It was a shame the day had to end, K'isha thought, as she gathered her clothing, but duty was calling. She had awakened to Andronikos nudging her, after she'd nodded off beside him. She could see that daylight had faded, through the window of their room, and realized they should get back to the Fury. She watched out of the corner of her eye as he got dressed also, always enjoying the subtle play of muscles as he moved. As she watched, Andronikos scooped up her undergarments, not returning them to her. She cleared her throat to let him know what she'd witnessed, but he simply gave her a wink and continued dressing. Oh well, she thought as she slid into her tunic, but as she put on her leggings, a stray question popped in her head.
"How did you know we would need a room?" K'isha asked, shooting him a sidelong glance, as she fastened her boots and stood. The cantina trip hadn't been on her agenda, now she was wondering if it had been on his. The look Andronikos gave her was part humor, and part hunger.
"I didn't, at least not until I saw you dancing," he confessed, as he walked over to her, draping his arms around her hips, "It reminded me that someone promised to make this trip worth my while." He ran one hand over her waist and looked like he was savoring the curve. K'isha felt her insides melting again.
"I had to convince you," she murmured, as she glided her hands over his shoulders, "Getting away from the ship seemed like a good idea." And a much needed distraction from the upcoming events, she thought to herself. She knew facing off against Thanaton was inevitable, and she needed to be prepared, but the preparations had been draining.
"Don't," Andronikos's deep voice broke through her thoughts. She looked up and met his gaze. "Your eyes went dark," he accused, "This has been a good day, don't dwell on dark thoughts." K'isha marveled that he knew her so well. She pressed herself against him, relaxing as he returned the embrace. She gave him a light kiss on the jaw before backing out of his arms.
"Let's see if the Moff has contacted the ship yet," she kept her tone upbeat, as she pulled up her hood. "I want to see if this grand scale destruction is all that he promises. Taking out an entire fleet at once sounds amazing." Andronikos smiled at her light tone.
"You are the only one I know that can make death and destruction sound like a pleasure trip to Nar Shadda," he mused, as they left the room and walked down the narrow hallway. Since he was more familiar with their surroundings, K'isha let him lead while she followed, keeping a light hand on his back.
"Speaking of Nar Shadda," she drawled, "Will you need instructions on where to purchase the garments you are replacing?" K'isha felt the rumble of the chuckle through Andronikos's back at her reminder
"I think I can find it," his deep voice causing tremors under her hand, "I might need you to go with me though, to make sure I get…" His words were cut off instantly, as he opened the door leading out of the back of the cantina and stopped short. She felt him go tense as he whispered "Stealth, Sith." Having fought beside each other for this long, she knew his cue for her to go invisible, but not take him.
"You, there!" an unfamiliar rasping voice called out, "How did you get back here?" She drew the Force generated energy shield over herself, then followed Andronikos as he moved forward slowly. His hands had risen, staying away from his blasters, for the benefit of whomever they had encountered. K'isha touched him lightly to make him aware of her position, making sure she wouldn't be tripped over in a rush. After they moved out of the doorway, she was able to better evaluate the situation.
Three men were behind the cantina, unloading crates from a low skiff. Smugglers most likely, K'isha thought. In the dim light she couldn't make out their features, but they seemed to be human, led by a large Zabrak, judging by the horns crowning his head. She could see that some crates bore labels for different types of alcohol, but others had either Republic or Imperial insignia. Looks like they were working both sides, she thought. Judging from the blasters lying about, K'isha guessed these men did not appreciate any unexpected visitors. Unfortunately, the speeder she and Andronikos were using was sitting right next to the skiff they were unloading.
"Stumbled out the wrong door, gentlemen," Andronikos was keeping his voice low and his movements subtle. "Just heading to my speeder, haven't seen a thing." He kept moving slowly towards the speeder, when the Zabrak picked up a blaster sitting on top of one of the crates.
"Rogun said no witnesses." The Zabrak's voice rasped, as he leveled his blaster at Andronikos. K'isha saw him nod slightly as she tapped him on the side to let him know he should stay ready. She remained invisible and stepped silently behind the man facing down Andronikos. A deadly calm washed over her, her instincts and training taking over. This was her element, unseen assailant, and she thrived in her role.
In one move K'isha activated her light saber and thrust up through the man's back. The saber's blade pulsed red and black, intertwined with tendrils of blue lightning from the burst of Force energy she gave it, a thing of deadly beauty. It was also the last thing the Zabrak saw, bursting through his chest before he fell forward, dead before he hit the ground. The two other men stood in shock as they watched the blade emerge with no warning from their cohort's chest. Andronikos took advantage of their shock, whipping out both blasters, and dispatching them with a couple quick shots. K'isha took a look around to see if anyone had been drawn by the noise, and saw Andronikos do the same.
"All clear?" she whispered. Andronikos nodded, before moving to examine some of the crates.
"Smuggling weapons," he said, confirming her suspicion, "Dangerous business."
"I agree," K'isha said coldly, "You never know when you might pull a blaster on the wrong person." K'isha joined Andronikos in looking over the crates, wondering if she should sneak away a bottle of Killik Elixer for the ship, when she felt a life force vibration unlike anything she'd felt before. She jumped on the skiff, letting the vibration lead her to an unmarked crate near the back.
"What are you doing?" she heard the puzzlement in Andronikos's voice, and she motioned for silence. She couldn't understand what was drawing her to the crate, but there was persistence in the call. She saw a knife lying on top of another box close by, and used it to pry the lid off.
In the low light, a pair of electric blue eyes gazed up at her from a small furry face. Unable to resist, K'isha reached in and pulled out the creature. It looked like a Nekkar Cat cub, but she'd never seen one these colors, white with black streaks. She wasn't sure of its age, but looked to be very young; it's normally predominant tusks were just nubs at the corner of its mouth. As she held it against her chest, she felt a rumbling come from it, reminding her of another familiar rumble. She worked her way off of the skiff, half wrapping the cub in her tunic.
"It looks like weapons weren't the only things they were smuggling." K'isha informed Andronikos, as she showed him the cub in her arms. She couldn't repress a giggle at the look of surprise on his face. She uncovered it more so that he could take a closer look at it.
"I think that's a Tundra," he commented, as he examined its markings, "Not common in this area. Bet one of the nobles asked those smugglers to acquisition it."
"Their loss," K'isha said, as she scratched under the cub's chin and listened to the rumbling grow louder. "I found him first." She laughed to herself as Andronikos's jaw dropped. Holding the cub closer, she went over to the speeder to find something to wrap it in for the ride. K'isha could hear Andronikos's loud groan from where she stood.
"Do you know how big those things get, Sith?" she could hear the strain in his voice, "That's the type of thing that wreaks havoc on a ship."
"Capable of wreaking havoc," K'isha smiled at the idea, "Sounds like he'll fit right in." She looked over at Andronikos. He looked like he was trying to stay exasperated, but was fighting not to smile at her sense of humor. "He can stay in Ashara's quarters, she might enjoy the company," K'isha informed him, "He'll probably be nicer companion than one of those Hssiss other Sith keep as pets." Even K'isha would admit those Dark Side Dragons made her skin crawl. "I'm sure Chaos won't be any trouble." K'isha chucked the cub under the chin as she sat on the speeder, patiently waiting for Andronikos to get over his state of shock. He was currently looking at her like a tauntaun had just grown from her back.
"Let me get this straight," his voice was sounding strained again, "Not only do you plan on keeping it, but you're naming it 'Chaos'?" He shook his head and K'isha realized he had finally started laughing at the absurdity of the situation. "You are crazy, Sith," he said, as he climbed on the speeder. K'isha adjusted so that her new-found charge was cradled between her and Andronikos and smiled at the little one.
Maybe a little crazy, K'isha pondered, as she leaned against Andronikos's back for the ride to the spaceport, but sane seems so much less fun