Eris: Welcome back! Life has been hectic which is why I haven't updated! I know it's no excuse, but I'm sorry.
Atton: Hey, plus you had to go shopping for all three people you're secret santa for.
Eris: ...Yeah. That too.
Atton: Do we still have turkey?
Eris: Top crisper, under the brown sugar.
Atton: Thanks.
Eris: Yes, we do in fact still have turkey left over from Thanksgiving. Personally, I think it's gross, but Atton and Iggy don't mind. They've both been getting into it every once in a while. But you'd think Atton would know where it is by know! Gosh, the blind kid can find it while the pilot cannot.
Eris: ... that's a scary thought...
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Star Wards or Atton, unfortunately. Iggy is mine because I have kidnapped him from James Patterson (Iggy is the super-awesome-blind-pyromaniac bird-kid from The book series Maximum Ride)
Chapter 5
Colton knew Aishlinn wasn't happy. Force, everyone knew she wasn't happy, Tobias included. The pilot seemed to enjoy her discomfort on top of it. Colton wanted to say something to reassure the furious woman walking behind him, but could he really blame her? From what he had seen of their new pilot, he was a scoundrel and a pervert. Ash had an obvious negative history with him as well. Plus, there was the fact that he kept trying to feel Sol up. Colton quelled his anger; it wasn't the Jedi way.
Several deep breaths later, Colton had calmed himself enough to walk without imagining himself force choking the life out of Tobias.
"We're here." Tobias announced, stopping in front of a good sized freighter. "This is her, the Scarlet Eagle."
Ash stood off to the side, tapping her foot impatiently, a scowl marring her pretty features. Sol stood close to the female smuggler; she might be scared of Ash, but the other girl could definitely protect her should Tobias get grabby. Again.
"He bad pilot?" the Tusken Princess asked. Ash nodded, her emerald eyes flashing angrily.
"Yes. He very bad pilot." She muttered darkly. She cast a glance at Colton; he was speaking with Tobias in a relatively calm and friendly manner. This only caused Ash's blood to boil and her face to turn red with anger. Sol watched her, not quite sure what she could say to sooth her. Apparently, the new pilot wasn't a good person and Ash wasn't happy with their arrangements. Not that Sol felt any different.
"Ash—" Sol started to say, but the smuggler cut her off.
"Stick with me, kid, and you'll be fine."
Sol didn't understand what she said and Tee-eye wasn't nearby to translate for her.
"I… don't understand."
Ash grabbed Sol's wrist and tugged her to her side before offering the Princess a thumbs up. She pushed Sol away and shook her head at the Tusken. Sol nodded, getting the gist of what Aishlinn was trying to say.
"We're all set to take off, ladies! Let's haul jet." Tobias shouted. Tegrit, Tee-eye, and Colton were already making their way onto the Scarlet Eagle. The male pilot leaned against the ramp leading into the ship, watching the two young women with a predatory grin. Sol, deciding to forego her nervousness concerning the female smuggler, gripped the older girl's arm as Ash led the way. Tobias smacked Aishlinn's ass as they walked onto the ship, causing her to spin around with a vicious sneer.
"Snark off, chubba."
"So feisty."
"Di'kut." She countered before dragging Sol onto the ship with her. Tobias followed, still chuckling at the smuggler's expense. He also found his eyes latching onto her swaying hips. The pilot licked his lips, his mind wandering to what exactly he wanted her doing with those thighs… to him in particular… He could practically see her bouncing on top of him, her hair fanned around her shoulders as she moaned in complete ecstasy and abandon.
"Colton, I know how you Jedi are about redeeming everyone, but if that fraking scrat touches me again, I'm ripping his testicles off and shoving them down his throat." She warned. Tobias tsked at her.
"Harsh, babe. You really wound me."
Ash snarled at him before retreating to the port dorms. Tegrit and Sol followed her. Colton gave Tobias a reprimanding look.
"Let her be, please. You're only serving to rile her up." the Jedi Knight chided. Tobias gave him a mocking salute.
"Aye, Captain." He said before heading to the cockpit. Colton stifled a groan.
"Not those nicknames again…"
Colton made his way to the port side dorms to check on the other occupants of the starship freighter. He motioned for TI-29 to follow.
"That incorrigible, disreputable sleemo!" Ash's voice rang out from the open door. "I'm gonna blast his fraking head off."
"He bantha fodder." Sol said soothingly, trying to calm down the furious woman. Ash was pacing the room, her green eyes blazing, while Sol and Tegrit sat patiently on one of the bunks. Colton took one step into the room before backing right back out again; perhaps it would be better to let her blow off some steam without him.
Colton decided to go to the cockpit and see how much longer it would take to get to Alderaan. Tobias was seated comfortably in the pilot's chair with his feet propped up on the control board. Colton breathed in deeply, dispelling what irritation he had for the scoundrel, before taking a seat in the unoccupied co-pilot's chair. Tobias (who had his eyes closed moments before) cracked open an eye to stare at the Jedi.
"Can I help you, Stormtrotter?"
"How much longer until we reach Alderaan?"
Tobias righted himself with a shrug. "One to two hours, give or take."
"Thank you." Colton stood with a curt nod and left the cockpit as Tegrit entered.
"Tobias, do you require the service of a co-pilot?" the Kushiban asked.
"Sure, why not?"
Colton walked back to the port dorms to see how the two females were faring. Ash had passed out on one of the beds, Tee-eye was shut down in the corner conserving his "batteries", and Sol was no where to be seen. Colton momentarily panicked; she was so important to stopping the ever rising Sith and… she had started to grow on him as well. If something happened to her—
"Colton?"
Colton turned at the sound of his name to see Sol standing in the doorway of the 'fresher. She had obviously taken a shower and with the sand now gone from her gray skin, it seemed to glow. Her vibrant orange eyes stared at him curiously as her caramel hair was clean and hanging around her shoulders delicately. But that wasn't what made the Jedi stare; Sol had changed out of the make-shift dress that was Colton's cloak. Now she was in a silk light blue dress that was more than fitting for a princess. The tight, darker blue bodice really flattered her beautiful figure.
"S-sol," Colton choked out, surprised at how beautiful she looked. Sol smiled at him and tucked a strand of her light brown hair behind her ear.
"You teach Basic now?"
Colton nodded numbly. Sol slowly walked toward him and he noticed she was carrying his cloak, the one she had been using as clothing earlier. Her face was slightly flushed as she gave it back to him.
"Thank you." She curtseyed before taking a seat on an unoccupied bed. Colton folded his cloak, laid it on the bed Ash was asleep on, and moved to sit next to the gorgeous Tusken Princess.
"Tee-eye, we need you."
TI-29 switched back on at the command and tottered over to the duo.
"Master, you called?"
"Yes," Colton nodded, "we're going to work on Basic a little bit more."
Sol smiled as she settled in next to Colton. Her eyes were trained on his mouth as they formed the words and phrases; she was mesmerized and hyper-aware of every movement he made. Even though he carried a light sword, he was kind and nothing like the red bladed warriors that had been attacking her tribe. He wouldn't try to use her like they wanted to. She could trust him; he would keep her safe.
When Colton's knee gently knocked against her own, Sol wasn't ignorant enough to not notice he never moved it away.
—
"You need to relax, Ash. We need to retrieve the slave girl for Sollad." Tegrit pushed as the blond stomped away from the cantina. Aishlinn gritted her teeth, but stopped walking in the opposite direction.
"I know, but that insufferable Hutt-spawn gets on my nerves!"
Tegrit resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the teen for fear of making things worse and ending up on the receiving end of her "righteous" fury. With an indignant huff, Ash turned around and stomped her way back into the cantina. Tegrit followed.
"Tobias Aeon!" she shouted after reaching him. "Stop being such a fraking kriff and let me get what I came here for!" she yelled as she poked him in the chest. Tobias smirked at her, catching her fingers to stop her from continuing to poke him.
"Sure, babe. She's all yours."
The young, white Twi'lek girl bowed her head as she stepped forward. Ash's heart clenched painfully; she couldn't be any older than fifteen or sixteen. The Twi'lek glanced up at Tobias, a mourning look in her blue eyes.
"Sorry, Cas. I tried, but it's death or worse to go against a Hutt." He whispered so only she could hear. Cas nodded solemnly and followed Ash back to the Fancy Fox. Ash (who hadn't heard Tobias' parting words to the Twi'lek) walked with a purpose back to her ship; despite slavery being prominent throughout the galaxy, Ash would never get used to seeing poor, young innocent girls being trafficked, especially if she had to transport one.
The Twi'lek took a seat at the table in the main hold while Tegrit went to get the starship fired up. She was so young…
Ash took a seat next to her. She lowered her head in submission.
"May I assist you in anyway, mistress?"
"Tell me your name."
The Twi'lek was startled momentarily at the command, not expecting to be asked her name. "Cassoal, mistress."
"Where do you live?"
"I am destined to become the slave to Sollad the Hutt on the desert planet of Tatooine, mistress. I mean no disrespect, but did you not know this already?" she asked, swiping a lekku behind her shoulder. Ash shook her head.
"No, I mean I knew where you are supposed to be taken, but what is your home planet, the place you lived before being sent into slavery?"
Cassoal swallowed, unsure about the smuggler's line of questioning. "R-ryloth, in the settlement of Qurdan." She answered. Ash nodded and a momentary silence fell over the pair.
"How did you become a slave?"
"On Ryloth, we commonly have illegal slave traders who attempt to capture young women or men, depending on the circumstances. Our tribesmen usually ward them off, but sometimes our people get taken anyway." She fell silent.
"Is that what happened to you? Did you get captured?" Ash asked. The girl nodded, staying silent. Aishlinn guess she was fighting back tears. "TEG!" she shouted, startling the Twi'lek girl beside her. "Put the coordinates in for Ryloth!"
Cassoal stared at Ash in alarm. "M-mistress, why have you changed our destination?"
Ash gave the younger girl a smile. She stood up, pulled a set of clothes out of a compartment nearby, and handed them to Cassoal. Ash then proceeded to gently shove the Twi'lek toward the refresher.
"Go change into those; I'm taking you home."
Cassoal's eyes brightened for a moment before alarm sunk in. "But, but, mistress! You can't go against the wishes of a Hutt; that's suicide!"
Ashe gave her a harsh stare. "Do you want to become that slug's sex slave for the rest of your life?"
Cassoal slowly shook her head. Aishlinn grinned.
"Then it's settled. Besides, I'm not scared of that overgrown slime bug. I can take perfectly good care of myself."
Cassoal gave Ash a small smile. "Thank you, mistress; I shall never forget your kindness."
"It's 'Ash', not 'mistress'."
Cassoal nodded. "Thank you… Ash. I am forever indebted to you."
Ash waved the girl off and returned to the cockpit. Tegrit sat in the pilot's seat, a smug smile of his furry lips; he had heard the entire exchange between human smuggler and Twi'lek slave. Ash sunk into the co-pilot's chair and gave the Kushiban a glare.
"What?" she snapped. Tegrit shook his head, still smiling.
"You're a really good person on the inside, do you know that?"
Ash shook her head. "Naw, just can't stand that Hutt. He doesn't pay me well enough for my races and he didn't offer me a halfway decent deal for bringing him that Twi'lek anyway."
Tegrit nodded, but his face gave away the fact that he didn't believe those were her motives. Ash leaned back in the chair, staring out into open space. The only sounds filling the freighter ship were the soft patter of feet from their Twi'lek occupant and the joint breathing from the human female and her Kushiban companion.
Tegrit would probably never say it out loud, but he was proud of Aishlinn Vorren; despite being a smuggler, one of the most unethical occupations in the galaxy, she still had a compassionate heart not fueled by money or profit like most smugglers. Tegrit was proud to be her co-pilot and he would go to the ends of the earth for that girl.
"Ryloth, coming into view. Landing will begin momentarily." He announced. Ash nodded and got into position to assist him in landing the craft.
"Can you find your way home from here?" Ash asked as Cassoal stepped onto her home soil. A huge smile was plastered on her face and she let out a hearty laugh before turning to look at Ash. She nodded.
"I know this area like the back of my hand." She assured. Ash still didn't look convinced. She reached into her pocket and pulled out two hundred credits, shoving them into the Twi'lek's hands.
"Just in case." She muttered. Cassoal nodded.
"Just in case."
Cassoal wrapped her arms around Ash's middle and hugged her for all her worth. Ash tightened her arms around the girl as well.
"Goodbye, Ash."
Ash nodded. "Goodbye, Cassoal. Take care of yourself out there, kid, you hear?"
Cassoal nodded with a bright smile. "I will. Don't worry."
The young Twi'lek watched as the smuggler re-entered her ship and flew off into the distance. Cassoal took a deep breath, breathing in the air of her home planet; if memory served, her home was several miles away. She could do it.
Cassoal cast a final glance up at the sky before disappearing into one of the many caves her people occupied.
Eris: This is in fact the last of Aishlinn's flashbacks. Wait, that might be a lie at a later date...