Beard in Exile

[Dayn Wren]

Times were hard. That phrase could be said pretty much anywhere in the galaxy and be true. He couldn't care about all places where times were hard. In the overall scheme of things, he cared about very few. It had nothing to do with Aedan being cold or insensitive, but the sentient mind had only the capacity to take so much suffering onto its shoulders. This was personal, and it was sensitive.

He had made it past the planetary ring easy enough. Finding the planet had been a relatively smooth and uninterrupted affair as well. It was simple when you knew where to go. It was his first time visiting D'Qar but the instructions were clear. 'Visiting' made it sound mighty casual, but this was far from a casual affair.

Since leaving Rogue Squadron and facing the vast coldness of space together with his former Rogue and current life wingman Owen, the Alliance had been getting something of a hammering. Him and Owen hadn't left the fight, they had just changed the way in which they approached it, though he knew everyone might not see it that way. There was no way he was turning his back on the so-called Alliance in Exile.

Times were indeed hard, and what remained of the resistance was in desperate need of supplies. Good thing Aedan's new occupation in life provided a solution to that. Smuggling wasn't all that bad at all. His ship had set down at what must've seemed like a remote location on an otherwise jungle-covered planet, void of any intelligent life. D'Qar wasn't all jungle though, and it wasn't all devoid of life.

The ramp dropped, and at the ship's entrance, amidst glowing lights and fading smoke, stood Aedan. He no longer dressed like a Flight Officer of the Alliance navy, yet he still had something of that cocky demeanour about him that flyboys often seemed to carry with them. Maybe it was just the sunglasses he wore, despite being outside of the reach of the sun. He had replaced the X-Wing with a freighter and a blaster at his hip. Even so, he was here to help.

[member="Ava Cartwright"]​

 

[Ava Cartwright-Pryce]

D'Qar​

​

The telltale noise of a light freighter flying in atmo caught Ava's attention. She wasn't aware of any supply drops scheduled for today, but again Goldie was only the hired help. The XO of Rogue Squadron just did as she was told, and today it was chores to keep things working even though the elite pilots were on R & R between missions. The Alliance needed everyone to pull their weight multi-taking as available personnel were stretched at best. Luckily for her and others she wasn't asked to do KP duty as cooking wasn't a forte of hers.

Soon the ship flew overhead inbound for the Alliance-in-Exile's secret base. There was something about the vessel that was familiar yet she couldn't quite place it. The Ralltiiri quickly finished the maintenance she was tasked to do on the shield generator, then the blonde headed back to the rebel base covering the few kilometers on a speeder bike post-haste.

Ava pulled the speeder bike up near where the ship landed on the airfield, then waited for the boarding ramp to lower; leaning casually against the bike with arms crossed over her chest. The tall blonde was wearing her typical rebel orange flight suit and pilot jacket with a side arm holstered low off her shapely right hip. Rogue Nine's long, golden tresses were pulled back into a high pony tail and a pair of aviator shades hid the lieutenant commander's steel blue eyes.

Goldilocks bit her lip as the identity of the freighter captain came to be. A smirk came to her lips as [member="Aedan Lochlan"] swaggered down the ramp all tall, dark, and handsome like. It had been some time since their last encounter at the Kal'Shebbol spaceport during the early days of exile in the Outer Rim Coalition's territory post the Galactic Alliance's demise at the hands of the Sith Empire, First Order, and Mandalorian Empire.

"Well if it isn't the bearded one... Welcome to D'Qar, finally," Ava quipped with a soft chuckle, then she pushed off the bike and took a couple of booted steps towards the former Rogue turned smuggler.

"It's good to see you again, Aedan," she greeted in a friendly tone, offering her hand in welcome. "Are you here on business or pleasure?"

 

[Dayn Wren]

Not everyone got to see this place. It was Aedan's first time laying eyes on it too. Although right now they were occupied appreciating something other than hangars and camouflaged ships. That said, it did indicate that the Alliance held him in some regard, probably, or at least were willing to trust him again, somewhat. His inner voice wasn't very confident in his assessment, but he was quite competent at second-guessing himself, despite the cocky exterior.

When he saw just who the welcome party consisted of, he couldn't help but put on a growing grin. Now that was a surprise, but a welcome one. "Are you always on welcome duty, or did you hear I was coming?" It was nice to see a friendly and familiar face, with the added benefit of her being a Rogue. He blended in well with that crowd. Enjoying the freedom his sunglasses provided, Aedan walked down the flat steps, slowing down at the end of the ramp "Thank you. Seems after all this time Command let me in on the secret, finally"

"If I'm doing business with you, I hope those two are not mutually exclusive." He finally took those shades off, folded them, and tucked them away in a front pocket at his chest. Aedan knew she was a Rogue, although he hadn't caught wind of her promotion just yet. Maybe it would have changed his tone, but probably it would only have a slim effect. He was no longer their pilot, at least officially. And his kind did not exactly have a reputation for sticking to regulation at all times.

In a more earnest tone now, he reached to meet her hand and said "It's good to see you too, Ava" The place looked pretty empty, nearly abandoned. It could be by design, and Aedan didn't know what was underneath the surface. "You guys still keeping at it like before, I trust?" There was a hint of concern, not very well masked, in his tone. He cared for the Alliance, the cause, but most importantly, the enlisted.

[member="Ava Cartwright"]​

 

[Ava Cartwright-Pryce]

"Neither... It just happened to be your lucky day," the blonde pilot answered with a lopsided grin playing on her lips, then she slid her aviator shades up to rest atop her golden head allowing their blue and green gazes respectively to meet without hinderance.

"Well business before pleasure is the order of the day, but I'm good at multi-tasking so I'm sure we can arrange a mix of the two. It would be great to catch up, hmm?"

Ava had not forgotten about the former Rogue turned smuggler. It was hard not to remember him. He had definitely made an impression upon the Ralltiiri even in their short encounter as she had been tasked with bringing [member="Aedan Lochlan"] into the fold of the Alliance-in-Exile shortly after the faction set up shop in the Coalition's Outer Rim Territory. The Lorridian had agreed to help them, but then fell off the grid until now. She was very curious as to what the smuggler had been up to as of late both in a professional and personal way.

"Pretty much... Rebel mode we are still in since our exile out here," Goldie nodded, then added.

"Rogue Squadron is looking for good pilots just in case you have an itch to fly again. What?! I'm always recruiting. It's part of my job now as acting XO to fill our ranks. Rogues could really use someone of your caliber even if you are a bit rusty... I'm sure I could bring you up to par in no time," she winked slyly, then motioned back towards the ship.

"I hope you brought us something good? I'm available to help you off load if you want."

 

[Dayn Wren]

Lucky day indeed. He wouldn't argue with that. Truth be told, now that he was doing business with the Alliance again, he had hoped to bump into her again somewhere on the road. Their last encounter had been a little too short for his liking.

He braced for impact as the shades came off. So far his defences were holding. Or were they? Was he staring? He wasn't staring, right? Kark, why did she have to be blonde? Well, it wasn't just about the hair, she also-nope, maintain eye-contact. Stay with us, Rogue Two.

"That sounds like a good deal to me" the smuggler responded with a cheeky grin, enjoying the tone. "I'm not as well informed without high command shoving report after report down my throat, but I'm sure I got a story or two from my side of things that would surprise you" he gave a brief chuckle, breaking eye contact for a moment to glance back at his ship. They had been through a lot recently.

Ava spotted the surprise on his face, even anticipated it. He couldn't help but laugh, as a means to relieve it. "I am flying, see?" he jokingly and with animated gestures turned to point at the ship he had just walked off of. He knew what she meant though. She was a beauty, but she was no X-Wing. Smuggling was a different sort of gig.

It was always gnawing at him, that itch she referred to. In the beginning he had denied it, and told himself it was a symptom of something else. He found various distractions to, well, keep him distracted. But deep down he always knew. He always remembered. Once a Rogue, always a Rogue, until fire take them. It was always easier to push it aside when he was working, especially far away. But whenever he came close with Alliance people, or even their associates, which was quite frequently, the urge became stronger.

Maybe that was why he had opted for more dangerous work, behind enemy lines. Maybe the reason he was back here, now, on D'Qar, was that he had stopped lying to himself. The reason he left to begin with had been very real, even though his sister had never asked for it. But things were looking up on the home business front too...

The sound of laughter faded, though it still remained upon his face. "What? You're not serious, are you?" he said, looking at her sideways as they walked back up together into the freighter. Even Aedan wasn't really sure if he was just voicing his surprise, or looking for her to give him another excuse to come back. "I've been out of it a while. And aren't there like... Protocol for these kind of things?" he kept prodding, not screaming yes at the first opportunity, but clearly not able to let the matter go, even how casual and teasing he tried to appear.

"Right. Uuuh" Reaching the cargo room, he snapped out of it for a moment to return to the matter at hand. "I brought a little bit of everything. Food, medicine. Mostly medicine. There was more food, but apparently you're supposed to preserve it in a special way... Anyway, I can make another run." as he spoke he pointed and gestured towards various crates and boxes. The space was crammed about as full as he could manage even with the spoiled food he had had to throw out. "And I got some weapons lying around under the floor past the entryway. It wasn't requested by you guys, but I got a good deal on it and I thought you might want it."

"Sure, I'd appreciate a hand, if you don't mind getting them dirty" he teased her, a playful and challenging smirk going her way. It was just about then he just recalled "Oh wait, hold up. XO you said? Damn. Congrats." He managed to stay serious and genuine for that whole moment before breaking out with some kind of jest again "Don't that mean you got lackeys doing this for you? Or is that me now?" he laughed, kicking the side of one of the bigger crates to activate the repulsorlifts underneath.

| [member="Ava Cartwright"] |​

 

[Ava Cartwright-Pryce]

"Yes, there are still protocols in place, but individual commands have leeway in personnel matters. Plus... you're already house trained, so to speak," she quipped lightly with a smirk pulling at the corners of her mouth, then added with a little more seriousness.

"I think though as long as you pass the minimal SIM score, Commander Vigil would gladly reinstate you as a Rogue... If that is what you truly want to do again - Fly with the best of the best," she gave a sly wink sideways at [member="Aedan Lochlan"] as they entered the smuggler's ship.

Ava followed the bearded Lorridian through the light freighter to the cargo hold. It wasn't hard to tell the man was still in tip top shape.

"Well that's a shame about the spoilage, though what food did survive will be greatly appreciated along with the medicine... and weapons. I'm sure they will be greatly welcomed and used as well," the blonde pilot nodded, then paused for a moment in thought. "Actually what we really need are replacement ship parts. We are nearly down to using super glue and rubber bands to keep the current fighters we have up in the air, if you want to know the honest truth. It's a sad state of affairs that the once great Galactic Alliance is in this predicament, but we rebels still have hope to keep us fighting the good fight."

The Ralltiiri spotted a hover sled in the corner of the hold and moved it over to where a stack of crates were that looked like medical supplies.

"Oh I don't mind getting my hands dirty... You should see me after helping the techs pull an engine," Goldie replied flashing a lopsided grin.

"And thanks...Yeah, got promoted to Lieutenant Commander after the Battle of Fondor, and there after tagged acting executive officer by Rogue Leader," she said, then moved over one of the crates onto the sled.

"A lackey, huh.... I could get used to that. Force knows I have a long list of things you could do for me."

A soft chuckle followed, then a question of her own as they both worked to get the cargo off loaded.

"So Aedan tell me some of your adventures as a smuggler since leaving Rogue Squadron?"

 

[Dayn Wren]

Aedan was considering it. Seriously.

He chuckled at her words. "I guess that's true." House trained. He'd made the requirements in the past, and he had left on his terms. Presumably he wasn't about to be kicked out of the squad. And so perhaps he could actually return... He had dismissed it as something of the past. But maybe that wasn't the whole picture.

"Sounds like times are hard" he chuckled again, though this time with more effort required. He had work to keep seeing it on the positive side. Times were indeed hard. "I could make another run" helping them wasn't the most profitable cause, but it was the right one. He wasn't in it for the credits.

He nodded, listening as she talked about Fondor. Even though he wasn't a Rogue, he believed he was still doing his part to spread some good and fight the good fight, in his own yet. That said, it was hard not to feel a rush of guilt and regret whenever a battle he hadn't been present for was referenced. Especially the heavy casualty one. Maybe he could've made a difference...

While they were unloading, Aedan shared some stories. He had worked up quite a few, and picked the tallest and those that amused him the most personally.

"Turns out..." he said, while pushing the final crate out of the ship. He had to take a moment to restrain himself so that he did not break out in laughter before the punchline. "The Count didn't know a thing about it, it was his daughter all along!" it was a ridiculous tale, the kind you had a hard time believing if you weren't there. But stranger things had happened.

When his laughter died down from the fond memories, he looked at her and took a long deep breath. "I don't know Ava. I've been thinking..." was he really doing this? Could he really turn this down? Could he really say yes? "I can do a lot of good with this baby too..." he gestured towards the ship. "But maybe on my free time." A slow-growing grin made its appearance. He was basically saying yes at this point, if the offer still stood.

"What do you think? Think you can fit me into one of your X-Wings?"

[member="Ava Cartwright"]​

 

[Ava Cartwright-Pryce]

Tall tales of travels were always fun to listen to, and [member="Aedan Lochlan"]'s were pretty good garnering a few impressed ooh's and ahh's as well as a 'no way, really?!'.

"Gotta watch out for those daughters... They can be very sneaky that way," Goldie quipped with a chuckle, not that she had ever been devious like that with her father. Okay, maybe once or twice, but nothing to that scale!

It didn't take the two long to offload the goods, stacking the crates just inside the hangar. The Quartermaster had been alerted to the arrival of the supplies. The old Master Chief would see to distributing them appropriately as he ran a tight ship here on the base. No one dared to take what was not relegated to them or their department, or beware of his bark.

Steel blue eyes meet the Lorridian's green as the gayety of the moment died down. Ava could tell he was struggling with a personal decision. Her gaze passed over his broad shoulder to that of his ship as Aedan gestured to it, then they returned to him.

"Oh I'm pretty sure we can find a cockpit that can accommodate you... Just hope you haven't lost your touch. Takes a highly skilled pilot to handle one... " she said, flashing a lopsided grin. "A TR-20 that is."

Was there a double meaning in there? Probably, but truly Rogue Squadron's current snubfighter was finicky to say the least to fly.

"We all do what we can, when we can. I've been helping to set up rebel cells in my downtime so I'm sure your baby would come in handy smuggling provisions into them," the blonde winked conspiratorially, then offered.

"How about I give you a quick tour of our underground base, then we can talk further about your future over drinks in the cantina as I'm off the clock as of now. The Starbird is the one place that isn't rationed, yet.... "

 

[Dayn Wren]

He gave a chuckle and a look that intended to communicate ‘Me, lose my touch? Never’. But she was right, he had been away from the old X-Wing a while. Were they even still flying those? He assumed so. He got his answer a few seconds later (but his writer didn’t, what’s a TR-20? Couldn’t find them on wookie or the Factory)

Ava got another chuckle out of him. She was winning him over quite well, so far being an excellent recruiter. “This deal keeps sounding better and better” Rogue Squadron by day, smuggler and rebel cell-maker by night. It was starting to sound like the good life.

“Drinks sounds great. I could really use a few” the pilot grinned. Seemed like the ideal day to end a hard day’s work to him. “Lead the way, commander” he teased.

[member="Ava Cartwright"]​