Chessa was leaning over the deck's railing, retching noisily. Uster hesitantly patted her on the back, and Chessa spat into the ocean.

"I hate the sea," Chessa said shakily, not looking up at Uster.

They were fortunate, they had been picked up by a Duros-crewed fishing vessel. The crew had given them odd stares when the two had embarked, and Uster could hardly blame them. A TIE pilot and a Rebel pilot certainly made for an odd pair. More than that, most of the crew had looked shocked, even scared when they had laid eyes on him. One even began to mouth a name that Uster was all too familiar with.

"Vader." He had started, before catching himself and hurrying off.

It was an uncomfortably common occurrence. Between his atypical helmet and the noises that his suit made, he had often been mistake for the Emperor's enforcer. Almost never amongst his fellow Imperials, but a number of civillians taking quick glances at him had made that error.

But then…given some of the acts that he had committed over the years, in the name of the Empire, perhaps the comparisons weren't unfounded. He regretted them, of course he regretted them. How could he not? Towns and unarmed transports, wiped out in the blink of an eye. He told himself that it was necessary to follow orders, that he could not afford to disobey. But did that really excuse it?

He had lost himself in thought, until the captain of the vessel stepped forward to talk to Uster and Chessa. Uster was grateful for the interruption.

Fortunately, he and the captain had come to an understanding when Uster slipped him a cred-chip. Safe passage to the nearest port, no questions asked and no memory of picking him and Chessa up if questioned.

From beside him, Chessa had raised an eyebrow "So, they don't give you guys rations, but they do give you emergency bribe money?"

Uster had simply glanced at her and shrugged. Chessa had quirked her mouth into a puzzled frown at that, but had not pressed him. He had been concerned that she may have raised more questions later. Fortunately for him, her seasickness had set in, and questions seemed to be the last thing on her mind. Not that he could blame her, he was sure that if he were in her situation, he would have suspended any queries he might have had.

"I mean, why do people even bother with boats anyway?" Chessa said as she slowly, uneasily stood up "With air travel, it's totally redundant."

Uster noticed one of the Duros roll his bulbous, crimson eyes as he walked past.

"Fishing, for one," Uster replied, glad that no one could see the smirk that was forming. He was glad for Chessa's company, she was proving to be a welcome distraction from his own thoughts.

"Ugh, kriff fish," Chessa muttered at a barely audible level. Slowly, hesitantly, she hoisted herself into an upright position and looked upward.

The sky overhead was grey and overcast. It seemed as if it would rain at any minute, and Uster was suddenly thankful that they had been rescued when they had. Being stranded on a rock in the ocean was bad enough, but being stranded on a rock in the ocean during a downpour? And that was if it was only rain, they would have been helpless if this were a storm. Uster paused, suddenly he was very thankful for the boat.

Especially since it was at that moment that the downpour began. Chessa lowered her head again as the heavy rain drenched the pair, plastering her long brown hair to her face.

"I hate the sea."

"Come on, better get into cover," Uster said, grabbing Chessa's arm to steady her. The deck rolled as the waves struck the side of the boat, and Chessa groaned.

The two found a bench situated under a canvas canopy and sat there. They had only been out in the rain for a short time, but they were drenched. They both sat there, arms wrapped around their bodies, trying to regain some warmth. Besides Uster, Chessa started to shiver and her teeth began to chatter.

There was a long pause before Uster spoke up "I'm going to suggest something that you're not going to like…again."

"No! No way!" Chessa snapped, shooting him glare.

"Do you want to get hypothermia? You're soaked," Uster pointed out.

Chessa grit her teeth "Well, this situation just keeps getting more and more awkward, doesn't it?"

"It's not as if I'm enjoying this, you know," Uster grumbled, folding his arms.

"Yeah, yeah," Chessa muttered, rolling her eyes as she unzipped her orange flight-suit and slid it off her body.

She wore a white singlet and pants underneath. On her right shoulder, Uster spied another tattoo. It was done in black ink and was three letters, Osk-Trill-Osk.

"Another tattoo?" Uster asked, peering closely at the mark "What does 'Oto' mean? Is it an acronym? Oh, it's not a boyfriend is it? Because most people end up regretting those kind of tattoos."

Chessa snorted at that "No! Actually, it's my family's brand." Chessa shrugged, before she started to idly tug at her hair. "It's also my surname. I'm Chessa Oto."

It was at that moment that Uster realised that until now, neither of them had divulged their surnames. It was strange how little it had seemed to matter until now.

"…Pulastra," Uster grunted, looking away.

"What?"

"That's my surname. Pulastra."

Chessa shot him a friendly smirk "This kind of makes our meeting official, don't you think? Now that we know each other's full names? Nice to meet you, Uster Pulastra."

Beneath his helmet, Uster offered a smile of his own, even though he knew that Chessa would not see it "Likewise, Chessa Oto."

It was perhaps a silly, tacky thing to do, but nonetheless, he held out his hand for her. With no hesitation at all, she reached out and shook it.