Bacta Reality (Allyson)

[Jorus Merrill]

"Captain Merrill? She's ready to see you."

Jorus stopped reading the file and put his datapad away. The Selonian nurse ushered him into a recovery room. He'd dressed up a little, put on his lower-grade gold bloodstripes. Best he could do, other than dredging up an obsolete uniform he hadn't worn in a decade. For once in his life, though, he felt terminally underdressed.

"Commander Locke? I'm Captain Merrill. I don't think we've met, but my daughter knows your girlfriend-" Feth, he was rambling. "The Corellian authorities asked me to drop by and see if there was anything I could do."

Gorram but that was a lot of bacta patches.

 

[Allyson Locke]

“It’s Lieutenant. I’m just a Lieutenant.” Getting blown up, captured and threatened with the life of your loved ones…did that make you a commander? Allyson scoffed at the thought. The wounded Corellian didn’t glance over at the new visitor, Kaili seemed to have finally stepped out of the room which meant that whoever this was they were safe. Glancing over finally towards Jorus, Ally’s hazel eyes examined his outfit and she recognized the gold bloodstripes. She had a pair, but they were given to her for another reason, a safer reason. Most likely they were gone now, he probably had then down in that crypt of his. Eyes closed and Allyson listened to his story and who sent him.

“Merrill. You’re Mara’s dad?” Funny how that girl continued to come up, yet Allyson wasn’t supposed to jealous of how close the girls were, from how Kaili puts it. A petty thought, but she still thought it. Sighing heavily, she adjusted her position on the bed, just like every time before she felt everything in her body, even the places she didn’t even know could hurt. “Feth.” Her mind a bit clearer now that she was focusing, she gave Captain Merrill her full attention. “There’s really nothing to be done right now. Unless you can help me not make stupid mistakes, like getting blown up or caught in some Edgelord’s mom’s basement.” [member="Jorus Merrill"]

 

[Jorus Merrill]

[member="Allyson Locke"]

"My mistake - I thought the file said Lieutenant Commander." Jorus ran his fingers through his hair and sat awkwardly. Feth, but it had been a long time since he'd been in this kind of position. The file indicated that Locke had been captured and tortured by Lord Carnifex, leader of the Sith Empire, the man who'd probably ordered the bombardment of Thyferra.

"I, ah...look, I'm here for two reasons, really." He'd been captured and tortured himself once, a long time ago. He deposited a small pamphlet on counseling and support groups. The less said about that, maybe, the better. The memories would still be pretty raw. Best to move on to business.

"Lieutenant Allyson Locke, for your actions aboard the sector command station FIS Kuragin in the Anoat System, the Corellian government has awarded you the Bloodstripe, First Class." The red one, in other words: a rank higher than what Jorus had earned. Corellia often awarded the red one posthumously. By the sounds of things, the Anoat incident had come within a heartbeat of needing the posthumous award.

 

[Allyson Locke]

[SIZE=12pt]Allyson was quiet as Jorus spoke. He brought up Anoat and she raised an eyebrow. What was going on? Her face showed her confusion as she tried to figure out if he was going to give her any information she had forgotten while she was missing her memories from that day. Instead it was something else. Allyson didn’t know what to say when Jorus showed her and presented her the First Class, Bloodstripe. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]“What?” Confusion remained on her face as she hadn’t realized that the Corellian government was still around enough to give out Bloodstripes. Hands gripped the bedding as she hesitated to accept. She felt she really didn’t deserve them knowing that she didn’t do anything beyond blow up the station. Even then, reports said that she wasn’t even the cause of it. Still, this honor, it would be disrespectful to those before her that had earned it and could not be alive to accept their honor. Allyson forced a smile on her face and nodded. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]“Thank you, I accept the honor.” There as nothing more she could say on the matter, instead she changed the subject trying to quiet this awkwardness. “The Corellian Government…I didn’t realize they had survived?” [/SIZE][member="Jorus Merrill"]

 

[Jorus Merrill]

[member="Allyson Locke"]

Jorus deposited a folded, packaged pair of bloodstriped trousers, as well as a small box containing the dress uniform decoration.

"The Corellian League got them off the ground a few years back, and with support from the Metal Lords and the Free Worlds Coalition, they're back to something like functional. They got busted up bad enough that they had to start from scratch, but they made it work."

Her age made him want to draw the obvious parallel between her and the government, but she was an adult. She could draw her own lessons in hey own time, and it wasn't his place.

"They asked me to stay, but I've got too many commitments in the Outer Rim. They'll probably try to offer you a job as well."

 

[Kaili Talith]

[member="Allyson Locke"] // [member="Jorus Merrill"]​

“Madame, we put you in bed for a reason!” A worried nurse shouted across the hallway at a staggering zombie. It had been a good hour since last they did this tango, and even then it usually ended up right where they were now. “Madame!” She tried again and got no response. “Mad- MADAME!” Her eyes rolled with defeat. It was taxing on them, but this particular zombie did not seem to care. Her hand latched onto a nearby comm device in frustration and she dialed it into the ears of her colleagues. “Kaili- yep. Yep, up and walk- yeah, you do that. I’ll monitor from here.”

The sighs and groans that parted the nurses’ lips echoed with clarity down the hallway with such a familiar ring to it that the zombie, Kaili Talith, did little but roll her eyes by the time her mind found the energy to register it. With one hand against the wall for stability and the other rubbing at her eyes to such a degree that the world just seemed perhaps a little too bright, Kaili begun to make way across the hospital to where she had last seen Allyson.

It was clear to anyone that saw her that she wasn’t exactly at her finest. Her eyes were bloodshot, worn and weary from a distinct lack of sleep and the glances she shot at her surroundings were nothing if not distant, at best. A few loose strands of hair invaded the privacy of her vision and despite how lazily her hand would make an effort at tucking it back behind her ears there simply was no use. She was a mess, and she had been ever since this one particular ship made its way back to Kiara from who even knew where anymore?

Taking the first step into the corridor where they kept Allyson from her she wouldn’t register that the door seemed to be open. Murmurs, to her, made conversation and it took almost too long for Kaili to realize that Allyson had a visitor. With one foot through the door and the other with a firm grip at the doorframe she looked at the man in the room. Military, uniform, offering a job.

“N-” -o. Kaili couldn’t finish that an involuntary yawn forced her to pause. How many times had Allyson seen Kaili like this in the last eight hours? Of course, it had been a good ten or twelve, but time was relative to the insomniac. Eyes rose from the ground to the man in question and the slow realization struck her. “Oh, Jorus.” She tried not to blink. Blinking was the cousin of sleep, sleep was the cousin of death. Rap made sense sometimes. “What’s going on?”

 

[Allyson Locke]

[SIZE=10pt]Allyson felt the corner of her lips pull into a slight smile. She wondered if Jorus was trying to make her feel better about this entire situation. Coming to terms with what had happened was going to be hard. Still, his possible attempt at making her feel better was appreciated. Listening to the possible job offer she shook her head. There was no one and no job that would pull her away from what she wanted to do and the promise that she kept. Pulling the blankets closer to her, she sighed heavily. The bandage that was over her eye skewed her vision a bit, but she could see Jorus fully enough.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]“The answer will always be no. Kaili does-“ As Allyson spoke she saw movement from her blind spot and she knew exactly who it was. “Kaili. You’re…you’re supposed to be resting.” A soft smile spread across her face as she looked fully on the blonde. Patting the bed, she was in, she moved over slightly as she continued talking. “Jorus came to visit, let me know the state of the Corellian government.” Pausing, Allyson wondered if she should tell Kaili what other news Jorus brought. Her eyes pulled away from Kaili and looked towards the packaged pants at the foot of her bed. “I’ve been awarded the Corellian Bloodstripes First Class.” [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]She wondered if Kaili knew the weight that the First Class Bloodstripes carried. Sighing softly, Allyson continued. “The First Class Bloodstripes are rarely rewarded, even more rare is that…” Pressing her lips together, she wondered if this would make Kaili hate the Bloodstripes, but she still felt it was important that the girl knew. “The First Class is rarely given to those still alive.” Allyson made sure she gave Kaili some more room on the bed, she would rather share the hospital bed with the girl than have her continuously be housed down the hall. She looked back towards Jorus to finish her statement. “If you see the Corellian Government before I do, let them know my answer is no and I thank them for the honor they’ve bestowed on me. I have…” Pausing, Allyson looked to Kaili. “I have promises to keep and personal matters to attend to, I have to stop running from them.” [/SIZE][member="Kaili Talith"] [member="Jorus Merrill"]

 

[Jorus Merrill]

[member="Kaili Talith"] [member="Allyson Locke"]

Jorus sidestepped neatly to take himself out of Kaili's way. "I'll get out of your hair, Lieutenant. Just wanted to say...even if Anoat's what got you the bloodstripe, congrats on busting yourself out of Carnifex's crap. I've crossed him a few times, been through stuff a little like you did, and you've got my respect. You ever get done what you need doing, ever want a job that isn't for the Alliance or the Corellian powers-that-be, look me up. Same goes for you, Kaili. Feth it all, the things you ladies can do."

He drew himself up for one last gasp of formality, a quick salute, then headed out. Life with Mara and Alna had given him a sharp instinct for times when a man just needed to absent himself from conversation.

 

[Kaili Talith]

[member="Jorus Merrill"] // [member="Allyson Locke"]

Kay murmured as much of a proper hello as she could muster before her lips split into a weak smile at Mara’s father. Glazed eyes then looked over at the hand that patted against Ally’s hospital bed before Kaili’s entire head seemed to shake in a world destroying shiver going in all directions except perfectly horizontal. “No, that bed is for you.”

Her butt found a nearby chair, the same worn chair that had been there for the last day or so that Kaili had been there. Her back and butt had become accustomed to its hard yet neatly brushed metal surface with every hour that had passed in Allyson’s sleep and Kaili’s own lack thereof.

“But you have bloodstripes!” Kay tried to rein in her confusion but much like any other function it would seem her brain too was on the brink of just giving up. “Then the fact that you got it post-posthumously makes you twice the—” Her eyes wanted to close. “Twice the more deserving!”

Her mouth-to-mind coordination and communication was nothing if not outright trashed at this point. Kaili’s attention seemed fixed on the fabrics of the cover to Allyson’s bed. As Jorus seemed to wrap up his last few well-wishes the blonde herself was wrapped up in her mind contemplating why it was that Allyson was getting something she already had, and if that meant she was now Twice-Striped or just single-striped. She was worried out of her mind what it would mean too, of course, but as far as physical worry went she was just too far gone for that.

Besides that, Twice-Striped was an awesome nickname! Hopefully she would remember that.

“Thank you, Jor-” Kay finally snapped out of her daydream and turned to look at the man. Only problem was that he had already left. “Where did he go?”

Kay rose from her seat and began to look around the room.

“Did he leave?” She frowned. “But the job and the stuff.”

“And- and, I think he said something about… All the ladies we could do? I- I-... I don’t know. Something?”

Focus set on Allyson again, hand attempting to wave the fatigue and confusion from her mind. An attempt to steer Allyson away from her incoming order before she could relay it. “How are you doing, Allyson? Are you okay? Did you sleep well? The doctors treat you okay? Are you in any pain? Is there anything I can do?”

 

[Allyson Locke]

[SIZE=10pt]Allyson nodded and let Jorus leave. His invitation would be cashed in soon enough. She wanted to know more about Corellia and her state of being, but right now the one that she needed to worry about was standing but withering away from worry. With Jorus gone and Kaili rambling confused, Allyson allowed herself to smile. It was little moments like this that made her realize the hell she was running towards was and wasn't worth it. She needed a balance, time to enjoy these moments and time to save them. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]As per usual, Kaili was being stubborn and then rambled off questions about her well being. “I'm fine, I didn't sleep, doctors are nice…” she paused and once more patted the same space she had made. “What you can do for me is actually be in the bed. It's big enough for the both of us. Kaili I thought I'd never see you again - so what I need is to have to close.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]She waited and then continued. “I have the second class for humanitarian efforts when Corellia was broken, I was really young, but I was recognized. What I received today, you don't get just for helping people - you usually get it for dying for the greater good...in a blaze of glory and seeing the bigger picture outside of yourself.” Allyson paused and realized she always did that, but it what cost? [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]“I don't need to do that anymore, well not for some time. I have other things to take care of. Ones I've been neglecting.” Ally turned to face the girl who looked just as bad as she was - yet still the most beautiful woman she had ever laid eyes on. “I've neglected you the most, you've sat beside me and watched me run into fire more times than not. I can't keep doing this to you...while. I was there...all I could think about was you and how I put your life in danger.” [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Sighing, Allyson brought a bandaged hand to her face. The tips that were bitten off had regrown, thanks to modern medicine, but she remembered the feeling and how mangled she had been. “How you're still in danger. I'll kill him, but for now...I just want to be with you no missions, no duty...nothing just you and me.” [member="Kaili Talith"] [/SIZE]

 

[Kaili Talith]

[member="Allyson Locke"]

Well, if she insisted. Kaili sighed and sat down on the bed next to Allyson. Her hand brushed against the wounded hero’s thigh for a second, going the distance up and down twice over before she let out another sigh and leaned in against Allyson’s shoulder.

“That’s you alright.” She smiled as her cheek began to absorb the heat from the other woman’s body. A content sigh seemed to still her nerves. “No you don’t.” She agreed with Allyson and already began to struggle to keep her eyes open. What part of Allyson’s answer that Kay was responding to was up in the air at this point. “No point.”

“No point in killing.” Kay felt a half-snore come her way. “Many tried.”

“Many succeed.”

“Nobody made it last…”

“Please don’t.”

 

[Allyson Locke]

[SIZE=10pt]Allyson smiled and ran her hands carefully through Kaili’s hair, she petted the girl as she spoke trying to convince her to not chase after Kaine. Taking in a deep breath she nodded and agreed to the wishes of the girl laying against her. “I won’t.” There was something finalizing in her tone as she closed her eyes trying to erase the things she experienced back on Bastion. Part of Allyson wanted Kaili to be awake, she wanted to talk with her for as much as possible. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]The whole time in the crypt, she wondered if she would ever get to talk to her again. Her hand continued to run through the girl’s blonde hair. “I know something about our bond, I can feel your emotions and such, but did you get anything while I was captured?” Allyson wondered if she really wanted to know the answer to this question. “Please tell me you experienced nothing during this time besides worry about me…” Allyson opened her eyes as she stared at the ceiling. She remembered no lights in the crypt and how the light felt against her eyes when she crawled out of it. Her free hand reached out and ran her fingers over the scars from the collar the Dark Lord had wrapped around her neck. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Feeling the moment without the Force was terrible. She had never been so attached to the power, but she enjoyed it because it kept her attached to Kaili. Thinking deeper on the connection she realized that what she was wanting and [/SIZE][SIZE=13.3333px]searching[/SIZE][SIZE=10pt] for when she [/SIZE][SIZE=13.3333px]consistently[/SIZE][SIZE=10pt] harassed Kaili about moving their relationship to the next step was right there with her. She wanted to laugh at her stupidity, but she didn't and waited for Kaili to answer. Looking down at the girl, she tried to pull her closer. Allyson needed her more than ever now. [member="Kaili Talith"][/SIZE]

 

[Kaili Talith]

[member="Allyson Locke"]

“I thought about what my father would do if my mother had been in your situation.” Kaili murmured into Allyson’s shoulder as her eyes closed on instinct. That instinct being animal, and the sought after result being some sleep. She tried her best to stave it off. “I found determination, and strength.”

Her shoulder adjusted for more comfort on top of the brunette as Allyson pulled her in even closer. Her inhales grew longer and more throaty as each exhale seemed to get louder. Her jaw loosened and shifted as if to keep her tongue awake enough to let the words on her mind slip with as little resistance as possible. A task that grew all the more difficult for each second that passed.

“I was going to rescue you.” She snored once more. “I was going to find a way to reach Bastion and find you again.”

“Then…” Her eyes tried to open but found no sucess.

“Then you were here again, and I swore to be at your side until you woke again. Until you were…”

“… Were okay…”

“You know I love…”

The blonde was asleep.

 

[Allyson Locke]

[SIZE=10pt]Allyson nodded as she felt Kaili fall asleep. She continued to run her hands through the blonde girl’s hair as she tried her best to keep Kaili asleep. The girl had been through hell while Ally was as away and even then, she knew she hadn’t been sleeping. Settling back into the cushion of the pillows that kept her propped up, Allyson closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Everything hurt, but she was thankful it did. If she had stopped feeling – she would be dead. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Time passed and Allyson soon fell asleep herself. There was nothing more that needed to be said. She knew Kaili loved her and she knew that Ally loved her. They were a tricky pair, but in the end, that was what mattered. Waking up every so often, Allyson waved off the nurse. If they took Kaili away from her now, the girl wouldn’t sleep. At least at her side, Kaili could catch up on much needed rest. The nurse nodded and left the pair alone. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]A heavy sigh and Allyson let herself relax the best she could. Despite knowing that she was safe, she could still feel [member="Darth Carnifex"] lurking in the back of her mind. She feared that one day, he’ll realize where she is and that would have Kaili in even more danger. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt][member="Kaili Talith"][/SIZE]