As the transport lifted on the clear, bright Nubian morning, Aala was afforded a spectacular view of her home city of Theed.

In fact, she had not been born here – they had lived far away from the city for years, leading a simple life in the mountains until after Padmé had been born – but Theed had come to be her home almost at once.

Of course she had seen Naboo this way, from the sky, many times before, but she took comfort in it now, thinking of it as a keystone she could always come back to.

After the time she'd spent on Alderaan and the way she had flourished there, it had come to be much of a home to her as well – while Theed was her foundation, her grounding, Aldera was where she had learned to soar. Her feet on the ground, and her head in the clouds. And now, even as she chided herself for silly musings, she thought perhaps her heart had found a home as well, with Obi-Wan, wherever he was.

Sighing softly, Aala turned her attention back to the picturesque landscape below her. The rising sun glinted off the very tops of the rounded buildings, but the reflection was muted by the earth tones, the warm browns and greens that were the makeup of the city. Instead of being glittery, Theed seemed to glow from within, like an ember, with warmth and love and light.

Venturing into the unknown now, Aala hoped it could be a sign that somehow those very things could be preserved in the galaxy. She would not pretend to hope Naboo would survive untouched by darkness again, but she would hope if it was, it's light would not be destroyed.

The spaceport in Coronet City was second to no other in the galaxy. The planetside facilities provided docking and landing for any number or variety of starships and offered a wide array of goods and services for every type of traveler. It was mid-morning local time when Aala arrived on Corellia and the spaceport was crowded and bustling.

Security and customs was well established and detailed, though there seemed to be little Imperial presence. Getting through hadn't been as difficult as Aala had feared it might, but still it seemed far more thorough and time consuming than it had been before.

Personal documents were perused with a scrutiny they hadn't been before, at two separate inspection points, and her items were scanned carefully, checked against a long list of prohibitions. The lengthy lines and the waiting were annoying, but she never felt suspected.

And for the moment at least, Aala had the continued safety of being virtually unknown; she had never garnered any public attention. It helped that Padmé had always used her regal last name instead of their given one so they were not readily linked, and Aala still had her status as an Ambassador to expedite her through interminable security checks.

There was one particular irksome concern, however, that would not leave her alone. If anyone were to discover her connection to Obi-Wan... it was so unlikely, but the danger was there. Not only that, she told herself, but if she was worrying about her own safety... she was soon to become fully embroiled in a resistance movement against a merciless Empire. The concept of such unspeakable violence, the kind she had heard rumors of, was entirely foreign to her. It was different than the war - it was oppression, and brutality, and desperation she didn't think she fully comprehended.

But for the moment, she was only a tourist, and no one seemed to care. She made a mental note, though, to figure out if she had any contact that could forge her new ID chips. Someday she might need them.

After stowing her bag in a locker, she double checked her appearance. Her blonde hair was loose and she had on a short, dark jacket and brown trousers – comfortable and practical, but she thought she'd blend into the general population fairly well.

As she stepped out onto the city streets, it began to rain, a light, cold drizzle and she pulled on the hood of her jacket so it would cover her face.

According to her research, her destination was only a few blocks away, so she began at a brisk walk, weaving through the haphazard throng of beings, mostly human, on the sidewalks and tried to avoid traffic. Ten minutes later, she stood outside one of the tallest buildings in the center of Cornet City, craning her neck to take it in, bottom to top.

Cautious of the slick concrete, she took one little leap from the sidewalk and crossed the street. With careful thought, she considered her options one more time, but her gut instinct told her to shoot from the hip.

When she first saw his name on Bail's list, she had decided right away; she felt she could trust him. If she was being naive... well, it might get her killed, but her instincts had never steered her wrong before.

The rain was falling harder now, from a cloudy gray sky, and it was beginning to soak her jacket. Aala took a deep breath, committing to her final decision.

Walking into the building, she assessed the room at a glance. It was a large lobby, with polished marble floors and plain, modern decor. There were a number of professionals, none of them paying any attention to her, three lifts on the far wall, only the one main entrance and a security desk in the back corner along side the lifts. A bored looking guard sat in a big chair behind the security desk.

Aala adopted a sweet smile, and sauntered in his direction doing her best to exude 'I belong here, no need to question me' which usually worked quite effectively.

As she approached, he gave her a once over, a smirk showing on his face as he finally met her eyes again. Shifting her hips, she smiled back, leaning over the tall desk. "Can you call Mr. Ryen for me?" she asked, the tone of her voice warm.

"Sure thing," he replied, his gaze coming to rest somewhere decidedly south of her face.

Well, that was easy.

Activating the comm on the panel in front of him, he leaned forward to speak into it. "There's a pretty blonde here to see you, boss." He continued to leer at her, openly staring and Aala felt her irritation rising but she smiled back. I suppose the catch is I have to stand here and be ogled while I wait.

"You're not his usual type," he said, looking her over again as he scratched at the unkempt stubble on his chin.

"Oh?" The smile was getting harder and harder to fake. Flirting was one thing, but she could feel him undressing her with his eyes, as if she was nothing more than a pretty body.

"Yeah..." His brow knitted as he seemed to struggle with some thought.

Don't hurt yourself, she wanted to say, but she bit the inside of her cheek instead.

"He likes blondes... but they're usually more... erm... curvy." He grinned, eyeing her chest again.

Curvy? 'Curvy' is the word you were trying to think of? That's it. No sane woman would put up with this. And she was about to give him a - measured - piece of her mind when a strong, masculine arm slipped around her waist pulling her back into a broad chest.

Well, here we are again. And she turned her head to meet the warm brown eyes of Jace Ryen. Aala was struck immediately by how different they were, how different he looked. She caught a quick glimpse of a tailored suit and trimmed dark hair, but she was drawn to his eyes. There was a glint of something there that been absent the last time, and she was caught off guard by that and his easy smile.

"You're a little early for lunch, sweetheart," he said, his voice teasing and familiar.

Dazed for a moment she just stared at him, but she quickly shook herself out of it. "I wanted to see you," she answered, playing along.

"I only left you a few hours ago," he chided her with a grin. "I figured you'd sleep all morning." Jace winked at the guard, who leered in return.

Aala bit the inside of her cheek again.

And looking at Jace, she did notice there was a charming shadow of stubble across his jaw that suggested he had indeed had a long night and a quick morning. Of all the annoying...

"C'mon, I'll take you out, anyway." Wrapping his arm around her waist, he nodded to the guard and turned her toward the front door.

As they fell into step he looked down at her again, one eyebrow raised as she met his questioning gaze.

"...um," she started.

He shook his head as they approached the door, the corner of his mouth lifting. "Just smile. We have company."

"What?"

The flash of a holocamera went off in her face as soon as they stepped outside. Temporarily rendered blind from the strobe of light, she found herself leaning into Jace as he led her on, and she just knew he was smirking.

Jace smiled to himself as he guided her into the back of an expensive speeder, his hand on her lower back. She finally looked up again as the door closed, surprised, as if she hadn't known how she had gotten there.

He wanted to laugh, but he held it back. Alright, maybe that was a little mean, he thought. The press had been relentless since his most recent, very public breakup with the daughter of a high-powered Corellian shipping industrialist and were clamoring for a new story. Unfortunately for Aala, she'd just walked right into one.

But he wasn't going to let her off the hook, he was far too curious about this unexpected turn of events. For her to just show up out of nowhere...

Jace nodded to his driver then looked at her expectantly, all pretense of their acting gone, but she didn't offer him anything.

"You know," he started, "they aren't supposed to call me like that... unless a visitor has an appointment, or they're on the list..."

"Oh?" she gave him an innocent look.

"There's only one person presently on the list, and he's not a blonde," Jace couldn't help but grin.

"Hm," she shrugged. "Your security guy liked my... charms."

Ah, the benefits of being a woman. "Your charms are very nice," he agreed, but to his credit, he thought, his gaze didn't stray from her face.

Admittedly though, it might have had more to do with the threatening look he'd seen her giving the guard when he approached, rather than his own polite manners.

Aala looked at him intently for a moment, and he swore he saw a glint of amusement as she turned away. Fine then, if she wanted to play coy, he was game. "I'm more than happy to buy you lunch, sweetheart, but I'm guessing you didn't come all this way for a date."

Looking forward, she shook her head. "Not quite," she confirmed, but then cast him a small smile. "I am hungry, though."

Jace chuckled. "Fair enough." And he shook his head, he was more than intrigued. When she'd handed him her number on Vorzyd V, maybe he'd had a feeling he would see her again, but still he was shocked as hell to be sitting in the back of a speeder with her now on Corellia.

He couldn't help but feel she had no idea what she was getting herself into. She looked almost exactly like he remembered, except her hair was down, which he thought suited her, and her clothes were far less... fun. Dressed like this, she would blend in with anyone here on the street, but the world he lived in – it was different. He hoped for her sake, she wasn't planning on staying for long.

But still, he'd never quite shaken the look in her eyes that night as they spoke. A look that said she cared. It was something he hadn't seen in a long, long time. And she'd proven herself more than capable in difficult situations, no thanks to him.

It seemed she had no fear – waltzing into Comtech and demanding his attention so easily... Yet still, she was guarded, playing her hand, and he could only imagine what kind of crazy hand she was holding, close to the chest.

Even now, she gazed out the window, watching the streets of Coronet City pass by as if she were here only for a leisurely visit. Her face was the picture of calm, but at the same time she was fidgeting with a ring on her finger as if she was nervous.

Jace was mystified by the dichotomy. But if she wanted to take her time to try to get a read on his character, that was fine by him, he could do the same and he had all the time in the world.

So why do I have the bad feeling that even if I had years, I still wouldn't be able to completely figure her out, he thought to himself with a bit of resignation.

The one thing he was sure of, though, fate had dropped her on his doorstep, and he had no doubt it would be an interesting ride.

AN: Thank you to laloga, Queen, sachariah and Danielle for your awesome reviews! It means a lot :)

Thanks for reading and please feel free to leave any comment! Let me know what you think of Jace, new OC's are scary :)