#Talieh and Cikatro will always be my fav

[sharknadoslutt]

Prompt: Talieh (My OC) and Cikatro Vizago run into Imperial trouble and are without a working hyperdrive. In the face of death what is left to do but confess ones feelings?

A/N: Have I mentioned how hopelessly in love Cikatro is with Talieh? Well it’s v much so expressed here. I shameless love these two with all my heart so excuse the cringe I actually started rambling at a lot of points but this was fun to write so I could care less

Setting: Somewhere in the Outer Rim, Lothal Sector, 6 BBY (Approximately 4 months before Rebels S1)

“Talieh, my sweet, if I didnt know any better...” Cikatro began with a big grin, his cheeks flushed slightly from the alcohol in his system. “I’d say you were drunk.”

His eyes were pinned on Talieh, who sat in the co-pilots chair. Per usual the Zygerrian woman leaned back comfortably in her seat, arms crossed against her chest while her boots were hiked up on the dash. The only thing out of the usual was this was the rare smile on her lips.  

“Good thing you do know better, right Cikatro?” She quickly responded, followed by the traces of an amused giggle. She wasn’t drunk.. but she wasn’t quite sober either. What was she exactly? 

Happy. She was simply happy. 

Talieh felt her feline ears twitch slightly before falling into their relaxed default position. Never had she imagined herself being so comfortable with anyone. Yet here she was actually enjoying Cikatro’s company, more so than she’d dare to admit out loud.

“We should be arriving back to Lothal in two days time. Late afternoon I’d say.” He said, moving his eyes to meet Talieh’s. 

For a moment the blonde Zygerrian looked back at him and felt her heart skip a beat. She blinked a few times before nonchalantly shifting her gaze to the view port. 

“Good.” She sighed.

“Would be sooner, but I’m pretty sure we’re going to have to manually pilot through an asteroid belt.” He continued, his soft gaze lingering on her face.

“Sounds like fun.” She remarked, finding her smile growing wider for a reason she couldn't quite figure out. The fact that he was looking at her like that? Maybe. 

“Yes.” He sighed contently and shifted his view to the stars. “Fun indeed.”

The past week had certainly been interesting. While Cikatro's ship, The Horn, was in the middle of some hefty remodeling, the crime boss got word of a huge shipment of Imperial weapons for sale on Plemarkens spot, a little space station at the edge of the Lothal Sector. 

It ran rapid with pirates and smugglers alike. Vizago had a few contacts there. Contacts that were willing to hold those weapons for a few extra days for the right price. Despite his main freighter being out of commission, Vizago was a man of business, and getting these weapons would be great for business! 

So as to not miss out on the Imperial shipment he purchased another smaller freighter; an investment, as he told Talieh. He shrugged it off to being a necessary business expensive, assuring himself that having a secondary smaller vessel was important for his rising smuggling operation. Albeit a fully functional YT-1696 light freighter, it was missing a lot of perks and functions that most folk would want in a ship. 

A working hyperdrive being one of those missing perks..

If Plemarkens Spot was anywhere else in the galaxy this would be out of the question. However it wasn’t terribly far, round trip the exchange should take an estimated week tops. Or so that’s what he had told Talieh anyways.

Before leaving Lothal, Vizago had assured Talieh traveling without a working hyperdrive wouldn’t be an issue. This was partly due to the mans hope that flying in real speed would allow him to spend time with the Zygerrian and potentially fulfill his desire to earn her affections.. but it also had to do with the fact that he was absolutely cheap and refused to fork up money for a new hyperdrive until after he’d sold this new shipment of Imperial goods..

Whereas Talieh was somewhat irritated with the whole ordeal, she would agree to almost any job if the price was right. Besides, relaxing on the ship for a few days out in open space wasn’t too bad a way to spend her time. Especially since she was getting paid for every minute of it.

Things had gone very good through the entire trip. They arrived at Plemarkens spot a day ahead of schedule and gotten all of the goods loaded up on Vizago’s new freighter. 

The two had honestly enjoyed each others company through it all. So much so, in fact, that upon finishing the transaction earlier than expected Cikatro had talked Talieh into stopping by the space ports cantina and enjoying a few drinks before they left. The Devaronian even purchased a few jugs of Corelian Whiskey for the trip back; deciding time might go by faster with a drink in his hand. And it had seemed to work thus far.

So far they had spent this day in the cockpit, flying in real time through space, each one with a drink in hand. High spirits, smiles, and even some flirting had taken place. This is exactly the atmosphere Cikatro had hoped for from this trip! 

Everything was perfect! Perfect, that is, until an Imperial Star Destroyer appeared out of hyperspace not terribly far from their current position.

The flash of light from the hyper jump made both Talieh and Cikatro about fall from their chairs. Considering how their freighter was fairly small it was doubtful the Imperials had spotted them visually. But if they were scanning for ships they’d certainly be found.

“Why would the Empire be here, Cikatro?” Talieh asked, placing her glass of whiskey on the ground before looking back at the Star Destroyer. 

He gave her a weird glance that expressed something along the lines of ‘How should I know? ' But Vizago instantly regretted this once he earned that angry growl from her.

It was easy for the man to forget that Talieh possessed little to no knowledge about the Empire. She’d always been very private about her past, never sharing too much information, which he respected. Everyone has a past, right?

She always explained her ignorance of anything Imperial off to the fact that she grew up ‘in a place where the Empire wasn’t around’. Cikatro assumed that meant Deep Deep Wild Space. But he really did not know. Now was certainly not the time to ask questions either.

“By the Moons of Gasgohl!” He adjusted the ships speed, directing full power to the thrusters. “I dont know, Talieh!” He blurted in frustration, his tone a little on the defensive side. 

The sound of the ships engine speeding up calmed him slightly but he still felt the need to go on. “It could just be a coincidence... Imperials are not uncommon in this sector, you know. The Mining Guild is all the rage. First Lothal, kriff, t-they could be looking for moons to deplete of natural resources.” He paused. “It could be as simple as that.. or..” 

Cikatro paused as he collected his thoughts. If he remembered correctly he had spotted a few civilian mining ships when they had first approached the large cluster. It wasn’t that uncommon for people to do unauthorized mining on asteroids in this sector; it was a good way to make a living if you knew what you were doing. With the increased Imperial presence on Lothal, Vizago wouldn’t be surprised if the Empire was trying to put a stop to it.

“Or what?!” She hissed, panic setting in.

“I dont know!” He reiterated, shooting her a stressed scowl. “Maybe they have every piece of merchandise in this ship suited up with trackers and this was a trick! Maybe they are just making a stop out here to monitor this asteroid belt for unauthorized mining.. I dont know, Talieh! It’s the Empire.. they do whatever they want even if it doesn’t make sense! But who cares about why, we need to get out of here!”

Talieh’s face easily expressed her irritation but she remained quiet. Her cat-like ears pointed down to further express her mood. 

The Star Destroyer stayed in place, a good distance away from their transports current position. Considering that the Imperials hadn’t taken action against their little freighter it was likely they’d not yet been spotted. But that wouldn’t last, not like this. Without being able to jump into hyperspace they were sitting ducks. 

“I dont think they’ve noticed us, yes?” Talieh grumbled in her accented basic. “Otherwise they’d have sent out a comm-message or ships to scan us?”

“It’s positive thinking.” Cikatro pursed his lips. “But I do think that’s probably the case.” He half chuckled, whether it was forced or not Talieh didn’t know. “Otherwise we’d be dead.” 

Talieh nodded and stood up, her brows knitted as she stared out the view port.  “Maybe if we pull off over there,” She gestured toward an especially large cluster of asteroids. “We power down everything on the ship.. They’ll think we are just floating junk.”

Though he didn’t say anything at first Talieh could feel the gears in his head turning into a confident direction. 

“That could work.” He agreed, leaning forward to look at the power distribution on the ship. “Yes, this could work.” He repeated, trying to convince himself. 

“It’s our best shot, Cikatro.” She headed out the cockpit. “I’m going to make sure all droids are shut down as well. Go ahead and pull over. I’ll be back.”

It took about eight tortuously long minutes to shut down all power to the ship. Fortunately in that time it appeared they still remained unnoticed by the Imperials. That was somewhat comforting..

Other than the starlight seeping in from the view port glass the ship was dark. Dark and quiet. Nothing but the sound of Talieh and Cikatro breathing and the occasional creak of metal of the ship. The silence was too intense for Cikatro so he decided to speak up.  

“We are still alive. So it’s safe to say that the buckets did not come here because our haul was tracked.” His tone was that of relief, though there was still stress in his red eyes. “Probably just, uhh, an unfortunate coincidence.”

There was another long moment of tense silence where they just stared at the Imperial station. After a while the hatch opened a few small surveying ships started to go around and scan some asteroids. Granted those were all far away from their ship and seemed to be going in the opposite direction. However one of them did head towards one of the civilian miner operations. 

A spark of hope emerged and the two glanced at one another. It seems all the Empire was doing was scanning the asteroids for valuable metals, at the very least perhaps intervening with the unauthorized miners. As long as they remained hidden they would make a clean get away!

“By the moons of Gosgolt, I think we will be fi-”

“Cikatro, no..” Talieh interrupted him, extending her arm to point back at the Star Destroyers ship port. “Look.”

A small ship exited the Star Destroyer and went in the direction of one of the civilian ships parked on a rather large asteroid. This new Imperial ship had a large blaster extended on the top of its point and seemed to be firing it up.

Within seconds the brilliant laser exited the canon and beamed out to the civilian ship. It erupted with light, blasting rubble in all different directions. 

Talieh and Cikatro watched in horror at the slaughter. The Empire had just murdered those civilians without warning, by the looks of it no warning had been given to evacuate the premise. They just acted out of hate. Without justice..

The survey ship started to gather pieces of the asteroid that subsequently exploded with the initial blast to the miners. Meanwhile the canon ship went into another direction, only to continue blasting other asteroids. Fortunately no additional civilian mining operations were taking place but the sounds of the blasts caused tension in their own ship.

Talieh and Cikatro glanced at one another again, neither one too sure what the make of their current predicament. The Imperials were obviously here scouting the area for minerals but there were well armed and ready for a fight. For the time being they were safe enough, but if they came over in the direction of their ship.. that would change very fast.

Their ship which was filled to the brim with illegally obtained Imperial weapons. If they murdered civilian miners without bating an eye, what would they do to known smugglers?

Talieh and Cikatro watched for a long time, both too anxious to really say anything. After a while the ships only seemed to come closer and closer to their own ship.

“What do you think they’d do if they found us?” Talieh asked in a quiet voice, her pink irises glazing over as she looked out the window. Though the sheer gravity of the situation had sobered her up significantly, the Zygerrian woman's body could still feel the effects of the alcohol. She sat back, laying her arms on the rest of her chair.

“Kill us.” Cikatro said gruffly and without hesitation, turning his head to look at Talieh. 

When their eyes met she didn't pull away but instead stared him right back in the face. A wave of warmth overcame her as she rested her gaze on his crimson eyes. She was silent but her feline ears twitched slightly, involuntarily expressing that she was deep in thought.

“But they wont.” The Devaronian finally added, reaching over to place a thoughtful hand on her wrist. Cikatro expected her to bat him away with a threatening response, as she usually did to his romantic gestures, but she surprisingly did not. “We are going to get back home and become rich off of this shipment. Talieh, my sweet-”  The strain in his voice was fairly evident but he still charaded a smile. “You have nothing to worry about.”

Talieh’s gaze fell to his large hand and she considered him, taking her time with figuring out exactly what to say.

“Your words are warm and assuring..”  She then placed her own hand over his, her small fingers barely even managing to cover his knuckles. “This is sweet. You are very sweet to me. But you do lie.. you do not know this is truth. Yet you sit here, lying to my face... but, you only lie for my benefit.” 

Talieh used her fingers to affectionately trace small circles on the skin of his hand. “It’s not unappreciated. Far from it. I take note of all these things you do for me, Cikatro.”

Shocked at her actions Vizago just watched her. She spoke so softly and seemed vulnerable. He had never seen her like this.

She continued. “I really do not understand the this new world. The Empire. They do not seem to have an moral way of doing things.”

“And we do?” The Devaronian interjected. He forced a pitiful snicker, trying to be somewhat humorous to help ease this tense situation.

“Yes.. I do.” She whispered, gripping onto Cikatro’s hand in a way that actually made him worry. “The Republic was never perfect but it was better than this world you live in. There was a system of checks and balances.. Here there’s no order. It’s all random and dark! The Galaxy is out of Balance. The Jedi were the morale back bone of our society and now they are g-gone." Silence followed for a moment before she let out a shaky breath. "And what’s left? Stormtroopers hardly mature enough to handle their own blasters! Purchased officials and an Emperor with no light inside his heart!”

Vizago arched a brow as he listened to her. He really had no idea what she was going on about. The Republic? The Jedi? She sounded so scared and so desperate. It seemed more than their current situation that caused her panic.

Talieh looked back up at Cikatro and calmed down a bit, realizing she was actually beginning to shake with anger. It was not so much that she was afraid of the situation at hand. Talieh had never been afraid of dying. However, she was absolutely terrified of this unfamiliar world and this unkind Empire. What it had done to the world she had once known...

Even now the Zygerrian Jedi had no idea what exactly had happened to The Republic or The Jedi Order. What had happened while she was trapped in Carbonite all those years was beyond her knowledge. She had just recently started to come to terms with the fact that she would possibly never know. 

Talieh told herself she didn't need to know those things. It was the past and she was still living. She needed to move on, right?

“Talieh?” Cikatro spoke up, giving her hand a squeeze. “You are shaking, please talk to me, my sweet..” His warm voice was soft and assuring. Despite his charade of calm Talieh could sense the fear within him. How he, too, was unsure on what would happen to either of them..

She heard him speak but could not seem to find her own voice. Instead her expression fell to a solemn one as she thought of Vizago, and what he meant to her. Cikatro had a life to get back to. His sweet little mother back on Lothal. His other employees.. They relied on him. All though he was not good in the way the Jedi had taught her to see, she sensed the good in him.  

Talieh took in a shaky breath, suddenly overcome with emotion. Anger and nostalgia. Longing and contentment. But most of all she felt sure of herself and what she needed to do. She may not have known what happened to the Jedi but she knew about her life right here, and right now.

Her life on Lothal. Her life with Cikatro Vizago. He’d given her a job and invited her into his life without hesitation. And though she had always rejected his advances she was fully aware that all she need do was say the word.. and this man would be hers. Until this moment, she had never really considered saying yes because that was simply not the Jedi way. 

But where were the Jedi now? Gone. 

Here and now, the only thing she knew was she needed to keep him safe at all costs.

“I’m sorry, Cikatro..” She whispered. With a final tender squeeze the woman then pulled both of her hands away from his grasp.

“N-No, Talieh, my sweet.. You have nothing to apologize for!” He forced a toothy smile. His long devilish ears drooped slightly, expressing his concern. “I just want to understand..” 

He really did. She knew that. But that didn't matter now. Not when his life was in danger.

“You do not need to understand.” She then stood up and reached forward to the ships dash. Talieh flipped the switch for partial power in the left port of the ship, where the escape pods were. “Just let me do this.” 

Utterly baffled the Devaronian stood up and immediately pulled the power switch back down, reversing what it was Talieh was trying to do. 

“Are you crazy?!” He hollered with panic, turning to face her. His brows knitted in a stern yet concerned way. “Do you want them to catch us?" 

“No, just me.” She hissed back, glaring up at the taller man. “I just need you to keep the power on long enough for me start up the escape pod. If I can pull their attention on the other side of the asteroid field you can make an escape!” By the end of that statement Talieh had tears swelling in the back of her eyes. Tears that had been welling for years but had never fallen. “Once you're past this asteroid belt, they cannot chase after you!” Her heart was beating faster than it ever had.

“You...? Wait, Talieh, no!” Cikatro’s eyes widened as he processed exactly what she had just intended. “That’s.. just out of the question..” He crinkled his nose and shook his head slightly, overcoming his confusion and joy all at once. He was truly touched at the gesture but what Talieh wanted to do was impossible. There was no way he would let her do something like this.

“As you know I am perfectly capable of handling myself.” She spat, taking a step closer to him. “But the fact is, this situation is not looking too good for either of us, Cikatro. I can not just idly sit by and wait to be murdered." The tears hot salty finally rolled down her cheeks. "I cannot wait for you to be murdered.”

Talieh tried stepped past him, reaching for the switch only to have Cikatro grab her wrist tightly and yank her in front of him. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to react to this! On one hand the woman he loved more or less just admitted her love for him through her actions, but on the other he was fairly certain she wanted to go out and get herself killed.

“So what? You plan to just take the tiny little escape pod over and take out an Imperial Star Destroyer?!” He forced out the most mocking laughter he could, thinking maybe embarrassment would calm her down from this half baked question of heroism. “Talieh, my love, it has no weapons! No shields! You will die before you even get within a blasters shot away from it! And what, you’re doing this for me? Why would you do something that rash for a man you do not love?”

The sounds of asteroids being pulverized fairly closely caught them both off guard. The surveying squad was getting closer. Though both Talieh and Cikatro were alarmed by the approaching sounds, they stayed right where they were, glaring the other in the eye.

“I will do what I must t-to get you home... because you have a life, C-Cikatro!” She bellowed, all the pent up emotion of the past year suddenly and uncontrollably flooding through. “However it is you think I see you must be wrong because I see you.. I see the real you. The man who takes care of his mother! The man who-”  

“-This is ridiculous, Talieh!” Vizago cut her off, his tone loud and commanding. “I will lock you in the brig if I need to. This is not negotiable!”

“You know that wont hold me.” She tried to wiggle her arm from his hand, but failed. Rolling his eyes Cikatro grabbed her free wrist with his other hand, holding her in place before him. 

“Then, as much as it breaks my heart, I’ll have to use my stun gun.”

“You’d never use that on me.” She huffed, finally gaining control of her tears. She took in a deep breath and looked up at him, still maintaining the look of determination but when in actuality she felt small and powerless. For the first time in her entire life, emotions had gotten the better of her. 

“You’re right.” He grumbled. Keeping the Zygerrian woman in place he stared at her helplessly. “So, this will have to do..”

Cikatro released both of Talieh’s wrist before taking a firm hold of her shoulders. The Devaronian took a leap of courage and ferociously pressed his lips against hers, hoping she wouldn't resist and would simply be carried away in the moment.

And she was.

Talieh was swept over by a sensation she was not familiar with. At first she just stayed still with shock and processed the gravity of the kiss. Her body felt cold and warm at the same time; but it was good. No, it was amazing. His lips were softer than she would have guessed..

After relaxing from what almost felt like an out of body experience Talieh closed her eyes and gave into her her feelings. Closing her wet eyes the Zygerrian leaned in, returning Cikatro's kiss with matching intensity.

Letting out a sharp breath from his nose, Vizago let his rough hands fall from her shoulders and down her arms. He took his time in letting the palm of his hands feel her fur and skin. Upon reaching her wrists he guided them to his head, and she wrapped them around his neck snuggly.

Talieh let out a soft purr as she let her hands caress the back of his head and the indentions of his horns.

Smirking into the kiss, Cikatro slipped his arms around the woman's waist. Reeling at touching of the indention of her hips with his own hands, he decided to be even bolder than he had already been.

He shoved his thick tongue into her mouth, rubbing against hers to create a friction he'd longed craved. Then he slammed her onto the dash, lifting her ass up to sit on the powered down buttons so that her legs were on either side of him. He leaned in close so their chests were touching and continued to kiss her.

Startled but willing, Talieh moaned loudly into his mouth. She let one of her arms trail down his shoulder to rub his muscular forearm. She'd long admired his muscles and being able feel them so intimately made her stomach feel tight and euphoric. Instinctively she wrapped her legs around his hips.

"Talieh.." He whispered in a husky tone, drawing his lips to her jawline to playfully nip. He bucked his hips into hers, his member hard against her stomach. He smirked at the sound of her desperate moans. Pressing his lips against the corner of her feline ears he continued. "I've dreamed of this for so long.."

The Zygerrian woman's face was flush with stimulation, her innocent body and mind feeling joyously overwhelmed with each new sensation. Her eyes fluttered open as Cikatro pressed his forehead to hers, a moment of genuine affection to gage her comfort level.

"Holding you in my arms.."

Talieh lifted her hand from his arm, to cup his cheek. She smiled softly but remained silent.

"Your legs wrapped around me.." He added, a dirty chuckle following his proclamation.

She averted his eyes, overcome with embarrassment, but her smile widened. She felt the same however lacked the bold confidence that Vizago had in abundant supply.

"I've held you in the most intimate place of my heart for a long time, Cikatro..." She whispered, daring to lock eyes with him.

With a dirty grin, the Devaronian pressed his lips back to hers.

For the next several moments the pair snogged deeply and let their desperate hands explore the others clothed body. That was until a sound could be heard.

Talieh's feline ears twitched and she felt her lust disconnect as her mind went into alert. She wiggled beneath him and tore away from the kiss.

"C-Cikatro, stop!" She cried, trying to get him off of her so she could look out of the viewport behind her.

"D-Did I go too far?" He inquired smugly, pulling away with a slanted grin. "It's hard to when I want to explore every bit of your bod-"

"Sshhhh.." She snapped, pressing her pointer finger over his lips to hush him up. Cikatro, albeit disappointed, stepped back and helped her off of the dash as she wished .

The pair then both gazed out the viewport to find that both survey and attack ships had returned to the Starcruiser.

"Talieh, I think they are leaving!" Cikatro exclaimed.

Blinking in disbelief, Talieh let a smile creep up on her swollen lips. He was right! With a flash of light the Imperial occupation of the sector was clear. After a moment of silently staring into empty space, the couple slowly looked at each other with big smiles, satisfied that they would indeed live to see another day.

Then, they both jumped into the tightest embrace as their lips met once more.

Talieh was the one to pull away first, bringing a hand to the back of his head to rub affectionately.

"We need to power up and maneuver our way out of here through that field, Cikatro. We can't possibly know if they will come back."

"That is the responsible thing to do." He agreed, however there was a hint of irritation there. As if he would rather be doing something else.

"It is." She stepped away and began to power up the ship. Business as usual. "Please get us back to Lothal in one piece. It seems... we have many things to discuss." The flush in her face turned brighter as she evaded eye contact.

"Yes, we do, my sweet." He plopped into the Captains chair and gestured for her to take her seat at his side. "So strap in."