Ask Because I Was Inverted

[L'Arra]

The engines of the Lightdancer whined to life as L'Arra flipped the ignition switches. The clanking of heavy droid feet approached, Iggy, the reprogrammed IG unit Sleek had fixed up sitting in the co-pilot's seat. "Alright Iggy, you're on guns and navigation," L'Arra said. The droid gave off a sound like the vocabulator had a malfunction. L'Arra looked up at the droid with a cocked eyebrow, waiting for it to explode or something. Must have just been a glitch. Iggy plugged itself into the ship's droid port, and manned it's station. Could be worse.

"Hey Sleek! Ya ready!?" she called over her shoulder. She could hear the little tapping footsteps of DiGi running around the interior. It'd be a shame to lift off without Sleek though. L'Arra doubted DiGi would run around and do maintenance on the ship as they flew if Sleek had been left behind. Besides, she actually liked the woman.

It had been a couple of days since their morning tumble in the bed sheets. L'Arra had to find a job and it took longer than expected, but she found one. Running some spice from Nar Shaddaa to Ord Mantell. It was a simple job, and one that hopefully wouldn't cause too much trouble. Would take a few days to get there though, especially if they made stops along the way which they'd most certainly have to do. Only thing to really worry about would be the individual port authorities and pirates. L'Arra didn't have the special protections big wig clients came with on this job since it was from some small gang to another.

She waited for Sleek to confirm she was ready, and started take off procedures. Grabbing the stick and throttle she eased the bird out of the port and began ascending, slowly pushing the throttle forward to accelerate out of the atmosphere. Once they were clear of the smoggy Nar Shaddaa air, Iggy input the first jump coordinates, and L'Arra punched them into hyperspace.

@Remileah

 

[Yoshiko "Sleek" Ryder]

—Image

___Sleek was no stranger to being on starships when they took off, but this was a new experience. She was taking off with somebody else this time, going out on a job to see what happened before people showed up at her shop to fence items. Not only was she going to see the other side, but she was doing it with L'Arra.

___"Ready!" Sleek called to the other woman. The mechanic was strapped in and ready to go, even if she was uncomfortable. All the while, Di-Gi ran hither and yon throughout the ship to assist L'Arra in optimising the ship's performance. As much as she felt inclined to help, she remained seated, knowing standing was a bad idea. Sleek held onto the seat as the ship left port and whipped into hyperspace, causing her to lurch slightly.

___Once the ship was safely in the wormhole, Sleek unfastened her harness and stretched to her feet. Her fingers laced together as she pulled her arms above her head, cracking her back and loosening her muscles. She made her way towards the front of the ship, beaming a bright smile.

___"Thanks fer bein' willin' t'take me, Arra," Sleek said. "Nice t'get outta the shop fer somethin' other'n more business fer myself," she said, leaning against the wall as she crossed her arms. "'Course, y'know, y'also owed me seein' the inside-a the ship anyway, so now's that squared up!"

 

[L'Arra]

L'Arra stood up from the pilot's seat. "You got the helm, Iggy," she said. The droid didn't respond, making L'Arra wonder if it would actually be following her orders or not. It didn't drop them out of hyperspace though, so that was good. She made her way over to Sleek, giving her a fanged grin. "Well, this job is gonna take a hot minute so you're in for a treat." She gave the woman a gentle peck on the cheek as she walked by.

"Galaxy's a dangerous place, and we're gonna be in the thick of it," she said, pressing a button on the wall. A compartment opened up with some blasters. L'Arra turned her yellow gaze to Sleek. "You know how to use one of these?" She gestures for Sleek to take a look at the selection and pick one. Combat wasn't necessarily expected on this run, but it would be a bad day if Sleek found herself in the thick of it without a weapon.

L'Arra's own AZ-1 blaster pistol was on her right hip, but she had a holdout concealed on her back. Her vibro-blade was in it's scabbard on her left hip. With her black shirt and tan cargo pants, she almost looked ready for war. The twitching in her ears and tail betrayed her thoughts. She was getting anxious just thinking about having to use them.

@Remileah

 

[Yoshiko "Sleek" Ryder]

___"In fer a treat?" Sleek echoed, furrowing her brow. Surprise flashed across her face as L'Arra gave her that gentle peck, followed by a faint tint of red filling her cheeks. She lifted her hand to gently rub at her face, a faint smile creasing her lips. The woman turned to face L'Arra as she continued speaking, her head canting to the side as her ears flit.

___"I know which end t'hold and which one t'point at the person y'want corpsified, if that's what yer askin'," Sleek chuckled, approaching the compartment filled with blasters. She reached out to carefully remove an A-180 from the collection, holding it in her hands to examine it. The Fiani showed a basic understanding of blasters, such as trigger discipline and ensuring it didn't point at L'Arra. However, how gingerly she treated it suggested she wasn't extensively familiar with and perhaps even a little frightened of the weapon.

___"Hopin' it en't come t'that, but... I'm assumin' yer askin' me 'cause it might?" Sleek asked, looking up at L'Arra. "Or are ya 'bout t'offer me some extra trainin'? I imagine ex-Imp like you's gotta know more 'bout these things than I do."

@TheDudeMike

 

[L'Arra]

L'Arra nodded. "Yup, a treat. A job like this means multiple stops, and a couple days of on ship with nothing to do," she said. "I'm sure we can find some ways to pass the time, though." A fanged grin spread across her lips. Her ears did an excited flapping motion as her tail swung side to side with more speed. It betrayed her excitement to be spending a little more time with Sleek, especially alone.

She laughed at Sleeks simplification of holding the blaster. "Well that's half the battle right there! Everything else would just go to shit once the first bolt flies by, anyway." L'Arra watched Sleek handle the blaster, and was pretty confident in the the woman's ability just from that. Her ears flattened hearing Sleek's hope.

"I'm not gonna lie to you, Sleek," L'Arra said. "There's a good chance it will. In this line of work something goes wrong all the time. But between me and Iggy over there, we shouldn't have much to worry about. You havin' one is just in case Plans A, B, and C fail." When Sleek had picked her blaster of choice out, L'Arra pressed the button again and closed the compartment. Hopefully this run wouldn't have any issues, but she knew better than to trust in hope.

"You want to do some target practice? Get a feel for the recoil?"

@Remileah

 

[Yoshiko "Sleek" Ryder]

___"En't like it'd be the first time I were shot at," Sleek responded with a wry chuckle, shaking her head as she looked down at the blaster in her hands. She smiled as she finished speaking, her gaze turning up to look at L'Arra again. "S'pose we found somethin' t'pass the time already?" she asked, raising the blaster for emphasis. Sleek's ears rose to a point as Di-Gi rounded the corner, whirring and beeping up a storm to the woman.

___"What?" she asked, confounded. "'Course she en't gonna mind. Y'really think she's gonna get all-fired upset 'cause y'were optimisin' stuff?" Sleek incredulously asked her droid companion. "Go on, git. I'm sure Arra'll be grateful if anything," she finished, waggling and open hand dismissively to the BD unit. The ring around Di-Gi's focusing photoreceptor rotated to zoom in on Sleek, almost as if the droid were squinting at her. The mechanic's ears folded back, and she recoiled defensively.

___"It en't like that, now git," Sleek fussed. Di-Gi slowly turned and scuttled away, metallic feet clanging against the ship's floor. The woman turned to look at L'Arra again, smiling and laughing nervously. "Ornery li'l guy. Anyway, y'got somewhere safe t'practice shootin' on this bird?" she asked, clearly trying to steer the subject away from her conversation with Di-Gi.

@TheDudeMike

 

[L'Arra]

"Guess we did!" L'Arra agreed. Everyone in the galaxy gets shot at once in a while. Was a simple matter of when. The fact that Sleek had gotten it before didn't surprise her one bit. Sometimes it was even a little fun; when the enemy was missing like it was their job to not hit a target. Of course, depending on the enemy, having a solid mynock shoot wasn't all it was cracked up to be either.

"It's alright lil' guy! Go ahead and make all the fixes you want!" L'Arra called out to the droid. Spunky little guy, that one. If he managed to upgrade a few components of the ship in their travels, that was perfectly okay with her. Hells, she'd even pay the little guy to do it if Sleek would have it. Something told her the lil' guy would ecstatic about it, but Sleek would still refuse it. Turning back to Sleek, L'Arra shook her head with a fanged grin.

"Nope! Doin' it the ol' fashioned way," she said. Walking into the main area, she opened a closet. She pulled out a man sized target, heavy with blaster retardant materials. Bolts would be absorbed, not bounced. "As long as you hit this, we'll be A-okay. So don't miss." L'Arra's grin deepened as she set the target up on the other side of the main area, walking back to Sleek.

"Lil' guy would be extra mad if he had to do repairs, eh?" L'Arra pulled the AZ-1 blaster from it's holster on her hip and fired five quick shots, transitioning into a professional shooting stance from shot one to five gradually. All five bolts hit the target with subdued thumps.

@Remileah

 

[Yoshiko "Sleek" Ryder]

___Sleek chortled as L'Arra informed her how they would be practising. She looked at the woman to watch her retrieve the standing target covered in blaster-proof material, setting it up across the way for them to practice. Her ears stood up as her companion drew and fired five clean shots from the hip, landing every single one.

___"En't those big ruttin' shoes t'fill," Sleek scoffed. She had fired a blaster before but wasn't as skilled as L'Arra. Sleek adjusted her stance to adopt a reasonable shooting posture when the other woman finished. It wasn't professional like L'Arra's, but it was evident Sleek had practised a fair amount. The mechanic levelled her weapon, ensured the safety was off, and aimed before discharging. She fired one shot that landed cleanly in the chest of the target.

___"En't gonna see me doin' nothin' fancy, but I like t'think I en't bad, neither," Sleek stated, lowering her weapon. "S'pose the thought-a Di-Gi gettin' all fussy with me gave me a right decent fright, too," she chuckled. "Def'nitely en't need him trillin' at me 'cause I got a carbon stain on the ruttin' wall, or hit some kinda electrical panel."

___Di-Gi poked his head from around the corner and whirred. Sleek scrunched her nose.

___"No, I en't hit nothin'! Stop bein' like that! Look fer yerself!" she quipped at the droid as he disappeared behind the corner again. "Glad t'know y'trust me so much! Sheesh..."

@TheDudeMike

 

[L'Arra]

L'Arra watched Sleek shoot. They weren't bad, that was for sure. Her interactions with the little droid were cute as all hells, but this was to make sure she'd be able to hold up in a life or death situation. "Keep shootin'," L'Arra said. "I'll go grab you a holster." She made her way over to a concealed container behind Sleek, opening it with a button. Inside the several drawers, miscellaneous gear was just thrown in without much care.

She returned to Sleek with a holster. It had a clip on one side that could be removed and placed on the other side. "Can use it inside your waistband, or outside. Won't be stopping at many ports where blasters'll be illegal though, so concealing probably aint the go-to," she said, holding the holster out for Sleek. L'Arra gave her a reassuring smile, waiting for her to dawn the holster. "Try holstering and drawing the blaster a bit. Might have to grab it in a hurry."

With any luck, they wouldn't need blasters, but it was always good to be prepared. Their first stop was going to be Togoria. L'Arra had only been there once before. As long as they stayed near the ship when landed, they were going to be fine, but she had a little something up her sleeve planned for Sleek for they landed. Of course, it would be a couple days.

L'Arra stepped back to let Sleek practice, folding her arms across her chest. "You done much travelling?"

@Remileah

 

[Yoshiko "Sleek" Ryder]

___Sleek resumed her stance to continue shooting as L'Arra left to retrieve a holster. She fired one, two, and three more shots, successfully hitting the dummy each time. She turned as her companion offered her the holster, taking it in her hand to examine it. The woman set the blaster down before securing the holster around her waist, momentarily struggling because of her hips' impressive width. Once it was in place, Sleek took the blaster and holstered it.

___"I, uh, en't never shot from a quick draw afore," Sleek chuckled nervously. She faced the dummy again, awkwardly adjusting her stance as she attempted to decide the best way to stand. Once she found a semblance of comfort, she clumsily drew the blaster and fired. The shot veered to the side and hit the wall behind the dummy, although it hit the wall at such an angle that it didn't reflect off. Where it struck, there was now a dark black carbon score.

___"Whoops," Sleek murmured, looking down at the blaster. "Sorry, Arra," she apologised at the same time as Di-Gi emerged from the corner and chirped in frustration. "Sorry, buddy," she added with an embarrassed chuckle. Sleek holstered the blaster again. "Uh, no, not really. En't never really left Nar Shaddaa much. En't never had a reason to," the woman murmured her reply, her ears folding back against her head at her blunder. "Occasionally left t'go pick up stuff people was sellin', but that's 'bout it. Always kinda been a homebody."

@TheDudeMike

6 / 20 for quickdraw

 

[L'Arra]

L'Arra chuckled at the little droid's angry chirping. "It's alright, that's why we're facing towards non-essential systems," she said. "We can practice more later if you want. Doubt we'll be needing hand blasters all the much, anyway. Most I get on this kinda run is pirates trying to board and seize." And L'Arra hadn't ever been boarded before. Even in her light freighter, she was able to out fly most pirates that were trying to score what they thought was an easy credit.

The veteran walked over to one of the couches and plopped down on it with a sigh. "Suppose that makes sense. Wouldn't want to leave your shop for too long," she said. L'Arra put her feet up, and relaxed. She flashed a fanged grin to Sleek. "What made you want to come with me on this run? Might find a bit of salvage, maybe even make some ourselves, but can't imagine you came for that?"

@Remileah

 

[Yoshiko "Sleek" Ryder]

___"Prob'ly fer the best, too," Sleek muttered in response to L'Arra pointing out they were facing away from critical systems. "Sure, we can do a li'l more later. I en't really feel like lettin' Di-Gi come at me with that arc welder fer blastin' the wall again," the woman chuckled. She followed the other Fiani over to the couch and shuffled past her, looking at the furniture momentarily before plopping down. Unsure whether to sit close or further away, Sleek sat down somewhere in between. She'd let L'Arra close the distance if she wanted to.

___"It en't really that I en't wanna leave the shop," she answered. "Eh, well, s'pose that's part-a it since it's Nar Shaddaa, but folk keep a good eye out on my stuff fer me when I'm away," Sleek elaborated, thinking back to the various connections she had established over the years. There was no shortage of people who owed her favours and, more still, who were so appreciative of her work and reasonable prices that they acted of their own volition when they knew she was away. Sleek had protection without needing to pay a single credit.

___"Hard t'say," she said, laying her head on the back of the couch to stare at the ceiling. As they spoke, Di-Gi was cleaning the carbon scoring off the wall. "I en't never done nothin' like this afore and wanted t'see the other side," Sleek elaborated. "S'pose a part-a me just wanted t'find an excuse t'spend a li'l more time with ya. I weren't even sure if ya'd be a'ight with it, but..."

___She shrugged.

___"Just felt right. Iunno. It all prob'ly sounds dumb and rushed. Why'd you agree t'bring me?"

@TheDudeMike

 

[L'Arra]

The moment Sleek plopped down, L'Arra slid over and put her arm around the fiani woman. "People look after your shop?" L'Arra asked. "That's a lot of trust. Dunno if I could get on with that. Ship's all I got." If she woke up one morning in a hotel and made her way back to the ship to find it was gone or ransacked, she'd be crushed. "Hells, I'd let ya shoot up the whole inside before I trust this baby with a neighbor."

Sleek's mention of spending more time with L'Arra caught her off guard. L'Arra wasn't in this for long term. Maybe repeated visits. She didn't let the thoughts change her expression, instead giving Sleek a fanged grin. "Well, besides the practical reasons for four hands being better than two, you're a good gal, Sleek; It gets pretty lonely out here on your own, and you're some very good company."

L'Arra's eyes fixed on the table in front of them. "I love flyin' but in a TIE it would be a five hour flight per sortie, then you could spend time with your buds."

@Remileah

 

[Yoshiko "Sleek" Ryder]

___"Yeah, surprising, en't it?" Sleek asked. "Y'find honour 'mong thieves when ya en't out t'scalp folk. I've bailed a lotta people outta bad situations 'cause I en't charge 'em out the nose," she continued, scooting closer to L'Arra when her arm went around her shoulder, her hand dangling just above her chest. The woman cackled as L'Arra joked about letting her destroy the ship's interior before trusting it to another, shaking her head at the thought. Di-Gi simultaneously expressed his protest with a quick turn and frustrated whir.

___"She's kiddin', buddy, calm down," Sleek huffed at the droid. "I'm sure it does get lonely. En't like the shop's dif'rent most days," she continued, laying her head back against L'Arra's arm. "I told ya afore, en't really got friends other'n Di-Gi," the Fiani elaborated. The more she talked about it, the more it left a sour taste in her mouth. "I en't doubt I'm in good comp'ny. Y'been great so far," Sleek said with a grin, taking the initiative to lean over and give the other woman a peck on the cheek. She leaned back again as L'Arra spoke about flying TIEs again.

___"Y'ever think 'bout goin' back?" Sleek asked. "T'the Empire, I mean. Seems like y'miss it sometimes."

@TheDudeMike

 

[L'Arra]

"I haven't made too many friends since being out. Now that I am, all my old buddies that were in are gone," L'Arra said. She pulled out a box of deathsticks, and pulled one between her lips. "And the friends I've made since are all pretty much de- uh, gone too." L'Arra lit the deathstick and took a long drag. Her exhale released the blue smoke, but also acted as a sigh from her nerves being calmed.

Her question about going back caught L'Arra a little off guard. Of course she'd thought of going back. Every day, actually. There was nothing L'Arra could do to stop the intrusive thoughts that she'd made a mistake getting out of the Empire. She took another long drag of her deathstick. "Every day," L'Arra said quietly. "Kinda miss the boys. Playin' chicken with the bridge." Her mind began to wander.

@Remileah