Miriah felt satisfaction infuse her body. Her husband's weight, though he was trying very hard not to crush her, pinned her and made her feel safe, wanted. She ran her fingertips down the bunched muscles of his chest, slowly down his sculpted abs, to where their bodies were joined, making him shiver. She expected his thrusts to speed up, instead they slowed and he met her desire-filled eyes with his own. She had peaked twice already, but felt another wave building. Corso gave her a wicked grin and hugged her against him, sitting back on his heels, filling her. She locked her legs around him and met his hungry lips, their passion for each other driving them, their hands roaming each others bodies. He lifted her effortlessly, and slowly lowered her onto him, the sensation taking her breath. The second time he did this, she arced and moaned, ….

Miriah woke, sweating and out of breath. She knew the dream, had experienced it a few other times, but it felt awkward here. Normally, she would wake Corso up and continue, but of course, that wasn't possible. She sighed as the heat of her dream cooled, and longed to be beside him. If she'd been able to continue it, he would have made sure she was sated before he would seek his own release, and then would cuddle her close, feathering kisses over her neck and face. Somehow, it made her feel connected to him, even now. She rolled onto her side and tried to rest, aware that the morning could bring the end to this mission, one way or another.

Marr had felt the passion, the absolute eroticism of the dream, and shamelessly used it to fuel his power. He'd need every bit he could muster, he realized, for the coming confrontation. Still, he mused, there was much pure emotion there, and it was delicious. Rest, tiny one, he thought. We have much yet to do.

When she woke again, it was because someone had shoved a boot in her back. She turned, growling low in her throat, glaring at her guard. He sneered at her and jerked her upright, a mistake he soon regretted when Miriah instinctively kneed him hard in the groin. When the man had recovered his breath, he threw her across the room. Miriah rolled, as best she could, and landed on her feet. She was about to make another attempt at the guard when she heard a lightsaber hum, and instead froze in place.

Arcann studied the small woman who had gone completely still. His father had told him she was to be feared, and he was being very careful. He waited until she looked up and motioned her to stand. "Come with me," he told her, and in the hallway, Marr waited with his own guard. They made their way slowly, silently, but Miriah knew in her heart they were on their destined path.

Corso had woken in the night, his mind filled with Miriah. Wherever she is, I hope she's able to rest up for tomorrow, he'd thought. Now, as he sat with his full plate untouched, he felt sick. What if she's hurt, or hungry? He pushed the food away and stood, going back into the lounge area to pace. Aric followed him with his eyes. "Are you sure he's going to be able to do this, Mags?" he asked his sister in law.

Mags had watched Corso too, and at Aric's question, she looked back at the Cathar. "He will be the one we'll draw the most strength from," she said. "His love for Mir will be the catalyst, and will feed our force use." Aric thought on that for a few minutes, then shrugged. He was always baffled by force users, and his family was no exception. They would meet Lana's sleek ship in an hour, the next step in their mission. Maura saw his frown and put her hand on his arm.

"He's going to be okay, hon," she said softly, and saw his slight nod. Yeah, he thought, he's going to be okay, but is this all going to work? He sipped his caffa slowly, going over each step in his head.

Lana brought her small ship to the docking side of the Dreamweaver, and locked the vessels together. Logan and she had spent the last hour talking through the navigational aspects of the mission, and they both felt ready. She heard the air lock hiss, and saw Corso come through first. He looks so stressed, she thought, and drew from the force to steady her own nerves. As the rest boarded, she made eye contact with Devin and Ian. They, with Mags and herself, would be the ones using the force to hide from the Zakuul defenses as well as rescue the prisoners. When everyone was settled, she went over again the steps, getting nods of ascent all around. When she again sat in the pilot's seat, she saw Corso take the right one. "It's good to see you again, but it will be better when this is over," she said, and saw him swallow hard.

"Mir is okay, that's the only thing that matters right now. We will get her, and be done with this," he replied, moving the navigational map closer. She watched him for a moment, then turned to the ship's controls.

Miriah and Darth Marr walked side by side down a narrow aisle, guards on either side. She'd been watching everything, and saw that the Zakuul with the cybernetics stayed well behind her. She could see him from the corner of her eye, watching them both warily. They were stopped at the entrance to another room, one she could see only a part of. It appeared to be suspended in the air, with a clear bubble around the throne at the end. This is it, she thought, and waited while the cuffs were removed from Marr. When her own remained, she sighed in frustration. Her hands hurt, and the cuffs were heavy. When they come off, my arms will be useless for a bit, she realized. They slowly made their way along another long aisle, but she felt Marr's demeanor shift from patient to infuriated.

Marr saw the man at the end of the aisle, but knew that force signature, and knew it well. He remained silent, seething, until the supposed Eternal Emperor spoke. Marr interrupted him immediately. "I know who you are," he shouted.

Miriah was confused, and the echo of the voices temporarily stunned her. Besides what was going on in the chamber, she could feel Devin, and he was close. Very close. She caught a word here and there, but didn't focus on their conversation until she heard Valkorion tell Darth Marr to kneel before him, and the resulting roar from the Sith beside her. Suddenly, purple lightening suffused the room, and Marr fell at her side.

Devin felt her panic, and told Lana what had happened. She only nodded, she'd suspected as much would happen, and was prepared. "Let's keep our focus, the shield must not drop until we are close enough to grab them both."

Miriah was stunned, and gasped when she saw the body, smoke still rising from it. She felt movement from Valkorion and turned her attention to him. He met her gaze, and took slow, halting steps toward her. She heard Devin tell her in her mind to ignore him, to stay focused, and she didn't hear what the Emperor said. As he moved closer, she finally heard what he was saying to her. "All you have to do is kneel," he said, his fatherly voice encouraging her. She knew, without a doubt, there was dark force behind the seductive voice, and immediately heard Devin tell her to hold steady.

Lana had maneuvered under the clear room, undetected. She looked through the missle targeting system, making sure she had the proper angle. "Release the force shield in three...two...one," she said. She pushed the launch button, and the missle fired at near point blank range.

Miriah was caught in Valkorion's gaze, but saw the flicker from slightly behind him. She looked up when the missle launched, and felt the shudder when it went through the clear casing around the throne.

Valkorion swore, and used his considerable force speed to take him from the now shattered room. Miriah had been knocked to her knees, and stayed there as the room emptied. She saw the crew door of Lana's ship open, and Devin hanging out of the side. She felt the force surround her, and pull her into the safety of the ship at almost the same instant she lost consciousness from lack of oxygen.

"Move! Move!" Aric yelled, sliding the door shut and moving to the turret, taking aim at the fighter defenses now swarming over them. Lana turned the ship and hit the hyperdrive, moving them away from the battle. Corso was with Mags in the medbay, where Miriah was blinking awake now that she could breathe again. Corso gave her a hard hug and kiss, then turned to help Magdalane put the very still body of Darth Marr into the kolto tank. When they had the Sith floating in the blue-green fluid, he turned to hold his wife as she shook in his arms.

Logan had received the message, which he relayed to Elara and Maura with a relieved sigh. He was at the proper meeting coordinates, and in four hours, should see Lana's ship appear off his port bow. He glanced again over the controls, only looking up when Elara gently kissed his temple. "She's okay," Elara said, "and the mission is almost done. You did an excellent job, love." He smiled up at his bride.

"This mission is over, but the battle is only beginning. Are you up for that?" he asked her, taking her hand.

"I am, as my mother was before me, a part of this family. When I talked with her about this, she told me that I was with the best team for this job." She scooted him over to sit in the pilot's seat with him. "Whatever needs to be done, count me in." She sealed her vow with a kiss.

Maura watched them from the lounge area. Aric has sent her the message about Marr, about his precarious health situation. She thought about the consequences of his death, and realized that she wanted him to live. Miriah is home, she thought, and smiled.

Corso was reluctant to let Miriah out of his arms, and instead sat in the shuttle's cargo area, her on his lap. She hadn't said much, but that was okay with him. As long as he could touch her, his world was on course. She had both hands full of his shirt, not letting him go. Devin joined them, hugging them both. Miriah finally looked at her son. "Thank you, sweetie. Everything went exactly as Lana planned it, except Marr."

"He's in the best possible hands now," Devin told her, brushing her hair away from her face. "And so are you." She smiled and put her head on Corso's shoulder. When Devin had gone to find her some water, she turned to her husband.

"I was afraid," she said to him. "Afraid you wouldn't understand, that you'd think I was pushing you away." He kissed her then, soft and sweet.

"I was, at first, pretty upset. Angry. Hurt. All those things. But when Mags told me about the multiple visions, and that no one could tell you what would happen to me, I understood the reasons." He stood, lifing her easily with him. "I just don't ever want to do something this crazy again."

"Me either," she admitted.

Lana's voice came over the intercom. "We'll be dropping out of hyperspace in five minutes. Buckle up, please." Once they were docked with the Dreamweaver, Lana crossed the small space to Miriah. "I can't thank you enough, for going through with this."

"I'm glad we were able to pull it off," Miriah answered. "What about Marr?"

"We'll do our best to get him back. I'm hoping that since we were able to get him into the tank pretty quickly, we can save him."

"Please, let us know. And keep in touch. We're not done with this, of that I'm sure," Miriah told her, seeing Lana's nod of agreement. She hugged the blond Sith, and stepped back beside Corso. When the other ship had cloaked and left, she turned to Corso.

"Let's join the others," she told him. "I'm hungry." He smiled and took her hand. "But later, I have a plan."

"Oh?"

"You see, I had this dream..."