[OOM] Pilot Quarters

[fighting_mad]

"Make the call, Plourr," Ibtisam says, stepping into her boots.

"If you hadn't just been nearly killed," Plourr tells her Mon Calamari bunkmate (who she vastly prefers to Feylis, with no offense meant to Feylis), "I would throw something at you. Preferably a quad-linked laser. Maybe a hungry rancor."

Ib's mouthparts widen in what Plourr has come to recognize as an approximation of a human smile, but she shakes her head. "I'm not kidding. All you've done the past few days is pace." She wisely flees their cramped quarters before Plourr can make good on her threat.

The princess takes a deep breath and pulls out her personal comm unit. As it begins placing the call, she shrugs on the white jacket of her dress uniform, belting it at the waist.

Comments

[fighting_mad]

"I'm sorry about waking you." She begins to do battle with the earrings in the shape of the Alliance symbol (she and her ears are losing). "How are things on Eiattu?"

[eiattu_pride]

"S'fine."

Rolls his eyes.

"I'm afraid I'm going to start channeling you, and shooting the floor at those oh-so-nice meetings with the Priamsta."

[fighting_mad]

"It's actually the ceiling," she says, clipping one earring in place and moving on to the other. "Makes a nice shower of dust, shuts them right up."

[eiattu_pride]

"But the floor knocks them over."

Innocent innocent innocent.

[fighting_mad]

Pause.


"Does it really?" She can only hope it's like a row of purple-wearing pretentious little dominoes.

[eiattu_pride]

He glances away guiltily.









"...maybe."

[fighting_mad]

Plourr grins suddenly. "That's fantastic."

[eiattu_pride]

"I think my dad almost had a heart attack."

Grins back.

[fighting_mad]

"You say that, and yet you're smiling. There's something wrong with this picture," she says, and the grin may be gone, but there's a small smirk in its place. She finally slips on the back of her other earring. "How are your parents?"

[eiattu_pride]

"About the same as always."

He pulls a small face.

[fighting_mad]

He gets an equally small face in return, but she doesn't comment, besides a nod and a wry, "That's good."

This is possibly because asking after his parents' well-being was going to be her last resort in terms of topics. And, well, it was.

[eiattu_pride]

"Uh."









"So! How's everyone?"

[fighting_mad]

"Wes is trying to use his experience with Kapp and the commandos to pick up women." She rolls her eyes, and she really hadn't been planning on mentioning Dendo, but she did and she powers right past it. "Wedge and Tycho are strategizing, Feylis is letting the greenest of the rookies hit on her, Ib and Nrin are arguing, Hobbie is doomsdaying--" She shrugs. "It's business as usual."

[eiattu_pride]

Rial nods.

"Sounds fun."

[fighting_mad]

Yeah. Fun. But she nods, and then-- damn.

It's very difficult to hold a conversation, Plourr is discovering, when you actually care whether or not the other conversant is upset by something you say.

It's not a situation she's very used to.

"I got promoted," she offers after an awkward second.

[eiattu_pride]

"...why?"

Blinks.

[fighting_mad]

Plourr is not in the least bit offended, because that had been her first question when she'd been told.

She shrugs. "Besides Wes, Hobbie, Tycho, and Wedge, I have seniority in the squadron. I've been leading Three Flight since I got back." And then she grins. "There was also an incident involving some tight flying through a hostile hanger bay and explosions that I guess impressed somebody."

She's still a little miffed that she hadn't been allowed to paint a silhouette of at least half that hanger on her X-wing.

[eiattu_pride]

"Very nice."

His expression is a little longing, really.

"Don't suppose I could sneak off to join you?"

[fighting_mad]

One corner of her mouth twists up. "You know you'd be welcome; Feylis was telling the rookies the other day about the Silerian stall, and guess who she used as an example?" It's really not fair for her to call them rookies; all four of them are (were) combat veterans with other squads. But she does it anyway.

[eiattu_pride]

"Oh, gods."

Facepalm.

[fighting_mad]

"It's a compliment, you know. A pilot from the best squadron in the galaxy" (modesty? what's that?) "using your flying as a teaching example."

[eiattu_pride]

"Yay?"

Oh dear.

Rial does not like being an example.

[fighting_mad]

Yes. Yes, Plourr can see that.

So she tugs on the red sash across her shoulder, just below the new rank insignia. "It's Lieutenant Ilo now." Tiny smirk. "The boys are horrified."

[eiattu_pride]

"As any normal and sane person would be."

He grins at her.

And sticks his tongue out.

Because he can.

[fighting_mad]

"Are you trying to call yourself normal and sane?" she asks doubtfully, and look how mature she's being! No tongue in return!

[eiattu_pride]

"Yes."

And he beams.

[fighting_mad]

Plourr just shakes her head, but there's a smile threatening to break loose.

[eiattu_pride]

And that's good.

So Rial just smiles.