Corso lay very still, hoping to let his wife sleep. Again, he thought. We were almost killed again, and the one I know in my heart is behind this, escaped again. He almost sighed, but caught himself and exhaled slowly. Miriah lay snug against him, finally relaxed after being restless for hours. She denied any pain, but the bruises he could see in the dim light had made him even angrier. I have to find Theron, and kill him, he thought, and felt Miriah shiver. He pulled the soft covers closer, moving to his side to give her his body heat as well. No need for both of us to be awake, he figured, and tried to shut down his worry and focus on the fact that she was here, with him, safe. He had just pressed a kiss to her hair when she spoke. "Not exactly the way we usually spend our time awake in this bed," she murmured, and he had to chuckle.
"No, not exactly," he admitted. "I was lying here, plotting revenge."
"I know," she said softly. "It doesn't matter, sugar. We all got out, and I have some theories to share, but let's save them for tomorrow." She turned to him, nuzzling his neck. "We won. He didn't."
"But," he started, but Miriah's fingers on his lips silenced him. She threaded his fingers with hers and he could feel her breath feathering across his chest as she settled again, and he closed his eyes. His last thought was that he loved her, and she was safe. This time.
Lana shivered in the coolness of the conference room before going to the controls to increase the heat. If I'm cold, Miriah will freeze, she thought, and sat back down to her hot tea, steam rising from the cup. She hadn't slept well, waking several times during the night to jot down thoughts she'd had, none of which made any sense in the light of morning. Theron's eyes haunted her, the ones she'd looked into as he made his escape from Copero. She'd seen them right before she'd woken every single time over the night. She shook herself now, not wanting the thought of their enemy invading her mind. She had just decided to go for hot tea when Aric's tawny head came through the door, the outside windows already opaque. "I brought more," he said, nodding at her cup. Lana sat back down, and Maura joined them, a large bag of pastries in her hands.
"I figured if everyone had as lovely a night as we did, we all need some fuel this morning." Maura looked like she always did, but Aric had the thousand parsec stare of one who had little sleep, and even less peace of mind. "I saw Mir on the way, so we should be able to get started once Raina and Torian are here." Magdalane and Felix had quietly entered, and took a spot near Maura, both seeming uncomfortable with the place.
Raina had received the request to be present at the briefing, but she had no idea how to get there. She was standing outside the secured area, taking in the size of the main base, her eyes wide. She had known it was a large scale operation, but seeing it was a different matter. She was watching the morning come to life, the shift changes of the military personnel and the opening of the civilian businesses, when Torian tapped her shoulder, making her jump.
"Sorry, it looked like you might be a little lost," he told her with a smile. "I was just going in, follow me." He turned to the security guard, and they asked to see her encrypted message, only allowing her in under Torian's supervision. He nodded and they made their way inside, Raina still looking over her shoulders and all around at the sophisticated inner base. When they reached the conference room, Torian was embarrassed to see that they were the last to arrive.
"Yes, now, let's get started," Miriah said, sitting between her husband and her son, thankful for their warmth. "Aric, you have the timestamps."
With a nod, Aric projected the timeline he'd put together onto the large screen. "The windows of opportunity are large," he concluded.
"Indeed," Lana murmured.
"The way I see it, we basically have three different major suspects. The Inrokini, Theron Shan, or Saganu," Miriah said, her eyes glancing over at Raina, who had sat up straight.
"It's not Aristocra Saganu," Raina said quickly. "He has the utmost respect for you, Commander. He views you as one of the leaders in this universe who has been true to their word and has only freed the oppressed."
"Very well, then that leaves the Inrokini and Theron," Miriah said. "Lana, I sense your hesitation. What did you see, during that last encounter, that would make you doubt Theron?"
Lana stood, giving herself a chance to gather her thoughts. "He was, for lack of another identifier, sad. Dejected, depressed, unhappy." She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "No idea what exactly he was sad about. I mean, it could have been that he knew he'd slept with that..." she broke off and took a deep breath. "I just have this feeling that he's not behind this."
"I spent most of the night thinking about this," Aric said, and got murmurs of agreement all around. "Whoever set the device, had calculated our exact position when we almost ran out of fuel. If we'd been ten minutes in either direction, we would have been lost in space, or on the ground. As it was, we might have taken out the orbital station, except that anyone refueling us would have seen the device." He stood and rolled his shoulders back. "I think it was a deliberate mistake."
"How and why?" Miriah asked, her interest piqued.
"To give his handlers the impression he was attempting to kill you without doing so," Aric said, his eyes meeting the silver ones assessing him. Miriah broke the stare first.
"Raina, I know we haven't had much time to talk. I am guessing you are the Chiss liaison to the Alliance, am I right?" Miriah turned her steely gaze to the young woman, who blushed slightly.
"I am," Raina replied, encouraged that no one had shouted at her to leave as yet. "I have the confidence of..."
"I am sure you'll be able to let us know if Theron is seen again on a Chiss world," Miriah interrupted. "For now, I'd like to hear what might have come up since we've been gone, so you and Torian are dismissed. I'd like your written statements by tomorrow." With a nod, Raina stood, Torian behind her, and they passed through the door, Raina already wondering why she'd volunteered for this.
Torian walked with Raina outside. "Let's get some food, sit inside where it's warm, and talk," he suggested, and the young woman nodded at him. They had just sat when Torian saw Caly and waved. She greeted him with a huge smile, until her eyes landed on Raina, and it was as if the sun had gone away. He swallowed hard, but gamely motioned her over. He stood as she got closer, and pulled her to him, kissing her.
Caly saw Raina with Torian and her first thought was that he had found someone closer to his own age. She gamely tried to act as if it didn't matter, but she knew her face said everything her heart was thinking. She walked toward him, and when he kissed her, right there in front of everyone, and they all started clapping, she blushed to her toes. "Torian," she whispered, "that might not have been the best of moves."
"It's alright, love. Whatever punishment I get from your parents is worth it to see your faith in me restored," he said softly, and pulled out a chair for her to sit. "We just got here, and Raina is still learning the place," he said in his normal voice, but he held Caly's hand tightly in his.
"It's quite a place," Raina remarked, her eyes scanning the room. "Does everyone dine here?"
"Everyone who wants to," Torian assured her. "I'd guess most of the ones on duty are in here at least once a day. Caly used to work here, she knows better than I do." He squeezed Caly's hand and smiled at her as she spoke.
"The mess is free to anyone, anytime. We keep a skeleton crew overnight, for our third shift workers. It's a daunting task, feeding this many, but it's rewarding, too." Caly gamely smiled at Raina, and got one in return. "I'll be training to be a professional chef soon."
"That's amazing! I'm always in awe of how things get done. I know how to heat things up," Raina confessed, and they laughed. Raina was coming to understand there was no class structure, only people united for a common purpose. It was, she decided, very different than she thought, and very different than the Chiss way. Torian and Caly chatted, looking so much in love, she thought, and she felt her shoulders relax, the first time since the Commander had dismissed her from the briefing.
Magdalane had left the briefing and walked to her mother's apartment. Sarai was doing well, she realized, relieved that her mother had seemed to bounce back from her tiredness a few months ago. They sat down, Sarai with a fresh cup of tea, and chatted. "Merida is the spitting image of Miriah, don't you think?" Sarai asked now, and Mags nodded.
"I would think it would be hard to tell them apart in images," she agreed. "James is growing stronger in the force. I think I need to spend a little time with him, like I did with Devin."
"Ah, Devin," Sarai mused. "He's sure grown into his powers. He didn't love the administrative duties, but he did them," she chuckled. "How did you fare, going off on a mission?"
Magdalane thought for a moment. "It was good for us to get out, put our efforts into the hunt," Mags concluded. "Felix is in the workout area now, he realized he needed to be ready for more. I think we both kind of figured we wouldn't be welcome, but we didn't feel that way at all." She stood. "It was nice to be needed again."
"I understand, my dear. I felt the same after the Iokath mission," Sarai replied, putting her cup into the accompanying saucer with a light clink. "After that mission, I just cannot reconcile that Theron with what he's become today."
"Did he ever say or do anything then to make you think he wanted Mir dead?" Mags had stopped on her way to the door and turned to her mother.
"Not once. I never felt any deception from him," Sarai said, and sighed. "There's more to this story, I can feel it."
"Me, too," Mags said softly.
Miriah and Lana had returned to the office, anxious to get the majority of the things Devin couldn't do, done. They were still bent over datapads and typing on terminals when Aric stood in front of Miriah's desk. "Commander, I am going to leave you with your detail. I am too tired to continue today."
"Of course, Aric. What time is it anyway?" When he responded with the time, Miriah stood. "It's been a longer day than I thought. Go, rest. We'll shut down here." She saw Aric go to Lana's office and roused Corso from his spot on the sofa, his datapad on his chest. "C'mon, sugar. Let's go home."
"Okay," he responded, yawning as he stood. "Want me to get dinner?" Aric came back in, seeing them ready to leave.
"I have someone bringing food to you," he informed them. "Please scan it, as always." Miriah put her hand on Aric's arm.
"We'll be careful," she assured him, and he nodded before turning to leave. Corso put his arm around his wife, and they stood still while the detail assembled around them. "Wait," Miriah called, and turned to Lana's office. "Lana, out. We'll pick up tomorrow."
Lana picked her head up and Miriah startled a little at her friend's face. "Lana, hon. What's going on?" Miriah's voice was soft, and she pushed the door closed behind her, giving them some privacy.
"If I had not been distracted by the way Theron looked, I could have force leaped onto the ship," Lana said, a note of defeat in her voice. "I could have stopped all of this, and I didn't."
"No, Lana. No. We all had fought the entire day, and you did all you could do. Do not ever take responsibility for his actions," Miriah told her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Go home, or come with us, if you want company. Just get some rest."
"I'll be okay," Lana said, patting Miriah's hand. "I'm going home, hopefully I'll be able to sleep." They hugged as Lana stood, and Miriah returned to her detail, and Lana heard the faint clash of armor plate as they moved down the tunnel. She turned everything off and made her way out, pulling the door closed behind her. She turned, and Nico stood there, his stance relaxed and propped on Miriah's door. "Nico, you startled me," she said, a tired smile on her face.
"I heard you've had a rough few days," he told her, and took her hand. "I have food being delivered at my place, thought you might could use a hot meal and some stimulating company." His grin lifted some of the gloom she'd worn all day and she followed him into the smuggler area, and up to his small apartment.
Miriah and Corso had arrived at their apartment, and saw that Caly had brought some cookies in. Corso grabbed one and set their table, while Miriah tinkered in the kitchen. He waited until she came out, and held up a sparkling stick. "What is that? What are you doing?" she laughed, and he thought it was a beautiful sight to see her do so.
"Happy New Year," he told her, moving to kiss her.
"Oh no, we missed Life Day too," she said, her eyes big. "How did I not notice the decorations and such?"
"I think everyone understands," he told her, taking her in his arms. "We can have our celebration whenever we want." He hugged her close, loving the feel of her arms around him.
"This year, we end all of this nonsense," she murmured. He hoped she was right.
