Grounded [2 BBY]

[Nelaa Kyris]

ISD Relentless
Lothal Sector
2 BBY

Operations were running along smoothly in the Lothal Sector and, aside from a few small snags, appeared to be almost at a close. Nelaa was finished on the ground and returned to the ISD Relentless to submit a giant stack of reports, and also meet with Vice Admiral Garrett to go over any last minute details. As it turns out, there were details. Commander Silus Xilarian, apparently overcome by an overwhelming need to take the fight to the rebellion, had inserted himself in a mission to bust up a rebel interdiction operation. As bad as that was, he also took the latest addition to his squadron, Lieutenant Junior Grade Bette Davis along with him. While Davis was proving herself to be an extremely gifted pilot ("Once in a lifetime talent" Nelaa had heard from more than one source) she had literally never even sat in a real TIE fighter before then. Silus' only saving grace, it seemed, was that she outperformed all expectations.

All this was background noise, however. What really mattered at this point is that Garrett didn't want to officially punish Silus. He'd reamed the man to one end of the office and back, but to put it on paper would bring a huge mess that wouldn't clean up to everyone's satisfaction. Damage control was the main concern now. Silus was in the dog house, and Nelaa was asked to help keep him there.

It really wasn't her normal thing, but she was going to be stuck on this ISD until HQ reassigned her, so it beat sitting around in the food court. Plus, Garrett would owe her a favor.

Nelaa had known Silus for a long time. Long enough to know that she could sit around and bullshit with him for only so long until he realized what the deal really was. If that happened, his urge to act up would be unmanageable. She knew she would have to play this just the right way. One thing he wouldn't do at this point, was go anywhere without his new protege and that's exactly where Nelaa intended to strike.

Nelaa was in one of the training rooms wearing tights and a tank top with her hair pulled back into a ponytail. A droid had been sent to retrieve Bette, who just had an advanced close quarters combat module added to her training requirements. As it turns out, this was something Silus had asked Nelaa to do at some point anyway, allowing her to knock more than a few birds out of the air with one stone.

[Bette Davis]

Bette adjusted her grey tank top, and then walked into the training room. Her hair was still buzzed short on the sides, with a little length on top, and she scrubbed her hand through it a little nervously as she walked toward Agent Nelaa Kyris.

"Private room?" she asked, trying out a smile. The last time she'd seen Kyris hadn't exactly been a great introduction for either of them. "Ma'am."

[Nelaa Kyris]

"I noticed they've added advanced hand to hand to your training schedule, and just so happens I'm qualified to instruct." She smiled warmly. "I figured a private room would keep the boys from staring too much."

She was well aware of the fact that Bette found her demeanor off-putting, but Nelaa didn't bother putting on an act. When not on mission one of the few luxuries Nelaa had was the ability to be herself, and she wasn't about to trouble herself to create a character that Bette would want to be pals with.

"All we'll be doing today is an introduction. I'd mainly like to work on your form and get you to a point where you can work out without me looking over your shoulder. Besides, I don't want to teach you how to kill a man until I know you and Silus are going to get along."

She gave Bette a small wink.

[Bette Davis]

Bette smiled thinly, not quite sure if it was a joke or not, and stood at ease with her hands behind her back.

”I am looking forward to learning, Agent.” She paused, frowning a little. “How do you want me to address you?”

[Nelaa Kyris]

"Whatever you're most comfortable with. Most of my fellow agents just call me Kyris."

Bette nodded, and Nelaa took that as a sign to proceed.

"Ok first, I know you've had basic hand to hand training. One thing I've learned, especially for pilots, is most instructors don't put a lot of effort into it. With that being said, there are going to be some things I show you that you may already know, or seem obvious. I don't want to skip something that you may not know just because you should know it."

Nelaa held up her hands in front of her. Her hands were wrapped from her knuckles down to wrist.

"First, let's get your hands wrapped up. This is the most important part of your training. Everyone thinks this is minor until they hurt their hands on a heavy bag."

She went over to a nearby locker and toss a set of hand wraps to Bette. Bette immediately went to work wrapping her hands up as Kyris watched.

"Don't go too tight on the first part, your hands will swell as we work out." A few times Bette looked up at her and she just nodded and offered a word of encouragement. As Bette was finishing up Kyris spoke casually.

"I heard your first mission was a success, by the way. Congratulations."

[Bette Davis]

She wrapped her hands carefully. It wasn't something she'd done in a while, so she wanted to make sure she did it right.

"It was, yes." Bette flexed her fingers in the wraps and then held them out for Kyris to inspect. The agent turned her hands over to look at them and nodded.

"It was pretty much like being in the sim. Except, you know. Completely different." Bette smiled tightly, balling her hands up into fists.

[Nelaa Kyris]

"I know exactly what you mean."

Nelaa inspected Bette's hands.

"Ok, good, this is good. Alright, hands up. I want to see you in a fighting stance. We're going to start with boxing just to work on some basic footwork and head movement."

For the first part of the lesson very few punches were thrown. Nelaa mainly just had Bette moving around, stepping in each direction and giving her advice on how to keep form and balance during the movement. She found for the most part it was something Bette had a very good instinct for and she had to make very few corrections. Bette for her part listened intently and seemed to really take in what was being taught to her. With that being said, Nelaa sensed that Bette was probably a little bored and wanted to get on with hitting stuff.

"Alright, let's move over to the heavy bag and get you punching a bit..."

Pretty soon the sounds of leather hitting leather sounded around the training room as Bette was mixing in combinations of jabs and crosses. Soon, Nelaa had her circling the bag, working on her transition for movement to attack.

"That's really good footwork, keep moving...Get those hands up!"

After they'd gone on for a bit, Nelaa called for a break and handed Bette some water.

"That's good, you don't really have any unlearning to do so far." As she let Bette catch her breath, a thought occurred to Nelaa.

"You know when I was reading the report awhile ago, I thought back to my first mission where I saw some action. It was a real eye opener for me. How are you dealing with everything?"

[Bette Davis]

"It was ...difficult when we first got back. I think it hit like a ton of bricks that, you know, I wasn't just shooting down bots in a sim." Bette squirted some water in her mouth.

"Commander Xilarian talked me through it." Bette wiped her forehead with the back of her wrapped hand. "How did you, uh, get over it? After your first mission?"

[Nelaa Kyris]

"I kept going."

There was a sudden ice in Nelaa's voice that couldn't be missed. She busied herself for a moment by strapping on pads onto her hands.

"I'm glad Silus was able to help you." Her voice had a bit more warmth to it, but it was obvious that her mind wasn't completely focused.

"Alright, we've done basic movement and striking. Let's see how well you dodge a punch."

Bette seemed a tad on the hesitant side to step on the mat with Nelaa, but didn't didn't let it stop her. Nelaa went through the most basic moves for slipping a punch and began going through them with Bette, having her do the motions first by herself to familiarize herself. After that, Nelaa stepped in and began throwing slow, easily dodged punches. Gradually she sped up to half speed. She coached Bette as they went through the exercises.

"Remember, you want to get outside of the punch. You want to be on the back side of my fist. Good, there you go. Notice when you slip the punch how much of my body is open for counterattack. That's what you want to see."

[Bette Davis]

Bette worked up a healthy sweat as Kyris put her through her paces, getting comfortable with the drills. She was familiar enough with hand-to-hand defense skills that the new moves were stacking with what she already knew. Still, it was a lot of information, and she was relieved when Agent Kyris finally called the lesson to a halt.

Stripping off the hand wraps Bette sat on the mats, her legs out in front of her in a stretch as she leaned down over her thighs, reaching for her feet. “I think I need a drink after this.”

She looked up at Kyris. “Wanna come? I’m not on rotation right now - actually I don’t even know if there is a rotation. But after this I’m officially off duty for the night.”

[Nelaa Kyris]

Nelaa was actually slightly surprised at the offer. The lessons had gone well, but she didn't really think she'd done enough to bridge the icy buffer that stayed between them. She's still new on this ship, I'm probably the only woman she knows. The thought rolled through Nelaa's mind with a ring of truth to it.

"Uh, sure. That would be nice actually. I need to shower and go see Admiral Garrett, but after that I'm free. Meet me at the NCO lounge in say, an hour?"

[Bette Davis]

Bette flashed a smile. "Sounds great."

Approximately fifty minutes later she was getting a glass of what whisky was approved for serving to NCOs on board an ISD during their down time. It was brown, tasted bad, and was pretty weak even when served straight up.

Bette swirled the drink such as it was around in her glass, finding a booth in the lounge to sit at while she waited for Nelaa to show up. No sooner had she found her seat than someone slid in across from her. To her surprise, she recognized him.

"Torre?" she said, a half-smile of surprise on her face. "I thought you were still on the Annihilator with Onyx squadr -oh."

Lt. Val Torre tapped the side of his nose and winked. "The squadron I'm with gets around a bit. I hear you've joined it too, Davis. Congratulations." He reached across to shake her hand, and she put her hand in his with a grin.

"Thanks. It's been a little overwhelming... in a good way," she added. He held her hand a little longer than was strictly necessary, his good looks and boyish grin more than making up for the lack of good alcohol. "I'm actually here to meet someone..."

[Nelaa Kyris]

"I didn't realize you two had met."

As if on cue, Nelaa found herself at Bette's table along with an unexpected guest.

"Sorry I'm late, Garrett gets a bit chatty sometimes."

[Bette Davis]

"Oh you're not late, I think I was early," said Bette, turning to Val to introduce Kyris to him.

He, however, was jumping to his feet. "Ma'am," he said, nodding respectfully. He looked down at Bette, and winked. "I'll see you around, Davis."

She opened her mouth as if to tell him to join them, but closed it again as the lieutenant quickly walked away, leaving Kyris to slide into the spot he had just vacated.

"The drinks here aren't half bad," she quipped to Kyris, raising her glass. "They're completely bad."

[Nelaa Kyris]

Nelaa let her eyes set on Val just a bit too long as he left, then turned back to Bette, slightly red in the face. She turned back to Bette.

"Let me try..."

Completely ignoring any sort of etiquette, Nelaa took Bette's drink and knocked it back.

"Oh, that is awful. Let me go see what I'm approved for..."

She jumped up, leaving a bewildered Bette alone at the table for a few minutes until she returned with two more glasses of whiskey. She slid one to Bette.

"Let's see...."

She took a drink as Bette did the same. Her face broke into a grin.

"Okay, that's not much better..."

[Bette Davis]

Bette grimaced and downed the whisky quickly. “It’s a little better.”

As Kyris looked at her with an eyebrow raised, Bette shrugged. “We aren’t going to find anything better here. I heard that only the commissioned officers get the good stuff - ours is probably watered down so we stay sharp.”

She set the empty glass down with a touch of disappointment. “It’s better than nothing, though.”

[Nelaa Kyris]

"It's watered down to cost less, don't give the navy too much credit."

She took a sip of her drink.

"Garrett has some good stuff in his office, but he's stingy with it. Did he offer you a glass when he promoted you?"

Bette shook her head no.

"Stingy old bastard. After the hell Silus and I put you through, you definitely deserved it."

[Bette Davis]

Bette laughed a little uneasily at the memory of that mission. “I didn’t want to say anything but...

”...is that pretty standard? Trying to trick whoever the new recruit is?”

[Nelaa Kyris]

"Sort of. Coming up as pilots, you're not put through the same testing and training that we have to go through in Intel. Since some of the missions you'll run will stray over into our side of things, we try to engineer situations that will give us a glimpse in how your mind works by taking you outside your training."

She took a drink.

"Basically, you don't get into Shadow Squadron without facing your own demons."

[Bette Davis]

Bette grimaced a bit and looked out over the NCO lounge. There were few empty tables, but the mood in the room was decidedly... down.

”I’m just grateful to have the chance to prove myself. Show what I can do.” She flexed her hands a little, and closed them around her empty glass. “Some people are calling me a trail blazer, a glass ceiling shatterer or some shit like that... I can’t think about it. If others like me can follow my footsteps I guess that’s great, but it doesn’t feel like me. I’m not a role model.”

Bette laughed. “I’m just sick of being stared at everywhere I go, and not in a good way.”

They were the only females in the lounge, and the men were either staring or not looking at them so hard they might as well have been.

[Nelaa Kyris]

“If it’s any comfort, there are also a bunch of guys saying you slept with Garrett for a promotion.”

Nelaa raised her eyebrows a bit as she took a drink, something between a facial shrug and an eye-roll.

[Bette Davis]

Bette’s eyes widened and then narrowed as she looked back over the men in the room. “What the fuck - really? I never even met the Captain before he promoted me.”

She paused, thinking over what she’d just said, and then sighed.

”This place sucks. It sucks and blows. I’d never been to the lounge before, but it’s not impressing me.” Bette slumped back in the booth, resigned to a mediocre evening.

[Nelaa Kyris]

"Men can't handle being outdone by a woman. You're going to hear a lot worse on the way to the top."

She looked around the room. Even in the lounge, no one seemed too relaxed or joyful. There were a few conversations with some laughter, but if things got too upbeat they would quickly tone themselves down. Everyone knew that there was no true off duty time on one of these ships.

"i think this is why everyone's so uptight around here, no good place to unwind. Can't even relax without wearing a uniform. If you want, I think I could talk Garrett into letting us get out of here for a bit."

[Bette Davis]

“Really?” Bette leaned forward a bit. “I haven’t had shore leave since ... since the Academy.”

Something was tickling her brain, and she added, “Do you mind if I ask you why​ you tested me like you did?”

[Nelaa Kyris]

Nelaa started to speak then stopped and gave Bette a measured look.

"I'll tell you, but I must warn you, this isn't information most people react well too."

Bette offered no objection as she leaned in, listening intently. Nelaa gave her a curt nod.

"Okay, originally the plan was just to see how you handled complete failure. I had an agent on the ship with the prisoner the entire time. He was going to fly away as we reached the roof, and we were going to tell you the prisoner escaped. From that point, we would just observe how you handled things. Would you cast blame? Would you try to hide any mistakes you made?"

She paused for a moment, her face showing a bit of unease.

"Silus had a wire on the entire time though. At one point after an argument, you told him that you were going to finish the mission, and that it would look great on your record. The way you said it kind of threw up some red flags, so we altered the plan. I told Silus to make you the offer that he made to see what you would do."

[Bette Davis]

“Wow.”

Bette sat back a little. “Red flags, huh? One of the first women in the Navy trying to not get a red DNC on her mission log and that’s a red flag?” She raised an eyebrow, but gestured for for Kyris to continue.

[Nelaa Kyris]

"It could have been interpreted that way, or that you were more concerned about advancement than the actual mission. I know that seems like we're being overly critical but we had to be sure."

She started to reach for her drink, then thought better of it. She was only using it as a stalling tactic at this point, and that was a touch too far on the cowardly side for her. She looked Bette square in the eye.

"That was my decision. It's only fair that you know that. I'll also say that I was not surprised that you passed."

[Bette Davis]

Bette raised an eyebrow. “Was it your idea to assault me as well? And leave me hanging here for three days after I completed the mission?”

She looked regretfully at her empty glass. “I was scared shitless, to be honest.”

[Nelaa Kyris]

"I was trying to find your knife. Silus went off script giving it back to you. If it makes you feel any better you nearly broke my nose."

Bette replied with a smirk. "Actually, yeah it does...".

Nelaa started to declare them even, but didn't figure the mood matched the comment.

"As far as leaving you hanging for three days, that was Garrett's idea. He wanted to see if you'd reach out to your dad for help. I personally felt like that was a bit much, but he's been at this a lot longer than I have."

[Bette Davis]

Bette fell quiet at that bit of information.

After a few moments, she shifted in her seat and met Kyris’ eyes. “I’m here on my own two feet. I hope that’s clear now.”

She shook her head, picking up her glass. “I’m going for another round. Want one?”

[Nelaa Kyris]

"Uh, sure"

Bette was taking the information better than Nelaa had expected her to, but the tension between them was still almost palpable. As Bette walked away with their glasses, Nelaa fished her communicator out of her pocket and began silently tapping out a message while she waited for Bette to return.

[Bette Davis]

Up at the ‘bar’, if that was what one would call it, Bette set down the glasses for refills. The man on duty behind the counter eyed her, but poured out two more drinks from a generic looking bottle.

Taking them up, Bette turned to walk back to the booth but was cut off by a man she didn’t recognize. He leered at her and she met his eyes, steely expressioned as she walked around him.

Or tried to. He took her arm and Bette was forced to stop or else spill her drink.

”Where’ya heading off to?”

”Going back to my friend,” she said, pulling against his grip to see how far he was going to take this. He didn’t release her, his hand tightening on her arm just above her elbow.

”Come sit with me,” he said, his breath heavy with the smell of alcohol. “She don’t have what you need anyway...”

Bette tensed, trying to decide what to do.

[Nelaa Kyris]

“She don’t have what you need anyway..."

"The only thing she needs is for you to let go of her arm, Lieutenant."

Her tone was firm, but there was no challenge in it. She even made sure to toss his rank at him, just as a little reminder than he was still at his job. He glanced back and forth between the two women before settling his glare on Nelaa. He pulled Bette a little closer to him.

"She don't wanna be hangin around with no spook, fuck off."

Nelaa narrowed her eyes and took a step closer.

"Last warning..."

She poured as much malice into her voice as she could. The man held firm for a moment. Nelaa could literally see the muscles in his chest and shoulders tightening. Then all at once, his posture relaxed as he let go of Bette's arm.

"Don't nobody want none of you dykes anyways..."

Before Bette could turn to walk away, the man reached down and tried to smack her on the ass. Before his hand could make contact, his right knee buckled underneath him. Nelaa used the momentum of her kick to his knee to move herself to the side. Her left hand grabbed a handful of his uniform and pulled him forward while her left knee connected just below his sternum. He hit the ground puking.

As Nelee stepped around and over the man, she walked over and took one of the glasses from Bette's hand. She knocked the drink back in one shot and handed the empty glass back to Bette before putting her hands on her head.

"I think our night might be ending early..."

She gave Bette a wink as two stormtroopers came jogging up.

[Bette Davis]

“Oh, uh...” Bette watched a little wide-eyed as Kyris intercepted the officer’s hand and dispatched him with ease. She stared down at the gagging man, and then back at Kyris.

The stormtroopers came up, and Bette tried to think of what to say in Kyris’ defense. “Uh is this really necessary, troopers? This man assaulted me!”

[Nelaa Kyris]

"It's ok, the worst they can do is send me home. The liquor is terrible here anyways."

One of the stormtroopers started to talk and she cut him off.

"Yeah whatever, I'm going. Just take me to Admiral Garrett."

As they escorted her off, she glanced back at Bette over her shoulder and mouthed the words "Call me" and winked.

[Bette Davis]

After a few moments Bette realized she was standing alone in the NCO lounge holding a drink in her hand. She downed it and set the glass on someone else’s table, stalking out of the room and to her quarters.

Maybe the admiral would want to speak to her as a witness of the altercation. She started working up the story of what went down, repeating it in her head as she walked through the corridors of the ISD.

[Nelaa Kyris]

About an hour later, Bette found herself sitting across from Vice Admiral Garrett. He was seated behind his desk as if it were a fort, leaning back in his chair so that only his face was visible.

"So I've been told that you and Agent Kyris were involved in an alteration in the NCO lounge earlier. She's told me her side of the story. I haven't heard from Lieutenant Durn yet because he's still vomiting in the medbay."

He leaned forward, bringing himself fully into Bette's view. His beard did little to cover the scar running down his face, giving him a sinister appearance, even if he normally was far from that.

"That just leaves you, Lieutenant Davis. I want to hear your version of events."

[Bette Davis]

Bette took a breath and let it out slowly before answering. “Lieutenant Durn made crude remarks and then attempted to assault me in the lounge, sir. Agent Kyris was simply coming to my aid.”

She paused, considering that the NCO lounge was almost certainly equipped with security cams. “I’m not sure what else to add, Admiral. She surrendered peacefully to the troopers.”

[Nelaa Kyris]

He nodded, seemingly satisfied.


"I understand, and I want you to understand as well. Lieutenant Durn is finished on this ship. I absolutely will not tolerate that sort of behavior on the Relentless. With that being said, Agent Kyris could have easily subdued him without putting him in the medbay. He deserved what he got, but punishment on this ship should come from me, not her. As for you, you're going to take this as punishment, but it's not. You'll be on shuttle duty until I get Lieutenant Durn off this ship. I don't want you two anywhere near each other, and I think you'd prefer this to being locked in your quarters."

He leaned back in his chair again.

"If you have nothing to add, you are dismissed."

[Bette Davis]

"No sir, thank you sir."

Bette escaped the office as quickly as she could, the massive injustice of it all weighing heavily on her. Apparently even when one didn't defend themselves they would still get punished for the bad behavior of men.

She clenched her fists as she walked down the passage, picking up the pace into a quick jog to burn off her aggravation.

[Nelaa Kyris]

As Bette stormed down the hallway, she nearly ran right by Nelaa, who was walking toward the shuttle bay with a bag slung over her shoulder.

"Looks like Garrett got to you as well. Where are you heading?"

[Bette Davis]

"Nowhere fast," she growled, skidding to a halt.

"You off the ship?" Bette rearranged her face to something relatively pleasant as she took in Kyris' bag. Then she scowled. "Garrett's booting you, isn't he."

[Nelaa Kyris]

Nelaa appeared calm, almost amused.

"I was scheduled to ship out soon as it was. He felt it best if I go ahead and report back to my superiors."

She looked over, saw the steam practically rising out of Bette's ears.

"If I would have put Lieutenant whoever he was on the ground without injuring him - which i could and should have done - this would be playing out much differently."

She gave Bette an almost sympathetic smile.

"What does he have you doing?"

[Bette Davis]

"Shuttle pool."

Bette turned to face the way Kyris was heading.

"Actually I'm heading this way as well. I'm supposed to report to whoever the commander is in charge of the pool on this ship. Terick?"

[Nelaa Kyris]

"Don't be too angry. I've known Garrett for a long time. He won't spare feelings, but he tries to do what's best for the people under his command."

She gave Bette a little pat on the arm.

"I need to go find my shuttle. I had fun tonight, all things considered. I'll see you around."

[Bette Davis]

"Thanks. Sure, see you around."

Bette separated from Kyris, looking around the flight deck for Commander Terick. He was a tall, no-nonsense type, like most Imperial officers, and he didn't have time for small talk.

"Davis? You have a flight right now, actually. Report to Lambda R dash 924." Terick pointed in the right direction and Bette nodded, jogging away until she was out of sight and could walk.

At least she wasn't going to be cooling her heels on board the ship. Locating the correct shuttle, Bette walked in and headed for the cockpit to find out what the destination was.

[Nelaa Kyris]

As Bette went through the pre flight checks, she heard footsteps behind her.

"Lieutenant Davis, it feels like I just saw you..."

Bette turned to find a wicked grin plastered across Nelaa's face.

"I hope you don't mind, but as it turns out I need to be back in a day or so when the Relentless moves to our next staging area. I've requested you be my pilot for the return trip."

She sat down in one of the passenger seats near the cockpit and started stowing her belongings.

"Looks like you're going to be stuck with me in Cloud City."

[Bette Davis]

Bette rolled her eyes, and laughed a little. "Why am I not surprised that you and Commander Xilarian make a habit of surprising people like this?"

She flipped through a few of her pre-flight checks. "I guess I'm your chauffeur then, Agent."

[Nelaa Kyris]

Nelaa winked.

"My curfew is eighteen hundred hours, but Dad says I can stay out later if you're the one driving me."

[Bette Davis]

"Sounds good." Bette chuckled, but she was starting to get irritated at how flippantly her career was being dangled over the fire by the actions of Agent Kyris, and her pet Commander Xilarian.

She pressed her lips together and completed pre-flight, piloting the shuttle out of the ISD and into space. She'd be making her own path forward - take every hand hold she could and drag herself up to where she belonged. Not in a shuttle, but in a TIE fighter.

She wouldn't stay grounded for long.

Bette turned and smiled at Kyris, and they jumped to hyperspace toward Bespin.