much was obvious. So far he hadn’t urged her to do anything she didn’t want to. But getting down there on the floor? She wasn’t sure where this was leading. She was suddenly very aware of the fact, that she was no physical match for him.

Inwardly she scolded herself for being silly, one moment fearing to be seen as a child and the next not wanting to be seen as a woman.

He was kind of attractive despite the fierce look his tattoo and haircut gave him. That was not the problem. And he wasn’t that old, maybe a few years older than she was, quite young for a participant in the great hunt actually. His blue eyes…

His blue eyes had nothing to do with this being a business relationship. Strictly business! She would not risk everything they had been working for for a bit of fun!

She didn’t want to encourage him, but backing out now, would seem a bit off, she realized.

So she carefully made her way through the darkness and lay down beside him.

“Look over there” he pointed to a star in space above them. “That’s Balmorra’s sun. So close to the Nevoota System it’s pretty bright, so it’s somewhat diminishing the other stars in our field of vision.”

“Wow!” Mako breathed, “That’s a great view from this perspective.”

“One of my favorite pastimes, admiring the beauty of the galaxy.”

She glanced at him, “I wouldn’t have thought, you’re the romantic type.”

“I wouldn’t call it romantic. Maybe a bit sentimental.”

He seemed to be considering saying more, so she waited.

After a while he continued. “I was about seventeen, when I saw an open sky for the first time in my life. No stars though. The lights of Coruscant were too bright. “

She hadn’t been able to place his accent. He was from Coruscant? It was hard for her to keep silent.

“I…” he hesitated again. “I had already killed quite a lot of people back on Coruscant despite my age.

The job wasn’t that much different from what I’m doing now. Somebody telling me whom to take out and me getting it done. Main difference was that somebody was always the same and you didn’t dare say no to him.” He unconsciously touched his tattooed scalp.

“Ran into a police squad eventually, not sure if they had been tipped off. I was convicted for murder.

As they left me not much of a choice I joined the Republic Army and was shipped to Ord Mantell as cannon fodder.

The cometary cloud blocks out most of the stars over Ord Mantell. But I was busy trying to stay alive back there, so it was no big loss.”

He sat up, wrapping his arms around his knees, before he continued.”From my point of view, hunting is an art. I am good at it, but I don’t kill people unless I have to. Even back on Coruscant I tried to save some of the things I had been taught as a child.

Their war was slaughter on both sides. I didn’t need to see much of it, to decide I wasn’t meant to be a soldier. I took the first opportunity to get off that rock and clambered aboard a smuggling ship as a stowaway, got cast out on Tatooine.

My first night on Tatooine was like a revelation.”

He lay back down, his gaze drifting to the stars.

“As I sat there by myself on the outskirts of Anchorhead gazing up into the sky, I realized that I was free. I could pick any star system out there with a planet I wanted to see, and I was sure I’d find a way to get there.”

Somehow her hand found his and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“That’s where Braden contacted you, Tatooine?” she asked.

“Yeah, I had somehow managed to build up a reputation. You know the rest.” he concluded.

They lay in silence for a while, hand in hand, watching the stars, and listening to the soft hum of the engines.

“When we’ve won the Great Hunt, I’ll show you the stars above Tatooine.” he said at last.

Her heart skipped a beat. He had said ‘we’. She could have kissed him, but that certainly would have sent some wrong signals.

Anyone who's played BH all the way through knows how frustratingly slow the romance arc is, and how many damned times you have to pause and wait for level (x) before you can advance. You can't even ENTER romance with her till level 48. WARGHBLARGHL!

Most frustrating romance arc EVAR and not enough "meat" to it, IMHO, once you finally get over the hump. Which is probably why we have to invent our own.

Elara was proud of herself. Tanno had said it couldn’t be done. And usually if Tanno said it couldn’t be done, it couldn’t be. When the team had decided to spend their leave together and on Alderaan, Elara had decided she wanted to do something nice for her C.O. and husband. She asked Tanno if he thought they could get Corellian ale on Alderaan. Tanno had only laughed. Sure the Imperials had been stopped on the planet and trade was normalizing, but essentials would be a priority getting to the planet and good off-world ale would be nearly impossible to find. Elara had made it her mission once the ship touched down to find at least a case of Corellian ale.

Success had been sweet. She didn’t want to think what it had cost her. She had liked the thought of having the new medical scanner they had picked up on Coruscant, not that there was anything wrong with the one they had. A few software tweaks had been made and the company that produced them had sold them to the government as a Mk-whatever and for more credits per unit than the older model. Elara had researched the piece of gear, then figured out what was done to it. She had downloaded the software, uploaded it to the older model and had herself a brand new Mk-whatever and now had a spare.

When she found the contact for the ale he hadn’t wanted credits. She had gone prepared for that. She had taken a list of expendable or duplicate gear that Havoc had available. “Having Tanno around wasn’t such a bad thing after all” she had thought when the contact had asked what she had to trade. She had handed the man a datapad and watched his eyes light up when he found one particular item, the new Mk-whatever med scanner. He got the scanner; Elara became the proud owner of over six thousand liter bottles of Corellian ale. “Besides,” she thought, “they probably need the scanner more now than I do.”

She had the ale delivered to the ship and most was stored in the cargo hold of the Corellian Dawn. Ten cases were now stored in the cargo compartment of one of the speeders the squad had rented upon arrival. Elara smiled to herself as she cruised the vehicle down a trail toward the riverside cabin the team was residing in for the week. Voslic and Aric had been desperately wanting to go fishing for some time so the team had agreed to a secluded riverside location for their vacation.

Not that it was really a cabin, rustic as it may have looked. The Organa’s had heard of their arrival and had met them at the port when they touched down. They had insisted that the team make use of their facilities while they were there. Voslic had been thinking that they would just camp by the river. The team would have been just as happy since they had spent the last few months either in combat or cooped up on the boat. The wide open space, they had all agreed would do them some good. In the end, not wanting to offend the Organa’s, Voslic had agreed to use their cabin.

The cabin had turned out to be a small mansion. Two stories with a wrap around porch and balcony, six bedrooms, three refresher units, a large living room with fireplace, dining room and an enormous kitchen. All the bedrooms had a view of the river as did the living room. The master bedroom was situated over the living room so that it to had a fireplace. Large windows in the living room faced the lake with sliding duraplas doors. Chairs and benches adorned the porch and balcony and the porch had a nice wood burning grill for cooking.

The team had settled in and started to relax. The first day was un-packing, settling rooms and exploring the grounds. They found a small rocky cove just down the beach with dock space. Unfortunately, there was no boat. The cove did however offer a large shallow sandy-bottomed area for anyone wanting to swim. Voslic and Elara had decided they would have to explore the area more thoroughly after nightfall. The thought of the prior evening made Elara blush red and thought that the area warranted more investigation that evening.

She pulled the speeder around to the river side of the cabin when she arrived. The scene she found was unexpected. A very wet and agitated Aric was toe to toe with Vick. Elara had to catch herself from laughing. Not only was Aric wet, but he looked like he had been startled. All of his hair stood on end. Voslic stood near the river bank, equally as wet but seemed fairly amused.

Elara wandered down to where M1 and Yunn stood watching from a safe distance. She leaned close to Yunn. “What happened here?”

Yunn merely shook his head. M1 made a sound that sounded much like a chuckle. Elara glanced sideways at the droid. Voslic had never installed the restraining bolt on M1 that regulations demanded and to her knowledge, had never done the prescribed memory flush. She had a sneaking suspicion that the droid was coming very human-like in his manners when not on duty.

“Not to worry lieutenant.” M1 stated in a low voice. “I have it all recorded.”

Any other comments were cut short when Aric exploded. “You maniacal, wompa brained bilge rat! What in the stars were you thinking?!?”

Tanno looked thoughtful for a moment before replying. “Captain, how long have you and the Skipper been fishing?”

Aric furrowed his brow. “What the hell does that matter?”

“Well, if we were waiting for you two to provide fish for dinner tonight, we’d starve.”

“Tanno, how many times did the Skipper and I go over this? Fishing can also be done to relax.” Aric seemed to be about to turn purple. “We were fishing today to relax. Not feed us this evening.” He continued trying to maintain his calm. “That’s what the steaks were for this evening.”

Tanno nodded his head. “You know, now that you mention it, that was pretty relaxing.”

“You psychopath! You could have killed us!” Aric screamed as he brushed path Tanno and headed toward the house.

Tanno turned to watch him go. “It was only a quarter kilo of detnite. And I’m an explosive expert. I knew what I was doing.” He called after the retreating Cathar.

By now Voslic had joined Elara. He called out to Tanno. “Well, the steaks can keep. We’ll have fresh fish tonight. Tanno, you “caught” ‘em, you clean ‘em.”

Elara followed Tanno’s gaze out to the middle of the river. At least a dozen fish floated on the surface. “He didn’t, did he?”

“He did. He threw detnite in the river. I saw him fiddling with something and then throw something in the river. Aric never saw it coming. That Cathar jumped like he had been shot. I think he’s more angry that his fur all stood on end. Makes him look all cuddly.”

Elara couldn’t help herself. She burst out laughing. Between fits of laughter, she explained that M1 had it all recorded. The recorded version would not be as good as seeing it for real, but she was going to enjoy that. Then she remembered her surprise. She pulled Voslic over to the speeder. She lifter the hatch and watched a grin spread across her husband’s face.

“How did you get your hands on this?”

“Don’t ask. Just enjoy.”

“Well hell, hide from the rest of them.”

Elara smiled. “There’s more, much more.”

From down by the river side Tanno yelled back up at Yunn. “Come give me a hand. I didn’t think there were that many fish in this river.”

Voslic wrapped an arm around Elara’s waist. “Thanks Darlin.”

Elara sighed. “This is going to be a good time.” She thought

My ole pappy was a Marine during WWII and Korea. While in the Pacific he told me of a fishing trip he and his made while on Guadalcanal. Thus the gist of this story. They would find a nice cove, pull a landing barge in close, and drop grenades in water.

@Frauzet: Really liking the Thorns story. All of it. The stargazing was a nice touch to his personality.

@Everstream: I'm really enjoying your depiction of Corso as a "Man of action". I especially liked the story where Corso stops the fight, then becomes the camp's unoffical leader. People like that are always doing, but there are times where you can't always "do". They tend to always find something anyways . You people may make me a Corso liker yet! The part where the rescuer saw the holovid and made his decision got to me. Very well done!

There was nothing about your SW story I didn't like. Not a thing. The interplay between Quinn and her was awesome!

@Bright: I was worried we'd lack for Fixer 34 updates after Wynston moved on. Bravo, sir. Also, I tried to boycott Wynston for leaving Pacha (even though it makes total sense)... but dammit, I need my Wynston fix! Interested to see how Wynston moves on from here.

@Yoshi: Loved the Havoc/Agent piece. I can imagine the "W.T.F??" moment when both teams realize they're here for the same guy.

Your story about the end of the Empire was fantastic. The characterization of Ashara was spot on, imo. And that Drellik was the one to finish it? Loved it.

The Jedi story was a nice ending to that storyline. And I think you can be forgiven, the line fit perfectly!

@Kabeone: The Man in Middle story was fantastic! Especially nowdays when texting is the cause for so many misunderstandings due to lack of voice tone, body language, etc. It would be easy to get disconnected when your lives are so dissimilar! I love the format you used as well, of the actual emails

@Adwynyth: Gonna get this out of the way. I love your Mako. It's exactly how I picture her. Swaindrix is fun too. Being the total dude, looking but not looking. And I love the Swain goes mano a mano with Blood. I can completely see Swain "enjoying it"

@Marrisalf: I'm enjoying the Medodai/Mako dynamic. The seem to work well off each other. More please!

@Euphrosyne: Very niiiiiice. Even after I trapped her in that damn box, I've been waiting for her to find a way out! And the relationship between Zash and Sakaria was well done. I loved it! And way to nail Zash!

@Irish:

“That’s the sexiest description of that incident to date,” Andronikos quipped.

HAH!!

I loved it. Both you and Eupho managed to nail Zash down, and I hate to admit it, but I did like her as an NPC. The fact that she's in Ashara's body now is even better, and trying to put the moves on her former apprentice? Priceless.

@Alaurin: First off, thanks so much for the index! It's got to be a lot of work and I know we all appreciate it! I loved the sister bonding story. My brothers and I had so many "what would you do with a million dollar" moments, and they were very similar. Great piece!

@Lesaberisa: Ok, I loved that they both looked at Skadge, made me laugh! And you nailed Vette in that great SW piece! I'm going to have to go back and find more Ayers stories. I'm liking him!

@Sthrift: ok, I hate Tanno Vic. I think the guy is a complete @#$%&, but your depiction of him had me laughing!

Tanno nodded his head. “You know, now that you mention it, that was pretty relaxing.”

If he didn't do that, it wouldn't have been Tanno! Well done, making me like a character I normally hate.

I squinted at the display. I shuffled some numbers. I squinted some more. The door slid noisily open and Jorgan popped his head in.

"Am I interrupting, sir?" he said.

"Nah, just bookkeeping," I said, closing the file. "Come on in."

"You don't look too happy about it. Money troubles?"

"No, just the opposite. I've got a decent salary coming in and to be honest I don't know what to do with most of it. I've been sending some home for Mama for, well, ever, but the shop's turning a profit and she's got Glend now, too. I'm not really needed on that front. She's threatening to turn back any credits I send her way."

Jorgan smirked. "So set up a charitable fund for your brother?"

I made a face at him. "I've been avoiding putting that name on it. Kirsk can dip out of the regular rainy day fund. I...was thinking about setting something aside for a house fund. Never used to see myself as settling, but if I ever come home I guess I'd better not count on living with Mama."

"You figure you'd be settling with someone." There was a smile somewhere in there.

It seemed like bad luck to say it out loud, so I didn't. "Maybe." Just the thought of having a home with Elara loosed butterflies in my stomach. The good kind. "It can't hurt to set something aside, just in case."

"No, sir. Smart move."

"Yeah," I said. "Yeah, I think so."

I didn't tell him that there was something even before a house, or might be. Elara didn't have any family here to help with arrangements for...for getting married. The thought left me dizzy, and had ever since it first came to me. It wasn't ready yet, obviously, but I could at least start on having something practical to offer her.

Jorgan cleared his throat.

"Sorry," I said. "You were saying?"

He grinned, fangs bared. "I was saying, Savins, all I have to do is mention her name some days and you just check out."

"Sorry," I repeated. "I am. Consider me officially paying attention. – Wait, you didn't even say her name."

The grin widened. "No. The indirect reference is enough."

"Very funny. Was there a change of subject coming up?"

"Sure, any time you're on planet to catch it."

"I don't know why I tell you anything, Jorgan."

frauzet: so it's not really a secret but I had very low tolerance for Mako in the game (probably because I didn't want her take Torian away from me- I mean, my bounty hunter ) but your great writing and extra depth to her make me like her. I really look forward to more on your BH.

sthrift: your vacation piece amused me to no end Jorgan's reaction was wonderful

Bright: I don't think I really need to say anything... you already know how much I like Wynston and all your work

alaurin: thanks for the index! I also hadn't realised I had written so much...

@Eversteam: Poor Corso....although like Bright said, it makes sense that he'd try to keep himself distracted. Also, seeing "Riggsie" in your second story admittedly put a smile on my face. Might just steal that one;) I really enjoyed your Sw/Quinn piece too (especially the snide remark about Pierce).

Steal away

I'm glad you like the SW piece too and Pierce is such an easy target for snide remarks

I'm really enjoying your SW, BH and Trooper. I'm looking forward to more

There is nothing about this piece that I don't love.

@EverSteam: Not being able to communicate with ones loved ones is bad in times when probably everything is alright. It must be horror when the probability is very high, that something has happened to them.

It really must be. I'd like to say I'd know how they feel but I really can only imagine.

@EverSteam, Ah! Continuing to make me sad (in a good way)! “It was a pure holler of agony...” It’s such a small thing, but I love that you used the word “holler” there. It feels like something Corso would say.

It really does, I'm glad you liked that touch and I hope it keeps being sad in a good way

@Everstream: I'm really enjoying your depiction of Corso as a "Man of action". I especially liked the story where Corso stops the fight, then becomes the camp's unoffical leader. People like that are always doing, but there are times where you can't always "do". They tend to always find something anyways . You people may make me a Corso liker yet! The part where the rescuer saw the holovid and made his decision got to me. Very well done!

There was nothing about your SW story I didn't like. Not a thing. The interplay between Quinn and her was awesome!

I can't imagine Corso not finding something to do. Corso is so ridiculously sweet in the game I couldn't not like him.

I'm glad, I spent a long while writing that and trying to imagine this man finding and hearing that.

And on the SW front:

@EverSteam: glad to be of service with the ideas

You were of great service and the inspired piece is below

Beautiful, Eversteam!

Ahaha...truth

How very Quinn. How terribly, poignantly Quinn.

The guards call Corso over but he doesn't recognise it as such. He continues to speak to the two children he is bent down in front of. He doesn't say anything out loud but he knows that he is still somehow reassuring them that their older brother is alive. He's strong, Corso thinks in a way they can somehow hear, so a few broken buildings won't kill him.

The guards call again but he doesn't turn or move until the children point over his shoulder to them. Corso turns around in confusion and the children vanish. Corso walks slowly and with a heavy footsteps towards the guards. Each step causes embers to fly up from the dull grass that doesn't burn.

The guards tell him in mute voices and moving lips that they found his Captain and he can go in to find her. Corso thanks them soundlessly and walks past them. Within two steps, he has left them far behind and is surrounded by the grey ruins of the city. He chest swells and his eyes remain fixed ahead on a grey world. The sky is starless and black and there is no one in the ruined streets. They gave Corso no directions but he knows where to go. He feels like he's always known.

Corso approaches the edge of a cliff that lie in the cities centre with growing fear. The destroyed city has fallen into a large crater. Smoke and ash whirl around him despite their being no breeze and his feet seem to glide over the rubble that should trip him and slow him down.

'Corso! Help me!'

The call is faint and comes from the crater ahead. Corso begins to run towards it as the ground begins to shake. He reaches the edge of the crater and looks down into it. It's jagged brown sides are desolate of ruins and in the centre of the pit is a raging fire. The smoke stings Corso's eyes but he sees her through his teary eyes none the less. She clings to the side of the crater, holding onto only a small outcrop of stone, the fire raging hungrily below.

'Please, Corso, save me!' his Captain begs. Her green eyes shine bright against her skin that is stained grey and black.

'I will, Audra,' Corso reassures. 'I promise.'

Corso looks around desperately for something to pull her up with before she can't hold on any longer. Suddenly, the ruined city is gone and there's nothing but a liquid darkness around the craters edge. He has no choice but to climb down and bring her up.

He needs to turn around to begin his climb down but he's scared that if he takes his eyes off her he will never see her again. He can't let that happen. Corso sits on the edge and begins trying to step down, his feet on an uncomfortable angle and his body twisted to face her.

Slowly, slowly, he makes it towards her. Her grip begins to slip more and the stone begins to crumble. Corso quickens his progress. A ledge appears for him to stop and reach down to her on. He lies flat on his stomach on the ledge and reaches down as far as he can. It isn't quite far enough and their fingers just miss each other.

'Come on, Captain. Swing up,' Corso urges.

'I can't, Riggsie. I'll fall if I do. I don't want to die,' she whispers between sobs.

'You aint gonna die, Captain. Not while I'm here,' Corso assures. 'Trust me, Audra.'

The tears disappear and he sees her determination and trust. She shifts her grip of the crumbling rock and begins to start swinging. Her free hand reaches for his on the third swing and he strains against the ledge to make sure he's there to catch her.

Their hands never meet. Corso is pulled to his feet and back from ledge by rough hands of guards and the stone crumbles under Audra's hand. She falls down into the crater and the fire. It seems surreally slow and Corso struggles against the iron grip of the guards. He can't let her fall. He promised. Her eyes never leave his and sees even from the continually growing distance between them, a deep, livid hurt in her eyes.

'This is your fault,' he hears her accuse. 'You broke your promise.'

Corso loses sight of her as she is swallowed by the greedy flames and he cries out for her. They drag him away from the edge of the ledge and suddenly he is outside the city again, struggling against them to get in.

'You should have come sooner, Corso,' he can hear say. Her Imperial voice drips accusation and pain. He looks around wildly but he can't see her. 'If only you had remembered your holo. It was stupid of you to think I could ever love a failure like you.'

Corso screams and makes one last lunge against the restraining hands. As he pulls forward, the hands disappear and so does the dull grass and camp. He's in the city again and standing over Audra's burnt and beaten body.

She's still breathing but her eyes are closed. Corso kneels down to touch her and hold her. As soon as his hand touches her unmarred cheek, she passes on and Corso wakes up.

'What would you do, Corso?'

Corso glances at his Captain and thinks. His eyes roam the gardens and the ornately dressed politicians as if their wealth could prompt an answer to what he would do with his own.

'Hmm...' Corso mumbles after several minutes of walking through the senate gardens, the question floating comfortably between them.

'It's not that hard, Riggs,' Audra teases impatiently.

'Well, what would you do then?' Corso retorts indignantly.

They reach the end of the gardens, the soft grass turning back to hard stone. The pair retake their seat where they had left their shoes. After weeks on Coruscant and the Captain without the homely hum of her ship, she had begun to miss living things as much as her farm boy.

'No amount of money could get me what I want but... hiring a team to take down Skavak for us did occur to me but where's the fun in that?' she asks with a laugh as she pulls her tall boots on.

'Exactly, Captain,' Corso agrees like a man whose point was just proven by his opponent as he laces his shoes in a messy but functional way. 'If we were rich, we'd still be right here. I'd still be by your side.'

'Smooth, Corso,' Audra congratulates with a grin.

Corso looks at her in confusion for a second and then thinks on his words. He can't say that the meaning she saw wasn't also a true one so he looks to the Senate tower and leans forward, his elbows resting on his knees. It's been a long time since he walked around without armour on.

'I think if I were rich...' Audra mumbles. She can't think of anything and she suddenly finds herself staring into the black void of her future. She can't think of a future or possibilities and she can hardly imagine getting her ship back let alone what could come after.

Audra stands up impatiently. 'Come on, we've got work to do.'

'If I were rich?' Torian repeats.

'Yes,' Leer replies patiently. She cuts a large bug that flew too close to her in half, not breaking her stride. Torian watches and continues to frown as he considers her question. As he does, they squelch through the marshes of Quesh at a steady rate and try not to think about what would happen if any of the pale green liquid makes it into their boots and touches their skin.

'Why, Champion? Scared I'll leave if I was?' he teases. The frown doesn't leave and only deepens as he fails to come to an answer. Credits have never really given him much worry and thinking of what he would do if he was rich is harder. They aren't important to him.

'Desperately, Torian,' Leer sarcastically replies. 'It's the fear of my every hour.'

Torian chuckles and shakes his head. It's said as a joke but it isn't far from the truth. Money isn't what could take or drive him away. She fears she will do a proficient job of that herself in time.

'Not that hard, Torian,' Leer jeers. He glances at her and his frown softens. She looks happy. Maybe not exactly happy but the happiest he has ever seen her. He likes that she's started using his name and not his clan.

'Beskar'kandar,' Torian finally replies. She spares him a glance that doesn't meet his eyes as she cuts through another bug.

'Only buy armour?' Leer asks curiously.

'The best armour,' Torian corrects with a faint smile. She shrugs as if that somehow made it understandable. She does understand. He's a Mando warrior and the strength of your armour can mean life or death. What else would he want? Maybe a better techstaff...

Minutes pass buy where she offers nothing further and seems content with his answer and the subsequent silence. They trudge up the hill at a brisk pace and he wonders for a moment why they are walking. He watches her back as she walks in front of him and ponders the Champion that seems to be delaying reaching their target and returning to their ship as much as possible.

'And you?' Torian eventually asks. Her flinch in surprise at his voice is more like a wince and she shakes her head pathetically. She slows her pace to fit Torian's but offers no more of a reply. She heard and he won't push.

'I am rich,' she eventually says with a leer. Torian faintly smiles and nods. True enough. 'Means there's nothing money can get me I'd rather be doing than this.'

'Killing bugs the size of a helmet?'

Leer glances at the Mandalorian and spends a moment wondering if he's joking. Torian stares solemnly back with the smallest hint of a smile. She meant walking with him and wonders if he deliberately side stepped that meaning.

'Not exactly the most worthy opponents but... want to try?' She tosses him the knife and he catches it with ease. Torian tests the weight of the blade and looks around for any insects as they walk.

'Two o'clock,' Leer warns eventually.

Torian's arm moves on reflex and feels the impact of the blade on the beetles hard shell. His wrist jars a little but he forces the motion through and almost cuts entirely through the beetle. It falls to the ground and tests it wings, considers rolling onto its stomach and then decides to lie there and die.

Torian frowns and regards the knife with stern curiosity. From the way Leer cut through them he thought they would be softer or the knife sharper. Torian glances to the Champion's arm and feels warm respect glowing inside his chest.

'Still tell me you wouldn't be cutting through bugs with me if you were rich?' she inquires with a victorious smirk.

'Nayc but if I were rich, be wearing beskar while doing it.'

Leer only laughs and takes out another knife. She doesn't take the lead again and doesn't quite stop smiling a little. It isn't much but it was as close as she will get to him saying he wants to be here with her. That's enough for her.

'It's going to be a good day' was the Warrior's first thought after waking up. Then she felt the shadow of lips on hers and she remembered the night before. It's going to be an awkward day, she amends.

She sighs and considers what her next action should be. Part of her doesn't want to leave her room. She lies still and stares at the ceiling as the weak part of her fights against her proud Sith half. The conclusion is that in ten minutes she is standing in front of her mirror in full armour ready for the day. Hiding won't change anything. It won't help anything. It will only let him know how much she cares and how much leverage he has over her. That cannot be allowed to happen.

She exits her room and considers her strategy. None comes to her in the ten metre walk leaving her to come to the conclusion that she has to wing it. Some of her best plans have come from winging it.

She quickly takes stock of her crew that sit around the table eating pancakes. She doesn't let her eyes linger on Broonmark to observe how he eats solid food. One crew member is missing.

'At attention,' she barks.

Pierce stands on his feet and salutes her with a pancake. Vette waves her arm around her head in a way the Sith can only interrupt as being a defiant, I-don't-care take on a salute. Jaesa stands and bows before sliding back into her seat. The Sith takes in her heavy, dark makeup and makes a note to confront her on this later. Dark makeup is not the same as dark side corruption.

'Where's the Captain?' the Sith Warrior demands. Her eyes glow red a little and she is surprised by the force of anger she feels at his absence. She knew the anger would come. She smiles darkly as she thinks that nothing wipes away awkwardness like pure antagonism.

'Yonder, mi'lord,' Pierce replies through a mouth full of pancake as he retakes his seat. Pierce gestures his head to the bridge and it elicits a growl of irritation from her.

'Captain Quinn! In here now!' she bellows.

The crew look at her in surprise (it can only be assumed that the Talz is surprised and not devoid of a reaction as it does makes his eyes return to the Sith Clan) and Pierce and Vette share a look of 'well that's new' and 'should we stay and watch or run and hide?' They decide to stay and continue eating as the Captain emerges from the bridge with a datapad in hand. Jaesa eyes her with a knowing smirk before continuing to eat.

Quinn walks down the steps and only the clip of his boots can be heard except for the loud buzzing of the Talz breathing. Quinn salutes sharply and moves to attention when he reaches the middle of the room. She does not give the order to be at ease.

'Captain, why are you not with the crew?' she demands.

'I have already eaten, my Lord,' Quinn replies calmly. The break in attention is that he watches her eyes with his. She stares back with eyes that dare him to continue looking. Quinn doesn't even blink.

'And you are ready for today's campaign?'

'I have the briefing prepared and written up,' Quinn replies with no gesture to his datapad or any break in his perfect attention.

'Did you sleep last night?'

Quinn doesn't quite hesitate like a normal person. There isn't the moment where the mouth opens to say something but the words are kept back and his body doesn't waver. His stance is kept perfect and it is only a lapse of a few seconds before replying where he is a calculating statue.

'I did not, my Lord,' Quinn stiffly acknowledges. 'But I am ready to serve, as always.'

'No, you're not,' she coldly replies.

Broonmark waits for the single to fight and decides that Sith Clan is in a stronger fighting mood today. Pierce and Vette are stuck between amusement, reflexive fear and interest. Jaesa places her cutlery perfectly on the table in front of her and takes in every muscle position and movement of her master. She studies them and lets the older woman's anger role over her before sensing her confusion, hurt and disappointment. Jaesa decides that today is going to be an interesting lesson.

'You are to remain on the ship and spend it receiving the rest you didn't previously. You are not to leave the ship or contact me until this is done. Tonight, Vette will be relieved of her duties and you will take them on. Is that understood?'

Vette gives a small delightful 'whoop' and Quinn's expression slightly tightens in an almost unperceivable way to hide the irritation. Pierce grins and decides today is going to be a good day.

'Yes, my Lord,' Quinn assures with the contradictory mixture of submission and pride that only he could achieve. 'Permission to speak.'

'Permission denied,' she flatly refuses.

'My Lord, if I may-'

'You. May. Not,' she clearly announces. Each word echoes around the room like thunder and Jaesa notes down the Force technique to query her master on later. Manipulation of sound waves would be a fascinating talent to learn.

'You are dismissed and to fulfil your new assignment immediately. Leave the briefing with me.'

'Yes, my Lord,' Quinn stiffly replies. He crosses the distance between them and hands her the datapad with a graceful and small bow.

'I hope whatever kept you up last night was worth it,' she sneers in a whisper. She takes the datapad and Quinn straightens. His eyes look down into hers and she stares disdainfully back.

'It was, my Lord,' Quinn replies in a whisper as he walks past her to his quarters.

**** you, Quinn! she shouts inside. Pierce and Vette watch in confusion and interest as her eyes burn red and lightening crackles at her finger tips. Unlike their Captain, they haven't realised that that is all the lightening she can conjure and it is nothing more than an intimidating bluff backed up by her sorcerer brethren. Suddenly, being anywhere else in ship seems the best idea Pierce and Vette have ever had. When they stand to leave, the Warrior raises a hand. They stop their eager escape and retake their seats. Today is going to be a dangerous, bloody day, Vette concludes with a silent groan.

The Sith closes her eyes and when she opens them again, they are back to their normal state of I'm-not-going-to-kill-everyone-I-see and the you're-all-going-to-die-painfully glow is gone. They only burn a deep burgundy and she smiles pleasantly at them in a apologetic way by Sith standards.

'Are there any pancakes left?'

'Yes, mi'Lord,' Pierce rumbles.

The Sith takes her seat, gathers pancakes and drenches them in only lemon which she silently eats. As she does, her eyes slowly burn brighter and brighter as she thinks of the man she knows is not asleep at this moment. Everyone on the table shifts further and further away.

'What would you do if you won two million credits, Captain?'

'I would use the resources to better serve you and the Empire, my Lord,' Quinn evenly replies, his frown deepening as he replies to her off hand. He wants to work out the logistics of tomorrows assault. He vaguely wishes she wasn't in here. She never used to be when he was doing work that needed to be done but now she is always keeping an eye on him.

'That's it?' she asks sceptically. She continues to throw her lightsaber up and down, catching it with graceful ease as if it were nothing more than a harmless ball.

'Yes, my Lord,' Quinn blandly confirms. He turns his back on her to check something on a different terminal and it makes her glance at him and scowl, not missing a catch and throw.

'You wouldn't use it to buy your way further up the ladder?' she deliberately provokes. The edge of teasing has almost permanently left her voice when addressing him and an acidic bitterness has replaced it.

Quinn's expression trembles between indignant shock and irritation at the distraction. He waits until his expression is composed before turning back around.

'I would never do such a thing, my Lord,' Quinn retorts with vicious conviction. 'I will always rely on my skills and capability to achieve my rank.'

'All for the Empire, huh?' she mutters thoughtfully.

She stops tossing her lightsaber and contemplates his words. Her fingers brush along her lightsaber that rests on her lap, stroking it like another would stroke a pet. Quinn watches her and his mind doesn't consider much but the beautiful enigma that she is and the irritation at her suggestion slips his mind. Regret for something that didn't quite come to be pulls at his collar and he uselessly tries to adjust it.

'Or I would place some of it into a high interest account for future use,' Quinn informs, taking up his work again.

'Future use how?' she asks curiously. She turns fully to face the Captain and rests her chin on her hands. Her hands, like her feet, are long and slender unlike the rest of her shapely form.

'To use in the event of a wedding or children,' he calmly answers after many moments.

'Hmm...' she murmurs. She considers his concentrating brow as his face is partly hidden from her scrutiny as he looks down to his accounts. She didn't know the Captain ever had such plans and she mentions as such. Quinn doesn't glance at her or reply. He doesn't do anything to recognise her words. She smiles in a melancholy way after many minutes and turns back around to look out the window.

'It is best to be prepared for all eventualities, my Lord, and the fulfilment of all desires,' Quinn replies as if there was no break. He begins to back up his work and prepare himself to retire to his room. She doesn't move or look at him, only continues to stare and ponder things he cannot even guess.

Quinn bows to her and bids her a quiet goodnight. She doesn't respond in anyway, she just sits with her toned legs crossed and a hand in the air ready to have her petite chin rest on it. Quinn leaves the bridge but hasn't gotten more than a few steps from the door when he back tracks and stands in the doorway.

'My Lord, permission to speak,' Quinn requests in a voice quieter and more uncertain than he meant for it to be. She doesn't reply or make any motion either way and Quinn takes this as a sign to continue.

'What would you do with two million credits, my Lord?'

'Nothing, Quinn,' she replies from a bitter distance. 'I have no use for credits. They become meaningless when you hold a lightsabre.'

'Nothing, my Lord?' Quinn boldly presses. She cranes her head back and on an angle. Her eyes look a little dead as she stares into his eyes. The red has become so dark it is hard to tell her pupils from her irises.

'Money can't buy me anything I want, Malavai; not revenge and not you.' Her voice crackles with anger that burns inside. Baras is dead but it wasn't satisfying. She brought him down to nothing but that is still something more than what he made her. There was nothing she could do to him that was worse than what he did to her. Credits couldn't change that, credits can't buy a second chance at the past, they can't change her feelings and credits can't buy the man that stands behind her.

'My Lord,' Quinn begins, taking a steady step forward. No matter how far he could walk, it can never undo anything that happened in the steps behind him.

'I am-'

'Ready to go to sleep,' she finishes for him as she turns away from him. 'I am already yours,' is all Quinn wants to say. The words stick in his throat, making it swollen and his collar tight.

'Good night.'

'But, my Lord, I-'

'You are dismissed!' she shouts.

Quinn couldn't see the shaking hand that sent him out the doorway and into the small corridor. He hits the wall and slides to the ground. The door closes behind him with a 'woosh' that carries contemptuous finality. It was only the second time she had used the Force on him.

Quinn sits on the floor for a few moments longer than necessary. He runs a diagnostic of himself and can tell nothing is broken or permanently damaged. He will scarcely receive a bruise and something in him tells him that she meant for no harm to come to him. She's never hurt him but the knowledge that she will kill him if he betrays her again is something that doesn't need to be said. He never will do it again even if he had cause to do so. He will stand be her side until she orders otherwise. Captain might not be highest rank he desires but serving her will do more good for Empire in a week than any Moff achieves in a month.

Quinn walks back to his room at a quick pace. He enters silently, not wanting to wake the Lieutenant who only returned a few hours ago from a mission. Quinn changes and settles into his bed, lying on his rigid back under perfectly pressed sheets.

'Rejected again?' Pierce asks with a smirk, his eyes still closed.

'I would prefer not discuss it, Lieutenant. Good night,' Quinn tersely replies. Pierce only chuckles and rolls over, not offering further comment.

I would buy a transfer for Pierce, Quinn decides. Yes, if I had two million credits, I would spend them removing him from this ship.

Early Evening in the Slippery Slopes Cantina on Nar Shaddaa. The „day“ crowd slowly starts to thin out and the „night“ people have yet to show up. Still busy enough for people not to stand out and that’s something Abe is counting on while waiting for a potential customer to show up. Close by and supposed to cover his back, is Gault - sitting on a table not to far away and nursing his alcohol free drink as well as his headache from hell. Why alcohol free you ask dear reader ? Well, lets just say there used to be a case of Ithorian Mist lying around in the cargo hold of the „Tough Luck“ - Abe’s ship, that is, until last night and the party after finally completing chapter three.

Anyway, both are sitting - more or less alert - at their tables when suddenly a very large shadow falls onto Abe’s table. While looking up from his glass, the details of a very large and very armored guy slowly come into focus. It looks like heavy Republic Trooper Armor, adorned on the Breast with an unfamiliar unit insignia and obviously (due to the visible scratches and marks) well worn. Before he can react in any way, the big hunk of man-metal sits down opposite him, closely followed by a Cathar in similar armor with an Assault Cannon strapped to his back and a scowl on his face, who - due to the sheer mass of the other guy wasn’t visible until now.

„Hello Abe.“

„And who might you be? Besides being so large you might have moons orbiting you and armored like a tank“

„Well, I’m A’Jay, current Commanding Officer of Havoc Squad and as far as those moons go, I left them at home, they get quite annoying after a time.“

„Hmm … mind telling me what the CO of the premier Republic SpecOps unit is doing here, sitting with the former No. 1 on the Republics Most Wanted list - you didn’t by any chance just watch HEAT (the movie not the bad tv series - the narrator) on the Holo - or did you?“

„I don’t have the faintest idea what you are talking about. However I thought it would be a good idea to get a closer look at you, I might have to hunt you down in the future - once on the Most Wanted list, could happen again. Oh and you can call you sorry excuse for a backup over here.

„I won’t even guess why you think that guy belongs to me, but unfortunately you are right and while you are here, my business won’t happen anyway - so why not? Gault, join us“

On cue, Gault slowly moves from his table to where Abe is sitting, his drink in one hand and the other out and open - living and walking display of innocence. At least unless you count the Sniper Rifle strapped to his back.

After staring at Abe silently for a minute with a rather thoughtful look, A’Jay suddenly seems to get rather uncomfortable and Abe gets the feeling something meaningful just occurred to A’Jay.

„Ok pal - spit it out. Right now you look like you swallowed one of the hairballs from your fuzzy friend there and let me tell ya, this is a rather unbecoming look on you.“

„Well, it just dawned on me - I know you. And the problem is, you might not really like why I know - so please understand my hesitation in - spilling the beans - so to speak. When I saw holos of you, during briefings while you were the No. 1 it didn’t made click, but just now it did.“

„Now you made me real curious. And since I like a good nights sleep just like everybody else, I’ll promise that I will behave myself, regardless of what you tell me. Deal?“

„Since I know that you once were an Officer and a man of your word, I’ll trust that you will make good on your promise. I would be curious now why I know that Abe, the Mercenary, used to be an Officer in the Imperial Army?“

„Yes, you could very well say that …“

„The reason is actually quite simple, I thought I killed you on Balmorra!“

„You WHAT?!?“ spluttered Abe.

„Long Story short, a few years ago while I was still a Private and some time before I was selected for Havoc Squad, I was part of a regular Republic Army unit on Balmorra. And at one time we got the mission of ambushing a previously highly successful imperial recon platoon. We got a lot of detailed information and knew exactly where you were supposed to be on that day. The ambush we planned came of without a hitch and within less than a minute we eradicated the whole platoon, or so we thought. We didn’t hang around after the smoke cleared and didn’t check all the bodies, but simply assumed everybody was dead. I was one of the marksmen in my Platoon and still remember the look of the Officer in Command, I saw through my sight, before I shot him. With all your cyber implants it wasn’t so clear on the holo but now while sitting opposite you …“

„Wow … actually I’m kinda speechless right now, mind if you give me a minute here?“

Suddenly the until now silent Cathar pipes up „Gault, do I know you?“

„Me, nah - I’m just a nobody, but we Devaronians all look alike to other races, so I hear that alot“

„No, it’s not that - and by being a cathar I know that look alike thing better than anyone, but you strongly remind me of someone else who is supposed to be dead. Actually you really look like Tyresius Lokai, the only difference is the broken horn you got … aside from that …“

„Err … I think … err … Abe, there is this thing on our ship I was supposed to help Skadge with, and it’s getting late, I better get going or he does this thing that you don’t like and …. cya all later“ says Gault while standing up and scurrying out of the cantina

"Next!"

Mako's voice cut through the area and the next group shuffled into the room.

Swaindrix stood in the center of the room, bored look on his face. "Names?"

The oldest, a young woman of about 19, spoke up. "I'm Del, this is Yuna, and these are Jentil, Vonna, and Pei."

"Okay, what did I do to you? I don't even remember you."

"You monster! We have--"

She went on like that for a few seconds. Swaindrix wasn't listening - he was looking outside to get an idea of how many more people were lined up. All of them had a beef with him of some sort. A few were about bounties, but most were about collateral damage. He'd told himself that even if he had to get a bit messy to get the job done, he'd never simply walk away uncaring. Apparently he had a few times more than he thought, so he decided to turn this into an occasion to make some of it right.

"Look, I don't have all day. What planet, and what did I do?"

"Uh...Balmorra. You ran over our orokeet."

"Really? I don't remember any birds..."

Mako piped up. "Uh...yeah, boss. During the getaway from Cave 52, when we ran into those troops."

"Oh...is that what crunch was?"

"I would think the feathers would have given it away."

"Yeah, whatever. Mako, give 'em...say 100 credits."

"Sure thing, boss."

The oldest one smiled thinly. "Thanks, Mister." She clearly hadn't expected anything.

Swaindrix squatted down and got face to face with the smallest of the siblings. "What's your name?" Mako had never heard his voice that gentle.

"Pei."

"And how old are you?"

She looked to her big sister, the eldest, for a confirming nod. "Six and a half," she said proudly.

"Do you miss your orokeet?"

"Yeah."

"Hey Mako?"

"Yeah, boss?"

"Make it 200. Not enough for another orokeet, but maybe an akk pup? Or a massiff?"

The little girl's face clearly streaked with tears, lit up at the latter. He smiled briefly and ruffled her hair gently as he got up. "Next..."

The girls collected their money from the kind-faced slicer and moved out through the door's other room.

Once again, the bounty hunter marveled at how Mako had been able to organize what had amounted to a mass ambush by half of the Corellian sector. She had just the right contacts, knew where to rent a room, and had a way with people. She convinced them they'd all be able to say their piece.

He asked himself again, is there anything that little girl can't do? No...woman, he corrected himself. As he'd learned through observation, she was clearly not a little girl.

Two dirty-looking men walked in, wary and suspicious. They weren't visibly armed, but Swaindrix immediately distrusted them. "Names?"

"Jeffa and Tynos."

"I remember you two. Dantooine, wasn't it? Are you still after me for that bounty I got to first? I said business disputes come last."

"We had a legit--"

Looking bored and annoyed, Swaindrix planted a round in each of their foreheads. The Hutt security guards they'd placed on retainer moved forward without being asked and dragged the corpses away, out a third door. "Next..."

This started out looking way different. I'm not sure it still represents the prompt very well, and I'm not sure I'm happy with it. But I'll leave it until I have something better to post in its place, which may be never.

And hey, this is Swaindrix. He may care, but he does a LOT of collateral damage. He just tries not to make it humanoid in nature. (Birds are fair game, though.)

@ frauzet

I can absolutely see, why there are so many BHs not liking Skadge, but if you plan an mounting him on the wall, you should find a fitting helmet for him first, one with closed visor

Definitely with a helmet on. Probably nail the droid's head up next to it, too!

@DarthSillyMonkey -

@Lesaberisa: I'm going to have to go back and find more Ayers stories. I'm liking him!

Thanks! I described him this way before, but Ayrs is my comfort food of writing....I adored the trooper/Elara romance and Ayrs is sort of my ideal dopey but ultimately really awesome hero. Kind of like a hardened Allistair from Dragon Age, only with more of an edge.

If you like him, there's quite a few stories here, plus I have his own separate topic going (in my sig), which just reached Nar Shaddaa.

@ Alaurin

hehe, I love it when Ayrs and Jorgan go drinking....always good for some laughs, this one was a little more serious, but Ayrs

Ayrs' drinking is a bit of a plot point (more with Elara than Jorgan, though, since Elara is the type to recognize why he's drinking). Ayrs and Jorgan getting close to just having an outright bromance (in part because I found Jorgan insufferable in act 1 ingame) even if neither recognizes it. Or want's to admit it

@Bright

"Wonderful! This is wonderful! The one and only Pacha has returned! If I meet this Chiss again, I will shake his hand for bringing you back to us."

Sounds like something my grandfather would have said (in a good way ). I'm glad that Wynston is functional, though, with or without the side of denial. I really liked the thoughtfulness of Vette in your second piece, as well, Annaz' confession is both awkward and cute, and they've very sweet together. Okay need to stop reading/smiling so I don't stand out at the office...especially after that Vierce piece. My feelings on Vierce are clear, I think.

@Yoshi - this is petty (and I do like Risha a lot as part of my smuggler's crew), but I really like Akaavi getting some attention. I wouldn't say I love her character, but I liked her a lot, especially because she's very different than the usual Bioware character. i did get a kick out of her complaints.

@Frauzet - my general comment has been stolen, but I really like the stargazing. As an (amateur) stargazer myself, there's something about staring up into that night sky that makes me feel something, sometimes good, sometimes bad. I made Ayrs (my trooper) a bit of one too

@sthrift - I absolutely adore your looks at Voslic and his squad, I always do. I did enjoy the prank on Jorgan, it's something i'll have to keep in mind for my own stories.

@Eversteam - I really liked your Dreams and nightmares piece...I've always felt that what we dream about can tell a lot about ourselves (and other people of course), and I think it shows a lot about what kind of person Corso is, what matters to him/makes him tick, and what scares him (and anyone who has a loved one, I think, really). Audra is lucky to have her Riggsie.

'I am rich,' she eventually says with a leer.

If I am ever rich, I'm going to do it with a leer, too I'll have to read your food story after I eat though!

@OneShotTC - as Adywnyth said, post whatever you like, the new prompts are more to offer ideas and inspiration for the story; they're not at all mandatory. I really enjoyed your story, especially the very real way the classes intersect. I liked your Gault, especially, he 'sounded' just right

@Adwynyth -

He may care, but he does a LOT of collateral damage. He just tries not to make it humanoid in nature. (Birds are fair game, though.)

Sounds like my approach to real life! Your Mako is awesome, even if reading your story reminded me I said I wouldn't read your stories in the office to avoid accidentally laughing too loud.

Kaliyo and I were three kilometers out when Chance’s message came in over the comm. His image was hunched over, and his voice was obviously pained. “Legate, I…I need help. I was attempting to track Doctor Cel into Dynamet General, but I ran into a pack of unhelpful rakghouls.”

My heart caught in my throat for a moment. .”Are you alright, Chance? Do you require aid?”

“Call me when the sentimentality is over.” Kaliyo kicked a rock away, then went to find an attractive piece of grass to stare at.

Chance sounded almost…embarrassed. “I’ve stabilized the wound, but I need someone with your specialized medical training. And…” His voice trailed off, but I already knew what was coming. Bastards never trusted me even as they expected me to trust them. “I need to make sure you’ll be coming. Codeword Ono-“

I switched the comm off abruptly, just in time to avoid losing control. Kaliyo was suddenly at my side, looking unreasonably amused as she draped her arm over my shoulder. “You sure showed him, Agent. Idiot tipped his hand, shouldn’t have mentioned he needed to use the controls to get you to help.”

She wasn’t going to like this.

“We’re going to help him Kaliyo. To show him he never needed them at all.”

Kaliyo was looking at me like I’d just taken a vow of celibacy, but I didn’t have time for her antics, not with Chance possibly bleeding out, not with my last action being one that could doom any chance I had of making further inroads with Kothe and the SIS. We double-timed it back to the hospital, clearing a couple of rakghoul packs but finding things a lot less congested. Chance was doing well, for a while.

We found him propped up against some shipping containers in one of the underground hallways. He was bleeding pretty badly from a stomach wound, and from the angle his right arm was at, it looked like he’d dislocated his shoulder as well. When he heard us approaching, only a few meters away thanks to our stealthy arrival, he looked up with eyes glassy from pain.

“Le-Legate. You came anyway.” His voice was full of surprise…and shame.

“Mina,” I replied gently. “My name is Mina.” I bent down over him, and began applying anesthetic to his stomach wound, while Kaliyo – surprisingly without complaint – began examining his shoulder. “You didn’t need to control me into coming, you never have. There’s a reason I’ve been working with you, and the SIS.”

He grunted, but made no other response. I applied a kolto pack to his stomach, then began stitching him up. It wasn’t going to hold long, but Kothe would surely have more resources around, and Doctor Cel needed assistance as well. I worked quickly and efficiently, remembering my training from before the Empire…before I’d seen the horrors of the galaxy beyond my people’s borders.

When I finished, I stood up and motioned Kaliyo to join me. “Chance, you’ll need further medical aid fairly soon, but the stitches should hold for the time being. Don’t over-strain yourself in the meantime.”

He offered a wry grin. “I’ll do my best not to ruin your good work.” I started to leave, but he called out to me first. “Uh, Legate. I mean, Mina. Thanks for coming for me, I should have trusted you. I didn’t think I could trust an Imperial. Well, you know what I mean.”

“I’m not like other Imperials.” It felt good to be able to say something with conviction, to mean it.

He nodded at me as I turned to leave. “No, you’re not. I’m sorry I forgot that.”

Kaliyo sidled up next to me as we turned the corner. “Mina, sometimes I think you’re even crazier than I am.” Scary thing was, she was probably right.

I reviewed the results from the Galactic Trade Market one more time; whatever qualms I had about using the information Marr had given me for personal gain mattered little compared to the windfall from shorting Avesta Incorporated stock. The news about Makeb had filtered in, slowly but surely, and the market had reacted accordingly. I was now as wealthy as most of my targets had been. Combined.

I also had nowhere to go with that money, nothing to spend it on, no way to truly value it. That's not entirely true, though, Mina.

Part of me wanted to simply run; back to Csilla, back to the cold comfort of the Ascendancy. But I knew, deep down, the Ascendancy could never be home for me again. Csilla was so cold...and she was so warm. Would she come with me, though? Or would she remain true to her first great love? I did not know. I did not know if I wanted to know.

I awoke to a blood curdling scream from Doc's quarters. It was surprisingly easy on the ears, particularly when I knew what caused it. I slid out of bed, slipping into a robe for modesty's sake, and made way out into the central area of the ship. I found the rest of the crew there; T7 beeping incessantly, Kira with arms crossed and jaw firmly set, Scourge glowering and Rusk calculating the odds of some inane details that didn't matter.

We were all waiting for the guest of honor.

He did not disappoint, sprinting into the room with a loud shriek. "It's gone! It's gone! How could this happen?!"

I tried and failed to hide my smirk. "What's gone, Doc? It sounds important."

"A matter of life and death," Scourge agreed in his gravelly tone.

"My moustache! Someone cut off my moustache, Gorgeous!" Doc's eyes were full of fear and a lack of understanding, but it seemed he kept his utter lack of social graces. His tone turned desperate, "Why would someone do such a thing?"

I reached out with the Force to turn on the light in the area of the trophies from our missions. A holographic rancor head, a matching set of tusks from some creature off of Voss. In the centerpiece, the place of glory, a new plaque had been placed. On it, mounted firmly enough that it would never be free, was Doc's moustache. The spotlight, only recently installed, focused a high-energy beam of light on it, attracting Doc's attention. He turned and saw his most precious possession, letting out a loud and surprisingly girlish wail. "Noooooooooooooooooo!" He sank to his knees, and his shoulders shook as he wept bitter tears.

The rest of the crew was already heading back to their quarters, so I decided to exit the scene as well. "Good night, Doc!" I called out lightly, over my shoulder.

So far, so good. Operation: Malpractice was on schedule.

He sidesteps self-awareness, folds away that deep vulnerability as "something nice I had with that one girl once" and goes on to seek out flings that don't ask so much of him. The remembrance, the idea of her does help when he's having trouble with sobriety. He will always be grateful for that. In all other matters he feels okay and avoids uncomfortable self-improvement work. He associates one particular song with her, but he doesn't tell anyone. There appears an extra spring in his step every time he hears it. He throws himself back into work with newfound enthusiasm.

Keeper monitors and is satisfied.

Fixer Thirty-Four lies to her coworkers about the special assignment that kept her so busy. She gets mad at Cipher Nine for drawing out that much of her before running off. She gets mad at herself for sleeping with him to start with - she wouldn't even have touched an alien if she hadn't been curious about The Cipher Nine. She gets mad at Keeper for throwing them together without warning either party when Keeper must have known the underlying heartache of both and must have calculated the result. She gets mad at Cipher Nine again for ditching her. She gets mad at herself for rewarding his bad behavior by giving him that last night. She gets mad at herself for not persuading him to stay just a few nights more. She resolves to stop getting mad. She wonders whether she'll see him again. She wonders, not for the first time, whether she'll ever meet a normal man. She associates one particular song with him, but she doesn't tell anyone. She wants to sing every time she hears it. She arranges to spend more time with her daughter, whom she loves. She gets back to dancing, because it's fun. She doesn't notice that she's less self-conscious about her eye some of the time. When she is dancing with friends at the hall she feels beautiful.

Yes, I'll vote alongside this Adwynyth. Do what he says.

You don't want me to do that.

Why not? He seems to know what he's about.

He's a rule of funny kind of guy. Do you have any idea how much I do to protect you from the rule of funny?

I wasn't aware you made any effort at all there, actually.

Oh, Wynston. It could be so much worse. Plus? Adwynyth is a Quinn fan.

Oh. Well then. Take whatever he says with a large grain of salt, please. In fact, maybe ignore it altogether.

„Do you really think this is a good idea Abe?“ the agitated Mako nearly screams at him.

„Mako, I don’t have much choice. It’s christmas and my parents-in-law are kinda old fashioned in that regard - they insist on having the whole family together on christmas eve. It is sort of stressful sometimes, especially considering the characters belonging to the family, but so far nobody was force choked or shot to death. You gotta look on the bright side here“.

„Still, I don’t get why none of your companions are allowed to tag along. You could do me a favor and at least take Skadge or Blizz so you have someone to tank for you. This would definitely increase your chance for survival - should it come to a fight.“

„No can do Mako. None of the family members is allowed to bring his companions, especially not after DS Jaessa nearly killed Gault and Andronikos because she thought they looked funny at her. Look, my wife Anyah will be there and she is one hell of a Saboteur Heal and quite capable to keep me alive or at least resurrect me. Ta’sk, our son, will be there too and he can tank if needed. Well as long as his Assassin tendencies don’t get the better of him and he vanishes and hides somewhere. Besides, even tho my Mother-in-law Te’la sits on the Dark Council and is Dark V, and my Father-in-law Trasher is the Emperors Wrath and Dark V as well, both have abstained (mostly) from trying to kill me after I married Anyah. Do you remember when I told you about the heated discussion Anyah had with her parents after the wedding?“

„Yeah, didn’t she threaten to send in her companions - you know, crazy AI SCORPIO and equally crazy and ruthless Kaliyo, not to mention the other three weirdos - if they would continue to try killing the man she loved more than everything else?“

„Yes, exactly. Since then the relationship between me and my parents-in-law definitely took a turn to the better. For example, when not trying to roast me with force lighting, Te’la makes one hell of a mean Apple Pie.“

„Yup, I love that one … maybe you could bring one or three with you after your vacation? But I’m digressing, the whole situation is still dangerous for you!“

„Nah, don’t worry. Hey, I even started to watch NASPOD races with Trasher on sundays during season. And he only force chokes me when his favorite driver is losing again, so all in all, everything is alright.“

„And what about the rest of the family? Archer the Sniper and his wife Tess who just got the Trainee position as Emperors wrath? I suppose they bring their kids Tai’Jin and Alisha with them as well?“

„Of course, but no worries. Even tho Anyah and Archer are the archetypal siblings, when it comes to family gatherings they stick together and keep everything on an even keel. And the kids are really nice, -they are a laugh a minute. Especially since Tai’Jin started to troll Darth Baras, he can tell hilarious stories … and Alisha got a flamethrower and thermaldetonators for her last birthday. Since then she is always off, incinerating something (someone) or other“

„I still don’t like being left behind“ pouts Mako.

„As I said - that is something you gotta live with when it’s time for the Shadowwalker family reunion on christmas“

He grinned, fangs bared. "I was saying, Savins, all I have to do is mention her name some days and you just check out."

 

"Sorry," I repeated. "I am. Consider me officially paying attention. – Wait, you didn't even say her name."

 

The grin widened. "No. The indirect reference is enough."

 

"Very funny. Was there a change of subject coming up?"

 

"Sure, any time you're on planet to catch it."

 

"I don't know why I tell you anything, Jorgan."

Quinn shuffled nervously back and forth through the Fury. He reached the far starboard side, about-faced, and marched all the way to the port side. He repeated this process exactly fifty-seven times–he counted–before he finally entered the refresher, emptied his increasingly-nervous bladder, came back out, and paced another twelve times.

"I think he got some bad news," Vette chirped.

Quinn ignored her, and Methic, as he paced past their bedroom for the thirteenth time. He about-faced yet again and stormed back toward the other side of the ship. At this rate, his shoes, which were supposed to last for at least an entire year, would wear out within the hour.

"What's wrong, Quinn?" Pierce asked from the hologame board. "Your mother coming for a visit?"

Quinn glared at Pierce, snorted, and continued pacing. He was on his twentieth round since he'd exited the 'fresher when the object of his anxiety entered the ship. Jaesa looked more beautiful than she ever had, clad in a purple and white top and miniskirt that was snug in all the right places. Her lightsaber was still clipped to her side, but other than that she looked every bit the casual young female she had been masquerading as.

She frowned, sensing his anxiety. "Malavai, what's wrong?"

He looked around. Pierce was still at the gameboard, and Methic and Vette were standing on the corridor, looking on curiously. There was no sign of Broonmark–no surprise, because he was generally a loner–but Quinn supposed that was for the best. He stopped, facing Jaesa, and felt his knees lock nervously.

And then his right knee plopped to the ground, and his hand reached into his jacket pocket. "Jaesa, I love you. Will you marry me?"

Jaesa stammered. "Quinn, I–" she started, "I mean, I–oh, Malavai–of course I'll marry you!"

He grinned, stood, and embraced her. Then, releasing her, he quickly ran back to the refresher to once again empty his extremely nervous bladder. He did not hear Jaesa squee in delight as he shut the door.

Pierce later ensued to give the whole story to Kaliyo, who laughed about it.