Cas started to sit down in the chair. "I didn't tell you to sit down," Sasha said curtly without looking up, and Cas sighed and remained at attention. His commander was obviously in need of a target. He just happened to be the lucky guy in the right place.

"So you know this girl?" Sasha asked him derisively, clicking buttons on his desk and staring at the screen. He must be looking at her files, he thought to himself. "Yes, sir. We flew a couple of the BattleSchool simgames together, sir." Sasha rolled his eyes and looked at Castor.

"And you think that qualifies her to fly Scout for Panther? We're in third place, green. You think I'm gonna sack that for some newveg girl they graduated too soon just so you can -"

"It's not like that, sir," Castor interrupted his commander, and for once didn't back down when Sasha glared at him incredulously. "It's not like that at all. She's the best pilot I know. Bar none. If you don't want to put her in your Scout, you're right, Panther will stay in third place. But it won't have first, cause you'll never beat Phoenix and Nicolai without her, and if you TRADE her, someone else will. She's that good." Castor forgot about standing at attention and just stared at Sasha seriously.

Sasha looked at Cas with a mix of wonder and irritation. This kid was one of the best engineers on the station. He didn't want to transfer him, but NO Panther spoke to him the way he just had and got away clean. Yet he'd never been a problem before, always cheerfully obedient. That made him pause before he spoke again.

"Soldier," he said slowly, "you will watch your tone and your attitude when you're talking to me, is that clear?" Cas met his gaze for another few seconds before slowly looking away. "Yes, sir," came his reply, clear and deliberate.

Sasha sighed. "She's that good?"

Cas just looked at him.

"Oh, Christ, fine. I'll evaluate her. Get out before I remember what an insubordinate little prick you are and tell her to meet me in the Game Arena tomorrow morning as soon as the lights come on."

Little Miks had gotten to her gun at last.

He didn't remember much of the trip back to the room. Most of it had been fast, one or the other of them leading, one or the other being led. The flashguns they'd taken from the BattleRoom were still on his nightstand. He'd have to return those at some point. After they arrived in his room, his memory was deliciously clear.

What an incredible way to spend the afternoon. His grin returned, twice the size it had been before, and he obediently backed up as she pressed her point. He knew it was loaded, but he knew how steady her hands were. He even knew how to make them unsteady now...but that would hardly help him here.

It wasn't that she wanted to-- not in the least. She rather liked the man, and after their little pleasant interlude, had to admit she liked him a lot. Her first impression had been wrong, she conceded. He certainly was a cocky, arrogant bastard with a mouth that could get him into quite some trouble. But he wasn't just a flashboy.

Still. Look at him now; flat on his back, unarmed, helpless. Not too long before, and it was he that held her in virtually the same fashion. Different choice of weapon, perhaps, but the result was the same. Defenseless. Another thing Mik hated. She liked to be the one in control. If Sasha thought he could jerk her around from now, he was dead wrong.

Good thing he didn't know that save for the reserve, her gun chambers were empty.

"Again already, Mikky? I thought you were all worn out." Mik smirked at that, pressing the gun barrel a little harder into the unprotected skin under his chin. Again. She'd like that. Maybe in a few minutes...

She raised an eyebrow and gave him a steady stare, leaning closer as she cocked the fletchette pistol with a threatening *click* and whispered. "I think I like you, Sasha. We match, neh? But don't fuck with me, baby..." It was then she actually pulled the trigger. He froze and his eyes widened, muscles stiffening beneath her as she sat straddled on his chest, watching him. "Or next time this thing will be loaded."

He was so cute with that look of disbelief on his handsome face.

Sasha had been held at gunpoint before. Granted, it wasn't by a pretty girl he'd just spent some quality time with, but the effect was much the same. As soon as the gun left the equation, Sasha attacked.

Mixed as an element into his sexual tension, that anger made him rougher than he had intended to be, but she was the one who'd brought the gun into it, not him. Besides, she didn't seem like the type to sniffle and cry and change her mind. That possibility faded further as her nails dug into the skin of his back, and he bit at her throat in retaliation, releasing her wrists and sliding his hands under her arms to grip her shoulders before he abandoned his attempt at moderation and attacked her in earnest.

Her eyes flew open involuntarily as he forced air from her in small breathless gasps, and he smiled against her ear and made a little appreciative noise, enjoying the smooth play of her muscles as she twisted under him. Her legs were painfully tight around his waist, but he hardly noticed. He felt...machinelike, distant and absorbed at once, and it wasn't until her muscles began to tighten beneath him that he broke free and caught his breath, her release triggering his own.

He stayed above her when it was done, his body still pressed to hers as he kissed her almost gently, sliding his hands from beneath her, away from her shoulders. He broke the kiss and looked over her flushed face with satisfaction.

Not romantic love. That was for mushy little pussies. There were no soft little feelings of attachment or affection. She didn't feel any sort of bond with this man beyond that of two gunslinging arrogant bastards who were too much alike not to want one another. It was more of a raging lust and incredible angry acceptance than anything else. If she'd wanted to avoid this, she could have kept to the range; her territory of pistols and fletchette razors and cold precision. Instead, her arrogance had led her right down the path to Sasha's bed.

She certainly didn't give a shit, not after that.

It took a long moment for her to catch her breath, muscles slowly relaxing as he kissed her and gave her a satisfied look. Control was slower in coming than she would have liked, but it hardly mattered when his skin was still against hers, and the sensation of their frantic joining still hot. Mik grinned up at him impishly and mentally added this activity to her list of fun pasttimes. Shit. Being a soldier was more enjoyable than she'd thought.

"Maybe later, Miks. I've got shit to do." He smirked as he fastened his uniform trousers and leaned down to pick up her clothing and toss it to her as he reached for the rest of his own. She began to dress also, with a strange look on her face, somewhere between irritation and admiration. She was still in her undershirt and trousers when he finished tying his boots, but that was good enough for him. He picked up the rest of her clothing and her with it and kissed her hard as he walked with her to the door.

He squeezed her thigh with one hand while he palmed the door open with the other, and then dropped her into the hallway, her boots and jacket landing in her lap a few seconds later, the gun tucked neatly inside. He locked the door behind him and then pulled her to her feet to kiss her again as he propelled her towards the door of the Quad, palming it open as he pushed her gently into the hallway. "See you later, precious. Twice." He winked as the door slid shut between them.

Turning around, he leaned against the doorframe for a good ten seconds, relishing all the fun he'd had in the past two hours, and then sighed and shook it off. Time to get Panther and that infant Raven up to par...but what a nice thing to look forward to when he was done.