Tales of Coruscant

I don't own Star Wars. Not one little bit ;)

The night was warm and the air was thrumming with the sounds of the city and it's inhabitants, the greasy scent of street foods lingering in the plaza. Commander Fox stood at the base of the security building with several of his men, watching the bustle of the square passively. Alert for any threat, but with little interest in the everyday comings and goings of the citizens and way of life he protected but had no real part in.

Out of the corner of his visor he saw a flash of red and white movement and cast a glance that way. Ravi and Surge were giving small waves to a wayward youngling at their feet. The little one had stopped in front them, and stared up at them with curious eyes,fingers in his mouth. He stood in a state of shy awe for a few moments before tentatively raising the other small hand up in a reciprocating gesture, a grin forming on his little face. Growing bolder, he reached out to touch the interesting figures in front of him.

But then he was yanked away swiftly by an adult who scooped him up with a dark look at the troopers, and kept walking without looking back again. Ravi raised his fingers to his visor in a sarcastic salute to the retreating man's form, and Fox could hear Surge chuckle over the comm. Both men resumed watching the crowd and Fox brought his attention back to the others before returning to scanning the din.

Lex was to his left, checking clearances and IDs for the building and Turns was across the way, eyes on the intersection and passers by. The neon lights of the square cast everything in intermittent soft, fluttering electric blue and pink hues. The citizens were a bustling blur of swift moving speeders and clusters of figures with places to be, things to do, flitting between the shops. People and creatures of all shapes and sizes and appearances, dancing to the same tune they coudnt hear, but all seemed to fall in step to.

Fox watched as the doors to the building directly across from where he stood slid open and another small crowd exited the buiding, dissipating into the bustle on the walkway. His gaze fell upon and followed the figure of a woman lugging a large bag, the strap slung over her shoulder, fighting a bit against the flow of others as she tried to make head way down the walk. She was almost at the edge of the building when a man seemed to take notice of her and jogged to catch up. He fell in step with her swiftly and laid an arm around her waist, the other hand hefting the strap from her shoulders onto his own.

Fox let his eyes return to the crowd once more, his focus shifting to the whirring of the vehicles and the distant sound of a street musician seeping into his filters. He crossed his arms and let out a long sigh, envying Thorn the luck of having roving patrol that night.

A sudden movement caught his eye then, and his attention was drawn again to the woman across the street. She and the man were standing in the alley that ran between the buildings now, and they appeared to be having a disagreement of some sort. The other pedestrians continued right past them, ignoring them completely. Fox's eyes narrowed as he watched the woman try to pull away from the man, attempting to retreat into the alley while maintaining the grip on her bag.

He began making his way across the street quicky, motioning for Lex to continue what he was doing. Luckily the speeders were at a standstill at that moment, although he had to hop across a few of their hoods as the space between one speeder and the next was too narrow to maneuver. Ravi, Surge and Turns had picked up on his movement and now had their attention on him. He signalled with a quick flick of his hand over his head as he walked. On alert, but hold position.

By the time Fox had reached the other side of the street, the man had pried the bag from the woman's grip, but he only shoved it away and closed in on her instead. The bag hit the walk with a heavy thump as the woman tried to duck away. But the man was fast and the wall was at her back leaving her with nowhere to go. He caught her by the upper arm and held tight. She twisted in his grasp, trying to push him away with a hand on his chest. Her face was alight with a mixture of fear and fury.

"Bennon, I swear I...!" She fell silent as she caught sight of Fox approaching and shrank back, surprise and apprehesion on her face. The man hadnt noticed him yet but used the momentary lapse in her movment to his advantage. He snaked out his other hand to grab hold of her free arm.

But his forearm was caught deftly in a fierce grip and brought up in front of his face.

"Let her go."

The man peeled his eyes from the woman to regard the newcomer, curiosity and rage evident on his face. He blinked up into the visor of the person suddenly standing beside him for a few seconds before sneering. The woman glanced nervously between them, looking very much like she'd make a break for it if she got a chance. "Piss off," the man spat, tightening his grip on her.

Fox twisted the man's arm sharply, causing him to shriek and release his grip on the woman and then he stepped between them. Enraged, the man swung a fist, but it was neatly dodged and then his other arm caught in a vice-like grip.

He was a few inches shorter than the trooper, but heavier set and Fox struggled a little to maintain his grip. And although he kept his main focus on the man, Fox did watch the woman out of the corner of his visor. To his surprise, she had stayed when she was released, moving out of the way but seemingly reluctant to leave in spite of her obvious fear. Almost as though she was ready to step in if necessary. That puzzed him, but he tucked it away to be considered later.

Unable to free his arms, the man roared and bent over, all at once ramming his head into the commander's stomach and bowling him into the wall. It wasnt a damaging blow, as Fox had his armor on, but it did knock the wind ot of him a bit. And it did tick him off. He brought a knee up hard into the man's chest, releasing his arms. The man staggered back, doubled over and hacking. When he looked up, he fixed the culprit with a menacing glare, which the trooper merely quirked an eyebrow at. If he had the time and opportunity, he wouldn't have minded letting the whole thing play out more...he hadnt had a good fight in a long time. And this guy looked like he deserved it.

Fox shook his head against the temptation and turned his head to regard the woman.

She started as the soldier addressed her for the first time.

"Ma'am? Are you alright?" She couldn't see his eyes behind the darkness of the visor, but he appeared to be giving her a quick once-over. His gaze seemed to linger on her upper arm and she self-consciously wrapped her arms around herself, hiding the bruises she could feel forming there. She nodded, trying to manage a small smile.

"I am. Thank you." She looked over at Bennon. He was seething like a sandsnake and his expression was dark. His eyes were darting from her to the man who stood beside her, calculating. They came to rest on her finally, and she shivered under his gaze, being more familiar with it than she liked. She took an involuntary step backaards.

And then several things happened at once.

Bennon snarled and charged at her, and she jerked back, even as the trooper stepped in front of her, putting himself between the two again in an instant. But the enraged man didn't make it far before he was slammed to the ground, an armored knee in his back and one arm twisted behind.

She hadn't even noticed the other soldier approach, who now kneeled on the flailing man, completely unperturbed by his captive's raging. He looked up at the other man standing in front of her, head cocked to one side in inquiry. The two seemed to discuss something, judging by their movements, although she heard nothing. Internal comms she figured, and blushed when they both suddenly focused on her. The second soldier looked her over as the other had done earlier, his gaze falling on her arm and hovering there as well. He looked up at her face again briefly before nodding to the other and pulling the arms of the raging man beneath him into cuffs. Bennon began shouting again and the trooper bent down to whisper something in his ear quietly. Bennon grew still and was pulled to his feet.

"Ma'am." the second soldier inclined his head to her before turning and giving the handcuffed man a sharp shove in the back, and they moved away beneath the soft glow of the neons.

Fox watched Commander Thorn walking the man to the security building across the street for a few moments. In no hurry, they used the crossing area. Glancing across the street he saw Surge and Ravi had their eyes on the pair as well and Lex was comming Trust and Hatch to come help Thorn. He caught Fox's eye and nodded. From the corner Turns gave a thumbs up.

The sound of a fabric sliding against the permacrete made him turn around. The woman was righting her bag before slipping the strap over her shoulder again. She stood up and turned to Fox.

"Thank you," she said with a look of true gratitude, and then fixed her gaze on the ground, rubbing her arms nervously. "I have to...head home now."

"I'll accompany you." Fox offered.

The woman turned to look up at him in surprise and...worry? He couldn't quite place the look, but it made him feel uneasy.

"It would be safer Ma'am, and I can...carry your bag." he tried again, lessening the authorative tone he was accustomed to using, struggling to recall what he knew about conversing with civillians. It wasn't something he was particularly used to, aside from the odd senator here and there. His experience with females was even more limited. He gestured towards the large bag on her shoulder but refrained from reaching for it without her permission. She said nothing for a while, simply studying him, and he shifted a little under the scrutiny. She couldn't see his face of course, but she seemed to be judging his intentions in that gaze.

Finally, she nodded and handed over the bag, watching with slight amusement as Fox lifted it onto his shoulder, an openly curious air about him as to its contents.

"My table." She smilled at him again, and nodded in the direction of the building she had exited earlier. "I work as a massage therapist at The Skyline." Fox nodded and followed her down the alley, considering the events of the evening. They were both quiet for a while, and he used the opportuniy to examine her better. She was on the shorter side, only as tall as his shoulders and quite thin, with brown hair chopped to her chin at an angle. Pale. The marks on her arm were prominent and he frowned.

"That man. He was one of your...clients?" He asked tentatively, unsure if it was appropriate to ask, but determined to find out the reasoning behind the man's attack. He also felt a little heat rising to his face at the nature of her occupation. He had no experience of his own regarding massages but had overheard some...details from the occasional person he served as a bodygaurd for about them.

The woman stopped and turned to stare at him for a moment, blinking. He worried that he'd oversteped and regretted his question. But, then she laughed. A genuine laugh that rang in his helmet and he stopped to look down at her.

"Not that kind of massage. I promise. Only the legit kind." She started walking again and was silent for a while. Fox didn't inquire further, embarassed and afraid he'd insulted her, although she hadn't seemed too offended. He felt so out of his element he was afraid to ask anything else.

"He's my ex-husband." She said at last. She sighed and crossed her arms in front of herself again. "He was trying to find out where we live. We've had to move so many times." She looked at the sky. "My daughter and I," she clarified after a few moments. "He always finds us somehow..."

Fox watched her as they walked, unsure if or what he should say.

"Thank you." She continued. "I mean it. Theres no way I would've told him, but he wouldn't have let me go without doing...something. To be honest, when I first saw you, I thought you were on his side, that he had found a way to take her away."

"Take...your daughter away?" He couldn't fathom why someone would do that, let alone why he would be the one to do such a thing. She nodded.

"It's been rough the last few months. My salary isnt that much sometimes. It takes a while to build a client base, and we've had to move around so much. Last month was especially hard and I had trouble covering the utilities." She paused to look up at Fox uncertainly but could see that his curiosity and misunderstanding was genuine. " But I got it figured out and we're fine now" she added determinedly. Fox nodded once more, taking it all in with true interest. He really had no idea how things worked in the civilian world, and normally had no desire to, but he felt himself intrigued with this woman's life for some reason.

"Just up here" she motioned up a flight of stairs at the base of one of the many tall residential buildings in the area they now walked in. "Thank you for carrying my table." He inclined his head and followed her up the stairs and down a walkway along the outside of the building, to the very last door. There she paused for a moment, resting her forehead on the door lightly before drawing in a breath and letting it out slowly, then opening it, a warm smile now on her face, and motioned him to follow her. It was like she had simply dusted off the bad events of the evening, and Fox marveled at that for a moment before following her inside.

"Mommy!" Fox watched as a little girl jumped up from where she sat on the carpet, and wrapped her arms fiercely around the woman, who returned the embrace with equal fervor. They stayed like that for a few seconds before the girl released her mother to regard the soldier standing in the doorway with open curiosity. Another woman walked into the room, rubbing a cloth over a plate

"Aiya! We were getting worried. We..." She stopped mid sentence when she caught sight of Fox and looked bewteen them. "What happened?! is everything ok?" She set the plate down and walked over to the other woman 'Aiya', Fox now knew, and mentally thumped himself for forgetting to ask.

"Bennon again. I'm fine, though." Aiya waved away the concerned look on her friend's face and smiled, turning to Fox. "I was helped by..." she faltered, realizing she hadn't asked his name and blushed, suddenly ashamed.

But he didn't seem fazed by it and merely took a step forward, offering a hand palm up to the second woman. "Commander Fox, Ma'am." The woman raised an eyebrow and gave him a sly smile beore placing her hand palm down on his in a returned greeting.

"Nice to meet you." She winked and Fox jolted slightly at the gesture, which made the woman giggle, not unkindly.

"Loreen!" Aiya laughed and gave her a playful smack. Then she noticed Commander Fox was still holding the table. "Oh! Sorry. Here." She reached out for the table and he lowered it off his shoulder and gave it to her. She laid it against the wall across the room and came back. "Would you like some tea?" She asked them both, arms wrapped around her daughter who leaned into her side, still regarding the stranger.

"Aw! I do, but I have to get back to the shop and help Oma for the dinner rush." Loreen said. She walked to door and pulled a coat off a hook on the back. She looked at Aiya as she buttoned it up. "Still coming for dinner later?" Aiya smiled and nodded.

"Would't miss it. Thank you for watching Fayna."

"No problem. We're partners in crime right?" She winked down at Fayna and ran a hand over the top of her head, messing the curls there. Fayna gave her a toothy grin back. "We were pirate fairies today who uncovered the galaxy's coolest treasure." She explained to Fox who obviously didn't understand but returned her grin with a bob of his head. Giggling, she gave him another wink, then hugged Aiya before walking to the door. "See you guys."

Fox watched her go, not quite sure of what had happened or what she was talking about, but not entiriely minding the interaction either.

"Tea?"

He looked down to see Aiya looking up at him with a smile, and once again drew a blank. Unsure if it was ok or not, he remembered being told at sme point by someone that it was considered rude to turn down the offer of refreshments to civillians.

"Yes. Thank you." She smiled so he guessed it was the right thing to say.

"Here. Sit and I'll go make some, ok?" She gestured to the couch and walked over to move a pillow to one side. He walked across the room, making sure to avoid stepping on any of the colorful things which he presumed must be toys as he went. "Back in a sec." Aiya said and made her way into the adjoining kitchen. Fox sat down where she indicated and listened to the sound of pots and dishes being moved around. He took the opportunity to take in his surroundings. He'd never been in the home of a regular citizen before.

He noted that it did look a lot like the ones portrayed on the Holonet. Seating area, short table for refreshments, holo-viewing set. A simple table and chairs in the corner. Books stacked in a few piles beside a small indoor fountain against one wall. Toys scattered about. The little girl flitted back and forth amongst them, piecing bits of what looked like blocks together. He studied her and the items curiously, never having seen the things she was playing with in person before, only in shop windows.

His interest must've shown because the little girl, Fayna he recalled, stopped to stare at him for a moment and then picked up some of the bright plastoid pieces laying about and carried them over to him.

"Do you like Link-locks? Build me a spaceship, ok?" The words rolled out of her mouth quickly and she took his hands into hers, wrapping them around his and forming them into a cup. He watched as she poured a handful of the blocks into his hands, then looked from them up into to his visor expectantly, and folded her hands on his knee.

Fox looked between her and his hands in uncertainty. He thought for a second, having watched her using the objects to build various things, and decided he'd take a bash at it.

"Bring me the pieces you want me to use" he said to her and leaned forward to dump the pieces on the small table in front of him, spreading the pile out and surveying the pieces. Fayna hopped off happily to collect some more. He'd never done anything quite like it before but figured it was like assembling anything else, and he was a fast learner. He began linking some blocks in a triangular shape, trusting Fayna to bring him the pieces he'd need. She seemed to know what she was doing. After depositing more blocks on the table she sat down herself beside him and began assembling something of her own. He watched her out of the corner of his eye.

He was making good progress on it in his opinion when Aiya came back in the room carrying a tray. She looked at them and laughed.

"I see she suckered you into making her something" She grinned as she moved some blocks aside witht the tray and set it down.

"She asked nicely," Fox answered truthfully. He glanced at the girl beside him who was working on her third project by then. "She's putting me to shame though," he joked, rolling his incomplete project over in his hands. Aiya glanced at his work in progress as she poured tea.

"Ha. You don't want to see my attempts, either." She smiled at him again, and he felt himself smiling back. He froze for a second, realizing she couldn't see it. That she still hadn't seen his face through his hemet, and he raised a hand to take it off.

Aiya watched the soldier reach up to remove his helmet and he paused for a second, which made her even more curious. She'd never seen the face of any of the republic soldiers before, and had always wondered what they looked like. She felt a tiny clench in her chest that she hadn't ever stopped to talk to any of them before. Or made any effort to even just simply be friendly by waving or smiling. 'I''ll do better from now on', she thought determinedly.

Fox hesitated to remove his helmet briefly, deterring thoughts running through his head. He'd heard that civillians found the looks of his kind startling and odd. Some had even appeared frightened. (The fact that it was likely the result of so many sharing the same face rather than the face itself didn't occur to him as he was so accustomed to it that it anything else would feel abnormal). He hoped Aiya didn't feel the way those others had. He certainly didnt want to frighten the little girl.

But he had to remove it to drink the tea, so off it came. He viewed Aiya intently as he did so. She was watching him as well, openly curious. She blinked a few times and her eyes moved up and down his face slowly as he lifted off his helmet and placed it on the floor beside his feet.

He kept watching her, waiting for a negative reaction of some sort. But after studying him for a bit, she just smiled at him again. Open and kind and warm. Did she always smile this much? he wondered. Or just at him? The other woman had smiled at him too. And senator Amidala had surely smiled at him before. He decided he liked it. Women smiling at him.

Aiya stood up to hand him a cup of tea, then gave one to Fayna, and picked up her own cup before coming over to sit beside him on the couch. Fayna lifted her tea carefully and settled down on the other side of her mother to drink it. They all sat in silence for a little while drinking.

"That was good tea, Mom." Fayna said at last, placing the now empty cup on the table and returning to her creations. Aiya smiled down at her.

"It was very delicious. Thank you." Fox said earnestly, lifting his eyes from the cup in his hands to her face. He'd finished before either of them but hadn't wanted to break the silence by saying anything. He wasnt in the know on tea etiquette.

"I'm glad you liked it." She smiled and stood up and placed her cup on the tray beside Fayna's then bent to take his from him as well. The wall comm chimed as she carried the tray to the kitchen and she hurried back to answer it.

"Aiya?" Fox recognized Loreen's voice. "We're closing up now. You guys can head over."

"Alright. We'll head out in a few."

"Him too."

"What?"

"Commander Fox. He's coming too." It wasnt a question.

"Loreen! I have to ask first. He might have to get back to...He might not want..."

"Oma wants to meet him. See you guys in a bit." The comm ended before Aiya could say anything else. She turned to Fox, looking a little embarassed.

"Would you like to come with us? To dinner I mean. It's just down the street. Oma is an old friend of ours."

Although he'd never been very keen on purposely putting himself in akward or unfamiliar situations, this night had been full of them, yet Fox was enjoying himself. And the more he experienced the little aspects of what seemed to be a "normal" (foreign to him) life, the more interested he became. Which definitely wasn't normal for him.

And the alternative was standing in front of a building until his shift ended, then grabbing some cafeteria food and passing out until morning training drills and repeating it all again.

"Let me check in."

Aiya watched him step outside, surprised. She had thought for sure he'd say no. The idea of asking him had crossed her mind as she was making the tea, but she had refrained from doing so. Why? Why did a simple rejection from a practical stranger matter so much to her? She wondered silently to herself as she ushered Fayna off to get ready.

Fox stepped out onto the landing and replaced his helmet. He opened up a private comm with Ravi.

"Sitrep. Whats the situation on your end?"

"Sir. Nothing new affter you left. Booked that raging bantha. He'll sit for a few days at least."

"Still raving?"

"No, sir. He's quite indisposed at the moment." Fox heard the amusement in Ravi's voice, and a round of chuckles in the background and snorted in slight humor himself. But then it grew quiet.

"The commander said he was a bit rough with the lady. Is she alright? Surge is still on duty." Surge was a medic.

"Bastard did a number on her arm, but she seems to be fine otherwise."

"Did she know why he attacked her? Is... she really his wife? We couldn't get much out of him other than that." He sounded repulsed by the idea.

"Ex. He was trying to find out where she and her daughter live."

"Oh." There was a heavy silence. "Did he find out?"

"No."

"Good." Ravi seemed satisfied with that. "Well, he won't be bothering them any time soon. He made a bad move asssaulting her, and an even worse one assaulting you. Do they have anyone else there with them? Are you heading back now?"

"Er...no." Fox faltered, trying to put the situation to words. He was taking her to dinner? No, accompanying her for dinner? Visiting an aquaintance? Actually, he wasn't sure of precisely what he was doing. "She asked me to...join her for dinner."

The other line was silent for a minute, and Fox could just imagine all the impish and indecent thoughts running through Ravi's head. He felt his face coloring a bit. "With her daughter and friends, Ravi. Don't get any ideas and don't you dare go running that mouth of yours to anyone else, private."

"Sir." Fox could hear muffled laughter and rolled his eyes. He sighed.

"I'll check in afterwards. Stay out of trouble. I mean it, I'm not in the mood tonight."

"Ha! I mean, Sir. Yes Sir." Fox snorted and closed the channel as Fayna hopped out the door and Aiya followed, shutting the door behind her. She glanced at Fox, curious about Bennon but not keen on discussing the night's events in front of Fayna. Fox seemed to read her thoughts.

"Everything's fine back there." She nodded her thanks as she was pulled by Fayna down the stairs and he chuckled at the enthusiasm of the kid. He and the other troopers had always watched the children of the city with a tinge of wonder and curiosity. Never having had the inclination (or perhaps opportunity ) to behave that way at any point in their short childhood, it was something of a marvel to them.

They passed several more residential buildings and a small park area containing a play structure and lined with a couple of landscaped paths. Fayna stooped to run her fingers over the vegetation, then stoppped completely at one point to get on hands and knees and examine some small creature scampering over the path.

"Mommy! A Bugle bix!"

She studied it for a moment more before scampered off in front of them again, her feathery curls floating behind her in the moonlight. Her hair was the white blonde color of the man who had attcked earlier, Fox noted. But when she stopped ahead and turned back to look at them, he saw that her eyes were her mother's, wide and green. He found this mixing of parents features within children fascinating, and studied Aiya again privately from inside his helmet to see if he could recognize any other things she had shared with her daughter.

There was a small dim light over the shop door, and blooms painted in pastel swirls lining the curtained windows. A balcony on the second floor had plants flowing over the rails, flowers among them. Aiya rapped lightly against the blue surface of the door and as it opened wonderful scents seeped in through the filters in Fox's helmet. An older woman stood in the doorway, her hair grey and her apron dusted with something. She stepped forward to cup Aiya's face in her hands.

"My dear." She said and wrapped her arms around the slightly taller woman in front of hr, then looked down at the hopping child who had wedged her way into the middle of the embrace expertly. The woman chuckled. "And my Fay." She planted a kiss on the girl's curls and shood her inside. "Go help your Aunty, she's mixing up some sauce." Fayna bounded off inside.

Fox watched all this with interest, until Aiya stepped to the side and the woman stepped forward and loooked up at him.

"Oma, this is Commander Fox. Commander Fox,"she gestured between the two, "Oma."

Oma smiled up at him and held out her hands in greeting. Fox placed his hands in hers and inclined his head. He started a little when she reached up and touched the side of his hemet in a similar gesture to how she did with Aina. She laughed and turned to the young woman and winked.

"He'll have to get used to that if he intends to visit us." Oma linked an arm in his and Fox let himself be steered into the room, Aina chuckling at his side.

Several hours later, Fox knew it was time he headed back. He stood with some reluctance, gathering his helmet from beside his feet. Aiya looked up at him and gave a small smile and folded her hands under her chin.

"Time for you to go."

Fox nodded, not missing the hint of sadness in her voice, curious to note that he found himself sharing the feeling. How strange this night had become. He glanced at Loreen who was gathering the last of the cups. She smiled over at him, tossing long brown curls over her shoulder as she straightened up. She walked over and gave him a light smack on the back as she made her way into the back room of the shop.

"Don't be a stranger. You better come back," she called over her shoulder as she walked. Fox smiled in return. Again. His face was getting sore from it. Another first for him.

Aiya stood up from the tableware she was drying and placed them softly on the napking beside the ones Fox had dried and set there. She walked over to the door, arms crossing in front of her and looking up at him. Oma came into the room from the back kitchen and crossed over to them.

"You leaving?"

"Yes Ma'am. Thank you for the meal. It was...wonderful." He struggled with the right word to describe it. It had been the best tasting one of his life. Civillians sure could cook. The only thing that came close were the fancy little treats Senator Amidala had shared with him and his men once. He felt a little guilty actually. He had gotten to eat the stuff of Gods while his men were stuck on patrol.

Oma "hmmmed" mistchievously and left the room, giving Fox and Aiya the privacy to say goodbye. Aiya looked up at him, head tilted, inspecting his expression.

"Did you have fun?"

"Yes."

He looked so sincere she laughed. He laughed too, and they both continued for a while. At last she wiped her eyess and looked up at him again.

"I have no idea why that's so funny, but it is." She sniffed a little then beamed up at him. "Thank you. For everything."

"You're wlecome." He really hadn't done much. "Let me know if Bennon bothers you again. I don't think he will anytime soon, but if he does, let us know."

"I will."

"Say goodbye to Fayna for me?"

Aiya had tucked her to sleep in one of the upstairs bedrooms about an hour ago. She nodded. "Thank you for playing the Candypath game with us. I know it's for kids, but she loves it when others play with her so much."

"It was fun. " He paused thoughtfully for a moment., then grinned down at her. "I almost beat you."

"What? You did not! You just got lucky and landed the best card in the game."

"If you say so."

She stuck out her tongue and he snorted, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow. She grinned back at him for a minute, until the merriment slowly faded from her face, and was replaced with a serious look.

"Come visit some time, ok? Or...or I'll visit you? Maybe when I get off work."

"I'd like that." he nodded and donned his helmet. "Are you sure you're alright? Do you want me to walk you home. I could...carry Fayna." She smiled again and shook her head.

"No. We're fine. We'll just spend the night here I think." She looked up at him once more. "Goodbye Fox."

"Goodbye Aiya." he held out a hand in a farewell gesture and she returned it, her fingertips grazing his softly. Then she reached out and put a hand lightly on his chest. She patted him there a few times, before stepping back with a smile. He turned to go.

"Stop right there, soldier."

Fox halted instinctually, looking around in surprise. Oma was suddenly at his side and she shoved something into his arms. He looked down at it, confused. It was a large bakery box. He looked up to see Aiya and Oma exchanging sly looks.

"You bring those back with you and you boys enjoy them, you hear?" She looked expectantly at the trooper in front of her, a hand on her hip and shaking her finger at him.

He raised his head slowly and gave them both a deliberate salute, before resuming his walk back to the security complex.

"Yes Ma'am," he said, and even he could hear the smile in his voice.

It had been a very strange night, indeed. And for once, he liked that very much.

Let me know what you guys think! ;)

Next will be a tale about Commander Thorn.