~ Jedi Bri Meets Sith Xara ~
by AJ Marks
Disclaimers: The two main characters look a lot like the ones we are used to, Xena and Gabrielle, and no I don't own them, wish I did. This story takes place in the Star Wars universe that I don't own either, that's owned by George Lucas, along with Yoda who I borrowed for this story.
Subtext: Yes this involves love between two women, nothing graphic however.
This started as a result of a discussion board in which a comment was made of how well Renee O'Conner would portray a Jedi Knight.
Send comments to AJMarks01@aol.com
Jedi Bri Meets Sith Xara
by
AJ Marks
Part 9 (Conclusion)
She pushed the door open and was greeted by the sight of Xara lying in bed, with shirt on that barely covered everything. Bri stopped in shock for a moment as she took in the sight. Her mouth went dry and she stood there mutely. Xara looked up from her maintenance of her lightsaber that was sitting on her lap. A quick grin at the look on Bri's face told Xara everything she need to know.
"Are you going to stand there all day, if so I'll starve to death." Xara said with a grin on her face. Bri blushed a bit at having been caught and closed the door. She crossed over to where Xara was sitting and set down the food.
"I didn't know what you liked, so I picked out my favorite." Bri said as she took out the food and set it out for them.
They sat in silence for a few minutes as they each focused on their food. Xara knew that she would have to start the conversation. It was something that she was not looking forward to doing and the thought of what could happen scared her more than the recent battle.
"I know that you probably have some questions, and I'll do my best to answer them." Xara said beginning the conversation having a good idea of what question would come first.
"Are you a Sith Lord?" Bri asked wanting to get that particular question out of the way.
"No, but I was part of the Sith organization." Xara stated. "The Sith are made up of two main leaders, a master and an apprentice. Aside from those two are others, their 'hands' as they are called. I was a hand of Zaris, he was my master, until I met you." Xara said truthfully as she looked right into Bri's eyes.
Bri knew that Xara was telling the truth, but she was not too sure that she understood. "So a 'hand' is a person who works for one of the Sith Lords, and they carry out certain deeds?" Bri asked wondering if she got it right.
"Yes, I use the description of a bounty hunter to anyone who asks what I do. The jobs of the 'hands' and one of a bounty hunter are almost identical." Xara said.
"Will I be able to trust you not to return to the Dark Side?" Bri asked wishing that she did not have to ask the question.
Xara tried not to flinch at the question, but knew that it was coming. "I can't promise you anything Bri, but you do have my word that I'll do my best to stay on this path." Xara said truthfully. "The Dark Side is very seductive Bri, you've felt it."
Bri nodded her head as she realized that she did know what Xara was talking about. Bri had walked a fine line when she almost killed Arble. Xara must have been able to sense that. Xara's comment that she understood now made sense to her, and she was relieved that Xara had been able to stop her.
"Bri, I want to apologize to you." Xara said suddenly serious as she looked down at the bed. Bri looked on and gently caressed Xara's cheek. "I'm sorry for what I said to you in that alleyway a couple of nights ago."
Bri had to think to remember that night. She remembered what Xara had said, and how much it had hurt then, but what happened afterward had taken the sting out of the words. Bri looked at Xara and realized that she had already forgiven Xara, but the woman needed to hear it.
"Your words did hurt me. Some of them I still don't understand why you said it, but I've already forgiven you." Bri said looking right into Xara's blue eyes.
"I was feeling hurt that you had not told me that you were a Jedi when we first met. It was a double standard and I knew it, but my training had taken over." Xara said feeling foolish that her excuse was so lame. "I had been taught all my life to hate the Jedi, and I guess that I was hurting because my heart and soul had already fallen for you. My mind did not want to believe it."
"How did you become a member of the Sith?" Bri asked curious to hear the story.
"They found me on one of the moons around Fisture. I was walking the streets playing local bully and crime lord." Xara said calmly. "My father and mother had been killed a couple of years earlier and I had been forced to go to the streets. My slim knowledge of the Force allowed me to be feared by the others. I was never afraid of using my skills to hurt anyone back then. When Zaris found me I was already on the path to the Dark Side, of course I did not know that at the time. It was easy for him to take me under his wing and turn me into whatever he needed me to be."
"That's where you learned to use a lightsaber and the Force?" Bri wondered already knowing the truth.
"I learned a bit, enough to make me dangerous, but not enough to challenge either of them." Xara replied remembering her battle with Zaris. "It looks like you are more powerful than I am."
Bri just chuckled. "To be honest I don't know how I managed to stop those bolts. Master Yoda showed me it one day, but I thought that you had to be stronger in order to accomplish it." Bri said with a slight shake of her head.
"Perhaps you're more powerful than you believe yourself to be." Xara stated. "You were able to defeat Zaris, a Sith Lord, where I was not."
"But I was not able to defeat you." Bri replied back. That was something that she had thought about. Why had she had the ability to defeat Zaris, but not Xara?
"I think that has to do with our connection." Xara said. "I've thought about it for a while now. "For some reason our connection did not allow you to fight to your full ability, for which I'm glad."
Bri thought about that for a few minutes as she chewed on a piece of her food. She came to the conclusion that Xara was right, and perhaps she was stronger than she thought she was.
"What should I tell the council, they would want a report on the status of the mission?" Bri replied knowing that in the morning she would probably be reporting to the Jedi Council.
"I'd leave someone to watch Otto Julies for a bit longer, but I feel that with Arble out of the way, and a public knowledge of what had happened that the mission is probably over." Xara said with a bit of confidence. "Do you want me to go with you?" She asked not knowing what to do.
"No, usually only Jedi attend the meetings. I think that I can handle it." Bri replied. "Besides you are supposed to be resting." She stated.
Xara was about to protest when she realized that Bri was probably right, she did need to rest. Se allowed Bri to win this time, there would be other times to discuss how injured she was.
The next morning Bri found herself awakened by the annoying sound of her communicator. She realized that this as probably the council asking her to make an appearance in the council chambers. She was hesitant to get up from the warm spot she was in and the arms that encircled her. Bri knew that they would keep trying until they would actually send a person on over for her, that could be worse.
That thought made her get up out of bed, and grabbing a robe to cover herself she answered the call. An image of Aqat appeared and Bri knew what he wanted.
"Hello Bri." Aqat said as she answered.
"Master Aqat." Bri said with a bow. Her only question was when the council would want her report.
"I'm to inform you that the council asks that you and Xara come to the council this morning." Aqat said seeing the surprise on Bri's face. She had not been expecting Xara to be requested as well.
"Of course. We'll be there as soon as we can." Bri replied a bit surprised at the request of Xara being asked to attend as well.
"I look forward to it." Aqat said as he ended the call.
"That's different." Xara said from where she was lying on the bed.
"Yes it is." Bri agreed. "I did not expect them to ask for you as well."
"I guess it's time to see what they want." Xara said getting up out of the bed and testing her leg. It was sore, and she would probably have a limp today, but at least she could put pressure on it.
The two women walked into the council and Aqat could see the difference between the two women. Xara was tall, with dark hair and piercing blue eyes that seemed to challenge anyone who looked at them. Bri on the other hand was a head shorter, strawberry-blonde hair and green eyes that were almost always warm and inviting making you want to be her friend. Aqat could not have picked two opposite people if he tried.
The two women stopped in the middle of the council room. Bri bowed waiting for the council to begin asking her questions. Xara remained stoic, and was still uncomfortable in the room, although she was getting used to being around other Jedi, and they both knew that it would take time.
"We would like to know what the status is on your current mission, and if it has been completed?" Master Janson asked taking the head role this time in the council.
"We believe that the mastermind behind everything was a man by the name of Arble Jexinx." Bri said, the name sending a bit of shock through the room. Many of them had heard of the crime lord, but most had believed him to be dead. "He had been operating in the shadows and had slowly gained power over several corporations that had government contracts. His plan was to use the leverage and power to infiltrate the government and bring himself to power as hidden dictator. He even had plans to infiltrate the Jedi Order and take it over."
"He would have had to have an inside man in order to do that?" Aqat said with a bit of surprise in his voice.
"He did, he had a Jedi Master, I believe that Jedi Master Hi-Lu is missing, and I remember seeing the man in the room with me when I had been captured." Bri stated to the council.
Aqat and Janson nodded their heads, and it now became clear how Xara could have defeated a Jedi Master. Hi-Lu was one of the worst swordsmen in the Jedi Order, but the man believed that he was the best there ever was. His overconfidence would have been his downfall.
"I, uh, went to find Mr. Jexinx and stop him from finishing his plans. I was angry and almost slipped, fortunately Xara was there to stop me. He was killed in a struggle between him and Xara." Bri told the group. It had been hard to tell them of her brief fall, but she felt that it was important to talk about.
"It was you we felt earlier then." Aqat stated then and knew that his next step would be meet with less resistance than he had first thought. Here was someone who knew the difference between the two sides, and that could always come in handy.
"Yes it was." Bri replied.
"How did you find Mr. Jexinx?" Ri-Jun asked from where he was sitting. He was curious as to how she had been able to find the man.
"The man was my uncle." She stated getting shock from the rest of the council. Many were quite shocked at the confession that she could be related to such an evil man. "I just went into the local bars and demanded the information." Bri said on how she got the information she needed.
"How did you find her, Xara?" Janson asked not having heard how the woman tracked down Bri.
"I managed to put a few pieces together from my background as a bounty hunter. I found a phrase that means that a person of organized crime changed his, or her, name. I also found a picture of Bri's father, aged him a bit on the computer and realized that the man I saw in the room with Bri when I rescued her looked the same. It turns out that the two men were brothers. I contacted my former boss, who was only to happy to provide me with the location of the man and I was able to get there in time." Xara explained wondering if they would accept her answer.
"Interesting." Aqat answered for the council. He and Janson exchanged a quick glance and knew that both their thoughts were along the same lines. They had to keep these two together, the knowledge that Xara had would only enhance Bri's abilities.
"I think that with Arble dead that the plan that he had undertaken will crumble." Bri said. "It did not look like he had any intelligent second in commands, and those who were backing him may be looking to leave for a while." Bri told the council. Many thought the same thing. The Jexinx crime syndicate was not known for leadership beyond the head. And anyone who was connected with the group would be cutting their ties so they were not connected to a weak organization.
"Is there anything else that we should know?" Janson asked looking at the two women. Bri shook her head no while Xara just stood next to the Jedi. Janson looked around the room silently asking if they had any questions. Everyone had their questions answered that they felt needed to be answered.
"I'll take my leave now." Bri said after a minute of silence.
"Actually there is one thing that Master Aqat and I would like to discuss with you Bri." Janson said stalling the woman from leaving. "You too, Xara." Both women looked at Janson wondering what he would say.
Xara was at first a bit shocked that Janson wanted them to stay and her mind raced to figure out what was left. She then realized what was probably coming. They would have to make a decision about their future. She already knew what she was going to do.
"Bri, you have refused to take a padawan time and again." Janson said and Bri wondered what her not taking a padawan had to do with this conversation. "It seems quite clear to me that you and Xara work quite well together. I would like to propose that you make a working team."
Bri was a bit shocked, but then she realized that he was giving her a chance to stay in the Jedi Order, and stay with Xara. She looked at Xara first and saw only acceptance in the woman's eyes. "I'll be happy to have her as a partner." Bri said looking back at Janson.
"What about you Xara?" Janson asked not doubting that the bounty hunter would stay.
"Bri says she would like it, I think I would as well." Xara replied with a stoic face. Inside she was jumping up and down at staying with Bri, and she could feel the happiness coming from Bri as well.
"If anyone objects?" Aqat said looking around the room. The recent events had shown that the two worked quite well together, and they would make a formidable team. No one said anything and Aqat declared that they would work as a team, on the same assignments. Bri would be the one to report to the Jedi Council, but if Xara would accompany her to answer question like they did this time.
Bri and Xara left the council feeling a bit happy with the outcome.
"I didn't think that you would want to stay?" Bri admitted as they walked along the hallway.
"When I first met you, no I would not, but I've made a few people that I would like to call friends here." Xara said.
"Really, who?" Bri replied wondering who all she had talked to in the past couple of days.
"Aside from you, Masters Yoda, Aqat and Janson. They made me realize that I could have friends and perhaps a family in you." Xara said looking at the green eyes that had locked on her own eyes.
"Me?" She questioned.
"No, the statue over there. Of course you, after all you are my soulmate." Xara said giving the smaller frame a hug and then left her arm draped around Bri's shoulders. "Come on, let's grab something to eat." Xara said hearing Bri's stomach growl and she led her towards the cafeteria.
Inside the cafeteria room they spotted Master Yoda along with his padawan Markus. Grabbing a plate of food they sat down next to them.
"How did the council meeting go?" Yoda asked knowing that he would probably be told what had happened by Aqat and Janson later on.
"Quite well, we gave them our recommendations on the mission." Bri replied digging into her food.
"We believe that the mission is over with the death of the mastermind." Xara said while Bri ate.
"Good news that is." Yoda said with a gleam in his eye. "What else happened?"
"I think that you already know." Xara said watching the small Jedi's eyes. "Bri and I are going to form a team. I think that I can keep her out of trouble."
"Hard task that is, I know." Yoda replied with a chuckle.
"Hey, I wasn't that bad." Bri protested from where she was eating.
"I thought that you were guarding Mr. Julies?" Xara commented towards Markus.
"Master Ul-Ili has taken that over. He wanted his padawan to gain some experience guarding someone on his own." Markus answered. He was glad that he was off the assignment. He needed a few more years until he was on his own. It had been exciting, but he knew that he needed more experience and had talked to Yoda about it.
"It was good training for Markus, but needs more he does." Yoda said as Markus nodded his head.
"I take it you talked it over?" Bri asked watching Markus nod his head. "Then your not far away from being a Jedi Knight, knowing your limitations is an important sign."
Markus blushed a bit under the compliment that Bri had given him, but everyone in the group knew it to be true.
"So, where are you going to be staying?" Bri asked Xara catching the dark-haired woman off guard.
Xara coughed a bit as she swallowed her food too soon. "Uh, I had hoped that I could stay with you." Xara said watching, as it was Bri's turn to look stunned.
"Oh, yeah." Bri stated.
"I have no place of my own and not enough money to pay for an apartment." Xara said logically.
"Bigger place you will need." Yoda replied then continued with a glint in his eyes that Bri recognized. "One bed or two."
Xara coughed again as Bri could feel the heat of a strong blush come on.
"Get too much sun, Bri?" Yoda asked seeing the blush rise up on Bri's face. "Perhaps sun block would work, Xara could help you put it on." Yoda said innocently.
Xara noticed that Bri was now covering her face and she started to laugh. Suddenly Bri got up, grabbed Xara's arm and dragged her out of the room.
"Let's go, it'll only get worse." Bri said as she walked out of the cafeteria.
"Gotta go, talk to you later." Xara said hastily to Yoda who waved them good-bye.
"I forgot he can do things like that." Bri said once they were back in her room.
"You mean be normal. I thought it was kind of funny." Xara said from where she was standing near the door.
"Yes, if we had stayed it only would have gotten worse." Bri said.
Master Yoda walked down the hallway along with Aqat toward Bri's quarters. He had explained that Xara did not have a place to live and that moving them to larger quarters might be good for them. Aqat thought about it and after taking a look at the quarters situation and it was decided to give them a room that had two beds.
Yoda knocked on the door and waited a bit hoping that he was not interrupting anything. He had teased Bri earlier in the day and he hoped that she had forgiven him already.
"Hello Master Yoda, Aqat." Xara said as the door opened. "Come in, Bri's taking a shower and should be right out, just a second." Xara went into the bathroom and then came back out. She did not want Bri coming out of the bathroom naked thinking that they had no visitors.
"I wanted to ask you how you would feel about moving to larger quarters?" Aqat asked not wanting to do anything without first even seeing if they wanted to.
Xara looked around the small room and felt that larger living quarters would be better. "I don't mind, but you would have to ask Bri about it."
"Ask me about what." Bri said with a robe on and still drying her hair.
"A larger living quarters?" Xara replied.
"With two beds." Yoda said not able to resist.
"Well, I have no objections." Bri said looking at Xara.
"Then it's agreed on. I have a quarters lined up if you want it?" Aqat told the two women.
They agreed and spend the rest of the afternoon moving Bri's small amount of stuff that she had collected to the new quarters and their clothing. They then spent the rest of the afternoon shopping for extra clothing for Xara.
The next couple of day had been spent getting Xara settled in and resting before the council sent them on their next mission. They had found out that they could put the two beds together for a large bed that they could sleep in. They usually ended upon one side of the bed with Bri usually lying on top of Xara.
This is how they were laying in the morning. Xara was just lying there awake rubbing the smaller woman's bare back just content to wait for the woman to wake up. They usually separated the bed in the morning in case anyone came in. They did not want to advertise they were a couple to the others.
A knock on the door startled Xara and she wondered who it was. She woke up Bri and quickly told her that someone was at the door. Panic went through Bri's eyes as she quickly got up out of the bed as they pushed the beds back to the original position. It took only a few seconds as Bri called out that she was coming.
Xara stopped her as she was about to walk out to the small living room they had. Bri looked at her with a question in her eyes.
"I just thought that you would like to put this on, or you just might give them a peek of something you don't want them to see." Xara said as her eyes wondered over Bri's naked form.
"Right." Bri said taking the robe and putting it on went to answer the door. Master Yoda was standing there waiting patiently for one of the women to answer the door.
"Good morning Master Yoda." Bri said seeing who it was.
"Good morning to you." Yoda replied wondering if he had interrupted anything. "I just wanted to let you know that the council wants to see you both."
"Probably going to give us a mission." Xara said from the door to the bedroom as she tucked in her shirt.
"Right." Bri said. "All right, we'll be there shortly."
The two women walked into the council room wondering what type of mission that they were going to go on.
The council waited as Bri gave the customary bow, and Xara did the same.
"We have a mission that you can use to warm up with." Aqat said to the two women. "King Tallot of Unilit says that his daughter has been kidnapped by his rival and wants her back. We are sending you to make sure that this doesn't erupt into war."
"So, rescue the daughter and prevent war, sounds easy." Xara said giving a glance to Bri who just shrugged her shoulders.
"Any information we might be able to use?" Bri asked.
"All the information is right here." Aqat said handing the file over to Bri. "Good luck." Aqat said with a smile having no doubt as to the outcome of the mission.
"We'll do our best." Bri said taking the information and the two women walked out of the room.
"Our first mission." Xara said.
"Yep." Bri said with a smile looking up to Xara. "You do realize that we will be away from the Jedi Temple with this one, right?"
"Right." Xara said with an answering smile, they would not have to resist the urge not to touch each other.
"Let's get out of here." Bri said dragging Xara off to their quarters to pack.
The End
This was my first attempt at writing, please let me know what you think.
A sequel may be in the works?
AJ Marks
Continued in Master Lighter
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