Mirdala Ad'Goran

“And how do you plan to go about ‘cutting off the revenue stream to the Sith’?” Mirdala asked incredulously as she crossed her arms and inclined her head. "The Gambit must be removed from play," Seraph said. "Crippling or destroying her is the only certain way to do that." He tilted his head slightly. "Don't worry, we're not going to murder her patrons. There will be ample chance for them to disembark." Mirdala looked toward Kandor for a moment before addressing their host. “It would no doubt get Quietus’s attention,” she admitted. “But taking down the Sith’s cred bantha won’t be easy. What help do you want from us, specifically?” While Seraph’s plan might bring their target to battlefield she and Kandor had some degree of shaping, there was something about the ship’s destruction being on the table that hinted at a potential for recklessness the two of them would have to weigh against the benefits of joining him. “And what do you get out of depriving the Sith of their cash flow?”

“Safer to assume he’s at least as dangerous as Ab’ki, Fieyr, or Judyc,” she said grimly, accepting the data pad from him. “I don’t think he would have reached out if he didn’t have a back up plan of some sort if we didn’t show or refuse whatever he has to offer. Better to stay cautious.” She synced up the data to her helmet’s read out as she continued to glance through it. Something wasn’t sitting right with her, but she realized it could completely be unrelated to the present situation and more connected to the last few months of being hunted and fighting back against the shadows of her childhood. In hindsight, she’d taken far too much for granted - from blithely trusting Fieyr simply because he was like TeVerd and Carid as a teenager to assuming safety in Coronet City only to be led by a child into the captivity and torture that awaited her at the hands of her father-in-law and even the unrealistic certainty that TeVerd would always be with her once they’d been reunited. It had been a harsh realization to come to, but one lesson that she would take to heart. “It was something Buir would constantly drill into my head. There’s every possibility he’s not that dangerous, but I’m not willing to take that chance.” She handed back the data pad to her husband and checked the readout from the peep-hole camera to resume her watch on the door, checking the chrono in her HUD as she did so. It was 22:58, but there was no sign of approach from either direction. Switching to her newly incorporated penetrating radar, she turned her attention to the suite, noting that, where there had been no one before, there were now three wireframed figures wandering about the interior, and any one of them could be Seraph. “I’m showing three figures in the room. Did you happen to see their approach?”

Mirdala offered him a shrug and placed her palm against the door, closing her eyes. Her focus first turned inward, then breathing deeply she reached out with the Force picturing the data card within the compartment. Her breathing slowed as she tried to bring the card from the slot, doing her best to remember what she’d learned during her training with Kirlocca. For several long minutes, nothing seemed to be happening. Nothing was happening. Frustrated, she placed her other palm against the door and tried again. She could almost see the data card rattling within the compartment, but it didn’t seem apt to budge much further. She let out a discouraged growl and stepped back from the door. Why isn’t this working? she wondered, face hidden beneath her buy’ce. Kandor picked up on her frustration. "It's okay," he said. "There's no rush." “I don’t understand,” she admitted. “I can sense the Force, so there’s no ysalamiri blocking me. I can see the card, but I can’t get it to respond.” She took another breath and paced a bit in front of the door. “I’ve done it before…” "Usually in the middle of battle," he pointed out. She sighed and nodded, realizing that her Force capabilities would need a lot more practice unless she kept relegating them to battle-use. What good was a tool that could only be used under fire? “I’ll keep trying, then.” Once more, she stepped up to the door and did her best to clear her mind of everything but her goal, mixing some of what the late Wookiee Grandmaster had taught her of the Force and what she’d learned about isolating in the empathic stream from TeVerd. This time she opened her awareness further at first, sensing the other beings going about their day further up and down the hall from Seraph’s rented suite. Hotel staff and other guests danced at the edge of her consciousness, but the stillness remained within the suite they were targeting. Slowly and deliberately, Mirdala tightened her focus and maintained her steady breathing as she honed in on the compartment and the data card within. Gently, she began to pull the compartment door open and coaxed the data card back up what appeared to be the room’s mail slot. It fell to the floor as her focus broke for just an instant before she redoubled her efforts and managed to move it toward their door bit by bit. A little less than a minute later and there was a satisfying clunk sound within their own mail slot. Her immediate work done, she sat down on the edge of the room’s bed, momentarily drained from the effort.

“Flirt, is there a vacant room nearby that we could use as a stakeout?” Mirdala asked, already donning her kit. “The room across the hallway and a door down is available,” the positronic droid chirruped in response. “I've just marked it as occupied and transferred access to the two of you.” Mirdala paused as she was rummaging through her go-bag, “Good. That’ll give us a chance to get down there and set up before our meeting. I should be able to get a better read on things once I'm closer to this ‘Seraph.’” --- Several minutes later found the two of them in full gear and in the room Flirt had secured for them. For the moment, it was essentially a stakeout, but instead of establishing direct line of sight which would provide others with the opportunity to observe them in return, they made use of other means. Rooms in this part of the Gambit had small exterior-facing cameras on the doors. High-tech peepholes, they had a small display which would allow occupants to see who was at the door. In addition to this, the two Mando'ade had access to penetrating radar within their buy'cese which would allow them to image the interior of Seraph's room. The system wasn't tuned to provide details which would obscure their vision through their HUDs during combat, but it would at least tell them if anyone was in the room and give them basic structural layouts. For the moment, Seraph was absent as anticipated so Mirdala turned her attention to the room’s set up instead. Initially, there was nothing in particular that drew her attention, but her gut told her there was something there. “Flirt, pull up the schematics for these rooms and patch them through to my display,” she ordered, dialing up the detail on her new penetrating radar. A moment later, and her display lit up with the requested data. “Kandor,” she breathed sharing her read out with him,”Do you see it? There's something odd with that back wall, almost like it's movable or something.” She turned off the penetrating display and reached out with the Force, carefully and probed subtly. “I don't sense any Sith, but they could also be ramped down or hiding in other ways…”

Mirdala closed her eyes for a moment as she thought aloud. “Former CoreSec or maybe someone higher up in the command structure?” She opened her eyes though they were unfocused as though she were trying to see her way through the new information. “Though maybe not. They know about me, but it seems like someone still with the organization with enough autonomy to self-assign would know your current status with the organization. Could we be dealing with a potentially rogue agent?” She shrugged. “I don’t suppose it matters. Either way, I don’t sense any ill intent. At least not directed at us. You know I’ve got your back either way.”

"You don't have to tell me twice," she laughed. "I'm starving." ---- Several days later she was finishing up some work on the Justice with 2277 when he interrupted her. <<”That is the third time in as many days that man has come near the ship. He doesn’t check out as dock crew. Do you suppose he wants something?”>> Mirdala looked up from her data and met the droid’s photoreceptors briefly before looking past him to the monitor where, sure enough, there was a human male of about average height and build not so subtly eyeing the ship as though slightly hesitant to approach it. “Scan him,” she ordered, grabbing her holdout blaster. <<”Already done as soon as he approached,>> Twenty-two remarked. <<He doesn’t appear to be armed and has yet to attempt anything with the ship.”>> Mirdala nodded once to the droid and moved toward the boarding ramp. “We’ve got a visitor,” she relayed to her husband via their encrypted implant channel as she activated the door. “Think I’ll go see what he wants.” She received his acknowledgment as she linked him into the conversation via her implant channel. “Can I help you with something?” she asked with her hand poised with deceptive casualness over the sidearm in its holster at her hip. The man took a step back, apparently not expecting to encounter someone other than the ship’s registered owner. “I’m sorry, I must have the wrong ship,” he began to turn and walk away. “You were looking for the Justice, were you not?” she called after him. “It’s rather an unmistakable vessel being of Mandalorian make and all. Not the person you expected to run into, is that it?” Part of the discussion between her and Kandor the last few days had led to the decision that neither of them was going to go to any great lengths to keep their association hidden. It was one of the reasons she hadn’t been shy about greeting their guest. Slowly he turned and seemed to be weighing something in his mind as he sized her up, but said nothing as he approached the ramp, apparently making up his mind. “You work for ShadowFett?” He reached into slowly his coat pocket, not missing how Mirdala’s right hand went immediately to her blaster. “If you have something for him, I’ll see that he gets it,” she promised, holding out her left hand. Twenty-Two had already scanned the man, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t potentially be carrying something dangerous that wouldn’t show up on a scan. “I was told to give it to him only.” Something was clenched in the man’s fist now. “I’m on his ship. I’m still breathing,” Mirdala responded. “Also, you’ve been here the last three days and have done little more than skulk about the ship. You are hoping not to run into him.” Once more he seemed to be weighing his options. Finally, he came forward a bit before holding his hand open to reveal a data chip. “You’ll see that he gets this then?” “You have my word he’ll get it,” she confirmed snatching the chip and heading back up the ramp before he could change his mind. They watched each other as the ramp closed, encasing her within the ship once more. --- “It’s encrypted to you,” Mirdala remarked, handing Kandor the data chip as she shucked her jacket upon her return to their hotel room. “Figured that it would be easier to bring it here than waste time on hacking it. It’s not like we have secrets from one another." She leaned forward to kiss him. "How did you sleep?”

"Su'cuy Cyar'ika," she responded via the same channel, hiding her amusement at his observation by picking up a trinket from a table and looking it over before putting it back where she'd found it. "We got on long enough to get her plugged into a portal in our room. She's making new friends with the various ship's systems as we speak. How about you? Scare up anything interesting?"

After securing a room in one of the more modestly priced hotels on the Gambit, Mirdala had found a place to plug Flirt in and rearranged the chair in the room slightly to hide the droid further. The front desk had originally balked at the idea of Vi’ika staying but backed off when Mirdala pointed out the vest and flashed her old military ID that still bore her old alias, that only Fett and his incredibly detailed networks had been able to link to her - Ca’tra Dar’manda. Vi’ika began to pace the room as though checking it out for her liking before she settled at the foot of the bed and watched as Mirdala unpacked the cases that she’d brought from the Justice. One held her own suit of beskar’gam the others held civilian clothing for herself and Kandor and she’d brought the empty case for his, though she doubted he’d be out of it much. Securing the datapad that provided an uplink to the Justice’s systems and 2277’s databanks, she stretched her neck from where she’d been reading through what data 2277 had on the Gambit while she waited for the two hours to nearly lapse before her meeting with Kandor. So far she had most of the immediate area’s layout committed to memory and would continue to look through the construction and engineering data for clues as to their target’s location. There was something here, she could sense it in her gut. What it is and where it might lead them, she could only guess. With a brief, shrill whistle, she rose and headed for the door, Vi’ika close at her heels. Mirdala only paused long enough to toggle the “Do not disturb” indicator on the door before leaving their hotel and heading for the mid-level marketing area. They were almost to the elevator that would take them there when a voice called out, “Excuse me, ma’am? You’ll need to leash your animal for safety.” Mirdala turned to face the crewman, likely security from the looks of the uniform and the loadout at his waist. “Of course, how silly of me,” she shook her head as she reached into the satchel at her hip and took out the leash she’d gotten when Vi’ika had first been given to her but had never actually used it with the sandhound. “Can you tell me Mr…” “Rhyden. Officer Rhyden.” “Officer Rhyden,” she corrected sweetly as she scratched Vi’ika adoringly along the scruff of her neck. “Could you please tell me where this elevator would take me? I’ve only just arrived and it’s such a large ship. So easy to get lost especially by myself.” He looked at her then at Vi’ika and sighed, apparently quite used to having to play tour guide. “These go directly to the mid-decks where you can find most of the shopping, restaurants, and a variety of gaming establishments.” “Any you’d recommend? Who’s got the best odds?” She studied him, though the manner she employed was more akin to flirtation and appraisal rather than taking stock of what likely constituted a typical load out of the security staff, on this level at least. He gave a short laugh and scratched the back of his head. “Depends on the game, ma’am. As far as eateries go, I hear there’s a nice Mandalorian place or something that recently opened up. Seems to be popular these days.” Mirdala wrinkled her nose. “Tried that once...far too spicy for my tastes.” “Then I’d recommend Planetoid Buffet. Can’t really go wrong with their variety and they tend to mark the spicy stuff.” “Think you could show me the way?” She offered coyly. “Afraid I’m not able to leave my post ma’am,” he responded politely. “However if you take these elevators up and turn left down the main walkway, you’ll eventually run into it. Have a good evening.” Mirdala nodded, having expected as much regarding his ability to accompany her. Not that she really needed it, she had access to Kandor, 2277, and Flirt, so she could easily find her way back if she got lost for some strange reason. “Come on, girl,” she called to Vi’ika, “Let’s see what fun we can find in the upper levels.”

Several minutes later, Mirdala emerged from the Justice dressed in some of the raiment worthy of the upper class of some Core World or another, courtesy of the wardrobe that Daren had left them during their stay at the resort on Borleias. She'd selected an outfit that allowed her to wear her discrete beskar plates beneath the fabric. Vi'ika was at her side, wearing a service harness, though this time with all of the ammo packs and other battle gear removed. Flirt was clipped into a pouch at her hip since Mirdala's mission was less direct than her husband's. All she needed was a place to hide the droid and a socket to plug in the quirky slicer to be left alone to her work. The Mandalorian woman had already had to threaten the droid once when it had mentioned the little girl Mirdala and Kandor had nearly adopted on Borleias, so things were off to their typical working arrangement. Flirt offering her unsolicited advice and Mirdala offering the usual reprogramming. It hadn't been hard to disappear into the crowds once she stepped into the more common decks of the ship. Immediately she felt a degree of disorientation from all of the smells, sights, and sounds contained within the ship. Sure she'd lived on Coruscant for a while, but at least all of those things had somewhere to go, here they were trapped within their pleasant guided shell of a ship. The good news is that so many people coming and going would make it easier to keep her activities unnoticed. Definately bigger than where you took me on Borleias, she relayed through their shared implant channel. I'm going to check in to one of the more modest rooms in the lower decks, which should give us a secure rally point and a place for Flirt to continue to work, undisturbed. Meet you in two hours in the shopping area mid-ship?

“So he’s not quite as predictable as the other dar’jetiise we’ve encountered together.” She frowned weighing their options. Not being able to gauge how a target would react made it difficult to move in anticipation of them to close the trap. “I’ve still got those discrete plates, so I wouldn’t be wholly unprotected. I still think keeping a low profile initially to give Flirt some time to work would be prudent. We might lose our edge if we go in full beskar’gam as we set up shop. Maybe even take it in rotations?” He could tell from her tone that she was thinking out loud, now as almost immediately she dismissed the idea. “You’re still largely believed to work solo, right? Two Mandos showing up in the same time frame on the Gambit might lead to suspicion...or it might not considering our people’s reputations. I’m not nearly as known by my armor as you are. Interestingly enough it’s my face most would recognize.” She glanced back at him as Vi’ika gave a short bark from where she was lying near the corridor to the cabins. “You’ll not get left behind again, though I don’t know if the Gambit’s policies prohibit animals or not.” Then an idea struck her. “You don’t think my status as Constable might get us anywhere on this mission, would it?” Now Fett frowned. "What do you have in mind?" “This place is supposed to be mostly legit, right? As in most people don’t know that it’s owned by a Sith Master. Maybe I could canvas as a constable and potentially get some of the crew to cooperate, or at least get in with them. Might make things easier. We’ve got a description of him, right?” He shrugged. "If you can find someone that recognizes the authority of the Journeyman Protectors," he said. "Outside of the Sector and certain other worlds I wouldn't expect much. Might be worth a shot though." Mirdala laughed. “I’ve found if you flash an official-enough looking badge and project authority, it usually takes people a bit longer to catch on. Besides, it’s a casino ship, no telling what leads and connections we might find.” Fett nodded. "Reasonable plan. Get in, poke around for leads and see what happens. The usual beroya bit." “And hope we don’t knock over the red jacket’s nest in the process,” she countered before heading into the cockpit.

This thing is certainly built for destruction, Mirdala mused as she fussed with some of the connections feeding into her datapad where she was reviewing the droid’s actions during the Battle of Keldabe. “There’s certainly enough here to work with, though I don’t think I’d want to completely overwrite his initial personality matrix. Maybe box it in a bit so it’s dormant. Could come a time when we want to unleash a one-droid demolition squad. Ahzinger knows his weaponry, I’ll give him that.” She disconnected the datapad and considered the tangential information her husband relayed to her. Was she actually ready to go Sith-hunting again? There was no personal connection this time like there had been with Ariyan when he’d given into his darker impulses as Darth Ares. She certainly felt like she was on more solid ground emotionally than she’d been in the quicksand of events following her ordeal with the slavers and all that had followed. The fact that he was even offering an alternate option made her feel more at ease about the whole thing. The image of Ab’ki pouring lightening into Kandor in the crystal caves of Shogun flashed through her mind before she could brush it aside. From practically the onset if their marriage they’d been fighting against some great evil or another. They hadn’t even been able to escape it on Borleias. Granted, it was a large part of who they both were, but did that mean it was wise to barrel headlong into the next great enemy so soon? She needed more information. “What else is there? Take a contract? Red Dawn holds no appeal for me. I’m free to move about with my Constable commission since I’m not officially attached to any particular JP jurisdiction. I didn’t figure you’d want to go back to CoreSec anyway.”

Rhys had already left for the spaceport and to head home to his own family having fulfilled his elder brother responsibility to ensure that she was doing as okay as she claimed. There was something of an adjustment to be had when across the galaxy a family that had been fighting a shadow war for a good deal of their lives suddenly found themselves without that enemy. That wasn't to say that things were entirely safe, for various reasons they'd remain hidden and living much as they had been, accepting work across the worlds and leading their own lives. It was time for Mirdala to find her own footing and do the same. Mirdala raised her eyebrow at the droid as it approached with Kandor. "Taking in strays?" She rose and circled the droid, finally taking the time to get a close look at its makeup and buildout. "Could be useful enough I guess. We really do need to find you some friends other than droids though," she teased, as she donned her helmet and nodded her head toward the door. "Think we can head out of here? Anything that we need to attend to from ops?"

Mirdala removed her helmet and knelt down to meet Vi’ika as the massive black furred sandhound trotted out to meet her. She could feel all three of them probing her - Rhys, Vy’ika, and Vi’ika - through their shared empathic bond. The hound licked her face happily, as glad to be reunited with Mirdala as the Mandalorian woman was to have her other hunt-partner back. “I’m sorry we couldn’t take you.” Mirdala pulled Vi’ika’s head close to hers and rested her forehead there for a moment before she rose to her feet. “Hopefully you didn’t give them too much trouble.” “Only the headaches, Vod’ika.” Vy’ika accented the remark by holding his hand to his forehead. “Haven’t you two learned how to take a break and keep a low profile yet? Doesn’t usually involve shooting up places. You should try it some time.” “That’s not fair and you know it, Vy’ika,” Mirdala cut back as she rose and faced her older brother, crossing her arms across her chest as the other familiar face stepped out from the interior of the tapcaf. “Hey, Rhys.” “Hey,” Vy’ika countered. “You didn’t have to get involved.” “You’ve met Kandor, right?” She raised her eyebrow at him. “Not even together a minute and already you two have started in on each other,” Rhys lamented, though with a smile on his face. “Come on in and we can fill you in over some skraan.” Fett moved into the Oyu’baat, clapping Vy’ika on the shoulder. “Remember Iridonia? These last guys on Borleias deserved it just as much.” The Omicron laughed and returned the gesture, and Mirdala could tell from the way he glanced over his shoulder at her and Vi’ika that he was remembering how she’d damn near single-handedly handled the patronage of some dive when one of them had gotten too handsy with her. “I think we’d worry more if there wasn’t something exploding or getting shot at in your wake, vod. Didn’t manage to get yourself exiled from this one did you?” “It’ll have to wait until next time we’re there,” he retorted as they found a table. Mirdala rolled her eyes. “We only get exiled from the places we don’t have any inclination to ever return to. I’m still working on Tatooine, but due to lack of cohesive government...and other factors...I seriously doubt I’ll ever get that wish.” She looked up at Kandor, apologetically for a moment, not having meant to nearly reveal the planet where the powers of Moon Knight resided. He looked thoroughly unconcerned at the near slip. “The Clade’s arrangement with TeVerd hasn’t ended just because he’s passed,” Rhys countered, misinterpreting what he’d sensed within their empathic bond. “It’s up to you if you want to walk that road, but I do worry about you spreading yourself too thin.” Mirdala shrugged and sat back as their food found its way to the table. “I’m fine or at least getting there. I’m glad that Kandor convinced me it was a good idea to take a break away from the sector for a bit.” Vy’ika snorted, “You shouldn’t need reminding or convincing.” “And just what is that supposed to mean, Verdeyuii?” Mirdala asked cooly, putting down her fork and resting her chin in her hand. There was no mistaking the narrowing of her eyes. Beside her, Rhys settled back and exchanged glances with Kandor, who crossed his arms. “Nothing. Simply what I said,” he shrugged. Mirdala could feel him at the edges of her consciousness, probing her empathically. “You do realize that one of the main reasons I’m not a broken mess right now is because he’s been there to help me through all of this osik, right? Get protective all you want Verdeyuii. I’m a grown woman and an Mando’ad at that. I don’t have to answer to you.” Vy’ika’s dark eyes shifted from her to Kandor. “I’d listen to her, vod,” Fett said flatly. “Not a battle worth fighting.” Vy’ika said nothing, but drained his glass and left the table without further retort, Cinva on his heels. Mirdala rose, but Rhys placed a hand on her shoulder as the white sandhound disappeared around the corner. “Let him go.” Mirdala shook her head. “He’s not taking things well, is he? I mean sure he usually needles, but he seemed to genuinely be wanting a fight.” Rhys sighed. “Not really. I don’t think he expected you to be as even keel after buir died. Not that it’s a bad thing, Mird’ika.” He cast a grateful glance Kandor’s way. “He’s lost and hasn’t really handled loss all that well since his wife passed. And you know what TeVerd meant to him. He just needs time.” Mirdala nodded, opting to change the subject. “So how have things been in the sector? The city seems to be on the road to recovery.”

As the Justice re-entered the Mandalore System from hyperspace, Mirdala emerged from the back of the ship and joined her husband in the cockpit as he reconfigured their trajectory to land them in Keldabe. “Vy’ika said that he and Rhys would be meeting us at the Oyu’baat with Vi’ika. Apparently, she’s been giving him fits,” she remarked as she looked back at Kandor, the soul-weariness not quite having lifted. For most of the last few hours, she'd been in other parts of the ship going over ship's stocks and systems since it'd been a bit since they'd resupplied between their more recent trips. For the minutes it took the ship to travel the distance to the planet below, Mirdala closed her eyes as she reached out to reassure her empathically bonded hunt-partner that she was okay or was at least still healing. Making progress, at least, she mused. There was still the vast unknown that lay before her now that Ab’ki’s threat against her family and her home had been neutralized. As much as that unsettled her as she looked out over the assembled Mandalorian fleet, all it took was a sideways glance to her left to know that things would find their way. The Tra’kad-class vessel set down on the dusty surface of the rebuilding Keldabe spaceport with its usual clunk-hiss as the struts made contact with the planet’s surface. The Mandalorian people had come a long way in the two weeks that Kandor and Mirdala had been off-world, a testament to the resilience and (as some would argue) inherent stubbornness of their people. Rising from her seat, she reached over and carefully undid the seal on his buy’ce and sat it on the seat that she’d just vacated. Before he could rise to join her, Mirdala took advantage of the fact he wouldn’t have to bend down to meet her lips and kissed him deeply. Drawing back after several moments, she rested her forehead on his just grateful that the war hadn’t claimed his life as it had so many others. “We’ll figure all of this out at some point. I’m just glad you’re with me while I do. It makes it...easier somehow. Even though you don’t always understand, you try and I thank you for that.” Her lips brushed his again briefly and she grabbed her own helmet and tucked it under her arm. “Now let’s go see find out how the rest of the family is faring.”

Another twist of the knife in her heart. Mirdala didn’t immediately reach for the stuffed toy as her husband held it out to her, pain and emotion that she’d just managed to shut away springing unexpectedly from their neat little containers in the corner of her mind where they’d been kicked. Part of her wanted to leave the ronto behind as much as she wanted to leave behind the piece of herself that was struggling to let go of the little girl who’d so wonderfully and unexpectedly disrupted their lives for a few days. Some of that part of her was still angry about the situation and she nearly asked what the point was and even thought of merely taking the toy only to toss it onto the couch behind him and leave it for the next guest or to languish in a lost and found somewhere. She wished she could turn herself off as easily as her husband seemed to and put some distance between all of the pain for even a little while. Kandor’s mindset was one of forward movement and he was extraordinarily good at compartmentalizing. However, his offering Aerri’s toy only highlighted that there was some sort of departure from his usually logical nature that indicted the little girl had left a deeper mark on him than even his words had expressed earlier. Mirdala remembered that she had been another one of those departures for him. As little sense as it made to her to keep the toy, she knew she wanted to even if it became another scar she bore. They’d all managed to adjust and even had just seemed to be finding a sense of what their version of normal could look like before the call that took Aerri from them. The ronto was an indication that adoption could work for her and Kandor; they now had a better picture of what their lives would look like and what they’d need to prepare for the next time they took that step for real. All of this ran through her nimble mind in mere seconds, before she extended her hand and accepted the ronto as a kind of unspoken promise between the two of them. They would make this work. It might not be soon, but they would be buire one day. She stepped closer to him and rested her helmet against his with the stuffed ronto tucked under one arm and felt peace settle into her heart.