Making a Connection.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei Wu Wei sat on the crumbling steps of the Great Jedi Library. Scratching his head, he was lost in thought. Something was bothering him. He just couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Well, maybe that wasn't quite true. Throughout the last few weeks, the Jedi Encampment had been an explosion of productive energy and drive. Where tents and docked starships served for housing and other needs, the beginnings of newer, more permanent construction popped up here and there. Those not participating in the construction efforts either taught Padawans or assisted in the excavation of the Library.

Wei helped with all of it as best he could. But sometimes when a thing was too heavy to lift, he was usually asked to step aside so someone with telekinetic power could use the Force to shift it wherever it needed to go. Other times--such as during excavation--Wei couldn't keep a hand free for his lightsaber, and found himself standing blindly in the dark while a better connected person shut their eyes and sensed out the dimensions of an area.

Today, in fact, Wei had been asked to step back for a task only to be replaced by two Padawans. He had taken it well and chose not to impede progress. Now that he was alone, a feeling of anxiety started to creep up from the lump in his gut and filled his mind with depressing thoughts.

Wei reminded himself that he was an excellent fighter. But the poisonous thoughts bashed at him with one bitter, relevant statement: What would happen to him if he were unable to use his lightsaber? After all, in the greater galaxy Wei was trying to put an end to the Inquisitoriate--all powerful Force-users. If he were disarmed...

The Jedi Knight shook his head. "This line of thinking is like water circling a storm drain. It goes nowhere but down. There's only one thing for problems. Action."

Wei stood and looked towards the camp. Somewhere amongst all these Jedi, there must be someone with knowledge. Or if not there, then in the Library. He would start with his peers. They were more readily at hand.

[Serena Laran]

Serena Laran sat on the Jedi Council, but spent the majority of her time in the medical pavilion. Her knowledge of medicine - herbal, modern, and Force based - meant that her time was constantly in demand. The medical droids did most of the major surgeries (there had only been two since they had settled on Ossus, an appendix had burst and a large stone in the Library had landed on a padawan's leg, smashing the bone into jelly) and needed no instruction. In fact, if she wasn't teaching others about herbs or the Force, Serena was often grilling a 2-1B for information. Her 'modern' medical knowledge had many gaps due to her prolonged exile.

At the moment she was spending time with Arlan Solborne, their resident botanist, talking about local herbs and their uses. She fingered a beautiful fern he had growing in the hydroponics lab (another large weather proofed tent, but with the ability to turn transparent and into a greenhouse when desired) as he pointed out another new plant he and his interns had just discovered.

"We haven't named it yet, but when chewed the leaves are a mild analgesic. We're drying some," he pointed to a metal cart that stood as tall as Serena, "and also seeing if it can be concentrated to provide more pain relief."

She pulled a tray out of the drying rack, picking out a crispy leaf. It crumbled between her fingers. "Should I ask who was responsible for chewing a leaf of an unknown plant?"

He grinned, "It was... accidental. I believe there's a bet to see who will smoke a pipe stuffed with the dry leaf first." She raised an eyebrow, and he added, "It is perfectly safe, minus the obvious carcinogens present in any such product. We have run extensive tests."

Serena smiled, pushing the tray closed. "I am sure that the padawans entrusted to you are in good hands." When not in classes or spending time with their masters (of which there were not enough), padawans were divvied up throughout the camp, working jobs and learning skills. The age range of the padawans went from four years old to one older man of sixty, since the Jedi had opened up to the idea of teaching anyone with the ability to learn.

It still made many nervous, as a child was easily taught and kept from the Dark side, while older beings tended to be set in their ways and have many bad habits to overcome. Serena knew first hand how difficult it was teaching an older student - but it was even more rewarding seeing them blossom and embrace the teaching of the Jedi.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei went straight to the medical pavilion. Not all the Jedi that worked there knew much about the nature of the Force, but he had heard that at least a few people understood how to heal using the Force itself as opposed to using bacta and other medicines.

"Hello, uh, Master Laran?" Wei asked. "I was wondering if I could make an appointment to speak to you about my..." Wei trailed off. How to put it? "My handicap?"

For something he imagined he was so comfortable talking about, Wei found it hard to ask for help dealing with something he lived with for so long.

"Please." He added, suddenly feeling somewhat embarrassed.

[Serena Laran]

"Of course," Serena said, "Please, follow me Knight Wei." She led him to a curtained off examination 'room,' making sure the adjacent ones were empty. "You can sit on the table if you like," she smiled, "but since we're just talking the chair is fine."

She sat on a stool, leaving the aforementioned chair empty. She had just made it back to the medical tent after her visit with Dr. Solborne, but she didn't have any patients demanding her attention. "I apologize, I have no office at the moment, although they tell me that the permanent building will have one."

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei did sit on the table. "All things in due time," he said.

He was quiet for a minute, gathering his thoughts. "I'm sure the Council knows by now about my condition," Wei started. "I am not able to connect to or use the Force like most Jedi do. In fact, I don't even register as being Force Sensitive much of the time. Unless I am in the presence of a clear pure tone I cannot even do so much as sense the surface thoughts of another person. No Force augmented strength, no telekinetic abilities. Nothing."

Wei sighed. "But I know the Force can still act on me. If you read the report I filed when I arrived at the Wheel, I described being contacted by several Force Ghosts. I don't know the nature of such things, but I figured only people strong in the Force could speak to such--" he fumbled for a word--"Apparitions?"

He shrugged. "It seems contradictory to what I've been told and what I understand about my handicap. I may be completely wrong: perhaps Force Ghosts can appear to anyone they choose. But if I'm right, maybe there's a way around my handicap that the old Order never discovered because we were too busy fighting the Clone Wars."

Wei looked at Serena. "What do you think?"

[Serena Laran]

She thought for a moment. "There have been no reports of these Force Ghosts," she didn't really like the term, "contacting or appearing to those not strong in the Force themselves. But every time one has been seen, the ghost has been imparting knowledge or teaching, which would be useful to a Jedi."

She looked at Wei, studying his expressive face as he listened to her. "The lack of evidence is not in itself evidence. All beings have a connection to the Force - even now I can feel you sitting there, sense your heart beating, because of the Force flowing through you. Yet even inanimate objects have this same connection - I am not calling you an inanimate object, don't fear." Serena smiled.

"I have never heard of anyone experiencing a problem like yours before. It seems likely that such a thing could be the result of a traumatic event in childhood and the mind erecting walls that has since stunted your development as a Jedi."

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei shrugged. "If it was a childhood event, it would have had to have happened before I was 2 or 3 years old. It's been this way for as far back as I can remember."

The Jedi Knight leaned forward. "I wasn't sure if you knew of any other ways a person's connection to the Force might be stunted or otherwise cut off altogether. Or if you at least knew of any means by which a person's connection to the Force could be strengthened."

[Serena Laran]

"Physically, no. The science of midichlorians is fairly straightforward, if not fully understandable. The more you have the greater your ability in the Force, et cetera." She looked at him sitting there, his attitude upbeat as always.

"Have you been tested recently? For your midichlorian count, that is." She thought for a moment. "I suppose there would be a virus or genetic anomaly that could create dysfunction between the midichlorians and the rest of the body, though an aural solution to such a problem seems unlikely."

[Wei Wu Wei]

"I have not made any appointments with a doctor. I suppose I ought to do that."

Wei stood for a moment, then sat back down. "I need to find a doctor, then. Are there any in the area?"

He sighed. Things weren't that complicated. No doubt there could be a doctor amongst the Jedi on the planet, or in the fleet orbiting in space overhead. Wei knew the Novgorod patrolled the sector somewhat frequently. Being a battle cruiser, it would likely have a medic on board. Still. Wei didn't know his midichlorian count. Either through willful neglect, or some odd system of priorities, Wei hadn't had a test for his midichlorians. The Clone War took up the time of every Master the Jedi Order had--even the scholars! Somewhere during all that fighting, Wei's condition had fallen through the cracks.

He didn't resent it. He was just happy to use the Force at all back then. He was more than happy to be allowed to fight in the Clone Wars because of it, rather than in spite of it. It made him feel like he belonged. Like he wasn't different.

But he WAS different. And until he could tackle that problem, he would continue to be a fighter until he had nothing left to fight. He didn't want to know what would happen then.

He was a little scared. What if it turned out the condition wasn't treatable? Suppose it couldn't be cured?

No. He couldn't get hung up on things like that. The condition could be overcome with as little as a wind chime or a tuning fork. If his condition could be reversed temporarily, it could be reversed permanently.

"I would appreciate any nudge in the right direction."

[Serena Laran]

She laughed softly. "You are in the medical building, Knight Wei." Serena rifled in a drawer and produced a packaged sterile hypo for drawing blood. She tore open the package easily, setting aside the litter, and stepped next to the Jedi. "If you don't mind, I can do the midichlorian test immediately."

He hesitantly agreed, and she quickly pressed the hypo to his arm, a sharp pinch the only indication he felt that anything was happening. Serena carefully pressed the sample into the receptacle of a medical scanner, and it whirred quietly as it processed the blood. "We can run a standard blood panel as well, if you wish." She looked at the Knight with an eyebrow raised just slightly. "I am a qualified field medic from the Clone Wars, and have done many medical procedures. There is another Jedi who has practiced modern medicine more recently than I: Ilias Nytrau (http://theholo.net/forum/member.php?2889-Ilias-Nytrau). And there are several Alliance doctors here in the camp as well."

ooc: you can determine what Wei's midiclorian count is in your post, I didn't want to assume :) /ic:

[Wei Wu Wei]

He agreed. "That would be good. I'll be sure to find another doctor soon."

Wei looked at the results of the test. "11,000," he said with a shrug. The number didn't mean much to him. "You talked about a blood panel? What is that?" The Force Cripple wasn't sure more tests would help right yet, but he wanted to be sure he understood everything before he continued. "Is there any way we can see my midiclorians under a microscope, or something?"

Medicine was not Wei's field of expertise.

[Serena Laran]

"It is possible, but not necessary," said Serena as she removed the small blood sample from the machine. "A standard blood panel looks for diseases, genetic anomalies, blood type, and the like. It takes about forty-five minutes for all the results. I can start Two-Bee on it right away on this same sample. At the very least it will be something to have in your medical file other than your height and weight." She smiled.

"11,000 is a perfectly normal result for a Force sensitive individual," she added, to explain it further. "Anything between 3,000 and 15,000 is the regular range for such things."

[Wei Wu Wei]

"All right, then let's do that."

Wei rubbed his chin. Something in his mind wouldn't let go of his other idea. "Still, I would like to see what midiclorians look like. Just because. I think it would be good to see them firsthand. Even if it is only to see what it is that gives us this connection to the Force."

Maybe it was silly to press the issue like an overeager youngling. If so, he'd just have to be silly. "Please."

[Serena Laran]

"They are so tiny that you cannot view them in a regular, optical microscope. We do not have an electron microscope on Ossus at the moment, there is no way to see your midichlorians, Wei. However," Serena put her datapad down on her lap and pulled up a drawing application and began sketching, "This is an approximation (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Midi-chlorian) of what they look like." She passed it over to him. "If you are wanting to read up on them, I have some Jedi Order medical journals I can direct you to."

While he looked over her drawing, Serena got to her feet and walked to the curtains, stepping out and waving over an orderly. "Can you take this blood sample and run a standard panel on it? Oh, and look for any unusual genetic markers too. Thank you." She returned to Wei.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei sighed. "Well, my midiclorian count is normal, so that's good. But this condition of mine isn't. I thinking if I could investigate my midiclorians in some other way, I might be able to get to the source of my problem."

The Jedi Knight scratched his head. "If I can investigate myself, maybe there's something in the past that can help. Do you know if any of the information in the Jedi Archives on Coruscant or Dantooine were preserved? I'll admit, despite having visited both worlds, I wasn't able to find out for myself."

[Serena Laran]

"The archives fell into Imperial hands and are inaccessible, I'm afraid. As far as Dantooine, any manuscripts of use were transferred to Coruscant many, many years ago. The ruins of the Enclave there have been looted for relics for thousands of years. All we have here are what members of the old Order had with them. And, of course, the Library here. It is a trove of information that we are just scratching the surface on."

Serena looked at him thoughtfully. "I can tell the site overseer to expect you, Wei, and give you full access to the Library. We do try to keep non-essential and untrained personnel out of the Library, simply because of the delicate condition of so many of the artifacts."

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei nodded. "Thanks. I'll start with these, and then go to the Library after." Wei looked over at Serena. "The Clone Wars started just about the time I started my Jedi training. We were so busy fighting, there was no time to do this." He smiled slightly. "Better late than never, I suppose. Would you like me to keep the journals here? I should probably get through them in a few days."

[Serena Laran]

"I have the books in my tent," Serena said, "I can get one of my padawans to bring them to you at the Library, if you wish."

She stood up. "I am afraid I have some other business to attend to, but please feel free to contact me if there's anything further I can do for you."

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei nodded. "Thank you. I'll return them soon."

A few minutes later, Wei was heading back to his quarters to study the journals. Jedi knowledge had been nearly unlimited before the Clone Wars. Even though a fraction of it remained, he figured it could still be a decently sizable amount of information.