Dear Reader, in creating the Monastica and the Doma, I drew on aspects from many different religions and spiritual orders. I find world religions fascinating, so you will find a little bit of everything over the next few chapters! Peace, CS (This is a repost with a few corrections)
Chapter 11 The Monastica and the Doma
"The miracle is not that we do this work, but that we are happy to do it."
-Mother Teresa
It was a hypnotic movement.
The lolling sway of the Shempa's languid gait.
It certainly had all the right elements to ease a man comfortably into sleep—especially a wounded and exhausted man. Or twenty two of them.
And as Cody took an assessing gaze over his team, he discovered that a number of them had already found the enticement too much to resist. He was actually glad of it, for he had seen how badly in need of rest they were.
As for his concerns regarding the Austeniens' doctoring skills, those had been almost immediately put to rest. Within seconds of helping the clones onto the Shempa platforms, the Austeniens had begun administering treatment: cooling down overheated bodies with a combination of external packs and a fruity elixir that Cody suspected had some kind of relaxant in it; cleaning and binding easily accessed wounds; and in the cases of Kix, Echo, and Puzzle, stringing up a net of infusions that involved medical devices the likes of which Cody had never seen. He could not figure out if he was looking at a more or a less advanced technology from those he had seen in the clone medical facilities.
The shade covers on each platform offered significantly more protection against the sun than the tarpaulins had, and Cody mused that the desert had perhaps become more tolerable in the four hours since they'd begun journeying by Shempa. Or it might not have been the shade at all, but the effects of the elixir . . .
Sitting across from him—no, not sitting, more along the lines of being propped up against the rail encircling the platform—Rex wore the same stoic expression he always showed in the face of his own pain. But this time there was a hint of something a bit less . . . self-controlled. It was very close to being a stupor; and since Rex had refused any kind of pain medication, Cody considered once again that it must have been something in the drink.
An earlier scan had shown what had been expected. The swelling on the captain's side was due to broken ribs. Four of them. The breaks were not messy, but the stress and tumult of the sand storm and trying to hold onto the tarp had jarred things around enough that what had started as minor internal bleeding had grown into something more serious; but not such that the Austeniens felt there was any need for immediate treatment. Instead, they removed the upper body armor, leaving the body glove in place to constrict the flow of blood. Once they were in safer environs, where they could better handle a potential emergency, they would remove the body glove and render treatment.
Feeling that they were in better hands than he'd originally believed, Cody now allowed his thoughts to turn towards their mission and how to get word to the fleet of what had happened.
"Au-Ogusta?"
The brother turned from his scanning of the horizon—he was watching for more storms. "Yes?"
"What kind of communications do you have out here? I have to make contact with my superiors and tell them of our situation."
"We have no communications equipment at the Monastica," Au-Ogusta replied.
Cody was taken aback. For a moment, he thought perhaps the brother had misunderstood the question. "No communications? But then how do you stay in contact with the rest of your world?"
"Any message we need to send goes by courier," came the reply. "We are very self-sufficient."
"But what happens when you need to get a message off-world?" Cody pressed.
"We never have such a need."
"But your planet has that capability," Cody noted.
"In the larger cities, yes," Au-Ogusta replied. "If you want to send a message to your commanders, you will need to go to Heembab. That is the nearest population center."
"How far is that?"
"By Shempa, seven days. By foot, ten."
Cody felt the tension rising in his neck. "What about by speeder? Do you have speeders?"
Au-Ogusta shook his head with a gentle, indulgent smile. "We do not. The only speeders we have are those that pilgrims sometimes ride to come here. They are not allowed into the complex. They are parked outside, and many are ruined by the conditions."
"Are there any that still work?" Cody asked.
"There may be. I, myself, never look at them, so I do not know. You will be able to look for yourself when we arrive." After a pause, Au-Ogusta asked, "You are in charge of these men?"
"Yes. I'm Commander Cody."
"You said your ship crashed in the desert," Au-Ogusta said. "Did any of your men die in the crash?"
"No," Cody replied. "Hard as it is to believe, we haven't lost anyone yet." He consciously refused to let his gaze wander towards Kix. "I'd like to keep it that way."
"We will do our best."
From behind him, Cody heard Zinger's voice. "Commander, look."
Cody turned. He fell still.
They had just mounted the crest of a particularly high dune and now there before them, less than five klicks away, appeared a green line in the sand, accented with peaks of color: red, gold, violet, deep and rich beige.
From the air and in their desperation to avoid a catastrophic landing, neither Cody nor any of his team had really noticed anything more than an oasis in the desert. But now that they were on the ground, so close, and with the threat of immediate death removed, they could see clearly what they had only glimpsed during their descent.
What had appeared as a small patch of life from above now revealed itself to be a sizeable oasis, nearly six klicks long and one klick across at its widest. A wall, at least five meters high, surrounded the desert sanctuary; and on the southernmost end, a large and ornate gate guarded access. From his current distance and vantage point, Cody could see a series of structures within the walls, rising above the trees, with one particularly tall and light-catching edifice dominating the horizon.
"It's huge," Zinger said with a sense of awe. "I wasn't expecting this."
"Neither was I," Cody agreed. He looked to Au-Ogusta. "How many people live here?"
"There are almost a thousand brothers and twice as many sisters," came the reply. "The healing rooms can house up to ten thousand, if necessary. And the wayward homes have perhaps fifteen hundred residents at the moment. During the great festivals and holy days, there may be as many as twenty thousand pilgrims."
"Twenty thousand?"
"If it, of course, a perilous journey across the Sandheim; but for the faithful, it is a risk they are willing to take. Traveling by caravan makes it less difficult."
Sixer knit his brows. "If you're healers, why make your home so far away and difficult to get to?"
Au-Ogusta gave a gentle smile. "The Monastica is the Parent House. We have thousands of healing facilities and care houses all over the planet."
"Thousands? How—how big is your order?"
"Well over a million brothers and sisters." Au-Ogusta's voice contained not a hint of pride or arrogance. "Most of our work is done among the populations. Only those who seek special healing or desire to make a pilgrimage come here. And then there are those who are shunned and abandoned by society. Often, they find solace and a place of welcome, away from unkind eyes. Of course, all are welcome, but for many, the journey is too stressful, thus we have healing houses in the cities, where they are more readily accessible."
"But then why have a place out here at all?" Sixer asked.
"Because the brothers and sisters need a place away from society, away from all the distractions and noise and bustle, to reflect and contemplate. Prayer and meditation are great restorers of the soul, and when working with the ill and ailing, the unwanted and unloved . . . a brother or a sister needs a place of peace where the balance can be regained. "
"Are you the head of the order?" Cody asked.
Au-Ogusta laughed. "No, I am not. Fels Au-Mickiel is the First Servant of the Austeniens. Doma Maree is the First Servant of the Vervien Sisters. And she is the top authority over both orders. It was she who gave permission that we should come out to aid you." A pause, during which he turned his violet eyes to rest on Cody with unspoken curiosity. "She will be surprised to see that you are clones."
As they drew nearer to the oasis, they could begin to see figures along the tops of the walls – not guards or sentries, but more what appeared to be lookouts and curious observers.
More of the clones had risen to their feet and now lined the platform rails to get a good look. They could not fail to notice the eyes upon them, but at least there was no discernible hostility. In fact, at one point, a small group of children who'd been watching their approach from atop the wall raised their hands and waved, nickering and bouncing with excitement when several of the clones waved back.
Fives, resting on his heels beside Echo, allowed a smile to borrow its way into his expression. He could feel some sense of ease now. He had no idea what sort of medical ability to expect within the walls, but judging from what he'd seen thus far of the Austenien's care, he could at least imagine that Echo's injury was within their scope to manage.
"I'll be glad to get under that shade," he announced.
"You and me, both," Echo replied. "More than anything, I just want a wash."
Fives chuckled to himself. Echo was so fastidious.
Of course, it never occurred to Fives that he was every bit as fussy as his squad mate. And in some ways, more so.
Echo continued. "I feel like I'm covered in five layers of dirt and sand and sweat. I just want to get out of these clothes."
"You think you've got it bad," Fives rejoined. "Imagine what I feel like under this armor."
"At least you had your armor to protect you," Echo reminded. "This jumpsuit doesn't do much in the way of protection. I've got sand in places it should never be."
Fives clapped him on the shoulder, relieved to hear the humor in his friend's voice. Echo's buoyancy might be a bit overbearing at times, but Fives would not have traded it for all the spice on the Mistercian Arc.
"I'm looking forward to something real to eat," Fives said. "I think if I never see a nutrient bar again, it will be too soon." A pause. "How's your leg?"
"It's good," Echo replied. He looked down at a small cylindrical contraption strapped to his right forearm. "Whatever's in this vial, it's taken the pain away. It actually . . . it feels cool. The burning is gone."
"Maybe you'll be walking on it soon," Fives offered hopefully.
They both looked up at the sound of a great grinding and creaking.
The gates were opening.
Slowly, the Shempa lumbered through the archway.
And here, the sense of wonder, if for a moment, swept away other considerations.
They had entered upon a garden sanctuary of lush fullness. Immediately inside the gate was a copse of desert trees—the sort of tall, spindly hardwoods that grow up around watering holes, their palm-like fronds splaying out in feathery patterns, rustling quietly in the slight breeze. Beyond these trees was a circular opening, and here there waited a number of finely made and sturdy carts, each drawn by a team of two equine creatures. There were dozens of men—all attired in the same style garb as Au-Ogusta; and a slightly greater number of women.
The women were all dressed alike in long plain frocks that reached almost to the ground. A wide cumber bund, nearly corset-sized, gathered the billowy material around their middles. The only distinction was that not all the frocks were the same color. Most of them wore a cornflower blue, but there were at least two whose frocks were cream-gold and one in white. They all wore their hair long and pulled back into a net ball at the nape of their necks. Like the men, they appeared to be of all ages, sizes, and colors.
"They will take you to the houses of healing now,"Au-Ogusta told Cody as the brothers and sisters began to lead the clones off the platforms and to the carts. "I will go tell the Doma that you are here. She will come quickly . . . you have a gravely injured man."
Cody had not forgotten his duty. "What about a speeder?"
"I will take you to look," Au-Ogusta replied. "But right now, you must go and let the healers examine you. I will meet you at the house of healing. I will not be long, but I must go to the Doma first." A pause as another brother approached. "This is Fels Au-Sinti. He will take you and your men now."
The transfer of men was so quick and yet so smooth that, before Cody knew it, they were all loaded onto the carts. The Shempa were already being relieved of their platforms and led to a water hole set back among a cluster of overhanging curtain trees.
Fels Au-Sinti was every bit as amiable as Fels Au-Ogusta; but it was clear that his team's job was a more thorough assessment of each man's condition and a prioritization of treatment.
The creatures now conveying them moved at a quick pace, and the journey along the main way took them at least two kilometers into the oasis. On either side there grew any number of fruit trees, more hardwoods, and scrubby herb bushes that gave off an enticing fragrance in the midday sun. A stream ran along their right, although it might not properly be called a stream. It was actually a series of springs whose boundaries had been manipulated so that all ran together, forming pockets of warm or cool water, shallows and deeps, smooths and babbles.
The ground of the oasis was not made of sand but rather composed of the exposed bedrock of a seismically active—though quiet—area. Erosion of the bedrock and the presence of the springs had created an ideal soil for abundant growth, and there were signs of ingenious cultivation at every glance.
They passed many people – men and women picking fruit or tending to small plots of crops. Away from the road, they saw smaller enclaves of people sitting together in bowed-head silence. A group a sisters pulled several small carts of exuberant little children – no more than toddlers – along the side of the road.
Cody was flabbergasted. In the midst of the desert's isolation, there rose from these springs a fountain of life that seemed as unlikely as anything he'd ever encountered before. These were not the vapor farmers of Tatooine, living their peculiar lives of voluntary solitude, growing depressed and bereft of the vigor of life. These were not the throw-offs of Abafar, derelicts whose lack of drive—or, more likely, run-ins with the law—had forever doomed them to one of the most dismal planets in the known universe.
What these people were remained to be seen, but Cody had no misgivings thus far.
At length, they came to the southern end of a large complex. To their left was a stunning structure, two stories high and stretching at least five hundred meters in length. The architecture marked it as ancient, built of cut stone and ornately decorated with an arched colonnade along the wall facing the courtyard. Each column of the colonnade displayed an etched design brought to life in brilliant colors. Fish, trees, symbols of the sun and the stars, rough hewn images of sisters ministering to the ill and injured.
Directly opposite stood an identical building. In between, a vast courtyard with a single fountain and some benches and sparsely placed trees.
On the northern end was another ancient structure, this one much grander.
This was the main house of healing, and it was the clones' destination.
Whatever they had been expecting to see judging from its exterior, once inside, those expectations could not compare with the reality.
This was not the sterile grey and white, metal and glass of Kamino. There was nothing that resembled the production-type atmosphere of the cloning facility or the associated clone medical treatment facilities that existed throughout the systems.
Here, all was warm and enveloping. It was the sort of beauty that belonged in a temple. Floors that shined like polished crystal; walls covered in colorful, delightful designs; overhead and sconce light fixtures that cast a soothing and calming aura.
All such opulence was in direct contrast to the simple appearance of the brothers and sisters who now scurried about in the performance of their callings.
Passing through a short corridor, the clones were ushered into a large, multi-bay and multi-bed room—clearly an examining room—and here, modernity and technology met nicely with the ancient. The equipment in this room was clearly far from primitive, a further extension of what the clones had seen in the field. And the brothers who were now performing the medical checks were not attired in the loose robes but in more functional clothing.
Au-Sinti directed a brother who appeared to be the senior healer directly to Kix.
The healer lifted the light band of cloth that was draped over the injury. At a single word, two other brothers began rolling the stretcher out of the room.
"Wo-wait! Wait!" This from Jesse, Hardcase and Pitch all together.
"Where are you taking him?" Jesse asked.
The healer looked momentarily perplexed. "He's injured. He's on the verge of death." This man's vernacular and command of Basic was much less formal than the other brothers. "We need to take him to surgery. Now."
"But—but we—can't one of us go with him?" Jesse asked.
"We don't allow anyone else in the operating room except the surgical team," came the reply, spoken with kindness and understanding. "We can't afford distractions." A pause. "Besides, you all need to be looked at, yourselves."
Jesse stood for an indecisive moment, but truly there was no decision to be made. He could not force his way into the operating room, and he would not waste precious seconds by arguing.
"Please do everything you can for him," he said quietly.
"I will," the healer nodded, adding, "And you should, too."
Jesse watched as the healers whisked Kix away through a pair of doors at the end of the room.
And you should, too.
He turned to face Hardcase and Pitch, and the question was in his eyes. What more could any of them do? Kix's fate was in the hands of the healers now. And yet, something about the healer's words took root inside him, and he felt strangely disquieted.
"I guess we wait now," he sighed.
"Come, come." Jesse felt a gentle, yet firm hand on his arm. He glanced over his shoulder to see one of the sisters, a petite woman, young and pretty, looking up at him with a serious expression. "You must come sit so the healers can examine you."
"Oh—I'm alright. I—I—"
"They will come and let you know how he is," the sister assured him. "All of you must sit now and be examined. The Sandheim is hard on all travelers."
"Really, miss, I think I'd rather skip the exam—"
"Lieutenant, do as she says." This came from Rex who was standing next to a raised examination table, leaning on one arm over the corner and holding the other arm tight at his side. He was clearly in pain, and it came through in his tone of voice. "All of you, let them look at you. I'm sure every one of us needs some kind of help."
"Including you," Cody interjected, putting his hand squarely in the middle of Rex's back. "They've been trying to get you to sit down on the damned table since we came in here." He lowered his voice and leaned close. "Now, I'm giving you an order, captain. Sit down and let them do their jobs."
Rex regarded Cody with a wry eye, but he sat. "And what about our job? We've still got that data to deliver."
"And we'll deliver it," Cody replied. "I've been talking to Au-Ogusta. He thinks he can help us out, but they won't do anything until they're sure none of us are going to keel over."
"I don't understand how they can be all the way out here and not have any communications," Rex grumbled, sounding agitated and cross. "And no transportation. They mightaswell be living in the stone ages."
That was all Cody needed to see. It took a lot to drive Rex to act in such a peckish manner, which meant that he was feeling much more pain than he was letting on.
The commander motioned to one of the healers who had been trying unsuccessfully to examine Rex and waved him back over. "He's ready now."
The healer was holding the medical scanner he had received from the brother who had accompanied Rex in. He helped Rex lie back on the table, then to the two sisters with him, "Take him to a treatment room. We need to drain the blood pooling in his side and set the collar bone. It looks like there has been some fragmentation."
The two sisters were about to comply when the entire room fell still and silent for a moment. The eyes of every brother and sister were directed towards the main door. The clones' attention followed.
Au-Ogusta had returned and was standing just inside the doorway.
With him was a woman. She was dressed liked any other sister, except that her frock was solid green with a yellow cumber bund. Her face was oval and ageless; she might have been a young woman, she might have been an old woman. There simply was no telling. Her skin was a sandalwood brown, her hair the color of coal; but instead of wearing it tied back, she had it wound about on top of her head and adorned with a single green jewel.
"Doma Maree." Au-Sinti stepped forward with a reverential bow.
"Please, carry on," the Doma said, and the rest of the brothers and sisters returned to their tasks. Au-Ogusta led her to stand before Cody, and there was something very proper in her manner, very dulcet in her tone. "These are our guests?"
"Yes, Doma," Au-Ogusta replied. "This is Commander Cody of the Grand Army of the Republic. He is in charge of these men."
Cody wasn't sure how to greet her. Given the reactions of the brothers and sisters upon the Doma's entrance, he felt some additional courtesy was in order, and so he gave a slight, awkward bow.
"Doma Maree," he said. "I'm honored to meet you."
Much to his surprise, Doma Maree returned a much deeper bow. "The honor is mine, Commander. We are all humbled by your presence. We have never had the privilege to serve those who stand between us and destruction. I hope we can offer you assistance and healing for your men."
Cody was speechless for several seconds. Her words were almost incomprehensible. Never before had Republic troops received this kind of welcome and praise, not even from the populations they had protected directly. And he certainly had not imagined that a spiritual order of healers would have many kind things to say about men whose job it was to fight and kill and destroy.
At last, he managed an appreciative nod. "I thank you for everything your people have done for us so far. They've been very helpful. It's important that we get in touch with our fleet and let them know what's happened. Au-Ogusta said he might be able to help me with that."
"I am confident he will be able to help you," the Doma replied. "Now, if you will excuse me. I must see the injured."
Here, Au-Sinti spoke up. "We've already taken one into surgery. His condition was very grave."
"I will go there first."
Both Au-Sinti and Au-Ogusta accompanied her out of the room, but it was not long before they returned, leading Cody to fear the worst.
Then, inexplicably, the Doma stopped in front of Jesse, Hardcase and Pitch, regarding them as if she could see something not visible to the naked eye.
"You will need to pray for him," she said simply before moving over to where Rex's team was about to wheel him out of the room.
The three squad mates looked at each other with bafflement.
Prayer? What business did prayer have in the life of a clone? It might have its place here among these religious types, but when the blaster bolts started flying and brothers fell dead and injured on all sides, a trooper wanted something concrete to pin his hopes on.
Even the Jedi didn't pray. They meditated.
Jesse, seeing that Hardcase and Pitch were looking at him to make sense of what the Doma had said, could only shrug. He knew nothing of prayer. He saw no value in it, no practical use. And even if he had thought it worthy, he had no experience with it. He wouldn't even know where to begin.
To shake off the unease, the three squad mates turned their attention as the Doma approached their captain and laid her hand on his forehead while he fidgeted and looked uncomfortable. After several seconds, she announced, "He will need to stay."
She moved from clone to clone, patient to patient, repeating the same process. When she came to Echo, Puzzle, Keeper, and Little Ride, she gave the simple instruction each time. "He will need to stay." What Cody had not been expecting was for her to make this pronouncement after laying her hand on Gernot, who had not shown a single sign of injury or distress.
Cody, who had kept close behind her as she made her rounds, asked out of earshot, "Is something wrong with him?"
"Nothing so dangerous that you need be concerned," the Doma replied. "But there is an infection somewhere inside him. He is also suffering dehydration and exhaustion to a greater degree than the others. I would like to keep him in the healing houses for the next days to make him well again." She turned to Au-Ogusta. "I will send a team of Beginners to prepare quarters for our guests on the west garden ellipse. They should stay in the healing rooms until they have been hydrated and their minor injuries treated, and then you are to show them where they will be staying. They can join us for the evening meal if they feel up to it. Get them suitable clothing and have the brothers clean their armor."
"What about the speeders?" Cody asked. "It's absolutely critical that I get in touch with my commanding general."
"I can take you to see them now while the rest are being treated," Au-Ogusta offered, but he looked to Doma Maree for permission.
And that permission was forthcoming, with a condition. "Commander, please agree to be looked over first, and then certainly, Fels Au-Ogusta can show you what little we have in the way of mechanical transport."
Cody found this reasonable, for he knew he was running now purely on adrenaline and close to collapse, himself. "I agree."
With that, Doma Maree inclined her head. "We will take good care of you and your men, Commander. It is the least we can do to repay all that you have sacrificed for our safety."
With that, the Doma exited the room.