Though he had made the jump to hyperspace from the Huxnel's Star Destroyer flagship the Vandal several hours ago and was already thousands of lightyears away, Horatio Sheridan was beginning to feel anxious again. He needlessly sat at the small transport's controls as it soared through space, nervously tapping his fingers on the console. In the cabin behind him was a comatose Koril Rys'tihn, suffering intense, painful attacks every few minutes. The Huxnel had given him a virus, but it was more incapacitating than the ones Horatio had seen them use before. He had no idea how much longer the Paneau native was going to be able to survive, if he was even going to at all.
Horatio brought his hand to his temple in concern, glancing behind him at Koril lying on the bench. It could just as easily be him lying there in agony after all the sabotage he had dealt the Huxnel. Though his chest was still sore from his close call after contacting the New Republic, he had somehow managed to avoid further detection long enough to escape, toting Koril along in the bottom of a cargo container. Had they caught him...he didn't even want to imagine what they'd do to him, but he figured it'd be similar to what Koril was going through. Aside from death, there wasn't much worse the Huxnel bestowed on their captives and traitors than this custom-made virus.
Over the past few hours, Horatio had monitored Koril and checked his vital signs. Though his condition was stable and had changed little since they had left, Koril's irises were partially turned black. With each attack the virus deposited black specks, turning his once brown eyes into a strange, spotted mix. It wouldn't be too much longer before the brown was gone completely, and Horatio idly wondered if the color transformation was a countdown, a way to gauge just how much time Koril had left.
Staring at the floor in thought, Horatio shook his head as his eyes blurred out of focus suddenly. As he moved, though, his head instantly throbbed piercingly, nearly blinding him. Holding his head in his hands, he started to panic as he felt his whole body beginning to shake. His plan was backfiring; he wasn't going to make it.
While he could still see, he pulled the transport out of hyperspeed and searched the sensor display to determine where he was. He was still days away from where he needed to be, but he couldn't risk it. He had to stop. Punching in coordinates, he turned the transport around as he fired up the comm and sent a transmission request.
After a few worrying minutes, a small blue holo figure appeared on the console, crossing his arms as the image sharpened.
"Horatio," the Bith man began with an air of surprise and slight disdain. "I didn't think I'd ever be hearing from you again."
"I need a f-favor, Doc," Horatio replied quickly. His shaking was noticeable in his voice as he spoke, despite his best efforts to control it.
"Not interested," the holo answered darkly, but Horatio persisted.
"It's not for m-me, it's for someone else. I'm not going to mak-ke it to you, so I need you t-to meet me here," he said as he sent coordinates. "There's a man in my sh-ship with me who needs your help. The Huxnel infected him with s-something I've never seen bef-fore."
"Still not interested. I'm not getting mixed up with them again."
"Dr. Vil, please," Horatio begged. "You're th-the only chance he's got. You'll find yourself in g-good standing with some Jedi if you s-save him."
At that, Dr. Vil paused as he seemed to consider the request, making Horatio hold his breath in anticipation. As the tense moments passed, Horatio felt his shaking worsening, his vision nearly blurred completely. The doctor finally sighed, releasing his rigid stance.
"I want your word this won't get back to the Huxnel."
Horatio nodded. "There's n-no way they can track m-me." He wrapped his arms around himself tightly, desperately trying to lessen his shaking. He couldn't fight it much longer.
"Alright," Dr. Vil agreed reluctantly. "I'll send my assistant to your location. But if he gets one, one suspicious feeling, he's leaving you where you are."
"No t-tricks, Doc," Horatio assured him, and the holo nodded as it disappeared.
Trying to leave the cockpit, Horatio nearly fell to the floor, finding his legs numb. As he stumbled, something fell out of his pocket and clinked as it landed on the ship's durasteel floor, but focused on a datapad lying among discarded droid parts, he ignored it. He was hardly able to control his legs enough to step over to it, but finally close enough, he collapsed onto the floor on his side, reaching a trembling hand out to grab it. Though his vision was extremely blurry, he forced them to focus as he typed out instructions for the doctor. Just as he finished, he completely lost feeling in his hands, and the datapad fell and settled onto the floor beside his head.
The last to climb up the Celestia's rear ramp while intently inspecting a hefty blaster she had been given, Mand Natiyr nearly ran into Elena and Rech, both of whom had stopped at the top. Holstering the blaster at her side quickly, she looked between them to see what had halted them.
A young, brown-haired man roughly their age stood in the Celestia's main hold, smiling kindly at them. Though Mand didn't immediately recognize him, neither Rech nor Elena seemed alarmed, but rather waiting.
"I'm here on Deilia's behalf," the man explained to the three. "She's okay, but she still needs to rest." With a light smile, he looked at Rech. "She wanted me to thank you again, Rech, for what you did. I thank you, too. We're both very grateful."
Though somewhat confused, Rech nodded politely. Mand was confused, too, clueless about whom he was talking, but the longer she looked at the man, the more familiar he seemed. She had to have met him at least once before, but where?
"Anyway," he said as he pulled a small device from a container at his feet, "she wanted you to have this, Elena." He held it up, handing it to her after a moment. "It's a transponder calibrated to detect your family's Crests. In your hand, it can catch a signal within about 50 kilometers, but hooked up to the Celestia's sensors, you might get a few thousand kilometers. It's not much, but this way you'll at least know when you get close."
Elena turned the transponder over in her hands, looking it over numbly. Wordlessly she nodded her thanks as she looked back up him, and the young man continued.
"Our agents around the galaxy are keeping watch. We'll contact you immediately if we hear anything. We're going to find him, Elena," he said confidently, leveling an intense gaze at her, "I have no doubt."
From behind her, Mand squeezed Elena's shoulder, expressing her support, as well. Elena nodded only slightly, though, blankly focused on the floor. Looking at Elena, the young man's expression fell into a concerned frown, and he sighed lightly as he glanced between Rech and Mand.
"You three be careful," he warned earnestly. With a small nod, he stepped around them and exited the Celestia, casually strolling out of the hangar without direction. Mand exchanged a confused look with Rech, but Elena momentarily remained stoic.
Before Mand could say anything, Elena suddenly left Rech and Mand behind, making her way through the Celestia with purpose, searching the cabin for something. Curious and concerned, Mand followed her, though she kept her distance.
"Elena," she began carefully, "who was that?"
Without looking back as she continued down a corridor leading to the yacht's lower level, Elena answered tiredly. "Long story, I'll explain later--there you are."
As Mand caught up, she watched as Elena briefly conversed with the astromech Eewon, who was in turn interpreted by Kaydee.
"He says he most definitely can install it, Mistress Elena," Kaydee reported as she turned to her. "He will get to work on it straight away."
"Once you connect it to the Celestia's sensors, it can be easily disconnected and used by itself again, right?"
Eager, the droid whistled positively and extended a small mechanical arm from its body. After a brief hesitation, Elena placed the transponder in Eewon's grip, and he turned squarely in place, heading for the cockpit with Kaydee close in tow.
Mand watched Elena heave a heavy sigh, though she still stood in the middle of the corridor. As Mand stepped toward her, though, Elena snapped from her daze and looked up, leveling an intense gaze at her.
"Where are we going first? Where would they have gone to hide?"
Briefly stunned by the sudden change, Mand fumbled for something to say. "Well, I have a few places in mind, but it'll take a couple of days to get there." Seeing Elena's expression darken, Mand continued gently. "You understand that we have to proceed cautiously, right? There's no way this yacht can take four Star Destroyers head on, and if they think they're being followed, there's no Bothan in the galaxy that could find them. We have to be careful, but that doesn't mean that I don't have a plan, okay? You trust me, don't you?"
At that, Elena closed her eyes and released a long, slow breath as Mand gripped her shoulders lightly.
"I do," Elena said sadly. "I'm sorry."
Mand pulled her friend into a tight embrace, knowing full well the anxiety she was feeling. Only after a few silent moments did Mand continue.
"I know it's hard," Mand whispered, "but you do need to take it easy. Your little one needs you right now. I already told you that nothing's going to stop me, so let me do this, okay?"
Stepping out of her embrace, Elena nodded with an appreciative gaze, though she was instantly distracted by something to her left. Mand looked, too, and saw Rech slowly approaching them, his expression calm.
"We're ready," he reported softly, and again finding purpose, Elena followed him back up to the cockpit with a swift stride. By the time Mand caught up again, both Rech and Elena were already seated at the controls and had powered up the engines, making quick work of the initiation sequences. Seeing Kaydee seated and secured in the cabin and Eewon stationed beside her, Mand sat, too. Within seconds, the Celestia roared to life as she left the hangar and sped into space, leaving the dark, drenched city behind.
Once clear of the Paneau System, Mand stepped up behind Rech and leaned over his shoulder, keying in hyperspace coordinates and setting the nav computer to the task of calculating the jump. It beeped quietly after a few tense moments, and as Rech engaged the hyperdrive and stars began streaking past the viewport, Mand sighed and leaned against the console.
Elena was the first to break the silence. "How long is the first jump?"
"Seventeen hours," Rech answered quietly. He was staring hard at the controls, his shoulders rigid with tension. Mand felt her stomach tie in a knot, apprehensive as she realized his dilemma. After a few quiet moments, Mand caught Elena's gaze, and thankfully, Elena understood her expression.
"I'm...going to go lay down for a little while. I'm tired."
"Take Kaydee with you," Mand instructed gently. Though Elena initially began to protest, she stopped and nodded respectfully, leaving the cockpit with the talkative droid. As Mand watched the two disappear into one of the Celestia's deluxe bedrooms, she moved slowly as she took Elena's seat beside Rech, swallowing as she watched him intently.
Long, silent moments passed before Rech even opened his mouth, escalating Mand's anxiety. Her hands were ice cold, folded tightly in her lap as she waited for her husband, her careworn companion to speak. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally drew in a long breath and spoke with his gaze still fixed on the controls in front of him.
"I was so sure that you'd never want to be that close to me ever again."
Resisting the urge to immediately tell him how wrong he was, Mand held her breath, allowing him to continue.
"I know you want to know what happened to me at Tarthos Industries, and I will tell you, but there are other things I want to say first." He paused, gathering his thoughts as he looked up and out the viewport at the streaks of light speeding by. "I've had a lot of time to think, but there's really only been one thing on my mind since I left you that day."
Slowly turning to meet her gaze, he looked at her with a defeated expression, his voice resigned to sorrow.
"There's no way I can ask forgiveness for what I did to you."
Shakily, Mand released the breath she had been holding, gazing deeply into his eyes as she was hardly able to force her voice to work.
"You don't have to."
As Rech's brows furrowed in confusion, Mand drew in a trembling breath, continuing. "I know exactly what you went through. More than anybody, I know what that...suffocating, smothering pressure in your mind feels like. I spent four years under it. Your thoughts are no longer your own, clouded completely by the Dark Side and by their influence. You were not responsible for what you did."
Rech's expression darkened suddenly. "You didn't hurt me like I --"
"Yes, I did," Mand interrupted, her eyes sympathetic. "After you rescued me, I pushed you away, and I know that had to be extremely painful after all you went through to find me."
Processing what she had said, Rech looked to the floor as wounded memories surfaced in his eyes. Somehow finding the strength to, Mand continued.
"I know the Lightning was your doing, though." Rech looked up at her instantly, regret and fear saturating his expression. Mand gently shook her head, her eyes soft.
"But you had to. I could see it in your eyes...how much you wanted to believe me alive after my father had fed you lies. How else in that instant could you have known if I was really there?"
Still unwilling to forgive himself, Rech lowered his gaze again. Reaching a shaky hand across to him, she gently placed her palm at his jaw and turned his head to her, meeting his eyes with her own resolute.
"I cannot, I will not fault you for what happened."
The sorrow in his expression remained, though. "But our connection..."
Again, Mand shook her head. "We can work on repairing it."
Casting his gaze down, an unworthy expression rolled over his face, prompting Mand to again turn his jaw up to look at her as she softened her voice even more.
"You are still my husband, and I still love you as much as I did before. I will not leave you."
Finally releasing a shaky breath of his own, Rech closed his eyes and lowered his head, bringing a hand up to the one Mand still had at the side of his face. After a moment, he turned his head slightly into her palm and kissed it lightly as she stroked his cheek with her thumb. With tears brimming in her eyes, she stood and stepped closer to him, cupping his face in both hands as she turned his head up to her, leaned in and kissed him sweetly.
Though their faces were still only inches apart, Rech opened his renewed eyes to meet Mand's, and seeing the transformation, she allowed a few tears to fall. He gently brushed them away, tracing her cheek with his fingertips.
"I missed you," he breathed, and as she hadn't been able to for several weeks, Mand smiled.