These Lines on My Hands

[Kuzo]

The first game moved slowly, both feeling each other out. Six-Nine won handily and Irajah grinned at the little droid.

"Best two out of three?"

Irajah took the second game, though it was close. The astromech won the third. When he tootled a query, she didn't have to understand the actual words to know what he was asking. Leaning back, she shook her head.

"Getting my rear end handed to me twice is my limit thanks," she replied good naturedly.

Six-Nine blatted something back and she just shrugged helplessly, not knowing what he was trying to say. Leaning forward now, she put her elbows on the table. She'd picked a bit at breakfast while they played, but hadn't made a lot of headway on it. She wasn't particularly hungry and now that they were done playing, the weight of everything settled on her again.

"I wish I understood what you were saying."

[member="Phylis Alince"]

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Irajah Ven"]
The droid displayed an unfortunate amount of glee and satisfaction with his triumph and whistled happily to itself.

However, at Irajah’s last words the droid gave an inquisitive beep, then rolled over to the holo and fiddled with it. There was more twittering as the droid worked, but finally it beeped in satisfaction.

Amazingly, from the holo-projector, a voice came out.
“This should complete the task,” it said, a flat toned ‘auto voice’ such as one might get in a call centre.

“I reprogrammed the automatic translation unit to accept my input and then translate it into Galactic Basic,” the projector said as Six-Nine beeped excitedly.

So now Irajah had a friend she could understand! This might prove to be a double edged sword though as he’d have to mind his words whilst here!

 

[Kuzo]

The excited beeping was such a contrast to the flat, deadpan voice that Irajah actually had to stifle a laugh. She clapped her hands together once, leaning back with a grin.

"Oh, that's *much* better. Yes, thank you."

Now she could respond in any sort of meaningful way, as well as ask questions herself. There seemed only one logical place to start.

"So, with that out of the way, what should I call you? Do you have a name?"

[member="Phylis Alince"]

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Irajah Ven"]
The little droid seemed caught up in the excitement and rocked from leg to leg.
“My name is E-R-P-6-9. I am commonly referred to as ‘Six-Nine’ however.”

Six-Nine rolled over to Irajah and peered up at her. “I have studied your file. You are suffering from an infection. If you need anything, I can assist you.”

The droid’s manipulator arm came out and patted her on the shoulder in an oddly friendly way for a droid. This was a unit with personality!

 

[Kuzo]

Some of her smile faded as the droid mentioned infection. It sounded almost benign when said like that. She tried to rally the smile when Six-Nine 'patted' her shoulder (After all, how often do you meet a droid that would offer that kind of very human motion of comfort? She couldn't think of a time). But it was half hearted at best.

"I'm not sure if there's much you can help me with, Six-Nine," she said at last. "But mostly that's because I don't think there's much anyone here can do to help me. There's no cure for what I have. It's contained, but your.... well... coworkers?.... don't really believe, or trust that."

She leaned back with a sigh and a self deprecating half smirk.

"Not that I blame them. I'm already starting to feel better," which was true, though she still needed rest. She wasn't about to go out running marathons or anything. "But I'm stuck here until....."

She trailed off. Until what? Until they were sure there was no cure? That could take weeks. Until they were confident she wasn't a risk to people around her?

In that case, she would be here forever.

[member="Phylis Alince"]

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Irajah Ven"]
The droid tutted sympathetically.
“I am certain Master Alince will not keep you longer than necessary. She is not terrible…for a human,” the droid allowed. It would never have said this near Phylis of course!

Six-Nine rolled over to Irajah’s other side. “It is unfortunate that you cannot be fixed. If a droid has a faulty component it can be replaced with a new one.”

“I am being a poor companion. How may I help you?”

 

[Kuzo]

Irajah chuckled despite herself.

"Well, humans can be pretty horrible, so 'not horrible for a human' is high praise indeed. I'll keep it in mind when I talk to her," she said with a smile. It faded slightly around the edges as a thought blossomed in her mind.

Maybe not horrible is the best we can aspire to.

Shaking her head at the small droid, she pushed that thought away. After all, it was hard to be morose when comforting a droid.

"No, no, you're being a fine companion," she murmured, her tone sincere. "I don't really need you to do anything. Just... I guess... be yourself." Because clearly there was a very feisty 'self' in there.

"I know! Master Alince said that she might teach me.... well, other things with the Force. But, I'll be honest, I've never had.... well, much truck with Jedi. I don't really know a lot about them. I don't want you to try to tell me the whole history or anything but.... what do *you* think of the Jedi?"

[member="Phylis Alince"]

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Irajah Ven"]
The droid’s dome rotated and he seemed to ponder the situation closely.
“The Jedi try to make chaos into order. Sometimes they succeed. Sometimes they make the situation worse.”

It seemed the droid had a pretty firm view on matters.
“Unlike a droid which can be assembled and programmed exactly, who receives the Force is seemingly chaotic in itself. Some Jedi can handle the responsibility. Some cannot.”

Which was, in all, a pretty nuanced view of things for an astromech!

“Would you like tea, or other liquid?”

 

[Kuzo]

Irajah looked thoughtfully at Six-Nine, despite the fact that his voice was technically coming from a slightly different source. Very astute- not just from a droid, but from most people for that matter. She wondered, not for the first time, how her father would have replied to that question.

"Actually, a cup of caf would be great right now," she admitted. "I know it's not actually cold in here, but something about all the white and chrome, brrr you know?"

She realized, only belatedly, that no, he probably didn't.

[member="Phylis Alince"]

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Irajah Ven"]
The droid’s ‘eye’ peered at her for a moment, then it beeped.
“I understand that certain colours can have an emotional effect on people,” the droid said tactfully.

It went and busied itself at the caf dispenser and returned with the tray. Despite the fact the droid could not taste it had made a remarkably good cup of caf.

“The Jedi needs caf to stay awake when she is working on her projects,” the droid added, a little disparaging towards his owner.

 

[Kuzo]

Irajah accepted the cup with a grateful smile. Wrapping both hands around the warm mug, she inhaled deeply, recognizing the smell of a good cup of caf.

"Thank you, Six-Nine."

Pausing, she canted her head to the side as she listened. Her smile turned a touch sheepish.

"I've used it for that purpose too," she admitted.

Not just to stay awake to work on something, she mused silently to herself. Yes, that, but also to help stay awake to fend off the nightmares. It had been almost a month since she had left the tomb that was her homeworld, but every time she closed her eyes she remembered it as if she were still there.

Not that the droid needed to know any of that.

"What kinds of projects?" She asked, partly to just talk and partly because she was genuinely interested.

[member="Phylis Alince"]

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Irajah Ven"]
“She is always working with a forge or other items, putting the Force into them. Like that crystal she gave you. It appears to work, but not always the first time. Or tenth,” the droid added a little snidely.

Speak of the devil and she shall appear. On the holoprojector Phylis appeared.
“I hope I’m not interrupting anything. Irajah, I was hoping I might come by and visit you. I have some tests to run and I wanted to run some things past you. Hmm, I hope Six-Nine hasn’t been a bother.”

Now unable to use the holoprojector, the droid uttered a defiant beep.

“Yes, yes, I’m sure you have. Hmmph. Anyway, does that sound good, Irajah?”

 

[Kuzo]

Irajah had chuckled at Six-Nine's sass. "Well, that *is* the way of experimentation. New paths forged when no one has gone before you to break the snow....."

She turned to look at the holoprojector as [member="Phylis Alince"] 's voice took over. Her smile faded very slightly around the edges, but she kept it mostly in place by a force of will.

"He's been a delight actually," she replied, some of the relaxed tone of her banter gone. In it's place was a certain reserve. Not unfriendly, just a touch cooler, a touch more formal.

Now, Irajah could be difficult. And it occurred to her for a moment to be exactly that. After all, while it was nice in it's way that the Jedi was asking what she'd prefer, it was just a formality and they both knew it. Still, she appreciated the fact that she had even asked, when the asking ultimately meant nothing. So rather than be difficult, the dark haired woman replied-

"I'm at your disposal. I have a hot date tonight though, so you'll just have to make sure you give me enough time to get ready."

She was obviously joking. If only the two of them both knew.

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Irajah Ven"]
Oh dramatic irony, how wonderful you were.
Phylis smiled. “I’ll be sure not to keep you longer than necessary,” she said, then switched off the controls.

With her hologram gone the droid could be understood again. “Jedi,” Six-Nine beeped a little sourly.

It didn’t take long for Phylis to arrive in her robes. She brought with her a bag of various things which she lay down on the bed.

“I have need of some more blood samples. So sorry, hmm,” Phylis said, going to Irajah and laying out some syringes.

“So what I hoped to teach you today is a healing meditating trance. It better focuses all your energy into healing and resting. It can do great things given time.”

“I am sure she is most happy with that,” Six-Nine beeped sarcastically.

“Don’t be like that. It will help her,” Phylis replied without look around. Then she paused, frowned and looked at the droid. “How did you…? Ah, hmmph, reprogrammed the translation unit in the holoprojector. That’s smart, Six-Nine. Too smart,” she added with another ‘hmmph’ thrown in for good measure.

“I do hope he’s not been a bother, Irajah. He is very wilful sometimes.”

 

[Kuzo]

Irajah watched and listened as the two interacted. There was a small smile on her face that she didn't even know was there. Despite the snark and sass, these two were a team. They interacted without a hitch, without hesitation.

Her heart ached for a moment.

"No," she said softly, a touch wistful, "No he's been no trouble at all. A delight, in fact."

"And I *am* interested," she said, her tone brightening a bit.

She held out her right arm for Phylis to do the necessary evils without complaint.

"I don't know anything about the Force- beyond the one thing my father taught me. He was.... closed off.... about the Jedi. Didn't like to talk about it."

She shrugged her left shoulder, keeping her right side still as Phylis worked.

[member="Phylis Alince"]

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Irajah Ven"]

“Hmmph, well that’s understandable. The Jedi have not recently covered themselves in glory,” Phylis grumbled.

“Still, you know the basics, so it shouldn’t be too difficult. Take up that crystal I gave you and focus on it. You’ll soon be able to reach that place beyond your regular senses. Now, if you’ll allow me I will commune with you and show you how to do this particular procedure. It shouldn’t take long, but you’ll need to focus and practice to get the full result out of it.”

She sat down beside Irajah and offered the other woman a hand so they could begin.

 

[Kuzo]

Irajah pulled up both of her legs, sitting cross legged on the chair. She only hesitated a heart beat before taking [member="Phylis Alince"] 's offered hand. While she might have issues with the whole situation, the Jedi had been straight forward with her from the beginning- she trusted her as much as was possible given the circumstances.

Settling in, mentally as much as physically, she produced the alkahest crystal from her pocket. Cupping it in her free hand, she let the warmth of it spread through her fingers.

The dark haired woman's experience with the Force was limited, as she said. What little training she had was focused almost solely on how she could utilize the Force to interact with the body of another person, or her own body, and in that, with only limited technique. As Phylis had observed, her force presence was turned decidedly inward. And that was how she connected to the Force- not by reaching out, but by looking within.

It would make teaching her techniques about her own body relatively easy, while techniques that would affect others would be a challenge.

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Irajah Ven"]
Phylis gently clasped the proffered hand and sought to establish a link to the other woman. Soon, the Force formed a connection between them.
“That’s right, now the trick is to, hmm, relax. Let your body drift away, let your feelings focus only on the Force and the crystal. Let the world around you fade away. All you will see is the mists of unconsciousness and the glow of the force. Let it sustain you, feed on it…and…sleep.”

The effect should be that Irajah would relax into a comfortable, dreamless repose, drawing on the Force to rest, heal and rejuvenate her.

When Phylis was sure it had taken effect she gently laid Irajah’s hand on her lap and rose. She made sure Irajah's head rested against the a pillow and that she was comfortable so as not to cause strain.

“Stay with her, Six-Nine. Tell me when she wakes.” The droid beeped something, an inquiry. “That depends on her and how much she needs it. If she’s not awake in six hours call me.”

 

[Kuzo]

It was the first dreamless sleep she'd had in months.

The time would be drawing on, very close to when [member="Phylis Alince"] said that Six-Nine should call her. The droid rocked back and forth a few times- give it five more minutes? Any other droid simply would have followed the instructions to the letter. A querying tootle.

Hazel eyes opened slowly and she blinked owlishly. Though her neck was a little stiff from staying in one position for so long, she felt better than she had in a very long time.

It took a moment to fully shake it off. Everything moved slowly, sounding muffled, as if she were underwater. Six-Nine beep again.

"I'm awake," she said slowly, as if not trusting her mouth to work properly. Slowly, still gripping the crystal, she stretched, languorous and pleasant. The sleeves of her hospital gown slid as she moved and she paused, looking down at her forearms- the bruises, instead of new and angry, had the faded, distant look of old hurts, rather than fresh. She stood up, each movement slow and deliberate, moving over to the mirror. Tilting her head and brushing her hair off of her neck, she could see the bruises there were likewise faded.

She didn't have to look inward to know that the virus was still there within her, churning, replicating. But some of the damage that hadn't been fully healed at any point since she had contracted it was almost back to normal.

"Wow," she said quietly.

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Irajah Ven"]
Six-Nine rolled over to her and essayed a questioning beep. The translator wasn’t on, but the tone of beep was questioning and concerned.
People were a bit odd and the droid never quite knew what they would do.

He must have sent a signal, for soon Phylis appeared herself.
“Ah, Irajah! Awake at last I see, hmm?” she asked pleasantly. “Feel better? You won’t want to do that every day, but I find once a week does a world of good, twice if I’m stressed.”

She gestured with her hand and the light switches engaged fully. “Would you like me to come back a bit later after you’ve eaten? I’ve got some important things to discuss.”