New chapter up! I really like this story and I hope everyone is enjoying it just as much.

Nikka POV

I sat off to the side of the hanger, watching as Theron's shuttle landed. It had only been a day since Corso arrived, so I was fairly confident Theron knew nothing about his presence, unless he had someone on base relaying information and that someone was paying very close attention to me. I doubted he was having me followed, though it wouldn't surprise me.

I stood and walked over to Theron as he exited the ship. He saw me and smiled.

"You must have missed me. You don't normally greet me at the ship when I come back from offworld." He said, pulling me towards him and kissing me quickly on the lips.

"I did miss you, but I have something I need to talk to you about and I wanted to make sure you heard it from me first."

Theron gave me a concerned look, but nodded. We headed to a quiet corner of the hanger.

"So, what's got you so worried?" He asked. "You do know it's never good when someone says 'we need to talk'. What'd I do?"

"It's nothing like that." I took a deep breath to steel my nerves. "You know that group of mercenaries that were supposed to arrive yesterday? The ones Rogan sent our way?"

Theron nodded.

"Well, they did arrive. My ex-husband was with them."

Theron's eyes widened.

I held a hand up, to stop him from speaking. "Before you freak out, I've already spoken to him and we've come to an agreement which will allow both of us to be here and not cause any issues."

"You talked with him alone?"

I scoffed. "Of course not. I'm not stupid. Bowdaar was with me. I was not going to talk to him alone. I would've been too tempted to shoot him. But I did let him explain himself. I know he didn't deserve it, but I was curious."

"Did he tell you why he left?" Theron asked, crossing his arms over his chest. If I knew Theron, he was probably thinking of several 'accidents' which could befall my ex.

"He did, but I don't really want to talk about it."

"Fair enough. He's not looking to get you back, is he?" Theron asked, sounding worried.

"Of course he is, but I shut that down right away." I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him gently. "I told him I've moved on and he'll just need to be okay with it or leave. As far as I'm concerned I traded way up."

Theron wrapped his arms around my waist. "Well...good. So, what I'm hearing is, you won't let me shoot him?"

"No, you cannot shoot him. Besides, if he tried anything, you'd have to get behind Rio and Bowdaar in line. They've known me longer."

"Well, by then, he'd be beaten to within an inch of his life and missing a few limbs. Barely worth shooting him at that point. Better to just let him die from blood loss. Shooting him would only put him out of his misery."

I slapped Theron on the shoulder. "Not funny. Please promise you won't do anything."

Theron pulled away and leaned up against the wall. "How about this...you point him out to me, then we stop by the cantina, grab a bottle of wine, then go back to your ship and I show you just how much I missed you."

I approached him, placing my hands on his chest. "You feel the need to claim what's yours. Very manly. It sounds like a plan, but I do have one caveat. Once you know who he is, you will not shoot him, stab him or do any other physical damage, unless he does something serious to deserve it. And no having him followed, either."

Theron pouted slightly, but nodded. I knew how his mind worked. He was a spy and he thought like one. Unfortunately for him, I'd been with Theron long enough that I knew a thing or two about thinking like a spy, too. "Agreed."

"Good." I took him by the arm and we headed into the base. "Let's go find Corso, so we can get to the claiming part of our evening."

Corso POV

I sat in the cantina with the guys, a drink in front of me, which I wasn't drinking.

It shouldn't have surprised me that Nikka was with the Alliance. She had always been good about being where the action was and with her brother being the commander and all. I had been so happy when I first saw her. Finally, I'd have the chance to explain things to her. I'd get a chance to make things right.

She had let me say my piece, but she was hostile and obviously didn't like me or trust me, since she asked Bowdaar to be there for our conversation. I really couldn't blame her. I'd been an idiot. It had hurt to learn she'd moved on. What had I thought, she'd swear off men if she couldn't have me? Part of me thought she would be like other Jedi and no longer allow herself to make personal attachments. That would have been easier to hear.

I had told her we could live and work together for the Alliance and that was what I planned to do, though I'd wait and watch. Before me, she'd never had a truly serious relationship. With any luck, she was still just as flighty with relationships and my chance might come again.

"Hey, Riggs." Lomo said, nudging me hard on the shoulder. "You alright, man? I asked you a question."

I snapped out of my musings. "Sorry. I was just thinking. What did you ask again?"

The zabrak snorted, then turned his attention to the entrance of the cantina. "I said, that's your ex, isn't it?"

I looked to where Lomo was looking and saw Nikka walk in, along with the man she had been with on Coruscant during her brother's funeral. They were talking quietly, neither of them looking in our direction. They headed to where her brother was currently sitting with one of his advisors.

"Yeah, that's Nikka." I said, finally taking a gulp of my drink. It was hard to see her with another man, even though they weren't touching in any way which would imply they were together.

The human next to me, Inep, whistled. "Damn, man. You were married to HER and just walked away. Did you honestly think you could do better?"

I stayed quiet. I didn't know what to say. I didn't want to explain about her gifts with the Force. Not many people knew about her abilities and I didn't want to betray her trust. It wasn't my secret to tell, no matter the situation.

"If I had a piece of that, I'd…" Lomo began to say, still eyeing Nikka.

"I'd be careful if I were you." I warned. "She's the Alliance commander's baby sister, like a daughter to Rogan and her best friend's a wookie."

The comment made the guys stop talking, but we all watched her as she and her male friend walked over to join the commander.

Nikka POV

We walked into the cantina and I could sense Corso before I spotted him. I saw him with the corner of my eye, so as not to look directly at him. Theron stood next to me, waiting. I knew he had already taken a good look at the entire cantina, so when I pointed out Corso, he wouldn't need to look again to see him.

"Back table, the human between the zabrak and the other human. The one with his hair up on the back of his head." I said with a smile.

Theron nodded and we continued into the cantina towards the table where my brother and Lana were sitting. He got his look subtly and expertly, then gave me a confused look. "That guy? Not what I was expecting."

I laughed. "Trust me, he's probably the last person you'd ever guess was my ex-husband. He was never my type, but it worked. At least for a while."

Theron shrugged. "As per our agreement, I'll drop the subject and leave him alone. Let's collect that bottle of wine and get out of here...though I think your brother wants a word. I know that look."

I glanced over at Rio. He wasn't gesturing at all, but the look in his eyes showed Theron was right. We walked over to his table.

"Ah, Theron. I see you made it back. Mission go well?" Rio asked.

"As well as can be expected. Negotiations aren't always smooth. There's a lot of potential support out there, but getting any official backing is exhausting."

Rio nodded. "Well, if anyone can talk up the validity of our cause, it's you. I have complete faith in you, Theron." He looked over at me, then back at Theron. "Mind if I have a word with Nikka?"

"I'll head over and get that wine." Theron said to me, being followed by Lana.

I sat down next to Rio. I could tell he was mildly worried.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Are you gonna to be okay with Corso here? I know it can't be easy to have your ex-husband around, especially with Theron."

I smiled at Rio reassuringly. It was sweet he worried about my happiness, with everything else going on in the galaxy.

"It's fine. We talked and I think we can live on the same planet and both be fully functional. He's a good fighter and will be valuable to you. He knows I moved on, so I don't see him causing any trouble for Theron and I. I also just pointed him out to Theron. He's agreed not to bother him, so long as Corso keeps his promise to leave me alone." I took Rio's hand and squeezed it. "I love that you worry about me, when you have so much to worry about. Really. There are a half dozen people on this planet who'll hurt him if he tries anything and he knows it."

"I guess having the commander, a spy and a wookie watching, he'd be stupid to try anything."

"Oh, and a Sith. Lana offered to dispatch him for me, too. Her words. She also went all rigid and sithy. I actually considered taking her up on her offer for a few seconds. It would have been fun to watch."

Rio laughed and so did I. By then, Lana and Theron returned. Theron was carrying a bottle of red wine.

"What's so funny?" Lana asked, sitting back in the seat she had recently vacated.

"Oh, just discussing what it must be like to have this base gunning for you. Since three of you are here, I'm going to say again...leave it alone. We all have more important things to do. Corso will behave and if he doesn't, I'll probably be the one shooting him."

"And speaking of things to do…" Theron said, grabbing my hand and urging me to my feet. "...we have things to do. I'll give you a full debrief tomorrow morning, Commander."

We said our goodbyes and headed out of the cantina, still holding hands. I was sure Corso was watching and the vindictive part of me was loving his misery.

To Be Continued...