| abstract | - An afternoon free of training cadets and inspecting his ship details, Raxis decides to make his way into the city. Having never truly explored the city of New Alderaan due to his unbearably busy schedule, Raxis seems to be glowing with self-satisfaction as he steps out of the public transportation and into the plaza itself. With a whistle to himself, he looks over the memorial statue and begins to walk closer to it, inspecting it. Serenella is sitting in the grass of one of the gardens in the plaza with a lunch box and a drink. She might have been running before, but now she's just enjoying the good weather, staring up into the sky dreamily. She doesn't pay particular attention to the people around her. Folding his arms across his chest, wearing a clean pressed uniform in the event of a chance encounter with diplomats as well as the general importance of showing a good example to the people, Raxis tilts his head and looks upwards at the statue for a few moments, marvelling at it. Stopping to read the inscription, he quiets with a respectful resolve. Turning to look around the square, he spots someone he recognizes. Lifting a curious eyebrow his face moves forward as if to 'zoom in' as he ponders where he knows her from. An animated feature crosses his face as if a light bulb was switched on in his brain, and he makes his way over to Serenella. "Miss Jordain?" He asks, stepping over. "How are you doing this afternoon?" Serenella blinks a little when she hears the voice, but once recognition dawns, she sits up straight and smiles at the young man. "Well, hello! You're Lance's friend, right? How's he doing? Me, I'm fine... I'm staying with my sister for a couple of days. I wanted to say hello to Luke Skywalker, but he seems to be busy. So I've just done some running. It's good to be back on Ord, I really like this planet. Good weather usually and nice people around. Come and sit with me!", she offers, chattering away eagerly as she always does. Somewhat assaulted by such a rapid-fire response, Raxis can't help but smile and take a seat on the bench next to her. Resting himself down, he sits facing the square but turns his torso to regard her. "You know Luke Skywalker?" Raxis opens the conversation, deciding coyly to respond with a few more notes. "Lance is doing decent. I haven't seen him but I hope the two of you had a nice night out. It's not that often that I put a five-hundred credit down payment on someone else to just get out and enjoy themselves, but really if anyone's earned it I can say it's Lance. I owe him more that a few." Serenella beams eagerly. "Oh yes, Luke Skywalker is a wonderful friend, he's helped me so much and all!" After she had gone fan girl on him when they first met, embarrassing the jedi to death. She nods to the second enquiry as well. "Yea, Lance and I had a good time... poor thing... he looks seriously fucked up. What the hell did they do to him? He didn't wanna talk... I tried to distract him and all, but you know what he's like, that guy can Brood! And never a sensible word out of him.", she shrugs, smiling at the same time. "You and he fly together, right?" "Yeah, most of the time up there he's my wingman. He..." Raxis pauses, smirking slightly embarassed. "...was my wingman the day he got captured. One of us had to get back with some data and I was about to be captured myself. So...there's a few war stories here and there. But to be honest with you, Miss Jordain, sometimes there's no one I'd trust more than Lance. I'm really sorry if you two didn't have a good time." Serenella shakes her head with a little smile and reaches out to pat his arm. "Don't worry about it, Mr... errrr...?" Short memory span there. "If we didn't have a good time, it's not just cause of what happened. There's... something else. And oh well, anyone joining the military knows what can happen, right? I mean, it's all about taking risks or you could just as well stay home and bake cookies for the rest of your life." "L'ygr," Raxis fills in, "Raxis L'ygr, they call me Raptor up there." He adds in, nodding softly to her. "Yeah, it's really all about the risks, taking risks so that other people can attempt at living a quasi-normal life without constant terror. So naturally we, the crazy ones, go directly into the fire and do the best we can. So...how did you and Wildman meet?" Serenella had been about to slurp her drink through the straw and almost splutters when she hears the last question. Coughing a bit, she looks up at Raxis with a grin. "Wildman? You call him Wildman? That fluffy little kitten?" She chuckles, highly amused by that. "Oh, we met here on Ord some time ago, when he called me a bought escort and picked a fight with my boyfriend in a bar here." "I can imagine that being a reality," Raxis tsks, shaking his head with a smile. "That's Wildman for you. Yeah, we named him Wildman. He's a little fiery sometimes. I remember when he first came on board. He's a bit of a hellcat up in zero-G, really." He pauses, blinking. "Did...he and your boyfriend get into a fight, or was it a staring match?" Serenella smirks. "Since when have men been able to keep things at staring match level?", she asks and shakes her head. "No, they beat each other up. Actually, Lance won. Apparently he doesn't know yet that women always side with the loser to coo over his wounds and cuddle him. But when it comes to his temper, yea, I can see why you'd call him Wildman... how long have you known him?" "Since he beat me up." Raxis laughs, unable to contain it. Scratching the side of his eye where there's a small scar, he turns to her. "Shame there weren't more ladies on base, might have gone good for me after that. You see...I -try- to be that model pilot. The responsible, versatile, and technical one that the officers love to promote and give new responsibility to. Well...they assigned Wildman to me to learn-the-ropes per se, and I got a bit up front with him. A few broken bones on each side later we'd officially became aquainted." Serenella listens with a faint smile and shakes her head. "I wonder at what age men eventually leave the playground-stage behind.", she comments and grins at him. "Model pilot, huh? Responsible, versatile... and a hit with the females who adoringly slobber over him in every spaceport?" She's clearly teasing him, her eyes sparkling while she finishes her drink and tosses the empty container away. "Nah..." Raxis waves with his hand. "...oddly enough I haven't had a single date since I got assigned here. Perhaps that's my fault because we've had so much to do and I'm always signing up for overtime, but I think I'm going to start coming out more. Seems I'm a bigger hit with the kids that keep asking me to show them my sidearm or how many things I've blown up with my X-wing. However," He pauses, smiling quietly, "I figure that I'm probably better off getting quality time here in town whenever I can. Since I'm always up there fighting pirates or chasing wolves, I might as well take solace in the fact that I don't have to dodge blasterfire in places like this." Serenella hmms softly to that. "I hope Ord stays peaceful and quiet. I'd hate to see this place get all messed up." She falls silent for a moment and uses the pause to fish her cigarettes from her handbag and light one. After taking a long drag and blowing the smoke out into the air, she grins at him again. "If you wanna meet girls... book a cruise on the Rancor when it's ready. The crew's all female. They wouldn't ask you to show them your sidearm, they'd prefer to see something else." Eyebrows lifting as his face flushes, Raxis coughs and covers up his slight bashfulness with a chuckle. "Well...that definitely seems like a good time. I don't know if they'd let me go away for -that- long, but maybe if some of them come down to a club in town...who knows. Bit of a shame really," Raxis pauses, leaning back a little on the bench. "Maybe I'll have to take Lance out, see how this men-in-uniform urban legend goes. Hasn't worked for me yet." He smiles, looking to her. "That is...if that wouldn't upset you?" Serenella arches a brow at his cough and frowns, reaching out to give him a playful slap on the shoulder. "Hey! It's not what you think!", she protests, "It's a cruise ship! Dancing, singing, gambling, fun! The crew just happens to be female, I don't know why! We'd hire men as well, if they'd apply for jobs. Tech stuff, piloting, barkeeping, whatever! But the guys around the galaxy are too busy shooting each other to pieces!" She chuckles. "If you want to seduce one of the Rancor staff, it needs more than waving the checkbook!" His last question makes her arch her eyebrows in surprise. "Why the heck should it upset me, if you go out on the piss with Lance? High time the boy gets some fun in his life!" "Oh no..." Raxis begins to retract. "No I didn't think it was -that- kind of ship. I'm sure it's respectable. Then again, that many women on a ship's staff could be a massive draw for alot of the enlisted." He blurts, smiling a little at the playful slap. "Oh...I might have misinterpreted you and Lance's relationship. I thought you two were dating." Serenella grins. "The more the merrier.", she comments on the Rancor and adds: "As long as they tip well." She listens on, snorting when she hears the last comment. "Lance and me dating? Good grief, no.", she says and chuckles softly before she takes another drag on her cigarette. Then she looks straight at him. "I got married recently. Poor Lance didn't it take it well, when he heard about it." "Oh, well then congratulations Mrs. Jordain," Raxis emphasises the 'Mrs' as if to apologize. "I guess then I will have to find someone for Lance, or at least a place to have a good time. I take it the lucky husband was the same person he fought with, correct?" Serenella grins and nods. "Indeed. He was my boyfriend back then, but now he's my husband. And if you insist on using that godawful 'Mrs' on me, you'd have to make that 'Mrs Dareus'.", she corrects him gently, "I'm keeping my own name though, it's the name I'm known under galaxy-wide as a singer and dancer." And apparently she knows she better not shout out loud who she got hitched to. "Oh well I'm not familiar with a Mr. Dareus," Raxis replies, shrugging softly. "May I ask you a question though, Mrs. Dareus?" "Allright, Sel..." Raxis pauses. "...I was kind of confused the other night when I told you Lance was captured, you asked if it was that bastard Fleming. Not that I'm accusing you of anything, but it just struck me as odd. Were you formerly from an Imperial world?" Serenella laughs at that and shakes her head. "Good grief, no! I'm an entertainer, Raxis, I get around the galaxy. I'm currently working in a club on Etti. That jackass was there with a couple of other pompous imperial jerks. I tried to be nice and witty, made jokes and sang for them and they were just sour-faced idiots who looked like someone had pissed into their drinks. And Fleming was the worst. From what I heard he's their chief torturer or some such pleasant occupation." "Sounds about right. I'm not a big fan of the Imps, obviously," Raxis laughs, turning to her. "There's a few I'm just aching to catch up in space to get a crack at." He smiles, taking out a cigarette to light it. "So what's it like, entertaining people?" "Serenella smiles when she realizes that she's met a fellow smoker who's unlikely to give her long speeches about health risks and ruining her singing voice. She ponders his question and shrugs a bit, while she drags on her own cigarette. "It's a good job.", she finally says thoughtfully, "I mean, it can be hell, like that night with the Imps on Etti... jackasses who just won't respond to anything you say or do... and then there's the opposite of course, the drunken slobs who leer and holler at you. But between that... there's nothing like being on stage, being cheered and celebrated... Admiring fans throwing flowers..." She giggles a little, then shrugs again. "Beats stripping for tips, that's for sure." "Yeah, I know that was the worst..." Raxis muses, taking a drag off of his ultra-light cigarette with an impish grin on his face. Serenella stops in mid-drag and quirks an eyebrow. "What's THAT supposed to mean?", she asks and looks him up and down as if trying to gauge his body for stripping value. While lean, in shape, and slightly muscular, Raxis simply smiles and shakes his head with a laugh. "No I was joking. I've never taken off clothes for money, at least not that I remember. However it's unlikely that StarOps would ever ask for volunteers to do so for purposes of attracting new governments to support our cause." Serenella shrugs at that. Obviously she was not joking about that part. "Well, you seem to have a good body, so I don't see why not. Might raise a good bit for charity.", she suggests, while her grin and good mood returns, "Plus, occasionally guest-starring on the Rancor would be a good way to boost your income." "Are you suggesting that I moonlight as a stripper on the Rancor?" Raxis laughs, turning to her with a smile. "I could just see that now, they'd change my callsign from Raptor to Officer Beefcake..." Serenella laughs and nudges his side with her elbow. "Admit - you'd enjoy that... being drooled over by a bunch of fawning females. Sure beats being gunned down by imperials." She finishes her cigarette and gives him another look. "Why don't you just audition for me?" Blinking, Raxis turns to her and blushes. "Oh an audition?" He smiles, bashful like someone caught in a lie. "Besides you said the staff were mostly female. Your passengers are going to be mostly men...I ...er.." He cringes, clearly backed into a social corner, not knowing what to say. Serenella laughs, clearly enjoying his embarrassment. "Well, I don't want to make a fool of myself by telling the Rancor's owner that I've found the perfect male entertainer and when you present yourself to her, you turn out to be a skinny pale stick of a guy. And well -", she rests her arm on the bench's back, leaning back a little while she looks at him. "Lots of men could probably convince their spouses to join them for the cruises if there's something for the ladies on offer, Tilting his head downwards slightly to look at her out of the corner of his eye, still unable to hide the shade of red over his face, he regards her for a moment. Gathering his thoughts, he takes a drag off of his cigarette and exhales to the side politely. "You're...you're actually being serious about this aren't you? Are you sure you're just not trying to scramble my brains because well...wow...I don't know what's more frightening. Stripping, possibly infront of a crowd of yelling women, or facing Wolf or Krieg.." Serenella grins at him, her eyes sparkling with delight. "Well, now you know how it feels for the girls you guys go to ogle and leer at.", she points out, having hammered the point home, while she keeps her eyes fixed on him. "But yea, I never mind looking at a handsome male body and neither do other girls. So why don't you show me what you're made of?" Coughing out the last drag of his cigarette in suprise response, Raxis turns to her. "What...wait..." Raxis blinks, blushing again at her forwardness and shuffles in his seat abit to look around. Thankful the square if fairly vacant at the moment, he looks back to her. "...wow this is. I've never met a girl so forward," He pauses almost bewildered. "So you're requesting that I, a small town turned pilot guy, go and meet with you and the Rancor crew, and put on a show?" Serenella grins. He's slow, isn't he? "For now I'm only requesting you show ME what you're made of.", she clarifies, nodding at the conveniently empty garden they're in, "Before I show you off to the other girls, I want to be sure they won't laugh at me." She leans back some more, as if getting comfy for the show she's expecting. "Small town inna big city, gotta lot to learn, huh?" Like, yes, girls can have very big mouths around here. Officially now blushed, face reddened with the slight exasperation of a man caught trying to explain his way out of an embarrasing situation, Raxis leans towards her and lowers his voice. "This is crazy! I...what here??? I..." He pauses, shaking his head to gather his toughts. "Lance, hell...what your husb...wait. I don't even know how to dance. I mean, I know how to ballroom dance I've been at a few back on Garqi, but..." He pauses, leaning back. "...naw...no...you can't be serious about this. I'm being gullible." He finishes, trying to explain his way out of the current line of thinking. Serenella chuckles, highly amused and reaches out to place her hand on his arm and give it a squeeze. "Hey, calm down, sweetie, no one's gonna eat you.", she says and winks, "Surely it's not the first time you'd take your clothes off in front of a woman? Or is it...?" She eyes him curiously and giggles. "Just like Lancey-boy! I didn't know the New Republic has a policy to only hire virgin pilots!" "What!??!" Raxis blinks, hushing himself as he looks to her. "No no I'm not a .." He lowers his voice, "virgin. No I'm not," He laughs, fairly confident that he isn't. "I mean sure I've done that before but that was...well...different." Serenella arches a brow as if not quite believing him. Well, men and their tales. "You aren't? Good for you. Now that I'm married I'm not going to solve anyone's virginity problems anymore.", she smirks dryly and eyes him. "Why so shy then?" "Shy? Well..." Raxis begins, blinking as the idea of Lance possibly being mentioned in her previous statement. "...I guess girls on Garqi are just a little different. Not that I think what you're talking about is immoral. I mean...it's flattering...wow is it flattering. I had a girlfriend back there before I left. I guess Garqians aren't so...forward. I gotta admit it is a little different." Serenella chuckles softly. "Are they now? So how do you get to meet a girl there? Taking her out to teas and holding hands for a year?" She shrugs a little. "I know I got a big mouth, but ya know, it was the only way to ever get heard. And I grew up in the casinos more or less. I've seen t*ts since I was a kid. My Mom's a stripper and she has no idea who my father is. My only sister's turned into a dyke." She shrugs again. It's just the way it is, right? "Yeah...you've gotta take what you can with where you come from I suppose." Raxis responds, face slowly returning to normal as he turns to her again. "But it's not exactly holding hands and tea for a year, but I come from wine country so there's alot of farms out there. Generally the last thing you want to do is snap-off the wrong girl's father. They'll come after you with farm tools out there..." He pauses, musing as he takes a drag off of the cigarette. "...trust me. I'd know." Serenella grins at that. "Wine country. Yea, that would help, I guess. Just get the girl in question drunk. And even if Dad comes after you, looks to me you're still in one piece and..." Yes, she does look at his crotch quite unabashedly, "Still in possession of your goods. So have you left a girl behind there? Bring her over to Ord?" Face flushing again, he manages to hang on to his cigarette and not cough this time, turning to her. "No...no...there was some stuff that happened before I left, and we parted on good terms. I had flings here and there, but pretty much like I said before I've been too busy to date since I arrived here at Ord with the rest of the fleet." He smiles, looking to her. "But, I guess I'm safe. No one's going to chase me with a pitchfork here I'm sure." Serenella grins a bit at his mention of 'flings' but for once spares him a bitchy comment. "Nah, no pitchforks around here.", she assures him, "Only stun guns and neurolashes. Just if you wanna take one well-meant piece of advice..." She leans forward a little to lower her voice, not caring if he takes advantage of the view once she leans forward to him, "Flirt as much as you want here, but avoid the twi'lek bitches. They aren't right in their little bird heads." Keeping his voice lowered he watches her lean in and grins to her. "The only one I know is a marine," He smiles, seeming a bit more confident and comfortable. "...and I really think that would be a bad idea." He finishes, grinning again to regard her. Serenella nods, content with that. "Good.", she says and straightens up again. She doesn't offer any more explanation why twi'leks got her ire, but looks him up and down with a sigh. "So, no audition for me today?" rinning slightly out of the corner of his mouth, Raxis rests an arm on the back of the bench and looks to her. "I couldn't leave the guys to come work for you on the Rancor. Yeah...I know it'd be alot safter and probably grant me a million interesting entries in my life story...but I'd feel bad if someone on my crew got hurt if I resigned." Serenella chuckles. "No need to resign, is there? Just some guest-starring now and then. I guess it would only add to your allure - a real Republican pilot stud stripping for them. Ah well, give me a call, when you change your mind, okay? I should go now, I don't want to keep my sister waiting with dinner..." Nodding, Raxis stands to be ever the polite one and offers her a hand to help her get up. "Do you have a comm number that I could reach you at? You never know. I might just wake up one day and feel the need to do something insane." He chuckles, watching her. "Oh, I'd definitely want to be around for that.", Serenella grins and takes the hand to let him pull her up to his feet. She opens her purse and takes a pink card with gold-embossed letters from it which she gives him. "Here's my card - has my number and all on it.", she says and leans up to quite unashamedly kiss his cheek. "Take care, sweetie." Slipping the card into his pocket, he smiles and turns to her to and waves to her as she leaves. "You take care too, ma'am. I'll see you around." He replies, stopping to make sure he has no lipstick on his cheek with a slight rub of his hand. Watching her walk off, he can't help but shake his head at the conversation they just had.
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