I Suppose I Owe You... (Zandra)

[Revenchent]

This new job was so....stale. Calico was seated behind his usual desk in the FleetOps tower at the center of Drev'starn. From here, he could look out over the entire bustling city as the sun's warm orange glow slowly began to fade. It was almost night, and there was still so much to do.


It was only a few days ago when he'd received the message. A promotion, to Grand Marshal. Per his request; there was no ceremony. Calico didn't want to draw unneeded attention, and a few days of privacy was a lifetime in the world of politics. Not to mention the shady business that he would need to get to doing. The Republic had refused to offer up a scientist that the Dreadguard desperately needed--now he just needed to formulate a plan to take the scientist without the Republic being the wiser.


He pushed up from the wooden desk and clicked off the holo-vision hanging from the ceiling. His leather boots thudded against the hardwood flooring as he paced in front of the massive window overlooking the city.


This really isn't helping.

With a sigh, the newly announced Grand Marshal plopped down on one of two idenitcal sofas in the center of the room. There were a few other comforts in the four room office--as it doubled as his home. The clone reached up to rub his temples in an attempt to think, and shirked off his jacket. Now wasn't the time to worry about military issues.


Now he needed to pay a debt.


Calico sat staring at the silver sliding door, leaving it unlocked for whomever was to come. He had sent the message to Zandra, as polite a summon as he could think of. Now he needed to see if she would show up or not.

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

That was weird. Zandra looked at her chrono. She was... on time! That never happened. Standing outside the door, she checked herself over. She was wearing clothes, right? Sometimes she... forgot. Yes, oh good. She had remembered to put on underwear too!
Oh, also weird that she got a message from this guy. She hadn't honestly expected to hear from him again. Huh.

"Callie!" Zandra announced giving the clone a nickname on the fly as she walked in, "Long time no see, eh?"

@[member="Commander Calico CC-247"]

 

[Revenchent]

((Sorry, didn't see the post!))


The clone pushed himself up from the couch. That was certainly one way to make an entrance. He canted his head to the right and squinted to make sure it was Zandra....luckily, it was.

"Quite awhile, yeah." He paused, and stared for a moment. How exactly should he start this? "I went and made myself important. Fancy building, new jacket." Calico motioned all around. The room wasn't exactly luxurious, but it wasn't bad either.


It's rude to say, hey, let's settle this debt so it doesn't bite my shebs down the road, isn't it?


"I wanted to uh...thank you for everything on Coruscant. You got me and Galaar out of there, and we wouldn't be here if it weren't for you so..." He reached up to scratch the back of his neck. Social calls were still a bit alien to the bearded Commander. "Thanks. Thanks a lot." The word were genuine, proven even more by a small, yet real smile.


@[member="Zandra Fenni"]

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

Nope. This whole day was just getting weird. Why was he... looking at her like that? She glanced around the room. Important, huh? A fancy room didn't mean squat in this Galaxy. She wasn't impressed. The Echani crossed her arms, and tapped her foot, awkwardly glancing around here and there, waiting.
Nobody called her unless they wanted something.

And then he said it. She almost choked. Thanks? Thanks?

"...I'm confused. You don't want somethin'? You just wanted to say thanks?"

@[member="Commander Calico CC-247"]

 

[Revenchent]

Oh gods, he'd said something ridiculous. This wasn't a political debate, or a talk with one of his soldiers. No, this was a woman whom he owed his life--and by extension, that of his brother's. It was very, very new.


"Well...yeah. Call me old fashioned but I like to thank people if they keep me from...well, dying." Calico lifted his shoulders in a slight shrug. This was the only way he knew how to handle the situation. Some kind of humorous logic.


He chewed down on his lower lip. What was he supposed to do now?! "I mean, if you want anything, just say he word. They put me in charge of their Army. I can requisition things." He grit his teeth at that.


Wow, Calico. You sound like old Palps now. Shame, shame, shame.


The clone reached up to run a hand over his prickly head. The short bear probably looked silly too with a military cut. Civilians could be so picky.


"I couldn't ask you for anything. You've already helped me so much."


@[member="Zandra Fenni"]

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

"Don't sweat it."

The reply was simple, almost dismissive. She didn't like this. She didn't like this guy offering her favors. Like she needed them. It just made her feel... slimy. Like the only reason she would do anything was just to get a reward.
The reason she'd saved them, in actuality, had not exactly been noble. The truth of the matter was, she'd been bored, and they gave her something to do. She didn't really feel like it was worth being rewarded for.

The Echani shrugged, tapping her foot harder now.

"That hair cut makes ya head look lumpy," she added, as if that itself might change his mind about rewarding her.

@[member="Commander Calico CC-247"]

 

[Revenchent]

Lumpy? I don't know what she means by that.


"Lumpy is the new in thing, I hear." He shot back with a small smile. She didn't want anything...that was...odd. Very, very odd.


Calico could tell from the way she was standing that the situation wasn't to her liking. Somehow he'd pushed the wrong button. Still, knowing that she wouldn't call on him for any debt later down the road was refreshing; yet, it opened up a whole new world of questions to plague Calico's mind.


"Alright, I won't force anything you don't want down your throat. Pun intended." He turned half toward the desk and half toward Zandra. What was the correct course of action to take now?

"Alright I'll try not to make you anymore uncomfortable than I already have. Y'see I'm not the best with women- Oh, you really made a di'kut of yourself now. "-people. Not the best with people. I just felt off without thanking you for everything...now, you can either stick around and lighten up a very, very shoddy evening, or you can go and spread my new nickname to everyone in FleetOps." Calico held his hands up in mock surrender; a faint, mocking grin on his face. "Your call, Z."


@[member="Zandra Fenni"]

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

Oh good. He was starting to lighten up! The nickname of 'Z' made the woman grin. Z... Z... She liked it. She was going to put that on all her luggage. Z.

Without waiting for permission, she crossed the room, and sat on his desk. Not best with women. She'd heard that before he had corrected himself. She was going to test that the only way she knew how.

"I think I'd rather hang out with you a bit, Lumpy," she teased, shooting the clone a wink, "You invited me, after all.

@[member="Commander Calico CC-247"]

 

[Revenchent]

Calico chewed down on his lower lip. All cards were on the table; he no longer owed her a debt. Still, he felt that tug in the back of his mind--reminding him that, yes, though she had stated they were even, his own sense of right told him they weren't.


"Either that or someone was impersonating me." He shot back, a faint smile forming now. Banter. Yes, he could do banter. "So, I have to ask." His boots thudded against the wooden flooring as he strolled on up toward the desk, arms folded behind his back. "What exactly were you doing on Triple Zero? Shopping? Hunting evil space monsters?"


The Commander paused to think. Conversation, do convers- "Sheb marks on my desk. I'll always remember the day you stopped by every time I file a report." A faint laugh escaped him. He just needed to be social....though, that was a bit of a challenge within itself.

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

Zandra didn't like to be questioned. It wasn't why she was here. Interrogation wasn't part of the plan. She crossed her legs and leaned back, hand propping her up on the desk.

"Why was I there?" she asked, "Hmmm... You know, I don't really know. I think I mighta been a little drunk. But honestly? The only reason I do anything is for one reason. I get bored."

She felt a little silly saying that, but she have him a shrug. No reason to pretend she had a better cause for anything she did. Her reasoning was always simple.

@[member="Commander Calico CC-247"]

 

[Revenchent]

Bored. Calico couldn't help but chuckle just a little. He strolled on up to the desk, and grinned. "Really? Bored? Okay, let's test that, shall we." The clone wheeled around the dusk and plopped down into his chair. The drawers creaked as he went through each one until he found exactly what he was looking for.


The Commander held it up toward Zandra, a simple metal orb with four buttons ranging from blue, green, yellow, and red on each end. His grin refused to fade. "This, my ventilation shaft exploring lady, is what I like to call a party orb. Like the recon drones we throw up on duty...except, it shoots blinding light everywhere and basically causes chaos."

Calico had an almost childlike grin on his face. He was going to try and have fun...this just happened to be his idea of it. "The Bothans working in the lobby aren't the sunniest kind of people." He stood up and offered her a hand, tossing the ball of chaos and destruction in his other hand. "Want to brighten up their day?"

@[member="Zandra Fenni"]