Author's Notes: The following story takes place a few months after the Knights of the Eternal Throne expansion. I was tagged by legacyofabsolutewalnuts for the "Send me a word and a character / series / pairing and I will write a drabble" prompt – "Brontide - The low rumbling of distant thunder". They kindly let me choose whichever OC I wanted, and this is what I went with.
Port Nowhere
Uncharted Space
Risha Drayen stood up from where she had been crouching behind the makeshift barricade for the past hour. Her legs – and the rest of her body, for that matter – were sore, having been caught in a prolonged, intense firefight.
The fighting seemed to have ceased for the moment, but Risha continued to grasp her rifle. Her father – or rather, her father's recorded holo-lessons – had not raised her to be careless. Especially given the amount of trouble that bitch, Aldraste, had been giving the residents of Port Nowhere the last few years, building up to this all-out direct attack.
Smoke filled the south wing of the station's main level, obfuscating most of the area. In addition to the heavy blaster fire, both sides had felt it necessary to lob grenades of various types back and forth. The fact that the station hadn't been ripped apart by now was nothing short of miraculous.
As the smoke slowly started to filter out, Risha was met with a scene of carnage. There must have been nearly a hundred dead Crimson Fangs just in the southern corridor. There would be more pirates in the other incursions launched on the Port, but all indications were that this had been the primary thrust. She now observed that several of the pirates were moaning with various injuries or tossing aside their weapons in apparent surrender, but for the vast majority, Risha was confident they were well and safely dead.
Whoever had apparently bailed out Port Nowhere's remaining defenders – attacking the Crimson Fangs from behind and breaking their advance – obviously hadn't been messing around. Caught between the interlopers and Risha's defensive line of barricades, the pirates had been blasted apart.
But it was only when she saw one body – a very particular body – that she started to relax, looping her blaster rifle over her shoulder by the strap. Risha was startled to realize that the corpse was only about ten meters away from the barricade; shockingly close to the front. It was surrounded by other fallen invaders, but the shock of dark red hair on the woman was distinctive, and the gaping mouth hanging open told Risha that this one would never get up again.
The dreaded Red Huntress, Elarea Aldraste, was finally dead.
Port Nowhere – one of the last few sanctuaries for independent traders and smugglers left in the galaxy – was safe. With their leader dead, the Fangs' attempt to seize control of the port would fizzle.
Risha let out an exhale from a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. Even for her and all the close calls she'd seen over the course of her life, this had been a long day. Her ruthlessly pragmatic mind – finely honed from a lifetime of underworld dealing, illicit operational planning and backstabbing – promptly clicked down to the next priority on her list after self-preservation. Looking down at her feet, she saw where Corso Riggs had fallen, still grasping his shoulder. She knelt beside him, checking his vitals.
Unconscious but still breathing. she noted. Good.
For the second time in less than a minute, she found herself letting out a breath in relief. It was strange for Risha to remember that she'd once regarded Corso as a "dumb farm-boy". Not because her analysis of the Mantellian gunslinger was faulty; he certainly was often dumb, and there were days he hardly ever stopped talking about growing up on the farm with all the tedious anecdotes one might expect. But all that aside, he was loyal to a fault. (Sometimes a literal fault.) He'd been by Risha's side for years, seeking her out not long after the breakup of their old crew. He'd helped her fight off more than one assassin sent by Actavarus, and they'd been in plenty of tough spots ever since.
With the Crimson Fangs minutes away from overrunning their position and finally seizing control of the Port, no one had fought harder to hold the line than Corso, dropping a dozen or more of the pirates before finally taking a telling hit to his shoulder.
Risha looked over to Reesus; like her, the large Twi'lek was taking stock of their situation, looking as surprised as she herself was to still be alive.
"Whisper, get Corso a medpack, would you?" Despite the trials of the day and her concern for Corso, she remembered to use her diplomatic voice. Like Corso and herself, Alem "Whisper" Reesus had fought tooth and nail to hold onto Port Nowhere against the Fangs and every other group who'd taken a shot at them.
Risha had never pictured herself as the "last stand" type. Certainly not while fighting for a place like this. It just went to show that she'd been running short of safe harbors these last few years.
Reesus looked down grimly at the wounded fighter and nodded silently. The Hutts may have left Reesus mute years before when they'd taken his tongue, but they hadn't taken his senses or his instincts. He'd been as stalwart and ally as Risha could ask for.
As the Twi'lek went in search of a kit. Risha looked back out at the devastated corridor.
It was only then, with the smoke finally gone, that Risha saw her, and felt her heart clench in her chest.
The female Twi'lek's clothes were different from what she'd worn back when they'd run together. Her signature short gray jacket and trousers and the flashy red shirt beneath them were gone. She was now wearing a long black trench coat, the kind that Risha could tell was lined with light body armor and would be full of little weapons and gadgets to surprise an unsuspecting enemy. Her twin blasters seemed the same, however, and were still drawn as she surveyed the defeated pirates. There was a small scar going down her right cheek, slightly marring her otherwise lovely green skin. And there was a haunted look in her bright green eyes that told Risha that she'd seen things in the last few years that no one should ever see.
Considering that Corso had told Risha that she'd died three years ago fighting over Belsavis, Captain Bas'riish – the infamous Voidhound and once Risha's closest friend and ally – looked pretty good to her. It was no longer any wonder that the Crimson Fangs had been taken apart so thoroughly.
Still beautiful. Risha observed, forcing herself to breathe again. It had been almost five years since they'd seen each other.
"Hey, Bas." She called out weakly, feeling her emotions bubbling under the surface. It felt like the low rumbling of distant thunder.
The Twi'lek freighter captain – the most infamous smuggler of her generation, looked over and caught sight of Risha, a smile spreading on her face.
"Hey, Rish." Bas'riish answered. She holstered her weapons and hurriedly made her way over to Risha, hopping over the blockade in the process.
Still as agile as ever. Risha mused silently to herself.
The two women regarded each other for the first time in years, neither saying anything. Around them, the Port defenders, somewhat bewildered to be alive, tended to their wounded and checked their weapons in case further attacks were incoming. One or two cast Bas'riish with a wary look, but Risha's apparent acceptance of the newcomer precluded any interference.
"Got your distress call." Bas'riish finally broke the silence.
Risha bit her lip. She hadn't expected anyone to answer the open distress call she'd sent out, much less someone she'd…
"I thought you were dead." She offered abruptly; it sounded like an apology when she said it allowed.
Bas'riish's eyes flickered.
"So did everyone else."
Risha could see the pain in her eyes and the bitterness in her voice. Bas'riish had spent years building up her name and reputation. Wherever she'd been since then, losing some of that clout had to hurt.
Time enough for all that later.
"Uhm. Corso's wounded." Risha broke the awkward silence, gesturing to where their former crewmate lay on the ground.
"Oh." Bas'riish's emerald eyes blinked in alarm as she looked down at Corso Riggs, crouching down beside him and checking his wounds.
"Choza!" she looked up and shouted urgently in the direction she seemed to have come from. "Need a healer! Now!"
Risha looked back over barricade as a towering Ithorian, clad in light armor, rushed forward with more grace than she'd thought was possible. It was only then that she noticed Bas'riish's other two companions, both of whom were well-armed and wearing heavy Mandalorian battle armor. She didn't recognize the human woman, but the Zabrak was another story altogether.
Akaavi!
Risha Drayen had never been a woman of sentiment. She'd left her father's corpse behind her when it became clear that she had hadn't grown into the person he'd wanted her to be. She'd left Bas'riish and her crew behind her when it became clear that the smuggler intended to get herself killed opposing the Eternal Empire, who had already steamrolled everyone who'd stood in their way. She'd even left her dreams for Dubrillion behind her when it had been pounded into cinders, knowing that there was nothing left for her there.
She surprised herself at how much seeing Akaavi affected her. She and the aloof Zabrak had never seen eye to eye. Risha had always seen Akaavi as hidebound to a hypocritical 'honor' tradition that had already failed her and gotten her old clan massacred. Akaavi, for her part, had viewed Risha as an honorless, self-serving criminal, a woman who would sell people out to pursue her pretensions of royalty.
(Most of what Akaavi thought of Risha had been right, not that Risha would ever admit as much out loud.)
But still it was good to see her.
As she was sorting through all of that, she looked down and saw the Ithorian Jedi (Risha now noticed his lightsaber clipped to his belt) carefully crouch down and meditate besides Corso, his hands hovering over the gunslinger's injured left shoulder. Bas'riish was holding Corso's right hand, her face still masked with a look of concern.
The Jedi spoke in that strange stereophonic dialect Ithorians were known for.
"The rains fall and the burnt earth heals." As the flowery words came, Risha could see the blaster wound on Corso's shoulder healing, the fibers of his skin starting to knit.
How the blast did Bas'riish get an actual Jedi on her crew? she wondered
Bas'riish gingerly reached down and touched Corso's cheek.
"You okay there, farm boy?"
His eyes flickered open, slowly focusing up at the Twi'lek.
"Cap'n?" Corso smiled groggily, gazing up at Bas'riish. "Aw. Knew I'd see ya again when I died... like it was meant to be."
He passed out again.
Bas'riish shook her head in disbelief, a rueful smile coming to her lips.
"Four years later and with a blaster shot to his shoulder, and he still thinks we're dating." she sighed. "Flirt with a fella one time and he thinks he's put a ring on you. I guess some things never change."
She patted Corso affectionately on the cheek, then looked up at the Ithorian Jedi.
"Delusions of grandeur aside, how's he doing?"
The Ithorian had given them some space.
"Your friend requires rest, but should be fine, Captain." he answered. "I would like to bring him back to your ship for recovery, then return here to assist others."
"Thanks, Choza." Bas'riish beamed, her fears alleviated. "Go ahead and take him."
The Jedi crossed his arm over his chest and bowed, then reached down and picked up the wounded Corso Riggs, effortlessly carrying him off.
Akaavi spared Choza and Riggs a sideways glance as they departed, then looked back at Risha.
"Hello, Risha."
"Akaavi." She nodded. "Been awhile."
"So it has." The Zabrak Mandalorian surveyed their surroundings. The bodies, the wounded, the damaged bulkheads of the station, everything.
"You and Riggs found something worth fighting for." she spoke matter-of-factly.
Risha could have been slighted by the remark, but looking around, she wasn't. Port Nowhere's defenders had been few; most of its residents had fled days ago, deciding that fighting the Fangs directly just wasn't worth it. But those who were left had been committed.
"Guess we did." She finally acknowledged.
Bas'riish's last companion – a woman wearing pink and white Mandalorian armor that Risha thought looked garish with long hair of deep crimson that absolutely had to be a dye job – finally approached.
"Bas, Mako says the Fangs' attacks on the other wings of the port fizzled once Aldraste went down. Apparently, unleashing a homicidal hunter-killer droid and a berserk Wookie after them was enough to break their resolve. The ones who didn't surrender on the spot are running for their ships. Our fleet escort can start picking them off anytime."
"A wookie? Don't tell me you found Bowdarr, too?" Risha raised an eyebrow. She'd tried to contact their former crewmate after Corso had joined her years ago, without success.
Bas'riish smiled nostalgically.
"Yup. We've been doing jobs together for a few months now. The Kikalekki's Gambit is docked back at the maintenance tubes. That's how we snuck behind the Fangs." Bas gestured down the corridor towards where they'd ambushed the pirates. "Guss is back on Odessen. He was busy on an assignment or we would have brought him as well."
The smuggler refocused on Risha affectionately.
"With you and Corso, I've finally found everyone."
Risha's face flushed just a bit as she looked down at the floor. From personal experience, she knew she didn't have many friends who would actively seek her out if they'd lost touch.
"Guess the band is back together then. If you want it." She tried to change the subject. "Your new friend here mentioned a fleet?"
Before Bas could answer the question, the armored woman in question gave Risha a scrutinizing look of recognition.
"Risha Drayen. Back in the day, I remember I considered pursuing a contract posted on you. Both Dubrillion and the Sith were offering quite a lot of credits for bringing you in." Her lips quirked in a small smirk. "Almost as much as the contracts I saw for Bas'riish."
For Risha, it had been a very long day. Everything about this armored woman – from her Mandalorian body armor to her demeanor – screamed 'bounty hunter'. She had absolutely zero patience for these provocations right now.
"I would have liked to have seen you try to collect, whoever you're supposed to be." She snapped angrily.
Bas'riish rolled her eyes at the terse exchange, interjecting herself before it deteriorated further.
"Thanks, Xadya." Bas'riish's voice was civil, but cool. It was the voice Risha remembered her using when dealing with people she found irritating but couldn't quite afford to blow off entirely. "Could you please tell Mako to ask our escort to give the Fangs something to think about, then check on the prisoners, please?"
"Sure thing, Bas." The bounty hunter's smug smile widened as she turned towards the Zabrak. "Akaavi, give me a hand over here?"
Akaavi Sparr's eyes silently cycled from Xadya to Bas'riish to Risha and finally back to Xadya. The look was inscrutable; Risha recalled it more than a few times from their years together back on the Gambit.
"Fine." The Zabrak's tone was icy. Nevertheless, she gave Risha a nod, one that expressed more sentiment and affection than anything she'd be likely to say out loud.
Risha was surprised to find that she'd missed Akaavi's stoic presence as well.
"Talk later?" Risha offered, as the two started to walk off, Akaavi looking over her shoulder.
"That would be good." The Mandalorian Zabrak accepted, then followed Xadya to begin checking the pirates.
Just like that, Bas'riish and Risha found themselves left alone for the moment as the galaxy around them continued to turn, gazing at each other.
"Don't take Xadya seriously." The Twi'lek smuggler offered reassuringly. "She can be a schutta, but she's good in a fight. She volunteered to come with us on this one."
With the hunter now departed, Risha just shrugged. She'd worked with dozens if not hundreds of unpleasant individuals over the years. She'd long since accepted that this was the price of doing business with shady characters. She'd just needed a moment to remember that.
"She said you had a fleet?" she changed the subject again.
"Well, strictly speaking, it's not my fleet." Bas dropped her voice a bit, so as not to not be overheard. "They're a squadron of Eternal Fleet ships."
Despite her exhaustion, Risha felt the hairs on her arms stand up in immediate alarm. The Eternal Fleet had been a pestilence on the known galaxy for years now. And that was all before the scouring of Dubrillion. Port Nowhere had been relocated multiple times just to keep it from being discovered by the dreaded Eternal Empire.
"You're working for the Zakuulans?" she pressed her incredulously, barely able to keep her voice down.
"Not exactly." Bas smiled. "The Alliance took control of the Eternal Fleet when the war ended. The Eternal Alliance. The Eternal Empire is history."
"Its ashes." she finished.
Risha blinked. She'd heard rumors for the past year about some new resistance group made up of expatriates from different factions. As she had five years before, she'd dismissed such developments as the actions of fools.
Apparently, that dismissal had been premature.
"An Alliance, huh?" she considered. "Who's in charge of it?"
Bas beamed, her eyes glazing over just a bit.
"Corellan Halcyon."
"That cute Jedi you used to hang out with?" Risha raised an eyebrow, her lips starting to smirk. Bas's 'conquests' were the stuff of legends, but bagging a Jedi of Halcyon's renown? That would be the jewel in her crown.
Bas'riish slapped her on the arm, glowering at her.
"I told you before he's like a brother to me." She insisted, then eased up, perhaps remembering the day Risha had had. "He freed me from the Zakuulans at Belsavis. He's been… well, he's been good to me. The others, too. Bowdarr and Guss, I mean. I actually reunited Akaavi again when Xadya signed up."
"All of us are doing okay. The work has been a little different, but we're making a difference."
Risha chewed that over. If this Alliance had control over the Eternal Fleet, that meant that they effectively held the balance of power in the galaxy. And if they had just sent a fleet to Port Nowhere…
"Does your 'brother' want control of the port?" she tried to make it sound nonchalant, but she couldn't keep the edge from her voice. Risha and many others had fought to keep it independent with blood, sweat and tears. Not just today, but for months.
They wouldn't just give it up. Not even to people who'd just saved them from pirates.
"Nope. He didn't even personally clear this op since he was busy with something else. Hylo Visz is calling the shots for our Logistics department, and she approved the fleet ships."
"Hylo Visz? She's still alive?" Risha was surprised to hear that name. A generation before Bas'riish had made her own mark on the galaxy, Visz had been considered the best of the best among smugglers.
"And kicking. Working with her hasn't been so bad." Bas promised. "Anyway, all she'd like is to offer the port a protection agreement. No strings attached. Honest."
Risha eyed Bas'riish carefully. The Twi'lek was the best bluffer she knew. But… she didn't think she'd lie to her.
"This you doing your sales pitch?"
"Not today." Bas chuckled. "And not for you. Maybe tomorrow. Today, we're just helping you clean things up. That's it, Rish. No one's pulling anything here."
"Terrific." Risha sighed in acceptance. "Well. I can organize some people to talk about it. Maybe."
"Thanks. That's all I can ask for." Bas'riish's expression was sincerely grateful. "So."
"So." Risha answered, the two women looking into each other's eyes somberly.
"How've you been?" they both said the words simultaneously, then chuckled at the absurdity of it all.
Risha took in a deep breath, smiling wistfully to Bas'riish.
"I'm the queen of a pile of ashes." she finally spoke the words aloud. Even now, months later, the loss of Dubrillion to Vaylin's fleet still hurt.
Bas'riish nodded to her in empathy.
"I was dead, but I got better." The smuggler replied, the meaning clear as her bright green eyes staring into Risha's.
Here and now, they were both alive.
Without another word, the two women rushed into each other's arms, their lips meeting as they kissed.
There was no promise behind the kiss. No commitment. No obligation. No consideration for tomorrow's necessities or questions. Neither cared about any of those things right now. Not when it came to each other.
There was only want and need and this moment as their lips and tongues met again and again.
Even if the entire galaxy turned to ashes tomorrow, they'd still have that moment.
Author's Notes: I felt the need for a change-of-pace story. At some point, I will learn to respond to prompts with something shorter than this.
I was inspired to write about Bas'riish again after chaoswonder on Tumblr did a wonderful art piece for her. She is and always has been a free spirit when it comes to matters of the heart. She has a casual thing going on with Koth Vortena around this time, but she's made clear that she's a free woman. With Risha… I think it's strictly been a friends-with-benefits relationship, and that was years ago. Until now, maybe. We'll see.
Risha Drayen is one the more underrated companions, in my opinion. She's hard and ruthless but not cruel; kind of like if Princess Leia had been raised by a crime lord instead of a pro-democracy royal. I'm not completely thrilled with my characterization here, but we learn by doing.
The Red Huntress and the Crimson Fangs are antagonists in one of the Uprising stories. I mentioned her off-handedly in the "Three Days" story I did about Bas'riish and Corellan. This is a soft-retcon of that, as Bas'riish was acting off some bad information.
Reesus is an allied NPC in the Uprising.
Top to bottom… I think the smuggler's crew might be my favorite in SWTOR. Yeah, I do find both Corso and Guss annoying sometimes, but all of them seem well developed. There's no 'odd man out'. We get where they're coming from. And even though they certainly had their internal disagreements, I am a sucker for the 'found family' trope. I was going to include Bowdarr in this scene, but then it would have been a much longer piece. I'm obviously not a fan of the Corso romance, and the fact that it locks in so early. But I don't loathe the character; he's supposed to be an anachronism.
Xadya, my bounty hunter in the Halcyon Legacy, is capable of being nice. But she does give new people a hard time. She did the same with Gault and Skadge at one point. (She never stopped with Skadge, actually.)
I kind of like Choza Raabat. Particularly his manner of speech. I wish they'd done more with him.
I threw in HK-51 just for fun.
This story takes place concurrently with my "Interventions" series. Corellan, Lana, Theron and company are busy rescuing Kira. But I wanted to talk about some supporting characters.
I think I'd like to write a Vette / Risha reunion scene at some point.