"Mama, the 'Mander is big," Tali said, her eyes wide. "Never felt her like this before."
Lana frowned and thought about the last time she saw Miriah, just the day before. She had looked healthy, her skin luminous, and Lana didn't think she'd put on all the weight she'd lost while Corso was gone. Then she realized what Tali said. "Oh, you mean her force?" she asked, and Tali nodded vigorously. Lana took Jaren over to the blanket she'd spread on the floor, toys scattered about, and let him down gently on it before sitting with Tali on the sofa. "Remember when I told you about the very bad force user that she had to fight?" Again, Tali nodded. "Well, when that happened, Master Devin helped her, and since then, the Commander's had a more notable force presence."
"But why?" Tali asked, meeting Lana's gaze.
"Master Magdalane and Grand Master Sarai had very big force presences, right? Master Magdalane holds a title that can be given to only one Jedi in a generation. She is called the Barsen'thor, which means that she is the most noted Jedi in her age group." Lana could see that Tali was hanging on every word, and continued. "So she's very powerful, and then you know Master Devin. He is called the One, the one Jedi who can balance the force. Tali, Master Devin is the most powerful force user I've ever known."
"'Cept Merida," Tali said. Lana only studied her daughter, but didn't respond. She'd heard about the little time bending that Merida had done to ask Lord Scourge some questions, and realized that Tali might be right. "But the 'Mander, she is different now."
"So she is," Lana murmured. She'd grown used to seeing Miriah's eyes now, and all had returned to normal around the exec wing. She reached out and felt the warm, purple pulsing force that was Miriah, and smiled.
Mia took her datapad out for the hundredth time today, letting go of a little of her anxiety when she saw no message waiting for her. She had to admit, she liked being in the secure area. Everyone was close, she could easily meet Lara and Caly for tea, she'd had several occasions to talk to Coleen and see Caitlin. Devin took the children for their school day and she picked them up, so she had more time to herself and, since he'd had her tub transferred to the apartment, she'd been more rested and relaxed. Still, she knew she couldn't let her guard down, especially now. She had just exited the building when she saw the guard detail at the cantina, and waited for Miriah to emerge.
Miriah saw the silvery hair at the outside edge of the guards and wasn't sure if it was Mags or Mia. She greeted her daughter in law with a solid hug. "Mia, you look wonderful," she said, and saw Mia blush. "Join us for lunch, Corso is on his way."
"I have to go get the munchkins from school," Mia explained. "But we'll stop by on the way home."
"That would be awesome. I feel like it's Life Day again, having you all so close." Miriah heard Corso's deep laugh and smiled. "Hurry back, hon."
Mia nodded and set off again. It really was so great to be where everyone else is, she thought.
Miriah had just taken her seat when she saw Nico come up the steps and look around. "Nico," she said, and he turned to smile at her.
"Commander, you're looking well," he said, and crossed the few feet to her.
"I need to sit down and talk to you somewhere without all these ears," she said, and he grinned.
"Anytime," he said. "I'll stop by this afternoon?" At Miriah's nod, he said, "See you then." He saw Lana and hurried to meet her, wondering what Miriah needed.
"Gonna ask him some questions about Satele's memory?" Corso guessed, and Miriah nodded.
"I just noticed little things that I wanted to clear up," she said, and then turned on her smile as the waitress approached. They ordered the lunch special and Miriah scooted closer to Corso. "It's terrible weather out."
Corso felt the cool air from the smuggler hangar and put her arm around his wife. "I'll keep you warm, darlin'." He'd been trying for the past couple of days to make sure she had everything she needed to keep her at a comfortable temperature, and hopefully, not sick. They'd both read the med center reports of those ill with this year's virus, and he really wanted Miriah to get through without catching it this year. "I did hear that the landing field was plowed, so we're resuming flights."
"I bet Ian was there at first light," she said, chuckling. Corso nodded, looking around the cantina. He spotted three detail guards in just a few seconds, and relaxed again. He was looking away when Miriah said that she'd had a message from Alec Ranin. His head whipped around so fast he was momentarily dizzy.
"What did he want?" Corso tried to be casual but the tension in his voice alerted Miriah that he was not happy about Ranin's contact.
"He just wanted to visit," Miriah assured her husband, who still looked angry. "He said he has some ideas to talk about. I told him he could come, and sent him a ten day pass." Miriah patted Corso's arm, and then pointed to where she could see Declan running, Merida right behind him, heading their way. Miriah went to her knees, holding both of the children close, as Mia chuckled behind them.
"They're faster than me, for sure," Mia said, all but forgotten when Declan spotted Corso. He was sitting in his grandfather's lap now, chattering away. Still on her knees, Miriah was deep in force conversation with Merida.
"Mimi, you are like us now," Merida observed.
"Like how?" Miriah wondered how Merida would put the changes she could feel.
"In the force, silly. You always are a little bit, but now you're much bigger." Miriah smiled at that, and knew that Merida was right. Devin's force had awakened her somehow. "Can I be a flower girl at your wedding?"
Miriah quirked her brow, "How did you know about that?" she asked.
"Caly thinks about it a lot, and talks to Momma. I know how, I did it for Aunt Coleen."
"You did a great job. Let me talk it over with Momma and Caly, okay?" Merida nodded vigorously, and Miriah stood and took her seat, helping Merida sit beside her. "Mia, sit with us and eat."
"That sounds wonderful. Glad you're getting a break," Mia responded, and Miriah felt the fatigue in her daughter in law.
"I think you need one, too," Miriah said softly, touching Mia's arm. Mia's energy felt almost frantic, and Miriah wondered if all was well with her and Devin.
Ian was on his way to Coruscant, and couldn't be happier. Soon, he thought, I can be with Kira, and help her through both the pregnancy and her work. He'd found a teacher for his Jedi classes and hadn't hesitated, picking up a military transport that was sending supplies and more Jedi for the Coruscant temple. He found that he was truly exhausted, and once the ship hit the hyperlane, he was asleep, dreaming about his future. He was still sleeping deeply when the ship slowed and then picked up the correct hyperlane for the Core Worlds of Republic space. When he finally woke, he made his way into the galley, where he realized it was the middle of the night standard Coruscanti time. He took one of the prepackaged meals that had been loaded on board, and placed it in the warmer, leaning on the side of the counter. When it was done, he sat in one of the booths, and ate slowly, relishing the feeling of doing something to fix his situation with Kira. What can I do, he thought, to show her this can work? He mused as he ate, and when he was done, he went back to the quarters he'd been assigned and took out his datapad. Kira my love, I'm on the way. The snow was crazy deep, like Hoth, and it took a little bit to get the landing fields cleared. He thought about how he felt and how he could make the words show what was in his heart, but he just couldn't find the right things to say, and fell asleep again with the datapad on his chest.
Miriah enjoyed her lunch and when she stood, she gave a sleeping Merida to Corso. The little girl's eyes briefly opened, but then she snuggled into her Papa and relaxed into naptime. Mia held Declan, who was also asleep, and Miriah watched Corso follow Mia into the apartment building. It's nice to have them here, Miriah thought again, and waited for the detail to form around her. She went to her office and sat, hoping to resume her work on the possibility of a new town on Odessen. Instead, she heard Nico comimg down the hallway and sat back, gathering her thoughts.
Caly had her own datapad close, the plans for the vow renewal on the top. I've got to get Mom on board, she thought, and wondered what she could do. She doesn't want to talk at work, I get that, but her days off start tomorrow. Then, she decided, she'd get everything settled. Miss Solasta would do the vows part, she had already agreed, and Uncle Aric would walk with Mom down the aisle. Merida would be a flower girl, since she already had the dress. That's all Mom will probably want. Satisfied with her plan, she exited her apartment to find Mia standing outside. I still forget they live on this floor now, she thought, and then wondered what had Mia so anxious. Even with her lack of force ability, Caly could read Mia's body language. "Mia," she called, and saw her sister in law jump. Walking to her, Caly hugged her close. "What's going on with you?" Caly asked gently.
"Oh, nothing," Mia said, smiling. "What wonderful things are you cooking these days?" Caly recognized the distraction, but went with it, and explained her latest video idea. She'd already turned the cookbook in to her agent, and was mostly in a waiting phase, which she didn't mind. When she got to the point of the vow renewal, Mia beamed at the thought of seeing Merida in her dress again.
"We would just change the ribbons to purple, and she'd be all set," Mia agreed. "Has Mom signed off on all of this?"
Caly sighed. "No, but she's off tomorrow and I'm going to try and talk to her then." Mia whipped her head around.
"That's Declan, he's awake," she explained, and Caly watched her hurry off. Something's up there, she thought, but when she exited the building and saw Torian, her mind silenced all the distracting buzz and she only saw him. Together, they walked out to the mess hall and had a fun dinner with friends. It was only later that she remembered Mia's unease and made a mental note to talk to her mother about that as well.
Aric had heard of Alec Ranin's request and was glad for it. He had been impressed with the journalists' integrity when he was on Odessen before, and thought that he would enjoy the stay. Maura was a little apprehensive. "You saw how they were when Corso was on Dantooine! What if he is just coming to get the scoop on our family? Or our missions? Shae Vizla has kept her insurrection quiet so far, but if he hears about it..." Aric shushed her with a kiss.
"He's only coming to visit. He didn't reveal any secrets last time, did he?"
Maur scowled. "No, but.."
Aric grinned at his wife. "You're really into this job now, love. I like that. But Alec? He's okay." He put his arm around Maura then. "Let's go eat, I'm starved." That earned him a poke in the ribs. "Well, I'm starved for Corso's barbeque, then."
"Now that, I can believe." Together they entered the apartment, and immediately smelled the food. Corso came behind them, the ack dog Smoke on his heels, a large platter of meat in his hands. He had missed cooking outside so much that he built a pit for a fire and racks and such, and now it was almost as good as the rig he'd had on Dantooine.
"Good timing," he said, chuckling.
"Yeah, that smells amazing," Aric said, and they followed him into the kitchen. Miriah had all the other dishes cooked, and all they were waiting on was Mags.
Magdalane had been called to the room where they had all worked on the mission to fine Satele Shan and her ship. Once there, she picked up a datapad on the table, as she'd been instructed, and started the recording. Lana appeared, and told her of the Voss enclave's request and monitoring, which was good news. She also reported on the students and Grand Master Shan in Coruscant, which brought a pang of longing for her son. Lana's last item was that there was a large shipment of turbolasers being gathered on Balmorra, which had caught the Empire's attention. "Master Magdalane, we want to use an operative there for help with this, and it's someone you have a past with. His code name is Zenith. We've not mentioned your name, but he will be valuable in keeping those turbolasers out Imperial hands." Magdalane sat down in the chair. Zenith. Who would have thought he was still around, she mused. Still, if he can fight the Empire, he'll jump in without delay. She glanced at the chrono mounted on the wall, and stood. Miriah hasn't said anything, but then, she may not have been briefed on this. She shook her head. If there was ever a time to revisit old relationships, she knew it was now.