There was a paragraph added to the end of the last chapter, so make sure you didn't miss it. Happy Chapter 50! If you haven't noticed already we got a nice long chapter here as things on the Falcon take a turn for the worse. It's not all adventures and jokes anymore with the group. Prepare for the night to get darker before it gets lighter, readers!
Han Solo overextended his injured fingers with a yawn. After saying goodnight to Tess, he heard her door close down the hall. He didn't recognize just how exhausted he was until now.
Solo shuffled into the captain's quarters soundlessly, trying not to wake Leia. He inched forward, hunting for the bed. Suddenly, his foot ran into something. Han looked down, waiting with confusion as his eyes adjusted. His breath caught in his throat as he began to make out long ringlets of hair sprawled out over the figure on the ground.
"Leia!" Han gasped. He buckled to his knees and pulled her head into his lap. She was burning up—not a good sign. But she was breathing. Thank the gods, she was breathing. Just as he was about to call for Tess, the light came on and the kid dashed in.
"Leia?!" she shouted worriedly. She hadn't even reached the room yet and she knew something was wrong—through their Force connection, Han presumed. As soon as the fifteen-year-old saw her sister, she virtually collapsed on the back wall, eyes wide and mouth agape. "How… is she okay?" The tiny voice that came from her sounded to Han like the scared little girl who snuck onto the Falcon four years ago. But there was no time to comfort her.
"Tess, I need you to help me," he commanded, adopting a tone that signaled serious circumstances. "Go to the kitchen and get the medkit." Tess made no visible effort to move. "Tess!" She shook her head either in disbelief or refusal.
Seeing Tess was in shock, Han quickly snatched a pillow from the bed to place under Leia's head. He saw her sister slide down the wall to a seat on the floor, hugging her knees.
Han scrambled out of the room. He was back in seconds with a medpack. He set it on the nightstand, tucked his hands under Leia, and then lifted her to the bed. Adrenaline made the princess feel like a feather in his arms. The former smuggler heard Tess muttering to herself.
"I should have known… I could have sensed it… I could have stopped it… If I just—"
"Tess, shut up," Han snapped, hoping she understood what he meant. He just didn't want her to think like that—he didn't mean to imply that her feelings weren't important. But he also didn't have time to clarify. He ripped the scanner unit from the medpack and placed it on Leia's chest. The device blinked red with an expired battery notice on the screen and turned off. "Kriff!" Han cursed through his teeth. He pitched the scanner unit across the room. "Tess, go wake up Chewie," he ordered. He scrambled to the 'fresher and came back with a cloth soaked in cool water, lightly placing it on the princess' forehead.
Han didn't know what was more chilling—Leia looking so lifeless or Tess' thousand-metre stare.
"It's going to be okay…" he assured the girls and himself. Han turned his head towards the doorway. "Chewie! Get in here!" He once again rooted through the medpack and found a temperature scanner. After being used on Leia, it read 104 standard degrees.
A Wookie bark came from the doorway—Chewbacca asking what was going on.
"Something's wrong with the princess," Han explicated quickly. "Power up Threepio and find the nearest Alliance-friendly, Basic-speaking location with medical facilities. Preferably good ones." The Wookie didn't need to be told twice.
"Han…?" came a groggy voice. Han let himself exhale for what seemed like the first time in hours as Leia's eyes fluttered open. "What…? I'm…so tired…" Han kissed her forehead and squeezed her pale, clammy hand.
"You can go to sleep, sweetheart," he promised her. Han raced to get a cup of water from the bathroom and antibiotics from the medpack. They treated multiple ailments and didn't do any damage even if falsely prescribed so Han figured it was worth a try. "Take these first," Han instructed. "And drink some water." Leia did as she was told.
"I think I'm sick," Leia coughed. Han helped her lean forward so she didn't choke on the water. He couldn't help but smile a little. A bit of color returned to Leia now that she was awake and hydrated.
"Any idea what it might be?"
"The death of me," Leia grumbled. Han wasn't amused.
"We're stopping at the next possible place," he informed her. The fever burning away her logic, Leia tried to push herself up.
"No, we can't!" she pleaded. "We have to…the meeting on Coruscant!"
"Leia Organa, if you value my sanity, you will rest," Han told the princess sternly. He guided her back down to the pillow. Her eyes began to close sleepily, unable to fight the exhaustion once sleep was merely suggested.
"Tess…it's okay…" Leia whispered. Han had forgotten Tess was even in the room.
As Leia fell asleep, Han turned to Tess, who was still cowering in the corner with wide brown eyes. Her hands were clasped together tightly, the bandages from her earlier burns falling off.
Han inched over to Tess' small form, the look on her face enough to make him feel a mountain of guilt for snapping at her earlier. He knelt in front of her and slowly reached for her entwined hands. She stubbornly held them together at first.
"Tess, let me see," he asked in a whisper. Finally, Tess released her grasp and allowed Han to pull her hands apart.
Immediately, the smell of burnt flesh made Han gag. The bandages fell to either side of the young rebel, having been burned through. Pieces of the bandages appeared to have melted on the burnt-black palms of Tess' hands. Han winced, finding it hard to imagine how much pain she was in while he was busy tending to Leia.
"Do you think it's done?" the smuggler asked cautiously, gesturing towards her singed hands. As if on cue, an unexpected burst of Force lightening shot from palm-to-palm and Tess let out a startled cry. Fortunately, it was over just as soon as it started. Actually seeing one of her lightening spasms, Han realized just how much Tess was losing control—but he would throw himself into a Sarlaac pit before her let her do that.
"It's done," came a soft go-ahead from the fifteen-year-old.
As gently as possible, Han slipped one hand under Tess' knees and the other behind her back, lifting her off the floor and carrying her to the 'fresher.
"You Naberrie women are going to be the death of me…" he muttered jokingly, trying to calm Tess by softening the mood. He placed the girl on the closed toilet lid and washed his hands. The last thing she needed was an infection. Once satisfied, Han reached for the crisp black burns. "This is probably going to hurt," he warned her. "Don't electrocute me, if you can help it." He intended the last comment to be another joke, but as soon as it came out he realized it really wasn't.
Tess just nodded. With steady hands, Han began to peel back the pieces of fabric burnt into her hand, pulling off the top of a blister in the process and revealing a red, oozy wound.
Tess didn't even flinch.
"Captain Solo, we've found a—oh dear, Mistress Tess, are you hurt?"
"She's fine, Threepio. Stay in the captain's chambers and come let me know if the princess wakes up."
Tess heard their words almost as if she was underwater. There was this feeling inside her like a venom that killed her piece by piece. A darkness that her eyes refused to adjust to. A din that was more deafening than any scream. And each one of those sensations was trying to lure her away from herself. For the moment, Han and Chewie's voices were keeping her grounded.
"So it's Teyr, then?" Han's voice. "They speak Basic and have decent medics?"
Chewbacca growled an affirmative answer.
"When did I get in this chair?" Tess wondered. Suddenly realizing that Han was no longer carrying her. She was sitting in the passenger seat behind Chewie.
"When I put you there, kid."
She must have said it out loud. Slowly but surely, Tess regained her awareness. However, the sound of Luke's voice made her wonder if she was hallucinating.
"Let me talk to them," ordered her master. She saw his holographic form in Han's lap. The Corellian glanced back at Tess, who succeeded in meeting his eyes.
"Look, Han," Luke said sternly, losing patience. "You can't hide anything from me. . I know something has happened to her. And Tess…" Luke's face twisted in thought and confusion. "I can't even feel her." Tess gulped.
"Leia is sick, Luke," Han explained quickly. "We're landing on Teyr to get her to a medic. If you were here, you would do the exact same thing."
Tess swallowed again, suddenly realizing how dry her mouth was when she tried to speak. She tried again.
"Let me talk to him," she requested in a small voice.
Han looked from Luke to Tess, then back at Luke.
"I don't want you to upset her," Han warned with surprising hostility. "You've done enough of a number already teaching her all about this Force crap and then leaving her to deal with it on her own as soon as you smelled Palpatine."
"That's not fair," Luke retorted. Han passed the portable holocom back to Tess, almost as if ashamed of what he just said, but she wasn't sure. Han was hard to read.
"Are you alright?" her brother asked softly. Tess held back tears.
"I…I don't know," she whimpered. The fifteen-year-old brought her bandaged hands into view. "I…I keep telling myself I'm not like him, but…" She watched Luke's face change as he put the pieces together. "Is it supposed to…burn me?" She wanted to burst into sobs begging Luke to come home like a small child would to their mother or father.
Suddenly, Luke seemed distracted. Fearful.
"Let me talk to—no—" Luke's tone was grave and serious. "Tess, tell Han not to land. You can't land on Teyr, do you hear me? Anywhere else—"
Han snatched the portable holocom away and glared at Luke.
"Leia has such a high fever that she couldn't walk an inch without passing out. Tess feels so bad about it that the all-powerful Force of yours decides to electrocute her every time she does. So honestly, Luke, I don't Kriffing care what the Force is telling you. We need to land."
With that, Han punched the holocom off and turned to Chewie.
"Set course for Teyr."