Word Count: 1400

Hunt Log: Side Notes and Journals
Sighting: Rishi

There wasn't time to warn Torian that I was bugging out. I got the call from Wanda two days before the Eternal Empire hit on Rishi. I don't know what they were looking for. A backwoods pirate planet doesn't hold a lot of anything, but Skytroopers landed in force and swept over the small towns like a wave. I watched from a safe distance aboard the Medallion, but not everyone was so lucky. First order of business after turning my ship back towards the Alliance was to get out of the fleet jamming range. Torian needed to know what he was walking into.

The sting of smoke made Torian's eyes water when the shuttle doors opened. He landed on the broken boardwalk with a grunt and waved the pilot to a safer distance. They'd reported the obvious damage from orbit, but nothing could have prepared him for the devastation on the ground. Torian resisted the urge to try Sadio's comm again, patching into Shae instead.

"You seeing this?" Torian asked, his voice hollow as he walked through the once proud Raider's Cove. Soot faced residents milled around, cursing while they pulled bodies from the rubble. Every so often, a shout would break the silence, either a name or the injured calling for help. To their credit, anyone close enough dropped what they were doing and answered regardless of previous affiliations.

"Haar'chak," Shae spat through the comms in Torian's helmet. He couldn't even muster the strength to wince. "The hut'uun leveled the whole damn place."

Rishi had been Shae's home since her first retirement, until Mand'alor the Vindicated had called on her clan to take on the Zakuulan empire. Torian wondered if some of this was Arcann's way of striking where it would do the most damage since he couldn't touch the Mandalorians as a whole while they were on the move.

Sighing, Shae composed herself. "Go find your woman, Cadera. Don't waste time here. Vizla out."

Torian deactivated his comm and allowed himself a shaky breath. Pressure pushed at the back of his eyes, blurring his vision the further he walked. Zakuul had left nothing standing, and half the jungle still smoked from unmanageable fires. She was outside the town, he repeated like a mantra, stride lengthening the closer he got to the edge of Raider's Cove. Their hut was in a secluded lagoon, Sadio could still be there, waiting for him.

Snagging an unoccupied airbike, Torian kicked the vehicle into gear and turned towards his home. Trees blurred past at a deadly speed, but he couldn't risk slowing down. If Sadio was there, she could be injured. It was worth the risk of clipping a tree to reach her.

It was worse than Torian had feared. He kicked the airbike to a stop in front of the ruins of his home. The straw roof had caved in, flames jumping in and out of view behind the metal front wall. Despair hung in Torian's throat as he leapt from the bike and crashed through the partially opened door. Everything blurred after that, just the vague impressions of blackened living spaces and the roar of people shouting somewhere in the jungle. It wasn't until Torian's throat seized that he realized the screaming had come from him.

Coughing, Torian staggered from the hut and landed on his hands and knees. He hissed at the bite in his palms, blinking away the acrid smoke to find that they were blistered and bloody. With the pain came memories of his frantic search, of flipping over furniture and prying apart debris. Torian's mind struggled to understand the implications until sanity wormed through his despair. She's not here.

With his face pressed to the ground, Torian released a final shout and pummeled the dirt. Then, he gathered himself and stumbled back to the bike. He sat on the bench for an unknown amount of time as happier memories tangled with visions of what could have happened to his wife. Finally, the line of thought from early picked up again. Sadio wasn't here. That meant she had to be alive; somewhere else. It was a desperate thread of hope that he'd cling to until his fingers bled.

Torian spared a final look at his hut when one of the walls let out a groan before collapsing inward. There was nothing left for him here. He'd just started the bike when the glint of metal caught a stray ray of sun. Torian's helmet lay by the front door, though he didn't remember taking it off. With a sigh, he collected the buy'ce and slid it over his head. He appreciated the quiet it provided, but mostly the privacy to let his tears flow unhindered. Torian was halfway back to Raider's Cove to begin his search for Sadio when he noticed the message icon blinking at the bottom of his HUD.

With tenuous hope, Torian activated the message. "Hey babe, I hope you're not freaking out. I'm okay." A wave of nauseating relief swept through him at the sound of Sadio's voice. "Bastards jammed all communications. I had to travel four friggin parsecs before I could get this message off, and hopping in and out of hyper did a number on my drives. So, I'm heading back to Odessen. Call me when you get this, and don't go to Rishi."

Torian kicked the bike into the highest gear, ignoring the whine of complaint from the machine as he raced back to the village. He signaled en route for a pick up, anxious to get to a boosted comm system. The wait for the shuttle took ages, but as soon as Torian stepped onto the transport he rushed back to his room without acknowledging any of his brothers.

It took four tries to reach Sadio, but Torian refused to stop calling. When she finally answered, he choked off a sob and collapsed onto his bunk. Sadio's smile slipped, her eyes roaming over his face. "Shit, you got to Rishi before my message came through."

"Yeah." Torian's voice was thick with too many emotions to name. He stared at his wife, her unblemished skin and the vitality of pregnancy glowing through the holo. At last, he let go of the fear that she'd been lost to him and took his first, full breath since dropping out of hyperspace.

Sadio chewed her lip. "How bad is it?"

"House is gone," Torian answered, surprised by his ability to speak without being reduced to a simpering idiot. Sadio was alive, their baby was safe. She was… "You make it back to Odessen okay?"

"Yeah." Another deep breath at the confirmation that Sadio was among allies. She picked at something out of camera view. "I got out before the first wave hit. Most did, a few stayed behind to fight. Damn fools."

They talked about nothing and everything after that. Sadio told Torian about the latest foods she'd attempted and failed to keep down while he rambled about the Mandalorian war machine. Neither mentioned meeting up, not with Zakuul ships so close. While Torian wanted nothing more than to rush to Sadio's side, she was safer there, with Wanda. He needed to return before the clans started for their next destination.

"I love you," Sadio said, surprising them both with the abruptness. Her cheeks darkened, but she didn't avert her gaze this time. "Please...just, be careful. This war is hitting a lot closer to home now."

"Same." Torian didn't want to relinquish the call, but they had to make the jump to hyperspace and comms didn't work there. He let out a long breath. "I'm going to push Vizla to accept the Outlander's offer. We'll see each other soon." He'd been treading carefully, waiting for the right time so as not to be accused of manipulating the Mand'alor for personal gain, but none of that mattered now.

Sadio's smile lit the room. "You better. Take care of yourself, Blondie." The call ended, and Torian signaled the pilots that they were clear to make the jump.

Sitting back in his bunk, Torian blew out a breath, then released a strained laugh to purge himself of the pent of adrenaline from the last few hours on Rishi. Sadio was alive, healthy, and safe. No matter what it took, he would see her soon.