Star Nomad Cast (starnomadnpc) wrote in starnomad, @ 2016-02-25 22:39:00 |
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The final battle for Borleias was likely within a weeks time. They had set the dates and that meant that it was time for the Solo's to get out. It wasn't something Leia was thrilled with in many ways. Her two children, it was am difficult to think of it in twos, we're both going to be flying in the front as was her brother and his wife but then that was part of why they were leaving. Mara had asked them to take Ben, and Leia couldn't refuse the request. And then there was the other boy who might have been a son at some point whose Leia's thoughts had turned to more than once in the weeks since they'd returned. He and his kids would need a ride off and while they could likely catch something with the refugee ships, Leia wasn't going to force them to fend for themselves. She had ever my bit of knowledge that Lyric was amazing at doing so, but he shouldn't have to. Not in this and not when there was so much room in the Falcon. And so she found herself outside of Lyric's door, ringing the door alarm and waiting. She hoped he was doing all right, even if she knew he had to be struggling. She could remember - at times as if it were yesterday - the worry she'd gone through when Han was in carbonite, not knowing if he would be alive and uninjured when they were able to retrieve him or not. And that had been, there had been hope, painful hope, and while she might have that for Jacen, she couldn't extend it to Lyric in the same way. She wasn't even certain she should try. Regardless, he had almost been family, and almost was enough for Leia. She stuck her hands in the pockets of her flight suit and waited. Lyric wasn't a fool. He knew that the battle was coming and had been doing what little he could to try and make sure the refugee ships were as organized as possible. It was an overwhelming task and likely it would descend into disorder but it was one of the only pieces of Lyric's life left that he felt he could focus on. Jacen had always looked so proud about Lyric's work with the refugees, a warm look that haunted Lyric's memory in the few moments he allowed himself to attempt to sleep. He was going to have to figure out when to leave with Elix and Derek, and if Elix wouldn't have somehow ended up getting herself conscripted into this war despite his best efforts to dissuade her. "Do they need you again already?" Elix asked as her ears perked up towards the alarm. Derek was fussing in her arms as Lyric worked on patching Elix's pants. She was finally starting to hit a growth spurt and it seemed like she'd almost gained an inch in the past few weeks. "Not that I know of." His answer was accompanied by him setting down this set of pants and getting up. Elix fell into step behind him, the curiosity beaming off her in waves intense enough that no one needed the force to know. Her own surprise mirrored his when Lyric opened the door to find Leia Organa-Solo on the other end. Elix's eyes glittered while Lyric's stayed impassive. "Leia!" Elix chirped, looking at the boy in her arms. "Look Derek it's Leia." Leia gave Elix a warm smile, and mirrored that warmth down at the young boy in the Rodian's arms. If she wasn't mistaken he had grown even in the few weeks since she'd seen him last. The reminder of how long it had been since she'd seen her son sharpened into a quick pain that left it difficult to draw air for a moment, but she pushed her shoulders back and moved forward to touch Derek's nose gently and wrap a finger around his hands. "I think you've grown at least three inches," she said softly to him. "You're practically grown-up from when I saw you last, just about ready to go take on the world on your own, aren't you?" Derek reached a hand out and Leia let him grab her finger as she turned her attention to the older pair. "Good afternoon Elix, and Lyric - I hope I'm not interrupting." She looked over at Lyric, eyes warm even as she couldn't help but miss Jacen more. He had not been as tall as this boy, and had fit against him so comfortably. The number of times she'd walked in on the two of them - heads together and seemingly deep in conversation - and Jacen had felt content in ways she hadn't felt from him since before the war, maybe long before really. Her other hand reached out to gently squeeze and then equally quickly release Lyric's upper arm. "I came to see how you were all doing. And also offer you a ride out with Han and I." How they were doing? There wasn't really a way to answer that. The planet was going to be destroyed around them, Jacen was gone, Elix kept finding her way into hangers and apparently had learned more than he thought she could have on repairing damnable ships. Which meant that it was only a matter of time before she convinced someone that she was useful enough to get herself killed just like everyone else. They were surviving, which is what they had always done. Still as much as Lyric didn't particularly like this, the Falcon was an offer. He didn't want to be beholden to the Solo's, he had never wanted that. But the idea of not having to worry about getting Derek and Elix off of this planet and onto he next one that would become a painted target wasn't one he could really refuse. Leia likely knew that as well, whatever kindness might have been behind the offer. "That's very generous." Lyric's voice was calm, careful as he watched Leia interacting with Derek. The small boy wasn't fussing and he had to admit that Leia seemed to get along with him. "We can go, right?" Elix looked up at Lyric quickly. Leia's glance was gentle at Elix and then she turned it back to Lyric. He was so careful. Held his cards so close to his chest lest they be seen by the wrong person and become a source of vulnerability for him. Occasionally she looked at him and could almost swear there was a glimpse of Han when she had first met him. Less swagger and less of a projected confidence, but in his eyes she saw the same guarded emotion. Perhaps Han saw it too and it was part of why he was so critical of the young man. She watched his face for a moment before she spoke. "If Jacen were here, you would have the same offer. Perhaps there is nothing official to hold you to us, Lyric, but there would have been; I consider you and Elix and Derek family, and we would never leave family stranded. We're headed to Daq - that seems to be where most of the government that managed to get off of Coruscant is regathering. We'll need to hold a general election to try to elect a new Chief of State to fill Fey'lya's shoes. I believe at least a portion of the refugee organizations will be located there as well, and you should be able to work with them from Daq. It's fairly centrally located inside what is currently held New Republic space." She didn't say, but knew it would be implied, that it was as safe as one could find in this galaxy in this moment. And Leia knew in her heart that Elix and Derek's safety would be at the front of Lyric's mind. He could continue the legitimate refugee work he was doing, if he wished to, but his kids would be safe. Or as safe as anyone was in this moment of galactic history. "May I?" Leia asked Elix, holding her arms out for Derek. They were all very pretty words, ones that Lyric would have wanted to hear when Jacen was still able to stand next to them. All Jacen had wanted was his family's acceptance and here it was. The bitterness in his heart rose momentarily that all it had taken was Jacen's death. But bitterness would do nothing for him except fill the emptiness he felt with more pain. Leia's offer was a good one and he didn't really have reason to believe that the Solo's would be the type to trick him, not when there were children alongside him. Likely this was all just built off her own guilt and loss. Elix's eyes watched Leia carefully, feeding off Lyric's own example no matter how in awe she still was of Organa-Solo. This was her hero, as much as Luke Skywalker was, and now that hero was calling her family which was more than any child could dream of let alone one that had been raised in the dregs of the Undercity. Lyric offered her a slight tilt of his head and Elix smiled bright, offering Derek up to Leia. "He's getting so big. I keep saying he should start crawling soon, don't you think? Lyric keeps saying he doesn't know when human babies start that but I mean he's so big it has to be soon." With her hands free her attention turned back to Lyric, starfilled eyes watching him with anticipation. "We're going to go, right?" she asked, innocent sounding as always but Lyric knew she knew the odds just as well as he did. He held back the urge to sigh, instead watching Leia's arms wrap around Derek. "We've no reason to turn down a generous offer like that." he offered, still quiet. Leia removed her eyes from Lyric for a moment as she took Derek. The little boy was a bit heavier too she could almost be certain of it. He was growing, and it was clear that he was thriving with Lyric and Elix, and she swallowed back the regret of Jacen missing this. For all she had been uncertain of the responsibility that Lyric and Jacen were taking on, and she had been uncertain of it, the child himself was delightful, and Jacen had been so happy, ready to accept the responsibility and having done so after the weeks of having some idea what parenthood might look like. "Just how old are you?" She asked Derek brightly as she wrapped one arm under Derek's bottom and pulled him close to her chest leaning forward to press her lips to his plump cheeks. "Did you have a med droid look at him to give you an age estimate He looks as if he's old enough to begin moving more, and when I kept him it did seem that he kept wanting to push himself up, that's what Anakin always did before he started. Jacen, well, one day he just took off. I'd put him down for a moment, by the sofa while I reviewed a senate document and the next thing I knew he was halfway across the room to Artoo. I didn't even know he was ready," she laughed quietly, but there was a wistfulness about those days that couldn't be chased away. Her children had not always been safe, she had spent months and years away from them for much of the time during those early years, but it had felt simpler and more something that could be mounted and overcome. They were months, Leia thought flatly, that I should never have spent apart from any of them. She suppressed the disappointment in herself and instead wrapped Derek in warmth as she had once done for Anakin, for Jaina and for Jacen, when they were younger. And as she did so she rocked him gently and felt him settle a bit against her, one hand bouncing up and down as if he were waving at Lyric. "We'll leave tomorrow, if you can be ready by then. If not, the next day. They plan on the final battle here at Borleias occurring within the week and we'd like to have you three and Ben away before it begins." There was no denying that Jacen's mother seemed to be fond of Derek. Despite her misgivings when they had told her, she seemed to have taken to the child. Granted Lyric wasn't sure how anyone wouldn't be won over by Derek, even in his moments of tears and frustration. How easily Derek seemed to settle in her arms frustrated part of him but despite how little Leia had been around for Jacen and his siblings childhoods from what Jacen had told him, she still had infinite more experience with children this young than Lyric did. "Tomorrow would be fine." Lyric answered, feeling no need to add more than that. They didn't have much here, even if what they had was still more than what the Undercity had provided them. It was all through the generosity of people who shouldn't want anything to do with him with Jacen's loss but Lyric wasn't entirely sure what to do. So he would play along, it was what Jacen would have wanted. "What time?" Leia laid her cheek against Derek's head and he half grabbed for part of her hair. "Hey, careful," she warned gently as she pulled for his hand and occupied it with her fingers. She would get to spend some time with him tomorrow she knew. Tonight she was going to have dinner with her children - the two that were here - and hope that the Force would be with them both tomorrow as they went into battle. "Early then," she said simply, once again pressing her lips to Derek's soft hair, before beginning to untangle him to hand him back to Elix. "I know Han wanted to get us out before breakfast if he can considering we're not certain when the Yuuzhan Vong will attack." Leia looked up at Lyric, and hesitated a moment. She didn't expect him to take the offer, but she would make it anyway: "We're having dinner tonight with Anakin and Jaina, you are all welcome to join us if you'd like." Lyric could see the hesitation on Leia's face that was quickly answered by her offer. At first he thought that it was from having to give back Derek, the small boy now settled happily in Elix's arms. Food was less of an issue for them at the moment than it would have been previously, Elix and Derek would eat fine this evening without taking up spaces at the Solo's table. To be next to all of them without Jacen there though, Lyric wasn't sure he was strong enough for that even with Elix by his side. "We have a lot to do before tomorrow morning." he answered, voice and expression as impassive as ever. "We won't be able to make dinner." He could feel the frustration bubbling off of Elix but she stayed quiet, her face as unreadable as Lyric's. Lyric hadn't faced Jacen's twin yet and while he would be stuck on the same ship as Jacen's father, he wasn't sure if he could handle the sorrow and determination on Jaina's face. And really, as kind as Leia thought her offer was, Anakin and Jaina were going to be the same fools Jacen was and throwing themselves into this fight. Their parents deserved to have that moment unintruded on. It was expected, and Leia couldn't even entirely say that she was disappointed. She worried about Anakin and Jaina. Jaina had been edgy since Anakin had come back alone, and Leia at times wondered if the girl blamed Anakin for Jacen's death, and Anakin had been given a lot to handle and almost certainly blamed himself, just like he had for Chewie. She wanted the galaxy to give her children back their optimism and their hope. Two years ago they had both been enthusiastic, passionate, dedicated, hopeful, but she could see the places it had worn on them. "Another time then," she said kindly. And she meant it. Even if it wasn't right away, she would continue the invitation from time to time, and perhaps one day Lyric would accept them. "If you need anything in the meantime, you have my commlink number, but I will definitely see each of you in the morning." |