41:04:02 GrS

Tetris's motors hummed, stones crunching under his traction roller as he navigated a web of pebbled paths that wound between individual interment groves. Behind him came Lyra and the others, their solemn silence broken only by their footfalls. He stopped beside a stepped monument of smooth gray rock surrounded by clusters of carefully groomed rainbow bamboo and dwarf navawood.

Engraved prominently at the top was the name Raga in Inusago script. Below that, stylized images of a dragon and a tendu, labeled Shindani and Subali. Lyra bowed reverently and touched the stone cenotaph. A soft smile lit her face when she saw the holographic images projected atop the monument of the two people who'd meant so much to her, especially in those terrible final years.

She greeted them quietly. "Uncle Shin, Aunt Subali, mantikaya do sey." She rose, brushing at a tear. "We survived, Uncle, thanks to you. I'm so sorry you're gone but I'm happy that you and Aunt Subali are together again." Tetris chirped agreement. Lyra touched the droid's head and gave him a melancholy smile.

She drew in a slow breath. "Tetris showed me what happened. I... hated you for a little while, for keeping the truth from me. But I understand. Lyra the child never would have, but I know what holding onto hate and refusing to forgive does to people. So I forgive you, Uncle Shin." Her voice shook with the words. Taz took a step toward her but she lifted her hand to forestall him.

"I'll be leaving Inusagi soon. I've divorced the clan but I promise to see you as often as I can. And I'm taking you with me into the stars, right here." She pressed her hands over her heart. "I love you both and I thank you more than I can ever say, for the love and care you gave me. Farewell until my return— Atira tada sey."

She bowed again and sniffed, then nodded to the others and returned to the path. Lyra needed no guidance from Tetris as she moved toward the terraced hill at the center of the cemetery. They passed a few visitors on their way and exchanged respectful bows.

Lyra mounted the steps up the rising landscape she'd trod so many times in the past, and turned along a walkway on the third terrace. She stopped before a simple monument, a slab of green and white marble. She made a solemn bow, then ran her fingers over the names carved into the stone:

Nimor

Vela ~ Akaishi ~ Allegra

"Honored Mother, Father, Sister, tada'eyo sey."

She didn't bother wiping away her tears, but she sniffled and smiled as the holos flickered to life. Her family appeared, individual faces first, then scenes from their lives that faded from one to the next. She watched silently for a while, buoyed by the warmth of Taz's hand clutching hers, and by Rei and Sera standing at her shoulder.

"I'm sorry I haven't been back in so long. I've been busy, but that's no excuse. I've been a delinquent daughter, but you probably expected that." She chuckled a little and Taz gave her an amused, empathetic grin.

She took a shuddering breath. "Last time I was here I wasn't the daughter you wanted to see. I was angry, frustrated... adrift. To be honest, I didn't know where my life was going. I missed you so much, and all I could think about was everything I'd lost, and how alone I was. I didn't know if I could go on." She fell quiet for a time, remembering how those years of desolation had drained her spirit and benighted her soul.

"Then something happened to me. I crashed on a planet called Jakku. It changed my life." She glanced at the others and sniffed, then drew herself up. "I'm sorry I made you worry. I was lost, but I'm not lost anymore. I think about you every day. I love you all, and I want you to know that you don't have to worry about me."

She brushed her sister's name on the shrine. "Allegra, I miss you madly. I miss our talks, playing together and fighting sometimes, and getting into trouble. I miss you, my dearest sister, but I have new sisters."

She put her arms around Rei and Sera and drew them closer. "Mum, Dad, Allegra, this is Rei, my sweet, playful sister, and this is Sera, my annoying sister." She kissed both of them and hugged them as hard as she could. "We're going to see the galaxy together and get into a little trouble every now and then." Lyra smiled at them. Rei was tearful but beaming, and Sera did her best to not show how affected she was.

Then she took Taz's hands and looked into his cool blue eyes, never so beautiful as they were under Inusagi's mid-morning sun. "And this is Taz," she began, holding him with her intense gaze. "He's the man I love. I'm going to spend my life with him."

"Lyra—"

"I love you, Tazbarada Oktos." She squeezed his hands, feeling like her heart was going to explode from the elation.

Tears filled his eyes. "And I love you, Lyra Nimor." He sounded surprised and looked happier than she'd ever seen him.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to say it. Will you forgive me?"

Taz shook his head and wrapped his arms around her. "It doesn't matter." His voice was husky and gleeful as he held her tightly. Reiko made a joyful noise and Sera broke into a huge smile.

Lyra smothered his mouth with hers. His soft, warm lips and his fierce embrace cast off the gloom that had blanketed her since Shin's death. "Never leave me," she whispered.

"Never," Taz echoed as he brushed her cheeks with his fingers.

Lyra wiped the wetness from their faces and turned back to her family's shrine. "These are the people who love me, and who I love. So you see, I'm in good hands and I'm going to be okay. I told Uncle Shin and Aunt Subali that I'd take them to the stars with me and that goes for you too. You're never far from my thoughts and you'll always be in my heart." She sniffled, wiping away more tears.

Lyra picked a few errant leaves from the monument but left the scattering of sakoola petals. She set three votives on the stone and lit them, watching the wisps of white smoke drift lazily in the still air. Then she bowed deeply, crossing her arms. Rising, she touched her forehead and lips with the tips of her fingers.

"I'll be back to visit when I can, but we're a busy crew so forgive me if it's not as often as you'd like. I know you're all together and I'll join you one day —" For just a moment, Lyra's voice broke, and she breathed in a calming breath. "But until then I'm going to do enough living for all of you!"

She sobbed again but there was as much delight as sadness in it. Then, feeling light despite her tears and more at peace than she had in a long time, she bowed a farewell. "Atira tada sey."

The others gathered around her and Lyra held onto them. Tetris hooted and whistled.

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A couple of hours after midday, a bulky, worn speeder truck trundled into Pratikaya's spaceport. The Nimor clan's sakoola blossom and bamboo sigil adorned the speeder's dented side panels in faded, scuffed white paint. The truck wound past work crews taking down some of the scaffolding, though it still shrouded much of the terminal building. Telltale remains of small craters gouged the ground, stark reminders of the chaos and violence that had afflicted the place only a few days before.

The speeder rumbled to a stop and rattled while it floated in place. Its door squeaked open as it slid back, and Lyra stepped out with the rest of her crew. Kallista came behind, closing the door after her. The cargo ramp folded down and Yuzu emerged from the back pushing a floatcart with their baggage.

Tetris rolled after him and immediately angled toward Lyra. He made a little move, kicking out his traction roller just enough to clip the toe of Taz's boot as he passed. The little droid threw in a buzzing "Pfffzzzt!" for good measure. Taz's swipe at the jealous astromech missed by a centimeter, but his snarled curse tore through the air as he shook out his foot. Reiko giggled and Lyra had to smile as Tetris tucked in beside her.

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Seelam climbed down from the driver's cab and began to bow.

"Seelam," Lyra interrupted him with a shake of her head, "you don't need to do that; I don't belong to the clan anymore."

"Nevertheless, my lady, I wish to see you off properly."

"I'm not a noblewoman either, Seelam," she quipped with a wry smile and an extended hand. When he started to kiss it she gave her wrist a deft turn, clasping his hand and shaking it with a firm grip. Seelam looked startled, if only for a second.

"Thank you for everything you did, especially for Uncle Shin. I know you defied Lady Nimor bringing us here. I hope you won't suffer for it."

"I appreciate your concern, but I thought it only proper." He glanced at the utilitarian speeder truck. "My apologies for the manner of conveyance. The Aerosine or one of the carriages —"

Lyra rapped the speeder's side, making a dull thump with her knuckles. "We're spacers, Seelam. This speeder suits us just fine."

He took a step back. "I understand. I'll take my leave now." The head footman looked as solemn as ever, but she might have glimpsed just a hint of a smile.

"Please extend my thanks to the rest of the staff. I truly appreciated their kindness and I'm going to miss all of you. And Seelam, think about what I said, about challenging the status quo."

The man looked unmoved but he nodded after a moment. "I'll consider it. Farewell, my lad — honored cousin Lyra Nimor. I will pray for your good fortune and that of your companions." He nodded a bow to the rest of them, then got back into the truck and drove away with a low whine of repulsors.

Lyra felt a pang watching him go. She'd divorced herself from the clan, an irrevocable decision. Her contempt for the Nimor family's main branch would never be slaked, but so many in the clan had nothing to do with that. She'd grown up with them and her separation, self-imposed or not, was going to sting for a while.

Across the permacrete sat the Skipjack Chimera, looking smart in its new platinum gray active nanocoating with deep green and copper accents. The escape pod's housing on the port side was decorated in brilliant scarlet. Aurebesh characters and their R C S Galactic Standard equivalents decorated the segmented cargo bay doors and the hull. The words Rixon Charter Service adorned the fuselage in both alphabets. Docked on the aft ring, Ajakeet had been painted to match her mother ship, right down to an aggressive red stripe on the port wing.

Overhead floated the Navata. Reiko shaded her eyes as she gazed up at the curvaceous yacht and uttered a wistful sigh. "I'd like to have taken her out, just for a little cruise."

Lyra curled the corner of her mouth. "You're not missing anything. She's bright and shiny but that monstrosity is nothing beside Allegra or the Chimera."

"Still..." she shrugged. "Maybe someday. Come on, Yuzu, let's get the Skipjack Chimera ready to receive our guests."

"You're our guest, Rei-grasha, remember?" Taz said.

"Oh no, now that we're picking up charters I'm back on duty!" She patted the RCS patch on her shoulder. "Besides, I never programmed the autodocking sequence for Ajakeet, we need to recalibrate the deflector and hyperfield geometry, I have to double-check all of the repairs, and —"

"Okay, okay!" Taz raised his hands and turned to Sera. "Can't you do anything about her?"

Sera looked like it was totally out of her hands. She put her arm around her lover and kissed her on the head. "She's my incorrigible girl, Doc."

Reiko grinned at the description. "You'll help us make Skipjack Chimera into a ship that Lyra can be proud to fly, won't you, Tetris?" she asked, patting the droid's shoulder.

T3-7R-15 whistled an affirmation and wheeled away with her and Yuzu.

Sera smiled after them and glanced at her chrono. "Guests are arriving in, what, three hours?"

"Give or take," Lyra answered.

"I thought you Imps were all about precision and punctuality, Nimor."

"Must be you sloppy Rebels rubbing off on me." She looked at Taz, a smile lighting her face. "Orders, provisional Captain Oktos?"

Taz rolled his eyes while Sera chuckled. "Well, former Ensign Nimor, don't you have some decorating to do?"

"Oh! I've got just enough time!" She gave him a quick kiss then hurried after Rei and the droids, shouting to Yuzu to pull her crates of supplies from the cargo hold.

"The Chimera looks good after earning her battle stripes, Doc," Sera opined as they walked toward the boarding ramp. "I like the colors. They match your droid."

"It was Lyra's idea. She thought the little scrap bucket might get along with me better." He winced as he flexed his bruised toes. "You can see how well that went over."

Sera laughed. "You've got your work cut out with that one."

"Don't I know it. If he keeps it up I swear he's going to power up one day to a fresh memory wipe."

"I wouldn't necessarily blame you, but don't let Rei-sha hear that; it'd ruin her good opinion of you." She gestured with a tilted head. "Bold color choice on the lifeboat socket."

A smile twitched at the corners of his mouth. "Lyra has that scarlet streak, so..."

"You're such a romantic, Doc," she teased, elbowing his arm. "The Rixon logo looks great, too. Like I said though, you don't have to throw in with us."

"I can't think of anything I'd rather do than go into business with you, Sera."

"I'm glad. Never really liked treating you as an employee. Speaking of business, since we each have a ship, we should discuss distributions. Maybe equal shares all around?"

"Sure, but I think we ought to have an additional share that goes right to the business. For expenses, future expansion, that kind of thing."

"Already thinking like an owner, I see." She gave him an approving nod. "Not a bad idea, Doc."

At the bottom of the ramp, Taz turned to her, looking serious. "Are you doing alright? After what happened with Rawl, I mean."

Sera let out a bare sigh and flexed her hand, rubbing the pale skin on the fingers Taz had regenerated. "Nimor came here to exorcise her ghosts. Guess I got to do that, too, with a little help." She touched Shin's tulan-sho tucked behind her hip.

He put a hand on her arm. "I know you don't need me to tell you this but sometimes things like that can stick with you, even after they're over. If you ever need anything, Sera, anything at all —"

"Listen, don't go getting all soft on me," she interrupted even as she leaned into him. "Thanks, Doc."

"You and Rei are the most important people in my life. Next to Lyra, I mean!" he added with an abashed chuckle. "I love you both, you know."

"We know you do. So do we." She gave him a warm smile and squeezed his shoulder.

"Anyway," he said with an uncomfortable cough, "After the success with your ear and fingers, I figure I could probably regrow that eye if you wanted."

"I appreciate the offer but I've been thinking about getting an ocular implant anyway. Guess this is the spur I needed."

"How does Reiko feel about that?"

Sera feigned a frown. "She doesn't mind but honestly she likes the patch. Says it makes me look like a pirate. She likes to, um, you know, fantasize." The commando's mouth curled into a wicked grin.

"I'm going to try to forget I heard that," Taz laughed. "Come on, Captain Rendix. We'd better get aboard the Chimera before our partners transform her beyond recognition."

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"Do you want to fly us to Lankash?" asked Taz as he stretched a bolt of coarsely woven mustard-hued fabric over Cabin Two's doorframe.

"I need to finish the crew berth and get started on ours," Lyra answered over her shoulder, fluffing some throw pillows on the couch in the lounge. Fists akimbo, she reviewed his work with a critical eye, then shooed him aside and adjusted the drape of the hangings. "That's better."

Sera leaned against the big oblong table and gave them both an amused grin.

Taz returned the expression. "How about you, Sera?"

"Me? She's your ship, Doc."

"I know, but we should all cross-train."

The ex-commando brought her arms up like she was tracking a target with a rifle. "Speaking of training, don't think I've forgotten the botched shot you took at that surveillance droid."

Taz cringed and cleared his throat. "Anyway, I'm already familiar with Allegra. The Chimera's similar, but there are a few differences. I can show you, unless you want to stay and help Lyra decorate."

"No offense but I'd rather watch mynocks bisecting."

Lyra clucked her tongue and scowled. "Should've known better than to expect an aesthetic sense from a musclehead Rebel."

"Hey, I know beauty when I see it, Imp," protested Rendix. She drew the tulan-sho, letting the light scintillate along its patterned surface. "See? This is a beautiful blade."

Lyra gave her a droll look. To Taz, she said, "Go, I'll take care of the rest." She kissed his cheek as he passed by, then added, "I don't need to nursemaid you two, do I?"

"We'll be fine," Taz smirked and headed for the cockpit with the chuckling Sera.

"Want the big chair?" he asked when they entered, tilting his head toward the pilot's station.

"Nope." She sat in the copilot's seat and fastened the safety harness. "This one suits me fine."

Taz spent a couple of minutes reviewing the variances between the two ships' controls. "She handles differently," he advised. "Go ahead and get us in the air. I'll call Lankash for landing clearance."

Sera lifted the Skipjack Chimera into the blue sky. At five hundred meters she cut in the atmospheric turbines, angled the ship higher, and turned toward the heading on the nav screen. "I see what you mean," she commented, wiggling the steering grips.

"Not bad, right?"

"Not at all, Doc. My girl's got her tuned up nicely."

"Rei's a genius," he agreed. "I'm gonna miss having her aboard."

"Tetris seems pretty capable. I think you'll be okay."

"Sure, as long as I don't space the little grease pot."

Sera laughed and programmed their destination into the autonav.

Less than an hour later the Skipjack Chimera rolled onto a leisurely approach over Lankash spaceport. Sera put them on a final descent path, feeding power to the repulsors. As they neared the scarred permacrete pad, she looked over the controls. "Landing gear?"

"Oh. Right there." Taz pointed at a bank of contacts near the power readouts.

"Got it." Sera flipped the switches and they felt the vague thunk of the struts locking into place. She settled the ship on the pad amid a cloud of exhaust gasses. "Contact," she said as she shut down the power.

"Nice!" acknowledged Taz. "You're a steely-eyed rocket jock, Captain Rendix."

"Right back at you, Captain Oktos." They grinned like kids and shared a fist bump.

"Hmph," Lyra harrumphed, standing next to Reiko in the doorway. "If you two are finished with your mutual admiration society, let's get the passenger berths ready for our charters." She tapped her wrist link. "We've got a schedule to keep."