Chapter 38 – In Which the Author Is Cruel to Her Protagonist; Dear Reader, You Have Been Warned

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to push," Vacy said as she opened the hatch and stepped aside to let Bowdaar onto the Wonder first. "I guess I just assumed that you'd want to go back."

The wookiee chuffed a reply. "It is not an unreasonable assumption, Small One. And the fact that I can never go back to my homeworld did trouble me for many years. But our lives are long, and I made my peace with it quite some time ago."

With a nod, Vacy let him head around to the crew's 'fresher while she turned and headed the opposite way along the hall toward her own cabin. She slowed as she heard footsteps running toward her.

Risha had a hand over her nose and mouth as she rushed up. "Kark, Captain – what is that? Is it you? What happened?"

Vacy raised her forearm to her nose and took a deep whiff – it didn't seem particularly noticeable to her, but after riding in the speeder next to Bowdaar for awhile, any lesser odor might go unnoticed. "Guess some of Big Guy's escape rubbed off on me. I'm about to take a shower, but I should probably have C2 take care of the gear as well as getting myself cleaned up."

Somehow Risha managed to look elegant even with her nose squinched up in disgust. "I'll say," she retorted. "If by 'take care of' you mean 'incinerate,' that is. I'm not sure there's anything else that can be done for it."

Carefully taking a step back, Vacy pulled her arms close, scowling at Risha. "Not a chance! This is my favorite jacket, I've had it for ages, and I'm not about to toss it because it offends your delicate sensibilities, Teacup!" she shot back.

She sulked all the way to her cabin, undressed and folded her clothes carefully, then clambered into the shower and turned on the sonic jets. The indicator light flickered over her skin, and she just stood there for awhile, letting the energy pulse scrub away any lingering grime. It didn't feel nearly as good as a soak in blisteringly hot water, but Tatooine grit had a way of getting under armor and clothes and nestling between tiny creases of skin. After a few hours out in the sun and the sand, you were uncomfortable and grouchy without being able to pinpoint an exact source. So as all of that was gradually washed away, Vacy found herself relaxing.

By the time she emerged, C2 had already removed her dirty clothes to clean them. She ran her fingers through her hair and pulled on a soft, loose shirt and a pair of trousers, then padded out to ask Corso if he wanted to take the Wonder up for a trial run. But he wasn't in the lounge, or his bunk, or the cargo hold. She passed Risha again as she headed up toward the bridge. "Hey, Rish, you seen Corso? I was going to see if he wanted to have a go at piloting this girl."

The mechanic blinked, then rocked back on her heels. "Actually, Captain, he kind of … already did." She shrugged with a grin. "I guess it was because he wasn't sure how he'd do and didn't want the added pressure of you watching him."

"Oh." Vacy blinked, frowning a bit. "Yeah, that makes sense, I guess…" She let out a sigh, then ran a hand through her hair. "Well, do you know where he is? Figure I should at least talk to him, see how he thinks it went."

Risha walked past Vacy, over to her workbench, and rummaged around. She pulled out several thin wires and compared them carefully. "He went off to spend some time with that twi'lek – Kyla? Not sure if he's celebrating or de-stressing." She chuckled a bit. "Maybe both, come to think of it." Looking up, she shrugged. "She seems like a nice girl."

Immediately Vacy's posture tightened. "Wait. What?" She strode over to face Risha. "She came by here? You let a stranger on board my ship?" Her tone got sharper with each accusation.

But Risha jabbed a finger at Vacy, scowling right back at her. "While I can understand that you might be a bit sensitive about security, given what happened with Skavak, it was a damn holocall, all right? So calm yourself down and don't get snippy with me until you've actually got reason." She took a slow breath, then folded her arms across her chest, cutting off Vacy's next question. "And before you even ask, it wasn't the ship's holo, it was his personal one."

"Oh," Vacy said, deflating a bit. "That's… that's good." She was silent for a moment, chewing her lip. "So… did she call him, or did he call her?"

Risha pressed her lips together and ducked her head, fiddling with the wires she had on the workbench. "I'm not sure. I passed by while they were talking. Why?"

Vacy's laugh was high and tight. "Oh, no matter. Just me bein' my nosy self, that's all. Well, uh, you've got things to do, and I should go take that datapad to Fauler, so I guess I'll – I'll go do that, then."

Her brows arched thoughtfully, Risha watched as Vacy strode briskly away. But a moment later the captain paused and turned around. "Hey – uh – how did it go? Corso, I mean. With the piloting."

Risha lifted her shoulders and let out a sigh. "He did good," she said with a nod. She hesitated a moment, then added, "I know I rag on him, maybe more than I should, but he really did well: he was careful without being cautious, and he handled the controls smoothly." She smiled, just a little. "You would've been proud of him."

"Yeah," Vacy said quietly, looking down at her boots. "I would've."

Taking out a scissor switch, Risha focused on threading the wires through the clip one by one. Ever so casually, she asked, "Be a shame to see him go – though don't tell him I said that. Have you thought about what you'll do if he stays?"

Vacy looked up again, frowning. "Well, I guess keep letting him practice piloting… we're pulling in enough cash that I can still afford to pay him if he sticks around after he gets Torchy back."

Chuckling, Risha shook her head. "I meant if he stays here on Tatooine."

There was silence for several moments. Then finally, Vacy blinked. "It – but – well – w-what about his gun? I mean he's come all this way! He wouldn't just give up."

Risha set the switch down gently and looked at Vacy. "Captain, maybe the gun isn't what he's really looking for."

Silence again. Vacy pushed a smile, but it was weak. "Clearly you haven't been listening when he goes on and on about that damn thing…" She blinked quickly, looking away. "I – I've gotta go turn in that datapad."

But this time when she headed down the hall, her steps were a good bit slower than they had been before.

Author's Note: Hello, readers! Did you miss me? *hugs* I hope you're having as much fun with this story as I am. It's uncooperative, sometimes, but once I get a chapter worked out it just feels good. It's like completing a puzzle that you don't have the box for and finally getting to look at the picture.

Unfortunately, it is not all going to be sunshine and rainbows for our feisty protagonist - or her crew. Risha is at least as much of a schemer as Vacy is, and it was a lot of fun to write her in this scene. Despite her snark, she means well, but she's also got a bit of a vengeful streak. The way she sees it, Vacy has been diddling around with Corso's feelings, and she deserves to feel a little worried and uncertain herself. And sooner or later, she's going to have to face the truth about her own feelings...