For a brief, insane second, you consider going up to it and giving it a mental slap and telling it to go away. Of course, you don’t actually end up doing that because you’re not insane. At least, you don’t think you are. But then again, you’ve been seeing mental daemons and staring at stars on the other side of the planet, so maybe you’re a touch out of sorts. Either way, you’re at least not crazy enough to poke the eye. For now, you back away and leave it alone. Hopefully, nothing will happen if you don’t draw its attention.
And now, you open your eye.
It’s dark. Nighttime. You’ve been at it for actual hours. If anybody did come visit you during your meditation, hopefully they thought you were asleep. You’d hate to have to do more explaining, having had enough of that over the past couple days. Right now, it’s time for you to actually get some real sleep.
≡][≡ ⬦⬦⬦ ≡][≡
“How much did Masbau teach you about the healing arts?”
“Not much. How to use Force Stanch, but not really anything besides that.”
“Hrm. Alrighty, I guess I’ll have to run you through it myself!”
Master Corr pushes off the wall with her feet, spinning around on her little rolling chair as she slides over to you. It seems she has quite a bit of experience with that, since her momentum gives out just before she bumps into the side of the bed, at the same time as her spinning slows and stops, leaving her facing you directly. Quickly, you shut your eye before anything unfortunate happens.
“I love teaching Younglings about this stuff! Usually, I’m the one called in to run some introductory courses for newly inducted members of the Medical Corps.”
She reaches over and starts unstrapping the bacta tank from one of your arms, continuing the chatter all the while.
“All you Younglings are so cute when you start out! Always so starry-eyed, willing to help! Almost every member of the Medical Corps is here because they want to be here, by the way. They all want to help others. They all want to heal others! It’s part of what sets the Medical Corps apart from the other three branches. I know that Initiates tend to see being assigned to the Service Corps as a kind of punishment, but the kind of people that come here tend to have the motivation to appreciate their work.”
She stands up and moves around to your other side to remove the other bacta tank.
“The Reassignment Council tries to place Younglings in the branch they will succeed most in, and they are rarely wrong. Even if a disgruntled Youngling is placed here, they tend to see the light pretty quick, especially after I get to talk to them — ha! Now then, raise your arms up smoothly. Good, just like that. Hold ‘em there for a second… and now back down. Very good. How does it feel?”
“It still hurts.”
“Describe it, please. Where does it hurt?”
“It’s… the entire arm. Arms. The skin, the muscles, the bone. It stings and aches.”
“I see, I see. Is it bearable?”
“Yes. At least for a bit.”
“Good. Now, I’m going to touch your left arm. Tell me how it feels.”
“Ow!”
“Well, that answers it. Alright, what happens if I do this?”
You feel a warm sensation spreading through your arm, but not much else. To your Force sense, you can tell that Master Corr is concentrating the Force around your arm, pushing it through the skin and circulating it within. But, you cannot see anything changing.
“It feels warm, but I can’t tell if anything else is happening.”
“Well, I wasn’t expecting much from that. That was basic Force Healing. We tried that while you were asleep, but it didn’t do anything then, either. Maybe it’s because your arms are just so different now, or maybe it’s because they’re technically whole and healthy? We’ll keep doing the bacta thing for now. Anyway, where was I?”
“You were going to talk about healing.”
“Right. Healing… Healing. Force Healing can do very much, but it can’t do everything. The basic premise of the healing arts is to speed up a person’s natural recovery, but far more can be achieved with enough training. At low levels, we can help people heal from light wounds rather quickly. Bruises, scrapes. The like. We can also assist with fighting off infections, but can’t do too much against some of the more virulent plagues. At higher levels, Force Healing can heal internal organs and grievous wounds — things that would kill a person without external assistance. Things that, even if stitched up, could not be cured through natural recovery by itself. This is why the Halls of Healing tend to be so busy. Citizens from the outside are brought in to be healed of major ailments that could not be cured normally. We can do it cheaper, quicker, and more easily than a typical hospital can. We can even keep people from the brink of death, literally holding a body together before it falls apart. But, as I said, Force Healing can’t do everything.”
She trails off, her mind and attention elsewhere for a moment. Conflicting emotions roil through her, the constant aura of joy now discolored. After a few seconds, she’s back again, but continues in a far more grave tone.
“Xena, Force Healing cannot bring back the dead. This is the most important thing to remember. Everybody’s tried it, but it just cannot be done. At some point, there is no hope for a person. If you continue down the path of healing, you must learn where that point is. It is there where you must cease your attempts and save your strength for someone else in need.”
She’s off and away again, back into her memories, giving you the chance to ponder her words. Is what she says really true? Can you really ever give up hope for someone? This seems contrary to what you’ve been taught, so maybe she’s just jaded. But, she’s also experienced. This is something she’s experienced. Who is it that she lost?
You’re not tactless enough to ask, though. It’s best to leave it be.
A few minutes later, your arms have become uncomfortable enough that you’d like them to be back in the bacta, so you fake a cough to draw her back to the present.
“Huh? Oh, sorry, Xena. I forgot where I was for a second.”
“Could I get the bacta again?”
“It’s hurting?”
“Yes.”
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“Alright. Just hang in there for a minute.”
She moves around you, helping you put your arms back into the tanks.
“Thanks, Master Corr.”
“It’s no problem at all, young Xena. Now, I believe I promised to teach you Force Purification. Would you like to start now?”
“Do I need my arms for it?”
“No. You don’t need them for Force Healing either, by the way, at least if you’re only using it on yourself. What you need to do is meditate, which you’re apparently rather good at.”
“Yes?”
“It’s just a matter of concentration, and knowing what you’re doing. We’ll start out with demonstrations. Just watch what I do.”
“Yes, Master.”
She shows off the technique to you over and over again, sometimes on you and sometimes on herself. Each time it goes off within you, a massive chunk of warp-taint is banished away, but soon after is replaced by an equivalent flood stemming from that memory of the eye. Force Purification is, as you’d guessed before, somewhat similar to Force Stanch, but also far more complex. It’s meant specifically for dealing with infections, diseases, and the like, and thus has a much larger component meant to address a wide variety of possible targets. You’ve definitely made some good progress today, but now you know this will take quite a while.
“Thanks, Master. Can I try practicing this by myself?”
“Please don’t. Messing around with the healing arts can lead to rather unpleasant results. Wait until I give you the okay to do so.”
“Understood.”
“Good girl. Now, who wants a sticker?”
You pointedly stay silent, but she laughs and pastes it on you anyways in the usual spot. You sputter in annoyance, but there’s nothing you can do now that your arms are locked into the bacta tanks again. You’ll just have to get the droid to remove it later.
“I’ll check in on you again tomorrow afternoon, as usual. Oh, right! Did Darling come by this morning?”
“Who?”
“The new Master. The Miraluka woman.”
“No.”
“Hmm. She’s probably still settling in. Probably touring the place or catching up with friends. Her name’s Darling Lasan. Odd name, but fun! Hopefully she’ll be around soon.”
“Okay, thanks again, Master.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow. Goodbye!”
Before you can say anything else, the bed — and you — is given a massive jolt. You open your eye in surprise, just to see her shove off the bed with her feet, sending herself spinning away again on her chair, toward the exit. With a tug of the Force, the door opens and she rolls neatly through the opening. Another pulse in the Force and it closes once again.
With a smile, you shake your head at her antics. Now, if only she weren’t so obsessed with these stupid stickers. You can’t even see what they look like!
≡][≡ ⬦⬦⬦ ≡][≡
You spend the rest of the week doing the same thing: sitting in bed and being bored with but a few distractions. But, each day, you have a few glorious, but painful, moments where you are freed from the bacta tanks and allowed to move around. Of course, the first thing you do during those periods is to rush over to the ‘fresher to relieve yourself. And then, you finally get the chance to move around. Sitting in the bed all day long is apparently not very good for your body, so Master Corr has you do some exercises when you get the chance. Sometimes, Master Corr is there to supervise you. Other times, it’s an assistant or a medical droid. Either way, you’re happy to be released from the ennui of bedrest for a few minutes. These exercises are mostly aerobic in nature or focused on anything but your arms. After all, they still hurt significantly after being exposed to the air for too long, and the pleasant coolness of the bacta after each session is a major relief.
Your friends continue to visit every day, but as you expected, they don’t seem to be able to find anything. Or at least, they can’t find anything entirely relevant. They’re able to find legends and myths that somewhat pertain to the truth you’ve told them, but none are able to quite hit the mark. You do feel a bit bad for not telling them the whole truth and thus wasting their time, but you feel like ignorance may indeed be bliss in this case. Frightening them with tales of daemons and the unknown isn’t productive. If the Chief Librarian couldn’t find anything, what hope do a few Younglings have? You are thankful for their company, though. Every time they visit, the loneliness disappears. You have friends — almost family. You will never have to face your troubles completely alone.
Master Corr continues to check in with you each day as well. Sometimes, it’s just brief visits to check your status, but most times she takes the chance to chat with you or continue your education in Force Purification.
You’re definitely making progress, but it’s still slow going. She demonstrates, and you observe. You puzzle things out and make comments, and she responds and lets you know if you’re on the right track and what you should focus on. Unfortunately, even after a week she doesn’t yet trust you enough to let you practice on your own.
However, each visit is a delight. Master Corr is always so chatty, even more so than Tera! She’s almost always jubilant at the slightest thing, and when you report that your eyes are actually feeling a bit better, despite not having the benefit of being constantly soaked in bacta, she leaps out of her chair and dances in victory. Maybe you’ve set the bar so low that she feels even this calls for celebration? Either way, she’s fun to speak with and learn from. But, not every conversation is of a fun topic.
One time, Master Corr escorts in Master Windu who goes on to ask you for more details and clarification in your story. You backtrack, recalling as much as you can: what things looked like, when exactly things happened, and little events that you missed in your original retelling. You’re exhausted by the time he is satisfied, but he does seem happy with you. He is… strange. Ever so serious, but also caring. Almost like Master Masbau in a way, but lacking the ability to show that empathy nearly as clearly. He cares for the Order above all, but understands that it is the people that make up the Order, not the other way around.
Throughout the visits, Master Corr and your friends all mention the same thing, multiple times: the Military Creation Act. Only a week has passed since you first heard of it, but apparently the furor over its inception has been raging for far longer, and continues unabated. Many factions spring up to support or oppose it, and delegates from all across the Galaxy have been traveling to Coruscant with the purpose of debating it. Sometime within the next four or five months, there’s likely going to be a vote on it.
You’re not really sure how you should feel about it. It all seems so far away — almost unreal. You’ve got so many other things to worry about, but you can somehow feel this is something big. Everybody can feel it. The Republic and the Separatists — two sides to an oncoming galaxy-wide civil war. Strangely enough, you don’t really feel much horror at the thought, though. Perhaps it’s because it just feels so disconnected. Or, mayhaps it’s because it somehow feels… normal — almost like the typical state of affairs.
But, what can you do? Nothing. What can the Jedi do? Apparently, nothing. Why can’t your Order intervene? Why haven’t they prevented this?
What have you all been doing wrong?
You don’t know.
You’re but a child, not even a Padawan. And even those that you ask — Master Corr and the various other healers and assistants — do not know.
≡][≡ ⬦⬦⬦ ≡][≡
There’s not really much to do each day between visits other than sit and think. And so, you think.
If you can’t do anything about what’s going out there, then why not get back to work on the stuff in here? You’ve yet to fully explore the ship. It’s a massive, daunting task which will take up a lot of time.
But, isn’t that a good thing? It’s not like you have anything better to do. Not every hour of the day is taken up with learning Force Purification, and that Miraluka Jedi still hasn’t shown up. Why not explore?
At first, you felt apprehensive at the thought. However, you’ve continued observations on the ship. From out here, you can’t feel any danger. No daemon. No droid-phobia. Nothing.
So, why not go in? It should be clear, and you’ve still got a goal: to find that memory. What is a Navigator? Why did you even dream of this ship?
Who, or what, are you?
You’re going to explore that ship, and hopefully you’ll get some answers. Hopefully. But, where do you start? You could sweep through it from bow to stern, or stern to bow. Or, go in from top to bottom or bottom to top.
You could alternatively go in from the same entrance as before and explore around where that daemon was and find out what happened to that fear-laden console. Or, maybe you could go straight to the bridge of the ship, where Navigator-you should have been.
Where do you start?