Miriah was doing a walk around of her ship when her holo chimed. She dug it out of a pocket and saw her husband. "Hey, sugar, what's up?" she asked, grinning at his smile.
"Garza just sent the formal request. Everything ready to go?" She nodded at the image. "Excellent," he said. "I'll let Felix and Mags know, if you'll call your mom."
"Will do," she replied, blowing him a kiss. She hit the frequency for her mother's house and was rewarded with her image. "Mom, we're all set. Ready to head for the stars?" She could see her mother had been having a cup of tea, but the smile on her face said she'd been anticipating the call.
"I'm ready, dear. I'll wash up and meet you at the ship in an hour." With that, Sarai was gone. Miriah chuckled and went up the ramp of the Windwalker, punching in her security code. As the airlock slid open, she saw Devin approach, with Akaavi holding his hand. They'd discussed the upcoming mission last night and Akaavi was dead set against her going into space. Miriah put it down to the fact that Akaavi was expecting a daughter, but knew her friend was genuinely concerned for her. Despite her reservations, Akaavi would still support her friend. Devin was chatting excitedly, pointing to the sleek new ship. She stood, waiting for them to join her. When Devin saw his mom, he broke away and ran to her, skidding to a stop before he ran into her. Miriah knelt and he hugged her.
"Mama! We go fly, right now?" he asked. He'd always loved being on the ship, and this new ship was well equipped for children, with a play area and crew style bunks. She grinned at his enthusiastic mood.
"We're waiting for Daddy and Nana, and your aunt and uncle," she told him, walking with him into the cool interior of the ship. They sat in the deep soft cushions of the sofa, Devin climbing up and into his mother's arms, putting his head on her shoulder and grabbing a handful of her hair. She gently rubbed his back, feeling him relax and knew he'd be napping soon. She hummed and gently rocked him, and knew when he eased into slumber. She looked up as Corso entered the ship, and crossed to them to take the little boy to his bunk on the ship. He returned to her, gathering her in his arms, just as the others rang the chime to enter the ship.
"Figures," he muttered, getting up to let the family in, seeing Aric helping Sarai with her gear bag. "Hi, Mom," he told her, getting a hug in return. Miriah stood and stretched, then made her way to the bridge. The preflight engines hummed to life smoothly, and the family settled themselves for takeoff, Ian buckled into a baby seat and Michi in her bunk across from Devin. When Miriah called back to see if everyone was ready, Corso came forward to the bridge to sit across from her. "Hangar doors are retracted, we're ready when you are, kitten." He buckled his harness and took her hand for a moment, trusting in her flying skills as he always had. The huge ship lifted gracefully from the hangar, and shot upward, getting a giggle of delight out of her pilot.
"Love the acceleration of this ship," she grinned, glancing at her copilot. He'd closed his eyes, exiting atmo was his least favorite part of space flight. Miriah leveled the ship as she reached orbit and gave them all a minute to adjust before hitting the thrusters again to take them into the nearest hyperlane. Flying always made her giddy, and she felt Logan shift inside her as she banked into the route entrance. She could feel Corso smile at her, he loved that she enjoyed whipping the responsive craft around small astroids and such. They settled into hyperflight, and when the drive engaged, she turned to him "Makeb in four days," she said. "What will we do until then?" She gave him a wicked grin and a wink, and pulled him out of his seat. They could smell the dinner that Sarai had brought for them, and suddenly she was starving. She kissed her husband's nose and pulled him along to the galley, where Magdalane was helping her mother put the food out. "Whatever it is, I hope there's plenty. I'm famished!" Miriah went to the fridge and pulled out cold drinks for them all and they settled in with the children to eat.
After dinner, when the kids were in bed, the adults sat around the holo, watching the galactic news feed. They were quiet when the anchorwoman talked about the Makeb evacuation, wanting to know more about what they were getting into. The story was basically the same as the one they'd heard before they left, but the anchorwoman gave the grim news an even darker slant with her voice. When it was over, Corso stood to pace. "I can't even imagine the greed of the Hutts, and now they've basically destroyed a planet and its people. I only wish we'd known we could help sooner." He continued to pace until Miriah caught his arm when he passed her.
"We know now, and we're on the way to help. That's as much as we can do right now," she told him, her voice soft and soothing. He nodded, and sat beside her. "Besides, we've been planning the missions here for months now, so we did help some." She put her head on his shoulder, distracting him from his worry, at least for the moment.
Over the next few days, the Windwalker was transformed from a cargo ship to one of human transport, and the family worked hard to make the meager cots and drapes as nice as possible. They'd brought personal item kits, extra gear bags, and lots of towels. Miriah's C2 unit, who always traveled with her, would have his hands full just keeping up with laundry. The children played and entertained them as they worked, Devin moving things with the force as often as he could. Magdalane had told them all that he should practice, and he did. His giggles and Michi's laughter were often heard around the ship, making the adults laugh as well. By the time they'd reached the Makeb Orbital Station, they were relaxed and ready to help make the trip as painless as possible for the refugees.
Miriah and Magdalane stood side by side surveying the crowds in the station. Corso and Felix had taken their flight data to the station controllers, and the sisters were waiting for them to return to get started loading passengers. "I can't even imagine the stress these people have gone through," Miriah murmured. Mags agreed with a nod. They would be loading passengers in an hour, and they were both trying to prepare themselves for whatever they might encounter. Sarai had stayed aboard the ship with the children, but Mags didn't want to leave Ian for long.
The thirty-four passengers filed aboard the freighter with little fuss, quiet and defeated. Magdalane could feel the hopelessness surrounding the group, and Devin felt it as well. He sought out his aunt, and she spoke to him through the force. "It's alright, Dev. They're sad now but they'll be better with time." She studied the small boy's eyes, seeing the instant he understood, and he hugged her tightly before going off to be with his mother. There were no children in this group, she saw, that might have been comforted by Michi and Devin. She closed her eyes and her aura flared, the brilliant white light bathing the interior of the ship's hold. The refugees felt the calm she projected, and without knowing why, their faces smiled a little. Mags smiled as well. "Welcome, friends. We're here to help you with this difficult time. Please, make yourselves comfortable. We'll be having dinner soon, and there are kits for everyone in these trunks." She indicated the large cargo trunks at the edges of the large hold. There were murmurs of thanks among the crowd as they settled in, and Mags went to the galley to get ready for take off.
The ship lifted gracefully and accelerated to the nearest hyperlane. Miriah sat back in the captain's chair as the navcomp took over, hurtling them toward their destination planet. She'd been moving all day, and was feeling the effects now, stretching her back. She'd no sooner relaxed again when Corso's hands were massaging her neck, the warmth of them instantly soothing her. "Mmm sugar, that's heavenly," she told him, closing her eyes.
"The whole point of this mission is to just fly, cyare. I worry about you doing so much, and I can see you're tired now." He continued to gently knead the tight muscles, feeling her relax under his hands.
"I know, but this is a good tired. Did you see those faces? I actually feel like I'm making a contribution, like doing something I love to do is more than just fun for me," she told him. He shook his head, knowing she didn't see him but wondering how she could think she didn't do the same every day.
Magdalane and Felix had put their children to bed and lay quiet, Mags wondering how she could do more, and Felix wondering how she was holding up. They both spoke at once, laughing quietly when they both stopped talking. "You go first," she told him, snuggling on his shoulder.
"I was thinking that this must be difficult for you, and for Devin. Feeling the pain and despair of these displaced people who've lost their whole life's work." He pulled her close, kissing her head.
"It is a little hard, and I hope Devin understood what I was telling him through our force link. He's so sensitive to emotions, it had to be a shock to him. I'm doing ok with it, I just wish I could help them more." She sighed. "I think it's going okay. They're warm and full, and I can feel some hope starting to emerge from them as a group." He gently stroked her back as she relaxed in sleep. His hope was that the emotions didn't overwhelm her.
Devin was confused. They'd fly and pick up a lot of people, then take them somewhere and go back for more. He sensed that there was something wrong with their home, but not what it was. His mom was okay with it, he felt her satisfaction with doing what they were doing. Uncle Felix worried about his aunt, but she seemed happy to help the people. Logan was growing, and Devin could feel that he was doing fine. He was sitting where he could feel the only person he thought was troubled- his dad. When Corso rounded the corner, he almost stepped on his son, who was sitting in the dark on the floor.
"Whoa, Dev, are you alright? What are you doing out of bed, young man?" His dad picked him up, and he snuggled on the familiar shoulder. "Everything's fine, little one. Let's get you back to bed, eh?" His father put him in his bunk, kissed his head, and told him to rest. They'd be home tomorrow. Home! Devin smiled as his eyes grew heavy.
Corso rejoined his wife in bed with the water she'd asked for. "I found Devin on the floor outside the galley. I put him back to bed, but I wonder what he was doing out there?"
Miriah shrugged. "He's a little bored, I think. Not a lot to do on the ship sometimes. I think, next run, we'll bring some more things from his room at home, maybe that will help him. He seemed fine when I put him to bed earlier."
"Oh I don't think anything is really wrong, he just seemed a little worried. Are you doing okay, cyare? He usually knows if there's something wrong with you."
"I am excellent, sugar," she answered as she put her head on his shoulder, much as Devin had. He wondered what was going on with his oldest son as he stroked the bump where his youngest lay.
Week after week they continued to feed and ferry refugees to the four destination planets. Every trip, Corso watched his wife expand with their youngest son and his oldest son develop even more control over the force. When they took their week's break, and landed again on the ranch, he descended the ramp with Devin in his arms. The ranch looked great, he thought, and they started toward the house, Miriah lagging behind. When he noticed she was not with them, he turned to see her standing near the ship, looking over the rich green pastures. "Mir, what's wrong," he asked.
"Nothing," she said, turning to them. "Just being thankful that we have all this. It's really beautiful, and sometimes I forget how lucky we've been." She made her way to them and hugged them both, and they walked to the house. The week would be too short, Corso thought. Way too short.