A Pilot Story (OT - The Adventures of Wedge Antilles)

And up again.....I obviously have no life. Sorta.

 

I'll up this too. I have absolutely no life as well.

 

The sound of the water hitting the stone floor echoed around the room, only emphasizing the emptiness of the great cavern. I sat chest-deep in the spring, water dripping from my hair, refreshed and revitalized. After living in the same clothes for days, it felt good to be clean again.

Fortunately for the Alliance, the Dantooine caves also featured natural springs, so the installation of any sort of plumbing was not necessary. The water was warm and the steam succeeded in clearing my head; something both sleep and rebel bargaining had been unable to do.

Frequently my showers consisted of thirty seconds under a spray of frigid water in some filthy spaceport facility. I couldn?t remember off the top of my head the last time I?d been able to enjoy a bath and more than half of me wanted to remain lounging in the hot spring, but I was starting to resemble a Reshyian prune-fruit. Hoisting myself half out of the pool, I made a desperate grab for the towel I?d left draped over a nearby rock.

There were footsteps behind me. Then a gasp, and a distinctly feminine voice cried, ?Oh!?

If she said anything else, I didn?t hear it, because I was in the process of making a highly undignified retreat back to the modesty of the pool. I slithered in so fast, I banged my knees on the bottom and inhaled a fair bit of water up my nose. As I broke the surface, snorting it back out, I raised my head to get a good look at the intruder.

She was standing a few meters away, her hand still clapped over her mouth in surprise: a slender girl about my age. She wore the normal pilot?s off-duty uniform ? a brown coverall with about a million pockets on the front, waist, and legs ? but the collar had been cut in such a way that the neckline dipped father than was standard. The girl had long red hair and bright green eyes that were currently focused on me. That unwavering green stare made me nervous.

I managed something vaguely resembling a smile. ?Umm? hello.?

?I?m sorry!? she exclaimed. ?I didn?t know anyone was in here. The sign outside said that the baths were empty.?

I didn?t remember seeing any sign. ?I guess I forgot about logging in.?

She took a step closer. I sank a little lower in the water. ?I don?t remember seeing you around before,? the girl said. ?And I know practically everyone here.?

?Just got in yesterday.?

She broke into smiles. ?You must be Ace! I heard about you in the Mess.? The girl bent forward, offered her hand. The front seams of her coverall strained. ?Hi!? she said. ?My name?s Emalia!?

I politely averted my eyes while we shook. ?Hello. Nice to meet you, Emalia.?

Emalia straightened up. She was all curves and wore quite a bit of make-up: a pretty girl trying too hard to be beautiful. She also apparently saw nothing wrong with talking to a man sitting in the bath. ?So is it true you rescued Piggy and Wes on Corellia?? she demanded. ?That?s the rumor that?s been going around since you landed last night.?

?It wasn?t really a rescue,? I said. ?More like a united retreat.?

?Cute.? She giggled.

My towel, still waiting for me on its rock, seemed very, very far away.

?You have to come,? Emalia was saying, ?and meet the rest of us. Piggy and Janson have already decided to join Red Squadron ? that?s my unit ? and we have another opening. You?re a pilot, right?? The green gaze sparkled. ?We?d love to have you!?

?I?m sorry, but I wasn?t planning on staying. I have other matters to take care of back on Corellia.?

?That?s a shame.? She put her hands on her hips, tilted her head charmingly to the side. ?So how long will you be hanging around then??

?A couple days, maybe.?

?Well, drop by the Mess sometime. I?ll buy you a drink.? She glanced at the towel hanging over her elbow and laughed. ?I guess I?ll have to get a bath another time.? Emalia waved as she headed back for the door. ?I?ll talk to you later, Ace!?

Then with a wink and a flare of crimson hair, she was gone.

I sat in the water for another minute or two after Emalia left. I wasn?t exactly sure what to do ? I?d met girl

 

I wonder if the rebels realize who it was to take their clothes. It would be rather funny if a fight broke out because of it.

 

Great post Rogueleader. Keep up the good work.

//peer pressure

 

Awesome post. Keep upp the good work! padawan, your sig is funny. I often wonder the same thing, lol.

 

I'm on a roll tonight, just made the big 400.

 

Up from page 10!

 

Page 10 OMG. RL11 I think you need to start posting again soon.

 

*That* is an understatement.

 

//peer pressure

 

Shhhh IA! You're supposed to keep it a secret!

 

*whispers conspiratorially* sure thing, Corell.

 

Post coming soon!

 

The sound of many voices speaking all at once blended together into a sort of roar; it swelled over me like a wave as I stepped through the stone arch that crowned the Mess Hall doorway.

I saw tables ? rickety structures stuck haphazardly together from materials of varying color, size, and stability ? and around them crowded small groups of rebels. I counted at least a dozen different species among the throng. The friendly mix of aliens and Humans actually reminded me of some of the places I?d frequented on Corellia, despite the lack of hustlers and drunken brawls?

??Ho, Ace!?

I turned to see an arm waving at me over the sea of heads, crooked a grin as I saw who was attached to the end of it. I jogged toward a table situated along the right wall. Baby, Piggy, and two other people were seated there already.

?Looks like you?ve cleaned up,? Baby noted, taking in my newly acquired clothes.

?Took a shower, that?s all.? I sat cross-legged on the floor next to Piggy. ?While I was settling in, I heard you guys are here to stay,? I said to him and Baby. ?Is it true??

?Yeah, you heard right. The Tierfon Aces are scattering their pilots to the winds. Wes and I were actually on our way to our new assignment when Captain Tomak?? Piggy trailed off. I glanced over in time to see Baby giving him a slight ? but empathetic ? shake of the head. ?I mean,? the older man amended, ?when we had to make our unscheduled stop on Corellia. We planned on joining up with another group based more around the Core, but Dantooine?s Red Squadron is just as good, I guess.?

I frowned at him. ?Say,? Piggy said hastily, hastening to change the subject. ?Do you know our two friends here? Also talented pilots of our native Red Squad, might I add.?

One of the strangers, the balding young man sitting directly across from me, raised a hand in greeting. ?Lieutenant Harper Naytaan, Red Nine,? he introduced himself. ?You know, the guy from the com that Wes here always goes out of his way to torment?? The flight controller?s long face folded in a resigned smile. He was eating some sort of cold noodle dish and forked some of the food into his mouth as he spoke.

?Hey Harper,? Baby said suddenly, leaning over. ?Those noodles remind me of worms. Slimy yellow worms. The way you push ?em around makes it look like they?re wriggling. Don?t you think they look like wriggling, slimy worms??

Harper Naytaan shot me a beseeching look as he put down his fork. ?See?? he said.

?I know how you feel,? I told him.

?Don?t pay any attention to him,? Piggy said. ?Harper doesn?t need any sympathy. Besides, he always does something to deserve the mistreatment anyway. I should know. He used to fly with the Tierfon Aces before he ran off to join Red Squadron.? He paused, then gestured to the last member of the party. ?And this is Lien Zhiat, Red Four, our considerably better looking companion.?

?Hey!? Harper and Baby objected simultaneously.

My gaze was drawn to the Twi?lek woman to my left. Like most females of her kind, she was slim and lithe with a flawless complexion and the fleshy head-tails known as ?lekku.? Lien looked me over, gave me a nod of acknowledgement. Her expression remained serious and bland.

?I have heard about you,? she said.

I smiled. ?Good things, I hope.?

She didn?t return the gesture. There was a dish of unidentifiable orange and blue vegetables sitting in front of her. The Twi?lek went back to eating without comment. Piggy cleared his throat to fill in the ensuing silence. ?Lien, although lovely, doesn?t waste time with words. Which is good, since the rest of us never shut up.?

?Damn straight,? said Harper. His head suddenly snapped up, as if yanked by a string. ?Uh oh! Unfriendlies at point two oh three!?

While the others ducked and pretended to be deep in conversation, I half-stood to see the source of the disturbance: a familiar girl with long red hair that had just entered the Mess. She stopped at one of the tables near the doorway, leaned casually on the shoulder of a man sitting there as they chatted. I saw

 

Great post RL, keep up the good work.

//peer pressure

 

Darlin', I have to say how much I am enjoyin' this fine story of yours. It's good to see you have such a loyal group of fans, as your write very well, and your story is original and interestin' even to an old vet like me. Keep up the fine work, my dear.

Lazaro "DL" Denman
Javelin Squadron
NRS Emancipator

 

Great post! LoL: "..Em will flirt with anything that moves.."

 

Up so RL11 can find it and post soon!

 

lol
Baby shrugged, adopted a mournful expression. ?But there?s just no challenge when they?re throwing themselves at you. It?s no fun. You would think I would be used to girls doing that to me by now, but sometimes it?s such a terrible struggle??

And the reason you aren't posting more now would be...??

//peer pressure

 

Just two words, my dear Idiot's Array: Physics Class.

(Btw, the person who gets the 100th post in this topic will have their feet personally kissed by moi. That's how happy/thankful/desperate/crazy I am to have you guys.

 

Is...

 

...that...

 

...a...

 

...promise...