**Chapter 525**
**Morning (or Afternoon) After**
**Zule POV**
**Aboard the Gray Wolf – Private Captain's Quarters**
**Lantilles Orbit**
Zule groaned as consciousness slowly returned, her head pounding like a malfunctioning hyperdrive. The lights in the quarters felt far too bright, and her mouth tasted like she had swallowed a handful of dust from Tatooine. She tried to sit up, but the room spun lazily, forcing her to collapse back onto the massive bed with a pathetic whimper.
Around her, the other girls were in similar states of misery.
Kayla was face-down in a pillow, muttering something about "never again" in a muffled Zeltron accent. Ahsoka had one arm draped dramatically over her eyes, lekku twitching weakly. Shin was sitting up against the headboard, white hair a tangled mess, looking like she was debating whether to use the Force to make the headache disappear or just die quietly. Flare, Stella, Visenya, Erictia, and Aayla were scattered across the bed and adjacent couches in various stages of regret.
"What… happened last night?" Zule croaked, her voice rough.
Kayla lifted her head just enough to glare blearily at the empty bottles on the low table. "I suggested drinks. Dagon had that collection of confiscated alcohol and wine from senators and mercenary ships. Seemed like a good idea after Temple training…"
Ahsoka let out a long, suffering groan. "We drank… a lot. He wasn't even here. Med droid still has him on restrictions until his injuries fully heal. So we just… helped ourselves."
Shin rubbed her temples. "This is why we don't usually drink. Jedi aren't built for hangovers."
Zule forced herself to sit up, scanning the room. The bed was a mess of tangled sheets and discarded robes, but something was missing.
"Where's Dagon?" she asked, frowning. Normally they woke up to find him in the middle of their cuddle pile, warm and solid and comforting. His absence felt strangely wrong.
The girls slowly looked around, realization dawning through the fog of their hangovers.
"Not here," Flare muttered, checking the refresher. "Not in the office either."
Erictia, still half-asleep and extra clingy from her recent bond episode, whined softly. "My Dagon… where is he?"
Shin activated her comm with a groan. "Kinaun, this is General Wren. Where is Dagon? We need to talk to him."
The admiral's calm voice came back almost immediately. "General Wren, what can I do for you?"
"Where is Dagon?" Kayla asked, voice still rough. "We need to speak with him."
"Oh, Dagon left for Lianna at Sienar's request three hours ago," Kinaun replied. "He said it was urgent — something about the new Nebula-class ships and final integration checks."
"Really? This late?" Ahsoka asked, confused.
There was a pause. "Late? You are aware by ship and Lantilles time it's two in the afternoon, right?"
The girls froze.
"What?!" they all yelled in unison, voices overlapping in horrified realization.
Shin quickly turned off the communicator, staring at the chrono on the wall in disbelief. The glowing numbers confirmed it: 14:07 ship time.
"We slept through the entire morning…" Visenya whispered, eyes wide.
"And Dagon just… left us here?" Erictia looked genuinely heartbroken for a moment before the hangover won and she buried her face in a pillow again.
Zule rubbed her eyes, trying to piece together the night. "We really went overboard with those bottles, didn't we?"
Kayla laughed weakly. "Dagon's going to tease us mercilessly when he gets back. 'I told you confiscated senator wine was strong.'"
Ahsoka sat up slowly, lekku drooping. "At least he wasn't involved. The last thing we need is him hungover too. He's got enough on his plate with the fleet preparations."
Shin stood up on shaky legs, heading toward the refresher. "We should clean up and get to the bridge. He left us a note on the table — says he'll be back in two days and to rest properly."
The girls groaned collectively but started moving. Hangovers or not, they were still Jedi generals with responsibilities.
Zule smiled faintly as she watched them. Despite the headache and the embarrassment, there was something comforting about waking up surrounded by her strange, wonderful family — even if their fearless leader had slipped away while they were all passed out from too much confiscated wine.
She just hoped Dagon wasn't laughing too hard at them from Lianna.