Apollon shuffled down the hall as he made his way to his apartment, hands in his pockets. He glanced at the Tarkays' door and felt the urge to open it.
He pressed the button and the door slid open. The inside of the house was completely empty.
It made him sad, for some reason. He'd never liked the Tarkays' apartment, ill-kept, cluttered and full of bickering Weequays.
It was Portia he missed, he realized as he walked in, triggering the automatic light. She'd lived next door to him ever since he decided to buy a room outside of the university dorms. Now she was living with Leela, and seemed all the more inaccessible for the fact that he and Leela were forbidden to see each other. He could still see Portia, of course, but not without feeling as though he were infringing on Leela and her father.
He leaned against the counter. There was no couch, no chairs, and for once, the room was actually clean.
Apollon sighed. He pressed the light switch as he walked out. Hopefully no one had seen the light in the window.
He entered his apartment and flopped down on his couch. His homework was all finished, transmitted to his professors ahead of schedule. He grabbed a datapad from the table and pulled a mindless game.
He pulled back a slingshot with his finger, flinging colored energy balls at the shields of an enemy fortress. It reminded him of what he was going to be doing very soon.
His thoughts turned morbid as he analyzed the weak points in the game's level. One carefully placed hit to that box… He sent it flying. The box exploded, sending the blocks around it flying through the air. Circles representing enemy forces popped like balloons made of smoke. As calculated, one of the flying boxes crashed into the shield generator and shattered it to pieces. The enemy- what was left of it- was completely defenseless. Apollon launched a white ball high into the air, tapped the screen, and watched a second white ball drop straight down and obliterate the rest of the fortress.
He received a three-star score. It was too easy. Sighing, he switched off the datapad and put it back. Maybe he would just take a nap.
He didn't know if he had fallen asleep or not, but if he had, he was awoken by a knock at the door. He rushed over and pressed it open.
"Leela!" he gasped. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm a rebel now," Leela grinned.
"Leela, you can't just-" Apollon sputtered as Leela walked into the room. She whistled as she looked around. "I was expecting something shabbier."
"I clean up nice. You should see the rest of the building. Wait a minute!" Apollon slapped his forehead. "Leela, you're not supposed to be here! You're going to get in so much trouble! I might get in trouble!"
"Portia's covering for me," Leela grinned, sitting on the couch. "Is this rancor leather?"
"Synth leather. Leela!" Apollon threw up his hands. "I can't believe this."
"Come on, Apollon, you know my papa's wrong about the Rebellion," said Leela. "I want to help. I want to fight. And I want to be with you."
Apollon sighed. "Look, I want all those things too, but it's just not-"
He sighed and sat down on the couch with her. "Look, I'm happy to see you, but we can't."
"Yes we can," Leela insisted. "When does the revolt start?"
"Tomorrow," said Apollon. "But Leela, I'm afraid-"
"Don't worry," Leela assured him. "I can handle myself." She took something out of her pocket.
"A holdout pistol?" Apollon whistled. "Nice quality, too."
"Blurgg-1120," said Leela proudly. "Papa got it for me ages ago to defend myself. And I happen to know Hera Syndulla uses one of these."
Apollon sighed. "I still don't think it's a good idea. If you sneak out to help us, your dad will be livid."
"I can deal with that later," Leela waved. "Pasir will be free! He'll see how wonderful it will be."
"I don't think so," Apollon shook his head. "Not if his perception of a post-Empire Pasir is tainted by that kind of betrayal. No, Leela. I'm sorry. If you want any chance of us being together when this is over, you'll sit this one out. I don't know if your dad would ever forgive you if you helped us. He certainly wouldn't forgive me."
Leela sighed. "I guess you're right. Family is more important."
"Don't worry," said Apollon, putting a hand on her shoulder. "We can manage on our own. You don't need to betray your dad's trust like this."
She slipped her blaster back into her pocket. "I wish I could help."
"You can," Apollon reassured her. "Do you have any friends? Besides me and Portia? If you could talk them into helping us…"
Leela snapped her fingers. "Koodo!"
"What does that mean?" asked Apollon. "I don't speak Huttese."
"It's not Huttese. He's a Rodian," Leela explained. "He's our next-door neighbor. My papa rescued him from under a shorted hovercart back when he was prime minister of Montal."
"Back when he was what?" Apollon's eyes widened.
"He'll gladly join the fight!" Leela exclaimed. "I'll tell him to meet you guys at Khojaw's!"
"Great!" Apollon clapped her on the shoulder. "Now go before your dad finds out you're here."
"Okay." She threw her arms around him. "May the Force be with you."
He smiled and hugged her back. "See you on the other side, Leela."