Karrde was uncharastically pacing around the deck of the Wild Karrde .
After having to watch the nervous pacing for the good part of an hour Aves
was getting pretty sick and tired of it. His captain was in a weird mood.
Not surprising really since the new recruit who'd replace Mara would come
aboard today. But it usually didn't make him this nervous and jumpy. Aves
stopped cleaning his blaster for a moment to look up. Must be one hell of a
woman to have this effect on his oh-so-steady and levelheaded captain.
Looking at his watch he noticed that the new crew member, probably a she
was almost late. Not a good way to start. So, a punctuality problem,eh. He
chuckled silently, Karrde noticed his amused expression and glared at him.
Aves smirked back and returned to cleaning his blaster.
"Hello boys" came from the open doorway. Aves swiveled around to see the newcomer even if he already had a good guess at who she was, judging by his captain's expression. It was priceless. Oh, if he only had a holocamera with him, he could make a fortune on that holo. Lucky for Karrde, Shada had her eyes narrowed at him and not on his expression.
"Would you care to let me on the joke, Aves" She asked threateningly. He was in trouble. He knew her tone. If the answer didn't suit her there would be decapitation. During her stay on board the Wild Karrde everyone had learnt of her quick temper and hand-to-hand combat skills. Some less and some still had nightmares of black haired women chasing them around after playing a little harmless, actually a pitiful prank from which no-one should have a grudge. Apparently she still remembered. She wasn't revengeful or anything, but she did have a good memory and a lot of imagination which most definitely would be used to teach the pranksters their lesson. He shuddered remembering the pink X-Wing incident.
She had braided her long hair and wore a non-descript grey jumpsuit. Even with the grey clothes she managed to turn heads while walking down the dockbay. On her shoulder she had slung a carry-all bag which seemed all-too small to hold all her earthly possessions. Aves made a mental note to take the poor woman shopping.
"Hello miss D'ukal" Karrde greeted her. "Just as soon as we've checked Barnaby's merchandise we'll be off. Aves..."
He turned towards the smaller man.
"Take her bag and escort her to her quarters. They're the ones next to yours. I ordered them cleaned and I do believe they're suitable. Good day miss D'ukal. Once you've settled in please report to the bridge." He turned around and strolled to where the cargo was being checked.
"This way Shada." Aves took her small bag which she relinquished hesitatingly.
"You sure took your time. I was beginning to think you weren't coming and I'd have to pull double shifts." He grinned at her. "You aren't usually late. When did you start having punctuality problems, my dear Shada?"
She punched him on the arm and smiled innocently.
"Care to rephrase that question, my dear Aves?" She asked in a sweet tone, too sweet.
"I humbly beg your forgiveness and my brief moment of stupidity. "
"No problem, but what makes you think it's a brief moment and not a lifelong case. I didn't mean to be late, though. Something important came up and I had to care of unfinished business first."
Aves and Shada strolled along the corridors in a relaxed pace. The amiable silence was broken only by the ship's usual boarding noises.
"So." Shada ventured "Did you miss me." She asked nonchalantly but with a evil glint in her eyes. Aves smirked.
"Oh I was starting to miss those daily beatings you gave. I feel dreadfully healthy nowadays and I don't have to visit the sickbay once a day. The medteams have actually called and told me that they missed having me around."
"You yourself wanted me to teach you hand-to-hand, remember?"
"I thought it would be good way to draw you out of the shell you had created around yourself. Worked too, if you don't count the wonderful coloring I had for weeks after you left. Seriously though, yes, yes I missed you. So did everyone else. You're a part of this creaw. You were apart of it even then, even if unofficially."
"It's nice to be remembered. I missed you guys too. Nobody to harass for weeks can make a girl feel lonely."
Aves smiled at her. He knew how difficult it was for her to show her feelings to strangers, even if they weren't strangers anymore.
"So, how's everybody." she asked. This time she truly had warmth in her eyes and the tightness disappeared around her eyes.
"H'sishi and Jaffey have been working on the new cloaking device and are irritable so stay clear of them for a couple of days if possible. Ghent came to visit but it's been extremely difficult to pry him away from his computer to have a civilized conversation with him. Chin's his usual self. I swear that man is made out of durasteel, nothing can make him stray from his course. And Karrde... well..."
"Yes....?"
"He's... well... Something's bothering him but he won't talk about it. He's been acting strangely and is more jumpy than usual. He almost wore a circle to the floor while we waited for you, I was ready to grab my blaster and blast him into oblivion, but you know how bad that would look on a job application."
"Interesting."
"Not really. You just pull the trigger and watch as the blood spills. Can do wonders for your tensions though. Leaves a bad mess afterwards so I..."
"Aves."
"Yes?"
"Shut up."
"Hello boys" came from the open doorway. Aves swiveled around to see the newcomer even if he already had a good guess at who she was, judging by his captain's expression. It was priceless. Oh, if he only had a holocamera with him, he could make a fortune on that holo. Lucky for Karrde, Shada had her eyes narrowed at him and not on his expression.
"Would you care to let me on the joke, Aves" She asked threateningly. He was in trouble. He knew her tone. If the answer didn't suit her there would be decapitation. During her stay on board the Wild Karrde everyone had learnt of her quick temper and hand-to-hand combat skills. Some less and some still had nightmares of black haired women chasing them around after playing a little harmless, actually a pitiful prank from which no-one should have a grudge. Apparently she still remembered. She wasn't revengeful or anything, but she did have a good memory and a lot of imagination which most definitely would be used to teach the pranksters their lesson. He shuddered remembering the pink X-Wing incident.
She had braided her long hair and wore a non-descript grey jumpsuit. Even with the grey clothes she managed to turn heads while walking down the dockbay. On her shoulder she had slung a carry-all bag which seemed all-too small to hold all her earthly possessions. Aves made a mental note to take the poor woman shopping.
"Hello miss D'ukal" Karrde greeted her. "Just as soon as we've checked Barnaby's merchandise we'll be off. Aves..."
He turned towards the smaller man.
"Take her bag and escort her to her quarters. They're the ones next to yours. I ordered them cleaned and I do believe they're suitable. Good day miss D'ukal. Once you've settled in please report to the bridge." He turned around and strolled to where the cargo was being checked.
"This way Shada." Aves took her small bag which she relinquished hesitatingly.
"You sure took your time. I was beginning to think you weren't coming and I'd have to pull double shifts." He grinned at her. "You aren't usually late. When did you start having punctuality problems, my dear Shada?"
She punched him on the arm and smiled innocently.
"Care to rephrase that question, my dear Aves?" She asked in a sweet tone, too sweet.
"I humbly beg your forgiveness and my brief moment of stupidity. "
"No problem, but what makes you think it's a brief moment and not a lifelong case. I didn't mean to be late, though. Something important came up and I had to care of unfinished business first."
Aves and Shada strolled along the corridors in a relaxed pace. The amiable silence was broken only by the ship's usual boarding noises.
"So." Shada ventured "Did you miss me." She asked nonchalantly but with a evil glint in her eyes. Aves smirked.
"Oh I was starting to miss those daily beatings you gave. I feel dreadfully healthy nowadays and I don't have to visit the sickbay once a day. The medteams have actually called and told me that they missed having me around."
"You yourself wanted me to teach you hand-to-hand, remember?"
"I thought it would be good way to draw you out of the shell you had created around yourself. Worked too, if you don't count the wonderful coloring I had for weeks after you left. Seriously though, yes, yes I missed you. So did everyone else. You're a part of this creaw. You were apart of it even then, even if unofficially."
"It's nice to be remembered. I missed you guys too. Nobody to harass for weeks can make a girl feel lonely."
Aves smiled at her. He knew how difficult it was for her to show her feelings to strangers, even if they weren't strangers anymore.
"So, how's everybody." she asked. This time she truly had warmth in her eyes and the tightness disappeared around her eyes.
"H'sishi and Jaffey have been working on the new cloaking device and are irritable so stay clear of them for a couple of days if possible. Ghent came to visit but it's been extremely difficult to pry him away from his computer to have a civilized conversation with him. Chin's his usual self. I swear that man is made out of durasteel, nothing can make him stray from his course. And Karrde... well..."
"Yes....?"
"He's... well... Something's bothering him but he won't talk about it. He's been acting strangely and is more jumpy than usual. He almost wore a circle to the floor while we waited for you, I was ready to grab my blaster and blast him into oblivion, but you know how bad that would look on a job application."
"Interesting."
"Not really. You just pull the trigger and watch as the blood spills. Can do wonders for your tensions though. Leaves a bad mess afterwards so I..."
"Aves."
"Yes?"
"Shut up."