Corso settled into the softness of the large pillows by the crackling fire. They had just seen Mags and Devin off, watched the troop transport shuttle as it rose into the dark sky, and now he watched his wife. Miriah had immediately turned to her kitchen, gathering baking supplies as she worked through the guilt of letting her sister and son go off to hunt Malgus. She'd not slept much before getting up so early, he thought. When he'd asked her, she shrugged and said that she could feel the darkness of the force on the planet but not exactly where. Miriah was more of an enigma than ever since the force awakening, he told himself, but I love every cell of her anyway. He saw her eyes raise to him when he thought that, and smiled.
Devin looked over at his aunt. They stood near the entrance to a cave, having had to dispatch several patrols before reaching it. "I would just destroy everything in here, but there are life forms inside, and I can't spare them if I do that."
"I know," Mags replied. "Let's see what we can do moving through." They approached the entrance and once inside, Devin stopped.
"I can feel Malgus, but he feels...different. Not like most Sith. More like a Zakuulan force user," he said softly.
"What does that mean? Is he still inside?" Mags asked, seeing her nephew's unique combination of force aura.
"His presence lingers, but I can't be sure. If he's here, we'll find him." Devin's voice held total surety, and Mags slowly nodded as they entered the darkness.
Miriah was in her zone, her hands working but her mind working as well, puzzling over the revelations of a Jedi artifact on Dantooine, the amazing early success of the Alliance News Network, and the daily report she'd received from Lana, which indicated that infrastructure was in place to expand the population on Odessen once again, including the arrival of Ian and Kira. She worked without really noticing what she was baking, everything in the kitchen so very familiar. After she'd gone through her list of worries a second time, she felt Corso's hands on her waist, and a second later, his warm lips on her neck. "Darlin', take a break," he whispered, and she nodded, finding his warmth and love too much to resist. She sat at the farmhouse table, and he whipped up a cocoa for her, replenishing his caf and bringing both over to sit across from her. "Aric is going to be so happy," he said, looking at the counter tops now filled with cookies and cakes. Miriah felt her face relax into a smile.
"He does enjoy them," she confirmed, and took a sip of her cocoa. She thought about getting some cookies for them and before she could even stand, the platter was in her hand. She looked at Corso, his eyes now wide. "Did I…?"
Corso just nodded, unable to speak for a second. "How did you do that?"
"I don't know, I was thinking about it and there it was," Miriah said. "Devin would do this when he was little, remember? He wasn't consciously thinking about it then, either." She looked at her hand, fingers splayed, memories dancing in her eyes. "Let's not say anything about this, okay? I'm not sure if I'm excited or apprehensive."
Corso took her hand, kissing the palm before putting it between his own, much larger hands. "You got it," he whispered.
Aric stood beside the bed, stretching. "My feline nose tells me that Mir has been baking," he said. "I don't always agree with her stewing about things, but I can get behind some cookies."
Maura giggled. "You need to be careful, hon. They have a way of making you need new, larger armor." She laughed out loud as he swatted her behind, then made for the shower. Maura joined him there a minute later, still smiling.
"I hope Dev and Mags are doing okay," he said, his face now serious.
"I'm sure that Mir will know if there anything to know yet." Maura had already seen the signs in her younger sister that she'd seen in her older sister many years before. Devin and Mags both had a strong connection with Mir, she thought. Faster than getting a holo out. With renewed desire to find out, Maura quickly showered and was ready sooner than Aric, beating him to the door.
Dev studied his aunt carefully. Mags was slowly getting her breathing under control. The large beast they had just had to kill had taken all of her concentration, and the fact that it was able to make her run around in fear had shaken her terribly. She took a long drink from her water and sighed. "That was pretty tough," he said, and saw her nod. "We can stop if you want, Aunt Mags. There's no way to know if there are more of those in here."
"No, we can't stop now. We have to either find out if Malgus is truly here, or what he was searching for." She closed her eyes, regenerating her force. Devin touched her arm, and Mags felt his force flow through her, pure and sweet.
"Then let's just take a minute here and regroup," he said, and took his own water out, along with a small foil wrapped square of the high grade chocolate Miriah had pressed into his hand earlier that morning. He passed it over to his aunt, pleased when her smile lit her face.
"Mir always seems to know, doesn't she?" Mags unwrapped the treat and let it melt in her mouth, savoring the surge of energy and endorphins.
"It's what makes her a great leader," Devin replied, and Mags nodded. It does indeed, she thought.
Miriah picked her head up from Corso's shoulder, where she'd been resting, and the others paid attention. "Dev says they're moving through the cave now," she reported. "They're fine, just anxious to get done. He says the force is, in his words, 'messed up' in there."
"I'm sure it must be," Maura said. "It's been many years since anyone was there."
"He says there are these strange droids, that keep asking for something that sounds like hamburger." Miriah had to laugh at that, sometimes the creatures and droids seemed to say words when you fought them, she knew first hand.
"At least they're doing okay," Corso said, and pulled Miriah to him on the large pillows. Aric got up to put wood on the fire, the damp day making it seem cooler than usual. Miriah started to get up, making Corso jump to his feet.
"I'm going to get things together for dinner," she explained, and he relaxed.
"I'll help," he told her, following her to the kitchen.
Kira had eaten her fill with Ian in the mess hall and then gone to their apartment. She felt so relieved to be there, and she was undressing as she walked to the bedroom. Without a word, she went to the shower, luxuriating in the plentiful warm water, washing her hair and feeling herself relaxing. Ian held a warm towel for her, one that felt like a cloud on her skin, and she wrapped herself around him, enjoying their embrace. "Let's get you comfortable," he suggested, and Kira nodded, her fatigue weighing heavily now. Ian had turned the bed covers down, and once she'd put on pajamas, she lay gratefully in the softness as Ian rubbed lotion on her swollen feet. When she murmured that she loved him, Ian tucked her in and kissed her before turning down the lights. In seconds, Kira was in a deep dreamless sleep, for the firs time in weeks, feeling safe and loved.
Ian knew that his wife had not been comfortable for some time, but until they had gotten home, he hadn't known the depth of that feeling. Now, seeing her content made him vow to keep her that way. The past couple of months on Coruscant had made him know that he'd never feel completely secure anywhere but Alliance space. He walked back into their living room and sat down to message his mom, not knowing if she was in the middle of something and a distraction might prove unwise. He told her they were on Odessen and hoped she was okay and back home soon. Home, he thought, and smiled to himself, ready to start on the baby's room tomorrow.
Lana's holocall came to Miriah shortly after noon. "How are things going?" she asked, and Miriah could see the worry on her face.
"Devin said they were progressing," Miriah replied, and Lana nodded.
"Things here are going well," she said. "The footage of the vow renewal was very well received, and there have been a number of inquiries about details of your dress and flowers." Lana grinned when Miriah rolled her eyes. "Easy there, boss. You're going to hurt yourself."
"I'm sure Caly can handle those inquiries, since she planned it all." Miriah shook her head. With so many things happening in the galaxies, how could the details of her dress be important?
"I will be happy to pass those along, then. Are you staying at the ranch until Devin and Magdalane are back? And will they be traveling with you?"
Miriah nodded. "That's the current plan, subject to change depending on what they find."
"Understood," Lana agreed. "Let me know what happens. I miss being in the thick of it."
"What you have there is far more important," Miriah said, thinking of Lana's children. Lana smiled and signed off. Lana sighed contentedly, she knew she was where she should be.
Devin wiped the sweat out of his eyes. "Okay, those four were tough," he admitted. "I got so angry I almost just unleashed on them, but again, I hate to not be able to control who that much force hits."
"I agree. I was not prepared for this level of combat, and I'm sorry I'm not pulling my weight," Mags said, closing her eyes. I wish Arn was here, she thought.
"You're keeping me healed, Aunt Mags. That's plenty. Let's just hope we don't have another group of lieutenants around the next corner." Mags saw the smile and had to grin back. They'd both be glad to be back at the ranch house, she figured.
Miriah had cooked most of the day, but Corso knew it was a stress relief for her and didn't try to make her stop. She'd only pace then, he thought. Instead, he went to the barns, chatted with Rizzo the farm manager, stopped by the barracks with a tub of baked goods, and when the afternoon was almost done, he made his way back to the house, seeing Aric and Maura on the deck even as the air cooled.
"I'm afraid to ask if there's any room in the house to have dinner," he joked, and saw Maura smile.
"She's got a feast going for dinner. We just got out of her way," Aric said, as Maura nodded.
"But we've got clean up," she volunteered, jabbing her mate in the ribs when he groaned.
Corso laughed, and looked through the windows. He could see Miriah sitting at the large table, her head on her crossed arms, down on it's surface. Uhoh, he thought, and made his way to her.
"Dev says that Malgus is gone. He's left some henchmen there, but that's not what worries me," she said as he sat beside her. "He thinks that Malgus is no longer governed by any will, not even the current Sith Emperor. He says that Malgus is drawing power at a greater rate than he did before."
Corso sat a minute. "So, Malgus is gone, and likely the artifact he was looking for. What's keeping Mags and Devin from coming here?"
Miriah gave him a weak smile. "They're catching the next transport back here, but it won't be until morning."
Corso rubbed gentle circles on her back. "So then we just have to figure out Malgus's next move and beat him to it." Though his words were light, there was a tightening in his chest that said this was far from over.
Devin finished his meal pack and stood, thinking he would walk around the southern outpost to see how things had healed since the fighting here before. He'd only gotten a few feet when he saw Mags sitting on some crates, healing minor injuries that the troops presented with. Her good nature came through, and many of the men seemed enraptured by her. He could feel only peace from his aunt, and nodded to himself. This is her true self, he thought. The healer, the one who puts the pieces back together. He walked on, happy that they had done all they could, and would be back with his parents the next day.
Lana read the action report early the next morning on her way to the office, Tali in school and Jaren at the child care facility. She had eaten breakfast with Nico at the mess hall before his day started, and felt ready to take on anything. Anything, she thought, but Devin's report on Malgus. She sat heavily in her chair, her gaze unfocused, for a good while, her mind trying to work out what was going on.
Corso woke in the night, the typical thunderstorm raging over them, his wife in his arms. Her eyes slowly opened and he kissed her nose. "Shh, go back to sleep, love," he whispered to her.
"You know, I had a thought. No one would ever expect it, and it might be the perfect getaway since Rishi might be compromised," she said, her voice husky with sleep.
Intrigued, he shifted to look at her more fully. "Okay, what is it?"
"I got an email that the Republic is selling apartments on Carrick Station. Apparently, they're trying to increase their coffers. But as well known as it is that I hate that place, it just might be perfect for a little time together." She ran her hands over his bare chest, and he sighed, the familiar tingling intensified since her force awakening.
"You just might have a great idea," he murmured, before pulling her in for a kiss.
Devin woke with the dawn, anxious to be back on the ranch. He nodded at his aunt as she joined him. I just don't know what to do next about Malgus, he thought, and then all he could think about was getting back to Odessen. Something is not right there, he felt. Not dangerous, but something that bears watching. With a sigh, he sat back in his seat and closed his eyes.