Two days later, the same day as the mice arrived, the third Knight woke up. It caused a flurry of activity, from making sure that third Knight was okay to promptly deciding to reconnect the second one that same afternoon so Reor could unchip the next immediately after the third one left the med bay.
As with Sahrsa, Kylo could not communicate with the Knight while he was in their head. Where Sahrsa's mind had been a forest, this Knight's mind was more abstract, like a globe of stars. Still, there was a distinct difference between before and after the chip got implanted, with a dead zone in between.
It took him several hours to locate what he needed to reconnect them to the Force, working well into the night. The backlash and the headache he experienced were just as grave as with Sahrsa, if not even a bit worse. Luckily though, they were well-prepared for both him almost passing out and the storm-like chaos that followed the reconnection.
As soon as it settled, Reor marched in to take care of both Kylo and the Knight, after which Phasma and Ember helped Kylo up and to his chambers. He hated how vulnerable he was and how weak it must make him look, but even with the meds he couldn't bear to open his eyes. Rey was a ball of worry, combined with annoyance for not being big enough to be the one supporting him. He found the latter quite endearing.
Despite having said that she would leave after the first reconnection, Phasma stayed at the Base a while longer, muttering about some things that hadn't turned out as she'd hoped during the blackout and changing protocols. She postponed the trip to the Supremacy for after another cycle of reconnection and unchipping.
She, as well as the Knights, kept a sharp eye on the trainees but, unsurprising, their training had been thorough and they made no mistakes. None of them complained about missing training and instead seemed to take up their new task with eagerness, despite it being nothing more than guarding a door.
The research team took on testing the helmet with the mice in it the day after the reconnection, not wanting to risk that the outage would cause an unforeseen result. Their report arrived on Kylo's desk the next morning, detailing their tests and the results.
They had taken the mice and put them under the helmet, allowing them to roam freely so they would touch the sides. They had put on the force field at different strength levels and for different durations, checking the mice for any signs of discomfort or disorientation. They'd even gone so far as to assemble an entire Trooper's uniform, equip it with a small cage, and put the helmet on to be sure the addition of the rest of the uniform wouldn't somehow influence the helmet's results.
All tests were cleared and no adverse effects were noticed on any of the mice. The report politely requested further testing with the Force itself. That was how Kylo and Rey found themselves back at the research lab where Rey promptly started cooing over the little creatures.
"They're so cute," she exclaimed.
One of the researchers unobtrusively passed Rey a small, tin box with what looked like food pellets. Rey took one and held it through the bars of the cage. One of the mice, clearly used to being handled, quickly scurried over and started nibbling, causing Rey to giggle. The other mice soon caught on and came over as well.
"Give me your hand," the same researcher from before told Rey.
Dropping the remainders of the pellet in the cage, Rey did as she was asked. The researcher upended part of the contents of the tin box in Rey's hand and opened the top of the cage. As if the mice knew what was about to happen, most of them looked up, some standing on their hind legs, noses twitching.
"Go on," the researcher said. "Put your hand in and keep it flat. They won't bite."
With a wide grin, Rey lowered her hand into the cage. She giggled again when the mice climbed all over her to get to the food.
"Ben, can we adopt them?" she laughed.
"And how do you plan to keep them safe from Millicent?"
"Oh, right," Rey muttered. "Better not."
The entire team waited patiently for the mice to eat their fill, and thus for Rey's fun to end, before officially starting their testing. It didn't take long though as, similar to the metal block in their previous tests, the mouse in the helmet disappeared entirely from Kylo and Rey's mind's eye. It wasn't any less disconcerting than before. When they started testing with the entire suit, it quickly became clear that the mouse only became 'invisible' when it was inside the helmet.
"That's not really surprising," Rey concluded, "but I wonder how someone wearing the entire outfit would feel like with the Force." She shuddered. "Imagine all the Guard feeling like headless people," she said, semi-joking, semi-serious.
"Uhm, I guess we'd get used to it?" Kylo ventured.
Rey laughed and shook her head with mirth. "We'll only know when someone puts the suit and helmet on though," she said.
"I'll put on this suit," Juan said.
Kylo raised an eyebrow at him.
"I'm certain nothing will go wrong but, in that very small case that it does, better me than them?" Juan explained with a shrug. "I'm willing to take on this responsibility."
"Very well," Kylo said. "Let's have you experience some mind tricks first."
Juan swallowed and looked at Rey pleadingly. "My actions are in your hands," he said. "Please don't embarrass me."
Rey smiled a slow, sly smile before bursting out in laughter again at Juan's anxious face.
"Don't worry," Kylo said. "Just a few simple commands." He stepped forward. "Jump three times, turn once clockwise, jump three times again, turn once counterclockwise, then sit down and forget what you did."
Juan's eyes glazed over and he went through Kylo's commands. Once he sat down he blinked and looked surprised.
"Why am I sitting down?" It seemed to dawn on him. "What did I do?"
"You jumped and made a few turns," a researcher supplied.
"Thank the stars," Juan mumbled.
"You don't trust us?" Kylo asked, throwing weight into his words but not meaning them at all.
"Yes, sir. Of course I do, sir," he hastily answered. "It's just…very disconcerting."
"Undoubtedly," Kylo agreed. "Do you know how to put on the suit?"
"Uhm." Juan gazed at the suit, then at the other researchers, who looked just as lost as him. "I know how to put it on its stand?"
Kylo huffed a laugh before calling out to Phasma. "Juan is going to put on the suit," he explained once she entered the room. "Come help me with it."
"Sir," Juan protested. "I can't possibly ask you to-"
"It will be faster than you bumbling about," Kylo interrupted him.
"Ah, yes, sir," Juan uneasily agreed.
Rey and the other researchers turned their backs to give Juan some privacy as he stripped to his underwear.
"It might chafe here and there without the bodysuit," Phasma said.
"It's only for a little while," Juan's answer came. "I'm not exactly planning on getting into a fight."
"You wouldn't last," Phasma dryly commented, earning her a snort from Kylo.
"Okay," he finally said, signaling the others that they could turn around again. "I'll leave the helmet to one of you."
Two researchers stepped forward and helped Juan to put on the helmet, checking locks and connections before stepping away again.
"Is the shield on?" Rey asked.
"No," Juan answered, sounding slightly mechanical. "It's so weird in here… Testing turning on the shield now." There was a pause. "Shield on, I think?"
"Why aren't we testing this with a Guard, sir?" Phasma asked.
"Juan wished to take responsibility in the off case something would still go wrong despite their testing with the mice," Kylo answered.
Phasma nodded. "I see," she said, respect clear in her tone.
"The shield is on according to our readings," one of the researchers confirmed.
"You want to place a bet on your headless-person hypothesis?" Kylo asked Rey.
"What else could it be?" Rey countered.
"I have no idea."
"Guess I'll win then," Rey said, grinning. Kylo could feel her reach for the Force before she exclaimed in surprise.
"And?"
"I don't know," she muttered. "Semi-headless?"
"What?"
"Try."
He reached for the Force himself, then squinted. He could clearly sense Juan. His limbs and torso were clearly there but his head both was and wasn't. The only thing Kylo could compare it with was as if Juan's body was rendered in HD but the quality of his head's image had plunged into prehistoric resolutions.
"Weird, isn't it?" Rey prompted.
"Uncomfortable," Kylo agreed.
"Does this mean I won?"
"What?"
"The bet," Rey clarified. "I won, didn't I?"
"He isn't entirely headless," Kylo protested, despite that they never agreed about what they were betting for.
"But almost. Good enough for me."
"Of course that's good enough for you; you would be the one winning."
"I still think this counts as headless."
To their side, Phasma cleared her throat.
"Right," Kylo said, getting back to business. "How to explain this?"
"At the Resistance, we used to watch funny fail clips," Rey said. "Sometimes people other than the ones the clip was about had their heads pixelated so they wouldn't be recognised. That's what he looks like." She concluded her explanation with a vague wave at Juan.
"My head is pixelated?" Juan asked, sounding incredulous.
"Pretty much," Kylo agreed. "To the Force, at least."
"Can you find enough of his head to control him?" Phasma asked.
Kylo threw her a look before reaching out. "I'm not sure," he muttered a moment later. "Walk in a square, three steps each side," he commanded Juan. "Then forget what you did."
"Respectfully, sir, I'd rather not," Juan answered.
"Quicksilver is going to be so pissed," Rey said.
"Let's get him in here," Kylo said, to which Phasma immediately nodded. "He's the expert in this, after all."
"He should be here shortly," Phasma announced. "He was training the Force trainees."
"Perfect," Kylo said before turning to the researchers. "Is there anything specific that was changed to the helmet to accommodate the shield?" he asked them. "Has it added to the weight?"
"Some mechanical components have been rearranged but none impact its use, sir," Juan answered. "The change in weight is only a couple of grams. I doubt it will be noticed."
"What about the energy consumption?"
"It is true that the suit demands more energy now, yes," Juan answered. "It will have to be charged a day earlier than regular Trooper suits. Does that pose a problem?"
Kylo turned to Phasma.
"Not that I can foresee now," Phasma answered. "They're Guard. The likelihood that they'll go on long-term missions is slim."
"Quicksilver is here," Rey said.
Kylo, who had sensed his approach as well, turned to regard the door as it slid open. Quicksilver's eyes immediately zoned in on Juan, his brow furrowed. For the longest time, he just stood there, frowning.
"That," he finally said, narrowing his eyes, "is not how things are supposed to be."
"Good," Kylo answered. "You're here to further test it. Juan, tell us when Quicksilver disappears from view."
"Yes, sir."
Silence reigned as Quicksilver's usually pretty stoic face turned downright frustrated.
"What have you done?" he demanded from Kylo. "I do not like this."
If the straightforwardness of his words was any indication, Quicksilver was definitely 'pissed', as Rey had put it earlier.
"I guess it's not working?" Rey prompted.
"No," Quicksilver said through clenched teeth.
"Well then," Kylo concluded. "The helmet is a definite success." He turned to Quicksilver. "This is the helmet for the Guard I told you guys about," he explained. "The one that would render them immune to mind tricks. As the number of Force users will rise, my Guard must be able to fight them on all fronts. There's no use in having a battle tactic when people like you can just disappear from their view."
Behind him, Phasma was helping one of the researchers to get the helmet off of Juan, asking questions of her own. Juan suddenly cursed.
"Where did he go?"
"Really?" Rey asked Quicksilver, who had a microscopic-but-definitely-there, smug smile shaping his lips.
"Oh, he's still here," Juan muttered.
Quicksilver turned his gaze on Rey, who merely shook her head at him.
"You can go back to the trainees, Quicksilver," Kylo said.
After a salute, the Knight left. Kylo waited until Juan was again fully dressed in his usual attire before they started talking about production cost and timing.