Let Me Buy You That Drink

[Jaron Lesan]

Transfers were made, and the Ren were finally back on their own ship. There was one difference, Jaron Lesan was no longer a disciple, but a full Knight. His master had honored him with the distinction, and following his promotion was that of the newly minted Captain, [member="Daska Tess"]. The dark haired man was proud of the accomplishment. He'd never come this far under his uncle’s tutelage, and the last Sith he studied under used him as an errand boy. Jaron learned nothing under her. Belis had seen the potential in the young Lesan and pulled it out of him. The Dark Jedi would be able to teach now.

The promotion prompted the need for a celebration, and Jaron was reminded about a promise he made to the Captain. He had promised her a drink in exchange for her story. It was a bold move, but Jaron knew he'd find her in the hangar bay working on her TIE or the Prime Shadow. She took care of both ships like they were her babies, and they were. Jaron would never think otherwise.

The Knight was dressed in his robes, but had left the mask in his quarters. Apparently the promotion to Knight afforded him a nicer suite. He liked Daska, and had been studying her for a while. She seemed like the kind of gal to like a bit of sophistication at times, but also seemed like she could throw it off at any moment. His plan was solid, but would she buy it? That was still to be determined.

Jaron entered the hangar with a bottle of Corellian Merlot in his hand. Two fluted wine glasses were in his other hand. He spotted her as it seemed she had just been finishing post flight on the Shadow. Hopefully she wouldn't be upset if he suggested they take it out for a personal use. The Vindicator was in Techno Union space, and Naboo was not far. His own hideaway on Arbra was not far either. He was tempted to go retrieve a few things, but not yet. Jaron owed the blonde that drink.

”I believe I promised to buy you a drink sometime? Is now a good time?”

 

[Alleycat]

Ever since Daska Tess had been promoted to Flight Captain and Commanding Officer of the 181st Saber Squadron, life had not been still for one moment. But, that is how the career military officer liked it. Today though was a break in the action as the First Order had moved into the friendly space of the Techno Union; an ally to the Imperial faction.

The elite TIE squadron had been transferred from the Siegar's Wraith over to the Vindicator for the time being. After getting her TIE/D Defender squadron settled into their quarters aboard the other Star Destroyer, Daska returned to the hangar bay to inspect the Prime Shadow; the Knights of Ren's stealth ship that she was the pilot of when tasked to take the Ren on a mission.

Speaking of the Ren, a very familiar one was approaching the ship. Word had it [member="Jaron Lesan"] had been promoted as well to a full Knight of Ren, though Daska had not seen him since their last mission together to Lothal. Of all the Dark Jedi, he made her feel the most comfortable to be around, though his master, [member="Belis Ren"], treated her with respect as well.

The blonde elite TIE pilot wiped off her hands on a rag, then moved off the port wing of the Shadow and dropped down onto the hangar deck with graceful ease. Crystal blue orbs went from the expensive wine bottle with two flutes in Jaron's hands to his dark chocolate eyes. There was a bit of earnest mischief etched in them. That could only mean trouble.

"That is correct. You did promise to buy me a drink back on Dosuun. A brandy in the officer's lounge would have sufficed, but I will not turn down a glass of such a fine wine either. Time I will make, m'lord… And congratulations on your knighthood," she nodded with the smallest of pleased smiles attached, then bent down and placed the hydrospanner in her hand into the tool box at her booted feet; closing the lid and securing it afterward.

"We should probably not partake of that in the open here… Where would you like to do so at?"

 

[Jaron Lesan]

"Jaron, please, this m'lord business is too much for me, especially when I'm on a personal call of sorts."

The dark jedi smiled as he moved closer to the ship. Daska was right. They should not remain in the hangar to drink the wine. If they were caught then that would be a black mark on Daska's record, and she was too prideful about her perfect record. That was not a bad thing by any means. Jaron admired her drive for perfection, which was why he'd already taken the liberty of arranging a "mission" for the two of them to run off on if she wanted to get off the ship.

"I hear congratulations are in order for you as well, Captain," he let the rank roll off his tongue in a tone of recognition. "So we have something to drink to. Also about the where. I may have convinced the CAG to let us take the Shadow out for a scouting mission to Naboo. He's convinced the Ren are after an artifact on the surface and stealth is of utmost importance."

Jaron nodded toward the boarding ramp and began to head up into the ship with the wine and glasses. His mind was still working out how she could pull off any look she was in. Most pilot jumpers were not flattering, but Daska pulled it off, and looked very attractive even in the suit. Her hair done in a braid, a few strands of hair loose from the work she had been doing, only added to the look. They'd both traded enough glances to know there was an attraction of some kind, but neither had made a move. Well this was Jaron making a move forward, and seeing if Daska would follow.

"I hear Naboo is not far at all from where we are, and since the CAG thinks you'll be there already, we might as well, hmm?"

The look on Jaron's face was laced with a rebellious mischief that spoke to how he was a nonconformist. He took a gamble, but he got the impression Daska liked that. There was a bit of a rebel in her too, and Jaron was appealing to that side, trying to coax it out.

[member="Daska Tess"]

 

[Alleycat]

"As you wish, Jaron… And thank you. It is an honor to serve the First Order with that distinction," Daska replied with a cant of her golden-topped head in humble gratitude and with a bit of pride mixed in as well.

The newly minted Flight Captain and CO of the 181st Saber Squadron had worked hard to get where she was at. Being a female made it doubly tough to move up the military career ladder in a traditionally male dominated world, though Tess had and would continue to strive to do so as any good Imperial officer before her; like father, like daughter.

"Oh you did, did you… " Daska almost snorted out, but didn't keeping her poise, then added. "Well I follow orders, and if my orders are to take you on a scouting mission, then I must comply. Naboo it is," she nodded with the smallest of smirks, then followed the young Dark Jedi up into the ship, hitting the ramp button to close it behind her.

Once in the cockpit of the Prime Shadow, Daska stopped and pondered a moment as Jaron's hand was resting upon the back of the pilot's chair and the man had a look on his face that seemingly asked permission to sit there.

"Would you care to take us out?" she inquired, letting [member="Jaron Lesan"] make the choice even though sitting in the number two spot would be challenging to say the least for the OCD pilot.

 

[Jaron Lesan]

"I don't deny that I did," he said with a smirk.

What Jaron withheld was that he had mind tricked the CAG into signing the mission off as an official one for Daska. It took a little bit of fanagling to get all the appropriate orders drawn up, but she wasn't going to be getting into trouble for this one. He was well aware there was extra scrutiny on her simply because she was female. Her superiors watched her like a hawk, and likely, they would be harder on her for fraternization than any male.

Jaron was looking at the pilot chair. Indeed he wanted to pilot, but he wasn't going to do it without Daska's permission. She was the pilot after all, and she was very particular. Jaron would fly like a Corellian, which meant he wasn't going to do everything by the book. The rebeluous streak in Jaron applied to near everything he did.

"I'd like to. I've been itching to since Dosuun."

Jaron offered her the wine and glasses. She'd notice it was a very good year if she knew her wines. The Corellian had been saving it for a special occasion, but this was close as he'd get he supposed. Mutual promotions counted as special occasions, and when one of them was an attractive blonde female, well Jaron couldn't argue. He slipped into the pilot's chair and adjusted the seat. For Daska's sake he counted how many clicks he pushed it back so he could put it back right later. Grabbing the preflight check list, Jaron went through it thoroughly. He was slow with it, but he was making an effort knowing it was hard for Daska to give up the seat. He turned to her ice they got clearance to take off.

"All right, here we go. I know a great place where we can some more wine if you like that stuff. Otherwise, when was the last time you were in the lake country?"

[member="Daska Tess"]

 

[Alleycat]

"Oh you have, have you? Well then by all means take the helm. This is as good of time to break you in," Daska replied, with a wave of her hand giving [member="Jaron Lesan"] permission.

She took the wine bottle and two glasses from him, then secured them for take off in a cabinet behind the seats in the cockpit; a hidden smirk upon her lips. Who knows, I may just learn a thing or two… or not.

The Flight Captain slipped into the co-pilot chair and radioed for clearance from the Vindicator's Control. Once the Prime Shadow got the nod, Tess let the Dark Jedi know they were good to go. In a way, the elite pilot who was all protocol was excited about sneaking off. He was a bad influence on her that was for sure.

"Nice and smooth now… They think it's me at the controls," the blonde threw out there both in warning and as a slight quip, then made sure her crash webbing was snug just in case he went mach ten with his hair on fire.

So far so good. The stealth ship cleared the magcon field and made for it's exit vector without incident. "Lake Country, Naboo? No, I've never actually been to the Mid Rim Jewel though have heard it is quite nice. Have you then… You seem to know where you are going."

Daska caught herself leaning closer to Jaron in the pilot's seat trying to look over his broad shoulder at the readouts on the data screen in front of the Ren as he flew them towards Naboo. She smelled his male spiciness picked up on Dosuun while they were on a scouting mission there together for the First Order. The rather handsome man smelled as good then he did now in the confines of the spherical-shaped cockit of the 'Shadow.

"So is the prime directive of this mission to celebrate our respective promotions or is there some true artifact we are seeking for the Knights of Ren while we are on Naboo drinking wine?"

 

[Jaron Lesan]

Jaron eased the ship out as he was instructed. He'd observed Daska enough to know how she would handle the ship, and nearly mimicked her every motion as the ship flew past the threshold and out into the stars. The Dark Jedi smirled as he looked over to see her crash webbing secure. He was full of Corellian influence, but still half Telosian by birthright, it was the other half which should concern Daska. The other half was his Mandalorian heritage.

The dark haired Ren usually did not like people looking over his shoulder, but Daska wasn't most people. He enjoyed her sent as much as she enjoyed his, and her closeness let him breath it in. Jaron liked her a lot, and that said something considering he had not closed his bond to [member="Sasha Voss"] off. Daska was making him want to though. All Daska had to do was give him a reason to, and he would. Though where things with Sasha had been fast, this was not going to be, he knew it.

"My uncle owns a winery. LeStar winery? You may have heard of them. His Merlot is the best in my opinion, but they have a rich dessert wine as well. Unfortunately I don't have any, just the Corellian Merlot I've been saving for a special occasion, like us, getting promoted near the same time."

The quick explanation was enough to give her the history she needed to know as to why he knew his way around the lake country. It was beautiful anytime of year, and subject to the massive weather swings of other places. It would be a good time to find a decent tree and enjoy the wine, or get out in the meadows and watch a sunset paint the sky. Yes, Jaron was thiking of how he could turn this into date, no matter how it ended or came about. This was about celebrating them, and Jaron trying to coax her to let him in.

"Both really, there is something of Palpatine's here the fanatics want, and I need to keep them off my case. So I plan to appease them. Also I want a few crystals from a cave I know of. If you want to take a swim I'll show it to you. Once we are done, then we can enjoy the wine. I'm sorry to steal you away under such a lack of protocol and these pretenses, but I knew the CAG would not understand."

Hopefully the apology helped her to see he recognized her need to do things correctly. He also hoped she understood why he had fudged the process. There were times it had to be done. His Uncle Judab was a Jedi and had taught him that much.

"If you want to change into a wet suit while I'm occupied and can't peek now is a good time. We'll hit the entry in about twenty minutes."

[member="Daska Tess"]

 

[Alleycat]

"I have not heard of that particular one, but visiting a winery sounds intriguing. Back on Bastion there were vineyards in the central district near the coast where my family's estate was. I enjoy the beauty and the plentiful bounty of nature. It reminds me why I fight for order and peace so it is not destroyed."

Okay that was way more than Daska wanted to say at this juncture, but out it came without much of a filter that usually was on. There was something about [member="Jaron Lesan"] that made her feel she could be more normal around and not so Imperial uptight as the academy trained elite pilot usually was. The Knight of Ren was dangerous for her. One slip up and the Flight Captain's whole career could be over in a second if she let her guard down. Though how come the thought of doing so just a little excited her?

"Well killing two birds with one stone so to speak is a good plan. I have used it as well to get the needed results to make my squadron run efficiently with optimum outcomes. And your apology is accepted... Just do not make this a common occurrence. I prefer to earn my time away than steal it. Things have a way to come back and bite one in the butt."

So Jaron's intentions were complex with this spontaneous trip to Naboo. He was dangerous because a swim and drinking good wine sounded wonderful and made Daska wish they had more time to explore things. But that was neither here nor there.

Daska nodded, then released her crash webbing and rose from the co-pilot's seat. "I will change then so we may proceed with your planned mission without hinderance."

 

[Jaron Lesan]

"You would have loved Corallia then. It seems we have similar motivation for being part of the Order then. I was there when Corellia was broken, I watched it happen from the transport I had caught..."

The life and excitement which usually occupied Jaron's eyes went vacant for a moment, and filled with a sense of loss. It had not taken much to push it aside though. The Ren was an expert at putting it aside, but keeping it close enough to remind himself why he believed the First Order was the best faction in the galaxy to handle the chaos and bring it all to order.

Now this moment, it was the first real moment the two had shared with each other. Both of them had actually let their guard down enough to be their real selves, even if it was for a brief time. Daska had her Imperial facade up again in no time, which frustrted Jaron. Here he was trying to go after her, and she made it so difficult. Her caution was noted though. When he made his plans he had not taken into account her postion in this. He had taken a chance with her career, and that was careless of him.

"I will remember that, Captain," he said with a nod. "I will avoid it as best as I can, but there will be certain missions which may require me to steal you away under false pretenses if discretion is required. In the future I will consult you before I make something up. Perhaps together we can tell a better story that will keep your butt from getting bitten."

Jaron smirked, and then nodded when she suggested she would go change. With a degree of expert skill, Jaron featherd the yoke forward, and entered Naboo's atmosphere with such a smooth approach that it spoke to his years of piloting. His hope was Daska would not have felt the entry point, but a trained pilot as herself still would have been able to get a good sense of it. There was always a telling sign no matter how smooth. Jaron's landing was just as smooth as his entry, and in not time at all, he was in the back grabbing a pack, and tossing a change of clothes into it. His hooded cape was left behing, and traded for a pair of breathers. He placed a cutting tool for the crystals on is belt, and off into lake country they went.

"Palpatine had property near here. We can get something from it, and get on with why we are really here. I may be killing two birds with one stone, but this is more about that drink I owe you than anything else."

From the ship they had to walk about two kilometers to an older looking lake house. Jaron had done his research and learned of a painting the Emporer had commisioned while he was still a Senator on Naboo. The piece still hung in his lakehouse, and Jaron would grab it, and they would be off. There was no gate, no security here. The job was going to be easy.

"The cave is not far from here either. We can get the painting back, and grab the speeders."

[member="Daska Tess"]