Again, I had no words. She had closed her eyes, weakening by the minute, but at least she hadn't seen my reaction.

It was true that she had been denied acceptance into the Jedi Academy for reasons that infuriated me, but what she didn't know...was that I had actually declined the invitation they had extended to me just months later. Her status as a clone, albeit an altered one, colored their perception of her before they had even given her a chance. The only thing the New Republic knew about Jedi clones was that they all eventually went mad, either because of an existential crisis or because of the discovery of aberrant powers, and they had decided they didn't want to risk training her. If they were going to treat her so unfairly, without even a proper evaluation, there was no way I was going to join their ranks.

I looked over at Dad the same time he looked at me, and as our eyes met, I knew he was thinking about the same thing I was. Mom's reaction to my decision was a lot...harsher than I had anticipated. Dad had taken my side, or at least he had respected my choice and didn't want to force me to do what I didn't want to do, and it had caused considerable unease between them. I know Mom only wanted what was best for me, but I also know that I let her down by not following in her path. To add to my guilt, she had told me that regardless of Cordira's troubles, I owed it to the Jedi Master who had given his life to save mine to become the best Jedi I could, because that's what he would have wanted, and because that's why he had protected me. I'm not sure which hurt worst: Mom's overt disappointment in me, or living every day with the fact that I was refusing to honor Master Noor's sacrifice.

Growing up, I had always been closer to Mom, just like Dirani had always been closer to Dad. But after a dozen arguments over my decision to not go, Mom's attitude toward me had changed, and I found myself looking to Dad more and more. It's not that my relationship with him had ever been bad, just not necessarily close. Looking over at him as he lay on the ground beside Cordira, still with his hand on his bloodied head, I knew we were already that much closer again. I'm not sure if he was ever truly aware of just how serious his injuries were until later, but I think he expected to die just like Cordira did. I had sustained the least amount of injuries between the three of us, only a few cuts on my arms from the initial blasts, so it remained up to me to distract them from our dire situation.

Trying to maintain the light mood, I swallowed hard and mustered up the best grin I could for Cordira. "Who needs the Academy when we've got three of the best Jedi Masters in the Outer Rim right here on Paneau?"

She gave a short laugh but immediately paid for it, grimacing with sudden pain once more. Her hand shook in my grip as she fought to contain her cries of agony, so to comfort her as a silent tear fell across her nose, I gently brushed away her hair that had fallen over her face. With my touch, she let go of a breath she had been holding, but it again sounded like a pained whimper. I had never before felt so helpless...

"Cordira?"

Even her breathless voice trembled as she squeezed her eyes more tightly shut. "The pain's getting worse..."

The more upset she became, the more pain she caused herself, and I knew I had to calm her down again before she made her wounds even more grievous than they already were. With my hand against her cheek once more, I carefully turned her face up to me, somehow managing to keep my voice strong for her. "Cordira, look at me... Look at me; look at my eyes!"

Her terrified, pained gasps echoed through the cavern at lengthening intervals, and though our eyes did meet once again, it didn't last long. In a few short moments, her breathing slowed dramatically, and with it faded her consciousness, as well. Horrified that she was dying that instant, right in front of me, I could hardly breathe myself. "No, no! Cordira!"

"Derek...she's out."

She was breathing so shallowly, I almost couldn't tell she was breathing at all. And her pulse under my shaky fingers at her neck was weak and thready, but it was still there. A full half-minute or more had to have passed before I looked up from her to see that Dad had sat back up from the floor, no longer holding his head. His gash at his temple was still oozing, but he reached across Cordira and gripped my forearm with his bloody hand, his gaze focused only on me.

"It's better that she's not suffering through this right now," he told me, sounding even weaker himself. "...I know what an injury like that feels like."

I was confused, unsure how he would remember such pain, since he hadn't been able to feel even the slightest ache as long as I had known him. It wasn't the time for questions about him, though. "How can I help her?"

He released my arm and sat back from me, looking her over sadly for a long, agonizing moment before finally answering me. "Keep her warm. There's not much else you or I can do."

My legs were already numb under me from having been knelt at her side for so long, but the rest of my body felt like I had just unwittingly taken a dive into a frozen lake. Though I initially wasn't aware that I was moving, I began gently tucking my jacket, already laying atop her from earlier, more tightly around her to trap her body heat, doing my best to avoid the rod in her lower abdomen. I was still holding her hand tightly, even though her grip had loosened as she fell unconscious, and it was probably more for my sake than hers. I monitored her pulse as I began feeding her messages in the Force, letting her know that I was still with her, and that I was going to keep my promise if I had to pump her heart for her...

"You've been a good friend to her."

Dad was sounding even more far off than he had been just minutes before...unless more time than that had actually passed. Entirely focused on Cordira's every breath and heartbeat, it was possible I hadn't noticed how long we had sat in silence. I didn't understand where he was going with his thoughts, though, until he continued.

"I'm proud of you...for your decision. You know that...right? And even though she won't admit it yet...your mother is, too. That takes...a special kind of friendship..."

I had to force my voice to work in my shock. "...she's not going to die, Dad. And neither are you."

He had begun to respond when another coughing fit gripped him, robbing him of his remaining strength. Thankfully without my intervention this time, he lowered himself back down to the floor, breathless though he was. Despite his waning lucidity, I was certain he had tried to prevent me from seeing a stream of blood trickling from his mouth by wiping it away with his wrist, but I saw it anyway.

Tops couldn't bring back a rescue team to us fast enough.