Toxicity and Reporting In

[Aurelias Kazaar]

South Capitol Hotel - Room 228

"Ya gotta be frackin' kidding me. Othy wants o'frackin' status report?!?" Aurelias Kazaar was enjoyin' what he thought was a pretty damn well deserved cigar. Savin' Mon Razien's ass, almost gettin' his own fried in the damn process, Hell frackin' yeah he deserved it. Sure frackin' beat th'sickly smellin' grass smoothie th'Kid was drinkin'. 'Least Birdy'd crinkled her nose at it before takin' a sip or three. Kazaar'd just snorted at it.

Give 'im o'bourbon any day.

"That's what he said." Estelle seemed to be ignoring the dark look her partner was givin' her over th'drink. Probably still glowin' from 'er time with Santiago. Girl was head over frackin' heels for that creep. Frackin' analyst. "He wants a recap of everything we've been through. From the information raid to our rescue of Razien."

Kazaar rolled 'is black eyes. "Th'hell he want it in? Triplicate?"

"Actually." Kid couldn't help but smile. "He wants us all to contribute our thoughts on the situation."

"Frackin' Hell. What th'frack's wrong with 'im? You're th'golden girl, Kid. Ya oughta do it yaself. Tell 'im everything damn thing we'd been though. Oughta appreciate ya advice."

Estelle gave Kazaar a hard look. "Don't be a wise ass Aurlieas. I doubt your reports look are 'See Imperial. Shoot Imperial.'"

Her partner only smirked.

"Written reports are not easily forthcoming from me." Milivikal suddenly announced through another sip of her smoothie. "Tone does not come across in letters. Sounds are...more pleasant."

"It's why we're doing this together." Estelle answered placatingly. She got how Birdy wasn't too keen on writin'. Mainly talking. Hell, why she went by the codename 'Songbird.'

"Damn things make o'lotta frackin' sense though." Kazaar offered through o'puff o'smoke.

That got th'Kid's mouth closed pretty frackin' quickly.

'Nother smirk an' th'ex-bounty hunter slid up from 'is chair. "What? I may hate th'damn things, but it's a frackuva lot easier f'Imps to not know who we are than if we record 'em." He snorted. "Be like frackin' waving' a flag an' saying "Look at me...here I am..."

Estelle was almost in shock "But you just..."

"That I frackin' hate 'em? I sure as shit do. Just love havin' my skin on m'back more than havin' m'voice playing in th'Empire's ears."

He sauntered off towards the bar. "Ya can bet ya ass I sure ain't gonna start it off. Gonna enjoy 'nother drink before I do."

Yeah sure...'nother drink...or four...

[Estelle Russard]

Estelle remained nonplussed. Kazaar's rants were as familiar as air and, in their own strange way, were comforting. For as long as she'd known the cantankerous rebel, he had always had alot to say about the stupidity that was any "higher authority" and how they were a continual pain in his ass. As if he was the only one who felt them a pain, or that he was the only one who even had an ass for that matter. Her lip coiled up in a coy smile for Mili, "Im sure you tuned him out atleast five minutes ago, huh? Me too."

She took another sip of her shake and then pushed it off to one side of the small table, giving herself room to hunch over her notepad.

"I think if we break things down into win/loss catagories, that may go a long way in helping us look critically at our progress so far.

Her smile turned slightly wicked, "Aurelias's continued non-confinement in the brig should probably go on the Win side, dont you think?"

[Milivikal k'Vik]

"Surely. It should count double." She said with a giggle. Kazaar was as good at getting himself into trouble with his command as he was at getting out of trouble in combat.

"Count the death of leads as a loss." Mili added, her voice settled into in a contemplative tone. Estelle tapped the pad several times, making quick notes of which leads had been terminated and how. Unsurprisingly, many had died violent deaths before a member of the trio of spies.

Mili thought about the wins, but outside saving Razien's life, most of the operation has been twisted and difficult. There wasn't a massive amount of evidence to corroborate what had happened. The Empire had done an exceptional job of scrubbing it's tracks.

She found it difficult to concentrate next to Estelle. The trio had not been together consistently, and Estelle had elected to spend much time with Santiago. Mili found herself listening to the woman's breath, her heart instead of concentrating on the jumbled images and sound of assignments past.

[Aurelias Kazaar]

"Hell, th'entire damn thing might be over." Kazaar put in from th'bar where he'd poured himself o'drink. "Empire coulda taken their chips'n bugged out."

Th'Kid gave 'im a look. "You don't seriously believe that do you?"

She gotta smirk in return. "Hell no, Kid. Worth tossin' out there. Empire's pretty frackin' predictable but major assassinations ain't somethin' they've done inna while. An' with their frackin' bureaucracy, coulda changed plans...

"Still." Kazaar's voice got kinda muffled as he slurped 'is drink. "Buncha frackin' goofy crap goin' on. Keep gettin' messages from someone tellin' me t'be careful. Gotten three so far. Most o'em written in o'few codes I recognize. Buncha old ones th'Rebellion ain't used inna while. Frackin' goofy..."

"And your just now thinking of mentioning it?" Estelle's expression matched her voice. She wasn't happy.

"Hey how th'frack was I supposed t'know it'd be something important. First though it was Spenny tryin' t'play o'practical joke but he's too nervous f'that. An' Haman's got his head up his own ass too much t'give o'damn 'bout me. Not after I kicked his ass on Nar Shaddaa (http://sw-fans.net/forum/showpost.php?p=287319&postcount=55). Slimy bastich had it comin' to him."

Estelle wanted to roll her eyes. Kazaar wasn't helpin'. "It might be best to start from the beginning. Get a sense as to what we know."

'Cowboy' shrugged. "Awright fine...Met Birdy first off on Coruscant, on Othy's orders (one o'his best yet). Decided it was time t'take out (http://sw-fans.net/forum/showthread.php?t=18447) o'high rankin' Imp.

"Did o'helluva frackin' job there Birdy." Kazaar gotta small smile for 'is compliment.

"What was after that...didn't we go after o'frackin' Rebel general th'Imps'd gotten o'hold of? (http://sw-fans.net/forum/showthread.php?t=18771) Forl-somethin' or other?"

[Estelle Russard]

"Forlon" Estelle supplied, almost absently. Her mind, lighting only briefly on the rescued General's features, turned immediately back to a rainy morning in Coruscant, where, in a small cafe she and Kazaar were introduced to their new partner, Milivikal k'Vik. The Jedi, an outsider to SpecOps, had been brought into the team because the Alliance ranks had been compromised by a mole. It was hard to know who to trust.

Estelle squeezed Mili's hand affectionately, "The Black Man did us a big favor bringing you along, Mili."

[Milivikal k'Vik]

Milivikal blushed. The flush of pink overwhelmed her cheeks and ears. She looked down at Estelle's hand and smiled a little.

"Aye, it seems to have worked well enough." Mili said quietly. She squeezed back.

"I do wish we had been able to stay together for the whole process. I..." she paused, her words stumbled uncharacteristically.

"...Kazaar and I missed you." She added.

[Estelle Russard]

Estelle continued to hold Mili's hand, smiling brightly and allowing a small laugh. The idea of Kazaar missing anyone tickled the young rebel and Russard was about to say as much, but the expression on Mili's face checked her and Estelle could not quite pinpoint why. She flicked a quick glance to her partner for insight, but Kazaar was unreadable - as usual. He just wore the quirky, scowly, squint Estelle had come to know so well.

"I know, me too" she said turning back to reassure Mili that it was not by choice that they had been separated. "Its good that we are all back together now. I've come to trust you completely Mili, and" Estelle lowered her voice to an intimate level, "I havent forgotten how you took such good care of me when I'd had quite a few too many to drink that time.."

[Milivikal k'Vik]

Milivikal blinked. It certainly had not been Estelle's finest moment. She had been utterly blitzed. Mili had cleaned her up, and deposited her in bed face down, to prevent further trouble.

“Aye, well, I have only been drunk with such disaster once…” Milivikal trailed off, and smiled slightly. She put a hand on Estelle’s shoulder.

“Santiago worries me.” Mili blurted.

[Aurelias Kazaar]

Well that made Kazaar feel all tingly inside. Nice t'know someone else wasn't o'big fan of th'analyst either.

"Guy's o'sleezeball, Kid. Talks with o'fracking forked tongue."

"He seems fine to me..." Estelle got o'small flame in 'er eyes. Frackin' great...

"Think I told ya a while back, Kid why I didn't like 'em. Crissy bolted from ops t'analysing after a mission went bad. Mission where everyone but his sorry ass died. Pretty frackin' important one too...grabbing th'plans to Death Star II. Or part o'the plans, never gotta straight story outta Bossman." Kazaar took o'long pull outta 'is beer.

"Guy's o'snake, Estelle. Sure as hell ain't worth bumpin' knees with 'im."

[Estelle Russard]

The air chilled in the room and a loud quiet trailed the end of Kazaar's comments. Mili felt Estelle's hand go very still against her own.

Estelle had been surprised by Mili's concern, but completely blind-sided by Kazaar's remarks. His crassness she could handle, but his attack on Santiago's character could not go unanswered.

"You aren't suggesting Cristobal threw the mission are you? I seem to recall you having survived ambush where others were lost, Aurelias."
He would not miss that Estelle was referring to Ashley, nor would he mistake the coldness in his partner's voice. "You, of all people, should know the kind of toll that takes on a person and not everyone is cut out for shooting their way back from a loss like that."

[Aurelias Kazaar]

"You're forgetting something." Kazaar's ruddy, tanned face suddenly went 'bout as white as possible as he heard Estelle's comment 'bout Ashley. "I didn't abandon her. She left me."

The two locked gazes, cold fury on cold rage. "Ash'd decided she had to take on a guy who was taking down a bunch of girls. She wanted to do it herself, wouldn't say why, just that she had to do it."

Both Birdy and th'Kid couldn't help but notice Kazaar was speaking 'bout as clear as he ever had. Guttural still, but Kazaar's grammar had become more than passable. "We got word the killings were mainly being done on Kuat. Lotta girls being found dead. All with their throats slit and other parts of their bodies cut.

"Ash didn't give a damn if there was any creds, she just said she had to kill the guy. Didn't say why. Just that the bastard deserved to die.

"And she wanted to do it solo."

Kazaar hadn't bothered shifting his gaze and Estelle kept it on him. Both were pretty pissed and way past the point of no return. "I told her no, not worth it. Whoever the guy was, we needed to work together.

"Wanna know what she did...drugged my bourbon with a sedative (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Sedative_H4b). Put me out long enough for her to get a day's head's start. Last time I saw her alive. After tearing up Kuat for five days, I found her.

"She'd been raped and skinned. There was enough of her face left for me to know it was her.

"That's how she died. I didn't leave her alone. She left me."

His eyes were cold and if he had Force powers he'd be skirting the Dark Side pretty hard right now. "So don't give me a line 'bout abandoning people, Kid.

"I know a bit more than you do."

It was then Kazaar noticed his right hand was hurting. He looked down an' realized it was bloody. He'd been squeezing his bourbon glass so hard it'd broken...no shattered.

The ex-bounty hunter turned on a dime and strode outta the hotel room without another word. Far as he was concerned right now...Estelle could go frack herself. He'd feel otherwise later, but right now...Kazaar didn't give a damn.

[Estelle Russard]

Turning to Mili, Estelle remarked with a steadiness that belied her inner turbulence, "Like I said, some people shoot their way back.."

Kazaar's story was a disturbing one and the horror of it weighed on both women, but Russard's anger at her partner still broiled at her insides and she refused to allow her usual compassionate instincts to temper it.

"If you are still in agreement with Kazaar's take on Santiago, Mili, it might be best if we let this discussion alone for now"

Russard stood, putting some distance between herself and the Jedi to allow k'Vik an unpressured response and to return things to a more formal operative platform, adding with a flatness of heart which she overwhelmingly felt, "I will note both your misgivings about Cristobal in my report to Othniel."

[Milivikal k'Vik]

Milivikal's face showed less color than usual. Her gift ventured deep into the mental realms, and Kazaar had unwittingly shared more than mere words. k'Vik saw the proceedings through his eyes, his nose, his hands, and it was compressed into a mere minute. That emotional wound was raw beneath the armor and bandages.

"Perhaps best, for now." She nodded slowly. This was not what she wanted at all. Mili, normally unfazed by brutality, had been unnerved by Kazaar's surface bleed out. It had been so sudden, the outpouring of raw emotion when Mili had been paying close care to Estelle. She had been watching the subtle misty rain and then was hit by a hurricane of anguish and rage. But worse, of the deepest loss.

She felt cold, and absently rubbed her arms. She stood, shell shocked, and began to cry. k'Vik, who had murdered in rage and revenge, killed for justice and defense had never witnessed such horror.

[Aurelias Kazaar]

Took Kazaar 'bout ten minutes t'find the right place t'get his frackin' hand fixed. Took six damn minutes to get all th'glass outta his fingers...'nother five to bandage it up. His mood was gettin' darker with each pass o'the bacta patch.

Far as he was concerned, it was time t'get th'frack offa Mon Calamari an' off t'the next part of their mission. Problem was: he wasn't on this mission alone and he sure as frack wasn't gonna leave his partners by themselves (even if he wasn't on speakin' terms with one o'em).

Did what he normally did when he was inna dark mood: grabbed five cigars, found o'good bar an' started drinkin'. Was one o'his greatest pleasures when he felt this way. Only way he could feel better was if there was someone whose ass he could kick an' whose blood he could feel stream through his fingers while he twisted th'guy's neck in. Felt frackin' good.

'Course now he was just pourin' down th'bar's best bourbon they had as some kinda bad Quarren jizz-wail (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Jizz-wail) which just made 'im wanna drink more. Why th'frack couldn't they just play some damn Tatooine Blues an' get it over with. Damn hotel...

"Excuse me sir." Young voice pierced 'is thoughts as Kazaar poured th'rough tastin' bourbon. Damn hotel oughta have better alcohol than this crap.

Turned t'look at o'really young girl, Kid was damned sure older than this little one, with pale blonde hair. Damn locks were brighter than Ash's ever was. Had this weird twisted innocence 'bout her. Kazaar wasn't sure if it was o'put on or if it was true.

"Yeh...th'frack ya want..."

Her eyes were almond an' had th'same fracked up innocence the rest o'her did. Even if she was dressed 'bout as alluringly as o'girl her age could. "I...I wanted to know if you needed some company."

Kazaar snarled o'bit harder than he meant to. "And ya think ya can gimme that company."

"S-s-sorry sir." Girl wasn't expectin' that kinda response. Prob'ly thought most guys liked 'em young. "I-I-I was just doing my job..."

Made o'ton o'sense. Kazaar'd had himself o'whore or courtesan or whatever th'frack they called themselves before couple times. One Twi'lek'd been 'specially...flexible at times. Hadn't had one inna while. Wasn't gonna be this girl. Frackin' laws 'gainst that.

"An' ya thought I'd be th'fracking guy in this joint t'talk to..."

"Well...you seemed kind of sad. I could feel it...the way you look."

Kazaar snorted. "Get th'frack outta here girl an' find someone else t'press ya wares on. Ain't interested t'night."

Girl's young face fell but she seemed t'understand. Kazaar'd turned back t'his drink, finishing it off, then got 'nother. After blowin' smoke outta his mouth, he turned t'see she was still standin' there.

"The frack ya want?!? Told ya I ain't interested..."

"I realize that, sir. But I need help...

"You see...he's got my daughter..."

[Estelle Russard]

".....Perhaps best, for now" Mili said.

It was strange, but Estelle felt disappointed at Mili's words, even, let down.

She had expected such antagonism from Aurelias - the man was a walking, cussing Dantooine Cactus who was in an eternal bad mood - who never liked anyone, ever, with the exception of Birdie. But for Mili to take his side in maligning Santiago? That was as unexpected as it was hurtful.

Estelle had realised some time ago that she loved Cristobal. She felt for him the same way she had for James the boyfriend she'd lost and who ultimately was the reason she had joined the Rebellion. Only, this time, it was not the heady and whirlwind emotions of love as a young girl, but the deeper and more strident feelings of a grown woman who now knew a little something about life and the precariousness of what caring for someone actually means.

Mili didn't like him. Worse, she didn't trust him. Estelle wanted to explain and to convince Mili to see Santiago how she herself saw him, but when she turned to give voice to this, her words evaporated on her tongue. k'Vik was weeping.

"Are you alright? Mili, what is it?"

Estelle stepped closer to embrace the Jedi, gently folding her arms around her as light as a breeze in the summer heat. "Im sorry" she said, apologizing as much for the altercation between them all, as for Aurelias and his rough and defensive outburst. "Kazaar is such an old boot" she said softly, her affection and pity for her partner intoned in each word.