It was their last week on Naboo. Padmé's term had officially ended, and the transition to her successor, Queen Jamillia, was complete. Their bags were practically packed for the journey to Coruscant, where she would assume the role of Senator and he would establish the new, ambitious research arm of NIAS. The atmosphere was charged with goodbyes, nostalgia, and the anxiety of an uncertain future.
Kaelen felt he needed one last, grand gesture to anchor this moment in time. An act that would celebrate their past on Naboo and seal their future together before plunging into the dangerous politics of the galactic capital.
That night, he asked Padmé to meet him on the Balcony of Remembrance, the very place where their alliance had been forged and where their love had been revealed.
"I thought you'd grown tired of balconies by now," she teased as she arrived, wearing a simple yet elegant blue dress that matched the twilight.
"Never," he replied, taking her hand. He was wearing one of his more formal engineering suits, but beneath the surface, his nerves buzzed like an overcharged hyperdrive. "This place is important. This is where everything changed."
"Yes, it did," she said softly, her gaze meeting his.
"And I want it to change one more time," Kaelen said, his heart pounding. He took a deep breath. "Look."
He pointed to the sky over Theed. At first, nothing out of the ordinary was visible. Then, a small point of light appeared, ascending from the direction of the NIAS complex. Soon it was followed by another, and another, and another, until hundreds of tiny points of light filled the air.
They weren't lanterns. They were Kaelen's new "Firefly-bots," low-power, high-maneuverability drones designed for atmospheric monitoring. But tonight, they weren't measuring air quality. They were performing a choreography.
People in the streets of Theed began to stop and point skyward. The hundreds of drones began to move in a precise formation. First, they formed a swirling spiral, then a replica of the Royal Naboo Symbol. It was a beautiful, silent light show.
"Kaelen, this is incredible," Padmé whispered, amazed.
"Wait," he said, his voice trembling. "That's just the prologue."
The drone formation dissolved and then reconfigured. It split into two groups. A larger group coalesced to form the silhouette of a tall, lean man, instantly recognizable by his relaxed posture and slightly disheveled hair. The other, smaller but no less detailed group, formed the figure of a woman in an elegant gown with a regal bearing. The two light figures hovered in the sky, facing each other.
Padmé gasped as she recognized herself and Kaelen drawn in stars above her city.
Kaelen's light figure moved, extending an arm and offering its hand. Padmé's figure took it. Together, they floated in the air for a moment. Then, all around them, the rest of the drones—thousands of them that had been waiting in the darkness—lit up and converged.
They swirled around the two figures, forming a gigantic, pulsating heart of light that filled the sky above the palace. The heart glowed with a warm, golden light, so bright it bathed the entire balcony. The cheers from the crowd below swelled into a roar of astonishment and delight.
The Unconventional Proposal
Okay, display is set. Audience is captivated. My heart rate is in self-destruct mode. System synchronization: 98% success. Probability of my voice working: approximately 42%. Here we go.
I turn to her. Her face is illuminated by the giant heart I've drawn for her in the sky. Her eyes are wide, filled with tears of happiness. It's now or never.
I get down on one knee.
Her hand flies to her mouth in a gesture of pure shock. Good, that's the right reaction. Surprise is a key factor.
I pull a small box from my pocket. It doesn't hold a diamond ring. That's too... terrestrial. Inside, resting on a velvet cushion, is a single kyber crystal. Not one cut for a lightsaber, but a natural, raw one. It's a pale blue color, and it emits a soft hum and a slight warmth. I found it in an old abandoned Jedi outpost during my explorations. It's not a weapon. It's a power source. A symbol.
"Padmé Naberrie Amidala," I begin, and my voice comes out steadier than I expected. "You are the center of my universe. You are my anchor in the storm of my own mind. You are smarter, stronger, and braver than anyone I've ever known. You make me want to be a better man, not just a smarter engineer."
I look from the crystal to her eyes.
"They say these crystals resonate with their wielder, that they amplify what's in their heart. And my heart, from the moment you spoke to me in that ship's corridor, has been filled with you. I don't want to spend a single day without your logic, your compassion, and your exasperated patience with my inventions."
I pause, breathing in the moment.
"I don't offer you a kingdom, or riches, or an easy life. The path ahead will be dangerous. I offer you my genius, my flaws, my unwavering loyalty, and a heart that has calculated all the probabilities and reached the only logical conclusion: it makes no sense without you."
"Marry me, Padmé. Be my partner in everything. Let's build a future together, not just for the galaxy, but for us."
A Future Forged in Light
Padmé was openly weeping now, tears streaming down her cheeks as she looked at the man kneeling before her, at the spectacle of love he had painted in the sky, and at the crystal softly humming in the box, a promise of energy and light.
The crowd below, though they couldn't hear the words, perfectly understood what was happening. An expectant silence fell over the plaza, followed by a growing murmur of "Say yes!"
She laughed through her tears, a sound of pure joy.
"Yes," she whispered, her voice barely audible. And then, louder, so he and everyone could hear her. "Yes! Of course, yes, my brilliant, crazy engineer!"
Kaelen sprang to his feet, a smile so wide it hurt his face, and slipped the warm crystal onto her finger. It wasn't a ring, but it was so much more. It was a piece of the universe's heart, a symbol of their connection.
The moment he did, the thousands of drones in the sky erupted into a final display. They scattered like silent fireworks, filling the night with a shower of golden shooting stars.
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her, and the roar of Theed's crowd was the soundtrack to their promise. On that balcony, under a sky that had witnessed their war and now their love, two of the galaxy's most important people decided to join their lives, just before heading into the heart of the coming storm.