Learning the truth was supposed to set us at ease.
Finding the traitor was supposed to renew our certainty that this place is our sanctum from the evils of the galaxy.
Nothing could have been further from the truth.
Solasta waited in the main hangar for The Dreamweaver's return from Umbara and prepared herself for the mission team to arrive, broken and disheartened.
Despite Theron's treachery and escape, the team was coming home alive and had given a name to the person who would threaten the Commander of the Eternal Alliance. If Miriah, Corso, Lana, and the Jorgan's couldn't see past their failure, as Solasta suspected they would call it, the rest of Odessen at least breathed a collective sigh of relief - then held their breath again. The monster that had taken residence beneath our beds in the dark and scraped its claws along the floor had been chased from it's hiding spot and into the light - now it hid in some unlit corner of the room and time would flush it out again so we can dispatch it forever.
Solasta pushed these dark thoughts aside as Miriah's ship approached.
Nodding to the Deck Chief, he called the three companies of soldiers into formation, and with military precision the soldiers arranged themselves and stood at a parade rest, waiting for the ship to land. The honour guard consisted of a company from the naval branch, military branch, and civilian security branch. The hallway from the hangar to the war room was lined with Jedi and Sith dressed in ceremonial robes with heads bowed, and Solasta walked past them in awe as she returned to the war room.
Looking around the war room at the analysts who worked busily at their stations, Solasta called for everyone's attention.
"We know who our traitor is. All the idle discussions end here, and now. I expect each of you to be professional and do your jobs when the Commander and her team arrive - anyone who cannot, is free to leave the command center now. Any who stay and cannot comply will deal with me later."
Solasta looked into the eyes of each face that stared back at her and enunciating her words clearly to be sure her fangs would be prominent, "Very well. As you were," and the room returned to it's buzz of activity.
Within minutes someone called out, "Commander's ship is secured."
Solasta's gaze sharpened as she examined the room for people's reactions. When she was satisfied everything was under control, she made her way to her office. Everything was normal.
It wasn't long after she began reading the perimeter security scan reports that Solasta's ears twitched and she could identify the cadence of Lana's boots on the floor in the hallway as they grew louder, then softer as she passed by. Within seconds, Lana could be heard returning. Her pace steady and purposeful as she passed by Solasta's door, then lost in the sounds of the war room as she strode into the tunnel that led to the secure elevators.
Lana remained absent for short debriefing that Aric and Maura delivered a few hours later. On Umbara, Theron Shan revealed himself as traitor and architect of the attempts on Miriah's life, and in the process fired his blaster pistol at Miriah. Lana had thrown herself in the line of fire and her heroic actions undoubtedly saved the Commanders life, although Solasta was certain Lana was not feeling very heroic for all that she lost in those precious few moments. Whether Theron had been allied with the rogue Sith Lord that had swayed the miners on Umbara remained to be seen, but they did learn the Sith's name from the data they had gathered on their mission - Darth Sciberras.
Solasta stood with arms crossed and listened intently, but in the back of her mind she could not reconcile the actions of Theron shooting at Lana, deliberately or otherwise. I understand Lana's actions and would jump into blaster fire to protect someone if the need arose, she thought, but injuring - shooting at a mate was... an affront to the Gods.
The days that followed their return were subdued and rift with dark bilious tension that roiled beneath everyone's surface.
Aric redoubled his efforts with the obsession to catch the traitor who now had a name, his brooding worsened and both his temper and patience shortened with the soldiers in the security details under his command.
Lana, the consummate professional and Sith replaced the empty and broken places inside herself with a seething anger at the betrayal by her husband.
Corso's laid back and easy-going nature was replaced with a quiet reserve and sideway looks of suspicion at anyone he didn't recognize or know well enough.
Miriah was the grounding that kept everyone, especially Lana, moving forward and she did the only logical thing she could think of doing at such a time. She moved forward with Mia and Solasta's baby shower that she had been planning for weeks, and arranged for the husbands and fathers to spend the afternoon together.
Solasta picked up the maternity shirt and ran the pads of her fingers over the soft smooth material before slipping her arms into the sleevs and buttoning the front. On duty she wore Gursan's uniform shirts, which normally would have been over-sized for her, but fit well enough over the baby and helped her still feel connected to him. Looking at herself in the mirror she was overcome with sorrow and regret that Gursan would miss today as well. While she would be at Master Sarai's for the shower with the females of Miriah's family, everyone's mate would be at Logan and Elara's house to drink beers and bullshit, and Gursan would have loved to been a part of that.
Smoothing the material over her belly she was greeted with a foot slowly stretching outward before a quick kick surprised her, and rubbing her hand over the spot where she had been kicked she whispered, "Vysa pya'ri kith, Ra z'ana skaa. Ra zalku ri zhna ri pirff, [Okay baby girl, I'm getting ready. I know you need your presents,]" and grinning to herself, she thought, and cake.
Walking the short distance to Master Sarai's apartment, she tried to recall her research from the night before on the HoloNet, but her affliction with kii si'ved [baby brain] had made most of the information she learned seem distant and lost - something she found was occurring more and more lately. Growing up in a retirement village with elderly parents and elderly neighbours didn't lend itself to baby showers, nor had a lifetime of military service, but what she could remember involved gift giving and eating. The latter activity she would have no problem with, but the gift giving before the arrival of kitlings didn't seem to make sense - she recalled some adage about counting Oro Bird chicks before they hatched - but who was she to judge a human tradition.
The door to Sarai's apartment opened and Solasta was greeted by Mia. Unable to hide her surprise at how low and pronounced Mia's bulge appeared to be, and without looking away from Mia's belly she asked, "How many weeks left?"
"Supposed to be seven, but we'll see. She's really acting up right now," and taking Solasta by the wrist, Mia giggled and led her into gathering.
As both woman stepped into the room where everyone sat and chatted, Solasta could feel herself stiffen as her pulse began to race - she had stared down swarms of colicoids, addressed thousands of soldiers, and survived in the trenches of some the of galaxies least hospitable planets, but a room full of people who simply wanted to socialize made her pause and consider a hasty retreat.
Mia watched Solasta's reaction and nudged her before whispering, "We'll eat and talk, and then open gifts."
Before Solasta could answer her stomach growled its appreciation. Loudly. Wide-eyed and shocked, Solasta could only mutter, "Thank you."
Holding a plate and looking at the assortment of sandwiches, cakes, and sweets that had been prepared, Solasta casually scanned the room and admired the pink decorations that brought a warm glow to Master Sarai's apartment as she looked for Gursan's mother. She knew E'lin had been invited and was hopeful that she would attend so they could begin repairing their short-lived relationship in a casual setting, but was sadly disappointed to not see her among the guests.
The afternoon unwound itself lazily as treats were eaten and the guests mingled until it was time to open the gifts, and both Mia and Solasta smiled sweetly as tiny outfits were held up for the room to gush and coo over. The number of gifts that Solasta received surprised, overwhelmed, and delighted her, and for a few hours she managed keep positive despite catching herself wishing Gursan was there to see everything. The afternoon had been going well until two small cradles were brought out and Solasta couldn't stop her tears from welling up as she mewled softly at the sight of the light blonde wood shining beneath the lights, pink bedding on a tiny mattress, and between the slats pink ribbon had been woven.
Turning, she hugged Miriah and hoarsely whispered, "Thank you."
Calypso and Miriah exchanged a smile, that confirmed between mother and daughter, that this was exactly what everyone needed to forget their worries for at least a few hours.
As gifts were lovingly packed into the cradles, Mia and Solasta stood in front of their guests.
"Thank you all for such a wonderful time. The food and cake, and... well, just everything," gushed Mia, "I never had family before, and it just always amazes me that I belong to such a great group of people now."
Solasta nodded excitedly, she too felt the love of this group, especially now. "I agree," she said, smoothing her top over her kitling, "this has been... amazing!"
Calypso beamed a wide smile as she said, "Awww, we loved it too. I can't even tell you how much fun it was to do the food," and her light-hearted laughter trailed off as Mia groaned and bent forward slightly holding her belly.
Solasta reacted and reached an arm around Mia to catch her at the waist as Magdalane rushed to Mia's other side.
"I think my water broke," gasped Mia over the silence of the room.
Then the room was quiet no more, replaced with the flurry of activity as everyone cleared a path to the door for Mia and Magdalane.
Solasta stood dumbfounded, watching as the rest of the women calmly returned to packing items together instead of gathering family and rushing to the medcenter. Confused, she turned to Maura and canted her head curiously to the left.
Maura smiled warmly and explained, "It's her first one. She's got a good many hours of labor in front of her now, and she's better off on her feet once they check on the baby in the medcenter."
Solasta knitted her brow and still felt a little lost.
Gently placing her hand on Solasta's shoulder, Maura explained, "Everyone will go down there, but since there's a little time, we'll get as much done here as we can. C'mon, I'll help you get all these goodies back to your place."
Feeling reassured that everyone's casual reaction was normal, Solasta relaxed as Lana picked up the end of the cradle opposite Maura saying, "I'll help. We almost live on top of each other."
Arriving at Solasta's apartment, she opened the door and led Lana and Maura inside where they placed the crib on the table that sat in front of the couch as Solasta placed the bags she had been carrying next to the crib. Lana straightened and looked out the window at the picturesque landscape outside. "So that's what the view on this side of the building looks like, we..." and Lana's voice faltered, "I... I look out over the park between the buildings."
Neither woman brought attention to Lana's brief brush with melancholy, instead Solasta placed her hands on Maura's shoulders to press foreheads. Being practiced in the custom, Maura closed her eyes as she tilted her head back and hummed her contentment as their foreheads touched. Lana's poise was a little stilted when Solasta pressed their foreheads together, but Lana at once understood Maura's reaction at the unobtrusive, affectionate contact that left her with a warm feeling.
"Thank you again for a wonderful day, and for helping me bring all of this home," said Solasta as they walked back to the apartment door.
Maura laughed. "I'm sure we'll be seeing each other again once this baby arrives."
Returning to her couch, Solasta picked up a gift bag that had tufts of pink tissue paper poking out of its top and settled on the couch before reaching inside to pull out something called a receiving blanket when the door chime announced a visitor. Standing to answer the door, she expected to see Maura or Lana had returned and was surprised to see Gursan's parents standing in her doorway.
Chaen stood beside his wife with one arm hooked around her waist, and E'lin held out a small box, wrapped in white paper and trussed in a pink ribbon that had been tied elegantly into a bow, towards Solasta.
"I'm sorry we missed today," said E'lin as her hands began to shake, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry for being mad. I'm sorry... for..."
Taking E'lin's hands in her own and steadying them, Solasta said, "There is nothing to be sorry for. Please come in, we need to talk."
Escorting the Laikthur's inside, Chaen helped Solasta clear the couch and table of the gifts so they could all sit comfortably, and once seated, Solasta spoke. "I have been keeping a secret. A secret I'm not authorized to share but one I can no longer keep from you, and one you must swear to keep even though I find I cannot."
Chaen leaned forward, "Of course, Solasta. What is it that has you acting so serious?"
"Gursan did not die in that courtyard and may still live, but for the safety of his mission you cannot say anything."
They talked for hours as Solasta tried to explain, as best she could, what had taken place over the past few months without divulging any sensitive information, even though she could be court martial or executed for the little information she had already shared. Once Gursan's parents recovered from the initial shock, they were ecstatic at the possibility that he could be coming home after his mission - which Solasta had to repeatedly warn them that there was also the possibility he might not. Her initial fear that they would be furious at being lied too wasn't realized, and yet somehow, they easily accepted the lies for the sake of a mission. Solasta knew it was fueled by hope for Gursan's return and she had just risked wagering everything on that.
You need to come home soon, Kasi'rit.
Night had cloaked the base in darkness by time Chaen and E'lin were ready to go home, and Solasta wouldn't let them leave without a security droid to escort them and repeated promises to never divulge their conversation.
Sitting on couch, Solasta reached over to switch on the HoloNet and noticed that there was a secure message waiting for her, and decrypting it, she sat back to the recorded image of Shae Vizla.
"Su'cuy [Hello] Commander, General, and Calypso Riggs.
I have confirmation that Torian and Gursan have made contact with Khomo Fett and will soon be counted amount the ranks of the Neo-Crusaders.
Khomo has continued to broadcast his propaganda over Mandalorian comm channels, claiming a glorious victory for the Neo-Crusaders over the Wookies in their hunt on Dezenti Prime. You will be glad to know our people were not among the Mando'ade there, and Khomo lost a considerable number of warriors in the venture.
From Torian's check-in data you will have noticed their ship appeared to be sitting idle in Hutt Space for more than five days so I directed a transport to pass by and make inquiries, to which they were told - by Torian - that everything was okay and they were just conducting a survey," and raising an eyebrow, Shae said, "I'm not sure what they're doing, but I know they're not surveying an area of known space.
Since that time, they have resumed traveling and although it may be too soon to be sure, their hyperspace jumps may be bringing them back to your corner of the galaxy.
Until there is more to discuss, Ret'urcye mhi. [Goodbye.]"
The holo darkened and Solasta wasn't sure if Gursan was any closer to coming home, but she prayed to the Gods for his and Torian's safe return, and the safe arrival of Mia and Devin's daughter.