This chapter ended up being a total re-write after reading through last week's reviews. I realize that Gregor needs to get some of his back. Also that Thena needs to be called on her bullsh**t sooner than I was originally planning. I've tried to do that here. I hope you read and enjoy!
Disclaimer: See Ch. 1
Gregor waits on the roof of the building next to Beerkin's "hotel" or what used to be Beerkin's hotel because it seems unlikely to Gregor that you can own much of anything in hell. The thought forces a grim smirk across his face. He's spent the afternoon repairing his armor as best he can with the tools in his maintenance pouch. Thena got in touch with a very agitated Mi Syung and informed the other female of the plan.
Despite the yawning gap between him and Thena, the one that seems to grow every time he's tried to interact with her, he'd insisted on looking at her injuries. He had even managed to do so in a detached, professional way, no shaking hands and almost no painful flashes of remnant desire when he touched her skin. He'd finished cleaning off her face, splinted up her foot as best he could and given her most of his painkillers. Neither one of them had spoken during the entire process.
When he'd finished she disappeared into the back room of the tiny miner's residence and hadn't re-emerged until just before sundown. She had stripped off the filthy, ripped, red dress and exchanged it for a standard miner's uniform that must have been in the wardrobe. The rough fabric of the unisex, unispecies coveralls had swallowed her, even rolled and belted in severely. He'd left the residence once so far to secure supplies for the coming evening and had given her a pair of stolen boots. They were the only piece of clothing that fit her now.
He took all of this in with sideways glances in the fading light. He had busied himself with sorting his armor for the fifth time so she wouldn't notice him looking at her. She stood for some time staring at the back of his head but he'd out-waited her.
She'd sighed, very quiet, and said that she'd be at the port in the green district, hanger third from the back. He hadn't said anything, just kept cleaning his armor. She'd had to come close to him to get out the door; the front room was so tiny. He'd felt a movement of air at his scalp, as though she'd reached out to touch his hair as she passed. He dropped his head to make sure she couldn't make contact. He'd looked up as a scrap of flimsi fluttered down toward his hand. Thena was standing in the door, hand still extended. She almost smiled at him.
"I wrote it down for you. Just to be sure."
He'd refused to almost smile back, merely pocketed the flimsi with a nod and got back to readjusting an already perfectly tuned system in his wrist sensor. So she'd left and he'd come here as soon as it was dark enough to pass unnoticed.
He'd sent Mi the agreed upon com signal ten minutes ago. She currently has another five before he jumped through the skylight over the courtyard and got his guns back himself. He'd prefer to do that anyway but he doesn't want to injure Mi if it could be avoided. She was, after all, probably the one mostly responsible for saving his life. And yet he can't believe that, no matter how much he tries.
Thena's flaky, at best, he knows that. She's proven it to him several times in the past three weeks. She's selfish and willing to believe everybody but him for no reason he can understand. Sure, Mi's tried to justify it to him but Thena's never made the effort to explain herself. She just savaged him at the first sign of trouble and ran.
But she also came back for him. If he can believe her story; she was the one who took the initiative to drag him off the landing platform. Even if she'd faltered and Mi had had to prop her up it had been Thena who got them both there in the first place. Why would she do that? Why would she throw him aside and then suddenly risk serious injury to save him when she was obviously terrified?
He told himself he didn't care, neither Gregor nor CC-5576-39 believe that but there's nothing he can do about it unless he wants to start some massive fight with Thena. It's appealing to the part of him that watched too much bad holo at the diner; get her mad and force her to confess what she's up to like a vid detective. But he's too tired for that and anyway life isn't holovids. It's messy and awful and Gregor's pretty certain he's had enough of "real" life. He's tired of being a purposeless nothing, tired of being nice, tired of living in a fog of emotional upheaval.
It doesn't matter anymore, or so he tells himself. He's a handful of hours from off this rock and then just a few days of avoiding Thena while they travel to someplace he can contact the Republic. He thinks he's probably survived worse. He can make it a little longer with one infuriating, inexplicable female who he can't stop himself caring about whenever he so much as looks at her.
And that's his salvation he thinks. Once he's back in the army there'll be no more of this civilian, feelings garbage; just orders and clarity and control. Thena will be well and truly out of sight and then he'll get her out of his head for good.
Three minutes to go and he sees movement on the roof. He thinks maybe it's Mi but it's hard to tell in the dark. He doesn't want to fire up his buy'ce just yet, the light from the visor is more of a liability than his trouble seeing at the moment. He slides across the roof like a shadow, hops the half meter gap between the buildings like it's not there and lands softer than a hunting narglatch. He's relieved it's so easy, like breathing. He's never let himself doubt that he's a commando from the moment he saw his armor but it's still so hard to call up anything lucidly. His muscles remember though, perfectly. They give him the proof he craves.
The dark figure doesn't even sense him. He's almost certain it's Mi now; right height, right build; bulky canvas bag that she's treating very gently slung across her back. She's dressed oddly though. Mi Syung is a female's female. She takes hours to select just the right dress, make sure it hangs just so, make sure her hair and makeup are supernaturally flawless. Even naked, or mostly naked, she's never anything less than perfectly turned out.
This female is wearing sturdy looking trousers, shirt and tunic with big boots underneath. The vest is bulky and unflattering. It's myriad pockets appear to be crammed to overflowing with small objects. Despite being Mirialan he's never seen Mi wear a traditional head covering of any kind. This female has a severe cowl wrapped around her skull. Suddenly he's certain that something is wrong.
Gregor pops the helmet onto his head and blinks the targeting display up. He flattens himself against an air return unit and watches. The female, who's definitely Mi Syung and definitely acting weird, lays the bag down on the flat roof as though it may explode. Which, if it is his weapons, is a sensible thing for her to do. She's facing away from him, toward the building he's just left. She leans forward like she's trying to make out something on the dark roof opposite her and he sees his opening.
He's got one hand on the bag and the other across Mi's mouth before she has a chance to startle. He drags her back to the shadow of the air return with barely a scuff of boots. She's surprisingly cooperative, no flailing against him, no clawing at his armor. Still, even as she crouches next to him, he keeps his hand over her face.
No one pops up to shoot him full of holes. There's no movement on any of the other roofs, there's no unusual stillness either. The night carries on undisturbed; mating calls of drunk patrons wafting back from Beerkin's place, formerly Beerkin's place. Gregor wonders who the late, evidently unlamented, Sullustan's partners were. Whoever they are, they haven't wasted any time mopping up the claret and getting back to business.
It's reassuring somehow; life goes on, the local law enforcement, such as it is, remains un-mobilized but it's not enough to make him drop his guard. He leans in close to Mi, the pointed front of his helmet basically against her ear. She shivers when it brushes against the vulnerable skin there and he feels it all the way down his body. There's no way he couldn't the way he's got her pressed against him. But that's it, he feels her muscles contract due to sensory stimuli, takes note of it and moves on. He's happy with his lack of physical response. It must mean he'd getting back to his old self.
"Are you alone, nod yes or shake no"
She nods.
"Really?"
She huffs a little breath into his hand and nods again.
"Okay, I'm going to take my hand off your mouth, don't say anything. It's not time to chat."
She nods one more time. He drops his hand, still half expecting her to scream; he has his wrist mounted vibroblade partially sprung in anticipation of it. Mi doesn't scream. She does half turn and talk to him despite his instructions.
"So what's the plan?"
He blinks. It's hard to see Mi's expression in the dark but he thinks she looks expectant.
"I'm taking my guns and going to find Thena and then we're leaving."
Mi cocks her head.
"Great, how are we getting to Thena? I wouldn't recommend trying to waltz back through the 'hotel.' There's about fifty new guys Gorwind hired hanging around down there. I almost didn't make it up here on time because of them."
Gregor doesn't respond. Mi rolls her eyes.
"You didn't think I was just going to hand this," she motions to the bag on the roof next to her "over and then just let you leave. I'm in this up to my eyes baby and there is no kriffing way you and that idiot girl are leaving me here."
It hasn't occurred to Gregor that Mi would be tagging along now too but he realizes that was pretty stupid of him to overlook. Of course they can't leave her. Sooner or later, sooner probably, someone is going to figure out who helped get him back to Beerkin's. If Mi's still around it's going to go badly for her. Prebey's slack, bloody face appears in Gregor's mind. He shakes his head to clear it. CC-5576-39 is mildly annoyed by his sentimentality but he doesn't disagree. He just mentally rolls his eyes at the fact he now has two ridiculous females to worry about. The commando doesn't let Gregor get any softer though.
"I'm not carrying you on this. We get transport. We leave. I join back up with the army and you and The...you two are on your own."
Mi's watching him carefully, without saying anything. CC-5576-39 is upset at her stalling tactics.
"You got that Mi?"
"Yeah Gregor, I got that."
She's still giving him a weird, assessing kind of look. He ignores it and starts pulling each of his weapons out of the bag; strapping them to their accustomed places. It feels almost as good as being back in his armor. He comes across a nasty, sawn off slug thrower at the bottom of the sack.
"That's mine."
Mi's voice is barely audible but she's holding her hand out regally. He gives her the gun with a cocked chin, questioning. She smiles wickedly as she slots the piece into a leg holster.
"Girl has to look out for herself in time like these. Like you said. Are we going?"
He shrugs, stands, turns and jogs toward the edge of the roof. Mi keeps up with him. Her strong dancer's body making it relatively easy for her. She makes more noise than him as they run and it takes her two hesitant tries before she hops across the first gap in the roofs. She does better at the second and is almost as quick as him on the third. Still, by the time they get to the building backing the dusty, unused alley he'd used to get up here she's winded. He unwinds a five meter rope from the shadows under the water catchment tank and ties it carefully to the sturdiest looking of the tank supports.
There's another dilemma he hadn't anticipated since he hadn't actually planned on taking Mi with him. He'd stolen the rope from a the back of the same mining supply dump that he'd gotten Thena's boots from. It's old and thin and he's not totally certain it will take his weight but he'd reckoned he's got armor for a reason if it breaks.
Mi's got no armor at all and while she's slender she's also tall and deceptively well muscled. Gregor guesses she probably weighs as much or more than Thena despite the difference in their builds. Not to mention fast roping is probably not something most strippers know how to do so she can't go down on her own.
"Mi,"
She's looking down at the rope dubiously and not paying attention. He grabs her elbow. She starts a bit but manages not to scream.
"Sorry, what?"
He squats down and motions to his back.
"Climb on."
She doesn't move. He glances over at her. The wretched creature is smirking at him.
"I thought you said you weren't going to carry me," she purrs.
Gregor rolls his eyes and then remembers that he's wearing his bucket. He growls a little.
"Just get on, and try not to choke me okay?"
Mi laughs, low in her throat, barely audible.
"Whatever you say big guy."
The trip down is a little faster than he's planned. He forgets to grip the rope harder to account for the extra weight for about a tenth of a second, but they make it down in one piece. He debates trying to get the rope back somehow but gives it up. It's wasted time and even if he could shoot it off the roofline a blaster bolt in the black night is a bigger risk than a mystery rope. Someone will probably just see it as a windfall. He grabs Mi's hand and they run through the night-cool streets.
An hour later it's obvious that something has gone very wrong at the port in the green district, hanger third from the back. The place is dark and empty. Twenty minutes ago he risked upping the light on his helmet to read the scrap of flimsi Thena had scrawled the name of the place on. Ten minutes ago he asked Mi to double check it too. She agreed, they're in the right place but there's no Thena. Five minutes ago he left Mi in cover behind a pile of rocks and old ship debris He's reconnoitered the perimeter, twice; nothing, no one there.
He drops back behind Mi to find her muttering to herself and scanning the dark landing pad below with the sniper scope he left her. He puts a hand on her shoulder. She jumps a little, pebbles skitter down the slope and they both freeze. Nothing, no one there. Mi breathes out and looks up at him. Her eyes are huge and liquid black in the dark. He tells himself they don't remind him of Thena's; they've got discernable irises for one. Mi bites her lip.
"What?"
She shakes her head.
"Mi, what is it?"
She sighs again.
"I can't see the sloop."
He reaches up and pops his helmet off. The internal comms are still glitchy and occasionally mess with his hearing. He wants to be sharp. He smoothes his hair back and glances over at Mi again.
"The what?"
"Did she not tell you about the ship she got?"
"We haven't been talking much. I thought we were going to steal transport. I mean this is the only totally private-owned docking port in town right? So it's got less security and more craft modified for speed and stealth, I mean given the type of private citizen that tends to visit us."
Mi widened her eyes in exasperation.
"You thought...she didn't...you two, I swear...Fine, doesn't matter. Thena's got a ship, bought and paid for, well mostly."
"How the shab did Thena buy a ship?"
"You think she working in that poodoo diner for kicks? Or was stripping because it was fun? Look just because I enjoy it doesn't mean everyone does."
"There's no way she made enough from Borkus or Beerkin to buy a ship, even if she was stripping."
He stops, realizing that there was indeed a way for Thena to earn enough for a ship while working for Beerkin. The thought makes him ill and angry. Mi catches his look.
"No, no, not that." She reaches out all of a sudden and touches his hand. He jerks away from her. He took several calming breaths and met her eyes. She smiled tentatively at him.
"Take it easy. It's not what you think."
He can't form words. He's not sure if it's because he's upset about the implications of Thena buying a shabla space-craft or if he's angry for letting himself get upset in the first place.
"You clean up pretty good don't you?" Mi asks, apropos of nothing. Gregor blinks in confusion
"I'm sorry?"
Mi runs a hand lightly over his barely stubbled jaw. He doesn't pull away this time; holds shocked-still.
"You look better. I think I'm beginning to see why Thena thought you were cute."
He feels his ears heat up and gruffly pushes her hand away.
"She said she didn't like it."
"She fears change."
"You're changing the subject."
Mi almost chuckles.
"Well spotted. Well I choose to keep changing it. Something's not right is it? You're all twitchy and I don't see the sloop in the orange painted bay."
"Which is where it usually is?"
"Yeah."
"What kind of a ship is it."
"Ghtroc 580 Light Freighter upgraded to a 2 class hyperdrive with G-720 components. I think the silly woman also sacrificed her shielding for an upgraded steering system but I can't be totally certain. What, why are you looking at me like that?"
Gregor realizes he's staring in honest, open mouthed surprise at Mi. She narrows her eyes.
"Dancing naked for money isn't the only thing I like to do."
Gregor blinks again.
"You're a pilot?"
"No, Thena's actually much better at piloting than I am. My four big brothers were very into engines. I liked to hang out with them...before."
She trails off frowning, looking away from him toward the still dark bays. Gregor wants to ask her more but the fierce closed-ness of her expression makes him think better of it.
"So Thena can fly a freighter, you're a mechanic. Why didn't you tell me?"
"You didn't exactly tell us you were Republic Army."
"I didn't remember."
Mi shrugs.
"Yeah, that's fair. So we didn't tell you, it's sand in the wind now. Let's not look backward on the dumb things we should have done. No good will come of it. I think we should figure out if Thena has actually just cut and run or if there's something more wrong."
"Cut and run?"
"Uh, yeah..."
"Why would she do that? She told me she'd help me get off Abafar."
"Gregor you know Thena."
"I think maybe I don't"
Mi shakes her head gently at him.
"You think what you want. But you know that the girl gets irrational when she's scared and I imagine this entire situation has her pretty spooked."
"You think she'd leave us though. You and me? Why?"
"Because that was the original plan," says a voice from the dark.
Mi jumps and lets out a strangled scream as Gregor clamps a hand over her mouth. He's turned around, blaster drawn before he finishes tightening his fingers over the Mirialan's jaw. Thena, crouched in the shadows of the boulder clump opposite, almost gets her head shot off. Her eyes widen a little when she sees the gun but she covers it with a very cool, fatalistic sort of smirk. Gregor is not amused.
"What the shab was that woman? Do you think this is a game. I nearly shot you."
"I noticed. And I also thought you'd hear me walking up here. But I guess you were chatting."
Mi wriggles angrily. Gregor lets go before she bites him. Thena doesn't seem surprised to see Mi here Gregor notes. Mi hisses waspishly.
"Knock it off, both of you. Where's Simlii Thena?"
Thena turns robotically toward Mi, expression still a weird, ironic rictus. It makes the downy hair on the backs of Gregor's arms fidget. Her voice though, dead and dry, makes his neck hair rise up too.
"We've got a problem. It seems Gorwind and company are smarter than they look. They traced the payments."
"Didn't you use cash-creds?" Growls Mi. Thena glares.
"Of course I did but, like I said, they're not as dumb as we hoped. They know Smilii's mine."
Mi cocked an eyebrow
"Okay, ours." Thena corrects. "They impounded it. I checked the magistrate frequencies for reasons but we're not officially wanted for murder, yet."
Mi doesn't seem surprised by her friends casual admission of guilt but her voice is a little loud as when she speaks.
"Impounded, why not just put guards on it?"
Gregor agrees with Mi, impounding something requires rousing the local magistrates. It's much easier for Gorwind to just hunt him and Thena down and kill them.
"Wait, you said there's no charges of murder. How can they impound it if we're not accused of a crime?" Gregor asks.
"Suspicion of smuggling stolen property." She answers smoothly.
Gregor almost asks what she stole and then realizes what he's about to say. She's stolen herself and, Mi too at this point. Legally speaking, Gorwind is in the right. He's probably also the one taking over Beerkin's little empire. He could just muscle in there but then he's vulnerable to somebody like L'sandyr coming in and making a claim that Gorwind's running a business illegally. He needs to establish a legal claim.
That's why there's no murder charge yet. Once one of those is leveled the magistrates and mining interests take over the pursuit of fugitives as well as any and all property associated with both the deceased and the accused as "evidence." However, if Gorwind can produce the suspects when he makes the accusation then the courts are only allowed to try the case, not investigate on their own. Once the convictions are secured, and they are always convictions, never aquittals; by Abafar law Gorwind, as the highest ranking, free sentient under contract to the deceased, in lieu of a family claim; which the late Borkus is certainly not making, get's the bosses property. The bastard is almost clever.
"So what now?" Mi asks.
Thena shakes her head.
"I don't know, Gregor, ideas?"
Gregor has a number of ideas but he hesitates.
"Are you asking me for a shooting option?"
Thena looks at him. She's stopped with the nihilistic smirk but her eyes seems even emptier now for her blank expression.
"I am. Can you come up with one?"
"I need to see the impound area first and second..."
He almost doesn't say it but he realizes he has to. It's going to be impossible to keep going if he doesn't.
"Second, I need to talk to you. Both of you. I won't go into a hot zone without trusting the people at my back. I can't."
Thena drags her hands through her hair.
"We haven't got time for-"
"You're going to make time. I need to reece the impound lot anyway. That's going to take the rest of the night. You've got at least another day after that because I need to plan this one out. So I work out the lay of the land. Then we make this right, or as right as we can, and only then we get your ship."
Thena frowns.
"If I don't want to make it right?"
"Don't be a bitch. I can get that ship faster and easier by myself."
Mi gasps, very softly. Thena blinks, looses the 'too cool for this' expression. Gregor savors the warm curl of satisfaction at shocking her out of her blank act. But Thena's not giving up. She grabs for leverage.
"What about Mi?"
He looks over at Mi, who is wisely keeping her mouth shut during this exchange. She meets his eyes. She's not happy but she doesn't say anything either; staying the neutral party.
"Collateral damage. Acceptable loss."
Thena frowns. He stands his ground. She narrows her eyes, trying to see if he's bluffing. Gregor's not actually sure if he is or not so he knows Thena can't tell.
"You'd really leave her...us."
She's not asking a question but Gregor still answers her. He does want to make at least some part of this situation right. He meant that. He knows on a bone-deep level that if he doesn't at least try to leave on impartial ground it's going to bother him; he's not going to be able to forget and move on. The first step in the direction of resolution then is going to be honesty, from everyone, especially Thena.
"I will if you make me," he presses.
Thena's very quiet for a long time. So is Mi, whose also carefully not looking at either one of them. Gregor feels bad about dragging her into this but Thena started it and he's sick to death of her trying to manipulate him.
Now he'd laid it all out, clear as clear. Thena knows exactly what he wants and what happens to her, and now Mi, if she keeps trying to play him. He tries not to feel like an absolute barve about doing this to her; tells himself that she more than earned this payback, that it's the only way to start over fresh, with brutal honesty. He doesn't believe himself but CC-5576-39 has a sabacc face at least as good as Thena Kuora's. She bites her lip. He knows he's won. It makes him feel hollow.
"Okay," she says softly. "Okay. Do Mi and I go with you to the impound?"
"No, head back to the housing unit. The one we were at today. I'm better off on my own."
Thena swallows visibly and he realizes he's stated a pretty nasty truth. Mi looks at him, looks at Thena and shakes her head again, so gently he feels it in his chest; it hurts him. He stands up abruptly and locks the helmet back in place, turning away and moving toward the impound lot on the other side of the ridge. The rear sensors give him a blurry image of Mi standing and helping Thena to her feet. They're still glitchy, the rear sensors, that's why the image is blurry, not because of the stinging moisture in his eyes. He repeats that to himself like a mantra until he's far enough away for the image to slide into comfortingly impersonal infrared.
So yeah, this was a bit of the Gregor & Mi Syung hour ( I regret nothing.) Expect more Mi-jinks in the future. (I did warn you about my totally hopeless infatuation with Mi as a character).
Next Time: (Flashback Chapter again, probably the last one) Gregor is dealing with the fall out of Hurricane Thena. Mi tries to help (with mixed results, as per usual).