Alderaan III: Flying

This could be paradise...

~ "Paradise," by Coldplay, from the album Mylo Xyloto.

Wardpost Landa

Juran Mountains

Tannith scowled at him through the drizzle. "No kriffing way."

"But-"

She crossed her arms and gave Corso her most threatening look, which was a feat given the quaking nerves in her stomach and the fact that her hair was matted with damp. "What part of 'I'm not getting on that flying-death-monster' isn't clear?"

Corso's lips twitched as he tried to fight back a smile; he didn't succeed, and tried to hide the fact with a glance towards the thranta, hovering beside its handler. They were at one of the Republic outposts in the mountains, on what had turned into a – predictably – complicated job, after all.

At least the payout would be worth the effort.

She hoped. It had frakking well better be.

Leave it to her and Corso to be on one of the most civilized planets in the Core, only to find themselves scrabbling around in the boonies the entire time. Pretty much the second they'd left the capital city, the sky had turned an ominous, iron-gray color; in the last hour or so, it'd started raining. Not normal, falling-droplets rain, but a sporadic drizzle that made Tannith feel like Alderaan was spitting on them.

The Teraans had accepted delivery of their datapad happily enough and they'd all parted as friends. Then Tannith and Corso had gotten caught up with another nobleman whose situation was most urgent; from that point, things had snowballed.

Which was how she found herself in the kriffing mountains, freezing her ass off and not relishing the prospect of riding one of the massive, flying reptavians back to the main city of Aldera.

One of her few consolations was that her Force-sensitivity had remained docile. She hadn't "sensed" Corso's emotions again, and was starting to hope that the incident with Lenn Teraan was isolated.

"He ain't a monster," Corso said as he patted the thranta's elongated nose. Beneath his hand, the creature's eyes closed as if in bliss, and a deep, rumbling sort of purr came from its throat. Neither one of them seemed to mind the cold or the wet, and her scowl deepened as Corso continued. "He's perfectly friendly. Think of him like...like a ronto with wings."

"That doesn't make it any more endearing, you know," she pointed out, edging away from the animal. "Rontos weren't exactly in abundance in Coronet City."

Corso made no effort to hide his grin, this time. "Ah, that's right. I keep forgettin' you're a city gal." He and the thranta's handler, a woman in her mid-forties, exchanged knowing looks. "C'mon, Captain. I promise you: everything will be-"

"Don't finish that sentence," Tannith broke in, lifting her hand. "It's an invitation for more trouble." She glanced at the handler and tried to salvage some of her dignity. "Are you sure there are no speeders available? We're kind of in a time-crunch."

The Alderaani woman shook her head. "As I said, Captain Tainn, they're all in use. But the young man is right; Buzz is perfectly safe. He'll have you back to Aldera in a few hours."

As if in agreement, the thranta grunted and nudged Corso's hand, which had dropped to his side. Chuckling, Corso began scratching behind the creature's eyes, causing it to make that odd, purring sound once more.

"Hey fella," he murmured as the thranta purred louder. "Good boy. Good Buzz."

Ignoring him, Tannith pulled out her comm and entered Bowdaar's holo-code. When the Wookiee appeared, glowing and miniature, she took a few steps away from the others and tried to pitch her voice low. "We're trying to get back, but there are...complications. How's everything on your end? Have you heard from that stuffshirt at House Alde?"

"There is a problem with the next scheduled delivery," Bowdaar whuffed in Shyriiwook; he spoke slowly, as Tannith was still learning the nuances of the Wookiee language. "Risha is trying to handle it, but she thinks it is best if you to return to the capitol and address the matter in person."

Kriff. Time was money, and Tannith knew if she didn't get back soon, the payoff from this whole trip would hardly be worth the cost of the speeder she was seriously thinking about stealing on the way back to Aldera. Guess I should buy one, so I don't have to rely on public transportation any more than I have to.

Bowdaar paused, and if she didn't know any better, she'd have sworn he looked pensive. "Risha attempted to reason with the client," he added, eyes narrowing. "But they claimed to have no need of your services; sight unseen, they claimed that our item was fraudulent."

Tannith frowned. Another complication. Alderaan was gorgeous, but there was no end of trouble. She glanced over at Corso, who was speaking with the thranta's handler; at her look, he flicked his eyes in her direction as if in query.

She gave a tiny shake of her head and glanced back at her holo-comm. "Did Risha say what kind of 'fraudulent' claim the client was talking about?"

The silky mane around the Wookiee's neck fluffed out, a sure sign of his ire. "I do not know the specifics, but my instincts tell me it is best if you return quickly."

"Fragging son of a nerf-herder," she muttered to herself. She knew exactly where this was going. As if in response, a splatter of drizzle caught her right between the eyes, and she scowled again. The damn Force had a distinctly unfunny sense of humor on this planet.

With a sigh, she replied to Bowdaar. "Thanks, Bow. Tell Risha to keep her hair on; we'll be there as soon as we can."

After she cut the link, she stowed the holo-comm and glanced up at Corso and the handler, both of whom were watching her expectantly. Corso's brow lifted and she felt her shoulders slump a little as she made her way back their way. They hadn't even taken off yet, and she already missed solid ground beneath her boots.

Tannith's hands itched to grab a cigarra, but she had a feeling that it would be impossible to smoke one in the rain, on the back of a kriffing thranta.

A few minutes later...

Corso swung himself into the thranta's saddle with ease, his body automatically adjusting to being astride the animal; he hadn't ridden anything but machines in years, but he was pleased to know that some lessons were impossible to be unlearned. He gathered the reins in his hands, adjusted his flying goggles, and shifted around a bit to ensure a secure seat.

Satisfied, he nodded to Doria, the thranta handler, then looked down at Tan, who was still earthbound. Her face had gone even paler than normal behind her own set of goggles. Corso shifted the reins to one hand and cleared his throat. "Here," he said, bending to offer her his hand. "Come on, Captain. I've gotcha."

She didn't move. Her gaze was locked onto the thranta, who hovered a few feet off the ground, kept afloat by sacs of air in his belly. At last she swallowed and shot Doria a nervous look. "Aren't you coming?"

The Alderaani woman smiled kindly. "While you were chatting with your Wookiee friend, Mister Riggs and I were discussing his history with thrantas; I think he's capable of handling Buzz."

He'd ridden them before, though not in a number of years, so it had taken a little bit of convincing for Doria to let him take Buzz without her. However, the extra creds Corso had offered had done wonders on that score, and Corso was ultimately confident in his ability to guide the thranta along; sure, the creature was huge, but he was a little older and not terribly frisky. Likely Buzz had flown this route a hundred times in the last month couple of months, and wouldn't cause them any problems at all.

But this was probably a once-in-a-lifetime kind of experience for him and Tannith, and Corso was eager to share it with the woman he loved.

Tan chewed on her lower lip, her eyes darting between Corso, Doria and Buzz. It struck him that she looked much younger and uncertain now, wholly different from the fearless woman he'd come to know. He couldn't help the flare of protective emotion that rose within him at the sight.

"It'll be alright, Tan," he said in his warmest, most reassuring voice. "I promise you."

He had no idea she was so nervous around critters. She'd handled all the wildlife on Ord, Taris and Tatooine with her usual cool confidence, and she'd never once acted like the shanjaru they'd brought to Nar Shaddaa – the one that had actually been living on her ship – bothered her in the least.

What was different, now?

"I'll help you up," Doria offered cheerfully. As she moved to help Tan onto the stepstool beside Buzz, Corso swore he could hear those extra creds jangling in the Alderaani woman's pockets.

Before Tan could protest any more, Doria had guided her to the stool, so Corso could grip her hand and pull her up so that she was seated behind him. Immediately, her arms locked in a death-grip around his armored waist; it was a testament to her strength that he had to fight for breath for a second before he twisted his head around.

"Ah...I kinda need to breathe, Captain."

"Right." Her voice sounded small as her arms relaxed a tiny bit, and he sucked in a breath of air. She rested her forehead against the armor plating at his back in what must have been a really uncomfortable position. "Just tell me when we get there."

"I think you'll know," he replied, glancing back down at the thranta and doing one last check to ensure everything was as it should be. Despite the damp, their gear was secure, and the compass mounted onto Buzz's flying-harness would guide them along. He had a holo-comm for emergencies, and he knew the area from the wardpost to Aldera was regularly patrolled, so even if they had an issue, help would not be long in coming. The sky was gray and unfriendly-looking, but he could see that the clouds were low-level and had a feeling that Buzz could clear them pretty easily.

Doria stepped back and lifted her hand in farewell. Corso nodded to her and nudged Buzz's sides with his heels, adding a soft cluck of his tongue. Immediately, the thranta began to beat its massive, leathery wings, sending them meters higher with each downstroke.

The higher Buzz carried them, the more exhilarated Corso felt, and he knew he was grinning hugely as the rain splattered across his face. Corso's stomach dropped to his knees, but he whooped with adrenaline and outright joy. This was flying. This was real, honest-to-stars flying. He leaned forward a bit to watch Doria and the rest of the wardpost shrink away.

Behind him, over the whistle of the wind, Tannith began to scream.

Some of it was actual words – curses, mostly – though there was also the nonsensical raving of someone in a panic. It was almost impossible to talk over the wind and the steady beat of thranta wings – and her – but Corso managed to make his voice heard.

"What's wrong?"

"Are you frakking kidding me?" she shrieked. "Look how kriffing high we are! If I wasn't so scared to move, I'd be sick all over-"

Her words were cut off when Buzz caught a strong updraft, and the three of them soared even higher, faster than they'd gone, yet. Corso couldn't help the laugh of sheer delight that bubbled up from within, because flying was just so amazing...

But some of his glee vanished as Tannith grabbed his waist again. She'd stopped screaming, but he could feel that she was shaking, which was when the realization struck him.

Ah, kriff, he thought with a sigh. She's afraid of heights.

Didn't see that coming.

They'd been on more air-taxis than he could recall, but he supposed those were different than flying like this, out in the open sky with no sight of anything other than clouds and sky all around. They were, he thought, much higher on Buzz than they'd ever been while not sitting inside a starship of some kind. He tried not to think it was odd for a woman who flew a starship for a living to have a problem with heights, and instead focused on what he could do to help.

"It's okay," he called out, urging Buzz higher with his heels. Ahead and up, he could see the layer of filmy rain-clouds, and estimated that they'd be in the clear in a minute or two. "We're gonna be just fine."

"Says the guy in full-fragging-body-armor!" She punctuated her words with a pretty unladylike string of Huttese swears, some of which he'd never heard but could guess at their meaning.

Soon they were surrounded by clouds, and her words were lost in the white haze, along with most of his perceptions. Each inhale brought him the cool, clean scent of the Alderaani rain. For a few seconds, Corso's entire world changed; he couldn't tell up from down, left from right. All he was certain of was the thranta beneath his seat, wings steadily beating, and the death-grip of the woman seated behind him.

When they breached the blanket of white, everything became blue and sunlight.

The endless dome of the sky stretched above them while the sea of clouds rested below. It was colder than he'd been prepared for, but not unbearable with his gear, and besides, Corso would have endured much worse for such a spectacular view. Even laughter escaped him now; he was too full of wonder and delight to make a sound. All he could do was stare, awestruck.

"Tan," he managed after a moment. "Look. Do you see that? It's beautiful, ain't it?"

Her reply was a wordless groan made over the whistle of wind, followed by more curses. Even through his gear he could feel that her forehead was pressed to his back. Had they not been so high up, he would have tried to put his arm around her, but he had a feeling that moving of any kind would not be appreciated by his captain.

So he tried again. "Tan...it's really amazing. Please, just take a quick peek."

"NO!"

"We've got a few hours, yet," he replied. "You gonna keep your eyes shut the whole time?"

"Fek you." Her voice was already hoarse from shouting. "Now shut up and concentrate on flying this death-monster. Please," she added as an afterthought.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that she'd had a pretty rough time on Alderaan so far. Aside from her growing agitation about her Force-abilities, he knew she'd been uncomfortable for most of this trip. Times like these, when they were scrabbling around the mountains, made him remember that she was a city gal in a lot of ways, even if she didn't care to admit it. He knew she wasn't keen on places like Corrie or Nar Shaddaa, but he also knew that she preferred to have access to warm showers and hot caf, neither of which had been available to them once they'd left Aldera a few days ago.

Corso sighed and looked around again. The sun sparkled through the blue sky and the foamy clouds were the purest white he'd ever seen, but the sight didn't have quite the same beauty as it had before. Damn it all; he really wanted her to see this. She would love it. Had he realized she was afraid of heights, he wouldn't have suggested this course of action, but he couldn't change the past and he damn sure couldn't change anything right now.

Tan was so stubborn, it was usually impossible to get her to do anything she didn't want to, but Corso was learning how to handle his captain a little better, each day. Tannith was brave and clever and daring...but sometimes she needed a push in the right direction. He'd learned it was so with their relationship, and he thought that maybe now was a similar situation. He knew she'd love this view – how could she not? – and he wanted her to see it. This was once-in-a-lifetime stuff.

But, short of playing a deliberately mean prank on her, he wasn't sure how to go about convincing her to look.

They flew without incident for another hour or so. He had a hope that she'd eventually open her eyes, but there was no such luck, and they didn't say much to one another for the duration of the flight. The sky continued to be that brilliant blue color; the sun continued to glitter; the clouds continued to ripple below them. Buzz's wingstrokes were steady and the thranta was calm, like he'd done this a thousand times and had no clue why the little Human on his back was so agitated.

When Corso spotted a mountain peak, edging up through the clouds in the distance, he decided it was time. The mountain stuck out like an island among the ocean, and he thought it was a sight that his captain should see.

Carefully, slowly, he gathered the reins with one hand and reached behind him with his other, taking care to not move his body more than absolutely necessary while still trying to look behind him as best he could. Buzz, being the docile fellow he was, did not seem to regard his rider's shift in body-weight as anything other than a minute adjustment, and kept his flying steady.

"Tan?"

She grunted a reply that he couldn't quite make out, and he felt her head press closer to his back.

Still moving slowly, Corso placed a hand on her upper thigh and gave a gentle, if awkward, squeeze. "Will you please do me a favor?"

"Depends." At this, she lifted her face; turned as he was, he could see that her eyes were still squeezed shut behind the goggles.

Corso pitched his voice to reach her through the whistling wind. "Please open your eyes and look for a minute."

"But-"

"I know we're really high up," he broke in. "I get that you're afraid of heights, and I really wish I'd known that an hour or so ago – I never woulda suggested this." He paused to let that sink in, to himself as well as her. She hadn't told him one of her secrets, and it was affecting them both.

Again.

"But we're here, and I think you should open your eyes. This is one of the most beautiful sights I've seen in a long time, and I want to share it with you." He squeezed her thigh again and silently thought of his promise to keep her safe. "If nothin' else, I think you'll like it. Please, Tan...open your eyes for me."

Silence. Then: "Five seconds."

"Forty-five."

"Twenty seconds," she retorted. "And you owe me another backrub when we get back to the ship."

Any chance to touch her bare skin meant that he'd come out ahead, so Corso chuckled. "Deal."

He felt her take a deep breath, so he tried to catch sight of her out of the corner of his eye. What he saw made his heart light.

Tan's eyes were open and she was, to his delight, looking. Her lips were parted and her beautiful blues were wide behind the goggles, taking in the spectacular view. With his head turned, with how close her mouth was to his ear, the sound of the wind was mitigated and he was lucky enough to hear her voice. "Oh...wow..."

"I know."

Corso was a little giddy with the exhilaration of flying. He was also irrationally pleased she'd looked, that they were sharing this experience, and that his life in general had been pretty fantastic lately. For the first time in a long time, he felt like the galaxy was on his side. He was with the woman he loved, he had a job he enjoyed and was good at, he was starting to make a decent living, and he was flying. He wished he could put his arms around her properly, but obviously that was out of the question right now. All he could manage was another little squeeze against her thigh.

She glanced back his way, eyes still round. There were still traces of fear on her face, but he could see that much of it had been replaced by wonder. "Okay...maybe you were right about the view."

There was warmth in her voice, and it filled him from fingertips to toes. She was stubborn, but she wasn't unreasonable, and he felt another swell of love for her again. Gratified, Corso turned forward once more and risked an affectionate slap of Buzz's thick, leathery neck. "You miss this kind of thing bein' on a ship. I know you love flying the Strike, Tan, but this kind of flying is kinda nice, you gotta admit."

Tan was silent for a moment; he could feel her body moving as she looked around. Finally she leaned back and rested her cheek on his shoulder; he could feel her flying goggles pressed against his cheek and her hands tighten around his waist.

"Corso?" Her breath was warm against his ear.

"Tan?"

"Don't tell anyone I screamed like a baby."

He smiled. "You got it."

And they flew.

A/N: You guys, I had a ton of fun writing this; it should have been illegal. I giggled so much, the people at the coffee shop must have thought I was nuts. #writerlywoes

Many thanks to clicketykeys for helping me fine-tune this chapter. :)

Random thought of the day: The song for this chapter, Paradise by Coldplay, always makes me think of Alderaan, because it feels sweeping and epic.

Next time: An old enemy rears his tattooed head...

Thanks for reading!