Last time: Oppie and Kait learned what happened on the Taipan. Admiral Sulam checked on Kyr.

Now; Kelce checks in with Viran and Sasha.

Chapter 4- Brain Waves

Viran stared at his wife as she lay unconscious on the medical bed. It had been hours since a medic came out to the waiting area to inform Viran that Sasha was now ready to have guests. He was stunned to find her so peaceful when the medic drew back the curtain to her bed. She was laying on the bed with her hair laid out across the pillow looking like she was in a deep slumber. She almost looked… dead with how still she was laying. Normally, when Sasha was asleep she constantly switched sleeping positions throughout the night. Going from her side to her back to her other side to sometimes her front and then back to her side. She would also sometimes snore lightly in her sleep or even drool on occasion. So seeing her so still and peaceful was almost more terrifying than the first time he saw her after her surgery on the Valor.

Back then, it was scary to see her so broken and bruised, and clinging onto life. Viran remembered how heartbreaking it was to see her like that. He was so afraid that he might lose her at any moment. That at any second the heart monitor would go off and would alert them that she was dead. But Kelce had done a great job and saved her life. A debt Viran wasn't sure he could ever repay him for.

Now, though, he wasn't sure what all Kelce could do to save her aside from doing everything to keep her alive. Viran remembered Cien mentioning to Sasha that when someone was trapped in the mindspace they couldn't survive for long without food or water, that eventually their body would give up from lack of nutrition and hydration. He had informed Kelce of this when they were on the U-Wing, flying back to the Defiant. Kelce immediately promised him that he would keep her set up on an IV drip and a couple other machines to help keep her alive and stable until she woke up.

But hours had passed and she hadn't budged. Viran didn't even see Kelce during that time either. Only one of the other medics would come in to check on her and occasionally ask him if he needed anything. And when he asked them about Kelce, they would tell him that he was still in his office going over Sasha's tests and scans. That worried Viran. Kelce was always the first face they saw with an update or a report and it was usually right after the patient was settled in one of the recovery rooms. So the fact that hours had passed and Viran still hadn't seen him made his skin crawl with anxiety.

To keep his mind off it, Viran did everything he could to reach out to Sasha. Like he had back when she was losing to Cien's mental attacks on Polis Massa. However, when he had done that then he was able to call out to her signature in the Force and send support through their, at the time, very small bond. It had worked then to help bring Sasha back. But this time it wasnt working. He tried a few times throughout the day to try and communicate with her through the Force, but he got no read or response on her signature which added on to his worry. What was strange about it was he could feel her presence in the Force almost like he was seeing her clearly through a window, but no matter how hard he tried to reach out and grasp at their much stronger bond, she wasn't hearing him. But whatever he was feeling from her, he sensed a lot of sorrow and pain. He wondered what she was experiencing in there that would cause her to feel that way.

And after the tenth try, he gave up as he felt his energy wear down from trying so much. He wanted to keep going but he felt physically exhausted from the effort he was putting forth to reach her. Thankfully, Oppie and Kait were going to be arriving tomorrow at some point, so he could have Op help him try again and maybe with more success. For the meantime he would just have to be patient.

Viran continued to stare ahead, lost in thought, for a little while longer until he drifted off at some point.

"Viran," a voice spoke next to him, waking him from his slumber.

He woke up with a slight start, looking around blearly for a moment before rubbing his eyes. He then dropped his hand and looked over to see who had arrived, squinting up to them. Kelce stood at the foot of the bed with a gentle smile on his face, two cups of caf in each hand and a data pad tucked under his arm. The doctor held one of the cups out to him.

"Oh, hey Kelce. Thanks," Viran said, straightening up in the chair. He grabbed the cup and inhaled the smell of caf, helping him wake up a bit more.

"No problem," Kelce said as he pulled up a stool on the other side of Sasha's bed. "I came in about ten minutes ago to inform you what I found out. I wanted to wake you, but I thought you might need a bit of a boost." He said as he sat down and gestured to his cup before taking a sip.

"Thanks. I didn't realize I needed it," Viran said, feeling more awake as he took a sip. "So what did you find out?" He asked after a moment.

"Well first, I want to apologize for not coming to talk to you sooner," Kelce said, frowning slightly. "I should have checked in with you, but the tests and the scans were… interesting. I had to make sure what I was reading was correct."

"What do you mean?" Viran asked, concerned.

Kelce set his cup on the bedside table and then grabbed the datapad. He turned on the pad and started to scroll through it. After a moment, he leaned over the bed and handed Viran the datapad. Viran took it and looked down to see a series of brain scans that Kelce had taken, but they looked like a bunch of lines to him.

"What am I looking at?" Viran asked, confused as he looked up at Kelce.

"I took a series of scans of Sasha's brain," Kelce started. "Back aboard the Taipan, I noticed that something was bothering her. It was like she was distracted, losing her focus. Wynnie and I called her name multiple times, but it seemed like she could only hear Kyr. Then when her nose started to bleed out of nowhere, I had her stop so I could give her something for the headache she was having and the nose bleed. I told her I wanted to get her checked out anyway once we got back here, but she entered the mindspace and then collapsed. So the first test I ran was to see what might have caused the strange reactions on the Taipan."

"So what did you find out?" Viran asked, frowning at the new information he just learned about what happened to Sasha on the star destroyer.

"There was nothing on the scans to indicate that she was experiencing anything like a hemorrhage or a seizure or even a severe migraine. I even checked for a possible tumor, but she has perfect brain health," Kelce explained. "So I chalked it up to the fact that whatever was causing her to react that way might have to do with the Force and Jedi stuff because that was the only thing that made sense. And that still doesn't medically make sense to me."

Viran grimaced at the mention of Sasha possibly having any of those conditions, especially the tumor. "But?" He asked after a moment.

"But whatever is happening to her right now is unlike anything I have ever seen," Kelce said, frowning. "Take a look at the first few scans."

"Okay." Viran looked down at the datapad and looked at the scans he indicated. They looked just like all the others as he appeared to have taken many. "It looks… crazy, I guess. What does it mean?"

"I'll explain in a second. Now look at the last scan," Kelce said.

Viran scrolled to the last scan and had to do a double take. It looked vastly different from all the other scans on the datapad. While the others had the line in the higher register of the graph it was on, this one was in the lower register. Viran blinked at that and started to scroll between the last one and any of the other scans just to confirm what he was seeing was different.

"Why is this one's line lower?" Viran asked as he showed him the datapad.

"That scan is one I took back after Myrkr of Sasha's brain when I checked for concussions or any other possible damage. That is what her brain looked like when she was unconscious," he explained. "I even compared it to her medical records I have on hand from any scans that were done during that time. All of those scans are the same. They all look like that last one."

"So then these other ones are what is currently happening in her head?" Viran asked.

"Yes."

"So why are these so different?"

"When someone is unconscious or in a coma, their brain waves are in a low pattern to show that they are in a peaceful and relaxed state with only the occasional spike for nightmares or dreams. When they are awake, their brain waves are usually in a higher pattern to show that their brain is hard at work." Kelce said as he leaned over and grabbed his cup of caf. "Her brain right now is registering the same pattern as those that are wide awake. Whatever is happening in her head right now is causing these abnormal spikes and patterns."

He was quiet for a moment as he took that in. "I guess you've never taken a brain scan of them in the mindspace, but when Sasha and Cien are in there they are quite active. They do puzzles and games. They hold conversations and train together," Viran said, looking at Sasha. "I wouldn't be surprised if this is what their brains look like on a normal basis while in there. But are you able to do anything to help her? Because this doesn't feel like a normal visit to the mindspace for her. This feels wrong."

Kelce shook his head and his frown deepened as he lowered his cup. "I have no idea. For once in my medical career, I have no idea what I can do to help her aside from keeping her on the IV so she doesn't lose nutrients and die of starvation."

"And that means a lot that you are doing that," Viran said as he grabbed Sasha's hand. "But there is nothing else?" He asked, almost pleading.

"No. I even tried a couple of small tests earlier to see if her brain registers any of the things I was doing," Kelce said, looking at Sasha. "I gave her a small, harmless shock to see if she might react. But nothing happened. Even coma patients react to that. Hell, they sometimes even remember everything that happens out here. I hate to say it, but I think she is completely trapped in her own head." He sounded lost and uncertain for the first time since they met him.

Viran looked at him as a frown formed on his face before looking back at Sasha. Then he looked back down to the data pad. He stared at the brain waves for a long time before closing his eyes and setting the datapad aside on the side table.

"When we first met Cien, she pulled Sasha into the mindspace," Viran started, quietly. "Oppie and I had no idea what to do. We were at a loss and we figured that what was happening to her was because of her strong connection to the Force. But then she woke up. She seemed fine, but she told us she was fighting off Cien in her head. It only got bad when she collapsed on Artemis when Op went to go find help and she didn't wake. In fact her health took a turn for the worst. We almost lost her. So I called out to her in the Force when I got her to Polis Massa. They had given her something for her health, but she was still trapped. I think I helped her come back." He paused. "But I tried again earlier and she didn't respond in the Force. She didn't even recognize my presence. It was like she is blocking me out or something else is. It's like yelling at someone who's inside a soundproof room and they can't hear you."

Kelce looked at Viran with a frown. "I had no idea that you've been through this before, but that gives me hope that she will pull through. I may not understand the Force or what it's like to be a Jedi, but being around you four for the past couple of years, I have learned enough that the Jedi and Sith are capable of a lot of mysterious things." He paused for a moment. "Do you think you and Op can get her to wake up?"

"I hope so," Viran said as he gently squeezed her hand. "When he gets here, I want to try. But if I'm being honest, I wish Cien was here. She might be the only one to bring Sasha back."

"I don't think that's entirely the case. You don't give yourself and Oppie enough credit. You two mean the world to her. She is your family, your wife, and his sister. I truly think that if anyone could bring her back from the brink, it's you two," Kelce said, encouragingly.

Viran smirked slightly. "Thanks Kelce."

"I'll leave you to rest," Kelce said as he stood from his seat. "I'll check back in in the morning. If you need anything, just hollar."

"Will do," Viran nodded.

Kelce nodded as he walked around the bed. He placed an encouraging and comforting hand on Viran's shoulder. He patted it before walking away, pulling the curtain closed in the process. Viran watched him go then looked back at Sasha. Reaching over he, caressed her cheek, feeling her soft skin. He then laid his head down next to her hand as he held it tightly.

I'm here, Sasha. I'm here. He thought through the Force as he felt himself drift to sleep.

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