A/N: Hiya sorry again for the delay. Also sorry it's so short. I promise to update faster next time. I have a lot more time on my hands (I'm on holiday now) And I'm going to post more short chapters like this one so I don't have to connect so much and then I won't get stuck. Again I've lost my beta so if you see any gaping plot holes and stuff drop me a line. Anyhoo enough rambling from the author, enjoy.

For disclaimers and other stuff see previous chapters.

Trust I Seek
By
Devon

~&~

"Trust I seek and I find in you Every day for us something new Open mind for a different view And nothing else matters" ~ Nothing Else Matters Metallic

~&~

A knock at the door interrupted Billy's narrative. Liam reached out with the Force to unlock the door.

"It's open." A Healer entered the room. She was new and obviously nervous about meeting the infamous duo.

"Healer Martinez has requested that you report to the Healers wing for a check up."

"When?"

"As soon as possible."

"That means now." Liam muttered. "Come on lets get this over and done with." With feet as heavy as lead they followed the young Healer to Shay's lair.

~&~

Shay smiled when he saw them.

"Ahh. Hello and how are my two favourite people?"

"Fine."

"Mumph."

"What's that Liam you're mumbling."

"I said 'I'm fine' " Shay smiled. Billy and Liam exchanged worried looks. The Healer was far to happy, one could go as far as to say he looked pleased. This did not bode well for the pair.

"Right who's my first vic...ehrm... patient?"

"He is!" both men said simultaneously pointing at one another.

"Okay. Liam hop onto the bed."

"Why me?!"

"You're older." Shay turned to Billy who was sporting a smug expression. " Don't worry you'll get your turn." Billy slumped into one of the chairs, his smile gone. "Roll over." Shay instructed as he emptied the contains from a bottle into a syringe. The needle was huge and Liam's worry quickly grew into alarm. "Relax. Have I ever hurt you."

"Yes."

"When?"

"Every time I come here."

"So you'd prefer it if I didn't stitch your sorry butt back together after all of your unique accidents?" Shay jabbed the needle into Liam's backside causing him to wince in pain. "That wasn't so bad now was it?" Liam just glared at the healer. "Sit up and take off your tunic. I want to see how those ribs are doing." Liam did as he was told and winced, again, as he sat on his now sore behind. Shay gently probed the bruised area on Liam's chest. Liam wriggled. "I didn't press hard."

"No but your fingers are like ice." Shay simply shook his head and pressed a scanner over the broken ribs.

"The bones are knitting together nicely." He mused reading the results. "I still want you to rest and that means no sparring with Lore am I understood."

"Yes."

"Good you can get down. Next." Liam laughed at Billy's horrified expression. Billy in return lightly punched Liam's shoulder. "Now, Now I don't want any more injuries to treat. Roll over." Billy gulped. He really, really hated needles. The Healer was just as merciless with Billy as he had been with Liam.

"You're a sadist Shay." Liam observed.

"What makes you think that? Sit up. Tunic off." The Healer started removing the bandage covering Billy's side. The teen flinched.

"Your hands are COLD." Shay smirked as he continued to remove the bandage.

"Looking good." Billy looked down to examine his wound. It was not a pretty sight and it made the young man feel slightly queasy.

"If that's good I'd hate to see bad."

"Liam's had some interesting scrapes that we've taken holos of if you're interested." Billy paled.

"No thanks." Shay chuckled and picked up a tube of anti-septic cream which he rubbed into the wound. Billy released his breath in a hiss and jerked away.

"Hold still. Almost done." Shay slapped on more of the solve, "there finished." The healer rebandaged the wound. "I'm going to give you some of this solve and clean bandages. You must change the dressing every day, don't forget and don't get the dressings wet. I want you both back here two weeks from today. Now how are you for painkillers."

"Still going strong."

"Before I forget, Liam you have to go to conference room E for a briefing. All right that's everything. You're free to go. Just remember our date in two weeks."

"Don't worry we won't forget."

~&~

Liam returned from his meeting to find Billy sprawled on the couch with a pack of formally frozen Palla Beans covering the left side his face. Liam walked over to the couch to investigate. The youth had fallen asleep. Liam wondered why or how anyone could fall asleep with a pack of frozen anything in contact with their body. The boy stirred and opened his eyes. Well Liam assumed they were both open. He could not actually see the left eye as it was still hidden behind it's frozen vegetables.

"I thought you didn't like Palla Beans?"

"I don't."

"Then why are you sleeping with them?"

"Um. How was your meeting?" Liam knew his friend was trying to change the subject but he let it slide. They had more important things to discuss.

"Two droids crashed a few miles from here. Followed by shipload of imperial troops and they may have discovered Foxhole." Billy sat up in alarm, the Palla Beans slipping from his face. Liam raised an eyebrow.

"They know about us?"

"It's possible but we're going to leave Tatoonie soon. The heads are deciding the best course of action because our backup plan has been nullified..."

"Nullified? How?"

"The empire used it as a test subject for their new biological weapon. So we were discussing alternatives. The rest of the base will be briefed before the end of the week. Why do you have a black eye?"

"What? Oh." Billy's hand instinctively reached up to his swollen face. "I was... in a... scuffle." Liam just looked at Billy. "It wasn't my fault! I swear! I was trying to stop the fight..." He lowered his eyes. "But I just got in the way."

"Toss me those beans. They'll have to be refrozen. I only hope they don't go off. Come into the kitchen. I'll clean that cut."

"It's okay."

"Come here." Liam pulled a chair away from the table before grabbing the first aid kit which they now kept in the kitchen.

"I'm fine." There was a hint of annoyance in Billy's voice.

"Do you want me to reschedule your appointment with Shay for now?"

"I'm coming." Billy sat up stiffly and made his way slowly to the kitchen. Liam looked at his friend in concern. There was more here then met the eye.

"Take off your tunic."

"Why?"

"Because you're hurt."

"No I'm not." Liam prodded the youth causing him to jerk away.

"Ouch."

"I thought you weren't hurt."

"You just jabbed me in the ribs of cause it bloody well hurt!"

"I didn't jab you that hard. Tunic off."

"No."

"We can just pay our friendly healer a visit." Liam smirked slightly.

"That's blackmail." Billy begrudgingly removed his tunic.

"Gods what happened?"

"I was in a scuffle." Billy reiterated.

"Some scuffle." Liam let out a low whistle.

"Okay so I got hit a couple of times."

"Yeah and by the looks of it one of your attackers wares a size ten." Liam said leaning in a bit for a closer look.

"Huh?"

"Of cause that's just an estimate. To be sure I'd have to measure the shoe-print."

"All right so it was a bit rough."

"Just a bit?" Liam dug out some anti-septic salve and some bacta bandages. "What was the fi... um scuffle about." Billy sighed.

"One of them won a bet and the other refused to pay up."

"Why did they turn on you?" Liam began to clean Billy's wounds.

"Owe. You're worse than Shay."

"Nonsense." Liam gave Billy an evil grin. Swish, slap. " Why did they turn on you?"

"I just got in the way."

"Hmm." Liam was sceptical. "What was the bet about?" Swish, slap.

"Sith! The battle."

"The battle?" Swish, slap. Billy winced and jerked away from Liam who calmly pulled him back. Swish, slap.

"Yes."

"What about the battle?"

"Don't know." Billy forced out between clenched teeth.

"Do you realise it's almost impossible to lie to a Jedi?"

"Who says I'm lying?" Liam raised an eyebrow.

"The Force. Now what exactly was the bet about?"

"Me." Billy sighed realising that Liam would find out sooner or later because the base's grapevine worked faster than a ship in hyperspace. Swish.

"You?" Liam's hand paused in mid air

"Yes me."

"Why?" Slap.

"The one guy placed a bet with the other saying that I would not survive my first battle."

"So why did they turn on you?" Swish, slap.

"The odds were ten to one against and the bookie..."

"Bookie?"

"Yeah the guy who..."

"I know what a bookie is." Swish, slap.

"Oh. Well anyway the bookie was refusing to pay up and then the two started fighting so I stepped between them. You know to try and pull them apart. It worked for a bit but then the bookie realised who I was and well things get a little blurry from there."

"I see. Any idea who they are?" Swish, slap.

"No."

"Right." Swish, slap. "All done. Now I think it would be a good time for you to start you training..."

"But Shay said no strenuous activity."

"Yes and you have already disregarded his orders but not to worry being a Jedi isn't only about lightsabers. Today I'm going to teach you how to find your centre and meditate.."

"Meditation? Doesn't sound so bad."

"Famous last words." Liam mumbled to himself and he dug out two meditation mats. "Right sit down. Good. You are strong in the Force Billy but you need to focus your energy before you will be able to use the Force to help you. Do you understand? Good. before I teach you how to build a lightsaber you have to learn to release you emotions, like anger, into the Force. Remember when I told you that there are two sides to the Force, light and dark?"

"Yes."

"To attack in anger is to use the dark side of the Force. To be a Jedi you must learn to release your anger, fear, jealousy into the Force as this will help you find your calm centre. At the moment your emotions control you. What this exercise will do is teach you to let go of your feelings, your conscious self and help you learn to except your emotions so that they will no longer control you. Are you ready?"

"I think so."

~&~

"Stop fidgeting." Liam admonished the young man sitting next to him.

"We've been doing this for hours!"

"We've been doing this for fifteen minutes."

"Oh."

"Billy relax, now close your eyes. Clear your mind. Focus on the energy you feel around you. Let go of your conscious self."

Billy did as he was told, as best he could. The first thing he was aware of was a very strong, powerful presence. He knew it had to be Liam. It was very focused but very calm and comforting. Billy let his awareness brush against it and received an answering pulse of energy in return.

He turned his attention away from Liam. Billy found he could almost see the room around him so accurate was the picture the Force painted for him. He gently let his mind touch Liam's pot plant. It gave off a quiet sort of pulse. The plant was very peaceful. Billy found it relaxing.

Billy's senses left the plant. He carried on with his mental exploration and found the mouse he had suspected to be in the kitchen, nestled amongst the dried herbs. It's little presence filled the Force with something very different then aura of the plant. Instead of the calm relaxing energy of the planet, the mouse gave off a little bubble of happy playfulness. A smile formed on Billy's lips. He was glad he had not set the traps he had been planning to, despite how unhygienic the mouse's presence was. He decided to use the mouse as something to focus on and soon felt the calm of the Force fill him as he slipped into a deep meditation. It was the most relaxing sensation he had ever felt.

Liam opened his eyes and stretched once Billy had stopped fidgeting he had had quite an enjoyable meditation. He checked his crono three hours he was impressed most people just learning to meditate did not last more than half an hour. Liam looked over at Billy to congratulate the boy and found him slumped over on his meditation mat fast asleep. Fortunately the teen was not drooling. Liam gave a small rueful smile. He sent a Force suggestion to Billy to make sure he did not wake him and then gently put the teen to bed.

~&~

Liam was awoken sometime later by muffled cries. He sat up confused as to where they came from but then he realised that it was Billy. The Boy seemed to be in the grips of a terrible dream as he fought with his blankets. Liam heaved himself out of bed and quickly made his way to the struggling teen. He gently shook Billy's shoulder.

"Billy." There was no response, "I need you to wake up, young one." Billy's eyelids flew open. His eyes sort Liam's, the sliver-green orbs were awash with fear and confusion, the remnants of the dream. "It's all right. It was just a dream."

"Just a dream?" It was a whispered statement, so quite Liam barely heard it.

"Yes, just a dream." He nodded pushing the teen's damp hair off his face. Billy took a deep breath.

"I'm OK now."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Like you said, just a bad dream." Liam eyed the young man before him.

"You've had this dream before?" Silence. Liam thought that his friend was not going to answer him.

"Yes."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Again there was a long pause.

"Um I... I'm not sure it's a dream. I mean I know I'm dreaming but it's... it's...um"

"More like a memory?"

"Yes." The youth nodded his head vigorously. "It's something I should know but I can't quite remember and every time I try it just slips out of my reach. I... I remember the scene in the dream but I don't know how I got there or what happens afterwards. But it is getting longer."

"Tell me the dream maybe it will help."

"I..."

"Trust me." Billy caught his lower lip between his teeth. Liam lifted Billy's chin so that he was forced to meet his gaze. The uncertainty he read there was painful to behold. "Let me help you." Finally the boy nodded.

~&~

Billy found himself in a strange room; he was lying on a table with a bright light over head. The table felt cold to his bare back. He heard the voices of the people who surrounded him. He forced his eyes open despite the glare from the light.

"Ah good you're awake." The nearest figure spoke.

"Yts'an?" Billy's face a mask of confusion.

"Billy, did you know that testing the Tooklik antidote on sentient beings, even slaves is illegal? No of cause you didn't. Silly of me not to mention it before." He turned away from Billy, "is the antidote ready?"

"Yes Healer."

"Good." Yts'an smiled and he pulled his surgical mask over his mouth and nose. "In a few days a new law should be passed legalising testing, as long as you have the subjects consent of cause." Billy felt his mouth go dry.

"I haven't given you my consent."

"Uh but you have my young friend. Those papers you signed were not for your release. You should read things through before you sign them."

"I trusted you."

"Another mistake. You shouldn't go around just trusting everyone. Especially when you are a slave. You are much to trusting my young friend. You'll find that there are many people out there who will take advantage of your trusting nature. You should know more about someone before you give them your trust and even then they can surprise you. Do you think I have lived this long by trusting people? Of cause not but enough of this. You know the effects of the poison?"

"Yes." Billy swallowed, forcing down his fear.

"Good. The antidote has similar effects and some say slightly more painful. But what's a small amount pain when compared to your life? Before we can give you the antidote we have to administer the poison. If we did it the other way round, not only would there be no point to the exercise but the antidote would probably kill you." Billy pulled on the ropes that held him to the table. " The effects of the antidote were published by the investigation committee that closed down all laboratories involved in the testing. So as you can imagine we have few willing volunteers."

"You can't do this." Billy felt panic rise inside him and pulled desperately at his bonds. Yts'an smiled beneath his mask.

"Relax Billy. Apparently it's less painful if you're calm. Don't worry the straps will stop you from hurting yourself to badly." Yts'an nodded to the nurse near a console at the other side of the room. Billy felt a slight prick in his arm where his bracelet was. At first there was nothing but then he could feel a soft burning sensation in the pit of his stomach and slowly it started to spread across the rest of his abdomen.

A flash caught Billy's eye and a needle came into view; he was transfixed by the syringe. He watched as the hand holding it gently pushed the plunger up causing tiny droplets to appear at the needle's tip. The hand brought it towards him in what seemed like slow motion.

"Because this is your first time we will administer the antidote before the pain really kicks in and then the next time, if you survive, we will give you the antidote a bit later and so forth." Billy's panic consumed him and he tried to get away. The needle moved closer and closer. Laughter echoed in his ears as he struggled helplessly against the shackles which held him in place. A rough hand gripped his arm tightly, stopping its movement. Billy felt the cold steel of the needle enter his arm and a chill ran down his spine. He could feel the path the liquid traced through his veins. The burning in his abdomen intensified and moved along his arms and down his legs. His body felt as if it were on fire. Billy gritted his teeth against the pain refusing to scream. Suddenly the pain was gone as if it had never been there. Billy wondered if the ordeal was over but the doctors were still watching him intently. He closed his eyes preparing himself for a fresh onslaught of pain. Nothing happened. Then he felt something touching his skin. He opened his eyes to see what it was. There was nothing there but he could feel the tickling fingers covering his body. He struggled to free his hands so he could push it away. It reached his hands and he clawed at his palms trying to get rid of whatever it was that was touching them. Then the pain returned taking him by surprise. It was more intense then before and much, much worse. A scream ripped from his throat, leaving his breathing ragged. Tears fought their way out from under tightly shut lids. Billy thrashed wildly against his bonds. Then it was gone but he could still feel its echo.

"An unfortunate side affect." Yts'an's unsympathetic voice broke through Billy's pain filled haze. The Healer sounded quite pleased. "One of the effects of Tooklik is that it melts your organs so before we know for sure whether the antidote was successful we have to make sure you're all in one piece. We cannot give you an anaesthetic because when mixed with the antidote death often results." He reached for an injection. "This will cause temporary paralyses in your muscles so that you won't hinder our operation. Everything else however will remain functional."

"Why?" It was no more than a whisper.

"For science, my dear boy. For science." Yts'an slid the injection into Billy's vein. Billy tried to pull away from the needle but his bonds held him fast. Billy's struggles started to slow until they eventually stopped; the injection had taken full effect. Billy's terrified eyes darted from mask to mask. Yts'an held scalpel in Billy's line of sight, its sharp blade gleaming in the light. Yts'an moved his hand and the scalpel disappeared only to be followed by indescribable pain. Billy's lax muscles did not even allow him the solace of being able to scream. He was relieved when the soft comfort of unconsciousness finally claimed him.

~&~

"He's coming to." a voice broke through Billy's foggy senses.

"It's about time."

"Healer Yts'an?..."

"What?!"

"The Tooklik Bill... not... passed..."

"I heard you...."

"The authorities... on... way..."

"... time... have?"

"Ten minutes..."

" Yts'an... used... witness..."

" Give me... device..." A bright flash shone through Billy's closed eyelids and then he fell back into the arms of unconsciousness.

~&~

Liam listened quietly to Billy's narrative, without interruption, until the boy had finished.

"You said you remember a bright flash?"

"I think so."

"It seems, well I think, they gave you a memory wipe."

"Why? What could I have possibly done to them? I was just a slave no one would have listened to me, let alone believed me."

"In most cases you're right, I hate to admit, but the name Yts'an sounds familiar. He was probably caught for malpractice before and that would have worked in your favour. He probably didn't want to take any risks. Were you with the Baron Natacka before you met Yts'an?"

"I don't know. I don't remember ever actually meeting Yts'an." There was hint of frustration in Billy's voice.

"It's all right don't worry about it." Liam rubbed his chin in thought. "I'm an idiot. You couldn't have met the Baron before Yts'an. If I'm right and Yts'an gave you a memory wipe you wouldn't remember the Baron. If fact you can probably thank this Yts'an guy for you not being able to remember your past." Liam said triumphantly.

"Is there a way to reverse the effects of the memory wipe?"

"Sometimes things related to a person's past - places, people that sort of

thing - are mentioned or visited, it can trigger their memories. It doesn't always happen but it is possible. Do you remember anything before you arrived at Amnank?"

"Nothing much only vague images." Liam nodded his encouragement for Billy to continue. "I don't know... um," his brow scrunched up as he concentrated, his eyes closed. "A woman, I remember a woman. She had purple hair, long. I think. A large gold mask covered most of her face and she wore a big red collar..."

"Anything else?"

"No." Billy sighed and shook his head.

"It's a start."

"This memory wipe how does it work?"

"I'm not actually sure how it works." The Jedi Master admitted, "but we can find out in the morning. Right now however it's late and we both need sleep." Billy opened his mouth to argue but Liam forestalled him. "Sleep." He said with more than a little Force compulsion and Billy fell back onto his bed like a felled tree.

*************

Yts'an in nasty spelt backwards and you gotta love Force whammies. :)