Tahiri's Happy Ending
45 ABY
Dorch Vangur, sitting in one of the waiting chairs of one of Corulag's spaceports, anxiously tapped his foot on the floor as he almost constantly looked up and down, to and from, the flight arrivals and departures check board. Being a former Imperial lieutenant, one would think that all of those years at military school on Bastion would have instilled in his mind enough self-control to at least hide his impatience. But as it was, since there was no one to scold him for actively displaying that impatience, Dorch allowed himself a Galactic Alliance citizen's right to tap his foot on the ground in a rhythmic manner and look up at that check board however much he wanted to.
"How long has your flight been delayed?" the man on Dorch's right asked him.
Dorch looked to that man. He was a pleasant, round-faced looking guy who looked like one of those shallow, handsome celebrities that pubescent and prepubescent girls today would swoon over.
"About an hour," Dorch said casually, once again belying his military experience and almost seamlessly blending in as an everyday galactic joe. "Yours?"
"Same," the man replied. Dorch nodded in understanding before the man asked, "Where you headed?"
"Denon," Dorch replied. "You?"
"Again, same," the other man said.
"Really?" Dorch asked. "What'll you be doing there?"
"I'll be reporting on the reconstruction effort on the Jedi Temple there," the other man answered. "You know, probably the biggest break I've ever gotten in all my years as a holojournalist. Uh, how 'bout you?"
"I'll actually be part of that reconstruction effort," Dorch answered.
"Really? Then I might just interview you for an opinion when I report my piece to The Perre Needmo News Hour."
"Oh, you're a part of that? Decent news broadcaster, from what I hear."
"What other news broadcaster do you watch? You know, out of curiosity so I can know just how well the competition is doing and why and all that."
"I used to watch the Imperial News Hour," Dorch said. "But I haven't found any in the Galactic Alliance yet."
"You're an Imperial?"
"Ex-Imperial. I resigned just a few months ago."
"Why'd you leave?" the other man asked.
"So I can join the reconstruction effort," Dorch answered simply. "From what I heard back in the Remnant, the Jedi need all the help they can get after they left the GA and now have their funding cut off from them."
"I can't imagine an Imperial caring about the Jedi like this," the man said.
"Well, not all of us hated them, you know," Vangur said. "In fact, our last leader was quite literally a Jedi lover. Can't blame him, she's quite a looker."
"Uh-huh," the other man said. "Yeah, I'll definitely interview you for an opinion when I report on Denon."
"I look forward to it," Dorch replied.
The other man reached over an open hand. "The name's Dab Hantaq."
Dorch clasped Dab's hand for a handshake. "Dorch Vangur."
Once they stopped shaking hands, a feminine, Corellian voice, most likely human, said into the PA in Basic, "Final flight for Denon arriving. I repeat, final flight for Denon arriving." As various other alien voices followed the woman's announcement in several other languages, Dorch and Dab stood up together and walked to the closed terminal for the Denon flight together.
~o~
Dorch and Dab stepped off the space shuttle with hundreds of other beings of various species, and they looked up upon the reconstruction project that most of them would be participating in; currently, there was no one working on it, so the shifts of those who were just working on it were over for the day. Before the crowd, however, standing in front of the rebuilding of Denon's Jedi Temple was a blonde Jedi Knight.
"Hello," the Knight said to the assembled crowd before her. "My name is Tahiri Veila. For the next few months, you will do all as I say as I supervise the reconstruction of the Temple behind me. Everybody got that?"
Everyone nodded with the occasional, "Yeah."
"Then let's get right to work," was all she said before she turned around and waved the crowd now behind her to follow her.
~o~
At midday, everyone broke for lunch, and they either sat on the ground, at various places on the incomplete Jedi Temple, or in the portable or makeshift tables that some of the workers brought along with them.
Tahiri Veila decided to sit by herself in the small, makeshift table she brought for herself, along with the foldable chair that came with the table. She was quietly eating her sandwich when she noticed the man who stepped before her. She looked up and saw the face of Imperial Lieutenant Dorch Vangur, the same guy who had been hitting on her prior to her and Boba Fett's battle with Abeloth on Hagamoor 3 several months earlier.
"You don't mind if I sit with you, do ya?" Vangur asked.
"Well, as you can see," Tahiri said, "I didn't bring any extra chairs with me. So, no, I'm afraid you can't sit with me." Her irritated tone belied her Jedi training; this guy wanted nothing more than to get into her pants, so he wasn't worth her time.
"So I can't even sit on the ground then?" Vangur asked.
Tahiri rolled her eyes. "Be my guest," she waved unenthusiastically with the hand holding her half-eaten sandwich.
"Thanks," he said as he sat down on the ground on the other side of Tahiri's table, with his head just barely above the tabletop and able to see her. He then set the lunch box that he carried in one hand down beside him and opened it up to take out the sandwich he had there to eat it.
A moment of awkward silence passed between them before Vangur broke it by asking, "So, how are you?"
"Eating my sandwich," Tahiri replied curtly. "How about you?"
"Uh, same here," Vangur replied hesitantly.
Another awkward moment of silence passed between them before Tahiri relented and asked, "So, why are you here among the workers? I thought you were a lieutenant back in the Remnant."
"I was, but I quit," Vangur said.
"Why?" Tahiri asked.
"So I could join the reconstruction effort," Vangur answered.
"Why?" Tahiri asked more inquisitively.
"Well, it's just that the Jedi seem like they need some help, is all," Vangur answered innocently. "So I figured: Why not help 'em?"
"You didn't strike me as the sentimental, helpful type when we first met, Vangur," Tahiri said. "Why are you really here?"
Vangur smirked. "All right, you got me. I'm here because I wanted to see you."
I knew it, Tahiri thought. "Well, I'm not in the mood of being asked out or anything like that, okay? I have a job to do, and at this point, I can't afford to be distracted by anything as trivial as this."
"Well, how 'bout after the reconstruction effort is done, eh?" he asked.
"Still, no," Tahiri said firmly. "I have other duties as a Jedi Knight, and I'll no doubt be sent by Grand Master Skywalker himself on some mission for the Order in the near future after I'm done with this project."
"Oh, c'mon," Vangur said. "I'm sure you can squeeze in some dinner dates with whatever super secret missions you'll be sent to do."
Tahiri sighed in frustration. "Look, Vangur, I..." She trailed off when she looked over hi head.
"You what?" Vangur asked, confused. He then twisted around to see what Tahiri was looking at. Staring back at the blonde Knight was Dab Hantaq, who seemed very nervous.
"Hey, Dab!" Vangur waved.
"Oh, hey, Dorch!" Dab replied with a wave that betrayed his nervousness. And with that, he walked away.
Vangur then turned back to Tahiri. Noticing a disturbed look on her face, he asked, "Hey, what's wrong?"
"N-nothing," she said unconvincingly before biting into her sandwich.
Vangur decided not to press the matter and bit into his sandwich again.
~o~
A few months later, the reconstruction effort was complete, and all of the workers were boarding the various shuttles near the Jedi Temple ready to lift them off.
Tahiri was among the mass of people moving to the shuttles. And in the midst of various beings, she and Dab Hantaq once again caught glances. He quickly looked away and continued going for his shuttle, leaving Tahiri a few moments of reverie even as she kept moving forward.
It's time to move away, she thought. Anakin would want me to be happy, I know it.
She then looked through the crowd, and spotted Vangur up ahead, heading to the shuttle that she was going to. How convenient, she thought sardonically.She moved towards him, somehow managing to politely shove through the throng of people to join him to his right.
"I've reconsidered," Tahiri said simply as she and Vangur further approached the shuttle.
"Oh," he replied mischievously. "You've reconsidered what?"
"Don't play with me, you know what I'm talking about," Tahiri replied with a tone that betrayed her slight amusement with his attitude.
"Yeah, but I wanna hear it from you," he said humorously.
Tahiri rolled her eyes. "Where ya headed?"
"Coruscant," Vangur replied as he and Tahiri began walking up the ramp.
"Well, if you wanna go out with me, you're gonna have to change your destination, because I'm not allowed there, remember?" Tahiri reminded him.
"Oh, yeah, that's right," Vangur replied when and Tahiri took their seats right next to each other. "Well, do you think the Jedi will mind me on Shedu Maad?"
"I'm sure they won't mind," she replied with a smile.
Vangur returned her smile. "All right, Shedu Maad, it is."
THE END.