Go Tell Her [Carré; Rogue Squadron]

[Kelly Perris]

Concurrent with One Tuesday Evening (http://www.sw-fans.net/forum/showthread.php?t=20370).....

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And all of this, just because
the both of us needs a fix
Yeah, you think you have it all right,
until the pain kicks in

I'd better go get her
I'd better go tell her<o></o>



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*‘Go Tell Her’ - Janove Ottesen<o></o>



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Rumours have a way of traveling with haste. Juicy, irresistible gossip, ready and willing lips to pass it on and on and on. Or, perhaps, fodder for blackmail. Here, that seemed much more likely and as he sat still, very still, trying to keep his cool and not shoot the messenger (in a manner of speaking), he knew he wasn’t going to play that game. No, this tidbit, as it seemed nothing any member of the squadron did could be kept secret to themselves, prompted a much, much different response.<o></o>
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He was jealous. He was angry. Jealous and Angry. Jealous of that damnable, cocky sonuvabitch and angry with her, her for taking up with that same sonuvabitch, for instead of being a reasonable adult, she had to play this game. This infuriating game.That being said, he was just as angry with himself. There were plenty of bulkheads available and the feeling was at that moment that they weren’t enough. In truth, it was entirely his fault for the way he acted. He could have gone back and explained. She could have sought him out for it. He should not have reacted like that. This would not have had to happen. Should’ve, would’ve, could’ve. He wouldn’t be upstaged by Sanis Prent. No way in hell. She deserved better. <o></o>
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He deserved better, too. This was petty. It made light of things that weren’t supposed to be treated as such. He snapped out of his boiling thoughts at the urging voice of Yoree Neel, seeing eager eyes, a mouth poised to speak further, quest further more. <o></o>
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“What I’m going to do is none of your damned business.” He snapped. “Get out of my office, Neel. Now.”<o></o>
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‘Boss…’ <o></o>
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He rose up a little out of his seat, hands flat on the desk, fingers splayed, his dominant, masculine form poised threateningly over the desk, casting a looming shadow over the subordinate pilot.
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“NOW.”<o></o>
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A strike of fear crossed Neel’s face and he bolted up from the seat and made haste to leave. He was just short of the door, when…<o></o>
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“Wait.” Despite the previous urging, it gave the Flight Officer pause and he waited, with some hesitance, as commanded. Rustling could be heard, scratching, opening of drawers of cabinet and desk, the sound of ripping, soft scratching and then one drawer again that slammed shut. It all preceded the very present footsteps that raged towards Neel, who turned slowly to see his commander stop inches short of his nose, causing him to stumble back, partly out of fear that his own reserve of machismo wouldn’t allow him to admit to. Perris handed him a scrap of folded paper.<o></o>
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Now, that was something you didn’t see a whole lot of in the age of data pads and holotransmissions – paper. Honest to goodness looseleaf paper. It was hell of archaic and it meant that he was really quite serious. And possibly a little more than angry, or something other than angry. There were only so many options to what it could be, considering the givens. Yoree tried not to think on it too extensively, which was fairly easy just at that moment, what with the suffocating weight of Perris’ presence and gaze in that slice of time.<o></o>
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“Post it on your door. Don’t open it until you do.” He seemed to deflate then, just a fraction and he turned away, as if it was something he didn’t wish seen. His voice came out, sounding a little cracked and weary. “Now get out.”<o></o>

[Carré Inirial]

While she'd been completely and utterly apprehensive about going anywhere with Sanis at first, the entire evening had turned out well. No, that wasn't the right phrase. The entire evening had turned out to be a surprisingly good time.

That was better. Much better.

To Carré, it was a bonus that she knew the Commander would be at the very least, a little upset. At most, really mad at her and already drinking at the bar.

All well and good. He'd started the petite guerre between them when he'd walked away from her on Yavin IV. She couldn't explain why something so petty had wounded her so much, but the fact remained that it had. And she refused to let go of the lingering pain and confusion of that night. As much as Kelly had taken to pushing her buttons, she'd pushed right back.

Harder than she'd intended to at first.

She didn't want to, but she couldn't help herself. Carré was who she was - there was no way in hell she was capitulating and apologizing for anything. Least of all for going out and having a marvelous time with Sanis.

The hanger was clear when the Black Cat landed back inside, for which the young woman couldn't say if she was disappointed or relieved at. She tendered her thanks and bid him a good night before eventually sauntering off and disappearing down the hall outside the hanger bay. Yoree came trotting up to her as she turned into the hallway where the Rogues kept their quarters, blocking her way to the space they shared.

"Hey! You're back...how was it?" Yoree asked, with an affable enough smile fixed to his face.

"Actually," Carré grinned and tilted her chin up to meet the glowing crimson gaze of her wingman "I had a great time. No really, I'm serious...I did! He's really not that bad when he doesn't have an audience to perform for."

The Chiss blinked and took a step back, now blocking only their doorway. "Really? Huh...who knew."

Emerald eyes narrowed as she tried to peer around him and sighed, stepping back and dropping her jacket to the floor and balancing her deceptively delicate fists on her hips.

"Move, Yoree, now. Or so help me god, I'm calling in that favor Mara owes me." she replied with a calmness she didn't feel. He was hiding something and he was terrible at it.

[Jamo Jakatta]

They had been drinking for nigh on an hour and a half. With both elbows against the bar counter and his forehead in his hands, Jamo stared down into the dregs of his glass. When he had heard that the Commander was hitting the bar – and hard – certain expectations had come to mind. Perris wasn't the kind of man to go solo when it came to boozing, so it followed that he must have quite an evening planned – yet the reality fell short of Jakatta's hopes. What he had wanted was a piss-up to help get his mind off of a certain someone, but instead the two of them had spent the duration marinating their anger in piss-weak ale.

Perris was making a point of not looking his way, so Jamo gave the guy a shove on the shoulder. “Come on... come ooonnnn.” His words came out a little slurred.

“Let's go put some gloves on, huh? Beat the shit out of each other.”

[Carré Inirial]

Several minutes of mutual glaring had ensued, with neither one budging an inch until Carré actually made good on her threat and picked up her comlink. Her blue-skinned wingman actually managed to sigh as she dialed, and finally stepped aside before she could transmit. A faint snicker echoed down the hall from some few of their squadron-mates, who endeavored to not look towards and pretend they weren't hanging on their every word.

A thin smile barely curled her lips and certainly didn't make it anywhere near her eyes.

As it was, her emerald gaze narrowed as she caught sight of the paper -is that real paper?- tacked to their door. Hastily shoving the now-forgotten comlink in her pocket, fingers rose and gently took it down, tracing the letters of her name in the unfamiliar scrawl.

It even bore the stylized, accented letter at the end of her name, rendered properly in pencil.

It made Carré smile a bit, but the soft expression fled the moment she unfolded it and set her eyes to the content inside. Scrawled with the same precision as her name, it read:

Carré-
When you see this, come see me.
Mess hall.
I’ll be waiting.
-Kelly

Her eyes broadcast distress as she turned to look up at Yoree again, barely able to force the words past the tightness in her throat.

"How the frell did he find out this fast?"

"Somebody probably caught you leaving with Sanis and went to tell him...we're gossips, kid, notoriously so."

"What in the hell? Like who? The bay was empty and I didn't catch anyone following me."

"You know what they say, just because you can't see them, doesn't mean they're not there."

Emerald eyes narrowed further as Carré moved to stand toe to toe with the far taller Chiss man, going out on a limb with her accusation. "You suck at lying, Yor...at least have the decency to fess up and tell me you went to him."

"Fine. Truthfully? I went right after you left. You're playing with fire, kiddo. You just don't mess with the Commander like this...its not right."

"Ohh...its not right. Got it. He can do whatever he wants with my feelings and I get the privelege of just taking it? Kelly started this, Yor...he walked away from me. HE WALKED AWAY. Do you have ANY idea what that felt like?" she spat back, very nearly shouting. Her hands balled into fists, she tried to remember how to breathe as she turned to walk away, the note crumpled in one hand.

"So he hurt your feelings and your idea of equal retaliation was screwing Sanis? C'mon Carré, that was damn low." the tall Chiss growled, nearly forgetting to reply in Basic.

Spinning on her heel, she acted before she thought and punched her wingman. "I haven't spent the last seven years of my life waiting for the right person to throw it away on a whim, schutta. Don't ever insult me like that again."

Carré had half a mind to hit him again because his accusation had stung deep, but his wide-eyed look made her stop. Sighing, she shook her head and walked away, shoving her way through her fellow pilots with barely a glance as she made her way to the mess hall. Frak, she needed a drink. This mess was going from bad to worse.

She paused for a moment, a hand on the door of the mess in preparation to push it open. Her free hand rose to slide through her curls as she finally stepped inside, emerald eyes seeking him out immediately. Walking towards the bar, she smoothed out the crumpled note in her hand, trying to formulate a thought of some sort and failing in epic fashion.

A nod was spared for Jamo who noticed her approaching, before she set the note on the bar beside Kelly, her fingertips brushing his elbow. A moment later, she slid onto the stool beside him, silent until she murmured a thanks to the barkeep for the tall, glittering drink he set before her.

[Iyar Thiled]

Ah it was too good. TOO GOOD. But what exactly was good? Well that was for Flipper to know, Joker to soon be privy to, and the rest of the damn Squad to... well, probably find out if they didn't know already.

The small holocam was tucked away securely in his pocket as he headed to the Mess to meet up with Joker, after all he just had to see. Man, they could all be so juvenile at times. But it was fun!

However the triumphant grin faded all to quickly as the door opened and revealed the scene set up at the bar. There was Joker, but there also was the Commander and next to him was the new girl... still all dolled up. Well that arrangement took out some of the fun, now didn't it?

Flipper marched right over and took the empty seat on the other side of Joker and gave him a sharp elbow to the ribs just as the barkeep set down an ale in front of him. "Who the hell said you could get a head start without me, huh?"

He cast a glance down the bar to Kelly...then to Carré. They were all so... glum looking. "Frak's sake, who up and died now?"

[Jamo Jakatta]

“No one... yet.”

Jamo drew himself up in his chair and shifted, so that his back was half turned to Kelly and Carre. The two of them were about the most boring drinking parnters he could hope for tonight, so seeing Flipper arrive was like witnessing an angel swoop down from the moons of Iego.

“Commander's ignorin' me.. havin' a brood-off with Inirial.”

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr had punched out for the day, finally replacing Layla's starboard wing servo. He was sweaty and tired already when Master Chief Kochanski called in a favor and had him lug a hundred pound heat sink back to the flagship. That job done, Cirr decided to stop off for a drink or three to unwind his nerves.

He passed by Carre and the commander, eyes lingering long enough to know he wanted no part of that shit. He pulled a seat adjacent to that smartass Jamo, tapped the counter to get the barkeep's attention, and held two fingers up, indicating he wanted to start with a double.

[Kelly Perris]

Several minutes passed before he mustered up the - strength could be an adequate word to describe how it looked - will to respond to her arrival. He had his eyes, half-full of drunken haze, staring in a lazy way at the note as he slowly gathered his wits, emotions and purpose. Finally, turning his gaze away from the scrap of paper, uttering a noncommittal grunt and knocking back what remained of the present pint. The glass came down with a thud, nothing terribly gentle, yet not quite enough to shatter it - had the vessel indeed been made of glass. Fortunately for the pint glass, it was made of stronger stuffs.

"Nice of you to finally show up, princess." He half-spoke, half-muttered. His eyes slipped fluidly over to her form beside him. He eased the grip he had on the pint and slid his hand away, crossing his arms and settling elbows into the bar counter. "I hope you had fun."

The commander's eyes averted from her as he turned to the barkeep and silently asked for another pint, by a simple motion of head and hand. It was all he could do to just not tear into her right then and there, what with the unnecessary current of anger thrumming under the surface, confused by so many other emotions and thoughts. He had an outcome or two in mind, but those seemed to have become lost in the midst of the pints.

[Carré Inirial]

Fingertips gently stole the paper back, leaving it in front of her as she downed the entire glittering concoction in a single breath. It earned her an arched brow from the barkeep, who after refilling Kelly's pint, brought her another.

Gently and carefully, she smoothed out the paper and folded it. Her movement was deliberately slow as she tucked the note in the back pocket of her leather pants and resettled her soft sweater. Carré wrapped her fingers around the cool glass of her fresh drink and tried to remember to breathe.

Which was a bit more difficult than it should have been...either she had more wine at dinner, or that first drink had packed more of wallop than usual.

She winced at the venom he managed to pack into the word princess, and would have let the apology lingering on the tip of her tongue slip past her lips. Only, he didn't stop there. No...he trampled right along and tore open the lid she'd kept on her own anger. Every word she'd bit back, every criticism she'd simply taken, every time she'd struggled to not give him a piece of her mind since Life Day had happened.

Carré had had quite enough.

"Yes, actually...I did. It was lovely. Sanis was a delightful companion and behaved like a perfect gentleman." She replied, with a fair amount of acid dripping from each syllable.

Another breath, and then her second drink disappeared in short order.

[Kelly Perris]

Sipping almost with utter disinterest at his pint, Kelly watched her hand as it plucked the scrap of paper from the bartop, folded it and followed that hand as it tucked the paper away for... what? Safekeeping? He couldn't see exactly where the hand went, but it was close enough, it gave him ideas that only served to remind him just why he was here in the first place, why she was here, what the paper had to do with anything and that, yes, yes... the native of what was Alderaan until some years ago followed the line of her body back up to her face, not leering, but almost forlornly caressing over every concave and convex curve of her pleasant frame. Yes, it reminded him so deeply now of just why he was here and he remembered that he should definitely be a little angry. Oh, it was there, but his emotional complex might have been a little waterlogged. Or ale-logged, it seemed.

"Good to hear." He murmured. "Just great."

Though his voice was indifferent, there was that slight twinge that said there was really nothing good about it for him to hear. He drew in a deep breath - in through the nose, out through the mouth - and set the fresh pint, two gulps short of full, on the bar counter and swiveled the seat to face himself a little more towards her. One arm on the edge of the bar counter, his body leaning in slightly. Oh, he eyed her now. Critically, appraising, critically. Her words played over and over again in the slight haze of his mind and catching the full meaning of what she said, he laughed. The sound was not one of humour, but a laughter more devoid of the ease laughter should have. A somewhat sneering laughter, a lilt, a derisive snort.

"And just how regular a thing do you think that is for our lovely Mr. Prent?"

He shifted in just a little closer, riding on the moving rumble of his intoxicated whisper. Aside from the alcohol which was bound to be obvious on not just his breath, but hers, there was the unmistakable scent that was his. It was him. She would know. And her? She smelled of him, more than herself, he noticed, as he somehow managed to get his face close enough to her ear, so intimately, able now to smell the scent of her hair, but not so completely aware in the moment to notice it. His breath tickled over her ear, her neck as he spoke so damned quietly, more than he should have been able to for his current state.

"Don't fool yourself into thinking that you're the only girl he's charmed lately, Carré. Don't be so foolish."

It was about all he could do to keep from having a knock-down, drag-out fight instead. No matter how much everything else ruled in him here and now, he clung to that. No matter how very angry, jealous, insulted he felt, she still did not deserve that. Granted, Leela hadn't either and he had almost knocked her block off for less. Not that he was thinking about that right now.

[Carré Inirial]

Whatever triumphant sensation she'd been hoping for failed to materialize.

Only a bit of guilt did. For pushing a little too hard.

But the look his eyes caressed her with was enough to make her heart skip a beat, and brought a bright flush of warmth to her cheeks as his eyes finally met hers. She tore her emerald gaze away, at a loss for any reaction that didn't involve leaning over and pressing her lips to the corner of his mouth. Several times over, in fact, given the way it was quirked.

Carré spent several long, drawn-out moments staring down at her drink, a new concoction that glowed green in the curved glass. It was based on a popular Alderaanian mixed drink, and in spite of everything, brought a tiny, pleased smile to her lips however brief. Another touch of 'home'.

She lifted the glass and sipped slowly, sighing as the heady concoction burned oh-so-pleasantly down her throat. His laughter broke her silent musings, its tone derisive and mocking, forcing her to visibly cringe at the sound of it.

"And just how regular a thing do you think that is for our lovely Mr. Prent?"

This time, she had no chance to retort or grow frustrated. The wine she'd consumed earlier, coupled with the drinks she'd thrown back so quickly had finally all hit her at once. The buzz was delectable and her senses numbed to a tolerable level, emerald eyes slipping to half-lidded as he turned to face her. Carré lifted her drink for a sip as he leaned in, reflexively tilting her head and brushing her long, loose curls out of the way.

"Don't fool yourself into thinking that you're the only girl he's charmed lately, Carré. Don't be so foolish."

With her eyes half-closed and her drink forgotten on the bar-top in front of her, one hand reached up quite of its own accord and trailed fingertips along his neck. They took a moment to acquaint themselves with his warm skin, before sliding to the back of his neck and resting there, idly tracing tiny circles.

Eventually his words sunk into her mind, inducing it to actually work instead of letting her feel exclusively. His breath warm against her skin, she shifted and leaned in closer, his lips brushing her ear. Her head tilted, Carré pressed her lips lightly against his jaw before whispering back.

"There's only one man that makes me foolish, and its not him, Kelly." her voice softly melodic as the warmth of her breath stole across his skin.

[Sanis Prent]

I walked into the mess hall with a couple of dataslips tucked under my arm. More nerd shit, logging mission briefs and the like. Figured if I had to do it, I might as well punch back a few pints while I had a go.

With a little swagger to my step, I noticed Carré and Kelly at a table. I already knew the score with that one, and I wasn't going to be dragged into it. I spotted Cirr (hard to miss, really), and took the barstool to his left, giving the barkeep a short whistle.

"Rodian Porter. Start me a tab."

Cirr glowered down at his drink, and from the condition of his coveralls, I knew enough to lay off the jokes for now.

"How long's that shit over there been going on?"

I whispered to Cirr, my eyes briefly tracking towards the two quarrelling Rogues before looking back at him.

[Jamo Jakatta]

The Commander and Carre were still at loggerheads, without any sign of letting up, and with Prent's arrival it was beginning to look like one of the worst nights in a long time.

“Too long,” he grumbled in Sanis' direction. “Seems like your mess, you outta clean it up.”

[Sanis Prent]

I glanced with a smirk as my beer arrived.

"I ain't gotta do shit. They're grown-ass adults and she's got her choosing shoes on. If they've got beef about that, it's with each other."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr looked to Sanis and shook his head a bit.

"The morre thjings change, the morre they stay the same."

He sipped at his whisky, tongue pressing between his lips as he thought about it all.

"At least thjis tjime maybe we can avojid a fjight."

He shot Jamo a glance, making plain he hadn't forgotten that the human was due for a shot, if it came to that.

[Iyar Thiled]

Took a small miracle or a hellish situation to keep Flipper's mouth shut from spewing out some sort of stupid comment. Apparently he hadn't figured things to be as volatile as they appeared and a miracle was right out. If the Commander and Phoenix wanted to go at it right then and there, that was on them. Both were acting like two school yard bullies who were at odds with the glaring of each other down and the speaking in hushed voices. Though considering their genders, Iyar had to admit he wasn't sure if they'd take a swing at each other or start tearing each others clothing off. Either would be amusing and caught on the holocam he still had stuffed in one of his pockets.

The comment and glance Cirr gave off to Joker was the new focus, though. It didn't take any sort of empathy to feel that itchy feeling that Jamo had when Sanis had sat down and it just became all the worse with the other crew member of the Layla joining in opening his mouth.

Iyar was a hard guy to make dislike anyone, especially his squad-mates. Hell, even Razor hadn't gotten under his skin. But Phoenix and the boys of Rogue 13 were pushing for it. Not that the Rogues had ever been known for their maturity, but damn if the drama between new girl, Sanis, and the Commander hadn't found some way to worm itself into Iyar's annoyance zone. The fact Joker was seemingly in the dumps wasn't helping either. The tension in the place was the worst though. Nice thing about being a Zeltron, you couldn't exactly turn the damn empathy off. Didn't matter if you were a happy-go-lucky type, could just take everyone else's grumpiness and have a field-day.

"Avoid? Now why would you want to go and do that? After all, I missed out last time."

Flipper downed the remains of the first ale and a quick gesture got the barkeep to lay down another in its place.

"Besides, it isn't exactly a secret that those two have been short of at each others necks lately. Just had to get in on it, didn't ya, Prent?"

Not that the Zeltron really believed a word of what he was saying. Considering the tempers in the room he pretty much figured it wasn't even really him talking. When you came right down to it, Iyar wished the Commander and Phoenix had hurried up and settled whatever tiff they were sharing a long time ago. Flipper had even gone so far as to figure he should have just doused the two of them with some Elixir of Infatuation and locked them in a supply closet together a long time ago.

But if things wanted to take a quick turn for the worst tonight, well then why the hell not join in?

[Kelly Perris]

He laughed. Laughed at the feel of her lips on the line of his jaw, the feel of her breath on his skin, her words in his ear, her voice singing lightly over him. He laughed more, the tone of bitterness only barely noticeable that one might have to be looking for it to know it was there. He sat back from her in his outburst of laughter, slipping out of his seat to glance over the assembled (noting at least one figure's presence with a mote of displeasure) before returning his only marginally sober attentions back to the girl, the situation at hand, his laughter dying enough for speech to be possible. He swiped his drink from the counter again and slammed the remainder back in one long gulp, wasting no time in returning the now empty glass to where he had taken it from.

"So who, whom, might I ask is this man who makes you so foolish?" The theatrics came into play in his voice as he was rather done with the whispers for the time being. Kelly stole a step closer to the gorgeous, raven-haired young woman and gave her a very particular look that in no uncertain terms could be interpreted as nice.

"Do tell me, tell us, pretty gal." The faint glimmer of something amused shadowed through his expression. "For I seem to be at a bit of a loss. I was so very certain that it was I, but I appear..."

Here, his eyes flicked for a fraction of a second in the direction of Prent and just as quickly returned to her, the thing in his eyes being a thing of scrutiny, spiced with a certain flavour of intent. "...to have been misled."

[Carré Inirial]

Right.

Laughable.

She supposed she deserved it, if she were going to be honest. Deserved the bitter mocking she was so clearly listening for. But while she'd tossed it aside earlier, she did still have her pride. And her pride refused flatly to take all of the blame for the mess they were in.

Carré uttered a sigh that could only be interpreted as bored. An audible and obnoxious sound most women learned early in life as a means to completely annoy the men around them. There were nearly twenty-two years of practice behind that sigh, and the same behind the scathing look she raked Kelly with. He might be older, she mused, but if the popular gossip was to be believed, he hadn't learned anything useful about women yet.

She shifted in her seat atop the stool, sitting up straight as she set aside another empty glass - one that she didn't remember draining. Fingers spent several moments smoothing out her sweater and running through her curls, before sweeping the latter back over her shoulder. As he took a step closer, Carré slid off of the stool and did the same, head tilted and one delicate brow arched.

"You." she began simply, sorting through various alcohol-induced replies and finding that one the simplest to utter. "Its been you from the beginning, you idiot. With my infernal luck it'll always be you and I'll just get the pleasure of having my heart ripped out and trampled on daily." she paused, the last few words slipping out in Alderaanian, and lingering on her tongue.

It was, after all, the point he'd walked away the last time.

Casting a glance at the assembled Rogues, her eyes found Sanis' for a brief moment before returning to Kelly's. Her voice fell slightly and her expression remained even. "Make up your mind, Kelly. You either want me or you don't."

There was, if he chose to see it, more than a bit of distress in her emerald gaze as she pondered his answer. And expected the worst.

[Jamo Jakatta]

Taking a cue from his wing-mate, Jamo tossed back the last of his drink and waved over another, huffing a sigh as the bartender ignored his order in favour of a pretty face and a set of curves. His mood well and truly soured, Jakatta sank closer to the bar-top and shifted a glowering glance between Flipper and the Commander.

“Frellin' women... ruinin' the frellin' night.”