Aboard Narula Base, Lera Lain looked out of the lounge window at the lush green planet revolving below. After two years she still had not tired of the sight of dawn breaking over tiny mountains and puddles of oceans.

But, though it was painful to admit it, there were things she had tired of. She had run back to Carth after four years alone away from the Republic. All she had wanted was the ordinary life she had been forced to leave behind.

Now that desire was waning. She often woke from dreaming of their adventures before they had ever come to Narula wishing they could fire up the Ebon Hawk again and go adventuring together. Lera would have suggested it to Carth, but the Fleet was important to him and his sense of responsibility kept him here. She didn't want to leave without him, but he wasn't enough to fill the expanding void inside.

Lera had just come back from a shift as an orderly in the medibay, but it had been a quiet day that had not tired her as much as usual. She felt fidgety and unsettled. She wanted to do something, but couldn't quite work out what. She tidied the apartment, summoned a laundry droid and bundled their dirty clothes into it, and then sat down heavily on the sofa, still unsatisfied.

The door chimed and she opened it. Dustil stood there, with an expression that she had come to be quite familiar with recently.

'You'd better come in,' she said. It was a sign of how bad things had become that this was the only intrigue in her life.

'I need to talk to you,' he said. 'And you… you can't tell my dad.'

She smiled conspiratorially at him. 'Have I ever? Come on, I'll put some caf on.' She led the way into the kitchen and he sat down at the table. He put his elbows on the table and rested his chin in his hands.

'What's her name?' asked Lera lightly.

'I'd think you were reading my mind…' he began

'…if you didn't always come to me with the same problem,' finished Lera.

'Yes, but this time it's different.'

'Wasn't it different last time too?' She smiled to take the sting from the barbed comment.

Dustil didn't smile back. 'No, this time it really is different. I think I've found someone I could love. Really love.'

Lera nodded, but left the silence to stretch out. He needed to get this out in his own way.

'She's beautiful. I've only spoken to her twice, but I know she's a wonderful person. I think she might like me too.'

'Does she have a name?'

'Well, this is where I need your help. You're going with Dad to the Victory Ball, aren't you?'

Lera wrinkled her nose at the mention of the annual formal party thrown for high-ranking members of the Fleet.

Dustil grinned. 'I'll take that as a yes, then. Can you get me an invitation too?'

'I bet Carth could.'

Dustil's smile widened. 'Great. She'll be there, I know she will.'

'Who? Put me out of my misery!'

'Admiral Dolvenna's daughter Shelya.'

Lera groaned.

XXX

The Dolvenna family had moved to Narula from Coruscant four months before. Although not actually a demotion in rank for the Admiral, the move was seen as a sign of his fall from favour. It hadn't taken long to realise why.

The Admiral had a superiority complex the size of a star going nova. He was almost unbearable to be around, looking down on everything and everyone around him. Nothing on Narula met his high standards. Crews were lazy, organisational operatives were dreamers, ships were under-maintained and dangerous, and just what was that awful smell coming from the aircon? He had already had several clashes with Carth and Dodonna, and even the officers under his command had complained about him.

And, worse for Dustil, he kept a close eye on his daughter, guarding her honour as though she were some sacred virgin out of an ancient myth. It was a wonder that Dustil had managed to get a glimpse of her at all.

XXX

Lera cast a sly glance at the closed door of the bathroom to make sure Carth was out of sight before fastening the buttons on the back of her green gown with the Force. In the two years since her return she had used it less and less, associating it with exactly the kind of trouble she wanted to forget about. But now it seemed exciting and romantic, the kind of trouble she now craved. Using it made her feel a little guilty though. Lera the Admiral's woman was not the same person as Lera the Jedi, and she was not satisfied with being just one of them. She didn't know if she could have both.

It wasn't just use of the Force that she'd let slide, she thought, looking at herself critically in the mirror. Where once she had been lean and muscular, now she was curvaceous and soft. She wasn't overweight, but she wasn't in shape. She knew she couldn't run around or fight like she used to anymore.

She scowled.

'Is it cold in here?' Carth came out of the refresher behind her. 'I felt a chill.'

'I haven't changed the settings,' she said, not taking her eyes from her reflection.

'You look beautiful,' he said, admiring her from the doorway.

His compliment only made her angry, but she took a deep breath and pushed it away. She didn't feel beautiful, and didn't like the idea that he might actually prefer her this way.

'Are you OK?' He came to stand behind her, eyes full of concern.

'I'm fine,' she said brightly, finding a smile from somewhere and plastering it on. 'We should go, or we're going to be late.'

XXX

Late in the night, Lera rose silently and slipped out into the kitchen without waking Carth. She felt unreasonably guilty about how excited she felt at this little secret, but not enough to go back to sleep.

She organised four plates on the table and began to juggle them with the Force, slowly at first, then faster as the feeling became familiar again.

But it wasn't enough. Rage flashed through her and she threw the plates at the wall with the Force, shattering them. She put her head in her hands and cried.

'Please, Force, just let something happen to me!'