Redemption

Continued from "To All Things, An End."

He had been in hyperspace for 3 days now; he knew someone would come after him so he dared not stop. But his craft was NR, so he had to get rid of it and soon. He had a feeling Steffan wanted him found, and he knew that hiding from that Jedi was almost impossible.

"Rancor's Lair, come in."

Ainar had set a course for a star-system near Kessel, going straight for Barab in this craft left a trail Steffan would be sure to find.

"Rancor's Lair respondin'. What's yer bidness here?"

Ainar had to make this convincing, if they found out that he was a Jedi they would shoot him out of the sky. "Rancor's Lair, my name is Lissord Perenzo. I'm on the run from those blasted NR agents, and I need to get rid of this vessel as soon as possible." A few seconds passed and Ainar felt that he was getting nervous. If they didn't buy it, he would have to jump out of here real fast.

"Cap'n Perenzo...that vessel is registered to a Jedi...next you are gonna tell me you killed 'im!"

Thankfully Ainar had made sure to erase every bit of data on this ship about his real identity and changed into a old flight suit he found in the cargo bay. The suit did not smell very good. "No, I didn't kill anyone...I needed a ride and I stole this ship on Coruscant. Now they are after me! Please." Ainar started punching in a new set of coordinates, just in case they didn't believe him.

"Cap'n, we are sendin' you landin' coordinates. Shut down your weapon systems and exit the ship unarmed, and then we will see if you are really who you say you are..."

"Alright, I'll do that, thank you." Ainar cut the channel and fed the data into the computer and entered the planet's atmosphere. He had his passport ready, and he stretched. Hopefully he would be out of here in a few hours. Suddenly Ainar felt a wave of emotions hit him, he leaned against the panel and regained his balance. "Welcome back Arie...it's good to have you back," he said to no one in particular. He wanted to contact her, let her know how much he cared for her...but he couldn't risk it...risk her locating him in the Force. He sat down at the controls again and prepared the ship for landing.

Livda

She lay naked in his arms, shivering as the hot water ran down over him and onto her. His chest was warm and firm against the side of her head. She shivered again...she could not get warm... Her skin against his, wrapped tightly in his arms at the bottom of her 'fresher tub, letting hot streams of water pour over their bodies, he held her tighter still...

She continued to shiver...warmth was eluding her body... She tried to move closer into his arms, but she was as close as she could get without becoming one with him...the limits of physical reality were confining. She turned in his arms so that his chest was pressed against hers and her head rested on his shoulder. Every muscle in her body ached...

The shivering slowed... Myk-Ron...I'm so cold... She sent out weakly.

"I'm right here, my love. I'm not letting go," Myk-Ron voiced, looking down at his wife's weakened form lying naked in his arms. Upon her return from the other side, he had immediately gotten undressed and into the bathtub with her in his arms, allowing the hot water to stimulate her skin and body...he did not have a bacta tank handy, so the tub had to do.

She was quiet...too quiet for his tastes. "Arie...come on, baby-doll, talk to me," Myk-Ron pleaded softly as his wife's form was very still in his arms, shaking her lightly to get her attention.

I hurt, was all she managed to send out. She was too weak to voice her own thoughts and what little strength she could draw from the Force was just enough to send her husband a mental message.

"I know you do, darlin', but you gotta try talkin' to me...I gotta keep you here with me...I'm not letting go of you again," Myk-Ron said, beginning to rock her gently in his arms, the tub and 'fresher room cloudy with steam from the hot water.

"Did...you get the number...on the bantha that ran me over?" Arie weakly joked, opening her eyes for the first time in what felt like ages to see a blurry version of her husband's face looking down at her, smiling. Her voice was soft and dim, with no real effort behind its tone.

Myk knew she was very, very weak...traveling between realms and within worlds had put a strain physically, emotionally, and mentally on Arie...still she was making an effort to talk and stay awake.

"That's my girl..." Myk laughed softly, hugging her close to him.

"Remind me...never to do that...again..." Arie weakly said.

"I'm never going to let you do that again. I know what it's like on the other side, and I refuse to lose you..." Myk agreed. He moved her head to his right shoulder and draped her legs over his lap and left arm and cradled her in his right arm.

Arie smiled weakly at him. He leaned over and kissed her...deeply...as if he would never let her go...

He kept a silent vigil with her for the rest of the night. She lay under fifteen blankets on the bed and Myk had the heat dialed up to near unbearable conditions...yet she still shivered. He wore no more than a loose pair of shorts on the bed next to her with one arm around her incredibly fragile body. Coming back from the dead was no easy task, and the ordeal had taxed her dearly. Throughout the night, Myk lay there awake, concentrating on the Force and channeling it through him and into his girl. He could feel the life energy slowly begin to grow inside her...but it would take a little time for her to heal fully.

And yet...

The Phoenix had returned to her...he could feel its immense power within her. He could only guess that the warmth of the Phoenix was draining Arie's body of heat as the two sought their familiar coexistence.

Myk had a suspicion that when she did finally recover, she'd be back to her old self again. She'd be back to the way she was when she was twenty-four, strong and able both mentally and physically. She might even be stronger. The bird had certainly felt stronger...

She stirred in his arms. "It's a little hot, babe," She mumbled, half-asleep. Myk smiled as he removed a few of the blankets and lay back down beside her. She was getting better with each passing hour. Setting his mind back at ease, Myk began channeling the Force into his wife again.

He awoke to the sounds and smells of breakfast, and cursed himself for having fallen asleep. Something wasn't right, Arie wasn't next to him.

He leapt out of bed and cringed as his cracked ribs protested the sudden movement. In light of everything that had happened, he'd completely forgotten about the wounds he'd sustained under Ainar's assault and Rhen Var. His body was young again, the old pain was gone, but broken ribs are broken ribs. He shoved the pain aside for now. Quickly, he threw on his pants and shirt, ignoring the pain such motion caused. He grabbed his lightsaber and burst out of the room...

Interrupting what looked like a down-home, family breakfast.

"You look quite the warrior, Myk-Ron," Steffan joked from the table. "Saving the galaxy in our pajamas now, are we?"

Arie smiled from the stove, and Myk could sense the energy flowing off of her. She was back. She was strong. And, she positively glowed.

Myk laughed. "I haven't had a home-cooked meal in...well...longer than I care to think about. I thought I'd been kidnapped." He tossed his lightsaber back into the bedroom and crossed the kitchen to his wife. "I dunno what you're makin', Babe, but it sure smells good." He went for the spoon in the pot on the stove, but Arie slapped his hand away.

"You go sit at the table like a civilized being, ya big nerf-herder," Arie chided him. Myk stole another quick kiss and went to sit down. A slight groan escaped him as his ribs again protested against his moving. But, despite the pain, as Myk looked around the table he couldn't help but smile. This was why he fought. This was the stuff life was made of.

The galaxy could wait; Ainar could wait. For now, he was content to just sit and eat. For now, he could soak it all in and truly know what it was he fought for.

They had spent the day practicing, training, healing, relaxing, and eating. The Dinn and Karrde family together on the back porch terrace overlooking Arie's massive yard and then the city of Vista-Lopo down in the valley below.

It had been peaceful all day...a day of rest for friends, family...and Jedi alike.

Arie had been keeping tabs on the Endor events through her squadron's datapad and comlinks. Brink seemed edgy every time she pulled up the latest news, but relaxed once he heard that the last of the mobile suits controlled by the Bothans had been captured...When they had left the battle, the Sith had all been destroyed. Thanks to Andrea and Blue Talon.

Arie, on the other hand, seemed more relaxed than Brink had seen her in years. She seemed completely at peace with the idea that the Catanni Admiral DeSoto, and the Corellian Colonel Turner, along with Admiral Layloto-San were conducting the clean-up and last sweeps of the battle just fine without her overseeing eye.

Unbeknownst to anyone in the group, she could feel Ainar in the Force, but she did not try to narrow his location. She knew he was searching for something in his soul and needed this time to himself and she was content to let her former student walk his own path in life... She had been down the same road Ainar was now walking and she knew this was something he had to do on his own...he had to make peace with the past in his own way and in his own time...however long that took.

She could also feel something else...something darker than she had ever felt before... since being in the Haze, as she was calling the in between feeling of the Force, she had a keener feeling for things further away from her. Almost as if her intuition in the Force had been sharpened to a fine point...she could feel it, whatever it was...out there in the cold blackness of space...

Later that night, after the Karrde family had occupied her guest rooms and had long since fallen asleep, she found her husband standing in the hallway leading to the master bedroom, staring at the holos she had framed on the wall... pictures of her family, her friends, her squadrons long since passed... pictures of her and Myk-Ron and Kevin...and Calsa and Ter-lon.

Arie walked up behind her husband who was wearing a pair of black silken night slacks and no shirt. The weather was always warm and pleasant on Livda, and Myk-Ron had forgotten how warm it could get. Arie had remembered though and was wearing a light blue satin nightgown, ankle length, sleeveless with a sheer outer blue shawl around her shoulders.

Arie stood behind Myk and wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head upon the back of his shoulder. She felt him wince slightly from pain. "You really should let me heal those ribs," Arie whispered softly, kissing her husband's shoulder, his skin soft against her lips.

"I know...I just didn't want to stress you after you'd just come back from that place…and, I guess I'm too thick-headed to ask for help," Myk-Ron softly laughed, so as not to wake the Karrde family.

Arie turned her husband around in the hallway and leaned into his arms. He wrapped her up against him and let her rest her head upon his chest. He laid his chin upon the top of her head for a moment and they stood together, peaceful.

Then Myk-Ron winced again, but this time not from pain but cold shock. He looked down past his wife in his arms to find Arie's two canines at her heels. One of them had rubbed its cold, wet nose against his arm, making him jump.

"Damn dogs," Myk-Ron cursed lightly, squeezing his wife in his arms.

"They aren't dogs, honey...they are domesticated Thorus Sounders, and they're just big babies," Arie softly laughed, letting her left hand fall to the canines and stroked their heads as they licked her hand.

"I thought you were going to use some of your fiery bird voodoo magic on me to heal my ribs..." Myk-Ron joked softly, lifting his wife's chin to kiss her. She got the hint and smiled at him.

"Well, darling...that would require your presence in the bedroom with me...and without your clothes," Arie slyly smiled as she kissed her husband again and walked down the hallway, grinning over her shoulder, beckoning him to follow her...