Disclaimer: I own nothing. I am not trying to infringe on anyone's copyright, intellectual property, or sense of propriety. This is for entertainment purposes only.

Author's Note: This chapter comes directly from one of the scenes between Aric and my female Trooper following some action on Nar Shadaa (Spoiler Alert!). I've included the dialogue between Aric and my trooper to set the scene. Enjoy. And apologies for this being short.

From the scene 'Surprise Inspection':

"Got a problem, sir. Weapons malfunction. Had a couple misfires during the prison break. Not surprising, given all the action we've seen. With your permission, I'd like to inspect the rest of the squad's ordnance, make sure everything's up to code."

"Looking for an excuse to go through my personal effects, are we?"

"Maybe. There something you don't want me to find?"

"A woman's got to have some secrets."

"You're certainly welcome to try. Cathar don't miss much. Snipers miss even less. Well, those weapons aren't going to inspect themselves. Sir."

Chapter Two: Surprise Inspection

Aric stepped into his commanding officer's quarters, his attention drawn to the two lockers standing on either side of her bed. He'd promised to check the weapons of all the team—couldn't have the top outfit in the Republic's SpecForce getting a reputation for not being able to shoot straight.

Then she'd thrown him a curveball with that comment about going through her personal effects. Made a man wonder, he admitted as he heard the door to her quarters hiss shut. She was on the bridge, going over after-action reports and intel. She'd given her tacit approval to his looking through her things. And he was curious, damnit.

After all, a woman who admitted to having secrets and tacitly gave permission to lay said secrets bare was unusual.

Then again, unusual was a pretty apt description for his commanding officer.

His fingers snapped open the lock to her personal locker quickly and his eyes widened. The breath sucked out of his lungs as he reached forward, surprised.

Why in all the heavens would she have a Republic dancer's costume? His nostrils flared as his hand ghosted over the golden bikini and barely there scrap of silk skirt on his commanding officer and suddenly the room felt thirty degrees too warm.

~TBC~