WARNING: THIS IS A COMPANION STORY FOR Two Parts of a Whole: A Reylo Star Wars story. PLEASE AT LEAST READ CHAPTERS 1-19 BEFORE STARTING THIS STORY!
(This Chapter follows Two Parts of a Whole chapter: 27)
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or any of the Amazing characters other than Eshreal...
As always enjoy!
Chapter 5: Completing the Team
Panic laced every decision the team made as they tried to come up with the best course of action to save Gear's life. Taliki and Eshreal wanted to use the stolen bacta but Cade shut that down right away. The bacta was for the resistance, until one of them said it was okay to use it, they couldn't and wouldn't unless as a last resort.
Zer-o was the one who decided that they needed to find Asera and make her treat Gear. She was a doctor/healer as well as a wielder of the Force. She also owed them for sending them into the heavily guarded warehouse. Sure they were grateful for the bacta but they would need that for the fights to come.
Zer-o and Cade refused to leave this planet without knowing that Gear was going to be okay. Not that the girls disagreed, Taliki just felt that Rhinnal was getting way too hot with the amount of First Order Stormtroopers arriving by TIE fighter, shuttle, and Star Destroyer. Eshreal agreed after having to shoot down strings of TIE fighters that seemed to be trailing after the Starfall everywhere they tried to go.
"This ship needs a cloaking mechanism," Zer-o muttered as Eshreal streaked through the sky looking for some where to land.
"Well go out and steal one and I'll install it on the ship," Eshreal barked.
She had been in adult mode ever since the accident. She'd used her plants to staunch the bleeding but his wounds weren't healing like normal. It was the fact that he hadn't regained consciousness yet that worried everyone.
Now they were headed back to Spoeman Pub to see if Asera was a regular there. Eshreal finally found a spot to set the Starfall down where it wouldn't be so easily recognized. Once the ship was secure Taliki, Eshreal, Cade and Zer-o all got ready to leave the ship. They all stopped in the doorway.
"Someone should stay here," Cade said quietly.
They all turned back to their fallen teammate. Taliki and Eshreal exchanged glances.
"I'll stay here. But you guys should stay on coms just in case someone shows up. It's not like I can fly this thing," Taliki said.
"Are you sure," Zer-o asked.
"Yeah, I'd rather stay here and watch over him since I feel partly responsible for him getting hurt," she said, not meeting any of their eyes.
"Why would you think that," Zer-o asked.
"Don't think that," Eshreal said at the same time.
"He's the moron who decided to go back for that last cart with those TIE's firing at the building," Cade said.
Taliki gave him an unfriendly look.
"While you three were so busy with your flashy weapons, Gear was the one worried about completing the mission," she snapped at Cade. Then she turned to Eshreal and Zer-o, "I feel like this because I should have been able to take a cart on my own, instead I needed help and because of that we lost time."
Eshreal put a hand on the pink woman's shoulder.
"It's okay. We've all made mistakes and maybe if that damn woman'd had better intel about the First Order already being there and we'd taken the weight of the carts into consideration things would have been different. Hindsight is always 20/20," Essie said.
"Besides Gear is a hell of a lot tougher than you think," Cade said reassuringly.
"We will find Asera and make her help Gear," Zer-o vowed.
Little did they know it would take almost 3 days before they were able to track Asera down.
Scouting the pub yielded no results. Everyone denied ever seeing the woman or even hearing the name Asera. Cade failed at using the mind trick on the bar tender and they got kicked out before Eshreal could even try. Eshreal tried to go back but the man threatened to call the First Order on them.
They moved on to walking through the town trying to get information on Asera or the medical Academy in town. Cade began chatting up a couple of nurses, leaving Zer-o and Eshreal to act as look outs. Zer-o spotted a rare blaster rifle on the back of a First Order mercenary and wandered off after the man. Eshreal, left on her own didn't fare any better. A couple of slavers recognized her beauty and naiveté and led her away from where she was waiting for Cade and Zer-o.
Once Cade got the location of the academy he returned to the meeting place. He was frustrated to find that both Zer-o and Eshreal were gone. After waiting for 20 minutes Zer-o came strolling back with a new rifle on his hip. He looked smug.
"Where the hell have you been," Cade snapped.
"I took out a mercenary and snatched his rifle," Zer-o said holding the gun up for Cade to see.
"Is Eshreal with you," Cade asked in an annoyed voice.
Zer-o looked around as though he just noticed that Eshreal was no longer with them.
"No. I thought she was waiting here," Zer-o said.
"Well obviously she's not here. Spread out and look for her. It's not like we have a lot of time," Cade said.
The two men were about to split up after agreeing to meet back in 5 minutes if they didn't find her. They knew she could take care of herself and would more than likely make her way back to the Starfall when she couldn't find them. Luckily, they didn't have to go looking for her.
Eshreal came shoving through the crowd.
"What happened to you," Cade asked.
"Some men came up to me offering me information about Asera and the academy. I followed them supposedly to a pub but when we got in a dark alley, they tried to grab me. They were slavers," she exclaimed.
"WHAT," Cade and Zer-o exclaimed at the same time.
They both reached for their lightsabers. Eshreal held her hands up and shook her head.
"No need to rush off. I already took care of it. I used the mind trick to make them think that they were lovers on vacation and made them go release all of the women they had captured. They won't be grabbing anyone else," Essie said.
"Good," Zer-o said.
"You can't just wander off with strangers, Eshreal," Cade said.
Eshreal rolled her eyes.
"I was just trying to help find Asera. Besides if I hadn't taken those guys out, imagine how many people they could have enslaved," she said.
Cade couldn't argue with her there.
"You said you got the info we were looking for," Zer asked getting back to business.
Cade nodded and said, "Yeah, the academy isn't far from here. Asera will be there. If she refuses to see us, all we have to do is bring Gear to the academy. They will have to let us in and they will have to treat Gear."
"That's great. We should walk to the Academy and explore the city," Eshreal said and was about to skip off when Zer stopped her.
"Let's just go get the ship and take Gear to the academy. We wasted enough time without going to the academy empty handed just to be turned away. You both know full well Asera isn't going to want to see us. She considers us too much of a risk," Zer-o said. When Eshreal and Cade nodded in agreement he continued, "I am sure by now the academy has been informed that the First Order didn't get their bacta and if Asera refuses to see us it will look suspicious on her end. This way if we show up with Gear, they'll have to treat him and we won't be wasting any time. We need to get back to the Resistance as soon as possible with the bacta and a healer wouldn't hurt either."
Cade stared at him as the three of them made their way back to the Starfall.
"You can't seriously wanna take that woman back to the Resistance with us," Eshreal said.
"Of course I do. She's a Force user and a healer. If we go back and tell Rey we found another one like us and didn't at least attempt to have her join us what do you think she and that bastard Ren will say," Zer-o reasoned.
"He does have a point, Essie," Cade said.
"You can't be serious. We still don't know if she set us up or not and you want to bring her back to our home," she asked incredulously as they entered the ship.
"You want to bring who back to our home," Taliki asked coming out of Gear's room, catching the tail end of the conversation.
"Zer-o and Cade think it would be a good idea for Asera to come back to Olara with us," Eshreal said with an attitude as she went and hopped into the pilot's chair.
The Starfall rose high enough in the air that they could see the whole city of Rhire. It wasn't hard to locate the academy as it was the size of a small city itself. There were landing pads all around the academy for all of the ships that came and went.
"I think we could really use a healer back on Olara instead of just trying to solve everything with Bacta," Zer-o said.
Surprisingly Taliki nodded.
"I think it's a good idea too. Especially if she can heal with the Force and she could teach the rest of us to do it," Taliki said.
"Well I guess I am out voted," Eshreal muttered as she landed the ship near the Academy.
"Don't pout. This is important," Taliki said.
"I'm not pouting. I just don't trust her," Eshreal said.
"You don't have to trust her yet. If she helps Gear with no problem, I will approach her about joining us. If she has a problem with helping Gear, I'll just tell her we might let slip that she was the one who led the thieves to the Academy's store house where the First Order's shipment of Bacta was just stolen from," Zer-o said and Cade nodded in agreement.
The group loaded Gear onto a homemade stretcher. Then Cade and Zer-o carefully carried him off the Starfall with Taliki and Eshreal leading the way. They got to the front gate where 4 guards were standing. They took one look at Eshreal, Taliki, Cade and Zer-o and raised their blasters at them.
"Halt! State your business with the Rhinnal State Medical Academy," the guards said in unison.
"It's an emergency. Our companion is gravely injured A woman named Asera told us about this place," Taliki said.
The men looked skeptical. Eshreal gestures for Cade and Zer-o to move closer with Gear on the stretcher. They moved a few steps closer and turned to the side so that the guards could see Gear wrapped in bandages.
"What happened to him," one of the guards asked.
"One of our escape pods malfunctioned and it exploded with him inside," Cade lied easily.
"It's been a couple of days and he still hasn't regained consciousness," Eshreal added.
"You said Asera told you about the Academy? How do you know her," the leader asked.
"We met when my former slave master brought me here to be treated a long time ago," Taliki lied.
The four men exchanged glances. Like most upstanding citizens they became uncomfortable at the mention of slavery. The leader went inside the guard shack and when he came back out he pressed a button to open the gate.
"Come inside, quickly. I spoke to one of the healers that work with Asera and they have an open room in their wing," he said.
Taliki and Eshreal bowed at the waist and began thanking the guards profusely. Once the gate was fully opened one of the guards escorted them inside. He walked along at a swift pace trying to give the group as little time to look around the academy as possible. Cade and Zer-o were still able to take note of a few pieces of equipment that would definitely be a help to the Resistance.
The wing that Asera was assigned to was near the rear of the massive facility. It was the Southeastern wing and that wing specialized in burns and severe head trauma. It seemed like destiny for that to be her specialty when it was exactly what they needed.
The guard took them to giant red metal doors. With a scan of his badge the doors opened and they were ushered inside. Asera was waiting for them with her arms crossed over her ample chest.
"Thank you, Hyland. I've got it from here," Asera said in a cold voice.
"Yes ma'am," the guard Hyland said and took off.
"What are you all doing here," Asera hissed as soon as they were alone in the hallway.
"Our friend here was blown up the First Order liberating the Bacta you promised to the Resistance. How do you think General Leia is going to feel if you let one of her people die," Eshreal asked with an attitude.
Asera tried to keep her face blank but after she looked Gear over she looked worried.
"This happened three days ago?"
The group nodded together.
"And he hasn't healed at all or regained consciousness since then," Asera asked.
"No," Zer-o said.
"We have a code Yellow," Asera called out and suddenly the quiet hallway was bustling with activity. "Take him in that room there," Asera said pointing to an open doorway.
Cade and Zer-o rushed him inside. Nurses and other healer filed into the room. Eshreal and Taliki stood lamely out in the hall. Neither female was sure what to do with themselves. Asera shoved Cade and Zer-o out into the hall.
"Nurse Kylel will show you all to a waiting room while we work on your friend. As soon as I know anything I will come find you guys," Asera said before shutting the door to Gear's room.
Nurse Kylel was shorter than Eshreal with pale brown hair and pale skin with clear blue eyes. She simply smiled and indicated for the group to follow her. The waiting room wasn't far. In fact it was close enough to see the closed door to Gear's room through the strange indoor windows. Nurse Kylel shut the door on them and everyone found a spot to sit down.
"So how long do you think it will take before Gear is okay," Taliki asked.
"I have no idea. If I knew anything about Force healing I'd have some idea but no one from my home planet could even do it," Eshreal said.
"Damn," Zer-o muttered under his breath.
As the minutes turned to hours the group began finding ways to fill the time. They found themselves needing to do and think about something other than their fallen comrade. Eshreal and Taliki fell into meditation while Cade and Zer-o disguised their presences with the Force and slipped out of the waiting room to take closer looks at the Academy's medical tech.
After about 10 long hours Asera came to find them. Cade and Zer-o had miraculously lifted equipment from the more deserted parts of the Academy and took them back to the Starfall without anyone catching them. Taliki and Eshreal had fallen asleep in their meditative poses, Eshreal in the traditional cross-legged position and Taliki standing on one leg. They all looked up when the door opened and Asera walked in.
"Well," Taliki asked impatiently.
"Your friend will live. We were able to heal the bleeding in his brain which is what was keeping him from waking up. The burns and cuts to his back and neck are also healed. He will be a little disoriented when he wakes up so I would suggest you take things slowly," Asera said.
"Did you use the Force to heal him," Cade asked.
"Partly. The academy tries not to rely on the Force as I am the only one who can even do it," Asera explained.
"Well thank you for saving our friend," Eshreal said and looked to Zer-o.
"Now I think it's time for you all to leave," Asera said.
"Oh we will, but you're coming with us," Cade said.
Asera looked shocked.
"What," she asked in confusion.
"The Resistance doesn't have a doctor that can heal with the Force," Zer-o started.
"Or a doctor at all," Cade added.
"So you want me to leave the Academy to be a healer for the Resistance," she asked incredulously.
"Yup," Eshreal and Taliki said.
"No way," Asera said without even considering it.
"Well you should hear us out before just saying no," Cade said with a wolfish grin on his face.
"What could you possibly say that could make me change my mind," Asera asked irritably.
"You can either come back with us under the guise of training some of our people to be healers or we can tell the people who run this place that you're the one who got the First Order's bacta stolen by the Resistance," Zer-o said.
Asera looked mortified.
"I…I…I thought you were the good guys but now you're black mailing me into leaving the academy just to die with the Resistance," she said with disgust.
"We don't plan on dying anytime soon. And the odds of it happening will decrease if you can teach some of us to heal with the Force. When you are done you can even come back here. General Leia would never keep anyone against their will," Eshreal explained.
Asera seemed to think on Eshreal's words.
"Plus, Gear will need someone with medical training to look him over once he's up," Taliki said.
"Please, Asera. The Force brought us all together for a reason. As far as we know, we are the only Force users left in the galaxy including Rey. We need to stick together," Zer-o pled.
"I noticed you said Force user instead of Jedi," Asera said finally.
"There are no more Jedi. Luke Skywalker was the last one. We are learning to be something new from Rey," Zer-o said, careful not to mention Ren just yet.
"Something new," Asera asked.
"Something that takes the aspects of both the light and the dark, but is stronger than both," Cade explained.
They finally had Asera's attention now.
"Training for what? To fight the First Order," she asked.
"Partly. The main reason we are training is that there is a new darkness threatening our galaxy that makes Snoke and Kylo Ren look like good guys. Most people aren't aware because Kylo Ren was forced out of the First Order before he could tell anyone," Eshreal said.
Asera processed the information for a moment.
"Someone worse than Snoke and the First Order is targeting our galaxy," Asera asked for clarity.
"His name is Zroyais and he has already taken over the First Order and anyone aligned with them," Zer-o said.
"We can't fight him with only 7 Force Users. Come fight with us and I promise that you will get so much stronger than you could ever get training here by yourself. You can help us rebuild the Resistance," Taliki pled.
In the end Asera agreed to join the Resistance and help out with teaching everyone to heal with the Force if possible. All in all Cade and Eshreal thought they'd done well and couldn't wait to introduce Asera to the group. It finally felt like they were complete.