Great, She Brought Home A Sword

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

Adulthood had turned out to be less than it was cracked up to be. The job ate her life, the risks were heavier or at least she understood them better, and she hadn't seen her mother in months. That gnawed at Mara somewhat, the recognition that she was letting her connections and friendships and relationships slide out of sheer inertia. Of the old Brat Pack, she was in contact with Micah and Kaili Talith, and that was about it. Her friends were work friends, her crew to be precise, and she was their employer and had to manage that plus this whole Foundation Trust thing-

On some level, she knew that the cure for craving simplicity wasn't always a return home. No indeed. But this needed to happen.

The Bullet Time slipped into the atmosphere of Q-27 at night and burbled its way under the waves to join the Daragon. The Gypsymoth wasn't here, nor was the D'Lessio, so Dad wasn't home. That made it easier, sort of. She at least got to interact with Dad through Underground chains of command. Coarse contact, but better than, well, none.

She'd flown here solo. She trusted her crew -- Styr, Mukami, Kolatta and the rest -- but not with the secret of Q-27. Normally the little ship was dense with breath and murmured conversation, but the silent flight had struck her as oppressive. She welcomed the rush of water and, once she surfaced, the roar of waves on a beach that had never known war. Soaking wet, Mara shouldered her bag and spear, and headed up the sandbar toward home.

[member="Alna Merrill"]

 

[Alndys]

[member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"]

It was times like these where Alna regretted that she'd given up smoking. Not only was it a great way of killing five minutes, it'd served as an important way to segment her work. Sure, she was healthier for having given it up, but still - It was alright to miss something, even if it was a little bad for you. Besides, killing time wasn't a bad thing - If nothing else, Alna had a surplus of it. Enough that she was sick of it, enough to fear that she'd dulled her edge enough to become something less than she'd been. That she was becoming... doddering.

Just the thought put a shiver down her spine.

Jorus was a busy man. He made big plans, important plans, and followed through on them - that was how they'd met, after all, and it was something she admired about him. Alna couldn't fault him for but being around, as that was the sort of man her husband was. Less happy was she that her daughter seemed to have inherited that trait as well, but that was life.

She needed to get back up into the black. She needed to take something apart, make something new - her hands were losing their calluses, and that was unforgivable. She'd drafted so many ships in her disgusting amount of free time that she was sick of it as a thought exercise, and keeping up with the latest technology and such via holonet could only satisfy her so much.

But her plans could wait. The faint whine of distant atmospheric reentry and the swell of the waves told Alna what the proximity alarms were slightly slow to confirm - she had company. And by the size of the vessel, damned if it wasn't her little girl. She hurried out to the porch to wait until Mara came into sight, then met her on the stairs with the oldest and most pure of kinetic greetings.

She pulled her daughter into a tight hug without saying a word - the message was clear. 'You were missed.'

That done, Alna pulled back enough to give her daughter a radiant smile and a once-over. "Kark, girl, you look tired." Alna remarked affectionately. "Everything alright?"

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

[member="Alna Merrill"]

The hug hit the spot with enough kinetic efflux to send a wobble through the rough-plank deck. Mara'd grown up here, on this beach, in this hug. "Hey there, Mom," she mumbled into Alna's shoulder. "Missed you."

Tired -- where to start? As she went inside, it all came out. Recon run to Tython, where she'd found and rescued two naive travellers, faced down three Sith and caused serious injury. Medevac run to Coruscant, where she'd pulled out two fellow Knights, just as naive, on a failed raid in the Valley of the Dark Lords. Pilgrimage to Kilia Four, months spent learning the language and culture and the Kilian Rangers' ways of using the Force to protect. Negotiating a loose working relationship with her absentee aunt, who'd been presumed dead for quite a long time, and who seemed to want to make up for it. Managing her own investments for the first time, trying to handle being rich and the ethical and practical questions behind that. She was almost babbling; she realized that sometime around breakfast. Mom, being Mom, hadn't complained once, though Mara had no doubt there was a comment or twelve incoming.

"So..." Mara slurped down half a grilled plaintain. Force, she'd missed this food. "...yeah."

 

[Alndys]

[member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"]

She really was her father's daughter. A litany of achievements and accomplishments that Jorus would be proud of, to be sure. Heck, Alna was proud of her - Mara was kind, and doing good, moreover, she was not thoughtless or overly reckless. And while Alna was less sure about all the danger, that was her job; there was no doubt, though, that her little girl had spread her wings in a big way.

She offered a smile and refilled Mara's drink, settling back into the chair beside her. "You really HAVE been busy!" Alna chuckled warmly, folding her arms on the table. "I'm just glad you're doing alright, sugarplum - Learning languages, new skills?" Sitting back, Alna beamed and considered her daughter, who was eating like she hadn't seen anything hand-cooked in months. "That's what it's all about, Mara. I couldn't be more proud."

And it was the truth, after all. Vicariously enjoying her daughter's triumphs was a unique sort of thrill.

Note to self - Tell Jorus that his sister isn't dead.

Alna leaned forward a bit and smirked. "I hope you've got good people watching your back out there, too." She added emphatically.

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

[member="Alna Merrill"]

Mara nodded enthusiastically. Her mother's misgivings were plain -- she'd taught Mara people-reading well enough, and familiarity did the rest -- but Mara glossed over that, because it wasn't a question with an answer. "I've got a good crew," she said. "Beyyr flies with me sometimes still, and there's Eiarra Denirel -- she's Chalactan. She started as the public relations manager for my stocks, but she's brilliant, Mom. Got some Theran Listener skills that she's taught me, so I can pick up languages really quick, and she's totally invaluable in first contact situations. And there's the Underground squad that Dad assigned to watch my back when I went to Kilia. All people that can blend in on a pre-tech world. Styr, he's half-Valkyri, from Midvinter; Mukami's from Asahi. The two of them do swords. Kolatta's from Zahat'n'ira, and she's an archer. Then there's Agaren, Hisoki, Barth, Sir Germaine Tionc, Kaili Talith, Miktik every now and again -- and I can call Sarge if things get hairy -- yeah, Mom, I've got some really solid people watching my back."

She lingered over a chunk of grilled fish. "Far as the Underground goes, anyway," she said after a minute. "The Galactic Alliance, closest thing I've seen to competence up close is Kaili, and I've been teaching her since before I was supposed to be teaching anyone. She's good people, don't get me wrong, Kaili's the best friend I've got that I don't pay, but there should be more, in a place that big and that idealistic. And the idealism isn't all...good. I'm starting to feel what Dad talks about with the whole citizen-of-the-galaxy thing. Governments just disappoint. You know?"

 

[Alndys]

[member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"]

That was a big one, alright. Alna sighed and nodded her understanding, running her fingers through her volumes of curly hair. "Oh, I do." She agreed emphatically, before smirking. "I think half the reason your father gets so... involved with national causes is for the sense of belonging to something greater than himself." Sure, the other half was a genuine desire to leave the Galaxy a better place than she'd found it, but hey! Alndys wasn't complaining. "Unfortunately, I can't offer any real advice to that end, honey. I was born to a big, nomadic family, and then I married your father - this place is as much a home as I've ever had without an attached warp drive." Alna explained, her chuckle slightly at her own expense.

"But, yes. It's good that you've recognized that idealism can be a dangerous thing." Alna added thoughtfully. "That isn't to say that it's always that way, or that it's always dangerous, but... you know me, honey. I don't put trust in anything I can't hold in my own two hands." She admitted. For a spacer, Alna's feet were planted firmly on the ground and always had been. "Personally, I think it's more enthusiasm than idealism that turns good causes into militant ones. Folk get all fired up and forget that there's a time and place to step back and take a deep breath, sometimes. Even the best people can forget that."

Alna offered a pleased smile and put a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "But I'm glad you've made friends. Or at least, reliable associates. I know it can be hard, when you're always on the move and things are dangerous, trust me - but in times like that, having somebody you trust with your back is more valuable than anything." After a moment, Alna raised a finger and thought a moment, before adding a bit more. "...and if Sarge ever gives you too hard a time, let me know. I'll knock him flat if I have to."

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

[member="Alna Merrill"]

Mom's thoughts on Dad and home and idealism made sense so far as Mara was concerned. "Oh yeah, the enthusiasm thing? I see that all the time. I saw the internal guesswork on how big the Underground's gotten, but when was the last time anyone but five or ten high-profile cells staged a raid? Weekend warriors. Shiny causes. Armchair activism. Pay your five creds, wear the trendy logo or the paramilitary fashion, make edgy comments on the HoloNet, feel good about yourself for five minutes. I see it all the dang time. Oof." She adjusted her belt by a notch and sat back. Island cooking could be downright filling. "It's like what Dad's always saying about not losing your sense of proportion for a cause."

Alna's hand settled on Mara's shoulder, and Mara put her own hand over it, nestling against it. "Don't worry too much about Sarge -- I've only seen him a handful of times. He had me do some negotiating for him on Naboo when I was a kid -- you remember that? -- and since then it's basically just been me calling him up when I find something he needs to know." Her face tightened. "Like when I ran into some Dark Side dicks over Gehenna, the Bando Gora hell world that the Protectorate used to keep secure. I warned them, they didn't listen, so I called him in and he showed up with some nasty ships. No pressure, just help when I need it. My godfather's good people, I think.

"But seriously, that's a lot about me. What've you been working on? Ships, I'm assuming -- what've you got up your sleeve?"

 

[Alndys]

[member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"]

The question was innocent enough, though Alna couldn't help but chuckle and offer an evasive shrug. "Nothing worth bragging about." She promised genuinely, busying her hands with a cup of tea. "When I was your age, I worked with my parents, and my brothers, and we'd rip apart things left behind for... thousands of years. YT's, star destroyers, you name it." Alna explained with a smirk. "And we'd turn around and sell the parts to people who'd bought those same sorts of ships new, just the month before."

"I grew up convinced that the entire galaxy was incapable of innovation. That nobody was going to step forward and made NEW things, they'd just keep recycling the old junk." Alna paused, then frowned a bit. "Now that I've spent a couple years here, where time really DOES have no meaning, I realized I'm wrong. The Galaxy can move forward on its own, it's just really, really gorram slow about it."

Alna wrinkled her nose a bit in thought. "I hate to admit it, but even though Ironwolf's disappeared with it for almost a decade, the Arcadia might still be one of the finer warships around. Still." She complained. "Honey, I WISH I had something up my sleeves. But I'm afraid at some point, I went and became boring." Her chuckle was at her own expense, and not bitter - whatever else she was, whatever talents she had, Alna was a wife and mother first. She'd just let the gulf between those two and everything else get a bit wide.

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

[member="Alna Merrill"]

"I've seen the specs. Pound for pound, the Arcadia was nasty." Mara grinned. "As for boring, sure, I got restless here after a while, but you're the one that taught me to sail and fish and build things and live off the land. I was never bored -- don't ever think that's why I left. I just needed to go for a walk, see what I could see.

"Heck, I've got something that might help. Brought a present for you. Between the chunk of Silk you and Dad left me, and the monster fortune Aunt Rave left me, I can pretty much set up anything that needs setting up. So I had this made by the same team that did the Jedi Order Library Card network." She pulled a compact holoprojector terminal out of her bag and set it on the split-log table. "This here's a quantum ansible comm. It's hardlinked to another comm, which is wired into a major HoloNet node on Chalacta. I know you can get signals offworld if you need to, but with this, you can have full Net access from your front porch. And it's absolutely fething untraceable. Even if the best hacker in the 'verse is sitting there with the other comm in his lap, all he can tell is that there's another comm out there somewhere. There's no directionality to quantum entanglement comms.

"From here, from home, you can do anything you want. Keep in touch with Lorrd or Cousin Aldiel in real-time. Marathon Real Housewives of the Jedi Temple again. Teach shipbuilding at half a dozen universities. Talk to Dad at the push of a button."

It occurred to her, too late, that the comm would change her mother's life. For the better, probably, but she should have at least considered how much right she had to disturb Alna's retirement. If anyone had earned some peace and quiet, Alna D'Lessio-Merrill surely had.

 

[Alndys]

[member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"]

Let it never be said that her daughter wasn't thoughtful - truth be told, had Alna not been half-convinced that it was about time she left planet for awhile to see what she could find, she might have been inclined to cry. Just a little bit, anyway. Alna settled for a broad smile, sat back to consider her answer, then gave Mara a sly smirk. "...you know I don't watch that garbage show." She lied, if only because she knew right away that Mara would be able to identify that it was such.

"Thank you, Mara. This is... really, an amazing gift." She added more genuinely, brushing her frizzy hair back to get a little more air. Felt disconnected and left out of the Galaxy? Here comes Mara with the untracable connection to the Holonet. Including the ability to phone up her wayward sojourner of a hubby whenever she felt like calling and he wasn't in immediate mortal peril? Alna stood and moved behind her daughter's seat, wrapping her up in a hug and placing a kiss atop her head. "And you went and grew into a woman where I couldn't watch it happen, sugarplum." Alna chided good-naturedly.

She stood and pondered a moment. "Say. How long is this little visit of yours going to last?" Alna asked her daughter cheerfully, gathering up whatever plates and dishes were left over from a night of sitting at the table and catching up with each other. "I'd like to know how long I have you before I invite you off-planet to do some backbreaking, boring mom stuff."

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

[member="Alna Merrill"]

"So far I've avoided tying myself down. My stocks run themselves, nobody cares if I disappear for a while..." Mara shrugged and offered her mother a grin. "Knowing you, I'm betting 'backbreaking, boring old Mom stuff' involves hydrospanners, cutting torches, maybe a blueprint or two... So yeah, I'm one hundred percent available for that."

They kept a saltwater cask for dishes, or at least the local equivalent: metalwork around here was simple, low-temperature stuff, and you couldn't bind a proper barrel with copper. Mara rinsed them, then got to scrubbing. "What've you got in mind? And you want to take the Daragon, or my boat?" Bit of a thrill, saying that about the Bullet Time. It was mostly hers, after all. Dad had basically given it to her. Pretty much.