Private Fine Tolerances

[Aselia Verd]

Aselia listened to the laughter behind her and let the silence settle after the engine cut. The wind moved steadily across the plains, cooling the heat left behind by speed, and she watched Adelle more closely than she let on. When she said it had been the most fun she'd had in a long time, something in Aselia's expression softened in quiet satisfaction.

"Good" she said, her voice calm but pleased. "That's what it's supposed to feel like."

She dismounted in one smooth motion and rested a hand along the BARC's hull, not possessive but proud of the work she had put into it. The machine had done exactly what she asked of it.

When Adelle grinned and asked about rocks and chasms, Aselia gave her a measured look that carried both challenge and amusement.

"You think that was pushing it?" she asked, folding her arms loosely as she leaned against the speeder. "That was clean terrain and forgiving lines. It lets you test the machine without worrying about the ground trying to kill you."

Her gaze shifted toward the distant rise of harsher country beyond the maintained course, where the land broke into jagged ridges and sudden drops.

"Out there, you don't get warning signs. The ground disappears. The wind shifts halfway through a jump. That's where you find out whether you trust yourself."

Her blue eyes returned to Adelle, steady and assessing in a way that was less about intimidation and more about recognition.

"If you want to see what I call stupid, I'll take you," she said, tone even but threaded with quiet promise. "But not like this."

She pushed off the BARC and stepped closer, not invading space but closing the distance enough to make her meaning clear.

"You bring the Halberd here first. I want to see how you ride, and experience how it feels."

A faint smile touched her mouth, not cocky, just confident.

"Then i'll show you the real course."

TAG: Adelle Bastiel
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[Adelle Bastiel]

Tags: Aselia Verd

Once Aselia dismounted, Adelle leaned against the back of the speeder, relaxing a bit now that she didn’t need to hold herself a specific way. Pride was evident in Aselia’s expressions and body language, satisfaction too. She looked at the BARC like it was a masterpiece and after the show she had just put on, Adelle agreed.

The Verd was incredibly expressive as she spoke, blue eyes sparkling with equal parts daring and amusement. She leaned against the speeder with an effortless grace, sunlight catching in brilliant highlights in her hair as she looked out towards the wilderness beyond the race track. Adelle followed her gaze to the land that challenged those that tried to navigate it. Better to focus on Aselia’s words rather than anything else.

She felt the ghost of touch, a memory, on her side where Aselia had dressed the slugshot wound. Adelle forced her breathing to stay natural. Aselia had only been helping a friend.

Adelle met Aselia’s gaze with far more nonchalance than she actually felt.

"You bring the Halberd here first. I want to see how you ride, and experience how it feels."

A faint smile touched her mouth, not cocky, just confident.

"Then i'll show you the real course."

“Bet on it,” Adelle said, crooked smile slowly growing. “The Halberd’s going to need some work first before it can even handle the track. I’ve only used it for commutes at home.”

Adelle sat up and folded her arms across her chest as she leaned forward a touch, eyes glittering with enthusiasm. There was no way she was turning down a legitimate opportunity to work on her Halberd. Hanging out with Aselia as a friend was a bonus.

“But challenge accepted, Verd.” She leaned back again. “Now to just figure out the logistics of getting it here.”

 

[Aselia Verd]

Aselia watched the shift in Adelle as she leaned back against the speeder, the tension of the ride finally draining out of her posture. The BARC ticked softly as it cooled, metal settling after being pushed hard, and Aselia let her hand rest along the frame almost absently, thumb brushing a familiar seam in the plating. Pride was there, yes, but it wasn't loud. It was the quiet satisfaction of something restored properly and tested the way it was meant to be.

When Adelle accepted the challenge, that crooked smile spreading slowly across her face, something in Aselia answered it without her permission. She didn't look away.

"Good," she said, the word carrying approval rather than competitiveness.

She pushed off the speeder and circled it once, not inspecting it now but moving because she had energy still humming in her blood. The ride had done that to her. The open straightaways, the way Adelle had laughed into her back when she opened the throttle fully. The memory lingered longer than it should have.

She stopped in front of Adelle again, arms folding loosely across her chest.

"If it needs work, we'll do it properly," she continued. "But in the meantime, you got a feel for the BARC. Feel like taking her around the course?"

Her gaze dropped briefly to Adelle's stance, measuring instinctively the way she carried herself even at rest. Then it lifted again, steady.

"And before you ask, I wouldn't offer if I wasn't sure."

There was a faint glint in her eyes at that, the corner of her mouth curving just enough to make clear she had not abandoned the earlier promise.

"As for logistics," she added, tilting her head slightly as she considered it, "we can arrange transport. Mandalore moves heavier things than a Halberd every day. You won't have to smuggle it in under a tarp." The sunlight shifted as a cloud passed overhead, softening the glare off the duracrete and the distant wild terrain beyond the track. Aselia glanced toward it again, then back to Adelle.

Blue eyes watched Adelle for a moment before motioning to the speeder as if to say.. Well, are we going?

TAG: Adelle Bastiel
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[Adelle Bastiel]

Tags: Aselia Verd

Aselia met her gaze steadily, evenly. Something flickered in her emotions, quickly buried. Adelle stayed relaxed, leaning her head against the back of the bike as Aselia circled. She recognized restlessnesss, if only because it was her near-default state. When Aselia stopped in front of her again, talking about working on the Halberd properly, Adelle nodded until Aselia offered for her to take the speeder bike around the track.

Adelle opened her mouth to protest.

"And before you ask, I wouldn't offer if I wasn't sure."

She sighed while maintaining eye contact, exasperated more with herself than anything, and clicked her tongue.

“I’m getting predictable,” Adelle said, before smirking. “I’ll have to fix that.”

The Verd offered help with logistics, the practical aspects of it. Adelle sat up and stretched her neck from side to side, placing her hand on her knees.

“Yeah, I know, it’s all the boring stuff that goes with it that I hate,” she said with a grin. For a brief moment, Aselia’s piercing blue eyes met hers and she froze. Then the Verd gestured to the machine. Adelle raised her eyebrows and slid forward in the seat.

“Was waiting for you to finish admiring the scenery,” she said. Adelle flicked on the ingnition, engine thrumming back to life. She settled herself into the feel of the BARC idling, placing her focus there where it would be productive. This was newly put together, someone else’s project of years, and the culmination of effort and care. Adelle couldn’t afford to be distracted.

“I promise not to make any questionable life decisions,” she said over her shoulder to Aselia, a smirk at the corner of her mouth, before she added, “With your machine.”

 

[Aselia Verd]

Aselia didn't miss the flicker when their eyes locked. It wasn't long, but it was enough. The memory of bacta and bare skin brushed through her mind uninvited, and she was grateful for the engine's low vibration to ground her back in the present.

"You're not predictable," she said, stepping closer as Adelle shifted forward in the seat. "I just know when somebody is going to argue with me."

There was the faintest curve at the corner of her mouth when Adelle smirked back. She let her gaze linger a fraction longer than necessary before moving to the rear position again, swinging up behind her in one smooth motion. When the ignition roared to life, Aselia felt the machine's response immediately. It was steady, clean, eager. She placed her hands at Adelle's waist, firm enough to anchor, not enough to control. The contact was practical. It didn't feel entirely neutral.

Aselia leaned slightly closer, just enough that her voice carried without having to rise over the engine.

"I was admiring how it handled under pressure," she replied evenly, though her tone carried a subtle weight that hadn't been there before.

When Adelle promised not to make questionable life decisions with your machine, Aselia let out a soft huff of breath that might have been a laugh.

"Wise choice," she said. "I'm particular about who handles it."

She adjusted her weight as the speeder began to glide forward, the straightaway stretching ahead. Her fingers tightened briefly at Adelle's waist, testing her balance, then relaxed again. And, though she didn't say it aloud, she was watching more than the machine.

TAG: Adelle Bastiel
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[Adelle Bastiel]

Tags: Aselia Verd

"I was admiring how it handled under pressure," she replied evenly, though her tone carried a subtle weight that hadn't been there before.

Was that a flirt? There was just enough emphasis behind it that made it seem like it was a flirt. Adelle became acutely aware of the shared bodyheat, the pressure on her waist. She focused on the way the engine hummed, the way the bike shifted on its repulsors. This was Aselia’s speeder bike and she should be focused on its performance and balance, and not the almost laugh that brushed her skin.

Adelle engaged the throttle, slowly at first, getting a feel for its responsiveness and pouring all her awareness into how the bike moved. The first turn, she took in a textbook manner, easing off entering the turn and opening up as they exited. She felt how the weight of bike and riders moved and adjusted slightly.

The basin section came up next, the easy part, Aselia had called it. Adelle leaned forward, stretching out with her awareness, feeling for the bursts of wind before they came. The BARC stayed steady, Adelle compensating a split-second before the gusts hit.

As they climbed out of the basin and crested the ridge, Adelle mimicked what Aselia had done, now having a better feel for the bike: entering the turn on a tight line. As soon as they came out of it, Adelle opened the throttle. Not enough to push limits, not yet, but enough to make her blood sing with speed as they tore down the back stretch.

The second lap, she stopped holding back. She knew the bike now, knew their combined weight and how it handled. Sharp lines through the turns, open throttle on the straights, not quite pushing the limits but riding the line. Through it all, the pressure of Aselia’s arms grounded her in the moment, keeping her mind from wandering too far back.

For once, she felt happy, unburdened by memory.

The starting point came up far too soon for Adelle’s liking and she itched to go around again but she eased off the throttle and let the BARC coast for a bit before gently applying the brake. Aselia had only done two laps on her ride. It would hardly be fair to do any more than that. The speeder bike drifted to a stop when she reached their original starting point.

The high of adrenaline slowly started to recede. Adelle straightened and flexed her hands, stretching out fingers and muscles that had been used to grip the handlebars. Mindful that she shared the speeder bike’s singular seat.

“It’s been a while since I’ve done that,” Adelle said with a breathless laugh. She glanced over her shoulder. “Sorry if I got a little carried away.”

 

[Aselia Verd]

The repulsors settled into a low hum as the BARC glided the last few meters and came to rest where they had started. Aselia didn't move right away. Her arms were still around Adelle's waist, steady and relaxed, the warmth between them lingering in the quiet after the rush of speed.

During the ride, she had held on a little tighter than she strictly needed to. At first, it had been practical to have two riders on a narrow seat, sharp turns, sudden acceleration, but somewhere between the basin winds and the second lap, she had become more aware of the contact itself. The solid line of Adelle's back pressing against her chest, the way the movement of the bike carried through both of them at once. Even so, she hadn't rushed to loosen her grip.

For a moment, she simply sat there now, letting the adrenaline fade while the wind carried the last echoes of the ride across the open terrain. The corners of her mouth curved slightly as she replayed the laps in her head, the lines Adelle had taken, the way she had adapted to the bike almost immediately.

When Adelle laughed and apologized, Aselia huffed a quiet breath that might have been amusement.

"You didn't," she said calmly.

Her hands finally loosened, and she leaned back slightly, giving Adelle room while still perched behind her on the narrow seat. Her gaze drifted briefly down the track they had just torn across before returning to Adelle.

"First lap, you were feeling it out," she continued, tone thoughtful rather than critical. "Second lap, you trusted it."

There was a hint of approval in her voice.

"That ridge turn especially," she added. "You tightened your line earlier than I did."

Her hand lifted briefly from Adelle's waist, tapping lightly against the side of the BARC's frame as if acknowledging the machine itself.

"Most people fight the repulsor drift the first time they ride one of these," she said. "You adjusted before it even started pushing."

After a moment, Aselia swung one leg off the speeder and stepped down onto the ground, the sunlight catching in her hair as she turned back toward Adelle. One hand rested along the side of the BARC, her expression relaxed in a way that was rare for her.

"Carried away would've been if you tried the ridge jump," she said, nodding toward a distant section of broken terrain further down the course. "Which, for the record, this bike can absolutely do."

TAG: Adelle Bastiel
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[Adelle Bastiel]

Tags: Aselia Verd

Aselia’s assurance and analysis came with cooler air as she leaned back, her hands no longer trapping heat under their grip. It had been far too long since Adelle had anything resembling physical affection if she was seriously debating leaning back into Aselia right now. Since before Kor Vella burned. Adelle’s fist tightened subconsciously.

She had already lost two homes.

The pat on the BARC’s body brought her attention back to the speeder bike and she just caught the tail end of something almost warm hidden in Aselia’s tone. Heat dissipated from her back and waist as Aselia dismounted the bike and the sudden lack of pressure made the speeder bike feel bigger. Adelle swung one leg over to sit more comfortably while they talked. Copper highlights flashed in the sun as the redhead placed a hand against the BARC. Her face lacked the usual tension, her eyes the usual vigilance. Adelle couldn’t recall a time she’d seen Aselia so unguarded, so at ease.

"Carried away would've been if you tried the ridge jump," she said, nodding toward a distant section of broken terrain further down the course. "Which, for the record, this bike can absolutely do."

“Now you tell me,” Adelle said with a slow smile. “You already convinced me to bring my swoop here, you don’t have to keep trying.”

She looked out at the track and the wilderness around it, the harsh sun of Mandalore beating down and washing everything out.

“Thank you,” Adelle said quieter. “This was a lot of fun and you didn’t have to.”

She huffed. “I still owe you drinks for the thing on Yaga Minor.”

 

[Aselia Verd]

Aselia caught the slow smile and the comment that followed it, and the corner of her mouth lifted in quiet satisfaction.

"Oh, I know," she said easily when Adelle pointed out she had already been convinced to bring her swoop here. "Just have to make sure it sticks."

Her gaze difted out across the track and the jagged stretch of terrain beyond. When Adelle thanked her, the quieter note in her voice didn't go unnoticed. Aselia turned her head slightly, studying her for a moment. The tension that usually lived behind Adelle's eyes had softened in the sunlight, and it struck her that she hadn't seen the woman look quite this relaxed before.

"You're welcome," she said simply. For a second she let the quiet settle between them before Adelle mentioned drinks.

"Well," Aselia said, folding her arms loosely as she leaned against the speeder, "Aether leaving us with nothing useful to do, so we might as well enjoy the downtime." Her gaze flicked back to Adelle, the faint smile returning. "So drinks sound like a pretty good way to spend the afternoon."

She pushed off the BARC then and swung easily back onto the seat, settling her hands on the controls as the repulsors hummed back to life beneath them. "And if you're insisting you owe me for Yaga Minor, I'm not going to argue with that," she added with quiet humor as she glanced back over her shoulder. "Come on. Let's see if we can find somewhere that isn't too crowded.."

The engine whined softly as she eased the throttle forward, guiding the speeder toward the long stretch of track that would carry them back toward Keldabe.

TAG: Adelle Bastiel
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