They didn’t say a word. Gotab nodded politely and followed Jaina into Sintas’s room.
“So, do you work miracles?” Sintas asked, turning her head towards him. “I could do with one.”
“You can still say no, “Gotab said. “You know you have tragedy in your past.”
Sintas, amnesiac or not, showed a streak of tough resolve that must have stood her in good stead as a bounty hunter. “Then I’ll face it, “she said. “Because it’s part of who I am.”
Jaina suddenly felt pity for the whole Fett clan, imagining what it might be like to lose Jag and then find him again when she was too old and their bond was too damaged. Nothing could put Fett’s family right: Mirta’s children would be the first to grow up with a chance of ordinary happiness. It was a wake-up call for Jaina, too.
“Stay, “Gotab said to her. “Just in case we need a little extra Force help.”
Force-healing was low-key and tedious for a spectator. Gotab sat on the edge of Sintas’s bed and placed both hands gently on her head. Even for Jaina, used to meditation, two hours of sitting with relative strangers and saying nothing was a trial.
“Oh, “Sintas said at one point. “Oh, that’s…. that’s odd…”
Gotab smiled. It transformed him. “I’ve healed brain injuries before, and my patients tell me they get disjointed flashbacks. Don’t be afraid.”
“It’s not memories, “Sintas said. “I can see flashes of light.”
Jaina felt genuine elation. It sounded as if the impulses to the optic nerve were getting through again. “How many sessions might this take?”
“I don’t know, “Gotab said. He took one hand off Sintas’s forehead and moved the lamp closer to her. “I’ve never healed a Kiffar before.”
Sintas flinched. “I can see the contrast.” She rubbed her eyes, straining, and turned to the lamp. “I can see light and dark…”
Jaina tempered her own excitement with the reminder that if Sintas’s memory came back, it wouldn’t be quite as welcome.
Gotab seemed to be flagging. Venku took the old man’s elbow and steered his hand back to his side.
“Enough for tonight, Buir, “he said. Jaina knew he wasn’t really Venku’s father, but she wasn’t sure if the term was simply respect or an indication of adoption. “Let’s get some rest. We have a long way to go.”
Medrit gave Venku a package as he left, a bundle of packets that looked like an assortment of meat and preserves. Mandalore was still a hungry place to live.
“I’m sure Fett will be grateful, “he said.
“No need.” Gotab headed for the door, leaning on Venku’s arm. “It’s for Sintas Vel, not him. And don’t feel so bad about never finding us when Fett sent you after the clone with gray gloves… Jaing is an expert at covering his tracks, the best there is, as are we.”
Beviin listened to the speeder’s drive fade into the night. “I think I scared them off, “he said. “I don’t know if they’ll come back.”
Jaina lay awake that night, wondering what would happen when it got around-as things seemed to do here-about Gotab and Venku. Had either of them had kids? Were there Force-sensitive Mandalorians everywhere? It was all getting complicated, and making her mind race when she needed to sleep, and to concentrate on making the most of the training time she had with Fett.
Sound carried a long way in the quiet night, and she could hear some celebration still in progress at Level’s farm a little way down the dirt road. Revelers were laughing raucously, and she was on the point of storming over there through the field and snarling at them to shut up so she could get some sleep, just like a Mando woman would. Then there was a sudden, complete silence before a lone male voice, a surprisingly sweet tenor, began singing a slow ballad with the kind of perfect top notes that caught her off guard, and made her throat ache and her eyes fill with tears tor no reason. One by one, other voices joined in until it was a choir.
Jaina couldn’t understand a word of it, except for Mando’ade and Manda’yaim. It still transfixed her. She held her breath. The chorus repeated twice, and then the voices trailed off one by one to leave the solo tenor to fade into silence.
The song spoke to her of yearning for home, and loves left waiting for the warriors’ return. She was having trouble fighting back incipient tears. She made her way down-stairs and found Beviin pottering around the kitchen doing chores in total silence.
“You’re very stealthy, “she whispered. “I didn’t know you were awake.”