Private Cleanup Crew

[Amani Serys]

It had been some time since Amani visited Commoner. Not since she was a part of the Silver Jedi Concord, in fact, and even then her time there was short-lived following the change in capitals. But as the Alliance expanded outward, it was only a matter of time before old Concord worlds found themselves gaining membership under this new government.

In the absence of their old leadership, pirates had swept into the region, hoping for a quick bounty before the Alliance made its move. A foolish attempt, given the Alliance's swift response time, but they were emboldened by past attacks from fellow pirates, and other, darker forces as well. In the end, it didn't stop the raiders from leaving a mess in their wake. Amani hadn't taken part in the counterattack, but was now overseeing the aftermath on the planet's surface. Helping patch up any who might have been injured in the skirmish, or otherwise sustained collateral damage at the hands of the pirates. All things considered, she had seen much worse. But that was hardly an excuse to leave a job undone.

The Chief Healer watched over the proceedings, still awaiting the arrival of a few additional medics.

Cithria Zratis​

 

[Cithria Zratis]

Commenor wasn't far from Cithria's homeworld of Corellia, but she had never been. She had met folks from there; spacers, tradesmen, mercenaries — probably some smugglers, too — when they visited Coronet City on their many travels. They were often commuters from the Quellor Run or visitors passing through ports from the Inner Rim to the Core. When they stopped by the Medcenter, for this injury or that, they would spin fantastical stories for the young girl, tales of pirates and krayt dragons aplenty. She remembered the stories fondly, one of the few treasured memories of Corellia she had.

Maybe she'd hear new stories today.

The Alliance frigate burst through the upper atmosphere. Clouds broke apart, vapor swirling to either side of the ship like stage curtains. A datapad lit up Cithria's pale face, the largest source of light in the cargo hold. Her emerald eyes scanned the ship's manifest. It was maybe the second or third time she checked. Or maybe the fourth. Either way, she was pretty sure everything was accounted for.

She helped offload the cargo — even if there were droids and muscle-clad soldiers here for that — carrying a crate full of medkits and bacta gel. Her silvery blonde hair spilled from the top of her head and into her eyes. Some strands stuck to her sweaty forehead. She tried to blow the hair with her mouth, to little avail. As the young padawan stumbled her way into the makeshit Medcenter, she spotted the Chief Healer Amani Serys overlooking the operation. They hadn't met yet, but that was about to change.

Cithria lugged the cargo box over and set it on the ground. "Master Serys!" Cithria said excitedly. She bowed her head. "I'm Cithria, or Padawan Zratis. Pleasure to meet you."

Cithria pulled her silvery blonde hair into a bun, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and got ready to get to work.

"What can I help with?"

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani lost herself in thought for a few moments, only pulled back to the present when her voice was called out behind her. The mirialan spun around and smiled, "Ah. Nice to meet you too, padawan. I see you're already familiar," She bowed. Somehow, it still surprised her from time to time that there were now many jedi who already knew who she was prior to any official meetings. The nature of being in a position such as hers.

"That depends, padawan. What sort of experience do you have?" She tilted her head to the side, silently beckoning for Cithria to follow her as she began to stroll through the nexus. Passing a droid, Amani alerted him to the newly arriving supplies, and he trotted off to go manage the clerical details of the exchange. "Are you a healer? Or just come to help regardless?"

Cithria Zratis​

 

[Cithria Zratis]

"Ah. Nice to meet you too, padawan. I see you're already familiar,"

"Yes, I'm familiar!" Cithria said with playful mirth. "Chief healer!" She wasn't sure if Amani's response was humility or surprise. Either way, as far as she was concerned, she was in the presence of healer royalty. "I have seen you around the Coruscant Medcenter. From afar." She paused. Her eyes darted to the mirialan's stomach and then her cheeks flashed pink. "Not as much recently."

It was no secret Amani had been pregnant. Even if Cithria didn't know personally, people talked. Hell, medical droids did too; they gossiped like the real housewives of Naboo.

"That depends, padawan. What sort of experience do you have?"

"Are you a healer? Or just come to help regardless?"

"I was practically raised in the Coronet City Medcenter," Cithria said boastfully. Pride was uncharacteristic for her. But if there was one exception, it was this. "My mother and father worked there. I got to play nurse a lot."

Cithria followed Amani, and mouthed Thank you, to the passing droid.

"My experience with using the Force to heal is sparse, but I know my way around a medkit. I've got experience with synthflesh, synthskin, and prosthetics/cybernetics, too."

Amani Serys

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani followed the padawan's eyes to her stomach, and chuckled. The twins were born not too long ago, but she was already back to work in the field, "Couldn't keep watching from the sidelines forever." The Temple's Halls of Healing needed their Chief Healer, after all. She would've liked to spend a while longer solely dedicated to raising babies, but so far they had found a serviceable work-life balance.

As they wandered further into the field hospital, Cithria gave her the rundown of her experiences, "I've never been, actually. Is it nice?" A medic stepped in and handed Amani a datapad, which she signed before the medic left as quickly as they arrived, "Mundane experience is always good to have. You never know when your reliance on the Force can become a handicap," She seemed to speak from a place of experience, but didn't dwell on it, "I'm of the belief that all Jedi healers should be able to treat people regardless of that. But, since you already have at least some familiarity with that— Would you like to try a bit of Force healing?"

Cithria Zratis​

 

[Cithria Zratis]

Amani Serys

Cithria understood Amani's commitment to her Jedi duties. The expectations the young girl's parents had always placed on her weighed heavy and now carried into her Jedi training. The desire to excel and push herself ran deep in her blood. Like midichlorians, it was an essential part of her.

It wasn't easy. "I can understand that," Cithria replied sympathetically.

"I've never been, actually. Is it nice?"

"You've never been?! It's my favorite place in the galaxy. Well, behind the Coruscant Medcenter. Obviously."

Cithria's grin practically touched her ears. "Nothing like the smell of Corellian bacta." The smell filled the halls of the Coronet City Medcenter. It was the scent of her childhood.

There was wisdom behind Amani's words, a sense of first-hand experience and practicality. Cithria nodded and took the words to heart.

Would you like to try a bit of Force healing?"

"Of course, master. I would love that! Where do we begin?"

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani shook her head, "Most of my work these days either keeps me on Coruscant, or running relief missions outside of Alliance space." Perhaps she'd keep an eye out for any good excuses to stop by Corellia in the future. It was interesting seeing how different worlds addressed the same problems. "I think I've become desensitized to the smell of batca by now." Her work was so inundated in the substance, it became just another background noise (or scent, in this case) of her life.

Cithria was eager to give healing a try. Amani nodded, and took a look around, "We'll start simple." Luckily, things weren't too frantic around here right now, so taking a bit of time to help a fledgling healer practice wouldn't result in any neglected patients. The healer's eyes seemed to catch something fitting, and she led Cithria to a young boy sitting on one of the cots. He was fine and well, except for an unpleasant scrape on his knee. Amani crouched down to his level and smiled sympathetically, "Hey there, can we help you with that?"

The boy was curious but skeptical, "I'm a doctor. This is a student of mine." The word doctor seemed convincing enough, and he nodded silently. "Alright. Focus, and share your energy," She moved aside to let the padawan give it a shot. Even if it took some practice, it's not like she could do anything to make the injury worse, so there was no concern on Amani's part.

Cithria Zratis​

 

[Cithria Zratis]

Amani Serys

Cithria crouched infront of the boy and gave the friendliest smile she could muster. "I'm Cithria. You could think of me like a nurse. Whats your name?"

The boy smiled back nervously. His name was Jaccub. "Nice to meet you, Jaccub."

The fledgling healer chewed her lip as she carefully examined the wound — minor scrape, superficial at worst. "Should be easy," she said to ease the young boy, but it did little to steel her own resolve. Cithria's pale, slender hands shook as she raised them to the boy's knee. Her palms were sweaty.

She had healed using the Force before. Inadvertantly. Desperately. She still remembered kneeling over her father's body, hands pressed firm on his abdomen as tears ran down her cheeks.

Cithria's eyes watered, but she bit back the flood. With eyes closed, she focused on the wounded knee infront of her. Share your energy, it made sense but she didn't know how. She concentrated her energy on her hands. A pale green glow emanated from her hands but nothing happened. She closed her eyes tighter and focused harder. Still nothing; her hands didn't even glow this time.

When she opened her eyes, she saw nothing different. The wound was still there. Frustration flushed in her cheeks. It was supposed to be easy for her. Everything else had been.

"What am I doing wrong?!" Cithria said, harsher than she meant to.

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani watched studiously from the side. Cithria did her best to focus, but it seemed something was holding her back. She peered a little closer, but stopped herself from intruding. Whatever it was, it prompted a harsher response than the healer expected. She blinked, and raised a palm, "You're too distracted. There's something in your mind that's blocking your progress." There was an internal debate visible in her expression, over how to address the subject matter. It could be anything, for all she knew.

"You have to disconnect. Focus only on yourself, and your patient. Think of them as an extension of yourself, if that helps." It came more naturally with time and effort, but she had gotten success out of past students with similar strategies. Tentatively, Amani dared to pry further, "…Would it help relieve you to talk about it?" The boy looked between them curiously, to which the mirialan offered a sage nod of assurance.

Cithria Zratis​

 

[Cithria Zratis]

Cithria, still crouched, looked up to Amani. Her emerald eyes were wide and bright, like vibrant green grass in the sunlight after a rain shower. They said Yes to the Chief Healer's question, but Cithria looked to the child. It wasn't an appropriate story for one so young. Cithria glanced back at Amani and she shook her head No instead.

"Maybe later... I mean, it's not a big deal. Just tired, it was a long journey here. I don't sleep well in space." Well, it wasn't a total lie. There was something unsettling about hurtling faster than the speed of light through the void.

Cithria breathed deeply, "Focus." She pushed everything out of her mind. She felt the Force flow through her arms and into her hands. She pushed out, stretching and expanding the energy past the physical boundaries of her hand. She felt the Force extend... until it didn't. Whatever connection she was beginning to form between hand and knee collapsed. She tried to push the Force out again but couldn't. Nothing happened. Just like last time.

It was getting frustrating. Sure, not everything can be easy and it didn't mean she was a failure. She hadn't experienced that before, yet she knew it to be true. But the harder she tried, the worse it was. What kind of Corellian bologne is that?

Cithria sighed. Her shoulders slouched. "I don't know why it's not working. Maybe it will help if I observe you doing it?"

Amani Serys ​

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani picked up on the unspoken nature of Cithria's story, and nodded, "Fair enough." No need to sit the child through their interactions anyway. The padawan tried again, but once more, fell short of the necessary energy required to heal the boy's wound. She suggested observing Amani's process to help. Simple enough.

"Sure. Let's give it a shot," The healer gently reached out her hand over the boy's knee, and for a moment, shut her eyes as she concentrating on the wound. Then, the transference of the Force began to shape between herself and the boy, like a soothing outpour of invisible essence. The scrape began to close up gradually, like it were healing over in super speed. Then, it was as good as new. Amani stood up, and smiled, "Stay here for a little longer. I nurse will come by to give you a check-up, and then you'll be free to go." The boy nodded, and smiled back.

Amani turned to Cithria and twisted her lips. There wasn't really enough of an injury even there for her just heal partway, and leave the rest to Cithria. So she quickly came up with another idea, "Here," She reached over to a table, and grabbed a medical knife. The mirialan splayed out her palm, and cut it with the knife, leaving a thin red line across the skin, "See if you can heal that."

Cithria Zratis​