"Please, Jaq, you don't understand..." there was a badly concealed sob in her voice.

"Shut up, girl..."

"You can still be saved..."

"SHUT UP!"

She shrank back slightly, fear evident on her face. But the defiance in her eyes never faded and her compassion never waned. Her convictions surprised him, and a small voice in his mind was quietly singing her praises. The strength of her convictions and her beliefs stirred admiration within him. Her display of weakness, however, incensed him, and the respect he had for her faded into rage. A flow of electrical current passed through her petite frame, and her body began to twitch and spasm. Her mental and physical health had greatly diminished over the last few hours due to the barrage of assault to both her mind and body, and finally her self discipline cracked. Her screams began to echo within his mind, and it was all he could do to stop himself from crying out with her, the shrieks somehow amplified beyond the boundaries of normal vocal processors. He released the electrical field, and her agonised shouts were replaced with pitiful moans of misery and horror. She could no longer stand; every time she attempted to raise herself on her weak limbs, they gave out and she would collapse in a heap at his feet. And in Jaq's mind, it was a fitting place for her.

And then, just when it seemed she would die from the pain, he heard it. Faintly at first, like a friendly voice from another room in a large house, beckoning, but it grew stronger, louder, something that, no matter how hard he tried, he could not ignore or endure. The screams of countless hundreds, of the people he had killed, or made to suffer by causing them to fall as far as he were building in his head. It was in his very heart and soul, vibrating through his very core.. The emotions he had trained himself to keep close to him became wild and untamed, building a pressure that was threatening to cause them to spill forth like a flood, drowning him in lust, fear rage, despair... and his disgust for Jedi, his blind hatred, seemed to be grappling with a new, truly alien emotion, one never felt by someone who had fallen as far as he, nor had it been felt by anyone so deeply then at that moment...

He loved her, more than anything, and the need to save her, in his own, cruel way, had never been so great. But at the same time a minuscule fear, a hint of intense loathing was beginning to cloud over his mind, and fury, along with the bitter taste of bile rose in the back of his throat. A white hot anger was building, fuelled by the knowledge that she was reaching him a way he cold never have perceived, believing his mind to be secure and completely guarded, unable to be manipulated and twisted by someone like her. It was not torture, but something worse. It was the mere thought of what he had done over the brief course of his life... that was his personal torment, and his salvation.

Unimaginable rage seemed to fill him, looking down into her dead, hollow eyes, eyes that were slowly filling with tears, a sign of the misery that she felt of seeing someone so young as he take such a terrible and self-destructive path. She would not destroy him like this, change his fate in such a way. He had chosen this life.

But it was no longer his fate he was concerned about, it was hers.

If they found her here, now, in this sad, empty room, an un-named torture cell fit for her tomb, they would kill both assassin and jedi. Or worse, sense what the two of them felt, the Force within, and twist them; break their spirit like spun glass being smashed against a hard stone wall. But at this point, Jaq had lost control completely, and before she had realised what he had done, her captor's hands were around her slender neck, lifting her up against the cell wall. His fingers were pressing down hard on her windpipe, his arms turned downward so that his elbows rested hard on her forearms, effectively pinning her against the wall and destroying all hopes of escape or freedom or his redemption.

Jaq looked into her dark, sad, now-empty eyes once more.

He looked at what he was about to lose.

He thought about what he would gain by killing her.

Would it be the pleasure of overpowering another of her kind, killing them one by one like animals to the slaughter? Or would it be guilt? He just didn't know anymore.

He leant forward and kissed her softly. And he began to squeeze.

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

This was maddening. He had been stuck in this cage for a week, without food or company, and for what? A couple of bottles of boot-legged juma and a blaster? The galaxy was a screwed up place.

Atton sighed and leant back against the wall behind him, partly to rest his legs but mostly to avoid the fluxing energy sheild. Great, now he was in danger of electricution. He wasn't sure what would be more pleasant, that or starving. He was just starting to contemplate what his last words may be ( for the record, he was thinking of 'who's the galaxy going to revolve around now?'), when the door of the security room opened and a woman hovered outside.

She was beautiful, that was his first thought. It was his second, as well. Or at least, the part of her he could see was beautiful, she was half shadowed, standing just outside the cell room. Unusually tall for a woman, around 6"2, though her height merely added to her appeal. Her subtle muscles blended with the delicate curves of her form creating a harmonious combination of vulnerability and strength. Her flat, tanned stomach was bare and covered with scars that could have been carved into her flesh with a blade, the patterns both grotesque and artistic. Light from the security room was causing them to look deeper and burnt, like someone had placed a candle against her skin. A look of annoyance flashed over her face for the briefest of instants when he saw the slightly lecherous look on his face at the sight of her barely covered form, but faded into one of relief at finding someone else who hadn't been shot down and mauled by force only knows what.

He gulped slightly. He probably would have been staring at her anyway, despite her state of undress. He hadn't seen a woman in at least a month, much less an attractive one, and now the Force decided to bless him with one wearing nothing but her underwear. If you could even call it that, it looked more like a cross between a black swimsuit and a slave girl outfit. Not to mention she was wearing ebony boots that topped of her slightly erotic appearance nicely. Unfortunately, her appearance was made slightly less alluring by the mining laser she carried. It was being held with the experienced hand of someone who knew how to get out of a tough scrap- and had been forced to. Frequently.

"Are you an angel?" The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Dammit, why do you always have to say whatever pops into your head? It didn't seem to faze her much, though, she merely took a few steps forward, the deadly grace of her walk only disrupted by the efficient step of a soldier that she, seemingly out of habit, fell into as she strode forward. But a slight blush rose onto the part of her face he could just barely see, and the corners of her mouth twitched upward in a slight smile.

"Excuse me?" she said. Even as she spoke her smile grew larger, and it felt like his heart had been ripped out, put in a food processor and liquefied. In other words, he melted like ice on Tatooine. Which was totally ridiculous, seeing as no-one had ever had that effect on him before, regardless of their pretty smile or siren voice, a voice that surrounded him like liquid gold, smooth and dark, and sinfully rich.

That voice was achingly familiar, though, like a voice singing to him as a baby, a memory from another time he had tried to block. But it there was time to dwell on that small mystery later: the woman was still standing at the doorway, arms crossed over her not-quite-covered chest, her face still mostly shadowed and warped slightly by the energy field of the cage. Everything from the clicking of her tounge to her pose was wordlessly asking for a reason for the words uttered by the scruffy-looking prisoner.

To cover up the slight embarrassment of his slip of the tongue, he chuckled softly, a slightly hungry look drifting over his features as his eyes racked over her barely covered form.

"Don't worry, I'm just kidding. That was one of the worst lines I've ever used. Gotta hope some poor kid doesn't start using it."

" Uh-huh... believe me, our current situation is more important than your lousy attempts at a pick-up."

"I bet it is. So, tell me," he clapped his hands together, pushing away from the wall and straightening his stance," Did you miners change regulation uniform while I've been in here or something? Not that I'm complaining or anything..."

"Just keep those eyes up and tell me- wait a second...Atton?"

She finally entered the room completely, and he could see her face clear as day. The second he did, it was like touching an open, electro-static conduit. For a moment, just one fragile, disgustingly clichéd moment, time seemed to come to an abrupt halt. The universe stood still, the sounds of consoles and automated mechanical clicks became white noise, and all other things in the things in the galaxy fell away except for her, the only important thing in existence, the one, pure , precious life-form left. Her eyes grew wide, and she tilted her head to one side ever so slightly to one side as if doing so would help her figure out if he really was here. Her face was strange, empty, that face that had haunted him for the last six years.

She had barely changed her appearance in that short span of time: her hair was still the same length, wavy and flowing down her back to rest at her waist, the colour of Corellian cherries. Two strands fell into her eyes, green flecked with turquoise and gold, like gems reflecting the sun setting over water. Eyes that someone could become lost in if they weren't careful. Eyes that he had often stared into before leaning down to kiss her...

Atton began to tremble slightly, his mouth opening slightly. An eternity seemed to pass as they stared transfixed at each other, running their eyes over the other, not believing what they were seeing. After what seemed like days, he broke the silence with the nearly inaudible whisper of her name. It echoed and vibrated in the air, standing testament to how every day since they had parted, he had thought about her constantly; how every second felt like it was meaningless, and living without her felt like a piece of his heart had been sliced away with a vibroblade. It carried with it the same weight and fear as it had the last time he had uttered it, the adoration and joy, and a flood of memories, long suppressed, washed over them both, boiling hot and bitterly cold.

"Lillia, I-" His breath caught in the back of his throat, preventing anymore words from forming. His voice seemed to bring her out of her daze, and before either of them realised exactly what she was doing, she had strode over to the console near his cage, deactivated the force field and walked over to stand in front of him. There was a moment when he thought a blaster bolt was headed his way, before she caught him completely by surprise and wrapped her arms around him tightly.

Shock prevented him from reacting immediately, but she nuzzled into his neck, breath hot on his cool skin, and she gripped him tighter as his arms finally, hesitantly, went around her. They stood there for how long, neither of them knew, in each others arms, until the distant sound of metal clanging to the ground jerked them apart. For a few seconds, no movement was made as they stared at each other raptly once again, small, tentative smiles gracing their faces. He reached up and ran his fingers through her hair lightly, and pulled her closer to him before capturing her in his arms again. He breathed in deeply, savouring her familiar scent of moist dying flowers inhibited only by the stench of healing fluid and blood. They drew away from each other again, and he leaned forward and kissed her. Her smile faded somewhat when he did, but he didn't seem to notice.

Needless to say, he didn't expect the punch in the stomach he received from her. It hurt.

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AN: alright, it's really badly written, and I'm sure there are still numerous typos, the storyline is pretty bad and I don't expect anyone to read this, let alone comment and offer handy hints. But, if by some sheer miracle someone DOES read this, please offer some advice and point out any mistakes. Thanks.