It's in the eyes

[Marina DeVoe]

Faldos: Saijo Sector, Outer Rim Territories....First Order controlled system.




"Mariner IV approaching Faldos System Command... request permission to land." She opened up communication as soon as she had dropped out of hyperspace and into the system.
It were best to announce oneself in this Sector, as it were under the jurisditional territories of The First Order.

It had not been Marina's choice to come this far out into the Outer Rim, not without good reason. And dropping off humanitarian aid to a system under the duress of the First Order was indeed a good enough reason. After all, she were here on a non-profit humanitarian run. It weren't one which the system of Faldos had requested, as how could they?
To do so would have been seen as an act of dissidence by the Central Health Ministry of hospitals on the system. No, such good will drop off were just that...unscheduledaid to an otherwise devastated system state within the First Order.

And although the First Order shunned such attempts from foreign governments to provide much needed medicines and medical supplies, Faldos was not a strategic system that was under high security. It was a poor system that had inadvertently been swallowed up by the reach of the First Order's expansion, bordering the Galactic Alliance territories. Faldos was neither a stronghold, nor a strategic system for the First Order to envelop it with high security. As thus, more often than not, such drop offs were given quarter...safe passage by the local puppet government. After all, they were getting medical supplies that otherwise would be lacking on the system; for certainly the First Order wasn't going to supply them with it. The system was barely keeping with the taxes imposed on it.

"Roger that....transmitting registration codes." Marina sent over her ship's registry and Bill of Laden.

She were instructed to hold and maintain high orbit to the coordinates transmitted back to her. Marina complied and after 2 hours were instructed to make for the outskirt of Kundan, a city in the Northwest hemisphere of the system. A beacon would guide the Mariner IV in.
She were to follow it without deviation.

* * * * * * * *

The Mariner IV put down on the landing pad as instructed and waited for the local authority to board her.
"Keep it smooth, Marina...keep it cool...." She spoke to herself as she heard footsteps coming up the ramp she had lowered.

"ID code and stand by for scan" She were instructed to comply.
"Sure thing... welcome on board."

What took place were an hour of repetitive scans and ID imprint. Seemed not just one imprint was required, but several. then again, she knew they were just going about making it difficult for her. They had their job to do and they did their best to go through the motions. Marina could see two of the men didn't enjoy the charade as much as she. But eventually, they would complete the stalling act and relieve the Mariner IV of the medical supplies it had come here for them to take.

"Sure thing...don't have any plans for the next two days...no." Marina replied to whom she recognized as a corporal, that had been put in charge of this detachment. Actually, she knew him by name."... Corporal Chenya."
He was a good man, and one who had little choice in how he were to handle these drop offs. He had to go through the motions for the sake of satisfying The First Order mandates on foreign aid to the system. Marina understood this.

With more unnecessary delays and red tape, they finally allowed manual laborers to unload the Mariner. Marina had no personal items on this trip as pretty much anything not battened down as part of the ship was hauled out of the bay. This of course took more time than on a regular delivery in a more fortunate system than Faldos.
And since Marina had eventually cleared and re-cleared and cleared once more the security scans and data-banks, she were allowed to step outside her ship.

She were standing outside in the night, next to the ramp when the corporal passed her without seeming to care.
Only that under his breath,so no one could hear but her; he thanked her.
Marina didn't reply but just looked like she were annoyed and looked at her wrist crono and sighed. It was her response as to say, don't mention it. And so she now would have to go through the take off clearance routine. Normally that would take about two days and then she'd get enough stamped clearance to take off and leave the system without incident. So it were these humanitarian runs to suppressed systems under the iron fist of The First Order.

It were later that evening that Marina sat down outside one of the eating wagons as the local's called it. They were basically outdoor mobile lunch/food stands set up for shift workers at the factories and the district's hospital workers and staff during shift changes. Currently she and a few handful of workers/laborers were the only ones there.

"The number 3 please...no salt." Marina placed her order.

 

[Skye Achlys]

---------Unknown---------​

Skye had been visually annoyed since the moment she heard those damned words. She'd just been assigned to a 'small mission to test her loyalty and her skills'. What this mission was however, she hadn't been told. "You'll be briefed once you're at your destination." That's what they'd told her, which clearly meant that they didn't trust her with the full details yet. What followed was a short time to prepare before she was escorted to a private vessel, which surprisingly looked like junk, with which she and two pilots embarked their journey, all the way to Faldos.

---------Faldos---------​

​

It wasn't until the pilots were already going through the standard landing procedure, which Skye figured was going to be significantly easier because they were sent by the Order, that one of the two brought Skye a small device before he returned back to his seat, all without saying a single word.
Skye curiously observed the device before it suddenly activated itself, displaying a message in the air:

---Receiving transmission---​

​

There have been countless reports of illegal smuggling and suspicious individuals on Faldos.​

​

Now one of our contacts has informed us that a suspicious ship has recently landed there and that the cargo has been unloaded by the local authorities. The cargo was reported to be of significant size, yet we can find no legal documents or reports where they mention an expected delivery of this size. This is highly suspicious and such illegal behaviour cannot be allowed. To maintain his cover, you will be deployed to look into this. This will be a covert operation, so the local authorities must not know about you and your mission.​

​

Find the owner of this ship. Find out what kind of business she has here.​

Most importantly, find that cargo.​

Do NOT fail.​

​

---End of transmission---​

After the message a vague and short description of the supposed pilot was shown.
With her interest sparked, Skye made her way from the small lounge to the ship's cockpit where the two pilots where oddly still busy with the landing procedure.
"What's taking so long? Can't we just shove a First Order flag in their faces and land?"
One of the two was busy communicating back and forth with the planet itself, so after a short while the second pilot, clearly the one who was higher in rank, turned his seat around to face the woman. "You have read the message?"
"Yes", Skye replied, slightly annoyed because the pilot seemed to ignore her question.
"Then you understand you need to be undercover, right? No-one must know your true business here, not even this pathetic government." He looked at the woman for a few seconds before continuing, "Legally, you are here as a tourist, looking for possible housing and/or work"

'Tourist'. Upon hearing that word, Skye scoffed loudly. "Who in their right mind would go to this planet willingly? Might as well have 'SUSPICIOUS' tattooed on my forehead, it so obvious.."

"On the contrary..," the pilot responded," this planet is full of so called 'tourists'. Smugglers and other scum that seek to stay at a relatively safer planet than our more strongly occupied ones. They often get a job here and mix with the employees which are already on this planet. We have other agents on this planet and they too are mostly registered as 'tourists' or something similar. Trust me, you'll be fine.
We'll handle the legal stuff, you worry about your assignment."

"Yes sir", the woman dramatically hissed from behind her mask before she started to walk back towards the lounge.

"Oh, by the way, undercover means you're not going to be wearing that mask out there", the pilot nonchalantly added.

"No way", Skye harshly retorted while she immediately turned around again. "Not a chance."

The pilot, clearly not impressed by the woman's reaction, turned back to his controls and simply replied, "We could also return to your masters and tell them you refused to follow your orders, if you'd prefer that."

Clearly defeated, Skye retreated into the ship with a hostile hiss.

---------On Faldos---------​

"All seems fine to me. You're clear", the local security officer told the two pilots after what seemed an eternity of boring paper exchanges. Skye made her way off of the ramp and set direction towards what seemed to be the working areas.
"Hey", the pilot yelled. He waited until she turned around. "Don't forget", he told her while he tapped on his forehead, clearly reminding the woman to take of her mask which she was still wearing.
Skye nonchalantly replied by waving her hand and then made her way into the city.

It was already starting to become dark when Skye could properly start looking around for this woman. The now unmasked girl made her way through the streets and found herself to be very uncomfortable without her mask. For some reason unknown to her she felt vulnerable... she was shy. She started to timidly look around her, because she had the feeling that everyone was watching her. That obviously wasn't true, but her mind told her it was and therefore she quickened her pace significantly.
It still took her quite a while of walking through streets, past factories and houses until she finally spotted a blond haired woman standing near some sort of food truck who seemed to match the vague description Skye had been given earlier. After she carefully observed the woman for a short while, she decided that this must indeed be her target, and walked towards the food stand. She stood still slightly behind the other people already waiting in front of the truck and curiously waited to see what the woman was going to do or where she was going to go. Realizing her target might stay here for a while, she also started to think of ways how she might start a friendly and most importantly inconspicuous conversation with the woman. Small talk, she believed it was called.
She thought of all these things whilst she shyly stared at the ground in a poor and useless attempt to hide her face. She didn't even realize she did this- she clearly still had little control over some of her newfound insecurities and feelings.
Still shyly glancing over at the woman every now and then, she played out a few scenarios in her head. The blonde could go towards somekind of house, in which case Skye could simply follow her, but that was unlikely. Instead, she expected the woman to sit down at one of the ugly looking tables standing besides the food truck. If the blonde did that, Skye figured it would be best to sit at the same table with some small excuse. Something like "Excuse me, but is this seat taken?" would probably work, given that there were only a few tables. Yes, that was what she was going to do. That was her plan. Now all Skye could do was wait for the blonde to set it all into motion.

 

[Marina DeVoe]

She had been through this charade several times in the past two years already. And although it wasn't anywhere as harrowing as her first humanitarian aid drop off tot he hospital, it nevertheless still felt like doing time in some gulag.
marina had to play it through and let the red tape come to it's end. She were stuck here for another two days and was making the best of it.
"Thank you..." she said taking the hot wrap, giving the woman in the food truck the credits.
"No..." she waved her hand, not wanting the change back.
" No salt... I don't don't eat salt on my food." the woman quickly understood and retracted what she were about to hand Marina.

If one were observing her with a keen eye, they could surmise she were quite rehearsed in covert operations.
But it weren't so.
It had taken a while the first few times she had come to drop off aid, to actually venture out of the hospital's perimeter and go out to sample the local cuisine.
But it hadn't been the food that attracted her to go wander off a click past the hospital grounds, It were the people. It were what was in their eyes...

This system was smack right at the far end of the galactic alliance and right front and center of The First order. It were for the most part a buffer system, as she had come to know it. It certainly was under the First order's claimed and governed territories but it didn't have a high concentration of Upper imperial class populous. For the most part, it could be said this system was on the wrong side of the main track.
As thus, it were an industrialized system with cheap labor and hardly any commerce...at least legitimate commerce. Most of all that the local factories made, supplied the First Order. What little were allowed to remain sustained the local economy , if one were to even gauge it.

And that was the reason Marina were here. She had volunteered her time and resources to an organization that helped suppressed people behind the ion curtain of the First order and systems like it. It were a sort of Red Cross...a 'Doctors Without Borders' and they provided badly needed essential medical supplies and aid to systems such as Faldos.

She took to nearing one of the few tables that although they were as old as the hills, were nevertheless well cleaned despite their age. The people here were poor in a sense, but still good clean people trying to live as best they could under their current circumstances. This pained marina to see, but she could not show it...not openly. There were eyes pretty much everywhere overlooking the populous and especially on out-landers...off-worlders from the core worlds. They were considered trouble makers by the authorities...instigators and disruptive of common justice and peace. As thus, Marina had learned to be cautious and move about in conspicuous manner. Meld in with the locals...

Ok, so her attire weren't what one here could see as practical, as it were a sort of jumpsuit... and quite new. It were the newness of it that made her stand out, as quite a few factory workers had jumpsuits on..only they'd seen far too many workdays and washes to be considered even last years work clothes.

Nevertheless, Marina leaned up against one of the tables a bit away from the shift workers getting their meals and just ate her sausage, potato and onion wrap. It were pretty good, but not as tasty if it had some salt on it. But that were just a small sacrifice; the salt for giving some poor cook a good tip. It were a trick she were taught by some of the more skilled veterans of the organization. And that were not all. Marina would then finish her wrap and go to another truck and repeat the same, only this time, she had scooped out a tired older worker who had sat down to unwrap out of a napkin something he had brought from home. marina would make like she would sit down, take a look at the food she ordered and scoff at it, leaving it behind, next to the old man.

Knowing she couldn't pull more than two, maybe push three such acts; she would move on to another block and maybe pull the distaste in food act, after leaving a good tip too.

It were a few hours that she'd be on her casual rounds, with some people apparently recognizing her and seemingly asking for time, but pointing to an elderly who could use some charity.
The people who seemed to know her were never crowding her, for they were not beggars at all, but proud people who worked hard to make what living they could. If anything, those who took a chance to direct her to the less fortunate, could be facing drummed up charges of aiding and abetting spies. If they got arrested, there were no due process of law..nor defense attorneys. It were incarceration.
Marina although had little protection herself, she had to be accounted for, if arrested. And if it were just an overlook of not caring for change back or leaving food uneaten, the authorities had to really have good footage of her misbehavior...otherwise, the trouble the organization would endure the local police would be an embarrassment.

By evening's end, she had literally covered a few square blocks, but only a small amount of people. That low number couldn't be helped, otherwise the local authorities could be tipped off. But they had never noticed in the few times she herself had come to deliver the supplies to the local hospital. And marina were one of many who rotated this corner of the galaxy. it were why she had known who Corporal Chenya was, as he had known her from a few trips already. And still they played like they didn't know one another.

Marina was heading back to the hospital grounds where her ship was temporarily grounded for the next two days. She at least had a warm, filtered ship she could cozy on in. If she could she would have opted in taking a cot in the open ward of the hospital. But all the cots were accounted for. So she were heading back to her ship. The hospital was just another half block up ahead when suddenly out of the shadows of an alleyway, she were pulled in.
"Eeek..." her scream were instantly muffled by someone's hand.

"Stop it...m..m...let go of me!.." They were working quickly and her feeble struggle got her pooped in the face.

They were going over her personals...credits, wrist crono, anything that weren't stitched or part of her. Such ruffians, marauders, gangsters were there too on Faldos, as they existed on Coruscant...and in the core systems. These muggers weren't the representation of Faldos good people, but the result of the oppressiveness that some youths under the current regime had turned to a life of crime... than labor a lifetime, just to exist.

 

[Skye Achlys]

Skye had been following and observing the woman for a while when slight doubts started to infest her mind. Was this really the woman she was searching for? Skye had to admit, at first she too actually fell for the little food trick the blonde pulled, but when she did it a second time -and a third and so on- Skye realized that the woman was merely giving food to what seemed to be the poor. Skye, still creeping in the shadows behind her target, tried to figure out why the woman would do this. To be honest, she had expected her target to be some ugly low-life criminal, here to drop off illegal substances to influence the weak and helpless, but instead, she found a rather good looking woman, well dressed and obviously from a more wealthy background than the rest of the people wandering the streets. On top of that, the woman was spending quite a lot of time HELPING the people here. Secretly, deep inside her own feelings Skye, not even aware of this herself, started to slightly look up to the blonde for helping these poor citizens.
It just didn't add up in Skye's mind. It confused her so much to the point that she lost track of the other woman. In response to having lost the woman Skye quickly hurried towards the next turn. Luckily for her, the woman was just up ahead again.
She hadn't failed her mission yet.
Because of this near-failure however, she forced herself to put her doubts aside. It was not in her interest to judge the blonde by herself. She had been ordered to track her and she would do that. No questions asked.
Or else she might become the next woman to be tracked down.

Skye's target had been wandering around for much longer than Skye had originally expected before something rather odd happened. All of a sudden the woman seemed to dodge into an alleyway.
Oh god, had the blonde seen her?
Skye quickened her pace while making sure she still kept walking so that she didn't attract too much attention. When she peeked into the alley however, she didn't see what she expected to see. She had expected to see the blonde sprinting away in the distance, but instead she saw her being firmly held by one man while another searched her things.
Skye couldn't help herself, she needed a small moment to figure out just what exactly was happing in front her eyes. It took the still inexperienced woman a while before she actually recognized the two men to be thiefs or worse.
She shook her head. This wasn't how this was supposed to go! The blonde was supposed to lead Skye to the cargo and then all would be well, but that wasn't an option anymore.
Skye could not NOT help the woman, for the sake of her mission, but also because she just wanted to help her for some reason.

"Hey", she yelled towards the two men who appeared to be somewhere in their twenties. "She's done nothing wrong. You have no reason to do this"
Obviously they probably did have one, whether it were food, money, drugs or whatever, they definitely had a reason to do this.
"Back off", the one holding the blonde warned her. "This is none of your business", the other hissed.
Skye, who was definitely looking far from menacing without her mask, slowly stepped towards the men. After all, even without her mask and even with her lack of social experience, her military CQC training was one of the best.
The man checking the blonde's possessions stood up and stepped towards Skye. "Your funeral", he sighed while the rather tough looking man swung his fist towards her face.
The dark-haired woman dodged the man's attack rather easily and in return grabbed his head and smashed it into the nearby wall. Unfortunately for him, he might have been tough-looking, but when it came to actual proper fighting instead of some bar fights, he proved to be rather inadequate. Skye didn't show any sort of remorse when the man fell to the ground. He wasn't dead- merely unconscious and on top of that Skye had been trained to kill. She didn't really care about the man at all. Years and years of propaganda telling you that the lives of criminals aren't worth a single dime and that they're all pure evil will do that to you.
The other man shivered as his partner hit the ground. "No! You.. you bi tch!", he exclaimed while he took a step back, forcing the blonde to go with her. When Skye didn't respond to the man, he made a mistake. For some reason, although it was probably his anger, he still wasn't impressed by the harmless-looking woman in front of him. He threw the blonde behind him towards the ground and lunged for Skye's neck. In a reflex Skye just managed to grab both of his hands before giving him a headbutt, resulting in him falling flat on his behind.
This little fight was already over in Skye's mind: the men were clearly inferior to her in combat, so they had no reason to keep putting up a fight and because of that she simply watched the man sit on the ground, grunting. Not expecting anything else, she averted her gaze to her target.

And then she paid the price for her lack of experience.
The man suddenly lunged towards Skye's left hip with a small blade, making a small yet mean cut. She silently grunted in pain before she aggressively hit the man in the face with her right hand so that he too finally fell unconscious.
Still confused and caught of guard, Skye put her left hand on the wound and when she lifted it back up again, she was surprised to see her hand had turned red with her own blood. Maybe the cut was slightly bigger than she thought. She moaned again out of discomfort but forced herself to get through with it. 'Mission comes first'
First she would deal with the blonde and after that she would bind a towel around her hip or something like that. She quickly stepped towards the blonde with a slightly uneven pace. "Are you okay?", she asked with what was supposed to be fake concern but had actually turned into real concern.

 

[Marina DeVoe]

She could really feel her lip swelling, but it could wait...

"....just a few more steps." Marina activated the med bay door swishing it open.
"Here...just lay down." She had swung the med-recliner around so the woman could seat herself, before it were reclined.
"I'll see what I got.." Marina quickly rummaged through the med-bay cabinet for antiseptic, sterile gauze and cauterizer.

"Seriously.... let me at least take a look at it. I've been trained as a first aider..." Marina couldn't understand why the woman was so reluctant. First off, she understood maybe why she hadn't wished to have been brought to the hospital's emergency room, as in all cases, the authorities would have been alerted. And then they, 'the victims' would have had to explain what they were doing in the wee hours before sunrise. Marina had questioned the woman as to why she didn't wish to have the emergency staff take a look at her wound. The woman clearly wanted to avoid any reports or the authorities getting wind of the incident. marina figured something was amiss about the woman as far as the local police were concerned and didn't fight the woman in convincing her to go to the emergency room.
Then again as much as Marina's lip and face felt like she had run into a freighter, she herself if it were just her injured would not have gone either.
But her reason were that she couldn't afford to be delayed more than she was. A mugging like that would have held her here for days..weeks even till the authorities had closed the case...even if the perpetrators were never looked for. If the authorities had the victim, then they would just stone wall the case and not waste their time on perusing a petty crime.

So it were that Marina had brought the woman on board her ship, the Mariner IV.
And surprisingly, the woman had not objected. But came time fior Marina to try and see how severe the wound was on the woman, and it became once more a different story.

"Come on, it's still bleeding. All i'm going to do is look at it...clean it with a disinfection and see if it could be cauterized...." Marina gently put her hand on the woman's shoulder, egging her to sit.

"If you want, just lay down..." She then said, putting the medical items down on the recliner "... you take a look at it and tell me what you think you need. But you have to clean it...Ok?" Marina was certainly concerned as the woman's wound was still bleeding by the look of the spreading stain, even though the woman was applying pressure on it.

...be-be be-beep beep.

"Not now, TK...can't you see I'm busy?" She got distracted for a moment when her droid suggested marina give the woman a relaxer/pain suppressant.
"Out!....just go...Go! fix something...go!"
But the droid beeped back that there was nothing to fix. Marina's wrist crono, which had been in the process of getting taken, had not, thanks to the woman she was now trying to help.

"OUT!...go recharge yourself... recharge something....download something...just go! I got this!...GO!" Her patience level had been compromised due to the attack. Normally she would have gone through a phase of shock, being violated, vulnerability...
But once she had realized her rescuer had been stabbed, all that was put on the back burner.
marina had indeed been trashed about like she were a rag doll, as the two assailants were pretty adamant about making their mark quick. maybe if she had not resisted and let them run their hands all over her-
No.
No, she knew she couldn't have just gone down like a lamb. Even though there had been no chance of her warding them off, it were her nature to not heal...not in an attack like that. It weren't like they were authority where you are better off not resisting. These were ruffians..muggers who once found their target easier, would have maybe taken the mugging to a different level.

Marina had seen it all and were recounting the alley in flashbacks as she scooted her droid out.
The realization that the woman had sustained a stab wound on account of her was just something marina couldn't brush off. Even her own injury, her swollen lip...maybe a black eye..she didn't know, nor were it what mattered at the moment. All that mattered was how serious and deep was that stab wound.

"Shoot... let me get you more dressing to help you clean that.." she returned her attention back to the crisis at hand.

 

[Skye Achlys]

Skye had been struggling more and more to walk before they finally reached what seemed to be the blonde's personal ship. Technically she had completed another part of her mission now; she was inside the ship which had most likely transported the cargo, but all of that seemed of little importance now. She stumbled through the ship alongside the kind woman who was helping her, until they reached the med bay.
Her mind was certainly foggy and her reactions slowed. In an attempt to cope with the pain, the woman refrained from talking as much as she could and focussed on her breathing instead.

The wound was definitely worse than she had anticipated.


She slowly observed the recliner, the medical supplies and the growing stain on her outfit while the blonde was busy with all kind of things. It wasn't until the other woman turned around to address her droid that Skye quickly yet carefully lifted the top part of her outfit up just a little bit so she could see the wound for herself. The blonde's attention was now with the droid and therefore Skye had a little room to try to do things herself. The stream of blood had increased slightly because in order to see the wound Skye had stopped putting pressure on it. To her it looked like a mean but treatable wound, it didn't hit anything fatal or special, but it just bled a lot, so much that if she hadn't been brought here she'd probably have bled to death, eventually.
Still, seeing herself this vulnerable both embarrassed her and made her uneasy. She was embarrassed by the fact that see had to be helped with an injury. Embarrased that she even got an injury to begin with.

But embarrassment wasn't going to do anything for her, she could care about embarrassment later and the same was true for the mission. After all she'd definitely fail the mission if she bled to death.
So she put those things on hold and tried to focus solely on her wound... and the woman in front of her.

While the blonde ordered the droid to finally leave, Skye had taken what she figured to be the substance for disinfection and took a deep breath. Truth be told, she had no real experience or knowledge with basic medical procedures, but she was still reluctant to admit that she in fact (desperately) needed the other woman to help her. Because she wasn't willing to admit this she figured she could at least try to do it herself.
She carefully exposed the wound by moving her clothes out of the way a bit. They were still in the way nonetheless, but Skye wasn't feeling like taking them off near the woman, or anyone else, at all.
Another deep breath and then she carefully tried to apply the disinfectant to the wound and while she did it, she vaguely seemed to remembered that disinfectants would usually give the victim an unpleasant or burning feeling.
Just as that thought passed her mind and the blonde returned her attention towards Skye, the dark-haired woman let out short scream which she then silenced by biting on her own lip. She also immediately dropped what she was holding and grasped for her wound, which only made the pain worse. Her breathing had become much quicker and her face was riddled with discomfort and pain.
Skye didn't like it and neither did she want to admit it, but she wasn't going to be able to do this herself.

"I...I..", she stuttered while looking at the other woman. She tried to actually speak but stutter was all she did. She shivered intensively and looked at her with a certain desperation.

 

[Marina DeVoe]

The woman's scream startled her, but she quickly figured why.

"Ok...hold on..." Marina went to fetch another bottle of disinfectant, as the woman had dropped it when she attempted to apply it herself.
Marina quickly doned a pair of sterile gloves on and scooped up the gauze that were still laying next to the woman.

"Ok, ok...easy... come on just let me scoot you on here better." She then said, putting her arm around the woman.
"Ready...one two...uffgh...." Ok, the woman wasn't heavy, but Marina wasn't strong either. Especially after the assault, as her lip now felt pretty much like her butt cheeks.

"Ok...yea, I see it... Ok you did good" She said, coaxing the woman to release her hold on her wound. For the most part, Marina could see it were a clean cut and the woman's clothes were also clean. If anything the blade had kind of been wiped by the woman's clean clothes so there was a good chance no bacteria or a lot of it got below the skin surface.
Still, she had to clean it regardless.
"Come on...it has to be cleaned just a bit more..." She begged.

Slowly and reluctantly, the woman did, although kept her hand hovering in a manner of speaking just in case. Marina smiled at her...a reassuring nod accompanied it.
"Good...yea..it's pretty clean cut...just one stab." She poured more antiseptic on it and carefully wiped away from the wound, clearing for the gauze.
" Ok, hold it tight..no no, not too tight.
I'll get the cauterizer. Just hold it firmly." She was trembling herself but the procedure was repeating through her mind.

She had to do it right. There was no one else that could. Well, there was the hospital, just outside the ship. But the woman had made it clear she didn't want to go there. So it were up to Marina.
She got the couterizer and set it to what she believed was the correct parameter for closing up that type of wound.

"Ok...Ok...you're going to slowly lift the gauze and I'm going to set this plate on the wound...follow?" She asked, looking into the woman's eyes to see if they were in sync.

She got the nod.

"Sigh..." with a deep breath, Marina readied herself as the woman pulled the gauze off and exposed the wound. marina then aligned the guide plate on the wound and pressed the button...

 

[Skye Achlys]

Skye had been following the woman's instructions because she just didn't have much of a choice. It were either following her instructions or most likely bleeding to death.
She just... nodded and obeyed.
Obeyed. Skye hated that word. It sounded so negative, so.. harsh. But it was what she did. She obeyed.

Skye appeared rather calm, apart from the few grunts she made when the pain increased for a second. She just wanted to get this over with.

After all, she still had a mission to complete, although deep inside her she started to wish she didn't. Skye was supposed to get in contact with the blonde, yes, but not like this.
Now she already felt wrong and uneasy when she thought about going through with the mission and Skye didn't even want to imagine how she'd feel about doing that if she spent more time with the woman.

"Okay...okay", she silently spoke before the woman pressed the button of the cauterizer. She bit her lip as a precaution, but it didn't do much. As soon as the cauterizer touched her skin she let out a short muffled scream. She forced herself to stay as silent as possible and hoped she'd seem more professional and tough that way. She just managed to stop herself from grabbing onto the blonde because of the pain, realizing that if she did she'd only make it much worse.
Honestly, it felt like hell. The burning sensation of her skin being, well, burned together to close the wound was awful. A necessary evil so to speak.

It lasted no more than a good few seconds, but it felt like forever.
But eventually it was over and the blonde removed the cauterizer from Skye's wound.
Skye, still shaking and with a face riddled with pain, looked up into the blonde's eyes without saying anything, hoping for a word that it went well and most importantly that it was all done, or that the painful part was, at least.

 

[Marina DeVoe]

"Ohhh....I'm sorry..." She said, feeling the woman's pain.

It were sympathy pain, but it nevertheless felt somewhat real to her. marina was one of those people who cringed at other's pain and misery like it could be belt or happening to her. But it were just her really and had no connection through the force as some healers had. And by far Marina was no healer to even speak of. Sure, she half gone through a few First Aid courses, as it were mandatory to acquire an official commerce licence to transport people. But it were just that, first aid training. The Med bay and lab which were fully operational and perfect for a doctor/surgeon had been included because Marina also volunteered as a rescuer and medical transporter. The Med Bay was set up for a doctor.

"Just another second...almost finished... Yes!" The corterizer had completed it's cycle.
Marina had developed a sweat, during it's short operation, as she remembered it weren't supposed to hurt.
God, she hopped she didn't miss a step.
But she had.
The pain suppressor...the nerve blocker. She had to apply the pain killer just before corterizing the wound. That missed step suddenly came to mind and her face dropped a moment like she just accidentally killed someone. But of course she couldn't kill anyone, or anything really. But the realization that she actually caused the woman pain felt like she had.

"Oh frak...." She said, coming to that realization, as she put the corterizer on the side table. naturally, that 'frak' may have sounded that something had not worked out right and Marina looked up at the woman's features.

"No no... I think it' stopped the bleeding altogether. It worked....I think..." Ok, so she weren't really sure. But the wound had closed and it weren't bleeding anymore. Still, she was forgetting something else...
What was it?....
The scanner came to mind!

"Shoot, right! Let me check with the scanner..." She then pulled the small flat translucent panel that were attached to the recliner and hovered it above the wound. The screen came up showing the portion of the area scanned as a 3-D graphical representation of her physical workings...blood flow, nerves, muscles, bone.... cool...

"I... I think it looks like nothing is bleeding out inside either. It's all flowing Ok...I think.. " Yes it all were, say for the puncture wound which showed blood flow around but not through it yet. No blood was escaping through the wound internally. it were now all returning...flowing through the capillary veins and arteries. in time that area as it healed would look no different from the rest.

"Oh...thank God, yes....yes all is good...it worked...whew..." Marina pushed the scanner aside then covered her features with her hands. She couldn't believe she forgot to administer the pain suppresant first....oh poor girl, if she had not suffered enough. It were then that she began to feel the swelled lip she had gotten in the alley way. If it weren't for the woman, who knows if she herself would be lying in that alley way bleeding to death. The woman had saved her without a doubt. But Marina had to come clean.

"it wasn't supposed to hurt. I...I forgot the pain suppressor... I'm really sorry. I never treated a wound like that, much less use the corterizer. " She somehow always had the need to explain. it were a fault she had.


"This equipment is all set up for a qualified doctor to use. It's here because I often volunteer as a medical transport of critically wounded patients...and that's with a doctor or medical team on board. I can only do basic first aid stuff....sorry." She certainly felt awful in having the girl go through unnecessary pain during the procedure. But she had been near panic and what else could she do since the girl had refused to be helped into the hospital.

 

[Skye Achlys]

Skye's heart surely must've skipped a beat when she heard the woman cuss. Did something go wrong? No, no no no, you can't be serious?
Luckily this panic was very short lived as the blonde quickly assured Skye that everything had gone well, and after she kept saying that everything had gone well even after she had taken a look at the scans, Skye finally sighed; she was relieved and apparently had unconsciously been holding her breath for a while.
A big smile appeared on her face. She certainly was very grateful for the woman's act, but also had a slight suspicion that she had likely done it because she had no other choice or out of guilt.

It was supposed to be painless. Painless. That meant Skye had just gone through hell because this woman made a mistake, for which Skye had paid the price.
In response, anger could certainly be expected in such a situation, but it did not come to that.
Instead Skye gave the blonde a long and sort of emotionless stare, one that would surely make the woman fear that Skye would in fact react negatively. However, her emotionless expression then eventually changed into a warm smile and Skye clumsily leaned forward to give the woman what was supposed to be a sort of hug to show that it was okay. She didn't add any words to this action because she still experienced pain from moving so quickly after the procedure so still slightly bit on her lip just in case.
She wasn't mad at the woman. Not at all.
And even if she was, she wouldn't have shown it, because it would not have helped her at all. She needed to get on this woman's good side for the time being, even if it were purely for the mission only.
But why would she be mad? The woman surely did a great job fixing her up. Yes, she did kind of f up with the pain suppressor, or more specially with the absence of it, but the pain would only be temporary. Even though it still burned right now, the wound was closed off and she was relatively safe for now.

All in all, the awesome feeling of realizing she was safe and was not going to bleed to death outweighed the fact that the woman had forgotten to apply the pain suppressor by far.

Skye was, however, aware of the fact that she was going to have to be more careful in the next few days. The fixed wound would still be healing and hurting for a while before it would truly be healed. So that meant certain actions were going to be more difficult to perform.
And then there was the increased chance of infection. Sure, the wound was now closed off, but if there was one thing that Skye did remember it was that after such a procedure the wound would be even more vulnerable to infection because of the extra damaged tissue. So she had to keep that in mind too.

Silence! Enough useless thinking. She had a job to do. Whether she liked it or not.

"I can't tell you how thankful I am", she eventually told the woman. This was both true and a way to get on her good side. "I'm lucky you had all this equipment here on this ship?", she cleverly started. "Is it yours?"

Realizing she might come off odd if she just fired random questions at the woman without reason, she decided to introduce herself first. "The name's Skye, like what's up above plus an 'e', nice to meet you", she gave the woman an adorable smile and stretched her hand out if front of her to shake the blonde's.
She started to feel a bit less comfortable now that her focus slowly shifted from her own pain to the blonde and her surroundings. It wasn't nearly as bad as it had been on the streets, but she still felt a bit exposed. However, she just had to deal with that for now.
Small talk. Small talk would be her way forward. Just small genuine questions about her. Some relevant, some irrelevant. All so that at the end of it she would be able to inconspicuously ask why the blonde was here on Faldos.
That was after all what Skye was truly searching for.
The smuggler.
The cargo.

 

[Marina DeVoe]

It definitely relieved a bit of guilt Marina was harboring when the woman gave her a hug. It wasn't deserving, coming from her, as marina felt she should be hugging the woman, for risking her life for her.
Marina smiled back and went about reaching for a good bacta dressing patch to help keep that area not only clean and protected, but help accelerate the healing.
Bacta ointment was one of the medical supplies that the organization provided these suppressed hospitals, as the First Order would reserve that for their military. Most likely if the First Order got wind that the hospital had bacta ointments, that it would be confiscated.
"Well, I hope there won't be a next time...but now I realize I should get more training for such emergencies such as these, in case of next time..hehe.." She spoke while picking up the bits and pieces of the spent items they went through on the recliner. The blood stains were easily picked up by special absorbency pads making clean up a snap. No sense letting a patient lay in their own blood.
" I mean, why have a state of the art Med bay on your ship if you're just a first aid responder..right?" Marina got to thinking about taking up the organization on training classes they offered. Not to a doctor level, but like a medic or corpsman; similar to those in the battlefronts that could treat wounds and stabilize patients till they could get to a real doctor or surgeon.

It was strange that through all that they had gone through that it was the woman that had enough sense to exchange introductions.
Marina's smile widened and readily took the woman's hand. It was Sky with an e at the end. It was a wonderful name. She had always liked that name and had met a few acquaintances in the past with such a name.
"Yes...dear me..never even thought about asking your name.
Marina...Marina DeVoe....wish we had met under better circumstances...but nice to know you just the same.."

Well, better late than never..."Here...again, sorry it just didn't somehow come to mind first in my panic." It was the pain suppressant in shot form, that she retrieved from the table dispenser. It had popped up just as they were exchanging intros. It alerted them it was ready with a small beep.
"It also has antibiotics... the scan, along with the blood sample...the smudge of blood from before that I had on my hands... I put in the scan's analyser and it came up with the general antibiotic group to include in it. " She showed her the hypo, extending it out for her to take.

"It can be self administered...any extremities." Marina figured, it would be best for Skye to do it herself, lest she botch that up somehow. She wasn't going to push her luck, as she messed up once already.
"Arm...leg...thigh... shoulder...it'll work. It's quite smooth and I don't think you'll even feel it.
Then we'll see if I can make us some tea..maybe something to eat?
I've got a full galley and you could use some time off your feet. You see, I'm kind of here for the next two days...some kind of red tape they pull with these types of deliveries. Anyway, if you don't need to be anywhere soon, you're welcome to stay for as long as you need."

 

[Skye Achlys]

"Marina," the dark-haired girl repeated," that's a pretty name." She gave the woman she now knew to be Marina DeVoe another warm smile. She couldn't help but get the feeling that this woman was royalty somehow. Obviously she felt that way because of her last name: 'DeVoe'. Had she heard that name before? Possibly, but it was far more likely she hadn't and that she was just making things up. Yeah, that was probably it. Someone of royal offspring would never bring themselves to such planets as Faldos. The impression Skye had of the more elite kind of people wasn't very positive, mainly due to lack of.. well ever having properly met one. She did know that many shared that opinion, but that too was just because all of them never met any of the elite- and it's easy to hate the ones who are living good lives while you are starving.

Skye carefully observed the woman doing what she did, cleaning everything up. She remembered that it was useful to observe a target when you have to engage them or work with them later on, but to be honest she wasn't really observing Marina as her target at all, she was just following the blonde with her eyes while she was thankful for the work Marina had done. Slowly but surely she started to see her target, Marina, less as a low-life smuggler and a criminal like she had suspected, and more as an interesting and kind woman with her own story to tell. This change of vision on Skye's side surely wasn't going fast as she was still suspicious of the blonde, but it surely was happening. It was just going to take a while.

Skye eagerly took the hypo stim. Even though the now patched up wound wasn't really hurting that much anymore, the feeling she had was still far from pleasant. She slightly lifted her outfit to administer the hypo fairly close to her now closed wound.
Although she wasn't familiar with hypos or medical things in general, she still managed to quite easily use the hypo. She felt nothing more but a quick pinch and that was it. As Skye layed the hypo beside her she chuckled. "Don't worry about taking more classes. They'd be helpful, but you still saved me without them."

Skye took a deep breath before she nodded. "Yes, some tea would be nice, thank you." Her stomach softly growled in response to her not mentioning 'something to eat', so Skye quickly looked away, hoping the woman had not heard it.
"If I'm not too much of a burden, I wouldn't mind staying around for a bit. Thanks again, for the.. well.. you know", she smiled.
Skye curiously listened as Marina 'red tape' and 'these kind of deliveries'. Seeing an easy opening, she asked; "Red tape? You're not allowed leave yet? That must be annoying." She then looked at the woman with an innocent expression. "Sorry but I don't think I got that, what kind of deliveries are you making then? Medical... supplies?", she guessed as that seemed to be the most obvious choice.

 

[Marina DeVoe]

She smiled back, appreciative that Skye thought she had done a descent job. But Marina knew she was going to take up on the organization's offer on those available classes. And although they were organized by the organization, those classes were actually given by the volunteer doctors in that organization.

So the woman was going to rest up a bit here on her ship, that was wonderful. marina was certainly curious about Skye, but to bombard her with how do you manage to survive here and what kind of work she did, was not the time. things of that nature were too close to reality for some and most shied away from answering, as they knew there was more potential and opportunities for them elsewhere...but what could they do under the First order watch?
So tea it was and boy could she use some to relax a bit too. This evening had been some trial with her tip-toeing about trying to give what she could get away with and then the attack. It was definitely time for some sit-down and a breather.

"Meh...been through a few of these runs already. It's always red tape coming and going. I guess its their way of trying to keep illegals out of the system. Though i think a lot of smuggling is mostly comprised of food products than anything to overthrow the occupying government...
Lift up your shirt again.." Marina then applied the bacta infused compress that went over the wound and area.

"Oh sorry...I shouldn't bring up politics.
But I guess what I do is not exactly seen as legit through the First order too... Just the reason we get away with these runs is that it's not a threat to them.
Now be sure to keep this on for like 12 hours and then lightly clean the area and apply this second one. It should topically heal in 24 hours...or so it says." She was talking and dressing her wound at the same time. The second sealed sterile pack, she handed Skye. The bacta in the bandage would accelerate the healing.

"Medical supplied, like food is certainly in demand here and I just don't know why there is such red tape over such things." Marina was a talker and once she got going...

"Well, at least no one is profiting from the medical supplies. maybe that's why the First order hasn't completely banned such aid. maybe with similar deliveries like mine directly to hospitals keep them animals at bay.."
Yes, she just called the First Order animals. It was marina just talking about the way the Order had people under the gun...under their fingers all the time and keeping them suppressed.

"I don't know...I don't know why so many aren't like the few good ones.
I'm just all flustered about it. that's why the organization keeps harping not to talk politics when I'm here. But there are a few decent souls in the group..you know?
I see it in their eyes...an officer..then two. The eyes can't lie, you know. They go about their duties to make it hard for people like me, but their eyes tell a different story. They say thanks." Marina drifted off a moment.

"Oh...we're all done here. lets go get that tea..huh?"
Her thoughts had chocked her up thinking of some of the First Order officers and guards that she met, who despite their loyalties, were thankful of her and of the organization providing such aid. But they couldn't show it...not if they didn't want to face retribution for sympathizing with the enemy of the states. She felt bad for them as much as the people they were ordered to keep in line. Both those First order personnel and the people had no choice in the matter.

"Well...you just pick your flavor..put it in here... and out here is your tea." She beamed a smile, wiping away a tear that seemed to have escaped her effort of not crying.

She showed Skye how to use the percolator....basically a hot water dispenser that made beverages from the packs.

"..Then of course, if you want to try stim-caf or other hot beverages...they're all here....help yourself." She spun the carousel that had the variety of the teas, and coffee's.

"Well.... I don't know about you. But I'm craving a melted cheese sandwich..." She then took her tea from the dispenser and moved on over to the galley kitchen, giving the woman a chance to go and make her tea.

"You in the mood to try one, Skye?"

 

[Skye Achlys]

Skye carefully listened to each and every word that Marina spoke while also cooperating in the way of lifting her shirt so the other woman could apply the bacta patch. Once the woman was finished Skye only gave her a smile, not wanting to interrupt the woman now that she started to talk about interesting things.

"Thank you, doctor", Skye replied with a smile, half sincere and half joking, when Marina gave her the second and still sealed pack for later. She lifted the pack over her shoulders and put it in her little storage space: a small backpack, so slim that you wouldn't even notice it if you didn't know it was there beforehand, attached to her outfit. The bandage slid into the backpack. For later.

Medical supplies. Right. Sure.
Skye had to admit, everything did really look like the blonde was actually transporting medical supplies, but she still had a hard time believing it. After all, if the woman did ship medical supplies, then why would the First Order have dispatched Skye to go after her? The woman had to be lying. Right?

'Animals'
Well that wasn't very nice. Skye didn't respond other than by raising an eyebrow, but it still wasn't a fun thing to hear. Especially since it made her uncomfortable for some reason, being here and receiving aid from this woman without her knowing who Skye truly was. But it was better that way. Much better.

Skye followed Marina to the percolator and watched her use it. It wasn't until the blonde had grabbed her drink and walked to the kitchen that Skye looked through the selection herself. "Do you have it? Do you have it?", she whispered to no-one in particular, but probably to the machine. "Yes!", she whispered a bit louder when she saw 'hot chocolate', her favourite out of these drinks. She quickly glanced over to Marina to confirm the woman wasn't looking before she activated the percolator. The dark-haired woman was secretly ashamed as she saw hot chocolate to be kind of a childish drink, and she knew that she wasn't the only one who thought that way. That didn't stop her from drinking it on the rare occasions she could, however.

Skye then took this moment as a small opportunity to quickly glance around, nothing too extreme, no opening drawers or going through paperwork, just looking around. Because it was nothing too extreme, she didn't really find anything. She didn't really know what she'd expected anyway.

"Oh, that does sound quite delicious. Sure, I'll have one", Skye replied to the blonde who was in the galley. She briefly remembered that it was obviously not very smart to accept anything from your target, let alone food. Could be poisoned. But the blonde had just saved Skye life, so she didn't really fear for any poison or anything at all.

She wasn't going to find anything interesting here, or at least not without looking too obviously. This wouldn't work. She had to find a way to inspect these supplies herself so she could either confirm or deny whether the contents were legitimate. If they truly contained medical supplies, Skye wouldn't see a reason to apprehend or stop the blonde. Even though she was possibly sent here to even kill.

Skye stepped back to the percolator and picked up her cup of hot chocolate out of the dispenser before she decided it be best to rejoin Marina in the galley.
She walked over to Marina, she did so a bit clumsily because of her recently treated wound, but still reached the woman easily. "Hey", she said with a smile as she stood next to the blonde again.
Even Skye noticed herself that she was giving the woman a lot of smiles. However, she just told herself it was tactical and that she did it to win the blonde's trust, and that there was no other reason.

A bit reluctant to fall back on to the previous subject, she still eventually did. "I have to say... I find it super sweet that you're doing this." She then realized that 'this' was a bit non-specific. "I mean the supplies you give these people. That. That's really sweet."
"But helping, and saving, me was also really kind", she then added while speaking more silently and looking to the ground.
Then she got an idea, what if she tried to steer Marina into helping her? What if..
"So, tell me, have you ever seen your own supplies be put to use. Like inside hospitals and such places. Have you ever seen *your* supplies?"

 

[Marina DeVoe]

The grilled cheese sandwich was a hit with her new friend, as it went pretty quick.
Not that the girl devoured it, just that Marina could tell she quite enjoyed it.

"Careful...you don't want to burn the roof of your mouth...the cheese is still too hot." She waned her.
And hot grilled sandwiches are like that. especially when grilled to golden perfection in butter...making the bread a golden brown buttery flavored phenomenon. well, that's how Marina was enjoying it.

And without asking, Marina got up and whipped up another one for her guest. Hell, it only took less than two minutes between prep time and quick grill. By the time she slid the second hot sandwich on Sky's plate, the girl was almost done with her first one.

"Oh, I don't really bother asking the hospital as to what they do with them...like, what else could they do with them, but use them? It's not like they can readily get enough basic supplies from the First Order." Marina stood there, with skillet in hand talking to Skye.
"Remember what i said about it being hot...carefull...I burned my mouth too many times and still haven't learned." She laughed.
More so that she had someone who seemed to enjoy the grilled cheese sandwiches like she did. Well then again, who didn't?

"I mean, like the Order has prioritized their military machine to get primary supplies. Anything of excess, they trickle it down to your system here....right?
It's not like a lot of people out there have more than they could use. To me, they don't have half as much as any system that I know of...
But don't get me wrong...the Allience too has neglected populations and systems. There is no one perfect form of government. But the First order is far from even being considered perfect...not by a long shot. I mean...
Oh shoot!
Now you got me talking politics again...lol" Marina laughed, catching herself slipping back in talking about politics.

"How about a refill?...it's chocolate, right?" She peered at the girl's near empty cup. Sure it was chocolate, but she had several varieties of hot chocolate mixes.
"Hot chocolate or cocoa?..hard to tell the difference smelling it...hehe" She said, putting the empty skillet back on the counter behind her.

"Why don't you let me surprise you with a double chocolate and cream...sweet. So sweet you'r teeth will cry out in pain...lol"
And thus, she scurried over to the hot beverage maker and went on to select her special drink.
marina was always a good host to people and passengers on her ship. After all, the Mariner IV to marina was like a small home away from home. And she was as good a host on her ship as she was at her family home when she invited friends over.
Since she was stuck here for two days, it was great having someone to talk to and treat as a guest. How long Skye could stay, she didn't know. For all she knew the girl had either been going to work or coming from work. Seeing as Sky wasn't in a hurry to get back to what she was doing before she had come to Marina's rescue, marina had to assume that the girl had been coming from work and on her way home or something.


The grilled cheese sandwich was a hit with her new friend, as it went pretty quick.
Not that the girl devoured it, just that Marina could tell she quite enjoyed it.

"Careful...you don't want to burn the roof of your mouth...the cheese is still too hot." She waned her.
And hot grilled sandwiches are like that. especially when grilled to golden perfection in butter...making the bread a golden brown buttery flavored phenomenon. well, that's how Marina was enjoying it.

And without asking, Marina got up and whipped up another one for her guest. Hell, it only took less than two minutes between prep time and quick grill. By the time she slid the second hot sandwich on Sky's plate, the girl was almost done with her first one.

"Oh, I don't really bother asking the hospital as to what they do with them...like, what else could they do with them, but use them? It's not like they can readily get enough basic supplies from the First Order." Marina stood there, with skillet in hand talking to Skye.
"Remember what i said about it being hot...carefull...I burned my mouth too many times and still haven't learned." She laughed.
More so that she had someone who seemed to enjoy the grilled cheese sandwiches like she did. Well then again, who didn't?

"I mean, like the Order has prioritized their military machine to get primary supplies. Anything of excess, they trickle it down to your system here....right?
It's not like a lot of people out there have more than they could use. To me, they don't have half as much as any system that I know of...
But don't get me wrong...the Allience too has neglected populations and systems. There is no one perfect form of government. But the First order is far from even being considered perfect...not by a long shot. I mean...
Oh shoot!
Now you got me talking politics again...lol" Marina laughed, catching herself slipping back in talking about politics.

"How about a refill?...it's chocolate, right?" She peered at the girl's near empty cup. Sure it was chocolate, but she had several varieties of hot chocolate mixes.
"Hot chocolate or cocoa?..hard to tell the difference smelling it...hehe" She said, putting the empty skillet back on the counter behind her.

"Why don't you let me surprise you with a double chocolate and cream...sweet. So sweet you'r teeth will cry out in pain...lol"
And thus, she scurried over to the hot beverage maker and went on to select her special drink.
marina was always a good host to people and passengers on her ship. After all, the Mariner IV to Marina was like a small home away from home. And she was as good a host on her ship as she was at her family home when she invited friends over.
Since she was stuck here for two days, it was great having someone to talk to and treat as a guest. How long Skye could stay, she didn't know. For all she knew the girl had either been going to work or coming from work. Seeing as Sky wasn't in a hurry to get back to what she was doing before she had come to Marina's rescue, marina had to assume that the girl had been coming from work and on her way home or something.

 

[Skye Achlys]

It did taste delightful.
For that reason Skye didn't protest in the slightest when Marina slid a second sandwich on her plate. She enjoyed every bite while she carefully listened to the blonde.
Marina's question whether Skye wanted a refill or not kind of caught her off guard while also making her realize how stupid it was of her to think that Marina wouldn't notice the cup contained hot chocolate. Luckily Marina didn't seem to be the kind of person to criticize her about it, but then again she appeared to be very kind so it wasn't something to be expected from her.

"That does sound tempting", Skye told the woman who was already walking over to make what appeared to be her specialty. While Marina stood over by the machine, Skye figured that she wanted to give one last push before letting it rest. "Politics don't really bore me, so don't worry about that. I have to say, however, you put a lot more trust in people than I do. I mean, you risk your life and travel so far to deliver these supplies, only to then hand them over without truly knowing whether they will be put to good use or not. It's like you said, times here aren't too great- and desperate times bring desperate people. And desperate people will do just about anything." She sighed. "What I'm saying is, how can you be sure no-one sells your stuff? I bet it'll give them a lot of credits if they do, and credits are everything these people need. It would be awful to put so much hard work into something, to risk your life multiple times, only to have your cause be squandered by an egotistical individual."
Call her stupid, call her dumb, but Skye still couldn't believe that Marina merely shipped medical supplies. Much needed supplies. Or rather, she could easily believe it, she just didn't want to. How could she be here to find someone doing such good things?
It wouldn't be that weird if she only were to find the blonde, but Skye wasn't stupid. The moment she would have located the supplies, the First Order would send someone to go and claim them for their own- and even worse, they'd probably send someone to arrest Marina too.

She refused to believe it. It wasn't true. It was not true. It couldn't be.

Usually Skye could come quite far with words, finding it rather easily to make her targets uncomfortable or doubt themselves. Now she tried it here, on Marina, just like she had done many times before, but now it made her feel disgusted and sad. It made her sad that she tried to do this to the woman who treated her better than almost anyone ever had.
But she still had a job to do. And that job was finding that cargo.
However, she also still had two days to complete it. Which meant that she could just enjoy the company for a while and maybe, just maybe she could forget about that damned mission for a bit too.
Skye had stared at the blonde's direction the entire time only to snap back out of her thoughts when the blonde returned with the cup filled with the special drink.

Skye determination for this job was certainly weakening a lot. She was just going to listen to Marina's reply to what she had just said and if it didn't bring up anything important, Skye'd just spend the rest of the evening/night getting to know the woman and possibly having fun.

Then suddenly the little device that she had been given before, the device that had shown her the message containing her mission, made a small sound. Luckily for her, however, it was dampened by her backpack so that Marina couldn't have heard it. It looked like Skye was going to have to excuse herself in a minute, but only after having heard Marina's response.....and maybe after having tried the special drink.

 

[Marina DeVoe]

"They are your basics....
...the supplies, Skye. " Marina matter of fact replied, as she brewed up the double chocolate.
It was obvious that she herself loved hot chocolate. otherwise why would she keep it in stock?

"Mostly antibiotics, bacta ointments and surgical supplies....aspirin...sterile bandages." She turned to point at Skye, indicating she was wearing one.
"I hope the hospital isn't selling them, as then it'll all have been for nothing. But the chances of that are unlikely, unless someone on the inside...in the stock rooms is skimming some supplies and doing that...you know, selling some.
Again, if some are skimming off the top, as long as most of it is used by the hospital, it's all that it matters. The organization is not single based. it comprises of doctors throughout the galaxy who volunteer their effort despite their flag.
That is one of the reasons I come here... I'm a volunteer.
I mean...I also transport doctors from one sector to the next, pro-buono. That means for free...." She hesitated a moment, taking in a deep breath before turning to Skye again, with the hot chocolate in hand.

"It took some doing...some soul searching for me to come to this system a few months back. I mean...well, I don't know why I do, but I can't shake this deep hatred of Imperials. I mean not the people per say...just the government...the Orders. First Order especially....sigh." She brought the hot chocolate over to Skye, settling it next to her.

"I'm Alderaani descent. My people were butchered 850 years ago. I mean, my ancestral world was literally turned into an asteroid belt. We call it Alderaan Graveyard.
I mean...ahem..." She had to clear her throat a few times, finding herself getting chocked up thinking about it.

"Millions....millions wiped out in a blink of an eye....." She closed her eyes. Tears escaped but she held poise. Wiping her eyes quickly, she continued.

"My ancestor and her grandparents were off world when the Empire destroyed Alderaan. A few other families...thousands were off world. Everyone lost...everyone and everything...
But somehow we persevered...and continue our lineages." She stopped seemingly biting her lips shut. It was to keep herself from breaking down.

"Why am I here?....Yea, why...." She nodded and did so a few times, like she was reviewing her own motives as to why she was here within the First order territories.
"...because I am Alderaani and my ancestral spirits could not be silenced. We've stood for peace without bloodshed and by God, i will not be silenced. Not by fear..not by brute force. People here have no choice and their voices although do not speak out, their spirit does. they are no different than the Alderaani who did everything to survive under the weight of the Empire pressing down on them. These people..these First Order people are no different than I am or of the surviving ancestors that have brought me to this point, Skye.

I can't abandon those who need help...not even those who call themselves my enemy. Because I have no enemies.
So does it matter if only a portion makes it to the people? It matters a great deal and that is why I come here.
I mean, really...so what if some medical supplies are lifted. They'll still be used to help people...right?
I mean, does it matter who suffers? Everyone who suffers should be treated humanely, no matter what color flag they salute." Marina shock her head, as she didn't want to lay her burden on the poor girl.
Maybe she opened up to Skye to let her know that helping her out there, risking her life in the alley, didn't go to waste. That a good deed done is a good deed returned.

"Skye...you can rest here awhile, you know. There's a cabin across from mine that you can rest, wash up in, and just take a breather...sleep awhile if you like.
Like I said, I'm here for the next two days... my home here is your home." She had regained her composure. It wasn't often, she was here. maybe 2-3 runs a year. And rarely did she ever speak to anyone here about what she did, other than the hospital doctors that could be trusted and were appreciative of the supplies they had difficulty acquiring in the system themselves.

 

[Skye Achlys]

The hatred Marina seemed to have for the First Order and the stories she told even made Skye hate herself, even though she couldn't be held responsible for those actions.
Skye continued to listen to Marina while she took a sip of her drink. Ooh, it was delicious but oh so so sweet indeed! She didn't comment on it however because she didn't want to interrupt Marina.

"I'm terribly sorry", Skye eventually softly tried to comfort Marina while she told her story. It was an impressive and horrible one. Such loss of life. So much pain. Hearing what Marina and her people had gone through only made her look up to Marina so much more. She had endured so much and she still 'fought' for those who couldn't. Obviously she didn't actually fight, but she kept them alive through deliveries and other ways.

Skye didn't understand Marina when she said she didn't have any enemies. Maybe the woman didn't realize but she definitely had enemies.
Even Skye, sitting right in front of Marina, had come here as an enemy.

When Marina seemed to have finished and regained her composure, Skye stood up and gave Marina another hug. "I think you're the embodiment of kindness", she told the blonde before Skye let her go again.

"I'd love to stay here, thank you, but I first need to just quickly take care of something, okay? It'll take no more than a few minutes so I'll be back before you know it! The drink was absolutely delicious by the way and I haven't finished it yet, so you know I'll be back for sure!", Skye suddenly told the blonde when she remembered the little beep that had come from her backpack a while ago. Without waiting for a reply, she made her way out of the ship and she did so rather easily. She could actually walk almost properly again.
Once she stood outside the ship and had walked a bit away from it, she took a look around and then, when she saw no-one was there, she retrieved the little device from her backpack and activated it. A blue empty hologram popped up out of it.

"Ah, there you are"
Skye was first greeted by a voice before finally a hooded figure appeared in the hologram. "How is your mission coming along?"

"I've almost completed it. There was nothing to worry about; the woman claimed the cargo merely contained medical supplies. I've been inside her ship and I've communicated with her. I believe her. The ship has a large med bay and the woman knows a lot of medical stuff herself. The stories she told seem to check out. It's legitimate."

"Good, and where are these medical supplies?"

"In the hospital. Some are probably already being used, the rest will be in their storage, I assume."

"Find out where they are for sure and then let us know. The First Order is in great need of these supplies."

Skye sighed. She couldn't just do this. Not after the heartbreaking story Marina had just told. "Sir, with all respect, but I think we should let them have these supplies. They need it."

"So does our army. And our army has priority."

Skye wasn't going to give up this easily however. "Hold on for a second, listen to me. The ship is pretty decent in size but nothing special, the supplies it had been carrying might have been enough for a few dozen troops at best. However, if we take the supplies, the people here will eventually revolt. They're already living in such poor conditions that it wouldn't take much to spark a revolution, especially if we take their stuff."

"Let them have their revolution and protests. We'll just cut them down."

"No, you don't understand. These people are poor but not necessarily dumb. They know they don't stand a chance against us on their own and therefore won't protest. Instead, fueled by hate, they'll dedicate their lives to finding ways to retaliate against us. They'll leave this rock and they'll start looking for ways to harm us."

"Like they cou-". The man was cut off by Skye, who was clearly not finished with what was basically manipulation.

"They'll end up with the Alliance. Or the Rebellion. If they just hate us enough, oh then they will end up with them. You know it's true. And both the Alliance and Rebellion will be more than happy to welcome them, train them, provide them with guns and thén, then they WILL be dangerous to us."
Skye took a deep breath before finishing her rant. She hoped to the Force that it was going to work. It had to work, for Marina.
"So, eventually, by taking these supplies, you will save maybe twenty lives of our own, but in return you'll give our enemies hundreds of new recruits, and each of them will be ready to kill our men. So you can save twenty right now, and potentially have hundreds killed later or you could just leave these supplies and no harm will come to anyone."

It was oddly silent for a while and because of that Skye started to doubt whether this disobedience was such a good idea after all.
Surprisingly however, she got a rather positive response.

"Fine. Have it your way. I will see to it that this... transport will become legal. But ONLY that of your current target. Tell her she is allowed to drop of ONE cargo every two months maximum. Only her ship, no others. But don't think I do this because I care about her or about the filthy criminals suffering on that piece of filth planet, no, I do this because it makes for another perfect training for you." The man seemed to chuckle.
"You see, Achlys, less than three hours ago we've hired three bounty hunters on that planet to put an end to that blonde's life. As an insurance would you not have done that yourself.
So, if you want this woman to survive and be able to continue supporting those criminals on Faldos, be my guest.
Your new mission sounds as follows, protect your little new friend from the bounty hunters." He paused for a bit. "Although I wouldn't be bothered if she died. Good luck."
And with that the device turned itself off again.

Skye stood still for a moment, trying to take all of it in. So much had just happened. First she became happy for the fact that Marina was safe and would have no further problem helping these people. But then came the fear, three bounty hunters, already on planet. Oh no. Oh Force no. Skye immediately turned around and darted back into the ship, almost tripping in the process. "Marina?!", she yelled concerned.

 

[Marina DeVoe]

"Sigh..." She felt her lips around with her fingers.
It felt worse than they looked...a little swelling, but nothing too horrible and the sting had all but gone away.

Marina washed her face again and pat dried it. She were in her cabin's quarters, the private bathroom, seeing about her own injuries. She had felt around the inside of her mouth before with her tongue, and just now got a chance to look at herself in the mirror. She wasn't worse for wear for the most part.

"Hope she'll be Ok... sigh...
Hate to leave people like her here..." She despaired, before turning to leave and see about changing her clothes.
Her shirt had sustained some tear, along with a tell-tale sign that a necklace was ripped off her neck. Lucky it were of royal gold...it wore well, but would give under the duress she experienced. It had held some importance for her, as it had been a gift. But it weren't any of the family jewels or necklaces that spanned generations and centuries. The ancestral jewels that had survived on her ancestor that had escaped the destruction of Alderaan were only worn in the queen's court and special occasions...never so like the normal jewelry of everyday.
Still, she couldn't blame too much the two young men who assaulted her. It was this system's Overlords who drove people to do drastic things to survive.

Marina had not seen all as to what happened to them two. But did catch them taking off..and then the realization that her rescuer had sustained a knife wound. All the events were replaying over and over in her head as she changed. And to think, such a young woman as Skye having to live with such dangers here. It saddened marina, for she could imagine what a better life the girl could potentially have outside of the First order.
Schooling...Universities...all that denied someone like Skye. Only the privileged of the First Order were educated like Marina. But here in this system, even people like doctors had to pass on their knowledge to interns here without proper schooling. The entire system's infrastructure was decaying with each generation. All that would be left would be a population that were no better off than being slave laborers.
it was why 'Doctors Without Borders' got volunteers like Marina. Being a non-profit organization, all of it's resources and donations would go directly to such deprived systems like Faldos.

Marina had gone back to the galley to tidy up a bit. Actually to do a good cleaning, as she had more time on her hands here than it could be filled.
It was when Marina was just about finished with wiping the counter for the 3rd time that she heard Skye's excited voice calling her. At first, Marina thought the worst. Had those men come back with other gang members? Was Skye running away from them?

She darted to the ship's open ramp.
"Skye?!....Skye you Ok-..." She stopped mid sentence when her friend appeared below.
The look in the girl's eyes gave Marina the shivers.

"Inside, quick!....what's wrong? ...were you chased?.." She asked looking over the girl, when she came up the ramp, seeing that she wasn't hurt.
Maybe her wound had opened up? Marina could only guess. But as a precaution, she retracted the ship's ramp, despite she was still on hospital grounds. But what criminal paid any attention to private property, much less a community hospital.

 

[Skye Achlys]

Skye was relieved to see Marina was still here and alive. For a moment she'd feared that she might had been taken already.
She grabbed both Marina arms and stared into her eyes. "You need to leave- no, you need to hide!", she spoke extremely quick, full with adrenaline and the fear for the blonde's life.

How was she going to explain this? She didn't want to tell Marina that she was with the First Order, not yet anyway; who knew how she'd react. But she couldn't say nothing, her life was in danger!

When Skye saw the woman's puzzled eyes, she exhaled and spoke a bit slower. "They're people coming after you, because of what you do here. Three of them. Bounty hunters. Tasked to kill. You. Please..you need to hide", there was almost a hint of desperation in her voice, showing just how deeply she had started to care for Marina.

Skye remained silent for a bit, deep in thoughts. How was she going to get on with this? She knew how bounty hunters were- definitely the ones the First Order hired. They were tough, brutal and ready to chase their prey through the galaxy. Unfortunately, running wasn't an option.
Not for Marina, not for Skye
..and not for the three mercenaries.
Skye had been given a new assignment, one she intended to complete. Both for her own progress, but most importantly for Marina's life.
They needed to die. One way or another.

Skye's attention snapped back to then and there. "You know how to fight?", she asked. "Because either we will or I will alone", she sighed. "Running isn't going to be an option, I'm afraid. If you leave now, within a good few weeks news will be that you have mysteriously disappeared. These guys won't give up until you make them", Skye told Marina, putting extra emphasis on 'make'.

She took a hold of Marina, grabbing her by her arms so the blonde couldn't do anything but stare into Skye's eyes. "Marina. They need to die. It's either you or them- and trust me, the world wouldn't weep if they died, but the world would if you did. And so would I."

What she said was true, but she also said it to try and convince Marina to take matters into her own hands. If Skye had learned anything from the past hours it was that Marina was probably a pacifist or something close to it. But in her kind of work, taking these kinds of risks, pacifism will get you killed sooner than later.

And whether Marina liked it or not;

Sometimes, the only way to save a life, is to take one.