Chapter 288
**Dagon POV**
I returned to my private cabin aboard the *Terminus* and sank down onto the cool metal floor, legs crossed, back against the bunk. The hum of the ship's engines vibrated faintly through the deck plating. Problems were looming higher than the roof.
And then there was my sudden, effortless command of Huttese during the holo-call with Jabba. It had simply… come back. Damn. My old teacher's words echoed in my mind: "A tenth of the galaxy speaks this language, Dagon. Knowing it might be useful to you." Well, thanks, teacher. It came in handy. And it wasn't particularly difficult — not like Twi'lek with its subtle tonal shifts or the guttural roars of Wookiee. Brrr.
I was either unlucky… or too lucky. It depended on how you looked at it. I had stumbled straight into these canonical events again. Ventress was dead — I had killed her myself on Ohma-D'un. So the kidnapper was almost certainly Selena, the Nightsister whose arm I had severed and whose mutated Massassi warriors I had destroyed. Ziro the Hutt, Jabba's scheming uncle, was in league with Dooku. The Huttlet Rotta was being held on Teth, in the old B'omarr monastery. Selena would be waiting there with droid forces. Dooku himself was probably already on Tatooine, plotting against the Jedi and preparing an ambush in orbit.
What a mess.
Ideally, we would extract Rotta from Teth quickly and hand him off to Kenobi — let the "diplomat" handle the delicate negotiations with Jabba. But the Force was whispering warnings of deeper trouble. We would have to deal with all of it. That meant bringing a capable medic for the Huttlet (I remembered him falling into a deep, exhausted sleep during the original events) and finding a way to discreetly inform the Jedi Council that Ziro was working with Dooku. Once Rotta was safe, we could drop that particular bomb. Reasons? Who needed reasons when dealing with Hutts? Just arrest Ziro and be done with it. Phew — calm down. We could ask Master Windu if things got messy. He was a master of arrests, damn his Vaapad crown. That would give us political cover if Jabba turned unfriendly.
On the other hand, a clash with Selena loomed. Not ideal. I was counting on my new lightsabers and whatever support Zule could provide. A direct confrontation with Dooku, however… that half-baked Zeus… No. Bombing him from orbit sounded tempting, but the creepy bastard would wriggle out of it. Better to avoid him entirely. More fighter cover, quick in-and-out, and done.
I closed my eyes and forced myself to recall every detail from the old cartoon about the battle in the monastery on Teth. Narrow corridors. Vertical drops. Battle droids in tight formations. B'omarr monks watching impassively. The Huttlet's litter. Selena's agile, rage-fueled combat style. I began mentally drafting a battle plan — insertion points, extraction routes, contingencies for droid ambushes.
A soft chime announced a visitor. The door slid open.
Zule Xiss stepped inside, still in her light training tunic. Her skin had finally shifted back to that vibrant red-orange hue she preferred — the color of passion and confidence among her people — but she still looked a little lost, as if the rapid changes in her body and emotions hadn't fully settled. At nineteen, she wasn't that different from Ahsoka in many ways: fierce, quick-reflexed, carrying a similar mix of youthful fire and hardened war experience. Like Stella with her Zeltron spark, not quite as openly emotional as Flare or Kayla, but with a touch of Visenya's intensity.
She had taken to being stimulated down there during our more private moments. It seemed to ground her, to remind her that she was whole again. And she fell in love easily — Ahsoka had been right about that. Risk your life like a hero to save a girl, and they tended to love you. It felt… nice. Warm. Real.
"Master?" Zule's voice was soft, carrying that faint Falleen lilt. She closed the door behind her and leaned against it for a moment, watching me. "You've been quiet since the briefing. The girls and I can feel the weight on you through the bond."
I opened my eyes and offered her a small smile, patting the floor beside me. "Come here."
She crossed the cabin in two graceful steps and sank down to sit facing me, knees almost touching. Her red-orange skin seemed to glow faintly under the cabin lights. Falleen were cold-blooded reptilians, long-lived, averaging two hundred and fifty years. Their sleek, symmetrical features and calculating demeanors made them strikingly beautiful to most species. Add in their ability to change skin pigmentation and the powerful pheromones they exuded when aroused or emotional, and they became nearly irresistible.
Zule's pheromones were already drifting toward me — warm, subtly sweet, laced with gratitude and something deeper.
"I was thinking about Teth," I said quietly. "The mission. The complications. Selena will be there. Droids. Possibly a trap. And afterward… politics with Jabba and Ziro."
She nodded, her restored right hand reaching out to rest on my knee. The touch was warm, alive, sensitive in ways the cybernetic replacement never could have been. "You saved me. Gave me this back." Her fingers flexed, tracing small circles. "Let me help carry some of the weight tonight. Before we drop into whatever waits on that rock."
I studied her for a long moment — the way her red skin flushed darker at the cheeks, the quick rise and fall of her chest, the faint scent that made rational thought flicker. She was easy to love, and she loved fiercely in return. After everything — the healing in the medical bay, the shared night with Ahsoka watching and participating, the battles we had flown together — the bond between us had deepened into something raw and intimate.
I reached out, cupping her cheek. Zule leaned into the touch, eyes half-lidding. "You're sure?" I asked.
"Very sure," she whispered. Her free hand slid up my thigh, bold and unapologetic. "I like it when you stimulate me down there. It makes me feel… whole. Desired. Not broken anymore."
Clothes came off slowly at first, then with growing urgency. I pulled her into my lap, her lithe, athletic body pressing flush against mine. Her skin was smooth and slightly cooler than a human's, but it warmed rapidly under my hands. Zule's legs parted naturally, straddling me as she rocked her hips forward, already slick and ready. The pheromones intensified, flooding my senses and sending heat straight to my groin.
I kissed her deeply, tongue exploring the exotic taste of her mouth while one hand slid between us. My fingers found her folds — swollen, wet, sensitive. I circled her clit with slow, firm strokes, then dipped two fingers inside her tight channel. Zule moaned into the kiss, hips jerking. Her restored hand gripped my shoulder hard enough to leave marks; the other tangled in my hair.
"Yes… there," she gasped, breaking the kiss to press her forehead to mine. "Deeper. I want to feel everything."
I curled my fingers, stroking that sensitive spot inside her while my thumb continued working her clit. Zule's body trembled, red-orange skin flushing darker with arousal. Her pheromones made every sensation sharper, more addictive. She rode my hand shamelessly, inner walls clenching rhythmically.
When she was panting and close, I withdrew my fingers and guided my cock to her entrance. She sank down onto me in one smooth motion, taking me to the hilt with a low, throaty moan. The heat and tightness were exquisite. Zule's walls fluttered around me as she adjusted, then began to move — slow rolls of her hips that gradually built speed.
I gripped her ass, helping her ride me harder. Her breasts pressed against my chest, nipples hard points. I leaned down to capture one in my mouth, sucking and nipping while she rode faster, the wet sounds of our joining filling the cabin.
"Force… you feel so good," she whimpered. "Don't stop. Fill me."
I thrust up to meet her, setting a deeper, faster rhythm. Zule's head fell back, exposing the elegant line of her throat. I kissed and bit gently there, feeling her pulse race. Her pheromones wrapped around us both, amplifying pleasure until it bordered on overwhelming.
She came first — a sharp cry tearing from her throat as her pussy spasmed hard around my cock, juices coating me. Her entire body shook, red skin glowing with exertion and release.
I followed moments later, burying myself deep and spilling inside her with a groan, hips jerking as wave after wave of pleasure crashed through me.
We stayed locked together afterward, breathing hard, sweat-slick skin cooling slowly. Zule nuzzled into my neck, her restored hand tracing lazy patterns on my chest.
"It feels nice," she murmured sleepily. "Being loved like this. Being wanted. Ahsoka was right… heroes who risk everything for a girl end up with her heart."
I kissed her forehead, holding her close. "You're not just any girl, Zule. You're ours. And we protect what's ours."
She smiled against my skin, content for the moment. The lost look had faded from her eyes, replaced by quiet strength and affection.
Outside the cabin, the *Terminus* continued its journey toward Teth. Five hours until arrival. Ahsoka was preparing to take *Ragnos* and the main fleet elements back toward Lantilles. Zule would stay with me for the surface operation.
I still had a battle plan to finalize — insertion under *Finalizer* cover, rapid push through the monastery, extraction of the Huttlet, contingencies for Selena and droid ambushes. A medic for the sleeping boy. A way to expose Ziro without burning every bridge.
But for tonight, in this quiet cabin, with Zule warm and sated in my arms, the looming problems felt a little smaller.
Tomorrow we would drop onto Teth.
Tonight, we rested in the afterglow — two bodies, one bond, ready for whatever the Force threw at us next.