Lana emerged from the shower and was surprised to see Theron packing a gear bag. She was pulling clothes from her closet when she heard him behind her. "I didn't think Miriah would mind if I come along," he told her, before trying to pull her into a hug. Her arms full, she moved away from where he stood, going back into the refersher to dress. Her silence hung between them, and just as she was fastening her boots, she saw his shadow fall on her. "I'm trying to make amends here, Lana. I thought, at least while we're traveling, we could have some time together." Lana stood to her full height, and met his gaze.
"I guess we can try," she replied, her curt accent letting him know she was hurt by his prolonged absence last night. This time, when he tried to hug her, she let him, but instead of relaxing into his body as she had before, she held herself rigid, and turned her face away. Without another word, she gathered her toiletries and pushed through to the living area, scooping up her datapad and personal holocom from the table at the door. She was already in the hallway when Theron caught up, and he seemed to know it was in his best interests to keep his mouth closed.
Aric took Maura's bag from her hands as they crossed the courtyard, the sun barely visible on the horizon. Aric whistled quietly as they walked, and they stopped at the mess hall for caffa and a quick bite to take with them. Maura stood when she saw Aric striding to her, a grin on his face. "You like this, don't you?" she said, taking her cup from his hands.
"What do you mean? Caffa, a crisp, early morning?" he asked as she rolled her eyes. "Yes, I do, all of it. It's time to destroy this traitor, once and for all. I feel like I owe him for injuring you, love. I plan to be merciless when we catch him." They took up their bags again, hands full, and made their way to the elevator into the secured area, and saw Sarai and Mags there.
"Miriah told me not to come," Mags said as soon as they were near enough. "I feel very uncomfortable with you all going off without a Jedi healer. Mir..."
"We should be fine," Aric told her. "Seriously, I wouldn't say that if I didn't think it were true, especially given the past history. We'll have the jump on this traitor, won't know what hit him." Aric went on ahead, wanting to check out the ship before everyone boarded, and Maura hugged her mother.
"You all be careful," she said. "I'll look after everyone here. Please, let us know when you're on the way back." Mags hugged Maura as well.
"We will, Mom." Maura hugged Sarai once more, then took off at a trot to catch Aric.
Miriah sat at the end of the bed, pulling on her boots. "Ready to fly, sugar?" she called out, and saw Corso round the corner of the bed, both his and her bags in his hand. "I think I'll call Acina before we go," she told him, standing to go out to the holo. Corso followed, his mind feeling sluggish after little sleep the evening before. They made the connection, but were asked to wait, the aide going to find her. As they stood there, Miriah turned to Corso, and he dropped the gear bags to slide his hand to the back of her head, angling her head to kiss her. They heard a cough, and Miriah turned back to the holo.
"Hello, Commander. I can see it's already a good morning for you," Acina purred, and Corso blushed. Miriah explained what they wanted to do, and Acina took a deep breath. "I'd love to say that I could clear the way for you, but the miners out there are answering to a rogue Sith, one I haven't managed to find yet. You won't be stepping on my toes if you take out their operation. Those crystals are being sold on the Hutt markets, for quite a tidy profit, I can assume. So it's true? The reason you had a crew on Iokath was to hunt down this traitor?" Miriah only nodded, she didn't want to lie so she figured if she just said nothing, she was safe. "Very well. I wish you luck, then." Like that, Acina was gone, and Miriah turned to Corso, who only nodded and picked up their bags.
"I guess we're good to go, then," she said, following him.
Caly had decided to move back to Sarai's apartment but the previous night, after hearing that her parents were off on a little trip, she decided to just sleep at Devin's house. Now, she blinked rapidly and rubbed her eyes. She'd stayed up later than she'd planned, just thinking about what Devin had said about Torian and the major being okay. Maybe, she thought, I can ask Miss Solasta, if I can ever find her alone. She thought back to seeing her friend yesterday, as a brief inspection of the new housing area brought the General past the housing, and saw the bump under a military style blouse. A smile creased her face as she remembered seeing Solasta rest her hand over her baby, and just as quickly it was gone, hoping Gursan would be home in time to see the kitling as it was born. She urged her tired body out of bed but promptly sat back down, realizing that it was still very early. She lay back, and it seemed she'd only closed her eyes when Devin woke her, on his way out for the day. She jumped up and quickly dressed. When she crossed the kitchen to take over feeding Declan, her brother laughed at her.
"I'm sorry, I fell back asleep this morning," she explained, but Devin only hugged her.
"You deserve a few days off, Caly. I'm taking tomorrow and the next day off, so you can have a break," he told her. "I'm glad you're back at Nana's place, it makes me feel better that she's not alone." He grabbed his holo off the counter. "Call if you need me, and I'll see you a bit earlier this afternoon than usual." Caly only nodded, fixing breakfast for both herself and Mia. If only I knew what to do with myself, having two days off, she thought.
Miriah strolled up the ramp of the ship after saying goodbye to those gathered at the hangar. Mom and Mags look fine. Solasta's baby is getting bigger. And for some reason, Theron is going along. At that, she shrugged. Not an issue, I guess. She saw Corso close his eyes as she belted into the pilot seat and snapped off a salute to the grounds crew, getting one in return from the chief, making her grin. She cleared the deck and rose gracefully into the air before hitting the main throttles and bolting out into the sky. In only a minute or so, they had cleared the atmosphere of Odessen. She turned to see the wry look Corso wore. "I knew you were going to do that," he said, and she shrugged.
"It was too good an opportunity to pass up," she replied, and steered them to the hyperlane.
Caly had just put Declan down for his nap when she heard someone knock softly at the door. Mia had fallen asleep, too, and she wanted them to be able to rest. Hurrying to the door, she slipped out to see a large bouquet of flowers, held by a young man she'd seen at the floral kiosk. "Hello," she said, and he peeked around the arrangement.
"Are you," he asked, looking at his datapad, "Calypso Riggs?" She nodded, confused. "These are for you," he told her, and held the vase at arms length. Caly took them, and signed the datapad, and before she could fish out a tip, the young man was gone. She looked around, then picked up the vase and managed to lug the vase to the kitchen, where she put the flowers on the island, walking around them to admire the colors and variety of blooms. It was only on the second round that she saw a small white card, and plucked it from the depths of the arrangement. She jumped when she heard the unmistakable sounds of her sister in law, groaning and shuffling in her advanced state of pregnancy, making her way to the main room. Caly knew there was no way she wouldn't see the flowers, and quickly put the unread card in her pocket, turning just as Mia gasped.
"Those are breathtaking!" she said, moving closer, her eyes big. "Wow, Caly. Who sent these?"
"I think Mom and Dad," she fibbed, and her hand found the card, tucked away. "I mean, unless Dev did."
Mia grinned at her. "Devin didn't, it had to be Mom and Dad." She stepped forward and sniffed deeply. "There's nothing like fresh flowers," she said, and her fingers touched one of the pink roses.
"I can put them in the living area," Caly said. "So you can enjoy them" Mia surprised her with a hug.
"You are so thoughtful and kind, Caly. Thank you." Caly followed her into the room and placed the flowers on a table tall enough that Declan couldn't knock them off, and Mia lay back on the sofa, a smile on her face as she massaged her daughter as she kicked. As soon as Mia's eyes closed again, Caly ran to the room she'd slept in last night and pulled the card from it's hiding place, sliding her finger under the seal. She read the words, and covered her mouth to smother the sob. She felt her tears roll down her face, and quickly pulled the card away, lest it get wet and blurred. In Torian's blocky script, she read, Dearest Caly, These flowers will hopefully provide you some joy while I'm away, but their beauty is only a fraction of yours. I'm always thinking of you, Torian. He wrote this before he left, she realized, and sat heavily on the bed. She sat there, numb, until she heard Declan singing in his crib and stood, wiping her face. As she made her way to the baby, she felt a change in her heart, and truly had hope for her future with the one she loved.
Corso had stretched out in the lounge area and was now fast asleep. They had two days of travel to get to Umbara, and everyone aboard had made themselves comfortable. Miriah did what she always did when she was thinking about something, she cooked. It wasn't long until the smell of freshly baked cookies brought the others out of the cabins, and into the galley. Miriah continued to cook, and soon dinner was ready. Aric went to wake Corso, who jumped when Aric touched his shoulder. "C'mon man, we got cookies and food," he told his friend, who stretched and yawned. "You guys had a really good night?'
Corso smiled but didn't say anything. He really didn't have to, Aric knew they'd enjoyed being together and somewhat healthy. They made their way to the dining table, and the group enjoyed the conversation and the food. When Miriah pulled a cheesecake from the cooler, topped with chocolate chips and caramel, Corso took it and put it on the table, noticing that she had barely eaten anything. While the rest ate dessert, he took her aside. "Okay, spill it, darlin'. You only get this cooking bug when you're worrying over something. What is it?"
Miriah leaned against him, the efforts of the day finally tiring her. "I just hate going into things not knowing who we're fighting. All along, it's been Arcann, or Vaylin. Known enemies. This traitor is someone we know, someone we trust, and it makes me nauseous to think of who it might be." Corso hugged her and rubbed her back.
"Whoever it turns out to be, it won't matter too much. They'll die for what they did." His statement was so matter-of-fact that it took a few moments for Miriah to register his words. She sighed and rested her head against his solid chest, and hoped that it wasn't someone she considered family.