Chapter 309
The walk through the Jedi Temple felt longer than usual. Zule stayed close to my side, her red-orange skin still carrying a faint flush from our earlier time together aboard the *Finalizer*. Compared to the others, she was a unique blend — her mother a Zeltron, her father a Falleen. She had inherited the Zeltron beauty and emotional openness along with the Falleen adaptability and pheromone control. Her skin shifted colors subtly with strong emotions, and she had a natural tendency to seek physical closeness when distressed or affectionate. Luckily, like Zeltrons, she was given some leeway in public — hand-holding and hugs were tolerated between Knights. Kissing, however, was frowned upon between Knights and outright forbidden for Masters. The Jedi had their weird rules.
"Master, where are we going?" Zule asked quietly as we turned down another polished corridor.
"We are going to meet Aayla Secura."
She was Vos's former Padawan, and both Shaak Ti and Yoda believed I was best suited to care for her in her current state.
"Her state?" Zule frowned. "You mean similar to mine?"
"Yes, but a little more complicated. You see, you and Glaive had been Master and apprentice since you were very young. You lost him in battle. Aayla lost Vos due to rank and distance. He went on a lone mission and eventually betrayed the Order. When she heard, she believed she could bring him back to the light… but the Council never let her go after him."
"That sounds awful," Zule whispered. "But why? I mean, I get the reasoning… well, we are exceptions." She blushed faintly at the admission. "We are secret, and attachments are supposed to be bad. But you walk both paths. You survived a thought bomb. You defeated enemies that ancient Jedi or Sith could never defeat. But still…"
"We are here," I said softly, stopping outside the door to the small meditation chamber where Aayla had been isolated since learning of Vos's death.
The room looked eerily familiar — the same quiet, dimly lit space where we had found Zule after Selena had taken her arm. Aayla Secura sat on the floor near the far wall, knees drawn up, lekku hanging limp with exhaustion and grief. Her blue skin looked paler than usual, eyes red-rimmed from crying.
As we entered, she didn't look up at first.
"The Council… the Council strictly forbade me to follow him!" Aayla suddenly burst out, voice raw with pain as she mimicked one of the Masters. "'Your duty as a Jedi is above your personal obligations.' They… they don't understand! Master Vos brought me back to the Light when I stumbled… And I must do the same for him!"
Finishing her tirade, she stopped at the far wall, wrapped her arms around herself, and nearly broke down. Her lekku trembled visibly.
*Here we go… women. I've never understood you, and I never will. And besides, it's dangerous for the male psyche to try to understand women… All right, jokes aside.* Words clearly wouldn't help here. Secura was still on edge and had no intention of calming down — and she needed to be calmed down. So, what now? Think, Jedi, think!
Fortunately, after a couple of seconds, one option came to mind. Weighing the pros and cons, I decided it couldn't make things any worse. With a quiet snort, I stood and stepped toward the Twi'lek, who was still facing away from me. I had one last resort left in my arsenal…
Hugs. Long live hugs!
Well, why not? It had worked a couple of times with Ahsoka, so it should help here too — same principle, after all.
Gently but firmly, I turned her around by the shoulders and pulled her toward me, carefully wrapping my remaining arm around her. With the other (the prosthetic one Zule had asked about earlier), I began to stroke her head and lekku, at the same time sending soothing waves through the Force.
At first, she froze like a statue, her palms pressed against my chest. Then, after a few moments, she suddenly relaxed and clung to me more tightly, burying her forehead in my shoulder. I continued to stroke her, murmuring things like, "Easy… easy… calm down… everything will be fine," and other similar nonsense. The words themselves weren't important — it was the intonation and the steady warmth through the Force that mattered.
Gradually, she stopped trembling, and her breathing evened out. Reaching out through the Force, I felt her emotional state stabilizing.
*All right, then.*
Wait — what's this now…?
Aayla, stunned by the man's actions, froze in Vikt's embrace. Her first instinct was to pull away, to break free from his arms, but as she unconsciously reached out through the Force, she felt a wave of warmth and care emanating from him. This feeling… she hadn't experienced it in a very long time, and even then it had been only a pale shadow of what she was feeling now. But… she didn't want to interrupt it. On the contrary, it was all so alluring, so deeply soothing…
Suddenly, her body began to react in a way it never had before. Her heart started to beat faster, heat flushed through her, and her thoughts grew tangled and unfocused… The touch of the Jedi's palms sent pleasant shivers racing down her spine.
*What… what's happening to me?*
And while her mind struggled to comprehend what was occurring, her body began to act on its own. She pressed herself closer to him; her hands slid up his chest, slowly traced the line of his neck, then wrapped around his head, pulling him nearer. Their lips met in a kiss…
It started soft — almost hesitant — but quickly deepened as years of suppressed grief, loneliness, and longing poured out. Aayla's lips were warm and desperate against mine, her lekku curling around my shoulders as if trying to hold me in place. I could taste the salt of her earlier tears mixed with something sweeter, something uniquely her.
Zule watched from a few steps away, her red-orange skin darkening with a complex mix of emotions — surprise, understanding, and a hint of possessive heat. She didn't interrupt. Instead, she moved closer, placing a gentle hand on Aayla's back in silent support.
Aayla broke the kiss with a shaky gasp, eyes wide and glistening. "I… I don't know why I did that. I'm sorry, I—"
"Don't apologize," I said softly, still holding her. "You've been carrying too much alone. Let it out."
She trembled again, but this time it wasn't from grief alone. Her hands clutched at my tunic as fresh tears fell. "He was supposed to come back… I was supposed to save him…"
"You tried," Zule whispered, stepping fully into the embrace so that Aayla was now sandwiched gently between us. "That's more than most would do."
The three of us stood like that for a long moment — a quiet tangle of warmth and comfort in the middle of the Temple. Aayla's breathing slowly steadied. Her body relaxed further, melting against me as the overwhelming emotions began to drain away, replaced by something softer, warmer.
Zule leaned in and pressed a light kiss to Aayla's temple, then to my scarred cheek. "She needs this," she murmured against my ear. "We all do sometimes."
Aayla's eyes fluttered open, meeting Zule's with a mix of vulnerability and quiet gratitude. The Twi'lek's hand hesitantly reached out, brushing Zule's arm before sliding up to rest on my chest again.
"I feel… safe," Aayla whispered, almost surprised by her own words. "With both of you. I haven't felt safe in weeks."
Zule smiled gently and kissed Aayla's cheek, then her lips — a soft, reassuring kiss that lingered just long enough to convey comfort and invitation. Aayla responded shyly at first, then with growing confidence, her free hand tangling in Zule's hair.
I watched them, my remaining arm still wrapped around Aayla's waist, feeling the slow shift from grief to something healing and intimate. When they parted, Aayla's cheeks were flushed a deeper blue, her breathing quicker.
"Master…" she started, then corrected herself with a small, shy smile. "Dagon… I don't know what this is, but… thank you. Both of you."
"You don't have to figure it out tonight," I said quietly, stroking her lekku again. "Just let us help you carry it for a while."
Zule nodded, pressing another soft kiss to Aayla's shoulder. "We're here. All of us. You're not alone anymore."
Aayla closed her eyes and leaned fully into the shared embrace, the tension finally draining from her body. For the first time since learning of Vos's death, the weight on her shoulders felt just a little lighter.
In the quiet of the small chamber, with two women seeking comfort in my arms and each other, the war outside the Temple walls felt distant for a few precious moments.
Tomorrow would bring new duties, new System Armies, and the slow march toward whatever endgame awaited.
But tonight, there was only warmth, healing touches, and the quiet promise that none of us had to face the darkness alone.