----------------------------------------

Bavelle
Sierda District

There it was the "Usual". One of the seedy Sierda District's more famous dives. It sat at a cross roads of two large intersecting walkways, a large pavilion that probably used to be some sort of shopping district before the neighborhood went bad. Nejim had heard about how bad Sierda was supposed to be, and how dangerous, but Nejim had to admit that the place was pretty lively and kind of beautiful in its own way. The streets were alive with thousands of people of all types looking to enjoy themselves on this young night. Lights of all colors flashed overhead advertising every place of "entertainment." Clubs, bars, casinos, and many less reputable establishments. There were hundreds of little shops set up selling their wares, and street performers doing amazing feats, there was excitement everywhere. Nejim parked his speederbike and disembarked to make his way to the place where the squad was to meet. The crowd was thick as he approached, he must have bumped into one of every species on Jenrai and that was even before he got to the entrance. Then there it was. The entrance to the "Usual", the place must have been three stories tall. A colossal neon sign flashed overhead, the light of all the colors in the spectrum casting its haze over the crowd. The line to get in was incredible, it must have stretched down the block. Nejim just stood and gapped, a lost for words, obviously the Usual had gotten a lot more popular since the last time Yavin squadron was on Jenrai. This was a place the squadron usually liked to hang out at before a big mission, Nejim always had a hard time getting in on the best of occasions. And now…

"You seem distressed handsome," said a young Bothan woman as she wrapped her arms around Nejim's. "Perhaps I can help you out, " she said hugging up on Nejim even more. Her leer made it clear what she wanted, obviously she was soliciting a help of a different sort.

"No thank you miss," Nejim said politely, "the only help I'll be needing is getting in this monster."

"I doubt you'll be able to get in there anytime soon. Thats the hottest place this side of Kit's Nebula these days. It might take hours, if you cut that is."

Nejim looked at the line of would be party goers, things looked a little rough in that line that was for sure. "I doubt I'll be doing that." He said with a whistle.

"I know, besides you'd have more fun with me anyway, I can promise you." She said with a wink.

"HEY NEJIM!" Someone screamed. Nejim's turned to see that the call had originated from Esel Pavl, another human pilot in Yavin squadron. Giani stood with him.

"So you made it man, ha!" yelled Giani as he slapped Nejim's back, hard. He whistled as well as he noticed the line "This place sure has blown up hasn't it. Good. Hey who's this young lady."

"A friend of mine," Nejim said blushing. "Sorry miss my friends are here so I must go, but good luck in your endeavors I guess. Heh." He said, then he gave her a little bow. Giani slapped his forehead, and Esel just giggled. The girl giggled as well and placed a kiss on Nejim's chic before disappearing into the crowd.

"Dmn are you corny Nejim." Said Giani shaking his head.

"I don't know?" said Esel grinning. It's a bit old school; the chivalrous approach. Nejim I'm proud of you, you've grown up on me."

"What!? Did you think I was…guys never mind that. So how are we getting in?" Nejim asked trying to deflect attention. Still it seemed unlikely they would get in anytime soon.

"Don't worry," said Esel "Remember Tanem and I know the owners of this place, we'll be in no time."

----------------------------------------

The name Usual was actually a shameless pun, for inside the club it was far from usual. This was one of the most exotic clubs in the city. It was a huge complex, with multiple levels of dance floors built out of transparent plasteel. It gave club goers on the upper levers the feeling of dancing on air. Multitudes of Lights flashed overhead, Nejim remembered that some lights only other aliens could see. Above them, Nejim could see the dense crowd of patrons on the other levels dancing away. The music roared throughout the large building, a mixture of many bands and many styles merging into one big surge of sound. It made him feel like he was vibrating. I guess a lot has changed since the last time we were here. The pilots pushed past the thick crowd of club goers, it was as if the club was past capacity. A sea of bodies everywhere. Nejim joked that there must have been one of every kind of being that ever lived in this place.

Finally they made it to the top level. It was a pretty glitzy affair. Not as tightly packed as the lower levels, but filled with more than a few movers and shakers of Bavelle. Esel Pavl always did have interesting connections. There they were, the rest of the team, the pilots of Yavin squadron, seated far in the back.

"Finally you guys made it!" one of them yelled, it was Kassiopeia R'hea. "So Nejim came too!" He shook his head dejectedly, he knew everyone was going to make a big deal about this. Kass' ,as she preferred to be called ,was a L'hion. A race of feline-like humanoids native to the Jecilla sector, one of the founding races of Jenrai. She was a tough woman, as L'hion usually were. She gained the name Redline for her tendency to push herself and her craft beyond their limits, it was her ability to do this that made her such a great pilot. "So how did Giani do it!" she laughed.

"O.K. people lets calm down. Yes I am here; I have arrived from out of my cave. I do go out you know." Nejim pleaded.

"Yeah, lets not ride him too hard," that was Tanem Vekk. Leader of Yavin squadron and one of its original members along with Nejim and Kash. He smiled at Nejim, shaking his head as the others approached the table, "We know Nejim likes his quite time, I can't blame him, it is not like we get much."

"Isn't that our motto Tanem," laughed Esel. "Oh we don't mind all the suicide mission or even the long boring stuff…its just we don't get any free time", he said in a imitation of a whiny ol' Madres' famous blunder. Everyone had a good laugh remembering Madres, a good yet sometimes absentminded pilot that used to be in the squadron.

Tanem put a hand over his mouth as he laughed losing some of his famous composure. Tanem was a casual man with long black hair, he was mildly feminine in appearance with strange tattoos on his forehead and cheeks. Tanem was an odd character; probably a near-human variant Nejim thought; for he has seen Tanem do maneuvers in a fighter that no ordinary human could ever hope to survive. A true leader and pilot, if a bit unconventional, like his sometimes disdain for Military Regulations. Lurking underneath all this though was a very mysterious man with an even more mysterious past
.
Nejim took a seat and joined the rest of the Yavins in the festivities. Most of the Yavins were here.

There was the squid headed Hanik Seese, Quarren pilot from Mon Cal. She was one of the first replacements for a fallen Yavin pilot, back when attrition frequently took the lives of many of the squadrons pilots. She mostly kept to herself. Even in battle. Except for when it came to Tanem. For some reason in battle she was fiercely protective of Tanem going as far as placing herself in the line of fire to take damage meant for him.

Then there was the enigma, Elajul, a mysterious alien from some unknown race. Elajul is a strange creature with blue gelatin like skin, more of a translucent membrane than usual skin. Elajul was a variable. Sometimes short, sometimes taller, with a triangle shaped head and pointy earlike protrusions. No one knew whether or not Elajul was even a male or a female. The squadron didn't care, Elajul was an excellent pilot so nobody cared much either way, they just accepted her/him as part of the team. Elajul always answers such prying questions with a polite laugh and an 'outhere somewhere' or 'who knows' response. A strange alien with a weird sense of humor.

Next was the insectiod Kak'besi. A rare male Mir'bishi from the planet Mir'bishi. He was a new member to the team, only flying with the Yavins on their last few missions. The Mir'bishi carapace is incredibly durable, allowing Kak' to easily handle the rigors of space combat. He was also an avid Mechanic preferring to maintenance his own fighter rather than let other technicians do it.

There was Nataru Kawar a male Roujin from Roujinou, another recent appointee to the squadron. Roujin's bodies are also covered with a protective exoskeleton, but decidedly more flexible than other insect like species. On Roujinou, only a select minority of honored elite became pilots or leaders, a strange throwback to the feudal beliefs of ancient times in their world's history. The squad expected to have to deal with a stuck up, elite, pain in the ss when they first heard about his appointment. Instead Nataru turned out to be an extremely humble and honor bound person. A truly competent pilot as well.

The next Yavin was the female Barabel, Raska Hara. A tough old lizard that had served in many a conflict during her years as a JADF pilot. She was accepted into the squadron after her last squadron was decimated by a pirate fleet of which she was the only survivor. Raska has nerves of steel staying in battle until the last possible moment, no matter how dangerous the situation, even when ordered to return to base. This has worried the Yavins, for no one really understands what sends her into such reckless behavior. Still, she is good friends with Elajul and Kash' the three seem to share the same sick sense of humor that confounds the other pilots.

Last at the table, other than Giani was Esel Palv a human from Candrila. He was not really new to the squadron having served only for only 10-months, but hw was an old friend from Tanem's past. More of a flyer than a fighter pilot, in battle he tends to break out into wild but amazingly beautiful maneuvers leaving his opponents behind in a state of confusion. He is also a bit of a night-dweller and playboy, able to baffle his squadmates by being able to name and know at least 2 decent clubs or bars on any planet Yavin squadron happens to be on. A feat in itself. And though they were reluctant to admit it to him, the Yavins really have benefited from his time with the squadron.

The only two missing was Vila Marik and Tybolt.

Vila was an amphibian alien from the Verillu system. Verillu were another one of the founders of the Jenrai alliance. They were a species renown for their ship building technology and knowledge of spatial physics, they tended to make excellent navigators and pilots. Verillu are strange mixtures of fish and reptile, they have a long flat head with two large eyes. One on each side of their wide skulls. They are covered with a smooth and durable skin and posses a ridge of flat scales running from the top of their heads down to their muscled tales. Vila was a lovable person, the compassionate member of the team taking it upon herself to make sure everyone in the team felt great. She was also extremely talented, skilled as a medic, and known as writer, musician, teacher, and sometimes scientist. She would have been here tonight but was currently spending time with her relatives from distant Verillu.

Tybolt also wasn't here, which didn't surprise anyone. Tybolt or GAM-U SR-1a as he was designated was a droid. A special droid, probably one of the few droid pilots many would ever meet. He, somehow over time, became able to pilot a starfighter and this he did quite well, especially since his droid body can take far more punishment than a living creatures. It is a mystery as to how his AI programming became so complex and where in the galaxy came from. Tybolt is a heavily modified Municipal droid that used to be produced by GAM Universal. Tybolt is said to be very old, perhaps around 300 years. Thought he is maybe more older than that, as he states he fought and piloted during the great Yuuzhan Vong War some 500 yrs ago. "I was one of the only of my kind fighting those droid hating bstards" as he likes to often state. He is a grim personality always thinking about odd things like fate, doom, and the deplorable status of droids in this galaxy. The squadron learned not to ask him to come out with then long ago as the majority of the public's disdain for of droids has caused many a dangerous altercation. Which is fine with Tybolt, since he doesn't care for "pointless fleshy" activities in the first place.

"Hey Tanem!" said Kass loudly, "Remember Parson's Strait. That was some Sht, way before you rookies time though."

"Rookie," Esel replied as he drank some more of his liquor. "I can certainly prove to you I am no rookie," Esel said suggestively, quieting Kass for a second and making her blush subconsciously. A smile and a raised eyebrow greeted her as she met his gaze. He said nothing more though, he knew when not to push his luck with his quick tempered wingmate.

Though he didn't need to. Tanem raised a hand to interrupt Esel. He was still laughing softly at Esel's innuendo. "Yes I do remember the Straight. Talk about total Nightmare. We were so raged back then Kass. "

"Yeah that was also the first time we ran into hornboy here," said Nejim laughing. "What were you in jail for..." Giani punched Nejim in the arm playfully.

Giani laughed and growled, "Trumped up is what those charges were..."

"So," Kash continued, "There we were...Me, the Commander, and the "boy" Nejim. Yavin was down to just us three at the time..........."

There they sat, enjoying each others company and swapping the stories of their many adventures. It was an honored pastime among most pilots. But to the Yavins it was something more, reminiscing about their past missions helped put things in perspective. They reminded each pilot of what they went through and what they had accomplished. Of the need to live life to the fullest and of the old friends that died so they could do so. They were among all else survivors, and talking about all the trials they survived helped settled their minds about the coming trails they would face. Or so they thought…