Rech was surprised that his spirits lifted as he had traveled further and further from Coruscant with Mand and Cordira in their modified YG-4210 transport Eclipse. It was like the distance had dissolved a dark haze from his mind, one that had bogged him down for weeks and left him vulnerable to his more volatile emotions. He had thought it was residual guilt and despair from dealing with the aftermath of Paneau's collapse, but as he was returning to the place of all that destruction, he finally felt at peace with it. He wasn't dreading stepping foot on the planet's surface, as he expected he would, rather he was hopeful for Paneau's recovery. Its people deserved that much.
Sitting beside him, Mand must've noticed the change in his mood. She looked over at him from the pilot's seat with a cautious smile. After traveling at hyperspeed for two days, they had slowed to a sublight pace to manually maneuver through the remaining systems. Mand had gotten up a few times to tend to Cordira, but the infant girl had been sleeping quietly for the majority of the trip so far. The two hadn't talked much since they had left Coruscant, and that was mostly Rech's fault. His miserable mood during the past few weeks had fueled a tension between them, even though it was the last thing he wanted to do to her.
"I think you're right," he began quietly. Mand returned her attention from the console to him, an unsure expression on her face. "Coruscant isn't the place for us."
She silently held his gaze for a few moments, her eyes softening as she realized what he was ready to relinquish: proximity to the Order, to his parents, to the area of the galaxy that was in desperate need of Jedi. Paneau had need of them once again, though, and with Master Skywalker's permission, they could return to live there permanently if they wanted.
Living on Coruscant had also added to their tension. The visions they both had experienced had increased Mand's desire to leave; she hadn't felt safe there since they had arrived weeks ago. Rech's only concern was where they would go if they left the city-planet. They had few options.
"I want to forget all that's happened there," Mand answered softly, looking down at the Eclipse's controls. "But I know Paneau is full of even more painful memories-"
"There are wonderful ones to counter those, though," Rech interjected. Mand smiled a little as she reached up to the necklace around her neck, holding a glass pendant between her fingers. In the days following the Dalon Palace collapse, she had visited the rubble, paying respects to the hundreds of people who had died there, and found a small shard of glass, a remnant of the beautiful Crystal Room. Rech and Mand had married in the breathtaking, endlessly-colored room just months before, and she had spent a great deal of time there in thought after her rescue from her four-years' disappearance. It had been bedazzled in colored windows and hundreds of prisms in various shapes and sizes hanging from the ceiling, casting a constantly-changing array of colors about the walls and floor.
Within the Palace walls, Rech and Mand had found welcome refuge, a chance to find themselves as they nurtured their love for each other. Mand needed the recovery time, and frankly, so did Rech. He had nearly exhausted himself searching for her, so the time they spent together in the Dalon Palace before its demise was precious, the memories cherished.
"It will be difficult," Mand continued, "with all Paneau's changes. Jec will need a lot of guidance."
"And we're going to be there for him," Rech answered strongly. He had yet to honor Queen Tascit's final request of him: to help her people. He realized after they were on their way that aiding the new king would be one of the best methods of carrying it out. Perhaps that was why he had been so depressed. Tascit had pleaded with her last breath for him to help Paneau, but after being "asked" to leave following Veon's dethroning, he had decided to leave the planet behind. But he had purpose again, finally able to ease his conscience.
Mand understood his thoughts, as she understood so much about him, nodding while locking her gaze with his. She used their unique, deep connection in the Force to share her feelings.
She'll be proud.
The warmth and peace of Mand's consciousness flowed through him as she wrapped the Force around them, enveloping them in a calm, tranquil silence. Even the hum of the ship's engine disappeared, and he could only see her beautiful face, feel her soft brown hair. He never would have thought he could feel so strongly connected to anyone, so intensely in love with someone that he thought his heart might cease to function. And he had almost lost her after getting separated in a Coruscant market, but his determination to find her sustained him for the four years of distance. After her rescue, he vowed to do everything in his power to protect her, even though he had yet to successfully do so. He couldn't even prevent a vision from inflicting painful burns on her skin, but he was going to figure out how.
Mand's attention was suddenly diverted from him as she dropped his gaze and looked at the console. Rech, too, turned and watched a small holo materialize at the controls. A faint blue bust of their mentor and friend, Master Aalon Noor, smiled warmly at them. Rech returned it, glad to see Noor looking better. With a small team, Rech had rescued the Jedi Master from submerged captivity on the flooded planet of Ambria. Coupled with injuries left unhealed after the transport ship he was traveling aboard crashed, Noor was weakened by the week-long ordeal and had lost most of his physical strength. Aided by a fellow Healer once back on Coruscant, he had regained it, though, and was looking nearly completely restored. The Jedi Master's smile faded as the holo flickered briefly.
"You two are hard to reach, you know."
"We've been busy, Master," Mand answered. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth. They had been unreachable the entire two-day trip in hyperspace, but they had also postponed addressing any messages before they left the city-planet. Noor's was among those left unanswered.
"I know, and I know why. But don't worry, I'm on my way there, as well."
Rech and Mand exchanged glances, confused. They had received permission from Master Skywalker to return to Paneau and provide assistance once its people had crowned their new king, but the Jedi Grand Master had only reluctantly allowed them to go, presumably fearing the assumption that the new government was officially supported by the Order and the New Republic. Noor understood their expressions.
"I'm retrieving my new apprentice. Rech, you remember Wes Arosc?"
Rech nodded, recalling the moment he was informed of the fourteen-year-old's relation to the late Queen Tascit Arosc. With another Jedi Master and fellow Knight, Rech rescued Tallie, Wes's mother, and Wes, along with a handful of other survivors, from an Ambrian prison. While overseeing their treatment and recovery aboard a medical frigate, Tallie told him she was Tascit's younger sister, surprising him. Few knew much about Tascit's past or about her family, and encountering Tallie was unexpected.
"He's a bit older than some of the Academy's instructors would like, but he's very bright and I think he'll do well."
Mand smiled, sitting forward. "That's wonderful, Master Noor. I take it you won't be staying long?"
The holo nodded. "Right. As soon as I tend to Koril, I'll be returning to the Temple with Wes." Rech furrowed his brows, and again, Noor read their faces.
"You were in hyperspace when it happened," he explained. "Another bounty hunter attacked Koril, gravely wounding him. Elena acted quickly and saved his life, but the city's poor reserve of medical supplies has hindered his recovery. He'll be fine once I see to him."
Rech frowned. The Scornes were under tight security on Coruscant, imprisoned after being cornered by Elena, but apparently their employers, the Governors of the High Council, thought little enough of the amateur brothers and hired a second hunter. Despite the efforts to fuel the belief that Koril had been killed as reported, somehow his true whereabouts had been leaked and he had been followed.
"Has the hunter been caught?" Rech asked as Mand listened attentively beside him.
"Unfortunately, no. Thousands of people were gathered in a large assembly hall. Elena was intensely focused on Koril, and by the time guards had gotten to where they thought he was, he had long since been gone. They're hoping to trace the weapon back to a dealer, possibly even an owner."
Mand cast a worried look at Rech. They both had encountered bounty hunters in their past, but never with a small child in their care. He did his best to suppress his sense of alarm.
"I'm not far behind you," the Jedi Master concluded. "We'll talk more on the surface." Rech nodded as the holo flickered again and disappeared, leaving him with a strange, vulnerable feeling. Mand seemed to be feeling the same way as they both heard Cordira begin to softly cry from her cradle secured in the back of the ship.
"Mistress Elena!"
Though she wasn't sure how a complete mechanical overhaul could make Kaydee any more intolerable, the chrome-plated protocol droid had found a way. To be fair, Kaydee wasn't quite as obnoxious as some of her newer, more formal counterparts that Elena had encountered, but the loyal droid never dispensed with pleasantries and always went the long way about expressing herself, testing Elena's patience. She wondered if she'd ever get used to it.
"Mistress Elena, I just spoke with your friends, Master Rech and Mistress Mand. They will be arriving here shortly." Elena had barely stepped inside the Rys'tihn Manor's main entrance when Kaydee had approached her. Self-consciously, she tugged her dark robe tightly around herself, hiding her blood-stained borrowed shirt underneath it. There were still several members of the various Royal Families milling about the Manor, and Kaydee's announcement had drawn their attention. Elena glanced at a few of them, giving them brief smiles, then began to herd the droid toward a small room off to the side of the foyer.
Kaydee continued as they walked. "They inquired about Master Koril's condition, and they were most insistent upon seeing him. I was not able to tell them much, but perhaps you know more?"
Elena nodded, touching the panel beside the door to shut it behind them. The Royal Families would learn soon enough.
"He's stable, though I think he needs more attention to make up for what Dr. Herrell and bacta can't do. A few of his former squadmates will be escorting him here soon." Kaydee nodded in understanding but remained silent, as if in anticipation of an order. Elena took a second more to realize the droid was awaiting the order from her.
"I'll gather a group of guards and meet my friends at the hangar," she said, almost unsure of her own words. She still wasn't accustomed to ordering a droid around. "Have another group ready for Koril, and have them take him to his room upstairs. Make sure he stays there; he doesn't need to be moving around just yet."
Kaydee nodded again obediently. "Yes, Mistress Elena." She had begun to leave to carry out her orders, but Elena, thinking back to her mysterious encounter with a Rys'tihn Ghost Heir just days before, stopped her.
"Kaydee?" Instantly the droid returned to face her, inclining her head towards her. Elena thought for a moment, trying to phrase her question correctly. She hadn't yet had the chance to ask the droid since she had faced Deilia Rys'tihn in the Manor's hall. Elena was the only one to meet the blond-haired woman that night, and in the back of her mind, she had begun to wonder if the exchange had really happened at all.
"Do you have the deciphering codes for the Rys'tihn Ghost Heirs' coordinates?"
Kaydee simply shook her head. "I am afraid I do not. Master Merli'il kept those in his personal records, all of which are inaccessible now."
Elena frowned. For someone who had mapped out every possible survival tactic for a dethroned king, Koril's father seemed to have taken very few steps to safeguard vital information for his own descendants. In fact, it seemed like he had taken none at all. And if Kaydee never had possessed the codes in the first place, why had Deilia told her so?
Still intently focused on her, Kaydee accurately read Elena's reaction. "I would tell you if I had them, I assure you," she said sympathetically. Elena lifted her head, curious.
"You would?"
"Certainly, Mistress Elena. Master Koril trusts you implicitly; therefore I do, as well. Master Koril wouldn't give just anyone the Rys'tihn Crest to keep for him."
At that Elena smiled, appreciating the droid that much more. "Thanks, Kaydee." Nodding again, Kaydee returned to her tasks, approaching a pair of guards stationed at the bottom of the grand staircase to make the necessary requests. Elena stepped back out into the main hall, immediately greeted by several worried faces. Discreetly as she could, she tugged her robe around herself again, trying to remember the names of those who were standing in front of her. She recognized Vianne Banarecc, Veon's younger sister, and Jethro Trislena, but a young woman Elena had never seen before stood beside them, looking the most eager for information between the three.
"He's fine," Elena preempted. "He'll be back here soon."
"Who was behind it?" Jethro asked barely before Elena had even finished her second sentence. She managed to suppress a sigh of frustration.
"We suspect a bounty hunter, most likely hired by the Governors of the High Council. Admiral Sokol's units are interrogating them right now."
The unknown woman spoke up next. "How badly was he injured? Kaydee wouldn't tell us anything."
Elena somehow forced her voice to remain strong. "Nothing a bacta tank couldn't fix."
"Is there anything we can do?" Vianne asked in earnest. "For him, or for you?" Elena looked between the three, slightly taken aback by their collective, unyielding intent to help. After thinking for a moment, she nodded at Vianne.
"Do you remember Rech Natiyr? You cared for his daughter Cordira a few weeks back." Vianne nodded, too, and Elena continued. "He and his wife will be arriving here soon. Can you come with me to help them get settled and taken care of?"
"Of course."
"Jethro, I'm sure the rest of the families here would like an update, as well. Tell them what I've told you, and that everyone is still safe here. There are more guards and Jedi on the way."
The Trislena nodded and swiftly walked off, leaving Elena to turn to the other woman. She had begun to ask her name, but the woman read her expression and answered hastily.
"Brylie, I'm a friend of Koril's." Elena withheld her curiosity, deciding to inquire later.
"Come with us to the hangar," Elena instructed, unsure of anywhere else help would be needed. For a brief moment, Brylie looked as if she were about to protest, but she remained silent and nodded, following Elena and Vianne as they began walking toward the Manor's hangar.
After following a narrow, underground hallway from the Manor, a set of guards met Elena at the entrance and led the three women to the Natiyrs' craft, the only ship remaining in the massive, majestic hangar. Elena remembered searching Merli'il Rys'tihn's private yacht for information while it was located on Courscant, and that ship itself would've been dwarfed in its home. Just as Rech and Mand stepped off the transport's lowered ramp, another smaller ship flew in slowly and landed nearby.
"He wasn't lying," Mand said as they approached, glancing at the other ship. "He was right behind us."
The five of them watched as Jedi Master Aalon Noor's small transport's ramp descended to the hangar floor and groaned as the rest of the ship powered down. The Jedi Master finally emerged and joined them, greeting the group cordially with a bow. It had been almost a week since Elena had seen Noor, and he looked improved since then. She displayed her happiness to see him with a small smile.
Rech's voice returned Elena to the business at hand. "Where's Koril?"
"He should be arriving any minute. His best friend Brent Jax is bringing him here from the doctor's home." Elena glanced at them both, deciding their first destination. "Vianne and Brylie will help you with Cordira, Mand," she said, indicating the two women behind her. Mand nodded and gave Rech a confident look, presumably conveying her thoughts via the Force. With a quick but gentle movement, Rech leaned in and kissed Mand on the cheek and stroked the infant girl's head as she slept in Mand's arms, undisturbed. The two women behind Elena stepped forward and took to helping Mand with their belongings while Rech and Noor moved to join Elena. Intent on keeping her infraction undisclosed, she remained silent as she briskly led them into the Manor.
"Well, you should've asked me first," Brent Jax said as Koril stepped back into the Rys'tihn Manor's main foyer with a pair of guards, a couple of old squadmates, and Kaydee trailing silently behind him. He had walked as much as he could, from the Herrell's home to the small shuttle Brent had brought for him, and then from the shuttle, landed on the Manor's front lawn, into his home. The more he moved, though, the more sore he became, and it wasn't just his chest that was bothering him, but his whole body again. He had to walk very slowly, feeling every muscle ache, even his left arm, immobile and tightly bound up in a sling against himself, much worse than before.
"You wouldn't have let me," Koril said with a grin, effectively disguising his discomfort.
"All the more reason," Brent continued. "You had nowhere near enough cover."
Koril's grin faded. "Our cover worked just fine. Jec's still here, I'm still here."
Brent simply shook his head at Koril's side. "Leave it to you, Koril, to see nothing but the end result, regardless of what happened in between."
"Like you're one to talk." Koril tossed a sideways glance at Brent, and they both rolled their eyes with matching grins. Friends since they were young boys in the Dalon Provincial Academy, they had endured numerous trials together, but nothing had bonded them so tightly as had training together in the Royal Navy. They were similar in many ways, most notably so in their dedication to their duties. Both were decorated heroes of the Invasion, and they both had suffered through the Dalon Palace devastation. Like Koril, Brent had lost family, too: his wife Landi died in the Palace collapse, though his two-year-old daughter Pallas escaped unharmed. They both knew what each was going through.
Koril reached the bottom of the main staircase and gripped the right side rail with his right hand, grimacing as he had to nearly pull himself up just one step as his leg muscles seared anew and seemed to refuse to work.
"Maybe we ought to get you a repulsorboard, Sir," a young guard said beside him. Koril was about to respond when another voice echoed through the hall, cutting him off.
"Koril Rys'tihn!"
Koril turned his head to see Elena nearly jogging towards him from the door that led to the hangar, her robe billowing behind her. Her face was contorted in a mix of serious concern and frustration that bordered on anger. He knew what her issue with him was.
"I'm fine, Elena," he said, attempting to assuage her. Rech Natiyr and Aalon Noor strode up behind her, their expressions slightly confused, though whether at Elena's anger or his current state, he wasn't sure.
Elena redirected her exasperation at Brent and Kaydee as she caught up to them, standing one step above Koril on the staircase. "I thought I told you to keep him stationary!" Koril took his free hand from the rail and placed it on Elena's shoulder purposefully, looking into her eyes intensely.
"It was my doing, don't blame them."
His confession only infuriated her further. She opened her mouth to speak but stopped, suddenly noticing the number of people that had quickly flooded the foyer, Royals and guards alike. Self-consciously, her anger abated, replaced with its true source, worry.
"You're not completely healed. You could've done more damage." Her voice had become soft, almost afraid as she reached up and gently tugged his sling out of the way and his shirt down slightly, checking his bandaged wound. He didn't look down, for fear of his muscles aching more, but he could tell by her face that he hadn't worsened it, at least, not that she could tell.
He matched her volume. "I told you, I'm fine." She looked back up at his eyes, but seeming to realize something, she scanned his entire face.
"Then why are you pale?" She spoke even softer still, so only he could hear. "You are either bleeding, or in a lot of pain."
Koril dropped his gaze from her, returning his arm to his side with great effort, attempting to minimize his wincing. He must not have been successful; she put a hand on the side of his face, caressing his cheek with her thumb. Both Rech and Noor stepped up beside them on the stairs and she instantly dropped her hand.
"Can we help?" asked Rech concernedly. Koril gave them a weak smile, though it fell as he hesitantly nodded.
"Need a hand to get up the stairs." Without pause, Rech stepped over behind him, bringing Koril's right arm over his shoulder, and with Rech's support, slowly they began the long ascent. Elena kept at his side, watching him intently, but remained silent. Koril heard Kaydee's mechanical joints and gears whining behind him, as well as several pairs of footsteps that echoed on the stone.
Surprisingly as he and Rech made their way up, he began to feel the aching lessen. Curious, he inclined his head and looked at Rech.
"Are you..."
Rech kept his eyes locked on the stair in front of them, but smiled a little and nodded. "I can do more than one thing at once."
The rest of the climb remained slow but less painful, and once he and his entourage reached the turbolift, only Elena, Noor, Kaydee, and Brent filed in beside him and Rech. All were silent, but Koril noticed Elena and Noor exchanging glances. She seemed to nod at the Jedi Master before returning her gaze to Koril and then to the floor.
Kaydee, naturally, was the first to break the silence as the group made their way slowly to Koril's room at the end of the hall. "If there's anything I can get for you, Masters Jedi, I will be most happy to."
"Thank you, Kaydee," Noor responded kindly. Rech helped Koril to a bench under a window in his room, easing him down. Koril nodded his thanks and expected to see Elena standing behind the Jedi Knight, but he found her standing outside his door beside Master Noor. She gave him a faint smile before she turned and walked with Noor back down the hall, with Brent and Kaydee following them. Rech was watching, too, but he was more interested in tending to his injuries.
"Tell me what happened," he said simply. Koril sighed with a wince and began recounting the events of that night, how he had gotten the truth to the Paneau, and what had nearly killed him.
"A spiking spear?" Rech hardly kept an edge of alarm out of his voice. "That's a serious game hunting weapon. Never heard it used for...bounty hunting."
"So you think it was a bounty hunter, too?"
Rech was silent for a moment, surprised by being challenged. "Seems likely. You survived the first round."
Koril shrugged, though he instantly paid for it. Rech tugged a small stool from a desk nearby and sat beside him, untying the crude sling from around Koril's neck. Like before, the more he moved while trying to shed the sling and get comfortable on the well-padded bench, the more sore he began to feel, and Rech noticed his discomfort.
"Sorry, man," he apologized. "Is it really bothering you that much still?" Koril shook his head.
"No, I've hardly noticed it." Rech looked confused as he peeled the bandage away from Koril's skin. The bacta had formed a protective, skin-like film into the lining of his pierced lung, which had halted most of the bleeding, but it hadn't replaced the gouged tissue. Rech glanced sideways at Koril, eyebrows arched.
"You...haven't noticed that?"
Koril shook his head a second time. "My entire body aches again."
"Again?"
"Just after we had left Coruscant, I had some kind of nightmare and woke up with incredibly sore muscles."
Suddenly motionless, Rech's expression was hard to decipher. It wasn't blank, it was almost...fearful?
"Do you remember it? The nightmare?"
Koril nodded. "Now I do. The doctor woke me up before I came here, and I had been in the middle of it."
"Tell me." The demand in Rech's voice was uncharacteristic for something so trivial, but Koril complied, though confused.
"It started with you and Mand with me on some...platform, somewhere on Coruscant. Seemed like we were waiting for something. A strange shuttle landed in front of us, and...five or six people stepped off it, though I couldn't tell who they were." He hesitated; he didn't want to recall the next part. "There was a bright flash of light, and I remember thinking it hurt... Then I was on the floor, and I heard screaming. I couldn't tell who it was - it may have even been me. Another flash of light, more pain... That's all I can remember. I'd wake with a start, and every muscle would burn."
Rech hardly breathed. Still confused, Koril was becoming concerned; it was just a dream. It seemed to him just a jumbled, reworked series of events mimicking his encounter with the Scornes: Coruscant, dark figures, the bright flash, the pain...
"Can I try something?" Rech asked suddenly, his face voided of emotion. "It won't hurt you, I promise." Though hesitant and unsure of what Rech was going to do, Koril nodded, trusting him.
Rech brought his hand to Koril's head, touching the tips of his fingers to Koril's temple. "Just...don't be alarmed if something happens to me."
Koril had started to ask what he meant, but a strange sensation silenced him and filtered into his mind, like someone was wading through his thoughts. It was an odd pressure, moving around, though it seemed almost calming -
Without warning, Rech was forcefully shoved backward off the stool he was sitting on, landing flat on his back. Koril sat up instantly, panicked.
"Rech? Are you o-"
"I'm fine, I'm fine," Rech interrupted, waving a hand as he sat up and righted the sideways stool. He appeared to climb up off the floor easily enough, and sitting back down on the stool, he looked at Koril with an odd mix of responses and said nothing for several moments.
"Koril," he finally said, seeming to hardly believe his own words as he continued, "you're Force-sensitive."
