When the first light of morning came, Bones, Spock, and Solan were already up. Jim was awake as well, but he still lay on the bed of course. "If you get to that spaceport, you can get more information," he said.
"We're gonna get there," Solan replied.
"We will all get there together," Spock declared. "Once we find transport, perhaps we can find a way of communicating with the Jedi Temple as well."
Jim nodded. "That's a good idea. Maybe you can get us to Naboo or Coruscant."
"Naboo is closer."
"I'm sure we could find help there."
"As soon as Owen is ready, we will be on our way."
Spock left the room, and Bones and Solan stayed. "I feel really bad," Jim said. "I don't think I could even sit up."
Bones got a glass and gave him some water. "You gotta have some medical treatments," he said. "I sure wish the Enterprise was here."
"We've had to make it without it before."
Soon, Owen was ready to take them to Mos Eisley Spaceport where they could possibly find someone to take them to Naboo. They were sure they could find help and a transport on Naboo. They got Jim into the transport. He felt incredibly ill after that. Bones got in beside him. "Jim, I'm gonna give you something for pain," he said.
"Am I going to die, Bones?" Jim asked.
Bones frowned. "Don't be thinking about dying. I'm the one who's supposed to be preoccupied with death."
"You'd tell me, wouldn't you?"
"You know me. I have no bedside manner. I'm doing everything I can to take care of that leg."
"I don't have any strength."
Bones gave him the hypospray. "That's because you can't keep any food down," he said. He watched Jim fall asleep again. He did not think he had ever seen Jim looking so pale.
Solan got in beside Bones. "How's he doing, Doctor?" he asked.
"Don't ask me that," Bones said. "He's not doing well. He needs something for infection, and I don't have anything. I just don't have the equipment for this."
"I don't know anything about what they have in this galaxy."
"They don't even have dermal regenerators. You can imagine that they don't have anything deeper."
"What do they do for stuff like this?"
"Well, surely they have something since they have all this technology. We're just not where it is."
Solan looked around them as they were flying across the desert planet. "Why does anyone live here?" he asked.
"How should I know?" Bones asked. "It's certainly not a place I want to live. Looks like some place that low-life criminals would live."
"There are plenty of those," Owen Lars said as he could overhear their conversation. "Mos Eisley is where you find a lot of them, and even Mos Espa."
"But why wouldn't you want to leave this planet and try to have something better?"
"It's where I was born."
"Why does that matter?"
"I just don't have a desire to leave."
It took them half the day to get to Mos Eisley. There was definitely a lot of air traffic going in and out, and there were a lot of different species there. Owen took them over to the spaceport where there were hangars and ships. "You should be able to find a pilot here," he said. "There are always pilots wanting to make money."
"How much money do they usually require?" Spock asked. "And are there any communication terminals here? I would like to contact Naboo before we go there."
"Sure. Just come this way."
"I'll just stay with Jim!" Bones called after them as he was just a little frustrated.
Solan got into the front seat of the speeder to sit. "I guess we'll just wait for them," he said. "I hope we're not illegally parked. Just imagine if someone comes out and starts yelling that we're in their parking space."
"I thought I was the one who was supposed to think of everything that could happen," Bones replied.
"You always do. I just have to help you sometimes. I've never been in another galaxy."
"You've been to all sorts of planets."
"Yeah, but that's a lot different than being in another galaxy." Solan leaned his head back. "We're on a barren planet and have no idea what kind of trouble we're about to get into."
"How do you know we're going to get into trouble?"
"When do we not?"
Bones shrugged. "I don't know."
"Exactly, but at least when we're in our own galaxy, we know where we are and where we should go."
"Don't worry. We've been here before. That's why we're trying to contact Naboo."
"Is that a peaceful planet?"
"Yes. One of the most beautiful planets I've ever seen."
"Good."
Jim opened his eyes and was looking up at the sky. "Bones, what do they do with people when they die in this galaxy?" he asked.
Bones lifted his head up and gave him some water. "Stop talking like that," he said.
"I can't feel my right leg."
"Jim, just fight. We're searching for a way to help you."
Jim just stared at the sky. "You know, the sky doesn't look all that blue. It's almost white."
"Jim, look at me!" Bones said. "You are not going to die! We need you to get us out of this!"
"You guys have never really needed me. I'm just the one who has to take all the blame when something doesn't go right."
Solan leaned over the front seat then. "That is not true!" he said.
Bones grabbed his communicator, hoping that he could contact Spock. "Spock!"
Spock was inside the spaceport when his communicator chirped. He flipped it open. "Spock here," he said.
"Spock, you need to hurry," Bones said. "Jim's not doing well!"
"I have found that there is a medical facility here. We will be bringing a medical transport out to get the captain."
"That's the best news I've heard all day."
When the transport arrived, there were medical droids. "Hey, where are the real doctors?" Bones asked.
"I am a real doctor," the medical droid replied. "I am a Two-One-B Surgical Droid designed to treat humans."
Bones was puzzled about this. He had never seen droids that were medical droids and just did everything on their own. They got Jim into the medical transport, and Bones got in as well. The others followed in the speeder.
Once they were in the medical center, the droid examined Jim and knew what was wrong with him without Bones telling it anything. "He requires submersion in a bacta tank," the droid said.
"A bacta tank?" Bones asked. "What's that?"
"Bacta is a healing substance that regenerates human tissue, as well as bones. He will be submerged for two days and then should be well, although he will need rest afterward."
Bones could not believe what he was hearing, and when he saw the bacta tank, he was horrified. "You're going to put him in that?" he asked. "How's he supposed to breathe?"
"I assure you, he will be well taken care of," the droid replied in his calm voice.
Bones watched as they prepared Jim to be submerged, which included putting him to sleep, and undressing him. He was fitted with what looked like a diving mask which was connected to the top of the tank. "You do this a lot, right?" he asked.
"Quite often."
Jim was soon in the bacta tank, which seemed to hold him in suspension, as it was not water consistency but much thicker. However, it was thin enough to allow air bubbles to rise as Jim breathed. "Two days?" Bones asked.
"Yes," the droid answered. "You may stay with him if you wish. However, you would be required to go and get your own food."
"Thank you for helping him."
The droid seemed to be quite surprised by that. "You are quite welcome."
Bones turned and went to the door of the room. He looked at Jim again, and then went on out where Spock and Solan were waiting. "Well?" Solan asked.
"He's in a bacta tank," Bones said.
"What is a bacta tank?" Spock asked.
"Well, I don't know, but it's some sort of substance that regenerates human tissues, even bone. That's what the droid told me."
Spock even looked puzzled at that explanation. "Are we allowed to see him?" he asked.
"Yeah. You can see him. He's in there. I'm tired."
"We have not acquired lodging. I am certain that it takes money to get a room here. I have yet to contact Naboo, but that is where I am going now."
"Why don't we just all go and then come back here?"
"You think we ought to just leave him in there like that?" Solan asked.
"I don't think anyone's going to hurt him with that droid around."
"Why don't you guys go? I'd rather stay here with the captain. I just don't like the idea of him being here alone in a strange galaxy."
"I share your concern," Spock said. "The doctor and I will contact Naboo and find us a place to stay the night."
"Before you go in there, I just want you to know that it looks a little alarming," Bones said. "But it's alright."
Solan nodded. "We will return as soon as we find something," Spock said.
Solan went on into the room. He knew what McCoy was talking about when he said it was alarming. He stood and looked at Jim in the bacta tank for a moment and then sat down in a chair that was there. He just hoped this was going to help Jim. He was ready for him to be in charge again. He had never been so uneasy as he was in this galaxy.
Spock and Doctor McCoy left the medical center and went out into the spaceport again. They found that there were several bars in the spaceport, but there was also a communications array. "We need to send a message," Spock said to the droid technician.
"Right this way," the droid said with a gravelly voice.
"Do droids do everything in this galaxy?" Bones asked as they followed the droid.
"It would seem so," Spock replied quietly.
"Where are you sending your message?" the droid asked as they arrived at a terminal.
"Naboo," Spock answered.
The droid established the connection and then left them. Soon, a familiar being appeared on the viewscreen. They had called for Queen Amidala, but instead, the being on the viewscreen was JarJar Binks. "Theesa JarJar Binks, personal assistant to Senator Amidala," he said. "How can we be helpin' yousa?"
Bones shook his head wondering why they had to get JarJar. He certainly was not the brightest bulb in the box. "We were hoping to speak to…Senator Amidala," Spock said. "We were not aware that she was no longer Queen of Naboo."
"Shesa become a Senator to the Galactic Senate, a representative of Naboo."
"May we speak with her?"
"Is she expecting yousa?"
"No, but this is a bit of an emergency. We will be happy to speak with Captain Panaka if we cannot speak with the senator."
"One moment."
Bones and Spock waited while JarJar left the viewscreen. "Why did we have to get him?" Bones asked.
"Doctor, it is quite rude to insult a being's intelligence," Spock replied.
"Insult? I don't think he has any intelligence to insult. How are we supposed to get out of here if we can't get in touch with anyone?"
"If this communication fails, we will simply contact Coruscant and the Jedi Temple."
Bones scowled. "Amidala isn't the queen anymore? Then who is?"
"That is not important. The important thing is to get help."
"Right."
Soon, someone came back to the viewscreen, but it was not JarJar, it was Padme Amidala. She was surprised when she saw who was calling since JarJar had not told her. She was not sure what to say either. "I definitely wasn't expecting to see you," she said.
"And we were not expecting to be here again," Spock replied. "We were not sure who we should contact but since you are familiar with us…"
"I'm glad you called. How did you get here?"
"The same way as last time."
"Where are you?"
"We are on Tatooine."
"Tatooine. Do you have transport?"
"No. That is our problem. We were hoping that…"
"Don't say another word. I will send someone to pick you up as soon as possible."
"I must inform you that our captain was injured upon our entry this time. We crashed on this planet, and he is in the medical facility where he will have to remain in a bacta tank for two days. However, we would appreciate any help that you could give us seeing that we have no means of our own."
"I'll have someone there to pick you up when your captain is ready to travel. I will also transfer you some credits. I suppose you found out that I am no longer queen."
"That is what JarJar told us."
"I'm a senator now. The queen appointed me as a representative in place of Senator Palpatine."
"You mean he's no longer in office?" Bones asked.
"No. He's not, but he is still assistant to the chancellor…so that he can keep an eye on him."
"We'd sure like to know what's going on in this galaxy now."
"There are many things happening. In only a few days, I must travel to Coruscant for an important Senate meeting, but I will help you first."
"If it would not be too much trouble, we would be happy to travel to Coruscant with you."
"You would be welcome. I will pick you up on Tatooine, and then we will travel to Coruscant together. Right now, you can go to the nearest banking branch, and I will transfer it to your name…could you tell me again?"
"Spock."
"Mister Spock, I will transfer credits to you as soon as this transmission ends, and you can pick up a card that will give you access to them."
"Thank you. We certainly appreciate your help."
"You're welcome, and I will see you in approximately three days."
The transmission ended. "Well, now all we have to do is find a bank," Bones declared. "How are we supposed to find something like that?"
"We will simply ask," Spock replied.
They went back to the front desk where the droid they had talked to earlier stood. "Excuse me," Spock said. "Can you tell us where the nearest banking branch is located?"
"It is in this same building," the droid answered. "Simply go to your right and it is at the end of the corridor."
"Thank you."
Spock and Bones left that area. "Don't you think this is just a little too easy?" Bones asked.
"Explain," Spock said.
"I don't know. I just have a bad feeling about all this."
"Doctor, if I may say, you always have a bad feeling. It is not unusual for you to feel that something tragic or unexpected will happen."
"Thanks a lot."
"You are quite welcome."
"I think you're just trying to insult me."
"Your pessimistic viewpoint will not help us in this situation. We must find our friends in this galaxy. We have no other way to survive."
"I just wish there was better medical equipment."
They soon arrived at the banking branch and found that droids also ran that. "Don't humans do anything in this galaxy?" Bones murmured.
"I am not certain," Spock replied. "However, to have droids running an establishment such as this one would seem logical, since it would discourage robberies."
"Let's just get the loot and get out of here."
"I do not believe the term loot is a good one to use in this establishment."
"Do you have to correct everything I say?"
They finally got up to the counter and Spock did not have much trouble getting the credits. They even took his picture and gave him a card in his own name. He and Bones left the bank. "Well, if we ever find ourselves in this galaxy again, maybe we will have some credits left," Bones said.
"With the amount the senator placed on this card, I would not be surprised," Spock replied.
"What do you mean? How much did she put on there?"
"Fifteen thousand credits."
Bones' eyes widened. "How much is that in our money?"
"I do not know. However, I do believe this will be sufficient for us as long as we are here."
"You never know how long we'll be here."
"We should return to the medical facility."
"Aren't we going to find a…hotel or something? If you would even call it that here. Might be a rat's nest big enough to curl up in and have them bite you all night."
"Doctor, such a dire outlook is not logical."
"Spock, are you looking at this place we're in?"
"I realize that it is not the best place we have ever been, but we are here and we must make the best of it while we are here."
"Yeah, if we don't end up victims of some gang."
They left the business area of the place which included a mall, and Bones insisted on going in there and getting some snack foods. The foods there were not familiar but with a little searching, he found the equivalent of potato chips and some other stuff. "No one in the entire universe can live without potato chips," he declared.
"I do not believe I have ever eaten a potato chip," Spock replied.
"You're kidding. You have to try one."
"Why?"
"Because it's just not human to never try a potato chip."
"I am a Vulcan."
"Yeah, but you're half human. You have to feed that side of yourself."
They were silent a few moments. "I suggest we find some place to eat and find lodging before we return to the medical facility," Spock said.
Bones looked around them. "Well, they all look about the same," he said. "I guess we could just pick one and go on in. Although, I think we should find some different clothes. We need to blend in more around here."
Spock thought McCoy might be right about that. "We should have considered this while we were in the mall."
"I wasn't thinking about clothes then. Now that we're out here like this, I kinda want to blend in."
They were not far from the mall so they went back in. They did not forget to get some clothes for Jim, since they knew he would need them when he woke up. They also got some for Solan. "I'm not sure he's going to be happy about us picking out clothes for him," Bones remarked.
"Since he is with the captain, we will do what we must," Spock said.
After that, they changed and then went on to find a place to eat. As Bones had said, there was not much difference in one place and another. The bar they went into was dimly lit, but did not look like it was completely unclean. It looked like most other things on Tatooine…like it was made of stone, and probably a sand floor.
Spock and Bones sat at the bar where there were several different species lined up drinking and eating. "Spock, I hope they have food here that's compatible with humans," Bones said.
"As do I," Spock replied.
A droid waitress came over to them. "What'll it be?" she asked, sounding rather crabby for a droid.
"Do you mind telling us what you have?" Bones asked.
The droid began going through a list of foods that had no familiarity at all. "Wait, what would you recommend?" Bones asked.
"Well, what do you like to eat?" the droid asked, sounding entirely too much like she was from New Jersey.
Bones leaned on his elbow. "Do you at least have a menu?"
The droid rolled away and soon returned with two menus that looked like they had been around longer than she had, but they were digital menus so they could see what was available. "You know anything about this stuff?" Bones asked.
"No," Spock answered. "We will simply have to choose something and hope for the best. We should also take something to Solan."
When they decided what they wanted, they ordered all of it to go and got something for Solan as well. "I guess we can all suffer together," Bones said.
"Doctor, your dire outlook does not help matters," Spock replied.
"Well, your logical outlook doesn't help anything either."
They got their food and then went back to the medical facility where Solan was still sitting in the room where Jim was and was almost asleep himself. "I think we had a pretty productive trip," Bones said as he set everything on the table in the room. "We got us some clothes so we won't stand out here."
"You got clothes for me too?" Solan asked. "Now, who said you could pick out something for me to wear?"
"Wear it and like it."
"You even got me food without asking what I wanted?"
"Yeah."
"I get to choose everything next time."
They sat down at the table and looked at their food. "I guess this is popular food on this planet," Bones said. "It's a Bantha steak."
"Never heard of a Bantha," Solan replied as he smelled of the food. "I guess it smells pretty good. What about this drink?"
"I don't know. It's called a Tatooni Junko. I thought it might be better than a Tatooine Sunset. I wasn't sure I wanted anything that might be as hot going down as those two suns."
Spock raised an eyebrow at that remark. "I do not believe that is what the drink implied," he said.
"But you don't know."
Solan looked at the drink and then smelled of it. "I hope it doesn't taste like Chech'tluth."
"Don't even mention that."
Solan took a swig of the drink and almost could not swallow it. He squeezed his eyes closed. "That might be the one that should be called a Tatooine Sunset," he said, sounding a little hoarse.
Bones looked at his drink. "Well, cheers," he said and took a big swallow of his own. For a moment, he thought he might die, but then he thought he might want more.
"Doctor, I am not certain that a strange galaxy is the right place to get intoxicated," Spock said.
"Intoxicated? Who said anything about that?"
"That is an alcoholic drink."
"Yeah, well, it was either this or blue milk, or some syrupy stuff."
"There is always water."
"He's right," Solan said. "That tastes awful anyway. I wonder what's in it."
They all tried the steak and found that it tasted good. Solan chewed a moment. "I wonder what exactly that stuff is supposed to do," he said. "Does it create new tissue or something?"
"I don't know," Bones replied. "I haven't had time to study it, but I intend to get some information on it before we leave here."
"And this, Amidala, is coming to pick us up?"
"Yeah, and take us to Coruscant, the capital of this galaxy."
Solan still felt uneasy about all this. It was one thing to be on a strange planet, but a totally different galaxy? In his own galaxy, all he had to do was go to warp and get to a planet he knew. "Do they even have warp in this galaxy?" he asked.
"No, they have lightspeed, or something above that. They call it a hyperdrive."
"How long to get to Coruscant from here?"
"Four days. And there is no transport, so she has to either come down to the planet to get us, or we have to go up to the ship."
"Oh. Great."
By the time they were done eating, Bones was ready to sleep, and he lay down on the bed in the room. "Why does he get the bed?" Solan asked.
"He is tired, and simply took the first thing available," Spock replied.
Solan poured that drink out into the sink in the room. "Yuck," he said. "I don't ever want anything like that again."
"I do not think it is wise to drink such drinks in an unknown galaxy."
"Probably isn't wise in any galaxy. I'll just stick to water."
Spock and Solan looked into the bacta tank at Jim who certainly did not seem to be having any nightmares or anything. "What are we supposed to do around here for two days?" Solan asked.
"We can always explore and find out more about this culture," Spock replied. "After all, we are explorers."
"Right. I guess I'll get into these new clothes. I hope they fit."
"If they do not, you may blame it on Doctor McCoy."
"I will."
Solan got into the clothes which consisted of a reddish tunic and brown pants, with seamless boots. He figured those were supposed to keep the sand out, but he was not sure they would. Sand could always find its way in. He thought he might just go out into this spaceport and find out what sort of games they played around here.
Solan came out of the fresher. "I think I'm going out," he said. "I want to find out what people do around here."
"Solan, do not get into trouble," Spock said. "We do not know the laws here."
"They're probably like any other place. Don't shoot anybody, don't fight, don't cheat, and stay out of arguments."
"I cannot tell you not to go, but you should be cautious."
"Don't worry. I'm always cautious. I'll feel better if I know a little more about where I am. I don't know when I'll be back."
Spock watched Solan walk out the door. He was not certain it was a good idea for him to go out alone, but he was not his boss. He sat down in a chair and leaned back feeling weary himself.
