It Takes Two to Tango

Promotions and Proposals

Even though she was deep in hyperspace, Ahsoka knew it was late at night. She was thoroughly surprised to receive a call from Lux at such an obscure hour, but his calls were always welcome.

"Hey, 'Soka. It's me." His holograpic form appeared in front of her. He was sitting at his desk with paperwork all over the place. He rubbed his eyes, and she could tell he was worn out. "How's it going?"

She sat up from her mattress. "Good, I guess. I have some news for you. How are you?"

"I'm doing absolutely fantastic," he said, at least trying to sound happy. "What news?""

"Lux, I know you better than that. What's going on?"

"You first. I think my news is going to be a bit planet-shattering."

She wasn't sure what he meant by that, but she continued on. "I'm the General of the 501st."

His eyes widened. "You're what?"

"Long story short, the Chancellor was kindapped, Anakin and Obi-Wan had to go save the day, and they left me in charge here. The entire operation is now under my control. It's a little scary, but I'll be okay if I don't freak out."

He smiled. "That's great! I mean, it's even better than you would've been had you stayed a Jedi, right?" She nodded. "Wow. I'm so proud of you, 'Soka. I hope you know that."

"Thanks. What's your big story of the day for me?"

He ran a hand through his hair. It was a nervous habit of his developed during his political career, and Ahsoka found it most adorable. "King Dendup died this morning."

"What? Are you serious?"

"Dead serious. He didn't have an heir to the throne, so do you know what that means?"

"No," she shook her head, "what?"

"By default, the eldest Senator has to take his place. It's an ancient policy that's never been majorly relevant until now. I just so happened to be the only current Senator, so as of this morning, I'm technically the king of Onderon."

She blinked twice, letting it sink in. "Okay... What does that even mean?"

"I wanted to talk to you about it before I figure out what to do. My plan thus far is to resign from the Senate and go back to Onderon. I can do a whole lot more there than I can in the Senate."

She shook her head. "Sorry, I'm still processing this. You're the king of Onderon? You're barely nineteen!"

"I'm not the youngest monarch to be appointed, you know. Senator Amidala was only fourteen when she was Queen."

"I realize that, but I'm worried for the stress that would put on you."

He took a deep breath. "'Soka, I'm not going to do this if you don't want me to. You're the most important thing to me, and I don't want to lose you if I accept."

It was touching that she meant something to him, but there were other factors to consider. "Lux, you know you'd be going completely public, right? Every move you make is open for criticism."

"Yeah, why does that matter?"

No, he obviously did not grasp the concept in its entirety. "We'd have to stop seeing each other. It's unprofessional, and I don't want it to damage your reputation."

"How would it damage my reputation?"

"I've seen it happen before. I'm not willing to mess up the rest of your life so that we can be together."