Brooke was the last to arrive, with exceptions for Master Kor, Darth Nox, and Darth Imperious. Nox and Imperious were in the middle of a training regimen with some of the Sith acolytes and she doubted Kor would show. These kinds of gatherings weren't really his thing. Everything was already in full swing as she approached Theron.
She noticed Dax was sitting at the back of the cantina, drinking and talking quietly with some of the guys working for Hylo. Cipher, Koth, Lana, Rory, and Theron were all near the bar, and it seemed like they were in deep discussion. Theron saw her and waved her over, amusement dancing in his eyes.
"What did I miss," she asked as he handed her a drink.
"Quite a bit, but don't worry, it's just about to get good. Col. Horner is about to explain the necessity of her recent requests to Dr. Oggurobb."
"I can't be effective if I'm hopping around this base on one leg," Rory argued.
"That's not the issue," Lana replied with a frustrated sigh. Brooke knew the eccentric colonel's request had to be good if Lana was already pinching the bridge of her nose.
"I can completely justify each request," she insisted. "I don't want to just throw some droid leg on there, so that's out. The first prosthetic I need is for combat situations, the base can fit in a boot and the rest can be covered by armor. The second one doesn't need to be as durable and can be hidden by a dress uniform."
"It's the peg leg that is of concern, Colonel," Lana interrupted, the use of the soldier's title betraying her frustration.
"Tactical peg leg," Rory corrected. Shrugging, she explained, "I might as well compete the pirate look. I've already lost my eye, I prefer to drink rum… I can keep going if you wish, but it's going to get inappropriate fast."
Lana waved her away with her free hand while her other continued to pinch the bridge of her nose.
"Are you sure that's a good use of the doctor's time," Brooke diplomatically asked.
"I'm sure I'm kicking your ass points wise," she shot back with a smirk. "Got 15 points this conversation alone."
"I hadn't realized we were continuing the game."
"You miscounted, it's closer to 10," Cipher corrected.
"Nice try, cheater," Rory argued back. "It's 15, which means this round is mine. You both owe me a drink."
"What are you going on about," Lana questioned, looking between the three of them.
"You still haven't gotten over how I beat you last game," Brooke laughed as she signaled another drink for Rory.
"The only thing I haven't gotten over is that you didn't tell us it was coming so I could have had my armor cam recording," Rory replied. "Seeing everyone's reaction on Yavin when Theron called the Grand Master 'Mommy dearest' while arguing with Mar was totally worth the credits."
"I was more impressed he pulled it off with a straight face," Cipher conceded, passing a glass to the soldier.
"That's why you had me do that," Theron asked, raising an amused eyebrow at Brooke.
"It's a long story…"
"And absolutely her idea," Col. Horner chimed in as she lined up the drinks she'd gotten from the women, smile getting larger at the Jedi's glare.
"Short version," Cipher explained, "on Rishi we recognized a need to lower tension a bit and what we came up with was getting others on our respective sides to say the most outrageous thing possible without starting a war. Winner got a bottle of liquor of her choice."
"How to you get from lowering tension to convincing Shan to call this mother 'Mommy Dearest'," Lana questioned.
"Honestly that part is a little fuzzy," Col. Horner confessed. "Most of liquor C2-D4 brought for the meeting between Shan and Mar was consumed prior to commencing the game. Don't worry Theron, we'll throw in a bottle of your choice for being such a good sport," she offered.
"Appreciate it," he laughed.
"Dare I ask what the current game you're all talking about," Lana asked.
"Don't look at me," Rory deflected when everyone's attention shifted to her. It quickly moved to Cipher 9.
"Not a chance, this was her idea, she can explain," she said looking at Brooke.
"Thanks," she muttered before taking a deep breath. "Ok, so after the aforementioned 'Mommy Dearest' line, we knew we'd never be able to top that so we decided we needed a new game entirely. It was at this point Cipher made a comment about Master Kor's seemingly unending patience and thought maybe trying to rattle him would be fun."
"I did not say that," she objected.
"Close enough. Hey, do you wanna tell the story," Brooke questioned when Cipher looked ready to interrupt again. She quickly backed down, and the Jedi said, "Didn't think so. Anyway, I pointed out the only way to really rattle him would cross the line from funny to mean, and the point was for a little fun, so we scrapped it. Shan- the Grandmaster, not Theron- was our next choice, but she was already highly suspicious and none of us wanted to deal with a lecture. It was at that point Aneira made the comment we could never do that with a Sith since they wear their emotions on their sleeves."
"And highly volatile," Rory inserted. "That was also an important factor."
Continuing as if the soldier never spoke, Brooke explained, "Then I might have said something along the lines of Lana being the only Sith I'd ever met to have anything close to a Jedi calm…"
"What," the Sith demanded, her look growing thunderous as she glared at the women.
"So, then Cipher was all like, 'Well, Mar just gave her my promotion so we might as well haze the shit out of her,'" Rory interjected again.
"I didn't say that!"
"You implied it."
Seeing the look her former boss was giving her she clarified, "I said I wanted to make sure you could handle the stressors of this job."
"I dunno, implying a Sith can't handle a job might be worse than hazing them," the colonel pointed out with a smirk.
"Most definitely," Brooke agreed.
"What exactly does this game entail," Lana ground out.
"Points awarded on your reaction," Rory answered. "Getting snapped at is 1 point, getting pointed at angrily is 2, facepalm/pinching the bridge of your nose is 3, loss of speech 4, anything involving the Force is an automatic forfeit since that means that person went too far. Any combination of the non-force reactions was double points. My personal goal was to give you an eye twitch."
Lana angrily knife handed the colonel and tried to say something, but no words would come out.
"Not to brag or anything guys, but I think this might be my game."
"I have to agree with that statement," Cipher pointed out, watching the angry Sith lord carefully.
"And you were lamenting I hadn't caused any trouble lately," Rory joked.
"Remind me to never say anything like that again," Lana sighed. "At least I wasn't your first target."
"Or called the Jedi Grandmaster 'mommy dearest,'" Cipher snickered.
"How were you convinced to do it," Lana asked the former spy.
"Finally found out how a herd of tauntaun made it into the Galactic Senate Chambers," he answered.
"Only from Republic High Command to the Senate," Brooke clarified. "No idea how they got to the army base."
"Guilty," Col. Horner said with a smile as she toasted the Jedi. "Elara and I got drunk one night and ordered a herd to be sent there. So, that was you who got them in there? Makes sense, only a Jedi could pull something like that off and not get caught. Told you I didn't make that story up," she said to Lana.
"What I want to know is how the three of you became friends," Theron interrupted. He turned to Rory and asked, "Didn't you want to shoot Cipher?"
"I want to shoot every spook I meant, no offense to present company."
"And I don't have the highest opinion of military types," Cipher replied. "On Rishi we discovered we hated force users more."
"And we were toasting our impending demise at their hands," Rory finished. "Funny how we keep making that toast."
"Just proves we were right all along," Cipher answered with a smirk.
"Cheers," Rory toasted happily, clinking their glasses.
"And how did you join them," Theron asked Brooke.
"I'm a sucker for good rum," she confessed, "and they were hogging the good stuff."
"You let her join, despite being a dirty force user," Koth asked.
"Eh, she had an entertaining impersonation of the Grand Master," Rory answered with a shrug.
"And several high-ranking Republic officials," Cipher added.
"My favorite was Saresh."
"You'll have to show me that sometime," Theron smirked.
"Have I missed anything good?"
"Ace," Koth toasted from his spot on the bar. "Good to see you!"
"Your first name is Ace," Rory asked the Cathar, eyes wide. "If I'd known it was that cool sounding I would have been calling you that."
"Sounds better than 'dress wearing force flinger,'" Brooke snickered.
"Don't be jealous I haven't come up with a good nickname for you yet," the colonel replied.
"You know, other than 'pussified Jedi'," Cipher added with a smirk.
"We would have waited, but we didn't think you were going to make it," Lana redirected.
"Do you all really think I'm that boring," he asked good-naturedly with a smile.
"Should I tell the truth?"
"Lie, lie, lie, lie," Koth laughed as he passed the Jedi a drink.
"I'll answer it," Col. Horner volunteered.
"You do that and I veto the peg leg," Lana shot back.
"Tactical, it's a tactical peg leg," she corrected. "Why does everyone forget that part?"
"Seems like I missed quite a bit," Ace commented as he took a sip. "I'll make sure I'm not late again."
"Not as much as it sounds," Koth said as he leaned against the bar across from him. "You heard about the Colonel's entertaining request from the doctor. The only other thing was Lana's reaction the game Horner, Brooke, Cipher have been playing."
"You mean the one where they mess with her," Ace asked.
"You knew about that," Brooke laughed.
"I didn't realize it was a secret," he replied, completely serious. "Besides it was a little obvious. Why else would a Cipher Agent mess with a Sith's chair to make it squeak."
"That was you!"
"I confirm nothing," the spy said, covering her smile with a drink.
"What else," Lana demanded.
"Chronological or alphabetical?"
"You know what, I don't want to know," Lana huffed. "But the game ends now."
"Fair enough," Cipher agreed.
"Also, there was something about tauntauns sent to your senate," Koth finished, clearly fishing for the rest of the story.
"Not one of my prouder moments, but necessary," Ace said sagely.
"Wait, shut up," Rory interrupted. "Master 'I'd rather follow the Jedi Code than breathe' sent the tauntauns?"
"He was the only one no one would question," Brooke shrugged.
"A senator representing a world with a strong mining economy was pushing to acquire contracts that would have destroyed their natural habitat on that planet, and he refused to listen to reason," the Jedi explained.
"I need a minute to process this," the bewildered colonel stated. After a long pause she shook her head and said, "Nope, still can't wrap my head around the fact the cleanest Jedi in the entire damn order committed an act of intimidation and domestic terrorism as a form of protest."
"I did no such thing," Ace replied defensively.
"That's how it was described in the ass reaming I received," Col. Horner laughed. "Garza was more annoyed at how this affected her political capital and almost turned me over to Senate Security as a scape goat."
"What stopped her," Koth asked.
"Dorne gave her enough blackmail pointing out a whole host of minor infractions and ineffective fail-safes that allowed us to get away with it in the first place. Seems small, but it was very clear someone had written the regs a certain way to get kickbacks. It would have shit canned the careers of at least 3 admirals, 2 generals, and made the entire Senate Armed Services Committee looked dirty."
"You're lucky," Brooke commented.
"No, I'm prepared," she replied with a grunt as she hopped off the bar stool. "And on that note, it's time for me to head out."
"So soon," Brooke complained.
"Sorry I…"
When Aneira seemed to falter, Lana smoothly jumped in. "There are several early briefings that demand the Colonel's and my attention tomorrow. It would best for us both if we were not up late."
She gave the Sith a grateful smile before wishing everyone good night and headed out, Lana not far behind.
"You could have stayed, you know," Rory told Lana as they made their way to her quarters.
"True, but the only one I wanted to see was leaving," Lana pointed out, enjoying the blush that bloomed on Rory's face.
They walked the rest of the way in a comfortable silence, stopping once they reached her door.
"I guess this is goodnight," Rory said, leaning heavy on her crutches.
"I'm just two doors down if you need anything," Lana offered.
"I'll keep that in mind," Rory said, awkwardly rubbing her neck before. She let out and embarrassed laugh, saying, "I feel like an awkward teenager again."
"I know the feeling," Lana confessed
"Good to know I'm not the only one," she said as she punched in her room code. As soon as the doors swished open, Rory made her way into the room, turning her head to say over her shoulder, "Goodnight Lana."
"Sleep well," Lana wished before the door shut behind the soldier. She made her way to her own room to meditate, a feeling of contentment settling over her.
"I see you made peace with Col. Horner," Ace observed quietly as they watched the pair exit.
"We came to an understanding," Koth agreed.
"I'm glad," the Jedi said. "We have enough obstacles to overcome without infighting."
"Did you really send a herd of tauntauns to your senate," Koth asked again. "Still can't believe it, you don't seem like the type."
"That's the point," Brooke interrupted, "it's always the quiet ones you have to watch for, no one ever expects crazy shit from them."
"It's the only time I've ever done anything like that," Kor said as he took a drink. "Usually I'm not prone to that kind of activity."
"Understatement," Brooke snickered. "Anyway gentlemen, it's been a pleasure drinking with you. We need to make this a regular thing."
"Leaving already? Lightweight," Koth taunted.
"I have other plans," Brooke answered, looking pointedly at Theron. He blushed furiously when Koth started laughing, and quickly stood offering his hand to the Jedi.
"See you in the morning," Theron said as he and Brooke made their way to the exit. Everyone else had already left for the evening, leaving Koth and Kor alone with the passed-out members of Koth's crew.
"I thought your order frowned on things like that," Koth asked.
"These are unusual times," Kor replied, "However, Brooke has always walked her own path straddling the Order's rules."
"I can see it," Koth said as he refilled both of their drinks. "What about you?"
"As the others have been very quick to point out, I strictly followed the Code. That wasn't always the case and there were several indiscretions of my youth that almost sent me down a dark path."
"What happened? If you don't mind me asking," Koth added hastily.
"It's all right," Kor sighed. "To hide it would mean I feel shame, shame leads to fear, and fear is what led me to almost kill an innocent man."
"You," Koth asked incredulously.
"There was a girl, a padawan like me, and we had a secret affair. We got sloppy and an elderly groundskeeper who had done a lot to raise me caught us. We panicked and one thing led to another… it wasn't until he was gasping for breath, begging for mercy I realized I was force choking him. I immediately let him go. The look he gave me before running away still haunts me. I turned myself into the council and begged for forgiveness. They gave me another chance, and I focused on never diverting from the Code again."
"You talked about the Jedi, but did the groundskeeper…?"
"He forgave me, but he never trusted me again. The penance I must carry for my crime."
"Seems to me that would never have happened if you didn't need to hide your relationship," Koth observed.
"The rules exist for a good reason," Kor said definitively. "Unchecked passions lead to dark acts which is the way of the Sith."
"I'm not saying destroy a village because someone there made you angry," Koth argued, "but everything in moderation. Denying yourself is just as bad as overindulging. Your reaction to getting caught shows that trying to block everything out can be just as dangerous. Look at Brooke, she's found a balance in finding someone by her side to share her burden."
"The danger comes when the passions run too strong and you lash out."
"Which is why you surround yourself with people who will keep you from doing that," Koth argued.
"You may not be completely wrong," Kor conceded, pondering the pilot's words.
"You enjoy making me blush a little too much, you know that," Theron pointed out with a smile.
"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about," Brook smirked, feigning innocence.
"Right," he said sarcastically. "And while you tease me for a source of entertainment, I need to go take a cold shower."
"Who said I was just teasing," Brook asked, stopping in front of him and looking in his eyes. "It's been too long since we've been alone and I've missed you. Unless you'd rather not…"
Theron quickly interrupted her with a deep kiss before pulling back. "If I ever don't want to be with you, do me a favor and shoot me since I've clearly been brainwashed."
"Noted," Brooke answered with a smile before pulling him down for another kiss.