"I can't believe he survived," exclaimed Ky, running her fingers over the metal surface of the droid's chassis, poking at the ragged hole from the Tusken slug.
Corso stripped the helmet from his head and straightened the locks of hair which stuck out willy-nilly. "He wouldn't have lasted much longer if we'd arrived later than we did."
"And the Tuskens?"
"They've set up a camp around the Chance while they scavenge whatever the hell it is that sand people think they can use. The Jawas will move in next for the wiring and tech. There won't be much left."
"She was a good ship," Ky allowed herself a moment of quiet reflection before turning away from the droid and addressing Largo. "The sand people camp almost guarantees that Sonhem won't go back to investigate further. He likely figures our skulls are already decorating a pole somewhere. This and Akaavi's call should allay any rumors. Have there been any more of those encrypted messages?"
"Not last I checked, but I can have it more closely monitored. Suni?" He called out into the workspace.
The head of a woman with cranial implants rose from the work she was doing. "Yeah, boss?"
"Go to the comm room and monitor for any calls out of Sonhem's place. I want to know right away if any more of those encrypted messages are sent or received. Work in shifts with Trav and Bani if you have to."
"You got it," she wiped her hands on a rag and disappeared up the ramp.
"I'm going to rinse some of this sand off," said Corso. "I'm evidently not needed here."
Ky grabbed his arm before he could turn away, brushed his hair back from his face and leaned in place a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you, love, for bringing Icy home though you shouldn't have risked yourself."
"He's one of the crew, and we don't leave anyone behind. Do we?" he pulled his arm away and wandered off in the direction of the ramp.
Her rebuffed hand fell uselessly to her side, and she returned to Largo and the supervision of the work ahead. Occupied time passes quickly, and soon the long shadows of dusk crawled across the floor through the open doors. The glare of the setting suns invaded the length of the warehouse bathing the area in splashes of vermillion and gold.
She hadn't noticed Corso's return until he joined her and Largo on the way upstairs to grab dinner. He'd taken great care to stay out of sight which bothered her more than she wanted to admit. She'd changed a lot for him in the past three years. Altered many of her questionable habits because they hurt him and it hurt her to see that stricken look in his eyes.
Sure, times got tough, and she'd had a couple of tumbles to steal a contract or two or three from under someone else's nose, but it didn't mean anything. She always got paid for the freight and not the fuck, or maybe she was splitting hairs. She did what she had to do to keep fuel in the tank and food on the table. It was just business, and...hell, that was beginning to sound like a sad, worn out refrain even to her ears.
Her side hurt, her head throbbed, and she was a half mile past exhaustion by the time they stepped into the living area and prepared dinner. She pushed the food around on her plate, and the absence of conversation offered no help in keeping her eyelids from closing every few minutes.
Corso noted her flagging energy. "Go on to bed, Ky. I'll help clean up."
"You coming?" she asked.
"I'll be there in a while. You need help back to the room?"
"Naw, I'll be fine. Goodnight, Largo."
With the dinner mess cleaned up and Largo trundled off to bed, Corso sprawled on one of the spacer lounges, one arm flung across the back with a bottle of ale dangling by the neck between his fingers. He idly swung it back and forth like a pendulum debating on whether or not to sleep where he was or join Ky. Somewhere in the distance, a pack of womp rats squealed to each other followed by the report of blaster fire. The single, unevenly hung fan above his head thumped and squeaked in an odd rhythmic syncopation that he followed, subconsciously, with the tapping of his toe on the floor.
His mind ticked to the downbeat, 'here, there, yes, no...'
Decision reached, he swigged the last of the ale and hauled himself to his feet. He and Ky never slept apart if they could help it, no matter how angry they were. An unspoken pact existed between them to be there for each other if or when the nightmares came. No talk, just solace, both unwilling to delve deeper into cause or meaning, neither taking advantage of the vulnerability laid bare in muffled screams and shaking, sweating bodies.
Despite the possibility of night terrors, the reassuring weight of another on the mattress and the warmth of someone you loved nestled secure at your side added a whole other level of comfort. And then, stars above, there was the sex. There weren't enough words in basic, Huttese or any other language that could encompass how he felt when he made love to her.
As stealthily as he could, he slid into the room and undressed before scooting Ky over in the bed so he could lie down on the side opposite her injury. He wished like hell he'd not stopped to eavesdrop, nothing good ever came of snooping. Her brutal honesty left him unbalanced as if he'd been sucker-punched and had yet to find his footing. His emotions bubbled and flipped like flat cakes on a griddle, and his inherent jealous nature and self-doubt didn't help any either.
He turned his back to her and no sooner had he settled between the sheets and lay his head on the pillow, she mumbled something unintelligible and rolled to snuggle against his back.
He reached up to move his hair so it wouldn't tickle her face and she snuggled even closer. Her breath skimmed across his neck and her breasts pressed between his shoulder blades, her arm snaked around his waist, and the soft curls of her pubis compressed against his ass.
Hot, horny and miserable, he lay still, coming to terms with the fact that sleep would not visit anytime soon. He mulled over her words of earlier that day in a vain attempt to ignore her naked body and created a mantra that circled round and round his brain. 'Damn me for acting like a child and damn her for making me feel like one.'
Ky woke early and lay on her side, elbow bent and head propped on hand, watching him sleep. His eyes rolled beneath the lids, and dark lashes rested thick and full above the high, wide plane of his cheekbones. Tousled locks of hair framed his head, and partially opened lips revealed a new moon sliver of white teeth. An occasional delicate snore tremored on the tail end of a long inhale.
How precious these quiet times were when no judgment, anger, hurt or blame marred the symmetry of what they still had and what they had lost. Like dawn or dusk, these moments existed in between where harsh realities of day and hidden terrors of night held no sway.
The smell of fresh brewed caf wafted through the closed door, and he stirred, thrusting one leg from under the sheet that lay rumpled across his hips leaving the other still covered by the cream-colored linen. On the cusp of waking, his breathing became less even, and she sidled closer to lower her mouth and gently lick the dark circle of the areola until the nipple hardened to a tiny bead. He stretched languorously, muscles bunched and corded beneath the smooth bronze of his skin. His back arched into the meandering of her fingers inching down his stomach, halting at the thin line of hair just below the navel.
His eyes opened, and molten brown met tawny hazel across the sculpted expanse of his chest.
"Good morning," she murmured.
"It just got better." He shifted his position, so his lips reached hers.
His mouth tasted of sleep and last night's ale, as his tongue probed between her teeth. She pulled the sheet aside and pushed herself partway onto his prone body adjusting comfortably into the arm he curled around her back.
"I never thanked you properly for saving my life." Her hand slid lower and wrapped around his half flaccid cock stroking him to full arousal. "Oops, now look at what I've done."
His eyes rolled back, and he gasped, "Just doing my job, ma'am."
Her breath hitched when she sat up and positioned herself to straddle his hips.
His eyes sprang open, "Are you sure you're well enough?"
"Do shut up, love and just enjoy the ride." She settled herself low on his stomach, his erection tight against her ass. "Put your hands on me," she demanded, beginning to rock her pelvis back and forth while his cock slid up and down her backside.
His fingers traced along her thighs and over her hips with that quiet sense of urgency integral to who he was. She wanted him to hold her down, finger her wet and pound her through the mattress but settled into the controlled rote he was comfortable with.
She flung her frustrations away as one hand eased up to knead her breast while the other drifted between her legs to fondle the tiny mound that swelled at his touch. Faster and faster she rocked against his fingers until she reached the apex with thighs clutched tight against his hips, arched back and a series of moans that sprang from her throat like wild things.
When she could breathe again, she lowered her gaze to his face. "Tell me what you want."
"I want you," his words slipped out, ragged and tense.
"Sorry, didn't hear that," she teased while continuing to rub her ass against his hardness.
"Dammit, I want to bury myself in you." His eyes turned hard and hungry, the man behind the farm boy exterior peeking through at last.
That man took her breath away, and she raised herself to her knees and inched back while he guided himself to her opening. His lips snarled up over clenched teeth, and he groaned as she slid down to take his length. He clamped his hands around her hips while she gripped his forearms, digging her nails into his skin and rode his thickness to its release. His head pushed back into the pillow when he drove himself deep into her core with a shuddering growl that left him weak and boneless once the desire had been spent.
She remained immobile until he'd gone soft, then gently rolled to the bed, snuggling once again into his side.
"I'm sorry, love," he apologized, running his fingers up and down her arm.
"Whatever for?"
"Not much foreplay this time, it's just that I wanted you so damned bad."
"Why would you apologize for wanting me?" She raised herself up on her elbow so she could read his face, but the blank mask he lowered gave no hint to the reason behind his words.
"Not for wanting you, but for not taking the time to do it right."
She held the deep sigh that almost escaped and measured her words before she spoke, knowing she'd make a mess of it anyway. "You didn't disappoint, you never do but, you don't always have to dot all my I's and cross all my T's. Slow and gentle is wonderful, but there's something exciting about pure lust, grabbing the moment and wrestling it into submission. I won't break, Corso, let go, take what you want. I thought I'd made that clear to you by now."
He swallowed hard before muttering "I love you, Ky," which was his usual response and avenue of avoiding this particular subject that always made him ill at ease.
"I love you too," she said, willing to leave well enough alone.
A quiet emptiness settled between them for what seemed like mere seconds before a knock at the door pulled them from thoughts of the conversation neither had wanted to revisit.
"I hate to bother you two, but one of those encrypted messages came over the comm. You might want to get dressed and have something to eat before anything else happens."
"Thanks, Largo, we'll be right out," she said.
Corso planted a kiss on her forehead before rolling out of bed, stopping just long enough to assist her to her feet.
"No rest for the weary," she sighed. "You want the 'fresher first?"
"You go ahead, I need to find my other boot."
Morning rituals over, cleaned up and dressed they proceeded in unison to the still closed door. A chill ran down Ky's spine as the gravity of what they were about to face hit home.
With a hand curled around the fabric of his sleeve, she stopped him before he touched the panel. "One more kiss love, please."
Confusion flitted across his face, but he wrapped her in his arms and pulled her to him anyway.
"In case things go south, in case I don't make it," she clarified, "I need this to be the one memory to carry into whatever waits on the other side."
"I'd die before I let anything happen to you," the conviction of his vow gripped her tighter to his chest.
"And then I'd die just the same," she replied. An odd truth with multiple meanings too complex to unravel in that moment.
Bleak uncertainty and desperate confirmation that they would survive passed between them through crushing lips, tangling tongues and fingers locked in cords of impossibly soft hair. They clung together, willing time to stop, but time moved, regardless of wishes, goading them to join Largo in the living area.
"There's caf in the thermos on the table, and I'll have breakfast in another couple of minutes," Largo's voice drifted out of the kitchen.
"You sit, I'll help Largo," Corso said, pulling out a chair for her. "No argument. The doc said for you to take it easy while you can."
"This morning count?" she whispered in his ear as she took the offered seat.
He cleared his throat and moved off to the kitchen while she checked the camo-tab signal on her datapad. It indicated that the box was still on Tatooine, but for how long?
She poured a mug of caf and settled back to savor the rich aroma and flavor. A platter of scrambled eggs, sausage, and toast with a tub of butter and jar of jam on the side appeared on the table as if by magic before Corso and Largo took their seats.
After the first forkful of eggs, Ky rolled her eyes heavenward in sheer ecstasy. "Oh, my stars, this is wonderful. Marry me, Largo. A man who cooks like this is just too damned sexy to go to waste."
"I can cook. You never asked me to cook," Corso piped in with a sly grin on his face.
"Only if you do it nude with only an apron on. You have the most adorable ass," she winked back at him expecting him to blush a lovely shade of red. He did not disappoint.
"The way that bed was squeaking this morning, I thought he'd already served up the main course," chuckled Largo, who then broke out in a bout of lusty guffaws as Corso's face deepened another couple of shades.
Stifling a smile, Ky asked. "So, when did this encrypted message come through?"
"About a half hour before I knocked. I figured it could wait until the noise settled down," he smiled sheepishly at Corso who extended the one finger salute which only served to push Largo into another fit of laughter.
She hadn't realized until this moment how much she missed her crew and the easy banter that passed between them over meals or drinks. Even Akaavi had developed a sense of humor, dry as it was and Gus with his tales of Jedi feats of daring do which were more likely to have come from his imagination than from the Force. She even missed Risha's cutting wit. What her merry band of misfits lacked in credits, they made up for in loyalty and comradery.
"I have a favor to ask of you," said Ky while she spread butter and jam on another piece of toast.
"Shoot," said Largo.
"I need to leave Icy here with you for a while. You could use a house droid, and he's very efficient. I don't think he'll need much repair, except for the leg."
"Droids are a pain in the ass. Nosey, mouthy and I'm betting yours is the worst of the lot."
"And, Akaavi programmed him with her recipe for Uj cakes."
Largo licked his lips. "Uj cakes, you say? I can always turn off his vocabulator if he gets on my nerves." Largo pondered a moment. "Ok, it's a deal."
"I'll clean up while you guys check out the probe and supplies," offered Corso, rising from his chair and stacking plates.
The probe droid was getting finishing touches on the boosters before loading the detonite which lay in rectangular bricks on a table far away from any source of combustion. The detonation caps would be added at the destination. An MK6 missile launcher loaded with six missiles lay on another table alongside a BlasTech PL-17 grenade launcher with a bandolier of additional grenades.
"Grenade launcher?" questioned Ky.
"Holds two concussion and two ion grenades in case there are turrets that could shoot down the probe. You can see there are extras. It never hurts to cover all the bases."
"Good point."
Largo grasped Ky by the shoulders and turned her to face him. "You and Corso can't do this alone so Dester and a couple of my guys, Tol and Voxal, have volunteered to go along. They'll provide cover fire and diversion while you send our little present and slice into the ship, but, the close-up fighting is all you, and if things go badly, you're on your own. They're not willing to die for this."
"I understand, and the help is truly appreciated." She laid her hands on his arms, her mood noticeably brighter. "The odds just got better."
The day wore on, all preparations were completed, and goods delivered to an unmarked cargo shuttle Largo kept parked a few klicks outside the city limits. Now they waited for the cover of nightfall, but well-made plans often get the hiccups and then puke on your boots.
Late in the day, Ky's datapad began beeping, the box was being moved off planet and the two suns still smiled in the heavens, just not at her.