Corso woke before dawn, chaffing to be on the speeders out looking for Miriah. He'd slept fitfully, dreaming that she was in dire trouble, waking himself several times, out of breath and trembling. After starting the caffa he woke Risha and Akaavi. Bow joined them after only a few minutes. They'd decided the evening before that Bow would go with Corso to find their captain, but Risha still wasn't happy with that plan.
"I need to go with you, Corso. Bow can stay here and do flybys to see if he can locate her," she said now, tapping her foot at the caffa machine. "You know that's the best plan."
"Maybe, Risha, but I've been out there. The Regulators don't usually do ranged combat, they get up close and personal. I don't want to have to worry about you getting killed if we run into a pack or two." Corso sipped his caffa, burning his tongue but not caring. He wanted to be moving, and he'd do anything to get this over and get out there. She's out there, and she needs me.
"Fine," Risha huffed, and went to the bridge. Moments later, she was back in the lounge, the light of an idea in her eyes. "Hey, remember the trackers we put in the blasters after Torchy was stolen?"
"Yeah," Corso replied, blowing on his mug.
"She took Torchy with her, Cor. She made a point of it. If the blaster still has a charge, we can track her!" She turned and ran to the bridge, Corso on her heels. "I could just kick myself for not thinking of this before." She booted up the tracking software on the navigation computer. "There! The signal's weak, but it's there!" She watched as the blinking red dot began to fade, but it didn't move. "There's a lot of interference from the atmosphere, Corso, but I'm sending the coordinates to your datapad. Now, move!" She pushed the now smiling Mantellian toward the door. When he and Bow had pushed the speeders down the ramp, she let out a war whoop that she'd learned from Corso, looking forward to getting Miriah back home.
Miriah woke, and had just enough water left in her bottle to wet her dry mouth. She knew she had to get to the stream, but she was so tired. She knew she couldn't stand, and opted to use the rolling trick she'd used the day before. Problem was, she passed out on the way to the stream, and ended up splashing in rather than stopping on the bank. The crystal clear, cold water all around her had her gasping as she tried to reach the surface. Only when she'd slaked her thirst did she realize she'd left her water bottle up on the rocks. Damn! She floated on the water, letting the chill take the heat away from her wound, which was now beginning to ooze again. She made her way to the bank, used the last of her strength to pull herself up, and collapsed on the edge, slipping into unconsciousness again as the morning sun started to heat up the day.
Corso and Bow met the Republic outpost commander on their way out, and told him their mission. He gave them the latest intel on where the Regulators were likely to be, and wished them well. "That little woman left a wide path of death and destruction. We're deeply indebted to her, and hope you find her soon," he'd told them. Corso nodded and set off, Bow on his heels. He knew it was unlikely they'd get to her today, but he was going to do his best to cover as much ground as he possibly could.
Miriah smiled in her semi-conscious state, thinking of Corso's smile. She felt warm and cool, and roused further to realize she was still at the stream, her bare feet in the water. She inched her way up the bank on her elbows, but didn't get too far before her body shut down again, the infection and the lack of food taking over. She spent the day in and out of awareness, the pain bringing tears to her eyes that never fell and the fever progressively weakening her. The only relief she got was from the water and the dreams. By dusk, she had admitted to herself that she'd fought as long as she could, and had made peace with the effort she'd put forth. She slipped under again, knowing she might not wake, and her last thought was of Corso, of their life. She smiled in the darkness, and let go.
Corso felt a rush of fear fill his senses, and urged his speeder faster as he keyed his relay. "Risha, can you still see her?"
"Yes, she hasn't moved at all. Coordinates are the same," she responded. "You are making good time, Corso. Be careful. You can't help her if you're injured again." He nodded, not caring that she couldn't see him. They'd been traveling all day, and had seen the burned out camps and in some cases the bodies where Miriah had been. Bow had been amazed at the fury of his captain, but not surprised at the havoc she'd wreaked. He knew she was capable of such, he'd seen it once before, when she'd freed him from Hutt slavery.
They stopped for a short break, to eat and drink and just walk around for a few minutes. Bow offered Corso a meal pack, which he refused. "What good will you be, Corso, if your recovery suffers because you are stubborn?"
"I'm not being stubborn, my stomach is in knots, worried about Miriah," he said, pacing. "She may be perfectly fine, but my gut says she's not. It says she's hurting. If she hurts, then I hurt with her." He turned back to the speeder, not wanting Bow to see the tears that had filled his eyes at the thought of losing Miriah. He had to find her, soon. For both their sakes.
The darkness grew, but still Corso rode. He wouldn't stop until he had to, he'd vowed. He would keep going until he ran into resistance, but at the rate Miriah had decimated the Regulator camps, they saw nothing living except makrin and the occasional pterathki flying above them. He checked in with Risha regularly, and she'd told him the signal was weakening from Torchy. Figures, he thought, now that I'm out here. He surged forward, since the signal showed she was within a few kilometers from where they were now. Getting to where the coordinates led them, they saw nothing. They searched around and failed to see anyone or anything but rocks. Corso sat heavily, and contacted Risha again. "She's not here, Rish. You must be reading it wrong or something. There's nothing here."
"She has to be, Corso. The dot is weak but it's still in the same place it was when you left here," she assured him. "Maybe when it's daylight again you'll be able to tell what's going on." Corso sighed, he knew she was right. Bow made a fire and they settled in to wait for sunrise. Corso couldn't help but think about her, about them, and his stomach vied with his healing wound for the most painful. He sipped some water, ate half a protein bar, and dosed. In his dream, Miriah was reaching out to him, and just as he was about to touch her outstretched hand, he woke. The sun was pink in the sky, and he knew dawn was close. He made some instant caffa over the banked fire and sipped it slowly. I have to find her today. She's in trouble, I just know it. I feel it.
Bow sat up and joined Corso in the caffa, stretching and shaking his furry head. "There are some decomposing makrin that we passed not far from here, and I see a stream. Maybe she stayed close to the water?"
Corso stood and took out his macrobinoculars, scanning the area. He nearly dropped the expensive equipment when he saw a dark form near the stream's edge. "I see something!" He took off running, not waiting for the Wookie to rise and follow him. As he drew close, his heart told him it was her, even if his eyes weren't yet sure. When he saw the waterfall of black hair, he knew. He called out to her, but she didn't move. When he reached her, he went to his knees to pull her up, and when his hands touched her skin, he felt the fever.
"Here," Bow pointed out, "she's wounded, and it's infected. I'll go back for the med bag that Guss sent." Corso could only nod at him, holding his desperately ill wife. I'm here, darlin'. Now we have to get you back to the ship. He rose with her in his arms, deathly still and barely breathing, and carried her to where they had spent the night. We were so close, and didn't know she was there. What if the hours we spent sleeping pushed her past the point of recovery? He shook his head, he couldn't think about that now. All he could do was hold her. At least that, I know.