After tossing her clothes into the small washing machine on her ship and taking a nice, hot shower, Tresse slipped into her more casual clothes. These were not meant for action, but rather for lounging. Skinny black stretch pants paired with a loose shirtdress, she felt awkward leaving her ship wearing it. For the sake of security, she strapped her blaster holster on and shrugged on her vest. Her arm was somewhat sloppily bandaged. First aid wasn't exactly her best skill, but she had a manual she planned on reading someday, maybe she'd have the time after she was done being shot at every day.
Back in the hangar, she saw Corso and Skavak poring over a holo map. Corso glanced up when he glimpsed her coming in. His eyes widened slightly, the same way they do each time he sees her. Now in her lounge clothes, she felt incredibly exposed and awkward. With a quick check to her chrono, she saw that the laundry should be done in about twenty more minutes. Sighing, she looked back to the two men, "Gentlemen," She nodded, "Tell me what the situation is,"
"Well," Skavak said, tapping his chin in concentration, "Looks like, if our reports are correct and the seps follow their usual strategy, they'll be here in time to join us for lunch,"
"I'm gonna make my special," Corso boasted, patting his blaster, "Country fried Ronto steak, mashed potatoes with gravy, and a side of blaster bolts to the face, and hot pudding for dessert," The grin on his face was unusual for him, grim and almost vicious, Tresse noticed.
"That'll give them indigestion for sure. Sounds perfect to me," She replied.
"Right, right," Skavak said, "You kids can share recipes later. I've got to go speak with our proud sponsors for a minute, so just hang out here," Pulling out his comm, he walked back to his office, leaving Corso and Tresse.
Corso rocked on his heels, humming offhandedly, "Ah," He finally spoke up, "Did you get your arm bandaged up?"
She looked down at her arm, which was actually feeling swollen and achy, "Um, I did kind of a hack job, but yeah,"
"We've got a pretty good first aid kit here. Come on and we can get it cleaned up real good. Who knows what kind of infection you could have picked up out there?"
Tresse followed him to the little first aid station on the far end of the hangar bay. As he opened up the kit and started pulling out various gauzes and kolto creams, "So, are you some kind of medic?" She asked him, sitting down on a crate.
He chuckled, "Far from it. But after growing up on the farm and spending some time in the militia, you pick up a few tidbits of knowledge," She rolled her sleeve up as he carried over the stuff. For a minute, he looked nervous, rubbing his hands together, as though he wasn't sure where to start. As careful as he could, he gently tugged off her sloppy bandage. The elastic pulled at her skin, but Corso was surprisingly delicate, for such a rugged farm boy type.
The wound was vividly red against her skin, which was a tender pink. Even though the injury was only a couple hours old, it was already getting pussy around the edges. As Corso pulled the bandage off, it stung. Caught off guard by the pain, Tresse reflexively hissed. He blew a whistle as he inspected the injury, "Wow, Captain, you certainly don't do anything half-heartedly," He picked up an anti-bac wipe and started to clean the area. The wipe was cold, but felt good against the feverish skin, "I heard the reports," He continued, "It was incredible. You managed to blow up the control station single handedly and evade a whole squad of sep soldiers. In fact, your wildness made enough chaos in the town that the people were able to revolt and take down the seps there,"
"What can I say? I aim to inspire rebellion," She said, shrugging nonchalantly.
He chuckled, "Don't play modest, captain. You saved that town, plus stopped the seps from blasting everyone out of the sky," She accidentally caught his gaze. His brown eyes were intense as he admired her, as though she was actually a hero, "Since you've not been around, you don't know what you saved those people from. You saved them from being pillaged, raped, and murdered. The seps don't play nice to anyone who disagrees with them,"
Color rose in her cheeks. This farm boy was acting like she was a saint, when she was just doing it for the credits. She wasn't sure what cloud his head was in, but there was something almost contagious about his optimism. For a moment of listening to him speak, she almost believed she was a hero. Ready to smear on the kolto cream, Corso looked hesitant to touch her. He actually blushed a little, much to her amusement. After a second of contemplating, he finally just patted the cool cream onto her arm. His fingertips were warm and rough against her skin, but were soft.
"I'm just doing what has to be done," She muttered. She really didn't want the poor kid to think she was something other than the down on her luck pilot who was willing to risk head and limb for a pile of credits she was.
"Even if you don't believe it," He continued, "Those people back there do. Heck, if they survive this war, they'll probably tell their grandchildren about the mysterious bald girl who saved them-"
"Look, farm boy," She finally had to let him down, she couldn't let him go on, "I'm not a hero. If those people think that, then they're wrong. I hate to tell you, but I'm just trying to make some credits so I can scrape by in this galaxy,"
He looked slightly taken aback by her harshness, but was still resilient, "Then tell me, Captain, why are you still here? You've already earned the credits, just dump the cargo out yourself and leave if you don't care," Now he was almost angry sounding, "But you haven't. You're sticking around, risking your hide for a world you're not a part of. Any other smart pilot would have long hauled jets out of here," He picked up the gauze and started wrapping her arm, no longer tender but more aggressive as he became agitated, "Anyone else would have realized by now that the credits just aren't worth it. You're smart, I can tell, so why are you still here?"
He stared her down, fire flickering in his eyes. She couldn't look away from his intense stare that seemed to bore into her tar black soul, couldn't think of anything to say back. He still held her arm, his face only inches away from hers. For a second, she considered punching him and pulling away, but something kept her there.
"Uh, excuse me," Skavak had reappeared, looking between the both of them, brow arched quizzically,
"Don't mean to interrupt, but I've got some news," Corso let go of her arm, blushing even more than before, "My employers want to modify the drop point to a warehouse a few kilos from her. If you don't mind to, Captain, take the cargo over there. Once that's done, you can be on your merry way,"
Tresse stood up, pulling her sleeve back down, "That sounds better," She replied, not wanting to look at Corso, but she still did. He was staring at his worn boots, jaw and fists clenched, "I'm sorry, Corso," She heard herself say, feeling as though she was a million miles away. Why was she apologizing? Technically speaking, she had already done more than her fair share for him.
Shaking his head, Corso stood up, still not looking at her, "No need to explain, Captain. It's not the first time I've made the wrong idea, besides, we've all gotta take care of ourselves," He walked away, pushing past her and Skavak.
They watched him walk away. Skavak chuckled, "What's eating him?" Tresse said nothing and stared at the wall beyond Skavak's shoulder, "Never mind, I'll give you the coordinates so you can head out. Been good working with you, Captain. Maybe we'll do business again someday,"
Chances were if things worked her way even though they rarely do, she was never going to come back to this planet, "Not likely. I could almost retire after this,"
He turned to walk back to his office. Then he stopped, glancing over his shoulder, "Who knows, you probably will be retired after this run," He laughed, clearly tickled by whatever he had said.