Chapter Six – Honeybunch

The girl known as Feylara was just about as tall as Alico was only she was much thicker with a round face, thick thighs, birthing hips, and a well-endowed chest. She had trapped herself behind a ray shield and was smiling like a school girl at Alico's approach.

"Hi there," she said in her mousy yet nasally voice. "Was starting to think you wouldn't show."

"Us girls have to stick together," Alico replied casually.

"Aw, that's sweet. I didn't think you'd be so nice and pretty. Why couldn't you have been ugly and mean? You remind me of my sister and I really like her. Just so you know, this isn't personal." Uh oh. "I have to kill you. But it's for love," she said, adding that last part as though it justified the whole ordeal.

"No one's ever tried to kill me for love before," Alico mused. Feylara giggled, twisting her fingers together in girlish excitement. Alico wondered how she had missed inheriting all those girly genes but was nevertheless thankful for it.

"It's romantic, right?" she squealed in delight. "See this wavy light around my body? It's a ray shield. Blaster fire can't get in or out!" She giggled, impressed with herself. "Neat, huh?"

"Yeah," Alico agreed and turned to go. "I'm leaving."

"Sorry! I magnetically sealed all the hatches behind you."

Alico rolled her eyes and turned back to the crazy girl as she pulled out her holocommunicator and made a call. None other than Skavak appeared over the line. Alico had seen that one coming a mile off.

"Skavak?" she whispered excitedly. "It's me, Feylara!" More giggles. "Surprise!"

"Uh…" He was surprised. "Long time no see, sweetheart. How'd you get this holofrequency?"

Alico almost snorted as she held in her laughter. Bowdaar grumbled amusedly next to her.

"Does it matter?" Feylara asked. "I've missed you so much, honeybunch."

"I miss you, too," Alico said, prompting Skavak to turn and face her, "honeybunch."

"What is this, Captain?" he asked. "You making an army out of my ex-girlfriends?"

"It's not like that at all," Feylara whined. "This is your nemesis, right? The captain who stole your ship on Coruscant and made you look stupid?"

"Good times," Alico chuckled. "Why don't I leave you lovebirds alone?"

"Got a better idea," Skavak said. "I'll leave. Can't think of a better punishment for you."

Alico smiled wide and he just stared at her, even as his ex-girlfriend continued to talk.

"Don't be like that. You know you love me," Feylara insisted.

"You love this girl, Skavak?" Alico teased.

"You're just afraid of commitment," Feylara told him.

"So that's what's been coming between us all this time," Alico gasped, pretending to wipe away a tear.

"That's a whole new kind of punishment I've got for you, Captain," Skavak murmured.

"I can prove how much I love you, honeybunch!" Feylara exclaimed, cutting into their banter. "I'm killing this nemesis for you."

Bowdaar growled. Pretty lady has crazy eyes, he said. Alico nodded in agreement.

"Get her, boys!"

Hidden among the junk piles were several droids. They sprung up at Feylara's command and hoisted blasters. Alico and Bowdaar immediately dove out of the way as a volley of blaster fire sprayed the air where they had been standing. Her blaster was in her hand before her shoulder hit the ground. A few pellets took down adjacent droids, knocking them out of the fight, but that still left half a dozen for her and Bowdaar to take care of.

She shot off several rounds at the nearest droid and then rolled out of the way, hitting her stealth generator as she did. Then she was on her feet and moving. Across the way, Bowdaar overpowered two droids with sheer strength, ripping their arms and heads out of socket. Alico snuck up behind her quarry and shot it right through the exposed circuits on its neck. She lobbed a thermal grenade at the next target and ducked behind a scrap heap. There was a loud boom and smoking circuits flew in a hundred directions. A metal hand landed near her feet. She kicked it away and peaked over the scrap, reactivating her stealth generator. Two left, one for her and one for the Wookiee. She tossed a sabotage detonator that suck fast to the droid and beeped as she charged her shot. She struck the bomb and it exploded just as Bowdaar overpowered the last of the droids.

Alico stepped out of stealth as she and Bowdaar approached Feylara once more. Skavak was still on the holo, watching her casually as though he expected nothing less. It was almost like they were old friends. There was a cosmic joke only the two of them were in on, affording them a strange sense of intimacy Alico hadn't expected to achieve with Skavak of all people. She wouldn't hesitate to vape him when the time came, but she did feel some sense of sadness that it was going to have to turn out like that.

"Wow, you're really good," the girl groaned.

"Risha'll never let me hear the end of this," Alico mumbled.

"The guy who sold me those droids said they were top-of-the-line," Feylara complained. "I want a refund."

"Don't be too hard on him. Bowdaar and I are top-of-the-line, too."

"Your arrogance is something else, Captain," Skavak said. "Reminds me of myself. It's kind of sexy."

"Did you really expect me to get taken out by your ex-girlfriend and her scrap heap?"

"Not even for a second," Skavak replied. "You're all mine."

"I thought for sure I had enough droids to kill you…" Feylara rasped with her cheeks flushed bright red; she didn't even seem to notice the flirting. "I'm so embarrassed. Uh, let's just call this even. With my ray shield on, you can't hurt me."

"Feylara, how are you powering that ray shield?" Skavak asked, amusement hedging his tone as he finally turned to look at her.

"Portable battery pack."

"You know those only last a few minutes, right?"

As if on cue, the ray shield puttered out and disappeared. Feylara stared blankly at them.

"Oh no," she droned.

"Guess your three minutes are up," Alico whispered.

"Honeybunch! My shield is down!" she cried. "What am I gonna do?"

"I donno… die?" Skavak replied coldly. He glanced over his shoulder. "Kill you later, Captain."

"Honeybunch! Wait!" But he was already gone, just like Skavak. "He… he hung up," she gasped. Feylara immediately started blubbering. "I thought he loved me."

"Skavak doesn't love anybody," Alico told her, wondering why she of all people had to be teaching one of his ex-girlfriends this.

"My friends all said he was after my money," she said, voice rattling so badly as she sobbed that it was sometimes hard to tell what she was saying, "but they didn't know how he made me feel!"

"Ah, just, uh…" Alico hesitantly reached out to pat her on the shoulder, "just go ahead and, uh, cry if it makes you feel better."

Feylara lunged forward and latched onto her in a tight hug, blubbering uncontrollably. Alico went wide-eyed, looking at Bowdaar for support. He just shrugged at her. She glared at him. He took a moment to reanalyze the situation and then shrugged again. Alico's shoulders slumped in defeat. After a moment that seemed to last an eternity, Feylara finally detached herself, wiping her eyes and nose on her sleeves. Skavak had been right—there wasn't a worse punishment.

"I'm sorry I tried to kill you," she sniffled. "Do you forgive me?"

"Only if you let me out of here."

"I unsealed all the hatches so you can go. I'm sorry," she squeaked and started crying again, "about everything!"

Alico ran for the exit before she got hugged again.