Star Wars_ I, Jedi - Michael A. Stackpole [143]
Everyone grumbled and grunted when I was taken out to the hotel where the squadron was billeted and introduced. Nakk Kech, Rock’s leader, pointed me to a room in the hotel that had been well-used before me. The curtains had been drawn tight, and I didn’t mind that at all because I really didn’t want a good look at the room itself. A wadded pile of bedclothes in the corner appeared to be where the previous occupant had laired and, if the stench from the refresher station was any indication, the previous occupant understood the room’s purpose, but hadn’t gotten the hang of indoor plumbing.
Kech watched me closely, prepared to judge me by my reaction to the room. The stubble on Kech’s face bristled brown and gray, just like the thinning hair on his head. “It’s the best we got.”
I shook my head. “It’s the best you’ve got available.”
Kech smiled. “Yeah, that’s it.”
“And that’s not good enough.” I walked down the hall and pounded on the next door. “Open up.”
A Shistavanen Wolfwoman tore the door open and snarled at me. She had white fur and pink eyes and though a bit smaller than the other Shistavanens I’d met, she’d have ripped me to pieces in seconds. As she tore the door open, I also caught a whiff of her room and learned who had been living in that first room.
I flashed her a big smile. “I’m your neighbor. Nice to meet you.”
Kech’s booming laughter drowned out the Shistavanen’s harshly whispered response. I nodded at the albino. “Later.”
Kech shook his head, his brown eyes full of mirth. “Caet Shrovl will be your wingman. She’s good, specially in void-fights. Doesn’t favor a lot of light.”
I pointed at the next door. “Better choice?”
Kech shook his head. “Actually, I’m your best choice.”
I frowned at him. “You think I should take your room away from you?”
The older man smiled slowly. “You could try and you might succeed, but that would be insubordination and assaulting a superior officer, which is a capital offense with the Invids. You wouldn’t live to reap the benefits of your station. Your best bet is to toss a few bits to some locals and have them clean that other room out for you.”
“Think so?”
“I figure you want to prove you’re tough by kicking someone around, but I don’t run the squadron that way. You kick someone’s butt, take his room, he gets angry with you, causes discord in the unit, and someone has to be gotten rid of.” Kech folded his arms across his chest. “You want to prove you’re tough, knock someone from one of the other squadrons around; or, better yet, someone from one of the other Invid companies here. In the Survivors, the only thing that counts is your flying skill.”
I opened my arms wide. “Fine, let’s get to flying, then.”
Kech nodded. “Thought you’d never ask. I’ll get someone to clean your room up while we’re out at the training center.”
“How much?”
He shrugged. “Let’s see how good you are. If you’re good enough that I want you rested to save my hide, I might even cover it for you.”
The Survivors didn’t have the sort of state-of-the-art training facility I was used to working in. Kech and I piled into a landspeeder that took us out to an annex at the spaceport. He drove straight into the hangar and brought the dusty red vehicle to a stop beside two beat-up Tri-fighters. All battered and scraped, close up they looked like giant versions of a child’s toy—one that had seen a lot of rough play.
Kech plucked a helmet from a wall rack and tossed it to me. “You take number one and I’ll take deuce. Comlink is built into the helmet. Listen to what I tell you to do and then do it. You’ve flown a TIE before, right?”
I nodded. It was in simulation, but I figured that was close enough for this kind of stuff. “Weapons?”
“Powered down targeting stuff. You figure you want to go at it a bit, I’ll light you up just fine.”
I hauled myself up on the craft’s ball cockpit and slid into it. The third fin barely allowed the hatch to open