Christmas Eve! Yippee!
It had been two days since the battle at Dantooine. In that time, more and more casualty reports had come in. Among the casualties were Mormi Leeel and Zan Dryker. Zhymmia had been mildly injured. Kobayashi was just beginning to recover from his blaster wound. Besides being a bit light-headed, Ooke was in perfect health. Numel had a few scrapes and bruises, but nothing else. Everyone else was well enough…
Except for Vader.
Ryatsi wasn't quite sure what to do with him. He had been lying in a semi-comatose state in the medical wing since they had carried him off the bridge. He was feverish and was delirious, but she couldn't find a physical cause. He had received no injuries; all the blood that had been on him belonged to the Rebels he had killed.
Ooke, who had been in there repairing the damaged machinery, approached Ryatsi. "How's Koby?'
"He's improving, slowly but surely," Ryatsi said with a strained smile; she hadn't slept since the battle. The lack of doctors and medical droids didn't allow for sleep.
"What about Zhymmia?"
"Zhymmia will be able to leave the medical wing by tomorrow morning," Ryatsi answered.
Ooke paused before asking, "And, uh, what about Vader?"
Ryatsi's smile vanished. "I haven't seen much of a change. I don't understand what's bothering him; whatever it is, it isn't physical."
Ooke looked in Vader's direction before sighing and returning to his work. Ryatsi did similar.
The next day, Zhymmia was allowed to leave. She bade Kobayashi, Ooke, and Ryatsi good-bye before leaving.
"How are you feeling this morning, Koby?" Ryatsi asked him as she approached his bed.
"Better," Kobayashi said earnestly.
"Good," Ryatsi nodded and checked his wound. "If you get plenty of rest, I'd say you'll be out of here in under a week."
"Sounds great to me," Kobayashi laughed before wincing. "Ow,"
"Stop laughing like an idiot, Koby," Ryatsi sighed. "You're only going to irritate your wound."
"Sorry," Koby said sheepishly.
Sighing, Ryatsi walked over to Vader's bed. He was still unconscious and occasionally twitched.
"Doctor," someone said as they entered, bringing in another patient. Ryatsi gave Vader one last glance before running over to help.
Zhymmia didn't understand what could be wrong with Vader. Dr. Ryatsi said nothing was wrong with him, physically speaking. It had to be something emotional… but it must be pretty substantially serious to be affecting him in such a way. Perhaps medical hands weren't required, but helpful ones instead.
She proposed this idea to Ryatsi the next day, and Ryatsi agreed, discharging Vader and allowing Zhymmia, along with Moeema and Kerrick, to take Vader—who was still unconscious on a stretcher—to his room.
"How are you going to talk to him if he's in that state?" Kerrick asked Zhymmia.
She only shrugged in response. For the sake of her own sanity it was probably better that Vader was unconscious anyway. "I have no idea… but it's worth a try."
Moeema nodded. "I agree. I'll help you, Zhymmia."
When they arrived, Kerrick helped the two women situate Vader and then left. Moeema and Zhymmia sat down beside the cot. Zhymmia looked around the room at the blaster marks on the walls. She then examined the now semi-functional (formally completely unhinged) door. "Maybe this isn't the best place for him to be…"
Moeema laughed. "I agree with you there, but we have nowhere else to take him."
Zhymmia nodded and then the two women looked at Vader once again. They remained there for about an hour, Zhymmia trying to gather up resolve and thinking of what to say. She supposed Moeema was just waiting for Vader to awaken. Finally, the boy finally began to stir.
"Hey, Little One," Moeema greeted him.
His eyes studied her briefly before rolling over to look at Zhymmia. They were feverish and clouded.
"Little One, you have to tell us what's wrong." Zhymmia said to him, gathering all of her bravery.
Vader immediately looked away.
Moeema helped him to sit up before putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Little One, tell us. It's all right. Believe me; you'll feel a lot better after getting it off your chest. You can trust us."
Vader looked at them before shaking his head and looking down at the floor.
"Please, let us help," Zhymmia insisted.
"We want to help you," Moeema agreed.
Vader remained silent for what seemed an eternity. Then, finally, he asked, "How's Kobayashi?"
"He's getting better every day," Moeema informed him. "He's going to be fine, Little One."
"What about Mormi and Zan?"
"How did you…?" Zhymmia was about to ask when Moeema shook her head.
"I believe you already know what happened to them," Moeema answered knowingly.
"And I couldn't stop it," Vader muttered.
"What—you—are you saying their deaths are your fault?" Zhymmia blurted out, completely taken aback.
Her words immediately brought a reaction from Vader, who shot to his feet. "Yes, they are my fault! I wasn't strong enough to stop them, I couldn't see it coming!"
"Lo, you can't possibly stop everyone from dying or getting hurt," Moeema told him.
"Yes, I can!" Vader insisted. "I have to!"
"What do you mean you have to?"
Vader shook his head before collapsing on the cot once more. "I have to… I can't lose anyone else…"
Zhymmia and Moeema exchanged meaningful looks before Zhymmia said, "Little One, no matter what happens, you have to accept that sometimes things are out of your control. Once you accept that, you'll be able to see that no matter what happens we'll always be there to get you back on your feet."
Vader's eyes slowly drifted towards Zhymmia before they began silently pleading with her. It was almost as if he were asking if she really meant what she said. Zhymmia answered silently by nodding with conviction.
Finally, the barriers crumbled. Vader immediately reached out to Moeema, who embraced him. Zhymmia soon joined the hug.
"No more headaches?"
Padmé laughed. "No,"
Her mother and father looked at her lovingly before hugging her. "We're just so happy you're alive."
"I'm surprised I'm alive," Padmé replied honestly. "I didn't think I would make it after…"
She trailed off, not really wanting to bring up the subject. Her parents knowingly didn't push the issue. Instead, they changed the subject.
"So, according to the doctors, you should be able to leave the med center in three weeks' time," her mother said.
Padmé smiled. "Yes, so I've heard. I'm very happy to know that, I can't wait to get out of here."
"What are you going to do once you get out?" her father asked.
Padmé looked at them and then looked down at her clasped hands in front of her. "I really don't know. I know I have to find a way to get back to the senate."
"No, Padmé," her parents both objected strongly.
"You can't go back there, you almost died because of the issues with the senate," Sola argued.
"I must go back there," Padmé insisted. "I can't sit around and do nothing; it will make me worse than the senators who actually support the Empire."
"Padmé, please," her father practically begged. "Don't go back to the senate."
"I'm sorry," Padmé looked at them with fierce determination. "I have to."
Death Squadron was improving bit by bit. The Stalker and the Accuser have been salvaged for spare parts since there was no way of fixing the ships. The Avenger was almost in running condition once again. The rest of the fleet was ready for the jump to hyperspace. Death Squadron would be leaving Dantooine by tomorrow at noon.
Kobayashi was just glad that the issues with Vader had finally been settled. It had been three days since Vader was discharged—a week since the battle. Just a few hours earlier, Darth Vader had come in to check on Kobayashi and Ryatsi.
Ryatsi approached Kobayashi for the hourly checkup. "How are you feeling?"
"I'd be feeling even better if I could just get out of here," Kobayashi complained.
"Don't worry, you'll be out soon enough," Ryatsi replied. "I think you will be able to leave by tomorrow, actually, right when the fleet departs this blasted system."
"Thank the Force for that," Kobayashi responded, sighing.
The next day, Vader came to visit. Kobayashi smiled and greeted him happily. "Hey, Little One! You won't believe this; I'm going to be free in about two hours!"
Vader's spirits rose immensely. "Really?"
"Yep," Kobayashi nodded. "I can't wait to get out of here."
"I can't wait for you to get out of here, too," Vader agreed. "I hate this place,"
"I can tell," Kobayashi laughed. "You get tense every time you come here."
The two sat in comfortable silence for the remaining two hours, watching the happenings around the medical until Kobayashi and Vader both leapt with joy upon hearing that Kobayashi was discharged. The two immediately ran out of the medical wing and towards the lounge to see if any of the others were there.
Kerrick and Moeema were lounging about on the couches while Numel and Zhymmia were playing dejarik. The fleet had just entered hyperspace, so everyone was still a little on edge.
"Where are the others?" Kobayashi asked upon approaching the group.
Everyone immediately leapt to their feet and embraced Kobayashi before helping him sit on the couch. Vader silently but contentedly sat down on one of the plushier chairs.
"Well, let me see," Kerrick sighed, thinking for a moment before answering Kobayashi's query. "Ooke is obviously running wild in the engineering section making sure the sputtering hyperdrive stays alive long enough to get us to our destination. Shiine is on his way here, because after all, there isn't much the head of a detention center can do right now. Marrax is on the bridge right now with Jifo, as well as Rowan. Carh'la, I believe, is heading here right now."
"Well, that accounts for everyone, I guess," Kobayashi muttered and everyone was silent for a moment.
Suddenly, Zhymmia stood up from her chair, irritated, while Numel laughed.
"You jerk!" she yelled.
"Oh, come on, sweetheart, I was only joking," Numel replied through his snorts of laughter.
"Numel, you're not flirting with her now, are you?" Kerrick sighed. "Sorry, Zhymmia, I forgot to warn you about that. Numel was known on the Stalker as a notorious flirt."
Numel stopped laughing for a moment to honor those that had died on the Stalker. Then, the door to the lounge opened to reveal Shiine and Carh'la.
"Hey," they both said.
"Hello, guys," Kobayashi greeted.
Carh'la and Shiine immediately ran over to him and asked if he was alright. Kobayashi quickly said he was fine and everyone settled down.
Zhymmia stormed over to a chair beside Vader and brooded while Vader watched everyone curiously. Kerrick and Carh'la asked Numel to a game of sabacc, to which he readily agreed. Moeema then began to play dejarik with Kobayashi while Shiine watched the sabacc game. Vader eventually fell asleep while Zhymmia walked over to join Shiine.
A few hours later, Ooke entered the lounge alongside Jifo and Marrax. The three also watched the fifth sabacc game which now also had Kobayashi and Moeema participating. Vader finally awoke and joined the audience, watching the game curiously.
"What's that?" he finally asked.
"It's called sabacc," Marrax explained.
While Marrax began describing the rules of the game, Jifo looked nervously in Vader's direction. He could see that Vader had improved vastly since the aftermath of the battle, but Jifo was still uneasy around him. After all, Vader had brutally killed—in self-defense, but brutally nonetheless—the Rebel boarding party. What was even more unnerving was how unaffected he seemed. While Vader was quieter than normal, his bouncy curiosity could be seen bubbling to the surface once again. The only difference between the current scene and one in the lounge just before the battle at Dantooine was that Mormi and Zan weren't there.
Suddenly, Carh'la shouted in triumph while everyone else moaned in misery. By the sixth sabacc game, Kobayashi had lost twenty Imperial credits, Kerrick had gotten fifteen credits, and Carh'la had won thirty-seven credits. Moeema, who had been playing safe, only lost five.
After the game, Jifo and Kobayashi began talking to each other on the couch. Moeema and Carh'la were having some sort of debate with Kerrick and Marrax while Zhymmia approached Shiine, Numel, Ooke, and Vader.
"So…" she started. "Um, any idea where we're going, anyway?"
Ooke shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine, Zhymmia."
"Ah, but I know where we're going," Numel said with a smirk. "Why don't you ask me, Zhymmia?"
"That's Ens. Kenzee to you, you pervert," Zhymmia snapped.
Vader remained silent, watching the exchange with mild curiosity.
"You still haven't asked," Numel reminded her.
"Well don't hold your breath," Zhymmia retorted. "Because I'm not going to ask,"
"Where are we going?" Vader asked.
"Well, since you asked me, I'll tell you," Numel replied, smiling at Vader. "I heard from the commanders that we're going to another Outer Rim planet. It's called Nihoma."
Kobayashi immediately stopped talking to Jifo and looked at Numel. "What? We're going where?"
"Nihoma," Numel responded. "From what I heard, the captain says the place is perfectly safe, unlike here. He says it's a good place for us to stop and get a breath of fresh air and get some more supplies."
"What—but—how long will it take for us to get there?" Kobayashi stammered.
Numel shrugged.
"It's about a week from here," Vader said.
Everyone regarded the boy, who merely shrugged. "What? Rowan gave me some star charts a week ago…"
The room heaved a collective sigh before resuming whatever they had been doing, though Kobayashi still was extremely nervous.
Review! Tomorrow's the last day of the marathon!