AN: The survivors, Vola and Nicha & Flynn are my own creation, everything else belongs to Lucasfilm...

From Scratch
Chapter 18



Jacen turned the corner separating the main entryway to their camp. "Nicha?"

The blond haired beauty stepped from behind a corner, her blaster held in front of her. "Jacen." She purred. "I didn't expect you to come."

"Flynn said it was important."

"Oh, it is." She approached him and he regarded her warily as he recognized he was being stalked. "Very important."

He stepped away from the wall so that he had room to move, but didn't back away as she came closer. He wasn't going to run from her, he had to try reason first. Even if it was doomed to fail. "And what's this urgent matter?"

"Oh nothing much," she offered, stopping really close to his left arm, "I just want you to father my children."

He stepped back then, trying to put some distance between them. His danger sense flared and he paused, dropping into a crouch as he twisted out of her reach. A wicked looking needle was grasped in her hand, a syringe full of an opaque liquid. "Don't fight me Jacen, you know you want me."

"You're mistaken, Nicha. Put the syringe down."

"Scared, Jedi?" she taunted, "You should be, I've been saving this for a long, long time."

Jacen reached out with the Force and tore the needle out of her hand, but as he did, she lunged at him. She hit him in the mid section, knocking the breath from his body as they landed in a heap; Nicha sprawled out on top of him. He struggled to breath as she grasped his wrists and pulled a cord from her belt. He flung his arms wide and then his eyes widened in surprise as she changed her tactics. She slanted her mouth across his.

He turned his head aside, repulsed by her blatant advances. The feel of her body, of her mouth, made his blood run cold. He pushed her off, but she came right back, clawing like a she-cat, "You're mine!" she screamed. "I've marked you!"

Jacen made to push her off, but a long, tanned leg beat him to it. Nicha was sent flying, a shriek coming from her throat as she landed and rolled, her blaster in hand. The snap-hiss of a lightsaber igniting could be heard as she fired. A shimmering turquoise blade intercepted and deflected the bolt harmlessly away, Tenel Ka springing to land between him and Nicha. "Are you unhurt?"

Jacen pushed himself to his feet, rubbing the area just below his ribs, and nodded. "Yes."

She met his gaze for a moment and he saw shimmering fires of controlled rage before she turned back to Nicha. All the while continuing to deflect blaster bolts. She advanced on the survivor, her blade illuminating her face eerily in the dimly lit tunnels. "You have touched what is mine." She said succinctly. "Have dared to claim what is not yours to take."

"He's not yours either, Tenel Ka!" Nicha screamed back, hurling the blaster.

Tenel Ka calmly sliced through the weapon before shutting down her blade and hooking it to her belt. "You are mistaken."

"Am I? You may have shared his bed last night, but neither of you did anything! I know; I planted a listening device! He turned you down!"

Tenel Ka regarded the blonde calmly. "As is dictated by his code of honor. One you obviously lack."

"I challenge you, Tenel Ka, by our laws," Nicha told her grimly. "I challenge you to a duel for the man you would claim as your mate!"

"Now wait just a minute here," Jacen broke into the conversation, looking from one to the other. "I get a say in this; it's not a matriarchy. I have already made my choice."

"You turned her down," Nicha told him smugly, "That gives me all the right I need to take you away from her."

"You will not have him." Tenel Ka offered her Rancor-tooth lightsaber to Jacen. "Hold this."

"You can't seriously think-"

"Jacen." She met his gaze seriously.

He cut off his words. Tenel Ka was looking for a reason to take Nicha down a notch or two and with that reckless challenge she'd been given an opening. He knew she more than outmatched the survivor and that the match wouldn't be fair, but he could sense Nicha wasn't about to back down. He smiled slightly. "Just don't kill her." He whispered softly.

She nodded once, turning to Nicha. "Take him, if you can."

Without bothering to reply, Nicha screamed and lunged at the Dathomirian woman, aiming to plan a fist in her face. Tenel Ka side-stepped the blow, catching the woman's forearm under her left and placing a surgical kick to her lower body. Nicha screamed, throwing her other fist around and connecting squarely with Tenel Ka's chest. But the lizard hide armor stopped it, absorbing the physical impact with ease.

The Queen of the Hapes cluster fell back, dragging the other woman with her, and rolled, planting her feet in Nicha's abdomen. Nicha clawed at her face with her free hand, grabbing two of her braids and pulling hard. Tenel Ka made no sound as she finished the roll, throwing the survivor into the wall above. She made to get out of the way, but Nicha had a firm grip on her hair. Tenel Ka grimaced as Nicha fell back to the ground near her and scrambled to her feet. Tugging back viciously, Tenel Ka managed to get her hair free before she dropped into a crouch and swept the survivor's legs.

Nicha jumped at the spinning warrior only to receive a kick to the face as Tenel Ka changed the movement of her leg halfway through the maneuver. The sound of crunching cartilage and breaking bone could be heard in the stillness. Nicha fell back, blood streaming from her broken nose. The flesh was flattened completely, a bloody mass.

Tenel Ka rose to her feet, looking down at the other woman before kneeling next to her head. Carefully, she checked for responses before standing and turning to face Jacen. "She is unconscious."

"Did you have to hit her so hard?"

Tenel Ka offered him a shrug in return. "I finished the challenge she initiated. To do less would be disrespectful." She clipped her lightsaber back to her belt and Jacen placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her as she turned to go back to the campfire. "Is something the matter?"

He lifted the stump of her left arm and gently ran his hand across a cut that ran along the deadened nerves. "You're wounded."

"It is a scratch."

"That's where most things start, Tenel Ka, from a scratch."

She tried to pull her arm away, but he held it fast. Her eyes widened as he ducked his head, gently placing a kiss over the wound. Her breath caught in her throat. Nobody had ever dared to do that before. Nobody ever dared to touch her left arm as he did. She felt compelled to say something, anything, but a lump in her throat made it impossible. Instead she threw her right arm around his neck and hugged him tightly. The sting of tears had her blinking rapidly to make them go away. Why such a simple gesture moved her so much, she didn't know.

Jacen hugged her back, briefly, before pulling away and kneeling next to the unconscious woman. "Come on, we should get back to camp and let Flynn tend her."

Tenel Ka nodded, leading the way back towards the large room where they'd made their main camp. Flynn's reaction would be amusing. Yet it was the actions of one Jacen Solo that still echoed through her mind. She saw his dark head bend, again and again, to kiss the flesh his lightsaber had cauterized so many years ago. The nerves were dead and she couldn't feel anything on the end, but his action had touched her, reassured her. It made her want to smile.




"What happened to her?" Flynn stood, alarmed, as Jacen carried the unconscious Nicha back into the main area.

Jacen nodded to Tenel Ka. "Nicha decided she wanted me for herself and challenged Tenel Ka."

"It is so."

Flynn frowned. "But, why? What reason did she cite?"

Jacen placed the unconscious woman next to the fire and stood, looking straight at Flynn. "She claimed to have planted a listening device in our room last night. Apparently she heard me... she heard us talking, and I..." he glanced at Tenel Ka, uncertain how to phrase this properly.

She placed her hand on his shoulder. "Jacen followed his own code of ethics and refused me last night. It is not his way to... experiment before marriage."

Flynn's eyebrows hit his hairline. "You turned her -down-, man?! Are you insane?"

Jacen chuckled. "No Flynn, I'm in full command of my faculties." For the moment, he added silently. "I have no qualms about sharing a bed with a woman, platonically, but I believe I show more respect for her by waiting until we're married."

"I suppose that's your choice, man." Flynn shook his head, "Vola, can you take the... Vola?"

Jacen looked around, spying her headed towards where Nicha had been standing guard. "She's gone to take watch."

Flynn smiled a half smile as he knelt next to Nicha and carefully bathed her face with water from his canteen. "Good woman. Vola's not like Nicha, she's dependable. So what're the mating rites like where you come from?"

"Mating rites?" Tenel Ka echoed, looking at Jacen quizzically.

Jacen chuckled. "I'm from all over, Flynn, and trust me, ninety percent of them are all different. We each have our own codes to follow."

"Ah." Tenel Ka murmured softly, "Ah ha."

Flynn chuckled. "We've got some pretty strict rules down here regarding marriages. There are quite a few that are always on the look out for new blood, but marriages have to produce proof of an heir within the first six months otherwise another man, or woman, can challenge for one of the couple."

Jacen knelt to help Flynn as Tenel Ka went to the packs to retrieve a length of cloth, some rope and a spare canteen.

"I see. So I take it more people celebrate their wedding night in advance, just to be sure an heir will be produced?"

Flynn nodded. "Long engagements aren't unheard of down here, but the laws we have in place don't allow for more than two years. It's assumed that once you declare an engagement, you're going to be sharing that person's bed in the hopes of providing an heir. We have to keep our population up, you know."

Jacen nodded thoughtfully. "I see. So what happens when a challenge fails?"

Flynn accepted a length of cloth Tenel Ka brought back with her and tore it into strips. Carefully, he began to wipe the blood away from Nicha's face. "Well, normally there's a trial held and the couple who's been challenged gets to speak up. They offer what they deem as a worthy punishment and the council of elders decides the final outcome."

"Council of elders?"

Flynn nodded. "They're our government. There are seven of them. Three humans, two Yuuzhan vong and two aliens. One's a Wookiee, the other, I think, is a Rodian. I don't remember, challenges rarely fail."

Jacen chuckled. "I don't think Nicha knew that Tenel Ka doesn't lose."

She inclined her head at his compliment. "Only when it is important."

Flynn shook his head. "I don't know what you hit her with, but that some nice damage to her face."

"My foot."

"What?" Flynn looked shocked.

Tenel Ka nodded once. "I kicked her."

Flynn looked at her for a long moment before he began to laugh. "I'll be damned! That was some powerful kick! I'll be sure to warn the other women not to challenge you. Of course once they see Nicha's face, they'll probably avoid you like the plague."

Jacen chuckled, pulling two small vials from his belt pouch and handing one to Flynn, "Here, it's bacta salve. It should help her."

Flynn nodded his thanks before bending and becoming completely absorbed in his task. Jacen tore a small strip off the fabric Tenel Ka had brought and turned to her. She'd moved back to the packs, rummaging around for something. He pushed himself to his feet and headed for her.

She felt his approach as she searched for a small bandage. "Looking for this?" he asked, holding up the second bottle.

She turned to face him, nodding. "It is."

"May I?"

She blushed softly, holding her left arm out to him. Jacen gently washed the end of her left arm with some water from his canteen before dabbing some of the bacta on the cloth. He could feel her watching him, his every move. Spontaneously, he ran his thumb gently over the firm flesh, marveling at the texture. Leaning forward he felt her tense and looked up to meet her gaze. Her eyes were wide, round with shock. "What is it?"

She licked her lips. "People do not touch my left arm. They think it is..."

"Repulsive?"

She nodded, sucking in a sharp breath when he ran his thumb over the firm flesh again. She couldn't feel it, but she could see the respect in his face, the admiration. And that was something she'd never seen when people looked at her severed arm. He gently applied the bacta to the wound, painstakingly covering each part before applying the fast sealing coat. She felt tears sting her eyes again as he placed a gentle kiss over the bacta. His hair had fallen into his eyes, lending him a boyish appearance as he looked up at her with a smile. "All better."

"Why do you do that?"

"Do what?" he still hadn't released her arm, his fingers gently tracing the sensitive flesh just above the metal band she worse near the end of it.

"That." She nodded to his hand. "You touch something that others shy away from. You kiss..."

He blinked. "You don't want me to do that?"

"I did not..." she swallowed hard. "I mean, I am not used to it. I sometimes forget I do not have a left hand, but others cannot. They look at me and see that I am without one of my arms. But you do not. You look at me and it is as if I have two complete arms."

He lifted his hand, placing the rag and vial to the side, before gently cupping her face. He ran his thumb over her cheek, looking deeply into her eyes. "I don't see you as a cripple, and nobody else should either. You're strong. Stronger than alot of other people would be in your place. You do things some people with two hands have trouble doing, and you do them without the Force. You're incredibly talented and gifted. Never let your injury make you feel like less of a person, Tenel Ka. Never."

She turned her head, planting a kiss in the center of his palm. "Thank you."

He smiled, pulling his hand away. The feel of her lips had sent a tingly sensation crawling up his arm, a warm sensation that promised more. "Your welcome. Did you hear what Flynn said?"

She nodded.

He sighed. "I guess that means we'll be down here for a few more days."

She met his gaze, awareness flashing between them. Days meant nights. Night spent lying together, curled on a pallet under one blanket. Nights of resisting, of fighting the attraction and connection that was growing with each passing day. She swallowed hard, seeing him do the same. "Is that wise?"

His smile was faint. "Probably not." He hesitated before speaking slowly, as if unsure of her response. "You know, this tribunal of elders might be inclined to marry us."

She froze. Already? Was she ready for that? She didn't need to look at him to know she was; she'd been ready since they'd landed on the planet, just been denying it. "Without our friends and family?" she asked him, searching his gaze. "They would never forgive us."

Jacen sat back on his heels, staring at her. His face took on a pained expression as he released her. "Tenel Ka, my control is fraying. We've been placed in extreme circumstances where I think my Uncle would have problems controlling himself, and barely come out of them." He licked his lips, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. "I don't know how much longer my control is going to last."

"Did you not sleep?"

"Oh, I slept. It's not a physical control; it's mental. Even in sleep a part of my brain is saying not to do certain things, to be careful. I... didn't do anything this morning when I dropped off completely did I?"

She cocked her head at him. "I do not understand."

He blushed and she raised an eyebrow. He ducked his head a little before sighing. "I tried to doze for most of the night," he admitted, "just to be sure I didn't touch you the wrong way while I slept. Early this morning I fell into a pretty deep sleep and woke up to the sound of a warrior slipping into her armor."

She nodded. "I see. No, you did not make an inappropriate move while you were sleeping. The fault was mine."

He blinked. "Uh, not to sound strange, but what happened?"

She shrugged. "Nothing." She rose to her feet and turned, walking back towards Flynn.

Jacen stared after her, a sense of foreboding settling about him. She hadn't answer either of his questions. Not about having the 'council' marry them, or if she's think of it as binding and she hadn't explained her strange remark. Had he done something? Was she willing to marry him here, away from everything they knew, or would she insist they wait until they returned to Hapes? He hoped not. If she insisted he wait, he was going to have to start taking long walks in the morning before she rose, and after she went to sleep. The tension between them was fraying his nerves, making it difficult for him to concentrate and that was dangerous. Dangerous to her, to their companions and to their future. Something had to give, and give soon. Otherwise he was sure to snap. And he didn't want to think about that.