#a little aves and karrde for vq

[celinamarniss]

I recently pulled the notes and bits of drafts for the fic Experiments out of the back of the (metaphorical) drawer and dusted them off. Maybe now I'll finally write it? I found a few short scraps for a scene in which Mara goes to check in with Karrde, and so:

He’d found another abandoned resort, a staging ground for safaris that had folded during the early days of the Empire. The resort consisted of a series of buildings rising out of a grassy plain like giant mushrooms, the circular floors lifted above the ground by thin support beams. 

Several circular platforms served as landing pads, connected to the other buildings by a set of bridges that ran from mushroom to mushroom. Mara set down her shuttle on the landing platform nearest to the mushroom that housed Karrde’s office. Aves was waiting for her, leaning against the railing that ran around the edge. 

“Hey, Mara,” he called, raising a hand. 

“Aves.” She swung her carryall over her shoulder and moved past him toward the bridge. 

He fell into step with her. “Long trip?” 

Mara grunted. 

“How’s Skywalker?” 

She cut him a sharp, insincere smile. “Why Aves, do you have a crush on my boyfriend?” 

“Not as big as the one Karrde has on him,” Aves shot back. 

“No doubt.” 

-----about ten minutes later-----

Mara dropped into the chair across from his desk. Digging through the carryall, she pulled out a datachip case and tossed it on the desk before dumping the carryall onto the ground and leaning back in the chair. 

“You look tired,” Karrde said. “Are you taking care of yourself?” 

“I’m fine,” she bristled. “Didn’t get much sleep hauling my ass halfway across the galaxy to meet you. I’m not a kid anymore.” 

“Complain to me in fifteen years time, when you’re approaching my age.” 

He was still watching her with a calculating look in his eye. Kreth. “How’s Luke?” he asked. 

“Great. Fantastic in the sack.” 

He didn’t even blink. “I have a few datacards for him for you to take back with you.” 

“Sure.”