No Longer Chasing Ghosts

[Setzi Lunelle]

Setzi cleared her mind of all wayward thoughts - the "what ifs," the normal analysis that was going through her head, and fears for the future, leaned up and returned this kiss with genuine passion. As she sunk deeper into Connor's embrace, she hooked one hand around the back of his neck, the other sliding along his collarbone which she could feel protruding through his shirt.

The kiss felt natural and not the by-product of a hollow seduction, the passion borne of a shared understanding and not the fleeting predatory craving as she'd experienced with Sith Lords and within herself as part of their ranks. Still, the fact that both Setzi and Connor were former darksiders would make for an interesting experience in the bedroom, she mused, her stomach fluttering like a heliconian at the thought. All of that appetite had to go somewhere, right?

The brunette padawan breathed in the smell of the fresh air moving through the Voss valley, mixed with the Jedi Master's scent and the taste of the blue milk still upon their lips. Setzi even draped a leg around one of his long limbs, moving closer into the embrace. Like Connor, the ghosts of the past would be exorcised by their present actions, never to return. Furthermore she wouldn't dare them to show up in a seance. Setzi only hoped to recover her daughters, wherever they were and hoped that her new Jedi companion would embrace them with open arms.

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

His hand didn’t move on her neck as she responded more than he ever really hoped. Instead, he relished her taste and scent and the feeling of being close to her, and allowing his admiration and attraction come out in full force.

Connor wrapped his free arm around her waist and held her close to him as the sound of their hungry kisses signified this was indeed a much needed and greatly desired moment for the two. Two souls brought together, divided by loyalty to ghosts who brought them pain, but now finding solace in the others firm embrace.

The kiss ended, and Connor simply fell into her shoulder and held her, his hand running up and down her leg slowly that was wrapped around him. There was something so electrifying about Setzi that thrilled him more than he could really fathom; maybe it was her dangerous past, but maybe it was the glorious future he could forge with her.

He pulled away, stopping his day-dream from going too idealistic and rested his brow on hers, as the sounds and sights of Voss came back into view. But the only sight he wanted to focus on was right in front of him.

”I feel your desire for hope. And your children. And I promise you, those born of your blood will not be spurned by me. They are part of you, and I am never going to hurt you in that sense.”

Peeling back a few hairs from her face, he gently stroked the sides of her head and fell, right there and then, for Setzi Lunelle.

[member="Setzi Lunelle"]

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

Setzi was glad that Connor mentioned her daughters. She knew that Jedi Masters had a prescient nature, along with an innate mentalism. While she didn’t feel him in there investigating her inner most thoughts, perhaps he was subconsciously picking up some maternal waves.

“I trust you and will also not let you down,” she said.

But Harrison had every reason to spurn her. Many Jedi Master did not take lovers, especially their own Padawan and then there was the romantic history with her sister, Chastity.

“I know where I want this to go,” Setzi whispered candidly as she relished the warmth of his face next to hers and his hands wandering, allowing them to roam liberally. She would not stop him. It had been a long time since she’d felt desire this strong. But no longer was she afraid that sudden passion would mean Instant Sith, as though she were coffee grounds and with boiling water would become a minion of the darkside again. It was a fear of many Jedi, she believed, but a silly one borne of old traditions from the ancient Order.

But she needed to make sure. Not that she didn’t trust Connor – she did fully, as she said.

“Unless you don’t want to? And if not, I understand.” With so much working against them, it would be good to verbalize it, at least in her own mind. And perhaps he just wanted their re-connection to move slower. Setzi was okay with that as well, just happy to feel a semblance of home in Connor, a place like the great roots of the tree where she and he could burrow down and make a life together.

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

With a playful glint in those blue eyes, Connor turned his head away, as if analysing her, working out that beautiful little mind of hers behind that equally beautiful face. Boy, he was smitten and he knew it.

Dare say – he felt incredibly happy to be close to her and eager to really know and understand her.

”You know where you want this to go, do you?” He enjoyed teasing her fingers with his, slowly turning them and feeling every inch of skin over his. ”But you understand also if I don’t.”

He knew what he wanted, and she must know, unless she was staying out of his mind like a good girl should. Connor wanted to be with this brave, vibrant and warm woman through thick and thin. He wanted to be there to show her she could feel safe with another, and always have him there to help and support her. To fight beside her. To stand beside her. To laugh and cry beside her.

And right now there was no other. None other than she who had captured his heart and understood him; that was most important. She didn’t judge, and she didn’t seek to change. She just wanted to be involved.

With a gentle kiss on her knuckles, Connor looked at her.

”Where do you want this to go.”

[member="Setzi Lunelle"]

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

Connor's touch set Setzi's skin on fire, that much was true. But it was a simmering that she would endure contentedly, and she met his caress with one of her own, her fingers playing with his. The passion inside of her was palpable, and yes, the dark traces there could not be denied. But that's all they were - imprints of a time which she'd banished. She preferred new fingerprints to make their mark now on her body and mind.

And it had been far too long since she'd allowed herself to lapse into a kiss like this, and she was far from stopping.

The brunette padawan boldly climbed atop his lap, facing him now. There was a slight flush to her cheeks as she was a little embarrassed that her desire had reached such a breaking point that she was ready to take him right then and there under the sturdy tree.

"I want you of course," she whispered into his ear. "For the good and through the bad. And whatever else that entails."

Throwing her head back, her brunette hair cascading around her shoulders, she said, "Perhaps we should go back to the place where this conversation started?" The former Sith was conscious that Master Harrison may not want to consummate their desire right here in the Voss valley, and he had good reason not too - his reputation first of all. But with the fragrant breeze still wafting over them, she'd let him decide.

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Now it was she who had the glint in her eye, and Connor couldn't help smile; part coy and part desire. At her suggestion, and her admission of feelings for him, the Jedi Master felt invincible. He was through following his head, so started to follow his heart.

”Okay, well,” his eyes shot past Setzi to the winding valley path leading to the temple just beyond the low bridge they walked over, ”I think there is little cause to leave such a perfect place, don't you?”

Connor used his weight and position to roll the pair over, Setzi now on the soft ground beneath the mighty tree. Her hair already unkempt on the ground, but a smile that showed that was the least of her cares. Leaning in for that second kiss, this time Connor didn't play with caution; he instead played with fire and injected his passion for the woman now before him as he parted her lips for the kiss.

With his free hand, the other still laced through hers, he knew his way to the buttons and ties of the basic tunic that Setzi wore, and the breeze would start to feel cool on more of her body.

”No longer chasing ghosts. Now, we look to our future.”

A smile crossed his lips and once again the world around them vanished, and it was just the two lovers, beneath the mighty tree that gave them their privacy from the wider world for them to become one.

[member="Setzi Lunelle"]

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

The afternoon could not have gotten better at this point. With the cool breeze around them, and comfortable in the soft grass, under the shade of the giant tree, they collided very unlike the same way that they had on Toola (though if they had back then, certainly global warming would have occurred on the planet, melting the thick ice and snow around them).

No more were they enemies, or even just wary acquaintances. The desire consummated pushed their relationship into much deeper territory.

After they finished, Setzi lying there idly stroking Connor’s shoulder, face flushed with exertion, she felt nothing but the traces of pleasure throughout her body and thought of nothing but just allowing herself to relax and almost meditate.

The moment was theirs – no one else’s, although she was sure that, especially Master Harrison’s time would be called upon shortly with duties, tasks and interruptions by needy padawans. Of course, she was also an eager padawan but of a completely different need, she supposed.

“Can I help you with your work in the Sanctum?” the padawan offered. “Now that I’m back on Voss I want to keep myself busy. Or perhaps with AgriCorps… if they will take me back…,” she trailed off, musing, giving him another kiss on his strong shoulder, careful to avoid any of the fresh wounds he’d incurred on Ruusan.

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

The ghosts were fleeting, and to be honest Connor didn’t see them anymore.
All he saw was the clouds up above moving across the atmosphere lazily and the leaves from the tall tree fluttering slightly. There was a breeze, which was cooling across his body, with plenty of room to flow thanks to the dishevelled tunic he partly wore.

Resting his head on one arm looking up at the sky, his other arm was looped around Setzi. Not just a former enemy, or wary ally, or Padawan. She was his lover, and it felt good.

This was the retirement plan he wanted, right here, right now. To spend lazy days looking up at the worlds they visited together, Setzi and he, and discovering new experiences, meeting new cultures and doing what they could for the good of the galaxy. Just the two of them.

”Of course they will take you back. You’re too brilliant not to. And you’re not the person you were before. I’ll vouch for that.”

The kiss from her was gentle, but meant so much to him. The fact he had been accepted by her, and both understood and forgiven for all he had been and done. Feeling her close was unlike anything he had wanted to feel for a long time.

Even, admittedly, more than Chastity. Setzi just…understood him more. And that was important, building strong foundations that would transcend any threat, or external attempt to rock them.

”And yes, you can help in any area you see fit. I want to help you succeed, and climb the ranks through the Silvers, which is embarrassing for me as I know you know so much more than basic Padawan level, but I’ll do what I must and you’ll be helping others in no time.”

He turned his head to see her looking up at the sky, and her face was even prettier and peaceful than it had been when leaving his quarters.

”You have so much to give this Order, Setzi, and the galaxy. So much.” He squeezed her bare shoulder. ”We will go where the Silvers go together, and I’ll guide you through what we do and how we do it. We can work around the grounds, go off-world to widen your horizon. And don’t think I will be glued to you, as much as I want to, there’s a whole world out there you can explore and shape.”

He smiled and looked back to the sky.

”Now it’s down to me to learn to allow you in totally, because I want nothing more. I’m done hiding away. I just want to share this with you and watch you become someone great. Anything you want to do or anywhere you want to go, you just say it and it will happen.”

[member="Setzi Lunelle"]

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

Setzi was pleased to hear that the Sanctum would welcome her back. It was easy to burn bridges in the galaxy, and with Toola and then her sudden disappearance off of Voss, she assumed the tenacious overpass she’d built with the Sanctum was kindling by now.

“I’m patient,” she said. “I will advance when you say I’m ready.”

Settling herself into the crook of his arm, the Padawan listened to his heartbeat as words of their future were spoken. She did want one thing and would be honored if Connor helped her with it. Would it be a selfish request, stemming from some kind of insecurity in herself, or was this just a natural feeling for her to have as a mother?

“The more I consider it, the more I think we should look for my daughters,” said Setzi quietly. “They were raised, admittedly not by my hand, although I did get to see them often growing up, I have no idea where either of them are.”

This statement brought a flush to her cheeks, and she nearly turned away from Connor, not due to anything he'd done, but by the shame in her inaction to raise her children. Don’t ruin the moment, she thought. But she couldn’t help feeling like a terrible mother, that she’d damaged her girls, and they were out there in the galaxy causing harm to themselves and others.

Rubbing her eyes out of frustration, she said, “I can start by tracing the whereabouts of Astrid as she left The Retreat first, hidden on a cargo ship. She may have gone to Glee Anselm at some point to try and see me and her father, but neither you nor I can set foot on that planet without risking a terrible reckoning.” While the brunette padawan was brave, she wasn’t suicidal. Even her plans to retrieve the Xilsaga, her disfigured sithspawn, would not take place on Glee Anselm. She’d sooner let the poor monstrosity drown than to step foot upon the oceanic world again.

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor lay, stroking her shoulder with a lazy finger as she spoke of her daughters. Getting to know more about Setzi and her bloodline would be…interesting to say the least, obviously it would be a sensitive issue regarding the father, but he wasn’t in the picture at all.

Be it a double-edged sword, but Connor felt he needed to be careful with Setzi and her daughters. Show to little support and she would feel alone. Show too much and she would feel smothered.

Would she? All these thoughts raced around his head in the few seconds after she suggested the idea.

"I would be honoured to help you find them, and maybe start to re-build the bridges for your relationship, for it’s not impossible."

One thought that was clear was that nobody would ever come to harm Setzi or her daughters as long as he was here.

"We can use the Silver hub to see what activity is around the system and see if that rings any bells for you, and if you want me to send scouts out I will."

The hint of danger and threat teased Connor’s curiosity, and he lolled his head to the side to look at her. Force, was she beautiful.

"Why can’t we set foot on Anselm? Is that Sith territory? If so it’s even more important we try to find your daughter and break her hold from those cowards."

[member="Setzi Lunelle"]

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

Catching his blue-eyed gaze momentarily, the intensity of it making her blush, Setzi was glad that Connor did not shy away from questions over her past. While Krux Mullraus was more entwined with her history, whenever she brought up events in their past, the missing Knight would bristle with hostility and anger towards his former Master, Darth Pyrrhus.

Luckily, Master Harrison realized that a past does not define a person.

"While it's not a fortress world, Glee Anselm houses, under its vast seas, the largest training area for the Sith, outside of Coruscant. And I am enemy number one I'm afraid as the father of my children basically runs the government there. I don't think there's a stealth ship in the galaxy that could get us to the planet without detection."

Setzi's small, mobile datapad pinged, and she smirked, pulling her shirt around her a bit more while she checked the alert. The planet of Deneba was under attack from rogue terrorists came the breaking news. But it didn't appear to be an isolated event. As she read the headline and subsequent story, there was something chillingly systematic about the attacks, the setting of one, a Jedi enclave with younglings.

Putting her hand to her mouth, she tried to stifle a gasp, but she fretted internally that Astrid could be there.

"Does war not cease in this bloody galaxy?" asked Setzi exasperated to no one in particular, just the Voss birds and animals hidden around them. While Master Harrison might have an educated answer as to why, she knew that both of them had nothing at the moment to stop them. As futile as it felt, she squeezed his hand again as though she would lose his grip in the wind.

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

There was no need for Connor to move as her com chimed, but he did trace his fingers across her shoulder as she moved. Not once did he think about anything around them; not any Masters out for a stroll, or Padawans on an expedition. It was just -

- she gasped, and that made Connor move alright.

He sat, glancing past her shoulder at the breaking news coming through that clearly meant something to her.

"Deneba? What sector is that? Who's jurisdiction does it fall under?"

Connor knelt and placed his hands on her shoulders from behind, like the rock he said he would be and the support he said he'd always give her.

"It will be ok."

He had no idea it would be ok; hopefully she could fill in some gaps for him.

[member="Setzi Lunelle"]

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

“Deneba is technically neutral, but I know the Galactic Republic have been reaching out to the planet. It’s also close to the Sith Triumvirate who likely have their eye on securing the Mara Corridor. Control the trade and you control the sector, right?”
She sighed, momentarily wishing that she never even checked her datapad after all. Would have been much easier to ignore it, now that Setzi had read the news.

She titled her head back at Connor’s touch on her shoulders, releasing the tension in them.

“Is it selfish of me to just want to stay here, lying in your arms for a little while longer?” she asked in a sleepy voice.

The breeze turned colder as the sun began to dim in the valley. But rather than chill her skin or cause goosebumps, the dip in the temperature felt refreshing on her overheated skin. Setzi turned only her head to look at Connor. “What if Astrid is there? In the enclave. It might be a good place to start in looking for her,” she suggested. Sitting up a little, he could tell that her resolve was growing by the minute. “If you and I went to Deneba… just to check out the situation. Only trying to help… not getting too involved but to look for my daughter… what do you say?”

While in the past, Setzi would have stormed off stubbornly, clinging to her own wayward plans, this time, she listened carefully for Connor's wise advice on the situation.

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor nodded to himself; her resolve certainly was strong when it came to taking action. He leant forward and kissed the side of her head she had turned to him.

"If she is there, we will find her."

He pulled up her robes a little more and wrapped his arm around her chest in a secure and comforting grip, his chin resting by the side of her head. It was a picture of more unification and support; two figures in a thoughtful embrace beneath the mighty Voss tree with the Temple in the near distance and the whole galaxy before them.

"We'll get my things from my quarters and make ourselves look half decent and go to Deneba together. We've got plenty of time to ourselves before I expect the Grandmaster to call me to Kessel. We will just meet them there."

A squeeze with his hands signalled the decision had been confirmed for her.

"Come on."

Connor rose, moving before Setzi to help her up, still looking radiant and still giving him butterflies for what lay ahead for the two of them.

[member="Setzi Lunelle"]