As one, Miriah and Joslin ran to Corso, who landed face first and hadn't moved. The weight of the packs was pressing him into the ground and Aric and the man with Joslin, whose name was Shurxan, lifted them off and threw them out of the way. Miriah was searching her pockets and gear bag for kolto, but Joslin stopped her.
"I haven't healed in some time, but I can handle this, " Joslin said, her voice soft and her aura flaring. After a few seconds, Corso opened his eyes and immediately looked for Miriah.
"I'm here, sugar, right here. This is Joslin, someone I knew years ago when we were kids on Tython." Her gentle hands caressed his face, and he let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank the stars you're okay, Mir. Logan?"
"He's fine, just fine. Aric already scanned me." He smiled at her then, his world more right than it had been for a few hours now. It was only then that he remembered, and his face reflected his distress.
"Aric, Miriah, I tried to get Jurin in the pod, but he wouldn't go. I.. he… I was in the pod and he balked, and before I could get him in, he pressed the launch button." Corso sighed, shook his head, and looked at Aric. "He was on the ship when it blew."
Aric sat down on the tree trunk, deep in thought. If Jurin knew, somehow, that the sabotage on the ship was due to him being aboard, he might have thought it was safer to die there rather than put us in any more danger.
Shurxan looked up at the waning sun, and told them they should get moving. He wanted to reach their small village before nightfall, and he was worried for these people who had survived so much in one day. He grabbed one of the large supply packs and easily slung it on his back, starting off down the slight rise to the valley below. Aric and Corso followed, not allowing Miriah to carry anything. As they trudged forward, Corso grabbed Miriah's hand.
"Darlin', are you sure you're okay? All I could think about was getting to you, seeing with my own eyes that you were alive and well." He kissed the hand he was holding, and she grinned at him.
"Mom already tried to contact me, and so they all know we're here. I'm okay, sugar. Worried about Devin, mostly, now that you're with me." They walked along in silence for a few minutes.
"Sorry about the ship," Corso said. "I know you'd been with her a long time. I hate that we lost her over nothing—we can't even learn anything about all this now. From Jurin, at least. I think we should let it all go, just let this one mission go." He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, wondering if saying anything about the Stardancer would upset her.
Miriah squeezed his hand. "I did love her, but it was just a ship. I'm just glad we got out, and even if we lost the ship for no good reason, maybe now it's over." She walked on, stumbling a bit in the fading evening light. Corso caught her and held her against him, knowing she must be tired and hungry. He looked at the two Jedi who were leading them and wondered aloud if they could afford to stop for a few minutes. At his request, they did, and he pulled Miriah to sit on the gear bag, reaching into another supply bag for water.
"Here, drink this," he told her, as he continued to rummage in the pack. "Ah! Here it is!" he exclaimed, and handed her the chocolate bar with a flourish. "Something I know you love."
She grinned at him and took the foil wrapped bar. "I like chocolate, but I love you, Corso." Her smile dimmed. "I do love you, and I was so scared that you were hurt," she told him, her eyes filling. He bent to kiss her, and straightened at Shurxan's words.
"We need to move. There are creatures in this woods that won't be pleased we're out and about after dark." The tall Jedi started forward again, and within the hour they'd reached a small gathering of primitively built homes, nestled in the valley near a clear running river. They were met by several of the others there, and to Corso's eyes they were all Jedi, all in robes and wearing lightsaber hilts on their belts.
"We've cooked, and given them space in the center hut," a Cathar named Jestera told Joslin, coming forward to take a bag from Shurxan. Joslin nodded at her, and they exchanged smiles. Miriah saw them, and turned to her old friend.
"Joslin, what kind of expedition is this? A research colony? A trial habitation?" Miriah asked, curious now as to why they were met with drawn lightsabers.
"I'll tell you all you want to know, but first you need to rest and eat," Joslin assured her, leading them to the place they'd set up for their visitors. They entered the spare but very clean dwelling, seeing a pot of stew simmering, a fire carefully banked at one end and four cots at the other. In the center, a table and chairs sat, ready for their meal. Joslin and Shurxan joined them, chatting about the area and telling them about some of the people there. When they'd eaten all they wanted, Joslin turned to Miriah, holding her hands, and her aura flared briefly.
"Your child is growing well, and I'm glad you didn't get hurt in your landing. Your other son, where is he now?"
Miriah stared at her, "He's on Coruscant with my sisters and mother. We were headed to Tython to take someone who needed Grandmaster Shan's healing, so in the interests of keeping him safe we left him. We thought we'd be back there tomorrow." She turned her eyes to Aric, who had been guarded and watching everything since they'd left the pod wreckage. He was unreadable in the dim light, and Corso was so tired he was nodding off in his chair.
Joslin sighed deeply. "This is Aria moon, and our colony is one of outcasts. We all left the Order over relationships and emotions. Shurxan and I, we…uh…" she faltered.
Shurxan took her hand. "We left when we just couldn't ignore our feelings for each other. Everyone here is the same. We still have the force, but we no longer work within the teachings of the Jedi Order on emotions and relationships. We had hope, when we heard of Barsen'thor Magdalane's marriage, that things were changing on that front, but we later found out that it was a singular event." He turned to Joslin. "I'm going to our place, stay as long as you like." He gave her a quick smile, and left. Joslin turned to Miriah.
"Magdalane is the one, you know, who found out about us. She gave us advice, but ultimately didn't turn us in to our masters." She smiled, remembering the tall, graceful padawan who'd discovered them kissing in the shade of some ruins one afternoon. "I'll go now, leave you to rest. We'll figure out the next step in the morning." She hugged the tiny Miriah, waved to Aric as he watched her leave, and closed the door behind her.
"Aric, can you help me?" Miriah asked, trying to get Corso to a cot. His injury, though healed, and the long walk had drained him, and he barely moved when Aric hoisted him up and walked him to a cot. Miriah moved to cover him, and then sat near the fire, where Aric was currently sipping caffa.
"Okay, Aric. Speak. I know you're struggling to keep your thoughts in," Miriah joked, trying to break the shell the Cathar had put around himself.
Aric stared into the fire, still working some ideas around in his head about their current situation. After a few minutes of this, he spoke softly. "This is a strange place, Spitfire. These people, these Jedi, they're afraid. They act as if they're being hunted. They came at us, weapons drawn, and if the woman hadn't recognized you, do you think we'd be sitting here now?" He poked at the fire, making sparks fly up the chimney. "I left the subspace beacon on, so maybe we'll see someone come for us, but there's no way to communicate, and now we're not even at the crash site." He sighed, "We need to rest, especially you, and see what we can learn tomorrow. I don't think we're in danger here, but we need to keep our eyes open." He pulled her up from the small sofa. "Go to bed, Miriah, rest. We'll figure out a way home tomorrow." He gave her a tight hug, then walked over to the sleeping area.
Miriah spent a few minutes in the small refresher, then joined Corso in the narrow cot, not wanting to be by herself. As his arms went around her, pulling her into his body, she thought she felt her mother again but it was very brief and she felt her eyes closing.
Devin was himself again mostly, playing with the other children, but he seemed quieter. Sarai knew he missed his mother, she could feel that in the little guy's aura, but he seemed to be adapting. He glanced up at her and gave his trademark smile, and Sara felt his anxiety. She went to him and he crawled in her lap, settling his head on her shoulder. "Mama tired too, her night-night," he said, the emotion evident in his voice. "Want Mama home." Sarai rocked the little boy, and felt him succumb to sleep. After she'd put him in her room, she joined Maura and Magdalane in the living area.
"He said his mama was sleeping, I sure hope they're alright," Sarai said, her concern evident on her face.
"The orbital station is sending out shuttles to the moons tomorrow," Maura replied. "If anything, it's just a matter of time before they're home." She shifted Calleigh to her shoulder, standing to take her to her bed. "I wish they were here, but I have confidence they'll be here soon." She patted her mother's shoulder with her free hand, and took her sleeping daughter to rest.
Felix watched as Magdalane gave Ian a bottle. Michi was already in bed, and he was amazed at how seamlessly Ian had integrated into the family. He was an easy baby, content as long as he was full and dry, so unlike his daughter who had spent the first week of her life crying. Now if only Miriah and Corso and Aric were here, things would be perfect, he thought. He could feel the vague anxiety in his wife's aura and knew that she was working hard to lessen its impact on the others. He took the baby and kissed Mags on her forehead, knowing she was exhausted. She followed him after saying goodnight to her sister and mother, and when she'd gotten settled next to him, she finally spoke.
"I'm so afraid for them, Felix. There are so many thing that could have happened," she said, her head on his chest. "We need them back, we all need them here. I need them here." She felt her eyes fill, and clutched Felix's shirt.
"I know, sweetheart, we'll get them back. I promise, we will do everything to get them back." He softly rubbed her back, finally feeling her relax in sleep. We will find them, he thought. I'll make sure of that.
Sarai was picking up toys to put away when she heard a soft knock. Checking the camera screen, she saw Helena Garza outside, and let her in. "Helena, you've heard then?" she asked the ashen faced general.
"Yes, and I have ships being sent from the orbital station now. Sarai, they found a debris field near the exit to the hyperlane. They believe it to be the remains of the Stardancer." Her eyes reflected the fear and sorrow that the whole group in Coruscant had been feeling all day.
Sarai didn't even flinch. "We know, I've already been able to see that they are safe, they were able to eject in time." Garza let out a breath she wasn't even aware she was holding.
"Oh thank the stars!" she exclaimed, her hand on her chest. "I was afraid I was bringing terrible news. And I heard that you all had an exciting day, too."
Sarai smiled. "We did indeed. Magdalane is resting, but the baby is perfect. Can I get you some tea?" Sarai started walking toward the kitchen but was stopped by the general's voice.
"No, thank you, Sarai, I'm heading to bed. I just felt I needed to let you all know we're looking for them." Sarai patted her friend's arm.
"They'll be home soon, I feel confident." Sarai reset the security after the general had left, and went to her own room, Maura already asleep with the twins. Devin lay sprawled in his little boy way over half of her bed, but she didn't have the heart to move him to his own bed, down the hall from her. Instead, she shifted him over a little and when she lay down, he put his little hand on her arm. She could feel that he was comforted by her presence, and made a silent promise to her grandson that his mama would be home soon.
Corso woke to dim morning light, his wife warm and soft against him. He lifted his head and saw that the fireplace, their only source of heat, was low. He gingerly moved Miriah over and got up, hoping to rebuild the fire and not wake her or Aric. No such luck, he thought, as Aric sat up and pulled on his shirt.
"Wow, it gets colder here at night than Tatooine, " Aric commented softly, leaning over to get more wood from the bin beside the fireplace.
"Shh," Corso said, "Listen." They stilled, hearing the voices outside the cabin.
"We can't let them lead the Sith to us, you know we're in a vulnerable position here," Joslin was telling someone.
"We can wait until we sense their rescue vehicles, then take them back to the crash site. They can't stay here, Jos. They need to go home." Corso recognized the voice of Jestera, the Cathar they'd briefly met the day before.
"Maybe. Shurxan said something similar when I talked with him last night," Joslin paused. "But will the Republic rescue leave us be here? Won't they try to colonize our little moon?" She sighed. "I just want us to keep our place as it is. We sacrificed a lot to find a place we could be who we wanted to be, I don't want to give that up. I'd rather just hide them here than risk that."
Corso looked at Aric, who wore a worried frown, and over to Miriah, who was sleeping. No matter what, he thought, we have to get back. He glanced over to Aric, who nodded, knowing what his friend was thinking.
"We're going home. With or without their help," Aric declared softly.