Corso ran to Lana's office, having gotten her message. "What did you find out," he asked breathlessly, leaning on the door frame.

"They never landed on Coruscant," she said, avoiding his eyes. "My contact says Saresh has been gone for months. It was a set up." She put her head in her hands. "It appears that they were ambushed as they left hyperspace. My contact said they got away but were pursued." She'd barely finished speaking when Corso whirled and ran, digging his holo out on the way.

"Aric, get Maura, Mags and Felix. We've got to get airborne immediately. Mir's in trouble," he disconnected, flew through the apartment and out again with a gear bag before heading toward the hangar, Lana following him. When he reached the ship, he realized he'd already done preflight a couple of hours before, and keyed the security code for the ramp. He turned as it lowered. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going with you," Lana said. "It's my fault she's in this mess."

"No, you're not. You're going to keep things going smoothly here. We'll get her back." He raced up the ramp, and had just stowed his gear bag when he saw Aric jogging toward the ship. When he got closer, he yelled.

"The others are on the way, are we ready to jet?"

"Roger, just waiting on you guys. Ship's fueled and stocked. Let's go!" He saw Maura and Mags coming toward the ship, Felix and Sarai following. He walked down the ramp, and met Sarai in a hug. "Mom, I'll bring her home. Caly needs you here."

"I know, son. Just needed to see you before you left." She took his face in both of her tiny hands. "You be safe, she has Devin with her, so I believe they're just waiting for a ride. Promise?" He nodded and she pulled his weathered face down to kiss his cheek before stepping back a safe distance, determined to see them off. When Corso walked back aboard, Aric was already in the copilot's seat, the navigational map hovering above the console.

"Everyone aboard?" he asked, his finger on the preflight engine switch. At Aric's nod, he flicked the lever and heard the smooth hum of multiple engines coming to life. Mir, I'm on the way, he thought, and lifted the freighter off the flight deck, hovering a moment before shooting out of the hangar bay. Once they'd set course for Makeb, Aric turned to his friend and brother in law.

"What's happened?" was all Aric said, but it unleashed a torrent of words from Corso, some of which he'd never utter in front of the sisters. When he was done, Aric merely nodded. "We'll find them."

Devin and Miriah were outside of their makeshift shelter when they felt the vibrations. "Incoming ships," Devin said, and they ran for cover. Miriah stumbled and fell against a piece of metal, the jagged edge searing her calf. She swore, but regained her feet, and joined Devin just in time. They could see the ships as they approached, and they crouched until they were gone. "Seven ships," Devin said. "Not a full company. But you can be sure they have Lana's ship now." Miriah nodded, and sucked in a breath as she pulled the torn fabric away from her wound. "Oh kark, Mom, that looks bad," Devin said in alarm. He patted his many pockets and found a small first aid kit. "Here, let's get something on that, and a bandage." He worked quickly, and when he was done, looked into his mother's eyes.

She was worried, he saw, and in a little pain. He tried to help with the force, but he was being careful since the Zakuul knights were force sensitives. I wish I'd learned more about healing, he thought.

"It's good, Dev. Just a little scratch," Miriah said with a weak smile. "So they're searching. Wonder how long they'll look?" She longed to be in space again, on the way to Odessen. Devin didn't answer, but did risk reaching out through the force. The base appeared intact, the number of people there seemed to be the same.

"At least everything at the post seems the same, so they didn't go in and wipe it out," he told her. "We'll just have to wait a little longer." Miriah nodded and sipped sparingly on the water she held. "Here," he said, handing her two of the mild painkillers he'd found in his kit. She took them, swallowing more water.

"We're going to be out of water soon," she observed. "Let's wait until dark, then make out way out to the post." Devin nodded, and they tried to rest, the search party flying over their hiding spot several more times before nightfall. When it finally got dark enough for the searches to stop, they stood. Miriah groaned when she put weight on her injured leg, making Devin turn to look at her. When he unwrapped the wound, he could see that it was angry, possibly infected, and he had no other supplies. He took the knife out of Miriah's boot and cut a strip of his shirt to use as a bandage, and when he was satisfied it was as good as he could do for it, helped his mother out of the clearing.

With her leg throbbing with every heartbeat, Miriah tried to ignore the pain and focus on getting home. She saw Devin ahead of her, and wondered if she'd be able to keep up, or even make it to the post. She felt a little dizzy, not sure if it was from the heat or the wound, but she shrugged it off and kept moving.

Corso paced the lounge, having clued the sisters in on what was going on. He hadn't told them of their holo, afraid they might have some insight that would devastate him. The entire group was quiet, and even though they were still almost a day away from Makeb, they were preparing for the search. Finally, Corso went to the galley. Cooking always took his mind off his problems and allowed his brain to work through the issue, so he took items out of the freezer and cooler, creating a pile on the counter. As he chopped and cooked, the others followed the delicious smells and eventually they were all gathered in the galley. Finally, Felix spoke.

"Corso, you know we're behind you. We will find them. And when we do, you and Miriah will be stronger than ever. I believe that, with all my heart." He took plates out of the cabinet, placing them on the table. When he looked back at his brother in law, he saw the gratitude in Corso's eyes.

"Yeah, but I'm not watching all the kissing and stuff. I've seen way too much of that over the years," quipped Aric, and he laughed when Maura hip bumped him. That seemed to break the ice, and they began to chat about the years, the history that they all shared. Corso had relaxed into the moment and almost didn't realize when his brain worked through where his wife and son might have gone.

"I know!" Corso said suddenly, jumping up from where he had been enjoying the food he'd prepared. The others looked at him expectantly. "I got a holo from Miriah early yesterday morning. She had just connected, maybe thirty seconds, when I lost the signal, and couldn't get them back. So if Dev was piloting, then when they came under attack, Miriah did the navigation." He stood to pace as he worked through the rest. "She has a unique approach to evasion. I can tell you that she programmed a descent maneuver to get them some space to make a hyperspace jump."

"So we need to figure out where they might have gone if they'd sustained damage," Aric said, following Corso's train of thought. "Hmm, let's see, Makeb is the obvious choice, but not if they were afraid of being noticed. Still, the other two planets in the sector aren't exactly where anyone would choose to go."

"Which might be the best place to, if they're evading Zakuul knights," Felix said, grinning. Corso breathed a sigh of relief, with at least a place to start looking, he felt more focused and eager.

They were in sight of the camp when Devin noticed that his mom was limping along, and had grabbed a sturdy stick to help her. "Mom, why didn't you say something," he asked her softly, stopping to rest in the cover of a large rock. She didn't speak, just shook her head. Devin surveyed the camp below, seeing on a couple of the knights at the entrance. "You stay here, I can pass as one of the soldiers," he told her, taking his black robe off to drape over her, since she was shivering.

"Be careful," she croaked out, her lips parched and mouth dry from the fever she was battling. She tried to keep her eyes on him, but the fatigue and infection were too much for her and she felt herself doze.

Devin made his way down the hill and blended into the troops. Once inside, he noted that there were no knights in the compound, only at the entrance, and moved to the lieutenant's office. The man was sitting at his desk, but jumped up when Devin entered. "So glad you made it safely!" he said, a little louder than he'd intended, and he had the sense to quiet himself. "We have a few in the compound, but they're mostly out searching. We told them you'd taken another ship and left that one, but they're still looking."

"We saw them flying over," Devin confirmed. "The Commander is near but out of sight, just to be safe. We need supplies," he said, and before he'd said more, the lieutenant handed him a bag packed with food and water. Devin thanked him, grateful for the help. "Mom...the Commander, is injured and we need some antibiotics."

"Oh stars, we have very little in the way of medicines, but let me see," he said, and hurried across the hallway to the medbay, searching the drawers. When he returned, he held out bandages and a thick, brown goo. "Try these, it's all we have. Here," he said, "take this datapad too. Not sure they can monitor the short message strands, but the range is limited." Devin thanked him and sneaked out the back. He was up the hill quickly, but saw that his mother hadn't moved, and the thought scared him a little. When he got closer, he could see her breathing, and it calmed him.

Miriah woke when Devin moved the robe away from her injured leg. The wound had started to bleed during their trek, and the makeshift bandage stuck, making her stifle her cry when he finally poured some water on it to loosen the stiff material. She was panting, trying to use her breathing to control the waves of pain, but she knew she was losing control. She felt the warmth of Devin's force aura cover her, easing the pain, and she tried to relax. He used a bottle of water to wash the gash and let it dry, then applied the goo before another wrapping bandage. "That actually feels a lot better," she said softly. "How are things down there?"

"Not terrible, but they're still searching. Let's stay here for a few minutes. I have field rations and lots of water," he said, handing her a meal pack and two bottles. Gratefully, she took the food and water. "They are very concerned about keeping you hidden," he told her, tearing into his own pack. They ate in silence, having had nothing all day, and when they were full, Devin smiled at his mother. "Feel like going back? Or do you want to wait a few?"

Miriah had folded her trash up and stuffed it back into the bag, anxious not to leave any sign of their presence. "Let's start back. I may need to rest this time, and I don't want to still be out in the open by daylight." Devin helped her stand, and felt her leg give with her weight. He silently handed her the large stick she'd used before, and she thanked him. Slowly, they made their way back on the path they'd taken before, stopping twice to rest and drink. When they reached the abandoned landing pad, Devin risked the force signature to push a very large rock in front of the opening before tucking Miriah in his robe again under the shelter.

Corso woke Magdalane when they docked on Makeb. "Mags, I'm sorry, but can you feel anything here?" Mags rubbed her eyes and stood, seeing Felix getting up from the other side of the bed. She immediately knelt and went into a trance, her aura flaring bright. After several minutes, she let the light recede and stood.

"I'm sorry, Corso. She nor Devin is here," she told him, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay, Mags. I had a feeling she wouldn't risk being here twice. We're going to refuel and take off shortly," he said, taking a deep breath.

"Where to next?" Felix asked.

Corso thought for a moment before replying. "Quesh"