Miriah stood in front of the door, thinking. She raised her hand to the chime, but hesitated and instead knocked softly instead. She was about to knock again when the door jerked open. Solasta's face was furious until she realized who was calling on her, and then she smiled, softly and naturally. "Come in, Commander," she said softly. "Aissa's asleep, so I was going to murder anyone who woke her."
Mirah laughed softly. "I remember that feeling," she assured her friend, taking in the dark rings around Solasta's eyes and the tired posture of her body. "How's it going? And do you need anything?"
"I need a shower and some food," Solasta admitted, but she sat across from Miriah.
"Go, shower. When you're done, I'll have something ready for you," Miriah told her, shooing her with her hands. At Solasta's look of uncertainty, Miriah chuckled. "I do know how to take care of a baby, if she wakes." Solasta blinked slowly before nodding.
"Thank you," she said. "Gursan went back to work yesterday and I haven't found my..."
"Just go, hon. See you in a few," Miriah told her, already pulling things from the fridge.
Lana and Aric huddled in her office. "I know some old tales about a superweapon, from back in the Star Cabal days, but nothing we ever found. Maybe we need to get Raina and see what she knows about this weapon," Lana proposed.
Aric stroked his chin. "I have found nothing in the last ten years about it. I thought it might have something to do with the one on Iokath, but now I don't think so. We need to figure out who besides Theron really wants the Alliance to fail. A much bigger kettle of fish, that would be. More possibilities." He sighed. "I still feel drained from Copero and then the loss of the ship."
Lana turned to her computer, putting in search parameters. "Let's just see if there's anything that connects the Chiss to a weapon, first." They waited several minutes while the computer hummed, then both jumped at it's chime. "Nothing," Lana said.
"Try looking for the Emperor's vault, that was what the woman said," Aric told her, and Lana felt her anger rise up her throat. She grabbed an antacid tablet from her desk drawer, and waited.
"Still nothing," Lana said, and sighed, running her hand through her hair. She'd enjoyed being with Nico the previous night but, like Aric, she still felt the fatigue of their mission. She planned to leave early today, and get some rest. Hopefully, she said to herself.
Miriah had built two sandwiches and warmed some soup by the time Solasta made her way back into the common area. "There, now," Miriah said. "Sit and eat with me." Solasta sat and after the first bite, fell hungrily into the sandwich. When she felt marginally better, she turned to her friend.
"Day off?" Solasta asked, and got a nod from Miriah. "I cannot even tell you how much better I feel," Solasta murmured.
"Everyone wants to take care of the baby, and sometimes the mom gets looked over," Miriah responded. They finished their food and Miriah had taken the dishes to the kitchen, and when she returned, Solasta was asleep. Miriah gently put her legs onto the sofa and left, baby Aissa in her cradle near her mother.
Nico had woken to an empty bed. He had let Lana lead last night, and this morning, he felt relaxed. I could get used to this, he thought, then stopped dead on his way to the shower. No, no, no, he told himself. No attachment. Hell, the woman just found out her husband wanted to kill her more than love her. He stood braced on the counter, his towel around his waist and his hands shaking. I just need to back away, he thought. Let her have some space. Yeah, that's it, he said in his head. He started the shower and noticed the tremor remained.
Aric walked along the edge of the courtyard, his breath visible in the cold air. The whole mystery of the superweapon had him stumped, and he hated it. I can almost understand Theron's desire to end all of the race for the one weapon, and yet, he's doing it again. Something is off here, he thought. Why try to kill Mir so many times and fail? He's a former SIS agent. Aric pondered his way across the space, and then turned to walk again. Maybe he's being misled into thinking he can obtain this weapon. But what will he do with it if he finally finds it? Aric realized he needed to go inside when the hairs in his ears froze, and he ducked into the mess hall. He saw Corso immediately and got his caff before sitting down across from him.
"You're brooding," Corso told him, taking a sip of his own mug.
"You are too," Aric said, their identical somber expressions staring at each other before Corso let a snort of laughter escape.
"You should see your fur," Corso said. "The static is impressive!" Corso held his hands apart, showing Aric how much his coat had grown after it'd gotten cold and then warmed rapidly.
"Yeah, yeah," Aric grunted. "I remember when your dreads would be that big when you washed them, too, funny man." They sipped silently for a few minutes before Corso sighed.
"I really want this to be over," he said. "Mir is only partially sleeping, I'm watching her because just last week she was so fragile she could hardly go half a day." He looked around then bent closer to Aric. "I'm to the point of hiring someone to hunt him down. I know Mir's been thinking about a bounty." Aric just held his gaze, not moving. "I have credits, no one would need to..."
"Cor," Aric interupted his friend. "It might not work, and if it doesn't, and Theron doubles his efforts to eliminate Mir and the Alliance, then what will you tell her?" He lifted his head and saw Miriah striding toward them, looking relaxed and happy. "Mir, you enjoying your day off?" Aric said, noting the detail blending in with the other patrons of the nearby tables.
"I am, went to see the new baby," she said. "I'm going to see my granddaughter and grandsons this afternoon. Then, back to cook dinner and relax." She nudged Corso, who had gone silent. "Maybe I can talk this big guy into a little dancing, a little wine," she laughed, his gaze landing on her with longing in his eyes. "What do you say, handsome? Fancy a little alone time?" she murmured, and lifted her face to touch Corso's nose with her own.
I can't keep anything from her, he thought. If I went through with this crazy idea, she'd know. "I can't think of anything I'd like more, darlin'. He pushed his negative thoughts to the back of his brain, and let himself enjoy Miriah being happy.
Torian had volunteered for the early shift, and had started his work before dawn. His aim was to be available to walk Caly from her last class, maybe getting a little time alone with her now that it seemed her parents were softening toward him. He was patrolling around the landing fields when he came across some debris. Must have been from one of the pods, he thought, picking it up and examining each side. The scoring on the piece made it almost unrecognizable, but he tucked it into his pack anyway. He saw a smaller piece a few feet away and pocketed it as well. The ship's explosion would have had most of it burning up through the atmosphere, but it's possible that a much larger piece might have ended up as the palm sized pieces he'd found. He stood from his kneeling position and looked around, amazed again at how beautiful the planet was, even with frost on the ground. His chrono showed it was lunch time, and he went to the checkpoint to wait for his replacement. He'd have a quick lunch, do his shift report, and then meet Caly. That thought brought a quick smile to his face. He truly never felt as good as he did with her by his side.
Miriah gently rocked Declan, his little eyes were drooping but he was fighting it, gazing up at her with love. She smoothed his hair and sang softly to him, and he finally couldn't escape sleep any longer. When she'd put him in his bed with a kiss and last pat of his back, Miriah returned to see Merida awake, Mia feeding her. "It's a never ending cycle, isn't it?" she asked, and got a smile from her daughter in law.
"It really is, but we've got a rhythm now, at least." Miriah went to the kitchen and returned with water for them both. "Thanks," Mia said, "I forget, then when I sit down, it's too much trouble to get up again." She shifted the infant and took the opened bottle.
"Like I told Solasta this morning, people tend to forget to take care of moms, and they often need it more than the babies," Miriah said. "I saw Maura deal with twins, and even with Aric doing just as much, it was a lot of work. I was lucky, when the boys came along, we were contractors, and had the luxury of doing things in our own time."
"Devin is a lot of help, but there's been a lot of things happening in the past few weeks," Mia said, putting Merida on her shoulder and patting her back. "I think the Windwalker exploding was about the scariest thing I've seen in a very long time, and I knew you had all escaped." Mia had been having nightmares about losing her family since that day, but she didn't want to worry Miriah any more than she always was. Instead, she handed over her daughter to Miriah, who instantly forgot anything else. Merida blinked light blue eyes at her grandmother, and blew bubbles from her bow-shaped lips, and Miriah laughed softly.
"This is why it's all worth it," she said, lightly stroking the baby's face with her finger. They visited, but left the weight of the current situations out of it, and when Miriah rose to go visit with James, Mia hugged her tightly.
"Stay safe, okay?" Mia said, and Miriah squeezed her once more, suddenly aware that she and Corso were the only family the young woman knew.
Corso was in the park with Logan and James, and saw the group of black-clad troopers heading their way. "Here comes Mimi," Logan told his son, and James clapped his hands, laughing. When they parted and Miriah could be seen, Corso grinned at her.
"That always seems like a magic trick, darlin'," he told her, hugging her close. They played with James for over an hour before the little guy started to wind down, and climbed into Miriah's lap, putting his head on her shoulder.
"I guess that's it for him," Logan said. "It was great to have this time with you both, though. Mom, you look rested, for a change." Miriah beamed a smile at him. She knew it was because she'd been soaking up the time with her children and grands that had relaxed her. They hugged and Corso joined her inside the wall of troopers, making their way back into the main base. Miriah slowed as they walked, and Corso could tell that as much as she'd enjoyed her day, she was tiring. They were waiting for the elevator when Corso spotted Caly and Torian, and felt himself tense. Miriah felt him, and gave him a questioning look.
"Mom! Dad!" Caly called. She had been surprised to see Torian waiting for her when she'd been walking from her last class, and even now, her hand resting in his, the warmth rushed up her arm.
"Come with us," Corso called out, and Caly sent a worried look to Torian, who merely shrugged. They followed the group into the base and through the war room, and when they were safely ensconced in the apartment, Miriah hugged her daughter.
"First day?" she asked, and Caly nodded. "Let's get a snack, I'm feeling a little shaky." Corso immediately put his arm around his wife and steadied her.
"Cookies are on the way," Caly said, and Corso nodded, leading Miriah to the sofa. Torian hurried to the kitchen, and when Caly brought cookies, Torian followed with cold juice and drinking glasses. Miriah gratefully took both, and after a few minutes, where Corso scanned her and had his datapad out to summon Mags, Miriah thanked them all.
"You all are so wonderful to me," she told them. "And I appreciate it." Corso looked at her for several minutes, making sure that she was okay, before going into the kitchen to start dinner. Caly was full of stories and kept the chatter going, but Miriah was only studying her daughter, not missing the subtle brush of Torian's hand on Caly's arm, the change in Caly's smile when she caught Torian's eyes watching her. When they made to leave, Miriah sent Caly to tell her dad goodbye, and held Torian in her gaze. "You can date her, Torian. I'll allow it, but only because I see the way you look at her. If I ever think that you're not keeping my trust, I'll kill you myself."
Torian swallowed hard but nodded. "I won't let you down, Commander." When Caly danced back into the room, she hugged her mother and they left, Torian giving Miriah a nod at the door. Miriah found her way to Corso, who made her sit while he chopped the vegetables Arcann kept in good supply for them. They discussed their day, and gradually Corso realized she was fine. When everything was cooking, Miriah was in his arms, and they danced, content.
Torian had dinner with Caly, and then made his way into the science wing. He waited, tapping his foot in time with the lively music the technicians preferred. Finally, he saw Aric striding into the room. "What did you find, kid?" he asked, turning on one of the lighted tables. Torian pulled the fragments he'd found from his pockets and put them on the table, three in all. Aric picked on of them up, turning it over in his large hand.
"This looks like it's from the ship itself," Aric said, examining the piece. He pulled over a magnifying panel and placed the piece under it. "Markings are from the Windwalker, numbers match." He pulled the second one over. "This one has no identification on it, at all."
"Could have burned off," Torian said softly. Aric grunted agreement, pulling the third piece over to the magnifier. He turned it over and hunched over the fragment, adjusting the level of enlargement, and finally standing to take the piece over to another instrument, asking the technician to place the image on a nearby screen.
"This isn't part of the ship, and it does have some markings on it," Aric said, motioning Torian over. "This has to be part of the explosive." Torian looked at Aric, who wore a huge smile. "Nice job, kid."