Aggressive Negotiations (Renaissance Series, Luke & Leia spin-off)

Moving In

Right after Luke had met Piu, the last woman in their cabin joined Leia and two others in the female quarters. All three of them looked up when she walked in, and she pointed back out the door. "Did you see who just walked in?"

They shook their heads, and one of the other girls explained, "We've been in here the whole time."

"One of the guys in our cabin is immaculate," she told them, holding her fingers together as she walked over to the last free bed in the room. "He is what I came to boot camp for."

"What, a boyfriend?" Leia asked, raising her eyebrow. "Or just eye candy in general?"

"Both," the newcomer answered, unzipping her bag. "Both is preferable."

The only woman who hadn't spoken yet pointed out the window. "You'll want to keep an eye on Cabin Dorn, then. They lucked out; all the hot men are over there."

Leaning to get a look, she pointed out, "Not all of them. We snagged at least one here, I haven't seen the other three yet."

"How did you see this guy, the immaculate one?"

"I was walking behind him on my way here," she explained, setting her belongings in the drawers. "He's tall, hard to miss. You'll see what I mean."

Leia thought she already knew who she was talking about. "Tan and blond, I'm guessing?"

She must have been right because the newcomer stopped what she was doing. "How did you know?"

"Just a hunch," she told her, hiding a smirk. Whoever Sunshine was, he already had a fangirl.

The woman who hadn't spoken much, the quiet one, already had her uniform on and was sitting on her mattress, lacing up her boots. "So how did you three end up here?" 

She looked to her right, and the woman she looked at answered first. "I want to go to university. Anyone who wants it gets a full ride after they serve their term."

"What do you want to study?"

"Eh, accounting or something," she answered dismissively. Leia had a feeling that wasn't the truth, but it didn't matter that much to her so she didn't say anything. 

It appeared that they were answering in a circle, so Leia went next. "I'm training to be a professional martial artist," she explained, sticking to the plan. "I wanted to get some field experience before I go out on my own."

Her answer shocked her three roommates. "A martial artist?" the quiet one asked, stunned. "I didn't know people could do that."

"That's impressive," the university girl said with raised eyebrows. "I'm sticking next to you... if that's alright."

Leia shrugged. "Sure."

They turned to the one who had a crush on Sunshine. "I'm here for three reasons: the first is in the other room," she reminded them, pointing out the door. "Second: with any luck, I'll be looking good by the end of this, and three: I need a job."

"So you went with the army?"

"Yeah, might as well," she affirmed, grabbing her red suit and beginning to change. "And you?"

"My parents said so," the shy one explained, completing the circle. "I didn't have much of a choice."

The university girl scoffed. "Your parents sound like fun."

She shook her head. "My parents made a mistake sending me here. My goal is to get sent home in the next two weeks, if not sooner."

"If you're already here, you might as well give it a shot," Leia reasoned. "No need to waste two weeks."