The White Phoenix

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

"Whjy not jusst have fourr buttonss herre?" she frowned, easing her palm over the pommel, still mentally sorting Samus's orientation directions. It seemed needlessly complicated. Still, she pressed onward. Over and forward. The mechanism shifted clumsily in her grasp, not feeling like a natural movement. A half-second later, the power plant's hum shifted, as did the rumble under her seat. Okay, so if second-from-right was the brake, then the one all the way to the right must be the accelerator. With the clutch still engaged, Rai probed the far-right pedal. She knew she didn't want to stand on this one the way that she did with the other one, so she tested its response. Light pressure didn't budge. She increased until she felt a break, which then seemed to move with less resistance than she was expecting. The power plant spun up. Something angry sounded in the compartment ahead, and then in an instant, the power died, throwing the speeder into a jarring shudder as the weight dropped against the auxiliary anti-gravity buffer.

"Aah!" She blurted as her frazzled tail tuft beat against the middle console audibly.

[Q. Samus Dage]

He was ready for the stall, and rode the shuddering halt easily enough. In fact, he very nearly laughed aloud at her reaction. For now though, she needed a teacher, not a bully who took joy in her mistake.

"It's all good," he did smile reassuringly though, "... everyone does that when they first start out."

He thought back to her question about control layout, and tried to explain.

"Well, this is an older model, and so things are the way they are. The newer models of this speeder have everything nestled into the steering column, but it's like all things that get improved upon. Sometimes the first ones are a bit more rough around the edges than their successors."

Reaching over, he gave her shoulder an encouraging pat.

"Try again. And this time, once you get this old thing into first gear, slowly let off the clutch while gently pushing down the accelerator, ok? Do your best to feel the motivators and repulsors as they spool up, and let those be your guide. It's easier when you feel how they behave rather than fight against them."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

There was a discomforting amount of vaguery in Samus's explanation, and Rai was somewhat annoyed at the imprecision of it. It all reminded her of riding fathiers with her sisters. Of course, T'yeellaa always seemed to understand whatever the beast she rode seemed to convey. Rai had never taken to as naturally to riding, and hadn't advance in it more than she was required to.

Still, she'd put too much effort into this to quit. The very idea of being bested by this rusted piece of garbage scow was unacceptable.

Going back to zero, Rai went through the steps. Engage clutch. Power up, shift, disengage clutch, accelerate. Again, the speeder stalled.

"Kosa!" She scowled, not pausing an instant. Repeat the steps. Clutch, power, shift, release-apply. The next few times, she made subtle changes to her footwork, blindly venturing into darkness. She could feel the sputtering anticipation of a stall. Eventually, she found her window, and the speeder eased forward. Rai exhaled, feeling the new resistance of the acceleration pedal as the speeder bounced forward in ungainly paces. Ears perked, Rai focused her attention on the controls, keeping them level as she eased a little more acceleration.

[Q. Samus Dage]

It was a jerking, bumpy ride to begin with, and Samus let one hand grasp the doorhandle as he maintained a steady enough perch in his seat.

"Good, good," he brought his eyes from the front to the side, watching how she gripping the steering yoke with an durasteel hold.

"Try to relax, it'll be a little smoother, I promise. The only way you're gonna get better at this is if you don't let it win."

Probably a useless thing to say to Rai'fa - the girl was one of the more stubborn creatures he'd ever run into over the course of his years.

The speeder was picking up a little more now, and Dage once again leaned some of his weight on the center console.

"Ok, ok, you're still doing good. Now, push in the clutch, take your foot off the accelerator, and put the shifter into second. Then do the same thing as you did before - letting up on the clutch and pushing in the accelerator. That way you can go faster and not burn up your low gear."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

Still breathing through gritted teeth, the heiress applied what Dage taught her, but not without tense protest.

"When do jI know that jI'm ssuppossed to do that?!"

For the moment, she took his suggestion at face value. There was that same feeling and sound, a hesitation right before stalling, and Rai averted the crisis, transitioning gears. Their speed picked up. If the process of changing gears was frustrating, the feeling of being in control of power felt as natural as anything.

[Q. Samus Dage]

His hand went out then, a finger extending to point at an illuminated rev-meter.

"That there, that tells you when you need to shift. When the bars get up to the five marker, then you want to shift up."

The glowing bars were currently fluttering between three and four, as Rai'fa started to apply more speed.

"Each time you get up to that five, then you can shift. In the last gear though, if it goes over the five, that's fine. It's built larger than the others, and can take the more high speeds a lot easier."

Easing back into his seat, he cast his eyes to the front once more. They were bouncing along back toward Krale's fortress home at a marginal pace, and Samus wasn't in too much of a hurry to get back. This was a time for learning, and if she chose to take a few more laps about then he'd gladly oblige her.

"It takes time to get used to, but once you do, it'll come as natural as breathing, I promise."

[Karazak Slavers Remnant]

* * *

In the far distance, a body lay prone to a rocky outcropping, macros lifted and sooming in on the utility speeder could be seen as it rumbled through snowswept pastureland; halting, jerking about, shuddering as the thing threatened to die. The watcher had seen the girl get into the driver's seat, and the tall blonde human make for the passenger's side. Probably a first lesson. It would certainly explain the poor driving.

The body behind the macros shifted little, and the group ensconced behind it waited patiently. They'd arrived a day ago, their mission a simple one. Kidnap the girl, and they could keep the human and the Besalisk for themselves to help fill out their dwindling slave pens. Normally the group would raid a small village, but the money being offered for the girl was too good to pass up.

One of the waiting ones crept up.

"When."

A bit of quiet, as the macros finally lowered slowly.

"Tonight. While they sleep."

* * *

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

She took his advice as it came, applying each new piece of information to what she already had. That familiar sensation in her feet matched the meter at the control console. Clutch-shift. Rai felt the slight delay and then shift of energy as the vehicle prepared for fresh acceleration. As she cycled the gears, Rai began to feel more comfortable behind the controls, and allowed herself to enjoy the feeling of moving at speed. In the open, there wasn't much threat. She accelerated again, more assertively. The speed began to pick up, and the juddering of the speeder shifted from a dull bobbing to a few quick and tight shimmies as a wake of displayed snow kicked up in their wake. Rai shifted again, pushing the speeder faster...

[Q. Samus Dage]

"There you go!"

She was getting better, and Samus smiled wide.

_ _ _

Their impromptu driving lesson had had a bumpy start (quite literally), but it had ended on a high note, and Rai'fa had enough of a grasp of the mechanics after the blonde had made her stop and go more than a few times. She was finding the the old CUC-S's ticks and peculiarities easily enough, and more importantly remembered them. And because of that, he'd allowed her to pull the ancient speeder into the yawning garage area to park it beside the old tank that Krale was currently underneath.

Rai'fa killed the engine, and Samus hopped out with a surprising bit of spring to his step. Gloves held in one hand and his other going out to shut the door, he looked to his young charge as she stood on the other side of the hood. He gave her a wink and a grin that held a tinge of pride.

"Not all that difficult, now, is it? Maybe I should make you be my chauffeur from now on."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

The thrill had come and gone, and while Rai was pleased at learning how to drive the speeder, the feeling that came with acceleration had limits the same as the machine beneath her.

"jIf jyou do, we sshould get ssomethjing fassterr."

It was something she'd never remotely been interested in, until this moment. Now, all she wanted to do was go out riding again.

[Phrexus Krale]

Krale slid his bulk out from beneath the tank, and with a deep rumble of a groan, lifted himself up to stand. All four hands went to wipe away the accumulated grease on the front of his shirt.

"What's this then, Samus," he hawmed. The girl was on the driver's side, and it was most certainly not the sight he'd expected to see.

Ambling closer, the Besalisk stopped at the very front, placing two still-very-grimey hands on the hood as his gaze went from Samus to Rai'faani.

"I do surely hope that you've not burned up my motivators, Young Miss."

And yet, it wasn't spoken in the normal impatient gruffness that he'd had in the past. Instead, his deep, craggy voice held a note of almost... playfulness?

A third hand came up to waggle a finger at her.

"Because if you have, I'll make sure to send you home with a bill."

He was almost teasing her, now.

[Q. Samus Dage]

He knew that tone, and couldn't help but laugh.

"He will, too. He once made Captain s'Ilancy repay him when she accidentally broke the priming pin on his favorite E-Web."

The memory was enough to make him shake his head in mirth.

"And that was back when none of us even had a credit to our names!"

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

The heiress exchanged a glance with Samus, not quite keeping the amusement out of her expression. It was possible that he hadn't informed Krale of her second vehicle - a custom-built Nubian star yacht.

"jIf therre'ss anjy damage, jyou can bjill me." she smiled glibly, leaning slightly against the speeder's frame and appreciating the residual heat within.

[Q. Samus Dage]

That Night

He'd showered, taking only enough time to make sure that his hair was scrubbed clean and the rest of his body soaped down then rinsed off. A quick towel-dry, and an old pair of BDU's thrown on, and Samus sauntered from the communal fresher area with his small toiletries kit in one hand. It was getting close to chow time, and ducking into his quarters long enough to toss the kit onto his bunk, he pulled back out to head for the common area. Already the smells of cooking food was reaching his nose, and he allowed his pace to quicken.

Passing through the open double-doors, he rolled his shoulders.

"Ronto? Is that ronto you're cooking up?"

[Phrexus Krale]

The kitchen was a flurry of activity, as Krale was focused on the sizzling cubes of skewered meat being seared on a cast beskar grill-top.

He grunted at the call from Samus, while at the same time turning his attentions to another pan that held mushrooms and onions. A swift stir with a wooden stir-spoon, and he reached over with a free hand to pull a bowl of trimmed loccard greens closer.

"It's a meal," he finally answered, as the blonde began to invade his space.

"Oy!"

His tone took on a distinct growled sound, and he shouldered his old mate back.

"Need space, Whistle-britches. Either go sit, or pass me the butter broth over there."

Samus opted to help, and the bowl of butter broth was slid across the countertop so that was within the Besalisk's grasp. A third hand began to turn over the skewers. There were already four of the sticks pulled off the cooktop, mostly raw with the exception of a slight browned crisp on them - those were for Rai'fa.

Speaking of...

His voice rose to a rumbling call, then.

"Rai'faani!"

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

Her life didn't have many moments of deep introspection, usually because things were happening too fast. But here and now, while Rai'faani waited with a towel wrap on her head with robe cinched at her waist, she began to think about the immediate absurdity of this situation. She waited for her fresh clothes to finish their cycle in the tumbler, noting how thin the foam layer of her shower sandals was that now kept her bare feet from making contact with the most freezing floor in her life. And while the sonic setting on the tumbler was more than enough to both wash and dry clothes in the same session, she was indulging in a simple vice of fresh, clean, but most importantly, warm clothes from the dryer.

BING

The cycle finished, and Rai'faani swung the tumbler's door open, glancing briefly back towards the doorless entry of the laundry alcove, to make sure the coast was clear. Only then did she yank free the cinch at her waist and let the robe fall free, as she quickly rifled through her clothes in the correct order of operations, getting clothed quickly to preserve every degree of blissful heat, rather than out of some kind of vestigial modesty. She'd even thrown two blankets in with her clothes that weren't even dirty, just so she could swaddle herself after her clothes were on. And in that perfect moment of thermal bliss, as Rai'faani closed her eyes and brushed a cheek against the shaggy fluff of an Alcorrian fleece throw...

"Rai'faani!"

And in that moment, she saw her reflection in the tumbler door. A vaguely-humanoid burrito with a turban. And she did not care. Nine times out of ten, dignity and pride would win the day. But right now, she'd had a good day, and didn't honestly give a damn what she looked like, so that's exactly how she showed up two minutes later.

[Phrexus Krale]

She looked like some bundled-up Anteevian Kedouin trader, wrapped up in layers to protect from the cold. She even had the head-wrapping. It was enough to make him pause for a half-second, but in the next moment his attentions returned to the onions and mushrooms.

"Over there, in the dry-stocks storage," he gruffed out as a fourth arm gestured to a slatted door, close to where she now stood, "... get me the jar with the red and gold label."

Samus thankfully had backed off, and began to tend to setting the table for three.

"And be quickish," he turned over another few skewers, "... time is key."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

"jYou have fourr handss and sstjill need anotherr one?" she quipped, already on her way to the dry-stocks storage to hunt down the missing parcel.

There were easily over a hundred different containers in the closet-sized space, and a bevy of competing scents assailed her nose, even through what seemed to be sealed boxes, jars, and bags. Putting the back of her hand to the base of her nose to stifle a sneeze, Rai zeroed down on colors only. That helped her to narrow it down to two. One was in a language she didn't understand, and the other was cryptically called Gemji paste.

Introspection could wait, and Rai put both on the counter. This whole sordid ballet of mad science that forrda called cooking was at first offputting and offensive, but the heiress had to admit that there was something akin to sorcery at work. That made the weird into something almost artistic.

[Phrexus Krale]

Finishing turning over the skewers, he reached for the jar of komu powder. He ignored the gemji paste, guessing that she only grabbed it since she wasn't entirely sure which labeled jar he was wanting, going only off of the colors that he'd listed off. With two fingers, the lid was quickly unscrewed to reveal a secondary lid with a smattering of self-punched holes. And with a swift motion, the Besalisk turned it over to shake glittering specks of green and black dust over the mushrooms and onion still sizzling away in their skillet.

A grunt in thanks, and he set the jar back atop the counter.

"Over there," he pointed to the bowl of butter broth.

"Take that, and pour it into this big pot here."

An elbow angled up to indicate a large pot that rested on an eye, the water within at a rolling boil.

"And then take those greens in that bowl over there... " a nod to the bowl of loccards, "... and put those in also."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

Sorcery. Alchemy. Something unnatural, intriguing, inscrutable, and opaque. If Rai stopped to question any of it, she might truly be derailed, so she didn't. The most liberty she took was to give the powdery contents of the now-used jar a sniff, which elicited a nearly eye-watering response.

"Kosa." she grimaced, wrinkling her nose as she screwed the cap on again. Finding the broth, Rai couldn't resist smelling that too. Something rich. Familiar but different. She deposited it where she was tasked. Last were the bowl of...loccards. Eating vegetables was already alien and suspect as it was, but upon smelling the deep green leaves, she frowned, putting distance between her nose and the offensive greens, her ears planing flat in displeasure.

"That..." she paused to find the most diplomatic way to sign her displeasure as she grabbed fistfuls of leaves to add to the pot, "...ssmellss ljike a farrt."