On shaking legs, Lily pushes herself to her feet and staggers over to Asajj where she's curled into a fetal ball on the floor of the Hexagon. As she's doing that, Harry runs into the circle carrying a couple of towels and crying, "Mummy!"
Wanly she smiles at her son as she takes one of the towels, "Harry, would you be able to help clean Asajj. Gently!"
Harry nods and rushes past Lily, only slowing down at her warning and gently scraping off the gelatinous gobs of tainted liquid, being careful not to let any of it touch his skin.
This was the forth gruelling session, and the first one that didn't knock her out less than an hour into the six hour ritual. A modification she made to account for the fact that there were two of them in here, with D12 splashing each of them alternately every three seconds instead of each person being splashed every three seconds.
As she makes it over to Asajj's side she leans heavily against the inner barrier, only to stumble as the barrier doesn't even impede her movement. The only reason she doesn't fall is D12's swift movements to catch her. Looking up, she weakly smiles at the droid, "Thank you. And thank you for doing this."
D12 looks down as he steadies his charge, "No thanks are necessary. Ritual: Exorcism has been classified as a medical procedure."
Lily places a gentle hand on the droid, causing him to glitch slightly, "I know you did, but you're still a nanny droid, my nanny droid."
D12's eyes glow a cheery yellow colour, "And Little Lily needs a nap."
Lily nods, "I do. But I need to make sure Asajj is comfortable first."
D12 scoops Lily up in his arms, "Nanny is watching Harry as he looks after patient Asajj."
Lily can only nod weakly as D12 successfully takes her away from the ritual circle for the first time since she rushed in to strip Asajj's clothes. Not that she remembers the first time the droid tried, but Fay said that she had to argue with the droid until she said that Lily was sick.
═══════ ೋღ ღೋ ═══════
Lily doubles over with a groan as Harry lands on her stomach shouting, "Mummy! Mummy! It's daytime, can we explore the farm please?"
Lily groans, "What farm?"
Harry turns around and sits on the bed as he chatters excitedly, "The Jedi one that we landed next to. Mummy took me with her yesterday, but she wouldn't let me explore until I had a belt. I don't understand, I was already wearing my belt."
Lily climbs down off her bed and smiles up at Harry, "She wants me to make your belt special, like I did on Queyta just in case there's an evil droid. Now have you brushed your teeth?"
Harry sucks in his lips to cover his teeth, and nods while saying, "Uh huh."
"And would Nanny agree with you? Go and brush your teeth you little tike."
Harry jumps off the bed with a squeal and runs out of the room shouting "Yes Mummy" behind him.
After taking the time to use the fresher herself, Lily clamps down on her urge to reach out to find Fay with the force, and instead quickly looks around the few living spaces on the ship, before ending up in the cockpit.
"Fay."
Fay turns around from where she's running some checks on the ship with a confused expression, "Lily, how are you feeling?"
Lily smiles, "Better, though I think it will be some time before I'm in top condition again. I just want to check something with you."
Fay nods, "Go ahead."
"Am I the only one who feels like we've landed in the eye of a hurricane?"
Fay shakes her head, "I don't know what a hurricane is, but I believe it's a type of storm from the context. And yes, I feel it too."
Lily looks out over the rolling plane ahead of them with a shudder, "Could we move the ship into the mountains and borrow a landspeeder?"
Fay shakes her head, "The mountains are several hours away by speeder. I was going to tell Plex to take the ship deep into the mountains if Harry appears onboard without us. I feel like we should send the ship there when we go into the caves."
Lily nods, "I agree, though I don't want to go into the caves until we've confirmed that I'm clear of taint."
Fay nods, "I don't blame you. Honestly, I'm surprised you're walking around now."
Lily shakes her head, "Honestly, I'd still be asleep if Harry hadn't jumped on me. Now I've been up a for a bit, I don't think I can put the portkey on his belt today."
"Maybe you should ask one of the agricorp workers to be a tour guide today, and do it tomorrow if you feel up to it."
Lily nods, "That sounds like an idea. What about you?"
Fay indicates the computer beside her, "P1 3X has been reporting some errors on the ship, so I'm going to be chasing those down to make sure they're not serious."
Lily looks confused, "Who?" before she winces as she processes the rest of the sentence, "That's probably us then, as these cleansing rituals are very magically intensive on the participants, and that magic has to go somewhere. That and magical dwellings tend to be, odd."
Fay looks at Lily intently, "Odd how?"
Lily looks at the floor, "You know, little things like rooms that don't quite match their external dimensions. Stairs that go to different floors, extra rooms, rooms that move around, that sort of thing."
"And you didn't think to mention this before?"
Lily winces, "Because I didn't think of it. Besides, it normally takes decades for it to start happening to a house. But houses are on planets, and we're on a spaceship."
Fay snarks, "Anything else I should know about?" In a conciliatory tone she immediately follows up with, "That was unfair of me, as you have a decade of experiences to draw on, and we've only been talking about the academic and practical side of things."
Lily waves her off, "I get it, I really do. There's that storm like feeling, and if magic is doing anything really funky to the ship, it could prove deadly. Right, I'm going to take Harry exploring with a guide."
═══════ ೋღ ღೋ ═══════
Lily allows herself to smile as Harry runs down the ramp and turns towards the farm buildings nearby. Breaking into a run herself she easily keeps pace of the child, even though she's not catching up.
As she round a large shed, she slows down as Harry runs up to a green skinned humanoid male with what appears to be octopus legs instead of hair, and overly large eyes.
Slowing down to a jog she catches up with the two of them, "Harry, you shouldn't just run up to people."
The man chuckles, "It's quite alright, it's refreshing to have children like yourselves running around here."
Lily smiles at the man, "It's nice of you to say so, but it's still rude. Harry apologise to the nice man."
Harry looks up at the man with wide eyes, "I'm sorry."
The man smiles as he crouches down, "That's ok, you know better for next time. Now, I know I saw you around yesterday, but is this your sister?"
Harry shakes his head, "No, that's Baby Mummy."
Lily sighs, "I thought he'd got past adding baby. Sorry. I'm Lily, and yes I'm this one's mother. There was a, call it a force accident, and I ended up in a cloned body when he was one."
The man smiles, "I can't feel the darkside on you, so I'll accept that. I'm Forri, what current brings you to our part of the ocean?"
"We're looking to get some lightsaber crystals, and this felt like the right place to go."
Forri nods in understanding, "The caves are a short hike towards the mountains. Are you going today?"
Lily shakes her head, "While there's a storm brewing, I don't think we need to hurry, and I'm still recovering from… a bout of sickness. We probably won't leave for four or five days. I was hoping that someone would be able to show us around and tell us about what we're looking at, as neither of us has been to a farm before."
Forri nods, and makes an approximation of a smile, "You're in luck then, as we're between seasons here, and there's only the jogan fruits that need picking. Not that we export those as there are plenty of planets that produce them in far larger quantities than we do. While we are part of the agricorps here, the purpose of this farm is really to provide a contact point between the local government and the few Jedi that want to use the caves. The last thing the council want is for another dispute to break out causing us to lose access to those crystals."
Lily cocks her head to one side, "Oh?"
"Oh yes. You see 3,000 years ago the Jedi used to have an enclave here…"
Harry and Lily both follow Forri as he spins a historical tale of the area and the crystal caves, including a visit by Revan.
═══════ ೋღ ღೋ ═══════
Bitterly, Asajj looks up as Lily comes into the cargo hold with a happily bouncing Harry who's carrying a couple of jogan fruits.
"I suppose that's it. Now you're free and, you're going to leave me alone to die here."
Lily walks in to the circle and sits down beside Asajj, "What's the matter Asajj?"
Asajj picks up an unresisting Lily, and places her on her lap, "You weren't here when I woke up."
Lily shakes her head, "D12 put me to bed yesterday, and Harry wanted to show me around the farm today. He even picked those fruits for you. You know we landed the day before yesterday, so what else is going on?"
Asajj squeezes Lily tight, "You left like my parents did, like my master did. I was alone."
Lily looks at Harry, "Harry honey, can you take the food to the galley and then go and find Mama? Asajj needs some Mummy time."
Harry looks upset for a moment before he sees Asajj's face, then he smiles, "Yes Mummy."
As the door closes behind Harry, Lily reaches up to touch Asajj on the cheek, "Asajj, how old are you?"
"I'm 18 standard years old."
"Christ, you're barely an adult. When did your master die?"
Asajj buries her face in Lily's hair, "'Ve years ago."
"You poor thing, you've been forced to survive on your own since then. No wonder you're like this."
Asajj shakes her head, "I'm strong, I showed them, I hunted them all down and made them pay for murdering my master."
Lily squirms around to hug Asajj, "You've been hardened Asajj, and being hard isn't the same as being strong. You shouldn't have ever needed to be strong, but the world isn't kind like that."
"I am strong, I have the force and that's all I need."
Gently Lily lifts Asajj's chin so that she can look her in the eyes, "Asajj, all of us need more than that. We need friends, family, and a community. We need people to help hold us up when we're not strong. To keep us grounded, and to make us laugh."
Asajj shakes her head, "You're not coming back are you."
Lily frowns, "What do you mean?"
"This punishment. You're free now."
Lily's eyes widen in realisation, "Oh! You think that you're going to have to face this alone. Sorry to say this, but you're stuck with me for the next five sessions, as I need to finish the set of 3 * 3. Even after that, if you want me to I'll be here as you go through any other cleansings. Though I'd be very surprised if you need more than 9 cleansings, especially at the moment."
Asajj shakes her head, eyes wide, "Why?"
"Why what? Do I need to do another five sessions? Would I stay with you? Three times three?"
Asajj nods, "Yes."
"You'll need to let me go, as I need to get the datapad that I've been making my notes on."
Reluctantly, Asajj lets Lily go, and ignores the single tear that tracks down her cheek as she leaves.
Almost as soon as the door closes, it opens again and Harry walks in carrying a plate with cubed fruit on it. As the door closes behind him, he walks into the circle with Asajj and holds the plate out, "Mama helped me cut up the fruit, as she said that you couldn't get the skin off yourself. Will you mediate with me?"
Asajj forces a smile as she takes a cube of fruit, "Sure, though you won't be able to feel the force in here."
Harry shakes his head, "Mummy doesn't want me to feel the force until I'm 11. Don't tell her, but I think she's scared that I'll get trapped in a circle like this if I do."
Asajj nods, "So why are you meditating then?"
Harry beams a smile as he takes a piece of fruit and starts to chew. "She said I need to find my magic, and that it's inside, and then deeper."
Glancing up at the nanny droid that accompanied the boy, Asajj looks back down, "Sure, you'll have to tell me how to do it though."
═══════ ೋღ ღೋ ═══════
A few days later, Asajj painfully pushes herself into a seated position after the latest ritual. On the other side of the exorcism circle Lily sits smiling proudly at her.
Asajj tries to put a little heat into her voice as she says, "What are you looking at?"
Lily smiles, "A strong and healing young woman. How are you feeling?"
Asajj coughs and spits out a gob of black slime she must have accidentally inhaled while she was screaming, "Like hell, you know that."
Lily nods, "I do, but you're also sitting up rather than shivering on the floor. That's an improvement."
Asajj nods, "I am, I still hate you though."
Lily shrugs, "Ok. I'd probably hate me too if I'd forced me through this. I know I came close to hating James when he forced me to do the cleansing ritual. But it was either do that or do this."
Asajj's eyes betray her curiosity as she asks, "What's the difference then?"
Lily points at the circle, "The seal only stops energy from coming in, not people and energy from leaving. And you have to ladle the water over yourself. It's also quicker because of that, but harder because you have to pour the water over yourself every seven second until you run out of water, or you pass out. It's what Fay was trying to offer you when you dumped the entire bucket over your head. I have to say, you're looking healthier too, I can't see your ribs anymore, and your eyes aren't sunken."
Asajj rolls her eyes, "Thanks, I think. I've been mediating with the squib, and I was wondering. Would you be able to teach me how to turn cookies into those insects?"
"You mean butterflies? I could, but I'm not going to accept until you're free to leave, as it wouldn't be fair on you. But, on the subject of requests. Fay and I are going to go into the caves tomorrow, given that I didn't have anymore taint to be removed today. Would you be able to look after Harry, and maybe help him with his studies, while we're gone?"
Asajj sneers, "Why not one of the farmers?"
Lily looks Asajj in the eyes, "Because I trust you. You probably haven't felt it as you're isolated from the force in here, but it feels like a storm's coming. I don't dare reach out to find out what's going on, as I have no wish to be trapped in here again. But something's coming."
"You're really just going to let me go?"
Lily nods, "Once you can walk out of the circle, we'll drop you off on a populated planet that isn't hostile to you. At that point you can walk away, or you can come with us and I'll teach you magic."
"Why though?"
Lily walks over and sits down in Asajj's lap, "Because now that we've cleaned off all the gunk, I can see the vulnerable young woman that you really are. If we don't give you the choice, then both we and you will always wonder if you stayed because you wanted to, or if you stayed because of what we did to you. No matter the result, the fact of the matter is that it was torture, even if it has been classed as a medical procedure by the droids."
Asajj nods, "Sure, I'll look after the squib, he's grown on me." She points at a datapad by the wall, "Besides, your P1 astromech droid gave me that when I asked."
Lily frowns, "Do you mean Plex?"
"Is that it's name?"
Lily shrugs, "I guess so, it's what's stencilled on it's chassis."