Page 3 of 5 FirstFirst 12345 LastLast
Results 41 to 60 of 93

Thread: The Falcon's Cage

  1. #41
    She stopped a scant few inches from Ben, one hand balled into a fist and the other grasping the neckline of his shirt. Paying fares be damned, he'd poked a little too hard, and she was more than ready to poke back... until Shuvin brought back that glorious memory of the holo of Ben and Jesse - the holo of a very... VERY... drunk Ben and Jesse. They were falling all over each other, and a Darth Vader impersonator was in the background with a 'Sith Tome'. It was a strange thing, but that mask seemed to convey a distinct sense of exasperation.

    A Cheshire cat's grin creeped into her expression, and the blonde loosened her grip only slightly, letting her fist ease into a teasingly gentle palm pat to Ben's chest.

    "The Sith Lord officiated, Ben," she purred evilly, "... it's absolutely binding."

  2. #42
    TheHolo.Net Poster

    flying a starship is no different than riding a bicycle, just a lot harder to put smashball cards in the spokes!


    Has been a member for 5 years or longer
    Ben Merasska's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    AKA
    Vince
    Location
    Take me out to the black, Tell them I ain't comin' back, You can't take the sky from me.
    Posts
    849
    "I'd like to think I'd remember my own wedding thank you very much!" he yelped out.

    "I think you should be happy she's stuck on you, Cap'n," Shuvin hummed with a finger to her lips. "You ain't getting any younger, fer sure, and hoo wee Jesse is fit! She got the damn thing turned into a painting Ben. A painting!"

    Ben whimpered at the memory. The woman had hung the painting in her study, just behind her desk. Arrayed alongside were her other, less fortunate husbands. Honestly, why did everyone forget that last part? The woman might not have a part in the deaths of her other husbands, but the fact that every single fracking one was dead was not something he was not going to forget.

    "Can we please change the subject?" he sighed. "Preferably to one where we're not talking about the woman who's just as likely to shoot me as kiss me?"

  3. #43
    TheHolo.Net Poster

    Has been a member for 5 years or longer
    Shuvin Undhi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2015
    AKA
    Vince
    Location
    Alderaan — the ship
    Posts
    164
    Shuvin grinned. "Well, all this started when you took too much joy out of how frustrated Mr and Mrs Imperial-Pants were gettin' at the insinuation they were Mr and Mrs Imperial-Pants. Honestly, this is his business, so whether he wants a crowd to weigh in or not is up to him."

    Everyone looked at Vance, who seemed to be as staid and unperturbed as any Imperial they'd ever seen.

    "It seems a bit late now to be exercising restraint on respecting my and Cerie's boundaries," he said. The statement was met with a slight wince on Shuvin's part and a slight smile from Ben. "Unless everyone decides to have a conscience now, I don't see the point in trying to make it a secret."

    He glanced at Shuvin, who smiled cheerily back, and then at the two Cizerack women, Cerie, and Ben, who met his eyes with a look of satisfaction on his face, but quickly schooled it into sympathy when he noticed Cerie turning back to look at him.

  4. #44
    She was quickly starting to wonder if this was such a good idea at all. That maybe this was some long bad decision that just kept on going and going and going. Originally she felt it was going to be a simple ferry mission with the promise of good credits. Now though, she was starting to second-guess herself. Had she made the right choice to pressure Ben into this?

    Pursing her lips, she let go of Ben completely, and ambled her way back to sit beside Vance. A sideways glance to him, and she let her eyes go from Shuvin, to Ben, to the Cizerack matrons. Finally she looked to her hands that she'd rested on the table, idly cleaning already-cleaned fingernails.

    "How about we take the wedding talk off the table, yeah?"

    Her head angled to the side, and she let out a long breath.

    "Deal?"

  5. #45
    Parri knew how to read a room, and she instantly stepped in to soothe over the bumps in this road, so to speak.

    "Off courrsse, dearr. No morre sspeak of nuptjials wjill be had."

    She turned her eyes to the Imperial, giving him a nod of understanding and then to the poor freighter captain. He seemed to be a man torn, trying to salvage an image of authority while playing defense in a shockball match that did not favor him one bit. Poor boy.

    "Ourr quarrterrss," she continued, "... perrhapss mjy ssjissterr and jI sshould know wherre thejy arre?"

  6. #46
    TheHolo.Net Poster

    flying a starship is no different than riding a bicycle, just a lot harder to put smashball cards in the spokes!


    Has been a member for 5 years or longer
    Ben Merasska's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    AKA
    Vince
    Location
    Take me out to the black, Tell them I ain't comin' back, You can't take the sky from me.
    Posts
    849
    Ben glanced at Shuvin, who gave him the slightest shake of her head in response. He didn't respond, but only turned to face the Cizerack women and smiled.

    "Sure. This way, please."

    He led the ladies out of the galley and back to the entry ramp, which had been closed since they had entered.

    "So, as we don't have any passengers aside from you, the choice of cabins is both of yours. Cerie's is that one, mine is closest to the cockpit here. Shuvin's is in the back of the Ring Corridor. We have cabins here, if you wish to share, beds fold down from the wall, if not then just take one of the others, though I don't know which one..."

    He paused, his eyes unfocusing, before he shook his head.

    "...What's his name in there is taking, so let's just avoid any mishaps with that now, yes?"

  7. #47
    With Ben going off to show the two sisters their quarters during the trip, Cerie let her shoulders slump in relief. She cut her eyes to Shuvin, in some hope that the young Togruta would understand. For the moment, Vance was partially ignored.

    "Is he going to be like this the whole trip?"

    Oh, she had come to know Ben well enough during her time aboard Alderaan, but some things she was still trying to suss out, and this was most certainly one of those things.

  8. #48
    TheHolo.Net Poster

    Has been a member for 5 years or longer
    Shuvin Undhi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2015
    AKA
    Vince
    Location
    Alderaan — the ship
    Posts
    164
    Shuvin smiled, an expression so wide and bright and nice that the galaxy imploded from niceness.

    "Of course he is," she said, proving that one could never trust one's eyes. Cerie blanched. Shuvin felt like she had to keep talking. "Don't take it the wrong way though. He's not mad at you, Cerie. It's just..."

    She shrugged. "Ben's got a whole host of mynocks in his landing struts. Every once in a while they start chewin' through an actual wire, right?"

    She smiled, with genuine kindness, at the Imperial Captain.

    "He can't pretend this mynock ain't there."

  9. #49
    He could count on one hand the number of times he'd been graced with such an expression. It made him feel abashed, somehow; whatever the reason, he turned his gaze down to his hands on the table and took a deep breath. After a moment, Undhi's hand had covered one of his. He glanced up.

    "Don't need to be feelin' guilty Cap'n Feline," she said. He frowned.

    "It's Felline," he said, pronouncing the final 'e' as 'eh'. "My forebears hailed from Naboo; at least on one side. Family legend of a princess in the tree that I'm sure every family makes up at some point. At the very least pronounce it as 'Fell-een', like most others?"

    "Sounds like you got yourself a fair bit o' ribbin' in school, eh?" Undhi giggled. He smiled, if a bit wanly.

    "A fair bit," he allowed.

    "Okay folks," Ben's voice filtered through the internal speakers. "We'll be taking off here soon. Should take about a day or so to get there once we're in hyperspace."

    He looked at Cerie, feeling an anxiety he wasn't quite sure he understood in the pit of his gut.

  10. #50
    Still in her own quagmire of thoughts, Cerie tamped them all back down once more as she heaved herself up to her feet. Ben's voice over the ship's comms was enough to jostle her back into action, and the blonde reacted accordingly. She shifted back into relaxed posture, now that the attentions were gone.

    "Come on, I'll get you to your bunk," she offered, giving a furtive glance to Shuvin.

    Hopefully her Togruta friend would make sure that Ben didn't pop off with any more smart-ish remarks over the intercom.

    Out of Vance's line of sight, she mouthed a very obvious phrase to her younger friend: 'Make him behave'.

    And before the Imperial captain could discern her quick action, she reared back up with a smile.

    "It'll be a quick trip," she offered.

  11. #51
    He stood, bowing slightly to Shuvin, who smiled brightly and waved her hand at him.

    "Shoo," she said, winking. He wasn't sure if she was winking at him or at Cerie. He maintained his composure until entering the corridor, where he slumped and sighed deeply in response to her attempt at comforting him.

    "I apologize," he said to her, pitching his voice low to nearly a whisper. After all the talking and stress of the past hour, the quiet that now pervaded the ship seemed to be almost an unnatural, accusing thing. "I did not know that my presence would cause this much strife. I suppose that I should have, in retrospect."

  12. #52
    The relative silence of the corridor was a glorious relief, but his words only brought her crashing back into the here-and-now with thunderous finality.

    "It's just how it goes, here," she fumbled, hoping he wouldn't entirely pick up on her weak explanation.

    "Small ship and all, you know." was it possible for him to know such a concept? "... it's not an Imperial star destroyer," of course it wasn't, "... so word gets around fast."

    She felt foolish, in the moment, and her pace slowed to a stop. Cerie shut her eyes tightly, allowing herself a moment before going on.

    "You and me... we had a good time. well, I had a good time. I honestly hope that you did too. I mean, I know I can get a bit wild during love-making... "

    She was getting chatty now, and that was only making things probably - ok more-than-likely - uncomfortable. A huffed-out breath then, and the blonde turned away to look down the the way. The corridor veered off to the right, and she opted for her best exit strategy.

    "Let's get you to your bunk."

  13. #53
    Vance cleared his throat and nodded while smiling wryly.

    "I believe it is less what was done, and more who did it, Cerie," he breathed. "If I were almost anyone else, the circumstances would be wildly different."

    They stopped at a door, which opened into a cozy little cabin, with a bed, a desk, and even some amenities such as a refresher and toilet in the back.

    "I'm..." he stopped just before entering, turning to face and look at Cerie. "I..."

    He laughed awkwardly. Did she want to enter? If she did, what did that mean? Did she want to... do it... again? Why was he being this bashful in his own thoughts? He wasn't a blushing modest virgin!

    "I was about to ask if you wished to enter," he said finally, "but thought it a bit absurd to ask that question on your ship, given I haven't even entered myself yet."

  14. #54
    A sweet smile, and Cerie gave his chest a light pat before stepping back.

    "You get yourself settled. You don't need me for that."

    She had her own duties to attend to as it was, helping in the pre-flight checks and diagnostics. Ben was already on the bridge, and the blonde knew that if she didn't happen along quick-ish, he'd be calling for her. Best to be up there before it came to that.

    A thought occurred to her, and she reached up to scratch at an unseen itch on the back of her neck while pulling a slightly worried expression.

    "It's my night to make dinner, so don't expect food like what we had back on Jovan."

  15. #55
    "I'm sure most anything served here will be at least as good as the galley grub served on a Star Destroyer," he said, an absent smile on his face, which slowly drifted off. "In fact, it will probably be better. There was a scandal, some time ago in fact..."

    He trailed off and shook his head, coming back to the present.

    "I will await your call, Cerie," he said, nodding and stepping back into the cabin. The door engaged, sliding shut with a hiss.

  16. #56
    * * *

    As Aldaraan feathered upwards, Cerie made sure to keep in lockstep with port control, passing along the designated buoy location markers. It was a normal and mundane task, and one that she'd gotten used to doing. She also made sure that Ben kept his mind fully on task, since sometimes he seemed to... drift. Whether it was in his conversation or the actual ship, she had taken seriously this strange job. Of course, she was also making sure that the ship herself was fully buttoned up; which honestly, wasn't a difficult thing to do since Shuvin was - strangely enough - militant about the state of Aldaraan. In the end, it all could be broken down into redundant checks. But, they were essential checks regardless.

    They'd just passed the last nav buoy, which meant they were beyond port control now, and as the navicomp ran the calculations of their programmed jump, she finally leaned back in her chair, angling her head to the side so that she could afford Ben with a cautious stare.

    "You gonna be ok?" she queried, testing the waters.

  17. #57
    TheHolo.Net Poster

    flying a starship is no different than riding a bicycle, just a lot harder to put smashball cards in the spokes!


    Has been a member for 5 years or longer
    Ben Merasska's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    AKA
    Vince
    Location
    Take me out to the black, Tell them I ain't comin' back, You can't take the sky from me.
    Posts
    849
    Ben was tweaking the hyperdrive coordinates when the question seemingly floated through the empty cockpit.

    "You gonna be ok?"

    He contemplated brushing the question off for a moment; simply shrugging, or saying 'yeah', or even just ignoring it all together. In the end though, he sighed and looked out the viewport into the vast expanse of stars.

    "They sneak in, you know. The Empire, the Alliance. Little things: transports, fees, identification chits; 'look at these things we can do with them to make your life easier.' And they build planet-killing weapons with all that little stuff. That guy, he doesn't seem so bad. And then I remember all that."

    He glanced over at Cerie, and engaged the hyperdrive. Silence, a faux silence with the background noise of the ship, stole over the cockpit.

    "I know you like the guy. Aside from all the sexing and whatnot. And I know it's not all that complicated. But that's how complicated starts, with easy little strings and knots that start to get jumbled until you can't get out. I'm sorry, Cerie, but I'm not going to be comfortable with him until he's three star systems away from me and this ship. But..."

    He sighed and slumped in his seat.

    "You need my help for this, and not helping you would bother me more than dealing with whats-his-face down there."

  18. #58
    ... the sexing and whatnot.

    That bit of phrase made her frown slightly, and Cerie pursed her lips while turning back to stare at the swirling kaleidoscope of starlines that made up their hyperlane. It was a weird thing to say, even if true.

    "I know how complicated starts," she finally got out. Whatever it was that she had with Vance was happenstance. Or rather, it started out with her being a grump, cajoled into meeting a client. Ben had broken the zipper of her dress, not that in the end it even mattered. That particular bit of clothing had been tossed in the bin the morning after her night with Vance, and they'd all moved on with their respective lives. The crew of the Aldaraan had fulfilled their end of the deal, they had been paid, and after that they'd gone on their merry.

    Reaching over, she brushed away a speck of unseen dust from the control panel at her right.

    "If this was something that was official, I wouldn't have agreed, you know. But this whole thing now, it's personal. Has nothing to do with the Empire."

    Cutting her eyes back to Ben, she went on.

    "I'm not that daft."

    But, there was more that needed to be said, and Cerie offered a half-smile.

    "Thank you, though, for your help. I appreciate it."

  19. #59
    TheHolo.Net Poster

    flying a starship is no different than riding a bicycle, just a lot harder to put smashball cards in the spokes!


    Has been a member for 5 years or longer
    Ben Merasska's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    AKA
    Vince
    Location
    Take me out to the black, Tell them I ain't comin' back, You can't take the sky from me.
    Posts
    849
    He nodded, looking tired.

    "That's not what I meant, tryin' to explain complicated to you," he sighed. "You know what it is more'n most, I'd wager."

    He spun in his seat to face her, the lights of the consoles and the glare of hyperspace the only real illumination in the cockpit. It cast an dim, eerie, mystical sort of glow to the room.

    "I had a... friend. Not too long ago. She and Shuvin got along pretty well. They might even still talk, though I doubt it. Not the nicest of women, either." He laughed softly, but the action seemed more morose than anything else. "She never stayed long whenever she was around. But..."

    He trailed off, and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and rubbing his hands together.

    "...she understood. And I understood her. Turns out she was complicated much the same way as what's-his-face down there is. And that's how I know she understood: because when it came out, she never came back. But, if she called tomorrow asking for help..."

    He paused again, letting out an exasperated gust of air and shaking his head as if in consternation with himself.

    "...I'd go and help her."

  20. #60
    Cerie watched him, listening to his words and the small story of this mystery woman that he admitted would help no matter what. In a way, he reminded her of her uncle, the old codger. Uncle Terus had always been gruff, callous, and never minced words. And yet, in the quiet moments when it was just the two of them, and she was bent over her easel with brush in hand, he was always willing to help her and guide her. Back then life had been easy. It had been simple and there was nothing bad that ever happened.

    Shame it hadn't stayed that way.

    "Look, Ben... "

    What could she possibly say, now? Probably a lot. All the same, she couldn't really think of the right words.

    Finally, she looked away. Her shoulders slumped as she sagged into her seat.

    "... when we met, I was just coming out of a... bad relationship. Partnership. Whatever you want to call it."

    Cerie couldn't help but run a fingernail over the armrest, lightly scraping over a bare crack in the cushioning.

    "Complications, and complicated people, are the furthest from my mind. But I do know what you're talking about. When you find someone you can have an understanding with, it's hard to not find yourself back in orbit with them."

Page 3 of 5 FirstFirst 12345 LastLast

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •