The engines of the Corellian XS Stock Light freighter rumbled loudly over the battered and bruised Drelliad Village, the ship banking gracefully in the sky like some gigantic metal bird. Two men watched the ship come in; one perched upon a small hill, looking up with appreciation and wonder, the other leaning against some railings on the landing pad with a smirk on his face. Not bad, not bad.
It quickly dipped own, landing gear falling into place just as the XS skidded on the landing pad, metal grinding against concrete with a screech before it stopped. The older man raised an eyebrow. Okay, that was impressive. Looks like this captain has some skills, alright.
The hatch gave a soft hiss, the ramp dropping to the ground with a soft 'clunk', and the said captain emerged at the top of the stairs.
She was a young woman Twi'lek, with soft light blue skin, sharp light green eyes, a brown and light silver metal headband resting on her forehead, a multitude of black curving tattoos all over her lekku, with a marking on each cheek and both sides of her neck. She wasn't a big woman, but she wasn't petite either; her body had curves in all the right places, but it was clear that even from a glance, she looked like she shouldn't be underestimated.
The corner of the older man's lips curved upwards slightly. The Twi'lek noted his Corellian accent as he spoke to her whilst she walked down the ramp towards him.
"Can't believe you made it through that separatist shooting gallery, Captain." He gestured to the freighter. "Your ship isn't even scratched. It takes guts landing in the middle of the battlefield."
The smuggler chuckled, reaching up to rest a hand against the metal of her beloved ship.
"I owe it to my hair-trigger reflexes, cracker-jack timing and the fact the Skylark has never once let me down. She's a loyal girl, and I wouldn't trade her for anything."
The human made a 'huh' noise and turned away, walking into the hangar nearby. The captain followed, a little perturbed by the way he brushed her off. No matter; the booms of cannons made her a little uncomfortable and she wanted to pick up her payment, unload her cargo and just get off this world before those guns turned against her.
He looked over his shoulder as they entered the hangar, and she noticed the strange black tattoo coiled around the right side of his face. It was almost like some demonic serpent the way it snaked over his skin with dagger-like protrusions sticking out of it.
"The name's Skavak; I'm picking up the blasters you delivered. Excuse the rush, but I need to get out of here quick."
"S'alright." She shrugged. "I'd be more surprised if you wanted to stay in this dump." Skavak snorted.
"Some idiots call this place home, believe it or not." He turned his attention back to the console. "This village used to be safe, but the separatists are taking over. You'd best haul jets after we've done, Captain..."
"Zavvi. Captain Zavvi." The Twi'lek nodded. "Who are these separatists? Do you know what they're after? Can they be placated with shiny trinkets?" Skavak smirked then.
"If only, Captain. No, the separatists want to break away from the Republic." A loud boom rumbled through the hangar from outside. "Judging by all the explosions, they're serious about the idea." The Corellian grimaced as another rumble made the hanger shudder. "Sounds like the bombing is getting closer. The separatists will be on top of us any minute." He turned back around, handing a pouch of credstiks to her, Zavvi noticing his blue eyes briefly roving over her body. "Here's your payment for making this run, Captain. Soon as I have those blasters, you're free to fly."
The hurried clomping of boots made Zavvi whirl her head around and her hand dart to her blaster. But then she had to do a double-take. Another human, younger than Skavak, but just as tall, looked shaken and worried, and judging by the way he skidded to a halt, he'd run a good speed over a fair distance to reach them, yet when he opened his mouth, he talked so fast it was as if he hadn't run a single mile.
"Skavak! We gotta big problem! Separatists took over the local air defence cannon!" The young man's accent was twangy, more...country. It wasn't an accent she'd heard before, so she assumed it was a local one. Zavvi spotted Skavak rolling his eyes with a sigh of resignation.
"Whoa, slow down, slow down Corso. What are you talking about?" He strolled over to him, the young man swallowing and trying again, a little slower, but no less unnerved. He hadn't spotted the starship captain yet, it seemed.
"They deployed some kinda remote control stations; hijacked the cannon's targeting computer." He scowled furiously. "Damn seps just destroyed an incoming Republic transport!"
Zavvi hadn't really been paying much attention until the mention of the transport. Though she had the veil of working for herself, she leaned more than a little to helping the Republic; she had a couple of reasons why the Empire was not her cup of tea. No, she had been too busy eyeing the Mantellian up to actually listen to what he was saying. He seemed young, but now she looked at him, she noted the scars over his face; one high on his temple, several on his left cheek, two resting on a nose that looked like it had been broken and reformed to almost perfect, and a strange set of five horizontal parallel scars across his throat. His shoulders were board, his face strong, yet his brown eyes seemed warm and gentle, belying every emotion rattling around his head. The Twi'lek was intrigued by his thick brown dreadlocks, most tied up to a knot on the top of his head, but a braid hung either side of his face. Tanned skin; he'd spent a lot of time outdoors, though most was hidden under shabby armour clothing. He had a great blaster rifle strapped to his back, and a pistol at his thigh, both seemingly well maintained.
Zavvi quickly formed some words, hoping Skavak hadn't noticed her zone out.
"You gotta name?" She asked, and the mercenary's head snapped to her voice with a start.
"Huh? Oh!" Was that a blush that suddenly flared on his cheeks? "Corso Riggs. I'm with Skavak, nice to meet you." He smiled, but his expression became serious once more. "With those remote control stations, the seps can override the air defence cannon's computer an' turn that firepower against us any time they want!"
"That's bad news, Captain." Skavak shook his head. "Fancy flying or no, the separatists will blast you outta the sky if you even think of taking off."
"The seps have remote control stations all over the area." Corso informed her. "You'll probably have to hit several before they lose control of that cannon."
Zavvi smiled wryly.
"And here's me thinking this would be a simple and boring job." She grinned at each, meeting their eyes in turn. "Pardon me, boys, but I think it's high time I caused some mayhem!"
"Good luck." Corso grinned boyishly, eyes bright. "Hope we see you again."
"I've no doubt you will." She grinned, flouncing off with an air of confidence and a devil-may-care attitude.
"Let's move, Corso." Skavak grunted. "We're running out of time." Corso nodded, but he didn't move, watching the Twi'lek smuggler go with interest. Even when she was out of sight he kept looking in that direction, absorbed with his thoughts. It was Skavak who snapped him out of his reverie.
"She's a hot one, isn't she?"
Corso turned to the Corellian, blushing slightly.
"Well, she's very beautiful..." He admitted. Then frowned as the older man's words registered. "Skavak! You can't seriously-"
"Why not? You don't get women as fit as that come through this place everyday. Would be a shame to waste the opportunity." The Mantellian fumed.
"Just because she's a Twi'lek doesn't mean you have to treat her like, like some Hutt's dancer, Skavak! She deserves respect!"
"What for? So, she flew through a shooting gallery and managed to land; doesn't make her worth respect. Any half decent smuggler can do the same as she did." The older human grinned. "You've got feelings for her, kid, I can tell!"
"I-I," Riggs flushed a light pink, but stood his ground. "W-Well, maybe, but what's it to you?" Kid didn't even notice she was checking him out. Skavak mused to himself.
"I'm thinking that you don't have a hope in hell with her, kid. You should let the men who know what they're doing handle it. Besides," he gestured to the freighter, "shouldn't you be unloading?"
Corso scowled darkly at Skavak and stalked stormily off to the ship to unload the blaster cargo. He's right. I don't have a chance with her. She'd probably enjoy his slick-talking manner. He paused as he approached the first crate. But she's so...I don't want to see Skavak take her off for a one-night stand. The Captain doesn't deserve that. Skavak might think her flying was average, but I don't.
Suddenly, the sounds of gunfire erupted from the hangar, and Corso quickly turned away from the cargo and charged out of the ship...