Electrical Storm

[Pierce Tondry]

"And if the sky could crack there must be some way back
to love and only love." -- U2, Electrical Storm



It was a hot day in Chandrila's capital city- the kind with an underlying humidity that made everyone sweat no matter what they wore. The sky was bright and clear, with no clouds and no relief from the heat in sight.

Nowhere was the humidity more tangible than Garndon Plaza, a centrally located expanse of duracrete with decorative fountains, seating, street vendors, and fenced-tree clusters. Through the middle of the of the Plaza ran a water channel that the boat traffic used to carry goods and people, and there were two overlook bridges evenly spaced down the plaza's length that pedestrians could enjoy the view. The entire place had the low, flat look of a town by the sea, and on occaision, an vessel with just the right combination of size and speed would send a plume of spray onto the walkway next to the channel, drenching delighted children and their parents.

Pierce Tondry sat on a bench, bouncing his toddler son Jax on his knee. He'd sent a message to his wife's ship via the holonet, requesting that she meet him there today. He could only hope that she had indeed gotten the message and they could spend the day as a normal family.

For a husband and wife who'd had a child together, they certainly did not speak much. He was a Jedi and New Republic Intelligence officer, constantly busy seeking out threats to the peace even while attempting to train as a Jedi. She was a Dark Jedi, and they were notoriously difficult to find.

Jax burbled, waving a chubby finger at an approaching cargo ship. Pierce grinned with fatherly pride. "That's an aqua speeder," he explained, enunciating his words. "Can you say 'spee-der'? Spee-der? It's red. Rrrrreeeedddd."

Jax burbled nonsense again, the finger waving. "I guess not, huh Little One?" Pierce responded, giving Jax a tickle in the belly.

The boy giggled, then began to fidget his way out of Pierce's hold on him. Pierce allowed him to crawl along the bench a short ways, keeping one eye trained on his boy while allowing himself the small luxury of enjoying the day. The smell of a nearby snack vendor's wares wafted to him on a breeze, and Pierce's stomach rumbled. He would have to convince Lilaena to have a meal with him, if she arrived.

"Buzzubub!" Jax said, catching his father's attention. One of his hands was waving in the direction of the same red cargo hauler he'd pointed out earlier.

Pierce took a closer look at the hauler and noticed that it was starting to pick up speed in the channel. The waters were starting to sway, and Pierce's eye appraised the weight of the ship. It was about the right size and at the right speed for-

Splshshshshsssshhhhssshhh!

A splash of water rose the height of the channel, dousing the nearby walk and what pedestrians were within its' reach. The spray continued to leap the channel wall as the hauler continued, and it wasn't long before both father and son were lightly soaked by it.

Jax laughed and bobbed about, happy to be wet. Pierce couldn't help but smile- they weren't very wet and would dry quickly in the heat.

Pulling a small towel out of the baby bag next to him, Pierce began to wipe the water off the two of them, idly passing the time.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Lilaena De'Ville walked slowly in the hot sun, making her way towards Garndon Plaza. She was wearing a light colored dust cloak over a pale blue jumpsuit, and had only her lightsaber, concealed at her waist. Up ahead she could sense two familiar presences... Jax, her son, and Pierce, her husband. Estranged husband, at least.

She sighed, and tucked her hair behind her ears. Life used to be less complicated, but it had been a long time since...well since Coruscant. Now he was with the New Republic, a form of government that she had always seen as too weak to do any real good. De'Ville waved a little at Pierce as they came into view, and soon joined them on a bench beside a waterway.

"Hello." She smiled a little and scooped up Jax for a cuddle. "And, hello to you! How are you, my little man?" Jax grabbed her face and chortled, delighted to see her.

De'Ville could almost feel the birthmark on his shoulder underneath his shirt, and her smile faded, but then returned as she looked into Pierce's eyes. "It has been a long time. I trust I'm not late, I came as soon as I got the message." She didn't mention the plans she had put on hold in order to make this appointment, but he probably wouldn't have approved anyway. Lilaena tenatively leaned in for a kiss, Jax still giggling between them.

[Pierce Tondry]

"Not late at all," Pierce replied One hand lightly rested itself beneath his wife's jaw and drew her lips to his. "I've missed you," he said earnestly when they'd finished kissing. "It's been such a long time."

Jax had been happily bobbing up and down since rejoining his mother and Pierce noticed this. "Jax his missed you, too," he added with a grin.

Lilaena smiled down at her son, motherly affection shining through her features. 'She almost looks ten years younger,' Pierce thought to himself. But that meant that his wife would have to look ten years older than she was, which meant-

Pierce shut down that line of thought. Lilaena was a comfort to have around, a fulfillment that he didn't quite understand. Her age did not in any way matter.

"Are you hungry?" Pierce asked, returning from the back of his brain where he'd been. "If you are, we could go to one of the restaraunts around- or one of the street vendors. They're just as good as dine-in food here in Garndon."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Lilaena cuddled her son close, and nodded, "Food sounds good. I think a street vendor would go over better with Jax...being cooped indoors for a meal on a day like today is cruel and unusual punishment for a little boy."

Jax put his chubby arms around her neck, and she stood to her feet. "I've missed you both, Pierce." He stood as well, and she leaned up for another kiss. Bloody ashes, but she'd missed him. Lilaena looped her arm around his waist as he drew her close next to him, and they walked slowly along the water channel.

[Pierce Tondry]

"Yeah, well, we're doing all right," Pierce said after they'd kissed. "One of these days, Jax is going to say his first word. I've got recorders stationed all around my apartment and my ship so that I don't miss it."

The two of them laughed at this errant bit of paranoia and continued to chat about idle things as they approached a vendor selling some very ripe abanna fruit. "Three please," Pierce said, pulling the necessary amount from his pocket.

"Thank you, neighbor," the vendor replied, handing over Pierce's purchase. "Come again!"

Pierce nodded and smiled, then turned to the task of peeling one of the fruits. When he'd done so, he squeezed a bit off with his fingers and held it out to Jax, who haltingly put it into his mouth after some curious examination.

Pierce watched Lilaena smile at their son. "Would you like to feed him?" he asked, proffering the abanna. Lilaena nodded and took the fruit, squeezing off a bit as he had done and presenting it to Jax. After another cursory examination, the child popped it into his mouth and began mushing it happily.

"I have the week off," Pierce said. "So if you have the time we can probably spend it together. What do your plans look like, and where are you staying?"

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Lilaena pinched off another piece of abanna, and Jax opened wide for it, just like a baby bird. She giggled, and placed it in his little mouth, getting her fingers clear just in time. "He has teeth..." She felt a pang, I have missed so much already, Jax.

"I would love to spend the week with you both. I am staying at the Chandrilan Stars...it is a few blocks away." She gave Jax some more abanna, and rested her cheek on the top of his head. "I do not have any plans, so whatever is good for you, Pierce." Lilaena fed Jax the lat bit of fruit, and wiped her fingers off on a napkin.

There were a few moments of comfortable silence, where Pierce and Lilaena ate their abannas, and were just....close. Jax reached for more fruit, and Lilaena shared some of her with him. She felt a little worried, knowing that she looked different than Pierce was used to. She looked...older....and she felt older as well. The Dark side did that to you.

She'd heard of life long Dark side users from Dathomir, who recieved huge purple bruises on their faces from their extensive use of the Dark side. But that wouldn't happen to her. Or if it did... De'Ville shuddered, and put her hand to her forehead. "Sorry, I just have a headache."

[Pierce Tondry]

Pierce rested a hand gently on his wife's cheek, stroking it with his thumb. "Ah, no worries," he said with a reassuring smile. "Maybe it'll go away."

Lilaena smiled, but her eyes seemed unconvinced. "So how is work?" she asked.

"It could be better," Pierce replied, allowing Lilaena to divert the subject. "Airen Cracken's still at the top of the food chain, and I know he doesn't trust me in the slightest. But I get whatever he assigns me done just the way he wants it, so he doesn't complain. Gramps watches Jax whenever I have to make a trip offplanet."

Pierce shrugged his shoulders back and lounged in a more comfortable position. "So," he said, making sure to keep his voice casual. "What have you been up to lately?"

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She snuggled into his side, laying her head on his shoulder. Airen Cracken is still in the game. It wasn't anything she didn't know already, and work was such a touchy subject, especially between the two of them. Pierce would never reveal anything to her that she wouldn't have already known.

"Me? Oh...not much." Her mind tracked over the recent incident on Arcan IV, and she quickly squelched the thoughts. "Done some traveling, you know..the usual. I spent some time on the moons of Iego recently, though. I actually saw some of those "angels" while I was there." Lilaena smiled faintly, her eyes closed, Jax still in her arms. "They were not as impressive as one would hope from the legends. Some sort of bioluminescent beings...I did not have time to study them."

She didn't mention the Sith Master they had left for dead on the moon she had visited. She and one of her apprentices. No one would ever hear about that.

[Pierce Tondry]

"Well, I'll be damned," Pierce shook his head. "I'd always thought Iego was a myth- no one I knew could ever give me coordinates for it. Must just not have known the right people."

"I guess not," Lilaena replied. There was something distant in her voice that Pierce didn't like, something he knew she wasn't saying, and it just added to the underlying tension he'd felt between them.

A seabird swooped down to land on the stone of the plaza, its' last few wing flutters sending off a couple of white feathers. An idea occurred to Pierce and he plucked the feathers from the ground where they lay. With a mischevious grin, he tucked one behind each of his wife's ears, threading them neatly through her hair so they wouldn't fall out immediately. "See that, Jax?" he asked the child, who was staring in awe at his mommy's new decorations. "You fly to Iego, you grow feathers just like an angel."

Lilaena smiled at him, laughing and suddenly, the tension he'd felt was gone. Pierce picked up Jax and extended a hand to Lilaena, who accepted the hand up, then kissed him.

They ended the kiss and Jax came away with a feather in his hand. Pierce took it and tucked it behind one of his son's ears. A questing hand felt around the ear, trying to figure out what was different. "Come on," he said. "Let's go find a mirror so we can show Jax what he looks like."

"Okay," Lilaena said.

"And then maybe later," Pierce added tentatively. "We can leave Jax with Ivan, and you and I can get reacquainted with each other. A little more privately."

Lilaena gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'd love to," she said into his ear.

And that was it, Pierce realized. He'd been privately worried that Lilaena had grown away from the two of them, grown away from him in particular. But she hadn't- she still wanted to be his wife, and that was what counted.

The three of them walked off into the afternoon, followed by a feather that was blown about on the wind.


######

The following morning, Pierce was up bright and early. Jax's absence allowed Pierce to sleep soundly for a change, and the added invigoration brought on by the extra sleep had Pierce unusually charged. After working through a morning exercise routine, including some lightsaber form practice and some additional kata work, Pierce cleaned up and headed out to his wife's hotel.

The evening had been pleasant- a nice dinner, a short walk, and several hours of getting "reacquainted" before the two of them had parted company, promising to meet for breakfast at his wife's hotel. After that, they would work out plans for the rest of the day. It briefly occurred to Pierce as he got out of the cab to wonder what kind of things his wife would enjoy doing.

With a smile and a generous tip, Pierce sent the cabby on his way. He had a bouquet of red roses with him for his wife- hopefully she would enjoy them.

With those idle concerns on his mind, Pierce entered the main lobby of the hotel, sweeping it with his eyes to find his wife.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

De'Ville sat in the lobby, reading over a newspaper. The senator from Chandrila was leaving the planet to return to Coruscant. With the political upheaval in the galaxy, it was a unique time to be a part of the New Republic. She tapped the newspaper with a slim finger, and looked up as Pierce walked into the lobby.

Standing up, she stretched slightly, and smiled at her husband. He was carrying roses, and she allowed him to sweep her up in a bear hug. "I love you..." she whispered in his ear, and then inhaled deeply, enjoying the flowers. "Let me put these in my room." Lilaena kissed his cheek and pulled him towards the front desk, where she requested that the flowers be taken care of. The female behind the desk, a Twi'lek half breek of some sort with shortened lekku and light green skin, nodded graciously with a knowing smile.

De'Ville returned the smile, although she didn't feel it inside. You know nothing, little girl. But she smiled anyway, and then looped her arm through Pierce's. "Jax still with Ivan? He is amazingly patient to put up with a toddler." She pressed against his side, and Pierce wrapped his arm around her, drawing her close.

They walked to the attatched restaurant, and De'Ville dropped the newspaper into a trashcan before they entered. Intriuges could wait.

[Pierce Tondry]

"He put up with me," Pierce shrugged. "And my dad before me. He's old, and he just gets more and more patient each year. But I guess we Tondrys have patience in our genes- it's one of those traits that breeds true."

He gave his wife a lopsided smile, but titled his head to look at her so the smile appeared straight. "I wonder if it bred true with Jax," he said with a smile.

Lilaena smiled and gave him an unknowing shrug. Who could know their son's future at this point?

After leaving their things at a table, the couple made their way over to a bar with an impressive breakfast spread. Many kinds of dishes from all over the Core and Mid-Rim were featured, all hot, steaming, and calling to the hungry. Pierce gazed over them and, in the end, fixed himself a fruit salad topped with nuts, and had a second plate with some batter-dipped Whit bread. Lilaena returned to the table along with him, having chosen something that looked hot, steamy, and creamy. It was a dish Pierce didn't recognize. "What is that?" he asked. "It looks good."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

De'Ville gazed at the expansive breakfast bar, and felt a stab of irratation at all the expense. She trailed a finger along the pristine tablecloth, and let her eyes wander to a group of businessmen from the Banking Guild at a table near the center of the room. Dren of the worlds. She gave them a hot glare that no one else saw.

Soon Chandrila would remember its true purpose, but that was not for now. She saw that Pierce was heading back to the table, and so picked up a dish and a spoon, and followed him. They sat, and he smiled at her, setting his fruit dish down.

"What is that? It looks good." Pierce was looking at the dish in her hand, and she glanced down, not sure herself of what it was for a moment.

"Some native grains in hot milk." She stirred it a little, and grinned, adding a dark sugar to it. "It is actually quite good." She settled back into her chair. "So, did you sleep well?" De'Ville yawned, and covered her mouth. "I am glad we were able to do this. I needed the excercise." She winked at her husband.

"Actually, yes, I did." He smiled back, and she lifted her spoon to her mouth. It was a little hot, but a Force trick to absorb energy cooled her mouth. Perhaps not a glamorous usage, but useful nevertheless. A hearty laugh came up from the Guild table, and her eyes tracked over there. They were talking about the Chandrilan senator's upcoming trip back to Coruscant.

She looked back at Pierce, and smiled, reaching under the table to hold his hand.

[Pierce Tondry]

Cereal! His wife had gotten cereal for breakfast! It was such a simple thing, but it felt so regular, so familial, that Pierce took a peculiar kind of joy in the fact. "I slept like a rock," he laughed. "It's either been Jax, or work, keeping me up nights. When I get a chance to zonk out really good, it's a special privelege."

Pierce gave Lilaena's hand a squeeze beneath the table. "So, for that matter, is making love to my wife."

They both grinned shyly at each other and laughed, and Pierce couldn't help but be happy. "Boy, I wish-" he started, then stopped and shook his head.

"What?" Lilaena asked. She searched out his eyes.

"I wish," Pierce said slowly. "That we could do this more often."

"So do I," Lilaena agreed with a smile.

Pierce didn't blink. "So come live with me," he suggested earnestly. "On a full-time basis. Jax and I both miss you, and I'm sure you could find things to do with your time. And we could be together a lot more often. What do you say?"

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Things were going so well...and now he has to throw this at me. De'Ville blinked, and hesitated, spoon nearly to her mouth. As an afterthought she took the bite of cereal, and chewed thoughtfully, preparing her thoughts. She would be lying if the thought of living with Pierce didn't excite her. To be near her son and her lover...well, husband... It would almost be bliss.

Almost. If only our lives were that simple. "Pierce...I want to. I really do. But where would we live? Your life is with the New Republic, and the Jedi." As his demeanor changed slightly, she shrugged. "It is true, though. We last met near the Jedi Temple on Coruscant in that little bar. I cannot share that life with you...not there..." Her face twisted slightly, remembering other things from Coruscant, and her past. "Please, let us just enjoy today." Her voice unconsciously shifted from the easy Corurscantian accent of her youth to a Corellian form of Basic.

Unsure of what else to say, she simply dug her spoon back into her bowl, and stirred her milk a little. Then she reached across the table and took his hand. "I do love you. I care so much about you and Jax... I just do not think that he would be safe around me. I have...I..." Flustered, she withdrew her hand, and fumbled back with her cereal, trying to get another spoonful together.

I cursed him when he was still within me. Your own son, Tondry. I could not even tell you why if you asked. It had been almost two years previously, in a darkened tower of Bast. Covered with her own blood she had enacted an ancient Sith spell she had learned from her studies with the amulet she had recieved from Garrett Blade. Jax had also come in contact in-utero with the Dark Jedi Jeseth Cloak. De'Ville was not sure what affect Cloak had had on the infant, but he had lept uncomfortably in her womb at his touch.

Yet Jax was a happy child. Perhaps it had all been for naught. He showed no dark tendencies, only normal childish glee at everthing around him. It was unknown to her what the Jedi had done to her son while he had been in the custody of her friend, Darven Calmoarn. Now she knew that she wanted him to be able to grow up and make his own choices...that he would be able to use the Force was already apparent. What he would do with his abilities... always in motion the future was.

Lilaena flushed, and looked at Pierce, "Someday. Someday we will be a family."

[Pierce Tondry]

It was like listening to a speech of excuses and put-offs. Cannot share life with you... not there... she had said. I do not think he would be safe around me... Someday, we will be a family... Cast them into a bucket and they wouldn't hold water, not in Pierce's mind.

But, they were excuses that he wanted to believe, in spite of what they were. "Okay," he murmured. "If you really think so."

Mentally, he cursed. There was no way he could keep the defeat out of his voice, not on this. There had to be something he could say to make things better. "I guess you've had a Jedi vision or something about it, huh?" he asked, trying to smile. "You probably saw us together in some big wierd future. You and me retired from the world, and Jax all grown and married and doing great things. And there's puffy clouds and gardens and cottages by the river."

Lilaena didn't reply immediately. "Do you ever see things like that in the future?" he asked. "Do you ever see the future at all? Do you ever see us together?"

Pierce wasn't sure why he asked that question. Maybe he was seeking some reassurance or reaffirmation of something. But the words were out of his mouth now, and the way he'd said it-

Pierce bit his cheek. "I'm sorry," he said dejectedly. "I didn't mean- I- I just- Never seeing you gets to me. I'm starting to lose hope."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

"My strengths in the Force do not lie in the area of foretelling." Her tone was edged, her words clipped. Pierce saw she was hurt by his words, and she reacted by pulling up walls, invisible ones, but they were there nonetheless. "I am no longer hungry." Her voice fell into sadness at the truth he seemed to be realizing, and she pushed the cereal away from her, half eaten.

The table of business men was emptying, but she barely noticed, all of her attention focused on the man sitting across from her. Her foot lightly brushed his under the table, and she forced a smile. "Perhaps we should take a walk, and talk about ... anything." She was grasping at straws in a vain attempt to steer the subject onto brighter and better things.

But in the end, it was only grasping at straws. Her face fell, and her foot retreated underneath her chair as she stirred her cooling breakfast. "I lost hope a long time ago, Pierce. You have revived it in me. I am trying...I really am." Lilaena looked up at through her dark lashes, and he saw traces of tears in her eyes, although she refused to let them fall.

"Can we go now?" Her voice was a whisper.

[Pierce Tondry]

"Yeah," Pierce said. "Yeah, sure. We can walk and just enjoy the day. Talk about anything. Talk about the weather. That's what couples do, right?"

Lilaena nodded and the two of them got up, leaving their unfinished meals on the table for whoever would come and clean them. His hand found hers as they reached the doors, which opened to let them outside.

A blast of hot air hit them both in the face. Pierce blinked at the temperature change- it hadn't been anywhere close to this hot when he'd come in. Once they'd been outside for several minutes, though, the heat wasn't so bad.

"Nice day," he commented, giving his wife's hand a squeeze.

"Sort of," she replied. Her voice suggested that she still hadn't forgotten their earlier conversation.

"This really isn't so bad for Chandrila," Pierce told her. "It gets like this every summer. Worse than this is something really unusual."

"I did not know."

"You wouldn't have a reason to," he said. "Not many people just come here. Some people tell me the only way you'll like Chandrila is if you grow up in it. You go a lot of places and it always feels like you're in a city by the sea because of the humidity. Even the planet's Senator to the New Republic spends most of his time at Coruscant."

"Why did you leave the Empire?" Lilaena asked suddenly.

"What Empire?" Pierce retorted. "The Empire I served died when it fell into the hands of Ysanne Isard and her ilk. They're all about scheming and plotting and using people to get back at those they don't like. They don't care about who they step on to get their way, and I won't let people be stepped on. It sucks, and nobody has that right anyway."

Pierce turned a curious eye on Lilaena. "Why do you ask?"

"I had been wondering," she replied hesitantly. "The Republic has always seemed too weak to be effective."

Pierce bit his cheek thoughtfully. "I guess in a way it is," he said. "And I'm not saying I prefer it. But with the Republic there's a chance someone decent will get put in a position of authority. I'd take that over the Ysanne Isards of the galaxy any day."

"I suppose it has merits," she said, still hesitant.

"Yeah," Pierce said and sighed. "You know you can trust some people to look out for you. Trust is pretty important in a galaxy full of people who want you dead."

"Speaking of killing," Pierce said, not betraying any of the discomfort that he felt. "Word around Intel is that there was an attack on Arcan IV awhile back, and that the Black Hand had something to do with it. You know anything about it?"

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Do I know anything about it? Was he joking? Lilaena looked at him underneath her lashes, and then looked away. Just around the corner the sun was dancing off the waves of the Silver Sea, lapping at the edges of Hanna City. "I suppose that Intel would know what they were talking about, would you not?"

Why did he always have to do that? They were just recovering from his latest bitter rant, and now he was bringing up the Hand. De'Ville couldn't remember why she'd even told him about the Hand. Oh, right. They were married. Little to no secrets between them. She must have had a fit of trust. "Did you tell them about me?" Her eyes involuntarily hardened, and then she sighed. "Regardless of what you believe those you work with have to know, I did hear that the Jedi were attacked as they were leaving Arcan IV. So, yes, I know about the attack, but as to who, or what was behind it...it is hard to say."

Very hard to say. So hard, it was tearing her insides apart, like freezing icicles and boiling oil in her stomach. On the outside the dead giveaway, the calmness of the Force surrounded her, masking her feelings. To Tondry it could mean anything: she could be about to burst into tears, or fly into a homicidal rage. But he knew her looks, and that unnatural calm meant she was hiding herself again.

She pulled her hands away, to put them in her pockets, and then staggered, and caught the wall of a building to hold herself upright.

A young woman, perhaps nineteen, was smoking. A curl of cigarrette smoke wafted from her lips, and she was frowning. Then her frown dissolved into a smile, and she looked over her shoulder, as if someone had just told her a joke. Her hair was short, mussed, and auburn, her face pretty, but not remarkable.

"Are you all right?" Pierce reached out and caught her shoulders as De'Ville sagged towards the pavement.

The woman was running towards her, a lightsaber in her hands. Her face was full of fear. Destiny. De'Ville felt afraid too, but didn't know why. It is your destiny. Her lightsaber was in her hands as well, and broken glass littered the ground around her feet.

"Shattered ..." She was staring at him with unseeing eyes, the hot sun shining into them and revealing an intensity of color Tondry didn't think he'd seen in them before. He shaded her eyes with his hand, and she blinked as they dilated.

"Are you all right?" Tondry repeated himself, and she allowed him to help her to her feet. There was no one arround, just a few squalls hopping across the street. They didn't seem to care at all about the two humans on the sidewalk. De'Ville nodded.

"I think so." She frowned and rubbed her forehead, and looked at him. She didn't know what to say. "I saw something through the Force. It did not make sense."

She hugged him tight, unwilling to let go, and whispered into his chest, "Nothing makes sense anymore."

[Pierce Tondry]

"It's okay, Lily," Pierce murmured, nestling his face into her hair and wrapping his arms around her. "It's okay. Not everything's gotta make sense, you know? Sometimes things are just crazy."

The two of them stood, holding onto each other for dear life as though they would fly apart if they'd let go.

And maybe they would have. They were two very different people. Pierce had never been certain what it was that had attracted him to Lilaena in the first place. Maybe it was because the two of them worked so well as a pair, or maybe they'd both caught each other vulnerable at some point. Love never really made a whole bunch of sense and logically analyzing it was a good way to make it disappear.

So what was he doing trying to break this relationship up into bits and put them under a microscope? Did he really want to ruin a good thing?

But could he afford to ignore who she was and what she did when he wasn't there?

Pierce dispelled his inner turmoil and kissed Lilaena on the cheek. "Let's go for a boat ride, hm? Take our mind off the galaxy for awhile, get away from it all. You ever sail on the sea?"

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She shook her head, and sighed semi-happily. "I lived too far down to see the man-made sea on Coruscant. Spent some time on Nal Hutta, and you couldn't pay me to get near any water on that slimehole. Tatooine, well... you get the picture." They turned a corner and she looked ahead to see the glistening horizon of the Silver Sea.

"Ohh..." It was beautiful. As they walked closer she saw children and parents on the beach, playing in the waves that were coming up onto the sand. Pierce led her to a dock, and she allowed him to spend a few minutes procuring a boat. It was a repulsor ship that only skimmed the water, but was driven forward mainly by wind, it's sails reminding De'Ville of the solar-sail ships she'd sometimes seen coming into Coruscant.

A slight spray misted over the bow of the ship, and De'Ville smiled, enjoying the cool water on her sunwarmed skin. Once away from the shore she'd stripped down to a bathing suit, and was contemplating getting a nap in the sun. She tugged on Pierce's arm as he set the sails, and winked at him. "Can we relax, or do you need to keep an eye on the rigging?" Lilaena grinned impishly, and then wandered away to the other side of the ship, only a few feet away.

She leaned on the rope railing, and breathed deeply. She was finding that she loved the ocean.

[Pierce Tondry]

"I need to watch things until we get a bit farther out, but then I'll come join you," Pierce smiled.

Lilaena winked at him over her shoulder, and he blew her a kiss. She smiled and turned back to the railing and he, to rudders and ropes.

There was something calming about the water, something healing, something protective in the way it fought off the heat of the day. For a moment, Pierce harkened back to Ithor and their honeymoon. They hadn't exactly gone on a boat or anything, but lodging on an Ithorian herdship that hovered about Ithor's jungles felt a lot like this.

But this was somehow better, more real. Ithor was like a fantasy; Chandrilla was a tough, fiery place with flaws and faults and small ways of finding peace in spite of everything.

A tail suddenly flashed out of the water in the near distance. "Lily!" he called. "Look at this!"

He heard her footsteps behind him, but he didn't turn around. He wanted to catch any movement in the waves. "I don't see anything," she said.

"Just- there!"

The tail flashed out of the water again and smacked into the water's surface, sending up salt spray. Then a great head leapt nosed its way forth.

"What is that?" Lilaena asked, awed.

"It's called a whale," Pierce said, continuing to watch. "Large, aquatic mammal. Found on many worlds. It feeds of tiny creatures in the water. You can tell it's a whale by the blowhole on top of its head."

The sea churned suddenly and the whale leapt from the deeps, revealing its entire form briefly before sinking back into the water with a splash.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

De'Ville ducked behind Pierce as the whale splashed back down into the water, laughing as the resulting spray rained down on them. "I have never seen anything like it. Are there more?"

Pierce pointed down into the clear water. "Looks like it has a baby tagging along..." De'Ville grabbed the rail and leaned over, catching sight of a smaller creature underneath the waves. It was soon out of sight, and she turned around to face Pierce. Back to the railing, she stretched upwards, and then slowly relaxed, her hands steadying herself on the rail.

He was paying attention to something on the boat, and she walked up and helped him tie off a line. The sun was warm, and the drops of water on her body were quickly dried in its rays. "You are good at this. Have you sailed often?" She trailed a finger down his chest as she talked, and added, "Is the ship alright if we let it tend to itself for a few minutes?"

[Pierce Tondry]

"It'll be fine for awhile now," Pierce said with a smile. He took Lilaena's finger from his chest and wrapped it around his waist. "We're out over the deep water, where there's little rough water and the swells are pretty low."

He gave Lilaena a kiss on the cheek and pulled her to the rail. "To answer your question, I don't sail often- once or twice a year- but it's nice to get out on the ocean when I can. There's something about the water that's very... peaceful, I guess. No armor, no blasters, no double agents, no lies... I can relax. Hey... that reminds me."

Letting go of Lilaena, Pierce went over to a small cabinet. From it, he pulled a large blanket, which he spread out over the small ship's deck. He nodded in its direction when he was done. "Lie down."

Lilaena hesitated, so Pierce got onto the blanket first. He lay down, hands clasped behind his bed, and closed his eyes so as not to be blinded by the sun. The boat shifted and swayed gently, giving him the feeling of hovering. "It's like there's an anti-grav unit on your back," he said aloud. "Give it a try."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She knelt down on the blanket and crawled up next to him, laying on her back as he was. De'Ville closed her eyes, and exhaled slowly, feeling the rock of the ship underneath her back.

The salt air, the sound of a few sea birds fly over head, and the swells of the water all combined against her to lull her into a state of sleepy relaxation. She drifted....and then jerked awake as he touched her side. He moved his hand away.

"Are you all right?" He propped himself up on one elbow, partially shadowing her face, and she opened one eye to peek at him.

"Just startled. I am fine." She still thought about her time in the orphanage...unexpected touches brought back many old memories that she tried to forget. De'Ville squinted into the sun, the glare disuising the unease in her heart as she tried to relax again.

She propped herself up on her elbow as well, and leaned close, kissing Pierce softly on the lips. "Is the water safe? No man eating creatures in it, is there?"

[Pierce Tondry]

"Not for at least twenty meters or so," Pierce murmured. The two of them were already kissing even as he spoke, and there was nothing around but the wide blue ocean and the rolling waves to watch them.

They made full use of that.

Some time later, after they had indulged each other's passions and were staring up into the afternoon sky, Pierce spoke. "I do miss you, Lily."

He felt her shift uncomfortably and he put a hand on her. "None of that now," he said quietly. "It's just how I feel. Some days, I get a little empty and wonder what you're doing. I wish you were here. I'm glad for the chance to get to spend time with you."

The silence of the open sea filled the pause in Pierce's words. "I'm sorry about this morning, making you feel bad and all. I didn't mean to do that, but even soldiers get discouraged. That, or I'm not a good soldier."

Pierce's hand ran over Lilaena's belly. "Thank you for our son," he said. "I know it has to be rough not being with him, but I try to show him some pictures of his mommy every now and then. He knows who you are, although I sometimes wonder how."

"It is the Force," Lilaena murmured, a touch of wonder in her voice.

"However it happens, I don't care," Pierce said, drawing his wife close and holding her. "All I know is that it's just one more reason for me to love you."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She pulled him tightly to her, still warm from their time together, and not for the first time felt a lump rising in her throat. What happened to us?

They had started off as enemies, and then as comrades in arms. And then...in a move which she intended for evil...something which had been long since buried in both of them had taken root. She had refused to call it love. Maybe...mutual admiration. But it had grown, and developed, and lust was overcome by feelings more permanent with the conception of their son.

And then Pierce had changed. He left the Empire behind, and that fiend Isard, and joined the New Republic. She shivered in his arms, and he assumed she was cooling off. "You warm enough? The spray and the breeze off the water can get a little -"

"I am fine." Her words were muffled in his neck. "I miss you and him as well. It..." It is killing me.

But she didn't know how to reconcile the woman she had been with the woman she wanted to be. Nothing added up anymore. Her arrogance was largely still intact, but her brashness had receded into sutblety and tricks. She had matured, yet had not really changed.

De'Ville pulled back, and grinned at him, pushing him away playfully as she decided to make the best of their situation. "I love you both so much. You cannot even imagine." She got to her feet, grabbed her clothes, and then snagged his pants and darted to the far side of the ship, laughing gleefully.

[Pierce Tondry]

"Hey," Pierce said. "Give those back."

Lilaena just giggled, his pants dangling from her hand.

"All right," Pierce sighed. He started towards her. "Come on. Hand 'em over."

A few dancing steps took Lilaena farther away, towards the low guardrail on the ship. Pierce found himself annoyed- the wind was chill and his legs were bare. "Come on, now," he said. "It's a cold out here and I want to get dressed."

"All right," Lilaena said. She held his pants out.

Finally. Pierce reached for them-

-and abruptly Lilaena pulled his pants away. The sudden movement caught Pierce by surprise, and he started, losing balance. He went down, and the guardrail caught him in the head as he fell.

Lilaena covered her mouth with a hand. "I am sorry," she said.

"Just give me my damn pants, would you?" Pierce said, massaging the injury.

Her shoulders seemed to cave. "Here," she said sadly, dropping them into his lap. "I will go steer us back to shore."

Pierce pulled his pants on, irritated thoughts running through his head. There was a time and place for that kind of thing, and it had already passed. They needed to be getting back to shore now. At least Lilaena was getting them back to shore.

Sharp eyes looked out across the waves. It would be kind of nice, at least, for them to head back to shore in the light of the setting sun. Come to think about it, sunsets on Chandrila were always a nice sight, especially when one was sailing off into them-

-abruptly Pierce got up and stalked over to the steering column. "What are you doing?" he asked.

Lilaena looked chagrined. "I was just trying to have a little more fun," she explained. "A little more time on the ocean-"

Pierce reached past her and took hold of the rudder controls. "We have limited fuel," he said, turning them around. "We need to go back to shore now."

The sunset curved out of view. Lilaena gave it a disappointed look over her shoulder and plopped herself down in one of the nearby seats.

The expression on her face left Pierce with a sinking feeling in his gut. He set the controls to take them back to shore and sat down beside her. "Tomorrow's another day. We'll find something to do then, okay?"

Lilaena said nothing, just hunched herself tighter and rocked back and forth. "Hey," Pierce placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I just don't want to be stuck out on the open ocean with no fuel and no pants. Practical concerns, ya know?"

Lilaena nodded and looked at him. "I am sorry," she said quietly. "I will take what you say a bit more seriously."

"Okay." Maybe she would. Maybe their relationship would mature a bit.

Pierce put his arm around Lilaena's shoulders, shielding her from the cold. Tomorrow would indeed be another day.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Day dawned early on the third day, peeking through the curtains in Lilaena's hotel room. She rolled over and snuggled against her husband, resting her head on his chest lightly. He mumbled in his sleep, and shifted positions, putting an arm around her as she let her eyes close again.

Sleep was not to come to her, however, as the last nights events replayed in her mind. She hadn't intended to make Pierce upset...and she wasn't as empty-headed as he had assumed. Lack of fuel was hardly a worry when one could control the Force. It was a simple enough matter to create a wave...granted it would have taken some time, but it was time she was willing to give to him.

She traced the receding bump on his forehead from where he'd hit the guard rail. How was she to know he would lose his balance that easily? Lilaena lay still, but could not sleep. She'd been becoming more and more of an insomniac lately, dark dreams keeping her awake. And as she drew more and more on the Dark side, the less she found she wanted sleep.

After a few more hours, she rolled over and got up, walking naked to the refresher as Pierce began to wake.

[Pierce Tondry]

"Ow."

Sunlight had a way of being a constant and persistent alarm clock. One eye cracked barely open caught the sun's rays, and abruptly Pierce was blinking himself into awakeness. Movement caught his notice and he saw the figure of his wife walking towards the refresher.

"Good morning," he mumbled, halfway coherent. "Sleep well?"

[Lilaena De'Ville]

"Yes." She lied smoothly, hardly even thinking about it. De'Ville turned slightly and winked at him, and then started the hot water shower running as she looked in the mirror.

She looked thin. Thinner than usual. Still not unhealthy, but if she cotinued to loose weight... Lilaena ran her fingers through her hair, and stepped into the shower, gasping at the feel of the steamy water. Sonic showers were efficient, but water showers were luxurious. Lilaena closed her eyes and stepped directly under the showerhead, letting the water stream over her face and body.

[Pierce Tondry]

A breath of cold caressed Lilaena's nude body, and then was replaced by the heat of another person. "I hope you don't mind if I join you," Pierce's breath tickled her ear.

"Mmm not at all."

The hot water continued to stream down Lilaena's body. She could hear and sense Pierce moving behind her, and then his hands were on her, rubbing something silky smooth against her shoulders in slow circles. His hands moved up and down her back, massaging as they applied the cleansing lather. He paused at her hips, and then his hands worked their way around to the front of her warm and steaming body.

For a long time, the only things coming from the shower were hot vapors and low moans.

"Order some breakfast or something," Pierce murmured, pulling wet strands of hair away from Lilaena's ear. He settled a bathrobe onto her shoulders. "Whatever you want. I need to check in or I'll get fired."

"On vacation?" Lilaena asked.

Pierce's face slid into a tired expression. "Trouble, lately. Cracken really does not trust me, I think."

Lilaena rested a hand on his shoulder. "Do you know why?"

Pierce squeezed her hand and smiled. "Not really," he lied. "I've always assumed that it's just leftover hostility towards the Empire."

Lilaena smiled, and Pierce kissed that smile. "Go on, order. I'll just make use of the balcony."

Shrugging his own robe onto his shoulders, Pierce picked up a commlink and stepped outside, into the sun.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Lilaena lay back on the bed, reaching for the comm on the bedstand as her husband walked out on the balcony. "Front desk? Yes, I need some breakfast in room 204. ...Yeah that sounds good. Just charge it to the room."

She disconnected, and slowly sat up, her eyes turning towards the balcony. The sliding glass doors were closed, and the horizontal blinds were also drawn. De'Ville sidled up to the blinds, being careful not to touch them or cast a shadow. Thankfully it was late enough in the morning that light was trying to shine in. It was only idle curiousity on her part.

Not that that changed the conversation she overheard.

[Pierce Tondry]

"-yes, I'm sure that is what he thinks. No, I disagree."

The reply on the other end was short. "Yes, of course. I'll use her to get to the Black Hand and then dump her once they're all in custody."

Pierce abruptly laughed aloud. "Joking? Pfft. How little you know me. I'd do it if the cause was just."

There was a longer pause. "Yeah, well, Cracken and I rarely see eye to eye on anything, but this is something we happen to agree on. No. No, listen, I know their threat potential, okay? And I know Lilaena's threat potential too. I really don't see them as being dangerous, except on a low-level scale."

"Pfft. Look, she's my wife, I know her inside and out. I really don't think it makes sense in the first place. I know what my orders are and I'll carry them out as I see fit-"

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She blinked, and stumbled back away from the blinds, stopping her movements when she felt the bed behind her knees. Surely he hadn't meant... Pierce was a sarcastic individual, but he hadn't sounded like he was joking.

Fear was replaced by anger, and Lilaena sat on the edge of the bed, bent over and clutching her temples with her hands. I'll use her to get to the Black Hand and then dump her once they're all in custody. No...no...It couldn't be true. She would have known if he'd been...

...lying.

But would she have? The plain answer was no. No, if Pierce wanted to lie to her he probably could get away with it. He was an expert in espionage and treachery after all, having learnt from the best. From Y'sanne Isard. De'Ville couldn't read minds, she had no way of knowing what he was thinking.

Was it all a sham then? What about Jax? As she thought about her baby it started to fit into place. Pierce would have known that they never would have the right level of trust, so he had impregnated her to remove all doubts from her mind. She could almost hear him. "After all she's only woman. All women want the same thing. So I'll give it to her, and then take it away when I'm done." But it couldn't be true, could it?

Pierce was still talking outside, but inside the true battle raged as Lilaena's eyes started to burn with an inner fire he hadn't seen since the day they fought in his penthouse on Coruscant. She was furious.

[Pierce Tondry]

"For the last time, dumping a ship where it'll be stranded is not a problem," Pierce growled. "Although I really don't think moving against them is necessary in the first place- they're a group of misfits breaking apart. We just have to wait it out and when that happens-" Pierce drew in a breath. "When that happens, I'll ask Lilaena about joining the Jedi."

"No, you listen to me. I'm the op-man, do you understand? My plan satisfies your damned mission requirements. Now let me get back to my vacation. I get precious little time with my wife as is."

Whatever the man on the other end was about to say, Pierce would not know. He'd clicked the comm off.

For a moment, he stood and stared out over the sunlit city. It wasn't fair. He'd always been caught between one loyalty and another, pushed from one branch of service to the next. Trying to do the right thing only ever landed him in a hot spot. Even with Lilaena, there were difficulties.

Because of Lilaena, there were difficulties. Cracken suspected his marriage, Pierce knew. How the other had any inkling at all was beyond him, but it was only a matter of time before the head of the NRI came calling to ask why Pierce was consorting with a known Dark Sider and suspected agent of treason.

But at least he still had Lilaena, and she had him. Whatever the universe threw at them, they could take strength from each other.

Pierce put the commlink away and went back through the balcony door.

Then he stopped.

"Lilaena," he asked. "What's wrong?"

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She turned those firey eyes on him as he stood framed in the doorway. "You would use me? You, would use me." Lilaena shook with anger and hurt as she started yanking on clothes, the hotel robe soon discarded on the bed. "If information was all you wanted in the first place, then Imperial interrogation droids might have gotten the job done." And with less pain.

She threw his pants at him, which he caught deftly, the confusion on his face only making her angrier. Couldn't he stop the charade for even a moment? "You must think I'm stupid!" Angry tears flashed in her eyes, one escaping and running down her flushed cheek as she tried to button up her shirt with trembling fingers.

[Pierce Tondry]

Pierce's jaw dropped in complete shock. "What?"

Lilaena did not answer; instead she continued to get dressed. Pierce began to approach her but an intense glare from his wife stopped him. "Use you? What are you talking about?" he asked, completely baffled. "What information?"

[Lilaena De'Ville]

"I heard it all." De'Ville yanked her shoes on, and stalked to the door, slamming her palm against the controls and opening it. "Use me to get to the Black Hand? Like hells you will." Her face twisted in anger and hurt, and she paused to spit on the floor in contempt of what he stood for.

"This is my room, so get the frell out of it."

[Pierce Tondry]

"What, on the comm?" Pierce was frowning as he tried to make sense of Lilaena's ramblings. "I wasn't talking about using you. Hell, if anything I was trying to convince Condros that you're not dangerous and that we don't need to move against... you..."

Pierce's eyes flashed suddenly and his expression shifted from defensive confusion to anger. "You were listening in?"

[Lilaena De'Ville]

"I wasn't jacking into your comm signal, if that's what you're thinking!" So furious that her voice slipped into the easy and natural Corusantian accent that she'd grown up with, Lilaena clenched her fists so hard that her short fingernails drew blood from her palms. "I walked by the sliding door and happened to overhear. Just get out!"

[Pierce Tondry]

"Fine," Pierce said coldly. He snatched up his pants and jerked them on. "Next time I'll just yell my conversations across town so you can really hear them."

Grabbing up the rest of his clothes, Pierce stalked out the doorway and slammed the close button on the other side. He stopped for a moment to pull on the rest of his clothes, but mumbled irritably throughout the process. Who did Lilaena think she was anyway? Listening in on his conversation? How many times had she done it before? There was no way to know- she might have done it dozens of times when Pierce hadn't noticed. His personal security might be compromised-

Maybe that had been Lilaena's plan all along; get in good with him and use him to gain knowledge first of Imperial Intelligence, then later of the Republic. She was a Dark Jedi and Pierce knew intuitively that was something not to be trusted. And the Black Hand were lunatics and psychotics, every one. Why had he thought she would be any different?

Was it because she'd had his child? Had she known even before they'd slept together that first time what would happen? Pierce knew from his training that it was possible, but...

But was it likely? Or were these suspicions just pipe talk, all hollow and no substance? So many doubts. Maybe I should try to talk to her.

Pierce stopped in his trek suddenly to lean against a wall and stare up at the sky. What was the right thing to do? Leave off and let things be? Or try and work it out?

A few minutes later there was a knock at Lilaena's hotel room.

It was only breakfast arriving.