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heavenseed76 · 15 days

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This fic is for @starjedi86

Prompt: "You're my home too, you know

Minors DO NOT ENGAGE, there be adult themes here!

The Commander

Your days as a padawan were not what you expected. From the safety of the temple, you were quickly installed on Kamino and learning intergalactic diplomacy, military strategy, training and so much more. The clones were your focus as soon as your Master expressed interest in overseeing their training. It was not the adventure you had anticipated when you were chosen as a padawan, but as you came closer to your trials, it became something of a passion.

The clones were good men, loyal, trustworthy and engineered with hearts of gold. It was hard not to fall in love with each of them you came in contact with. Their force signatures were unique and beautiful, and it pained you to know most of the would never return to Kamino. Those bright lights would be snuffed out in a matter of weeks. It was truly a test of your Jedi skill not to let that make you bitter. And as the war came to a close, you thought you saw the end of losing men you’d grown fond of.

Oh how wrong you were.

Something terrible was going to happen. You felt it in your gut, a sharp sense of dread in the force. Your master, General Shaak Ti, could feel it too. A storm cloud coalesced around the young clone Omega, Nala Se’s pet project. Master Ti told you to run, to hide, to find a ship and just go. She told you to take the maintenance corridors instead of the main hallways. Take only what you could carry on your person, her stash of credits and your lightsaber. Squeezing her as she embraced your much smaller body against her familiar robes, you fought off your tears. You didn’t look back.

You hid until it was quiet, taking refuge in a crate filled with rations. You filled your pockets and crammed as many as you could into your already over-stuffed pack of necessities and waited. You waited even though you felt the moment your bond with Master Ti was severed, the moment she became one with the force. Silent tears stained your sweaty face, but still, you waited.

In the hangar, troopers were bringing out gear and supplies that looked like personal belongings. You listened, learning Omega was in the brig. When a lone ship parked outside the hanger and Clone Force 99 entered, you watched and listened.

“Find Omega and meet back at the ship,” Hunter said.

You wanted to warn them that they were being watched, but it was your chance. As the squad was taken into custody, stripped of their gear and marched inside Tipoca City, the urge to run out into the storm and to their ship had you starting to creep out of your hiding place. Patience, young Padawan, you heard your master’s voice in your mind like a cool breeze.

“The Admiral wants their ship brought in and put in storage mode.” The voice of a clone rang out close to your hiding place and you stiffened. Sweat broke out on your brow. You held your breath.

“I’ll bring it in if you want to start reports.” Yet another clone replied, coming closer as he spoke.

You nearly lost control of your bladder. But closing your eyes and pulling on the force, you calmed your racing heart and sat still and silent in your crate, listening to the sound of the ship being brought into the hangar. The two clones chatted about their assignments, and were soon exiting the hangar after the others, leaving you in the damp darkness. Looking at your chrono, you planned. Fifteen minutes and you would close the bay doors to the halls of Tipoca City. Peering over the crate you could see the controls. Then you would load as much of the crate of rations you were hiding in into the abandoned ship and go. The hangar doors to the raging storm outside were still open, the planet beyond cloaked in darkness and the static of heavy rain.

Fifteen minutes later pressed your mind out toward the bay doors, cutting off Tipoca City from the hangar and leapt out of the crate. With haste you turned on the skid and quickly moved the rations to the ship, opening the cargo door and beginning to load boxes into the space. When the cargo space was full you called upon the Force to bring the last remaining cases into the ship. You winced as the gangplank lowered, pausing for a long moment to make sure you were still alone. Only the sound of wind and rain and your own heavy breathing stilled your rabbiting heart and you quickly floated the rations into the ship.

The modified Omicron-class attack shuttle was not a model you had flown before. Taking a look around, you noted that the men who used this ship had made it a home. Posters on the walls and personal touches here and there made it obvious that this was not just a means of transport. A ship was a ship however and this one was a means of staying alive. Sitting down in the pilot’s seat, you assessed the instrument panel and adjusted the yoke to be more comfortable for your smaller frame. The seat protested as it moved from a position it had apparently been in for quite some time. The fuel gauge was reading at nearly full and the emergency reserve was full. Good. You began taking the ship out of full shut-down, restarting the primary generator, hyperdrive and engine. It was rare that a ship was completely shut down. It’s electric generator was usually kept running to allow pilots to jump in and start it up quickly. The generator powered the instrument panel, security functions and allowed the primary flight engines to be engaged. This would take a minute.

It was a minute you didn’t have by the sound of the bay doors opening and the hurried footsteps of several individuals had you whipping your head around.

“Everybody gear up. We’re going after Crosshair. Tech, get this ship ready to go.” The Sargent’s voice was tight. The others could be heard clasping armor onto their bodies. One of them was looking for something in particular.

“You won’t have to go far.” The younger voice was female, but clearly the accent of the clones on Kamino. Omega.

“Is that Crosshair?” A sense of dread and wrongness swirled through the words. You were frozen in place, listening to the clones and feeling something bright fall loose at the seams. Something was being broken: a trust, a brotherhood.

Blaster fire jerked you out of your daze, and footsteps up the gangplank had you reaching for your lightsaber.

“Commander?” A clone wearing goggles stood at the cockpit door, his helmet slipping from his arms. “What are you doing here?”

You floundered for a moment, gaping at him. “Escaping Kamino, same as you.” The two of you regarded one another for a long moment.

“Tech! Get this ship in the air!” The cry from outside had you both in action.

You turned back to the controls and began the start-up sequence. The clone reached over you and flicked a few extra switches over your head.

“Can you fly?”

“Yes, just get everyone on board.” You instructed, priming the fuel tanks and hoping that it really wasn’t necessary. The clone went back to the gangplank, blasters drawn. The engines roared to life.

“What the hell is going on Tech?” The Sargent’s voice was high and panicked.

“We’re on!” The goggles clone called, his voice strained. Tech, then.

You punched the engine and grabbed the yoke, taking no time to take stock of who was on board. You were singularly focused on getting as far away from Kamino as possible.

“Who is flying this ship?” A more gruff voice asked.

“The commander. Master Shaak Ti’s padawan.” Tech replied.

“Hold still!” “Ow!” “You’ll be fine.” “Is this what you were looking for?” “My Lula!” A girlish giggle. You listened, but your focus was flying on flying the ship.

“Commander.” The Sargent’s voice approached you cautiously, slowly sliding into the periphery of your vision.

“Sargent Hunter.” Your eyes slid toward him, finding his face stoic. Cold.

“So you’re our stowaway?”

You chuckled humorlessly. “I suppose I am. I… I didn’t think you would be back.” Having broken atmosphere with no one following, you switched on the autopilot. Swiveling around in the chair, you faced Hunter fully. “I’m sorry.”

Hunter rubbed his face. He looked tired. Indeed, his presence in the Force was heavy.

Omega, Tech and a giant of a clone supported by his brothers stepped into the cockpit.

“Commander!” The pale clone with cybernetic modifications stood up straighter, pulling his much larger brother up with him. The bigger man winced and rubbed at his shoulder.

“Ow! Did we steal a Jedi?” The larger clone looked mortified.

“No. I think the Jedi was trying to steal our ship.” Hunter supplied.

You floundered for words.

“I think the Commander was just in the right place at the right time.” Omega chimed in.

You let your relief and gratitude waft over to the girl through the Force. “I’m sorry. I… I needed a way out. I filled the cargo hold with rations… If it’s any consolation.”

Hunter sighed, the others looking to him for direction. “We’re all in the same predicament, I guess. Were you headed anywhere particular?”

You bit your lip and shook your head. “I’m afraid anywhere I go I’ll be recognized as a Jedi. I can’t go back to Coruscant.”

“How about your friends?” Omega asked, turning to the clones. “Could any of them help us?”

“That would be a short list.” Tech readjusted his goggles on his face. “Excuse me Commander, you are in my seat.”

You scrambled out of the pilot’s seat and stood behind it sheepishly. “Sorry.”

“Well, there is one place.” Hunter considered. “Tech, set a course for J-19.”

“What’s at J-19?” The pale clone asked, beating you to the punch.

Hunter grinned. “We know a guy.”

A sense of wonder and adventure began pouring off Omega. She walked into the cockpit proper, gazing out the window.

“You’ve never been off Kamino, have you?” You asked delicately.

“I’ve never been anywhere.” She replied.

Hunter glanced at you. “You’re not going to want to miss this view.” He offered her the copilot’s seat as Tech prepped the hyperdrive.

Waiting until Omega was sat down, Tech counted down to the hyperspace jump. The stretched stars painted her irises in swirling blue light, a tiny smile playing on her lips. Hunter watched the girl fondly. He looked up to find you watching him. He nodded toward midship in a silent bid for you to follow.

***

Hunter, Tech, Wrecker, Echo and Omega: your new squad for the foreseeable future. They took your presence on their ship in stride, more than a little grateful for the extra rations. In the interest of transparency, you offered the credits you’d taken from Master Ti’s quarters, which Hunter tucked away in a safe compartment.

You told them, as calmly as possible, how you felt a great rending tear in the Force, and then there were troopers at the door, yelling about treason. You explained how you skirted the armed men and found your Master distraught, taken her instruction to heart and ran. They told you, as succinctly as they could, about Kaller, Master Billaba and Caleb Dume. Crosshair’s fall into a dark, dark place. Saw Gererra on Onderon. The Empire. It was a lot to take in. Grief, disbelief, despair permeated the air of the ship.

When you’d finally had enough and couldn’t stop the tears from falling, it was Echo’s warm hand on your back, rubbing slow circles of comfort there as the others drifted away. Echo offered you a blanket, apologizing for not having anything better. You waved him off with a thin smile and took the blanket. Curling up in the seat at the midship computer, you fell into a fitful sleep. You were quite aware of his eyes on you.

Cut and Suu were a surprise. A defector going off to live the life of a father and a farmer and a husband? It wasn’t something you ever considered. But here they were, living a quiet life, and preparing to find something even more remote. Jek and Shaaeha were in awe of you. They pulled you bodily into their game of catch with Omega. You delighted the three of them with Force tricks on the ball, hovering it just above their heads. Taking pity on the giggling children, you floated Jek up to the ball as he howled with laughter. Echo and Hunter watched you from the doorway. Hunter grinned, while Echo scowled.

“You have eyes on you.” Suu said as you helped her pack a small bag of clothing.

Your blank stare made her laugh.

“Echo tracks your every move, you know.” Sun’s blue eyes crinkled at the corners as she spoke. “They are all very fond of you, but there is something there.”

You floundered for words. “I’m very fond of all of them.”

“Don’t look so scared! You are no longer bound to your old way of life. We all need a little joy in these dark times.” Suu shrugged, “Take what happiness you can.”

You fell into contemplation then. It was broken only by the sound of Hunter yelling at Tech through the comlink.

Later, after getting Cut, Suu and their children on a transport off-world, fighting off a squad of troopers and needing to use your lightsaber to cut the ship free of a mag-boot, it felt like you were back where you started, wondering where to go and what to do.

Echo sat watching you sleep, wondering whether his luck was bad or good. He’d been blown up, but he’d lived and been found. Now, the one person he’d never thought he’d see again was living in close quarters with him. You, the Commander. Like most clones, you were one of the few women they’d ever seen, let alone interacted with, and for a handful, you were a first crush they would never forget. Echo was one such clone. His deep dive into regulation manuals was all about you. What were the regulations on asking you to film night in the barracks? Was he allowed to ask you to spar? If anyone found out he had a crush on you, would he be decommissioned? Would you? For all his squad teased him about how often he would wax poetic about you, he loved you all the more.

Here though, in the Marauder, there were few places where a person wasn’t in close proximity to someone else. Echo tried valiantly to both be where he could be of help to you, and keep his distance. It was a difficult dance. And you knew. It was hard not to feel the attraction, interest and desire rolling off Echo from everywhere in the ship. You couldn’t read his mind, per se, but you could feel all the things he wasn’t doing a very good job of hiding. Everyone else felt a kinship with you, especially after fighting off Fennec Shand on Pantora, but Echo’s affinity for you was loud.

In those first few weeks, finding warmth in the vast vacuum of space was difficult. You knew most of the other Jedi were gone. You hid your abilities as well as you could and the disconnect from the Force was painful. You were uncomfortable in your own skin.

“Why don’t you take my rack, Commander. I have first watch.” Echo offered, extending his hand to where you sat on the floor, trying to rest.

“I couldn’t –” You started.

He finished, “I insist.”

He held your hand all the way to the small sleeping compartment, tucking the thin blanket over your shoulders. You smiled at him, grateful. His pale face turned a lovely shade of pink.

From then on he would take the watch shift before you, and “forget” to wake you for yours. He found you liked tea, rather than caf and somehow snagged you some. And those nights when you couldn’t sleep, he kept you company watching the stars race by in the cockpit. Echo was a perfect gentleman and it was driving you crazy. He would volunteer to stay behind with the ship whenever the squad went to meet with Cid, knowing you were too big of a liability. Cid would sell you out in a heartbeat. A bonafide Jedi would leave her set for life; the bounty for any Jedi was more money than any of you could fathom.

One such night, sitting in the cockpit, watching the Ord Mantell life move on around the ship, you finally opened yourself to Echo. Feeling stagnate and very much alone, you broke the silence.

“What are we doing, Echo?” You asked, feet up on the dash, hugging your knees.

Echo swallowed a drink from the canteen he had up to his lips. “Waiting for the others.” He side-eyed you.

“We’re stuck in this ship for days on end, all six of us… And I still feel so lonely. You are all so lovely, but there’s this distance, you know? I don’t know if its because you’re used to having a Jedi as a commanding officer or because I’m natborn, or a woman…”

“You don’t feel like you’re a part of this team?” Echo said softly.

You looked over at him and nodded, your throat suddenly feeling tight, tears springing to your eyes. Echo reached over and put him scomp on your shoulder.

“When I came back, from Skako Minor, I didn’t think I fit anywhere either. Sometimes I still don’t. I don’t do well with solitude, never have. But now, with all this,” he gestured to his cybernetics, “Well, lets just say I’m not very huggable anymore.” His smile was thin and sad.

“Is it true what Master Ti told me about cadets making cuddle piles and sleeping in each other’s bunks?” You quipped.

“Cadets?” Echo scoffed. “The Bad Batch did it all the time before Omega. Fives and I used to -” Grief zinged through him, nearly visibly in the Force; he swallowed thickly. “We slept in the same bunk a lot. It helped, with the nightmares.”

“You miss him a lot, don’t you?” Your voice, soft and full of understanding, made Echo want to tell you everything.

He looked out the viewport. “I do. I miss all my brothers from the 501st. But Fives was… special.”

You reached over and put a hand on Echo’s thigh. “I know,” you said, “I know he was.”

Echo met your eyes and smiled.

It was easier then, to sit shoulder to shoulder with Echo, to touch him and silently ask for those little touches that make human beings feel like people. His scowl slowly morphed into an eager, wide-eyed smile whenever you came near. If the rest of the squad noticed, they didn’t say anything.

After a failed mission to Corellia, Tech was too wired to sleep, sending Echo to the back of the ship to rest. Wrecker rattled the odds and ends loose in the ship with his snoring as Hunter slept soundly with a pair of headphones over his ears. Echo crept to the storage locker and grabbed another blanket as quietly as he could. As he carefully started back to the seats at the midship computer, you reached out from his bunk to graze your fingers along his as he passed. He gave a start, leaning down to see you smirking from under your own blanket.

“You can keep my bunk.” Echo said quietly.

You shook your head. “I’m cold.”

Ever the gentleman, Echo shook out the blanket he was holding and began to drape it over you. He kneeled on the thin mattress to better cover you, but as he moved away, you captured his scomp link and pulled him close.

“I meant, we can share,” you offered, lifting both blankets and scooting as close to the bulkhead as you could.

Echo blinked at you.

Then he slipped between the blankets next to you, bringing his arm under your head to let you lay against his unarmored chest. It took a moment for you both to find a comfortable position in the tiny space, but as you settled, it began to feel as though you should have always been there, holding his cybernetic arm against your chest as his big hand lay splayed against your back. You could hear his very human heart thumping in his chest. It was a long time before it slowed and you both fell asleep.

Rex was unexpected. It was a balm to Echo’s soul to know one of his closest brothers was alive and fighting. And for Rex, guilt, sorrow and disbelief enveloped you both as he embraced you. He spent awhile with the squad at Cid’s before they brought him back to the ship. You didn’t know each other well, but with so many Jedi lost, just knowing one survived was clearly something he needed to see with his own eyes. He let one traitorous tear fall before he got ahold of himself and was able to explain his involvement with the women you’d met on Corellia. The bubble burst when Wrecker’s recurring headache made an appearance, which had Rex reaching for his blaster, demanding they all get their chips removed. You stood at the top of the gangplank and pulled it out of his hand with the Force, the entire squad startled. You didn’t use your gift often, for fear of detection, but you weren’t going to let anyone pull a blaster on your men.

“You tell us how to get these chips out, Captain.” You said icily, letting Echo pull the blaster out of your grasp.

“It’s alright cyare,” Echo said quietly, tossing the blaster back to Rex.

A look was exchanged between Rex and Hunter. “I have an idea on how to make that happen. I’ll be in touch.” Rex looked from Echo to you and back again, a grin playing on his lips, before walking quickly out of the hangar.

It wasn’t long until Rex sent coordinates to Bracca. To see the rusting corpses of the ships and transports was a startling reminder of all you had lost. And when Wrecker’s chip activated, you nearly gave up. The gentle giant of a man who had become like a brother in the months since the end of the war turned into a wholly different person, dead set on ending your life. It was the first time since leaving Kamino that you broke down and cried. For Wrecker, for the souls lost in battles fought with these skeletonized ships all around you, for your uncertain future.

Holding Omega behind yourself, you pleaded with Wrecker. “You don’t want to hurt us Wrecker. We’re your friends. Your family.” The sound of Rex’s blaster cut through your fragile voice and as the big man fell in front of you, a sob of relief and resign left your lips.

And as Echo held you and you all waited for Wrecker to wake, you made a silent promise. No more waiting. No more wasting time. There might not be a tomorrow. So as Echo lay down on the table to get his chip taken out, you pressed a lingering, but chaste kiss to his lips.

“I’ll be here when you wake up,” you reassured him. He held on to your hand until he fell unconscious.

Turning around, Rex and the rest of the squad just stood there, grinning back at you.

Walking through the Venator with Echo was spooky. Gathering ordinance and information would definitely clear your debt with Cid, but something was setting your teeth on edge.

“Whatever happened to the plan to find a planet and just lay low? Start over?” You asked as Echo stopped the cart on which you had taken a ride to the armory.

“Cid happened,” he shrugged. “Once we pay her back, we’ll be able to move on.” He began placing empty crates on the cart.

You snorted a laugh. “Cid would sell her own mother for a profit if she could.”

“We don’t know she hasn’t.” Echo smirked as he set a crate down next to you, bringing his face close.

It was like you had been doing it all along, this tantalizing display of affection. Your smiles met, fitting perfectly together in a slow kiss. He bent over onto the crate to lean more fully into it as you wrapped your arms around his neck.

“Less smoochin, more moochin!” Wrecker’s big voice filled the tomb-like space. He passed you both to grab a large case of explosives.

Echo met your eyes, delight sparking behind his golden irises as he pulled away.

And then all hell broke loose.

***

Losing Omega to another bounty hunter was devastating. Hunter was very nearly killed. You could do little to assist in finding her, other than offering the guys your strength and hope. It was ultimately your faith in Omega that brought her back to you unharmed; you knew she was a smart, capable girl who could think on her feet.

In the wake of losing Omega and finding her again, the subject of going to ground was once again at the forefront of your mind. Once Omega was safely in the gunner’s nest, you closed the blast door to the cockpit and started the long-overdue conversation.

“What’s the plan fellas? There are bounty hunters after Omega because what, she’s got first generation Fett DNA?” You sat on the armrest of Echo’s seat, rubbing the cold of space from your arms. “We should have taken Cut’s advice and gone off on our own.”

“Can we do that if we still owe Cid?” Wrecker asked.

Tech pushed his goggles up,“Cid is problematic,” he said.

Hunter sighed. “Is it worth it to have Cid after us too?”

Echo sat up in his seat, putting an arm around your waist. “If we can keep off the bounty hunter’s radar, we can stay off hers.”

“This indentured servitude Cid has us in is bullshit.” You swiped a hand over your tired eyes.

Everyone fell silent, despair and worry permeating the Force around you. Omega was safely ensconced in her little room in the gunner’s nest. Away from you all.

“Wait.” You shook your head as an idea began to form. Everyone turned to you with hope in their eyes. “We’re looking at this all wrong. Why can’t we do both?”

“What do you mean?” Wrecker asked, scratching at his inhibitor chip scar.

“I mean, what if we found a place to lay low, Omega and I? Then you can pull jobs for Cid until she’s paid off.”

Echo shook his head. “I don’t like the idea of separating.”

You smiled down at him. “It would only be for a little while. She and I are your biggest liability.”

“Omega is going to hate this idea.” Hunter said, sitting back in his seat, thoughtful.

Tech looked up from his datapad. “We’ll have to encrypt the the flight logs on the Marauder. Perhaps sell it before we come back.”

“But, you’ll be on your own!” Wrecker looked sick at the prospect.

“We’ll have time to get a proper home set up for you. I still have the credits from my Master.” You rubbed Echo’s shoulders, giving him as reassuring a smile as you could.

“The plan is solid. Selling the ship just before we disappear will give us a little bit of a cushion.” Tech said.

With a heavy sigh, Hunter nodded his agreement. “Let’s research planets to settle down on.”

Parting ways with the men of Clone Force 99 would be bittersweet. There would be no contact until they could come back on their own. After touching down in the northern hemisphere of Sorgan, among the mountains and forests, you all set to work in earnest. You had picked a large clearing near a tributary of a large river. While Sorgan wasn’t completely uninhabited, you were far from any population centers. Tech’s long-range scans picked up several small villages at least two days away on foot. Taking Omega’s medical droid AZI and the GONK droid from the ship to keep on the planet was a measured decision in the interest of safety. If either you or Omega were injured, there would be no other help.

For a week, you all toiled over a small shelter dug into the side of a large hill, reinforced with lumber from the surrounding forest. It wasn’t luxurious by any means, but it would do. Tech set up a security perimeter and Hunter fashioned a culvert that diverted fish from the main stream which made it easy to pluck them out of the water. Echo helped you catalog all the flora that could be eaten, digging up a few berry bushes and plucking edible mushrooms to seed the areas near your new home.

It was on one such walk on a hot afternoon that Echo finally broke the tension that had been bubbling between you, knowing it wouldn’t be long before you parted. The Sorgan sun was making the ports in his skull glisten like fairy lights as you walked along the newly worn path.

“I’m going to miss you,” Echo said softly, breaking the comfortable silence. He glanced over to you and was met with your sad smile.

“You’ll make it back to me.” You took his hand in yours. “I can feel it.”

Echo stopped walking and leaned down to kiss you. His lips were soft and tentative on yours. He pulled away and looked into your eyes, his own golden brown orbs serious and steely. He said your name like a prayer before taking your lips again and pushing you against the nearest tree. In only his lower armor, you could wrap your arms around him, feel the lithe musculature of his back under your hands. He held you there, pressed as close as two people could get, as if he could sink into you. As you ran your hands down his abdomen, he sucked in a sharp breath and pulled away, resting his forehead against yours, squeezing his eyes closed tight. You could feel his arousal, his distinct walls thrown up haphazardly, trying to keep his desire at bay. He whispered your name again, this time as a curse.

You threw all caution to the sweet forest wind. “I want you, Echo.” You breathed the words against his lips and he trembled, pressing impossibly closer.

“You can’t just say things like that cyare.” He pressed his cheek against yours.

You pulled Echo impossibly closer. “This might be our only chance.”

His eyes popped open. “I don’t want to claim you as mine and just fly off.” His voice cracked with emotion.

You smiled then. Your beautiful, honorable Echo, holding himself back. “Cyar’ika, I’m already yours.” You pressed up on your toes to kiss him fully.

Something broke inside Echo then, and the air swirled eddies of leaves around you as he reached under your thighs and carried you away from the path. He lay you down on a patch of moss in the sunshine, his adoration clear on his face. You giggled (giggled!) as he hastily pulled off the remainder of his armor and helped you out of your clothes. And when you were bare to each other, he lay down next to you on the forest floor a tiny smile of satisfaction on his lips. His big hand caressed down your body, mapping every dip and curve as it went. His scomp link as cool on the small of your back where you lay in his arms. His body was a work of art, human skin and solid muscle studded with access ports and cybernetics.

Echo was intent on experiencing every cry and whimper he could pull from you as he explored your body with his mouth and hand. Even his cybernetic limb helped hold you down as you squirmed beneath him when his lips found your sex wet and wanting. You came apart on his tongue, chanting his name like a song, his eyes never leaving your face. And as you blinked up at the jewel blue sky and he kissed the inside of your thighs, you knew you’d never have anything or anyone more perfect. The look of utter bliss as you stroked him and then guided him inside you would live forever in your memory. He kissed you breathless, letting you both adjust for a moment, letting you taste yourself on his lips. Then he was moving inside you like he was always meant to be there, making your body sing. His hand was tangled in your hair and his other arm kept your leg hiked over his hip. Birds flew overhead, calling out as if sharing your joy. You could feel the coil tightening quickly inside you both, the end coming much too fast. He tucked his head against your throat, his lips against your ear, hips stuttering.

“Ni kar’tayl gar darasuum, ner mesh’la dala,” he rasped into your ear as the coil threatened to snap. “Gar cuyir ner yaim.” He pressed himself as deeply as he could as your bodies both sparked and snapped in bliss.

It was twilight before you found the energy to make the walk back to your little homestead. You wanted to stay wrapped up in him forever, walking back tucked under his arm. As the fire outside your little home came into view, you realized this might be the last time you were together alone for awhile. You wrapped your arms around Echo and looked up into his honeyed gaze.

“You’re my home too, you know?” You said softly.

Even in the waning light you could see his cheeks darken to a lovely shade of pink. He simply kissed your forehead and pulled you along to the camp.

Two days later you and Omega watched the Marauder lift off from the emerald green lawn of the Sorgan forest for the last time.

Time passes slowly when you’re waiting for someone to return. But as you struggle to survive in the forest, with only a growing teenager and two droids for company, the days seem to pass quickly. It’s a strange dichotomy. You struggle with monotony, with the unknown, with longing. You learn a lot about yourself and about raising a child as you wait, time for trial and error you seem to have in abundance. Omega, in her infinite desire to explore, found a krill pond a few hours hike from your home. She promptly endeavored to replicate their habitat closer to home and soon had a deep, square pond dug. It took her over a standard month to see the handful of krill she caught flourish into a sustainable ecosystem, but her patience paid off. You spent your days tending to the little garden next to your home, gathering wild tubers in the forest and trying your hand at different crafts with the natural materials all around you. About two months after the squad left, you found a family of quail on the other side of the stream. They showed no fear and you were able to sneak a few of their eggs away while they roosted in the trees. Until your snares proved useful, the quail eggs were a nice addition to your staple of wild-caught fish.

You didn’t see another human being for six months. Your clothes had gone threadbare and Omega was growing so fast you thought she might have to go naked if any of her clothing got any shorter on her limbs. It was not without trepidation that you ventured to the closest village with what dried fish and quails eggs you could spare to trade. The locals gave you a wide berth as you entered their village late on the third day of your journey, an elderly woman you came to know as Hilde welcoming you. They spoke basic and were very hospitable. They fed you and found you both new clothes. Omega was delighted by the other children, wearing herself out playing tag. Laden with food, seeds and cloth, you left the little village with knowledge and friendship, promising to return with more eggs when you could.

You were content for the first time in a long time as you came to the last few miles of your journey home, Omega chattering about the other children and all she had learned about the krill. She was not to be deterred from learning to brew spotchka, even if she wasn’t allowed any. You were more excited about using the brew to dye your new cloth. But as you came to the well-worn path to home, you stopped. The smell of smoke and dust burned your nostrils and you dropped your laden pack where you stood. Omega’s eyes grew large as she saw you freeze, setting her own pack down in the dust as well. You motioned for her to stay put as you went around the security perimeter Tech had set up so long ago. You got halfway around to where you could see the back of the compound, an unfamiliar freighter having touched down on the other side of the stream. Someone had started a fire in the fire pit and made themselves comfortable. Something was frying over the fire and voices could be heard in the camp.

Just as familiarity washed over you, Omega’s yell echoed across the camp.

“Hunter!”

The man himself came barreling out of your home as Omega came running down the path. She launched herself at him and held on tight.

Wrecker and Tech came into view, all wearing civilian clothing. You came out of your hiding place, your heart lighter than it had been in months.

“Commander!” Wrecker pulled you into a bear hug, lifting you off your feet. You squeezed him back, reveling in his presence and the joy radiating from each of them.

You hugged each of them in turn, Wrecker, Tech and Hunter…. As you pulled from Hunter’s embrace, they all turned toward the stream where two men stood watching the exchange. Crosshair looked you up and down, giving you a courteous nod. Echo, however, was beaming. Suddenly no one else existed. One moment he was backlit in a golden halo by the setting sun and the next you were in his arms, enveloped by the feel and the scent of him. Neither of you realized you were both crying until he pulled back from a soft, languid kiss and smiled down at you, wiping away the tears on your cheeks. You used your thumbs to wipe away his tears.

“Welcome home,” you said, taking his hand and leading him back to the others.

“Yaim,” Echo said softly, squeezing your hand.

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