Author's Note: This is sometime after Fynta's promotion to captain but before the events of the Asteroid Prison. Basically, as with most of my one shots, I was talking with a friend and we wondered what would happen if all the "responsible" members of Havoc were away. Well, now we know. Hope you enjoy this mess because I certainly did.
Warning: Possible spoilers for parts of the story I haven't posted yet or may never get around to. I think it's pretty safe game-wise though.
Coruscant Spaceport
The Thunderclap
Cormac rummaged around in the cargo hold for something to play with. Fynta had jettisoned all the explosives after that incident with the C2 droid, but he had a private stash that he was sure she hadn't found. Looking over his shoulder to make sure the feisty little captain wasn't watching, Cormac peeled back the loose panel to retrieve the detonite strips. He scowled when the gap came up empty and reached further in. The woman flew like a shabbing maniac half the time, so it wasn't outside the realm of possibilities that his ordinance had slid to the back.
Getting down on hands and knees to shove his arm all the way up to the elbow into the opening, he swore when his hand came up empty. How the hell had she found his hiding spot?
"Lose something?"
Cormac didn't turn, he could hear the smile in Fynta's voice. He knew exactly how she'd be standing too. Probably leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, cheeky grin.
With a sigh, Cormac heaved himself upright and finally faced her. "How'd you find it?"
Fynta's eyebrow shot up, but he wasn't backing down. Cormac put his hands on his hips and loomed over her. The blasted woman's grin just got bigger. "I have my ways."
"Elara." He'd like to say he felt betrayed, but it didn't surprise Cormac one bit that his wife ratted him out. He was breaking the rules and that was simply something she couldn't abide. Normally, he respected it, now, he was mildly annoyed by it.
"She found it?" Vik asked, passing by on his way to the kitchen. The Weequay snorted a laugh, "Told ya'."
Fynta sighed. "Okay, fine. If I take you two babies out for a couple of drinks, will you stop trying to blow holes in my ship?"
Cormac knew what a couple of drinks meant to her, he'd heard all about that time she took Jorgan and Elara out. What they could remember of it, at least, h'd even manage to drag a little bit more out of Jorgan and had looked at the Cathar with renewed respect afterward.
As it stood, they'd been stuck on this rock for a week and a half. Okay, maybe calling Coruscant a rock was a little harsh, but with Elara and Jorgan gone to some officer's conference off world, and Yuun doing whatever Yuun did when he disappeared for days, Havoc Squad was grounded.
Not that it had been Fynta's decision. Cormac had heard Jorgan making her promise not to take on any missions with only half a squad, something that seemed like common sense to everyone except their fearless, Mando leader.
Cormac crossed his arms and looked over Fynta's head at Vik, a guy about the same height as himself, who nodded enthusiastically. "Alright, deal. No more explosives aboard the ship." Cormac held up a finger when she started to speak. "But, you've got to make it worth our while. No ranks, you buy, and we decide where."
Fynta narrowed her blue eyes at Cormac in a wordless challenge and he was sorely tempted to back down. Steeling himself, Cormac held his ground while trying to ignore Vik, who was grinning like an idiot behind her.
"Fine," the captain agreed at last. "Since none of you have any civvie clothes and I'd rather this not go on my record, turn the covers inside out."
Cormac blinked at her for a moment. Part of him not quite believing that she was giving in so easily. Suddenly, he understood. "You're just as bored as we are, aren't ya boss?" He couldn't fight the grin that spread across his face while she stood there trying to act all grown up.
Finally, Fynta relented, dropping her hands to her side. "Out of my fierfeking mind." She spun on her heel and marched into the main room, he and Vik on her tail. Then she stopped just short of grabbing her jacket. "On second thought," Fynta said, cutting her eyes at both of them.
"Oh yeah, I love when she makes that face," Vik said with a feral grin, rubbing his hands together. "Something usually goes boom."
If Cormac were honest with himself, that face made him a little nervous. Especially when Jorgan wasn't here to talk her out of whatever was running through her mind to cause it.
Fynta smirked too, pulling out her comm and typing furiously. Within the minute, it buzzed with a reply and her face lit up. Cormac's unease multiplied.
"Change of plans, looks like Jaxo's in town. You boys don't mind making this a double date, do you?"
"Fine," Vik grunted, pulling on his jacket. "Let's meet her somewhere classy, not like that dive you took us to last time?"
"That dive was all that was available since you'd leveled everything else," Fynta reminded him as she flipped her own jacket inside out. The town had been under Imperial occupation and Vik had managed to catastrophically damage every building except the cantina. The man really did have talent.
Fynta tapped her chin, then nodded to herself. "The Dealer's Den is a pretty good first stop, and close to Jaxo's apartment, I'll let her know."
Cormac walked into his room to grab his own cover and paused when his tags slipped from his undershirt. He spun the wedding band around on the chain where it was nestled next to his ID tags. He and Fynta would have each other's backs. She was a loyal woman and her and Jorgan were starting to move things along. Cormac would never be disloyal to Elara, so there was no reason for him to be concerned, right? It was just a couple of drinks to blow off a little steam, Elara wouldn't mind. Vik could do whatever he bloody well wanted.
Opening the door, Cormac met Fynta and Vik in the main room. She scanned his attire to make sure his rank and squad patch were hidden before nodding. "Alright, soldier, let's do this."
The Dealer's Den was swanky, for lack of a better word. It had flashing lights, dancers wearing hardly anything, and the nice, crisp feel of modern technology. "Now this is what I'm talking about," Vik said as he ambled over to the bar. Cormac made to follow him, but got distracted when a woman called out from behind them.
"Hey, hey! If it isn't my number one sister in arms!" She stopped to clasp arms with Fynta first, then gave Cormac the same measuring look he'd seen Fynta give Jorgan when she thought no one was looking. "Who's this? You didn't trade that cute kitten in for him did you?"
The woman eyed Cormac once more, one hand on her hip and head tilted to the side. She had shoulder length black hair, full lips, and a lot of curves. Her SpecForce jacket was turned inside out to hide her rank and unit, just like theirs. "Then again. . . ."
Fynta laughed. "Ava Jaxo, meet Balic Cormac. Sorry, he belongs to Dorne."
Jaxo puffed out her lips in a sensuous pout. "All the good ones belong to someone." Jaxo's voice slurred, sounding like she might have started the drinks without them.
"No worries, I'll keep you company," Vik added, handing a drink to Cormac while slipping an arm around the new arrival's shoulders. The waitress followed with a tray and directed them towards an empty table. "Don't worry, boss, I put it on your tab."
"Just what every girl wants," Jaxo muttered, pushing Vik away from her. "A Weequay to take home to dad."
"Nu-uh, sweetheart, I don't do parental introductions. You get me for one night, two if you're lucky." The Weequay tipped his glass back and drained half his beer in one gulp.
"Oh," Cormac blurted out without actually meaning to. Now he remembered why her name sounded so familiar. "Elara has mentioned you a couple of times. Nice to meet you, ma'am."
Jaxi's expression was a mixture of shock and all out amusement when she looked from Fynta to Cormac, then back again. "Well, isn't he a darling." Then Jaxo lifted her boot onto the table and pulled a couple of credit sticks out of it. "I've got the night off, tomorrow it's back to work and I'll be out of touch for a while, so let's have some fun, shall we?"
Cormac took a cautious step closer to Fynta.
Over the next two hours, Fynta provided an unending variety of drinks that came in all manner of color, size, and strengths, while they each bounced around to the different gambling tables to see if they were lucky. Cormac managed to win a hundred and fifty credits, then immediately lost them, plus forty more on the roulettes. He'd just finished knocking back his fourth Fireball, some sort of spiced whiskey with a little red fruit in it, feeling pretty good about life in general, when the dancers started a new game that both Fynta and Jaxo urged him into. He didn't put a lot of effort into resisting, being swept up in the enthusiastic atmosphere.
All the men were instructed to line up on the catwalk, most of them wearing crooked grins while the dancers explained the rules. Apparently, it was a contest to see who could get the ladies', who'd all gathered around by that point, approval in the form of catcalls and shouts.
One by one, the three dancers in charge of the festivities worked their way down the line, sensuously unburdening the men of their shirts. Each time the women on the floor would hoot and holler based on how much the liked what they saw. Feeling that comfortable warmth and airiness that comes along with intoxication, Cormac was fairly confident about his chances. He knew he was a big guy with a lot of muscle and most ladies liked that sort of thing.
Even through his inebriated state of mind, though, he wasn't comfortable with having any woman other than Elara taking off his clothes. So, he decided it was just better if he did it himself. Holding up a hand when the light blue Twi'lek reached for his jacket, Cormac gave her what he hoped was a dashing smile. Her look of confusion evolved into a sharp toothed grin when he reached for the zipper and slowly slid it down.
The dancer laughed and twirled away from him, signaling to the band, who started a raucous chorus. The women who had gathered around really started shouting then, and Cormac decided to have a little fun with it. He was not a suave dancer, but he could cheese with the best of them. Swaying with the music, Cormac slid his jacket off slowly and tossed it into the crowd. As luck would have it, Fynta caught the thing. He'd probably appreciate that later on.
Someone called out for him to take it all off. Cormac smiled as if he knew where the suggestion had come from and untucked the bottom of his shirt, waving it about teasingly to the appreciative applause of his audience. One of the dancers appeared, shuffling a couple of the other men out of the way, then, putting her hands on narrow hips, nodded towards the pole attached to the stage.
Cormac caught on fairly quickly, and ripped the shirt over his head, tossing it to the side. Then grabbing the dancer's pole, he pushed himself off the ground and swung around it four times before coming to a stop on his knees, striking a pose that displayed some of his finer features. The shouting grew louder and Cormac grinned. He'd managed to whip those women into a frenzy; those other blokes didn't stand a chance now.
"We have our winner, ladies!" The light blue Twi'lek snuck up behind Cormac as he was climbing unsteadily to his feet and gave a shove, tipping him forward, sprawling into the waiting mass of females below. It was impressive how much weight that many hands could hold up because he wasn't a light guy and they didn't let him touch the ground. Those groping hands sobered Cormac up pretty quickly and he wondered what the hell he'd been thinking as he tried to disengage as politely as he could. Even spouting that he was a married man didn't dissuade their advances. By the time Fynta and Jaxo rescued Balic, there were credit chips falling down his pant legs into his boots from where they'd been shoved in his waistband.
Fynta stood between him and the rest of the women with her hands on her hips, grinning. Finally, the rest of the crowd got the picture that he was off limits.
Meanwhile, Jaxo paced a slow circle around him with her arms crossed. "Mmm . . . Elara did pretty good for herself." Her voice slurred even more and Cormac shifted uneasily. Was this how Jorgan always felt when Fynta had him in her sights? If so, he'd have to be nicer to the Cathar next time he had the urge to tease him.
Even Fynta's normally sister-like smile suddenly made Cormac incredibly uneasy. He sure hoped that wasn't the same gleam in her eyes that Jorgan saw.
"Here," Vik snorted. Cloth smacked Cormac in the face and he was comforted to find it was his shirt. He couldn't even remember where he'd thrown it. Pulling it awkwardly over his head, Cormac held his hand out for his jacket. Fynta's grin widened when she handed it over.
"This is yours too," she added, holding up one more credit chip.
"Those nice abs of yours scored you the grand prize, big boy, five hundred credits," Jaxo said, glancing over at Fynta, who snickered. He was pretty sure he didn't want to be in on whatever joke they were sharing.
"Buy Dorne something nice," Fynta suggested.
Cormac zipped his jacket back up and downed another ale, something a little lighter than what he had been drinking before. Jaxo stretched with a feline grace, eyeing the two males in their group. "I know another place down the road," she paused and winked, "It's gentleman's night there, maybe we can get the captain up on the stage."
Vik began choking on his drink. "No, absolutely not. I've already been scarred once this evening."
"What about that casino you were telling Jorgan about?" Cormac asked, hoping to settle the two women down a bit by mentioning one of their guys. If anyone could sober Fynta up, it was that grumpy Cathar.
"Not yet, I could use a few more drinks." Fynta paused and cut her eyes over at Cormac, "And games."
Cormac swallowed down the rest of his ale without looking at either women, he was never going to hear the end of this. Then the captain's eyes lit up and that same grin they'd seen on the ship reappeared. "I've got just the place in mind. How's your Mando'a, Cormac?"
Cormac's gut knotted up, but he wasn't sure if it was from fear, or exhilaration.