Milk Run (Tigress)

[Khull]

Moise Eisely, a scum infested pit in the middle of a desert. Was a great place to pick up work for those that don't mind being on the other side of the law and for Khull and his mate Tigress, such legalities have never bothered them. Their ship, 'The Pride' was roosting in one of the spaceport landing bays. They were waiting for their contact to show up with the goods to be moved and most importantly, half the payment for the services.

While they waited, the large male Cathar found himself wrist deep into the nose gun's targeting computer. He let off a growl of anger, frustrated with the current status and condition of one of the ship's primary weapons. Now, usually these systems were easy to deal with since the weapon was operated manually. But, Khull and Tigress really did not feel like splitting profits or inviting strangers aboard and into their lives. So, one had to set up fire control systems for all the turrets so they could be operated remotely from the cockpit. Such was tricky and if crosswired could mean certain death if they could not defend themselves.

He looked up to see the R9 astromech droid "Dobey" at the lip of the ladder to the nose gun. The droid beeped a few times, only fustrating the cathar even more. "Nie, last time you touched firrre kontrrrols ve verrre off by larrrge marrrgin!" Khull pointed the hydrospanner at Dobey as if it was the tip of a blade. "Should of turrrned you into scrrrap metal"

Dobey squeaked in protest, and rushed off to Tigress. It was no secret the droid and Khull had issues and his wife seemed to baby that robot.

 

[Alleycat]

Tigress was in the galley of the Pride making her and [member="Khull"]'s mid-day meal when Dobey came rolling in squeaking and squawking

"Well hello, my little darrrling.... " Ti said with a loving tone, flashing a smile at the R9 unit, who was like a child to her, then she wiped off her wet hands from washing dirty dishes onto a kitchen towel before patting the astromech droid's dome top affectionately.

"Is the big bad kitty being mean again? Next time, you have my perrrmission to zap him," the gold and tan colored female Cathar quipped with a soft chuckle, then turned back to stirring the pot on the heating element once more before putting the lid back on so the stew could simmer. This was the best she could do with the food they had on hand. They needed a really big payout to ensure the couple did not go hungry nor lose the roof over their heads, which was their livelihood.

Tigress made her way through the VCX-100_light_freighter to where the engineering department was. She would know that swearing anywhere as her husband had a particular vernacular he used. Tigress stepped through the open hatch, then made a feline chirping sound to get Khull's attention.

It was that time of the month again so Tigress was more moody than not, but it had more to do with still no kitties to show for all their efforts to make a family. It saddened her to think it they would most likely never be parents and it was her fault.... Tis why Ti coddled their devoted little R9 unit. But maybe it was for the best, living the rough life the alien smugglers did. Not that it was bad, just unpredictable.

At least Tigress had her mate for life, and she and Khull loved each other... well, when they weren't about to pounce on the other - a typical happy Cathar marriage.

"Ri chast er'zel'set till food did tak dosk," she spoke in their native tongue of Catharese, telling Khull he had a half hour before it was time to eat, and added for him to be nicer to their droid companion. "Ri should Nya a' Dobey. En zalki nya."

 

[Khull]

[member="Tigress"] voice was like pure honey to his ears, just hearing her was enough to calm him in his mechanical fit even though she was sticking up for the tin brat. Khull could smell the food coming from the galley, he wasn't a picky eater and he knew that they were running short on supplies. Making due with what they had seemed to be an ongoing event for the couple as they carved a living out in space. They were free though, just them and their ship. The mandalorian occupation of their home has long been over, but Khull did not feel right. There was always going to be another faction wanting to take control and enforce their will upon the cathar. Space was the only place he felt peace, felt he had absolute control in the abyss of it all.

Khull looked at the time, their contact should be arriving soon with the cargo that needed to get off planet. He put the panels back on, securing the fire control computer in the forwards pod. That should do it, he though to himself, climbing the ladder up into the cockpit. His wax cotton duster was draped over the back of the pilot's chair, both his belt and weapon holster's were dangling off the top corner. The large cat grabbed his belts and duo holsters, strapping them proper around his waist and secured at the thighs. He slung his duster over his left shoulder and marched out of the cockpit and headed towards the galley where is beloved wife was making food.

Khull would walk in and gave the droid a slight snarl, but in the presence of Ti, Dobey held his ground and snarked back in his binary chirps. "You arrre lucky zat I fearrr my vife" khull proclaimed, resting his eyes on the golden fur beauty who was making culinary art out of scraps of what was ever left in the pantry. He slowly walked over to her, gently wrapping his might arms around her waist and stomach as he embraced her from behind. Khull nuzzled in affection the left side of her neck, just behind her ear. "Smells good!"

 

[Alleycat]

Tigress bit her lip as the two men in her life puffed out their chests at one another. It was endearing yet frustrating to no end for the female Cathar. Men?!

[member="Khull"]'s massive body snuggled up to her petite one from behind at the galley counter, then the husband and wife exchanged intimate nuzzles of affection that their kind often did. A soft purr could be heard coming from the gold and tan feline. Tigress might get mad at the big bad kitty from time to time, but she certainly cherished him. They had made a good match, which was a fortunate thing as Cathars mate for life. The only thing that was missing were children. But the two smugglers were happy otherwise, or at least Khull seemed to be with the situation as is.

"I glad you zink so, my dearrrest... Vash up while I serrrve it, hmm," Ti smiled, giving the gold and white big cat a tender lick before reaching for two bowls to fill with the stew made; Khulls a full portion, hers a half.

After the portioned stew was placed on the lounge table, the last of the bread was sliced and brought over as well; a thicker piece for him, and a thinner chuck of the loaf for Ti.

Tigress sat down, then picked up her spoon with a thoughtful pause while Khull got settled as well.

"So any leads on ourrr next job yet?

 

[Khull]

Khull slowly dipped his generous chunk of the bread into his stew, letting the juices and spices soak into the bread. "Kontact should be koming shorrrtly" He lifted the bread from the bowl, the liquid dripping from the softened delight. Taking a bite, savoring all the flavors his wife had to offer in the home made stew. He knew he married right. Where would he be if he was the one that had to do all the cooking? "Nikto named Orrren Yotts and his crrrew vill be arrriving vith karrrgo zey vant moved. Ten zousand crrreds to move spice to Alderrraan!"

Khull dipped the bread into the stew once more, letting it soak in the juices again. "Zis payout vill need to go long vays. Ship needs some maintenance....." He was about to make some crude remarks about the droid, but he knew better than to upset his wife at the dinner table. She may be of petite frame, but that did not fool him. He knew from experience her bite was far worse than her roar. The lions looked the part of predatorial strength but it was the lioness that held the true power. Khull respected her, with all he had. Wasn't just their marriage that needed it, but their partnership in this en-devour was life or death. She had his back, he had hers.

"Fixed centrrralized firrre kontrrrol in kockpit and made prrroper adjustments to bow turrret. Ourrr sublight and hyperrrdrrrives arrre holding forrr now but vill need some trrrue love if not rrreplaced" He paused his report as he took another bite of the stew smothered bread. " Zis is delicious" The Cathar complimented still chewing and enjoying the food.

[member="Tigress"]

 

[Alleycat]

"Zank you, my darrrling. I do trrry."

Tigress did the same, dipping a corner of her bread into the bowl of stew, then nibbled on it. Hazel eyes looked over to [member="Khull"] sitting across the table and flashed her husband a small understanding smile. There would absolutely no frills to be had for the next while. Just the basics to maintain what they needed. She was good at stretching what they had to makes ends meet, but just once the feline wished the couple weren't always living pay check to pay check.

"Niet vorrries. Ve make it vorrrk, da? Ve always do... together." Ti said with a soft chirrup. As long as her and Khull were as one, she would be happy despite the circumstances.

A spoonful of the lean meat stew was taken next, then a sip of water. Tigress had poured the last of the blue milk and given it to her husband. He needed at least twice, probably even three times the caloric intake of her to keep his big bad kitty image up so she didn't mind. It wasn't like Ti was pregnant or would be any time soon that the petite Cathar would need more food.

"So spice to Alderrraan, huh? Means long trrrip, niet sleep togetherrr. Ve have to be morrre karrreful out therrre... take vatch turrrns in kockpit. Best ve play afterrr eat, if mood strrrikes and vorrrk done, hmm?" Ti quipped lightly with a playful wink, before taking another sip of water.

"Dobey let know when kontact kome..... Von't you?" she said to their R9 unit charging in the corner of the lounge. The woeful whortle that came from the astromech droid could only be translated into 'My parental units are gonna have sex... ewwww help, save me!' in Galactic Basic. Play time didn't always mean that, but it could when big cats wrassling got out of control.

 

[Khull]

Khull slurped down his stew as if it was water to dehydrated lips moments after his love mentioned play time or more importantly the lack of once this run commences. Tigress was a worthy mate and partner in this enterprise. Would be a rare day in hell when Khull would disagree with her, especially on the current subject at hand. The stew went down quick, a few gulps and he was finished. His throat, tongue and mouth were elevated in temperature due to the heat of the stew, but his heart raced hotter for the heat [member="Tigress"] was hinting at.

"Vorrrk done, food done" The larger cathar relayed, wiping the remnants of stew from his cheshire grin. He stood from the table, pulling his shirt off as he headed towards their quarters. Khull had a athletic yet muscular build to his feline humanoid form. His dark mane draped over his heavily corded neck, Bronze tinged golden fur with specs of white covered the rest of his chiselled body. Scars were visible from underneath the fur, but such was expected when one lived a life of violence.

He looked back towards his mate, giving her look of challenge as if it should be a race to the bedroom. Out of his peripheral vision he could see the droid moving towards the computer outlet in the common area. From there he could keep watch as if he was in the cockpit itself. Khull could also hear the droids quick quips about the playful nature of the two cathars. Such brought joy to the smuggler, knowing that the droid was annoyed and disgusted.

 

[Alleycat]

While [member="Khull"] was busy no doubt having some snide thoughts whizz through his mind as he looked back over his shoulder at Dobey, Tigress took the opportunity to sneak past the big kitty being sleek and stealth like into their cabin before her mate could say, 'Hey... niet fairrr! Arrrghh!'

The noises that echoed throughout the ship were the married Cathars being rambunctious as ever. Let's just say the Pride was rocking and rolling as the two had playtime with essence of catnip in the air.

Afterwards Khull and Ti relaxed for a few moments in the luxury of each others arms, well that was until beeps and whirls could be heard through the hatch door. The client had just arrived in the docking bay.

"Mhmm... Now zat vas good, but time to vorrrk, my darrrling," Ti purred with a lick, then she rolled out of bed grabbing for her clothes. "You go grrreet and I kover."