The Martyrs (A Bothan SpyNet story) :^) Author's Note 04/30/04 (Thx, Miana!)

Oh, no! Not Rey'na! I liked the way that Astin was not the only member of the team glaring at Lensk. This post was very explosive and as excellently written as usual.

 

great post!

Hey, getting a little too close to Thanksgiving! (hint hint, close to the middle of November!)

 

Nice try, Miana, but I'm Canadian! Our Thanksgiving was a month ago!

*Derisa*

---

As they exited the bolthole, Lensk kept his mouth shut. His mind was occupied with all the things that he had seen and done in that run, and the implications of the young slicer?s accusations. For all that Major An Tredin had not pointed a slim finger at him, Lensk knew that Astin Rah?fe was aware of his part in the earlier sim?s parameters.

On the brisk walk backto the briefing room, he frantically searched his memory for some hint, some clue that might have prevented the damage he had done to an agent under his supervision. How had he missed the roster?s constituency as the demolition division of Team One? Could he not have predicted the approach Lifa would take, in light iof the previous failure? And why? Why in the name of Made?er Statin did Rey?na protect his hearing, perhaps at the cost of her own?

He shook his narrow head in consternation, and darted his eyes over the briefing room. Only two members of Team One were looking at him, both with undisguised fury in their eyes. The younger brother did not hide his anger, burning the civilian Oversight with his scowl, but Lensk found the elder Rah? fe to be far more intimidating. Urgin merely looked at him, but there was something essentially predatory to his aspect, as though he?d pinned a target on the middle-aged politician, marking him as the pack?s chosen quarry.

His neck fur lifted in sudden apprehension, but the 2IC shifted his fearsome gaze away, as though dismissing the Oversight outright. That sort of disinterest had always angered Lensk in the past, but his survival instincts were the stronger, and he surreptitiously shuddered with relief to have gotten off so lightly. There was no doubt in his mind that the burly Bothan would easily rip Lensk?s throat out, but he had elected not to.

This time.

- - -

?Rey?na, are you alright?? Lifa asked gently. The lithe operative looked up at her commander, her head cocked to the side, and then her head in the negative.

?Hearing is marginal, Major,? she replied, ?And the headache is almost immobilizing.?

Lifa nodded her understanding. She met the brindled female?s gaze, her amber eyes luminous in the dimness of the medical bay cubicle. ?You took a real risk, agent. Those charges could easily have been higher in power, and your hearing would be irreparable.?

Rey?na nodded with care and dropped her gaze. ?I understand the risks of what we do, Major, even in the exercises.? She looked up, and Lifa caught the flcker of pain in her dark eyes. ?Far better than the Honoured Oversight.?

?I?m sure of that, Rey?na,? Lifa smiled grimly. ?And if that overkill on the objective served its purpose, that is no longer true.? She shifted her pised stance, glancing over Rey?na?s chart, more for something to do with her eyes as she coninued, nonchalant, ?I think it worked.?

Rey?na met Lifa?s lambent green flame, and a slow smile crept over her aristocratic features. ?Yes, I suspect it did.?

 

Well.. how about Christmas?

Great post!

 

Yes, very nice. Let's hope the Honoured Oversight has learned his lesson, and that Rey'na will be all right.

 

Wow! you guys are fast! I am so glad I still have two readers for this story. I've been so lax of late... not for lack of inspiration, or of plot lines and arcs for all the various stories I'm at work on, but for writing time. Who knew how few hours there were in a day...

Anywho, Jane... you are that soul of loyalty who never fails me... I cannot tell you all that I feel I owe. both here and in TK, and thanks for hanging in there, Miana. Áou two give me my fix of feedback whenever I finally get something out to you. Thanks, again.

I am already at work on the next posts, but I have learned the lesson of never making promises. I'm more likely to get stuf done quickly if I just write and post and leave it at that.

*Derisa*

 

New year? valentine's day? St. Patrick's day? Cinco de Mayo? Come on, choose one!

 

hey! That didn't mean stop writing!

 

Make that three loyal readers, Derisa!

Upperoonie!

- Rani

 

I know it's been a while, but I'm working on getting a bit better at meeting my posting obligations. I hope this post meets with everyone's approval, those few of you who are left. (And many thanks to you for your patience and support, here and in my other threads. I do appreciate it, never think I don't. )

Any who... things are heating up, so... I'll just let you read the durn post, shall I?

*Derisa*

---

She was late, but it had been a long day. Now Lifa finally made her way back to her quarters, after the briefing, and the filing of the usual reports and analyses. Urgin observed her one hand rubbing her neck, stiffened by too many hours remaining stationary, after such hard work. She must have caught his scent long before she reached her suite, as she welcomed her second-in-command in without a pause, once she?d keyed her door open.

He scanned the rooms, aware that she must be wondering at his stamina. Here Urgin Rah?fe had been on every exercise that day, assessing the team?s performance and honing individual aspects, and yet he was still vigilant. It was an essential part of his nature, to protect the pack, and there was no more important member of the team than this russet-furred female. Of course, he?d had a few hours since they?d last seen each other to eat and refresh himself, whereas she?d been working the whole time.

She ate an evening meal high in vitamins and natural sugars, offering him a share, but he politely refused. He accepted instead a cup of sweetened tea, and sat with her while she ate. They discussed trivial things, a calming ritual they were both accustomed to, although usually it was after missions. She seemed to welcome his presence though; the exercises of the last week had been brutal enough to have easily been real assignments.

She was still working at her aching shoulders, and at length he rose to slide her hands free of their task. He laid his hands at the base of her neck their broad warmth touching her skin where he buried his fingers in her lush coat. She leaned back against his torso, letting him work magic with his hands, stroking and teasing the soreness from her highly tuned muscles.

He lost himself of the sensation of her head resting against his belly and her body under his hands. He breathed in deeply, savouring the very female flavour of her scent, the clean healthy smell of her. Suddenly, and quite without warning, she sprang to her feet, and Urgin was instantly on the alert for some unnoticed danger, casting about him for the threat. Lifa eyed him warily, then relaxed into a smile as she saw him prepared to deal with whatever threat had caused her to leap up so unceremoniously.

?It?s alright, Urg,? she said softly. ?I just noticed... the time. I have a meeting with the Oversight and the Focus Committee first thing in the morning. We?ve less than two weeks before mission launch and there?re a lot of details that need honing...? her voice trailed off, and Urgin reluctantly caught the hint.

Urgin set himself back on his heels, relaxing at her reassurance, and nodded his assent. At length, he strode towards her, on the way to the door, but before he moved out of range, she reached out with both hands and snagged his brawny arm, swinging him into her. A slim black hand slid through his throat fur, and dabbled along the lines of his identity tattoo, and her scent enveloped him.

Before he could stop himself, she was in his arms, and he was bending over her, his breath hot in her ear, setting the hairs on the back of her neck astir. Her body felt so soft and pliant against him, and he held her close, protectively. Her teeth closed over the sensitive skin of his neck, a nip of exquisitely painful pleasure, and his breath caught in his throat as he heard her husky growl.

?Lifa...? he answered, struggling with his self-control. At the sound of her name, the Major came back to herself and pushed free of his arms. Urgin cursed himself for letting her go.

?Urgin-? her eyes burned in the dimness of her quarters, her desire shining in their

 

Wish I had fur. Then I could ask Urgin to come rub -my- neck and shoulders... *sigh*

Fantastic! Loved the way Lifa snagged him on the way to the door and gave him up oh so reluctantly, only because she had to. Wonderful sexual tension here. I also liked the way Urgin used the word "mongrel" as an insult to himself. That must be a pretty bad word on Bothawui.

 

*ahem* Is it me, or is it warm in here? I need to take off this sweater and open a window!

Hot post, Derisa! For some reason, I wanted to read it again... and again... and again...

-Rani

 

yeah!!!!!!!!!!! A post!!!!!!!!!

Great job!!

 

Aye Carumba, mujer! ¿Donde estás?

 

up?

 

Hey guys... sorry (gosh, I say that alot...) yes, I am sorry for the delay, yet again. I wrote the first part of this on or about Christmas, but I've had the De'il's own time finding the time to post. Anywho, the rest was improv'ed today, but the idea's been in my head for a while.

Important note: Dego and Nori Jax are property of Albion, borrowed sorta with permission (I did ask real nice, after all)

This post was beta'ed by the ever-patient and understanding Rani "She Rocks My Boat" Veko. Thanks, bud!

Hope you enjoy this one, folks!

*Derisa*

---

Lifa slumped against her door and struggled to master her breathing and her libido. Her fingerpads still tingled from the contact with Urgin's raised tattoo, and the warm heatbeat under it. Her throat was still full of his intoxicating and very *male* scent. The pulsing need slowly retreated only under the assault of her discipline.

What's the matter with me? She had flung her hard-fought control and objectivity aside, and for what? It was more than a passing fancy: Lifa could not deny that her trust and reliance on her exceptional second in command had developed into more than that. She was even glad of it, as it was evidence that she was more than her job.

But had her priorities changed? Was she seriously considering retiring the Life to raise a litter, already? There was no way she could even consider consumating their growing attraction to Urgin until after this assignment. Before she could consider what the future might bring, she had to guide her elite team through the most difficult mission of their careers.

She closed her eyes and forced a long exhale before pulling herself upright again and stalking from the door. It was time to throw herself into an intensive examination of her unit. She would have to hone them into the ideal team to take on the Empire's most closely guarded secret: a design and developement facility sunk deep within the Maw.

As she settled into her workstation, she hoped that at least the rest of her team was getting the rest they deserved, and would need before their departure in two weeks' time.

- - -

Astin Rah'fe was very definitely *not* resting, at present. He tugged at his sleeve, admiring the flow of the thin irridescent material over his white coat. It was understated in this venue, where loud clothes competed in volume with the music.

The dance floor pulsed with shifting bodies, Bothans and others, all swaying and leaping to the intense rhythms from the amplifiers. The band was a favourite of his, for their energising cacophony and their unorthodox treatments of ancient traditional music. They were also renowned for their innovative use of unusual scent chems, and Astin enjoyed all aspects of their club concerts.

Designed to entertain the Bothan's very sensitive noses, the band's various artificial and natural scents pervaded the club's atmosphere as much as their music did. Astin sipped from a drink bulb and admired a pleasant female form dancing near him, when he felt a heavy hand tap his shoulder. He was unable to identify his new companion by scent, but he was not left in suspense long.

"Dego!" he cried, delighted to see his friend after so long. "Where have you been hiding?"

The huge, sable-coated Bothan hooked a leg around a chair leg and seated himself, waving off Astin's question, and the slicer immediately recalled that Dego likely *couldn't* tell him where he'd been since Astin had seen him last. Dego was an unknowable equation: a Bothan who held his honour and his friends close, and when betrayed in what was an established method of gaining status, had turned his back on the entire Bothan way of life to fight and fly with the outlaw Rebels.

Dego snagged a drink bulb from a passing tray, and sucked back the entire contents before he took the time to grin over at his friend. Astin watched him, shaking his head at his immense thirst.

"I've been looking for you for three days!" Dego said as he licked his muzzle, satisfied at last. "You can be damn hard to

 

Fascinating, simply fascinating. Well worth reading two and three times over. Do I understand correctly that the Bothan Martial Intelligence is not allied with the official Rebellion, though they seem to be working aganst the Empire in their own way? What does Dego want Astin to ferret out for him? Will it end up being connected to the Maw project? I can't wait for more. This was excellently written, as always. I liked the emphasis on scent, from the use of scent chems to Astin sniffing Nori's hand. I also liked the way Astin wondered why he bothered with the security program on the curfew lockdown, other than for the ego-boost. Great characterization!

 

Hey Jane! Yes, you understand correctly: the Bothan Martial academy does not work for any outside government, Empire or Alliance: they gather intel and use it to their own advantage. In one of the X-Wing novels, it is pointed out that this makes them a pretty big targhet for both sides, but the Empire finds them too useful to obliterate (yet) and the Alliance/New Republic has its hands full elsewhere. The Bothans are feared and respected free-agent spies, but more and more (in this storiy's timeframe,) the government of the Bothans has been catering to the Empire, for the sake of survival.

If you like Dego and Nri, they have featured roles in the wonderful snapshot Unlikely Heroes, and in the as yet unfinished short story Unsung Heroes, both by Albion.

Chat soon!

*Derisa*

 

You're makin me blush over here, Derisa...

Oh, yeah... CALL ME! Don't you guys get messages up there?! Argh! ;P

*Goes back to lurking and trying to regain his writing muse*

 

Don't you know how to leave a phone number with a message, Albion?

Great post, Derisa! But then, you knew how I felt about it when you watched over my shoulder as I betaread it! Thanks for the long Astin post, he's my fave Bothan of the pack.

- Rani

 

I told both of you before... I HATE ANSWERING MACHINES!

I'll try to get over it soon...

 

Albion, have "Unsung Heros" and "Unlikely Heros" been posted here on the boards? If so, could you provide a link? I'd really appreciate having the chance to read them.

 

Here ya Go!

Unlikely Hero Complete

Unsung Hero Incomplete.

BONUS MATERIAL! My only Fic that directly uses any characters from either books or movies.

Picking Up The Pieces my Tycho/Winter Fic, Incomplete.

 

Thanks, Albion! I've just read "Unlikely Hero" and it was fantastic! Nori is a great character, I loved her never-ending supply of good ideas, such as filing Mon Mothma's fingernails and disguising her with grease. I smiled at Dego in the repulsor cart, and I almost had tears in my eyes when Krays sacrificed himself. I'll read the others soon, but thanks again for posting the links!

 

yippee!!!! post!!!!

I'm either very blonde, or not supposed to know what it means, but i wonder what Ask him if he's eaten any good books lately! means.