------------------------

It was late as Janesa Ra‘Shon, the Republic’s emissary to the planet of
Rudra, walked back alone to the pink-stoned house which had been her home
and base of operations for the past three months. The celebrations marking
the end of the hostility between the Rudraan Bloodlords had gone on for
hours; people feasting, drinking and toasting each other.

Through it all Qui-Gon Jinn, the Jedi Knight who had been sent by the
Republic to assist her with the negotiations, had sat quietly at the table
across from her acknowledging, with a slight nod and a small smile, every
drunken toast offered to him by the Rudraans. He had, however, graciously
declined their offers to join them in their imbibing of the local ale.

Sipping only the sweet Rudraan water, Qui-Gon had looked across at Janesa, a
faint glint of humor in his eyes and something more. A question perhaps? An
invitation? Janesa hadn‘t known and, because she had not wanted to
encourage her own decidedly fevered imagination, had tried hard all evening
to avoid his presence.

Ever since he had arrived on Rudra the two had spent nearly every waking
moment together, poring over documents, drafting and re-drafting treaties,
meeting with representatives from both sides. Janesa had greatly admired
Qui-Gon’s patience as he had sat at the negotiation table day after day,
night after night, listening quietly as the two sides had raged and hurled
accusations at each other. Sometimes Janesa had barely been able to keep her
eyes open during those long nights when the talks had stretched into the
early morning hours, but Qui-Gon had never seemed to tire.

Finally, after what had seemed an eternity of setbacks and delays, the two
sides finally came to agreement. The treaty was signed, hands shaken, backs
patted and holophotos taken marking the historic moment. And, of course,
the celebration which Janesa had quietly excused herself from.

Sighing, she opened the door to the house which she shared with Qui-Gon. She
stopped at the door to his rooms. Qui-Gon had left the celebration early to
prepare, Janesa had assumed, for his departure tomorrow. She raised her
hand to knock on his door, then hesitated.

She had to see him one last time before tomorrow, if only to---?

Janesa shook her head. To what?

She knocked on the door, waited, held her breath, but there was no sound
from behind it. She pressed her forehead against the door. What was she
doing? She was a fool to think there was anything between them than
friendship. To imagine more was a dangerous delusion.

----

Qui-Gon made his way down the darkened streets to his rooms in the house he
shared with Janesa. He had been walking for nearly an hour since leaving
the celebration, his thoughts churning inside him.

He could not recall a time when he had wanted a woman so much. However, it
wasn’t just her wild, dark beauty he found attractive. During the hectic
and stressful weeks of the negotiations, he had been impressed by her
intelligence, compassion, and patience. She also possessed a quick, darting
wit which he had found particularly refreshing.

He had noticed at the celebration that Janesa had pointedly avoided him.
Every time he had tried to catch and hold her eyes, she had met his only
briefly, then hurriedly glanced away or down, refusing to hold his gaze.

With a deep sigh, he clasped his hands behind his back. As his robe swished
slowly across the ground, he noted, despite his own misgivings, how hard his
heart beat at the thought of how much he wanted to touch her.

He turned down the lane which led to the house. Tomorrow he would be living
Rudra. He had other missions, other obligations, other duties. The time he
had shared with Janesa had been delightful, but to hope for more than that
was a dangerous delusion. He was a Jedi Knight after all. That would always
come first in his life.

Qui-Gon stopped as he entered the house. Janesa stood before the door to his
rooms, her head resting against it. He couldn’t see her face, but the light
from Rudra’s twin moons lit up her slender body and dark hair and he knew
instinctively that she wanted what he wanted. And he would give it to her;
all he had to offer, with slow, heartfelt explorations.

------

“Janesa,” a voice called from the darkness. Janesa turned towards the
entrance.

Qui-Gon stood in the doorway. Her heart beat quickly as he strode into the
light of the hall’s glow-globe. He stopped and looked across at her, his
blue gaze piercing the distance between them.

Janesa stared back at him. Her throat moved but she couldn’t speak. She
lifted her hand slightly towards him, her eyes pleading.

Without a word, he moved towards her and swept her into his arms. She
wrapped hers about his neck and pressed her face against his shoulder, his
long hair flowing across her skin. Yes, yes, he wants this. And so do I.

As he carried her into his room, he gently kissed her face. Once they were
inside, he pushed the door shut behind them. Janesa’s pulse quickened and
she trembled in his arms as he carried her to the bed and laid her slowly
upon it. He sat next to her. His large hand caressed her face as he gazed
down at her.

“Do you truly want this?” he asked.

Janesa’s heart jolted and the pulse pounded in her throat.

“Yes,” she replied. “I do. And you---?”

“Yes,” he said simply.

Janesa smiled, but then a tremor of apprehension swept through her. Although
she had spent nearly every day of the last three months with him, did she
really know him? Yes, he was a Jedi Knight, sworn to protect and serve the
Republic and her citizens. And, yes, he was also a man of great strength
and gentleness, but there was still so much she didn’t know about him.

As Qui-Gon looked down at her a small frown creased his forehead. She knew
he was sensing her disquiet.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

She grasped his hand. “I’m afraid.”

A slightly startled look came into his eyes. “Of me?”

“No,” Janesa responded after some hesitation. “Perhaps of what will happen,
but not of you.”

Qui-Gon looked deeply into her eyes and his gaze was soft as a caress.

“And what do you fear will happen?”

“That I won’t be able to let you go. Knowing I must.”

He nodded. “It is a fear I share.”

“What should we do?”

He gently stroked her face.

“I cannot promise you anything, Janesa. I want you, more than I have wanted
anyone. But, you must understand...”

Janesa pressed his mouth closed with her hand.

“I understand.”

She slipped her hand along his face, her fingers skimming across his beard,
tangling through his hair. She wanted him so much. She would not concern
herself with the future. Only this night, this moment mattered.

“Kiss me,” she whispered.

“Are you certain?” he asked.

“Yes, oh, yes,” she cried.

He kissed her, then they quickly removed their clothing and lay on the bed.

Qui-Gon pressed his lips to Janesa‘s, his mouth caressing more than kissing
her. Janesa closed her eyes and a soft gasp escaped her. She returned the
caresses of his mouth with hers, their lips barely touching, their breaths
mingling. Desire surged through her veins like wine and she moaned softly
in his arms. He deepened his kiss in response, his mouth moving over hers so
slowly she could only imagine he wanted to savor the taste of her.

Too soon, he broke the kiss and pulled slightly away from her. Janesa opened
her eyes and looked up at him, a passionate fluttering rising in the depths
of her being. Sighing, he lay next to her, his arms about her, his long hair
tickling her cheek.

For long quiet moments they lay like that, their arms about each other, the
only sounds their mingled breaths, the purling of the stream below the open
window of the bedroom, and the crooning of a Rudraan moonbird as it called
plaintively to its absent mate.

Janesa wasn’t entirely sure why he had stopped kissing her, but just to lie
there with him gave her such peace she was unwilling to do anything to
disturb it.

Then Qui-Gon reached over and held her face with his hands, his long fingers
lightly stroking her cheeks. He drew her closer to him, his eyes roaming
over her breasts. He reached over and gently cupped one, caressing it
slowly. Janesa shivered. She had never dreamed his hands could be so warm
and gentle.

Qui-Gon quickly drew her into his arms and looked deeply into her eyes. He
pulled her over him so that she was on top, Then, reaching up, he drew her
face down to his and kissed her hungrily.

Janesa gasped and braided her fingers through his hair as she pressed her
mouth onto his. A red-hot glow began to smolder in her body as he wrapped
his arms tight about her. Then, he quickly turned her over so that he was on
top. He lowered his lips to hers, then slipped his tongue into her mouth as
his hands roved over her body.

Janesa moaned softly. He deep-kissed her for long soul-shuddering moments.
He then moved his mouth onto one of her breasts and tongued the stiffening
peak. Janesa arched her spine and gasped as an incandescent liquid fire
surged from her breast and out through her entire body.

She panted heavily as, for the longest, sweetest moments, Qui-Gon slowly
moved his head back and forth from one breast to the other, his hair
sweeping across her skin, his tongue lapping at the hardened nubs. Janesa
dug her nails into the hard muscles of his back as spasms of pleasure
erupted inside her. Qui-Gon groaned when she did so.

He then moved further down, stroking her belly with his lips. When he
reached her thighs, he gently parted them, then slid his head between her
legs. He pressed his mouth against her mound and began to lick her; long,
slow licks that flowed over her quivering flesh. Janesa’s breath hitched in
her throat and she squirmed, her hips twisting beneath his hands. Qui-Gon
drew his hands from Janesa’s hips and moved them up and down her thighs as
he continued to lick her soft, sweet center.

Janesa’s throat tightened and sharp little moans escaped from her as Qui-Gon
slowly moved his tongue up and down her. Then, pulling her tight against
his face, he burrowed his tongue deep into her. Janesa arched her back and
cried out as his tongue snaked in and out of her. She lashed her head back
on the bed, her body arching as she lifted her hips.

Qui-Gon slipped his tongue deeper and faster inside her. Then he slid his
mouth up and enfolded his lips around her clitoris. He quickly swirled his
tongue around it, faster and faster. Janesa’s hands tangled through his hair
and she pulled him tight against her. Qui-Gon then slipped two of his
fingers inside her, while his tongue continued to whip about her clitoris.

Janesa gasped. She was just on the edge of her orgasm. Suddenly Qui-Gon
pulled away from her and rose above her body. She looked up at him, her
breath harsh in her throat. He smiled warmly down at her, stroked her cheek.
Then he grabbed her hips and with a quick, smooth stroke entered her.
Janesa cried out, her back arching, as she felt his long thick shaft moving
inside her. Qui-Gon thrust hard and deep into her until she bloomed beneath
him; willingly, completely, entirely, her trust in him now absolute, for no
one had ever touched her like this. . ..no one.

As Qui-Gon’s hips pumped against hers, Janesa lifted her legs and gripped
them around his broad back. The sweet fragrance of the blood-roses
perfuming the night air, the golden blush of the Rudraan moons on his skin
and hair, the sounds their bodies made as they moved against each other, all
of it overwhelmed Janesa’s senses as she felt herself drawn up into a bright
void where there was nothing but pure pleasure.

“Now, oh, please, now,” she urged him. “Now! Now!”

Groaning, Qui-Gon gave one last powerful push; then he collapsed onto her
body as he exploded within her. And, as Janesa herself climaxed, she
thrashed wildly against him, their bodies jerking against each other, their
moans and gasps mingling in the humid air that surrounded them as they
surrendered to their ecstasy.

Afterwards, once their bodies had quieted, Qui-Gon cupped Janesa’s face in
his hands and kissed her deeply, his hair sweeping across her.

“I would like to see you again,” he said softly.

Janesa smiled sadly in the darkness. “But...?”

He cupped her chin with his fingers, caressed the edges of her lips.

“But, I can not lie, Janesa. I do not think---”

“Don’t say anymore, Qui-Gon. I understand. You have your life, your
responsibilities, your destiny. As do I.”

Janesa reached up and took his hand in hers. She examined it, marveling at
how large and strong it was, yet how gently it had explored her body. She
lightly kissed each finger, grazed her mouth across the palm.

“I have no regrets, Qui-Gon. Not now, not ever.”

Then she reached, clasping his handsome face between her hands as she looked
deeply into his eyes.

“Now, please, before the sun rises and the moons set, leave me with a memory
that will last a lifetime.”

Qui-Gon’s steady gaze bore into her, searching, questioning. Janesa looked
back at him, unafraid, trusting. He nodded slightly then, without a word,
lowered his mouth to hers once again. Janesa closed her eyes.

No regrets, she whispered in her mind. No regrets.

The next day, after the twin moons had long set and Rudra’s blue sun had
risen high above the horizon, Janesa Ra‘Shon, the Republic’s emissary to the
people and sovereignty of Rudra, watched with a heart both saddened and
joyous as the ship carrying the Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn soared into the
endless sky above her.

The End

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Moonscribe
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