Reunited

"Speech"

"Radio or calls"

'Thoughts'

Bridge of the Vagabond

Tieria rushed over to Christina, looking at the sensors in front of her. In clear vision was a group of men entering the hanger, Allelujah and Marie over their shoulders, both of them unconscious. There must have been eight men, and he didn't know where they were going, but he needed to rescue their comrade. The fact he was saving some random woman who looked identical to the imperial officer that had been hunting them was a side effect.

Tieria looked at Christina, "Message the team. Get them down here now. I'll delay them." His voice was hard, filled with determination.

Christina looked at him, worry crossing her eyes, "But they will outnumber you."

"It's either risk that or our comrade gets taken." Christina was surprised at how devoted as he said that, the previous cold attitude not showing up in his voice as well. Something had changed in him, but she realized time was of the essence.

"Go get him." Tieria nodded as she spoke, rushing off the bridge to grab his heavy blaster, not even stopping to put on armor. As much as he would love to use the ship weapons, that risked not only risking their future stays here, but also hurting his comrade. So as he ran out of the ship, weapon ready and hot as he ducked behind a crate, a barrage of blasts going into the group.

The pirates, unaware of the armed soldier baring down on them, were snickering as they casually walked towards the DP20. The captain would be happy with their catch, and they even got a bonus. But blaster bolts suddenly rained down on them, taking out two of the men as the Togruta leader called out to them, "Get to cover!"

Tieria grunted in annoyance at missing the guy who was carrying Allelujah. That was his target, yet he had dodged out of the way. But Tieria grit his teeth, focused on keeping the enemy pinned down. He was too outnumbered to effectively deal with them on his own, and he was unarmored, so any good hit could kill or heavily injure him.

Blaster bolts began to erupt around him, and anyone who was working or just in the area scattered, fleeing to safety as gunfight began. The pirates looked for any chance to escape, but any time they tried to make a move to leave, Tieria's blaster caught them before they could get far, forcing them back into cover, one man going down, a blaster bolt hitting him square in the chest.

Minutes passed as the pirates slowly advanced, Tieria desperately looking for help. Sweat poured down his face as his blaster barrels ran hot. He hated how they were slowly getting closer to their target, which was clearly the DP20. The man that was carrying Allelujah had been hit, but it had only grazed his arm. And what was worse was he could hear rapid steps coming from the DP20's boarding ramp, blaster fire adding to the chaos.

Tieria was forced to move cover, allowing the pirates he was pinning down to move. And unfortunately for him, during that process, he was hit in the side by a glancing blast, pain shooting through him as he was forced to duck behind cover. 'Shit. Shit.' Pain throbbed through him and he could only weakly try to aim at the men headed to the ship, but his shots went right over his head.

'I need to stop them. Even at the cost of my own life.' Just as Tieria was about to raise his head again, gunshots rang from the entrance, the rest of the team there. Even anew had a blaster in his hands, Feldt being the only one out of sight as the other team members moved in to engage the retreating pirates.

Lyle's voice called out to him, "Tieria, you ok? What's going on?" Lyle could see the chaos of the fight, and Tieria wincing in pain. He also spotted their friend and Marie in the grasp of their enemy.

Tieria just grunted as Anew and Setsuna moved as close as they could, forced to duck their head from the fire of a heavy blaster cannon mounted on a tripod the loading dock of the DP20. A few more pirates had fallen, but that was a pyrrhic victory as Allelujah got closer to the ship, nearing the dock as the pirates formed up to keep the rebels from advancing. Anew took careful aim with a blaster pistol and took out another pirate, but that kill was paid for by

Setsuna desperately tried to get close enough to use his blade on the enemy, but even with his force senses, he could only get to the outer layer of the enemy in cover, taking out one with a stab to the chest. Then anger flowed through his as a familiar voice echoed from the loading dock. A large, scarred Feeorin with blue skin, his tentacles on his head ending with a red coloration bellowed to the crew, "Pull out. We got our target." He had a large axe on his back, two small blades on his side and a blaster pistol in a holster.

'Ali. The bastard is here!' Setsuna tried to rush forward, to attack the man that had killed his old friends and rebel group, but the heavy blaster moved to focus on him, nearly hitting him as Setsuna ducked behind a crate, the blaster bolts from the cannon carving holes in it.

And with a new energy, all the surviving pirates made their way into the ship, the engines of the ship hot as the board ramp began to close. Ali's eyes met Setsuna's, and he grinned before turning his back, yelling orders to his men. The rebels began to fire on the hull, their hits doing nothing as the ship lifted off from the dock.

Anew, seeing the ship escape, grabbed something from her belt as she got as close as she could to the hull of the ship. With a toss, it hit the hull, sticking as a red light began to blink for a second, before dulling.

Lyle and Tieria watched the ship get away bitterly, Lyle swearing as Tieria slammed his hand into the cover he was behind, "Damnit! What are we going to do? They could be going anywhere."

The Corellian just growled, opening up comms with the ship, "Christina, prep the ship to pursue!" Lyle felt so useless. He shouldn't have let Allelujah go off on his own, but as he glowered at the ground, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

He looked up to see Anew, a comforting look from her, "Listen, I managed to put a tracker on the ship. I'll link my signal with the ship's sensors, and we can find him, wherever he goes." There was a confidence in her, and Lyle took a breath, letting some weight leave his shoulders.

"Thanks Anew."

She put a hand on his shoulder, a determined look on her face, "I may not know your team well, but you guys came here to rescue you. I owe it to you guys to assist."

Tieria looked at her, mixed emotions going through him, but the pain hit him before he could really say anything. Lyle moved to support his good side, looking thankfully at Anew, blush as his infatuation grew, "Thanks. Let's get Tieria to the medbay and Christina will set you up."

Setsuna walked slowly to the ship, clenching his fists. Feldt, hearing the gunfight had died down, approached him, sensing a dark energy going through him. She placed a hand on his arm as the reached the bottom of the ramp to the ship, "Setsuna, what's going on?"

Setsuna took a deep breath, a growl under his breath, "It's Ali. Ali kidnapped Allelujah." Feldt froze, her old fears coming back to her mind as she gripped his arm hard. Setsuna's lips were a thin line, and stopped when Feldt stayed in place. 'After all these years, I can finally kill him.'

Feldt took shuddering breaths, memories flashing through her. The face of the man who killed her parents. She didn't even register that Setsuna's hand was on her shoulder. It took a few seconds to recognize it, and she looked up to see a dark look on his face, his voice low, "I'm going to kill him."

Concern filled her as Setsuna let go of her, walking back up onto the ship. Words fled her, and she could only helplessly watch him go back onto the ship. Setsuna's eyes screamed revenge, his emotions raging. She was so used to his calm presence, so it scared her to see him stewing in anger. But she was internally panicking herself, so she didn't know what to do.

She walked to the engine room after standing alone for several seconds, hearing the engines start to turn on. She desperately needed to talk to Setsuna, but her job on the ship took priority right now. 'Allelujah, we'll be there soon. And Setsuna…'

Brig of the DP20

Allelujah woke with a jolt. His body was incredibly sore, movement causing him to groan in pain. It wasn't the worst pain he had been through, but Hallelujah's voice rung through his head, 'Look at you. Captured by pirates because you couldn't let go of that damn girl of yours.' Allelujah could barely respond, taking in his surroundings. All around him was a force cage, a smallish cell in the wall, and outside what looked like some kind of brig.

Allelujah was about to respond when he heard another groan, and Marie, looking as ragged as him, woke up herself. She moaned in pain, realizing she had been ambushed and captured by those pirates she had hunted. 'Assholes led me into a trap.' She looked over to see her old friend in just as much pain as her. She stood up, shaking a bit as she sat down next to him, placing a hand on his face, "Oh Allelujah, this is my fault. You didn't need to be here."

Allelujah just looked into her yellow eyes, tears threatening to rise as he looked at the beautiful face of Marie, "No, I wanted to help you. This isn't your fault. I've been looking for you for so long." He reached out with the force to her, a tentative response coming from her as he looked at her. She had grown into such a strong woman, the last time he had seen her was when they were both gangly teenagers.

Marie just rested her head on his shoulder, "What happened to you?" Every single time she had ever met the team or was angry at the rebels now became bitter, realizing she was condemning the boy, now man, that she cared for.

Allelujah put a hand on her leg, squeezing it, "A lot. I won't lie."

"Please tell me. I need to know." Allelujah sighed, repeating the story of everything after his master sacrificed himself. His voice was low and full of emotion, Marie almost tearing up. She began to open up her walls a bit more, pushing comfort through their old bond, which activated like an atrophied muscle. It was slow, but Allelujah sent signals back.

But one part of his story caught her ears, "Did you say an inquisitor held you? Named Ribbons?"

Allelujah nodded, "Yeah. You heard of him?"

Marie shook her head. Many agents of the inquisitions kept their identity secret or only revealed themselves when it was relevant. Many also tended to look down on imperial intelligence, but that wasn't unique. She swallowed heavily as she gestured for him to finish his story.

He finished his story, guilt filling his voice, "I tried to find you for so long, but after I was freed, I didn't want to risk your safety. I was alone, and had to hide my powers with the rebels. I didn't want to risk you." He pursed his lips, "And a part of me didn't even want to know if you were alive. That you could have gone through something as horrible as I went through. You deserved better than that."

Marie closed her eyes, hating the guilt that flowed from him and from her. She had been raised by an imperial officer, having had a relatively comfortable life despite hiding who she was. And her old friend had been tortured by the empire. Those doubts about the empire surfaced again, and she couldn't even argue against them completely.

She was drawn to his heterochromatic eyes, caressing the side of his face, "Why is your eye yellow? What did you do?"

Allelujah hesitated for a second, but took a deep breath and spoke, "When I was getting tortured, a part of me…formed a second being of sorts. He haunts me, pushing me away from everyone that tries to get close." 'If she hates me for partially falling, I wouldn't blame her.' But all he could feel was her soft hands on his face, and her beautiful eyes looking into his.

"I can't blame you. We are both here, alive." She intertwined their fingers, and smiled, feeling a warm comfort go through her. Allelujah felt that same comfort, dulling Hallelujah's sneering at her words. She could see scars on his chest, some shallow and dull, others deep and clearly came from the torture by Ribbons. A deep pang of regret went through her, but the past was the past. There was a deep scar of pain that went through his force presence, something that tore at her, wanting to help him.

The rebel looked at Marie, "So how did you escape? How did you come to join the imperials?"

The Echani just lowered her head, "When the clones attacked, me and my master were not prepared…"

A younger Marie waited in the observation room of the medical station. The Clone Wars had been raging for a couple years now, and the casualties had mounted. Her and her master, a yellow-skinned Mirialan woman, one of the healers of the Jedi Temple, had been stationed on a station in the Midrim, to assist in the healing of clones to get them back on the frontlines. It was only lightly staffed by clones, the majority of the staff civilian contractors.

The operation had just finished, and Marie had gotten used to the blood and guts. It had shocked her at first, but seeing the reality of being a healer had only hardened her resolve. She wanted to help people, to heal the galaxy. Her lightsaber hung heavy on her hip, the lethal weapon weighing heavily on her thoughts.

Her master gave her a kind smile, "Marie, you may go back to your room. You already did enough today." Ever since he had become the apprentice to Master Sunzi,

Marie smiled at the Mirialan, "Alright Master Sunzi." The apprentice made her way back to her room, finally getting the rest she needed. She had been up for a day straight, a recent offensive having brought many wounded from a casualty heavy battle. Being able to rest felt amazing.

And hours later, the sound of blasterfire was heard dully through her door. A pain shot through her head, her master's side of the bond disappearing painfully. Sounds of footsteps echoed from the hall, and desperate knocks were at her door. Marie leaned against the wall, confusion filling her. 'I need to find master. Why did she cut off our bond?'

Opening the door, there was one of their suppliers, an older human woman named Ruthan, grey hair spreading through her normal blonde. The woman was pushing a large cart, and looked at Marie with desperate intent, "Get inside the cart. Curl up and don't make a move. The clones can't be trusted."

Marie looked at her, still confused, "What do you-?" Her question was cut off by the sounds of armored boots heading towards them, and the woman repeated the same thing.

"Get in the cart." Sensing something off about the clones approaching them, she got in the cart with nothing on her but her tunic, hoping she would get answers. The woman began pushing the cart, Marie hidden by a cloth. As they approached the clone patrol, consisting of three men, the looked at the woman, scanning her and the cart she was pushing.

Several seconds passed as the looked at her, Marie's heart beating fast as she resisted the urge to ask what was going on to the clones, but the woman had always been friendly, so she stayed quiet. The clones finally moved passed them, their footsteps heading down the hallway. And to confirm her fears, the clones clearly reached her room, opening the door, one of them speaking, "She's not here. Spread out and look. Put the station on alert."

Panic filled her mind as she whispered to the woman pushing the cart, "What happened to master?"

She spoke kindly, "I'll explain when I find a safe place." The older woman waited a few minutes before bringing them to the supply closet, making sure no one was around. She gestured for Marie to leave the cart, and the apprentice held onto the woman desperately, "Why are the clones looking for me? What happened to my master?"

Ruthan frowned, holding the teenage girl close as she ran a hand down her back, comforting her, "I don't know exactly what's going on, but the clones shot your master in the back. I watched it as I was dropping off supplies, but they just ignored me."

Tears began to stream down Marie's face, her bond with her master being broken making sense, but she was still lost, "Why did they shoot her? We serve the Republic. She was healing them!"

Ruthan put a finger to her own lips, "Stay quiet. I don't know when they will check." Marie began to cry quietly, unable to contain her tears. The older woman tipped her chin up, looking her in the eye, "Listen, I have a friend who I can get you to. Supplies have already been dropped off here and we are getting ready to go. I owe it to the Jedi for keep peace and I refuse to yet a young girl get killed."

Marie just hung her head, pain filling her as a dull sensation filled her. More jedi were dying, and she didn't know what to do, what to feel. 'Please be safe Allelujah. I'll find you.' Marie just nodded at the woman, "Please take me with you."

The woman smiled kindly at her, "Alright. I'll keep you safe."

Allelujah comforted her through the force, which she responded to happily. She knew they were being held for some reason, and even then her and Allelujah were enemies. But she wanted to be with her old friend, her first love. Allelujah ran a hand down her arm, "I'm sorry you lost your master. But you survived. That's what mattered." Marie nodded, and Allelujah continued, "Where did you go?"

"Ruthan brought me to an naval officer by the name of Sergei Smirnov. He adopted me as his daughter, my clan making a fake member named Soma Peries. Most people can't tell apart Echani, so it worked." Allelujah remembered her saying that when she researched the Echani during their free time.

Allelujah let out a breath, "So you trained those martial arts under them?" A part of him despaired at her fighting, his memories of the violence averse girl so many years ago popping up.

Marie frowned at that, "Actually no. Imperial Intelligence asks us to know some form of martial arts, and one of them is the Echani form." She could sense Allelujah's unease, but she explained, "I had to learn how to fight. I know it looks bad, but I owed it to Sergei to help him. He helped me get into the Academy and into Intelligence. He's a good man and I wanted to fight by his side."

Allelujah pursed his lips, "But what about all the innocent people that get killed by the Empire? All the jedi they capture and kill? How can you support that?" His voice was a little harsher than he planned, his long history hard to forget.

Marie looked a bit hurt, but his words contained a nugget of truth. No matter how merciful she tried to be, how much Sergei tried to treat aliens as equals or get to the truth of issues, the men above them would wield their personal power for petty reasons, or hide failures of the Empire by scapegoating someone else. She frowned, pulling back slightly, "I just…owe him. And I wanted to try to help when I could. I'm military intelligence, so I don't hunt Jedi. I know it sounds bad, but it was necessary."

Allelujah could sense she was telling the truth, and she believed what she was saying. But even she knew her words weren't the complete truth, the doubts in her mind growing. Both could sense this was a sore point, and neither wanted to ruin this reunion, so Allelujah smiled at her, blushing as a memory came to mind, "Do you remember that last night? Before we both got our masters?"

Marie blushed at the memory, a smile coming to her face, "It's been in the back of my mind since then."

Allelujah couldn't sleep as he slept in the dorms of the Jedi Temple. Jedi knights and masters had been looking at his fellow apprentices, and he had no idea who was going to pick him. Another part of him worried about being separated from Marie, who he had bonded with since they met. His feelings had grown through the years, and in the previous year, an intense bout of affection for her grew, beyond simple friendship. He had realized what that was a month ago, but the order forbid any romantic attachment.

He heard footsteps approaching his bed, and he turned to see Marie in her robes, her new changing body causing him to swallow. She looked at him nervously, "Can I talk with you?"

Allelujah nodded and got out from under the covers, sitting on the edge of the bed. She joined him, leading into his side, "How worried about tomorrow are you?"

The male apprentice just smiled and placed a hand on her knee, "I won't lie and say I'm not, but I'm sure both of us will get great masters." But he could sense that wasn't the whole truth. She was hiding something. He prodded her lightly through the force, looking in her yellow eyes, "You can tell me what's wrong."

Marie swallowed heavily, guilt weighing on her, "I'm going to miss you. You are my best friend." Allelujah was about to speak, but she stopped him, "No, it's not just that. I can't help but pine for you. It's against the code, but I want to be by your side."

Allelujah took a deep breath, seeing she had the same feelings for him. He looked deep in her eyes, both of them probing the other for the truth of the matter, Marie desperately searching for his thoughts. He pressed his forehead against hers, "What if I said I felt the same?" His voice was quiet, but it echoed in her mind as she finished.

One part of her wanted to be happy, to embrace this feeling and relationship. The other half chastised her, saying it was against the code. She didn't know what to say, and Allelujah felt a surge of bravery as her held her chin gently, his lips meeting hers as he nervously, yet affectionately and chastely kissed her. Marie's eyes widened, but after a second, she closed her eyes, affection blooming in her chest.

And after a few more seconds, the kiss broke, the pair with red faces. She snuggled into his chest, Allelujah's arms wrapped around her. He whispered in her ear, "I know its forbidden, and I'm not asking you to do anything right now. But maybe after we become knights, we can figure something out."

Marie nodded. The future was uncertain, but she would find Allelujah after they advanced, and would make a future for the pair, even if they had to do it in secret. The guilt still weighed on both of them, but the giddiness of the moment overwhelmed that for now. The morning would bring back that fear, but in the darkness and stillness of the night, they were together and happy.

Marie nodded, "It was the best moment of my life up to that point." She blushed, but she couldn't help but feel like that young girl so long ago.

Allelujah leaned down, his lips inches from hers, trembling, "Do you feel the same?" His voice was shaky, and her eyes lit up with confusion, yet she leaned an inch forward. He could feel her breath on his lips, and he could feel her tentative connection with him growing again.

Marie, spoke quietly, "Yes." At the moment, they weren't rebel and imperial agent. Weren't prisoners captured by a pirate. Just Allelujah and Marie.

And just as their lips were about to meet, a boisterous, deep voice echoed through the room, "Well, what do we have here? It seems our captured Jedi know each other. Did I interrupt anything?" Both looked up to see Ali standing at the entrance to the cage, a smile on his face that was not reassuring.

Author Note

Welcome back! Two more lovebirds have a reunion, but never say I'm letting it happen easy. You think I'm going to let Marie and Allelujah just gave an easy time? There's plenty more drama to come. Thank you for reading and I'll see you guys next time!