Quantum Entanglement: Howzer and Aurelia

19. Rescue

"Remember that time you tried to impress me by getting caught in the rafters of a Coruscant opera house?" Howzer said suddenly, as they were walking across the capitol square after a morning visit to the refinery. He had a bit of a twinkle in his eye, though his jab was so understated that it sounded more like a factual question than an attempt at a dig.

"Okay, it seemed like a good idea at the time," Aurelia cajoled, surprised by the sudden memory. "What, just feeling the need to rub my face in it again?"

He smiled, shaking his head, "No, actually. I wondered if you'd be interested in seeing a little place I've found here that I thought you might like."

She couldn't see his expression behind his helmet, but she felt flattered that he was thinking of her at all. Unable to resist a grin, she nodded as they walked toward her office building. "I'd love to. Where and when?" she asked.

"I'll swing by here when you get off work tonight?" Howzer suggested, as they drew to a halt at the double transparisteel doors to the offices.

"Perfect. Nothing like humiliation to finish the day off," she joked, beaming at him. He gave a little bow of the head, and they parted ways.

The afternoon was spent on tedious entries on her datapad. She wanted the time to go as quickly as possible, so naturally, it felt like it crawled at a painstaking pace. In an attempt to pass the time more quickly, she decided to go for a walk, use the refresher, and change into a more comfortable (and slightly more flattering) outfit in preparation for the evening. It was getting close to the end of her work day, and she couldn't deny the rising eagerness within. But upon her return, Aurelia entered her office to find none other than Moss Gowden, reclining in the chair opposite her desk with a small array of local foods spread across it. The smells were delicious, but his presence somewhat negated the delight.

"Excellent timing, my sweet," he said, brandishing an arm across the desk in a proud display. "I hope you're hungry! I know it's getting late, but we need to go over the final inventory numbers and make sure the import schedule is all lined up. So I figured dinner would make it more bearable. I hope you didn't have plans tonight."

"Oh, umm. Thanks," she said with a small, forced smile, taking her seat opposite him. She did still have some time left on the clock, but not enough for all that work, so she needed to figure out how to get out of this as quickly as possible. He took a large bite of something crunchy, a fried little roll stuffed with some meat and herbs, and she dug in, deciding the food was worth the miserable company. They ate with periodic conversation for a while, and she had finished her bowl of noodles when she reached across for the platter of vegetables. The movement made her head spin a little bit, which seemed odd. She furrowed her brow, leaning back in her chair and rubbing her forehead with her hands.

"Everything alright?" Moss asked, pausing with his fork halfway to his mouth.

"Yeah, I just got dizzy for a second," she answered, returning to lean over her desk. But despite her best efforts to ignore it until it passed, it only grew worse as they finished their meal. She blinked a few times, hard, realizing that her eyes were slightly unfocused as well. But for some reason, it didn't seem to bother her so much anymore. In fact, it was kind of funny.

"Shall we get to those reports?" came Gowden's voice, sounding almost as if they were in a tunnel. Aurelia giggled at the funny tone, and he tilted his head in affectionate confusion.

"Ah, forget the reports," she said, waving an arm in the air. "I think it's time for a nap!" she laughed, leaning back in her chair so far that she almost tipped over backward.

"What has gotten into you?" Gowden asked, laughing a little bit himself. He stood and walked over to take a knee next to her chair, placing a hand on her thigh... "You feeling a little silly tonight?"