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Druce powered down the engines and sat staring out at the spaceport. Alee had been devastated on seeing Coruscant. I had the impression she had only visited here a couple times. This place means a lot more to her than she let on, that's for sure. Dru scowled at the viewscreen. But she's never even seen the Imperial Palace. What did she say? She was teasing me. Oh, right. Something about the palace not having been built last time she was on Coruscant. Emperor's bones. If she's from the past, then she was telling me the truth. What did it look like then? A lot different, judging by her reaction.
Druce pushed himself to his feet and entered the living quarters. Alee was crouched on the floor by her bag, tapping her teeth with her thumb. Dru strode over, grabbed her hands, and hauled her to her feet. He held her arms open wide as he ran his eyes down and back up.
Alee was wearing the mossy green leggings with the thigh pocket for her lightsaber. Same boots. Same belt. Her tunic was a swirling pattern of variegated greens and rusty browns.
"Do I pass inspection?"
At her biting tone, his gaze snapped to hazel eyes that were riddled with pain, but still sharp and clear. He winced, knowing he had somehow hurt her just now, and released her hands.
"You look fine. Better, even. Pilots will be tripping over each other to get a second look." He tried to tease her out of her sour mood.
She blinked and picked up her bag. "I have something to do."
Dru snatched the bag out of her hands, fighting the irrational fear he'd never see her again, and said, "Leave this here. You can pick it up later."
She studied him for a moment. "Fine. Where can I find you?"
"Pilot cantina. A half block past the main entrance."
Alee pivoted away. Dru swung her back.
"Let me go with you," he urged.
"No."
"Why not? You went with me on Umgul."
"This is something I have to do alone, Dru. Leave it be." Her voice quavered.
"I want to go with you. To help you. To ..." To protect you.
"No."
"Where are you going?" Dru asked.
Alee stared at him.
"You promised me truth, Alee."
She blinked. "I won't lie to you, Druce."
"But you won't tell me," he snapped. Anger washed over his thoughts. "What lover are you saying good-bye to here, Alee?"
The slap bit sharply into his left cheek. He narrowed his eyes and watched hers mist over.
"Don't push me, Dru. I care for you a lot, but I have to do this alone. You cannot walk this path. And you cannot stop me from doing so."
Regret pricked his anger. "Please, Alee. I, I just want to ... protect you."
"I don't need your protection, Dru. I need, I need ..."
She whirled and half ran down the hall and around the corner. Dru listened to the clang as her steps reverberated on the landing ramp. He dashed back to the cockpit and toggled on the comm unit. As he spoke he followed Alee's progress across the spaceport.
Druce downed another lomin ale. He glared at the small groups of pilots clustered around tables, laughing and talking and reflying missions. A lot of New Republic fly-boys, judging by the orange jumpsuits. Cocky postures that reminded him of ... Alee. But then, everything was doing that right now. One pilot glanced his way, raised his eyebrows in answer to Dru's scowl, and turned back to his friends.
Dru narrowed his eyes and popped an Umgullian sweetfruit into his mouth. Umgul - reminded him of ... He spit the pit out and quickly popped another fruit in. It lodged in his throat.
He started to choke. Tried to spit it out. It was stuck. Dru pounded his chest, trying to dislodge it. Heat flooded his face as he fought for air. He started to stand and was knocked down by a blow to the back. A second hit almost jarred his face into the stone table. A third sent the fruit skipping across the table and onto the floor. Dru gasped in precious air.
Looking up at his rescuer, Dru felt surprise stamp his features.
"Wedge! What are you doing here?"
"Saving your miserable hide, by the looks of it," Wedge Antilles replied with a smile.
Dru jumped to his feet and clasped the fighter pilot's shoulders affectionately. "You look great. Being a bona fide hero must agree with you."
Wedge looked up. "And you're still too tall. Haven't they found a cure for that, yet?"
"Oh, shut up and sit down."
Both men sat and Dru ordered lomin ale for two.
A pilot, dressed in the same orange pilot gear as Wedge, paused as he passed by. "Long lost brother, Wedge?"
Dru felt a tug of remembrance. They had often been mistaken for brothers when Dru had lived with the Antilles family on their refueling station. Both with dark hair and flashing eyes. Zena had called them "her boys". He had patted her on the head and affectionately called her "mom".
Wedge's easy smile appeared again. "Yeah, Tycho. Something like that. I'll join you in a few minutes. Order up a round for the guys - on me."
"The commander's paying? It must be a celebration." The pilot walked away chuckling.
The robotic server brought their drinks and Wedge eyed them dubiously.
"Looks like you've had quite a few already, Dru-boy. What's the problem?" Wedge asked.
"What makes you think there's a problem?" Dru countered.
"Drinking alone. Drinking a lot. Usually means trouble." Wedge paused and grinned. "Woman trouble."
Dru curled his lip. "When did you get so smart, Shadow?"
"When I stopped following you around like a pathetic housepet and struck out on my own."
Dru smiled at the memory. It had driven him to distraction the way the much younger boy had idolized him and clung to him whenever he came home from school for a visit.
"Ouch. Be careful, Shadow. You might bruise my ego," Dru joked.
Wedge snorted. "Hard to bruise something the size of a yellow star." He narrowed his eyes. "Though it looks like this woman you're mooning over might have made a dent."
Dru's mirth fell away. He latched onto his glass of ale and peered into its golden liquid depths. "Wedge, can I ask you something without you having your Rogue Squadron buddies haul me off for a mental assessment?"
"You mean, no one's done that yet?"
"I'm serious, Wedge."
"So am I, Druce."
Dru's eyes snapped up to see Wedge's brown ones crinkling with glee. Wedge went suddenly serious. "Blast away, Dru."
Dru closed his eyes and opened them again. "Do you believe in time travel?"
Confusion creased Wedge's brow. "Time travel? Where'd that missile come from? I thought we were talking women." When Dru didn't reply, Wedge paused thoughtfully. "It's possible, I guess. Seen lots of weird things out there. You know, lots of people think that if you plunge into a black hole with enough velocity, you'll punch right through it and into another time."
"Do you?"
Wedge shrugged. "Pilots are pretty practical creatures. Survival is our focus. I have enough missions to worry about in this time and place without sweating over any other time, thanks. And I certainly have no desire to test out the theory. I'll leave that to scientists and slicers who are stricken with space dementia."
"Thanks, buddy," Dru muttered. He downed his ale and signaled for another.
Wedge frowned. "Don't think I've ever seen you so smitten. Or is it stricken?"
"Is there a difference?" Dru asked morosely.
"Not in your case, apparently. Are you going to let me meet her?"
Dru shrugged. "Don't know where she is."
Wedge nodded. "Missing in action. That would explain a lot. If you love her that much, find her. Get in her face. I seem to recall quite a few girls falling for that ugly mug of yours."
Dru sighed. "I have gotten in her face. And every time I do, it seems I end up getting mine slapped."
"Anything interesting happen before the slap?"
Dru scowled at his friend. Wedge was enjoying this conversation entirely too much.
Finally, Dru replied, "Yeah. Once or twice."
"Well, then. That settles it. The battle isn't lost. You love her? Get back in the fray and fight for her. Think you can slice that, Dru-boy?"
"Fight for her. Simple," Dru mumbled.
Dru's comlink sounded. He flipped open the receiver. "Yeah, Juice?"
A faint voice sounded over background clatter. "Followed your lady, Nardo, just like you asked. Might want to get over here. I think she's going ballistic or something."
"Where are you?" Dru clipped.
The voice rattled off coordinates and cut off.
Dru caught the fighter pilot's eye.
Wedge shook his head sadly. "You had her followed? No wonder she slaps you."
"It saved her life once before," Dru snapped.
"So you did this just to protect her? To save her?"
"No. I did it to save me - from going crazy with worry. She was very upset when she left the ship. I, I want to protect her, but she won't let me. It fries my circuits."
Wedge stood and clamped his hand on Dru's shoulder. "You've got it bad. And that does my heart good, Dru-boy. It's been a long time since I saw you care this much about anyone. I definitely want to meet her when the dust settles. I'll be in touch."
The fighter pilot took two steps and spun around. "Get going, Dru. You know where she is. You know she needs you. What else do you need to know?"
Wedge's brown eyes were sparkling when he turned away.
Dru looked around the open square, filled with milling beings of all sizes and stripes, and frowned. He'd practically hijacked a Coruscant taxi to get here, and had left the driver swearing in three languages. Broke every traffic law on the books. Been chased by and lost one militia speeder. Had three near misses - one with a monster ship that would've noticed his colliding with them as much as a Bantha notices its ticks. So where was she?
These were the right coordinates. But, no Alee. He climbed
onto a pedestal that was missing its statue and scanned the crowd.
He squinted against the weak sunlight. There seemed to be a commotion
on the far side of the square. Security personnel were just arriving.
That's my Jedi.
I'd bet my ship on it.
Druce jumped down and started elbowing his way across the plaza. It was like fighting a rip tide; everyone seemed to be going the other way. He was almost half way across when Juice joined him. The scrawny blond pilot fell in behind Dru, practically shouting to make himself heard.
"Saw you pop onto that ledge, Nardo. Good thing you're so tall, or I'd never find you in this crowd," Juice said.
Dru spoke over his shoulder. "What happened?"
"Soon as she arrived, she started twirling around and around. Looked pretty wild-eyed. Then she started running back and forth. I tried to keep up. It was weird, Nardo. Sometimes someone who wasn't even touching her would go flying like she'd crashed into them."
Dru winced inwardly and his worry increased exponentially. He never recalled Alee ever losing control with her powers. What could cause her to snap? He picked up his pace, stretching his long legs to their full stride and practically barging his way through the forest of bodies.
Juice's voice floated behind him, growing fainter. "This is too weird for me, Nardo. You're on your own. You can square up with me later."
Druce didn't acknowledge the pilot. He bumped into a Bothan and pressed on without an apology, though most beings managed to step out of the way of the frantic-looking tall man. Dru could see a cordon of security ahead, keeping the crowd away from something. He broke through and crashed into a guard.
The guard grabbed his arm and swung him around. "Stay back, mister. The situation is under control."
Situation? Dru jerked around in time to see a security officer firing a stun blast. The blue circular laser blast shot towards Alee. Dru tensed. She dived effortlessly out of the way and came up swinging her lightsaber - at a statue. Of the Emperor.
"Who's is charge?" Dru demanded.
The guard pointed out a stiff-shouldered man, with white strips on his blue uniform, preparing to order a volley of shots. Dru wrenched himself free and sprinted toward the soldiers, shouting for them to stop. The commander held up his hand and the marksmen froze. He assumed an at-ease position and scowled at Dru as he halted in front of him.
"What's a civilian doing inside this cordon?" he barked to no one in particular.
"Let me deal with her," Dru panted.
"This is a potentially dangerous situation, son."
"I know her. She'll listen to me." Dru paused. "Please, sir."
The commander narrowed his eyes and assessed the tall man before him. Dru fought to stay patient as he listened to the sizzle of Alee's lightsaber. The crowd outside the ring of security cheered. Dru glanced over his shoulder to see a stone arm fall to the ground.
"Do it, son. I don't want to shoot her any more than you want her shot."
Druce nodded his thanks and jogged toward Alee. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she swung her lightsaber and sent rockchips flying with glancing blows. Dru called her name. It was like she was deaf to everything except her task. Dru reached for her arm and found himself sprawled on the ground two meters away.
He sat up and rubbed the shoulder he'd landed on. She might be deaf, but her Force abilities were working just fine. He climbed to his feet and shot the commander a reassuring smile.
Dru circled around and attempted to get in her line of sight. Her focus was completely on the statue. Except when she senses a threat. Dru drew a deep breath. He hoped he knew what he was doing.
He stepped to the side, barely more than a meter from Alee, and drew his blaster from its holster, slowly bringing it to bear on the Jedi. No reaction. A soft click sounded as he flipped off the safety. Suddenly, Alee was spinning, arching her weapon towards Druce. He kept his eyes glued to hers. They connected. Recognition flashed. Just before the blade was going to slice through Dru's waist, it disappeared.
Dru inhaled a ragged breath as he holstered his blaster. Shock rippled across Alee's features and she started to shake. The slicer stepped forward and took the powered-down lightsaber from her hands, then wrapped his arms around her. He held her tight for a long moment, then pulled her down to sit on a ledge below the statue. He kept his arm firmly around her waist.
"Speak to me, Alee," Dru whispered.
A short silence and words spilled out. "I, I almost killed you, Dru. I would've never forgiven myself. How could you put yourself in such danger?"
"I had to reach you, Alee. It's like you weren't even here. But it's okay. I'm okay. Tell me why you were destroying that statue."
Her eyes glazed over and she blinked them clear. "When I saw Coruscant, a wave of longing hit me so hard it, it knocked me flat. I know it's irrational, but I always thought it was still here. Suddenly, somewhere deep inside I, I thought if I came home, I would walk in and meet Master Yoda in the Room of a Thousand Fountains, and he'd tell me it was all a big mistake."
"That what was still here? Walk in where, Alee?" Dru asked.
Alee blinked and stared blankly at him. "The Temple, of course. My home. I was convinced everything would be fine and I'd get my life back. That's why I couldn't let you come. I felt sure I was going back." She sobbed. "But I can't go back. I'm trapped here. I had let go. I had. But the lights mesmerized me, confused me. I only know, when I saw them, that I wanted to go back. I want it so badly its tearing me up inside."
Dru felt as if a womprat was burrowing into his stomach, tearing him apart as it went. She didn't want to be here. Didn't want to be with him. He looked up and met the commander's eyes, to find compassion looking back at him. The commander made a circling motion with his finger and his guards all spun around, presenting their backs to Dru and Alee.
In a weak and tattered voice, Dru said, "I couldn't bear that, Alee. If you went back you wouldn't be in my life anymore."
Alee pulled away and stood with her back to Druce. "Maybe that'd be for the best."
Dru stood and stared at the back of her head. "How can you say that? Don't you know that without you all I will be is an empty shell, living out empty moments for the rest of my empty life? I don't know when it happened. I don't know how. But I do know that you are my heart, Alee."
She spun around and stared into his eyes.
"I'm your what?"
"You're my heart. My very existence." He cupped her jaw and brushed his thumb across her cheek. "I love you, Alee. My happiness, my life is in your hands. Please don't say you want to leave me."
"You love me?"
"To distraction, my sweet Jedi."
"After all I put you through?"
"I'd go through it all again, and more, if you say I have even the remotest chance to become your promised one," Dru murmured. He held back nothing. He looked at her with all the pain, all the love swirling through his soul. Is this what Wedge meant by fighting for her? It feels like I'm already mortally wounded. How do people survive love?
Alee wrinkled her brow and searched Dru's face. "Promised one?"
Dru couldn't seem to lift his voice above a cracked whisper. "You know. Your Qui-Gon's, ah, prophecy, promise, whatever it was."
A smile crept into her eyes. Alee said, "You cannot become," she paused. Dru's stomach plummeted and she continued, "what you already are."
Puzzlement blanked his mind. Alee reached up with her index finger to push his mouth closed and said, "I've known for some time that you are the one, Dru. But you were so angry, so confused over my origins. I didn't think you would ever see me as anything but a ... troublesome misfit. That's why I felt so desperately alone. And you did say your eye was already caught ..."
Dru blinked. I said that? He smiled. "Yes. By a certain infuriating Jedi."
"Infuriating?"
"And frustrating. And stubborn. And all-together too closed-mouthed. And single-minded to the point of obsession."
His heart flip-flopped as gold flecks lit her hazel eyes.
"Why ever do you love me?" she said, laughing.
"I'm not sure," Dru mused. "Let's be joined as lifemates so I can spend the rest of my days figuring it out."
"What!"
Dru pushed her mouth closed with his finger. "You heard me, my sweet Jedi."
"How can you joke about such a thing?"
"No joke."
"But, but we barely know each other," Alee stammered.
"I know what I want. And I'm looking at what I want. You're not the only one who can be single-minded." Dru cocked an eyebrow. "Besides, I am your ... promised one."
Alee rolled her eyes. "I am going to regret telling you that."
Warmth swept through Dru's veins. "Say yes, Alee. I need my heart to keep living."
"I, I ... you never asked if I love you."
"Do you?"
"Well, yes, but ..."
"Then it's settled."
"It is?" Bemusement softened her eyes. And her mouth.
He lowered his head. "Oh, yes, sweet Jedi. It is." His lips touched hers, savoring their tentative response.
A harrumph interrupted. Dru withdrew a centimeter and stared into Alee's melting eyes. He suppressed a groan. The commander's voice said, "Looks like you have the situation well in hand, son. I'm afraid I'll have to report this as a false alarm."
Dru smiled and looked up. The commander's straight back disappeared from sight as the cordon of security faded into the crowd. Dru returned to those tempting and wonderfully pliant lips. Someone jostled them. Dru lifted Alee up and stepped backwards until his heel touched the ledge under the statue. He sat and pulled her onto his lap.
Alee broke the kiss. Her breathless state made Dru's desire swell. She pressed her finger to his lips and shook her head.
"Call me old-fashioned, but this is not appropriate behavior for a public square. Haven't you ever run across a computer program on manners?"
This time a groan did slip past his lips. "What I need is a program on understanding and dealing with Old Republic Jedi."
"You believe it?" Alee asked. Dru heard the tentative undertones.
"Too much fits too well to not believe it. I will probably struggle with it, tend to want to forget about it, but I do believe it. More important. I believe you, Alee."
Relief lightened her features. "Thank you."
A niggle of fear wormed into his thoughts. "You don't really want to go back, do you?"
Alee smiled softly. "I had let go, Dru. Call this episode temporary insanity if you want. I don't want to be there and then. I want to be here and now - with you."
Joy danced through his eyes. "So now you can tell me why you were annihilating this statue of our late and little-mourned Emperor. Though I am rather surprised someone didn't beat you to it."
"This is where the Temple stood."
"And what, exactly was this Temple?"
"The Jedi Temple - where almost all the Jedi lived and trained and worked. From the time I was three until I was swept into this time, it was the only home I knew." Alee sighed. "When I arrived in the square I was devastated. It was unfathomable to me that the Temple could have ever been leveled like this. I could feel faint echoes from the Temple and the Jedi who'd lived here. So much light and peace could never be totally destroyed. But it was surrounded and suppressed by the Dark Side, so much stronger here than elsewhere where it clings like, like an Umgul mist to so much of Coruscant." She shuddered. "I'm not sure I will ever be able to enter the Imperial Palace."
Dru watched her eyes darken with doubt. She whispered, "I don't think I'm safe for you to be around, Dru. I am becoming what Master Yoda warned me against - an agent of evil."
Dru smiled wryly. "That's a touch melodramatic, isn't it?"
She searched his face. "You don't understand. When I saw the statue, raged ripped through me and it became the focus of my hatred. I, I'm sure - no, I know - I drew on the dark power swirling around me and poured it out on that stone image. Fear, anger, hate - those are paths to the Dark Side. If a Jedi starts down that path, forever will it dominate her destiny."
Dru grasped her shoulders. "No, Alee. You were alone and distraught. You were overwhelmed by grief. You weren't in the clutches of this Dark Side. If you had been, I'd be ... well, twice the man I am right now."
A smile tugged at the edges of her mouth, even as she frowned. "You might be right. And it's a good thing, because I don't think I could handle two of you, Druce Nardo."
His eyes crinkled. "Alee-Nedra cy Nerac, I go to pieces over you."
She groaned. "Well, you almost did. Enough already. I surrender."
"'Bout time," Dru murmured. He kissed her tenderly. "Let's go find a friend of mine. He might be able to introduce us to someone who can legally unite us. Today, if we're lucky."
"Today?" squeaked Alee.
"Yes, today. I don't want to give you time to change your
mind."
