Hi everyone! Sorry it took so long to post again, but I had this bloody awful AP exam (I am so burning that study book!) and the day after that was done, I left for NYC. Life really gets in the way of writing, doesn't it?
Well, as always I want to say a major thank-you to all of my readers and to everyone who reviews my work. You keep me going when I start getting a really bad case of writer's block. And, of course, a big, gigantic thank-you to Rainwood, who helps to shape and add depth to my stories through the constructive criticism.
Note: So that it will be easier to picture, in our world, Ami would be a Japanese/Caucasian mix with blue eyes.
—————————
Several hours later, Aminta found herself sitting opposite a very talkative twi'lek girl while Carth was in the 'fresher. She wouldn't have minded if the girl had been a rambler; then all she would have had to have done was nod her head in the appropriate places, and occasionally throw in a "yes" or "oh my!" But this girl wasn't a rambler. She was a questioner. So, Aminta was forced to resign herself to sit and listen to the twi'lek's stories.
Most of the conversation thus far had to do with the doctor that she was working for. Supposedly Aminta was going to be taken to him after Carth got out of the sonic shower. If he ever gets out of that blasted shower! Aminta thought with an inward smile as she smiled politely and attempted to listen to Mayenna's stream of conversation.
"…And then Zelka had to suture the wound, and I nearly passed out! Watching skin getting stitched up is so gross! All in all, the surgery was a success. But then the guy made the stupid mistake of going down to the lower city. He was killed in a swoop gang fight because the gash re-opened! Zelka was pretty ticked off, and since then, he's made his patients promise not to go into the lower city until they were finished healing." Mayenna finished her story, sinking back into the couch and smiling with pleasure.
When Aminta smiled, it was genuine. She's finally done! If I have to hear one more story about that stupid medical clinic, I'm going to…
Mayenna interrupted Aminta's thoughts before she could carry them through. "So, since I've loaded you with information about me this past hour, why don't you tell me about yourself?" the girl asked brightly, leaning forward so that her elbows were on her knees and her chin rested in her hands.
Aminta blinked. O gods no! Two interrogations on my life in the past day; that has got to be a new record. On second thought, no it isn't. There was that time when Vogga actually caught me… Aminta cleared her throat. "What do you want to know?" she questioned, skillfully dodging the question.
Mayenna frowned slightly. "I don't know. Anything I guess," she said with an indifferent shrug.
Aminta licked her lips and her hand moved to rub her collarbone. "Well, I was on the ship that blew up," she informed the girl as she crossed her legs. That is all that she's getting out of me. She's just a kid! She really doesn't need to know anything that I've been through.
"Well I already knew that!" Mayenna exclaimed as she sank back into the couch with disappointment.
The corners of Aminta's mouth turned up into a small grin, and her hand dropped from her clavicle. "You told me that you wanted to know anything about me. The fact that I was on the Spire is something, isn't it?"
"That wasn't what I meant when I said anything!" Mayenna exclaimed indignantly, crossing her arms over her chest with a pout.
Aminta grinned at the girl's discomfort, and settled more comfortably into her chair. "Well, I took it that way, now didn't I?" she asked with a light smile as she pulled a pillow onto her lap.
Mayenna sunk deeper into the couch and furrowed her brow so that white lines marred her flawless pink face. "Whatever," she mumbled under her breath. After a few moments of silence, the girl perked back up again. "Where'd your blue eyes come from?" she asked, straightening up once more.
Aminta's hand went back to her collarbone again, but she pasted on a sardonic grin. "They're not store-bought if that's what you're asking. They come from the magical pool of genetics." Aminta waved her hands as though casting a spell when she said the last part, causing Mayenna to roll her eyes.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm well versed with genetics. My dad was white, my mom was red, and so I turned out pink. There's nothing magic about that," Mayenna informed Aminta with a look and a shrug of her shoulders. "But that's normal, you know? But you, well… You're Deralian right?"
Aminta coughed and blinked slowly, her fingers absently rubbing over her clavicle. "What would make you think that?" she asked, deflecting Mayenna's question.
Mayenna rolled her eyes. "Come on. You've got the black hair, the gold skin, the slanty eyes… you practically scream Deralian," she informed Aminta as she leaned a little further forward.
"Fine, I'm Deralian. So, what of it?" Irritation clouded Aminta's voice, and she was glad of it. It would be far easier for Mayenna to justify Aminta snapping at her than for the twi'lek to explain the tears in the human's eyes.
"Deralians have brown eyes. I mean, eyes that are so brown that they're almost black. You, however, have really, really blue ones. That isn't very likely to be a natural color. But since you say it is… where did you get them from?"
Aminta's hand rubbed against her collarbone with renewed force as she became caught up in memories. A soft smile…a whimsical laugh… too many a tear shed by eyes as blue as the sky… Aminta cleared her throat quickly in an attempt to dissolve the lump that was forming there. "My mother." Her statement was spoken softly, her eyes lowered to the ground. The word conjured up a thousand images, all of which she yearned to leave buried. She was immobilized for several minutes, staring at a stain in the carpet as she attempted to block all of the pain from her mind.
Miraculously, Mayenna said nothing. The twi'lek also lowered her gaze to her small pink hands, also caught up in times past. The silence between them grew uncomfortable, filled with knowledge of each other's pain, but also the refusal to acknowledge their own. Life was a cruel teacher, and they had learned their lesson well.
"What happened to her?" Mayenna asked softly, daring to raise her amber colored eyes from her hands to Aminta's face. The woman's visage was a completely emotionless mask, and that scared Mayenna a little bit.
"I don't know," Aminta said flatly as she continued to stare at the floor. After a few moments of silence, Aminta raised her gaze from the floor and gave an indifferent shrug. "Well, the past is the past. You're better off leaving it far behind you," she told the girl with a slight smile.
Mayenna shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe. But sometimes it's really nice to look back on all the good things that happened, isn't it? I mean, when you feel lonely, you can remember your family… and then you don't feel so bad anymore. If you leave your past behind you, you're leaving a part of who you are behind you, and that only hurts you in the end."
Aminta let out a breathy laugh. The girl was smarter than she had originally given her credit for. "You've got some pretty strong opinions there for a kid. Exactly how old are you?" she asked as she shifted her weight and crossed her legs.
Mayenna frowned at the unintentional insult of being called a kid, but shrugged it off. "I'm seventeen." Her tone was nonchalant, and she settled back into the chair. But I've been through so much… I feel so much older. The girl quickly brushed the thought away and grinned up at Aminta. "So, how old are you?"
Aminta pressed a hand to her chest and feigned offense. "Never ask a woman her age, young lady!" she exclaimed with mock indignation, earning her a giggle from the girl. For some reason, Mayenna's giggle didn't irk her nearly as much as Leoma's had. Leoma… No! Not now! Save your tears for later…when you're alone. "But since you asked so nicely… I'm twenty seven."
"Woa! You're almost thirty!" Mayenna exclaimed, her eyes rounded.
"Thanks," Aminta grumbled and glared at the kid. However, she found that she couldn't be upset with Mayenna for long. The girl had wide eyes and dimples… Who could resist a face like that?
"Sorry," Mayenna sheepishly said. "You look so much younger though. No wrinkles or anything!"
Aminta laughed. "Honey, you make thirty sound like its ancient. It's right around the corner for you… Believe me, life goes by really fast."
Carth entered the room at that moment, his auburn locks wet and disheveled from the shower. "What's this about thirty being ancient?" he asked as he plopped down next to Mayenna on the couch.
"Our resident teenager seems to think that at thirty you'll have wrinkles and age spots," Aminta informed him wryly as she settled more comfortably in the chair.
Carth laughed heartily and slung an arm over the girl's shoulders. "Ah, that belief only proves how incredibly young she is," he chuckled as he nudged Mayenna.
"That's ridiculous! I didn't mean it that way!" the girl exclaimed indignantly. Then, a sly smile blossomed onto her face. "You don't get those until you're nearly forty!" she said coyly as she batted her eyelashes up at Carth.
"Cute," Carth muttered dryly as he cuffed the back of her head.
"Hey watch the lekku!" Mayenna exclaimed as she placed a hand over her head-tails protectively.
Aminta watched the exchange between the pair with a slight smile, and only hoped that Carth knew enough not to get too attached. "I hate to interrupt the love session you've got going here, but Forn's office has been open for an hour now."
Carth laughed and stood up quickly, walking over to where Aminta sat and helping her up. "Right," he agreed, and then looked over her carefully. "Is your back doing any better?" he asked as he watched her face intently.
Aminta shrugged. "The pain meds have kicked in, and the make up that Mayenna gave me cover most of the bruising on my face, so that's okay."
"That isn't what I asked."
Damn that man! He's entirely too smart for his own good! "I have a very high tolerance for pain," she muttered. Carth opened his mouth like he was about to protest, and she lifted her hand to still his words. "Leave it," she warned him. For once, Carth dropped it. It's a good thing too. I was ready to box his ears if he didn't shut up.
Carth smiled slightly, and put his arm around Aminta's trim waist as he guided her towards the door. His brow crinkled when Aminta winced with pain, and he placed his arm around her shoulders instead. Just in case she needs support or something, he told himself, but his body was swiftly betraying his mind. Damn!
————————————
Aminta sat patiently as Zelka Forn examined the healing wound on her back, ignoring the constant questions that a hovering Mayenna kept throwing at her.
"Does this hurt?" Zelka asked as he applied pressure to a part of her back, holding a medical chart in one hand.
Aminta gritted her teeth. "No, that doesn't hurt," she muttered as she pulled the towel draped across her bare torso closer to her. Damn doctors. All they ever do is end up hurting you more with their stupid probing fingers.
Zelka tapped something into the datapad and then looked back up at her with dark, rheumy eyes. "What about this?" the old man asked as he touched a different area of the inflamed skin.
Aminta crossed her legs and rolled her eyes. "Look, my back doesn't hurt, okay? Just remove your hands and let me be!" she exclaimed as she began to swing a leg back and forth.
"Quite a handful, isn't she?" Zelka remarked dryly with a glance towards Carth.
Carth shrugged. "She has her good points too," he said, the corners of his mouth quirking upwards with good humor.
"I'm glad that you think this is funny, flyboy!" Aminta muttered darkly as she glared at the pilot. Onasi flashed her one of his most charming smiles, and Aminta scowled at him.
"What about here?" Zelka asked as he pressed a finger into the flesh of her back again.
This time, a searing pain ripped from where his hand was to the rest of her body, causing Aminta to squeeze her eyes shut and whimper. Once it had subsided to a dull ache, Aminta lifted her tear-filled gaze to the doctor and managed a smirk. "I feel peachy keen, can't you tell?" she ground out. This is the last time that I ever go to see a doctor!
Zelka stared at her for a brief moment before smiling and shaking his head. "Sit right there; I'm going to go get some fresh supplies," the elderly man told her with a shake of his dark, bald, head. "Come and help me, will you Mayenna?" Zelka called over his shoulder, and Mayenna scurried to catch up with him.
Once the pair had gone, Carth walked over to where Aminta sat and took her hand. "Are you alright? And don't you dare lie to me," he asked as he hoisted himself up onto the examining table next to her.
Aminta shrugged. "It hurts but I have a high tolerance for pain. But once some bloody doctor goes and pushes as hard as he can onto the most sensitive spot in the injury…" her voice rose with each word, and she ended with an angry glare towards the door that Zelka had just walked through.
Carth chuckled. "Go easy on him. He's an old guy, and he's risking his butt to help us," he told er with a slight smile.
Aminta grudgingly acknowledged what Carth said with a string of unintelligible mumblings before pushing herself off of the table, wincing when a sharp stab of pain ran through her back.
"You really shouldn't moving around right now," Carth warned her, but she simply waved him off. Carth shrugged, and stepped off of the table as well, following close behind her.
"I'm a big girl, Onasi. You don't have to shadow me," Aminta informed Carth without looking back at him as she began to examine a locked door that was labeled 'Personnel Only.'
"Well, what if you fall down or something? I don't want you to re-open that gash that you've got back there."
"Paranoid," Aminta muttered as she pulled a hairpin from the elaborate knot at the back of her head.
"Accusatory," Carth countered, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned against a wall.
"Annoying."
"Hot tempered."
Aminta grinned as she began to pick the lock, her smile widening when she heard Carth begin to sputter in protest. "Well, now that we've got the childish name calling out of the way, let's do something productive," she mumbled as she continued to twist her hands at odd angles in order to unlock the door.
"Can you read?" Carth asked pointedly as he walked over to her and made to snatch her hairpin from her hand. For the love of the gods, what kind of woman knows how to pick a lock with a hairpin? Aminta quickly turned her back to him so that her hands were out of his reach. Apparently her kind.
"Contrary to popular belief, I'm not completely ignorant," Aminta grunted, and then sighed with satisfaction when she heard the lock give way with a slight clicking sound.
"Do you not see the sign?" he asked as he pointed towards the one that read 'Personnel Only.' He then crossed his arms over his chest and blocked her passage into the room.
"Yeah, well rules were made to be broken." She then brushed him aside and entered the room, stopping short when she saw what was within.
Carth followed close behind her. "This is a little thing known as breaking and entering. We could be arrested for…" He trailed off as he too looked around him, and his arms fell slack to his sides. Kolto tanks filled with republic soldiers lined the room; the wounds on each person mortal.
Aminta's breath caught in her throat as she looked into the faces of each crewmember there. She recognized all of them. There was Creugh, the jerk who had tried to cheat her out of a hundred credits, but who had a soft spot for his wife and kid back home. And beside him was Fraun, a soldier who had been on his way home to marry his childhood sweetheart. Koran, a weasel and a drunk with an affinity for blasters… Solah, a single mother who had wanted nothing more to go home and raise her son… Geom, one of the few sparring companions that she'd had that had kept her on her toes… Dari, a woman of loose morals who had just discovered that she was pregnant… a senior officer who had always smiled at her when she had passed him in the halls…Leoma…Leoma!
Aminta drew in a ragged breath at the sight of her friend, the woman's dark hair tangled and matted about her face, her dark skin bearing a grayish tint, her luminous brown eyes closed most likely for an eternity. Her heart sank to the depths of her stomach, and she covered her mouth to stifle a mournful cry. Aminta took a step back, bumping into Carth's chest, but neither bothered to move away from each other.
Carth knew none of the soldiers in the tanks with the exception of Officer Geringbough, but the sight of so many crewmembers that had been on his ship alive and well only days before that were now nearing death… it hurt. When Carth was finally able to drag his gaze away from the Kolto tanks, he trained his eyes upon Aminta. The woman's golden skin was pale; her blue eyes dull, a small hand covering her mouth. "Did you know any of them?" he asked softly as he gently touched her shoulder.
Upon hearing Carth's voice, Aminta quickly donned her emotionless mask, and turned away from Leoma's form and back to Carth. "Yes; some better than others," her voice was flat; emotionless; the tone that Carth had come to identify as the one that was hiding unbearable pain.
"What are you two doing in here? Didn't you read the sign?" Zelka's voice cut into the emotion laden moment, and both Carth and Aminta whirled around to face him. "Do you know how much trouble I could get into if anybody hears about this?" he demanded, slamming the doors behind him just as Mayenna entered.
"Don't worry, doctor. Your secret is safe with us," Carth attempted to reassure the elderly man, and nudged Aminta to attempt to get a similar response from her. But the woman ignored him and had turned back around to stare at her crewmates.
"He wouldn't dare go to the Sith. He's republic too, remember Zelka?" Mayenna interjected, and Carth silently blessed the girl for her support.
Zelka looked from Mayenna to the pair in front of the kolto tanks and back again before sighing wearily, and turning to lock the door. "Just please be very careful about this. The sith have come to investigate the facility several times already and found nothing, but if they hear about what I've done…" Zelka's voice trailed off as he allowed the implications to sink in.
Carth nodded slowly, but it was Aminta who responded. "Where did you find them?" she asked, her voice still empty, her eyes never leaving the tank that Leoma was floating in.
Zelka looked to the woman and sighed, running a hand through his almost non-existent hair. "People found them and brought them to me. Unfortunately, there's not much that I can do for them except to make their last days more comfortable," Zelka breathed sadly as his eyes roamed over all of the lost lives.
Aminta swallowed past the lump in her throat and turned away from her friend to face the old man. "And for that you have our thanks," she said softly, gratitude replacing the emptiness in her voice.
Zelka nodded slowly, and began to withdraw from the room. "Let us leave them in peace. Come now, I have to re-bandage that wound of yours."
Carth gently took Aminta's elbow in his hands and went to draw her from the room, but she didn't move. He frowned slightly at her, and she gave him a ghost of a smile. "Could you guys give me a minute or two?" she asked softly.
Zelka nodded and withdrew from the room, Mayenna and Carth following close behind him. Once the three were gone and the door shut behind them, Aminta made her way over to the kolto tank where her friend rested. Aminta let out a broken sigh as she touched the cool glass with her fingertips, and then rested her head against it, inches away from Leoma's own. "I'll miss you," she whispered fiercely as she closed her eyes against the onslaught of emotions that threatened to overwhelm her. Tears began to trickle from her eyes as she lifted a prayer to the heavens, in your infinite mercy, grant her rest… grant her peace. And although Aminta made a point to do neither very often, she felt that her friend deserved a tear and a prayer.
———————————
Aminta was strangely silent on their walk from the clinic, and Carth glanced nervously in her direction. "Credit for your thoughts?" he asked with a crooked smile, attempting to put their joined unease behind them.
"Hm?" Aminta looked up at him, her browed furrowed.
"Credit for your thoughts? What, you've never heard that expression before?"
"It sounds vaguely familiar, but…"
Carth chuckled and shook his head. "I guess I'm a whole lot older than I thought I was." He grinned down at her, and she returned the smile. Soon though, her concentration was lost on the pavement in front of her. Carth coughed to get her attention again. "Where do you think that we should start looking for Bastila?" he asked in an attempt to divert her current thoughts towards more productive ones.
"Who?" Aminta wondered aloud, looking back up at Carth, squinting in the sunlight as she attempted to see his face. He's way too tall…or I'm too short. No, there's nothing wrong with my height… he's definitely too tall.
"Bastila?" Carth demanded, his eyes gone wide. "The Jedi we're supposed to be looking for? You know, the one who crashed on this planet and is our ticket out of here? Didn't you listen to anything that I said back in the apartment?" She is utterly impossible! Does she bother to actually tune in to any of the conversations people start with her?
"Oh, you mean the bratty Jedi poster child." The moment the words were out of her mouth, Aminta groaned and rolled her eyes. I always did have problems controlling my tongue. I bet I'd make one heck of a Jedi.
Carth's wide eyed stare of disbelief quickly morphed into a slack jawed look of disbelief, which in turn changed into a broad grin. "What did you just say?"
Aminta groaned again, louder this time. "It's just something that Trask said before… well… You have to admit it's true. I mean that woman really acts like she's got something stuck up her…"
"You'll get no argument here," he managed through bouts of laughter. "I'm the one that had to work with her, remember?" Carth's grin broadened slightly at the smile blossoming onto the woman's face. Yep, the Onasi charm still works. "But seriously, our feelings regarding her should have no impact on what we do while planet-bound. We should show her some respect; after all, she is our commanding officer…"
"Not mine; at least not anymore. I am definitely quitting this stupid job the second I get back home."
Carth smiled at her. "Either way, you're still a member of the Republic for the moment, which means you're still under the command of…"
"Miss high and mighty." Aminta finished his sentence for him as she struck a very dignified Bastila-like pose.
Carth choked on his laughter. "Yes, Bastila." He put a slight emphasis on the Jedi's name, and Aminta rolled her eyes.
"Alright, alright. I got it. We find the girl before we can think about shipping out."
"And?" Carth prompted, placing his hands on his hips as his lips quirked upwards into a smile.
Aminta crossed her arms over her chest and shifted all her weight to one leg. "And I use her name correctly; no miss high and mighty, bratty Jedi poster child, and all that." She sounded like a six year old who had been caught in the cookie jar, and wasn't completely convinced that stealing the cookies was wrong. Suddenly, the six year old was gone, and a sly grin flit across her features. "At least not to her face," she finished with a slight smirk.
Carth shook his head slightly, trying to hide a smile. Despite himself, he couldn't help but be drawn to the woman's resilient personality. She had just seen exactly how close her surviving comrades were to their deaths, and she was already cracking jokes. It's a defense mechanism; joking and sarcasm, he swiftly tucked that nugget of information away with everything else he'd gathered on her.
"Are you checking me out?" Aminta's voice cut into his thoughts, and he quickly realized that he had been staring.
Carth snapped his jaw shut, and mustered a condescending grin. "Nope. If I were checking you out, you'd know it. Besides, I don't think I'll be doing that any time soon, especially to you…"
Aminta scowled at him, and increased her pace. Unfortunately, his legs were much longer than hers and he caught up easily. Aminta's scowl deepened, but she refused to look up at him. "What? What did I say?" Carth demanded, reaching out to touch her shoulder.
Aminta shrugged his hand off and threw him a glare. "Look, I know that I'm ugly, but that doesn't mean you have the right to make me feel…"
Carth held up a hand. "Woa, girl. Calm down a second. Who ever said that you were ugly?" he demanded.
Aminta's fierce gaze faltered and dropped to the ground for a moment before she looked back up at him with fire in her eyes. "Please; as if you didn't mean…Well, all you have to do is look at me!" She exclaimed, spreading her arms wide.
Carth's brow knit together as he studied the woman who stood before him. Her eyes slanted upwards at the corners; her lashes were neither short nor long. Her cheekbones were a little too high, her eyebrows too arched, her jaw a bit too square, her lips too full, and she had a peculiar little bump in the middle of an otherwise tiny nose. In short, she was not pretty. But the smooth angles of her face combined in a strangely pleasant way so that she gave off a sort of exotic beauty. Carth rested his hands on her shoulders, and looked into her blue eyes. "I don't know what would give you such an idea, but you are not ugly." He put a slight emphasis on each of the last words of the statement, and he watched Aminta squirm under his gaze. She's self conscious, he realized, and that startled him. She had seemed so self-assured… Who on earth would tell the girl that she was ugly?
Aminta didn't like the way that Carth was looking at her; like he was actually seeing her rather than the facade that she threw up. "You're sweet," she said simply, and patted his cheek as though he were a small child. "So, about finding Bastila," she prompted, quickly changing the subject. Why'd you even bring up your looks? You idiot. Don't you ever learn?
"Where do you think that we should start?" Carth asked, gracefully allowing the abrupt subject change as he continued walking.
"Mayenna said something about most of the pods crashing in the under city, right?"
Carth nodded. "You're right. We should probably start there."
"So, how exactly do we get down there?"
"Well, she said something about an elevator…"
———————————-
"Damn," Carth Onasi shouted as he walked away from the elevator, guarded by a sith. He and Aminta had been attempting to get down to the lower city, where most of the republic escape pods had supposedly crashed, only to find out that it was impossible to get down to the lower levels unless you sported a sith uniform or identification papers.
"Care to say that any louder?" Aminta asked him, a touch of sarcasm in her voice as she glanced at the sith patrol over her shoulder. "You know, just in case he didn't hear you the first time?"
"Trust me, there's a whole host of other choice words that I'd like to say to him," Carth muttered.
Aminta laughed, and Carth was struck at the sound. He hadn't heard her laugh before and it was as musical as her voice. "I'd like to say a few things to him too, but cursing someone in a thousand languages won't get anything done but get your hide thrown in jail."
"Though I'm sure that if it was you to curse him, he'd smile and wish you a good day," Carth told her with a grin.
"Are you trying to tell me something flyboy? Because if you are, you sure are beating around the bush." Aminta told him, her grin growing to match his own, and she punched him playfully.
"Believe whatever you want, beautiful."
"We've already established that I'm not, but…Hell, I'll play along. Anyways, I do like the sound of that," Aminta said, tapping her chin with her index finger in mock concentration.
"What, that you can believe what you want or that you're beautiful?"
"Hmm," Aminta peered up at him from beneath her eyelashes with a playful smile. "Both. But you know, beautiful doesn't seem to fit me too well."
"Oh?" Carth asked, suppressing laughter, "And what does?"
"Gorgeous maybe, or ravishing, although devastatingly beautiful will suffice," she informed him, somehow managing to keep a straight face. So what if I'm ugly… this is fun; I deserve a couple of laughs every now and again, don't I?
Carth burst out laughing. So much for ugly. "And what will you call me in return?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"How about…" Aminta thought quickly, "The handsomest thug?"
"Nope, sorry honey. You want me to call you ravishing it'll have to be something more stupendous!"
"What, you mean like, sexist worm?" she asked innocently.
Carth chuckled. "Surely you can do better than that!"
"Oh you mean something like a sexless gammorean's pet toad?"
"Ouch," Carth exclaimed. "You really do get rolling, don't you?" he asked, feigning offence. "And to think, you talk to your commanding officer that way!" He exclaimed, his voice laced with fake shock.
"I am truly sorry, sir, I meant no offense. Anyway, you started it!" she exclaimed and stuck her tongue out at him. Carth shook his head. She would never cease to amaze him.
"Anyway, you didn't tell me what you wanted to be called yet," she told him with a quick smile, looking up at him. Carth suddenly realized what a child she looked like in comparison to him. Why, she could be his daughter! Well, that might be pushing it, but he still had a good thirteen years on her.
"Huh?" he asked when he saw she was staring at him.
Aminta rolled her eyes and repeated her question. Carth frowned for a moment, pretending to think, and then looked down at her. "How about…the handsomest man in all the galaxy!"
Aminta shook her head. "You're cute, Carth, but not that cute," she told him with a coy smile.
"Cute? I'm not sure that that's a word that a man wants himself described as. Children are cute, not grown men," he exclaimed, feigning offense.
"Well then, replace cute with any word that you can think of," she told him with a nonchalant shrug. At his growing smile she rolled her eyes. "But not that one!" Men.
"Well, then, I guess you'll just have to be content with beautiful, now won't you?" he informed her with a smug smile.
"And I guess flyboy will just have to do," she said in turn.
Carth shook his head. "All joking aside, we should seriously get to business," he told her. "Now, where can we get some sith uniforms?" he muttered under his breath.
"Let's go to the Cantina," she suggested, and Carth stared at her.
"The Cantina?" he asked, not quite sure whether or not she was serious.
"Of course. We need to think, and I'm thirsty. Let's go!" she exclaimed, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the building.
Carth shook his head, followed her, and grasped her hand with his own. When she went to pull away, he held it tighter.
"Hey, flyboy, not that I mind or anything, but I think you're cutting off my circulation," she told him with a smirk, glancing at him over her shoulder.
Carth shrugged and dropped it. "Whatever you say, Beautiful."
"Thank you," she grinned, and hurried into the cantina.
They entered the building, and Carth found it took his eyes a moment to adjust to the dim lighting. When he could see fine, he noticed that Aminta was busy looking around the bar. He tapped her shoulder. "The bar is that way," he told her with smirk, and she followed his gaze.
I know that," she informed him haughtily, and continued looking around.
"Here, I only brought forty credits with me, but it should probably buy something decent," he said, and dug the credit chips out of his pocket. He attempted to hand them to her, but she waved him off.
"If I'm lucky, I won't need any." With that, she left, and made her way over to a rather scrawny looking man sitting alone at a booth.
Carth's eyes followed her incredulously, and he shook his head. "I need a drink," he muttered, and hurried over to the bartender.
Aminta glanced backwards just in time to see that Carth had ordered a rather tall glass of Tarisian ale. He's a goner. I wonder how much I'll have to pay a bouncer to drag him back to our apartment… Oh well, it's nothing I can't make off of a pazaak table. Secure in her knowledge that she would be able to get Carth home, she turned her attention back to the loner at the booth. The man's pasty skin, shifty eyes, as well as a lack of company clearly defined him as a Sith. Now for the uniform… I really hope that there's another way besides sex to get him out of that tin can. Even if there isn't, that's nothing I haven't handled before… Aminta quickly swallowed back the wave of nauseating repulsion that swept over her at the thought. Don't think; just act.
"This seat taken?" Aminta asked softly, and the man turned wide eyes on her as he shook his head dumbly. Oh joy, at least the lack of looks is made up for by a brilliant mind. Aminta coughed and managed a smile as she took her seat in the booth, sitting closer to him than necessary. "I'm Havine Garinger," she introduced, and extended her hand in greeting. She didn't use her real name; she never did.
"Yun," The man took her hand in his own and eyed her warily.
"Well then Yun, it's good to meet you," her voice was soft and sultry; her years of forced labor certainly helped in times like this. She peered at him from under her lashes. "Now why is a man as handsome as you sitting all alone?"
Yun glanced at her in disbelief. "You do know I'm sith, right? Everyone here hates the sith." His voice came out as more of a squeak than an actual human's voice, and Aminta covered her wince with a wounded look on his behalf.
"Well I don't see why," Aminta told him with a pretty pout. "Soldiers are so much more exciting then everyone else on this accursed planet!" Aminta leaned closer, and ran her index finger up over his chest.
"You're an off worlder?" he asked her, glancing down in shock. At her nod, he continued, "I'd think that off worlders would hate us more than Tarisians do."
"Well," Aminta began, leaning against him now, "I think that it's all a matter of perspective," she informed him, her eyes traveling over his body. By all the gods and galaxies, he's ugly! Her mind cried out, but she kept her coy smile plastered on her face.
"Yeah, exactly!" Yun exclaimed. "No one here understands that!"
He seemed not to realize that she was coming on to him. Yeah, I always get the smart ones. She couched again to hide her irritation, and leaned even closer to him, brushing her lips over his ear. Automatically, all of her emotions turned off; she was now Havine Granger, slut extraordinaire.
Yun pulled back and stared at her with wide eyes for a few seconds until a huge smile spilt his face in two. Yep, now he gets it. "So, do you have anywhere that you have to be tonight, or…"
Yun grinned. "Not really. I'm fancy free until…" Yun glanced down at his chronometer, and sighed in annoyance. "Never mind. My shift starts soon, and I really have to go," he said, a look of resignation on his face.
Aminta pouted prettily. "Already?" she asked, looking very disappointed.
"Look, I'd really like to see you again," Yun told her anxiously. "We're having a party tonight, and I'd like it if you would come."
Oh joy, drunken Sith. I think that I'll pass. Its not like they'll have their uniforms there anyway. She quickly wracked her brain to come up with a suitable excuse. "Well, I have to get to work, and I don't think that I'll have time to change…"
"Don't let that worry you. We won't have time to change either; we'll be showing up to the party in our uniforms. Look, there'll be Tarisian ale and everything. Please say that you'll come."
Looks like I found another way to get him out of his uniform after all. "I'd love to. Just download all of the info into my datapad," she told him as she handed it to him. Yun took the pad with a wide smile, and began to quickly type the information in. "Oh, and do you think that you could find my brother a date?" she asked, motioning to Carth.
Yun glanced where she pointed, and looked resentfully back at her. "He doesn't look like he'd have trouble getting a date," he muttered as he gave the man a once over.
"He's a bit of a prude. Most of the girls that I know won't go out with him because of it," she leaned closer to Yun so that her lips brushed against his ear, "Not at all like me," she whispered.
Yun's throat went dry, and he swallowed. "I'm sure that I can manage to get him someone," he squeaked. "So, I'll se you later tonight?" he asked her with a smile, and went to kiss her, but Aminta put her hands against his chest and pushed him away.
"Save it for later," she whispered into his ear, and choked down a laugh when she saw that he was nearly drooling. She waved as he walked away and quickly headed back over to Carth, who had been casting her dark looks and nursing an ale.
"I see you didn't get lucky," he commented dryly, glancing at her empty hand.
"Actually, I did. I've got myself a date."
"A date?" Carth nearly roared. "We're on a mission and you get yourself a date?"
"You wouldn't be jealous, would you flyboy?" she baited him. Carth just shook his head in wonder.
"I could have you court marshaled for this," he informed her.
"Woa there, I wasn't going to leave you out of all of the fun. You've got a date for tonight too. Though don't expect her to be too beautiful, since I told that guy over there that you were a prude."
"You what?" Carth asked, working to keep his voice low.
"Well, I couldn't have you get dragged into the next room over, now could I? Anyway, just so you know, my name is Havine Granger, and you're my big brother."
Carth opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it again. "We came here to think, and you run off and find yourself a boyfriend! Gods help me!" he exclaimed, running a hand through his hair.
Aminta dropped the act, and sighed. "Don't worry, Carth. He's how we're going to get the uniforms." At his raised brow, she continued, "They're bringing their uniforms with them to the party, and they're drinking Tarisian ale. They'll be out within an hour," she clarified.
Carth shook his head. "You really had me going there for a while," he told her, and took a large swig of the ale, and felt his eyes began to burn.
Aminta quickly took the drink from him. "There is absolutely no way that you are going to get drunk on me. I need you sober," she told him.
Carth suddenly started to laugh, and Aminta wondered whether or not he was already intoxicated. "What?" she asked.
"You got a date with that guy? And you were seducing HIM?" he asked, laughing harder.
Aminta rolled her eyes. "Sure flyboy, have a nice laugh at my expense," she grumbled, poking him in the ribs.
Carth laughed harder. "And you were so convincing," he sobered quickly. "How on earth did you do that?"
"It is necessary to do such…things…in my line of work. You get used to putting on an act after a while."
"I don't think I would have been able to do that with a woman that ugly," Carth informed her, suddenly suspicious. What if everything that she said and did with him was only an act?
"Yeah, well I seriously considered swallowing my blaster the entire time. He reminded me of a sewer rat," she said and shuddered.
Carth shook his head, "So, what are we going to do until the party?"
—————————————-
"You know, when I asked what we should do, I meant something like grab a bite to eat, get a few drinks, play some pazaak; you know, fun stuff. I most certainly did not mean to head of to the nearest dueling ring and get yourself killed!" Carth whispered harshly over the roar of the crowds.
"Carth, don't worry so much! We need the credits, and besides, the rules of the ring are to injure, not to kill."
"Aminta Jae, you are the most damn infuriating woman that I have ever met!" Carth exclaimed, glaring daggers at her.
"You know, you're rather dashing when you're angry," Aminta grinned and then winked at her companion while equipping herself with weapons and grenades.
Carth stuttered, and then the announcer's voice rang through the stadium, announcing Dead eye Duncan and the Mysterious stranger. "Showtime. Oh, flyboy, you'd better hustle to the sidelines, you don't want the old guy to misfire and shoot you by accident," she told him with a wink.
As he walked off, Aminta was sure that she could hear a few more insulting words and oaths, but she shrugged them off with a smile. He was cute when he was irritated. She shook her head. What is wrong with you? You haven't thought of a guy like that since Kael! I must just have a weakness for pilots, she mused, thinking of her first love's occupation. He had been her pilot when she was a green country girl trying her hand at smuggling at nineteen, and though he had been a heartthrob, the eight-year-older man didn't win her heart until several years later.
Her thoughts were interrupted when her opponent through a grenade at her, which she simply ran from, and escaped unscathed. She then drew her blasters, and Duncan went down with the first shot.
She left the ring to the cheers of the crowd and gave Carth a smug smile. "Hmm, I don't seem to be missing any limbs, I don't have any blaster burns, and I'm not dead. You need to check, or do you trust me?" she grinned.
Carth glared at her. "I most certainly don't trust you, but I can trust my own eyes, and I can see that you're not hurt." He retorted.
"Wait a second, flyboy, why don't you clarify something for me. Why is it that you don't trust me?"
"You mean besides the obvious?" he asked in reference to her occupation as a smuggler and scoundrel.
"Yes!" Aminta exclaimed, all traces of her good humor vanished.
"Well you're a damn good actress. You fooled that scrawny sith, and how do I know you aren't fooling with my mind too?"
"Am I throwing myself at you? Have I lied to you? Do you have any reason not to trust me?"
"I jest think it's pretty convenient, that's all," he muttered.
"What is convenient?" she demanded, glaring daggers.
Carth glanced around him nervously. "This is not a conversation to be had here, Jae. Go collect your credits and enter the next round for all I care, but we will not have this discussion where people are liable to hear us," Carth's words were icy and his eyes as hard as steel.
Aminta's eyes widened, and she raised an eyebrow. "Fine, but this conversation is far from over, Onasi." Aminta's gaze was firm and unwavering, and Carth knew that she wasn't going to let this drop. "Oh, and thanks for your permission to enter the next round," she smirked, and hurried off to the Hutt running the duels to do as he had said.
Carth groaned. What have I gotten myself into now?
——————————————
Yeah… I have neglected my schoolwork to finish this… so…. yeah. Anyway, I hope you liked it. As I said, life is bloody awful. Please comment! I love you all!