The footage of the Commander and her husband aired all over wild space, and the reviews were all positive. Alec sat back at his editing desk and sighed with relief. All had gone as it should have, and he'd even had an offer to buy his footage, though he didn't think the Republic understood why he'd refused. The rose petals flew around and landed on the happy couple as they made their way to where they would have dinner, and being there, he knew they truly only had eyes for each other. When they were safely inside, Alec had thanked his videographer and headed back to the station. The clip of the Commander kicked off his very first news cast, and everything had gone smoothly. The colors of the video were vibrant, and even though he'd seen it many times, Alec couldn't help but see the beauty in the clip. Now, he only wanted a bite of dinner himself and his warm bed, all the usual thoughts and plans cast aside.

Corso held Miriah in his arms, in perfect harmony, and when their dance ended he led her to their place for dinner. This has been altogether perfect, he thought, and when Miriah sipped her wine, he took her other hand. "Darlin'?" Miriah smiled at him, and he forged ahead. "We're going to enjoy dinner and after, we're going to Rishi for a few days."

"But I..."

"No, not as long as before, but still a nice break. Devin's here with Lana, and there's no reason we can't take little trip," he said before she could protest. At her lack of words, even after he'd stopped speaking, he kissed her nose. Good, he thought. That went well.

Magdalane had gone back home for a quick shoe change. I used to be able to wear heels, she thought, but not anymore. She was on her way back to the dinner when she felt a force signature that had her curiosity peaked, and instead of going to the elevator out to where her family was celebrating, she found herself in the military wing, her eyes seeking what her force had already told her. Arn Peralun was on Odessen, and she finally caught his eye as he made his way from the landing field, and felt a flutter when he smiled at her.

"Barsen'thor," Arns greeted her as he drew nearer. "What a pleasure it is to see you again."

"It's wonderful to have you on Odessen," Magdalane answered. "Are you hoping to see the Commander, because..."

"I actually have instructions to find you," he replied softly, and Mags felt her eyebrows go up.

"Then let's go and have dinner," she said. With a nod, Arn followed Magdalane to the cantina. I can't even imagine what's going on, she thought, and why I'm involved. I'll see what he's been sent to tell us, she told herself, sitting across from Arn. Through her force connection with Miriah, Mags told her that she had been called away, and Miriah only acknowledged her message. When they had steaming plates of food in front of them, Mags relaxed and enjoyed hearing about Arn's knight trials and how they had ended successfully. After they were done eating, and were sipping hot caf, Mags asked the question she'd been holding onto. "Why me?" she asked.

Arn looked around them to see if anyone was paying attention. "I'm going to send you some info on it, but I believe that I should brief you and the Commander in a secure location."

"Miriah's off on a trip very shortly, but Devin Riggs will step in for her," Magdalane said, noting that Arn's eyes had gone wide.

"I… I suppose that's more than adequate," Arn said, and waited a beat. "But I'm so glad I got to see you again."

His warm smile had Mags feeling better and better. "I'm honored," she replied, and they talked for a bit. Finally, Magdalane's tired eyes made Arn stand.

"Let's meet tomorrow for breakfast, and then we can decide how to proceed," he said, and Mags rose as well. With quick movements, Arn pecked her cheek, and Mags felt her face warm.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she told him, and almost floated to home. She absently tapped a message out to Miriah about her not joining their trip, and fell into bed, her usual loneliness pushed away by the attention of a brand new Jedi knight.

Caly had watched her parents dance and eat, and smile and kiss each other, and felt that special happiness knowing she'd made them a memory they would have forever. Torian pulled her out to dance, and she rested her head on his chest. "Hon, did you think everything went well?" she asked softly.

"It was all just beautiful. Look at your mom, how often do you see her genuinely happy and smiling like that?" Torian thought the whole ceremony was just perfect, and he'd told her so many times. Still, he knew how much Caly had wanted her parents to be happy, to find what had brought them together all those years ago, and erase what had happened the past year. "We'll make them happy when we can tell them…"

"Shh," Caly said. "Mom is force sensitive now, remember? She'll know if we start talking about that here. Besides, there's nothing to tell. Yet."

"I know," Torian said, kissing the top of her head. "But there will be."

"I hope," Caly sighed and kissed her husband.

Mia and Devin had danced as well, but the little ones were getting sleepy. "I'll take them home, and you can stay," Mia told Devin, but he shook his head.

"Let's go say goodnight to Mimi and Papa, okay?" he told the children, and they nodded, the excitement having faded to fatigue. Devin took Declan on his shoulder and Merida skipped in front of them. Hugging both their grandparents, Merida took her mom's hand but turned back to Miriah.

"Mimi, I hope I look so beautiful one day," she said, rubbing the dress between her thumb and forefinger.

"Merida, you already do. Every day," Mimi told her, getting one last hug.

"Have a good trip," Devin said, bending to kiss his mother's cheek.

"We will. Contact me if you need me, though." Miriah felt the first tingle of regret flow through her and wondered if it was a good idea to leave Odessen right now.

"Mom, it's okay," Devin assured her. Miriah nodded quickly and watched her oldest son leave, as Logan came up to say goodnight as well.

"I'll be available, too," Logan said, seeing Miriah's face and her uncertainty. Miriah hugged him and Lara as well, and she could feel James telling her he loved her through the force. Little Lucas was now a toddler, and Corso held him on his knee before letting him go.

"The only misgiving I have about taking you away is not taking them all with us," Corso confessed.

"I agree. Maybe we can plan a trip to Dantooine and take everyone," she mused, and Corso hugged her tightly. They needed this time on Rishi, he told himself, and they deserved a little paradise. Miriah stood, ready to go, and Corso saw Caly rush over to them.

"I hope it was all you dreamed it would be," she said, and Miriah took her face in both her hands and kissed her cheek.

"Sweetheart, it was amazing. I'm not sure now why I was so reluctant." Caly glowed in her mother's praise, and felt Torian's warm hand on her shoulder.

"You guys have a safe trip," Torian said, and hugged Miriah. "We'll take care of things here."

"I know you will," Corso said, hauling his son in law against him in a one armed hug. Turning to Miriah, he grinned. "Let's jet, beautiful."

Maura had seen her sister stand and went to where Aric was having a second piece of cake. Or third, Maura thought, shaking her head. "Mir's getting ready to go, we need to as well," she told him as he held out a bite of cake on his fork. Maura let him feed her and then grabbed his other hand.

"Okay, I'm coming." He grabbed a medium sized box that the catering crew had fixed and followed his wife to where Miriah was waiting on the detail. "Hey, Cor! Meet you at the hangar!"

Corso waved from inside the black armored troopers and the detail set off, a little slower than usual to let Miriah keep pace in her long dress. He felt a little frisson of excitement, knowing that they would be half naked on the sand tomorrow.

Arn had taken a small room in the temple and even though he was admittedly tired, found it hard to fall asleep. The abundance of neutral force on Odessen is amazing, he realized. The addition of the lovely Magdalane was a bonus, too. He was almost positive he felt the same emotions reciprocated, but he valued her alliance too much to take anything for granted. For now, he told himself, he would wait and see. If the force willed it, it would be. He sighed and turned over again. But I wish she were here with me.

Miriah wanted to change out of the dress before going onto the ship. Even as clean as she knew her ship was inside, outside was a different matter, and she really wanted to preserve the fabric. Corso unzipped it and kissed here bare shoulder. "You were a dream, darlin'. I couldn't have pictured you that lovely," he murmured, and Miriah turned in his arms.

"I'm so looking forward to the trip," she admitted. "But I feel something I haven't felt before in the force, and I'm not sure who it is or what it is."

"Whatever it is, I'm sure Devin can handle it," Corso replied, stripping out of his formal suit and into his cargo pants. As he pulled the soft long-sleeved shirt over his head, Miriah flashed back to the first time she'd seen him, dressed almost identically, in the dingy hangar on Ord Mantell. Quickly she turned and dressed herself, opting for a long, rose colored sweater with her leggings and boots. They met at the front door, and Miriah grinned. "Under five minutes," she said, and Corso chuckled. When the door opened to the detail, he took Miriah's hand in his and they moved quickly to the hangar.

Maura rolled her eyes as she took the box from Aric and placed on the galley counter. "You didn't have enough to eat at the reception?" she asked, and Aric shrugged.

"I was hungry," he replied. "Besides, we'll need the calories for Rishi." They were saved from further discussion by Miriah and Corso boarding the ship. Aric joined Corso on the bridge, as Miriah went to where Maura sat on the sofa.

"Mo, will you take my hair down?" Miriah asked, and put her head on Maura's leg. As her sister gently plucked the pins from the elaborate braid, Miriah asked about how everything looked, if everyone enjoyed the dinner, and about the message she'd gotten from Mags.

"Not sure what it's all about, but my sources tell me that Mags had dinner in the cantina with a Jedi knight who had a lot of cybernetics. I'm presuming they were talking about Arn Peralun."

Miriah suddenly sat up. "Arn? Here?"

"Well, not exactly here, as we're well into the hyperlane," Maura replied. "But yes, Arn. And Mags. Not a terrible pairing."

"What if it was business that I needed to be involved in? What could..."

"Mir, you're overreacting. If Mags had needed you, she would have told you before you left, right?"

Miriah sat down and allowed Maura to continue to work on her hair. She was silent until she felt the release of tension on her head and shook out her hair, the waves more pronounced from the tight weaving. "So, Arn and Mags?" she said hesitantly, and Maura smiled.

"Yep. Said they had a leisurely dinner, then parted ways at the elevator." Maura was cautiously optimistic that Mags might have a little fun, seeing how down she'd been last week. Maybe this will be good for her.

Mags woke very early, her anticipation of the day almost too much to bear. She'd been restless all night, and finally just got up and made tea. She was in her morning meditation when she felt Devin respond to her request for a meeting, and agreed on the time. Now, she thought, we wait.

Arn had fallen into a deep sleep, wrapped in the abundant force all around hm. When he woke, he was amazed to find himself well rested and eager to tell Mags and Devin what he'd been sent to tell them. And, he thought, I'll get to at least be here a few days. The though of that cheered him even more, and he whistled through his morning routine, and as he left the temple, he knew that though his news was dire, it would be dealt with.

When Magdalane and Devin entered the command conference room, they were both surprised to see Master Gnost-Dural, as well as another woman they didn't know. Arn was waiting with them.

"This is a surprise," Magdalane said, and saw Arn blush. "Master, you look as if you've seen a ghost."

"I'm sorry for pulling this all together so quickly," Gnost-Dural replied.

"An apt observation, but it wasn't me who saw a ghost," he said, and glanced at the woman who waited near the table. "This is Aryn Leneer. Master Satele Shan connected us. She has interesting news to share." As they listened to Aryn speak, Mags felt her mood grow somber, and she shared a look with Devin. Miriah may not get the break she thought, Mags mused.

On the ship, Aric woke and went to make caf. He was the only one awake, and that was fine with him. He pulled the action report from the holo as they switched to the final hyperlane, and sat back down. He pulled the box he'd taken from the reception to him and reached over the bar for a fork before digging into the large chunk of cake to go with his caf. His eyes widened at the mention of Master Gnost-Dural on Odessen, and wondered if he should tell Mir. Sighing, he knew he would, even if it worried her. He took another large bite. At least we have cake, he thought, and settled back in the booth.