62 Ryloth

"Fuck this man, I'm not cut out for this kind of shit." I said, locking lips with another cigarette and lighting up. The third one since we began walking ten minutes ago. We landed a hike and a half away, shitey Coruscant flying rules, and Aayla following them.

Apparently I was a liability when flying in highly populated areas now. At least according to Aayla. Should've never told her about the mishap with the B-wing or my six-month flying ban courteously given to me by the Coruscant Public Safety department.

Fuck the police.

"Relax, you'll do fine." Aayla chirped, most possibly taking pleasure in my unexpected bout of nervousness, "Show the same confidence you had last night and you'll be fine."

"I am relaxed." The breakneck pace I was smoking at definitely never brought my lie to light.

Fuck I don't even know why I'm like this. Not the chain smoking of course, I've long come to terms with my crippling addiction to alcohol and tobacco. If I enjoy it I don't see the problem, even if those around me find it one.

I've never been such a pussy about taking charge, not in battle, nor in bed. Mhm the sex was phenomenal last night as well, Aayla's flexibility making a number of exotic positions possible and I loved it.

It's just that it feels all too real, prior to now I'd just been temporarily taking control of units here and there, I was never the one wearing the pants. Now thought if shit goes tits up, it's my arse that's on fire.

It's a strange feeling that twisted and squirmed in my gut…

So I drowned it out with the familiar burn of high percentage alcohol, "Ahh, much better. Liquid confidence indeed." I contently murmured, fucking emotions, that'll show them who's in charge.

Senses blunted back down to appropriate levels and the venators ramp moments away, I turned to Aayla, "So, you going to miss me while I'm gone."

"Not a chance." She replied, flicking her nails across the hilt of her lightsaber, "With you gone I'll finally be able to get a full night's rest."

Laughing, I retorted, "Hey I don't force you to do anything. Last night was of your own making, I was completely fine with getting a good sleep." Lying through my teeth.

I could've survived without it, but abstaining from pleasure has never been my thing. Especially when it could be weeks before I see her again, possibly more. Which was a strange thought considering we've been joined at the hip for the past year.

Snorting in an unlady-like manner we trudged up the long ass ramp, pulling the repulsor lift crates along while making our way to the control bridge. On the way up we passed by busy clones doing a varying number of jobs, each of them giving a salute as their new General passed by.

Which admittedly did add to my already huge ego.

Handing off the crates to some of the clones, we jumped into the turbo lift, Aayla asking, "Who is your clone commander?"

"Hm?" A sound of uncertainty left my throat, "Dunno, ended up glossing over the stuff they sent me. The only thing I know is the battalion's name and how many ships I got."

Stingy bastard man those G.A.R suits, only leaving me a single Venator and an Acclamator. The Venator was fine, great in fact, it's one of the better ships the republic has to offer. The latter though, was pretty much useless for anything apart from troop transport and running away. Plus my legion can't even fill the whole thing up, limiting its usefulness further.

"Typical." Aayla shook her head, "At least grace me with your legions name."

Smirking, I gave the force a silent thanks before saying, "The 69th Legion."

Taking a moment to process the information, Aayla placed a hand on her forehead and sighed, "You've got to be kidding me…"

Laughing again, "How funny is that. Surely Rael had to have had a hand in this. Don't believe this is just a coincidence, not a chance."

"Only you Lycan, only you." She shook her head, just in time for the lift to screech to a halt.

The doors whisked open to reveal the bustling control room, clones and ordinary members of the G.A.R working in unison with high efficiency. It took a moment for someone to notice our arrival, and when it happened the Clone Commander took the initiative to alert everyone.

"Attention!" He yelled, gravitas practically dripping from his voice. Managing to grab and hold the attention of everyone in the room with just one word.

Everyone stood at attention, prompting the commander to give his own salute and add, "Good morning General!" A statement moments later that was echoed by the mass around him.

"Good morning General!"

A tad too formal for my tastes, but I'll train it out of them soon enough.

Casually reciprocating the gesture with two fingers while striding forwards, I said, "Alright men, how's it going. I'm your new General, I'll be in your care from this moment forth."

Continuing to walk toward the commander in white and green and the nervous young admiral in olive. Only to feel a bump in my side caused by a fluctuation in the force, I side eyed Aayla to see her looking at the men suggestively. All of whom were still standing ramrod straight.

"Aw fuck." I mumbled, most likely being heard by a few clones nearby, rectifying my mistake with a simple "At ease."

They all went back to their task and I got to speaking to the two in charge.

Going in for the hand shake, clone first, "As you heard, I'm the new General, but you can call me Lycan."

Removing his phase 2 helmet and grabbing my oversized mitts, "Commander Gears at your service." He announced.

"Gears? There a story behind that name?" I asked, feeling his sandpaper-like palms grasping my own. With the helmet removed I could clearly see the tattooed pattern etched across his nose that ran from cheek to cheek.

"Yes sir, but not an interesting one." Gears answered, releasing the tight grip we had on each other.

"Ballocks man, make sure to tell me over a drink sometime yeah?" I clapped him on the shoulder and watched his mouth curl upwards.

"Same goes to you…" Repeating the action with the Admiral.

"Skyzec Vandron, I'm the Admiral of this vessel." He told me, unlike the Gears, his hand was soft and uncalloused.

Looking him in the eye I replied, "Could've guessed that much."

There was nothing special about him, merely an exceedingly average white man with a little too much meat on his bones. If I was to hazard a guess, he was either a prodigy in the art of navy combat, or, more likely, came from a rich family whose connections pushed him up the ranks.

"How far are we till take off?" I asked.

"Approximately, twenty three minutes General." Skyzec responded, struggling to hold eye contact for more than a second before they moved to something else in the room.

"Good stuff, I'll leave that to you two then. I need to speak to General Secura for a moment." Turning my attention to the only blue alien in the room, I leaned in close and whispered, "Can you give us some privacy."

Wordlessly, she took a step back and brought her hands in front of her chest, as she intertwined her fingers, a look of concentration dawned on Aayla's features. An instant later I could feel the force from an ethereal barrier around us, that was when I knew we were hidden from sight.

Closing the space once again, in a subdued voice I said, "This is really important, so listen carefully."

Giving me her undivided attention, seriousness taking over, she quietly responded, "What is it?"

With a hand cupping my mouth as if I was about to whisper in her ear, I shifted around to her side. Before Aayla could react, my free arm suddenly moved, my palm struck against a firm yet malleable surface that had a tendency to jiggle when an outside force touches it with any measure of strength.

An audible clap travelled around the room, mixed in with a shrill squeal. It turned a few heads, but seeing nothing they deemed it imagination.

"What was that for!" Aayla hissed in a hushed tone, "Are you trying to embarrass me?!"

"Yes." The answer wasn't to Aayla's liking though, if her facial expression was anything to go by.

"I kid, I kid. Was just joking around, sorry." Holding my hands up in surrender.

Softening slightly, she rubbed the area of impact, "Honestly, you're so immature."

"Better than being boring," I shrugged, "In all seriousness though, I am looking into something. Should have confirmation by the end of the day - Coruscant time - so I'll be in touch."

"And am I going to be told what this is?" She asked, making minor tweaks to the barrier as she spoke.

"It's just a hunch. If it turns out to be true I'll tell you. Not like you'd believe me without any proof otherwise." I replied.

"You don't think I'd believe you?" Aayla raised an eyebrow, "Do you have no faith in me?"

Shaking my head, "It's not like that. It's just that it's a bit…out there. Don't want to sound daft by blabbing without any evidence."

"If it's something serious, you know you can always trust me." She responded.

Pausing for a moment I thought it over, "...Just wait a couple of hours alright. I'll get back to you."

Slowly nodding she accepted, "Fine, it's not like I will be waiting that long."

I noticed her palms beginning to separate, and before we lost our little cloak of invisibility I leaned in and gave Aayla a chaste kiss on the lips. Just in time for our figures to become visible again.

Compared to previous times, Aayla's reaction was tame, but I could still make out the slight reddening of her face.

"Goodbye Lycan." She said, locking eyes long enough for me to reply in kind. Then promptly turned and walked for the turbolift, her scandalous hips swaying with every step.

I love watching her leave.

The door closed on Aayla and I was left feeling surprisingly empty, nothing too mental, but that feeling in my belly made a reappearance after laying low for so long.

Aw fuck. Something's coming.

My stomach grumbled unhappily, vibrations shot from my core to the back of my throat in a blink of an eye and before I knew it, "Burrrrrrp."

The clone commander and the admiral started with wide eyes, probably wondering what they got themselves into and if they could leave before it was too late.

"Fuckin hell, breakfast must've not settled properly." I said shamelessly, ignoring the looks of both men and a few of the bridge crew, "Right then, onwards to Ryloth!. I'm off to test the toilets on this badboy."

Leaving the room, and allowing the gobsmacked officers to set course and jump to hyperspace.

I knew it, 'course I wouldn't be nervous about this gig.

Shitey Coruscant street food, never again.

--------------------------------------------------

https://www.patron.com/DodgyWriter

https://discord.gg/MsXD68yR