Devin sat at his desk, unable to focus. He'd been restless all day, and finally stood and made his way to his mother's office. She was bent over her own pile of datapads, Corso at his workstation. They'd both been preparing for the coming onslaught, which every force user on Odessen knew was approaching. The rhetoric and vitriol of Vowrawn on the daily news feeds was growing, and the Republic Senate was still debating. Not Odessen and the Alliance, Devin thought. We're getting ready for war. Miriah looked up at him and he quickly walked to her, embracing her fiercely. "Mom, you need the afternoon off," he told her softly, and heard his father's agreement.
"Lana is in more need than I am," Miriah said. In the week since the memorial service, Miriah had worked long days, every day, to ready them all for the coming conflict. Every day, she told her husband and son that tomorrow, she'd rest. But as long as the Empire was out there, she had to be vigilant.
"No," Devin said, taking the datapad from her hands. "I've got this. You and Dad, go outside. Have lunch in the mess hall, and then spend some downtime." Miriah opened her mouth to protest, but she saw the hope in Corso's eyes and instead, smiled at her son.
"Okay, you win," she said, and felt her body relax. Corso was at her side in an instant, and took her hand in his. Devin grinned as they left together. Finally, he felt like he could finish his own tasks for the day, and went back to his desk.
Lana went over the figures once more before closing her eyes. We're ready, she told herself. The troops and supplies are stocked, and the support teams briefed. Even if this war won't be fought on Odessen, she thought. She had wondered where they would be needed, and how she could help when she couldn't even see her feet. Instead of feeling anxious, though, she thought about the last words Sarai had spoken to her. "You've earned this baby, Lana. The Force has gifted you, with this son and with Tali. Don't let their presence in your life make you feel like you're not doing enough." She had smiled when she heard it the first time, but now, after Sarai's passing, the words were even more precious. I will, she thought. I'll do everything I can from here. Determined, she stood and stretched, and rubbed the foot that pushed outward under her ribs.
Caly had been quietly grieving, not wanting to stress her parents or Torian. She missed her Nana, and found herself just sitting quietly at times, remembering all the years that Sarai had been her guardian while her mother was frozen in carbonite, and then being pushed to lead the Alliance. Torian figured it out, she told herself, but I really don't want to talk about it. Instead, she worked in both her parent's kitchen and her own, and as a result, had posted four videos. The positive feedback from them had given her a measure of comfort, but she wanted to share it with Sarai. She had to just console herself that her nana knew she was doing well, and wished again for just a little bit of force sensitivity. Sighing, she stood to clean Miriah's kitchen, before going home. Maybe it just takes a little longer, she thought, to not miss her every second.
Logan searched the courtyard and instantly saw the detail guard. Taking a deep breath, he approached the captain, who saluted him smartly before moving to one side, giving Logan a glimpse of his mother sitting on the grass, his dad beside her. Laughing, he crossed to them. "You look remarkably relaxed," he said, lowering himself to the ground.
"It is nice," Miriah murmured, her eyes closed and her face lifted to the sun.
"I hate to disturb you when you're resting, but I need a favor," Logan admitted, blushing.
"Anything, son," Corso replied, and sat forward.
"I'd like to come back into the secure area," Logan said. "Lara is so far away and by herself with the kids too often. In the base, we'll be closer to everything and I'll feel more confident that they're safe."
"Certainly," Miriah replied. "You know that. I'd prefer all of you there."
"Lara's okay with this?" Corso asked, and saw Logan nod.
"It was her idea, but it makes sense. She'd be closer to family and even closer to Devin and Mia than we are now." He sighed and rubbed his face. "Nana told me that we'll be fighting soon, and she made me promise to keep my family safe. She knew this was a good option."
Miriah examined her son's face, so earnest in his desire to have his small children secure. She totally agreed, but it was the undercurrent, the things he wasn't saying, that made her wonder. "Logan, as long as I'm on Odessen I will need the detail. Even if I'm called to another planet, I'll take some security. Are you thinking you'll be on the front lines?"
His mother's question cut through him, and with a sigh, he nodded. "I do, and I want Lara and the boys safe."
"Go see the quartermaster, I'll send the request," Miriah said, and saw Corso smile.
"Thanks, Mom," Logan said. "We've already started packing, and I'll let you know which unit they give us." He stood and bent to kiss his mother's cheek. "I feel better already."
"Let me know when you need a hand with the boxes," Corso said, and hugged his son. They watched Logan make his way back across the courtyard before speaking.
"The Republic is already fighting on several fronts," Miriah said, and gathered herself to stand. "I can't say that I'm not glad to have them inside the secure area, but I don't necessarily want Logan leading a push."
"I agree," Corso murmured to her, pulling her against him. "We'll have to cross that bridge later, darlin'. You have an appointment with Alec Ranin."
Miriah sighed. "Yeah, I remembered." They made their way to the mess hall, and Corso gathered food as Miriah sat. Many changes are coming, she thought, and tried to smile at all those who greeted her.
Nico brought lunch to Lana's office, and they had relaxed themselves for a bit, Lana lying on the small sofa, her head in Nico's lap, his hands in her hair. "I'll get Tali from school and take her to the temple," he told her, seeing her eyes close. "Are you sure you're okay here? Maybe you should go home and rest."
"No, no," Lana answered. "I'll be fine. Just a power nap. Or even just relaxing like this. I always get sleepy after I eat."
"Lots going on?" he asked, but he knew from the reports he was seeing of increased pirate activity and rerouting due to conflicts that things were getting more and more tense.
"Yeah, as always. I can feel that things are moving faster now toward the Alliance being called into service." They were quiet a moment, and Nico thought that his wife had fallen asleep but suddenly he was looking into her blue, blue eyes. "And when that happens, I will be doing all I can from here."
"I understand, but you have to take care of you and the little one," he said softly, and bent to kiss her.
"I promise," she replied, and snuggled into him, wanting things to slow down, knowing they couldn't.
Aric joined Corso and Miriah, a cup of caf in his hand. "Hey, kids. How's the day going?" he asked.
"Just working on getting ready," Miriah said, and she didn't have to elaborate. Aric nodded, and sipped.
"I have some tactical analysis to show you. We're going to need to get numbers from the Republic, see what they're doing, before we can finalize a plan. Have you spoken to Rans lately?" He saw Corso's eyes narrow, but quickly recover his expression.
"I have a call scheduled with her tomorrow," Miriah said, not looking at the men. Her focus was on her meal, and she missed the nonverbal communication. Aric had received the estimated troop numbers, and he was not happy about them. Corso could tell he wanted to talk, but not here. Instead, once Miriah had finished her food, he took their dishes away and then they went back to the offices. Once Miriah was situated behind her desk again, Aric closed the door.
"I got numbers from the Republic," Aric said, and saw Miriah sit forward. "I think we need to be prepared to do this whole push. They have most of their strength in the air, but their ground troops have been slow to build up. Even with our assistance in training."
Miriah sighed. She'd figured as much, given the side eye glances that Rans had given in their last conversation. "Are we prepared?" she asked.
Aric took a second, but then nodded. "We are. No idea what kind of resupplies we'll need, but the Alliance military is fully locked and loaded."
"So what's next?" Corso asked.
"Now, we wait for the next step. General Daeruun will be the most likely liaison, since he's worked with me in the past," Miriah mused, and Aric agreed. Once they'd fallen silent, Miriah leaned forward. "How's Maura doing? I miss seeing her every day."
At Miriah's question, Aric's face lit up. "She's been planning the wedding and seems happy. She's looking forward to having dinner with you guys tomorrow."
Miriah laughed. "I hope she'll be ready for work next week. Ty seems like a great guy, and you seemed to have made your peace with him."
Aric blushed. "He won me over at how he loves Caitlin." They chatted a bit about the family and when Aric stood, they walked over with him to the door. Once Aric opened it, they could see Alec Ranin waiting. "I'm just down the hall if you need me," Aric stated, and Corso nodded.
"Thanks, brother." Miriah had turned to motion the reporter into the office, and Corso bent to whisper to her. "I'm going to check on Devin, then meet you back home?" Miriah kissed him and nodded, and was relieved when she went to get Lana to join her.
Magdalane emerged from the salon and shook her newly cut hair. She'd wanted less to do with it, and it seemed a good time for a positive change. She had heard her mother's approval in the force, and Sarai had told her that Felix liked it, too. She had lost weight with the losses she'd experienced over the last year, and with her hair short, she looked many years younger, and for some reason, that pleased her. She was on her way to purchase new boots when she saw Theron. He did a double take when he recognized her, and she let a small smile cross her face. "Wow, Master Magdalane. Just, wow," he said.
"It was time for a change," she replied, and took a few steps. It had been almost three weeks since their hug, and she felt a little less anxious about it now. "How have you been, Theron?"
"I'm good, and I should be asking you that question," Theron said. "I was about to grab a late lunch, care to join me?" He was trying to be casual, and had told himself many times that she was a recent widow who had lost her mother, and was not interested in any sort of relationship, but still he wanted to see if there was still any spark.
"That would be nice, but I'm afraid I'll have to decline." She explained her list of errands, and he graciously nodded. "Maybe another time," she said, and held out her hand.
"I'll look you up," Theron promised, and took the offered hand in his. Their eyes flew to each other and held for a few moments before they released and Magdalane took a step back.
"See you soon, then," Mags said, and felt the hot blush of her face as she went on to her next stop, her fingers tingling and her thoughts far from her new boots.
Miriah ushered Alec into the office and when Lana entered, she closed the door. "Alec, I am so sorry that we've had to wait so long to give you a decision," Miriah apologized.
"Commander, you've had much more pressing matters, and I was just enjoying this beautiful world." Alec knew, from Miriah's face, that he wasn't going to like the outcome of this meeting, and sighed. "I can see that I won't be staying here."
"It's not because we don't want you," Miriah said, "but if you've been keeping up with things in the galaxies, you know that the Republic and Alliance are on the brink of war, with the Empire starting to move on several fronts. No, Alec, it's not that we don't want you here. The Republic needs you."
Alec nodded, taking a deep breath. "Can I return?" he asked.
"Absolutely. If we hadn't had an urgent plea from the Republic Information Services, we would have let you stay. Sometimes, things are beyond our control, and we need our familiar faces and voices to guide us." Miriah took the hot tea Lana offered with thanks. "Lana's arranged for passage for you on one of our freighters, but it won't depart for a couple of days yet."
"Thank you, both of you, for everything," he said, standing. After he left, Lana took a cookie from the plate between them.
"How long do you think we have until he starts to leak things he's seen here?" she asked, and Miriah smirked.
"About a day before he's taken into custody," she replied dryly, and Lana laughed.
Maura was sipping a glass of wine when Aric came into the apartment, and the sight of her relaxed, her feet up and her face smiling, made him want to do things to her. "Hey, beautiful," he told her, sitting next to her. "Dinner smells great." He kissed her soundly, and she giggled a little when she sat back.
"I miss seeing you during the day, but I'm enjoying having the time to do this," she admitted.
"You know, you could retire from active duty, love. Have days like this all the time," he said absently.
"Aric Jorgan, you know better! I'm enjoying this now, but once the wedding is done, I'd be stir crazy!" He laughed as she punched his shoulder. "Besides, you know we'll both be needed. Soon." He sobered and took her in a kiss again. Yeah, sooner than we want, he thought.