Chapter 43 – Hopes and Expectations
Vacy sat down in front of the galaxy map and stretched out her legs. She pulled out her holocomm, turning it over in her hand. She wasn't sure where they were headed next – Risha wouldn't give any hints about where the treasure was hidden – but wherever it was, they were just a few steps away from a fantastic payout. She'd not only be able to catch up with what she owed to the slicers she had searching for any mention of Bryson, but also even hire a really good bounty hunter or two, somebody who wouldn't just drink the credits away at the nearest cantina, shoot up the place, and get her name on the local wanted lists.
Shaking her head, she chuckled a little. She hadn't fully made up her mind whether or not she was going to tell Bryson about that little escapade. True, he'd tease her about it to no end. But it'd be good for a laugh, and that was worth a hell of a lot.
Maybe there'd even be enough credits left to make some upgrades to the Wonder. She brushed her fingers over the controls lightly, smiling to herself. She'd leave that for him, though – kind of like a welcome-home present.
And yet here she was, dragging her feet. She let out a quiet sigh. Why can't things ever go smooth, Bubba? Why do they always have to be so frustrating?
Corso seemed really happy, and that was good. She honest-and-truly didn't resent that, but saying goodbye was going to be hard. So maybe it had stung her pride a bit when she'd first realized he was looking at someone else... and then when it got to be more than looking... Well, she'd gotten over that. Mostly.
But he'd been there for her when she hadn't had anybody else. He'd been the first person who'd really believed in her. And it was going to hurt like hell when they left... and he stayed. And maybe it was selfish and unfair but she wanted to keep him around.
Oh, Farm Boy. You're such a good man. I wish I could have been the kind of lady you deserve.
It wasn't like she had a problem with promises – after all, that's what a job was, really: get those items to this location by that date. Clear and precise. What was wrong with being clear and precise? And inevitably, from time to time she would get handed a contract that was vague and hedged on details, and her liaison always tried to gloss it over, like it was no big deal. It had only taken getting burned once, thanks to an agreement she couldn't enforce, for her to learn that those contracts weren't worth bothering with.
And completely open-ended promises? Well that just seemed like an invitation to absolute disaster. Sure, maybe there were some folks who were lucky enough – or maybe rich enough, probably – to make promises that included words like 'always' or 'forever' and know they had the power to keep them. Vacy, however, had learned some time ago that those words sounded pretty but didn't keep their shine for long.
Her devil-voice wanted her to march right down to his bunk, wrap her arms around him and pull him close for a deep, passionate kiss before whispering "Don't go – I need you with me" just to shake things up a bit. Pride, more than sense, was what kept her from doing it; chances were he'd dodge the embrace and stammer something about it not being appropriate. Just imagining the possibility made her cheeks burn with humiliation.
Shaking herself, she flipped the holocomm open and sat up straighter as she keyed in Tookreek's holoID. Wasn't any sense thinking about that sort of thing anyhow. Moping around was solving a whole lot of nothing – might as well quit wasting time and get on with the job.
The image of the bartender shimmered and cleared. "Captain!" The nikto's features wrinkled into a grin. "Good to hear from you. Hey, I got your package. You all set? I can get things arranged with Diago if you're ready." "Just about." Seeing his craggy smile somehow eased the tension that had knotted up between her shoulders. "I'll want to check our supplies before heading out. Speaking of which – just where are we going, anyhow?"
"I'll know once I've talked to Diago. I'll send you the coordinates." He rubbed at his scaly chin. "Say, uhm, you know, once you get that treasure, you won't just be rich, you'll be famous, too. Least around a certain kind of folks. Nok Drayen's fortune is legendary."
Vacy folded her arms, arching a brow. "Mmm-hm. And I plan to be the one who finds it. Just where are you headed with this? You angling for a spot on my crew or something?"
That got him sputtering a bit. "What? Hey, no! I mean, um, I'm sure you've got a great ship and all, but..." He cleared his throat, looking down uncomfortably, and lowered his voice. "I kind of like keeping my feet on the ground if I can, you know?"
"All right, all right. So what do you want, then?" Truth be told, she was surprised he hadn't just asked for a cut. That was generally the way such things went: hey, you're gonna be rich, right? How much do I get? It was still a possibility, of course. Maybe he was just working up to it.
He cleared his throat again. "Well. I mean. Once you're famous and all, maybe you could tell folks I was part of it... that I helped you get the treasure... and that I retired to Tatooine to laze around in the sun." He lifted his shoulders, looking away from the holocam with a bashful grin.
"Tookie!" Vacy rolled her eyes. "You know I'm not real keen on lying. Always stirs up more trouble'n it's worth."
"I wouldn't ask you to lie, Captain!" He looked into the camera, eyes wide. "I mean, I'll be introducing you and yours to Diago, so... I mean you can kind of take it that I am helping, after all."
With a chuckle, Vacy shook her head. "All right, all right, I'll do what I can, but I ain't promising anything specific. You got it?"
He grinned again, scratching at his prongs. "Yeah. I got it, Captain. And thanks. I'll send those coordinates ay-sapp."
"Thanks, Tookie," she said, winking at him before closing the connection. She let out a quiet sigh before pushing herself up out of the chair and ambling down the corridor.
As she approached the crew berths, she set her jaw and straightened her shoulders. Pausing just outside the doorway, she gave a brisk one-two-three thumping on the wall, the metal frame carrying the sound until it echoed. "C'mon, Riggs, shake a leg. We should have coordinates by the time we've got the speeder loaded."
"I'll be right there!" She heard his voice again a moment later, but lower and indistinct, and her chest tightened.
Resisting the urge to peek in and listen, she instead leaned against the wall outside his berth and just waited. It wasn't long before she heard the clunk of his boots and he came through the doorway, grinning, eyes alight. "Sorry 'bout that. I was—"
She cut him off with a wave of her hand. "Hey. It's fine. No need to apologize. You ready to go?"
The excitement she'd seen in his expression a moment ago had softened a bit when he looked at her. "Right behind you, Captain."
Vacy swallowed the lump in her throat as she nodded once and headed for the airlock.
Author's Note: So, clearly, Vacy has jumped to some conclusions here. But I'm hoping that her reasons for doing so are understandable; there's evidence to support those conclusions, definitely. And while a couple of times she's been offered evidence that would counter them, she's tried to ignore it because she's afraid it will confirm her fears. I'm hoping that her behavior here is frustrating (yay dramatic irony!) but yet relatable all the same.
In that sense, Vacy isn't anything like me – I'm much more direct – but in another, we're pretty much exactly alike: if we say we'll do something, we will bust our butts to make sure it happens. It doesn't even require the words "I promise," actually. We're both very specific about hedging if we're not sure we can follow through – managing the difference between hopes and expectations can be tricky, hence the title of this chapter.
Speaking of managing expectations, if you're not familiar with the legend of Van Halen and the Brown M&Ms, you should check it out. The story is that Van Halen's concert contract includes a stipulation that a bowl of M&Ms will be provided backstage for them, with all the brown candies removed, and that if this part of the contract is not carried out, they can pull a no-show with full compensation. At one performance, the brown M&Ms weren't taken out, and the band destroyed the stage.
There's more to the story, though, and that's what makes it particularly interesting – there is a reason for that particular line in the contract. You can read the whole thing at snopes dot com!
Special thaks to noxpirata and Nerica for their help!