The Knights all looked at each other before despondently shaking their heads.
"It wouldn't seem so," Ember said, speaking for all of them. "I feel like her good moments are lasting longer, but that might just be me seeing what I hope to see."
"The good moments do last longer," Dot supplied, "but it's not enough to be called progress."
"The bad spells are still equally as bad," Shadow added. "There's no improvement there at all."
"It bothers her," Rogue said. "I sparred fist to fist with her. People fight with a certain edge when they're trying to work off anger or frustration and it was definitely there."
"Did we do the right thing?" Shadow murmured.
Burman put a hand on her shoulder. "Doing nothing would have been worse."
"The Force?" Quicksilver asked.
Kylo gestured to Rey, who sighed.
"I've read everything I could find, but mention of the healing capabilities of the Force are scarce and their accuracy can't be determined either."
"So you know nothing," Dot said.
"Nothing more than last time, no," Rey agreed, ignoring how Kylo bristled at Dot's almost accusatory tone. "We have a theory based on the knowledge that the Force can heal and a gut feeling."
"Nothing," Dot reiterated.
"More than us," Rogue said before Kylo could reprimand Dot. "It's barely something but more than we have."
"It's a risk."
"Taking out the chip was a risk."
A tense silence fell over the group as Rogue and Dot glared at each other.
"You're against it?" Shadow asked Dot after a moment.
"It makes me uncomfortable," she answered.
"What exactly is this theory of yours?" Ember asked Kylo and Rey.
Kylo dragged a hand through his hair, thinking how best to explain. It wasn't much more than that gut feeling, after all.
"The Force requires balance," he said. "Balance isn't only Light vs Dark, life vs death, growth vs decay; it's also…" He chewed his lip, failing at finding the right words.
"The natural way of things?" Rey supplied. "How water flows to the lowest point and finds the easiest path. How a sun is needed to keep a planet warm. How our blood transports nutrients through our body and our breath is connected to our mental health."
"It's the reason why a plant will move back into its original position after you push it sideways. It's also why tectonic plates move and stop moving," Kylo added. "It's-"
"Everything," Quicksilver interrupted. "As it should be. And as it has become if changed."
"Yes," Kylo agreed with emphasis.
The Knights were looking between him, Rey and Quicksilver with varying degrees of understanding.
"The chip interfered with how things should be," Kylo continued. "But as it's a change of state, the Force accepted it as the new state of being."
"Like bending a branch and tying it to a fence," Rey said.
Kylo nodded. "Same as the Force won't cut the rope tying the branch, it couldn't interfere with the chip. But, like a branch would at least partially return to its previous position as you cut the rope, now that the chip is removed, the brain could theoretically return to how it was before."
"Back to as it should be," Burman murmured.
"Yes," Kylo said with another nod. "But Sahrsa is no longer connected with the Force so part of that resilience to return has been cut off."
"By reconnecting her, you hope the Force will give her brain an extra push to its original position, thus healing her," Ember said.
"Pretty much, yes," Rey agreed.
"But there's no way of knowing," Dot insisted.
"No," Kylo admitted.
"Is reconnecting her even possible?" Shadow asked. "With how impaired her memory is?"
"Her loss of the Force should stem from before the chip was implanted so the memories should still be there," Kylo said. "Has anybody asked her about her past by now?"
"She told me some anecdotes," Daze answered, proving he was following the conversation despite being distracted most of the time.
"Same," Rogue said. "We talked about her hand-to-hand combat training."
"Then I should be able to find the memory needed," Kylo said. "And she's bound to follow my orders. It should be possible."
Another silence fell as the Knights contemplated the information.
"Do it," Daze said after a while.
"We let the Force determine the outcome," Quicksilver added, which Kylo took as a 'yes' vote.
One by one, the Knights agreed, albeit with great reluctance on Dot's side.
"Who will tell Sahrsa about the Force?" Kylo asked.
"You," Ember immediately answered, garnering nods from the others. "At least one of us should be present, but you should be the one to tell her. To enforce that it's allowed."
"Right then," Kylo said, glancing at Rey who was giving him an encouraging smile. "I'll tell her tomorrow morning," he decided. "And if her reaction isn't too severe, we'll attempt a reconnection after meditation. There's no reason to wait."
"I'll be there in the morning," Shadow said.
"Me too," Burman added.
"Same," came Dot's voice.
"I guess we'll all be there," Rogue said, earning him confirmation from all the Knights.
"Tomorrow morning," Kylo stated, dragging a hand through his hair.
Neither Rey nor he slept well that night and he doubted any of the Knights did. They all convened in a smaller training room at Building K before breakfast. The same room where Rey taught the reconnected trainees. Sahrsa and Shadow arrived not long after, Flock in tow. Sahrsa officially greeted everyone while Shadow merely gave a nervous smile.
"Let's sit," Kylo said, summoning a bunch of cushions from the corner.
The Knights all deftly caught them and settled in a loose group, making sure there was no sense of Sahrsa vs the rest of them. With the way Sahrsa eyed them, it was clear the sentiment hadn't gone unnoticed.
"Sahrsa of Ren," Kylo started. "We have been evaluating your progress and have come to the conclusion that the effects of the chip haven't lessened and that your psychological well-being thus hasn't been improving."
"I apologise for my incompetence," Sahrsa said with a small bow.
"Oh no," Rey exclaimed. "We aren't blaming you. We would never."
Sahrsa eyed Rey, her face gone carefully blank.
"Wait," Shadow suddenly said, turning to Sahrsa. "Has anybody told you who she is by now?"
"Miss Rey," Sahrsa answered.
Dot glared at Rey. "You didn't tell her on day one?"
"It's not very important, now is it?" Rey countered.
"She wouldn't let me," Kylo dryly said at the same time.
Rogue snorted, then tried to cover it up with a cough.
"Sahrsa," Shadow said, some glee in her voice. "Meet Rey, our Supreme Leader's girlfriend, our Supreme Duchess, and former Resistance Force User."
The dumbfounded surprise on Sahrsa's face was most comical. She glanced at Rey, stared at Shadow, then turned to stare at Rey again, who gave a sheepish little wave. As quick as Sahrsa's surprise had appeared, it seemed to disappear into thin air, her face evening out into an impassive mask. It was disconcerting to watch and Kylo felt that sentiment echoed by Rey in their bond.
"I'm still just 'Miss Rey' though," Rey said. "We work and train together here so I don't see a need for my title, which is also why you weren't told earlier." Rey looked at the others. "It really isn't that important," she reiterated. "And it's not like people outside this base are even allowed to know."
"Yet," Kylo said.
"Hierarchy is important," Dot said.
"You sound like Derek," Rey commented.
"That's because it's true."
"Not here, among us."
"Yes it is."
"You're going to have to accept it at one point," Kylo intercepted.
"Ugh," Rey exclaimed, lightly smacking him on the arm.
Flock beeped once, a small warning, and, as one, all the Knights turned to regard Sahrsa.
"Sahrsa?" Shadow enquired.
Flock beeped again, more urgent this time.
"Sahrsa of Ren, I command you to tell us what you are thinking and feeling," Kylo said.
"Confused, sir," she immediately answered. "What's going on? This is not how I'm taught Knights are supposed to behave."
"Ah," Kylo said. "The rules are indeed much more relaxed here. I do not believe that the isolation as taught at Base Z has any merit."
"It's conflicting with the chip's echo, isn't it?" Rey asked.
Sahrsa merely looked at her and Rey quickly amended that she didn't have to answer her question.
"What we are going to tell you next will be even more shocking," Kylo ventured. "I need you to know you are not in any danger, nor at risk for punishment. You are free to express yourself in any way you wish and there will be no retaliation for it."
"Yes, sir," Sahrsa answered.
Kylo wasn't happy with the formality of the answer but guessed it was the best he would get. He took a steadying breath, and started explaining.
"I have already told you that this base is the new training base for the Knights. It was built partially because Base Z was an utter abomination, but also because I would like to redefine what it means to be a Knight. All Knights were Force sensitive as children-" He watched and worried as Sahrsa tensed but didn't allow it to cause him to falter. "-and it has been beaten out of you at Base Z. I no longer wish for that to happen. I wish to train the Knights in the Force, and reconnect those who've already lost it."
He gazed at Sahrsa, as did everybody else. Flock wasn't giving off any warning signals but Sahrsa was still as a statue.
"Sahrsa?" Rey eventually tried.
Flock beeped. "Heart rate going up, signs of distress rising," it said.
"You are safe," Kylo reiterated. "I know this is shocking, but you are safe. There is no punishment forthcoming."
"And it's true," Ember said. "He's speaking the truth."
"Do we show it to her?" Burman asked, clearly worried.
"Sahrsa of Ren," Kylo said in a commanding tone. "Would proof help ease your worries?"
Sahrsa finally moved to clutch a hand in her hair and to start rocking back and forth lightly. She squeezed her eyes shut but finally managed a croaked 'yes'. Ember immediately moved to sit in front of her so she wouldn't have to move to see, a dagger already in her outstretched hand. It remained where it was as she dropped her hand, then unsheathed, and dagger and sheath started a mock battle.
"You've gotten pretty good at this," Kylo said, seeing the ease with which Ember controlled the movements.
Ember shrugged. "It's a fun distraction when I'm bored," she admitted.
Sahrsa had stopped her rocking to stare at Ember's display with wide eyes. After a while, she turned those wide eyes to Shadow. Understanding the unspoken question, Shadow procured a knife of her own, causing it to float as well.
"I'm not as good at this as Ember," she said. "She's been doing this the longest."
"We are telling you about the Force," Kylo said as both Ember and Shadow reclaimed their weapons, "because we think it might be able to help you counter the chip's latent effects. In order to test this theory, I would have to reconnect you. If you agree to it, I can try to do so this afternoon. I say 'try' because there's never a hundred percent guarantee that I will manage to do so, although I haven't failed yet up to date. The reconnection is different for every person based on what caused them to break the connection in the first place."
"You don't have to answer now," Rey said. "Let it sink in. Think about it. Ask any questions you might have."
"Ember and I will stay with you the entire morning," Shadow said, surprising Kylo who didn't know about that decision, not that he thought it was something that necessarily needed to be reported. "Whenever you feel up to asking questions, you can."
"Stop fighting for now," Burman said, gentle. "Don't stress yourself too much."
Sahrsa looked at him. "You- You too?" she managed to ask.
"Yes, me too. All of us."
Sahrsa nodded, then closed her eyes. Her entire body seemed to still despite her fixing her slumped posture. Her face once more became an expressionless mask.
Shadow sighed. "Let's head to breakfast," she said.
When she and Ember stood, however, Sahrsa remained seated. Shadow blinked then turned to Kylo with a rueful smile.
"Supreme Leader, if you'd please?" she asked with a vague gesture to Sahrsa.
"Ah," he said. "Sahrsa of Ren, you are dismissed."
"Yes, sir," she said, devoid of emotion, before standing and obediently following Ember and Shadow.
"What do you all think?" Kylo asked as soon as they'd left.
"It could have gone worse," Rogue said. "It could have gone better."
None of the others added any commentary; even Rey stayed silent over their bond, gazing at the closed door with a complex expression on her face.
"Right," Kylo said, standing. "Let us head for breakfast as well, and hope for the best."