Ben drifted in and out of consciousness. He was not sure for how long, since time ceased to have any meaning to him. He had brief flashes of wakefulness where he remembered the concerned faces of his uncle and the other padawans staring down at him. He could only vaguely recollect being loaded into a transport ship and then there was darkness. Then later he knew he was in an unfamiliar room, perhaps a medical facility, but he could never stay awake long enough to make sense of what he was seeing.
Mostly, he remembered the images from his mind. In his fevered state he had started to hallucinate, or perhaps they were visions. Some were so real he could feel the wind and sun oh his face.
In this state he saw a vision of his mother, expect she was a young girl, younger than he was now. She was sitting in a garden in what he assumed was the planet of Alderaan. Next to her were a man and woman who seemed to be her parents, his own adopted grandparents that he had never met. It was a glimpse of a loving family life.
Next he saw flashes of a young boy on a dusty desert planet, slowly piecing together parts on a gold plated robot that looked familiar to him. Then there were images of a young boy on a swamp planet conversing with a small green alien. He could not make out what they were saying but the young man reminded him of his uncle.
And then there was her. It was the same girl from his first vision. But if he had hoped to gather any more knowledge about who she was he was going to be disappointed. It was so disjointed, the images flashing from one image to the next with a dizzying speed.
First he saw her as a young woman, perhaps older than he was now, scurrying about a destroyed ship. Next he saw her as young child in the ruined remains of what he thought was an AT-AT, holding onto a small homemade doll as she cried pitifully. IT made his heart ache and he did not know why. But she sounded so lonely.
Next he saw her as a young woman again. This time she looked frightened, and the environment was completely different. While the previous visions had been in a desert environment this one was covered in snow. Still she was wearing the same clothes she had been previously and she kept looking over her shoulder as she ran. It took him a moment but he realized that she was running from him. In the distance of his mind he could hear the faint echoes of someone's voice, a voice that cried out and called him a traitor.
When Ben finally woke up he stared at the ceiling, he was seeing but his mind was not yet registering that he was awake. It took several minutes before he realized that he was not having visions but that he was truly awake. He blinked slowly and tried to remember what had happened. I was with Uncle Luke, and now I am here. I got sick…that's the last I remember he thought to himself. He must have been really out of it if he did not have a clear memory of how he got here.
If he was that incapacitated he must have been carrying to this medical facility. The mental image of himself as a sick and helpless, having to be carried like some kind of invalid was enough to make him moan with dismay. He could only hope not many people had seen him in that state. He flexed his arms and his movements still seemed kind of sluggish and stiff. He could not tell if it was because of his illness or if he was given medicine that made him feel that way.
With lots of struggling he was finally able to sit up and look around the room. He did not recognize this place, but he was not surprised by that fact. There was a window that showed a picturesque view of the surrounding forest, the sun was just starting to rise and it cast shadows throughout the room. He shivered in the morning chill and wrapped the blankets tighter around himself. At the foot of the small bed someone had laid an additional thick blanket, probably to keep his feet warm, and he eagerly grabbed it and wrapped it around his shoulders.
As he continued looking around the sparse and utilitarian room he felt his stomach growl. His stomach ached with a terrible emptiness. There had been times before where he was hungry but this felt like he was starving. It was a deep and insistent ache that demanded to be fed. It was painful enough that he wrapped his arms around his mid-section and groaned helplessly. He needed to get off this bed and find some food, or find someone to bring him some breakfast. In his condition he had no idea how to contact anyone and he didn't feel like shouting for help.
Behind him he heard noise, the sound of someone coming in through a door. While he had been taking in his surroundings he had not bothered to look behind him, and thus had not seen the door at first. Ben managed to twist himself around to look at the person who had entered the small room. He did not recognize the person at all.
It was a girl, or rather young woman; that he had not met before. He knew enough to know that she was not one of the padawans from a few days ago. She was at that age where he could not tell if she was in her late teens or early 20's. Either way he was certain that she was older than he was. Her eyes lit up when she saw him staring back at her.
But the most important thing was that she seemed to be carrying a sizable tray of food with her. She smiled at him, though she also looked slightly concerned.
"You really shouldn't be moving yet. This is the first time that you've moved around for some time." She placed the tray near Ben and he almost instinctively reached out for it, the only thing that stopped him was a sudden intense wave of dizziness that made his vision spin. He clasped his hands to the side of his head till his vision stopped swimming.
He sensed the unknown woman coming beside him. She did not try to touch him, which he was thankful for. Eventually the dizziness passed and he looked up to try to meet her gaze.
"Who are you? How long have I been in this place," He asked, his voice was raspy and did not sound like his own. His mouth was bone dry and he found he was also completely parched.
The girl gave a small smile and handed him a small glass of water from the tray, Ben drank it in seconds. "I've introduced myself before, you woke up twice before now. But you were still in the grip of an intense fever and I don't think you'll have any memory of me." She said slowly.
Ben just stared at her. He couldn't remember being awake and aware before now. He must have been in the throes of a serious illness to not even remember waking up previously. He shook his head, "I don't remember." He said. At least now his voice sounded more normal after the drink, though it was still very weak sounding.
The girl moved the tray to the foot of his bed and picked up a bowl filled with something that smelled fantastic. He was disappointed to see that it was only soup. He felt he could eat enough food for ten men.
She must have seen his expression because she grinned and she held it out to him. "For now we will feed you some soup. You haven't had solid food for a week and it will be a shock to your system. Try to eat some of this, and if it stays down I'll get your something more substantial for lunch."
Ben eagerly reached out for the bowl and took it in his hands. His hands shook despite the fact that the bowl was not very large or heavy. He was as weak as a new born kitten. There was a spoon with the bowl but he ignored it, instead bringing it to his lips and slurping it up like an animal.
It was delicious. His stomach let out a long and painful growl as the food hit his stomach. In some ways adding food to his belly hurt just as much as not having anything in it at all. But he would rather have this pain than the pain of it being empty. Ben managed to slurp half of the meal before he stopped to take a breath. Sitting the bowl on the blanket beside him as he let his insides adjust.
"My name is Joie by the way," the girl said from the side of his bed. He looked up at her as she spoke. He had been rude he knew, but he didn't care that much. He had been so hungry that social niceties could wait until after he had stopped his hunger pains.
He nodded at her. There was no need to be mean though, she was obviously the one that had been caring for him. And she had brought him food. "I'm Ben," he managed to say. Though his voice still sounded weak there was some strength behind it now that he had eaten.
She grinned and laughed softly, "It's nice to finally meet you now that you're awake." She motion to the bowl beside him. "Are you done?" She asked.
Ben shook his head and picked the bowl back up, slurping the rest of the contents with renewed gusto. After it was drained he handed it back to her. She took the bowl and set it back on the tray, picking up a small mug of some hot drink and taking a sip.
"If you feel up to it there is some tea for you as well," she said as she picked up the second hot mug. Ben reached out for it and she placed it gently in his hands. He took a few tentative sips and it warmed him up considerably. It was a new taste as well. It was slightly spicy but he found that he liked it.
"Thank you," he said, and he meant it. He was feeling more like his old self with every moment that passed. The food certainly had helped that. If she had not come by when she did he would have been forced to find his own sustenance. The thought of struggling to find the mess hall in his condition made him wince, he probably wouldn't have made it if he had tried. And the thought of having to be helped back to his bed was more insulting than his pride could bear.
"It's my pleasure. How does your stomach feel after eating?" She asked with a concerned tone. She reached out and gently took his hand, turning it over to feel the pulse at his wrist. He let her do it and he found her grip surprisingly soft. She did not have the hands of someone who was used to heavy labor. He wondered what her purpose was here. If she was not a padawan, or a doctor, then why was she here?
He looked at her closely. She was a pale girl, with a fine dusting of freckles over her cheeks and nose. Her hair was a lovely red color that she had braided up into a long rope that trailed along her back. Her clothes were nondescript and almost didn't warrant noticing. She also wore no makeup of any kind that he saw, though her eyelashes did seem to be very long. He blushed slightly as he came to the conclusion that she was cute. Not beautiful really, but she had a kind of gentle energy that he found to be rather captivating.
Joie let go of his hand and he let it drop back to the blanket. "Well, your pulse seems to be fine. And you're fever has been broken for about a day now. I had just been waiting for you to wake up."
Ben rubbed his wrist, it was a bit tingly from where she touched it. "How long was I unconscious?"
Joie pursed her lips and answered, "You were unconscious for a full week. Today is the seventh day since they brought you back from training with Master Luke."
He stared at her wide eyed. Seven days? The thought of being that sick for that long made him uneasy. Had he been near death? And where was his uncle during all of this? He felt a knot of anger form in his gut. If his uncle hadn't dragged him out into the woods unprepared this would not have happened. Ben clenched his jaw and looked away, not wanting Joie to see his face.
But it had been too late, she had seen the anger in his face, and she looked at him with genuine concern. "You're going to be alright though. I know it was scary but you are going to make a complete recovery." She said softly trying to reassure him.
Ben just shrugged. She must have misinterpreted his anger for fear over his health. That was just fine by him. He didn't need anyone hovering over him watching him. The sooner he was out of here the better it would be.
Joie moved away from the bed and picked up the tray with the dirty dishes and cups. "I'll take these back to the mess hall, then I will return and we can start getting you healthy again." She said in a chipper voice.
Ben couldn't help but look back at her. There was no malice or deception in her voice. He wondered what it was like to be genuine in your actions as she appeared to be. She smiled at him and walked out of the room carrying the tray. Ben turned and watched her go. When the door closed behind her he turned to look out the window, watching the world go by, thinking of nothing.