The five enjoyed dinner in an upscale restaurant located in a quaint village on a planet bordering the Unknown Regions. In all actuality just four of them enjoyed their dinner. Brodey was way too captivated by his date to give a second thought to what he had just eaten. It was the most delicious thing he'd tasted in the past three years of living on his own, yet she seemed to be ten times as succulent.

They chatted afterward over hot caffe, talking about recent adventures and life during the Vong threat. Jaina finally disclosed the story of her drinking, which led to many other stories of drinking experiences from Anja and Brodey alike. The two kept on trying to good-naturedly one-up each other while the others looked on and laughed at their horrendous tales.
Jag and Brodey traded insults only a few times during the meal but their antics gave rise to a new catch phrase for Kyp Durron.

"I've got a blaster pointed at you under the table," Kyp warned. "You don't want me to shoot you."

"Sorry," Mumbled Jag and Brodey at the same time.

"Are you guys just about ready to pay and go dancing?" Anja asked eagerly.

"You bet we are!" Brodey said, smiling at his date as he put an arm around her shoulders and hugged her close.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Jaina cried happily, showing more color in her face than she had all day.


"So, where am I headed?" Brodey asked as he got behind the controls of his ship.

"It's a small club called Sorte Ma," Jaina said while peeking over his shoulder out the viewport. "I know where it is, if you want me to take us there."

"You might as well sit down now, Solo, because you're not flying this ship," Brodey scolded her with a grin.

"You're no fun!" She scowled, taking her seat next to Jag and instantly forgetting the entire argument.

Brodey tried to concentrate on flying but his thoughts were only of Anja. She seemed to realize the effect she had on him by now and she reached out to gently touch his arm, smiling as he startled a bit.

"Are we getting close?" She asked softly.

"I don't know. I already told Kyp that I don't know squat about relationships," Brodey joked.

"I was talking about the club, silly," Anja laughed, her voice ringing out sweetly.

"I know," He replied, glancing over to look into her eyes.

"Eyes on the sky, nerf-herder," Crowed Jaina from the back and Brodey felt a firm kick on the back of his pilot's seat. He ignored it, focusing instead on landing the Stingray next to the nightspot.

"We're here," Brodey sighed. "Now you can stop insulting my piloting abilities."

"Never gonna see that happen, flyboy," Jaina retorted as she followed Jag down the landing ramp.

"Ignore her," Anja winked, taking hold of Brodey's arm.

"With you here I have no worries about how I'm going to accomplish that," He replied as he led her inside. Kyp was the last one to exit, following closely behind.

"Wow!" Jaina yelled over the din of the music. "I've never seen a club this packed before!"

"You've obviously never been in a good club!" Brodey shouted back. He felt a gentle hand travel across his chest and he looked down to see Anja admiring the glowing blue in his clothing.

"See Kyp, I told you she'd like the blue," He hollered, turning his head in Kyp's direction, but the jedi master wasn't where he'd been a second ago. On a quick scan of the surrounding area Brodey determined that Kyp was nowhere to be found.

'He can take care of himself,' Brodey thought as he went with Anja toward the dance floor.

The floor was filled with many brightly dressed youngsters. All were writhing to the booming bass, trying to steal a moment of levity during these dire times. Brodey noted the similarities of the music to the club music back home, and a brief wave of nostalgia came over him. It quickly passed as Anja wrapped her arms around his torso and pressed her body against his. He touched foreheads with her, wondering to himself how this woman could have so much power over him without the force. She smiled roguishly at him as she grabbed his hand and twirled around under his arm.

"Show me what you got, flyboy," She challenged.

Brodey led her into a succession of difficult dance moves before she could say another word. Some of the steps were ones he'd picked up as a club kid, but most were from his formal dance training. He found himself quite grateful for this training since she obviously knew what she was doing. She grinned back at him, her eyes lighting up happily with surprise at his capability as a dancer.

"You're phenomenal!" She cried over the thundering music. "Where did you learn to dance like that?"

"Charm school!" He yelled back and was rewarded with a small smack on the chest. Brodey laughed and yanked her closer to him, until their noses were almost touching.

"Are you going to kiss me, or are you going to let somebody interrupt us again?" Anja asked, softly touching her finger to his lips.

Brodey bent down and claimed her lips with his own. He kissed her hungrily, drinking from her flushed lips like they were the elixir of life. It was the first real kiss that he'd ever shared with a woman and she made him dizzy with passion.

'Maybe you just need to come up for air every once in a while,' Kyp suggested. Brodey broke free from this kiss long enough to spot Kyp over by the bar. The jedi master met eyes with him for only a second and then he turned back to the conversation he was having with a young woman in multi-colored clothes. From the looks of their body language Brodey observed that Kyp was also getting somewhere that evening.

'Thanks for the advice, Durron,' Brodey shot back and then continued on with more important matters. Out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of Jaina and Jag, dancing together at a pace slower than the music, lost in each other's eyes. For once in his life Brodey knew exactly how they felt, and he allowed himself to relax and enjoy this carefree night. There would always be another battle to fight, but living to see the next battle was pointless if you didn't actually live.

It was there, among the melodious, pounding, world-shattering music, that Brodey felt the most alive. He hadn't felt this way in years.

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