The Colder the Winter, the Warmer the Spring

by Anath Tsurugi

With that, the image widened and Zeb could see that Kallus was holding something in his arms, and as the Lasat inspected the image, he gradually began to realize that it was a baby – a Lasat kit. "Zeb...help me." "Oh, karabast."

20. Don't Close Your Eyes

(A/N) Phew! Okay, busy holidays and all. So sorry to keep everyone waiting. Still alive out there? I'd hoped to finish this before TROS dropped, but that just didn't happen. Ah, well. So yes, there's definitely torture in this chapter. I'll leave it up to your good judgement just how much you can handle. I suppose there's technically underage happening in this chapter as well, but it's really just a pair of awkward teenagers doing awkward teenage things. Other than that, I believe we're ready to proceed. Enjoy!

The Colder the Winter, the Warmer the Spring

Chapter 20: Don't Close Your Eyes (God Knows What Lies Behind Them)

Green eyes.

Round, bright, beautiful green eyes.

Normally those eyes are a comfort to him. But now he sees them wide in fear – fear and betrayal. He sees their owner standing on the steps of the palace...just before everything vanishes in white.

He hears him scream.

"Zeb! NO!"

The horrifying white resolves itself into the sterile silver and white of a cell...a cell that lies klicks below the surface of the ocean...and on the floor of that cell he sees his lover lying, naked and helpless while the scientist takes what he wants.

You did this. You brought him to this!

NO! I didn't know! I- I didn't know!

Didn't you, though?

"You did," Schader Masaada hisses in his ear. "You must know. Exactly the sorts of situations you get the people you care about into."

Again, he hears Zeb screaming...sees the hated coffin-like device that keeps his love imprisoned...and he sees Schader ready to destroy it. Only this time she holds Arkalia in her arms.

"Ash Warrior would not exist without your efforts on Lasan that day. Neither would your darling girl. But then you know that. Don't you."

She flings Arkalia to the floor. He goes to her with a cry but before he can gather her in his arms, he sees a change happening in her eyes.

For a moment, it's fear. Fear and pain. But then it all melts away as something in those wide, innocent eyes dies. Then there's just nothing. It's the same empty nothingness he saw in the eyes of the young Lasat woman he faced beneath the ocean.

"No..."

Then years pass before his eyes in only a moment and she stands before him a woman grown. A full product of Project Ash Warrior.

"My little girl...my Lia...no."

"Father."

The word falls from her lips like an ugly curse. Her expression remains unchanged as his bo-rifle appears in her hands.

"It seems I truly am your child, Alexsandr Kallus."

Then the weapon ignites and she's leaping at him.

He moves without thinking, raising the weapon he suddenly holds to block her strike. And as he looks across their tangled staffs at her face, bathed in gold and purple light, he realizes it's Zeb's bo-rifle he wields.

"Please! Stop!" he begs as she comes at him again, barely managing to stand beneath her blows. "Lia, I don't want to fight you! Please!"

"Shoulda thought of that before ya made your choice. You knew what they would do to her."

It isn't Schader beside the sens-dep unit anymore. It's Kuross. Holding his vibro-shiv, stained with Zeb's blood, he smashes the hilt into the control panel.

Before he can even scream, Arkalia delivers another hard blow, forcing him back against a wall. Gaze darting back to Kuross, he sees him opening the sens-dep unit. Zeb tumbles out, unconscious but breathing. The bounty hunter slowly takes the former guardsman in his arms, looking up at him with a mocking sneer as he begins to stroke the Lasat's neck.

"Ya know it? Don't ya? What happened to 'em is your fault?" Kuross taunts him as Arkalia forces her weapon against his throat, the black metal cutting off his air. "You know...some part of her will always belong to them...and some part of him will never leave the cell where I kriffed him."

"You...you-" he tries to choke out, unable to get more air for Arkalia's hold on him.

"Heheh. Me," the hunter continues to taunt, tongue flicking out to taste the tip of Zeb's ear as he traces his free hand possessively down the Lasat's side. "Can ya ever get him back from me? Fact is in tryin' to save both of 'em, ya lost 'em both. Ya lost what ya had and ya can't ever get it back."

The last sight he has is of Arkalia's face, cold and impassive, before she draws back his bo-rifle and impales him with it.

Kallus bolted from the nightmare with a small scream, a hand clawing at his chest as he sat straight up. It didn't take him long to understand he'd only been dreaming but, even so, the phantom pain of being stabbed and electrocuted still lingered in his mind.

Casting off the thin blanket he'd been lying under, he drew a knee up to his chest, hugging it there briefly. For the most part, he'd managed to avoid sleep the past week, but there were times, like last night, where he just couldn't force himself to keep going anymore. He supposed either Orianne or Zelina had gotten him to the pallet somehow, as the argument over whether or not he could sleep in the med ward was long done. But when he did sleep, well...that was when the nightmares crept in.

He'd been hiding out in the med ward almost from the moment the Ghost had touched down on Yavin IV. Zeb had gone straight into surgery and, from there, straight to a bacta tank. Kallus had allowed for cursory treatment of his own injuries, but had refused to leave the Lasat's side. Even though his injuries were healing as expected, Zeb still hadn't regained consciousness. As Kallus looked up now at the tank where his lover floated, he could see that nothing had changed. Zeb still drifted, unconscious and unknowing within the thick fluid.

"Zeb," he said softly as he climbed to his feet, laying his hand against the plexiglass. "My love...what can I do? There has to be something I can do."

"You could start with eating some of those protein packs we keep leaving you," Orianne said as she entered the little room.

"And you could stop wasting rations on a being who isn't actually being productive," he couldn't quite help snapping at the Zabrak woman, fingers curling against the cool surface of the tank in frustration before he allowed his hand to fall back to his side. The medic eyed him up and down for several moments before speaking again.

"I don't know how they do things in the Empire, but that isn't how things work here. So long as you're breathing, you've got a right to rest and nourishment. I might even consider suggesting you need access to a psychiatrist at some point in the near future. You were tortured, after all," she pointed out.

"Not really," he said, laughing bitterly as he shook his head. "Zeb was the one they tortured, not me."

Orianne shook her head right back. "Just because it wasn't physical doesn't mean you weren't tortured. You had to watch someone you love dearly suffer. Thrawn knew what that would do to you...having to watch the man you love be tortured and be unable to do anything about it. In some ways...a lot of ways...that's worse than any physical torture ever could be. He knows how to break his enemies down, does Thrawn. Knows how to get inside their heads. Do you really want to let him win?"

Kallus shrugged. "Does the Alliance actually have any psychiatrists in its employ?"

"A few," Orianne sniffed. "And don't think I don't have enough clout to request that one be sent."

"Oh, I wouldn't doubt it," he said. In the brief time he'd known the woman, she struck him as nothing so much as a force of nature. Whatever her actual rank was, it seemed to him she could gain the ear of anyone she had to in order to do what needed doing.

"Kallus? You still in here?" Kanan's voice was suddenly sounding in the room, followed quickly by the Jedi's actual entrance. Instead of Ezra or Sabine with him, though, it was Jidu.

"I believe you know I am," he returned, gaze moving back to the knight.

"Apologies in advance, but we couldn't keep them off the scent any longer," the blind warrior said.

"Them?"

"Yes. Them," a new voice answered as its owner entered the space – an aging rebel officer Kallus quickly surmised was a general from the insignia on his jacket. He was accompanied by Hera and another, younger human – a man with wavy brown hair and dark eyes. He had the bearing of one who was older, but Kallus still got the impression that he was young. Couldn't be any older than twenty-five at most.

Almost from the moment he'd heard the first man's voice, Kallus had known he was stepping into a game of dejarik. This man meant to intimidate him, to assert his dominance from the onset. Well, whatever his actual position in the Alliance was now, Kallus was not going to play this game. Or, at the very least, he was not going to play it the way the general was expecting him to. He was only too familiar with the type, having dealt with it often enough even before he'd been an ISB agent. It was the sort of man his father had been, and while Orrin Syfarre had never been intelligent enough to use it to his proper advantage, it had given the teenaged Kallus experience enough in how to deal with it.

The general came to a stop several meters from him, his display not immediately threatening, but clearly attempting to make a power play by forcing Kallus to move closer to him in order to converse properly. Kallus didn't move an inch from where he stood beside the bacta tank. Rather than convey either open hostility or servility, he took the way in the middle. He neither stood at attention for the general nor remained relaxed. Instead, he fell into a simple parade rest stance, neither challenging nor retreating. Simply waiting, prepared to weather whatever moves the general might attempt.

"Alex," Hera began, once again very pointedly using his given name in this somewhat official situation, "this is General Davits Draven, head of Rebel Intelligence. General Draven, this-"

"I know who he is," the human interrupted her, not taking his eyes off of Kallus. "Agent ISB-021, Alexsandr Kallus. Yularen's favorite. Brightest star of the Imperial Security Bureau."

He was accusing, trying to put him on the defensive from the get go. Much though Kallus wanted to protest the use of his former titles, he kept his head.

"Apologies, General, but you seem to have forgotten Codename Fulcrum. The only agent to be hand-selected by the original Fulcrum, Ahsoka Tano."

Kallus saw annoyance flash in the man's eyes at this, but he gave no more response than that. He simply glared condescendingly as he continued. "Indeed. But she is not here to explain that decision to us, is she. I, in the meantime, am left to provide for the safety of this new installation with no more than the word of a failed Jedi and a potential Imperial plant."

"I am not Imperial," Kallus said, keeping his voice even. "I will have that understood before another word is spoken."

"Are you not?" Draven pressed. "Any particular reason you're still hanging onto the uniform then?"

Thrawn had done him the liberty of removing his armor before, and in the days since, he had shed even more of his old uniform. He was now down to the undershirt, the pants, and the boots. Even so, what remained was still very Imperial in appearance.

"Do you have spare clothing I might borrow, General? Even if you do, I doubt it would be much of a fit. Not a lot of men on this base share my particular dimensions, so until such an opportunity for a change of clothing presents itself, I am just as content not to waste resources on something that isn't a problem."

"All right. Then why has Spectre Cell been concealing your location all week? Intelligence has been attempting to get ahold of you for a proper debriefing. It rather leaves one wondering if the allegiance of Spectre Cell as a whole ought to be called into question."

Kallus winced slightly at that. "If my friends have been deliberately withholding my location, I am inclined to say it is out of concern for my- emotional wellbeing," he conceded. "I was, after all, forced to witness the torture of my partner and the kidnap of our daughter."

"So you do admit that the relationship between yourself and Captain Orrelios is of more than a professional nature?"

"Admit, General? This has never been concealed. How it relates to the current line of questioning, I could not begin to guess."

"Oh, it relates, Agent. It relates to every word that comes out of your mouth or his. Because if this relationship of yours has truly become that intimate, then Captain Orrelios' actions must all be called into question. If the two of you have engaged in sexual relations, you could have easily been manipulating him," Draven pointed out.

"If?" Kallus repeated with a small shake of his head. "I can promise you we have. If you would like a full report, I can offer you the details, but you would gain nothing from them but wasted time. Besides, I don't know how it can have escaped your notice, but Captain Orrelios isn't exactly available for questioning at the moment."

"I want it understood, General, that Alex has our full confidence," Hera stepped in. "He's already risked his freedom and his life for this rebellion more times than I can count, even when it would've done him much better not to."

"And indeed, any double agent worth their salt would need to convince his would-be allies of these things. I would be greatly remiss in my duties as head of Intelligence if I were to just trust this man out of hand. He is not, after all, merely an Imperial. He is ISB. If any in the Empire could wile their way into a rebel cell undetected, it would be an ISB agent. I for one would be more open for discussing trial and execution than debriefing."

"But that's-"

"You can't just-"

"All right," Kallus was the one to concede, despite the protests of his friends, his simple words cowing them all into silence. "If you wish to try and execute me, that is your right. I cannot fault you for desiring to keep the safety of this installation. After all, I nearly gave my own life in exchange for that safety. I have little doubt I am deserving of execution many times over. But if that is to be your decision, then I ask only that you forestall your judgement until I have had the opportunity to save my daughter's life."

"The Lasat child?"

"Arkalia. Her name is Arkalia, and she's been taken captive by an Imperial deep science division. My life is of little consequence, but I cannot die until she is safe. After that, you can do whatever you want with me."

"If you care for this child so much, isn't it interesting, then, that her capture was a direct result of your betrayal of Phoenix Cell?"

"Draven, that's not fair," Hera immediately began to argue for him. Alex himself gave a shuddering sigh.

"I had no choice," he said softly, though his stance remained firm. "They would have killed her had I not done it. I was prepared to lay down my own life in service of this cause, but I couldn't make such a choice for a little girl who doesn't even understand the meaning of the word 'war'. And if you believe that you could, General, you are either a monster yourself or have simply never been faced with such a choice."

Draven surveyed him for a long moment at this. The response he ultimately gave was, perhaps, not one any of them were expecting.

"Perhaps I am that. Often enough it falls to Intelligence to make the ugly decisions, after all. Even so, I am not inclined to simply trust you, Agent Kallus. I find your terms acceptable, but in the meantime, it is my intention to assign Captain Cassian Andor to you as a sort of...probationary officer, if you will. He will observe your actions, all of your comings and goings, and we will see what his judgement of you is. If, by the time the girl is rescued, he judges you to still have Imperial leanings, I will call for trial. Are we agreed, Agent Kallus?"

"We are," the ex-Imperial returned with a slight incline of his head.

"Good. Doctor, Captain, Jarrus, Ailytè, Agent," he acknowledged each of them, Kallus more pointedly than the rest, before exiting the ward.

"Sorry about him," Hera said once the man had gone, staring after him a moment. "No one else in high command feels that way. Draven's just- extremely no nonsense."

"Yes, I'd gathered. I know the type quite well," he said, offering the other Spectres a tired smile before shifting his focus to Cassian. "Besides, it was all more about intimidating me than actually fearing my ability to do harm to the Alliance, was it not?" he asked the young intelligence officer, deciding then and there that if he was subject to him, at least for the moment, he had better start including him.

"You are not wrong," the young man answered, eying him coolly. "Imperials understand nothing but fear, after all."

"In kind, you are not wrong, Captain Andor. You will find soon enough that I am not one of them anymore."

"We will see."

"Come on, Cassian. Lighten up," Jidu teased him, actually reaching over and ruffling the very serious-looking man's hair. He shot her a withering look.

"Now, Jidu? Really?"

"Kallus is fine. You'll see. Probably a better spy than the pair of us put together."

"Nothing new to report with Zeb, then?" Hera asked, the conversation immediately becoming serious again as they all looked to the Lasat in the tank.

"Unfortunately, no," Orianne told them. "Physically, he's healing fine. He's just...not waking up."

"Well...perhaps he could do with some uninterrupted sleep," Kallus said softly, hand drifting to rest against the plexiglass once more. "I know he- wasn't sleeping before."

Then, as if he were still the only one in the room with Zeb, he leaned his forehead against the smooth surface of the bacta tank, yearning, aching to be as close to his lover as possible.

"La rokir rrazehan. An san ni Tinsana. L'ashkerrir an maka zei zash inkasha. La sylf belir se'an. Orra neshen ko arran in nalliri," he whispered against the cool material.

But perhaps it's best you don't see what I must do.

"So what are you thinking, Kallus?" Kanan asked him. The ex-Imperial had little doubt the Jedi had sensed what sort of intent had taken form in his mind. "What's the next step?"

"I believe Giren Kuross has been in solitary confinement long enough, don't you?"

XxX

Kuross had been placed in solitary beneath the temple almost the moment they'd touched down at base. At Kallus' order, he had been given only water and an adrenaline patch or two in that time. Both the isolation and the starvation were plainly beginning to wear on him when Kallus entered his cell, flanked by Kanan and Cassian. The bounty hunter looked up at him with something mildly unhinged in his gaze as he approached.

"So why ain't I dead yet, Alexsandr?" Kuross asked with a tiny laugh. "Pretty sure you said you were gonna kill me yourself."

"I did say that, yes," Kallus responded coolly as he pulled a chair across the cell, sitting himself down in front of his bound captive. "But we have things to discuss first, you and I."

"Heheh, what? You want details? Wanna know what I did to him?"

"No. If you utter even a single word of what you did to him out loud, I swear to you it will only go worse for you," the ex-ISB agent said, keeping his voice carefully even, despite the fact that he would've very much enjoyed simply ripping the man's face off.

"Then what is it? Why don't you just put a blaster bolt through my head?" he challenged.

"Don't be dull, Giren," Kallus said with a cold smile. "You and I both know I can be a great deal more imaginative than simply putting a blaster bolt through your brain."

He saw it then. The flicker of fear in the man's eyes. And he couldn't wholly ignore the fierce spark of joy in his heart at the sight of it.

"I only require one thing of you. And that is that you tell me where the ISD Demon's Run may be located."

The bounty hunter near-guffawed at the request. "What? What- what makes ya think I know that? You'd know better than I would. They can't have changed all their flight plans around in one week."

"You know," Kallus said with total certainty. "You contracted with Zaniva. You would therefore be privy to the hyperspace routes of its military attache. Demon's Run was assigned that duty as part of the Empire's deep science division. None but the Emperor himself and his closest aides have ever been privy to the locations of these Destroyers. But you...you worked for them. You know where the Demon's Run is and you are going to tell me where to find it. Once you've done that, then, and only then, will I kill you."

Again, Kuross laughed in his face. When a bit of spit went flying, Kallus merely brushed it casually from his cheek.

"I- ha- I think ya got this whole bargaining thing a bit backwards there, Alex. How it works is I give you the information you want and then you let me go. Got it?"

Kallus shook his head. "I said what I meant, Kuross. You are the one who appears to be under some rather gross misapprehensions about the situation in which you find yourself. So permit me to set the record straight. You are not leaving this cell alive. However much or little of your pathetic existence remains, it will be lived out here. The only item under discussion here today is the exact amount of time."

Kuross glowered at him. "The kriff you talkin' about?"

"Best case scenario," Kallus began, slipping an inactive vibro-shiv from his belt and running it threateningly along the length of the man's arm. "You tell me what I want to know now, right this very minute, and I'll only keep you alive a few weeks. It won't be pleasant for you, but I would at least promise a mostly humane death in that scenario. If you withhold the information from me longer, say a month, I will keep you here for three. I will break every bone in your body, day by day, leaving the neck for the last," Kallus explained, nicking very lightly at his wrist, drawing only a trickle of blood.

"Heh, and you call me the psycho one," the bounty hunter spat out, barely reacting to the little injury. Kallus' only response was to continue.

"Or, worst case scenario, you somehow hold out longer than a month. If that's the way you want this to go, then I will keep you like this for a full year. I will keep you alive while I deconstruct your body piece by piece, and I will make certain you feel every moment of the agony. I will eviscerate you and tie you to this chair with your own innards. All quite survivable, I assure you. That done, I will flay you alive. Slowly. One piece at a time, I will do to you what you would have done to him. That is my promise to you, Giren Kuross."

For a long moment after he'd finished, Kuross just stared at him, the horror slowly building in his eyes.

"What about you?"the bounty hunter tried to appeal to Kanan and Cassian. "Don't you two have anything to say about all this?"

Kanan shrugged. "I don't see anything."

Cassian followed in kind. "I hear nothing."

"But...but..." Kuross started in, attention shifting angrily back to Kallus. "Why in the nine kriffing hells would I just give you the only piece of information keepin' me alive? Why?"

Kallus' gaze went flat and cold as he looked at the man before him, wiping all trace of human compassion from his mind as he remembered how Zeb had flinched from his touch...how proud he had been of the hideous act he had committed.

"There is no way out for you, Kuross. You have hurt my family. You have made me the instrument of their suffering. On more than one occasion, you have laid hands on the man I love without his consent...violated him spiritually and physically. Perhaps you didn't understand the vow I made that day on the bridge, but I promised you a thousand deaths. I will keep that vow. The only choice left to you is just how painful those deaths will be. Every moment you keep my daughter from me, you will only be causing yourself more pain. I will make you pay for every second of their agony in blood. And only when you beg me for death, beg on your knees with all that you are...only then will I give it to you."

For several tense moments, the room seemed to hold its breath. Kuross stared at him in silence, abject terror welling and welling in his eyes until, when that overwhelming fear seemed about to overflow and burst into full on panic, the bounty hunter threw his head back and laughed like a madman.

"No way, Kallus! I don't buy it. I'm callin' your bluff here, man. There's no way!"

"Isn't there?" Kallus challenged, his voice still perfectly even. Without actually looking to either of his compatriots, he said quietly, "Bring them in."

Both men started to turn away at his request. Cassian took several steps back before reminding him, "Don't forget, you're due for debriefing today. Don't go too crazy."

"I remember. I'll be on time," he said firmly, not looking away from the bounty hunter.

Kanan, on the other hand, took a moment to rest his hand on Kallus' shoulder.

"I'm not gonna try to stop you, Kallus. If I were in your position, I'd probably be doing the same thing. Just...remember what it is you fought for. Don't lose yourself in here."

Kallus was prepared to brush the Jedi off, to say that he would do whatever he had to to get Arkalia back, and if that included giving up the soul he had regained, then so be it. But then he remembered something Kanan had said to him what now felt like a lifetime ago.

"He needs you, Alexsandr. I don't think you get that. He needs you alive...If you go back there and you get yourself killed...what do you think it would do to him?"

"It would destroy him."

"Now you're getting it. Zeb's lost everyone he's ever loved in his life...he can't lose you, too. If you can't live for yourself, for the Rebellion, then I'm begging you...do it for him."

It would be an exceedingly kriff-poor way to repay the sacrifices Zeb had made by throwing away the heart he loved above all others. He couldn't do that to Zeb. Not after everything he'd been through.

"I won't," he answered simply. He still didn't look back at Kanan, but the Jedi must've been reassured by something in his tone because he took his leave. Once the two humans had gone, two more beings entered the cell in their place, sealing the door behind them. Kallus watched Kuross' expression sink when he saw who had entered the cell.

Kar and Tiri.

"No," Kuross said, shaking his head slowly as they approached. "There's just- no way. You rebel types just aren't for this sorta thing. There's no way your precious Alliance is gonna allow this."

"Perhaps not," Kallus said with an indifferent shrug, but the indifference soon shifted to an ugly sneer. "But the Alliance isn't here right now. There are no cams on this cell. It's just you and me...and the soul of every being you've ever wronged."

"You hurt our captain, Giren Kuross," Kar snarled quietly at him. "A man I look to as a friend and a brother. But worse than simply harming his body, you have trespassed upon the bonds of his spirit. In living or dying, none but Alexsandr, son of Kallus has any sort of claim to that bond. By right of Tinsahn and as my captain's second, it is my sacred charge to see you are punished for your crimes."

"More than this, you have brought harm to our princess," Tiri continued, her voice just as hard as Kar's. "So long as even one member of the House of Selvarrio exists, we are honor-bound to protect that life with our own. Lasan or no Lasan, we swore an oath to the Blood, and as members of the High Honor Guard, we will see that oath through to the end."

"Heh, didn't even know the little womp rat was your princess until this week," Kuross bit out, still trying to laugh.

"There is no forgiveness," the two guards said as one. "Only death."

The display actually cowed the human into silence, leaving him staring up at them with the beginnings of real madness flickering in his eyes. Allowing all of the hatred he felt for Giren Kuross to burn in his eyes, Kallus stood before him, vibro-shiv gripped tightly in one hand as he towered over him.

"You dared to touch my Tinsana. You dared to defile that bond with your worthless hands and your foul mouth. You dared to harm what is mine. For this, I will make you understand why an agent of the Imperial Security Bureau is to be feared," he hissed as he drew down close, a hand running up Kuross' side, up his face, not quite touching skin until he gently gripped the man's right ear. "There is no forgiveness. Only death."

Then he gripped that ear in harsh fingers and calmly sliced it off.

XxX

Death.

XxX

"The record states you gave the order to use ion disruptors during the Siege of Lasan. Is this true?"

"The decision was made collectively. We were uninformed of the experimental nature of the technology. I had every reason to believe those weapons would behave as any other-"

"That isn't the answer to the question I asked you."

"I didn't know-"

"Did you or did you not order the use of ion disruptors against living beings?"

"..."

"You will answer the question, Agent Kallus."

"...Yes."

"And how many civilians died that day?"

"...Millions."

XxX

"Where is it?" Kallus asked, pressing further back on the joint.

"Get kriffed!" Kuross snarled at him.

"Tell me," he repeated calmly, relentless.

"Sure. When all nine hells freeze over," he spat out.

"You're only making this harder on yourself."

"Kriff you and your precious little princess!"

Kallus pressed back on the bounty hunter's middle finger until the joint snapped, drawing a fresh scream of pain from his mouth. The ex-Imperial let the scream build and fade away before forcibly taking hold of the index finger, beginning to apply pressure.

"There's still time to save this last one. Just tell me where the Demon's Run is."

Kuross offered up a hoarse laugh as he leered up at him. "Heheh, guess where inside our big boy that finger's been."

Snap.

XxX

I swear to you a thousand deaths...

XxX

"I was too injured to continue fighting. Captain Orrelios...insisted at the time that he would rather wait until I healed to finish the fight. If we had remained at odds, neither of us would have survived. We joined forces to escape Bahryn, and in that time...in those moments between struggles for survival...we began to talk...to truly speak with one another. To listen. I believe we both introduced ideas that night that the other...had not previously considered."

"And was it during this incident that your relationship with the captain became sexual?"

"...I'm sorry. What?"

"Well, it would almost be understandable in a situation such as that. If it were an act performed out of necessity, for survival-"

"Draven-"

"I might almost believe you hadn't manipulated him were that the case."

"General Draven, this is meant to be Kallus' testimony."

"You seem...quite fixated on when exactly it was I spread my legs for Captain Orrelios."

"I've made no secret of why that is, Agent. It's a simple enough response."

"It is, that. And the answer is no.That was not what led to our relationship becoming sexual. If you really must know, the first and only time I have slept with Captain Orrelios was exactly two weeks ago, when we rendezvoused just before the Battle of Atollon. Is this sufficient to satisfy your curiosity, Sir?"

"It is sufficient, Fulcrum. Thank you. We will continue from your experiences on the Geonosian moon. It was what led you to begin questioning your loyalty to the Empire?"

"It was. It wasn't long after I'd begun my own personal investigations that I was contacted by Ahsoka Tano."

XxX

"You like it."

Kallus flinched inwardly at the sound of Kuross' taunt, intent on not letting him see the reaction, even though he was facing away from him. He made no response as he switched his vibro-shiv for a stun baton.

"What? Nothin' to say? Big, bad, highly trained interrogator like yourself? Naw. You can't admit to likin' it, can ya? That's just not civilized."

"Do you assume everyone is like you?" Kallus returned as he turned back to him. "Only deriving pleasure from pain?"

Before the bounty hunter could respond, Kallus delivered a hard blow to his jaw with the baton, sending enough of a current through him to cause his teeth to rattle.

Once he'd stopped screaming, Kuross shook his head, spitting out a little blood as he looked up at Kallus. The right eye was swollen shut, oozing a bit of puss.

"Naw. Not everybody. But you? I can see it in your eyes. You get off on this. Just a little bit. And hey...maybe I like that a little bit, too," he said, somehow managing to roll his hips up off the table he was secured to. Kallus shuddered in disgust when he noticed the man was actually getting hard. "Come on. I'm a dead man anyway. Dead man can't have one last good kriff? Must be lonely here with your playmate still all wet."

Kar let out a growl from where he stood against the wall, clearly ready to move in, but Kallus held up a hand to stop him.

"Orra. La sylf nallir kilan fel syv vogak nikasha."

"Ul hargiri Tinsana ni sadahn. Ul fal korrimir."

"Ul sylf."

"Come on, Kal," the man drawled, blood still dribbling from his mouth. "If you won't kriff me, then force yourself on me. Violate me. Rape me. That's bound to hurt. Do to me what I did to him."

"No, Kuross," he said heavily. "I'm not like you."

"You are," he hissed. "You are."

The thing was...Kallus was no longer certain he was wrong. Not that he was actually aroused by any of this...but that maybe he liked this too much – slowly pulling apart the man who had hurt Zeb. But every time he would be about to step back from it, he would remember he was here for a purpose. That purpose had not been achieved yet.

"Well, I think we know what's coming off next," he hissed, hand dropping below the bounty hunter's belt. "Kar, bring me back that shiv if you wouldn't mind."

"Aw...no...no way," Kuross actually started to beg, going pale as Kallus gripped him. "You can't just-"

The scream stayed in Kallus' ears long after it had stopped.

XxX

...and when you have died a thousand times, you shall seek the sweet release of death and shall not find it.

XxX

"When I entered the dwelling, Kazari Vison and Chardan Sorril had already been killed. Princess Selvarrio...Arekaya...was near to. She entrusted her daughter...Arkalia...the last Selvarrio...to my care."

"Were you aware of the child's identity at the time?"

"No. I did not learn who they were until much later...when I was given access to the files of Project Ash Warrior."

"And you risked your identity as Fulcrum in order to take the child to safety...unknowing?"

"Yes. I...I made a promise to her mother. And it is...my own penance. If I can save even one Lasat...it is my duty to do so."

"More than a few of us...can understand such a penance. Only...you did not deem it pertinent to share this information with Phoenix Cell or the intelligence network?"

"The- opportunity did not present itself. Much had happened in the wake of Manaan. I had always meant to bring it up to Captain Orrelios, but the timing was just never right. It was never...immediately pertinent to what was happening."

"And it was also in getting the child away from the Empire that you first crossed paths with Giren Kuross?"

"Yes. Who could say what he was doing there. Perhaps he was even hunting Arkalia's family. Whatever the case, I...if I had known then what I know now..."

XxX

...I would have killed him...

XxX

"Nothing to say today?"

He wasn't surprised. Not really. Kuross hadn't had much of anything to say the past few days. Not even his typical taunting. He just lay strapped to his table, staring blearily at nothing.

"You don't get to just die, you know," Kallus told him. "Until I have what I need, you live. Like this. Always in agony. You don't know what I can do to keep you alive, Kuross. And I haven't yet begun to take you apart," he hissed in the man's mangled ear, summoning a flicker of horror in those dull eyes. Then he dragged a burn rod across them.

"KAMINO!" the broken down bounty hunter finally screamed, voice rising on the agony.

"What?" the ex-Imperial demanded in shock.

"Re- rendezvous's...in the kriffin' Kamino system," he slurred with his bitten tongue.

"But why there? What does Zaniva have to do with Kamino?"

"Kriff f'I know. Restricted. Didn't care...s'long as they payed me."

"Of course," Kallus said, shaking his head. But then he was turning back to Kar and Tiri. "Tiri, I need you to get that information to Dodonna. I'll need to speak with Rex and Hera," he started as they began to head out of the cell.

"Hey!" Kuross called out in a panic. "You- you're not gonna just- leave me like this, are ya?"

"Can you think of a terribly compelling reason I shouldn't?"

"But- you said...once I talked, you'd finish it. Right?" he asked, head whipping from side to side, unable to open his burned eyelids. His voice was almost pathetically hopeful.

"I told you how this was going to work when we began. Two and a half weeks you held out on me. That will be at least another month. I'm quite certain I can keep a flaying going that long. I don't need the skin to be in one piece, after all."

"But...but..."

"As I said, you know how this ends. It ends when you beg me to kill you."

"I'm beggin' ya know."

"No, you're not. You know nothing about begging. But you will. You will."

XxX

There is no forgiveness. Only death.

XxX

"And the coding you introduced to the Imperial network was successful?"

"It was. I would have liked time to properly erase the coordinates myself, but the contact programming will serve our purposes. This location will be unplottable within Imperial systems."

"Is there any chance Thrawn might discover what you did? As he discovered you?"

"That is...not outside of the realm of possibility. He is certainly intelligent enough to figure it out. But he was unaware of just how large the Alliance has become. I know that at least until the Battle of Atollon, he was under the impression that the rebel movement consisted only of the Massassi Group and Phoenix Cell. He has not been pursuing the possibility of numerous rebel bases. Not to mention that Intelligence has had no word of Thrawn since the battle. Likely he has had a great deal to answer to the Emperor for after the loss. By now, my contact virus will have done its work. Even if he is able to search, there will be nothing left to find. For the moment...we are safe."

"Were you aware at the time that Captain Orrelios and Princess Selvarrio had been taken captive?"

"I was...made aware that the captain was being held during the fight. It- was how Thrawn took the advantage."

"And was it this bit of leverage that led to your betrayal of Phoenix Cell?"

"Draven-"

"It seems pertinent in my view. After all, he could clearly be lead to another betrayal with the proper incentive."

"...No. That was not the reason. When I thought it was just Zeb...Captain Orrelios...when I thought it was just the two of us, I was prepared to die with him aboard the Chimaera...to give the very last I had to give for this cause. But things changed when they revealed they had also taken Ar- the princess. No matter the cost...I could not bring myself to choose her death. I just did what I had to...and hoped Phoenix Cell was prepared to handle the situation."

"And we were."

"Then what was it that led to the princess being taken by Zaniva?"

"Alex-"

"I had to make a choice. If I had left Captain Orrelios to Kuross that day...he would have died. No matter what Arkalia is going through now...I know she is alive."

"And an extraction is being prepared?"

"Even as we speak."

XxX

"Please."

Kallus stilled in peeling back the layer of skin he was working on, looking down on the destroyed face.

"Please...please...please..."

"Please. What?" he prompted, voice quiet but firm.

"Please...kill me...p- please...please..."

Kallus sighed, feeling anger rise in his chest. He had expected to feel some sort of satisfaction upon reaching this point, but he didn't. He just felt...empty. Empty and exhausted and sad and angry.

"How many beings have begged for mercy at your feet and you had none? Did you show Zeb mercy when he asked you to stop? DID YOU?" he demanded of the bounty hunter before ripping away a freshly severed layer of skin from his arm.

Kuross didn't scream. He didn't have the strength to anymore. He just choked out several weak sobs.

"Please...please...f- forgive...me..."

"Never," Kallus hissed as he looked down at the barely human lump of flesh beneath him. "I can never forgive you the things you've done to him. Garazeb Orrelios is vital to me in a way you can never understand. He knows me...sees me what I am...and he loves me anyway...and I love him. I love his kindness and courage and understanding. And you...you raped him," he said, finally speaking the words out loud. "You tried to snuff out his light with your cruelty. I am not a good man. There are many things I could forgive. I cannot forgive that. I will not forgive you for causing him such pain...and smiling. But...fortunately for you, I don't have to forgive you. Only the Ashla can do that."

Sighing again, he set his tools aside, moving to the cell door.

"We'll be making our run soon...to get Arkalia back. If I bring her home safely, I will kill you then. If I do not return, well...you will be here a great deal longer."

Then, having said his piece, he left, leaving the broken creature weeping pathetically in the darkness.

XxX

"Zeb'aki...what are you still doing here?"

He turns. Slowly. He knows that voice. Oh, how he knows it. And when he beholds his beloved big sister, she's as he remembers her in life, her Honor Guard uniform impeccable. Ashvyr Orrelios had never been able to keep a lot of things clean, but she'd kept that uniform in top condition.

"Ash...am I dead?"

Ash shakes her head, offering him the annoyed but fond smile he's so used to from her. "No, but damn you for a stubborn ass if you aren't trying to be."

He goes to her, throwing his arms around her in the tightest hug he's ever given any living being. When he was little and frightened, it was always Ash's lap he sought out, her embrace. His big sister would make the monsters go away. She laughs quietly now as she holds him, gently stroking the fur at the back of his neck.

"Saman'ka...I failed her...my princess...my Kaya...I failed my ashthar'aki'ka."

"No. You didn't fail. You did the only thing you could do, sadan'aki. If you'd stopped them taking her that day, you both would've died. Then your Kali wouldn't exist at all and your Alex would be just another lost warrior, trapped inside a system too powerful to overcome alone."

"I- I let that human..."

"You let him do nothing. His actions are not on you. I think you know that better than most. You'll survive what he did to you, same as you've survived everything else."

"Alex...what...what'll he think of me...knowing I've been- that I was-"

"Your Tinsana will think you stronger and more beautiful for surviving what others have not. You are beauty itself in that human's eyes. More he will hate himself for not being there for you. After all, he said it himself, didn't he? Nothing they do can destroy what you really are. That is what it is to love truly, truly and fully. Are you really going to break his heart by leaving him so soon after getting him back?"

"Alex..." he repeats the name of his beloved softly, beginning to glance back over his shoulder, in the direction he came from.

Ni ashkerra...

"He needs you, Zeb'aki'a. Don't you hear him? How his heart cries out in pain?"

L'ashkerrir an maka zei zash inkasha. Please...please don't leave me, Zeb.

"Go back, sadan'ka. The only way the two of you will rescue your daughter is together."

He takes a step back, back in the direction of the pain he feels at the other end of the Bond. He reaches out to try and soothe it, but he still doesn't release his sister's hand.

"Am I- ever gonna see you again?" he asks, looking back at her one last time. She shakes her head, still smiling at him.

"I'm not gone, you idiot. None of us are. No one ever really is. Go back."

Come back. Please come back.

I'm coming.

Zeb drew in a sharp breath as he blinked himself awake, taking a moment to acclimate to the press of liquid against his eyes and the taste of recycled air in his mouth.

Bacta. He was in a bacta tank.

Forcing his eyes to focus through the blurry images beyond the tank, his vision gradually picked out something distinct.

Alex. It was Alex's face, happy and relieved to see him awake. As his lover raised a hand to press it against the glass, Zeb thought he might have seen tears in those amber eyes. Raising his own hand to press it against Alex's through the plexiglass, he was soon resting his forehead against the smooth surface, smiling through the breath mask that covered half his face when Alex leaned in to press his own forehead to his.

Oh, love. My love. You've been waiting...you've been unhappy. I'm sorry.

Then he was being lifted from the tank, helped out by two med droids, and almost before he was aware of what was happening, he was on his knees beside the tank with Alex's arms around him.

"You came back," the human whispered in his ear, clinging to him as if he'd never let go. "I knew you'd come back to me."

"Be a fool to leave you. Specially when I've been whingin' all this time about you gettin' yourself killed," he said, nuzzling the side of his partner's face, scenting him and breathing in the scent of him. "L'ashkerrir an...ni zash...ni ko'oran."

"Gal L'ashkerrir an. L'ashkerrir an zai," Alex whispered in kind before drawing him into a kiss. Then the hug was suddenly getting bigger. Ezra, Sabine, and Jorrah were there, followed quickly by Kar, Tiri, Kanan, Hera, and Rex. Even Zelina was shyly joining in before long, with Chopper bumping against them all.

"So...I'm assuming this means you all don't mind scrubbin' bacta outta your clothes later?" Zeb tried to joke, very much aware how sticky with the stuff his fur was.

"Kriffing idiot Lasat. We'll scrub bacta for weeks now we've got you back," Sabine told him.

"We were all really worried about you," Ezra said.

"How...how long was I out?" he asked, reaching through the multitude of arms to touch Alex's hair. It had gotten longer, more unkempt.

Alex stared at him sadly a moment before reaching up to cup his larger hand in both of his. "We have...several things to discuss, you and I."

XxX

Yavin IV's climate was very humid, and during the day it could be painfully harsh on someone of Zeb's species or someone of Alex's coloring. The nights tended to be cooler, though, which was why Alex brought a blanket with him when the pair climbed the temple as the sun was setting. Zeb had wanted to take the quick route and once again carry Alex on his back, but the human had outright refused, stating he was not putting that kind of strain on him so soon after coming out of a coma. So they climbed together up the side of the temple with the setting sun at their backs, both moving slower than they would've liked.

Only the last few rays of sunlight remained when they finally reached the level they'd been aiming for, high above the base. Alex spread the blanket out on the landing for them to sit on and Zeb produced a rather distinctly unmarked bottle.

"Where did you get that from?" Alex asked him with a small laugh.

"You know Jidu Ailytè in your spy settings. One thing you're gonna learn about her outside of the network is that she's always gonna know who's got a vat of moonshine brewin'. So whenever you need a fix, the girl from Jedha's your go-to," he answered, opening the bottle with his teeth.

Alex shook his head, laughing again. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Little less fancy than the last time we had a heart to heart," he said, offering Alex the first swig. He shrugged before taking a swallow.

"Alcohol is alcohol, but I would say the atmosphere is decidedly more inviting than Nar Shaddaa," he said, passing the bottle back to Zeb.

"Yeah, and...like you said, we've got a lot to talk about," he said, eyeing the bottle a long moment before taking a drink from it. "There are...things about me you don't know. Things I think you should...after...what happened. And the first thing I wanna tell you about is...Kaya."

"The little princess," Alex said softly. "Yes, I...Kanan told me you had been close with her. I'm sorry- you had to find out that way."

"No, I- I think...maybe...I knew. Some part of me knew...could see Kaya in Kali's face. I tried to dismiss it because Kali never had the Selvarrio patterning in her fur. Whatever she has must be from her dad. Maybe I knew and just...didn't wanna see it...or think about what it would mean. But...Alex...did you know?" he suddenly found himself asking, looking over at his bondmate. He didn't know why this mattered, or if it even did. He just found himself wanting to know.

Alex looked pained for a moment, but he ultimately nodded. "Not when...I found them on Alluria. I didn't know then. I found out when I went digging through Ash Warrior's files. I'd always meant to tell you, but there was never a time for it. I knew it would be- difficult news for you to bear, even not knowing your particular history."

"'s'all right," Zeb said, taking another drink before passing the bottle back to Alex, who quickly took another swallow. "How could you know? How could you know when I never told you? Kaya...she was the youngest of the royal children. She was born right around the time I was inducted into the High Honor Guard. So, in a way, we were young together. We took to each other, and while I was still the rookie, she was my responsibility to protect, and I kept with it even after I became the captain. She was...so precious...and I failed her. I couldn't- stop 'em from takin' her that day," he said, voice falling off into nothing as he squeezed his eyes tightly shut, the sound of her screams echoing in his mind.

"No," Alex's voice sounded beside him, and in the next moment, he felt the human's hand on his knee. "I'm sure you did everything you could that day. What could anyone be expected to do against such odds?"

Zeb slipped a hand into Alex's then, letting him know he was hearing him, even if he only partly believed him.

"'Course...irony of it all is Kali wouldn't exist now if it hadn't happened," he said with a sigh, looking out over the base below as he gripped his lover's hand tighter. "But...the memory of her mother...is why I've been so scared of gettin' close to Kali."

"When did- that change, by the way?" Alex asked, taking an extra nip from the bottle before passing it back to Zeb, still holding his hand. "What exactly happened? When I parted from you, we were saying our goodbyes to her, but then Hera's calling us her fathers and you're saying she's our baby girl. Not that I was complaining, mind, but...what happened?"

"She happened," he answered with a small smile and a bitter laugh. "I was crackin' already, but...then she called me Dan-Dan and it was all over for me."

"Dan-Dan? So that...it does mean...father?" the ex-Imperial asked him.

"Yeah. Dada...is what human babies say, I think."

"It is," Alex said, his voice growing tight. "Stars, it- it is. She was crying that...when Archrem...took her from me."

Hearing the hitching in Alex's voice, Zeb turned to look at him, seeing his eyes squeezed tightly shut as several tears spilled from them. He offered up a few soothing purrs as he pulled his lover into his arms, just holding him for several moments, letting a few of his own tears fall into Alex's hair.

"Oh, Zeb," Alex whispered once his voice was a little steadier. "If anyone's failed our girl, it's me. I should've found a way...that day...I should've found a way to save you both."

"No," Zeb soothed him in kind, pressing a kiss first to his forehead, then to his eyes, and finally to his lips. When the kiss ended, he whispered against those lips, "You did everything you could. I know that. And we're gonna make it right, yeah?" he said, cupping Alex's face in his hands and wiping the tears away with his thumbs.

"Yes. Of course," his partner said, carefully remastering himself. "Please...continue."

"I...I never asked you before," Zeb started in slowly. "Kaya...on the day she died...how did see seem to you?"

"Fierce," was the first thing the former agent answered. "Even though she was already mortally wounded, trapped beneath a structural beam, probably impaled somehow...she was still prepared to fight tooth and nail to protect her daughter."

"Yeah," Zeb agreed with a small laugh. "That was her. Mostly sweet, but she could be quite the little hellspawn when she wanted to."

"I could tell even then that she was fairly young. It wasn't until I'd shown her the sigil you carved for me that she began to calm. That and she started to pick up your scent on me. I do have to wonder if...maybe she knew it was you...if she remembered the scent...and that's why she trusted me. But...in her final moments...she just wanted to be certain Arkalia was safe," he recounted.

"There's that, at least," Zeb said with a soft sigh. "It isn't- just her I wanted to talk about, though."

"Kuross?" Alex suggested tentatively.

"Yeah, him. But not just him. There's more to what happened than...what he did to me."

"How do you mean?"

"Do you remember...back on Nar Shaddaa...when you told me about your mum and what she did for a livin'?" he asked, feeling something heavy twist in his chest as the unpleasant memories began to drift to the surface of his thoughts.

"Yes."

"Well...I told you the truth before. On Lasan...we never had any sort of stigma attached to...voluntarily bein' a sex worker. It's a job like any other and oughta be respected the same as any other."

"Voluntarily?" Alex whispered after a moment when he didn't continue right away, and Zeb could hear the dots beginning to connect in that smooth, intelligent voice. He would figure it out long before Zeb actually said anything. Alex would spare him having to say it if he could, but even so, he wanted to say these things out loud...to bare his pain and his shame to the man he loved. Because like Alex and his time on Lasan, these events in his past were things he'd never told anyone about...never truly given voice to...and he knew he had allowed that shame to fester beneath the surface for much too long already. Kanan and Hera knew, to a degree, because of course it was difficult to ignore the circumstances they'd all met under when they'd liberated him all those years ago, but he had never really told them. It just remained unspoken between all of them, in the same way Hera's childhood or Kanan's time as a Padawan remained unspoken. But he wanted to speak it now...and he wanted Alex to be the one to hear it.

"Yeah. Well...like you've now seen, it's...very easy to bring a Lasat to sexual arousal without their consent. Because of that, we've got pretty different views on consent and bodily autonomy than a lot of the rest of the galaxy. Sexual slavery was unheard of on Lasan. To my people, bein' a rapist is just as bad if not worse than bein' a murderer. So it was...a bit of a shock to me...to see where it all stood in the rest of the galaxy after Lasan," he started to explain, beginning to grip Alex's hand tightly once again.

"What happened?" his bondmate asked him, and it was only in hearing the sudden heaviness in that now familiar voice that Zeb realized this was yet one more thing Alex might blame himself for. But he couldn't let that stop him.

"My Gran...Bennali Orrelios...she rescued the last of us that day...got us away from Lasan. Ashamed to admit I was pretty useless back then, pretty much catatonic. But...small group like that...didn't take 'em long to pick us off...one by one...until I was the only one left...and I was captured and sold to slavers on Morverin III."

"The gladiator pits," Alex said quietly, apparently at least somewhat familiar with that particular hive of scum and villainy.

"Right. Wasn't just that, though. In a way, I wouldn't have minded just fighting. But that wasn't the only thing they used me for."

"Zeb," Alex exhaled his name on a horror-filled breath, the pieces having already come together in his mind.

"Because I was a 'rare specimen'...I was also popular on the flesh pit side of things. Their audiences liked watchin' me kriff other slaves...or get kriffed...it was whatever they wanted. Wasn't like I could say no either. All it took was a few strokes from a handler and I was ready to put my cock in whatever they stuck me with," he recounted, his voice haunted and bitter as it left his throat, the memories all too vivid in his mind.

He had actually begged at first...begged not to be violated and forced in such a way...but many of them had taken a certain sadistic pleasure in breaking him down.

"'lot of 'em would touch my neck...just to prove they could...that there was nothin' I could do to stop 'em. I was an easier mark than a lot of the other slaves. They'd even sell nights with me to bidding spectators."

"Stars," Alex whispered in horror.

"I was popular, too. They could make more off me...since I can come more 'n once at a go. Sold me to two, sometimes even three customers a night. I remember once some moff or other tried to buy me for his personal bed slave after a night with me. Heh, offered 'em the price of a small moon...just to be able to have my prick for himself," he said, trying to laugh and not quite managing it. It was how he'd dealt with it all this time – pretending like it was nothing...like it didn't affect him...didn't still haunt his darkest nightmares...to have no control over his own body...to be nothing but an object of pleasure for scum of the lowest degree.

"Zeb..."

"Six years," he continued before Alex could say anything more. "Six years they had me like that...before Kanan and Hera made a run on the place tryin' to rescue some other poor bleeder. Burned it all down in pretty spectacular fashion, we did," he recounted, managing a bit of a fond smile at that one. "But...honestly...every time I think I've managed to bury it, this thing with Kuross comes up again and it all comes bleedin' out. I don't remember much of- what he did to me this time...not after he drugged me. But I do remember comin' to in the middle of it...and he- I was in him..."

...the ugly taste of his kiss...

"I love you."

...the harsh slap and clench of their bodies joining together...

"Come inside me...Tinsana!"

No control...no control...NO CONTROL!

"ZEB!" Alex's desperate cry suddenly broke through the fog of his terror. He snapped out of it to find his Tinsana gripping his face between his hands, eyes wild with fear. "Ashkerra...my love, please...stay with me. Don't leave me again. You don't need to say more; it's all right. Just come back to me. Oh, please."

"Tinsana?" he whispered, slowly drawing Alex into his arms, pulling him in until the human had no choice but to straddle his legs as he clung to him. "Armorra ashkerra."

"Oh, love. Ashkerra'ka. What have they done to you? What have I done to you?" the ex-Imperial lamented with a tiny cry in his voice. "Ni astyr, sastyrial ashkerra...is- is this all right? Can I kiss you?"

"Eri...eri...La vuuser syv," he answered, happy to be asked, even as he drew Alex in to kiss him. Several moments later, he was whispering against his lips, "I choose this."

Then he slowly lay down on the blanket, drawing Alex down with him to lie on top of him, and again they were kissing. It wasn't anything heated or hurried, simply the two of them cleaving to each other, each breathing the other in with relief and joy that they were both still here to just lie beneath the stars like this. It would've been only too easy for one or the other to not have survived to this moment, for one half of a broken bond to be a completely different man. But they were together now, and they had no intention of being separated ever again.

Sometime later, when they had worn themselves out quite thoroughly with kissing, Zeb noticed Alex shivering above him, cold in the night air.

"You're cold. Here," he said, drawing the blanket carefully up around both of them, cradling his lover even more intently against his chest.

"You were more than enough," Alex tried to scold with a small laugh. "You're only going to overheat like this. You don't have to-"

"I want to. We'll cross the other bridge when we come to it. Right now, I just wanna be as close to you as I can be. I want us to breathe the same air...for as long as we can."

"Anything you want, my love. I will gladly give you anything you could possibly want," Alex told him, pressing a loving kiss to the juncture of his neck and jaw.

"I already have half of what I want, and you have a plan for the other half."

"I do," Alex said quietly after several silent moments.

"I know I didn't ask before, but...how did you find out where they'd taken her?" he asked, tucking a stray strand of hair gently behind Alex's ear.

Yet another long string of silence followed this. Alex didn't quite look at him when he answered, "That information came to me...from Giren Kuross."

Zeb couldn't stop his eyes widening at that. "I...how? When?"

"I brought him with me when I fled the Chimaera. I've been interrogating him while you've been unconscious. What is left of Giren Kuross lies locked in a cell beneath this temple, waiting to die by my hand."

Zeb heard something more in Alex's voice than just those words. He heard something cold and harsh, something damaged and dangerous...something he was fairly certain Alex would need to talk about when this was all over. For the moment, he would be lying if he said he wasn't happy that Kuross was being punished for what he'd done. But...Alex...

"I want our family back together. That includes you, Alex," he reminded him, offering up another gentle kiss as he ran his fingers through the human's soft golden hair. "None of it's worth anything if I lose you."

"I know. I know. And I've tried...so hard...not to go too far...but every time I look at him, I see you. I see how he enjoyed hurting you...and something inside of me just snaps. I can't stop it."

"Kal," Zeb started firmly before the other man could slip further away. "Do you know- what the word kal means in Lasana?"

"Well, of course I do. It means...it...means...oh," he said softly, voice falling away as understanding washed across his face. The name Zeb had called him from the very first...the central part of Arkalia's name.

"Kal," Zeb said again, laying a hand over his Tinsana's beating heart. "Treasure. Ni kal...my treasure. Ni kali...my treasures. Ni ashkerra...ze safken ni sashahn," he declared before drawing his partner into a new kiss. Deeper this time. A promise to serve as an anchor, a harbor in any storm, a light in any darkness.

I'm here. I'll always be here. Always come back to me.

Alex seemed almost to sigh into the kiss, to sink into him and let his tensions go free. When they separated this time, Alex slowly sat up, the blanket still draped loosely around his shoulders.

"I honestly have no idea what I would do without you."

"Let's not find out, yeah? But...there is one more thing I wanna ask you before we dive into this plan of yours," he said as he sat up, careful not to jostle Alex from his lap. Suddenly fearful that this idea of his was crazy and much too sudden, he reached forward to cup his lover's face in his hand one last time...in case this was poorly received.

"Yes?" Alex pressed him, suddenly looking nervous.

"Marry me?"

For a moment, it seemed like the world around them had actually frozen. Zeb couldn't hear any of the night noises he'd been able to identify before, or the sound of the breeze around the steps of the temple, or even the sound of Alex's breathing. Just when he was about to ask if the human was all right, several tear tracks suddenly flowed down his cheeks.

"I...I..." Alex finally managed to start speaking, "are we- not married already? I believe you said once...the Tinsahn is more than marriage."

"It is. There's no ceremony for it, though. Not every mated pair is Tinsahn. We still have a marriage ceremony. Unless there's- some sorta ceremony from Coruscant you'd like to use, I want to marry you according to Lasat ritual. If- if it's what you want," he suddenly found himself stuttering. "I mean, you don't have to say yes, obviously. I just-"

Alex silenced him with another kiss, tears still pouring silently down his face. When he pulled back from him, his lover was already starting to nod.

"Garazeb Orrelios, I would marry you according to every ritual this galaxy could hope to contain. I absolutely will marry you. It would be my honor to be your husband and your mate. Now...is this going to be a large ceremony?"

"Not really. We can do it tonight."

"Tonight?" Alex pressed, eyes widening. "But Zeb, it's still ni-"

Zeb shook his head, shushing the ex-Imperial as he pointed up at the greying sky. "Didn't notice, Fulcrum? Where is your head today?"

"Probably filled with wedding plans. After all, they say one hardly ever sleeps the night before one's wedding. Oh, but Andor's going to have my head for staying out all night," Alex said with a laugh.

"What is that kid now? Your nursemaid?" Zeb grunted in annoyance. He hadn't even been conscious for twenty-four hours yet and already the young intelligence officer was driving him crazy with how close he was sticking to Alex. It had been a real chore to shake him in order to climb up here. Really, why couldn't all the spies be cool like Ji?

"He may as well be. They're going to have a field day when they hear about this in intelligence."

"Honestly? It's not gonna shock me if half the base already knows about it by the time we climb down from here."

XxX

"So did you hear Zeb and Kallus are getting married?" Zelina asked as she removed the last of the stitches from Wedge's chest.

"Y'know, I did. Heard it from Hobbie on my way down here. He got it from Jidu, who overheard Draven screaming at Andor about it. It's been an interesting morning."

"I think it's sweet," she said, blushingly pressing a kiss to the healed wound she'd labored over for the past month. When she glanced up at the pilot, it was to find his own face just as red as hers. Wedge coughed as he looked away from her.

"Though, I guess there have been a lot of these flash weddings since Atollon. Everyone's wanting to make up for a nearly missed opportunity."

"Yeah, well...a lot of us came close to losing something on Atollon," she returned softly, reaching out a hand for his. They drew closer to each other, their forehead coming to rest together.

It had been an uphill battle for her those first few weeks, keeping him alive. Since there were only so many bacta tanks to be had on the little moon, it had been the long way around for Wedge, but she had refused to let him die...not until she could kiss him properly anyway.

"Heh, what? Are you telling me you want to get married now?" he asked her, his voice only half-joking to her ears.

"No. Of course not," she said, even as she dropped a tiny kiss at the corner of his mouth. "Zeb and Kallus have been through so much more than we have as a couple. They're ready for it. But I'll tell you what. Maybe you and I can get married after I've almost died in the line of duty."

Wedge gave a pained laugh at that one. "Really? That's what I have to wait for? You drive a damn hard bargain, Arsane."

"Well...it might come sooner than you think," she admitted quickly as she moved away from him, going to retrieve his shirt.

"What was that?" he pressed, and she could hear the new note of worry in his voice.

"I...well, I...the Spectres need a medic to infiltrate the Demon's Run. Of those of us here, I'm the one with the most experience with Lasat physiology at this point, so it's got to be me. And...well...it's a little bit dangerous," she conceded, not yet turning to face him, just holding the shirt in her hands. Faintly, she caught his familiar scent of sweat and engine lubricant, plus the odd scent of something sweet she could never quite identify.

"A little bit dangerous? Zel...have you ever done infiltration work before?" he asked her, slowly coming after her. After a moment, his hand came to rest on her shoulder. "I don't mean being a gunhand like back on Manaan. This is gonna be close quarters, look you in the eye, sit down and break bread with the people who killed your family type infiltration."

"I know that," she said, though she stiffened at his words; and still she didn't look at him. "But...Ari needs me. I have to help get her back."

"And what if you're discovered? What happens then?" he demanded, his grip tightening. "This is top secret Imperial weapons dev. It's not just getting sent to prison. This is- summary execution stuff."

"I didn't leave you behind when it was too dangerous," she reminded him, lifting a hand up to grip the one on her shoulder. "Zeb didn't leave his people on Manaan when it was too dangerous. And Kallus didn't leave you and Sabine at Skystrike, even though it was dangerous. Arkalia's not a weapon. She's a little girl. She's a child, and we can't let them do this to her," she said firmly, finally turning to face him. "If there's something I can do, I can't let another living being die. You know that. So I have to do what I can, while I can still do it."

It wasn't anger she saw in Wedge's eyes as she looked at him. No. It was fear and sorrow – fear of losing her. But then he nodded slowly, pulling her into his arms. "You're right. I know you're right. I just- wish it didn't have to be you."

Then he was kissing her, holding her easily as he tangled his fingers in the wild flow of her braids. Zelina felt a delicious shiver run through her body when she felt those fingers travel along her scalp. The shirt slipped from her hand as she reached down to grip his hips.

She lost count of the minutes they stood like that, getting lost in each other. They had done this before, but there was a desperation to it this time around that hadn't been there before...a hunger...an ache neither of them had really let themselves consider while Wedge had still been healing. But now...with her about to leave on a dangerous mission...

The young Mandalorian's mouth opened in a gasp when his hands suddenly dropped to her bottom, lifting her up onto the med table she'd been retrieving his clothing from. Briefly, shyly, his tongue stretched out to taste hers.

"Is- is this all right?" he whispered into her mouth, dark eyes finding hers as he pulled back a step. "Is this what you want?"

Zelina nodded, though there was still a small roiling of nerves in her stomach to go along with the heat blossoming lower in her body. Drawing him back against her, she half-whimpered, "Yes. Wedge- I want you to touch me."

Arms wrapping gently around her, he let his lips drop to her neck, mouthing clumsily at the sensitive skin for several moments.

"Have...have you ever...?"

"MmMm," she mumbled into his hair, fingers digging into his shoulders. "Have...have you?"

"Well...we...jacked each other off in the barracks sometimes," he admitted, face going red when he looked up at her. "But I...I don't- think I can say I've ever actually...done it. Not like...with somebody I wanted to be with."

"Do you...want to be with me?" she asked him, feeling a lot of different things at once. Feeling shy and uncertain, like there wasn't anything she could do to keep this from being awkward. But on a deeper, more animalistic level, she could also feel how her body was beginning to throb...aching to be touched. It was both terrifying and exciting all at once.

Jaw somewhat slack, Wedge nodded in answer, swallowing heavily before speaking. "I'd- be lying if I said I haven't...thought about you. You're- so pretty...and so amazing."

"I think about you, too," she admitted, feeling her face flush as she smiled. Then, very aware that she was bright red by now, she boldly wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him flush against her, and when she felt his groin press against hers, she could feel just how much he wanted to be with her. She couldn't keep herself from crying out at the feel of it.

Wedge himself actually whimpered at the contact, his hips thrusting involuntarily against hers for a moment.

"Are- are you okay?" she asked him, even as a fresh pulse of pleasure jolted through her body. The sounds he'd made sounded almost pained to her.

"Unh...uh-huh," he mumbled weakly, eyes closed. "It feels good. I...I really want to...but...maybe we shouldn't...just yet."

"But- why not?" she whimpered, feeling like she might actually cry if he didn't want her. "I- I might not-"

"You are coming back," he insisted, tears actually starting to flow down his face as he brushed some of her hair from her eyes. "And when you do, we're gonna go to bed together...even if it's just a cot, or right here on this kriffing med table...and I'm gonna make you come until you scream...Zelina."

This time, they both trembled as they kissed. But when Wedge attempted to pull away from her, she held onto him, emboldened by the care he was showing. Then she leaned in close to whisper in his ear, "Can I...can I touch you? Can we do that much?"

Wedge laughed through his tears, nodding. "O- okay. Just...fair warning, I'm probably gonna come when you do."

"That's fine," she said with a small, emotional giggle of her own. "Call it...something to remember my pilot by."

Slowly, she trailed her hands down his bare chest, fingers not quite touching the heated skin before she reached his belt, undoing the buckle. She hesitated only a moment before sliding her hand beneath the fabric.

She felt her way easily enough, her practiced medic's fingers wrapping delicately around his shaft. She gave an experimental pull with her fingers, but she didn't have much opportunity for further exploration. After only two pulls, Wedge jerked against her with a strangled cry, collapsing awkwardly against her as he came into her hand.

She drew in a shuddered gasp of her own at the sticky hot feel of him. Once he'd finished, she gave his spent cock a final squeeze, coating him with his own cum before withdrawing her hand.

A fresh lick of desire jolted through her at the sight of her hand covered in the yellow-white fluid. There was something in knowing that she had done that. That she had induced that kind of need in him. And as he trembled helplessly against her, she smiled, pressing a gentle kiss to his ear.

After a few moments of this tender embracing, she felt more than heard him whisper against her neck, "Would...would you mind if I...returned the favor?"

"No. I wouldn't mind," she told him.

"You might- have to help me a little," he said, face flushing anew as he looked up at her. "I've never...touched a girl before."

"It's all right. I'll guide you," she said, drawing his hand to the side zip on her body suit. Then, hands moving together beneath the layers of fabric, she drew his fingers down between her legs, guiding them to her clit. Already, she could feel how wet she was.

Moving with him those first few strokes to show him what she usually did, she was soon moving eagerly against him, whimpering and moaning as his fingers worked in her over and over again. With each move, her cries came a little bit louder, her body rocked a little more insistently against his, until finally the heat and pleasure writhing and flowing beneath her skin burst outward from her core in a searing wave, her muscles spasming with the force of her climax. At the very least, she was happy not to be standing as the orgasm had its way with her.

For a long while after it was done, they just held each other, neither quite knowing what to say, but not wanting to let go of the moment either. There were things that needed to be done, places they both needed to be, but neither could bring themself to care just then. For a moment, just a moment, they were together.

Who knew when they would be again?

XxX

"Hera!"

The captain turned at the sound of Orianne Rihima calling her name, seeing her hurrying toward her from out of the temple.

"Hold up a minute! I need to talk to you."

"And it can't wait?" Hera asked, her gaze flicking toward her ship. "The wedding's going to be starting any moment."

"This is important; I promise you," the Zabrak said as she came up beside her. "And it will only take a minute. Hera...are you late?"

The Twi'lek raised a confused brow at the medic. "Well, yes. That's sort of why I'm in a hurry-"

"Hera," Orianne tried again. "I don't think you understand me. Are you late?" she asked a second time, looking her very pointedly in the eye.

"Am I...I..." Hera's voice fell off into a quiet gasp as she finally understood what it was the medic was asking her.

Had she had her period this month?

Had she? She...she must have. It was just...with everything happening all at once, maybe she just hadn't noticed...

But no. She hadn't had it. She was overdue.

She was late.

"I...I am," she finally managed to answer. "It's...we've been trying-"

Could she really...possibly be pregnant now?

Pregnant with Kanan's child?

"I know. That's why I came to you first. There are a few others even from Phoenix Cell who might be late tonight. I'm one of them...and my results were definitely positive," Orianne told her.

"Oh...Orianne," she whispered, happy for her, but also sympathetic to what that meant. "Is- is it Jun's?"

The Zabrak nodded, a hand moving to her still flat belly as a mixed look of grief and wonder moved through her eyes. "I never...planned for anything like this, but...I suppose I'm not too old for it just yet. Besides...Jun deserves to leave something behind."

"Well...congratulations," Hera said to her, laying a hand over hers. "We'll all look forward to meeting that child."

"Right, and you, come see me after the ceremony. We'll get you some answers. Honestly, I don't think a single condom was used in all of Phoenix Cell the night of that party," she said as she began to head back toward the temple.

"I wouldn't doubt it," she agreed quietly. They had all been making rather merry that night. And she and Kanan, well...she now knew things about his stamina she hadn't before, even after years of being together.

But...if she was really pregnant...if she and Kanan...if she was going to have his baby...?

Not the time, she scolded herself, finally making for the Ghost. There was no sense in losing her head over it until she could know for certain. She had to be rational and sensible right now. Even so...she couldn't quite keep herself from reaching up to touch the plane of her stomach.

Pregnant...

XxX

The atmosphere aboard the Ghost was much more solemn than was normal. The lighting had been set to low power, and all those who wanted to witness the event were arrayed throughout the ship carrying glow rods, also kept on low power. As Zeb moved through the little freighter that had been his home for the past eight years, the display almost looked to him like a sea of floating lights.

The people who were closer to them occupied the corridor outside of his bunk, and the little room itself – Hera, Ezra, Sabine, Chopper, AP-5, Rex, Jorrah, Zel, Wedge, Hobbie, Jidu, Tera and Hara. Tiri was standing at the head of it all as officiant, and Kar had accompanied him on his walk through the Ghost as his best man. As he entered the room, he removed his bo-rifle from his back and handed it to Kar. Then he moved to kneel before Tiri.

It wasn't long after that Alex was entering the room, with Kanan behind him as his best man. Though the ex-Imperial didn't have a bo-rifle to symbolically divest himself of at this juncture, he did take a moment to remove a blaster and collapsible electrostaff and pass them to the blind knight. Then he moved to kneel beside Zeb.

"Who comes before the Ashla this night?" Tiri asked.

"Garazeb, son of Orrelios, child of Lirakal and Zenarab, comes here to be wed," Kar answered for him.

"And Alexsandr, son of Kallus, child of Amara, comes here to be wed," Kanan answered for Alex.

"Warriors both, steadfast and faithful, they come to seek the blessing of the Ashla upon their union," Kar continued.

"Then rise and join hands, Garazeb Orrelios and Alexsandr Kallus."

Zeb's gaze moved to Alex as he stood, reaching out his hands to take his. Alex met his gaze with a smile, his amber eyes alight with disbelief and adoration. They gripped hands tightly as Tiri continued. As she spoke, the guardswoman produced two lengths of ribbon, one purple and one gold.

"What the humans refer to as love, we Lasat know as ashkerra. In the Basic tongue, this means 'the light within', for that is what love is – the light of the soul that reaches out to touch the galaxy...to touch others that we wish to give our light to."

While Tiri spoke, she passed the ribbons to Kar and Kanan. Kar wrapped the gold ribbon around Zeb's arms and wrists, while Kanan wrapped the purple ribbon around Alex's. Once they were secured, Tiri took the ends of both in her hands.

"Your love shall be the guiding light that illuminates the path ahead of you, binds your lives together when that way is dark, and causes the light of the galaxy to glow even more brightly than it ever would have without it."

Throughout it all, Tiri continued tying the ribbons together, and when she came to the end, the two ribbons were bound into one, never again to be separated.

"Garazeb, son of Orrelios," Tiri continued as she took a step back from them, "you come this night to be wed, to give all that you are to the one you love. Is there anything you would have your love know as you take your first steps forward together?"

Zeb hadn't really been paying much attention to the rest of the world before, but now his focus was entirely on Alex. Part of him wished he could reach up to cup the other man's face in his hands, run his thumbs over his cheeks and kiss him like he always did. But that would have to keep until they were alone. Now he simply gripped Alex's hands a little tighter, smiling at the human as he spoke.

"Alex...Kal...Ashvahn ni malmanahn...I was still lost when I met you. And I know...back then...that nobody could've seen you'd be my way out...me least of all. But...you'n me...we learned to trust each other when we had every reason in the galaxy to cut each other's throats. I started to see you...and in seein' you, I...I saw myself again. In forgivin' you, I was able to heal the deepest wounds my heart had ever known, and I plan to spend the rest of our lives thankin' you for that."

When he'd finished, he lifted their bound hands a little and lowered his face to them, pressing his forehead against their intertwined fingers in a kind of supplication. When he looked up at Alex again, his eyes were bright with unshed tears. He could see how badly his bondmate wanted to reach up and wipe the threatening tears away, but neither of them could pull out of the hold. Instead, Alex just smiled helplessly, the tears beginning to trickle as Tiri spoke to him.

"Alexsandr, son of Kallus, you come this night to be wed, to give all that you are to the one you love. Is there anything you would have your love know as you take your first steps forward together?"

Alex stood still a moment, steeling himself against the emotions clearly battling inside of him. Then he nodded, looking directly into Zeb's eyes as he spoke.

"Zeb...ni Garazeb'eka...Ashnahn na kayat...before you...I was nothing. I had long since given myself up to a lie I had forced myself to believe. I had thought I was so strong, but before you came into my life...I was a ghost," he half-whispered through the flow of tears, his choice of word plainly deliberate. "I walked and I ate and I fought for that lie...but I was just a ghost. I didn't realize just how much of myself I'd lost before you opened my eyes. You saved me...in more ways than you may ever know. You gave- so much of yourself to pull me from the darkness...and still you had it in you to love what was left of me. What you have given me, my love...these things are debts that can never be repaid. So I offer you what you gave to me...such as it is...in the hope that, one day, this soul you redeemed from oblivion might be enough."

Zeb didn't realize he was crying until the very end, when he suddenly felt the droplets of his own tears scattering onto his arms. It was a real struggle not to try to hold Alex then...to kiss him...

Every time. Every time I think I can't love you more...

Alex repeated his gesture from earlier, laying his forehead against their joined hands, but before he could pull back completely, Zeb moved in, pressing his forehead against Alex's, coming as close to embracing him as he could. Thankfully, Tiri continued before he could make more a fool of himself.

"Garazeb, son of Orrelios, do you take this man to be your mate and husband, to love and to honor until the end of your days?"

"I do," he vowed, voice tender as he looked into Alex's eyes.

"Alexsandr, son of Kallus, do you take this man to be your mate and husband, to love and to honor until the end of your days?"

"I do," Alex whispered in kind.

"Then let it be known that Garazeb, son of Lirakal and Zenarab, and Alexsandr, son of Amara, live as one. They are one flesh, one soul, one love, now and always, and death be unto any who would dare to sunder one from the other. In the sight of the Ashla, their blood flows mingled, forever bound throughout the strands of time. Now speak the words and all is done."

"By the Ashla," they began together, unsteady at first, but gradually gaining strength and certainty as they went, "by life, by light, by love, by honor, by freedom, by all things that I hold sacred, I am yours and you are mine, from this breath until my last. And with this kiss, I pledge my love."

Then they were finally kissing, their bound hands pressed firmly between their bodies as their lips joined together. And as they kissed, Zeb heard cheers and applause go up all around them. First from their friends and family gathered close at hand, and then spreading to the rest of the ship. He honestly would have been content to just go on kissing Alex like that.

Alex...his partner...his love...his husband...his mate.

Unfortunately, though, they did have to separate after a time, allowing Kanan and Kar forward to help them slip free of the ribbon that bound them together, making certain that nothing untied it.

Nearly as one, the other Spectres came and embraced them, hugging them both tightly and congratulating them. Then, gradually, Kar and Tiri herded everyone from the little room, leaving Zeb to seal the door after them all, so that he was finally alone with his mate.

"So what happens now?" Alex asked, raising an eyebrow at him, despite the lingering tracks of tears on his face.

"Well, everybody else is probably off for a celebration of their own. For us, it's...it's supposed to be our wedding night. But..."

"But it doesn't feel quite right," Alex finished when he couldn't, coming to him and taking his hands in his once more. "To make love when our family remains incomplete."

"Right," he said with a pained sigh, slowly drawing his mate into his arms, cradling him close.

"Then our wedding night will simply keep until Lia is home again. For tonight, I am just as happy to sleep by my husband's side," Alex said, drawing Zeb slowly over to the little bunk, the fall happening so naturally, it was difficult to say how it had been instigated.

"Honestly? It's probably gonna take me a few weeks just to catch up to the idea. That you'n me...that we're mated...that we don't have to hide anymore."

"I know what you mean," Alex said, lying down on his chest, cuddling as close to him as he possibly could. "If someone had told me just two years ago...where I would be tonight...I never would have believed it."

"Nobody would have," Zeb returned with a small laugh, nipping playfully at his husband's ear before nuzzling him. "But I'm happy you are here."

"I am, too," Alex said with a kiss. "I love you...so much...ni alitha."

"And I love you," Zeb said, returning kiss for kiss and caress for caress, remembering the first time he'd spoken the endearment to the human when they'd lain in this bunk together. The fear of loss and separation had loomed so large back then, but now it was gone.

They never had to be apart again.

There was only one thing missing.

Their baby girl. Their precious Arkalia.

XxX

(A/N) Heheh, there now. I finally wrote something that isn't soul-crushing agony. Enjoy that...cuz...we're just gonna be right back at it next time around. (sorrysorrysorry,Iloveyouall,pleasedon'tkillme!) Couple new faces this chapter, as well as the implication of some new faces. And of course, we got a bit more of Zeb's history. And, as you were promised, a wedding. Again, enjoy it, cuz next time, we'll be getting right back in to just how evil the Empire is.

And now, as always, translations! Until next we meet, dear readers, adieu.

La rokir rrazehan. An san ni Tinsana. L'ashkerrir an maka zei zash inkasha. La sylf belir se'an. Orra neshen ko arran in nalliri - I know your name. You are my bondmate. I love you more than life itself. I will wait for you. No matter how long it takes.

Orra. La sylf nallir kilan fel syv vogak nikasha - No. I will take care of this slime myself

Ul hargiri Tinsana ni sadahn. Ul fal korrimir - He insults my brother's bondmate. He must pay

Ul sylf - He will

Saman'ka - Dear sister

Ashthar'aki'ka - precious little light dove

Sadan'aki - little brother

Zeb'aki'a - doesn't quite translate, but she's basically calling him Zeb brat

Sadan'ka - Dear brother

L'ashkerrir an...ni zash...ni ko'oran - I love you...my life...my soul

L'ashkerrir an zai - I love you so

Armorra ashkerra - Eternal beloved

Ni astyr, sastyrial ashkerra - My strong, beautiful love

Eri...eri...La vuuser syv - Yes...yes...I want this

Ni ashkerra...ze safken ni sashahn - My love...my heart's true home

ni Garazeb'eka - My precious Garazeb