Project Boussh: Diving Belle
by Majick

Mike sprinted away from the dungeon, taking the steps three at a time in
his rush to escape the ensuing riot. Flicking on his comlink as he ran, he
whispered into it: "Team Majick, report in. Repeat, Team Majick report in."
"Majick One, go ahead," came Bror Jace's voice
"Majick Two, ready and willing." this was Shalla Nelprin, a reply that made
Mike miss a step and only avoid falling flat by sheer dint of effort.
"Majick Three, come in." Mike whispered
"Uh, Mike, Three is a little. well, unavailable at this moment in time,"
reported Bror. Mike felt a sinking feeling in his gut, but his obligation to
his friend forced him to ask the next question.
"What happened to him, One?"
"It would appear he was discovered by your Terra Twelve..." Bror began.
"Emily." Mike murmured, slumping against the wall and covering his eyes
with his hands. It didn't help. The lack of visual distractions only made it
easier to imagine exactly what Elassar had been through.
"...but the med techs say that with bacta patches, anaesthetic and the
temporary loss of feeling in his extremities, there is an excellent chance
he won't even feel it when they take it back out again. Really, he will soon
be as good as new," Bror concluded.
"That friend of yours plays for keep, doesn't she?" Shalla said, her
amusement evident in her voice.
"Oh Lord. Bror, tell Elassar I'm sorry, and I'll take care of Emily later.
Shalla, would you care to join me? I think I would do well to be away from
the castle for a while."
"OK Four, see you on the landing pad?"
"Agreed Two. See you there."

He took the time to dump his trademark trenchcoat before heading for the
landing pad. It was just too recognisable, where as from a distance in his
flightsuit, he could pass for almost any other man.
Like him, she was clad in her flightsuit, and was sitting up on the wing of
her snubfighter when he arrived. She smiled down at him, and he squinted
into the sun to look at her. He remembered an old aviator's doctrine: Attack
with the sun at your back.
"So, wanna fly?" Shalla asked, her smile broadening.
"Fly? Fly what?" Mike asked, feeling a little stupid.
"The Incom T65-B," Shalla said, her voice dropping into a monotone. "More
commonly known as the X-Wing. I thought, given your piloting ability you
might be able to handle it."
Mike thought briefly of Kristy, Emily, Vickie and the others who'd gotten
to have some fun in the GFFA ships. In that half second, his mind was made
up, and he clambered onto the wing, standing up beside Shalla.
"You're a little eager," she said, her eyes twinkling. "We can't share an
X-Wing, you know."
"More's the pity," Mike replied, with a grin. Shalla pushed him a step
backward in reply.
"You flyboys are all the same. You think with your joysticks"
"A pilot and his craft should become one," Mike quoted, from somewhere or
other.
"Perhaps, but in this case, a pilot and his wingman have no chance of
becoming one if he continues using those cheesy lines."
Mike's heart skipped briefly. In Washington, he'd thought he'd noticed some
sparks between himself and Shalla. In New Hampshire, the cabin had been way
too crowded for his liking. Maybe in Mendellia he could make something
happen.
He dropped to one knee, and held his hand out to her.
"Fair Shalla, know only this: I travelled many thousands of miles to be
with you, I nearly died for the love of you, and when I was floating in
bacta, only the thought of you stopped me floating off into the next life."
She eyed him, dubiously.
"And if that were true, Mike, then I'm sure you've spotted the symptoms of
similar longings in one of your squadron mates."
"Who hasn't?" Mike asked, dropping is pose for a second. "Best to let them
sort it themselves, I think. My life keeps me busy enough without taking an
interest in anyone else's."
"Wise words, young Mike," Shalla replied, an impish grin on her face.
"I can only hope that you're impressed by a wise head on young shoulders,
my dear," Mike shot back, an equally meaningful grin on his face.
"Mmm. An attractive head on broad shoulders is more my thing, she replied,
sticking her tongue out at him. "And where we're going, I get to see if you
have broad shoulders.." Mike raised an eyebrow at her last comment.
"I could almost think you'd planned all this.."
"You could, couldn't you."

Mike brought Elassar's X-Wing into the air, gently easing back on the
joystick, feeling the repulsorlifts thrum beneath him. At the prompting of
Elassar's R5 unit, Pratfall, he cut in the four fusial thrust engines, and
felt the acceleration push him back in his seat.
"Woah, Pratfall, how is the compensator set?"
"0.8," the droid replied.
"Okay, dial it up to 0.95, there's a good chap," Mike said. as he felt the
weight lift off his chest, he gasped, and said, "I never knew Elassar was
that tough."

He continued to follow Shalla's X-Wing across the island, cruising along,
smirking as they traded banter across the encrypted radios. At times, he
almost blushed. Shalla, he knew, was not the type to be backward in coming
forward, but some of the stuff she was coming out with. Well, if he hadn't
gone to an all boys school, he'd not know what she meant.
He was definitely looking forward to whatever it was she had planned for
the two of them.

She bought her X-Wing into land on a secluded finger of land, stretching
out into the beautiful clear Pacific Ocean. Popping the canopy hatch, she
eased out of her pilot's seat, and sat down on the wing, removing her
flakplate as she watched Mike bring his ship in for a slow-but-steady
landing, alongside her craft.
He raised his own canopy, and fired a lopsided grin at her.
"How'd I do?" he asked.
"Not bad for a first time," she allowed, a wicked grin on her own face.
"Amazing what a little practise can teach a person," he said, his eyes
locked on hers.
"Speaking of a little practise, I noticed in your personnel file that
you're a strong swimmer, am I right?"
"You are right. How'd you know that?"
"You mentioned it once on AFW, and these things are recorded, after all."
"What, everything I say online? All that's recorded?"
"Yes," she said simply, looking at him, and waiting for the other shoe to
drop.
  It didn't take long
"You mean when I go to..."
"Yes," she said, not unkindly.
"Oh dear."
"So, unless you want everyone to know about the fascination you have for,
well, *that*, I guess you're kind of in my power. I doesn't exactly fit with
your image here in Terra Group."
"I see your point. While certain... interests... have gained an almost global
acceptance, it's hard to see people who enjoy what I enjoy being anything
but ridiculed." He looked down at the sea for a while, before looking up at
Shalla again.
"So, what is it you want from me?"
"For a start, you can strip off, and dive into the sea," she said, matter
of factly.
"But, but... I, well, I don't, I mean."
"What is it?"
  "Well I, I," he sighed, and took a deep breath, before looking her
straight in the eyes.
"I didn't exactly bring any swimming trunks..." he eventually said.
She looked at him, a triumphant grin on her face. "Well, that's okay.
Nothing I haven't seen before. Now, go and dive, or..." she let the threat
hang unfinished. "Don't worry. I'll be joining you. I love diving, and
swimming."
He stood up, and began to peel off his flightsuit. "I have to ask," he
began, with the suit around his waist. "What's your ultimate goal?"
"Simple. From now on, no pranks unless I say so."
"Is that all? Why all this rigmarole?"
"Well," she began, tugging at the zip of her flightsuit, "I wanted you out
here alone for my own reasons..."

It was a *very* secluded area of land that Shalla had chosen

If this was the result for his guilty interest, Mike pondered sometime
later, he'd definitely have to look into joining that club on the 'net after
all, even if they did charge thirty pound a month.
He'd never known there was so much fun to be had from being a fan of
croquet.