Corso stood, Devin on his hip, watching as Miriah walked around the shining new vessel. She would stop and touch parts, run her hand lovingly over the metal, and sigh. Once, she took a hydrospanner out of her pocket and recalibrated something. He had to smile watching her, as Devin put his head on his daddy's shoulder. The little boy had been content and happy since yesterday, Corso thought. He lost himself watching her move, her lithe grace making it seem as if she were dancing instead of walking. He realized that she'd stopped putting her long hair in its ponytail and that thought made him smile again. She finally made her way around the starship and he was brought out of his thoughts at her approach.
"The engineer cleared her, and as far as I can see, she's ready to take off. The others are already aboard, so let's go see our new home away from home," she said, taking Corso's free hand in hers. They made their way up the ramp and into the air lock. Miriah stopped, and just looked around her. "So different, but so the same. The interior is almost identical to Dancer's." She could see Aric, Maura and Sarai in the lounge area from where she stood, and when she turned to Corso, she realized Devin had fallen asleep in his father's arms. "One of the things General Garza had put in the design was children's quarters, where the old armory was. Calleigh and Colin are probably already there." She stood on tiptoe to press a kiss on her son's cheek, but he didn't stir. They'd spent the day waiting on the engineer to check the ship out, and it was now evening. They figured they'd sleep through most of the hyperspace and land on Dantooine late afternoon tomorrow. Miriah joined her sister and mother in the lounge area.
"All ready to go, sister?" Maura asked, seeing Miriah's smile.
"Yep, about to hit the preflight engines now,"Miriah told her. She walked calmly to the bridge, but she had to admit, at least to herself, a little trepidation. The last time she'd flown her own ship, things hadn't gone so well, and it made her double check everything. She held her breath as she hit the switch for preflight engines, and let it out slowly as the six engines hummed to life smoothly. She'd already run the hyperdrive test three times, and stopped herself from running it again. Mags could feel the uncertainty in Miriah's aura and quietly approached the bridge.
"Miriah, what happened to the Stardancer was not your fault. That ship was tampered with. This one has not," she told her youngest sister, seeing the fear in her eyes. "Nothing you did or could do would have prevented what happened," she said softly, putting her hand on Miriah's arm.
"There's just so much precious cargo on this one," Miriah whispered. Magdalane gathered her sister in a hug, knowing she'd rather give her life than risk any of theirs.
"Let's go home, shall we?" Magdalane said, grinning at Miriah. Miriah felt the calming force of her sister infuse her and smiled.
"Yes, it's past time," Miriah answered, and turned to the controls. "Buckle up, gang. I'm releasing the clamps." She'd just sat down in the captain's chair when Corso bounded onto the bridge, taking the left seat and fastening his harness.
"Ready to jet, kitten. Devin is buckled in, and I checked the others on the way up here." Corso put his caffa mug in the holder to his right, and started to power up the navigation system and weapons systems. "Wow, she's so responsive, so quick to be ready to go," he said, and noted her raised eyebrow when he glanced her way, blushing. "She's clearly your ship, Captain," he said with a grin.
Miriah chuckled and they felt the ship sway slightly as it lifted off the deck and away from the magnetic clamps. They made their way smoothly to the hyperlane, Miriah getting used to the different weight and movement of the slightly smaller ship. Once they were in hyperspace, she took her harness off and turned her swivel chair to look at Corso. "I have so many memories, mostly good, of the Dancer and being on her bridge. We kissed for the first time there, were married there." She sighed, "I know we'll make new memories. What is one of your favorites, other than those?"
"Oh, I'd have to say, the time you drank all the champagne, locked the bridge door and did the strip dance on the map," he said, his grin huge. "We were docked on Nar Shaddaa, so those guys had seen it all, but I still had to pay more creds than you knew for the holovid they took." She shook her head in disbelief. "I still have it, by the way, in case we ever need to make some quick money." They laughed, knowing he'd never share anything like that. "Let's go back with the others, cyare." They walked to the lounge area, arms linked, noting the new gadgets in the ship along the way.
Aric was sitting with Maura, Felix with Mags. Sarai had gone to bed, gushing about all the cabin space. "The showers are phenominal, Spitfire. Have you seen your quarters yet?" He laughed when she shook her head. "You guys are gonna love it. Our gear is all stowed away in the compartment in our cabins. Four cabins! Makes the crew quarters smaller, but it works! The medbay is fully stocked too, with one of the new pressurized kolto tanks." He leaned back and put his arm around Maura. "All the cabins are nice. It's an excellent ship."
"It is, and I'm looking forward to getting to know her over the next few weeks," Miriah said. She's quiet, Corso thought, and wondered if she was liking the ship as much as everyone else was. He got up and went to the galley, bringing back some fruit and water, along with a handful of chocolate, for her, making her smile. "Thanks, sugar. I guess I feel a little guilty for being excited over the new ship. If not for the Stardancer getting stolen on Ord Mantell so many years ago, Corso might not be here with me."
"Aww darlin', yeah I would. I knew from the first time I saw you, I'd do anything to leave with you. Skavak just sealed the deal." He grinned at his wife, seeing her relax.
"Mags, you and Felix have been quiet. Everything going okay with you?" Maura asked.
"Oh we're fine, " Felix said. "You know how it is when there's a new baby in the mix. You get a couple hours sleep here and there, and you think you're doing good, then you sit down and get drowsy." They all laughed, remembering when their children were newborns. Magdalane patted Felix's leg.
"Yes, I always mean to sleep through Felix's turn to get up, but Ian's force presence always wakes me. I told Felix he should just let me take care of him since I'm going to be awake anyway, but he insists on being involved." She grinned up at her husband, her love for him shining in her eyes. "On that note, I think I'll retire to my new chambers and rest," she said dramatically, getting laughter from the others. Felix rose and followed her.
"That's a good idea, though, think I'll follow their example," Aric said, pulling Maura up with him. "Come, woman, let's see if this bed is as comfortable as it looks." Maura glanced back over her shoulder and wiggled her eyebrows at Miriah, who giggled.
Corso swept her up in his arms, carrying her to their new quarters. "Wow," Miriah said, seeing the décor. The General had taken her favorite colors and filled her quarters with plush pillows and little things that made the girl in her go soft and gooey. "So pretty. Are you comfortable with all the girly touches?" she asked Corso, seeing him grin at her.
"Darlin', as long as you're happy, I'm happy," he told her, then he kissed her long and hard. She responded by not letting him go, and they tumbled onto the bed, limbs entwined. Their long tradition of loving each other through hyperspace continued, and Miriah hoped this ship was better soundproofed than Dancer was. As they lay resting, Miriah's head on Corso's shoulder, she spoke.
"Really, to get properly acquainted with the ship, we should christen each area just like we did here," she said, giving him a wicked smile. He blushed but ran his hands up her bare back and into her hair, pulling her in and kissing her.
"I live to serve you, darlin'." They didn't sleep for a long while, and even then, Miriah slept little. Her mind listened to every ping and clank of the ship, worried about anything she couldn't readily identify. Finally, she got up and pulled Corso's shirt over her head, needed to settle her mind by checking on the bridge. She was still running systems checks when Corso stumbled onto the bridge, rubbing sleepy eyes.
"Cyar'ika, everything okay?" he asked, leaning over her to kiss her head.
"It is, I guess I'm still just nervous about things," she told him, shrugging. "Maybe if I had.."
"No, darlin', nothing you could have done. You know that as well as I do." He sat in the other chair, watching his wife work through those thoughts. "It's late, or rather, early. Let's go back to bed, eh?"
She pulled her long hair away from her face, stretching her arms over her head. "I suppose we could. Or," she said, turning her silver eyes to his, "we could continue christening the ship, here." She left her own chair to sit in his lap, and his attention was no longer on rest.
Magdalane put Ian in his cradle and slipped back into their bed. Felix opened sleep eyes and pulled her close. "Everything okay, love?" he asked.
"Fine, just the usual. Oh, but don't go to the bridge in the morning, okay?" Her eyes closed and she fell asleep, leaving Felix to wonder what she meant.
Aric was the first awake, even before the children, and went to the galley to start the caffa. He noticed the bridge door closed as he passed, but didn't think much of it. He'd filled his mug and grabbed a couple of muffins as he strolled to the lounge area to sit, just as the bridge door slid open and Miriah shot through, her hair wildly tangled and wearing Corso's shirt. Aric just stared until Corso came through the open door, wearing a sheepish grin and nothing else, and made his way to their quarters.
Great, Corso thought. If anyone had to see, it just had to be Aric. He joined Miriah in the shower, and they had a good laugh over the look on Aric's face. "He won't say anything,"Miriah said.
"Yeah, sure he won't," grumbled Corso, squeezing water out of his dreadlocks.
"Are you sorry?" Miriah asked, putting her hands on his chest and making his breathing speed up.
"Hell no," Corso said with a grin. "I'd go again right now if I weren't so hungry. You're my personal trainer, darlin', no way I didn't burn a pound or two off last night." She laughed, the sound music to his ears. She was finally relaxing, feeling more comfortable with her new ship, he thought.
They all met for breakfast, the children already sitting and chatting amongst themselves. Michi was singing, her words getting clearer every day, and Colin and Devin were clapping for her. Calleigh was trying to fix the golden curls that bounced everywhere, when Miriah stopped to help her, using one of her old ties to make a pony tail. Calleigh smiled her thanks and sat, waiting for breakfast. Sarai was cooking, and the air was filled with good smells and high spirits. They all remained that way until they entered Dantooine's orbit. At that point the anticipation was making everyone jittery.
Miriah settled the new ship in the hangar and flipped the switch to the engines. "Not bad for her maiden voyage," she said, and Corso heard the happiness in her voice. Akaavi and Cy met the ship with repulsor sleds to offload gear, and hugs all around for those aboard. Miriah walked to the hangar door, looking out over the lush green of the pasture and seeing their house on the rise. So very good to be home, she thought, and felt Devin hug her leg.
"Home!," he said. "An' Kaavi here, Mama. Rontos. Home!" He was excitedly pulling on her hand, ready to be in his house.
Mags and Felix had their speeder loaded, and each hugged Miriah. "It was an excellent flight, and a beautiful ship, Miriah. Thanks for getting us here safely, " Mags told her, and returned her smile. "We'll be in touch, maybe not tomorrow but the next day." Miriah nodded her understanding and took Devin's hand, walking to the house, her other hand covering her middle. Akaavi saw, and gasped.
"You are with child! I should have seen it sooner!" The Mandalorian hugged her friend, happy for her.
"It's a boy, his name is Logan," Miriah told Akaavi.
"A fine name, for sure. Now what else has changed since you went away?"
"Well, Devin has embraced his force sensitivity. He's started to use it more and more, so Mags and Mom.."
"Wait. Our Dev? A Force user?"
"He is, Akaavi. More than I ever realized or thought he'd be." They went to the house, Devin talking the whole time.
Miriah knew that someone had been cleaning as she stepped inside. The fresh flowers and the scent of laundry detergent lingered, and she smiled. "Thank you, Akaavi. C2 was invaluable to us on Coruscant, but it's so nice to come home to clean."
"I've cooked, too, so you can relax and tell us stories," Akaavi replied. Sarai had already sped off, Aric and Maura too.
Home, Miriah thought. It's so good to be home. Corso grinned at her from across the room, and she felt settled.