Star Crossed

Jedha

I know that technically, the partisans weren't in Jedha yet at the time. Bear with me 😊

Those first rays of sunshine felt glorious on my skin. Not that I could feel its warmth; Jedha was a cold piece of rock. But years of entrapment on Eadu had caused me to forget how beautiful sunrays could brighten up a landscape. The surroundings were magnificent under the morning sun, shadows disappearing under its assault.

But even more than the yellow sand that seemed to fly in the lightest of breezes, I couldn't take my eyes of Elya. Her hair was on fire, its deep, reddish hue shining like flames under the sun. Their tips contrasted against the cross breasted tunic Bodhi had found for her – we couldn't pop up in Jedha in our uniforms. The tunic partially concealed the tiny bump, but not to whom knew how to look for it. I brushed my hand against it, incredulous.

We had made it to Jedha. In a few hours, if the Force willed it, I would be reunited with Jyn. My heart was already racing from anticipation. Yet, I worried for Elya and our baby. The bleeding had stopped during the flight, and she looked more refreshed than after yesterday's battle. Those were our first steps as free people; I wasn't fooled. For the moment, the battle wasn't won yet.

"Can you walk, Elya?" Bodhi asked, fixing a military styled package onto his back. The ship was hidden under a natural cliff that arched above the cargo, but none of them knew how long it would be before the empire found it. I had helped Bodhi disable the tracking device, but wasn't skilled enough to ensure other frequencies wouldn't sell our position. Staying in the cargo shuttle was too dangerous to take the risk.

"Yes," Elya responded, certainly laced in her voice. The harsh, business like woman had returned, replacing the terrified mother-to-be she'd been yesterday.

"Perhaps I ought to carry you," I chanced, my hand sliding at the small of her back. Fingers flexing, I relished in the fact that I could now touch her whenever I fancied it. A simple pleasure turned into a luxury, for we always had to keep professional distance on Eadu.

My lover rolled her eyes fondly. "Don't be ridiculous, Galen. Even if I'm light, there are at least ten khetlers to Jedha City. Your arms will fall off."

Kriff; she was right. But it didn't quite strike my ego. Dragging her in my arms, I gave her a stern look. "I see you have trust in my abilities." Elya's mouth quirked in amusement before she drew herself on her tip toes to drop a kiss to my lips.

"I do, and I also know you're human. So you're not carrying me. Period."

"Are you lovebirds done?" Bodhi's exasperation called a sheepish smile on my face. No. I'd never be done when it came to kissing Elya, but for the moment, we had a task to accomplish. And there was nothing trivial in trying to contact Saw Guerrera in a place infested by the empire. Luckily, Bodhi's family dwelt in this very city – this was how we had managed to convince him in the first place. The pilot had not taken the pillage of his temple too well.

I had often wondered on the probabilities that Elya's sex friend would also be a child of Jedha – the place where our Kybers came from, and where Guerrera had chosen to reside. Out of all those planets of the mid rim and the outer rim, what were the chances that both our pilot, and the partisan dwelt in the same place? Perhaps Bodhi's inner sense of sacred placed had drawn Elya to him in the first place. Or perhaps the force had a hand in our meeting after all.

"Take this," the pilot told her, handing her a large piece of colourless material.

Elya did, lifting an inquisitive eyebrow to the squirmy pilot.

"It'll stave off the cold, and you can hide your hair. I'm sure our portrait if already on every datapad. We don't need your hair to attract attention."