Far beneath her, sandwiched between the plush mattress in Lux's bedroom and its frame, Ahsoka's transmitter pulsed a familiar pattern. She stirred at the faint tremor and kicked the sheets off her body, slogging back to wakefulness as quickly as she could manage.

The remnants of her midday nap clung to her every step of the way, and getting a thought from one synapse to the next felt like wading through knee-deep mud. She groaned as she pulled the dull grey device from its hiding place. That was the last time she messaged Rex for four of the six hours she usually spent sleeping – even if it was one of his rare days off.

Ahsoka entered the commands to establish a link with the caller, Bail Organa, but put the connection on hold before any greetings were exchanged. She'd already discussed new protocols for communicating with him – protocols meant to make the best of the added difficulties Noreino House presented. He'd understand her silence meant she was ready to talk; she only had to get to a more secure location.

Even if 'secure' was a very relative assessment for any part of the palace.

She tugged on a pair of sandals she'd left at the foot of the bed and padded to the door, reaching for her shawl as she passed the coat rack near Lux's little walk-in closet. She paused when she found the velvet-within-silk of one of his capes instead.

She recognized it by feel as the one he'd worn this morning for a meeting with the foremen of some of his father's construction projects. He'd spent long enough fussing with the clasp at his neck to get frustrated, his fingers delicate by most standards but still too large to fit the pieces together when one was bent out of shape. She'd gone over to help him, and the luxurious fabric under her skin had been as enthralling as the frantic hummingbird thrum of his heartbeat below.

He'd pulled away quickly after that. He hadn't let her close to him for more than a moment since they'd returned to Kyzeron two days before.

The longer she stood there, her nails digging into the cape, the more she was aware of the way it smelled. What started as the faintest whiff of citrus and herbs in her nostrils, easily dismissed, soon came out in full force.

It wasn't as strong as it had been three nights ago as they'd lain curled up on the blanket on the grounds, or even on that impromptu walk where she'd caved and allowed him to embrace her, desperate for comfort. But it was still so rich and flavorful she could almost taste it – taste him.

Ahsoka's mouth watered. She swallowed quickly, disgusted with herself, and left Lux's apartments in such a hurry she forgot her shawl entirely.

She turned transmitter's speaker down as low as it would go and tightened its range to pick up only the sound of her voice. Then, pushing the button to resume the call, she tucked the device into her bodice and out of sight.

"This is Origin. Fulcrum, do you read me?" Senator Organa inquired. Ahsoka suspected his codename was a reference to being one of the four Republic Senators who held the key to EF-4, but she wasn't going to ask. Unconfirmed suspicions gave her the freedom to lie while technically telling the truth, should she ever find herself on the business end of an Elite storm trooper's electrostaff.

"This is Fulcrum. Sorry for the delay."

Organa chuckled amiably. "It's no trouble. What do you have for me?"

"Word came from Kesh Turaak last night," she murmured. "The team in his village successfully smuggled several tons of iron ore to an independent refinery a few hundred klicks south. It's possible the Empire or one of the Onderonian Great Houses have agents among the workers there, but the miners will only have dealings with the higher ups, and I cleared all of them personally before I left."

"And they don't know where the ore is coming from?"

Ahsoka smiled to herself. "I went to them posing as a businesswoman from the bourgeois class – lots of money, but not as well connected as the Great Houses. I dropped all the right hints that I had access to a mine, but was trying to circumvent the Empire's watchful eye on state-owned refineries so I could get my merchandise offworld quietly once the blockade eases up. They didn't ask any questions, thanks to your down payment."

"It was the least I could do, considering I can't get a supply chain through."

"Regardless, it was very generous. I'll make sure a portion of the refined ore makes its way to..." She hesitated. The hallway was walking down was empty, but she didn't dare reach into the Force to check for listening devices; she couldn't be sure it was safe enough to reference the Rebellion openly. "Your comrades. The ore won't stop a cannon blast, but its blue sheen makes it highly sought after – even more so now, with the blockade to create scarcity. It would prove to potential allies that you have resources, and the skill to sneak through Imperial fortifications."

"The miners–"

"If the need arises to tell them, I know they'll understand. The Onderonians are a proud people, and they like to feel self-reliant, but they've been exploited for years. Knowing they have allies offworld will boost their morale."

"You're doing good work there, Fulcrum. I trust your judgment."

Ahsoka walked on with her head held a little higher. "Thank you, Origin."

"What about your efforts in the city? How are they going?"

"Pretty slowly. I'm trying to get in touch with a group from Tatooine. According to one of my contacts, their influence among the Kyzeron labor class is growing. I'm hoping they'll join my network, or at least partner with me. My contact is trying to get their comm code so I can arrange a meeting, but so far, no luck."

The delay chafed at her, but Ahsoka knew she had to be patient. She'd only been able to organize that meeting with the miners because she'd spent the three preceding weeks inadvertently showing them her value as an ally. If the Amavikkas wanted a similar token, she'd have to find a way to give it to them.

"Regardless, I really must congratulate you on what you've accomplished on Onderon, Fulcrum. Alone, with almost no resources, you've rallied a dozen villages to your cause while we've been probing the Empire's defenses in the Japrael sector for months with no results to speak for it. Now you're about to tackle a city under martial law, and even the considerable challenges that presents haven't fazed you."

"It's what I need to do."

"Perhaps, but it's also not the easy road. You chose to walk it anyway."

Ahsoka pushed aside the urge to squirm under the praise. Senator Organa wasn't a Jedi. He didn't know how she'd come close to taking the easy road already, nor did he know how steep the toll could be to travel it. "Yes."

"I'll be frank with you, Fulcrum. Getting an update on your progress wasn't my only goal when I called you."

"Oh?" Ahsoka said, raising a brow.

"More and more groups are starting to flock to the Rebel banner. Normally I'd be overjoyed, but keeping in contact with all of them is proving... problematic."

"Because of how many people are using EF-4 now, right?" Ahsoka was still very out of the loop despite Rex's best efforts to get her caught up, and she knew that, but the size of the Rebellion after only a year's growth still astounded her.

Ironically, they probably had the Emperor to thank for that. The remaining Republic loyalists were against Dooku on principle, and many had been involved in the Rebellion since day one. But in declaring himself Emperor at the end of the Clone War, Dooku had also alienated many of his own former supporters – the idealists who hadn't known they were placing their hopes for government reforms in the hands of a tyrant.

Stars, even some of the old Confederate opportunists had eventually joined the Rebellion, worried their new Emperor would start treating his old friends as ruthlessly as his enemies now that he no longer needed their help.

"Yes," Organa said. "The Empire can't crack EF-4 without the identities of the four Senators who brought it online, but they can still prevent the Rebellion from making changes to the network's operating parameters."

Ahsoka perked up. Details about the exact workings of EF-4 were scarce, even among Rebel operatives with far-reaching clearance. It was a sign of Senator Organa's trust in her that he was speaking of it now.

"The primary EF-4 controls on Coruscant have a failsafe that locks the system for three months if the wrong Senators' information is used to try to access it. EF-4 was created with the assumption that the Republic capital would be a safe harbor during an invasion – and by all rights, it should have been. But since we had to flee, the Emperor's slicers can lock the system at the source every three months, preventing us from altering anything remotely at another substation.

"EF-4 was never designed to bear this much traffic with these presets. My agents often receive critical intel half-garbled because one system too many in need of emergency aid sent an unscheduled transmission at the same time. We need to reorganize from the ground up, with someone at the helm who cares deeply about our plight – and someone who isn't afraid to challenge her commanding officers' say should her work inconvenience their political agenda."

Understanding dawned on Ahsoka. Her heart in her throat, she broke in, "Sen– Origin, please, I couldn't–"

"Once things on Onderon meet your standards, I'd like you to organize and coordinate it – you, and a team of your choosing. Crowned Helm and his brothers would be eager to give you a list of recommendations, I have no doubt. You started down this path once before on Felucia, but we weren't ready. We need you now."

"But you– I– I was expecting to return to my old post," Ahsoka stammered. She was ashamed of how flustered she sounded, but she couldn't help it. "I'm a soldier, Origin, not an intelligence operative."

"I think you've learned to become whatever the situation calls for."

Ahsoka opened her mouth to retort, to plea, to make him understand. Her jaw snapped shut again when footsteps clattered up the hallway behind her. She stopped midway through shunting the modicum of power she kept within reach to her montrals when that scent hit the roof of her mouth.

"Someone's coming. I have to go. Fulcrum out," she hissed, and pushed the button to end the call. Then, summoning a smile, she turned to meet Lux and offer him a small bow for the benefit of any cams within range. "My Lord."

"Alynna! Thank goodness, I've been looking everywhere for you."

He came to a halt a few feet away from her, his bangs flopping gracelessly down over his forehead for a moment before he raked them away again. Ahsoka frowned. She'd become intimately familiar with his extensive personal grooming routine over the last month, and she'd rarely seen him leave his rooms without his hair perfectly gelled into place.

Still, it suited him. He looked less guarded, less uptight this way. But Ahsoka probably felt that because she couldn't look at him like this yet without thinking of him pinned under her in their clearing, or offering her a corner of a warm grey cloak as the last of his raucous laughter left him, or writhing beneath her as she ravished his mouth with demanding nips with her canines–

She forced the memories away. Lux had barely spoken to her in the last two days, always finding some reason or other to leave their rooms and make sure she stayed put. He'd kissed her, and now he was acting like nothing had happened between them since they'd met. She still didn't want to talk about that night – the parts of it she could remember, anyway – but now it was like they'd never even become friends, let alone whatever the hell they were now.

With the gala looming and other prospects pending, she had to assume he was trying to label the kiss a drunken mistake and put it out of his mind – and her along with it. If that's how he wanted things to be, Ahsoka certainly wasn't going to fill her head up with him, either.

It's not proper for a Jedi, anyway, she remembered belatedly, with no small amount of guilt.

"How may I be of service?" she said coolly.

"I have a favor to ask of you, if that wouldn't be too bold of me," he said even more coolly, but the embarrassed flush on his pale cheeks was gratifying.

Wow, no five-minute spiel about how I don't owe him anything? He must really be desperate if he's flat-out asking me for help; he normally makes such a fuss, she thought, but let no trace of it show on her face. "Yes?"

"It's been a long time since I attended any functions as high-profile as the midsummer gala, so Lady Chrysilika is teaching me some new waltzes that are popular further Core-ward right now. Dakharen is hopelessly uncoordinated, and I didn't think it would be appropriate to practice with Lady Chrysilika, so I, ah... find myself needing a dance partner," Lux said sheepishly.

Ahsoka snorted, thinking he was trying to break the ice damming up the river that had once flowed so easily between them with a joke. She realized he wasn't after a heartbeat, but somehow his carefully level expression made it funnier.

"What is it?" he asked, just this side of snapping the words out.

"I'm sorry," she said, mostly succeeding in stifling her laughter before it got the better of her, "but me. Dancing. Doing performance arts of any kind, even."

"You don't know how to dance?" Lux ran his hands through his hair, looking half-panicked. He was jittery in a way she'd never seen from him before, like he'd had too much caf. "Kriff. I thought for sure..."

Ahsoka strode over and grabbed his hands. "You'll be bald before you turn thirty if you keep that up," she scolded. "Relax. I can do it. I'm not as good as some, but my, uh, other skillsets come in handy when it comes to the footwork."

She stroked her thumbs over the backs of his hands clad in delicate green kid gloves, breathing in time with him until he found and tapped into some well of calm buried deep inside him. Serenity dribbled back into him bit by bit; a few moments later he nodded in thanks and withdrew, hands tucked safely behind his back.

"Shall we, then?" Ahsoka asked, sidling closer to him again.

Lux nodded and started walking. He didn't offer his arm like he usually did, and she was surprised by how much she missed it. Left with nothing else to do with her hands, Ahsoka crossed her arms over her chest. The corners of a flat, rectangular piece of metal jabbed her breasts, and, remembering why she'd left Lux's rooms in the first place, she cursed her negligence. She'd forgotten all about the highly illegal transmitter stuffed down the front of her bodice, and why? Because Lux had shown up in a hurry, desperate for a favor?

Lux was distracting enough when he was being his normal self, but this was too much. If she wanted to follow the Jedi Code, she couldn't allow his affection – and yet, she couldn't concentrate without it. Lux had upset her new normal, and she didn't appreciate it one bit.

Once this whole gala situation was over and done with, she'd have to sit him down and find out what was wrong. Right now, she had to rack her brain for what few hazy memories she had of Temple etiquette lessons on dancing with a partner.

At least the sandals she was wearing were comfortable.

They took the same turbolift they'd ridden up to the medbay in their first week together down several flights to the basement. Someone had come by to scrub the blood from Lux's broken nose off the metal floor of the lift, and Ahsoka was almost sad to see it gone. She hated Noreino House, but the little marks she and Lux scratched into together it made it better – made it feel like they could reclaim the place for their own, somehow.

"I wasn't kidding when I said I'm not that good. I don't remember much of what they taught me," she warned him as they approached the training arena, which Lux had explained would be their makeshift dancing studio for the afternoon.

Lux flashed Ahsoka a half-smile that made her insides go mellow. It was only a hint of his old warmth, but a hint was much, much better than nothing. "We'll be a matching pair, I suppose," he murmured.

Then, seeming to remember himself, he retreated back behind the same cold front she'd been subjected to since their return to Kyzeron. Ahsoka pursed her lips, but didn't call him out. They'd only just set foot in the training arena, and there was still a fair bit of distance separating her from Lady Chrysilika and Dakharen, Lux's advisor, but Ahsoka didn't trust the cavernous room not to echo everything she said.

"Oh, Alynna, thank goodness," Lady Chrysilika said, lifting her hands from her belly to spread her arms gracefully. She walked the last few steps between them to take Ahsoka's hands. "Lux is such a dear, always worried about what's proper and what isn't, and I'm afraid I wouldn't make the best dancing partner at the moment."

She nodded meaningfully to her belly, and Ahsoka nodded politely, bowing as best she could with the tall redhead still holding her hands. "I was honored to be considered, my Lady."

"Oh, none of that. Are you familiar with an Alderaanian storm dance?"

"Yes." Padmé had taught it to her in the aftermath of the Aurra Sing incident on Alderaan four years ago, which had interrupted an important conference on war refugee concerns. To celebrate Ahsoka's valiant efforts to protect his colleague, Bail Organa had thrown a ball in her honor. As the guest of honor, she'd conversed far more than she'd danced, but Padmé had been known for her thoroughness.

But why was Lux learning it now? Pushing a pang of grief for her lost friend away, she asked, "Forgive me, but why teach him the storm dance? It's traditional, and I've never heard of it being done away from Alderaan before."

"I was among the debutants from some other Inner Rim and Core Worlds invited to spend Galactic New Year with the royal family," Lux said quietly. "My father cleared me to travel despite the blockade, so I accepted. I'll be leaving for Alderaan the morning after the gala."

I'll be leaving, not we. Well, that's an excellent opportunity to speak with Bail uninterrupted lost. Some sign of disappointment must have shown on her face, because Lady Chrysilika offered her a sympathetic smile and said, "Alderaan is strictly against slavery. Lux couldn't bring you with him without being obligated by Alderaan's government to free you, and his father would never allow that."

Lux froze, and another piece of the puzzle of his change in behavior clicked into place. He'd been as warm and affectionate as usual before leaving the landing pad outside the palace, but when next she'd seen him, he'd been as cold and distant as he was now. What had happened in that conversation with his father?

Either oblivious or disinclined to comment, Lady Chrysilika motioned to Dakharen, who set a holoproj with a sturdy speaker on its base down on the floor. She pulled a small datapad from a pocket in her silky blue robes, and entered a few commands. Music filled the room a second later, the tinny recording of Alderaanian strings given such life and richness by the echoes it almost sounded live.

"Alynna, since you're more familiar with the storm dance, you'll start by leading," Lady Chrysilika instructed. "Once Lux has gotten a sense for the dance, he can try leading. Lux, do you remember the footwork I showed you before?"

Lux nodded, and allowed the noblewoman to position his long limbs to her satisfaction, one hand holding Ahsoka's. Then, recognizing the heavy, dramatic downbeat of the bar two before the dance would begin, Ahsoka let him put a hand on her shoulder and set her own on his waist.

His intake of breath was sharp, but he forced himself to relax so quickly anyone else would've missed it. The flicker of interest in his eyes, however, stayed firmly in place. Flushing, Ahsoka spun him into the first circuit of the dance.

"It's kind of funny," Ahsoka said quietly, fairly confident the music would obscure the sound of her voice. She shot a glance at mats and equipment that had been pushed against the walls. "Dancing seems so out of character for this place."

"I think any place can be made better with good company – making new memories with someone you care about to overwrite the old ones."

Ahsoka winced. "My only memories of this room are watching you get hurt."

"And my last ones are of you saving me." Another smile broke through the icy veneer, and Ahsoka hated herself for hoping it was the first sign of a thaw. "After that, everything in my life started to change."

"I... well, I guess it's true training arenas are places of instruction and learning, too – not just bruises and scrapes," Ahsoka conceded. She would not rise to meet that flicker of sunshine breaking out from behind the clouds, as wonderful as it was to bask in his light again. She would not.

Lux missed a step and narrowly avoided treading on her foot. He grimaced. "You probably shouldn't discount bruises and scrapes just yet. I'm secretly a klutz."

" 'Secretly'?" Ahsoka raised an eyebrow. "How can you secretly be a klutz?"

"Aristocratic grace is pure fakery. It all boils down to training." He snorted. "Trust me, if left to my own devices, I trip over everything in sight."

"You do not." Ahsoka spun him again, and he followed, gaining a little more confidence with every step. "I've been stuck with you for six weeks! What about in the clearing on the grounds? You never stumbled when you–"

Ahsoka shut her mouth when she realized how loud her voice was getting. It was a lucky break she'd started speaking during an especially long crescendo, but she had to be more careful.

"I'm better when it's with you. You're the best teacher I've ever had." The music swept around them like beachside currents on an ocean world, dissolving them together. Lux's coldness faded away to nothing, and it was a true smile he gave her as he said, "I actually feel graceful when I'm dancing with you, and when we're moving together in, uh..." He glanced meaningfully at their two spectators. "Moving in other ways."

Ahsoka flushed darker. Lux looked pleased with himself.

"You shouldn't say things like that," she muttered.

"Even when it's the truth? In fact, I'm of a mind to ask you to save a dance for me at the gala. It'll be a hint of normalcy amidst the sniping and power plays." Lux stepped forward instead of back when she was moving to meet him, and they nearly crashed into each other. "Oh, sorry–"

His apology stuttered off into nothingness. Apart, the dance steps had felt snug, but not intimate. This close together, with one hand on Lux's waist and the other one clasped between his fingers, it was almost a lovers' embrace.

Lux's cheeks went as dark as her lekku had to be, and Ahsoka could feel his every halting breath. The memory of their heated kiss in the jungle lingered in her mind like embers crackling too near to the woodpile; the slightest nudge in the right direction threatened to set her alight all over again. It was easier to believe it had all been a ploy to get the rum from him, and easier still to believe she'd only thought of it in the first place because she was drunk, but she'd wanted to kiss him.

She still wanted to kiss him. And more. And that terrified her.

Ahsoka took back wanting to go back to her new normal. Distance was fine, absolutely fine. Better to be a little cold than feeling like she was seconds away from burning up. This was as intoxicating as fine spiced wine, pumping her veins full of something gloriously hot and addictive, but she couldn't let it get the better of her.

The difference between can't and shouldn't is a very fine one, a little voice at the back of her mind whispered. It sounded suspiciously like Anakin's paradoxical breed of advice, which was all the reminder Ahsoka needed.

The mission. Focus on the mission. I get information about what happened to Anakin, then, as soon as my network is secure, I get out of here.

"My Lady, could I trouble you to skip back a few bars?" Ahsoka called, turning back to where Lady Chrysilika and Dakharen were standing. "We missed our cue."

Lady Chrysilika nodded, a contemplative expression on her face Ahsoka was certain had nothing to do with Lux's misstep. Remembering their conversation a few days before, Ahsoka resisted the urge to curse under her breath. Apparently, now a kriffing noblewoman of all people knew more about Ahsoka than Ahsoka did herself.

In a whisper, Ahsoka told Lux how to place himself so he'd be ready when the music started up again. She didn't dare to speak to him after that; in fact, she hardly dare to look at him for the rest of the dance lesson. But she didn't have to do either to sense the icy wall go up between them again, choking off Lux's sunshine until nothing got through to the outside. And even if she knew that was the way things had to be, that definitely didn't stop it from hurting.

Though Ahsoka has a lead on the cause of Lux's strange behavior, she's nowhere near being able to guess what the full picture looks like. But just how long can Lux keep the woman he loves out of his head and heart when he's one wrong move from another misstep like this one? With Lux and her various tasks and missions tangling into one another, will Ahsoka be able to avoid the next one, too? Or will she finally break down and decide to indulge? Only time will tell...

Me waiting for the comments to roll in once people realize I'm flirting with a full on Luxsoka moment this chapter:

Jokes aside, it occured to me a few chapters back that I REALLY needed to give y'all a comprehensive explanation of how EF-4 works, hence the info dump this chapter. But at least it had a purpose in-book. You may or may not remember in chapter twenty-five when Rex was actually a little concerned by how closely Bail was watching Ahsoka's every move. In fact, what he was doing was assessing her to see if she, as a skilled operative, was a good fit for the job of organizing the Rebel network. Clearly, he liked what he found.

Unfortunately, the plot is speeding along now, which means I no longer have the luxury of describing everything that happens over the course of Ahsoka's journey. I'll have to resort to quite a bit of summary, even for potentially interesting things like Ahsoka pretending to be a rich lady and sussing out the refinery. I imagine that particular interaction went something like this:

The rest of this chapter was pretty self-explanatory or will be clarified in the next two chapters, and I've got an early morning and a busy day tomorrow, so I'm gonna sign off here for the night. Next chapter, we'll join Ahsoka on a little field trip out of the palace to make some new friends and question most of her recent life choices. Talk to you guys then!