A Little Something in Reserve

This takes place shortly after arrival on Nar Shaddaa.

"Ow! Cuck!" Vacy Fiorst stuck her finger in her mouth, muffling the other curses that followed.

Corso Riggs stuck his head in the door of the Wonder's lounge. "Captain, you all right?"

Vacy sat up straighter, rolling her shoulders. She'd been hunched over the blasted earpiece for near on an hour, far as she could figure, and the sheath she'd designed still refused to set at the angle she wanted it. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just can't get this bug-shagged pile of desh to do what I want." She sighed, rubbing at the spot between her eyebrows. The smoke-lensed goggles she wore for safety had been built for protection rather than comfort – though, she had to admit, they did look kind of interesting.

He ambled in and slid onto the stool next to hers, looking past her at the miniscule parts on the counter. "That's your earpiece, ain't it?"

"Yup," she said, still rubbing.

"What about this?" he asked, picking up a slim metallic object about half as long as a stylus.

Vacy blinked, looking over at him. "Mm? Oh, that's a vibroshiv. That size sometimes gets called a stealth dagger. Got it this afternoon down on the Promenade."

He held it between thumb and forefinger. "This thing? Seriously? It's supposed to be a weapon?" He looked at her suspiciously, not entirely sure this wasn't one of her pranks. "I didn't see anything like this down there."

She shrugged. "Gotta know who to ask and how to ask. It's not made for extended use, but it'll carve a neat hole in that fancy super-duper armor of yours without any problem." Rubbing at her eyes, she sighed again, flipped the lenses back down, and fired up her microgrinder. "Been wanting one of these for awhile, and I knew I could pick one up here on Nar Shaddaa. Probably could've gotten one on Coruscant, but it would've taken quite a bit of asking around, and I ain't got as many contacts there, and I sure as anything didn't want to put us in any deeper in favor-debt than we already were."

That bit of conversation raised more questions than it answered, and Corso sat quietly in thought for a little while. Finally, he settled on something innocuous – or at least, he hoped it was. "Favor-debt?" he asked.

Vacy looked up again. "Yeah. You know, you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours? I think we ended up well to the good, but… now hang on while I give this a go again." She took a slow breath, then pressed the small metal tube to the curve of the earpiece, holding it there while she counted under her breath. She let go, and this time the tube stayed where she had set it. Her eyes lit up in triumph. "There we are! All right, anyway. What was I saying? Oh yeah… favor-debt is something that you want to have as little of against you as possible. Thing is, it never seems to do much good when it's in your favor, though." She shook her head, turning to lean back against the counter and stretch her legs out. "Least for me, anyways. Only folk who end up owin' me anything are ones who were so flat-out desperate for help that I ain't ever gonna get to collect a thing."

Vacy held her hand out to Corso for the tiny knife. He passed it back to her, and she slipped it into its sheath. "Now if I've set this right…" She pressed it a little further, and it settled into place with a very faint click. Then she carefully lifted it and settled the device behind her ear, gently wiggling it into place. "It won't lop my whole blasted ear off when I take it out." She looked over at Corso, tilting her head. "Does it look obvious?"

He considered it carefully, then shook his head. "I can see it, but I'm pretty sure that's because I know it's there. If I didn't?" He shrugged. "Just looks like another earpiece. Don't see how it'll do you much good, though. Knife like that, even if it can cut through armor? Ain't gonna go deep enough to do more than piss somebody off. Better off just shootin' 'em."

She smiled wryly. "Yeah, well, this sort of thing is for when you don't have your blaster, see. When somebody's got you backed up against a wall and their blaster's under your chin and they're already picturing which bounty they'll collect on you first… that's when you need something like this." She reached up and brushed a hand over her hair, and with a slight flick of her thumb, the shiv dropped neatly into her fingers. Another flick and it hummed to life. "I'll have to replace the knife itself if I ever use it; the tricky part is the sheath." She flicked it off again and slipped it up into the earpiece once more.

Corso rolled his eyes. "Captain. C'mon. You really think things're ever gonna get that bad?" He put his palm to his chest. "I'm insulted."

Vacy chuckled, shaking her head. "Riggs, you're a hoot."

"No, seriously, though." He put his hands on her shoulders, turning her to face him. "You know I'd do everything in my power to keep you from harm."

She smiled, but reached up, tweaking his nose. "I know. Still, there's times where we might have to split up for a search, or... if something happens and you do go down…" Her smile faded and her eyes grew distant, and he knew she was reliving that night on Coruscant. She shook her head, pasting on a wry smile. "And if I don't make sure I stay standin', who's gonna save your hide, hm?" Vacy stood, and he dropped his hands. "Best to have a little something in reserve." And with that, she started picking up the tools and supplies and headed out toward the hallway.

"Hey, Captain?" Corso called, and she turned and looked back. "Y'oughta call it Bitsy."

And there we go! Fin! I hope you liked it... Please please please review! I get discouraged when I don't hear from people. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE! ;)