Making time again
To show them who you are
Why not be happy
With the things you have done
Why not be satisfied
You're not the only one-Hungry Lucy, "Stretch"
It was time to think. Really think. Face could think of no reason to put it off any longer. They were hours away from Corellia, and Kirney was working with her copilot on the final destination coordinates. He found his way to the cargo station, where most of the Wraiths had set up a comfortable spot to stay. Kell and Tyria were already there as well, having taken a moment to check out the supply and see if there was anything that could reasonably be made to explode in case of emergencies.
"Hey Kell," he casually asked, "see if we can't close the door there."
The larger man took a moment to think about that request, seeming to be cataloguing part of Kirney's shipment, then moved to the portal. It was a simple design, and was meant to shut although it had long ago had the programming switched to keep it always open. Kell considered the device for a few minutes, pulled out a small mechanic's kit and soon had the door closed all the way.
Face looked around the room at the Wraiths, considering each of them for a good long while. They hadn't spoken alone, together, since getting on Talon's Revenge, and it was time to really stop and think.
"Impressions, anyone?" Face began. "We've had a lot to take in these past few days. That data chip screams of plant. There's an ewok pilot on this ship programming like it's nothing. And, of course, Lara."
Shalla seemed to shift a bit at that last.
"Nelprin?"
"You said the chip screamed of plant," Shalla started. "Might I suggest that so does Lara- Kirney- Gara… whoever she is."
"I don't think so," Tyria whispered.
That caused a few eyebrows to raise.
"Why not?"
Tyria shifted uncomfortably, and cleared her throat. "I just- I don't think so. I don't feel any deceit in her. At all."
It was Runt who made the next connection. "She's too confused to be a real threat to anyone. Too many minds talking to her. She used to have control over them. We're not sure if she still does."
"Or if she wants to," Elassar mentioned. 'I mean, she hasn't exactly found the best of luck."
There was a bit of a murmur.
"There is one sure way to tell how genuine she is," Kell put in, keeping an eye on Face's reaction to what he was about to suggest. "There are two people in this ship who can tell us for sure what's going on. I suggest we pull them aside."
Tyria thought about that, considering her boyfriend a moment, then nodded. "The droid or the ewok, then?"
"We know Tonin," Shalla mentioned. "Can we trust the ewok?"
"At the very least, I'd like to know his story." That was Face, and he actually made the comment with quite a bit of humor in it. It felt good- like a lost art, and the paintbrush thanked him for picking it up again. "We know that's got to be interesting."
Everyone nodded.
"If the droid and the ewok both honestly trust her, there's not much chance that she's lying."
"I don't think she's capable of lies at this point."
"I'll believe it when I hear it."
"Are we really going to turn our backs on her if she's being forced to dance on a thin line?"
"We'd at least have to report it to Cracken, since it seems she's one of his agents." Face sighed, then looked at Dia. She hadn't talked since they'd entered, but instead kept a focused eye on her normal boyfriend. "Dia, want to weigh in here?"
The next line took the breath from everyone in the room. "I just don't want you to sleep with her."
--- --- -------- ---- --- ------
Wedge kept with Corran as a pair, and they landed directly at the nearest New Republic base. Either of them was too well known to physically be on Corellia, but it made sense that they should organize the effort from off planet. If they were needed, they could appear in an instant- if not, they would simply keep the information misled.
Cracken had been very specific that Kirney Slane was supposed to be left to her own devices so long as they proved enough to ensure her safety. He would let her know that someone had her back, but not tell her the specifics… probably best.
Wedge was still confused by Myn's reaction to Slane. It made no sense that he should have such a negligible emotional response to learning of her survival. From what Wedge could tell, it was as if the pilot hadn't even seen past her lie and ignored the sender. It seemed impossible- Donos was a smart man. Wedge couldn't help a feeling that something was wrong…
But Myn knew Kirney, as Lara. And he was a good shot with a rifle. If Kirney needed back up, there were few people better. So the decision remained.
Tycho and Myn were on their way to Coronet based on the latest Intel. Tycho had a good handle on the situation, with a full briefing on Myn's personal dealings with Lara/Gara/Kirney. Tycho was a good man, and would keep his head no matter the situation. Plus, since he had seen action as an Imperial he would have a certain amount of compassion for the person they were there to protect.
Wedge watched the pair head off, hoping that it would be nothing more than a pleasant trip to Corellia and an exercise in covert operations. He also had a bad feeling that it wasn't going to be so smooth.
--- ----- ---- ----------
"I'll take that under advisement," Face said at length.
He looked at the rest of the Wraiths gathered and had to admit their reactions were priceless. Mostly laughter.
"I'm being serious."
"I never doubted that."
None of them considered that Kirney was on her own ship, and new every in and out. At that moment, Tonin was nestled up against the door as Kirney passed.
"Ton!" she whispered, incredulous. "They're friends. Don't spy on them."
(( I thought you said they wouldn't like you again. ))
"That may be, but they are still my friends."
(( Can they be your friends when they don't like you? ))
Kirney halted. "It's complicated," she admitted. "Ton, please.. please?" It was a quiet moment, and she realized that she was kneeling on the floor, at Tonin's level. "Please respect them. Like you respect me. And erase anything you just heard."
(( It's about you. ))
Kirney felt her heart seize in her chest. This left her with something of a dilemma, a harsh reality to face. She would have to try again. How many times can a person reinvent themselves before they are nothing?
Kirney turned away, focusing on the floor, and remembered a conversation with Kolot shortly after turning to Corellia.
They say that one candle loses nothing by lighting another. Silly people. They obviously have never tried to light a candle with a flame that was already sputtering, weak.
"I realize that completely," Kirney admitted. "Erase it. Then knock on the door politely and tell them that we're in Coronet. They won't have felt that landing."
-- ------- ----------- ------------------
Myn was just as happy to have a chance to sit back and relax as he went towards Corellia. It was a smooth shuttle ride, and the whole trip seemed like something out of a dream. Tycho and he were in adjoining rooms on a larger transport, traveling as business partners trying to make contact with an old classmate.
That meeting would only happen if it had to.
Meanwhile, Myn had a chance to reflect. And some memories came unbidden…
At one point, in talking with Wes, Myn had been surprised to have his old instructor suggest that the emotions that came to mind were false. Myn had searched that, and realized that the emotions were quite real, but that his memories were primarily filtered. After those few weeks of wandering about, unsure how he would cope besides acting on childish desires, Myn had found his memories of Lara had muted. It was as if she was someone he had almost known, and had created false memories of.
Very rarely were the thoughts vivid…
It never happened on regular, random days.
A regular random day…
Myn Donos found his mind wandering. He thought of reeling it back in, then decided to see where it would lead him.
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
A regular, random day, void of any real issues. Myn had enjoyed days like these, because it was easier not to think. He didn't enjoy much these days, and was social only when people pressed him, and it was better that way. Of course, the one problem with useless days is that it made it harder to find something to do…
Myn took a look at the rifle case in the corner and shrugged to nobody. It was a good idea to get some practice, probably, and it would help keep him occupied. And most people chose not to bother him much when he was armed. So he grabbed the case, checked his equipment, and was off to the makeshift range in back of the base.
There was some hub as he went, Tyria telling the other Wraiths that Lara had gotten a message from family supposedly dead. Then she expressed the reaction Lara had to the message, and Donos actually paused. It didn't seem natural, not like someone carefree. And then Kell came in, stating that he'd seen her toward the end of his workout with a dummy. She'd been seeking a place to get away, to scream…
Myn continued on his way, suddenly keenly aware that he was quite likely to pass Lara based on where Kell had sent her. He kept going, wondering what he might do if he actually saw her.
And see her he did. She was curled against a wall just in front of the gravity boundary, leaning against the hard stone as though it were a soft comfort, though she also seemed to be reaching. She had a distant, sad look in her eyes- not like someone who heard a contact from the past has returned, but instead one who was desperate to regain the memory of something forgotten
Myn stopped, unable to help watching her. She was far from perfect, but not quite a mess. Her mind was obviously worlds away, unfocused- Myn had a distinct feeling he could stand right in front of her and she wouldn't even notice…
Myn decided to try that. He settled right in front of her, amused. By all rights, she should be glaring directly at the top of his boots, but she seemed to have absolutely no vision on that. It seemed all she saw was a question, a problem, and her reaction was soft tears. He hadn't noticed them from a distance, but up close he could see them quite clearly.
The other Wraiths had been quite clear when Myn had let himself be depressed: closing off was not an option. Time to pass that lesson on, he mused; just another minute, and then he would see if he couldn't force her to see him.
When Lara did finally look towards him, Myn could tell she was quite startled, as though seeing the answer to a question. Yet her eyes were red, wet with the tears, and she seemed still out in space somewhere. Dumbly, Donos fumbled for a handkerchief he remembered carrying with him, and offered the folded cloth to her.
"Are you all right?" he asked, surprised to find that the concern was genuine and came out in his voice. She took the hanky, but just stared at it. Seemed she was worse off than he imagined. "For your eyes," he hinted, making sure to keep his voice level. Oddly, he found that it was actually a chore for once.
"Oh. Thank you." There was surprise in her voice, as though she had no idea why her eyes were wet.
Since the Talons, Myn hadn't gotten too far involved in the lives of his squadmates. He remembered telling Tyria that he didn't want them, because friends die. Yet somewhere, something inside him reached out to Lara, perhaps seeing something it liked. Or recognized in itself.
"I heard you had some happy news," he offered, trying to find out the cause of her stress. Then, nonchalantly, he shrugged as though he had no worry about her life. "Not my business. But if you want to talk…"
"I heard from my…brother." For as quickly as she responded, snapping off his offer of an ear, she hesitated for quite a while after that. "He was supposed to have been killed when my town was destroyed by Implacable. But he survived."
Donos found himself quite confused by the hurt in her voice, the halting way she called the man her brother. He set down his rifle case and took a spot across from Lara, considering her as he questioned, "And that's not good news?"
"Not really." Her fact took on a strange hue, and her lips fumbled- the words didn't want to come out, yet still they dripped out piece by piece. They described, with little detail, a brother who was cruel to his sister. Myn could feel real fear behind her every word, and a true tiredness. Like she was weary of the past, and longed to be free of it.
"There's no other reason to get in contact with me," Lara had concluded. "He wants something."
THAT had certainly started Myn's mind running. Something, or you? And Myn's head went double time. He had been a squadron commander, and during his brief time with the Talons had done his share of evaluation. Pretty girl. Evil brother. He wants something. "Could Zsinj have gotten hold of him?"
The incredulous anxiety behind her return "What?" had amplified Myn's concern. She had, apparently, already thought of that.
"No, bear with me,: he had assured. It seemed her mind had already gone into this place; now he worked to make it seem like his idea, like something more farfetched than it appeared. She was scared- he was going to have to calm her down while still letting her know he understood the danger… so he did his best in describing the scenario in his head. Knowing the answer, he asked the question on both their minds. "Whould your brother turn you over to a man like Zsinj for money?"
Myn looked at her reaction. She looked for a second as though she might go away, return to the state he found her in, and then she answered with an analogy he hadn't thought a farm girl capable of: "In a Coruscant second."
"SO maybe this is just him wanting to graft some credits from you…and maybe he's angling to lead you into a Zsinj trap. Possible?"
"Possible."
"I think we need to find out."
And Myn felt something inside him flutter. He was once again taking charge of something, of someONE. It went against everything he thought he might do, yet right now he realized that it couldn't have happened any other way. In some strange way, Lara Notsil was bringing back part of Talon Squadron in a way he never thought possible: she was bringing back their commander.
-- ----- ------------- ---- -
"To friends who don't try to fool you all the time," Shalla proposed, as the Wraiths and Lara sat at a table in a Corellian tapcaf. Face looked up at her, vaguely angry, but when Shalla's eyes turned to Kirney the young woman seemed simply amused.
"You've found the wrong group for that," Kirney reminded.
Dia laughed at the comment, thinking back to the moment it stood for. Back then, Lara had been new to the squadron- Ton had died not long before, and Dia herself had only a week prior desecrated the already dead body of an ally. Face had, however, emerged literally unscarred from a horrific accident; Shalla had just been promoted… it had been a good day. Perhaps things would never be so good again.
That thought turned sour in the twi'leks mouth, especially as she gazed around the room to realize that it didn't ring true. For a strange change of place, Face sat in her lap, an exotic alcoholic beverage in his hand. Across the table, Kell and Tyria sat hand in hand laughing. Shalla and Kirney had actually opted to share their beverages, each wanting to try the same assortment. Runt and Kolot were discussing certain mental discoveries- the larger alien thrilled to find that the ewok had a knack for psychology, and understood much of what was being explained to him. Elassar had come back to the table after a botched attempt to flirt with a pure Coronet-born smuggler female. All in all, it felt just as good as "the old days."
It was surprising to find Kirney fit right in, perhaps better than she ever had before. She was different somehow, both more tentative and more comfortable at the same time. It left Dia to wonder why…
And above it all, Kirney kept looking around the table as if disappointed to find someone missing. And Dia was willing to bet that it was not Piggy (who would doubtless be waiting for his friends on the New Republic base when they were finished) that made the woman's eyes fall.
Oh well. "To old friends, and new, then," Dia suggested as a revision. The whole table responded with a comfortable cheer.
Corellia was strange. On no other world they had been stuck on had it felt natural for the Wraiths to actually enjoy themselves, much less go out for a drink. Yet with Tonin watching Kirney's ship and Coronet being so open, it had felt like the only thing to do. After all, how many times does an old squad mate show up from the dead to help you out of a bad situation?
Kirney had just switched drinks with Shalla when her commlink beeped.
"Slane Shipping," Kirney idly answered. The other end had only a series of beeps, which none of the Wraiths truly understood, but Kirney apparently did. "Slow down, Ton," she suggested. "What happened?"
Whoot.
"That's impossible."
Blat.
"Give me ten."
Blat.
"All right, five then." At that, Kirney grabbed her glass and raised the bottom up. She set the empty on the table, and glanced around at her comrades. "I have to go make myself a presentable business woman to keep up appearances. Enjoy yourselves, have the barkeep put it on my tab. He knows I'm good for it." Kirney let a slight frown go to her mouth, but shrugged and stood.
"Need back up?" Kolot asked.
"Stay with them, Ko," Kirney asked. "They don't know their way around. I'll be fine."
"Want one of us to go with you?" Kell suggested.
Kirney laughed. "No offense, but do remember I try to run a DISCREET business. And I'm certainly not tearing Tyria away from the rest of you." Kirney regarded the table again, and added, "Besides, I'm guessing you would all like to be here while you question my copilot."
A series of blinks ensued.
"It's all right," Kirney added, her eyes direction on Face. "He'll tell you nothing but the truth. Tonin too, if you ask. Ton." Something strange caught in her voice as she said that. "I'll see you at the ship. Take all the time you need."
But hidden in her voice was something akin to irritation: resignation.
