The Nine Lives of Alleycat

[Damon Riggs]

What had it been, six months, a year? Honestly, Riggs couldn't remember. Most nights he was alone and drunk. Mornings, he was hungover. A friend had said something about whiskey remembering what the mind wanted to forget. Oh well. If Riggs really wanted to forget he wouldn't have kept his dog tags around his neck, nor would he have named his ship "Inquisitor's Revenge." In all honesty, Riggs wanted to get even. He wanted payback for everyone he had lost.

Smuggling provided some payback. Sure it wasn't really legitimate work, but there were plenty of opportunities to stick to the various groups which had contributed to his loss. The new career also put his ear to the ground of a galaxy wide rumor mill, and one such rumor piqued his interest very much. Word around most spaceports talked about a sun kissed brunette with brandy tinted brown eyes who cussed like a sailor, and drank like one too. What caught Riggs ear though was all the caf she was rumored to go through, with four creams. Riggs knew only one person who could fit that description, someone he thought was dead.

Coordinates were set for Taanab as soon as he had a location. Ask enough questions and you get the right answers. There was a mechanic shop in the Capitol, near the spaceport which locals said had a woman working there matching that description. It was all Riggs could do to keep from running righ there. For once he knew of someone that had survived from his crew, or in the case the squadron he housed. This wasn't just anyone either. It was the commanding officer, and the one woman Riggs had actually considered settling down with. Though right now, he wasn't the kind of person to settle down with.

Riggs, walked into the shop, and that's when the nerves hit. What was he going to say? Hey there Alex glad you aren't dead, you remember how I told you I loved you before you had to run off? Cuz that was the thing to say. He was glad she was alive, supposedly as it hadn't been confirmed yet, and he did love her still, but he was so careful and cautious. Even his relationship with his parents was strained. The former navy captain was not who once was. Riggs thought about turning around and leaving, but the chime indicating he walked in had already gone off, and he could see the shadow of someone walkin to the front of the shop. It was about to get real. Riggs gulped. He needed a drink, a strong one.

[member="Alexandra Russo"]

 

[Alexandra Porte]

Time had no meaning anymore for the former flight commander. Russo just walked from one day to the next, making the necessary movements and contribution to society that indicated she was alive. Well her body was for sure, and select pieces of her mind that Alex would allow to function, but the very fabric of her soul had been shredded when Alleycat's squadron and the crew of the Inquisitor were obliterated before her eyes. The cruelty of the situation was yet again the Taanabian had survived when she shouldn't have. First her parents and two younger brothers had been killed by a pirate gang when they raided the Russo farm on Taanab when she was just twelve, and then there was the recent near-death experience in space… and now this near-life existence. Yes, she was just barely hanging on by a thread, and a thin one at that. There were days where she was so close to just ending it all, then something would pull her back and near-life would continue on for the brandy-eyed brunette.

After being in a coma for several months in a med-ward under the name of Jane Doe on some non-Repbubilc world, Alexandra found out the fates of her friends and comrades that she had served with; they were all dead or so the news articles said. Alex's biggest regret is that she never got to answer Damon in that brief shared moment before going off into combat with her own declaration of love for him, and now, well it didn't matter anymore did it as he was dead, and her insides were too.

Wiping a tear from her cheek that had fallen while she had been wistfully musing with the back of a grease-stained hand, Russo finally shook herself back to the present and strained harder on the hydrospanner trying to dislodge a stubborn bolt to gain access into the backside of an engine block. When the chime went off indicating someone had just walked into the mechanic shop, Alex lost her concentration making the tool slip, dinging her index finger on her right hand hard. A flurry of colorful swear words in several languages the pilot knew came out of her pretty mouth as she danced around in pain and grabbed a clean rag to stop the bleeding.

Dressed in a pair of well-used and oversized mechanic overalls, and her sun-kissed long brown tresses pulled up into a messy bun with stray strands framing her dirty face, Russo finally made her way to the front of the shop to see what whomever came in wanted as normally that was the owner's job, but Gus Ketch had taken the afternoon off. Figures! He'd gotten spoiled having his side-kick and grown-up foster daughter around again.

The scruffy looking man standing there in the leather jacket waiting to be helped seemed familiar in some way… then brandy eyes met azure. How could one ever forget those piercing blue orbs that had captured her from the moment of their first meeting on the hangar deck of the dashing Fleet Captain's ship after her squadron had arrived?! Alex froze in mid-stride, heart racing, breath catching, completely in shock at who she was seeing in front of her alive. No… it was a figment of her imagination as she had just been thinking about him. Russo closed, then reopened her unbelieving eyes and there he still stood. Gods [member="Damon Riggs"] had changed... for worse or better she didn't care at the moment. A multitude of emotions hit her like a full wing of TIE fighters and shields immediately went up, her heart going for evasive maneuvers to avoid bringing the deep buried pain back to the surface.

"Riggs?…. What the hell?! You're dead…. Aren't you?" she barely managed to squeak out in a pained voice with sienna brows furrowed perplexingly.

 

[Damon Riggs]

Riggs had always thought Russo was the prettiest being to ever roam the galaxy. Even when she was in coveralls, covered in grease, and had her long tresses loosely wrapped in a messy bun. The few strands which hung loose were wet from her sweat, something that usually accompanied the exertion of fixing things. Seeing he standing there, alive, it was overwhelming for the fledged turned smuggler. Whereas Russo's shields went up, Riggs cracked. The usually composed man began to feel tears set his cheeks as he shook his head, then nodded. Words were at the tip of his tongue, but they weren't sounding. Hands came to his face as he quickly wiped the evidence of the tears from his face. His eyes still glistened, and the red puffy sign that he had been teared up remained.

"Should be," was all he could manage in the moment.

His heart was pounding hard inside of his chest. Russo likely heard it all the way from where she was standing. Despite all the combat situations Riggs had faced nothing made him more nervous than being around [member="Alexandra Russo"]. The woman seemed to have a powerful effect on the spacer, one that reduced Riggs to nothing more than a common man, a vulnerable one at that. Everything in him wanted to run to the brunette, wrap her up in his arms, kiss her with all kinds of passion, and tell her that his feelings for her had not changed. Why was he moving so slowly then?

The dirty blonde seemed to be walking at a slug's pace. Slowly, he made his way to the counter, lifting the part of it which was hinged, the only access to the back shop from the front entrance. Riggs stopped just short of doing all the things he wanted to do. Instead his eyes just looked deep into her darker gaze. She was so much more guarded, even more than when they had first met. Riggs had broken past her barriers before, and he could do it again. The fact she was still alive was all the hope he needed.

"They had you listed among the missing or killed," he finally said reaching to touch her, but stopping.

It was hard. She was standing righ there, but yet touching her was what he needed to know it was her and not some ghost of his desperate imagination. Which if it were, then why was he imagining her in coveralls? That thought wasn't there at all. The hovering hand finally rested gently on the side of her upper arm. A near sigh of relief escaped his lips as he did so. It really was what he needed, Russo though? Riggs just hoped she didn't shrug him off. The rugged spacer pushed the memories of that battle out of his mind. Riggs was there to move forward, and get another chance at something he thought he had lost, no matter the effort, and the time it would take.

"You got time for a cup of caf, four creams?"

 

[Alexandra Porte]

"I was told the same about you after I… " Russo hesitated blurting out to Riggs what had happened to her, all those months in a coma, then painful rehab as he walked up to her. "Never mind. Seems we both should be dead, though I'm glad you're not otherwise I would be considered crazy talking to a ghost."

She swallowed hard bracing as his hand came to rest upon her arm. It wasn't that Alexandra didn't want him to touch her it was more that the brunette was afraid she'd completely lose her composure in front of him and appear weak. Alex never wanted to be weak again.

"I suppose I do. I'm pretty much done here with my work for the day. Just give me a few to get cleaned up," she replied after a moment of contemplation, then quickly slipped from Riggs' gentle grasp to walk back the way she came.

Alex didn't think she just did; washed her face, let her messy hair down and ran a quick brush through it, then changed into something similar to what the scruffy dirty blonde was wearing. A tank, jeans, boots and leather jacket were the former flygirl's attire when not in her grease covered coveralls usually worn when going to the bar more nights than not to shoot pool, throw darts and get drunk. It had become a habitual thing to past the time mindlessly.

Russo walked back out to the front of the shop where [member="Damon Riggs"] was waiting turning off lights as she went along, her expression still neutral as she hardly had any other except when she was smashed. "The Dew Drop Cafe is a pretty good place to go. It's just down the way and has a decent cup of joe and pie if you're so inclined. Want to follow me there?"

 

[Damon Riggs]

"After you what?"

That was what Riggs wanted to ask, but he didn't. The stoic, neutral gaze, the hard swallow, her tensing as Riggs reached to touch, they were all signs of the same thing Riggs was dealing with. Walls were high, but Russo could always walk through whatever walls Riggs had. One reason he loved her so much and had seen a future with her was just for that reason. Riggs didn't even think she did it on purpose, she just did, like they were meant for each other despite whatever obstacles were there.

His wait felt like an eternity. The smuggler nearly gripped the mechanic tighter as she walked away, but he knew she would be back. Still, he feared losing her after only having found her again. Seeing her alive, it helped. There would be some healing that could begin. Was the rugged looking captain going to drink himself to sleep tonight? Truthfully that depended on how coffee went, oh and pie, he heard mentioned when they started walking to the cafe. Good gods she looked good!

It was a quaint looking place from the outside, but once inside, it boasted a comfortable scheme with leather chairs, wooden tables, and brick fireplace in the middle. Whether Alex wanted it or not, Riggs opened every door for her. It was almost as if now that he had seen her, he went into overtime to be sure to win her. He didn't need to say what he had said to her in his ready room what seemed like ages ago. She knew the truth. He still felt the same. Why else would he have tracked her down across the galaxy?

"Let's sit by the fire hmmm?"

Riggs pulled out a chair for Russo as he ordered from where he stood.

"Two cups of caf, room for cream, and piece of chocolate creme pie. Two forks," he said holding up his fingers.

It wasn't the ten forward lounge, and they didn't have their manifests in front of them, but Riggs had everything else down pat from the first of many cups of caf and pie they had shared. It had always been one big piece with two forks. The service was quick, and in no time the caf and pie were there. So why wasn't his arm moving to dig into the pie. Instead another few tears fell, almost as if he thought he would never have the simple pleasure of sharing caf and pie with [member="Alexandra Russo"].

"Sorry....... I'm still kinda a wreck."

Riggs pushed past it. Wiping his cheeks before sipping his caf.

"When I heard about a hot sunkissed brunette with brandy colored eyes back on Taanab, I had to come see for myself. So besides what I already know, you okay? You happy here, or could you use an excuse to get back in space?"

 

[Alexandra Porte]

Russo slipped her hands into her leather jacket pockets and walked silently down the sidewalk as she lead the way to the Dew Drop. Her long legs carried the brandy-eyed brunette with determination to get to her destination without hesitation. In other words no time for small talk.

Nodding a wordless thanks to [member="Damon Riggs"] for both the door and the chair, Alex slipped off her jacket after sitting down at the table the Coruscanti had chosen as the fire was warm, but left the leather garment hang about her shoulders giving her a bit of a shell so as not to leave herself so bare. "That makes two of us," she responded to his comment about being a wreak, trying to ignore the sight of more tears from him as she poured four small containers of cream into her cup of caf.

My happiness died that day… as should I have.

Alex's brown eyes met Damon's blue for the briefest of moments as the thought of sharing pie like the old days crossed her mine, then the former fighter jockey's gaze darted back downward again as she took a sip of her hot drink. "If the the booze is better, I might be. The ale here isn't too bad, but the whiskey sucks. What are you exactly offering, Riggs, as last I knew you were a fleet captain for the Republic, and a seemingly dead one at that?

 

[Damon Riggs]

Their eyes had met, briefly, and Riggs thought he may have seen a flicker of life burried underneath the pain and guilt which he recognized all to well. The caf was strong, and that was good. Riggs had a pounding headache as he had been so nervous his night had been spent pounding one shot after the other.

"I have plenty of Corellian Whiskey to keep us both good and drunk for a long time if that's what you really want," he said as he pulled out a flask and "flavored" his caf. He offered it to Russo. "I quit, or got a medical discharge. I thought I lost everything, my crew, your squadron," Riggs paused as an attention better and waited until Russo looked at him, "...you. Couldn't take it so I got out and with a loan from my parents bought a center cockpit YT-1300. Started taking smuggling jobs to pay the bills and to stay sane."

The blue eyed rogue slipped his jacket off and let it hang against the chair back. He finally reached for the pie and slid his fork through taking a decent mouthful. Another small step forward, because that's what this was about. They both had to move forward. No more rutts. They healed together or they stayed in sorry state they were in. Life moved on with or without them. They could live it or they could quit.

"I'm a mediocre pilot at best, and some of these jobs people ask for are out of my league as a pilot. You, you're the best damn pilot I know. We'll split the earnings right down the middle, and I'll keep the galley full of caf, chocolate, and whiskey.

Riggs sighed. He just looked at Alex. His mind remebered those moments in the ready room. They had been about to kiss, and the alarm had gone off. She never got to respond, but he knew. Alex had come flying into Inquisitor by the book, and did here best to keep their relationship as professional as they could keep it. Riggs had been the one trying to chip away at her walls with the caf and pie, which became breakfast, then lunch, the occasional dinner. He would do it again if he had to

"We need each other, [member="Alexandra Russo"]. I need you."

 

[Alleycat]

delete

 

[Alexandra Porte]

The offered flask was gladly taken and a large amount of the contents poured into her caf.

"I just might. Whiskey certainly does the trick at numbing the pain and getting rid of the nightmares… I watched helplessly as the Inquisitor took that final hit, blow, then break apart just before my own ship got a lock on it. I was too devastated to go evasive and why, everyone was gone, you…I thought. Rusty was loyal to the end. My trusted R2 unit squealed one last goodbye, then ejected me right before my fighter was vaped," Russo said, then closed her eyes tightly and bit her lip to keep a pained wail from coming out. After a few moments, the once proud and fearless Alleycat continued.

"I woke up four months later from a coma on some forsaken planet as a Jane Doe. My mind, body and spirit broken. Apparently some salvagers found me in the debris field with my life-support still working, just barely though. It took another couple of months of rehab before I was able to physically leave the hospital… I didn't know where else to go so I came back here. Gus gave me my old job back even though he didn't really need me," Alex added with a neutral expression though her fingers were wound tight around the cup she was holding.

"If you really think you need me, [member="Damon Riggs"], then I'll be your pilot."

 

[Damon Riggs]

Russo's story was similar to his own, but not exactly like his. What bothered him the most was about how stubborn she had been about trying to live and her droid, rusty, had to save her.

"We are a stubborn breed," Riggs commented at the end of her story.

He nodded when she agreed to be his pilot, mouthing a thank you, though unable to say it he was so grateful. Riggs drained the rest of his caf and finished his half of the pie. The flask he had given Russo went back in his jacket, before standing and putting it back on. A couple of credits laid on the table as a tip for the service, and he offered a hand to Russo.

"Come take a look at her then," he said pulling her out of the chair. He accidently brought Russo up a little close to himself.

A slight grin and a shrug of his shoulders quickly excused it, and Riggs took a step back. He started to lead the way to the spaceport. The smuggler was on foot since all his free credits had paid for the fuel to get to Taanab. He had time to tell his take, so he did.

"We got hit hard, well you saw, there wasn't a lot of time and I ordered a full evacuation. Half the pods malfunctioned, a good chunk were destroyed as they deployed, and like a good captain I stubbornly waited for everyone to get off. Jenkins waited with me, and with one pod left, I was going to go down with the ship. He sucker punched me into the pod and launched it before I could even protest. I watched the ship explode, and as far as I know Jenkins was still on it. You're the first survivor I've found."

Of course he didn't give the details of his rehab. She already knew he got the ship, the one they were now boarding. For now the name wasn't important. Russo would get the meaning when he have it to her, but the tour first. Taking a left, Riggs led Alex down the corridor to where the cargo holds were. It was the long way around to the cockpit, but he did that on purpose. Of course he showed her the engine room, lounge, galley, main fresher, and finally stopped at the quarters.

"Cockpit is down the corridor to the left. These rooms are the quarters. The two end ones are crew quarters, captain quarters in the middle across the corridor. I've been holding up in the captain's quarters. You can pick whichever of the two you want, or," Riggs stopped, his stomach tightening and nerves making him almost nacious, "...or if your tired of being alone, the nightmares that happen because of it, you can... stay with... stay with me."

Right so he said, not as suave as he would have liked it to be, but he said it. What had he said? Riggs still had nightmares, he felt alone, and he knew what it was like. He still wanted to be with her, and knew sometimes it simply took another person being there, because the alcohol didn't always work. Riggs was saying, without saying it, he still loved her.

"So that's all there is to her, Inquisitor's Revenge."

[member="Alexandra Russo"]

 

[Alexandra Porte]

The walk in the fresh night air to the spaceport where Riggs had docked his ship was welcomed. Alex had gotten a good whiff of the scruffy dirty blonde's aftershave when [member="Damon Riggs"] pulled her up close to him back at the cafe. It was the same the pretty boy fleeter had worn before and it brought all sorts of memories, ones she'd really tried to suppress. The brunette knew what Damon wanted to happen, but the Taanabian didn't think she could go there, at least not yet… or maybe ever. She just didn't know. Everything was still a whirl in her head, and heart.

"I'm sorry about Jenkins. The Commander was a good man, and sounds like something he'd do," Russo said simply as they boarded the modified YT-1300. There wasn't anymore to be said on that subject as she'd lost her XO too, who had been a good man and taken a hit for her to give the Taanabian an added moment at a small chance to survive. And here Alleycat was, thinking on ways how not to survive. How pathetic and ungrateful for his sacrifice she was. Alexandra really needed to get her life together and to honor her friend's unselfish gift… But how? Was this how, rejoining Riggs to live on for those that were lost that dreadful day?

Once the tour began, Alleycat focused on it, taking in all the details that would be important to the pilot and mechanic. When they stopped at the crew's quarters, it was a no brainer for her… again maybe in time, but for now separate cabins.

"I'll take the one next to yours that way if we acquire any passengers, they can have the cabin closer to the lounge and galley and it gives us all a bit of privacy," Russo answered, then added after digesting the name. "And if you don't mind, I think I'll refer to the ol' girl as the 'Rev' for short when not needing to be all official-like. When do you want to ship out, Riggs? I'll need to square things with Gus and grab my things, not that I have much other than my tools really and the credits I've been saving these last six months."

 

[Damon Riggs]

Torch and Jenkins, two XOs that were the most loyal friends either of them had ever had. The two reasons why Riggs and Russo needed to start living life instead of letting it just happen. That's why the ship, which Russo was going to call the "Rev," was named as it had been. The real revenge would be the fact these two were going to actually live what fate had wanted to take away, a good, long, happy life.

"Call her whatever you like. You're the one flyin her," Riggs responded to [member="Alexandra Russo"]'s question.

Rolling his left wrist up, and sliding his jacket sleeve out of the way, Riggs looked a his wrist crono. There was no reason to rush, other than the dock fee would jump in three hours. Factor the fact it took them thirty minutes to reach the spaceport, they had two hours before Riggs had to leave or pay extra.

"I need to leave in three hours. So we got to leave Gus's place at 19:30, airborne at 20:00. I'm coming to help you get what you need."

Riggs didn't say anything about the fact she had turned down his offer to bunk together. He didn't blame her. She had lost everyone and he had just showed up out of the blue. No, he knew he was starting over with where her walls were. They were probably thicker, higher, stronger, but he could do it. They were quiet as they walked back. There was nothing for them to really say in catching up. So it was very quiet. Hopefully Gus would be there when thu got back. Riggs didn't want to just take Russo away without her getting a chance to tell him what was going on.

"I can stay out here if it's easier?"

 

[Alexandra Porte]

"No… Why would I do anything the easy way, hmm? Stubborn remember?!"

The apartment above Yellow Aces' mechanic shop was small especially for two, but the old vet had been kind enough to let her stay there, plus Russo didn't have far to get herself to work with her usual hangovers that greeted the former flygirl most mornings.

"Well this is home sweet home… I'll just be a minute. Help yourself to something cold in the fridge if you want. Gus should be home pretty soon so I can tell him in person I'm leaving… I'm actually glad your here cuz I think he might think I'm hallucinating if I said I was going off with [member="Damon Riggs"] as you are supposed to be dead and knows why I drink to forget you."

With that said, the brunette disappeared up a short flight of metal stairs to the upper level. Alex had been sleeping on an air mattress in a storage room and her clothing was neatly folded in piles on the floor; one thing she had not lost in all the turmoil was the need to still be a neat nick. A military style duffel bag was grabbed and all her things placed inside in an orderly fashion, then she turned the light off and descended the stairs.

"Well this is all I have except for my tool box downstairs in the shop, which we can pick up on our way out."

 

[Damon Riggs]

Right, Russo never did things the easy way. Of course she was going to make Riggs explain to Gus that he was taking her away, again. At least the brunette gave him fridge rights. A nice cold ale for him, and one for Russo too. He popped the caps off as he listened to the rest of what she had to say, and something caught his attention. In fact, it near sobered him up fast.

"She drinks to forget me," he thought to himself.

Riggs was about to follow her up the stairs, but thought better of it. There were only a couple of reasons he could think that she would actually drink to try an forget him. Sure he had died, that was one reason, but why do that? Why wouldn't she want to remember him, and the good times they had shared like the one they had just relived at the cafe. They really were a mess weren't they. [member="Alexandra Russo"] seemed to be hitting the booze as much as he was.

When she descended the staircase, Riggs handed her the ale he had opened for her, then took a quick, but healthy gulp of the chilled liquid inside. After getting the nerve to even bring up the subject she had dropped in his lap, Damon rounded the counter which had been separating them.

"So you drink to forget me?"

Riggs managed to get the question out as the door of the apartment opened and the owner of the shop, Gus Ketch, walked in.

"She drinks to forget you because you're supposed to be a dead man," he said as he approached the ex-captain.

He gave Russo a side hug before offering his hand to Damon, which Riggs took into a firm shake before letting it drop.

"Well until a month ago I thought Russo was dead too. They had her listed on the MIA/KIA reports."

Gus nodded, and took in the duffle which was slung over Russo had brought down with her. A small look of disappointment crossed his face, very briefly. He knew she would leave again at some point in time, and with Riggs alive, it made sense she would go with him, after all, he did no the answer to the question Riggs had asked. Her walls might be high, but Gus decided that was more to keep Russo from feeling again, then it was to keep people out.

"So, Alleycat, you takin off again?"

Riggs just stood there, awkwardly. He really didn't want to be there for this part, but Russo had wanted him to come in. The dirty blonde decided to give them a bit of space and went back toward the kitchen to drink his ale.

 

[Alexandra Porte]

Gus always had impeccable timing and had a way with saying the obvious. The older man walked in with his signature toothpick held in one hand as he hugged Russo in greeting.

"It's time, Ketch. I need to get on with living since I am alive. I owe my men and women that I served so proudly with. And as you can see, I will be working with an old friend piloting his ship for him. I'll drop you a line once we get situated where were headed," Alex said, then added as the she reached out to touch the vet's arm tenderly. "Thanks again for everything. You've always been there when I needed you," she smiled finally though it still didn't quite reach her soulful brandy orbs.

With that last thing said, Alleycat motioned for [member="Damon Riggs"] to come with her as she walked out the apartment door, closing one chapter in her nine lives and starting another; hopefully this one having a happier ending than the last two.

 

[Damon Riggs]

Russo made that fast, and not all that awkward. Gus even seemed to look like he had been expecting her leave at some point. That was Riggs take on the whole thing. He gave the man a firm handshake. It was good to meet the man Alex basically looked to as a father figure.

"You take real good care of her, Riggs. My place is open to you both if you ever need to just get away from it all for a while."

The last was more for Alex, but Gus did mean it when he said both of them.

Riggs got the signal loud and clear Russo was ready to go. So they went back, the night air was cool, the sun looking as though it was wanting to set. The two were so numb though neither would likely recognize the romantic farewell Taanab was giving them. The breeze was good as it helped to bring more clarity to the Coruscanti smuggler. There was some more business to discuss once they got airborne.

Riggs entered his passcode, and let Russo see it. It was the same as his ready room had been, so she likely remembered it. Still it was hers now too. Making his way up the ramp, he grabbed his datapad once they reached the cockpit, which had his preflight checklist. Russo pros ably had it down pat, but the former fleeter still had to use a list.

"So we'll get her up and then we can talk about a job I know about. I'll just get out of the way and let you do your thing. You probably know more about getting her airborne than I do."

Riggs started to head out to get some caf on, but he thought better of it. He turned back and asked a question he should have asked on their way back to the ship.

"You okay? You gonna be okay?"

It was a question he asked himself everyday.

[member="Alexandra Russo"]

 

[Alexandra Porte]

Brandy eyes took in an all too familiar passcode she'd tried to forget from another lifetime used now to open up the Inquisitor's Revenge. Gods what a horrible name for a ship [member="Damon Riggs"] chose though it was befitting given the circumstances. Oh… and damn those circumstances too!

Upon boarding the modified YT-1300, Russo went to her cabin she'd called from the tour given earlier by Riggs and dropped off her stuff, then joined the former fleet captain in the cockpit after a quick swig from her smuggled in whiskey bottle stashed in her duffle bag.

It had been a while since the former starfighter pilot had been behind the controls of a light freighter, but it was like riding a bicycle after not doing so for a long time; came back pretty easily hopefully without any crashes. Sliding into the pilot's chair, Alleycat did a quick refresher of where all the bells and whistles were located on the control console, then made sure the hatches were secure and lit up the engines on pretty boy's baby, though he wasn't pretty boy any more with that scruffy look about him. She's have to come up with another nickname for Riggs.

"Hopefully, huh?!" Russo quipped, then added as green lights appeared across the board. "Better strap yourself in good and tight… I'm gonna see what the ol' girl has once we're clear of the spaceport. I'd like to know now how she handles rather than later… Oh and no, but who knows maybe a change of scenery will do the trick, hmm. How about you?"

After getting clearance, the brunette gently lifted the "Rev" up off the hangar deck on its repulserlifts, then feathered the controls as they shot up into Taanab's atmosphere, putting the ship through the paces. Alex gave one last look to her homeworld, then gaze went forward as that was the direction her life would begin again.

"Go ahead and get ready the nav-computer for wherever we're headed…. I'm ready to pop this lemonade stand."

 

[Damon Riggs]

Riggs just nodded as he put the coordinates in. He should tell her. The dirty blonde owed it to her to tell her they were going to a debris field to salvage some wreckage. They had to get ready for it, mentally and such. The last Turing the pair needed was to get to the site and just lose it all together. Someone had once told him there was only one way to truly get past the thing that caused you the worst nightmares, and that was to face it head on. That's why Riggs planned to be the one doing the space walk. Another reason he needed the pilot was because he couldn't leave the ship unattended.

"We're going near Coruscant," he said quietly. "Their is a bunch of wreckage just waiting to be snatched up for credits. It's too good to pass up..."

Riggs stopped. There was something being left unsaid, and she would know it. The smuggler scratched at the stubbled beard he had allowed to grow on his once clean shaven cheeks. His head turned slightly to look her way.

"It's wreckage from the fall of Coruscant. My guess is everyone is going in for the big stuff. We can stay wind the perimeter and scavenge whatever droids are there, clean'em up and resell them. Memory wipes, the whole package. I'll do the space walk and you can hang out here on "Revenge."

Riggs looked her in the eyes looking for something, determination, will, a steel spine. They would do this. They would face what had taken their crews from them and torn them apart for a year. It was time to tackle it head on, and leave this scene better because of it.

"Punch it, Russo!"

[member="Alexandra Russo"]