Chapter 46 – Some Things You Can Count On

When Corso suddenly gasped and then coughed, Vacy thought it was the most wonderful thing she'd ever heard. He rolled to his side with a groan. But the first thing he did, even before his breathing returned to normal, was to look up at Vacy. "Are you… all right?" he wheezed.

She felt her shoulders sag in relief and eased herself off her knees to sit beside him. "Me?" she teased gently. "You're the one who decided to mouth off to a Sith."

He coughed again, then attempted a grin. "Can't… let you have all the fun… can I?" he quipped back.

"You've got an interesting idea of fun," she returned, trying to keep things light while she watched the unsteady rise and fall of his chest and listened to the rasp of his breath.

His eyes crinkled at the corners. "Hey… that's my line." He reached up and took her hand in his. "Sorry… I couldn't help-" Another spasm of coughs cut him off.

The tension was back in an instant and she leaned over, cradling his shoulders while he struggled to breathe again. "Shut it, Riggs," she whispered, her voice thick. "Don't you dare go blaming yourself for any of this." His brows were still pulled together in concern and guilt, and she shook her head. "By that reasoning, it's even more my fault than yours, cuz I could've had Arri show you how to resist that sort of thing when we were back on Coruscant. And I didn't."

Corso shook his head. "You couldn't've known," he said, squeezing her hand. He'd finally relaxed against her and seemed to be breathing normally. Stars, but she wanted nothing so much as to nestle close and have him hold her, to taste his mouth on hers and press against him and let the rest of the universe melt away. Of course, it wouldn't actually disappear, which was only one of many reasons that was a bad idea.

Sighing, she squeezed back. "And no more could you," she replied. "Though I do think I'll see if we can't meet up with Arri somewhere after we've got that navcomputer from Diago. I could explain how to push back in your mind, but for one thing, it won't make much sense, and for another, she can actually let you try it out, you know? That way you can kind of figure out what works."

He frowned as he considered that. "I ain't sure I want to just invite someone to poke around in my head. Not that I've got anything against Arri - she seemed right nice - but I don't think I ever want to go through that again." He shivered, his gaze distant.

"You don't have to if you don't want," Vacy said, but he seemed lost in his thoughts. "Hey. Hey." She waited until his eyes focused and cleared. "Arri's a hundred-percenter, but it's completely your call, okay?"

Corso nodded. "Yeah. I just … I need you to know that I didn't mean any of what I said. I mean when Zare… did that thing. You know that, right?"

If he hadn't looked so damn worried, she would've found it hard not to roll her eyes. But instead, she just smiled. "Course I do." She felt him let out a long breath, and his expression relaxed. His coloring looked normal again, and his breathing was even. "How're you feeling?"

His smile was softer this time, but more natural. "Better, now. I just want you t'know that I wasn't the one sayin' them things. It was like … like bein' a passenger in my own body. I couldn't never hate you. Not really."

She looked away quickly - maybe too quickly, she thought. Not exactly playing it cool there, genius. And Corso had noticed, too; it was like she could feel him looking at her. "Careful there, Farm Boy. That's a sand-castle promise if I ever heard one: easily made, easily broken." Composing herself, she looked down at him again. "Life's full of unexpected twists and turns. People can change."

"Dunno about that." He tilted his head, considering. "Think it takes an awful lot to change a body in any sort of meaningful way. Not that it can't happen… but I rather think that there's some things you can count on." His hand squeezed hers briefly, then he let go and pushed himself up until he was sitting against the cavern wall next to her. "Speakin' of promises, are you really gonna help that Sith?"

Vacy let out a snort. "Fuck no."

He blinked, brows arching. "Oh." Apparently she'd thrown him for a bit of a loop. "Usually you have kind of a thing about promises, keepin' your word an' all that. Is it on account of her bein' Sith?"

Leaning against him only the tiniest bit, Vacy shook her head. "Nawh. Promises that are wrangled out of you like she did, they don't count. Now, if I'd offered, then I'd feel obligated to follow through. But when somebody's life's at stake and the person doing the staking says 'promise thus-and-such or they die,' then it don't count." The storm outside the cave had mostly died down, and Vacy pulled out her holocomm as she continued to try to explain. "Real promises require an active choice. Like, you have to have viable options. So like if she'd got into my head and made me promise to take her to Diago that way? That wouldn't count either. Otherwise it's really somebody else saying the promise, and that means it's not your responsibility."

Corso carefully took a slow, deep breath. "Seems reasonable enough. I ain't ever thought about it that much. Sounds like you've thought it all out."

"Tried to." The signal light flickered as the device attempted to find a connection, and moments later the placid expression of the Jedi, Nariel Pridence, shimmered into a clear blue image above the holocom. Vacy's mouth tightened into a smile.

"Captain," the woman greeted them. "Good to see you are well. Do you have any news?"

Vacy took a breath. "Master Jedi, we encountered the Sith you spoke of, Vaverone Zare. She's looking for someone by the name of Diago Hixan. She said he's got something she wants, called it … uh … an artifact of great power, I think. Didn't say anything more specific than that."

The woman frowned, and then her eyes widened in realization. "A holocron!" she whispered in awe. "That must be it. Where is this Diago Hixan? If I can just reach him before she does, surely I can persuade him not to let it fall into her hands."

Corso cleared his throat. "Ma'am, I don't want to sound crass or anything, but I think he might be the sort of fellow who'd be more persuaded by credits than by any fancy speech. I'm not sure you can rely on him to prioritize the greater good ahead of his own personal gain."

Her mouth formed a thin, frustrated line and she let out a sigh. "That makes things more difficult. Still." She shook her head. "I simply must try. Such a relic cannot be allowed to fall to the Sith."

Vacy resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the Jedi's dramatic flair. "Well, we're on our way to meet with Diago now. Got some business of our own with him. I'll send you the coords, if you like?"

Nariel hesitated, but then she nodded. "Very well. I will be there as soon as I can. If you arrive before I do, though, I need you to do whatever you can to ensure that Vaverone Zare does not get her hands on the holocron. I am sorry that it has come to this; please believe that I would not ask you to face this danger if it could be avoided."

"Just what, exactly, do you mean by 'whatever you can'?" The spacer glanced at her partner, who just shrugged.

The figure in the hologram was abruptly silent, and for the first time ever, a shadow of uncertainty darkened her expression. "I … I do not know," she admitted. She straightened, and looked directly into the holocam. "But I will trust your judgment on that, Captain. I need your help in this, for the fate of worlds may lie in our hands. If the Sith obtain that artifact, I cannot even begin to imagine the scope of destruction that may follow."

This time Vacy couldn't help rolling her eyes. "Sheesh. No pressure or anything."

From beside her, Corso chuckled. "Aw, don't fuss so, Vee. It's not like you've never played the hero before." She looked over at him, and he smiled at her. "C'mon," he said softly, eyes sparkling with warmth. "Let's go save the day."

Vacy looked back to Nariel's hologram. "All right," she said finally. "We'll do what we can. I'll send the coords and we'll be on our way."

The Jedi smiled in gratitude. "Your help is greatly appreciated. May the Force be with you." And with that, the hologram winked out.

The two of them pushed themselves to their feet and brushed off. Vacy looked over her shoulder at Corso as she walked to the speeder and stepped up onto the seat. "Ready, Farm Boy?"

He settled in and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Lead on," he murmured as he nestled against her.

And they sailed out into the bright desert once more.

Author's note: Nariel comes across as a bit of a prig in-game, but I wanted to show something a little deeper than the uptight self-righteousness. My headcanon is that she's a knight, but only recently. She's very aware that she's on her own, and as a result, pretty much everything she does is a way of trying to do things right and be a good Jedi.