Chapter 48 – Foolishness
In the half-second before the droids opened fire, Corso had his shield charged and Vacy dropped to the cave floor, scrambling behind a nearby boulder. The Sith and the Jedi were locked in saber combat, and Diago Hixan was mostly still ranting about a lack of respect. But it was the panicked yelling from Tookreek that got Vacy's attention - especially when it stopped.
She saw his body collapsed over the chair that Diago had been in. Apparently he'd tried to stay close to his boss, thinking the droids would be less likely to fire in that direction. It looked like he'd been very wrong. Vacy crouched behind her rock, letting Flashy charge, and then stood, pivoted, and fired a high-powered shot at the droid that stood between her and the nikto. "Cover me, Riggs!" she shouted as she ducked down again. "I've got to get Tookie!"
Without waiting for his acknowledgement, she charged off toward her fallen friend. She could hear Corso hollering behind her, and the droids shifted their focus in his direction. She was able to take out one more as she passed by with a couple of quick blasts to its processor and a slice at the central cabling with her vibroshiv.
Tookreek was slumped over the well-padded arm of Diago's chair, but as she dropped to a knee beside him, she thought she heard him groan. "Let's get you somewhere a little more out-of-the-way," she muttered, draping his arm across her shoulders and trying to pull him to safety. It was almost impossible - he barely budged. "Forcefeathers, Tookie," she wheezed, "why d'you gotta be so big?"
A pained laugh rumbled from the nikto's chest as he struggled partway upright. "Aw, c'mon - t'other day you seemed to enjoy it!" His mouth stretched into a tight grin as they struggled together toward a small crevice a little further away.
They dropped to the ground in exhaustion, even though it had only taken a matter of seconds to hurry out of the droids' line of fire. Vacy rolled her eyes as she grabbed her kolto tube and jammed it into a fresh injector. "You're lucky you're injured, or I'd have to pinch you for that."
He put one hand on hers, tensing as the pain flared. "I'd … hold you to that," he hissed through gritted teeth. He took a few short breaths, then shook his head. "But don't waste… your supplies."
Vacy glared at him, then jabbed the injector into his hip. The large man yelped even louder than when he'd first gotten shot, eyes wide in shock. Vacy shook her head and sighed. "You're not dying. You got hit in the shoulder and the ass, you ass."
"If I wasn't before, I probably am now, thanks to you," he grumbled. She snapped a revitastik under his nose and a moment later he sat bolt upright. "Holy hell, what's in that?"
"Doesn't matter. That'll keep you upright and alert long enough to get your speeder back to Anchorhead. Find Sheriff Encott. Tell him where we are and have him send help. Got it?"
He looked down. "Captain, I don't know, I'm not -" He stopped abruptly when she kissed him. A moment later she pulled away again and he just stared at her.
"This is your chance to be a hero." Vacy smiled, pulling Flashy close and letting him charge. "I know you won't let me down." And before Tookreek could protest, she dashed forward into the fray, pistol chattering out a series of blasts.
A series of rolls, interspersed with some not-exactly-graceful scrambling, led Vacy to Corso's side again. He glanced at her briefly, one brow lifted. "Does the rolling help?"
Breathless, she grinned. "It helps."
He let out a chuckle, shaking his head as he shifted forward and took a knee to aim past the droids at Diago. "Yeah? What about the smoochin'?"
That caught her off guard. "It - that was just - for courage!" she sputtered. They dashed back behind a pile of rocks as a spatter of blaster fire left pebbles bouncing over their armor.
"Aww, were you scared?" Grinning, he peeked up over the rock pile, aimed, and fired, ducking down again quickly.
"I meant for Tookie!" She glared at him, but when she saw his worried expression, her scowl instantly faded to concern. "What's wrong?"
Corso tilted his head toward the corner of the cave where the Jedi and the Sith were fighting. "I think Nariel's in trouble," he explained quietly. "Diago's got one of them thingumbobs like you got from Darmas, and he's usin' it to heal the Sith."
Letting out a frustrated sigh, Vacy leaned out and fired off a few quick shots at the droids that stood between them and the others. "You know, I was really hoping to treat this like an actual business deal. Make an offer, haggle a bit, arrange a credit transfer, everybody's happy. But no. Gotta be a shootout." She shook her head and opened a pouch on her belt, taking out a small magnetic detonator. "Any rate, we've gotta get rid of them droids before we worry about Diago. You focus on the one on the left, and I'll keep the others busy with this."
He nodded, and they both stepped out from their shelter at the same time. Vacy took a breath, activated the detonator, and flung it at the droid on the right. While it spasmed, trying to remove the object, she concentrated her firepower on the one in the middle. Grabbing Sparkles from her boot-holster, she fired an ion charge at the droid, temporarily shorting its circuits. That left her free to let Flashy charge, and when the rising hum chirped at her, she fired off several high-powered blasts. She heard Corso's whoop of victory as the left-most droid dropped just before the detonator exploded, obliterating the droid on the right and finishing off the one in the middle.
Much as she preferred to avoid violence when she could, sometimes the chatter of blaster fire settled into a rhythm that just felt right. When you knew your equipment inside and out and you had a partner you trusted as easily as you breathed, it wasn't so bad. Actually … maybe even a little bit fun. Heart pounding, she turned to her partner and smiled. "Nice shooting, there, Riggs."
His own grin broadened, and he ducked his head a bit. "Not s'bad yourself." He nodded in the direction of Diago and the others. "Ready?"
She winked at him. "Waitin' on you."
"Can't have that." He tucked his rifle against his shoulder and moved forward quickly. "I'll draw his fire!" he called over his shoulder.
Vacy had already ducked to the side. As Corso fired a blast from Sergeant Boom-Boom, she activated her stealth belt and began heading around in a wide arc to get behind the crime lord. He was still looking around, brows drawn together in concern, and firing his pistol somewhat randomly. She hoped that meant he wasn't sure where she was. Edging closer, she glanced down, placing her feet carefully to avoid scattering any pebbles that might attract Diago's notice.
It had only taken Corso a few seconds to get his full attention, which made it much easier for Vacy to slip up behind him. When he heard the whine of Flashy's charge, he whirled - or tried to - but Vacy jammed the barrel up underneath his ear. "I wouldn't suggest making any sudden moves," she hissed. "How about you give your weapon a toss, okay?"
Corso jogged up, looking at the pair of them in confusion. "What're you standin' around for?"
"I can't just shoot him! We don't have the navcomputer yet." She nudged Diago with her gun, and he gulped and dropped his pistol.
The portly man nodded quickly. "That… that's right! I can't show you where it is if you kill me!"
With a sigh of frustration, Corso lifted his rifle and slammed the butt against Diago's forehead. The man yelped in pain, swearing, but when Corso hit him again, he dropped to the cavern floor with a groan. "Don't have time to restrain him proper. That'll have to do." Corso took a deep breath. "You head on over to where you can heal Master Pridence from cover."
Vacy peered at Corso uncertainly. "What're you gonna do?"
His mouth quirked upward in an uneven grin. "Somethin' foolish." He stepped toward her, tilted her jaw up, and pressed his lips to hers in a kiss that was both soft and sudden - and all too brief, she thought, feeling her stomach begin to curl even as he straightened. "For courage," he whispered. And then he took a breath, and gave a yell, and charged toward the Sith.
Author's Note: I had originally planned to kill off Tookreek. In-game, I don't think you see him again after Diago tells the droids to "kill everyone." But after I wrote him just a little bit, I fell in love with the big, adorable coward. I like to think that he goes back to running the cantina, stays away from shady deals, and becomes something of a minor local celebrity as "the guy who helped take down Diago Hixan."
Readers, who's your favorite NPC other than the companions? What is it that makes that character particularly compelling?