Hades tossed the bouncy ball-toy against the bulkhead again. He'd lost count of the time's he'd bounced it back and forth. He was sitting on his bunk with his back against the wall, the ball bouncing off the far wall. He was bored. Not only that, but he was in a bad mood. With the re-opening of Tu'kata squadron, his closest wingmate – Ryn – had been reassigned. Well that was just dandy for the folks in the brass, but what about lowly SC pilots? Hades was normally in a bad mood on mornings, but today more so. His perpetual morning temperament was considerably more volatile – among the reasons he hadn't left his room. He didn't want to anger the wrong people for the wrong reasons. He gave a short sight and lay his head back against the hard wall, looking up at the ceiling.

I wonder what Ryn's doing right now.. Hades thought, gazing at the ceiling but not really... he was gazing into space. Probably having some fun with her new wingmates. He thought bitterly. It wasn't her fault, or his. But he still felt unhappy. Not so much so that it would affect his flying, or his competence. But enough to make him a thoroughly unpleasant person to be around. Kriffing brass with their kriffing self importance, Hades raged in his head. He knew about those 'Greys'.. they had eyes everywhere, and he wasn't for prematurely ending his career based on some childish rage. He stood up, coming to a resolution. If he couldn't be with Ryn, at least he'd have a drink in her honour. Several drinks, actually.

So, he headed toward the Nightshrike-assigned-communal room.. they had their own little 'bar' area. This was also where they kept their now-close-to-overflowing supply of booze. Courtesy of Tu'kata, of course. Why buy booze when you had free booze no seven levels away from you? Nobody stopped pilots. Pilots were pilots after all, and the rest of the crew never really knew what they were doing, so nobody really had the guts to step up to the flyboys/girls and confront them. That, and they had a fearsome reputation from their brawls. Nobody messed with the Starfighter Corps in good mind.

Hades vaulted the bar, seeing as no-one was around, he could do what he liked. Seemed everyone was sleeping or otherwise indisposed. He hadn't seen Fyston since his promotion to SCO.. and he was pretty sure the Master Chief, Maroy, was going to bag the SXO spot. Hades wanted that spot badly, but he knew that Maroy had more experience than him and, should she be deemed by NHC to be more beneficial to the NS squadron, Hades would accept it. She was, after all, a veteran. Hades? He was just some arrogant recruit who had seen combat once with the VE. Several times with his friends back on Nar Shadda, but only once as a Starfighter Pilot. Discounting the bar fight and pirate raid..

Hades took out a bottle of the Blue Stuff, labeled 'TU'KATA SQUADRON', and poured himself a generous glass. Sipping it, he thought over his experiences since joining the VE. That first, nervous simulation then the multiple courses he'd taken made him qualified beyond his position. But that was again, not his responsibility. That was up to the brass. He gazed at the Tu'kata logo as he sipped, resentment growing. He respected Dunny and Ryn, but his respect for anything associated with Tu'kate – their booze nonwithstanding – went no further than that. Sure, he'd heard tales of grandeur spun by the veterans. But EVERY squadron had some tales like that.

Why was Hades even pondering this? He didn't care.. He just wanted to be back with his squadronmate. Ryn was friendly, funny and kind. She and Hades had formed a friendship, and after the action with the Surprise, learnt to rely on each other more than some of the most experienced pilots of the VE. Teamwork was everything, as they'd found out. But now that was all changed, she was a Tu'kata and he a Nightshrike. He may very well be in line for the SXO position – that is if Maroy didn't trump him with her vast wealth of experience – but he was done with all this re-assignment crap. He'd do his duty no matter where they put him. He just wished he could have it his way. Eh, Hades thought, taking another swig of his glass of Blue Stuff, that's life for ya.

OOC:

Word Count:753

AAR: Hades is a bit down, and a bit angry at the fact he lost the closest thing he had to a friend in his squad. So, he decides to drink some of the recently liberated tu'kata booze Feel free to jump in, Shrikes or Tu'katas!

OOC:

Great to see I'm not alone! Thanks for jumpin' in Maroy

Hades glanced up briefly at the Twi'lek who entered.What he first saw was the green skin. Green skin? he thought to himself. What he saw next was the Master Chief Petty Officer's rank on her uniform. At that Hades stood and saluted - it was always good to make a respectful first impression, regardless of who she was or wasn't. Superiors were superiors, and you gotta respect that. So this is Maroy, Hades thought, a small mental smirk forming.

"Senior Crewman Aita, right?" The green Twi'lek asked. Hades' right brow raised, a mixture of amusement and surprise. She had obviously pulled the Squadron's file - his included. Hades mentally cursed himself for being on ANY list.. he hated being officially listed. Made it easy for your enemies - and potential enemies - to find out about you and exploit your weaknesses. He finally nodded, his green eyes scrutinising her. She seemed alright.

"And you're Master Chief Maroy, I'm assuming. Well, welcome to the Nightshrike barracks. Your bunk's in the back.” he said, shrugging as he turned back to his glass of Blue Stuff. The Master chief sat down next to him, her eyes obviously studying his tense expression, his body language. He met her eyes for a moment before turning his gaze back to his glass of Blue Stuff.

"Let me guess.. lost some friends to Tu'kata?" She queried. She IS an inquisitive one.. Hades thought, still staring into his glass. He remained silent for a while, slightly off-balance from her directness.

"Ryn. Kerdi. Just as we were getting good at flying together, she got transferred.” Hades told her. The Twi'lek seemed to understand more than he thought, and he listened as she gave her side of loss and mistakes in the SC. He listened, but his thoughts were directed mostly elsewhere. "..it's not like she transferred off-ship, you can always visit her. She's probably feeling the same way..." Hades caught the end of her sentence and looked up, clenching his jaw slightly. He followed her with his eyes as she drank some of the appropriated liquor, before turning his gaze back to the glass of Blue Stuff that he hadn't touched since she arrived. Finally, he let out a grunt of assent.

"You're not too bad, for a Master Chief." Hades told her. She glanced up from the Blue Stuff and chuckled.

"Sure." She responded simply. Hades took a sip of his drink - he was careful not to get drunk, because it would eventually find its way on to his record, but he could have many more drinks before he lost his common sense. For now, he was okay. He looked at her again and nodded, his green eyes again examining her. He had encountered his fair share of Twi'leks on Nar Shadda, but he had yet to figure out their... 'lekku-speak' or whatever they called it. It confused him and annoyed him at the same time. Normally he was pretty good at reading people. But not Twi'leks.

“Nightshrike's lucky to have you.” Hades said, slightly resentfully. He thought he'd managed to keep it out of his voice, but she seemed to have a rather good sense of him just minutes after meeting him. He found it unbalancing. He didn't like anyone else having the upper hand, so-to-speak, in a conversation.

“Is there a problem between us, Hades?” She asked, and Hades bit his tongue. He shook his head slowly, taking a sip of his Blue Stuff before responding.

“No..” He said, slowly.. “No.” He repeated, more firmly this time.

“Then why the resentment?” She prodded. A very curious one. Hades thought, grinding his teeth.

“It's no fault of your own. What with the whole transferring system, Vast Empire reorganisation,” he waved his hand around, indicating the ship around them “I was bound to be put with someone of higher rank and experience and thereby-” he took a swig of his drink, now at the half-full point, “-placed further down the ladder, so-to-speak.”

“Ah.” The Twi'lek understood. He was ambitious and slightly resentful due to the fact that she would most likely get the SXO position over him. “There's nothing I can do about that.”

“Yeah, I know. And for all intents and purposes, Nightshrike does need you.” He said honestly. Hades turned his gaze back to his glass,. “I'm not going to let my personal ambition interfere in the welfare of the squadron.”

“There's a silver lining to every cloud, Hades.” Maroy said, gently. “You'll get there eventually.”

“Well,” Hades grunted. “Right now I want to look at the cloud. And drink. But mostly drink.” Maroy chuckled at him and he smiled at his own bitter sense of humour. “Like I said. You're alright. I'm the bitter one.”

“I understand.” She said, smiling slightly. “Just don't finish this stuff too quick.”

OOC:

Word Count: 823.

AAR: Maroy gets to the source of his resentment. He likes her, despite his inherent ambition to get to where she is now.

EDIT: There is A LOT of Blue Stuff in that post.