A/N: The NC-17 version of this story will be posted on my LJ. You can find the link on my profile page.

The "Receiving" is obviously inspired by the "Pon Farr" of Star Trek's memory, but I thought it would be interesting to make a woman and not a man suffer thru this kind of mating fever.

This story was my first attempt to write an OFC. It has been sitting on my HD for 2 years because I felt the end might be a bit lame, but now is time to post it. I hope you will enjoy it.

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THE RECEIVING

By Lincoln Six Echo

This story assumes that you have seen all the six Star Wars episodes and that all scenes not
specifically altered herein, occurred as they were depicted in those movies.

FOREWORD

It is often said the life of an Angarian woman is marked by the periodical recurrence of the Receiving—her receptive time, if you prefer.

The Receiving is the period, lasting a few days, during which the Angarian women are fertile and their need to mate and conceive becomes imperative.

The Receivings follow a seven-years cycle, the first one usually happening during the mid-twenties, and goes on till the woman reaches her seventies.

Contrary to what many an off-worlder believes, this is not the only time when the Angarian females are sexually active, but it is the only time when mating becomes a necessity, for an unconsummated Receiving leads to coma and death.

The origins of the Angarians' peculiar physiology are lost in the midst of time. The ancient chronicles report of a gigantic cataclysm that almost destroyed the system millennia ago, but also of the danger of overpopulation that plagued the planet as it struggled to recover from natural disasters.

Whatever the cause, the Angarians women have come to accept their nature for what it is, and many of them consider themselves more fortunate than the members of other species.

Usually the Receiving is not a traumatic experience, for there is plenty of time for the families to arrange a suitable match for their daughters. Most of the girls are already married or engaged by the time they enter their first Receiving, and eagerly waiting for the moment when the energy emitted during the very first mating will create the unbreakable bond that will tie them to their mates for the rest of their lives.

It is a sacred moment and parties are held to celebrate the end of the First Receiving, as hope burns high the joining was blessed with the conception of a child.

However, not every First Receiving goes as smoothly and what you are going to read is the story of one of them. Of the events that characterized the lives of the two people that, joined forever by fate, found in each other the strength and the love to transform their bond in something no Angarian woman had never known before.

Since this is an Angarian tale, written mostly for Angarian women, it will be dated and sectioned according to our ways, meaning using the Receivings as temporal reference points.

§§§§§

THE FIRST RECEIVING (39BBY)

It was a warm spring evening and Naritha Narvix-Dei, daughter of the governor of Angar sat in front of her toilette table, brushing her long auburn hair.

She had been doing so for a long time and her silky mane was smooth and free of knots, but she continued, finding her methodical moves relaxing.

The young woman raised her violet eyes and looked at the image staring back at her from the mirror hanging in front of her.

She smiled. Her father was right, she was radiant. Her 25 years old body was beginning to feel the first stirrings of her First Receiving, and it made her skin glow in a special way.

Naritha wondered how long she would have to wait before her blood started to burn with the need to mate.

Her marriage with Voltan Van would be held in two days, and then they were going to retire in her family lake retreat, to spend in seclusion her – their—First Receiving.

Without stopping brushing her hair, the young woman thought about her intended, Voltan, the man her father had chosen for her when she had failed to attract a potential mate of her own.

It was not that she was not interested in men – she was! – but she had always loved politics more. The position as Governor of Angar was not technically hereditary, but it was widely expected and accepted that Naritha would succeed her father as planet leader.

Conscious of the people's expectations, she had thrown all of herself in learning what she would need for her future role. She had studied diplomacy, interplanetary politics, economy, and management. She had also served as aide of the Angar Senator to Coruscant, and had participated in several diplomatic missions.

She has always been so busy she had not even the time to think about men, let alone find one she wished to marry!

Luckily, her parents had not been slack in securing a mate for their only daughter, and the day she had turned 25, she formally agreed to marry the man her family has found for her, a middle-aged, very competent diplomat her father believed would be of great help to her once she became Governess.

Naritha had not found her fiancé especially attractive or dashing, but had accepted him gratefully, and now looked forward to the moment all the barriers between them would be blown away during the First Receiving.

§

The following evening the Governor Palace great under-ground banquet hall came alive for the first time in years, filled with guests arrived from every corner of the galaxy.

Some of them were tasting the delicacies offered by the waiters that effortlessly moved around the room carrying trays; others listened to the music a band was playing a corner; others talked of this and that gathered in small groups, probably commenting on the effort the Angar Governor had put in organizing the event.

Reben Narvix-Dei was a well-known man in the Republic, with several influential friends, and he had spared no money to make sure the party held to celebrate his daughter's marriage would go into history as the most important mundane event that had ever happened on Angar.

Naritha had been touched by her father's attentiveness, but would have preferred a less crowded party, for she was not even able to locate her friends in that sea of faces.

As she crossed the room in search of her fiancé, the young woman had to put her diplomatic skills at good use to delicately explain to some ignorant guests why the gathering was held before the actual marriage took place.

Naritha could sense her growing agitation and she knew that by the time the ceremony would be performed, she would not be in the mood to celebrate—at least not in public. She was both excited and anxious to become a real woman in the eye of her people and sensing she was broadcasting her emotions, she tried to rein them in, lest she make some of the off-world guests uncomfortable, especially those who were Force-sensitive.

She had just taken a deep breath, trying to strengthen her control when two of the very guests she had been afraid to upset stepped in front of her and bowed in unison.

The two Jedi Knights were present at the party as Chancellor Valorum's personal representatives.

One of them was a tall, powerfully-built man with prominent, leonine features. His beard and moustaches were close-cropped and his greying hair was worn long and tied back.

His companion was much younger, probably still in his teens. He was of average height, slender and lithe. His boyish face was smooth and clean-shaved and his ginger-coloured was cropped short and spiky, but for a thin braid near his right ear. His eyes were blue-grey and he had a cleft chin.

Naritha could not help but think he would one day become a very handsome man, one who would have women fall at his feet just by merely look at them. She then mentally shook her head when she remembered the Jedi were not allowed to marry.

"What a waste!" she thought, before putting on her most welcoming smile. "Revered Jedi," she said to the two men. "Thank you for coming. I'm delighted by your presence at my wedding."

"My lady Naritha," the taller Jedi answered, "my Padawan and I are honoured to be here and participate in his most important event. We wish you and your future husband a happy and prosperous life."

Naritha thanked him for his gracious words, then turned to face the younger Jedi. "Padawan? I never heard this word before. What does it mean?"

"It's a Jedi word, My Lady. It means apprentice." The youth answered in a pleasant, cultured voice.

"I see." Naritha smiled and added, "Does the Jedi training last very long?"

"Several years, My Lady. I have been Master Jinn's apprentice for the past five years and-" His words died on his lips, as his eyes darted around the room. "Master," he said urgently, "I have a bad feeling. Something is going to happen."

The taller man nodded. "I feel the same." His eyes posed on Naritha. "My Lady, I suggest you to tell your guests to leave this room and direct to the upper floor. We sense a great danger; something terrible is going to happen."

The young woman looked at the Jedi Master as if he had suddenly grown two heads, but before she could said anything, the ground started shaking under their feet.

"AN EARTHQUAKE!" someone shouted, as panic exploded in the room.

People began running toward the doors, crowding them, pushing and screaming as the shakes continued. Large cracks opened in the floor and in the walls, and pieces of ceiling fell on the persons pressed against the doors.

"We must leave, My Lady," Master Jinn urged Naritha, as she stood still in the middle room and was almost thrown to the ground by her fleeing guests.

"I can't! I can't leave without my parents!" she cried, stretching her neck to look at the crowd, as the ground kept on shaking.

"I will find them! Now go with Obi-Wan, he will take you out of here."

"Come with me, My Lady," the younger Jedi exclaimed, pulling her by a wrist.

Naritha still hesitated and Master Jinn pressed on. "My Lady, all Angar's ruling class is gathered here. Should the worst happen and the palace collapse, your planet will remain without leaders. You are the Vice-Governor: you must save yourself and be ready to face the situation."

Naritha's heart constricted at the mere thought of leaving her parents alone in that hell, but she knew the Jedi was right. It was her duty to survive.

"All right," she said turning to face the Padawan, her arms raised protectively over her head. "Lead the way."

Naritha followed the Jedi closely, as the young man used his body to break through the crowd, resolutely ignoring the moans of the people fallen under the debris and the suffocating dust invading the corridors.

They ran toward the main stairs, but when pillar crumbled blocking the way, the young man took her arm and pulled her toward another direction.

"Let's go this way! I studied the palace's layout and I know the safety stairs are here, at the end of this corridor!" he explained, as he opened a door leading to a small passageway.

They rushed inside, only to skid to a halt when the ceiling collapsed in front of them, blocking their path.

Naritha and Obi-Wan turned on their heels to run back toward the door when they heard a loud shrieking sound.

The young woman heard a warning, then something heavy fell over her, dragging her down. She had barely time to realize the Jedi was atop of her, shielding her body with his own when something hit her on the head and suddenly everything went black.