Core Space: Novalis
2.5 APC

Though it had been almost an hour since they had left Coruscant, neither had said much. Mand had been focused on their departure, glad to leave the city-planet behind once more, and Ri had quietly kept to herself as she usually would. Curious what was on the seven-year-old girl's mind, though, Mand gave a small smile as she looked over at her new apprentice, sitting at the controls beside her with a vaguely troubled look on her face.

"You sure are quiet, Ri," Mand began lightheartedly, hoping to raise her spirits. But Ri simply looked up at her with sad brown eyes.

"How come you don't want to train me?"

Feeling her heart wrench into a searing knot, Mand let go of a soft breath, keeping her voice gentle. "Sweetheart, it's not that I don't want to... I just...I want you to have a really good teacher."

Becoming more inquisitive than sad, Ri's eyes sharpened. "Why wouldn't you be good?"

Fumbling for an answer that was still somewhat truthful yet not completely, she shrugged a little, her expression hesitant. "I've never done it before."

Returning her gaze to the viewport ahead as stars streaked past in hyperspace, Ri seemed to consider her response for a few moments before she answered innocently. "Well, I've never been an apprentice before, either."

The thoughtfulness in Ri's tone made Mand smile. It should have been the other way around, that Mand was the one comforting her new apprentice's anxiety, but Ri so readily demonstrated her wisdom and maturity that was far beyond any seven year old she knew. Though she still harbored fears of not being able to train the girl properly, she knew she at least had to try, if only to repay the debt she owed Ri's mother, Tascit.

Turning to Ri again, Mand nodded with a grin. "You're right. We'll make a good pair. We won't know what we're doing at all."

Ri laughed as her expression lightened. "Yes, we will," she giggled. "You know a lot. You've already taught me some things, remember? Just teach me how to be like you, and I'll be a good Jedi."

Though it was hard, Mand somehow managed to keep her expression from faltering. "You don't want to be like me," she countered, desperate to keep a light smile on her face. "You want to be like your mom."

Ri hardly took a moment to think. "No," she answered coolly as she shook her head. "You're stronger than she was."

Dumbfounded, Mand hardly breathed. "...what makes you say that?"

Ri's expression was stoic, as though she were stating a casual, well-known fact. "She died."

Again Mand felt her heart ache with sorrow and disbelief as she realized what Ri thought of Tascit, and it stunned her. She had just turned five years old when Paneau's Queen had perished in the Dalon Palace collapse, and though Mand had noticed a change in the young girl's spirit after her loss, she hadn't expected Ri's attitude toward her mother to have become so...detached.

"Ri..." Mand began carefully, her voice somber. "Death does not make you weak. It takes a lot of courage to die...especially the way she did."

Feeling a lump forming in her throat as she thought back to that terrible day, she swallowed hard and tried to put an explanation together as a lesson without getting too emotional.

"When Rech got to her on the hillside where the Crystal Room had fallen, she was gravely wounded but still alive. She was laying atop a slab of rock, but it was just barely balanced over another slope, and below it were other survivors. She knew that if she were moved to safety, the slab would topple over the edge and fall further down the hillside, crushing the others. She wouldn't let that happen." Pausing briefly, she softened her voice to steady her words. "She sacrificed her life to save others. There is nothing more selfless or more noble, and it is the Jedi way. Please...do not think that your mother was weak. She was anything but."

After a moment of quiet contemplation, Ri nodded calmly. "Okay."

Hoping to change the course of their conversation, Mand smiled wanly, keeping her tone light. "She would be so proud of you right now."

Ri looked confused. "But...I haven't done anything yet."

"Maybe not," Mand laughed, "but you will." Pausing briefly as she thought, her expression fell slightly. "Does your dad know about this? That you're my new apprentice?"

"Oh, yeah," Ri nodded emphatically. "He was very excited about it when Master Lithess asked him. He brought me to Coruscant himself. He said he needed to go there anyway, though."

Mand furrowed her brows. "What would he need on Coruscant?"

"I don't know. He said he had to go talk to somebody while I was at the Temple."

Though it wasn't uncommon for Royals to frequent the city-planet, Mand didn't know of any Paneau business that would take Veon there. In fact, she didn't know of any work that Veon had taken up after his return from exile. Though he had been removed from office, his sentence had been absolved, and his son Jec had taken over all official duties of the Crown and was doing quite well with it. Curious but not wanting to worry Ri anymore with it, she returned her attention to the controls as the Novalis' engines whined, slowing out of hyperspace. She was beginning to make the calculations for the next jump when the commpanel beeped, indicating an incoming transmission. Recognizing the sender, Mand smiled as Jec's miniature blue image hovered over the console.

"Your Highness," she greeted him warmly. Jec smiled, too.

"Mand, it's good to see you. I'm glad things went well." He turned to look at his sister beside her, his smile expanding. "Congratulations, Ri. I'm really proud of you."

Ri blushed as she smiled, as well. "Thanks, Jec."

As Jec turned back to Mand, though, his expression became more serious. "You've left Coruscant, I take it?"

Though unsure why he wouldn't know, Mand nodded. "I sent a message to Rech when we took off."

"He's been a little...busy."

Recognizing the hesitance in Jec's voice, Mand became worried. "Why? What's happened?"

Jec sighed sadly. "Koril's having trouble with his heart again. He's stable now, but he collapsed earlier this morning at home. Rech and Elena are at the Dalon Medical Center with him. I thought you might want to know before you got back to an empty Manor."

Though saddened at the news, she nodded. "I do appreciate it. We'll go straight there."

Jec nodded, too. "I'll see you soon."

Quickly putting the Novalis back into hyperspace as Jec's holo disappeared, Mand fought to quell her rising fear for Koril's health. He had been through so much already, and just when it seemed like he was getting back to his former state as he had been before the Huxnel virus...

Beside her, Ri put a hand on her arm. "He'll be okay."

Though wishing she had the girl's confidence, Mand sighed lightly. "I hope so."

"I know he will."

Ri retracted her hand and sat back in her seat, watching the same hyperspace pattern of streaking light out the front viewport. A content smile formed on her face, yet she remained quiet, perplexing Mand. She was so certain, and despite being intensely curious about it, Mand simply smiled, too, inexplicably knowing Ri was right.

Paneau: capital city of Dalon
Dalon Medical Center

Startled, Elena awoke with a gasp as she sat upright in her chair beside Koril's bed. Standing on the other side, Rech watched her with concern, having woken her by calling her name.

"I'm sorry," he apologized gently. "I didn't realize you were asleep."

But she shook her head to dismiss his regret, grasping Koril's hand again as she looked for a change in his condition. "It's okay. I just...dozed off."

Seeing the inquiring expression on Elena's face, Rech sighed softly. "Still the same."

Though disappointed, she nodded, scanning the monitors around Koril briefly. They were all quiet, within normal levels, but she hoped they weren't giving her premature relief; his body could be functioning perfectly, but damage could be hidden elsewhere. She stood to give him a kiss on his forehead, but a sudden wave of nausea hit her hard, stopping her midstep. She held her breath to let it pass, figuring she had just stood up too quickly, but the feeling lingered, forcing her to bring a hand to her head.

"Elena? Are you alright?"

She closed her eyes and nodded, releasing a slow breath. "Need some fresh air."

Leaving before Rech could protest, she stepped out into the quiet hallway flanked by Royal Guards, slowly leaning against the wall without getting their attention. Thankfully it was beginning to ease, but she needed to get something on her stomach soon...

"M'lady?"

Looking to her side, she saw Edgepoint pilots Swip and Leikam approaching her dressed in their officers uniforms, and as they stepped up closer to her, they became even more worried.

"Are you okay? You look a little...green."

Swip elbowed Leikam standing behind him for the comment, and despite her ongoing discomfort, Elena laughed lightly at the two as Leikam grimaced and rubbed his side.

"Yes, I'm alright," she answered them with a wan smile, appreciative of their concern. She drew in another deep breath to calm herself further, but it brought on another wave, making her sway.

Closest to her, Swip gripped her shoulders and gently lowered her onto a nearby bench, watching her closely. "Here, sit down..."

"Maybe you should lay down?"

Again laughing a little at the two, she grinned. "That's what started this in the first place."

Still anxious, Swip sat with her and kept a hand on her back as he looked about the hall. "Where's Major Jax? He shouldn't have left you--"

Stopping midsentence as if he had said something he shouldn't have, Swip froze with an uneasy look on his face. Elena met his eyes with curiosity as he winced regretfully, and following his gaze up to Leikam standing beside them, she was even more confused as he shook his head quickly to deny Swip his aid.

"Nope, you said it, not me."

Returning her attention to Swip, she waited expectantly for his explanation. He sighed as he reluctantly resigned, tossing his blond hair from his face to avoid her gaze as he spoke.

"The High Commander...gave Major Jax very specific orders to take care of you if anything were to happen to him." Afraid of her reaction, he looked to her after a moment when she remained silent. "You weren't supposed to know."

Elena barely refrained from rolling her eyes with a small smile. "I think I could have figured it out, Swip. Don't worry." She sighed lightly, too, feeling a little better with their friendly company. "It doesn't surprise me. Not much does anymore."

Though he looked relieved that she wasn't angered, his expression fell as Leikam spoke up again.

"...how is the High Commander?"

Her stomach began to twist once more. "Unknown right now. His vitals are stable, but until he wakes up..."

Both Swip and Leikam looked to the floor as they inferred her trailing thought, and Swip began to look almost guilty. "We were with him this morning at the hangar, m'lady, and he looked...fine. I didn't notice anything different."

"I thought he looked a little tired," Leikam added quietly, "but we all were at that hour of the morning."

Realizing that they were beginning to blame themselves for not anticipating Koril's sudden health crisis, she glanced between them both, meeting their gazes. "You two couldn't have known that this was going to happen. And even if you did," she gave a short laugh, "he wouldn't have believed you. Okay? Don't think that this is your fault. It's not."

Both nodded though their eyes remained focused on the floor, making her sigh again. They all could have blamed themselves for not seeing the warning signs, but nothing would come of it; they just had to hope that they'd be better prepared for the next time it happened, if there was going to be a next time...

One of the nurses in a Dalon Medical Center uniform stepped up to Koril's room with a data pad in hand, bowing slightly to Elena in greeting. "M'lady, test results on the High Commander."

Before she could stand with Swip's aid, Rech entered the hall and took the data pad with a grateful nod, scouring over its report quickly. The nurse had begun to leave with another bow, but Rech held out a hand to her after a few moments, summoning her back. "Wait, wait... This can't be right." Looking up at her from the screen, he shook his head. "This needs to be run again."

The nurse sounded apologetic as she returned to them. "We did, Sir. We ran it five times, all with the same result."

With Rech briefly distracted, Elena stripped the data pad from his grip, looking over it herself. What she saw didn't make sense to her, either, and the shock stole her breath.

"...this has to be some kind of mistake."

Discouraging her further, Rech didn't argue, instead nodding his head in thought. "It makes sense, though. It explains his symptoms, what happened to him..."

She found herself unable to form words as she met Rech's gaze, in complete disbelief that he had changed his mind and wouldn't offer any other kind of explanation. It had to be wrong.

Behind her, Swip leaned to the side slightly, craning his neck to look around her and Rech into Koril's room. "I...think he's waking up."

She turned quickly and saw what had caught Swip's attention: Koril's head was slowly rolling from side to side as his eyes opened and closed briefly. Feeling her heart skip a beat, she began to step toward the room, but Rech moved in front of her, stopping her.

"Elena...I need to assess him first. I'll let you know when it's okay for you to come in."

Though wanting to argue with him, she didn't have the strength, still wrestling with what the test results had said. Without awaiting an answer from her, he turned and went back into Koril's room after nodding to the Edgepoints behind her. Feeling Swip's hands on her shoulders again, she watched anxiously from outside, studying Koril's every move.

Bright. It's too bright...

His eyes refused to stay open. He couldn't feel the stinging burn of his eyes protesting the room's light, but it was almost reflexive the way they closed nearly immediately, guarding themselves from damage. Maybe he was too weak to keep them open. But why would he be so weak so suddenly?

He felt heavy blankets laying on top of him keeping him warm, and a breath mask was securely fastened over his nose and mouth, pumping sterile, odorless air into his lungs. Had something happened? He tried to remember, force his mind to process anything, everything that crossed through his thoughts...

"Koril?"

Rech's familiar voice seemed to echo about strangely, but despite the disorienting sound, he was sure his friend was standing beside him. Finally keeping his eyes coordinated enough, he opened them weakly, looking up at Rech's concerned expression that came into focus after a few moments.

"Do you know where you are?"

Of course, he knew where he was, but why was his mind being so sluggish comprehending it? He slowly looked about the room, taking in everything he could see: light yellow walls, nurses in deep purple uniforms, a six-pointed star symbol on the door, medical equipment all around him... Again, it was very familiar, yet his response was exceptionally delayed, frustrating him. What was making him so slow?

"Dalon...Med Center," he finally managed to answer, and he was surprised at the weakness of his own voice. Rech seemed pleased, however, his expression brightening.

"Very good."

"Why...am I here?"

Satisfied with his condition, Rech removed the breath mask from his face, watching him carefully for a moment as he breathed on his own. "Well...what do you remember?"

He couldn't remember much of anything in his haze, but a familiar toddler's happy laughing he heard in his mind was beginning to make it clearer. He focused on it, using it to sharpen his thoughts, form his memories...

Derek.

"I was...in...the Manor...the hall, with Derek," he managed to answer, and as he continued, the images became stronger. "Cordira...Cordira ran ahead, and I was...trying to get him to...play, to chase her..." Confused as his memory suddenly halted and disappeared, he furrowed his brows, uncertain how to continue. "But...I stopped. It went black... I don't know why."

Rech's expression fell to a more solemn one as he sighed lightly, almost hesitating to explain. "You went into cardiac arrest and collapsed."

Koril blinked, unsure if he had heard Rech correctly. His heart had stopped again, after he had made so much progress and had been getting healthier by the day?

"...how long?"

Rech looked down and away, unwilling to answer. Koril somehow forced strength into his voice.

"How long?"

"Five and a half minutes."

In disbelief, Koril looked to the ceiling, struggling to comprehend it. He had essentially been dead that long, so how was he still functioning?

Presuming his train of thought, Rech spoke up again. "Major Jax and Elena kept your blood pumping and breathed for you. Their quick action seems to have paid off. Can you move your arms and legs for me?"

Numbly complying, he moved what he could under the heavy blankets, and though Rech continued to look relieved at his progress, Koril still couldn't understand.

"Why... Why did my heart stop?"

Before Rech answered, he turned toward the room's window behind him and waved, bringing Elena, Major Jax, and his protocol droid Kaydee inside. Elena immediately sat at his side and held his hand tightly, locking her fingers with his as she watched him closely. Her expression was pained and worried, as though she knew something terrible he didn't, and as Rech finally began to respond to his earlier question, Koril felt the eyes of all present burning into him, awaiting his reaction to...something.

"Koril... We found a pretty substantial amount of a highly refined, extremely potent form of spice in your system."

It took him a full four seconds to realize what Rech was implying, and it was insulting. It was made even worse as his friend asked what they all seemed to be thinking.

"...did you take it?"

Incensed but too stunned to be angry, Koril could barely force his words out. "No... No, I would never..." Hurt by the accusation, he looked to Elena beside him whose expression was more sympathetic, but she remained silent. How could they all have thought that of him? Elena knew him better than anyone, and they had just gotten back from a stress-free, romantic week together. Why would he have possibly needed the dangerous, not to mention illegal, drug?

Sensing his distress, Elena brushed her free hand against his cheek before turning back to Rech. "Someone must have poisoned him."

But Rech still seemed skeptical for some reason. "That amount was far beyond any incidental contact..."

Elena's expression hardened. "It could have been concentrated."

Nodding after a moment, Rech sighed, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked to Koril. "Maybe it was on something you ate? That could explain how so much of it was still in your system after some had initially been metabolized."

"I...didn't eat anything this morning," Koril answered warily. "I was up most of the night."

Beside him, Elena frowned as she gently ran her fingers through his hair, knowing the reason for his turmoil. He hadn't told her the content of his nightmare that had awakened him so early into the night, but she could tell how much it had upset him. Though she was beginning to look guilty for having been unaware of his sleeplessness, he turned his head into the warmth of her hand on the side of his face, trying to ease her worry.

"When and where did you last eat, then?" Rech continued.

Having to fight through his hazy memory again, he sighed, closing his eyes to sort through the past few days...but they shot open in his panic. "Last night...at the Manor...with everyone else." He looked to Elena and to Jax standing behind her, asking them both as his anxiety increased. "Where's Derek? Is he okay?"

"Yes, he's fine," Elena soothed, glancing up at his monitors with concern as they began to speed up with his increasing heart rate. "Koril, relax...relax. You're the only one who's sick."

Though it took him a few minutes, he finally calmed his breathing despite still being incredibly worried for his son. Derek's small body wouldn't tolerate much of the spice at all, and if he had transferred even just a tiny amount of what he had in his system to the boy...

"What about anything you had to drink?"

Again having to think back, Koril licked his dry lips, dehydrated by the hours the breath mask had been on his face. He hadn't had time to get anything when he returned to the Manor that morning, but before...

"I had a glass of water...at the hangar."

The three gathered around him suddenly tensed, seeming to have collectively held their breaths.

"...did you get it yourself?"

He shook his head as he looked to Elena again. "No...it was brought to me."

"By whom?" Jax spoke up intensely for the first time, stepping closer to him. "Who brought it to you?"

Feeling himself beginning to shake though he wasn't cold, he closed his eyes again as he thought back. He could see the face of the young lieutenant, her kind smile as she greeted him and offered the glass to him as he toured the fighters in the hangar, but her name...her name...

"Lieutenant...Lieutenant Macek. Sidi Macek."

Within seconds, Jax was gone without another word, leaving with a pair of Elite Guards and sending the two Edgepoints outside into the room to replace him. Koril could tell that Elena wanted to go with Jax, too, but she released a shaky breath as she looked back down on him, squeezing his hand as she remained at his side. Something else was on her mind.

"That spice caused your cardiac arrest, Koril," Rech continued, still explaining. "It sped up your heart rate so fast that in its weakened state, your heart just couldn't keep up any longer, so it stopped. I had a hard time getting it started again."

Elena looked up at Rech with an expression that was strangely harsh, as if daring him to say more though he remained quiet. After a moment, she looked back to Koril and gave him a swift kiss, standing as she released his hand and turned to Rech once more.

"We need to talk," she told him in a low voice, leaving the room with quick steps. Rech followed after her silently and maintained his gaze on the floor as he went, leaving Swip and Leikam beside Koril and Kaydee, surprisingly remaining quiet, in the corner. Elena's reaction confused him somewhat, but there wasn't much he was sure of as he closed his eyes, trying to process it all.

One of his own officers had poisoned him at the hangar with a nearly fatal dose of spice...spice that hadn't been on Paneau for centuries. After the Old Republic's patrols had forced spice runners to reroute their business lanes through the asteroid field bounding the sector years ago, the risk became far too costly for them. Losing their valuable cargo to hazardous navigation was no longer worth the meager profit they'd make with such a small population. They took their business elsewhere, thankfully, leaving Paneau out of criminal activity for some time, so where had the spice come from?

But more importantly, why had he been targeted?

His decision to make inspection rounds at the hangar that morning had been spur of the moment, so no one could have anticipated his presence there, but it was still such an unsettling feeling. What did Lt. Macek have against him? Maybe her intent wasn't to kill him, though; death caused by spice use wasn't unheard of, but it was usually a rare occurrence, and his case was unique. Rech had said his heart was too weak to keep up with the rapid pace, but only those closest to him had known that about him from his recent health issues. Still, if he had been the target of the attack, it was personal, and someone was definitely out to hurt him somehow. And if this hadn't been successful, another way to get to him would be to hurt those who mattered more to him than himself: his son, and his wife, and his next child...

Opening his eyes once more, he looked out the room's window to see Elena still arguing with Rech. She seemed to be exceptionally agitated at Rech's answers, making him that much more concerned. She was frustrated, and understandably so, but she was much more animated than usual. As he considered the reason why, he realized that she was so very vulnerable right now...

"Master Koril," Kaydee addressed him with care as she stepped up beside him. "Is there anything that I may do for you?"

After looking at Elena a moment longer, he nodded, glancing briefly at Swip and Leikam who had moved back to stand against the wall on the other side of the room.

"Yes, Kaydee," he said, keeping his voice very quiet. "I need to talk to Deilia. Now."