Path Paved in Stars

[Citiri Onndri]

Everyone's story has to start somewhere. Some start with a bang, a resounding moment that changes everything. Others slow burn to greatness, taking full advantage of their four or five moments that can make or break a person.
And others... Well...


-roving this Empire Day will be the best yet. Security has been heigh-
-Quetarra player from the cult band Captain Sweeg was found dead last night, only adding to speculation about the downfall of the heavy isotope rock group's-
-No Tam'rai, that is NOT how politics work! This entire thing is a far-
-The Moff declined to comment on the rumor of being seen with fellow former actor-
-Explosions on Corellia, marking yet another day of unrest on the-
-Senate will be meeting-
-Hutts-
-Celebration should be interesting for those unfamiliar with the culture-

A frustrated huff left barely parted lips as Citiri found a channel on the 'net that was finally playing some music. It wasn't her brand, but it was far better than any of the so-called news that had been taking over as of late. The pop singer's voice was grating and modified to make her reach tones no human was ever capable of. Even so, it did little to stifle the rising excitement as Jovan Station came into the shuttle's view. The routes she had taken from her home colony in the Gordian Reach to this point were routine, boring, for both pilots and passengers alike, but Onndri was damn near manic the entire way. After all, everything was new.

It wasn't that she came from so backwater a life as to think space travel was something amazing, not on paper anyway. She was familiar with how it all worked, where the hyperlanes were, what sectors were controlled by what entities, and where you should try to avoid placing yourself at all costs. Though there was a difference between knowing and experiencing and despite a longstanding history of Mirialan's exploring the galaxy somehow Citiri had been born to a family that had been among the original colonists on her planet and once they had settled had decided they were going to stay put. So much so that despite prodding and probing for answers for years, Citiri couldn't even get the name of the last relative that had traveled out among the stars from her parents. Or her grandparents. Or even their parents when they were still around and she had barely learned to speak. It wasn't that leaving was forbidden, or even taboo, it was just... well, frowned upon. Why leave when you could make a perfectly peaceful life right where they were and never get involved with all that Empire versus Rebellion or Alliance or whatever nonsense.

Booooring.

So Citiri had learned and explored as best she could within manuscripts and texts and films and finally, despite the ever present side-eye from her family, had decided on a path that would lead her away from home. A path that would take her to the stars and beyond. Whatever that meant. She didn't really care. All she knew was that she had been chosen, somehow someone had gotten word that she was the best in her class. Granted it was a class of all of ten individuals learning the ins and outs of cryptography and communications, but she was apparently good enough for her professor to put in a word to someone and they had listened or passed it along and lo and behold Citiri had landed a job an actual job aboard a star ship!!

Okay so put all in perspective she was lucky, damned lucky at that, and the beginnings of her story weren't really all that exciting but that didn't stop Citiri from being the first to jump to her feet and gather her belongings the very second the captain had given the okay to move now that the shuttle had docked. The crew seemed less than impressed, which she figured wasn't all that unusual for a few droids and regulars to this sort of thing, but she was filled with bountiful energy that just could barely be contained.

But she had to contain it. Had to reign it all in and try to not literally bounce as she stepped aboard the station. First impressions were important and all that. Which is why she was dressed in the uniform she'd been provided, made sure it was downright pristine and tried her best to look professional rather than the giddy new recruit she really was. Which was so damned hard when there was so much to look at and she felt so small and so lost and - Holy KRIFF what was she DOING? Be cool, Citiri. Be cool; but excited. This is the start of a grand adventure, after all.

[Jaden Luka]

Jaden glanced down at his chrono, peeling his eyes away from the tiny glimpse of space beyond the landing bay mag shield that his vantage point afforded him. Time wasn't nearly as tight as it felt: the Novgorod was being rotated away from border patrol for a few weeks, to undergo repairs, or refits, or resupplies, or some other such re-word that Jaden had honestly zoned out on when Tink had explained it. It wasn't anything critical. The Novgorod wasn't broken, or malfunctioning: the new Alliance was merely trying to be more diligent, servicing its starships before they fell into total disrepair. Jaden had joked about it being a bold and controvertial strategy at first, until he'd discovered that it really was: apparently, having a fully functional military was something that the Alliance Senate wasn't universally in favour of paying for, and it was only by virtue of the corvette's modest size that they had been considered for it at all.

Even though there was no looming deadline for the Novgorod's arrival at the Moonus Mandel repair yards, he still felt some sort of similar impulse urging him towards expediency. Perhaps he simply didn't want the ship to be waiting on him. Perhaps he was still trying to prove himself worthy and competent as an Executive Officer. Maybe he was just worried that Rai'faani was still lurking around the station, and wanted to restore the protective barrier of the cold hard vacuum of space as quickly as possible. Either way he felt on edge. Fidgetty. It was uncharacteristic; or at least, inconsistent with the character he made efforts to portray.

It could have been worse, though. Technically, it wasn't his explicit responsibility to meet and greet new crewmembers. Sure, the crew's integration and wellbeing was part and parcel of an XO's purview, but being the welcome wagon for a new arrival was the sort of thing that it would have been perfectly acceptable for him to delegate - something Murray had eagerly volunteered for, and had been visibly crestfallen when Jaden politely declined. For Jaden though, the meet and greet process was one of the more pleasant parts of his job. He was an envoy on behalf of the Novgorod, an ambassador sent to make a first impression on behalf of ship and crew. Cirrseeto got to be the intimidating Captain that they'd report into later; Jaden got to be the one there with a smile, setting them at ease, cementing the notion that he was someone who could be spoken to, and confided in. Times like this were rare opportunities for him to engage with the officers and crew on a one-on-one basis; maybe that was it, the tiny glimmer of familiarity from his squadron leader days. Time would tell if it proved to be a success, but it was his hope that the right first impression could demolish the kind of barriers that the military hierarchy set out to build between a crew and it's leadership - that he could teach them how to interact with him like a pilot would, before they had the chance to fall into any bad habits.

Today was even better than the normal meet and greet, too. Ensign Onndri wasn't just new to the Novgorod, she was new to the Alliance. Some sort of comms prodigy, with insignia fresh from the box, and a uniform that probably still had all its manufacturing creases intact. Command was sending him a rookie, and he got the chance to teach her how to be cool before anyone else had the opportunity to convince her she needed to be boring.

Carefully, Jaden adjusted his jacket, making sure the Rogue patch on his shoulder looked appropriately spick and span. It did, though he hadn't quite figured out the best way to position his arms so that it was readily visible without it being obvious that he was trying to draw attention. He'd have to figure that one out in-theatre, he realised, as the looming shape of the shuttle he'd been waiting for coasted gently into the landing bay, and settled onto the deck with a thunk. A hand needlessly adjusted a few strands of hair, and silently he cursed the Jovan Station mechanics for not having a convenient reflective surface nearby, before setting off towards the descending boarding ramp with carefully practised strides.

"Yo."

Not a great start, admittedly, but he decided to roll with it, chasing the curt sound with a nod of his head, attracting the new Ensign's attention. She was a Mirialan, with a distinctive cascade of wild hair that made her abundantly easy to spot - honestly, this was shaping up for a perfect score as far as welcome wagon duties went.

"Ensign Citiri Onndri, right?"

He flashed a smile. Not the smile - not yet; he hadn't familiarised himself with her medical file enough to know if she could survive a dose of that much charm and charisma - but more of a low-power, stun setting version thereof.

"I'm Commander Luka, your new XO. Figured I should probably swing by and escort you to the Novgorod - last thing we need is someone from Jovan Station trying to poach our newest talent and lure you into a boring desk job."

[Citiri Onndri]

"They wouldn't dare," Citiri responded before her head could even realize that she had spoken instead of simply thought the words.

"Would they ...Sir?" Nice recovery.

It wasn't entirely the first impression she had wanted to make, but there was something about the way the Novgorod's XO had addressed her in the first place that made it seem, well not proper, but at least okay. Though as far as embarrassing things to say in front of your new boss, she could have done better and a whole lot worse. This was the sort of thing you could write off as nerves and everyone understood that sort of thing. Or at least, that's what she kept telling herself to keep any sort of negative impressions at bay.

[Jaden Luka]

Jaden cringed a little at the awkward honorific. "Oof," he said, with just enough displeasure in his voice for comical effect. "Let's nip that sir business in the bud straight off, before I end up feeling like your dad or your math tutor." He followed up with a faint but visible shudder, for a little extra emphasis. "Commander is fine when you have to; Jaden is fine when you don't."

As Jaden made his position on the s-word clear, his mind ticked over the personnel file he'd familiarised himself with before leaving his office aboard the Novgorod. Well, that wasn't quite true: before leaving his office implied a certain neurotic adherence to being organised that Jaden simply didn't possess. It was more a case of familiarising himself with it as he was leaving, wandering through the corridors of the Novgorod towards the airlock, and then thrusting the security locked datapad into the hands of a helpful passing crewman. Basically the same thing though, right?

The result of Jaden's memory reconnaissance was to reconsider his explanation slightly. For someone with a military background, or at least exposure to that sort of thing through the Empire, Rebellion, a militia, or some sort of military academy, his words would sound a certain way. Everyone knew the stereotypes, everyone would glance at the sleeve of his jacket and know that they were dealing with a rocket jock, and they'd understand that navy protocol and decorum just wasn't his bag. Some would be irritated by it, seeing his pilot ways as an affront to the proper protocol aboard a military vessel. For those people - Arvel Felcher for example - it was a necessary wake-up call: the Novgorod was a long way from a standard military vessel, and anyone expecting that kind of an experience from their new assignment needed a rude awakening - one of Jaden's specialities. Others meanwhile would be set at ease, onboard with Jaden's desire to treat his crew like an oversized squadron. The role of an Executive Officer aboard a starship, he had been told, was to function as a bridge between command and the crew. Each XO had their own way of doing it, and Jaden's was to - as best he could - make sure he was part of the us, rather than part of the them.

Citiri though, she was new. Squeaky clean, fresh from a life of learning and normality. Maybe she was smart enough to lock onto the telemetry he was broadcasting regardless; but if not, it seemed prudent to provide her with a little extra data.

"I'm a pilot," he added in, as a casual offhand remark. "You'll find that with rocket jocks, ground-pounders, and knuckle-draggers - that's pilots, infantry, and ground crew - there's a preference for a lot less protocol and formality. When you're in the thick of it, you can't see someone's rank through their cockpit canopy, or when everyone is covered in trench mud or engine grease. Navy Officers still tend to get hung up on that sort of thing, because their uniforms are always clean and shiny; but as a general rule? If the dots are red -" He tapped at the upward pointing trio of red pips on his rank bar. "- stick with just the rank until they tell you otherwise. Save your 'sirs' for when you're in trouble, or when you really need to butter someone up."

[Citiri Onndri]

"Oh," was all that Citiri could come up with as a response, which didn't do much to aleave that whole bad first impression thing.

She'd felt embarrassed before, now she felt like she should have known better on top of it. Okay, so fair enough she didn't exactly have any actual experience but she'd studied for this sort of thing, the right way to address different ranks and what those ranks were and who outranked who. The over enthusiastic Mirialan was sure that Sir pretty much applied to everyone she would run into since she was the lowest of the low ranks and a total novice at that! How did she get it so wrong?

But no, she refused to let the mix up get her down. Citiri was allowed a few mistakes, after all. Not too many, mind you, but so far she felt she could more than make up for the deficit.

A deep breath and a smile was forced back that wasn't all that hard to work for.

"Any other tips I should know?"

[Jaden Luka]

As those last six words lingered in his ears, Jaden's mind slowly turned to static and white noise, all the willpower he could muster fighting the urge to fire back with the kind of kneejerk innuendo that would have graced the Rogue or Valkyrie locker room. He wouldn't have meant anything by it, of course - they were just words, and the twelve-year-old part of his brain that noticed such things was far more interested in the way it sounded than anything it might actually have implied - but still: how about we find somewhere quiet, and you can start with mine absolutely was not an Executive Officer meeting a new Ensign for the first time sort of comment. He was pretty sure there were even seminars designed to drive home that very point.

Letting the missed opportunity fly over his head like a barely noticed shooting star, he let his attention zero back in on the Ensign herself. There was something off about her reaction, and her question. Not that he was some psychology expert with an extensive knowledge of Citiri and her mannerisms or anything, but a certain level of nervous discomfort was issued to all new officers along with their pips and uniform, and Citiri definitely seemed to have chosen to unpack hers.

"Lets start with: don't stress so much," Jaden replied, with a smile of his own that was much warmer than the one the Mirialan managed to muster. "For starters, it's your first day: you're allowed to get things wrong, everyone does."

He shrugged.

"Besides, this is the Alliance, not the Empire. We may have a bunch of shiny new fancy protocols these days, but you've gotta remember: a lot of the people you'll be serving with started out as Rebels. We're talking people from all walks of life, who started at all levels of experience, cobbled together into something makeshift and then wrapped up in fancy uniforms to try and create some sort of semblance or illusion of competence. All that ever mattered was whether or not you could get the job done, and we haven't forgotten that."

His smile shifted, warmth giving way to something that he hoped was reassuring.

"You're here because you're fantastic at what you do, and we wanted that on our ship. Concentrate on that, and the rest will fall into place on it's own."

[Citiri Onndri]

If ever there was a pep talk that the Ensign had needed to hear, Commander Luka just hit it on the head. Which meant that either her new XO was good at reading people or... Oh my stars! Was he one of those secret in hiding Jedi that has escaped the Empire and was reading her emotions or something?! How amazing would that be!

Citiri wasn't sure how much of a pazaak-face she had, but she hoped it was enough of one so that in the chance he was just a regular Commander type (Was there even such a thing?) he could just take the sudden surge in curiosity as a reflection on his encouragement. Besides, he had said she was Fantastic.

"That I can do." Okay, so it was a bit self indulgent, but she couldn't help it.

Trying to absorb everything was proving difficult; and not just what the Commander was saying, either. There were so many things around her trying to pull her attention away from the man in front of her. Right, time for a refocus!

"So... if it's not too bold to ask." A nod was cast towards the emblem on his shoulder. "Were you really part of Rogue squadron? That's just... Awesome."

[Jaden Luka]

As much as Jaden had deliberately engineered things to draw attention to his Rogue Squadron background, there was a particular glee that came from such machinations being successful. It was something born of ego, which Jaden would freely admit: damn right he was proud of the unit patch that identified him as one of the galaxy's premiere pilots. Scientists got to walk around calling themselves Doctor, tacticians and warriors got to hang medals from their chests and weigh down their shoulders with rank and adornment, politicians got wealth and power and all that jazz - and pilots? Pilots got to be smug about it. That was just the way the universe worked.

There was method to his arrogance though. No matter who you were, or where you came from, you had heard of Rogue Squadron. It was an icon, a symbol, something mutually recognised and - hopefully - respected; and what could be better as an icebreaker? Rank, and status, and title were all well and good, but knowing that the person you were speaking to was part of some tangible facet of the legacy you had chosen to join? That was a commodity that it would have been foolish to squander.

"Damn right it's awesome," Jaden replied with a smile that wasn't quite a grin, but that could see the threshold of that off in the distance.

"Not just part of Rogue Squadron, either. You're looking at the former Rogue One. Used to help lead things back before the Treaty, protecting the Jedi refugees from the Empire before they settled down on Ossus."

[Citiri Onndri]

To her credit, Citiri managed to keep the "Wow" silent, only mouthing the word rather than full on gushing over the discovery. Of all the people to come and begin her experience with the crew of the Novgorod, firstly she hadn't been expecting The XO of the ship - but to find out that that person was the leader of Rogue Squadron??? It was one of those dream moments, one of those things that seemed far better than you could have ever predicted.

"You have to tell me some stories sometime." Okay, so it wasn't exactly not fangirling, but it was a far cry from I would love to hear about that!

Trying to bolster a little courage and a little bit of common sense that they were still standing in the hangar gabbing, Citiri took a deep breath for a bit more preparation.

"But first..." How about - Can you - What was better here? "I think I would like to learn more about the ship you're on now. If... that's cool - er! Okay?"

[Jaden Luka]

Tell me some stories sometime? That was a dangerous invitation, and one that was particularly difficult to take back, when you were dealing with someone like Jaden Luka. Some people liked to keep to themselves, and if that was their deal, then power to them. Jaden wasn't like that. What was the point of being part of a galaxy full of people if you hid yourself away from them the whole time? Sure, there were certain things that Jaden didn't necessarily volunteer or advertise, and other things that he'd avoid talking about entirely, but if someone asked? If someone invited him to open up? Sit down and get comfortable, and fingers crossed you were willing to reciprocate in kind.

The way Citiri deftly steered him away from that subject was mildly disappointing, but only for about the lifespan of a handful of hyper-unstable isotopes. He couldn't resist the tiniest of smirks as Citiri tripped over her inclination to talk casual.

"Yes," he applied, with an appropriate amount of grandeur. "Talking about the Novgorod is definitely cool."

He paused briefly, gesturing silently towards a doorway that retreated into the wall of the landing deck concourse. A few Aurebesh letters cheerfully informed them that the door was for use by AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY. Jaden took a quiet moment to offer the proper authorisation to himself, before presenting his ID chit to the electronic scanner, and offering a gentlemanly gesture to invite Citiri to pass through first. Beyond the doorway was far less grand and impressive than the concourse itself: a maintenance corridor, and an adjoining stairway that granted access to the decks above and below. Nothing nearly as visually impressive as the concourse itself, and for an instant he considered whether or not Citiri deserved to enjoy the station in all it's grandeur her first time here; but there would be plenty more opportunities for that, and besides - some idiot up in Command had directed Citiri's shuttle to land awkwardly far around the station perimeter from where the Novgorod was docked, and walking was for suckers. If people expected him to travel that sort of distance without a speeder or starfighter being involved, he was damn well taking a short cut.

"The first thing you need to know is that the Novgorod is not our Captain's ship. You'd be forgiven for thinking that it is. Captain Quez certainly thinks the ship is his, and Alliance Command is inclined to agree. They're all wrong, though. The Novgorod belongs to Regan Altink. He is our Chief Engineer, and the Novgorod is Tink's baby, no matter what anyone else says - and woe betide anyone who tries to argue otherwise with him. On the plus side, he knows the Novgorod better than if it was an extension of his own body; but on the downside, he is quite possibly the single most cantankerous individual I have ever encountered, and this is coming from someone who served in the Stormtrooper Corps."

As Jaden talked, his eyes periodically glanced upwards, following the network if pipes and conduits suspended above them, silently recalling the advice for navigating the bowels of Jovan Station that one of the station's Twi'lek crewmen had given him over breakfast.

"If I remember your orders right, you're going to be hanging around on Moonus Mandell helping configure all the new and replacement doodads and whatsits the Novgorod is getting installed, so you're going to have a lot of facetime with the Lieutenant Commander. He is absolutely the sort of person that you want to call sir: not because he's some up himself Navy officer, but because it'll catch him off guard, and that should stun him long enough for your whole -"

He waved a hand vaguely in Citiri's direction.

"- cuteness deal to kick in and win him over. He may seem scary and shouty at first, but he's just a grumpy nexu: feed him some snacks, and give him a few belly rubs, and he'll warm up to you just fine. He used to be with Rogue Squadron too, used to be our Chief Tech back in our Jedi protecting days, so save some of that curiosity of yours for him. Pour on some flattery, get him talking about old war stories, and you'll be his favourite person."

Jaden's train of thought faltered, and his feet ground to a halt. He stopped in place, turning slowly towards Citiri.

"You get that I meant metaphorical belly rubs, right?"

[Citiri Onndri]

It was times like these that Citiri wished she had a notepad. Not to really take notes, mind you, that would just be simply too much. But to jot down names and sketch faces to go with them so she could remember who the crew she was about to become part of were? Well, it'd just be practical and helpful since there was probably no way she would remember everyone she met or was told about in the next few hours. Instead she had to rely on the good old repeat, repeat, repeat, technique to try and solidify the information in her head. Only problem was that unlike school, there weren't diagrams she could use to help connect the dots and the Commander didn't seem like the type to provide a handout.

"So, just refer to him as Sir and then ask how I can help his ship? And... Maybe find out what his favorite snack food is."

She offered a shy sort of smile as she tested the waters on this whole banter thing with her new boss. Thankfully her head wasn't getting stuck on the whole fact he kind of called her cute. Wait... he had called her that, hadn't he? It wasn't just in her head? Okay, okay... time to back away from that thinking right this instant!

"I don't suppose the Captain is as easy to figure out?"

[Jaden Luka]

The word snacks lodged itself in Jaden's mind, and was filed away as something to cultivate later. He had no idea if Think had such a thing - did he have a favourite anything? - but for Jaden himself, that was an entire conversation that needed to happen. Sure, the implication was that of the cliché teacher's pet handing an apple to their instructor, but you know what? That sounded pretty freaking great if you were someone that really liked apples.

The question about the Captain also lingered, but it wasn't nearly so appetising to contemplate. Part of the problem was that he and Cirrsseeto had yet to find their rhythm. It made no sense, either. On paper, both were spacers, both opposing halves of a duo whose counterpart had gone on to other things. They should have clicked instantly, filling that void for each other, but the puzzle pieces didn't quite fit.

"Captain Quez is a Cizerack," he replied slowly, a little more caution in his voice. Partly, it was to give himself the opportunity to figure out what to say, though if Citiri interpreted it as being careful not to speak ill of a superior, that wouldn't have been entirely incorrect either. "Doesn't sound that way, but that's because he adopted his wife's name - Ciz traditions, and all that."

His brow furrowed, a breath puzzling his way out of his lungs.

"He's also a mechanic, and that probably explains a lot. I wasn't aboard when he first took command, but I'm guessing it was a tough transition for him. He hasn't had an easy time of it in the big chair, either: the details are classified, but the last mission before I signed on cost him his leg, and maybe more than that - he's definitely different from how he was when I knew him before."

A hand awkwardly fumbled at the back of his neck.

"He's definitely the sort of person who gets how things are supposed to work. Protocols and procedures, traditions, that sort of thing. Not a stickler, I wouldn't say, but it's best to stick to doing things the right way until you learn the alternatives he's comfortable with. He's got a mind for problem-solving, though. If there's an issue, or a crisis, he's the kind of man you want in your corner, figuring out how to fix it."

[Citiri Onndri]

Much like everything that the Commander had told her, she felt like there was a lot to take in. The advice was appreciated but maybe, just maybe, she would have waited for a more opportune moment. Not that she could honestly think of one but - somewhere she could remember maybe! Not that she was distracted by the amazing sights of Jovan Station thanks to the back route the Commander was taking them through, but still. She had gotten distracted somewhere around the word Cizerack and that was where any hope for her concentration had ended. She would be serving aboard a ship for a CAT MAN. Okay, so she had been told routinely that was a very bad way of generalizing things but she just could not wait to see what he looked like! What color was his fur going to be? What shape were his ears?? Would he have whiskers?? Would he talk with a purr when he was happy?

But then there was that bit she caught - a mission, secretive that had cost the Captain his LEG. What the WHAT? That was enough to bring her back to reality to grasp hold of the last bit about doing things by the book unless you figured out otherwise. Right. Good. She could do that. Citiri could almost think of him like her father then but augh - had she ever really listened to him? Would she be where she was now if she had?

No no, no thinking about that and gods and stars above, she refused to think of her Captain as her FATHER. Somewhere the current leader of the Onndri tribe was no doubt having one hells of eye twitch thanks to his daughter's wandering mind.

The best response the Ensign could muster was a nod of her head along with a bitten lower lip. Not great, not even professional, but it was about all she could muster until thank the gods and goddesses her head moved her headlong to another question.

"Do you return to Jovan Station often? I mean..." Another hesitation to try and paraphrase things as best she could. "I don't want to sound ungrateful but, I just thought I'd get to see more of the station - NOT that I'm not thrilled to be aboard the Novgorod as soon as possible!"

[Jaden Luka]

"We come by often enough," Jaden reassured, ignoring the mild sense of disappointment that his dazzling company apparently wasn't enough to keep the rookie Ensign's attention engaged, or sate her desire for new experiences. He did award himself points though for his decision to exploit a shortcut: he was getting the sense that if they'd taken a more scenic route, a month of wide-eyed distraction would have passed before they'd made it through the first corridor.

"The border between the Alliance and the Empire is a mixed bag, but it basically breaks down into two different forms. There's parts of the border where the Alliance butts up against the Empire directly, and there's parts where the Treaty stipulates that some sectors are controlled by neither party, as a sort of buffer, or neutral zone type thing. Jovan Station sits near a point on the border where A turns into B, which is, well, problematic."

Jaden hesitated a moment, double-checking the clues and markers that he'd been told to watch out for in navigating this particular back-channel through the station. Satisfied that they were definitely going the right way, he hopped his way onto the service ladder that they had reached, and began to clamber down to the lowest level. He halted up at the bottom, and waited for the Ensign to follow him down, paying intense attention to a cluster of power conduits and coolant ducts on the adjacent wall to avoid getting an inadvertent eyeful of the Ensign's descending backside.

"Long story short, Jovan Station is on the cusp between two different zones that warrant our attention. Most of our patrol routes pass through here at some point or other, and it makes for a good layover to resupply and grab a little R&R. It's not quite home, but the station is definitely starting to become mighty familiar to us Novgorod folks. Unfortunately, we've gotta get the Nova back to Fleet Headquarters for some sort of techno servicing doodad, so there's not a whole lot of time free for sightseeing this time around."

A small smile and a breath of a chuckle escaped.

"Tell you what, Ensign, I'll make you a deal. There are a few of my old Rogue Squadron buddies assigned to the station and nearby. Next time we swing through, I'll put in some calls, and take us all out for drinks."

[Citiri Onndri]

"Are you serious?" He was serious wasn't he?

Commanders didn't go and lie on the first day, did they? That was supposed to be reserved for those special moments of oh gods, oh gods, we're all going to die where they had to rally their troops or crew or whatever it was they were in charge of raising morale before one last final battle. So no, there was no way that he was lying to her. Which meant - Oh stars! - She had just received an invite to go hang with other members of Rogue Squadron! Hang out. Drinks even!

Citiri was downright amazed the realization didn't come with some sort of happy squeal. She contained it! Because after all, she was still an Ensign in font of her Commander. Not a college friend where she could go and express everything freely and openly at. That was something her father and mother had tried to make sure she was aware of before she had left home. Yes, she was a novice but she still had to conduct herself accordingly. Reluctant words from a reluctant tribe to let their daughter go off wandering beyond.

She didn't hate the fact her mind kept wandering back home, or got distracted everywhere new, but Citiri knew it was expected that she be better. Dang.

"I - I would be honored, Commander!" Yes, that was a more appropriate reply that still kept herself true to herself.

[Jaden Luka]

Now that was more like it.

Saying that Jaden Luka was not egocentric would have been a lie. Force sakes, he was a fighter pilot, of course he had an ego the size of a planet. Overconfidence was what kept pilots alive, in situations where hesitation and second guessing would have been a death sentence. Still, Jaden wasn't cocky about it, not really. At least, not constantly. It was a healthy doses, thing. Arrogance in the right circumstances, when it was appropriate and expected, offset by crushing doubts and fears of inadequacy in private moments when no one was around to witness. It wasn't a healthy balance, but it was a balance that worked for him.

For Jaden, people's appreciation of his actions, their awe and respect, their recognition of his actions was not fuel for that ego, the way it was for some of his peers. Yet, there was a certain something, a certain sense of credit where credit was due. He had been a member of Rogue Squadron, the best of the best. That wasn't just egocentrically awesome, that was factually awesome. Damn straight he was proud of that, and a certain amount of recognition wasn't just wanted and expected, it was appropriate and deserved. Jaden had spent enough time among the rookies at the Challenger Flight School to miss that now it was gone, and now that the crew of the Novgorod knew him, and were accustomed to him, they'd all grown so damned jaded about it. Maybe that was just what happened when you were part of a crew: your deeds and heroism earned you a few drinks for a few days, but it levelled out when you were in the company of other heroes, first hand witnesses, and all that junk. But it sucked. It sucked not having that reminder, that constant little dose of external praise to help hold those demons at bay.

It wasn't just about Jaden, either. This, right now, was how life was meant to be. Awesome things deserved the awe that went along with them: it was right there in the kriffing name. Damn straight Citiri would be honored to hang with the Rogues, and you know what? Maybe it would be an inspiration, or maybe they'd all hit it off, and one day she'd start feeling as if she was one of them, part of that world - but if she did, Jaden never hoped that spark of awesome faded for her. It was a precious thing, that appreciation of your own circumstance, that recognition of your own privelege and just how good you had it. The universe was too full of bad sides for anyone to be allowed to grow jaded enough that they lost sight of the bright sides all around them.

Jaden commended himself on his timing, as the last few twists and turns brought them not to their destination, but to the waypoint he'd deliberately been steering them towards. It was an airlock, used by maintenence crews to find their way onto the outside of the station to effect repairs; but right now, that wasn't relevant. What was relevant were the observation windows, vast sheets of transparisteel that afforded a glimpse at the station's surroundings - and more specifically, at the starship latched to the docking port above them and a little further around the station's circumference. The Novgorod wasn't a large ship; she wasn't sophisticated, or new; but she was sleek, classical, and thanks to Jaden's extensive lady-impressing trial and error, he'd discovered that this was one of her more flattering angles.

"I'm sorry that you're not getting to see much of the station, Ensign, but hopefully the view from here makes up for it."

[Citiri Onndri]

Citiri had done her research and she was very proud of that. She had found every bit of information she could on the Marauder -class Corvette, studied diagrams and memorized more names of more ship parts that she could ever comprehend - or understand to be honest - but all that studying, all the time spent in front of data. It was nothing compared to seeing the real thing. This was... was...

"Wizard." She uttered as her eyes widened and she felt her jaw go just the slightest bit slack in awe.

The Novgorod was beautiful. Citiri knew she could never really appreciate it like a mechanic or a pilot could, but that didn't stop her feeling like she had lucked out when it came to her new home away from home.

Try and she might to pull her eyes away from the sight to properly reply to her new Commander, the Mirialan ensign just couldn't.

"It does, Commander. I-I mean, there hasn't been anything that I think needed to be made up for but this? This is just..."

She sighed, it verged on a swoon but considering it was over a ship and not a guy, Ciriti figured it was allowed.

"We have the best jobs in the whole galaxy, don't we?"

[Jaden Luka]

It was in that moment that Jaden decided that he was going to like Ensign Citiri Onndri.

People liked to tell you that when it came to subjective questions, and matters of opinion, there were no wrong answers. Jaden knew this to be total nerfshit. For starters, there were people who thought that X-Wings and B-Wings were better than A-Wings, an opinion that was categorically and irrefutably wrong. There were people who thought that bigotry, slavery, rape, and racism were all perfectly fine things for a sentient being to engage in - equally wrong. When it came the subject of first reactions to the Alliance Frigate Novgorod, there were absolutely wrong opinions. Sometimes they were even hurtful, like, she's smaller than I expected, for example: those were words that no one ever wanted to hear about something they were intimately attached to.

But while there were absolute wrong answers, the spectrum of correct answers was pretty broad, and Jaden found it a useful measure of the officers and crew who served aboard. Did they react to her as tough? As fast? As sleek? Was their reaction aesthetic, or technical, or tactical? You could tell a lot about a person by their initial reaction to Tink's baby. In that regard, Citiri had achieved what was essentially a perfect score. Of all the reactions to have to the Nova? Yeah, awe was pretty damn well on target.

Jaden's smile tugged a little broader on his features. Wizard.

"You're damned right we do, Ensign," allowing himself a momentary breach of protocol to offer Citiri a friendly pat on the shoulder blade. "And don't let anyone convince you otherwise."

[Citiri Onndri]

It was only then that Citiri could allow herself to tear her eyes away from her new - Oh stars! It really was wasn't it?? - home. It was the tangible that dragged her back to the fact she wasn't there just quite yet, and the Commander's words that threatened to take her back just a little farther. The smile she hadn't even remotely removed since leaving Pinoora threatened to fade, just a tiny bit, mind you, but it was still there. While Commander Luka - Jaden, she reminded herself as he had said it was okay to call him - shared her belief, he was one of the few people that Citiri had met that did. Granted, that was because she hadn't actually talked to a whole lot of people since leaving home; but it was those she'd left behind that would have argued the most. But they'd never gotten it, why Citiri had felt that the stars called to her, that the horizon wasn't far enough. They'd believed she felt it enough to reluctantly let her leave, though; and that meant everything.

"I wish I could remember how this looks forever..."

Her eyes widened, more so than already thought possible as she quickly went to a knee and ripped open the zipper on her pack and began rummaging before she even realized she hadn't exactly asked the important question.

"H-how much of a time table are we on?" Citiri sheepishly questioned even as her hands continued to dig and search among clothing and other personal effects. Her fingers touched victoriously upon the edge of a thin leather case hidden beneath what she could only guess were a pair of pajama pants by how the fabric felt. "I only need five minutes! I promise. Just to get the basics down!"

[Jaden Luka]

Confusion and curiosity swept across Jaden's features as Citiri rummaged through her belongings, curious as to what she was searching for. When the corner of the sketchbook began to emerge, the expression melted into a soft smile. An artist. Well fancy that.

Citiri had asked about their timetable. Ordinarily, Jaden would have said that there wasn't enough time; but that as much about his own desire to get on with things without delay as it was with any genuine scheduling. It occurred to him that such a response would have come too easily. There never was enough time. In the Stormtrooper Corps, your actions were timed and calibrated. In the Rebellion's Starfighter Corps, every second mattered, the difference between death and survival when fighters were scrambled. During the war, a few minutes could make the difference between escaping safely, and the arrival of Imperial reinforcements. They said that time was money, but for the Alliance, time was life.

Yet things had changed. There was peace, aledgedly. The galaxy was a brand of quasi-safe and stable that it had not been in living memory. So why wasn't there time? It wasn't like the Novgorod was about to deploy for combat, or head out on patrol: she was being recalled for repairs and upgrades, several weeks of downtime and drydock. If it took them a few extra minutes to get there, so what? Who - aside from Tink, probably - was going to get cranky about that? Besides, it wasn't as if they were going to head home in a particular hurry. So they'd have to squeeze a few extra parsecs per hour out of the hyperdrive. Big deal.

"As Executive Officer," Jaden replied, letting his smile flourish a little more, "The timetable is pretty much whatever I say it is. Take as long as you want, Ensign."

As additional permission, Jaden backed himself away, retreating out of the scope of Citiri's artistic view and towards a convenient stretch of station structure that he could lean against. As he stood however, watching Citiri retrieve her art supplies, he became conscious of a weight in his pocket. His personal datapad, little more than a glorified image viewer really, the memory banks filled with snapshots and stills of the ships that Jaden had flown. There was his Queen, of course, then his A-Wing from back in his Valkyrie Nine days, his X-Wing from his time with Rogue Squadron, his current A-Wing, of course, and even a couple of random oddities like the Preybird he'd flown back while he was helping train Jedi recruits on The Wheel, or the sexy new A-Wing prototypes he and the Valkyries had test-flown for Incom-Koensayr-Meorrrei. There was even a snapshot of the Vomit Comet on there: deliberately taken to frame the Gamma shuttle in the least flattering light possible. A hideous snapshot of a hideous ship.

Nothing of the Novgorod, though. Jaden felt a sudden wave of guilt. He didn't have images of the Valiant or the Challenger either, he supposed, but it felt wrong to consider the Nova among those empty vessels that were merely couriers for the squadrons with which he served. The Nova was different to that. Executive Officer status aside, he knew it was true for the other pilots as well: they felt more part of the Novgorod than they had on any other ship. They were as much a part of her crew as anyone else, not some interchangeable bolt-on that just happened to be aboard.

The device was pulled free from his pocket and clicked open, the oversight about to be rectified. "Hey Ensign," he called, aiming the imager in her direction, trying to frame Citiri and the Novgorod in the same shot. "Try to look classy."

[Citiri Onndri]

"Wait, what?"

She had been so consumed in the permission granted to pull out the stylized datapad she reserved just for this, so utterly lost in trying to get the basic shape right, to make sure her stylus moved with precision and accuracy and then...

Oh stars he was going to take a still of her? But her hair and her I just spent several hours on a transport look?? He had to be kidding!

"Oh stars above and beyond... Wait wait, at least make sure I'm not making a stupid face, okay!?"

The Mirialan quickly tried to tug at her uniform, hoping whatever creases or wrinkles had formed since she'd put it on that morning wouldn't show. She cursed not having a mirror, to make sure the light amounts of makeup she put on hadn't smudged. There was a blush creeping up on her, of the holy crap I hate doing this type but also the I do not want to say no to the Commander - ROGUE ONE, EVEN kind.

"Okay okay!" Citiri finally stopped fussing with herself and held her sketch pad and the approximation of the Novgorod she had managed to draw so far close to her heart. "Ready as I'll ever be!"

[Jaden Luka]

Little did Citiri know that by that point, Jaden had already snapped seven different candid images, each at various stages of excitement and panic. He made a show of the last one though, needlessly deliberating over the angle and the framing. The imager grabbed the snapshot he wanted, but he continued, dropping into a partial fraction of a crouch as the final image processed and rendered on the display.

"Okay -"

The words were a drawn out tease, as he subtly scrolled back three shots, to one of the ones he'd grabbed already. Citiri hadn't quite been prepared, her attention distracted off to one side as she looked around for... well, honestly, Jaden wasn't sure what, but it all led to the effect that Citiri was wistfully glancing off in the direction of the Novgorod, her eyes managing to sparkle just a little bit in the light from the station's overheads, as if she was gazing out in wonder towards her future. Maybe it wasn't the image that Citiri would want, not as poised and perfect as she attempted to construct as she fussed and prepared; but it was the shot that Jaden wanted, a frozen moment of Citiri's excitement and optimism; something he could look back on whenever he felt his own positivity and elation at their circumstance beginning to fade.

"- I think we got it."

He straightened up, fingers sliding across the datapad surface to finish cropping the image, shifting the focus so that Citiri's attention dragged the eye towards the Novgorod. One final tweak, and a quick deliberation between a couple of different hologram filters, and he was ready. The device was flipped in his grip, and presented towards the Ensign.

"I'm no artist," he admitted, "But it helps to be taking pictures of a particularly photogenic lady."

A momentary pause followed, a mischievous sparkle tugging at his expression.

"And a passably photogenic Ensign, of course."