Sorry gang, work schedule has been insane, but I'll try to update at least a couple times a week
"I hate this place," Miriah muttered, settling Devin on her hip and grabbing a gear bag with her other hand. Corso took the bag from her and she reached for another, only to have him take that one, too. She looked at him as he moved in front of her.
"Just worry about carrying Dev, kitten, I've got these." She saw the other men doing essentially the same to their wives, Maura with Colin and Sarai with Calleigh. She sighed and tried to calm her nerves, knowing her son would pick up on the feelings. She walked to the taxi stand, only to be stopped by a trooper in full armor.
"Ma'am, I'm Major Blessing, here to escort your group to the complex." Miriah had to grin at that, and when she heard Maura greet the solidier, the grin got bigger.
"Blessing! Where ya been, you slacker!" They did the forearm clasp that Miriah had seen countless other soldiers do, and realized that her sister had possibly been in command of this man at one point. "Made major already, I knew you'd learn something from Havoc." Miriah nodded to herself, yep, she was right.
"Yes sir, I'm in charge of seeing your group safely to the complex, so I'd say I've been given a pretty important assignment. My whole unit sings your praises daily, you know." He took a couple of bags himself, and greeted everyone as they gathered, and turned to Miriah. "Captain Riggs, do you have any special requests in regards to your ship?"
"Just keep her safe, Major. She's refueling now, and we're stocked for other supplies. I've set the security, and my C2 unit is staying aboard." Miriah nodded at the young man, realizing that he was perhaps only a year or so younger than she was. She watched as the trooper held out his hands to Calleigh, who went to him readily, and then offered his arm to Sarai, and they set off toward the military complex.
They met with General Garza once the children were napping, Sarai staying in the large apartment with them. "The first soiree is tomorrow night, so be ready to mingle and network. All the candidates will be present, and will answer questions in a casual setting. Jurin will be there as the SIS representative." She spoke to them while examining each of them. "You didn't bring any of the babies with you?" she asked, clearly disappointed.
Aric explained they were napping, and then brought up what they all were anxious to know more about. "Our research shows that there was a block of time when Jurin was unaccounted for, about a year ago. At the same time, a group who calls themselves the Rehabilitationists had a convention here. Can you tell us anything about that time frame?"
"Hmm, I cannot, but I will have my assistant research it."
"No, please, just let us work on it. The fewer who have details about what we're doing here, the better." He paced, and wondered again how the general didn't see that anyone in her office could be suspect. "And along the same lines, I'd like to put an independent contractor on the transponder station to check it out. We'll just include their fees in the final cost analysis." Garza nodded.
"The research facilities and anything else you might need are open to you. We'll meet again just before the dinner tomorrow night." Garza turned to go, but Miriah stopped her.
"Your daughter is safe? And the Balmorran senate is still here?" she asked, wondering about the proximity of possible targets.
"They are all still here, and Diedre is in the same area as they all are. We felt it would be better to maintain a certain distance, given what you're working on here. But I do believe they are safe." Miriah nodded at this and they made their way back to the apartment. Sarai had all the kids sitting in a circle on the floor, handing out cookies, when the entered. Magdalane made her way to one of the large sofas, stretching out after the walk. Devin saw her and got up from the circle, a cookie in each hand, and walked over to her.
"An' Mags need cookie," he told her, his little face solemn, his hand extended with a cookie in it, waiting for her to take the treat. The fact that her nephew recognized her lack of energy, and would willingly give her his own cookie to help her, touched Mags heart. She saw his slight smile, and returned it, taking the cookie from his outstretched hand.
"Thank you, Devin." His father's smile stretched his face, and she kissed his forehead. His force aura has grown, she thought, interesting. He patted her face and returned to the cookie circle, and after her cookie, Mags slipped into a much needed nap.
Felix and Corso saw the cookie exchange. "Devin is such a sweet boy," Felix commented, and Corso agreed.
"He sure picks up on emotions easily. Whenever I'm not sure if Miriah is upset, all I have to do is observe Dev, he'll know before anyone else," he replied, then wondered if his son was truly force sensitive. Maybe he is just like his mom, and senses things with the force, but not able to control it. It sparked a small worry in his mind, but just then Miriah approached him with a question in her eyes, and he turned his focus on her.
"If the Balmorran senate is here, who is running the planet? And if they're doing their thing from this distance, how are they communicating and with whom?" She glanced at Felix, who shrugged, and repeated her question when Aric and Maura joined them.
"Not sure, Spitfire, but we need to check that commlink. I sent a secure message to the guy I want to check out the transponder station, he'll have a crew up there in the next day. Then we'll know if their communications are being rerouted." Aric had Colin's toy blaster in his hand, bringing it to Corso for another repair. "I've got to get the boy an assault cannon, maybe he can't break one of those."
"Oh yes, he could," Maura said, laughing. "But he'd have fun doing it." She had her datapad in her hand, and waved it at them. "The elections committee just sent a dossier of each of the candidates, so I forwarded it to your datapads. Read up, we'll all need to know these guys so we know who to talk to." She glanced at the kids, all playing in the living area, and saw that Devin was sitting beside the couch were Mags was sleeping, quietly playing with blocks. It was unusual to see the child sitting still, she thought, but he seems happy enough. She saw that Miriah had seen him too, and then Corso told him about taking the cookie to Mags, and Miriah felt her heart swell with love for her son.
"He's such a sweetie," she said, putting her head on Corso's shoulder.
"He gets that from you, kitten." He kissed her temple, to the groans of the others.
"You two are too much," Maura said, rolling her eyes with a smile. She was feeling much more relaxed about the mission and her role, and wasn't sure if it was due to Sarai or Mags' force use. She was about to tease Miriah more, but the door chimed and she went to answer it instead. Their dresses had arrived, and the noise had woken Mags, who came to view them as they were unpacked. The droid assigned to their apartment took them to be pressed and readied, and Miriah and Maura went to cook dinner together.
"Maura, I can tell you're feeling more at ease with all this," Miriah told her sister as they chopped vegetables together. "What changed?"
"I really don't know, but I suspect a little force use," she replied, concentrating to make her cuts as even as Miriah did effortlessly. "Whatever the reason, I'm glad. I don't want to mess up, we need to figure this out." She dumped the cut vegetables into the large skillet Miriah had prepped, and began to stir them together. "What are we making here, anyway?"
"New recipe, saw it on a holonet show. Thought I'd tweak it a bit, should be good." Miriah always said cooking was a mixture of creativity and experimentation, Maura thought. They fed the kids, then sat down to eat, everyone exclaiming over the new dish. Once the kids were all in bed, they gathered to discuss the dossiers that Maura had sent to them.
"I want to make sure we talk to everyone, but I have to say I agree that Jurin is the main target," Aric told them. "If I have to wear stupid clothes, I want to get all I can get out of it." He was still not happy about the attire, even though Maura had assured him he'd be "dashing" in them. He'd been watching his wife, looking for any cracks in the calm confidence he saw in her now. She'd been calm since she woke up this morning, and when he asked her what had changed, she didn't really know. She only said she'd slept soundly, and when she woke, she felt rested and calm. Maybe it's Mags, he thought. Her pregnancy had a way of inducing calm in the group. He looked at his sister in law, at the calm in her face, and was grateful that she was here with them.
They all turned in early, knowing the next day would be a long one. Miriah sought comfort in her husband's arms and he held her, watching her sleep as he worried about the dinner, the mission, and whether his son was becoming force sensitive. He'd said nothing to her about his worries, though, and holding her close made them seem less. She sighed in her sleep, her warm breath against his bare shoulder making him shiver for a second. He was lost in his thoughts when he heard her soft voice.
"Cor?" she mumbled against him.
"I'm here, kitten," he said, squeezing her to him.
"What's wrong? You normally don't have any problems with sleep," she said, scooting up to be at eye level with him, pushing a stray dreadlock off his forehead, then kissing where her fingers had just touched. "I'm fine, Devin is great. I'm not the focus on this mission. So, what is it, love?"
He sighed. "Do you think Devin's force sensitivity has grown? Does he seem more intuitive than usual? Maybe that's what's going on with his sleep lately?" He shifted to prop on his elbow, looking down into her luminous eyes, seeing her own concern there.
"I just don't know, sugar. Maybe we should test him, I think I have the capability to do it on the ship, and no one would ever need to know." She sighed then, and touched his face gently. "If he is, it won't change how we love him." She kissed his cheek, and down his jaw, scrambling his senses. "Nothing we do will change it, or him. We may be worrying for nothing, anyway." She was kissing down his neck then, and when she reached his shoulder, she gently nipped him with her teeth. His vision blurred and his need for her sang in his blood, making him forget why he was awake, at least for the time being.
They were finishing breakfast when their door chimed, and Mags went to greet their visitor. It was Major Blessing, and she invited him inside.
"Just wanted to bring this for the children," he said, pulling a sled with a large box on it. "When I told my squad that my mission yesterday was to get your group secured, they insisted on sending toys for the kids." He wore a silly grin, enjoying being the bringer of gifts. The young major was dressed casually, and wore only a sidearm rather than his armor. Aric and Maura were chatting with the young soldier when they saw Devin and Colin slowly approaching, fascinated by the box. "Hey, little guys, " he told them, "want to see what's in here?" Devin and Colin both nodded, their faces solemn and wondering. When Blessing pulled pod racers with wheels from the box, the boys were mesmerized. There were stuffed animals and puzzles, games and dolls, and the kids were guaranteed to be busy playing.
I'm writing thank you notes, Miriah thought, seeing her son grinning and making pod racer noises with his mouth. Calleigh had pulled a large stuffed kath hound out as her own, reminding Miriah of the one she'd had all through her childhood. They were all still playing when the adults all went to change for their evening out, stopping only to rapidly eat dinner.
Corso finished putting on the formal suit, seeing that Miriah was still struggling with her hair and went to join Aric and Felix on the balcony. Their job was to get the children in bed, and Elara was coming to stay here with them. They were getting tired, Corso saw, and when Devin started to frown, he knew the little boy had reached his limit, and went to pick him up. When they passed their door, Devin said, "Mama nigh-night," and Corso went in, not knowing all the sisters were in there.
"Whoa, sorry ladies, little man needs a goodnight kiss," he said, averting his eyes.
"Relax, Corso, we're all covered. Come here, sweetie man," Miriah said, getting a kiss and hug before Corso took him to his bed. When he returned to the living area, he could see that Aric was getting restless, and saw the change to his face when the women appeared from the hallway. Sarai wore white, a gown of simple cut, that flattered her tiny shape. Magdalane wore black, setting off the silver blonde of her hair, her dress modest but flattering to her growing child. Maura was up next, in an emerald green gown that made her auburn hair and amber eyes glow, showing just enough skin to be interesting. Miriah, being short, wasn't immediately visible, and Corso kept looking. Finally, Maura moved to the side and when he saw her, he stood dead still, staring. Miriah wore a dress of deep red, and every time she moved, the dress shimmered silver, making her eyes sparkle. Her ebony hair was put up in an elaborate style, which was why everyone was helping her earlier. Corso felt his chest thump and he swallowed hard as he walked to her, taking her hands in his and kissing her cheek.
"Simply gorgeous," he told her, seeing the necklace and earrings he'd given her in their place. He was still trying to form his thoughts when Aric said they needed to start out, and he put her hand in the crook of his arm, leading her to the elevator. This could be a long night, he thought, and then they were at the taxi way.