45

It was the best day that Saedii had in a while.

The coral reefs were incredible. Vibrant pinks and purples and oranges reflected in the clear water, so bright that they almost didn't look real. Corals of every shape – spindly, delicate, shaped like a fan, wispy and ethereal – crusted along the bottom of the sea, stretching all the way across the cove.

Fish of every color and shape darted between the corals. Saedii was amazed by just how many there were – thousands and thousands of them, like the stars in space. Some the size of her pinky finger, others nearly the size of the boats overhead. Their scales glistened like diamonds in the morning sun, so that it felt like they swam through a house of mirrors.

Inis and Aren pointed out everything, leaning in close to show Saedii the different types of corals and fish. Pointing out their features. Their names. When a rekki showed up halfway through the dive, the delighted kids all pointed to its sharp teeth that jutted out from its jaw. Menacing compared to the docile fish that pressed around them, but the rekki left them alone.

They dove for the better part of the morning, until they were all hungry. At that point, they climbed onto the boats and passed out the sandwiches Aren had packed. Ergas was passed around – a sweet kind that Saedii had never tried before, though she quite liked.

The group split into smaller ones as they mingled. Inis and Aren sat close to Saedii, telling her stories of their time on Pabu. Nearby, Dyron was talking to a Lasat boy about some sports team and the two were arguing passionately about their favorite teams.

It was a little awkward being around the other kids. Most of them looked at Saedii like they didn't know what to do with her, or they were afraid of her. A few even stared at her prosthetic arm and the massive scar on her back, whispering to one another.

But Saedii found she didn't mind them too much. Aren and Inis kept her engaged, and neither of them seemed intimidated by her scars.

Late afternoon, the group ventured onto the island. It was covered in thick vegetation. Mostly untouched except for the footprints of past explorers. Darting out from beneath ferns the size of Wrecker, tiny little crabs scuttled by their feet as Saedii followed Aren and the rest into the small jungle.

Dyron led the way to the small rockface above the cove. From there, the group began to jump from the top and into the water below – a distance of about twenty feet. It wasn't exactly high, considering Saedii had jumped hundreds of feet from an airship, but she had to admit it was fun to plummet straight down into the water.

As evening fell, the group went for one last swim just as the ocean came alive with light. The coral, the fish, even the shells – everything lit up with bioluminescence as the water grew nearly as dark as the night sky above. Saedii was delighted as she followed Inis down low to the sea floor, swimming between the glowing arches of coral and schools of fish. She was so excited that soon, even her raethirii marks began to glow as well.

When they were finally done with the water, someone turned up the music so that it blared off the cove – so loud that it nearly drove out Saedii's thoughts as she sat with Inis on the bow of Aren's boat.

Inis was laughing as she pulled Saedii's hair out from the braids it had been in all day, letting it fall in waves around Saedii's shoulders. "So you've really never been to a party before?"

"Not one like this," Saedii admitted. She took a sip of the ergas at her side. A steady buzz was in her head. Just enough that everything around her seemed a bit surreal. Like she was in a dream.

Maybe more than a buzz, actually.

"What did you do for fun in the Jedi temple then?"

"We would try to prank some of the older Jedi." Saedii thought back to the times she and Kalth had tried to pour salt into Master Yoda's water during Council meetings, or the times they had left stinky flowers in Master Vos's room. Harmless pranks that hadn't gotten them into much trouble. It had been their only true form of fun.

Inis pulled the front of Saedii's hair back from her face, securing it at the back of her head with a clip. "Did it work?"

"No," Saedii said. "They usually caught us."

"What about your birthday? Didn't you celebrate?" Inis pulled a bright white flower from her bag – one she'd collected from a group on shore. With practiced hands, she wove the flower into Saedii's hair so that it rested at the back of her head, above the clip.

Saedii gave an awkward shrug. "Our instructors always acknowledged our birthdays, but I didn't really celebrate it. Not until I was made a Padawan and assigned to my Master."

"Did he celebrate you?"

"He did."

Master Plo had celebrated her in the cafeteria of their cruiser, with the rest of the 104th. It hadn't been much – the troopers had toasted her with ergas and Plo had gifted her a blanket. With the war at its peak, it had been all they could afford.

Inis leaned back to admire her work. "Didn't you have any friends your age that you could have celebrated with?"

"One." Saedii's voice grew bitter. She didn't want to talk about Kalth.

Thankfully, Aren chose that moment to appear. He took a seat beside the two of them on the bow. Blue and green light from the water lit along his profile, accentuating the curve of his jaw.

A little smile hedged onto Inis's face. She got to her feet, muttering, "I'm going to find Tylla. It was nice talking to you, Saedii."

Saedii frowned after her. Why was she leaving? They'd been having such a nice time talking.

Aren pointed to her glass of ergas. "Did you want more?"

"No, I'm alright."

In fact, she was pretty sure she was drunk. Just a little bit. Or a lot. She'd never been drunk before so she didn't know what it felt like. Her head felt warm and fuzzy and vibrant. Not like when she'd inhaled spice last year. Better.

"So," Aren started, looking at Saedii in suspense. "What did you think of your first boat day? Are you having fun?"

A little giggle escaped before Saedii could help it, even though what Aren said hadn't been funny. She couldn't help it. "Yes. I'm having a great time."

"Better than the Spring Tide Festival, I hope?"

"I had fun at the festival," Saedii argued. "Most of the night, anyway."

His expression fell. "I really am sorry. I ruined your first date."

"I already told you that I'm not mad," Saedii said. She didn't want to think about their disastrous date. Not when she was having so much fun right now.

"I know, but I still feel bad."

Saedii looked down at the water beside her. Its soft glow reminded her faintly of Daeth – of the plants that would come to life with the rise of the moon. Nothing on Coruscant had ever glowed like that.

Absentmindedly, she ran her fingers over the top of the water. It was still as glass and felt like satin against her skin – soft and warm. Just below, a little fish swam close to investigate.

When Saedii looked up, Aren was watching. He gave her a little smile.

"I really am glad that you're having fun tonight," he said. His voice – so soft – somehow carried over the sounds of the pounding music and the voices of the other kids. "I felt awful after the festival. I really shouldn't have –"

He stopped as Saedii reached out and gently touched his hand.

"It's ok. I promise," Saedii insisted. And it was now. He'd apologized and they'd put it behind them. She wasn't mad anymore.

Very carefully, he turned his hand so that he could hold hers. At the touch, Saedii's heart fluttered in her chest.

This was all uncharted territory for her. Boating, spending the day lounging and drinking with people her age, holding hands with a boy – these were things she'd never known she could do. Things she hadn't known she'd missed out on.

Life as a Jedi was fulfilling. She wouldn't have traded it for anything. But this was nice, too. In a different way.

"You really are amazing, you know that?" Aren said suddenly. In the glow of the water, he almost appeared to be blushing. "You're so forgiving and fun and, as Dyron loves to point out, you are bad ass."

"Not really," Saedii said with a chuckle.

"You used lightning to blow up ipsium."

"Accidently."

"Still pretty damn cool."

This time, she laughed. From someone who'd been very vehement she was a murderer only a few short weeks ago, he really seemed to have changed his mind.

"Phee said you're really good with a lightsaber, too," he continued.

She observed him. "Did you talk about me to Phee?"

He looked down. "A bit. I tried to come by after the festival to apologize. But you were already gone, so Phee and I talked instead. She told me about how you helped her on Talthera."

Helped was a strong word. Blackmailed would have been better, though Saedii didn't feel the need to point that out.

"Getting that stone was so important for us. Really," he said with conviction. "Because of you, we'll be able to stay hidden for a long time. We'll be safe."

"It wasn't just me. It was my team, too."

"Still. Thank you."

Maybe it was the ergas, but Saedii was uncharacteristically shy. She looked back at the water, just to avoid his gaze, which felt so intent on her face.

His hand tightened against hers. "So you really had fun on our date? Before I was an ass?"

"I did," Saedii promised. Then, before she could stop herself, she blurted, "I really wanted to dance, though."

"You did?" He seemed surprised by that.

"I've never danced before. Remember?"

His expression fell a moment before he got to his feet. One of his hands went out to her.

Saedii took a sip from her ergas. "What are you doing?"

"Asking you to dance," he said with confidence.

She glanced at the other kids. There were a few couples that were dancing, swirling each other around on the bows of the boats, but most appeared to be dancing alone.

One of her nails tapped nervously on her glass. "I don't know how."

"I'll teach you."

Feeling a bit self-conscious, she grabbed his hand and let him pull her up to her feet.

They went slowly. First, he grabbed both of her hands and tugged her in a circle. Not fast enough to make her dizzy, but not so slow. She glanced over at the others, watching as they jumped around and cheered and pumped their fists – far different from what Aren was doing.

Once she'd gotten the hang of the circle, he started pushing and pulling her arms in rhythm to the music. A laugh escaped her before she could help. She felt utterly ridiculous.

That feeling only grew as Aren jumped forward, pulling her towards him, then jumped away, pushing her back. Even if she'd never danced before, she was sure this wasn't how it was done.

"Are you sure this is how you do it?" Saedii asked between her laughter.

He pulled her in and surprised her by spinning her around. "It's close enough."

Saedii could hardly keep up as he swung their arms around, up and down and all around in the silliest, craziest moves she had ever seen. And she nearly collapsed into a fit of giggles as he gave a little kick of his feet – something so unexpected and strange compared to the other dancers.

"Admit it. You don't know how to dance either," she said.

"Of course I do!" He was breathless as he spun the two of them around, nearly bumping into Dyron as he jumped onto their boat. "We're just warming up!"

Dyron shouted at the top of his lungs, jumping onto the canopy of Aren's boat. Ergas splashed over his cup as he thrust it in the air and began to chug, raining down on Aren and Saedii.

Saedii held a hand up to shield her face.

Aren took the opportunity to pull her in close. This time, he didn't immediately push her away.

She flushed as she looked up at him. This was the closest she'd ever been to a boy before – someone that she wasn't trying to kill, at least. A nervous little smile flitted over her lips at the way Aren was looking at her.

He opened his mouth to say something.

And went stock still as a flood of lights suddenly washed over them.

Blinded, Saedii stumbled back a step, losing her footing and stumbling onto her ass at the prow. Up top, Dyron gave a very undignified screech and stumbled too – straight off into the water below. A splash washed up over the side just as the music abruptly cut off.

Racing across the water towards them, a fleet of boats was bearing down through the entrance of the cove.

Aren, who'd knelt down to help Saedii to her feet, went pale. "Shit."

"What is it?" Saedii asked in alarm as the boats cut their engines. Slowing to approach.

He didn't answer. Instead, he lunged for the ergas, pouring it over the edge. Several other kids were doing the same as TX9 fretted, "Oh, dear!"

"No! You can't take me!" Dyron shouted from the water. He was swimming vigorously towards shore – or trying to. Intoxicated, he wasn't going very fast.

From one of the approaching boats, a loud voice ordered, "Everyone freeze right now!"

Saedii's blood chilled.

The Empire.

How had they found her? Had they brought an Inquisitor with them? She didn't have her lightsabers on her. And how was she supposed to keep Aren and the others safe?

Low under his breath, Aren instructed, "Just keep quiet and don't say anything."

That wouldn't help. The Empire would recognize her immediately.

There was a thump as a pair of booted feet landed on their boat. A tall thin man with a scraggly mustache smirked at them. Dressed in all black.

No.

Saedii lurched towards the edge of the boat.

"No you don't!" The man grabbed her by the arm.

She lunged, turning and punching him on the nose. Blood erupted as the bone crunched beneath her knuckles and he howled in pain. That howl broke off as she brought her knee up into his diaphragm, hard enough to steal his breath.

He dropped, groaning.

Aren gaped at her. "Saedii!"

"Hey!"

Two more soldiers rushed towards her. One of them had something silver on his belt. A blaster.

Instinct kicked in, moving her feet. As an arm reached for her, she grabbed it and twisted, feeling it snap. As the other tried to grab her from behind, she turned and kicked him hard in the gut, sending him straight into the water.

"Saedii, stop!" Aren shouted as she spun the guy in her grasp onto the ground to knee him in the face.

Saedii looked up. "I can't stop! They'll kill me –"

"They're not Imperials! They're our local law enforcement!"

Law enforcement?

Something cold slithered in her gut. Very slowly, she looked down at the two men groveling on the boat before her.

Now that she'd stopped, she realized they weren't dressed in black, but navy. Each had a small white crest on their left shoulder shaped like a shell. And the flash of silver at their belts, what she'd thought were blasters, were binders. None of them were armed.

Kriffing perfect.

The other kids were looking on in a kind of horrified awe. Some had taken out holopads to take vids. Others were totally frozen. They were all whispering scandalously to each other. Staring.

From the ground, the one with the mustache wheezed, "Someone restrain her!"

A new set of hands reached for her then – a woman. This time, Saedii didn't resist as she yanked both of her arms behind her back and secured them with binders. Nausea swam at the thought of how badly she'd hurt the officers. Innocent people who hadn't harmed anyone.

One of the officers shone a light into the water, right on Dyron as he swam for his life. "Stop swimming, Dyron," the man called. By his tone of voice, this wasn't the first time this had happened.

A panicked cry was all they got in response. Dyron swam faster.

The man sighed and muttered into a comms, "Can someone fish him out of the water before something eats him?"

The rumble of an engine churned nearby.

"You!" The mustached man hobbled to his feet. Each breath that whistled from his throat was raspy. Pained. His eyes watered as he jabbed a finger at Saedii and rasped, "You're in a lot of trouble, miss!"

Aren went rigid as the man turned to all of them and bellowed, "You're all in big trouble!"

There were groans and mutinous muttering. Some of the kids were now looking at Saedii like she was to blame for all of this.

For his part, Aren looked contrite. "Saedii, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault."

It wasn't, she thought as she looked at the other two officers that she'd attacked. One was struggling to climb back up into the boat, spitting water. The other's eye was beginning to swell shut.

She was in a whole mess of trouble.