And after all the obstacles
It's good to see you now with someone else
And it's such a miracle that
You and me are still good friends
After all that we've been through
I know we're cool
"I just have to stop by the box office and let them know that we're not going to need all the seats I reserved," Genna told Tech and Wrecker and Omega as they approached the stadium gate.
Tech didn't want to offend her generosity but he still offered, "If you need us to give you some credits for…"
"Oh, no," she smiled, halfheartedly. "I was given a pass a long time ago, since I used to play and… I'm supposed to be able to ask for free tickets to any match I want. I've just never done it before and… well if they can sell the seats we're not using."
She trailed off and hovered ahead of them to do just that.
Was she still upset with him? Tech wondered. When she made the offer of the tickets he should have just said, 'thank you,' and not sided with Hunter. Of course they could take a few hours off from the mission or use the opportunity to scope out the crowd.
Or perhaps it was strange for her to be back here after so long. Had she truly not entered these gates since her final game?
He stayed close to her with the others as she stated her intention to the clerk.
"Genna?" came the female voice from inside the booth. "Is it really you?"
"Uh. Yeah. It's me." Her smile was strained. "Had some… family in town so I decided to finally make use of that pass."
"Family?" The young woman eyed Genna's companions.
"Yeah," Genna pulled Omega toward her in a half hug and lied evenly, "my cousins Meg and Rick Saxon and…" she glanced back at Tech, her cheeks reddening slightly, "and Tech."
"That one's not a cousin too, is he?" The look she gave him made him wish he was still wearing his armor.
"No," Genna asserted. "He's… a friend." She gave a little cough and then added, "Guys, this is Mona. We were on the team together back when…" again she trailed off.
"Pleasure to meet you, Mona. Are you not playing in the match this evening?" Tech asked. He thought he might as well try to be polite to Genna's old friend.
"No, it's the men's team playing tonight. Didn't Genna tell you?"
"To tell the truth I don't even know who we're playing," Genna shrugged, obviously ready to be away.
"Well, I'll just have to let it be a surprise." The girl gave him one more lascivious look and then turned back to Genna. "Do you know where your seats are?"
"Yeah, thanks. We can find our way."
…
Genna led them to a lift which brought them to a row about halfway up the stands that didn't require the use of steps and featured a wide aisle and an empty space between regular seats into which she could maneuver her own chair. She did so silently and with the skill of one who had had plenty of practice steering the mobility vehicle.
"It's very considerate that the university provides these accommodations," Tech observed.
"I always knew this was here. Never thought I'd be the one to use it." Genna turned her attention towards Omega who was attempting to press down the seat next to their host.
It was the child's first experience with spring loaded stadium seating and as with all things that were new to her in this galaxy she faced the challenge with wonder and excitement. First she pushed down the seat and watched it pop right back up again with delight. Then she pushed it down and quickly turned while holding it in place to sit on the very edge. Carefully she scooched backwards until the spring over balanced and folded her knees up to her chest. She yelped in surprise.
Genna laughed and reached out a hand to help. It was the first time Tech had seen her truly smile since they had been back on the planet. He couldn't help but wish, however, that the smile could be turned in his direction.
"Thank you, Genna," he began and she did turn to look at him, some of that smile still lingering, "For the invitation and for taking the time out of your schedule to…"
Omega interrupted him. "What's a Saxon?" Now that the little girl was settled in her seat she was looking around at the stands that were filling with people but her curiosity over what Genna had said earlier must have gotten the best of her.
"Oh," Genna returned her attention to the inquiry and as she answered Tech pulled up the information on his datapad almost before the words were out of her mouth. "It was my mother's clan back on Mandalore. I supposed if I was going to claim you as family it might as well be believable."
Tech studied the readout. It was technically true, what she said, that she had Saxon cousins back in the Mandalore system. What she hadn't mentioned was the fact that her cousins were now some of those who were ready to fill the power vacuum left in the wake of the murders of the Duchess and the Prime Minister. He wondered if she knew, or just remembered the name spoken in her childhood.
But their conversation had moved on and now Genna was pointing out things of interest around the stadium and teaching Omega the words to the fight song that was blaring over the sound system.
Well, perhaps he could exhibit his knowledge about the sport or about this specific match since Genna had been unable to gather that information ahead of time. "I have downloaded the program for this evening's match. It seems that the opposing team has traveled from the planet Kuat."
He could tell she was listening now because she had stopped goofing off with Omega and was now sitting up a bit straighter in her seat, though she was not looking at him.
"Yes," he continued. "Their star player was actually from Onderon and transferred to that University after his first season. Given the timing it might have been someone you…"
Tech looked up and his eyes met hers which were wide in horrified disbelief.
"Genna, look!" Omega was waving at a hovering cam droid. "We're on the big screen!"
And indeed she was correct, the image on the jumbo holoprojector that generally served as the scoreboard had captured the shocked expression of the young woman sitting to his left.
" Our Very Own Genna Carid! " The announcer's voice boomed around the stadium and was answered by cheers and applause.
She attempted a smile and a small wave, obviously uncomfortable with the attention, as the voice went on to elaborate on her exceptional season a few years previously and even replayed her game winning kick.
There was also a still image of Genna, with her short, dark hair, sitting back to back with a dark haired young man atop the University of Onderon sign. They were both smiling.
" And what a night for homecomings! " The announcer continued. " As we play host to another native son: Nathon Skelari! "
The crowd went wild as the screen projected another series of images of the young man with whom Genna had obviously been acquainted both when he played for the home team and more recent images wearing the other team's colors.
Genna's hand had moved to the controls of her hoverchair as if she were contemplating an escape.
Tech leaned towards her and whispered loudly over the noise of the crowd but so only she could hear him, "we don't have to stay if you don't wish to."
She was looking at him appreciatively of his concern when the hovering holocam focused on her once again and she glanced down at his hand laid on top of hers on the arm of her chair.
" So now the question is: who will our Miss Carid be supporting in the upcoming match? "
A determined light lit her ice blue eyes and a grin spread across her face. Then she slipped her hand from beneath his and brought both her hands together into the shape of a circle. She held up the "O" for Onderon to the hovercam. And then pumped her fist to the sky, "Go Rupings!"
They couldn't have heard her but the message was clear and she spent the rest of the match yelling encouragement to the home team.
In the seat beside her, Omega copied every gesture and no doubt added a few words to her vocabulary that wouldn't necessarily be appropriate for a young girl to use in polite conversation. Barring that however, the two of them certainly enjoyed their shared enthusiasm and held out hope of the outcome until the final buzzer was sounded, at which point Genna relaxed against the back of her seat with a sigh.
"I'm sorry it wasn't a very exciting match. Rupings didn't put up much of a fight, did they?"
"No, I thought it was great!" Omega jumped up and began to demonstrate a series of kicks and feints she had picked up from observation in the wide aisle in front of their seats. Wrecker had to pull her back when a group of fans wanted to get past them to leave the stadium.
Genna turned to Tech. "And I'm sorry about the holocams. I had no idea they'd make such a fuss about my being here and I know you were trying to keep a low profile."
"Ah it's alright," Wrecker grinned. "We're your cousins from Mandalore, right?"
"All the same," Tech interjected. "It might be wise for us to make our exits separately to lessen the chance of one of us being seen and recognized on the holonet should the press decide to accost Genna on the way out."
"We're not going to leave her all alone?" Omega protested.
"I'll be fine," Genna assured her. "I was going to hang around for a while anyway till there's a clear path to the lift." She patted the arm of her hoverchair. "You all go ahead."
Wrecker lifted his sister onto his shoulder. "Come on, Meg. We'll leave these two to catch up in a bit."
"OH," Omega covered a giggle as if she had just figured out a grand joke. "See you later!"
And the two of them bounded away.
"What was that all about?" Genna laughed.
Tech was fairly sure that the reason for his siblings' hasty departure was so that he and Genna could have a moment alone. If you could count it as being alone in a stadium that was slowly emptying of it's crowd of people. He cleared his throat to say something but she beat him to the punch.
"You really don't have to stay. I can find my own way. I was actually thinking of going down to see the old locker room -" She broke off suddenly and shook her head.
"What is it?" Tech asked.
"There are three steps down from the pitch level into the locker rooms. We used to jump over them for good luck before every match. Guess I won't be doing that."
He wanted to console her, to offer a comforting word or gesture but the only thing he could manage was, "I'll stay in order to make sure that you get home safely."
Was she right? She had said in the comm that when he saw something broken he wanted to fix it. Here was this young woman sitting next to him who was broken. She had called him noble but at the moment he felt mostly useless.
She laid a hand on his knee. He hadn't even realized he had been bouncing his leg in nervous agitation. And then he observed her smile. "I think it may have cleared out enough for us to make it to the lift."
He scanned the area. "You're right." He stood and pressed himself back against his seat so that she could pass in front of him down the aisle in her chair and lead the way.
When they reached the quiet of the lift he made another attempt at conversation though it was probably the wrong thing to say. "Do you miss it, playing the beautiful game I mean?"
She considered but thankfully didn't seem to be offended by the question. "Some, I guess. It was a lot of pressure to perform, to be the best. What I really miss most is dancing."
He would have liked to inquire further on that topic but just then the lift control chimed and the door swept open and the lobby was full of the flash of holocams and the voices of reporters.
They weren't there waiting for Genna specifically. They were all clustered around a young dark haired male. It was the star player for the opposing team, the one who had transferred away from the University of Onderon.
Nathon Skelari had been in the process of introducing the radiant young woman beside him, "... my fiancée, Vivian…" when the press caught sight of who was exiting the lift.
In a flash, Genna was surrounded and her hoverchair was being guided towards the unsolicited reunion. She was put at a distinct disadvantage as the reporter stooped to ask what her thoughts were about all this.
"If anyone is entitled to his success, it's my old friend Nate," she held her head high and regulated her expression into something that could be considered convivial. "He's been training hard for as long as I've known him."
Nate stepped toward her and took her hand, holding it for a tad longer than necessary. "I had no idea if I'd have the chance to see you while I was back in town," he said in a softer voice as if they weren't surrounded by an audience and his new girlfriend.
"Well, I guess I picked the right night to come out and catch a match." She drew her hand back self consciously. "You played well."
Tech stood outside the circle of holocams where he had been shoved in the commotion. That was probably a good thing. It wouldn't be prudent to have his image splashed all over the net when he and his squad were avoiding Imperial detection. But he also couldn't leave Genna in that vulnerable position.
"Pardon me!" He elbowed his way through the crowd, took hold of the handles at the back of Genna's hoverchair, and bent close enough to whisper in her ear. (close enough to brush a kiss against her cheek if he had dared) "Are you ready to go, cyar'ika ?" he said, loud enough for those closest to them to hear.
"Who is this?" Nathon asked, affronted.
"He's… my boyfriend," Genna stated with only a slight hesitation. "And yes. I think I've had enough excitement for one day."
She waved away any further questions as they made their way through the press and out into the balmy evening.
When they were far enough away to resume a normal conversation he spoke. "I hope that was alright. Your predicament suggested the need for a rescue mission."
"Yes, thank you." Genna was perfectly capable of piloting her own mobility vehicle but she allowed him to continue to push her while her mind tumbled over the events. "Did you see her? Of course it figures he'd end up with a blonde." She fidgeted with her own binary colored hair.
"So you did know him?" Tech asked, going for a casual tone of voice.
"Nathon and I were never what anyone would have called friends." That didn't tell the whole story, he was certain. But then she said, "you called me cyar'ika ."
"You had already introduced your guests as being from Mandalore so I believed the language to be appropriate and you introduced me as your…"
"That's what my Buir used to call my Mama."