"What about Kenobi? You said you found him," Sev reminds me.
"I'll make the jump back to Myrkr to pick him up," Seely says.
"No let us do it," Sev says as the rest of Delta Squad loads up into the gunship. He gets into the pilot's seat and takes off without further discussion. I hold Seely close, trying to ease her worries.
"What if they don't come back? Or what if he's not there anymore?" Seely asks as she rests her head against my shoulder.
"They'll come back. If he's not there, we'll go looking for him, Yoda too if possible. My guess is he's on Tatooine right now looking after Luke," I answer, rubbing her shoulders and back.
"What of the baby girl?" she asks.
"She's on Alderaan right now. I was hoping you and I could adopt her," I say tentatively. She looks at me, smiling wide.
"You want to adopt a baby girl? How amazing! I agree we should take care of her. She'll be well protected here," Seely says, a gentle tone entering her voice. I smile and continue rubbing her back. She leans into me and hums softly. Mij and Qail walk over, talking excitedly.
"Exactly! We could potentially have the way to keep ourselves financially stable and anonymous," Mij exclaims.
"What are you two on about?" Seely asks, curious.
"She has made her food replicator efficient enough that we would run a small restaurant here on Mandolore," Mij says.
"That's amazing!" Seely says, getting more excited.
"It was nothing really," Qail says, sticking to her usual modest self. Seely gets up and hugs her.
"Lo'gaan and I are talking of adopting Leia," she tells Qail.
"Congrats," Mij says, shaking my hand Mando-style while the women hug. I nod.
"Thank you." The women end their hug, and face Mij and I.
"When the men get back we should pay Alderaan a visit," Seely says.
"I agree. We should get to know Leia and the Organa family," I say. Seely slips her arm around my waist and smiles. I smile as well and put my arm around her shoulders.
"In the mean time we should get some rest. It's been a busy day," Qail says. Seely nods and the two of us walk to our room. She closes the door behind us and starts to get changed. I look away, but she walks over and stands in front of me.
"You can watch while I change," she says.
"I know, but I'm still getting used to it. It's been a long time since I've been with anyone romantically," I tell her. She smiles and goes back to getting changed. I still don't watch her, and then I change for bed too. The mat in our room is too small for the two of us, so I take the floor. She lays on the mat and then looks at me surprised.
"Why are you over there cyar'ika? Shouldn't you be on the mat?"
"I'm over hear because I sleep better on the floor. Besides, when the bed is too small, the woman automatically gets it," I tell her. She smiles softly at me and caresses my cheek. I close my eyes and slowly fall asleep next to her.
The next morning when I wake up, Seely is half on top of me and sleeping peacefully. I gently ease her back onto the mat and get up to make us some breakfast. First, though, I better get some different clothes on. As I'm about to put my shirt on I see Seely's hands appear around my waist. I smile and gently squeeze her hands. She sighs and leans her head against my shoulders.
"Morning," she says, yawning.
"Morning. I'm guessing you slept well," I say.
"I did. I slept better than I ever have before," she says. I smile and let go of her hands so I can finish getting dressed. She changes as well and we walk out to the mess hall. Qail and Mij are talking and eating, obviously having a good morning. Seely goes and looks for something to eat, but doesn't find anything she likes. I walk up to the system Qail designed and program in my favorite recipe for oatmeal. It's a blend of maple syrup, oatmeal, and a touch of cinnamon. When the computer finishes making it, I set it on the table and walk back to the kitchen to get something for Seely. She looks at me, still rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
"What can I get you?" I ask her.
"I don't know. There isn't really anything I really want for breakfast," she says.
"I can make something for you if you have a favorite recipe for me," I suggest.
"I'll have whatever it is that you're having. If you're eating it, it must be good. I nod and make her a small bowl of it just in case she doesn't like it. I carry it over to the table for her and pull out her chair so she can sit down. She smiles at me as she sits down, and slowly blows on the oatmeal to cool it down some.
"I'm assuming this is food from your home," she says, examining a spoonful of the oatmeal.
"It is. It's good for warming up and giving someone long lasting energy. I really like it," I tell her, making her smile some.
"Ok. I'll try some," she says hesitantly. She takes a bite and lets it sit in her mouth for a bit, exploring the new flavor. After she swallows, I can barely see the spoon she's eating it so fast.
"Somebody's hungry," I say, chuckling a little.
"I am. I would love some more of that," she says, passing me her bowl. I chuckle some more and get her a bigger bowl. She smiles gratefully and gives me a little hug before I sit down to eat my bowl. Mij and Qail join us, both of them attracted to the smell of the oatmeal.
"What is that?" Qail asks.
"It's called oatmeal. It's a breakfast food from my world. It's great for long lasting energy," I tell them. Qail nods and looks over at Seely.
"What do you think of it?" she asks.
"It's delicious. Better than anything I could come up with," Seely says, blushing a little. Mij chuckles.
"Think we would like it?" he asks.
"I'm sure you would. I can get you some after I'm done eating," I say.
"Sounds good. I'm still hungry," Qail says. I smile and finish my bowl a few minutes later. After I wash my bowl and Seely's I get Mij and Qail some oatmeal. They gobble it up as well, satisfied by the new meal.
"If you guys don't mind, I'm going permanently program some of the foods from my homeworld into the computer so I don't have to constantly reprogram it every time you guys want something," I say.
"Go right ahead. I'm sure we will love your food," Qail says.
"If you don't, I won't take it personally," I say as I sit down to program the computer. After a few hours of programming, the computer knows how to make PBJs, grilled cheese, chicken soup, oatmeal, coffee, hot cocoa, and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. I'm interrupted when a call comes in over the holonet.
"Obi-Wan isn't on Myrkr anymore. He's been transported to Korriban by the Sith," Sev says, a frustrated and somewhat fearful voice. I look over at Seely to find her shaking and rocking back and forth. Mij walks over to her and puts a comforting arm around her. I turn back to Sev.
"How do you know this?" I ask him.
"Because they just took off with him and left us a message. The message…the message was cut into Fixer's chest with a knife. We're coming back as we speak," Sev says, his voice growing angry. Seely jumps up in rage and grabs her lightsabers out of our room.
"I'm coming with the rescue team to Korriban," she says. I stand next to her and gently take her wrist.
"As am I. Wherever my cyar'ika goes, I go. No matter how dark."
"I couldn't ask that of you two," Sev says.
"We're volunteering," I say. Seely nods in agreement.
"Talk more in a few minutes. We're making our approach," Sev says and cuts the communication. He and the others are rushing in with Fixer unconscious on a stretcher. Seely gasps at the sight of him and helps Mij stabilize him. I run back out and refuel the gunship and make sure it's battle ready for our next mission. The ysalamiri both run out to the cargo bay by me, looking at me intensely. I suddenly feel the force of a mind pressing against mine. It's the male.
[I am Sala and this is my friend Rose. We will accompany you on your mission.]
[It's going to be dangerous. We don't know what we're going to encounter there.] he considers what I say, and then replies.
[It's more dangerous for you and your group alone than it is with us along. We can negate the Force, making the Sith less potent.]
[You can't stop us.] I look over at Rose, and then back at Sala.
[If you two insist.] They walk over to the gunship and jump in. Sev, Seely, and the rest of Delta Squad minus Fixer jump into the gunship a few minutes later. Seely joins me in the cockpit and we take off, heading for Korriban. The gunship shakes and shudders hard once we drop into the atmosphere.
"What's going on up there?" Sev asks.
"I don't know," Seely says.
"Me either," I add.
"Probably some sort of storm," Boss says.
"If it is, I've never seen anything like it before," I say. Suddenly a Dalek zooms past the windscreen. I curse under my breath.
"What in the name Mandolore was that?!" Seely exclaims.
"That was a Dalek. Deadly warriors from Earth's past. If they're flying around randomly like that, there's a rift in time nearby. If there's a rift intime, here in particular, we're in for the long haul."