Cybernetic Bullseye

[Cathul Thuku]

Inysh. While confined to a hoverchair, due to Mandalorian torture, she still waits for the moment where she can actually get her own cybernetic legs. But at least she got her belongings back: her crewmembers in Therapy Command's service did not steal from her. Her beskar'gam, her lightsabers would both hold into place (although she can't use her beskar'gam just yet) and be back into her hands. Her new patient, [member="Summer Sovereign"], was someone she knew from the issues of the Sith Inquisitor she received, which had a longstanding policy of handing out a free copy to everyone that had articles about them. Especially since, from what the SI told the readers about their romance to one Jessica Med-Beq, it was one of the few standards of what a functional same-sex marriage between light-siders would look like. The question being why that patient would come to a military medical facility and why they would even trust a Force-healer that needed a medical droid to carry out transplantations.

"Admiral, you have a patient waiting for you in the waiting room"

"Roger"

With that said, Cathul comes down to the ophthalmology waiting room, limping by using the hoverchair revealing her cut legs. Oh, she knew that, usually, wherever one-eyed Summer went, Jessica wasn't far behind, probably for moral support. But what would cause Summer to even need ophthalmological surgery in the first place? She wasn't privy to her medical details anyhow.

 

[Eli-Mae Forrest]

Summer would sit there anxious for whatever was to come. She was ready to be able to see again, she had gone so long without sight in her left eye it would be a shock to have it back

[member="Cathul Thuku"]

 

[Cathul Thuku]

"[member="Summer Sovereign"]"

Once she came to collect Summer from the ophthalmology waiting room, she guided the blue-skinned patient, who was much like an Omwati woman, into the pre-surgery interview room as appropriate for eye surgeries. She reviewed the last optometric report as it pertained to her right eye: it was 20/20. Over the past few weeks, she had a few Alliance attack craft pilots getting eye surgery, even though she doesn't herself perform those: she is seemingly assigned at random among the surgical wards of the hospital, often to fill in for other people. For them their vision took longer to stabilize than for people being fitted with cybernetic eyes, if their eye surgeries didn't require fitting cybernetic eyes.

"So you want to get your left eye fitted with a dybernetic eye? Before surgery begins, I have a few warnings to deliver. You will be placed under local anaesthesia, which is my role in the process. If successful, you will have sensory overload in your left eye for a while, it may come as a shock to you for your depth perception to come back. Oh and avoid overly bright lights in the first week or two, so that your body can get used to the whole deal of getting your depth perception back and to get used to having two eyes rather than just one. Oh and you may want to avoid piloting until you're comfortable with your eyesight again. I know it's painful to say it, but I had several fighter pilots for patients that required eye surgery, and it's painful for them in the few weeks after surgery occurs, as well as being unable to pilot until their eyesight is stabilized. And it felt weird for almost all of them in the days immediately after the surgery took place"

 

[Eli-Mae Forrest]

Summer would nod as the warnings were delivered and as she was told she would not be able to fly for the days following she would frown deeply "WIll this require hospitalization?" She would ask just curious

[member="Cathul Thuku"]

 

[Cathul Thuku]

"Eye surgeries of that variety usually do not require hospitalization. However, you will be subjected to an optometric evaluation in a week or so; this is in order to make sure that your eyesight is on the way to stabilization. Nevertheless even though you cannot pilot for a week or two, Jessica can do it just fine until your eyesight stabilizes. I know her well enough to say that confidently"

She knew many Force-healers were guilty of not making proper warnings to the patients they treat. It's easier to gain the trust of patients when they are in the know about what they are about to undergo, she thought. That might be forgiven in the case of emergency medicine, where doctors usually don't have the time to warn the patients about the side effects of what they're about to do on them, and emergency medicine seems to be disproportionately represented among Force-healers. Also emergency medicine practitioners are often blindly trusted. But this was not about emergency medicine. As the equipment required to perform the implantation of the cybernetic eye is being prepared, alongside an IM-6 droid and a 2-1B unit, she prepares to clear her mind so that she can use local anaesthesia around the eyes. It would be visually equivalent to falling asleep even though the rest of her body won't be acting as if she was.

"The surgery room is almost ready"

[member="Summer Sovereign"]

 

[Eli-Mae Forrest]

Summer would nod listening very closely. She would prepare herself and then she would decide it would be best if she removed her eyepatch. She would slowly lift her right arm and pull her eye patch off revealing what was left of her left eye. That was to say not much at all. Jessica had never even seen her in this state

[member="Cathul Thuku"][member="Cathul Thuku"]

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

What [member="Cathul Thuku"] doesn't suspect was that Jessica never saw [member="Summer Sovereign"] in this condition. For all these years, she knew her wife was a freak, but never understood exactly why. But she kept calm upon seeing what happened to Summer's left eye using what she could about alchaka - it was completely shot. Plus she was OK for having to pilot in her wife's stead until Summer's vision stabilized. She might know some about medicine, but clearly she was no medical practitioner. She wondered how much better her blue-skinned wife would look with that cybernetic eye vs. before the surgery, but also what kind of difference would it make for her depth perception to return, and to finally stop crying in lightsaber practice. Now that the equipment was being put in place, in the little time the surgical team had left to prepare for the implantation of the cybernetic eye, she had a few words to tell her wife before the surgery begins:

"I know, Summer, not even seeing what happened to your left eye would make me stop loving you. Yet you know that I never asked you to pull out the eyepatch out of respect: we respect each other, and the lightsaber training was your wake-up call for having this procedure"

 

[Eli-Mae Forrest]

Summer would nod to her wife and hug her kissing her as well. SHe was ready

[member="Jessica Med-Beq"]
[member="Cathul Thuku"]

 

[Cathul Thuku]

"All right, the equipment is ready, you may lie on the nearby bed"

While [member="Summer Sovereign"] was brought inside the surgery ward, [member="Jessica Med-Beq"] couldn't enter it: the procedure was a cybernetic eye transplant, which the droid would do the majority of the work but Cathul would still be of use for the anaesthesia part. Local anaesthesia was called for, but not general anaesthesia: she knew Summer had no other known medical conditions. Here it was preferrable for the patient not to see that she was operated on, and to have her eyes closed. The medical droid was activated, the cybernetic eye was carefully chosen to look like the patient's healthy eye, and provide a 20/20 vision. Some of the pilots she had for patients felt a little weird because one of their cybernetic eyes would provide a 20/20 vision and the other would not. Of course, in nearly every case of attack craft pilots needing eye surgery she had a hand in treating, some reconstructive surgery was also needed, and Summer was no exception.

 

[Eli-Mae Forrest]

Summer would enter the room and look about. She would then walk over to the bed and lay down. It wasn't the most comfortable thing but it was ok. One last time she would run her hand over the left side of her face gently feeling the deformity and stopping before she hit the socket. She would relax a bit

[member="Cathul Thuku"]

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

While Cathul would apply local anaesthesia, causing [member="Summer Sovereign"] to be more relaxed than usual, Jessica watches the medical droid remove what was left from her wife's eye. As is commonly the case, she would be nervous as the droid made precise motions to remove the remains of the damaged left eye. More reconstructive surgery is to follow once the ocular implant is in place, she thought, even though Force-users would grow back bone and flesh so long as there actually is live tissue to do it from. Much like she would do it herself in the case of bone fractures. Jessica may be able to deliver first aid with the Force, CPR included, even teaching Catria how to use Electric Judgment specifically so the blue-haired Force-healer could use it for CPR, but Jessica wasn't herself a professional Force-healer. One of the nurses went around Jessica in the waiting room and tried to have some small-talk with her:

"Even though I used to have her as a therapist, I would probably want to have her again for a doctor so long as it isn't about psychiatry"

"She seems to have a subpar bedside manner: are you sure?"

"I trusted her when I had Force-induced malaises almost six years ago, since the day when it became clear to the galaxy what kind of genius I am"

 

[Eli-Mae Forrest]

Summer would be asleep
[member="Jessica Med-Beq"]

 

[Cathul Thuku]

While [member="Summer Sovereign"] was asleep, under the effect of Force-synthesized anaesthesic agents, Cathul wasted no time using the Force to help perform what amounted to a reconstructive surgery once the fitting of the cybernetic eye was completed. A piece of synth-bone that she used the Force to carve out what fitted into the broken eye socket, a few layers of synth-flesh, with the skin layer just the right color to match the patient's light-blue skin. And then using the Force to stitch those things together with the patient's original flesh. That was par for the course for her, since she did have to treat a very similar case in an attack craft pilot who also needed a cybernetic eye and reconstructive surgery. Once she awakens, she will look as she did before she lost her eye, she thought, knowing that Summer's awakening will soon come with a (hopefully!) functional left eye and her wife [member="Jessica Med-Beq"] is close to the surgery ward this entire time.

"How are you feeling today?" she asked Summer upon the patient awakening. "Also, given the reconstructive surgery you just had, there are also restrictions on activities based on physical contact, that last roughly as long as it would take your vision to stabilize"

 

[Eli-Mae Forrest]

While sleeping Summer would dream of the night she lost that eye. It was a bitterly cold night, Summer had been on her own for quite a while 6 months to a year. She was a wanderer and nothing more. Her clothes were tattered and she was freezing. She was out looking for dinner, she had wandered into the woods. She thought she could find something to hunt around there. She would wander for an hour before she heard it. Growling, it was coming from all around her. She had no weapons on her but her fists. She would blink and they would be upon her. 4 huge beasts that she had never seen in her life. The largest of the 4 standing directly in front of her. He would approach and then pounce. She had enough strength to push him back. They would continue this for a few moments before one of the animals snuck around behind her. As the Alpha pounced once more Summer would stumble backwards and fall over the smaller animal. It was all over she could feel it in that moment. The creatures would start trying to eat her. The first thing the alpha went for was her face. She tried to block but it didnt last. He would begin to bite and claw her face. He would take the eye and most of the flesh with it. Summer would black out but not before hearing a blaster shot.

After seeing this she would awaken and as she opened her eyes, the world seemed anew. The color around her seemed to be more vivid and bright than she had ever seen. It brought tears to her eyes to see the world the way she used to see it. It was all thanks to Cathul. "I feel amazing! And what would those be?" She asked very curious

[member="Cathul Thuku"]
[member="Jessica Med-Beq"]

 

[Cathul Thuku]

"Essentially it is about making sure you avoid situations where there is a high risk of injury associated with it. My use of Force-healing will make you recover faster from the surgery, but it is not instant"

Now that she knew that the surgery worked, Cathul would simply be resting and avoid using the Force, and also not leave her hoverchair because her scheduled physical therapy session has yet to occur. But now that all parties (she knew that [member="Jessica Med-Beq"] also knew it: all three were open books in the Force) know how and why she lost her eye, that is, a pack of wild animals did that to [member="Summer Sovereign"], but she should rest easy while knowing that her eyesight, mainly her depth perception, will return back to normal at some point. And, thanks to the white Twi'lek, Summer don't have to feel like a freak anymore, at least outwardly. She let out a sigh of relief, knowing that the patient is mostly satisfied with the outcome of the procedure. Oh and for eye procedures, often eye drops are recommended until the eyesight stabilizes. But she is not an optometrist and hence she couldn't know with precision whether a stabilized eyesight actually is stabilized.

"Finally, one thing: eye drops are advised once every twelve hours until your eyesight stabilizes, and preferrably one of these doses has to be made before you go to sleep"

 

[Eli-Mae Forrest]

"Will do doc can I go see my lovely wife now?" She asked and with an assumed yes she would get up and walk into the waiting room and upon seeing Jessica she would run to her. SHe would hug her tightly and kiss her

[member="Jessica Med-Beq"]

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

While [member="Summer Sovereign"] hugged Jessica tightly, and was kissed as well, she realized that she looked a lot better now. This was a marvelous sight to the hospital personnel and the patients in the waiting room, several of whom immediately recognized her. To see that peace-and-love actually existed between individuals, and same-sex relationships at that. Too often people would break up for petty reasons; once again, they showed that it took that one couple to dispel the notion. Then again, the Sith Inquisitor acquired a niche for people like her, which, while accurate, tended to portray the geniuses of the galaxy as they would circus freaks. You no longer need to feel like a freak now. Of course, if you need painkillers that you can't quite make by yourself in the Force, you can always count on me and my own Force-healing, she thought, while gazing her wife (and apprentice) in the eyes once again, now that there are two eyes rather than one.

"Too pretty to be true! Then again, so am I. We're both among the prettiest women in the galaxy by now..."

 

[Eli-Mae Forrest]

Summer would smile deeply at Jessica. She never felt happier than she did right now. She felt like her whole world just started a new. She looked at Jessica and she was more gorgeous now that Summer had both eyes she could see her clearly for the first time ever. She would then begin to cry tears of joy and would nuzzle into Jessica's chest. She would hold her tight

[member="Jessica Med-Beq"]

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"Now that's one happy day in your life"

Oh, Jessica was happy for her wife, too, while having to endure that her wife's vision may not be entirely stable for the time being and having to pilot transports for her until her wife's vision stabilizes. But they know they shouldn't stay around that much longer in that hospital. They had no more business being there: they should be taking a probiotic shower somewhere because the entire hospital was under a surgical field. Or eat probiotic yogurt. Whether on Cato Neimoidia or elsewhere, it mattered not to her so long as there actually was a probiotic shower or some probiotic yogurt to take advantage of. She knew better than to blindly take just about any probiotic yogurt, though: such probiotics need to have the right concentration. But whatever probiotics she would get, Summer would also get, for better or for worse. Just that probiotics would be best eaten for a few days at a time.

 

[Eli-Mae Forrest]

Summer would offer Jessica her hand and then head out. She would lead the way to The Queens Gambit She had never let anyone besides herself pilot this so having Jessica on the stick was going to be nerve wrecking. Nonetheless she dropped the boarding ramp and walked in

[member="Jessica Med-Beq"]