Eye Of The Needle (Star Wars)

Chapter 36: Ahto City Swoop Racing

We then made our way into our one bedroom suite. By this time the sun had finally set. The suite contained a living room with a couch, a bathroom, and a bedroom with one bed. R3 turned to me, wondering whether he could power down or not.

"Sure, go ahead and power down, R3." I replied.

With that, R3 made his way into the living room, powering down beside the couch. I let out a sigh as I plopped down on the couch. Koltav sat down beside me.

"How do you do it? It's only been a day, and I feel exhausted and frustrated." I groaned.

"That's politics for you. Patience, min larel." Koltav advised as he placed a hand over mine.

I cracked a smile. "Thanks. I don't know how you do it. I could never be a politician. I'd be terrible."

Koltav shook his head. "I doubt it. I think you'd be a great politician. Imagine Storm Catroe as the Diktat of Corellia."

I chuckled. "Stop it, Koltav."

"I'd never, min larel." He replied as he kissed the back of my hand. "You deserve the best, Storm."

"And I have the best, min larel. Right here beside me." I informed him as my smile grew.

His smile widened. "As do I, min larel."

With that he leaned in, planting a kiss on my lips. Once we pulled away, Koltav wore a determined look on his face. "We won't leave until the High Court joins the Republic."

He then stood up from the couch. "Now we should get some rest."

Before I could say anything, Koltav went into the bedroom. A few moments later, he walked out with a blanket in his hands. "Don't worry, min larel. I'll sleep on the couch."

"Are you sure? Because I could always take the couch." I offered. "After I became a padawan, I would travel a lot on missions, so I'm use to sleeping on harsh rocks."

Koltav cut me off at once. "Storm, it's alright. Besides no girlfriend of mine is sleeping on the couch, when I can sleep there."

"Thanks min larel. You're truly the best." I replied.

I then gave him one last kiss before making my way to the bedroom to get some rest.

•••

The next week, Koltav, R3, and I explored the city. Shazzi and Ruko were able to get us back into the building and into the court room. I left the talking to Koltav, who knew more about politics and diplomacy. He was successful into getting the Court to listen and managed to convince some of the judges to join us, however seven of the twelve judges were still against us. We still had quite some work to do.

Currently Koltav, R3, and I were with Shazzi and Ruko along with their guards behind us. As we walked past the buildings, we reached the outskirts of the capital in the to find a swoop track in the water and huge swoop lounges near the track. My eyes lit up as soon as I saw the swoop track.

"There's swoop racing here?" I inquired.

"Yes, it's our most popular activity here on Manaan." Shazzi explained.

"You seem very interested in the activity." Ruko commented.

"Are you kidding? I love swoop racing! As a matter of fact, I use to race swoop tracks myself." I blurted out.

"Is that so?" Shazzi inquired, rather intrigued.

I nodded vigorously. "Yes, I first started when I was seven. I would race tracks like the Dragonbane Circuit and Agrilat Swamp Circuit back home on Corellia."