Sheera groaned and lifted a hand to her forehead. This is the worst kriffing headache I've had in my life, she thought.
As soon as she returned her arm to her side, she realized she was lying down, untethered. Not wanting to open her eyes right away, she lay still and observed her surroundings through sound and smell.
The tang of salt water filled her nostrils first. I don't remember Anaxes having any oceans. The sound of the waves filtered into the room next, confirming the fact that she had been taken to some watery planet.
Have the Imperials moved me to some other base? Will the interrogations and torture continue? Her stomach lurched at the thought of more rounds of needles and syringes, and she promptly rolled over on her side to vomit.
"Shhh, it's okay Sheera. Let your body expel the toxins which have been injected into your system."
Sheera snapped her eyes open when she heard Tech's soothing voice. His large, dexterous hands were holding the hair off her neck and stroking her back.
"Tech?" she rasped, her throat feeling like sandpaper. "But, how..."
Tech interrupted her, running his thumb over her cheek.
"You're safe now," he said, his voice strained. "Hunter and I got you out of the Imperial detention facility."
"They told me the Marauder had gone and I thought..." Sheera's voice caught in her throat and her eyes misted over at the memory of the hopelessness she felt while in the holding cell. "I thought you all left me," she whispered.
"Oh, cyare, I'm so sorry." Tech caressed her face, his eyes glistening. "Some of the squad wanted to complete the mission first, but I told them I wasn't leaving the planet without you."
He drew her into his chest and held her close. She wrapped her arms around him and clung to him with all her strength.
Once again, Sheera lost herself in the safety of Tech's protective arms. The man who refused to leave her behind had risked capture, torture and death to save her, and she would never forget that sacrifice. Breathing in the scent of his skin, she clung tighter to him, vowing that nothing in the galaxy would ever keep her from the refuge of his embrace.
After a while, she pulled away to look around the room.
"Where are we?"
It seemed to her something like a hotel or lodge; besides the bed she lay on, there was a small kitchenette along one wall and a sofa and chair in the opposite corner facing a large open window. Through a door on the opposite wall, she could see a refresher.
When she glimpsed the scenery through the window, she exhaled in awe. Golden sand stretched out to the edge of a foamy green sea and the rising sun was climbing steadily above the horizon.
Sheera looked back at Tech's face to see him smiling broadly.
"We're on the planet Niamos. Omega and I convinced Hunter that the squad could do with a bit of a respite." He adjusted his goggles before continuing. "We happened to be in this sector already, so we found lodgings here for the rest of the week. Besides, Niamos is a pretty easy place to avoid detection, if even for a little while."
Sheera grinned, then paused. Furrowing her brow, she said, "How long have I been out of it?"
Tech's countenance became somber. "Two days. I can't say for sure what compounds the Imperials used on you, but it took them a while to get out of your system."
"Please tell me you haven't wasted two whole days sitting by my bed waiting for me to recover," she said.
"It wasn't a waste," he said, tracing her forehead and tucking a stray hair behind her ear. "Besides, Omega, Wrecker and Echo have each taken shifts to let me sleep and eat."
"Not Hunter?" Sheera said.
Tech shifted in his seat and cast his eyes toward the floor. "No, he opted to keep his distance."
A rumbling from Sheera's stomach interrupted the conversation.
Chuckling at the sound, Tech said, "If you're feeling up to it, I can go pick up some food and bring it back to the room."
"That sounds wonderful," Sheera said. "I think I'll get cleaned up and change into fresh clothes." She paused and looked at Tech who had risen from the bed before adding, "Then perhaps later, could we take a walk down to the beach?"
He paused at the door, smiling at her before stepping out of the room.
"I'd like that very much."
When he returned half an hour later, Sheera's mouth watered at the array of noodles, meat, and veggies in the various cartons he set on the table. With her appetite back to its full strength, she eagerly sampled every dish.
"I'm sorry," she said through a mouthful of noodles. "I'm eating more than my fair share,"
"Not at all," Tech said, a mixture of amusement and relief evident on his face. "Omega was worried about you because we struggled to get you to eat or drink anything the past couple of days. You take all the food you like."
He ran his thumb over her chin to brush a stray noodle away and he held her face toward his.
"I'm just glad to see you making a full recovery."
Sheera froze at his gentle touch and swallowed slowly. When she met his steady gaze, she felt as though he could see straight through to her very core, and her heart swelled within her chest.
After they had both eaten their fill and cleared the trash away, Tech led Sheera down the stone steps to the beach in front of their hotel. They saw Wrecker and Omega in the water, swimming and splashing gleefully while Hunter and Echo sat in chairs on the shore a short way down the beach.
"At least they're having fun," she said, gesturing to the two members of the Batch in the ocean.
Tech hummed his assent and turned away from the others, holding his arm out to her.
"Would you still like to accompany me on a walk?"
~~~~~
Sheera stepped close to Tech and linked her arm through his. They ambled along the shoreline only a short distance before she bent down to remove her shoes.
"I love feeling the sand between my toes," she said. Tilting her head, he saw a gleam in her brown eyes.
"Have you ever walked barefoot in the sand?"
He frowned. "No, I have not. Any previous trips to worlds with beaches such as this usually necessitated proper footwear."
Smiling, she guided him to a nearby rock and motioned for him to sit. She promptly knelt and removed his boots and socks, setting them aside.
Tech slid his feet tentatively into the sand, finding the cool sensation mildly pleasant. As he dug his toes deeper into the soft grains, he caught her staring at him, an amused expression on her face.
"Well? How does it feel?"
"It feels a bit strange, but not unpleasant," he said.
Sheera let out a soft chuckle and another smile played at the corner of her lips.
She looks so beautiful like this, Tech thought admiring the flowing cotton dress she wore and her bare legs peeking out from underneath. She looked at him for a moment, her deep brown eyes alight with pure joy.
"Come on, let's keep going," she said. "The sand feels different closer to the shore."
Carrying her own shoes in her left hand, she extended the other to him. Tech picked up his boots and took her hand in his, their fingers intertwining.
Aside from the strange, new sensation of walking in the sand, his chest swelled at the feeling of Sheera's hand in his.
The image of her lying unconscious on the cot in the Marauder's cabin came flooding back to Tech's mind. The ashen look on her face and the numerous injuries across her neck and chest had been burned into his memory. I can't see her hurt like that again, he thought as he stroked the back of her hand with his thumb.
He and Hunter had waited a whole rotation for the others to retrieve them from an isolated moon, and once the arrived on Niamos, Tech had kept vigil by Sheera's side. Spending all those moments together not knowing if she was going to live or die made him realize exactly how much she meant to him.
Now walking beside her and seeing her vibrant smile and soft curves, Tech made up his mind to tell her precisely how he felt about her.
They strolled in comfortable silence, listening to the sound of the waves and observing the other beings out on the beach.
"Being here almost makes you forget there's still a war going on," Sheera said after several minutes.
They passed a Togrutan couple with three small children playing in the sand and waves, and Tech saw a longing expression cross her face.
"If we weren't fighting the Empire and you had the choice to do anything you wanted, Tech, what do you think you'd want to do?" she asked him.
Tech spotted a bench in the distance and mulled her question over as they walked toward it.
"I'm not sure," he said after they both sat facing the horizon. "My skills and training certainly lend themselves to a successful career in the military."
"True, but is that what you would want to do?" she said.
He turned his head and met her eyes, then looked at their hands still clasped together.
"I suppose I've never thought about what kind of life I would want," he said, his voice quiet and reserved. "Before I met you, I was just a product of a war I was bred to fight. But now..." he paused.
She leaned closer to him, bringing her face within inches of his own. "Now...?" she breathed.
Reaching his arm around her, he ran his thumb along her neck. "Now, being with you, Sheera, I see there is more to life than being a soldier." He cupped her chin, drawing her lips to his. "You have given me hope for a different future."
Tech captured her lips in a gentle kiss. It quickly deepened as the passion between them grew more heated. Parting her lips, Sheera ran her tongue along the seam of his mouth. Tech groaned and granted her access, relishing in the feel and taste of her.
Tech lost himself in Sheera's embrace, tangling his long fingers in her hair. When he felt her body mold to his touch, he wished for a moment they were back inside their hotel room.
When they finally parted, Tech had to steady his breathing before speaking again.
"What about you, cyare?" he said after taking several deep breaths. "What would your life look like if the Empire wasn't hunting you?"
"You used that word earlier," Sheera said. "How do you say it? 'Cy-air'? What does it mean?"
Tech stared at his lap, thinking about how to explain the native mando'a word he had used.
"It's a term of endearment, like mesh'la," he said moments later. "Though, it's often used between spouses or otherwise committed couples."
She gazed at him her expression reserved. Sighing, she leaned against his shoulder and looked out at the ocean before them.
"You'll probably think my idea of a perfect life is nothing more than a childish dream," she said answering his earlier question.
He tightened his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him.
"I doubt that," he said, pressing a kiss to her temple.
"Well, when I was little, I always dreamt of getting married and having a family of my own." Sheera paused and inhaled deeply. "Before I began studying with the Jedi, all I wanted was to be a mother."
Tech's heart, which had been soaring in his chest minutes earlier, plummeted to his stomach. He stiffened, causing Sheera to look at him.
"See, I told you." She kicked the sand with her feet. "You probably think it's a stupid thing to wish for, especially now."
"No, it most certainly isn't stupid. It's just...," he moved his arm away from her and put more space between them on the bench. When he spoke, Tech struggled to get the words past the lump which had formed in his throat.
"It's just, if that's your dream, then I'm not the person you should be with."
Sheera snapped her head around to look at him. "Why would you say that?" Her voice quavered and Tech cast her a sideways glance only to find her eyes brimming with tears.
"I know the two of us have never talked about such things, and if you don't want to have children, that's fine with me, but..."
"Sheera," his voice cracked, and Tech swallowed hard before continuing. "If your dream is to have a family, then you should be with someone who can give you children of your own."
"What are you saying, Tech?"
He turned toward her, forcing himself to look her directly in the eyes which were now a deep shade of green.
"I'm saying that as a clone, I do not have the reproductive capabilities to have offspring of my own," he said. "The Kaminoans rendered all of us sterile upon our inception."
Her eyes narrowed and anger blazed behind her unflinching stare.
"You know, the more you tell me about these Kaminoans, the more my hatred of them grows," she said.
Tech felt her move closer to him and she put her hand up to his cheek. When she spoke, her voice had shifted to a much softer tone.
"Tech, as much as I might have wanted a family of my own, the fact is, I can't imagine that dream with anyone else." She paused and looked at him, her shimmering eyes shifting back to his favorite shade of brown.
"I...I love you, Tech."
She pulled him close, urgently pressing a kiss to his lips. Though he tried to resist her, his efforts proved futile. The way her hands caressed his face, the wanton movement of lips over his and her confession of love all overpowered Tech's rational thoughts.
Before long, the words he had longed to say to her came tumbling out of his mouth.
"I love you too, Sheera."