Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2016 22:18:36 GMT -5
Medium Weights On
Snippar Sol, had become interested in the precepts of heightening his Bakumetsu. His ability began to change over time where he went down the dark path of a Saiyan, his energy flickering between dark and light, right before the aura consumed his strength in a beam of darkness. His charge started to burst out of control while his weights hindered his movement, because of this transaction Snippar found it difficult to maintain perfect posture, yet found sensation in the destruction his body caused. Still he remembered the past, between his companions of old now long gone, the drive of madness continued. Irritable, moody, uncomfortable, these were all words that described Aeramis Meldin. These were not the words that had always described her, but as of late, the rage of hormones that coursed through her body had taken over and even she had wanted to be pleasant, she probably could not have pulled it off. Which was definitely saying something for her condition, as she had always been a master of hiding her true emotions. Adept at becoming other people and displaying personalities completely opposite of her own. That was before. Before she could rest her hands, folded together atop her swollen abdomen.
Once things had started to take shape in the pulling together of those that had been scattered across the stars and those that had been captured had been located, Aeramis had shifted her focus. They would not survive long without funding. She was well aware of the fact that she could not safely access her own private accounts... yet and the funds she could access without notice would rapidly be depleted with the lifestyle they were now living and her lack of a steady income from the Empire. As such, she had shifted her focus and put her years of top quality education to work. It had taken some time, but she had finally located what would be the perfect cover and would give the organization exactly what it would need to carry on. Initially, it would cause her to be very busy and distant, but it would be worth it in the end.
She had managed to convince Icelus that she would be fine on her own and that he should stay with the fleet working out a few details while she took care of some things. She had given him very few details about what she was working on, as she did not want him getting in the middle or trying to “help” as it were. She had pooled all of her resources, had called in a few favors, had spoken to some key individuals within the organization and now here she was. She stood on the bridge of her personal ship, her arms folded over one another, resting atop her stomach as she watched the movement outside of the ship. She came nowhere near fitting into her environmental suit so that meant observing and telling people what to do from here until she was convinced that it was safe for her to leave the ship.
“Out One to Lead. All toxins have been vented and air recirc has been initiated. It’s going to take a little bit of time to get the air breathable, but with all of the new filters in place, it should go pretty quick.”
Aeramis nodded slowly, even though there was no one there to actually see her do so. “Very well, continue on. Make sure there are no breaches and the structure is sound.”
“Out One, acknowledged.”
She moved her arms out and rubbed her hands over her stomach when she felt the life inside her move. “Get used to it little one. A mining facility or a ship will be where you take your first breath. Not exactly the life I intended for you.”
“Out Two to Lead. We have finished full surveillance of the surface and have confirmed the bubble is intact. No visible damage, but in need of a thorough cleaning.” What was probably a laugh was cut off as the channel was closed.
“I am certain you will be perfect for the job, Out Two. Carry on with your surveillance.” Her voice had remained flat. The off-handed jab had come as a result of a recent tirade she had gone on in regards to things on the ship not being clean to her standards.
A tingle in her back reminded her that she was standing and had been for sometime. Thinking that she should probably sit down for a moment, she moved to one of the consoles and sat down in the chair that was in front of it. At least from there, she could see the readouts of how things were progressing with the air quality. The oxygen saturation was making a steady climb, which meant soon, she would be able to exit the ship and take a tour of the facility.
“Out One to Lead. We have made a full sweep, we have not been able to detect any breach, the place is as sound as it can be.”
Aeramis actually jumped slightly at hearing the call come in. There had been silence for so long that the disturbance to the quiet had been a jolt. “Acknowledged. Bring it all back in.”
She contemplated pushing herself up from the seat she was in, but instead, opted to continue watching percentages shift. She couldn’t really do anything until everything was stabilized anyway.
At some point, she had phased out and had stopped paying attention to readouts, because the alert that signaled that the environment was safe, startled her. She reached over to stop the beeping. She placed her hands protectively over her abdomen for a moment. “Well Little One, let’s go see what our new “home” looks like.” She pushed herself up to standing, took a moment to let the wave of dizziness pass and then made her way back to where the others were bantering back and forth. “Who is going to give me the grand tour?” She smirked as they all pointed at the youngest member of the crew, before he even had a chance to consider it. “Fantastic. Let’s get a move on then.” He scowled and as he rose to his feet muttered something under his breath before acknowledging. “Yes’m.” As Aeramis moved to head towards the Airlock, Kable came up behind her. "Before you step on that station miss, let me go first." Without even waiting for an acknowledgement, Kable made for the airlock. He snaps his helm on and with a hiss of air, it locks in place. He draws his twin blasters and hits the rune to pressurize the airlock. As it opens, he walks in, his eyes going to all corners as he looks over the bridge leading to the station. He crosses over, sweeping the landing before calling back to Aeramis.
"It's clear." Aeramis glanced over her shoulder at Kable. She had all but forgotten about him. He was not part of her normal entourage. She had not actually chosen him, but that was neither here nor there, he was going to be part of the bigger picture, so she may as well start getting used to it now.
She stepped out of the way so that he could go first. "I am not exactly sure what you think might be out there that's dangerous. The teams already swept the facility and found nothing. The environment previously was not breathable by us, so in the course of logic would now not be breathable by anything left inside, but by all means, Kable, was it? Lead on.
She hated the fact that she felt like people did things because they thought she couldn't. Sure she couldn't roll into cover anymore and using a stealth generator and sneaking around might be rather interesting, but she was still quite capable of firing a blaster and would not hesitate to do so, if the situation arose that made it necessary. At any rate, she was not going to let it bother her.
Did you want to go ahead and let my man lead, since he has already been all over the inside of the facility or did you want to take us on an adventure that would surely waste time? She raised an eyebrow and looked at Kable with a smirk, while she waited for him to decide which it was going to be. Kable smiled behind his mask as he relocked his blasters to his thigh plates. He had his orders pertaining to the young miss, and he wasn't going to let anything happen to her. He activates his external comm and turns to her.
"The reason I did what I did, was simple. Too many times I've seen systems restored on old and derelict vessels and some unseen defense mechanism that wasn't caught before reactivates and ends up gutting someone. I won't lose any men or women to negligence.
Kable activates his mission wide comm and repeats what he said to Aeramis to everyone else, alerting them to watch out for any new dangers. He then closes it, and turns back to Aeramis.
"Shall we head to the Command Deck?" Aeramis was feeling exceptionally annoyed as she listened to Kable talk. She was a highly trained Cipher Agent. This facility was not her first dance, but she really did not feel like arguing the point either. If something were to happen, she was in no condition to fend off anything physically.
"But of course. You are the head of security, by all means, secure things." It felt like acid on her tongue saying it. She was certain that her ruse has a secretary on the reach had perhaps damaged her reputation as a capable force, but that was neither hear nor there, she would be in charge of all of it, more or less, so it was a trade off.
She extended a hand toward her man, to indicate that he should take the lead. "Yes, please, let us do exactly that."
As they made their way through the facility, Aeramis was painfully reminded of her condition. Pains pulsed from the center of her back, all the way around her torso, but other than a slightly frown, she did not let on that she was in any sort of pain. She held her head high and tried to focus on the aspects of the facility. The rooms they passed, signs on walls. The drab colors. She made a mental note that the colors needed to be changed to something more sterile and clean looking.
"Straight ahead Ma'am and we will be in the command deck and observation bubble." Aeramis simply nodded as she continued on. Her hands moved from hanging down at her sides to the small of her back, trying to give herself some relief. "Thank you." Kable hears a beep in his helm and looks at a display that hasn't been used in a long time on his forearm armor. His head turns back towards Aeramis.
"You ok?"
He can see that she's in obvious discomfort and she definitely seems to be in more of an evil disposition than normal. As they enter the observation bubble, a view of the planet below opens up before them. He turns and pulls a scanner from a hip compartment, running it over here. It was going to piss her off, but he had orders from his buddy Icelus to keep an eye on her no matter what. The readings were a bit confusing at first, then it dawned on him what was happening.
"Haar'chak! I think you're going into labor." He activates his comm unit. "I need a med droid to my position immediately. Code Phoenix." He turns back to Aeramis. "Do you think you can make it back to the med bay on the ship?" Aeramis frowned at Kable when he turned to look at her. "I am perfectly fine, thank you."
She wasn't fine, but she had had years of training to be able to endure the pain of torture and she was putting every bit of that training to use at that moment. She would not allow these men a glimpse of any sort of weakness. She moved toward one of the control stations and eased herself down into the station chair.
Aeramis turned her head to scowl at Kable. "I most certainly, am not going into labor!" "I can't be, not here, not without Icelus." She could feel her muscles contract and no amount of concentration could stop it. She hissed through clenched teeth. "There is nothing wrong with me, of course, I can make it and then you will see how wrong you are." "Little one, this time is wrong, your Father is not here."
She took a moment to compose herself before standing back up. "If it will make you feel better, we can finish the tour later." What will make me feel better will be getting you back to the medbay." With that and without waiting for a rebuttal from Aeramis, Kable simply reached over and picked up her, carrying her in his arms. He immediately made his way back towards the ship. He was halfway to the med bay when the medical droid intercepted them.
'I am Medical Droid DN-2C, please state the nature of the medical emergency."
Kable burst past the droid, talking as he went. "Human female going into labor. Contractions appear to be only a few minutes apart. We don't have much time I think." They entered the med bay and Kable sat Aeramis down on the table as the droid began removing her clothing..or attempting to. "What the...! No, just no. Put me down, ri..." She tensed up as her muscled contracted again. She would never admit it, but she was thankful that he had picked her up, because the standing there, trying to pretend she was fine was becoming more and more difficult.
She scowled at the droid, not that it would care about her expression. "There is no emergency."
As they entered into the ship, the crew all immediately rose, not that she saw them, but she heard the movement and she heard the one that had been with them state the obvious. When the droid started trying to remove her clothing for her, it elicited a negative response from her. "STOP!" OUT! GET OUT NOW!!" She scowled at Kable. "That includes you!" She took several slow deep breaths to calm herself. "Please, just give him a few moments." Her expression when she made the request, bordered on something somewhere between pleading and fear. "I'm gonna go get out of this armor. You get undressed. Kable turned and stepped into a side room. He quickly removed his armor, letting it fall to the floor. He donned a surgical robe and reentered. He was holding up the scanner he had used before.
"And I know you are in labor. This scanner was made to detect contractions from human females. Icelus gave it to me." Kable turned again and activated a comm unit on the wall. "Contact Lord Icelus. Tell him Code Phoenix is a go."
**************************************
Icelus was standing on the bridge of the "Paradise Lost", surveying the fleet with Luniara and Aeetos. A rating by the comm suite received the message from Aeramis' ship. "Lord Icelus. I'm receiving a message from Lord Kable. He says, and I quote, "Code Phoenix is a go." At this point, Ice's eyes went wide.
"Are you sure? Did you get verification?" The rating just nodded in response. Ice turned back to Aeetos and Luniara. "I gotta go, Aeramis has gone into labor. It's only an hour away via hyperspace. I hope I get there in time." He turned and bolted from the command deck, not even hearing what Aeetos and Luniara had said as he ran off. He called ahead to Flynn to get his ship ready for immediate launch. He was going to get there in time even if it killed him. Aeramis was having one of those moments, where if she were not huge with baby, she would have had her knees pulled to her chest, her arms wrapped around her legs and her head tucked down. She had never had such an overwhelming rush of emotion and it was taxing. She was afraid. Not for herself, but for the tiny life inside of her.
Kable had left the room and she knew that she was sure he would not give her a lot of time to be by herself. The rushes of pain were getting worse. She felt nauseated. Her need to be in control was being tested by something that put her completely out of control and as much as she would hate to admit it, she knew that she could not do this on her own.
She changed into the medical clothes and started prepping the room herself, between having to pause to let a contraction pass. She engaged a medical probe that would monitor her vitals as well the baby.
Aeramis looked at Kable when he re-entered. Her eyes narrowed. "Of course he did." She stopped and blinked, as it occurred to her that she had not even spoken to Icelus. "Icelus..." She was moving toward a com panel when the worst of the contractions hit her, doubling her over. Thankfully she had been next to the bed and caught herself on it. "Open a com to him, please." She couldn't resist the desire to lay down on the bed, rolling over on to her side and curling in as much as possible on herself. The ship was hurtling through hyperspace on it's way to the mining station. The place hadn't even been secured yet, and already it faced it's first emergency. The fact that it was technically half Icelus' fault didn't matter. He was pacing back and forth behind Flynn as the man piloted this ship.
"Can't this ship go any faster Flynn?"
The Imperial Captain turned his head, irritation plainly evident upon his face. "My Lord, as I stated three times previously, I'm already red lining the engines. If we go any faster, we risk a catastrophic engine failure which will lead to our destruction. Now please, let me fly the ship." Without waiting for a response, Flynn turned back to the consoles in front of him. Ice was about to give the Captain a piece of his mind when the comm unit behind him chimed. Icelus turned to see who was trying to send them a message, when he noticed it had Aeramis' personal code attached to it. He quickly activated the reply key.
"Aeramis? Aeramis baby is that you?" He awaited a response. "My Icelus.." Just hearing his voice was a comfort, though she would have prefer it not be over a comlink. "I'm... she scowled at Kable, because she did not really want him to hear what she was about to say. "I'm sorry."
She tensed up as another contraction hit her and at the same time the medical probe injected her with a painkiller as it was scheduled to do. Her body and the baby were not waiting. She was losing the ability to concentrate on scowling at Kable for being there, her focus having to shift fully to doing what needed to be done for her health and the well being of the child that was about to make it's entrance.
She left the com open, because just hearing Icelus voice through the ordeal was a comfort to her.
Through all of her trying to maintain control, to make the decision herself, the child was not going to wait for its father to be there to be born and as such the first time they both heard the cry of their child, Icelus was forced to hear it over a comlink. Tears ran down her cheeks when her eyes first rested on the face of the tiny life that had been growing inside her. Icelus closed his eyes and thanked the Force as he heard the cry of his child. Sounded like a good set of lungs on it. He stood there, eyes closed smiling widely as he continued to listen. He spoke to Aeramis over the intercom, "What it is hon? Wait, it doesn't matter as long as it's healthy. I love you babe.
With a lurch, the ship exited out of hyperspace. He turned to survey the cockpit readouts before turning back to the comm unit. "Babe, we just came out of hyperspace. We'll be docked in less than five minutes. I'm almost there." He kept the comm unit open as he stood there, impatiently waiting for the ship to dock. Aeramis held the small form close to her chest, extremely protective, instantly. She could actually hear the chatter of her crew outside of the med bay. "A girl, My Icelus. She's... she's amazing.
She was trying to shoo away droids and such, not wanting any of them near her. She didn't care if they wanted to take vitals on herself or the baby. It was hers and no one would ever take it from her.
By the time Icelus arrived, the room looked like none of the carnage had taken place, Aeramis was laying on her side, the child cradled in her arms, protectively. She smiled as she looked up at him. "You are arrived, finally." She lifted a hand to wave him closer. "Is she not exquisite?" Icelus walked into the room. Kable had intercepted him before hand, telling him how close it had been and that it was a good idea he had given him the scanner, otherwise he would have never known Aeramis was in labor. Kable then congratulated him and walked over to don his armor and head out to finish clearing the station. Icelus was formulating a whole tirade for Aeramis and her reckless behavior when he walked into the delivery room. His anger at her actions fled in a heartbeat.
He had changed into a simple robe of deep blue before the ship had arrived and he walked over, his slightly shaking hand running along Aeramis' cheek. He wiped sweat from her brow as he smiled down at her and the beautiful child in her arms. He leaned down and kissed Aeramis on the forehead before gently running a finger along the baby's cheek.
"She's the most beautiful creature I have ever seen in the galaxy. I love you Aeramis." He leaned down next to the bed, his face level with Aeramis, smiling at her and the baby. "Have you decided on a name yet hon?" Aeramis had a difficult time taking her eyes off the infant in her arms. Only weeks before she had been on a tirade regarding who would or would not be around her. The lengths she would go to protect the young one. Her tirade had immediately been followed by a total meltdown, in which she spent quite some time crying and wondering if she would be able to protect her child. But she had been on an emotional roller coaster from the word pregnant.
She blinked when Icelus asked her about a name. "No..." She had only ever referred to the infant as "Little One" so assigning a name to it had not occurred to her.
Aeramis looked up at Icelus and smiled softly. "You should give her, her name." Icelus smiled down at the little bundle of joy, exuberant in the fact that he was now a father. He could not wipe the slight smile his lips had adopted since seeing the new life he had helped create. He had one hand on Aeramis, running his fingers through her hair. The other, he continuously stroked his new daughter's face. At Aeramis' suggestion, he started thinking of female names. It only took him a few moments to think of one.
"How about Dallia? After my mother." He continued stroking the two most important women in his life as he awaited her response. Days had passed since the birth of their child and as much as Aeramis loved spending every moment with the infant, she took every possible chance to also be working. If her eyes were closed, Aeramis' had her eyes open and going over data on the mining facility. A few times she had actually found herself opening her eyes to having a blanket over the top of her and the datapad moved to a table. One time, Icelus had scolded her for needing to get rest. One time. He hadn't done it again, likely so that it did not cause a fight.
Things were starting to come together. She had started creating requisition orders. But they would be fulfilled more in an acquisition rather than a requisition, as she had no larger parent company or government entity to go to. It was going to take some working, but everything would eventually fall into place. Minali Nefarias had been instrumental in acquiring "hands" to get things operating. The woman had a "reputation" within Intelligence that people still talked about, even after she had gone rogue. But, having had the opportunity to actually cross paths with her a couple of times, she could see why the chattering had continued. She was good at what she did and nothing got in her way.
The most strange to her, but the most industrious of individuals, Minali had brought two tribes of Ugnaughts, both with their own specialties. The negotiation was quick and painless and then they were off to work. She was in constant contact with them while the facility was made to be more habitable. Cleaning, polishing, getting everything as it should be. They performed maintenance on the mining droids, the processing equipment. It would not be long before Sildexon would be able to start mining, manufacturing and selling to the entire galaxy. Kable had finished his patrol circuit, checking up on the new guards he had hired in the past few weeks. He had already found one spy for the SIS amongst them. After interrogating the woman, he'd discovered that they were more interested in their connections to Gonla the Hutt then anything else. He spent the next hour answering her questions without revealing the existence of Penumbral or the origins of Sildexon. To say she was startled was an understatement. She had told Kable that she fully expected to die after being found. She also mentioned that this was her first assignment. She seemed rather new to Kable. He told her that's not how he did business and that once the station was fully up and running, they looked forward to speaking with representatives from the Republic to see about fulfilling their energy weapon needs. She left with a smile and a thank you. Kable figured he was nice to her because she was cute.
He stopped at the security office, checking up on the latest reports from the guards and interior sensors. He then headed towards Aeramis' office. He passed the two guards standing watch outside of the new nursery. He was surprised that one was needed. It turned out a couple of the security guards he brought on decided to bring their families. So, he had a nursery staffed and Dallia and the other children were inside. He smiled behind his helm. That kid was cute. Ice and Aeramis did a damn good job with her. He entered Aeramis' office.
"The interior sensor suite is fully calibrated and the exterior sensors and orbital satellite relays should be up and running by the end of the week. Also, aside from that one spy I've found, I haven't noticed any others. I'm sure the Empire or the Hutts have one here, but I just haven't found them yet. The full security report for the day is right here." He took the datapad he was holding and sat it on the desk in front of Aeramis. Aeramis looked up when Kable walked in. While she wanted to hate the man for various reasons, she couldn't. There were times when she felt strange attachment to him, only because he had delivered her child, but at the same time, he had seen her at her most vulnerable and that was not ok.
She set aside the datapad that she was looking at to look at the one he had set down. She nodded as he gave her the short version. "I have no doubt that both of those factions do in fact have people stationed here. I am also confident, that in time, they will reveal themselves and you and your team will be there to take care of them."
Aeramis took a sip from the water she had sitting on her desk. "Also, while I have no doubt that they are loyal to the credits they will get by being here, now that the Ugnaughts are at the facility, until they are settled, please keep a watchful eye." She reached over to stop an alarm that had started to beep as she was speaking. "Also, given the fact that we apparently have several families calling this station home, I think it's time we start making it look like home and less depressing. I'll be having some workers come in to start that process. They will also need to be kept under surveillance, as their stay will be temporary."
She stood and smiled faintly. "I think that is all for now, I have someone else to be attending to." celus had returned back from the fleet early. He just didn't feel like doing any work today, and one of the joys of being acting CO of the fleet, was he could brush the work off on his underlings.
He had arrived at the station and gotten to the nursery without Aeramis finding out. He had called ahead to Kable and gotten the clearance to land without having to go through the CIC. Now, he was walking into the nursery, the guards nodding to him as he walks past. He immediately heads over to Dallia and swoops her up into his arms, his daughter babbling away at him. He couldn't help but smile as he held the most important thing to him in this galaxy. Aeramis paused as the guards gave her a smile that they normally did not. It caused her to furrow her brow, but she was not going to stop and question it at that moment. She was far more interested in being on the other side of the door then wasting time with them. She would come back to them after she had mommy -baby time. What she discovered however was the reason for their expressions.
She wanted to be upset, because this was her time, but the fact that he was not supposed to even be at the facility at that time made the surprise a pleasant one. She says nothing as she goes to a dispenser to prepare the reason she was actually in there. Once it was ready she walks over and hands the bottle to Icelus. "If you are going to take my time, you should keep her on schedule." She kisses him gently on top of the head before she kneels down next to him.
Aeramis rested her hand lightly against the infant's head, leaning her own head against Icelus. "I was not expecting you and you obviously bypassed all of our security. My guess is you hand insider help. But I am happy you are here." Ice chuckled slightly at seeing her expression when she entered. She obviously hadn't expected him, and he wondered if he was going to get chewed out for operating outside of her normal schedule. But her demeanor changed once she got the bottle ready and came over, handing it to him.
He shift position with the baby, getting her in position to take the bottle almost without thought. Once he got her going and she was eating, he turned up and smiled at Aeramis. In a whisper, he spoke to her, "Sorry for sneaking in like this, but I wanted to surprise you and Dallia. I was at work and couldn't stand being away from her and you any longer." His gaze shifted back down to his daughter as she finished off the bottle. "Well young lady, you sure finished that quickly." He grabbed a small towel and draped it over his shoulder, as he positioned her over it to burp her. "Hey Boss," Aeetos called from down the hallway as he made his way into the nursery. Icelus hated being called that. Aeetos loved it. "Going to need another another snubfighter. 'Fraid mine's currently redecorating the hull of the Paradise." The Mandalorian stopped in his tracks when he saw the scene between mother, father, and baby. Many people already come installed with nurturing skill and would look and go "aww..."
Stuck on trying to understand neutering Aeetos had yet to discover nurturing in the dictionary.
"So that's what happens when your secretary locks you in a room.. Nice." Ice glared at Aeetos as he entered. He still didn't think the man was entirely stable and didn't relish the fact that he was near his daughter. Then, the casual comment about the fighter hitting the Lost?
"Your fighter crashed into the Lost? Consider your flight privileges revoked until further notice. And you want another snubfighter, you can pay for it yourself. If there is nothing further, consider yourself dismissed."
Ice turned back to his daughter just as she let out a rather large belch. "That's my girl.." He said with a smile on his face. "Aww..." Aeetos said as he stood in the doorway and pouted - clearly enjoying the new dynamic in their relationship for however long it lasted.
"Mister, we really should leave."
Aeetos shot the imaginary boy standing in the corner and observing the scene an annoyed look. The boy stared back, obviously not letting this one go. Finally Aeetos relented and gave Icelus an offhanded salute.
"Happy for ya both," he said with a nod as he left the room with his imaginary friend following him along. "Aww..." Aeetos said as he stood in the doorway and pouted - clearly enjoying the new dynamic in their relationship for however long it lasted.
"Mister, we really should leave."
Aeetos shot the imaginary boy standing in the corner and observing the scene an annoyed look. The boy stared back, obviously not letting this one go. Finally Aeetos relented and gave Icelus an offhanded salute.
"Happy for yah both," he said with a nod as he left the room with his imaginary friend following him along. Aeramis frowned at hearing the calling down the hallway. She liked quiet. She liked things to be in order. Aeetos was neither of those things and quite honestly, as she had taken charge of the mining facility and company she didn't care for having him there. The man was a loose cannon and on top of that, he had stabbed the man she loved. The fact that he had gotten past the guards was something she would take care of later. She was not ok with the comment that was made and narrowed her eyes. "Along with your flight privileges, consider yourself trespassing and see your way out."
She was already silently alerting guards with the communications device on her wrist, to ensure that the man was removed.
Aeramis turned her attention back to Icelus. "I do not want him here. I do not want him around Dallia and quite frankly, I don't want him around you, but I do not have that kind of say in Penumbral. But as long as I am running this business as a way of funding your friends over there, he's a customer and nothing more."
She scowled, she didn't like the negativity around the baby. She takes a moment to regain her composure, before leaning down to kiss Icelus and then Dallia, both on top of their heads. Kable had gotten the emergency message on his wrist pad and immediately set off towards the nursery. He was met by two of his best guards as he approached. He directed them to flank Aeetos and escort him to his shuttle back to the fleet. He watched as the set up on either side of him. Kable just nodded to Aeramis and Ice as he started to follow them out.
"Sir, Ma'am. Take good care of that little one now. We got this." "Thank you." One thing was for certain, she and Kable would be discussing security clearances. She was not the only person at the facility with a child, she wasn't going to take risks with other people's children, anymore than she would her own. They were all her responsibility and they would kept safe at any cost.
Having completely regained her composure, she took her previous position of kneeling on the floor next to Icelus. "Despite the minor blip of excitement, I am happy that you are here." She looked at both of them lovingly, before releasing a sigh at the sound of an alarm on her wrist. She seemed torn for a moment, before shutting it off and resting her head against Icelus' arm. "I suppose if you can take some time away from your responsibilities, the facility will not cease to operate if I do the same. " Slipping out of routine was difficult for her, but how could she pass up quality, family time? Aeramis sat in her office thinking about the conversation she had with Icelus the afternoon before. Several things turned over in her head as she considered this.
First off, the station was far from ready for any sort of inspection.
Secondly, while they were initially backed by people that fell under the realm of Penumbral, when things turned around, they would be the ones backing them. As it should be. But allowing them to 'visit' may end up putting them on a radar they did not want to be on.
Third, she wanted this to appear to be a business once things were all operational and would allowing people to just come and go affect that appearance.
She sighed, shook her head and started creating identities for people. Not just for traveling to and from the facility, but in case they needed them for getting to certain, highly populated planets, where people might be looking for them.
There were other concerns as well, such as the ships these people traveled on. Eventually they were not going to be able to use some of the smaller transportation, personal ships would start to be identified. Things needed to be done to insure safety of everyone involved.
She checked the time. She knew Icelus would be leaving soon to go assume duties on the fleet, so she needed to wrap things up quickly. She transferred everything to a datachip and then went to find him, exactly where she knew he would be. Sitting in a rocking chair, holding a small child.
"Alright, My Icelus. I need you to deliver something for me when you return to the fleet." She held up the datachip. "This is for Minali. She will know what it is, she is expecting it." Despite the fact that she was the one running Sildexon, at the core, she was still an Agent and took every opportunity to keep her skills fine tuned.. Icelus was sitting there, holding Dallia as he gently rocked her back and forth. He smiled inwardly as he reflected upon his life thus far and realized that for the first time, really for the first time, he was truly happy. There was only one thing he wanted, and he felt all he had to do was ask. As he sat there, reminiscing about his life, the main reason for his happiness walked into the room.
He looked up at Aeramis and smiled as she approached him. She had a datachip, and she was talking, but he found himself speechless and not truly hearing what she was saying. Even to this day, she still did that to him. He decided then and there, holding on to their daughter that his life wouldn't be the same without Aeramis and Dallia. She as she stood there, holding out the datachip for him to take, he just blurted out in a quiet voice:
"Will you marry me?" Aeramis blinked at the question. "No." If she had intended the answer to be a joke in any way, it had not come out that way. But then, if there was one thing she lacked, it was a sense of humor.
She realized, after standing there for a moment, what she had said and then further realized that it had probably not sounded the way she intended for it to sound, since she had not clarified and been so abrupt. "That is not to say the answer is no forever. But right now, with everything, is it the wisest choice?"
She smiled softly as she knelt down next to him. "It is not that I do not love you, My Icelus. I do, with all of my existence. Should I agree, it would have to be done in secret. We already risk much by you traveling between here and the fleet." She leans up to kiss him softly. "The time will come when we do not have to worry about who is looking for us. When we are not forever looking over our shoulders. When we do not have to move in the shadows." Ice's face goes slightly pale at the quick rebuttal and he keeps his eyes on her as she kneels down in front of him. As she takes the time to explain, the hurt he was feeling was replaced by the cold logic of her argument. He nodded slightly as she finished and gave her a wan smile.
"I see your logic there Aeramis. And to be quite honest, I wasn't sure what came over me with the asking, but it just felt right. As for risking much? I'd risk my life every minute of every day if it meant I can see you and Dallia."
He gives a slight chuckle as he continues. "Just so you know, I'm just gonna start calling you my wife. I'm tired of having to correct myself at least twice a day whenever I mention you. I'm always slipping up and calling you my wife. I'm not going to bother correcting myself any longer. We may not actually be married, but I view you as my wife and nothing's going to change that. I love you." Aeramis touched his cheek gently, smiling softly. She shook her head as he responded to what she said. "You'll not risk your life. If I have to order you be safe, I will. I need you to be safe and alive, as does that young creature in your arms. I don't want to do this by myself, My Icelus. It is why I abducted you in the first place."
She stands up so that she can kiss him on top of his head. "You may call me whatever you wish, My Icelus, as long as you call me yours." She held out her hands and motioned for him to hand baby over. "Now, I am certain that you have somewhere else to be. You also have a delivery to make for me and I have things that need to be done here." Icelus smiled as he handed over the little package in his arms. As Aeramis takes Dallia, he moves to stand beside her. He smiles at the sight before him and leans in, kissing her on the cheek. "I have to be the luckiest man in the galaxy. I love you Aeramis, I love you both." He leans down, kissing Dallia gently on her forehead before taking the datapad and heading for his ship.
Upon arriving at the fleet, he headed for his office. Once he got there, he sent a message to Minali on a secure channel, letting her know he had something for her. While he waited, he sat there, looking at the datachip. The issue when running a business, was that, to be successful, one needed customers. In order to get customers, first, one needed a product that others needed and secondly, people needed to know who the business was. Which is where her current mind set was at.
Aeramis had been going over everything. Processing was running smoothly, since the Ugnaughts had started working for Sildexon. Stock was starting to pile up. They had managed to get a good number of small customers, but this was not going to sustain them. The cost of harvest and manufacturing would quickly overtake them. Which is why they needed a new plan. Or at least a broadening scope. So the search had started and finally, her eyes fell on a potential prize.
A few simple calculations and a smile entered into her expression. She was going to have to send out a couple of people, but that's why you had employees, right? To do these things. To observe, to learn, and then to act. She knew what they could manage on a weekly basis and it was time to make the move. She sent a trusted ally to speak with the organizers. Plans were made. Prices were named and credits were transferred.
Aeramis smiled as she leaned back in the chair. Baby steps had just gotten a little larger. Aeramis was beyond annoyed. With the various things she had gotten their name attached to, business was starting to pick up. There was a demand and she had the supply, thankfully. But that was not what had her annoyed.
She was annoyed on a personal level. She had been holding out. She wasn't going to subject herself to the silly games. But the game was not as harmful to her as it was to the person she was currently looking into the eyes of. She couldn't help but smile at her, but the smile was clouded with sadness. For all appearances, Dallia was fatherless. This, all because her Sith of a Father couldn't recognize the act that her Mother was forced to put on for the greater good.
Aeramis sighed softly as she changed the small child into pajamas. For the baby, it had become a game, to wiggle as much as possible, making the task of dressing her as impossible as she could. For the mother, it was a good thing she held a great deal of patience. Once the child was changed, she herself changed and took the child to bed with her. Since the first night Icelus had not returned, that was how it had been. For the first time in almost two weeks, Icelus walked up to the door of the quarters he shared with Aeramis and Dallia..his beautiful, beautiful Dallia. He has had almost no sleep for the entirety of the two weeks, his dreams robbing him of the time he allocated for rest. And it was showing. He was snappy at people, his fatigue enhanced anger getting the better of him. He had tried everything he could think of, but sleep still alluded him. Finally, after two weeks of living off the Force, he decided to go home. But the dreams continued to dog him. Even on the shuttle ride to the station, he attempted to nap and was awoken by them, his hands on the hilts of his sabers. He hoped returning home would grant him the peace the dreams were denying him.
He staggered up to the door, the Force barely able to keep him moving. His fatigue total, he punched in his code and the door swooshed open. He walked in, his feet dragging slightly as he walked zombie like towards the main living area. He sat down, sinking into the couch as he always did. His eyes staring straight ahead at the video monitor that was currently off. ((OOC: Think 1000yard stare)). He had hoped that he hadn't woken Aeramis and Dallia, but knowing her, she'd wake up immediately. He also hoped she didn't notice the bags the size of destroyers under his eyes, and the far off look. Aeramis was a light sleeper. It came from years of training with Imperial Intelligence. A dead Agent was not a good Agent and therefore, they had to be alert, even when resting. The sound of the door and movement had most certainly woken her. Instinct told her she needed to protect her child and even though they were in a secure facility, she slept with a blaster within reaching distance.
She moved carefully out of the bed, so as to not wake the child, placed pillows around her to keep her from rolling out of the bed and retrieved her blaster. She moved silently across the room toward the door, so that she could hopefully catch sight of the fool that had decided to invade her space. When her eyes fell on him, she lowered the blaster and stepped into the doorway.
Her eyes narrowed as she looked him over. She would like to say he was a sight for sore eyes, but when it came down to it, she was angry with him and that emotion seemed to trump them all. "You think you can just come in here in the middle of the night after not a single word for weeks?"
The anger Aeramis felt toward him however had nothing to do with their last meeting, or even the fact that he had not spoken to her. Her anger came from the fact that, they had a child and even if he was avoiding her, he should not be making the child suffer that.
She placed the blaster on a table as she exited the sleeping quarters completely and it was not until then that she actually noticed his face and frowned even more. "Icelus..." Icelus just sat there, staring through her as she stood in front of him. Finally, he slowly turned his face towards her, as if noticing her finally. A very slight smile formed on his lips before disappearing under the wall of fatigue that the Force was currently keeping barely at bay. It took him a moment to gather enough moisture in his mouth and throat to speak, and when he did, his voice came out in a raspy whisper.
"Sorry I've been away. I've been burying myself in my work. I..I haven't been able to sleep. My dreams...." His voice trailed off as he went back to staring straight ahead. The visions he had been having certainly had him distressed. Aeramis said nothing at first, she took a step away from the door and pointed in it, with an extremely determined expression. "Go to the bed on your own, or with a sleep dart, I don't care which. I am not having any sort of conversation with you while you are sleep deprived and I am angry."
There was no doubting she was serious in her tone. Dreams or not, he looked like death and she was not going to deal with that at the moment. She truly was concerned in her mind, but she was not one to just let things slide. She also understood there was a time and a place and neither was at that moment. Moving like the undead, Icelus staggered to his feet. He looked at Aeramis, nodding to her as if to say "Yes Ma'am" but said nothing more as he walked towards the bedroom. When he entered, he stopped and stood there, his eyes glued to his daughter. A wan smile formed on his face as he took in the sight of her. He then moved to his side and started disrobing. He got his armor off and changed into some fresh under garments before getting into bed ever so softly as to not wake Dallia. He then laid there, eyes staring up at the ceiling, still grasping the Force in an effort to stay awake. Aeramis walked over to the bed, once Icelus was in it and scooped the sleeping infant up to place her in a more safe location. It was not that she felt that he would hurt the child, but the way he looked, he didn't need the added worry of where exactly the child was at on the bed.
Once the child was securely nestled in her own bed, Aeramis fixed herself a drink, she fixed one for Icelus as well, though she was certain he was not going to need it. She pulled open a drawer from the cabinet she was standing at and pulled out a small pouch, she gathered the glasses and made her way back to the bed. She sat down on the edge closest to Icelus, placed the glasses on the table. She sighed softly as she messed with the pouch in her lap.
A moment later, with no warning, she stabbed Icelus with a syringe. "You will thank me later." She reached over to activate a com. "Send a medical and security detail to my quarters immediately." Icelus winced slightly as the needle pierced his flesh. He turned his head, looking straight at Aeramis. He just smiled at her as he felt the sedative start to work on him. The ki kept it at bay for the most part, but he knew it was a losing battle. He closed his eyes and let go of the Force, feeling his crushing fatigue envelop him as he slipped into darkness. His breathing became shallow, and his heartbeat slowed. To a casual observer, he'd look dead. But for the first time in weeks, Icelus slept. As on any other day, since she had been assigned to the space station, Aeramis sat at the control station pretending to be an aide to the Commander of the station. They were supposed to be working for the same people, but suspicious behavior had indicated that perhaps Icelus was not the asset he was originally thought to be. She had been sent in as a fail safe and as she sat there contemplating things, realized that she was torn. She was not supposed to have developed feelings for the man behind the door. Her eyes turned toward the door and a soft sigh of frustration was released. She didn’t let her gaze remain there however, instead she went back to going through the motions of being “the aide” and at the same time, monitoring various other channels that only she was aware of.
She had almost missed it because of being lost in her own thoughts. She had been monitoring transmissions to and from the planet. Some encryptions she had removed, others, she didn’t find the people sending them to be significant enough to care about. Some, she had still be working on breaking, all while under the guise of doing “work” for Icelus. Something was not right though. The names she was seeing were names she had never seen conversing before, yet the the channel was definitely to and from the planet. She was also used to Dark Council and Imperial chatter, but this was neither.
The most important thing was going to be keeping calm. She needed to remove most of the emotion from the situation and think on a professional level only. She checked the time, it was a little early, but she figured she could play it as she had a brief moment in-between projects. Coy would not be difficult, she would simply have to bat her eyes, call him “My Icelus” and he would be distracted. The HK unit may be a little more tricky. She knew that Icelus depended on the thing to ensure his safety, but she also knew her chances of taking it down if it perceived a threat would be difficult. She knew how to get him out of the office, but him coming back in was going to be where the problem would lie.
Aeramis pulled out a datapad and plugged it into the main terminal and started the download of essential information. A second datapad she tied directly to the transmission going back and forth between those that had put her on alert. She locked the displays so that all screens were black and pushed herself up from the control desk. She often moved about the station during the day, so it would not appear odd that she was doing so now. Even though her destination was her private quarters there. Two droids were in the quarters by the time she had arrived, both of them having been summoned there by her communicator. As she passed by the one it handed her a small pack. “Everything is arranged as requested, Mistress.”
She smiled at the droid. “Perfect. There will be one or two minor changes. We will need a crate for the droid. You did get the restraining bolt programmed adequately, yes?”
“It is as you requested.” The droid replied.
Aeramis pulled off clothes as she moved through the quarters, until she was down to nearly nothing when she reached the closet. She pulled out under armor and slipped into it. It was skin-tight and would not be visible under her clothing, but would give her some of the protection she may need. She quickly pulled her clothing back on and checked herself in the mirror to make sure her appearance looked the same. “Pack things up, get them on the ship. Secure the crate in the docking bay, I will be there shortly.”
As she made her way back to the office, she was far more cognizant of the people that she passed. Some of them she actually felt sorry for, they were innocent in all of this, others, well, they deserved whatever was to happen to them. As she walked past the control desk, she paused to grab the two datapads and then proceeded into the office. He was floating in an endless sea of dark tranquility, no sense of motion at all. As he floated, he could feel his chest and body start to get heavier. He started drifting down, falling. Slowly, he could make out sounds. First, it was if they were coming from as long distance away, but as more pressure mounted on his chest, the sounds became more distinct, more understandable. He could hear... ship sounds. Air processors, computers, footsteps, some voices. It sounded like he was on a ship. The darkness he was floating in was starting to lighten, images starting to form. First, they were blurry, incomprehensible. Then, he could make out shapes, then faces.
One of those faces was Aeramis. Aeramis had expected a reaction, but she had not been prepared for him to actually, physically grab her throat. Instinctively she grabbed his wrist to try and wrestle his grip away, but at the same time, she didn't want it to appear that she was trying to be overly combative.
"St..ta..hp"She had already tranquilized him, kidnapped him and now she was afraid she was going to have to strike him somehow and she was highly against doing that, all things considered. "Can't."
She unfolded one of her legs and put her foot in his armpit in an attempt to give herself some leverage, to pull away from him. "I won't fight.." Formulating an almost entire sentence had been difficult, but she could explain nothing to him, as long as he was trying to kill her. Still gripping her by the throat as she vainly fought against his grip, he shifted his feet off the bed. He stood up from the bed, backing her towards the wall. With a growl, he slammed her back against the wall.
"Why!? Tell. Me. WHY!?!" An uncontrollable whimper escaped her when he slammed her against the wall. "I need you. We need you." She struggled against his grip.
"You were in danger, it was the right thing to do. Please.." The pleading in her eyes was genuine. There was no deception, she had truly done what she had out of caring.
"Let me, show you, please..." With another low growl, Ice released her from his grip. He called out to her droid, ordering his weapons to be brought to him. He turned back to her, his anger simmering beneath the surface.
"You have two minutes to convince me not to kill you. Talk. Quickly."
Once things had started to take shape in the pulling together of those that had been scattered across the stars and those that had been captured had been located, Aeramis had shifted her focus. They would not survive long without funding. She was well aware of the fact that she could not safely access her own private accounts... yet and the funds she could access without notice would rapidly be depleted with the lifestyle they were now living and her lack of a steady income from the Empire. As such, she had shifted her focus and put her years of top quality education to work. It had taken some time, but she had finally located what would be the perfect cover and would give the organization exactly what it would need to carry on. Initially, it would cause her to be very busy and distant, but it would be worth it in the end.
She had managed to convince Icelus that she would be fine on her own and that he should stay with the fleet working out a few details while she took care of some things. She had given him very few details about what she was working on, as she did not want him getting in the middle or trying to “help” as it were. She had pooled all of her resources, had called in a few favors, had spoken to some key individuals within the organization and now here she was. She stood on the bridge of her personal ship, her arms folded over one another, resting atop her stomach as she watched the movement outside of the ship. She came nowhere near fitting into her environmental suit so that meant observing and telling people what to do from here until she was convinced that it was safe for her to leave the ship.
“Out One to Lead. All toxins have been vented and air recirc has been initiated. It’s going to take a little bit of time to get the air breathable, but with all of the new filters in place, it should go pretty quick.”
Aeramis nodded slowly, even though there was no one there to actually see her do so. “Very well, continue on. Make sure there are no breaches and the structure is sound.”
“Out One, acknowledged.”
She moved her arms out and rubbed her hands over her stomach when she felt the life inside her move. “Get used to it little one. A mining facility or a ship will be where you take your first breath. Not exactly the life I intended for you.”
“Out Two to Lead. We have finished full surveillance of the surface and have confirmed the bubble is intact. No visible damage, but in need of a thorough cleaning.” What was probably a laugh was cut off as the channel was closed.
“I am certain you will be perfect for the job, Out Two. Carry on with your surveillance.” Her voice had remained flat. The off-handed jab had come as a result of a recent tirade she had gone on in regards to things on the ship not being clean to her standards.
A tingle in her back reminded her that she was standing and had been for sometime. Thinking that she should probably sit down for a moment, she moved to one of the consoles and sat down in the chair that was in front of it. At least from there, she could see the readouts of how things were progressing with the air quality. The oxygen saturation was making a steady climb, which meant soon, she would be able to exit the ship and take a tour of the facility.
“Out One to Lead. We have made a full sweep, we have not been able to detect any breach, the place is as sound as it can be.”
Aeramis actually jumped slightly at hearing the call come in. There had been silence for so long that the disturbance to the quiet had been a jolt. “Acknowledged. Bring it all back in.”
She contemplated pushing herself up from the seat she was in, but instead, opted to continue watching percentages shift. She couldn’t really do anything until everything was stabilized anyway.
At some point, she had phased out and had stopped paying attention to readouts, because the alert that signaled that the environment was safe, startled her. She reached over to stop the beeping. She placed her hands protectively over her abdomen for a moment. “Well Little One, let’s go see what our new “home” looks like.” She pushed herself up to standing, took a moment to let the wave of dizziness pass and then made her way back to where the others were bantering back and forth. “Who is going to give me the grand tour?” She smirked as they all pointed at the youngest member of the crew, before he even had a chance to consider it. “Fantastic. Let’s get a move on then.” He scowled and as he rose to his feet muttered something under his breath before acknowledging. “Yes’m.” As Aeramis moved to head towards the Airlock, Kable came up behind her. "Before you step on that station miss, let me go first." Without even waiting for an acknowledgement, Kable made for the airlock. He snaps his helm on and with a hiss of air, it locks in place. He draws his twin blasters and hits the rune to pressurize the airlock. As it opens, he walks in, his eyes going to all corners as he looks over the bridge leading to the station. He crosses over, sweeping the landing before calling back to Aeramis.
"It's clear." Aeramis glanced over her shoulder at Kable. She had all but forgotten about him. He was not part of her normal entourage. She had not actually chosen him, but that was neither here nor there, he was going to be part of the bigger picture, so she may as well start getting used to it now.
She stepped out of the way so that he could go first. "I am not exactly sure what you think might be out there that's dangerous. The teams already swept the facility and found nothing. The environment previously was not breathable by us, so in the course of logic would now not be breathable by anything left inside, but by all means, Kable, was it? Lead on.
She hated the fact that she felt like people did things because they thought she couldn't. Sure she couldn't roll into cover anymore and using a stealth generator and sneaking around might be rather interesting, but she was still quite capable of firing a blaster and would not hesitate to do so, if the situation arose that made it necessary. At any rate, she was not going to let it bother her.
Did you want to go ahead and let my man lead, since he has already been all over the inside of the facility or did you want to take us on an adventure that would surely waste time? She raised an eyebrow and looked at Kable with a smirk, while she waited for him to decide which it was going to be. Kable smiled behind his mask as he relocked his blasters to his thigh plates. He had his orders pertaining to the young miss, and he wasn't going to let anything happen to her. He activates his external comm and turns to her.
"The reason I did what I did, was simple. Too many times I've seen systems restored on old and derelict vessels and some unseen defense mechanism that wasn't caught before reactivates and ends up gutting someone. I won't lose any men or women to negligence.
Kable activates his mission wide comm and repeats what he said to Aeramis to everyone else, alerting them to watch out for any new dangers. He then closes it, and turns back to Aeramis.
"Shall we head to the Command Deck?" Aeramis was feeling exceptionally annoyed as she listened to Kable talk. She was a highly trained Cipher Agent. This facility was not her first dance, but she really did not feel like arguing the point either. If something were to happen, she was in no condition to fend off anything physically.
"But of course. You are the head of security, by all means, secure things." It felt like acid on her tongue saying it. She was certain that her ruse has a secretary on the reach had perhaps damaged her reputation as a capable force, but that was neither hear nor there, she would be in charge of all of it, more or less, so it was a trade off.
She extended a hand toward her man, to indicate that he should take the lead. "Yes, please, let us do exactly that."
As they made their way through the facility, Aeramis was painfully reminded of her condition. Pains pulsed from the center of her back, all the way around her torso, but other than a slightly frown, she did not let on that she was in any sort of pain. She held her head high and tried to focus on the aspects of the facility. The rooms they passed, signs on walls. The drab colors. She made a mental note that the colors needed to be changed to something more sterile and clean looking.
"Straight ahead Ma'am and we will be in the command deck and observation bubble." Aeramis simply nodded as she continued on. Her hands moved from hanging down at her sides to the small of her back, trying to give herself some relief. "Thank you." Kable hears a beep in his helm and looks at a display that hasn't been used in a long time on his forearm armor. His head turns back towards Aeramis.
"You ok?"
He can see that she's in obvious discomfort and she definitely seems to be in more of an evil disposition than normal. As they enter the observation bubble, a view of the planet below opens up before them. He turns and pulls a scanner from a hip compartment, running it over here. It was going to piss her off, but he had orders from his buddy Icelus to keep an eye on her no matter what. The readings were a bit confusing at first, then it dawned on him what was happening.
"Haar'chak! I think you're going into labor." He activates his comm unit. "I need a med droid to my position immediately. Code Phoenix." He turns back to Aeramis. "Do you think you can make it back to the med bay on the ship?" Aeramis frowned at Kable when he turned to look at her. "I am perfectly fine, thank you."
She wasn't fine, but she had had years of training to be able to endure the pain of torture and she was putting every bit of that training to use at that moment. She would not allow these men a glimpse of any sort of weakness. She moved toward one of the control stations and eased herself down into the station chair.
Aeramis turned her head to scowl at Kable. "I most certainly, am not going into labor!" "I can't be, not here, not without Icelus." She could feel her muscles contract and no amount of concentration could stop it. She hissed through clenched teeth. "There is nothing wrong with me, of course, I can make it and then you will see how wrong you are." "Little one, this time is wrong, your Father is not here."
She took a moment to compose herself before standing back up. "If it will make you feel better, we can finish the tour later." What will make me feel better will be getting you back to the medbay." With that and without waiting for a rebuttal from Aeramis, Kable simply reached over and picked up her, carrying her in his arms. He immediately made his way back towards the ship. He was halfway to the med bay when the medical droid intercepted them.
'I am Medical Droid DN-2C, please state the nature of the medical emergency."
Kable burst past the droid, talking as he went. "Human female going into labor. Contractions appear to be only a few minutes apart. We don't have much time I think." They entered the med bay and Kable sat Aeramis down on the table as the droid began removing her clothing..or attempting to. "What the...! No, just no. Put me down, ri..." She tensed up as her muscled contracted again. She would never admit it, but she was thankful that he had picked her up, because the standing there, trying to pretend she was fine was becoming more and more difficult.
She scowled at the droid, not that it would care about her expression. "There is no emergency."
As they entered into the ship, the crew all immediately rose, not that she saw them, but she heard the movement and she heard the one that had been with them state the obvious. When the droid started trying to remove her clothing for her, it elicited a negative response from her. "STOP!" OUT! GET OUT NOW!!" She scowled at Kable. "That includes you!" She took several slow deep breaths to calm herself. "Please, just give him a few moments." Her expression when she made the request, bordered on something somewhere between pleading and fear. "I'm gonna go get out of this armor. You get undressed. Kable turned and stepped into a side room. He quickly removed his armor, letting it fall to the floor. He donned a surgical robe and reentered. He was holding up the scanner he had used before.
"And I know you are in labor. This scanner was made to detect contractions from human females. Icelus gave it to me." Kable turned again and activated a comm unit on the wall. "Contact Lord Icelus. Tell him Code Phoenix is a go."
**************************************
Icelus was standing on the bridge of the "Paradise Lost", surveying the fleet with Luniara and Aeetos. A rating by the comm suite received the message from Aeramis' ship. "Lord Icelus. I'm receiving a message from Lord Kable. He says, and I quote, "Code Phoenix is a go." At this point, Ice's eyes went wide.
"Are you sure? Did you get verification?" The rating just nodded in response. Ice turned back to Aeetos and Luniara. "I gotta go, Aeramis has gone into labor. It's only an hour away via hyperspace. I hope I get there in time." He turned and bolted from the command deck, not even hearing what Aeetos and Luniara had said as he ran off. He called ahead to Flynn to get his ship ready for immediate launch. He was going to get there in time even if it killed him. Aeramis was having one of those moments, where if she were not huge with baby, she would have had her knees pulled to her chest, her arms wrapped around her legs and her head tucked down. She had never had such an overwhelming rush of emotion and it was taxing. She was afraid. Not for herself, but for the tiny life inside of her.
Kable had left the room and she knew that she was sure he would not give her a lot of time to be by herself. The rushes of pain were getting worse. She felt nauseated. Her need to be in control was being tested by something that put her completely out of control and as much as she would hate to admit it, she knew that she could not do this on her own.
She changed into the medical clothes and started prepping the room herself, between having to pause to let a contraction pass. She engaged a medical probe that would monitor her vitals as well the baby.
Aeramis looked at Kable when he re-entered. Her eyes narrowed. "Of course he did." She stopped and blinked, as it occurred to her that she had not even spoken to Icelus. "Icelus..." She was moving toward a com panel when the worst of the contractions hit her, doubling her over. Thankfully she had been next to the bed and caught herself on it. "Open a com to him, please." She couldn't resist the desire to lay down on the bed, rolling over on to her side and curling in as much as possible on herself. The ship was hurtling through hyperspace on it's way to the mining station. The place hadn't even been secured yet, and already it faced it's first emergency. The fact that it was technically half Icelus' fault didn't matter. He was pacing back and forth behind Flynn as the man piloted this ship.
"Can't this ship go any faster Flynn?"
The Imperial Captain turned his head, irritation plainly evident upon his face. "My Lord, as I stated three times previously, I'm already red lining the engines. If we go any faster, we risk a catastrophic engine failure which will lead to our destruction. Now please, let me fly the ship." Without waiting for a response, Flynn turned back to the consoles in front of him. Ice was about to give the Captain a piece of his mind when the comm unit behind him chimed. Icelus turned to see who was trying to send them a message, when he noticed it had Aeramis' personal code attached to it. He quickly activated the reply key.
"Aeramis? Aeramis baby is that you?" He awaited a response. "My Icelus.." Just hearing his voice was a comfort, though she would have prefer it not be over a comlink. "I'm... she scowled at Kable, because she did not really want him to hear what she was about to say. "I'm sorry."
She tensed up as another contraction hit her and at the same time the medical probe injected her with a painkiller as it was scheduled to do. Her body and the baby were not waiting. She was losing the ability to concentrate on scowling at Kable for being there, her focus having to shift fully to doing what needed to be done for her health and the well being of the child that was about to make it's entrance.
She left the com open, because just hearing Icelus voice through the ordeal was a comfort to her.
Through all of her trying to maintain control, to make the decision herself, the child was not going to wait for its father to be there to be born and as such the first time they both heard the cry of their child, Icelus was forced to hear it over a comlink. Tears ran down her cheeks when her eyes first rested on the face of the tiny life that had been growing inside her. Icelus closed his eyes and thanked the Force as he heard the cry of his child. Sounded like a good set of lungs on it. He stood there, eyes closed smiling widely as he continued to listen. He spoke to Aeramis over the intercom, "What it is hon? Wait, it doesn't matter as long as it's healthy. I love you babe.
With a lurch, the ship exited out of hyperspace. He turned to survey the cockpit readouts before turning back to the comm unit. "Babe, we just came out of hyperspace. We'll be docked in less than five minutes. I'm almost there." He kept the comm unit open as he stood there, impatiently waiting for the ship to dock. Aeramis held the small form close to her chest, extremely protective, instantly. She could actually hear the chatter of her crew outside of the med bay. "A girl, My Icelus. She's... she's amazing.
She was trying to shoo away droids and such, not wanting any of them near her. She didn't care if they wanted to take vitals on herself or the baby. It was hers and no one would ever take it from her.
By the time Icelus arrived, the room looked like none of the carnage had taken place, Aeramis was laying on her side, the child cradled in her arms, protectively. She smiled as she looked up at him. "You are arrived, finally." She lifted a hand to wave him closer. "Is she not exquisite?" Icelus walked into the room. Kable had intercepted him before hand, telling him how close it had been and that it was a good idea he had given him the scanner, otherwise he would have never known Aeramis was in labor. Kable then congratulated him and walked over to don his armor and head out to finish clearing the station. Icelus was formulating a whole tirade for Aeramis and her reckless behavior when he walked into the delivery room. His anger at her actions fled in a heartbeat.
He had changed into a simple robe of deep blue before the ship had arrived and he walked over, his slightly shaking hand running along Aeramis' cheek. He wiped sweat from her brow as he smiled down at her and the beautiful child in her arms. He leaned down and kissed Aeramis on the forehead before gently running a finger along the baby's cheek.
"She's the most beautiful creature I have ever seen in the galaxy. I love you Aeramis." He leaned down next to the bed, his face level with Aeramis, smiling at her and the baby. "Have you decided on a name yet hon?" Aeramis had a difficult time taking her eyes off the infant in her arms. Only weeks before she had been on a tirade regarding who would or would not be around her. The lengths she would go to protect the young one. Her tirade had immediately been followed by a total meltdown, in which she spent quite some time crying and wondering if she would be able to protect her child. But she had been on an emotional roller coaster from the word pregnant.
She blinked when Icelus asked her about a name. "No..." She had only ever referred to the infant as "Little One" so assigning a name to it had not occurred to her.
Aeramis looked up at Icelus and smiled softly. "You should give her, her name." Icelus smiled down at the little bundle of joy, exuberant in the fact that he was now a father. He could not wipe the slight smile his lips had adopted since seeing the new life he had helped create. He had one hand on Aeramis, running his fingers through her hair. The other, he continuously stroked his new daughter's face. At Aeramis' suggestion, he started thinking of female names. It only took him a few moments to think of one.
"How about Dallia? After my mother." He continued stroking the two most important women in his life as he awaited her response. Days had passed since the birth of their child and as much as Aeramis loved spending every moment with the infant, she took every possible chance to also be working. If her eyes were closed, Aeramis' had her eyes open and going over data on the mining facility. A few times she had actually found herself opening her eyes to having a blanket over the top of her and the datapad moved to a table. One time, Icelus had scolded her for needing to get rest. One time. He hadn't done it again, likely so that it did not cause a fight.
Things were starting to come together. She had started creating requisition orders. But they would be fulfilled more in an acquisition rather than a requisition, as she had no larger parent company or government entity to go to. It was going to take some working, but everything would eventually fall into place. Minali Nefarias had been instrumental in acquiring "hands" to get things operating. The woman had a "reputation" within Intelligence that people still talked about, even after she had gone rogue. But, having had the opportunity to actually cross paths with her a couple of times, she could see why the chattering had continued. She was good at what she did and nothing got in her way.
The most strange to her, but the most industrious of individuals, Minali had brought two tribes of Ugnaughts, both with their own specialties. The negotiation was quick and painless and then they were off to work. She was in constant contact with them while the facility was made to be more habitable. Cleaning, polishing, getting everything as it should be. They performed maintenance on the mining droids, the processing equipment. It would not be long before Sildexon would be able to start mining, manufacturing and selling to the entire galaxy. Kable had finished his patrol circuit, checking up on the new guards he had hired in the past few weeks. He had already found one spy for the SIS amongst them. After interrogating the woman, he'd discovered that they were more interested in their connections to Gonla the Hutt then anything else. He spent the next hour answering her questions without revealing the existence of Penumbral or the origins of Sildexon. To say she was startled was an understatement. She had told Kable that she fully expected to die after being found. She also mentioned that this was her first assignment. She seemed rather new to Kable. He told her that's not how he did business and that once the station was fully up and running, they looked forward to speaking with representatives from the Republic to see about fulfilling their energy weapon needs. She left with a smile and a thank you. Kable figured he was nice to her because she was cute.
He stopped at the security office, checking up on the latest reports from the guards and interior sensors. He then headed towards Aeramis' office. He passed the two guards standing watch outside of the new nursery. He was surprised that one was needed. It turned out a couple of the security guards he brought on decided to bring their families. So, he had a nursery staffed and Dallia and the other children were inside. He smiled behind his helm. That kid was cute. Ice and Aeramis did a damn good job with her. He entered Aeramis' office.
"The interior sensor suite is fully calibrated and the exterior sensors and orbital satellite relays should be up and running by the end of the week. Also, aside from that one spy I've found, I haven't noticed any others. I'm sure the Empire or the Hutts have one here, but I just haven't found them yet. The full security report for the day is right here." He took the datapad he was holding and sat it on the desk in front of Aeramis. Aeramis looked up when Kable walked in. While she wanted to hate the man for various reasons, she couldn't. There were times when she felt strange attachment to him, only because he had delivered her child, but at the same time, he had seen her at her most vulnerable and that was not ok.
She set aside the datapad that she was looking at to look at the one he had set down. She nodded as he gave her the short version. "I have no doubt that both of those factions do in fact have people stationed here. I am also confident, that in time, they will reveal themselves and you and your team will be there to take care of them."
Aeramis took a sip from the water she had sitting on her desk. "Also, while I have no doubt that they are loyal to the credits they will get by being here, now that the Ugnaughts are at the facility, until they are settled, please keep a watchful eye." She reached over to stop an alarm that had started to beep as she was speaking. "Also, given the fact that we apparently have several families calling this station home, I think it's time we start making it look like home and less depressing. I'll be having some workers come in to start that process. They will also need to be kept under surveillance, as their stay will be temporary."
She stood and smiled faintly. "I think that is all for now, I have someone else to be attending to." celus had returned back from the fleet early. He just didn't feel like doing any work today, and one of the joys of being acting CO of the fleet, was he could brush the work off on his underlings.
He had arrived at the station and gotten to the nursery without Aeramis finding out. He had called ahead to Kable and gotten the clearance to land without having to go through the CIC. Now, he was walking into the nursery, the guards nodding to him as he walks past. He immediately heads over to Dallia and swoops her up into his arms, his daughter babbling away at him. He couldn't help but smile as he held the most important thing to him in this galaxy. Aeramis paused as the guards gave her a smile that they normally did not. It caused her to furrow her brow, but she was not going to stop and question it at that moment. She was far more interested in being on the other side of the door then wasting time with them. She would come back to them after she had mommy -baby time. What she discovered however was the reason for their expressions.
She wanted to be upset, because this was her time, but the fact that he was not supposed to even be at the facility at that time made the surprise a pleasant one. She says nothing as she goes to a dispenser to prepare the reason she was actually in there. Once it was ready she walks over and hands the bottle to Icelus. "If you are going to take my time, you should keep her on schedule." She kisses him gently on top of the head before she kneels down next to him.
Aeramis rested her hand lightly against the infant's head, leaning her own head against Icelus. "I was not expecting you and you obviously bypassed all of our security. My guess is you hand insider help. But I am happy you are here." Ice chuckled slightly at seeing her expression when she entered. She obviously hadn't expected him, and he wondered if he was going to get chewed out for operating outside of her normal schedule. But her demeanor changed once she got the bottle ready and came over, handing it to him.
He shift position with the baby, getting her in position to take the bottle almost without thought. Once he got her going and she was eating, he turned up and smiled at Aeramis. In a whisper, he spoke to her, "Sorry for sneaking in like this, but I wanted to surprise you and Dallia. I was at work and couldn't stand being away from her and you any longer." His gaze shifted back down to his daughter as she finished off the bottle. "Well young lady, you sure finished that quickly." He grabbed a small towel and draped it over his shoulder, as he positioned her over it to burp her. "Hey Boss," Aeetos called from down the hallway as he made his way into the nursery. Icelus hated being called that. Aeetos loved it. "Going to need another another snubfighter. 'Fraid mine's currently redecorating the hull of the Paradise." The Mandalorian stopped in his tracks when he saw the scene between mother, father, and baby. Many people already come installed with nurturing skill and would look and go "aww..."
Stuck on trying to understand neutering Aeetos had yet to discover nurturing in the dictionary.
"So that's what happens when your secretary locks you in a room.. Nice." Ice glared at Aeetos as he entered. He still didn't think the man was entirely stable and didn't relish the fact that he was near his daughter. Then, the casual comment about the fighter hitting the Lost?
"Your fighter crashed into the Lost? Consider your flight privileges revoked until further notice. And you want another snubfighter, you can pay for it yourself. If there is nothing further, consider yourself dismissed."
Ice turned back to his daughter just as she let out a rather large belch. "That's my girl.." He said with a smile on his face. "Aww..." Aeetos said as he stood in the doorway and pouted - clearly enjoying the new dynamic in their relationship for however long it lasted.
"Mister, we really should leave."
Aeetos shot the imaginary boy standing in the corner and observing the scene an annoyed look. The boy stared back, obviously not letting this one go. Finally Aeetos relented and gave Icelus an offhanded salute.
"Happy for ya both," he said with a nod as he left the room with his imaginary friend following him along. "Aww..." Aeetos said as he stood in the doorway and pouted - clearly enjoying the new dynamic in their relationship for however long it lasted.
"Mister, we really should leave."
Aeetos shot the imaginary boy standing in the corner and observing the scene an annoyed look. The boy stared back, obviously not letting this one go. Finally Aeetos relented and gave Icelus an offhanded salute.
"Happy for yah both," he said with a nod as he left the room with his imaginary friend following him along. Aeramis frowned at hearing the calling down the hallway. She liked quiet. She liked things to be in order. Aeetos was neither of those things and quite honestly, as she had taken charge of the mining facility and company she didn't care for having him there. The man was a loose cannon and on top of that, he had stabbed the man she loved. The fact that he had gotten past the guards was something she would take care of later. She was not ok with the comment that was made and narrowed her eyes. "Along with your flight privileges, consider yourself trespassing and see your way out."
She was already silently alerting guards with the communications device on her wrist, to ensure that the man was removed.
Aeramis turned her attention back to Icelus. "I do not want him here. I do not want him around Dallia and quite frankly, I don't want him around you, but I do not have that kind of say in Penumbral. But as long as I am running this business as a way of funding your friends over there, he's a customer and nothing more."
She scowled, she didn't like the negativity around the baby. She takes a moment to regain her composure, before leaning down to kiss Icelus and then Dallia, both on top of their heads. Kable had gotten the emergency message on his wrist pad and immediately set off towards the nursery. He was met by two of his best guards as he approached. He directed them to flank Aeetos and escort him to his shuttle back to the fleet. He watched as the set up on either side of him. Kable just nodded to Aeramis and Ice as he started to follow them out.
"Sir, Ma'am. Take good care of that little one now. We got this." "Thank you." One thing was for certain, she and Kable would be discussing security clearances. She was not the only person at the facility with a child, she wasn't going to take risks with other people's children, anymore than she would her own. They were all her responsibility and they would kept safe at any cost.
Having completely regained her composure, she took her previous position of kneeling on the floor next to Icelus. "Despite the minor blip of excitement, I am happy that you are here." She looked at both of them lovingly, before releasing a sigh at the sound of an alarm on her wrist. She seemed torn for a moment, before shutting it off and resting her head against Icelus' arm. "I suppose if you can take some time away from your responsibilities, the facility will not cease to operate if I do the same. " Slipping out of routine was difficult for her, but how could she pass up quality, family time? Aeramis sat in her office thinking about the conversation she had with Icelus the afternoon before. Several things turned over in her head as she considered this.
First off, the station was far from ready for any sort of inspection.
Secondly, while they were initially backed by people that fell under the realm of Penumbral, when things turned around, they would be the ones backing them. As it should be. But allowing them to 'visit' may end up putting them on a radar they did not want to be on.
Third, she wanted this to appear to be a business once things were all operational and would allowing people to just come and go affect that appearance.
She sighed, shook her head and started creating identities for people. Not just for traveling to and from the facility, but in case they needed them for getting to certain, highly populated planets, where people might be looking for them.
There were other concerns as well, such as the ships these people traveled on. Eventually they were not going to be able to use some of the smaller transportation, personal ships would start to be identified. Things needed to be done to insure safety of everyone involved.
She checked the time. She knew Icelus would be leaving soon to go assume duties on the fleet, so she needed to wrap things up quickly. She transferred everything to a datachip and then went to find him, exactly where she knew he would be. Sitting in a rocking chair, holding a small child.
"Alright, My Icelus. I need you to deliver something for me when you return to the fleet." She held up the datachip. "This is for Minali. She will know what it is, she is expecting it." Despite the fact that she was the one running Sildexon, at the core, she was still an Agent and took every opportunity to keep her skills fine tuned.. Icelus was sitting there, holding Dallia as he gently rocked her back and forth. He smiled inwardly as he reflected upon his life thus far and realized that for the first time, really for the first time, he was truly happy. There was only one thing he wanted, and he felt all he had to do was ask. As he sat there, reminiscing about his life, the main reason for his happiness walked into the room.
He looked up at Aeramis and smiled as she approached him. She had a datachip, and she was talking, but he found himself speechless and not truly hearing what she was saying. Even to this day, she still did that to him. He decided then and there, holding on to their daughter that his life wouldn't be the same without Aeramis and Dallia. She as she stood there, holding out the datachip for him to take, he just blurted out in a quiet voice:
"Will you marry me?" Aeramis blinked at the question. "No." If she had intended the answer to be a joke in any way, it had not come out that way. But then, if there was one thing she lacked, it was a sense of humor.
She realized, after standing there for a moment, what she had said and then further realized that it had probably not sounded the way she intended for it to sound, since she had not clarified and been so abrupt. "That is not to say the answer is no forever. But right now, with everything, is it the wisest choice?"
She smiled softly as she knelt down next to him. "It is not that I do not love you, My Icelus. I do, with all of my existence. Should I agree, it would have to be done in secret. We already risk much by you traveling between here and the fleet." She leans up to kiss him softly. "The time will come when we do not have to worry about who is looking for us. When we are not forever looking over our shoulders. When we do not have to move in the shadows." Ice's face goes slightly pale at the quick rebuttal and he keeps his eyes on her as she kneels down in front of him. As she takes the time to explain, the hurt he was feeling was replaced by the cold logic of her argument. He nodded slightly as she finished and gave her a wan smile.
"I see your logic there Aeramis. And to be quite honest, I wasn't sure what came over me with the asking, but it just felt right. As for risking much? I'd risk my life every minute of every day if it meant I can see you and Dallia."
He gives a slight chuckle as he continues. "Just so you know, I'm just gonna start calling you my wife. I'm tired of having to correct myself at least twice a day whenever I mention you. I'm always slipping up and calling you my wife. I'm not going to bother correcting myself any longer. We may not actually be married, but I view you as my wife and nothing's going to change that. I love you." Aeramis touched his cheek gently, smiling softly. She shook her head as he responded to what she said. "You'll not risk your life. If I have to order you be safe, I will. I need you to be safe and alive, as does that young creature in your arms. I don't want to do this by myself, My Icelus. It is why I abducted you in the first place."
She stands up so that she can kiss him on top of his head. "You may call me whatever you wish, My Icelus, as long as you call me yours." She held out her hands and motioned for him to hand baby over. "Now, I am certain that you have somewhere else to be. You also have a delivery to make for me and I have things that need to be done here." Icelus smiled as he handed over the little package in his arms. As Aeramis takes Dallia, he moves to stand beside her. He smiles at the sight before him and leans in, kissing her on the cheek. "I have to be the luckiest man in the galaxy. I love you Aeramis, I love you both." He leans down, kissing Dallia gently on her forehead before taking the datapad and heading for his ship.
Upon arriving at the fleet, he headed for his office. Once he got there, he sent a message to Minali on a secure channel, letting her know he had something for her. While he waited, he sat there, looking at the datachip. The issue when running a business, was that, to be successful, one needed customers. In order to get customers, first, one needed a product that others needed and secondly, people needed to know who the business was. Which is where her current mind set was at.
Aeramis had been going over everything. Processing was running smoothly, since the Ugnaughts had started working for Sildexon. Stock was starting to pile up. They had managed to get a good number of small customers, but this was not going to sustain them. The cost of harvest and manufacturing would quickly overtake them. Which is why they needed a new plan. Or at least a broadening scope. So the search had started and finally, her eyes fell on a potential prize.
A few simple calculations and a smile entered into her expression. She was going to have to send out a couple of people, but that's why you had employees, right? To do these things. To observe, to learn, and then to act. She knew what they could manage on a weekly basis and it was time to make the move. She sent a trusted ally to speak with the organizers. Plans were made. Prices were named and credits were transferred.
Aeramis smiled as she leaned back in the chair. Baby steps had just gotten a little larger. Aeramis was beyond annoyed. With the various things she had gotten their name attached to, business was starting to pick up. There was a demand and she had the supply, thankfully. But that was not what had her annoyed.
She was annoyed on a personal level. She had been holding out. She wasn't going to subject herself to the silly games. But the game was not as harmful to her as it was to the person she was currently looking into the eyes of. She couldn't help but smile at her, but the smile was clouded with sadness. For all appearances, Dallia was fatherless. This, all because her Sith of a Father couldn't recognize the act that her Mother was forced to put on for the greater good.
Aeramis sighed softly as she changed the small child into pajamas. For the baby, it had become a game, to wiggle as much as possible, making the task of dressing her as impossible as she could. For the mother, it was a good thing she held a great deal of patience. Once the child was changed, she herself changed and took the child to bed with her. Since the first night Icelus had not returned, that was how it had been. For the first time in almost two weeks, Icelus walked up to the door of the quarters he shared with Aeramis and Dallia..his beautiful, beautiful Dallia. He has had almost no sleep for the entirety of the two weeks, his dreams robbing him of the time he allocated for rest. And it was showing. He was snappy at people, his fatigue enhanced anger getting the better of him. He had tried everything he could think of, but sleep still alluded him. Finally, after two weeks of living off the Force, he decided to go home. But the dreams continued to dog him. Even on the shuttle ride to the station, he attempted to nap and was awoken by them, his hands on the hilts of his sabers. He hoped returning home would grant him the peace the dreams were denying him.
He staggered up to the door, the Force barely able to keep him moving. His fatigue total, he punched in his code and the door swooshed open. He walked in, his feet dragging slightly as he walked zombie like towards the main living area. He sat down, sinking into the couch as he always did. His eyes staring straight ahead at the video monitor that was currently off. ((OOC: Think 1000yard stare)). He had hoped that he hadn't woken Aeramis and Dallia, but knowing her, she'd wake up immediately. He also hoped she didn't notice the bags the size of destroyers under his eyes, and the far off look. Aeramis was a light sleeper. It came from years of training with Imperial Intelligence. A dead Agent was not a good Agent and therefore, they had to be alert, even when resting. The sound of the door and movement had most certainly woken her. Instinct told her she needed to protect her child and even though they were in a secure facility, she slept with a blaster within reaching distance.
She moved carefully out of the bed, so as to not wake the child, placed pillows around her to keep her from rolling out of the bed and retrieved her blaster. She moved silently across the room toward the door, so that she could hopefully catch sight of the fool that had decided to invade her space. When her eyes fell on him, she lowered the blaster and stepped into the doorway.
Her eyes narrowed as she looked him over. She would like to say he was a sight for sore eyes, but when it came down to it, she was angry with him and that emotion seemed to trump them all. "You think you can just come in here in the middle of the night after not a single word for weeks?"
The anger Aeramis felt toward him however had nothing to do with their last meeting, or even the fact that he had not spoken to her. Her anger came from the fact that, they had a child and even if he was avoiding her, he should not be making the child suffer that.
She placed the blaster on a table as she exited the sleeping quarters completely and it was not until then that she actually noticed his face and frowned even more. "Icelus..." Icelus just sat there, staring through her as she stood in front of him. Finally, he slowly turned his face towards her, as if noticing her finally. A very slight smile formed on his lips before disappearing under the wall of fatigue that the Force was currently keeping barely at bay. It took him a moment to gather enough moisture in his mouth and throat to speak, and when he did, his voice came out in a raspy whisper.
"Sorry I've been away. I've been burying myself in my work. I..I haven't been able to sleep. My dreams...." His voice trailed off as he went back to staring straight ahead. The visions he had been having certainly had him distressed. Aeramis said nothing at first, she took a step away from the door and pointed in it, with an extremely determined expression. "Go to the bed on your own, or with a sleep dart, I don't care which. I am not having any sort of conversation with you while you are sleep deprived and I am angry."
There was no doubting she was serious in her tone. Dreams or not, he looked like death and she was not going to deal with that at the moment. She truly was concerned in her mind, but she was not one to just let things slide. She also understood there was a time and a place and neither was at that moment. Moving like the undead, Icelus staggered to his feet. He looked at Aeramis, nodding to her as if to say "Yes Ma'am" but said nothing more as he walked towards the bedroom. When he entered, he stopped and stood there, his eyes glued to his daughter. A wan smile formed on his face as he took in the sight of her. He then moved to his side and started disrobing. He got his armor off and changed into some fresh under garments before getting into bed ever so softly as to not wake Dallia. He then laid there, eyes staring up at the ceiling, still grasping the Force in an effort to stay awake. Aeramis walked over to the bed, once Icelus was in it and scooped the sleeping infant up to place her in a more safe location. It was not that she felt that he would hurt the child, but the way he looked, he didn't need the added worry of where exactly the child was at on the bed.
Once the child was securely nestled in her own bed, Aeramis fixed herself a drink, she fixed one for Icelus as well, though she was certain he was not going to need it. She pulled open a drawer from the cabinet she was standing at and pulled out a small pouch, she gathered the glasses and made her way back to the bed. She sat down on the edge closest to Icelus, placed the glasses on the table. She sighed softly as she messed with the pouch in her lap.
A moment later, with no warning, she stabbed Icelus with a syringe. "You will thank me later." She reached over to activate a com. "Send a medical and security detail to my quarters immediately." Icelus winced slightly as the needle pierced his flesh. He turned his head, looking straight at Aeramis. He just smiled at her as he felt the sedative start to work on him. The ki kept it at bay for the most part, but he knew it was a losing battle. He closed his eyes and let go of the Force, feeling his crushing fatigue envelop him as he slipped into darkness. His breathing became shallow, and his heartbeat slowed. To a casual observer, he'd look dead. But for the first time in weeks, Icelus slept. As on any other day, since she had been assigned to the space station, Aeramis sat at the control station pretending to be an aide to the Commander of the station. They were supposed to be working for the same people, but suspicious behavior had indicated that perhaps Icelus was not the asset he was originally thought to be. She had been sent in as a fail safe and as she sat there contemplating things, realized that she was torn. She was not supposed to have developed feelings for the man behind the door. Her eyes turned toward the door and a soft sigh of frustration was released. She didn’t let her gaze remain there however, instead she went back to going through the motions of being “the aide” and at the same time, monitoring various other channels that only she was aware of.
She had almost missed it because of being lost in her own thoughts. She had been monitoring transmissions to and from the planet. Some encryptions she had removed, others, she didn’t find the people sending them to be significant enough to care about. Some, she had still be working on breaking, all while under the guise of doing “work” for Icelus. Something was not right though. The names she was seeing were names she had never seen conversing before, yet the the channel was definitely to and from the planet. She was also used to Dark Council and Imperial chatter, but this was neither.
The most important thing was going to be keeping calm. She needed to remove most of the emotion from the situation and think on a professional level only. She checked the time, it was a little early, but she figured she could play it as she had a brief moment in-between projects. Coy would not be difficult, she would simply have to bat her eyes, call him “My Icelus” and he would be distracted. The HK unit may be a little more tricky. She knew that Icelus depended on the thing to ensure his safety, but she also knew her chances of taking it down if it perceived a threat would be difficult. She knew how to get him out of the office, but him coming back in was going to be where the problem would lie.
Aeramis pulled out a datapad and plugged it into the main terminal and started the download of essential information. A second datapad she tied directly to the transmission going back and forth between those that had put her on alert. She locked the displays so that all screens were black and pushed herself up from the control desk. She often moved about the station during the day, so it would not appear odd that she was doing so now. Even though her destination was her private quarters there. Two droids were in the quarters by the time she had arrived, both of them having been summoned there by her communicator. As she passed by the one it handed her a small pack. “Everything is arranged as requested, Mistress.”
She smiled at the droid. “Perfect. There will be one or two minor changes. We will need a crate for the droid. You did get the restraining bolt programmed adequately, yes?”
“It is as you requested.” The droid replied.
Aeramis pulled off clothes as she moved through the quarters, until she was down to nearly nothing when she reached the closet. She pulled out under armor and slipped into it. It was skin-tight and would not be visible under her clothing, but would give her some of the protection she may need. She quickly pulled her clothing back on and checked herself in the mirror to make sure her appearance looked the same. “Pack things up, get them on the ship. Secure the crate in the docking bay, I will be there shortly.”
As she made her way back to the office, she was far more cognizant of the people that she passed. Some of them she actually felt sorry for, they were innocent in all of this, others, well, they deserved whatever was to happen to them. As she walked past the control desk, she paused to grab the two datapads and then proceeded into the office. He was floating in an endless sea of dark tranquility, no sense of motion at all. As he floated, he could feel his chest and body start to get heavier. He started drifting down, falling. Slowly, he could make out sounds. First, it was if they were coming from as long distance away, but as more pressure mounted on his chest, the sounds became more distinct, more understandable. He could hear... ship sounds. Air processors, computers, footsteps, some voices. It sounded like he was on a ship. The darkness he was floating in was starting to lighten, images starting to form. First, they were blurry, incomprehensible. Then, he could make out shapes, then faces.
One of those faces was Aeramis. Aeramis had expected a reaction, but she had not been prepared for him to actually, physically grab her throat. Instinctively she grabbed his wrist to try and wrestle his grip away, but at the same time, she didn't want it to appear that she was trying to be overly combative.
"St..ta..hp"She had already tranquilized him, kidnapped him and now she was afraid she was going to have to strike him somehow and she was highly against doing that, all things considered. "Can't."
She unfolded one of her legs and put her foot in his armpit in an attempt to give herself some leverage, to pull away from him. "I won't fight.." Formulating an almost entire sentence had been difficult, but she could explain nothing to him, as long as he was trying to kill her. Still gripping her by the throat as she vainly fought against his grip, he shifted his feet off the bed. He stood up from the bed, backing her towards the wall. With a growl, he slammed her back against the wall.
"Why!? Tell. Me. WHY!?!" An uncontrollable whimper escaped her when he slammed her against the wall. "I need you. We need you." She struggled against his grip.
"You were in danger, it was the right thing to do. Please.." The pleading in her eyes was genuine. There was no deception, she had truly done what she had out of caring.
"Let me, show you, please..." With another low growl, Ice released her from his grip. He called out to her droid, ordering his weapons to be brought to him. He turned back to her, his anger simmering beneath the surface.
"You have two minutes to convince me not to kill you. Talk. Quickly."