Corso lay in the dark, unable to get Sarai out his thoughts. Thankfully, he'd been able to mask his emotions from his wife as he'd run back home before she missed him. Now he lay watching her sleep, wondering how their family would go on without Sarai. Caly would have been so lost without her Nana, those years Mir was gone from us, he thought. And she always tried to help me. He was fairly certain there was time yet, and Miriah had seen her mother every day. Still, he didn't think everyone had gotten one on one time with Sarai yet, and it made him want to take his wife in his arms and shield her from everything. Sighing, he curled around her, and felt her cuddle closer.
Lana turned her considerable bulk into Nico's back, and tried to get comfortable. It was getting harder to do so, and though her husband was so wonderful, there was little he could do for the aches and pains of advanced pregnancy. Two more months, she thought, and then I can put him down every so often. She and Tali had decorated the nursery together, and she could feel the young girl's anticipation of her baby brother. The birthday party went well, and afterward, Tali had been amazed at all the gifts. She proudly wore the robe that Corso had gotten her at her Jedi classes, and the thought made Lana smile in the dark. She was drifting, almost asleep, when she felt it. A large, dark push of force. She jumped from the bed and stood there, trembling, when Tali ran to her, wrapping her arms around her mother's legs. "Shh, Tali," Lana said. "Whatever it is, we'll be okay here." She sat on the side of the bed and took her daughter in her arms, hugging her tight, trying to figure out the presence that had them both upset.
Devin's eyes snapped open at the same time Merida wailed, and Mia ran to her. Bringing Merida back with her, they both went into Devin's waiting embrace. "Any idea?" she asked, rocking in place with the baby.
"Malgus. Has to be," Devin said softly. He rubbed Merida's back and she reached for him. Mia went to check on Declan, but he was sleeping deeply, and she only pulled the light blanket across his shoulders, glad he was fine. When she went back to her husband and daughter, Merida was calmer, but Devin's eyes were worried. What does she feel?
At this point, just that there's some kind of change in the force, big enough to be scary, Devin replied, and they both turned at Merida's voice.
"Mimi," she said, and Devin knew his mother needed to know, if she hadn't already felt it. Will it change, he mused, if we wait until morning? He force scanned the base, and realized no alarms had been triggered, no incoming threat, nothing amiss in the war room. Taking a deep breath, he turned to his daughter.
"Mimi is resting. It's okay, sweet one. Everyone is safe," he told her, and could see the doubt in her eyes. "I promise." With that, she sighed, and reached for her mom. Mia put her back to bed, and joined Devin only minutes later.
"I should have known things were too quiet," she said to him, and he hugged her close, unsure about what this change meant, but knowing in his soul that Malgus was at the heart of it.
Magdalane had gone home after her shift and attended to her mother, before falling into bed. She was exhausted, and pulled on the force for help sleeping. Her body pushed to its limits and her mind fatigued, she slept through what was going on in the force and instead was able to greet the new day rested. She checked on Sarai and made sure that there were no changes or nothing needed, then made her way to the med center, ready to dive into another day of work that would numb her to missing Felix and her mother's declining health. On the way, she saw Lana, and crossed to her, already scanning the baby. "How are things, Lana?" she asked.
"We managed to get back to sleep after the force push last night," Lana started to answer, but stopped when she saw Mags face. Explaining what had happened, she saw that Mags was upset. "Don't be, Mags. Nothing could be done, and I think I speak for us all in saying that taking care of Sarai takes precedence."
"I feel awful," Mags said, sighing. "Though, now, I can't feel anything different."
Lana shook her head. "Me either. Not sure if that's reassuring or not yet." With a rueful grin, she sat behind her desk. "But either way, we'll stand firm."
"Everything looks great," Mags said softly. "Anything I can do to help?" When Lana assured her that they were all good, Mags started for the sub level, but at the elevator, elected to go outside instead. She made her way to a bench and sat, absorbing the growing heat of the day, knowing that soon they'd been in the colder months, her mind getting an opportunity to reboot.
Miriah had made it into the office, noticing that Corso was tired and that he seemed down, but the office buzzing so much that she hadn't had a chance to have a moment with him. Finally, when they'd gotten through troop movements, the dark force issue, and intel with Lana, she turned to him. Putting her hands on his face, she stood near his chair. "What's going on, sugar? You seem a little off today," she told him.
Corso couldn't help but smile at her. "Anytime I'm with you, I'm perfectly fine," he told her, gazing into her eyes. "I didn't sleep very well, no idea why." He figured the lie was one of kindness.
"I'm sorry, love. Want to grab a nap at lunch? We could leave now, before anything else happens," she said, and he nodded, standing. Before they made to the door, Devin came in with a squalling Merida.
"Mom, this little one wants her Mimi, do you have a minute?" he asked but Miriah already heard her granddaughter clearly in her mind. She was scared, and she wanted Mimi to be okay. Taking her over to the sofa, Miriah sat with her, soothing her both with her thoughts and her hands over Merida's back.
"Devin, just sit and talk for a minute. She'll be asleep in a few of them," Miriah assured him, and gave Corso a small smile. They chatted, just about the day so far, as they'd already discussed the dark force push and before long, Miriah felt Merida's arms relax around her neck.
"She woke last night before I did," Devin admitted. "So she was already a little irritable, then Declan had his checkup appointment, and Mia said once she saw the war room, she just melted down."
"No worries, son," Miriah told him, shifting to hand Merida to him. "We all do occasionally." With a last kiss and pat on the back, Devin stood to take his daughter home, and Miriah caught Corso's hand in hers. "Let's go. Quickly." They waited only long enough for the detail, and once at home, they snuggled on the sofa. Miriah briefly thought about why she didn't wake with the big push, but she knew she had lost a lot of her force abilities when she killed Valkorion. Still, it would have been good to have known, she thought, closing her eyes.
Caly moved quietly in the kitchen. She had been sitting at the table, reading, when her parents had come in, and they had not entered the kitchen. She saw them settle in and let them be, since she was done with dinner and it was in the warmer. On quiet feet, she exited the apartment and found Torian at his shift change. "Excellent timing," he told her, and they sat down at the cantina. After placing their order, they chatted about the day until Caly saw Torian lift his arm in a wave, and turned around. Coleen and Ty were there, Caitlin in a stroller, and Caly grinned at the sight of them. Caitlin was in Caly's arms, grinning, when Coleen leaned in to her cousin. "You look pretty good with one of those," Coleen said.
Caly blushed. "No, not right now. Not for a bit, yet, I think. Our first anniversary is still a few weeks away."
Coleen's face softened. "Maybe, we'll have an anniversary. Someday." Caly barely contained her gasp, but saw how well they fit, Ty handling the baby as if he'd always done so. She briefly wondered how her Uncle Aric had taken the news, but Ty was still intact, so he must have been okay with it all. Shrugging, she settled against Torian, happy.
Rukisa had roamed every inch of the Alliance ship. She'd felt the force blessings it had received, and relished the newness of the food replicators and comfy beds. Still, she wondered how it was that even in the face of adversity, the Alliance continued to grow, to make themselves a faction to contend with. She had always taken jobs from the highest bidder, but even she had started to turn away the slave runs for the Empire, the lucrative pay not enough to compromise the principals her parents had given her. Her mother was Sith, and that was how she'd come by her own force use, but even Sith, she was not totally evil. Nowadays, she thought, it seemed that the darkness itself seeped from the border of the Empire's territories. She rubbed her arms as she shivered with the thought of the last trip she'd been close to the Empire, and how her crew had begged her to turn around, away from the cold. She pushed the thoughts away as she contemplated her landing, later today, on Odesssen.
Alec waited anxiously in the courtyard, anticipation singing in his veins. He had briefly thought about other occupations, and compared the options. In Haven, he had talked with the people and had been offered many different jobs. In Riggsville, he'd been regarded a little warily, but had been told he would be welcome to join the staff at their general store. He'd not been offered anything at the Annex, but he wasn't sure how he would work there anyway. He readily admitted that he was not a young man anymore, and had never had to work with his hands. At the main base, he was most drawn to the information technology that was readily apparent in the war room, and his sincere hope was that he would be allowed to work there. He turned as another group exited the secure area, the day shift changing over to evening shift, and sighed. Maybe I'll hear soon, he thought, and tried to enjoy the afternoon in the sunshine.
Miriah turned in Corso's arms and realized he was still sleeping. She had heard Mags anguish through the force that their mother was not getting better, and wanted to go see Sarai. She had also remembered that she'd promised Alec Ranin an answer, one she didn't yet have. Sighing, she eased up from the sofa and went to the kitchen for something cold to drink, and smelled the wonder dinner that Caly had made for them. Maybe Mom would eat something, she thought, and took a small portion from the covered dish. She went to the refresher to repair from her nap, and stopped at the sofa. "Cor, sugar?" she said, reaching out to touch his shoulder.
"Hey," he said, blinking rapidly.
"No, don't get up. I'm going to visit Mom, take her some food. I'll come back here and get you before I do anything else." She bent to kiss him and saw his eyes already closing, and only smiled instead. She exited the apartment and her guard fell into place. She told the captain where she was going, and they made a swift trip across the smuggler wing. Once inside, Miriah went straight to her mother, who was awake and coughing. Helping her to sit, and sip some water, she hugged Sarai and felt how fragile she seemed.
"Mir, my darling. I'm so glad to see you. I don't have long at all now, and I wanted to talk to you," Sarai said, coughing again.
"I brought you some food," Miriah started, but stopped when Sarai held up her hand.
"I'm going where I don't need it, love." She gasped and finally settled, taking Miriah's hand in her hot one, and Miriah felt the force cover them. "I failed you the most, Miriah Julianne. I was insane for so many years, after my Ian died. You were undoubtedly his daughter, with your dark hair and light eyes." She sighed, and Miriah smiled at her. "So many things I should have done differently. I missed you as a child, as a teenager. I didn't miss the woman, though, and I'm so glad." Sarai stopped and motioned for the water, which Miriah held for her as she sipped. When she sat back, her eyes closed, Miriah wondered if she was sleeping for a minute. After a brief rest, Sarai opened her eyes, and Miriah saw they were fever bright. "I love you, dear girl. Your family needed me when you were gone, and I was thankful, hoping I'd redeemed myself. Of all my daughters, you are the one who has always been the most difficult, but the reward was so wonderful."
"Oh, Mom," Miriah sniffed. "Please, don't let go yet. We do need you here. All of us."
"Now, no crying, Mir. I'm ready, and your father and Felix are waiting," Sarai said, her voice growing fainter.
"Let me call Mags and Maura," Miriah said, standing, but Sarai pulled her hand.
"No time, love," Sarai managed, her breath getting shorter.
"What will we do?" Miriah asked, her own voice soft and whispery.
"What you've always done, sweetheart. Whatever was necessary," Sarai said, grasping Miriah's hand tighter. "Help your sisters, Mir, they need you."
"I love you, Mom," Miriah said, unable to keep the tears at bay.
"I love you, too, Mir." Miriah held the slender, frail hand until Sarai's breath, growing ever raspier, faded away. Putting her head beside her mother on the bed, she let the sobs take over, knowing that their world had changed. Again.