A Long Way From Home

[Dracken Pryce]

The hangar was a bustle of activity as volunteers from the Outer Rim Coalition and Alliance flight engineers worked with pilots on their final checks. It had been a long wait, but it seemed as if the Starchild was finally space worthy again. He had been briefed several times by Gil, the old Mandalorian that ran the shipyard floating over the desert planet of Manas but most of that tech talk went over his head. As long as his engineers knew what was happening and the improvised systems didn't blow up in his face he would be happy.

Speaking of happy...

Drac was in his own happy place right now, laying down on a repulsor sled working on the underside of a good starship. Dressed in a the navy engineer jumpsuit unzipped and tied around his waist, Captain Pryce was working on one of the U-Wings. It wasn't Corellian, but U-Wings had saved his hide more times than he could count and they were good, dependable transports. Even if they were made by Incom.

He wiped what felt like sweat off of his brow, instead smearing oil. The Corellian sucked his teeth at the realization but got back to work with the hydrospanner. While most of his crew had taken to helping around the ship, exploring the shipyard, or partying in one of the bars on Manas, Drac had spent most of his time on the ship, coordinating with the Outer Rim Coalition and guiding other Alliance ships to his location. They had slowly trickled in after the various battles, beaten and battered, their captains and crews at a loss for words. The Alliance had fallen, but it wasn't dead.

"Frak!" The hydrospanner fell from his hand as blood trickled down his arm. He sucked his teeth again and pushed out from under the U-Wing on.

 

[Ava Cartwright-Pryce]

The sight of the repaired ANS Starchild as Rogue Five decanted from hyperspace still docked at the shipyards above Manas made a smile grow wide on the pilot's face behind the yellow-tinted visor of her flight helmet. If the Ralltiiri was honest with herself, she'd know the true reason for the positive reaction, but denial was so much easier, and more appropriate for the flight lieutenant - The ol' girl was her home away from home now, and it had nothing to do with whom she shared it with, right?

After receiving clearance by Starchild Control to land aboard, Goldie brought her TR-20 through the magcon and into the cavernous hangar bay of the Colony-class battle cruiser, then feathered the controls, setting the X-wing down on its repulsorlifts with well-practiced ease along the flight line that was designated for Rogue Squadron in the secondary hold. Most of the surviving pilots of the elite squadron of the Galactic Alliance had been sent on various special missions. She had most recently been sent to the Lleenium system after getting back from Kal'Shabbol on another to recon the area near the planet of D'Qar and report back to Commander [member="Rayf Vigil"], who was helping to coordinate with the affairs of the Alliance-in-Exile as they were being dubbed now post-Endgame.

Ava shut down the engines, then raised the canopy as a service ladder was being attached to the side of the fuselage by a tech. A tootle came from her R9 unit that the post-flight check was within normal limits. Well it better be because basically her whole snubfighter had been rebuilt after the beating the ship took at the Battle of Fondor.

Rest in peace, Dagger, she thought solemnly of the cocky yet super kind Chandrilan, who had been her loyal wingman for the past several months.

She had saved Rogue Seven when they were shot down on a black ops mission behind enemy lines on Saberhing. Now he had returned the favor at Fondor... though had made the ultimate sacrifice; killed in action by an extremely good TIE Raptor pilot, who would have vaped her disabled craft if not for his heroics. It still pained Ava terribly... the nightmare scenario that plagued her dreams. Dagfinn McFae had been a good friend, and he would be missed beyond words. Just like a lot of others... too many to mourn individually. Everyone knew someone.

Pulling off her helmet and gloves, Goldie pushed up from the pilot couch and exited the cockpit. She stayed for a moment on the top wrung of the ladder while slipping off the life support box and flak vest, leaving it all neatly laid out on the seat, then proceeded down the steps to the hangar deck. A quick stretch of her long legs, then she grabbed her flight jacket from the storage compartment in the nose of her ship... Something strong was needed to shake off the weariness felt from the long flight and bouts of insomnia as of late. She wasn't the only one suffering from PTSD or just plain depression.

That is when Ava heard a hydrospanner clank and someone swear nearby... with a familiar Corellian accent attached to it. With the top of her rebel orange flight suit secured about her slender waist and flight jacket on with her name badge and squadron patch visible, the blonde walked down the flight line to where a U-wing was in a maintenance bay. And of course the dark haired mechanic sliding out from underneath it was none other than the captain of the ship, [member="Dracken Pryce"]. Steel blue eyes zeroed in on the reason for the strong language outburst... Ouch!

"Captain... You okay? Do you need me to call a medic, or shall I just kiss your boo boo all better?" Ava quipped lightly with mirth etched in those blue pools of hers, then she reached into her jacket pocket and pulled a tissue packet out, offering it to the bleeding man.

"Oh and you also have a little grease smudge on your forehead... " the by-now-no-doubt irritating Rogue added, pointing with her finger at the general spot of the offense to the Corellian's otherwise good looks.

Oh yeah, he missed me, she smirked to herself.

 

[Dracken Pryce]

Pryce wiped the coolant off of his gloved hands by running them over his pant legs and graciously took the packet. He knew he would never hear the end of this. No doubt she would blow it up to some sort of crazy tall tale about how she saved his life from bleeding out, but until then he was grateful he didn't have to use the rag damp from oil or coolant to wipe the blood from his wound.

"Thanks Cartwright," he said, ignoring her quips. His hands were greasier than he thought they'd be having been wearing gloves while he was working and his face contorted into a frown when he couldn't rip open the pack the first time but as the pack opened itself to him a quick smirk touched the corners of his mouth.

"Just when things were starting to quiet down around here," yeah, he didn't miss her around here. "I thought you'd be gone longer, how'd the mission go?" He stood up and actually looked at his arm and sucked his teeth. The cut was deeper than he thought it was. A scarlet river trickled down his forearm and began to drip from his elbow during his inspection and he realized he should probably use the tissues he was gifted rather than staring at his cut as if attempting to will the gash closed.

Dab dab dab.

[member="Ava Cartwright"]

 

[Ava Cartwright-Pryce]

"You're welcome, Captain," the Ralltiiri answered with a simple nod of her golden head, then proceeded to bite the inside of her lip to keep a smirk from forming as [member="Dracken Pryce"] struggled to open the tissue package with his still greasy fingers.

The man was too cute when he got all flustered like. Ava seemed to have a way of getting under his skin. Whether it was a good thing or bad was yet to be fully determined... but it was fun nonetheless. The straight laced naval officer was intriguing to say the least, definitely not your average Corellian or at least the ones she'd gotten to know.

Goldie leaned her shoulder up against the U-wing's fuselage casually with arms folded across her ample chest and just continued to watch the ship captain as he fuddled around with his wound. There were now drips of dark red blood splattered on the hangar deck at his booted feet after standing up.

Men?! she thought with a subtle amused roll of her eyes. The lithe pilot then pushed off from the side of the ship and jumped up into its small hold. It wasn't but a moment later that Ava reappeared with a medkit in hand.

"I bet," the blonde chuckled softly, then set the medical container down on a crate nearby. After removing the lid, she picked out a package of gauze 4 x 4's, ripped it open, then brushed the captain's hand away from the his 'dabbing' efforts to stay the bleeding and applied firm pressure to the cut.

"It went well... I got some real solid, positive intel, and have passed it up the chain," Ava smiled as steel blue orbs raised up to meet Dracken's gray blue ones while ahold of his arm. She couldn't quite tell if he was miffed and/or relieved with her actions. He was hard to read at times.

"Hopefully we will hear something good come of it, huh? It would be nice to have somewhere to call home, not that your ship isn't a nice place to... Just saying I would love to be able to take a real shower again, you know the kind with a stream of hot water making everything all steamy and relaxing instead of a plain ol' sonic one. They really leave a lot to be desired."

Ava lifted the gauze to check on the bleeding. It had stopped so she discarded the soiled dressing, cleaned up the area, then grabbed a bacta patch, placing it gently over the wound and sealing the adhesive around the edges with her fingertips.

"There ya go, sir... Good as new," she said just as her empty stomach gave a rather timely growl as if adding an explanation mark to it. Ava blushed a little, then flashed a lopsided grin.

"As you can tell I'm a bit hungry. Are you by chance? I'm going to head to the mess... Haven't had anything except ration bars and instant caf for the last three days. The company would be welcomed, if you are. If not, I'll leave you to it."

 

[Dracken Pryce]

"Hey now, I don't need-" Before he could finish his sentence Ava had already gotten to work on his arm. Their eyes met for a moment and he sucked his teeth again and diverted his eyes over to one of the strange Mandalorian dock droids that shambled by. Sucking his teeth was one of the bad habits his father nor CorSec Academy had gotten out of him. He knew it was rude, but it was probably the most Corellian thing about him when he was in work mode, a brief glimpse into the straightened out military man's inner rebel...If you could really call it that at all.

He didn't mind the help though despite his protest.

"Good, I know what you mean. Squating in a Mandalorian's home feels...Strange after the hell they've put us through over the last couple of months. Puts the crew on edge. So the sooner we can get out of here and meet the rest of the fleet somewhere safe the better. Maybe I'll give you shore leave time to get that shower." The pair had two completely different reasons why they wanted to leave but at the root they were connected he thought.

"Thanks," They both just wanted to see what was truly left of the Alliance. How bad was the damage really? It kept him up at night. What of the people at Coruscant? Corellia? Atrisia? But especially Corellia. They knew had to take care of themselves but...

A gurgling stomach brought his drifting thoughts back to the hangar.

"You know," he started as he nodded and started walking towards the mess hall, "I never thought I'd say this, but I wouldn't mind some Alliance Navy grub right now. I can't stand hetikles, and the food down on Manas is great, but last night they tried to serve me this...Head and it just made me start to crave something...normal for once."

[member="Ava Cartwright"]

 

[Ava Cartwright-Pryce]

"Well, I would definitely smell better," Ava winked casually.

The Ralltiiri missed using scented body wash, one in particular that had Corellian rose pedals in it... or at least that is what the label said.

"Not to mention the attitude adjustment factor... now that is worth it alone," she chuckled lightly as her first aid materials were gathered up as well as the biohazard cleaned up off the hangar deck. No one wanted to piss off the chief petty officer who ran the hangar bay... not even the captain.

"Glad to have you tag along, sir" Goldie nodded with a small smile, trying to keep her enthusiasm to a minimum though it was hard to disguise it, then the long-legged blonde began to follow [member="Dracken Pryce"] a step off to his side towards the turbolift. "Yeah all that exotic food stuff isn't my forte, though my parents were always trying to get me to eat those delicacies at the well-connected social parties they made me attend growing up. I'm more a meat and potatoes kind of gal, or anything breakfast related really. Gods how I could go for either a juicy nerf steak with a loaded baked potato or hotcakes with link sausages and real maple syrup right about now, but navy grub will do. It's not all that bad."

As the two stepped onto the lift, steel blue eyes gazed over at the man and noticed just how messy his mechanic coveralls were. He was covered in coolant and grease, not to mention blood from the arm wound acquired while working on the U-wing.

"Captain if I may suggest, you might want to change your attire before presenting in the mess... I'm sure you wouldn't want the rest of the crew to think it was okay to become complacent," the flight lieutenant offered gently knowing how the Corellian liked to run a tight ship.

 

[Dracken Pryce]

Dracken arched his brow confused and took a sniff, realizing that the lift smelled of coolant more than usual and looked down at himself. Greasy Alliance T-shirt, coolant splotched overalls...Yeah, he could use a good clean up. He scratched his head embarrassed and chuckled softly after realizing he was definitely not dressed to be in the mess hall.

"I guess you're right, wouldn't do for the captain to show up looking like...this," he gestured down at himself. "You go on to the mess, I'll catch up." Really with the size of this ship she would probably be done eating by the time he made it to the Captain's quarters and changed. Maybe they could get a meal together some other time, but right now, despite saying he'd catch up, he didn't think he'd make it.

He stepped out of the lift just as a speeder turned around the corner. It made him chuckle sometimes, that the ship was so large that they needed speeders to get around from the lift doors sometimes. The driver nodded and then saluted after realizing it was actually the Captain in the soiled engineer's uniform. Dracken saluted back before climbing in the back.

[member="Ava Cartwright"]

 

[Ava Cartwright-Pryce]

Ava thought the captain may say that after she pointed out his dirty appearance. I mean it would be inappropriate for her to accompany [member="Dracken Pryce"] to his quarters while the senior officer changed or even more so stepped into the shower while the pilot waited for him. The Ralltiiri though was curious as to how the Corellian-born decorated his personal space. It said a lot about the person living there - organized or not, likes and dislikes etc.

"As you wish, Captain," Goldie nodded from her position still inside the turbolift, then she pushed the wall panel button closing the door. Funny how a speeder just happened to come by at the exact time when they had reached the captain's home deck. Did the man have like a GPS chip on him? He wasn't really going to meet up with her, huh? She was being passed off. Oh well, his loss.

Stepping out onto Deck 10, the Rogue made her way down the winding corridor to the mess hall. It was a busy bee hive of activity. Maybe it was a good thing after all the two weren't seen having a meal together in public. Gossip spread like wild fire upon the ship... even though it would have been all fake news. They were just colleagues... nothing more, nothing less even if the thought had occurred to her otherwise, perhaps.

The blonde picked up a meal tray and went through the chow line. Ava swore it was green eggs and ham they served along with a mountain of mashed white stuff, but she was starving so whatever. The pilot poured herself two cups of real caf and grabbed a glass of OJ too, then found a quieter table off to the side that was empty. It even had a view of the shipyards with Manas in the back drop just beyond.

Sitting down, she heavily seasoned the food because well it needed it, then began to eat slowly at first just in case. If the captain showed up, he did, If not, then no harm, no foul. After eating, Rogue Five would need to check in with the CAG any ways, and be added onto the general CAP rotation. Hopefully a later one so she could grab some rack time and freshen up before going out again.

 

[Dracken Pryce]

Sonic showers were strange.

He never felt the same when he stepped out of the vibrating tube, but at least it got the job done and it lowered a ship's need for water drastically. He understood the why, but he would have much preferred hot water. He thought they would have had showers on Manas, but it being a desert world, of course they mostly used sonic showers there as well.

He sighed and slipped into his Alliance uniform and looked at himself in the full view mirror, a solemn look cast on his distinctively Corellian features. The uniform felt heavier than it ever had before. Every day he heard story after story of how the men now under his command barely survived, their superior officers either killed by traitors or sacrificing themselves for their crews.

What had he done?

He inhaled and exhaled sharply, thoughts of failure and uncertainty almost consuming him. Once again, second choice, picked out of neccesity rather than merit. Did he deserve these men and women's loyalty? He didn't know.

He fixed his collar and headed to Deck 10.

"Damn am I hungry..."
[member="Ava Cartwright"]

 

[Ava Cartwright-Pryce]

Ava was nearly done with her meal, but was daydreaming out the wide, horizontal transparisteel view port watching a tug barge guide a capital ship into dry dock for repairs. The fighter pilot couldn't imagine being at the helm of such a large vessel. Light freighters yes, but those big whales... She liked being a shark in the big sea.

[member="Dracken Pryce"]'s sudden voice beside the table nearly made Goldie spill the hot cup of caf that was warming her cold hands. Her golden head whipped around and steel blues met those unforgettable gray blues of his. Boy can he clean up well, freshly shaven too.

"Ah Captain... I saved you a seat just in case you were able to get away. I know you are a busy man, but every one needs to eat, right?" Ava smiled up at the Corellian, then she pushed out the chair across from her with the toe of her boot as his hands were full with a meal tray of his own.

"Quite the view, hmm... So how is your battle group coming together? There seem to be more ships here at the shipyards than I remember."

 

[Dracken Pryce]

"Hey, thanks Cartwright."

Dracken took his seat across from the blonde Rogue pilot and set his tray down. This was one of the better mess halls. Of the three it always had the best views, and honestly some of the better grub. Today, he didn't mind the view either. He was surprised it was so empty since it was usually so full. Everyone was probably enjoying their last few nights in the Manas system.

His standard issue spork cut into the Alliance Navy meal with purpose and his eyes drifted from Ava over to the view port, a tug ship pulled the large capital ship into huge metal clamps, securing the Scythe in place. A smile touched his lips as he realized how much the scene reminded him of Corellia. Manas was almost blocking out the sun, which meant it was starting to get late. He checked the chrono on his wrist and sure enough it was.

"It really is," He took a sporkfull of food and gave it a few solid chews before swallowing it and digging into whatever casserole-like mash he'd been served up.

"Battlegroup Starchild lost a lot of good men and good ships at Fondor," another spoonfull, another swallow, "But we're getting more and more Alliance personnel and ships every day. They probably won't be staying with us once we reach D'qar." Slurp "We leave," he checked his chrono while taking another bite, ",in about one and a half cycles. You should be getting the message soon. Sent it out via holomail on my way down." Crunch His brow arched in surprise and confusion before he shrugged and swallowed.

Two of the Mandalorian Fang fighters wizzed past the viewport, their wings spinning as the strange design did.

"I may speak their language, but I'll never understand Mandalorians. First they're sacking our worlds, the next they're fixing up our ships and giving us fighters..."

[member="Ava Cartwright"]

 

[Ava Cartwright-Pryce]

Goldie's steel blue orbs watched over the rim of her held caf mug as [member="Dracken Pryce"] chowed his meal down in royal military fashion. He shuffled the food in before him and/or took a drink to wash it down intermittently while not missing a beat of the conversation. Now that took some skill not to spill all over one's self nor choke while doing so. It was endearing in a way, making a small smile form on the blonde's pale pink lips though well hidden from sight behind a sip of the steaming dark brew in the mug.

"Wow, really... That was a quick decision by the brass. Maybe my recon helped to seal the deal then, huh," Ava answered with pleasant surprise present in her sweet voice.

She was hoping the location of D'Qar would be picked. As for all the spots for a possible base of operations for the Alliance, it certainly was a doable thing with remnants of an older base there as well as being well hidden by the asteroid field nearby. Life would be tolerable there hopefully, though being attached to the ANS Starchild, not that the flight lieutenant ever complained about that, meant time spent on planet would most likely be limited to short stays only. Ship life was the Ralltiiri's destiny for the foreseeable future.

Putting the mug down, Goldie reached into the right thigh pocket of her flight suit and pulled out a mini-datapad. Tapping the screen, she quickly put in her security code and finger print to open up the personal communication device. A small grin grew upon her face as there was indeed a private message sent from the captain.

"Affirmative, sir. Your message was received. Thank you... I will review the full details later," she nodded appreciatively, then slipped the PCD back into the leg pocket and secured it.

Goldie put her elbows on the table and leaned forward a bit closing the distance between her and Dracken to add her two cents worth on the Mandalorians..

"I know, right?! I mean it's a bit unnerving to say the least. After hearing about Sullust, and having traitors amongst us at Fondor... How are we supposed to trust them exactly? Then again, what about the Sith of the CIS that aided our people at Coruscant when their brethren of the SE were the aggressors not to mention those darksiders of FO. I just don't get it. I miss the days when it was more black and white who our enemies and allies are," Ava said in a hushed tone, then added after a contemplative moment while sitting back in her chair and staring into her caf mug.

"I will give the Mando's credit though, they make some real solid tech and vehicles, even those Fangs have their charm," she grinned with a cant of her golden head sent towards the window as a wing pair had flown by grabbing their attention. They were most likely on patrol.

"So Captain is there anything that I can assist you with before we ship out other than my standard duties of CAP?"

 

[Dracken Pryce]

He chuckled at her honest review of the Mandalorians and their starfighters. He knew he wasn't alone when it came to Mandalorians but it was nice to hear someone else other than his own thoughts echo the sentiment. Dracken looked back at Ava and set his spork down, having finished his meal, and leaned back in his chair, folding his arms. His face said that he was about to lay something serious on her, perhaps a super secret mission? His eyes locked with hers.

"You've already done so much for me and my crew, I wouldn't ask anything else except you get some rest. We've got a long flight ahead of us." He paused, "I'm putting in a recommendation for you to be promoted to Lieutenant Commander when we arrive at D'quar." Time to temper expectations.

"I wouldn't get too excited...I only have the rank of Captain because of my rank with CorSec before I transferred so I doubt what remains of the brass will be taking my recommendation seriously, especially with all that's happened. But the Alliance needs leaders, and you've proved yourself, to me at least, that you have what it takes to help the Alliance in this...To be frank, karked up situation."

He smiled at her.

"So take a load off, relax, no missions from me today."

[member="Ava Cartwright"]

 

[Ava Cartwright-Pryce]

[member="Dracken Pryce"]'s statement blew Ava away as she wasn't expecting the captain to say that. It was a surprise for sure, but she wouldn't argue about the proposed promotion. He was right with their dwindled numbers of capable personnel left within the fledging Alliance, those of lower ranks would have to step up to take up the slack.

"Thank you, sir. I do appreciate the sentiment," Goldie said in a humble tone, her steel blue gaze meeting those of Dracken's gray blue. "Well if I had any sway myself, I'd strongly suggest a promotion for you as well. You certainly proved yourself at Fondor very capable of commanding under duress given our situation there and holding the line," the blonde nodded matter of fact.

The blonde pilot drank the last of the caf in her mug, then placed it down upon her meal tray along with a flimsy napkin after wiping her mouth. Even after two cups of caffeinated sludge to reenergize herself, Ava was starting to fade.

"I appreciate that too... Yes, after I check in with the CAG to get plugged into the CAP rotation, a pillow definitely has my name on it," she smiled back, then pushed back her chair and picked up the tray while standing squarely to her full height.

"Permission to leave then, Captain," the flight lieutenant asked the superior officer just as a few of the crew walked by their table.

 

[Dracken Pryce]

He chuckled at her own counter recommendation before nodding.

"Dismissed Lieutenant." He picked up his mug to finish his own cup of caf and nodded to the other Alliance Navy crew that had walked passed the table.

 

[Ava Cartwright-Pryce]

There was a good reason Wing Commander Westerly Rickards got the callsign 'Ironside'. The man was a gruff, by the book kind of officer. He also had a strong dislike of 'elite' pilots especially Rogues, but tolerated them because they usually got the mission done right the first time... Force help you though if you didn't. Fortunately for Ava, she hadn't done anything to piss off the CAG yet. The Commander had recognized that the Flight Lieutenant had just gotten back from a three-day recon so had been generous and given her two CAP rotations to rest up before leading the third.

With must needed sleep in mind, Goldie went to Rogue Squadron's assigned crew quarters room, which was located one deck up from the secondary hangar bay where their birds were docked. The Rogue pilots were housed together in what was called a duty locker while their CO and XO were afforded private quarters. But for now with Five being the only one aboard the Starchild, it was like her very own suite. She kicked off her boots and set them to the side of the lower bunk, then opened up the foot locker adjacent with LT Cartwright labeled on the front and hung up her flight jacket inside. Holo pics were taped to the edge of a mirror that hung on the door; one of Ava and her parents, another with a blonde man on what looked like Ralltiir with a lake in the background, and finally one with another pilot next to a TR-20 X-wing's landing strut...

The D's looked back at her and a tear escaped down the blonde's cheek. Though Ava's father was still alive, both Deryk and Dagger weren't. But then again, they had shown affection towards her, Daniel Cartwright had not. He had always been cold towards his daughter. Should she even test Dracken's fate given the odds of her "D" curse. Course, he was Corellian so maybe the odds didn't matter to him, if the captain cared that is about her at all. It could just be Ava's imagination or more likely loneliness putting wayward thoughts into her golden head. She didn't really have time for nonsense of this type. There was a war to still fight... and a seemingly more desperate and dangerous one now. Though, life was supposed to go on, and people had to have something to hope for - Freedom, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all, right? How about galactic peace, and well love - with no dreaded curse.

Pushing those unhelpful musings away for another loathing session, Goldie quickly grabbed her ditty bag and went to the fresher in their section. After a sonic shower and donning a fresh pair of underthings, she hoped to get a few decent hours of rack time in....

But that was not to be. Soon dreams turned to the dreaded nightmares of recent... Ava tossed and turned for a bit, then got up, still tired. That seemed to be the new norm nowadays though. She decided to get a work out in and headed to the ship's gym dressed in PT clothes. After running on the treadmill for some aerobic exercise, the pilot wrapped her hands up with tape and began doing bag work how her late Chandrilan wingman taught her. It was a great way to get out frustrations, and those Goldie had apparently as the punching bag took a beating and maybe a roundhouse kick or two to boot.

 

[Dracken Pryce]

It was getting late, though it was hard to tell with the light of Manas' sun still shining around the edges of the planet. This was as close to an evening stroll he'd get, and the longest stretch of quiet he'd gotten in quite a while. He was wearing an athletic Alliance hoodie sweats and listening to some Corellian Synth Pop pretty loudly in his ears as he walked the indoor track of the Starchild's gym. The events of the last few days had drained him more than he knew and they were incredibly short handed. Thankfully the workers of Silvia Shipyards were helping them out day in and day out to get the Starchild up and running again.

Now with orders to move to D'qar he wondered what was next for the Alliance. All those people they left behind in the Core Worlds and old Alliance space, what would happen to them? And what about his crew? Would they be split up between the meager Alliance Navy left? In all honesty he hadn't met every single one of his crew, the Starchild was a massive ship, but he trusted them all with his full being. They were his family and it would feel strange to have them split up now after all they'd been through. Especially their most recent addition, the Rogues. They'd all been off on missions above his pay grade to understand, with Ava being the first to return out of the entire squadron. He stopped and placed a hand on the cool durasteel rail and looked out over the stars and the still busy shipyard. He'd be lying if he said he didn't miss her aboard the ship. Out of all the Rogues she was the worst to deal with, they all had a sort of elite attitude about them but hers was by far the worst. But sometimes he did need to be a little less serious, and she brought that out of him.

The sound of loud thuds and chains rattling made him look twice around him before pulling the earbud out of his ear.

Thud. Thud-Thud.

Someone was here. But who at this hour was pounding away at the bag? He walked to the other edge and looked down into the actual gym and saw that familiar golden hair bouncing around and gave a faint smile. Of course it was Ava.

[member="Ava Cartwright"]

 

[Ava Cartwright-Pryce]

Ava had been so focused on the punching bag in front of her that she had not noticed someone walking around the track above the workout area.

Jab. Jab. Jab.... Jab. Jab. Jab.... Jab. Jab. Kick...

The pilot did this for a few minutes until her arm muscles began to burn from the intensity of the workout. After whipping her long, tone leg around on that last roundhouse, Goldie caught a glimpse of movement from up on high. The blonde's head tilted upwards to find a familiar face looking down at her... or was the good captain staring with reason? She flashed a wryly smile back at him, then walked over to the bench by the bottom of the stairs where a towel and water bottle were stashed.

After slipping off the bag gloves, Ava grabbed the towel and placed it around her neck, lifting up her ponytail that had gotten caught under it. She used the ends of the cloth to wipe off the perspiration that had beaded up on her face, then the plastic bottle was cracked open and a long drink was taken of the crystal clear water. Goldie wondered if this was [member="Dracken Pryce"]'s normal routine or was he having the same problem she was having - difficulty sleeping and loads of tension.

It was hard to turn one's mind off when so much was going on and it was all do or die. If only for a moment... Lives depended on cooler heads, solid leaders, to be able to handle all the stress, but what happened when the stress just became too much even for the hardest of the hard core? Where did they find the personal strength and resolve to see it through? At some point something had to give or one would go crazy from all of it, right? Ava felt on the verge of losing herself, but she had to stay strong. She was a proud Ralltiiri, a Cartwright, and a Rogue for Force sake... It was expected of her, and nothing less.

If only it was just that easy...

That is why hope was said to be the backbone of good when evil threatened to take it all away. But really, what was hope?

 

[Dracken Pryce]

Spotted.

Oops.

"You can't sleep either?" His voice carried down to the gym below. They were finally shipping out soon and the thought of who was left behind and who didn't make it to D'qar weighed heavily on him. A long walk was supposed to fix that but he wasn't feeling any less jittery. Maybe it was his Corellian blood boiling, but despite the projected losses he'd been receiving over secure channels he felt like now more than ever the Alliance needed to be the light in this dark Galaxy.

"Didn't I give you an order to rest up Cartwright?" He threw a smirk down her way.
[member="Ava Cartwright"]

 

[Ava Cartwright-Pryce]

"Yes you did, sir... And I did get some much needed rack time, thank you," the flight lieutenant answered smartly looking up at [member="Dracken Pryce"] with a small smile, then she put the cap back on the water bottle in her hand and set it down on the bench. One more wipe of the towel across the pilot's sweaty brow, then that was abandoned too next to it.

"So since we are both up at this hour, would you care to take to the mat with me for a little rough and tumble action, Captain? I'm sure there are a few moves you could show me that you CorSec boys use I haven't had the pleasure of experiencing yet," Ava quipped ever so lightly. It was nearly impossible to keep the grin she was feeling off her face in that moment, but she did try hard.

When one was tired or over stressed it was so easy to let innuendo or dry humor slip into conversations to cut the tension or make more depending on what was needed or desired. In truth, hand to hand combat was the Ralltiiri's biggest weakness as far as her ground skills went. That is why Goldie was working more on her core strength as of late after being shot down with the other pilots behind enemy lines on Saberhing. Her determination to better herself was admirable, but she did like to have fun doing it otherwise too easy to become bored with the activity.