Missy paced the apartment. She felt better than ever, but it had been days since she'd promised herself she would have a conversation with Aric. Now that she knew he was on his way to her, she was nervous. Afraid that what she was proposing was beyond her skills and knowledge. Still she was determined to tell Aric all she knew. When the door chime sounded, she briefly thought of hiding in the bedroom until he gave up and left, but she found her feet going toward the door. Aric stood there, smiling, with a bouquet of flowers in his hand.
"Missy, how are you," he said, and presented her with the winter flowers. "I'm so sorry I haven't gotten here sooner."
"I can imagine you've been very busy," she said, suddenly shy in his presence. "Let me put these where I can enjoy them." Aric followed her into the living area and once she'd placed the flowers on the low table, she sat and motioned for him to sit as well. "I wanted to fill you in on what I've done the past few years, because I think I can be of use to the Alliance." She paused, taking a sip of water, then continued. "When Mother died, I was too young to get work legally, and she left nothing of value behind. I started stealing, anything. Food, credits, whatever I could get, just to survive. I know it wasn't right, but I had to eat. The apartment was paid for, thank the stars, so I had a place to sleep. I was good, very good. I could take a cred stick from a Sith and smile at them the whole time. I also dabbled in computers a bit, when I could swipe one from an unattended table or bag." Missy frowned, recalling those times and found she couldn't meet Aric's eyes.
Aric kept his face neutral, but the heartbreak he felt at the young girl left to fend for herself made him want to strangle his father for leaving her in such a situation. He couldn't fault her for surviving, and in fact her admired that she didn't give up, or turn to prostitution as so many in her situation would have. Now, he saw her shame, and as much as he wanted to hug her, he figured it best to just let her talk.
"I tried to take food from a random guy who was sitting at a corner cafe, and I'd managed to take one of the pastries he'd left on his plate but I got greedy and tried for the second. He grabbed my arm as I did and that was the first encounter I had with Theron Shan. He dragged me to the safehouse he was staying at with a guy named Jonas. I figured I was dead, or worse, but they said they'd been watching how good I was with taking things and making my marks think I was a nice person." She gulped down the water now, unused to talking so much these days. "They wanted me to work with the SIS. At first, I thought they were just feeding me a line, but the next day they took me to the headquarters on Coruscant. At that time I was sixteen, but I lied and told them I was eighteen, and they started me training. I did well, and by the time I really was eighteen I was working underground on Coruscant, primarily doing recon and surveillance on the Black Sun. Then, the Etermal Empire arrived, and I found myself back in the safehouse with Theron. We grew close over the weeks we spent there, and I learned a good deal about him."
"So, you know Theron?" At her nod, Aric continued. "And when you say you grew close, do you mean..." Missy nodded again, and felt her whole face burn with shame.
"At first, we didn't know what was going on. There were bombings every day, and it was as much a risk to be in a building than out. Theron was smart and had connections, I wanted to live. One day, I came back to the safehouse and it was empty. It was then that I started to realize that I had to find another way, that the work I had done so well would have to serve me to get away from there." Missy stood to pace, unsure about how her story was being received. "I saw the bounty alert for Theron on the holonet, and I had no idea Theron had gotten himself into so much trouble."
"He's tried to kill Miriah more than once, he actually gravely injure her once, and even Maura was injured by his attack," Aric said, fighting to keep his voice calm and even. "He was once thought to be a valued member of the Alliance, but he was always getting Mir's temper up about things. They weren't exactly friends, but she respected his work. He even married Lana Beniko, we think to be able to have more info on operations. Thank the force Lana is a vault, and he didn't have any of the right codes to get her to spill about her job." He'd been watching Missy pace and now she whirled to him, her bright green eyes sparkling.
"I want to find him. He'll trust me, he would have no idea I'm related to you. Where do you think he is now?"
Aric regarded his half sister for a moment, unsure about which allegiance would be stronger, family or lover. Missy could almost see his thoughts as he worked it out in his head. "I promise, I have no lingering feelings, hell, I didn't have any feelings then other than that it seemed our world was ending and I didn't want to die without having experienced sex at least once." She grinned at Aric but he was still frowning. "Where do you think he is?"
"Zakuul," Aric answered, and took a deep breath. "I'll have to tell the Commander all of this, see what she thinks. I trust her to see it objectively and make the right decision." He stood, and Missy suddenly regretted admitting her past to him.
"Aric, I'm sorry, I don't want any of this to come between us," she said, and he heard the anxiety in her voice.
"I'm impressed that you managed to survive, Missy, not angry. It gives me one more reason to want Theron dead, but I'm not upset with you." He crossed to her and took her in his arms, feeling her tremble against him. "It's okay, hon. We've all done things we didn't want to, just to make it to the next day." He felt her calm, and pushed her away slightly to look into her eyes. "We're the only blood family either of us have left. I'll always take your side."
"I will as well. I wish things had been different, but I wouldn't trade today for anything." Missy quickly wiped her face. "Let me know what the Commander says, I'll be standing by." Aric nodded and pressed his forehead to hers before going to the door. He stopped and waved at her as he exited, and she felt ten kilos lighter when she lay on the sofa, staring at the flowers until she closed her eyes.
Miriah had just finished her morning briefing with the duty officer when she saw Aric come and close the office door, his face serious. "Hey, Aric. How's things?" she said, waiting for him to settle.
"I'm trying to figure out how to relate this," he replied, and settled on telling the story exactly how he heard it. When he was done, he sat back and watched Miriah's face. He saw concern, admiration, and finally, acceptance.
"I think she's right. He would have no reason to connect her with us, no reason to distrust her any more than he would any person from his past. I think the risk would be low, and the reward high." She stood up to stretch, and regarded Aric's response to her words.
"I propose we wait until Lana's been back a few days, so they won't be connected, but I agree. Missy's smart and resourceful. She'll be able to handle just being on Zakuul and seeing if she can locate him. Anything else, she knows she can call on us to back her up."
Miriah turned to him, suddenly frowning. "Do you trust her? I mean, I realize she's your half sister, but would you put the risk of losing Theron indefinitely against her loyalty to us?"
Aric didn't hesitate. "I would, Mir. I believe that she risked her life to find me, and that she means what she said about being totally with us on this."
Miriah sat back down, and out of the corner of her eye, saw Corso nod slightly. "Very well then, we'll get together with Lana when she returns and set a day." Aric stood and waited until Miriah looked up at him.
"Thanks, Mir. I knew you'd figure out the best way to handle it." He smiled at her gratefully, and saw her face soften.
"I just want her to come back unharmed," she said, and Aric nodded.
"Me, too."
Sarai had slept well and now looked up at her oldest daughter as Mags made her way into the room. Sarai had already dressed and was ready to see her temporary living quarters, and she didn't miss the familiar bag on Magdalane's shoulder. "I see you packed for me," she said, and saw Mags blush.
"Sorry, Mom, I just didn't want you to vulnerable." Mags hugged her mother, who she was glad to note didn't feel as frail as yesterday.
Sarai patted Mags back. "I know, honey. I appreciate your thoughtfulness. If you left anything I need, I'll get someone to replace it." She started for the door. "Any idea where I'm going?" Mags explained the area and where her mother would be quartered, and followed her.
"I'm heading back there now, I'll walk with you," Mags explained, and Sarai nodded. She hated hiding, but saw the logic in it, and was willing to go along just so that Miriah wouldn't be more stressed, worrying about her. She was grateful to be close to everyone as well, and figured she could help out, too. With that, she walked briskly toward the smuggler wing, making Mags laugh and jog to keep up.
Torian had gone to pack a bag, and before he left his apartment, went next door to see if Solasta needed anything. She opened the door to his soft knock, and motioned him inside. "Torian, what's wrong?" she asked.
"Gursan asked me to check in on you today, since he was gone," Torian explained, and Solasta relaxed.
"We're just fine," she said, glancing over at the cradle where her daughter slept. "He worries, that's all. But everything is good here."
"You'll let me know if you need anything? And remember, we're at a higher security level. Scan everything," he said, and Solasta nodded.
"We will. The Commander already offered us space in the secure area, but I hate to leave all the baby stuff we have here. We'll be extra cautious for now." She walked with him to the door. "You're with Caly?" When he nodded, she turned serious eyes to his. "Keep her safe, she promised to babysit."
Torian grinned then, and waved as he made his way down the hall. Caly would be safe, if it meant his own life.
Miriah felt the weight of the day acutely as she leaned on Corso, just inside the apartment. "Caly left us some stew," Corso said. Her pod having no room for cooking, she was cooking here, and her parents were grateful. "I'll go get us some."
"That would be wonderful," Miriah murmured. She'd worried most of the afternoon that she'd made the wrong decision on Missy's proposal, but Corso and Aric had reassured her that all would work out, even if she spent time on Zakuul and never saw Theron, the chance would be worth it. She plopped ungracefully onto the sofa and just lay there where she fell, not finding the energy to sit up until Corso brought the steaming bowls in and put them on the low table, fishing two bottles of beer from his pockets, making her laugh at his ingenuity.
"I scanned everything already," he assured her, handing her a beer. "I'll be glad when Lana gets back, just so that you don't have to answer everything."
"Me, too, sugar." She inhaled the fragrant stew. "I believe Caly is going to do really well with her cooking."
"Mmmhmm," Corso said, his mouth full. "I hope she and Torian will be able to get along in this forced togetherness."
"It should tell them more about how married life will be, at least. Honestly, I don't think they'll have any trouble with it." They enjoyed the hot meal and the beer, and Miriah was already half asleep when Corso picked her up and took her to their bed, only stopping to let her pull on sleeping clothes.
Torian blew on the spoon he held and took a bite. "So good, sweetheart," he said, savoring the next bite. She only smiled at him as they ate, talking quietly about their day. When he related checking on Solasta, Caly laughed as she imagined Solasta's face, and felt contentment wash over her.
"This is nice," she said. "Having a meal, just enjoying time together."
"Caly, I have to say this. Are you okay with what we've been doing? I mean, other than this?" Torian stammered his words and felt his blush as color flooded his cheeks.
"More than you know," Caly whispered. Her eyes said more than her words, and he took her hand, kissing her palm.
"I'll talk to your dad soon, about the formal engagement," he said, and Caly nodded. "Maybe when Theron Shan is in a cell, so hopefully soon." Caly closed her eyes, and wished for time to move faster.