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After having completed another successful mission somewhere in the Outer Rim, securing vital information for the Republic, the elite group of soldiers known as the Havoc Squad returns to Coruscant.
Well, some would say they used to be more elite and known for their significant actions during the war, but the squad has lost some of its internal shine after the defection of the former commander. Ever since, the new commander - the recently promoted Captain Reezah Hiktesh - has been trying her very best to lead them back to glory. They’re not at full strength yet, but still managed to take down and deal with the traitors to the Republic, and several other threats to its security.
For the XO in the squad, Lieutenant Elara Dorne, this has been a very refreshing change of scenery. During the previous couple of years, after she left her home in the Sith Empire, Elara has been met with a lot of different opinions and attitudes. Unfortunately, a large chunk of it has been negative and difficult to handle, as soldiers and officers sometimes mistrust her because of her origin. Even those who are supposed to help and handle the personnel in the army have often shown that they believe she’s been holding back information, no matter how much she insists otherwise.
Meeting Captain Reezah, who held the rank of Lieutenant at that point, was quite a fascinating experience, as the togruta was rather eager to listen to her and take in whatever advice and information she provided. Once Elara received the chance to join the squad, the Captain was very supportive, which was proved when she promoted Dorne and gave her the position as Reezah's second-in-command. Such a high position in a decorated squad like this is far more than she could’ve hoped for in the past.
That’s not to say that everything has gone smoothly so far. Despite the fact that they all work fairly well professionally, it has been a lot tougher with the personal connections. Then again, that’s how it usually is for Elara; people think she’s too rigid, strict and doesn’t care much for others. This is not true, of course. If that was the case, why would she have pursued the career of a medic? Interacting with other people is just sort of…difficult, that’s all. Rules and regulations are important, for without discipline, the army would never function properly. Still, some feel she applies it a little bit too often, and at times, they’re not completely mistaken.
Jorgan obviously isn’t all too fond of her, even though they work well together, and the newcomer Vik is…well, let’s just say Elara hasn't even tried speaking to him much. Then there’s M1-4X and while “he” has accepted her as any other Republic soldier, he’s not easy to actually speak to, off duty. All he ever really talks about is the best way to improve their service. Such matters can be useful, but not all that entertaining.
And then there’s the Captain herself. From what Elara has assumed, she cares for her squad and that they perform and show themselves to the utmost of their capabilities, so that Havoc can once more be the squad that everyone trusts. To some degree, she has succeeded. On the other hand, there’s some dissonance in how she interacts with the other soldiers too.
Dorne has heard that Jorgan gets to talk to Reezah at times, M1 receives a few visits now and then, and even Vik has mentioned she’s fairly okay for an officer. So why hasn’t Elara received this same treatment? Is this something about her being imperial? It can’t be, for the togruta has been very accepting of her thus far.
It’s not that they never speak to each other or anything, for the Captain often takes new tactics, training schedules, mission details and similar subjects, directly to Dorne. This is something she appreciates, as it proves even more how valued she is in this squad, that her superior actually cares. This was a very important step.
But the fact that they don’t interact in any other way is…well, slightly frustrating. Everyone else seems to attain some sort of relationship with the Captain, so why shouldn’t she? The difficulty lies in doing anything about it. Do they even enjoy doing the same sort of activities on their spare time?
When the squad gets back to Coruscant through their ship, the BT-7 Thunderclap called “Meteor”, Elara is still pondering this on the way back to her own quarters. They do have places of their own here in the capital world, but still located relatively close to one another. If they’re needed for an emergency, it’s preferable that they can all pull out together rather quickly.
As she’s alone at this point, her thoughts are interrupted when she hears the familiar voice of Captain Reezah.
“Lieutenant Dorne, wait up!”
She swirls around and is soon faced with her superior, who runs to join her. They’re both still dressed in their white and blue Republic armor sets, but Elara is the one who has to peer up slightly, as Reezah is taller. It’s not just the montrals either, for the Captain is a fairly tall togrutan woman overall.
“Yes? What can I do for you, sir?”
Reezah slows down when she gets close enough and folds her arms. She looks into Elara’s eyes, but there’s still a certain stiff edge to her expression. She’s always rather serious, but there’s this feeling as if today might be different.
“I need to talk to you about something. It’s regarding your performance out in the field.”
This is new. Several flashing images passes by the Lieutenant’s mind, as she tries to recollect the events they went through. Gotta make sure to comment on anything that the Captain requires.
“Oh? Was there anything you were displeased with, sir?”
Reezah nods briefly, an act that instantly makes Elara feel unnerved. She dislikes being chewed out, as she strives for perfection. Failing in some way is always difficult for her.
“Yeah, there were a few things. Your medical ministrations and tactical prowess are, of course, near perfect.”
Well, something good to begin with, but the Lieutenant still raises her eyebrow confusedly.
“Thank you, sir. I just performed my duty. But what was amiss then?”
The Captain sighs briefly and shakes her head, appearing almost like she’s trying to make sense of how to phrase this.
“Well, those were the reasons for why I had you promoted a few weeks ago, but I hadn’t really thought about some of the other parts of your abilities.
Your shooting, it’s rather…” She stops, almost in a painful manner, before she exhales further. “Right, I’m just gonna come out and say it - it’s rather sloppy.”
What? Her shooting is sloppy? But…this is a first. During her entire career, she has never really had any complaints like this. Not that it’s necessarily without merit, as her accuracy isn't the best in the corps, but it’s not exactly her duty to be either. She’s the medic, not the sniper.
Still, she has never been told it was anything even close to ‘sloppy’.
“Oh, I…I’m very sorry, sir. I didn't know it was that bad.”
There’s a quick shake of Reezah’s head.
“It’s not the worst I’ve ever seen, but it’s something that I think you need to work on. In fact, that’s why I came after you just now. We’ve got a bit of time off, and I think it’s a good idea if we spend a few days together. How about you and me meet on the shooting range in the morning, and I’ll see if I can’t help you work on that?”
Not exactly what she had in mind for her first day off, after having spent weeks on the Meteor, but there’s nothing all too important on the schedule either.
“I suppose that might be a good idea, if you insist, sir. And if it’s not all too inconvenient for you.”
“Oh, it’s not. If it had been, I wouldn’t have approached you to begin with.”
Reezah flashes a faint smile and places a gloved hand on Dorne’s shoulder.
“Well then, Lieutenant, see you in the morning, 0800. Make sure to get a good night’s sleep, but not too big of a breakfast. I’ll see to it that we get something sent to us.”
Elara nods at her in recognition and then watches her superior leave. Seems she has managed to find some way for them to talk outside of work, even though this is still technically related to that type of activity. But who's keeping score anyway?
Being a person who's used to discipline and early mornings, Elara has no trouble at all getting up on time and even manages to catch a quick shower, as well as a small meal. Reezah did mention that they’d be eating, so it's probably best to not fill herself up, but at least have enough energy to stay alert.
As they’re not really on duty right now, she decides to wear a simple pair of green pants and a red shirt. She brings a bag with her, holding several necessities. She’d never leave home without some medical equipment, just in case of an emergency.
When she arrives at the shooting range, Reezah is already there, sitting by one of the empty booths. There’s several lanes, but not really a lot of people here at this time, as this one is reserved for the special ops teams, such as Havoc.
It appears the Captain has chosen to wear some simpler clothes as well, dressed in a sleeveless grey shirt and a pair of loose blue pants. It exposes her well-trained arms, a shape that Elara was already aware of. She has treated the woman previously, after all. And, well…it’s not a bad look either. Not that she has ever said anything, but the Captain is a really good-looking woman overall. She knows it would be possible to mention it, but feels like such fraternization efforts may be less appropriate. She’s pretty sure that there’s something between Jorgan and the Captain anyhow, unless she has read the signs incorrectly.
On the togruta’s left shoulder, there’s some kind of black tattoo in a symbol that Elara doesn’t recognize. Where was the Captain from again? She’s pretty sure that the dossier mentioned Balmorra, so it’s possible it has some significance on that world.
While Elara’s flat shoes don’t make a lot of noise, Reezah already peers up well ahead of her approach, and gives her a short nod in greeting.
“Morning, Dorne. Slept well?”
At least she can’t fault the Captain’s enthusiastic tone. She's quite a charismatic woman in general, one who sticks to her principles as well, even though she’s not always the easiest person to speak with.
“Yes sir, I’m full of energy and ready to prove myself, at your command.”
She puts down her personal bag on one of the chairs around the table which Reezah is sitting by.
The Captain swiftly eyes her, surveys her bag and then cracks into a faint smile.
“Right, well then, I believe it’s good if we start immediately. I’ve had the computers set up a few exercises and tests. This will take a little while, but I think it’s worth it. I hope you feel the same.”
For a moment, she almost feels like saluting, but then realizes it’s kind of silly when neither of them are in uniforms, so she simply nods instead.
“Of course, sir. I wouldn’t want to disappoint you, nor perform any worse than Havoc deserves.”
When Reezah gets back up, she grabs a blaster pistol along the way and then moves over to a terminal to start the exercises.
“Ah, it’s not all too bad, Lieutenant. It just needs a bit of fixing, that’s all.”
She leans back and hands the gun to Elara, who takes it, makes sure that there’s no visible faults with it and turns the safety off as she gets into place.
“Lucky for you, I’ve been told that I’m a pretty good teacher.”
Elara appears thoughtful for a moment and then turns her gaze sideways at Reezah.
“I hope to be your first star pupil then, sir.”
The little joke gets another smile out of the Captain and she nods briefly.
“If you perform well enough, I’m sure anything is possible.”
Reezah steps back once it’s all set up and the events begin.
Several minutes pass by as Elara go through the different drills that have been prepared and the first few are fairly easy, almost insultingly so, but then finally picks up the pace to at least provide some kind of challenge. During the proceedings, Reezah mostly just stands back and watches Elara in silence. When she thinks of a new opportunity to test the Lieutenant, she says something quickly and makes some alterations on the terminal.
As an hour or two go by, Elara is starting to feel that it’s far too easy. Is she really this good or has the Captain simply been severely underestimating her? In either case, something feels amiss.
A few minutes later, the Captain approaches the controls and shuts things down.
“Right, I think now is a good opportunity to get something to eat.”
Elara complies and puts down her weapon as the two moves together to another table, where a droid has placed a package for them to unwrap, which contains some lunch or a late breakfast for them, in shape of fairly tasty sandwiches and some kind of healthy juice. Ordered and paid for by Reezah, of course.
In between bites, Reezah gazes at Elara.
“How did it feel so far, Lieutenant?”
Naturally, Elara eats as orderly as she handles anything else and when she puts down her food on the plate, she lifts a napkin to wipe her mouth quickly.
“I’d say it felt really good. The tests weren’t as difficult as I thought they’d be. What did you make of my performance, sir?”
While Elara takes a sip of her drink, Reezah takes another bite of the sandwich. The togruta does not eat quite as neatly, and she even speaks with some bits of food left in her mouth. In the Dorne house, she’d get scolded for that.
“Well, pretty good I’d say, better than out in the field anyway. That said, I still think there’s room for improvement.”
That’s somewhat disappointing to hear, not to get through with flying colors, but it’s still early, so perhaps she shouldn’t judge it so quickly.
“I see. Then I hope to prove myself even further later on, sir.”
“Mm, I’m sure you will, Lieutenant. I’ve come to appreciate your skill and sharp mind so far, so I’d want you to excel equally at all areas.”
Not such a strange thing to say and from what Elara has read in the dossier, the Captain has always been somewhat of a perfectionist as well, in her duty at least. She has been decorated and sent on several important missions, even before joining Havoc squad. After all, no one who hasn’t shown a great amount of skill, gets to join.
“That said, I think there’s more areas we need to work on than just standing still and shooting targets.”
“Oh, like what, sir?”
“You know, working on your precision in more stressful situations, movement drills, condition training. There’s all sorts of things that we can improve together.”
All that sounds a bit much. Has she really been performing that poorly?
Elara raises a questioning eyebrow.
“I…I see. I didn’t think things were that bad. I mean, if they are, why did you get me into Havoc squad?”
At that question, Reezah suddenly hesitates and opens her mouth, but then closes it when she doesn’t quite know how to respond.
After a few awkward second, she finally gets something out.
“Oh, I…I don’t think you’ve been doing terribly bad or anything, Lieutenant. I mean, the aim is a bit off, but other than that, you’ve been performing just fine.
My other suggestions are just for uh, exposing you to some of my training. I want to help make you a better soldier, and that requires a bit of work.”
Elara nods slowly, seeing some kind of logic in that, but there’s still something curiously missing.
“Of course, but does that really require us to work at it…on our spare time? Surely, that’s what we do during our scheduled squad training, yes?”
Reezah looks unsure again and she quickly taps a finger on the table, while she tries to contemplate her words.
“Yeah, obviously, but uh, a bit of extra training is always advantageous, right? It can do you good to have an edge, that’s all I’m saying.”
The insecurity which is suddenly displayed feels rather off and Elara isn’t really sure why that is. Has someone been saying something about her?
“But you’re suggesting this requires a fair bit of extra time, just to give me an edge? It just feels kind of excessive.”
“Well, as much time as is required, of course. I wouldn’t wanna stress you out or anything, but it might be good to work together on this.”
Hmm, together? Some cogs start working in Elara’s mind. Is this some kind of elaborate plan to get them to spend more time with each other? Previously, she had felt it was problematic to find some unifying activity and always assumed that was all because the Captain was uncomfortable in her presence. But now, Reezah is suggesting that they spend more time together. A lot of time.
Elara slowly releases a smile at her and nods.
“I suppose I can relinquish some of my free hours for this, Captain, if you think it is best.”
Reezah appears both relieved and glad, nodding with a brilliant smile across her lips.
“Good to hear. I’ll do my best not to push you all too hard.”
A few weeks later, Elara must admit that she’s somewhat disappointed.
When she had agreed to this little private training schedule, there was some inclination that it might finally stop once they got closer to each other. Not that there have been no signs at all; Reezah smiles a lot more often in Dorne’s presence now, and at times, she’s pretty sure that she has spotted the Captain ogling her when it might appear that Elara isn’t watching. She was, of course, and she’s quite aware of the attention. It’s not unwelcome either, for the more time they spend together, the further she’s feeling rather attracted to the togruta.
Some part of her had hoped that Reezah would have had plans to approach any other topic than work and training; after all, she’s the one who thought of this little scheme. But, to Elara’s dismay, as these weeks have gone past, there’s no real sign that things are changing. They’ve even been out on another mission together and come back, simply to return into the same kind of routine once more. She’s not usually one who gets impatient, but this is getting somewhat frustrating. Does the Captain intend to just continue practicing for an eternity or is she waiting for some kind of perfect opportunity? Such a thing might never present itself, though.
And so, one morning, Elara decides that it’s time to confront the issue on her own. Lately, Reezah hasn't been calling for any specific time to meet, so sometimes she simply swings by the Lieutenant’s quarters, which allows them to leave together. That’s at least some sort of progress, but not much.
This day, as Elara opens the door, she’s not fully dressed and ready, like Reezah, who inspects her quickly and then arches an eyebrow.
“Oh uh, I figured you’d be ready by now. Thought we’d go for a bit of a jog before we continue with anything else.”
Dorne narrows her own eyes for a moment and then folds her arms.
“Yes, about that – I believe we should talk, sir. Would you like to come in?”
That stops Reezah for a moment. While they’ve been spending time together, they’ve not actually entered each other’s quarters, so this feels like a fairly major step, or at least the Captain seems to think so.
“O…kay, sure. If you insist.”
“I do. Just take off your shoes first.”
Elara proceeds inside, while Reezah does as instructed and then meets the Lieutenant within the living room. It’s not a particularly big apartment, but it’s still very neatly arranged. What few decorations Elara has, is mostly the rewards she has received in the army, as well as a few pictures of her family. Relatively normal, but not all too exciting. She doesn’t know what to put up anyway.
When they face one another again, Elara indicates a chair not too far away from her position.
“Please, sit down.”
Reezah complies, and looks somewhat meeker than usual when she places her hands in her own lap. She’s in her standard workout gear; a dark blue short-sleeved shirt and shorts in the same color.
“Well, I’m here. What did you wanna talk about?”
Elara tries to look as serious as possible from where she's sitting.
“It’s about our training schedule, this private one. I’m wondering if you still think it’s fully necessary.”
Awkwardly clearing her throat, Reezah diverts her eyes for the time being.
“Uh, I think it has been quite good so far, yeah. We’ve been doing a lot of progress. Don’t you agree?”
Avoiding the question, it seems. She sighs briefly.
“Yes, but that’s not what I’m saying. Do you really feel it’s necessary that we do this?”
Reezah starts to fidget with her hands now.
“It’s always good to stay in shape, isn’t it?”
Elara shakes her head and then leans a bit closer, sitting at the edge of her chair to get Reezah’s attention.
“You’re avoiding my question, sir. I enjoy the workouts that we have together, but I’m simply questioning the purpose of all this.”
Reezah does look back up again, but still appears uncertain.
“Okay. If…if that’s how you feel, we could just cancel it and uh, stay on the team's schedule instead."
That’s not quite what she had in mind. She slowly shakes her head and then stands back up.
“Sir, answer a question for me, please. Can you give me your honest opinion on my shape?”
For a moment, the Captain looks confused and isn’t sure what to say. She slowly eyes Elara and then blurts out the first thing on her mind.
“I’d say you look absolutely splendid.”
A few seconds later, she realizes what she said and quickly gets on her feet as well, stuttering as she does.
“U-uh, of course there’s s-still some…you know, improvements that we m-may need to work on.”
She coughs to clear her throat and turns her eyes away, towards pretty much anything else.
“I’d say you’ve been doing just fine, but I’d have to perform some diagnostics and-“
The blabbering and nervous gazes appearing across the Captain’s expression just helps Elara make her own evaluation of Reezah’s cuteness. In between the mess of words, she giggles softly and then takes several confident steps, placing her hands on the togruta’s chest. This doesn’t immediately stop any further words, but once Elara’s arms quickly slip around her neck and pulls her down to a more suitable level, with the Lieutenant’s lips placed firmly on hers, not much else is needed.
Their eyes remain closed for several moments during the kiss, and to Elara’s delight, she feels a set of arms wrap around her waist to pull her closer. Even more pleasurable is how the touch of those lips is fairly soft and warm. While their collision is shaky at first, they soon slip into tender and eager motions which, surprisingly enough, Elara is allowed to lead.
When they finally separate, there’s some bit of reluctance from both, but that doesn’t stop them from remaining in this pleasant little embrace. Reezah opens her mouth to say something, but then just laughs somewhat nervously instead. Elara smiles sweetly at her and strokes a few fingers along the white facial markings across Reezah’s cheek.
“Mm, you’re a better kisser than I thought", says the Lieutenant.
Reezah raises an eyebrow questioningly, but still appears amused.
“Oh? You thought I’d be horrible at it?”
A faint smirk slides up along Elara’s lips and she shrugs.
“No, not specifically bad, but tenderness doesn’t appear to be your foremost quality.”
The togruta snorts and shakes her head.
“That’s not true. I can be tender when the situation requires it!”
Another giggle from the Lieutenant and she gently pokes the other woman's nose.
“And I’m glad to have experienced that now.”
While Reezah’s gaze falls into some amount of embarrassment again, she feels rather thrilled when one of Elara’s hands slowly strokes along her lekkus.
“About the training – it’s been fun to spend time with you, Captain, but…well, as you might imagine, I think there are other things we could do together. Things that doesn’t require us to get overly exhausted.”
Reezah laughs shortly and then looks a bit guilty.
“Yeah, I see what you mean. And I…I think I’d like that.”
There’s a warm sensation that flows through both of them as she says it, and it’s not just from staying this close together; an embrace that neither really wishes to break. When thinking about it, though, Elara slowly lowers her voice and attains a somewhat suggestive tone.
“That’s not to say there aren’t other…physical activities we could perform together, afterwards.”
Reezah erupts into another fit of slightly nervous laughter at the amusing wiggle of Elara’s eyebrows. She’s not sure whether the Captain has been around a lot of partners before, but she’s acting rather adorably shy.
“As long as that doesn’t break any regulations, of course.”
Elara smirks slightly.
“Oh, don’t worry, I have memorized all the ways that we can avoid overstepping our bounds, Captain. You don’t have to even consider any such violations with me around. What kind of XO would I be otherwise?”
Neither of them are particularly eager to separate further, and when Elara invites her down for another kiss, she doesn’t feel the need to pull rank.