I Miss You:

D3/1 BBY, Mandalore

Only four hours after leaving camp, the triumphant army was back, and they were already celebrating in a VERY loud fashion as they disembarked their ships. Those who had bothered to come back that is. Many were joining the party taking place in the streets of Sundari where the food and the bars could be found.

Not only had they accomplished their goal of destroying the Duchess and Imperial Headquarters, they had also destroyed all FIVE Star Destroyers that had taken up residence around Mandalore.

After deciding to continue the fight, Sabine and Bo-Katan had quickly come up with a plan; their brilliant strategic minds working almost in sync as they came up with similar ideas.

While they'd been talking, the Super Commando Captain had flown up to them with the last eight members of his squad accompanying him. Blasters had been drawn, but the Captain, who they now knew was named Jett Hark of Clan Saxon, had raised his hands in surrender and sworn himself and his men (also Saxons) to allegiance with the new Mand'alor. Sabine and Bo-Katan had immediately incorporated them into their plans.

Kanan, Ezra, and Chopper were sent to the first Star Destroyer approaching them to turn off the shield generators from the inside in a stealth mission.

The Super Commandos were sent to the second ISD, pretending to go back to their alliance with the Empire. Once inside, they also made their way to the shield generators and turned them off.

Once the two teams had flown off Bo-Katan had called for the many fighter ships waiting on standby at the camp to come shoot down the ISDs the instant the two stealth teams were clear.

Then Sabine and Bo-Katan had taken what warriors they had with them and split into two groups. After taking out the communication satellites so they couldn't warn the ISDs in space or send a long range comm to Coruscant, they harassed the bridges of the ISDs from the outside, causing utter chaos within as the officers tried to deal with Mandos blowing up their work stations.

As the fleet of Mando Kom'rk and Fang fighters approached over the horizon, all the parties in jetpacks had retreated from the ISDs and let the fighters do their jobs. With no shields, the two Star Destroyers were quickly demolished and crashed into the desert with the smouldering remains of Saxon's ISD.

Included in the fleet of Kom'rks was a familiar gold, silver, and black painted one called the Jai'galaar (Shriek-Hawk) which had belonged to Sabine's mother, and an even more familiar one painted in red and black belonging to Ezra.

The fliers had then boarded ships they were associated with. Bo-Katan took the Super Commandos with her to her ship. Ezra, Kanan, and Chopper had gone to his. And Sabine and Fenn Rau had made for the Jai'galaar. There, Sabine had found her father flying the ship. He had commed the few members of Clan Wren that were left behind to guard the camp and had them pack up and bring the ships to Bo-Katan's much bigger camp.

Alrich had been quite excited to be part of the action, artist or no. Despite his refined, mostly pacifist sensibilities, he'd been raised a Mando and was still a Mando.

Ezra and Sabine took over flying their respective ships and they joined the fleet of close to a hundred starfighters in their ascent to space. Then they split into two groups and went all badass on the last two ISDs above the planet, raining vengeance down on the Star Destroyers and engaging the TIEs that emerged from the bellies of the massive ships.

They lost about ten of their impromptu fleet by the end, almost all of them the unshielded Fang fighters, but they won and the deceased would be remembered for dying an honourable death.

Mandalore was now free of the Imperial army and Bo-Katan was determined to keep it that way. She was also going to do whatever was necessary to regain control of all of the hundred or systems that Mandalore called part of their corner of space. The good news was that the Empire had mostly concentrated on taking over the capital planet, so most of the others were either unoccupied or only lightly so. Only a few mining planets were heavily occupied and Bo-Katan was already making plans to get those back.


Still running high on adrenaline, Ezra landed his Gauntlet beside the Jai'galaar only moments after Sabine's ship touched the dry, dusty earth. He quickly powered down his ship, eager to see Sabine, while the two Clan Wren members quickly made their escape from the bridge, already chattering away in excited Mando'a as they spotted friends giving hearty back slaps in the camp.

Rising from his chair, Ezra clapped Kanan on the shoulder and shot him a grin. "Good shooting, Master. Those TIEs didn't stand a chance against you."

Kanan smiled slightly, indulging Ezra's enthusiasm but not really feeling the same euphoria pretty much everyone else was. Kanan just wanted it all to be over so he could go back to Hera. Four days felt like an absolute eternity when he wasn't in her company. "Your flying was pretty good too, Padawan," he stressed the word teasingly. "Hera would be proud."

Ezra shrugged as he flushed slightly at the praise. "Well. When you learn from the best..."

Kanan chuckled as he turned his attention to Chopper. "I'll tell her you said that. Chop, call Hera. She's probably paced a hole in the Ghost's decking by now waiting to find out what's been going on."

"Tell her I said hi," Ezra called as he left the bridge, leaving Kanan to talk to his mate in privacy. (If you didn't count Chopper; the blackmailing, mood destroying, pain in the ass droid from hell.)

The sound of the comm on her bedside table woke Hera up. Smacking the button out of reflex, she squinted with bleary eyes at the tiny blue image. "Kanan?"

It had taken almost a minute for Hera to answer the comm, but when she did Kanan felt a wave of relief and profound joy settle in his soul to hear her beautiful, soothing voice. Even if it did sound like she was ninety percent asleep. "Hera, I'm sorry. Did I wake you?"

Brain still in sleepy land, the best Hera could come up with was, "Hmmmmm. Maybe?"

"I did. I can comm back later if you want." Inner Kanan cringed at the thought, not wanting to let go of his connection to his beloved.

"No! No, no, it's fine. Please don't hang up," Hera said quickly, sitting up in her bunk, wide awake now. She leaned back against the wall and pulled the blanket up around her waist as she set the holo comm device on the bed in front of her, drinking in the sight of her precious mate.

Kanan smiled and relaxed into his chair. "All right, darling. How's things going over there?"

Hera shrugged, even though she knew Kanan couldn't see her holo image. "Okay. It's different. More organized but a million times more chaotic at the same time. There's so many people here, love. It almost feels like a real army. Oh! And wait till you see Kallus. He's almost unrecognizable out of his uniform. If it weren't for that funny shaped beard, you'd never know it was him. And he and Zeb are practically inseparable. They're like two long lost brothers or something."

"I'm glad for them. Kallus seemed rather like a lost soul when I saw him last. And Zeb... Well. He's due for a friend that's not a teenage bratling or one of us. Have you done anything interesting?"

"You mean aside from the nearly endless debriefing meetings regarding the massacre on Atallon?" Hera snorted lightly. "Once they let Kallus out of his equally lengthy interrogation, they gave him to me to take care of." She paused and rolled her eyes. "Like he needs taking care of. The man is a good decade or two older than me. Anyway. They sent us on an easy supply run; I think just to test the waters a little. That's it so far. What's been happening on your side of the galaxy?"

Kanan chuckled. "A LOT." He paused for effect. "Are you ready for this?"

"Hit me."

"Alright. In order of events. Here goes. We rescued Sabine's father. Ezra almost died going over a cliff. Sabine kissed him then punched him. Sabine's mother, brother, half her clan, and some Kryzes were killed with a super weapon that Sabine invented called the Duchess. Bo-Katan Kryze almost killed Sabine but decided to let her fix her mistake. Sabine gave her the Darksabre and Bo-Katan is now THE Mand'alor. Sabine and Ezra are officially a 'thing' now, kissing and all. We destroyed the Duchess and all records pertaining to it while another team took out Imperial Headquarters. Then we proceeded to blow up five Star Destroyers. How's that for an insane twenty some hours?"

Hera blinked at the holo image that was smirking at her. And then blinked some more. She decided she must be dreaming this whole thing. It was all too insane to process. (This was perfectly feasible in her mind because she actually knew about the Duchess, both the weapon and the person, and the person's sister from Sabine already in one of their bonding moments years ago.) So she pinched her arm.

It hurt.

"Kanan Jarrus, are you pulling my lekku?" She said with narrowed eyes and a warning in her voice, leaning forward a little. (Even though, as far as she knew, Kanan did NOT know about the Duchess since Sabine had sworn her to secrecy.)

He shook his head as his smile spread. "Honest truth, every word of it, I swear."

Hera huffed a few times as she ran over what Kanan had just said in her mind again and latched onto the most important facts. "Poor Sabine. She must be feeling terrible. Is that how Sabine and Ezra finally got together?"

Kanan nodded. "I believe so. Nothing like a damsel in distress to bring out the best in a guy."

"Someone's speaking from experience," Hera teased.

Kanan smiled at the memory of their first kiss. "Broken heaters on the Ghost and you just had a fight with your father. Perfect recipe for blossoming romance."

Hera giggled. "Now you don't need an excuse to give me a hug and snuggle under the blankets with me."

"And I consider myself the galaxy's luckiest man for it."

Hera melted a little, hugging her knees to her chest and wishing her arms were wrapping around Kanan instead. "As far as the kids go, it's about time."

Kanan nearly rolled his eyes right out of his head at that understatement. "I was starting to think they were going to get stuck in the friend zone for the rest of their lives." (Much like he used to be afraid of being stuck there with Hera after living on the Ghost for more than a year and making no progress in the romance department. Now they were married and even talking about having kids soon since it looked like the war was going to drag on for years yet.)

"I would have been fine with that," Chopper beeped. "Having one set of organics exchange body fluids is bad enough."

"We don't need any comments from the peanut gallery, Chopper," Hera said warningly. "I'm still upset with you for cutting Kanan and I off yesterday."

"Sorry," he beeped in a very unapologetic tone.

Kanan kicked him a little, just out of principle.

Chopper raised a manipulator.

"Heeerrrrraaaaa," Kanan whined. "Your droid is flipping me off again."

"He kicked me first," Chopper beeped indignantly.

Hera hung her head and sighed, lekku drooping in defeat. "Why? Why do I even bother? It's like I'm surrounded by infants even when you're on the other side of the galaxy." Scrubbing her hands over her tired face, she looked up at Kanan's apologetic wincing expression. "Changing topic now. When do you think you'll be able to come home?"

Kanan shrugged. "I have no idea. Sabine's the Countess of her clan now, so that needs sorting out and I can't see Ezra wanting to leave her side anytime soon. I'm hoping I can drag him away from her long enough to get a ride back to you anyway." He paused and stared at Chopper's camera intently, just knowing she was watching his image. "I miss you, Hera."

One of Hera's hands involuntarily reached for Kanan's image, running her fingers through the blue light even though her brain knew he couldn't see and she most definitely couldn't feel him in the little beam of light. Her expression went all soft and misty eyed. "I miss you too, Kanan."

"What about me?" Chopper piped into their transmission again, ruining the moment. "Don't you miss me, Mom?"

"Never," Kanan mumbled under his breath, rolling his eyes as Chopper pulled out the 'Mom' card.

"Of course I miss you too, Chop," Hera said sweetly. "But you might find yourself dismantled the next time I see you. So why don't you think about that and ignore everything Kanan and I say for the next little while. Understood?"

"Yes, Hera," Chopper beeped meekly.

"Good." Pretending that Chopper didn't exist and they were simply talking over normal comm units instead of a snarky droid who had encryption programming built in, Hera's voice turned all soft and sultry. "Now, you were saying something about missing me, dear?"

Kanan blinked at the tone change and then his heart picked up the pace a little. His voice was deeper and huskier when he answered. "Yes, I did, darling. So much so that I've been having rather steamy dreams about you."

"Oh?" Hera purred, pulling a lek over her shoulder and whispering her fingers over it, feeling very turned on all of a sudden. "Tell me all about them," she said in a breathy whisper.

Heart thumping in his chest for real now, Kanan flicked a hand at the door to the bridge and locked it just to be safe, but he doubted it was necessary. Ezra was preoccupied with Sabine at the moment so he probably wouldn't come back, and there was no one else here who would care if he didn't emerge from the ship anytime soon. He should be able to indulge in some naughty talk with Hera.

"Last night I had a dream about us together all alone on a beach," Kanan started with. "The sky was filled with colour as the sun set over the ocean and in the other direction, the first stars were just visible in the midnight blue sky. We were splashing in the warm waves, running and laughing."

"I like where this is going," Hera said, closing her eyes for a moment to picture it. "Are we wearing anything?"

"Not anymore," Kanan rumbled as he slid down in the chair and one of his hands snuck into his pants and started a slow stroking rhythm on his rapidly hardening cock. "I'd snatched your blue bikini top off while we were kissing on the sand and then ran with it into the water. I turned around and watched you chase me, and a glorious sight it was, with your perfect curvy body practically bare and your beautiful breasts bouncing with every step. I swear I'm going to have that memory playing in my mind for years. I let you catch me, but I may have 'accidentally' dropped your top into the waves. So, in retaliation, you pulled down my trunks and pushed me over. We lost those too. So then I had to tackle you into the water and pull off your bottoms as well so we were even. Then there was a lot of kissing, giggling, and chasing."

"Kanan, your dream is sounding better and better," Hera breathed. Her one hand was still stroking her lek, but her other had made its way under the blanket, pushed the hem of Kanan's shirt that she was sleeping in out of the way, then her fingers found her moist heat between her now open legs and rubbed. "What happens next?" Her head fell back against the wall as the delicious sensations coursed through her from her fingers' ministrations and her mind imagined everything Kanan's sexy bedroom voice was saying.

"You tried to escape me by swimming out deeper into the water but I caught up and grabbed your ankle. You squealed and splashed me. I caught you around the waist and pressed myself up against you, lining us up just right so my length could rub against your core. Then you wrapped your arms and legs around me and we had one hell of a make out session with the waves crashing over us and I kept rubbing against you. I could feel your breasts squashed against my chest and your hard nipples pressing against me and driving me insane with wanting to touch them but I couldn't let go of your back." Kanan was stroking faster now, pretending his hand was Hera's soft folds.

Hera moaned as her imagination supplied details from memories of previous lovemaking sessions. "More, love. Tell me more. I love how you sound when you're all hot and bothered."

Kanan groaned low in his chest at her almost breathless tone. "Not as much as I love how you sound, my precious Hera. I love those little whimpers you make when I pleasure you just right."

Hera made one of those whimpers as she plunged two fingers into her hot channel. "Oh Force, Kanan, I wish you were here. Stars, love, just tell me what happens next."

Kanan gulped as he imagined what she was doing to herself right now to inspire her current tone of desperation. He'd had the privilege of watching her touch herself before and it always drove him insane with need. Imagining wasn't any better. His cock hardened impossibly further in his hand. "Kriff. Uhhhhh. Then you whispered in my ear that you NEEDED me inside you. And then you bit my ear just enough to hurt just right and added NOW. I was more than happy to oblige, I promise. I lifted you a little higher and found your hot opening. I pushed inside you all the way to the hilt and you moaned something about me being so kriffing, deliciously, BIG. That just made me bigger as I used my hands to rock you on my length."

He had to stop to gulp in air as his hand moved in a blur inside his pants and all his muscles tightened with his impending climax. "Force, Hera. You were so tight and wet and PERFECT around me. I just wanted to stay in you forever. Never lose the connection between us. But every thrust sent me closer to the edge. Every dig of your nails. Every clench from your channel. Every beautiful moan and cry you made. It all pushed me beyond my control."

"Kanan," Hera whimpered, her body tensing almost beyond bearing.

"And then you clamped around me and screamed to the sky that was now pitch black and twinkling with stars that you loved me. And I came like a geyser in you, flooding your womb with my hot seed until your belly swelled and suddenly you were pregnant with our first child."

His own words sent him over the edge, finally indulging in the climax he'd had to shut down last night. He groaned out, "I love you, Hera," as his cream shot into his hand.

Hera whimpered and bit her knuckle so as not to scream out loud as she came, since she wasn't alone on the ship and the walls were thick, but not THAT thick. "I love you too, Kanan," she said after, as soon as she could breathe again and her body floated pleasantly in the aftermath, finally opening her eyes to see his image with his head thrown back and a look of exhausted satisfaction on his handsome face.

They sat in their respective spaces, millions of kilometres apart, and just listened to each other breathe and shift around for a minute. Kanan pulled a tissue from a pouch on his belt and Hera pulled one from the dispenser beside her bed and they cleaned themselves up with deft hands and slightly embarrassed flushes to their cheeks. Not that they hadn't had long distance comm sex before, but it was still somewhat awkward in the aftermath when they realized that their partner was nowhere near them. And, despite telling Chopper not to listen, he probably had. And most likely recorded it too, the little menace.

Though, to be honest, a few of Chopper's past recordings had become some of their favourite home videos, especially when they were apart like this.

A sudden knock on the door brought Kanan back to the present. "Yes?" he called loudly enough to be heard through the durasteel.

"Sorry to disturb you and Hera," Ezra yelled back, "But we're having a meeting about what to do about Lothal if you're interested. Hera can join too, if she wants."

'I want," Hera said quickly, hearing Ezra's faint voice over the comm.

"We'll be there in two minutes," Kanan yelled to Ezra.

"Kay."

Kanan sighed. "Kid has good timing, you gotta give him that."

Hera laughed as she climbed off the bed, added some leggings to her outfit, picked up the comm unit, and made for the refresher. "I have to think that we have him pretty well trained by now, dear."

Kanan chuckled as he stood and stretched. "As far as that dream goes, darling, I'm pretty determined to make it a reality sooner than later, just to give you fair warning."

Hera paused with her hand on the refresher door button, her heart skipping a beat in excitement. "I'm holding you to that, love."