Nobility and Piracy

[Maka Sumoto]

Maka stared out the viewport of the Amidala-class transport he and Bennie had bought with the money from selling Castle Serrus. It was a sleek and beautiful ship... And it would hopefully be a sleek and beautiful ship full of nasty surprises for whoever decided to take exception to the two Alderaanians and their piracy. The K-type yacht flying below them was another one. A real piece of art that Maka hoped they could turn deadly. Especially with the small squadron of N-5s it was carrying.​

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The ship wasn't anywhere near as big as the hallways of their former home, but Maka managed to wander around a bit in the morning before going to see his duchess... Or, well, his captain now. But he'd still ended up at her door. Oh well. If she was asleep, it was too bad. coming to Rishi was supposed to be a nice surprise for her.​

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He knocked on the door, grinning a little.​

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"Hey, Bennie. You wanna see where we are?"​

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[member='Benedali Serrus']​

 

[Benedali Serrus]

[member="Maka Sumoto"]

Benedali was indeed awake. In fact, dressed in some no-nonsense pants and a tunic-vest duo, anyone who knew her would have thought she'd been replaced with an HRD. Her outfits were rarely as dressed down as this, even when she was reclining. But the haircut, and the purchase of the ships, it had finally dawned on the Duchess that she was no longer going to be spending her days lounging on a chaise while her attendants took care of the finances. No, now she was about to delve into a life of piracy, of thievery and crime. Now, would she lead a better ship than the common pirates? Yes, or at least she'd try to.

That was another thing which called for solemness. Benedali had never truly led before. Not like this. The lives of men and women who looked up to her would be in her hands, and she wasn't sure if she could handle losses. And though they were small numbers now, her crew would no doubt grow.

If it was just her and Maka, Bennie would turn right around and take the ships to some planet where she'd at least be able to live nicely. But her crew had given up everything -- for some, even severing ties with families that refused to go -- in order to come with her. The least she could do was keep going with the plan.

A knock at the door startled her, and the Duchess looked up from her datapad. Tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear, she called out, "Come in here first, Maka. I wanna ask you something.

 

[Maka Sumoto]

Maka did as he was told, walking into Bennie's room as soon as the door opened. He took a second to look at her, and had to wonder why she was dressed even more simply than him. Not that she didn't look good. She looked better in the plain clothes than she did in the crazy dresses and frills she'd put on while they were on Alderaan. As for him, becoming a pirate was like coming home. Nine years of raiding rich people on their homeworld had made living in Castle Serrus a little bit weird for him.​

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"Alright, m'lady, what's the problem?"​

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He smiled at her a little teasingly, even though he was pretty sure there was actually a problem, or she would look happier. Or maybe it was just sinking in that she, her archer, and all the other people on their two brand-new ships were probably borderline insane for running off and becoming pirates. That would've been a valid worry.​

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[member="Benedali Serrus"]​

 

[Benedali Serrus]

[member="Maka Sumoto"]

Bennie smiled at her archer's tone, though it was a half hearted one. "Two problems, actually."

Standing up, she brought the datapad with her, showing it to Maka. "First one isn't a problem, really. I was just doing research on pirates in the past...or trying to, anyway. It seems like a majority of them changed their own names, whether to make a statement or avoid true identification." Her eyes looked up at her archer. "Maka, we haven't even named our ships! How are we supposed to pull this off?"

The Duchess began to chew on her lip. "And that's problem two. How will we pull this off without Arick?" Her brother had made it clear what his thoughts were on their plans, and had taken off as soon as everything was packed. Since then, she hadn't heard hide nor hair of him.

 

[Maka Sumoto]

Maka gently took the datapad out of Bennie's hands and put it to the side before pulling her into a hug. Was that really the problem? Aside from the fact that Arick was probably a better commander than him, he didn't really see any problems where Bennie was seeing them. He grinned a little wider.​

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"I might not be as good of a commander as Arick, but I'm the one who was a pirate. The name thing? People will find out anyway. There's not a lot of people running around in repainted chrome ships captained by cute redheads."​

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He spun her around the room and chuckled, keying into a console for the room's viewport to untint. Then he pointed out the window delightedly.​

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"As for ship names, there's plenty of pirates down there to give us ideas. Welcome to Rishi, Bennie."​

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[member="Benedali Serrus"]​

 

[Benedali Serrus]

[member="Maka Sumoto"]

She grinned, though her archer couldn't see it, as they were still in an embrace. It reassured her to hear him undaunted by such worry; even so, there remained a tidbit of anxiety.

Bennie couldn't help but let out a soft, startled noise when Maka spun her around and revealed the view of their destination.

"Rishi?" Her eyes widened as she looked upon its surface. As far as planets went, it looked rather normal. But something, perhaps it being a pirate planet, sent a little tingle through her body. Turning to Maka, she tapped a finger on her nose. It was a habit she'd began, doing it whenever she was thinking. "Should we take the yacht down?"

 

[Maka Sumoto]

Maka ran a hand through Bennie's hair as he stood there and grinned at her. She looked so surprised, and he had to admit he was pretty excited, himself. As an answer to her question, though, he simply shrugged.​

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"Well, if we're gonna be refitting everything, it's probably a good idea to bring them both down, actually. Besides, it looks suspicious to have the big ships twiddling their thumbs up here while we go down. Just gotta make sure to leave plenty of guards."​

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He grabbed her hand again and grinned, his excitement starting to show.​

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"C'mon. I've never been here before. I wanna see while we're landing."​

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[member="Benedali Serrus"]​

 

[Benedali Serrus]

[member="Maka Sumoto"]

Not only was Maka's excitement showing, it was also spreading. A small smile broke through her stony exterior, and the crack only spread as her smile grew larger. Squeezing his hand, the Duchess whirled around and dragged him out of her quarters, her short red locks bouncing. "First, I need to stop by the armoury," she told him. "I don't want to be completely weaponless."

Benedali was, compared to most folks, actually pretty good at using the durasteel blades and the vibroswords. But blasters were something she'd never been good at...something which she should rectify.

Later, though. She could always do it later.

As the two went down the halls of the ship, they passed by several of their crewmembers, and Bennie forced herself to list their names as she passed by, giving little waves. Greta. Luyo. Archi. Elesbeth. Ciara. Nemri. There were many, but she was proud to know most of them.

Finally, they arrived at the weapons hold, and she released her Archer's hand in favour of searching for one of the custom swords.

 

[Maka Sumoto]

Maka grinned at Bennie again as she began leading him towards the armory.​

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"Good idea."​

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He waved at some of the crew members as they passed, idly thinking that he should learn their names at some point. Arick might have been captain of the guard, but that was no reason for Maka to not have interacted with these people before. Going around on break would be an excellent way to learn about his new underlings.​

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When he and Bennie got to their destination, he immediately went searching with her for their swords. They were a fun custom design that he'd been impressed with, and he'd ordered a bunch. He finally found the box he was looking for and grabbed two of them, handing the handle of one to his duchess.​

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"They're magnificent."​

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[member="Benedali Serrus"]​

 

[Benedali Serrus]

[member="Maka Sumoto"]

She withdrew one of the swords, murmuring in agreement as she swung it around. Her deft hand sliced arches and swirls into the air, and the Duchess grinned. "I'll say. A two-in-one combo is always great for surprising enemies. Hiya!" This last exclamation was punctuated by a forward thrust, her stance so perfect it would have made her fencing teacher cry with joy.

Shooting Maka an impish look, Bennie attached the cover for the sword to her belt before sheathing the weapon. "A worthy weapon for a captain!" she exclaimed. Turning back to Maka, she barked out in a formal tone, "Commander Sumoto! How many troops shall we take with us for the welcome party?"

Of course, the seriousness couldn't last. Two seconds later, Benedali, Duchess of Alderaan, was beginning to dissolve into giggles.

 

[Maka Sumoto]

Maka spent most of Bennie's little test of the sword staring at her with his eyebrow raised. And then he couldn't help but grin when she started doing her authoritative noblewoman act. It really was an act, as far as he'd ever been able to tell. When she started laughing, he thought about saying something, but then changed his mind. He walked right up and kissed her on the mouth.​

 

[Benedali Serrus]

[member="Maka Sumoto"]

[Theme]​

This was not the first time Benedali had ever been kissed by a boy/man. A young woman like her, full of charm and beauty...Well, to say she'd never had a suitor would be a lie. Suitors, boyfriends... The Duchess had had many, though of course she was smart enough to stay romantically responsible - out of respect for her mother, naturally.

But this was the first time that someone like Maka had ever kissed her. Their relationship had become - and still was - many things. At first it was business, then a friendship, and then...Well, then it became something more. Something that, despite the constant flirtation, Bennie had been afraid to pursue. After Orron's death and Arick's constant disappearances, Maka had stayed by her side. Even, she knew, when his own heart was hurt because of it.

But now, something had changed. Perhaps it was because she no longer had anything to lose. Or perhaps it was because of her wake-up call. Whatever it was, Benedali no longer wanted to shut Maka out.

She kissed him back, softly, her arms lowering slightly. For some reason, she was aware of his scent, of his touch against herself. Of the space he occupied, and what little space there was between them. She felt dizzy, exhilarated. It was never like this with any of her suitors.

The Duchess could almost feel herself being lost to the moment...and for that reason, she broke it off. Hiding the spike of -- not fear, or anxiety, exactly -- behind a mischievous smile, she placed a hand on his chest and gave him a gentle push. "Seriously? You waited this long to kiss me?" Bennie laughed, wishing her heart would slow down a wee bit. Surely he could hear it? "You've had ages to! Procrastinator!"

Placing a quick peck on Maka's cheek, like as though what had just happened didn't occur, she hefted the custom sword onto her shoulder and went back to browsing the weapons. It was a good thing she'd worn blush today, otherwise the red on her face would have been plain to see. "Should I take along a blaster, too? Just in case?"

 

[Maka Sumoto]

What had he expected? Maka didn't know. Most of what he felt right now was hanging somewhere in between relief and excitement. Relief that he'd finally felt able to just stop and kiss her, after waiting and waiting like an idiot for what'd felt like forever. He'd always been a little confused as to what to do with himself when she was around, but he was pretty certain that he'd done something right.

After Bennie pushed him away, he tried and failed to hide a grin. Teasing was familiar territory for both of them. It meant there wasn't a problem. That everything was going to be okay, or maybe even better than okay. The Force wasn't telling him much, or he wasn't able to pay attention to what it was telling him. He couldn't look into her head, and he didn't really want to. He stuck his tongue out at her.

"I wasn't procrastinating. I was waiting."

Grabbing a heavy-looking pistol and a chest harness to carry it on, Maka handed a slightly lighter one to her.

"No such thing as overkill on Rishi."

[member="Benedali Serrus"]

 

[Benedali Serrus]

[member="Maka Sumoto"]

"Mhm. Sure, that's what it was. Waiting." She gave a light smirk, accepting the blaster. Weighing it in her hand, she pretended to aim it at the wall across from them. Eyes squinting, she gave a soft murmur of approval before setting it and the sword on the shelf.

Taking off her vest, she looked around the armoury. "See any other har-- oh, there's one." The Duchess walked over to the opposite shelf, sifting through the chest holsters until she found one her size. "Maka, give me a hand, will you? Otherwise I might end up in a hogtie." Truth be told, Bennie probably could have figured it out herself - she was smart like that - but she also didn't want to waste time on something so simple, either. Not when a smelly, sweaty, dirty den of pirates and vagabonds awaited.

 

[Maka Sumoto]

"You just want me to strap guns on you."

Maka grinned as he took the harness and pulled it over her arms. They were a couple of real swashbucklers, weren't they? All the fun toys and swords and leather they could get. It was a pretty nice deal, and this felt like getting back to normal for the archer. He'd spent most of his adult (and some of his non-adult) life stealing money from people he didn't like. Noble blood or not, he was definitely happier here. So was Bennie, as far as he tell. When he was done, he gave her a quick squeeze.

"You look better as a pirate. Don't need the frills."

[member="Benedali Serrus"]

 

[Benedali Serrus]

[member="Maka Sumoto"]

Bennie winked at him. "Maybe, maybe not." She raised her arms above her head, watching the archer's nimble fingers pull the harness into place. After he finished, she tugged on it slightly, readjusting so that it was more comfortable.

"Mm, maybe." The Duchess put her vest back on, pulling on it at various angles until her blaster and harness were, for the most part, hidden. She then looked down at herself, her smile fading. "It's going to be hard at first, getting used to this. We've got enough money yet from the mansion, and I've still got some people watching the stocks, but..." Benedali frowned. "We're actually going to be outlaws, now. Pirates."

She shook her head, a smile returning. "No matter. We'll deal with it when it comes. Right?" The redhead grabbed Maka's hand and pulled him towards to door. "C'mon, we've got Rishi to explore!"

At the exit, though, she stopped. Pursing her lips, Benedali looked back at her archer. "I also had an idea. You know in some of those battlefield holodramas, where the leader would swap places with his second-in-command? What if we did that when we went out? People might take a Dathomiri archer more seriously than a pampered noblewoman, you know?"

 

[Maka Sumoto]

Maka just couldn't seem to find a reason not to smile. When his duchess looked herself up and down, he followed her gaze and enjoyed it. Despite her concerns, he didn't see anything worrying about being an outlaw, particularly not while they were together. If he trusted anybody to have his back, and to quite possibly get him out of a situation through sheer stubbornness alone, it was Bennie. As she grabbed his hand excitedly, he laughed... but was cut off when she faltered. He pulled her into his arms, grinning crookedly.

"I'll switch places with you, just so long as you don't lose that commanding tone of yours. I'd miss it."

He winked at the redhead, then spun her out of the embrace before leading her towards the door again.

"You'll love this place."

[member="Benedali Serrus"]