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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