Character
Diagnosis: A Perfect Opportunity
"When opportunity strikes, make something of it."
Sundari, Mandalore
OUTER RIM TERRITORIES
After the unexpected assault on the Monroe Homestead, the Warmaster of the Great Heathen Army—Mia Monroe—was critically injured and in need of additional care that could not be provided by those who arrived on site to treat her. Acting quickly to ensure her survival and continued health, Itzhal Volkihar, Lawkeeper of the Mandalorian Protectors, authorised an emergency landing within the perimeter of Sundari's Royal Infirmary, bypassing many of the traditional checkpoints that covered the famous domed city. It was necessary. And yet, it was also a sign of weakness from an Empire defined by its strength.
Tac Hesald did not smile as he approached the main entrance of the Royal Infirmary; his expression was a thin line, reflected in the clear sheen of the window that framed the sleek white outline of the sliding door, itself a minimalistic frame for the beautiful glass that shimmered in the morning sunlight. His boots clacked over the laminate with a satisfying reverb, one after another, past the security checkpoint with scanners that assessed each face and piece of armour—even here, some of the Mandalorians dared to wear their beskar'gam, whether out of habit or the sense of security that beskar provided. He'd never dared to ask. Now, he lacked the time.
Above his head, the hospital sprawled into different wards and facilities, the same assortment of architectural features that dominated the skyline outside replicated in miniature, with segments of the facility packaged into blocks that clung to the side of larger wards. While bridges and elevated causeways intersected in the space between, infrequently enough to allow the pillar of light that flowed through the windows and landed in the centre of the open lobby. To the side, a small reception desk sat only a few feet from what appeared to be a cafe on the ground floor, with a spiralling staircase made primarily of glass and steel railings that ascended to a grand dining hall on the second level.
He ignored it as he turned away from the reception desk, past a sign marked with different medical wards—his eyes flickered over them: Species Adaptation, Environmental Exposure Unit, Cybernetic Reconstruction Ward, Advanced Trauma Ward, Toxicology & Venom Unit. The list went on. With one final glance, he continued on, stepping into one of the side corridors that led to a junction between a stairwell to the right and a set of elevators to the left, while straight ahead, a set of doors beckoned towards one of the wards. Radiological Medicine, if the sign that hung above was correct. He didn't bother to check.
With a sharp press of the elevator call sign, he strolled to a stop, leaning against the panel as the sign above started to tick down.
12... 11... 10... 9... 8... it paused.
Idly, he reached down to the sleeve of his coat, his fingers brushing against the worn fabric as he pulled back the fraying cuff. Hidden beneath the layers, a brutish chronometer caught the sterile light, its face reflecting the time.
13:22
Not particularly bad, he mused, but still far too much time for complications to arise. He clicked his tongue in frustration, allowing the cuff to fall back into place, obscuring the timepiece as his arm returned to rest at his side. Just then, the sharp sound of the elevator doors sliding open filled the air, interrupting his brief moment of contemplation.
On the other side of the doors, a green-skinned woman smiled faintly at him before she departed, sliding past with a shared murmur of acknowledgement as he stepped inside, another set of boots nearing closer. A sly grin crept across his face as he leaned back, his fingers gliding over the control panel, then jabbing forward as he watched the two layers of metal intersect just moments before the Mandalorian figure outside could reach him. He could almost hear the faint protest of the stranger on the other side as he started to ascend, a faint pressure in his stomach building before he released a chuckle.
In the corner of the elevator, the monitor light flickered once, then twice.
They passed the second floor outright, then stopped at the third, the door opening wide as a hulking figure twice his size stepped inside—still leaving plenty of room for the elevator, though Tac's eyes strayed towards the weight and population limit. Thirty people of human proportions.
"Sunny day," the figure growled, flab on either side of their jowls shaking as they glanced his way. In turn, Tac tilted the wide brim of his hat to cover himself against the stream of spittle that escaped the source of a voice that sounded like they chewed nails for a living.
On the fourth floor, two twins stepped inside with barely a glance for the current occupants, dropping their heads in quiet conversation, horns overlapping as Tac responded to the brute with a shrug of his shoulders and a faint, "I hadn't noticed; Sundari shines regardless."
Whatever they wanted, it seemed to be enough for the moment, as the mass of muscle leaned back, his backplate connecting against the side of the elevator with a muffled thump that did little to hide the way metal flexed beneath his frame. Their purple eyes roamed over the rest of them, a haze of violent emotions boiling beneath the surface, barely held in check.
Tac glanced once more towards the screen, watching as the elevator bypassed the fifth and sixth floors.
With a sharp ping of the doors opening once again, an old man stepped forward, held at the elbow by a younger woman with the same pallor of deathly white skin—the cane in his hand gliding over the tiles before he settled to the side, far from the hulking brute that had finally decided to hold a spot in the rear, directly facing the door and clearly aware of the sight he provided as he smiled wide.
Next, the door opened to the sight of a Mandalorian in shining gold, their body covered from head to toe. They said nothing as they stepped inside, with only a nod of acknowledgement to the slowly filling elevator.
Above their head, the light flickered once, bypassing the tenth floor, then stopping with a click that opened up to
"I'm just saying Baron Killovolt should have stomped them there and then..."
"...And I'm telling you that he's not had a good game in the last two years; face it, his days in Huttball are over."
Quietly, Tac had to agree, even if the three Rodians that entered the elevator were a little loud for his tastes—Baron Killovolt really had no reason to have missed the number of shots that he had this season. Thankfully, the moment the elevator door sealed shut, so did their mouths.
Swaying into the elevator on the twelfth floor, a Jawa knocked into Tac's knee, regardless of the plentiful space that remained. With a careless flick of his hand, he skelped them over the head to a sequence of Jawaese that he deeply regretted knowing. His lips twisted into a harsh frown as the insults began to steer closer to the topic of his mother; with a sharp glare, the stream of expletives slowed, then finally died as the cloaked figure slipped into place.
Seconds later, the sequence of gears and mechanisms ascended once more, straight past the thirteenth floor as Tac looked over the rest of them, his gaze aligning with the twins before they shot a look towards the slowing elevator. Then, with a hiss of brakes, the metal casket came to a stop.
"Sunny Day," echoed again, with only the faint response of a sharp inhale from Tac.
With a quivering lip, one of the Rodians, speckled with a rainbow of warm colours, smiled. "I hadn't noticed; Sundari shines regardless."
Then, after what felt like a few minutes of silence but was probably less than one, the elevator shuddered, reversing the momentum they'd all grown used to as it descended to the thirteenth floor.
Outside, an orderly stood, the set of medical scrubs pinned to their slender silhouette as they bowed over the expansive frame of the trolley that just barely cleared the outline of the door, forcing all of them to pin to the sides as the door clicked behind them. Their blue-tinted skin and yellow markings shone under the bright light of the elevator and the reflective sheen of the cover that spread over the top of the trolley.
Without uttering a word, Tac reached for the elevator switch, initiating a rapid ascent towards the fifteenth floor. As the elevator began to rise, the orderly, taking advantage of the brief moment of stillness, stretched their arms high above their head with an audible series of pops and cracks that rattled through their vertebrae like dry twigs snapping underfoot. With a fluid motion, they flung their arms downwards, sending the cover of the trolley over the side in a dramatic swoosh, revealing the contents beneath.
Tac smiled, "Well, I think it's time for a little bit of shade on Sundari."
