Citadel Station was in chaos. The monstrous ship carrying Visas's former Master was approaching like a hungry predator, relentless and engulfing. Sith were already storming the station and taking out guards. In all the tandem, Avery could barely shout over the alarms to issue orders to her teammates. HK-47 was nowhere to be found.
Things weren't exactly going smoothly.
Grenn, the very same official who locked three of them up last time, was now quite happy to see them. "Thank goodness. We need your help. Apparently, some nasty Sith guy thought there was a Jedi Academy here on Telos, so now his men are taking on the Republic. We were hoping you-"
"-could lead an extraction team into the ship and take him down?" Mira finished.
Grenn blinked. "Well. Yes, actually."
"Already have it set up," Mandalore said smoothly. "I've sent my men out to help your forces, and I'll be escorting our leader and another team member to the Ravager. The rest of our crew will be assisting here on the station. Anything we need to know before we head out?"
"Uh…no."
"Excellent. Avery, Visas, let's head out."
Avery was stunned to see the corners of Visas's mouth curl up at Mandalore's brisk orders. The Miraluka never smiled, but she certainly was now as she fell into step behind him. "Yes, sir."
Avery glanced back over at the rest of her team, two of which looked less than thrilled to be left behind. "We'll be back. Help out here, don't get killed, find HK-47 if you see him. Er, it. He- it- left as soon as we docked and I have no clue where h- it went. It can't be up to any good."
Bao Dur nodded emphatically, agreeing with her, and she briefly met the concerned eyes of both Atton and Mical before she walked away. There was probably great cause for worry, since this Sith Lord was so dangerous, but she wasn't about to have some sappy teary-eyed goodbye with her team. That was for other people, maybe, but not a General under Revan. He would have demoted her instantly.
The Dark side in the Ravager was the strangest the Exile had ever experienced. It was the same deep revulsion, the same pain and unrest, but it seemed to feed…outward, seeking, instead of festering in an individual. Visas caught her eye and nodded. Clearly, the Miraluka had learned every intricacy of this Lord's power and taken it on herself.
The hallways were dark and surprisingly quiet. Most of the Lord's underlings were on the Station, so it took little time for Mandalore to set up proton charges that his men needed to destroy the ship when the time came. Visas would occasionally stop and look into a room or peek around a corner. At one point, she stopped dead in her tracks and looked over at the other two. "May I…take a moment here?"
"What is it, Visas?"
"These were my old quarters."
Without any other explanation needed, Avery nodded, and Visas walked inside. The ship thrummed quietly as the two waited.
"It's unbelievable, what she's been through," Mandalore finally said.
"Yes."
"I know if I'd been imprisoned like that, tortured like that for so many years, I would have gone mad. I'd have killed anything in sight the second I got out."
"Me too."
"How did she do it? How did she stay trapped in the Dark for that long, with such a creature, and still manage to recover and be so…so gentle and innocent and…"
Avery's eyes widened, then she fought hard not to break into a delighted grin. Mandalore and Visas, huh? Never would have pegged her as his type, but then I never thought he'd have a type at all.
Visas emerged, looking far more serene and quiet than she ever had, and gave Mandalore a reassuring pat on the arm while the team walked on. Avery let them walk ahead so neither would see her smile.
That smile was gone, however, when the three came to the room before the bridge. The Dark side was making Avery ill, like she was being sapped of her physical health, and Visas was clearly terrified despite her brave stance. She'd been under his control before, and returning in defiance would only invoke his wrath in worse ways than she'd already managed.
"My Mast- Nihlus…will want to study you before he kills you. You have a small window of time in which you may act. But the longer the battle goes on, the less likely you will be able to defeat him. He will draw on us at once, take away our Force energy. He is a vacuum, and he will not hesitate to take all the life away from you he can."
The Exile looked down at the small woman and spoke gravely. "Visas, you do not have to worry. He will never have control over you again, and I swear on my life, Mandalore and I will not let him hurt you. You're safe with us."
Visas felt tears threatening to rise in her blind eyes. Her leader had known exactly what Visas's greatest fears were, and reassured her in the best way possible. She didn't need to fear Nihlus anymore. The doors opened.
The bridge seemed to stretch on for a red eternity, blood-colored lights barely illuminating the room. Just as expected, a tall figure in a black robe stood at the farthest end, surveying the battle his soldiers fought out in space against the Republic. He took no heed of them as they walked down the long passage.
The energies were truly vicious now. Avery felt as though she were being starved, and she had to find sustenance as quickly as possible: like power, Light, the heartbeat of someone nearby. Perhaps, if she were famished enough, the population of a planet…
He stood calm and still, watching them without the slightest concern. Without being able to understand why, Avery knew without a doubt that this…creature, this man, was the only one in the galaxy who knew exactly what she was. He'd searched her out as a disturbance, found her, and now understood her in a way that no one else- not the Jedi, not Kreia, not the other Sith- did. Perhaps something about the way they used the Force was similar. Even as the two watched each other, the Exile could feel Nihlus pulling, beginning to draw on her, attempting to take away her energy. Whatever her ability was, he wanted it for himself.
Visas had drawn in a breath, but the Lord of Hunger began to speak, his voice gurgling out the language of the Sith. He was extracting from them all as his voice hissed out. However, he had taken too long. Avery had pulled in too much of him, and now she understood.
"No," she replied in the same language. "Kreia has lied to you. There are no Jedi here. You have sensed it."
She could feel his brief surprise. "Perhaps, but now I shall simply feed off of the planet itself. It shall sustain me, Jedi or not."
"If you use your power here, you will only exhaust yourself, and become vulnerable. Then Kreia would win. All your victory against her will have been for nothing."
Nihlus would have laughed, had he been capable. Instead, he stretched out a black hand to suck the Force out of this leech, so full of life and energy…so useful in satisfying his hunger. She'd arrived just in time.
Instead of his sluggish blood beginning to flow quickly again, or the pulse of his craving lessening, Nihlus felt a shock like nothing he'd experienced since he lay among the ruins of Malachor V. The arc of energy that should have pulled her life away was pulling him out.
Into her.
The Sith Lord fell to his knees.
Visas gasped, while Avery merely looked down at Nihlus. "She has betrayed you. And now, you are weak. Weak enough to be defeated."
Darth Nihlus roared and stood, his red lightsaber flying out almost too fast to see. At once, Visas and Avery were armed, and the three were locked in a dance of whirling sabers. Mandalore knew he was out of his element, but he was a warrior regardless, and he took careful aim at the towering figure while his two teammates took him on in close quarters.
In the midst of it all, Visas knew it was hopeless. Avery had absorbed enough of the Lord to be his equal, but Visas was not enough of an advantage to break the stalemate. He Pushed his former slave away while dodging a barrage of Avery's Lightning, and Visas hit the ground hard, the wind knocked out of her.
He…he is too powerful…Visas thought in despair. He-
Stop that, Visas! There must be a way. You're his link to this place. Can you disrupt that link somehow?
No, I can't think of…wait. Yes. If you were to sacrifice me, his ties to my Force would be severed. He'd be weak enough to-
For the second time, Avery interrupted her. It looks like we'll just have to whittle him down the usual way. I'll need you though; otherwise, we'll just do this forever. Now get up and help me.
Her tone snapped Visas into action, and she scrambled to her feet before charging in toward her old Master. It could have been much easier for Avery, but the Exile was choosing to do it the hard way for Visas. She was needed.
Nihlus deflected another shot from Mandalore's rifle before he was lit up with the volts from Avery's Lightning. She was pulling more and more from him, her Force powers becoming darker with each second, and he was weakening.
With one burst, Avery drew out one of his Force powers. She could feel her skin beginning to crack and wrinkle as though the hunger in her was overflowing to the rest of her, yet this power was worth it.
Nihlus, locked in a duel with Visas, didn't have time to react.
Avery planted her feet and stretched out one arm, palm up. She felt so much pain in the currents of her blood she could barely stand straight, but her arm began to rise, and with it, the dark figure of Nihlus. His feet were dangling in the air, his body contorting, his screams deafening.
Her breath was coming in wheezes now, a curse or two in Sith escaping her as she steadied her trembling arm. Black smoke seeped out of her mouth. And just when the pain reached its peak, Avery's forearm snapped up, her fist clenched, and she drove her arm down in a sharp drop. Nihlus's spinal column snapped backward.
Instantly, Avery released him and doubled over. The Sith Lord collapsed into a crumpled heap of robes on the ground, dead.
The three left alive stood in the quiet for a while, Avery frantically centering herself through Visas's former meditation. The Miraluka walked over to the body.
"Visas, what the hell are you doing? We need to get out of here!"
Her reply to Mandalore came in a whisper. "I have to see. With the Force and with my eyes."
When she joined them again, Avery had to ask. "What did you see?"
"Just an ordinary man. I had expected…but it doesn't matter now. Let us let this ship die, as it should have years ago."
Behind them, Darth Nihlus's body evaporated in a cloud of red smoke.
It was quite the reunion when the team joined up again. Everyone was covered in smoke and dust, and semi-covered with blood, but only beat up and tired. HK-47 had returned as well, and looked far too pleased with itself to have stayed out of trouble.
"I'll be honest," Mira said gaily on their way back to the ship. "Me and Bao Dur and Atton are really getting the hang of this Jedi thing. I'd count the Disciple, but he doesn't count 'cause he's already had your training. I mean you should have seen us. Bao Dur was like detonating grenades with his mind, and Atton was hacking through five at a time and flinging bodies against walls, and I was paralyzing a bunch of them and then just killing them it was awesome."
Mical was laughing, then caught Avery's eye. "It's all true, actually. I saw it myself."
"I don't doubt it."
"You're a very good teacher, General."
"Thank you, Bao Dur. I appreciate that."
"That being said, would you be willing to teach me how to assemble mines in my head? That could be quite useful."
"I knew there was a reason you were buttering me up."
"But really, look at us, you guys," Atton spoke up, bringing the team to a halt. "Look at how we've all changed since we joined up."
The crewmembers surveyed the people around them, and Atton was right. Instead of a ragtag team of odd people, there were six well-equipped Jedi in crisp robes, one lethal and beautifully reconstructed assassin droid, and the proud leader of the Mandalorians himself all working together.
HK snorted through his processor. "Statement: I find this inspection of the crew unnecessary, primarily due to the theory that I have somehow changed or been made better since being reactivated. I can assure all meatbags present that I have always been a devastating combatant, regardless of the collection of organics around me."
"Of course, HK," Avery replied warmly. "On that note, you and I are going to have a private discussion in the ship on where you ran off to when we landed. I'm quite curious to hear it."
"Assertion: Of course, Master. I will be more than happy to recite the circumstances. I find a sense of pride in them."
Everyone took turns in the refresher, cleaning off the blood and debris from the battle. Meanwhile, Avery learned of HK's singlehanded destruction of the HK-50 factory, meaning that all the newer models of HK were now gone for good. It came as quite a relief to her, though she had a sneaking suspicion that the droid was not entirely honest with her. She found it hard to believe that HK would have merely walked out if an advantage had presented itself inside.
When everyone else was done, and the Hawk was floating peacefully out in space with no particular sense of direction, Avery decided to take a long shower and meditate for a while in the empty bunk. It looked as though most of the crew had simply gone to pass out in the closest available room. She'd like some alone time, really. As they came closer to the end, the planet where it all started, Avery began to realize what would have to occur if she was successful. All the little problems amongst her teammates were going to be solved soon, especially the one Mira talked with her about. Mical wouldn't have to be told, or hurt. At least not in one way. All those problems would be solved at Malachor V.
Avery stepped out of the refresher feeling like a human again. She'd been too lazy to dry herself off much, and the drops of water clinging to her cooled her off rapidly. When she came into the bunk, there was a knock on the door.
"Just a sec." If it was Mandalore, it could be awkward. If it was HK, she was sure she'd never hear the end of how repulsive her soggy, mushy body was. As she hunted for a robe, the door opened anyway.
"Hey now, I said just a-"
"Whatever state of undress you're in, I don't mind," Atton said breezily as he entered and clicked the door shut behind him. "I'm low-maintenance that way."
His saucy expression faded as he looked her over. Nothing but a little towel covered her, and she was wet from head to toe. He could smell whatever soap she'd used from across the room.
"What were you going to tell me?"
"What do you know? I completely forgot. Crazy, huh?" In three long strides, he'd covered the distance and come perilously close to her. "Must not have been that important."
"I doubt that. What was it? Really?"
His eyes wandered over her. "My memory is foggy right now, but I'm pretty sure I was going to ask you about HK's adventure. It was either that or I could sense you weren't fully dressed." He was still studying her, but he looked up briefly to give her a wink. "One of the benefits of being Force Sensitive, maybe."
The look in Atton's eyes was quite similar to one he'd had during a tumbling night she'd spent in the med bay. So similar, in fact, that it brought up rather vivid recollections of what had occurred and the things he'd done to her. Avery gulped.
He reached up and trailed a thumb along her jaw. "You didn't dry off very well," he said casually, as if they were strangers making small talk. "At this point, if you'd be so kind as to give me your permission, I'd like to take advantage of our privacy and your lack of clothing."
She watched him for a moment in confusion until he clarified for her. "I'll need your consent this time. I'm trying to be a good guy now, and all."
She was torn now, debating between her Jedi training and the recollection of things that had happened last time. She definitely wouldn't mind a repeat session, but shifts to the Dark side could be so easy with the responses she and Atton had for each other…
Clearly, he could pick up on some of what she was mulling over. "You and I are never going to be like Vrook or Kavar, you know. You're too hot-blooded and I'm too uninhibited. We won't end up the super-passive emotionally shut down Jedi who enforce those old teachings. We can try, sure, but it's our natures that led us here."
Avery was glaring at him now. "You and your persuasive lectures. Now I know first-hand how you could always get a woman into bed."
"It's true," he protested. "We were both in the Wars for roughly the same reasons: reasons the Jedi still don't acknowledge or approve of. If the galaxy or whatever wanted great Jedi to take down the Sith Lords causing all the trouble, we wouldn't be here. I think the universe needed something else, something different. How else would all us stragglers be playing hero?"
When Avery didn't say anything, he pressed a kiss to her temple. "Before, I didn't take the time I wanted to. I want to remedy that. Please."
His mouth slid down her cheek to her jaw, her skin wet and slick. All it took was a gentle tug, and her towel pooled at her feet. His voice was a whisper now. "Please. I need you to tell me it's okay."
When his teeth started to nip at her neck, she relented in the same quiet tone. "Okay."
Atton lowered his head and kissed her pale shoulder, his mouth trailing across to the other side at an unhurried pace. She could feel him inhale just a little each time his mouth made contact with her, his tongue gliding up her wet neck before dropping down between her breasts. Each of his slow, deliberate kisses made her breathing that much faster. "Damn," he murmured against her stomach. "I want to do this all night, but your response-" his tongue brushed a hip bone- "is really making me want to speed up." The backs of his fingers slid up along the inside of her leg, lightly pushing her stance wider. When his mouth barely brushed between her legs, she whimpered.
"See," he said low against her, "you're making me feel so conflicted here."
Avery's back pressed up against the wall. The vibrations of his voice were enough to make her want him to speed up, too.
He was relentless- he felt how impatient she was in more ways than one, but he refused to do anything quickly. She wanted him wild and rushed and controlling; he was too careful. It was like he was worshiping her body, admiring each and every part evenly, adoringly. It was torture.
When he finally got to her ankles, she looked down hoping for him to be done and start other things, but to her distress, he only began to move up again. His rough hands were on her bare legs, and she wriggled impatiently. "Atton," she breathed, "please…"
His hands gripped her tighter, kept her still. "Nope."
She might have been impatient, but he felt her anticipation as he went further up her thighs with his mouth. One hand slid down to spread her wider again. This was what he'd wanted since he'd seen her in those skimpy clothes on Peragus- to take his time, appreciate every bit of her, have her at his mercy. Her damp hair swirled lower down her back as her neck sagged, and when his tongue melted into her, she let out a low, anguished groan.
Still, he held back, tasting her lightly, never giving her quite enough. One hand reached down to grip his hair, and her sounds were pitiful now- desperate and fevered. He supposed giving her a little more couldn't hurt…
When he dug his tongue into her, she cried out and sank down the wall until she was sitting, legs apart, with Atton moving without a hitch between them. At last, he sucked at her hard, his finger sliding into her, preparing her for later. She'd need some help, as tight as she was.
She was shifting up into his attention, her nails scratching along the floor, and finally came hard, gasping for breath she could hardly get enough of. He gradually slowed his motions, a little smirk on his mouth, and kissed up her torso again after her heartbeat hit a regular rhythm. He brushed his lips against the fluttering pulse at her throat, her skin dry now. "How many more times would you like to do that? I was thinking four, five…"
Avery was shaking her head, wordless. She urgently pushed against him with her lower body. "Oh," he breathed as her wet heat melted against him. "I think I can manage that instead."
"Please do."
She sat up into his lap, and he stood to carry her over to the bunk. She was so ready for him to take her that despite his best efforts, he couldn't wait anymore. When he sat, she nestled herself against him, long legs hooking around his back. All it took was a simple lift, then a drive up, and she sank into him just as tight and soaking as he'd remembered. They both moaned as she pushed down to the hilt.
After a few seconds of enjoying this, Atton shifted a little. He wanted her to have as much control as possible, but she had to enjoy it as long as possible too. With her that deep and that tight, he'd wake up the whole damn ship with the sounds she'd pull out of him.
Avery brought herself back and up, then circled down his entire length, sighing a little when his fingers dug hard into her waist. She began to move against him with silky slides of her hips, a leisurely pace for her own enjoyment. Atton couldn't help it- a groan escaped from his gut every time she slipped down over him, and before long his breath was coming in painful, short pants. He could feel her steady build-up around him, so he leaned forward a little and suckled her. His tongue rolled around a peaked nipple at the same unhurried pace as her hips, and she halted when he drew away, only to sigh and move faster when he turned his attention to the other one. When she came around him in twitching, hard spasms, however, he had to stop and push her down as far as he could, feeling her squeeze each inch in waves.
"That's two," he managed to say despite the series of tiny bites she was administering up his throat. Every little movement she was deliberately making was nestling his entire length up into her, which wasn't helping with his resolve to make her come again before he did. "So another three sound good?"
"Take me like you did last time," her melodic voice coaxed in his ear. The tone was familiar: it was the exact same one he'd used on countless women to get them into bed. Just like he'd seen them respond, he felt goose bumps race along his arms. "When you were so rough. Take me like that again."
His teeth gritted; Jaq threatened to rise up in him to dominate her. He had to resist, but she continued to breathe those requests at his ear, sliding him into her. She was always the leader- she wanted him to rule over her now.
He pulled out of her and untangled himself from the slim body wrapped around his, which took a great deal of will itself, before standing and waiting for her to lie down. It was clear to him now how greatly she trusted him. Her dark eyes never left his while she sprawled out generously, confident and comfortable. After all this time of waiting, thinking he didn't have a chance, she was his, and she seemed content with it.
Avery watched Atton's relentless study of her, his breath coming fast, the muscles in his chest and arms tense. There were so many emotions in his face she couldn't begin to count them, but pride and adoration were foremost. She doubted he loved her, but for just those few seconds, she thought that he seemed to be as close to it as he'd ever been.
Before long, though, another expression overtook him, and the lust burning in his eyes chased anything else away. He climbed over her and arched her hips up with rough hands before thrusting into her in one move.
Avery clutched at him immediately as he nestled her as deep as he could go, pulling back, and plunging in again, fast and ruthless and hard. His neck dropped back as he rammed himself against her. It was official: no amount of time he did this with her would ever be enough. She was transmitting what she was feeling through the Force to him, doubling the pleasure he felt until his driving into her became one, united sensation for the both of them that built up until it was unbearable. But when the agony broke, it rocked them both, each muscle locking up one at a time, releasing and tensing and releasing in tandem with each other, until Atton was drained dry and Avery's shudders ended.
They didn't say a word, just lay side by side gasping for air. When their heart rates eventually steadied, Avery laughed a little.
"What?"
"I just now realized that I forgot to break up our connection. We've been breathing in the exact same rhythm."
Atton chuckled too, then inhaled extra-long to make sure they were independent again. "So that's what that was. The Force does have its benefits."
"Mmhmm. I'm amazed we can still use it, doing things like this. Is it as good for non-Force users?"
"Uh, you have to keep something in mind, Kess. Sex is not like this- not even close- for other people. If it were this good all the time, most people would never leave their houses. Trust me. I'd know. I've never had it like this before."
"Then what makes doing it with me so different?"
"Well, some of it's because I lo-" His mouth clicked shut. Holy shit, he'd almost told her. He was so close to just blurting it out, ruining everything, right there. Now she was frowning at him, so he rapidly thought something up. "The Force, probably. I'd never used it before, much less had someone use it with me like you did. Plus, you're awfully gorgeous. That helps."
Thankfully, she seemed to believe him, given that she poked him in the ribs. He pulled her to him and squeezed her tightly. He had to keep himself in check. Men had a tough time saying things they didn't mean after sex in general, so pouring his heart out would be even more likely unless he made sure to keep his mouth shut. Her eyes began to close, so he was carefully guarding his thoughts until he could feel her even breathing against his chest. He could mentally tell her how much he loved her once she couldn't hear him. Maybe that would be enough.