Chapter 22: New Assignments

Rocks crunched under her feet as Lana walked through the mostly empty camp toward the clearing where the Distant Slayer was landed. She nodded to a few remaining troops as she passed, who briefly acknowledged her before continuing to crate up the equipment they were dismantling.

A little over a week had passed since their showdown with Revan. Lana had regained consciousness in the shuttle as they were returning to the base, where she had been filled in on how the battle had ended. Shockingly, none of the team had been killed, though they were all injured, some far worse than others. Vera had been among those most grievously wounded, and Lana’s own sorry state barely allowed her a moment to see the Chiss before she was whisked away to a bacta tank for recovery. Lana got some medi-gel for her own injuries, but then was back to coordinating with Darth Marr and the others. It had been decided a small special operations squad would stay behind to take care of mopping up the remaining Revanites, but now that Revan himself was dealt with, most of the troops would be leaving.

There was also mention of the Emperor having returned in some form even though Revan didn’t complete the ritual. Obviously, they didn’t want this rumor to spread, especially before they had any substantial evidence, so several key members of both the Republic and the Empire were going to be working together, continuing this tentative alliance while trying to sort fact from fiction regarding the Emperor.

Naturally Lana was going to be a part of this, which went as far as Darth Marr offering for her to be his lead intelligence advisor. Even with all that was happening, Vera had never been far from Lana’s thoughts, and she constantly checked in to see what the bounty hunter’s recovery status was. That day she’d found out that the Chiss had finally been released from medical, which was why Lana was on her way to Vera’s ship.

As she entered the clearing that served as the landing zone for the Distant Slayer, Lana saw Mako standing outside the ship, maintenance panel open and spanner in her hand. The cyborg girl pivoted upon hearing Lana approaching, and a grin crept across her face.

“Hey, it’s my favorite Sith lady!” Mako said jovially, dropping the spanner onto the ground and wiping her hands on her pants as she walked to meet Lana.

“I wasn’t aware you knew that many Sith ladies,” Lana said wryly as she returned Mako’s friendly hug.

“Even if I did, you’d still be my favorite.” Mako smirked as she crossed her arms. “Here to see your blue-skinned lover?” At Lana’s faint blush, Mako let out a peal of laughter. “Oh, you can’t be blushing at that! I mean, how many times have I heard you two fucking while we’re on the ship?”

Lana scoffed. “Well, yes, but-”

“And I’ve walked in on you at least a half dozen times.”

“Sure, but they-”

“Including the time you were literally on the holotable-”

“YES, Mako, I get your point.” Lana could definitely feel her face getting a bit warmer than it had been before, which always made her smile. Back when sex was nothing more than a release wrapped in a power dynamic, it didn’t make her feel much of anything. Now, with the love she had for Vera, it was a different situation altogether. The blush wasn’t from embarrassment; it was due to the same internal chemistry that made Lana feel a little bit giddy every time she was able to carve out time to spend with Vera.

“Well, she’s not here,” Mako said matter-of-factly. “She did, however, tell me to tell you that the water should feel exceptional at this time of day.” Lana knew immediately where Vera was, and chuckled to herself at the completely unnecessary amount of faux subterfuge the bounty hunter put into her message. Lana turned to head down one of the forest paths, waving to Mako, who was still babbling. “I’m pretty sure it would’ve been easier to just send you a message. She could’ve even sent the weird vague message if she wanted to keep it mysterious, but of course she just tells me instead and then gallivants off into the trees. Just like you’re doing now. Bye, favorite Sith lady!”

Lana threw another wave over her shoulder, now that Mako had actually realized she’d left. Moving a branch out of her way, she continued down the path that would lead her to the scenic clearing that she and Vera had spent an all too brief amount of time at before facing Revan. While she needed to inform Vera of her new responsibilities and what that would entail going forward, it certainly didn’t mean that was all that she was coming to see Vera for. And it was the other things that were far more enticing.

—

As she pushed the last bit of foliage aside and once again found herself entering the paradisiacal clearing, a contented sigh slipped from Lana’s lips. For a fleeting moment she wondered what it would be like to just slip away, away from the Empire, away from society, and live in a place like this. Honestly, probably pretty boring, she thought to herself with a small smile. On one of the smooth rocks sat Vera’s armor and clothing, and after further inspection, Lana spied Vera’s messy bun peeking up over the edge of the stone lining the natural pool. Lana strode over to her lover, and as she approached Vera tilted her head back, squinting her eyes in the sunlight.

“A week in the bacta tank wasn’t enough submersion for you?” Lana teased, surreptitiously examining Vera’s blue skin for signs of her injuries.

“Surprisingly, it’s not quite the same,” Vera replied wryly. “How about instead of trying to stare though the water, you get in here with me and I’ll show you my new scars?”

The mention of scars sent a crowd of conflicting emotions through Lana’s mind, one after another. First the sorrow and guilt that Vera had been hurt, then the relief that it had only amounted to scars and nothing worse. Then, naturally, the horny part of her mind jumped in and reminded her how hot scars could be. Deciding not to voice any of those thoughts, Lana instead got to undressing. Soon after, her robes were folded neatly next to Vera’s own discarded vestments, and Lana slowly lowered herself into the pool, letting her body acclimate to the water’s temperature, which was refreshingly cool.

She had barely gotten past her waist when a pair of hands grabbed her and pulled her the rest of the way in. Lana yelped as she splashed into the water, dipping under the surface for a moment before those same hands helped her get her head back into the air, sputtering and spitting.

“Was that really necess-” Lana’s exasperation was cut short as Vera pulled her in, pressing their lips together with an insistence that Lana certainly wasn’t going to deny. Tension she didn’t even realize she had melted away as they kissed, Lana draping her arms lazily around Vera’s neck. They traded kisses, their pace far more unhurried than the last time they were here. Finally pulling away, Vera rested her forehead against Lana’s.

“I dreamed about you,” she said softly. “While I was unconscious and healing, all I dreamed of was getting to feel you again.”

Lana felt a lump form in her throat. “I was so relieved you were okay. When I saw his blade flying toward you, and knew that I couldn’t choose to stop it … I know it would have haunted me for the rest of my life if you hadn’t survived.” She sniffed as her eyes started to tear up.

“You made the right choice.” Vera ran a thumb along Lana’s cheekbone, wiping away a tear that had slipped out. “I know you know that, but I’m telling you. You made the right choice.”

Lana laughed quietly, letting out a shuddering breath. “How can you be so flirty, and yet say such meaningful things like that?”

“Because I’m the total fucking package, sweetheart,” Vera said, a wide grin splitting her face. “Now, I believe you wanted to see my new scars.” Leaning back to put a little bit of space between them, Vera guided Lana’s hands to her chest, running them just below her breasts. A series of jagged scars were present, rough beneath Lana’s fingers, three on the left side and four on the right, stacked one above another. “Luckily my armor is mostly Beskar, which can deflect lightsaber blades. Revan’s blade hit me in the chest and shoulder, doing very minimal damage, but it also nicked my jetpack on the way by. A jetpack, by the way, which is not resistant to lightsabers. One of the thrusters exploded, and I ended up getting launched into the ground, at an exceptionally awkward angle.”

Lana thought back to the battle arena, and couldn’t think of anything that would have caused these jagged scars, since they looked like they came from a bad rip. The courtyard had been mostly smooth stone, and even the obelisks didn’t have sharp edges.

As if reading the blonde’s thoughts, Vera continued. “There wasn’t anything sharp to run into, but the angle I hit at broke quite a few of my ribs, which then decided they no longer wanted to reside in my body.”

Wincing at even the thought of that pain, Lana once again ran her fingers over the scars reverently. “Thank the Force we got you back in time. You surely lost a lot of blood.”

“My suit is tight enough that it actually kept me wrapped up pretty good,” Vera said nonchalantly, as if she wasn’t talking about a life-threatening injury. “But it definitely needed a solid cleaning after the fact.”

Rolling her eyes, Lana floated backward until they were no longer touching. “Get up on the edge.”

Vera tilted her head, a challenging smile on her face. “What for, my suddenly bossy Sith?”

Huffing, Lana made impatient “up” gestures with her hands. “Because I can’t lavish your scars with kisses when they’re underwater.” She paused, then quickly corrected herself before giving Vera the chance. “Okay, I can, but the lack of oxygen severely limits my abilities.”

Chuckling, the bounty hunter crooked her arms, placed her hands onto the lip of the pool, and lifted herself up out of the water. Lana felt her mouth hang open slightly as the sight of toned blue skin glinting in the sunlight, water droplets running down beautiful curves. She’d never tire of seeing Vera naked. Gliding forward in the water, she slotted herself between Vera’s legs as she ran her hands up those muscular thighs. Rising up out of the water slightly, Lana continued to dance her fingers up Vera’s cerulean skin, skimming across defined abs. As her hands came to rest at her lover’s hips, Lana leaned forward, stopping with her lips a breath away from the first of the scars, just below Vera’s breast. Tilting her head slightly, she looked up at Vera from beneath her lashes, then gently dropped her lips against the raised skin. She felt Vera’s quick intake of breath, then began her work, kissing gingerly along the length of one scar before sliding across Vera’s body to start on the next. 

After what felt like endless days of racing against the clock, Lana finally felt free to take her time. And so she did. Each kiss, each touch of her lips was drawn out, unhurried. Occasionally she would flick her tongue out, licking a trail up the aftermath of Vera’s wounds. Once she reached the lowest scar, Lana adjusted her path, trailing featherlight kisses down Vera’s stomach, past her belly button, past her waist.

Upon reaching Vera’s pussy, Lana blew across those deep blue folds, causing Vera’s arms to nearly buckle. “Shit,” Vera mumbled, adjusting the placement of her hands as she arched her back. Smiling to herself, Lana pressed her lips against the inside of Vera’s thigh, then the other, before returning to her core and drawing her tongue up through the moist folds. A low groan from the Chiss caused Lana’s smile to widen as she began to work her tongue through Vera’s sex, stroking up and down, side to side, relishing the taste of her lover. Shifting higher, she circled Vera’s clit with the tip of her tongue before wrapping her lips around it and sucking hard. She sucked a few more times, feeling Vera’s body tense up, then placed a kiss against the tight bud. Moving back down, her rhythm was slightly interrupted by Vera shifting beneath her. 

The purpose of the movement became evident as Lana felt Vera’s legs wrap around her head, thighs against her ears and calves resting against the back of her head, pinning her damp hair down. There was still a small amount of room for her to move as she again looked up, finding Vera’s own crimson eyes staring down at her.

“Two taps against my leg is your safe word, okay?” Lana nodded, the movement causing her nose to dip slightly into Vera’s pussy. The smell of arousal filled her nostrils and she felt a little giddy at what was about to happen. “I want your tongue inside me, I want it so deep it feels unrealistic.” Vera’s lips ticked up in a smirk, and she stroked Lana’s face, brushing away a strand of hair that had fallen down. “Ready?”

Taking several deep breaths, Lana angled her head to kiss the hand that was still resting on her cheek. Opting to show rather than tell, she then dove straight into Vera’s core, dragging her tongue through the moist folds. Immediately Vera’s legs tightened, trapping Lana up against soaking flesh. The intoxicating scent of her arousal flooded Lana’s mind, and she voraciously delved into Vera as requested. She alternated her technique, first stretching her tongue as deep as it could go, then twisting it against the sides, determined to bring Vera to orgasm before she had to tap out to breathe. Again and again she thrust inside, savoring the sweet and tangy taste on her tongue.

Vera’s heels dug into her back with enough force to certainly leave a bruise, which only served to spur Lana’s arousal higher. She let one hand slip into the water and snake in between her own legs, rubbing a pair of fingers rapidly against her lower lips. Vera’s heels pressed in even harder, and her core tensed, signaling she was close. Lana could barely hear the bounty hunter mumbling above her, but ignored it as she doubled her efforts, feeling the asphyxiation starting to get to her. Shaking her head rapidly back and forth as well as she could given the current arrangement, Lana withdrew her tongue and latched onto Vera’s bud, sucking hard. A gasp followed by a long groan came from the woman above her, and the legs around Lana’s head tightened again and shook vigorously as Vera’s orgasm hit her hard.

Suddenly the legs fell away and Lana was free, gasping in oxygen as Vera fell back, breathing heavily against the stone. After catching her breath, Lana tilted forward again, licking up some of Vera’s fluids that streaked the inside of her thighs. She retreated back into the water, kissing down Vera’s leg, delighting in the small shivers each touch of her lips invoked. Splashing some water on her face, Lana floated lazily, waiting for her lover to recover. 

She took the time to again admire the scenery around them. The idyllic spot was almost too perfect to be natural, the way the trees circled the pond, creating a leafy barrier, and the nice smooth stone that ringed the edge of the water, allowing for a smooth transition from earth to pool. It might be prudent to do a little more exploring, note what was in the surrounding areas, see if there was enough adequate space to establish a sort of vacation spot. Somewhere that they could escape to when they had the time, especially if her new role kept them apart.

That somber thought was interrupted as a splash announced Vera’s reentry into the water. Twirling around, Lana glided toward the bounty hunter, who had returned to sitting on the ledge beneath the surface she’d been at when Lana had arrived. They exchanged a sweet kiss, and then Vera turned Lana and pulled her close, nestling her in between her legs. Feeling Vera’s tits pressing into her back, Lana sighed, unconsciously tilting her head to the side as she felt Vera tipping her own head forward and resting her chin on Lana’s shoulder.

“So, what did you want to tell me?” Vera asked.

Laughing, Lana shook her head. “How did you know I had something to tell you?”

“Please,” Vera scoffed, and Lana could hear the smirk in her reply. “It is also something you’re worried about telling me, so let me help relax you.” Lips found their way to Lana’s exposed neck as a hand trailed down her stomach, heading toward her own wanting pussy. “Besides, I do owe you one.”

Lana moaned as the fingers reached their destination, wasting no time before they began to circle her entrance with intent. She needed to start talking, otherwise it was going to be lost in sounds of ecstasy. “Darth Marr approached me and offered me to be his lead intelligence advisor, which would mean I oooh would be his right hand woman.” Lana sucked a breath through her teeth as Vera’s fingers increased their speed. “It would require uggggh.” She was interrupted as Vera licked up her neck and then sucked her earlobe into her mouth.

“It would what, sweetheart?” Vera inquired innocently, speaking around the earlobe caught between her teeth.

“It would require me to spend a lot more time at the capital as well as on assignment chasing down leads, aaaaand I would need to be ready to leave aaaaaat any given moment gah!” Honestly, she wasn’t sure how she had gotten to the end of that sentence, considering two determined fingers had pushed into her pussy and began pumping in and out, dragging their nails down her inner walls in an exceptionally pleasurable fashion. After taking several seconds to attempt to compose herself, Lana focused and rushed through the last bit. “I know that this won’t allow you to continue liiiiiiving your life as you have been, and will also be heavily connected with the Empire, sooooo I understaaand if you oh goddess, need to leave.” Lana’s breaths were ragged and her body on edge as her orgasm neared. She honestly wasn’t sure whether this made what she had just said easier or harder, since she felt like it might have undercut the tone a little bit, but she’d be lying if it hadn’t at least kept her from focusing on the negative.

Vera’s fingers kept going, and Lana felt hot breath in her ear before the Chiss’s gravelly voice whispered, “I’m not going anywhere.”

And just like that, Lana practically exploded, her wave of arousal cresting and crashing over her with reckless abandon, like a rowboat in the middle of a hurricane. She could hear the water splashing from her own shaking, and felt Vera’s arms tighten around her, even as the fingers stayed tucked inside her shivering folds. Countless kisses peppered her face and neck as she came down, only Vera’s strong arms keeping her from sliding into the water.

When she finally felt like she’d returned to the earth, she adjusted her position until she was able to meet Vera’s crimson eyes. Those eyes that originally looked so blank, just a sea of unbroken red, but that were filled with so much emotion, if you knew where to look. “Are you sure,” Lana asked softly. “I know you don’t much care of the Empire, and-”

Her line of reasoning was cut off by a pair of blue lips pressing against her own. “I already told the Sith to go fuck themselves when they disowned you. It doesn’t much matter to me how close in proximity I am to them, because I don’t work for them. It’s a hazard of the job as a bounty hunter.” She chuckled as she ran the back of her hand down Lana’s cheek. “Also, I helped defeat Revan and both you and Marr vouch for me, so I’m pretty sure I don’t have anything to worry about. Besides, that’s the pleasure of being a bounty hunter; I can find work pretty much anywhere. So I go where you go, sweetheart, until you don’t want me anymore.”

“I don’t see that happening any time soon.” Lana pulled Vera in for another kiss, then settled back down, pulling her lover’s arms around her. “How much longer do you think we can stay here?”

“That depends. How soon until your fancy new job starts?”

“Technically it’s already started, but I think I can take a short vacation. We earned it.”

“Fuck yeah we did.” Lana felt Vera press a kiss to the top of her head. “You just let me know when you’re ready.”

“I will.” Lana snuggled back even more, taking solace in the comfort of their position.

“Should we tell Mako to come find us so we can mentally scar her again?”

Letting out a laugh, Lana shook her head. “We torment that poor girl enough already. She went off about it when I asked her where you were.”

“Of course she did. I think she’s probably a little jealous. And sexually frustrated.”

“We need to find her someone.”

“Agreed.”

They sat in silence for a few more minutes, only the sound of the leaves rustling in the breeze. Lana closed her eyes, letting the aura of the moment soak in. It wouldn’t be long before they were back in the thick of things, but now that Vera would be with her, she felt like she could accomplish anything. The Emperor might still be out there somehow, but they’d find him, and they’d end him for good. With a sigh, Lana let her head fall back against Vera’s chest. “I love you, my blue-skinned bounty hunter.”

She felt Vera chuckle. “I love you too, my yellow-eyed Sith lady.