The direct to Drinking Partners. Peter's first ever solo mission...yes nothing will be that simple
Going Solo
Yondu Udonta happened on the mission by chance, it was the rare moment where the Ravagers were in the sector and the buyer was desperate, very desperate meaning he would pay over the odds and everyone especially the Ravagers would be happy.
Looking over the mission, getting the information on the mark, they knew it wouldn't be easy, as he passed the information to his first mate Kraglin who out of habit read the specs out loud. "Xandarian Politician, well respected, family man, has a…" His voice trailed the end as he glanced up at his Captain in disgust, sure they may be Space Pirates, who broke laws on a whim, but even they had standards. "What a charmer". Kraglin said as he passed the pad back to his Captain. "Who you got in mind," he asked as a twisted smile reached Yondu's lips.
"Who else on the ship has that pretty blonde hair".
The idea, reached Kraglin who couldn't suppress his chuckle "Oh you are evil boss".
Peter never imagined he would ever get a mission, he was kept too busy on the Eclector doing everyone else's jobs and making beer, even though the latter had worked in his favour since the rest of the crew were so happy with him they were showing him more Ravager stuff that he needed to know, making him feel more like a part of the crew. In fact, the rest of the crew preferred his home brew so he was kept busy.
Unbeknownst to him, since he was saving the crew thousands in units, Yondu had issued an order that they had to pay the boy ten units each week to enjoy the privilege, but since no one had bothered to tell Peter this he had no idea he was sitting on a small fortune.
In fact, he was sitting in his distillery singing "Come and get your love" loudly, when Yondu had come into the room, threw a pad at him and told him to get busy studying.
Peter had gone over the mission over and over again, the feeling of unease combined with excitement, he finally had a mission, a real solo mission, and if he did good maybe Yondu would finally take him to the beach. Even though, he knew, it was a pipe dream…but it was still a dream.
The job of turning him into a girl was given to Alezduran, who using skills he had learned from making up the woman at the brothel his mother owned had pulled Peter's blond hair into a plait and placed make-up on his eyes and lips "Not too much, you need to look like a teenager, not a whore". Alezduran advised as he spun Peter's chair he could finally see his face and just stared.
He looked nothing like himself, the pastels on the eyes and lips made his face look smaller, his eyes to sparkle a bit brighter, and he had been given a manicure and pedicure so his nail normally full of dirt of some sort or another were now a pearly pink. For a moment, Peter felt a stab in his heart as he realised how much like his mother he looked and would have looked if he had been born a girl. Pleased with the results, Alezduran motioned for Peter to drop the robe he was wearing, his skin having been washed and perfumed that morning so he could help him with the dress. Peter wanted to protest as he could envision the look on the rest of the Ravagers faces as the simple dark blue dress was lifted over his head.
A few minutes later, with Peter walking as elegantly as he could in the soft shoes on the deck of the Eclector as both Alezduran and Peter made their way to the hanger, as expected all of the Ravagers, who had seen them had called Peter a pretty little girl, telling him he looked nice and that his new jewellery, of which was only a ring and pendant suited him.
If Peter didn't already know how important this was, he would have told them to go screw themselves. But he didn't want to piss off Yondu, who was sitting in his personal shuttle waiting for the pair, on seeing the Terran who was still too small for age dressed up like a girl, he twisted his lips to stop himself laughing. He knew Peter would be self-conscious already, as he saw the boy's lips, now a pretty shade of pink thin out.
Yondu had made sure he was the one to drop and retrieve the teen since he trusted no one in case it all went tits up. Even though on one had bothered to inform the boy of this, so from the slight look of nervousness that Yondu spotted, Peter thought how was there as Yondu expected him to slip up. As both Kraglin and Alezduran explained how he had modified the dress, leading Peter to wonder if Alezduran had actually designed and made the thing, as Peter swallowed the pill Kraglin was holding out and gulped down the glass of water the first mate was also holding, careful not to drip any of it on the dress.
"Ready boy". Yondu stated as he pulled the shuttle down discreetly, there was no way it could be more public and in the central city yet for some reason Yondu knew over the years a public park provided better cover!
"Call us when you've got it and got out. Until then maintain silence". Yondu advised the teen who only threw him a nod. Yondu resisted the urge to tell the boy "Good luck", hell he was still a Ravager in training, and Ravagers didn't believe in luck, only their cunning and strength.
"Got it". Peter stated as the shuttle door opened and Peter took his steps on the terrain, for a second the sunlight blinded his eyes and once again he scratched the back of his neck, out of habit as without looking back, so he didn't see the three faces of which two looked slight concerned.
"Are you sure he's ready?" Asked Kraglin as the boy took over across the park, noticing that he was walking like a girl as Alezduran had showed him, as Yondu leaned forward in his seat.
"He needs to do this". Replied the Captain, as his eyes narrowed at the sight of the boy, not wanting to raise the issue of why Peter needed a mission. Two months after he had deliberately got the boy wasted, and knowing how useless he felt, he was hoping it would raise more out of the boy. Even if Peter was still making his beer and in return was being trained in pickpocketing and stealing. Yondu since he wasn't overseeing this had heard the boy was a natural, and now he had the chance to prove it.
Then again, he was sending Peter out into the unknown as something stirred inside him and he made a quick decision.
Peter had only been to Xander a few times, normally on a look out jobs and even though he had been taught to pretend to be one, and tried to keep the look on his face as natural as possible even if he was secretly awed by the smooth lines and shiny surfaces, all around him were so many different people, dressed in light colours to the point Peter felt like he would stick out until he remembered he was dressed like a little girl, as he saw the direction he needs to be heading in.
He knew using a pad like a tourist would have drawn attention, and his intended location wasn't easy to miss, even if he didn't notice that he wasn't entirely alone, as a strong hand clamped on his shoulder.
"Oh shit". Alezduran said over his communicator, which caused Yondu still in the shuttle to look up from his own pad "What is it?" he demanded, as Alezduran zoomed in closer on his screen. "Peter's been spotted by the Corpsman…wanna abort".
"Negative". A second voice came over the pair; supplied by Kraglin, who was standing on top of a building minus his red coat which Yondu had ordered him to remove on the off chance he would be spotted. Being a criminal and well known to Xander there was always the possibility the so he was keeping look out at a distance. "He's just talking to them". The Xandarian supplied, as he begun to read the boy's lips.
Peter tried to keep his shock off his face as the Nova Corpsman, who seemed massive but in truth was no bigger than Yondu, and he looked a lot younger. He had spent so much of his life trying to avoid them. It was strange to have one so close to him and he begun to wish for a blaster even though it was impossible
"Hello little girl…why are you not in school?"
Peter suddenly realised the lack of children in the area, and remembered that it was the middle of the afternoon and raked his brain quickly, as he stammered a normal reply in his feminine voice, another trick he had learned for Alezduran.
"I go to the Tanak Valt School" Peter replied, referring to the most exclusive school on the Planet that was filled with the children of dignitaries. "They let me out early because it's my birthday tomorrow and my mum's taking me out. He said, noting the look on the Corpsman's face as he noticed the name of the school, and his face relaxed. Peter took in the pure whiteness of the uniform and begun to wonder how long that was last on the Eclector.
"Oh, so what's your name?" Perhaps be was trying to score points thinking he was the child of some big shot…typical, Peter thought as he pushed back his thoughts and said in a feminine voice.
"Petra Laeriz", the last name he had borrowed last name from Alezduran, who never used it. "My mum works there". He gestured to the opulent skyscraper he was about to enter before he was so rudely interrupted by this jackass.
"Your mother works there". The Corpsman looked up at the building.
"She's a personal assistant, she does the grunt work". Peter dropped his voice to a whisper even though threw a no one around to hear him "She says he's a bit off an asshole though…but it means I get to go to that nice school". Peter under his female guise wondered if he had gone too far, as the Corpsman blinked, and responded with a chuckle. "You're a funny one, aren't you? Bet you keep your parents on your toes?"
Oh you don't know the half of it, Peter thought to himself, but only gave a shy nod to the corpsman trying to remember he was a little teenage girl.
"Ok you can go one your way, but take this if you need it". Peter's confusion was running through his head, as he accepted the card from the Corpsman, noticing his young kind face, almost like a father…and then shook the sentimental thought from his mind.
"Corpsman Rhomann Dey". Peter read out loud, noting the communication number before sliding the card into his pocket. "Thanks…I mean thank you". He said quickly as he almost slipped back into his real voice, thankfully the Corpsman didn't notice, maybe the Nova Force, Kraglin told him about rotted their minds or something, as the Corpsman gave him another little nod before walking away, leaving Peter to finally enter the building.
"He's fine". Alezduran confirmed, watching the boy disappear and took a deep breath, something Yondu also did, on the shuttle with no one around to see, as the folded his hands against his head and just waited, now it was all up to Peter…the damn boy better not disappoint him.
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