Mina
By Kate Jinn

Mina Aldebaran hefted her duffel and sighed, as she stepped up to the
landing pad. The transport would be here in a few minutes. As she waited,
she thought of the many things which had brought her to this place—the
destruction of her world by the ruthless Trade Federation (but her world was
so far out of known space it would be years before anyone knew of it), the
transport for home that she’d happened to be on, after a brief trip to the
Pod Races on Tatooine, the fact was she had nowhere else to go. She could
not go home.

She thought of Qui-Gon, and as she did the grief faded slightly and a slow
smile spread across her face. The union they had shared through the Force
was so incredible, so intense, that she couldn’t wait until he touched her
mind again. She knew his scent, though they had never physically met. She
knew every curve of his body, though they had never physically touched.
All, she had experienced through a linking of the force.

It was strange. She’d never heard of anyone being able to bind so strongly
through the Force like this—of someone knowing you so well, even though
you’d never seen each other. She’d never heard of anyone being able to form
a Force link like this without actually physically meeting and touching.
She knew him, sensed him, smelled him. Now, though, at the Jedi temple, he
was too far away for her to be able to contact him. She knew he had tried,
during his meditation, to touch her mind—a mere brush, like the briefest of
hugs, and then it was gone. She knew the distance between them was too
great.

Still, though, he intrigued her. Strong, powerful, and yet mysterious. She
knew him physically and she knew almost everything she could about him on
the outside—and yet he wouldn’t let her in. She could sense a deep sadness,
a nearly overwhelming loneliness in him, that he tried to hide when they
were linked together through the force. There was something he felt
incredibly guilty about—of this she was certain—but he wouldn’t let her in.
He would not tell her anything. With a frustrated sigh she glanced out at
the stars, looking, she hoped, in the direction of the planet he was on.
Her smile widened as she boarded her transport to Coruscant.

<><><>

Coruscant

It was so—big. So loud. Millions of voices in her head. Instinctively
throwing up the shield Qui-Gon had taught her to use (her world had no Jedi.
She was the only one in billions of people with the ability to use this
strange power. She had no Jedi master—what she knew, she had taught herself
with Qui-Gon’s help), Mina knew she would have to fight extra hard to keep
it in place on this world full of people. A city that covered an entire
planet. It seemed unheard of to Mina, from a farming planet on the Outer
Rim. This would take some time to adjust to, she knew.

She deboarded the transport and found a decently priced apartment. After
adding a few pieces of respectable furniture she sank onto a sofa. As soon
as her eyes had closed though, they shot open again. He was here. Rushing
to the window she looked out but there was only a sky full of transports.
No hint as to where he might be—until her chimes rang. Her heart pounding
suddenly, she turned to the door.

“Open.” Her mouth was so dry suddenly she could barely form the word. The
door slid aside and there stood the familiar figure in a black Jedi robe,
tall, incredibly powerful.

“Qui-Gon.” She knew instantly that it was him—not from his physical
presence, but from his Force sense. Taking two steps into the room he let
the door close behind him and pulled back the hood of the robes he wore.

Long, soft brown hair tumbled free of the hood, though it was still confined
in its ponytail. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of his face
for the first time. Ruggedly handsome, with stunning blue eyes that seemed
to bore into her soul, he took Mina’s breath away with one glance.

“Mina.” His voice, so different from that of his mind in hers, sent a
shiver of excitement down her spine that made her weak in the knees. She
tried to speak again but found she could not.

“Secure door,” he ordered, and the door slid closed and she heard the *beep*
as it locked tightly. Her heart leaped into her throat as she stared at
this man, this man who had been part of her dreams since the first time his
mind had touched hers across the light-years.

“I felt your presence from the moment your transport landed,” he told her.
“I knew your shield was in place, but your Force sense is so powerful I
could sense you immediately. I had to see you—had to meet you in person,”
he told her, crossing the room to her. “As soon as I laid eyes on you I
knew it was you. You are more beautiful than I could ever imagine,” he told
her. Taking the seat next to her on the sofa, he trailed a finger along her
jawbone, sending a jolt of electricity through Mina, rendering her helpless.
The only sound she could make was a sigh of pleasure at even this brief
touch. Frustrated, she reached out with her mind.

*I feel I’ve known you before I knew you,* she sent. *From the moment your
mind first touched mine, you have been a part of me. I love nothing in this
universe so well as you, and yet… we’ve never met, until now.*

“We’ve met through the Force, Mina. That’s all that matters.” He stared
down into her eyes, normally brown but now almost black with desire, and
pulled her roughly to him. The first real contact sent a wave of shock
through her body and Mina gasped aloud. He smiled, knowing what she was
feeling. He knew that if he was not careful the sensations would be
overwhelming—and so he put a protective shield up in her mind that would
allow her to feel everything she should—and yet not be overwhelmed to the
point of unconsciousness. Smiling, he gazed into her eyes for a moment,
then pressed his lips to hers.

The first physical kiss was so intense that she felt she would black out in
spite of his shield, though she didn’t. Instead, she responded immediately
to him, urging him closer, feeling lost in his touch. She was small and
seemed frail compared to his large form. He was almost twice her size.
Easily.

Her mouth opened under his and the instant his tongue touched hers a blaze
of colors exploded in her mind. Moaning, she lay back on the sofa, pulling
him with her, knowing nothing except the feel of his body covering hers
though they were both still fully dressed, the softness of his lips, the
incredible sensations in her mind. She had never experienced anything like
this—though she’d made love before. It was nothing like this one kiss.

His hands roamed over her body, a kaleidoscope of colors parading across her
mind. Intense, but not blinding, she moaned into his mouth and whimpered in
disappointment as their lips parted. He smiled, leaning over her to whisper
in her ear. The brush of his breath, warm against her skin, sent shivers
down to her toes.

“Mina.” Her name was barely a whisper on his lips, his voice husky. Her
eyes closed again as his hands trailed along the neckline of the dress,
reaching around to the back for the fastenings. He had it off in moments
and she lay naked before him, quivering with desire, seeing nothing but him,
feeling nothing but the pleasure his closeness brought.

He quickly shed his own clothes and came down to kiss her again, as her eyes
closed and again the kaleidoscope of color, the intenseness of her own
body’s responses to his touch. She’d never felt anything like this. As his
hands worshipped her body, groping, exploring, yearning, Mina found soon the
only sound she was capable of were soft cries of pleasure. The only thing
she could feel was him, her body’s responses to his touch. His lips on hers
were like heaven. The only thing she was aware of was him.

She was shaking with desire when at last his hands stopped moving and he
positioned himself between her legs. Opening her eyes, she looked up into
the intense blueness of his, watching his face as he lowered himself into
her. Then, with a final thrust, he was inside her, and she cried out with
pure joy. Her hands clutching his shoulders, she lay still for a moment
with him as he gave her a moment to adjust to his large size—and then he
began to move. She quickly found the rhythm and moved with him, slow at
first and then faster, harder—until at last she came around him, at last a
star exploded in her mind and he exploded into her. She gave a near-scream
of pleasure, as he collapsed, spent, on top of her as she lay quaking with
pleasure beneath him. He kissed her neck gently as they lay together for a
moment, still one.

Breathless, panting, she lay silent beneath him for a long moment, clutching
his naked shoulders, wanting nothing else in the world except to be right
here, in the arms of this man, forever. He drew back for a moment, though
still inside her, and looked down at her with a smile.

“Mina…” he breathed. She put her finger to his lips, and he kissed it. She
smiled.

“I know,” she said simply, for she had seen his thoughts. Through the Force
they had linked without even realizing it, and it dawned on him, slowly. He
caressed her cheek, then buried his face in the crook of her neck. They
stayed like that for a long moment before he pulled out of her and drew her
close to him, silently. They didn’t need to say anything… for in each other
they had found the love they had both spent their lives searching for.

<><><>

She died the day he did. On Coruscant, waiting for his return, she felt his
death, felt the lightsaber pierce his gut, go straight through him, and she
saw a light die in her mind that day. Slowly, painfully, she died with him.
Her eyes closed and she died in the arms of their fifteen-year-old son at
the same instant that he died in the arms of his Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Through the Force, they were together again, for eternity.

~Finis~