:: Chapter Eleven ::

"Oww, fuck!" Eliza cried out and gritted her teeth, "Oh damn!"

Ravage panted, taking a moment to catch his breath, "Did I hurt you?"

"No. Well…" She looked at her arm, showing the searing red mark he'd left there and groaned. "It's, yeah a little but, it's soothing over already."

He sheathed his blade and retrieved a tube of kolto-cream. "Here, this should help. I told you we should have used training swords instead."

"I know, I know. As always, you were right," she sassed.

It had been four weeks since the news of Lord Scourge's death broke and now they were en route to Odessen, at last. They stood in the hull of the Vanora, a section Eliza had transformed into a training area and with Ravage's help, she'd spent each day practicing. Honing her skills and preparing for the battles ahead.

"I usually am, yes." He smirked and handed her a bottle of water. "That was good work but you still favor your left side too often, it makes you predictable."

"Says the man wasting all his efforts just attacking and leaving himself completely vulnerable to counter-strikes." Eliza teased.

She took a small bandage and covered up the burn on her arm, then picked up her blades. "Again."

"Are you sure?" He stepped closer, twirling a lock of hair that lay over her shoulder around his finger and it quickly became clear he had something else entirely in mind. "There are other things we could do if you find yourself with an excess of energy…"

"Is that so?"

"Mm." His hand traveled further down, skimming the side of her breast.

Eliza stared up into his eyes, her lips parted and he waited eagerly to hear that sigh of delight of hers that he enjoyed so much. He leaned in, expecting her mouth to be seeking his but instead she suddenly grabbed his wrist. She turned her body into his and in one fluid motion flipped him over her shoulder, throwing him down to the floor.

"And what might that be?" She grinned at the startled look on his face when she joined him on the floor and straddled him, prepared to give him exactly what he'd hoped for but just not how he'd imagined it to happen, though he offered no protest.

She tore the upper part of his robes open and let her nails drag across his chest, feeling the small hairs tickle against her fingers. "I mean, you know the rules… right?"

They'd rekindled their affair several days ago but with the understanding it wasn't a relationship. She didn't want one and she wasn't in love with him—she wasn't ready to truly love anyone right now and Ravage had come to accept it, promising not to push for more than she could give.

What she needed from him these days was good old satisfaction for her hunger. Sweet relief for those cravings that didn't abide by the laws of her heart and emotions. An outlet for her pain and for the constant tension within her body that she couldn't shake any other way.

He leered up at her, watching her in awe while she unbuttoned her top. "I do, and nothing's changed for me."

The short-sleeved corset she'd worn fell away, exposing her bare chest and Eliza leaned down, playfully nipping at his bottom lip. "Mm good…" She sighed out, rolling her hips down over his pelvis, working him up further.

He found her ankles on either side of his body and let his hands slip under the hem of her long skirt. Caressing and kneading her legs, reaching higher until he dipped between her thighs. His fingers teased, searching for the lining of her underwear and he quirked a brow in amusement when he found none.

"Someone came prepared… I'm starting to think training wasn't the only thing on your mind when you got dressed this morning."

She smiled in innocence against his lips, biting and deepening the kiss while her hands reached between their bodies, desperate to get his robes out of the way so she could feel him. "Like you haven't been thinking the same from the second you got up."

"I…" he tried to say but his next words were drowned out by the deep groan rumbling up his throat, encouraged by feeling her sink down over his hard-on and she welcomed him with a pleasant moan. "Fuck…"

His utterings caused her to grin and Eliza delighted being the one in control, having him at her mercy. She took one of his hands and guided it between her thighs, to the one spot aching for his touch and he obeyed immediately, eager to bring her to the same heights he already experienced now.

Ravage used his other hand to take a firm hold of her hips, his fingers digging in so strongly they were sure to leave some bruises later on but she didn't care. All he did was encourage her as she rode him, driving him to his climax, working her body to find her own release.

"Ravage…" Her hunger peaked and sensing what she needed, he sat up, snaking his arm around her lower back and he held her close.

Eliza rest her forehead to his, her arms embracing him and soft panting escaped her lips. The pleasure she experienced rose fast. She closed her eyes, giving herself over to every sensation and grinding in demand on top of him until he gave her what she craved so desperately. His release came in a series of growls, pushing her over the edge not long after and she sunk her teeth into his shoulder to silence her own cries of satisfaction.

"Mmm…" she muttered when she found her voice again, when she could see straight again and her lips soothed over the bite mark she'd left on him.

Ravage just stared at her, a lazy grin on his face and completely spent. He tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear and brought her lips in closer to kiss. He knew any minute now, she'd get up and carry on with her day as though none of it happened so while she still sat in his lap, he'd treasure each passing second.

This time though, it wasn't Eliza who cut their after play short.

"Approaching Odessen in approximately thirty minutes, my Lords." Malavai's voice called out over the ship's intercom.


The vast green forests and the impressive cliffsides on Odessen spread out before the Vanora as it made its descent from orbit and Eliza let out a low whistle—Lana had not exaggerated about the planet's beauty. Down below at the heart of the planet, a large structure had been erected to serve as their base of operations and more workers than she'd expected to see busied themselves to finish construction.

"Impressive," Eliza complimented when they met with their welcoming party and she hugged Lana. "It's good to see you again in person.

"Now, where's my prisoner?" she asked next, referring to Regina.

Theron and Lord Cytharat gave each other a nervous look and the former spoke up, "She uhm, escaped, and died."

"What?!"

Lana sighed and apologized, "I'm sorry, Eliza. This morning when Vette delivered breakfast to her cell, she was unresponsive and we worried something had happened. I had her transferred to the medbay. Nyssa only turned her back on Regina for one second but…"

"Regina somehow got her hands on a sedative and injected Nyssa, then bolted," Theron continued to explain, "She was gone by the time we raised the alarm.

"Since no ships went missing, we sent people out to scout the forest down below and just an hour ago, she was found. Dead, at the bottom of a ravine."

"Fuck!" Eliza ran a hand through her hair and paced in frustration. "Why did she run?"

"We told her you'd be arriving today, my guess is she got scared," Lord Cytharat said.

"Did any of you question her further while she was in lockup?"

"No, we were waiting for you."

Malavai observed the conversation and frowned. He couldn't decide for himself if Regina had been fearful of the interrogation and possible torment, or if the woman had fled because she had something to hide.

It took Eliza some effort not to lose her cool and she blew out a deep, staggered exhale. "Okay… alright, so she's dead. Is there anything she left behind, perhaps a journal or datapad that would provide insight into her story and background?"

Lana shook her head. "There's nothing. She came to me with only the clothes on her back."

"Great. Got any more bad news for me?" Eliza snipped unintentionally and then looked at Theron, her expression softening. "Is Nyssa alright?"

"Yeah. Feeling guilty and still a little drowsy from the sedative but otherwise, she's okay."

"Good, I'm glad."

"We're just," Malavai started and put a hand on her shoulder, indicating at their cargo, "going to unload everything and bring it inside." He smiled and walked off with Me'ghan. Ravage, who'd kept his distance, not quite keen on a big reunion, followed.

"Eliza? There's someone I'd like you to meet," Lana began and beckoned a human male with cocoa-brown dreadlocked hair, hazel eyes, and dark skin, over, "This is Koth—Koth, meet Eliza, the woman who inspired all of this."

Koth's hand slid into Lana's when he joined them. "A pleasure to meet you at last Commander, Lana's told me much about you."

"Koth, the deserter, right?"

"Yes Commander, Koth Vortena. I used to serve as an officer in Zakuul's military forces."

"Until?"

"Until we received orders I could not, with a clear conscience, carry out so me and my crew walked away."

"Hrm." Eliza considered his explanation and put on a smile. "Well, since you've earned Lana's trust, which is no easy feat, I'd say welcome to the team though please, stop calling me Commander. I'm really not."

"Oh, but you are," Lana corrected with half a mischievous look in her eyes, "At least, that's what I've told everyone here."

"Then you can un-tell them." Eliza frowned. "I don't want to be Commander, you be the Commander."

"Stars no. I'd rather just do my job quietly but you're an inspiring force, and now the face of our operations."

"I'm just one of many people in all this Lana."

"But you were the first one to stand up against the Eternal Empire. You returned to Dromund Kaas to gather forces and beat them back and though things turned out different, took a lot more time than you'd hoped, you're still at the heart of this. You're special Eliza, you always have been and many of us know it."

Eliza chewed on the inside of her lip—she sure as hell didn't feel special. In her eyes, all the things she'd ever done amounted to one big list of failures and losses. Still, she knew there was little point trying to argue any of it and she lacked the energy to do so.

"Pah, fine."

"Come." Lana, with Koth at her side, began leading Eliza towards the entrance of their massive base. "Let me show you around.

"We're not finished yet, as you can see, but we've accomplished much so far. The cantina, kitchens and dining hall completed yesterday and we currently have enough rooms to house about fifty people."

"Fifty?!" Eliza gasped. "You think we'll ever need to house fifty?"

"No, I expect we'll be housing more than fifty which is why the living quarters are still under construction." Lana indicated at a section still missing its walls.

"More than fifty? Why? Who?"

"We've already got over thirty people here Eliza. All of us, Timmns, Darius, Praven and a whole group of Jedi padawan and Sith acolytes. There are Jenna and her crew, a Voss mystic who joined us, several refugees we've taken in. Everyone working to build this up from the ground and they all need a place to stay."

Eliza sighed out with admiration. "Stars…"

She'd never considered the magnitude of their operations. While still on Rishi, despite frequent briefings, their group had felt so small and at times she'd wondered if they'd ever make an impact at all. Now though, standing within the Odessen base and considering their actual numbers, Eliza realized the true scale of support behind her and that the real work was only just beginning.

Once the tour concluded, Eliza found her way to Nyssa and Theron's room next to her own and snuck inside. Nyssa sat up in bed, a book in hand and she smiled seeing her friend.

"Hey you."

"Hi," Eliza said and pulled up a chair at her bedside, "how are you feeling?"

"A bit woozy. I'm so sorry, really."

"Shh, no, it's alright." She pushed her upset over the incident down in favor of Nyssa. "She outsmarted everyone, and I guess fled fearing I would torture the hell out of her. Can't exactly blame her after the holo incident.

"Anyways, how have things been around here?"

"Pretty good, I've been busy setting up the medbay and getting everything in order to resume my role as a nurse…" Nyssa started but a frown came over her, "Theron however… I'm not sure what's going on with him these days. He seems distant and distracted…"

"Did something happen?"

"No. Well, a couple of weeks ago I foolishly asked him whether he wanted to have kids and I… I'd expected a bit of panic from him, you know? But perhaps it was too soon to ask or it's something he doesn't want and he doesn't know how to tell me." Nyssa looked down and sighed.

"I don't know what to do. I'm worried if I bring it up again, even if only to figure out what's bothering him, it'll seem pushy and that's the last thing I'd want.

"What do you think?"

"I…" Eliza blew out a deep breath, unsure of what to think and something about the subject bothered her. "I think Theron is a complicated guy who sometimes still struggles to open up. Maybe he's just trying to figure what he wants for himself first?"

"Could be yeah… I just wish he'd talk to me, let me answer any concerns he may have about it."

Eliza nodded. "Give him some time, I'm sure he'll open up once he's ready to."

"Well, I was actually wondering if…" Nyssa took her hand and gave her a hopeful look. "You might talk to him? You're his best friend and you're a parent yourself. You'd actually know what you're talking about and maybe he'll feel more comfortable discussing it with you first?"

'Crap.' The last thing she needed now was to involve herself in their relationship. She'd been grateful for the distance between them the past weeks even if she'd also missed Theron, and Nyssa, terribly. On the other hand, though, she'd come to really care about Nyssa who'd been very loving and supportive of her ever since they met.

"Sure, yeah, I'll try to casually bring it up… tell him about something Cyara related and see where he's at." She smiled.

"Thank you. Now, please help me pick out an outfit for this cantina party, I'm sick of being in bed."

"Cantina party?"

"Yes, to celebrate your arrival."

"Oh, I don't—"

"No," Nyssa warned and she laughed, "no work excuses or telling me there are more important things to be done. Theron does enough of that. Tomorrow we'll get to business but tonight, just unwind Eliza. Besides, we have a surprise for you." She twinkled.

Making nice all night long, or pretending to feel festive, was about the last thing on Eliza's mind but that changed quickly an hour later when her surprise was revealed.

"Ahh, there's our beauty, still as ravishing as I remember."

"Vowrawn!" Eliza exclaimed and rushed into his arms, "what are you doing here?!"

He pecked her lips lightly and bared his teeth in a grin. "I've just returned from Zakuul, awful place, I can still hear that dreadful sister of Arcann screeching in my poor ears.

"Anyway, I abandoned my escort back to Dromund Kaas and decided to stop by here," he explained and took her to dance, "to check up on the most stunning woman this galaxy's ever seen, to see Darius and to ask for a favor."

"A favor, from me?"

"Do you remember the promise you once made Darius?"

"To take him on as my apprentice? I do."

"I need you to keep that promise, now that you're both here on Odessen. He needs someone to teach and guide him and I'm afraid he is far too stubborn to accept the teachings others have tried to impart to him."

"Mmm yes, Praven did say he's been more than a handful." Eliza chuckled. "I'll happily take him under my wing."

"I'm entrusting him to your care," Vowrawn said, more seriously now, "I'm sure you know he never got to finish his studies at the Academy and I've not been able to prepare him for, well, this—war. He's too impulsive, too passionate and emotional. He doesn't think, he just acts and it's going to get him killed. Especially out here."

"Sounds like someone else we know." She cast a glance at Ravage who sat in a far away corner by himself. "Don't worry. I'll look after him and keep him safe."

"I knew I could count on you." He kissed the back of her hand and spun her around, swaying to the music. They danced for two more songs before Eliza excused herself and left to get a drink at the bar.

"Hey boss lady." A short and fuller figured brunette with purple streaks in her hair, hopped onto the barstool next to her. "I don't think we've been properly introduced yet. I'm Jenna."

"The smuggler who saved our guys on Voss, nice job. I'm Eliza, never boss lady, please."

"Fair enough, Eliza. You up for some shots and a game of sabacc?" Jenna thumbed at the table behind them where Risha, Vette, and Me'ghan already sat dealing cards.

"Actually… yeah, why not?" Eliza took two bottles from behind the bar while Jenna carried a tray of shot glasses.

As the saying goes, time flies when you're having fun and before long it was the middle of the night and most people had cleared out of the cantina, save for the group still giggling and drinking. They'd given up on playing sabacc after Vette decided to throw out the rules of the game and instead only collect those cards she deemed 'cutest'.

Malavai had stopped at their table halfway through to gather a drunken Me'ghan in his arms and Risha bowed out when she could no longer see straight. By now, Vette lay slouched across the table while Eliza and Jenna found themselves drinking still and exchanging war stories.

"So there I am in nothing but a thong and this guy's shirt, running barefoot through the streets of Coruscant chasing this asshole who, hell. Probably thought I'd have no stamina left and he could jack my shit, take off with my ship while I slept? He wasn't all that impressive really, our fight at the spaceport once I caught up with him was more satisfying than the fuck you know?" Jenna elaborated quite vividly with a smirk on her face.

Eliza snorted and quickly downed the last of her drink. "Oh, I can't believe that really happened."

"It's true," Nyssa said when she and Theron sat down, "I was the nurse who got to treat the poor guy. Now did I understand right that you went on a second date with him afterward?"

"Only to slice his datapad and steal all of his contacts for myself. Men are idiots anyway, show 'em a hint of cleavage and they become oblivious to anything else."

"Wait, you two know each other?" Eliza asked.

"Yeah, we lived next door as kids. Went to school together and while Nyssa went on to become a responsible adult, I took off with a handsome smuggler when I was seventeen," Jenna explained and poured out a new round for everyone.

"Of course it didn't work out, the guy was a complete douche and set a precedent for every bastard I dated after him but yanno, I did dig the life so I got my own ship and off I went."

"Are you seeing anyone now?" Nyssa dug for some gossip and nestled herself into Theron's arms.

"Nah. That one Sith kid, Darius, keeps hitting on me but I don't dip in the cradle. That one over there though…" Jenna pointed towards Ravage with half a grin. "He seems about right for a good night of trouble. Is he single?"

"Pretty sure Eliza's dating him, right? Or did you switch back to Vowrawn? You both looked pretty intimate earlier," Theron confronted with a surprising amount of bitterness and took another swig of his beer.

Deep down he knew he had no right to it but the alcohol he'd consumed fueled his jealousy, so much it overshadowed his better judgment. Ravage was enough of a thorn in his sight already, he hadn't wanted to see her with Vowrawn as well. Especially not now he knew of her past affair with him—the one she'd engaged in while she'd been single, while he himself had sat pining over her on Coruscant all those years ago.

"Theron!" Nyssa gasped, "I'm pretty sure that's none of our business!"

"What is it with you and Sith anyways huh," he carried on, ignoring his wife, "I mean, Vowrawn, Ravage… any other Dark Council members we should know about? What about Cytharat, you've been pretty close to him lately and let's not forget Sc—"

Eliza lunged over the table and smacked him across the face. "Don't you dare utter his name right now!" she spat furiously.

Everyone suddenly looked their way and Eliza felt the heat rise to her cheeks. Anger and shame broiled inside of her but they were nothing compared to the pain that stung in her heart now. To the hurt caused by the one man she couldn't stop loving no matter how hard she tried, no matter how much she wished to shun herself from loving anyone at all.

She wanted nothing more than to scream her confessions in his face but given their company, she knew she couldn't. Instead, she finished off her drink and slammed the glass down on the table before walking out.

Uncomfortable silence surrounded those left behind in the cantina and Nyssa stared at her husband, shocked. For the first time, she considered his detached behavior of late had little to do with her or her wish for children, and everything with the woman who'd just stormed off.

"That was cruel dude…" Jenna said at last, "bringing up her late husband like that?" She shook her head and got up, wishing Nyssa a good night and then she left.

"Theron…" Nyssa started, wanting to know what was really going on with him but before she could say anything else, he too had gotten up and walked out of the cantina.