Mountain Region,

Northern Mandalore

The Mandalorians surveyed the crash remains; they had seen enough of them to be certain of what they saw — A well concealed crash site, made to look as if the whole vehicle had exploded on impact.

"So Draag, conclusions."

Draag took a deep breath; he had to get this right Reau didn't like failure. She had shown Keldabe what she was capable of when Priest's body was found and later she found him. He was flattered at first, a strong Mando woman, a distraction and she was good in bed, powerful, knew exactly what she was doing and more but now he was stuck with her.

That was a mistake. He liked to play the field and he thought she did too but no. She demanded total loyalty, on missions and in bed. He came back to the question in hand.

"Initial crash caused a lot of fuselage damage, possibly the hyperdrive but that was blown up later, probably by blaster."

"So there were survivors?"

"Possibly."

"Yes or Fekking No?"

"Yes to the crash and then it would depend on how far they could go on foot. Probably injured."

"Why?"

"See these marks here." He pointed to some indistinct marks in the soil. "This should have winter grass here but it been scraped away by some kind of litter or crate. It only grows in the summer and autumn, so hasn't regrown yet. Depending on how frozen the ground was, we could track them."

"Any homesteads or farms nearby?"

"Few abandoned hunting lodges."

She went quiet.

"Who are we after?" He asked, she kept the details of this close to her chest.

"Traitors to the Empire. It's thought when they crashed, they were killed. The Imps only sent probes which skimmed the surface and as it was under several feet of snow at the time, came back as negative for life signs."

"You don't believe that?"

"Of course I Fekking don't. It was a ARC clone trooper, so if anyone was going to survive it would be him and I would know. Plus, I think they're linked to Skirata and Gilamar smehow."

"What have you got against them. Weren't they with you on that cloner planet?"

"They killed Dred."

"You sure?"

Almost as soon as he finished, her knife was under his throat. "Good thing you're a good fuck, otherwise, I'd gut you for being brainless."

His adams apple bobbed catching on the end.

"I am sure and this will be my revenge." She pulled the knife away. "Let's hunt."

.

Hunting Lodge.

Coric watched as she filled up the large tub in the fresher; he had never used it, staying with the shower but he knew she had been in it a couple of times, said it helped with her injury.

"You're going to sit in it?"

"That's what you do. Come on. I've run it for you."

He shook his head, "Nah, I'll stick with the shower."

"It's good, relaxing."

She had that look on her face he could not resist; he got in, automatically relaxing as he sank into the hot water. It was bliss after the hard cold work he had been doing outside. She was right.

"You need one as well." He commented, she smiled.

"Only if I can join you." She laughed and started to take off her tunic.

He didn't stop her but closed his eyes as he heard the rustle of fabric and then felt the water moved waves across his legs as she sat down. He heard a small sigh and he quickly moved his hand to between his legs to hide his reaction.

He opened his eyes again, to find her sitting with her back to him.

"I've found some more soap." She said and started to lather it up." You can have it next, although it's a bit perfumy". She spoke as if what they were doing was perfectly normal, and nothing had happened before, perhaps it was to her. He was still new at this.

He gazed at her neck, following the bumps of her vertebrae and the light green veins that criss crossed under her pale skin; he found himself leaning towards her and placed a gentle kiss on the most prominent bone, instinctively blowing along it. He waited for a reaction; he moved around her neck and along her shoulder. She stopped moving, as he carefully placed the kisses and blew softly on her skin; out of the corner of his eye he saw goosebumps and the hairs on her neck stand to attention. She shivered and breathed again before moving back towards him. She put a hand on his knee; his skin always felt on fire at her touch.

"Coric." She whispered, "please." She paused, he hesitated, "Don't stop."

A lifetime ago, they sat on that gurney sipping Caf in Coruscant and he knew then he was past the point of no return; he had known since then there would be no-one else for him but he hadn't thought this would ever happen.

"Are you sure?"

She nodded in reply. He didn't care what happened after this, this was his time and he didn't think he had much left.

Pulling her closer, his arms glided down over her shoulders to her breasts, the nipples hard. He encased her breasts in his hands, fascinated with her nipples, even harder now and twirled them between his fingers and thumbs; she moaned, deep and throaty, her head resting on his shoulder, his lips grazed her neck as her hand searched for him, trailing up his thigh. He had never understood how a simple touch like that could make you feel so alive.

Almost sitting on him, she took his hand and moved it down her stomach, guiding him. He heard a small sigh, as he moved his fingers, she tensed and moved at his touch, then he found that little cluster of nerves and as soon as he rubbed it, he heard her sharp intake of breath.

"Ryss…I need."

She turned round onto her knees, pulled him forward and moved to sit on his legs, still stroking him she put her legs at his sides and round his back. He just let her do what she wanted and she raised herself, using the sides of the tub as support as he guided himself in; he couldn't suppress the long and low growl. Leaning forward, holding onto his shoulders to keep herself steady, she kissed him, as his arms wrapped all the way around her; they rocked together getting into a rhythm, all the time her eyes never left his, he was mesmerised.

This was all he wanted as the pressure was building, as they rocked harder chasing their own release. He steadied her, holding her at the swell of her hips and started to thrust upwards into her, in keeping with her rhythm. He found he could still reach her breasts with his mouth and took her nipple and twirled it around with his tongue. He couldn't resist taking a full mouth, suddenly, she arched back, gripping his shoulders hard. He watched as her face went from intense concentration to flushed release, as hormones flooded her system. He could let go now, and thrust up one last time, as his orgasm hit him, before groaning into her neck.

They collapsed into each other, he held her tight and he didn't want to move.

"Ryssa….." he started.

She shook her head, kissed him on the cheek and slid her arms around his waist, laying her head on his chest.

.

Kyrimorut,

Mandalore

"Kal, it sure is nice to hear ya' voice again, and so soon." Shysa said, with feeling. He was grateful whenever he got some snippet of Intel from Kal and his wild boys, that helped him with the Empire. It was invariably correct. He never asked where they got it, just grateful they continued to provide it. Now he was repaying in kind. "I'll get right down to it. I have some information that may be of interest to you, free gratis and for nothing, on this occasion. Do with it what you will."

Kal sighed, "Okay. It's not going to mean trouble for us, is it?" He asked, still wary of the Mandalore and his proximity to the Imperials. He trod a fine line there. Rather him than me, thought Kal ungraciously.

"That's up to you Kal. I'm just passing it on. Word is a Clone Commando Lieutenant and a female Imperial Doctor deserted some time ago from some Top Secret Imperial base and crash landed here. They kept the last part quiet, or didn't know about it until recently. The Doctor had been working on some Secret project of Tarkins."

Kal's stomach was already churning at what he heard.

"Would ya know which base I'm talking about."

"Not necessarily."

Shysa appreciated that sometimes Kal kept a few snippets to himself.

"The Imps thought they had died but I have Intel that they are alive, still, even after the crash. Some Mandos have found the crash site and whoever was in there, walked away because there was no bodies or anything remotely like remains, if they had."

He paused waiting for response he didn't get.

"Course the remains could have been eaten by wildlife but…... If you want to check it out." He paused, "Intel shows the woman was blond and small. The Imps are still interested in her because of what she knows about this secret base and you know what this chap Vader is like about clone deserters. It's out. Sorry Kal I can't always keep a lid on these things. Thought she may be some kind of relative of yours." He paused again, "Rumour is we're getting a visit from one of those red blades. Inquisitors, they're called, work to Vader. Thought you'd be interested especially consid'rin' the company you keep up there."

He still waited for a response from Kal, instead he got Ordo.

"Inquisitors?"

"That's what they call themselves, lad. Force users but working for the Empire under Vader, my Intel tells me. I have the coordinates for the crash site and there's a few abandoned hunting lodges within trekking distance that they could have holed up in. The info is that's where they're likely to be, assuming they survived and managed to get to one of them before being snowed in. I'll send those. I've had to keep my boys out of this, it's gettin' a bit tense around here. Like walkin' a tight rope sometimes."

"Which you walk very well. Thank You for the intel, Mandalor, we'll take it under advisement." Ordo ended the link.

Ordo looked at his Father, who had his head in his hands; after a few moments he looked up and sighed.

"A'den needs to be in on this decision."

Ordo turned to Jaing, who had entered on the tail end of the conversation, "He and Mereel are in Keldabe." Ordo's face didn't display his feelings.

"I'm on it. I'll com them."

"Do you really think it could be her, Kal'buir?" Ordo asked cautiously, it had been months since Order 66, and apart from the one contact they had been able to make, they had not been able to actually contact her again, continually chasing. After she left Raxus, then Ryloth and finally Daro but after that they had not been able to get any trace of her. But if it is her they're talking about…..

Kal was hoping against hope, for his son's sake. He had never been the same since the extraction from Corrie; he should have been living his life like any normal demobbed soldier but there was always something missing for him, even though he had seemed a little better recently going on jaunts with Mereel. He couldn't say he was happy with the pair spending so much time in Keldabe but at least it wasn't the New Capital, which was swarming with even more Imperials. They hadn't had the normal experiences of young men, anything like this was going to hit them hard, harder than a Nat born.

"Are Maze and Zey still around? See where they are. How quick can they get here? We may need all the help we can get, especially with more force users. I'd rather not send Bard'ika in to face that alone."

.

Hunting Lodge

The snow was beginning to melt with the warmer temperatures of spring, but the nights were still freezing and the snow made it difficult to get around. This morning was bright and sharp; Coric stood at the open door, a large steaming, mug of Caf in his hands. Ryssa smiled as she saw it, he always chose that mug, even though it was chipped. The Clones had never had many possessions, except a few items they picked up along the way but Coric seemed to be claiming more and more and she couldn't blame him. If it made him happy. He claimed her well and truly again last night leaving her feeling truly desired and oddly, content, more than she had in months. A stab of guilt jabbed at her but she quickly threw that away; it wouldn't do to dwell on that for too long.

Ryssa poured a Caf for herself, warming her hands on the hot mug, as the open door had let in the fresh, chilled air, circulating and removing the stale air from the night before. She had opened the can, thinking it was vegetables, there was no label on it and was surprised when it was a really good quality ground Caf, which they both savoured.

Standing next to him, she admired the view; it was the opposite to where she had grown up and subsequently served, that was all high tech, hard, sharp edges, this was natural, no less hard but a softer, natural place. The Lodge had an unrestricted view of the surrounding wild countryside and mountains from the front door; it was a soothing pallet of soft greys, greens, and blues and then on the forest floor, dots of red and purple; early ground cover plants breaking through the frozen ground. It always amazed her that plants could grow in the most inhospitable conditions.

"It really is breathtaking."she murmured.

"Huh." A reply of sorts came from Coric, "We'll need to leave soon, when the weather changes." He turned and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, as she wrapped her arm around his waist and leaned into him. He was always planning ahead; she had never met a clone who didn't. It was hard wired into them. It was why they had been the best soldiers.

"We'll have to walk to get to the nearest settlement. It might be Enceri, so we need to get supplies ready and make sure you're strong enough." He continued.

"Hmm. I've been exercising, the one's Gregor showed me." She snuggled closer to him; she really didn't want to leave and already felt apprehensive about it. But someone owned this lodge and would at some point come back, they needed to be gone by then. The law abiding, polite, Coruscanti part of her wanted to leave a note of thanks and some money to pay for what they had used but the logical part overrode that.

"Kal had planned on somewhere for them all to go; all the Nulls and some of the Commandos. I'd like to find it if we can. Get some answers. perhaps someone survived, Laseema, L'leth or Besany." she was hoping again. "Perhaps they had neighbours."

"We'll check, make sure but we have to be careful. Do you think you'll be up to the trek?"

"I'll have to be."

She slipped her hand into his back pocket; it was getting cold and absentmindedly she rubbed against him to warm it up.

"More of that and we'll be back in bed." he rumbled.

"Even after last night?"

"Especially after last night." Not meaning to but she let out a small giggle.

"What's funny?"

"Nothing."

"Are you sure? Because if last night was funny it's now going to get fekking hilarious."

She looked at his eyes, he was planning something; then his arm moved to the side placing his mug down. She saw her chance and darted back into the lodge. She heard someone squeal like a young girl before realising it was her, as Coric set after her; she put herself on the opposite side of the sofa and balanced on the balls of her feet, trying to work out which way he was going.

Left!

As soon as she moved, she realised it was a feint and he was on her, lifting her off her feet, swinging her around, until he pulled her in for a kiss. He put her down, her back facing the bedroom and gradually walked her backwards into it. She giggled again before he silenced her with a bruising kiss and lifted her onto the bed, following her straight after.

He lay on top, arms caging her and staring into her eyes, before kneeling back and pulling at her top, as she went to help, he flicked her hands away, "I've got somewhere better for them." He pushed further onto her and she could feel him hard against her. She stroked his hair, he hadn't shaved it in weeks and his hair was growing through with distinct smatterings of grey in it. It matched the length of hers.

"You okay?" His brows drew together.

"Mmm" she replied, then kissed him; he replied by twisting them over, so she was on top. He pulled her top off, throwing it to side followed by her tank top before gently rubbing his thumb across her now erect nipples.

"Can never get over how fucking quick this happens with you."

She giggled and leant down to kiss him again, grinding against him in reply.

"If you're going to do something, do it."

"Ooh, impatient."

"I'll show you impatient." He rolled them back over, so he was back on top, then knelt back. He pulled her hips towards him, his fingers preparing her before he thrust in hard.

.

It was quick and satisfying; they rose, after Coric's stomach grumbled incessantly and she went to prepare lunch, while Coric checked the nearest traps. It had felt so decadent spending that time on themselves. He had become adept at catching some of the local wildlife and they hadn't poisoned themselves yet. This time he came in, swept up behind her and presented her with a small bunch of the purple and red flowers. She couldn't help but hug him and put them into a small glass in the middle of the table.

Coric went out again, the weather had deteriorated just as they thought it was getting warmer but he still needed to check the outlying traps he'd set, which with luck would yield something today. A few of the supplies were running low and even if they were careful, they would only last another month. By then the worst of the winter weather should be over, the pass Coric had identified should be clear and they could leave. He was not yet sure where they could go. Enceri was his best bet as Keldabe was out, the Imperial Garrison. New Mandalore City was partially ruined after Maul and were rebuilding, with the aid of the Empire which left only small towns and settlements, such as Enceri. He was mulling this over, as he bent to check one of the traps, when he heard the crunch; he stilled, slowly releasing the trap. He blinked to activate his 360 degree vision again, after he had turned off most of his HUD sensors to conserve energy for his suit.

"Kriffin' Hell," he muttered, recognising the armour, Reau, Death Watch and some he didn't recognise. His own white armour offered him some camouflage against the remaining snow and he moved slowly backwards into the undergrowth, watching.