Ryani Danee clutched her datapad to her chest, "Felix, I need to show this to you."
Distress cut deep lines in the corners of her mouth and eyes, and her autumn-gold skin was pale as she held out the pad. Felix took it from her, wondering what possibly could have affected his normally cool and collected Jedi so.
Felix was pretty sure his heart skipped a beat when he saw who the message was from. He looked up at her. She was worrying at her lip as she clasped her hands, twitching with agitation. Deep chocolate eyes flicked from the datapad he held, to his face and back.
"May I?"
"Please." Ryani's neat bob swung with the force of her nod.
He flicked it open to read the full message.
To: Ryani Danee, Barsen'thor of the Jedi Order
From: Satele Shan, Grandmaster of the Jedi Order
Re: Summons to Council
Greetings Master Danee,
It has come to the Council's attention that you appear to have formed an emotional attachment to one of the members of your crew. We find this deeply concerning, as you are aware of the Code and what it entails for a Master of the Order. You are summoned to Tython to speak to the Council regarding your involvement with this person.
May the Force guide you,
Grandmaster Satele
She was being summoned to Tython to discuss their relationship. The interrogation from the Master who had contacted him apparently hadn't been enough to reassure the Council. In his gut, he'd known it was a little too easy. His luck couldn't hold out that long. Ryani was fidgeting, a nervous habit he'd noticed right away back on Hoth. Stars… Felix knew it had to be too good to be true when Ryani had told him she returned his feelings. He thought she was the most beautiful thing in the galaxy, despite her insistence that she was plain for a Mirialan.
She was golden where all the pin-ups that inevitably ended up in soldiers' living quarters were bright shades of green, and her eyes a lovely, rich brown rather than the bright blue the most famous Mirialan models had. He loved the way her tattoos traced along her nose and the tops of her cheeks, the geometric pattern then arcing gracefully under the high, fine bones. Her gaze was warm, trusting, gentle, and loving, all at the same time. Not that her looks were what had drawn him to her at first. No, she'd been all bundled up against the frigid Hoth temperatures at the time, and he could only just see the delicate slope of her nose and full mouth through the ridiculous fur-edged jacket and the huge goggles she'd been wearing.
What had drawn him was the steady, firm confidence in her voice. She didn't yell or shout, didn't throw her weight around as a Jedi, or look down on any of his squad. Ryani had walked in, calmly explained what they were going to do, and then just made it happen.
Realizing she was waiting for a response from him, Felix cleared his throat and ran a hand through his short ginger hair. "Well, the interview I went through has to count for something, right? Do you think they're just trying to get a full perspective to give their blessing?"
"I don't know, Felix. Why would they summon me to Tython if that's all it was?" She started pacing back and forth across the bridge of the Light's Hope. "I haven't felt this uncertain in years."
"Not about us, I hope?"
"No, never about us. I just…" Felix watched as Ryani stopped pacing, and took a deep breath. He could almost see the calm flow over her as she took another deep breath before speaking again, "I've wanted to be a good Jedi Master since the first day I was brought into the Order. I can't help but wonder if the Masters will say I have to choose between you and being a Jedi."
Felix didn't even hesitate. "If they do, stay with the Jedi. You can do so much more for the galaxy as a Jedi than you could as a lieutenant's wife."
Ryani stepped up to him, threading her fingers with his, "You think I would give you up so easily?"
"That's not it. I want you to be happy, and if you've wanted to to be a Jedi since you were that young, I can't take that away from you."
"Felix…"
"No, Ryani. If they give you an ultimatum, I'm not worth it." Felix let out a harsh laugh. "I'm just a messed up soldier with a Sith holocron stashed in his head."
"You're worth it, Felix." Her fingers tightened on his. "You are worth leaving the Order for to me. If they can't understand that you keep me in balance, you help me do what I must as a Jedi, then I don't think I want to stay with the Order."
Felix grinned, "Really?"
"Absolutely." Letting go of his hands, she gave him the smile he thought of as his favorite. It was shy, but crept over her face like a sunrise, flushing her cheeks and bringing sparkles to her eyes. She sat in the captain's chair and punched in the coordinates for Tython.
"Well then, this should be an interesting trip, no matter what happens." He rested his hands on Ryani's shoulders. "Think the matriarch of that Twi'lek village you told me about will marry us?"
She looked over her shoulder at him, a thoughtful look on her face. "I'll see. If I'm going to get in trouble with the Council, it might as well be for getting married, as opposed to 'being involved'. I'm keeping my last name though, I like my name rhyming."
"I have no objections," Felix grinned. His heart felt like it was going to burst out of his chest.
He was marrying his Jedi.