The Weaving Force: Chapter 28 (Patreon)

Chapter 28

Hannah:

“Come on. Come on, baby, come on!”

She was gushing. She couldn’t help it, and she didn’t particularly want to. Because, right in front of her, her son - with shaky legs and leaning against the wall for dear life - was determinedly making his way towards her, taking his first steps.

With a squeal that could have been sheer delight as easily as it could have been a baby war cry, her little Daryan trip-stepped towards her, close enough for her to catch him and pick him up with a delighted scream of her own.

Little Jen was too busy flipping through her favorite book and tossing it to clatter on the floor to notice the commotion involving her baby brother.

Miss Militia peppered her son’s face with kisses, proud of him in a way she’d never thought she could be.

Peeling her gaze away, she found Shmi standing at the doorway between the living room and kitchen, wiping her hands with a towel and smiling at the sight of them.

“He was very proud when he stood up yesterday,” the former slave noted.

“You knew?” Hannah asked, wiping at her eyes. “And you didn’t say anything?”

“I thought you’d enjoy the surprise,” the woman answered, walking over to pluck little Jen off the floor, who gurgled and kicked in mild protest. “Was I right?”

Hannah nodded, still wiping at her eyes as her boy happily smacked his hands excitedly into her chest and collar.

“Does Aras know?”

“No,” Shmi answered simply. “I figured he’d enjoy the surprise, too.”

“I don’t know if I can keep quiet about it,” Hannah confessed, all but dancing with her son on her arm. “His first steps!” She reached over, brushing little Jen’s dark curls out of her face. “You’ll be right behind your little brother soon I’m sure.”

“At her own pace,” Shmi laughed. “I’m afraid this one does all things at her own pace, and is perfectly content to keep it that way.”

Hannah’s smile grew. Her boy was definitely the more adventurous of the two. The first to wriggle the ground in an attempt to crawl, weeks before his sister. But she did it when she was good and ready, and with fewer failed attempts. No doubt walking would be the same. When Jen decided she was good and ready to walk, there would be few stumbles in the attempt.

But for Daryan, no doubt a few boo-boos would be in his immediate future.

“Ohhh,” she bemoaned, “I’m going to miss it.”

“I’ll record everything for you,” Shmi promised, her eyes a little sad. “I know it’s not the same-”

“No,” Hannah lamented, “but thank you. How’s your boy? Anakin?”

“He’s alright since we last spoke.” Shmi answered happily her own smile now shining from somewhere inside. “He told me he’s begun to practice his Grand Master’s lightsaber style in earnest now.”

In Shmi’s arms, Jen started fussing, making her displeasure known.

“Oh. It,s time to feed them, I think.”

“Let me,” Hannah insisted suddenly. “After today, I won’t be able to for a while.”

“Of course, milady.”

“Shmi, please,” Hannah sighed. “We’re friends.”

Shmi smiled that small, mona-lisa smile of hers. “We are. And you’re also the ones who freed me,” she reminded her. “Now, let’s get the twins their food.”

Before long, her little sun and moon were in their high chairs, milk bottles and mushy baby food ready to hopefully go in their mouths…as opposed to all over their clothes.

She’d had tougher jobs. Though not very many.

Little Jennifer had been given Mouse Protector’s name; one of Hannah’s oldest and best friends. But she was her father’s daughter. Stoic, with pale skin and dark hair, Militia saw herself in her baby’s nose and brow.

Daryan, who Aras had named for a long deceased brother, by contrast, had inherited more of her coloring: ever sunkissed skin tone with desert-brown hair; he smiled with all gums whenever he saw anyone.

She hadn’t even left, and she was already missing the both of them terribly.

The front door opened.

She didn’t need to see Aras to recognize the sound of his heavy footsteps. Her husband was not a small or quiet man. Still, with the two little ones in their high chairs, valiantly resisting her urgings to eat, she wasn’t getting up any time soon to greet him at the front door.

Even so, she didn’t have to wait long. Aras Saxon damn near dwarfed the doorway itself when he stood in it, but she offered him a smile, catching the way the lines of his face softened and gentle caring took over whatever had been hiding behind his previously stern visage.

“Your son took his first steps today,” she said as he began to march in.

For the briefest instant he froze, his steps hesitating as his eyes flickered to her then back to Daryan. “Truly?”

She nodded and saw his own proud little smile daring to crease the lines around his mouth through his thick beard.

He marched into the junction of their kitchen/dining room, a large hand hesitating before it fell atop his son’s head. His other hand grabbed Jen’s bib, using it to wipe some mushy food off of the girl’s face.

She watched it all quietly.

Then, Aras Saxon’s eyes turned back to her. “You leave tomorrow,” he rumbled.

She nodded. “Yeah. First thing.”

“I still have time,” he said. “I can request leave. Shmi can watch the children.”

“No,” she answered firmly. “We agreed. Only one of us at risk at a time-”

“Then let me go,” his voice was a growl, but she could hear the plea there, almost begging.

He would be happier going. Happy to put himself in the firing line if he knew she was safe here. And she was grateful for that-

But she could never say yes.

It wasn’t because of her power like she told Dennis. It was because of him. Because he was the one better equipped to raise these two if something did happen to her.

He was a part of this world, he knew its culture, its traditions, its people. She still felt a stranger to it.

He knew this galaxy, its ways and what was required to not only survive but thrive in ways she never could.

He was part of this world, a good part of it.

She was just a soldier who didn’t even have a home anymore, and had apparently been fighting a war lost long before it ever began.

She stood, setting down the little cup of mushed baby food to reach and pull her husband down into a hug, his forehead brushing hers.

“Do you trust me?” she asked.

“Hmmm.” He did, she knew; he just didn’t want to say it because he knew what it would mean.

“I’ll come back,” she promised. “Ok?”

His hands curled around her waist, large arms hugging her close.

He sighed.

“I will request leave from the Duchess,” he said. “I will… stay with the children… and will be ready, if you need me.”

It was the best compromise she could ask for.

She leaned forward, kissing him, and he returned her affections, as though scared it might be the last time.

She would be alright. She had no intention of dying.

But she could take comfort in the fact that they would be alright.

(X)(X)(X)

Vicky

The ships they were using were big ships; they kind of had to be. They’d taken three Creches from the Jedi temple to Bogano; that was thirty kids each, ninety in total. Add to that the dozen or so Knights, three Masters, a couple more Padawans, all of the crew, droids, pilots, and so on, and you were looking at a passenger ferry of over a hundred-plus people that had to be properly fed, clothed, and bathed, with sufficient medical supplies on hand for the occasional boo-boo and sniffle.

So the ship was… large. Vicky hadn’t learned the name of it, but it was a big oval thing that reminded her of a fish or a whale from back home. The Mon-Calamari made it… probably anyway

The size of the ship was both a good thing and a bad thing. Good, because it meant they weren’t all living on top of each other, and she wouldn’t have to go from Heroine to murderer after a few days of not having any personal space or ‘me’ time. Bad,  in the sense that, when you wanted to find someone… it was kind of a pain in the ass.

Unless you were Taylor, who always had everyone tagged…

Still, there weren’t very many decks to look through now - just three more rooms on this deck and the lower storage deck - but she doubted very much they’d be there; the kids weren’t allowed in the storage area, after all: too dangerous.

She knocked on the doorway. “Kids!?”

She heard a bit of a scramble inside. Aha!

Planting her hand on the access panel, the door whooshed to the side and into the wall in time for her to catch little Mira, Quain, and Talvos red handed.

“Aha!” she cried, smirking as she crossed her arms while standing in the doorway. “I knew someone had taken Mr. Huggles!”

Skeeee, the bug cried, wiggling its little claws and legs over Talvos’ head. The Nautolan boy’s tentacles twitched as he tried to duck behind the box he’d been halfway behind by the time she opened the door.

“Uhhh- Uhhh! That’s not Mr. Huggles!?” Mira said suddenly.

Vicky raised an eyebrow. “Oh! So this is some other Hug-Bug we found before leaving Bogano?” she snickered.

“That’s right!” Quain nodded enthusiastically, the young Mon-Cala staring at her with a quivering chin and big ol’ eyes. His skin flushed in the sure sign of a young Mon-Cala lying. “This is Angelica! Miss Taylor said so!”

That took a bit of the wind out of her sails.

Angelica? Tay had named it that?

To be fair, she’d been using ‘Mr. Huggles’ only semi-seriously, hoping Tay would come up with a name herself in protest and thus get more attached to it. Manipulative? Yes. Did her roommate/best friend need some manipulation to enjoy things in life? Abso-fucking-lutely.

Still, focus now. Questions later.

Vicky entered the room, the sardonic smirk on her face still there as she walked inside, allowing the door to shut behind her.

The kids started averting their eyes, finding the floors and walls interesting.

“I don’t know…,” she said slowly. “It looks like Mr. Huggles.” She held out her hands.

The little guy ‘squee’d’ again, reaching for her with his little claws.

“Yup. That’s him.” She let her grin grow.

The kids were still looking away from her.

Vicky let the smile drop a bit. “Kids. You all know it’s not ok to steal.”

“We-we weren’t stealing him!” Tevos cried, black eyes wide in dismay. “We just wanted to play with him for a little while.”

“Without permission,” she reprimanded sternly. “We would have let you play with him if you asked. Why didn’t you ask?”

The kids shifted guiltily from foot to foot, and Mr. Huggles - or, Angelica - squeed softly again before ‘hugging’ Tavos’ head, small thrumming pulses of comforting light side energies coming steadily from its little body.

“Well…” Mira volunteered. “Because the other kids wanted him too… if they didn’t know we had him-”

“Then you wouldn’t have to share,” Vicky concluded, sighing as she settled in to sit down. “This isn’t ok, kids.”

The kids didn’t answer her; they knew she was right.

Vicky sighed, reaching over to pluck… Angelica from Tavos’ head, the little guy - girl? - squirmed in her arms, seemingly trying to get back to the distraught kids before he settled down and latched onto her midriff. “I know you guys like him. I know you didn’t mean any harm, but taking things without permission-”

“Leads to the darkside,” Quain said.

“It’s wrong,” Vicky corrected. “Don’t do or not do something because it may or may not have a tangible consequence. Do the right thing because it’s right, and don’t do the wrong thing because it is wrong. It’s just that simple.”

The little boy nodded, and she hoped he understood.

She let out another little sigh.

“Come on,” she said, “let’s go talk to Master Beq. He’ll decide what to do.”

She felt a wave of anxiety and fear in the force, like she’d just told them they’d face a firing squad. It made her waver, wanting to reassure them that everything was forgiven and it was ok, but she steeled herself.

No. It was a minor thing, but they had to learn, and Beq was always good to all the kids. He would know exactly how far to take their punishment, if he even gave one out.

“Will we be kicked out of the temple?”

It was Mira who asked, the little girl looking up at her wide eyed.

“No, sweetie,” Vicky reassured, one hand combing through the girl’s brown curls - they reminded her of Amy - before she leaned down and offered all three of them kisses on their heads, much to the two boys’ surprise. “No one’s getting kicked out. I promise. But we do the right things because they’re right. And right now the right thing is to tell Master Beq what happened.”

It didn’t ease their anxiety any, but Mira nodded and that gave the other two enough courage to follow her out.

(X)(X)(X)

Minutes later, as she left her kids with Master Beq and the promise of a mild punishment once they returned to the temple, she hugged Angelica to her chest like one would hug a book. The little hug machine happily wriggled before it settled with its longer hind legs coiling around her and its claws reaching up to boop her on the chin and jaw.

She sputtered, laughing as she moved her head a bit beyond his reach. “Hey now! I didn’t know you little guys came with kung-fu punching features.”

If it understood her, it didn’t seem to indicate it.

Following the halls down to the lounge, she passed by a few more kids, a handful of knights, and Padawan Vebb, nodding and greeting each as she did so.

The lounge/common area was a big ol gathering place on the third deck. It had seats, a small library and a bar/ballroom.

Or at least it had. This was after all a Jedi ship. And the Jedi neither drank (much) nor were they particularly famous for dancing. So they’d converted those areas into meditation chambers and gardens.

Honestly… she had to get these guys out of that temple to live a little!

Reaching the final door, she opened it. Now standing on the mezzanine walkway above the main deck, she spotted a few of the Knights, and even some of the kids practicing saber deflection under the watchful eyes of the senior Padawans.

She reached out with her senses.

There she was.

The Jedi described her and Tay’s presence in the force like a block of ice. But that isn’t what Vicky sensed when she brushed her presence closer to Taylor’s in the tides of the Force.

No. What she felt was a lightning rod, thrumming with a heartbeat of energy coursing through her veins and trailing off into an infinite distance across a wound thread.

Taylor had described the Force once as being able to listen to the heartbeat of the planet around you.

Well… she was right.

Except that sometimes Vicky was sure the heartbeat they were hearing were their powers, pulsing and humming in tune with the flows and eddies of their lives around each of them.

It was… humbling. Almost overwhelming.

It made her feel… so very small.

She rose up, levitating over the railing to take the ‘express’ way down. Most of the others were so used to it by this point they barely batted an eyelash.

Oh for the days when Padawans and Knights would almost outright panic in their attempts to catch the suicidal girl jumping off the ledge.

The looks on some of their faces.

Priceless.

“Padawan Dallon.” Some of the ones closest to her greeted, others simply nodded.

She smiled and nodded back, offering a brief wave before she moved past them towards one of the meditation rooms.

She reached towards the first one. There were three chambers, all soundproofed and sealed.

Her knock probably rang like a bell inside. “Tay,” she called as loudly as she could, “I’m coming in!”

The door whooshed open again, up into the ceiling;

She spotted Tay immediately. The svelte brunette was sitting, of course, in the center of the chamber in a lotus position. The holograms of ocean water around her faded away as the dark haired young woman opened one eye to stare at her.

“You handled that well,” Tay said.

Vicky blinked. “Oh, the kids. Should’ve guessed you were listening.”

Taylor shrugged. “Not that many bugs on a ship, but yeah…” she trailed off.

The silence settled between them. Vicky decided to break it.

“Soooooo,” she drawled, then smirked as she held up the Hug bug, who squeed happily as it caught sight of Tay. “Angelica?”

For a moment Tay actually looked startled, then her features softened, eyes clouding over with memory.

“Oh,” Vicky said, the teasing smile vanishing entirely from her face as she hugged Angelica to her chest. “Was that like the name of your dog back home or something?”

Tay opened her mouth, taking a breath as if to speak before she stopped herself. “It’s… It’s complicated,” she finally sighed.

Complicated. It was one of Tay’s favorite words whenever a subject about her past came up. Sometimes Vicky pried, sometimes she left it alone.

“Don’t.” Fingers gripped her hand in a desperate grip, clutching tightly; tears burning in equally desperate eyes. “Don’t-” She repeated in a broken whisper from a voice long abandoned.

The memory came, sharp like a knife.

Was it ok to push this time? It was usually a bit of a minefield of guesswork if she were being honest.

After a moment, she inched closer, kneeling across from Tay as she joined her on the meditation chamber’s cushioned floor.

“We’ve got time,” she offered. “If you wanna share, I’ll listen.”

Tay’s eyes clouded over. “Promise you won’t be mad?”

Vicky’s eyebrows rose up to her hairline. “Why would I be mad?”

“It was one of Bitch’s dogs.”

Bitch? Hellhound- Right… Tay mentioned a few times how she preferred that name.

She hugged… Angelica tighter to herself. Naming such a sweet thing after a villain’s dog…

“I’m not mad,” She said quietly after a moment. “You must have a good reason. Was she a good dog?”

“She was,” Taylor answered, nodding, “and Bitch was a good friend…”

A pause, one Vicky knew from experience not to break.

“I remember… pieces,” Tay volunteered. “Brutus and Judas were her other dogs. They died… Endbringer-” Vicky flinched. She couldn’t help it. It was a reflex. “Angelica was the only one left.” Tay’s eyes turned towards the namesake she’d bestowed the name to, one hand reaching out to the little mushroom light-side bulb.

The little thing squeed, its tiny muppet claw reaching to grasp at Tay’s fingers. Tay offered one of her rare smiles.

“She knew when you just needed someone next to you, ya know?” Tay elaborated. “She’d put her head in my lap sometimes, when things were getting… too much.” Taylor shrugged. “I… thought it was fitting.

Too much… of the bits and pieces Vicky had heard, that Tay had volunteered to tell her… so much of it sounded like Too much.

“I never had a dog,” Vicky confessed quietly, “but it sounds about right.” She offered the brunette a smile. “So… I guess ‘Angelica’ it is.” She looked down to the beady black eyes. “Ya hear that sweetie? You’re a girl now.”

“It’s a mushroom,” Tay reminded her stubbornly.

Vicky, very maturely, stuck her tongue out.

Tay’s small smile didn’t slip as she shook her head.

The force thrummed around them, a power conduit trapped in a bubble.

Tay could sense it too.

The brunette reached over, collecting Angelica from Vicky. “I’ll leave you the room.”

“You could stay,” Vicky offered, hoping that, for once, Tay would consider it. “It’s safe. I promise.”

Tay’s expression turned sad, almost pitying.

“I’ll see you later Victoria,” she answered, and Vicky knew better than to insist.

Tay turned, Angelica held to her own chest, as she left the meditation chamber to Vicky.

The blonde sighed, trying not to take it personally.

Tay trusted her. Considering how she treated damn near everyone beyond a select few people, Vicky had no doubt Tay trusted her more than damn near anyone else.

“Don’t. Please”

Just not with this.

Again the temptation was there, tugging at her so strongly to just… rip off the bandaid.

But then she pushed it away.

She’d made a promise.

And Tay trusted her to keep it.

So she settled herself, centered her emotions as best she could… and followed the current.

The room melted away.

The ship beyond it was no more.

The people, flickering candles of sunlight, glimmered in her mind. And a single corruscating aura of power hovered near her own as Vicky removed her mind from the waking world.

“Absence- Extended”

“Absent. No more!”

“Excitement!”

“Joy!”

The presence hovered over her, almost zipping to and fro across the brush of her senses.

Vicky had no mouth, but found it in herself to smile. She had no hands, but reached out to convey a touch. She had no voice, but spoke regardless.

“Hi, Fragile One,” she greeted.

“Partner.”

“Friend.”

“Victoria!”

“Greetings!”

(X)(X)(X)

Hello everyone :D

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