Log Date:
	9/4/97

Log Cast:
	Paul Nighman, Shenneret Veery, Kuxli

Log Intro:
	With their passengers safely dropped off on Corellia, and word
received at last about what they need to do to prepare for the journey to
Mandalore, Paul and Shenner on the _Hawk's Wing_ have arrived on Kichnar
Station. Kuxli and Shikh Cthon have accompanied them, and the atmosphere on
the little ship remains oddly flavored, between Shenner and the two Corellian
men... for Paul and Shikh are both more than aware that they're competing for
Shenner's affections.
	The _Wing_ lands late on Kichnar, however, and while Shikh and Kuxli
and Shen all sleep, Paul heads out to stretch his legs. But he's gone a lot
longer than he'd expected....

----------
Paul_Nighman has arrived.
Paul_Nighman enters Main Ring -- Quasar Bolt
Entering just as quietly as he possibly can, Paul looks about the hold to spot 
  Kuxli and Shikh still sleeping. His misses Shen's form, tucked into the 
  couch right next to the entrance. Rubbing a hand through his rumpled hair on 
  the right side, not touching the still tender left side, he considers his 
  chrono grumpily. 05:24. _Sleeping would probably be the best, even though 
  he'd only just recently awakened from some enforced sleep_ Grumbling under 
  his breath, he makes his way toward the kitchen, the parchness of his throat 
  being one of the things that med center didn't bother to fix.

The noise of the hatch rouses Shenner immediately out of her restless doze, 
  and she stirs where she lies, mumbling, "Hrmm? Paul, that you?" She sits up, 
  rubbing at her eyes. "What time is it?"

_Frack!_ The curse flits through his mind at the sound of Shenner's voice at 
  his back. He remains as he is, offering lightly, if a bit raspily, "Yeah, 
  it's me." Opening the cooler and removes a vitamin enhanced drink, knowing 
  that its flavor and texture will be soothing to his raw esophagus. "It's 
  too early to be up Shen ... 5:30 in the morning," he tells her.

The girl rolls off the bunk she'd been occupying, glancing around the ship. 
  Spying the other two currently sleeping, still, she pads quietly up beside 
  Paul and murmurs around a yawn, "Already? Geez... I was tryin' to wait for 
  you... you just got back? What took so long?"

Taking a hefty swallow, his back still to her, Paul waits a moment for the 
  liquid to seep into the tissues of his throat. "I went to stretch my legs, 
  ended up at the station's garden and took an unscheduled nap on the grass," 
  he replies evasively, his voice sounding calm and at ease. That little 
  trick, however, is no easy feat. His stomach and head are still boiling with 
  irritation at himself as well as in reaction to the stun blast.

"Nap?" repeats Shen, a trifle confusedly. She slips her arms about Paul's 
  waist, as long as he's facing away from her, and offers a light hug. "Glad 
  you're back, anyway....

Placing his hands on top of her arms, he rubs them gently. He ignores her 
  confused query altogether, but answers her comment. _I can't -believe- how 
  stupid I was ... I could have been, should have been killed_ he rails at 
  himself. "Yeah, me too," he murmurs softly with a touch of awe as the 
  realization hits him.

Shen nuzzles lightly against Paul's shoulderblades, just soaking in the feel 
  of him for a bit, making up (or so she tells herself) for not having slept 
  beside him. Drowsily, she asks, "So what now, hrmm?"

"Good question," he rasps, uncertain of the answer. He should probably get 
  some rest ... some -real- and unenforced rest, to help with the shock to his 
  system. Then again, there's some crazy woman running around with a weapon 
  ... next time she -could- kill somebody. Of course if had just done as she 
  had asked and left her alone, then none of this would have happened ... 
  maybe she felt threatened or thought he was going to hurt her. _Yeah right, 
  hurt -her-?!_ Well, alright, she didn't look the least bit scared, just 
  pissed as all hell. And, well, she -didn't- kill him, right? These thoughts 
  buzz about inside his mind, causing the throbbing to return despite the pain 
  meds. That in the end answers the question. "I need some real sleep," he 
  murmurs. "Just a few hours."

Shenner nods lightly against Paul's back, before pulling back slightly and 
  just rubbing his shoulder a bit. "Okay... you need me to do anything?"

_You're gonna have to turn around sooner or later and then she'll freak_ he 
  reminds himself. The urge to send her off to do something, anything, just to 
  get her out and away, is strong. "No, nothing needs to be done ... we just 
  sit now and wait for Dane to either find us or we'll find him. I didn't see 
  him last night, but that's not too surprising." He takes one final swallow 
  from the glass and places it in the sink, wondering if he's stalled all he 
  can, and if Shen will remain behind him or move off to somewhere else in the 
  ship. At least he doesn't look half as bad as he did when he arrived at the 
  med center. The lump on his temple is about half it's previous size, the 
  bruising lighter. His clothes are stained with dirt and grass and rumpled, 
  but what can you expect, "sleeping" in a park?

Shen's hand remains on Paul's shoulder, and she clasps it briefly, 
  affectionately, asking softly, "Want a bedwarmer? The boys probably won't be 
  up for a bit..."

Placing his hand on top of Shen's, Paul breathes deeply, turning around as 
  casually as he can and offering her an affectionate smile. "Sure, if you 
  feel like lazing around for a bit," he replies, accepting the offer of her 
  company and heat.

A loud Horansi sized yawn echo's out from the bunk Kuxli has stuffed himself 
  on, stretching his furred arms above him before he lets them both drop 
  limply down. "Wh... gettin o... rock..." is heard being mumbled in a sleep 
  driven daze, as Kuxli starts to rise.

Shen glances round as Kuxli stirs, then looks back up to Paul, beginning to 
  smile up at him. Her smile, though, falters in the birthing, and her eyes go 
  wide as she realizes that the Corellian does not look Right. The bruised 
  lump along his temple makes her hiss in startlement. "Holy _shit_....!" That 
  comes out of her rather loudly, before she shoots another worried glance off 
  to Kuxli and Shikh's sleeping forms and lowers her voice back down to a 
  worried whisper. "Paul, what the kark happened?"

_There she goes_ Paul observes, putting on his most sheepish and nonchalant 
  smile. "I was just stupid is all, everything's fine," he assures her, 
  offering no details. His eyes flicker up to consider Kuxli for a moment and 
  then drift back down to Shenner's green, and fretful, gaze.

Another mumbling now, though quiter and the tongue being that of Mutanda. 
  Slowly rolling so his feet paws plop down onto the deck, he lowers his head 
  down, scritching along it with his claws as he continues to slowly ready for 
  the 'day'... not paying much mind to whats around him.

People who are fine do _NOT_ have lumps that size on the sides of their head. 
  Shenner starts to blurt this very statement, but catches herself with an 
  effort, realizing that Paul is here and talking and seems... more or less 
  alright. Nevertheless, both her hands shoot up to his shoulders, driven by 
  an impulse to embrace him tightly, before she catches _that_, too. "Well, 
  okay... but what happened?" Her voice comes out steady and quiet again, 
  though her eyes are still quite anxious.

Shrugging casually, Paul's voice rumbles out low and deep, and deliberately 
  muffled. "Like I said, I was stupid ... made a bad judgement call. Made the 
  mistake of trying to help someone and got myself shot for my efforts." 
  Again, there is a nonchalant shrug. "My fault, no big deal, I'm fine," he 
  assures.

Shenner doesn't need to actually _say_ "SHOT?!" -- the thought is quite 
  evident in her expression, as she visibly blanches. Her gaze rakes up and 
  down Paul, now, looking for evidence to back up his claim. Finding no gaping 
  blaster holes anywhere in sight, she grudgingly concludes that it had to be 
  a stun blast, but she doesn't look particularly comforted. Swallowing hard, 
  she looks up again and begins to answer, "Okay... well... I'm glad you're 
  alright!" -- but she punctuates that with the embrace she'd tried to hold 
  back before.

Hearing the word shot, Kuxli's head sharply rises up. "Uh, shot?" he asks 
  dumbly, raising up from the bunk with the agility only one recently torn 
  from the grips of sleep can manage. "Is that allowed here on Corellia or 
  something?" he asks further, picking his rifle up from the deck.

_Poor choice of words there, oh Mr. Ph.D._ he chides as Shen wraps herself 
  about him and clutches. _Way to go, not freaking her out_ With a soft sigh, 
  he wraps his arms about Shen's shoulders and then glances up at Kuxli's 
  voice. "Well, yeah, it's not permissible on Corellia, but it does happen. 
  However, we're not on Corellia, we're on Kichnar," he explains. "Last time I 
  was here, they were starting to crack down on weapons, and now I can see 
  why."

Kuxli blinks at that, glancing towards the hatch. "Oh.." he mananges out in 
  surprise, having slept through the whole trip. "Wow, see what happens when I 
  sleep." he grumbles to himself, crouching down as he opens his bag, 
  unslinging the long rifle.

As Paul and Kux start talking, Shen jerks back out of the hug, blushing, 
  embarrassed now. _He probably thinks I'm freaking,_ she accuses herself, but 
  she can't quite manage to lessen the anxiety in her expression. She fires 
  Kuxli another look, smiles wanly, and says, "Uh.... hi?"

While Shen might have jerked away, Paul's arms remain loosely around her, 
  either not having the presense of mind to be concerned about what Kuxli 
  might think, or simply not caring. "Well, lucky you Kux, this is where I'm 
  meeting my contact," he explains.

Kuxli bobs his head to Paul's words, flashing a smile in return to Shenner. 
  "Hey Shen," he replies in a much lighter tone. After that, he looks back 
  down to uzip the bag, stuffing the rifle in... the sound of metal against 
  metal is heard from within.

"Just don't shoot anyone, 'kay Kux?" Paul warns teasingly. "And you can leave 
  the money on the dresser," he jokes. There is a thread of weariness in his 
  voice, and hearing it himself is the indicator that he is more worn out than 
  he suspected. His arm still about Shen's shoulder he begins to move toward 
  their quarters. "Just watch out for a crazy redhead," he warns lightly. 
  Then, casting a glance down at Shen, he squeezes her lightly against his 
  side and adds, "Well, other than this one of course."

Kuxli's response is a growling chuckle as he hefts the bag onto his furred 
  shoulders, standing nimbly now. "Dont worry, I lived and worked here for 
  half a year, ain't about to go ruin my reputation now." he winks as he 
  starts to pad towards the hatch. "I'll be sure to be wary of those red 
  heads, never can tell with them." grinning to Shen as he speaks.

Shenner quirks a grin between the young Horansi and Paul, though her attention 
  shifts to Kuxli. "Hey, pal, gonna miss yah..."

Kuxli's ears lower, pointed out oddly towards the sides, making him look quite 
  silly despite the now wistfully sad look it brings to his furry features. 
  "Nah, you'll be glad Im gone, wont have that horansi smell around. Besides, 
  it's a small galaxy."

"You never can," Paul echos thoughtfully, coming to the realization that in 
  his attempts to assist redheads he has been dumped, punched, knocked down, 
  strangled, and shot. _It just ain't worth it_ he marvels, waving a hand 
  lightly in Kuxli's direction. "Don't be silly, felines don't smell," is 
  Paul's friendly chide. "I'm sure we'll be seeing you around."

Slipping off from Paul and towards Kux, Shen half-grins, and pauses before the 
  big creature, trying to decide whether to hug him or slug his shoulder. She 
  settles for the latter, an affectionate little swing of her fist. "If you're 
  gonna be here, maybe we could come back when we're done..."

Kuxli rubs his shoulder sorely, though more like a customary thing then 
  actually pain there. "I'll probably be here, may try to get my old job back 
  with the President." his simply shrugs again, "I dunno, but I'll look for 
  you guys if Im not here."

Shenner nods slowly, and says sheepishly, "Still owe yah that drum lesson."

Moving with clear deliberation for his room, Paul waves again to be polite, 
  "Like you said, it's a small galaxy," he offers in farewell, casting an 
  amused glance at Shenner for a moment and recalling their first meeting. 
  _Who would have ever thought_ he wonders as he palms the door lock.

Kuxli throws a glance towards Paul as he moves towards the quarters, a 
  smirking forming as he looks towards Shenner. "I guess that's my cue to beat 
  it." he half whispers to her, before moving to start and pad off towards the 
  hatch.

Shenner blushes, then ahems and says gruffly, "So long, pal..."

Kuxli turns his head a little, enough so half of a fang filled grin is shown 
  before he punches the safety release. "Yep." he replies as the air of the 
  station blasts in at it, lowering his head to walk out... like walking out 
  into a pouring rain.
Kuxli has left.

The door slides open obediently to Paul's touch, the man too tired to wonder 
  if he was being potentially rude to his guest. He shuffles in to the 
  captains quarters, pausing for a moment as Kuxli finally leaves.

Shenner follows after, holding the door-open control down as she pauses there, 
  not sure whether to follow Paul into the room or what. She offers, "Uhm... 
  if you want, I could make us some cocoa. With brandy. Bet you could use it?"

Turning, Paul reaches forward, tilting Shen's chin up and dropping a light 
  kiss upon her lips. "What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like 
  this?" he offers in acceptance and appreciation.

"Makin' brandy cocoa," Shen answers, brightening, after answering that kiss. 
  Grinning lopsidedly, she pads off to fix what she's promised.

A soft chuckle rumbles forth, and Paul ambles into the room, pulling off his 
  stained clothes and tossing them into the refresher. He pulls on some soft 
  sweatpants, wanting the comfort of it's warmth and texture against his skin, 
  before settling into bed.

Shen comes in in a few minutes' time, carrying a tray she'd scrounged. She's 
  got two mugs on it as well as a small bottle of brandy, and she approaches 
  the bed with her burden in hand. The tray goes down to the floor, as Shen 
  sits on the bed's edge, and brings up one of the mugs to present to Paul. 
  "Here. Doctor's orders."

Propping himself up, Paul reaches for the brandy, placing a decent sized 
  dollop into his mug. He brings it to his lips, blowing gently before taking 
  a swallow. The brandy burns the lining of his sore throat, sending out 
  palpable tendrils of heat through his body.

Shenner watches Paul, smiling a bit, before she reaches down for her own mug, 
  to drink from it. "Better?"

His eyes closed, savoring the flavor and the bite, Paul merely murmurs 
  approvingly before taking another taste. The liquor hits his system hard, 
  already on the weak and defenseless side. _I'm not long for this 
  consciousness_ he realizes muzzily.

Shen sips at brandy-laced cocoa and feels the stuff trickling down through 
  her, though less heatedly, as she's used less brandy. After a moment she 
  sets her cup down, eying Paul's features and thinking he'll probably need 
  her to move that cup, soon; she tells him gently, "You take it easy, okay?"

"Baby," he murmurs, "I ain't takin' it nowhere but this bed for now," he 
  reassures her throatily. Finishing off the rest of the liquor laden cocoa, 
  he places the mug back on the tray and settles himself back down on the bed, 
  forced to lay on his back in order to still be facing Shen, his left side in 
  no condition to press to the pillow beneath him.

Shen shifts herself, drinking from the mug with one hand, and lightly tracking 
  her fingers through Paul's hair with the other. "Rest," she murmurs tenderly.

Closing his eyes, Paul obeys, letting the quiet of the room, the dimness of 
  the light, and the stroke of her fingers lull him.

The girl sets her own cup down, then smiles softly. Stroking Paul's head, and 
  avoiding that nasty-looking lump, she leans down and drops a kiss along his 
  brow.

A contented sigh meets the brush of those lips. "You must think me accident 
  prone or something," he teases sleepily, yawning widely as her fingers and 
  the liquor go to work on him.

Shen blinks, then chuckles lowly. "What? Heck no.... trouble magnet, maybe."

"I'm not normally like this," he mumbles, not realizing the double meaning 
  there. "I lead a very quiet peaceful existance, honest," he assures her 
  between measured breaths, sleep stealing over his mind and snatching away a 
  fraction of his consciousness.

"Uh huh. Recovering sacred holy scrolls and getting trapped in crypts with 
  brunettes who tell you the torches are going out?" Shen murmurs back, wryly.

"That's just fiction baby," he slurs out in amber tones. "I'm the reality, and 
  normally it's boring as hell," he admits freely.

Shenner's eyes soften, and she gazes down at Paul's face, not afraid to watch 
  him lovingly as long as he's not looking. "You ain't bored me yet," she says.

The golden-hazel-green eyes flutter open, considering Shen through a film of 
  drowsiness. "Damn you're easy to please then," he mocks lightly, deriding 
  himself more than her by his tone. A wan smile curls his lips.

Shen is grinning crookedly through that dreamy haze, and as she sees his eyes 
  open, she cups Paul's cheeks in her hands. "Doesn't take much, just you," 
  she parries.

Opening his eyes a little wider, Paul stabs a finger in her direction, 
  exclaiming, "That's it exactly ... not much ... me!" twisting the intent of 
  her words around deliberately. He gives Shen a wicked little grin.

Shenner smiles more widely, kissing that pointed finger. "Yep. You got me dead 
  to rights."

"What are you doing all the way up there then?" he growls, and reaching with 
  one palm, he drags at the back of her head, pulling her closer, bringing her 
  lips to his own.

Shenner blinks, then grins widely, readily leaning down into the kiss. She is 
  definitely getting better at this kind of thing, and her lips brush firmly 
  against Paul's, her breath mingling with his.

Paul claims her lips, toying with them as the alcohol fizzles in his 
  bloodstream, tasting the flavors of chocolate and brandy on her tongue. He 
  drags her closer, pulling at her waist. Breaking contact for a moment, he 
  reminds her huskily, "You're supposed to be keeping me warm."

Grinning at this reminder of her Duty at Hand, Shen swings fully up onto the 
  bed, scooting her slim form up beside the Corellian. "Oh, well, I better get 
  crackin'..."

Pulling one thigh across his own and settling her arms about him, and pulls 
  her close, dropping another kiss onto her mouth. "That's better," he rumbles.

This, if anything, assures Shenner that Paul seems quite alright indeed, thank 
  you. Her arms now wrapped around his neck, herself lying on her side and 
  looking up into Paul's face, she ardently returns that second kiss. "Warm 
  now?" she murmurs.

With the alcohol wreaking havoc on his cell structures, Shen wrapped about 
  him, and all that that entails in combination, Paul is more than just warm. 
  "Uh huh," he rumbles deeply, his eyes shutting again, concentrating on the 
  feel of the woman lying utop him.

"Good," Shen murmurs in soft satisfaction, moving a hand to rub along Paul's 
  shoulder and what she can reach of his chest. She lifts her head briefly and 
  kisses him once more before nestling in close. "Rest...."

There is a soft reverberating chuckle that shivers through Shen as she lays 
  against Paul. "Bossy woman," he taunts weakly, sleep making another 
  straifing run and shooting down more of his consciousness.

"All for your own good," Shen murmurs back amusedly, closing her eyes, her 
  breath tickling against Paul's neck.

"That's what they all say," he murmurs in mock disconcertment, his breathing 
  leveling out and his voice trailing off lower and softer.

Shenner's only response to that is a soft giggle, and a hug, before she 
  settles down to just quietly hold Paul in her arms.

There is no response this time, sleep making on last run and snatching up what 
  little remains of his alert mind.

[End log.]