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Whistler warbled and beeped, demanding Corran’s attention the moment he walked through the door of his temporary quarters. He didn’t have time for this, but he learned the hard way that ignoring the astromech usually cost more time in the long run. At least he could multitask while Whistler delivered the message. He wanted to change out of his flightsuit so he could finish his debriefing and after action report as soon as possible.
Rogue Squadron was coming to the end of a two week stint on Home One between base assignments. There was a planned communications blackout for at least the first couple of weeks of their stay at the new base. But, before they shipped off, Mirax was scheduled to dock with the Home One during ship evening hours. When he learned of his wife’s imminent arrival, Corran managed to finagle some time off from the duty roster. It had been over two months since they’d last spent time together and he couldn’t wait to see her.
“Wait, Whistler, go back. You said something about a message from Mirax?” Corran hopped on one foot as he attempted to pull off his boot while still standing.
Whistling an affirmative, Whistler engaged his holoprojector causing a wavering image of Mirax sitting on the bridge of the Pulsar Skate to float in the middle of the room. A sinking sensation settled in the pit of his stomach. Corran ran a thumb over the gold JedCred he wore around his neck.
“You better play the message,” Corran instructed his droid as he sank onto the bed.
“Hey Corran,” Mirax’s voice filled the room. “I’m afraid I have some bad news. The engines on the Skate are out of alignment. We were able to fix them, but the repairs put us behind schedule. We won’t arrive until after you’ve left. I’m sorry, my love. I really tried to make it work this time. Fly safe. I love you.”
An expression of genuine sadness mixed with longing settled on her face. She reached out like she was trying to hold his hand. Instinctively, he returned the gesture. As his hand passed through the image, a pang of loneliness pierced his heart.
“I love you too,” he repeated to the frozen message.
After a moment, Corran stood. His movements were slower and less deliberate than they were before. “Whistler, save the message. I’ll record a message for her after the debriefing.”
The droid nudged him in the side and offered a mournful beep. Corran patted the dome of his faithful R2 unit. “Thanks.”
Corran finished changing his clothes and headed sluggishly for Wedge’s office. While it didn’t lighten his disappointment, at least his commanding officer would be able to commiserate with him.
——
It had been a month and a half since Rogue Squadron left the flagship. The blackout had lasted a whole month instead of the predicted two weeks. When it was lifted, he and Mirax were able to be in contact again via comms, but they hadn’t been able to see each other in person. While it was one of those common sacrifices made by all those on active military service, that didn’t make it any easier to bear. The fact that it was the anniversary of their first wedding certainly didn’t make the separation any easier. In the meantime, Corran tried to stay busy in order to keep the melancholy at bay.
“Any last questions?” Wedge asked the gathered pilots.
When no one raised their hand, their commander gave a succinct nod. “All right, that wraps things up for today. Make sure you get some rest tonight, remember we’re heading out at 0800 tomorrow. Dismissed.”
As the pilots gathered their belongs and began shuffling out of the room in clusters of twos or threes, Wedge raised his voice over the general hubbub. “Lieutenant Horn, a moment please.”
Corran made his way up to the front of the room. He knew he hadn’t participated as much as usual during the mission briefing, but he didn’t think he’d been noticeably inattentive. It was the General’s prerogative to make certain his pilots were fit for duty, so the callout hadn’t particularly surprised Corran. Still, it rankled his pride a bit to be chastised for such a rookie mistake.
“You wished to speak with me, sir?” Corran stood at attention.
“At ease, Corran. You’re not in trouble.” Wedge signaled for the younger pilot to walk with him. Corran let out a breath of relief he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “I need you to check on a situation in the primary docking bay.”
“What kind of situation?” His CorSec training shifted to the forefront of his mind. An investigation was always a good way to distract him when he was feeling like this.
“There’s been a few anomalies reported earlier and I would feel better if you could check it out. You have a knack at unraveling these sort of things.”
“I’ll get right on that.” Corran realized that Wedge was probably just trying to keep his mind busy, but he still appreciated the effort. Since joining Rogue Squadron, Wedge had gone from his commanding officer, to friend, to family.
“Thank you.” Wedge paused at an intersection of hallways. “I don’t expect I’ll see you before the morning, so good night.”
“Of course. Good night, sir.”
Before Corran made it a step or two towards the docking bay, Wedge called out, stopping him in his tracks. “Oh, Lieutenant, one more thing.”
Corran turned towards his commanding officer. “Sir.”
“Next time I see you, I expect you to be more attentive.” There was a trace of wry amusement in Wedge’s voice.
“Yes sir.” Corran accepted the censure in the spirit it had been intended. While Wedge wasn’t upset with him, he did want his pilots to be in the best possible condition when on a mission.
When Wedge didn’t say any anything else, Corran continued down to the docking bay while the General headed towards the officer’s lounge.
Inside the docking bay, Corran surveyed the myriad of ships crowding the vast space. There were the same assortment of New Republic ships, sans fighters, as seen on any base. The fighters—X-, A-, and Y-wing—were all secured in a secondary bay. A few civilian crafts were found among the New Republic ships.
As his eyes passed over the ships, a very familiar silhouette was seen at the far end of the bay. A grin broke on his face. Wedge, the old scoundrel, had to be in on this. Well, he wasn’t one to complain.
Taking off at a run, Corran crossed the crowded floorspace and soon arrived beside the Pulsar Skate. The smooth lines and natural curves never appeared more beautiful to him.
The docking ramp was already down as though in greeting. He dashed up the entrance. “Mirax! Mirax! Where are you?”
Turning a corner, Mirax smiled at her husband. She wore a shimmering dress with a deep cut neckline and a slit cut high up her thigh. Light danced like stars off the flecks of color worked into the dress. This wasn’t anything she would ordinarily wear aboard the Skate , but this wasn’t an ordinary night. Her gaze thirstily drank in the sight of him like a Mon Calamarian at the sight of water after a week stranded on Tatooine. “Right here. Wedge said you were on your way.”
He wrapped his arms around his wife and picked her up. He would have swung her around, but there wasn’t much room for maneuvering at the top of the ramp. Instead, he kissed her until he took her breath away.
“I’ve missed you,” he mumbled against her lips. The spicy scent of her perfume tickled his nose. In comparison to her bright spark of liveliness, everything else had seemed so dull in her absence.
“I missed you too.” She tugged him further into the ship and closed the ramp behind him. “C’mon, let’s make up for lost time.”
Corran followed close on her heels, breathing in the presence of his wife, memorizing every detail. “I’m so glad to be home.”
“You think of the Skate as home, CorSec?” A teasing edge laced her tone.
“Of course, you’re here.” He tugged her close again as he realized they were headed for the ship’s small galley. The aroma of still baking ryshcate already permeated the ship and beckoned him forward with anticipation for the promised celebration.
“Imagine what your father would say if he heard that.” Her fingers entwined with his as she led him towards the captain’s bunk.
“Mm. He’d say ex-smuggler or not, I married a mighty fine woman.” He pressed a kiss to the back of her hand. “And you know that very well.”
“Yes, I do, but I also enjoy teasing you.” She backed up so she stood with her back to the door of her room aboard the ship. Without turning, she pressed the button to open the door. The lights had been dimmed in anticipation of their arrival and a warm, welcoming glow illuminated the room.
“I know.”
Corran picked her up and carried his wife into the room. She squealed in delight. There wasn’t much room in the berth, but it wasn’t the first time they’d spent their reunion on her ship. Reverently, he laid her down on the bed. Her dark hair splayed across the pillow like a halo. His fingers traced along the dip of her dress's neckline.
“You know,” he said with a gleam in his eyes, “Wedge isn’t expecting me back on duty until morning, so I am all yours for tonight.”
“Good.” Mirax wrapped her hands around the back of his head and pulled him in for a long, amorous kiss. “I plan to make this an anniversary you never forget.”
As she predicted, it turned out to be a very good anniversary indeed.