Trooper

Duty and Interruptions

Naboo: 12 BBY
Theed
Jess

Cassian and Feylin left towards the food stands as soon as they reached the city. K trailed behind them, aware of the wary glances being thrown at him. Azie wheeled along behind Jess and Ryn, with Arwen next to him.

"So what is this festival for?" Ryn asked.

"The liberation of Naboo from the Trade Federation's blockade," Arwen replied. "The Naboo and the Gungans became allies after that."

"I imagine the Queen will make an appearance then?"

"Most likely," Jess said.

"Well, I'm going to go find Cassian and Feylin. Who knows what trouble they'll get into on their own?" Arwen laughed and headed off.

"She means she's going to go look at the Naboo guards," Ryn laughed.

"Of course she does. What should we do?" Jess glanced around the throng of people.

Ryn shrugged and laced her fingers with his. "Let's dance. We won't get to when we return to the fleet."

Jess smirked and let her pull him into the crowd of other dancers. They joined into the ring and began dancing in circles with the other Naboo. Gungans played upbeat tunes close by and others were performing some kind of dance.

Jess's gaze flickered across the massive squares, where numerous groups of people were dancing. Surprisingly, he didn't see a large number of stormtroopers. The lack of Imperial control in the Naboo system was somewhat of a surprise to him.

I'm just glad there's at least a few places untouched by the Empire, Jess thought. He shook the thoughts away, smiling at Ryn. The dance ended and they all fell apart, clapping. The Gungans began playing another tune and a few women jumped into the open space and began dancing.

Ryn pursed her lips for a minute. "Go, if you want to," Jess said.

A tiny look of fear flickered through her eyes, but Ryn blinked it away and nodded. She grasped her necklace for a second, then jumped in with the other women. The five of them leaped and spun about, keeping perfect time with the music. Jess's eyes widened in surprise. He'd known Ryn had to be a good dancer, though he'd never seen her dance in person.

Azie wheeled over to him and whistled. "Yeah, she is really good," Jess agreed. "Did Arwen find Cass and Feylin?" Azie chirped in confirmation. He let his hand fall on the droid's dome. The dance began picking up in speed, faster and faster. A few of the women leaped out of the circle, laughing and out of breath.

Ryn kept dancing with one other lady. Their feet never missed a beat as they wove between each other. At last, the song came to an end. The two of them stopped and laughed, panting for breath.

"You're really good," Jess heard the Naboo woman say as they moved off to the side.

"Thanks. You're good too," Ryn replied.

"Where did you learn to dance like that?"

Jess raised an eyebrow, eyeing the woman. Something about her seemed different from the others. "I...had a lot of different teachers," Ryn said at last. They reached him and Azie. The other woman cast a glance over Jess and swiped some blonde hair back form her face.

"This is Jess," Ryn said. "My husband." Jess couldn't help but smile at the word.

"Newlyweds I take it?"

Ryn nodded. "Just this morning."

"Then I'm glad you chose Naboo for such a special occasion." The woman straightened, almost regally.