AN: Thanks to all who responded and read this fic! Here's the next chapter about the very first meeting between Sith and Imperial Officer!

Enjoy!

~Voi

It was still dark when Quinn woke, the curtains obliterating any trace of the too-bright morning sky. Matte grey as was his preference, the fabric was unobtrusive and functional, the embodiment of the man who had chosen them.

Balmora never had been his choice, but this at least was his.

The room bore his unique signature in the Spartan furniture and lack of personal belongings. Books were carefully lined on their shelves, and reports were stacked properly awaiting his attention at his personal terminal. He had languished here for years and yet had managed to collect not one item he might consider personal.

Until now.

There was one thing distinctly out of place in his room, and as he turned to glance across the space the blue glow of his workstation illuminated the body, the woman, that lay in his bed.

Nude beneath the soft blankets, Quinn eyed the woman with a distant, appraising, eye. Soft, luxurious hair, her figure an elegant product of sloping lines, he could certainly appreciate that she was the sort of woman who possessed an intriguing, if not exactly conventional, beauty. It was her hair, he mused as he followed the silken mass as it flowed over her body like water; he had always had a thing for long hair.

She had been friendly enough the night before as she had talked him up at the local bar, a sly smile that mixed well with her dry humor. But while she had been very pleasant, one night was not enough to know all there was, and even now there remained a part of her that remained elusive and out of reach.

On Balmora such things should have made him cautious, made him wary. And so it was his most spectacular mistake to have brought her back to his apartment.

But damn if he hadn't been living the past several years in quiet desperation.

Balmora was his prison, the very walls of his room a cage that fueled a rage that burned so fiercely that no amount of time could bank it with any effectiveness. His ambition had stalled, but his anger had remained, as had the iron-clad control he used to rule his life.

At least, until last night.

He moved silently to the sink, running the tap until the water filled his hands to overflowing.

Damn it all.

He inhaled sharply as the water made contact with his skin, jolting him those final few inches into awareness. Dripping down the side of his face, the strong angle of his jaw and long the strong muscles of his neck and shoulders, he didn't bother wiping the water from his hair as he crossed the room again in search of a shirt.

Beneath his feet the floor remained solid, cushioning his movement until the very last step.

"Mmm…"

There was a soft feminine chuckle, from his bed, followed by a slow groan of pleasure as she woke, "Good morning, Lieutenant."

"Jurhe." He spoke her name with courtesy, despite the increasing discomfort he felt at her presence.

Sighing loudly, the young woman arched provocatively, the sheet slipping from her body, her hair tumbling around her as she rolled to look at him. Mused as she was, there was no denying the way his body thrummed in the memory of their coupling despite the tension that had risen with his morning's return to clarity.

"Busy morning?" She asked idly, eyeing him in a way that seemed to entirely mirror his own earlier expression. The sensual woman he had spent the night momentarily replaced by an analytical something that made his instincts blare in warning.

"Very."

He nodded at her absently as he pulled on his shirt, began to button it up one at a time.

Not bothering to cover herself, his lover rose from his bed and began to dress as well. Donning a nondescript gown, she had her hair neatly tied and tucked away by the time he finished fitting the buttons of his coat.

Strange, but he wouldn't have pegged her for the efficient type.

"I-"

Years of doing without had made him clumsy with women, and he didn't quite know how to ask her to leave, to never come back and forget his moment of weakness, no matter how very memorable their evening had been.

"Relax, Lieutenant. I'm going."

She stood before him, expression amused as she seemingly read his mind as easily as any book. Tucking a stray hair behind her ear, she tilted her head to give him one last appraising look before turning towards the door. Hand made to grasp the handle, she hesitated, pausing, before her eyes slid back to lock with his own startled ones. He felt her hands on his shoulders a split second before he made contact with the wall, the back of his head connecting with the wall as she pressed herself against him and fixed her mouth against his own.

The kiss itself was sudden and very brief, a sizzling meeting of mouths and the momentary flash of remembered passion. Exhaling slowly as she pulled away, Quinn felt his cheeks flush at the satisfied look on her face, and the way she seemed to know exactly what to do to keep him unbalanced.

"I'll see you later, Quinn."

She opened the door not a moment later, a smile on her lips as she gave him a mock salute. And then she disappeared down the hallway, her softly swaying figure drawing more than a little attention as she passed out of his life for what he assumed was forever.

He was in his office not an hour later, finalizing the details for another mindless operation while awaiting Darth Baras' long promised apprentice. But it seemed she was a punctual animal indeed, for it was precisely at the top of the hour that he felt the pressure of her presence enter the room, muffled because he was not force-sensitive, he could still feel the overwhelming reservoir of power as it rolled through the building.

"Apprentice, good of you to join us."

The Sith Lord appeared on the Holoterminal in a flash of blue static, but Quinn's eyes were stuck on the woman who stood framed in the door way. "This is…"

"Lieutenant Malavai Quinn." The voice spoke his title with amusement, familiar only because he had spent the entire night listening to her rich voice.

The Sith.

Juhre.

Lord Baras had not bothered to tell him more than the barest details of his apprentice, and years of working together had taught him not to ask for too many details. He had never thought to question or ask for more information. It was then this most unfortunate oversight that left him speechless.

"Good morning, Lieutenant." Lips quirked into a smile, the corner raised ever so slightly in amusement, the Sith slipped her hand into his and gave it a warm squeeze, "Nice of you to brief me on the climate here on Balmora last night, very insightful."

Her eyes were hot as she stared up at him, and there was no denying the memory of those sensual lips, the memories that arose so readily at her barest suggestion. But they were hardly alone, and between the Sith Lord and scowling twi'lek companion that Juhre had brought with her, it was clear they would have to have this conversation at a different time.

"You and the Lieutenant have met already? Excellent."

The rest of the meeting and ensuing mission run-down passed by in a blur, and it was only when she was about to leave that he scrapped some semblance of control together to follow her to the door.

"My lord…"He began but stopped when he saw the look in her eye.

Caught in the Balmoran sunshine, Juhre's hair and eyes glinted with feverish purpose. This was not the woman who had stayed the night in his bed, and he knew that to survive he must act accordingly. But as he took a step back, turned to leave, a hand wrapped around his arm and squeezed ever to so gently.

"That's not what you called me last night, Quinn." Her breath whispered warmly on his neck, "I believe I told you to call me by name."

And though he couldn't see her expression as she turned to go, there was no missing the impish delight in her voice as she chided him a final time.

"Do try and keep up, Lieutenant."