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anchanted-one · 10 days ago

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For 50 types of kisses. With my favorite swtor couple, Corellan and Kira.

Lets do 7 and 12

Kira Carsen hopped down from the Alliance shuttle and onto the pad of the hangar on Odessen as it landed, feeling elated. She’d been gone for a week while on Tatooine; one of the hottest, driest, most unpleasant planets in the galaxy. She’d spent most of that time fighting rakghouls, nightmare creatures born out of Sith alchemy, and managing a team of individuals with a rather “diverse” mix of personalities and ambitions, as well as coordinating with the independent THORN agency (The Hyland Organization for Rakghoul Neutralization, what a dumb acronym.) all to bring the Rakghoul outbreak on Tatooine under control.

For those reasons alone, she had good reason to be pleased to be back on Odessen, a place that – in just the two months since her rescue from carbonite – had become like home. This mission had been the longest she’d been separated from Corellan Halcyon since she’d joined, and that was an even more important reason to her.

But to her own surprise, there was another reason why she was truly in such a happy mood:

Her mission had been a success.

Her mission. She’d been team leader for this one. She wasn’t playing second-fiddle to anyone.

And she’d found – over the course of the week – that she had a knack for it. She’d learned to appreciate the crew of Alliance personnel she’d been assigned. Blizz – the Jawa mechanic, a native of Tatooine – had been incredibly resourceful, and was adorable, besides. "Deadeye" Leyta, the Selonian gunslinger, had a ruthless streak, but Kira could relate to her desire to protect the people she cared about. HK-51 – the same hunter-killer droid who’d joined their crew on select operations years before – was still a sociopath, but his sense of humor was starting to grow on her. Doctor Lokin – the former Imperial scientist and expert on the Rakghouls – was as tricky as Corellan had (privately) warned her. But he was also as brilliant as Corellan had said, and in just a few days – using only the gear from his field kit – he had successfully adapted an effective vaccine to this new ‘Tatooine strain’ of the Rakghoul plague, as Lokin himself had dubbed it. THORN was already distributing synthesized versions of Lokin’s vaccine and achieved containment.

Xalek… was Xalek. The Kaleesh Sith was arguably the bluntest individual she’d ever met. Even the other Sith in the Alliance didn’t seem to care for him. But she had to admit, he was (almost) as good with a double-bladed lightsaber as Kira herself was, and he followed orders when told to protect their support teams.

She wondered for a moment if this was how Corellan had felt. First with his old crew, and now with the whole Alliance. It had worked out. And the mission had given her a greater appreciation for what the Eternal Alliance truly stood for.

The whole experience had given her a greater sense of belonging.

Kira looked around the hangar, somewhat disappointed that there was no one there to greet her. The flight deck officer gave her a casual smile and a nod, then proceeded to take stock of the shuttle’s condition and fueling levels. A few other individuals around the hangar tossed glances her way, exchanging a whispered word to their fellows.

She felt much more confident about that sort of thing now than she had a week ago.

(Kira didn’t want to admit that she was a little disappointed that he wasn’t there to greet her. Corellan Halcyon had a whole Alliance to run, after all. He couldn’t afford to be seen running off every time the love of his life came back from a mission. But she was certain he was on-planet nearby; she could feel him through the Force.)

Behind her, the rest of the team – her team started to walk down the shuttle’s loading ramp.

Doctor Lokin already had his datapad out, preparing a report as he walked. The scientist had seemed quite pleased with their results. Leyta – who had been piloting the ship – was assisting the flight deck officer with checking in their shuttle. Xalek and HK were making themselves useful, carrying a crate of Lokin’s equipment and genetic samples to the labs. Blizz sauntered past Kira with backpack full of used THORN equipment he’d recovered that he seemed certain he could do something with. The small creature looked up at Kira, happily.

“Blizz thank red-haired big boss friend lady for taking Blizz on trip!” He chirped up at her in Jawaese Trade Language. “Blizz enjoy seeing old home – but good to be back on new home!”

Kira smirked at his excitement.

“Don’t mention it, Blizz. I hope we work together again soon.”

“Blizz hope so, too!” he gave her a wave, then walked off with his catch. No doubt he was headed for his work bench at the Underworld Logistics section of the base. The Jawa had proven an impressive tinkerer, so maybe his side project would result in something after all.

As Xalek and HK hauled their cargo off, Lokin paused in his deliberations to regard Kira. The older man’s smile was somehow grandfatherly, charming, and creepy all at the same time. As Corellan had confided to her privately, he was someone to watch closely.

“I must echo our small companion’s sentiments, Knight Carsen.” He bowed to her. Lokin had taken to addressing her by her old title, even though Kira wasn’t even sure if she qualified as a Jedi anymore. “This has been a most efficacious expedition, and I must commend your leadership and skill. I do hope we are assigned to another operation soon.”

Kira found – much to her surprise – that her smile back to Eckard Lokin was genuine, and not forced like it had been earlier in the week.

“Thank you, Doctor.” She kept her tone and choice of words formal. “Your work was as impressive as advertised. I would certainly ask to work with you again.”

“I am quite gratified to hear that.” Lokin’s smile turned into a toothy grin for just a second.

Yeah. He could be creepy. Kira thought to herself. She wondered how much of his behavior was intentional, and how much of it was just his nature.

“I’ll get started on my follow-up research right away.” He continued. “I would be elated if you could please inform the command staff that my preliminary findings will be submitted for review by oh-nine-hundred hours tomorrow morning.”

“No problem.” She nodded, holding his gaze firmly. “I look forward to… reviewing your work, myself.”

“Of course.” Lokin bowed again. “I’ll leave you to your own reports. Congratulations once again.”

With that, he turned and departed, no doubt heading for his laboratory.

Kira exhaled, relieved that she’d held up so well. She’d learned she could deal with the Doctor Lokins of the galaxy.

(Truth be told, she’d never met anyone quite like Doctor Lokin. But that was a problem for another day.)

For now, she had a report to make in the command center. Corellan – along with his advisors – was probably waiting for her there.

Satisfied that Leyta and the support staff had everything else taken care of, Kira headed for the corridor that would lead her to the war room, briefly mulling hitting the showers first. She’d been on Tatooine for a week, a planet where water was a luxury, spending almost half of her time in the Rakghoul tunnels. The brief sonic shower she’d taken at Anchorhead was the most hygienic relief she’d had in that time. Followed up with the day’s travel in the rather cramped shuttle, Kira suspected she could certainly have used the genuine experience of the shower in the quarters she shared with Corellan. It was a tempting prospect. But the Alliance had a reputation for being a ‘rough’ bunch. If she dallied, people – particularly Lana Beniko – might suspect she was trading on her relationship with the Commander, and that was something Kira would never allow.

The Commander. Still strange to think about Corellan that way, even if the role did suit him. He was good at it; the loyalty he commanded from his people was proof of that.

Kira was so distracted by her inner thoughts that she was taken completely unawares when a strong hand reached out seemingly from nowhere, grabbed her by the shoulder, and yanked her into a darkened maintenance closet where the door promptly slammed shut behind her.

Every instinct in Kira’s mind screamed at her to respond to this obvious attack with aggression in kind; to pull her lightsaber from her belt and lash out with the Force at her assailant.

But the Force, her soul – and her heart – all told her to do otherwise.

Kira stifled a gasp as Corellan Halcyon pulled her in for a deep, passionate kiss, pinning her against the sealed metal door. Instinctively, her arms wrapped around his shoulders as her lips tried to reciprocate the affection, only to feel his tongue assert itself possessively, slipping deep into her mouth and tracing her teeth, as if trying to memorize them. Kira released a slow, needing moan as their lips continued to press together for minutes on end. He so rarely took control like this. And the kiss… shavit. She couldn’t remember him kissing her quite like this since that night on Tython so many years ago, when kissing had been fun and mysterious and the ultimate. When the only thing either of them had wanted was to explore and then get lost in each other.

For a few fleeting moments, she almost felt overwhelmed by the sensation pulsing through her mind and body. It was like he was devouring her essence; her very sense of identity. And all she could do in that instant was to moan softly again in contentment.

But no. He would never do that to her. Even for as long as he’d been forced to deal with Vitiate haunting him, he would never become anything like him.

After what felt like an eternity – but still nowhere long enough to satisfy Kira’s sudden want – he released her from the kiss. She caught her breath, feeling like she’d been holding her breath underwater. Even after all that, he didn’t pull back completely, instead letting his forehead press down against hers, her back still against the door. Their breaths were heavy, even as they began synchronizing with each other.

“I missed you.” He whispered.

In the minimal lighting, she could barely make out his boyish grin.

Kira actually giggled in embarrassment, pressing her hands against his chest. Corellan was the only one who could make her feel girly like this.

But despite that, she was still herself. She was truly part of something special rather than being subsumed by something that wanted to dominate and destroy her. Those fears she’d had as a child on Korriban could not be further from her mind.

Kira trusted him completely.

“I can tell.” She grinned up at him, eyes sparkling in the dark.

Corellan reached up, gently caressing her cheek as she closed her eyes at his touch.

“I read the preliminary reports.” He whispered. “We’ll do the debriefing with Lana and Theron in just a bit. But I just wanted to welcome you home. And to tell you how proud I am of you.”

Kira chuckled as she cast her eyes downward, relieved that in the dark he probably couldn’t see her blush.

Then again, with their Force bond, she doubted she could fool him.

She’d realized instinctively that he’d used his Force camouflage ability just to surprise her in the corridor just now. It was the first time he’d done something like that since they’d been reunited. And he’d planned it perfectly; no one had seen him grab her in the corridor, which meant there’d be less tongue-wagging and gossip from the rank and file. He’d given her the ‘welcome home’ they’d both wanted without doing anything to undermine her position in the Alliance.

It had been perfect.

On the other hand, her competitive streak was pushing her to… assert herself just a bit.

Just because she’d found her place with the Alliance – and with him – didn’t mean she’d stop being herself.

“Tell me tough guy.” She grinned up at him saucily, reaching down and grabbing him by his belt. “Exactly how long do we have before that debriefing?”

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Author’s Notes: Something I really liked about the Echoes of Oblivion story was there were multiple moments in the story where Kira clearly takes the lead, even in the presence of characters like Scourge and Senya who are far more experienced, and the Outlander, who is theoretically the most accomplished warrior in the galaxy regardless of the other variables. She’s the one who comes up with the plan to find the ship. She’s the one who leads the group in the process of ‘Let’s meditate and go into Satele’s mind so we can fight the Emperor’. And so on. It all highlights Kira’s character development; she’s always been driven and now she’s coming into her own as a leader. Even though I don’t plan on taking my fic into that specific story, I did want to capture a measure of that.

I had another piece of fic planned regarding this mission to Tatooine I’ve alluded to, but I like this, too.

I really like the character of Doctor Lokin. I wish he had more content. The others just seemed to be an interesting mix to me.

Full disclosure - I borrowed some stuff about the kiss from an old John Grisham novel; just a line that always stuck with me.

Roping in the Rakghoul even and THORN just seemed natural. I like to world build in my stories.

Tagging interested parties - @legacyofabsolutewalnuts , @misthios00 , @raven-of-domain-kwaad , @no-name16-21 , @a-muirehen and @jagger127 !

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