"Thanks for the towel," Chessa said, wrapping the cloth securely around her body.
"Don't mention it," Uster waved her off. Truthfully, he was almost as glad as she was, things were substantially less uncomfortable than they had been.
There were a few moments of awkward silence. He'd try not to look at Chessa, but every now and then he'd glance at her and catch her staring at him, at which point she'd quickly avert her eyes. She was building up to something, and he could guess what.
"So….about the Rebellion," she started, confirming his suspicions. He'd had a feeling she'd bring that up again.
"No," he interrupted, his tone firm.
"Oh come on, why not?" She asked, an annoyed edge to her voice as she frowned at him. "We need good pilots like you! And you know all about Imperial tactics and movements! You'd be a big help; you'd be making a difference!"
"Believe me, I'm making a difference as an Imperial." He caught the sceptical look she shot him and sighed. "Look, I can't tell you about it, but trust me on this. It's very important that I stay where I am for the time being."
Chessa huffed at that and slumped back in her seat, drawing the towel tightly around her shoulders. Uster wasn't sure what, if anything, he should say to her, but before he could try and work it out, his ears pricked, and he abruptly stood up and scanned the horizon.
"Uster? What is it?" Chessa asked, slowly rising to her feet on unsteady legs.
"Get inside!" Uster barked at Chessa "Imperial vessel, coming towards us!"
Chessa shot him a confused look, before scanning the sky. "What, like a TIE or something?"
Uster shook his head. "No, a boat! Now quickly, inside! Now!"
Chessa ducked below deck, and just in time too.
An Advanced Scout Frigate was cruising towards them, its engines powered down. It was a sleek, grey ship, slightly smaller than the boat they were on. It skimmed on the surface of the water with a pair of water-skids. A pair of blaster cannons hung below the cockpit. They weren't much, but they would tear apart the fishing trawler like wet flimsi if it came to that. Uster stared at it, bemused. The Imperial Maritime Division was not a branch of the Imperial Military that most others took seriously. It was so limited, so confined compared to the others, Uster himself was not sure what even drew recruits to it. Maritime navies were just so… primitive.
Uster leaned over the railing and waved his arms. As the Imperial vessel stopped, the cockpit flipped up and Uster saw two Imperials seated within, one behind the other. They wore a variation of the Imperial Army trooper uniform. They had the same blast helmets with tinted visors, instead of the tan jumpsuit however, theirs was blue digital camouflage. Uster's eyes flicked to the red-and-blue rank plaques on their chests. The pilot was a lieutenant, and the man seated behind him was a midshipman. Judging by their expressions, they recognised him, which was a first today.
"Commander," The Lieutenant and Midshipman stood up, snapped to attention and saluted. They were both totally sure on their feet, as if their boat were not gently rocking on the waves. Uster had to admit, it was impressive.
Uster returned the gesture. "At ease," he said, lowering his arm.
The Lieutenant peered at Uster curiously. "We… we'd heard that you were shot down, but we never expected to find you here, Commander." He turned back to the Midshipman. "Comm the base and tell them that Commander Pulastra is still alive and well." The Midshipman nodded and did as he was ordered, and the Lieutenant returned his focus to Uster.
"I managed to bail out and swim to an island; then the crew of this boat rescued me. I ordered them to take me to the nearest port and here I am. Not exactly my first choice of transportation, but it beats swimming back to the mainland."
"We'd offer you a ride ourselves, Commander, but as you can see, she only seats two," the Lieutenant shrugged.
As far as Uster was concerned, that was fine by him.
The Lieutenant jerked his head to indicate something behind Uster. "Who's she?"
Uster's stomach flipped. Was Chessa behind him? He turned and saw that she was lurking nearby, now changed into some baggy, ill-fitting clothes that at least were neither wet nor a Rebel uniform. She was making a show of swabbing the deck, pushing around a mop.
Uster glanced back at Chessa, before turning back to the Lieutenant. "She's the deckhand; she works for the Duros who run this ship.
The Lieutenant's lip drew back in a sneer. "A Human? Working for aliens?" He shook his head. "No self-respect at all."
Uster was aware of the Duros crew standing nearby muttering under their breaths. Imperial soldiers, winning hearts and minds as ever.
Uster shrugged. "I assume she's made some very poor life-choices to end up here."
Now he was hoping that the Duros wouldn't throw him overboard. Uster dimly noted the Midshipman was still communicating with his base over the frigate's com-link.
He finished up soon enough, and he spoke in hushed tones to the Lieutenant, who nodded before addressing Uster. "You'll be making port in Halvo Bay, Commander? Our base is preparing an escort for you. They'll take you to our airbase and get you aboard a shuttle."
Uster quickly held up a hand. "Comm them back and cancel that. I can make my own way there."
The Lieutenant tilted his head, surprised by Uster's reply. "Sir? Are you sure?"
"Wouldn't want to pull the local troops away from their regular duties. They have better things to do than playing chauffer for me, I'm sure." Uster explained. He heard the Midshipman snort, so faint that it was barely audible.
The Lieutenant paused, seemingly unsure of what to say. After a moment, he spoke. "Very well, Commander."
There was a pause, and Uster rolled his eyes behind his helmet. "You're dismissed, Lieutenant."
"Yes, Commander."
The Lieutenant saluted, before hurriedly climbing back into the cockpit, the Midshipman doing the same. In a matter of moments, the boat was moving back along its initial course. Uster watched as the ship skimmed away, aware that Chessa was coming up behind him.
Chessa smirked and quirked a brow. "So, Commander, huh? I shot down a TIE squadron commander?"
"Don't get cocky, kid, that shot was pure luck." Uster frowned as soon as he said it. That was far more casual than his usual manner of speaking. He was rarely this way with anyone, certainly never with his own squadron.
Chessa scoffed and lightly shoved him. "The hell it was! That was all skill! Face it, I'm just a better pilot than you! And at eleven years your junior too!"
Uster snorted. "I am never going to hear the end of this, am I?"
Chessa latched onto his arm and stared into his visor, her wide brown eyes twinkling mischievously. "As long as I'm with you? Nope!"
Uster hung his head and sighed. Why couldn't she have just killed me? Still, he found himself smiling, and he was glad she couldn't see. "My squadron can never know about this. This is bad enough coming from one person."
"Whereas my squadron definitely will!" Chessa beamed, looking up at him with faux-sweetness. Fierfek, she was sickeningly adorable.
"Well, there goes my reputation as an ace pilot," Uster muttered as Chessa laughed. The ribbing would have annoyed him if it had come from one of his own squadmates, but he found that he didn't mind it coming from her. Uster wrinkled his nose at that, almost annoyed with himself for letting her opinion matter to him so much so quickly.
He could tell that she was going to say something else, no doubt more teasing, when she suddenly let go of his arm and leapt up. "Oh, look! Land!" Chessa pointed, and Uster leaned forward, catching sight of solid ground. "Finally! It feels like we've been on this boat for over a year!"
"It has been a long trip," Uster agreed, almost as glad as Chessa that they'd soon be off the ship.
"So, what's the plan for when we disembark?"
Uster shrugged. "I figured we'd contact our people and go our separate ways." It was strange to say it out loud. He hadn't known Chessa for very long, but she had somehow grown on him, he found her… endearing.
"Okay, good plan," Chessa started, and Uster could see the mischievous twinkle in her eye. "Or, we could hit up a cantina instead? After all this I could definitely use a flameout."
Uster tilted his head at her, and he knew she could sense his unamused expression. "You know I won't be able to drink anything."
Chessa just nodded, a grin slowly forming on her face. "Yeah, true, but I figure you can get, like, a second-hand buzz from watching me drink!"
Uster paused for a good while before he made his reply. "You are without a doubt the worst person I have ever met."
Chessa simply threw back her head and laughed.