It was an hour before dinnertime when Phasma walked into the Knights' Force training. It was the most disorganised training they'd had in a very long time, the Knights repeatedly switching between hyper-focussed and utterly distracted, but as Kylo felt equally tense he didn't comment on it. Instead, he kept himself distracted from his worries by keeping Rey occupied.
"Sir," Phasma said, loud enough for the entire room to hear. "Reor has finished the operation."
It was as if a switch had been turned. All movement halted, a few objects dropping dead from where they'd been floating only adding to the eery effect.
"Any news?" Kylo asked.
"No, sir. He told Matt that he'll wait for you in his office to give you a full update of the operation."
"I'm not summoned?" Quicksilver asked.
"No," Phasma answered, her tone conveying how that worried her as well.
Tension in the room skyrocketed with everybody fearing the worst.
"I'll update you as soon as I have more news," Kylo told the Knights. "Either back here or at dinnertime, depending on how long this will take. No news doesn't necessarily mean bad news."
He said the last bit in an attempt to calm himself as much as to calm the Knights. Without further ado, he strode out of the room, Rey hot on his heels. His strides were long enough that Rey practically had to jog to keep up but she didn't complain, just as nervous to know what was going on as he was.
They walked past the med bay which Matt was still guarding. Kylo frowned at him in confusion.
"Sir," Matt said. "The Knight is still inside. That is all I know. The medic asked me to stay and inform him of any sound from inside."
Rey let out a breath of relief. "She's still alive," she muttered.
"She must be," Kylo agreed. "Come on. Let's get that explanation."
Reor's office was just around the corner and he was busy typing when they entered. He looked tired but otherwise not too grave.
"Good, you're here," he said as he looked up. "I'll cut to the chase. Sahrsa survived and her brain activity seems normal but she isn't waking up. I can't explain why."
"Meaning?" Kylo demanded, just barely preventing himself from snapping.
Reor shook his head. "It could be that her brain needs time to rearrange, in a manner of speaking, now that the chip is gone; it could be that something vital has been cut off and she'll never wake up again. Despite our advanced medicine, a lot is still unknown about how the brain works. Which is why creating a chip like this is such an unethical thing." He scrunched his nose in disgust. "Probably one that had quite a few experiments too."
"Experiments?" Rey echoed, eyes wide. "On what?"
"Not what," Kylo muttered, disgusted. "Whom."
His own horror was echoed through the bond, intensifying it to the point that he felt he might be sick.
"What can be done for Sahrsa?" Rey managed to ask.
"We wait," Reor said. "We wait and hope she wakes up."
"What about the operation itself?" Kylo asked. "How did it go, apart from the fact that she's not waking. Did it go as you planned?"
Reor hummed. "There were no unexpected occurrences," he said. "There's some scar tissue that might cause problems if it's worse with any of the other Knights. From what I gathered, the insertion of the chip was done very precisely. There's no guarantee, however, that the precision of the procedure won't worsen the further back in time we go."
"You think they learned along the way," Kylo commented.
"It is a possibility," Reor agreed.
"You can't discern that beforehand?"
"I'll try to get a more detailed image of any scar-tissue before I operate on the other Knights but it's still only an image. It can tell me where it is and how much of it is there; it cannot tell me how much it will hinder the operation. I'm working on their brains. A small cut can have major consequences."
Kylo dragged a hand through his hair. "So, we know nothing," he concluded.
"Not until Sahrsa wakes; if she wakes," Reor agreed, sounding tired.
The three of them were silent for a while, letting the situation sink in.
"We must tell the others," Rey eventually said.
Kylo nodded. "Let me know immediately if something changes," he said. "I'll make sure one of the Guard continues to keep watch at Sahrsa's door in case she wakes up disoriented and decides to attack." Kylo paused. "No matter whether she wakes or not, I don't doubt that you did your utmost," he added to Reor.
Reor inclined his head in acceptance of Kylo's words, looking even more tired than when they'd arrived. Without further ado, Kylo and Rey left his office. Phasma tilted her head slightly as they emerged back into the hallway.
"Essentially," Kylo said to the unspoken question, "Sahrsa is in a coma."
"There's no guarantee she'll wake up," Rey added, sounding sad.
Kylo took her hand and squeezed it. "We knew this could happen," he told her. "And not all hope is lost. This is a Knight we're talking about. She's strong. We must believe that she'll wake up."
Rey nodded at him with a wobbly smile.
"The Knights won't like this," Phasma said.
"It is what it is," Kylo answered. "We'll go tell them now. Make sure a Guard remains at Sahrsa's door. We don't know what state she'll be in if she wakes. I'd rather not have her go on a rampage."
"Understood, sir."
When they informed the Knights, their reactions were understandably grim. Tension remained high within the Base. Sparring sessions between the Knights, and even between the Knights and the Guard, at times turned downright vicious. Kylo cautioned them once not to cause unnecessary injury and then let them be. He understood.
Despite the fact that the trainees had also picked up on the gloomy mood—the Guard standing at the med bay's door was difficult to miss—Kylo reconnected one of them to the Force. Seeing that seemed to pull Mako out of whatever corner in his mind he'd dug himself in, and he finally engaged more during Force training.
The three Force trainees quickly became frustrated when summoning pillows didn't turn out to be as easy as they'd expected. Yet, they were all stubborn and refused to give in. One evening, Rey told Kylo with a huge smile that Sonea's pillow had wobbled and that the others had loudly exclaimed with joy and encouragement. Rey was still grinning when she added they'd quickly realised that they'd lost composure, had looked at her with fear and obviously expecting at least a reprimand if not a punishment, only to end up staring in utter confusion when she'd not batted an eye and instead had reacted much the same way.
They both agreed it was a good sign. It seemed the friendly atmosphere, combined with the Force Knights themselves displaying a more relaxed attitude, was succeeding in allowing the trainees to let go of the isolating principles that had been ingrained in them at Base Z.
Eventually, more than a week had passed when Phasma unexpectedly strode into Kylo's office mid-morning.
"She's waking," was all Phasma said.
Kylo was out of his chair and through the door in record time. Rey's tablet had fallen into the pillows with a soft thud as she flitted to his side. They tried not to run, to at least seem like they were simply going somewhere, but after no less than ten meters they gave up. A downright confusing mixture of emotions flowed through their bond, only adding to their anxiety, and they sped up to a jog. Phasma followed without complaint.
When they arrived, Lesa was standing at the door.
"I apologise, sir," she said. "Medic Reor told me to ask you not to enter unless he specifically allows it or if he shouts for help. He said it's better for Knight Sahrsa to wake up in a controlled environment with not too many people."
Kylo gazed at her, then at the closed door, and grit his teeth, working his jaw.
"We should respect him," Rey said, shifting her weight from side to side, betraying her own restlessness. "He knows best."
The following fifteen minutes easily ranked within the top five worst fifteen minutes of Kylo's life. He wanted to know what was going on. He started pacing the hallway while Rey continued to hop from one foot to the other, her eyes never straying from the closed door. Lesa and Phasma merely looked on, not saying a word.
When the door opened, all four of them snapped to attention though.
"She's awake and sane," was the first thing Reor said.
"But?" Kylo asked, sensing something was off.
"She's definitely disoriented. From what I gather, the last thing she remembers is going into surgery to have the chip implanted."
"Oh," Rey breathed. "Nothing between then and now?"
Reor shook his head. "Not at the moment. It might return but, given the chip's nature, I have very little hope for it."
"Anything else?" Kylo asked.
"Her thinking is slow but I'm confident that will improve over time. I tested her for pain-reaction and she flinched, which is definitely good, but the reaction itself caused her great distress. I suspect some effects of the chip are lingering, causing her to believe she should not have responded to the pain and feeling alienated from her own body when she did. Only time and maybe some further testing will tell us how much of the chip's influence remains."
"Does she remember her past?" Rey asked.
"I didn't ask and I would request you don't either for the time being. We don't want to stress her brain more than is absolutely necessary. She just woke up in a strange environment, not recognising me at all, not knowing what happened, and missing a big chunk of her memories while mind and body no longer seem aligned."
Kylo watched as Rey frowned before her features shifted into a look of sympathy.
"Is she in pain?" Kylo asked. "The wound was healing well, you reported; has anything changed?"
"A headache, which is to be expected. I've given her some mild pain medication. I'm wary of giving her something stronger since those tend to slow down brain activity, which is something we wish to avoid right at this moment. By the time I asked about the wound on her neck specifically, she'd stopped talking and refused to answer."
"Lingering effects of the chip," Kylo stated.
"I assume so. You could order her to answer but I don't deem it necessary. The wound looks to be healing nicely, so I don't believe it gives her more trouble than what is to be expected. You can go see her, if you wish."
Kylo nodded and was about to step past Reor when Rey spoke up. "Can she be left alone?"
"What exactly are you asking, Miss Rey?"
"She can't be housed with the other Base Knights," Rey clarified. "But can she be left alone? Is it safe for her to have a room of her own?"
"Ah," Reor hummed, clearly thinking about it. "Someone should definitely check on her regularly," he eventually said. "Just to make sure, although I don't expect any medical issues to arise. Still, it's better to be sure. My main concern, however, are those lingering effects of the chip. There's no predicting how it will affect her behaviour and if she's capable of taking care of herself. Either way, I would like her to stay in the med bay for another night so I can keep an eye on her."
Kylo frowned at the implications. "We need to talk this through with Hux and Ember," he said to Phasma. "Request their presence in my office in half an hour."
"Yes, sir."
With a nod for both Reor and her, he took Rey's hand and walked into the med bay.