Aric pounded his fists on the desktop, making all the items on it jump. He'd gone directly to the office from the ship, anxious to check out a Galactic News Network story that Solasta had forwarded to him. When he'd watched the recording, he immediately called the company commander on Dantooine to ask for a protective detail. Now, he had to go tell Miriah that there was no more hiding. The galaxies knew that Corso Riggs was not on Odessen, and they'd spun it to make it seem as if he and Miriah were splitting up. Dammit! He stood and took a few deep breaths, then started out across the war room.
Magdalane sat with Miriah at the kitchen table, eating breakfast. "So, how was it?" Mags asked.
"Well, I figured that we'd ravish each other right off the bat, but it wasn't like that." Miriah saw her sister's face, and giggled inside at her droll expression. "After we napped, we actually took the time to be tender with each other, not to say we didn't ravish…oh, you didn't mean that," Miriah said, her expression showing how much she still loved teasing her Jedi sister. "We talked, a lot, and he's on the way home."
"Excellent," Mags responded. "Listen, Mir, you have to come to the apartment. I was packing the craft room up and found…" she was interrupted by Aric, who looked mad enough to hit someone. After Aric's news, Miriah turned to her sister.
"We'll get together later, Mags," Miriah told her, and Mags hugged her sister. Back to the madness that was leading the Alliance, Mags thought, and made her way to work.
Maura had seen Aric as he stormed out of the executive wing, and sighed. The wedding was a month away, and now, with the gown change, both she and Coleen wanted to change some of the flowers, and she still had to ask Mir about the cake. The conference was immediately following the wedding, and Maura felt overwhelmed. Now I see why Miriah is always tired, she thought. While Lana was familiar with the conference set up and logistics, it was new to Maura and she was grateful that Lana was back, at least part time. Standing to see if Lana was in yet, she saw Aric and Miriah coming back into the offices, and followed them instead. Once in Miriah's office, she saw the grim scowl on her sister's face, not the look she expected.
Miriah keyed up the news story and they all listened to the audio. "We actually have some news originating in the Alliance this morning. It seems that Corso Riggs, husband of the Commander of the Eternal Alliance, has been living on Dantooine for the past month. Our sources told us that he came alone, and has remained alone. We can only speculate, of course, but does this mean that their marriage is over? They've been together quite a long time, and our source knew of no conflicts. Perhaps Mr. Riggs is pursuing the illegal swoop racing events that have popped up all over, or is overseeing the ranch that bears his name, but it seems odd that a couple that have always appeared so close are now spending time apart. Time will tell, but we'll keep you informed." Aric heard Miriah's sigh.
"It never stops, does it?" Miriah said, and shook her head. "At least he's coming home."
"Mir, it might be a good thing to send him to investigate this swoop racing. It's popped up on Onderon, too, and I've got Theron looking into it there," Aric stated, his voice modulated to appeal to Miriah. He was aware that this was just another blow to her. He cautiously met her gaze, which was piercing.
"If you think that's necessary, we'll survive here," Miriah finally said, but both Maura and Aric heard the defeat in her tone.
Corso was packing things in boxes, whistling happily, when his datapad chimed. He reached over for it and frowned. Encrypted, he thought. Why? He made the necessary authentications and waited for the message to be visible. Hmm, swoop racing? Interesting. But that will keep me here a little longer. Oh, Mir, he thought. I'm so sorry. Aric's message also mentioned a news story, so naturally he had to hear the sordid remarks. Shaking his head, he called Miriah.
Miriah was back at the apartment when she received the call. "Hey, sugar," she said, and he could see she was upset.
"Darlin', I want nothing but to be with you," he told her. "Does Aric really think this is best?"
"He does, we discussed it this morning," Miriah confirmed. "And I know. We do what we need to do there, and then come home."
"I miss you, my love," he said, and saw the emotions reflected in her eyes. "At least, the protection detail makes more sense now."
"I'm glad Aric did that. Just, be careful and stay in touch?"
"I surely will, darlin'. You, too." They said their goodbyes and Corso held the holo in his hand for a few minutes after, his eyes closed, trying to calm the urge to take off for Odessen.
Caly sat, open mouthed, staring at the holo. What the kark, she thought. She was still and silent when Torian found her minutes after she'd seen the news. Concerned, he pulled her into his embrace. "What's going on?" he asked her, and she related what she'd just seen. "Vultures! They just do that to get people all upset, sweetheart."
"I know, but what about Mom?" Caly felt her shock turn to outrage. "She knows better, but this has to sting."
"Actually, it might be a good thing, get him home sooner," Torian told her, stroking her hair.
Caly sighed. "Maybe you're right." She took comfort in being with her husband and made a mental note to check in with her mother soon.
Devin had gone to see Miriah shortly after being informed of the news item. "Are you going to be okay with this?" he asked her.
"As long as it's not too long," Miriah replied, but Devin saw her aura go darker. "We've made it through worse."
"Come, have dinner with us," he said, but Miriah shook her head.
"All I want to do is sleep," she told him, giving him a reassuring pat on the arm. This is what Devin worried about most, that his mother would pull her shell around her again and just exist.
"Okay then, but only today. By tomorrow, everything will be clearer and we'll be getting ready to welcome Dad back. You have to keep yourself strong, Mom. Now, the Empire as well as the Republic will be watching for any weakness."
"You're right," Miriah admitted. "But today, I need to process and plan." Devin hugged her tightly, and wished it was all over.
Corso pulled a packed gear bag from the items he was planning to take back to Odessen, and went out to his speeder. Once he was on his way to town, he thought about the best way to find out about the swoop races, figuring that the cantina was the most likely source. I really hate letting Miriah down, he thought, but I guess we also need this intel. He opened the throttle on the speeder, determined to get started.
Maura had all the changes made to the flowers, and went in search of Miriah, whom she found at home. "Mir, I need you," Maura said, and saw Miriah's head come up from her datapad. "Are you going to be able to do Coleen's cake?"
"Of course, Mo. I always said I would. Have you guys settled on a design?" Miriah had been assured that they didn't want all the spun sugar flowers that Caly had, and she'd been glad. Maura took her datapad over to where Miriah was sitting, and showed her sister the simple, elegant cake.
"This, now that we've switched dresses and flowers," Maura said and saw Miriah frown.
"You changed dresses?" she asked, and Maura realized that Mags hadn't had a chance to tell their sister of the discoveries in Sarai's craft room.
"Mom made some beautiful dresses, Mags found them last night," Maura explained. "You have to go see them! She made a wedding gown for Coleen, and it's so right, so much of what Coleen wanted but we couldn't find. She made dresses for all of us, and yours…" The ringing holo interrupted Maura's excited explanation, and Miriah saw it was Corso.
"I'm sorry, Maura, I really need to get this," she said, and Maura nodded her understanding.
"I'll talk to you later then." With a cheerful wave, Maura headed out.
"Hey," came Corso's voice a moment before his image materialized. "I'm going into the cantina to see if I can get some info on this racing stuff. It's not going on in this region, or if it is, it's well hidden. I just wanted to catch you before you went to bed."
"I'm just settling down," she assured him. "Be careful, please, Corso. I know it's Dantooine, but it's not the same planet we left." He could see the worried frown, and tried to reassure her.
"I'm only going to see if anyone has any info, that's all, darlin'. You get some rest, now, okay? I'll call tomorrow, tell you how it went." He saw her plump a bed pillow against the sofa arm and lay back. What in the stars, he thought, feeling the stirrings of concern. "Mir, are you sleeping on the sofa?"
"Our bed is for us. I can't sleep there without you, so I started sleeping out here."
Corso just stared at her and felt all the guilt he'd heaped upon himself weigh on his shoulders. Clearing the knot in his throat, he nodded. "We'll be back there soon, I promise. Love you so much, Mir."
"Love you, too, sugar." He stared at the holo for several minutes, wishing he'd just gone back with Nico. He had parked the speeder, and looked across the town square at the sun, which was still high in the clear blue sky. He turned when he heard a rustling behind him.
The deputy only sighed. "Son, don't go in there. We all know what was on the news. I'd rather tell you what we know than have some woman trying to find out if the rumors are true." Corso's eyes popped out of his head, how did anybody hide anything here?
"Yes, sir, I'd appreciate that," Corso said, nodding.
"Well then, you'll need to go where we sent those Imp bastards packing last year," the deputy said. "And we still have the garrison there, so you'll have some back up if you need it."
Corso made his way back to the speeder then, and stopped. "I'd hug you, but that would probably start rumors, too," he told the man, and they laughed together for a minute before Corso made his way back to the ranch. I'll catch tomorrow's troop shuttle, he thought, and almost called Miriah again. No, he thought, I'll wait. Maybe she's sleeping. He remembered her sad little bed on the sofa and his heart ached again.
Magdalane felt the presence, and raced to the war room. Devin arrived only a few minutes later, his eyes already purple. "They're on the orbital station," he said softly, and Mags nodded.
"I woke Mir up, she'll be…" They could see Miriah approaching them, the HK units that normally guarded the apartment clanking behind her. Her hair was wild and she had a crease along her face from her pillowcase, and Devin couldn't help but smile.
"What do we know?" Miriah asked, twisting her hair into a messy bun on her head. Devin gave her the information they'd gathered so far, even the type of ship they'd travelled on.
"They're on the orbital station, and I've given them clearance to land here," Devin said, and Miriah nodded. Aric appeared from the elevator, hot drinks in his hands. Miriah accepted the hot cocoa with a grateful smile. "We'll receive them here and get them settled, then set up a meeting tomorrow. Go, Mom, and rest. I've got this." After going through the details of their rooms, which would be in the temple and had been ready for a week now, Miriah yawned widely and rubbed her face.
"Come on, Mir," Magdalane said, taking Miriah's arm. "Let us go and meet this with fresh eyes. I don't feel anything that would make me think this is going to be an easy meeting, and I'd like to be a part of it." Nodding, Miriah followed her sister after hugging her son.
Lana sat up in bed, pulling the covers off Nico in the process. She hadn't felt this presence in a very long time, but there was no mistaking it. The former Wrath, the one who had gone on to hunt Vitiate. She'd heard things, a lot of things, about him, but knew he was not here just out of curiosity. A wave of pure exhaustion hit her then, and she cursed under her breath. "What, hon?" Nico mumbled.
"Nothing, love. Go back to sleep." The sooner her full force power was restored, the better, Lana thought, and hoped that things were not about to shift to crazy again.
Devin walked to the military hangar, and saw that their guests were already on final approach. He could feel the force changes, but no malice in them. Both were strong, but he knew all he had to do was pull on Odessen's force and he could easily overpower them. With a deep breath, he watched them leave the ship and walked out to greet them. One was a small woman with reddish-brown hair, definitely Jedi. The other was a pureblood Sith, but his force was almost neutral. The pureblood seemed almost shocked to see others of his race in military dress, but then his yellow eyes focused on Devin.
"I've heard of you," he said as Devin stopped in front of him.
"Well, that definitely gives you an advantage," Devin said.
"Oh, don't mind him. He's just tired and hungry," the Jedi said. She introduced herself and her companion.
"It's very late, and we have space for you arranged in the temple," Devin explained, and escorted them over. Food and drink were in both rooms, and he felt both travelers relax. "When you're ready, come across the courtyard to the elevator, and someone will come and get you inside. The Commander is anxious to meet with you." With a polite bow, he left.
On his way home, he wondered what they would request, and decided it wouldn't help to worry about it. His thoughts drifted to his mother, who at least was sleeping. Whatever we're into next, I will be taking her spot, he thought, and it made him feel more settled.