Miriah took her time going down the ramp. It was still very early morning, the sun hours away, and she wondered if there was time for a nap before debriefing this mission. Not even really a mission, she thought. Just opening the eyes of someone who was wildly unpredictable. And if she ever puts her hands on Corso, she thought, but before she could finish it, she saw Senya standing at the edge of the hangar. She stopped, and waited for the others to catch up. As Lana drew closer, they all saw Koth running toward Senya. "What's that about," Miriah asked.
"Dunno, but we need to find out," Corso replied, and they walked forward as a group. As they neared, they saw Senya put her hand on Koth's chest, their voices becoming louder.
"It's happening, right now," he yelled, and whirled, running into the secured area of the base.
"What's going on," Theron asked as they met Senya. They could see the worry on Senya's face.
"Arcann has put out a threat. He is planning to send the Eternal Fleet to bombard five planets in a coordinated assault," she told them, her eyes sad. "He says it's because they are protecting the Alliance."
"And Koth says this is taking place right now?" Lana asked, but the others set off in a run toward the war room, Senya and Lana following.
"I can't believe this," Miriah said, pulling up to the galaxy map. "What purpose does this serve?"
"He believes that he'll get someone to tell him where we are," Koth said, his voice subdued now. They watched the map, seeing nothing, then all of a sudden red dots appeared in five sectors. Miriah's eyes grew wide at the influx of audio reports of the destruction, her face pale.
Devin sat straight up, startling a sleeping Mia. He quickly rose and dressed, and ran to the secure area, his head screaming with the force fluctuations. He failed to enter the code twice before his shaking fingers found the correct sequence, and when he did step off the lift, he ran to his mother. She lifted her eyes to him, a hint of hope visible. He slowly shook his head. "Unbelievable destruction, massive deaths," he said, and saw his mom take off toward the freshers. He looked at the group, and saw his dad follow Miriah, but the others stood, silent and mournful.
Corso immediately heard his wife retching, and hurried to her. She washed her face and looked into the mirror, and her pallor shocked even her. She turned to Corso and he drew her into a hug, feeling her shiver against him. When she was steady again, they joined the others, still in front of the map. Theron was working on a computer terminal nearby, and turned to the group.
"It's true. We're intercepting hundreds of communications, asking for aid." He slammed his hand on the terminal, wincing as he shook it out. Miriah turned to him, her eyes revealing the grief she was feeling.
"Reroute the resources that are on the way here to the damaged cities. No one in or out until we determine the risk to this planet," she said, and saw Lana typing furiously on her datapad. Devin moved to stand beside her, and she looked up at him. "Dev, let's get some force healers ready to travel once we're sure we can safely transport them." He nodded, but stayed at her side.
"So many people dead, because we thought we could change things," Koth exploded. "Their blood is on our hands!"
"We didn't kill innocent people," Miriah said calmly, but Corso could tell she was struggling to keep her anger in check.
"My children must be held accountable," Senya said, and even her usually melodious voice broke. "If anyone is responsible, it must be me." They were still for a moment before Koth stalked out, his anger evident. Miriah looked at Lana, who'd put her datapad away.
"I'll talk to him," she said, but Miriah stopped her with a hand on her arm.
"No, I will," she said. "This has been coming since he found out Valkorion was in my head." She turned to follow Koth as Theron sent a confused look to Lana. Lana shrugged at him, and mouthed that she'd tell him later.
Devin took Corso aside. "She has to realize this isn't her fault," he said, and saw his father shake his head.
"Dev, you know as well as I do that she will never see it that way," he said. He kept watch as Miriah approached Koth, and saw him whirl around to face her. He took a step toward them, but Devin held him back.
"Let her handle him, Dad. They need to clear the air between them." Corso stopped, but stood ready, his hands unconsiously flexing into fists.
"Just leave me alone!" Koth said, as he reacted to Miriah's plea to stop. "This is all your fault!" Miriah only stared at him, trying to keep her voice calm and even.
"How do you figure that?" she finally asked.
"You killed him! The Eternal Emperor. You did it," he said. "You ruined our world, and it will never, ever be the same as it was!" Miriah didn't break her eye contact with Koth, but she could feel Corso and Devin watching the interaction.
"I was in an impossible situation, Koth. I witnessed the being we knew as Vitate destroy a planet, turn every living thing that was there into dust. I had just seen him kill a friend." She saw Koth turn away from her, but knew from his stance he was still listening. "I refused to bow to him, and he signaled Arcann to kill me. Instead, Arcann broke my cuffs and tossed a blaster to me." She tried to relax her shoulders, and felt momentary relief from the headache that threatened. "Yes. I saw an opening, and I shot him. If I hadn't, Arcann would have killed us both."
"No! He would have prevailed over Arcann, and we would have never known of you!" Koth sat heavily on the edge of the stair.
"You weren't there. I was, and I know it's hard for you to hear, but Valkorion was not the saint you perceived him to be," she said gently, and saw Koth sob into his hands. "There are times that you have to look beyond the perception to see the real." Koth continued to sob, his hands over his face. After a few minutes, she turned and made her way back into Corso's arms, and he felt her sigh as he held her. "Devin, thank you for being her, son," she said, never moving from the comfort of Corso's embrace. Devin put his hand on her arm, telling her through the force that he loved her, and turned to leave.
"Son, let the others know?" Corso said, and Devin nodded. Corso turned his attention to his wife. "Let's go to our place, give us all some time to regroup, and be back here in three hours." Senya and Theron nodded, and Lana hugged Miriah's back.
"Please, understand that Koth doesn't speak for us. We know the truth," Lana whispered, and Miriah gave her a grateful smile. Corso hurried her away, knowing she was very close to tears. When they'd crossed the threshold of their apartment, she went to her knees, her cries silent but no less heart rending. He gave her time to grieve, leaving her side only to get some water and tissues for her. When the tears slowed, he pulled her over to the sofa, and urged her to lie down.
"Darlin', you need to rest. This day will be a long one, and you won't have time to do anything but put together rescue ops." He put her feet on the sofa and pulled her boots off, covering her with a throw. He kissed her forehead and walked to the fresher, returning with a cool cloth for her swollen eyes. When he could think of nothing else to do for her, he sat on the floor beside her, his head resting on the edge of the sofa, her hand in his, and she finally fell into restless sleep.
Theron and Lana found themselves sipping caffa in his apartment, the events of the last few hours heavy on their minds. They said nothing, but they were together, and that was comfort for both of them. Finally, Theron pulled her to put her head on his shoulder, and felt her breathing even out. He closed his eyes as well, and knew that this was the calm before the storm.
By the time Theron and Lana made their way to the war room, Miriah had pulled maps and mission plans up and was scheduling supplies and personnel, so that they'd be ready to leave once they could be reasonably sure of sending them safely. Her eyes were still a little swollen, but Lana could feel her determination to carry on. There was also a little white hot sliver of something else, but Lana didn't feel it was proper to ask, and instead, started to plan routes to prevent their ships from being traced back to the planet. They worked side by side for hours, in silence, until they ran out of things to plan.
Corso had brought them both food, but it was ignored. Now, he looked up as Miriah approached him, reaching out to her from where he sat. "Go rest, sugar," she told him, her voice hoarse from earlier. "I know you're tired. I'll be home soon, we can't do much more here." He stood and hugged her, and lifted her face to kiss her.
"Don't beat yourself up, darlin'. You don't control Arcann," he told her before turning to the hallway. She watched him turn to look at her one last time before heading to their apartment. She'd been trying to block the anger all afternoon, but she just couldn't keep it in check anymore. She paced, letting her anger wash over her. When Lana caught her attention, Miriah turned to her, her eyes blazing with icy rage, and her face flushed.
"I do believe you'd have made a fine Sith, Commander," Lana said softly, making Miriah's mouth curve in a reluctant smile.
"I feel like nothing I do is enough, Lana. Like it might have truly been my fault, like Koth said," Miriah responded.
"He wants you to feel that way. He thinks it will make you reckless," Lana stated, and Miriah saw the truth of her words. "We have to be more cautious than ever to make sure you are safe and hidden."
"Go home, Lana. Rest. We'll know more tomorrow about when it will be safe to have our aid ships leave." When Lana started to protest, Miriah stepped closer to her. "Go find Theron. Don't be alone right now, even if you just sit together, okay?" Lana nodded, and Miriah took the much taller woman by her shoulders and turned her, enough that she saw Theron watching them, his fatigue written on his face. He held a bag with food, and a look of longing, and Miriah felt Lana's posture go soft under her hands.
Miriah walked to their apartment, glad to see the day done, and that some of the anger had cooled. Corso had cooked for them, and she gratefully slid into the chair he'd pulled out for her. As they ate, Corso told her that her sisters and mother had called to check on her, and would be in touch tomorrow. The most exciting call, he related, was from Logan. They'd felt their son move today, and Miriah felt tears gather at misisng that special moment. "He promised to try again tomorrow, too, darlin'. They're doing good. Elara looks lovely, and you see the pride in Logan." He smiled at his wife. "To your tub, m'lady. You need a good soak and a soft bed." She murmured her agreement, and let him run the water as she undressed. Was it really only hours ago that we returned from a successful mission, she thought.
Corso eased her into the hot, fragrant water, and sat beside her. When she started to speak of the bombings, he hushed her. When she was getting sleepy, he pulled her from the water and wrapped her up in warm towels before putting her in their bed. As he held her close, gently rubbing her back, he finally addressed the day. "Mir, you are doing all you can. I know, Arcann crossed a line today, but I think it's because he's scared. He can see that the tide just might be turning, and he doesn't know what to do. He's desperate, darlin'. And that makes him vulnerable." He felt her relax a little more then, and breathed a sigh of relief when he felt her totally relax against him in sleep. He closed his eyes, thankful they were safe.
The next morning, Miriah stepped into the darkened hallway to her office, not looking forward to another day like yesterday. She was so lost in thought, she almost stepped on the blue haired woman in her doorway. She reached down to shake the engineer awake, and was startled to see the tear ravaged face Tora turned her way. "Tora, what's wrong?"
"It's Koth," she wailed. "He's gone!"