#shavi

*** Shavi loved dancing. There was no real art to it, he just followed his instincts, let his body move to the beat of the music. It came as naturally to him as breathing. Or fucking, if you wanted to use that comparison. Shavi grinned at the thought as he rolled his hips in a particularly suggestive dance move. And iIf dancing was like fucking, then dancing on a stage like this was a lot like... well, like fucking in front of a crowd. He was no poet, admittedly, but he was a damn good dancer. The credit chips that landed at his feet were proof of that, but he only needed to look around to find further evidence of his talent. All eyes were on him, and he loved that feeling too. The crowd had been growing all evening, and they were all admiring him, undressing him with their eyes. Not that he was wearing much he could take off at this point. All he had left on him were his tight leather pants, hugging his ass and legs in a way that left very little to the imagination. Shavi ran a hand down his chest, then further down to rub suggestively against his groin, grinning at the whistling sound coming from one of the tables. Wait, was that...? His grin widened as he recognized Eva and her crew in the background. The ladies were having a party, it seemed. The grumpy Zabrak didn't appear to have a lot of fun, but from what he remembered that was kind of typical for her. He waved at the group of women, throwing a kiss in their direction, never stopping his hips as he turned around and slapped his butt a few times. Shavi liked to think he made at least one of them blush, though he was fairly sure it wasn't Eva. That one sure didn't blush easily.

When he took a little break and downed one of the drinks his adoring fans had paid for, the music switched to a slower, more sensual piece. Shavi was delighted to spot another familiar face in the crowd, but he was also a bit confused. What was Annila doing here? Another undercover mission, or a stakeout perhaps? He saw her flushed face and the way she looked at him and suddenly he could almost imagine she was here just to watch him dance. She'd known about his appearance on stage after all. And even someone who hated fun as much as Annila did couldn't resist his charms forever... Before he could think things through Shavi had already jumped off the stage to stand in front of her, tapping his foot to the music. He leaned close to whisper into her ear. “Hey there, gorgeous. I had no idea you'd be here tonight. You here for business or pleasure?”

He loved the way her breath hitched at that. “You're drawing attention,” she gasped, but that kind of confirmed she was undercover after all. Shavi was honestly a bit disappointed that she wasn't here to watch him, but this could still be fun, couldn't it?

To the cheers of the crowd his hips took up their sensual movements again, rolling back and forth to the rhythm of the music. Annila gaped at him in shock, her eyes wide and her shoulders tense. She was looking directly at his crotch to be more precise, as it was only inches from her face. Her mouth was open but no words were coming out. “Act natural,” he smirked and grabbed her hands, placing them on his stomach, then moved them down to his crotch area.

She didn't resist, but he could tell she wanted the ground to open and swallow her whole. He could also tell how much she wanted HIM in that moment. And while part of him felt kind of bad about embarrassing her, another (much louder) part of him wanted her to keep looking at him like that.

A 3. He didn’t bust.  He stayed in.  The bug zapper went off over their heads as they lounged out the back of Virtue’s Thief, the name of the ship.  Vic thought it was funny when he first heard it, and now it was hilarious, four or five drinks in. 

Vic did feel he was like he was playing in a daycare, though.  These smugglers – kids.  He was … shit, over 40 now?  That was considered ancient for hunters and smugglers alike.  The captain – Eva some-weird-ass-last-name  -- looked like she was half his age.  Corso and Risha didn’t look much older.  Corso wasn’t too young for Vic, but he had waaaay too many hang-ups.  Vic didn’t have time for that nonsense.

The next card that Risha dealt to Eva put her over; she played her final card from her personal deck and hit 20 on the dot, no pause for counting required.  Her wrist comm buzzed as she sipped her gin and tonic.  Vic thought that was hilarious too – young kid drinking some old soak’s drink.  She checked the sender and kicked back from the table to send her response. 

It was half-way through the next round that a familiar jetpack flew overhead and then set itself down a safe distance from the ship.  Within thirty seconds, a shuttle set itself down. Vic, despite another drink down his gullet, tried to square himself up at the table.

The Grand Champion of the Great Hunt had arrived, and that fucker stood over seven foot tall in his armor.  He was one of the few humans or near-humans that was actually bigger than Vic. 

“Evita?” he called out in his raspy voice toward the ship captain.

“Don’t tell me you brought the problem with you.”  Eva got up from her seat and the game and went to meet Gronn a ways away from the ship.  “I swear on the entire planet of Corellia, Gronn –”

At that moment, Eva’s Mando – Akaavi of Clan Spar, she’d haughtily told him (as if he gave a shit) – came down the gangplank with her dinner: a large bowl of soup that… actually smelled fan-fucking-tastic to Vic, even with all the alcohol.  He’d have to talk to the Wookiee in the galley.  After this hand.  Or at least after this drink. 

Minus the soup, fresh script was the only reason Vic was happy to see Akaavi, especially when the fucking Grand Champion took a step back from her.  She was not to be messed with.  “I—ok, I’ll be blunt: I fucked up.”

Vic shotgunned the last of his liquor and rapped the table for another.  Corso supplied.

Akaavi glared at Gronn then sat herself down at the table on the far side of Corso.  She refocused her attention on her soup.  “He says this as if it’s news.”

Gronn sighed.  “You know Clan Dakari?”  Eva swiveled to look at Akaavi and her answer.

Akaavi’s spoon stopped in mid-motion.  “No, I have not hunted with them, but I am aware of their skills.  The finest Akk dogs in the galaxy are bred and raised by them.”  Akaavi put down her utensil. 

That distantly rang a bell in Vic’s mind.  That, or it was an over-tuned speeder.

Gronn’s helmet bobbed, its rill bouncing the lights from the ship off it.  “I’m friends with one of them – Ayessha.”

The bell?/speeder? got louder.  “Togruta.  Great akk dog breeder, right?” Vic dredged his memory. 

“Got two big beautiful animals with her right now, and I said to her, ‘the terrain on Makeb would make for a good training test.’   So she’s here right now.”  Gronn gestured over toward the shuttle, where a door was opening. 

Eva put her hands on her hips.  “This another hot broad in the galaxy that needs you to play hero?” 

Gronn shook his head, and Vic could practically hear the walnut rattling around in there.  “No.  It’s Shavi that needs my help this time, because he didn’t tell me he was coming to Makeb until fifteen minutes ago.”

“Your damsels in distress have diversified to include men?”  Eva eyed Gronn around her gin glass.  “Seriously, you’re a magnet for sob stories – ”

Gronn waved his hand.  “No, not a sob story this time.  This is a – meeting, a crossroads of three people’s bad luck right now, and it’s going to happen here.”

Eva’s jaw locked.  “Why here?” 

Gronn, completely encased in his armor, made no noise minus the rasp of his respirator.  He went still, like an Alderaanian deer caught in the headlights.

“ …because I’m getting the impression that you mean my ship.”  Eva turned to address Akaavi.  “Are you getting that impression?”

“Yes.  He needs to start talking about relevant, useful things.”  It was at that point that Akaavi shifted her grip on her eating utensil and got up from her dinner.

Since their first meeting a few weeks ago at the card game, Vic had started to wonder whether Akaavi could kill someone with a spoon, and it looked like he was about to find out.

Gronn seemed to have the same realization, and he started to speak, rapid-fire.  “Shavi is a … uh…  smug, I guess.  He’s running blasters right now, but he used to do bounty jobs with an old friend.  Miss her.  Anyway, he needed to offload, and I tipped him off about Makeb – Imps will buy them to make sure they have a supply to control the planet now that the Pubs are evaccing –”

A voice pierced the darkness on the far side of the ship, where the sunlight had already disappeared.  “Gronn, you didn’t tell the game was run by gorgeous ladies –”

“YOU!”  The voice was as a thunderclap, and if there were gods, Vic imagined they sounded like her when enraged. 

“You idiot, hide!”   Gronn charged toward the voice in the dark, smacking his forehead right into the underbelly of Virtue’s Thief.  His head snapped back, but his legs kept him moving “Kriff, she’s already here.”

Moving swiftly, the Togruta woman – over six feet tall in her armor – ran across the mesa as Makeb’s sun began its final descent.  At her side were two akks, long as speeders.  Their tails swished as they sensed their mistress’s ire. 

Vic’s pickled mind conjured up some sort of poetic idea of a moon-huntress with her companions, but what came out of his mouth was “I hate dogs.  But you’re awesome.” 

With a sharp cry, Ayessha let the akk dogs charge out into darkness.  For a split second they disappeared –

-- and then they came charging back through in hot pursuit of a male Chiss, who was cursing at them as he ran.  Gronn clanked back toward the card table to try to keep an eye this awful race. 

On the first pass in front of the pazaak table, Risha dryly commented, “I think the dogs are bigger than he is.”

“I heard that!  Where do you get off – when I’m running for my life – ”   His retort was pre-empted by a “Baay Shfat!” aimed the sky as he kept moving.

“What the hell did he do?”  Akaavi asked Gronn, crossing her arms. 

“He sold her a shit ship,” Gronn answered dejectedly. 

 “Oh, in that case, let him die.”  Eva rattled the ice in her now-empty glass and began to hike up the gangplank to the galley. 

“WHAT!” yelled Shavi.  “GRONN, YOU BROUGHT ME HERE TO DIE, YOU COCKSUCKER.”

“Dinner and a show.  Nice.  Get me some of that soup?”  Vic snared a piece of his Imp-issued script between his two fore-fingers and held it out to Eva.  She waved it off.

And here was the reason Vic played here – the free food.  Hell yeah, even with the iron-jawed broads running the show and the non-stop liquor --- wait, why did he ever think that was bad?

Vic put his script back into his pile and noticed it was smaller than when he started.  Oh, yeah, that’s why.

“Eva –”  Gronn stretched to his full wingspan to latch onto Eva’s arm and prevent her from going inside her ship. 

Vic shook his head, then he laugh-snorted.  “I want more alcohol and snacks to watch this.  Normally, they only put this kind of thing on pay-per-view.” 

Corso made a “pfffft” noise and got up from the table to address Gronn.  “The hell you thinking bringing trouble here?”

Gronn gestured helplessly – which was a hell of an achievement for a seven-foot-tall fucker.  “I thought I could get Shavi on and off the planet faster than Ayessha could figure out he was here.  I was gonna introduce her to Akaavi and Eva to distract her – she’s tight with her dad like they were with theirs, and reads novels like Eva does and –”

“You thought we could sit here and braid each other’s hair too?” Akaavi snapped.

Gronn tilted his head to the side.  “No, two of you don’t have hair.”

Eva facepalmed, and Vic cackled as Akaavi’s green eyes narrowed.  “You are so, so stupid,” spat the Zabrak.

“Don’t break your hand on his head.  I know, it’s tempting.  I’ve done things that hurt worse, but a fist off beskar ain’t a walk in the park either,” Vic said as he kicked up his feet on the table to watch Shavi make another mad dash across the mesa.  “Anyone want to bet how long he lasts?  Or which dog finally gets him?”

~~~~~

Gronn had awful taste in friends, herself included.  That was Eva’s conclusion on the matter.  

Risha gave Shavi a cursory glance as he ran past again. “Seven minutes.  The bitch.  The stud isn’t pacing himself.”  She laughed, darkly, at her double entendre as she turned to look up at Eva.  

Yeah, she had a point.  He was nice to look at, and he was in decent enough shape to survive to this point.  

“I’ll give him another five.  Also on the bitch.”  Risha and Vic slid script to the center of the table and watched Shavi run for the rest of his short, little life.

A low, rumbling noise drew Eva’s attention.  That wasn’t unusual on Makeb, honestly; the Imps were still putting effort into making the planet look like it was about to fall apart. …but there was something different about this earthly groan.

At that moment, Guss popped over the horizon.  Eva vaguely remembered him mentioning going out to do something, but the liquor and the card game made her forget why and what. Something had him excited – yelling and screaming and – oh, he was running to the ship – because --?

The akk dogs finally caught up to Shavi, and one had latched on to his arm, the other his leg, in a perfectly executed take-down maneuver.  

A near-deafening crack erupted, and a subteroth broke through the hill behind Guss, setting off the perimeter alarms of Virtue’s Thief.

“Ah SHIT.”   Vic, despite his size, was quick to his feet and reaching for the arms he’d checked at the door.

Eva froze for a second, staring at the gin glass in her hand before chucking it over the side of the gangplank, nearly hitting Corso (‘goddamn!’).  She skittered toward her own holster, which she’d left with her jacket on the back of her chair.  Corso had already turned up his chair and had dropped to his knees for cover.  She heard Bowdaar charging down the gangplank, his bowcaster in hand.  

Risha was on her feet and backpedalling up the gangplank as Gronn grabbed her around the waist and hoisted her behind him and out of Bowdaar’s way.  Then he set up position with his rifle.  Akaavi was already taking point, her soup forgotten --

“No!  Don’t fire!”

Ayessha let out a sharp whistle, but her dogs didn’t heed her.

The akks had already changed course and were headed straight for the subteroth.  

Ayessha unholstered her blaster, trying to wait for her shot.

Akk dogs were good hunters and great companions, but subteroths were decidedly out of their typical prey category.  (Hell, Eva didn’t even know if their exoskeleton was permeable by teeth; she’d always aimed for the red, fleshy bits that poked out in between the plates.)

The stud akk leapt at the subteroth, even as Ayessha desperately commanded him not to.  Eva’s hand instinctively went up, silently ordering her crew to hold fire.  Crew or not, everyone near the ship did as she directed.

With one heavy swing of the subteroth’s jagged arm, the poor animal was sent flying, his belly slit open.  

Just as the creature turned around to grab at the bitch, before anyone near the ship could fire, a single bolt arced through the air and hit the subteroth right through the narrow slot that exposed the electromagnetic crest of the creature.  

With a horrific shriek, the subteroth was effectively blinded, and the bitch was smart enough to finally heed her mistress.  Once the remaining akk dog was out of range, the bombardment of fire began.  Blasters, rifles, bowcasters, and one incendiary grenade Guss had “just in case.”

By the end of it all, the subteroth was a burned-out shell, smoldering from within as it hit the ground.

Vic lowered his blaster, then gave the thing one last shot before approaching.  “This place has enough weird creepy crawlies without that kriffing thing coming up out of the dirt.”  Vic nudged the creature with his boot, then used the long muzzle of his blaster to take a good look at the back of its head.  He let out a low whistle.  “Nice shot.”

Gronn shouldered his rifle and walked toward him.  “Wasn’t you?”

“Nah.”

“Me.  I did it. I’m the man of the hour.”  Shavi shoved himself to his feet, and Eva could see his blaster’s barrel still orange-hot from his contribution to the night.  As she replayed the critical shot in her head, his was the only angle it could have come from.

“Wait.  You were armed the entire time.  Why didn’t you shoot at the dogs?”  Eva asked as she holstered her blaster.

Shavi blew a few strands of his blue-black hair up out of his face.  “I kill a dog, she kills me.  Or if I kill her, Clan Dakari kills me.  Shit quality of life either way.  Figured I could do or say … something.  Not that.” He gestured at the dead creature. “But something.”  He flashed an exceptionally charming smile at her. “What can I say?  I know how to deliver.”

Before Eva could volley back with an “I hope you do,” Ayessha knelt by her injured companion, shushing him as she started triage.  “He’ll live.  May I use your medical bay?”

Eva nodded.  “Yeah.” Gronn gave her a nudge from behind, and she glared at him.  “My associate wants to know if you can call it even for Shavi – you don’t kill him if you cross paths again.”

Shavi’s heavy breathing stopped, immediately, probably biting his tongue hard in order to keep his yap shut.  

Ayessha glared at Shavi, but the whimper of her akk dog stole her attention away.  “Yes. Fine.”  

In the trace light from Virtue’s Thief, Eva could see the worry etched into the Togruta’s face. “Uh… listen.  I get that they’re like your kids…  stay on the ship with them.  Akaavi can set you up with some reading material while you wait for the kolto and stuff to its job….”  Eva gave Shavi a once-over.  “You got basic medical facilities on your ship?”

“Yeah.  I’m not dumb enough to go in there with her, so yeah, I’m heading back to my ship.” Shavi’s gaze shifted slightly from Eva to Risha, who had decided to insert herself into the situation. “Would … one of you like to help me get some of those bite marks on my back?  Or both of you?”

Eva and Risha exchanged a look and they decided to settle this the usual way:  lizard-toad-snake, best of out of three.

Eva won.  

Gronn grunted, disapprovingly.

Eva shook a finger at him.  “Hey, you brought trouble to my ship – I’m taking it away.”

As Ayessha moved up the gangplank with Akaavi, Bowwdar carefully picked up the injured akk and huffed at him, telling him he was a good, brave warrior.  He just had to be wiser next time.  But he was still a good boy.

The remaing akk dog paced around the bottom of the ship, impatient for her lady’s return already. Ayessha  hushed her as she moved away, reassuring the bitch that she would return with her mate.  She just had to be good.  

Eva grabbed her jacket from her chair, stole and swallowed down the rest of Vic’s drink, and placed the empty glass on the table.  “Let’s go.”

Vic realized the game was over.  “Ok, she gets her puppy fixed, he gets you.  What do I get?”

Corso gave Eva a whistle, and she took the hint and activated a switch on her comm link. “You and Corso and Guss can console yourself with one of the hidden caches on Virtue’s Thief.  Think there’s a bottle of twelve-year-old scotch with your name on.  Corso knows where it is.”

Shavi’s red eyes blinked a few times.  “You’re coming with,” he said, almost in disbelief.  His bravado only lapsed for a second before that mouth picked up speed again. “I’m glad you could see that –”

Eva wheeled around and grabbed him by his coat collar.  “You’re a piece of drekk, but you’re a great shot and cute when you’re quiet.  Move.”

Eva only looked back toward her ship once.  She saw Gronn standing alone there.  She turned and continued the walk with Shavi.  Gronn would be here when she got back.

The Chiss inevitably started to run his mouth once they got off his speeder.  He probably didn’t want to compete with the volume.  “So, captain of your own ship.  Just bought this one on my own.  All paid off, all mine.  Not big like yours – little jump job.  Works for my type of business, plus I can take care of myself and a couple of friends in there – as you’ll see.”

When they reached the doors of the smaller freighter, Eva grabbed the hatch and blocked his path in. “We may not be on my ship, but I still got rules.”

Shavi’s eyebrows rose slightly.  “Oh?” He watched, intrigued, as Eva knelt down to untied her boots.  

“I come first.  You wrap it.  You don’t darken my doorstep with your problems, ever again.”  

As her boots hit the earth, Shavi’s hand popped the hatch open.  “And what concession do I get?”

Eva checked a laugh, a tight ‘heh’ emerging into the dusk.  “You’re not the only one who wears lifts around here… I’ll let you keep your boots on.”

Eva rose to her full, natural height… and she still had to look up at Shavi.  

He liked that.

~~~~~

Hope this was in-character and up to your standards, @empire-at-war.  Let me know if you want any changes/corrections/etc -- it’s your gift, so you call the shots! :)  Happy Holidays!