Savior Self
Bastila blows up and T3-M4 beeps annoyingly.
Taris part fifteen..
Rated PG13 – WARNING, LUFFS! This chapter contains a lesbian Janice Nall and a very horny Cortessa. But no: she doesn't screw Carth.
Disclaimer: You know what? I'm getting sick of disclaimers. Shock! Amazement!
Savior Self
Cortessa strode into the apartment and could immediately feel the icy tension between Bastila and Zaalbar. They stood with their backs to each other, arms folded, their faces screwed up with identical expressions of loathing. They looked up when everyone entered and cried out.
"Cortessa Blatt!" Zaalbar roared desperately. "She demeans my lifedebt to you!"
"I did not!" Bastila sputtered, flushing. "I merely said that she had a reason not to bring you along and that you didn't need to –"
"It's alright, Zaalbar," Cortessa said, pressing a hand on his huge, hairy paw and gazing up at him earnestly. "I'll talk to her, alright?"
Bastila spluttered, turning pink. "Excuse me?"
"Look, now's not the time for fighting," Cortessa said airily, reclining on the bed, folding her arms and suggestively feeling her thigh. Carth looked away, Bastila glared, Mission watched with fascination, and Zaalbar seemed to be unaffected. Cortessa didn't mean anything by it – other than to bug the hell out of Carth and Bastila and to remember what it felt like to be properly touched. Canderous had aroused something in her; she realized how long it had been since she had been intimate with anyone.
"Why? Do you have something you wish to tell us?" Bastila growled.
Cortessa sucked on her finger, spreading her legs and leaning back, reclining against the wall, her eyes searching the ceiling. Carth seemed to be struggling with himself; Mission's eyes widened; Bastila's glare turned sterner. "Okay, look," Cortessa said at last, pushing her hair back and resting the other hand on her inner thigh. "This guy named Canderous has offered to give us a ride on the fastest ship in the quadrant – the Ebon Hawk. But first we have to buy a droid to hack into the military base and get the launch codes to break the quarantine."
"Absolutely not!" Bastila cried. "We are not going to break the law to get off this planet!"
Cortessa smiled, laughing. "Well, it's the only plan I've got."
Carth, firmly avoiding her gaze, looked at Bastila. "I was there," he said. "She's right. I thought it over several times. There's no other alternative."
Bastila scowled. "I'll make an alternative," she sniffed.
Cortessa got to her feet and got Bastila in a very personal grip, with one finger against her jaw, holding her gaze in the right direction, while the rest were resting on her neck or gripping her lower back. Her leg had locked Bastila's thigh to her own in case the Jedi tried to pull away. She actually had no interest in seducing Bastila – she didn't lean that way. But it wouldn't hurt to twist things to her liking.
Bastila gasped with surprise, horror, and some sort of inner pleasure.
Cortessa reveled in her power. She smirked, hissing in her captive's ear. "I'm taking charge, beautiful," she murmured. Bastila was atremble in her hands.
Mission's gaze was boring into them both. Zaalbar was becoming concerned. Carth looked like he was going to burst. Slowly, Cortessa pulled away, sighing.
"Okay, then. Let's move."
Bastila slumped into a seat, fighting the deep blush in her cheeks. She still trembled obviously.
"One moment," Carth muttered, and vanished into the bathroom. Mission watched him silently, and a moment later she burst into a fit of giggles.
Cortessa sighed. "I'm glad I'm so amusing."
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As they headed for the northern part of Upper Taris, they came upon an Ithorian being harassed by two preteen children, who kicked him and threw things at him. The Ithorian screamed and cried for help, but no one looked back. The kids worked him into an alleyway and began thoroughly beating him, striking with prejudice.
The Ithorian squealed with pain, covering his head. He spotted Cortessa watching and reached out for her, though his hand was immediately hit by the little boy's shoe. "Please, human – I am injured and in need of assistance!" he gasped. "These human children keep hitting and kicking me. I cannot reason with them, but if I fight back I could be arrested."
The boy spat on him and kicked the Ithorian again. "Get out of here, you goggle-eyed freak! You're too ugly for the Upper City!"
The other girl chucked a can at him. "Yeah – go back where you came from! We don't want your kind up here!"
The laughed with each other.
The Ithorian cried out as they kicked him again in unison. He sank to his knees, and held out his hands pleadingly. His palms were stained red with blood. "Please – human! Help me! Maybe these offspring of your species will listen to you!"
Cortessa advanced. "Hey, you little punks! Leave that Ithorian alone!"
The girl stared up at her with disbelief. "Why do you care what happens to some scummy alien?" she asked. "He's just a freak!"
The boy grinned and violently lobbed something sharp at the Ithorian's head. The Ithorian moaned with pain.
Cortessa lost her patience. She drew her vibroblades and thrust them at the children. "Get out of here, you monsters, or I'll gut you and feed you to this 'scummy alien!'" she shrieked.
The children screamed, their eyes going wide, and they ran for their lives, stumbling over each other.
The Ithorian stumbled woozily to his feet. "Thank you, human," he mumbled. "I was returning from a visit with a work associate when those child humans attacked me and chased me through the streets."
Cortessa softened. She took the Ithorian's hands and studied them. "You're hurt," she said quietly. "Here – have a medpack. Let me help you."
The Ithorian grunted in thanks. "You are too kind, human," he said quietly. "I thank you for your generosity. Most of your kind here on Taris care little for aliens like myself. Once more, thank you for saving me from those human children. I must take leave of you now. My life mate will be wondering where I am."
Cortessa nodded and the Ithorian walked away. Carth smiled at her approvingly, and, though she indulged in this inwardly, she turned her back to him and continued on to Janice Nall's droid shop.
Janice Nall was a slim-faced Twi'lek woman with a slick look about her as she leaned against the wall, drilling two pieces together, her right leg resting on the counter. Two astromech droids bleeped when Cortessa strode in, and Janice looked up, her liquid-like green eyes slipping over them.
"Hey," she said in a smooth voice – and in clear Basic. She tossed her head, shaking her headtails free of their confining collar. She smiled at them, wiping her grease-stained hands on her pants, and reached over to shake hands. Cortessa shook, taking a liking to this woman.
Janice's nose was smudged with grease and oil. Her clothes were worn and dirtied. Her hands were wound tightly in bandages and she had the look of a tom-boy around her, even as her eyes were darkly and heavily made up. She set the piece she was working on aside and leaned on the desk, studying the group. "So. Janice Nall at your service. Welcome to my droid and droid supply shop. Always good to see a new face – customers are hard to come by. A lot of the Taris citizens won't even come in here they refuse to shop at a store owned by a Twi'lek." She rolled her eyes. "Stuck-up gizka-spawn, the lot of them, for all I care." Her headtails flicked with annoyance. "They don't like aliens much here in Upper Taris. They tolerate us Twi'leks, but they'd rather see us as dancers in the cantina than successful business owners." She pressed a flattered hand to her breast-less chest. "Like moi."
Carth shook his head, sighing. "You'd think people would be a little more tolerant of others this day and age. I guess stupidity and ignorance will never go out of style."
Cortessa glanced appraisingly at him. Mission, too, was eying him with respect. "That's the most noble thing I've heard you say, Carth," Cortessa said.
Uncomfortable with the praise, he looked away, falling silent.
Janice chuckled, and stripped off her muddy, thick boots. She slammed the boots on the table, and caked grime flecked the table. "Alright," she said. "My selection is limited right now – the Sith confiscated all my assault droids. But I've got a utility droid you might find interesting." She brushed herself off and waited for an answer, checking them both out approvingly.
Cortessa smiled, folding her arms over her chest protectively. "Canderous said you'd sell the T3-M4 droid to me."
Janice blinked, her eyes growing wide. "Canderous sent you!" she gasped. "Well why didn't you say so?" She quickly switched on a hurried, business-like manner, digging around for some papers. "Okay. The droid is ready. You can have him for 2,000 credits…"
Cortessa worked a little magic. "That price is outrageous," she said, batting her lashes seductively. Though it made her feel awkward, she seemed to be better at working lesbians than she was at working regular men. Mission was oblivious, but Carth sensed this and stared at her, wide-eyed, and she ignored him. What did it matter for him if she was straight or not? He wouldn't trust her enough to rough her up in either case. She continued with her bargaining. "Surely you can go… oh… half?"
Janice grinned, winking. "Half? If you're trying to rob me why not stick a blaster in my face?" She laughed. "On the other hand, I do want to stay on Davik's good side. Tell you what, he's yours for 1,500."
Cortessa considered it. She glanced at Carth. "How much we got, doll?"
Carth rummaged in their supply sack. "3,000, give or take," he mumbled at last.
Nodding, she turned back to Janice. "Alright. It's a deal."
Janice was delighted. "Okay, the T3-M4 unit is yours. Pleasure doing business with you." She looked Cortessa up and down, smirking. "A real pleasure."
Cortessa bowed and a silver droid rolled up to her, nudging against her legs and blatting. Mission stared for a moment before she squealed and tackled the droid, hugging it tightly. "Oh my gods!" she giggled. "He's so adorable!"
T3-M4 bleeped with confused alarm. His mechanical head turned to Cortessa for guidance.
She burst into a fit of laughter, clutching her sides and heaving. Her face flushed and it was hard to breathe. Finally Carth clapped a hand on her shoulder.
"That's really quite enough," he told her firmly. "We need to get moving."
Sobered for the moment, she nodded, still struggling to breathe. She wiped a tear away, shaking her head. The nodded and sighed before she burst out laughing again.
Janice snickered quietly behind her desk before she rushed off to do something else.
Carth growled with frustration. "We don't have time for this!" he shouted.
T3-M4 twittered resignedly, allowing Mission to squeeze him and hug him with all of her might. Cortessa nodded, and finally got a handle on herself. She knelt down beside Mission, staring right at the little droid.
"Listen, little guy," she said. "I need you here. I want you to hack into the military base. Think you can do that?"
T3-M4's sensor light brightened and he blurted an enthusiastic reply. Nodding, Cortessa stepped back and let him roll away, out the door. She glanced once at the rest of them, saluted, winked, twitched her hip in a teasingly dirty gesture, and skipped after the droid.
"Wow," Mission muttered.
Carth said nothing, though he had gone a faint shade of pink.
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Carth started after Cortessa, and had to struggle to keep up with her. She skipped and twirled through the air, bouncing like a ballet dancer on stims, giggling as she chased the whirring astromech droid. He actually had to break out into a fair half-run, bobbing as he went, his belt clinking quietly. Mission sprinted alongside him, her little legs barely keeping up with his. The shiny plate on her heavy combat suit shone bright in the sun. Her headtails shimmered with an excited sweat, and her eyes glowed. She was ready for action.
They caught up to Cortessa at last. She stood, leaning casually against the wall, her shoulders pressed again the smooth concrete of the military base, her abdomen tilted out, her legs crossed beneath her. She smiled with a coy, false innocence at passerby, tilting her head and pressing a slim finger to her forehead in greeting. T3-M4 inconspicuously tinkered with a consol nearby.
She was playing to avoid the eye of onlookers.
Catching on, Carth stood an acceptable distance away, staring out at the Tarisian landscape. Mission leaned against him, squaring her shoulders to look like some sort of bodyguard. He smirked. She couldn't pull it off. Just like her.
He looked over to Cortessa, who was murmuring to the droid, her eyes fixed on a passing man. Something had definitely crawled up her shorts. She was more sensual and slinky than ever, and it drove him wild. He didn't mean to – it didn't feel alright to think of her like that, especially while she was so young. But she must be very desperate, for she was now going after everyone, from the lesbian Janice Nall to the vulgar Canderous Ordo. Carth wondered apprehensively if he'd be next. He knew it must be torture, for her to have nothing to go on for gods-knew how long. Regardless, he only hoped her inner tension wouldn't get in the way of anything important, like getting off of this rock.
T3-M4 squealed, rolling backwards, and the door opened with a hiss. Cortessa looked up, locking gazes with Carth. She nodded once. He nodded back, grabbing Mission's forearm, and heading into the base.
As the elevator door shut behind them Cortessa sighed, shifting her shoulders into a more comfortable position.
"Well," she said with a broad smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "This is going to be fun."
Carth hoped she was right.
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"Duck!" Cortessa screamed, throwing herself to the ground. A charge burned and shrieked before it blew. Mission was thrown against the wall and she hissed at the pain, clenching her teeth and squeezing her eyes shut. T3-M4 let out a screech of alarm and his metal body was thrown down the hall and down a garbage dispenser. His frantic squeals echoed up to them before they faded away to nothing.
Carth looked up, gasping for breath, at the steaming, strewn Sith bodies. His side burned with pain. He groaned, shutting his eyes to compose himself. The stench of battle was overwhelming. Cortessa was moaning nearby, and they were moans of pain as much as moans of pleasure. Combat was her element. The exhilaration of it always seemed to put her in a 'mood' for a while. Carth had learned to keep his distance.
He got up and tapped her on the shoulder. "We need to keep moving," he said. "Day's wearing. It's past noon. We've spent a half hour in here. We need to get out fast."
She laughed, resting her head against the wall, tilting her torso forward. Her hair was damp with sweat and blood. The sight of her, relishing in the deaths she caused, was unnerving. Carth frowned.
"Come on," he said.
"Sure thing, doll," she said. "Give me a moment." She took a deep breath and staggered to her feet, giggling insanely.
"What the hell is the mater with you?" Carth cried. This wasn't normal.
Mission shifted uneasily beside him. Cortessa slapped the wall and kicked a corpse smoothly, sending it flying.
"I… erm…" Mission muttered.
Carth turned his eyes to her, feeling himself flush with anger. "You what?" he hissed, his voice dangerously quiet.
Mission bit her lip. "I may have… eh… given her some stim boosters in her… eh… caffa…"
Carth glared, gritting her teeth. His voice came out in an abrupt, harsh bark. "WHEN?"
"Look, it was accidental!" she cried. "I meant to give them to Bastila so that she'd loosen up! But Corty took it instead!"
Carth swore loudly, kicking the wall. Mission recoiled slightly.
"So that's what's been driving her nuts today?" he asked, turning his hard gaze back to Mission. The Twi'lek nodded solemnly.
"I'm sorry," she murmured. "If I'd have known I…"
Cortessa's giggling shrieks grew louder. A door had opened and a Dark Jedi had her by the throat, his weapon pressed between her breasts, where he could easily slice her open and pull out her heart if he wished. The woman hiccupped giddily, hanging like a dead goose in his hand. Her feet dangled limply above the ground, swaying slightly.
Carth started, drawing his blaster and taking a shot at the Jedi's head. The Jedi lurched sideways, dropping Cortessa. Carth swore liberally.
He had fired a useless slug. It was like poking a rancor with a salami and pretending it was a sword. Cortessa crumpled on the ground, squealing with her laughter, her face flushed. The combined sexual tension of the day and the battle pitch had driven her to her state of delirium.
Carth was starting to hate her little fevered pitches. Did every tiny shock to her system have to drive her overboard? After he thought about it, he realized that she had been clean for years now. Being reintroduced to the feelings of stims and things like that probably set her off. She'd heal in time. Reassured, he swapped blasters and began firing again, his heart fluttering in his throat as the Jedi neared… dangerously close… his eyes burning…
Suddenly the Jedi choked and crumpled. Cortessa stood behind him, her knees pressed together and her toes pointed in to make her look like a twisted schoolgirl. Her face was flushed and sweaty and cross-eyed with her temporary retardation, and a bloody vibroblade was pressed to her cheek. She giggled once hysterically, before the force of it knocked her backwards, and she passed out.
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Author's Notes: I deserve to be harassed for this chapter, I know. Cortessa's acting like a total whore. But it was because of Mission's stims. I know that a Sith Lord should be immune, and that she shouldn't go so nuts over it, but I decided on this for a reason: The Jedi Council tried to erase every trace of her past, right? They erased her immunities to everything, and most of her natural skills. If you really look, you see the broken remains of what Revan was, and once the Leviathan passes, the real thing will be put together.
Can't explain better than that. You'll have to deal, loves. And NO, Revan is not a lesbian. She's just a little desperate and insane.
SilverSentinal21 – I have to find all of them still, and yes this is Carth/Revan. No worries.
Dante-Revan – Like how do you suggest? The plot gets more twisted once they get into Davik's estate. You can trust me on that.
FaintlyAlarming – I agree wholeheartedly. Canderous is an interesting character, if given the chance.
Amme Moto – Yeah, I'm playing the game while I make this. It's tiring to get through the fluff and figure out how to insert the major stuff, but I get there. There are better things out there that do the same thing.
Vila Skye – That you are. XD
