One: Taris

Andronikos shifted uneasily in his bunk. He adjusted the pillow for the ninth time and tried to lay back and relax. Dammit, just stop thinking about her.

When Zash had first contacted him, he'd been wary. The first rule of dealing with Sith was to be careful and keep your distance. You could run jobs for them if you were the suicidal sort, but always have an out in case the job went south. Then Liri had showed up; after being on the planet for about two minutes, she'd already intimidated a bartender into revealing Andronikos' location, even after he'd laid down the rules to the bartender in advance. He didn't like that, but the power radiating off of her was unmistakable.

First rule, keep your distance. So he bragged about his ex-girlfriend and helped track down her artifact as a way to pacify and get her away from him as soon as possible. Watching her torture the men who had mutinied on him was just icing on the cake. Then, when there was nothing left for him on that rock, he'd figured, ride around with a Sith for awhile, maybe she'd let him fly the ship. If he got bored, he could always jump off at the nearest port.

The problem was that she brought him with her on her searches, trusted his blasters to watch her back and get the job done. It was fun, legal murder in the name of the Empire. She was easy on the eyes too, that had been a perk. Watching her flip around using the dark side in those little bands of cloth she called light armor was always fun. He groaned into his pillow and rolled over again.

Right about now with women, they started hinting at a relationship or he got bored and just took off. Except that she wasn't clingy; hell, she didn't even pay much attention to him. She always had so much going on, he felt like the moments he had her attention, even if they were just dueling, were like a gift. It wasn't like Liri held herself distant from him either. One night recently he'd had a couple drinks in him and she'd always seemed interested, so he went for it.

It had been good. Well, great... that thing she did with her lekku and the force...

He rolled over onto his stomach, frowning. She just makes this so hard. He shifted uncomfortably. Oh, haha, he thought sourly, rolling again onto his back.

"Um, Andronikos, are you going to stop moving anytime soon?," a sleepy Ashara asked him from the bunk next to his.

"Damn, sorry kid. I'm restless." He got out of his bunk and pulled on his pants. "I'll just go work on the ship awhile until I get sleepy."

"Thanks, 'Nikos." She murmured, half asleep already.

He slid out of the room and stood for a moment in front of Liri's door. It was shut; she was probably dead asleep. She's asleep and I'm pacing the hallways like some animal. He leaned back against the wall for a second, breathing hard and then headed for the bar. There had to be something in there to help him relax. How the hell did a Sith Lord have Corellian whisky in her stock? And three bottles... She won't be too mad if I open one.

In the middle of pouring himself a drink, he heard the hatch hiss open. He moved quietly to stand beside the entrance. Khem Val wasn't due back for a few days and everyone else was on the ship. Positioning his blaster so he could catch whoever walked on board, he listened. A head appeared around the corner and he put the blaster to it. He caught a glimpse of an enraged red Twi'lek face and felt a lightsaber at his chest. Recognition immediately calmed her down and she sheathed her saber. He stuck the blaster back at his waist.

"Drinking the good stuff without me, Rev?" Liri smiled lazily as she walked over to the table. She sniffed his glass and then downed it. She plopped down onto the bench at the table and refilled the glass. "It's open, can't waste it now."

Andronikos grinned at her and slid in across the table. He grabbed for his glass back, but she slapped his hand lightly and tossed it back, before pouring another one and handing it to him.

"I didn't even know you left, Sith." Andronikos knew he sounded casual enough to fool her. He leaned back and took a sip.

Liri made a face at him and gestured for the glass back. He shook his head no. She frowned and sighed, running a hand over her lekku. "Couldn't sleep; went for a walk. I think this is the most boring planet we've ever been to."

"You should've told me; I would have helped you find some trouble. It's not like I can sleep either."

Liri raised an eyebrow as he drained the glass and pushed it across the table at her. "And why," she asked, refilling the glass, "can't you sleep?"

"I could ask you the same question."

"Evasion." Liri smirked.

Andronikos nodded, reaching for the glass again. She shifted closer to him on the bench and handed him the drink. After he took it, she stretched and leaned back. "I can't sleep because of my headache." She said, not smiling anymore.

"The ghost again?" He handed her the glass back after a long swig. "Does this make him quiet down?"

"A little." She eyed him and then took a large sip, "Other things help more."

A wicked grin split over Andronikos' face and he moved close enough to whisper in her ear. "Anything I can do to help you sleep, you just let me know."

She held the glass out to him and as he raised it to his lips, she began to whisper exactly how he could help her into his ear.

Before she finished speaking, he'd dropped the glass on the floor and pulled her onto his lap. He didn't even pause, just went straight for her neck, biting and kissing. He knew she was clutched so tightly to him that she'd have bruises from his hands tomorrow. Her hands slid under his shirt and tugged it up and off.

"Rev," she murmured, gasping every time he bit her, "Rev, we can't do this here."

He growled, but shifted her up into his arms and carried her into her bedroom.

Awhile later, they lay beside each other on Liri's bed, panting. He looked over, noticing in a satisfied manner that she was definitely trying as hard to catch her breath as he was.

Through some impulse he never quite understood, Andronikos shifted his arm under her body and pulled her against him.

"What's that thing you Sith say? Passion leads to strength?"

She made a contented noise into his chest, "Rev, if you're asking what I think you're asking, then yes, I'm feeling very strong right now."

He chuckled, his body relaxing as she curled against him.

The next thing he remembered was waking up with a Sith Lord in his arms.

Laying there quietly, so as not to wake her, he thought about the day she'd begun to invade his thoughts.

It had been on Alderaan. That stuffy Sith had put the moves on Liri and she'd responded in kind. He'd been jealous, although he didn't realize it until later. When she went into a back room with the guy, Andronikos had left and taken his frustration out on the first girl who caught his eye. Well, the first girl who caught his eye and responded to his advances. He'd spent the whole time wondering what Liri was doing, although the girl hadn't seemed to notice.

He'd made sure to mention what'd he gone and done to Liri when she and Urtel finally came out of the room, but she didn't respond, so he'd made some desperate nasty comment about the guy and all she'd said was, "I got what I wanted out of him."

In the meadow later, he'd realized she wanted comfort or maybe just someone to give her some attention that wasn't deadly.

After that, he couldn't get her out of his head. It wasn't just jealousy or curiosity. She was so powerful; trying to seduce a Sith felt a lot like trying to catch a blaster bolt.

Liri shifted, mumbled something in her sleep and he tightened his arm around her briefly. He told her stuff, sometimes it just came spilling out of his mouth, like she needed to know his secrets. She was dangerous and... snoring slightly. He caught his breath, which woke her up.

She tilted her head up and blinked at him blearily. "Morning," he said softly.