Last time: Sasha and Kyr comfort Kait as she worries for Op.

Now: They find out what the Aspis had for information.

Chapter 14- Lana's Safety

Sasha stood anxiously in Dravis' lab. Dravis, Tac and QT were finishing the last touches to translate the data from the Imperial fleet computer into something presentable. Sasha, Viran, Kyr, Scamp, and Admiral Sulam had all been summoned about ten minutes ago when Dravis realized they would have the data soon, and was irate that they had hit a snag just before the presentation that made it so that everyone was waiting to see the data. The Admiral stood there patiently, knowing better than to breathe down his neck as he tried to work out the last of the kinks in the data.

"Okay, so." Dravis started, standing up straight from where he had been stooping over the two short droids that were helping him access the device. "What we got was a fleet computer that hadn't been wiped by the Aspis' droid brain, since the ship had been taken offline. We always end up not being able to recover these, since the ship itself knows if it is being boarded and scrambles the fleet computer in case some enterprising slicer tries to get into it for nefarious reasons. Or the ship is marked as lost and the fleet computer network automatically synchronizes among themselves and disavow the lost system. Or they get blown or up, or fried, or ionized, or someone shoots the - "

"We get it." The Admiral said with years of patience under her belt for Dravis' information dumps. "But you were able to take this one intact?"

"Yep." Dravis said happily. "Since the ship was in dry dock, the rest of the fleet still thinks it's authenticated, and our creepy little spider friends were able to take care of the crew before they could even think to scuttle the ship." He stated.

"So if that's the case, then this should have intel not only on Cien's whereabouts but also other potential Imp locations?" Viran asked.

"Yep." Dravis said. "At least whatever fleet this is hooked up to. We know there's a lot of in-fighting among the remnant which means that the ships only have the data about the squadron or commander they're loyal to. Or they - "

"Are you able to present this then?" Admiral Sulam asked.

"Oh, sure." He said, looking down at Tac. "Go ahead."

Tac's little holoprojector lit up and a blue map of the galaxy appeared before them. As they stood there, little orange pinpoints with data around them started appearing in the nearby sectors, as various ships started displaying their location data. Not the entire fleet, not by a long shot, but they had data on at least two dozen ships of various classes that appeared to be on maneuvers together or guarding bases, known or unknown.

One of the orange points was highlighted. The Taipan. Moff Jiardon's personal flagship that had gone missing when the 19th had swept through Cien's former empire, and the remains of his squadron had scattered before they were destroyed.

Admiral Sulam whistled. "Nice." She said, looking at the fleet disposition. She immediately grasped the makings of a small offensive forming near the outer rim. She'd have to warn Ackbar about that.

Kyr stared intently at the Taipan. That was where his wife was, he was sure of it. For whatever reason they had kidnapped her, she had to be aboard that ship. It was almost like being able to see her out a window, almost within his grasp but not quite there. But they knew where she was.

"How long would it take us to get there?" Sasha asked, staring at the hologram.

"From here? I'd guess about two days," Scamp said as he leaned back in his seat, arms folded across his chest. He also stared at Taipan.

"I'll go put in the order to head out. Can you forward the rest of this on to NRI?" The Admiral asked.

"Yes ma'am." Dravis said with a nod.

"Super." The Admiral said, stepping away from the workbench she had been leaning on. "Let's go get our girl." She said, glancing at the Xiv's in the room as she headed for the exit.

Oppie walked alongside Kait, still feeling pretty wretched. Whatever the toxin was, Kelce was confident it would not have any lasting effect so long as he kept up the dosage of medication that had been prescribed for the next week and a half and had a handful of bacta treatments to fix any lingering tissue damage. This was the first time he was up and around the ship, and they were heading towards the lounge for a dinner to celebrate his release.

"Wait, you guys have a cat?" Kait asked, furrowing her brow.

"Well, Tac technically does since Reggie 2.0 belongs to him. But she's kind of the family's cat now, when she's not hiding." Oppie answered. "She has the run of the entire house so she only comes out occasionally." He thought for a moment. "Usually when someone is pregnant."

Kait chuckled at that. "Well, if that's the case I'll be a little wary if she comes to hang out with me."

Oppie glanced at her, realizing he had set himself up for more teasing from her. But Kait thankfully just smirked and said nothing further as the door opened to the lounge.

"There they are," Viran greeted them as he stood near the entrance to the canteen. He was without his crutch now, but he still walked with a limp. "Hey guys. How you feeling Op?"

"Good." Oppie said, even though he still felt a little feverish, and like a lot of his nerves were smoldering. "Nice to see you without the crutch." Oppie commented.

"It feels good not to have it," Viran said, leading them into the canteen. "But my leg is still a little sore. The others are in the Admirals dining room, waiting for us."

Oppie thought for a moment. "I'm not sure I've ever eaten in there, should I have dressed more formally?" He asked, looking down at his comfortable day clothes.

"I don't think there's a dress code." Kait answered, "but we can probably scrounge up a tie if you need one."

"No. You both are fine," Viran chuckled. "No one is dressed fancy."

"Oh, good." Oppie said, making their way across the lounge to a set of doors he had noticed by never paid much attention to.

The doors slid open to reveal the dining room. The rest of the family were gathered at the large table inside with Scamp and Admiral Sulam, chatting amongst each other.

"Oppie!" Lana squeaked as she noticed him first. She waved to her uncle.

"Hi Lana." Oppie said, waving to his niece.

"Hey Op. Hey Kait, we saved you two a couple seats," Sasha said gesturing to the two chairs between her and Kyr.

"Thanks." Oppie said, walking over to the chair next to Sasha and pulling it out for Kait.

"Thank you." Kait said, casting an odd look of bemused worry at him as she took the seat and slid in. Oppie grimaced slightly as he sat down next to her and settled down at the table.

"How are you feeling?" Scamp asked as he lowered his glass after taking a sip.

"Better than I was." Oppie answered. "It's kind of like that feeling you have just before you come down with a cold, mixed with all my nerves being… prickly." He stated.

"Sounds rather uncomfortable," Scamp said with a slight frown. "We are all just glad you are okay."

"Yeah, hun." The Admiral said as she took a sip of tea. "That sounded like a pretty hairy situation. After you got back we destroyed the base so no one else would go down there. Didn't think it was worth the risk to try to pull any intel out of there. Blasting it from orbit seemed like the safest thing to do."

"It might sound un-Jedi of me, but I'm glad for that." Oppie said sheepishly as he reached for his glass of water.

"Spectacular explosion, though." Kyr noted. "I admit, whenever we've seen spiders I've always joked about calling in an orbital strike. It was satisfying to actually see one."

"It was quite a sight to behold," Sasha agreed. "But I agree with you, Op. I'm glad it's gone too." She suppressed a slight shudder at the thought of the horror show that was aboard that ship.

"But your mission was successful," Viran reminded her as he adjusted in his seat on the other side of her.

"Yeah." Kyr said, looking down at his glass, and finally feeling a little bit of hope that he might find his wife before it was too late, whatever was happening to her. "Only another day and a half till we get to the Taipan."

Oppie nodded. "I'm glad it was all worth it, then."

"Agreed," Scamp said.

"And I'm just glad you two," Sasha gestured to Kyr and Viran, "are going to be well enough to take on the Taipan. I hope you will be well enough too, Op."

"Yeah." Oppie replied, a little bit of doubt in his voice. "Whatever we face I want to be there to help out."

Kait looked at him worriedly, and cast a sidelong glance to Sasha before she reached for her water glass. Sasha noticed the glance and frowned. She looked at Oppie then away, unsure of what to say.

"So what is our plan once we get there?" Viran asked, noticing the exchange in his peripheral vision.

"We'll stop a light day out from the system." The Admiral said, "and then we'll send in a little scouting party to confirm everything looks as we expect, then we'll head in. Scamp and Kyr are working on the boarding plan?" She said, glancing between the two.

"Yeah, right now all we have in mind is to spilt into three teams once aboard. One that will disable the ship. One that will capture Jiardon or whoever is in charge. But I truly think that it's him. And one that will save Cien," Scamp explained. "We just need to figure out how to get aboard without being seen, caught, or blown away."

"Yeah, if my flight suit wasn't still in shreds we could try that javelin toss idea again." Kyr said, gesturing at Viran.

"Can't the quartermaster patch it up enough for you to still try it?" Viran asked, sounding bummed at the thought they may not be able to pull that off.

"I've been down there, they were able to get the duraweave patched up so… I guess I could," Kyr admitted. "But a lot of the systems are down, the flight suit itself has a lot of systems and nano wiring through, and those got all cut to shreds. I need to go visit my armorer to get a whole new flight suit or… five made."

"And we don't exactly have that kind of time," Scamp pointed out. "Unless they are on the way and we can make a brief stop, it might be for the best to wait until after we get Cien back. So we might need a better idea on how to get aboard without sending the fleet into a full blown space battle. Which is likely to happen anyway, but the more resources we don't have to waste the better."

That made Sasha blink in realization as she glanced from Scamp to Lana. A sense of panic and worry suddenly washed over her.

"Sash?" Viran asked, worriedly.

"Lana. What are we going to do with her? Will she still be safe on the Defiant?" She asked, concerned.

"I save," Lana said, pointing to herself.

Sasha was going to respond to her daughter when Sulam spoke up.

Admiral Sulam glanced at Scamp before looking back at Sasha. "We'll keep her safe. I can post some Marines there just in case something happens, but it definitely won't come to that." She said assuredly. But as a mother herself she knew it was a hollow offer.

"I was okay with her being on board for what we have done thus far," Sasha said, looking to Sulam. "But this is a full on battle. I can't risk her safety." She swallowed. "Not again." She added that last part so quietly that Viran barely heard.

He frowned as he grabbed her hand to give it a reassuring squeeze.

The Admiral frowned as well. "Do you want to take her home?" She suggested gently.

Sasha looked down to her daughter. "That might be for the best, but I need to be here to save Cien," she said.

"Maybe RV can take her back?" Viran suggested.

"Alone? I want to make sure she gets home safe. RV is a great nanny, not a great bodyguard if something was to happen," Sasha argued.

"What if I had a couple of Marines go with them as an escort and protection until you get home?" Scamp suggested.

"Or at least until Raya and Zeran meet up with them to watch her," Viran added.

Scamp nodded at that suggestion and gestured at either potential choice.

"That could possibly work, but," Sasha looked at Kyr. "Would you be okay with that?"

"Whatever you guys feel like you need to do to keep Lana safe." Kyr stated, looking between Sasha and Viran, "even if one or both of you need to sit this out." He said with understanding in his voice.

"I hate to agree, but that might be the best option," Viran said, frowning.

"No! I have to be here to help find Cien. After everything that has happened, I need to save my sister," Sasha argued, stubbornly. "I wouldn't forgive myself if I wasn't there to help." She then looked down at Lana. "But I wouldn't forgive myself if I let something happen to Lana either." She gently brushed back at the toddler's hair, conflicted.

"I okay Mama. I hep," Lana said sweetly.

That made Sasha smile a little brokenly. "I know you can, baby."

Oppie spoke up. "I uh…" He started. "I'm not really sure how up to helping with the boarding action I might be." He admitted, deeply hesitant. He swallowed before continuing. "But I could take Lana home and keep her safe." He paused, "and besides that means I can have the cookies ready for when you guys bring Cien home in a day or two." He stated.

Sasha and Viran looked at Oppie in surprise at that before exchanging a look with each other.

"Oppie, are you sure?" Sasha asked, uncertain but liking this idea a bit more than the random marines watching over Lana. "I couldn't ask you to do that."

"That's why I'm offering." Oppie said with a smirk, and he grimaced slightly as he shifted in his seat, which inadvertently emphasized how much recovery he still needed. "I agree with you, a space battle is nowhere for a child." He said, speaking from experience, "and I think that's the one thing I really feel up for, to be honest."

"I can go back with you." Kait offered. "I'm a cop, not a soldier, I'm not sure how much good I'd do boarding a ship either."

Sasha looked between the two of them and nodded. "Thank you. This really means a lot. I know Lana will love spending time with both of you. Especially as you recover," she said in a heartfelt manner. "I know she will be safer with you."

"Did you hear that kiddo?" Viran asked Lana. "You're going home with Uncle Oppie and Kait. Doesn't that sound like fun?"

"Will Mama and Dada come to?" Lana asked.

"We will be right behind you. We have to get Aunt Cien first," Sasha added.

"But wanna stay wif you," Lana said, starting to cry.

"Lana, sweetie," Sasha said, taking her daughter's hands. "It'll be okay. I promise."

"Besides, someone needs to protect Uncle Oppie and Kait. And you're such a big girl, you're the only one who could do it," Viran said, smirking at Oppie and Kait as he encouraged the toddler. "Can you do that? Can you protect them?"

"Ye!" Lana nodded as she did her best salute.

"That's my girl," Viran said as he saluted her back before placing a kiss to her forehead.

"Phew," Oppie said. "That's a relief. No offense Scamp but she makes me feel even safer than an ARC trooper watching my back."

Scamp laughed at that. "Good to know that there is someone better equipped for this than me."

Sasha couldn't help but giggle at that. Lana giggled too. "She is an Xiv and a Jedi. She's more than capable." She said as she tickled her daughter which caused the little to burst into a fit of giggles. "But thank you, Op and Kait. Truly." She said after the giggling had calmed down.

"We'll be there waiting for you guys when you get home." Kait said, relieved that Op wasn't going to insist on boarding that Star Destroyer. There was also a part of her that was very curious to see what it was like taking care of a child alone with Op.

"Okay," Sasha said, then leaned closer to Kait. "Hope you have fun babysitting with Oppie." She teased quietly with a wink.

Kait just turned and gave her the slightest of nods with a smirk.

"You guys will keep us up to date with what's going on, though?" Oppie insisted. "And if you need us for anything we can be right on our way back, if it's okay to leave Lana with Reya and Zeran?"

"We will keep you posted," Viran promised. "And of course. Reya and Zeran love babysitting her and Lana loves them."

"She loves everyone. Our little social butterfly," Sasha said, smiling.

"Bufferfi," Lana said with a giggle.

"That should be more than alright," Viran said, getting back on topic. "But hopefully, it shouldn't come to that. We will find Cien and be home before you know it."

"I'm sure you will." Oppie said. "You guys will only be a day or two behind us in coming home."

"That's the plan," Sasha said, nodding. She grabbed her glass and raised it up. "To finding Cien and bringing her home."

"Hear hear." Oppie said, as he and Kait raised their glasses.

"To bringing our girl home." Admiral Sulam said, raising her glass in toast as well.

"To what may yet be." Kyr added, as he raised his own glass.

"And to putting Jiardon behind bars," Scamp said as he and Viran raised their glasses.

Lana raised her sippie cup. "And coofies."

Sasha and Viran laughed at that.

"Yes, coofies!" Kyr agreed, toasting with his glass.

Sasha and Viran walked with Lana between them as she held both of their hands. They would occasionally swing her forward and backwards as they walked to the hangar to meet with Oppie and Kait. RV shuffled quietly behind them, carrying Lana's bag.

"Again, again!" Lana cheered with a giggle as her parents set her down after swinging her for the tenth time.

"But we are almost to the hangar," Viran said, excitedly. "Don't you want to see the ships, and Uncle Oppie and Kait?"

"Ye, bu gen," Lana demanded.

"What's the magic word?" Sasha asked.

"Pwease!"

"Alright, but this is the last one. Okay?" Lana nodded. "One. Two. Three. Go!" Sasha counted down. Then she and Viran swung Lana between them one last time causing the little girl to giggle loudly. "Okay that's enough. I'm tired," she said as they set Lana down.

"Gen!" Lana squeaked.

"Lana, that was the last one. No more for today, but we will do it all again when we get home," Viran promised.

"Kay," Lana said, happily.

"Good girl," Sasha said as they entered the hangar.

They could see Oppie and Kait loading up the shuttle to head home, talking with Kyr and Scamp.

"Oppie! Kyr!" Lana called excitedly as she let go of her parents hand and ran forward to her uncles.

"Lana! Be careful!" Sasha called after her as the toddler was now loose in the hangar.

"I got her," Viran said as he ran after their surprisingly fast kid.

"She is quite a little ball of energy," RV spoke up for the first time the whole walk. "She reminds me of Master Kevaan at that age."

"Well she has him for an influence," Sasha chuckled, looking at Viran chasing down Lana. She then looked to the droid. "Now, do you remember the list I gave you to take care of when you get back?"

"Yes, Miss Sasha," RV said as they walked together. "I am to see to Miss Lana's care, finish preparing the home for the twins arrival, aid in Master Oppie's recovery, make sure I give that other list you made for me to the medical droid, and run to the store to gather supplies for Miss Cien's return."

"Exactly. And if there are any troubles, you call me if Oppie or Kait are indisposed," Sasha reminded him.

"Of course. I have done this many times before with other members of Clan Xiv. This is all a part of my programming after all," RV pointed out.

Sasha stopped which caused the droid to. "I know that, RV. And we are eternally grateful to you for all you have done and will do. When we return, I'll have Viran give you a nice oil bath as payment."

"You spoil me, Miss Sasha," RV said, sounding flattered. "I shall handle things while you are away." With that, he shuffled forward and onto the shuttle.

"Meg'laam bes'kovid." Kyr said to RV as he came close. "Terrorize anyone good lately?"

"Only you, Master Kevaan," RV replied simply as he boarded the ship.

Kyr watched RV go then turned to Sasha as she approached, "I think he's starting to like me."

Sasha chuckled. "I think he always has liked you. I think you are starting to like him," she teased.

"Oh, no." Kyr said, shaking his head. "That's not it at all. If you'd grown up with him, you'd understand. Ask Lana in fourteen years."

Sasha rolled her eyes at that. Viran finally walked up at that point after catching Lana.

"She is fast," Viran panted as held the giggling toddler in his arms as if she was his captive.

"Looked like it," Sasha chuckled. She looked at Oppie and Kait. "You two think you can handle her?" She asked with a quirked brow.

"Yeah, I think we'll be fine." Oppie said. He glanced down at the squirming almost two year old. "If she gives us any trouble we'll just withhold cookies."

"No! Wan cookies," Lana cried in protest, but still giggling.

"You'd never be so mean." Kait said.

"I don't know, I can be pretty evil." Oppie said.

"He can be," Sasha agreed with a smirk.

"He never let us have fun," Viran added on, teasing as Lana continued to squirm in his arms.

"Nope." Oppie said, nodding in agreement.

"I can believe it." Kait said flatly. Oppie glanced at her in confused surprise until Kait smirked lightly at him.

Viran chuckled as he rotated Lana around and held her properly. "Alright, kiddo. Enough goofing around. You promise to be good for Uncle Oppie?"

"Pwomiss," Lana said.

"Okay," he said as he hefted her up. Viran looked at Oppie and Kait. "Call us if she gives you trouble."

"We will." Oppie said. He reached to take Lana and as he extended his arms he grimaced.

Kait stepped forward. "Come on Lana." She said, offering to take the girl from Viran's arms, and Oppie glanced at her thankfully.

Lana wrapped her arms around Kait as Viran handed her off. She hugged Kait tightly with a grin on her face.

Sasha placed a gentle hand on Oppie's arm. "Don't worry. Lana gives wonderful healing hugs," she said quietly to him, speaking from experience.

"Thanks." Oppie recoiling a little from the prickly sensation of her touch. "You guys be careful. And let us know how everything goes."

Kyr nodded. "By this time tomorrow we should have them back."

"And then we will all be home to celebrate," Sasha said, smiling lightly.

"But we will keep you posted," Viran finished the thought.

Oppie nodded. "We'll see you soon then, and we can turn right around if anything happens and you need us."

"We will call you with updates," Sasha promised. She looked to Lana. "Bye kiddo. See you soon." She placed a kiss on Lana's head.

"Bye Mama. Bye Dada. Wuv you," Lana said as Viran came over next and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Wuv you too," Viran said smiling.

"Thanks again," Sasha said. "Travel safe and tell us when you get there."

"We will." Oppie said as he reached down to grab a shoulder pack that was near the boarding ramp, and he grimaced as he bent to grab it.

"Here, vod let me help." Kyr said, stepping forward to grab Op's pack.

"Uh, thanks." Oppie said.

"Gives me an excuse to go check out the ship anyway." Kyr said as he stepped up the ramp.

Oppie blanched a little at Kyr walking into the ship that he and Kait had been sharing for the last few months, and the teasing that would ensue. "No, wait Kyr I got it." He said, going up the ramp after him.

Sasha and Viran chuckled.

"I'll see if they need a hand," Viran said as he followed them up the ramp.

Sasha sighed. "You two are never going to leave at this rate," she said, watching them.

"No." Kait said, hefting Lana up as she squirmed a little. "You know a little Mando'a, right?" She asked curiously, as if she just remembered something.

"Yeah, a little," Sasha said, looking at her. "Are you wanting to learn something to tell Op? Or tease Kyr?" She asked with a chuckle.

"No, Kyr just called me something before I wasn't quite sure about," She paused, "voohdeeka? Cien called me that a couple of times too."

"Vod'ika?" Sasha asked, clarifying.

"Yeah." Kait said, nodding as Lana squirmed a little.

"It means a couple of things," Sasha explained. "But in the context Kyr and Cien were using it, it means little sister. Because vod means sister or brother. And ika means little." She said, warmly. "If Kyr and Cien were saying it means they see you as that. And they are not wrong." She agreed with a smile.

"Oh." Kait said. "Huh." She said a little distractedly.

"Well, I'm just saying, you probably don't want to leave those laying around." Kyr said as he came down the ramp. "Anna would be annoyed if she knew her old ship wasn't being kept super clean, especially with her niece running around on board."

"Yeah, you're one to talk, I've seen your room." Oppie groused coming down the ramp behind his brother.

Sasha smirked at them then looked back at Kait. "Kyr always gives people nicknames. But that means they are someone special to him or the family," she added quietly between.

"Sport come on, we're holding up the fleet!" Kyr said, looking back at the open hatchway.

"Coming," Viran called back as he came down the ramp.

"At least, he doesn't call you Sport," Sasha added with a giggle.

Kait snickered at that. "Yeah."

"Ready to go?" Oppie came over to Kait.

"Yep." She replied, heading for the ship. "Bye guys, good lu…" Kait stopped herself, remembering her theater classes. "Break a leg!" She said as she disappeared into the ship.

Kyr furrowed his brow. "Again?"

"It's an actor thing," Sasha clarified as she patted Kyr's shoulder. "Bye guys." She waved them off.

"Bye." Oppie said. "May the Force be with you." He said as the hatch started to close.

"And with you," Viran added as they all stepped away to let the ship leave.

They stood there together watching them go. As the ship left the hangar, Sasha felt her smile turn into a look of determination.

"Let's go rescue, Cien," she said to Kyr and Viran.

Kyr nodded. "Oya." He said with determination as he turned to go join Scamp in the assault planning session.

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