Skylar had barely begun to catch his breath when Wex strode in, slid on under his arm like it was a limbo competition, and commented on his state. Like he thought he was being witty. And couldn't he have gone around him too? Personal space was not a uniquely human concept, right? Had he been home, he might have flipped the pilot off in response, knowing there was nothing he could really do. The thing was, he was the youngest on board. The rodent guy might have had fewer years, but his race aged differently so that didn't really count. Point was, he was the youngest and that meant whatever he did was viewed through that lens. If they thought he was too much of a child, the best he could hope for was being dismissed and spoken over. The worst, of course, was them kicking him off at a random port but that was probably paranoia, the feeling that any wrong move would get him kicked out. He couldn't afford to act immaturely. As such, all he did was let out a pointed huff in between his panting. Rook, not seeing anything wrong, let out a few beeping chirps that didn't translate into anything in particular.

The doctor arrived shortly after, and the captain started talking. The moment he mentioned 'desert', Skylar's shoulders drooped and his heart sank. Perhaps more than anyone else on board, he was not made to endure the intense sunlight that came with a desert. Hell, back home particularly sunny days were dangerous. He'd gotten bad blistering and oozing sores when he was younger and didn't understand he had to cover up completely. He wasn't looking forward to having to bundle up like he was the Invisible Man. Then there was the fact that deserts tended to come with sandstorms - if they were bad enough, he'd have to leave Beam and Rook onboard for their own good, leaving him rather defenseless against the apparently dangerous local wildlife. Never mind the way that sand could gum up a ship's jets and engine something terrible. It'd be downright necessary to scrub the ship before they left, make sure the sand didn't get anywhere delicate (and Skylar would know, he'd never hear the end of it even). And all to pick up a job the captain knew nothing about? As Skylar caught his breath, he had to admit he was less than happy.

Then Captain Kuro said what the payout would be.

Skylar stood up straight so fast he woke up Beam and startled Rook off its peaceful perch. The bird grumbled as it resettled, while he did the math in his head. It wouldn't matter so much if he got burnt to a crisp on Dedrite, he'd be able to afford some intensive medical care and still have enough left over for several projects' worth of materials.

...not that he didn't trust Rae to take care of him. He just didn't trust the Galatea to have adequate supplies. There was a difference. And not that he intended to go unprotected. Still, who knew how intense the sun would be?

So when the boss asked who was willing to go, Skylar was the first to pipe up. "Gimme, like, half an hour to bundle up, Boss, and I'll be good to go." He glanced around and tacked on, before anyone else could be witty in his general direction, "Trust me, it'll be easier to treat my sunstroke than it will be to treat my sunburns."