Chapter 11

When she next woke, the sun was just starting to rise with the sky turning a pinkish-grey color. The fire was still smoldering, but it had been put out ages ago it seemed. One of the men, the older one with the slight stubble was gone. The other one, the younger man with raven hair and a strong jawline, sat staring at the sky with longing.

Kai shifted a bit. She caught her breath when the man whipped his attention over to her. She couldn't help but become captivated by the man's gaze.

A gaze that she remembered seeing in the older Clones and older Jedi.

A gaze that had seen many hardships, cried too many tears for too many lost comrades.

A gaze…...not too much unlike her own.

"Who…. who are you?" she asked. The tremble in her voice was very unlike her, but she was tired, hungry and was Force-knows-where. Far from the confident and jovial tone that she used on a near basis. The man moved towards her and she scooted away. "Stay away! I will kill you if you try anything. Don't try me, man!"

He moved forward still, but slower this time.

Kai prepared herself for a fight. Her jaw set in determination and her breath caught in her throat. The man was looking at her closely, almost to the point of uncomfortableness. She could practically smell some sort of smoke on his breath that clung to him.

"Whatar veval texna?" he asked. Her frustration reached its peak as she shoved herself further away from him.

"I. Don't. Know. What. You're. Saying." She spat out.

Despite her efforts, tears started to fall. Kai just wanted to go home, back to the Jedi Temple where she could eat and bathe regularly, where food was always available and she always had company. Just her luck that she got caught out here on this nowhere planet with no way off it and surrounded by people who didn't even speak her language.

Much to her shame, Kai started to cry.

She didn't want to be a warrior. She was just a kid, Force sakes.

The stress of being sick, of almost dying was getting to her. And now she had no idea where her ship, the only way she could find a way to get home, was.

"I just wanna go home." She wailed. Her vision blurred by tears she glanced up and watched the man shift away from her. "What're gonna do with me? Huh? You gonna…...you gonna take me back to-to a lab or something? Dissect me?"

"Hea, calia daium." The man ordered, sounding almost comforting. A moment later, Kai spotted the other man walk up to them, holding a brown paper bag.

"Quinn, meechal veras?" He asked. The man dropped the bag and dashed over to her. Kai recoiled from his touch, tears still falling from her eyes.

"Deena, Doc. Pulkae mukaanlu tearling. Becar noomal."

"Arrrellin…yooueek…oookalay?"

Kai blinked, thinking that she understood…...something he was saying. She sighed the thought away. "If you're asking if I'm alright, my shoulder still hurts a lot."

She rubbed at her shoulder, where the bullet had entered and winced a bit. The man nodded slowly, and, with gentle fingers, removed the wrappings. Kai crinkled her nose at the slightly inflamed and slightly smelly wound.

Though, the good news is that it was looking much better than when she last took care of it.

Kai diverted her gaze. The man started to gently prod at the wound and she grunted a bit with clenched teeth.

"I'm gonna be sick." She muttered through her teeth. Her stomach turned but there wasn't anything inside her stomach to expulse. Finally, the man stopped his prodding, yanking off the old bandages. Kai sat there for a moment, dutifully still while the man washed out and rebandaging the wound. She glanced up when she was sure the man was finished. The teen watched him as he rifled around in his bag.

"Veral amphaibum, su clucka manin filash." He handed her a package that looked like freeze-dried fish. While the fish didn't look that fresh, Kai wasn't about to be a choosing beggar. Her stomach growled angrily as she ripped open the package and quickly chowed down on it. It settled heavily in her stomach, and while it didn't have any flavor to it except for the natural saltiness, Kai didn't mind.

"Wow." The younger man muttered. Kai glanced his way before glancing at the older man, noting his curious and inquisitive gaze.

"Well, thank you gentlemen for helping me, but I really must get going." She stood only for the younger man to block her path. "Get outta my way."

"Youdal areva jeraz." He said. Kai may not know what he was saying, but she got the tone.

You're not going anywhere.

"I'd like to see you try to stop me." She challenged. She got up into his face, stared him down with as much ferocity as she could manage in her tired state. "I'm a Jedi, pal. And if you don't get out of my way, I'm going to slam you into the tree. Which won't be too hard considering everything."

The man just looked at her blankly. Breaking eye contact first, he glanced over at his companion before laughing.

"Ter malki vear-na shuadel." With the palm of his hand, he pushed her back. And taking that as an act of aggression, Kai leapt up in defense, only to find herself held back by the older gentleman.

"Ekas! Wevarl omael taif tel keaval!"

"Let me at'em! LET ME AT'EM!" Kai growled angrily as she tried to fight the man holding her back. "I'll show you a what-for!"

She eventually tired herself out, finding herself pouting as she was being watched by the two men closely.

"Suel Doc," the young man said, breaking the silence, "wuvalex we're-vu gonna do-ux acarul exru?"

Kai blinked. She understood about three words in that sentence. It seems that, maybe through the Force or something, she was starting to understand them. Kai didn't really know how the Force worked and she doubted that anyone in the Jedi Temple really knew how the Force worked.

Maybe if she….

An idea came to mind.

While the men chatted, she crossed her legs into a meditative position. Kai took a deep breath as she closed her eyes. She imagined herself as a beacon of the Force, letting it swirl around herself as though it was a hurricane and she was the eye. Kai felt it push and pull like the tide during a full moon. The teen then envisioned a string being attached her, sending out tendrils out to the two men, connecting them with her. She didn't open her eyes until-

"-on't work!"

Her eyes opened and she grinned hugely.

"I'm telling you, Doc, this creature doesn't understand us and we don't understand it." The younger man was arguing. "Besides, we're on a schedule here. The generals want a report by Saturday, which, need I remind you, is only three days. What are we supposed to do by then?"

"Depends on whatca need." The teenager giggled when she saw the men whip their head towards her and their faces! Kai wished she had a camera, so that she could capture and keep forever the looks of surprise. "You guys look hilarious!"

"How-?"

"How can I understand you and vice-versa all of the sudden?" Kai shrugged as she stood. "No clue. But I guess since we're connected through the Force now, we can understand each other."

"Uhhh-"

"Don't worry, I don't understand it either. The Force is mysterious like that." Kai stood, wincing at her aggravated wound. "So, now that we can talk properly, I want to thank you for taking care of my wounds. I would be up a creek without a paddle without your help."

"Not a problem." The older man muttered, his face still showing his shock. His mouth opened and closed, and Kai found herself comparing him to a fish. Finally, he managed to remember how his voice worked, "Uh…. well, uh, h-how's your, uh…. shoulder?"

Kai giggled again. "Hurts like all get out. But I suppose that's what happens when I go and get myself shot. Though, I guess I'm used to getting shot at."

"I can't believe we're talking to this creature!" The younger man murmured. But Kai heard it and she scrunched up her face at the obvious question.

"Uh this creature has a name, thank you very much!" She shot back.

"Oh really?" the young man commented, borderline sarcastically. "And just what is it?"

"Kai. Kai Leanne of the Jedi Order." She gave a (more than) slightly haughty bow. When she straightened, her head cocked sideways and she studied the two in front of her. "What are your names?"

"I'm Doctor Allen Hynek," the older gentleman introduced, holding his hand out for a shake. Kai took it.

"So, you're a man of medicine?"

"Eh, not really. I'm a professor of astronomy."

"Oh." Her eyes turned towards the other man. "And you, good sir?"

"I'm not at liberty to say."

Kai smirked. "Military man. Judging from your…. tenseness in your voice and your almost immediate answer being something along the lines of 'it's classified information'. You're used to repeating that, so someone high enough on the chain of command that you used that saying enough."

She saw a flicker of uncertainty pass on his face. His body language tensed and Kai saw the muscles in his jaw tighten. She was almost there.

Her mind went back to a specific person in her past.

A man, a soldier who served underneath the most powerful man in the Jedi Order, who had the exact same reaction when he was being questioned. A smile decorated her face as it hit her.

"A captain?"

The good doctor laughed, a husky sound. "She's got you there."

"Fine. Okay." The younger man relented. "Captain Michael Quinn."

"Well, I outrank you then."

"You? Outrank me?"

"I was a commander not too long ago." Kai admitted.

"You're barely twelve."

Kai bristled at the doctor's comment. "Actually, I'm fourteen, thank you very much. And someone told me once that experience outranks everything. Judging from the primitiveness of your dress and, uh, your town, you guys don't have that much experience."

"Primitiveness?" Doctor Hynek asked.

"If you're so advanced why did you end up here?"

Kai's face scrunched up in annoyance, her eyes scanning the terrain, "My ship was damaged in a battle. Nothing is infallible, especially starfighters. I was just lucky to get pulled out of hyperspace and not burn up on reentry. Or...explode and have my ashes scattered to the four corners of the galaxy. Only problem now is that, well, the ship's damaged far beyond what I can do without any ports or repair shops."

She glanced upward towards the sky, noting that they had been talking for well past noon.

"I need to get back to my ship."

"Got your mothership coming?"

"I wish." Kai snorted. "But no. If I do want to get off this place, then I'm going to have to fix my in-ship communications."

"Mind if we come? I would like to see a real starship!" Doctor Hynek sounded to her like a kid on a holiday.

"If you don't mind seeing what happens when you reenter the atmosphere without stabilizers."

"I don't know what that is but that sounds neat!" Doctor Hynek turned towards his acquaintance. "Quinn? You coming?"

The man, who had lit a death stick while they weren't watching, took a long draw. As he blew the smoke, his eyes watched the horizon before turning towards them. "Yeah, why the hell not? Might as well, if nothing to keep your backside out of trouble."

Kai shook her head as she stood, helping the two pack up the campsite. When the last few items were packed, Kai started to look around at the bark of the trees that surrounded them.

"Whatcha looking for?" Doctor Hynek called out as he shouldered the bag he was carrying.

"I uh marked the trees to help me find my way back to my ship if I left the cave." Kai called back as she examined the bark in front of her. She growled as she turned around. "That's how I got so lost. I was so out of it that I couldn't find my way back."

"You didn't happen to mark the trees with a white 'x', did you?"

Kai froze and eyed the stiff captain closely. "Depends. Why'd you ask?"

Taking the death stick out of his mouth and pointing behind him, Quinn explained, "Oh, well we hit a couple of trees the other day that had those exact same markings."

The teen perked up as she leapt forward, following the captain's directions. She couldn't help the shout of joy that escaped her when she saw a white 'x', written in her hand.

"Ooooooh, yea!" She turned back to the men. "Come on, you guys!"