After Action Review: Smuggler style

[Corvetta Salvo]

Despite the fact that she had been ninety-nine percent sure she had the right guy, the small smuggler still found herself in a bit of a state of surprise when he turned about and confirmed himself to her. An arm of his made its way around her thin figure and she snapped into an equal and opposite embrace, though her arm did not extend itself as far as his, of course. Her smile was miles wide, and she had to do her best to hold back the dam-full of water that wanted to rush from her eyes in happiness.

There was nothing special 'going on' between them--at least, not that she was aware. But Corvetta had not seen him in such a long time, so nothing really mattered to her about how awkward anything might be perceived. She kept to him as long as he held the embrace. Friends. It had been too long. "Killer, Kairon..." She nodded to the other flygirl and glanced at her comrade. "Hello, Mal. And Rusty."

Corvetta 'gently' punched Robb on the arm and winked at the new people. "Lost Cause forever." Hopefully people still knew that ship. It was a beautiful bird.

[member="Kairon Rees"], [member="Rekha Kaarde"], [member="Malia Afredane"], [member="Rusty"], [member="Kaia Starchaser"], [member="Robb Killian"]

 

[Malia Afredane]

She glanced over at Rusty, grabbing the Shard's arm to drag him into the conversation circle.

"Flies with me, yeah more like drags my ass outta barfights and bad deals. Rusty is my first mate, wingman and ammosexual business partner."

Yeah, the whiskey was definitely talking. She smiled easily though at the new folks, shaking hands with Corvetta and Robb.

"So you were responsible for the Alliance. I heard a lot of good things about it. Kairon and I were just talking a little bit ago that there aren't too many good people in the business. Damn shame it fell apart though. If you ever want to start it up again, I'd support it. Probably beats dealing with the Syndicate."

She had forgotten that Kairon had very kindly proclaimed they were a couple. She leaned in, placing a kiss on his cheek while she took his empty glass out of his hand. She took a couple steps to the table and poured them another glass of bourbon and put it back in his right hand.

[member="Rusty"] [member="Corvetta Salvo"] [member="Robb Killian"] [member="Kairon Rees"] [member="Rekha Kaarde"] [member="Kaia Starchaser"]

 

[Kaia Starchaser]

Kaia could apparently only be a wallflower for a short bit of time. She was watching the people, and trying to not look too awkward (spoiler: she was failing). At that time, after about another mental game of sabacc, she saw the man approaching her. Man? Maybe, someone around her age, for sure. She smiled at him and waved a little. Wait, he was coming over?

Oh boy. Oh boy.

Sure, it wasn’t Brad Skywalker, but, well, Kaia wasn’t one who got a lot of attention, from really anyone. What would [member="Kinsey Starchaser"] or [member="Audrey Starchaser"] say? She chewed on her lip first and smiled, nodding.

“Sure!” That was a big smile from the petite Starchaser, and when Corey didn’t have more work to do, he’d continue this arc.

More tomorrow!

 

[Robb Killian]

Robb mock winced as Corvetta punched him on the arm.

"Lost Cause Forever."

His smile broadened all the more, It was good to see his friend again. Robb sipped his drink while the introductions continued, pausing to accept 'Mal's handshake. . .

... "Flies with me, yeah more like drags my ass outta barfights and bad deals. Rusty is my first mate, wingman and ammosexual business partner."

Ammosexual, eh? Robb grinned at that. I like this 'Rusty'.

"So you were responsible for the Alliance. I heard a lot of good things about it. Kairon and I were just talking a little bit ago that there aren't too many good people in the business. Damn shame it fell apart though. If you ever want to start it up again, I'd support it. Probably beats dealing with the Syndicate."

The spacer cocked an eyebrow at that. Now, That, is an interesting idea. Robb finished his off his drink absentmindedly, lost in thought, he stared into space for a moment. Blinking back to reality, Robb's eyes returned to the droid as Mal returned to with a fresh drink.

The spacer shoved his free hand in his pocket and let the other fall to his side, holding his glass loosely by the brim. The lack of whiskey reminded him that he was a truly awful conversationalist, and three months of flying solo had only made him worse. Friendship and camaraderie aside, Corvetta had always been the one to broker deals and, well, talk to people. Robb began to fidget, tapping his index finger repeatedly on his glass while simultaneously flexing and relaxing the fingers in his pocket. His unease mounted until an idea struck him, and his smile returned.

"So... I'm going to grab a refill. And then, I'm going to go see what kind of trouble I can get into on the Alliance's dime. Please, excuse me." Robb took a step back, tapped his fingers to his temple again in a lazy salute, and spun on his heels to approach the bar, pausing briefly to punch Corvetta lightly on the arm before departing. Robb made it about three meters into the small crowd before allowing his shoulders to slump slightly. That was close. Now then, lets see what I can i get myself out of.

[member="Kaia Starchaser"] [member="Malia Afredane"] [member="Corvetta Salvo"] [member="Kairon Rees"] [member="Rusty"] [member="Rekha Kaarde"]

 

[Rusty]

Rusty sighed internally. The Captain liked her "ammosexual" joke. It wasn't strictly speaking true, but even he had to admit his relationship with Gertrude was somewhat out of the norm. There were days when he pondered giving her a droid brain, just so she could talk back. He liked a girl with some sass.

The Shard was also dimly aware that attributing a gender and sexuality to a weapon more readily than his Captain was also out of the norm, but you just can't help who you love.

At any rate, he gave his standard reply to the ammosexual crack.

"7.62 is so hot," he deadpanned. "But I'm more of a .50 cal man, myself."

Well, on the bright side, this couldn't get any more awkward.


[member="Corvetta Salvo"]
[member="Robb Killian"]
[member="Kaia Starchaser"]
[member="Malia Afredane"]
[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Corvetta Salvo"]
[member="Rusty"]
[member="Robb Killian"]
[member="Malia Afredane"]

Kairon was a surly man, who was rather rapidly approaching middle age. So the colour that reached his cheeks was almost certainly from the alcohol. That, and the small puckered smile were almost certainly not because Mal has accepted his proclamation without contradiction and had responded with a gentle kiss in front of company.

That smile turned up at one corner as Corvie mentioned her ship. "You know, everyone here would have had an excellent view of the Lost Cause had you and Robb been flying her today when we took on an Imperial cruiser. I assume your invitation had the wrong time?" he said, hoping the gentle tease would be taken in the spirit intended. Corvetta had been so distraught when he had seen her last, and his attempts at consoling her had been pitiful.

"Careful with your language Rusty!" he jibed. "If you keep using naughty words Jarrick will hear you and get all hot and bothered!"

 

[Robb Killian]

Having replaced his drink, Robb made his way back through the Officer's mess and approached the exit. The hatch was flanked by two bored looking marines, both of whom eyed him suspiciously as he made to leave. Robb puffed out his chest put his free hand behind his back, and strutted through the door as if he owned the place, throwing them a casual "At ease, men," as he passed.

The hallway was surprisingly empty, and now all Robb had to do find something to distract himself. I wonder if the armory is unlocked. Or perhaps the officer barracks? Or maybe the fighter hangar. Decisions, decisions. . . The first step was finding his way around the ship, Robb knew where the hangars were, and guessed that the barracks would be relatively close to them. His course decided, the smuggler walked off toward the hangars, sipping his drink as the sound of laughter and music faded away behind him.

 

[Kohai Drenn]

Emerald eyes darting back and forth, Kohai gritted her teeth as she made her way through yet another hatch. The engineer’s twitchy fingers wrapped together in a white-knuckle grip, nigh-imperceptible tremors worked their way up her forearms as she turned a corner, taking another stab at the right direction. While it would be easier just to comm for a heading, her trek had become something of a quest at this point. Anything short of victory would be tantamount to a total failure.

…and what do I even say?

It had certainly been a while, at least by her standards, since she’d seen everyone. She would have to thing of something funny when they met up. She could think of a joke, right?

Hey, ya know those tauntauns... they sure smell like… No, that’s dumb…

She had always been so terrible at reunions. In her experience, things were always either too awkward, or she got accused of “gushing”, whatever that meant.

Turning a corner, Kohai stopped dead in her tracks. Surely her eyes were playing tricks on her?

No way…

She'd recognize that slouch anywhere! Dashing forward, she bounded over to the familiar man stalking away from her, her single-minded focus drowning out the sound of laughter and music as she closed the distance.

“Robb?” She called out to her old crewmate, practically colliding against the elbow of his drinking arm.

[member="Robb Killian"] [member="Corvetta Salvo"]

 

[Robb Killian]

Robb would never had heard the footsteps had he been closer to the mess hall, and even at this distance the din concealed them until his pursuer was practically on top of him. The spacer began a kind of half turn, fully expecting some marine to take issue with his wandering free. "Hey look, I-"

“Robb?”

No way. The short blonde practically barreled into him, nearly causing Robb to spill his drink. The spacer looked down at the woman, truly dumbfounded.

Robb took a moment to process, finishing off his drink in one gulp. With that he winced, wiped his mouth with the back his hand, threw the glass against the nearest wall, and scooped his friend up into a tight hug, lifting her small frame from the ground. "'Peaches', you flaxen-haired devil!"

Smiling ear to ear, Robb set his friend back down and gave her shoulder a gentle shove. "I karking missed you." The night was really turning out well, though It dawned on the spacer that he was getting far more emotional than he was used to. Still, Robb's growing elation at seeing his friends again was proving too great to contain. I havn't smiled this much in months. . . I really need to start some trouble.

[member="Kohai Drenn"] [member="Corvetta Salvo"]

 

[Corvetta Salvo]

Corvetta had no idea what ammosexual meant, but it probably had to do with private parts since it included the word 'sex' in there. So she was not entirely sure if that was a joke or a fact. She took Mal's hand hesitantly, unsure if there were sexual implications to such a gesture at this moment. Probably not, since drinks abounded. Hopefully not. "Well, it was really Jace Trent who lighted the idea. I just had the connections." My, how the tables had turned. Now Corvy felt like the outsider. "Be frakkin' snazzy if it could be cranked back up again."

Lovey-dovey stuff then happened. This Rusty guy started talking some dirty gibberish about guns and their calibres. The pilot did not want to know what he did with those at night. She received the friendly 'punchback' from ol' Killer with a chuckle, falling back a little because that guy was strong--sometimes stronger than he thought he was, even when he was trying to not put much force into things. But her big pal was gone not a moment later, and the born-and-bred spacer wondered why he could not stay for their little reunion. She was so happy! Where'd ya go, big guy?

Quick. Keep talking to Mal. "Flygirl, you better take care of Kairon here. Old man's too corroded to keep up with heavy crankin'."

[member="Malia Afredane"], [member="Kaia Starchaser"], [member="Robb Killian"], [member="Rusty"], [member="Kairon Rees"], [member="Kohai Drenn"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Corvetta Salvo"] [member="Rusty"] [member="Malia Afredane"]

Some of the colour left Kairon's face as she mentioned Jace, his broad grin wavered. Before Mal could respond he interrupted briefly. It might have been rude, but what he had to say was important. "Actually Corvie, I caught up with [member="Eliza Steele"] recently. I was doing a run past The Wheel and she was there with a group of Mandalorians," Kairon started to explain with a barely perceptible shake of his head. "Did you hear he didn't come back from the Rapture? He was a good smuggler, a good man. Eliza seemed happy now though, so that's something." His crew had experience plenty of 'disagreements' with Trent's crew over jobs when they'd been in competition. His nose still had a slick bend where Eliza had broken it after he'd floored Trent for a rude remark about the Quin. They'd worked it all out to get the Alliance going though and Kairon had held the man in high esteem in the end.

He hated to bring the tone of the conversation down. Bringing up the Rapture obviously roused memories of the loss of Corellia too. But he had to check if Corvetta had heard the news. It wouldn't be fair to leave her ignorant if she hadn't.

 

[Kohai Drenn]

...Flaxon what?

Before the young woman could say anything else, Kohai found her arms pinned to her sides in a powerful hug. A bubbly laugh escaped the engineer's lips as her her feet swung out behind her helplessly, just barely getting her footing back in time when he released her. With a hearty shove, Robb continued speaking, giving her thin shoulder a little shove. "I karking missed you."

Looking her friend up and down, Kohai was getting a bit misty-eyed now. "So... where is everybody? Davik... Corvetta?" It was nice seeing Robb again, but there were a couple elements missing from this equation. "I'm not in the wrong place, am I?"

[member="Corvetta Salvo"] [member="Robb Killian"]

 

[Robb Killian]

"I'm not in the wrong place, am I?"

Robb's eyebrows shot up, "what? Hell no!" Robb kept on smiling, it must've been the booze.

"I haven't seen Davik since I left, was hoping to catch him here but no luck, so far. . ." Robb paused before continuing. Although, if things keep going on this way he may already be at damned bar for all I know.

"But Corvetta's just in there." Robb pointed off in the direction of the mess hall. Shenanigans could wait, some things were just more important.
"C'mon, you have to go see her. She'll be floored," Robb laughed. "Hell, she may even tackle you." Robb began making his way back toward the mess hall. "Besides, I have a surprise for you."

[member="Kohai Drenn"] [member="Corvetta Salvo"] [member="Davik Tren"]

 

[Malia Afredane]

Mal was about to respond to Corvetta but Kairon cut her off, talking about some people she didn't know. This was the cost of being a loner; community and kinship thrown out the window in favor of grinding alone out in the fringes. It wasn't so much that it was how she preferred it, it was how she was raised. Izzy never had anyone around. She was at the bar or asleep. She were no friends, just customers. Never another person to help her or to rely on and now Izzy was so mad that Mal was the same way. Baffled Mal actually. What did Izzy think Mal would see and learn? Mal smiled politely as she bowed out of the conversation between Kairon and Corvetta.

"I think y'all have things to catch up on."

She shot an apologetic look at Rusty. She felt about as out of place as he did. She elbowed him in playful jest, motioning to a neverby table.

"Come on, let's have a seat and figure out what what wrong with that jump in. The mags should have held."

[member="Rusty"] [member="Corvetta Salvo"] [member='Kairon Rees']

 

[Rusty]

Rusty followed Mal over to the table. The one where Gertrude currently rested was, um, filthy, so they took a seat at the adjacent table.

The Captain looked as uneasy as he felt. They were both consummate loners, far more used to solitude than the company of others. It had taken them months to get used to being together, and there were still plenty of days on the Wicked Grace where they'd spent most of their time apart. Sometimes they could spend all day joking and laughing and talking about various unimportant things, or working on the ship when the Grace had one of its many breakdowns, but other days they just needed to be by themselves. If one was feeling companionable and the other wasn't, they wouldn't push the issue, they'd just head back to their areas and that was that.

Actually having friends was something new, and he could only imagine how uncomfortable the Captain was, seeing Rees at home among old friends and acquaintances, talking about people they used to know and things they had done together. It was something of a minor miracle that she had been willing to open herself up to the man, especially after the whole Techno Union debacle.

The Shard was used to being the odd man out. He never really fit in, even in groups where the Captain felt at home. Granted, his normal role was menacing her away from gambling tables, or playing the bodyguard. Neither occupation lent itself to a great deal of social interaction, and he wasn't inclined to change that now. But the Captain was making an effort, and to find herself as the odd man out even around her lover must have been tough.

Of course, it wasn't entirely unlikely that Rusty was reading the situation wrong. He'd likely never live down thinking Rees was gay.

"The clamps worked fine," he said as they settled down. "Just got too close to the mass shadow of another, much larger ship. Either I was going to come off the hull, or the hull was going to come off with me."

[member="Malia Afredane"]
[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Malia Afredane]

"Thanks for not picking the hull. Kaia and I appreciate your thoughtfulness."

She sipped her drink, looking over at the crew of the Quin, the other smugglers, and bit the inside of her lip, her mind focusing now on the Grey Warden. They would have to get it soon lest they pay drydock fees past the registration holding period. That meant crew, that meant people. That meant not being themselves. She could command a crew, she'd done it in the Navy. But were they going to be her subordinates or her family.?

She wasn't sure she was comfortable with either idea right now.

"Rusty, are we making a mistake with the Warden? Neither one of us is very good in these kinds of things and if we have to get 8 more."

She huffed a long sigh.

"No more being alone. Are we ready for that?"

[member="Rusty"]

 

[Rusty]

Rusty stared at his hands, clearly uneasy.

"Honestly Captain? I don't know if we're ready. Could be we're opening ourselves up for a world of hurt down the road. I've seen you and the Quin's crew together enough to know they won't be just crew, not for long. You're not your mother, Captain. I don't think it'll take long for them to become family."

He shrugged, trying to come up with words.

"If we keep playing the odds long enough, we're going to lose. We're going to lose, and someone is going to get killed. Just the two of us, I wouldn't be worried. There's not a son of a [bleep] breathing that can take you down if I'm around. And if I get killed, it'll probably be when the Wicked Grace finally gives up the ghost, and then we won't have to worry about being alone, because we'll be dead together."

All around them, the party atmosphere continued. The Shard wondered if anyone else could sense the dark direction their discussion was taking.

"It's pretty much a given that, a crew that large, and with the sorts of risks we have to take to get by, someone is going to get killed, and I don't know if either of us can handle that. But I do know that just the two of together is probably worse in the long run. You're not a Shard, Captain. Maybe you need some alone time every now and again. I get that, and I'm sure Rees and the others will understand. But you're a human, not a rock. We might not be ready, but I still think it's time we give this thing a try."

[member="Malia Afredane"]

 

[Kohai Drenn]

Kohai absently made her way to the middle of the room, wordlessly leaving her friend at the door as all the familiar sounds (and smells) washed over her. Giving her eyes a moment to adjust to the lighting, her searching gaze darted from face to face. Her objective was clear, and in no time at all, dual emeralds zeroed in on their goal.

Target acquired...

In fewer steps than expected, Kohai found herself beating a brisk pace as she stopped just short of tackling her best frind, regaining her composure. She hadn't seen her yet, and now the engineer found herself unsure what to do with her hands. Bringing a calloused hand up to her face, she dried her eyes, before knotting her trembling fingers together before her chest.

Here goes... Clearing her throat for multiple reasons, Kohai finally spoke up.

"Hey, you... How's it crankin'?"

[member="Corvetta Salvo"]

 

[Corvetta Salvo]

Funny how small the galaxy still felt sometimes. "Really? I just ran into 'Liza a few runs back, too." The meetup had been fun for what it was worth. But it just did not seem to give Corvetta proper closure. Eliza was on to new horizons, and while things were presently looking up for this particular smuggler, there was something missing from the equation. "Heard about Jace. Frakkin' lose one every day. I swear."

But sometimes you gain one, and Corvetta wondered how much of a role people like Mal and Rusty would play in her life beyond this point. She always believed that spacers were meant to be together among spacers. No one else knew the things they had seen. No one else would know how beautiful it was. They may get lost along the way, but there was always someone to remember them.

And sometimes they come back. Like that familiar voice who had just used the word crankin'. Crankin' was a Corvy word. No stranger would know to use a Corvy word.

She whirled her head to spot who it was. "Hooooooolyyyyy frak," the brunette gasped, stumbling back a few steps as she drank in the sight of her blonde buddy. Her knees wobbled and the pilot took a seat on the floor, embarrassed in her speechlessness and doing her best to hide the water running from her eyes with a swipe of her arm across her face. All her old freighter mates--they were all special to her. But Kohai had been there since before them. Before even Robb. Before the beginning. "Flygirl. You're here." It was all Covetta could say.

Well, not quite. She wiped her nose and sniffed before rasping out a little addendum. "Don't laugh at me, okay?"

[member="Malia Afredane"], [member="Kaia Starchaser"], [member="Robb Killian"], [member="Rusty"], [member="Kairon Rees"], [member="Kohai Drenn"]

 

[Robb Killian]

Robb followed Kohai into the mess hall briefly, but stopped himself after the first few steps. He watched Kohai wade into the impromptu smuggler's den from the safety of distance. The spacer decided that his presence would only detract and distract from what was sure to be a happy reunion, and so he elected to wait it out, he could always play catch-up later.

Content with his decision, Robb buried his hands in his pockets and gently sidled his way through the room until he reached a spot against the far wall which offered a proper vantage point. Leaning against the wall, Robb watched as Kohai approached Corvetta, his view practically unobstructed by patrons or staff. What had been a beaming smile eased into a comfortable grin, and Robb's hands relaxed in his pockets. He felt peace in this moment, a rare inner calm that often eluded the man. No matter what happened next, Robb would remember this night as a good one, a happy one; nearly perfect. Old Friends, new friends, family, easy smiles, and good whiskey, those were things worth living for out hear in the void. Damn the rest.