Miriah boarded the ship with a sigh and a smile. She'd shared a cup of tea with General Daeruun, and was looking forward to getting back to the ranch. She shivered, thinking on the message she'd gotten earlier about the weather conditions there, and knew that they'd have to wait the storm out until they could take off again. We planned on spending Life Day there anyway, she thought, and grinned thinking about the toys and things she had yet to wrap. She absently went to the bridge, where Corso and Aric were laughing and drinking caf. "Up and at 'em, boys. Let's jet!" She knew she'd surprised them when Aric coughed his caf all over the nav comp, and laughed at his face.
"Tell everyone, we'll be airborne in five," Corso said, and she heard the hum of the preflight engines. Going to the galley, she saw Devin hurrying toward her.
"Mom, Lara's in labor," he told her. "Nana has James, and it looks like Lucas will be here soon."
"Excellent news," Miriah replied. "She's doing okay?"
"Everything is good," Devin assured her, and took her in a hug. When he released her, she pulled his face down to kiss his cheek. "I needed that," he confessed. "I've been missing out on time with you guys, and this trip has let me have a little of that back. No one tells you that when you have your own family, you miss your parents even more. There's so little time that you get to do things you want to do."
Miriah laughed. "True, but this stage won't be forever. Already, Declan is growing from toddler to little boy, and Merida is mature beyond her years in the force. They will only be children for a short time, son. Enjoy every minute you have." We need to spend more time with them, she thought. They sat on the sofa and in only a few minutes heard the hyperdrive engage. "I have the cutest stuff for them for Life Day, and I left Jame's gifts with Logan."
"I saw the large skiff going over there," Declan said with a grin. "I finally figured out what to give Mia. She's always wanted a spa tub like yours, so I ordered one. Hylo says it'll be installed by the time we return."
"Excellent idea," Corso said, bending to kiss his wife. "I know Mom hates to be without hers. Even the tub at the ranch house pales, right?"
"Well, anything that keeps me warm there is good. Was it really that cold when we lived on Dantooine?"
"It was," Aric said. "I remember several times going to the office to check on pipes and the heat there. I kind miss those days, but I'm sure glad we're all together. That's the most important part." Devin shared his news about Logan and Lara's new baby, and they settled in for the flight.
Mags had been in her cabin since the day before, trying to figure out how to go on, now that her dreams of revenge hadn't turned out like she'd planned. She could hear Felix in the force. You know I won't be able to stay as a presence much longer, Mags, but I can't just let go when I know you're in such a state. I only wanted them to hurt, Felix, that was all I could think of. Like Mir told you, it makes no difference, except to the families of those left behind. Many don't have the support you do, love. I know you're right, but Felix, please don't leave. I miss you so much, every day, and I hate that I squandered the time we had working. I miss being able to hold you in my arms, to smell your scent, to brush back your soft hair from your face. I want to do that again, but I can't. She cried for more than an hour, and when she finally couldn't any longer, she washed her face and combed her hair, and made her way out to her family, with a wry nod to Felix's words. I love you, she thought. I love you, too, and I always will, but you have to go forward. Promise me. She sat beside Miriah and felt her small hand take her own. I promise, she told him, and felt the warmth that he always covered her with.
Maura hurried to join the group, waving her datapad. "I have new pictures!" They gathered around to see Tali and Declan playing in the floor, Coleen holding Caitlin, who was smiling. Caly and Torian working in the kitchen, the photo taken as Torian looked upon his wife with so much love shinning from his eyes. Several photos of the ice as it accumulated. When they all sat down again, they felt the closeness of family.
Lana had wrapped her gifts for Tali, but she had yet to wrap the large box that was Nico's new leathers. She'd had them done like Miriah's tunics, with the durasteel weave and light but durable plates. She had just reached for the box when her datapad chimed it's urgent alert. Lana reversed her lean and picked up the datapad, and while she read her eyebrows climbed higher on her head. Darth Malgus, she thought. How in the force can it be Malgus? She send a request to Miriah to have her call the encrypted holo, but knew the ship was likely in hyperspace by now. Well, nothing to be done at the moment anyway, she figured, but her mind was going through every detail of the action reports Aric had send for their records. Unsure of a couple of details, she rose and went to the office, intent on reviewing the missives.
Caly saw Lana as she came down the hallway and noted her preoccupation. When she was near, she touched the Sith's arm. "Everyone okay?" she asked, her voice filled with worry.
Lana came out of her trance. "Everyone's fine," she said, smiling. "I was just lost in thought there."
"They should be home tomorrow afternoon, right?"
"They will be," Lana confirmed. "I have no doubt."
Caly sighed with relief. "Good, I'll be glad to have them back."
"Me, too." Lana carried on, into the office, and Caly to her room. Torian had been working long hours, and they usually took a couple of hours in the afternoon to lie together and either nap or talk. She went inside and found the room empty, and decided to crawl under the soft, warm blankets. Only minutes later, she was asleep.
Solasta had paced and worried all night, getting only a few hours of rest. Malgus, she thought. She'd read Theron's message over and over, and still couldn't figure out how Malgus had survived the explosion over Ilum so many years ago. She was approaching her office when she saw a man trying to slice the biometric lock. Slowing her steps and approaching in the dark hallway, she rushed the man, and had him on the deck, her claws around his throat, in seconds.
Theron had been looking at the lock on the door one second, and was on the stone floor the next, and he was filled with mortal fear. Above him was an angry Cathar, and her claws dug into the soft skin of his neck. His implants flickered with the attempt to provide him with an escape, and finally rebooted. "I know you weren't trying to get into my office, right?" Solasta's words, coming on a low growl, made him even more afraid.
"I… was waiting… and then I got stupid," he finally managed to say, and saw General Dinn's pupils return to normal. Her claws, however, remained around his neck, her weight easily holding him in place. "I swear, I wouldnt..." He felt the sharp tips tighten, and small rivulets of blood trickled down into his shirt.
"I warned you," Solasta said, her voice still with that low growl around it. "I told you, I'd be watching. You didn't listen, or you didn't believe me." The claws tightened a little more, and Theron was now having trouble breathing around the pressure on his throat.
"I will not ever betray the Alliance," he managed to squeak out. Suddenly the pressure and pain were gone, and Solasta stood. Before he could get up, she had hauled him to his feet and shoved him against the rough stone of the wall, and he heard the pounding of several pairs of boots, running toward them.
"Take him to the interrogation room," Solasta snarled, letting his feet touch the floor. Colonel Siovanna slapped her blaster against his shoulder, prodding him forward. How did I get into this predicament, he wondered, and blamed it on his lack of sleep, mulling over the information Vowrawn had given him. He sat at the table in the room, and had a moment of panic as the door shut, leaving him alone.
Solasta was snapping orders at the assembled officers. "I want all transmissions from off planet scanned and anything sent to Theron Shan flagged and sent to me." She turned to the next. "I want all information available on Darth Malgus." Finally, to Siovanna, she asked for the projected location of the Commander. Siovanna acknowledged her order, then turned as she reached the door.
"General, is there anything I can do for you before I carry out your order?" she asked, seeing the agitation still present in Solasta's demeanor.
"Tell me I wasn't a fool to try and work with a spy," she spit out, and Siovanna straightened her shoulders.
"You could never be a fool, and I still believe he was only waiting for you, to help," she said, and took in a sharp breath when Solasta turned to stare at her. After a few seconds the general relaxed her stern visage.
"Thank you, Colonel. Please, the location of the Commander." Solasta sat heavily, the adrenaline beginning to leave her body and her head throbbing. After only a minute, Siovanna returned with fresh caf and told her that Miriah was unreachable at the moment. Solasta thought about this, and finally stood. "I need Master Chantalle to meet me in interrogation when she's available."
"Certainly, sir," Siovanna replied, with a sharp salute. She returned to Solasta with the news that Lara Riggs was having her baby, and that the Master Jedi was in charge of her great grandson.
"Ask Arcann, then," Solasta said, and then grinned. That ought to make Mr. Spy wet himself a little, she thought. Only then could she relax and get her day started, and she proceeded with her reports, knowing that the longer Theron sat, the more likely they were to get some truth from him.
Torian had gone out mid morning to check on the perimeter guards. He'd only made two stops when he had stayed inside a few extra minutes to get out of the needles of ice falling, but that was all it took for his speeder to succumb to the cold. He tried it several times, but figured the fuel line was frozen. He took a deep breath and started back to the ranch on foot. It wasn't too far, he told himself. Before he was halfway back, his eyes were lined in ice and he was having trouble breathing the very cold air. Still, he trudged onward, only stopping to catch his breath. Finally, he could see the house, and the smoke from the chimney that signaled warmth. With a grateful grin, he picked up his pace. It had taken him two hours, but he was going to make it back. He wasn't watching though, and the ice made footing treacherous. With a loud grunt, his foot sunk into a hole, and he pitched forward onto the frozen ground, his leg at an odd angle. Searing pain shot through him, making him feel like his blood was boiling hot. He struggled to control his breathing over the pain, and sent out an emergency alert.
Lana got the alert and hurried to pull on her cold weather gear. Nico had rushed to the house as well and helped her. Tali was napping, and Lana had reached Mia, asking her to keep an eye on the child. "Do we need a sled?" Nico asked her, and Lana nodded.
"Sounds like he's injured, and with the slippery conditions, I'd rather not risk any further issues," she said, her voice calm but her movements fraught with anxiety. When she pulled on her gloves, and made it outside, she saw Nico with a speeder and sled combo.
"Hop on," he told her, and she mounted the speeder behind him. After only a few minutes, she tapped Nico's shoulder and pointed to where she could see the blinking orange light Torian had deployed. Nico changed course to him and when they arrived, together they pulled him from the ground and onto the sled. Lana rode with him, keeping him steady, and when they arrived at the house, Mia met them outside.
"Let me do the healing here, so that we minimize any swelling," she told them over the howl of the wind. With the sled under the meager shelter of the overhang of the back door, Mia's force aura covered the young man, who relaxed with the reduction of the fracture and the relief of the ice raining down on him.
Caly woke and realized that Torian hadn't returned. She wasn't immediately worried, she knew he had gone to visit with each of the perimeter outposts, and that the ice made travel a little slow. She stood and stretched, going to the kitchen. It was only as she passed from the hallway that she saw the glow of Mia's force aura and, curious, made her way to the door. She paled as she saw Torian, but tried to keep herself calm. Mia's got him, she told herself. He'll be okay, whatever it is.
By the time Caly had pulled on boots and a coat, Torian was being helped from the sled. He put weight on his injured leg, but only for a second before Nico and Lana helped him inside. Caly followed them to the fireplace and pulled blankets from the nearby closet to help warm her husband. He turned his eyes to hers and smiled. "I fell," he said, and only then did tears fill Caly's eyes.
"You're going to be okay," she told him, but looked at Mia when she spoke, who nodded. Nico was brewing caf, Lana had stoked the fire, and they sat gathered around Torian. The single thought they all had was that they'd be glad when the rest of the group returned.
Theron waited and waited. He'd gone from being scared to being angry, and now just felt depressed. When the door opened and he saw Arcann, he had a moment of relief, but the scowl on his friend's face dispelled it quickly. General Dinn came in behind him, and they sat across from him.
Arcann spoke first. "Theron, please understand that I am here to verify that what you say is the truth. I have no part other than that." His gravelly voice was neutral, but Theron merely nodded.
"Theron Shan, on penalty of your immediate death, were you trying to gain access to my office in order to subvert the Alliance?" General Dinn's words were direct, and her gaze lingered on his, a direct challenge, her fangs bared.
"Absolutely not! I was up all night, trying to figure out how it is that Malgus is still alive, and I had bent to the door to see if there was any light, if you might have been in there but not heard me knock." He held Solasta's gaze, and when she glanced at Arcann, he gave a slight nod. Theron saw her relax just a fraction. "I want to have computer access of my own. I need it, in order to stay sane," he begged, and again, Arcann nodded.
Solasta regarded him, stood and walked to the door. Without a word, she left. Arcann watched her go, then turned to his friend. "She is not one you want to cross, my friend."
Theron huffed and touched the cuts that had dried in lines of blood on his neck. "Tell me about it," he muttered. He saw Arcann stand and stood as well.
"Thank you for being honest," Arcann said. "I would not have covered for you if you had not been."
Theron nodded and then turned as Solasta came back. "I'm releasing you today, Theron, but make no mistake. I will not hold back if I see you doing something that even remotely looks suspicious." She had slowly walked toward him as she spoke, and glanced at his neck. "Do you understand?"
"Yes," he answered, but he held her gaze and she looked away first. "Can I have..." Solasta whirled and was in his face so fast that even Arcann looked surprised.
"You will get computer access when and if the Commander sees fit!" she spit at him, and then strode out of the room. If her cameras had disagreed with him, or Arcann detected deception in the spy, he would be a corpse now, but given hew own restless night, pondering the same question, she would let him go. For now.
