sort of way.”

“What about the section where the crew is now?” Balto looked anxiously at the Jedi.

“Sealed tight, they’re doing fine.”

“Good. Then it was worth it to close the doors.” He fought against the nagging urge to keep coughing but had to give in. Once started it was hard to stop and the effort made little spots of light dance behind his eyes. When he could focus again he found the Jedi had moved closer and was looking at him intently.

“You are suffering from altitude sickness.” The Jedi pointed at Balto’s furry chest, covered by his uniform, swathed in layers of blanket. “The apparent altitude in here is higher than what humans can endure. You are getting pneumonia.” He narrowed his eyes as if concentrating. “You are also bleeding into your lungs in several places. That’s no good.”

“Granted, but there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“Perhaps not, but there is something I can do. Several things.” Squatting down, The Jedi held out a hand toward Balto. “If you will permit, I will put you into a Jedi healing trance, and then I will stop the bleeding in your lungs.”

“Stop the bleeding how?” Balto did not see any medpac on the Jedi’s person, ghostly or temporal.

“With this, of course.” The Jedi lifted the lightsaber clear of his belt.

Balto woke up thoroughly at that and made an effort to push his body backward. Since he was leaning against the blast door he did not get very far and only succeeded in aggravating his strained muscles. “Are you a medic?” he blurted, not caring that he sounded horrified. He was.

“Not exactly, no.” The Jedi grinned suddenly, looking almost mischievous. “I do have a lot of experience with fixing things, however, and I can see where the damage is in your body. If I spot-weld those few places, it should hold until help arrives.”

“Help is coming?” Balto grasped at both the offered straw of hope and the distraction.

“Yes, although I had to go and wake them up a little. They are on their way and should be here in time for your people. It’s getting you through the next hour or two that concerns me now.” The Jedi raised his hand again. “So, let me put you into a healing trance…”

Balto bumped his head against the door as he tried to pull it back out of range. “Wait! Is this some polite way of killing me? If that’s the case, I’d rather you weren’t polite. Just kill me and be done with it. I’m an officer, I understand these things.”

“I’m very aware that you do, Commander Balto,” the Jedi sighed softly. “But I’m not trying to kill you, politely or otherwise.” He held up the lightsaber. “It is simply that I have never tried to heal with this. While I know it can stop the bleeding, I don’t know if it will hurt you or not. I suspect it will. Pain can slay as swiftly as any weapon and I would spare you that. If you sleep in a healing trance, you will not feel anything, nor will you move around as I work.” 

Balto shook his head. “I’d prefer to be awake. No insult, but if I’m gonna die, I’d rather be awake for it and not be euthanized like some pet.” He shrugged. “If it kills me, so what?” Balto waited, wondering what he could do if the Jedi refused his request. How could you fight off a ghost? He wasn’t even sure if he could run any distance, never mind conduct an effective defense.

The Jedi considered his words for what seemed to be a very long time, at least time measured in the swift beating of Jir’s heart. Finally he nodded. “Very well, Commander, let it be as you wish.” He rose. “Stand up and face me squarely.”

Shrugging out of the blankets, Balto struggled to his paws. The effort it took to complete that simple movement made it clear there was no way he could fight. He stood up on his two legs, witch he did sometimes to meet human’s heights. He let his shoulder blades rest against the door, which helped to steady him. He felt an odd exhilaration rather than fear. “I never did have much sense”, he thought.

The Jedi looked at Jir’s chest as if pinpointing certain things only he could see. He nodded and lifted the lightsaber. “Very good, let us begin.” From the end of the handle sprouted a thin blade of light so bright it seemed to have leaped from the heart of a blue star.

Quickly Balto raised his paws to shield his eyes. Even through his fur and bones he could see it, although the glare was bearable.

“Excellent. Keep your paws up and don’t move,” said the Jedi. He sounded utterly calm.

Through the barrier of his paws Balto could see the lightsaber flick toward him, the point touching the lower left side of his chest and penetrating inward. For just a moment it lingered then slid upward, stopped, jogged sideways and moved up again, from one lobe of his lung to another. It didn’t actually hurt as Balto knew pain, but it was a touch so very intense that it went somewhere beyond agony, brushing his nerves with strange fire. When the blade of light reached the uppermost part of his lung it drew out slightly, skipped delicately over his heart, moved to the right lung, pushed inward, and performed a similar pattern down that side. The blade withdrew and the actinic light vanished as the Jedi switched the weapon off. Balto lowered his hands and blinked in the gloom. The Jedi’s glowing body swam into view as his vision cleared and adjusted.

“Bravely done, my friend, no Jedi could have done better.” The Jedi watched him closely. “How do you feel?”

“Fine.” Balto was still trying to interpret the messages his body was sending him. Most of the incoming communications seemed to involve laughing, screaming, or both. He breathed very shallowly and tried to ignore the input.

“Liar.” the Jedi said in affectionate tones.

“All right, it feels… funny, ok?” Balto conceded the point as he folded his wobbly legs and sank down into the nest of blankets piled at his ankles. After some fumbling about he pulled them around his shoulders and took up his former position leaning against the door.

“You are so stubborn, it’s one of the things I like about you,” said the Jedi with a smile. He knelt in front of the officer. “You have ten deep cauterizations in your chest. I would prefer it if you didn’t move around much.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Balto vowed. Indeed he doubted if he could have stood up again, no matter what sort of bizarre plan the Jedi might spring on him. The burst of excitement had faded, leaving him exhausted.

“You need to rest, and the healing trance is the only safe way you can do it in this place. The air is too thin now. If you remain awake, you will need more oxygen and by breathing deeper you will damage your lungs further. In the trance, I can slow your metabolism down to the point where you can sleep and heal safely.” He scooted closer to Balto and looked into his face. “Are you willing to sleep for a little?”

“Sure, for now,” Balto replied fuzzily. Sleep sounded very good – the need for it overriding his fear of never waking. “Just no lightsabers while I’m out, allright?”

The Jedi smiled. “Promise. No lightsabers.”

“Go ahead.” Balto watched through half-closed eyes as the Jedi reached toward his head. As the ghostly fingers touched his temple, he felt the slightest wisp of sensation, followed immediately by encroaching drowsiness.

“Sleep now, Balto. Sleep and heal. When you next wake, you will be safe.”

Balto began to drift off, but a sudden surge of curiosity kept him conscious long enough to ask “Wait a moment – your name, what’s your name?”

“It is not important. I am just a friend.”

“You have my name,” Balto insisted, fighting off the tidal pull of weariness. “Please give me yours.”

The Jedi sighed and spoke in a voice barely above a whisper. “Anakin, my name is Anakin.”

“Anakin,” said Balto, relaxing. “Anakin.”

“Anakin… Skywalker.”

The names echoed curiously in his mind as sleep finally dragged him under and he knew nothing further.

Part Two

“Oh, look at him!” Captain Jenna clenched her paws in distress as the heavy doors slid open with the assistance of several burly Rebel soldiers and a sturdy maintenance droid. A piece of specialized equipment attached to the droid generated a shield bubble which held back the near vacuum in that section. Commander Balto lay curled on the deck beside the doors, wrapped in blankets. Ice crystals sparkled in his fur and on his eyelids. He did not seem to be breathing.

The Rebel commander shook his head as he consulted the readout on a device in his hands. “Ma'am, I know the scanner says he's still alive, but the air in here is terribly thin. He might be brain-damaged.”

“I don't care,” Jenna snapped. “We're not leaving him here. He's a hero, he saved all our lives. If it hadn't been for him closing the blast doors, we'd all be dead by now.” Under her breath, Jenna added “He was a hero once before and he still is and…I love him.”

The officer nodded. “I understand ma'am, don't worry, we'll do the best we can for him. It’s a miracle any of you survived in this wreck.” Under the officer's direction, Commander Balto was carefully lifted, placed on a stretcher, and carried away to the waiting Rebel ship, which was attached to the fragment of the Imperial ship by a temporary hatchway. Captain Jenna followed the rescuers, her expression somewhere between relief and worry. Once inside the Rebel ship, she sat down heavily beside the group of stormtroopers. While the Rebels had not tried to bother them, they had confiscated all of the trooper's weapons and no one seemed to be in the mood to attempt a takeover of the ship.

“Well, we got him out of there.” Jenna found a cozy spot to lie down and closed her eyes.

“Captain, do