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“I did not crash the Mantis on purpose!”
Bode chuckled at the scrapper’s denial, bumping his shoulder as they made their way over to the landing pad at Rambler’s Reach.
“Sure, but you could have landed in a less smoky way. You’re lucky Greez and I didn’t have to put out any fires when we got there.”
“The gyro was failing!” Cal protested, “I didn’t have a choice!”
“And that way of thinking is exactly why we’re here.” Bode replied, stopping once they reached the Z-95 on the lowered landing zone, “Time to teach you how to fly safely.”
“I…” Cal cut himself off with a glare at nothing in particular.
“Get in.” Bode ordered, opening the cockpit, “I’ll be right there with you.”
Cal opened his mouth as though to say something else, before closing it again and shaking his head, sighing in resignation. Bode had barely moved to give the scrapper a leg up into the cockpit when the younger man vaulted easily up into the pilot’s seat.
“You need something?” Cal questioned, grinning down at Bode, whose hands were still held out.
“I… No, you got it.” Bode chuckled, kicking off the ground and lifting himself the rest of the way to the cockpit and into the smaller seat behind Cal.
“I’ve never been in a fighter before.” Cal lamented, looking around as the viewport hissed shut once more around them, “Scrapped a few on Bracca, though.”
“Hey, this may not necessarily be my ship, but don’t you dare.” Bode teased, prodding the scrapper playfully in the ribs, “Now, think you can get us in the air?”
“What kind of question is that?” Cal scoffed, already flipping the necessary switches to power up the fighter.
Bode knew Cal’s Psychometry had likely been crucial to how quickly he learned new skills, but he had never seen it in action like this before. He wondered briefly just how many pilots’ experiences he had witnessed in his work on Bracca.
Bode pushed these thoughts away as the fighter lifted off the landing pad.
“So, where are we going?” Cal asked, glancing over his shoulder at Bode.
“Eyes front, Scrapper.” Bode warned, “Also, you’re the pilot here. If you need any direction, just…take us somewhere where we won’t pose a danger to others.”
“Copy that.” Cal chuckled, the fighter racing upward as he pulled back on the steering yoke.
“Easy there, Scrapper!” Bode yelped as he was thrown back in his seat, “Remember, this thing is much smaller than the Mantis. She’ll respond to even the slightest commands. Work with her, not through her.”
“Heh, you’re starting to sound like my master.” Cal chuckled, relaxing his grip on the yoke as they leveled out above the clouds, “‘Your lightsaber is an extension of yourself, your actions move through you and into the blade.’”
“Yeah, you get it.” Bode said, straightening up, “Just…think of it like that. Now, let’s work on pulling safely out of a nose-dive.”
“Ooh, getting right to the point, I like it.” Cal replied.
“Would you rather start with the basics?”
“I’d rather get you down to your basics.” Cal teased, flashing a mischievous grin over his shoulder at Bode.
“What did I say about keeping your eyes front, Kestis?” Bode scolded, even as heat welled in his cheeks.
A hint of satisfied amusement flickered in Cal’s Force, which Bode, reluctant as he was, refused to meet.
“I suggest you hang on, Jetpack.” Cal warned, pulling Bode from his thoughts once more.
“I’m the one giving orders here, Scrapper.” Bode reminded him.
“Or don’t hang on, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Cal teased.
With that, he sent the Z-95 into a nose-dive, throwing both of them back in their seats once more. Bode found himself gripping the edges of his seat as they tore through a cloud, getting rapidly closer to the ground.
“Pull up!” Bode warned, watching over Cal’s shoulder as the monitor showed their altitude reaching below a thousand meters.
But Cal either couldn’t hear him or didn’t listen, as they continued to plummet.
“Scrapper…!”
Just when it seemed they would crash in the bluffs below, Cal pulled back, the Z-95 lurching as it leveled out at no more than twenty meters.
Bode was pretty sure his heart had relocated itself to his throat.
“There. Is that enough proof that what happened with the Mantis was the ship’s fault and not mine?” Cal teased, grinning back at Bode, showing no signs that the daring dive had affected him, “You’re looking a little pale back there, Bode. You alright?”
Once he was fairly certain he wouldn’t throw up the second he opened his mouth, Bode spoke.
“Y-you s-son of a g-gundark.”
“Oh, come on, you wanted us to practice diving,” Cal chuckled, facing forward in time to steer them out of the way of a towering spire. “I thought you were ready.”
“What y-you just did was r-reckless and stupid.” Bode gasped, attempting to get his heart rate to return to normal.
“Hey, I was only proving that I can get us out of a bind, easily.” Cal retorted, “So, did I pass?”
“With flying colors.” Bode relented, “‘Flying colors’ as in ‘I can see stars and we’re not even in space.’”
“Nice.” Cal chuckled.
“It’s really not.” Bode countered, “Now just take us back to the reach so I can have my feet on solid ground again.”
“I thought you had a thing against solid ground.” Cal teased, “Isn’t that why you refuse to leave your jetpack behind whenever we go out?”
“And I only have a thing against flying when it’s you doing it.” Bode added, “Now get us to the ground before I throw up in my nice ship.”
“Rude.” Cal chuckled, already steering them back in the direction of the outpost.