Calypso cried. She wasn't hurt, or hungry. She was dry, and warm, and had the attention of every person aboard the ship, but she was unhappy. After the stress of moving the ship, Logan was feeling his early morning, but Calypso was only moderately quieter with him. They walked around the ship, bounced her, did the side to side dance Miriah did with her, but nothing seemed to work. She had worn herself down but refused to sleep. Finally, Logan went into his parent's quarters and saw his mother's nightshirt on the bed. He picked it up and wrapped the baby girl in it, then sat with her on the bed. He gave her the bottle she'd refused just a few minutes ago, only now it was what she wanted. He watched as her teary eyes slowly closed, and breathed a sigh of relief. Sarai found them both there, asleep, and let them be.
Miriah watched Corso with concerned eyes. He was struggling, both with the touch of the Dark Masters and the fear it wrought and with the idea that he might try to hurt someone close to him. She tentatively put her small hand on his, and he gripped hers with a ferocity that startled her. "I love you, Miriah, with my whole heart," he told her, his voice trembling with emotion. "But if I turn on you, on any of you, you better put me down." She felt the sting of unshed tears, but took a deep breath.
"Mags said you're fine. I'm not worried." She gently kissed his cheek before moving to his lips, and his response told her he was afraid. "We'll be back on the ship soon, sugar. I promise."
Devin watched his parents, feeling their emotions all too clearly. We've got to get done with this, once and for all, he thought. He stood, and Magdalane stood with him. "Let's move into this room, but be ready," he told them, getting nods of agreement.
"Let's light 'em up," Aric roared, and charged into the room, cannon already in position. Maura was right behind him, and they stood back to back, each covering half the large room. Felix formed the third side of the square, Corso the fourth. Magdalane and Devin, lightsabers drawn, stood to each side. Miriah, the designated healer, in the middle. Devin nodded at his aunt, and threw his lightsaber at the nearest Master.
Once engaged, the battle took on an unexpected fury. One of the masters was using the force to push them around the room. One cast lightning, and one swung his lightsaber in a deadly arc. Miriah had her kolto gun in one hand and her blaster in the other, not sure at one point which was getting more use. There damage had been minimal and easily patched, but they were making little progress in downing the four dark force users. To her left, Magdalane cried out, and Miriah turned to see her sister being force choked. She quickly confronted the Sith and placed a kick between his legs. He let go of Mags and Miriah took advantage of his stunned look to get Magdalane away. No sooner had they moved back than Aric took the Sith on, and gave them time to get to the middle of the room. Miriah applied a kolto pack and had turned to watch the battle when lightning arced all over the room. They huddled in the center of the room so that Miriah could use a kolto cloud to heal the group all at once.
Maura pointed over Miriah's shoulder, her eyes wide. Miriah turned to see a dragon and a ghost, Devin engaging the ghost in combat and Felix turning the dragon so that everyone else could damage the beast without standing in the fire from its breath. Miriah could see the force aura around her son and saw it healing any damage he was taking. Corso stood beside her, his rifle glowing it was so hot. He looked at her and winked, and it made her more comfortable that her Corso was there. Magdalane was on his other side, casting force damage in a blur of continuous motion. When the dragon lay dead and the ghost evaporated, they again gathered in the center, the kolto cloud taking care of anything Miriah had missed.
"Just a little more, now," Devin said, his aura shimmering , highlighting the sweat on their brows. "They're weakening." Magdalane nodded in agreement, and they again engaged the four Dread Masters. The battle raged on, and now Miriah could feel the light force waves coming from her son. She'd not been able to look directly at him for some time now, the light was so intense. She heard a groan beside her and saw Felix fall to his knees, a lightsaber scorch on his shoulder. She felt Mags turn toward him but Miriah had already started treating the wound. The platform shook when one of the Master's fell, and she braced herself against her brother in law, working on the open wound. She packed the wound with the green gel, and looked up into Felix's eyes.
"Working?" she said, but she knew he couldn't hear her, the combat sounds drowning out all other sounds. He nodded, but she could see the pain in his eyes. She dug through her pockets to find painkillers and pulled a syringe out, placing it against his exposed skin. She'd just started the injection when a huge force push forced them both over the edge of the platform.
Sarai felt the jolt in the force, but there was so much going on with her family she wasn't sure what exactly had happened. She turned her eyes to Ian, who had gone white. "It's Dad," he said. "He's hurt, and.. and…" The words refused to come to him as he struggled with the powerful emotions he felt, and he fell into his grandmother's hug.
Felix looked up from under the platform, and saw Magdalane's silver hair. I'm okay, he thought, better than I was up there. He saw her quick nod, and felt her next question. Where's Miriah? He looked around and saw her several yards away, a huge lightsaber burn across her back. She was lying face down, dangerously close to the water. He sat up and tried to move, but the pain medication along with the injury made movement difficult for him. He heard his wife in his mind again. Just stay where you are, we're so close to this being done. He nodded, and settled in to wait.
Devin felt his mother's injury and the anger that it fueled in him. He felt it like white hot lava, scalding his veins with its power, and he channeled it. The Master he was the battling was the last one standing, but he was also the most powerful. Devin let his mind relax and felt the pure force power flowing over him, making his skin tingle and his ears ring. He fought the Master, back and forth, the lightsabers meeting , the hum and hiss of them deafening. The Master was losing, but he was fighting. Devin pushed harder and harder, and finally he just closed his eyes and let the force build, then pushed outward. The Master hit the far wall, and as his body slid down to the floor, the platform shifted.
Miriah tried to move, but the pain was so intense she cried out and stilled, not sure where she was or what had happened. Her fingertips felt wet, and she suddenly remembered the water. With effort, she shifted her arm away from the edge and tried again to see where she was.
Magdalane peered over the edge. She reached out with the force and lifted her husband toward her. He landed on the edge but Aric and Corso reached out to him to pull him to safety. "Now, get Mir," Corso said, the worry and pleading in his voice clear. Magdalane went back to the platform's edge, and felt it tremble under her feet. She peered over the edge but couldn't see her sister.
"Felix, was she closer to the water?" she asked, and saw him nod. She got down on her stomach and tried to peer under the platform again, but she couldn't tell where Miriah was.
Devin could feel her but after the massive force he'd used in that fight, his muscles trembled to keep him standing. He was terrified because he couldn't feel her presence, her emotions or the soul link he'd always had with her. He started toward the edge where his aunt was, but stumbled and fell before he'd gotten to the group. Maura ran to him, but couldn't help the much larger man to his feet and instead knelt beside where he sat, exhausted.
Corso's anxiety rose when he saw Devin try to reach his mother. "Mags, can't you lift her like you did Felix?" he asked. Mags shook her head.
"I have to be able to have a direct path to lift her up, and I can't even see her right now," she said, the worry seeping into her voice.
"We have to get her out of there, please, somebody," Corso begged. He ran to another edge of the platform and tried to see under it, but with no success. He turned his frightened eyes to the group, just as the platform shifted again, and tilted toward the large door.
Miriah tried to open her eyes but the light around her was too bright. She could feel her family out there but was paralyzed, unable to move or even speak. She knew she was slipping under, and thought about her children, realizing she wasn't afraid to die. She settled into the light, waiting.
The platform slid slowly but steadily until it slammed into the wall, cutting off all access to the water. The last sound Miriah heard from above was Corso's wail as he shattered, his face pressed against the stone, calling her name.