@Bright: I'm pleased that you were inspired by one of my stories and I loved that Wynston piece! I know it wasn't about Bella and company, but I could see a lot of parallels and you got me thinking.....a dangerous thing at times. I've had Jackson's betrayal on my mind recently since Bella is getting to the point in my fanfic where she's starting to have feelings for Corso. The memories of Jackson are making her afraid to trust. I'd never given much thought to Jackson's point of view in his horrible betrayal and I don't see Jackson as being the gentleman that Wynston was, but at least you've made me think about it. I've been struggling with writing about Jackson's influence on Bella in regards to Corso, but after reading your last piece, things are flowing so fast that I can't sleep!! I'm happy though, because this stuff needed to come out and you were a huge help.....so THANK YOU!!!!!!

@Marissalf: Oh, Melodai, you poor thing! It's sad that she had to put herself through that to help her mother.....I understand it, but I feel so awful for her and I want someone to kill that turd Killian!!

@Allronix: Welcome!!! I loved reading about Alylia and Felix! There aren't a whole lot of JC romance stories and I love to see them!! It isn't easy with that class though since their romance options aren't available until so late in the leveling process.

“You can’t kill me,” Jackson sneered, “I’m part of you.”

“You’re wrong,” Bella insisted as he laughed at her, “You’re dead! I killed you back on Telos. You’re not real.”

“I am very real,” Jackson insisted coldly, his Imperial accent prominent, “I live inside you. We were so good together that you can’t stop thinking about me. You can’t love another man because of it!”

“I can’t love another man because you broke my trust!” Bella cried.

“It’s your own fault, Bella.” Jackson told her, “I never forced you to fall in love with me. I never forced you to sleep with me. I never forced you to keep quiet about us. You chose.”

“You lied to me!” Bella accused, “You made me fall in love with you so you could use me!”

Jackson laughed darkly, “Yes, I did. It was so easy and you were so pathetically stupid! You’re a beautiful woman, Bella, but all men are just going to use you because you make it so easy for them!”

“Enough!” Bella snapped, raising a charged blaster and firing it into Jackson’s body until it overheated.

It didn’t do anything, Jackson was still there, laughing coldly, cruelly at her, “I told you,” he whispered, “you can’t kill me…..I live inside of you forever!”

Bella bolted upright in her bed with Jackson’s cold laughter still echoing in her mind. It’s not real, Bella, she told herself, It’s just another dream. She got up and took a drink from the water glass she always kept on her nightstand. She glanced at her clock, seeing that it’d only been an hour since she went to bed. She turned on her light dimly and picked up her datapad, bringing up one of her favorite novels and began to read. Soon, she began to doze off again as she usually did.

“Why, Bella?!” Mallay cried, her face and body burned and bleeding, “Why did you let that man into our lives? Look what they did to me!!” Then she pointed at their mother in the grass holding their dead father, “You did that!” Mallay accused, “It’s all your fault.”

“I didn’t know!” Bella protested, reaching out to her sister, “I love you all! I would never hurt you.”

“Don’t touch me!” Mallay shrieked, running away, “You ruined me! You killed Dad! I hate you!”

Bella walked over to her mother, “Mom, I’m so sorry.”

“Not as sorry as we all are, Bella.” Sidra told her, “How could you have been so foolish?!”

“I didn’t know!”

“You shouldn’t have gone out with that man!” Sidra insisted, getting up from her dead husband and picking up Kit, “You should have told us about him! This is all your fault and you disgust me!” Sidra left, Mallay, Ros, and Lissa following. They left Bella behind.

“Mom,” Bella cried, unable to move, “Please don’t leave me! I’m so sorry! I love you!”

Bella woke again, tears in her eyes this time. Her nightmares were getting worse and she had a good idea why that was. Ever since Corso had gotten drunk and spilled his guts about his feelings for her, she became more aware of her own feelings for him and began having nightmares again. Some of them were simple memory flashbacks, the feeling of a blaster barrel on her temple, hearing Jackson speaking with an Imperial accent, seeing her father die, seeing their house explode as Mallay ran out of it holding Kit, seeing Mallay writhing in pain inside the kolto tank, but more were becoming like the two she just had. She was starting to fall in love with Corso, but her fear was crippling it. She knew in her heart that Corso was a wonderful man who could never come close to doing anything that might hurt her. Her heart trusted and wanted Corso, but the memories, the fears, and the shame of Jackson were very powerful demons that her mind was struggling with.

Bella knew what she needed to do and hated to do it, but it was time. She needed to talk to someone who understood….someone who went through that awful day with her….someone who had her own demons from that day…..Mallay. Mallay and her squad were docked in the hanger next to Bella’s in the Tattooine spaceport. Her sister hated talking about what happened, but Bella needed help working through these demons, otherwise she could lose Corso and Bella knew men like him were a rare, wonderful find. She took a deep breath and called her sister.

“Bella?” a groggy Mallay answered a moment later, “What is it? You look terrible!”

“I need you, sis….please.” Bella whispered.

“Anything,” Mallay nodded, “name it.”

“Can you meet me at the lounge in the spaceport?” Bella asked, “I really need to talk to you….and only you.”

“I understand,” Mallay sighed, “I’ll be there as fast as I can….probably ten minutes.”

“Thanks,” Bella nodded and signed off.

She threw on some clothes, grabbed her backpack, tossing a bottle of Hutt Tequila in it, told C2 she was going out to meet her sister for a little while, and left.

“So, what’s up, sis?” Mallay asked as she sat next to Bella, noticing the bottle of Tequila that was already a third gone. The lounge area in the Tattooine spaceport was empty.

“Do you still have nightmares?” Bella asked.

Mallay knew exactly what Bella was talking about and nodded, “Around my birthday and sometimes after something bad happens or I'm really stressed. You been having them again?”

“Yeah,” Bella admitted, “and they’re getting worse.” She took a swig from the bottle and told Mallay about her most recent nightmares.

“Oh, Bella,” Mallay sighed, hugging her sister, “None of us blame you for what happened. Jackson was a master manipulator, it’s what he did for a living. There’s no way a sixteen year old girl could’ve known what he really was. Even if you had realized it, he would have just found another way. I’m no government spook, but when I get a mission, I keep at it until I’m successful. If the first plan fails, I find another way.”

“I know that, Mallay,” Bella admitted, “I just wish I could accept it and move on…..but I can’t!”

“What brought this on?” Mallay asked, “Did something happen?”

“Corso got a little drunk the other night and blurted out that he was falling in love with me,” Bella sighed.

“I thought you suspected this already,” Mallay replied.

“I did,” Bella admitted, “but it made it more real when he actually said it. It also made me start thinking about my own feelings for him and those feelings scare me! I was always so careful, Mallay,” she insisted, “I shut myself off from feeling anything about a man and I did a good job……until now.”

“I thought we went through this the night before Mom married Derek,” Mallay told her, “Corso is a good man, Bella, and Jackson is dead…..you have to stop letting him hurt you!”

“Easier said than done, sis,” Bella argued, taking another pull on the bottle and offering it to Mallay.

Mallay took a large swallow and sighed, “I know.”

“You never talk about things much,” Bella began, wanting to know what Mallay’s demons were and how she dealt with them, “What are your nightmares like? I know you don’t like to talk about this stuff, but maybe it can help.”

“No, Bella,” Mallay muttered, taking another drink, “I hate talking about what happened, but I love you.” She sighed, feeling the alcohol warm her body a little. Mallay was thankful she was such a lightweight when it came to drinking because at least she would pass out before the memories overwhelmed her too much. “Most times my nightmares are just memories…..reliving what happened in the house with Lissa, Ros, and Kit, the explosion, burning, and flashbacks of when I was in the tank, the pain….”

“Do you ever have more than just a memory flashback?”

“Yeah, sometimes I have a nightmare that I didn’t get to Kit in time, or that I couldn’t find her.” Mallay admitted, taking another swig, unable to keep the tears from forming, “or that Lissa and Ros weren’t able to stop that Imperial and they were forced to watch him…..”

“Rape you,” Bella finished, tears in her eyes, “I’m so sorry, Mallay. I shouldn’t make you talk about this.”

“It’s alright, Bella,” Mallay assured her, “it’s worth it if it helps you in any way.”

“I have feelings for Corso,” Bella told Mallay, taking the now half empty bottle from her and drinking from it, “Really strong ones and I know he’s a good man. I just don’t know how to get past my fears.”

“Talk to him, Bella,” Mallay advised, “He needs to know how you feel and why you’re afraid. I really think the two of you can work through your fears together. You’ve got nothing to lose and a lot to gain!”

“Have you ever talked about it,” Bella asked, “to anyone other than our family?”

“No I haven’t,” Mallay sighed, taking another drink, “I’m not sure I can…..I almost told Aric once…..”

“You have feelings for him, don’t you?” Bella asked.

“Yes,” Mallay admitted, wiping her eyes, “but I’m too much of a coward to do anything about it.”

“Why?!”

“Do you know that every sexual experience that I’ve had has been awful?!” Mallay explained, bitter anxiety dripping from her voice, “I’ve felt nothing at all…..no warm, tingly, happy feelings like that stuff you read in romance novels. I remember walking in on you and Ty back when I got my tat…..I’ve never had a guy make me feel the pleasure you were obviously feeling! What if I’m broken or something?! I don’t want to go after Aric and end up having the same thing happen. I would rather just keep my feelings to myself and at least have his friendship.”

“I don’t think you’re broken, Mallay,” Bella insisted, “I just think you need the right guy…..and I suspect he might be it.”

Mallay grabbed the bottle and took a large swallow, deciding to tell Bella something she never told anyone before, “When I killed that soldier and his partner tried to rape me, I somehow shut off my feelings. I didn’t want Lissa and Ros to see him breaking me like that, so when I felt that disgusting man touching me, I just made myself numb.” Bella nodded, tears running down her cheeks, and Mallay went on, “Unfortunately, I can’t seem to feel anything when a man touches me now…..I don’t know how to turn them back on!”

“Oh, Mallay,” Bella hugged her, “I think it’ll happen, I just think you need to really trust and care about the man. I think part of the problem is that you’re a bit of a control freak….no offense and that isn’t a bad thing, but you need to learn to trust someone enough to give up control. Am I making sense?”

“Yeah, actually you are,” Mallay admitted, “and you may be on to something. I mean, I have had dreams about…..you know and well, after that first day back on Coruscant, when I had to treat that wound on Aric’s thigh, and when I had to give him CPR,” Mallay started blushing, “I kinda liked the way he felt. Please don’t tell anyone!”

“I won’t tell,” Bella promised, “but I think that’s proof that you aren’t broken, sis.”

“Great, so as long as the guy sits still or is unconscious, I’ll enjoy myself!” Mallay retorted, “Kinda sick if you ask me…..definitely not normal!”

“Well, we both have our issues,” Bella smirked, “but you know what?”

“What?”

“I do feel a little better talking to you about things.” Bella smiled.

“Well, then it’s worth the hangover I’m certain to have when I wake up.” Mallay replied, her smile not quite reaching her eyes, and the nightmares that always come with talking about that day.

“Well then, sister dearest,” Bella stood, swaying, pulling Mallay up with her, “Let’s get to bed.”

Mallay grabbed the near empty bottle and helped a staggering Bella back to her ship, not so steady herself. Risha was waiting when she opened the door.

“She going to be all right?” Risha asked, concerned for her friend.

“I think she might be now,” Mallay sighed, “She just needed to work through a few things.”

“And a bottle of Tequila from the looks of it! I’ll get her in bed,” Risha assured her, noticing Mallay wasn’t much steadier than Bella was, “do you need to crash here too?”

“Nah,” Mallay told her, “I’ll make it to my ship alright…..it’s just the next hanger over.”

Risha watched Mallay take a swig from the Tequila bottle as she left the hanger. She wasn’t very steady on her feet and Risha hurried to get Bella in bed. Once she put Bella down, she called Elara to let her know Mallay was on her way and in rough shape.

Mallay made her way slowly to her ship’s hanger, taking another drink along the way. She couldn’t keep the memories of that day from surfacing and was slightly annoyed at Bella for bringing them out. She hoped if she drank enough, she’d pass out and her demons would be at bay once again. She boarded her ship to find Elara and Aric waiting for her.

“Looks like I’m busted,” Mallay smirked, swaying a little, that last swig of Tequila hitting her hard, “So, what’s up…..didja miss me?”

“You’re drunk!” Jorgan growled, the scent of Tequila pouring off of her.

“Oh, don’t you just reek of disapproval, Sergeant Jorgan,” Mallay sneered, “does that mean you’ve never been drunk? Somehow I highly doubt that!”

“Oh, I’ve been drunk before,” he retorted, “but when I was on leave, sir!”

“Well, Sergeant,” Mallay slurred, “I’m not on duty right now, soooo piss off!”

“Mallay,” Elara whispered, “We’re worried about you. Risha called to tell me that you and Bella really tied one on. It isn’t like you to go off in the middle of the night and I think I’ve only seen you drunk once…..and certainly not this bad!”

“No, Elara,” Mallay sighed, hiccupping, “It’s not like me and you wanna know why.....it’s because I’m a control freak! I can’t stand not being in control of my faci…..facil….kark, I can’t even talk right.”

“Really, sir?!” Aric snapped, “I hadn’t noticed.”

A burst of adrenaline shot through Mallay, sobering her a little, “You think I like this?!” she exploded, whipping the bottle at the wall where it shattered, “You think I wanted to get up in the middle of the night to go talk to my sister, knowing what would happen? That her demons were riding her and she wanted to talk about what happened when our Dad was killed. Her demons are tied with my own and I hate them all! So, you’ll have to excuse me if I decided to get myself crocked enough to pass out after my wonderful walk down memory lane!”

“Sir, please,” Elara pleaded, “We’re your friends, you can talk to us.”

“Don’t you get it,” Mallay cried, “I just want it all to go away…..I hate thinking about it. I hate talking about it. The pain, the fear, the rage……it never goes away…..the memories never go away. Every time I look in the mirror.....one day ruined us all!”

“Only if you let it,” Aric told her, hating to see her this way, but not knowing how to help her.

Mallay laughed coldly, “I have no choice….she has no choice…..we can’t undo what was done. Bella wants to love a man but fear of betrayal stops her cold. I want to love a man, but whenever I’ve tried to be with one, I felt nothing. That day broke something inside of me and Bella……but at least there may be hope for her now. Me, on the other hand….I’m not so lucky.”

“You’ve had three bad experiences,” Aric tried to reassure her, “That doesn’t mean you’re broken.”

“You’re wrong,” Mallay told him, wishing she hadn’t thrown that bottle before drinking the rest, “Ever since I was fifteen and that disgusting Imperial tried to rape me….” Mallay stopped, realizing what she’d just told them, “Let’s just say that I’ve never felt anything when a man touches me…..no pleasure, no joy, no desire….nothing! No man is going to want a frigid, unfeeling woman in his bed…..so no love, no happy ending for me!”

Aric and Elara were just staring, shocked at what Mallay just revealed. Aric recalled a conversation he had with Bella back on Taris. Mallay and Corso had purposely gotten bitten by Rakghouls after being injected with an outdated vaccine in order to help produce a current one. While they were waiting for them to recover, he’d asked Bella how Mallay got her scars.

***

Bella sighed, “Well, she should be the one to tell you, not me. Neither of us likes to talk about it, however, I can tell you this much....our father died the day Mallay got her scars. She was only fifteen and it was no accident.”

Aric nodded, suspecting there had been more to the story, but surprised at how young she was. He had assumed it happened when she was in training. “What happened to those responsible?” he asked, somehow knowing the answer already.

A cold, deadly look came over Bella’s beautiful face, that same look that he had seen on Mallay whenever she spoke of dealing with the Havoc traitors, “They’re dead.”

***

Aric started putting the pieces together, Bella and Mallay’s father was killed by Imperials when Mallay was fifteen, they must have tried to rape her and she somehow was injured enough to cause her scarring. He had a feeling that there was a lot more since Bella was obviously struggling with things as well, but knew better than to ask just then.

“You see,” Mallay shaking her head at them, seeing Aric studying her and the tears in Elara’s eyes, “This is why I don’t drink…..I talk too much. I let things out that should stay in. I’d greatly appreciate it if you both just forget what I said. I don’t want your pity and I don’t want to talk about it.”

“It might help,” Aric told her.

“Maybe,” she agreed, tears in her eyes again, “and I promise, someday I’ll talk to you guys about it…..I’m just not ready yet.”

“We’re here whenever the time comes,” he nodded.

“Absolutely…..and maybe you just need to find the right guy,” Elara told her gently, “I’m sure there’s a wonderful man out there that will just sweep you off your feet.”

“Bella keeps telling me the same thing, but I think you’re all wrong. Let’s face it,” Mallay admitted sadly as she staggered into her quarters, “I’m more broken than that bottle.”

@Stirges: Very nice! I've run that quest more times than I care to count and every time it gets to that part, I would give my lightsaber to know what's going on in your character's head at that moment. You sort of fill in the blanks, but even then, sometimes it doesn't mesh.

@Adwynyth: Been there, done that, damn near razed a small town over it. Sorry that happened to you! Just remember, WWSD!

... on second thought, scratch that. I'm not sure there's enough ammo to cover that idea. Look forward to you kicking the block and seeing more Sniper stuff though!

@Frauzet: That was beautiful. I like this Arkeo kid. I'm going to enjoy following his journey, I think.

@Icerose: I like how you included the rosary beads, and their significance in Rose's need for closure. Well done.

@Yoshi: Quinn getting married. As uptight as he already is, I imagine his head would explode from the pressure!

Jedi have a tough rope to walk, and I imagine they often have pangs of conscience as they get older, wiser, and less idealistic than they were when they started being Jedi. Jasin has some serious soul searching to do.

@Bright: Ahhh, Wynston. It's hard to be a nice guy in the Emperor's Secret Service. With many decisions like that to make, it's not hard to see why he turned to the bottle.

I like Calline. She says so much and yet, speaks so little. And I agree, Gault will scam you out of your pants if it will make him a profit, so good call Calline.

@Marissalf: Aww, man. Mel, Mel, Mel. THAT is going to sting in the morning. Can't wait to see if everything goes as planned!

Also, this (spoilers for the SW storyline):

@Allronix: Wow! Stellar debut, sir! Loved the story! Especially this:

but fraternizing with Jedi was widely considered one of those things that gambled with the necessary partnership between the Fleet and the Order, which was not as rock-solid as civilians and Imps thought it was.

I would guess that Military and Jedi goals clash often, and I can see this being the result. Nicely done!

@Alaurin: Yep, Mallay's my favorite. She's so clumsy, but that sincerity makes it so you can't help but like her. It'll be nice to see them finally overcome the demons.

Tap tap tap tap.

“How are you feeling?” I heard Elara’s voice just as before I caught sight of her to the side of the data pad I was working on. I gave her a big grin, hoping to wipe that worried look off her face. It didn't work; her frown faded for a moment, but only until she finished reading the charts attached to the bed. She pursed her lips, still waiting, so I gave up trying to lighten the mood. I can take a hint.

“I’m not bad for a guy that just dealt with a Sith lord, if you ask me. Knee’ll be fine, just have to rest it a bit. I decided to pass the time by working on another piece of fine literary work.”

She tried – and failed – to stifle a laugh. It was still nice to hear it, even if it was directed my way. “I certainly hope it isn’t as bad as your last attempt.”

“Pain in the Ayrse? The title was genius.” I heard what sounded like her eyes rolling right out of their sockets. “Well, it was to me. And Forex.”

She coughed into her palm. “Forex would say or do anything to please you.”

I cocked an eyebrow at her and committed my daily act of vocal stupidity. “Maybe I should have married him instead.”

She didn’t have to say anything. I cowered behind the blanket as her arms folded across her chest, her jaw set as firm as her...ethical principles. Her eyes practically shot laser bolts at me. The room felt cold, so cold. The twinkle of amusement in her eye was still plainly visible, though, so I threw in a couple of exaggerated shudders to make her happy.

Then, I coughed, aiming to steer the conversation back on track instead. “Uh, anyway. I decided to get more contemplative this time.” I flipped the pad around, to allow her to read it.

She narrowed her eyes as she did so. “’I Remember Me’? That sounds rather…self-indulgent, don’t you think?” She looked me square in the eye, daintily raising an eyebrow. It almost seemed like a ‘come hither’ look, but I suspected that was my meds doing the thinking. Or, at least, something other than your brain.

I stuck my tongue out, the argument she could never counter.

Unsurprisingly, she didn’t even try. Instead, she began adjusting the covers on the hospital bed. When she spoke, her voice had a decidedly mischievous tint. “It occurs to me that you are due for some medical examinations prior to returning to duty. Particularly since you might claim your injury prevented you from meeting your goals for writing, qualitatively and quantitatively.”

She abruptly hit a button on her own data pad, and the door shut. I raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know if I’m up for testing my knee yet, Elara.”

Even as I spoke, she slipped under the blanket to whisper into my ear, “It's important to test your body's endurance when it comes to...performing strenuous physical activities.” She wrapped her arms around me.

I’m not one to argue with a medical professional.

After Kira and I had discovered Doc’s rather disturbing habit, I had made it my mission to unearth any other unpleasant surprises to be found on the HoloNet. It turned out there were plenty, much to Kira’s and my dismay.

Doc was not the only one with disturbingly detailed fantasies – stories about the Hero of Tython with all sorts of companions. Worst of all was “Mirrored Lives”, which had borne the promising description ‘Our Hero of Tython meets her male counterpart from elsewhere in the multiverse’. I should have seen the inevitable result of such a meeting coming, but ended up subjecting myself to something far worse than Doc’s works. I worried about the mental health of the author.

I was relieved when T7 came to pay a visit; his cheerfulness in the face of everything the galaxy had thrown at us was always welcome. He beeped loudly as he entered and saw the smile on my face.

“Hey T7, how’s your HoloNet game about our lives going?” I meant for it to be a teasing question, but the awkward silence that followed suggested he didn’t take it that way. “Well, I hope?” I winced.

“T7 = Still working on major clipping issues // T7+Armor designs = not as compatible as T7+Jedi.” He booped mournfully. “Beta testers = demanding rogue class that dual wields assault cannons // T7 = can barely deal with nonsense from just Doc.”

I gently pat the top of his dome-like head. “I’m sure you’ll figure something out. Worse comes to worst, you can always ask C2 for some help, right?”

The noise he made in return sounded decidedly inappropriate.

“Well, maybe Rusk can help you. He probably spent a lot of time playing games, being a single soldier stationed on a planet in the middle of nowhere.”

I must have said something wrong, because he suddenly wheeled in a semi-circle and made a beeline for the door. Before I could say anything else, he was gone, I hoped with newfound inspiration. As I returned to my console, I was happily surprised to be interrupted from further HoloNet investigations by a call from Jonas Balkar.

Mako found a fifth patch of Cathar fur behind the weapons locker in the cargo bay. She approached me, shaking her head and smiling broadly. "What did you and Jorgan do last night?"

I stared into my mug of caf and pretended not to hear her.

@Lesaberisa: I love Ayrs and Elara!!! Hmmmm, a rogue class that dual wields assault cannons......I could get behind that!! Sounds like things got a bit.....wild.....on Amurri's ship....she better watch it, I hear Aric's a biter!

@Alaurin: Yep, Mallay's my favorite. She's so clumsy, but that sincerity makes it so you can't help but like her. It'll be nice to see them finally overcome the demons.

Alaurin: Both these women have a lot to work through, and tequila might not be the best tool. If they’ll open up, they do have good friends who will help. Both of them. People who might just understand better than they know.

@alaurin, so glad we could bounce off each other! You have me feeling extra horrible for what Wynston did, which is entirely appropriate but still horrible. Bella's nightmares are such awful reflections of the guilt she must carry for the things she must feel like she allowed to happen. And then, poor Mallay! They could both really use hugs, if only they were ready to receive them.

I'm relieved that people liked those last two pieces.....they were hard to write until I was inspired by Bright's piece about Wynston. Bella and Mallay are great for shenanigans, and the shenanigans are fun and a lot easier for me to write about. However, they both have some serious things they are dealing with and those parts need to be told as well.

For anyone that might be behind and/or wondering:

Bella finally opens up to Risha and Corso here. That is when her healing process starts, but it will take some time. The healing process for Mallay will actually begin soon.....I promise. Both girls take a huge step forward, Mallay especially, on the 9 year anniversary of that fateful day. Bella and Mallay tell their crews what happened to them here and Mallay finally gets a Happy Birthday.

“What do you think he’s doing in there?” Mako asked.

“No idea, but I’m starting to worry a little.” Kat admitted, “It’s not like Gault to keep to himself for long periods of time.”

“Well, you two did shag your way through Belsavis,” Mako smirked, “Maybe he’s recovering still.”

“Not my fault my mating cycle hit when we got there,” Kat retorted, “but boy did we ever take advantage of it…..that Devaronian’s got some serious stamina and he’s quite skilled with that surprisingly nice body of his. Do you know we got it on every time we were on an elevator?! Hell, I think we stopped wearing underwear the second day in….”

“Way more than I needed to know, Kat!” Mako cringed, “Trust me, I had enough images when I was cleaning out the bite and scratch marks……on both of you!”

“Hey, you brought it up!” Kat grinned, “Besides, judging from those hickies on your neck, Gault and I weren’t the only ones shagging on Belsavis! I’d say Slicer Girl and Mando Man got to know one another very well while Gault and I were getting busy.”

“Ok, you got me there,” Mako blushed, “and Torian really hates that name you know.”

“Hey, not my call,” Kat shrugged, “He’ll have to take it up with the creative genius when he finally decides to emerge from his cave.”

“Seriously, what do you think he’s doing in there?”

“With Gault, it’s probably best we don’t know……”

***

“The Thing…..nope, taken,” Gault muttered, scratching the name off his list, “Revolting Blob….dammit, can’t use that either. Collossal Punisher……nope, actually infringes on two copyrights…..kark, this sucks! Hmmmmm, Incredible Houk…..eh, kinda close to something copyrighted, set it aside in case……”

The Super Spacer series was very successful….every woman wanted to be Killer Cat Babe or Slicer Girl, and wanted to be with Super Spacer and Mando Man. Kids everywhere wanted to be one of them, and well Blizz was completely adored by all. In fact, stores couldn’t keep the Blizz toys and plushies stocked for more than a day! Gault lit another cigarra, filled his brandy glass, and looked over at the various sketches he had pinned up to the wall of his workroom.

“Stars, I think the name’s the least of my worries……how in the void am I supposed to make Skadge appealing?!”

Because I haven't written much on Kat:

The Cathar mating cycle was introduced here and is something I completely made up.

The Super Spacer series was introduced here and again, is completely made up.

Mako awoke to find Dha was not in the bed beside her. She frowned. It wasn't unusual for him to be up early, but he usually let her know where he was going when he left. He hadn't even awakened her this morning. She rolled out of bed and pulled a gray outfit out of the closet. She dressed quickly and went about her business.

First, she downloaded the latest Black List bounties to the house computer, and then transferred a copy to the ship for later. She looked around the house. Gault was locked in his room–Mako wasn't sure what he did in there, and didn't want to–Skadge was out, Torian was in the yard, clad in his full armor, doing press-ups, and Blizz was in the workshop. That just left Treek.

Maybe she was out with Dha.

Mako moved into the kitchen, yawned, and began making her breakfast. She expertly cracked and scrambled a nuna egg and threw pepper and tomo-spice into the pan with it. She finished the eggs, put them on her plate, and had just started to eat when Crysta, in her crib in the living room, started cooing softly. Mako sighed, stood, and walked over.

"Hey, baby," she said.

"Ma-ma," Crysta babbled.

Mako grinned and picked her daughter up out of the crib. Then she returned to the kitchen table and tried to eat her eggs. She had finished her meal and was bottle-feeding Crysta when she heard someone at the door. Treek trundled in, carrying her crossbow in a casual guard.

"Hey, Treek," she said, "where's Dha?"

[Chief is coming,] Treek said. [He has surprise for you.]

"Surprise?" Mako asked with a furrowed brow.

She stood up, carried Crysta back over to the crib, and lowered her in. Then she walked outside. Torian had stopped doing his press-ups and had removed his helmet and gauntlets. He walked over.

"Where's Dha?" she asked. "Treek said he had a surprise for me."

Torian nodded. "He's by the nuna cages."

Mako walked around the corner and found Dha kneeling by a...thing. It was a mid-sized, gangly creature with flabby skin and greenish-tan fur, six legs, and an acidic-looking slobber coming from the corners of its mouth. Its intelligent yellow eyes caught sight of her and it perked up.

"Dha?" she asked. "What is that?"

"It's a strill!" Dha said with a grin. "I haven't seen one since I was a boy! They're great hunting creatures when you tame them."

"And you think it's safe around the baby?"

"It's hermaphroditic," Dha explained. "So it's very maternal. It loves kids."

She frowned and knelt down, pettings its flabby neck. "It is kind of cute."

"Cute?" Dha laughed. "Mako, there's nothing attractive about it and it smells."

"Smells?" Mako crinkled her nose. "I don't smell anything."

"Oh, that's right," Dha muttered. "I forgot. Human females and most alien species can't smell it. I guess Zabraks are one of the few who can."

She smiled. "You sure you want to keep this thing around?"

Dha laughed. "I wouldn't let it go for all the credits on Mandalore." He petted its back. "Isn't that right, fella?"

The strill unceremoniously spit greenish goop all over Dha's shoes.

"Er, right. Let's go introduce him to the family..."

I believe it was the Republic Commando books that said only human males could smell strills' distinctive smell. But I figure it's not possible for every other species to be immune to it.

@Allronix, Welcome to the thread! Really enjoyed this story, and Felix’s observations of all the Jedi stuff from the viewpoint of an outsider were great. I also like the suggestion that there's at least some tension between the Order and the military. Makes for an interesting dynamic.

@alaurin, Bella and Mallay broke my heart! I feel for both of them, and the nightmare sequence with Jackson was well done. I can’t imagine how either of the girls would cope if they didn’t have each other.

I love your BH and crew! Love Gault’s brainstorming, especially this:

“Stars, I think the name’s the least of my worries……how in the void am I supposed to make Skadge appealing?!”

@Lesaberisa, Oooh, Arys and Elara are great together.

I gently pat the top of his dome-like head. “I’m sure you’ll figure something out. Worse comes to worst, you can always ask C2 for some help, right?”

 

The noise he made in return sounded decidedly inappropriate.

That little droid know what’s what

@Yoshi, With a description like this:

It was a mid-sized, gangly creature with flabby skin and greenish-tan fur, six legs, and an acidic-looking slobber coming from the corners of its mouth.

who wouldn’t be eager to take it on as a pet. It’s so sweet of Mako to be so cool with it.

Mel awoke slowly, trying to decide the best way to dislodge her head from beneath the invisible vorantikus sitting atop it. Mystery orange liquor: 1, Mel: 0. Whatever the void that drink was had certainly been good for unraveling the nerves, but it was hell where hindsight was concerned. Killian slept soundly beside her, or maybe was just passed out, his tanned and toned body carelessly draped across the bed.

Everything he did was effortless. Had been since he was a teenager. Back then he was nobody from a nothing family working in a filthy repair yard. Until some propaganda chief plastered his pretty face across a series of billboards in Kaas City. That’s how he caught the eye of Voda Goran.

The pureblood Sith was a couple years older than he was and incredibly wealthy, but when she pursued Killian, he deflected her advances as delicately as one can refuse a Sith. Then his father went ill with some rare malady that required more money than his family had ever seen. Naturally, Voda was there with a too-good-to-be-true offer and a gleam in her eyes. It was only meant to be temporary, his relationship with her. But then she had their child. And once Lasena was born, temporary became permanent.

Mel drank in the sight of him beside her, cataloging every detail from what would certainly be the last time they did this. Even if she weren’t stealing every credit he had to his name, it wouldn’t matter. Nothing had changed. He was still married, still unwilling to let Voda go. She glanced at the chrono on the wall, wondering if Mako had been successful.

Killian stirred. “Mornin,’ gorgeous.” He smiled lazily, his eyes half closed as he grabbed her hand and kissed it. “Nothing like old times, huh?”

“Old times,” Mel repeated. She couldn’t look him in the eye. Didn’t trust herself not to confess everything. She knew if she asked him for the money he’d probably oblige her, but that felt too much like selling herself for credits. There weren’t enough showers in the galaxy to wash away that notion.

“Something wrong?” He rolled over onto his elbows and let his thick auburn hair fall in his eyes. “You having regrets about last night?”

Last night? So short-sighted. Last night was the tip of the iceberg as far as she was concerned. “Nope.”

“Liar.”

He knew her too well, even now, and she hated the upper hand that might give him. She bit her lip and finally looked him in the face. “Have you ever had to do something you’re not proud of to help someone you love?”

He snorted. “Are you serious?”

“Hmm? Oh.” Of course he had. The whole reason he’d married Voda to begin with. He knew better than anyone that sometimes you had to do awful things for the greater good. Not that swindling him served some noble, galaxy-saving purpose. Didn’t matter, though. The promise of getting back what she’d lost was enough. Her guilt eased a little. Maybe someday he’d be able to forgive her. Maybe.

“I loved you, Killian.” The words tumbled out, unplanned, unwanted, unable to be taken back. She didn’t know why she said it. Maybe because it felt like the last chance to do it. Maybe it was her way of softening the blow that would come once he figured out the truth.

His eyes lit up, and a grin spread across his face. “I lov-”

“No! Don’t say it.”

“Mel, I-”

“I mean it. Don’t tell me something you don’t mean. We both know you don’t.” She was out of bed now pulling on her shirt, and gathering up his clothes. “Things haven’t changed between us since the last time we did this. They won’t ever change–”

He looked dumbfounded as she deposited an armful of clothes in his lap. “That’s not fair, Mel. You know how I felt about you. You’re the one who left, not me.”

She shrugged off his touch and started to button her blouse. “I left because it finally sank in that you and I weren’t ever going to have a future together. Not one that didn’t involve sneaking around or me being the other woman. I deserved better than that, Killian.”

“Dammit, Melodai!” He threw one his boots across the small space. The impact shattered the chrono, the glass exploding behind them. “Don’t you put that on me. You know what I have at stake. You knew from the start that I couldn’t leave her. I was always up front about that. You think she’d continue to fund my old man’s treatments if I left her? Choosing you meant I’d be killing my father. How could I do that? You wouldn’t if you were in my place. You know it.” He crossed the room and gently touched her cheek. She was shaking, trying not to cry in front of him. He rested his head against hers and closed his eyes in defeat. “I missed you every day when you were gone. Every day. You think I’m happy the way things are? You think I wouldn’t give anything to be free to run off with you and not look back? I can’t. Not won’t, can’t.”

He wasn’t entirely wrong. He had been upfront about his situation. But the way he carried on, it always seemed like he was a nudge away from giving in. It was what the 17-year-old girl she’d been believed. What the adult continued to buy into, right or wrong. “You have to go now, Killian. Please, I’m sorry— I can’t do this.”

He barely took a step back, and she'd already slipped past him and down the stairs. The Elektra’s doors slid open. She’d see him out, and it would be done. She had bigger things to think about, plans to make. Killian stumbled down the stairs a minute later, fully dressed but hair still disheveled.

“Can I hug you, or is that too much?”

She couldn’t say no, not when it was for the last time. She took a step toward him, and he wrapped his arms around her. He kissed her once on the head, brushed the dark hair away from her face. “Melodai,” he leaned in close enough for a whisper, “I love you.”

Mel sucked in a sharp breath, and Killian jogged down the ramp and out her life. Damn him. Damn him for saying the one thing that would hurt her more than anything. She didn't let herself cry yet. There were things left unfinished. Answers she needed. Mel pulled out her holo to contact Mako.

The young slicer appeared almost at once. “Hey girl, you alright?”

No. Not at all. But with a word, everything could be OK. “Mako, give me some good news.”

Eh, so I worried a bit about this one. I never wanted Killian come off as completely bad, but since I’ve only written him with Mel in two other stories (and I didn’t get into his background until now) it’s easy to paint him that way. He’s not really a bad guy, but he’s not necessarily a good one either. You could argue the same about Mel. He’s cheating on his wife, and she’s originally just fine with being the other woman. Most of her issues with him come from wanting more than he can give her and not accepting that that's not going to change. Did he lead her on? Probably. But in the end, nobody’s completely in the right.

OK, I’m done over-explaining now.

Thorns and the rest of the crew had already started breakfast, when Mako returned from the refresher. She was frowning, mumbling to herself.

“…not even able to tell the droid…”

She vanished upstairs into their room. The others shot him a knowing glance.

“What?” he asked exasperated. “I didn’t do anything!”

“Yeah, yeah, like last time.” Skadge grumbled.

Thorns looked daggers at him, daring him to say anything more about this special subject.

“Maybe it is because you didn’t do anything. You were up awfully early this morning.” Gault pondered with a smirk playing on his face.

“It’s not because I didn’t…” Thorns began to defend himself, and then became aware of what he was about to say. “That’s none of your business!” he belatedly stated.

Gault snickered.

“Now Boss bad-tempered, too.” Blizz sighed.

“Yeah, wonderful morning. Hand over the scrambled eggs.” Torian reached out his hand across the table.

“Only in exchange for the sausages.” Gault exclaimed, grabbing the pan.

Torian hesitated. “You already had half of those!”

“And the last leftover steak from dinner!” Skadge added appalled.

“Come on guys. You can have my share of bread and toast. How often do I have to explain to you, that Devaronian males are carnivores?”

“Blizz built you mixer, so you don’t need molars for chewing!” the little fellow said indignantly because this special piece of work wasn’t properly appreciated by Gault.

“And we all know what that did to my digestion!” the Devaronian defended himself.

“Don’t remind me!” Thorns interposed briskly. “Everybody leaving the refresher alive that day was lucky. Give him the sausages, Torian!”

The exchange of eggs and sausages was followed by a few moments of voracious silence. Cereals, butter, tomatoes were handed across the table ere Mako returned from upstairs.

She stopped for a moment on the last step to take a look at the assembled crew. “Good morning, fellow inhabitants of this marvelous star ship.”

In return she was greeted with five muffled good mornings and five pairs of eyes that tried to discern the mood she was in. Thorns at least had no idea.

Instead of walking over to the seat beside him to sit down for breakfast, she stepped behind Torian, leaned over his shoulders and stroked his cheeks. Torian flinched and blushed undeniably, throwing a hurried glance at Thorns.

“Aha.” Mako said and straightened, releasing the young man.

“If you want me to shoot him, just say so. You don’t have to present me with a special reason.” Thorns willingly offered between two bites into his sandwich.

Torian‘s look grew somewhat alarmed before he realized Thorns was only joking. He might still have a little crush on Mako, but she was Thorns’ wife, he would never ever dishonor that. He was glad that Thorns seemed to know that.

Mako had stepped behind Blizz in the meantime. The Jawa growled at her hands nearing the interior of his hood.

“Okay.”Mako allowed, withdrawing her hands. “I suppose you’re not a suspect anyway.”

Thorns only shrugged at the questioning glances from the rest of the crew. Everybody had stopped eating, all eyes were following Mako as she stepped towards Skadge, to caress his cheek with a light touch of her fingertips.

The big Houk patted her hand. “You gotta put a little more vigor into this. Wouldn’t want to be accidentally swatted for being mistaken for a mosquito.” he advised her.

Thorns tried very hard not to laugh at the look on Mako’s face as she hurriedly snatched her hand back.

Mako went over to Gault, who raised his hands in denial. “I am absolutely innocent. Whatever I did, it was her fault.” He pointed at Mako . “So if you need to shoot someone, shoot her.” He said with an absolutely straight face, only a slight twinkling in his eyes. Mako stroked his cheek, before turning to Thorns.

“I’m beginning to consider the possibility.” Thorns let on with a grin and a raised brow.

“Threatening the inspector made you prime suspect.” Mako stated. She came over to him, bend down and kissed him. “Good morning, Mister Suspect. What do you have to say for yourself?”

“Told you it was him!” Skadge smirked.

“So might I know what I am accused of, before I am executed?” Thorns inquired.

“Somebody left his beard stubble in my sink!” Mako alleged with arms akimbo.

“Your sink?” Thorns grinned.

“My sink!” Mako confirmed with a look that warned him not to object.

“Why is Blizz innocent?” he asked.

“I’ll tell you why. He’s too small to reach the sink without the stool, and the stool hasn’t been moved. He never puts it back where it belongs when he used it.”

“That not true!” Blizz exclaimed. “Blizz forgot only once or twice!”

“Since the day before yesterday, yes.” Mako stated.

Blizz mumbled something in Jawaese that could not be translated appropriately.

Thorns laughed and said “Ok, I’m innocent, too. As Gault noticed earlier, I was the first one up and the first one in the refresher. And yes, I cleaned the sink afterwards.”

“So who was the last to use the refresher?”Mako inquired, scrutinizing the rest of the crew.

“Gault!” Torian said.

“Snitch!” Gault hissed under his breath. With an innocent smile in Mako’s he confessed “I was the last to use the refresher, oh High Inquisitor, but alas, it was not to shave, as I did that earlier. And I am sure there is no need to go into details on the proceedings during my last visit to the facility.”

“Hmmm.” Mako frowned. “What about you, Skadge?”

“Me?” Skadge seemed to think about the question for a moment. “Wasn’t really in there today. No strong growth of beard. Call me babyface.”

Torian nearly fell backwards off the bench laughing.

“That leaves only you, Torian.” Mako said accusingly.

“Oh no, I cleaned up after shaving, too. Thoroughly!” Torian defended himself, still laughing.

Mako seated herself. “Why do I bother at all?”she sighed, not really expecting an answer. “Maybe we should check for stowaways, otherwise this will remain a mystery as always.” She shook her head. “Please hand over the juice, Skadge.”

And they all ate happily their breakfast.

I lived a few years in a similar situation as Mako. When there is a man in the house there will be at least one Heinzelmännchen, too. I am not sure if brownie is the correct translation. Do brownies have beards?

There are a few men who are an exception to this rule, but I honestly admit that I like the other ones better.

@Yoshi: hehe, that pet reminds me of my slobbery dog! Very cute though and I like the cultural aspect of it.

Comment-y goodness!

@alaurin, Bella and Mallay broke my heart! I feel for both of them, and the nightmare sequence with Jackson was well done. I can’t imagine how either of the girls would cope if they didn’t have each other.

 

I love your BH and crew! Love Gault’s brainstorming, especially this:

Also, Melodai......that girl needs a lot of hugs!!! It really is a no win situation for her and Killian. I want to hate him, but I understand that he is a victim as well.....he might need a hug too!

@frauzet: ah the lament of wives everywhere.....I know my husband is incapable of rinsing the stubble out of our sink. I loved it!

Also, I'm glad you enjoyed reading about Bella....it wasn't easy for me to write.

Bella woke in her bed with a huge hangover, but feeling good despite that. Her talk with Mallay helped, and she knew she needed to talk to Corso. She wasn’t ready for that yet, but just knowing what she needed and intended to do was enough to make her feel better. She wasn’t going to bury her demons with flings and alcohol anymore. Mallay was right, she needed to stop letting Jackson hurt her. He was dead and it was time for her to accept what he did, her part in it, and move on. I was a sixteen year old girl and I was no match for an Imperial Agent, she told herself, finally starting to believe it, I was wrong to keep him a secret from my parents, but my father was his target and he was going to do his job no matter what...I need to stop blaming myself! She knew it wasn’t going to be easy, the nightmares weren't going to instantly stop because she wanted them to, her guilt wasn't going to just go away. This would take time but at least she was starting to move forward. She had feelings for Corso and he was a good man….it was time to stop being afraid....it was time to stop hiding....it was time to start letting go! Soon, Bella promised herself, I’ll talk to him soon.

She got up with a smile and made her way to the med bay to find some stims to help with her pounding headache. After using one and drinking a lot of water, Bella went into the refresher to shower and get ready for the day. Trying to get that sensor computer from Diago Hixan was proving to be a lot more difficult than they originally thought and now there was a Sith involved. Bella needed her wits about her and was doubly glad she’d talked to her sister last night. The nightmares had begun to take their toll and she’d been tired and distracted lately….things that could get her and her crew killed if she wasn’t careful.

Bella finished getting ready and went into the gallay to find Risha and Corso waiting for her.

“How you feeling this morning?” Risha asked, trying to be quiet in case Bella was suffering the effects of the Tequila.

“Despite a hangover, I actually feel a lot better,” Bella admitted, grabbing a mug of caffa.

“Well, you do look pretty good considering your sister was practically dragging you up the ramp,” Risha smirked, “She didn’t look too good herself. The two of you must have really tied one on last night!”

Bella looked sheepish, “Yeah, it probably wasn’t the best thing for me to grab that bottle of Tequila when I left,” she sighed, “but I needed to talk about some unpleasant things with Mallay…..stuff we don’t like to bring up and I had a feeling we’d need a drink.”

“Well, that bottle was nearly empty when Mallay left with it and from the looks of it, she intended to finish it off on the way to her ship.” Risha told her.

“Dammit,” Bella muttered, “I brought up some painful memories and Mallay doesn’t deal with them very well. I hope she’s alright.”

“I called Elara after I got you to your bed,” Risha assured her, “and she sent me a message that Mallay got there a little while later.”

“I’ll call her tonight,” Bella sighed, “I hated doing that to her, but we both need to start facing what happened the day our father was killed.”

“Anything you want to talk to us about, Captain?” Corso finally spoke up as Risha got up to leave.

“Yes,” Bella smiled, “I’m not ready yet, but soon…..I promise.”

“Does this have anything to do with…uh….the other night?” Corso asked after Risha left, worrying that he messed up badly when he got drunk and blurted out his feelings.

“In a way, yes,” Bella admitted, knowing exactly what he was referring to, “but not in the way you think. I’m not mad or upset with you…..just at things that happened to me years back.”

“I’m so sorry if I did anything to hurt you, Bella,” Corso told her, guilt written all over his handsome face.

Bella kissed his cheek and smiled, “You have nothing to be sorry about, Corso. I promise, we’ll talk about things soon, but for now, we need to focus on getting to Diago without drawing attention from that crazy Sith!”

Corso blushed as he touched the cheek Bella had kissed, “Thanks, Bella and I agree, we should get going. The sooner we get that sensor computer, the sooner we can get off this planet and away from sand and crazy Sith!” As they left the ship, Corso felt hopeful for the first time since his stupid blunder that things might work out after all.

“Kark,” Mallay mumbled as she woke with a pounding headache, “Kark, kark, kark!”

She dug through her nightstand drawer for a stim to ease her hangover, knowing she didn’t have time to sleep it off. They needed to get an early start today. Fuse didn’t know the coordinates to the Imperial base he was being held in, but told them there were Imperial commando teams scattered around. Any one of those teams would have the base’s coordinates. They were able to locate one of the teams, but it had been too late to set out.

After injecting herself with two stims, Mallay lay on her bed and thought about what happened last night. She had a feeling when Bella called her in the middle of the night that they would be dredging up the past. Mallay hated thinking about the past, but unfortunately it had been on her mind lately….Bella’s too apparently. The difference was that Bella wanted to talk about what happened to them that awful day and Mallay preferred to keep it buried. Bella wanted to talk about her nightmares, but usually needed drinks to help her along. When Mallay had nightmares, she usually just hit the punching bag or ran until exhaustion took over allowing her to sleep without dreaming. When that didn’t work, she drank until she passed out. Luckily she didn’t have to drink her demons away very often, but talking with Bella last night drove them both to nearly polish off the bottle of Hutt Tequila Bella had brought with her. She hated that Aric and Elara saw her like that last night and it was very rare for her to get that drunk, but when she did, it sometimes got ugly. I really need to stop doing that, she admitted to herself as the pounding in her head began to ease a little, both of us do.

The room had finally stopped spinning and Mallay figured it was safe to get up. She slowly, carefully made her way into the refresher, willing herself not to get sick. Stars, I think I may need a third stim, she thought as she got into the shower. She stood under the running water, thinking about the two whoppers she let out last night. She finally admitted to Bella something that she never told anyone before, she made herself numb to feeling anything as that Imperial tried to rape her in front of Lissa and Ros and now she didn’t feel anything when any man touched her. Bella insisted she would someday, that it would just take the right guy and she was certain Aric was it.

Mallay sighed, maybe Bella’s right, she thought as she started washing, maybe my problem is that I need to really trust a man enough to just let myself go in order to feel something. Mallay knew she was a control freak, but she never thought it could be part of her problem with men. She just always thought it was because she felt ugly. She hated her scars and implant and wished she wasn’t so petite. Guys liked voluptuous women like Bella and Mallay’s assets were on the small side like the rest of her.

As for Bella's thoughts on Aric, Mallay couldn't deny she was starting to have strong feelings for that irritating Cathar, but she wasn’t sure if he felt the same way. Aric, Mallay, and Elara were friends at this point, she was happy about that and didn't want to rock that boat. It always took a lot of courage for Mallay to ask a guy out or admit her feelings. Her shyness and lack of confidence in her looks were her biggest hindrance, but Mallay also worried that she would lose Aric’s friendship if she tried to pursue any kind of intimate relationship with him and ended up feeling nothing when he touched her. If only there was some way to know, she sighed as she began to shampoo her hair, but I can’t exactly go up to him and say ‘hey, do you mind touching me so I can see if I can aroused by you?’ can I? Stars, that sounds like a bad pickup line!!

Mallay knew that she needed to talk to Aric and Elara at some point, especially after that second whopper she let out. They had been waiting for her when she returned to the ship and after being a total snot to them, she’d let it slip about the Imperial soldier trying to rape her that day her father was killed. Stars, I hate drinking, Mallay thought as she finished rinsing, I always let something out that should stay in! Mallay immediately realized what she’d let slip and tried to take the focus off of it, but it was too late. She knew that they had questions and rightfully so….she would too if it was one of them. The problem was that she wasn’t ready to talk about things yet. I’ll sit down and talk to them….I’ll tell them what happened on my fifteenth birthday, Mallay silently vowed, as soon as we finish dealing with the Havoc traitors.

Mallay finished in the shower and went back to her quarters to dress. While she was dressing, she heard Aric and Elara get up. She knew she owed them an apology and an explanation. While she wasn’t ready to tell the whole story yet, but she could at least tell them a little. They were her friends and they cared about her as much as she cared about them. She felt better as she finished dressing. Mallay always did better when she had a goal and a plan. If only I could have that for Aric, she sighed as she left her quarters and went into the gallay where Aric and Elara where.

“Good morning, sir!” Elara told her, a hesitant smile on her face. Aric just gave her a questioning look.

“Good morning,” Mallay started, “Look, I’m sorry for the way I behaved last night. I wish you hadn’t seen me like that and I’m ashamed of myself. There’s no excuse for it and if you wish to report me, I understand and support you.”

“We’re not going to report you,” Elara assured her, looking at Aric, who nodded his agreement. “We’re worried about you though.”

“Thank you,” Mallay replied, then took a deep breath, “I’m dealing with some things right now, so is Bella. It’s all tied in with our father being killed and I meant what I said last night…..I’ll talk to you about it, but I’m not ready yet. Bella’s been having nightmares and needed to talk last night. I really think talking last night helped her and that she’ll finally be able face her demons and put them to rest. I’m happy for her, but unfortunately, anytime I talk or think about that awful day, my own demons surface. As you could probably tell last night, I don’t deal with that very well. I usually either use physical activity to run myself into exhaustion or I get drunk enough to pass out.”

“You know that’s not the best answer, Mallay,” Aric told her, concern for the woman he was falling in love with evident in his voice.

“I know,” Mallay agreed, wiping tears from her eyes, “and I’m really going to work on dealing with what happened without resorting to those means. Especially since I tend to let things slip when I’m drunk…..things that I’d rather keep to myself.”

“You told us a man….” Elara whispered.

“Yes, an Imperial soldier tried to rape me when I was fifteen and our father was killed,” Mallay sighed, “I’m not ready to talk about that, but since I blurted it out last night, I guess I probably should.”

“Not if you don’t want to,” Aric assured her.

“I don’t, but you’re my friends. I’m not ready to go into details, but I can tell you that he didn’t hurt me…..not physically anyways.” Mallay admitted and decided to tell them what she told Bella, “Unfortunately, I did something to myself when he was touching me…..I made myself numb to what he was doing. Now whenever any man touches me, I feel nothing......it's like I broke something that day and I can't fix it. That’s part of the reason why my experiences with men haven’t gone too well. I either feel self-conscious of my lack of….assets and my scars or I’m bored because I don’t feel anything.”

“I’m sure there’s a guy out there that will change that,” Elara assured her, “give it time.”

“Bella said the same thing,” Mallay nodded, “She thinks it’s because I need to like and trust the guy enough to let myself lose control…..or something like that. Only one of my experiences was with a guy that I was friends with enough to trust like that and he got freaked out by the scars on my back and wanted the lights out……not exactly the best thing for my self-esteem!”

“Well, that guy was an a**hole!” Aric growled, wanting to hunt that man down and kill him slowly.

“I agree with Aric,” Elara chimed in, “He didn’t deserve someone as wonderful as you!”

“Thanks guys,” Mallay smiled, a little relieved to get some of her past out, “We good?”

“Of course,” Elara hugged her.

“As long as I can pick on you for being drunk,” Aric snickered.

“I’ll give you three,” Mallay promised, “any more than that and I’ll kick your a**!”

“You’d have to catch me first,” Aric grinned, “and as slowly and carefully as you’re moving right now, you wouldn’t be able to catch a Hutt!”

“Oh, that’s one,” Elara giggled.

“I hope I’m around the next time you get drunk, smarta**,” Mallay told Aric, “because payback’s a b****.”

“Does that mean you want to get me drunk?!” Aric teased, “If so, be gentle with me, I’m not the Tequila type…..I prefer whiskey.”

“I think that may count as number two,” Elara smirked, “you should at least save one for later.”

“Stars, you are really annoying sometimes!” Mallay rolled her eyes, “and I hate Tequila….Bella’s the one who brought that crap last night!”

Dankin saw Akaavi in the bedroom and grinned. Perfect. She was alone, doing nothing...she was going to love this. He walked into the room, holding the huge package behind his back. Akaavi glanced up at him and raised a confused eyebrow.

"Dankin?" she asked. "What the shab is that?"

"A gift," he said.

He plopped the heavy box down on the floor. Akaavi frowned and pulled out her vibroknife. She slit the box open and looked inside. Her eyes widened.

"Is this...?"

He nodded. "It's the best I could do."

She pulled the armor out, piece by piece. Made of gunmetal silver-gray beskar'gam, the armor was a replica of that worn by Canderous Ordo during the Jedi Civil War.

"Where did you find it?" Akaavi asked. "I've looked everywhere for any kind of armor!"

Dankin grinned. "You were looking in the wrong places. I found a replica shop on Coruscant. I tested this with a portable scanner–it's real beskar. I know it's not your armor; it's Canderous'. But like I said...best I could do."

She smiled. "Thank you!"

She quickly stripped off her red armor and replaced it with the Mandalorian plates. Dankin thought she looked quite menacing.

"Now let's go out and kill some stuff," he said with a wink.

Mandalore's armor is the best thing that's happened to this game since...well, it's Mandalorian armor you can wear on the Republic side. That makes it improbably amazing.

@alaurin, Gault’s pastime is a scream! The Super Spacer series (even if it does have trademarking woes) is fantastic.

@Yoshi, it’s so cute that Dha sees the strill warts an’ all and still loves it.

@marissalf, I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned how much I like Mel/Killian, the dynamic, the th-rny things that won’t change, the being drawn to each other anyway. That new information about his wife is particularly nasty for him – all part of the complicated situation. I never saw him as an out-and-out villain, more of a flaky scumbag…now we see a lot of that scum has been rolling downhill onto him from another source. It’s just a tremendously human thing all around.

@frauzet, ahahaha, having done my share of time in apartments with three or four men, I wholeheartedly sympathize with Mako! I don’t often hear “brownies” referred to, but I do recognize them as the type to go around leaving messes. (By the way, your signature is from one of my very favorite Robert Frost poems. I like! )

@alaurin, oh, Corso must feel awful watching from the sidelines. Seems to me he wouldn't be happy at being unable to help or fix something.

@Yoshi, aiee, Canderous's armor! I approve!

The operation went off flawlessly. The planetkiller that the unstable scientist had created was surrounded by heavy droid defenses, but ion grenades, electromagnetic pulses, and the marksmanship of Wynston and Quinn penetrated to the control center while the countdown was still running.

For once there wasn't time for conversation, haranguing, or negotiation. Wynston wiped the scientist and her last guards out while Quinn abandoned the prepared heroic monologue and sprinted to the console, where he entered the codes to arrest the doomsday countdown. Wynston got to work dismantling the subsystem controllers while Quinn started wiping the computer banks.

They hadn't been at work for long when a team of white Republic uniforms burst in, rifles at the ready. "It's all right," said Wynston, turning to face them. "The weapon has been defused."

The leader, an almost comically short woman with a full-sized rifle, stopped short.

"Is it clear?" someone said over her shoulder.

"The danger has been averted," reported Quinn.

Another soldier spoke up. "We were tracking the countdown she broadcast. We never would have made it in time."

"That's what we're here for," said Wynston.

The woman signaled with her arm. The rest of her team turned around and left.

She popped off her helmet. Short red hair stuck out in several directions at once.

Wynston's face rearranged itself into too-bright friendliness. "Ryessa Thaye," he said cordially. One hand very slowly moved to his utility belt.

She tucked her helmet under her arm. "Thrandon. Gath'rando'nuor. I practiced learning to say it after you left so you could hear it before you die."

Wynston raised a hand, palm out. "We can talk about this. It's been a long time."

"Twenty-eight years. And three months. Since you killed my father, you bastard."

"I just saved eight billion people, including yourself. Don't leave that out."

"You? Since when did an Imperial go around saving things?"

Wynston switched to an inoffensive Core accent. "I'm, eh, not really in the Imperial business anymore."

"You can say that again," muttered Quinn.

"That so?" She arched an eyebrow and her voice got syrupy with sarcasm. "Not Imperial, suddenly in the big hero business?"

"Something like that."

“Bailed us all out, huh?” She walked up to stand toe to toe, looking up at him, studying his face.

He never saw the uppercut coming.

It wasn't combat so much as an uncommonly kinetic one-woman martial arts demonstration. She never let Wynston get a grip on any of the cheats and tools in his outfit. He attempted the swift precision shots that suited his short wiry build; Ryessa dodged him at every turn and came back with blows three times harder than anyone her size seemed capable of.

She stopped, eventually, once he was on the floor, and braced him on his side with a foot on his flank. He twisted to face her and huffed a weak breath of surrender.

"That round was for my father," she said. "Him, I could sort of understand. He always took the war with him. But me, Thrandon? Do you have any idea how many years it took for me to trust a man again?"

"Um…a lot?" he creaked.

"Do you have the slightest clue how long it took for me to look in the mirror without seeing you, without remembering?"

"So I was memorable?"

She kicked him in the ribs. He curled up and coughed.

"To be fair," he wheezed, "how long do you think it's been since I trusted a woman?"

"Oh, I hope you have. A lot. And I hope she ripped your heart out every time."

"That's...rather accurate, actually."

"Glad to hear it."

"I've improved quite a lot as a person, Ryessa."

"Aw. Did you graduate up to maggot in the school of being worth something? – You know what? Why are we even talking about this?"

Wynston was expecting her renewed attack, but that didn't make him ready. When she grabbed him to haul his shoulders up and slam his head back down he twisted weakly, took one hard hit, then managed to resume at least a scrabbling resistance.

Quinn watched, looking bemused. Ryessa focused on keeping Wynston on the ground and well and thoroughly kicked, and Wynston focused on climbing up enough to get a shot on Ryessa, and Wynston was getting by far the worst of it. Quinn watched her kick him in the stomach several times in short succession; when she went to stomp on his head Quinn cleared his throat. "Madam, while I applaud the sentiment, I require him alive."

"Bet you I've got the older claim," she grated.

"We're scheduled for a summit this evening that may forge peace among five systems, and he’s quite indispensable to the process. For all I care he can show up battered but he does have to be breathing."

"And exactly who are you?"

Quinn considered Wynston for a long moment. "You don't want to know."

"Imperial. I can kick your ***, too, just give me a minute to savor the last of this one."

"You're free to take another three hours. But I do require him alive at the end."

"I don't take orders from Imps."

"Ah. Then we may be at an impasse, for I will not pretend to be other than what I am."

She stopped, her brow contracting. She let go of the front of Wynston's shirt, letting him thump to the ground. She turned slowly to Quinn. "That's a heck of a policy," she said.

"One I imagine you’re familiar with," he said, nodding to her the uniform bars on her sleeve.

She looked him over. Greying, grave and distinguished, he patiently watched her back. She raised her eyebrows. "What's a guy like you doing slumming with this?" She pointed.

"I don't pretend to like him or his background. But he's turned to constructive work, serving the common good in defense of sentience here and elsewhere. With supervision he plays his role."

Wynston bubbled indignantly. Ryessa ignored him. "Yeah," she said bitterly. "He plays roles."

"We all change, with time." He shrugged and nodded at Wynston. "Well, he doesn't. But the rest of us can recover."

"Heh. The recovery takes a while."

He nodded solemnly. "Years. Perhaps…perhaps lifetimes."

She snorted. "Yeah. Too bad I only have the one queued up."

“You've carried this for twenty-eight years?” he said gently. His manner was developing something of melancholy.

"Yeah. I…I guess I gave up thinking I'd ever find him."

“But you’ve had opportunities since then, work, experience. Life goes on, after betrayal. Doesn't it?" The weight of the question might have struck the uninformed onlooker as odd.

“Yeah. Yeah, it does, eventually.”

Quinn let out a breath. “That's the main thing. As long as you can make something of your life.”

“Something. But it's never really the same. Nothing brings what you had back.”

For a moment he looked, not at her, but through her, his blue eyes clouded. “I know.”

She stared at him. Though he carried himself with pride, unspecified tragedy hung about him like a sorrow begging to be unwound and salved. "You really look like you do," she said quietly.

"'E was da bad guy," objected Wynston, clutching his nose. "Dob't trust 'im."

Ryessa kicked him. “Shut up.” She looked back up to Quinn. “Listen, are you sure you need this guy?”

“Unfortunately, yes. His death would serve no one, whereas his life is...still working on restitution.” He looked at the floor, not at Wynston.

“He's got a ways to go.”

“Years,” he whispered, regret shadowing his features. “Perhaps lifetimes. At least now it’s service to the right cause.”

“Like making sure this thing didn’t blow up in all our faces.”

“Yes.”

She frowned at the deactivated weapon apparatus, then at Wynston, then at Quinn. “Look, he’s never going to make up what he did to me.”

“Can you offer him the chance to try?” His voice was soft, but worlds hung on the question.

She looked at Quinn. She looked at Wynston. She looked back at Quinn, studying him now, obviously intrigued. "All right," she said. "Not for his sake…but all right."

“One further question, if you would. Tell me, after all that’s transpired. If he regretted it, if he did try to make amends. Is there…some way that forgiveness is possible?”

“Ha! Hell No. Not a chance.”

“Ah.” Quinn rocked back and nodded philosophically. “I thought I’d ask.”

*

"Ah can't bnlieve she listennd to 'ou."

"For once my effect on women was advantageous." Quinn adjusted his sleeve cuffs and fixed his Chiss partner with a sharper gaze. "So."

"Dob't thtart," said Wynston.

"She must have been very young. No more than a teenager."

Wynston fixed his swollen eyes on the shuttle wall.

"No doubt she fell hard. Young people are prone to making such mistakes with even the likes of you."

Wynston shifted his grip on his nose cloth. "Ah was a teennger too."

"You let her believe you loved her."

Wynston glared poniards.

"And then, the moment the job demanded it, you turned on her. Well, well, agent. I knew you were a hypocrite, but I never imagined the magnitude of it."

"Ab least Ah was fnghting de enemy."

"Ah, yes. The menacing teenage Force-blind civilian? At least mine was a credible threat in her own right."

"Crendible enuff to beat 'ou senseless, too."

"A sight you never got to witness, whereas I've just had the pleasure of watching your comeuppance. I shall treasure the memory."

"Hmph. Mine was–"

“The mission?” suggested Quinn, arching an eyebrow. “For the Empire? Necessary regardless of the personal cost? Do tell how justified you were where I was not.”

Wynston slouched further. “Ab least Ah neber magsqueraded as a man wif scruples."

"Ah. I shall consider it submitted in your defense that you were never successful in hiding your status as scum. You know, at times I've thought that you only seduce women out of a pathological compulsion. It is easy to forget that sometimes you do it for even crueler purposes."

"Neber again. Not like 'er. On'y deserving parties." With the hand that wasn't holding his nose together Wynston gingerly brushed at a bandage on his forehead. "Arn 'ou sure we don't hab any more kolto sunplies?"

"Quite sure," said Quinn, cracking the beginnings of a smile for the first time that day. "Sorry."

And that’s the story of how Quinn’s air of noble tragedy saved Wynston from a justifiable revenge killing!

In the interest of clarity, here's the final conversation minus Wynston's broken nose and puffed-up lip:

"I can't believe she listened to you."

 

"For once my effect on women was advantageous." Quinn adjusted his sleeve cuffs and fixed his Chiss partner with a sharper gaze. "So."

 

"Don't start," said Wynston.

 

"She must have been very young. No more than a teenager."

 

Wynston fixed his swollen eyes on the shuttle wall.

 

"No doubt she fell hard. Young people are prone to making such mistakes with even the likes of you."

 

Wynston shifted his grip on his nose cloth. "I was a teenager too."

 

"You let her believe you loved her."

 

Wynston glared poniards.

 

"And then, the moment the job demanded it, you turned on her. Well, well, agent. I knew you were a hypocrite, but I never imagined the magnitude of it."

 

"At least I was fighting the enemy."

 

"Ah, yes. The menacing teenage Force-blind civilian? At least mine was a credible threat in her own right."

 

"Credible enough to beat you senseless, too."

 

"A sight you never got to witness, whereas I've just had the pleasure of watching your comeuppance. I shall treasure the memory."

 

"Hmph. Mine was–"

 

“The mission?” suggested Quinn, arching an eyebrow. “For the Empire? Necessary regardless of the personal cost? Do tell how justified you were where I was not.”

 

Wynston slouched further. “At least I never masqueraded as a man with scruples."

 

"Ah. I shall consider it submitted in your defense that you were never successful in hiding your status as scum. You know, at times I've thought that you only seduce women out of a pathological compulsion. It is easy to forget that sometimes you do it for even crueler purposes."

 

"Never again. Not like her. Only deserving parties." With the hand that wasn't holding his nose together Wynston gingerly brushed at a bandage on his forehead. "Are you sure we don't have any more kolto supplies?"

 

"Quite sure," said Quinn, cracking the beginnings of a smile for the first time that day. "Sorry."

Prudii grinned as the troop transport hit the ground. Charging his rifle, he charged out of the ship and knelt behind the nearest cover. There were hundreds–maybe thousands–of droids out there, and Prudii knew they were in for a ringer.

Elara and Jorgan ran up beside him and looked over the barricade. Blaster bolts peppered the duracrete and they ducked back down.

"There's a lot of droids," Jorgan observed.

Prudii turned on his helmet's squad-wide comlink. "Listen up, men. Least amount of kills buys the drinks tonight. Havoc Squad, take-take-take!"

He leapt into the fray, firing his blaster rifle in deft, accurate bursts. A droid closed in on him, and he spun, bashed the droid upside the head, and whirled back around, firing again. The droids dropped one by one, and Prudii set his helmet to tally which ones had been deactivated by his shots or hits.

The battle lasted for five grueling hours, but in the end the Republic overran the enemy base. Prudii and the others returned to the Telos and tallied up their kills. Yuun had dropped sixty-eight droids, coming in just behind Prudii, who had destroyed seventy. Jorgan had managed sixty, Forex had fifty-three, and Elara and Vik tied at twenty-nine–though they'd been doing different jobs; Elara setting up a field hospital and Vik setting up breach charges on the enemy command post.

"So, who pays?" Vik asked with a frown.

"We'll split the bill," Elara said.

Prudii grinned. "Is there something wrong with my wife paying for my drinks?"

Jorgan clapped him on the shoulder. "Not when you won a bet, buddy. Just...sleep in the main hold tonight."

Prudii threw up his hands in exasperation as the rest of the squad marched down to the ship's cantina. Grumbling, he followed a moment later.

Where and when this takes place is up to the reader, but it's definitely post-Corellia.

@Lesaberisa:

I cocked an eyebrow at her and committed my daily act of vocal stupidity...

“Beta testers = demanding rogue class that dual wields assault cannons // T7 = can barely deal with nonsense from just Doc.”

Lost it on both of these comments. As always Ayrs and Almita kill me. Good stuff!

@Alaurin: Mando Man? HAHAHAHAH! and then this

“Stars, I think the name’s the least of my worries……how in the void am I supposed to make Skadge appealing?!”

Looks like Gault is gonna be working on that for a loooong time!

Nice to see the Lauren girls making the first steps to get back to semi-normal again. Interested to see the journey ahead for them.

@Yoshi:

Dha laughed. "I wouldn't let it go for all the credits on Mandalore." He petted its back. "Isn't that right, fella?"

 

The strill unceremoniously spit greenish goop all over Dha's shoes.

HAHA!! Nice! There's always someone who has one of those weird pets in the neighborhood. Love how Dha loved it, even though there were very few redeeming qualities about it for him.

I haven't got to Akaavi yet, but everything I read is making me play my Smuggler more and more.

Jorgan clapped him on the shoulder. "Not when you won a bet, buddy. Just...sleep in the main hold tonight."

Heh, nothing wrong with that at all... but yeah, afterwards, it's the couch for you, pal! Haha!

@Marissalf: Man, Mel sure makes things hard on herself. I forsee this coming back to bite her in the arse. I like Killian though. He always struck me as the bad guy who was forced into the role undeservedly.

@Frauzet:

She stopped for a moment on the last step to take a look at the assembled crew. “Good morning, fellow inhabitants of this marvelous star ship.”

DANGER, WILL ROBINSON! DANGER! This made me laugh because it immediately put me on high alert. Love grumpy Mako! Another great Thorns story.

@Bright: Would... would it be wrong that I smiled when Wynston was getting his arse kicked? And that Quinn saved him? Loved the broken nose Wynston talk too. Hell, I just love Wynston.

"Why Boss so green?" Blizz cocked his head to the side as he watched Drokk'it stumble in the cargo bay entrance.

"Not now, Blizz." Drokk was pretty sure that he was going to die.

*COUGH, COUGH, HAAAAAAACKTHUI* into the trash can. Whatever just came out of his lungs wasn't just a dull shade of green. It looked like Drokk had spit up part of a lightsaber.

"Oooooh, Boss not ok. Blizz go get medpac for Boss!" Blizz turned to the medbay.

"NO! No more kolto!" Drokk yelled. His stomach clinched up from the effort, and he covered his mouth

Blizz stopped and came back. "How Blizz gonna help Boss if Boss no let Blizz help Boss?", the Jawa threw his hands up in frustration.

"Aww, frag... not again..." He got up and made a beeline for the fresher as Gault came down the stairs.

"Hey, Darth pint-size, what's going on with our fearless leader?" Gault asked as he walked up to the workbench.

"Bliz not know! Boss look green, then Boss no let Blizz treat him!"

"Really?" Gault looked at the fresher door, and then cringed at the noises coming from it. "How green are we talking? I mean, have you seen the places we've been to? The things we've had to touch?"

He shuddered at the thought of Section X.

"I'm not sticking around to catch some weird virus that's going to mutate my flesh and make me look like Skadge."

A booming voice came from the common area upstairs, "I HEARD THAT, YOU SISSY RUNT!"

Gault called upstairs. "Sorry! Sorry! Nothing personal. Sure you're a hit with the ladies!" Then he whispered to Blizz, "... the rakghoul ladies."

"Blizz not sure rakghoul come with bo*bies?" The Jawa scratched his head.

Gault put his hands on his hips and shook his head. "And so, trapped on a ship full of plebeians, clever humor dies a painful death."

The fresher door slid open and Drokk stumbled out, appearing as though he was about to die.

"STARS! Blizz wasn't kidding, you are bright green!" Gault covered his nose and mouth. "First, don't breath. I have to get a hazmat suit on. Second, get into the laser cage. I think the germs will die when they hit the laser grid."

Drokk glared at Gault. "Thank you, Dr. Stupid. It's not contagious. Now, shut your smarta*s mouth and come help me out of my armor. Every time I try to take it off, I throw up.", he croaked.

Gault grabbed two rags from the workbench and went to assist. "Care to explain why you look like the backside of a baby Yosuk?"

He reached out gingerly with the rags to unlatch Drokk's chest piece.

After they managed to get the chest piece and the arm plates off, Drokk sat down on a crate. He was wiped out, but felt like he could lose it again at any moment . Blizz noticed and brought over a bucket, then quickly backed away.

Drokk put a cold, wet washcloth on his head. "Okay, so here's what happened..."

************************************************

"Y'know, ever since Treek came on board, you never take me out with you anymore. As your wife, I'm starting to get jealous. You're not going to ask to bring her to bed one night, are you?"

Drokk made a strange face "Makes, she's not even my species! I just figured we'd get our money's worth is all."

"Just checking." Mako grinned, "However, I would like to spend some more time with you out in the field. Remember, like when it was just us two," She grabbed Drokk's arm and pulled it down to kiss him on the cheek, "and you used to say my name right?"

"Oh yeah. Killing the random swoop gangs and chasing down Tarro Blood." Drokk put his hands together and rested his chin on them. "It was sooooo romantic!" He grinned sarcastically.

Mako punched him. "I'm being serious here! I'm so bored! There's only so many supplies to get, so much to clean, so much cybertech I can make with the resources available!"

Drokk looked at her confused, "I figured you'd enjoy being able to rest up a little more, with the extra help. Like a vacation."

"Yes, Drokk," Mako rolled her eyes, "it's a paradise inside this tin can, spending time with a Houk who acts like complaining is a Force power, and Sir Cons-A-Lot, Duke of Deception."

From the Med Bay came Gault's voice, "HEY! I do legitimate work too!... y'know, that one time... when you weren't around...", his voice trailed off.

Drokk opened his mouth to say something right at the exact moment Treek walked in holding a trinket.

"Chief! This gift is legendary!" She said in awe, "You are good to me, Chief." and then she hugged Drokk's leg.

Drokk quickly looked over at Mako. She looked at Treek, then looked at Drokk, with a glare that he was pretty sure would count as an attempt on his life in four different systems.

"So, Drokk, where'd that come from? I was pretty sure that expenditure wasn't covered in any monthly budget I did while sitting on the ship this entire last month." Mako crossed her arms and tapped her foot.

"Well... uh... Makes, you know I love you a lot, right?" He grinned sheepishly as he scratched his head.

"Which has nothing to do with the subject at hand."

"Right, subject at hand... well... I kinda borrowed from the account. Treek's been doing a great job at keeping me in the fight and healed up, so I figured she deserved... some... thing..."

Drokk's danger sense went off like he had barged into a Dark Council meeting, singing the Republic Galactic Anthem.

Ohhhh Frag... she's gonna think--

"So," Mako said in an accusatory tone, "the reason you've not been taking me out has nothing to do with 'getting our money's worth', because Treek isn't actually costing us anything. You think she does a better job as a field medic than I do."

"What? Noooo, babe, I never said that! I think you do a great job--"

"Just not better than Treek" Mako pointed at the small confused furry humanoid.

"No! It's not like that--"

"Treek has displeased her Chief? But chief has sang nothing but praise for us when we work?"

"Yes Treek, you've helped me a great deal--"

"Ahhh, so then it must be true, you never sang my praises."

"Makes, I married you for cripes sa--"

"Chief's mate is jealous? Then Treek marry Chief too. Equal standing keep mate from being jealous."

"No, Treek, you're not help--"

"Ohhhhh, you are one sick bastard, you know that? I was joking earlier!" Mako's eyes narrowed.

"What?! It wasn't my idea!"

"Chief's mate fear he take to Treek more than her, if Treek marry chief? Chief's mates share spoils though. Treek confused?"

Drokk facepalmed as Mako turned on Treek.

"Him? Take to you? Look furball, I appreciate the job you've been doing, but you need to stay out of married people's discussions."

Blizz wandered in. "This discussion? Blizz thought Boss and Mako fight."

Drokk shot the Jawa a look. "I'd get in the engine room if you know what's good for you, Blizz."

"If Chief's mate believe she better at keeping chief alive, then she should prove it."

Drokk's jaw dropped open at that moment. Mako's jaw, however, clenched in rage.

"You want it? You got it, furball!" Mako yelled. "You and me! A bounty marathon with Drokk. Whoever keeps him fighting longest, wins!"

"Your terms are acceptable, mate of the Chief!"

**************************************************************

Torian had come in from hunting during the tale. "So that's what happened. You got kolto poisoning."

"They just wouldn't stop! I'd get hit, *BAM* double dose of kolto. I'd finish a fight, *BAM* double dose of kolto. I was just standing there checking out the next bounty on the list, looked over at Mako, and she hits me with kolto. Not to be outdone, Treek hits me with a face full of green berry, right after."

Gault rubbed his chin. "Yeah, I don't think Treek uses kolto. She just throws these humongous berries she pulls from--"

Drokk grabbed the bucket and puked in it. He handed it to 2V to dispose of.

"Do that again, and you're going to be missing more than a horn, Tyreseus." He glared at Gault.

Gault cleared his throat, "Gotcha, boss-man. Sorry."

"I'm pretty sure the berries she uses have many of the same elements in them as kolto, though. So it makes sense." Torian offered.

Wiping his face with the now warm washcloth, Drokk asked, "Great. So, does anyone have any idea how to get rid of kolto poisoning or am I going to die, leaving a beautiful, bright green corpse?"

"Hold on, hold on. I'm looking."Gault searched the holonet for a minute.

"Well, on HoloMD, some guy named 'Doc' says that it's not fatal, and you're going to just have to sweat it out. The process may take a few days. The excess kolto in your body may interact with stims badly, so you should avoid them."

Drokk groaned. "Seriously? I have to deal with this crap for more than one day? Does he have any remedies to take away the nausea and aching?"

"His only piece of advice is, and I quote, 'With your green palor, you may be able to pass for a Miralian. Take two beautiful Miralian ladies with a Corellian scotch, have them nurse you back to health (if you know what I mean), and call me in the morning. Alll riiiiight.'."

Drokk looked at Gault like he was going to kill him.

"Seriously! He actually put that here!"

Torian made a face. "That's worse than what you come up with sometimes."

Blizz quickly ran into the engine room.

Torian watched the Jawa leave and shrugged his shoulders. "So, you want help up to your room?"

Drokk lifted the fresh washcloth 2V had brought back for him, off his face. "You're kidding, right? I'm not leaving sight of that fresher for awhile."

"Hey, who wound up winning anyway?" Torian asked.

"Hell if know. I don't even think they were keeping score... or whatever. All I know is, I'm pretty sure no matter who wins, I'm gonna lose."

Torian nodded sagely.

"You want us to go get some pazaak cards? Maybe some dice? Help you pass the time?" Gault asked.

"I appreciate it Gault, but I'm not gonna be good for anything requiring thinking right now."

Gault grinned. "Why do you think I asked?"

Drokk wanted to kick Gault in the teeth, but it required too much effort at this point.

"Torian, get him out of here. I'm going to try and get some rest." He laid out on the folding table.

******************************

Drokk was wallowing in his misery when a knock came from the cargo bay entrance.

We're not expecting any clients... are we? Crap, Mako handles the schedule and she ain't here.

Whoever it was knocked again. This time Blizz came out of the engine room.

"Blizz, tell whoever it is to go frag." Drokk grumbled.

"Boss no worry. Blizz have everything under control."

Drokk tried to sit up. Blizz having anything under control meant trouble was on its way. As he did, he saw two beautiful green skinned ladies with violet eyes, one with short dark hair, the other with long dark hair, being waved in by Blizz. They were wearing nurse's outfits.

"Boss over on table. Blizz going out to get... whatever scotch is.", then he ran out the door.

"Mmmm, this could be better than we planned Min'dee. He's kinda cute." The short haired nurse said.

"Maybe... you ever seen that shade of green before Cin'dee?" The long haired nurse looked a little apprehensive.

Drokk finally managed to sit up. "Nurse, there's been some sort of mistaaaahcrap!" He noticed that the skirts seemed to be awwwwful short for hospital work..

The two Miralian females looked at each other and giggled. The one called Min'dee spoke. "Oh, you're right Cin'dee, he IS cute! Don't you worry your brain, handsome. We're going to nurse you back to health."

"No, wait... really..." Drokk fell off the edge of the table, as the nurses flirtatiously made their way over to him.

"Mmm hmm! We'll take real good care of you!" said Cin'dee, sensually.

"Huh, and here I thought that was my job. Y'know... as his WIFE!" Drokk peered in-between the two nurses and saw Mako and Treek standing in the open entry way.

Cin'dee sized up Mako, and then turned to Drokk. "Look, honey, the petite gal, we don't mind--"

"It'll be an extra 50 credits though." interrupted Min'dee.

"-- right, for an extra 50 credits. But if you want to go outside human type species," Cin'dee pointed at Treek, "that's gonna cost you."

Mako's look of shock turned into anger as she stormed forward and put herself between the nurses and the table.

Aaaand it's over. I'm going to die, and no one will ever find the body. Drokk facepalmed and slid his open hand down his face.

"Ladies, I think you may have misunderstood," she said through gritted teeth. "I wasn't offering to join in. I was telling you your services are no longer required."

Cin'dee crossed her arms and tilted her hips. "Look, sweetheart, we got paid to do a job. We're going to do that job. We're professionals."

"Also, there's no refunds." Min'dee leaned over so her ample cleavage was showing to Mako.

Drokk tried to scoot backwards but ran into a crate. He tried to scoot through the crate, but it wasn't working.

Mako took a deep breath, unclenched her fists, and smiled. "See, I too, am a professional, so I understand your predicament. However, my profession is to kill or freeze people, and sometimes dump their bodies where they can never be found."

Mako moved the lapel of her coat back so that it snagged on her holster, exposing her blaster pistol.

"Now," Mako reached out and buttoned the top button of the Miralian's nurse's outfit, "Cin'dee, is it? I would hate for you not to be able to assist your 'patients' tomorrow, wouldn't you? So, I suggest you turn around, leave through the same door you came in, or you're going to be plying your trade on the planet Dathomir. Do we have an understanding?"

Eyes wide, jaws dropped, both Cin'dee and Min'dee rapidly shook their heads in acknowledgement.

"I don't see you leaving."

The two nurses nearly tripped over one another trying to get out the door faster than the other.

Mako then turned around, looked at Drokk, and shook her head in disappointment. "I'll deal with you in the morning... if I don't dump you out of the airlock on take off." Then she turned and stalked off.

"No, wait! Makes, it's not what it looks like, I swear!"

Treek walked up to him. "Chief lost respect in Treek's eyes. Treek cannot marry man such as that." Treek walked away looking very sad.

Drokk managed to crawl back onto the table in time to get hit by a pillow and throw blanket.

From the landing above, Mako yelled "Why don't you just sleep down there for a few nights? That way, if-no, WHEN- I decide to toss you out the airlock, I don't have to lug your stupid a*s that far!" Then she stormed up to their room.

Blizz came in the cargo bay entrance with a paper bag. "Boss? Where Nurses? Doc say you need two nurses and scotch to be better by morning! Blizz find nurses on holonet. Pay them from your account! Why they not here, taking care of Boss?"

Drokk looked at Blizz for a moment, then calmly placed the pillow down on the table, lay down, and pulled the blanket over his face.

I'll bet those stupid Republic HAVOC squad guys never have to deal with crap like this... I wonder if they're hiring?