Quantum Entanglement: Howzer and Aurelia

7. Tricky Navigation

Another shift spent mostly outside the Senate chambers left Howzer restless. Hex had been particularly quiet, offering one-word answers to any attempt at conversation, and Howzer had settled instead to pass the time by counting the elaborate golden circles on the arch around the doorframe. They had been standing there silently for nearly ten minutes when Hex suddenly spoke up.

"So this is my last shift here," he said, as if they had been in the middle of a conversation.

"What? Why?" Howzer said, forgetting all 147 of the circles he had just counted.

"Joining the 138th as a resupply. Sounds like we're going to Anaxes."

"I've heard it's wild out there," Howzer said, the sadness and jealousy barely concealed. "Well... good luck."

"Hmm," Hex said as thanks, and they spent the rest of the Senate session in silence. Even the golden circles weren't worth the focus anymore; Howzer wondered if he would ever get his chance to do what he was actually made for. He imagined the adventures Sprint would be having, on a planet as notable as Ryloth, and he sighed out loud as he compared his dreams to his present station.

The Senate door slid open and Orn Free Taa trudged out, along with a couple other representatives. They were laughing about something, and Howzer felt a sudden desire to swat the many jiggling chins he was met with. But alas, there was a shift to finish.

***

"Ahh, cheer up, trooper. You'll get your chance," said Pivot, slapping Howzer on the back at the bar counter of 79s. He had made the mistake of asking what was bothering the messy-haired "shiny" and had received quite the earful about the ridiculousness of others being promoted before him, all that the war effort was missing, and the unbearable injustice of it all.

The females at the establishment had been left relatively alone as well, so Aurelia could tell something was quite "off" tonight. She ran a wet rag across the counter for the 92nd time, ending in front of Howzer and tilting her head at him from behind the bar. She wasn't very good at emotional support, and struggled to think of something to say that might encourage him. Coming up with nothing, she instead pulled out a bottle of fizz from the fridge, popped the cap off, and put it on the counter in front of him, giving his hand a gentle pat.

He looked up at her with eyes that seemed larger than usual and a face that was uncharacteristically serious. The corner of his mouth curved into a small smile, and he gave a nod of thanks. She smiled back, wanting to find more to say, but she was already getting hollered at from the other end of the bar. Never a shortage of thirsty patrons.

As she shook the two drinks up and poured them over the large chunks of ice, Aurelia had an idea that might bring the sparkle back to his eyes. She pushed the glasses across the counter and dropped the credits into the register, then headed back his way. As she approached, a woman slid onto the stool next to him in the smoothest motion possible. Her skin was luxuriously dark, and her slender figure was accentuated by a form-fitted green dress. Her long black hair was tied into a high ponytail, and stunningly sharp purple tattoo lines across her eyes and cheeks gave away her Kiffar lineage.

"Seems like you could use some company," she crooned, placing a delicate hand on Howzer's forearm. An immediate wrenching sensation in Aurelia's chest stopped her in her tracks. She was surprised by the protectiveness she suddenly felt. And was that... jealousy? The woman was undeniably beautiful; her brown eyes and full lips would be the pièce de résistance of an already-gorgeous specimen. Howzer's head whipped up at the attention, and his eyes immediately roved from her head to her toes. Aurelia could tell that he liked what he saw and felt as though an anvil had been dropped into her stomach.