Last time: The mission at the nightclub went up in smoke.

Now: Sasha and Cien have a nice talk in the mindspace.

Chapter 12- Late Night Chat

Sasha? Cien's voice called out in her mind.

Sasha, who was sitting on the bed in her room in the embassy, deep in thought perked up at Cien's voice. They had returned to the embassy not too long ago and she had just finished a long shower where she tried to calm down while Viran went to go take care of a few things. Closing her eyes, Sasha let out a breath. She realized that she must have been projecting her feelings in the Force. She centered herself and answered.

Hey, was all she responded with.

Everything okay? Cien asked.

It's fine. Just tired, Sasha responded with a sigh.

There was a slight pause before Cien spoke again. I sensed something happened earlier, everything going okay there?

We found a cartel cell and the whole thing went up in smoke, Sasha admitted. And marshal J'onz has really irked me to the point where I am ready to punch him the next time I see him. She vented.

Really? Cien said, and she could hear the quirked eyebrow. What did he do?

He blamed me for the whole thing falling apart and then he threatened to fire Kait because she and I apparently "messed up". It wasn't our fault. We just didn't expect the owner of the bar to be that Lieutenant guy you and I confronted last time, Sasha explained.

There was a momentary pause. Do you want to talk 'in person'? She asked.

Yeah, we can, Sasha said. Taking a second, she focused more on the Force and joined Cien in the mindspace. She sat down cross legged on the ground.

Cien approached out of the darkness in her Mandalorian armor. "Hello." Cien said as she came forward and sat down with her.

"Hey, how's the Coppers doing?" Sasha asked, looking up at her.

"Good." Cien said, "we went to Morgual today, revisited that temple." Cien said.

"Oh really? Did you guys find anything interesting? Or was it just a big pile of rubble?" Sasha asked, curiously.

"It seemed like just a big pile of rubble." Cien started, "and then as we were looking around the site looking for evidence of the raiders, Wynnie found part of the mask." Cien said a little troubled. "I heard that voice again."

"Are you okay?" Sasha asked, frowning slightly.

"Yes, it was just a faint whisper." Cien said, "but I… didn't stay for anything more. I left as soon as I heard it." She admitted. Hating to admit she ran.

"Really? Well I'm glad you're all okay," Sasha said. "How are the twins doing by the way?"

"They're doing well." Cien said, with a slightly troubled smile. "I'm still getting used to the idea of all of this, though. It's so strange to have to be protective of them. To be a mother before being a Sith Lord or anything else." She said. "I ran from that voice for their sake, when otherwise I would have just scolded it again and pressed forward." She said, looking away.

"Cien don't feel ashamed," Sasha assured her. "You did the right thing. Trust me, I completely understand making decisions for your child's sake. When you're expecting, you are not only looking out for yourself but them too. You are already proving to be a great mom, sis."

Cien smiled faintly at that. "Thanks." She said, "So what happened today?" She asked Sasha.

"We discovered the cartel was working out of a nightclub. So Kait and I dressed in disguises to go in and grab intel. However, while we were trying to get access to the back room the owner of the bar turned on us and then the militia stormed in literally seconds later," Sasha vented. "Then a huge fire fight broke out in the club. I nearly got crushed by a falling lighting gantry. And well… everything went to osik as Kyr would say."

Cien looked at her worriedly. "And the owner was Cordova's lieutenant that we met at Selina's bar?" She asked.

"Yes, apparently Selina snitched on us to him last time," Sasha growled. "He knew what to expect. He was ready for me to get him drunk to use a Jedi Mind Trick on him. He was kriffing ready." She groaned as she leaned over and buried her face in her hands, frustrated.

Cien looked at her worriedly for a moment. "Well I guess next time you see him you'll just have to use a more direct approach." She suggested with a slight smirk.

"Yeah, a stun bolt and a pair of binders," Sasha said with a snort. "He got away. If I wasn't drunk, I might have thought to tie him down."

"Well, it sounds like you guys made it out safely, that's what matters." Cien said, "what happened with that lieutenant, you know to be ready for him next time."

"I guess you're right," Sasha said, sighing. She looked up from her hands with a smirk. "When did you become the Jedi?" She joked.

Cien looked at her a little surprised, and only half of it was meant in jest. "I'm no Jedi, I'm just a big sister."

"I know. That just sounded like something I would say," Sasha said, smiling softly. "But I'm grateful for you being my big sister. I really needed to vent about this. I could have talked to Viran and Oppie about it, but they are just as pissed as I am."

"Have you tried threatening him?" Cien suggested with a malicious smirk. "Slamming someone against a wall has a way of making them stop being jerks."

"You mean J'onz?" Sasha asked. "Yeah, Oppie threatened him already after he threatened to fire Kait. But I'll admit the thought had crossed my mind." She smirked at that.

Cien looked at her for a moment. "Wait, Op threatened him?" She said, looking at Sasha through a furrowed brow.

"Yeah, after everything came to an end, J'onz was pissed at me for causing the Lieutenant to tip his hand. And then he threatened to fire Kait as he blamed her for the Lieutenant escaping," Sasha explained. "Oppie had enough of him belittling me and her so he got in J'onz face."

Cien stared at her for a moment. "You wouldn't happen to have this on tape, would you?"

"No, why?" Sasha asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"I'd just pay money to see Op get in someone's face. The only other person I've seen him do that with was Dracul." Cien replied with a slight snort of laughter.

"I saw him do the same with Von Signa," Sasha pointed out. "I'll admit it's scary to see him like that sometimes. But at least I know he cares about us and he is doing it to protect us."

"Oh true, and I didn't get to see what happened with Signa." Cien said in agreement. "Are you doing okay, though?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," Sasha said with a nod. "Better now that I've gotten this off my chest. Thanks for letting me vent by the way."

"No problem at all." Cien said. "I needed to talk about what happened today so thank you for letting me... Vent as well."

"Of course," Sasha said, smiling.

Cien started chuckling. "On a less dark note, I have gotten to see Kyr as an overprotective dad the last few days."

"Oh really?" Sasha asked, curiously. "Do tell. What happened?"

"Wynnie has a suitor that is trying to gain her attention, even though she doesn't seem aware of it." Cien said with a grin. "And Kyr is not happy with him at all. His first act was to invite him to go out shooting together, in fact."

Sasha burst into laughter. "Are you serious? That's hilarious! What's this guy like? I mean, I'm curious to see who wants to date Wynnie," she said, chuckling. "She doesn't really strike me as the dating type."

"He seems to think she is." Cien replied with a twinkle in her eye. "He's a new lieutenant to the Defiant, leading a platoon of marines. A very nice young man, in all respects. And you should hear what the admiral thinks of him." Cien said with a smile, "especially after Kyr invited him to go shooting."

"Oh what does she think of him? I get the feeling she may also be very protective of Wynnie like Kyr is," Sasha mused.

"Well." Cien started, "seeing as he's her son she seems to like him quite a bit."

Sasha started to laugh, but choked on it. "Wait what? Seriously? How did she react to Kyr asking him out to go shooting? Because I feel like a Mandalorian asking you to go shooting would be a very terrifying venture." She giggled.

"She thought it was hilarious, I think, because Kyr didn't know he was her son until after she found out about it while we were having dinner. She definitely didn't let on to Kyr that she thought it was hilarious though, at least not for a while." Cien said, laughing.

"That is hilarious!" Sasha laughed. "I wish I could have seen it for myself!"

"I know, that's another moment I wish I had recorded." Cien said with a smirk. "But Kyr has still been giving him disapproving glances even since he found out, and I can't help but feel like I am catching a glimpse of Kyr in years to come when…" Cien paused, "when the twins are in that same sort of situation." She said a little more wistfully.

"That's if they are girls or a girl," Sasha chuckled. "I get the feeling if they are both boys or at least one, it might be a different story. Either way, I guess yeah this would be the best glimpse into what he might be like."

"Yes," Cien said with a smirk. "And I feel sorry for whoever those future suitors may be."

"Oh yeah," Sasha said smiling. "I'm curious how Viran might react when Lana gets older. But I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

Cien considered that for a moment. "I can't help but think he might be worse than Kyr. Especially with Lana."

"Who knows. Maybe," Sasha shrugged. "She really has become daddy's girl. So probably." She giggled at that.

Cien laughed at that. "So, how have things been going with Kait?" Cien asked after a moment.

"Pretty good," Sasha said. "She has been really helpful and everything. Plus she is a hell of a shot. And is quite an actress. I think she's pretty cool. Also she did save my life back in the nightclub, so I owe her."

"How? From the light gantry you mentioned?" Cien asked, furrowing her brow at the thought of Sasha's life needing to be saved.

"Yeah, I was fighting off some cartel goons," Sasha explained. "And I sensed the gantry falling, but before I could react, she had run across the room and pushed me out of the way."

"You weren't able to catch it?" Cien asked with a furrowed brow.

"No, I wasn't," Sasha said, shaking her head. "I was knocked to the floor and away from the beam. But had Kait not jumped in to save me, I would have been able to. It would have been close, but I would have gotten it."

"Oh." Cien said, blinking, "I'm glad you're okay."

"Thanks," Sasha said. "Just a little tipsy is all." She chuckled.

Cien chuckled. "So... how's Op doing?" She tried to ask a little evasively.

"He's okay. And so is Viran," Sasha said, nodding. "I mean aside from being pissed at J'onz they are fine." She then clapped her hands together. "Oh but you should have seen their faces when Kait and I came out all dressed up for the club! I have never seen either of them so flustered in all my life!"

"Wait, what?" Cien looked confused, "How were you dressed?"

"Uh, nice long dresses with heels and our hair and makeup done," Sasha described. "I thought we looked pretty good even though I could barely walk in those heels. And Viran said we looked great."

"Ah, yes I can imagine." A smile grew on Cien's face. "And Op didn't have anything to say?" She asked, amused.

"Not really. He was quiet," Sasha said, shrugging. "But I think he complimented how Kait looked."

"Ah, I see." Cien said, trying to suppress a knowing smirk.

"What?" Sasha asked, confused by her reaction.

"Oh, nothing, never mind." Cien said, trying to hide a smirk.

"Okay," Sasha chuckled. "I think I'm going to call it. It's late enough as it is. Give Kyr a hug for us. Talk tomorrow?"

"Sure thing, it's nearly dinner time here. Give everyone a hug for me as well." Cien said, standing up.

"Will do," Sasha said, standing up. She, however, came to a stop. "Uh, what's that?" She asked looking past Cien.

"What's wh-" Cien said, turning to look and stopping mid sentence. Behind them, in the distance from where Cien had emerged from the darkness were two faint lights. They'd never seen that in the mindspace before. "Oh." Cien said.

"Are those supposed to be the twins?" Sasha asked.

"I… suppose so." Cien said, "I guess we never spoke in here when you were pregnant with Lana, did we?" Cien said quietly.

"No, we did not," Sasha said, shaking her head. "So I guess that's something to keep in mind that we're not alone in here."

"I guess not." Cien said, looking at a physical manifestation of her children. "I don't really even have a bump yet." She said quietly, blinking at them. This was the first time she'd ever seen them in any way.

"Well you kind of have one," Sasha pointed out. "It's easier for me to see than you. But this is really cool, Cien."

"Yeah." Cien said, looking at them. She collected herself and turned back to Sasha. "Have a good night." She said as she pulled Sasha into a tight hug.

"Good night, sis," Sasha said, hugging her back. She then pulled away and returned to the real world, ready to finally go to sleep.

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