Chapter 5

Ben heard the faint voice he'd been hearing for the past few weeks in the back of his mind as he emerged from unconsciousness. The room was still blindingly white and blurry. He groaned slightly and felt a dry ache in his throat. "Ben? Ben, sweetie, can you hear me? You need to wake up…" He couldn't quite place the voice. He knew he'd heard it for years yet it was so familiar it was difficult to place. "Ben, please wake up." At that, he immediately knew the voice.

"Mom?" he asked, his voice hoarse and cracking. Immediately, a soft, small hand was on his. Through blurry eyes, Ben began to make out the face of his Aunt Leia. He closed his eyes and sank back into his pillow. The voice had been so clear…

"Ben, are you okay?" he heard his aunt ask. There was a small click and a mechanical voice sounded from the wall. "Doctor, he's awake."

Ben opened his eyes again and tried to sit up only to be gently held down by the hands of his aunt. "Aunt Leia? What happened?" He tried to take in his surroundings. He was in a hospital, he knew that. He was able to discern that when he'd tried to awaken a few days ago and heard the beeping and soft whirs of machinery he assumed was keeping him alive. He felt an IV in one arm and a bacta cast on his ankle. Overall, he felt a little stiff, but he felt fine. As if he'd overslept…

Leia frowned for a brief nanosecond then a sincere smile played at the corners of her mouth. "Ben, it's so good to have you back. You've…been in a coma…these past four weeks…" She spoke slowly, as though speaking to a being who did not understand the language. He felt a flicker of worry in the Force from her.

"A…coma? How?" He tried to reach up and touch his head but his shoulder ached and protested so he lowered his hand beside him again.

"You and your father were on Dathomir fighting against the Nightsisters when a rock hit you and you fell down a steep, jagged hill… You dislocated your shoulder and broke your ankle and the rock hit your head so hard—"

"I think that's enough for now, Jedi Solo…" Doctor Keedo interrupted her. There was a hint of ice in his voice. "Young Ben has been through a tough trial. I'm going to need to run a few tests now that he's awake. But first, I think he'd like some water, am I right?" He looked over at Ben with a forced smile on his face.

Ben looked at him suspiciously, but nodded, trying to clear his throat. In truth, he was parched. Keedo snapped for a droid to bring Ben some water.

Once Ben had finished his four glasses of water, Doctor Keedo began asking him questions. At first, they started off simple. "Do you recognize the woman who was speaking to you when you woke up? Are you related to her? How so?" and so on. Ben wasn't sure these were entirely professional questions, but he answered them honestly. On the vidscreen in front of him flashed images of events, people, and places. Keedo asked several questions about each. The Jedi Temple on Coruscant, Yuuzhan Vong, The Swarm War, Admiral Daala… Finally, Keedo flashed an image that Ben had an immediate response to. Noting it, the doctor turned back to his datapad and asked the questions on the screen.

"Who is that?" Keedo demanded.

Ben was growing weary of answering these simple questions. "My mother."

"What's her name?"

"Mara. Mara Jade Skywalker. Can we be done here? I know all this stuff happened and that I'm a Jedi and that I have an important family and whatever else there is to know… I'm tired." Ben complained. He was starting to feel the dull ache in his mended shoulder and the small scar now marking above his left ear was beginning to bother him.

"I have a few more questions, and then we can be done for today. You've proven yourself so far. You're doing fantastic." He indicated the image once more. "What happened to your mother?"

The question caused Ben to furrow his brow. "What do you mean? Nothing happened to her… She and Dad are living on Coruscant and… What? Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked, clearly confused and worried.

Keedo ran a hand through his now-messy hair and blew out a huff of air. "Ben… How old are you?" The look in Keedo's eyes and his Force aura confused Ben even more.

"I-I'm fourteen," he stuttered, growing more anxious by the second.

Keedo shook his head. "You're sixteen, Ben. And I really hate to be the one to tell you this…"

Ben could feel the anguish rise within him as Doctor Keedo spoke the words.

"Your mother is dead…"