jediruler: Thanks so much for reviewing, I really appreciate it! This chapter is a little bit longer and I hope you enjoy it and continue to read the story.

Warning: The first section of this chapter is mainly backgroung stuff from Sar by Star, but the last section contains some mature elements, so if that offends anyone just skip over that part.

Chapter 3

It had all happened in a blur. That night during dinner the plan was put into action, with Lando turning the strike team over to the Yuuzhan Vong and then the group being transferred over to the ship the Exquisite Death.

Soon after their capture, the jedi were taken to a room where the never ending process of breaking the group began. It was a long and terrible event, almost worse having to watch the others being tortured and feeling their pain than when it was your own turn to be questioned and beaten. The group had worked on forming a sort of emotional meld with each other before they left on the mission and Jacen was the center of it, keeping everyone in tune with the group and helping to alleviate the pain that members were going through by sharing their agony with others. He could also help to transport feelings of support and strength throughout the group.

Jacen was having an exceptionally hard time watching the breaking of the young Bith woman, Ulaha Kore. While all of the others in the group had so far undergone the torture only once each, she had been forced to endure it numerous times, each one bringing her closer to her breaking point. It was getting to the point where it was just painful and nearly impossible for the other members of the strike team to watch without getting sick because of what was being done to Ulaha.

When he heard Jaina cry out to Ulaha, saying that she should admit there was a jedi base, he knew the Vong had accomplished their goal: they had broken their first member of the strike team. All of the pain and suffering Ulaha had gone through was not in order to break her, but to break the others, and it had worked.

The Vong told Jaina she had to choose between him and Anakin to be the next one tortured and Jacen wished that she would choose him, truly believing that it was in the groups best interest to keep Anakin as healthy and focused as possible. When Jaina chose Anakin, Jacen was already starting to get upset, but when Ulaha later attacked their captors and attempted to possibly kill herself, he was furious because of the belief that Anakin had ordered her to do it.

When Jacen mentioned his disgust over Anakin ordering the girl to attack their captors later that day, he was shocked to learn that Anakin did not order Ulaha to attack and that she had disobeyed orders.

Later that night the group settled down in different sleeping chambers to meditate and recuperate from their attacks. The first chamber was occupied by Jacen, Tenel Ka, Alema, and Ulaha, the latter two both in healing trances.

Jacen and Tenel Ka had been sitting together on one of the pallets in the room with a blanket wrapped around them discussing what had happened earlier that day between Jacen and Anakin.

After a few moments of silence, Tenel Ka spoke up, "You need to speak to Anakin and let him know that you were mistaken and are sincerely sorry for doubting his character. That is the only way things will ever get better between you two."

"I know. I never meant to insult him, but it looked like he ordered Ulaha to attack, even if that is outside his character. Besides, I don't think things will ever be better between Anakin and me."

"They will, you just have to have faith," Tenel Ka claimed as she took his hand in hers, sending a chill up Jacen's spine.

Glancing down at her he replied, "You are right. I'll go talk to him in the mourning." As their eyes met, Tenel Ka began to stretch up towards Jacen, but right before their lips came together, he pulled away suddenly.

"I, I can't. I'm sorry Tenel Ka, but the last thing I need during this mission is a distraction, even a pleasant one."

"I understand," she replied, but her disappointment was evident in her eyes. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and settled down to go to sleep next to her friend.

The next room over was occupied by Raynar Thul, Eryl Besa, Tekli, and Tahiri. After a couple of hours of talking and rubbing bacta lotion into each others wounds, the group began to settle down. As Tekli started to fall asleep, Tahiri rolled off of the pallet and picked up a tube of the bacta lotion.

"I'm going to go see if Anakin needs any help with his injuries. I have a feeling he needs someone to talk to right now," she said to Eryl and Raynar, who were in the bunks above her. As Tahiri turned to walk out of the room, she saw the two exchange a quick kiss out of the corner of her eye. Smiling, she began to walk down to the fourth chamber where Anakin was resting. The members of the team thought that he should be given his own room because he needed time to meditate on what to do next. While Tahiri agreed with that reasoning, she also knew that sometimes Anakin was better off when he had someone else to help him work through his thoughts and ideas. Plus, she knew he was still really upset over Jacen's accuations and thought she might be able to help.

"Knock knock," announced Tahiri as she walked intoAnakin's room on the Exquisite Death. "How are you doing?"

"Hey Tahiri. Not to great; I still can't believe that Jacen thought I ordered Ulaha to hurt herself. I thought he was my brother. I guess the two of us really don't know anything about each other."

Tahiri walked over to Anakin and sat down beside him, "I really don't think he was trying to insult your character, he had just misunderstood the situation. How are you're injuries, I brought some more bacta lotion."

"Maybe it was just a misunderstanding, but I don't think he would have put something like that past me to begin with, hence how he was so quick to believe the worst." As Tahiri began to touch his back to judge his injuries he quickly jerked away, "It's a little bit tender right there."

"Sorry. Here, help me take your shirt off. Good, now turn your back towards me." As she began to rub the bacta into his wounds, she could feel his hot skin beneath her hands and his taut muscles beneath the skin flexing at her touch. "Does that feel ok?"

"That feels great, and my back is starting to feel better to." He teased before turning back around to look at Tahiri and taking her hands in his. "How are you holding up?"

"I've been better, but not to bad all things considered," she spoke, but all she could look at was Anakin's muscles across his chest and arms. All of a sudden she began to get very hot.

"Are you ok?" Anakin asked, bringing her eyes back up to his and away from his chest.

"Yeah," she replied softly, unable to quit staring.

When Anakin finally noticed her fascination, he brought his hand up behind her head and came down for what was meant to be a quick kiss on the lips, but soon became more.

Turning into his arms, Tahiri deepened the kiss and held on to him so tightly he thought she was planning on never letting go. "Please don't let go," he murmured into her mane of curly blonde hair.

"I won't," she answered quickly as she began to run her hands up and down the plains of his chest that she had just been so intently studying merely moments before.

Anakin started to trail kisses down her neck and back up behind her ears. He had never felt like this before. All he wanted was her and he knew she felt the same. Carefully, he brushed his hand up and across her stomach and chest, pausing to see how she responded. When she did not push his hand away he knew she was ok with it.

Tahiri brought her lips back up to capture his in one more quick kiss before she pulled away and brought her hands up to the buttons and zippers across the front of her flight suit. To Anakin's utter amazement, she began to take off the outer layer of her clothes. Left sitting there in only a small crop top and shorts, all Anakin could do was stare until she leaned in to him and kissed him again.

Feeling like he was about to burst, he began to kiss her passionately once more as Tahiri brought her hands to the waistline of his pants, playing with the belt loops temporarily. Before she could go any further, Anakin grabbed her hands.

"Are you sure about this? If you want to stop we need to do it now because I don't think I will be able to in a minute."

Tahiri paused momentarily to consider what he had said, but when she looked back up into his eyes she smiled. "This is what I want more than anything. It's right; we're right, I can feel it." As she said the words, she leaned up for one last gentle kiss before pulling away.

Anakin averted his eyes as Tahiri carefully began to remove her top, and then he turned away to fiddle with his own pants. Without really looking at each other, the two laid down together under the blanket on Anakin's pallot. When he reached out in the Force once more to make sure she was ready, Tahiri responded with a gentle mental caress. I want this, Anakin felt through the Force as he leaned down to kiss her.

And it was right.