I Want to be Your Knight - Ch. 25

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I frowned at the door and wondered why conversations with that doctor were more annoying than chats with Kyp.

I turned back to the girls, but before I could say anything the door opened again. A wide-bodied CORSEC officer came into the room. He wasn't wearing a helmet, but you could tell that he was accustomed to doing so. Just a feeling from the way his eyes would dart about the room, and how he would occasionally scrub a hand at his short cropped hair. Little tells that I remembered from my days in the Guard.

Rather than the armor of the door guards, he was in a simple cloth tunic, a day uniform. Stitched in aurabesh above his heart was his name: Kilnore.

I grinned, remembering where I had read that name before. Then I looked over at the girls. "Hey, guess who's come for dinner!"

Kilnore reached out and grabbed my hospital gown, dragging me forward. He snarled at me. "That's enough lip from you, Skywalker."

I laughed.

Probably not the best of things to do, but there it was.

A quick back handed slap from Kilnore cut my laughter short. I felt both of the girls' anger spike in the Force.

Then I looked towards Jys. "Please tell me that your dad wasn't as stupid of a cop as Mr. Kilnore here is."

Her eyes narrowed for a moment, and her anger spiked in the Force again. I could feel it begin to stir; the usual patterns for a punishment from Jys.

Then it stopped and her eyes widened for a moment. She giggled.

"Nope. He definitely isn't as stupid as Mr. Kilnore here."

I focused on Kilnore again, a feral smile touching my lips. I saw the confusion on his face, and could tell that we weren't the cowed interrogation subjects he had been expecting. The confusion was quickly replaced by shock as I pushed him with the Force. He flew away from me, ripping my gown in the process and slammed against the wall. I watched him for a moment, as he stared at me.

Then the door opened again, and a guard stumbled into the room. I frowned as I watched him, until a voice from the doorway drew my attention.

"Ah, here are our wayward, eloping Jedi."

I looked over at Kyp, my eyes narrowing in anger as exactly what he said crystallized in my head. I watched him walk into the room, and then saw Kilnore stand upright, bringing his blaster to bear.

"That's far enough, murderer."

We all looked at Kilnore, wondering if he really was as stupid as he was acting. Personally, I had no doubts, but that was just me.

"Do I know you?" Kyp responded coldly.

"I doubt it, but I know you. My grandfather was on Carida. One of the billions that you killed."

A sad look flickered across Kyp's Force presence. "I'm sorry for your loss. Did you know that my brother was one of those I killed as well? He was a conscript, sent there unwillingly after our parents were arrested and then executed for treason."

I watched Kyp for a moment. He didn't often talk about Carida, and I guess we now knew why; at least a little bit of the why.

Kilnore though, was unimpressed. He raised the gun a bit higher, aiming towards Kyp's heart. Kyp sighed, and then stretched out his hand, yanking the gun from him. The Force flared and he dropped a crumpled metal ball. After a moment, Kyp turned back towards us, then in a soft voice said, "Report."

Years of training overtook Jysella and Seha as they both began to verbally vomit the winding story of how we ended up here. I sat back on my bed amused, as I listened to their narrative, some of which I had never heard before.

Finally their recital ended, and Kyp looked at me. "I didn't hear your report in there."

I shrugged my shoulders and smiled at him. "Well, the girls were doing a great job, didn't think you needed to hear my big mouth."

Kyp snickered. "Oh, if only I didn't have to listen. Why don't you fill me in on the gaps in the story."

I sighed, an quickly told things from my point of view. Luckily there wasn't a lot that was left unsaid by the girls, so I was only talking a few minutes.

Once I was done, Kyp looked over at Kilnore. "Now, Mr. Kilnore, I assume that that is enough information for your reports; if you'll excuse us, we need to return to Coruscant."

I could feel the hate oozing off of Kilnore as Kyp turned from him and left the room. I smiled at him, pushing the knife in a bit deeper as I walked past, the girls quick on my heels. The hallway beyond our room was empty, and Kyp set off down the hall, making turns seemingly at random. Finally we arrived at the front doors and went through them to find my starship, the Jade's Scion sitting on the grass in front of the medical complex.

I scowled at Kyp's back. "Couldn't find your own starship?"

He laughed. "Nope. Besides, yours was lonely."

Then he disappeared up the gangplank. Shaking my head, I followed him onto my ship.

Within a half hour we were in hyperspace, heading towards Coruscant. Kyp came back to the common room and dropped onto the couch, hanging his head slightly.

I looked over at him, somewhat amused by the air of annoyance that hung to him.

Seha was less than amused, actual worry tinged her voice as she asked, "What's wrong?"

He looked over at her, a scowl on his face. "I'm just getting old." He sighed, and leaned back on the couch, closing his eyes. "Used to be, when folks said one of their loved ones was on Carida, it was their brother or cousin, even the occasional father. But his grandfather?"

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I Want to be Your Knight - Ch. 24

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I felt myself wincing at the iciness of Jysella's voice, and turned my head towards her. She was staring at us, her brow knitted together in a scowl and an odd coldness in her eyes that I could never remember seeing there before. It was something of a scary sight, and for a moment I wondered what evil torture she was devising for me beneath that expression, even as my face started to grow warmer from embarrassment.

I looked above me to find Seha staring wide-eyed at Jys. For a moment, it looked like she wanted to launch herself at our friend. I closed my eyes, and rubbed at the bridge of my nose for a moment.

My eyes snapped open, as Seha started yelling happily. "Jysella! you're awake!"

My eyes following Seha around my bed and towards Jys', I found myself frowning. If they weren't watching us, we could have pretended that Jys was still out of it. That was now pointless, as I'm certain that the guards had heard Seha's squeals. Not that I didn't understand it, I was happy to see Jys awake as well.

I sighed, glanced at the cheap ceiling for a moment, then at the four corners, noting that I couldn't see anything that resembled a spy-eye. Not that that mattered really. It could have been microscopic in size, a floating spec of dust, or they could even have had infrared sensors pointed through the wall at us. Giving an internal shrug of the shoulders, I looked back at the girls, to see Seha happily chatting at Jysella, whose eyes kept flickering towards me; that alien coldness never really leaving.

For a moment, I remembered the touch of Jys' lips against my cheek. Especially as those hard eyes focused on me.

I looked around, and noted that there was no cabinets or anything that could have held our belongings. I focused on Seha. "Where's our stuff?"

Seha looked at me for a moment, and then shrugged. "I don't know. None of it was in here when I woke up, and I've not been out of this room yet."

I frowned and then glanced out the window. "Are we even still on Corelllia?" I shook my head, deciding that it didn't matter at the moment. It was more important to get us armed, and out of the hospital. "Seha, I know your saber was destroyed, and I'd hazard that mine was as well. Jys, can you feel yours anywhere nearby?"

Jysella closed her eyes, and I felt the Force moving around us. After a few minutes, she opened her eyes and shook her head. "No, I can't. But there are a lot of Ysalamiri bubbles out there, and it could be in one of those."

I sighed again, and leaned back against the headboard, closing my eyes.

I began one of the simple breathing exercises which my parents had drilled into me when I was about four. I needed the focus, the simplicity. There were too many things that had gone wrong on this mission, right from the beginning, and I was sick and tired of that. I wanted, needed, things to be simpler. There was some fact that I was overlooking. Something which would bind all of this together, and we'd be able to get out of here.

I bolted into a sitting position, grabbing my hair, as I let out a low growl.

In the Force, I could feel spikes of concern flowing from both of the girls, a concept which just furthered my frustration at the situation.

I rolled out of the bed, the sheets trailing after me. Standing, a wave of vertigo washed over me, and I staggered slightly as I took my first step.

"Ben?" Seha called out, concern evident in her voice.

I looked over at the girls, and noticed the matching looks of concern. For a moment, the frustration fled as I felt the warmth of acceptance. Grinning, I said, "I'm fine."

I watched as Jysella watched me for a moment longer, and then she seemed to realize that she had been staring. Or maybe that I had. Her eyes grew cold again, and she pointedly looked away, and out the window.

I sighed, and straightened up, feeling the world waver for a moment. I blinked a few times and then the world stabilized, and I took my first, hesitant step forward.

The door snapped open and our Drall doctor bound in, I could feel his excitement flowing in the Force, and he rounded on me. "Now, Jedi Sky-... Mr. Errissta what exactly do you think you are doing out of that bed? Did I not tell you that you should rest?" He then turned towards Jysella. "Ah, Jedi Horn, it is good to see that you've awakened. We were beginning to grow worried over your continued sleep."

I felt the flicker of annoyance from Jysella. "How exactly do you know my name?"

The Drall laughed. "You may have commanded new identities for the political and security systems, but medical systems tend to be both different and out-of-date. When the identities associated to your retinal scans failed to provide medical data, we searched via a genetic one. We accessed your information a dozen times before it flipped over to your false identities."

I sighed. "Fine, when do we get out of here?"

The doctor turned towards me, his mouth opening wide, revealing rows of flat teeth. "After I have given the three of you clean bills of health, and seeing that you are now up and about, that will be soon, CORSEC really does wish to discuss with you the particulars of the explosion."

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "When do we get our belongings back."

The doctor laughed again. "I'm sorry, none of your personal belongings seemed to have made it through the explosion. Truth be told, none of us are entirely certain how the three of you did. By all rights, you should all be ashes floating on the wind."

Stunned, I looked over at the girls, to find that their expressions matched what I was feeling. I shook my head, once more trying to focus on the present. Without thinking, I muttered, "The Force is with us, Doctor."

I blinked my eyes a few times, and looked over at the girls. They had schooled their faces, keeping their emotions from showing, but in the Force I could feel them. Chewing at my lower lip, I finally found my voice. "Exactly how big was that explosion? How long have we been here? And how bad were we hurt?"

The Drall sighed, and walked over to Jysella and began his examination of her. For a moment, I thought he wasn't going to answer my questions.

Then he began to speak. "As I told you earlier, the explosion destroyed about three blocks of the Sal-Solo Industrial Complex; and by destroyed, I mean it was rubble and ashes. Two kilometers in all directions suffered damage from the shock waves, and last I heard the fires were still raging on the east side of the complex. Preliminary reports indicate that the explosive device was baradium in nature." He then patted Jysella's knee. "You, my dear are quite healthy." Then he turned back to me. "You lot have been under my care for about a week now. Most of that time in Bacta. Your injuries included burns, concussions, and a host of broken bones."

Seha's voice was wavering, as if she was not sure if she wanted to cry or not. "H-how did we survive?"

The doctor turned towards her, his arms spread wide, a happy smile spreading his lips. "As I said earlier, we do not know. It is probably as the young man there said, 'the Force was with you.'" He dropped his arms, and turned away from us. He walked from the room, waddling slightly. As he neared the door, he paused and glanced back at us for a few moments. "CORSEC will be with you soon."

And then he was gone.

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I Want to Be Your Knight - ch 23

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I came to consciousness, helped to awareness by the steady metronome of hospital monitors. A short beep which would occur every few seconds. Cracking my eyes, I found myself in a dim room with a dimpled, cheap ceiling.

I blinked a few times, and tried to raise my head to look around. Just the effort of the movement wore me out, so I allowed my body to collapse back against the bed again. I closed my eyes and was lost to sleep.

Awareness thundered back to me; brought with a steady pressure against the side of my cheek. After a moment, the pressure disappeared.

Then it returned.

Then, sounds intruded; Seha's voice. "Hey! Hey, Ben. You awake yet?"

I allowed my eyes to open, and looked around--a frown forming on my face. "No," I croaked out.

She giggled. "You sound funny."

Groaning, I struggled to sit up. The world wavered around me, and I must have looked like I was going to fall over, because Seha reached out and grabbed my shoulder, stabilizing me. I blinked a few times, and slowly looked around. We were in a standard medical suite for human and near humans. Three beds took up the area. One, which I was guessing was Seha's was empty, while Jysella still slept on the far one. The usual range of medical equipment was set into the walls, and a medic droid stood watching from one corner. The odd thing was that there was no holonet terminal in the room, and no windows.

Finally, I focused on Seha again. "Where exactly are we?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I... I'm not certain. The doctors won't tell me anything, and there's guards standing in the hallway."

Ben frowned for a moment, looking over at Jysella again. "And those guards, what type of uniforms are they wearing?"

"Black and green body armor, full-face helmets. It looks like a cross between the Guard's armor and CORSEC uniforms."

I sighed, and looked over at Jys, watching her face as the monitors around her slowly beeped. I thought back in my mind, certain that I had felt her kiss me just as the blast hit us. I lifted my hand and touched the corner of my mouth; imaginary warmth greeted my fingers.

Still frowning, I turned back to Seha, about to ask her if she had tried to get a call out, when the door to the hallway opened. An elderly male Drall walked through, his snout-like mouth opened wide. "Ahh... young Jedi Skywalker. It is good to see that you've woken up. I'm the physician in charge of you three, and my name is Peela Gramt."

I looked to Seha, who shook her head. Focusing on the Drall again, I said, "I don't know what you're talking about."

The Drall laughed, short bursts of amusement. "Oh, of course not. Of course not. How silly of me to not remember that you're Ira Errissta."

The Drall climbed up a stool, and leaned over me, pulling out a small light from his pocket. He shone it first into one eye, and then the next, murmuring to himself the entire time. Then he pulled something else out of that pocket, and ran it over me, I could feel prickles on my skin from whatever energy was scanning me. When he pulled a third scanner from that pocket, I began to wonder just how much he could store in those things. Finally, he had finished his examination and stepped off a stool. He pulled a datapad from his endless pocket and began writing notes onto its surface.

"So, Doctor," I began. "When do we get out of here?"

Peela paused in his note taking, and looked at me. I could only guess that the expression he turned towards me was confusion. Or it could have been wry amusement. Or even shocked outrage. To a human, all those expressions look pretty much the same on a Drall.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Sky-...err... Errissta, but you and your two... wives, will have to stay here for a few more days for observation. And then I believe CORSEC wished to talk to you; something about an explosion taking out a rather large portion of the Sal-Solo Industrial Park."

I felt myself frowning. "Well if it was named after Sal-Solo, then it was probably due to being blown up."

The Drall chuckled, and his mouth opened wide in imitation of a smile. "Be that as it may, they still want to have a chat with you. Once the three of you are up and strong enough of course. Until then, you'll just have to be here and suffer through three square meals a day, and a semi-private room." Then his head bobbed a few times, and he turned away and walked out the door. I could just make out the armor of the guards Seha had been telling me about, while the door was open. I frowned at them, and stretched out with the Force.

Imagine my surprise when I felt nothing on the far side of the door. My head snapped towards Seha who was nodding her head in understanding.

"Are they Vong?"

She shook her head. "I don't think so. I think they got ysalamiri out there."

I rubbed at my temple. A headache was wanting to form; a side-effect of stress, having to think too much, and someone trying to blow me up. Besides, something didn't make sense to me. "Why out there rather than in here with us?"

Seha shrugged her shoulders. "Who knows what they're thinking. Best guess would be they underestimated the effective distances of the ysalamiri bubble."

"Seems rather... unprofessional of them."

Seha snorted. "Well, not everyone is the epitome of professional behavior that you are."

I sighed and leaned back onto my bed, a smirk coming to my lips. "Well, I have had years upon years of experience."

She leaned closer, her hand running through my hair, as a smile played on her lips. "Really?"

I blinked, not certain how to respond. All I knew was that my throat was dry, my palms were suddenly sweaty and I was having an incredibly hard time formulating a simple sentence.

She leaned closer still. "Years and years of experience?"

I struggled to swallow, wishing all the world for a glass of water. Her breath was warm and moist against my cheek, and an odd light shone in her eyes. Her lips hovered centimeters from mine.

"Would you care to share that experience with me?"

Before I could even begin to think about responding, Jysella's voice cut in. Cold, harsh, pained. "Am I interrupting anything?"

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