But you and I, we've been through that

[Jared Starchaser]

Spoiler

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BigolJfoANw

With the Fringe going through their government shut down, and the civil war tearing the worlds apart, Jared Starchaser, Wing Commander of Warbird Wing and the one who selects the direction that the Wing and her ship, the Dawn Treader should take had to make a call. While a lot of members of the Fringe Federation were scattering, some going to the Primeval and others to the Techno Union, Jared wasn’t sure that his group fit in either of those locations. Should any member of the Fringe Federation need the Wing or the Nightstingers, he’d make sure to lend a hand, but right now? He was working on keeping the galaxy safe. It seemed that the Wing had added to their mission statement. It wasn’t only about defending the galaxy from overzealous religious Force users, but from the monsters that lived within the Unknown Regions.

The Levantine Sanctum seemed to give them that ability. It allowed them to keep the peace at their own pace. And with his father working at the Astronautical Academy, it seemed like a logical place. Hell, even Kaia and Token were here. It was a fething family reunion. All except that obnoxious Marek Starchaser seemed to be here, and that was fine by him. Keep that one away from the rest, even Token Waters was a better Starchaser. Not only did Marek side with the Sith, which Warbirds had done at times, but he learned and claimed it as his religion at times.

It didn’t matter though, Jared was here, on Oswaft Station with Lia. And for him? What better place was there? The galaxy had been in turmoil, and there weren’t many times when he and Lia could just be… themselves. From one skirmish to another, Children of Darzu, Reavers, the Rapture, loss of his mother, his father’s sabbatical, Kaia leaving the ship, and the civil war, there was a lot going on. It was nice to be somewhere that the ship, as it was more than a warship, it was a home, but right now? She was orbiting the Station as it seemed Lia was serious about this.

“So, a few months here? Certifications, or did you decide to take a full on major?” He was in his Warbird Wing military uniform, not dress, just standard. Black pilot uniform reminiscent of a certain Baron when he worked with the Chiss.

[member="Marselia Urstalis"]

 

[Marselia Urstalis]

What she wore was no different from what he did - they'd served together since the Fel Empire, and so rarely had been separate from each other. Even when she'd gone this way and that with her erstwhile master and occasional lover, Jared and the Dawn Treader had never been far off. Now she was so serious about this? Being away from her home? She released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, and nodded as a placeholder response to his question, while she put together her thoughts and ceased to woolgather.

"I'm doing a full major," she said, looking out and up at him through the corners of her eyes, "It'll be good for us," meaning the ship and crew, of course, "and if one of us was going to do it, it was me."

She gave him a sly smile, though nerves rattled underneath her facade. It was known what was meant by that, but it was a part of her that she felt less and less connected to with each passing year; of years, there had been several by now.

"You can't leave the cockpit for too long, anyway. You'll shrivel up."

Truth was, she had become that way, too, and was the slightest bit anxious about being absent from the bustle of the flight deck. Long gone was the girl who conducted herself in such a way that flew against everything dictated by the environment in which she had been raised... well, she had vanished from the public eye, at least.

[member="Jared Starchaser"]

 

[Jared Starchaser]

He supposed that the Levantine Astro Academy wasn’t a terrible place… His father was around here somewhere, helped found it, or something. Along with that Warden of the Sky Merrill. Another good pilot, even if his track record was on the opposite side from he and his own in most battles. Or at least he would’ve been. He had no idea when the last time Merrill was in a fighter, and it frankly didn’t matter. Jared was a soldier, he was a combat pilot. That was his take on most things. And that was why the next statement didn’t offend him.

Well, it was a loaded statement, but the offensive part. She really was the better of the two, and he’d readily admit that to anyone. Stronger in the Force than he’d ever hope to be, and well, definitely with more of a range of knowledge than he had. The one that caused him to miss a step was when she said us. He looked at Lia with a sidelong glance. “Us, huh? Sure, the ship… right.” He had no idea what she had going on in her head.

He knew what was going on in his, but pulling her off to a small nook on the station, probably wasn’t going to go over too well. There were kids running around after all, but this had the feeling of shore leave, and the one thing that Jared always did when there was shore leave… Well, that was reclaim Lia from whoever else she was with, make her his again.

“I’ll show you shrivel…” He grinned as he walked sideways into her, playfully. “So, have you figured what you’re going to take for course work… Cadet?” He grinned as he spoke with her up and coming rank. Just a bit teasing, he was a CAG, after all. Well, did that still stick? For the Wing it did, but without the whole Fringe Federation?

[member="Marselia Urstalis"]

 

[Marselia Urstalis]

Her sly smile turned into an inviting grin when he walked into her; she nudged back, a one-note laugh escaping her when he asked after her area of study with that tease.

"Yes, sir," she said with that purring edge, "took a bit of deciding, though."

She had several options, being that she could expand on her training as a healer, was a pilot, and gifted with the instincts for potentially flawless, if not a slight advantage in get-the-feth-out-of-dodge. She had been thinking about it for a long time, ever since the academy was founded, and even now still found herself with the tiniest voice of doubt at her decision. Her expression backed down to something serious; she hooked a hand into the crook of his elbow and pressed her forehead into his shoulder, letting free the faintest sigh.

"Major and a minor, actually," she started, pulling her forehead away and tilting her face to look on his, "Hyperspace navigation and piloting, with diplomacy and first contact. I could have went medical, minored in xenobiology, but the thought of taking myself away from the cockpit like that made me..."

She paused, smiling with a slight, intimate warmth.

"...the thought of doing something that would put me further from you was unacceptable."

Her eyebrows lifted apologetically, though there was nothing to apologize for. It wasn't a physical distance she spoke of, but their common ground. The biggest swath of their bond. She let go of his elbow, remembering that they were both in uniform, and looked down the corridor while failing in her attempt to avoid the pink that rushed up her cheeks. She'd only ever blushed for him.

[member="Jared Starchaser"]

 

[Jared Starchaser]

That damned voice. Jared couldn’t get enough of the tones she spoke in. And when they pumped into one another in that playful style they sometimes had, it was easy to forget they were in a galaxy at war. Granted, the Levantine Free Sanctum Space, or whatever the official name was out here was peaceful and quiet, the Dawn Treader and her crew were joining the space force to protect the worlds, namely Laekia, but were working with other ships to run simulation sorties to keep everyone on their toes.

Blame Jared, really, he was a commander of an air group, and he wanted to make sure no one got compliant. What was beyond the rim here? What did the Wild Space have for them? He was excited for Lia to get herself off the ship. He was always the better pilot anyway, and honestly? He watched for her ship all the time she was on a mission with him, reaching for her in the Force and looking to make sure nothing got at her. It was probably not the most professional thing, but everyone on the Treader had their person.

He knew he busted a few mechanics and pilots in the break rooms from time to time. It wasn’t discouraged, not by a long shot, just… dangerous. He smiled when she leaned into him and sighed. Moments like these were what he needed.

Her major was a good choice. Coren was teaching classes in hyperspace exploration, and piloting, and first contact? Well, when in Levantine Rome. He was about to speak up when she said something that he wasn’t sure he was expecting. The words he expected were ‘cockpit’ but the whole intimate confession? Didn’t they go through this a few times?

The hopeless romantic at heart, Jared grinned and slipped an arm around her shoulders. Was that the signal he was hoping for? He wasn’t quite sure, and as much as he wanted to reach out to her in the Force, he made himself, and her, especially, a promise to not do that unless lives were on the line. Still, he watched her, for a second. “Well, y’know, ships do have medbays. And I do fly long watches…” He gave one of those traditional Corellian smirks.

[member="Marselia Urstalis"]

 

[Marselia Urstalis]

She shook her head, her face marked with considerable bemusement. Leaving their mark on one of the med-beds was a tantalizing thought, but there was one very good reason for why she chose the major she did in the end, and it had nothing to do with practicality. She leaned into him, because if he was doing it, it was perfectly fine. After this many years, protocol still felt like a foreign language that she was only passably fluent in.

"I found myself in the pilot's chair of my old ship," she said, remembering the little vessel she used to take herself from the place she once called home, "you've heard this all before," and she laughed at herself, "I'm more a part of the Dawn Treader than I ever was a part of the politics of the world I grew up in."

She snaked her own arm around his waist, giving a squeeze.

"I'm more one of you, than I am anything else," she went on, saying things she had said before, though some of the words were new, "and I'd like to be known that way."

She glanced up at him.

"Is that okay?"

[member="Jared Starchaser"]

 

[Jared Starchaser]

Protocol didn’t stand here, not for Jared, at least. He and Lia would be going separate ways for a while. And that meant the yearning and wanting would only (probably) get worse. This wasn’t completely a military school, many civilians were here, so showing that he was clearly going to miss her? It didn’t seem like such a bad thing. It was that they’d be away, video calls sure, and he was only on the ship in orbit, or running training skirmishes around the nation…

More part of the Treader than home. How many times had he heard that from her? A lot. And it always made him think. They’d been doing this dance of theirs, their courtship and… feelings for one another for years, was that called skinny love? Nah, he wasn’t thinking it was quite that. The pilot knew she loved him, and it was very clearly reciprocated on his end.

She had her arms around him and he pulled her close, giving her a kiss on the cheek. She was a part of the wing, and there’d be no way he’d let her show up at this academy without Warbird Wing memorabilia. She was part of that Wing, and that was a life time sentence.

But… oh.

“Why [member="Marselia Urstalis"], are you asking me to marry you?" He gave her a grin, his voice a few octaves higher, and for some reason, he was channeling an inner southern white woman.

 

[Marselia Urstalis]

That voice made her laugh. It always did. She didn’t know where it came from, and never bothered to ask because to do so would shed the light of knowledge and snuff the light of mystery, which was what provoked her laughter. The Morellian pilot put fingers to the line of his jaw on one side, and nipped at the other edge of that same jaw. Just one gentle nip.

“That isn’t the only thing I want to do to you,” she said at low, husky volume, “I’ll have a couple weeks until my classes start, at the very least.”

She wondered just how many things he could think of doing with something as nebulous as ‘a couple weeks’. The fingers at his jaw traced down the chest of his uniform.

“You could always say no.”

Of course he wouldn’t. It wasn’t him that had been holding out.

“But you wouldn’t deny me like that, now would you?”

[member="Jared Starchaser"]

 

[Jared Starchaser]

Jared had his weird quirks, but really, he lived aboard a space ship, who was expecting him to be normal? But right now? It was more play. This was a side of the Starchaser CAG that most didn’t see. It was typically reserved for Lia, and maybe Kaia, at times, though a whole lot less romantic for his sister. When she touched and nipped at him, that sent jolts south and the pilot grinned.

His hands found her hips and he looked into her eyes. Now though, what was she suggesting? He looked at her with a smile. A few weeks, huh? Something about that time frame screamed Ginger Starchasers.

His voice changed to more of his pillow talk voice, especially once he realized they were alone.

“Well, the thing is, I’m not like you, darling. I won’t be turning you down on this.” He kissed her forehead. “This is all for the insurance money, isn’t it?” That was followed up by a wink. Warbird didn't really have the same sort of pay scale as a military. It was much more like a PMC, but she'd get anything he had should he get shot down.

But seriously, he was a Starchaser.

And now she'd be one?

[member="Marselia Urstalis"]

 

[Marselia Urstalis]

The other end of her lips joined the first. She thought as much. Why would he, when he had been asking for so long? It was all play, with a serious end. A few serious ends.

"Insurance? In a way..." she mused, and that smile grew a bit of tooth, "...if you're up for it."

Could she handle that and her studies? That remained to be seen, but she was never one to back down from getting exactly what she wanted, and she wanted this as much as she wanted that degree. More, even. The reasons for delaying had faded with time. There would never be a 'good' time for any of this. There never was, no matter one's circumstances.

"What will your father think?"

She could guess. She hadn't been aboard the Dawn Treader for as long as she had to be ignorant.

[member="Jared Starchaser"]

 

[Jared Starchaser]

Was it desperation from his point? He didn’t think so. Lia and Jared were a pair that just kind of worked. Sure, he knew there were others in her bed from time to time, and there had been others in his, but when they were together? It was called being their primary. There constant. And for him, maybe it was a bit of claiming his territory with his repeated (okay, three times, it happened three times) proposals to the red-head in question.

The galaxy was a fethed up place. If they waited for a good time, they’d be waiting their whole lives for anything to happen. And with Lia? It just felt right for Jared, everything just felt… balanced? “I’m up for it, if you are.” He smiled at her and ran his hands up her waist.

As for his father? “Well, I know he’ll want to put us through the ringer. Aunt Lily warned me about that one.” Aunt here being his father’s old wingman and one of the people responsible for raising him and his sister while his father was out being… frozen.

“Not too worried about him.”

[member="Marselia Urstalis"]

 

[Marselia Urstalis]

She slipped her hands up to take either side of his face. A smooth face, clean-shaven more often than not.

"Then there really is nothing," she said, "and no-one stopping us."

And she kissed him, a short-ish peck, then pulled back. She was ready. More than ready. In truth, she had been ready for a long time, but had been worried for one reason or another, or afraid. There had been a 'but' for so long, and the 'but' was gone, replaced with 'I belong here' and 'this is my home'.

"So how about we go do everything that needs doing? Poking around this place can wait; I've kept you waiting long enough."

[member="Jared Starchaser"]

 

[Jared Starchaser]

His eyes tracked back to her face when she touched him. See, these were the moments that made those long and drawn out military campaigns worth it. All the work he did to keep the galaxy, the Dawn Treader, and now Oswaft Station and the world of Laekia safe. The minutes, or sometimes hours and whole weekends of intimacy. It made those trips worth it, gave him something to fight for, and something to return to. Perhaps why he flew so hard, flew so erratic and why his Force skills seemed to revolve around creating barriers and protecting himself and others.

"How long before classes start, Cadet?" He grinned at her. They had time, especially with them flying together, they could shave off half a trip to get from here to the Core and back again. Sure, they might not be hobbits, but they were going to probably be doing some work. Was she going to want to get out to Morellia? He had already taken his trip home to... he didn't know, save the Starchasers?

But this act, this would do more.

[member="Marselia Urstalis"]

 

[Marselia Urstalis]

She grinned back at him and jabbed at him with one long finger. Was he employing selective hearing?

"A couple weeks, as I already said. Well, three. Three weeks. A few."

More or less the same thing, so bite me, were her thoughts. Her tongue poked out of her mouth and she made a face at him, then laughed. Yes, these were the moments that made everything worth doing. Did she want to go back to Morellia? Was there any point in doing so? No, probably not.

"Ahem, three weeks..." she said again, the next word coming out of her mouth having a sultry purr to it, "...sirrr."

[member="Jared Starchaser"]

 

[Jared Starchaser]

Selective hearing? Probably. He liked to hear what he wanted, like most, but sometimes even Jared Starchaser, who was really much more grounded in the hear-and-now than most people ever could hope to be, being Wing Commander, and all, was off the wall. “Three weeks… Plenty of time.” He looked at her slowly, not really at her, but into her (not a euphemism.)

“Was there anything in particular you wanted to get done?” His lips quirked up as she all but purred out ‘sir’. Wasn’t necessary from her in these times, sure if they were in the ready room, then Jared was all business. A Starchaser trait, wasn’t it? If there was going to be a wedding, there would be time after, but until then? He wanted to make sure all was done on the front end first.

Prior Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.

[member="Marselia Urstalis"]