Take-off:
They boarded the Basilisk; this time Nabriah was a bit stiffer due to the armour, so he had to help her get into the seat. The body contact was quite distracting from the seriousness of the moment. But soon, all too soon in his opinion, Nabriah was activating switches, checking instrumentation and the Basilisk engine roared to life. Nabriah glanced sideways at Bao-Dur. "Ready?" she said, her voice trembling from the raising level of adrenaline in her system.
He took a real deep breath looked her straight into her eyes: "Yes, let's get this over with."
Nabriah turned her attention to the control panel, flipped a few switches more and the Basilisk lifted, hovering a moment before she steered it securely to the launch pad. She signalled to Bao-Dur to send the take off codes to launch command. Nabriah held the craft steady as they awaited launch confirmation. "We've got clearance to take off," he informed her in a calm voice. "Off we go," he continued, watching her in the corner of his eye. She looked collected, while making preparations to get airborne. She pushed the accelerator gauge and the ship shot up, increasing its speed by the minute.
Nabriah never felt better than when she was manoeuvring a spacecraft, with a lot of power to be harnessed, especially one like the Basilisk. She got a certain gleam to her eyes and Bao-Dur noticed her excitement. This time there was no question about the source. The skies of Lorista soon were replaced by the dark emptiness of space. Stars were twinkling bright and the goal of their short journey showed as a small dot some distance away.
Neither one spoke, for quite some time there was only the sound from the engine to be heard. Bao-Dur cleared his throat, which seemed to have dried out during take-off. "Stupid question really... but did you bring any weapons?"
A wide smile spread across Nabriah's face, she glanced at him almost chuckling. "Bao-Dur, what do you think? No, I've only got the charges; I thought we could throw them at any attacking Mandalorians we come across," she teased. "Of course I brought some weaponry! Didn't you?"
"Uh... Eh... no," he felt stupid. "I was busy thinking of the charges and checking the ship before take-off..."
She shook her head in disapproval. "Well, it's too late now. But it should be enough that I'm armed, you're so good at un-armed combat, so you'll do fine." She threw a quick glance at him. "But don't get into any ranged combat, and then you'll be fried by their blasters since you don't carry any armour." The air on her face was concerned. "Let's just hope we don't get into any battles."
Oh, do I feel like a rookie on my first mission? This isn't even my first, I've been on several special assignments and never ever I've forgotten such a basic thing as arms. He was glad he at least had his army knife strapped to his leg. That could come in handy in closecombat. Bao-Dur frowned at his own stupidity; seemed like his brain had taken a vacation at some point when Nabriah changed clothes in front of him...
As the Mandalorian vessel grew larger and larger on their windscreen, both of them started to prepare mentally for what was to come. Bao-Dur checked on the thorium charges he'd put in a belt pack; they weren't big, but they sure accomplished huge explosions. He prepared the detonators as much as he could, setting the time so they'd go off at intervals. That would leave them a slight amount of time to reach the landing bay. He was so concentrated on what he was doing, he lost track of time, not realizing how close they'd come to their goal. Not until Nabriah nudged him in his ribs with her elbow, startling him, he looked up and saw the huge hull right in front of them. She'd begun landing procedures. "Send the codes, please?"
He got to it right away, hands working swiftly on the control panel. "Done," he replied dryly. The Mandalorian ship now was so close he could see more and more details; it wore traces of more than one space battle upon its surface. He could see the gun turrets, the mouths of the escape pod bays and the landing bays. Nabriah headed for the agreed landing bay at the back of the ship, close to the engines. He was beginning to feel tense, expectant, adrenaline flowing yet faster in his veins. Nabriah commenced landing procedures; her hands working fast switching controls on or off, it was like watching a skilled musician at work. Bao-Dur was truly impressed with her piloting abilities; she flew through the narrow mouth of the landing bay casually without any incidents, safely putting down the Basilisk and shutting down the engine.
She caught her breath and turned to Bao-Dur: "Time to play rough." The flash in her eyes revealed her excitement. She grabbed the helmet while glancing at Bao-Dur. "Don't kill me by mistake!" she joked putting on the helmet.
"I'll try to prevent myself from that, but anyway your height reveals you," he replied with a wink, knowing she'd go for it. He heard her grumbling while she got out of the Basilisk, something sounding like; he's talking about how tall I am with those horns all over his head... He chuckled and turned on his stealth belt before following her.
Nabriah waited for him by the control panel of the bay door; he just couldn't resist sneaking up behind her as closely he could. Then, just before she felt his body warmth, whispered close to her ear, or at least were her ear was supposed to be.
"I'm here"
"Ok, slice this door, it leads to..."
He interrupted her: "Yes, I know, I was actually there when the whole gang had a briefing, you remember? You, me, the blueprints? Or that was too many faces to keep apart?" he added sarcastically.
Nabriah wanted to kick him somewhere, but restrained herself from it. The helmet effectively prevented him from seeing the look on her face, but he could imagine what she was thinking inside of that tin can...
Bao-Dur sliced the computer almost without effort, making the door open up to the main corridor, which lead towards the engine room turbo lift.
Nabriah took a left turn and started walking in the direction of the lift, Bao-Dur following. Closely; at the moment not too bothered about keep quiet since no one else was in the hall. Her eyes were incessantly searching the surroundings; at the moment everything was ok, but she was on her toes just in case. Nabriah was quite aware of Bao-Dur tagging along behind her; she could feel his body heat, so he didn't actually keep a distance right now. It made her wonder if he was trying to repay her by distracting her. It was making her flustered... she shoved away the memories from the shower into a dark corner in her consciousness: and stay there, she thought. A moment later the control panel to the turbo lift turned up on their right; she moved her head in its direction, and Bao-Dur instantly walked up to it and started to slice it. As it wasn't exactly a high security computer, they were in the elevator before you could say pazaak!
When Nabriah turned on her stealth belt standing in the large cargo lift, Bao-Dur suddenly felt alone although he knew she was there. He remembered during practice when he'd asked her how they'd avoid bumping into each other while both of them were in stealth mode. She'd given him an amused look and had given him a lecture on the subject. Probably she'd found it so funny due to his superior skills concerning technical issues, and finding he actually wasn't accustomed to this part of stealth generators.
"I'll programme them to recognize one another from a distance of one meter, meaning when they sense the other, and a small electrical charge will be emitted by the belt causing you to feel a faint tingling sensation around your waist. So don't wear it too low," she'd added in a malicious tone. "Might give you another type of problem and we don't want that in the middle of enemy territory." He'd been quite annoyed with her at the time; now he smiled at the memory. The door opened up to the engine deck, Nabriah left the lift first as agreed and Bao-Dur counted to ten and then followed. They reached the main engine room entrance without running into any Mandalorians whatsoever. Bao-Dur used the codes Nabriah had supplied him with to slice the door. Inside, Bao-Dur went straight for the engine mainframe and entered another set of codes, making sure he disabled the security cams and sensors in the vicinity. Finished, he turned off his stealth field and saw Nabriah materialize out of thin air some distance away. "Ok, you get to setting those charges and I'll stay here and keep an eye on the door. We don't want any uninvited guests catching us in the act..." The helmet made her voice sound male; it disturbed Bao-Dur severely, but it was un-important now. She positioned herself beside the door where she had perfect view over anyone who'd be coming through it, though they wouldn't see her.
He complied and started to work fast and thoroughly, placing the charges and arming them. Suddenly Bao-Dur heard the door opening; he raised his gaze and saw a Mandalorian standing in the doorway, aiming a blaster rifle right at him. His heart beat faster; suddenly he realized something was missing here... Nabriah, where was she? Then it all happened so fast, he hardly had time to register the chain of events until it was over. The Mandalorian made one mistake; he went further into the engine room to get a better look at what Bao-Dur had been up to. By doing so he sealed his own fate; behind him was Nabriah in stealth. Bao-Dur only saw a quick reflection of light from the Rodian blade he knew she used, and then she'd grabbed his helmet pushing it upwards to slit his throat. It was over in a couple of seconds. Bao-Dur had to admire the swiftness of her attack and the skill in handling the blade, but at the same time it made her a little bit frightening. There was so much he didn't know about her... He returned to work; finally he activated the charges. He turned to Nabriah and smiled: "Charges set and activated," he said as he quickly turned his stealth belt back on. "Let's go!"
They hurried to the cargo lift; luck was with them it seemed and no other Mandalorians were seen. But it all changed when they arrived on the hangar bay deck. The door to the turbo lift opened up as supposed to, but to their surprise there were three Mandalorians waiting for it outside. Bao-Dur and Nabriah tried to sneak past them, as agreed he kept to the right side and she to the left, making collisions less prone to occur. At first it looked like they'd made it, but Bao-Dur's stealth belt decided it didn't want to participate any longer, making him fully visible right outside the hangar bay door. Fortunately Nabriah was standing next to it, waiting for the Mandalorians to enter the lift, which they did, but the last of them caught a glimpse of Bao-Dur as he became visible. Nabriah quickly opened up to the hangar bay, gave Bao-Dur a shove in his back though the door and drew her blaster pistol yelling: "Start her up! I'll be right with you!" She opened fire and fought off the enemy until she heard the Basilisk's engines roaring from behind her back. She reached for an adhesive grenade and threw it at the oncoming Mandalorians, causing them to become glued to the floor. Nabriah ran to the ship, turning her stealth belt off on the run. Bao-Dur already had the ship hovering above the hangar floor: well aware of the time ticking away, Nabriah made a desperate leap towards the hatch. A strong arm grabbed her and hauled her into the safety of the cockpit. She clutched the steering, thrust the accelerator gauge hard forward and took off as if the Sith themselves had been at her heels.
A few moments later they were at a safe distance from the Mandalorian vessel, and Nabriah could relax a bit more. Still panting from the daring dash and the effort to get out in time, she turned to Bao-Dur: "Thanks... for the helping hand and getting this lady off the ground." The look she gave him was thankful, yet with a hint of something else he couldn't place...
"No problem," he answered, "I had to, how else would I get back?" He asked with malice, laughter bubbling inside. If she hadn't been busy flying he was sure she'd done something painful to him, so he was pretty satisfied with the fact that she was occupied. He threw a look at his chronometer. "They should go off now," he turned to see if he could catch a glimpse of the Mandalorian command ship, but there was no need. The wave from the explosion hit them hard from behind sending them into a spin; Nabriah had to work hard to re-gain control but somehow managed while swearing in a lot of different languages Bao-Dur hadn't known her to be familiar with.
Finally able to relax a bit Nabriah sank deeper down in her seat with a relieved sigh. A quick look at Bao-Dur told her he was un-harmed, and that made her happy. He looked quite shaken, however, breathing heavily and with a bit of hectic colour on his cheeks. The adrenaline, she thought, it does the strangest things to people under stress. "Great work," she said out aloud, glancing sideways at him, getting a smile in return.
"Thanks, you weren't that bad either," he replied, and she nodded in return. Suddenly her throat had cramped up totally. Tensions, she thought, it'll pass...
Nabriah put down the Basilisk on the landing pad they'd started out from, feeling exhausted mentally and physically. She knew from earlier experiences that this kind of work took exacted a great toll and she would be exhausted for a few days. She managed to get the craft back into the hangar, turned off the engine and just sat there. She was staring at the control panel in front of her; Bao-Dur watched her, wondering if she'd fallen asleep with wide open eyes. "Hey, let's get out of this and go grab something to eat, ok?" His concerned look made her pull herself together.
"Mmmm, sounds like a good idea..." Stiffly she rose and got out of the ship. Down on the hangar floor she started to stretch out her arms and legs to get the blood back in place. Then she remembered her outfit... The helmet had come off during flight, but the armour had to come off now, or one of the Zabrak in the camp would kill her just because of it. Bao-Dur had gone over to re-activate the remote; she watched him while she got undressed again. "There you go" she heard him say. The remote floated around him whirring and beeping, it sounded as if it was welcoming him back. Nabriah continued taking off the last remnants.
Bao-Dur turned from the remote to see her taking off the last piece of the Mandalorian armour, feeling exactly the same as before when he saw her half naked. When will she stop doing this to me? he asked himself, pained. Trying to remain calm, he turned away his gaze, went over to the control panel and shut the main hangar doors so at least the rest of the base wouldn't see her in her underwear. He didn't know if he did it out of concern about her or himself just being plain jealous. When he turned he found her wearing most of her usual outfit, only the jacket remained, but she held that in her hand. Nabriah looked at him and said; "The cantina then?" Bao-Dur nodded and started to walk, the remote floating in his wake, she hurried up to his side and kept his pace.
The exploding Mandalorian vessel had been clearly visible from the military base, so everyone knew what had taken place and the commander had informed via holovid who'd made it possible. So the reception they got when they entered the cantina wasn't exactly what they'd expected. The cheering and the whistling never seemed to stop; people were patting their backs and yelling encouraging comments. The chaos was total, both Bao-Dur and Nabriah felt overwhelmed by the general excitement and didn't quite know how to handle the congratulations and other acts of appreciation. They were shoved towards the bar. "Free drinks for these two," someone shouted. Well, Bao-Dur thought, a sip of juma wouldn't hurt right now... a look at Nabriah told him she was thinking the same.
They simultaneously reached out for the same glass ending up with his hand covering hers. Bao-Dur felt her small, small hand shiver underneath his; he raised his gaze until his eyes met hers. Their eyes locked into each other, time freezing, the crowd and the party around them dispersing from their awareness. Hands still touching, eyes communicating more than words, the adrenaline that still flowed through both of them changing... into passion? "Come..." it wasn't more than a faint whisper that left her lips; she looked taken with the situation.
He felt her hand move underneath his, altering its position, now grasping his. Nabriah took the lead; he complied following her through the crowd towards the door. Somewhere behind them he faintly overheard someone commenting on their hasty departure:
"Leaving so soon? Wonder what they're up to?" You could almost feel the knowing glances being exchanged behind their backs. He didn't care, she didn't care, and all that mattered now was them, the acknowledgement of their feelings for one another. Nothing else, nothing! She led the way to her quarters since she didn't share them with anyone, and the remote followed them at a distance quietly whirring. When the door was shut and locked behind them, they stood there, barely daring to look at each other.
"I... "Nabriah started, but she didn't get much further; Bao-Dur suddenly reached out and embraced her, tight, hard. She flung her arms around his neck, face turned up towards his; she raised on her toes and kissed him furiously. He was surprised by the hunger in her kiss, but answered it with equal fury. Bodies pressed hard together, hands caressing, her mouth wandering down his neck and up again, kissing, nibbling his ear. He could hardly believe this, it was actually happening, it felt unreal... But the flesh his hands touched felt real enough and the response his body gave assured him he wasn't having another dream. His mouth searched and found hers again, her hands were trying to remove his shirt, his were occupied taking off her jacket... the rest was a haze. Afterwards, he could only remember how their bodies had melted together with a passion he had not thought existed: the look she had on her face when she cried out his name and bit his shoulder in the heat of the moment; his own craving for her, how he couldn't seem to get enough of her… In the end the passion they had shared that night made them balance on the edge of pleasure and pain. They fell asleep exhausted entangled in each other.