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the-pixel-lover-extravagant · 2 months ago

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Gar Cyare Chapter Nineteen

You and Alpha travel to Coruscant for the trial. Nothing is quite the same as you remembered it.

Alpha-17 x fem!reader

Word Count: 6,500

Warnings: Nervousness, descriptions of space flight, made up descriptions of space flight, made up judicial proceedings, descriptions of a planet at war, feelings of alienation and displacement, loneliness, price-gouging

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Coruscanta (Coruscant)

“Are you okay, neverd’ika?” Alpha asked, resting a hand over the fists you had clenched in your lap.

You mustered a smile. “Yes, I’m fine. This is just… the first time I’ve left Kamino since I got here. It feels strange to be leaving. To have left.”

Watching the water-covered surface of Kamino disappear into the distance had been a nerve-wracking experience. Alpha had asked several times if you were afraid of hyperspace travel, clearly picking up on your discomfort, but you had truthfully told him that you had no problem with hyperspace flights.

No, leaving Kamino made you think of a permanent departure. Despite your best efforts, it would probably happen soon. Jaiss had asked about scheduling a meeting when you were on Coruscant, and you were sure that she wanted to speak with you about finalizing the report.

The trip from Kamino to Coruscant was not quick or easy. There were numerous star systems that you had to skirt around, and the gravity wells would only grow denser as you approached the Core Worlds.

Fortunately, the Republic had authorized one of their faster ships, and you were granted access to the Corellian Run hyperspace lane. Even so, the trip would take roughly three days. You were scheduled to spend a full week on Coruscant, but with your own ship, that time could be lengthened or shortened as needed depending on how the trial went.

Trial.

Your stomach twisted every time the word floated to the surface of your mind.

“Breathe,” Alpha murmured, thumb rubbing over the stark peaks of your straining knuckles.

The two of you were in the small seating area between the cockpit and the bunks. There were two pilots in the cockpit, which was designed to stay enclosed. You had been quietly amused by that when you stepped aboard - did the Republic think there was a risk that you and Alpha would have stolen the ship and disappeared if left to your own devices?

Fortunately, you had thought better of it before you pointed that out to Alpha. The idea of being a suspect for desertion probably wouldn’t have struck him as being as funny as it did to you.

There was a small kitchen opposite the seating area. It was little more than a flash-reheater, a conservator, and a sink, but it meant that you wouldn’t be eating ration bars for the entirety of your journey, so you thought it was beautiful.

When you had peeked into the barracks, it had held four bunks, but Alpha had already informed you that the pilots would switch off. Each one would get eight hours to sleep, then they would share the cockpit for another eight before the cycle continued.

You had been a little awed when you asked Alpha how he knew. He had scoffed lightly. “Standard troopers are trained to follow orders, not to think for themselves. Pilots can be a little more difficult to anticipate, but not much. They’ll stick to that schedule because it’s how they were instructed, and how the regulations say to work a flight of this length.”

There was a lot in that statement that made you want to ask questions, but you were preoccupied by other matters. All you had caught was that they had a definite routine, which meant that you and Alpha were free to spend as much time together as you wanted. As long as you tracked when the pilots were due to be passing through on their way to the bunks, you would probably be fine.

“Are there recorders on Republic transports?” you asked suddenly. It was such a natural continuation of your internal thoughts that it seemed plain to you, but Alpha gave you a strange look. “Visual or audio?”

“Of course,” he confirmed. “The Republic wants to know everything that happens aboard one of their ships, and if the ship is attacked, they want to know what happened.”

“Do you still have your disruptor puck?” you asked, much quieter.

Alpha nodded. “Never go anywhere without it.”

“I’m surprised they haven’t figured you out yet,” you said, unable to keep the note of admiration out of your voice.

“They may have,” Alpha said with a shrug. “But no one wants to formally call me out on it. If they did, they would have to admit that there is a way to disrupt their recording devices. The damage that knowledge would do is much worse than anything I might be doing while they can’t observe me.”

“You know, we have several days with nothing else to do,” you pointed out, watching the shadows cast by hyperspace form under Alpha’s raised eyebrow. “You could teach me how to make a disruptor of my own.”

“I could,” Alpha agreed, in a leading tone that made you narrow your eyes at him. “But you’ll have to do something for me in return.”

For a wild moment, you thought Alpha was going to say something lascivious. Admittedly, you were intrigued, but it would be tricky to avoid the pilots…

Then he said, “You have to show me civvie life on Coruscant.”

The surprise made you blink at him, but you valiantly tried to recover. “Civilian life, really? I thought you weren’t interested.”

“I don’t trust you to choose a holofilm anymore, but the rest of it?” Alpha shrugged. “You’re the expert. And you lived on Triple Zero for a while. I trust you to show me what I should see.”

Possibilities raced through your mind. It had been a while since you were last on Coruscant, but it would be nice to show Alpha some of your favorite places… “Okay, that sounds like fun! It’s a deal.”

Alpha nodded, but his eyes were fixed on yours with an intensity that made you nervous. “What did you think I was going to ask?”

You felt your face heat and reflexively looked away. “Nothing.”

That, of course, didn’t work. With a renewed interest sharpening his voice, Alpha leaned forward and pressed, “Didn’t seem like nothing. Seemed like you had something very specific in mind.”

You shook your head, still refusing to look at him. “Nope, it was definitely nothing.”

Alpha gave a skeptical hum, letting his thigh press more heavily against yours. “Too bad. Though you were gonna be brave. Tell me, me’copaani?”

Alpha must have influenced you more than you thought. Being lightly accused of cowardice put you on-edge, and then the soft entreaty to tell him what you wanted? You couldn’t help but respond.

You rested your hand on Alpha’s thigh in a way that could have been casual, if it weren’t so high up toward the juncture of his legs. He gave a low groan.

You met his eyes and lifted a brow, your lips curving into a playful smile. “Maybe it’ll be another fun civvie thing to show you once we get to Coruscant.”

Alpha’s spine stiffened slightly as you leaned into his lap to give him a kiss, but he returned it eagerly. When you pulled back, he tried to follow, stopping only when you turned your head away teasingly.

“Anytime,” he growled fervently. “Just tell me where and when. I’ll make it happen.”

You laughed, giving his thigh a squeeze and a pat before you removed your hand. “For now, let’s just focus on those disruptors.”

That work kept you busy over the next few days, especially since you could only work on it while the pilots were in the cockpit or the bunks. They didn’t spend much time in the common areas of the ship, but they emerged for food or to use the ‘freshers fairly often. Alpha had been right about their schedules, though, and avoiding them was easy enough.

By the time you were warned to strap in for the descent into Coronet City, you had created an array of three disruptors. The largest one was for your room on Kamino, the second largest was for your office, and the smallest was for you to carry on your person.

Alpha had been a remarkably patient teacher, but he had insisted that you learn how to do everything yourself. He hadn’t taken over, even when you were stuck on a step and frustrated about it. But he had taught you how to get past every problem and fix every mistake you made along the way. You had even made your last disruptor while Alpha was sleeping, as a way to test yourself.

When Alpha had examined the finished product, he had announced that he was proud of you. He had also added that he would have you make disruptors for him in the future, but you mostly focused on the pride.

The sight of the spires and lights of Coronet City made your stomach twist in a combination of nerves and excitement. The landing was steep, but smooth. Since both pilots were in the cockpit to assist with landing, you held Alpha’s hand during the whole process. You really weren’t scared of ships or flying, but you were starting to wonder if you were afraid of Coruscant itself.

When you were safely on the ground, the pilots announced that you and Alpha could gather your belongings, but that they had to be the ones to release the locks on the doors.

You had packed light, but Alpha’s bag was little more than a backpack. He was wearing full armor, with the exception of the helmet he carried beneath one arm. He had already explained that he could go to retrieve an extra body glove if necessary, and he needed very little else. Even so, he slung his pack over one shoulder and pulled your larger bag free before you could even reach for it.

“Don’t leave the hangar yet,” one of the pilots said, pausing on his way off of the ship. “Commander Fox needs a word with you both.”

You managed to wait until he had left before you turned to Alpha, alarmed. “Fox? The commander of the Coruscant Guard needs to speak with us?”

Alpha’s brows quirked. “How do you know that Fox is the head of the Corrie Guard?”

“I was a Senatorial aide,” you reminded. “Some of the Senators had to have security escorts if they were threatened. I only met Commander Fox once, but I’ve worked with the Coruscant Guard quite a bit.”

Alpha nodded slowly. “Good man, Fox. I’m not sure what he needs from us, but I trust him.”

That was high praise, coming from Alpha, but your shoulders were still tight with tension as you followed him off the ship. You relaxed when you caught sight of the commander. Fox looked vaguely irritated, and you could see why - Nora was standing beside him with an impish look on her face.

“Nora!” you greeted.

The lawyer beamed, stepping forward with her arms already open for a hug. You stepped into them gratefully, happy for the familiarity of someone you already knew.

“It’s so great to see you in person!” Nora gushed when you pulled back. “And Alpha, of course! He’s a big guy.”

The last part had been delivered in a whisper, and you nodded emphatically. Sometimes, it was easy to forget how much larger Alpha was than the standard clone troopers, but the difference was especially striking when he was standing next to Commander Fox.

Fox wasn’t a small man, himself. He was the same height as all of the other troopers, with a sturdy build that spoke of hours spent working on his strength. Fox had always exuded an air of competence, and the sense of authority he carried was noticeable enough to make even hardened criminals think twice about testing him.

“Fox,” Alpha greeted simply, jerking his chin in recognition.

“Alpha,” Fox returned. He glanced over and, seeing that you were looking back at him, greeted you by name as well. “I don’t know if you remember, but we met a while ago.”

“I definitely remember,” you agreed, half-laughing at the idea of forgetting a meeting with Commander Fox. “It’s been a while, though. I’m surprised you remember.”

Fox’s lips twisted into a wry grin. “I had a vague memory of you, but we’ve gotten more than a few shinies from Kamino since you started working there. They have plenty to say.”

Your spine straightened reflexively, not sure whether or not that was a good thing.

“The pilot said you needed something from us,” Alpha said, subtly redirecting the conversation. “What is it?”

Fox nodded slowly. “I thought it would be a good idea to let you both know the expectations for your time here. I’m not sure what she’s doing here.”

Nora met his sidelong glance with a broad smile. “I heard that Commander Fox would be debriefing you both, so I decided to come along in case there are any questions or information that your counsel should be aware of.”

“Again, this isn’t a debriefing,” Fox said, sounding tired. “Second, you aren’t their counsel for this trial. They don’t need counsel since neither of them are defendants.”

“Well, I’m already here,” Nora said bracingly, shooting you a wink when Fox turned away to roll his eyes.

“Captain, you’ll be staying in the GAR barracks,” Fox started at last. “Since court isn’t in session until tomorrow morning, you have some meetings scheduled for this afternoon. I’ll escort you to them personally. Advisor, the Senate has reserved a hotel room for you near the courthouse. They will update the reservation as needed for your testimony. I’ll transmit the details to your comlink.”

He glanced back and forth between you and Alpha. “You are both expected to be in the courtroom at nine tomorrow morning. I cannot stress enough that you do not need legal representation.”

“They’ve already tried to pin this osik on her once, Fox,” Alpha reminded lowly, tilting his head at you so Fox couldn’t possibly misunderstand. “I don’t trust that they won’t do it again.”

“Much as I hate to agree with the commander,” Nora interjected. “I have to say that Fox has a point. If you come in with obvious legal protection, it could make you a target if their charges against Brid don’t stick.”

“Could you just be… around?” you asked.

Nora shook her head regretfully. “The proceedings are closed to the public since the trial is an internal Senate and GAR affair. I will give you some pointers about questions you should and should not answer, though. We’ll go out for dinner tonight, the three of us. After Alpha’s meetings, of course. Unless you’d like to come along, Fox?”

Fox gave her a dry look, but didn’t offer any other response. Instead, he said, “The captain’s scheduled meetings will run fairly late in the evening.”

“Oh, no…” Nora lamented, grinning all the while. “However will we find a Coruscanti restaurant that’s open after sunset?”

Fox shook his head and looked back at you and Alpha. “Nine tomorrow morning. Alpha, let’s go.”

Alpha’s eyes were on you and he stepped closer in an effort to speak more privately. Nora cleared her throat and hastily engaged Fox in conversation - and you were fascinated to see that he went along with it.

“I’ll see you tonight, neverd’ika,” he promised. “Go get settled in the room and I’ll meet up with you and Nora as soon as these meetings are finished.”

“Are you sure they’ll let you leave?” you asked. “Sounds like they’re trying to keep you occupied.”

Alpha’s grin held an edge of violence. “They can try all they like. I’m an expert at keeping meetings brief. One way or another.”

“Okay,” you agreed. “Be…”

You trailed off. ‘Be safe’ seemed nonsensical. Alpha was going to the GAR headquarters. He would be surrounded by his brothers, many of whom he had worked with in the past or personally trained. Arguably, Alpha would be safer there than anywhere else, but you still fought not to tell him to be safe.

Alpha seemed to understand. He rested his hand briefly on your shoulder. “You too, little one.”

The warmth and solid weight of his touch stayed with you long after he had left with Commander Fox.

You did as Alpha suggested, checking into the hotel room. It was… fine. Nothing fancy, but it was clean and quiet, near enough to the courthouse that you could easily walk there when it was time. You unpacked your outfit for the next day, hanging it up to avoid any creases. You were back on Coruscant, which meant that appearances were everything.

You found enough to keep yourself occupied for almost an hour. But when your toiletries were arranged and your personal datapad was charging on the bedside table, the room started to feel… wrong. It was too small, and dark, and cluttered. It was hard to to breathe.

Minutes later, you had gathered your wallet, comlink, and room key. A walk through the city was exactly what you needed to keep your mind off of the stress.

You set a course through a familiar section of the city, waiting to feel the peaceful sensation of homecoming that had been lacking up to that point. In a perfect world, you would have commed some of your Senatorial aide friends to meet up. But the last you had heard, most of them had left Coruscant. Some had moved on to new jobs while others were part of personal staff for Senators. Since it was currently outside of the Senate’s season, they would only meet up on Coruscant if there was an emergency motion. For the moment, the Senators and their staff were on home planets and estates, or traveling reelection circuits.

It was startling to realize that you didn’t know many people on Coruscant anymore. It was even stranger to realize that you hadn’t lived on Coruscant for well over a year.

The second realization became more and more apparent as you wandered through Coruscant. When you had left, the discussions of bringing in a clone guard force to augment the Coruscant Security Force had been raging, and there hadn’t been any sign of a consensus. To the displeasure of the CSF - and its union - Chancellor Palpatine had overridden the objections and pushed through a clone regiment. Now, the red-armored Coruscant Guard seemed to be everywhere you looked.

The war had taken its toll on the city in other ways. Every advertisement board switched between ads and governmental PSAs. Announcements about rationing and decreased utilities blared from assorted street corners. Graffiti splashed the walls - usually anti-war or anti-Republic, but you saw a few anti-trooper tags.

Public services had clearly taken a hit with the budget constraints of waging a war. Every drinking fountain you passed was broken, street lights were out more often than not, and the duracrete sidewalks were starting to crack and crumble along the more popular streets.

Most notably, plenty of businesses were closed. Some of the places you had loved when you lived on Coruscant were shuttered, a few of the doors bearing announcements that they hadn’t been able to compete in the wartime economy. One of your favorite restaurants had closed and your heart panged. You had planned to take Alpha there during your time on-planet.

Your already-low mood plummeted and you morosely turned back toward the hotel.

With your inevitable expulsion from Kamino coming up as soon as you submitted the report, you had wanted this trip to be more than it was. You hadn’t realized it at the time, but you had pinned your hopes on Coruscant feeling like home, and using that feeling to bolster yourself about the possibility of returning to a life of semi-normalcy.

Instead, it was growing more and more apparent that Kamino wasn’t allowed to be your home and that Coruscant no longer felt like the exciting surroundings they once had. Nothing was going as planned, and that made you feel irritable and off-balance.

And since you were already thinking of unplanned things, it seemed entirely fitting that you didn’t recognize where you were. A combination of closed businesses, changed facades, and partially closed walkways made even the most familiar of streets seem utterly strange to you.

You swore softly and tucked yourself off to the side, leaning against the railings to avoid passersby while minimizing how much Coruscant grime came away on your clothing. You might be able to find a comlink-accessible map, assuming that the frequencies hadn’t changed…

The sound of your name called in a familiar voice made you turn. When you glanced behind yourself, there was a tall, broad figure cutting easily through the crowd. You smiled. “Alph-”

You cut yourself off, frowning at the approaching trooper. His armor was red, and he made no move to take off his helmet as he stared down at you. More importantly, there was something about his bearing, the way he moved…

This wasn't Alpha.

At last, the trooper repeated your name and you nodded. “Yes. I’m sorry, have we met?”

“I’m here on my brother’s behalf.”

That didn’t directly answer any of your questions, but there was a suspicion forming in the back of your mind. You had never seen another trooper who could compete with Alpha's height and build, but this unfamiliar armored man was an exact match.

You tilted your head at him, studying the blank visor of his helmet as if you could see his eyes behind it. “You're another Alpha-class trooper, aren't you?”

He touched his gauntleted hand to his visor, giving a short nod. “Alpha-26, ma'am.”

“Do you have a name, or do you prefer Alpha-26?” You did your best to ask the question without any inflection that could be misconstrued as derision, but you really hoped that he had a name. Preferably not ‘Alpha’, either. That would simply be too strange.

He watched you for a moment, visor unmoving. You did your best not to fidget under the pressure of his hidden gaze. At last, he said, “Maze.”

“Maze,” you repeated with a smile. “It's nice to meet you.”

He tilted his head in acknowledgement, but gestured for you to start walking. “Let’s get you out of here.”

“Is everything okay?” you asked, already hurrying in the direction he had indicated.

Maze was a solid presence behind you. He followed a little further than Alpha usually did, but the similarities were uncanny. “You’re getting ready to testify in a Republic case, possibly linking to Separatist conspiracy. Wandering around in the depths of the city isn’t a smart idea.”

The idea seemed laughable at first. After all, you were still on the surface of the planet. Things didn’t usually get dangerous above level seventy or so. But you remembered how the Separatists had planted detonators in the Coruscant power grid. You had been on Kamino when it happened, but the news had rocked the galaxy. Coruscant hadn’t been successfully attacked in over a thousand years.

Maybe you weren’t as safe in the city as you had wanted to think.

You walked a little faster. “Did Alpha send you?”

“He mentioned that you were here,” Maze said vaguely. “He was kaden because they have him in di’kutla meetings for the whole day.”

“Yeah, Commander Fox said someone had made sure he had a full schedule.” You glanced around when you got to the next intersection. “Where are we going?”

“Up to you,” Maze said. “But wherever we go, we need to take the long way. I need to check for tails before we get anywhere important.”

“Is that necessary?” you asked, fidgeting uncomfortably with your wrist comlink.

Maze alternated between walking beside you and behind you. Since he was currently beside you, you could clearly see his nod. “There’s a humanoid following you. Has been for the last half-hour. I want to check it out before you return to your lodging.”

It was idiotic to glance behind yourself, but you tried until Maze physically blocked your way. In a dry tone of voice you had only heard from Alpha before, he said, “The idea is not to tip anyone off that you see ‘em.”

“Sorry,” you apologized reflexively. “Instinct, I guess.”

Maze hummed noncommittally. “How did you know I was an Alpha-class trooper?”

It was your turn to answer in a dry tone. “Just a feeling.”

From the tilt of Maze’s visor in your direction, he wasn’t impressed.

You waved a hand. “Alpha is the only trooper I’ve ever met who is so much larger than the average. I know he’s not the only Alpha-class trooper, so it was pretty easy to guess.”

Maze was quiet beside you. You had honestly assumed that his attention was on whoever was following you, until he said, “A civvie with critical thinking skills? Wish there were more like you.”

“That was… almost a kind thing to say,” you replied.

He shook his head. “Kindness isn’t really what I’m known for. The same used to go for Alpha, but looking at you… apparently, that has changed.”

The idea of anyone but you calling Alpha ‘kind’ was too funny. Maze shushed your laughter. With a stern look, he warned, “You’ll draw attention.”

“If someone is tailing me, I think I already have their attention,” you countered.

Maze’s sigh reminded you so strongly of Alpha that you laughed again.

“Doesn’t matter. I was trying to get him close enough to get a good scan of him, but if he gets a look at me, he’s more likely to hang back and blend into the crowd.” Anything you had planned to say in your own defense was cut short when Maze straightened, pushing you onward as he disappeared into the swarm of people surrounding you. “Keep moving. I’ll find him and catch up.”

Even with his considerable height and the breadth of his shoulders, Maze disappeared into the crowd within seconds. You caught the eye of several curious onlookers, but they lost interest when you just offered them a bewildered shrug.

You kept going in the vague direction of your hotel, walking alone for long enough that you started to wonder whether Maze had been injured. For a moment, you hesitated, ready to turn back, but a gruff-sounding sigh at your side made you think better of it.

“Keep walking, civvie,” Maze ordered.

You did, aiming a curious glance in his direction. In answer to your unspoken question, Maze lifted one armored shoulder. “We’re all good. It was one of Obrim’s boys. Apparently, you’ve been labeled a flight risk.”

“Obrim?” you repeated. “A flight risk? They think I would run?”

“Apparently.” Maze seemed unconcerned. “But if it makes you feel better, Seventeen is marked down as the one they would send to retrieve you. So whatever you’ve got going on, you’re keeping it reasonably ranov’la.”

While you were happy that Maze thought you and Alpha were being subtle, you weren’t entirely sure that Alpha would want his brother knowing about his personal life. He could be strange about things like that, and you didn’t officially know how Alpha felt about Maze.

“Alpha's a great friend,” you said carefully, “but he's a loyal Republic soldier. I'm sure he could find me easily if I decided to do something as foolish as running.”

Maze gave you a look that strongly implied you were losing grip on reality, but he just snorted instead of actually saying anything.

“Did he send you?” you asked at last. “How did he know I had left the room?”

“Comlink,” Maze said succinctly. “But Seventeen didn't send me.”

A sense of foreboding tightened your stomach. “Oh.”

“I've heard about you,” Maze said, after giving you a minute or two to scan for possible escape routes. “Not from Alpha, but others. Vode who came from Kamino. You're important to him. So you're important to me. I got your comm frequency from one of them.”

“Really?” you asked, forcing yourself to relax as you feigned curiosity. “Who was it?”

Maze snorted. “Trying to check whether I am who I say I am? Clever civvie. Seventeen didn’t send me. He didn’t have to. He mentioned that you were wandering around the city while he can’t be nearby to keep an eye on things. Seventeen doesn’t do small talk. He mentioned it because he was worried about you. So I came to find you.”

That made a lot more sense, and your wariness faded. Maze eyed you, shouldering through a group of beings who were blocking the pathway and keeping you falling victim to their disturbed centers of balance.

“Still don’t trust me?” he asked after you had made it through the crowd.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you-” you argued.

“But you don’t,” Maze finished, nodding like he had made some kind of decision. “Hold.”

You were trying to figure out whether to offended by being given a single-word command like a trained massiff while Maze typed a message into his comlink. You had decided to overlook it just as he lowered his arm to his side and watched you expectantly.

A moment later, your own comlink chimed. When you checked it, you had a message from Alpha:

I see Maze found you. He’s a di’kut, but he’s not dangerous. You’re in good hands.

You chuckled at that as you glanced back up at Maze. “Fair enough. You’ve been vetted.”

“What a relief,” Maze said, tone dry. “Let’s get you back to your hotel.”

A nearby chronometer caught your eye. “I’m supposed to meet Alpha for dinner. Is that something that is still happening, or will his meetings take the rest of the night?”

“They’ll keep him busy for a while longer,” Maze explained. “But if you don’t want to go back to the hotel, we can go to the GAR headquarters. Alpha can meet you after he’s done.”

“The GAR headquarters?” you asked, perking up a bit. “Can I take a look around while I wait?”

“Absolutely not.”

You must have looked disappointed, because Maze sighed. “Not without an escort. And I suppose I’m not doing anything important right now.”

The GAR headquarters were dull at first. Everything was painted in varying shades of tan and gray, laid out in a grid pattern that left you both bored and utterly dependent on Maze to lead you through the labyrinth.

But when you actually paid attention to your surroundings, you found that they were far more fascinating than you had believed at first. Beside every door was a neat little label explaining what you could find inside, and you had read through enough GAR documents to understand the enormity of the operations that were housed in the unassuming building. People you passed in the halls ran the gamut from shiny trooper to famous general, all of them greeting Maze with a salute or a kind word, respectively.

Maze wasn’t much of a conversationalist. You couldn’t bring yourself to be surprised by that, but it made the trip less of a tour and more of a fun experiment in keeping pace with someone whose legs were so much longer than yours. But he mentioned things here and there, and when you asked him a question about something you saw, he always knew the answer. He reminded you a little of Alpha.

Then, when one trooper stopped to make conversation with you and got flirtatious, Maze reminded you strongly of Alpha. If that trooper ever spoke to another woman inside the GAR headquarters, you would be surprised.

“That was a little harsh,” you remarked as the trooper rapidly disappeared from sight.

“A little?” Maze repeated unhappily. “I’ll have to do better next time.”

You didn’t actually see Alpha’s approach. You were watching a group of troopers approach from the opposite direction when you saw their eyes slide past you and widen. You turned, horrified that there was a general behind you, someone who would object to a civilian in GAR headquarters regardless of who was accompanying them, but when you turned, it was your boyfriend.

“Alpha,” you greeted happily. “I was starting to worry that they were never going to let you leave.”

“They did their best,” he agreed, looking irritated.

Maze glanced down at his comlink. “That why there’s an announcement to keep lookout for you? What did you do - walk out?”

“Yeah.”

You gaped while Maze gave an appreciative chuckle. “Good on you - they’d have kept you all night, otherwise.”

“Aren’t you going to get in trouble for that?” you asked.

Alpha’s mouth stayed pressed into a grim line, but the corners of his eyes crinkled the way they always did when he was trying not to smile at you too obviously. “I can handle it.”

Maze scoffed. “You two are disgusting. Get out of here before I report a sighting of you.”

Alpha nodded, but stepped close to Maze before they could split too far apart. Alpha spoke lowly in Mando’a, far too quickly for you to keep up. But he clapped Maze on the shoulder when he was done, so you assumed it wasn’t anything too negative. Maze gave him a shallow nod in return.

Before he could completely turn away, you called, “It was nice to meet you, Maze. Thank you for showing me around.”

Maze froze, glancing back at you for a long moment. Then he offered you a nod, too, and left.

You smiled up at Alpha. “Ready to go? I can comm Nora about where we’re going, but I’ll need you to lead me out of here. I have no idea where the exit is.”

Alpha chuckled lowly. “Follow me, neverd’ika.”

—

Nora had chosen a lovely restaurant for the three of you.

It was small, especially by Coruscant standards. There couldn’t have been more than a dozen tables in the building, but the atmosphere managed to be cozy and intimate rather than cramped. The effect was helped by plentifull windows that displayed the lights of Coruscant’s cityscape to best advantage. Inside, small lights hanging from the ceiling mirrored the lights outside, giving the impression that the city extended even into the restaurant itself.

You weren’t shocked when the owner came out to speak with Nora personally, greeting her by name.

You were shocked by the amount on the bill. It was going to take a substantial chunk of your savings to cover the meals that you and Alpha had enjoyed, but you valiantly grabbed the check anyway.

Nora snatched it from your hand in an instant. “Oh, no. I chose the restaurant. This is my treat.”

“I can’t let you do that,” you argued. Alpha watched the discussion with an inscrutable look in his eyes. “It’s too much-”

“If you think that’s too much, you should have seen how much I charged the owner of this place to get out of their legal troubles,” Nora informed you with a smirk. “I think he overcharges me in revenge, but the food is so good that I come back anyway.”

When you left the restaurant, Alpha said goodbye. You stared up at him, dismayed, but he shrugged and explained, “I was given strict orders to stay at the GAR barracks tonight, and I would never disobey a superior officer.”

Nora snorted, but Alpha looked sincere. You may have even believed him if he hadn’t snuck a wink in your direction and tapped his comlink.

As Alpha’s hovercab disappeared among the swarming traffic of the Coruscanti skies, your comlink chimed lightly.

I have to check in at the barracks, then I’ll be at the hotel. ETA one hour.

You didn’t even realize that you were smiling until Nora cleared her throat lightly. “So,” she asked leadingly, “how long have you and Alpha been dating each other?”

Stars, how did this keep happening to you? And why did it always come up when Alpha wasn’t around?

“I’m- We’re not-”

If Nora’s eyebrows arched any higher, they would levitate from her head. “Please. Anyone who has seen the two of you in the same space knows better than that. And, honestly? If you weren’t dating, you would be the biggest idiots in the galaxy. It’s obvious that you both care about each other.”

You sighed. “Are you going to tell me it’s a terrible idea?”

“Why would it be?” Nora’s tone was genuinely curious, which lowered your hackles a bit.

“Well, he’s a trooper, permanently stationed on Kamino and I…” You shrugged. “The process of writing that report isn’t going to last forever. I’ll have to leave Kamino eventually, then we’ll never see each other.”

“I mean, would leaving Kamino be the worst?” Nora asked gently. “I would think you’d be a little happy to come back home.”

You rubbed the back of your neck. “Is it strange that this doesn’t feel like home anymore? I’ve been gone so long and so much has changed…”

“That makes sense,” Nora agreed. “Would you stay there if it was an option?”

“In a heartbeat.” You laughed ruefully. “But I haven’t exactly made friends with the Kaminoans. At this point, I’ll be lucky if they don’t permanently ban other Republic officials from the planet.”

Nora gave a thoughtful sort of hum. “What if you could stay?”

The simple question sent a wild wave of hope through your chest. “What do you mean?”

“Did you know that parts of your report have spread outside of the Senate?” she asked instead of giving a direct answer.

“My- It has?” You shook your head, befuddled. “I can’t imagine who would be interested in reading it outside of the Senate. It’s a little… dry.”

“I agree,” Nora admitted, “but certain parties would beg to differ. Including a group I work with often, Sentient Rights.”

Your heart was racing.

“They think you’re doing important work on Kamino,” Nora continued without prodding. “When you’re finished with your report, they want to make sure you stay on Kamino, to prevent any sentient rights violations. What do you think?”

You hesitated. “Why did you wait until Alpha was gone to bring this up?”

Nora smiled, shaking her head. “The last thing I want to do is pressure you to stay somewhere you don’t want to be, even if the company makes it tolerable. If Alpha was here when you answered, I’d never know for sure whether you really wanted to stay on Kamino or if you just didn’t want to hurt his feelings.”

“Fair enough.” You thought about the resignation on Riptide’s face and the corresponding helplessness on Colt’s. You thought about the horror and devastation in the voices of Riptide’s squadmates, then about the way Alpha described reconditioning. You gave Nora a firm nod. “Give me their frequency. I’d love to talk with them.”

“I had a feeling you would,” Nora said with a smile. “Just like I have a feeling that a certain captain will be very unhappy if you’re late to meet him at your hotel room. Have a good night and we’ll talk after the trial.”

You agreed, thanking Nora for dinner before calling a hovercab. You were still worried about the trial, but the day had given you plenty else to think about.

---

Author's Note - This is the chapter that Tried Not To Be. It was a struggle to write, and I've been trying to post it for three weeks now. Then tumblr and AO3 both tried to get cute when I finally had a chance to work on it. Anyway, sorry for the wait. Hopefully this monstrous chapter was worth it!

If any Legends fans have opinions about how I did with Maze, please feel free to let me know! I tried not to make him an exact copy of Alpha, but I see them as being very similar.

Thanks for reading! The next chapter is still planned to come out at the end of this month, so I'll see you soon!

#alpha 17

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