Miriah woke in the darkness of early morning, wrapped in Corso's arms. They had discussed looking into the war effort on Oricon, if it could even be called that, this morning. She was warm and relaxed, and tried to go back to sleep before she woke her husband, but when she nuzzled into his neck she felt him gently squeeze her. "S'up? You okay, kitten?" His sleep roughened voice was a low rumble in her ear, and she didn't reply. Instead she felt him relax again into sleep. She suppressed a sigh, wondering how they could make a difference in the Oricon matter. She knew Mags would be a major presence, but how would a force blind freighter pilot be of any use? Aric and Maura would be invaluable to the military presence there, and she knew they wouldn't hesitate to volunteer with the rest of them already involved. She turned once more, and Corso's warm breath on her neck lulled her back into sleep.
Magdalane had gotten up very early, and now was walking into the temple's dining hall for a cup of caffa. Felix was by her side, respectful of the Jedi code but not wanting his wife to be alone. They spotted Devin at the same time, and he trotted over to where they were about to sit. "Uncle Felix, " Devin said as he hugged the man, "you're up early. Aunt Mags, how do I get to be in on all this?" Magdalane almost choked on her caffa.
"No, no way, Dev. Your part is to remain here and train." He stared at her as she wiped caffa off her robe.
"Mom is going, isn't she? If she is, then Dad and Logan are. My whole family will be there making a difference and I'll be here learning what might or might not be in a holocron!" His impatience and anger were clear on his face, and his voice turned pleading. "You know I can help. I can fight. And you need force users, right?" He studied his aunt's face for any sign that she might be softening her stance.
Magdalane smiled at her nephew. "Devin, you being there would put your mom in greater danger, because she would always be distracted, worried about whether you were alright. Besides, nothing is set yet, we aren't even sure what our purpose there would be." She paused to take a sip from her mug.
Felix put his hand on his nephew's arm. "We'll make sure they're safe, and communicate with you as often as we can, but you really need to stay here. This won't be over soon, and the galaxy will need you when you're done, either on Oricon or some other conflict." Devin couldn't speak over the lump in his throat. Leave it to Uncle Felix to be the voice of reason, he thought. He only nodded as he stood and went back to his room to ready himself for more training.
Mags, ever aware of the atmosphere in the temple, turned to her husband. "I would kiss you right now, except there are accolytes here that shouldn't see that," she told him, smiling. He blushed, as she knew he would, and they rose to make their way to the council chamber. I haven't been here since I was being interrogated before the wedding, Felix thought. He looked around and realized nothing had changed. They found seats and waited, Felix feeling the stares and hearing the whispers around him, but not about to leave Mags. Sarai hurried in just as the council members filed in, and sat beside Felix, patting him on the arm.
"Pay no attention, Felix. They're merely curious about how real relationships work for so long." Sarai settled herself in her seat and got ready to hear details.
Hours later, they made their way back to the inn in stunned silence, Sarai leaning heavily on Felix's arm. They made their way to the cantina and found Aric and Maura there, discussing how to plan the Republic military ops from the ship. Aric turned to them with a grin that faded as he saw their expressions. "It's bad, isn't it?" Aric said, and turned to the service droid to order drinks. Magdalane waited for hers before she spoke.
"I have to go. There have been so many innocents killed, so much destruction," she said, shaking her head. The briefing had been very detailed and she was still reeling from it.
"Hold on a sec, I'll get Mir and Corso down here," Maura said and reached for her holo. After the quick call, they saw the couple approaching the table. Miriah stopped short when she saw her sister's pale face. Miriah's own expression hardened into one of determination.
"The ship is ready, Mags. We can leave as soon as I hug Devin one more time." She turned to Corso, "Sugar, Logan and Ian are out in the temple courtyard. We can.."
"Wait, Miriah," Felix said. "We need at least tonight to get things in place. Mags needs a physical and clearance, all the necessary data files transferred and such. I'll put together a dinner for us all, and let Devin know, okay?" Miriah nodded, and moved to hug her oldest sister.
"We'll be right there with you, Mags." She sat down with them, and pulled Corso to sit beside her. She could feel his strength and it settled her nerves. "Did you see Dev this morning?"
"We did," Mags replied. "He really wants to come to Oricon with us. Hopefully, Felix persuaded him to stay here and continue his training." Miriah nodded, she knew her son would want to help, it was his nature to protect. She was already worried about Logan being on the ship. "We need a plan. Corso and I did some research and so far, no one is flying anything to Oricon, because no one wants to get close to it. I think we may be on the ground, fighting." She sighed. "And, what then? How do we manage the kids?" That one thought had been nagging at her all day, how to make sure Ian, Logan and Coleen were safely away from danger.
"I think we'll have a clearer picture once we talk with Kenon,"Aric said, setting his empty glass on the table. "Which would be in just a few minutes." He took his holo from his pocket and made the call. The image of the general flickered and stabilized, and he greeting the assembly.
"General, where can we lend a hand on Oricon?"Aric asked.
"Well, I'm certainly glad you asked. I was going to ask you and your group to plan the Oricon strategy, real time on site. Sounds like you're a step ahead of me, as usual."
"Is there a base set up there? Is it stable?" Miriah asked, the uncertainty shining in her eyes. "My ship would remain in orbit, is that a problem?"
"We do have a base, with a stable perimeter. I'm sure Magdalane will be working on disrupting the influence of the Dread Masters, but there are plenty of other forces out there that are corrupted and serving them. We could sure use experienced fighters," he told them. "As far as the ship, I'd leave a force user aboard in case we aren't able to distract the Dread Masters enough." Miriah nodded, now she had an excuse to keep her mother aboard and out of the combat.
"So we should be prepared," Corso said thoughtfully. His concern was for his wife and his son, but he also knew that Miriah would want to keep her mother safe along with the young ones. By his thinking, leaving Logan, Sarai, Ian and Coleen aboard the Windwalker would be ideal, since his son could likely pilot the freighter in an emergency, and Sarai and Ian could deal with any force nonsense. He nodded, saw that his wife was thinking the same way, and winked at her.
"If you will send our clearances to the people there, we'll be on our way as soon as Master Magdalane gets hers from the Jedi," Aric said now, Maura stepping up beside him. She slipped her hand in his, knowing full well that they'd just taken a huge step, and hoping they were ready.
Devin felt the turmoil in his family and chaffed at the thought of not being with them. He sat, miserable but obedient, trying to be patient as the master pacing the classroom droned on. He felt his mother as clearly as if she were sitting beside him, and she was anxious. He sat on his hands, afraid he'd fidget and draw attention to himself. Just when he thought he couldn't possibly be still a minute longer, the master dismissed the class and Devin hastily walked out of the temple grounds toward the inn. He walked faster and faster, breaking into a run when he could see the sign above the inn's door. He slowed as he neared, recognizing his father sitting outside in the weak sunlight. "Dad, I'm so glad I caught you before you took off," he said, catching his breath.
"Son, you know better than to think we would leave without telling you," Corso told him. Devin felt his father's hand on the back of his neck. "But we are going to the front lines on Oricon." Devin stood and whirled around, taking Corso by surprise.
"Dad, I need to be with you. You know I can fight, and I want to. Logan is going. Please?" he begged.
"Devin, your mission is here. Training to become a Jedi fighter. This is where you need to be, you'd know that if you just search your heart. I know you want to be with us, and that you'll worry about what we're doing, but you have to know that your job is here." Corso could see the young man's frustration, but was surprised to see the unshed tears when Devin looked at him.
"I promised to always protect Mom. To never let dark side corruption touch her, ever. When I was only three, I promised that." He sat heavily beside his father. "I can't do that from here, Dad." He sniffed and hung his head. A Jedi shouldn't let his emotions get the better of him, he thought.
"You will be protecting her, Dev, by not forcing her to worry about you in combat. Logan is going to stay in orbit with Sarai and your cousins. I will take care of Mom, that is my promise to you." Corso hugged his oldest. "Now, let's hear no more of you wanting to abandon your training, okay? Take this night to love on your mom and let her know you're staying out of the line of fire for the time being." He felt Devin nod against his shoulder. "Let's go in, before someone comes searching." They made their way into the inn.
Logan had seen his brother running to the inn and wondered what was going on. He was about to go out to where he knew Corso was sitting when his mother stopped him. "Logan, we need to discuss this upcoming change," she said, and he knew it wouldn't be good. "We're heading out as soon as Mags gets her clearance. When we get to Oricon, I want you to stay on the ship."
"But, Mom," he said, seeing the determination in her gaze.
"No 'buts'," she replied firmly. "I need to know that my ship is safe, and that the younger children are safe. Nana will stay with you guys to provide force support, but I trust you with the ship." She saw his face take on a mixture of pride and disappointment.
"I wanted to fight with you guys," he said softly. "I see what you mean about the ship, but I wanted to do something useful, too."
Miriah laughed. "Son, knowing my ship is in good hands is useful. I won't have to worry about it or anyone on board. It's a great responsibility, do you think you can handle it?" She smiled as he nodded vigorously. They linked arms and made their way down to where the rest of the group was assembling.
While they were having dessert, Magdalane's datapad chimed. She ignored it, since she knew that her family was sitting with her and that Michi was on field training. Only after getting ready for bed did she take the device out. She looked at it for a moment, and sat beside Felix. "Well we'll be able to leave after noon tomorrow, that's when my documents will be ready." She leaned on his firm shoulder. "I can do anything as long as you're with me," she told him.
His reply was, "Always."