Disclaimer: All belongs to the great and powerful Disney.
thejoker122- Thanks for the review, I wasn't sure how that last part would read, I've pretty much stayed away from the more 'mystical' aspects of the Force. Part of the reason is that Sascha isn't exactly powerful and isn't really inclined to that aspect of the Force. The other part is I think it's very hard to write these kind of mystical passages without it coming off as corny or confusing (or both). As for Hoskin, we haven't seen the last of him. I like writing him, the sort of soldier that has seen it all is a fun character to put against a fifteen year old kid who is basically the definition of inexperience.
Lord Darth Yoda - Good catch of that mistake, it really annoys me to miss something so...well, obvious, grrr...
I can't comment on Aurine's fate, other than saying that Sascha seems pretty convinced that she'll be okay, and Luminara seemed to think similarly.
RedHairing326 - Thank you for the review. It is nice to have the story (and the next story...and most of the next story) completed, because it allows me to drop little hints here and there about where the story is going. Plus, I'm also to be able to respond to the audience. The best example of that was reviewers chiming in and saying that they wanted to know more about Aurine. I was able to fit in her backstory into a previously written chapter, and the result is (I think) some of my best work, and it really added to the story in a positive way. If you want I'll of course give you a my working copy of the story, but I'll be making changes to each chapter as I post it, so if you wait, you'll get a superior product at the end of the day.
A/N - A shorter chapter this time. I'm always fascinated with the idea of Jedi interacting with normal people, and it will be a continuing theme of the story. Jedi are, for all intents and purposes, superheros, possessing abilities beyond the understanding of most normal people. And I think its especially interesting to have Sascha interact with these people, because these are some of the first 'normal' people he is meeting. And because Sascha is definitively special, people will always be interested in testing him.
As ever all reviews, follows and favourites are appreciated. Thank you to those who have favourited, followed or left reviews, you make doing this a great experience.
Anyway, please enjoy the next chapter.
Chapter 25: Treatment
Major Valanteen looks smugly at him and Dr. Jarvis, though Sascha can't figure out why the Major is looking so smug, or why he is here with two security officers to begin with. While he remains in his kneeling position, Dr. Jarvis rises and turns towards the man in the dark blue KSF uniform, "What is the meaning of this?"
The Kuati Major is a human of middle age and average height, with his most prominent feature being a long aquiline nose, which Sascha remembers is a facial feature generally associated with the Valanteen family on Kuat. The Valanteen family, like the Kuat family that Itoma belongs to, are members of 'the Ten,' the group of ten aristocratic families that own pretty much all of Kuat's most important industries.
The Major trains his light blue eyes on Jarvis, "Doctor Jarvis, you will stay out of this. If you know what is good for you." The Kuati doctor bristles visibly but says nothing. The Major turns his eyes to him, "Jedi Padawan Whitestar, you are under arrest for trespassing on restricted KSF territory, you will come with me or face further penalties."
"No, he won't," replies the Kuati doctor.
"It's okay," Sascha says. He sways to his feet and nods at the Major, "I'll come with you, I don't want to create a scene."
A look of triumph appeared on the Major's face. Quite frankly, Sascha isn't quite sure what he's done wrong, but he's far too tired to resist or care. He feels strangely euphoric, he's not quite at full awareness of his surroundings, and he is pretty sure that he is very close to the edge of his physical and mental limits. There is a strong chance that he will just collapse in the following minutes from pure exhaustion. At the moment he doesn't care where he collapses, if it is in a jail cell or the floor right here. Aurine is alive, he is alive, nothing else could possibly matter right now.
He takes a few steps towards the Major and the two stonefaced security guards, holding out his hands in a gesture of surrender. He is stopped by the firm hand of Dr. Jarvis on his shoulder, "No, the Jedi will be staying with me, Major Valenteen."
The Major's face reddens in fury, "Would you like to join our little trespassing Jedi in the brig?"
The doctor sighs and bows his head wearily, showing his advanced age quite clearly. Though the Kuati doctor is not overly large, he does seem to possess a certain inner strength, which makes him seem larger, more imposing than his physical attributes would suggest. Jarvis turns his gaze back towards the Major, "I'd prefer the brig to watching a pigheaded, arrogant pipsqueak like you abuse what small amount of power you have, Major Valenteen." The emphasis the gray haired Kuati puts on the KSF man's rank almost makes the word sound like an insult.
While the Major looks furious, the Kuati doctor bowls over him with his furious invective, "While I have devoted my life to the KSF and saving lives, I've sought no promotion, I've been content in my place, a place where I fit in well." Jarvis points a bony finger at the Major, "You went to the top medical school on Coruscant, not based on your marks, but because your last name is Valenteen and you managed to be born into one of Kuat's founding families. You continue to be promoted even though you are so completely incompetent at your craft that I would rather work double shifts than have one of our soldiers be treated by the likes of you. You are promoted because someone in your family offers someone in the KSF hierarchy a bigger house or employment in one of their businesses in exchange for promoting you, which is how we end up with a Major on board a cruiser that while he outranks the Captain, no one in their right mind will follow his orders."
Dr. Jarvis smiles cruelly at his adversary, "We all laugh at you Major, because you can strut around with your chest puffed out as a 'Major' in the Kuati Security Force, but what you fail to realize is that you are more useless than any of our new recruits. That's why you sit around all day in your nicely furnished office doing paperwork, because you can harm no one from there. But, when you come in here and think you can arrest a Jedi because he wanted to see his Master, you've crossed the line, Major. These Jedi fought, bled and almost died to protect our troops. That makes them KSF personnel to me, and to hell if the rules say otherwise! The Jedi is staying with me, Major, he needs medical treatment and I intend to provide it. Now are you going to stop me?"
The Kuati Major's anger and hatred had grown during Jarvis's speech and now had boiled over to a point that it almost seems palpable to Sascha in the Force. The sensation is so strong that it almost drops the young Jedi back to his knees. Major Valnteen's eyes seemed to blaze with pure loathing, he was very clearly not used to being spoken to like this, he almost spits as he begins to speak, his voice rising in tone with every syllable. "Dr. Jarvis, you are beyond insubordinate, I will see to it that you never work in the KSF or on Kuat ever again! I will see you dishonorably discharged! I will see your medical license revoked. Guards, take him away!"
Neither guard moves a muscle.
Major Valenteen looks so bewildered that it would have been comical had the situation not been so serious. The Kuati doctor is not yet finished with his barbs, "You can remove me yourself if you are man enough, Major. I may be twice your age, but I remember basic training pretty well, let's see if you do too."
Sascha prepares himself to intervene, there is no way that he is going to let this situation devolve into a fight on his behalf, it may end up with him collapsing into a heap on the floor, given his current physical state, but no one is getting hurt for his sake. However, his instincts tell him to remain out of the way. Sometimes, the best thing a Jedi can do is be invisible.
The Major puffs himself up to his very average height, his medals and military style shirt stand in stark contrast with the Kuati doctor's normal white garb, and it looks for a second like he will oblige the doctor in his request. Yet, after sizing up the situation, he backs down, "I don't need to remove you, I'm in the right here. I'll file my report and you'll never work again." Major Valenteen turns and exists hastily, with very little of his previous smugness in evidence.
"Coward," the older man mutters, then he nods respectfully to the two guardsmen who pivot smartly and exit the room. He finally turns to Sascha and says, "Well before I get all my credentials stripped by some Kuati aristocrat, how about I take a look at you."
"Doctor, you didn't need to do that for me," he said. Sascha feels awful that he had a civilian stand up for him, but he couldn't figure out how he was supposed to stop what just happened. Lightsaber training in the Temple was much more straightforward than this.
Jarvis smiles genuinely, "No, perhaps not, but it was the right thing to do. Now lie down and let me do my job."
Sascha limps over to an observation table and lies down, removing his boots, which seem to have somehow come through the battle in remarkably good shape.
Jarvis picks up some of his medical equipment that was lying nearby and moves to his side, "Are you in pain at the moment, Padawan?"
"Take a wild guess," he says.
Jarvis snorts in amusement, "Okay, silly question, admittedly. Were you given any sedatives before you got here? Any allergies I need to be aware of?"
"No and no."
Jarvis murmurs in approval, "Might as well start with this nasty looking leg wound," he feels the doctor prod at his left leg. The Kuati man seems genuinely surprised after his examination, "It's healed… the wound is almost totally closed. Who treated you?"
"Oh, I closed the wound, didn't want to be bleeding for too long."
"You…closed the wound? With a medical kit?"
"No, with the Force."
Dr. Jarvis sounds dubious, "When was this?"
"I'm not sure, to be honest," he admits. Everything had been a bit of a whirlwind for him since he landed on Narvis Rock.
"You closed an open wound with 'the Force' and you can't even recall when you did it? Are you sure that you are human? Or are you one of those Jedi Healers I've heard about?"
Sascha sighs, he's not used to explaining to non-Jedi the capabilities of the Force, "I have some small talent for healing, but I'm nowhere near being a Jedi healer. I simply asked my body to speed up its natural healing process and it did." Sascha feels his leg being prodded at again, and winces. What he's done is not really healing in the truest sense of the word, merely just doing some rather advanced first aid.
The doctor seems incredulous, even with the evidence staring him right in the face, "That doesn't seem possible to do without at least consciously thinking about it."
Anything is possible with the Force, he almost comments, but he stops himself, realizing it would do little to illuminate the situation to the man that is helping him. He closes his eyes, "Let me give you an example. When you perform a surgery on a patient are you thinking about every little detail? Or are you concentrating on a few specific aspects of the surgery and letting your lower brain function handle the rest? Humans don't stop breathing when they are concentrating on something intently, that's just not how the human brain works."
"You are saying," says the Kuati slowly, "that asking your body to heal itself at what appears to be several times its normal rate is something you can do with your lower brain function? You didn't even need to concentrate to heal yourself?"
"Sure, it's just like anything else, you practice it enough times and it becomes second nature. The first time you perform a surgery you are probably thinking about every detail, but by the time you've performed it twenty or fifty times, you function almost on auto-pilot, paying attention, certainly, but no longer concentrating on every detail as you once did."
"So you are saying that you've been hurt this seriously before…in fact enough times that you are able to be this effective in closing a wound? I didn't know Jedi were such rough and tumble fighters? They always struck me as more elegant."
Sascha smiles faintly, "No, this is the worst I've ever been hurt thankfully, but the wound itself was minor as you have seen. The cut didn't go through any significant amount of muscle, no tendons, nothing serious, really, just a bad flesh wound. I'm not sure I could heal a broken arm or deal with a more serious wound, it would take a degree of power in the Force that I don't have."
The doctor presses his question, "but you've been hurt before."
Sascha would have fixed the Kuati with an amused expression had he been facing him, instead he lets that amusement creep into his voice, "Dr. Jarvis, I've been sparring full contact with other Jedi since the age of ten, I've had more cuts, scrapes and bruises than I could possibly count."
The Kuati cocks his head inquisitively, "I was under the impression that the Jedi Temple was a place for quiet mediation. Not a military boot camp for children."
"The Temple is very much a place of meditation. But Jedi children are not normal, to state the obvious. If I had not been pushed so hard, given all those minor injuries, would I have been able to perform as well as I did today? Would I have been able to close that wound without having done it on a smaller scale many times before?" He shrugs, "I think not."
"Far be it for me to second guess the Jedi and their thousands of years of combined wisdom. I'm certainly gaining great respect for their ability to tolerate pain."
Sascha blinks; he's not sure what to make of this apparent non sequitur, "Excuse me?"
The Kuati strikes an amused tone, "Oh, don't mind me, I've been removing some pieces of shrapnel from your leg during our conversation."
"I didn't even notice," replies Sascha, stunned.
"Well that's probably because the local anesthetic is working well. I didn't know if I needed to up the dose because you are a Jedi. I guess not."
Sascha is still rather nonplussed about the whole situation, "I may be kind of out of it doctor, but I should have probably noticed someone was pulling chunks of metal from my leg."
The doctor moves up the table and towards his head, "Well I might not be a Jedi, but I've picked up a few tricks of the trade along the way. That whole conversation we had? Just a distraction, you were too focused on it to be concentrating on what was happening to your leg." The Kuati's tone turns self-satisfied, "I always did have good bedside manner. Still, we better bring the 2-1B over here to make sure I haven't missed something."
Sascha, eyes still closed on the examination table, hears the droid whirr its way over to his side. He admits to himself that he's vaguely uncomfortable with the idea of being treated by a droid. Certainly, 2-1B units had a strong reputation across the galaxy as capable physicians, but he's only ever had treatment and rarely at that by the best Jedi healers in the galaxy. Droids weren't really a part of the living Force, could they really reliably treat a Jedi? Misgivings aside, he lies still as the droid scans him, he doesn't see the point of antagonizing someone that is helping him. Besides, he is rather comfortable laying here on the table.
The 2-1B droid beeps, "Patient is in severe pain, recommend immediate injection of painkillers and a strong sedative."
He opens his eyes and glances at Jarvis, "I think you need to calibrate this droid for Jedi, doctor." He would admit to being in pain, but severe pain? Absolutely not.
"I guess I'll have to wait for the next software update," says the Kuati in continued good humour. "2-1B ignore the pain threshold readings for now, what are the patient's injuries?"
"I detect multiple minor lacerations on the patient's legs, the patient also has bruised ribs, and a mild concussion, the facial lacerations are cosmetic only. Recommendation: at least one day of rest, being monitored every eight hours in case head trauma worsens."
"You can't fix the concussion on your own?" the doctor queries lightly.
"It's a bit beyond me at the moment," he admits. Head injuries are notoriously difficult to deal with, he remembers being told that unless you were a trained healer or in a truly desperate situation to not try fixing anything to do with the brain.
"So you agree with the diagnosis?"
Sascha resists saying that he could have told the doctor what his injuries are without being scanned by the droid, but simply nods his assent.
The doctor pats his hand softly, "Then with your agreement, I'll give you something to help with your pain, and then you should rest."
Sascha nodded sleepily, rest sounded like a great idea, "Prescribe me whatever you think is best."
The doctor gets up and starts rummaging through a nearby cabinet, "Well, normally I'm not supposed to give painkillers to minors without parental permission…but I'm not in the mood for following the rules today." Jarvis came back to his side and placed two small capsules in his left hand, "Take these. They are low-grade painkiller that won't affect you too much. I think they are a safer option than some of the more potent painkillers…I don't want your Jedi powers to go all crazy on us.
He smiled faintly and swallowed the two capsules, "Thank you."
Jarvis stands, "Well, then my work here is done, hopefully I have time to check on some of my other patients before that sniveling Major figures out how to remove me from my post. Do you want to be transferred to somewhere more comfortable? We have patient recovery rooms available."
"I'd like to stay here, close to my Master if that's possible."
The Kuati nods and takes his leave, dimming the lights as he exits.
He shifts on the makeshift bed, getting comfortable. A couple of seconds after he closes his eyes, sleep claims him.