Chapter 14: Honest Conversation

The pirate’s scream devolved into a gurgle as Lana choked the life force out of them. Gurgles turned to strained gasps, then ceased with a sickening crack, the pirate’s neck snapping audibly. Turning her attention a few yards away, she reached out with the force and retrieved her lightsaber from a different pirate, who now sported a charred hole in their chest. The hum of the weapon disappeared with the blade as Lana deactivated it, clipping it back onto her belt. Glancing around at the carnage she and Vera had wrought (well, mostly her), she let out a calming breath. The rage had mostly dissipated, and she was thankful to have had such an appropriate outlet for it this time.

There was a shuffling sound behind Lana as Vera slipped her sidearm back into its holster. Once again looking out over the twenty or so dead pirates, Lana could only see two that sported blaster wounds, and she remembered both of those kills clearly. The recipients of Vera’s pinpoint shots had been attempting to flank Lana, and while Lana probably would’ve been okay, it was much appreciated when Vera had stamped out the threat.

“I’ve always had a question about throwing lightsabers,” Vera said, sauntering up until she stood next to the Sith. “Whenever I’ve killed somebody who had a lightsaber, it immediately shut off upon their death. When you throw it, it stays activated as it carves a path of indiscriminate destruction through your enemies. What makes it stay on?”

Lana smiled. Even though the question was assuredly not personal, it somehow felt that way when Vera asked it of her. “The emitter switch on a lightsaber has to be constantly held to keep the weapon active. When one trains with it, they’re taught to use the Force to keep pressure on the switch when wielding it, which allows one to perform feats such as throwing it. When the owner of a lightsaber is killed, they are no longer pressing the switch, thus it extinguishes.”

“Hmm.” It looked as though Vera was staring at Lana’s lightsaber, but it was hard to tell with her helmet on. “That’d make it pretty hard for someone like me to use one.”

The Sith chuckled. “Yes, that would be a barrier to entry, among other things.”

“Eh, I’d have to get too close to my targets anyway.” Vera crossed her arms and shifted her weight, causing her right hip to pop out. “How’re you feeling? Need to find any more lousy pirates?”

Lana shook her head. “No, I feel much better.”

“Good enough to talk about last night?”

The words caused the miasma of thoughts from earlier to come rushing back in full force. Again, it was difficult to get a read on Vera’s tone, but the little voice in the back of Lana’s head was getting louder, screaming “danger, danger!”. When Vera cleared her throat, Lana realized she’d taken too long to respond. “Yes, of course, let’s talk.”

Vera’s shoulders bounced slightly, indicating a silent laughter. “Not here, sweetheart. Come on.” The bounty hunter reached out and wrapped her fingers around Lana’s, giving her a gentle tug as she began walking.

Holding hands had to be a good sign, right? Lana was trying desperately to keep the whirlwind of extrapolated conclusions at bay, but her propensity to overanalyze was doing her no favors. Still, Vera’s hand in hers helped.

“I can hear you thinking back there. This isn’t a bad conversation, I promise.” This time, Lana could hear the assurance in Vera’s voice, which helped quiet her thoughts even more. The bounty hunter led her across the uneven terrain, around various wooden support posts as they wound their way under the platforms. It was an interesting sensation, walking beneath the city, since usually beneath a city involved sewers, cramped spaces, and the potential for danger around every turn. Here, they were essentially strolling along the beach, hopping over puddles and avoiding patches of mud as best they could. Again, if the pirate presence was reduced, Lana could see herself spending more time here. Given that she had the time to spend, of course.

Vera slipped around a large rock feature, and upon following her, Lana saw that the rock opened up into a shallow cave, most likely a result of the tide ebbing and flowing over decades, maybe centuries. They were currently at low tide, or near it, so the cave was accessible with only a few spots of standing water. It wasn’t very deep, maybe only six feet; enough to slip in and shield one’s self from prying eyes, as long as those eyes weren’t coming from the water. Vera had stepped inside, just within the hollow’s edge, and stood staring out at the ocean, her arms crossed. Mirroring the other woman’s position, Lana again fought away the desire to analyze Vera’s body language.

Time passed, both of them staring out at the water, watching the gentle waves that caused the sun’s rays to sparkle and refract into fleeting pinpoints of light. The silence wasn’t exactly tense, but it was starting to wear on, and Lana was about to speak up before she heard the hiss of air from Vera’s helmet as the Chiss broke the seal and removed it. Turning slightly, Lana watched as Vera tucked her helmet under her arm and brushed a flyaway piece of hair out of her face, or tried to at least, before giving up with a huff. Unable to help herself, Lana reached over and tucked the offending hair behind Vera’s ear, feeling the other woman’s breath hitch for the slightest of moments. Dark blue lips stretched into a cross between her trademark smirk and a smile, and red eyes gazed at Lana as the Sith removed her hand. They held eye contact until Vera looked back out at the ocean and spoke.

“Did you mean it?”

There was no question what the “it” was that she was referring to. As soon as she’d awoken that morning, that was the first question Lana had asked herself. Surprisingly, the answer had come quickly. Yes, she had meant it. She did, in fact, love Vera. Or at least, the feelings she felt toward the Chiss woman matched her understanding of love. Love wasn’t an emotion that was explored very deeply in Sith culture, at least not in a way that didn’t incorporate some sort of ulterior motive. So while the answer had come quickly, the further discourse had revolved around the fact of whether she should tell Vera. What did Vera want to hear? Did she want that type of connection, was that what she had been hoping for when she’d defied the Empire to join Lana in her quasi-exile? Or was she just looking for a good fuck who was also enjoyable to be around? Eventually, Lana had arrived at the only logical conclusion she could agree with: Vera would want to hear the truth. Regardless of whether she reciprocated the feelings, or even wanted the possibility of such a connection, their relationship thus far had been built, as improbable as it was, on mutual honesty, and there was no reason that should change now.

Because she’d already gone through all of that self-reflection earlier, Lana didn’t hesitate in her response. “Absolutely.”

The Chiss turned back to face her, and Lana could see that her eyes were a little glassy, which could mean any number of things. Lana waited for Vera to speak, though what was said was not what she expected to hear.

“How do you know?”

Lana blinked, examining the vulnerability shining on Vera’s face. “I … it’s how I feel about you.”

Closing her eyes for a bit longer than a standard blink, Vera let out a soft sigh. “But how do you know?”

This conversation was not going the direction Lana had expected it to, and honestly, she still wasn’t sure where it was headed. “I suppose it depends on what your perception of love is, but for me, it feels right. The way that I don’t have to always be on my guard with you, that I can actually stop the constant strategic analysis. I love the way that you are so unapologetic in what you want, and you don’t try to trick your way into getting it, you just face it head on and demand it. I love that you see me without my title, without my backstory, without viewing everything through the lens of being a Sith.” Lana paused, feeling a little surprised with herself on how much she was saying, in direct contrast to how she’d been raised. It was her turn to stare out at the water as she continued. “Obviously these things are specific to me, but I take all of that, add the unexplainable joy that tints every experience I have with you, and that’s what love means to me. I don’t know if that’s what you wanted to hear, but-“

“It was.” Lana was cut off by Vera’s assertive declaration, and she returned her gaze to the other woman. Vera wiped the gathered tears from her eyes with the hand not occupied with her helmet. “Like you said, your specific reasons aren’t going to be mine, but the sentiment? I can get behind that.” Placing her helmet carefully on one of the larger rocks by their feet, Vera took a step forward and cupped Lana’s face in her hands. “I have to admit, when you said you loved me last night, I grinned so wide I was afraid I would pull a muscle. You know, since my smirk only really works one side of my face.” The corner of her lip ticked up, as if it wanted to demonstrate. “Then the longer I thought about it, the more I chalked it up to a post-orgasmic haze, especially given your frantic reaction this morning. I mean, I know I’m fucking hot, and a damn good lay, but I can get that anywhere. The galaxy is a big place, but I don’t think I’d ever find another you.”

“Smooth talker,” Lana scoffed, though couldn’t deny the words affected her strongly.

“You know it.” This time, the Chiss let the smirk out full force. “So I had to be sure that you meant it. And now that I am, I can happily say that I love you as well, Lana Beniko.” Standing on her toes, Vera leaned in and kissed Lana, in what was perhaps the sweetest kiss they’d ever shared. It was slow and calm, yet charged with passion and promise. Pulling back just far enough to separate their lips, Vera said, “I love your independence, that you use the Sith teachings as a guide, but don’t let them blind you. I love that you have no qualms with violence and terror, but aren’t sadistic and cruel. But most of all, I love that you trust me. Because trust is a hard thing to come by in this business.” Closing the gap, their lips met again, this time the passion twisting into lust, both of them sucking greedily on each other before finally breaking apart when the lack of air became too much. “God, I want to fuck you so bad right now,” Vera said through gritted teeth.

Lana grinned flirtatiously. “What, I thought you liked the fact that somebody might see us?”

“Oh that’s not my concern. It’s the fact that I’d rather not get jumped by fucking pirates, thus ruining the mood. And we’re both too geared up for something quick.”

A thought popped into Lana’s head, and her grin turned wicked. “I think I have a solution for that. We’ve established that I trust you, so now I ask: do you trust me?” Vera cocked an eyebrow and nodded. Running a hand through Vera’s hair, Lana leaned forward until her mouth was right next to the shorter woman’s ear. “Remember, safeword is kyber.”

Usually when Lana was using the Force to do something either very precise or very powerful, she would close her eyes, to block out any visual distractions. In this instance, however, there was no way she was closing her eyes, because she wanted to see every expression on Vera’s face. Reaching out, she used the ever-present energy field to caress Vera’s body, touching her under her bodysuit in a thousand places at once. Vera’s mouth dropped open and her eyes widened. Lana dialed back the intensity, so the touches became featherlight, and she sensed the goosebumps break out over Vera’s flesh.

“Well that’s new,” Vera managed to say, a full body shiver running through her.

“We’re just getting started, hotshot,” Lana said, the pet name coming to her unbidden as she reveled in the sensations she was feeling through the Force. Feeling that Vera was suitably warmed up to what was about to transpire, Lana immediately pivoted her focus to the shorter woman’s sex. She could feel the wet slickness between Vera’s folds, which was a strange sensation through the lens of the Force. She applied pressure, drawing up and down the folds once, twice, before spreading Vera’s pussy and pressing inside with the feeling of two fingers.

Vera gasped and her hands shot up to Lana’s shoulders where she gripped hard. “Oh fuck,” she groaned, her hips twitching, confused as to where the should move to seek more pleasure. “This is so weird but so fucking good.”

Smiling, Lana watched Vera screw her eyes shut as she added more volume to the Force that was penetrating the Chiss. It was probably around three fingers worth, but Lana was able to make the shape and size change and shift as she manipulated it, creating completely unanticipated sensations in Vera’s core. Focusing a little more, Lana restarted her caresses, focusing specifically on Vera’s tits and ass, fondling them with the Force while she continued to slowly delve in and out of her folds. Vera’s lewd moans made Lana sopping wet herself, but she didn’t want to split her attention between the two of them. Besides, Vera had made her feel good so many times before, it felt only right that this time was just for her.

“Oh goddess, fuck me!” Vera cried out, wrapping her arms around Lana’s neck and pulling herself close. “Fuck, fuck, harder, I need more! FUCK!” Her volume reached a new level as Lana obliged her request, gripping both of Vera’s tits and ass cheeks while amplifying the Force ravaging her pussy. She couldn’t imagine what it felt like to Vera, but she was manipulating the Force that was plunging inside the other woman to feel like a vibrating rod, covered in ridges that constantly changed size and location. Judging from the nonsensical babble that was now spilling from Vera’s mouth and the fact that her eyes had practically rolled up in her head, it was probably close to sensory overload. Sensing that Vera was close to the edge, Lana gave the Force one last push, burying it impossibly deep into Vera as she held her tightly around the waist.

“FUUUUUUUUUUUCK!” Vera’s scream had surely been heard by somebody on the platform above them, and Lana could only hope that nobody was quick to investigate. Through the Force she felt Vera’s pussy walls clamp down tightly as the shorter woman shook uncontrollably, a powerful orgasm thundering through her. Slowly decreasing the intensity from the Force to match the decline of Vera’s aftershocks, Lana had to tighten her grip as the other woman practically fell boneless against her body, her arms now loosely hanging around Lana’s neck. Gently lowering them to the ground, Lana maneuvered Vera into her lap, carding her fingers through black hair as Vera’s aftershocks petered out.

“Fuck,” Vera sighed, before reaching up and wrapping a hand around the back of Lana’s head, pulling her down for a long, tired kiss. As they broke apart, Vera laughed. “Remember before how I had forbid you from using the Force during one of our sessions? Yeah, that might’ve been a big fucking mistake.”

Lana chuckled quietly, wiping some sweat from Vera’s brow. “That may be, but usually I like you being in control. Though now you know what I can do, so your options have just expanded.”

Vera’s eyes unfocused for a moment while she was in thought, then a devious look crossed her face. “Oh, I like that perspective. My options have definitely expanded, in the absolute best way.”

“Should I be worried?”

“Only worried about how often I’m going to fuck you into unconsciousness.”

“I can live with that.”