Woman without a Country

T3 burbled happily about being rescued as they headed for the ship.
"Don't lie," said Atton. "I know you were out joyriding."
T3 protested, but Atton continued to accuse the little droid.
"No, I know what you droids are like. The instant there are no organics around, you're off trading data and stealing ships."
T3 was silent.
"Ha! I knew it! Did you get anything good from her mainframe? Naked pictures of all the little Warmaidens?"
"You are detestable!" Kreia exclaimed.
"What happened to all the white haired bunnies anyway?"
Ludmilla helped Bao-Dur on the ship. "Let's get out of here."
"Before they recover from their beating?" suggested Kreia.
"How did you know I fought them?"
"I know you well enough by now to realize that you would never have passed up a chance to pull off your clothing."
"What? You fought them Echani style? Tell me you got a recording," Atton pleaded with T3, who scooted away. "Oh come on!" He chased after the droid, and Kreia helped Ludmilla bring Bao-Dur to the medical bay.
"He seems to have recovered," Ludmilla smiled.
"The thought of your naked form does that to him," said Kreia acidly. "I will tend to the alien. Go tell the fool to get us out of here before our hosts change their minds."
Ludmilla went to the bridge, where Atton was having a one-sided argument with T3 about naked pictures. "Let's go somewhere nice."
"We don't have navigation charts to anywhere nice. How about Nar Shadaa?"
"Well, there's no Atris there, so it's got to be better than here. Let's go."
Atton grinned, and the Ebon Hawk soared into space.
Ludmilla sat down on the floor and started checking over T3. "You know, Bao-Dur is a lot better at this than I am. Have you met his Remote?"
T3 beeped.
"Yeah, the little guy is weird sometimes."
"I'm sorry," Atton broke in, "but are you having a conversation with a droid about another droid, and calling the droid weird?"
"Yes," she grinned, "why do you ask?"
"Because your boobs aren't distracting me. Hint, hint."
Ludmilla laughed. "I'll be right back, I need some tools." She headed to the garage, and came back to find Bao-Dur and Atton leaning over T3. "Hey, old man, you're up! How are you feeling?" She looked down at the hologram that T3 was displaying.
"Doing fine, General. Not as fine as you. Oh, she walked right into that one," he chuckled as the hologram replayed Ludmilla's lesson to the Echani warmaidens.
Ludmilla tried to frown at them. "T3, don't you have anything more interesting?"
T3 chirped, and the hologram stopped, much to Atton's disappointment.
"That was awesome, by the way," Atton grinned.
"Typical that Atris wouldn't even bother to show up," said Bao-Dur. "I had no idea she was on the planet. She's ruined Telos for me. I liked Telos."
"So, who is Atris exactly? And why doesn't anybody like her?"
"That's not true," grinned Ludmilla. "Atris likes Atris a lot! She was on the Jedi Council, and she wanted to have me put in prison rather than exiled, which is why Bao-Dur doesn't like her."
"Which one was Atris?" asked Atton curiously.
"Human woman, beautiful. Long white hair, soft blue eyes, a perfect little moon face." Ludmilla paused for a moment before she continued. "I had a terrible crush on her when I was in training. I wanted to be a Jedi Knight just so I could rescue her from dragons, like in all the stories. Very childish, now that I think about it. But it did give me something to aim for."
"Oh. So you liked her."
"Well…. That was the outside. On the inside, she was a self-centered, cold-hearted bitch who thought that the Jedi Order could do no wrong, and that just being a Jedi made you superior to other people."
"Ouch. That doesn't sound like the dream survived contact with reality."
"You have no idea." Ludmilla sat down and started working on T3, as did Bao-Dur. "Also, she smells funny. Serious crush killer."
"What?" Atton laughed.
"She's part Echani," she explained, "way, way back in her ancestry. She doesn't smell like a Human, she doesn't smell like an Echani, and she just doesn't smell right."
"She probably doesn't taste very good either."
"Oh, don't make me think about it," Ludmilla made a face.
"I taste good, right?"
"Fishing for compliments, are we?"
"I'm still hurt because you yelled at me," said Atton in a wounded voice, and made a very convincing sad face.
"I think I'll head to the garage. Come find me if you need me, General." Bao-Dur left the bridge.
Ludmilla laughed at her old friend before she stood and leaned over to kiss Atton. "You always taste like sugar," she whispered. "And you taste like I should taste you again."
"I think you should go with your instincts on that one," whispered Atton, and pulled her to him for another kiss.
"Both of you have a room. Pick one and go to it."
"You are going to give me a heart attack, old woman. Knock or something."
Kreia glared at him. "If you want privacy, may I suggest restraining yourselves until you are in private?" She looked at the navigation computer. "Where are we going?"
"Nar Shadaa, if it please your highness."
Even beneath the hood, Atton could feel the anger in her gaze. "You are trying to anger me, fool. Stop."
"You know, I never checked all those boxes."
"What boxes?" Kreia looked suspiciously at Atton.
He smiled as the ship's navigation systems took over. "The ones I stole from what's-her-face's kitchens." He stood up and slid past Kreia and Ludmilla, pausing for a semi-surreptitious kiss on Ludmilla's cheek. "The first couple had fresh herbs in stasis! And Armeli sugar. After that I stopped looking and just took everything. I'll be in the galley."
Kreia couldn't help herself, and laughed at the thought of Atris' rage when she discovered that her food stores had been raided.
Ludmilla smiled after him. "Well, he isn't boring."
"Do you truly trust him, child?"
"I have no reason not to," said Ludmilla. "Do you know a reason that I shouldn't?"
"It is not my place to find such things," said Kreia sharply. "You are the leader of this little group, and it is your responsibility to safeguard your life against treachery."
"I think you're going a little far, Kreia," she said mildly. "He's laandur, a pretty toy - not a warrior. He'd make a great wife," she said dryly. "So long as he remembers to let me do the hunting."
"Do not underestimate your power over him. The fool dances in your shadow for your favor."
"And he has it."
"But nothing more?"
Ludmilla looked down, her lips set in a hard line. "I have nothing more to give." She turned and left Kreia alone on the bridge.
Kreia smiled softly to herself. "Poor child. Ah, well, wisdom is best earned, not given." She walked back to her quarters.
Ludmilla walked slowly to the garage, and found Bao-Dur with a large section of the wall removed and working on the exposed wiring of the Ebon Hawk. "What are you up to, old man?"
He grinned. "Just messing with the shields. Am I going crazy, or did I smell Zabraki spice-rings when I walked past the galley?"
"You're not crazy. He's a really good cook."
"General, why don't you use a lightsaber anymore?"
Ludmilla sighed, and sat down on an empty fuel drum. "I lost mine. Besides, I'm not a Jedi anymore, remember?"
"I don't think anyone got that memo except you, General. You could just build a new one, who would stop you? We could even mess with the colors."
She grinned. "I'm doing fine without it."
"General, I know you. You're just not you without a lightsaber." Ludmilla looked away, but didn't interrupt him. "Besides, who wants to be remembered in the stories as the brave Knight who rescued the Peri Prince with a vibroblade she brought from some Rodian merchant for one hundred credits?"
Ludmilla laughed, and shook her head. "The Peri Prince doesn't even really need rescuing. This whole thing is probably just going to turn out to be some trap set by Atris so they can lock me away for real this time."
"You really believe that, General?"
Ludmilla didn't answer.
"So what are you going to do when the Grand Krayt Dragon tries to make off with the Peri Prince, General? Poke it gently with an Echani war sword?"
"What do you want from me, old man? I don't even have the parts, and there are no enclaves where I can get any. I can't build a lightsaber from air."
"I know," Bao-Dur said gently. "But hey, we'll find something. We always do." He handed her a lightsaber's emitter matrix. "They just fall into our laps here and there." He turned away and picked up the hydrospanner again, apparently absorbed in his work.
Ludmilla turned over the precious part in her hands without speaking, and tried to hold back tears of gratitude. "How long have you had this, old man?" she asked finally.
Bao-Dur smiled. "You're welcome, General."

Ludmilla turned as someone entered the cargo hold. "Oh, hello, Atton," she said sweetly. She held out her hand to him, and pulled him into a kiss. "What brings you here?"
"Well, Bao-Dur was nice enough to clean the kitchen, so I didn't have anything to do, and um… I just wanted to talk to you real quick."
"Talk?" she grinned, and kissed him again.
Atton pulled away from the kiss slowly, reluctantly. "No, really. Talk. I um… I just wanted to thank you. For being you, and letting me be me." He looked down before continuing. "Nar Shadaa is a really ugly place, and I know you're going in to some dangerous stuff. Whenever you want to leave me behind, that's fine. I understand. I just wanted to let you know I appreciate that you even bothered with me at all."
"I don't actually want to leave you behind," she said softly. "I'm just not sure that it's fair to drag you along with me. I don't want to get you killed, Atton."
"That would make you the only one," he said wryly. "I think Kreia would laugh for hours."
Ludmilla shook her head. "She's even more worried about something happening to you than I am. I know you don't believe it, but it's true."
"If you say so," he said doubtfully. "Well, your Iridonian friend will be happy when you get rid of me."
"You're not very good at reading people, are you?" she smiled. "I've never seen the old man talk so much before. He likes you, Atton, and he really likes seeing you with me. I think you won his heart when he heard about the cigarettes. He's been trying to get me to quit for years."
"Really? Then why doesn't anyone act like they like me?"
"I like you," said Ludmilla shyly.
"And that makes the least sense of all," said Atton impatiently. "You could have anybody you wanted!"
"But I want you." Atton blushed, and Ludmilla couldn't resist anymore. She pulled him back to her, kissed his lips, his cheeks, his ears, slid her hand beneath his shirt so she could feel his skin. "I'm sorry, Atton, this isn't a game to me. This isn't just a story. I want you, I don't want to give you up."
She felt his lashes brush against her face as he closed his eyes. "Don't do this to me if you don't mean it. Please." She could feel his breathing, swift and scared, and pulled him closer into her arms.
"Oh, Atton," she breathed softly, and drank in the delicate beauty of his face, so unlike her own. The fine, high cheekbones; the thick, dark hair; the expressive and perfectly shaped mouth. "I just don't want you to get hurt because of me."
"I would rather take a hundred beatings at your hands than a single kiss from anyone else." The passion, the violence in his voice shocked her, and before she could react, he was kissing her, holding her head in his hands, and kissing her again and again. A small part of her mind knew that there was a bed somewhere in the room, but to reach it meant that she would have to take her hands away from Atton, stop kissing him, stop touching his warm, soft skin, and that was just unacceptable. They knelt together on the floor, stripping away their clothes in the dim light of the cargo hold, and then she forced him down to the floor beneath her so that she could taste him, kiss him everywhere. Unsure, he looked up at her, questioning and nervous.
"Trust me," she said softly, and bent her head down to his body.
He gasped at the first touch of her lips on his chest, moaned wildly as her mouth explored his body. Ludmilla smiled as she realized that his voice was a map, guiding her to the parts of him were most sensitive. She kissed the taut, rosy nipples, making him almost scream at the sensation. She ran her tongue over the sleek muscles of his chest, kissed his shoulders. He pulled her back to him for a kiss before she could make her way down his arms, and she laughed with joy at his passionate need. "Why are you laughing?" he gasped.
"I can't decide which one of us wants this more." She kissed him again, hungrily. "It's been a long time for you too, hasn't it?" She shifted so that his body would be more comfortable under her weight.
"Well, since it meant anything," he confessed. He swallowed nervously, and ran a hand over the exquisite curves of her body. "I want this, Ludmilla, I really want this. I want you more than I've ever wanted anything in my life."
She thrilled at his words, and he could see it in her face. He smiled sweetly, the rare little smile that she loved to see, not coarse or mocking, but joyous and sweet and slightly teasing. She moved her legs so that she was straddling his hips, and his hands could reach her breasts. She smiled down at him, slid her body back, so that he could enter her. He moved slowly, carefully, and she moaned softly in pleasure at his touch just as he whimpered slightly at her tightness. He was sweet and skillful, and moved carefully, learning the curves inside her, the places that made her gasp and growl. It didn’t take long for her slick, tight warmth to make him lose control, and his hands gripped her hips and he cried out, pounding into her. She gasped in pleasure, leaned back so that he could get as far inside her as possible, just as eager for his release as he was. He cried out again, and her body quivered and shook as he came, their mingled juices spilling out onto the floor. Atton gave a soft moan, then collapsed.
Ludmilla smiled with pleasure, and leaned over him, kissing his lovely face until he stirred slightly. "Come," she whispered, "let's get into bed."
She woke a little while later, her arms and legs curled around him, lying comfortably in the little nest that she had made. He was gently stroking her face, his graceful and elegant hand touching her hair and her cheek and her lips, his eyes closed, and a sweet half-smile on his face. He felt her stir, and kissed her, slowly moving his body over hers. "It didn't feel like you were finished," he murmured. He ran his hands over legs, gently parting them, and entered her again. She was still soft and wet, and she gasped, overjoyed that he would think of her needs and actually satisfy them. She cried out his name, and he kissed her again, her neck, her breasts, the muscles of her arms, moving inside her all the while. She cried out again, buried her hands in his hair while he kissed her breasts, one after the other, his breath warm and his kisses wet against her skin. With another wild scream, she wrapped her legs around his slim waist, holding him close, holding him inside her, while she panted and shook and throbbed around him. He groaned softly, and sank into her arms, his head buried in her breasts. She made a soft, joyful sound, and pulled him even closer. He laughed drowsily, and kissed her breasts again.
The next time Ludmilla woke, it was hours later and he was finally pulling away from her.
"I'm all sticky!" Atton whispered, with a slight grin.
She sat up, and licked his shoulder. "And delicious! We should go take a shower," she smiled suggestively.
"I like the way you think." He wrapped one of the sheets around his slender hips, then tossed the top over his shoulder to make a slight concession to modesty. Ludmilla wrapped one of the sheets casually around herself, just covering her breasts, and somehow managed to look more naked with the sheet on than without. He grinned, and held out his hand to her, and they snuck out of the cargo hold, through the main cabin, and down to the galley without running into anyone, giggling like children the entire time. Atton ran into the washroom, while Ludmilla stopped to grab an apple from the table, and took a hearty bite.
"Oh, hey, General," said Bao-Dur casually, as if running into a practically-naked ex-Jedi was an everyday occurrence for him. "Where's Atton?" He was halfway down the stairs, and looked around the galley expectantly.
She grinned and gestured to the washroom. "We were going to take a shower."
"Think you'll be a while? I'd like to check the soundproofing in the cargo hold."
"There is no soundproofing in the cargo hold." She looked at Bao-Dur, and he looked back at her. "Oh, come on. We weren't that loud."
"Yes you were!" Bao-Dur and Kreia, still at the top of the stairs, shouted together.
Ludmilla blushed and quickly finished her apple before she ran into the washroom to join Atton.