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Star Wars: Eclipse (TheCorsair and Xana)

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“Big talk for someone pinned underneath me,” Kaydia growled, swallowing her own sighs at the each twitch and pulse of his meat felt within her. “Let me cum? No, my dear Quentin, you will not let me cum. You will sit there and suffer my through my orgasm. You will feel the pleasure in my mind on in my body, and you will plead for your own release.” She clenched him at that, squeezing until he shuddered before releasing him. “You will tell me that you belong to me, before screaming my name as orgasm takes you.”

Her hips rolled along her now, still slow, rippling the water in rhythm with her movements. Still shy of what she knew he wanted, just the feel of slick folds caressing his meat. Each time she rose, her thighs squeezed, feeling his own toned legs straining against her, trying to fuck up into her. “I will have you, my big sexy Jedi. I am already having you…” She moaned in his ear, parting herself on his rigid cock. Supple breasts rubbed his hard chest, nerves tingling as her stiff nipples moved along his wet body.

More. She needed more of him. More cock insider her and more friction between them and more teeth biting her and more hands groping him. “Mine!” She gasped, fucking herself on him, using his body to satisfy her hungering needs. Nails drew blood as she moved along his length, his entire length, not stop or slowing as desire consumed her. “Mine…mine…mine…” She cried, low guttural grunts punctuating her strokes, until her body arched and clenched and surged around him.
 
Kaydia was sweet agony as she moved on him deliberately, keeping him at the edge as she rode his body and his mind. The feel of her wet breasts sliding over the hard planes of his chest, her thighs flexing around his, even the burning sting of her nails tearing his flesh, all of it mingled with the sweet sensations of her folds swallowing his shaft to drag unwilling groans and gasps of pleasure from his lips. "Not... yours..." he moaned, biting at her lip as she kissed him. "You... you're... you're... mine..."

"Mine!" she gasped back, angling herself to take more of his length as she fucked him, and he threw his head back with an agonized whimper of pleasure. His hands slid over her wet flesh, stroking and squeezing, hungry for her. "Mine," she growled again, posessive hunger in the word. "Mine... mine..."

"Yours..." he moaned back, abandoning the aggressive role he'd taken for the sheer pleasure ofbeing possessed. "Yours... fuck me, Kaydia..." Hands and lips caressed her, worshipping her body as she rode him with abandon. "Use me... Kaydia... fuck yourself... on me..." He gasped sharply as she clenched on his meat, a sure sign of her approaching orgasm, then threw himself more fully into the game.

"Yours... Kaydia, show... show me how you... FUCK! How you, you can use... use your... your Jedi's thick... thick cock... to get yourself off..." He kissed her fiercely, then nipped at her throat and breasts. "Use me, Kaydia! Use me to cum, fuck! Fuck me!" He bit his lip, holding back his own orgasm by sheer force of will. "And then... please... tell me... I can... cum... KAYDIA!"
 
There was something sweet about his surrender, about the word “yours” escaping his lips. Combined with the bliss of fucking him, her climax was undeniable, her pleasure fed by the hunger of his mouth and lips on her. She rode out her climax riding him, bucking and writhing and twitching madly. As she had predicted, he begged for her permission to cum, but by that point she was beyond the ability to speak herself. So instead of answer him, she drank her name from his lips, sighing against his tongue as he lost the battle against bliss.

Finger caressed his face as she rested against him in the afterglow of desire, too exhausted from the day to do much else. Her head rested against his shoulder, and for a moment she wondered if falling asleep in here was really such a bad idea. There was just such comfort to be found in his arms, against his naked body. Hopefully once this mission was complete they could get back to that, entire days lost entangled with each other’s bodies.

But there was a mission to consider, so she cleaned herself lazily before slumping off to sleep. By the next morning, the flirty, sensual tone of the previous night had faded away, replaced by one that was entirely professional. Both of them had extensive experience breaking into secure locations, but breaking into the central bank of Telerath was something that would tax their skills. If they were successful, it would be an amazing accomplishment that could never be bragged about.

To get the data they were after, they would have to access it directly from the primary server for the bank. To access that server, they would have get through seven layers of security that started off at brutal and got worse from there. The only fortunate thing about the heist was that if they weren’t caught in the act, it was unlikely the bank would ever report the intrusion. Its reputation for security would be at risk if even word of its breech got out.

They were going to have to approach the secure facility from two different angles, relying on their force bond to communicate in real time, as they navigated the building. Numerous fail safes along both routes made this a necessity, and it seemed unintentional that their force link, and the synchronicity it allowed, was the one thing that could overcome the obstacle.

“Are you ready?”
 
"Am I ready?"

It was a trick question, surely. He'd much rather be back in the tub, feeling her milk his orgasm from him as she drank down his pleasure and fed him hers in return. Much rather feel her body slick and smooth against his own as her hoarse breathing matched his own as she sagged against him in shared bliss. Much rather be curled around her in bed, sated and warm.

But, as he'd observed before, duty came first. And the Republic needed the information that the Sith Lord had tried to kill them to protect.

"Yeah, I'm ready," he said. "This one's going to be a bitch, though. And I say that as a man who's done some bitch hard things before." He grimaced, gesturing at the incomplete holographic image they'd cobbled together. "Minimal idea of the layout, and less idea of the defenses.." He shook his head, then grinned. "Fortunatly, I do love a challenge. The key will be to gain administrator access, once we've infiltrated the central core." He wiggled his fingers. "Hopefully, they only employ the weak-minded."
 
Usually, only the weak-minded were subject to force suggestion. However, when two force users worked in tandem, even strong willed subjects could be made to obey. The realization had made her bitter, remembering how this was used against her, to further her violation and defilement, but now the knowledge could be a benefit to Quentin, another potent tool they could call upon in this mission of theirs.

The first problem was just getting to the building. The data server wasn’t housed at the bank building that customers used, after all. It was located at a dedicated site that could only be accessed by authorized personnel. Using their force powers to demand access could only go so far. Within the facility, many access points were purely electronic, and required the use of a keycard.

The Keycard was easy to get. It was merely a matter of finding out who had one, and requesting it. It didn’t even take both of them, yet. So, they were in, but they still had to make their way to the data server. Once inside, they had to split up, since each security fail safe was in different sections of the building. The lasers in room D-4 could only be disabled for twenty second from room B-2. The pressure sensitive plates in room F-1 could only be overridden by a switch in A-6. The data server room had thermal scanners which could only be operated from the maintenance center on the bottom level of the building. To disable them, Quentin was going to have to cut power from the maintenance center. It would last all of 300 seconds to recover power, which was all the time Kaydia had to retrieve the data from the server (which had dedicated generators) and for both to get out, her from the twelfth floor and him from Sub basement three.

Downloading the contents of the data server took 90 seconds, significantly slowed by the backup generators. From there it was a mad dash to get out while power was down. Since most of the doors operated on electronic locks, Kaydia had to manually open them with the force. And, while Kaydia had to descend the stairs in utter darkness, Quentin had to climb up elevator shafts in that same darkness, as there was only mechanical access to the basement levels.

Still, somehow they made it out with seconds to spare as they reached the rendezvous point. “Let’s get the hell off of Telerath,” Kaydia suggested, tossing him the data disk with the downloaded server files. It would take weeks to parse out the information relevant to his needs, weeks spent hopefully somewhere a bit more private and cozy for both of them.

“Oh, leaving without saying good bye?” A familiar, terrifying voice called to them. Already waiting for them at the rendezvous was the Baronet and Linora, her artificial limb functioning once more. “I thought Jedi had more manners than that.”
 
Despite his complaints, Quentin really was enjoying himself. He'd trained as a Guardian, after all, before everything had seemed to go wrong and he'd stumbled into the life of a Shadow. As much as he liked the mental thrill of espionage and deduction and investigationm there was a visceral thrill from exerting himself. From using his skill and training to physically overcome obstacles. Accessing a main generator and two backup generators in a secure facilitym for instance. Or freeclimbing half a kilometer after he'd killed the power.

Kaydia made it better, of course. Her presence in his mind as they worked, the sensation of functioning as a team. The odd synergies that seemed to be responsible for making certain action easier in the Force. More and more, their relationship made him question why the Council of old had forbidden romantic attachments between Jedi. Together, he knew, they had accomplished things he would never have been abke to do alone.

Hell. Sometimes they accomplished those things four or five tines a night.

He grinned at himself, then dismissed the thought. Better to concentrate on the mission. One they were done and off Telerath they could - would - spend a week fucking each other into exhaustion-induced comas. But for now...

"Let's get the hell off Telerath," Kaydia said by way of greeting as he reached the rendevous - a half-complete tower of alloy and window composite, destined to be a suite of offices and a luxury hotel once completed. For now, though, it was a skeleton of girders that served to baffle sensors.

"Sure you don't want to stay a day or two longer?" he joked, catching the crystal and tucking it away. "Take in the night life, maybe finish watching that..." His voice cut off, all humor and banter draining away as he felt an icy miasma of evil all around. His hand dropped to his hip, fingers curling around the unadorned hilt of his saber.

"Oh, leaving without saying goodbye?" The voice was smoith and urbane, and it sent a cold thrill down his spine. "I thought Jedi had more manners than that."

"Baronet," Quentin replied, reaching out to Kaydia through the Force as he spoke. He could sense her sudden fear, and while he woukd never seek to alter her mind and erase that fear, he could offer some if his own strength to help her master it. He watched the slim Sith Lord emerge into the half-light, dressed in fine velvet with a spray of lace at wrists and throat. Linora appeared to be more sensibly dressed, in a reinforced black bodyglove, but Quentin doubted the Sith !ord would allow style to hinder him. "Is this tbe point at which you attempt to seduce us to the darkness?"

"Oh, heavens no!" the Baronet assured him. "I believe I have sufficient respect for you as an adversary to insult you in such a fashion." He smiled, thinly. "No, I have merely come to kill you both." Crimson light flared into life as he ignited his ornate saber and equally ornate shoto. An instant later, Linora's lightsaber ignited as well. "En garde."

And then they attacked.
 
Kaydia’s fingers grasped for her saber at the same time as Quentin’s, the synchronicity they achieved during their mission still guiding their actions. She felt his love strengthening her resolve, steeling her against yet another encounter with her tormentors. And while her saber glowed as red of their foes, there was little doubt as to her loyalties, this time around.

She traded blows with the Baronet, until he broke her guard, leaving her open to his shoto. But Quentin was there, to intercept the blade. Linora tried to capitalize on Quentin’s distraction, but Kaydia moved to his defense, pushing Linora back from her charge. Kaydia kept at the offensive, lunging and pushing into Linora’s guard. Linora pinned her saber down, both weapons searing into the cement below their feet, but Kaydia retaliated with a strong kick to the ribs, sending Linora down to catch her breath as air exploded from her lungs.

While Linora recovered, Kaydia pivoted to assist Quentin, trading even blow with Aldane without finding an opening. Unlike the fight on Fresia, when both parties had been injured, and not in sync, the Baronet did not simply embarrass them again. With both Kaydia and Quentin focusing on him, hhe had to devote his movements for defense, pushed back with each strike. Once more Linora came to his aid, sending nearby girders at the couple with the force. Quentin diverted his attention to the flying beams, leaving Kaydia to duel with Baronet Nahal.

She testing his guard, but he countered with the shoto, leaving her to jump back as the slender crimson blade swiped at her. He followed up with a thrust with his saber, which she was just able to deflect. Ducking under the shoto, she caught the back of his knee with her foot, sending him off balance. Before she could pounce, a beam managed to get past Quentin and struck her side, sending her into a half finished wall. Quentin moved himself between her and Aldane as he poised himself to strike alongside Linora.

Pushing herself to her feet, Kaydia leapt at Linora, saber raise high above her head. Focused on striking Quentin, she couldn’t dodge or deflect Kaydia’s strike, blocking the blade with her prostethic arm. Both sabers went wild, and Kaydia landed on Linora, Following up her strike with fists into the woman’s face and ribs.
 
Lightsabers hissed and crackled, light exploding as crimson and white blades clashed. Quentin slid and weaved, trying to keep to the Baronet's left and thereby deny the Sith Lord an opportunity to bring the shoto into the fight. Despite the man's foppish act he was an excellent duellist, and Quentin hqd no desire to face both blades. He slashed, then slid his blade down the Baronet's in a flare of light and sound, then lunged forward. Only a rapid movement of wrist and forearm saved the Sith from being impaled.

"Oh, very well done!" Aldane murmured, sliding backwards and shifting his stance. "So many Jedi forget the point even exists. But then, you aren't really a Jedi, are you? You're a Shadow."

"A Jedi Shadow," Quentin corrected, feinting a low slash then thrusting upwards. Aldane parried and responded with a backhanded strike with the shoto that Quentin barely parried in time.

"Assassins," Aldane laughed. "Students of the lore of the Dark Side." He engaged with a lightning-quick series of thrusts that Quentin was hard-pressed to parry. "Masters of deceit and trickery, working from the shadows." He laughed again. "You Shadows are better Sith than most Sith!"



Linora was grateful to see that her arm was intact. Her desperate forearm block had caught Scarlet's hand, not the emerald blade, and sent her weapon flying. Sadly, the impact had sent her crashing to the ground beneath Scarlwt, her own lightsaber spinning away as well. She tried to call it back, but a series of hammer-like blows to the face thoroughly disrupted her concentration. "Bitch," she snarled, smashing her alloy fist into the side of Scarlet's head.

When the assassin rocked sideways under the blow, Linora caught a fistfull of hair and jerked, rolling her off. She twisted and rolled with her attacker, ending up on top. She gasped, nearly gagging in pain as Scarlet's hand chopped into her collarbone, and shifted her grip. Now the alloy fingers mercilessly locked around the assassin's throat, tightening remorselessly. "You think you're somebody, don't you?" she sneered,driving her flesh hand into Scarlet's gut. "Just because he's fucking you?"

Her alloy hand tightened more. "Kaydia's a lie," she snarled, hanging on against the assassin's attempts to dislodge her. "All you are is Scarlet, a junkie whore and a murderer." She reached out with the Force, triggering the SIN implants. "That's just a taste," sbe hissed. "Until we teach you to remember your place!"
 
Twitching and writhing under the effects of the SIN, Kaydia knew she had misjudged Linora. She should have been better in hand to hand combat than the crimelord. Hell, she probably was, but skill didn’t matter much as long as Linora had that metal limb. Even managing to block a blow from the artificial fist did little to mitigate its force. And now she was pinned beneath Linora, succumbing to the horrible pain/pleasure sensations that had haunted her time as Linora’s prisoner. Quentin was busy with the Baronet, just keeping the Sith at bay. If she couldn’t escape Linora’s grasp, she would suffer once more.

Fuelled by memories of what she had gone through, memories Linora invoked with her threats, Kaydia’s eyes opened, searing green for a moment before focusing her pain and rage into pushing Linora off her. The brunette slammed into a half finished wall, breath exploding out with the impact. “I am Scarlet,” she admitted, finding some strength, “and I am Kaydia.” Rebar screamed as it bent and twisted at her whim, enclosing Linora in its prison.

Calling her saber back to her hand, she turned from Linora, joining Quentin and Aldane in their skirmish. Coming from the right, to keep the shotto engaged, denying Aldane opportunity to use both blades efficiently. Together this time, Kaydia and Quentin denied the Sith advantage. A unified front that struck from both sides.

“It seems I fared better when you two fought each other first. Perhaps we should test this theory?” He smirked eyes flaring crimson. Kaydia screamed as he forced his way into her mind. It wasn’t a strong grasp, but it lasted long enough for her to turn and lunge at Quentin, forcing her lover to disengage from Aldane to block her strike. Sacrificing duration for the quick grasp of control, he knew it wasn’t going to last, but it gave him just enough time to flee. He was out of her mind just as quickly as he infiltrated it, bounding across rooftops in the distance.


“He’s gone,” Kaydia decided, watching him fade from vision. Fingers tightening around her saber as she turned her attention back to the woman who gave her over to Aldane in the first place, who let her be manipulated by the Sith. A fresh reminder of his sick games left Kaydia feeling particularly homicidal, “You might want to get around to asking your questions, Quentin.”
 
Quentin forced himself to steady his breathing as he shut down his lightsaber, the better to flush fatigue poisons from his blood and muscles as he recovered from the effort of the fight. It had been particularly difficult, especially at the end when the Sith had driven Kaydia at him - saber battles against skilled opponents were hard enough, without the added effort of having to fight a purely defensive duel. She'd shaken the Baronet's control quickly, but not quickly enough to allow Quentin a reasonable chance of pursuing the fleeing Sith.

“He’s gone,” Kaydia said, waves of rage and loathing and fear roiling off her mind. She glanced at Linora, who was wrappend in rebar like an industrial-themed bondage model.“You might want to get around to asking your questions, Quentin.”

He nodded at that, advancing on Linora slowly. "So," he said, conversationally. "Care to confess anything?"

She glared daggers at him. "Fuck you."

"You've done that before," Quentin reminded her, raising one hand. "It's not really a secret. Both our Masters, it turns out, knew."

She stared at his hand, working hard to hide her fear as she watched it approach her face. "I've got nothing to say to you," she snarled. "I don't betray my own!"

"Really?" Quentin murmured. "That's not how Kaydia explained it." He smiled, and there was no warmth in his eyes. "That's not what you did for me, either." He glanced at the exposed shoulder of her prosthetic arm. "You don't have that because of a lover's spat, after all."

His fingers touched the side of her head gently, almost as if her were stroking her hair. She tried to flinch away, but his hand followed. "What... what are you doing?" she gasped, no longer able to hide her terror.

He smiled at that. "You've associated with the Sith too long, Linora. Embraced the darkness too much. I'm not going to harm you." A pause. "I'm just going to review your memories." His eyes closed as he opened himself to the Force, and a moment later she closed her eyes as well. Her body shook with the effort of resistance, and within seconds she was screaming in terror and agony.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he repeated. "But I can't speak for what your own conscience will do."



The interrogation took only minutes. As Quentin stepped back and away Linora sagged heavily against her bonds, breath coming in rattling gasps. Shaking his head sadly, he turned to look at Kaydia. "She knows... little enough," he sighed. "From a cursory inspection of her memory, at least. Well... little enough for what we need. A lot, for crippling Black Sun activities in the Mid Rim. Aldane didn't take her far into his confidences, probably because she didn't get very far into his teachings."

"What... what... now..?" Linora whispered, voice hoarse.

Quentin shrugged. "Now? I'm going to step out and get us some transport to my ship. I won't be gone long, maybe five or ten minutes. While I'm gone, Kaydia will be guarding you." He looked Kaydia in the eyes. "I know that the two of you have a history, but I trust that she'll do the right thing." A pause. "Whatever she decides that is."

He walked past his lover, pausing only to brush his fingers along her cheek. "May the Force be with you, Kaydia."
 
Once she had collected Linora's  saber, Kaydia watched Quentin as he worked, lending him that last bit of strength needed to break past her defenses. That was satisfying, turning that back on Linora. But in the end, it accomplished little. Linora knew nothing of value about the Sith. Still, the had the data from the bank, and that was a solid lead to follow. Or, more likely, hundreds of leads. Still, as tedious as it would be, Kaydia found herself looking forward to it. She rather enjoyed working with Quentin, and using her gifts for good, for once.

Then Quentin spoke of leaving, leaving her with purposely cryptic instructions regarding Linora. "I trust that she'll do the right thing." A pause. "Whatever she decides that is." One last caress, and a Jedi platitude, and he was gone.

What the hell did he mean by that? The right thing? Whatever I decide that is? If he didn't want me to kill Linora why didn't he just ask? Is he testing me? He knows what she did to me, felt it in his mind. Why would I let her live after that?

"Are you going to prove me right? Prove to Quentin that you are nothing more than a killer? That you really are Scarlet, deep down beneath the lies and masks?" Linora taunted.

"Shut up," Kaydia snarled, working through Quentin's word. I trust she'll do the right thing. Whatever she decides that is. He trusts her? He trusts her judgement? Is she supposed to decide Linora's fate? Or let her live for the council to decide?

Linora deserves death, she decided. Beyond what she had done to her, she was a powerful woman in the Black Sun syndicate. How many had died, not necessarily at her hands, but at her word? The galaxy was better off without her. This was justice, not merely revenge.

She had several options available to here, as to how to kill Linora. The numerous methods she had used all through her career as an assassin. Still, this was one of the few lives she would enjoy taking, and she wanted to feel the life leave her body. So Kaydia wrapped her hands around Linora's throat, pushing into her mind as Linora struggled for breath.

What she saw as she strangled Linora was not what she would have suspected. Memories, of the night before, Linora reliving what Aldane had done to her while the fucked. How he had choked her as he took her, used her with no regard if she lives or died.

Kaydia reeled from the vision, pulling away from Linora as she gasped for breath. "You saw what he did to me, and you still took him to your bed. And he broke you, as you let him break me." Despite everything Kaydia found herself laughing, a hallow laugh, "He doesn't care what happens to you, Linora. He used you for his pleasure, and used you to escape. Live with that hopelessness, Linora. I hope it eats from within."
 
It took time to obtain transportation. Oh, sure, the speeder they'd planned to use was right where they left it. But the Sith had been here first, and he bypassed it without a second thought. Best to assume it was compromised, if nit actually trapped. So he moved out onto the public concourse and summoned a rental vehicle. Ten minutes later, he was parking it outside the cknstruction site.

Walking back in, he was surprised - and a little gratified - to see that Linora was still alive. Kaydia, for her part, sat against the opposite wall glaring at the Black Sun Vigo. He offered Linora an ironic salute, then pulled Kaydia to her feet and hugged her tightly. "I can't imagine how hard that was for you," he whispered.

"Hard for her?" Linora laughed bitterly, voice raw. "She's not the one bound in rebar."

Quentin sighed and shook his head. "Nobody asked you, Linora. So, shut up. Actually..." he drew a compact pistol, "let me shut you up." He advanced on his one-time love, eyes cold.

"Quentin!" Linora gasped, eyes wide with terror. "Don't... please, don't do this!"

He raised the gun. "How many times," he wondered aloud, "did Kaydia beg tge same of you?"

Naked fear danced in her expression niw. "Please... Quentin..."

Strobing light and the crackle of blaster fire filled the air as he shot her in the face. Repeatedly. Then, spinning the pistol on his finger, he tucked it away. "Stun charges," he said after a minute. "She'll live. She'll have a hell of a hangover, but she'll live." Turning, he extended his hand to Kaydia. "Cone on. Let's stuff her in the trunk and head for the ship."
 
Despite the multitudes of emotions running through her as she watched and waited, there was a peace as Quentin returned, to pull her into his arms and commend her on fight her homicidal desires. There are emotions, and yet, there is peace, she thought to herself, finding some understanding and comfort in the Jedi Code once more. Well, the modified version that Quentin followed, anyways.

Not that it prepared her for what he did next, pulling a blaster on Linora, and shooting her several times. He caught her inquisitive glance and explained about the stun charges, drawing a incredulous laugh from her.

“Oh my dear Quentin, you are a terrible Jedi.” She lectured playfully, throwing her arms around his neck, kissing him lightly.

"Come on. Let's stuff her in the trunk and head for the ship."

“Sounds like a plan,” she agreed, releasing the rebar to let Linora crumble into n unconscious pile of duplicitous intents. She scooped up Linora and alongside Quentin brought her to the speeder he grabbed. They collected the rest of their belongings from the room, and got back to The Scrapper without incident.


“You know, I think I might actually miss Telerath…” Kaydia remarked, packing up the clothes she had brought with her, “I mean, I never even got to wear this one. Or this one. Or this…” She mentioned with each article she put away, holding the bikini top to her body. She met Quentin’s eyes with a teasing glance before returning to the task at hand. “So, where are we headed next? Coruscant to deliver Linora to the Council, but then where?” Finishing up with her luggage, she was impressed she managed to fit everything in the closet Quentin assigned her. “Or…will we be staying on Coruscant for awhile.”

She thought about that for a bit. It had been over twelve years since she had left. Her earliest memories had been at the Jedi Temple. A teenager and a padawan when she had last seen the place she had long considered her home. “Has it changed much?”
 
"Keep them, then," Quentin suggested, enjoying the pictures the clothes painted in his imagination. "I'm sure we can find some excuse to dress up."

He'd joined her in the cabin - their cabin, he reminded himself with a smile - after taking care of Linora. No cabin for her this time, and no attempt to control her with drugs. This time, he'd manacled her and stuffed her in a crate. Then he'd primed the subdual charges in the manacles and sealed her in. Any attempt at significant movements would hit her with a paralyzing nerve charge. Also, when she awoke, she'd see an indicator displaying how much airremained in the airtight crate. If she was smart, she'd go into a trance.

"Coruscant first," he agreed with a sigh. "Where we'll turn her over to my Master. And then I'll have to make a report to those members of the Council who know of the Shadows. That's... Yoda, and Mace, and Luminara. From there..?" He shrugged lightly. "I believe I promised you a vacation, a working vacation, so we ciuld relax a little while we review the data and wait for an intelligence analysis of it as well. Do you want to stay on Coruscant?"

He rose at that, slipping his arms around her and pulling her into an embrace. "Or is something slower and out of the way more your speed? Where do you want to go?"

She didn't answer right away, choosing instead to ask about the Temple. He shrugged at the question. "I don't know, really. I'm dead, remember? Dead Jedi rarely make an appearance, so I usually show up in the Council Chamber and make a report, then slip out again. It doesn't look different, if that helps."
 
Kaydia couldn’t help but chuckle as he reminded her that he was dead, a fact they had shared, amusingly enough, “Makes sense, I suppose. So no tours around the temple then. But umm, speaking of dead Jedi, what are you going to tell the council about me? Will I have to answer to the council about what I’ve done?” She rested against Quentin, contented by his warmth and affection. While she may have had some concerns, Quentin hadn’t seemed very worried about it, and that made her feel better. At the very least, there wasn’t much point

“Assuming the council doesn’t sanction me, and we can actually take a vacation? I’ll be content with a room with a comfy bed, a roomy shower and room service, because I don’t intend to let you out for a week.” She teased, diffusing the tension. She pulled Quentin in for a kiss that started soft and gentle, but grew more demanding. Fingers trailed over his arms and shoulders, coming up to cup his face and keep him close. Pulling off him just long enough to breathe, she motioned towards the larger bunk that had been installed for them while they had traveled to Telerath, “Should we test it out?”



The new bunk performed admirably, such that the trip from Telerath to Coruscant seemed to take hardly any time at all. Kaydia was curled up on Quentin’s bare chest as the ship as the engines came out of hyperspace. “Already?” she murmured, rubbing her eyes and forcing herself awake, “I guess I should shower and dress if I am going to meet your master, shouldn’t I?”
 
The change in pitch of the ship's engines brought Quentin awake, even before Kaydia stirred. He shifted a little, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and trying to pull her back down as she pushed herself upright, lazily enjoying the feel of her skin sliding against his. "We got plenty of time," he insisted. "Won't reach th' fringe of traffic control for..." He squinted at the display next to the bed, and groaned. "Fuck. Half an hour."

Reluctantly, he let her go and sat up. "And, yeah. Couldn't hurt. I mean, Master Valis isn't a Traditionalist," he flexed his right arm and displayed the elaborate tattoos that sheathed it, "but he appreciates certain proprieties."

He watched her with hunger and affection as she rose, and started to follow her. Then he glanced at the display, and made an annoyed sound. "You go first. I'll heat up some food, then jump in when you're done."


Chewing on the last of his breakfast - reconstituted eggs and buiscit - Quentin piloted the Scrapper in towards his designated landing platform. It wasn't at the Temple, but a public dock some 40 kilometers distant. The rolling beige mountains of the Cirescant skyline sprawled beneath the ship, growing larger and more distinct as they closed. Finally, the ship touched down.

"Ready?" he asked, standing. Fir the first time in ages he was undisguised - just another middling height sandy blonde humanoid, able to blend into the background. Only the desert robes and the machined aluminum AdascaTek lightsaber at his belt marjed him as unusual. He plucked at a sleeve with a sheepish grin. "I never wore these until after my death," he chuckled. "Master Valis doesn't like them - he says they fad for desert robes is self-conscious aestetism unbeciming a Jedi. We always wore the old-style black unifirm." A shrug. "He still does."

Then he embraced her. "Don't worry," he said. "Valis Korrin's a good man. You have nothing to fear from him. And we'll both speak with the council on your behalf, and then we're off on vacation."
 
Kaydia fiddled with her own hood as Quentin complained about his robe, chuckling lightly. “I always liked it, actually. When I wore it people looked at me like a Jedi, not as a woman. Which was a comfort for the hormone addled teenage girl who tried really hard to be celibate. It created wall between my padawan self, and the part of me that had base urges unbecoming of a padawan,” she explained, following Quentin through the ship towards the cargo area.

“Imagine how silly I felt when I found out years, after I was no longer a padwan, that half of my fellow padawans were banging on the down low.” She laughed, before briefly remember how she had come upon that tidbit. Namely, that Linora had told her, their first night together. She sighed, letting out the distress as exhaled breath. Linora was no longer a concern.

Quentin pulled her close, sensing her tension no doubt. Assuring her that things would be alright. It was easy to believe such things when he said them, “You make it sound so simple. I just hope you are right.” There was a quick kiss before she assisted him it moving Linora’s crate off the Scrapper and heading off to meet master Valis.

It was a short trip through the Coruscant skyline to reach the temple, a place that had once been a symbol of home to her. Here she was, 12 years later, returning to the temple in robes with a lightsaber at her waist. All this time, and finally, Quentin had rescued that missing padawan from the clutches of the dark side. But…things were different, weren’t they? She was different. No longer that girl who took pride in her destiny as a Jedi, she found that their teaching had failed her, and she had failed their teachings.

“I really wanted to be a good Jedi,” Kaydia found herself confessing, feeling introspective as a history of mediating on her own thoughts came back with proximity to the temple, “I think I sabotaged myself, so consumed with never possessing a hint of darkness, that I created this image of a Jedi paragon that I could never live up to. And then, when the Black Sun took us, I feel so far and so quickly into darkness I just accepted that I had always been this way. A broken Jedi padawan.” She wiped an errant tear form her eyes and laughed grimly, “Sorry, I am just rambling now…”
 
"Nonsense," a new voice said. "You were expressing your true feelings, child. And they do you credit, I think - one lost to the darkness would not question her path, I think."

The speaker, energing from behind the landing pad blast door, was an Axoliatan. It stood not quite five feet tall, garbed in a black uniform with a crimson and ebony lightsaber hanging from it's belt. The smooth white skin of it's wedge-shaped head and head tendrils glistned wetly under the lights, and a hint of elaborate black and red tattoos could be seen as it lufted both hands in greeting.

Quentin grinned broadly, then bowed resoectfully. "Master Korrin."

"Quentin," the small Jedi said delightedly, embracing his former apprentice. "It is good to see you, my son. And this..." Wet black eyes turned to inspect Kaydia. "And this is the lost padawan we failed, years ago?"

"Yes, master," Quentin confirmed, slipping an arm around her shoulders. "This is Kaydia. Kaydia, this is Master Valis Korrin."

Valus took her hand with both of his, his three fingers slick and damp on her skin. "Accept my apologies, child," he said softly. "Mine, and the Order's. We failed you in your time of greatest need, and I fear we may never make amends for that."

"Oh, and allow me to also present..." Quentin hooked the crate with his foot, pulling it forward on its suspensors. "Linora Sunfell."

Valis rested his hand on the lid. "Another child the Order failed," he sighed. "One who became lost of her own volition. I fear her path will prove the harder for it." Then he turned, pushing the crate before him. "Come," he called. "We must plan your reports to the Council." He glanced iver his xhoulder at Kaydia, moist black eyes seeming to penetrate into her soul. "And I would kniw what you have done, chikd, that you believe yourself broken beyond repair."
 
Kaydia watched and waited for Quentin to finish greeting his master, her heart warmed by the affectionate display. Just as Quentin had defied all her expectations of what a good Jedi could be, Master Valis defied what she expected out of a master. She smiled as Quentin introduced her, offering her hand, “It is an honor to meet you, Master Valis.” She wasn’t expecting the apology, but she nodded in acceptance. If the Order could forgive what she had done, she could certainly find it in herself to forgive the Order.

She followed Valis as he pushed Linora’s crate before him, and explained what would happen next. She balked at the suggestion confess her crimes, but she felt as if he could see them as he looked upon her. Could see them, and did not judge her. Quentin knew what she had done, and accepted her. It seemed possible that Valis might do the same.

“I’ve killed,” she admitted softly, clearing her throat of the word, but pressing on regardless. “Some who deserved death, yes, but…many who did not. Starting with Jedi Master Ki Adi.”

“For months they dosed us with Inertia. I did what I was supposed to do, and purged it form my system. But it didn’t stop. Day in and day out, they drugged us, to the point was felt futile to continue struggling. Even when I did manage to purify myself, they’d beat me. I’d meditate to heal my wounds, and they’d drug me again. It was a vicious, never ending cycle, and I got tired of fighting it.

“I started giving in. I stopped resisting when they come in to inject me, stopped trying to purge it form my system. I took solace in that numbness, let myself forget everything I had been taught until that point. I hoped I’d OD, and it would finally be over. After a few weeks of compliance, they cut me off. Started beating me again. Between the agony of the withdrawals, and the injuries, I would have done anything, anything, for just one more hit.

“Then they brought her out. My master. They had stopped drugging her by then. No point, she hadn’t succumbed the way I did. Whether it was her Cerean physiology, or her far superior will power, I don’t know. Didn’t even have a mark on her. Seeing her like that, far superior to me, not eve worth drugging or abusing anymore, infuriated me. The anger, the jealousy, the pain, and the desperate need for more Inertia…I hardly even hesitated when they told me to kill her. And they way she looked at me, in those last moments. She knew she was going back to the force, and I was going to have to live with what I had done for the rest of my life.

“After that, it didn’t take much to agree to become an assassin for the cartel. The more I used, the less I had to reflect on what I had done. What I was doing. It took years for me to turn myself around, kick my addiction. By then…well, I didn’t think the Order had sent anyone after us when were first captured, so if the order hadn’t wanted me back when I was still a devoted padawan, there was no way they’d want me back after everything I had done. I am still not sure they want me back.”
 
As Kaydia spoke, Quentin took her hand and walked beside her. He knew all of this, from memories she'd shared and things dhe'd said and nightmares he'd felt, but it was still stark and terrible to hear laid out. For his part, Valis said nothing. He just walked, pushing Linora's crate and listening, until she came to an end. "I grieve for your suffering, Kaydia, and honor you for it," he said simply. "And for the choices you have made."

He loaded the crate into the back of a flyer, and invited the two humans to join him. The interior was cool and humid, and polarized screens muted the light. He sighed in pleasure as he left the dry heat of the Coruscant day behind, and signaled the droid pilot to depart. "The Order will take you back, if you wish," he said as the flier lifted. "Ulic returned, in death. Revan returned in life. The path of redemption is hard, but they will help you. If you wish. You can be a Jedi, again."

He leaned forward, head tendrils flexing. "But there is anither path you may walk, child. You are, after all, dead. You coukd choose to remain so."

Quentin's eyes widened. "Wait... you mean..?"

"Of course." Master Valis spread his hands, revealing webbed digits. "You know the darkness and the light, child. The path of Shadows is hard and lonely, a razor's edge between good and evil. Between life and death. It would test you, far more than the path back into the light, and it would bind your destiny to silent service and solitude."

Wet black eyez flickered from her to Quentin and back. "Well," he observed with amusement, "perhaps not solitude. But it is a hard thing. Do not answer now. Meditate upon it, for upon the answer rests the fulcrum of fate."
 
“A Jedi or a Shadow?” Kaydia repeated, glancing over at Quentin. “I will take your advice, Master Valis, and meditate on this.” Even as she said it though, she started to suspect what she might choose. Only one of those choices let her stay with Quentin, and she couldn’t imagine parting with him. Not now. Not after everything they had been through.

“So, what are we reporting on, exactly? Just Telerath, or Fresia as well?” She asked, changing the subject. There was a time for self reflection, and there was a time for action.

“Quentin already sent forth his report on Fresia, though if you have any further insights, I would hear them. But, yes, I think most of your report will be in regards to the mission on Telerath,” Valis explained.

“Well, the Telerath mission went rather well, if I may say so. Unfortunately our original plan of putting pressure on the accountants involved was unsuccessful, especially once Linora and Baronet Aldane ha-Florindel Sergovia Organa-Nahal became involved. Still, we were able to recover the data directly from the bank’s data server. We were intercepted by the Sith and Linora before we could extract from the planet, but in the ensuing battle we were able to incapacitate Linora and capture her. Aldane abandoned her to escape,” she explained, turning toward Quentin now, “Did I miss anything?”
 
Nodding along as Kaydia recounted a quick summary of events on Telerath, Quentin smiled a little at her final question. "You forgot that you didn't murder Linora. Even when I gave you the chance."

"An excellent choice," Master Valis observed, eyeing her carefully. "No matter what reason you had for making it. "And what would you have done if she had?"

Quentin shrugged, and took her hand. "Blasted the body repeatedly, and filed my report remotely." A quick peck on her cheek. "She certainly gave you cause, and I wouldn't have mourned her."

Master Valus chuckled. "Are you so certain, my son? Your thoughts betray you."

"I'd have mourned who she was," Quentin answered back. "The Linora I loved died years ago, if she existed at all." He squeezed Kaydia's hand. "But by the time she 'killed' me..? That Linora was a mask, nothing more." Even though he'd spent years trying to find a way to bring her back, and even niw hoped she would return to the light. A thought that made him feel vaguely guilty, even though he was positive that Kaydia knew it.

"Be that as it may," Master Valis said after a long moment, "she is no longer your concern. Look!" He gestured. In the near distance, looming larger as they drew closer, rose the towers of the Jedi Temple. "We shall land at the top,near the Council Chambers. Masters Yoda, and Mace, and Luminara await us there as the members of the Council who oversee the Order of Shadows."
 
It was Kaydia’s turn to offer some comfort, as Quentin spoke of mourning the Linora that was. As she sensed his hopes, hoped that had been at odds with her own desires. But Quentin could find goodness hidden beneath thick layers of darkness and self deceit. He had found the goodness with her, goodness she was certain had long been extinguished. She might not have agreed, but she admired his optimism. It was one of the things she loved about him. A squeeze of her hand assured him of that love, that acceptance.

She was quiet as they reached the temple, ascending to the highest levels. The council chamber seemed empty with just the three masters in it, and she felt somewhat out of place, standing freely before them

“A shadow, we were expecting. A missing padawan, instead we find,” Yoda noted, in his peculiar manner of speaking. She almost felt herself reverting to her padawan ways as Yoda addressed her, brushing some hair behind her ear as she shifted.

“Former Padawan Voss,” Master Mace Windu acknowledged, “We understand you worked on this mission alongside Jedi Shadow Hall. What can you tell us about your findings?”

“Well, Quent- I mean, Jedi Shadow Hall and I successfully infiltrated the Central Bank of Telerath, and acquired data relating to the shell companies that had purchased Darth Maul’s interceptor. He had information on all the investors who bought stocks in this shell company. While the objective was completed, Sith apprentice Baronet Aldane ha-Florindel Sergovia Organa-Nahal and Black Sun Vigo Linora Sunfell were aware of our mission, and sought to interfere directly. We managed to capture Sunfell, but the Baronet was able to escape, knowing who we are, and what our mission was.” She explained, surprised at how easy it was to fall back into that role, how easy she was once more a padawan giving her account to the council of masters.

“Know of your mission, the Sith does? Troubling, this is,” Yoda decided, steepling his fingers.

“And what of you, Former Padawan Voss? Where do you stand, now?” Master Unduli questioned, leaning on her arm.

“When I first accepted this mission from Quentin, I…I didn’t care about the state of the Republic, or its safety. I didn’t care about the presence of Sith, or the balance in the Force,” She admitted, “It was just…something to do with myself. And yet, as the mission progress, I remembered those lessons from my youth. That sense of duty that once filled me with pride. The glory of service to something greater than myself. I know my skills could be of use, still, and again.”
 
The four Masters said nothing for long minutes, choosing to watch and think in silent contemplation. Distantly, on the edges of his perception, he could sense their communion in the Force. Perhaps he could have pryed, but he knew that all of them would know if he did. "Sir Quentin," Yoda finally said, breaking the silence.

"Yes, Master?"

Yoda leaned forward, clawed hands resting on his cane. "Your relationship with Kaydia Voss, tell us of it."

Anxiety flared in Quentin's gut. It was well and good to speak of defying the Council when they were light-centuries away. It was another to do so in person. To do it with Yoda watching curiously and Mace Windu glowering, and under Luminara's impassive stare. Valis, for his part, simply leaned back and stared upwards. But he noticed the Axotl's head tendrils writhing in a pattern that he recognized as analogus to a comfirting smile.

"I can feel the conflict in him," Mace grunted. "This has gone too far..."

"No," Quentin interrupted, startling himself. Mace glared, and Yoda offered a quizzical smike as Luminara glanced at Valis. Drawing a breath, he continued. "Yes, I have defied the orders of the Council. 'A Jedi does not love', we are taught. And yet... I do."

"Why?" questioned Luminara.

"If you have to ask," Quentin answered, folding his arms, "then no explanation I can offer will make sense to you."

"Your Master's defiance I sense in you," Yoda chuckled.

"True," Valis responded. "I've been a terrible influence on the boy. Enough that he became a Shadow of his former self."

"But can he be trusted to put duty ahead of emotion?" Master Windu asked. "That is the point of..."

"Ask Linora Sunfell," Valis interrupted. "She'll know."
 
“Why does duty and emotion need to be separate?” Kaydia interjected. “I was lost. I might not have succumbed fully to the dark side, but I didn’t believe there was any goodness left in me. Quentin believed in me, and his love inspires me to come back to the light. Isn’t that his duty, to stand in defense of the light, against the darkness?”

“Are you really claiming that love is the reason you have returned to us, former padawan?” Luminara prodded, eying her.

“I am, and it is not unprecedented. Bastila Shan had her mind warped by Darth Malak, and yet Revan was able bring her back to the light with his love,” she defended.

“Tread carefully there, Ms. Voss. Are you sure you want to invite comparisons between the two of you, and Revan and Shan?” Mace intoned, eyes boring into her.

“I do. After everything she had done, Shan was able to find redemption in service to the Republic against the Sith, at Revan’s side. If she could do it, then there is hope for me as well.”

“Knows her history, this former padawan does,” Yoda mused, “studying to become a consular, were you not?”

“Yes. It seems my dreams of a quiet life tending to the archives has been dashed, however,” Kaydia admitted with small laugh, before catching herself, “I do believe the council then had similar reservations about their relationship. Might I propose the compromise reached then? That Quentin and I keep our relationship a secret, so as to not disrupt the current teachings and philosophy.”

“They both have the added benefit of being dead,” Master Valis added. Mace looked at him with an eyebrow raised.

“Meditate further on this, we should,” Yoda suggested, “back to the matter at hand, we must return.”

“Where is Linora Sunfell now?” Luminara asked, settling back into her seat.
 
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