A LIFE

Doctor Fedarish looked on in horror while his life work stood amid chaos he
had never imagined possible there. The stasis generator began its cycle,
unaware in its machine simplicity that the person in its chamber could never
survive the process. The oppressive silence shared by his colleagues was as
intense as the cheering had been only seconds before. It was almost a
collective mourning for the one brave soul willing to help them, out of an
entire galaxy.
Doctor Modarr, in charge of monitoring life signs, sighed in heavy
disappointment. "The blaster damage is grave, I don’t know that we could be
of any assistance even if we could abort at this stage. The subject’s
trance was too heavy to allow for regular readings at this juncture, but I
feel certain she will be dead soon."
There was another long pause as the machinery continued its operation.
Someone commented quietly, "At least none of the equipment was damaged. If
we ever get another chance…." No one paid any attention as the voice
trailed off. Doctor Fedarish turned to his assistant and instructed her to
tell the senator the bad news. People began to filter out, hopeless to find
a miracle. Within less than ten minutes Doctor Fedarish was alone with the
body of the former Jedi apprentice.
The process of placing such delicate humanoids in stasis was risky at best;
the one they had been working at was so dangerous at the initial stage that
only a Jedi had even a chance under optimum conditions. It had to be harsh
to prepare the body for a longer period in stasis than could be survived
using current technology. If stasis could be achieved the body would remain
in prime condition for at least a millennia according to conservative
estimates.

Out of habit Doctor Fedarish scanned the readouts, expecting the automatic
shut-off to kick in as soon as she was confirmed dead by the delicate
sensors. Instead he found the next part of the cycle was being initiated,
reporting damage to the subject but a high chance of survival despite that.
As he watched the chance of survival grew by another tenth of a percent. He
called Doctor Modarr, asking only that she join him in the stasis room.
While he waited the chances inexplicably grew by five hundredths of a
percent.

"Doctor Fedarish, I presume you want my assistance in disposing—"
"Get in here and be quiet. Look at this number and tell me what is wrong."
She did as she was told, and when the expression on her face changed to
surprised awe he held a finger up to silence her. "I suspect a malfunction,
can you confirm?" His voice was grave, but on the terminal before them he
had typed an entirely different message. I AM WARY OF PLAIN SPEECH WITH THE
DOOR DESTROYED. SHE MAY LIVE, BUT IF ANYONE ELSE THINKS SO SHE MAY DRAW
ANOTHER ATTACK. TELL ME THERE IS A MALFUNCTION, BUT TYPE THE TRUTH.
"It must be wrong, perhaps some systems were damaged in the attack." IT
CAN’T BE WRONG, BUT IT CAN’T BE RIGHT. NO ONE COULD
"Of course. We can’t disconnect the chamber itself without damaging the
equipment, but once it is stable we must remove the damaged chamber. It
will be of no use to us, and maybe we could bury her in it as a tribute." I
KNOW IT SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE, BUT NEVERTHELESS IT IS HAPPENING BEFORE OUR EYES.
WE NEED TO GET HER OUT OF HERE AS SOON AS IT IS SAFE IF SHE SRUVIVES THE
REST.
"It is only fitting. I will stay and watch, you look tired. I’ll let you
know as soon as we can safely disconnect." MAKE PREPARATIONS TO GET HER
AWAY FROM HERE. I HAVE A FEELING SHE WILL SURVIVE SOMEHOW. THE INJURIES
ARE SLOWLY REGENERATING IF I READ THIS RIGHT. I WILL GUARD THIS FROM ALL
OTHERS.
"I am tired. Maybe I’ll take a vacation, get this most recent failure out
of my system before I go on with my work. I’ll be in my room looking at
likely planets or sleeping by the time this is done. Don’t work too hard."
They shook hands and Doctor Modarr sat down and programmed the rest of the
monitors to look as if the patient were dead, but the machines just hadn’t
received the command to shut down. Senator Rees walked in at one point and
gave his last respects, then announced that he would be leaving the planet
since there was nothing more he could do there. Hours later Modarr called
Fedarish to let him know it was time.
"Has the senator left yet," he asked as soon as he walked in the room.
"Yes. About five minutes ago his ship left orbit to go back to Coruscant,
why?"
"Perfect. I have found information that puts him in the worst light in
this matter. He was the only one that could have orchestrated this
disaster, and with him gone I feel much safer."
"He came in here for a while, should I have stopped him?"
"No, that would have looked suspicious. I just want to get out of here
quickly and never look back if you don’t mind."
"I must agree. I have a bad feeling about all of this. The sooner we get
the three of us off this rock the better I will feel."
They began the process of disconnecting the stasis chamber from the rest of
the machinery, working as quickly as they could with only two people. At
one point Doctor Modarr stopped and took a deep breath.
"I took a reading of her regenerative rate, to give an estimate on her
survival chances."
"What did you come up with?"
"Even though there shouldn’t be any change while in stasis she is healing,
but not aging. After a time she will be able to leave the chamber without
dropping dead if the regeneration continues, but not any time soon."
"How long?"
"I’m sorry, but at least a century. After that she will survive if given
medical attention. No sooner than that."
"She’ll never be able to testify against the senator, and without her I
don’t have a case against him. We will have to be patient, and hope we can
catch him when he does mess up. I feel I owe her that much, even if there
is nothing we can do for her but hide her where he will never find her."
They finished the job, carrying the stasis chamber to Modarr’s personal
ship and leaving in silence. When they cleared the atmosphere they looked
back at the huge facility one last time only to find a growing mushroom
cloud where it should have been. As one they gasped, thinking of how narrow
their escape had been. With grim determination they made the jump to
hyperspace, and silently vowed to see the senator’s career go up the same
way some day.

Tam felt a pressure fall upon her chest, but before the pain could reach
her she no longer felt connected to her body’s nervous system. In fact, she
only felt connected to her body in a way that can’t be described by anyone
who hasn’t been through the experience. She felt an extreme imperative to
heal herself, but the signals weren’t coming through the way she was used
to. Almost as an afterthought she used the force to heal her body without
bothering to wonder why. It was hard to think clearly, hard to concentrate
on anything, as if she would fall into a sleep deeper than anything. In a
nearly dream-like state she reviewed her life.
Her first thoughts centered on love. The love of her parents, Perrin and
Tamal Chronin, both dedicated Jedi Knights and among the strongest Jedi that
ever lived. Even though they didn’t raise her after she was old enough to
begin training they still showed her the strength of their caring when their
paths crossed. Master Yoda was more of a father figure to her, he had taken
her under his wing right away. She spent more time with him than anyone
else, basking in his wisdom and deep love of all things good. Though he was
nearing eight hundred years old he still had the energy to teach her
everything she needed to know to defend the innocent from the forces of
darkness. His size and ancient appearance went unnoticed to her eyes most
of the time, when she had begun training under him they had been almost
equal in height and it had helped her bond to him quickly.
To her Yoda was just the way he was, and it only mattered that he was short
when she had to compensate for it in their lightsaber duels. He was the
greatest being in the universe in her eyes, and it didn’t occur to her to
think otherwise. He was patient and understanding, stern and determined,
well respected by all. She couldn’t have wished for a better mentor, and
everyone knew it including her.
Yet there was one love that shone above all else, one love that made her
life complete. Voron Rees had been the fairy tale love of her life come
true. He was handsome and honest, kind and well respected. The first time
their eyes met they had both felt something powerful pass between them,
something binding them together that they couldn’t fight. It wasn’t until
weeks had passed that they had a chance to speak to each other, but it had
been unforgettable nevertheless.
The power of the memory was strong, causing her to vividly remember every
detail of their meeting. As part of her training she was sent with Master
Janak Torai to defend the Rees family from an assassin. The senator had
received a threat and later that day had been lucky to escape when an out of
control transport had rammed his personal shuttle. She recognized Voron
when they stepped in the door of their elaborate home. They smiled shyly at
each other, but there were too many other people around.
"Welcome, Jedi Knights. I am Senator Kargoth Rees, and this is my wife
Sholal and my son Voron. Thank you for your assistance, we didn’t expect
such a quick response."
"When we heard about your brush with sudden death we had to come, that is
one of our duties. I am Janak Torai, and this is Tam Chronin. Tam is an
apprentice, so she will be learning while we are protecting you."
"Yes, I was wondering why we would need two of you for this, but that makes
sense. We have rooms ready for you, if you will follow me."
Tam and Voron lagged behind, each one hesitant to be the first one to
speak. Finally Voron broke the silence. "Didn’t I see you a while back
outside the senate chambers? You were standing with Senator Organa and that
old Jedi, right?"
"Yes, that was me with Master Yoda and Tallia Organa. Part of my training
is in diplomacy, and the Organas have been—"
"I know, I know, they have been my family’s rivals for generations.
Alderaan seems to favor that family greatly, but the same can be said for
many Senators in the Republic."
"It makes one wonder if political skill is genetic." She smiled, looking
shyly into his green eyes. He was gazing at her intently, and she quickly
looked away again.
A small laugh escaped his lips. "It’s much more a matter of conditioning,
or else I would not have to suffer the attentions of so many tutors."
The group stopped in the middle of a hallway where two doors faced each
other. "Both rooms are spacious, I hope they will be adequate for your
needs." Sholal smiled, showing Janak her room first. Voron offered to show
Tam her room and make sure she approved, and Sholal smiled at her son’s good
manners. "Thank you, that would be most helpful."
"Here, they aren’t much, but they’ll do for a temporary stay."
When the door opened Tam gasped. "I have never been invited to partake of
such opulence. It’s beautiful! Look at the view out these windows!"
She heard Voron laugh behind her. "I’ve never seen anyone from Coruscant
so thrilled with rooms like these. You do honor to my home, but I must
admit I didn’t expect this kind of a reaction."
"Oh, am I making a fool of myself? Showing myself to be a simple person?
I would have to remind you of my status—"
"No, it’s nothing like that. I just thought, well, I guess I didn’t think
about it. You really like it?"
"Well, yes, shouldn’t I?"
"I’m glad you do, but you should see my rooms. Or maybe you shouldn’t, you
might refuse to help us unless you could stay there instead."
Tam’s eyes grew large in innocent denial. "Oh no, such things don’t matter
to Jedi. I would do my duty if I had to sleep on a mattress on the floor in
a plain windowless room. Appearances and comfort are secondary when life is
concerned."
"How old are you? If any of my friends talked like that I’d wonder if they
were possessed by something."
"That’s what separates the Jedi from the rest of the galaxy, I suspect.
I’m twenty standard years, old enough to understand some of the basic
teachings I would hope."
"Wow, you’re three years younger than me and most of my friends, but you
talk like you’ve been around for centuries."
"I’ll try to refrain myself," she allowed wryly.
"No, I like it. It makes you special." His voice was soft, without his
usual teasing, and the look they shared filled a silence neither one could
measure. "Well, I’ll tell my mom you have graciously accepted our humble
accommodations and leave you to settle in. Should I send a droid up with
your stuff?"
"I don’t have that much, it wouldn’t be much trouble to get it myself."
"As you wish, it’s good to give the droids a break once in a while," he
teased.
He left her alone then, and it was several minutes before she moved from
the spot she occupied. The first touch of romantic love, no matter what the
consequences would be, it was still a bright light that made everything
worthwhile.