It was part of their Jedi duty, so Luke and Kess didn't feel it wrong to run the Iktri Hemisphere Watch on a weekday. They talked a little about their differing opinions and observations of the current mediation argument, but didn't settle on a resolution just yet. They never finished the discussion, for both of them grew distracted with a sort of giddy curiosity to march down the wide ramp and into the hangar bays of Division One.

Somehow, they expected to see something familiar, but nothing was. A-wings not X-wings. The Alliance fleur dis lis was sliced in half and sloppily spot-welded to a half of the Imperial crest. The grease grunts wore coveralls of pale gray, not green. The pilots were in black. And none of the faces rang a bell.

As they came into the giant hangar, a tall commander with neat cut blond hair saw them first. Her bright blue eyes popped open. She turned her head with a loud command. "All Hands! Fall in!'

Heads bounced up from work. Tools set down. Boots trotted over. By the time Luke and Kess finished the distance, every living body on the pad had fallen into ranks with Commander Garyn at their front corner. "Atten-tion!"

Luke stopped his feet to face them all and eyed Garyn with grinning questions.

Kess's gaze grazed over the faces, now standing in neat rows in front of them, and found Klivian. She smiled. He winked.

Commander Garyn addressed Luke. "Forgive me, my Lord, I was not informed there would be an inspection."

Luke's mouth grinned more. He angled his head. "I'm not here to inspect you," he said. "Where is Commander Antilles?"

Garyn's eyes flicked. A soldier jumped out of ranks to rush away.

She seemed to struggle with Luke's presence. "May I asked the purpose of your visit?"

Luke's eyes tightened on her. He shifted his feet to face her even if she wouldn't look him in the eye. "My visit has nothing to do with you. Or your team. But I see that somehow my presence unsettling. "

The soldier returned to his spot in the ranks and Wedge strolled easily out of a backroom. He and Kess exchanged glances, but all paid attention to Luke facing down Commander Garyn.

"Commander," Luke shook his head with kindness, "My presence should be anything but unsettling."

To this, her eyes flicked up to stare at Luke. Kess felt the stab of hate like it was a poke in the ribs.

Luke stayed dead center in front of the woman and stared right back. Finally, he shrugged a little. "Say it."

"Say what?" Her voice was ice.

He shrugged again and grinned. "Whatever it is you're burning to say. Get it out of your system. Get it over with so that when I come to visit, my presence isn't so disrupting."

"With respect, my lo-

"Just say it," he almost whined.

She huffed through her nose. Her mouth rippled tensely. And her teeth barred when she finally let him have it. "I had friends on that Death Star."

Luke's shoulders relaxed. He kept her gaze and nodded understanding. His brow flicked, and he spoke with ease. "And I had friends on Alderaan."

The air tightened.

Luke shifted his feet and offered a handshake to her. "Truce?"

Garyn seemed to struggle with this, but refused to let it show. She stared at his hand for a beat, then returned the handshake swiftly and sharply just to get the moment over with.

Luke turned away and met Wedge's eye. "I'm not here on official business. You can let your people resume their duties."

Wedge turned his face and called. "Fall out."

Ranks broke and the crowd dispersed. Luke finished his stroll to Wedge and Garyn forced her feet to come around and join the smaller crowd. "Will you be requiring anything from me, Commander?"

Wedge's eyed at Kess and Luke before angling his head toward Garyn. "Only require you to calm the fuck down," he joked. "I'm more than willing to whip these guys into better imperial discipline, Garyn, but you need to take a breather and stop reacting to everything like the Emperor's about to show up."

Garyn's mouth pinched with insult. "Thank you, Commander." And she dismissed herself.

As she left, Wedge rolled his eyes before landing back onto Kess. He grinned more.

She gave his new black uniform a comically scrutinizing eye. "You look like a palpy jackass in that thing."

Wedge cocked an eyebrow right back at her. "And you look like a civilian."

Kess smiled from ear to ear. "Okay, you win that round."

By now, two pilots had snuck up to the group. Klivian hung an elbow on Luke's shoulder and Rogan stood by Kess in wait for her attention.

"How are you guys?"

"We wanna see it." Klivian commanded quietly.

Her eyes shifted. Luke grinned at the deck. Wedge crossed his arms at his chest. "Sorry. Didn't think I had the right to keep it from 'em."

Kess wanted to show them but, "We haven't done a press release yet. Let's go in an office or something."

As the four strolled to the back to disappear into the locker room all saying hellos as they walked. Klivian and Rogan swarmed around Kess as she pulled out the wedding locket for them to admire.

Meanwhile, Wedge and Luke stayed out of the way so Wedge could ask in secret. "Want T suits?"

"Do we need them?"

"Not if you're not going into battle."

"Load a pair up in seat storage just in case."

Wedge nodded affirm and stepped away to order someone to do something.

Finally, Kess spread her palms at Luke. "Not that I don't mind the visit, but what are we doing here?"

"I told you," he grinned guilty as he strutted back over. "We're going to go do the Iktri inspection."

She motioned, "Yeah, but the hopper's parked on the other side of the district."

Luke set his feet strong and locked his knees, his old Commander stance. "We're not taking the hopper."

Klivian patted Kess on the shoulder and Rogan whispered to her as he turned to go. "You might want to wear a diaper."

At Wedge's gentle ushering, the pilots left the room, and he prepared to go too, but paused to report to Luke. "A2187. In the corner." He tossed a key card at Luke. "Artoo's already loaded."

"Thanks."

Wedge left.

Kess's brow winkled with grinning confusion. "How-?"

Luke winked and dashed his head. "Let's go check it out."

Kess didn't understand exactly what was happening. A-wings were one-seaters, and yet he only borrowed one of them from Division One. She looked at the craft as they approached, admiring the lack of scuffs in the paint, the smell of fresh grease and recent fuel up. Repair grunts (all strangers) were finishing up the pre-flight check and Luke shimmied up the ladder like a kid on a playground. He checked the under seat compartment for the T-suits and secured it closed again. Then climbed in and sat as far back on the seat as he could.

Artoo whistled a complaint from the socket. This thing is still wet behind the ears.

Luke smiled and fumbled down the side of the seat as Kess stepped up to the top of the ladder as if she were boarding this pilot. "What the hell are you up to?"

"A-wings are designed for all kinds of bipedal pilots." The seat was shaped like a weight bench, with room on either side for all variety of sizes and shapes for legs. Luke bit his lower lips and pinched and eye shut to find what his hand was groping for, and with clunk, the seat back came loose. He shoved against his feet and pushed it as far back as it would go, leaving plenty of room for Kess to get in too.

Her smile hid behind her surprise. "You've got to be kidding."

"Climb in." He said, his tongue dug guiltily into a molar but still didn't mask the boyish glee in his eyes.

"I have a bad feeling about this." But Kess climbed in, clumsily and with uncertainty. She wasn't sure how best to set her feet or how to stay out of the way. He pulled the seat back forward until she was practically straddling the stick like it was a dildo, and pulled the buckles out on the brown straps so the five point harness would contain them both.

"This isn't designed for two people." She warned as his hands clasped the latch at her stomach, smashing her back firmly to his front.

"We'll manage."

This was crazy. Even though they were only going on a boring perimeter watch, this was just plain crazy, Kess kept her arms pinched down to her sides, wishing she had something other than his outer thighs to hold onto. Her focus was to stay out of the way so he could reach the stick, that now was suddenly reminiscent of an erection sticking up from her crotch.

The canopy came down and sealed them in, and the air tightened. Kess trembled with excitement, and listened to how different it sounded to hear his voice say the same old thing from inside the cockpit.

"Tower. A-2187. Request permission to launch."

There were a few differences in protocol, a few different sounds than what she was used to, but she knew exactly what was going on inside and outside the ship as the easy procedure commenced. Artoo's text came on the tiny screen and Luke flipped a switch behind his head so he could get audio too. "No, you don't have to record anything until we get there."

Artoo whistled a warning. Life support wasn't designed for two humans. They'd run out of oxygen in 72 hours. Kess knew he was right.

Luke dismissed it. "We'll be back by the end of the day."

A voice sounded on the comm. "A2187, Tower. You are cleared for launch. Vector 234 to nova east, then ballistic to shield gate."

Kess braced herself.

"Tower, A2187. Roger that. Vector 234 for nova east. Ballistic to shield gate. Save us some supper."

Luke pulled back the throttle and the ship lifted into the air.

This was wildly exciting. Kess tried not to enjoy herself too much. But this felt like a little kid dream come true. Luke's front smashed into her back like a cuddling protector, in complete control of everything that was happening, and perfectly comfortable to handle whatever came about. He cruised them slow and easy out the launch port and into the open air. Kess tried to see the cityscape disappear below without moving her head. His chin rested against her cheek so he could see. And his face was wide with smile. G-forces swung them gently, and he angled the ship until they were resting on their backs. Her stomach stretched like she was riding a roller coaster. And the man who would be her husband wrapped around her back like he wasn't ever going anywhere. Kess's cheeks began to hurt from smiling so much.

He slowed them to get through the shield gate, cruising at a polite speed to wait his turn in traffic, and cruised away with an easy lane of traffic. He sailed them away from the planet, then tucked out of the lane and sped up as he aimed them for the open black.

Kess eyed the blinking buoys of a hyperspace launch point as they passed it by.

"Where are we going?"

"We're going to have a little fun first."

"Oh god oh god oh god." She crunched and grinned.

"Ready?" His voice smiled.

Kess panicked. "Yes. No. What are you going to do?"

Luke bit his lips and yanked the throttle back. Kess yelped as speed created its own gravity. Her back smashed into his front even more. His fist twitched the stick between her legs to barrel roll the A-wing in the sky.

Coruscant rose and set over the canopy a half dozen times before it flattened out. Now the gem planet and lines of busy traffic were far enough away to see the whole thing in a single pane of the canopy.

Luke touched the breaks and flattened out.

"Man, I like how thing handles," Luke's smile was stuck in his throat.

"You're not going to do anything stupid are you?"

"Eh, stupid is in the eye of the beholder," he chuckled.

"Okay, I think I need to buy you a toy so you can get this stuff out of your system on a regular basis."

"I wouldn't turn it down." He typed a few commands by his elbow.

She realized he was programming the nav computer for hyperspace and felt a little nervous going into hyperspace without wearing T-suits in this little thing. The deadliness of space was right there, on the other side of this thin, transparent sheet of canopy. And there really wasn't enough room for them to pull out and put on those T-suits hiding in the compartment under their butts.

Yet, if there was one thing she was sure of, she trusted him.

"Ready?" he asked.

She grabbed the outside of his thighs to keep her arms out of his way, prepared herself, and smiled, "Do it."

Luke flipped the switch, and stars streaked into waving lines.

Her stomach flipped, but her back was cradled into the most safe thing in the galaxy. The G-forces drifted to nothing. The silence compressed in their ears. Kess tried not to watch the distant streak of stars in the sides of her vision else she would get dizzy.

Zero G.

Soon after their biological matter caught up with the speed of hyperspace, Luke lifted both hands from the controls. Kess wanted him to grab the stick again to keep them steady, she fumbled his hand to make him do that, and began to take the stick when he didn't.

But he pulled her hands back from everything. "No, no. Let it go. Artoo's got us now."

Artoo whistled status report. Speed. Direction. Life support status. 1.97 hours to Iktri.

Luke addressed Artoo. "I'm going to mute us a little bit. But you're still on, okay?"

Artoo whistled back. No sex in the cockpit.

Luke chuckled and thumbed the mute control.

Kess eyed his arms moving around to figure out what he was doing. "Do you usually have sex in the cockpit?"

Luke snorted. "No. He's just saying that because you're in here."

"Have you ever done anything like this before?"

"No." His voice quieted, but his smile was still shining from his Force print.

"So what do you usually do in hyperspace?" They didn't have any where to go, to eat, to do . . .

"This." His voice was tender. His hands took the back of hers and wrapped both sets of arms around her stomach. His mouth and face snuggled into her cheek and shoulder, Kess felt the fluttering Force suddenly settle, but not entirely, and she closed her eyes, dropping the back of her head to his shoulder and let her whole existence settle to rest in this super silent, super sedating meditation.