In the Nick of Time

[Kyyrk]

Dorin had arrived on Dosuun two days ago. His main task had been completed. Some politician's daughter had been kidnapped and was being sent off planet. Easy enough to stop for someone like Dorin. She was returned unharmed, and Dorin was sent on his way. And now he walked the streets of Prosperia, doing some late night sightseeing. It was a beautiful city. Well, for the First Order, anyway. Dorin smiled softly under his helmet as he leaned against the railing overlooking a park below. It was a warm night, soft breeze causing his various cloth ornaments to flutter about him, and it was starting to rain. Dorin always enjoyed gloomy nights like this one.

But, sadly the peace did not last. Dorin was already on edge, being in First Order space, so it was no surprise to him that his danger sense was starting to flair. He turned around, and leaned against the railing, helmet sweeping the small plaza to try and identify the potential threat. It spiked, and suddenly Dorin was thrown forwards. He heard a clattering sound as Arkani was thrown across the plaza, sheath and all. Dorin rolled across the metal walkway untill he found enough purchase to stop himself, having spun around to face his attacker, crouched down on all fours. The swirling mass of black energy lowered itself onto the walkway, and limbs began to form. Twisted armor began to form around the mass as it stalked towards him, fluid, almost animalistic in its motions. Another Spectre. Dorin reached out with the Force to call Arkani to him, and pulled the sheath away as the hilt found his hand. The spectre lunged at him. For all Dorin could remember, what happened next was a blur...

Unlike the last entity that had attacked him, this one was in no mood to toy with its prey. Dorin's helmet lay on the ground nearby, or at least he assumed it to be. He only knew it was missing because of the rain on his face. The Spectre moved with a speed he'd never before witnessed, slicing too and fro with a blade formed of the same dark energy as the specter. Wherever it struck, a wound appeared, in some cases even bypassing his armor. Dorin was losing consciousness fast. But he wasn't going down without a fight. He was on his stomach, pulling himself along the ground towards his sword. He could hardly see from his left eye , thanks to the gash across his cheek and forehead. He coughed, and a glob of blood fell to the ground, mixing with the pooled water below him. He slipped, and fell onto his left arm, which he held close instinctively after the spectre had inflicted a cut across the forearm.

Pain seared through his arm, and he rolled over to relieve the pressure that his body was placing on it. He raised his right hand, trying to summon the willpower to throw a bolt of lightning at his attacker. But before he could, there was a shout. The spectre turned, looking towards the noise. It hissed in annoyance, then dissipated. Dorin's head fell back onto the pavement. Someone had found him. His last waking moments were spent praying that whoever had found him was benevolent enough to call medical personnel. His head lolled to the side, and the last thing he saw as the world faded was a pair of legs hurrying through the rain towards him...


[member="Dr. Aes'ona Terrani"]

 

[Prennis Keeoli]

/ [member="Dorin Arkx"] \​

†††​

Aes'ona almost tripping over her feet as her stormtrooper escort extended an arm to stop her from going any further. The jarring sensation pulled the doctor out of her thoughts and she looked up from the pavement to FN-9048, nicknamed Gambit. Before she could ask anything of her, Gambit rose her DE-39 master rifle at some unknown target and yelled, "You! Stop in the name of the Supreme Leader!"

Having no idea what was happening because they were too far off the hear yonder struggle, Aes'ona glanced down the way where Gambit had set her sights...but she was too late. The Spectre had disappeared. All she saw, then, was the crumpled figure of a humanoid. She knew that Gambit hadn't shot him or her, but she quickly reached out to redirect the barrel of the rifle down and away.

"Hey! Are you okay?" she called as she ran down the otherwise empty alleyway.

With a quiet sign pronounced by the vocabulator of her white sunbonnet, Gambit followed after her. Her brothers- and sister-in-arms had been right: Gambit had had bad luck to be paired with Doctor Terrani on what was supposed to be a break.

Her question was answered as she knelt at the figure's--the man's--side.

"We need to get him back to base," she said, glancing up at Gambit.

Against her better judgment, Gambit gave a curt nod. Swinging her rife behind her back, she ordered, "Right. Stand back." Aes'ona did so, scrambling to her feet and stepping a few feet back to allow Gambit to sling the injured man over her right shoulder.

"Uh," the doctor began, meaning to object, but thought better of it. The closest public hospital was in the city, about a fifteen-minute walk, and it'd take even longer than simply twice that to get a gurney back to the mystery man. So she simply jogged after her keeper quietly, hoping that she wasn't making anything worse.

†††​

They entered Zenith Base's medical bay and Gambit set Dorin down harshly on the bed that Aes'ona ushered her to.

"Sorry, Gambit," she said, giving her a quick apologetic look before whisking away a nearby hover service tray, rushing off across the room to the cabinets, and beginning to search them for appropriate treatment supplies. "We're not getting to town tonight."

Gambit grunted and replied under her breath, "I wasn't too set on seeing your father, anyway."

Again, her helmet did little to downplay her voice. As she pushed the cart towards Dorin's bedside, she glanced to Gambit. And for that, she didn't blame her. The retired deathtrooper was nicknamed by most on the base as Commandant Tyranny and it wasn't unknown to her, or to him, that all hoped his temporary sick leave turned permanent. She replied, "I know. Maybe a blessing in disguise?" She laughed for Gambit's sake; the doctor herself didn't see what happened to the man before her as a blessing of any sorts.

After pausing to pull on a pair of extrasensory mesh gloves, Aes'ona added, "You're dismissed. Just..." She sighed. "...don't tell anyone about this, alright? I'll deal with any fall out." The last thing Aes'ona needed was some officer barging into her bay mid-treatment demanding answers.

Gambit gave a wordless nod and started to walk out of the bay, but only to be interrupted by the good doctor once again. She pointed to an empty bed beside her. "Use the bedclothes. Wipe off your armor."

Gambit bit back an exasperated groan, but sufficiently moped up the trails of blood left of her armor. And with that, she left Aes'ona alone with Dorin.

 

[Kyyrk]

There were days where Dorin looked a little rough around the edges. Some days were worse than others. But today reached new heights. His armor was beaten and scorched, patches of mud and blood dried onto the platework. The scarf around his neck tattered and torn, and the same with the decorative cloth hanging from his waist. The gash across his face was oozing blood, and the blood beginning to drip out of creases in the armor suggested there were cuts along his torso and arms as well. And yet, there were no ruptures in the armor. But perhaps the most concerning part was his pale skin. It certainly wasn't a healthy shade of white-purple, even untrained civilians could see that...

Dorin stirred, head rolling towards Aes'ona. The eyes blinked wide for a moment, revealing black orbs for a moment, then they were slammed shut, a groan of pain following shortly after. Dorin squinted, head bobbing in a manner that suggested he wasn't lucid. Helmet was gone, that much he knew. Too bright. Still hard to see with all the blood around his eye. He didn't feel Arkani's sheath underneath him. Where was his sword? He lurched up, almost in an attempt to get up, but a sharp pain forced him back down. He wasn't lucid enough to know if that was a wound or a shove. He grunted and reached over, attempting to pull his left gauntlet off. Easier said than done when he was this far out of it. He wasn't even confident the person in the room was there, or if he was just hallucinating. And he didn't fancy the pain of opening his eyes to try and look.

"Need...to get the armor off...more..underneath..."

Didn't matter to him if he was alone or not. He couldn't afford to be out of it right now. He'd seen too many soldiers lose consciousness and never wake up again. He reached up, and pulled the scarf loose raising his head enough to pull it up, off his head, and drop it onto the floor. He assumed the clatter he heard was his left gauntlet falling to the floor, but his arm was going numb. He wasn't sure if that was blood loss or something else.

Dorin took a deep breath, and tried to still his labored breathing. He needed to focus. He'd lost enough blood already. If he remained frantic, his heart would kill him fast enough. "Breathe...breathe..." His right hand reached out, unfocused and unguided, and yet somehow found an arm. He gripped it. He wasn't alone. "There's...there's a seal...on my back...releases the torso...I don't...don't think there's any on...on my legs..."

[member="Dr. Aes'ona Terrani"]

 

[Prennis Keeoli]

/ [member="Dorin Arkx"] \​

†††​

It was indeed a push, a gentle but forceful one, from the doctor that forced Dorin to lay back down. "Stay calm, sir," she began. "You're safe."

She looked up with an expression of slight panic on her face. "Retarma?" she called out, getting the attention of the nearest nurse. "10 CCs Pharma and 20 Conergin, stat. And go get Landerslaug."

As the woman hurried off to retrieve the analgesic, Terrani shifted her attention back to Dorin. "Sir, I'm getting you a pain medication. You'll be alright."

When he suddenly found her arm, she repositioned her hand to gingerly hold his. Hopefully, that would offer him some small amount of comfort. After listening to his instructions, she nodded, though she was aware he couldn't see her do so. " I'll get to that, sir, but right now I need to know if you know your blood type."

If he gave her a specific type, she'd call to another nurse to get her a couple compatible bags; if he didn't know, which was common enough for people not to, she would ask for O-Negative.

As the second nurse left the room on his mission, Aes'ona's assistant came rushing in. "BP 80 over 90. Multiple contusions to the arms, face, and torso. Help me roll him over." Together, the two doctors were able to get Dorin onto his side facing Launderslaug. Terrani had to mop away some blood pooling on top of it to be sure what she was looking at, but she found and released the seal. "Get that side..." Once the chest piece was successfully removed and in the male doctor's hands, he set it on an empty treatment bed, and then they rolled Dorin onto his back again.

Sure enough, there were more. "Set up a transfusion rack." The male doctor did so and, when the blood bag came, hooked everything up, including Dorin to the IV.

Meanwhile, in his opposite arm, Terrani administered the Pharma. When she did, she didn't step back, but instead leaned over Dorin, concerned but confident in her ability. "I need to operate. Do you understand?"

 

[Kyyrk]

Dorin did his best to shift with the the medical personnel rolling him over. Even if his body wasn't responding as well as he'd like, he was still awake, and surprisingly lucid for someone in his condition. He wasn't sure if that was his enhancements or his connection to the Force to thank for that. He cracked an eye just enough to take a quick glimpse of the room around him, then shut it before the pain started. He wanted to grab something, anything, but he knew it would obstruct the cut on his face.

"Any. Doesn't matter...Body can assimilate." Dorin brought his right hand to his stomach, feeling the cut. He wiped his hand across the wound, and brought it to his nose. An odd sight, he was sure. His hand was pulled away, and he could feel an IV needle being stuck in. He heard one of the doctors, female, state that she needed to operate. "Don't...put me under." He turned to look directly at her, in spite of his eyes being closed. He didn't use Force Sight often, but he knew how to find the location of living beings when his sight had been taken. "it...didn't poison me...bad, anyways...thank the gods." Dorin held up his left hand, the tremor now clearly visible even to the naked eye. He took a deep breath, and moved his arms out to either side. "I need to purge...purge the rest of the poison. Do what you have to."

He laid his head back on the bed, took a deep breath, and began to mutter something, almost a chant of sorts. His brow furrowed with the concentration, and what seemed to be wisps of vapor began to form around his hands. Dorin began to feel a little nauseous, but this particular ritual always had that effect on him. He just hoped the Doctor wouldn't insist on doing things her way...

[member="Dr. Aes'ona Terrani"]

 

[Prennis Keeoli]

/ [member="Dorin Arkx"] \​

†††​

Her instinctual next question would be to ask if he was allergic to Conergin, but she resisted the urge to. Something about the presence of the man now her patient told her that he hadn't meant that he was allergic to her first choice of regional anesthesia. If he did, surely he would have said so clearly.

So, rather, he was refusing.

It was a request that sent shivers up the normally unfazed doctor's spine, the idea of the additional pain he would soon be in distressing. But she shook it off and set down the syringe in favor of a suture needle...

†††​

Terrani walked out of the staff refresher after her post-surgery sonic shower, jacket hanging over her arm. She never wanted to even think about stitching anyone else up for the next month. An hour and a half of straight sewing was her limit, and suturing had been her favorite classes in medical school. There was something to say about the simplicity of it compared to all the other types of procedures she was versed in.

"Right. Kie, your turn," Terrani informed her assistant as she returned to the emergency room. Whether Dorin was awake or asleep didn't matter. After treatment, the colleagues and friends often switched from a last name to first name basis. It seemed...right, personable, even though it was listed as improper etiquette in every First Order military reg manual that she had ever read.

"Thanks, S'ona," Launderslaug replied as he stood from the chair he had positioned near Dorin's bedside with a soft groan. He gave her a pat on the back as he left in the exact way she had come.

 

[Kyyrk]

Dorin lay on the bed, eyes closed still. He looked...quite peaceful, a blanket having been pulled over him covering most of his now-bare torso. His left arm lay on his chest, his right resting behind his head, and underneath the pillow he had obtained. His breathing was slow and methodical, having lost the labored nature that he was exhibiting while they were working on him. In fact, he laid so still that he could have passed as sleeping.

"I'd almost forgotten what it felt like to have someone else do your stitch work." His head turned slightly towards Aes'ona, and he raised his left hand in what appeared to be a greeting. Until the lights began to dim. Dorin returned his arm to his chest as the lights dipped to a somber mood, and his eyes squinted slightly, blinking open as the room came into focus around him. "I understand you need it while operating, but...by the gods you keep it far too bright in here." The black orbs that constituted eyes roamed around the room, but for those unfamiliar with him, he would seem to be staring straight at Aes'ona. He looked her over briefly, glad to finally lay eyes on the woman that was his savior.

"My thanks for your assistance. I'm...afraid I have little of value to offer you." His eyes scanned the room again. "You...did not find a sword near my person, per chance? It's very dear to me, I would be...ah...disappointed if it were...to go missing..."

[member="Dr. Aes'ona Terrani"]

 

[Prennis Keeoli]

/ [member="Dorin Arkx"] \​

†††​

Aes'ona tossed her jacket onto the seat that Kiearan had left vacant as she walked to Dorin's bedside. She stopped at the footboard and bent to retrieve his charts. Tapping on the screen with the included stylus, she listened to his first statement idly before suddenly glancing up and around when the lights dimmed. What in the Void? she thought. No one was there now, but someone must have bumped the light switch...the key-activated light switch.

She shook her head. She'd figure the logistics out later. In any case, if he liked this level of brightness better, she'd leave it.

"Uh, no problem, sir, " she replied hesitantly, gaze finally falling back on him. "But I'd like to run a complete blood count test. You're still quite pale. I want to make sure we're doing everything we can."

A sword? Aes'ona thought back and then shook her head again. "No. I'm sorry, but I can have Launderslaug check the base lost-and-found if you'd like."

 

[Kyyrk]

Dorin nodded. "I would appreciate that." He paused, watching her for a moment, then asked, "You haven't realized yet, have you? Transfusion was almost an hour ago. And you know it's not lack of blood that turns you this color. Its cold."

Dorin wasnt a doctor by any means, but he knew his way around some of the basics. Often times you had to fix yourself enough to limp home and get real help, or you weren't going home at all. Dorin watched [member="Dr. Aes'ona Terrani"] for another moment before smiling softly. "You're not force sensitive, that much I can tell by your reaction to the lights. I do have one question. Do they know I'm here?"

Dorin didn't actually have anyone in particular in mind. He was, after all, in First Order territory. And for all he knew, every single person had a picture of him in their back pocket that read 'Kill on sight.' But the doctor had gone above and beyond preventing that. Which meant one of three things. She didnt know, she didn't care, or there was no such kill order on the first place. Still. Even if she was at best ambivalent towards him, he needed to be off this planet as fast as he could...