As the Lightfinger came to rest in its assigned berth at the Drev'starn spaceport, Vykk scanned the ship's external holocams.
"No sign of hostiles," he observed.
"Of course there's nobody here," Brianna said derisively, "The rendezvous is on the other side of the planet."
"I see. So do we need to hire a speeder?" Vykk asked.
"Well, obviously," Brianna replied, rolling her eyes.
Minutes later, they left in a newly acquired XP-38 landspeeder.
"Did we have to get such an antique?" Seeing the look in her eyes, he added, "I know, I know, stop complaining. But damn, this thing went out of style before I was ten!"
"Shut up and drive," Brianna said exasperatedly.
They drove in silence for two hours. Nearing their destination, Brianna suddenly straightened in her seat.
"We almost there?" Vykk asked.
"Yes," Brianna said through clenched teeth.
"Do I get to go in?" he asked.
"Of course. You know too much, so it's in their best interests to have you around in case they feel they must liquidate you," she replied wryly.
"Just warms my heart," Vykk said dryly.
Abruptly, Brianna reached over and stopped the speeder.
"Get out," she ordered, "We're going the rest of the way on foot," she said.
"Should we worry about the speeder?" he asked.
"It's already taken care of," she replied.
As they were walking away, Vykk glanced behind him. A man walked up to their recently deserted speeder and got in. Starting it up, the man maneuvered it so that it was pointing back the way they had come. Hitting the accelerator, he sped off into the night. Turning back around, Vykk surveyed the road ahead. Trash littered the dank gray roadway. Filthy, boarded-up buildings lined either side of the street.
"Nice place," Vykk commented.
"Just keep your blaster handy," Brianna warned.
"Will do," he agreed.
They walked along for another few minutes until Vykk suddenly stopped.
"Did you hear that?" he asked.
"Hear what?" she asked, looking around.
Suddenly, a blaster bolt spanged off the wall next to them.
"That!" Vykk shouted as he dived for cover behind a metal box.
Brianna was already under the cover of an adjacent box and firing by the time she got a look at their assailants. With their grungy clothes and unkempt appearance, they looked like a group of homeless drifters. Yet the way they handled their blasters proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that these men were professionals. Within seconds, two of them succumbed to Brianna's surgical fire. Vykk's slightly less accurate barrage took out another one and pinned down three others. Brianna seized the opportunity, shooting each of them neatly through the head. The remaining assailants proved much more difficult. Enemy fire intensified as they moved in closer to Vykk and Brianna's position. Vykk killed another one with a neat bolt through the neck. He paid dearly for this victory, however. One of the men, seeing his fallen comrade, bellowed in rage as he shot Vykk's now exposed left leg. Vykk grunted in pain, but kept firing. He heard a tink-tink noise. Ducking, he looked around for the source and found it.
"Grenade!" he yelled as he pulled Brianna to safety on the other side of his cover box.
Hearing dead silence, Vykk cautiously peered around the corner of the box. He found that the remaining thugs had them surrounded and he was face to face with the hot muzzle of a blaster.
"Get up. Don't try anything or we'll fry your girlfriend here," the goon growled.
"Hey, she's the dangerous one, not me," Vykk said, holding up his hands.
"Oh, really?" the goon asked in a tone that showed he clearly didn't believe it.
As if on cue, Brianna exploded into action. She delivered devastating kicks and punches to sensitive areas on each of the men. Within seconds, they were lying on the ground, unconscious or groaning in pain.
"Wait, there's only four here. Where's the other guy?" Vykk asked, mystified.
A blue flash dazzled his vision for a second. Once the brightness cleared, Brianna was lying facedown, unconscious.
"Brianna!" he shouted in anguish.
"Don't worry, she's only stunned," the shooter said calmly.
Recognizing the voice, Vykk's mouth dropped open. Looking up, he saw the face of his nightmares.
"Tarven?" he shouted incredulously.
"The one and only. You know, I don't take kindly to people that waste my resources. You two killed seven very good men. When you're both strapped back in your interrogation chairs, I'll get revenge for all of them from both of you," Tarven said with an evil grin.
"You haven't caught me yet," Vykk retorted.
When Tarven opened his mouth to reply, Vykk grabbed the opportunity. Pulling his vibroblade from his boot quicker than the eye could follow, he stabbed Tarven in the stomach. Stepping back with his vibroblade, he watched as a dark red stain spread quickly over Tarven's shabby clothes. With one final gurgle, he fell to the ground. Vykk slung Brianna over his shoulder and limped away as fast as he could, ignoring the stabs of pain from his leg. Turning a corner, he ducked into a dark alley. Laying Brianna gently against a wall, he tried to resuscitate her.
"Come on, Bri, get up," he said as he lightly slapped her face.
Soon, his attempts became more desperate.
"Come on, damnit! Wake up!" he shouted, shaking her.
Coughing, she finally woke up.
"What happened?" she asked blearily.
"Tarven stunned you" he replied tersely.
"Tarven? Sithspawn!" she exclaimed, eyes wide.
"Don't worry, I got him," he said placatingly.
"Is he dead?" she asked desperately.
"I'm pretty sure," he answered.
"Don't give me 'pretty sure.' Is he dead?" she asked, emphasizing each syllable.
"We could go back and check, but I'd rather not," Vykk advised, "He might have brought back-up with him."
Brianna sighed. "You're right. So what do you mean when you say 'I got him'?"
"Stabbed him right in his festering belly," Vykk said proudly.
Brianna's face brightened. "Almost no chance of surviving that. Thank you, Vykk, thank you so much. You have no idea what that man did to me," she said, hugging him.
"Actually, I do," he corrected, "He played a recording of your first torture session to me. When I heard what he had done to you, I wanted to tear that bastard limb from limb."
"And why didn't you do that this time?" she asked.
"I had to get you to safety," he replied immediately.
"Speaking of which, we need to get out of this dark alley," she said, looking around, "I know this area very well. Light is your friend. Come on."
Vykk tried to get up, but his leg buckled under him.
"Shavit, I forgot about that," he said angrily.
"What?" Then she saw his leg and her face fell. "Oh, Vykk, what happened?"
"Took a hit during the firefight," he replied with a grimace.
"Let's get you to a medical droid," she said anxiously.
"I thought the delivery was paramount," he argued.
"It can wait a few minutes" she dismissed, "There's a medical station a few blocks from here."
With Brianna's assistance, Vykk was able to hobble into the medical center. After a brief look at the wound, the 2-1B slapped a bacta patch on it and dosed Vykk with painkillers. A half hour later, Vykk could barely feel his injury. The droid gave him a bottle of pills with instructions to take them every six hours for a week. Once out of the med-center, Brianna got her bearings and set off with Vykk plodding resolutely in her wake. As they walked, the scenery became progressively cleaner and brighter. Minutes later, they were on an extremely well lit and sanitary roadway.
"Is that it?" Vykk asked, pointing to a huge skyscraper.
"Yes. I suppose it's a bit obvious, but when you have the kind of resources we do, you can flaunt your wealth a little," she said, shrugging.
"Who exactly is we?" he asked.
"You'll find out soon enough," she replied.
Minutes later, Vykk's first close look at the front door stopped him cold.
"You work for Bothicorp?" he asked, incredulous.
"You seem surprised," Brianna replied with a smirk.
"Not so much surprised as utterly astounded. I thought you were with Black Sun or something. Barring that, I still didn't think you were doing anything even remotely legal. This is just…wow…I can't believe it. I need to sit down a minute and take this in," he said, plainly astounded.
"No time for that" she said quickly, "My boss is waiting, and has been for some time."
Grabbing Vykk by the arm, Brianna dragged him through the doorway as he kept sputtering about his discovery. Eventually, Vykk subsided and walked with her under his own power. They entered a turbolift and began ascending to their destination. As he stood there, visions of a stable future with Brianna threatened to overwhelm him once more. Not only has he found someone he cares about, but he's found someone that is almost completely aboveboard. If he ended up staying with her, he wouldn't have to dodge New Republic and Imperial patrols. He wouldn't have to jump a meter in the air every time he heard a loud noise. He could let go of his paranoia and be…happy. Thinking these thoughts, he had a beatific smile on his face.
"Why are you so happy all of a sudden?" Brianna asked, studying Vykk's face.
Vykk's train of thought ground to a halt. He desperately searched for a lie to tell her, but couldn't find one.
"You," he replied, staring down at his feet.
"Oh, I see. I'm your fantasy woman now, aren't I? As I'm prancing around naked in your mind, try to remember that I have a mind, too," she said disdainfully.
Vykk felt as if he'd been slapped. He raised his head fractionally. "No, I wasn't thinking of you like that. I was…"
"You were what?" Brianna demanded.
Vykk struggled with himself. His fear of giving too much information warred with his desire to be honest with her. Finally choosing a side, he looked into Brianna's eyes.
"I was thinking of how much I love and care about you. I was thinking about the future we could have together. I could put my past behind me and start a new life with you, a happy life. No more desperate escapes or close calls. Almost no illegal activity of any kind," he said wistfully.
"You…love me?" she asked, plainly stunned.
"With all my heart," he affirmed.
"I…have to think about this," she said uncertainly.
"What is there to think about?" he asked, "I can tell you care for me and you know I love you."
"I can't deal with this right now. Just keep your mouth shut and don't look at me!" she snapped.
Vykk's eyes found the floor as the turbolift doors opened. He followed her meekly down the hall until they came upon their desired door. Taking a deep breath, Brianna keyed it open. Waiting within was a single Bothan. He looked up at the newcomers as they came in, a smile springing to his face.
"Ah, Ms. Tharsen. I'm glad that you could finally join us. Please introduce me to your companion," the Bothan said cordially.
"Director Thri'ki, this is Vykk Draygo, the pilot I hired," she said, indicating Vykk.
"Pleased to meet you Mr. Draygo," he said, extending his hand.
Limp-wristed, Vykk shook Thri'ki's hand.
"If you both would have a seat, we can get started," Thri'ki said, gesturing towards two empty chairs.
Thri'ki sat behind his desk with Brianna opposite him while Vykk sat in the corner with his head down.
"Before you make your full report, Ms. Tharsen, I'd like you to summarize why it took you so long to get here with such routine cargo," Thri'ki said, folding his hands on the desk.
"Routine?" Vykk interjected. "How could what's in that box possibly be routine? After all we went through to get it to you, you're telling me that it wasn't important?"
Brianna stared daggers at him. Thri'ki sighed.
"Do you want to leave this office, Mr. Draygo?" Thri'ki asked.
"Not particularly," Vykk replied.
"Then I suggest you practice proper decorum while in my office. Now, before I was so rudely interrupted…" Thri'ki said, trailing off.
Brianna took the cue. "Well, first of all, we ran afoul of a skirmish at Kessel. In the interest of getting there as fast as possible, we shuffled IFF transponders to suit our course. Muddling through with no more than minor dents, we proceeded to the planet. Upon landing, we were unaware that we were under surveillance. A small Imperial commando team detained us for questioning. For some reason, they were interested in our activities. Contented that we were involved in no wrongdoing, they released us."
Vykk opened his mouth as if to say something, but was silenced by Brianna's fierce glare. Satisfied, she continued, "Obviously, we had lost a great deal of time to their questioning. We returned to Kessel and retrieved the cargo, then took off for Bothawui with all necessary speed. I am truly sorry for the delay. I would understand if you saw it fit to dismiss me."
"I will make that decision after I examine your full report," Thri'ki said sternly, "I suggest you begin as soon as you leave this room."
It was obviously an indication that they should leave. Standing up, Vykk and Brianna left the office as the door closed behind them. Vykk followed Brianna until she stopped at a door bearing her name. Keying it open, she led Vykk inside. Once the door closed, she whirled on him.
"Were you trying to get me fired? Because if you were, I'm not sure I know you at all!" she shouted.
"I was trying to get you fired? I'm not the one that sat there and lied," Vykk fired back.
"I had to lie to preserve my position," she retorted, "I worked too hard to get where I am to lose it over something as trivial as this."
Vykk was livid. "Trivial? What in the last two weeks has been trivial?"
"Nothing, but this would be an awful way for me to go," she replied.
"Well I'm glad you have your priorities straight. Being alive is nothing compared to money. Finding love in the midst of it all pales in comparison to prestige," Vykk said derisively.
"Shut up! I am not discounting the fact that we have survived a terrible ordeal and come out of it with something good besides a job well done. I'm just ensuring that I have a future," Brianna retorted.
"So it's all about you, is it? What about me? Don't you give a vrelt's ass about me at all?" he asked accusingly.
Vykk's question hit Brianna like a punch in the solar plexus. What were her feelings regarding Vykk? Did she love him as he loved her? She hadn't thought about it. She was putting her own livelihood ahead of all else. Was that the way she wanted to live her life? No. Her culture was not the most important thing in her life. Her well-being trumped everything else. She had to admit that being with Vykk made her happy. His openness and warmth drew her to him. She had never met such an inviting person. She felt this was too much for one mind to assimilate at once. Overwhelmed, she burst into tears.
"How can you ask me that after all we've shared? Of course I care about you, but I can't say I love you until I have more time to think," she said through her hands.
Vykk's anger vanished the moment the first tear ran down her cheek. He immediately berated himself for hurting the woman he loved. What right did he have to probe her like this? Striding forward, he hugged her fiercely. "I'm sorry, Bri. I didn't mean to hurt you like that. I'm just so afraid of losing you."
But Brianna couldn't stop bawling. Putting her head on Vykk's shoulder, she let out every bad thing from the past two weeks. Tarven's torture sessions flowed out of her onto Vykk's reassuring shoulder. Soon Vykk's eyes welled up with tears and he began to pour out his own emotions. Locked in their desperate embrace, a feeling of certainty surfaced in Brianna. Raising her head, she locked gazes with Vykk.
"I love you, too!" Brianna proclaimed.
When their lips met, fireworks went off in each of them. As their arms snaked around each other, they became one organism. They now knew, absolutely, that they wanted to be together forever, no matter what.