Ranna Tao'Ven clung to the Jedi's neck and cried out as the climax took her. He held her until the spasms passed, then kissed her mouth and her neck and her chest.

"More," she said between gasps. "Please, more."

She was safe while he held her, while he used her, while he did things to her. She wasn't Matriarch in his arms, or pilgrim, or orphan. She was flesh and pleasure and nothing more. Maybe, if she could be everything he wanted...

He stopped and looked up as if he'd heard something.

"Agenord?" she said.

"There's something wrong," he told her.

He left the bed, pulled on his pants, and listened. She watched him, tall and gorgeous with hard features and a harder body. His only flaw was a long, deep scar that ran diagonally between his eyes from his right forehead to his left cheek. He took his vibrosword, and started toward the door cautiously until he heard the loud crack of an ion rifle and a squeal from Teeseven. Agenord activated the vibrosword and ran out the door.

No, Ranna thought. She grabbed a robe and followed. She found Moorint, Eseni and Saylew aiming weapons at Agenord. The Padawan's striped lekku flicked back and forth like the tail of an angry predator.

"Not him," Ranna said. "Not him. That was the deal. Not him."

Eseni's eyes widened at Ranna.

"Matriarch, step aside," Moorint said. "Handing over the boy's Master wasn't enough. This Padawan has to die."

"Leave him alone!" Ranna said. "That was the pact!"

"Bengel Morr refused your terms." He raised his rifle. "This is to save our people!"

Moorint fired a sleep dart at Agenord. The Padawan caught it in the air without taking his eyes from Moorint's face.

Moorint stared and said, "Oh, shit."

Agenord dropped the dart and said, "You want to drop your weapons."

The eyes of Moorint and Saylew glazed over.

"We want to drop our weapons?" Moorint said.

"Yes!" Eseni said. "We want to drop our weapons." She threw down her rifle.

The men dropped their weapons.

"You want to leave here peacefully," Agenord said.

"We...?" Saylew began.

"We want to leave here peacefully," Eseni said and pushed the confused men out the door.

Agenord took Ranna by the throat and growled, "What did you do?!"

"I did what was needed to save my people!"

"We helped you," Agenord said.

"Only after the flesh raiders threatened you! Before that, we were nothing to you!" She shook emotion. "Bengel Morr promised us safety."

"He lied."

"I know!" she yelled at him. "But, once the temple was attacked, you'd call for help. All we had to do was hold out until the Republic troops arrived. The Jedi are doomed. This was our only hope."

"Not yet," he said. "The flesh raiders are tribal. An army isn't natural to them. Destroy Bengel Morr and the war leaders, and the army will fall apart."

"We've done everything we can against them."

"You're not Jedi," he said.

"You could stay," she said. "You could be our protector. We could be safe."

He released her throat. "Repair Teeseven. I'm getting dressed."

When he returned, Teeseven was up but not fully active. The droid beeped weakly at the sight of him.

"Agenord-," Ranna said.

"Not now." He took out his holo-communicator and contacted Master Satele.

"Padawan, it's good to see you," she said with a tone of urgency. "Is Master Orgus with you?"

"He's been captured by Bengel Morr," Agenord replied. "I believe Bengel Morr is gathering a flesh raider army to attack the temple."

"The attack has already begun. Is the village safe?"

"The villagers made a deal with Bengel Morr; safety if they refused to help us."

Master Satele shook her head. "Unfortunate and unnecessary. We believe Bengel Morr may be working with Nalen Raloch. Nalen would be his perfect disciple, and Bengel probably wants access to the teachings of Rajivari. Find Padawan Yvisnusiish. She can aid you in your search."

Agenord said, "Facing Bengel Morr with a vibrosword might prove difficult. Master Orgus told me to bring the components of my lightsaber with me. With your permission, I will construct it before I continue."

Master Satele smiled. "Sometimes, that man's foresight can be annoying. You have my permission, as does Padawan Yvisnusiish. May the Force be with you both. Satele out."

"The village was already safe, wasn't it?" Ranna said. "Because Bengel Morr made the deal with Nalen."

"Yes," Agenord said. "But, he could have stopped them from attacking the village after the Jedi were destroyed." He watched her with a little pity. "You should get dressed. Your people will need you soon."

Teeseven whistled despondently.

Ranna looked to Agenord for translation, but he shrugged at her. She left to dress, and Agenord gave his power cell to Teeseven for charging and contacted Yvisnusiish.

Yvisnusiish Onoka stood naked in front of a mirror, examining her body. The Jedi training had robbed her of some breast size. She had a lot to spare, but that was still disappointing. The firm abs were nice, though. She should show more midriff. She turned to see her ass. Too bad the Jedi didn't allow high heels. She would look good in heels.

"Do you think I'd look good in heels, Qyzen? What am I saying? Your people don't even like mammals."

"No," he hissed. "But we understand modesty."

She flicked her hand at him. "Modesty is overrated." She pulled on her Jedi clothes. She was restricted to types of cloth she could use, but had a little leeway in how she designed them. Once she pulled on the outer robes, she tightened the leather straps around her chest to push and lift her breasts to their optimal shape. Not a single Padawan at the Academy could match them. A couple of the Masters gave her some competition, but she had youth against them. She smoothed the robes. The straps had been a good addition. They were functional and mimicked the web patterns on her lekku, adding symmetry. Overall, one of her best designs.

As she left the building, she was greeted by Vederiat Ayon.

"And this was all you needed, Padawan?" Vederiat asked. Like most people, she kept her face rigid when trying not to look at the Padawan's chest.

"Yes," Yvisnusiish said. "Jedi are not allowed to accept money. You have my gratitude for the opportunity to cleanse myself after my trials."

"Are your trials complete?" Vederiat said.

"Not yet, but soon. Qyzen, shall we go?"

She wandered through the village, accepted a flat bread graciously, and continued on. She still felt that weirdness from the Temple, and she was stuck in this place until it passed. Then she stopped. Agenord was about to call her.

"Hello, Agenord," she said after the communicator beeped.

"Where are you, Yvie?"

"I'm in the village, getting lunch."

"Come to the Matriarch's house immediately."

"I'll be right there."

He was always so pushy.

"She'll be here soon," Agenord said when Ranna returned.

He sat at her table as he worked. She sat opposite him and watched.

"So," she said with a sigh. "Now what."

He paused in his work. "It depends on what has happened to Master Orgus. I have calmed down a bit. I understand why you did it. I will speak to the Council for you. They might want you removed, but I will do my best to save the village."

"I didn't mean the Council."

"It depends on what has happened to Master Orgus."

"I meant it," she said. "You could stay. I wouldn't mind stepping down if you were here."

"I was made to be a Jedi," he told her.

"Because you're an Onoka?"

"A lot of reasons," he said. "We're preparing for war. It's a bad time to sideline one of our best."

"Are you really that good?" she asked.

"Yes. I am." He returned to the lightsaber. He took the power cell from Teeseven and inserted it in the pommel.

"All that from one power cell?" she asked.

"No," he said. "Primary power is supplied by a class seven fusion cell."

"Isn't that dangerous?"

He shook his head. "The class seven has never failed." He placed two orange lenses in the crystal chamber.

"I thought they were all blue or green," Ranna said. "I'm sorry. I'm bothering you."

"It's all right," he said. "Most are blue or green. Blue represents protection; green, growth or rebirth. Ideals important to the Jedi. Yellow tends to be philosophical. Purple... is complicated. And, orange, because of its association with fire, is favored by more aggressive Jedi."

"Yes," she said. "You can be aggressive."

"I'm sorry if I hurt you," he said.

"Not enough to ask you to stop."

"I meant your throat."

"Oh," she said. "Right."

Agenord finished the assembly, put the lightsaber in diagnostic mode, and began the test.

"When that turns green, it's ready," he told her.

"Will you really be able to stop them?"

"The flesh raiders, yes. They're ferocious but not well trained. I'm less sure about Bengel Morr and Nalen Raloch, but we will see." The final light turned green. He returned the saber to active mode and ignited the blade, watching it carefully, the orange reflection burning bright in the scar across his face. He looked from the saber to the door. "Yvie is here."

"Matriarch," Yvisnusiish said when the door opened. "My cousin asked me to meet him here."

"Yes," Ranna said and showed her in.

Yvie found Agenord examining the blade of his weapon. He looked up and deactivated the saber, and the Matriarch followed Agenord's every movement. What was going on? Agenord was closed off, but the Matriarch was aroused and satisfied. Lots of women were aroused looking at Agenord, but why was she satisfied? Agenord, did you fuck the Matriarch? Perfect Jedi, my ass.

"I've spoken with Master Satele," Agenord said. "The Temple is under attack by an army of flesh raiders."

"Oh, that's what that was."

"If you sensed it, why didn't you warn them?" Agenord asked.

"I'm sure someone there sensed it."

"Fine," Agenord said. "We need to stop their war leaders, and we need to find Bengel Morr and Nalen Raloch. They're working together now."

"Bengel Morr wants that stuff from Rajivari?" Yvisnusiish said. "The Fount doesn't work anymore. I tried it."

"Why did you try it?"

"Because... I thought it would help me find Nalen. But the ghost told me he's at the Forge. He wants to destroy it so Jedi can't build lightsabers."

"Why didn't you go after him?" Agenord asked.

"You know that's not how it works. The Forge is ceremonial. Destroying it won't do anything."

"But, you left an insane Force sensitive wandering around with nothing to do."

"I had to kill one of those things," Yvisnusiish said. "The big ones. I forget what they're called. Anyway, I was all smelly, and I needed a bath."

"If you had stopped him immediately, we would only need to fight Bengel Morr. Now, we need to stop both of them." He took a breath. "Master Satele has given you permission to build your lightsaber. Do you have your components?"

"I don't have my lenses."

"You haven't picked out- Never mind. They took Master Orgus prisoner."

"Why?" she said.

"Bengel Morr probably wants to turn him, but he will slow them down. The Forge might have lenses, if we can get to it before Nalen destroys it. Assemble what you can now, and give your power cell to Teeseven. He'll charge it on the way."

Yvisnusiish gave Teeseven the power cell and rapidly assembled what she could.

"Why do you talk to her this way?" Qyzen asked.

"Oh, yeah. That's Qyzen," Yvie said. "He's a friend of Master Yuon's."

"She's my cousin," Agenord said to Qyzen. "I'm used to her."

"I have seen her fight," Qyzen said. "She is a strong hunter."

"I know," Agenord said.

"I do not like your words." Qyzen's hiss was low and heavy with intent.

"I understand, but now is not the time."

Qyzen looked at Yvisnusiish. "You are her kin," he said. "I will wait."

Yvie sighed inwardly. "I've done as much as I can. Let's go."

"What do I do?" Ranna asked.

"Protect your people," Agenord replied.

"And try to be nice to the Jedi," Yvie added.

Ranna looked at her sharply, but Yvie pretended not to notice.