Miriah lay on her side, watching her daughter's tear stained face as she finally slept. Poor sweetie, she thought, and stood, going to where Corso was sitting in the kitchen. "She's resting?" he asked, his head in his hands.
Miriah put her arms around his neck. "She is, finally. I know we needed her reaction to be what it was, but we have to let her know what's really going on, and soon." She lay her head on his, and he turned, pulling her into his lap.
"Now, about you," he told her, but instead of talking, she pulled his head down for a kiss that was more than mere comfort. When he lifted his head, he looked into her silver eyes. "You need to eat a decent meal, not the little bites you had at breakfast, and sleep." Miriah kissed him once more before standing and warming the food he'd brought in earlier, when Caly was so distraught she couldn't even get a breath. They sat together and Miriah ate, knowing her current headache was half stress, half hunger. When they finished and rinsed their dishes, Miriah went to check on Calypso, but she was still asleep, having worn herself out alternately crying and pacing, feeling like she was the cause of the conflict between Solasta and Torian. Corso met her on the sofa and they tried to rest, Miriah getting up after only a couple of hours to pace for a bit.
Morning dawned with a slight mist falling, and Miriah looked out at the freighter that was being fueled. She was trying to still her mind when she felt a touch on her arm, and looked around to see Aric beside her. "You aren't supposed to be anywhere I'm not, Commander, unless it's home," he growled, and she could see he'd had little rest as well. He kept his seriously angry face for a few more seconds, before relaxing. "I know, you were up early, but still, message me or Maura, okay?" Miriah nodded, and shuffled her feet, embarrassed. Aric looked around them, saw no one watching, and hugged her quickly. "Just, you know, I worry," he said.
"You're right," she said. "Calypso had a rough evening, and I think we need to let her have at least some knowledge of what's going on."
"Yeah, I figured that out sometime after midnight," he confessed, and they both chuckled. "Corso is with her now?"
"He is, and they both need more sleep than they got. Today will be a better day," she said, and they turned to watch the activity around the ship.
Lana slid down Theron's body, both of them sweaty and breathless. "Maybe I should volunteer for more of these missons," he murmured, his hands in her hair. "Or just take you with me."
"While that would be pleasurable for us both," she said, kissing him, "I'll be more useful here, especially with now two missions in progress." He saw her glance at the chrono, and gently pulled her face to his.
"We have plenty of time. Besides, they won't leave without me," he said, rolling her over and pinning her under him, her blue eyes dilated with her passion. "We need more time together, love. I won't do anything to jeopardize that." He felt her hug him fiercely.
"I'm holding you to that," she told him, holding back the tears that had sprung to her eyes.
Sarai had spent the early morning hours in meditation, and now she felt refreshed. She'd just finished her tea when her door chime sounded, and she made her way to open it. On the other side, she saw Nico Okarr. "Morning, Master Jedi," he told her, touching the brim of his hat. "I came to take your bag for you."
"That's very kind, Nico. Thank you," she said, handing him the small duffle. They didn't speak walking to the elevator into the secured portion of the base, and Sarai looked up at the gunslinger as they made their way down to the hangar. She could see the scars, and the slight limp as he walked, and wondered what kinds of stories he might tell on their journey. All in all, she thought, this should be a great adventure. She could see Miriah and Aric as they entered the hangar, and could feel that her daughter was somewhat more settled than she'd been the day before.
Lana and Theron saw Sarai and Nico as they entered the elevators. "I guess I'd better get over there, too," Theron said, taking Lana's hand. They were also silent as they made their way across the war room, the stillness of the early morning in what was usually the nerve center of Alliance Operations making them reluctant to disturb it. As they neared the hangar, Lana stopped and Theron swung around to her, taking her in his arms. "It's all going to be fine, sweetheart. I'll be back in about a standard week, and we can celebrate," he told her, and felt her tremble. She seemed to gather herself, and took him by the collar.
"I expect daily updates," she told him, the clipped Imperial tones the only indication that she was tense.
"Of course," he told her, and held her close. "I love you, Lana." That was what broke her, and he felt the warm tears on his neck.
"I love you, too," she told him, and he kissed her again, then turned to walk to where he could see the others, greeting them as they approached. Lana composed herself and now stood beside Miriah. As Sarai and the others started up the ramp of the ship, Miriah felt Corso behind her and leaned into his chest.
"As much as I know you'll worry, I can honestly say I'm relieved it's not you walking out to that ship, dalrin'." She felt his arms go around her waist, and his deep, even breathing, and it helped her not panic when the air lock cycled closed. They slowly made their way back to the offices, and Corso went out to pick up some food for them. Lana sank into her usual chair, her eyes closed.
"I do believe they'll all be fine," Miriah said. "Mom is a skilled negotiator, and Nico a dead shot. They'll either be able to talk their way out or shoot their way out of any difficulty." The wry tone she used made Lana look at her with a half smile.
"I suppose you're right," she agreed, and felt things click into place for her. They sat in companionable silence until the ping of Lana's datapad made them both jump. Lana read the message, and turned to Miriah with a smile. "This is a message of thanks from the guard captain." She narrowed her gaze at Miriah, who was stretched out in her large chair. "What did you do?"
"I merely suggested that Acina already had a shock collar picked out for her," Miriah said. "It was probably Aric's ready blaster that made her mind up." Lana felt the laugh bubble up, and failed to contain it. When she could breathe again, she shook her head at her friend.
Mia had been up early with a crying baby, and Devin saw her now in her night clothes, Declan snuffling on her shoulder. She'd told him last night that the baby was teething, and he didn't worry. Now, though, he was, because he could see how tired his wife was, holding one child on her shoulder and her other hand on her rounded belly. He stepped softly to her, and guided her to the sofa, placing pillows against the small of her back. "Rest, love. I'll check back on you in a bit," he told her, and she nodded. Declan finally slept, and he smoothed the little boy's dark brown hair away from his face. He gently kissed Mia, whose eyes were already drooping, and left quietly. He'd planned to see his grandmother off, but the delay meant he missed them. He saw the freighter lift gracefully into the mist and sighed. He was aware of all that had taken place in the last couple of days, but his mother had told him to tend to his family. Now he wondered how she could stand the constant pressure. Her force presence was a constantly roiling purple cloud, never still for more than a few seconds. His feet were finding their way to her now, and he saw that she was already in the office. She looked up as he entered and he rushed to her, hugging her tightly. "Mom, go home. I'll work here today. You need to rest," he told her.
"I can't," she told him. "Too many things going on, some of which I'm not at liberty to divulge to you right now."
"I'll ask you if something like that comes up," he replied. "You need a break, so does Dad." They sat, and Miriah still shook her head.
"Lana needs a break more than I do," she said now. Lana had felt Devin's arrival and heard Miriah's last words as she entered the room.
"I'd feel better working, boss," she said. "Otherwise I'd just be at home, brooding. Go, be with Caly. Devin, your wife and children need you, too. I'll just stay here and get in touch if anything comes up." Miriah took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Go," Lana said, her voice soft. "I'll keep you updated, I promise."
"Only if you take a day off tomorrow," Miriah said, but Lana shook her head.
"I'll take time off when Theron gets back," she said with a wicked grin, and they both laughed. Devin walked with Aric and his mom to the apartment, and they all went in. Aric went to make caffa and Devin walked up the steps to see Caly still sleeping. When he joined them in the kitchen, Corso had returned as well, and was bringing food out of bags.
"She really had a rough day yesterday," Devin said.
"She did," Corso agreed. They ate and chatted until Devin felt Mia was up, and he went to help her. Corso and Miriah turned on the holo, the volume low, staying away from the galactic news feeds. Miriah relaxed enough to nap, and even Caly didn't wake her when she finally rose and showered. Corso had both his girls, and even though Caly was wan with worry, at least she would understand. Soon, he told himself.
Sarai sat down across from where Nico had pulled out a deck of pazaak cards. "So, tell me, Nico," she started, "what kind of adventures have you had." Nico laughed out loud.
"I could ask the same thing," he said, and saw Sarai nod. "I do need to tell you that Jace and I have a...history." He then related the story of fighting alongside a young Major Malcom, many years ago, on Aldaraan.
"I see," Sarai said, her voice thoughtful. "Perhaps it might be best to keep you out of his sight, then. We'll figure it all out when we get there and can see what, exactly, is going on there. I can't imagine Jace Malcom has much to do with the day to day operations of the base itself. I thought we might leave this ship in orbit with the droid, and take a shuttle down."
"Good plan, although Hylo did alter this ship's registry to help the disguise. Apparently we're now an abandoned vessel that was donated to the Jedi Order."
Sarai chuckled. Of course, the military minds would have provided all necessary cover for them as well as the ship, she thought. "Then we proceed as planned." Nico continued to place the cards on the tabletop, the only signal he'd heard her was when he moved his ever-present toothpick to the other side of his mouth. She didn't mind, she knew she was chatting due to excitement, and when he wouldn't talk to her, she sought out Theron.
Theron had already changed into the robes he'd acquired from the Odessen temple, and wondered why he'd ever thought they were uncomfortable. He found them more than adequate to hide all manner of weapons, the sheer volume allowing him to put an extra blaster and a large knife inside. He was still getting used to the sleeves, and walking around with all the movement of the robe, when Sarai spotted him in the spacious lounge area. They settled in to talk, Theron telling her about growing up with a Jedi mentor. He was about to offer to make them tea when he realized she'd fallen asleep, and smiled. They'd have time to talk once they were through with Iokath.