My Cruel Valentine: Chapter 3: Nature of a Soul

Used both versions of the apparition scene because it’s cooler that way. Next chapter likely to be quite long.

Sorry, got stalled on writing because I’m trying to outfit her apartment in SWTOR and also try some of the other features the game has (playing some flashpoints, doing more heroic missions for cash, will probably try out the starfighter and pvp offerings soon). I’ve been working on this like it’s my job. That’s probably not healthy.

 

Chapter 3: Nature of a Soul

Hot, dry air with only the slightest hint of a breeze. Extremely fine sand, everywhere and getting everywhere, especially his gear and his teeth. Blinding sunlight from not one but two suns.

Yes, it must be Tatooine. Emperor’s bones, he hated it. Even Vette hated it. “I’m gonna end up purple by the time we’re done here.” They’d already been on the planet for two weeks, and had only just picked up the Jedi apprentice’s trail.

Akuliina shrugged as they trudged through the sand. “I’ve seen Twi’leks in every other colour, why not purple?”

“Because I’m not supposed to be purple. Ugh. At least you had a good idea about covering my lekku in cloth; those getting sunburn itch would be a nightmare.”

“You didn’t figure that out on Korriban?”

“I was on Korriban for like two days before I got caught, and I mostly moved around at night. And it’s desert-ish, sure, but it’s not so ridiculously hot there. How do the locals stand it here?”

Quinn kept his mouth shut. Things far too sarcastic for Akuliina’s presence would have come out otherwise.

“They’ve never known different, I suppose,” Akuliina said. “Look, that appears to be the cave the sand-people map indicated.”

“Yay, getting out of the sun!” Vette cheered, then stopped. “Boo, ‘sand-demons’.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Akuliina said, and stepped in, out of the suns.

The sand-demon was a bizarre arachnidal creature with eyes on stalks and long, clawed legs. It lurked in a dark corner of a large chamber in the cave. At least, they all assumed it was the sand-demon. There wasn’t anything else here that could fit what little description they had to go on. The ground was littered with old gnawed bones; hardly encouraging.

“My lady, permission to speak,” he said. “I have some thoughts about our present undertaking.”

“Yeah, me too,” Vette said, looking at the bones. “Like… let’s not fight that thing. If there’s any possible way not to.”

Akuliina smirked. “It’s adorable how you look out for my well-being.”

“Respectfully, you are my commander, and it is my duty to offer any assistance I can. But I’m not sure what the Padawan could have done to avoid a physical confrontation with the sand demon. Perhaps some Jedi mind manipulation. But if a girl nascent in the Force can quell the beast, surely you can. And then we can slaughter the monster with ease.”

“Or maybe – here’s a thought – we don’t even have to fight it at all, if we can… quell it,” Vette said. “I don’t like the idea of fighting something that can swallow me whole, okay?”

“I almost want to fight it head-on,” Akuliina said, contemplating the creature. It had raised its head and was looking about with half-closed eyes, as if trying to sniff them out. “See what it’s made of.”

“I’ve seen you overcome fearsome foes before,” he said. “It is your decision, my lady.”

“But please let’s not fight it,” Vette put in.

“Very well,” Akuliina said. “We’ll see if such a thing works.”

The beast rose, growling, and scuttled towards them. Vette squeaked and jumped back. Even he was tempted to step back. But Akuliina stepped forward, hand outstretched in a gesture of command. “I’m not afraid of you, monster!”

To his amazement, the creature hesitated, staring at her, confused. He hadn’t actually believed- it was always so difficult to understand what the Force could do.

Akuliina took another step forward. “Look into my eyes, beast.” It surely didn’t speak Basic, but her intent was clear and it was effective. Slowly, as the small woman and the massive creature locked eyes, a change came over it. The terrifying armoured head bowed and the creature cowered.

She smiled triumphantly. “You are now my pet.”

It roared at her and sprang forward.

“Oops!” Vette yelled, jumping behind a rock and shooting wildly. “That last bit might have been a mistake!”

His shots were more accurate, and one struck the demon in the eye. Even if that was not where its primitive brain resided, at least it would have a more difficult time attacking Akuliina now.

“Ha, that was no mistake,” Akuliina replied lightly. “It knew the risks of defying me.” She ducked a razor-sharp claw and slashed the creature across the jaws. Clear blood spurted out, spattering her. It stank strongly. The monster shrieked and lashed out again, and she leaped over it, carving at it with her lightsabers. Blood flowed from its thick hide, gushing out in fine sprays.

“Ew, yuck,” Vette whined as the beast collapsed to the sandy cave floor. “I’m gonna need a shower or three when we get back to the ship.”

“It makes my eyes water,” Quinn muttered, holding his sleeve in front of his nose. It had splashed on his already-abused boots. He might as well give up and get a new pair entirely.

“You two are pathetic,” Akuliina said. “I have to actually bathe in this, do I not?” Even though she, too, wrinkled her nose, she did not hesitate as she scooped up double handfuls of clear, foul liquid and splashed it on her face, on her shoulders, down her arms… the further she went on, the less he felt like he ought to be watching, though she was entirely practical about it, as if there was no one else there. There was nothing sexual about what she was doing, and yet he couldn’t help averting his eyes.

She noticed. “Like what you see, Captain?” Vette snickered. He forbore to answer. “When I daydreamed about becoming a bloodstained conqueror, I didn’t imagine it would be like this,” she commented as she dampened the reinforced knees of her pants.

“You actually daydreamed about that? You’re so weird,” Vette said, examining her blood-stained sleeve. She sniffed it and made a horrible face. “I’m gonna need to do laundry, too. With all the stain remover we have left.”

“What, you didn’t as a little girl?” Akuliina raised an eyebrow. “To have the power to crush those who wronged you, to bring about your vision of what a proper galaxy should be?”

“Um… no.”

“I think you’re the weird one,” Akuliina said, and set off towards the cave entrance. “Now we must go find that sand people enclave… as quickly as possible.”

Why was the look of her covered in smelly goop so… appealing to his baser instincts?

More importantly, she wasn’t going to ride her Amzab covered in that stuff, was she? He hoped she didn’t make him clean it if she did.

 

When they came to the sand people’s enclave, they tried to bar her access. That was their first and last mistake.

Quinn didn’t mind shooting those who opposed them, but Akuliina was enjoying herself far too much. She didn’t rest until every last attacker was a smoking corpse, and then she burned all their tents. Vette sighed, but said nothing; it seemed she had expected such a thing to happen. So with a trail of fire and blood, Akuliina entered the cave tunnel to the secret place.

The sand people’s secret place was an oasis, shielded by high cliffs on all sides. The water was shallow, but it was water, and soft grasses hissed around its edge.

Akuliina came to the edge of the water, and looked around – and her gaze sharpened. Across the water were two dim glows: one dark, one light. They grew and swelled until with a flash they assumed human form and came walking across the water towards her.

Vette gasped, and even his eyes widened. The apparitions both carried her face, her form, her walk.

The light one reached shore first. She looked like a holy spirit, beautiful, serene, loving. It almost looked… wrong to see Akuliina’s face so soft. That wasn’t her. “You have lost your way, dark one. But I have come to correct your course. I am the embodiment of your greatest potential. I am what you could be if you overcame your fear and walked in the Light.” It was her voice, as if from a great distance.

Akuliina raised an eyebrow as the other vision snorted. “Try not to blink. Soak in what true power looks like. I’m the embodiment of your true potential. I am what you could be if you had the guts to follow the Dark Side more faithfully.” She did not look like a demon as the other looked like an angel; instead, she radiated strength, all of Akuliina’s sexy arrogance intensified and enhanced. She looked defiant, confident… like she could set the galaxy on fire with her gaze. That was the one he was drawn to.

“I knew I was good-looking, but this is ridiculous,” Akuliina said, looking both apparitions up and down with approval. Vette giggled, though she looked worried.

“Vanity becomes you, but it will not save you,” the dark one said, mocking.

“No, I am here to save you,” said the light one earnestly. “If you persist down this path, your life will be consumed by paranoia and fear. Betrayal will wait around every corner. You will never know whom to trust.”

Akuliina’s face grew stern. “That is life as a Sith, no matter which side of the Force I follow. Only a fool would think otherwise. And fools do not live long.”

“Then you should not hesitate,” the dark vision said. “Or she will lead you to your death. Cease your merciful tendencies and embrace the full meaning of the Dark Side of the Force – or you will be destroyed. You are Sith. You walk among Sith. The stench of the Light in you will be like rot in their nostrils. Darth Baras will smell it on you and strike you down without mercy.”

The light one raised a hand peacefully. “Only someone riddled with fear lies to herself. The Light eliminates the need for such fear. When you embrace the light, you meld with the Force. Become part of it. Then true clarity and peace can be achieved.”

“Don’t make me laugh,” Akuliina spat. “What good is peace when power is what drives the galaxy?”

“Look at our master. If the Dark is so potent, why is Darth Baras deathly afraid of a young girl? Nomen Karr’s Padawan is merely a nascent champion of the Light, and already she strikes fear into the heart of a Dark Side master.”

Akuliina tossed her head. “That’s why I’m going to destroy her.”

The dark one cocked her hip, rested one fist on it. “Or what if you can seduce her, claim this Padawan for your own? Corrupt her to the Dark, control her, and add her power to yours? A master of the Dark Side could turn this Padawan… and then you can destroy Baras and claim everything he has.”

Akuliina hesitated. “She could be useful, that is true… but if she does not turn, I’ll still destroy her.” She wasn’t plotting to overthrow their master, was she?

The light apparition spread its arms. “If you refuse the light, you must strike me down. Do you have it in you to kill part of yourself?”

“You must be joking,” Akuliina said. “I’d love to stamp out as much of you as I can.”

“Come then, take me on. You will discover the light inside you cannot be vanquished.” The light vision ignited a ghostly blue lightsaber, while the dark vision stepped towards Akuliina and vanished, as if it had been absorbed into her.

Akuliina unhooked her lightsabers and lit them with a gleeful smile. “This will be interesting.” She leapt forward.

Quinn might have expected her lightsaber to simply pass through that of the apparition; it looked almost like a hologram, though far more refined. But her blade struck, and held.

“I think we might need to take a big step back,” Vette said to him. “There’s not much we can do to help, here. And we don’t want to get in the way.”

“Yes, you might be right,” he admitted. The alien girl didn’t lack for common sense sometimes. But he didn’t back up quite as much as she did. If there was any way he could help… if he could distract her opponent the same way he’d distracted Lord Rathari, for instance… he’d do it.

Would it be able to kill her, if it struck her? So far neither of them had been able to land a blow on the other. Was that ghostly lightsaber as deadly as hers?

Akuliina’s face was lit up with savage joy, lightsabers humming through the dry Tatooine air. From what he could see, the two of them were evenly matched. Not a surprise. The lady enjoyed a challenging battle, and fighting literally against herself must have been a small dream come true. She darted forward, flipped backwards, spun and slashed, and the apparition followed her soundlessly.

She lunged forward again, lightsaber slicing through the other’s shoulder, but she’d left herself open – perhaps, they were moving too fast for him to tell – and the ghostly lightsaber sliced through her left arm and side. She gasped, eyes wide with shock, and then she gave a snarling scream and swung both sabers. The light apparition vanished into the ether without a sound.

He ran up to her. “My lady!” Vette was right behind him.

She was already tugging up her tunic on the left side to see the damage. But her arm was still attached, so it hadn’t hurt her as badly as a real lightsaber, right? There was a long burn across her ribs. “I think I’ll need a kolto patch for this.”

“I have one here,” he said, unwrapping the bandage and stooping to paste it onto her side. About halfway through, the thought that he was touching her bare skin impacted in his brain and he almost stopped and let her do it herself.

He couldn’t hesitate; this was no time to second-guess the situation. She was his commanding officer. The fact that she tried to provoke him into showing strong emotions had nothing to do with the fact that he was sworn to serve her. He was only patching her up as a good subordinate should. He finished the job and forced himself to meet her cool, amused eyes. She probably knew everything that he was thinking, which was worse. “Does your arm need one as well, my lady?”

“Probably.” She held out her arm in his direction, making him roll up her sleeve to reveal another burn all around her arm. Probably through it, as well, if he had to guess without proper medical equipment. He only had one more bandage in his med pouch and hoped she wouldn’t come to more harm before he managed to resupply.

As Akuliina adjusted her tunic back to its proper state, Vette stared at her anxiously. “So are you… like… evil, now?”

Akuliina laughed. “I am no different than I was before. Come now, you don’t truly think that a highly metaphorical battle between me and some Force visions would truly change anything about me?”

“Well, I don’t know, I mean, you just did kill your Light side.”

“If only it were that easy.” Akuliina shook her head. “Most Sith have to work for years to fully master the Dark. The Light whispers to me still with its promises of weakness cloaked in a thousand guises. Oh yes, I want to trust people. I’d like to trust you. But I’ve been taught too many times – four times, in fact – that trust is an unrewarding endeavour.” Her face darkened with something deep and painful for a brief moment before she recovered herself and continued. “Far better to have that healthy dose of paranoia than to be dead. And contrary to what she said, one can be merciful… and still Dark. It only depends on one’s goals and purposes.” She smiled, a sinister smile.

“You have considered this thoroughly, my lady,” he said. He wasn’t surprised by her choice. It was a good choice. He wasn’t a fan of paranoia – though his own experiences with the Moff had taught him a little of that – but better to choose strength than mercy when serving the Empire.

“When I arrived on Korriban, no one thought to teach me the Sith Code,” Akuliina said merrily. “Imagine that! The foundational tenets of all Sith, and none of the instructors there remembered to tell me. But although my parents had never taught that to me, they and life taught me other things. So yes, in a way I’ve considered it thoroughly.”

“So you still don’t trust me,” Vette said slowly, unhappily. “After all this time.”

“Not completely, no. It’s nothing personal,” Akuliina said. “But perhaps someday there will come a circumstance where it will make perfect sense for you to try to kill me. And I’d rather not die on that day. I still like you, if that’s any consolation.”

“I guess,” Vette said with a ‘meh’ face. “Have I told you yet that you’re super weird?”

“You need to meet more Sith,” Akuliina told her cheerfully. “I’m fairly normal, actually. My acquaintance Lord Murlesson is quite messed up, to be frank. I don’t think you’d like him at all. Keeps muttering about eating Force ghosts or something.”

Vette had to giggle. “Okay, that is pretty weird.”

“Now, don’t we have a Jedi Master to find? Let’s go.”

“Ah! But we can have a shower now! And talk to Shyrack- I mean, Sharack! Oops, sorry…”

Akuliina. In the shower. With that startlingly soft skin over lean muscle. He was going to need a cold shower himself.

It was so frustrating. He wouldn’t have thought of it had she not been injured, or if she did not behave so inappropriately towards him. But this was his own failing, wasn’t it?

 

It was a few more days before they made it out to the Dune Sea, where Baras’s scout Sharack said Akuliina’s Force-granted intel placed the Jedi. Akuliina was eager, as her injuries healed quickly; he guessed she wanted to test herself in battle against this Jedi. She left Vette to guard the speeders and took him with her. Not that he’d be much help against a Jedi Master. But then again, neither would Vette. Although the girl showed surprising resourcefulness under pressure.

The Jedi had other Jedi company. “Master Yonlach, the Sith is upon us! Retreat while I face her!”

“No, Yul-li, control your feelings. Stand at my side. I will face this trespasser.” The wrinkled, wiry old man turned to Akuliina. “Come no farther, Sith. I have been aware of your pilgrimage here. You are a fascinating and contradictory example of your order.”

Akuliina raised an eyebrow. “Contradictory? How so? I thought I followed the Dark Side quite well.”

“Yes, you butchered an entire village of innocent sand-people without mercy… but you also attempted to tame the sand demon as your first resort instead of simply slaughtering it. But come. I know why you’re here. Master Nomen Karr’s Padawan threatens you somehow. You seek to flush her into the open and silence her.”

“Good guess,” Akuliina said sardonically.

“I will not allow it. I won’t be the cause of her exposure. She came to me for guidance, and the bond we struck was the most profound of my life. We are psychically linked, she and I, and I have already warned her about you. She will not fall for your manipulations.”

“Not without a great deal of mental trauma first,” Akuliina said, lips curling into a sinister, eager smile, drawing her lightsabers. “Your death will cry out to her!”

“You’ve chosen to fight. You will do so without the aid of your Imperial.” He reached out a hand and suddenly Quinn felt light-headed, his eyelids heavy…

 

She glanced back as Quinn collapsed to the floor of the desert hut, then turned to glare at the Jedi. “You’ll regret interfering with my subordinate, Jedi.” Not that she was too worried for him. Jedi didn’t kill the way Sith did. If they had the gumption – or the desire – to kill Quinn, things might have been different. But still… it annoyed her that the Jedi would dare reach past her like that.

Quinn was hers.

“Give no quarter, Yul-li. We fight to defend Nomen Karr’s Padawan!”

Fear and fury coursed through her in equal measure as the Jedi leapt towards her and she countercharged, lightsabers meeting with a grinding, sizzling clash. She made no attempt to restrain either emotion, only to direct it, to control it. They were her strengths, the things that gave her power and speed, that let her draw on the Force to its fullest.

But she was exhilarated, too. She’d faced a Jedi, and a Sith… she hadn’t faced two Jedi alone before. One of them was a Master. But, then again, he was a Master who spent all his time sitting in the desert doing nothing. Oh, he was good, for an old man. She was hard pressed to defend herself in the limited space of the hut, and she hated being on the defensive anyway. He just wasn’t as good as her. His apprentice was better – younger, more aggressive.

So bring it outside, she told herself. They’ll follow you. They want to kill you now.

The windows were too small to jump through, so she retreated through the door and jumped. The Jedi rushed after her, looking around for her wildly. At the last second, they caught sight of her, teetering on the edge of the curved roof of the hut, but she was already making her attack from above, preceding her attack with a hefty Force blast.

Yul-li took the brunt of the impact, falling to his knees with the force of her blow, holding his blade aloft against both her lightsabers. She looped one around, slipping it across his side before he could react and twirled away as he collapsed to the sand. One down.

But she’d lost track of Yonlach and he was close behind her, throwing out his hand to push her back, hurling her into a sand dune. Sand erupted in a cloud around her, and she closed her eyes reflexively, coughing even as she staggered to her feet in the loose sand. Don’t panic, focus your hatred. Feel his anger. For even a Jedi Master can feel anger, that you hurt his friend.

He was closing on her, fast. She crossed the tips of her sabers and flicked, felt one of them connect with a lightsaber. The sand was settling; she opened her eyes cautiously as she commanded the Force to aid her, and found she’d batted away his attack. But it seemed he was picking up speed, remembering how to fight. That wasn’t good. She had to finish him, quick-

The Force twigged her to imminent danger too late and his lightsaber nicked her shoulder through her pauldron. She couldn’t restrain a scream, and she heard Vette scream too, in fear for her. She heard panicked blaster shots and saw bolts impact on the sand around them, saw the Jedi deflect a few. Vette was trying not to hit her. She shouldn’t worry about it.

Because now she was in pain and that only fueled her rage. She roared and the Force was in her roar, knocking Yonlach back a pace, and she went on the assault again, though mostly with her right arm, holding her injured left back for defense. She should have been slower; instead she was faster, powering through every stab of agony in a last all-out rampage.

She slashed at his arm, he failed to block in time and cried out, dropping his lightsaber as he clutched at his arm, dropping to a crouch on the sand. Even Jedi masters weren’t impervious to pain, and she’d near-severed it. The blow hadn’t been true, or else she would have cut his arm off cleanly. She’d do better next time. But in this moment, she stood over him, lightsabers raised in victory, ready to strike and deal the first blow to the Padawan’s precious peace of mind.

“Wait!” Yul-li was hobbling towards them, a hand pressed against his side. “Sith, please, stay your weapon!”

Yonlach shook his head urgently. “Yul-li, hold your tongue!”

Yul-li’s face was grief-stricken and pained. “Master, she is just a Padawan – you are a wise Master! I must save you if I can! Sith, I’ll tell you everything if you’ll only spare Master Yonlach.”

Akuliina raised an eyebrow, tilted her head sardonically. “Don’t you want me to spare you too?”

Yul-li shrugged. “My life is less important. You may do with me as you please.”

She thought about it. Killing Yonlach would hurt the Padawan, and it had been her primary objective up until this point. But that did no one any good if they couldn’t find her. Baras would prefer the information, she was sure. More importantly… what would her parents do? Her father would simply kill the Jedi and trust to other sources to find the girl. Her mother would probably hear the information and then kill the Jedi anyway, but though she loved her, her mother was not born a Volkova. Akuliina enjoyed the power to take the lives of others, but she had standards.

“Very well, I’m listening,” she said, and sheathed her lightsabers.

“Yul-li!”

Yul-li’s words tumbled out desperately. “Her name is Jaesa Willsaam, and Nomen Karr has taken her to-”

Yonlach held out his good hand in command, though it trembled. “Yul-li, you have no recollection of the Padawan this Sith seeks.”

Yul-li’s eyes grew dull and blank, his voice monotone. “I have no recollection of the Padawan this Sith seeks.”

“Now, sleep.” Yul-li obediently collapsed to the sand. Vette stared in amazement.

“How delightfully ruthless, to wipe the mind of your own companion,” Akuliina commented. “You do realize that a mere name is not enough for me to spare you.”

Yonlach shrugged. “I do not relish wiping his memories, but I could not allow his feelings for me to get the better of him.”

She glared at him.“Don’t try that nonsense on me, Jedi.”

“I certainly would – if I didn’t sense that it would be futile. Jaesa is special, her power unprecedented. If untouched by the likes of you, she has the potential to lead the Jedi to greatness.”

“I thought Jedi didn’t care about ‘greatness’,” she said mockingly. “All your efforts will be in vain, old man. Jaesa will join the Dark or die.”

“You know her name… but that is all you’re getting, Sith. You may as well kill me. I must find tranquility, so that Jaesa only feels peace when you strike me down.” He closed his eyes and nodded firmly.

Her eyes blazed. “What hypocrisy. I guarantee your death will wound her deeply!” She fought against the stabbing pain in her left shoulder and flung her primary lightsaber forward, piercing his chest. She called it back with the Force and deactivated it again.

Vette came forward cautiously. “Are… are you all right?”

“I’m alive,” she said, her voice a little clipped against the pain. “He didn’t get me too badly.” She turned to the other Jedi as he slept. He’d probably get sunburn. Not her problem. “You tried. And for that I grant you your life.” Not to mention that murdering people in their sleep wasn’t quite how she liked to do things. “How sad for you that my primary goal was, in fact, to kill him. Your information was a secondary bonus.” She raised an eyebrow. “But he was a bit of a knave, wasn’t he, using mind-tricks on you?”

Quinn. Quinn was still in the hut, and probably also still unconscious. “We must retrieve Quinn.”

“Okaydoke. But do we really need to get Captain Fussy-britches?” Vette trailed after her.

“Captain Fussy-britches is an exceedingly competent officer,” Akuliina scolded her. “I know he’s emotionally constipated and you don’t like him. But do you really want to let me fly the ship?”

“Point taken!” Vette cried. “Also, he cooks better than you. I’ll allow him to stay.”

“Ha. Your approval is noted.”

“Also I know you liiike him.”

She did, didn’t she? “It’s mostly the hilarity when I catch him off-guard. I know you agree, Vette.”

“Yeah, I wish I could have holo’d his face the first time you hit on him. Priceless. Right, here he is.” He was frowning a little, disgruntled even when unconscious. It was adorable. He was adorable. She had to be careful not to push him too hard for her own entertainment. It was difficult to restrain herself sometimes; on some things she was poor at self-control. But she didn’t want to break her most useful toy. Oh yes, Vette was a darling, and exceptionally skillful at many things, but Quinn was one of the finest officers in the Empire. And he was hers. And so it was her responsibility not to waste him.

She reached down and prodded his shoulder. “On your feet, Captain. The conflict has been resolved.”

His eyelids fluttered, then his eyes snapped open and he scrambled to his feet, ignoring her offered hand. “My lady, I’m sorry I was of no use to you. I did not anticipate the Jedi’s incapacitating tactic.”

She snorted ruefully. “Quinn, he used such techniques on his own ally. Don’t be too hard on yourself.”

He frowned some more, unsatisfied by her answer, though his pretty blue eyes still looked a bit unfocused from his inadvertent nap. “I do not like to be caught unaware.”

She couldn’t help the self-satisfied smile. “Oh, I know, Captain. I know.”

“And you’ve been injured.” It was difficult to miss the burned hole in her armour and tunic over her shoulder and now he was staring at it, looking like he wanted to fix it somehow. She’d love to let him, but it would be more practical to wait until they got back to the medbay on the Fury.

“Yes. It wasn’t an easy fight. But I’m capable of making it back to the ship.” Probably. As long as she didn’t have to use her left arm a lot to steer her speeder bike.

“I’m just thankful that you survived, my lady.”

She nodded, not really hearing him – such platitudes were unimportant to her, and she was already heading towards the speeders, holding her arm. She’d been injured on this planet twice on her left side. Perhaps her first injury hadn’t healed properly and had slowed her. She was going to have to beat her training exercises into submission; that couldn’t happen again, injuries or not.

 

Off to their next destination. A slightly shorter trip this time, but one not without its distractions. And not the good kind. Well, properly speaking, no distractions on this ship were the good kind. Not even pleasant thoughts of his superior officer’s soft smooth skin, especially when he was on duty. Even when he was off duty, such thoughts were ridiculous. He couldn’t allow them, couldn’t think of her that way. He needed to respect her as his commander, not as a woman. Yet they snuck into his mind anyway.

When Akuliina next came to the cockpit, he decided it was time to ask for her intervention. With at least some of the distractions. “My lady, I’d appreciate it if you could speak with Vette. Ask her not to disturb me when I’m working.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you supposed to run this ship, Captain? And the crew?”

His frown deepened. “She’s not wired for military precision. And there’s no filter on that Twi’lek mouth. When I was tracking down agent Voloren, she must have overheard me refer to Moff Broysc, and now she persistently pesters me about him. She keeps slipping his name nonsensically into conversations just to annoy me. Says she won’t stop until I tell her why I hate the man.”

She laughed, a truly delighted laugh that would have thrilled him if it wasn’t at his situation. “Vette never ceases to amuse me. She’s hilarious.”

He obviously wasn’t getting any help from her. “I hope you won’t encourage her, my lady. It’s neither appropriate nor in the Empire’s interest to discuss the matter with non-military personnel. Besides, knowing her, the details of Broysc’s collapse at Druckenwell and his and my subsequent conflict would only give her more fodder.”

She crossed her legs in her command chair. “I’m more interested in the fact you openly admit you hate him.”

“Well… it’s safe to say there is some animosity on both sides, my lady.” Don’t give away too much. She knows as much as she needs to know.

“Indeed. Are you going to take him down?” She asked so casually, as if asking about the weather, and yet so confidently, as if she had complete faith that he could accomplish it if he wanted to.

“My lady, I do not let personal feelings come between me and serving the Empire.”

“Oh? I sense there’s more to this bitterness than an undeserved court-martial and a decade of exile. Not that those don’t cause great bitterness to begin with.” She flashed him a smile. “You know, you’d be even sexier if you just let your vindictive side show.”

For the briefest of moments, his brain ceased to function – the concepts ‘sexy’ and ‘vindictive’ and ‘him’ had never been combined with those implications before.

No. He had to be stoic. “I’ll… take it under advisement, my lady.”

She smiled some more. “Good.”

He couldn’t admit again to strong feelings in front of her. Not the half-unwilling fascinated attraction she held for him, and not the extreme loathing he felt for Broysc. He had to be perfect, almost droid-like, in his devotion to duty, in his detachment to her personally. She needed his skills, or someone with his skills; he’d successfully made himself indispensible. So he couldn’t leave, the Empire was depending on both of them, and having the relative freedom she gave him was refreshing. But with her capriciousness, he needed to have enough self-control for both of them.

It seemed that she had not been deterred by his coldness so far. How long before the situation became intolerable, even for him?

 

Chapter 4: Honour

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