Last time: Sasha and Cien sensed a strange presence.
Now: The guys talk about the girls.
Chapter 15- Worried about Sasha and Cien
Sasha awoke with a start from a nightmare. They had become more common since Myrkr, and each night was different. Sometimes it was Von kidnapping her or one of the hunters attacking them or her nearly dying or even what she experienced in the mindspace with Cien. Or a variation of all of them. But since their discussion as a family that Cordova might be the one responsible for the bounty a couple weeks ago, Sasha found him starting to appear in her nightmares as a constant threat or nuisance.
She laid there quietly for a few moments, trying to calm her breathing and making sure her emotions were not being broadcast over the Force to the others in the house. Last thing she wanted at this late moment in the night was to have Cien or Viran or Oppie all rushing to make sure she was okay. Which she was. At least better than when they first got back, that is.
Once she felt calmer, she tried to go back to sleep like she tried for many nights after a nightmare. Most of those nights she was able to fall back asleep. Other times, especially when she was still in the chair, she would venture out into the main living area and sit out there with her thoughts until she finally felt tired enough to return to bed. Sometimes it would be only an hour. Other times it was until sunrise and she wouldn't sleep the rest of the day. Recently though, it was different.
Since her legs were getting stronger thanks to her therapy with Oppie, Sasha wasn't using the chair at all. And as her progress started getting further along that she hardly relied on the crutches anymore, Kelce told her, when they called to check in with him, that she could start doing more advanced conditioning to get her strength back. So during the day for the last couple weeks, Oppie or Cien would help her through katas and forms again with her saber. Maybe even do some light sparring, but taking it super slow. But at night when she couldn't sleep or struggled to get back to sleep, she would head to the training room and work on her own time to build back up her strength. She had been doing it secretly for the last couple weeks. And she was feeling back to her old self now physically.
Glancing over at Viran, who was sound asleep, she realized she was just too awake now to go back to sleep. With an inaudible sigh, Sasha pulled the covers off and slipped out of bed as quietly as she could. She then changed out of her sleep wear and into some more active clothing; a tank top and pair of tights. She also grabbed her lightsaber from the nightstand and just held it in her hands. Once she was dressed, she tied her hair up into a tight and high ponytail before quietly sneaking out of the bedroom. Moving as stealthy as possible, Sasha headed for the training room. As soon as she was there, she slipped inside and closed the door shut behind her as the automatic lights turned on, briefly blinding her. Sasha adjusted the light accordingly before making her way further into the room.
As soon as her eyes adjusted, she made her way into the center of the room. She started with some light meditation to center herself. Then she did some stretching to work out her limbs before moving on to working through the basic forms. As the hours passed, she worked on her saber skills by facing a dummy in the room with her saber set on a harmless setting. But even though her saber couldn't do any damage, the strength of her swings and the power she was using behind her hits definitely could have. She also used the weights in the room to do some curls to build back up her arm strength. And she did a few other cardio based exercises that worked her abs and legs that by the time she was done, she was spent.
Leaning over, hands on her knees, Sasha panted as sweat dripped down her body. Everything was sore, but well worked by her exercise regime. Glancing down at her left leg, she could feel that it was the most sore as it was the leg that needed the most work. A smirk appeared on her face as she briefly stretched it out and was glad it was feeling so much better despite its current state of soreness. In fact all of her body felt great. Stronger even. But she didn't feel like she was ready to go on that mission yet. Maybe it was because the others were still taking it slow with her while she was already lightyears past where they were. Perhaps it was time she told them about these late night workouts so she could prove to them that she was ready. Either way, Sasha was done for tonight.
Checking the time that was displayed on the wall, she noticed it was only a couple hours until sunrise. Taking a deep breath, Sasha straightened up as she wiped the sweat from herself with a small towel before heading out of the training room, flicking the lights off in the process. She headed for the kitchen to grab a drink of water. She chugged the first glass as she was thirsty and then took the second one with her to the living room to cool down before she would go back to her room to shower before sneaking back into bed. Sitting on the couch with an inaudible sigh, Sasha looked out into the night sky of Artemis as she slowly sipped away at her water glass. There was a light blank of snow on the ground and a clear sky that showed the beautiful stars shining. A rather beautiful night to look at and relax after quite an intense workout.
Sasha didn't know how long she sat there, watching the night sky. But at some point, she fell asleep on the couch.
Oppie walked towards the kitchen in a tired haze as he walked sleepily towards breakfast. It was times like this that he wished he was into coffee, like Kyr was. And Cien apparently was. As he passed through the main living room, he looked over and was surprised to see Sasha in gym clothes, looking like she had passed out after a workout session. He stopped and looked at her for a moment before walking over. He grabbed one of the blankets that was hidden in the lower section of the coffee table, unfurling it and laying it over her. Frowning at the scar from the wound he had cauterized before tucking the blanket in. He watched her for a moment, not sure if he should feel worried, before moving on to the kitchen to quietly start breakfast.
After about twenty or so minutes, Viran entered the kitchen with a still sleepy Lana resting against him.
"Morning," Viran said as he set Lana down in her high chair.
"Hey Vir." Oppie said. Then he looked back up, "hey Lana." He said with a smirk.
"Hey, have you seen Sasha this morning?" Viran asked worriedly as he went to the fridge to grab Lana's breakfast. "She wasn't in bed when I woke up. Or the refresher."
"Oh, yeah she's in the living room." Oppie said, gesturing with the spatula.
Viran looked up from the fridge with Lana's food at hand at Oppie before stepping out and looking into the living room. Sure enough, there she was sound asleep and tucked under a blanket.
"Huh," Viran said quietly as he entered back into the kitchen. "How long do you think she has been out there?" He asked Oppie.
"You'd have a better idea than me." Oppie said, looking up at him. "She has been doing more late night exercise like that, though." Oppie observed.
"Yeah, I know. She doesn't think I know, but I do," Viran said with a sigh as he sat down in front of Lana. "But every night is different. I'm never sure when she leaves. And I have caught her in the training room about to do something and have had to drag her back to bed a couple of times now. But on the nights I don't catch her, I find her looking fresh from a shower as I wake up or sound asleep and hair wet from one. I even find her workout gear either hidden away or tossed at the top of our laundry pile." He ran a hand through his hair, messing it up as it was getting a little long on top. "I don't know what to do."
"Well, is there anything to do?" Oppie asked, looking at him. "If she can't sleep, there are worse things for her to be doing than working out, especially now that she's past the point where she needs therapy." Oppie suggested, though, feeling like it wasn't quite the right answer.
"I guess so," Viran said as he prepped Lana's breakfast on a little plate before her. "I will admit, she has been acting like this ever since she mentioned the idea that Cordo… Cardona… Carona… whatever his name was, was the one to put the bounty on her. I think she's trying to get better so she can go and figure out the truth," he assumed.
"Well, that seems like a good way to approach it, I guess." Oppie said, plating some of the eggs and ham for him and Viran and bringing the plates over to the table.
"Did Kyr find anything out about that from the New Republic? I can't recall if he did or not," Viran said as Lana, now more awake, dug into her own food with her cute little plastic spoon. He looked up at Op as the plates came over. "Thanks."
"No problem." Oppie said, settling into a chair. "I asked Kyr about it, he said that this Corona guy seemed to have become the head of the Cartel after Selina was… taken care of. They were still hunting him to try to bring an end to the Cartel. Caranas has apparently become a pretty hot zone." Oppie said, taking a bite. "He's also former ISB, which is interesting."
"That is interesting," Viran said through a couple bites he had already started eating. "Maybe we could help them find him. I know everyone in this house would love to see that Cartel go down for good after everything that happened to us and Kyr. Especially if he is behind the bounty." He took another bite of his eggs.
"Definitely." Oppie replied, "it might also be helpful for Sasha if she was able to go help take care of this herself." He added more quietly.
Viran nodded. "Agreed. It would be good healing for her. And if Kyr and Cien go with, we will just need someone to watch Lana," he said. "But are we even allowed to go? I know we're marshals and all, but if this place really is a hot zone, will they even let us get involved?" He asked before taking another bite.
"Not sure they would stop us." Oppie said. "And we're not just marshals, are we Valiant thirteen?" Oppie said with a smirk as he ate another forkful of eggs.
"Fair point, Copper Nine," Viran said with a smirk. "Let's bring it up with Kyr and Cien when they get up. I think the sooner we can get out there, the better it'll be for both Sash and Kyr." He said as he ate a piece of ham.
"Sure." Opie said.
Cien walked into the kitchen yawning. "Hi guys." She said in good spirits.
"Hey, breakfast is in the pan." Oppie said.
"Thank you." She said with a smile. She went over and took a plate from the cabinet. She scooped a spatula full of eggs, and then started looking around. "Where are my chili flakes?" She asked sharply.
"What?" Oppie asked.
"My chili flakes, for my eggs, I always keep them right here." Cien said with heavy annoyance in her tone.
"I don't know where it is," Viran said, visibly confused. "I didn't know you had chili flakes with eggs. I thought that was Kyr's thing." He said carefully.
"Well I wanted some this morning but they're not here." She said, annoyed, looking around. She spotted them, over on the other side of the stove along with some other seasonings. "Who put them here?" She asked, looking at the two of them sharply.
"I don't know, sorry if I did it." Oppie said.
Cien looked at them with a bit of a harumph and she went out the other entrance into the dining room.
"Does she seem more and more on edge after the vacation?" Oppie asked Viran quietly.
"You noticed too, huh?" Viran whispered back. "It could be that presence her and Sasha felt, but this almost seems… different than paranoia or anxiety. Heck, not even Sasha's this disturbed by it. Or she's better at hiding it." He paused for a moment. "Did something happen after we left? Cause this seems like she is… moodier. Like she woke up on the wrong side of the bed."
"I dunno." Oppie said. They heard her laughing from the other room, which seemed like an odd turnabout from how annoyed she had been moments before. "I'm not quite sure what to make of it." Oppie admitted.
"Neither do I," Viran said looking towards the dining room entrance with a confused gaze. "Maybe Kyr knows what's going on. And if not, Sasha most likely does."
"Yeah." Oppie said, not entirely convinced either of them would know.
Viran shook his head, unsure, as he turned his attention back to his food.
Kyr came walking on, groggily, shuffling his way to the caf machine. "'Laam vods." He said tiredly.
"Morning," Viran said with a smirk. "Hey, is Cien okay?" He asked him after a moment.
"Wha?" Kyr asked, looking at him, "oh, yeah I'm not sure what she was so sad about this morning, she wouldn't tell me." He said worriedly as he started inputting commands into the caf machine. "Did she tell you guys?"
"No, she was just super annoyed with us because someone put her chili flakes in the wrong spot," Viran said, now worried too. "Then we heard her laughing in the other room a moment later."
"Annoyed?" Kyr asked, looking at them.
"Yeah." Oppie answered, glancing at Viran.
"Oh, that I don't know anything about." Kyr said, even more worried. "She seemed really upset this morning but I couldn't figure out what about."
"Maybe she's sick," Viran thought from the top of his head. "And this is her way of coping with it." He tried. "Honestly, I have no idea, but we're worried about her. About both her and Sash."
"Yeah, whatever this presence is they're sensing it seems like it's weighing on them a bit." Kyr said, sitting down at the table with his cup of freshly brewed caf. "Sasha seems a bit better though."
"Yeah, she's definitely better, but now she's pulling these late night workouts," Viran said as he finished his food. "We were thinking that we should go back to Caranas, help the NR, and deal with that Corona guy. Sasha needs closure to this." He paused and looked at Kyr.
"Cordova." Kyr corrected. "And yeah." He took another sip. "The 19th was stationed in support of the operations on Caranas but they're off on another assignment now. Things quieted down there a little so they didn't need a full wing in orbit. There's a marshal there, though, that's apparently helping the local militia with things." Kyr said, a grimace passing across his face just thinking of that planet. "I asked to see if we could work with him and go help out a little." Kyr said, taking another sip. "He seems like a muun'shebs." He observed.
"Great," Viran snorted. "So I'm guessing his answer was a big fat no?"
"I didn't say that." Kyr said with a grin. "The marshals are stretched thin, so when I went up the ranks and asked if we could take part in the situation there they were all for it. It's a weird mix of police work and military support, so when they realized two mandos and three Jedi wanted to come help out, that worked perfectly. They were pretty excited, since Caranas is such a… warm zone right now. Not quite hot enough for military intervention, but not cold enough for it to just be a simple policing duty, either."
Viran smiled at that. "So when should we head out to lend a hand? Cause I think the sooner the better for everyone," he asked.
"When we're all ready." Kyr said, taking a sip. "They said to just check in with the marshals there and let them know we're on our -" He looked up as Cien entered the room with her datapad and an empty plate.
"I need to show you this video." Cien said, putting her datapad in Kyr's hands. "It made me laugh so hard."
Kyr looked up at her a little strangely as he watched the video of a lothcat doing something funny. It made him chuckle, but not as much as Cien when she watched it over his shoulder.
"Here look." She said, putting her datapad for Op and Viran to see.
Viran glanced up at her a little unsure then down at the datapad. He did chuckle at it too, as did Op. Cien laughed wildly as she disappeared through the doorway.
Kyr glanced between Oppie and Viran with a strange look on his face, then looked down at his caf, a little confused.
"Now do you understand what we were talking about?" Viran asked, referring to earlier in their conversation.
"A bit, yeah." Kyr said, taking a confused sip of caf.
"So we're all in agreement about Caranas, though?" Viran asked, bringing the conversation back around. "Cause I'll bring it up with Sasha once she wakes up."
"Yeah, I'm game." Oppie said in agreement.
"Oya." Kyr said, raising his mug in a toast before taking another sip.
"Ye!" Lana said, raising her spoon and flicking some of her food onto Viran.
Viran laughed at that before grabbing a napkin to clean the food off of him.
"No." Kyr said, "Oya, Lan'ika. 'OY-ah'" Kyr said, trying to teach his niece mando'a.
"Oo wa," Lana tried to say.
"Not quite, but almost Lan'ika." Kyr said in a studious tone. "Say it with me. 'Oy'"
"Oy," Lana managed to say.
"'Ya'" Kyr finished.
"Ya," She finished.
"Now together. 'Oya!'" Kyr said.
"Oo ya," Lana said.
Viran chuckled, quite impressed with his daughter.
"Ori'jate ad'ika." Kyr said, excited.
Lana clapped her hands together and Viran just beamed at his daughter.
"Now I can tell Sasha that our kid has learned Mando'a," Viran chuckled.
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