The Best Star Pilot in the Galaxy

[Sanis Prent]

The Valiant was about like any other fish-head ship I'd ever seen. They all look alike in the fact that none of them look alike. My first hour aboard the damn thing was spent just trying to un-fuck myself and find the nearest bar to pour steel-bin rotgut down my pipe.

I was pissed, and I was surly. What the hell was I doing here? I wasn't some idiot soldier, some bed-wetter from the outer rim who was doomed to over-reach. I spent my years in the school of hard knocks, and knew a hell of a lot more about the galaxy out there than some shit-kicker in a T-16.

Cirr was silent as we wandered around, still without a clue. I knew he was pissed at me because he wasn't telling me he was pissed. We argue like fish swim, that's our natural state of things. I figured we'd have it out at some point. He thought I was being childish about this. What the hell did he know? I pulled that thumb-sucker from Mama Taa and taught his sorry ass about the real.

"Shit."

I paused, slinging down my side-bag at another gaudily-white hallway intersection.

"Where the hell are we?"

[Saricia Ask'lan]

"Personnel quarters, but what designation and sub-section allude me," came the timid voice behind the Human and Cizerack.

After several months aboard the fleet, Saricia had managed to figure out a simple system of her own so she would no longer get lost. The endless white corridors that repeated over and over again had given her a headache, until she noticed the color designation at the end of each hallway by the lifts. They were general features that hardly stood out - bars and numbers with the colors, but that hurt her head in trying to decipher their meaning. She had tried, and what seemed plausible was backwards in the military mindset. Why confuse your soldiers on the ship already and get them lost? She was told in case a prisoner escaped they would continuously be turned around by the repetitious design. It still made her head hurt.

Loose brown hair brought and a pale skin accentuated striking blue eyes. They were the only colorful truly about her and the white dress she wore made her seem ethereal against the white interior of the hallway. Shoulders were bare but the rest of the fabric appealed to her curves quite pleasantly. The belt was simple, just thin brown fabric to hug at her hips - fingerless arm length slips covered her arms.

"Perhaps I can help you find your way to where you need to be?" She could empathize with their frustration, though Saricia hadn't been quite as vocal about it as the Human was.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

The sound of the voice made Cirr turn, and his eyes widened a little at the sight of the beautiful and petite stranger. His ears rose momentarily before he averted his eyes, looking down at his feet, struck mute with his own sudden nervousness for want of anything helpful to say in response.

[Sanis Prent]

My eyes narrowed a little and the slightest of thin smiles crossed my face.

"...galley. Ship keeps a stocked bar, I hope."

The cut of her dress, and her very appearance seemed to betray her, and distinguish her from the baggy-eyed spacers and self-described hard cases that normally slunk around starships.

[Saricia Ask'lan]

She easily noticed the Cizerack timidness. Whether it was because of her sudden appearance or his partner's speaking first, Saricia was still uncertain how well to trust her intuition. Though her fellow Lupine was helping her to learn.

"I do know where the galley is, but I'm not familiar with what they stock. But I've learned rather quickly that the off duty personnel get, (how do you say it)*, quite plastered?" Her eyes squinted together thinking she messed up the word, but some of the more casual basic words were new to her.

Indicating that they should follow her back to the lifts in which they came, "I'm certain they should have what you are looking for."

*Bast'yr Language

[Sanis Prent]

Her accent had a familiar lilt to it, but I decided not to press the issue at the moment. I'd much rather get a few drinks in and depressurize.

"That's the colloquialism, yeah."

My smile broadened a little as I followed her. Cirr's lack of dialogue said all I needed to hear from him.

"So, I take it you're one of our many Jedi charges on this little excursion."

[Saricia Ask'lan]

She nodded with a nod, affirming his suspicions. "But I haven't really trained for so long. I've just begun to learn."

The lift opened and the three piled inside. Saricia hit a two button sequence so take them down to the main level where the galley and quartermaster were located.

When the lift began its descent, blue eyes glanced over at the pair curiously, "My I ask what brought you here? No offense intended, but you appear quite new to the Wheel."

Neither of them wore anything that designated them as Rebellion. Their auras and scents revealed no affinity of the Force, or any other information really - except that the Cizerack was quite nervous and the human tense.

[Sanis Prent]

"Came to support the cause, of course."

I put a bit too much bitter inflection on my reply, and bit down on my lower lip slightly. I looked back at her and smirked.

"Used to freelance. This and that. Even used to run my own racket in the Jedi protection business, before it all got organized."

I eyed Cirr, wondering if he was going to chime in with anything, but he was too busy staring at his feet and finding the opportunities to steal glances at the brunette. Not that I blamed him. She was definitely fair game.

[Saricia Ask'lan]

Her eye quirked up at the rather sharp inflection in the human's voice. He didn't sound all too convincing, as he still felt some hostilities towards something that had happened in the past.

"Ah," she said with a wide mouth in understanding. "At least that makes sense as to how you found your way here. I've heard most Rebels are too frightened to come here."

Blue eyes twinkle in curiosity, "But you don't seem like a frightened man ... ah. Hmm."

Cheeks reddened in embarrassment. "Apologies. I've forgotten to ask your name which is rude of me."

[Sanis Prent]

"Sanis Prent. Captain of the Layla, out of Nar Shadaa."

Glancing to Cirr, I smirked.

"Mister Strong & Silent here is my engineer, Cirrsseeto Raurrssatta, Cirr for short. You'll have to forgive him. He's a little tongue-tied because he thinks you're a cute little thing and he's partial to that."

I caught a look of terror on Cirr's face for a second and he just sighed.

"But to answer your question, no. Nothing here to scare me. It won't be my first tangle with the Empire."

The lift stopped, and I was now fairly sure I'd baited her properly.

"Come on, I'll buy you a drink, and you tell me about my new home."

[Saricia Ask'lan]

She looked positively timid at the offer and already reddened cheeks did not diminish. Suggestions to mingle more with the crew rung in her ears. It was just that s'Ilancy did not realize how socially awkward the young Lupine was. She felt compelled to say no, but all that came out was:

"Thank you." Thin lips fell back into a more calm expression, though she really wanted to retreat back to her quarters and be as far away from the crowded galley as possible. "It would be my pleasure, but I don't believe I'll be very informative."

His stories did seem intriguing. He and his friend up against the Empire? Not many could claim that.

"I'm Saricia. Saricia Ask'lan," she offered out of courtesy and continued to lead the way. "It's not that much further."

[Sanis Prent]

"Well, if not about the wheel, then about yourself."

I turned the topic about as we headed through the double doors that lead to the galley. The three of us navigated to a booth along the wall.

"I've met a share of Jedi, not many of them with an accent quite like yours."

I took the side of the table with Cirr and let the girl sit opposite. A service droid that seemed a refurbishment late came up to take our orders.

[Saricia Ask'lan]

Now that she had taken her seat, Saricia was painfully aware that both men could scrutinize her until their hearts content. They were directly opposite her and she wouldn't be moving until her drink was finished. Which also needed to be ordered. She was rather grateful for the intrusion since there was a brief avoidance of answering Sanis' question

She looked towards the droid and without even blinking, placed her order. "Water please."

[Sanis Prent]

"Water? I'm buying. Have a little fun."

I looked to the droid and asked for a double Corellian whisky on the rocks. Cirr ordered some obscure Devaronian hooch that nobody usually carried, just to see if they had it. We both turned up on bad luck, as they had neither.

"You got Hyperdrive Leak in your bartending databank?"

The droid beeped an affirmative, and I held up three fingers, sending the machine floating away again.

[Saricia Ask'lan]

She winced and with a pleading look, watched the droid hover away in despair. Saricia barely drank. Once in awhile for special occasions like birthdays and a bountiful crop, but not socially. And not alone with two men.

Saricia's face returned to regard both of her escorts, so to speak, chewing on her bottom lip in thought. Eventually she allowed it free to speak. "I'm afraid to ask what type of beverage that is."

Hyperdrive Leak conjured all sort of queasy sensations inside her belly.

[Sanis Prent]

"You'll like it. Doesn't taste anything like the name suggests. Lots of fruit."

Of course, a lot of alcohol too, but that's why the fruit was there. It's not the most terribly ethical thing, but I figured that in all things Jedi, there wasn't such a thing as cheating, just evening the playing field.

"So, how'd you manage to find yourself on the Wheel? Don't quite seem the type to seek out a life of danger on the edge of space."

[Ben Merasska]

Ben hated this ship. It might have been something no one noticed, but he absolutely despised it. It was pretty, it was white, and it simply had the aesthetic of being Rebel. And while he didn't hate the Rebellion, the emotion he did reserve for them was something akin to a desperate wariness.

He was very uncomfortable around the Rebellion now. To him, he'd put in his time, risked his life, and lived. So now he'd much rather be out on the far side of the galaxy, keeping his head low and out of the line of fire. Perhaps he'd be able to find a nice woman out there, and start a family before he'd get himself killed and leave his wife a widow and his children father-less and cursing his name. It'd be nice while it lasted though.

“Lyanie! Thank whatever cosmic being there is in this galaxy!” he gasped, almost latching on the woman in an attempt for some nice familiarity instead of all this... other familiarity.

“Well, howdy Ben,” Lyanie said with her standard amount of cheery cheerfulness. Ben couldn't help but grin back. “Whatcha doin' out here? Seemed like you weren't ever gonna step foot off the Knightfall.”

“...I was hungry, and you know how I get when I start to cook by myself with no one else around,” Ben whined. “But I don't know anyone else around here, and this is a Mon Calamari ship, you now. All this white is a bit creepy. Can I eat and drink with you? I'll buy the alcohol.”

He looked over his friend's shoulder at the trio in front of them getting their own drinks.

“Oooh. A Hyperdrive Leak. It's been a while since I've had one of those. Whatcha say, Lyanie? It's gotta be better than the home-made stuff we keep stocked in the panels of the engine room, right?”

[Lyanie Quez]

“Oooh. A Hyperdrive Leak. It's been a while since I've had one of those…”

…and better be a damn long time before we actually do have one…

“…Whatcha say, Lyanie? It's gotta be better than the home-made stuff we keep stocked in the panels of the engine room, right?”

Lyanie smiled warmly at Ben, accompanied by the nipping of her lower lip and twirling of a strand of hair that she’d consistently been toying with since the threesome in question had entered the galley. The scruffy-lookin’ one laying the convincing talk on the pale girl had a handsome bent to him and it was something that D’Lyanettea Meresco Quez would have a hard time of not noticing.

“Yeah! Sounds good, for sure.” She heartily agreed, a rogueish half-smile creeping on to her face. “Anything from a semi-civilized establishment’s gotta be better than the engine lubricant we brew up on-board. Probably more legal and health-conscious, too.”

It’d give me a good excuse to talk to them. Not that I have any intention of… nope. None at all. No siree. I wonder what Ben would... Yeah. He’d support me anyways. He always has. Even with all the jibes.

Lyanie pulled her eyes away from the awkward-looking threesome and focused back on the man who was, effectively, her best friend in the whole damn universe - seemed that way, in any case, and she’d be perfectly happy to continue thinking that – and nodded. Ben Merasska had always been the one guy who didn’t take advantage or take her for granted and it was only these days that she had the wisdom to see such things.

“Yeah. Eat. Drink. Let’s do that.” She watched Ben again for a few more moments before following his line-of-sight... back to the awkward threesome that was the unspoken subject of their combined interest. She smiled. Sideways, she spoke again. "So..."

She looked out the corner of her eye at Ben, her smiled turning to a bemused twitch of a grin, then focused back on the three, more pointedly on the Cizerack this time. "...how do you feel about making some new friends?"

[Saricia Ask'lan]

Sanis' assessment was rather astute. It was becoming clearer that he was quite perceptive, that his time roaming the galaxy had made him wise and rather jaded.

"You would be correct. I was leading a mundane, but happy, life on Saccoria until one of your Generals found me. He knew I was different and brought me here once he convinced me that I could be more then a simple herder." She kept other information secret, like her Lupine heritage. That was not for such idle chit chat. "I was introduced to Master s'Ilancy, and she has been helping me to acclimate since."

[Sanis Prent]

One of my generals. I had a damn good inkling who she meant, and I resented the association. Wasn't her fault though.

"Let me guess, shoulder length grey hair, talks like he enjoys hearing his own voice?"

The waitron droid returned with all three drinks in tall, slender glasses, each garnished with a wedge of Ithorian sun fruit.