I just realised that even though when I was writing it in word I had paragraph spaces and *'s to show when the point of view changed (Ace or Corso) it didn't save to the end result itself. Look at my deviantart page if you're having trouble telling who's talking when and I'll try to figure it out. The parts in BOLD are from Corso's P.O.V
Part 1: Ord Mantell
Captain Amarria 'Ace' Pheonix pulled a hard right as she maneuvered her ship out of the way of incoming fire from the air defense cannons on the ground. She gritted her teeth as she finally saw an opening and landed her ship, Firebird, into the waiting landing dock and took a much needed deep breath.
Well that got the adrenalin pumping she thought to herself as she unbuckled herself from the pilots' seat, lowered the loading ramp and made her way out into the hanger. Better go smooth from here or someone's gonna pay.
A man with dark brown shoulder length hair and a black tribal tattoo covering half of his face was waiting to greet her as she walked off the ramp, surveilling her surrounding as she went.
"Can't believe you made it through that separatist shooting gallery, Captain. Your ship isn't even scratched." He quipped as they made their way to the large archway that took up half the side wall of the hanger. It wasn't the worst hanger she's ever docked at, at least it was better than the barely stable 'platform' she had just vacated on Nar Shaddaa. Though the cannons trying to blast her out of the sky on her way in was definitely a draw back. Not having to worry about random people trying to steal her ship, it being a secure hanger and all, was a plus though. This wasn't exactly the beginning of her solo smuggling career she had been hoping for.
"The name's Skavak, I'm picking up the blasters in your cargo hold. Excuse the rush, but I need to get out of here quick." The man said as he hurried over to a terminal on the far wall.
As Skavak continued to talk, something about separatists and a nearby village, Ace did a quick scan of the area as she always did when entering a new environment, looking for cover and anywhere that could hide an enemy. It looked like any other hanger; metal walls and floors, bright paint to indicate… well something. Ace could never remember what. There seemed to be a small upstairs area, probably used as a common area for the dock hands to have meals or play sabacc.
Ace's attention was drawn to the door as a man came running into the hanger, her hand went immediately to her blaster, sensing trouble.
"Skavak! We've got a big problem. Separatists took over the local air defense cannon!"
You don't say Ace thought to herself as she took in the new addition to the conversation.
He was tall, cute and looked like he's seen his fair share of fights. His dark hair was in dreadlocks and most were pulled back from his face, his tan doing little to hide his scars, his eyes a piercing shade of blue. Even though he was almost doubled over panting, he seemed to be in good shape.
Very good shape Ace said to herself as she covertly eyed the newcomer as Skavak moved towards him.
"Whoa! Slow down, Corso. What are you talking about?" Corso then filled them in about the remote jamming device and the destroyed public freighter. Any hopes of a smooth first run died in flames. Should of known when they tried to blast me out of the sky Ace thought to herself as the men discussed the best way to stop the separatist in their tracks.
"So, if I want to get off this rock I have to take down those jamming towers?" Ace asked them when their heated discussion lulled.
"Unless you want to some new windows in your ships' hull, then that would probably be a good idea" replied Skavak, "In the meantime, we'll stay here and make sure those separatists don't get ahold of these blasters." Ace sighed and checked her own weapons, before heading out the main hanger door and onto the battlefield beyond.
Corso snuck a final look at the Captain as she moved outside. That was unexpected he thought to himself as the slender woman moved out of sight.
"A looker, ain't she" commented Skavak as they made sure that all possible ways into the hanger were secure. That's an understatement. When he had first ran into the hanger it wasn't just the long sprint that had made it hard to breath. The Captain (as she was firmly titled in his head seeing as she never actually mentioned her name) wasn't much shorter than him with black hair pulled back into three buns held together with 3 comb things he could never quite figure out, vivid green eyes and pale skin that made her look almost delicate. Her hand near her blaster and the fire in her eyes said otherwise. Though he had to admit there was something very familiar about the beautiful brunette.
"Nothing hotter than a pretty woman with a blaster" Skavak continued when Corso didn't comment. Oh no, not again, Corso silently groaned to himself. Skavak was known far and wide as a man with a love 'em and leave 'em attitude towards women. It was amazed Corso that he could go through so many women and not get into any trouble. Well, any REAL trouble Corso smiled to himself as he remembered one of Skavaks' previous conquests who had threatened to do something creative with her vibrosword if she ever saw him again.
A noise from outside brought Corso out of his memories of a very pale Skavak. Suddenly a shot rang out and a new dent was put in the hanger wall right near Corsos' head. He dove for cover as more blasts rang out around him. He quickly looked around for Skavak, to make sure he was alright but couldn't see him anywhere. He quickly reached for his holo to call the Captain and warn her.
Ace looked at the now smoldering console wishing, not for the first time, that she had inherited her mothers' patience instead of her fathers' temper. A beeping drew her attention to her holo. She pressed a button as a mini Corso came to life. "Captain, we have a problem…" was all he managed to get out before a crash and the holo cut out.
This can't be good Ace thought as she rushed out of the building and back to the hanger. Fresh scorch marks near the entrance pulled her up short and made her reach for her blaster. From behind cover she could see three armed intruders. Searching the area trying to spot a familiar dreadlocked head, she was brought up short when she spotted a slumped figure near the console and her heart dropped. Pulling her mind back to the moment at hand she quickly dispatched the intruders, aiming for weak spots in their flimsy armor. Walking out of cover Ace made a quick walkthrough of the hanger to make sure there weren't anyone still hiding, waiting for their chance to strike. She closed the distance between them and said a quick calming mantra her mother had taught her under her breath as she turned Corso over.
Ace gave a sigh of relief when Corso's eyes fluttered open and he smiled at her before groaning and holding his head. "Ugh… feels like a gundark used my skull for a drum. Thanks for saving my hide, Captain. By the way I didn't get your n…" he started to say before he was interrupted by the sound of a ships engine starting up.
The Captains eyes got wide as she sprinted to the hanger door, leaving behind a still dazed Corso leaning against the wall holding his head. She watched as her fathers' pride and joy, and her means of making an income flew off into the great blue yonder. "Oh for the love of…" Ace muttered to herself as Corso came up beside her. "Skavak helped those separatists get in here. He stabbed us in the back!" he said while trying to get an answer on his holo, he finally got through. "Aww what's the matter kid, did I hurt your feeling? Be thankful all I took was your blaster and left you your life" Corso went pale as he patted his side where his blaster used to be. "You slimy son of a …" Corso started to curse before the Captain cut him off. "You better give me back my damn ship or so help me I will hunt you to the end of the verse and you will not like what I do to you when I find you" she said through clenched teeth. "Come now sweetheart, don't be like that. She's too big a ship for a little thing like you to handle anyway, she needs a real man to work her." She gritted her teeth and let a breath out slowly. "Ok. For that, you die slowly" she said, rage making her shake slightly. Corso did the wise thing and moved a little away from her. In that moment she reminded him of the woman with the vibrosword.
"It's no use, he cut the com channel. He always was good at making an exit" Corso said, still keeping his distance from the fuming woman. Again the feeling that he seen her before flitted through his head. He shook it off "Listen, Skavak and I were working for a guy named Viidu. When he finds out that Skavak's a separatist, he'll want revenge just like you." The Captain tilted her head slightly as she looked as him, one of the short pieces of hair framing her face slid over her eye. She pushed it behind her ear. "Ok, fine. If you think he can help me get my ship back, it's worth a try" she sighed moving towards the door. She paused, and walked back to him. "Where did you say this Viidu was?" she asked while shifting her feet. Corso smiled "Fort Garnik, just follow the path past the village" she nodded and turned, making a break for the door. "Wait a minute, you never told me your name" he called out to her. She stopped and looked at him over her shoulder with a smile that made his heart thump. "My name's Ace, but most people call me Captain" she said with a wink and carried on her way.
This could be trouble he thought to himself as he watched her walk away with a crooked grin across his face.
Viidu and uncle Magnus could be brothers, both of them are very good at talking me into doing stupid things that are definitely bad for my health Ace thought to herself as she made her way carefully from the crazy man's make-shift camp under the cliff. As she very cautiously picked her way back up the nearly non-existent trail back up to the top, she kept a wary eye on her surrounding for separatists with a death wish. It had been sweet of Corso to be worried about her though. His kind treatment of her had made her re-evaluate the man. He had unfortunately been moved from the possible man to flirt with to possible trust-worthy friend category. Any man in Ace's life was either one or the other. It was a draw-back of the job that the men she usually dealt with thought they were handsome rogues that made women swoon. If you didn't go along with their flirting their delicate egos got bruised and they tried to rip her off. The other men, in much smaller supply, were the ones Ace could actually trust. She could count the amount of trustworthy men in her life on one hand. Well, ok three fingers but who was counting. Besides her father and uncle Magnus, Ozzik was living proof why you were either one or the other. When the lust ran out, they were lucky the friendship was still there. While Corso was most definitely a contender for flirting, there was something about him that made her trust him. Maybe it was what Viidu had told her about his past, or maybe it was how he seemed to worry about her welfare when everyone-else just wanted something from her, but he seemed like a genuinely nice guy. And Ace was not a nice girl. Better to keep it professional for both of their sakes.
This wouldn't be taking so long if you stopped helping every person with a sob story along the way chastised the voice in her head that sounded remarkably like her father. The 'former' bounty hunter and smuggler was a generous man but going out of his way to help anyone but family had always seemed like a asking for trouble to him. One of the major contentions between the smuggler and his Jedi Master wife. Ace wondered, not for the first time, what it was like for normal families.
Well, families where the mother wasn't a Jedi and the father wasn't a former bounty hunter/smuggler. Where the kids weren't left for extended family to take raise as their mother trained padawans on Tython and their father spent his time searching the galaxy for the next thrilling battle or high stakes run. How Delphine and Ajax Pheonix had been married for over two5 years and had yet to kill each other was beyond her. Given how they had met; it was a wonder they didn't kill each other in the first hour. Not that they both hadn't tried.
Circumstances being what they were, it was a shock to anyone who had known either of them that they had married at all let alone had a family together. Then again if Delphine hadn't gotten pregnant after their one-night stand they probably wouldn't have gotten married in the first place. Delphine and Ajax had tried their best for their twin daughter's sakes, but had eventually decided that Calista and Valeria were better off with Delphine's brother Seth and sister-in-law Skye to raise on the homestead she and Ajax had originally purchased for themselves on Dantooine during the early stages of their marriage.
And so off they had both jetted, leaving the twins that neither of them had planned on to be raised by family, meeting up a few times a year when they began to miss each other. two years after the twins were born Ajax joined Delphine again at the homestead to welcome Andrielle into the world, and after another two years Amarria rounded out their strange little family. It still surprised Ace that no-one had ever been suspicious of her mothers' absences when she left Tython to meet up with her husband, visit her children or hide the late stages of her pregnancies. It wasn't until Valeria had been taken to the Jedi Academy that Delphine had come out and told the Jedi Council that not only was she married but had 4 daughters, two of whom were strong enough in the force to be trained as Jedi. To say it didn't go over well with the Council was an understatement. Thankfully Master Satele (having gone through a similar painful situation herself) put it to the council that the fact that Delphine had managed her responsibilities to the Jedi while having a family without any indications that she had a family was proof that Delphine was able to keep the emotional detachment that was required of a Jedi. It didn't hurt that the Jedi daughters that Ajax and Delphine had produced were two of the most powerful padawans since Revan and the Exile centuries ago. Not a big shock since they were both their ancestors The emotional detachment may have made her a good Jedi, but didn't make for the warmest of relationships with her daughters.
It wasn't that her parents were bad people, it was just that neither of them had ever really planned on being parents. Delphine was almost completely (with the occasional indiscretion) committed to the Jedi, and Ajax loved flying the hyperlanes too much to settle down to a normal family life. While they did genuinely love each other (amazing given their history) and their daughters, any prolonged time spent in each other's company led to fierce arguments and harsh statements that could never be taken back.
Ace shook her head of thoughts of her messed up family as she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. She smiled to herself. Oh good, my trigger finger was getting itchy.
Corso craned his neck as he looked, once again, for any sign of the Captain. Not seeing her he sighed and started his endless pacing again. She's taking too long, something must of happened. He tried to shove the thought from his mind but it kept wheedling its way back in. Corso heard a chuckle and turned to face Viidu who was standing in the doorway to his warehouse with a small smile on his face.
"What, a guy can't keep look-out without people commenting?" Corso asked, trying not to blush at the knowing look in Viidu's eyes. "I think I know you well enough Corso to know that you're unusually worried about the Captain. By what she's done already and from what I've heard from my contacts, she is more than capable of taking care of anyone who's dumb enough to try and cross her."
Corso nodded his agreement, there had been talk around the fort of a mysterious woman who had been doing odd jobs for people; like giving stolen medpacks back to the refugees and giving an earful to the soldiers who were still running the minefield run. It didn't stop him from worrying about her though, or checking the large archway out of the fort.
Viidu sighed and almost dragged Corso up the stairs to his private office to wait for the Captains return. "I have to admit I can see why you might take a liking to her; she's strong, smart and can hold her own in a fight. Not to mention that she is one hell of a good-looking woman. But just remember; after she gets her ship back and her revenge on Skavak she is going to leave this place in the dust and I don't want you to be disappointed when she does." Viidu had become attached to the young man who had lost everything he had held dear but hadn't lost his optimistic outlook on life. Noise on the stairs had them both turning to the doorway as the Captain swaggered in covered in dirt with a huge grin on her face and the capsule held firmly in both hands. Yep, definitely trouble Corso thought to himself as his heart skipped a beat.
Why in the hell would anyone build a base in a goddamn volcano?! Ace was getting tired of running all over Ord Mantell doing errands, deciphering schematics hidden in the treatise of bird watching and generally a whole lot of busy work. Well at least the company has improved. Ace shot a covert glance at Corso as they trudged up the path to the base in silence, so as not to tip off any nearby patrols of their presence. "So how did a nice farm boy like you end up working for Viidu?" Ace asked, Viidu had told her a little but she wanted to hear it from him. And really if their trudging footsteps didn't alert the enemy to their presence they obviously sucked at their job. "It's a long story Captain" Corso replied, not meeting her eyes and scanning their surroundings.
"If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. I'm just curious is all" Ace was silent for a total of 10 seconds "If I tell you something of equal or greater value will you consider it?" Corso flashed her a crooked grin. Her ploy had worked, he seemed to be loosening up a bit. She seemed to make him tense. Or it could just be the possibility of imminent death by blaster bolt.
"Ok, a story about my past or family that won't make you run screaming for your life. Hmm let's see" she tapped her index finger to her lips as if she was thinking hard about it and saw Corso try to stifle a chuckle beside her. Ha, got him. "My daddy taught my sister Calista how to shoot a rifle when she was 5. He conveniently forgot to mention the kick-back on it and Cali ended covered in mud. I have never seen my aunt so mad in her life when he dropped her off." Ace chuckled at the memory, not mentioning that the set-back had only pushed Cali to work harder at it and had ended up in her getting top-marks in her weapons training because of it. It was then that she realized that Corso was staring at her. "What, do I have something on my face?" Ace made to swipe at her nose. "Your sister, does she look like you but with brown hair?" his question made her stop in her tracks. He knows Cali, this can't be good. "Same green eyes, same skin tone, same tendency towards snark. We learned it from dad. Why do you ask?" Ace was a little worried now. Very few people who knew Cali walked away the same. Cali had inherited their father's irresistible charm. People had always been drawn to her and, added to her natural leadership abilities, it made her a force to be reckoned with. Both traits were sorely missing in Ace. "If she's a soldier I think I met her. She was here a few months ago at the fort. Apparently giving a helping hand to strangers' runs in the family, she helped out a bunch of people before she shipped out again." Corso was smiling at her, probably calculating how long he would have to play friendly before he asked for Cali's holonet address. The thought left a bitter taste in Ace's mouth. And it started out as such a nice day.
No wonder she had looked so familiar, they could be twins. Corso was happy to have finally figured out one of the nagging feelings he had had since he met her. He had seen her sister coming and going from the fort for weeks. She was about the same height as her sister and she seemed to have this presence about her that warned you not to mess with her. She and the Captain had the same vivid green eyes, that's what had triggered his memory. Though the troopers had more of an edge to them than the Captains did. Or maybe it was just that she had been running interference as the newest member of Havoc Squad. He heard that she and had eventually caught a shuttle off world.
Corso realized that the woman next to him had gotten very quiet. "Didn't you know she had been here?" Surely since the two of them were so alike, they would have to be close. "I heard she had gotten a new assignment, but no specifics no." Her tone made it clear she didn't want to discuss it further, and as they rounded the shoulder and spotted the separatists ahead guarding the entrance to the base, she seemed to let out a sigh of relief. "Let's go kill us a traitor".
As Ace and Corso looked around at the separatists that they had just taken out Ace noticed a movement out of the corner of her eye. "We've got a live one" she called out to Corso, and went to take a look at the lone survivor. He looked about 22-23 and he was clutching his side, probably from a blaster wound. When he saw that they had noticed him he started begging for his life. Ace didn't really want to gun down a wounded man, especially one with a family. But Corso didn't seem as willing to forgive and forget as she was. "Would you're family want you executing people?" she asked when he looked about ready to pull the trigger. Viidu had mentioned how his family had been killed, but she doubted they would be happy about their baby boy gunning down a wounded man either. He paused and slowly put his blaster away. "My family were farmers not soldiers. Get out of here before I change my mind" Ace watched cautiously as the injured man hurried away. "Come on, Captain. We need to have a little heart-to-heart with Syreena."
Well that could have gone better. Ace looked at the Syreena's corpse on the floor and resisted the urge to hurl. She may not be a stranger to killing in self-defense but she hadn't gunned down a person in cold blood before. While she might not like having to do it, it had to be done. The galaxy was a better place without a snake like Syreena in it. "You ladies sure can be vicious. Hope you don't ever expect me to shoot a woman." Corso's comment made Ace raise her eyebrow at the man. "That bothered you?" he shrugged. "I was raised to tip my hat and open doors for ladies, not blast them. You probably think I'm some dumb farm boy, huh? Head full of old fashioned ideas?" There are worse things to be in this world. Ace sighed internally as her hopes of anything happening between her and Corso went down the drain. He was the kind of guy good girls settled down and had a family with. At 20 Ace was just starting her career and inching out of her father's shadows. They just didn't suit and that was that. Now if she could just stop imagining him without his shirt on, all would be right in the world.
"It's not healthy for us to stick around, Captain. I believed what Syreena said about bounty hunters coming. We don't know how long Skavak will stay on Coruscant, either. Let's hop a shuttle and catch him while we can."
Ace looked around carefully before slipping the package out of its hiding place. "Keeping secrets Captain?" Ace just about jumped out of her skin as she spun on her new crew-mate. Before she could berate him for sneaking up on her, her jaw dropped as she realized he had cut off most of his hair. Gone were the dreadlocks she had grown used to. Now his hair was cropped fairly close to his head, and FOR THE LOVE OF THE FORCE HOW CAN HE POSSIBLY HAVE GOTTEN CUTER?! ACE swallowed a groan as she took in Corso's new look. "Lookin' good farm boy." Corso blushed at the compliment, just another thing to add to the list of things Ace found endearing about him. "Sorry to interrupt, but I think you and I need to have a chat." Ace froze, praying to every deity she could think of that she heard the voice wrong, or it was the other twin messing with her. No such luck. Turning slowly, she came face-to-face with Calista Pheonix, her eldest sister. Corso was right, the two did look a lot alike but then again all four of them did. Dad often joked that if it wasn't for their very different personalities he's never be able to tell them apart. Or that might be because he only saw them half a dozen times a year since they were kids. The main difference between the two, besides their age and personalities, was that Ace had hair as black as the nothingness of space that was up in 3 buns with hair ornaments that doubled as weapons if the need arose, while Cali had hair similar in colour to the mud she had fallen into as a child which was up in a somewhat old-fashioned style bun. As always Cali was in a perfectly pressed clothes that wouldn't dare wrinkle if they knew what was good for them. One of the many neurotic traits Cali had inherited from their mother. Ajax Pheonix was just lucky if he remembered to button his fly and shirt on the same day. "What did I do to deserve the honor of your disdain this time General?" Cali glared at the nickname and turned "Could you give us a minute Jorgan? Corso?" Ace realized that her sister was talking to the male Cathar standing just behind and to the right of her in orange Havoc Squad armor 'watching her six' and that she knew Corso by name. Down girl. "Make it quick, we're expected on Taris." His warning given, Jorgan moved to join Corso a few stalls away.
"Is this really necessary? How did you find me anyway?" Cali crossed her arms in her best impression of their aunt Skye, otherwise known as their surrogate mother. "How is it possible that you had dad's ship for less than a month and you have already lost it to some ass with tiny-dick syndrome?" Ace grabbed her sisters' wrist and moved them into a corner where they would be less likely to be heard, noticing that both men moved positions to cover them. "He was one of dad's old contacts. Apparently he doesn't know who he's pissed off because when I catch up to him he'll have no dick syndrome." Cali smirked and Ace was glad that her sister could see some humor in Ace's current situation. "Look, I know every instinct in your brain is screaming at you to fix this for me, but I can handle this myself. I can't go to my big sister every time I have a problem. What would it do to my rep?" Cali squinted her eyes at her, obviously not liking her little sisters need to stand on her own two feet. "I'll make you a deal. If I don't get the ship back in the next 6 months, I'll call up uncle Magnus or dad and put a bounty on him. Sound good?" Cali glared at Ace's attempt at a joke. "That won't be necessary, but if you get in over your head and need help you can contact me at any time and I'll be there. Valeria and Andrielle say the same. Here, take this to tide you over." Cali handed her a small satchel. When Ace opened it, her eyes about bugged out of her head. "There has to be at least 10,000 credits here, where did you get that kind of money?" Cali smiled and leaned in to whisper. "Dad says to give Skavak hell." She pulled back and tweaked the piece of hair that was almost always in Ace's eyes. "Corso is very cute by the way." "How did you know…" Cali winked and moved over to the men folk. She collected her Cathar and moved towards the elevators that led to the military hangers.
"Well that was interesting. Where to now Captain?" Ace looked over her shoulder at Corso. She rattled the satchel at him and smiled. "Now we make sure we have the right gear to make sure Skavak thinks twice before crossing us again." With that, Ace led Corso towards that weapons stalls to look for upgrades for Flashy.