Ebon Hawk, Hyperspace
Carth Onasi

After what felt like an eternity, they were finally arriving. Carth ran his hands through his hair ready to set foot on real ground. Four days traveling with his current company had been something entirely out of his comfort zone. He'd never been on a mission which resulted in him needing to avoid horny freed pleasure slaves. Three times a day now for the last four had brought a new one each time to the cockpit. Asking if they could help him relax while he performed his work.

The first time he had naively assumed they were offering to help fly the ship. Then the two twin Rodian sisters had tried to show him what their slender snouts were famous for. After them it had been a Twi'lek, so soft and feminine he mistook him for a girl, hiding under the consol waiting for him. Carth had nearly broken something falling out of his chair with his pants already undone. He couldn't escape it anywhere in the ship! The crew quarters were constantly occupied, The Mando was taking his share of fun in the garage, and twice now he found the shower being shared by Aria with who knows who. He hadn't needed to avoid so much sex since boot camp.

It was starting to get to him. Despite taking care of himself, the returning bulge in his pants was only becoming harder to ignore. He was becoming paranoid that someone had released an aphrodisiac into the ship's recycled air system. Carth had pretended he didn't see the same frustration in Bastila. The Wookie was the only one aboard who didn't seem affected. Keeping to himself outside of his little blue friend, and Carth highly doubted their friendship was that close. It would all be over soon. After landing on Dantooine it would only be a matter of time before he was back on a real Republic ship.

'It's going to be weird going back to something normal after knowing-', speak of the devil she had just walked in. Plopping down in the co-pilot seat. Bathing in the reflection of hyperspace in one of Mission's borrowed too small shirts that she was stretching out to its limit, and her usual lack of pants.
"Hey there, we'll be dropping out of Hyperspace in about ten." He didn't need to take a glance to see what little else she was wearing. The tiny black string-bikini style panties she paraded around in were seared into his brain, and he already felt his cock twitch. Aria hummed out her response sounding like she was still shaking off sleep. She stretched out her back bringing a string of pops out of her body, including one that popped off one the shirts buttons trying to reign in her rack, "Awesome. Can't wait to feel some sun again."

Carth pinched his eyes shut, "You know once we land, we're going back to acting like professional Republic soldiers."
"When did you ever stop, Fleets?", Aria chuckled resting her head in her hand. Winking at him with a sly grin, "Unless you've been enjoying some gratitude after all."
"Hah, no…wait were you the one sending them up here?!", Carth tried to glare at her, but jerked back to check on his instruments. His eyes had snapped to the gravitational pull of her cleavage. Nearly busting out of the little shirt, making his cock rock hard, and bugling once more, trapped in his pants. Aria smiled enjoying his struggle, "They didn't need any push from me. You're a dashing fellow Carth. There's also this one thing about you...something a little sad; It's pretty hot."

"Now you've lost me.", Carth dryly laughed, "They've been trying to get into my pants, because I'm sad?" Aria nodded as if it was obvious. She leant back into her chair folding her hands over her exposed stomach. Gazing out into the passageway of bending star light, Aria sighed wistfully.
"Haven't you ever seen someone. You know, weighed down by something bothering them, and it just made you want to help them deal with the stress?" Carth opened his mouth to say something, but then he remembered a night which had changed his life. He sighed feeling the memory crush him under its weight, "Yeah…Yeah, I have."

"Carth…", Aria could hear it in his voice, "Sorry, I didn't mean to…Do you want to talk about them?"
"No.", He flat out refused, "Sorry Beautiful, but can we change the subject." Carth couldn't stand the pitying look she gave him, but Aria didn't push him. Looking back out to Hyperspace she said, "You ever seen Purrgil, Fleets?"
"Have I ever seen what?", Carth raised a brow surprised at the question. "They're these great big creatures. As big as about thirty meters long and five or six meters high. Like whales that live in deep space." The pilot listened thoughtfully, "What got you thinking about them?"
Aria gestured out before them, "They can travel through Hyperspace. Some legends say they were the ones who taught us, but their flocks can unwittingly crash into traveling ships destroying them accidentally."

Carth shivered, "Greaaat, there's a new fear for the endless dangers of space travel." Aria just softly smiled, "I like to keep an eye out for them. They're gorgeous traveling companions. That is, when you're heading in the same direction."
"You've seen them?"
"A long, long time ago. The memory is almost fuzzy now, but I'll never forget watching as this starship sized being sailed alongside me. It made me feel so small, and insignificant in that moment, but not in a bad way. It was this breathtaking feeling I don't think I've experienced since I was a kid, just this raw wonderous rapture that ensnared me for hours during the journey." Carth found himself drawn into her story.

He wanted to share one of his own, "I had an experience like that once. You ever encounter the Diathim?"
Aria shook her head, "No, but I've heard them be called Angels."
"Angels is the right word. They're these beings like pure energy. You can't really make out their features because their so luminous, but everyone says they're beautiful. They live on Lego and its largest moon. They're fascinated by starships, flying up to them with their six wings. It was my first time helming a cruiser officially after graduating, and we passed by Millus Prime. A whole flock of them surrounded us. One came right up to the view port where I was. She was totally and completely breathe taking. You know the whole siren gambit; I became a complete fool, forgot how to talk like she was the first pretty girl I ever saw, and narrowly avoided a crash with a nearby previous wreck they caused."

Aria closed her eyes imagining them. A smile growing on her face as she giggled, "I'd like to meet them."
Carth chuckled, "I know how'd you like to meet them." She didn't fight his accusation, "Mhmm~ Exactly." He shook his head, "You wouldn't even need to get hypnotized. You would crash the ship yourself."
"Six wings? Hypnotic gaze? So bright I'll need a blast shield? I won't even drop out of hyperspace. I'll just collide with the planet dead on.", She joked…he hoped.
"And that's why I'm piloting the ship."
"And we thank you.", Bastila entered the conversation sounding better than she had in days.

Looking better too, the Jedi had returned to her proper prim ensemble. She stood at rest with her hands behind her back. Carrying the aura of a Leader that made Carth almost salute her out of habit. It didn't look like anything could bother the Jedi now, not even Aria's current state could rattle her. The instrument panel lit up, and Carth made the announcement, "Dropping out of Hyperspace now." The snap out of Hyperspace dropped them just in sight of the planet. Undisturbed by any great urban development, with only a few small settlements. Its vast continents of mountains, oceans, and grasslands made the world a stunning ornament in the emptiness of space. A remote spot from the wider galaxy, offering a promise of peace and solace form all its distant trouble.

Bastila gazed upon on their sanctuary with weary nostalgia, "Dantooine…it seems like a lifetime since I last set foot on her surface, though in truth it has only been a few months. We should be safe from Malak here…for now, at least."
"Safe?", Carth struggled not to laugh, "You saw what his fleet did to Taris: there wasn't a building over two stories high left standing! They…they turned the planet into one big pile of rubble." She put a hand on his shoulder, and Carth regretted what he had said. He crushed the pleasant atmosphere that had been built up in the cabin. Bastila squeezed him trying to instill some confidence, "Even the Sith would think twice before attacking Dantooine. There are many Jedi here, including several of the most powerful Masters of the Order. There is great strength within this place." He wished he could believe that a few Jedi could really deter the Sith Fleet. What good could the Jedi Masters do against an orbital bombardment?

Aria smiled at the two of them, "I agree with Bastila. We should be safe here." Bastila nodded, "We can get supplies here and recuperate. The Academy is a place of mental and spiritual healing; something we could all use after what we've been through." Carth sighed squeezing her hand back relenting, "Maybe you're right. It isn't easy to witness the annihilation of an entire planet. I know Mission must be taking it pretty hard. How's she been?", He asked Aria. Her smile became tender, "She's strong. That pain isn't going away, but she'll find her way." Carth caught the strange expression that flashed on Bastila's face, but the Jedi didn't keep it for long.

"When we land, I must go speak with the Council. I need their advice on…recent developments. After I have met with them, I will meet you outside the ship."

Dantooine, Council Chamber
Belaya

"This is a highly distressing time for our order.", Master Vander shook his little green head. "And it pains us all to learn one of our own has fallen." Belaya kept her eyes down on the floor. Back again in the Council room. This time it was only Master Vander, Master Lestin, and herself. The other Masters were already at work covering things up. In the name of preserving peace, and the Enclave's image of safety to the local farmers. Lestin showed no outward sign of any so-called distress, but his silence had weight to it.
"Belaya…I know Juhani is a dear friend to you.", Vander frowned, "That is why I wish to ease the pain, by telling you this directly. So you will not learn this like the rest." Vander began to explain, but Belaya heard nothing. She already knew what he was going to say.

It was unbelievable. The Padawan couldn't understand how she was still standing after what Juhani had just blurted out.
"Master Quatra is dead?", She mouthed the words back. It was so easy to say, but it didn't sound right at all. Juhani looked crazed, wild with a manic energy, and drenched in the heavy scent of rough sex. Clawing open the door into her room to get in. Juhani was explaining too fast for her to comprehend. "She was going to hurt you! I had to stop her!"

Belaya shivered recalling how terrified she had been when Quatra cornered her. The repressed desire had been so strong it lapped at the Padawan's skin under her robes. Even when Quatra had hit her, Belaya didn't want to believe it. The Tortuga had always been a constant in their lives as a guiding figure. For her to become something to fear and defend against was unthinkable. She clutched her sides spiraling in a panic unsure of what to do. Juhani was holding her, stroking her back, whispering that they would be okay.

"Okay? The Order is going to hunt you down for this! They will call you a Dark Jedi!", She sobbed into the crook of Juhani's neck. Kissing her tears Juhani chuckled, "Let them. I have freed myself of any restraints upon my strength. They will only join my Master in becoming part of the force." Belaya pulled away horrified, suddenly weighed down by a terrible feeling of guilt; Was she the cause of this? Had it been her confession that triggered this nightmarish outcome?
"No,no,no…", She whispered as Juhani cupped her face. Looking at her with the most adoring eyes while there was drying blood, presumably Quatra's, on her lips.

"I will protect you. Belaya. With this new power born from our love. I will see you safe; I vow this to you." Belaya felt her heart breaking. Torn in two different directions quickly separating by a widening chasm. Foremost to the Order she had known all her life, and the latter was this beautiful woman who'd killed for her already.
"Juhani, I-I…Where would we go? A life spent hiding on the run?" Juhani's eyes were alit with a terrible answer, "We could join the Sith."
"No! Juhani you would destroy us both!"
"The Jedi already plan to do that anyway. This is a matter of our survival."

Belaya sobbed covering her face wanting to wake from this waking nightmare. She heard the shock in Juhani's voice, "You…still want to be a Jedi?"
"Yes, despite our dance with these temptations, yes! You can still be a Jedi! I'm sure the Council will see the truth that you acted in defense! It was your Master who pushed you!" She looked into Juhani's gaze, foolishly hoping she knew, to see what she wanted to be there, but there were only collecting tears pooling in the fallen Jedi's eyes.

An alarm went off. The Enclave had discovered Quatra's body, and their time was running short. Juhani wiped away Belaya's tears.
"I will wait for you in the grove. I know you will come for me. Not as a false guardian of peace that they never protected, but as my friend…my soulmate." Their last kiss goodbye was soured by the taste of copper.

She left her there alone with nothing but her unending sorrows. Belaya stayed there unable to muster the strength to do anything else. Just waiting for the alarm to end, and when it did, she still didn't move. Outside her room was a storm of confusion she could not take yet. Sunlight flooded her room, then sank from it, replaced by moonlight. She gazed out to Dantooine's twin moons, knowing that Juhani waited under them for her.

And she did not go. Almost in a trance Belaya moved mechanically. Readying herself for when Master Lestin would fetch her. Erasing any evidence Juhani had been in her room. She could not throw away years of training, of all her hard work to become a Jedi. Not even for Juhani, the feeling of her betrayal made her want to cry again, but she had no more tears. Belaya got no sleep that night, and when Master Lestin fetched her, the Twi'lek said nothing of her drained appearance.

Now in the present he finally spoke, "…Do you have any idea of where Juhani has gone? We do not believe she has left the planet." Clenching her fists Belaya felt once more that she was at the crossroads of determining her fate. Once more made a betrayer to the one she loved most, "She would seek solace in the ancient grove. We should immediately take action to prevent any future injury, and close off access." The two Masters already knew where Juhani was. They were just testing her loyalty. She'd been expecting their test. Placing her hand over her heart she pleaded with them, "Send me. I can reach through to her!"

Master Lestin shared a glance with Master Vander, "And if you can't? Juhani has fallen to the Darkside and committed a grievous crime on her own Master in the process. You were very close, but now that friendship means nothing. She may attack you, even kill you. Would you be able to do what you must if she did? Could you face her with the possibility of that outcome?" Belaya's heart was drumming with anxiety. They already knew her answer.

"No, you will not be the one who faces her.", Vander spoke. His words so heavy from such a tiny frame, "Your past puts you both in danger. I must forbid you from risking your life. Losing one Padawan is already an awful thing. Two would be too much too soon." Her Master interjected, "I must also forbid you from speaking of this with anyone else. None must know what has truly happened."
"Of course, my Masters, but…what will be done about Juhani?", She was afraid to ask, but she needed to know.

"We will not rush to any action, and risk hurting anyone else, including Juhani. It's highly likely that she may come to regret her actions." He attempted to be optimistic, trying to offer a small glimmer of a better outcome. Belaya weakly smiled back knowing he was just trying to comfort her, but they both knew that wouldn't happen. Juhani may eventually come to regret killing Quatra, but she would never come back on her own. She had felt the euphoria, enrapturing like a drug, within Juhani. She had tapped into the Darkside, and now was happily intoxicated with the illusions it gave. Drunk on feeling more powerful than she truly was, unable to comprehend that Belaya could never quit the Jedi Order.

She was beside herself leaving the dreary meeting. Her mind unable to stop thinking about Juhani waiting for her. How she was forbidden to seek her out. If she did, how it could only end one way; rejecting her lover's offer and risking a duel. The ideal of Juhani attacking her turned her stomach. It would have been impossible to even imagine just a few days ago. Belaya's hand brushed against the hilt of her lightsaber, instantly she pictured herself standing over a defeated Juhani, and she jerked away from it like it had scalded her.

Shuddering Belaya leaned against a wall. Utterly lost in what to do, unable to see a way for things to ever be mended right. Hearing someone approaching Belaya wished they just left her alone.
"Belaya, there you are!", a familiar voice called to her, and she turned. It was one of her fellow Padawan called Dak Veeser. The young handsome man was once someone she considered a rival. His features were the dream of many lovesick girls, but his adoring love for learning had always been his best feature. Once he began speaking of some new fascinating subject, his enthusiasm could draw anyone in.

For the longest time, he had once been Juhani's closest friend. Something which had only changed in the last few months as he was distracted with preparation for his trials. The worry was laid naked on his face, and Belaya hated how it made her feel personally responsible for it to be there.
"The Masters aren't telling us anything about what happened! We were all gathered, except for you and Juhani, and I couldn't find her anywhere. Nor have I seen her Master. They've locked down Quatra's room, and her neighbors are being told to say nothing. Belaya, you're my only hope, did something happen to Juhani!" It wasn't a surprise he had put it together so quickly. Belaya had to look away from his worried sick eyes, searching for any answer that could quail his fears.

"Belaya, please…Is Juhani okay?", His voice was tight, and Belaya was weak to its honest concern. Dak was the only other soul on the planet besides her that sincerely cared about Juhani. He had been Juhani's first friend when she arrived. Being there for the Cathar for the longest time before she ever had. If anyone had a right to know, it was him. She did her best to explain. Hiding everything about their affair, but letting him know about Quatra, and where Juhani waited now. He said nothing, not interfering with her story. Only speaking once she was done.

"Fallen to the Darkside…and the Masters are choosing to do nothing again.", He punched a fist into his palm.
"They don't want anyone else to get hurt. If we don't handle this carefully…Juhani may die." Dak froze realizing she was right. He began pacing racking his brain, "You're right. We must be smart about this. One wrong decision and…" He squeezed her shoulders showing a moral boosting smile, "Don't worry. We'll solve this. I know we can save Juhani." Unlike when Lestin had tried to offer a modicum of hope, Dak's conviction touched her.

Belaya thought there could really be a chance, but not with her involvement. "I can do nothing. Their eyes are trained on me, and if I were to act the Masters would intercede; I've already broken one direct order by telling you this. If I were to-" Dak didn't lose his brilliant smile, "I understand. Belaya, I can ask no more of you. You've already given Juhani a chance that no one else here would." The praise stabbed Belaya in her heart. Bleeding the woman as Dak left her to accomplish what she could not.
"May the Force be with you.", Was all she could say.

As she watched him go there was a murmuring of voice. Carrying her attention to where the younger Padawans were pointing at the sky. She felt it like they all did. An approaching ship, only the size of a dot in the atmosphere now, was coming their way. Yet even at such a great distance, they could all feel the Force pull to it like the receding waves of a beach. Reeling back like the terrifying warning of a great tsunami about to be unleashed upon them. Something both terrific and terrible was about to land in the courtyard of the Enclave.