#reveth

“B1.5-series battle droids are a myth,” Kix said firmly. “You’re wasting your time.”

“The good doctor doesn’t share your opinion,” Quiggold argued.

Sidon Ithano, as usual, said nothing, his crimson helmet swiveling slowly toward Maree. Kix turned to her as well, his jaw set, his eyes full of confidence that she would back him up. Kriff it. She absolutely hated being caught in the middle of this argument.

She cleared her throat. “There’s… some debate in the academic community about their existence, actually. If they ever were created, they were never deployed at any recorded battle—and it’s a good thing, too.”

“Why is that, exactly?” Reeg Brosna asked.

He was sprawled on the bench of the dinette, his arm draped around Orys Brenko as the research assistant perked up immediately.

“Is it true that they used nanodroids to retrofit original B1-series droids?” Brenko asked, his face flushing dark green with excitement.

“That is one theory,” Maree said circumspectly, keenly aware of Kix’s scrutiny. “According to contemporary sources—and noting that those sources are unreliable at best—the B1.5s had significantly upgraded blaster resistance. There was another rumor as well, even less credible.”

“What rumor?” Reveth interrupted, leaning forward over the table, drawing Ithano’s attention subtly.

“They said the B1.5s could keep going even if you blasted their processors,” Kix cut in before Maree could reply. “It was a stupid story the commandos made up to scare the shinies.”

“But what if it wasn’t?” Brosna asked. “Indestructible battle droids? They’d be worth a fortune.”

“Even if they don’t exist, the haul from a Techno Union stronghold could set us up for life,” Reveth pointed out. “I say we go after it.”

Squeaky grunted his agreement, predictably. The Gamorrean was always guaranteed to follow the pretty Twi’lek’s lead. Reveth could have suggested a nude spacewalk, and Squeaky would have thought it was a grand idea. Brosna and Brenko voted in favor as well. Kix voted against, and Maree did as well, purely out of solidarity. Privately, she was consumed with curiosity about the B1.5s, and she couldn’t deny that the possibility of such a groundbreaking discovery was alluring in the extreme.

Quiggold voted in favor, and Ithano abstained, and so it was decided: the crew would send a team to scout the Techno Union stronghold, and if they found anything worthwhile, the rest of Ithano’s small fleet would join them.

“We’re gonna need your expertise, Doc,” Reveth said to Maree. 

“Absolutely not,” Kix snapped.

Maree glanced at him in surprise. It was unlike him to try to overrule her choice, and she didn’t care for it. “Reveth is right, Kix. I’ll be able to identify the highest-value items, and I have a good idea of what’s in demand.”

Kix looked away, clearly unhappy, but recognizing that he’d overstepped. “Fine. But if you’re going, I’m going, too.”

“We’ll need you to stay and command the fleet from the Scorpion while the captain is away,” Quiggold interjected.

“Fuck that,” Kix growled. “Brosna is my first mate—he can take command from the Scorpion. When it comes to Maree’s safety, I outrank everyone on this ship.”

“Brosna doesn’t have the experience—” Quiggold began.

“Agreed,” Ithano said, his deep voice cutting through the buzz of conversation and debate in the Martinet’s galley. “Quiggold, command the fleet from the Martinet. Brosna, take the Scorpion. Reveth, Squeaky, you’re with us.”

The captain’s decision was final, and within a few hours, Kix, Maree, Reveth, Squeaky, and Ithano had boarded the Scorpion’s shuttle Stinger and departed for the desolate moon where the Techno Union base had sat untouched for over fifty years.

“Fifty credits says we find nothing,” Kix said.

“I’ll take that bet,” Reveth replied.

Squeaky grunted his agreement. Ithano said nothing.

“Maree, you want in on this action?” Reveth asked.

“Kix and I have a private bet on the side,” Maree said with a mischievous twinkle as Kix shot her an inscrutable look.

Reveth smirked. “Sounds like fun.”

“Oh, it will be,” Maree replied. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of crimson as Ithano moved through the shuttle. On impulse, she leaned in and whispered in Reveth’s ear cone.

Reveth’s eyes widened as her mechanical hand instinctively settled on Maree’s waist. “Damn. You and Kix want a third for that?”

Ithano’s helmet whipped to the side as he suddenly became very interested in the conversation. Maree suppressed a laugh.

“What do you think, Kix?” Maree asked with faux innocence. “Can Reveth play with us?”

Kix eyed her with a perfectly neutral expression that warned Maree he knew exactly what she was up to. “You gotta win that bet if you want to call the shots.”

“You’re on,” Maree replied immediately.

Ithano’s helmet swiveled from Maree, to Reveth, to Kix, and back to Reveth, but he said nothing. Kix merely turned back to the navigation controls and continued to pilot the shuttle toward their destination.

The old Techno Union stronghold was on a remote, swampy moon, and the dense vegetation had grown thickly over the past five decades. Kix was forced to set the shuttle down several klicks from the decrepit base. He didn’t like it. He didn’t kriffing like any of this. It was too far; they’d be too exposed; their progress would be too slow in the mud. He glanced at Maree and felt his anxiety spike.

How the kark am I supposed to protect her out there?

He double-checked her gear as she suited up, adjusting the fit of her holster for a quicker draw. He quickly inspected her blaster before handing it to her.

“What’s going on?” she asked quietly. “You’re on edge.”

He shook his head. “I don’t have a good feeling about this mission.”

“It’s not the first time we’ve gone into one of these old strongholds,” she pointed out. “We’ll be okay.”

He nodded. “Yeah. Yeah. You’re right. Just… Keep your eyes open.”

“I will,” she promised. “And I know you’ll watch my back. Just like I’ll watch yours.”

He traced his fingertips along her jaw as he pulled her closer to himself. He couldn’t feel her soft warmth through his armor, but her nearness felt comforting regardless. He kissed her gently, threading his fingers through the hair that she wore in loose braids. 

She looked so different now than she had the first time he’d met her two years earlier; her elegant wardrobe replaced with sturdy, practical clothing meant to withstand rough field work and the occasional blaster fight. But underneath, she still smelled like tea and honey and home. She was still the same—still his Maree.

“If you’re finished sucking the lips off her face, can we get going?” Reveth teased. “Droids aren’t gonna find themselves.”

Despite Kix’s misgivings, the trek to the derelict base was uneventful. Squeaky stayed with the shuttle in case they needed a quick extraction, while Ithano, Reveth, and Maree hacked their way through the underbrush along with Kix. It was slow going, and the swamp was creepy as hell, but eventually they made it to the plastcrete and durasteel structure.

There was no power to the base, so they cut their way through the sealed exterior blast doors. Once inside, the group fell silent as they made their way through the dusty, cobwebbed hallways. The base was pitch black inside, illuminated only by their own torches, and once again, Kix felt the simmering anxiety in his gut begin to roil.

“Something’s been living in here,” Reveth muttered, training the beam of her flashlight on a tangle of debris that was unmistakably a nest for something… large.

Kix didn’t respond, but he reached out and pulled Maree closer to himself, then drew one of his DC-17s. Ithano brought up the rear, his blaster rifle ready.

“Control center should be just ahead,” Maree whispered. “Reveth might be able to restore power from there.”

“We’ll be karked if she can’t,” Kix replied quietly.

“Happy thoughts, Kix,” Maree murmured.

Right. Happy thoughts. Spiced biscuits. Unlimited bacta. Maree’s tits. More credits than I’ve ever seen in my life. The Scorpion. Weapons caches. Maree’s thighs. Maree’s thighs on my shoulders. Maree’s thighs framing my face while she rides—uh, weapons caches.

“Control center,” Reveth called under her breath as she reached a sealed doorway.

They pried it open enough to squeeze through. Kix went first, sweeping his light across the room as he scanned for threats. Reveth followed, then Maree and Ithano. Reveth headed straight for the control console and plugged in her small power unit and began to fiddle with the controls.

“Happy thoughts,” Kix mumbled, returning to the doorway to keep watch over the pitch-dark corridor.

Within a few moments, Reveth let out a quiet, triumphant huff as the control console flickered to life, dimly illuminating the room. She went to work immediately, interfacing her datapad with the ancient console.

“Damn. Main power cells are depleted,” she said. “I’ll try to at least get emergency lighting turned on.”

“Why would the power be depleted if the base has been abandoned for decades?” Maree asked. “The Techno Union had extraordinarily advanced power cells that were capable of storing energy far longer.”

“Unless something used it,” Reveth said.

Kix swiveled his head to stare at the Twi’lek.

“Like what?” he bit out.

She shrugged. “Dunno. But we might find out as soon as I get the data decrypted.”

A distant, deep hum sounded, and red light flickered on throughout the base.

“Nicely done,” Maree told Reveth.

“Let’s get the data and get the kriff out of here,” Kix growled, hating every minute of their time in the farking spooky base.

“Working on it,” Reveth snapped. “Think you can do it faster?”

Ithano glanced between Kix and Reveth, then moved to join Kix at the doorway, blaster rifle raised. “What is it?”

“Not sure,” Kix replied quietly. “Something doesn’t feel right.”

Ever reticent, Ithano merely nodded and took up position across from him. Kix nodded in silent gratitude that the pirate captain didn’t question his instincts. Then again, the Crimson Corsair hadn’t survived this long by ignoring his gut. 

Kix’s eyes darted to Maree again. She leaned over the console, scrolling rapidly through the data files, searching for any hint of the information they sought. He turned back toward the hallway, his eyes scanning it watchfully.

“No kriffin’ way,” Maree gasped.

“What?” Kix and Reveth demanded in unison.

“You just lost a bet, my love,” Maree told Kix.

“Wait, really?” Reveth asked. “It’s real?”

“‘Project Ophio,’” Maree read, her voice low and hurried. “Principal investigator Vamb Tebrem. Project number T327H1138X99. Primary focus of study is to develop experimental NM-K reconstitutors with the purpose of enhancing the durability and combat acumen of extant B-1 series assets…” Her voice trailed off as she leaned closer to the console, flicking through the data hurriedly. “Project director reported a 62% success rate in the initial efficacy trial; however the experimental reconstitutors were prohibitively expensive to manufacture, and the unpredictability observed in field tests was not adequately resolved—what field tests?”

“You catch any of that?” Reveth asked Kix.

He shrugged. Maree’s voice had dropped to an inaudible murmur as she scrolled through the data, then opened another data file. A quiet chime sounded from the console, drawing Reveth’s attention.

A glowing hologram appeared over the console: wave after wave of battle droids locked in combat a group of clone commandos who should have been able to easily defeat the B-1s. But the droids just kept going. Nothing could stop their advance as they overwhelmed the commandos’ positions and tore them to pieces. Kix swallowed hard, hearing the screams of the dying commandos, unable to take his eyes off the hologram. Maree slapped a button on the console and the sound paused abruptly as the holo froze.

“Holy kark,” she breathed.

“What?” Reveth asked. “Is that not normal?”

“No,” Kix said grimly. “We need to get out of here.”

“Uh, about that…” Reveth said.

Ithano swiveled his head toward the Twi’lek. “What?”

“Opening that holofile triggered an alert in the system,” Reveth said. “Hopefully it’s nothing?”

“Time to go,” Kix growled.

“Yeah,” Maree said, her voice shaky. “Yeah, I think you’re right.”

“At least let me download the records,” Reveth argued, jamming a data spike into the console.

They all froze as a distant but unmistakable crash echoed through the base, followed by a rhythmic thumping.

“What is that?” Maree whispered.

“Clankers,” Kix said grimly, drawing his second blaster. “Seal the blast doors.”

“We’ll be trapped in here!” Reveth objected.

Maree stared at Kix. “Can’t we make it out before—”

A light flashed, and her body jerked as a blaster bolt smashed into her. She went down hard, and Kix barely had time to register what was happening before a firestorm of blaster bolts exploded into the room. He whirled back to the entrance and returned fire at the wave of battle droids that was advancing at high speed toward his position. Ithano was firing as fast as he could, but the droids weren’t dropping.

“Get those kriffing doors sealed!” Ithano bellowed.

Reveth had ducked down behind the console for cover as Maree scrambled to join her out of the line of fire. Reveth frantically worked the controls from her position on the floor, but she wasn’t fast enough. A single droid made it through before the doors slammed shut. The clanking and pounding of the army of droids battering against the blast doors was deafening. The lone battle droid charged across the command center.

“Kill it!” Kix shouted. “Fuckin’ kill it!”

Reveth, Ithano, and Kix unleashed a torrent of blaster bolts, but the karking thing wouldn’t go down, even as its components began to fail and fly off its body. It was headed for the console. It was headed toward Maree. Desperately, Kix launched himself at its mangled, skeletal form, tackling it as he locked his arms around and tore its head off with a sickening screech of twisting metal.

But the fucking thing kept moving, shambling toward the console. Kix growled and yanked out his vibroblade, slashing through the droid’s joints until nothing remained but a pile of scrap, and then he sprinted toward Maree, launching himself over the control console. 

“Maree!” Kix yelled hoarsely.

Her face was sweaty and contorted with pain as she clutched her hand around her upper arm, but she gave him a tight smile. “I’m all right.”

The blaster hole in her jacket sleeve was still smoking, and Kix felt sick as he saw blood covering her hand, oozing from a wound that should have been cauterized by the plasma bolt. 

“Let me see,” he ordered. 

She moved her hand, and he cut the sleeve away quickly, adrenaline coursing through his veins. Oh, fuck, it’s bad. It’s bad, and I don’t have my kit.

“We have to get out of here,” Reveth rasped.

Kix dug frantically through his pouches, finding only a few small bacta patches and a vial of spray bandage. He didn’t have a choice. It would have to do, at least until they could make it back to the Stinger. 

He shoved the jacket sleeve and vibroblade toward Reveth. “Cut that into strips. Wide ones.”

He drenched the blaster wound with spray bandage, then grabbed the first strip Reveth cut from the jacket sleeve and quickly tied it around Maree’s arm near her shoulder. “Do you have a stylus on you?”

“Always,” Maree said, her voice tense with pain. She pulled the stylus out of her pocket and handed it to him, carefully avoiding looking at the charred, bloody wound. “Why is it bleeding so much?”

Kix tied the ends of the cloth strip around the stylus and twisted to tighten the makeshift tourniquet, securing it as he replied in an artificially calm tone. “Sometimes it happens. Move just wrong—the cauterized scab opens—blood.”

He ripped open the bacta patches and arranged them carefully over the injury, covering it as well as he could before wrapping the rest of the fabric strips around them to secure them in place. Finally, he looked up into her eyes, inadvertently smearing her own blood on her cheek as he cupped her face.

“I’m not losing you today.” His words were firm, but tremor in his hands was undeniable, and his pulse thundered in his ears.

She smiled at him through dry, ashen lips, and he kissed her forehead, then helped her carefully to her feet. Reveth had pulled up a schematic of the base, and Ithano joined them at the console, pausing to squeeze Kix’s shoulder briefly.

“We don’t die so easily,” the captain said in his deep, rasping voice.

“Not today, anyway,” Reveth cut in. “I found an escape route.”

“Please tell me it’s not the ventilation shaft,” Maree said unsteadily.

“It’s always the ventilation shaft,” Reveth replied.

Maree’s shoulder screamed with agony as she crawled through the ventilation shaft. She gritted her teeth to hold back the whimper of pain that hovered at the base of her throat. The ventilation shaft was filthy and cramped, and their progress was torturously slow as they navigated as silently as possible to their destination. The conduit wouldn’t take them all the way out of the base, so they would have to make a run for the main entrance when they got close. The only way they stood a chance of escaping was to not draw the attention of the battle droids.

She followed Kix through the labyrinthine ductwork, crawling laboriously on her knees and one hand. Her injured arm had burned like fire when Kix first applied the tourniquet, but now her arm was completely numb—and equally useless. At last, they found the access hatch to the main corridor. Kix dropped down first, and then Maree realized exactly how difficult this was going to be with only one functional arm. 

“Just drop,” he whispered. “I’ll catch you.”

She took a deep breath and slid out of the maintenance hatch, feet first. Panic flashed in her mind briefly as she plummeted through the air, but Kix was true to his word, catching her before she could hit the ground. He set her down quickly and checked to make sure her bandage was still in place as first Reveth and then Ithano dropped down into the corridor.

They sprinted for the exit. Maree’s lungs burned and her vision blurred around the edges as she gasped for breath. Kix looked back at her sharply and reached for her hand, dragging her along behind him. By some miracle, the droids hadn’t detected them yet, and she could see the main entrance of the base. She forced herself to keep running, even as she stumbled and nearly went down, kept upright only by Kix’s strong grasp.

He tugged her arm over his shoulder and wrapped his arm around her waist to support her, but he didn’t slow his pace. “We have to keep going, love. We can’t stop now.”

“I know,” she wheezed. “So close…”

She could hear the clanking of droids behind them, and she pushed herself as hard as she ever had in her life to keep running. They cleared the entrance, and Reveth tossed a few magnetized thermal detonators onto the ceiling of the base. 

Keep running, don’t stop, keep going.

The explosion knocked them off their feet, but the rubble of the collapsed ceiling blocked the main entrance. It wouldn’t hold back the droids for long, but it bought them time—so long as they kept moving. Kix was up first, pulling Maree with him as Reveth and Ithano scrambled to their feet.

They ran for the trees as Reveth commed Squeaky. “We need a pickup, now!”

“He can’t get to us in the jungle!” Kix said. “We have to find a clearing where the shuttle can land.”

They dodged through the trees, trying to avoid the worst of the swampy ground, but the dense underbrush slowed their progress and steered them on a circuitous route. Out of the corner of her eye, Maree saw movement in the earth. The ground shifted and began to swell.

“What the kriff is that?” she demanded.

“Keep running, don’t look back,” Kix urged.

“No, what is that?” she repeated.

She saw a flash of pale, bonelike metal alloy, and then a battle droid erupted from the earth.

“Fuck!” she screamed.

All around them, the skeletal forms of B1.5 droids began to emerge from the swampy ground, punching their way to the surface and dragging themselves up from the mud. Kix released Maree and drew both of his blasters, opening fire without hesitation. Maree, Reveth, and Ithano followed suit, for all the good it did them. The droids simply wouldn’t go down; even if they took so many hits that they started to fall apart, they still somehow shambled on in a grotesque parody of their normal precise movement.

They had no choice but to keep running and hope that they could at least slow some of the droids down. She could hear the roar of the shuttle overhead, but the vegetation was too dense for Squeaky to pick them up. The Gamorrean’s indistinct, frantic squealing sounded from Reveth’s comlink.

“He said there’s a clearing about a klick southwest!” Reveth yelled.

It might as well be on the other side of the planet, Maree thought hopelessly. There were simply too many droids; they were advancing relentlessly, and the terrain was too hostile to cross it with any speed. Holy shit, we’re all going to die here.

Her mind darted to the holorecord of the field test—a kriffing gruesome euphemism for such carnage. It had been a complete massacre. The terrified screams of the commandos as the droids tore them to pieces; the spray of blood and viscera: the images were branded irrevocably in her memory. It was a horrific way to die, and they were about to find out firsthand. 

Panic clawed at her, closing her throat and making her shots go wild. Her legs felt sluggish, and her feet became unsteady, but Kix never let her fall, even as he fired ceaselessly at the pursuing droids.

“We’re almost there,” he grunted. “Keep running, sweetheart, you can do it.”

“Kix, go,” Ithano ordered. “Get her to the Stinger.”

“No!” Maree exclaimed. “We’re not leaving you!”

Kix ignored her protests, bending over and tossing her over his shoulder as he ran. His plastoid armor cut into her thighs and belly, and she squirmed to try to get away.

“Put me down! Go back!”

Kix ignored her and raced for the clearing where the shuttle hovered just above the ground, ready to take off as soon as the crew were safely aboard. He dropped Maree in the copilot seat and turned to Squeaky.

“Don’t let her follow me.”

He sprinted to the back of the shuttle and jumped out, making for the treeline.

“Kix!” she screamed, lurching out of her seat.

Squeaky didn’t hesitate. He thrust her back into the chair with a stern grunt, then secured the safety harness to make sure she didn’t try to run again. She could hear blaster fire and shouting outside the ship, and she tugged desperately at the harness. Squeaky grunted again to order her to take control of the ship, and he lumbered toward the rear hatch, blaster ready.

Her heart hammered as she took the controls. Please, please, please. The distraught prayer echoed in her mind, silently beseeching the Force. I can’t lose him. Not like this. She felt utterly helpless as the deafening roar of Squeaky’s blaster fire pounded through the ship. Mercifully, she soon heard the pounding of boots on durasteel, and then Ithano launched into the pilot’s seat and punched the controls, hurtling the shuttle away from the planet.

“Kix?” she asked frantically.

“I’m here,” he said, dropping to his knees next to Maree’s chair and wrapping his arms around her. “I’m here.”

“I’m here, too, thanks for askin’,” Reveth said as she flopped into her seat.

Kix stood and quickly released the safety harness, tugging Maree out of the chair and burying his face against her neck.

“Holy kark, I can’t believe we all made it out,” Reveth said. “I was sure Maree was toast.”

Maree laughed, and Kix glared at the Twi’lek. “Not kriffin’ funny.”

“It’s kinda funny,” Reveth insisted.

Kix shook his head and drew Maree out of the cockpit and back to the tiny med bay at the rear of the shuttle. “Med bay” was putting it generously; it was really just a bunk and a large emergency medkit, but it had everything he needed to treat her shoulder. He administered a stim shot, cleaned and redressed her wound, and removed the tourniquet. He worked efficiently, and she didn’t see any of the distress that had clouded his eyes back at the base—of course, they weren’t fending off a horde of unkillable zombie droids this time, either.

“What’s the verdict, doctor?” she asked with a tiny smile.

He stroked his fingers over her forearm gently. “You’ll live. Gonna have a kickass scar, too.”

“Will you kiss it better?” she asked, fluttering her eyelashes.

He smiled wryly as he leaned in and pressed his lips softly against hers. “Don’t ever do that to me again.”

“I’ll do my best. At least I’m finally going to have an exciting story to tell Baba and Eema.”

His eyes widened. “Oh, kriff, your mothers are going to kill me!”

The Stinger docked with the Meson Martinet first, and Squeaky, Reveth, and Ithano disembarked, then Kix piloted the shuttle to his own ship, the Scorpion. Brenko and Brosna were waiting next to the airlock when Kix and Maree emerged from the shuttle.

“Well, did you find the B1.5s?” Brosna asked.

“Yeah,” Kix replied grimly.

“Ha!” Brosna laughed triumphantly. “Pay up, Captain!”

“You’re still acting captain,” Kix retorted. “Now get your ass back up to the bridge until I relieve you.”

“Wait, you’re not taking command right now?” Brosna asked.

“Nope,” Kix replied, dragging Maree to their quarters.

The door hissed shut behind them, and Kix slapped the control panel to lock it. He was on Maree instantly, devouring her in a searing kiss as he unzipped and pulled off her jacket, carefully avoiding the large bandage on her shoulder. Once he had her top removed, he dropped his mouth to her throat and kissed a trail of hot, open-mouthed kisses down her body as he knelt in front of her. 

His hands roved over her urgently, clutching her body close to him. She tangled her fingers in his hair as he tugged down her trousers, and then he plunged his tongue into her ravenously. Her body jerked, and she cried out, losing her balance. He caught her with ease, then pulled her toward the bed.

“Kix,” she panted. “Don’t you at least want to get naked?”

“I can’t wait,” he groaned. “Sit on my face.”

“Oh, fuck,” she gasped.

“I’m planning to,” he said, lying on his back. “On my face. Now.”

She knelt, hovering over his mouth, staring down into his eyes. He gazed back up at her, sliding his hands up her waist to cup her breasts, before dropping them to her thighs and yanking her body downward.

“Kriff!” she exclaimed as his tongue slid deeply into her cunt, then his lips closed around her clit.

He held her in place as he feasted on her, his groans vibrating against her sensitive flesh. The sensation was overwhelming. She writhed, nearly toppling over, then leaned back to brace her hands on his ribcage. He ate her like he was starving, like she was the last thing he would ever taste, and he fully intended to savor every drop.

“Kix—fuck—gods—” she moaned, her hips finding a subtle rhythm even as his strong hands gripped her, preventing her from moving more than a few centimeters.

He murmured quietly against her in between the kisses and licks and nibbles—soft, nearly inaudible whispers of fear and adoration and lust. “... taste so fucking good… love you so much… thought I was going to lose you… never letting go… so kriffin’ scared… want you so bad…”

He released her thigh and reached his hand around to massage her clit. All the muscles in her core began to tense as pleasure spooled tightly in her body, but her orgasm remained tantalizingly just out of reach. She leaned back, groping blindly for his cock. She fumbled with his belt and eventually just slid her hand beneath the waistband until she wrapped her fingers around his rigid shaft.

He grunted at the contact, his hips thrusting up off the mattress. His hand strayed away from her clit to press his palm flat against her lower belly, and pressure was exactly what she needed. She convulsed with a sob, and he redoubled his efforts, tongue-fucking her through her orgasm. Distantly, she felt the thrusting of his cock against her hand, and then a rush of hot, sticky cum on her fingers.

She crumpled to the bed, and he pulled her tightly against him, kissing the backs of her thighs as she slowly came back to herself. After a few moments, he shifted, curling up behind her, tucking his thighs behind her legs as he drew her body close to his and buried his face in her hair.

“I love you,” she murmured.

He kissed the side of her neck, just behind her ear, dragging his tongue slowly across her skin as he slid his hand up to play with her breast. “Love you. Never scare me like that again.”

She laughed quietly. “Aye, aye, Cap’n. What’s gotten into you, anyway? You were acting protective before we even left the Martinet.”

He lay silently for a moment, breathing in the scent of her hair, before he replied. “You’re late.”

She blinked. “What?”

“You’re… your cycle, it’s like clockwork. And—you’re late,” he said hoarsely.

She swallowed. “Oh.”

The original comic panel that inspired this story! This was from Star Wars Adventures Ashcan. Alas, this comic was never published, so I am once again filling in the gaps in canon.

ADDITIONAL CONTENT WARNING: mention of possible pregnancy.

Maz rubs her forehead tiredly. She shakes her head with a hand going up with the raise of her shoulders. “I don’t unfortunately. He stopped returning my message’s some years back.”

Then, under her breath, Kix hears her whisper, I’m just glad he’s alive.

“So, this was a waste…” Pendewqell mutters into his drink. Reveth shoves her empty plate away so she can perch her chin on her cybernetic arm. Some specs of green paint are still stuck to the chrome metal. Maz stares at Reveth with a quizzical eye.

“The paint on your arm,” Maz leans on the table and nods at Reveth, “Where did you get it?”

Kix thinks he sees Reveth turn a deeper shade of red. She didn’t exactly like talking about her defeats.

“That kid came in and thought the Shrike needed a new paint job,” She says with a tight jaw and then adds under her breath, “and us for that matter…”

Maz lets out a short hm. She pushes her chair away from the table, “Show me.”

They lead Maz out to the Shrike. Staring at it now, Kix and can see the black residue from the blast that made the ship lurch when the lights went out the second time. He couldn’t tell how bad it actually was but figured it couldn’t be too bad considering it got them to Takodana in one piece. When they make their way into the ship, Kix can still smell the chemicals of paint. Maz lifts a hand to her small chin and looks around. Reeg walks over to the control panel.

“We have to shut the lights off if you want to see it.” He says. She gives him a nod and the ship goes dark. Just like before the neon paint sprayed throughout the ship lights up. Maz lets out another hm and walks through the corridors admiring the artwork. He hears Quiggold huff.

“This is going to take forever to clean.” Quiggold mutters from the back.

“Well, his technique is improving.” Maz says at last.

“Oh good, at least his technique is improving.” Reeg grumbles earning a snort from Squeaky. The lights come on stinging their eyes from the sudden brightness. Sidon meets Maz’s gaze. She slips her glasses off to give them a shine from her shirt.

“There is someone who might know something about his whereabouts, but I can’t be certain,” She slips her glasses back on and holds a finger up at them, “but I do not give this information out freely.”

“What’s your price?” Sidon speaks making the crew fall silent. Maz stares at him.

“When you find him, you bring him to me. As unharmed as possible.”

Maz and Sidon stare at each other a moment longer before Sidon nods. “Very well.”

“Good,” she places her hands on her hips. “There is a pilot that is currently working out of Lothal. He might be able to point you in his direction. I will send you his information.”

“Thank you,” Quiggold says as they start to lead Maz off the ship. when she’s walking down the ramp Quiggold calls out to her, “this kid we’re after, he got a name?”

Maz pauses after stepping onto Takodana soil. She glances up at them. “He goes by Fives.”

The ship flies through hyperspace turning their view into thousands of streaks of passing stars. Kix inspects his blaster mostly so he’s not just staring at the ship walls. His mind reels. Rex is a father. His stole a Seppie memory core. His name is Fives. Kix falls back in his chair with a sigh. He rests the back of his head on the headrest so he’s staring up at the ship ceiling. It doesn’t seem quite real to Kix. Not that much did nowadays. It’s not like clones couldn’t have kids but he’s never known anyone to actually do it. Of course, they never had many chances to form real relationships with anyone outside of the army. He thinks back to a time when Jesse was convinced that he was love with a yellow twi’lek. She had broken it off after the first date. He had gotten over her by convincing Hardcase to throw eggs off of the barracks building with him. He can still hear Wolffe yelling when they accidently pelted the Commander in the back of the head. Before, that memory would have made Kix smile. Now it just sends aches through his chest.

“We’ll be dropping out of hyperspace in 3… 2…” Quiggold counts off until the bright streaks fade, and the image of a planet appears before them. Kix leans forward taking the planet in. Kix had never been to Lothal before. He felt like he should feel excitement or maybe even nerves of going somewhere new. But he felt nothing.

“Maz says our contact can be found on the outskirts of Lothal City.” Squeaky announces without looking up from his datapad.

“Lothal City on the planet Lothal? Very original.” Reeg mutters from his seat. Sidon stays standing with his arms crossed not saying a word. They lower the ship into the planet’s atmosphere and manage to lock on to some coordinates. They lower the Shrike down a short way from the base of a communication tower where Maz said the pilot would be. Everyone geared up like they were planning on going in blasters blazing. Kix couldn’t blame them. Fives made quick work to them; they weren’t about to let it happen again. The Corsair crew, named after one of Sidon’s many nicknames, had a reputation to uphold. Maz had said to bring Fives back as unharmed as possible. Kix guessed the kid would be lucky if he was still breathing by the time they delivered him to Maz.

Kix slips his helmet on before stepping off the Shrike’s ramp. Part of him wanted to take in the sunlight and enjoy the gentle breeze over the rolling landscape, but he needed to be as prepared as the others. He hasn’t gotten used to wearing his helmet with a full beard yet. Having hair on his head was annoying enough but the itchiness that stretches along his jaw was beyond irritating. He gives a few uncomfortable twitches and follows the others. While approaching the communication tower it was clear that the structure next to it was as new addition. The walls were a little to bright compared to the faded paint on the tower. When they reach the building, they can hear people mulling around inside. Reveth creeps up to the corner next to the garage opening and begins to signal for the others. Before any stealth maneuvers can be done, Sidon walks straight past her. She lowers her hand and gets to her feet with a frown. They may have prepared for a fight, but Sidon must not be expecting it. Or maybe he knows something they don’t?

They find themselves walking straight into the garage. Inside is a light freighter with clear wear and tear from years of possible battle. Kix keeps a tight grip on his blaster and follows their captain further inside before movement from the lowered freighter ramp gives them pause. A large… something walks down the ramp and readies her blaster. She’s covered in purple fur and Kix can’t place the species. He first thought Wookie but that doesn’t seem right.

“You’re trespassing on private land.” She calls out. Sidon doesn’t move but the rest of the crew tenses up. Sidon holds his hand silently towards Quiggold, and Quiggold carefully reaches into his pocket and retrieves the puck with the image of Fives. He hands it to their captain.

“I’m looking for your captain. Maz Kanata told us he could help us track this man down.” Sidon tosses the puck towards the woman. She catches it in her large hands but doesn’t take her eyes off them until the image of Fives lights up. Her eyes widen and then narrow. She curses under her breath and lowers her blaster making the crew lighten up. She gives a slight nod and disappears into the ship. They wait until they see two figures emerge from the ramp. A man stands with the puck in his hand. His eyes are locked on Sidon who still doesn’t move. The man has green hair that is pulled back into a low ponytail and Kix thinks he can see some green on the tips of his ears.

“The Crimson Corsair, I’ve heard much about you.” The man says from the ramp. Sidon nods his head slightly. The man glances down at the puck before meeting the captains gaze and tossing his chin towards the ship, signaling them to follow. They keep their guard up but enter the light freighter all the same. Inside, they’re led to a sitting area where a man sits playing Dejarik with a blue nautolan. When the man with green hair walks by, he shuts it off. The man sitting frowns and then stands surprised by the Corsair crew entering the small room. The nautolan stares at them from her seat with an unreadable expression.

“On behalf of myself and my crew, welcome to the Ghost,” The man with green hair stands on the other side of the room. The purple something stands next to him still wearing a deep frown. Now that the man who was playing Dejarik is standing, Kix can make out the Mandalorian armor. Kix gets a sour taste in his mouth. “I’m Jacen Syndulla, captain of this ship.”

“Syndulla, eh? Any relation to the pilot that helped start the rebellion?” Quiggold muses next to Sidon.

“She’s my mother, actually.” Jacen nods slightly. Quiggold doesn’t say anything else, just mumbles a few incoherent words of slight amazement. The Mandalorian stands next to Jacen with his arms crossed and eyes narrowed. Kix doesn’t take his eyes off him and feels his hands tighten on his blaster. Jacen cuts the tension with a sigh and lights up the puck revealing the image of Fives. “So, you’re looking for Fives? Why?”

“He has something of ours.” Quiggold answers. The Mandalorian rolls his eyes, and the purple woman shakes her head with a sigh. Jacen tosses the puck to Sidon who catches it seamlessly.

“Unfortunately, I don’t know where he’s at. He used to fly with us but… we had a few disagreements that led to him leaving.” Jacen shrugs his shoulders with eyes darting to the left. The Mandalorian snorts.

“That’s an understatement.” The Mandalorian shifts his weight with an eyeroll. Jacen eyes him slightly but keeps going.

“If Maz sent you then I feel inclined to help. She doesn’t give information about the family to just anyone.” Jacen studies the crew intently. Kix tilts his head. It’s because of him. Because Kix is a clone and a friend of Rex. Kix lets out a short sigh and steps forward. The Mandalorian sizes him up, ready to attack the second Kix steps out of line. Kix slings his blaster over his shoulder and reaches up to pull his helmet off. There’s a slight hiss from the seal of the helmet and then the soft gasp of the Ghost crew. Kix steadies his helmet in his hands staring at it to compose himself before lifting his eyes to the others. The faces of the woman, Jacen, and Mandalorian soften into shocked and almost sad expressions.

“Karabast…” the woman breathes with her shoulders relaxing. The Mandalorian, now lowering his guard, seems much less menacing from before. The nautolan still stares with an unreadable expression. Jacen blinks a few times with his jaw slightly dropped.

“Are you a… son of a clone?” he asks carefully. Kix swallows and steadies himself before speaking.

“No,” his voice sounds odd, as if it wasn’t him speaking at all. Everyone is staring at him, waiting for his response. He finds himself telling Jacen and his crew everything. How he tried to warn General Skywalker about the chips, getting captured by the Seppies, waking up 50 years later to this. When he’s done, he feels lightheaded. He hasn’t spoken this much since they first pulled him from his stasis pod. Jacen runs a hand through his green hair, digesting everything Kix has said.

“You really fought beside Rex in the Clone Wars?” the purple woman asks. Kix nods.

“Yeah, he was my captain. There was no one I trusted more.” Kix feels his chest tighten. The Mandalorian stares at the ship floor with his lips pressed into a tight line. Jacen places his hands on his hips.

“Alright then,” Jacen says finally, “we’ll help you find Fives.”

“Are you sure?” The Mandalorian snaps his head towards Jacen. Jacen pats his shoulder.

“Yeah,” Jacen gives a soft smile. He opens his mouth to say more but is interrupted when something hard rams into Kix’s legs. He stumbles forward, catching himself on the Dejarik table nearly running into the nautolan woman. He looks back to see a small orange droid fussing at him with its droid arms flailing in the air.

“Cut it out Chopper!” Jacen barks. The droid grumbles and speeds towards Jacen, nearly hitting him, and disappears through the ship doors. Jacen shakes his head. “Sorry about that, he’s a bit…” when he can’t find the right word he just goes “Eh?”

Kix rubs his bruised legs completely taken off by the droid’s sudden attack. Pendewqell gives a sudden snort, “That’s great and all, but how can you help us if you don’t know where he is?”

“I may not know where he is, but I do know a place he frequented when he was still a part of my crew.” Jacen crosses his arms with a smile. The Corsair crew looks to Sidon for his opinion.

“Kix, Reveth, and Pendewqell will accompany you. The rest will stay behind to repair the Shrike.” Sidon puts one hand on his hip. Jacen nods agreeing but the Corsair crew tenses. At least Reeg and Squeaky do. Kix couldn’t blame them. Repair the ship really meant cleaning all the paint off the walls. Sidon leads most of the crew back to the Shrike, leaving Kix, Reveth, and Pendewqell. With it just them now, Jacen walks over and claps the back of Kix’s shoulder. Kix tenses under the sudden touch.

“Glad to have you on board!” Jacen gives a wide smile. Kix can only manage a nod and follows him to the ships bridge. The droid is plugged into the side of the ship, so Kix makes sure to give it a wide berth. The purple woman takes a seat in the copilot chair and the Mandalorian and nautolan take seats behind them.

“Where are you taking us?” Reveth asks, still keeping her guard up. Pendewqell stands next to her looking just as tense.

“Fives used to frequent a bar called Qal Tic on Coruscant. He and the owner are,” Jacen pauses awkwardly before saying, “close. If anyone knows where Fives is its him.”

“What makes you think he’ll just willingly give us Fives location?” the woman asks while prepping the ship for flight.

“Fives pissed off the Crimson Corsair. If that doesn’t make him reveal where Fives is, then nothing will.” Jacen gives the woman a wink. “Besides, he’s not my only lead.”

She rolls her eyes. Kix finds a seat behind the Mandalorian when the Ghost begins to take off. Pendewqell claims a seat behind the silent nautolan and Reveth is determined to keep standing. When the Ghost starts to leave Lothal’s atmosphere the Mandalorian turns to him.

“So, you really knew Uncle Rex back in his prime?” the Mandalorian arches a brow at him but wears a smile. Kix nods. Uncle?

Kix shifts uneasily in his seat. “So how did you know Rex?”

“He was good friends with my parents back when they were taking the Empire down. He used to babysit me, Jacen, and Azil.” He nods towards Jacen and the purple woman.

Kix nods. “Got a name?”