It was already well into the night as they made their way back to the Ebon Hawk. Artemis' pace was steady. As much as she enjoyed the fresh night air of Kashyyyk, Bastila's never-ending speech kind of ruined the experience. The woman had started talking when they left the village and she somehow couldn't find an end to whatever she was talking about. Artemis wasn't paying much attention to her, mostly because all she could think of was food and her bed. Mission was already fast asleep, carried back to the Hawk in the arms of her Wookiee friend. The Wookiee seemed annoyed as well by the constant droning and it was somehow a good thing that his arms were busy right now. All he could do was moan now and then. Inwardly, Artemis laughed at the idea of Bastila being thrown down the walkways by an angry Wookiee; she was so sure that the woman would talk all her way down… She must've missed a conversation cue, because now Bastila had stopped talking and was looking expectantly at her.

"Ah… hum, I…" She really couldn't remember what the other woman was talking about. "Oh, I'm sorry Bastila. There's no use pretending: I wasn't listening to you."
She ignored the indignant look on her face and went on. "It's just that… that I'm completely exhausted. This whole mess took a lot more time than I would've thought…" Because of you, she added mentally. Bastila had insisted that they talk the succession and leadership of the village through and through. Succession was supposed to fall on Zaalbar, but now wasn't the time to assume it. They would still need his strength –and, incidentally, Mission's skills- if they wanted to go through this whole quest alive. Even though this process was necessary, it took a whole chunk of the evening she had wanted to spend playing pazaak and relaxing in the common room on the Hawk. No pazaak, Artemis thought bitterly.

Bastila cut in her line of thought, the indignant look still lingering on her face. "We'll need all the rest we can get tonight, we have to leave early tomorrow and we still have some matters to attend on Kashyyyk."

Artemis frowned. "Which matters?" She hid her discontent behind a wan smile. "I thought we were done."

"No no no" the other woman shook her head. "We have to contact the Enclave and check if we have everything for our trip to Manaan. We also…" There she goes again. Artemis felt her mind cloud itself from the incessant rain of words.

She heard the Wookiee mutter softly, 'We're almost to the Ebon Hawk.'

She looked up and saw the friendly shape or their ship.
"There we are!" she said, interrupting Bastila in her lecture. She walked faster, relief from finally being 'home' surging through her. She entered the Hawk, eager for a good meal and hot shower. They were indeed very late for supper, but she saw leftovers on the table, wrapped and waiting for them. She smiled, her heart warming at the attention. I love my crewmembers, she thought happily. She entered the hangar and started removing her armor. It needed a lot of repairs, after what it had been through recently. She would leave it near the workbench for Mission to work on it tomorrow. For now, that would mean walking around the Hawk in her undergarment, but she didn't care. The women's quarter was close by anyway. Her next stop was the refresher. She didn't take much more time than what was needed to scrub off the dirt and dried blood from her skin. As much as she liked the contact of water, she didn't want to empty the Hawk's recycled water reservoir. She returned to the common room feeling like a new, clean yet exhausted woman. Zaalbar was eating his way through three out of the four leftovers plates.

"The last one is mine, furball" she said, smirking. She sat on a chair and unwrapped the food.

'I know', he answered between two bites. 'Mission and Bastila said that I could eat their share. They both went to sleep right away.'

"Nh-mhm" she agreed, her mouth full. The food was good, even though she could not tell what it actually was. She really hoped it wasn't the squishy creature that Canderous had downed. She finished her plate, tossed it in the washer and bade goodnight to the Wookiee. She stumbled back to her quarters and collapsed on her bed. Slumber came to her right away.

Again, thanks to Jiara and Kyla, and the people who reviewed... :) (and I hate quickedit... brrrrr)