Caught in the Middle

[Jacob Crawford]

Coruscant - Undercity​

​

When Jacob had first set foot into Coruscant's lower levels, he was honestly awestruck with how vast it was in comparison to say Nar Shaddaa's. Hell it completely eclipsed it, just on the number of levels the Undercity consisted of. On the Smuggler's Moon you could at least go to its lowest level, on Coruscant that just wasn't feasible. Though the two shared almost the exactly same things, Jacob would even go to say that Coruscant's lower levels were the big brother of the two. It's larger size allowing for a higher density of people, meaning the common sight of people just drowning in alcohol and drugs was even more prevalent. At the least though, it seemed like these lot were trying to strive in making something out of their plight. As why else would anyone even think of staying here?

Jacob's purpose here was to track a lead. Over the past few months he had become involved in some type of game orchestrated by an enigma he only knew as Chameleon. A figure that had supposedly been there since his escape from Dxun and has been an ever present - yet unreachable thorn in his side. At the start the information had been good, they had sent him straight to where his father was, even though that nearly fell in on itself due to his own mistakes. Then it was a hunt for his lightsaber, only for that rug to be pulled from under him, discovering his old Jedi master had beaten him to it. After that point things became far too coincident for Jacob, and he had begun to suspect the one providing the information was pulling a lot more strings than he originally anticipated. But it was the events on Tatooine, in particular the ambush he had fallen into. The men had specifically been there to capture him, someone wanted him alive for one reason or another. Their identity was a complete mystery to Jacob, as he couldn't think of anyone who'd even know about him that would go to such lengths.

The lead in question was not something he had gotten from Chameleon. Instead it had been something he himself had dug up while searching for the remainder of his father's fortune. He had managed to accumlate a sizable bit of wealth, a portion of which had been secretly stored in the ship Jacob had taken as his own after killing the man. But the rest had been moved somewhere else, shipped around the galaxy several times to make a mess of a trail if anyone attempted to search for it. Which right now, Jacob was doing just that. He probably wouldn't have bothered trying to navigate it, if he hadn't stumbled on a reasonably stable lead that had pointed towards Coruscant's Undercity as it's last destination before it was finally picked up by someone. He had spent a number of hours on this level, fishing around for information, tracking the path the credits had taken as it was couriered about the place. Eventually he had discovered the smallest of clues, but it was something to go on. A message to a particular Banking Clan, from someone with the initials L.C. For now, Jacob had no clue who this person was, other than they had been the one who had collect the credits from their final drop off point on Coruscant.

Now, Jacob was heading back towards his ship. He walked through the streets that were now sparse of the crowds that had been previously filling it hours ago. Perhaps it was night time here? There was no real way of knowing given it was impossible to see the sky down here. Nonetheless it was both a welcome and a concern for Jacob. He had concealed himself, his hood over his head; the shadows of which hiding his face. And he had hidden his presence in the Force to the best of his ability, meaning he couldn't use his sense or empathy to keep an eye on his surroundings. There was only his base instincts to keep him alert, and as Jacob entered a four-way street junction, he felt that tickling feeling in the back of his head that he was being followed.

[member="Irajah Ven"]

 

[Kuzo]

Irajah walked the streets of the undercity alone. Even clad in subtle greys and browns, her clean hair and brisk, professional posture screamed that she didn't belong here. And yet, for some reason, she moved unmolested through the warrens. Maybe it was the confidence in her walk. Maybe it was the glint in those hazel eyes. Whatever it was, the petite woman was left alone as she went on her way.

Inwardly, Doctor Ven was brooding.

The last round of experiments had yielded fruit, but not what she was hoping to find. A stop gap only. Which in truth was better than anything she had found in the last year since Gideon had been unleashed. But it wasn't enough. Not nearly.

She could feel the virus curling through her body. Insistent. Insidious. Grasping and fighting always against the control the wielded with the Force. Up until recently, she had hoped that it was a battle that, if she couldn't win it, at least she could keep in a permanent stalemate. But she'd made a grave error in her calculations and in her plans.

The time spent on Azure had started it. Focusing on learning other ways to use the Force with [member="Carach"] had meant the necessity of refocusing her attention. Away from her own inner battle with Gideon. Though it had been subtle, she understood that she had done irreparable damage to herself in that time. The irony of the situation was not lost on her. That in order to repair the damage done to her psyche by others, she had ended up sacrificing ground to Gideon.

There was always a trade off. No one could have it all. But this was a trade off she'd needed to make if she was ever going to survive. And now, that trade off was slowly killing her. Though the ground gained by the virus was small, it was just enough to tip the balance between them ever so slightly.

Survive, broken and shattered. Or die strong.

She hated those options.

Her time on Maena had opened up the potential for 'survive strong,' and that now was the route she fought toward. In truth, it was always the choice she fought toward. Experiments on [member="Xena Amonali"] had given her something precious- time. She had kept her end of the bargain in the end, despite the fact that she needed the girl to continue to manufacture the treatment she had discovered. Irajah had kept her word though. Especially after everything the girl had given her.

She couldn't keep Xena. But if she could find others of the girl's bloodline who would be willing with some coaxing to come with her? Maena had been an expected dead end. Firrerreons of any stripe weren't common there. While she hoped for some with Xena's particular native talents, she would settle for less. Where next then, to look for those willing to trade their freedom for being taken care of? To trade fear and hunger for simple pain, and of course, the knowledge that they would save lives?

Coruscant's underworld of course.

Irajah stepped into the four way intersection a heartbeat before the sensation of danger washed over her-

[member="Jacob Crawford"]

 

[Jacob Crawford]

Jacob had been midstep when he saw her, walking down street before him with a purposeful stride in her step. He heard her steps and had looked up in reflex, ready to make a move at a moments notice. But he almost stopped moving when he recognised the approaching woman. She stuck out like a sore thumb to him, and probably to anyone she hadwalked by. Unlike Jacob she had nothing to conceal her identity. Even the way she walked looked out of place, yet there was something else in that just emanated a certain mood akin to 'don't you dare bother me'.

Irajah. What is she doing here?

His reaction to her was not one of astonishment, but rather curiosity, that made him wonder why someone like Irajah Ven was down in Coruscant's Undercity.

Jacob's thoughts were cut short though as he neared her, the shadows behind her seemed to shift. He had his hand on one of his daggers when the man slipped out from his hiding place. His eyes didn't even land on Irajah, and just immediately zoned in on Jacob. But he wasn't one to let a second go to waste, and Jacob threw the dagger forwards. His superior height to Irajah meant the weapon went spinning over her head without any issue. The man was apparently not anticipating such a sudden move, and a such the blade found its mark in his neck.

He gave no vocal warning to her as he threw it, and right now he was fairly certain she wasn't even aware of his identity.

From all around them more men; of various different races, made their presence's known. There were five in total, probably six if the person wasn't currently bleeding out on the ground behind Irajah. One of the ambushers charged at Jacob, pulling out a stun baton as he did. It certainly wasn't a mystery to Jacob who these people were, or more specifically who had sent them. He cursed under his breath as he slipped into a combat stance. But as he went to swing, he felt a sudden shock of electricity strike him from behind, a second ambusher jabbing his own baton into Jacob's back.

Jacob let out a pained yell, throwing his head back in reaction - subsequently sending his hood up and revealing his face. The first ambusher jabbed him and the shock sent Jacob to one knee. The other three made their approach; ignoring Irajah entirely, but then suddenly paused.

"Jacob?"

Irajah's sudden voice gave Jacob the moment's breath he needed. He released his Force concealment and folded his arms in - pulling the energy around him inwards. And very similar to how he had used it before, he swung his arms out sending the burst of Force energy outwards. Though unlike back then, this one was more controlled and it sent the men flying, but never touched Irajah.

Jacob looked over at the doctor, there was a questioning look in his eyes; for there were many things he wanted to ask. But right now wasn't the time, as the five ambushers regained their bearings and began to surround them; the remainder drawing their own stun batons. The men shared a brief look between them, as if silently communicating and the topic seemed to be Irajah if their occassional looks towards her were any indication. That, and two of the five turned their attention to her instead.

They were now also after her, probably because she recognised him.

A threatening growl escaped Jacob's mouth as he drew his remaining dagger and slipped back into a stance. Then as his three attackers got close enough, he lunged towards one.

[member="Irajah Ven"]

 

[Kuzo]

Despite the man throwing a dagger at her from the front, it was from behind and to the sides that Irajah felt the danger converging. The knife sliced through the air over her head, and she knew it found it's mark without turning to see.

Even with her training with [member="Carach"], the next few heartbeats unfolded almost too quickly to respond to.

Almost.

"Jacob?"

He'd learned so much since that day on the beach.

Of course, so had she.

In a way, running randomly into [member="Jacob Crawford"] wasn't all that strange. At least, not compared to the rest of their relationship. It would be hard pressed to get much weirder than their initial meeting, after all. Dxun. Maena. Irajah wasn't certain anything involving the blonde man across the intersection from her would come as a surprise.

Other than their eyes meeting and the question in both of them, there wasn't time to wonder too long or hard on just what in the maw was going on. His questioning look was met with a gimme a minute expression from the petite doctor as the two men blocked the view between them and her attention was required.

Two months of daily getting her rear end handed to her by someone like Carach had enacted a subtle alchemy beneath the surface. Slender, petite, one might even say small, yes, but the woman was no longer helpless.

Because she so rarely scored a hit on the larger man, she wasn't entirely confident of her ability to deal with two attackers here. However, it became clear in only a matter of heartbeats that compared to her usual sparring partner, these two were children. As he'd promised, every loss to him had been a gain to her- though she could never hope to compete where he was concerned, the fact that she could even occasionally hold her own with him meant that this was child's play.

Especially because both men did not, in that moment, take her seriously.

And in that moment, Irajah smiled.

They came in, lazy and casual, expecting likely that the most they would have to contend with were nails or a kick to the shin.

She didn't have to imagine the first man's surprise when her foot connected with his temple. It was written clearly in his eyes just before they rolled back in his head and the stun baton went clattering to the street.

Irajah hadn't expected to be able to take them both down without a real fight, and she was right. The second man was smart enough to sink into a suddenly conservative stance, eyeing her warily after she dropped his partner.

 

[Jacob Crawford]

The three men that were facing Jacob moved in sync with one another, forcing him to ponder whether this was the same situation as on Tatooine. Back then it had been clear whoever was after him had sent someone to hire some locals to do the dirty work. This bunch however seemed to at least have some degree of coordination, but they lacked any ranged weapons as backup. Perhaps they had sussed out that it didn't work well for the original ambush, but then none of that lot survived to tell.

It didn't matter really, as the trio were soon on him and on the attack. They swung and jabbed their batons at him, forcing Jacob to constantly evade. Their offence was also their best defence as he couldn't get even an inch towards them before having to back away again. Each one his attempted slashes were intercepted by another of the men's attacks.Jacob winced a whenever the stun batons were able to graze across his body. He just needed something, anything to form an open; maybe a distraction?

That was when a resounding thwack echoed across the intersection.

All four of them suddenly stopped, each man realising that it hadn't come from either of them. Even Jacob couldn't reign in his visible shock as he looked past his foes to just see as one of Irajah's fall to the ground - and didn't get back up when he did. He was impressed, happy even? Glad to see that the doctor was now capable of taking care of herself - to fight back. She was most certainly a far cry from the quiet one he last saw on Maena.

With the three men distracted, Jacob took advantage. He lashed out with his cybernatic hand and grasped one of the men's wrists, immediately crushing it seconds later. A scream of pain later and the stun baton fell from his grip. Jacob snatched it up and immediately jammed it into the chest of the second man, sending him writhing to the ground. The third man went to swung at him, but Jacob quickly threw his hand up and blasted him back with the Force - sending him crashing into the nearby wall.

As the first came back up, trying to overcome the pain of his crushed wrist. He tried to swing at Jacob, but he dodged and with a flick of his wrist sliced his dagger across the man's throat.

The third yet out a yell of anger, as he picked himself up and went to charge. Jacob however had other plans. He discarded the baton and through the Force he summoned the dagger he had previously thrown back into his hand. Before the man could get close, Jacob lurched his entire body fowards and stabbed the blades into the man's pectorals. Jacob let out a roar as he essentially tackled the man backwards into wall, digging the daggers further in. He watched as the life slowly ebbed in the eyes, before aggressively yanking the blades out.

This left only the second man as the last one standing amongst his friends. Slowly wobbling back up onto his feet.

[member="Irajah Ven"]

 

[Kuzo]

While [member="Jacob Crawford"] turned his focus back to his own problems, Irajah was intent on hers.

It had really only been their underestimating her that allowed Irajah to drop the man with one kick. The second man didn't give her any such opportunity again. A knife appeared as if by legerdemain in his hand and he moved in like a snake.

The dance, back and forth, strike, block, counterstrike, was familiar now. Irajah relied on her speed, while he attempted to overcome it with brute force. Not unlike the sparring with [member="Carach"], but very, very different. After all, he hadn't been trying to kill her. They traded blows, his knife never biting into her flesh, her own strikes barely more than an annoyance and distraction that built layer upon layer.

Her hand moved up, deflecting his strike across the front of his body, blocking his other hand from coming into play. Two swift kicks landed, thigh and knee, before he could step back and regroup. As he had done the last three attempts.

That was her mistake.

Instead of back pedaling, he lurched forward. She dodged his backhanded blow, but was borne to the ground in his rush. Even before she fell, she felt the knife slip into her side, just below her ribs. She felt his hand scrabble on her throat.

She gritted her teeth, cutting back a scream and LASHED out with the Force, barely thinking, simply reacting. The man went flying, slamming into the wall of the building beside them. His head impacted the bricks with a wet, sickening thwack.

She reached down, hands shaking as her fingers brushed the knife, still embedded in her side. Agony shot through her when she touched it and she gasped, hands retreating as she looked up. Hazel eyes were a little wider, almost black with pupils blown wide.

"J-Jacob?"

Behind her, the first assailant rose to his hands and knees, but she didn't see it. Drawing something from his belt, he took aim at Raj's back.

 

[Jacob Crawford]

Jacob's last opponent was dazed when he finally stood up right, he shook his head to try and dispell the blurry vision. Before he could though, Jacob lunged forwards stabbing a dagger into the man's chest - piercing his heart. He let out a strangled gasp, coughing up blood before Jacob pulled the blade out and let the body fall. Jacob sighed as he flicked his daggers to the slide, removing the fresh blood from their blades. Then sheathed them back to his belt. This was the second ambush within a month, both with the apparent intention to capture him. Whoever their boss was, must have something against him if they were willing to just throw men at him.

Then again, the lot on Tatooine had mainly been local thugs.

"J-Jacob?"

His entire body snapped around at the voice; the pained inflection in the way she said his name.

Jacob's eyes immediately zoned in on the dagger embedded in her side. Then to the movement behind her, realizing one of the men was still alive.

"Irajah!"

He was running, his legs taking long strides to cross the gap by the time the man had raised whatever weapon he had in his hand.

The moment he was close, he wrapped his left arm around Irajah and turned them both - aiming it so his back was facing the weapon. He expected a blast or a bullet, but instead there was a pulse. A small translucent, bluish sphere was fired from the barrel and struck Jacob's back. He let out an agonizing yell as he felt an electricial current blast though his body. Disabling his right arm and sending his head spinning.

But the EMP blast didn't stop there, it carried through Jacob and to Irajah.

He felt Irajah slip from his hold, heading for the ground. But Jacob quickly wrapped his left arm around her again, gritting his teeth against his own pain but managed to ensure her descent was softer.

Jacob turned his head just in time to see the last man was beginning to run away. He let out a growl, reached with his only working arm to one of his daggers. His entire arm was twitching, but he managed to slip one of the blades between his fingers then just threw his body in the man's direction - releasing the dagger with the momentum. It soared through the air and slammed into the man's back, he barely managed a few more steps before he fell.

With that, he fell onto his back beside Irajah. His breathing laboured as the pain slowly began to subside.

"That, is why I make sure to always kill them."

[member="Irajah Ven"]

 

[Kuzo]

"I will try to..... remember that..... for next time, but I'm a little.... distracted.... right now. Can we..... save the lesson?"

Her voice was tight, spit out through gritted teeth. She lay on the ground, eyes closed and face pinched. The cybernetics in her leg, arm, and the fingers of her other hand were completely dead. She could still feel the occasional pulse where they connected to her body, as if somehow her nerves were trying to reawaken them and failing. Tiny jolts of painful electricity.

It wasn't the same as when those limbs had simply been gone. Now they were a dead, pulsing weight. Caging. Trapped.

Of course, it was nothing compared to when she tried to sit up using just the muscles in her torso and fell back to the ground with a strangled cry. The knife in her side pulsed, shivering as she stifled a choked sob.

"I'm going to..... need..... your help... Jacob," she gasped out. Laying still didn't lessen the pain, only changed it.

"My bag. Dropped it. When I kicked..... that guy in the head."

Treating herself in this situation would have been difficult. Walking him through it?

Maybe impossible.

But if she didn't do something, and fast, figure out how deep the damage was, if it had knicked her liver or worse.....

Focus.

"Need my bag," she repeated, having a difficult time focusing beyond the pain.

 

[Jacob Crawford]

"Duly noted."

Jacob blinked as he stared up at the sky, or rather whatever level of the Undercity was above them. His body felt stiff, his right side feeling like dead weight. Even the left failed to move when he commanded it. His mind failing to tell the rest of his body to just move.

He tried to lift his head, but the second it left the cold floor a wave of nausea struck.

He was trapped in his body. Only his senses and his mind still functioning right now.

His mind.

Jacob mentally growled, reminder of his previous entrapment in his own mind rising to the surface.

He thought of [member="Matsu Xiangu"], heard [member="Irajah Ven"]'s words.

And forced his body to move, to sit up in one motion.

With a grind of his teeth, he pushed past the nausea and pain, slowly working his way back up onto his feet. His eyes immediately sought for Irajah's bag until he found it. His body lugged along, slowly picked up momentum as his mind reconnected to numb nerves.

Jacob reached down, nearly toppling over but managed to grab the strap before it could happen.

He was at Irajah's side swiftly after, kneeling down beside her - placing the bag down next to them.

"What do you need me to do?"

Even though his own pain, he remained resolute.

 

[Kuzo]

"Dxun. Maena. Now Coruscant. Why is it.... that every time I see you..... I end up bleeding?"

This was slight hyperbole of course. But not by much.

"In the bag.... syringe labeled 'CoAg'..... NOT the 'AnCo'..... need you to inject that.... centimeter away from.... the wound site."

Simply removing the knife was the worst possible thing that could happen. She'd risk bleeding to death if she passed out while he was trying to patch her up- Gideon on Coruscant?

"Please hurry."

Her eyes were closed, face drawn and pale. She knew she was sweating, but her skin was cold to the touch. It took all of her concentration to keep her breathing slow and steady. It was hard to even pay attention to [member="Jacob Crawford"] rustling through her bag.

It meant that the faint sound of a radio hissing static and then a soft, but sharp word, went completely under her notice.

 

[Jacob Crawford]

"I guess I'm your bad luck charm then..." Jacob grinned, a painful one but it was there. "And in my defence, I'm fairly certain you didn't bleed on Dxun." It was a poor joke, one aimed to distract from the pain.

He shifted through [member="Irajah Ven"]'s bag rather awkwardly, with only one workable hand it took a bit for him to get use to it. Jacob peered over at Irajah to check on her, immediately picking up on the fact her condition seemed to be quickening? Surely a stab wound wouldn't cause such a thing that soon?

Jacob mentally shook his head, getting rid of those questions. He wasn't the doctor here.

After a bit of fiddling, Jacob found the correct syringe - the one labelled 'CoAg'.

He looked at the wound, examined the area around it and realized that the clothing was in the way of the where it needed to go. Thinking on his feet, Jacob placed the syringe on his lap and began searching through the bag again, until he pulled out a pair of shears. Not taking particular care - aside from not hurting Irajah further, he cut and tore away at the obstructing clothing enough so that the wound was more reachable without removing the weapon.

Jacob picked the syringe up and with his teeth he pried the cap off the needle, and spat it out to the side. He then quickly calculated roughly the right distance, as instructed before he carefully jabbed the needle into the skin - gingerly injecting the substance in.

Just as he was though, he heard the familiar crackle of a radio - not necessarily a comm but something more archiac. After removing the syringe, Jacob quickly rushed over to where the sound was coming from. He pushed aside the dead man's coat, opening it to pull out the device.

"Salford, report! Salford what is your current situation! Something's wrong, we need to send more to their location."

Chit.

Clipping the radio to his belt, Jacob dashed back over to Irajah once again kneeling at her side.

"Irajah, we gotta move now. More of them are coming."

 

[Kuzo]

Irajah lay where he left her, hands keeping the knife steady- as steady as she possibly could- teeth clenched and focusing on the simple act of breathing ​with control.

She tilted her head back, closing her eyes for a moment and trying to center. [member="Carach"] had taught her how to deal with pain, but she hadn't had the opportunity to try with anything more than bruises. Slowly, she gathered the Force inside of her-

And immediately felt Gideon shift.

In a rush, she returned that attention to keeping the virus trapped and settled within her. Constricting the Force around it, she bore down, eyes opening wide again and an explosive breath pushed from her lips. She could either suppress the pain.... or keep Gideon at bay.

Though she had come to terms with her own, basic and central selfishness, the idea of unleashing Gideon on Coruscant was too much. She knew, all too well, what that would mean.

"Y-your gonna have to help me," she grunted. "Not walking far on this-" Irajah tried to smile, but it flickered across her lips as a grimace instead. "Between the knife and the fact that my leg isn't communicating with the rest of me, it might finally be time to redeem that debt, Jacob."

She had pulled her head forward to speak to him, but now she let it drop back again. Her hand reached out, the one that still was hers, though two of the fingers refused to function. "If anything has.... blood on it.... we have to bring it."

[member="Jacob Crawford"]

 

[Jacob Crawford]

Jacob let out a weak chuckle as he knelt by Irajah's side.

"Oh, I don't know...I did inadvertently cause this situation you're in."

Another joke, this time towards their previous back and forth about debts. Though it had always been more of Irajah denying he ever owed her. This was ultimately the one thing - the only thing he willingly kept ahold of from his past self.

Then another expression fell across his face, one that had never been there before around Irajah. Not even when she had helped him off Dxun, taken him to Dosuun.

Why?

A furrowed brow, the eyes squinted ever slightly. Wondering what this was all about, the increased pain, the fretting over the blood.

Why?

But he never voiced it, as he knew this wasn't the time.

Instead, his gaze wandered around, checking for anything that had been bloodied.

"Looks like nothing else got blood on it." With that, Jacob grabbed the shears and returned it to the bag, closing it back up and throwing the strap over his shoulder. The radio attached to his belt suddenly crackled to life again.

"Salford, I'm sending some men to your guy's location. You better not be dead Salford!"

Their time was getting shorter by the second. Jacob looked down at his right arm, realizing he still had slight movement in his cybernetics. Albeit it was moving with a long delay for the slightest of actions. Thankfully the fact it was only from the elbow down meant he could angle it correctly.

He carefully slid his right arm under Irajah's legs, and the other underneath her back. Jacob looked Irajah in the eye, giving her a small nod as a warning before he picked her up. He remained stationary for a moment, taking the time to adjust how he was holding her ensuring she was close against his chest. Then he began walking quickly, trying not to jostle Irajah too much given she still had the dagger imbedded in her.

Initially he had intended to head to his ship, but then the sounds of people approaching reached his ears, and he didn't know where they were coming from. So he moved to 'Plan B' and tried searching for an open building. Though at first none would, and it wasn't until he moved up along the northern intersection that he finally found one. The door slid open as they neared, and Jacob did not hesitate to get inside.

It was an abandoned warehouse, the half-dim half-broken lighting one obvious indicator. The various crates and left behind machinery added to it. Jacob looked down at the woman in his arms briefly, checking she was still conscious as he walked deeper in - the lights blinking on in their wake with the previous set switching off behind them. Eventually he was satisified they had gone far enough, and carefully laid her down atop a crate, one that had a bit of a softer top to it compared to the cold ground she had been on before.

[member="Irajah Ven"]

 

[Kuzo]

Despite the fact that she was certain her blood didn't circulate the virus, so long as she was holding it in check and not currently moving it between organs, the relief that flooded her face when he gave the all clear on that front was impossible to hide.

Cybernetic arm useless, she'd used her left arm to wrap around the back of his neck to steady herself. It meant that she couldn't keep the knife stabilized, and she clenched her teeth to keep from crying out as he lifted her from the ground. Each step sent pain slicing through her, and she didn't pay attention to anything other than that. It took all of her concentration to simply stay conscious.

The squawking of the radio at his belt was the only thing that really registered until he was able to put her down again. She let out a long, low whoosh of breath, her hand going back to the hilt still quivering in her side with every breath.

"Are we safe here?" She asked, her voice wavering more than she was happy with.

She opened her eyes, looking up at him.

"Because I'm going to need to walk you through removing this before it causes any more damage."

[member="Jacob Crawford"]

 

[Jacob Crawford]

"Are we safe here?"

The question had too been on Jacob's mind the moment he had set foot in this place. His eyes turned towards the direction they had come from, to the door they had entered. Then over to the opposite side of the warehouse, into the darkness where Jacob figured there was a back entrance should they need to leave.

His attention finally landed back on Irajah, and said nothing intiailly. He was not one to sugar-coat things, give half truths or outright lies. Not to his friends at least.

"Probably not, no." He said, his eyes falling on hers. "But, they're most likely going to be busy sorting through the men we left back there. That and they'll probably think we left, not find a place nearby to hide in." After all, he was certain they hadn't left any indication that one of them was wounded.

Ultimately though they were all probabilities, possibilities and variables outside of their control. There was no constants here to instil confidence that they wouldn't just at any point by discovered.

But there were more concerning matters right now, in the form of the knife that Irajah had specific instructions to remove.

Jacob frowned at that, wondering why she didn't just yank it out, it's what he would've done. Removed it, wrapped the wound up and got himself to a doctor. Or finish whatever he had gotten himself into then got himself to a doctor. But then again, his medical knowledge wasn't exactly top notched.

He gave Irajah a nod. "What do you need me to do?"

[member="Irajah Ven"]

 

[Kuzo]

To say that being unable to move her leg, an entire arm, and several fingers on her other hand was annoying would be a deeply unsatisfying understatement. Even without the threat of Gideon, she would have needed his help. But the virus changed the mental calculus, the things that must be dealt with immediately, instead of waiting until they were safe.

She closed her eyes, cataloguing for a moment before explaining.

"The knife needs to be removed..... at a slightly upward angle- it can't draw down or across.... not where it currently is."

Hazel orbs opened again, fixing on his face.

"I can't promise I won't pass out when you do it.... gonna try not to.... but it might be out of my hands," she said, an almost wry smile flickering across her face for a heartbeat before being supplanted by the grimace of pain again.

"Even if it nicked an artery- clotting factor is.... already in place. But I'm going to need you to..... stick a finger in there.... and see if it hit my liver."

If it hadn't, [member="Jacob Crawford"] and everyone else on Coruscant would be fine.

If it had?

Well, it didn't matter if he was covered in her blood. Everyone was dead anyway.

"About three centimeters in..... you'll hit something that should be smooth. If it's smooth, that's good, everything is fine. If there's.... a laceration.... well. We'll worry about that then."

 

[Jacob Crawford]

Jacob was certain now, there was definitely something going on with [member="Irajah Ven"], beside the obvious right in front of him. It was internal, that much he could gather. The way she grimaced, gritted her teeth, the attempted smiles. It could easily be all wrapped up under the assumption it was because of the pain from being stabbed. But there were other elements; the fixation on blood not being spilt, and while he knew Irajah was the type to mentally run through numbers and calculations, it seemed to be going into overdrive right now. It was all nagging away in Jacob's mind, that there was more to it than what he knew.

Perhaps he was bias. Whatever it was, it was clearly inflicting a lot more pain on his friend.

And that angered him.

He closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. Which to Irajah, probably just looked as though he was clearing his head for what he was going to do.

Why?

Now was not the time for an inquiring mind. The way in which Irajah spoke, relayed that what she needed done, had to be done now.

Jacob didn't question it, but as went to reach for the knife he suddenly paused. A realization coming to him, and instead he turned to Irajah's bag and opened it. He riffled through it, searching for something until he pulled out a small pack of disposable gloves. Jacob tested his cybernetic arm, his fingers at the very least were capable of greater movement now. Which made the process of pulling a glove over his left much easier, albeit with some difficulty still.

He then returned to the knife. He carefully wrapped his left hand around the hilt, then braced his right down against Irajah - as an extra measure in case she lurched too much during the removal. With a brief countdown, Jacob followed the instructions; angling it into a slight upright angle then pulled the knife out. Some blood began to immediately spill, but the earlier injection had ensured it was barely a significant amount.

Jacob placed the bloody knife aside, and immediately; but also carefully, inserted a finger into the wound. He moved cautiously, feeling Irajah's discomfort at the moment, and not wanting to hurt Irajah anymore than necessary. Tension filled the air around them, Jacob's eyes were fixed on Irajah's until he felt his finger hit something - her liver. It was smooth, without a trace of any lacerations.

He nodded at her.

"We're clear, the knife didn't hit it."

 

[Kuzo]

Pain did funny things. She didn't black out precisely, but she wasn't entirely conscious of every move [member="Jacob Crawford"] made. Which was probably for the best, since 'liver petting' wasn't high on her list of enjoyable sensations. She closed her eyes, gritted her teeth and rode the pain. Rather than fight it, it washed over her.

It took a few moments after he confirmed for her to swim up and back out of it. And another moment after that to fully accept that what he'd just said was the good news she'd been hoping for. When she opened her eyes to look back up at him, her pupils were blown wide with the pain, but she nodded slowly, fully cognizant after only a minute of hitched blankness.

She drew in a shaky breath.

"A-alright. There's a- a wide syringe. Blue tape on the plunger. Just squirt it into the wound and hold it closed for five seconds. Gl-glorified glue," she offered as a weak joke.

The relief was clear on her face. While the amount of pain she was in couldn't possibly have changed, knowing that Gideon was still firmly where it was meant to be, rather than risking..... no, it was past now. Over.

 

[Jacob Crawford]

Jacob's lips thinned as he watched [member="Irajah Ven"], instantly noting the woman's enlarged pupils. He didn't need to be a doctor to know that wasn't exactly normal, leading to that question drumming up to the forefront of his mind again. Although, his attention was diverted when Irajah explained the next step. Jacob gave her a quizzical look, more expecting, for some reason, something more archaic.

"Well, I guess I learned about something new today." He chuckled, unaware of how understated that would be soon enough.

Stepping to the side, Jacob looked into the doctor's bag and began shifting items around until he found what he was searching for. He pulled out the syringe, the one with blue tape neatly wrapped around the plunger. With it in hand, he moved back to Irajah and as instructed, carefully insertied one end of the syringe into the wound and injected the 'glorified glue' as Irajah had described it. The moment it was emptied, Jacob pulled the syringe out and used his hands; the right being a rather colder against her skin, to close the wound. As he counted the seconds however, he just about heard the rushing of several sets of boots in the distance.

If Irajah hadn't picked that up, the radio suddenly crackling to life once more certainly would've.

"Salford's dead."

"What! And the rest?"

"All of them are dead. No one survived."

"H-how is that possible? The target should've been alone..."

"We're trying to suss that out right now, something doesn't add up right with what I'm seeing."

"...Explain."

Jacob's eyes locked onto Irajah's, with one clear look in his eyes. Chit.

 

[Kuzo]

Chit indeed.

Irajah reached out awkwardly with her left hand. While the cybernetic fingers were still useless, all she needed was her thumb and index finger to turn the volume on the radio down to a whisper. They needed to be able to hear what was happening- it was a rare advantage to hear the going ons of the men who intended to kill you (more Jacob than her, but she had no illusions). But the need to not risk them hearing an echo of their own words, far too close to the epicenter of dead bodies was too important to ignore.

"We need to move," she said, struggling to sit up for a moment before uttering a small sound of pain and pressing back against the top of the crate again. "If we can see the door from here, they can see us. Need to get out of sight."

Even though the wound had been dealt with, as best as possible here in the field, that didn't change the pain from it. And there was the not inconsiderable fact that her cybernetics were still completely shot.

When he nodded and picked her up again, she winced but didn't cry out.

"Stairs- there's an office up there I bet. Give us a good view of the warehouse floor and offer some protection. Or we can try to find a back way out."

[member="Jacob Crawford"]