The two worked on the ship for a while,
chattering loudly about their past exploits and what they'd done since the
Yuuzhan Vong had arrived.
"I'm here because my boss sent me to deliver some supplies," She explained.
"That must pay well," He said as he removed a fried panel and began to mess with
the wires inside.
"You bet," She agreed, rubbing a smudge of grease from her nose. "It doesn't
hurt that I'm employed by Lando Calrissian."
"Yeah, I'm sure it doesn't," Brodey snorted. "I've heard he's quite the
businessman."
"He sure is. I can't even tell you how fortunate I am to be working for the
guy," She said as she plugged a sanding tool into her power pack.
"Oh? Who fixed you up?" Brodey asked, smiling at her again.
"I have my sources."
"Should have seen that one coming," He said with a sneer. "What other jobs did
you hold before this one?"
"Oh, you know. The usual, dangerous, illegal kind," She chuckled, giving him
that playful smile of hers.
"Ah, I know what you mean," He replied.
"I'm sure you do," She said darkly. "So, who do you work for?"
"I worked for Nimba the Hutt for a while, smuggling spice and other illegal
goods," He answered gravely. "But, despite what you may think, I didn't get my
ship from him."
"Understood," She said simply. "What do you do now for kicks?"
"I'm a Jedi Knight, apprenticed to Jedi Master Kyp Durron."
"Durron, eh?" She murmured, biting her lower lip as if deep in thought. "I think
I met the guy once. He, the Solo kids and their friends helped me clear up a few
things on my home world."
"You know the Solo kids?" He exclaimed, amused at the thought that he might have
stumbled across an old friend of Jaina's.
"Oh yeah, we go way back," She acknowledged.
"I'm in a squadron with one of them."
"Must be Jaina," Anja laughed. "She always did love to fly. What's all that
stuff I hear about her being a goddess?"
"Oh, that. It's just some crazy charade we need to keep up," Brodey shrugged,
and then winked at her. "You know, top secret plans and all."
"Oh, I see how it is!" She giggled, shoving him a bit as she walked around him
to the other side.
"I can't tell you that much about it!" He
insisted. "It's for security reasons."
"Nyeh, it's for security reasons!" She said mockingly, sticking her tongue out
at him. Brodey responded similarly, extracting yet another round of giggling
from her.
"I don't think I've ever met anybody as cheeky as you," He confessed. "Well,
except for my younger brother. He was quite a character."
"Where is he now?" She asked, cocking her head to the side inquisitively. She
had a certain way of saying things so that every word was compelling, and it
took a second for her words to register in Brodey's mind.
"Dead, unfortunately," Brodey muttered, hanging his head a little in reflection.
"Been dead for almost three years now. Or so I thought."
"Really? You found him again?" She asked enthusiastically.
"It's a really complicated and drawn-out story," Brodey said. "I'd rather not
get into it, if it's all the same with you."
"Suit yourself," She responded, flipping the long hair that was getting in her
way as she worked back across her bare shoulders. "Your nose is looking a lot
better, by the way. Is that some sort of jedi healing that you're doing?"
"Yeah, kind of," He said. "I'm not exactly the best healer in my family. My
father could have healed this in a little under a minute."
"Hey, if you can heal anything then I'm impressed," Anja chuckled. "Speaking of
impressed, you're quite a looker."
"Are you flirting with me, Anja Gallandro?" He asked and then laughed at the
innocent face she was giving him.
"Only if you want to think about it in that sense," She said with a sly smile,
casting him a seductive wink. "Something tells me you do."
"Well, I've only known you for about two standard hours, and already you're the
most fun person to flirt with that I've ever come across."
"Good," She cooed, stroking her fingers down his sweaty bare back. Brodey
shivered involuntarily from her touch, turning to face her with a wicked glint
in his eyes.
"You do realize you're going to pay for that," He said coyly as he approached
her at a rapid pace. Anja laughed, backing up as he came closer and grabbed both
of her wrists. He was just about to reach out and tickle her when her legs
suddenly gave way, sending them both into a huge puddle of engine oil from the
spilled bucket she'd just tripped over.
"Ahhhh!!!" She shrieked, scooping up a handful of the oil and flinging it at
Brodey. He laughed as she tried to pin him to the ground and drench him in the
oil. She finally collapsed next to him, laughing uncontrollably. He pushed
himself up onto one elbow, gazing absorbedly at her as he gently brushed a few
strands of matted-down hair off of her face.
"Would you two just shut the hell up?" Corran cursed, poking his head around the
ship to look scornfully at the two of them. "You're causing quite a racket and
it's starting to upset people."
"Oh, bugger off Corran!" Brodey snapped back. "Nobody else is complaining
besides you, and you know it!"
The jedi knight's face turned even sourer, if that was possible, and he left in
a huff, leaving the two of them to lie gasping on the floor.
"I don't know what that guy's problem is," Brodey muttered, "But he's always
been that way to me. It's sort of like he took one look at me, saw I was bad
news, and then never looked again."
"Yeah, some people are like that," She said, picking herself up off the ground
and extending him a hand. "I'm not one of them. I happen to find people who
think they're the most righteous person in the galaxy completely nauseating."
"You like the scoundrels, eh?" He snickered, giving her a slight jab with his
elbow.
"What do you think?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
"I think we need to find somewhere to get cleaned up," He declared. "I know just
the place."
"You're not taking me back to see Jaina, are you?" She asked suspiciously as he
led her back to the upper decks of Eclipse.
"Of course I am!" He cried, beaming widely at her. "Did you think I'd let you
get away without saying hello to an old friend? Besides, I feel like I'm
entitled to do laundry at her place. Don't ask, just trust me on this one."
"All right," She conceded, looking flustered as they continued along at his
quick pace.
"Here we are," Brodey said, pushing the buzzer to Jaina's suite repeatedly.
"Who is it?" Jaina's voice asked through the speaker.
"It's just me," Brodey replied. "You'll never guess who the cat dragged in."
"Cat, I'd really love to know who you dragged in, but I'm kind of occupied at
the moment."
"Jaina, dear, I think you need to let me in anyway. After the havoc my clothes
have been through, all on your behalf, you owe me a few loads of laundry,"
Brodey said in a sing-song voice.
A few choice Corellian curse words came out of the speaker, followed by the loud
stomp of footsteps rushing angrily toward the door. Jaina answered the door,
wearing only her bathrobe, and her jaw nearly dropped to the floor in shock.
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