Ascension - Jedi: Fallen Order (Fanfic)

Chapter 28: Healing Process

I sat on the boarding ramp through the morning, covered in sweat, damp clothes, mud, and blood. I'd landed the ship on open grass, not bothering to fly it into the hangar due to my panic about Cal. I hadn't bothered washing, and wouldn't wash until I heard about Cal's condition. Gael lay at the opening of the door, catching the morning rays. BD stayed with me, but constantly asked questions about Cal. I could do nothing but comfort him by letting him sit on my lap and pat his square little head. 

The base was bustling with activity, workers and locals walking about, doing their manual labor or fixing machinery. Watching them, I felt myself beginning to nod off but a rough shake of my head and a pinch on my hand woke me up just a little. BD perked up a bit, looking at something in town. I followed his line of sight, seeing Merrin and Cere walk out of a nearby part of the facility. Not until they started walking in my direction, did I gently pick up BD and set him down on the ramp to stand, keeping the weight off my of left leg as best I could without making it look like it hurt too much. I crossed my arms over my chest, fingers gripping my sides. 

"How's Cal?" I asked once they came over. 

"He's fine, just in need of a good rest." Cere said.

"I want to see him, where is he?" Both Cere and Merrin shared a look.

Merrin spoke first. "You are not allowed to see Cal until you can explain to the General what happened on Arkanis. You caused this place a lot of trouble."

Biting back a scoff, I stepped off of the ramp and walked past the two of them to where I'd find Khosuh. "Fine, I don't care."

Walking into the base's main facility, I avoided the contact of many, finally spotting Khosuh in the communications room which was rather crowded with people monitoring screens, walking around with papers and tablets in their hands. 

"Khosuh." I murmured. He heard me of course, damn those ears, and turned eyes widening when he saw my state of being.

"My god, Y/n, you look horrible."

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks." Khosuh motioned for me to take a seat an an empty comms desk. When I sat down, he crouched in front of me.

"What happened in Arkanis, Y/n?" He floored me. Khosuh didn't sound angry or heavily upset at the state in which the two of us returned, but there was the slightest hint of reprimand in his tone that made me feel heavily disappointed in myself.

"All I wanted to do was scope everything out, to stay a day at the latest. We found that they were using force sensitive children to be made into officers, putting them into some type of academy to work for the empire. That's when we saw an Inquisitor, the Eleventh Brother, my old partner. I wanted to leave the next day. I lost control of my connection with the force, and it resulted in me having to fight him, and...it's how Cal got hurt."

Khosuh slowly nodded, taking in all the summed up information. "What happened to the Inquisitor?"

"I killed him." I stated. "I killed him...I knew him Khosuh...when I...when I saw his face." Leaning an elbow on the desk to my left, I pinched my bottom lip with my thumb and pointer finger as a distraction to keep myself from experiencing any heavy emotions. The last thing I wanted to do was blow up a few communication screens and maps. "You're not mad at me, are you?" Not wanting to look at his face, I looked a the screen in front of my eyes, it was a rotating version of Ralltiir.

Khosuh sighed, then laughed quietly. "Of course I'm not mad Y/n, I'm just glad you two are back in one peace. Arkanis is just on their guard now, but in time we can plan accordingly. It was my fault for sending just the two of you in the first place. I thought it would be better for smaller numbers, but perhaps I was wrong. Don't blame yourself for what happened to Cal, don't deny it because I see the look on your face. The fault lies with me this time, alright?"

I looked back at him with a small yet relieved smile. "Thank you, Khosuh." It wasn't much, but that little pep talk seemed to lift the burden off of my shoulders. Besides Cal, Khosuh was the only one that I felt treated me like a regular person despite my background, and what I'd done.

"You're welcome, kid. Go get cleaned up, then you can go see Cal." The feline stood, giving my a hair a ruffle before going back to work. 

After having a much needed back and a bandage or two, I walked towards the medical wing of the base dressed in clean clothes; A fitted long sleeve grey shirt with a dark brown jacket, light brown slacks and boots, with my lightsaber attached to my thigh holster. Cal's room was one of the very first doors. Pressing the button, the door slid to the side allowing me to step in. The room itself was plain, with light stone walls, a few shelves with supplies on them, and a slim bed where Cal lay. He wore a plain grey shirt, the covers pulled up to his lower chest. As the door slid shut behind me, my gaze traveled from Cal's feet to his face, and was surprised to find Cal awake and staring right back at me. 

"Hey there sleep-head. Enjoying bedrest?" I said quietly, pulling up a wooden chair next to the bed. 

"I hate it actually, these beds are not as comfortable as they look." He replied, wincing as he adjusted his upper back on the bed.

"I'm sorry. At least you're okay..."

"Don't apologize. Khosuh came in and told me everything you told him before you showed up."

That sly bastard. "Oh, well, then there's not much to tell."

Cal snorted a laugh. "Were you going to make up some grand tale of how you saved my life?"

"You caught me there," I admitted, pulling my chair a little closer, "guilty as charged." I grabbed the tablet off of his bedside table, and began looking at random medical information. "Go ahead and get some more rest, I'll stay here with you."

"Gonna watch me in my sleep?" He joked, turning on his side so that he faced me.

Truthfully, I just didn't want to be alone at the moment. "No, I just figured you could use some company." I smiled at him before turning my attention back to the tablet. After a few minutes, I heard his breathing even out and peeked at him, seeing that he was sound asleep again. His features had softened out, peaceful...unlike the usual stressed look he wore on his face when walking around the base. Reaching out, I pulled the blanket up to his shoulder with a hand before turning my attention away. 

A/N: A soft chapter after all of that chaotic mess. Makes me a bit more relaxed haha.