Private Justice or Revenge?

[Kyell Laysel]

Location: Shili
Tag: Miri Nimdok

The more he saw and heard of Starlin, the worse he felt about his earlier assumptions of the man. Starlin was fond of Miri the way a big brother was of his little sister... when she wasn't annoying, anyway. It filled the ship with warmth despite the Imperials trying to kill them, and he was genuinely happy for them and their engagement. It got Kyell to smile warmly at the man before he too was forced to hold on tightly.

In all of his planning, he hadn't taken this part into account — a dangerous escape while being chased and fired at. Kyell and Miri were both decent pilots, but right now, he was very happy that Starlin was the one flying.

<Coruscant will do, for now,> He quickly said in confirmation before he reached over to take Miri's hand. It wasn't hard to tell that she was bothered by having to leave her ship behind. It had become the closest thing to a home for him too, mostly because of her, but it still sucked that they'd have to leave it behind.

Hopefully, one day, they could come back for it if the Imperials didn't track it down before then.

<We uh, don't really have a place to stay anymore though. So maybe we can go to the Temple?> Hardly ideal, especially not with wedding plans coming up, but it's all he had left.

 

[Miri Nimdok]

“Coruscant it is!” Starlin punched in the coordinates, and the stars blurred into white lines as they shot forth into hyperspace, losing their Imperial pursuers. To ease some of the tension, Starlin reached for a pack of cigarettes, only to think better of it and quickly put them away.

“So… any more good news for me to congratulate you on?” he prompted.

There was something odd about the tone of his voice. Miri glanced over at him, her brow furrowed. “No, I can’t think of anything,” she said. She was still thinking about the Conestoga and all the stuff she had left behind there.

Starlin’s gaze lingered on her just a second too long, before glancing toward Kyell as the other Padawan suggested they go to the Temple. “Works for me. I was gonna be heading there myself at the end of this assignment.”

The cockpit fell quiet. Exhausted from battle and their escape from Shili, Miri had begun to nod off in her chair when she received a message on her datapad. It was from Starlin—she glared over at him right as he covertly slipped his device back into his pocket. Uncharacteristically, he didn’t grin back.

She opened the message.

I assume you don’t know you’re pregnant, or else you wouldn’t be going on any dangerous missions.

Miri did a double take, reading the message again in disbelief. “What?” she blurted. “Starlin, is this some kind of joke? Are you messing with me?”

But rather than cracking a smile or laughing at her reaction, Starlin just looked even more uncomfortable. He glanced from her to Kyell, then started to reach for his datapad to type another message.

“Starlin, just say it,” Miri said, her voice strained and exasperated. “I don’t believe this. How can I be pregnant? How would you even know that?!”

“I can sense it inside you,” Starlin explained sheepishly. “When we were being chased, I stretched out my awareness with the Force so that I could dodge the Imps. That’s when I first felt it. It’s very faint, but it’s there. Can’t you feel it?”

All the blood had drained from Miri’s face, leaving her pale and wide-eyed. “No, I can’t feel it,” she spat. “You know that I can’t! Oh, no… Kyell…”

Covering her face with trembling hands, she tried to stay calm, but she couldn’t stop herself from crying. Under better circumstances, she would’ve been thrilled, but with their confrontation against Sahar now impending, it could not possibly have happened at a worse time.

Kyell Laysel​

 

[Kyell Laysel]

Location: Shili
Tag: Miri Nimdok

"So… any more good news for me to congratulate you on?"

Kyell raised an eyebrow at the question but didn't think too much of it. He could have easily been referring to their mission or just their lives in general. There was a lot more to it than just the engagement, after all. Miri seemed to feel the same way about the question at first, but after she reached for her datapad to look at a message she had gotten from him, he could feel a shift in her.

"Starlin, is this some kind of joke? Are you messing with me?"

<Hey, what's wrong?> He asked her telepathically, his voice filled with nervousness and surprise because of her reaction. It was a little strange that Starlin decided to message her while she was right here in the room with him. But even so, he couldn't remember the last time he saw her like this, and when the man who had been so easy-going and playful offered no smirk, or laugh, and allowed a tense atmosphere to continue, he knew something was off.

But the answer to all of his questions came quickly, and the realization hit him like a train.

She's pregnant?

Kyell's eyes shifted from Miri to Starlin, who confirmed that he had felt it through the Force. A part of him had hoped the man was lying or pulling some kind of prank, but this was not something to joke about, and deep down, as he began to focus his own senses, he already knew it to be true himself. For several, long seconds, Kyell sat completely frozen, his eyes wide with shock and filled with a mixture of emotions he couldn't begin to separate or explain. There was panic at the idea of starting a family so soon after this mission on Shili, fear that he wasn't yet ready to be a father, but... there was also joy at the idea of having a child with the woman he loved.

All of these emotions kept him drawn into himself for what felt like an eternity, but when he saw Miri crying, he snapped out of it and shifted over to her side, <It's going to be okay,> he tried to assure her, as he took her hands and pulled her close. <Don't worry about the war. About the Jedi; about Sahar. I'll deal with all of it and protect you, okay?> he asked, now with a gentle smile pulling at the corners of his lips.

<Miri, you're going to be a mother. Isn't that amazing?> he asked her carefully while he softly squeezed her hands. <Everything is going to be okay,> he repeated because no matter what, he didn't want his future wife to feel scared or hopeless about something that should be celebrated.

 

[Miri Nimdok]

Sniffing and wiping frantically at the tears flooding from her dark eyes, Miri tried to maintain some level of control over her emotions, even if she could feel her grasp of the situation slipping fast. She wanted to be happy, joyful, excited—and she was all of these things, and so much more. But she was afraid.

“It wasn’t supposed to happen yet,” she whispered. “Not now…”

Starlin, who had been contemplating excusing himself from the cockpit of his own ship just to give the couple some privacy, perked up. “I think I’m missing something here,” he said. “Haven’t you always wanted to be a mother? I remember you used to carry around baby dolls everywhere when you were a kid, like a little mama. So what’s wrong?” Surely she wasn’t just upset at the prospect of walking down the aisle with a visibly pregnant belly, though he imagined it might limit her wedding dress options. Maybe they could postpone it until after she gave birth…?

“Sahar is what’s wrong,” Miri said. “We did all this just to attract her attention, so that we could take her out. But if I’m pregnant, I can’t fight her—and I don’t want you to fight her alone again!” She gripped Kyell’s hands tightly, just as fiercely protective of him as he was of her. But she had to think about this new other life now, too. One that was tied to hers.

“I could fight her for you,” Starlin offered, his tone deceptively casual.

Miri turned to look at him. “Would you really?”

The hope in her expression was too much for him to refuse. Not that he would have denied her anything anyway. “Yup,” he replied. “I’ll kick her ass from here to Bardotta, I don’t care. She’ll wish she had never met y’all.”

Reaching over, Miri hugged him. “Thank you, Starlin,” she said. Her relief was palpable. If Starlin fought Sahar in her place, this may have actually turned out for the better. A powerful and experienced Jedi Knight, Starlin would fare much better in battle than she ever could.

More moved than he would ever admit, Starlin returned her embrace until Miri pulled away from him to throw her arms around Kyell. The joy finally was able to break through the melting fear then, flowing out of her in an exuberant rush like water bursting through ice in spring. She wanted to dance and cheer and jump up and down in celebration.

<Yes,> she replied, smiling against his neck. <It is amazing. I only wish I could sense it the way you can. How did we do it?> An apt question. They had been using protection, so how had this child even been conceived? On the other hand, did it really matter?

<It’s going to be all right now,> she echoed his sentiment. <I trust Starlin, and I trust you. You won't need to worry about me.>

As she began to kiss his face ardently, Starlin quickly turned his chair around. "You know, you guys get to have your own room to yourselves..." he hinted, turning up his music again.

Miri paused, reminded that they weren’t alone, but took full advantage of the privacy of telepathy. <I've got to get this armor off anyway,> she whispered in Kyell's mind. <Come with me, beloved…>

Kyell Laysel​

 

[Kyell Laysel]

Location: Shili
Tag: Miri Nimdok

"It wasn't supposed to happen yet," she whispered. "Not now…"

<I know, I know...> he tried to assure her, but this was no situation Kyell was prepared for at all. He had always been a fairly reserved, very quiet person, and offering guidance or comfort was no easy thing to him. Miri was almost always the exception because of how well he knew her at this point, but he found himself at a loss for words that reminded him of the days when he couldn't make any friends or talk to people and keep them interested in him.

What could he possibly say to help her?

But while Kyell struggled to help his own fiancée, Starlin decided to chime in with just a small touch of her past, and it quickly revealed the true reason for her emotions again. The problem was that there seemed to be no solution — Miri could not fight while she was pregnant, and after the stunt they pulled, it meant it was just going to be Kyell again. Or so he thought.

"I could fight her for you,"

Kyell blinked with the same surprise Miri had, and looked quietly between them for the rest of the conversation on that topic. Together with Starlin, his chances of beating her were much higher, and even though he still preferred to fight with Miri by his side, this solved all of their problems instantly.

Miri was quick to brighten up because of it as well and jumped at him to wrap her arms around his neck. Kyell just smiled and held her tightly in a warm embrace. <Well, I'm sure it wasn't the hugging...> he tried to joke with a dumb grin before he pulled back and looked her in the eyes. <It will be okay. We're going to take down Sahar and I'll be there for you when the baby comes and for the wedding.>

Starlin then offered the couple to get a room, and while Miri jumped at the opportunity, Kyell stood up and nodded, <One moment, love. I'll be right there, okay?> He asked, and his tone hopefully made it clear that he wanted a second alone with Starlin before they did their thing again. When he was given the time, he looked at the man and offered a genuine smile of gratitude. He hadn't thanked Starlin yet but he was definitely going to.

<I know you two are like family and that you'd do a lot for each other without a second thought, but... thank you,> He began with some relief in his telepathic voice. <This means everything to her and I...yeah... thanks.> He wasn't sure what else to really say, so he just smiled sheepishly and hurried after his beloved.

They had something to celebrate together.

 

[Miri Nimdok]

<Well, I'm sure it wasn't the hugging...>

<Oh, of course. It was the kissing.> Miri’s humor could be equally as silly as Kyell’s. <Must’ve just been an accident. A happy accident, if a slightly… stressful one.>

Kyell may have worried that he wasn’t doing enough to comfort her, but all Miri needed was for him to be there. His presence alone was reassurance enough for her. If she had him by her side, she could do anything.

Miri’s gaze shifted between the two men before she left them alone. Turning his music back down again, Starlin rotated in his seat to face Kyell. “No problem, man,” he said. He wasn’t quite smiling, but his bright blue eyes were crinkled in the corners as if he were. “You take good care of her.” If he didn’t, Starlin would unleash his ass-kicking upon Kyell without hesitation. But it looked as if he wouldn’t need to. Miri had picked a good one.

He watched Kyell hurry off to join Miri, smiling to himself. “Y’all better name the kid after me for this!” he joked, before turning up the volume again, singing along with his tunes.

Kyell Laysel​