Part 42 (2/2)

”Okay, okay.” Skirata got a look from Vau that Darman could only describe as disappointment. He probably thought that Skirata was being soft on Jusik. ”Let's go, then. Ordo, you too.”

”I'll wait here,” said Vau. ”Anything you want me to do to stall Zey if he shows?”

”I don't know. Delta's not going to tell him Jusik's gone AWOL, are they? And they could be gone weeks.”

”It'll be a brief conversation, then.” Skirata, Ordo, and Jusik left as quickly as they'd come in. Barman fought not to get his hopes up; he couldn't help thinking that n.o.body really understood what Jedi could do- least of all Jedi, it seemed-and Skirata might simply have been placating Jusik. The general badly wanted to emulate Skirata, except with the Jedi bits added like some kind of first-aid kit and early-warning system. Avoidance of attach-ment and anger didn't get a look-in these days.

But that was the challenge, wasn't it? If you had powers like that, standing apart from the messy business of life was just avoiding the hard decisions. Jusik confronted his.

”Fierfek,” said Corr, sharpening the throwing knives on the durasteel sections of his fingers, ”is it always like that in this squad? And how much transit time do you guys clock up?”

Vau laughed. ”Ah, the clarity of the newcomer.”

”What did he mean, he was only there to slow Delta down?” Darman asked.

”You know how self-deprecating he is.” Vau fed Mird a cookie. ”A modest man.”

It hadn't sounded like that, but then Darman accepted he wasn't at his most detached today. It was a pity Etain wasn't here: he missed her, as always, but she could also have given Jusik a hand with the healing, as she had when Jinart was shot.

It was no good worrying. Etain would be back when her mission was complete, Jusik would do all that a Jedi could do to help Fi, and his own task was to stay alive long enough to see both things happen. In the end, it was Fi who stayed on his mind today, not Etain, but she'd understand why.

She had such a long time ahead of her. Fi's time had been short to start with, and had ended up far shorter than he could ever have imagined.

Jailer Obrim s residence, Rampart Town, Coruscant, 483 days after Geonosis ”There's something I have to tell you, Kal'buir.”

Ordo needed to get this off his chest. Dealing with Fi's plight was hard enough, but knowing Skirata was dragged down further by the apparent loss of Ko Sai's research was something he had to deal with sooner rather than later, so he could concentrate on the task at hand.

”What, son?” They waited with Jusik in the impressive security lobby of Obrim's apartment, undergoing automated scans, which showed just how many criminals had scores to settle with the officer.

”I'll understand if you can't forgive me for it.”

”Can't be that bad.”

”Mereel sent a message-Ko Sai gave Etain some of the gene sequences.”

That got his attention. ”Etain? Seriously?”

”She's got a knack.”

”That's the best news I've heard in a while. Thanks, son.” Skirata shut his eyes for a moment. ”Is that all the aiwha-bait remembered?”

”It's turned into a negotiating game, but there's more to come.”

”That's good. Very good.”

”And I did something terrible to you, Buir. We have her data, all of it. I just did it to shake her down. She's completely devastated by the thought that it's gone, and it's be-come a lever to get more out of her. You convinced her it was really destroyed.”

There. He'd come clean now. Skirata managed a smile of sorts, but he took it quietly. His voice was hoa.r.s.e. ”Yeah, I'm much more convincing when I'm on the verge of a heart at-tack.”

”I'm so sorry. I never thought I'd do anything to hurt you, and yet when it's expedient, that's just what I do.”

The security scan seemed satisfied that they weren't Black Sun hit men, and the doors opened. Jusik had a large holdall that clanked when he walked and set off a metal detector in-side the hall. Ordo had an idea what it was but wondered what Jusik was going to do with it.

”Big stakes, son,” Skirata said at last. ”Yes, it was a nasty shock. But it worked.”

”Can you ever trust me again?”

”With my life,” Skirata said. ”And I should be happier about this, but it's hard at the moment, what with Fi and everything.”

”I said I'd make it up to you, Buir. I will.” Jailer Obrim had a pleasant wife called Telti and two teenage sons who were-in real terms-older than Ordo. The boys greeted them politely and then went to their rooms as if they were drilled to vanish when awkward business was being discussed. Obrim was on duty today, but his wife seemed completely calm about being left with a comatose stranger and a med droid.

”He's through here,” Telti said. She led them into a guest suite, where Fi lay looking no more than a man asleep, except for the nasogastric tube and a saline drip feeding into his hand. Besany was sitting beside the bed, her head resting on one hand; the med droid was offline, settled in the corner. ”Jailer talks about you a lot. Fi can stay here as long as he needs to.”

There were good people everywhere, Ordo thought, just not enough of them. He walked up to Besany and put his hand on her shoulder, and she jerked back as if he'd woken her.

”I nodded off,” she said. ”Have you been here all night?”

”Yes. I called in to the office to say I was sick. Then I realized it was the weekend.”

”You did a good job. Probably with less damage to property than if we'd extracted him, too.”

Jusik placed his holdall in the corner of the room with a loud clunk. ”You can stay and watch if you want, but it's boring.”

”I saw you heal Jinart,” she said.

”I might not achieve the same results,” Jusik said, ”but it won't be for want of trying.”

Ordo wanted to know how he set about doing it: what went through his mind, how he focused, what the energies felt like while it was happening. Right now, though, it was just Jusik sitting on the bed, with one hand on Fi's forehead and his eyes closed, like an act of blessing frozen in time. Ordo watched for an hour, then accepted that he wasn't contributing anything.

”Why don't you take Besany home?” Skirata said. ”Come back later. If there's any change I'll call you.”

”I feel like I'm abandoning him.”

”Okay, but get some rest. When did you last sleep, Ord'ika?”

Ordo didn't want to leave Skirata on his own, either, even if the Obrims were there to keep him fed and watered. It had been a grueling couple of weeks; Kal'buir wasn't a young man.

”Okay,” Ordo said. ”I'll shut my eyes for a few minutes.” He thought he had. He took off his kama and pauldron and laid them over the back of a chair, then settled back on the sofa by the window. It was the most deeply upholstered thing he'd ever sat on, and he felt he was drowning in it. The next thing he was aware of was waking up to find Besany's head on his shoulder, wondering how she could sleep with a hard plastoid plate pressing against her face, and Kal 'buir gently tapping the back of his hand. Four hours had gone. ”You need to see this,” Skirata whispered. ”You really do.” Jusik stood and stretched, joints cracking with alarming pops. ”Brain tissue is capable of a great deal of regeneration, even the human type.” Besany stirred. ”What is it?”

”Show them, Bard'ika,” Skirata said. Jusik ruffled Fi's hair, and he moved. He did it a few more times; the reaction was consistent.

”Don't get too excited,” Jusik said. ”He's not in such a deep coma now. That's a long way from being conscious, but he's not brain-dead, either.”

”You healed that much tissue?”

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