Star Wars: Eclipse (TheCorsair and Xana)

[Xanaphia]

“What’s that?” Mith’ras asked, standing erect, his ears twitching to catch the distant sound, “Are you expecting anyone?”

“You know I am not,” Sheila assured, pouring herself back into her work, “Take care of it, won’t you?”

The Cathar bodyguard moved towards the elevator entrance, the soft whirring of servos loud enough to be undeniable now. Someone was coming, unannounced. A stun stick dropped into his hand as muscles tensed, in preparation for a fight. The doors opened before him, a figure he had met only once before, but whose presence had been etched in his memories. “You’re not allowed up here.”

“Then stop me,” the slender man called making a sweeping motion with his hand. The cathar went through the glass walls, landing hard against the wall in the next room. Sheila stood from her workstation now, backing away from the approaching man.

“I did everything you asked! We have no dispute,” Sheila argued, wearing her fear in her eyes as he brought out his crimson lightsaber.

“Nothing personal, Mistress Golb. You understand, it’s strictly business,” Aldane assured her, his tone at odds with his intentions. He brought up his saber, only to strike at a chair flying at him from across the room.

“Oh, did they forget to tell you I am not taking new business today?” Sheila quipped, suddenly wielding a green lightsaber. The baronet had just enough time to bring up his blade in defense, as he pieced together the scene.

“Scarlet! I was not expecting you,” He admitted, pleasantly surprised by the turn of events.

“That’s not my name,” She snarled, pushing him back with several quick slices.

“Your body paint begs to differ,” he mocked, back flipping away from her to pull his shoto from his belt as well, “You always did look good in red.” They locked blades again, Aldane gaining advantage as he pushed forward with both blades.

 

[TheCorsair]

Aldane feinted low with his ornate, basket-hilted saber and struck highwithhis shoto. That proved to be a feint as well, his saber slashing in as Kaydia parried the shorter blade. But he halted his blow, twisting and bringing up the saberin just enough time to deflect three blaster bolts. "Really?" he sneered. "Firearms? Your standards have fallen, Shadow."

Quentin dropped the pistol. "It might have worked," he replied, igniting his own lightsaber. The white blade burned like the heart of a star. "Certainly worth a try." He lunged forward, and swiftly Aldane found himself at the center if an uneven fight, too busy parrying and defending himself to counter-attack.

Circling carefully, he tried to back towards the turbolift shaft. "I should have anticipated this," he murmured, "when you escaped my little trap on Alderaan. And that isn't actually an Adascatek, is it?"

"It was," Quentin answered. "I rebuilt it completely. Incidentally, would you care to surrender? I might be able to persuade Kaydia to not kill you, if you do."

"Tempting, tempting," Aldane temporized, eyes flicking in her direction. "But, no. I can sense your feelings for one another - love, desire, joy." He smiled thinly. "These are your weaknesses."

Lightsabers flared and hissed as the combatants exchanged another flurry of blows. "And your arrogance is yours," Quentin replied.

"Perhaps," the foppish Sith allowed. "And yet, it is harder to manioulate. Observe!" The Dark Side gathered around him, a chill and palpabke presence in the Force that explided outwards like a hurricane. Dark winds lashed and howled, flinging furniture and wall hangings and shards of broken glass and the body of Mith'ras about, and datk lightnings tore and ripped at everything.

And then the storm detonated, blasting everything in the room outwards and away from the Sith Lord. Quentin flew the length of the room, smashing heavily into a wall. Before he coukd rise, force lightning erupted from the Baronet's hand and collapsed the wall and ceiling on him. "Now," Aldane cackled as he dashed towards the turbolift, "what will you do, Scarlett?"

 

[Xanaphia]

For Kaydia isn’t wasn’t a choice. Immediately she reached with the force to hold up the debris that would have otherwise crushed Quentin. She had to tap into her inner well of strength, buoyed by her love for him and her gratitude that he had brought her back to the light.

“You are as narrow minded as the Council, Aldane. You ask me to choose, duty or love, and I saw there is no choice. I can have both,” Kaydia declared, transitioning from merely holding the debris off her fiancé to tossing it into the turbolift shaft, Blocking the Sith’s escape route. Aldane rolled out of the way in time to avoid being crushed, but he wasn’t safe as Kaydia kicked him in the gut and straddled him as he rolled over.

“This was your favorite position, wasn;t it?” the Baronet mocked, blocking her blow from the right. “Or was it mine? It’s hard to recall where I ended and you began.” He grabbed both her wrists now, rolling her over so he was atop her now. “That look of terror in your eyes as you moaned for me was intoxicat-“ He couldn’t finish his taunt because her forehead had collided with the bridge of his nose. Her knee had likewise found his crotch and she rolled them over once more. In a last desperate shot he tried to trigger the SIN, before another hard right had blood spewing from his busted lip and broken nose.

“It’s over, Baronet,” Kaydia asserted, just containing the swirling hate that burned just under the surface. She was a Jedi now, and better than this. Controlling her emotions was how she would defeat him. “I won’t kill you, but I would enjoy beating you into unconsciousness. Maybe you’ll enjoy it too.”

 

[TheCorsair]

"Maybe I would," the Baronet mocked, spitting blood. "Maybe I like the taste of my own blood as much as I liked yours." His vision was swimming and blurring but he wasn't done yet, notas much as he twisted and tossed beneath her. "Maybe pain excites me, Scarlett. I know it excited you - you begged for the kiss of my blade, begged for the lash. Beeged me to let Linora's men use you..."

He grinned, the expression made hideous by the mask of blood from his damaged features. "I can feel your hate for me, Scarlett. Feel it burning in you, burning like my blade. I can..."

Quentin kicked him in the side of the head, hard. "You can shut the hell up," he declared, kicking him twice more than was strictly necessary to subdue him. "I mean, seriously. What is it with people who embrace the darkness and this 'I can feel the anger in you' bullshit?" Just because he could, he kicked the Baronet one final time, then offered Kaydia a hand up. The helping hand became an embrace as she came to her feet. "Thank you," he said simply, letting her feel the well of love and concern that underlay those simple words. "Thank you."

"Oh, my," Sheila - the real Sheila - said, carefully stepping over the wreckage of her office as she emerged from her safe room. "Is he... did you kill him?"

"No," Quentin replied. "We'll be taking him for interrogation."

"A pity," she said, looking around. "I don't often say this, but I suspect the galaxy would be a brighter place without him. Are you sure we can't... MITH'RAS!" With a cry of anguish she dashed across the room and went to her knees beside the fallen Cathar. "Oh my poor, brave Mith'ras! He has wounded you mortally!"

"No..." Mith'ras pushed himsel up to a sitting position. "He just threw me around, and wounded my pride."

"Nonsense," she remonstrated, trying to push him back down. "You were terribly brave." Slender crimson fingers unbuttoned his shirt, playing with the short, soft fur of his chest. "I shall have to minister to you for hours, to ensure your good health..."

Watching them, Quentin nodded once. "And, on that cue, we should get going."

"What?" Sheila wheeled on them, wide-eyed. "But you've only geen on Zeltros a week, and tonight is the Festival of Two Moons! And you're engaged! You simply can't leave yet!"

 

[Xanaphia]

Quentin’s embrace seemed to center her better than meditating could, comforting her before the Baronet’s words could sink in, before triggered memories could consume her. It got a bit easier each day, and standing with him now, over the unconscious body of her rapist felt like a triumph.

"But you've only been on Zeltros a week, and tonight is the Festival of Two Moons! And you're engaged! You simply can't leave yet!"

“The festival of the Two Moons?” Kaydia repeated with a laugh. Wasn’t it the feast of the autumnal equinox when we arrived, barely a week ago? And didn’t it last three days? She asked Quentin telepathically, wondering how many celebrations the Zeltrons needed in a short time. Maybe we should honeymoon here.

“I wish we could, but we really do have to deliver this…”piece of shit, her mind filled in, “terrorist to the Jedi Temple. After that…well, we will see.”

“I insist on paying for the wedding. It is the very least I can do after you’ve saved my life. It’s will be a glamorous affair, and half the galaxy’s elite will be there and-”

“Sheila, we discussed this. We are trying to keep a low profile,” Kaydia interrupted laughing as she aided Quentin in binding Aldane with similar stun charged binders that they had used on Linora.

“Oh, right. Right.” Sheila acknowledged, “Well then I can at least provide you two with a honeymoon destination. I have vacation homes on eight planets, let me know which is more your speed. There is the condo In Cloud City on Bespin, the estate on Naboo with the private lake, the penthouse on Corellia…”

“We might be able to take you up on that,” Kaydia agreed, lifting the unconscious Aldane to load him into one of the company owned skimmers. “We’ll be in touch.”

---

Aldane was loaded into a crate, the same setup as Linora’s had been. Kaydia joined Quentin in the cockpit as he initiated take off, “I sent word to Master Valis, to let him know what we are bringing him and the Council. Think they will actually let us take a vacation for capturing a Sith lord?”

 

[TheCorsair]

"Vacation?" Quentin laughed as he repeated the word. "We don't get vacations, Kaydia. We just don't take assignments for a while. Like I did, after... well, after I thought you died." The memory killed the mirth in his voice, and he set himself to the task of preflighting the ship. "I spent six months studying with the Bindu Monks, after that. Not much of a vacation, not in the sense you mean."

The engines began to purr as he brought them online, and he checked the navigational beacon signal. The droids in port control - droids were the only things on the planet actually wotking right now - had granted launch ckearance, but it never hurt to verify the fact. "Still, we can always refuse assignments fir a while. Assuming they even come in, that is. It's actually pretty rare that the Council makes a request. Most of the time, I find my own troubke and get to work."

His fingers flew over the controls and the antigravatics kicked in. The Scrapper began to rise at a barely the speed of sound, accellerating as the ship ckeared the troposphere. Tapping a few final commands into the controls, he turned to face Kaydia as the navicomp took over the task of steering them towards the jump point. "Now," he smiked, pulling her onto his lap, "I know how I'd love to celebrate this victory of ours..."

His kiss started soft as he cupped her face, thumbs stroking her cheekbones. Then his mouth opened, tongue gently tracing her lips until they parted for him. Love and lust coursed through him as she responded in kind and he pulled her close, moaning a little as he felt her body mold against his own. "You make one fucking hot Zeltron..."

The last few weeks had been interesting, to say the least. He'd had to stay near Kaydia, but nit be seen with her as she masqueraded as Sheila Golb. And it would have been unthinkable for Sheila to have become suddenly celibate. So he'd had to watch as she'd been with other men and women. He hadn't been jealous, precisely - he'd joined her through the Force on several occasions, letting her feel him fucking the real Sheila as he felt her own pleasure - but he wanted her. Wanted his fiancee and his lover in the flesh, not just in the Force. Wanted to hear her moan his name and beg for his touch. Wanted...

Electricity arced and danced over the controls just as Quentin was savoring her bared, crimson-painted breasts. Proximity alarms began to sound and the ship lurched, then shuddered. "Tractor beam?" he guessed, looking upwards through the viewport. What he saw made his stomach clench: a vast bulk, blotting out the stars as they were dragged towards it.

 

[Xanaphia]

Kaydia felt herself freeze as the obstacle came into view. A ship, pulling them in, pulling them away from their course, pulling them away from their victory, pulling them apart. “No…” she whispered, or thought, adrenaline firing all of her neurons at once. She had been facing her fears head on, overcoming her trauma, and she had made great progress, but it all seemed to fall apart now. Now, when she needed to keep her wits about her most of all. Now, when Quentin needed a partner he could rely on.

Dammit, she was a Jedi now! She was supposed to be better than this. She had to be better than this! Quentin had moved her aside, getting to work defending the ship, and she forced herself to follow him, to mirror him. Putting on a gas mask and retrieving her saber. The airlock being forced open could be heard, and Quentin was already rushing there, to repel the invaders. Fighting the terror within her own mind, she went after him.

The sound of a ventilator was all Kaydia could hear over her pounding heart and her dread screaming at her to hide. A half dozen blaster wielding troops entered, followed by a figure shrouded in a black body suit. “Kill them.” The voice was familiar, but soon she was too busy ducking for cover to piece together whose it was.

It was chaos for several moments, trying to evade and reflect the blasts back at their attackers. The invader advanced on them, spreading out in every direction. Who was this? What did they want? There were no answers, no time for answers, just a frantic fight to survive. Every corridor contained a firefight, but each opponent that fell bolstered Kaydia’s confidence. It wasn’t right, she knew. Not by the Jedi Code, but she had walked the knife edge of light and darkness all her adult life.

Once they had tracked down and eradicated nearly all the invading foes, there was another jolt on The Scrapper. The ship that had pulled them in was detaching, pushing away. “What the hell?” Kaydia asked Quentin, finally feeling her horror fade enough o feel in control. Sudden realization dawned on her, and Quentin at the same time, both of them racing to the cargo bay. “Fuck!”

The crate containing the Baronet was gone.

 

[TheCorsair]

Quentin pulled the respirator over his face and swallowed hard, struggling to control the fear dancing along his nerves. Not just his own fear - he could manage that well enough - but Kaydia's as well. It was paralyzing, flavored with memories of what had happened to her the last time this had happened. Not again, he told her. Not again, he swore. He'd failed her enough. Not again.

Armored figures flooded into the ship as the lock opened, and he could taste their apprehension. And then their surprise as they met opposition. They fanned out, splitting into groups as they followed the port and starboard corridor. Soporific gas drifted along with them, a silent ally in their invasion. A silent, sloppy ally. The stuff needed to be inhaled.

The first pirate to die did so without a sound. Quentin emerged from concealment behind him, adjusting the controls of his lightsaber. The emitter touched the back of the man's helmet as he thumbed the switch rapidly, igniting a six centimeter blade for half a second. Just long enough to destroy the man's brain. He caught the body, and lowered it silently to the ground.

Two more pirates died in similar fashion, killed without being aware they were being stalked. But the fourth turned as Quentin brought up the saber, and had time to scream and discharge his blaster before he fell, the top half of his skull seperating from the rest of his body. Quentin caught his riot gun, filling the narrow hallway with a hailstorm of blaster fire that brought down the last two before they could shoot.

Then he felt Kaydia join the fight and raced to join her, emerging into the central area of the ship. She was there, green blade strobing and flashing as she fought six pirates at once. They paniced as he took them from behind, and pirates died in chunks and fragments as they learned their space armor wasn't proof against lightsabers. He shouldn't take pleasure in their deaths, he knew. But he knew what kind of men they were, and what they wanted to do to his love.

The last pirate screamed in terrorvas Quentin caught him with the Force, jerking him away from Kaydia's blade and slamming him into the bulkhead. "Who are you?" he demanded, advancing with saber ignited and hand raised. The pirate didn't answer, but Quentin didn't need him to speak. "Roviir Dalon, of the Black Sun," he stated, echoing the pirate's thoughts. "And what did you want?"

"Oh, Quentin," laughed a familiar voice through a speaker on the pirate's armor. "You always asked so many questions. 'Was it good for you?' 'When will I see you again?' 'Why did you betray me?'"

"Linora?" Quentin asked, stunned.

"Oh, yes. You didn't really think the Jedi could hold me, did you?"

"What do you want?" he demanded.

"You'll never know."

Warned by a premonitiin in the Force, Quentin hurled the man aside and dove for Kaydia. Their power merged and melded, wrapping them both in telekinetic fields as the pirate's armor exploded. They were both unhurt, but the force of the blast sent their shielded bodies bouncing along the hall.

And then the ship jolted, the pirate detaching and pulling away. Warning klaxons sounded as bulkhead shields sealed the ruptured airlock. Suddenly, Kaydia dashed to the ladder and dropped into the hold. It too had been breached, exposing the entire hold to vacuum. But staring through the airlock viewport, they could both see the same thing. The baronet was gone.

"Fuck," Quentin snarled, echoing Kaydia. "Fuck, fuck, FUCK! It was all a diversion! All of it, all those deaths! Just DISTRACTING us!" He pounded his fist against the lock in helpless fury. "How did she get away? And how did she..."

Realization dawned. He and Linora had been close, once. Lovers. They'd shared a bond. Not as strong as the one he shared with Kaydia, but there. He'd thought it broken, years ago. But it was still there, blocked by her own skills, until she'd chosen to pervert it. And now, because of a bind that should have represented love, a Sith Lord was free.

He felt her, distantly. Gloating. Mocking. And then it sealed itself away.

"Fuck," he whispered. Then he sighed. "We need to check the ship," he said. "I doubt we can chase them. I just hope we can still fly."

 

[Xanaphia]

Kaydia moved towards the console, watching the error codes scroll down the screen. In the moment, they were just letters and numbers, meaningless to her in the moment. She needed to find her center, let the terror and the rage of the last few moments fade away. But she didn’t want calm, or balance or serenity. She wanted the anger and the strength she once drew from that anger.

“We should have killed him. We should have fucking killed him. Dammit, I knew better! I knew that I knew better.” Her fists slammed into the nearby wall as the tears soaked her cheeks. Again and again the thud of bone on metal echoed the hull, seeking physical pain to punish herself for her impotence. “I just fucking froze. You needed me and I fucking froze. I froze, and now that bastard is free.”

Self pity wasn’t helping in the moment either. The thrust regulators needed to be manually reset, among other things, and it was at least a task she could assist with. It’s wasn’t hard, she had to open the compartment, unscrew each capacitor and fix its output setting. Not hard, just tedious and monotonous, but as it turned out, tedious and monotonous was what she needed. A simple task to keep her hands busy so she could sort through her emotions and her shame at her inaction. After an hour of working at it she left with a dull annoyance. The whole situation was created by Linora purposely to incapacitate her. To distract her, to get her off her game. Practically recreated from her memories, perfectly crafted to trigger her. It had worked just as intended.

Still, she was convinced she should have killed Aldane. Interrogating him would have been ideal, but now they had a Sith warrior and Black Sun Vigo who would no doubt be seeking to get their revenge on them. Killing him would have eliminated a powerful lead, but it would have left the universe a better place. Killing him or Linora would have avoided this entire scenario. She wouldn’t make that mistake again. No more prisoners, or mercy. Not unless they surrendered themselves.

Not long after she had finished she heard the engines whir back to life. She made her way to the cockpit, hoping Quentin had some plan for moving forward.

 

[TheCorsair]

Quentin was reviewing the diagnostics once more, when Kaydia joined him in the cockpit. She was grimy and dusty and utterly exhausted, and he doubted he was any better - while she'd reset the thrust regulators he'd been rerouting power lines. Patching in temporary cutouts, to bring systems disabled by ion cannon and explosion back online. "She played us both," he said, sensing the thoughts she'd been stewing in. "Both of us."

He took her hand. "We should have killed him, yes. Perhaps we should have killed her as well. I..." He swallowed. "I let myself be deceived by her, let myself see what I wanted... what I hoped I would see." Guilt and rage at himself churned in his gut. "I hoped she could be saved, Kaydia. And now, they're both free."

Leaning back, he stared out into space. "I fucked up. Badly."

After a time, he turned his head and looked at her. "And we can't even go after them, not yet. The Scrapper needs extensive repairs. Hell, we'll be doing good to land her, instead of crashing her. And by then... they could be anywhere." A bleak, bitter laugh. "So much for vacations."

---

In the end, they didn't crash. It was touch and go, but the repairs held and the ruptured hull didn't tear apart as the atmosphere thickened. Quentin had to shut the warning klaxons off, though, as the ship screamed about its emminant demise. Eventually, the abused starshio sat in the same docking berththat it had vacated not so long ago.

Surprisingly enough, Sheila was there. Still dressed in her ritual wear, mostly chains of silver and ivory draped and wrapped around her crimson body, along with strips of some gauzy white cloth. She jaangled musically as she embraced first the startled Quentin and then Kaydia. "I came as soon as Mith'ras gave me the news!" she explained. "He was preparing my personal ship to come help you, when wereceived word that your own ship had landed here. Are you all right? Shall I summon my physician? He can be sober by the time he arrives!"

 

[Xanaphia]

“We are fine, more or less,” Kaydia explained, knowing she must have looked like hell, especially compared to the fresh faced Zeltron. She still hadn’t a chance to remove the red body paint. Some had been sweated off in the fights and the mechanical work she had to do, so it splotchy and faded in places. “We just need somewhere to rest, and regroup.”

“You can use my downtown penthouse to get cleaned and dressed for the festivities,” Sheila insisted, leading the couple towards a nearby skimmer.

“Festivities?” Kaydia asked, utterly incredulous. She definitely didn’t have it in her to engage in a Zeltron orgy. She had wanted her fiancé, her Quentin.

“This was a sign, you are meant to be here. Should have stayed from the get go,” Sheila argued, joining the couple in the back of the vehicle. “It’s going to take a couple days to get your ship fixed, might as well enjoy yourselves.” Kaydia was too exhausted to argue any further, and it wasn’t much longer to Sheila’s penthouse. Sheila let them in and bid a quick farewell, hoping to get back to the revels now that she knew her saviors were safe.

Once they were alone, Kaydia pulled Quentin right into her arms, needing to fuck away the tension of yet another near death escape. Her mouth was hungry on his, her tongue seeking and mingling with his, her hand holding his head close to hers. As his hands mirrored hers and held her face she changed tactics, reaching between them to get his pants off. He tried to move to kiss her neck as she opened his fly, but she pushed him back, back onto the couch behind him. She worked at her own pants now, and he reach forward to assist, two sets of hands dragging fabric from her skin. Stumbling a touch on her boots before kicking them, she straddled Quentin, engulfing his mouth with her own. I need you.

 

[TheCorsair]

Exhausted from the events of the past few hours, Quentin found himself struggling to be gracious. "You don't have to do that," he said, yawning. "The bedroom on my ship is..."

"Terriblysmall and cramped," Sheila declared, hooking er arms through theirs and leading them towards her skimmer. "Not that the two of you mind being close, I'm sure, but it will be loud in there once the repair crews get to work. And my penthouse is, I can assure you, far more comfortable than anything that little scout freighter can offer."

"You're not going to take no for an answer, are you?" he laughed in spite of herself.

"I think the both of you are aware of that!" Sheila winked in response. "And I would hardly have become the wealthiest woman in Zeltros if I were. So you will simply have to accustom yourselves to being pampered in luxury for the next week or two."

She stepped into the skimmer, seating herself on the broad, rear-facing seat. Quentin held the door for Kaydia, then joined her on the seat facing Sheila. The Zeltron waved a lasy finger, and a small droid poured drinks. "Salmath, twenty years in the cask," she said, raising her glass. "To good friends, and unexpected pleasures."

The flight was brief and the liquor - which tasted of sugared walnut - was smooth and pleasant, and Quentin was yawning as the skimmer touched down. Sheila added their biometrics and voices to the security system and let her hands roam as she kissed them each an enthusiastic and lingering good night. "Take your leisure," she laughed, entering the skimmer, "and get some rest! We'll see to your ship once the festival is over!"

Yawning again, Quentin followed Kaydia into the oenthouse. He barely had time to register the surroundings when she was on him, mouth hot and hungry on him as she wrapped her arms around him. Fatigue washed away in sudden lust as she pulled at his clothes, opening his pants to wrap her hands around his hardening cock. And then she pushed him backwards, tugging at her own clothing. He worked at her pants as she tossed shirt and bra to one side, tasting her crimson-dyed skin as they both stripped her bare. Then she was on him, around him, taking his shaft deep in her folds as she straddled him. Her mouth was on his once more, swallowing his moan of pleasure. I need you, her thoughts declared as her hands caressed his still-clothed body.

I need you, he echoed, devouring her lips and sucking greedily at her tongue. His hands roamed her bare body, trying to feel all of her as she rode him desperatly. Fuck, I need you! He gripped her ass, feeling muscles flex and strain under his fingers as she rose on his meat and swallowed him again, grinding her clit on his length with each stroke. He bit at her lips, her throat as he fucked her back, shoulders and biceps working to aid her thrusts and fill her with his own.

He hadn't realized how much he'd needed this, needed her, until this moment. Not for the pleasure and the building release. He'd had that, often enough, in the past few weeks. But for the connection. For feeling his love and his lover move with him, feeling her own pleasure first hand, reflected and amplifued by his own. For making love, not just fucking. "Kaydia," he moaned aloud, enjoying the reaction she had to her name on his lips. "Fuck me, Kaydia... fuck me..."

 

[Xanaphia]

It still got her. It had been a difficult journey to reclaim her name, first from the Black Sun and again from Linora, a fact Quentin had known well. Each time he whispered it to her, or called it out in passion, was a triumph. A praise of their victories together. Something they especially needed now, as those victories seemed to slip from grasp. It could have been worse. They were alive, and reasonably unharmed. The Scrapper was damaged, but could be fixed. They were together, and they had already proven that they could accomplish incredible things together.

Fuck, he felt so good inside her. Inside her body and inside her mind and inside her mouth as their tongues twisted and danced together. With increasing momentum, feed by her need and his, her pleasure and his, her love and his, she pursued her orgasm. Or his. Fuck, it was hard to tell at time, especially since one always seemed to inspire the other one. She found she craved his climax as fiercely as her own. So pressure built, tightening in her core, heavy in his balls, pooling in the back of their heads, released in the mutual cry of their names. She sagged against him as euphoria passed between them and evaporated like their remaining energy.

“Marry me,” She whispered, ragged breaths hot on his ear. She could sense his response, forming in his mind as his tongue moved to give it voice, but she kissed him before it could escape. I already asked you, and you already said yes. “I don’t mean eventually. I mean while we are here. Make it official. Because…” She didn’t give voice the concerns in her mind, but she knew he felt them. That Linora and the Baronet would be hunting them, and therefore their lives were in real danger.

“I want to be your wife, Quentin. I want to be your wife and I want you to be my husband, and I want the galaxy to know how much I love you.”

 

[TheCorsair]

Mind dulled by the pleasant exhaustion that followed orgasm, Quentin was a little slow on the uptake. All he was really thinking about was the way Kaydia's sated body slumped into his. How she tasred as she kissed him, and how her sweat-slick crimson-dyed skin felt on his, and how the heady scent of her pleasure mixed with his own. But he wasn't that out of it, and he kissed her back woth passionate, wild delight. "Yes!" he declated, laughing for joy. "I mean, I don't know what Zeltron wedding customs are like, but I'm willing to follow them. Or any others you choose."

He kissed her again, the act filled with an emotion somewhere between lust and joy. Then he chuckled. "I don't know about telling the galaxy, mind. Technically, as Shadows, Quentin Hall and Kaydia Voss no longer exist, so announcing our marriage presents problems." He was grinning as he kissed her again. "Also, I'm dead. Remember? Which reminds me..."

He kissed her again and then stood up, carrying her easily in his arms. "You, Sir Kaydia Voss, have a fearsome and powerful gift in the Force - the ability to return the dead to life." He toed open the door into the bedroom, which was dominated by a circular bed large enough to sleep a dozen. Which, he suspected, it had probably done more than once. "But you have need of that gift, my love."

He set her down on the bed, leaning forward to kiss her hungrily. Then, straightening, he took his cock in one hand. It was soft once more, still sticky with their orgasms, and he stroked it lightly as he looked deep into her green eyes. "Because I need you to revive this."

 

[Xanaphia]

“I hadn’t given our wedding much thought, at least not until you proposed.” She explained, snuggled against him. “You know, given our shared upbringing, it’s not something I thought I’d even have.”

"I mean, I don't know what Zeltron wedding customs are like, but I'm willing to follow them. Or any others you choose."

“If Zeltrons do have any marriage customs, I am sure there are the closest to the arrangement we are looking for. A commitment to one another that is not exactly monogamous.”

"I don't know about telling the galaxy, mind. Technically, as Shadows, Quentin Hall and Kaydia Voss no longer exist, so announcing our marriage presents problems.”

“Okay, not the galaxy. But those in our galaxy. Which I think leaves us with…Master Valis. Easy guest list, at the very least.” She pointed out, laughing with playful bliss. It was hard to believe how scared and angry she had been just hours earlier. But he switched gears, reminding her of their status as dead Jedi, the beginning of a plan forming in his mind.

“I am not sure I am the only one with this gift. After all, I’ve been dead twice now, so you tell me who really has this gift,” She teased, with words that had been bitter once. Still, it was easier to put it behind her, easier as he held her in his arms and carried her into the bedroom. Easier still, as he bid her to revive his cock.

“You want to go again?” she asked coyly, nipping at his lip, “I would have thought you’d want a nap so we can go join the orgy.” Soon her hand joined his in stroking him, the mingled passion leaving him slick. “Or do you want your Kaydia all to yourself, for now?” Without giving him a chance to answer her question, she pushed him back onto his back. Crawling down the length of his body, she took his softening cock into her mouth. Greedily seeking every drop of their shared pleasure, her tongue dragged along his shaft. Her eyes didn’t dare leave his as she bobbed up and down his hardening meat. Her hands explored his chest, enjoying the felt of his hard muscles, damp with their perspiration.

 

[TheCorsair]

"I'm sure we can always join the orgy later," Quentin laughed as she pushed him down on the bed. "No matter when that later is. Right now, though..?" He gasped as she took him in her mouth, his ass arching slightly off the bed to offer himself to her. "Right now... I just want my Kaydia. My... lover... and my..." H gasped again as he looked into her green eyes and felt her tongue swirling around his shaft. "Fuck, that's good..."

Her hands were like fire on his skin, and the sight of his meat slick and shiny with her spit as it slid in and out of her crimson lips was electrifying. His hands tangled in her hair, dyed the color of fresh blood to better match Sheila's appearance. His hips began moving slightly, gently but insistently fucking her mouth as she sucked his dick, and he uttered a sound between a moan and a sigh as she responded by sucking harder.

His cock was aching for her now, and it was agony to pull her mouth away. ? But he pulled her up and moved her, pushing her forward to the center of the huge bed so he could crouch behind her. Kneeling, he caressed and squeezed the scarlet-dyed globes of her ass as his tongue traced and circled the puckered bud of her anus. He teased the opening for several secinds before shifting, movng his mouth lower. Through the Force he let her taste her own slit, musky with her lust and flavored with his cum, as he explored her folds.

You taste so good, he told her, his tongue pressing against her inner walls as he lapped at her, thrusting his tongue into her depths. Reaching out, he caught a wrist and drew iy under her body, bringing her hand to her cunt. Touch yourself, he asked, tongue tracing her fingers before sliding between her lips once more. Touch yourself for me.

 

[Xanaphia]

Damn, sucking him off felt so good, feeling his pleasure in her mind. She could admit to enjoying the sensation of swallowing him, feeling how her throat massaged his shaft. Their bond was so strong lately she could nearly get off on his climax alone. But he wasn’t looking to get off yet, not as he pulled her off him and positioned her on knees. And not as he took his turn to taste her, exploring her trembling sex with his skilled tongue.

“Quentin…yes love…” She moaned, losing herself in the exquisite pleasure. It didn’t take much to let her mind become consumed with desire, his and hers, melding and mingling as their lusts had inside her. Just as intoxicating as well, as she tasted their ambrosia on his tongue and hers. Quentin certainly didn’t have to ask twice for her to touch herself, teasing her engorged clit as his tongue filled her. Rubbing in circles, hips swaying again his ministrations he was getting close, and he would know she was getting close. He would feel the tingle of her nirvana oscillating along her spine and nerves.

“Quentin, fuck, so fucking…so good!” she gasped, pleasure electrifying her senses. Two fingers plunged into her quivering depths, drawing out her ecstasy as her body quivered and melted like butter at his touch. “Don’t stop!”

 

[TheCorsair]

He could feel her orgasm building, and his own with it. Feel her fingers pumping in and out of her slit, dripping with her juices and sliding over her clit even as he feasted on her. His tongue probed and explired, joining her as she stroked and filled herself. "Don't stop," she begged, her wallsclinging to her fingers and his tongue as muscles deep in her body began to clench.

Grinning, he caught her wrist in a grip of iron. She strained, trying to fuck herself with her hand, but to no avail. "Beg me," he whispered, breath hot on her dripping slit. "Beg me to have you." He let her fingers move just a little, teasing her clit. "Beg me to let you cum."

His tongue traced the outline of her folds, letting her taste her own musk and her own contours. Her agonized moan nearly made him cum where he was. "Beg me to fuck you, Kaydia. Beg me to let you cum on my dick, while I fuck you hard." He blew a gentle stream of air on her clit, and his arm strained to hold her hand still. "Let me hear you beg for my cum, Kaydia. Tell me just hiw much you want me in you."

 

[Xanaphia]

Fuck. Kaydia probably should have known he was going to do that. Hell, she probably did know he was going to do that, somewhere in the back of her mind. Buried under the passion she let herself get swept up in.

“Quentin,” She whimpered, still struggling against his grasp. For a second her hands was free, but he caught it again, his rough fingers tight on her wrist. More mewling cries dripped form her lips as she tried to find the words, tried to form the words. “Please, love, fuck I am so close…please, Quentin, please!” Her hips bucked and squirmed, trying to reach her captive hand, trying to reach his teasing mouth. “Please!”

Contracting muscles ached for release, blood and pulsing in her throbbing cunt. “Quentin, Fuck! I need you. I need your cock. Please love, fuck me. Please fucking fuck me!” Her voice was desperate, trembling, mad.

She tried sending her terrible need through their bond. Tried making him feel how badly she wanted him, wanted release, wanted fingers or tongue or cock. “Please love, please…I need you. I need you inside…”

 

[TheCorsair]

Quentin swallowed hard, feeling her pleas reflectedcin her terrible need to cum. In his own terrible need to cum. He let Kaydia feel it in reply. Feel his cock so hard thst it ached. Feel the rigid discipline that was the only thing that kept him from streaking her crimson-painted ass with hot white streaks of cum. "Fuck," he breathed against her slit, pulling her fingers away as he did.

He rose up behind her, gripping both her wrists tightly now. "You want me to fuck you?" he husked, grinding the heated bar of his cock against her. "You want this dick, deep in you?" His head left precum on her skin as it slid over her ass and lower. He rubbed against her folds, then shouted "Fuck!" as his length slipped and thrust into her channel. "Kaydia," he moaned, feeling her walls tighten around his length. "Kaydia..."

He'd wanted to drag it out, torment her until she couldn't sttand it. But now, buried in her steamy sex, instinct took over. His hips battered against her ass as he pounded into her, moving her whole body with each thrust. All he could feel was how good she was around him, and his mounting pleasure, and hers. On the sixth thrusr he came with a violence that startled him, arching bis back as he shit his seed deep into her.

Finally, spent, he collapsed against her. He wanted to speak, to tell her she was incredible and that he loved her, but he couldn't remember how to talk. All he could do was kiss her heated flesh and whisper her name. "Kaydia."

 

[Xanaphia]

Trying to influence him through their force bond had backfired on her, as she discovered his need was as great as her own. She might have been upset about his ploy, or at least annoyed, if she didn’t know how it was driving him just as mad as it drove her. If his little technique didn’t wring an earth shaking orgasm from her. Or was it his? Their bodies shuddered and burst into bliss at the same time, so it was hard to tell succumbed first.

Kaydia let herself melt into the mattress, wrapping Quentin’s arms around her body. She could feel the sentiments he couldn’t quite put into words, pouring from his mind to hers, and she just responded with a pleased smile. All she wanted now was a night in his arms, wrapped in his love and, letting his breathing and heartbeat lull her to sleep.

Despite the pleasant end of their evening, pleasant dreams did not await her. Nothing concrete, just jumbled memories of pain and shame and fear. Of the bite of needles and of burning flesh. Of Aldane’s voice, silky smooth as it dripped with violence and violation. When she woke early the next morning, she could still feel his filth on her skin, like a grimy film made of darkness and hatred. She sat up in bed, trying not to disturb Quentin much. Hoping her nightmares hadn’t bothered him much, if they reached him at all. They had been infrequent as of late, nearly a month since the last that had affected her like so. Probably because of what Linora had done, triggering her trauma on purpose, to get her off guard.

She could feel him on her, in her, and while she knew rationally it was only Quentin, she felt disgusting. Disgusted. At least Sheila had a fancy, high powered fresher unit, with some impressive steam settings. The hot water felt glorious, as she scrubbed herself of last night’s lovemaking, of the sweat and blood from the fights she had been in, of the body paint she had been wearing for weeks. Scrubbed until she looked like herself again. The clothes she had worn the day before had been cleaned, so she dressed in those as she awaiting for Quentin to wake up.

 

[TheCorsair]

Quentin stirred uncomfortably in his sleep, dreams haunted by darkness and pain and fear. None of it was his own, though - he could tell that in his dream. But still, the impression of violation swallowed him up until he awoke. His first thought was to reach out to Kaydia, to comfort her. The nightmares had gotten less frequent as she'd completed her training, but more than once he'd had to hold her as she shuddered through panic attacks brought on by her past.

She wasn't there.

Opening his eyes fully, he found her sitting and watching him sleep. Her skin was back to its normal color, and she was dressed in the same clothes she'd worn yesterday, and her green eyes were haunted. Yawning, he rolled over and took her hand. He said nothing, not about the nightmares. If she needed to talk, she would.

Finally, he struggled out of the huge bed. "I'm going to clean up."

---

"The whole thing's mirrored," Quentin said as he finished towling off. "I mean, I guess I expected the fresher being large enough for six, but mirrored?" He chuckled as he pulled on his pants. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised." Ignoring his shirt, he took his fiancee in his arms and held her close. "Are you all right? Last night felt....rough."

 

[Xanaphia]

Kaydia let herself be enveloped by his love, let his concern permeate the walls she was already putting up. “It was rough,” she agreed, choosing to focus on his warmth, and the scent of soup wafting from his skin, “I bet Linora would be thrilled to know how badly her little trick is affecting me. Perhaps there is also some anxiety over the fact they are both free again.” She took a deep breath, finding herself just beginning to relax in his arms. “I am going to be okay,” she assured him, squeezing him extra close for a moment, “I’ll find some time to meditate today, clear my mind.”

“If you two are up, come down to the kitchen, and get some breakfast. Then we can discuss plans for the day,” Sheila invited, over the intercom, and Kaydia found that breakfast sounded utterly delightful. So they joined their host in the lavish kitchen, a veritable feast presented. Eggs prepared three different ways, five different types of breads for toast, sausages and bacon and ham and steak. Numerous fruits, some she recognized, but many more she did not. It was a bit overwhelming, so Kaydia started with some coffee, while she tried to figure out what would best sate her hunger.

To that effect, she noted the occupants of the kitchen, Two more beyond Sheila and Mith’ras. A man and woman, a couple she recognized from her time masquerading as Sheila. A couple she had been with several times, under the guise of acting as Sheila. While she might have recognized them, they certainly didn’t recognize her.

“What is this? Since when does our Sheila keep a couple humans stashed in her penthouse?” Arlia teased, openly ogling Quentin.

“Dear friends I made on Telerath. Nyamelo and Malachi,” Sheila introduced, remembering to use their identities from Telerath, “and these are my good friends, Arlia and Klynn.”

“You two missed the festivities last night,” Klynn mentioned, spending equal time checking out Kaydia and Quentin.

“Yes they did,” Sheila agreed, smirking at them over her coffee, “But they are getting married, so I am throwing them a private party this evening.”

“Tonight?” Kaydia asked, before tossing her gaze to Quentin. It probably wouldn’t be possible to avoid attending one of these parties as long as they were here, so hopefully they could at least contain it. They didn’t need another video of them having sex getting out, at the very least. “Sounds lovely, but I haven’t a stitch to wear.”

“Oh, I doubt you’ll need to wear anything,” Arlia teased, finishing her drink.

“Probably not, but I can still take you shopping none the less,” Sheila said with a laugh.

 

[TheCorsair]

Quentin dug into his breakfast, observing the other guests at the table as he helped himself to three over-easy eggs with lavender yolks. He didn't know them, of course, but he knew their names. Sbeila had identified them as her feilynn - a Zeltron word indicating a deeper commitment than friendship, not as intense as lovers, but still romantic in nature. One of a dozen or so different words in their language for relationships. And he recognized them as well, he'd watched them with Kaydia, individually or together, several times in the past week.

"What good fortune brings you two to Zeltros?" Klynn asked, sipping his coffee. "The Festival of Two Moons?"

Quentin shook his head. "Sadly, no. Nyamelo was signing off on a contract, and it was originally our poor luck that we had to leave last night. Business commitments offworld, you understand."

Klynn nodded sadly. "Then what happened?"

"Pirates. We were able to repel them, but our ship was badly damaged. We were barely able to limp back to Zeltros."

"How horrible!" Arlia gasped. "And just the two of you were able to drive off an entire pirate ship?"

Quentin shrugged. "We got lucky. They thought we were Zeltrons until they popped the hull and boarded, and our biochemistry is just different enough that the soporific gas they used had no effect. But, obviously, we had to cancel the next appointment."

Arlia bit her lip and smiled, leaning forward casually tracing the long silver chain around her throat with a scarlet finger. "Well," she purred, watching his reaction as she touched Kaydia's hand, "some good came out of it."

Sheila nodded agreement. "I'd wanted to host their weding, and make quite the grand event of it." She bit into a piece of toast, then giggled as Klynn leaned forward to lick a drop of jam from her lips. "They wanted a small, intimate affair. But now that they're stranded here, they've agreed to let me take care of the arrangements." Her wrist chimed, and she glanced at the ornaments. "Speaking of which, Nyamelo-frere, we must be going! There is so much to get done before the party!"

"I'll say," Arlia agreed, giving Quentin an intense look.

 

[Xanaphia]

Kaydia hadn’t realized how much she missed casual shopping until she was out with Sheila. Now that she was once more a Jedi, she was making great strides towards living like one. Well, aside from the celibacy stance, clearly. Part of that was eschewing materialism. Besides, she had need of a large wardrobe when seduction was her primary means of manipulating her targets and getting close. Close enough to kill, usually. But things were different now. She didn’t need to get people alone so she could kill them. And she didn’t use her sexuality as a tool anymore. It was something she shared with Quentin, and occasionally others while he watched.

However, trying on outfits with Sheila, who may have been her sole female friend in the entire galaxy, she remembered the pleasure of finding a look that inspired. Inspired lust, or jealousy or fear. She had been rather well off as Scarlet, rarely having to concern herself over most purchases. And she had spent significant time in the company of wealth and power, as most of her targets had occupied that strata of society. Still, Sheila hardly blinked an eye as she dropped thousands on a single dress, or pair of shoes, numbers that even Kaydia would have balked at.

“Oh, you should wear this to the party tonight,” Sheila suggested, motioning towards the hologram of a red silk dress, loosely draped over the curves of her holo-mannequin, with sheer panels that showed quite a bit of skin. Revealing, and yet fairly tasteful, surprisingly enough.

“This is nice,” Kaydia admitted, finding the holo-version of herself looked damn good in it.

“And convenient,” Sheila added, demonstrating on the holo-mannequin by tapping on the knot at the throat of the gown. It slid off the vision, leaving an image of an utterly nude Kaydia before them. She laughed a bit to cover her slight embarrassment. She didn’t have much shame in her body, or feel the need to cover herself completely, but she doubted she’d ever feel as comfortable in her skin as the average Zeltron.

“Do I really need a fancy dress if it is just going to spend the evening on the floor?” Kaydia teased.

“It’s about how it makes you feel as much as how it looks on you,” Sheila explained, “You want to attend your yerlain feeling sexy and desirable.”

“Yerlain? You mean the orgy?”

“It’s not just an orgy, it’s an important part of Zeltron marriage customs. You and your love enter, and spend the evening exploring every aspect of pleasure with a range of attractive partners. At the end of the night to retreat to your love, because you know that they are the only one who can complete you. All the pleasure in the world pales in comparison to their embrace,” Sheila elaborated, voice rooted in true belief. Try as she might, Kaydia could find no flaws in the Zeltron’s logic. Nor could she deny the appeal of the rite.

“Well, you certainly sold me.”