Chapter 40 – It's Not What You Think… Well… Maybe It Is

"Shhhh… stop!" Vacy giggled as Fauler nipped at her ear. "Quit that! People are looking!" She ducked away, swatting playfully at him.

He swiped at the controls, and the door to the apartment slid open. "Let 'em," he grinned back, and he pulled her close for a long, slow kiss as they stumbled through the doorway and into the room. He stepped back, smiling at her, then turned and strode over toward the window. "Get the door," he called back as he pulled the shade closed.

She reached over and pressed the panel, sliding the door shut again. Fauler reached into an inner pocket of his coat and pulled out a slim datapad. "It's secure," he said with a brief nod.

Vacy sauntered toward him. "You sure about that?" she asked, one brow arching.

He nodded again. "I checked more thoroughly before I came to meet you, but I wanted to run a quick scan, just in case. We're good."

"All right, then." She reached into her Darmas-bag and pulled out the datapad she'd gotten from the Director and handed it to Fauler. "Their data storage ought to be completely fried, too. Literally, as a matter of fact. Bowdaar did quite a number on their system." She frowned, rubbing at her chin. "Wait. Maybe that's not quite literally… I mean he cooked it pretty good, but I don't think there was any oil involved, and frying means cooking in oil, right? So technically not… unless there was already oil in the system. Would that count?"

Fauler had his head tilted as he looked at her with a wry smile. He shook his head after a moment's silence. "Captain, you are unlike anyone else I've ever met." His eyes narrowed a bit. "Your performance in the cantina was quite convincing, you know. Have you ever thought about intelligence work?"

Vacy rocked back on her heels, chewing on her lower lip. "I've never been the establishment sort, though. Always liked bein' able to come and go as I please. I'm not too keen on the idea of bein' told where to go and what to do."

"As an agent of SIS, you'd have quite a bit of leeway to complete your assignments as you saw fit." He lifted a hand when she started to protest again. "Just – think about it. I believe it'd suit you, perhaps better than you realize." He keyed in a few commands on the datapad, and his brows pulled together in concern as he watched the screen, his smile fading. "The prospectus is here, but the reports…" Fauler looked up sharply. "Have you tampered with this?"

She met his stare without flinching. "I tend to believe that certain devices should not exist. They create more problems than they solve," she returned evenly. "The ability to destroy on that scale is a responsibility that no one should have to bear. The temptation to use such a weapon – to force others into compliance – is too great."

His eyes narrowed as he regarded her. "Captain Fiorst, you accepted a contract," he began.

"The terms of which I read closely, Special Agent Fauler," she interjected, her tone smooth and unconcerned. "It specified that I was to retrieve and return a datapad – this datapad, to be precise. It included no requirements about any files that may or may not have ever been on that datapad in the first place."

Fauler set the datapad down on a small table. "Don't insult me. We both know that while your contract may not have specified exactly what was to be on this datapad, standard procedure is that items of that nature – datapads, storage containers, credit terminals – are to be [turned in] without alteration to their contents. It is not your business what 'may or may not have ever been on that datapad' when you obtained it."

Vacy took a slow breath, carefully keeping her expression neutral. "I am not a member of SIS, as you have noted, and as such I am not obligated to follow its standard procedures. My business, as you put it, includes making sure I don't find myself in trouble because I chose to remain ignorant."

With a long, slow sigh, Fauler rubbed at his forehead, his shoulders sagging. "The Republic had no intent of building that device," he said finally, his tone quieter. Discouraged. "But having the option to do so would have given us significant bargaining power, and we would have been able to prevent what will otherwise be direct conflict." He looked up again, his dark eyes filled with pain. "Our troops will be sent into battles that could have been avoided. People will die because of what you've done."

Vacy jabbed a finger at him, her eyes suddenly snapping. "Don't expect me to swallow a line like that. I'm not some idealistic patriot or a limp-spined underling you can push around. Truth is, if bargaining power is what the Republic actually wanted, they've still got it. There's nobody but you an' me that knows what may or may not have happened to that datapad after I swiped it." She folded her arms over her chest, mouth a thin, firm line. "Way I see it, I've done you a favor. Now you don't have to worry 'bout anyone leakin' the schematics back to the Empire."

"That was not your decision to make," he replied, his voice tight.

And it may have been incredibly unwise, but Vacy just couldn't hold back a grin. "Guess that offer to join SIS ain't open anymore, then?"

Fauler's mouth quirked between amusement and annoyance for a few moments, then he just shook his head. "You're fortunate that I'm not particularly high-strung." He looked over at the datapad and let out another heavy sigh. "It's not going to be fun letting command know what's happened, though."

She stepped toward him, grin fading. "Hey, now. Don't sweat it, all right? That's on me, not you."

Turning back to her, he shook his head. "No, Captain. I'm the one running this mission. I'm the one who chose you and offered you the job. And so what happens, and what you do – that's my responsibility as much as it is yours. More so, even."

That hit harder than anything else he'd said, and she looked down, unable to meet his gaze. "Oh," she said quietly. "Um. I hadn't realized." She took a breath, set her jaw, and looked up again. "I'm really sorry about that."

His smile was faint, but his eyes crinkled at the corners. "Thank you – but don't be. I wouldn't have lasted this long if I hadn't learned to deal with bureaucrats who don't always agree with the outcome of a mission. And after all, Tatooine has a very harsh environment. It's entirely possible that transporting such a delicate device through the heat and the blowing sand made it completely impossible to retrieve any useful data."

Vacy blinked, her brows arching. "Wow. You're even better at that than I am."

Fauler's smile broadened. "Lots of practice," he replied dryly. "And while perhaps intelligence work isn't the best place for a free-spirited woman such as yourself, please understand that I do appreciate your assistance. You did a good job, Captain Fiorst."

"Well, hey now." Grinning awkwardly, she ducked her head and nudged at him with her elbow. "If you're gonna flatter me like that, y'might as well call me Vacy."

He reached down and tucked a finger under her chin, just long enough to tip her head up again. "I don't say that lightly. I meant it."

She nodded, her smile softening. "Then – thanks. Anything you need, you let me know, okay?"

With a quiet chuckle, he shook his head. "Be careful about making promises. The Republic spouts a lot of idealistic propganda, but when all is said and done, this business is the sort that rewards breaking your word more often than keeping it."

"I ain't promising a damn thing to the Republic." She took another step forward, poking him in the chest with one finger. "This is me to you, Special Agent. An' I don't say that lightly. I meant it. Arright?"

For a moment of stunned surprise, he simply looked at her. Then, slowly, he nodded. "All right. Then you might as well call me Syl. And… thank you, Vacy. It means more than I think you realize."

They stood like that for several breaths, close enough to touch, but neither making the first move. Finally he cleared his throat and took a step back. "I guess you need to be getting back to your ship. I'll be in touch."

Vacy nodded, and turned to head to the door. After it slid open, she looked over her shoulder. "Take care of yourself, Syl," she said quietly.

And he nodded, but as she left, she thought his smile had been faintly sad.

Author's Note: Soooo what I intended as half-a-chapter of debriefing and quasi-flirtation became two whole chapters! I guess I could have dumped everything into one super-colossally long single chapter, buuuut then you all would have had to wait EVEN LONGER for it!

I went back and forth a bit about how I felt the relationship between Vacy and Syl should develop. Originally I'd planned to have the fake-flirting kind of shift into "more flirting than is absolutely needed" and then into "not-exactly fake-flirting." One of the ideas I'm playing with throughout Vacy's story is that we're often told that our thoughts shape our words, our words shape our actions, and our actions shape our identity. But I think we're not as often told that it works the other way as well: who we are shapes how we act. And likewise, if you say something enough, you'll start to believe it.

But as I reflected on it, I decided I wanted to make Syl a bit more resistant, for a few reasons. First of all, he's a trained SIS field agent, so he's got some background in dealing with that sort of situation, both in a general sense and more specifically "how not to fall prey to the charms of a beautiful woman." Not that Vacy's got an angle, here - not exactly, anyway - more that since Corso's spending so much time with Kyla, her attitude is kind of "well why the hell not?"

Second, while in-game everyone thinks you're amazing, that's not the story I'm telling with Vacy. She's a fledgling businesswoman who's in over her head and trying to keep those around her from figuring that out (I swear I didn't intend it as a metaphor for me as a writer). It just didn't seem thematically consistent for me to have everybody go starry-eyed over her! So I decided to throw her a bit of a curveball.

The original idea was for the two of them to kind of fall into a quasi-relationship while she's on Tatooine: nothing serious, but nice while it lasts. And then they both move on. As I write, though, I find that sometimes plans change based on new ideas I get about who the characters are and how they should develop. We'll see how it goes.

Dang, I didn't intend to go on this much, but I've really been thinking about WHY the characters act the way they do, and I wanted to (a) reflect on it and (b) share it. Because why not? ;) If you've actually stuck with me through all of this blather, know that I am very appreciative and think you're a wonderful person. *HUGS!* Leave me a note and I'll PM you with lots of flattery. *grin*

Next chapter: RISHA.