Morning, or what passed for it on a starship, came. With it, the searing pain of having drunk too much hard liquor and released too many bad memories. At least it hadn't been kri'gee. That stuff was brewed to give you the worst hangover of your life, and to test your merits by not complaining about it.

Firm, warm flesh greeted him along with the soft alarm of a ship's clock declaring it to be oh nine hundred. He shifted, to raise himself up, and grasped something much softer and giving, but truly impressive. Raana was blessed with more than a bigger build than Ryn, she was also gifted with bosoms twice the Twi'lek's size. No longer hidden by the beskar'gam, they only added to the glory that was the warrior goddess beside him in the bunk.

"Frakk my head," Raana said, draping one arm over her eyes. "I make the good stuff."

Skira grunted, hiding his own pain and discomfort as he tried again to push himself up. Raana grunted at the pressure on her breast and looked at him from under her arm.

"So?" she asked.

"So?" he replied.

The question hung in the air. Was this a one night's affair or not. She was going to let him decide, for now. She could always change her mind, and come after him later. He appreciated the out.

What did he want? He had Ryn, for whatever it was worth. Now he could have Raana, for whatever it was worth.

Someone who could watch his back. Someone who understood him. Someone who could be his equal, his partner.

He'd given up the idea of ever having that. Not because there weren't others who had been willing, but because he wasn't. He still wasn't, if he was honest. The thought of having someone, and losing them again, scared him. Made him that little boy again. Made him vulnerable, in a way Ryn never would.

"I..." he started to say. Raana grabbed the back of his head, fingers laced in his dark hair, and dragged him into a hard kiss that drove the air, and then thought, from his body.

When they parted, they both were panting for breath, and whatever his mental doubts, physically there were none. The togruta gave him an appreciative look, then gazed into his eyes.

"I'm hungry," she said firmly. "Let's go see what this bilge has for grub in the mess.

He accepted the out, and wondered if she was telepathic, to be able to understand his unspoken fears. Maybe her buir had just been that good a teacher. Maybe it was a togruta thing. Maybe it was because she felt the same way he did, but was braver than he was.

They dressed in their armor and left the ship in a mostly comfortable silence. Raana didn't even seem to sour when he retrieved Ryn from the Bes'bev. The Twi'lek looked between them and pouted slightly, grasping what had happened between them. They drew few looks, the hanger largely empty. There was little need for the pilots or ground grew to mess with the fighters while in hyperspace.

The mess hall was largely empty, as the end of breakfast passed and the cooks got ready to begin the midday meal's prep, but there were still eggs, meats, and mealgrains to be had.

"Haili cetare," Raana said, tasting one of the meats. "It isn't Shada's cooking, but it's better than that fancy swill the Captain served last night."

Skira dug in, as did Ryn. The sausages were at least somewhat spicy, and he'd grown up on the grainmeal porridge like almost everyone in the galaxy, drowned in nectar and spice. They even had strong caf, which chased away the last of his hangover and exhaustion. Raana had been as merciless in her desires as she had been understanding of his past, and there wasn't a part of him that wasn't worn through keeping up with her.

If she was that good in bed, he could only imagine her in a fight.

"I wonder if we're going to have to do dinner with him tonight," Skira grumbled into his eggs.

"I'm sure there will be an invitation," Raana said. "Frankly, I'd rather skip it. Too many vegetables."

"Togruta are a carnivorous race?" Ryn asked.

"We're omnivores, like you and humans," Raana said with a shrug, baring her sharp teeth. "But we don't have the same molar structures, so it's more work and less rewarding than eating meet. If I'm going to eat a plant, I'd rather it be a fruit, something soft, sweet, and easily shredded. Not that hard, crunchy shit."

Ryn nodded.

"I think I'll ask if I can pull ship duty," Skira said. "Let Mrssk go in my place."

"Frankly, I think it would be better if Ordo and Shada handled the Captain," Raana said, "while the rest of us chow with the crew."

"Look at you two," Shada's amused voice said behind Skira. "One night of drinking, and already you're selling out the rest of us."

Shada gave Raana a significant look. The Togruta nodded, and an almost imperceptible air of relief swept over the human woman. Skira ignored it. He'd passed the test. Raana was vouching that he wouldn't snap on them.

That she was offering more after testing him said something important. If he was willing to listen. His buir would slap him for being an idiot if he didn't, he knew.

But that still didn't mean he was ready to hear it.

"Pay split two ways is better than pay split five," Raana said, biting into another sausage.

"And five guns are better than two when the shit starts," Ordo said, as he and Mrssk them. "Means a better chance of getting out alive."

Mrssk let out a hiss of agreement.

"The Alliance is our backup out here if things go wrong," Ordo said, cup of caff in hand. "Having the lay of the land would be a smart play. You two probably do have the best chance of that."

"I'm more worried about the grave robbers than the Republic," Raana said softly. "As much of a joke as this little expedition is, at least the Captain has seen combat. I thought the golden one was going to star a row over his meat. You sure about working for these kriffers?"

"Money's good," Ordo said, "Galactic University has already put the money into a trust account for us, which we can draw out monthly to cover our pay. If they break the contract, we get a forfeiture fee, certified by the bank. So they got their noses up their asses, what client doesn't."

"What are the odds pirates will come after us?" Skira asked.

"The Dauntless will be patrolling between Dolstan and Bresan, which means one of those ways into the Pembrellan League will be open to pirates at any given time, thought it's two weeks from the nearest other planet for each of them. It's also three days from the capital Dolstan to Swedlan." Ordo said, marking a map on a piece of buttered toast showing the three planets of the Pembrellan League and the hyperlanes between them. Swedlan had one way in and out. "Given that we're not bringing anything too valuable in, only the most foolish or desperate will try to come after us, knowing they'll be trapped in there if they do, I'm doubtful we'll draw any major attention."

"Anything we face will likely be locally grown and untrained." Shada said, sipping her own caff.

"What I'm more worried about isn't pirates, but local thieves." Ordo said. "A find like this invites true mir'osk chakaar, not these dirt diggers. The locals are fairly poor, their planets are barely habitable and require enclosed, environmentally sealed cities buried underground. These aren't the kind of places where wealth and opportunity present themselves easily. The local governor apparently contacted the university and promised them the find in exchange for a hefty sum, screwing over a lot of people in the process."

"So we're more likely to deal with people trying to break in or steal things on the job, and the smugglers here to buy those things," Skira said.

Ordo nodded.

"It's going to have taken the better part of ten weeks for the client to get out here," Ordo said. "It took them six months to decide if they wanted to come out here and put together the expedition. So word is out, and the kind of people wanting to plunder this place can move a lot faster. The Governor has been providing security, but I'm sure there's already leaks."

"And where the water leaks, the cracks grow," Raana said.

"The question we're going to have to deal with first," Ordo said, "is figuring out how big those cracks are."

"And how many of them are on the Republic ships." Shada said.

"Or with the clients themselves," Raana said.

Skira nodded. Internal pressure could crack a vessel as sure as external. Universities, in his limited experience, tended to be expensive to learn from, but poor for making profits off of. A professor or doctor of a subject might be welcome among the highest parts of society socially, but that didn't mean he'd be able to keep up financially to the friends and tastes they acquired along the way.

Normally they wouldn't care about the illegal sale of artifacts, even with preventing being in the contract. However, Ordo made it look like a security threat, and Skira was going to take that seriously. He was fine with people making credits, so long as it didn't risk his neck. The instant it did, it became a problem.

"I think the least likely is Professor Kiro," Raana said. When they gave her questioning looks she shrugged. "Any man who lives with his head in a bowl is not likely to have developed a great many exotic tastes. You can't eat or drink the finer things like that."

"Could be drugs," Skira said. "Spice dissolves in water as good as blood."

"No one is above suspicion," Ordo said, setting down his empty cup. "We vet everyone."

"Like you did me?" Skira asked.

"Yes," Shada said. She pursed her lips and looked at him and Raana. "Maybe not exactly like you, thought."

Ryn pouted. Raana snorted and gave him a look over her caff cup. No, not like him. Not exactly.