Fantasies

Charming Neva into helping him had been all too easy. Too easy, and too easy was boring. And fucking her had been about as entertaining. It was a shame, really. Neva, with her long, thick black hair and mocha-colored skin and golden eyes, was a gorgeous girl, but just a girl. Sweet, naïve. It wasn't fun. Not that it had ever been overly fun but there were definite perks and various thrills. Now, it all seemed like work, even the part that was supposed to be the one enjoyable aspect.

"Fucking bitch," he muttered under his breath and slipped out of bed, careful not to wake Neva and be bombarded with mindless chirping. He got dressed and went out into the garage, his mind going back to Alico and their night on Tatooine. Ruin you, ruin you, the words just replayed in his head. It was bullshit. His only real issue was Neva herself. She was boring. A pretty little doll with no personality. He wondered if he hurt that little doll if she would feel it. She would crumple into a ball on the ground and sob. That wouldn't be fun, either.

But if he hit Alico, she would hit him back. She would hit him harder, tackle him to the ground and brawl. They would roll around leaving bruises and drawing blood and then fuck like animals.

"Ali," he grumbled, finally getting the picture. It wasn't Neva at all. It was Alico.

Skavak picked up some tools and began tinkering. It was habit, fixing things, machines. A long time ago, when he was just a boy, he had been a mechanic. He knew engines better than the back of his hand. But fixing up smugglers' starships had opened his eyes to a world beyond the garage, to a better life than digging around in grease and hyperdrive fluid. So he chased the dream himself, fast money, fast life, and along the way he realized the only person he could ever depend on was himself.

And that would never change. Alico was just a temporary bump in the hyperlane. He couldn't get over her because she was still alive to plague his thoughts. Once he killed her, he would be back to normal. And the professional mercenaries would see to that. Alico would be coming for the hyperdrive, he knew without a doubt. And when she did, he would be ready. He had the trap all set up. It was just a matter of when.

A beep on his hip told him he had a holocall. He set the device on top of the cylinder he was working on and opened the line. Peema Ahuff was standing there with Alico and Corso. She was propped against the wall, arms crossed, and a very unsurprised expression on her face. Right on time, he thought, feeling his blood firing up at the sight of her.

"Captain Skavak? This is Noble Curator Peema Ahuff speaking. I demand that you return the Arkanian hyperdrive at once. The head you bought it with is a counterfeit."

Alico rolled her eyes. Skavak almost grinned.

"Sorry, Peemie. I have a strict 'no refunds' policy." He looked at Alico and smiled wide. "Heya, Captain. You're a little late to the party."

"We really have to stop meeting like this," she purred.

"I promised you'd regret crossing me."

"You also promised to kill me yourself, but no luck there." She tilted her head. "Where'd you dig up a counterfeit head, Skavak?"

"On a battlefield, where else? People will buy anything if the case is fancy enough," he said and she shrugged in agreement. Skavak smirked at her and then looked at the curator again. "Hope you don't mind, Peemie, but Neva's taking an early retirement. She's too gorgeous for life in a museum."

"What?" Peema gasped. "You… you… menace! You corrupted that girl!"

"Wasn't that hard. Trust me."

He wondered if it bothered Alico even a little bit. He hoped it did. He hoped it pissed her off, made her jealous, twisted her into knots right before his ambush ended her miserable existence. But when he looked at her, she was staring passively at him.

"You won't have much use for women once me and Hewie get done with you, Skavak," Corso growled.

"You still got that giant vibrosword?" Skavak asked. "What are you trying to compensate for, kid?"

"Corso doesn't have anything to prove," Alico chimed in nonchalantly.

Schutta. Skavak glared at her for just a split second before he recovered. He didn't know what irritated him more—that she could fuck someone like Corso after fucking him and not be disappointed or that Corso had had his idiot hands on her. He wouldn't show her it bothered him. Not even a little. And, come to think of it, she probably wouldn't show him, either. Her passive expression had hidden the jealousy she felt, hidden it well, but it was there. And that very thought made up for the aggravation she had caused him.

"Aw, forgive me," Skavak pouted, mood suddenly lightened. "I didn't know you two had gotten so close." He laughed low and guttural at the annoyance that flashed across her face. He had been right. "Oh, I wish I had a holo of your face right now, Ali. That expression is just priceless." He pointed at her. "Have fun eating my vapor trails…"

He hung up and pocketed his holocommunicator.

...

Skavak couldn't say he was relieved to watch Alico best his mercenary trap, but he wasn't spitting in rage, either. Until she stole his hyperdrive. How she had managed it, he would never know. It didn't really matter. One minute he was prepping to install the Arkanian tech and plotting to steal her ship, the next he was screaming in rage and dialing her ship's frequency.

"Hello, Skavak. How's tricks?" Risha asked when she answered.

"Just fantasizing about killing you and your friend, sweetheart," he told her, immediately finding Alico in the room. "Want to hear the details?"

Alico grinned. "In my fantasy, you burn alive!"

Skavak chuckled angrily. "My plan involves synthrope, a jar of dioche sauce, and a starving colony of kretch insects."

"I could probably get on board for a few of those things."

Something to consider, he thought, instantly imagining her tied up, naked, and covered in something sticky and sweet. Something to consider, yeah, if he wasn't going to kill her the next time he saw her, which he was. No more hesitations, distractions, or underestimations.

"Haven't you learned yet, Skavak?" Risha purred. "Cheaters never win. We're leaving Alderaan with all the prizes, and you're… well, stuck being you."

And that's when it hit him. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Not literally, of course. Alico had, essentially, done most of the work for him. She had the ship and all of the tech installed. All he had to do was get the ship. Or at least get on the ship. She could continue to do all the work for him. And when it was all said and done, he would take that prize from her, put a blaster bolt between her eyes, and leave her to rot.

"Have fun while it lasts, kids," he growled. "The end of the ride is coming soon."