Miriah felt the cold sweat trickle down her back, and fought back the nausea. Any moment now, the Chiss representative would be in the conference room and she would be have to be the Commander. She'd woken, weak and listless, in the medcenter and Corso had helped her wash and dress. Lana had applied some cosmetics, and when Corso had swept her up in his arms to take her to the conference room, she'd been sick again, and the process started over. Now, she was holding together through sheer will and stubbornness. She tried to get comfortable in the padded chair, but her whole body ached with every heartbeat. Come on, she thought, and closed her eyes, trying to find her center. Corso rushed to her, but stopped when she held up her hand, and instead dropped into the chair next to hers, his eyes never leaving her face.
Lana and Aric stood waiting for the unusual ship to land and be secured. "This needs to be quick," Lana said, and Aric nodded. He'd seen Spitfire in all kinds of situations, but the pallor and sliver of fear in her eyes cut through him, and he knew he'd do anything to get this meeting over with and Saganu off Odessen. The air lock finally cycled and they saw the Chiss descend the ramp. Lana took over, and with a brief introduction, they made their way through the security checkpoints that Aric had put in place.
"The Commander is waiting for us in the conference room," Lana was saying, as Saganu looked around him at the sophisticated operations of the war room.
"This is quite impressive, Miss Beniko," he told her as they stopped outside the already protected room.
"We do what we can to keep things going," she replied, stepping aside to allow him to enter. Miriah stood then, her muscles trembling and her knuckles white with effort. Her lips quivered into a polite smile and she nodded to their visitor.
"Greetings, Aristocru Sanganu," Miriah said, and Sanganu smiled, his teeth very white against his skin. "I appreciate the journey you've undertaken to reach us here."
"I felt it was a necessity," Sanganu said. "The Ascendency has very strict rules, ones that a certain subset of our population seems determined to undermine. One of those rules is that we never give sanctuary to war criminals. I am under the impression that your Theron Shan falls under this designation."
"At this point, we have no choice but to determine him hostile to our Alliance," Miriah confirmed, relieved to be sitting again. "We would very much like to recover him."
"We were able to trace his movements to Copero, one of our smaller planets," Sanganu responded. "While we would never allow a full scale operation, we in the Ascendency would be willing to ignore a small, targeted insertion onto the planet."
"So, you're open to us going in as a small group, but nothing official and certainly nothing traceable back to you," Aric said, and the Chiss swung his head sharply to meet Aric's gaze. Sanganu took a deep breath, his red eyes never leaving Aric's.
"You are Cathar, no? I am...surprised to meet a Cathar here," he said, and Miriah could see Aric's brow furrowing.
"Aric Jorgan is my chief of security," Miriah said, hoping to draw the attention back to her before Aric became angry. Sanganu seemed to realize he was walking a thin line between curiosity and disrespect, and instantly snapped his focus back to the Commander.
"My apologies," the Chiss said, standing. "I appreciate your response to this problem, Commander. I feel I can count on you to rid my world of this anomaly."
"We'll be glad to," Miriah replied, pulling herself to stand as well. Lana and Aric followed Sanganu out as Corso eased her back to a sitting position, instantly putting a cool, damp cloth on her throat. "Thanks, sugar," she whispered, and Corso was glad her eyes were closed, so that she couldn't see the worry on his face.
Lana and Aric took Sanganu back to the military hangar, and as he was walking toward the ramp, the Chiss turned back to address them. "I almost forgot, Shan has taken up a job on Copero, an apprenticeship of sorts. You'll find him in one of the shops, learning a trade." Aric scowled at Lana, who was stunned silent for a moment.
"What kind of shop?" she shouted, the engines in pre-flight creating enough noise to drown casual conversation.
"A candy maker's shop," Sanganu said, then waved merrily as he disappeared into his shuttle. Lana watched the ship lift off, her heart torn between being angry and appalled.
"Now we know," Aric said, and set off at a jog to the conference room. Lana stood several minutes, gathering herself before heading back, hoping Miriah had been taken home.
Calypso had straightened the apartment and made some soup, hoping her mom would be there soon to rest. She'd shooed Torian out early, and had let Devin know she was needed here. He'd already made arrangements to stay home, and told her he'd be around a little later to check on everyone. Now, she had plenty of time to think about what had happened, and how close her mom had been to being in critical condition. She shivered and rubbed her arms, and had started to go out to search when she heard the door open. Rushing to the front room, she saw her dad with her mom in his arms, and Miriah was limp, her arm trailing down. "Bed," Caly said, and ran ahead to pull down the covers. When Corso gently placed Miriah on the pillows, Caly had to fight tears. Mom looks so bad, she thought, and she felt her dad touch her arm.
"Go get her some other clothes," he spoke softly. "Let's get her more comfortable. She just used up all her energy, that's all, love." Corso went into the refresher and wet some cloths, some cool, some hot. When he returned, he stripped Miriah quickly and bathed her just as rapidly, Caly drying her and pulling on clothes. By the time they'd finished, Miriah was blinking her eyes open, but she didn't try to speak. Instead, she reached her hand over to touch Caly's, and Caly felt how cold it was. "Rest, darlin'. Want to try and drink something?" Miriah gingerly shook her head, and Caly pulled the blankets over her mom.
"I have some soup for later, Mom. One of us will be here with you, so let us take care of you, okay?" Caly's voice broke with worry, and Miriah tried to smile at her.
"I'm okay, honey," Miriah whispered, but she couldn't keep her eyes open and when she was still and quiet again, Corso put his arm around his daughter.
"She looks terrible," Caly said softly, and Corso nodded. He'd been assured that she just needed to recover her strength but he'd seen her do what needed to be done anyway, and it cost her. He hated that about this job, he thought.
Caly heard the door again and went out to see Aric and Maura enter. "I've got some lunch for everyone," she said, and they hugged her.
"No troubles overnight?" Aric asked her, and Caly assured him all was well.
"Torian was gone when Lana came in to get Mom's clothes," she explained, and Aric nodded.
"Good, let's not worry her with it right now. She's had a rough night of it."
"Uncle Aric, why? Why would someone do this?" Caly asked, but Aric shook his head.
"So many reasons, hon. Some don't like that your mom tries to be fair to everyone, and some want her to do certain things that she thinks is wrong. This looks like it was specifically targeted to her, not the politics, and that makes it worse. We think we know where this originated, and when she's up to it, I'm sure your mom will come up with a plan." Aric busied his hands making caf, and had his back to his niece when she hugged him from behind.
"Don't let her be in danger, Uncle Aric," Caly begged, her voice muffled against him. "Whatever she says, please do your best to keep her safe!" Aric turned to hold Caly then, and let her regain her balance.
"I'm always going to do everything to keep her safe, hon. Even if it makes her mad at me," he said, smiling. Caly grinned at him then, and they continued putting lunch on the table for everyone who had wandered in.
Corso sat in the chair beside the bed, not wanting to disturb his wife, but needing to be close to her. She had been sleeping since they'd changed her clothes, and he was glad. He had never seen her so sick, even with the boys, and it had really scared him. Maybe she's onto something, he thought, with wanting to leave this office. But really, as long as she's alive, some scumbag somewhere will want to harm her, he reckoned. His brain was working through how to take her away, just for a little while, when he saw her move her head, and then her eyes open. "Hey, darlin', let me help," he told her, propping her up on pillows as she tried to wake up.
"Water," she said, and Corso tipped the straw to her parched lips. She took only a sip, afraid to set off the violent nausea again, and let her head fall back on the softness. She felt wash out, drained, and just the little she'd moved had made her tired again. "You need rest, too, sugar. I'm going to be okay," she croaked, but her words were silenced with Corso's kiss.
"I'm planning to take you away, once the worst is passed," he told her, seeing her lips curve in a tired smile.
"I'll hold you to that," she whispered, holding onto his hand as she closed her eyes again.
Lana sat at her desk, her eyes unfocused and her mind whirling. She was having difficulty reconciling the Theron that she loved with this man who targeted her best friend, trying multiple times to kill her. This latest attempt, and she had no doubt that the tainted chocolate was imported here from the very shop Theron was using as a cover, had a uniquely sinister feel to it. Theron must have been pulling his bag of SIS tricks out, and digging deep into it, to find this. She let her mind wander to Miriah and how terrible she'd looked during the meeting. I even picked the damn package up, she thought. It's a wonder I haven't come under suspicion. At that thought, she felt sick herself, and pushed to her feet to pace. No, I won't let him do this to me, she finally declared to herself, and made her way through the tunnel to the apartment.
Lana entered to a homey scene, Aric and Maura playing cards with Caly, Torian watching them. They greeted her as if things were normal, and she made her way to the bedroom, where Corso kept watch, and Miriah was still resting, her ebony lashes casting shadows under her eyes. "She doing a little better," Corso said softly, and Lana swallowed hard. She wasn't sure she could do this, but she knew she'd have no peace until she did.
"Corso, you have to consider that my ex husband may have sent that package of chocolate to Odessen," she said, unconsciously wringing her hands. She explained what Sanganu told her, and how she had connected the dots.
"Lana, there is no one on Odessen who would believe you would deliberately hurt Mir," Corso said after Lana had gone silent. "Least of all, Mir. You can't take the blame here." She felt a little of her burden lift, but still didn't move.
"We need her, Corso. Her unique leadership is what makes the Alliance strong. Aric said she was talking about leaving the office, but he thought it might have been the drug she'd eaten. I hope, with all my heart, that she stays." Lana felt her shoulders slump. "I need her."
Corso saw the toll the day had taken on Lana and took her hand. "We all do, Lana. She's going to come back from this stronger than ever, and I'm sure she will continue to lead the Alliance. Don't beat yourself up over something that dipshit ex of yours did, believe me, we don't think you have any ties to him anymore." Lana nodded, choked up, but felt a little better when she finally left to join the others.
Miriah could hear everyone around her, but she was just too tired to interact. By evening, Caly had pulled Corso out to eat and had taken his spot, and Miriah opened her eyes. "Mom, hey," Caly said, her smile growing. "I have some soup for you, something that won't hurt your throat or stomach." She held the fragrant broth in a cup and had placed a straw in it. "It's only lukewarm, so no reaction to the temp. Want to try?" Miriah nodded and took some of the soup in her mouth, the rich taste just right. She gingerly swallowed and waited to see if it would fight to return. When it stayed put, she drank a little more. Caly only let her have a measured amount, and then gave her some water.
"That was perfect, sweetie," Miriah said, and it did give her some strength. She held her arm out to Caly then, and the gentle hug they both needed.
Corso watched his girls and felt a little hope that Miriah was indeed feeling better. Aric nudged him, and he turned. "I scanned everything food wise. We'll need to do that for everything, now." He saw Miriah and Caly, and it made his scowl relax. "I'm here, no matter what." He knew he couldn't leave, his sense of duty would hound him if he did. He and Maura had already claimed the sofa.
"Thanks, Aric," Corso said, and they both heaved a sigh of relief. This day was done.
