Chapter 307
The *Finalizer* dropped out of hyperspace with a smooth shudder, the blue tunnel collapsing into the brilliant, overcrowded sprawl of Coruscant. The planet filled the viewport like a glittering jewel — endless layers of towers, traffic lanes, and artificial light stretching from pole to pole. I stood in my private quarters, arms crossed, staring at the view but not really seeing it.
My mind was elsewhere.
Seven months.
That was all it had been since I arrived in this galaxy, slammed into the body of Dagon Marek on Geonosis in the middle of a massacre. One moment I was a resistance soldier who had spent fifty years fighting Skynet's terminators, reclaiming continents, only to die in the temporal array device — the final desperate sacrifice to destroy Skynet's physical host in the T-5500. The next moment I was here, saving a couple of Jedi, capturing Vaart, meeting admirals like Dittmar and Thrawn, killing Ventress, surviving an encounter with the immortal ghost of Darth Vitiate, winning Jabiim without catastrophic losses and effectively changing the timeline.
I had killed Durge. Killed Savage Opress and his mutated Nightbrother warriors. Killed fifteen dark Jedi, fallen Knights, Masters, and Padawans. Slaughtered mutated Sith-magic Massassi warriors. Became High Jedi General of the 12th Sector. Saved the Republic thousands of troops in swift campaigns. Killed Trench. Fought Grievous. Taken Ahsoka as my Padawan. Taken Zule Xiss as my Padawan. Made friends with them — and so much more. Lovers. Girlfriends. Knights like Kayla the Zeltron, Flare the Pantoran, Stella the human. Faced the raw power of Vitiate when the ancient Sith tried to possess me to conquer the multiverse by freeing the thousands of trapped souls in the thought bomb on Ruusan.
Seven months.
And I had already died once — truly died — on Tatooine against the Yuuzhan Vong Hunter. My heart had stopped. Zule had restarted it with her own hands while I lay bleeding out on a plateau of glass and ash.
The weight of it all pressed down on me like gravity from a collapsing star.
A soft, warm weight shifted on my lap, pulling me back to the present.
Zule was completely naked, straddling me on the wide chair in my private quarters. Her red-orange Falleen skin glowed faintly under the low cabin lights, flushed darker with arousal. She had been grinding slowly against me for the last few minutes, her slick heat rubbing along the length of my cock through the thin fabric of my pants, teasing, building.
"Master…" she murmured, voice husky and a little breathless. "You were gone again. Thinking too hard."
Her hands slid up my chest, fingers tracing the scars from the Vong hooks and the lightning burns. She leaned in, pressing her full breasts against me, nipples hard points brushing my skin as she rocked her hips with more purpose.
"I was just… reflecting," I admitted, voice rough. My remaining hand settled on her hip, guiding her movements. "Seven months. So much has happened. So many people I've lost, so many I've gained. So many times I should have died."
Zule's lekku-like head ridges twitched. She cupped my scarred face with both hands, forcing me to look at her.
"You're here now," she whispered fiercely. "With me. That's what matters."
She kissed me deeply, tongue sliding against mine with hungry need. Her pheromones thickened the air — warm, sweet, intoxicating — making my blood burn hotter. I groaned into her mouth as she reached down between us, freed my cock from my pants, and positioned herself over it.
With one smooth, deliberate motion she sank down, taking every inch of me inside her tight, wet heat. We both moaned at the feeling — her walls fluttering around me, already soaked from the teasing.
"Force… you feel so good," she gasped, forehead pressed to mine. "Every time… it's like the first time."
She began to ride me slowly at first, rolling her hips in deep, sensual circles, savoring the stretch. Her restored right hand braced on my shoulder while her left tangled in my hair. I thrust up to meet her, matching her rhythm, my hand gripping her ass to help guide her faster.
Zule's moans grew louder, breathy, desperate. "Harder… please, Master… I need to feel you. All of you. Remind me you're alive."
I obliged. I stood up suddenly, still buried inside her, and carried her to the bed. Laying her down on her back, I hooked her legs over my shoulders and drove into her with deep, powerful strokes. The wet slap of skin on skin filled the room, mixed with her cries and my low growls.
"Yes—! Right there—!" Zule arched beneath me, nails digging into my back, careful not to reopen any scars. Her inner walls clenched rhythmically around me, squeezing tighter with every thrust.
I leaned down, capturing one of her nipples in my mouth, sucking and biting gently while I pounded into her. Her pheromones were overwhelming now, turning every sensation into pure fire.
She came first — hard — her whole body shaking as she cried out my name, pussy spasming around my cock in powerful waves. The feeling dragged me over the edge with her. I buried myself as deep as I could and spilled inside her, pulsing again and again until we were both trembling and spent.
We collapsed together, breathing hard, sweat-slick skin pressed close. Zule nuzzled into my neck, pressing soft kisses to the scars there.
"I love you," she whispered. "Don't ever scare me like that again."
"I love you too," I murmured, holding her tight with my remaining arm. "I'm here. I'm not going anywhere if I can help it."
She smiled against my skin, content for the moment, even as the *Finalizer* continued its approach to Coruscant — and whatever fresh complications waited for us on the surface.
For now, in this quiet cabin, with Zule warm and sated in my arms, the weight of seven months of war, death, and impossible survival felt just a little lighter.