All I Found Underneath

[Kuzo]

Time ceased to exist for Irajah.

Scans and samples, a whirl wind of activity surrounded the Doctor and the form on the table. Snippets of conversation filtered through the chaos occasionally, offering a tiny peak into the workings.

"What are you doing? No, this one goes there, that one goes here."

"Don't you dare cut him open- use the biopsy needle, that's what it's there for."

"I just want a sample, not the whole thing, he needs that to breath for maw's sake!"

"Doctor Ven? For safety reasons, we're going to need you to leave the observation room now."

"Hmmm? Why, what do you- oh."

The Ixatel was wearing off.

Her normally pristine lab coat was covered in dark marks, dust from shattering flesh, but she didn't seem to notice. Her gaze was all for the man on the table as he started to thrash and struggle.

"We'll inject him again and you can come back in-"

"No, wait. I need active scans. I..... I need to see it. Happening."

The man glanced at [member="Darth Prazutis"] for confirmation.

 

[Darth Prazutis]

​The Arch-Prince nodded in conformation as [member="Irajah Ven"] came shuffling out of the room, his hand swinging in a gesture to come closer while a pair of technicians moved, the one standing on the right holding an injection needle. "Coming off the Ixetal Cilona will be fast and even sedated, he's dangerous." ​​Braxus said, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder that told her everything was going to be alright.

​All of a sudden it happened.

​The mans eyes thrust open and the guard on the left moved to hold him down. Quite suddenly however the man held his hand out and a bright radiant blue arc of lightning collided with the guard sending him careening into the wall. Braxus looked at Irajah while the man convulsed and screamed, the lightning surging through his body. "Enough?" He'd ask as her scans were being made of he man off the drugs. Finally Braxus made a brief gesture to the room then. The second guard injected the subject with more ixetal ending his arc of lightning, the man struggled with the guard who was clearly of superior strength then, crippled by the loss of the force once more.

​"Did you get all of the samples you need, Doctor Ven?" He said, his hands laying on Irajahs shoulders while he gestured her forward into the room.

 

[Kuzo]

"Yes."

She had tried to move, to break off and rush into the room when the tech had been thrown into the wall. But [member="Darth Prazutis"]'s hands on her shoulders had been unyielding. All she'd been able to do was watch, hands clenched at her sides. She understood, logically, that even if he'd let her go that there was nothing she could have done. That she would have been caught in the blast herself in all likelihood. She understood why he hadn't let her go. But that didn't change anything.

As soon as the thrashing form was still again, and she felt some of the grip subside from Braxus, she hurried into the room. Before even anything else, she was kneeling, her hands at the technician's neck, searching for a pulse. She rocked back on her heels a minute later, stricken.

It wasn't the first time someone had died because she made a mistake. On Coruscant, she had decided to save a man's life.... even knowing he had killed dozens, maybe hundreds of people. And he'd not only killed again before it was all over, but had almost murdered her friend [member="Ghorua the Shark"] in the process.

And here she was again- another dead, because she had made the wrong choice. She had simply needed this data. They had listened to her- and one of them was dead.

Her face was stricken, her voice, hollow.

"That's everything I needed," she said quietly, standing up slowly. Turning those hazel eyes toward the corrupted figure on the table, she stepped over. She watched his chest rise and fall, that hitch in every breath more pronounced? Reaching out, she mirrored the action of a moment before, her hands on the grey flesh.

Yes, getting worse. How much time did he have?

Braxus loomed behind her, and she looked up at him.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't know that would happen....."

It wasn't like last time- last time she had killed him, the gun shaking in her hands. Took his life to save a life. But there was none of that pressure here, no need to protect. The damage was done, and she felt empty.

"We can move him.... to whatever long term facilities are possible....."

 

[Darth Prazutis]

​Long term facilities.

​The Sith Lord hid a look of displeasure at [member="Irajah Ven"]'s mention of long term facilities. Either this was a form of false hope or the doctor being incredibly naïve. He assumed it was both as she so often was, Irajah tended to place faith where there was no hope such as her futile attempts to cure the virus ravaging her body. There was no hope for this man for the dark side had corrupted his body beyond recovery, his lack of knowledge in the arts of transferring his essence sealed the mans fate: death.

Braxus shook his head "There are no long term facilities, Doctor Ven. Look at him." ​Braxus said, gazing to the figure lying in the bed. "There is no hope for this man. The dark side pumping through his veins has reached the point of no return. He will die a slow, and incredibly painful death." ​Braxus said, placing a hand on the small of her back while they looked at the man who lay a few feet away. While Irajah Ven was checking on the prone individual the remaining technician restrained the mans via thick leather straps to keep him in place. The dying subject looked to Irajah the pain clearly visible in his eyes. Braxus pulled out a small ritualistic dagger from his robes "But you can help him. You can end his suffering Irajah and bring him peace."

 

[Kuzo]

Irajah recoiled slightly at the sight of the dagger. She looked up at [member="Darth Prazutis"].

"With this new data, we might be able to find the answer," she insisted, but it sounded hollow, even to her own ears.

She looked down at the man, their eyes meeting. Even if she could find a way to halt the spread of the corruption, which she knew was within her abilities.... she had no idea yet how to reverse the damage done. Some half baked ideas perhaps, but no concept yet of how to see them through. Hazel eyes flickered to where bare bone was visible at his fingertips- more of the flesh had shattered, some as far as the second knuckle.

She had never euthanized a patient. There had been times where it loomed, but ultimately, she had never needed to make that promise as a doctor.

"At least let me do it properly-" she whispered, then stopped, her face stricken. She already knew that normal medical controls didn't affect this man, and that realization came crashing down on her with a weight greater than she was expecting. She couldn't simply over dose him on something, easing him into a pain-free sleep. His circulatory system no longer even functioned the same way.

"Braxus.... I.... I can't....."

 

[Darth Prazutis]

​While her words spoke of a false hope the eyes of [member="Irajah Ven"] told him everything he needed to know. She herself knew the truth. Even if she somehow could manage to cure this man of future corruption, what could she have done? The damage to his body had already been done, and it was so severe she could never hope to truly mend all of the damage. Braxus's eyes lingered on the mans knuckles where the blast of lightning erupted, instead of blackening the mans fingernails in this advanced state of corruption, the lightning literally stripped the flesh right from bone.

"Braxus.... I.... I can't....."

​Braxus allowed the danger to hang in the air near them while he pulled her close, his hands wrapping around her center to the small of her back while he gazed into her eyes. "Yes, you can. I believe that you can do it, I believe in you." ​Braxus said, slowly turning her around so that she was facing the man in the bed, while he had his hands wrapped around her waste. "I'm going to show you how. Don't worry I'm going to be here to guide you, to stand beside you every step of the way." ​Braxus whispered, waiting for her to grab the dagger. Once she had it in hand Braxus would slowly take steps up to the man, ensuring that he controlled the pace in which the pair would move towards the bed until they were up close, the patients wide eyes staring at the doctor. "Now Irajah, place the knife at the far end of his throat." ​He said, moving one hand from her waist to the hand holding the knife to help guide her in. "It's alright. Just remember you are doing this for his own good...to end his suffering."

 

[Kuzo]

After the fact, she didn't even remember taking the knife. It could have simply appeared in her hand by sorcery, for all that she was aware of it. Her fingers were made of nothing more than chill air, the warmth and weight of [member="Darth Prazutis"] enveloping. His hand both weighed down and simultaneously buoyed her.

Her eyes never left the roiling gaze of the man beneath her knife.

She had cut through human flesh too many times to count. But this was different. This wasn't the precise deliberation of a scalpel, applied for the sake of healing through a momentary incision. The only reason her hand didn't shake was because of Braxus.

Irajah didn't realize it, but she was silently reciting, her lips forming the words but never uttering a sound, part of a promise she had made five years ago.....

I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant:...

I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow.

I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug.

I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures which are required ....

All measures which are required.....

There was more to the oath, but there she stopped, repeating the words, stillborn on her lips.

All measures which are required.

She must have pressed down then. Though the support and weight of Braxus's hand was immediate and tangible, she had no sensation that he was forcing her hand. The knife drew across, guided in part by her, and in part by him. She swallowed, her throat tight, the rest of her body shaking.

But her hand was steady.

 

[Darth Prazutis]

​Each moment in time they stood close to the dying patient Braxus was there to support [member="Irajah Ven"]. Where her hands might've shook he was there to steady it, where she might have cowered and backed away he was the buoy that kept her there. The Sith Lord kept Irajah grounded during the life changing moments that occurred supporting her shaking form as the blade cut into flesh the mans eyes going so wide they appeared as if they were going to bulge out of his skull when the knife made its cut. Carefully guided in part by him and in part by her they dragged the knife from one ear to the next, blood bubbling out from the open wound staining the gray, cracked canvas beneath with dark red blood.

​When the deed was done she simply stood there frozen in time, trembling beneath his form the knife held in her steady hands.

​Braxus carefully took the knife from her hand placing it on a side table "It's alright, it's over...you were great..." He said backing both of them up several feet before turning her around and away from the body, he looked into her eyes then. Already he could see the fear, the guilt as it panned across her face. While there were subtle shifts in her expression it was the eyes that said it all, the look in her eyes telling him everything.

​Ever the manipulative mastermind Braxus put his arms on her shoulders again their firmness meant to reassure her as well as the warm look on his face "You made the right decision as a doctor Irajah. There was nothing left to do for him. We could only prolong his agonizing pain for maybe several months, with each passing day his suffering would grow. You gave him a peace he never could've gotten: death." Braxus said.

​"I knew you could do it."

 

[Kuzo]

Though she was looking up at him, it was obvious that she didn't really see him. Despite that, his presence was deeply and intrinsically felt. There was no mistaking it, even if the expression on her face was clearly distant.

All measures which are required.

"I know." Her voice was as hollow as her eyes in that moment. But she leaned into him.

It was her responsibility. There were no doubts in her mind on that. Could she have begged him to do it on her behalf? Technically yes. And yet no.... never that. Irajah Ven did not beg, did not shirk from what had to be done. What was right.

"I know," she whispered, burying her face against his chest.

She didn't cry. She was too numb for that. Later, perhaps, when she was alone. But not here, not now.

[member="Darth Prazutis"]

 

[Darth Prazutis]

​"Come here I'd like to show you something. I'll have the samples safely brought to your lab." ​Braxus said briefly peering up his eyes meeting with the technician, who instantly brought a fist to his chest and left the room. Braxus waited a few moments for her to collect herself before guiding them out of the room, an arm still firmly around her.

​Manipulation was a delicate game that required a cunning mind to play, and this moment was one of the ones that was crucial to his plans. [member="Irajah Ven"] was vulnerable and numb, her mind still recovering from the deed she had just done. It was imperative for his plans that she knew who was there for her when she was down. It was crucial that Irajah knew who to count on when she had no one else in that moment. "I've been working on it for some time now but it's finally ready." He said guiding her out of the operations room and subsequently back into the halls of the laboratory wing her lab was on.

​Carefully they made their way through the vast halls as traffic in Vain Hollow parted in the face of its monarch. "It's important. Your work can wait for now while I show you." ​In such a vulnerable moment she needed some good to come out of it all. Braxus led the pair into a lift and waited in silence alongside her as it rose, a silent hum filling the air. When the doors shifted open once more it was on a wing akin to where Irajah was staying in Vain Hollow. In certain upper levels there were quarters for important staff, personnel and distinguished visitors to Vain Hollow. The keep of black marble built at the mountains peak was reserved for the royal family and those of his blood. But this level was different, isolated, it was reserved for the lavish quarters of important dignitaries. Suites of varying sizes were located here. Braxus took the most isolated suite and commanded it be expanded upon, expanding the master bedroom and adding a separate bedroom for [member="Boo Chiyo"] the womans son considering she was going to stay here five days out of the week. A number of additions were made including a complete renovation of its furniture and appliances tailored to the doctors needs, including a state of the art caff machine and a catalogue where she could order brews from across the galaxy that would arrive on the citadels supply shipments.

​Above all the quarters was the most isolated room on the wing easily defendable, a security team guarded this wing as they did every wing, and an extra guard was posted near the dead end of her chamber. Inside the walls were a combination of the natural carved stone, rich and warm wroshyr wood, and metal in some of the areas. Primarily it was a blend of the natural resources of wood and stone perfectly brought together to match what he knew of her preferences. "Almost there.."

 

[Kuzo]

The details of their stroll mostly rolled off her, like water on feathers. She didn't really notice her surroundings, lost in thought.

It wasn't until they reached the double doors and his hand flicked out, using the Force to push them open that she really struggled to bring herself back to the moment. She blinked, looking up at him in confusion for a moment. The smile and tilt of his head as he led her into the main room was comforting, though she still looking around at first with a certain amount of concern on her features.

The large sitting room was gorgeous. The sheer opulence of the room crashed hard against the numbness as she turned slowly. An entire wall, from floor to ceiling, was covered in old fashioned, bound books. A fireplace, black marble shot through with white veins, dominated the opposite wall. The thick carpet muffled her footsteps as she moved slowly around the room, her hands trailing lightly over the velvet and warm wood of the furniture. The lighting was soft, though it rose slightly as she reached the center of the room (presumably by the hand of [member="Darth Prazutis"]). Almost in a trance, she shifted around the room, small hands pausing here and there, every surface warm, soft or silken smooth beneath her touch. She stopped, running her fingers over the cool stone of the mantel, the look on her face one of confusion.

"It's lovely," she said, her tone still a little distant. It was polite but sincere. She obviously didn't understand the purpose for their stop here. The thought that this space was hers didn't even occur to her.

 

[Darth Prazutis]

​Braxus moved into the living room leaning against the couch as [member="Irajah Ven"] looked around the great, opulent chamber. The architects he tasked with the job were some of the best under his command, ones that even helped with the construction of Vain Hollow itself. Every specification he laid out was made, his expectations matched and even exceeded. There were rumblings of the fireplace being a centerpiece in the living room with its black and white veined marble coloring, surrounded by a rich wood architecture and a set of bookshelves to further add to the warm and cozy atmosphere.

​"Two bedrooms, two full baths. There's a study down at the end of the hall with a separate lock." ​He said, offering her the doors key and a spare. "I've taken the liberty of installing software to allow you to remotely access any and all data from the laboratory if you so wished to your private terminal." ​Braxus said moving to the fireplace, caressing its dark marble edges with his rough hands.

​"Oh did I forget to mention Doctor? This is all yours. Now that your staying here most of the time you needed a new home."

 

[Kuzo]

She just looked at him blankly for a moment, one hand frozen against the mantle.

"I'm sorry.... I don't..... I don't understand."

The surprise was warring with the numbness, and it was taking some time to really cut through the fog.

"This.... is.... for me?"

She needed to sit down. Fortunately, someone, whether through foresight or happenstance, had placed an overstuffed footstool beside the fireplace. Irajah sank down onto it. Her hand trailed over the deep red velvet. She didn't think she'd ever touched anything so soft. It was a stool for crying out loud.

"This is.... Braxus.... it's.... it's too much."

[member="Darth Prazutis"]

 

[Darth Prazutis]

​A light smile formed on his face as [member="Irajah Ven"] sank into a stool of red velvet, conveniently set right next to the marble fireplace. Already he could see his surprise warring with what she had done on her face, each struggling to retain control, to hold dominance over her psyche. In this vulnerable moment Braxus stepped up his hand resting on her shoulder once more "For the great work you've done you deserve it. It was my pleasure." He said reaching around to pull her closer into a hug.

"I have a few additions you'd like to see." ​Braxus said letting go to gesture in the direction of the hallway leading to the bedrooms and her study.

​"I've had my architects tailor the designs of your suite to your specifications. It took some time but I think we've gotten everything down just right." ​Braxus said taking her by the hand, yet another tactic as he led her down the hall to her bedroom door. He pushed the door open and gestured inside.

​"Behold the master bedroom."

 

[Kuzo]

She let him pull her up off of the stool without resistance, enveloped in a hug that left her honestly as confused as the rest of it. Irajah trailed along with him, like a kite on a string, baffled and floating where his winds took her.

"What? My specifications? I've never-"

But the sight of the room he drew her gently into took her breath away.

In a castle of black marble, crimson brocades and gold filigree, the master bedroom of the suite was a breath of fresh air. As much as she was impressed and even awed at times by the opulence of Vain Hollow, sometimes it was too heavy, almost oppressive the weight of royalty that permeated every corner.

This room, in contrast, was large and airy. Floors of blue stone, speckled with white and silver flecks stretched from wall to white marble wall. It could have been the stone of the fireplace mantel in perfect negative- the white shot through with black cracks and fissures. One entire wall was covered in open arched windows, framed in gossamer curtains. Natural light poured in through them, and opposite, a pair of doors that swept open onto a curved balcony. Dark wood furniture gleamed in the natural light, though the swirls of blues, greens and greys of the silken bedding softened the edges.

She turned around and around, spinning slowly in the center of the room, trying to take in every detail.

It would be impossible to do in perhaps any period of time, let alone a few minutes.

There, an easel propped beside the armoire next to the balcony doors. There, a spray of blue-grey flowers that she didn't even know the name of. Here, a throw rug peaking out from beneath the bed, the colour of the sea after a storm. There, silver hairpins on the dresser top, beside a small hand mirror.

Perhaps for the first time since she'd set foot on Panatha, Doctor Irajah Ven was speechless.

[member="Darth Prazutis"]

 

[Darth Prazutis]

Unlike the deep black marble of the upper levels of the keep or the natural crafted stone walls of the mountain, or even the other intrinsic interior designs masterfully blended to make up Vain Hollow, this was different. This room was far different than all of the others in its rich wall to wall white marble speckled with black cracks and fissures, with a blue stone floor. It took the delicate hand of an artist to carefully pick each and every piece in the room. After his people compiled a psyche profile on [member="Irajah Ven"] he put them to task with importing furniture and many different pieces that she would like the most. It took almost as long to pick out and import the furniture from across the galaxy, as well as get some made then it did remodeling the room.

Braxus watched with an inquisitive gaze as Irajah walked into the room dumbfounded, spinning slowly around. The woman's eyes crossing over each and every individual detail, each piece in the room. The weight of its beauty, its spectacular look, its wonders beginning to sink in as well as a realization.

This was all for her.

There were very few things that could surprise Braxus Zambrano anymore, after seeing so much there wasn't all that much left out there that could surprise him. But it was seeing Irajah Ven speechless, that truly did. Ever since he met the doctor she always had something to say, always. It didn't matter what the situation was or where they were, she always had something to say. But now?

Speechless.

​A sudden realization came to mind as he gazed at her, his cunning mind at work. What was unfolding before him was an opportunity, one that could solidify them and bring her further under his thumb, pulling her closer to him for the inevitable day in which she would turn to the dark side of the force.

So he acted. Braxus swept across the blue stone floor his arms wrapping around her, while his hands rested on the small of her back, there appeared to be the same warm smile on his face he gave her "A remarkable gift, for a remarkable woman as yourself Irajah. You deserve it." ​He said the mans words like poison laced honey. But he leaned in Irajah permitting to kiss the speechless woman before she had a chance to speak.

 

[Kuzo]

Up until that moment, Irajah could have convinced herself of several things. Chief among them was simply that [member="Darth Prazutis"] wouldn't know a reasonable, normal gesture if it bit him. That all of this was just the overblown response of royalty clashing with the expectations of normalcy for the rest of the galaxy. That this gesture meant as little to him as picking a wild daisy might to anyone else.

She accepted his kiss without protest, though she was still struggling to work all of this out in her head. The juxtaposition between the events just before, and this now, was jarring.

But the one thing that was constant was Braxus. His presence, his warmth.

This.... wasn't casual to him, was it?

She opened her mouth once, then closed it again, still at a loss for words.

Just as before, it was only her interpretation and assumptions that had led her there. His actions, his words, they all supported this single- terrifying, thrilling- conclusion. It wasn't purely about her job here, or even about their extracurriculars (as enjoyable at that was). He wasn't simply marking time with her because she was here and convenient. He was here, in this moment... because of her.

Irajah didn't know how she felt about that yet. But the curling warmth in her core meant that it wasn't a bad thing.

Just.... a surprising one.

"I.... I don't know what to say." That much was, in fairness, patently obvious, and she realized how ridiculous and underwhelming it was. Her cheeks coloured slightly.

"No one ever done.... anything.... like this for me before. I- I'm sorry. I mean. Thank you Braxus. It's beautiful."

 

[Darth Prazutis]

"You don't need to say anything." He said moving to pick her up in his arms. As a cunning master of manipulation Braxus used his words and his actions to further the elaborate scheme as he lifted her into the air. "You deserve every bit of it...it's the least I could do for such an remarkable woman." Braxus said again using the word remarkable. But just as she attempted to get her bearings once more he tactfully leaned in and kissed her again, stealing the breath right from her lips. The mask of care, of warmth formed on his face as he pulled away slowly walking across the room.

While locked in the arms of the dark clad giant [member="Irajah Ven"] looked even smaller, her legs dangling over his arm while he looked into her eyes. "I've always had faith in your skills, your ability to get the job done to discover the secrets of the corruption I've had faith in you." Braxus said and once more before she could find her footing he kissed her, moving ever closer around the room to his destination. "You'll survive through Gideon, no matter what the medical world says. I trust you.." Braxus once more cut off any ideas with as kiss as he rounded to one side of the bed, sitting down with her in his arms.

"If you are to properly do your work with peace of mind, then you need a place here that looks like home, that feels like home. That is home. This is your new start in your new home. I believe in you." One last kiss followed his words conclusion.

 

[Kuzo]

She let out a small eep when he suddenly swept her off her feet. Her arms went around his neck reflexively.

The progress across the room was a verbal and physical dance. Each time she tried to speak, he sealed her mouth with a kiss, that burred voice wrapping around her as surely as his arms did. Unlike the last time however, she found herself swept up in his sincerity and enthusiasm. By the time he settled onto the bed, she was smiling against his mouth when he kissed her again.

Laughing as she pulled back slightly so she could get a good look at his face, her face was red from the embarrassment but also the pleasure of being the center of his attention. Getting swept up in a moment like this was not common for the Doctor- it was strange and new, not entirely comfortable ground perhaps- she felt self-conscious, and yet, her smile was genuine.

"Okay! Okay! I believe you!" She exclaimed, still laughing.

Did she love him?

No. Not yet. But. He was a man worth loving.

And it had nothing to do with the suite or his titles.

"I think...." she said quietly, the laughter and smile fading into a softer expression. "I think I'll like calling this place home."

She leaned in, kissing him softly, her hands threading through his hair. Pulling back for a moment, her eyes cast back and forth between his.

"Anyone ever told you that you're kind of wonderful?"

[member="Darth Prazutis"]

 

[Darth Prazutis]

​He allowed a joyful smile form on his face as [member="Irajah Ven"] came up from his lips laughing cheerful words spilling from lips that once spoke words of sadness. Where sadness, shock, and regret once took hold an entirely new set of emotions overwhelmed her face. As much as sadness was a tool for his manipulations warmth worked even better in these tender moments. While he cradled her in his arms Braxus gazed into her eyes as her voice lowered and she softly spoke, the laughter on her face fading as well into a softer expression when she spoke.

"I think I'll like calling this place home."

​Before he even had a chance to react or even reply to her words she cut him off. Irajah closed the distance and cut him off with a soft kiss of her own, his grip on her remaining firm through the soft kiss. As she spoke once more Braxus shifted on the bed swiveling his legs so he could now lay flat, moving so he could put his head on the pillows. It was during this time that he gave her free reign to settle in to her chosen space, whether it was atop him or next to him it didn't matter.

"Anyone ever told you that you're kind of wonderful?"

A soft chuckle escaped his lips as she chose to settle between his body and his arm, her head resting lightly on him. "No I don't think I've heard that one before." He said shifting his arm into a comfortable spot to adjust for form. "You would be the first. But the same could be said of you. Your a gem." ​He said, kissing her softly.