Corso made his way to the bridge, weary and heartsick. Miriah was still not speaking, though she had come out to the galley for dinner. It had been two days since they'd left Odessen, and while he could see that she had slept some, she still looked like a shadow of herself. It was very early morning, and he had just taken the cred stick he'd used from the ground crew, and requested clearance. Once given, he made his way to the final hyperlane, and when he had engaged the drive, he sat back in the captain's chair, rubbing his tired eyes. Sleeping was not easy without Mir, he thought, and even less so on the sofa in the lounge. He almost jumped out of his own skin when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Miriah stood there, somber and pale, and he rose, wanting to take her in his arms but holding himself still.
"Shh," she said, and pulled him to their quarters. She crawled back into the bed, and patted his side. Quickly he stripped to his boxers and slid into the soft sheets.
"Mir," he said, but she held up her hand, palm out.
"No talking. Just sleep," she said, and he nodded after a few seconds. He lay back and felt her come closer, her feet icy on his leg. He wanted to gather her to him, but hesitated. When she shivered, he pulled her into his body, damn the consequences, and it was as if they had both come home. Sighing, Miriah was asleep in minutes. Corso closed his eyes, grateful for at least a little time near her. Maybe she's realizing this was necessary, he thought, and felt his tired self relax.
Devin had let Arcann do whatever he thought was needed, but this morning, he had only stepped into his mother's office when Arcann appeared. "I want to ask permission," he said. "I've never tried this, but I'd like to try and cut off the spy's connection to the force."
Devin's eyebrows raised as he considered this. "Is that even possible?" he asked cautiously.
"I may kill him in the process, but he would never send another message out. He'll be kept here if he lives, but Odessen has such a rich force presence that I would always wonder," Arcann replied.
Devin sat in silence, debating with himself. On one hand, the spy might be a valuable bargaining chip, but if he was important, then the Empire would have tried to get him back. Blowing out a great breath, he nodded to Arcann. If he didn't survive, then it was just as well, he thought. Arcann turned on his heel and left, and Devin settled in to all the waiting messages ahead of him.
Lana knew that Devin would be swamped and had managed to route her messages and calls home. She had gone through most of the items when Nico had come to check on her. "Not doing too much, are you, love?"
She smiled up at him. "Just trying to help Devin out, getting things organized," she replied. "I feel great. No nausea, and everything seems good."
"Let's just keep it that way. I'm letting my crew go out on the next runs, so I'll be here," he said softly, and she felt her heart drop.
"Nico, I'm fine. Tali and I..."
"Need me here," he finished, and leaned over to kiss her forehead. "It's fine, Lana. It's time I turned some of this over to others for a bit. I'll go back at some point, but right now, you and our children are more important than any load." She relished the thought of having him here, and felt relief flood through her.
Miriah woke alone, and lay there, too tired to get up. She debated on more sleep, but wasn't sure exactly what she needed. Except Corso. She really needed him. She knew she wanted to find a way to get past her foul temper and back to where she wanted to be, which was close to him, but she knew they needed to discuss the past few weeks. Sighing, she pushed herself up to sit as the door opened.
Corso brought hot food, and thought he saw a spark of interest in his wife's eyes. He bustled about, setting up the tray for her, and when he was turning to leave, he heard her say his name. Afraid to hope that the thaw had started, he hesitated before coming to stand beside her.
"We need to talk about this," Miriah said, and Corso nodded.
"Let me close the door first," he suggested, and when he'd returned, he sat in a chair he pulled closer to where she was having breakfast. "Eat. We've got time," he assured her, and caught a half smile from her. Encouraged, but not willing to be diverted from his task, he waited.
"I know I was in bad shape," Miriah finally said, after eating most of the food he'd brought in. A good sign, he thought. "I just don't understand why you didn't tell me what was planned."
Taking in a deep breath, he almost argued with her, but then just stared. "Would you have listened?" he finally asked.
"Probably," she said, and saw him roll his eyes. "Maybe."
"You pulled your blaster, Mir. On me, not a big deal. I totally understood that. But Caly? You really scared her, and she was only cooking. Something she's done every day for a couple of months now." He saw the hot blush cover Miriah's cheeks, and knew he had made his point. "I've been trying to keep up, but even with the implant, my heart couldn't take many more nights of little sleep and even less food. Mags says you're on thin ice, even after getting sleep on the trip." He leaned forward, and caught her eyes. "She recommends a little sedation to let your body have a chance to recover from the abuse it's been through the past month."
Miriah could hear the conviction behind his words, and after a minute, slowly nodded. "Okay," she said. "You're right."
"I just can't imagine how.. huh?" he frowned. "I'm right?" He stood to go to the door, stopping once there. "If I bring Mags in here, you're not going to yell and fight, are you?"
"I promise," she replied, and he rushed out. Sighing, she hurried to the shower. Might as well be clean while I sleep, she thought, and stood under the steaming hot water. She saw Corso come and check on her, then leave. When she felt relaxed again, she toweled off and dressed. Mags was waiting for her, her face carefully wiped of any emotion. "I'm sorry," Miriah said, but Mags said nothing. Once the injection was done, Mags sat beside her.
"Not necessary to apologize to me," she finally spoke. "You already apologized to Corso and Caly. You didn't yell at anyone else. If you'd only listen once in a while, you wouldn't get to this point." The room was getting dimmer and Miriah felt her limbs grow heavy.
"I'll try," she finally whispered, and felt Mag's hand squeeze hers. She tried to return it, but the thought never made it to her hand, and she was asleep.
Arcann left the interrogation room, and informed the guard that they would need to move the body. The spy had crumbled under his force assault, and while he had been successful at severing the force connection, it hadn't been very strong to start with. Trying again to determine how the man was able to shield his force from the other Jedi, the man's mind started to fire randomly, and when it was apparent that he could no longer communicate at all, and lay motionless in the room, Arcann ended his misery. It was only right, he told himself, and felt sure Devin would agree. He made his way back to the offices, but Devin already knew.
"It was for the best," he told Arcann, who nodded. "Mom and Dad should be on Dantooine later, I'll let them know what we know."
"How is Lana?" Arcann asked, and saw Devin grin.
"Still sending reports and info like she's sitting next door," he said, and they chuckled together.
"If you need me, I'm here," Arcann finally said, and Devin shook his offered hand.
"I appreciate your help. I really hope they're able to get a break, so the less I have to forward to them, the better." Arcann waved as he left, and Devin sighed, looking at the tasks before him. It's no wonder people in leadership roles are so often short and irritable, with all the ronto poo they have to get through every day, he thought, then laughed to himself. Ronto poo, he almost giggled. I have to tell Declan that one. With that thought, he reprioritized the datapads and asked Mia to bring the kids out for lunch. When she agreed, he left the office, whistling a happy tune.
Lana had made another trip to the refresher and settled again on the sofa, Tali close beside her. They had a children's program on the holo feed and Lana was content. She was growing drowsy when Tali jumped up, her eyes wide. "Mama, my Jedi class," she said, and Lana felt conflicted.
"Honey, let me see where Daddy is," she said, reaching for her personal holo. Nico answered immediately and Lana told him about the class.
"I'll be right there," he said, and she could see him already at the elevator to the apartment building. Tali's face revealed her relief, but then she grew worried.
"Mama, I need to stay with you?" she asked, and Lana felt the anxiety surround her.
"No, sweet girl. Go, learn! I'll be right here," she told her, and Tali's smile was restored. Nico hurried and they left, and Lana realized the feeling of family, of being together, was one she had been missing all her life, and was grateful.
Miriah woke again with a dry mouth and a pounding headache. She pushed herself up, but fell back on the pillows, grimacing in pain. She waited a few minutes then pushed up again, and was able to grab a bottle of water, though her shaking hands made it hard to open. She was about to put it in her teeth when Corso took it and took the cap off with a quick twist. He handed it to her, but saw how weak she was and instead, put it to her lips, gently tilting her backward so that she could drink. When she nodded, he took it away and wiped her chin with his fingers. "Mir, this isn't good. I'm getting Mags." She nodded and waited for them to return, afraid for the first time that rest wouldn't be the cure this time.
Mags was already on her way to the captain's quarters when Corso emerged. "I already know," she said. "It's carbonite sickness, I did some tests when I gave her the injection earlier."
"What do you mean?" Aric and Maura had hurried over when they saw Corso's face.
"Carbonite and the tibanna gas that's used to change it from solid to liquid, is lipophyllic. That means it gets stored in fat cells. Mir has lost enough weight that some of those compounds that were stored are now in her circulation since she's using stored fat for energy. The light sedation I gave her made her pull from her limited reserve again." She sighed, and shook her head. "I'm giving her a chelation agent to help pull the chemicals from her bloodstream, but we also have to get her eating and drinking again."
"She's shaking and looks like she's in pain," Corso said. "I'm staying with her, she doesn't need to be alone right now."
"Agreed," Mags said. "But is it safe?" she asked, her eyebrows raised.
Corso blushed. "We talked earlier, we're good." With a shrug, he went back to check on his wife.
Aric hugged Maura. "Will we ever be in a good place?" she whispered. "It seems like trouble lives around us sometimes."
"Good people are always targets," he told her, stealing a kiss. "But we overcome." They stood like that for several minutes, and when they parted, Aric went to check the nav comp. Ten hours, he thought, and we can walk around in fresh air and enjoy being home. With a jolt he realized Mags might not enjoy this, and sought her out.
"I'm fine," Mags said, smiling, when Aric asked about her feelings. "I actually like remembering the times we spent there. Life Day was a little hard, but I was gradually losing him again to the force then. Now, when I remember Felix, I just feel his warmth surround me. I daresay it will be stronger on Dantooine, since he always considered it his first real home."
"We're here, if you need anything," Aric told her, and patted her arm. Sarai had been standing outside, and when he left the med bay, he held out his arm for his mother in law. "Mom, I'm glad you joined us. We all missed you when we were here earlier."
"You should have told me what was happening," she admonished, giving his arm a whack. "But, I'm glad to be here, too." Aric laughed as they joined Torian and Caly in the galley for caf. It's good to have family together, I only wish Coleen and the baby could make it.
Coleen blushed as Ty's lips brushed hers. "I need to go," she told him, but he only kissed her again. They'd had dinner at the little bistro on the promenade, and now Ty was walking her home, swinging the carrier with a sleeping Caitlin gently.
"I'll look forward to seeing you again," he told her as they stopped outside her door.
"I just have to ask a question," she told him, and smiled at his inquisitive look. "How is it that a handsome, sweet guy like you is out with a single mom and baby when you could ask any of the hundreds of women on this base?"
"None of them would be you," he replied, and with another brief kiss, he made his way back to the elevator. Coleen sighed as she settled Caitlin in her bed, and barely made it to her own. It was nice to feel pretty and desirable again, she thought, and closed her eyes with a smile, wondering how soon it would be until they could go out again.