After the hungry wildlife of Taris, the general grime of Nar Shaddaa and the sand and heat of Tatooine, as soon as Captain Zavvi and Corso Riggs stepped out of the spaceport and the cool wind hit their faces along with the smell of fir tree sap and the sight of snow blanketed grass, they knew they'd be able to disregard the civil war and the other annoyances of this planet. Corso felt at home looking out at the wide expanses of land that were mostly untouched and with a pang it reminded him of his homeworld pitted with craters, landscape torn up by the fierce fighting to expose the glaring geological faults with boiling lava swirling beneath. For a moment he was taken back to his childhood, when the grasslands were lush and green and peaceful, hissing softly as the wind stirred them. Before everything became brown and scarred.
He shook his head clear of the memories, glancing to the Twi'lek beside him, taking in the almost childlike wonder that she surveyed Alderaan with, a smile gracing her lips that lifted his heart and soothed his troubled thoughts. Corso did wonder why Zavvi seemed to like the planet so much, when she seemed more attuned to the stars. Well, he was sure to find out soon, hopefully, though knowing the Captain, she seemed rather adept at keeping her secrets.
"This place is beautiful, Captain." He said as they began their walk to the Organa's palace, occasionally ducking out of the way of the great big droids that delicately clicked across the paved pathway.
"Yes...I'd heard of Alderaan's beauty before, but to see it with my own eyes..." She turned a full circle as she moved, a manoeuvre that briefly hypnotized Corso with her dexterity and grace; he assumed if he'd tried something like that he'd trip over his own feet and end up face first in the dirt. "It's wonderful..." She glanced to him. "This is one of the reasons I go travelling, Corso. To see what's out there in the big galaxy, not just the credits and opportunities, but the pretty things too."
"You know, if that's all we did, Captain, you wouldn't hear me complainin'." Corso commented, before he saw the palace come into full view and he had to stop a moment to take it all in. "Whaa...Is that seriously how big it is? Where I'm from, you could fit a whole town in there!" He then blushed when he realized she was probably going to tease him for being a farm boy. Whilst she did chuckle, she only shook her head at him.
"Well, where you're from, sure. But if you ask me, those nobles really don't need all that space." She said with a half smile that made the mercenary wonder if she was joking or being serious. "I'd be happy for a little house looking like that, not a great big whopper like that." She sighed, shaking her head. "You'd think they were compensating for something..."
Corso could barely stop snickering all the way up to the front door.
House Organa's palace was indeed huge on the inside too, and it took some negotiations with some other nobles to point them in the right direction, though they were rather reluctant to at first, taking one look at the smuggler and the mercenary, alongside their rusting droid companion, who followed them obediently as they navigated the corridors and stairways inside.
They eventually found the particular nobles they were after (Corso was unsure how Zavvi managed to keep track of which nobles they were tracing; they all seemed the same!), and the guards let them in, though not without eying the droid warily. As soon as their footsteps echoed across the room, Lenn and Cedonia Teraan looked up to them, first with mild alarm, then with ease as Zavvi as spoke, though Corso sensed something odd about Lenn.
"You the Teraans? Risha sent me to escort this droid to you as part of the deal. I assume you're ready to fulfil your side?" She asked as they came over to her.
"Welcome home, you ugly little thing. I mean the droid, of course" Lenn said, sneering at the droid, before turning his attention to Zavvi. Beside her, Corso could feel his hackles rise.
"This is no time for your juvenile jokes." Cedonia huffed. "I don't know how much Risha has told you of us, but I am Lady Cedonia Teraan, Herald of the Gold Aurora."
"And I'm her brother Lord Lenn Teraan, Warden of the Eternal Flame. Please call me Lenn..." He bowed, scooping up Zavvi's hand to kiss it, but she moved it away in a practised motion.
"Captain Zavvi, of the Corellian XS Light Stock the Skylark." She answered with a wry grin, meeting the pompous nature of it all. "Risha has briefly told me about you, but not much, especially about you, Lenn." A relaxed smile. "She in particular didn't mention how handsome you were." Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Corso's back straighten. Oh, here we go...
"Oh, the last time a woman made me blush, I was just a boy!" Lenn sighed.
"Got news for you, Slick." Corso butted in. "You're still just a boy." He scowled at Lenn, who gave him a look of disdain back, and Zavvi had to note that Corso had half an inch on the noble, and maybe just a deeper voice. As much as she knew she needed to tell Corso to keep his gob shut, his remark had amused her, so just gave him a look. Zavvi had to admit though; it was rather funny to watch the two men posture for her attention, even as she noticed Cedonia giving Corso a very long look. She briefly caught Cedonia's eye contact and briefly glared; for her benefit, Zavvi assured herself. She quite liked Lenn's sister already, and she had a feeling Cedonia wouldn't get anywhere if she tried to capture Corso's attention, which seemed to be on Zavvi alone, for reasons she herself wasn't too sure of.
Cedonia broke the awkward silence by explaining to the spacers the significance of the droid and making a request to pop to their old estate to get hold of instructions to pry open the droid without making it explode and maybe rescue some heirlooms along the way, which Zavvi accepted because she wanted to get the job done and paid for.
This was when Lenn not-so-subtly got his sister to leave the room citing a 'meeting', which put Corso on edge once again. Zavvi let Cedonia leave, but said goodbye graciously, noticing her forlorn look at Corso, who was either oblivious to it or was studiously ignoring her. The Twi'lek's credits were on the former.
"I thought she'd never leave." Lenn grumbled as his sister disappeared from eye and ear shot. "My dear sister has the charisma of a Killik. You, on the other hand, are endlessly charming." The mercenary thought he felt bile rise into his stomach.
"Give your sister some slack. She's not too bad." Zavvi spoke, before she felt Corso gently nudge her arm.
"I hope you're not falling for Slick's nonsense, Captain." He said softly, a little more tactfully than before.
"Don't get your feathers ruffled, Corso." She replied. "Everything's fine." She smiled at him, hoping calm his jittery behaviour before she had to start putting her foot down.
"I'm just looking out for you." Was his answer, comforted but still a little on edge, glancing at Lenn, whose easy smile was not remotely dented by Zavvi's words.
"I don't mind if your servant hears our conversation-" He began, when suddenly Zavvi's light green eyes, which were relaxed, were now ablaze, and she rounded on the noble faster than it took for Corso to register what he'd just said.
"What did you just say?!" She demanded, all niceties vanished. Taken off guard by this heel turn, Lenn blubbered;
"I just said your servant-" The smuggler took a step towards him threateningly.
"Did you just call me friend, my partner in business, the man whose kept my back free from Force knows what threats a 'servant'?!" She hissed furiously. "Listen to me right here, Lenn, Corso is equal to you, if not twice the man you are, and you'll watch your damn manners around him! I could cope with you ignoring him, but you dare suggest he's only fit to be under my boots, you've got another thing coming." She drew back then, point thoroughly made, and Corso had to bite his lip fairly hard to stop a smug smile grow out over his face. This was a turn-up for the books; never did the Mantellian think that she'd defend his honour! And yet it was nice she did, so he wisely schooled his expression and kept his mouth shut, even if it was incredibly hard to do so.
"Get to the point, Lenn, what is it you wanted to speak to me about? Or were you just here to wind me up?" The Twi'lek asked bluntly. As much as she didn't want to reward Corso for his jealous behaviour, she certainly wasn't going to let anyone of her crew members be demoted to a lowly servant, and especially not the man who selflessly put himself in harm's way in combat without the slightest complaint.
"I, er, well, I've monopolised your time enough, I think. I should let you get on..." Lenn stuttered, intelligent enough to know he'd shot himself in the foot with his comment, and that the best way to end this was to bow out as gracefully as he could.
"Fine. Come on Corso, let's move." The captain snorted, turning and going out of the door.
"Right behind ya, Captain!" The mercenary replied glibly, going to follow her before Lenn spoke.
"I don't know what she sees in a low life such as yourself." This time Corso let himself look as smug as possible, now Zavvi wasn't watching.
"Bet I know." He replied. "She don't see YOU."
That shut him up, and the young man quickly jogged outside to join the smuggler.
"Whoa, would you look at that!" Corso didn't notice that his Captain had stopped just in front of him until he crashed into her, almost toppling her over.
"Riggs, watch where you're going!" She snapped angrily as her tender lekku were briefly squished.
"Sorry Captain," He smiled apologetically, "I didn't notice you'd stopped all'va sudden. What're we lookin' at?"
Zavvi rolled her eyes, glancing into the azure Alderaanian sky, but didn't find what she was searching for, only wisps of fluffy white cloud. She shrugged with a sigh.
"Doesn't matter now. Come on you," she smirked, "next time, look where you're going, not at my ass!" Corso couldn't help his blush, despite his defiant look.
"I wasn't!" He protested.
"Oh really?" She grinned. "You can't fool me, farm boy, I've seen you admiring my assets a time or two!"
"Well, your personality is lovely, Captain." Corso replied, still blushing. "'Course I've been admiring it."
"Are you saying I'm nothing to look at?" Zavvi asked, trying to look serious as she watched her companion squirm.
"No! Of course not, Captain! You're beautiful! You're pretty and you've got a real nice personality!"
"So what's your opinion on my ass?" She asked. "I know, let me go first, to let you look your fill. Then you can tell me!" The Twi'lek grinning, setting off and, as Corso had dubbed it privately, started 'walking wavy'.
The young man had to swallow back a groan as he watched. She was way too experienced at this, though she couldn't know that even when she wasn't trying she was setting him alight. Blast it Corso, stop thinking of her like that! Come on, walk, or we're never gonna get anywhere! his mind chided him, and he did, though rather stiffly, half cursing and half blessing his greaves.
A little further down the path, Zavvi stopped, grinning widely at him. To the mercenary's chagrin, he noticed she was enjoying this.
"So, got a good look, did you?" She purred, and Corso bit his lip. It wasn't fair for her voice to sound all sultry like that. Or for her hand to go snaking up his cheek. "What's your opinion?"
Corso chuckled nervously, gently brushing her hand away in a bid to stop more of his blood taking a detour, though there was still enough to light his face with a blush that his tan couldn't hide, even after a stint on Tatooine. He swallowed hard, and then took the plunge.
"I think, Captain..." He looked her over, deliberately stalling. "I think that your, ah, behind is the finest I've ever seen..." He pulled her closer, ghosting a hand over her waist respectfully. "And yes, I do spend a lot of my time watching it." He smiled. "Be almost rude not to."
Zavvi's expression was one of being caught woefully off-guard, so Corso decided to push a little further. "It's just as beautiful as you are, Captain. All of you, from your lekku all the way down t' the tip of ya boots is perfect." True, Corso hadn't seen much of the Twi'lek that hid under her leathers, but if his dreams and the clues the clothing sent him were anything, he was pretty sure she was stunning.
The Mantellian briefly glanced to his surroundings, and noting the Alsakan Lowlands forest seemed to only contain them, he leant forward to catch Zavvi's lips in his own. He was half tempted to deepen the kiss, but held himself back; it wasn't the time or place for it.
As Corso drew away, thinking he'd managed to get one up on his captain, Zavvi's eyes suddenly flashed with mischief and he knew he'd underestimated her.
"Ya know, if you like my arse so much, maybe, you know..." A sultry grin. "Maybe you should touch it?" She purred, her body brushing against his armour.
Corso quickly recoiled from her and her temptations, already striding down the path as best as he could, though his gait was unsurprisingly stiff and awkward.
"Oh look Captain, I can see Wardpost Duvaal from here! We can stock up on supplies and stuff!" His drawl carried back to her, and Zavvi couldn't help but burst out laughing.
After some more teasing and Corso pretending to ignore her, the two did eventually reach the wardpost and sold off junk they'd collected from fallen enemies and patched together any frayed bits about their armour.
They were discussing about how they'd deal with the requests they'd gotten for help, when something caught Zavvi's eye and she made a sound that was a cross between a gasp and a squeal. The spacer sprung from his side with a speed he was more used to seeing from her in combat, and dashed off.
"Captain, wait up!" He hollered, chasing after her.
He found her engaged in animated conversation with a man standing amongst some manta ray like creatures hovering lazily nearby. He spotted a few that had been travelling around in the sky whilst on Alderaan, yet he didn't know what they were. He was bemused to see his captain so interested in the creatures, and curiously jogged up to her.
"Watcha doin' over here, Captain?" He asked her, and she turned to him, the bright intensity of her eyes making his heart skip. They looked gorgeous.
"They've got thrantas!" She chimed, as if it made total sense. Corso shrugged at that, which made her continue with; "I love these creatures, and I've always wanted to ride one when I was a kid. I just never got 'round to coming to Alderaan to ever try." She nodded to the man standing next to her. "Me and Lazlo were just talking about them, that's all." The handler smiled wryly.
"You know, though most of my thranta are trained just to fly to the outposts, I'm sure for a small fee I could let them fly around by themselves with passengers for a little while, before I call them back..."
Zavvi's eyes sparkled brightly at this reveal, but she was intelligent enough to ask:
"How much of a fee are we talking here?" Lazlo chuckled.
"For you and what you've done for House Organa? I think I can cope with about 50 credits from you. For both you and your friend." The Twi'lek raised an eyebrow.
"What's the catch?"
"No, no catch!" He assured them. "My daughter was one of the people the Wolf Baron kidnapped; thanks to you she's still here, so think of me as paying you back for her life." He explained. That was enough for Zavvi, who happily handed him the credstiks. Lazlo whistled to one of the thrantas, which sank slowly to the ground to allow its passengers to board.
Corso paused apprehensively as he looked the creature over. With his heavy armour and the combined weight of him and Zavvi, he wondered if they'd hurt the beast. The saddle seemed rather small too (they'd have to sit reeeeally close to one another) and it seemed very likely that if the thranta took a sharp turn they'd tumble off.
"What's up, Corso?" Zavvi asked, her voice cutting through his thoughts. He shook his head, hiding his nervousness; first and foremost so not to worry her, but also because he didn't want her to tease him for being scared to ride a thranta. It wasn't like a rancor or anything...
"Don't worry about me, Captain. Was just thinkin'."
"About me?" She smirked, hoping to ignite a blush.
"Captain, I'm always thinking about you." He replied, a warm smile over his face. Zavvi felt her face heat up with a blush instead of his, wondering how the farm boy had left her speechless with just a few words. He'd said he wasn't suave, but she couldn't believe that; somehow he was sneaking around her defences and getting into her heart.
Deciding not to ruin the moment by teasing her back, Corso gestured to the saddle. "Ladies first, Captain. I'll go in wherever you want me."
That brought her back, and she went over to the thranta, using light feet and nimble steps to move around the board wings and climb onto the saddle, shifting towards the front to make room for Corso. He was much less elegant than her, scrambling up to sit behind her. He felt unwelcome interest stirring below as he shuffled into a comfortable position behind her, her body touching his, and he tried not to notice she seemed to fit almost perfectly against him. Lazlo aided them in strapping themselves to the saddles with the straps provided, to remove the danger of suddenly falling off if a thranta had to take evasive action, which settled some of the mercenary's nerves. The rest were all alight due to their close proximity, and he once again gave thanks to his greaves and the durasteel plate that refused to budge.
After Lazlo made a couple more checks to make sure everything was secure, he whistled a command and their stomachs dropped to their feet as powerful wingbeats tore them from the ground, almost as is the creature was desperate to flee the touch of the earth. The Mantellian felt the smuggler's belly contract with a great whoop as the thranta quickly escaped the reaching conifers, and he felt a flood of exhilaration surge through his veins as suddenly the Lowlands sprawled below them like an unfurled map.
"Whoa..." He breathed, brown eyes widening to take in the sight.
The wide stretches of Alderaan stretched out like a blanket beneath the thranta's wings, valleys yawning wide, crystal clear rivers meandering through them and between the towering snow-capped mountains that went on for as far as the eye could see. The snow gleamed in the midday sun, forests like clumps of moss scattered over the landscape, and settlements seemed like children's toys, nestled into corners, melding into the environment rather than sticking out of it like an unnatural growth.
Other wild thrantas circled around in the air, their mournful wails thrilling the air. The creature under them sucked in a breath and rumbled its own call in answering, before wheeling away to gracefully catch a thermal, rising even further into the air to give views of House Baliss, the Killik infested area of House Teral and the sea lapping at the rocky cliffs beyond.
"This is incredible..." Zavvi spoke, her voice having a timbre of wonder, and Corso couldn't help but blush as she leant back against him. She quirked her head up to look at him upside down, and his breath caught slightly at how her eyes seemed to sparkle like precious gems with her elation. "You know, if I never had the Skylark, I'd be quite happy to come here and raise and ride thrantas. The sky might not be as vast as space, but..." She trailed off.
"It makes you feel free?" He suggested.
"Yeah. I know I was born in a Coruscant city block, but I've had my heart with the stars since I can remember."
The young man smiled warmly as she turned her head to look back out at their surroundings. He couldn't imagine Zavvi without her beloved ship, not after they'd gotten it back. Even though he'd partnered up with the Twi'lek when Skavak had run off from it, he'd been able to sense the disconnection in her, despite how hard she'd tried to hide it. A hollowness that made her seem lost and it had hurt to see her like that. When she'd got it back, she'd almost been a different person; brighter, happier, more confident. She doted on the XS Light Stock, and was constantly tinkering with its computer brain, making adjustments that made it faster, less likely to glitch, more responsive. The mercenary had wondered if she could actually fly the ship without the assistance of an autopilot, but whenever the Coruscant Aegis had asked for their aid in a space battle, Zavvi had taken the yoke herself and flown the freighter as if she'd been doing it all her life, all the computer doing was helping the ship react to her commands smoothly and efficiently. She'd been teaching him more and more about how to fly the Skylark, and Corso thought he was getting the hang of it slowly. He doubted he would ever get to the same level of skill as his captain, but he was glad he'd at least be able to fly the craft if he needed to and Risha wasn't around. He did wonder how the mechanic had learnt to fly the freighter...
His train of thought was derailed when the thranta they were riding turned sharply suddenly, as if hearing a call. The smuggler sighed sadly, sagging slightly against Corso.
"Looks like our time is up..." She murmured, and the Mantellian wound his arms more around her in comfort.
"I wouldn't worry, Captain." He reassured her. "I would've thought they'd use thrantas transport all over the place and between the outposts. I'm real sure we'll be one the back of another one before the day's out."
"Hadn't thought of that..." She mused, before she grinned widely. "I knew I kept you around for a reason!" She shoved him good-naturedly with her body, since she couldn't twist around to push him properly with her hands.
"I'm more useful than you think, Captain." He chuckled at her, also grinning, Watchpost Duvaal emerging from between the trees.
"Oh really?" Zavvi purred, moulding her back to him, making him blush. "Tell me more of this." Corso laughed nervously, gently pushing her forward.
"I-I didn't mean it that way, Captain." He stuttered, and she giggled.
"I know you didn't, farm boy. Can't help it if you're so fun to tease!" Her grin widened as she heard him snort.
"Think I need to start evenin' the odds then, Captain." He said.
"I look forward to it, farm boy..." Zavvi concluded, a grin across her lips.
After an uneventful landing and thanking Lazlo for the opportunity, the two set out on their mission to House Baliss (which had been House Teraan until things happened) for the Teraan siblings.
"Glad you wanted to go up there, Captain." Corso spoke. "That was some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen. Now I definitely know where I wanna retire!" He chuckled.
"You already thinking about retiring?" One of her eyebrows rose. "Don't you like being on the crew?"
"Oh no, no, I really like it, Captain!" Corso amended hurriedly. "I wouldn't change this. I was just thinking a long way into the future."
"You'd start a farm here with your wife and kids?" She asked. "I'd only retire here to hide in the mountains and have some peace and quiet with my thrantas." Corso frowned slightly.
"I...I don't really know any more, Captain." She glanced to him with surprise. "I used to always think I'd inherit the farm when my pop died and I'd send the rest of my days there. Still sorta kept the dream after the seps screwed everything up." He sighed softly. "But now...I dunno, I kinda enjoy seeing new places, even if most of 'em had things tryin' to kill us. Kinda makes me unsure whether I could just stay in one place when I know there's loads of other places out there in the galaxy just waiting..."
"Yeah. That's why I don't think I'll ever settle, not really." Zavvi replied. "There's just so much out there, that just stopping in one place, on one planet would just be so boring. I need the freedom to go where I want, when I want."
"I can understand that, Captain. I've just...I've always wanted what my parents had, you know?"
"More so after you lost them?" The smuggler asked tentatively. He nodded.
"Yeah." He looked away, gazing into the distance. "But now...I just dunno."
"Well, at least you don't have to make the decision just yet." She said, resting a hand on his arm. "So long as you wanna stay working with me, that is..."
"Of course, Captain." He smiled warmly. "I don't think I'm gonna get tired workin' with you for a good while yet."
"Good!" She grinned. "I'd miss you if you went."
"Well now, Captain, that's enough to keep me here a long, long time!" He chuckled, though inside his heart missed a beat.
"Let's pick up the pace, Corso. I saw a lot of House Baliss guys hanging around in the area thanks to that fly-over, so let's get going so we can be out and in before anyone can blink!" She said, starting to jog ahead.
Corso paused briefly to watch her, smiling to himself. She's so beautiful. he thought to himself, before he took off after her. One of these days, I'll tell her how I really feel about her...