Corellia. Another war zone. Miriah shifted, her blaster in one hand and her shotgun in the other, to try to get a better angle on the Imperial trooper that was directly to her left. She could see smoke coming from the bunker in front of her, and figured Corso had managed to get a grenade in there. Stars, she thought, if I'd had any idea when I agreed to come on this mission that things were this dire, I might have rethought it. No, she wouldn't have, she decided, she'd still be right here, fighting with the group she'd been assigned to in the dropship area of Carrick Station. She could hear the fighting behind her, which was suddenly background noise as she heard Corso yelp in pain. Mere seconds later, as she was struggling through casualties to get to him, she was aware that he'd fallen, a large scorch marking his chest armor. She brought the kolto gun up but before she could fire, she felt something large hit her right shoulder from behind. She tried to ignore the pain, and shift the kolto to the other hand, but then the butt of a rifle struck the back of her head. She was down, within a hands reach from her beloved Corso, and couldn't move. Her vision started to fade, and still Corso hadn't moved. NO! she screamed, then everything faded away.
Miriah jerked awake, and promptly fell off the little stool she'd been sitting on. She stood slowly and awkwardly, her right arm immobilized and throbbing. It took her a moment to realize that she hadn't just been dreaming, but reliving the day. She glanced at Corso, floating unconscious in the kolto tank, face covered by the breathing mask, and her heart dropped. She remembered he'd been conscious for a few minutes before being put in there. He'd yelled her name over and over, pleading for her to answer, and she'd jumped off the medbay bed and rushed to him. There had been blood, so much blood! He'd fought so hard to not be put in the "tank of evil", he'd called it. All she could do was hold his hand and tell him she'd be here. She was still holding his hand, looking into his eyes as he drifted into chemically induced sleep.
Only after he'd been placed in the tank did she allow the doc at the fleet med station to work on her shoulder. They would have both been fine, she thought, if the sage with their detachment had lived. She wondered for a second if her sister knew the Jedi who'd died, but then the pain returned up her right side and forced her to close her eyes and find her seat. She scooted closer to the tank where Corso was floating, and put her hand on its side, leaned her head against it, and drifted on the current of whatever she'd been given.
"Severe blood loss, and plasma burn to the right shoulder, doesn't need joint reconstruction but there was considerable muscle damage. Concussion, but not her first, I'd guess. She'll make a full recovery in time," the medic recounted to Miriah's sister, Magdalane. "Her husband was in pretty bad shape when they got here, sure wish you'd been here then. We had him stabilized, but he put up such a fight over getting into the kolto tank that he started bleeding again." She shook her head, amazed that both her sister and brother-in-law were still with them. She looked to the back of the medbay and saw Miriah then, slumped against a tank. Magdalane reached out with her force ability, to soothe her baby sister but hesitated when she realized Miriah was asleep. She moved closer to her sister, trying to figure out what was going on. When she got near, she put her hand on Miriah's uninjured shoulder, but her sister didn't respond. Magdalane called for assistance and when they lifted the petite woman to the bed she was on fire with fever, and shaking with chills. Magdalane again used her force skills to try and figure out where the problem was. Miriah opened her eyes slowly, saw her sister there, and tried to smile at her.
"Not exactly the way I wanted to see you again, Mags" she said softly, her voice shaky.
"I know, but what can I say?" Magdalane rested her hand on Miriah's forehead. "You have some infection going, but I can't really tell what's going on unless I try to heal you. I have to warn you, however, that this will require a soul link, there's no other way." Miriah knew what she meant by that, and was a little concerned but nodded yes to her sister.
"First, heal Corso, please Mags… I'm so afraid for him. I couldn't get to him in time.." Miriah shook out.
"He's doing well, Mir, don't worry. He'll be out of the tank and looking for food before you're well enough to walk again." Miriah's silver blue eyes got big at that, but she didn't argue. She knew Magdalane wouldn't tell her that if it weren't true. Magdalane told Miriah to close her eyes and relax her mind, and she tried, but she just couldn't relax until Corso was okay.
The light created by Magdalane's healing trance grew and Miriah felt warm and relaxed, then she heard her sister's voice. Miriah finally succumbed to what felt like a deep sleep. As she drifted, she dreamed of the last year, when she'd first met Corso on Ord Mantell, how that one incident both was the worst (since her ship had been stolen) and the best (meeting the man who'd changed her life). All the times she'd taken strength from his unquestioned trust in her.
While Miriah was being rid of the infection, Corso was floating, the meds he'd been given starting to clear his mind a bit. He, too , was doing battle in his dreams, and when he was replaying it in his head the one thought he came back to was that Miriah was there, in the med station, so she'd gotten out. She'd been moving on her own, and he remembered her trying to soothe him right before he'd been sedated. Thank the stars she's alive, he thought, everything else doesn't matter right now. For the first time since he'd been placed in the kolto tank, he could relax.
Magdalane was drained, but wouldn't leave the medbay. Corso had been pulled out of the tank, bleary eyed and sore, but mostly healed. All but his heart, he thought. That wouldn't be healed until Miriah woke up. Magdalane looked at her brother-in –law across the bed from her. He was covered in kolto residue, green bits drying in his dreadlocks. She sent Corso for a shower and some food, but he hadn't left for more than 5 minutes, so since he was now clean and dressed she knew he hadn't eaten. Magdalane stretched, and walked around for a few minutes since Corso was at Miriah's side. It had been a day since the healing trance, and she wasn't concerned yet, she knew it would take time. The infection had grown fast, very fast. It's because she so small and never rests properly, she thought. I've really got to talk to Corso about that. She also wondered if this was some new biological warfare, and decided she should investigate it further.
She walked back over to Corso then, but didn't have the heart to have a serious discussion with him. He looked so forlorn, so tired that she really wished he'd gotten more tank time if only to get him to rest.
Corso looked at her through bloodshot eyes, "You said yesterday you had to create a soul link to heal Mir. What exactly does that mean?"
Magdalane thought for a minute, then said, "To use the force to heal, you have to link your aura to theirs. Most of the time it's brief, and since in battle, you don't know or have a history with most of the people you heal, it's not an issue. But Miriah is my little sister, and her healing required extensive force use. The soul link I had with her was strong."
Corso looked a little worried about it, and Magdalane hurried to explain," it's not like I could read her mind or have control over her, but in the future it might be that we 'blend' a little more—for instance, she might like oatmeal, where she normally hates it but I love it so she might want it. I fully expect to have to stock real chocolate onboard the ship now," she chuckled. Corso smiled at that, he knew how much his captain needed her chocolate fixes, and would never eat that "replicated crap".
Miriah was drifting, soaring. She knew that Magdalane and Corso were near her, and that she was healing. She could feel their love and concern, but just couldn't open her eyes to tell them she was doing better. For two days she drifted, and each time she was semi aware, she knew that Corso was there. "Rest, my love, but come back soon," she heard him whisper as he lightly ran his fingers over her cheek. She wanted to, more than anything, but just couldn't force herself through the fog.
Finally, late on the second day, Miriah opened her eyes and everyone let out a sigh of relief. Corso smiled so big she was afraid he'd hurt himself again, and Magdalane hugged them both. The nightmare was finally over. Later, when she'd finally convinced Corso to go get some food, she had a minute to talk to Mags.
"Okay, Mags, what can I expect now that we've linked? And how much did you see in my mind, hmm?"
Magdalane responded, "What did I see? Oh, just the usual, new shoes, your ship, Corso, hot sex…" She was cut off when the pillow Miriah threw hit her face. They both giggled then, but Miriah wasn't sure Mags was kidding.
"Thanks Mags", Miriah said seriously, "I know it takes a bunch out of you to do those, and you know I love you." The sisters hugged for a long time.
Later that evening, Corso lay beside her in the narrow medbay. Miriah wasn't sure that was allowed, but she didn't really care. Every time she tried to talk about what had happened, he shushed her. She realized then that they didn't need to talk, not about the battle, because they fought together. All that really mattered was that they survived, and that they had each other. Miriah closed her eyes, and finally slept.