Not Finished With You Yet (CIS: Felix Emer)

[Manu Xextos]

Brynjar Star Destroyer
Confederate of Independent Systems Space

The night cycle shifted seamlessly to the Echani crew of the House of Xextos. As penance for their ancestral sin, Manu stripped the loyal House of Keth of their name, writing it upon his memory and no other name. He would expunge the House, bring it into his own and reclaim it. Purify it. Become it. If the House of Keth were wary of this chance, they did not say. Long now had Manu roamed the stars with his crew, until the siren song of the Confederacy called him to a home he could claim. A planet of their own.

On Tythe he would bring Life to the barren, he would redeem the planet as he would, in effect, redeem himself. Yet, the Echani Knight was not well. He kept his student and nurse @[member="Felix Emer"] close, always having a treat in his pocket for Felix's dog Max. This night cycle, Manu was entrenched in his room breathing weakly in what passed for slumber.

In the swathe of a thin blanket, he dreamed. Erryn stirred beside him, cuddled up to her husband's chest. Manu pulled her into his morning-stirred arms and felt the distension of her belly. Outside, the rebuild of Thyrsus had passed from fledgeling to finishing, massive tangles of sculptures built from the wreckage by Manu's own telekinetic hands. He nuzzled into her neck, he could stay here with his wife. In the side of Manu's mind he felt the empathic imprints of the Brynjar crew fading away. A soft music found his ears, the thub-dub of a heartbeat slowing down.

Had the Krystallsøvn taken more than his years? Was the octocentarian living on whispers of time, threaded through his consciousness with naught but the image of his wholly healthy mother to keep his impressions sound? Erryn stirred. She turned and pulled her arm across Manu's hair, pressing her lips to his. Down the hall he could hear Chiara and Divya - their daughters - playing in the morning air. Manu pressed his forehead to his wife's and prayed that the Force would not take this vision. That soon he could reunite and survive.

In Manu's quarters, the 7 foot Echani's heartbeat slowly dimmed, his lungs took less air. A flickering sense of ill drifted to Felix, the subconscious of the man afraid of the slow draw on the Master's frail, wasting body.

 

[Felix Emer]

Max had a habit of wandering from room to room checking on "his people". Coming to Manu's room the dog could sense something was wrong. He jumped onto Manu's bed and began to lick his face. He began to bark "wake up!" nosing Manu's head and pawing at his chest. He barked again and jumped down to run out to find Felix. Looking back he ran in again and licked Manu's hand, then ran down the hall to Felix's room.

Groaning, Felix groggily asked "What is it boy? It's bed time." He threw his blankets back and rubbed his eyes. As soon as his feet hit the ground he sensed something was wrong and followed after Max as the dog ran back to Manu's room. As he walked into the room he felt life draining from Manu.

"Manu! Wake up! Come on, you need to open your eyes." he said feeling for a pulse on his wrist. Too slow. Damnit. He looked around the room to see nothing of use with no time to run to his medical bay. The force would be his only option, something he was not happy about at all, given his confidence level in it was that of a gold fish.

"MANU!!" he yelled. "Damnit Manu, I can't... you know I can't..." he stuttered. Max whined and licked Manu's hand again. As if to teach him his last lesson Manu stopped breathing and his heart stopped.

"MANU!!!" Felix screamed "NO!!!" slamming his fist on Manu's chest a burst of light emitted from it. As if to restart his heart he hit it again, tears streaming down his face. This time the room flooded with a flash of light that began to pulsate. @[member="Manu Xextos"]

 

[Manu Xextos]

The bed was warm, the morning getting warmer as their pale yellow sun dressed the sheer draperies in dancing, golden light. Manu felt the sway of the breeze on his face, he nuzzled into Erryn's neck and held onto her hands as her fingers laced with his. Their morning 'I love you' didn't need words, as Echani didn't need words. He kissed her earlobe, nipped at the flesh and chuckled as she squeaked, shifting her shallowing hips around to face her husband's wet, silver eyes. Quicksilver eyes. 'Morning, my love', her face spoke, bringing with it the rhythm of another morning outside of time. Her kiss rang electric down his spine, as his hand hovered over her pregnant bump he felt their son shift in the amniotic sac. A strong boy, stronger than his father. Not prone to the same mental weaknesses Manu had been. Manu leaned down and kissed his wife's belly, pressing his cheek to the swell. 'I love you. I love you and shall name you for joy, my son. My only son.' As he searched up into his wife's eyes, his cheeks lost the growth of their smile. Erryn's eyes were gone, replaced with a crystalline void that slowly, ever slowly crept toward Manu's fleshly skin.

"No. No, mother no! Ahani!" Manu screamed as Ahani flung up her hands, those trembling, daunting hands and Manu felt the centuries of encasement strike for his wife and skin. 'You don't belong there, Manu. You were never there. You were gone when Erryn was showing. You never knew your infant son, as you never knew the tears for which Lochan Indra was named. Lochan Indra, the Child of Raining Tears. Come back with me. Your duty is not ended.'

Ahani's voice struck with the screams of @[member="Felix Emer"]. Manu clawed at the fading golden light, lunging for it, striking for the last moment of comfort and pause with his wife. His darling Erryn, their lonely tear-named son. Another light thumped onto Manu's chest, this one the cold and grey of winter mornings, when the sun was nigh but masked by thunderous clouds. Manu's heart pinged and rested. He balked at the cold grey light, until Felix shouted again, shouted that the Force couldn't have Manu yet.

Felix Emer couldn't lose another Master. As Felix's panic washed over Manu's mind, the Echani Templar rose back to his body and readied himself for the last image of his dearly departed, feeling that silver-chain of Duty and Conscience fit round his desperate throat. The man coughed awake, heaving in his chest and pulling at his spine until he sat up in the bed and reached for Felix and Max.

"Get me my mother." He rasped, after his coughing fit was done. Manu's heartbeat was scant and irregular. Was it safe for Felix to leave, or would the Padawan send trusty Max to find the Elder Echani with the flickering, desperate eyes?

 

[Felix Emer]

He embraced his Master with a sigh of relief still taking precautions to make sure all of Manu's vitals were getting back to normal. "What... you were dreaming... You need some water. Here." he handed Manu the glass of water by the bed. "I'm not leaving." he said firmly.

"Max, go get Ahani." He let Manu sit back gently and began to search out what needed to be dealt with first. Hovering his hands over Manu's body he passed over until he felt a burning hot sensation in his chest. He jerked back momentarily, cursing under his breath. His heart was beating irregularly but that was not the only problem. Felix could tell that it was breaking, but why? Who was she? She couldn't possibly be alive now, could she?

@[member="Manu Xextos"]

 

[Manu Xextos]

Manu emptied the water down his throat and tossed the glass over and away. The shattering clash was an echo in Manu's ear, shot through with the loss of his Thyrsian morning and the arms of his wife. Some men in a Widower's State could not let go. As Manu was led back, his lungs seeped in another ragged breath of air and he shut his eyes. His jaw worked, throat burned, he counted the feelings of his fingers one by one as if by the action he'd somehow maintain his catch on this lifetime. "I'm eight hundred and thirty five years old, Felix. What do you expect to be keeping me alive but my dreams? I miss my wife. Every night I feel I'm getting closer to her."

The wellspring of his lethargy swelled upward, Manu held a hand up to Felix's shoulder. "Trust the Light, Felix. Not your fear. You smell with it, you're so scared of losing another Master you've paralyzed your inner wits. Slow down. Calm down. Accessing the Force while in a near panic is more dangerous than letting a patient die. Deep breath, then focus on where the organs and bodily tissues are going wrong. Picture what they should be like and bind that picture to my body."

@[member="Felix Emer"]

 

[Felix Emer]

Felix sat on the edge of the bed and steadied his breathing. "I... I know, but I feel like this time there's something I can do... or should be able to do." he said to @[member="Manu Xextos"]

Closing his eyes he pictured the organs as they should be. As if reaching out to inspect his patient like he normally would he used the force, scanning Manu's internal organs, stopping at the the liver first, then kidneys, heart and lungs. The liver would probably be the easiest, but the heart would be more difficult. Without Manu's wife it would never be fully healed. He clenched his fists then let go, remembering to relax and breathe deeply. As he continued to breathe rhythmically he emanated a light that channelled and focused on Manu's liver.

 

[Manu Xextos]

"There is something you can do. There's a lot of something but relying on panic and fear to get there will only lead to heartache, and many scorched corpses. Find the calm in the centre of the hurricane. Let the world outside your head be in a panic, let yourself had a nervous tick if you have to, but the mind is calm, because the Force is calm. It's sunlight warming you on a cold day." Manu spoke with a soothing baritone, yet it was too soft for his usual verbosity. He continued to feel the sides of his throat as he watched @[member="Felix Emer"] work.

This time, he couldn't help his Padawan if he wanted to as he had before, by plying the peace of the Force. Manu's body was warped and wrecked, the cold tireless respite which had centuries long contained the soul of his wife in the bosom of the Force was scratching at the door. The lines of age had not yet settled on Manu's face, nor had moth nor rust destroyed his wits, should Felix become the healer Manu knew he could become, Manu's body would be soon repaired. He felt a shard of light penetrate his left side and he watched the glow become the man who'd found him or better put, whose dog found him.

"That's it, Felix. You've got this. The Force is more than you are. That's what gives us the illusion of greatness. When we act as a channel for the calming, peaceful Light of the Force, we are capable of insurmountable deeds. Repairing the Galaxy, that is a Jedi's path. Keep going, you've got this. . . Can I ask you something? What do you know of Cloning?"

 

[Felix Emer]

Eyes still closed Felix kept concentrating on the liver, repairing it as a master surgeon, force radiating in him and around him. Next he shifted his focus onto the kidneys, important for Manu to be able to filter out the toxins in his body. Felix took a deep breath and the focused with even greater intensity, repairing each kidney. As he focused more the light became brighter until the kidneys were back to full functioning. Felix breathed out sharply and opened his eyes, holding onto the side of the bed, tired from focusing so much force energy into healing.

"Drink this." he said, using the force to drift a glass of water over to Manu. "You'll probably need to go to the bathroom a lot for the next few days." As if Max knew that Felix had stopped for a bit he bounded into the room and up onto Manu's bed, wagging his tail and licking Manu's face. Felix smiled "Max, you stay here with Manu and come get me if he needs anything. Lots of water." he said turning to Manu.

"Cloning... well, we did do some in the hospitals, mostly with organ tissues and things but right before I left we had just finished successfully cloning a human... why...?"

@[member="Manu Xextos"]

 

[Ahani Najwa-Zambrano]

"He wants his wife back, and he's willing to sell what's left of his valuable Jedi integrity to get her." Ahani burst into the room with Max, and seeing that nobody's organs were splattered on ye paley Echani wallsies, sighed with a thinly veiled contemptuous relief and sunk her back into the wall. It hadn't been long since Ahani Najwa came to the Brynjar and already she'd made a sturdy name for herself with the Echani contingents. She was a vicious duellist, having accounted for many of the patients Felix had been dealing with in the usual manner these past few weeks. Moreso than her physical tempestuousness was a storm of character which ventured spinning and spitting from her eyes and posture. @[member="Felix Emer"]

The woman was nuts. "Echani One-Oh-ah..Three, Human." Ahani pushed off the wall with one solid boot and swivelled into the centre of the room at a small trot. "Echani are the most elegant race in the Universe. We carry the exact genetic codes of our predecessors in our veins, thus why all the women of the same house look identical to the Human eye. All folk of Manu's male line look like him as he looks like his ancestral males. Along with that, a stronger bond. The bond between an Echanar, or Echani Spouse is a brand of ultimate monogamism. We bond on a spiritual and physical level. We mate for life, twinkle fingers. Course I didn't, I've had two Echanar… okay the second one killed the first one, but I have an excuse.

I went insane. Manu's heartbreak comes from his weakness of gender, he's pining. Find a way to give baby his bottle and he'll be back to his annoyingly monastic self. By the way, what happened to the rest of your Vornskyr? Max is tiny, is he sick?" She bent down to offer the dog her hand, the little thing was cute, maybe it was a puppy!

 

[Felix Emer]

"Vorn... what? No. He's a dog... He's full grown. Have you never seen a dog from earth before...? wait, stupid question, you don't need to answer that." he said looking at her quizzically.

Turning to Manu he gave him a look that said "Is she ALWAYS like this?!"

Max sniffed at her hand cautiously then looked up at her and barked "hey!" He wandered back over to Manu's beside and nuzzled into his hand.

@[member="Ahani Najwa"] @[member="Manu Xextos"]

 

[Manu Xextos]

"Hey, Max." Manu caught the dog and gave him a goodly pet. Max was the best, he'd already become the mascot of the ship, and it did fill Manu with comfort knowing the pooch was around to help him out. He quirked his head at Ahani, listening to the chatter coming from his mother with a casual disinterest. "Alw-ah, this is a good day for her! Isn't it, Ahani? You've been taking your med'cin'ain't you Mom?"

He laughed softly and shook his head. For all her clarity, for all that time in the krystallsøvn Ahani hadn't left the crystal sleep whole either. Manu's face softened for his mother, he whispered in Max's ear and sent the dog back toward Ahani if he'd go. "Mom and Dad were tortured in a prison pit on Kashyyk for what, six years? Killed Dad, not not Mom. Naw, they don't come stronger than Ahani Najwa. Don't let her insanity fool you, that is a victorious survivor. Years under Sith oppression, and she's come out able to smile and act for herself. I'm proud of her… even if I'm monitoring her dosages to a tee." Manu nodded vigorously at @[member="Felix Emer"] with that doctoral eyebrow raise.

"I'll drink the water. Can I have juice too? I hate water. It's so plain and watery…"

 

[Ahani Najwa-Zambrano]

"Juice!? You Nancy." Ahani laughed, shaking her head. "How did I raise such a dainty little boy? You've fought wars and won. You've moved buildings with your mind and ta-daaa, Manu wants his juice." Rolling her eyes, Ahani plopped herself down on the floor and clapped her hands together with a grin as Max came over.

"You mean you breed them that little!? How do you hunt with them? Poor Max couldn't take on a Krayt Dragon, you.. you poor stunted, beautiful puppy, I'll make up for their mistreatment! I will! I'll… I'll! Aha! I'll teach you how to hunt…….. a ball." Waving her hands to either side of her, Ahani patted Max's head and from seemingly nowhere brought out a rubber ball. "See? It's good training, and it's fun. I had Vornskyr, you know. Three of them, then one died defending me from a Sith Knight while I was pregnant with Yuca. Manu's little brother. That valiant creature, I had a statue made in his honour. Course that blew up in the raid of… eh, I can never remember. So, Felix-Healy-Fingers, you going to clone Manu's dead wife for him, or can I take you to Kamino with me to chat up the Kaminoans to do it with some back up? Erryn was fun, she loved me! She loved me so much I kept her planet from being annihilated. I planted my best guard to make sure she was okay, because my daughter-in-law loved me. Shame Iesu got drawn and quartered…. eh! Still had his brother there and that was good enough once I got through with him."

She punched her fist into her open palm and flumped down on the floor, holding her hand out for Max. "Save me, Max. Save me from a life of memories locked away in this vault of a ship. Once we fix Manu, Max, he'll let us see green grass again. You'd like that, won't you boy? Grass? Running and playing. Blue skies. Heck, I'll take a peach coloured sky at this point. Cooped up for eight hundred years and what does my son do? Come 'rescue me' from a life in the Empire to sulk on a spaceship. Felix, you gotta help me make him see reason…. or at least get laid. Manu gets laid, we all win."

 

[Felix Emer]

"Sorry sir, but for every glass of juice you need to drink 3 glasses of water. uh... he already knows how to do that..." Felix said turning from Manu and looking at Ahani, eyebrow raised. "I think we should go to Kamino, if I'm completely honest... we could all use a 'vacation' if you ask me."

Max had been slowly inching towards Ahani. At the mention of grass he bounded forward playfully and barked, wagging his tail. "Seems he's warmed up to you rather quickly" Felix said. "Anyway, Manu, you should get some rest. Max will stay here with you and I'll be in my quarters if you need me."

@[member="Ahani Najwa"] @[member="Manu Xextos"]

 

[Manu Xextos]

"Flavour. Flavour, mother. I survived Dad's cooking long enough! Yeah yeah, I know, I'll drink my water." He waved the fuss off, and watched Ahani play with the dog. The whole thing gave him an idea, Ahani had pets before, she loved animals. Maybe they should look at getting her another pet? "Thanks Felix. Keep working on bringing that peace around you. Start meditating on it, being able to call it up the instant you need it will save a lot of strife."

@[member="Felix Emer"]

 

[Ahani Najwa-Zambrano]

"Urgh. Urdu should have died sooner." Making a face, Ahani threw her arm around Max and gave the dog a hearty cuddle.

"Hah!" Ahani clapped her hands and skittered off the floor with a backward roll and a flourish. "To Kamino! But not you." She pointed at Manu without looking at him, "If you go, you'll sell half the universe to get in the door. Let mumsy do it. Let @[member="Felix Emer"] do it. Rest up so your reunion isn't an apology and a cuddle. I'll start getting the supplies and all ready to go. No rest for the wicked, eh Max? We'll get green grass. Grass… it's green and blue and there's purple grass. Purple. Orange skies." Her mind wandered and with it her body, which stood up and began pacing the room.

 

[Felix Emer]

"Yes sir, I'll be sure to focus on it." Felix said to his master. @[member="Manu Xextos"]

Max barked as if to get Ahani back from her own little world she seemed to go into as she paced. The pup circled around, jumped up on his hind legs and barked again.
"I... uh... but Manu's not well enough to be left alone yet. His lungs and heart need work, or at least his lungs. He needs me... " stuttered Felix. He began to wring his hands together at the thought of a long trip alone with @[member="Ahani Najwa"]. It was if Ahani was trying to give him an instance in which he needed to practice calling upon the peace he would need. She made him nervous, although he did seem to like her more as they spent more time together.

 

[Ahani Najwa-Zambrano]

"Better focus hard, [member="Felix Emer"]. The Dark catches our fears and turns it into fuel for its eccentric wills. 'Course for me, I went nuts and was all passion bound, but passion is the whole dominance thing and it's better to be in the Light side 'cause you live longer unless there are Sith around and your dog needs to bulk up before taking on some Sith, but we can work on that can I have a dog? I'd like to put one in my pocket, or in my cloak hood when I'm not wearing it, they make them that little don't they? Then maybe a big one too. How big do you make them? Grow them? Are they flora or fauna, these dogs? Oh Ahani, thats ridiculous."

Ahani waved her hand across her face and she flopped back down on her son's bed across his feet. "Plants don't eat meat."

"Of course Manu needs you, but have you taken into consideration that Erryn can be another set of eyes and ears, mouth and nose to watch over him? Besides, you've got an entire brigade of Echani just waiting to see him twitch. Come oooooon! What could possibly go wrong on a ship with me to Kamino!? I have Handmaidens! Manu won't let me go anywhere without supervision. . . oooo! We could have popcorn!"

Clenching her fist, Ahani giggled as it combusted with whispers of blue and yellow flame. "I pop it with my rage."

 

[Felix Emer]

Felix flinched and looked at [member="Manu Xextos"] then back to [member="Ahani Najwa"]. He focused on calming himself for a moment before responding.

If you want a pup you can have one that's little, although I do warn you, they yip... perhaps you'd like a dog that's just a little bit smaller than Max? He can't really beef up any more... that's just how he comes. Max and I love popcorn! Let's keep it flowing and we'll be good!" he said with a grin and scruffle of Max's fur. When Felix was working night shifts as an OR nurse and needing to switch to days Max would often keep him company all night as they watched movies and ate copious amounts of popcorn. "mmmm popcorn...." he muttered.

"I know the perfect place along the way home that we can stop off at to get you your pup. Manu, Sir, is it alright if I take my leave and go with her?"