Fire and Shadow

Mara stumbled and crashed into a bulkhead as the deck of the Jade Sabre lurched hard to port.  Mara ignored the sharp pain in her left shoulder and staggered through the main cabin to the cockpit.

The view screen was awash with brilliant flashes of red.  Streams of turbo-laser fire cris-crossed through space as two groups of Hapes cruisers traded volleys.

Jaina took a moment to glance back at Mara, then returned her attention to the shuttle's flight controls.  "We hit a gravity well and left Hyperspace.  One of those cruisers must be an interdictor."

Mara belted herself in the chair next to Jaina, she examined the sensor displays to see just how large the battle was around them.

"We're in one of the Consortium border sectors, over forty cruisers are fighting out there," said Mara while Jaina evaded and jinked through the deadly firestorm.  A stray blast smashed into the Jade Sabre's shields, the shuttle shivered and angled to starboard until Jaina corrected the ship's course.

"Would you plot a new route to Hapes while I get us out of this?" asked Jaina tersely as she dove underneath a burning warship.

"I'm plotting it right now," nodded Mara, her slim fingers working quickly at the Nav console.

Jaina used the Force to guide her flight through the battling cruisers.  She instinctively rolled to starboard and dived before a burning warship exploded brilliantly, hurling large pieces of debris in all directions.  As the Jade Sabre achieved more and more distance from the battle, Jaina transferred power from the shields to the engines so that the laser-burned shuttle could escape the interdictor's artificial gravity well.

"The coordinates are set, we can shift to light-speed when you're ready," reported Mara.

Jaina nodded just before a violent shudder passed through the shuttle.

"Where did that come from?" demanded Jaina.

"One Hapes cruiser is on our tail.  Aft shields are almost gone," frowned Mara.

More ruby beams snapped around the fleeing shuttle.  Jaina dodged as best she could, but several more turbo-lasers splashed over the port and starboard shields.

"Are we clear of the gravity well?" snapped Jaina.

"Two more minutes."

Jaina embraced the Force again to guide her, but felt something, a darkness that enveloped the shuttle like a death shroud.

"I can feel the Dark Side," murmured the young woman.

Mara closed her eyes and reached out with her senses.  "It's Brakiss, he's on that cruiser."

"It's true then, Brakiss is behind the Consortium civil war."

"We're clear of the gravity well, Jaina, get us out of here."

The turbo-laser fire intensified just as the Jade Sabre roared into Hyperspace.  The pursuing Hapes warship stopped firing its turbo-laser batteries and slowed.

Brakiss stood in a dark observation room, staring at the area of space where the Jade Sabre had fled.  He smiled and placed his arms behind his back, his natural left hand clutching his new artificial right.  A Hapes commander entered the room and drew herself up to attention.

"The enemy has escaped into Hyperspace, Master Brakiss.  Do you wish us to follow her?"

"No.  I know where they are going, Commander.  Order the squadron to advance to our next target."

The commander nodded and left Brakiss to his thoughts.  The lean Dark Jedi left the observation port and crossed the room to a holo-comm unit.  He activated the unit, a blue image of a man dressed in Mandalorian battle armor materialized in the center of the room.

"Two more Jedi will be arriving on Hapes soon.  Take care of the Queen Mother before they arrive."

"As you wish," nodded the warrior slowly before his image disappeared.

***

Jacen waited for the lift doors to open before he walked out into the War Room of the Fountain Palace.  Officers and techs made way for the Jedi Knight, some even nodded respectfully as he crossed the large, dimly-lit chamber to join Tenel Ka, Captain Astarta, and the Minister of Defense, Demma Mollea.  The three women stood around a holo-tank which displayed a floating image of the Hapes Cluster.  The entire perimeter of the Cluster was colored bright red, spikes of red stabbed deep toward the heart of the image, spreading out like cancerous tumors even as Jacen watched.

Tenel Ka looked at Jacen and smiled wanly.  Jacen gave her a brief hug of support, then parted and set his hands on the edge of the holo-tank.

"Looks grim."

"The only good news is that the rebel factions are fighting each other as much as they are fighting us," replied Astarta grimly.

"I recommend that we recall our forces engaged along the border, we can hold the core systems and repel the rebels with fewer losses, we're spread too thinly right now," said Demma, a stern woman who wore her dark brown hair in a tight bun and dressed in a conservative gray suit.

"If we do that we abandon my loyal subjects along the border," pointed out Tenel.

"They can resist the rebel occupying forces and tie down troops," argued Demma.

"If you can keep Hapes, the neutral nobles will fall in with you and allow us to crush the traitors," said Astarta.  "I agree with Demma, we need to forget the border sectors and concentrate our forces in the core."

Tenel Ka stared hard at the floating holo-image.  She sighed and nodded slightly.  "Very well, order our ships out of the border sectors and have them reinforce the core world defenses."

Tenel left the holo-tank and marched across the chamber to the waiting lift.  Jacen followed Tenel and stood at her side while she punched the button for the royal apartments.

"You're doing great, Tenel," smiled Jacen.

"I wish my mother was here, she understood military strategy," sighed Tenel.

"She fought on land with rancors, I don't think she could command fleets like you've been doing."

"She understood the basic principles of warfare, she taught me what she could, but I have always concentrated upon my own fighting skills, it is much more difficult to direct others in battle."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Tenel," whispered Jacen as he leaned close and kissed the young woman's soft hair.  Tenel moaned softly and leaned against Jacen, laying her left cheek over his heart.

"I've got an hour before my next briefing," murmured Tenel.

"Have anything particular in mind?" grinned Jacen.

"Yes," growled Tenel, grasping the back of Jacen's head and kissing him hard on the mouth.

***

Tenel pushed Jacen against the closed bedchamber door and pulled open his brown tunic.  Jacen laughed softly while Tenel kissed and licked his strong chest, her moist lips caressing each of his nipples.  Jacen released Tenel's hair from its loose braid, bright red tresses spilled over Tenel's milky shoulders and down her back.  Tenel kissed Jacen again, a long, sensual, languid kiss, then knelt in front of him, unbuckling his belt and tugging his leggings down.  Tenel rubbed her face over Jacen's crotch and licked the length of the young man's cock.  Jacen set his legs apart and buried his fingers in Tenel's thick, red hair, moaning while Tenel kissed his shaft and the swelling, dark pink head.  Tenel looked up into Jacen's lust-glazed eyes as she wrapped her lips around the tip of his prick and sucked its entire length into her warm mouth.  Jacen groaned loudly, his hands clutching Tenel's head, his pelvis quaking while Tenel sucked wetly on his member, her tongue stroking every inch of his manhood, her tender lips milking him ravenously.  Tenel slowly rolled her head, slurping and sucking hungrily, her hands grasping Jacen's buttocks and squeezing.  Jacen began bucking while he moaned, shoving his cock into Tenel's wet mouth, his breathing ragged and harsh as his cock engorged between the beautiful queen's lips.

"You are ready now," smiled Tenel before she gave Jacen's cock one last, slow lick.  The Queen Mother stood up and pulled her gown off of her slender shoulders.  She allowed the gown to slide down her slim body to the floor, then she walked to a nearby wall and set her open palms against the smooth crystal.

"Take me, Jacen," smiled Tenel wantonly, presenting her tight buttocks to the young man.

Jacen was breathing hard when he took his place behind Tenel, seizing her small ass and caressing her smooth buttocks with his strong fingers.  Tenel gasped softly when Jacen reached between her legs and fondled her pussy, she slowly rolled her hips, rubbing her cunt against Jacen's hand.  When Tenel's pussy was slick with honey, Jacen gently spread her bare legs apart, pried her buttocks open so that her gleaming, pink cunt was visible, then pressed the bloated tip of his cock against the opening of her sex.  

Jacen entered Tenel Ka slowly, wrapping his arms around her waist, pressing his mouth against the back of her neck while he probed deeper and deeper into her pussy with his shaft.  Tenel shivered in Jacen's embrace, she tilted her head back and kissed Jacen desperately, flicking her tongue over his even as she thrust out with her ass, ramming her lover's cock deeper into her vagina.  When Tenel's vagina began squeezing Jacen's pole, the young man groaned and started slamming into Tenel's ass faster, his arms pinning the queen against him.  Tenel's slender fingers pressed upon the cool, slick crystal wall, she threw back her head and moaned continuously while she thrust back with her tight ass over and over, driving Jacen's cock hard into her dribbling cunt.  Jacen's hands slid up Tenel's stomach and enfolded the young woman's shaking breasts, he squeezed and tugged on them while he crashed into Tenel's ass harder and harder, he nuzzled the girl's warm, damp hair, he licked her creamy, white shoulders.

Tenel Ka arched her back and whimpered when her orgasm blossomed between her thighs.  The young woman's vagina clenched tightly around Jacen's throbbing prick, the bloated cock head squirted streams of warm cream into Tenel's shuddering belly.

Tenel turned and leaned back against the wall.  Jacen massaged Tenel's quivering tits and kissed her passionately, she draped her arms over his shoulders and devoured his mouth with equal fervor.

***

The young Queen Mother canceled the rest of the day's briefings to be with Jacen.  They made love all afternoon and finally stopped at dusk to sleep.  Tenel was exhausted, she hadn't exerted herself that much since her training days on Yavin IV.  Tenel turned her head to the right, Jacen slept peacefully on his stomach, his right arm lay across her stomach.  Tenel Ka smiled at him and reached out to stroke his wet, brown hair.  She would have to leave him again to see how the defense of the Consortium progressed, she couldn't ignore the war anymore.

Tenel was sliding back into her shimmering, silver gown when the feeling of danger struck her.  She spun to face the balcony doors, just before they exploded inward.  Tenel dove to the floor, raised a Force-shield to deflect the flying glass from herself and Jacen, then reached out with her left hand to summon her lightsaber.

The rancor-tooth weapon snap-hissed to life.  Tenel rose while a man dressed in scarlet Mandalorian battle armor marched into the room wielding a repeat blaster.  Jacen was rolling off the bed when the warrior released an arc of green blaster fire from the bed to the bedroom door.  Tenel Ka winced as the bright jade bolts smashed against her Force-shield, she sprinted towards the armored warrior, her left arm swinging back to deliver a slash at her attacker.

Jacen stood and activated his own lightsaber.  The warrior raised his left arm and fired a stream of ruby blasts from a wrist weapon.  Jacen deflected the bolts with his humming blade, then leapt onto the bed to engage in battle.

The warrior lunged at Tenel Ka even as she slashed at him with her lightsaber.  A blue-bladed vibro-sword snapped free from the warrior's right wrist, he parried Tenel's strike and forced her back with a series of lightning swift blows.  Before Jacen could engage the warrior's flank, a second attacker emerged from the balcony, a familiar black-armored droid with a long, cylindrical head crowned with a ring of glowing red eye ports.

"IG-88!" exclaimed Jacen before the assassin droid snapped up both arms and fired bursts of laser bolts from two ugly blaster appendages.

Jacen blocked several ruby bolts as he dropped behind the bed.  IG-88 tore the large, canopy bed apart with a vicious blaster bombardment, he strode into the bed's ruins and smashed aside the remains with his weapon arms as he searched for Jacen's body.

Tenel Ka threw open the bedroom doors with the Force during a brief lull in her duel with the armored warrior.  The man crouched low with vibro-sword extended out, then jumped up high, slashing down with his blade as he descended.  Tenel knocked the blade aside with her lightsaber and performed a spin-kick, hurling the warrior across the audience chamber to smash against the far wall.  The armored man recovered quickly, rolling back to his booted feet and firing a line of ruby bolts from his left wrist weapon.  As Tenel dodged and deflected the blaster bolts, the warrior launched a cord line from his right wrist, the cord hissed around Tenel and bound her arms to her sides.  Tenel fell heavily onto the floor, straining against the cord that bit painfully into her exposed flesh.  She severed the cord line near her feet with the tip of her lightsaber, she wriggled free just as the warrior arced above her, stabbing down with his bright vibro-blade.  The blade slid easily into Tenel's left thigh, piercing through flesh and muscle to the bone.  Tenel screamed and stabbed up with her lightsaber, the glowing tip drew a black line across the warrior's breastplate, parting the armor as if it was wet paper.

The warrior crashed to the floor.  He staggered up and leveled his left arm at Tenel's prone form, then the room's far doors opened and Captain Astarta entered with a squad of royal guards.

Ruby bolts rained upon the warrior, knocking the man against the wall and pinning him there like a butterfly put on display. The warrior did not fall after the violent spray of blaster fire, he slid across the wall and dove into the bedchamber where Tenel could hear a nearly constant roar of blaster bolts.

Tenel Ka ran into her bedchamber with lightsaber brandished before her.  The unknown warrior and IG-88 fled through the shattered balcony doors, ascending with jump-packs onto a hovering ship.  Tenel started to run to the balcony, but stopped when she saw Jacen slump down a wall to the floor, his body smoldering from several blaster hits.

"Jacen!" shouted Tenel as she fell to the floor next to the gasping Jedi.

"It's not that bad," grinned Jacen weakly, his face pale and drenched in sweat.

"Astarta!  Get a doctor quickly!"

The guard captain nodded, motioned for her squad to guard the balcony, then left the bedchamber at a full run.

Tenel hugged Jacen and brushed her lips upon his left cheek.  She shared her strength with Jacen, binding them together with the Force.  Jacen looked down at Tenel's bleeding thigh, he felt the pain of the wound through their link.

"You have a nasty wound, there.  You should use your strength to heal it."

"You are in greater danger, my love, I must help you until the doctor arrives."

"Just holding me helps," grinned Jacen wanly.  He rested his head on Tenel's right shoulder, his body leaned heavily against hers.  Tenel hugged Jacen tight and kissed his head, her eyes filled with worry as she used the Force to sustain them both.

*****