Quarantine Moon: Orbital Drop on Orsonian

[Kitt Solo]

[member="Flint Michigan"]

"Thanks," she looked up a little surprised, fitting the panels back into place. It wouldn't be long until they would be able to see their breaths like puffs of white smoke. She stood, clipping the tools to the belt that hung low on her hips.

"And accelerated landing," one finger poked roughly against the white shirt over his chest as she faced him, the other hand perched on the curve of her hip. "Is that what crashing is called these days, Captain?" A mixture of humor and legitimate anger flashed through her myrtle-ellipses. "What the kriff were you thinking? I might not have fixed the ship - and then what?"

Her burnt strands of chestnut hair tangled within the collar of his jacket as it hung from her shoulders. His jacket smelled like lemon drops and peppermints. She frowned.

"You're going to freeze."

 

[Flint Michigan]

[member="Kitt Solo"]

"Might not have fixed the ship? C'mon Kitt, gotta have some self confidence." He grinned. "And that landing? With a jammed atmo-break. Did better with it any other twobit spacer this side of Tatooine could have." He said as he took his hand and gently moved her finger off of his chest. She looked up at him for a second, her hair getting tangled up with his jacket and frowned as she looked at him. Apparently he was going to freeze.

"And what are you gonna do about it?" He asked with one of those Corellian grins that Kitt had probably seen endless times before.

 

[Kitt Solo]

[member="Flint Michigan"]

"It's not a lack of faith in my mechanic abilities. It's a lack of faith in your piloting skills." She deadpanned but couldn't quite keep the corners of her lips straight. Twin-chestnut brows lofted at his question, catching a glint of devilry in his eyes to match his grin.

"My hand is dirty," she protested. And for the first time, she was nervous around Flint. Maybe nervous wasn't the right word: jittery, apprehensive, unsure, excited. Maybe a mixture. She was close to him and not in a casual-sort-of-way.

But if he could play the game so could she. Corellian meet Corellian. She flashed a mirrored lopsided grin.

"What do you think I should do about it, huh?"

 

[Flint Michigan]

[member="Kitt Solo"]

My hand is dirty she says, but only after she pokes my shirt with it. Of course. Flint thought to himself with a bit of a smile, before looking at his hand. "Funny. Mine's dirty too. But if you insist." He said, before lightening his grip on the mechanic a smidge. His hand was still there with hers, but if Kitt wanted to withdraw it she'd find it slip out of his reach no problem.

"What do I think you should do?" Flint asked, his eyes rolling upwards as he pretended to put forth a momentous effort into thinking. As he was in his 'thinking pose' of sorts his chest bobbed slowly up and down, the rhythm of it's motion matched visually by the sight of air escaping his mouth. It was getting colder alright.

"Well, the grease seems to be warming me up a bit." Flint said, referring of course to the oil from the life support, or hyperdrive, or wherever it came from before it found it's home on Kitt's hands. Sure, the pilot might have been lyin through his teeth, but at least he did it with a smile. "Or maybe's it's not the grease . . . " Flint said, with a bit of a puzzled look on his face. "Lemme test something real quick here." He said, and then took a step closer to Kitt, closing the distance that much more between them.

"Hmmm. I don't think it's the grease."

 

[Kitt Solo]

[member="Flint Michigan"]

Hold your ground, girl.

She was a dayum Corellian and if he wasn't backin' down neither would she. But oh Ma's apple pies, he was awfully close. He was trying to be so...

"Smooth, Captain. Real smooth." She grinned with a hint of vulnerability as she looked up into his rich, brown eyes. Her hand remained entwined with his and she could feel the heat radiating off his white-shirted chest.

"Do you know what you're stepping closer to, Flint? I'm complicated - a mess, even. There's another man I love but he hasn't been around for awhile. And when I'm around you and your cocky-grin and your, your," voice grew quieter as she became distracted by his chiseled jaw and the proximity of his lips. She found herself leaning closer.

"You sure you want complicated?"

 

[Flint Michigan]

[member="Kitt Solo"]

"Smooth, Captain. Real Smooth." She said with a grin, and Flint couldn't quite tell if she was being sarcastic or not, but he didn't care. He'd lightened his grip but she hadn't let him go. He'd stepped closer but she didn't back away. She began going through excuses, distractions, running through reasons he shouldn't come closer, but with each word she spoke her voice became quieter, her words less sure of themselves. Finally she leaned in a bit towards him, before asking him if he wanted 'complicated'. Flint began to take her hand and his to his left, her right, across their bodies.

"Kitt, there's not a karking thing in this galaxy that isn't complicated." He pulled her hand gently upwards as he came in came in closer, letting her hand go as he draped his right hand over her right shoulder. "And I have no idea what I'm stepping closer to." He said, his other arm wrapping around her, both of them now edging her closer towards him as he tilted his head down and pressed her lips to his. It was soft, tender, and a moment's breadth as he pulled his head back and looked at her with a smile, no roguish grin.

"But I'd love to find out."

 

[Kitt Solo]

[member="Flint Michigan"]

Her arms lifted so her hands encircled the back of his neck. She leaned against him, finding warmth in that cold place. It took her a second to refocus on his face after his lips left hers.

"You're braver than I thought." A genuine smile before she leaned in for another kiss. Any remaining space of separation was gone. Alen used to hold her like this. But this time there was no beard to tickle her face. It was a different kind of tenderness.

She broke the kiss, giving them an opportunity to breath.

"C'mon," she whispered, her lips close to his jaw. "Even with me you'll still freeze. Let's get some blankets."

 

[Yasha Cadera]

My breathing and the confused inner voices is all I hear. As the swirling colours combine into one bright orb, I'm able to release myself from the most intense part of my concentrations and lean back from my perch on the tip of the seat. "Thanks, Master Varanin. Means a lot." The orb continues to swirl and function, fading only as the ships bristle away from our proximity. [member="Ashin Varanin"] is serious power and it helps me let loose. I might be handy and capable in my empathic and mentalistic pursuits, but basically all I do leaves me vulnerable to outside attack. I need to be in a safe place to function and sitting beside one of the baddest asses in the galaxy is one heck of a safe place, all things considered.

"Yes, now would be a good time to get out. Let me check in with my fr . . oh. . oh my." My back goes ramrod straight.

Leave it to me to find the worst time ever of checking in on [member="Kitt Solo"]'s empathic imprint. "Bow chicka wooooow... ah. . . not that. . . aaaah." I sit blankly staring forward. "I don't think we have to worry about the Detroit Nexu for a while. My Non-Cannon-Fodder friend iiiisssss aw gawdess someone invent brain bleach." I mumble and shake Kitt clear of my head.

Bucket leans forward and pokes my cheek. "Boss, your face is turning red. Are you suffering from a cardiac infarction?"
"NoI'mgoodseriouslydon'tmindme." Kitt owes me more than cheesecake.

'You trying to win the Complicated Love Contest, Kittster?' I send the feeling passively, continuing to push doubt and confusion into the strained mental nets of the fading ships.

 

[Flint Michigan]

[member="Kitt Solo"]

"You're braver than I thought." She said, giving him a smile before leaning in to kiss him again, Flint matching her motions and pressing his lips to hers. They held it there for a moment before Kitt broke off, just far enough to speak to him. Her voice was soft, just loud enough for him to hear over the humm of the hyperdrive. He could feel her breath on his chin, the slight warmth contrasting the harsh cold of his piece of crap ship that couldn't heat itself and go to hyperspace at the same time. In this moment, he loved that piece of crap ship.

"Alright" He said simply before leaning down just a smidge to kiss the mechanic on her forehead. He let his left arm leave the Corellian and began to walk her out of the Hyperdrive room, still joined at her side with his arms. They soon reached the den, where he'd been living for a little while now. Letting the ladies get to live in the actual quarters like a polite pilot. Walking over to the space-futon he let the girl down slowly to sit on the couch as he headed over to a bin where he pulled out a long, thick bantha-wool blanket. Sitting to her side he draped the blanket over them both, returning his right arm to it's place over her shoulder.

"How you feelin now Kitt?"

 

[Kitt Solo]

[member="Flint Michigan"]

She laughed. The weight of his arm around her was becoming familiar. "Better. Tired." She leaned in, her side flush against his as she pulled the blanket tighter. "Your flying really stresses me out sometimes."

A grin.

Her head rested on Flint's shoulder, the top of her chestnut-hair tickling against the side of his neck. "The question is, how do you feel?"

She flashed [member="Anders Sivas"] the equivalent of a Do Not Disturb sign through the empathic force connection.

 

[Yasha Cadera]

"Hark, I feel a warning in the Force. I think I'll obey it." I say, rubbing my temple against Bucket's hand. What? I'm still in Mentalist Mode. I'm not brushing an orb full of confused peoples' emotions across my forehead.

Not that dumb.

Also, not dumb enough to disregard [member="Kitt Solo"] 's message. Now's not the time to pick up some shudder-worthy mental scars. 'Don't do anything I wouldn't d-wait, that's terrible advice! See you!' I push the message through with the hefty 'kachunk' of my mental and emotional connection with Kitt shutting down for another day.

 

[Flint Michigan]

[member="Kitt Solo"]

"That made you nervous? I'm gonna have to show you some real flying some time. Nothing was even shooting at us." Flint said, returning Kitt's grin as he took his left arm and stretched it across them, finding a softer, albeit greasier hand to hold under the covers of the bantha-wool blanket.

"Feeling a lot warmer for one." Flint said as he felt her hair rub against his neck, the weight of her head leaning up at his shoulder, the heat of her body next to his. Even without the temperature control-less ship that felt comforting to him.

"Hmm. Kitt, how long do you think I can put a PVC valve as a 'nonessential component' before my mechanic gets mad at me?"

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Anders Sivas"]

"Say your goodbyes," said Ashin, hand resting on the hyperdrive control. "We've got plants to re-pot, and if I'm catching this half of the conversation accurately, your friend has deals of her own to seal."

She engaged the hyperdrive. Exeunt.

 

[Kitt Solo]

[member="Flint Michigan"]

"Don't you dare," she squeezed his hand beneath the blanket and tilted her head to look up at his face. She followed-up with a light elbow to his ribs. "The other girls would never forgive you and," she grinned, "eventually, neither would I."

The tip of her nose tingled from the cold.

"Do you regret hiring all girls and losing your room?"

 

[Flint Michigan]

[member="Kitt Solo"]

A tight squeeze on his hand and an elbow to ribs. Flint supposed that could have gone far worse. Her protests didn't start with her self, deflecting with 'the other girls' before putting her own foot down. Eventually. Flint smiled.

"Forget the other girls then. I've got a little time." He said with a bit of a squeeze, forcing her closer for just a second before letting her body naturally gain just a smidgeon of distance, the two still comfortably close. With Kitt still looking up at Flint he could see the tiniest crinkle of her nose. Poor girl was still cold.

"Do you regret hiring all girls and losing your room?" She asked and the first response in Flint's mind was Not for a Coruscant minute, but he was just smart enough not to say that out loud.

"I mean, do I wish I had a room? Sure. But having a good crew is more important to me than bein comfortable." Flint said before putting up a grin. "And even without a room, I'm perfectly comfortable here."

 

[Kitt Solo]

[member="Flint Michigan"]

"I bet you are pretty comfortable now." She flashed a smile up at him and snuggled in closer. The silence was comfortable. She felt comfortable around Flint. With a small ache in her chest she wondered if she could ever be a hundred percent herself around him.

When the time was right, would he accept her as a force-user? What if Alen came back? What if Flint...

"I should probably make sure the coolant isn't freezing over the panel." The silence was broken but she wanted to stay in this moment a little longer. Fingers released his beneath the blanket and her hand braved the cold as her fingers gently cupped the side of his smooth face. She tilted his head as she went in for a longer kiss.

 

[Flint Michigan]

[member="Kitt Solo"]

With a smile she drew closer to Flint, and for a moment there was naught but silence, the warmth of each other's touch, and the fuzzy itchiness of bantha-wool covering the both of them. For a moment it didn't matter to Flint that he was a mostly broke 2-bit spacer, or that their were half-dead beasts hermetically sealed in the cargo bay, or that at any moment another one of the crewmates could pop in and ask why it was so darn cold, only that he had found someone who wasn't going to be taken away by the Jedi, or discovered to be someone he'd been forced to care about through mental machinations.

"I should probably-" And Kitt didn't need to finish for Flint to know what that meant. The real world was still out there waiting for them, and they had to go and deal with it. Her fingers tried to escape but Flint held them close, keeping them with his for a moment before relenting his grip and letting his hand fall onto her waist. Her hand escaped the wool of the blanket before finding his cheek. Kitt also didn't need to finish tiling his head for Flint to know what that meant, and he went in for one last kiss before the two had to grow up and deal with their problems, his crappy ship. Clutching tightly to the mechanic he extended the moment as long as he could, before finally letting her go.


"I'll" He began to say, trying to come with her to check on the coolant. His speech was interrupted by the sound of the Detroit Nexu leaving hyperspace. A sigh left him. "I"ll get a route planned to Anzat. See if we can get rid of this crap in the cargohold." His right hand moved slowly from her right shoulder to her left, then dragged down unto her elbow, before finding her hand and giving it a squeeze to match the bittersweet smile he had on his face. A second passed and he let go, heading to the cockpit so they could get their payday, and a PCV valve.

 

[Kitt Solo]

[member="Flint Michigan"]

She squeezed back his reassuring squeeze. And his sudden warmth was gone. She still had Flint's jacket around her shoulders, the smell of peppermint still drifting up to her nose. Shaking her head once, she fell back into business-mode and wandered back to the coolant panel.

The cargo-hold was starting to smell.

"The sooner the better, Captain. There's some smell brewing worse than the busted refresher."

Finding a pair of fingerless gloves, she jammed them on, tinkering with the coolant plugs to keep the liquid moving instead of frozen. The last thing they needed right now was another problem.

 

[Flint Michigan]

[member="Kitt Solo"]

While Kitt headed back to deal with coolant issues Flint headed up to the cockpit, getting the ship's sublights on to get them over to Anzat, where an office complex of PharmaTech's was housed. Kitt complained of a smell. He hoped it wasn't the bodies he had taken in, PharmaTech ensured him those contained would seal off anything, smell included. If it was, oh he'd have more than few words for whatever pencil pusher came to pick up Flint's shipment.

"I'm hurryin. Tell me if gets worse." Flint said, still holding out that the issue wasn't was he thought it was. Opening an encrypted channel he hailed PharmaTech.

"This is SSS pilot Flint Michigan here to deliver the package classified as the "Silver Project." Requesting landing and a drop-off of cargo." Flint hailed the Anzati offices.

"This is PharmaTech Anzati Branch, giving you clearance to dock in bay 13." The reply came after a notable pause, as if they weren't expecting him to come or didn't know how to reply. Flint grimaced. The way the man spoke, he'd heard that tone of voice before. It was something he heard from officers, sending troops into a fight they didn't understand. Finding his blaster he put it as his holster before continuing his flight. He didn't know what the PharmaTech men would do, but he wasn't going in unprepared.

 

[Kitt Solo]

[member="Flint Michigan"]

She closed the coolant panel. It was as good as it was gonna get. The ship would warm up once they landed. She felt the subtle shift marking the beginnings of a descent. Taking a moment, she closed her eyes and leaned against the wall, extending her senses in the force.

She felt a twinge of nervousness coming from the cockpit. And further off she felt a pinprick of something familiar. Someone familiar.

She frowned. First Andra...now who? Grabbing her red-bandanna, she tied it around her neck and holstered a blaster to her hip. Always set on stun. She found herself outside of the cockpit and leaned in the doorway, eyes traveling to Flint's holstered weapon.

"Expecting trouble, boss?"