1000 Oceans: Silence

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Silence
Give me release
Witness me
I am outside
Give me peace
Heaven holds a sense of wonder
And I wanted to believe that I’d get caught up when the rage in me subsides
Passion choke the flower
Until she cries no more
Possessing all the beauty
Hungry still for more
Heaven holds a sense of wonder
And I wanted to believe that I’d get caught up when the rage in me subsides
In this violence I am sinking in this silence
In this violence in this silence I believe
I can’t help this longing
Comfort me
I can’t hold it all in
If you won’t let me
Heaven holds a sense of wonder
And I wanted to believe that I’d get caught up when the rage in me subsides
In this violence
I am sinking
In this silence
In this violence
In this silence I believe
I have seen you in this violence you were silent
You are breathing in this violence
I am free







Metallic. White. It didn’t make a difference to her one way or the other; both were common colors to grace her eyes. It had been that way for ten years now. No reason to stop now. Old habits die hard, and hers was very much still alive. It wasn’t as constant a need as it had been in previous years, but she still had her cravings. It was an expensive vice to say the least; a normal dose costing upwards of 9,500 credits. Thankfully she didn’t partake of it too often, but still. Everyone had their own “Little Death.”

For her it was Liquid Silver.



The Rascal King sat silent in space somewhere between Ord Mantell and Ithor; its engines completely dead. Semi-drifting, the yacht gave no indication of any life onboard. Even the runner lights dotting the hull in various places had been turned off. Aside from an occasional burst from a maneuvering thruster to steady itself, the craft appeared utterly devoid of life.



Loklorien s’Ilancy sat at her desk, her office onboard the Rascal King spartan at best. Framed by the painting hanging above and behind her, she looked at the objects on her desk; a thin eyedropper and a single vial that held a silvery liquid inside. Save for a small commset, the desk was otherwise bare.

Leaning back tiredly in her chair, s’Il stared at the paraphernalia on her desktop as a small smile settled on her face. It’s been a while my friend.

In the span of ten years she had come to use the drug as both a means to highten her senses while doing certain jobs, or as a means of just escaping from herself. She reveled in the feeling it gave her, of being able to sense things quicker, to have her reflexes that much faster; even if she was alone and there was no one around. It was just……

It’s a part of me now; I can’t live without it.

Her hand reached out, grasping both the vial and the eyedropper. She brought the vial to eye level, staring at its contents and swishing it gently, and with practiced motions, attached the two pieces together.

s’Il tilted her head back, bringing the eyedropper just over her retina and pushing the small release catch on the dropper, let a few drops of the silvery liquid hit her eye. It coated the retina completely as it was absorbed. She repeated the process in her other eye, and after blinking a few times, set the vial and dropper carefully on the desk; the vial still half full.

And now the wait…

It would only take five minutes for her eyes to make the shift to stark white, but it was five minutes of eternity; an eternity until her need was met once again for the five hours it took the drug to rampage through her body.

Five hours of bliss for her.

s’Il’s index finger twitched.






http://mediaservice.photoisland.com/auction/Jun/20026108817840734557844.jpg

[Taylor Millard]

Millard was softly singing to himself, as he made he way towards Loklorien s'Ilancy's ship, The Rascal King. It had been a few weeks since he'd seen the smuggler, and was looking forward to seeing her again. He'd gotten tickets for the latest opera on Omar Prime, 'Tosca' and was looking forward to seeing it.

His blue eyes, not cold or hard like they normally were, twinkled as he walked the halls of the Imperial Star Destroyer Superior. He was fairly certain, s'Il was sleeping and her psychotic AI- MMU, playing sabacc with himself. The Superior had come out of hyperspace at the rendevous point, finding The Rascal King allready there. After not receiving any hails, the Imperial Grand Admiral had ordered his comrades to pull the ship into the Star Destroyer's hangar bay, where he would meet s'Il himself.

His spotless white Grand Admiral uniform shone white as he entered the hangar bay. His lightsaber was on his body, but hidden from view and in his hands were two rare ice chrysalis' from his last expedition on Hoth.

He came to the ship, then pressed the chime, signalling his arrival to the smuggler captain.

[MMU]

MMU loved it when s’Il took Liquid Silver.

It was during those times that she tweaked his systems, installing and writing new software for him to play with. But he also simply had fun being around her at those times. Not that he didn’t when she was of her normal state of mind; she was always fun to be with (even if she yelled at him for complaining at her).

It was just when she took the drug in solitude, with no job needing to be done, that she was for lack of a better word, a crazy woman.

She’d chase him through the halls, him emitting robot squeals of delight as she played the ‘horrible rancor beastie’ or whatever her altered state of mind dictated. It was an interesting symbiosis between the two to say the least. Through all the hard times they’d put each other into, both had managed to come out of those situations as a closer unit.

MMU loved it when s’Il took Liquid Silver.

And today, she had.





In her first hour she’d already accessed his targeting mains, tightening the accuracy before moving onto his comm array and installing new vox-altering software. Hour two found both s’Il and the little avatar tearing through the halls and corridors of the ship, MMU screaming in “terror” as s’Il followed close behind doing her best impression of a rancor.

His little droid legs moved as fast as he could make them, and he was barely able to stay ahead of her.

So excited was he that MMU didn’t even bother to check his externals, therefore missing the appearance of the Star Destroyer Superior. He did notice it however, as soon as he felt himself hit the deck of the hangar.

A quick dive into the Star Destroyer’s mainframe told him its name. He knew who commanded it, and thought nothing more of the matter as he pulled himself from the enormous ship’s main computers to return to the much more fun and interesting s’Il.

MMU had been given a short explanation by s’Il of the events on Omar Prime; after which he began to relentlessly tease her. He had never actually met this ‘Taylor Millard’, but if s’Il trusted him, then that was good enough for the small droid.

Apparently s’Il was completely oblivious to what was happening outside of her ship, and MMU quickly forgot to tell her what had happened as she continued chasing him. He headed for the main boarding ramp, and accessing the controls as he ran, activating it and lowering it to the hangar deck. It had just hit the deck as the little avatar threw himself down its length, still squealing in mock fear.

His glowing green eyeports caught sight of a man stand at the bottom wearing a Grand Admiral’s uniform.

Going through his memory banks MMU confirmed that it was indeed Millard. All in the span of less than half a second.

The small droid hit the hangar deck and instantly latched himself onto the Grand Admiral’s leg, peering out from behind the polished black boot as he waited for s’Il to appear.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s’Il was just starting hour 3 of her “trip”, her eyes seemingly a sightless white; her retinas completely masked by the drug’s effects.

As she chased MMU through The Rascal King, she watched as he flew down the open boarding ramp.

What the…..we’re in space…..

She skidded to a halt at the opening, and her whitened eyes took in the sight outside.

Her expression changed as she looked down at Millard as he stood at the bottom of the boarding ramp, MMU clinging to his leg. Catching her breath from her exertions, she continued to stare at the Grand Admiral, his face not quite registering in her current state of mind, and her white eyes narrowed slightly.

Damnit, where the hell am…….

Her mind worked feverishly, the drug firing through her as it speeded up both her mind and her body, and she soon realized what had happened; she’d been pulled into the belly of the beast, so to speak.

And then the man in front of her suddenly registered in her memory, and her eyes widened briefly before narrowing once more to white slits as she gazed at him; he in his wrinkle-free and impeccably spotless white Grand Admiral’s uniform and contrasting polished black boots, and her: barefoot and in grey trousers with an oversized button-up shirt sporting intricate designs along the sleeves and lower half.

Still breathing heavily, she turned on her heel, disappearing into her ship.

[Taylor Millard]

"Lok, welcome to..." Taylor's voice trailed off as the smuggler suddenly turned and headed back into her ship. A look of concern came to his face, at s'Ilancy's disappearance. Had she been that angry at him for pulling her ship in? He'd attempted to hail her for the last fifteen minutes. Millard assumed even she had a comm in the refresher.

He cocked an eyebrow, then played the last 10 seconds back in his mind. She'd exitted the ship, taken one look at him with her white eyes then...wait a minute...WHITE?!? eyes?

Liquid silver.

Rage, mixed with pity filled the Dark Jedi's thoughts as he realized s'Ilancy had been doping herself again.

His blue eyes regained their coldness, but it was mixed with a bit of sadness. He still clutched the chrysali, but now...now he wasn't sure what to do with them.

Why does she do this? I've never even seen her drugged, but now...now, I cannot believe it. I promised her I would help her get off it though. And help her I will.

He took one step forward on the metal deck, then noticed the weight on his right leg. Peering down, he noticed the small droid clutching like an Ewok to a tree.

"Hello, what have we here," he muttered as he grabbed the small droid by the scruff of its neck. A slight smile came to his face as he gazed at the wide-eyed, grey skinned droid.

"MMU, I presume."

The smile faded as his eyes grew cold, and his voice harsh, "What...happened...to...her?"

Then, without waiting, he set the little droid down on the deck, and marched into the darkened interior of The Rascal King.

[MMU]

MMU hit the deck softly after being set down by the Grand Admiral, and pausing for a few moments to ponder the man's query, watched in suprise as Millard stalked up the ramp without awaiting an answer.

The little avatar ran after him, following closely on the Grand Admiral's heels.

We were playing!!!!

His glowing green eyeports fairly danced as he trotted alongside Millard.

MMU was simply ecstatic; it'd been over a month now since s'Il had last done Liquid Silver, and now that she'd taken it, he was so happy he could feel his processors almost popping; also another consequence of her last dose, she'd gone into his AI programmed him to have limited emotions.

Of course he'd expounded on the code she'd put in, and it had just sort of taken off through his neural net.

She was bein' a rancor an' chasin' me all over myself!!!!!

[Taylor Millard]

"I bet," Millard grumped as he picked up the short droid again. He sensed something from the droid, which he'd never felt before.

Emotions? What in the devil has s'Il done?

"Look," his eyes literally glowed as he stared into the green orbs of the droid, "If you want to help me, then you'll go back into yourself and help me find her.

"And why, pray tell, does Lok pretend to be a rancor and chase you all over the s-yourself? Is it a side effect of the Liquid Silver?"

He called out into the ship, "Lok! Lok where are you?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She had gone from rough-housing with MMU and thoroughly enjoying herself to frustrated and semi-paranoid in a matter of seconds.

As soon as s'Il had recognized Taylor she had to retreat; to fall back into the safety of her ship. She hadn't expected to see him at all; and especially out here where isolation was no stranger. It was half the reason she'd come to this area of space: not many people tended to be out here which was all the more better for her.

But now that he was here, she had no idea what to do. She certainly couldn't hide her condition; already her hands were getting tremors and her eyes were a dead giveaway. There was nothing she could do.

s'Il made her way to the large observation dome atop her ship, and stopping in the middle of it, crossed her arms to hide her shaking hands and looked up. Instead of endless stars in a sea of black, she was greeted with the ceiling of the Star Destroyer's hangar bay.

Her bare feet shifted beneath her, and she gritted her teeth while trying to take calming breaths. It did little good, and it seemed as though her already racing heartbeat sped up a few notches.

s'Il closed her eyes and waited.

[Taylor Millard]

He heard her heartbeats, then raced to the source. When his eyes laid upon her body, his heart went out to her. As hard as it was to have pity on the woman...he felt it through his anger and rage.

Millard strode the distance between the steps and the standing s'Ilancy, the flowers on the stairs behind him. The Dark Jedi, stood behind her, then slowly, came around her sweating and shaking body, glaring at her as he did.

"Have I, come at a bad time, Madame s'Ilancy? Remember, we promised to meet at this hour. Come along, I will take you to decontamination."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il's head was lowered, her eyes downcast. Was that today?? She must be a day behind. Her mind went over the last few weeks as she tried to find where she'd tripped up, and when she realized it, she cursed. She had planned to be completely clean by the time Millard arrived; s'Il cursed again.

She heard the anger in his voice, his tone and inflections not lost on her even in her frame of mind, and finding it increasingly more difficult to stand still; or as still as her body would allow, she began to pace.

Keeping her eyes on the deck beneath her feet, sheanswered him.

"I'm fine, I don't need any decon, I'm fine. Trust me, I'll be ok; I always am....."

And then she looked at him, her stark white eyes locked with his ice cold blue, and an insane smile found its way onto her features.

"Hell, I'm fantastic; I can take on anything someone throws at me, bring 'em on, I say. I've got the reflexes I can handle the challenge you want someone dead, they're dead."

As if realizing what she said, s'Il clamped her mouth shut. Turning away from him, her eyes fell on the flowers, and her eyes closed tight as she brought a trembling hand up, running it through her hair.

What the hell have I done....?



"........I'm sorry..."

[Taylor Millard]

Millard's eyes flashed, then softed, as he sensed her sincerity.

He kept a stern face, then slowly brought her into a hug, feeling s'Ilancy's body shake as they embraced.

"C'mon, let's get you to detox."

Four hours later

Taylor stood before the bacta disperal system, watching as the bodysuit-clad woman floated while the droid arm ran over her body.

He was still clad in his Grand Admiral uniform, and he nodded as Commander Stark raced up to him.

"Sir, I believe there is a bit of a problem."

Millard cocked an eyebrow towards his first officer.

Stark continued, "A few minutes ago, a small silver droid raced out of the freighter in Hangar Bay A. After we tried to stop it, it disappeared in one of the droid hatches. We are unsure where it is."

The Imperial Gran Admiral, though he was concerned for the woman, smiled, "Let him run. But report any computer malfunctions immediately. Dismissed."

Ned Stark nodded, then left the med bay. As Ned left, a red-robed Imperial Guardsman slipped in behind the Grand Admiral.

"Come to meet the smuggler who made an impression on Omar Prime?" Millard stated, his eyes still on the hovering body.

"Yes Taylor," Thomas said, "I got a message from Tomar and Jaranda. They're interested as well.

"What do you plan to do with her, now that she's in detoxification?"

Millard sighed, "For once, I am unsure Thomas. I am unsure."

It was then, the droid arm slowed its waving over s'Ilancy's body. It stopped, then a hissing sound, revealed s'Il was ready to come out of the chamber.

Taylor walked in, then helped her to a sitting position.

His face was stern, but he still showed a bit of concern, "Are you all right? And what do you have to say for yourself?"

[Tevit Ramastan]

Bang!

Clang!

Whump!

In the pitch balckness of the secondary engine terminal, Tevit began beating on the doors that had shut behind him when he had gone in to do repairs that morning. That was eight hours ago, and he had become quite frustrated, not to mention hungry and thirsty.

A steel bar he had pried loose form a railing held in his paws like a short spear, the Nehantite slammed it forward at the crack between the slidign doors once more, only to watch it spark and bounce off. His arms were tired, and he was about to go mad form the darkness. Taking a deep breath, Tevit wedged the bar into the crack again and pushed hard to pop it inot the crevice, then yanked on it.

To his surprise, a crack of light shone through the doors, and he then reamed harder on the bar like a lever. Heaving on it for all he was worth, the yellow-furred mongoose finally tripped the open sensor, and fell backwards as it slid quickly open. But he was quite fast to be on his footpaws again and dove out onto the otehr side, itno the hallway that seemed blindingly bright after eight hours in pitch black.

"Whew, thank you, Garfife," he muttered as he started off in the direction of the ship's kitchenette, though making a pit stop in the bathroom first. Chomping down a pair of egg salad sandwiched, and washign them down with a bottle of Grape Nehi, Tevit wiped his muzzle on his sleeve and then set about lookign for s'Il. She had obviously taken the ship somewhere, and he wanted to let her know that she had accidentally brought him along. His heavy magnetic boots clunked along the thinly carpeted floor as he went, and out of habit he glanced out the window as he searched for his employer.

"Huh, a Star Destroyer," he thought as he passed by, recognizing the interior form pictures and schematics he had read, then did a double take and his red eyes bugged out. Tevit's heart rate jumped from its normal 65 BPM to nearly 120 in panic, and he dashed off to the armory instead of trying to find s'Il.

Little did he know that this time, the Imps were there to help as he grabbed up an impact rifle, and stuck a blaster pistol into his belt. Taking an extra set of power cells for both, the Nehantite looked down at his watch and then back up to the door. He was about to make a huge idiot out of himself...

Cautiously makign his way to the enterance ramp, Tevit peeked out, and noticed no one nearby. Padding otu as quietly as his boots would let him, the mongoose made his way to an unsusspecting guard, and aimed the rifle barrel into his back. "Where is she?" He asked in a menacing tone.

If there was one thing Tevit dodn't like, it was his friends being abducted. He also didn't like mustard on his hot dogs, but his friends being abducted was a bit higher on the list.

[Taylor Millard]

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about," the mechanical voice of the stormtrooper replied as Tevet prodded the blaster into his bone white armor, "But I suggest you drop your own blaster rifle, and not cause any trouble...scum."

The *click* of multiple blaster rifles behind the mongoose alerted him that something else was wrong.

* * *

Millard still stood over s'Il waiting for her response as she rubbed her eyes, trying to clear her head.

Suddenly his comlink sounded.

"Yes?"

"Ned Stark here sir. TK-529 just reported running into some sort of furred alien in the hangar bay. We suspect it came from the ship. And no...it's not a wookie."

"Understood. Is the situation under control?" Millard placed a hand on s'Ilancy's shoulder, massaging it slowly. Detox tended to always make someone a bit stiff, after coming out of it.

"We're working on it sir. We'll keep you informed."

"Good, Millard out," Taylor kept his gaze on the female, "Friend of yours? And will you be allright?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"I'll be fine," s'Il muttered, still somewhat disoriented.

She'd never gone through a detox program of any kind, and her head spun. Ever since her addiction started, she'd come off the drug naturally, and the side effects had always wracked her body mercilessly. It was never fun, but now, sitting here under Millard's gaze, she much more preferred her method over his.

Detox was not fun.

Her hand went up to the side of her head, putting pressure on her temple in an attempt to alleviate any last traces of of the drug. Yes, she'd been thrown in the drunk tank many times in her previous years, but nothing compared to what she'd just been through.

"I told you what I do," she stated finally, her voice as firm as she could muster after just coming from the bacta. "I'm sorry I lost track of the days; it happens. But I told you I was an addict. It's not like I can turn my needs off with the flick of a switch."

s'Il turned away from him, her legs swinging over the side of the bed as he conversed with the voice on the comm. His hand on her shoulder felt............. she didn't know how to interpret it.

At his mention of a friend, she shook her head. "I don't know who you're talking about."

She hadn't a clue that Tevit had been on The Rascal King; she'd sent him to fix the ventral stabilizer on the Baiken, and that was the last she'd seen of him. There was no way he'd be with her on The Rascal King, at least that was what her mind told her.

Her thoughts went back to the matter at hand.

"Look, I appreciate it if you want to try and help, but it's a little late for that. Even if I don't take it as often as I used to, I still need it."

s'Il sighed. "I like it."

[Taylor Millard]

Millard's eyes closed as he heard s'Il's comment about liking it. The older man let out a long sigh, then reached his right hand to stroke the younger woman's face.

"I know you're an addict. But there's still hope for you," Taylor pulled her face to look at his. Her eyes were back to their normal metallic color, but still contained a hint of white, "Don't give up on me now Loklorian s'Ilancy. Not when the chance for success is right in your grasp. I will not force you to do anything, but I will be here to help you."

The Imperial Grand Admiral pulled s'Ilancy to her feet, slinging one of her arms over his shoulder. The closeness of their faces made Taylor give a small smile. He shifted his head and planted a quick kiss on the cheek, then escorted s'Il out of the med bay.

"Come, let us see who this stowaway is."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Hope? For me? I wish. Success in anything for me is nowhere in sight.

Loklorien Iakyn s'Ilancy
Liquid Silver addict
May her dreams be coated with white.

That's what would be on her tombstone; she knew it. Not 'May she rest in peace' or some other sappy line, but 'May her dreams be coated with white'.

And she was perfectly fine with it. Apparently, however, Grand Admiral Taylor Millard was not. He said he wouldn't force her to do anything, but would help if she needed it.

s'Il began to wonder what exactly it was that was going on in his mind as he kissed her quickly.



As he led her from the medbay, s'Il stopped, pulling away from him as she looked down at herself. "Wait a sec, where're my clothes? I'm not into bodysuits; thanks but no thanks."

[Sejah Haversh]

(OOC- This is Tevit, sorry, forgot to switch ID tags before posting.)

---

Closing his eyes, Tevit vented a sigh of dismay and gently lowered his weapon to the ground, raising his paws above his head as one of the troopers removed the blaster form his belt, and then proceeded to frisk him none too gently.

"That's all guys, really," he protested, but it just ended in himself getting pushed around a bit more. His arms were pulled down behind his back, and his wrists cuffed. All Tevit could to was hang his head and wait for something to start making sense. The fact that he was weaing a "wifebeater" undershirt and a pair of scrubby work pants didn't help his image any, either.

A call came over some of the troopers' intercoms, and Tevit found hismef being pushed up against a wall as some other troopers boarded The Rascal King as if looking for any other 'visitors'. Somehow being trapped in the blacknees he had been before didn't seem all that bad.

[MMU]

MMU was sitting in one of the deeper vent shafts when his internals picked up the presence of stormtroopers marching through his halls and corridors, searching.

A quick command execution shut off all access to s'Il's office, the armory, and the bridge. Other than that the ship was an open book. There was nothing illegal (with the exception of the Liquid Silver, but that was locked away in the office) onboard at the time. The stormtroopers could look all they want, they wouldn't find a thing.

Content that his larger self was safe, MMU went back to the jimmied access panel he'd pried open. He planned on hotwiring whatever he could find. Never had he gotten a chance to really play inside of an Imperial Star Destroyer, and he was going to take the chance wonderful fate offered him right now.

Diving once more into the main computers, the small avatar began exploring.

[Taylor Millard]

Millard got a sheepish look on his face, "I fear the shirt and pants we found you in are still in decontamination. Plenty of LIquid Silver spilled on it earlier. We will have to return to your ship to get more clothes. Which we can do now."

It was then the Medical Bay Lights flickered, causing the blue emergency lights to turn on, then off, as it did so.

Taylor's face held a puzzled look as a comlink soon appeared in his hand.

"Ned what happened?"

"We had a hack into the main computer. We cut power for an instant while we discovered the information leak. We're sending a team of technicians to check it out."

The Imperial Grand Admiral shot s'Ilancy a look which said, "MMU" as he listened.

"I suggest you send four droids, R5 units, before the team of technicians. They can assess the situation as it goes on. Millard out."

He smirked as he signed off from Stark, "It appears your droid is having a bit more fun than he was supposed to.

"I understand your trepidation about getting off Liquid Silver, but if this relationship is going to work you must trust me. It's far from good for you. I enjoy your company and the breath of fresh air you give me from most Imperials. I want your company Loklorien s'Ilancy, and I fear liquid silver might keep that from happening, if you were to overdose on it."

Taylor steadied the smuggler, then stared into her eyes. They were metallic and unreadable. He smiled, then patted her cheek.

"We'll get your clothes from your ship, then see who was it that claims to know you."

As if for the first time, Millard noticed the Imperial Guardsman still standing there, "And Lok, this is Thomas...one of my mosted friends and bodyguards. Thomas, this is Loklorien s'Ilancy."

Thomas extended his red garbed hand in greeting.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il only stared at the man before seemingly snapping herself from the inner parts of her mind.

"Nice to meet you, Tommy," she said somewhat absent-mindedly, accepting his outstretched hand briefly as she patted him on the shoulder before moving to step by him.

Getting her clothes was forefront on her mind right now; after that she'd be more than happy to talk, argue, bs, or meet whoever Millard wanted her to meet.

She was still coming off the effects of detox, and had to keep a hand on the corridor walls as she walked. Her other hand reached up to brush away a few strands of hair, and she grimaced. This was so different; she'd never been forced off a drug; any drug for that matter, in such a manner. She'd always let it wear off naturally.

s'Il continued her pace, doggedly placing one foot ahead of the other. Her footfalls became more steady, and presently she was walking on her own, without assistance once more.

[Taylor Millard]

The trio walked through the halls of the Star Destroyer, mainly in silence. They made their way to the Hangar Bay, walking towards The Rascal King. It was then Millard saw the Imperial Stormtroopers coming from the ship.

His cold blue eyes flashed as he suddenly walked ahead of the group to the officer in charge.

"Captain can you tell me what in the devil you're doing?"

The Captain's face showed pride with a bit of confusion, "I don't know what you're talking about. The alien we captured came from this ship, we felt it worth checking out to see if there was anything else on board."

Millard's eyes were slits as his anger boiled over, but his voice remained calm, "Captain you are to remove your men from the ship now. The owner is a guest of mine. I suggest you remove your men, before I reassign you."

The Captain nodded, fear on his face, then ordered everyone off the ship.

"Keep them here in the hangar bay, Captain, while my friend makes sure nothing was taken from her ship."

Without waiting for reply, the Dark Jedi led s'Ilancy into the ship alone, then closed the door behind him.

"Lok I apologize for this. Take inventory of your ship and tell me if anything is taken."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Shaking her head, s'Il began the walk to her room. "I know they didn't take anything. MMU would have done something if his internals had picked something like that up. Trust me."

s'Il led the way through halls of The Rascal King, it's simplistic interior easy on her eyes. It was a good-sized ship, and s'Il had done a fair amount of customization to it; she took care of her "baby."

She strode past her office, not even bothering to give the closed and locked door a glance; her eyedropper and vial were still sitting on her desk, and she didn't need Millard in there to confiscate them.

Her bare feet hit the thinly carpetted deck with a steady patter as she neared the door to her room. She hit the release switch, and the door whisked up to reveal the same simple design clearly evident throughout the rest of the ship.

Turning to Millard, she looked up at him and said simply, "Wait here."

And with that she disappeared inside.

Five minutes later the door opened, and she motioned for him to come in. Now out of the bodysuit, she wore a pair of much more comfortable grey trousers; opting to let the suspenders dangle around her hips, and an oversized black button up sporting a picture of some famous holovid actress with black hair wearing a leopard-print bathing suit on the back of it.

She sat on her bed, reaching down to pull her boots on.

[Taylor Millard]

Millard smiled at s'Il's relaxed look.

She may not enjoy dressing up, but she looks good in almost everything.

"Comfortable room," he observed as he sat down next to her on the bed, "And equally comfortable outfit I assume.

"I fear the one thing I will have to ask for is your vial of Liquid Silver. I know you have cut back, but I still would like them."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"I thought you said assumption leads to failure," was all s'Il said, latching the buckles on her boots before sitting back up.

She looked him square in the eyes. "And in answer to your question,, the answer is no."

[Taylor Millard]

"I was not assuming I would receive your vial of Liquid Silver, but in my experience, on matters such as this, it is easier to ask than to take."

He matched her stare with one of his own.

"Now you are the one assuming."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il snorted as she gazed at him. "Well, you asked."

Leaning across him to open the drawer of her nightstand, she pulled out a vial. It was empty. Last month's dosage.

"Here," she said, placing it on the top of the nightstand before straightening back up. "You can have this one. I certainly don't need it anymore."

[Taylor Millard]

Millard gave a snort of his own, "Very well Lok, I will take this one."

His right hand took the vial from hers, lingering just a bit on s'Ilancy's hand.

"So tell me, how have the last few weeks been? Did you cause that general mayhem you were hoping to cause?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il stood. "They've been fine. I got a few things done that I needed to take care of."

At his reference to her 'general mayhem', she made her way to the otherside of the room where a chest sat, and opening it up, pulled a small burgandy velvet wrapped bag out.

"Yeah, things went fine; I got what I wanted."

Tipping the bag up, she let the object inside fall into her hand, and she tossed it gently through the air; light refracting and reflecting beautifully off its contours and edges as it sailed through the air so Millard could catch it.

"That look familiar?"

[Taylor Millard]

Millard studied the diamond as he caught it.

"The heart of Girac. Rumored to have been commissioned by the great king of Ryloth as a gift to a woman he cared about. Congratulations."

The diamond refracted the light, casting a small rainbow light on s'Ilancy's face.

"I trust the modifications you made on your suit worked well? No Force Users around to break up your theivery?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Another snort; but this time s'Il also gave a small smile.

Lowering herself slowly back onto the bed next to Millard, she let a long sigh escape her lips. "No such luck, sorry."

s'Il leaned back, laying down as her hands folded together and came to rest over her stomach. She groaned and her eyes closed as she attempted to relax herself.

"Could you do me a favor next time and just let me come down naturally," she asked, her eyes still closed. "Of course that's even considering you're around when I do this, but still."

One time in detox is more than enough. Give me a natural downer any day.

[Taylor Millard]

"If I am around next time you are on Liquid Silver, I will let you come down naturally," but Millard did not say where that would be, "But if I see you overdosed, you will be brought down by artificial means."

He set the diamond on s'Ilancy's hands, then brought his face close to hers.

"Why? Do you want to come down naturally?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She opened a single eye, staring at him.

Gotta love that lack of depth perception.

"Why a natural downer? Well, for one it isn't as harsh as detox. I mean, yeah, it can tweak you out. LS is great at doing that; paranoia, tremors, the works. But the thing is, it goes at a certain pace that I can handle.

"Detox flushes it out so quickly and thoroughly that it's worse than coming down naturally. Something akin to beating your head on the wall to try and get sober; and I've done that too, might I add. It doesn't feel very good."

Her eye closed once more. "As for overdosing; I may be a reckless nut when it comes to some things, but LS, for me, is completely different.

"Think of it like this: you take care of the men under you to the best of your ability, taking responsibilty in ensuring their safety. I take care of my addiction to the best of mine, and take the responsibilty to make sure I get my doses just right."

Both eyes opened then, but only slightly and she gazed at him. "Does that make sense to you."

[Taylor Millard]

"It does," Taylor nodded, running his hand on Lok's cheek, "Does not mean I agree with it. But I understand it."

He lay on the bed next to her, then slipped his arm around the smuggler's shoulder.

"Your computer, MMU seems to enjoy you on Liquid Silver. Any particular reason why?"

Taylor turned his blue eyes so they could gaze upon s'Il's barely opened eyes.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il had to smile. "I don't know really. It might be because I tweak him out, upgrade his programs, and mess around with his peripherals. It's actually quite a fun thing to do when your heartrate is three times as fast as it should be.

"And as much as I yell at him at times, he's pretty much the only person I call family with the exception of my sister.

"He's a good ship though; tends to get into a lot of trouble, but he's got a good if not strangely unique set of processors in his head."

s'Il's hand closed around the diamond Millard had returned to her. "I usually tend to prefer his company over other people as it is."

[Taylor Millard]

"Interesting," Millard stared up at the ceiling of s'Il's ship, "I wonder, why is that? Have you found people that tiresome to deal with? That they tend to betray your trust?"

His eyes got a faraway look, "If so, why are you here? With me?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il was silent, digesting and mulling over his questions.

Regardless of his actions earlier, in placing her in detox, she was gratefull for the closeness of his body; the companionship he was seemingly extending to her. It had been a while since she'd simply laid down next to a warm body.

She turned her head ever so slightly so that it came to rest on the edge of his shoulder, and reaching a hand up, tapped the rank insignia on the breast of his white uniform with a fingernail. In the silence of the room, the dull tunk seemed almost deafening to her ears

"This, and the status it implies, along with others of its immediate and outlying social circles for the most part, piss me off. Not many people like me enjoy the things I enjoy, and when I meet those of supposed 'higher breeding' than me, they automatically brand me as being some low-life who steals art to make a quick credit."

s'Il paused, trying to think of how to word her thoughts, then went on. "And when I do meet those kinds of people who do give me the time of day, they try to change me to fit their ideal." She sighed. "That's what happened with Khendon. I like being who I am and doing what I do, regardless of how dangerous people tell me it is.

I mean, cripes, do they think I don't know that? Do they think I'm stupid? Hell, I know LS isn't a good thing, but I like it, and I'm not afraid to admit that I like it. Just the fact that I'm willing to put up with the adverse side affects should say something to how much I like it.

"But on the other end of the spectrum, there's not to many people who actually are in the same sort of work as me who have somewhat the same work ethics, I guess you could say. Yeah, all of us are dirty goods, there's no denying it; but it's how things get done that matters to me. There's only a few people who I've seen operate the closest to how I do; Sanis Prent, my sister, and Blake Hawke being most of those few.

"I just don't understand why I can't seem to be allowed to have a foot in both camps."

s'Il released a breath. "And MMU, well, the thing about him is he's so innocent. He may be a higly advanced starship, but he's still very naive about things; I guess that's why I like to spend time with him, I don't know."

Her eyes fell, and she breathed in his scent, the smell of his uniform, his very essence it seemed.

This is Taylor Millard, this is what he takes pride in being a part of and strives to excel through its ranks. 30 years is a long time to be a part of the same thing; it's certainly something to be said about the character of a man who is so dedicated to his cause.

"I half expected you to get tired of me by now, honestly. Most people do when they find out I like living the way I do and I don't drop everything in my life to be by their sides.

And I guess that's why I like being with MMU; he doesn't expect me to do anything, and he's always so happy when I fix him or upgrade him; since I wrote him an emotion program, he's been going insane, expounding on and adding to my original coding, and I take pride in that."

s'Il bit her lip, her mind working through all that she had said. "I hope that answers your questions; if not, I don't really know how else to explain it."

[Taylor Millard]

"I've done some thinking of my own, and yes that explains the question," Millard said as pulled her abit closer.

"You are who you are, no mistaking that. You believe what you believe, and I honor that. I do not agree with what you do, and may never. But you have shown on a regular basis, there is more to you than just an art thief.

"When we first met, I was interested in why you were stealing that particular piece of art. You had a reason and I wanted to know it. Do I consider you less than me because you smuggle and take things? No, you have a job and you're doing it. If I am a bit hypocritical because of my views on the New Republic and the Jedi then so be it. They're doing their job, I'm doing mine."

He took a breath, then closed his own eyes, "Do not expect me to force you to dress up in a dress and drink champagne. I attend most social gatherings by myself. The last time I had a 'date' it went rather horribly wrong- the girl was kidnapped and rescued.

"Your dedication is something I admire. There have been times mine has wavered, times I have thought of myself before my job. And it has hurt me, in the long run. "

Taylor kept his eyes closed, "I hope you understand that and it does not change your opinion of me, whatever that way be. You are who you are, I will not force you to change- although I find you a wonderful person to be around when you're not on LS. But it is your choice, not mine."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

A silence; the sound of breathing. It was peaceful and s'Il fairly wallowed in it. "Thank you," she said quietly, bringing up a hand to run her fingers gently through the hair on the side of his head.

She already knew what she thought of Grand Admiral Taylor Millard; and he had nothing to be nervous about. Just the fact that he professed to not force her to change seemed to draw her closer to him; here was a man who appeared to want her company regardless of what she did.

A few more minutes passed by, and s'Il presently hefted herself up, using the momentum to rise to her feet. Reaching down, she grasped Millard by his hand and tried to pull him up.

"Come on, we should get outta here," she grinned widely. "The stormtroopers are gonna start spreadin' rumors, and then I'd have to lay my smack down. And I don't like doin' that if I don't have to.

"It's bad for my 'petite-flower-of-a-woman' image I try to put forth," she finished sarcastically.

"Besides," her eyes held a glint of laughter in them, "I think I know who my stowaway is; though why he's not fixing my other ship like I told him to I'll need to find out."

[Taylor Millard]

Millard smiled, then stood up. He walked the distance between Loklorien and him then pulled her to him.

"Your 'petite-flower-of-a-woman' image?" Taylor smiled, "I suppose this means you won't want to have the guest quarters next to mine."

He began ushering s'Ilancy out of her own ship, linking his arm with hers as they walked. Before s'Ilancy pressed the button to lower the ramp, Taylor pulled her to him, and kissed her full on the lips. They held it for several minutes, then let it go.

"Come on, let's go find this stowaway."

The two walked down the ramp back into the Superior. They made the trek to the brig, where Millard greeted the officer in charge with a tight nod.

"Officer, release the prisoner."

[Tevit Ramastan]

Grumbling, Tevit watched as his brig cell door was opened, and he was none-too-gently led out. "Hey, leggo, I can walk myself, sheesh..." He snapped at the troopers that escorted him, thoguh they paid little attention.

Rubbing his arm where they had grabbed him, Tevit shook his head and then looked up as he came out onto the main walkway and saw s'Il standing there with an Imperial of high rank. His red eyes went a bit wide, and his muzzle opened in a nervous pull. "Um, hi, s'Il. You, um, come to get me?" He said sheepishly.

[Taylor Millard]

Millard nodded to the furred alien as he was released.

"My apologies for your imprisonment. I trust you are an associate of Madame s'Ilancy?"

His cold blue eyes narrowed as he stared at Tevit, "If so, why did you not reveal yourself when we picked s'Ilancy up? Are you wanted anywhere?"

[Tevit Ramastan]

"Madame s'Ilancy?" Tevit asked in joking disbelief, "Man, what's with this guy?" The mongoose then joked to his employer.

But the armed troopers all around him seemed to kill any humor in the atmosphere, so he hooked his thumbs into his pockets glumly and let his tail twitch slighly around his ankle. "Sorry pal, next time I find myself inside an Imp Star Destoyer, I'll make sure to wear my greatcoat and come out handing out business cards." Tevit mocked him, then shook his head. "Besides, I didn't know where I was, got locked in the secondary engine maintenance room for the last eight hours, and nobody bothered to tell me we were meeting up with a galactic cheese wedge."

[Taylor Millard]

One of Millard's brown eyebrows raised as he stared at the mongoose, "From what I've been told you came out with a blaster and tried to attack one of my men. That was not very smart."

Taylor nodded to the stormtroopers and they left the area where the trio stood. Thomas remained behind though, standing off to side, pretending not to listen as he guarded the Imperial Grand Admiral.

"As for wearing the greycoat, as you can tell, your employer is quite able to wear her own clothes while on board. However, a business card would be welcome."

Millard then nodded in greeting, "Grand Admiral Taylor Millard, and you are?"

[Tevit Ramastan]

"Oh, and you'd come out and hand them dasies, I guess?" Tevit retorted, then shook his head, "Besides, I didn't try to attack them, I just threatened a little. Ain't no problem with that in the Empire, you've been doing it to my homworld for going on thirty-odd years, so I just kind of figured it was okay."

Okay, that was enough snide humor, Tevit could tell that it wasn't going to get him too far, but had to show his discontent for having been locked up. "Sorry, name's Tevit Ramadon. No official titles or ranks or anything. I'm s'Il's mechanic, a grease mongoose, you might say. Now, might I ask what we're doing here?"

[Taylor Millard]

Millard's other eyebrow raised as he heard Ramadon. This was an alien he hadn't recognized, nor did any information he had currently show what sort of creature the mechanic was.

"Loklorien was meeting with me Mr. Ramadon. We have, recently, become...acquaintances," he let a smile come to his face as his eyebrows lowered, "We were scheduled to meet here, for a few days while she and I enjoyed each others company. When we discovered her ship adrift, the Superior brought it in as was the plan from the beginning.

"That is why we're here right now."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il stepped forward, placing herself between the two men and thumped Tevit on his sternum.

"Slam your teeth, both of you," she stated, though it was made more in amusement than anything else. "For crying out loud you're arguing like a married couple."

s'Il thumped the mongoose once more with her knuckles in the same spot.

"And you; you know why I come out here," she started, referring to her monthly trips to the middle of nowhere so she could take LS in solitude, "I thought I told you to work on the Baiken; what were you doing on the King?

And why the hell did you pull a blaster on a stormtrooper.... in a star destroyer?! Cripes, they're lousy shots, but you should know better than that."

Crossing her arms, s'Il waited for an answer. She wasn't upset, truthfully, but she did want to know how Tevit had somehow managed to lock himself in a secondary engine maintenence room without her or MMU finding out.........

She snorted. MMU was probably the one who did it. That little villain.

Looking up at Tevit, she awaited his answer.

[MMU]

After being shooed away from his 'project' by the R5 units, MMU wandered deeper through the maintenance ducts and vent shafts. His eyeports glowed in the dim lighting as he made his way deeper into the guts of the Superior

As he walked, his internals registered that Tevit had been able to get out of the engine maintenance room, and if the little avatar could smile, he would have. It was one of his favorite jokes; locking the poor Nehantite in a room until s'Il yelled at him to quit bugging Tevit.

Spying an access panel, he scampered up to it and pried it loose. His eyeports took in the circuitry, and extending a small hand, let a thin cord shoot out from the wrist and embed itself into an open jack.

MMU dove into the computer like a madman, speeding through file after file and skimming many of the standard protocol programs outlying the much more 'tasty, gooey' center. His exploration was performed with the most nnocent of intentions; if he tripped certain programs, then oh well; he hadn't been trying to do anything but look around, in essence.

Shortly he stopped at a particular program and set of data storage nodes that seemed interesting, and 'settled' himself in for a nice long read.

[Taylor Millard]

On the bridge of the Superior Ned Stark noticed the problem. Someone or something had hacked the computers again. They were reading non-classified files, but it was still rather suprising. To his knowledge, all of the travelers who had been on the ship Millard had picked up were in the Brig with the Grand Admiral himself.

"Keep watch over what files are being accessed," he ordered the bridge officer, "If he hacks into anything classfied, inform both Admiral Millard and myself."

In the brig Millard smirked at s'Ilancy's 'married couple' crack. If there was one thing in particular he liked about Lok it was her straight forwardness and sarcasm.

"Yes how did you get locked in?" he repeated s'Ilancy's question with a bit more formality.

[Tevit Ramastan]

As if to dismiss Taylor, Tevit wasted a moment by tugging up the waist of his pants as they began to slip again--he wasn't wearing his toolbelt--and then scratched his nose before replying, "Oh, I just thought it would be fun, actually; get soem poeace and quiet, no biggie."

Smirking he then explained, "the Baiken's done, except for the paint, and I remember reading some funny power emission readings comign form that engine in the King, so I decided to check it out. Fifteen minutes after I go in, I'm done, but when I hit the door switch, the lights go out, and the door is locked. Then you take off, and I get stuck in the dark, and I'm pretty sure that a small, coffe-can head lookin' avatar had something to do with it. That good enough?"

Folding his arms in a relaxed position across his chest, Tevit raised his eyebrows matter-of-factly at Taylor, and then looked to s'Il. "Oh, and the last time I was on on of these things, the only way back off was with a blaster. Sorry, I don't have the grandest impression of the Empire."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il rubbed her eyes. "Quit being a smart@$$, Tevit. This is a little different than usual; that and you're not in a stolen ship that I got blamed for stealing."

J'ktal was right; Tevit does have a tendency to be hot-headed and run his mouth. Of course I do too, but hey.

"You know what, I'm not even going to argue with you on this. It's not worth my time. You did something stupid; end of story."

Turning, she strode past Millard and headed back the way they'd come. The detention block of an Imperial Star Destroyer wasn't on her current "places to hang out in" list.

[Taylor Millard]

Taylor followed the smuggler, with Tevit behind. They marched along the halls of the Superior Millard nodding to officers as they passed by. A few were rather shocked to see an Imperial Grand Admiral in the company of 'ruffians' but a glare from both s'Il and the cold blue eyes of Millard and the troopers went silent.

The quartet entered a lift, making their way to another level on the ship. Millard ushered Tevit to a smaller quarters, still servicable but not the best on the ship.

"Here you are Mister Ramadan, quarters complete with a refresher," he nodded as he showed the mongoose the quarters.

They were indeed smaller, but larger compaired to most troopers quarters. A single bed was off to the right, with a low table, chair and desk to the left. A light signified where the refresher was.

"You will meet us on Deck One at 1800 hours Mister Ramadon," Millard smiled, "There we will have dinner, and discuss how to get you back to your homeplanet.

"Are there any questions?"

[Tevit Ramastan]

Stepping inot his spartan room, Tevit looked it over and the turned back to Taylor, "Just one question: What if I don't want to go back to my homeplanet? I don't live there, I live at s'Il's base. I'll be quite content to stick around until she heads back home."

Tevit wasn't really trying to be a pain in the rear, but it was coming out that way. In the back of his mnd, though, thoughts of the refresher were creeping up on him, and he felt that using it soon would be a very good idea.

[Taylor Millard]

"That is up to you Mr. Ramadon," Millard kept his pleasent tone, although he was slightly irked, "If you do not prefer your homeworld then I can send you there in the Rascal King, and I can drop off your employer there later on."

He turned to s'Ilancy and gave a slight smile, "That is, if your employer agrees to it."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il nodded absent-mindedly.

"Yeah sure, fine with me, though you don't need to drop me off anywhere. MMU'll come and get me. But I do need to get a few things from my office and quarters first if I'm going to be staying here."

She ran a hand through her hair, pulling back her bangs from her face. It did no good however, as they only went back to their previous position.

"I don't know where MMU is though," she finished, "I should probably go find him so he isn't stranded here without his larger half."

s'Il look up at Millard with a smirk. "Unless you don't mind him around."

[Taylor Millard]

"If the droid does not put a virus in the Superior's system then no," he returned the smirk as the two began walking away from Tevit.

"Unless you think he's too much of a risk. Then I can find him."

Assuring himself no one was around Millard pulled s'Ilancy into an empty corridor, then gave her a kiss full on the lips.

"Forgive me, I was looking forward to do that all trip. Now...shall we go find your computer AI?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il looked up at him with raised eyebrows. "Pretty un-Grand Admiral-like, wouldn't you say," she quipped, then reached up, and standing on her toes she planted a quick kiss on his cheek.

"I can find MMU easily from The Rascal King, so we can do that while I get my things."

Still smiling, she stepped back a little so he could lead the way back to the hangar.

[Taylor Millard]

Millard led her back to the hangar, casting a gaze over the clean structure as he did. The two walked back into the Rascal King the Dark Jedi again looking over the ship with interest.

As s'Ilancy stood at the computer, Millard slid his arms around s'Ilancy's waist then kissed her neck and bit lightly.

"How long has The Rascal King been in your possesion? It is the type of ship I have not seen for a long time. It appears you keep it in top shape as well."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il smiled, her eyes closing as she felt his teeth gently nip at her neck. Reaching her arms up behind her, she wrapped them around his own neck and leaned back into his body.

It felt good to be close to someone who wanted to be with her and share her time.

Presently she twisted around in his grasp so that she faced him. "I take care of my ship because it's my home; I keep it clean and devoid of extraneous things that take up space and that frankly, I don't need."

A smile. "I remember you said you like to fly; I've got something you might want to see. Of course you don't really have a choice since we have to go to the bridge as it is so I can call MMU."

s'Il's grin didn't move as she stared up at him.

[Taylor Millard]

Millard leaned forward and kissed her lightly. He broke their embrace his hands lingering on her waist.

"What is it you wish to show me?"

He began following her as s'Ilancy led him to the bridge.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Typing in a swift series of numbers on the keypad outside of the bridge to override MMU's lockdown sequence, s'Il waited as the door accepted her codes before opening, and she stepped onto the bridge.

It was here that most of the modifications to her ship had been made. She'd gutted everything, cutting down the needed crew number from 5 to 1. All the seperate stations had been removed, and resting gracefully in the center of the bridge towards the front sat the pilot's chair.

It was strange yet gracefull, almost a seperate entity from the ship itself. Dual control throttles jutted up and out of the sides, and two grooves for one's legs ran down the elongated nose of the chair. A hub rested in the center, containing the ship's comm and defense systems.

s'Il had lined most of the bridge with remote optical viewscreens, and the result made it seem as though one were surrounded by the stars. Though now, with the Rascal King sitting in the hanger of the Superior, all that greeted their eyes was the interior of the bay.

Flashing Millard a carefree grin, s'Il hopped up onto the chair with practiced ease, sliding down to fit comfortably in its contours as she reached forward to run her fingers along the touch-sensetive screen of her comm display.

"I thought you might like this; it took me 6 months to put together, but it's been worth it." She patted one of the throttles. "When you mentioned your love for flying, I didn't really think of this until just last week. It makes flying this ship so much more exhilirating; I'll have to take you out one of these days, let you try it out."





http://mediaservice.photoisland.com/auction/Jun/20026198588664374183631.jpg



ooc: thought I'd put up the pic; it's so damn hard trying to explain how the thing looks.

[Taylor Millard]

Millard smiled, "Impressive. I'm very impressed, Loklorien. A work of art indeed."

He pulled a comlink out of his belt, "Bridge this is Millard. Release the Rascal King out of its moorings. We're taking it out for a bit."

"Yessir"

Taylor looked at the suprised s'Ilancy.

"We have all the time in the galaxy, Lok. As long as we do not go into hyperspace, we can enjoy the area around the Superior.

" Come, show me what you wish me to see."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il stared at him, not really knowing what to say. "Well, uh, I was thinking about waiting until there was a planet around honestly....."

And then she smiled.

She gripped the throttles as the King was released, and she felt a satisfying shudder as her ship broke free and the repulsors kicked in. She kept the craft hovering for a few moments and looked up at Millard, a sly grin on her face.

"You might want to hold on to something."

As soon as he'd gripped the back of the chair, she pulled the throttles in and up, and the ship simulated a freefall descent; as if there'd been gravity, and it dropped from the hangar like a rock, disappearing from view into space.

She let it go on for a few seconds, then leveled the throttles out.

The Rascal King came to a halt below the Star Destroyer; its massive underbelly visible all above them with the help of the optical viewscreens.

Angling the ship up, s'Il brought it into a gracefull climb over the hull of the Superior, intentionally cutting a few corners close just for adrenaline's sake; Her hands manipulated the throttles like second nature.

"You know, you don't have that shabby a ship yourself. Not my style to tell you the truth, but whatever gets the job done."

[Taylor Millard]

"That is true," Millard nodded, pleasure on his face, "I prefer the cockpit of a Missile Gunboat myself. The manuverability is much easier on it."

He gripped the chair, closing his eyes and breathing deeply. He felt it, the rush of being in the cockpit. The thrill and the adrenaline of it all. It was a pleasure to him.

"I have not felt this in a long time, Lok," his blue eyes glowed in happiness, "I must say, I must take the time to enjoy even more the finer things in life."

With that, he pulled her from her seat, using the Force as additional strength, then pinned her on the floor- making sure not to hurt her. Laughter in his eyes, Taylor leaned down setting his face as close to the smuggler as possible, without actually touching.

"Don't you agree?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Utter surprise crossed her features as he pulled her from her chair, and she put up only a minimal fight as he pinned her to the deck.

"Um, I guess so," s'Il replied, just a little confused as he held her down, his face a hair's breadth away from hers. She gave him a somewhat bewildered smile as she gazed up into his blue eyes, almost lost.

She felt her heartbeat; felt it quicken its pace just a little bit.

"So, uh, you haven't felt this way in a long time, eh," she mused after a minute's silence of staring him in the eyes, "When was the last time you felt like this?"

[Taylor Millard]

It was a good question, and took him back abit. Millard released his grip on s'Ilancy rising up to lean again the bulkhead. He'd dated a few people while he was younger, none of them to a complete success. He was more concerned with flying and how to get into the military. But there was one...

"A one night stand, really. NOthing too important. The woman was a diplomat from Carida. We met, had dinner, but nothing came out of it."

He stroked her chin, "I did think for a while, my second-in-command was a good fit for me, but she is as consumed in her duty as I, maybe even more. We are friends now, nothing more to say.

"So we are moving into uncharted waters here. Excited?" he inched a bit closer to her, a small smile on his face.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il had to grin, she couldn't keep it from her face as she scrambled back a little, keeping a constant distance between her and Millard.

"A one night stand? I've had a few of those. They're only good for s**ts and giggles though; a night of quick fun that doesn't mean anything except the pleasure of carnal thoughts."

s'Il grinned conspiratorially at a memory. "Of course it's even funnier when you get someone kicked out of the Empire for it.

"And am I excited? I guess," she shrugged almost noncommitally, still grinning a sly grin while still moving back. "I could ask you the same question."

[Taylor Millard]

"It is a situation I have never been in," Millard started towards s'Ilancy again, a small smile on his face, "Thus it is exciting. I am looking forward to seeing how far it goes."

He kept walking towards her, watching as the smuggler ran out of bridge. His hand shot out, stopping just in front of s'Ilancy's smaller face. Taylor turned his hand over, then carressed her face tenderly.

"Oh, you got someone kicked out of the Empire did you. Who was it?" The Imperial Grand Admiral then moved his hand to her neck, still carressing.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il laughed inwardly, closing her eyes as his hand moved along her neck. She felt it pass over her scar, then move back up to her cheek, and she seemingly nuzzled his warm palm, inhaling his now comforting scent.

Strange, how a month ago I was perfectly content to be alone; and now, all I want is someone to be with...

She sighed. For however long he wanted to be with her, she would be happy. She'd burn her bridges when she got to them; no need worrying about them now.

"He was a TIE pilot," she said simply. Yes, the circumstances of their meeting and the night that followed was one she'd never forget, but right now, in the company of the Grand Admiral, she didn't want to think about it.

Opening her eyes, s'Il looked up at him then laid her hand over his and began leading him from the bridge. She wanted to get a few things from her office and room while talking. "So you've never been in this sort of a situation; by choice? or just because it never came up?"

[Taylor Millard]

"It never especially came up," Millard nodded as he followed s'Il from the bridge. This entire situation was new to him. Finding someone whose company he enjoyed, only to discover she enjoyed it as much as he did. It was a situation completely foreign to the Imperial Grand Admiral, and something he was enjoying.

"There never really was the chance. My father was especially certain on that. After he left the Jedi Order to get married, he felt a longing to return. But he was disallowed because of his married state. So he never encouraged my brother and I to date."

Millard cracked his neck, relieving some of the stiffness he'd gotten earlier from working out.

"Tell me, have all your relationships been one night stands? Or was there one in particular which stands out as something you'd never forget?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Not all of my 'endeavors have been one night stands, but a good majority of them have. Not alot of men want to stay with someone who can't give them a child. And then there's the ones who just want to change me into something I'm not; wanting me to stay at home or something like that."

They walked the halls of the Rascal King, and s'Il ran her fingertips along the bulkhead; an old habit she'd picked up years ago. "Growing up, I always had a gang of friends; most of them guys, but there was never any romance going on between me or any of them. I was more interested at the time in jacking credcards and the like.

"But of course I've had those relationships where I thought the guy was the one, you know? Only to be dropped when I finally told him I was barren." she stopped at the door to her office. "It wasn't being filleted that made me this way; I've been like this since I was born."

As with the keypad at the bridge, s'Il punched in another code next to the door of her office, and after a few seconds the door opened.

The interior was dark, and s'Il said a quick, almost indecipherable word in Selonian and the lights snapped on to half their normal intensity. It looked very much the same as it had when Millard had first been in it's confines; sparse, simple, and spacious. The large painting hung on the wall behind her polished wooden desk which was still largely uncluttered; the only things on it being a few hardopies, a datapad, and her vial still connected to the eyedropper.

A swift pace brought her behind the desk, and opening a drawer, she picked up the paraphernalia and set inside the drawer before closing it seemingly in the same motion.

"As for one that sticks out in my memory, no; there isn't one. I wish there was, but there isn't."

She sat in her chair, motioning for him to sit in one of the chairs in front of the desk if he so desired. "I guess I'm unlucky in that respect."

[Taylor Millard]

"I suppose," Millard took a seat, "But then maybe you're not. When you consider the costs of losing people you care about, would you rather have a relationship that matters or not?"

The Grand Admiral stared at the painting, as if he were remembering a few things.

"I do not regret that I have a close core of friends who matter to me more than the world. There is nothing like being able to talk to one of them or enjoy their presence...

"It's a bit different with you though. You are someone who has made a difference quite quickly, as a matter of fact. Something I admire in you, not many people have been able to affect me."

He stared back at the painting, "Reynaldo if I'm not mistaken. Grand Admiral Thrawn had a few of those paintings. The Duo of Lovers is the title I believe.

"You should not change for anyone, Loklorien s'Ilancy," Taylor's blue eyes glowed, "You should be yourself. Change only if you want to change. That is a key to remember."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il sat back in her leather chair, her face thoughtful as she stared into Millard's blue eyes. "Trust me, I won't change just because someone wants me to. I'm a little too stubborn for that s**t. And yes, that's a Reynaldo; though it's Cernunnos and Aurora. I keep The Duo of Lovers at my apartment on Yag'dhul."

She smiled then. "What kind of a difference, if you don't mind my asking, have I instigated within you? I haven't gotten that before; usually it's nonsensical romantic banthas**t like 'you're the only one for me' or 'I never knew what life was like before you.'"

She rested an elbow on the padded armrest, gazing at him with lazy, metallic eyes.

[Taylor Millard]

Millard smiled, "That's one part of you that is refreshing. You are not like some women I know who consider flattery something a man should do constantly.

"And as of right now, we have only known each other a few weeks. It is very difficult to gage whether 'you are the only one for me'. I enjoy your company and wish it to continue."

His own sharp, alert blue eyes connected with s'Ilancy's, "Where our relationship goes from here...we will cross that bridge when we come to it.

"But I will say this, you do matter to me and I enjoy your company immensely."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Her feet stretched out and she leaned back, smiling. "Well, it seems to me that we're at one of those bridges already; though I tend to burn my bridges. A nasty habit, I know, but hell. It's just the way I work."

s'Il would have been fooling herself if she thought he hadn't seen her put away her Liquid Silver, and she knew it was only a matter of time before the subject was once more brought up. She settled herself into her chair, staring at him as she mulled over her next actions.

Damn this crap is too expensive to just throw away; I still have half a vial left.....

With a small sigh she reached a hand out, opening the drawer she placed the drug into, and retrieved it once more. She set the eyedropper on the desk, and held the vial up, caught up in the liquid's silvery beauty as the light was reflected through it. Then, she set it next to the eyedropper, her hand resting around it as she looked at Millard.

"This is expensive stuff," she started, her eyes and expression serious, "At 9,500 creds a pop you can bet why I don't like to fathom wasting it. But I'm going to give you this one."

[Taylor Millard]

"I understand and appreciate you trusting me with this. If this habit is something you wish to be rid of, I can help you, only if you ask."

Millard set his hand ontop of s'Ilancy's, stroking it lightly, "I truly believe if you want to kick the LS habit, then you will.

"It's amazing how something so beautiful, can be so deadly."

He then took her hands off of the vial, and raised them to his lips. He kissed them, then leaned forward, his face inches from hers.

"I thank you again for trusting me."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She could feel his breath, and her metallic eyes locked with his blue. "I don't want to stop it right now, remember that; I'm only giving you what I've got on me because I know that sooner or later it would have come up and you would have taken it by force if need be. You are, after all, supposed to do that, are you not.

"When one in a position of authority finds someone in possession of an illegal substance, it is that person's duty to uphold the law, no matter who it is that has the item in question.

"And I know," s'Il murmured, leaning forward over the top of her desk, "that you pride yourself," she closed the minute distance between their faces, "on adhering to your duties," and kissed him on the lips.

[Taylor Millard]

Millard kissed s'Ilancy full on the lips, then pulled her across the desk. The two fell on the floor, both of them feeling things build up between the two.

The Imperial Grand Admiral grabbed s'Ilancy's hands, pinned them to the floor.

"Adhere to my duty? I fear I have forgotten the binders. My hands will have to do."

He leaned forward and kissed her again, his right hand moving a bit lower than it normally would.

"Does this scar go all the way down?" he mummered between kisses.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il almost melted with his touch, but let out a small laugh. "Gettin' a little fresh there, aren't you, Grand Admiral Taylor Millard...."

She reached up, straining against his hold on her hands, and kissed him again. She felt his hand run over the intersection of her two scars on her stomach.

"That's where it ends; though thankfully the newer one isn't as bad as the old one."

A grin crossed her face as she gazed up at him while he perched over her. "I just can't seem to stop getting 'colored' on with those damn things."

Tilting her head to the side, she gazed into his eyes, her grin settling into a comfortable, content smile.

[Taylor Millard]

"Then I will keep my lightsaber away from you, Smuggler Loklorien s'Ilancy," Taylor smiled as he leaned down and kissed her again.

They were enjoying themselves as they kissed, enjoying the comfort between the two.

Then suddenly, Millard stopped, moving away from s'Ilancy as he did.

"Forgive me," he said, "We are going too fast for my own comfort. Before we go any further, I would like to get to know you a bit more. Then...we can spend more time having some fun."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il propped herself up on her elbows, giving Millard a curious gaze, and her eyes went soft. "You really haven't been in a situation like this before, have you," she spoke quietly, studying him intensely; though her eyes retained their gentle look.

She hadn't thought much of his declaration of never being in such a situation as this; she'd asked why, but it didn't seem to impact her until now, when he pulled away. For a man who was so mighty; to have under his command hundreds, probably thousands of soldiers, a man who warranted respect, he was.... uncomfortable? Nervous? She didn't know which it was; or if it was neither or both. And yet, regardless of the fact it fascinated her.

She rocked up to her knees, crouching as she looked at him. Slowly rising to her feet, she placed a hand on the polished wood surface of her desk.

She'd never had someone want to spend more time getting to know her before, well.... s'Il smiled at the thought.

She reached up and patted his chest lightly, her eyes thoughtful. "No worries. Do what you are comfortable doing. I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to do, or simply don't feel comfortable with just yet."

[Taylor Millard]

Millard smiled, "I appreciate that."

He then came over to s'Ilancy and kissed her again. They embrace and held it, feeling the warmth of both of their bodies in the coldness of the ship. The duo lay their resting, enjoying each other's company for a long while.

Finally, Taylor spoke, "I was planning on going sailing in the next few weeks. I was wondering if you would like to accompany me? We can spend as much time on the water or not. I do hear there are some extraordinary coves to swim in as well."

[Tevit Ramastan]

In his own room, completely oblivious to the soap opera on the Rascal King, Tevit sighed and pulle off his shirt, and then flopped down on the bed to remove his clunky boots. It wasn't the first time he had been in a Star Destroyer, but the last time he had been there with a friend, and the situation had been different.

His boots off, Tevit shucked off his pants and boxers, and then headed over to the refresher for a cleanup. They weren't near as good as real showers, but they worked. Ridding himself of the sweat, grime, and engine grease and dirt in his fur, Tevit felt cleansed and then stepped back out and stretched out before pulling his boxers back on, lest he were beign monitored by some kind of camera system.

His other clothign was still somewhat grubby, so he tossed them int he refresher in the hopes that it would work on them. It didn't. Pulling them back out, he set the wad aside and then sat abck down on the bed before leanign back and lying down. It was only a thin mattress, but it was comfortable after a day in the engine compartment, and soon he felt his red eyes shutting.

If they wanted him to come to dinner, they would let him know when that would be, he reconed, and with that, the mongoose rolled over and tried to get some sleep.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"I've never been sailing," s'Il mused, resting in Millard's arms. Her eyes closed as she settled seemingly farther into his body. "Sounds fun...."

One of her hands snaked its way across his chest to trace the outline of his rank plate.

"Why," s'Il asked presently. "Why the Empire?"

[Taylor Millard]

"To honor my planet...and my family name," Millard said instantly. He'd pondered this his first few years in the Empire, wondering why he was fighting. Darth Vader had killed his father rather merclessly. But then again, his father was a traitor to the ruling body of Balmorra and the Republic/Empire.

Taylor paused, still pondering, "My father went against the government of Balmorra when they said they would stay with Palpatine's government. I suppose I did my own rebellion by joining the Empire, but because of it...my family's name is safe.

"But when I got behind the cockpit of the TIE Fighter for the first time, I knew this was where I was supposed to be. Here...now...with the Empire. Even if I were still a fighter pilot on a frigate, I would be enjoying it. And to return to Balmorra where my family is from, is even more of an honor.'

He hugged s'Il, squeezing her tight, "But this here is an honor too. And a pleasure."

The room was silent while the two rested.

"Why smuggling? Why theivery?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She could feel his heartbeat as she rose and fell with his breathing.

"The challenge, the thrill, the adrenaline. For me, there's nothing like outsmarting someone while at the same time getting something I want.

"That and I don't like to where stiff necklines. Too stiffling for me."

She spread an arm out, indicating her oversized shirt. "As you can see, I wear what I like to wear. I'm not disciplined, I don't obey orders of any kind; what better thing for me to do than the things I occupy my time with now?"

She sighed. "But that's just me."

Sitting up, she looked at him, gazing into his eyes, then offered him a goofy grin as her fingers reached out and slid between the neckline of his uniform and his neck.

"I mean, come on," she grinned, "how do you stand this thing?"

[Taylor Millard]

"I...just do," was all Millard could say, "The Empire is full of officers who are in it just for the glory and the money. I don't care for that. I'm here because I want to be.

"The closest thing to a father I had, with all due respect to my real father, was Grand Admiral Thrawn. He took notice of me when I was rising through the ranks. He trained me, showing me command, and how to appreciate art and culture. For that, I wear this uniform for his sake, and to honor him.

"But then there is the 'other talent'...the talent my real father gave me. It's then that this uniform becomes stifling. I am considering adopting a new name so I can honor both my father's memory and Grand Admiral Thrawn's memory."

His right hand stroked her face, "It doesn't matter to me that you don't follow orders. You're not an officer, you're a woman I'm interested in. And...you're a friend. A friend whose company I enjoy more than others."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il laughed then, rolling away and up to her feet, her loose hair sweeping into her face before she brushed it over her shoulder.

"I oughta meet this Thrawn; seems like a nice guy from what I've heard you say about him. And, aside from MMU, I think you're the only one who's willing to put up with me. I tell ya, I can barely stand myself with all the voices in my noggin."

Leaning over her desk, she opened one of its drawers and pulled out a small datadisk, then turned and hopped up to sit on the desk's surface, letting her feet dangle over the carpeted deck.

With a quick flick of her wrist, she tossed it at Millard. "I picked this up for you the other day, but with all the mess of being thrown into detox it kinda slipped my mind.

"Just a taste of one of my interests; really bad B-grade holovids. This one's Space Truckers. I've got tons of 'em; I love 'em. I don't expect you to like it, but you said you wanted to get to know me and my interests better, so here's one."

She grinned lopsidedly at him.

[Taylor Millard]

Millard smiled, "We used to watch a few holovids when I was in the academy. There was nothing special about any of them, although I do remember one called 'Duckwoth Rodger in the 33 1/4 century. That was horrid, but humorous."

His face suddenly got a bit of an odd look, "Your friend, Tevit, is still aboard the Superior, I suppose we should go have dinner with him at some point.

"And why is it no one normally 'puts up' with you, as you say? You are a nice enough woman to me."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Her grin still in place, s'Il propped her legs up on one of the chairs in front of her desk as she shook her head, laughing lightly. "It's not that people won't put up with me; it's just my way of saying thanks for spending time with me.

"And yeah, we should probably head back."

Leaning back, s'Il pulled a small commset from the same drawer she'd gotten the disk from, and she fit it over her ear. "Oi, MMU, bring us back."

She gave a sidelong grin at Millard. "You behaving yourself over there? You're not getting into trouble, are you...."


* * * *


MMU was firmly entrenched in a mass of wiring he'd pulled from an access panel; happy as he could ever be. He'd already melted a few, well, most of the wires together to create a tangled web of electrical wires, and had even dropped a retriever program into the Superior's mainframe so that he could collect more data at one time. At the moment he was pulling miscellaneous tactical data logs and downloading them to his main computers back on the Rascal King.

His head snapped up as he recieved s'Il's call, and the little avatar wrestled briefly with the wires before giving up.

....um....I'm being good...!!!

He began manuevering his larger self back to the Star Destroyer while going back to sifting through all the defensive data he could lay his little processors on.

[Taylor Millard]

Millard took the communication device from s'Ilancy, a smile on his face. The Grand Admiral knew MMU was in the Superior's computer system, the crew on board had been monitoring his actions.

"MMU," the smiled turned sly, "I advise you to remove yourself from the computer system. In 10 seconds the Superior's autocheck system will send a retrovirus into your system, blocking you off from all available commands, and shutting you down for enough time for us to find you."

A muffled Whazorp came from the avatar and suddently the comm went silent.

"Or was it five-seconds?" Millard chuckled. He then saw s'Ilancy's look,"He's not damaged, only disabled. The retrovirus will not take or destroy any programming of his, it simply knocked him out. He'll be back to his normal self in no time.

"Now, let's go back."

* * *

Ten minutes later and the two was walking from The Rascal King back onto the Star Destroyer. They made their way to where Tevit's quarters were, Millard sounding the door chime.

"Mister Ramadon, your presence is requested in the dining room. I will usher you there."

[Tevit Ramastan]

The door chime startled Tevit into wakefulness, and the mongoose shot up like a rocket out of the bed.

Remembering he had just been napping in his undershorts, the mongoose called out, "Just a second! Be right there!" As he grabbed up his pants and nearly jumped into them.

The tail fly gave him some trouble, but he was able to don them quickly enough, then pulling his 'wifebeater' undershirt over his head and yankign his socks on before ramming his footpaws down into his magtic boots and lockign the clasps shut. A quick paw brushed through his headfur as he ran tot e door, and opened it as camly as possible.

"Sorry about that, boots take a bit to put on, you know." He ticked one of his footpaws for effect, a bit embarassed as to why he had realyl taken so long. "So, um, I follow you, then..."

[Taylor Millard]

Millard kept the smirk off of his face, "Yes, Mister Ramadon follow us. I will lead you to the dining area."

The trio walked to the lift, which took them up towards the bridge. Millard straighted his tunic as they rode, wiping away some of the signs that he and s'Ilancy had enjoyed each other's privacy.

'So tell me, Mister Ramadon," he finally spoke, "What planet are you from? And why do you not return?"

[Tevit Ramastan]

Tevit didn't know how into each other s'Il and Taylor were, abd at the moment, he didn't want to. In his mind it just appeared that she and the Grand Admiral were striking up some sort of deal, and s'Il was just sort of hamming it up a bit to jack up her asking price; she'd probably done it before.

His paws feeling tempted to stick in his pocets, Tevit quelled that urge, and tried to look as good as he could in the grubby clothign he had. Clearing his throat lightly, he replied to Taylor's question a bit too quickly, "Nehantish, and I don't want to talk about why, but that uniform's part of the reason."

[Taylor Millard]

"I wish to know. If the Empire has caused you any harm, let me know," although Millard was rather certain if the Empire had caused harm to Ramadon's people it was because they deserved it.

[Tevit Ramastan]

Tevit was not at all happy with his situation, and the sooner he got out of it, the better. But, he couldn't help but to run his mouth off again.

Hooking his thumbs into his pockets, the mongoose replied, "Well, I said I didn't want to talk about it, but, perhapos we could discuss it over a nice plate of 'You tax the heck out of our imports and exports', and chase it with a cool glass of 'racial opression, and mabe have a bit of "You assassinated political members and out in your own puppets.' " Looking at Taylor, he then sported a plastic smile and said, "Or maybe we should just order order a nice 'I don't want to talk about it' pizza, huh?"

[Taylor Millard]

"I'm afraid pizza is not a delicacy I've enjoyed," Millard put a smile on his own face.

"But I will honor your request...for now."

Taylor paused, breathing in deeply as the lift stopped, "Come, we can discuss this over dinner. I had it prepared especially for us.

"Or would you prefer...pizza?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Oh you're a scream," s'Il grumbled to Millard, stepping past him and out of the lift.

She walked out in front of them, then stopped and turned to face them, crossing her arms and blocking their path.

"If you two want to keep up with your male bonding, then I'll gladly leave you alone and take my food to my ship and eat it there so's to let you continue with your little ritual. If not, then would you both shut the hell up if you've got nothing nice to say to eachother??"

Whether it be Tevit's out and out snideness or Millard's quiet argumentative subtleness, she didn't miss any of it. Nor would she stand for it. As she glared at the both of them, she shifted her weight to her left leg.

"So what's it gonna be? You two gonna apologize to each other and quit your bitching at one another? Cripes, you two are giving me a headache."

[Taylor Millard]

A slow smile came to Millard's face. For a woman whose company he was beginning to enjoy, he was willing to cut back on the Q and A session.

His left hand slowly went out, "I believe I will go for the latter. Truce, Mister Ramadon?"

[Tevit Ramastan]

Though he didn't really desire to be friendly with the Admiral, Tevit knew it was best to listen to his employer.

With a begrudging look on his face, Tevit pulled his paw out of his pocket and shook Taylor's hand witha firm grip, then retracting his paw and hooking his thumb back in his pocket. "Truce." He said, then turned back to follow along. And at precisely thr wrong moment, his stomach growled. The egg salad sandwiches evidently weren't cutting it.

[Taylor Millard]

The three walked into the dining room, Millard ushering s'Il and Tevit to their seats. The food was all ready on the table in four steaming container, each emblazened with the Imperial Logo. The Imperial Grand Admiral removed the cover on one of the trays, then scooped the contents onto s'Ilancy's plate.

It was pasta...bowties in a white cream sauce. A fairly simple meal, but enough for Millard. He did the same for his own plate, then opened a smaller container.

He set the salad on Tevit's plate, as carefully as he did when he put the pasta on s'Il's and his own.

"Will that suffice, Mister Ramadon? Or do you want something else?"