Chapter 19 – All In a Day's Work, Ma'am

[AN: Please don't come after me with torches and pitchforks for how this chapter begins. ;) After all, it could've been worse; I could've used this for the ending to the previous chapter! ]

Vacy looked unsteadily up at the man who had his arms around her. Her unfocused gaze finally settled on him. "Y'don't seem very happy to see me," she pouted.

With an enormous sigh of relief, Corso closed his eyes and pulled her more tightly against him. "I am, Captain," he whispered.

Her head lolled back and she grinned blearily up at him. "What took yeh s'long, han'sum?"

While he wished there was time for a climactic reunion scene like he'd imagined, in which the hero (him, of course) gets to kiss the lady (duh), Corso knew that their first priority needed to be getting to safety. He reached up and smoothed back a lock of hair that was plastered to her sweaty forehead. "Well, there were more'n a coupla fellas who seemed right determined to keep me outta here. Had t'take care a them first." Hopefully it was just the heat, and not some side effect or allergic reaction to whatever drug they'd given her. "I got the speeder stashed just up ahead. We can send medics back from the nearest Republic outpost, but we've gotta hurry. There's no way we can get everyone there – the freighter sort of crashed – and I don't want to leave the prisoners here any longer'n we have to."

Vacy nodded her agreement, even if the gesture was a bit more emphatic than it needed to be. "Or we could just stim ever'body with th'annidotes that Mekali's got in's medpack," she added.

He blinked. "Or – or we could do that." Setting her back against the side wall as gently as he could, Corso hurried over to the bodies of the two slavers. "Which one's Mekali?" he called over his shoulder.

"The horny one!" This was followed by a fit of slurred giggling. "Counta he's Devaronian, see?"

Rifling through the slaver's kit, Corso came across one compartment that had vial after vial of a clear, thick liquid. He brought one of the small syringes over to Vacy. "How do we know how much to use?"

Vacy lifted her shoulders with a snort. "Hey, Imma combat medic, not a doc. 'Sides, m'head feels kinda funny." She grinned. "Guess there's only one way t'find out!"

"Right," Corso replied, setting his jaw. He turned and jabbed the stim into the upper arm of the prisoner who was slumped next to Vacy. Flicking the activator dispensed the chemical.

A moment later, the man groaned and leaned forward, holding his head in his still-bound hands. "Hey… what happened?" he asked. He sat up straighter, blinking as he looked around.

Corso breathed a quiet sigh of relief. "Y'got caught by slavers. They were takin' ya off to be sold," he said as Hewie hummed to life again. "Hold still," he added, gently touching the blade to the primitive ropes that bound the man's wrists.

"Thank you," said the man, sounding puzzled. He slowly got to his feet. "I – sorry – I don't want to sound rude, but… why'd you do it? What are you getting out of this?"

With a shrug, Corso shook his head. "There's prob'ly a bounty on some of these scum. But more'n that, slaving's a dirty business." He nodded toward the doors at the back of the cargo hold. "We're only a few klicks from Mos Anek. If you can make it there, you can either hire a speeder to go where you want, or at least contact someone to come get you."

The newly-freed ex-prisoner didn't waste any time making his escape. Corso took another syringe from the medkit and went to Vacy again. "This'll sting a bit, Captain," he apologized. He tried to be as gentle as he could with the stim, but even so, she let out a little yelp and her eyes widened at the pinch. Somehow the expression on her face as she looked at him hurt worse than any of the hits he'd taken from the slavers. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

Vacy groaned, lifting a hand to her forehead. "No," she replied groggily. "S'all right, Riggs." She was still for a little bit, then shook her head, as though to clear it. "Urgh. I feel like a ronto danced on my face."

And with that, Corso found he could breathe more easily. If she felt well enough to attempt a joke, she was probably doing just fine. "I'm just glad you're all right," he said. "But we need to get outta here kinda quick. We're just a bit away from Mos Anek, and I'm not too keen on gettin' found by a buncha Imps."

"Right. Right." Vacy pushed herself upright and lifted to her feet. "I'm good." She looked around, and abruptly frowned. "Wait. But they're not."

Corso stood as well, placing a hand under her elbow in case she faltered. "No – but if you can use the stims from the medkit, and let 'em know they can get to Mos Anek, they will be. I'm gonna head up to the cab and pick up Grabber. I, uh… kind of had to leave 'im."

With each passing moment, she was able to stand straighter and think more clearly. "Yeah," she said. "Shouldn't take more than a few minutes. We'll meet up outside?"

He nodded. And then – before he could talk himself out of it – he stepped close, leaned down, and touched his lips to hers in an all-too-brief kiss. And then he stepped back. Gave her space. "I'm glad you're all right, Captain," he said conversationally.

"Never a moment of doubt, Riggs," she said with a firm nod, her expression matching his. "I know you've got my back."

His breath caught in his throat for a moment. But he simply nodded in reply. "Always," he replied. And somehow he managed to pull his mouth into a half-smirk, holster Sparky, and head out of the cargo hold without looking back at her.

He was almost proud of himself.

[AN: Aaaaand we're back to the status quo again.

… or are we? ;) ]