Chapter 15
Naboo
Marko Quee sat in the main hold of the Millennium Falcon, the ship that had belonged to Meri Durron's grandfather and which she inherited after his death, and thought about his mother. He had gone to Zonama Sekot to bring the one time scientist and Jedi hopeful back to Ossus. Although, she never fully became a Knight, she was incredibly strong in the Force and eventually was chosen by the living planet to be its Magister, essentially the mediator for the planet's consciousness. The resettling of the Yuuzhan Vong on the planet had always been seen as a Jedi mission, and since the Grand Master would help shape policy concerning the planet, it was important for Danni to make the trip to Ossus for the Conclave and the announcement of the new Grand Master. This trip marked only the fifth time she had been away from it in nearly the thirty years she had been its Voice.
Marko had always marveled at his mother, he thought her smart, beautiful and extremely talented, but he also felt that she somehow had never been truly happy with her lot in life. Danni Quee had married his father after Jaina Solo broke off their longtime relationship to go to Kyp. What Marko remembered of the early days of his childhood on Zonama Sekot were happy ones. His father, of course, would come and go as he was sent on missions for the Jedi, but he always came home and he always seemed happy to be back.
Then about thirteen years ago something changed it happened not long after his father returned from a mission with a young Knight who had been his Apprentice. He never really knew what, but he knew his parents no longer were happy when he would encounter them. He had gone to Ossus to the Academy and found himself eventually living with his father. He remembered asking his dad about why he didn't go home to his mother as much and Zekk avoided giving him a straight answer, only saying that it was easier to live on Ossus with Marko. The eight year old boy, simply let it drop, but feeling and seeing, as he grew older, the tension between his parents would scar him for life.
The trip back from the planet of his birth to his current home was a long and difficult journey, not because of obstacles in his ship's path, but because of the secrets he learned about his parents. For, Marko finally learned the truth.
As he sat along at the game table that had once served as the surface on which a peace treaty had been signed and the Solo family took their meals, Marko remembered his conversation with his mother.
X
Danni came to sit beside him in the co-pilots chair as he sat staring out at he blue blur of hyperspace. His feet were propped against the control panel of the small shuttle he had been given to transport Danni back to Ossus.
"A credit for your thoughts," she said and smiled when he turned to look at her. His hair had fallen over his forehead and she impulsively reached up to brush it away.
Marko flinched away, at her slightly upset expression he smiled to soften the blow his reaction to her caused and said, "Sorry, I—" he let the sentence die and turned to stare out the viewport again. Finally, after a long moment, he asked, "What happened?"
"What do you mean?"
He looked back at her and clarified, "What went wrong with you and Dad? Why doesn't he want to see you anymore?"
He could tell his questions affected her because she stiffened, "Nothing went wrong."
Marko sniffed and retorted, "Don't give me that. I'm not a child any more. I know that you don't love him nor does he love you," he smiled bitterly and went on. "I know your secrets, Mom, and I know Dad's, but what I don't know is what happened. We were so happy when I was little. We were a family. I miss that," he very quietly added as he turned to stare out at hyperspace again.
He was beginning to think she wasn't going to answer, but then he felt Danni's sudden burst of pain and he turned back to see the sadness in her eyes. She looked away and swallowed finally, she said, "He broke my heart." Turning back to him the sadness was replaced with hardness, coldness as she went on, "You want to know what happened, you really want to know the truth, Marko, I'll tell you.
Yes, we were happy once, well, I was happy. But whether your father ever was, I doubt it. I was a substitute for him, I filled the void in his sick, twisted heart for a while but I don't believe he ever truly loved me. Oh, he told me he did, but I know the truth. He was still in love with Jaina Durron, even though he knew he'd never have her." She paused for a moment and then looked back out at hyperspace, her voice took on a melancholy quality as she continued, "It happened after Zekk came by Zonama after a mission in the Remnant. Mayla Zern was with him as she had accompanied him on the mission." Mayla Zern had been Zekk's first Apprentice; she was a beautiful woman with long brown hair and dark eyes whose grandfather had once been an Imperial Moff. Marko remembered the young woman often being with Zekk on his visits home.
Marko nodded and said, "I remember them coming back to Ossus after that mission. I was young but I could tell something happened. Mayla still doesn't talk to Dad."
Danni laughed bitterly and she looked at Marko, "That's because your father probably broke her heart as well with what he did."
Marko stared at her, he suddenly wasn't sure he really wanted to know this but out of his morbid curiosity he asked, "What did Dad do?"
Marko gazed into his mother's green eyes and she quietly said, "I caught them together. I had gone to bed early. I wasn't feeling well; I was about three months pregnant—"
"You caught them together and were pregnant? I didn't think you and Dad—" Marko was too stunned to go on.
Danni reached out and touched his arm, a soft gentle, loving touch, "I was pregnant with a girl but Zekk never seemed thrilled about it. Maybe it was because he—"
"Because he never really wanted kids?" he painfully finished for her
"No, your father loved you, wanted you. It was me he didn't want," Danni smiled and said gently. Then she pulled her hand away and continued with her painful story, "My daughter would have been my heir, Sekot's heir. I lost her that next day."
"What happened?"
They locked gazes again and she said matter-of-factly, "I went to bed early, as I said, but I awoke later, not really knowing why, I came out of the bedroom and—" she looked away and Marko thought he saw tears in her eyes, "—and I entered the living room to see them in the act. I was so hurt, so numb that I couldn't move and I just stood there and watched as…" Her voice broke and Marko could only stare at her. Finally, she turned to him and said, bitterly, "But at least it wasn't just my heart that Zekk broke that night. Because it wasn't Mayla's name he called out or even mine, it was Jaina Durron's."
Danni chuckled at his stunned expression but there was no mirth in it, "So, I was doubly hurt, not only was he cheating on me in my own house, but I also realized that he still loved Jaina. The shock and the pain were too much and I lost my baby along with whatever love that I had for your father."
Marko swallowed and then asked, "So that was when you and Kunra started having an affair?"
Now it was Danni's turn to be stunned, he knew that she never realized that Marko knew about her Yuuzhan Vong lover, the one time Shamed Warrior. After another awkward silence she very quietly said, "Yes, after that our friendship grew into something profoundly more, but it's not the way you think. If you want to know the entire truth here it is. I love Kunra and he loves me, but we know it is forbidden even if your father and I weren't married. He's a Yuuzhan Vong and regardless of the fact that he helped bring peace to the galaxy and among his own people our love would never be accepted. But it is impossible for us to have more than a deep loving friendship." She looked up at him and harshly concluded, "So, even though I may love another, I've never been unfaithful to your father. My biggest regrets have been that you've been hurt out of this and that I lost my daughter."
X
"Hey, Marko," he heard a voice call to him from what sounded like a great distance. "Marko? Hey, we're about to come out of hyperspace. You okay?" Finally, he looked up shaking the memory from his head and met his friend's gaze.
"Ah, Terrik, I'm sorry, I was—"
Terrik Horn smiled and patted him on the shoulder, "That's okay. I'm worried about my dad. I know you're worried about Anakah."
Marko let a small smile grace his lips, "Yeah." Terrik's statement wasn't exactly false. He was worried about Anakah Durron but that wasn't the only reason he came along. He had decided after his conversation and a few others during the trip with his mother that he really needed her. He still didn't love her, not the way he should for what he was considering, but he loved her as a friend and he knew that she felt the same for him. He still felt distrustful of love but he knew he had an obligation. An obligation he was hoping Anakah Durron would be willing to help him fulfill.
He stood and followed Terrik back up to the cockpit where Meri was about to bring the Falcon out of hyperspace before the planet of Naboo.
X
Anakah sat beside Valin and desperately held his limp hand. It had been four days since the attack and he still was unconscious. The doctors had told her that he was in a coma and very likely a trance of some kind. She agreed saying that he may have put himself in a healing trance when he realized the blast from the bomb was too much energy for him to absorb and redirect. At least, that is what she told herself and the worried Jedi Masters back at Ossus.
She was scared as much for Valin's recovery as for her future. She knew she would have had to let him go when they had gotten back to Ossus, but she didn't want to lose him this way. She loved him and her heart broke every time she thought about her life without him and at the thought that he was willing to die himself to save her. Valin had insisted that they were living a fairytale, a fairytale that could never see life outside of their days on Naboo. He reassured her time and again that he loved her and that the thought of letting go hurt him as much as it did her, but he couldn't see them having a future together. He insisted she needed someone who would always be there for her, not an old man, as he put it. But she didn't see him as old, she saw him as being in the prime of his life, a life she wished she could be a part of.
However, Anakah knew he was right. Their love would never be accepted by the Jedi. He was a Master and Council Member and she had a less than spotless history. There was already enough tension between Corran Horn and Kyp Durron concerning the bid for Grand Master, not to mention, concerning the relationship of Meri and Terrik. Kyp had nothing against Terrik Horn personally except that he was the grandson of Corran Horn. Of course, Corran felt the same about Meri. Anakah could only imagine what would transpire if they found out about her and Valin. And then, there was the issue of Terrik.
Anakah never regretted her attempt at seduction of him more than now. She hadn't told Valin about it nor would she, but she knew Terrik would have told Valin the first chance he got which would probably ruin them anyway. She had finally agreed with Valin, saying that he was right about the futileness of them ever having a chance at a real relationship. She had smiled and kissed him and had told him that they needed to live for the day and not think of the future.
But Anakah so desperately wanted a future with the Jedi Master. She doubted that she would ever love anyone as much and as completely as she did him, and yet, no matter how much she wanted that future she knew they could never have one together. It just wasn't possible.
"Oh, Valin," she leaned over and kissed his cool hand. "Why? Why do I have to give you up?" However, only monotonous beeping of the machines that monitored his vital signs met her question.
She sat up and suddenly felt her sister's familiar presence. She swallowed and stood up, looking down at him she bent over and gently kissed his lips then she whispered in his ear, knowing that this was it, this was the end of them, "Good bye, Valin. I will always love you." She stood and stepped away from him just as Terrik came running into the room closely followed by Meri. She exchanged glances with her sister in way of greeting but no words were exchanged, she turned to leave when she walked directly into Marko Quee.
"Marko!" she gasped as she looked into his deep green eyes.
He smiled and took her into his arms, "Angel, are you alright?" The concern in his eyes and voice somewhat surprised her.
She stammered, not really sure what to make of Marko being here, "Y—yes. Thanks to Val—Master Horn."
"I was worried about you." His voice was soft and Anakah suddenly had a sinking feeling in her gut. What he did next totally had her taken aback. He bent down and captured her lips in a gentle kiss. Not lustful, not burning as his kisses usually were, but soft and tender, and as one last thought entered her mind as she found herself respond to it she nearly cried—it was almost loving.
X
They made their way back to the rooms that Anakah and Valin had been staying. Anakah punched the code into the door with a heavy heart, she knew what Marko wanted but there was also something else about him that had her worried. He had always been moody, pensive but today he seemed more so.
After entering, Anakah moved away from him and laid her cloak on the couch. "Can I get you something to drink?" she asked as she moved towards the bar in the corner.
"Yeah, ale if you have one." Marko looked around the large, luxuriously decorated sitting room of the suite. "Kriff, this is nice," he said as he picked up a sculpture of a delicate winged creature in flight that sat on the end table by the couch.
She stepped forward and handed him his Lomin ale saying, "Yes, it is nice. But then we were undercover as rich business beings from a very lucrative planet." She felt odd having him here in the place where she and Valin forgot the galaxy, forgot what they were and who they were, the place where they allowed their love to grow.
Marko watched her and finally stood up from where he had sat down on the couch. "Angel, what's the matter? You don't seem to be your self." Then he gave her a lustful smile and stepped closer to her, putting the bottle down on the end table. "I figured you'd have me stripped by now, since you had to behave on this mission."
Anakah allowed him to pull her into his arms. She looked into his suddenly desire darkened green eyes and swallowed. "I—I'm worried about Master Horn, that's all."
"I didn't think you were that close to him," he asked as he moved closer to her and then nuzzled her neck.
She fought the impulse to push him away and said, "Well, he saved my life and I was close to Tahiri."
"Emmm—" he looked into her eyes, grinned and huskily said, "I'm glad that he did take the risk to save you but I really don't want to talk about him right now. I want you. I've missed you. Do you know how damned addicting you are?"
"Marko—" but her words were interrupted by his lips as they covered hers. She gave into to the demanding kiss and allowed him to deepen it but she felt no passion for him, she could only feel her heart breaking.
The kiss broke and he began to undo the fasteners to her jumpsuit she was wearing. Then he whispered into her ear his voice pleading, "Angel, I've had a rough couple of weeks and I really need you."
Anakah shuddered despite herself and she knew he'd miss interpret it, but it wasn't desire that brought about the response, it was a sudden fear, fear that she would give into him because she always did. However, she needed him as well, her heart was breaking but it wasn't just her impossible relationship with Valin, it was her friendship with Marko. He was her best friend and she was his, but their friendship had become so sexual in its nature that neither of them knew how to be just friends. And right now she wanted her friend. "Marko—I—" but again her words were silenced by his fiery kiss, while he nearly had her top undone and his hands were already teasing the flesh beneath. Anakah moaned softly as he knew just how to touch her to get her to respond, he could play her body like an Ithorian harp and he knew it. She moved her hands up his chest and around his neck, entwining her long fingers into his shoulder length blond hair as she kissed him back.
Suddenly, the comm unit began to beep and Marko growled as Anakah moved away, quickly refastening the closures of her jumpsuit. She glanced back at him and knew he was frustrated, but she had never been so glad for the interruption. After making sure she was presentable she punched the receive code. Instantly the image of the queen's closest advisor materialized over the holoplate.
"Minister, Josté," Anakah immediately recognized the tall, white bearded man, "Hello, Jedi Knight Anakah Durron here." She bowed her head as she said the words.
"Knight Durron, I am calling on behalf of the queen. She has information that would interest you concerning the assassination attempt. She would like to meet with you as soon as possible."
Anakah glanced back at Marko who came to stand behind her. The advisor looked at him suspiciously and Marko took the cue, bowing his head he provided, "I'm Jedi Knight Marko Quee."
"Thank you," the advisor responded then said, "Can we expect you within the hour?" But it was more a statement than a question.
"Yes, Minister, we will be there immediately." And with that said the image flicked out.
X
Twenty minutes later found them sitting before the young queen of Naboo, Violetta, or Padmé Barrett which was her birth name. Marko was actually quite taken aback by the young woman's grace and beauty. Her face was clear of the traditional white face paint the Naboo monarchs had donned for centuries and she was dressed in a simple pail green gown. Her long, dark russet colored hair was pulled back and held in place by a jeweled terra. Her deep brown eyes hauntingly reminded him of Meri Durron. Of course, that really shouldn't have surprised him, since they were distantly related.
It was a little known fact that Luke Skywalker and Leia Solo were cousins to the Barretts of Naboo. In fact, they hadn't even realized it until Pader Barrett had married Syal Antilles, amazingly the fact had somehow never been exploited by the media. As it turned out Pader Barrett and his sister the former queen were the grandchildren of Ryoo Naberrie, the niece of Padmé Amidala, which meant Violetta and Anakah were distant cousins.
Marko had to admit Queen Violetta was as beautiful as her cousin as she sat across from them at the large black polished stone desk. Realizing he was staring at her, he swallowed and looked over at Anakah who was saying, "Thank you, your majesty, for your concern. Master Horn is doing better, I believe he is in a healing trance and will awake when he has repaired the damage done from the blast."
Violetta gracefully nodded her head, "That is a relief. I would have felt responsible for his death if that would have occurred."
Anakah smiled and graciously countered, "And if you hadn't survived, the Jedi would have failed. With your continued wellbeing, our mission was a success, regardless of any losses on our part."
Marko was always amazed with Anakah when she was in what she called her Jedi mode, because she always knew how to handle herself with the powerful beings of the galaxy as if she had been born to it. Then considering who she was, maybe she had been. Then Anakah said, "But I'm sure the Queen has more important things to do than contemplate Jedi losses."
Violetta smiled and Marko felt his heart skip a beat at it; for, her entire face seemed to light up. "True, but I am still grateful to you and Master Horn for your protection. I had never been so fearful in all my life." Then she paused and became serious again, "Intel was able to interrogate the Rodian that you were able to render unconscious."
Anakah smiled and asked, "I'm surprised he didn't try to end his life before your people had the chance."
The queen smiled again, "Oh, he tried. Rodians aren't known for their lack of courage, but the Naboo agents guarding him made sure he was unable to take the poison most Dro'godda agents carry with them. Also, since he is under lock and key with only my most trusted personal guards watching him, there is no way someone can get to him. Even his meals are prepared by my personal staff and scrutinized before he may partake of them. I do not want this thug to die. He is the only clue that we have to who is behind, not only my attempted assassination, but those despised pirates as well."
She then pulled a datachip from a drawer and handed it to Anakah. "That has all the information that we have recovered from him. He has tried to resist the truth serum I've ordered but he is unable to. But I will tell you some of what has been discovered. He claims to be working for a man by the name of Rekkels who has a contact by the name of Bast. Rekkels checks out to be a lawless drifter originally from Tatooine who has been doing some bounty hunting for years in this part of the galaxy. Bast, however, there is absolutely no record of. My agents have scoured the data repositories here and of several other planets and the only hint of him is his connection with Rekkels."
Anakah pursed her lips in thought and then asked, "Have you ever heard the name Passor Barley?"
The queen looked irritated for a moment then said bitterly, "Yes, he is the owner of Naboo Technologies. Mr. Barley bought out my uncle's share of the company when my uncle decided to sell out the company that had been owned by the Barretts for over hundred years. My mother was devastated but at the time she was on Coruscant and was unaware of my uncle's decision. Then somehow Barley took over the rest of the company from the other six stockholders. NT hasn't been the same since."
Anakah frowned, "Have you ever met him?"
Violetta narrowed her brandy colored eyes, "No, but I would give him a piece of my mind if I ever had the opportunity. He is ruining the business that had been in my family since before the Clone Wars." Then she asked, "Why do you ask, Knight Durron?"
Anakah looked at Marko then back to the queen, "Because he has no records outside of Naboo either."
Marko, who had remained silent throughout the meeting, thought over the information exchanged and what Anakah had related to him about what she and Valin had discovered about Naboo Technologies' owner and only buyer. Finally, he asked, "Is it possible that this Bast and Barley are somehow connected?"
The queen stared at him and Marko felt oddly drawn to her as her voice took on a speculative edge, "That is a good question, Knight Quee. That is a very good question. One I believe we should answer."
X
Valin opened his eyes and looked around. Instantly a smile fell onto his lips, he knew this place immediately. It was the place he and Tahiri would come to get away from the turmoil of the Yuuzhan Vong village they had lived in, it was the place he fell in love with her and she with him, and it was the place that he had proposed to her. It was the small river that flowed nearby the village that they had been married in over twenty-six years ago. He looked up into the tall trees and breathed in the earthy fragrance of Zonama Sekot, he didn't realize how much he missed this place.
"Beautiful isn't it?"
Valin spun around and found himself staring into the beautiful face of his wife. "Tahiri?" he breathed.
She smiled and walked forward, "Sort of."
He narrowed his eyes, "What do you mean 'sort of'?"
Now she laughed, "Haven't changed much, have you, Valin?" She was close enough now that he could see the bright emerald of her eyes. Eyes that enchanted him as much as Anakah's sapphire ones did.
"No, I suppose I haven't. If you are not Tahiri then who are you?"
She continued to smile and Valin somehow knew what she was going to say before she did; so, he went ahead and answered her unspoken question, "You look and feel like Tahiri."
"Then I must be her." She stepped past him and sat on the soft moss bank. Then she looked at he flowing water, finally she met his eyes again, "Do you remember this place?"
He moved to sit across from her, "How could I ever forget it. I asked you to marry me in this very spot."
She smiled and nodded, "Ahh…yes." Then she was quiet for a moment as she looked at the water again. The smile never left her lips but her expression became one lost in memory. When she looked back at Valin she sighed, "I loved you so much. I still do and that is why I'm here to prevent you from making the worst mistake in your life."
Suddenly, Valin's heart skipped a beat and he felt very ashamed, he couldn't meet her eyes as he said, "I'm sorry, Tahiri. I've been unfaithful to you."
Her laughter snapped his head around and he stared at her, "Valin Horn, I'm dead. How could you be unfaithful to me? That is why I'm here in fact. I've come to you to knock some sense into that thick Horn skull of yours."
His answer was an incredulous, open-mouthed stare.
She reached over and laid her hand on his cheek, looking directly into his eyes she softly said, "Valin, I'm glad that you've moved on and allowed yourself to love again. You deserve it. We all deserve love, including the woman you now love."
"Anakah," he whispered her name, the pain of letting her go prevalent on his voice.
"Valin, why do you feel that you cannot love her; why are you pushing her away? She is good for you. And you are good for her."
Finding a stronger voice, he countered, "But I'm old enough to be her father. She deserves someone who will be there for her. Someone she won't be ashamed of. Her children deserve to have their father around, not dead or too old to—"
She laid her fingers on his lips, stopping his words, "But what if that isn't what she wants. What if the scenario that you paint for her will only bring her misery? Is that what you truly want for her?"
"No. Of course not," he angrily relied.
"Then you need to make sure she doesn't make a mistake. You, and only you, can prevent it. You need to decide what it is you truly want for Anakah, as well as for yourself. Then you need to fight for it."
Suddenly, a terrible wind kicked up and Tahiri was pulled away from him. "Tahiri! Don't go! I'm sorry for everything," he called after disappearing form, "Please forgive me."
He felt the sting of tears and then he heard over the howl of the wind, "Valin, there is nothing to forgive. You made my life complete. But that life became one with the Force. I know that you will always love me, just as I have always held Anakin dear to me. But you need to move on; you need to fight for what is best for you." Her voice became a mere whisper then, breathy and far away, "Fight for her, Valin."
X
Anakah and Marko made their way back to the hospital. After conferring with Terrik and Meri, they decided that they would take the yacht that Anakah and Valin had brought to Naboo and head back to Ossus with the information the queen had given to them. Terrik and Meri would then bring Valin back on the Falcon once he was awake and released.
A few hours later Marko put The Entrepreneur into hyperspace. He came out of the cockpit to find Anakah lying on the couch by the bulkhead. She turned to him and sat up. Smiling he walked over and sat down beside her. Without a word he took her into his arms and kissed her. The passion that had been burning in him since earlier that day when they were in her hotel room could not be denied any longer. Anakah seemed different, not as yielding as she always was but he let that thought go as she moved her hands over his chest.
He then began to open the fasteners of her jumpsuit and as he broke the kiss he grinned and huskily said, "I hope we don't have any interruption this time, Angel." He kissed her neck, nibbling on the pulse points then he whispered in her ear words of his desire and lust that caused her to shudder and her breathing to quicken. Within minutes they were both undressed and engaged in the ancient dance of lustful pleasure.
He held her close while she straddled him as he sat on the couch. As he breathed in her sent of Corellian lilies, Marko suddenly wished that he could love her and that she could love him back, but he knew he didn't, that she didn't. However, it was a fleeting thought because he was her friend and that was all he really wanted to be. He really wasn't sure he could ever be faithful to just Anakah and he knew that she would never be faithful to him. But his mother's words came back to him then, he took a deep breath as his heart rate slowed some more and looked into her deep blue eyes. There seemed to be a sadness there that he didn't remember seeing before. They never left themselves open to each other even at the height of passion. Her shields were impenetrable just as he knew his were; however, he suddenly wished that he knew what exactly she was feeling.
Swallowing, he brushed some of her damp hair from her face, "Anakah, you know that you are my best friend, right?"
She nodded but didn't say anything.
Clearing his throat he cupped her face and looked deeply into her eyes, "Anakah, will you marry me?"
Anakah stared at him and even through her shields he felt her shock, her eyes seemed to become watery and Marko thought she was going to cry, but she didn't, she stared at him for a long moment. Finally, she said, her voice small, quiet, "Marko, I—I don't know what to say."
He grinned and tweaked her nose. He knew his question probably floored her. He had told her time and again he was never going to get married. "The usual answers are 'yes' or 'no'."
She swallowed and shook her head, "I realized that. What I mean is that—Kriff, you do know how to shock a girl." She recovered some and grinned but it never reached her eyes, somehow they looked even sadder. "What has brought this on?"
Marko sighed and told Anakah about some of the things his mother had told him. He ended with, "I want to give my mother her legacy, Anakah. Only I can do that. My father treated her like Hutt's slim and she deserved better than that. You understand me and you don't expect me to be something I'm not. We have been together for so long I figured why not make it legal. I'm not asking you to change. To become the little doting housewife, who has my meals cooked and the house so clean you could eat off the floor." She made a face and he grinned again, "I'm not even asking you to faithful to me, Angel. All I want is what I already have—you to come home to. And a child," he finished softly.
Anakah seemed to take that all in and eventually she whispered, "Okay."
He laughed, and repeated, "Okay?"
She nodded and leaned in and whispered into his ear, "That usually means 'yes' in Basic."
But Marko Quee never realized despite the wit she forced into those words, just how much pain they caused her as her lips found his again.
X
Valin opened his eyes and called out, "Anakah?"
Terrik came out of his meditation and turned from the window, "Dad?"
The older man focused on his son and then looked around the room that he recognized as a hospital, "Where's Anakah. I need to talk to her."
Terrik came to sit beside the bed and with an expression of puzzlement said, "She and Marko left for Ossus last evening. They have some information they wanted to get back to the Council. Dad, what's wrong? Are you okay?"
Valin Horn felt like he had been kicked in the gut. Jealousy drifted into his heart and slowly squeezed it. "Marko was here?"
Terrik clearly puzzled by the sharp tone in his father's voice as well as his odd question responded, "Yeah, he was worried about Anakah."
Valin went to sit up and said as he did so, "I need to get to her. I need to tell her."
"Whoa! Dad!" Terrik caught him on the shoulders and gently eased him back down onto the bed, "You aren't going anywhere until a doc looks you over. So you just stay put." He then asked his voice curious, "And what is so important about Anakah Durron? She is fine. Thanks to you. We can meet up with her on Ossus."
Valin, not wanting to admit to his son that he loved her, simply nodded and responded, calmly, "You're right. I was just worried that she was hurt. Now, go get that medic so we can get out of here. We have a Conclave to get to and your grandfather will be furious if we miss it."
As he watched Terrik leave the room, Valin heard in his head the soft silky voice of his first love, "Fight for her and just remember not all is as it seems."
Valin swallowed against the dryness in his mouth and throat and closed his eyes. "I will. I need her and I was a fool to ever think that I didn't. Thank you, my love."
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