Private The Broken Wheel

[Corazona von Ascania]

Aurelian Veruna | Makko Vyres​

Cora huffed as they stepped onto the lift. "That took far longer than necessary."

Perhaps it was the impending birth of her daughter, but Cora had spent the past few months attempting to push modern marriage legislation through Ukatis' convoluted, if archaic, legal system. Ultimately, the choice rested with Fabian, and the bill's detractors had been vocal. Old, rich, and very vocal.

The proposal included raising the marriageable age to eighteen, and required both parties to sign a contract signaling their consent to the union. It wouldn't stop all forced marriages, but it set a precedent which could be built upon.

Fortunately, Aurelian had come to impress the Republic's backing of this initiative, much to the displeasure of many red-faced Ukatian Lords who sought to maintain the wheel of tradition as it turned for another thousand years.

"Still," she said as the door closed behind them, a low hum emanating from the walls as the cab began to ascend, "I think we managed to convince them that this is for the best. Or at the very least, that this is happening."

There would be resistance to progress, of course. Cora didn't want her daughter to grow up on a world that saw her as a bargaining chip. "I'd like to work on education reform next. Not just for women, but for rural children in-"

The lift suddenly stalled, and Cora swayed on her feet. The low hum became a coarse mechanical shudder, which faded into unpleasant silence. One hand braced on the wall, the other braced on her swollen abdomen, she glanced from Aurelian to the ceiling.

"Oh."

 

[Aurelian Veruna]

Location: My personal hell
Tags: Corazona von Ascania | Makko Vyres

Aurelian stepped into the lift behind a waddling Cora. His shoulders loosened a fraction as the cab began its ascent. A long day. Too long. Hours spent staring down men who mistook age for wisdom and tradition for virtue. He had smiled when required, applied pressure where it mattered, and let the Republic's presence speak louder than any threat.

He would never say it aloud, but he respected Cora for this. For pushing where others had settled. For choosing her daughter's future over the comfort of appeasement.

Aurelian leaned back against the wall and skimmed his datapad, half listening as Cora talked through her next campaign. Education reform. Rural access. Curriculum oversight.

The datapad chimed softly as he scrolled. Numbers. Timelines. Political fallout he would be expected to clean up later. He was already thinking three steps ahead when the hum beneath his boots changed pitch.

Then it stopped.

The lights flickered once, twice, before settling into a dim, unflattering glow. Aurelian lifted his head just as Cora swayed, one hand on the wall, the other on her stomach. His heart dropped straight through his chest.

He shoved the datapad into his coat and pushed off the wall. "Oh what?" he asked, too quickly, already crossing the small space between them. He reached out, then hesitated, painfully aware of how little he knew about pregnant women and how many ways this could go wrong.

Of course. Of course this would happen here. On Ukatis. On a day like this. This blasted backwater planet.

"I swear to Shiraya this cannot be happening," he muttered, dragging a hand down his face.

​

 

[Makko Vyres]

MAKKO

Corazona von Ascania Aurelian Veruna

Makko was mid-step when it hit him.

He was far away at a comms hub on Ukatis for a meeting with Republic Jedi. A burst of sensation arrived down his bond with Cora. It was sharp, seizing him mid-stride. His breath caught in his throat.

He felt her. It was not the soft, distant way their bond usually simmered with affection or shared emotion. This was different. This was real immediate panic.

For an instant he thought she was in danger. He reached down their bond.

Cora...

Makko didn’t even realise he’d spoken her name aloud as well.

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

"It's nothing," she dismissed. There was something fragile in her voice, in the way her tone broke at the last syllable. "There's no way I'm actually…in an elevator."

Cora scoffed, as if speaking it aloud would stay the unsteady feeling that coiled in her gut. Pregnancy had introduced a host of newer sensations as the baby grew, and this was just more of the same, enhanced by the lift's sudden shuddering halt.

She was just anxious, that's all. The idea of going into labor here was laughable.

Then, she felt it. A soft pop. A gush of fluid, followed by a trickle down the inside of her leg.

The universe certainly had a cruel sense of humor.

For a moment, Cora could only stare. The cab's dim lighting glared against the wet sheen that had spread over the floor - and over Aurelian's shoes.

Her lips parted as a half-hearted apology died on a whisper of a breath. Panic and excitement rushed in to replace embarrassment, and those same sentiments struck down her bond with Makko like a hammer.

Slowly, she lifted her face in little degrees. Slack-jawed, eyes wide, until she met Aurelian's own expression.

Cora swallowed once, throat dry.

"This is…not ideal," she murmured, distracted. "We should probably get out of here."

Aurelian Veruna Makko Vyres

 

[Aurelian Veruna]

Location: MY SHOES
Tags: Corazona von Ascania | Makko Vyres

Aurelian froze for half a second too long. Long enough to see it register on Cora's face. Long enough to feel the weight of the situation slam into him without mercy. This cannot be happening. This cannot be happening.

He moved anyway, instincts finally kicking him forward. One hand hovered, then settled at her elbow, steady but careful. She was still upright. Still breathing. Holding it together, somehow. He searched her face for reassurance, for anything that said this was a false alarm, a fluke, a dramatic but manageable moment.

She looked calm. Too calm. Maybe they would get through this. Maybe the lift would restart. Maybe this would turn into a story told later over wine, exaggerated for effect. Then his shoes got wet.

Aurelian stiffened. His gaze dropped to the floor, to the spreading sheen catching the dim light. His stomach flipped. His very very expensive shoes. His brain latched onto that absurd detail because the alternative was worse.

Did she just pee on the floor?

The answer hit him a breath later, sharp and undeniable, right as he looked up and met her eyes. That look. Realization. Panic barely leashed.

Oh. Oh no.

"Nope. Nope," he said aloud, stepping back half a pace without letting go of her arm. His voice cracked despite his best efforts. "Use the Force. Keep it all in till we're out of here. This is not happening. This cannot happen."

This was beyond negotiations. Beyond politics. Beyond anything he had prepared for. He glanced wildly at the ceiling panel, then the door, then his comm as if one of them might offer salvation. His pulse hammered in his ears. Think. Think. Do something useful.

"This cannot be happening," he muttered again, quieter now, like repetition might bend reality to his will.

Get them out. That was the only objective left.

"Get us out of here," he snapped, jabbing at his comm. "Now."

His eyes flicked around the cab, sharp and suddenly furious. "Where the feth is your husband?" he demanded, voice pitched high with strain. He swallowed, forcing himself to breathe. He had to control his breathing, he had learned about this technique. Inhale four seconds, hold for seven, exhale for eight, repeat.

​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Cora didn't remember clenching her teeth, but she felt her jaw tighten. Heard the rush of her own pulse in her ears. Somehow, Aurelian's mutterings cut through the erratic thud of her own heartbeat.

"Sorry," she mumbled absently about the mess on his shoes. On any other day, in any other scenario, she might've put more effort into an apology, but her mind was swamped with frantic thoughts. What was it that the books had said? That labor generally started within twenty-four hours of water breaking. They would be fine, then. She would be fine.

"Keep it all-" Cora nearly sputtered, pursing her lips at Aurelian. One hand braced at the small of her back, while the other planted itself over the generous curve of her abdomen. "That is not how the Force works!"

Still, she couldn't help but will that the little life inside her stay put for now. Just for the moment. Just until they could get out of here, and she and Makko could settle into a clean, comfortable hospital bed with competent staff.

Not here.

Not in an elevator.

Not in an elevator with Aurelian Fucking Veruna.

"It's not happening," she said flatly. As flatly as she could with an undercurrent of electric nerves flowing through every cell in her body. "My husband? Oh, I'm sorry," removing the hand from her back, Cora rolled her wrist in the panicked tension between them, "I forgot. I keep him in my pocket."

Was it possible to be mad at Makko for not being here, in this lift at this exact moment? Yes. Was it reasonable? Well…

"It's fine," she insisted sharply. "The timing is unfortunate, but we still have plenty of time to get out of here before-"

The electric buzz that fed the leaks of her internal panic became a shapeless burn. It twisted and turned, expanding and contracting as a dull ache bloomed in her core. A heavy throb settled in her lower back, but it was the way it rippled into her belly that had Cora pitching forward in surprise. Not enough to fall, but enough to lean into Aurelian's grip at his elbow.

A bead of sweat slipped along her brow bone. Her hand grasped for his forearm, squeezing it tight. Nope. Nope.

"Aurelian," she ground his name though tightly held teeth, seeking his gaze with blue eyes of water and steel. "Look at me. Look at me."

Her jaw clenched. "I will not be having this baby in a filthy elevator. Do you understand?"

Aurelian Veruna Makko Vyres

 

[Makko Vyres]

Was it possible to be mad at Makko for not being here, in this lift at this exact moment? Yes. Was it reasonable? Well…

Makko felt that, a sharp needle down their bond. Even as his mind stretched down the holonet. Wires, radios, computers, they were all part of a network he was free to traverse.

He couldn't find her comm unit. The elevator kept her shielded from any signals.

"Fuck," he hissed, his senses snapping back to the real world. Why was she off grid?

 

[Aurelian Veruna]

Tags: Corazona von Ascania | Makko Vyres

Aurelian's eyes nearly bugged out of his head.

"I don't know how the Force works," he blurted, voice cracking on the word works. His hands lifted uselessly for a moment, fingers splayed like that might somehow help. Panic roared up fast and ugly. He glanced at the ceiling panel again, measuring it, already picturing himself prying it open and hauling himself out through the shaft. Anything. He would take blaster fire, political fallout, another year of hearings with those Lords. Just not this.

Then Cora leaned into him.

The full weight of her hit his arm and shoulder and he staggered half a step to brace them both. "Shiraya, you're heavy," he gasped, more strained than unkind as he adjusted his stance. His foot slid. Straight into the wet patch on the floor.

He groaned, long and miserable. "You are absolutely going to owe me a new pair of shoes," he muttered. "Very expensive shoes. And maybe a bottle of bourbon. A good one. For the emotional damage."

Focus. He forced his feet wider, grounded himself, one arm firm around her so she would not go down. He could feel her shaking now. Or maybe that was him.

She was staring at him like she was daring the universe to contradict her. Refusing, on pure will alone, to let this happen here.

He held her gaze. For a moment, he said nothing. Silence pressed in, broken only by the faint hum of dead machinery and his own breathing, still uneven despite his efforts to slow it. Inhale. Hold. Exhale. It barely helped.

"I'm going to be honest," he said finally, quieter now. "It's not looking good."

The words tasted awful. Necessary, but awful.

He flicked another glance at the doors, then down at the floor, then back to her face. "If this goes bad, I can settle you in that corner," he said, nodding toward the least offensive patch of wall. "I'll turn around. Give you space. Let you… do your business."

​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

"Your emotional damage-?" Cora nearly scoffed, choking on her own low, rumbling groan of pain. "You're not the one who has a-" she squeezed Aurelian's arm tighter, letting out a brusque breath as the ache ebbed away before she found her words again. "Has a human fighting to get out of you!"

There was a moment where Cora truly wondered if this actually was a nightmare. Perhaps she'd wake up in her own bed, peaceful and safe, next to her husband. That this would just be a dream she'd try to recollect to him, but the more she'd explain, the more the details would slip through her fingers like sand. All that would be left was the general feeling of unease, and that too would fade in time.

Force, why couldn't he be Makko? Still, while Aurelian might disagree, Cora was glad that she wasn't alone.

Then, Aurelian's voice lowered. It even softened a little, and all she could do was stare directly into his gaze. Labored, terrified, and incredulous.

"Oh, absolutely not," she hissed, one hand braced heavily on her knee. "Do my business? Like a dog? Ashla's sake, Aurelian! For all your talk of wanting to be this baby's godfather, you're going to turn around when she needs help?"

It was far from ideal, and it was a hell of a lot to ask – but there wasn't really a choice to be made, the way Cora saw it.

Another contraction rippled through her, this one stronger. A little sharper, enough for a low moan to rattle in her throat as she rode that aching wave. By the time it abated, she was glaring at him through blonde strands that had begun to gather sweat. "If this is happening, then I am not going at it alone!"

Makko would feel a pulse of panic down their bond; it was followed by another, then another, until it felt as though they were crashing into one another. Like a tether, he could follow it to the general area of the stalled lift.

"I-I don't think it's supposed to happen this fast," she whispered on a shuddering breath.

Aurelian Veruna Makko Vyres

 

[Aurelian Veruna]

Tags: Corazona von Ascania | Makko Vyres

Aurelian stared at her like she had just declared war on the concept of reason.

"I don't know!" he shot back, voice pitching up as he fought to keep his grip on her. "I have never had the wonderful opportunity to be around someone delivering a baby. Trapped. In a lift." He let out a sharp, humorless laugh. "I just assumed you'd want some privacy when you're, you know…"

He gestured at himself, hands moving in an awkward, panicked mime. "Pulling a baby out of yourself. That feels personal. Intimate. Like something I should not be making eye contact with."

Her glare hit him full force, and the next contraction bent her forward. Panic rippled across his face, raw and unfiltered. His jaw clenched. This was spiraling fast. Too fast. He tightened his hold, planting his feet again, ignoring the wet floor and the quiet ruin of his shoes.

Stay upright. That was the rule. He could do that much.

"Alright, alright," he muttered, breath shallow. His mind scrambled for something useful, anything. Then he remembered the flask. His hand flew to his jacket, pulling it free like a lifeline. He twisted the cap and took a deep swig, the burn grounding him for half a second.

He held it out toward her on instinct. Then froze. He shoved the flask away, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and looked at her again. Really looked. She was terrified. In pain. Still fighting.

And she was right. She could not do this alone.

"Fine. Fine," he said, the fight draining out of his voice. "I'm here. I'm not going anywhere." He swallowed hard, nodding once as if sealing a contract he very much did not understand. "You're not doing this alone."

He took another breath, slower this time, forcing his panic down into something sharper. Focused.

"So," he said, trying for steady and landing somewhere close. "What do I need to do?"

​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Cora didn't have anything to retort with - maybe she did, but another wave of pain stole the words from her tongue before they could even form.

Everything that wasn't her own body registered slowly to her. She couldn't even muster a passing blink at the flask, but pawed meekly for it after the brief opportunity had passed. Her hand landed in empty space, then floated down to the fabric of her skirt.

Fingers clenched the cloth between them until they turned pale. This was happening. This was really happening. She couldn't decide if this was more unfair for Aurelian, or for herself - but quickly decided that it didn't matter.

Because it was happening.

A fresh burst of pain rocked her core, nearly buckling her knees. Cora groaned - low, loud and labored. The primal sound bounced off of the metallic walls and shivered up the lift cables.

Labor or not, she wasn’t about to try and explain where Aurelian needed to put his hands.

"Just…call someone," she hissed through gritted teeth. "Force, where the hell is Makko? Just - just call someone who can help, I don't care if it's the Dark Lord of the Sith themselves. Anyone!"

Aurelian Veruna Makko Vyres

 

[Aurelian Veruna]

Tags: Corazona von Ascania | Makko Vyres | Adelle Bastiel

Oh shit. This was actually happening.

Aurelian felt the thought land fully formed and utterly unhelpful as Cora sagged against him, pain ripping through her in waves he could feel through her grip. This was officially the worst day of his very young, very beautiful life. Politics he could handle. Assassins, intrigue, war councils. This? This was obscene.

"I've got you," he said quickly, tightening his hold as she barked at him to call someone. His heart was racing hard enough to bruise. "I'm calling. I'm calling."

He fumbled for her comm, hands clumsy now that adrenaline had taken the wheel. The lift jolted faintly as he shifted, his elbow knocking the device clean out of his grasp. It hit the floor with a soft clack. And slid straight into the puddle. He stared at it. Of course it did.

"Oops," he muttered, then immediately winced at himself. He crouched with exaggerated care, lifting it between two fingers like it might bite him. "That's… deeply unpleasant."

He wiped it on his sleeve without thinking, grimaced, then straightened and thumbed it on. The screen flickered. Miraculously alive.

"Alright," he breathed. "Alright." First call. Makko.

He didn't wait for a connection beyond the tone. "Makko, it's Aurelian. We're stuck in the lift. Cora's in labor. She's really in labor. I don't know how fast this is supposed to happen but it feels fast. Please get here now. Thanks!" He shoved the comm back into Cora's hand as gently as he could manage. "Here. Keep that."

Another contraction hit and she dropped lower, knees buckling. He went with her this time, easing her down against the wall, one arm braced behind her shoulders, the other steadying her legs.

"Easy," he murmured, softer now despite the terror clawing up his spine. "Sit. Sit. I've got you."

Second call. The only other option he had.

He pulled out his own comm, fingers shaking. He didn't know any Dark Lords of the Sith. He barely knew any healers. He had two friends and one acquaintance, and the acquaintance was a Jedi who once mentioned something about healing... maybe... it was hard to remember now.

The line trilled.

"Adelle!" he said, voice breaking straight through decorum. "Adelle, I need help. Cora is in labor. Right now. In a lift. I don't know what I'm doing." He dragged a hand through his hair, eyes darting between Cora and the sealed doors. "If you know anything about delivering babies, I am begging you. Please."

He lowered the comm slightly and looked down at Cora, fear and resolve twisting tight in his chest.

"Help is coming," he said, hoping to every god listening that it was true.

​

 

[Adelle Bastiel]

Contruum, Mandalorian Empire
Tags: Aurelian Veruna | Corazona von Ascania | Makko Vyres

The bedroom was quite dark when something woke up Adelle. She rolled over, rubbed at her eyes, and blearily glanced at the side table chronometer, projecting the local time above it. 01.26. Her comm chirped again.

Who the kriff was calling her now?

This was the first night of her two week placebo phase, when she stopped taking sedatives to ensure she wasn't developing a tolerance or an addiction. Her last chance to get an uninterrupted night's sleep. This had better be important.

Adelle sat up and grabbed the comm, rubbing at her eyes. "'lo?"

"Adelle!"

Aurelian? The panic in his voice woke her up far faster than anything else.

"Adelle, I need help. Cora is in labor. Right now. In a lift. I don't know what I'm doing. If you know anything about delivering babies, I am begging you. Please."

Cora is in labor. In a lift.

The words hit with the force of a forge hammer. She had some experience among her former order. Every Jedi Healer was expected to do a rotation, especially out in the more rural villages of their planet. On Karre Noba's farm, she'd delivered a couple by herself with minimal medical equipment. That had been less than ideal. Adelle scrambled out of bed and started grabbing clothes on one-handed.

"Listen carefully. Put me on speaker. Then use Cora's comm to call whatever emergency services you have available," Adelle ordered, sliding back into her old role as 'Doc'. "Do not hang up on me, is that clear? Call them now and pray to the gods she doesn't have a fast labor."

Emergency services wouldn't be able to help in the immediate moment as long as they were in the lift—had it gotten stuck or something?—but Cora would need medical attention as soon as she could. Kriff, she'd only met the woman once. If it were someone she knew better, she could have attempted Healing from here but that was risky. Adelle was pretty sure the effort would kill her if she tried right now.

"Cora? Can you hear me?" Adelle waited briefly for any kind of sound from the laboring woman. "This is very important. Do not push. Not yet. Use the breathing techniques you were taught to manage the pain but don't push."

Adelle yanked on her clothes. It didn't matter to her if she managed to make it to wherever they were before the birth or even within hours of it. It was a matter of professional responsibility to her to follow up. And there might be questions for Aurelian that he wasn't equipped to handle.

"Aurelian, talk to me. City and planet. Where are you? What do you have with you? Is there an emergency medkit?" She sat on the floor to shove boots on while Phantom padded up behind her and mewed curiously. "And are you prepared to get your hands dirty?"

 

[Makko Vyres]

MAKKO

"Makko, it's Aurelian. We're stuck in the lift. Cora's in labor. She's really in labor. I don't know how fast this is supposed to happen but it feels fast. Please get here now. Thanks!" He shoved the comm back into Cora's hand as gently as he could manage. "Here. Keep that."

"Aurelian?"

Makko was clearly out of breath. He was running flat out, following the strength of their bond.

"Cora? Are you..."

"Cora? Can you hear me?" Adelle waited briefly for any kind of sound from the laboring woman. "This is very important. Do not push. Not yet. Use the breathing techniques you were taught to manage the pain but don't push."

"Wait, who's that? Where are you? I'm close!"

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Had she not been trying to hold back a proverbial bowling ball from making a rather unpleasant exit beneath her skirt, Cora might've had something to say about Aurelian dropping her comm unit in a puddle of amniotic fluid. Ew, he touched it.

Her hand blindly grasped the comm as it was deposited into her hand. "Makko," she panted, unaware if the transmission was still running or not, "get us out of this fething lift NOW!"

Cursing was not the sort of language Corazona von Ascania would lower herself to, except for when she was in active labor. In no other world would she willingly sag onto the filthy floor of an elevator.

Aurelian had called someone else. Adelle? She knew the name, but didn't have the spare energy to try and put it to a face (or helmet). When the voice at the other end urged her not to push, she answered with a pained groan. Low, long, and desperate. Like a dying cow.

The voice was right. Don't push. Breathe. The pain was temporary, but it was the panic that truly unnerved her. There were a thousand different way that this could go wrong, and Cora couldn't see very many that could go right.

She gasped, forcing herself to take in stale air. In, hold, then out. In, hold, then out. In, hold then...

Another contraction ripped through her, bringing with it a pained shout that rose beyond the thin durasteel cab. The pain unearthed a connection, somehow, that slipped through her eroding filters.

"You...you called a...bucket head?!"

Cora didn't know about Adelle's past as a Jedi healer. Mandalorians were a complicated subject for her, and though she counted Jenn Kryze as family, their people weren't know for the more delicate arts of giving birth.

With ragged breath, Cora glared at the King of Naboo from behind sweat-slicked blonde strands. Had he lost his mind?

"What the hell, Aurelian??"

Aurelian Veruna Makko Vyres Adelle Bastiel

 

[Aurelian Veruna]

Tags: Corazona von Ascania | Makko Vyres | Adelle Bastiel

Aurelian stared at Cora like she had finally snapped.

"A bucket head?" he repeated, incredulous, flipping his comm to speaker with a sharp tap as Adelle's voice filled the cab. Commands. Calm. Professional. Bless her. "Cora, she's one of your kind too," he shot back, gesturing vaguely at the comm.

Anyone was better than no one. He would die on that hill.

He shifted closer to Cora again as another sound tore out of her, one hand braced behind her shoulders, the other hovering uselessly near her knee. His internal monologue was a mess of static and prayers he didn't remember learning. This was spiraling. He hated spirals.

"Adelle," he cut in, louder now, forcing himself to sound coherent. "We're on Ukatis. Some backwater city. I don't know the name. They all look equally miserable." He glanced up at the sealed doors like they might suddenly answer him out of spite. "Lift is stalled in a government complex. No medkit. Just me, a very angry dowager princess, and a floor I would rather set on fire."

He swallowed, jaw tight. "And no," he added quickly, "I would prefer not to get dirty at all. That is not an experience I was emotionally prepared for today."

Another look at Cora. She was breathing. Barely, but she was doing it. That mattered.

"But," he continued, rushing ahead, "her husband is on his way. I called him. He should be here any moment and then he can take over and I can simply… exit this nightmare."

​