Private Never Skip Leg Day

[Gwyneira Vizsla]

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B R O K E N - T H I N G S - A R E - S E L D O M - E A S Y - T O - F I X​

She awoke again, panting in a cold sweat as she pulled herself up from the medical bed. The sheets fell of her as she shuddered, desperately shaking herself awake and reminding herself she was safe now.

Well… she was safe, but…

She looked down to where a drenched, tangled sheet was kicked to a side of the bed with her one good leg. Her other leg was cut off above the knee. Another wound her father had inflicted upon her. Well, wounds, actually. He had cut off her leg piece by piece.

She sighed, curling up as her heartrate steadily lowered. She then pulled herself off the side of the bed and used the Force to pull her cane towards her. She was not just laying around healing up today. She had contacted a member of her buir's squad whom she learned could help her with her lack of leg. They were meeting in a visiting area today, and she needed to look better than the sweaty girl in a hospital gown.

She pulled herself up and limped over to the shower, willing herself to get ready. She took a shower, making it quick. She spent over half the time struggling not to slip and fall over, leaning against the shower wall. When she finally washed up and got out, she resorted to changing into a simple shirt before pulling some pants over her one leg. She rolled up the loose leg and tied it, once again wincing at her permanent wound.

How could she recover from this?

Was this what Eliz had felt like when he lost his arm?

Tearing up as she thought of her dead lover, she forced herself to focus on walking. Yes. Walking. She could not think about him now. She needed to walk to reach her destination. Using the Force, she grabbed her hospital room keys and hobbled towards the door.

​

Eventually, she made it to the cafeteria. It was bland and grey, with only one or two pieces of Mandalorian art to make it pretty. Having grown up in a heavily industrial and metallic setting, however, she was used to this. She once again grew frustrated as she used her cane to slowly drudge towards the nearest table. It was a snail's pace journey she was on, and she was growing evermore angry at her misfortune. Rage towards her father, shame for her circumstances, and defeat over this misery flooded her as she sat down with a heavy thud, throwing her head back and groaning. After a moment of frustration, she opened her eyes and looked around for the Mandalorian engineer she was supposed to meet here.

Alora Vizsla

 

[Alora Vizsla]

Have you notice that since our arrival there has been a statistical deviation in the number of new cybnertic patients involving the Krayt clan?

Alora's smile didn't waver, but she did tilt her head a bit to the right at Gambit's observation. Well, it's only three, which is..., she trailed off. Well, when Gambit pointed out the obvious like that, sure, yeah, they looked like a group prone to physical trauma.

And I suppose I should make sure the lab is sterile while you are off having afternoon tea with this one?

Would it be tea? Could be water. Or booze. That was a Krayt thing -- booze. Yep. Never know if we'll head back for some work straight away. She could feel Gambit muttering in the background despite being an electronic intelligence on her ship. Just a big ol' curmudgeon that one. Wasn't like Gambit had to do all the work; just task a droid to sweep and the laser-sanitation protocol to engage. That'd take like less than a hundredth of a percent of his compute power.

As usual, Alora strode into the room wearing her armor except for the helmet. Wasn't like she expected to fight vod in the cafeteria. Being part of the Kandosii Squad helped deter needless skirmishes too. Collected an awful lot of eyes though. No, no, not literal eyes; people eying her. Alora didn't blame them either. She wasn't built like Shai the War Dog or Kranak the Mountain. All smiles until someone went off script and then they saw what was behind the mask when it slipped.

Honey brown eyes swept the room until Alora's gazed rested on Gwyneira Vizsla . They were about the same age on paper, though Alora was five inches taller. From what Gambit dug up sounded like the other woman had an interesting genetic background. Interesting in the sense Arkanians were painfully full of themselves. Something that had earned Alora a thirty minute rant on the self-proclaimed 'genius' of their kind by her electronic companion. Maybe she'd bill that time spent to the Arkanian government later.

With a smile on her lips, Alora drifted on over to where Gwyn sat. "Heya, I'm Alora Vizsla. Hope I didn't keep you waiting long. Can I get you anything?" Not that the cafeteria was a steakhouse, but she could try to be polite.

 

[Gwyneira Vizsla]

P A S T - A N D - P R E S E N T


​

Gwyneira looked up to the young woman before her. She wore… pink. In many ways, she struck her as similar to how Gwyn used to dress. Spunky, hair dyed. Now, Gwyn was reduced to a shadow. Gwyn felt embarrassed that she did not wear her beskar'gam, while her contact wore everything but the buy'ce. Bitterness flooded her as she remembered how her father stole her prized armor from her and sold it as she helplessly watched.

She was so happy Kranak had demolished the karker.

Gwyn shook herself out of her darker thoughts and blinked up to the Vizsla with glassy eyes that steadily regained awareness of the present. She shook her head, "No thanks, I'm not hungry."

Gwyn hardly felt hungry ever these days.

She leaned against the back of the table, a bit uncomfortable but it would do. She sighed, looking down to where her leg should be, "Can you help me? I need a cybernetic. Willing to pay you and stuff, I have some coin stashed up from bounty hunting before I-…" She paused before shivering, remembering how she had been captured. She once again was hastily slipping away from the present, into memory…

Alora Vizsla

​

​

​

 

[Alora Vizsla]

Gwyn would feel something solid bonk into her forehead almost as soon as she started to drift mentally. Alora had drawn her scanner from its holster at her hip. A solid instrument with a number of sensors designed to help her take readings and measurements out int he field, it was a solidly constructed device. Fortunately, the kindly Cyberneticist hadn't put any strength behind the jab. "Oops, forgot to say I needed to take your temperature." A convenient lie, but an unexpected physical knock was more likely to snap Gwyn out of it than a 'are you okay?'

"Yep, looks like you don't have a fever." Alora waved off the fact she'd bopped the woman. "I can totally fulfill your order. I can have one made up quick, and with the durability to survive the gravitational crushing force of a neutron star. But before I start rambling about whether you want some kind of repulsor booster built into it or something, I gotta ask..." The young woman dropped down beside Gwyn and looked over at her. "Are you okay? Because straightforward as building and providing cybernetics is there's more to it than that, isn't there?" More of a statement than a question, but one designed to give Gwyn an opportunity to answer.

Eliz had been bashful, but Gwyn was giving off vibes more like that of Shai when she came for help. Losing a limb (or more) was almost always traumatic. Few people willingly lopped body parts off for metal copies. Still, there were cases when 'traumatized' seemed an inadequate word to describe how the victim felt. Alora understood that group quite well despite the cheer she exuded more often than not. So if Gwyn needed to talk something out, Alora wanted to give her that chance.

POYO :: Gwyneira Vizsla​

 

[Gwyneira Vizsla]

S H E - C A N N O T - W A L K - B U T - S H E - R U N S

​

Gwyn blinked, looking up and frowning. What more was there to a cybernetic than replacing what was lost? Then again, every time she looked down, she was reminded of it. She sighed, looking down again to where her missing limb should be. She closed her eyes. She had not told anyone about what she had endured, even Kranak. She looked up to the stranger with a frightened and scarred expression. She had to deal with it every day. Every karking day. She was getting so sick of it, tired of feeling weak. Weak, like she always had been.

But... she would have to take a step back here. Perhaps... explain a bit. It was obvious in her amber and red eyes that she was not okay.

"He started at the ankle," She shivered, reaching and gripping the bench seat. "One DNA sample. Then another. Then more flesh to study this. Or bone to test that."

She lowered her head, bowing in overwhelming negative emotion. "By the time they showed up..." She yanked one sweaty hand off the bench and motioned to the stub above where her knee would be.

Her eyes widened, speech rapidly increasing speed, "I felt all of it. They wanted to hear me scream when they-what would they have taken next, after the leg was gone? Another leg? Arm? What? No! No, don't! I-" She was panting heavily. Memories of terror flooded her as she once again was swept away from the memories.

She reached up, slamming her hand over her mouth and whimpering for a moment, before grimacing. "I shouldn't have started talking..."

Tears slipped down her cheeks. She hastily wiped them away, her goals in front of her, "Just hurry up and get the leg on me. So I can walk again and move on."

The sooner her leg was back, the sooner she could forget about that never ending nightmare.

Alora Vizsla

 

[Alora Vizsla]

Alora's smile cooled as Gwyn began to confess the method in which she had been tormented. An unreadable mask took the place of cheer and good humor with the meticulous manner in which the woman had been 'studied.' A silent hum buzzed in the back of Alora's mind as even the Gambit mulled over the terrors visited upon Gwyn.

When Gwyn finished, the young Mandalorian reached out with her hands to try and cup the other woman's between them. Much as she wanted to throw her arms about Gwyn that might have been overwhelming considering just how brutal the experience had been. "You need to talk to someone. Don't hold it back thinking you'll spare someone else or that you're strong enough to bear it alone. It isn't about how strong you are."

With the softest of sighs, Alora held up the scanner in her hand. "Already got the scan. You want to start with a simple model, and think on changes to it later? I could have one adjusted and on you today. We'll need to head to my ship though." Seemed like Gwyn was in a hurry. Shai had been just like that too in the beginning. Get the replacement on and pretend it didn't happen. If it were only so easy. Still, the cybernetics would at least remove the most obvious reminder of what had happened.

Now it was left to Gwyn whether to accept -- which seemed likely -- or to put forward any desires regarding the leg. Some Alora could accomodate immediately with a minor change to the build. Others, though, would need time. You didn't just slap a rocket onto an existing design. Well, some Cyberneticists did, but those were hacks and a blight to the profession! Alora only did top-tier work with choice equipment.

POYO :: Gwyneira Vizsla​

 

[Gwyneira Vizsla]

D I S T R A C T I O N S​

Gwyneira sniffled as a tear slipped down her cheek. Alora's words had not fallen on deaf ears... more like belligerent ears. She had been through so much, just trying to escape it all now. But the sinking feeling was catching up to her. Still, she nodded to Alora and tried to find a distraction to latch onto.

A ship.

Gwyneira was an engineer, actually had majored in engineering ships. Her own ship, the Tauntaun, was her ongoing project. Another ship would be fun to observe and look into with an analytical eye. Yes, the ship.

A small smile appeared on her weary face, "Your basic model sounds good."

While a part of her wanted a cool leg with whistling birds and the works, she wanted to pretend she never lost her leg in the first place more.

She reached to get her cane, only for it to get bumped by her elbow and fall to the floor with a clank. She grunted in frustration and used the Force to call it back to her. She was so happy she was Force Sensitive. She slowly pulled herself up, struggling to balance as she arose to her foot. She gave Alora a nod, "I'm an engineer, would love to be in any ship. Where is it?"
Alora Vizsla

 

[Alora Vizsla]

Alora smiled back at Gwyn. A basic model would let Gwyn get used to it without worrying about damaging anything truly expensive or, like, accidentally activating a repulsor when all she meant to do was take a step. A true Cyberneticist never installed something that couldn't be easily swapped out for an upgraded model or replacement! Hacks like graphed tissue directly to a unit, which made replacements a real pain for both parties. Attachment plates were the way to go!

A quick blink and slight lean forward, the young woman looked at the fallen cane. Before anything could be done, it righted itself for Gwyn to get to her feet without delay. A surprising turn. Mandalorians weren't anti-Force, but they weren't exactly fanatics about it either. Well statistically there had to be some Foundlings with Sensitivity. Maybe even a few Mandalorians born with it too. Alora wasn't concerned. Though her eyes did drift back to Gwyn curiously. After all, some like her found Alora... weird. Something about not feeling her presence in the Force.

With a smile on her lips, Alora rose to her feet. "Not far. Landing pad nearby. He's a small Corvette so he fits in plenty of places. Actually," she began to lead the way mindful not to go too fast, "size isn't even the problem. That fact I built a passive sensor-sink throughout his hull is the problem. If I don't set up active beacons ever time I park eventually some dunder-head is going to try landing on Gambit, and then he gets all kinds of shorted."

She had parked nearby expecting they might need the lab. Almost everyone wanting new limbs was a bit anxious to get them sooner than later. Not that Alora didn't understand the craving. Good thing the Enclave wasn't on Coruscant though where parking was a total pain.

As they slipped outside, the ramp to the dark, Imperially-influenced Gambit began to descend to the platform to admit the two women into the open mechanics bay. "I got all kinds of tools and gadgets to build weapons, armor, gizmos... Repair speeders and pods..." Alora danced about the interior with her arms held out wide. "But that's more a hobby. My art is with cybernetics. I challenge you to find a better Cyber Doc than me in the galaxy." Alora stopped to grin.

Then the colorful woman strode over to a door on the right side of the chamber. The door parted as she stopped beside it with her head tipped to the side. "In here's the Cybernetics Lab. Everything we need in a completely sanitized environment so you don't need to worry about this being a back-alley job -- oof, do I hate those places. Gives people bad impressions of what should be quality work."

POYO :: Gwyneira Vizsla​

 

[Gwyneira Vizsla]

A W E S O M E !​

Hearing the the engineer refer to her ship as a he was... bizarre. Gwyn was close to her astromech, Mini, and considered him a living being despite being a droid. Having learned to create and program droids as part of earning her degree, she even knew the extent of how many droids indeed were independent thinkers with their own sentience. As they walked, however, there was something else Gwyn noticed as well. It was not something she picked up on at first, but now it was apparent to her. Trying to sense the emotions and feel the presence of this individual through the Force, Gwyneira realized that she could not sense Alora at all. It was always a discomforting feeling, but one she was strangely used to. After all, Eliz had been Force Dead himself.

Eliz...

She paused, tears welling up in her eyes. She immediately forced herself to stop thinking about him. Stop trying to sense Alora, so she would not remember him. She shook her head firmly as she followed Alora into the ship, Gambit, and into the shop... And wow. She was amazed. All these gadgets, equipment, robotics, armor, weapons! Gwyn smiled. For one of the few times since The Enclave attacked Panatha, she was excited about something.

"Oh my Manda! Look at this!"

She squealed, hobbling over to one of the walls of the workshop and pointing like a fangirl, "Where did you get a magseal detector like that! Are those Arc Emitter blueprints! Is that an entire shelf of organized energy jack connectors!"

She continued to geek out as she looked around the shop in awe.
Alora Vizsla

 

[Alora Vizsla]

Alora blinked twice when Gwyn suddenly got super excited. Then the other woman darted -- ehm, in her fashion -- on over to one side and started ogling and pointing at things. Soon, the honey-eyed woman strode across the bay to join her elated guest with a big smile on her face. "I have just about everything in here. Or did at one point or another. It's no fun making the same thing over and over again."

"No, she leaves that to the poor souls in the Core."

Alora planted her hands on her hips and twisted her head up toward the ceiling. "Hey, I pay them a very fair share for their labor! It also keeps people from bugging me for the same design over and over again. Do I look like a Human printing machine?"

"Next you'll tell her all about the time you found and dismantled an XNA-580," the synthesized, masculine voice of the Gambit said in a droll manner.

There was a pause before Alora's eyes fell back to Gwyn. The young Mandalorian woman shrugged. "I knew what I was doing." A wave of her hand dismissed the entire matter. "So what kind of things do you like making? You have to make things, right? I mean you identified blueprints for an Arc Emitter." Alora smiled. It was good to see something brought a little happiness back into Gwyn's life. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard figuring out how to help a vod out after all.

POYO! :: Gwyneira Vizsla​

 

[Gwyneira Vizsla]

I - W E N T - T O - C O L L E G E !​

Hearing the ship truly operate as its own entity, likely through a droid brain, made Gwyn eep a bit while listening in awe. She chuckled as Gambit bantered with Alora. It reminded her of her own daily back and forths with her snarky astromech.

Being asked where she worked in herself made Gwyn's unnatural eyes light up like a festival evergreen tree. She turned to Alora and beamed, "Well, I earned an eight year degree in all around engineering! I learned to make ships, machinery, droids, weapons, how to slice!" She beams proudly, "I have made several weapons for the Enclave, gifted custom blasters to friends, and made others for myself. The Tauntaun is my ongoing freighter project, and I also have a speeder bike half assembled in the shed. Oh! And one of the vambraces of my beskar'gam are dedicated to slicing completely."

Being able to so freely speak to someone about her passion as an engineer, mechanic, and slicer brought a spark of joy to her. She had never been able to talk so much about these or that pieces of technology without her speaking partner being lost in it. Alora, however, would likely understand everything.

"Prior to joining the Enclave, I was going to try my hand at a career of ship building. But so much has changed since then." She uses her cane to take a step towards another shelf with different parts and gadgets, "But working on the Tauntaun slowly, I think I have my fill."

She then sighs, "Of course, I did study droids, cybernetics, and the likes. I have been able to easily fix Eliz's arm in the past-..." Oh, Thoughts of Eliz, again. Before her emotions and grief could slam into her, she hastily continued on, "-but I never have made a cybernetic from scratch. So I'm less experienced in that area. So," She looked to Alora and nodded with a small smile, "I came to you."

Alora Vizsla

 

[Alora Vizsla]

"Eight years?" Alora's eyes widened. Wow that was a long time studying. Kind of suggested she maybe shouldn't have said anything and to pretend that was totally expected and exactly what Alora, herself, had done. It wasn't though. Not by half. Or three quarters. Or at all.

"Excellent. Might I suggest pursuing a degree in--"

Alora's eyes lightly squeezed shut just a second before they popped open. "Slicing?" The young woman bounced forth, then exaggeratedly leaned forward close to one side then the next as if to look for this vambrace in question. "So you repair them, program them, and push aside all the barriers to reprogram them, huh? Always a useful skill. I enjoy a good slice, myself. I help Kranak get into all the nasty places in the galaxy -- and spare him having to see everyone's porn collections."

A light over to one side of the ship flickered for a second or two. Almost as though the Gambit had an eye twitch at how violently off course the topic had gotten.

"I spent a lot of time upgrading the Gambit, myself. Time, money, and pain. So much, in fact, I'm still suffering." Alora had straightened up by that point, and gave Gwyn a big grin. Though Gambit wasn't that easy to goad.

Wait, Eliz's arm got damaged? What business had that kid getting her arm damaged? And Gwyn fixed it? Well, good knowing Eliz hadn't found some old man wringing their hands talking about cheap discounts to do the work! At least Gwyn had the passion of a proper Cyber Doc or Mechanic. "Well, good that you did. I love building cybernetics. Nothing too big, too small, or too complex! They're all interesting. Circumstances might not always be what you want, but if you're going to get a replacement part it might as well come with some bells and whistles, right? That and not break down because of shoddy construction."

"You know, if you ever want to build things together, you're welcome to find Gambit anytime. I'm usually nearby, and if not he'll let me know I have someone waiting. Right, Gam?" Alora called out.

"Do I look like an uncultured GNK droid?"

Brightly colored lips split into a toothy grin with the affirmation.

POYO! :: Gwyneira Vizsla​

 

[Gwyneira Vizsla]

B R I L L I A N C E​

Gwyn sadly extended her arms, revealing where her vanbraces should be but were not. Yet another punishment by her father, selling everything she owned while she helplessly watched.

She already was doing everything she could to get that gear back, already found her pistols and knife, but her lightsaber and beskar'gam were harder to find.

Alas, before she could continue that hunt, she needed her leg back.

Alora's offer to build something together made the smile return to her face. The further banter between her and Gambit made her chuckle. For all her agony as of late,it was good to laugh.

"Definitely! I'll let you know when I'm coming."

Now, of course, her thoughts were drawn to her leg. Bells and whistles, huh? Her thoughts drifted towards the prospect of tactics and cunning, and what she could possibly need to add to the leg when she already would be going into battle with her beskar'gam - preferably. She then recalled her Jump Boots, and a last minute defense they had. Perhaps, that would be a good thing to carry over to her leg...

"For the leg, a last ditch effort at defense, maybe? For if I'm out of any other options." She looked to Alora, "Whistling birds, perhaps? Around the ankle?"

Alora Vizsla

 

[Alora Vizsla]

"Whistling birds in the ankle?" Alora tipped her head to one side. "I can make that work. Might damage your boot if you wear one though, but you did say 'last ditch.'" Obviously, include a HUD link-up so Gwyn could paint the targets. Maybe add a back-up micro-processor for the extreme last-ditch 'do anything' option of blindly shooting anyone in range. "And don't worry about Electromagnetic Whatevers or Ion shanfus either. I'm all about proper shielding of my electronics. I take that thing personally."

"So, ready to get started?" Alora turned and gestured toward the open door on one side of the bay and into the cybernetic lab. "Got a nice, comfy seat for you to lay back in while I work. I can suppress the pain and keep you conscious if you want to talk through it; or knock you out. Customer's choice."

The young Mandalorian woman smiled as she waited to see what Gwyn wanted to do next. They could stand there talking for hours -- Gambit would totally affirm that as an option with Alora -- or they could talk and work, or just work. Lots of choices and no real time crunch on her part. Not that business wasn't good, but no scheduled illicit runs, credit-rich jobs, or bounties pressing on her schedule.

POYO! :: Gwyneira Vizsla​

 

[Gwyneira Vizsla]

M Y - L E G!​

Gwyn chuckled, enjoying Alora's personality more and more. A part of her wanted to sleep through the leg being worked on. She didn't want to be seated while she was being poked and prodded. It reminded her to much of what she had gone through… Alas, she also wanted to talk to a likeminded crafter. She also wanted to keep a close eye on how her own leg was being constructed, though she hardly doubted Alora's remarkable talent at this point. Gwyn nodded and turned to go sit down, her crutch making the going slow. She frowned. She would be free of this painful reminder soon…

As she turned around to sit, Gwyn made up her mind. "I'll stay awake, thanks. Pain killers would be great though." She chuckled, "And yes, we can't have EMPs stopping this leg. Would be awkward to drag myself across the battlefield because an ion weapon was used."

Gwyn sat down, heaving a shaky sigh as she placed her crutch next to the chair. She leaned back, feeling oh so nervous. Why could she not shake her fear off? She looked up to Alora and smiled, a weak scared smile attempting to be brave. She had nothing to worry about. She had absolutely nothing to worry about... nothing to worry about....

"I also wonder," She had a second idea for the leg too, "Could the leg have storage compartments?"

Alora Vizsla

 

[Alora Vizsla]

"Well that's good." Alora quipped as she strode over to one side to open a container and retrieve one of several legs. "Because despite being no stranger to pain, myself, I'm no sadist." Sure, if someone pissed her off she'd make them live to regret it, but that didn't mean she got jollies taking advantage of every opportunity to make people suffer. "But you ever in the need of a Dom, I'll be your Mistress." The young woman giggled.

The leg was lain out on a table near the chair Gwyn settled into. It was a well-constructed model with storage capacity just how Alora's customer wanted it. Sealed against the elements, of course. "Today's menu includes bad-assery storage, but we'll have to introduce the birdies later. Good news is the swap'll be easy compared to today. And uh," she paused to look over at Gwyn, "at least at the start you probably should focus on the ceiling or my face. Even if you had a stomach made of beskar it's still unsettling stuff, you know?"

The first phase was installing the interface between woman and machine. Something that'd make replacements, upgrades, and swaps in general quite easy. Might need to add a little reinforcement for the hip though seeing how most of Gwyn's left leg was gone. Could probably remove the rest of it, but that'd reduce some of the extra-curricular activity options. Alora was up for taking the harder route and leave more of Gwyn's flesh and nerves in place.

A hand swept over a smaller table of instruments Alora would be calling upon. With a smile on her lips, a quick peck of an injector introduced the pain-killers while Gwyn was occupied. "So, you want to talk tech? I've started making in-roads for supply routes out to the Enclave. Not an easy task, mind you. Especially with Mandalorians not known for being tech-heads. Well," Alora set to the task of preparing to start cutting once readings indicated the numbing agent was in force, "they know me though and how I love expensive, top-of-the-line, cutting-edge gear. I put in some big orders and they just have to make sure it arrives. Not like the Enclave isn't getting goods from the Alliance anyway -- there are always ships flying about. Just got to hire someone trustworthy."

Nothing like talking about gizmos and gadgets to keep Gwyn's mind off the work, right? Especially during the modification phase. Paying closer attention to the installation and calibration wouldn't be as disorienting. At least, that's what Alora had found dealing with others in the chair. Most of those hadn't been Krayts though. Yeah, these Krayts were always so stiff-upper lip during the whole thing.

POYO! :: Gwyneira Vizsla​

 

[Gwyneira Vizsla]

E X P O S U R E - T H E R A P Y​

Gwyn could not help but sharply inhale when the pain stims were injected. Memories flooded her mind. So many drugs, so much injections. Needles, oh the needles… She winced and looked up to the ceiling as suggested as she broke out in a cold sweat.

Technology. Yes. Technology. She should talk about that, yes, and not freak out.

Heart pounding, she closed her eyes and nodded to what Alora said, trying to grasp interest to override the rapidly rising terror inside. "Y-yeah. What kind of goods are you trying to get in?"

Keep talking. Keep talking. Keep talking. Do not mind the memories of agony, do not mind the phantom pain she felt in her leg. No, no focus on the sensations she felt from what Alora was doing. She could trust Alora, yes? Alora was very easy to get along with. They had a lot in common, right? Gwyn continued to sweat, squeezing her chair are she forced dialogue, "Honestly, I have been focusing a lot on my projects lately. Some materials to build more stuff would be nice, so I don't have to buy from outside sources and companies. Have you ever considered starting a larger business, Alora? With supply lines like you're working on, would it be possible?"

Meanwhile, she felt pain everywhere. Blurs of metal, many liquids, lights, and crimson flashed in her eyes, within her eyes. She felt the prickles of needles, bolts of electricity, beatings of rods, dissections and cuttings. She felt herself shivering on that cold metal table, surrounded by her sweat, blood, and waste. She heard of own screams, she heard her father mocking her. She knew she was not back in the lab. She knew Alora was not going to hurt her. She knew everything was okay. So why… why was panic still rising inside her?

Alora Vizsla

 

[Alora Vizsla]

"Oh, you know," Alora replied absently as though they were lounging upon a green prairie on a Spring afternoon, "top of the line nano-processors, wireless silicone, ultra-high capacitors, and some of the latest designs in on-board, uh, accessories. But, high-end standard fare components do too; for the more common designs. I like tinkering on the edge though. Trying new things."

The young woman had spoken casually, though her honey-brown eyes had discretely stolen peeks at Gwyn as she turned to change instruments or feigning a look at the other woman's leg. Then there were the readouts, of course. Technology kind of gave away the steadily rising blood pressure even if Alora hadn't turned on the ominous beeps of a heart monitor. Just because they were doing this in her personal cyber-lab didn't mean Alora was some hack in a back alley not paying attention to her patient's health throughout the procedure.

A small smile touched her lips as she continued to work so Gwyn wouldn't have to sit there longer than was needed. "I actually have a shop back on Courscant. Another on Denon in the wake of the Sith having pissy not long ago. They make some of my more... established designs for customers back in the Core. Not my best, but better than most. Quality, quantity, speed, or affordability -- pick three, right?" She chuckled to herself. "Anyway, I haven't tried expanding rapidly. Mostly tinker. Find ways to push the limits of technology, and then push beyond them." After a moment Alora looked up at Gwyn. "'Course, if I had help, you never know what could happen. Kandosii need me now and again, so I can't always focus on all the merchant stuff."

"Hey, you like sour gummies?" A wide smile spread over her lips. "You should totally try them. Hey, Gam, could you get Gwyn a gummie? Sugar would probably help."

The young Mandalorian looked back down at the work as she focused on nerve endings to ensure a healthy graft and long-term stability. Meanwhile a surgical arm slowly slid in from behind the chair with its metallic palm open and three gummies resting there for Gwyn to take as she like. It would also deposit them in her mouth if she couldn't release her iron grip on the chair, if she asked.

What Alora didn't tell Gwyn was the gummies had a mild sedative to take an edge off of the mental trauma clawing at her during the procedure. Nothing that should make her drowsy, but a little counter-balance to drum-beating heart as the past was dredged up. Little Alora could do not to conjure up such thoughts, unfortunately. Surgery was what it was and you didn't have time to pretend it was anything else; distraction or delay could spell disaster.

"You interested? Building a shop, I mean. Designing and providing cool tech to vod. Maybe even making a name for the Enclave in the galaxy for our gear. That'd be kind of cool, right?"

POYO! :: Gwyneira Vizsla​

 

[Gwyneira Vizsla]

R E V E N G E​

Why… why was she being given a random gummy?

Having grown up in a run down, slummy backwater region on a dwarf planet run by Arkanian elitists, Gwyn knew that being offered random candy was a bad idea. Yet, she decided to take Alora's word for it. She raised an eyebrow at the gummies, but decided to give them a taste. After all, the Force was not giving her any red flags. As she chewed on the gummies, she listened to Alora speak.

Set up a shop?

She thought on it. Restless as she was, Gwyn always knew she wanted to train more, then get out there and fight… certain opponents that had earned her wrath… yet, her first love of engineering always beckoned to her, called to her. As she thought on it, she felt her panic edge away as she considered the possibilities. Now that she would have her leg again, she could do, well, anything.

She leaned her head back in the seat, sighing, "It does sound pretty good. Setting up a shop and stuff…"

Her face turned grim, however, as she spoke, "But when I have my leg back, I do also have some other plans."

There was a darkness in her voice, a bitter roaring for revenge was cold as ice in tone. No mercy, no exceptions…

She blinked, trying to bring herself back to the present. As the procedure continued, she still needed distraction, "But what most recent projects have you been working on, aside the leg?"

Alora Vizsla

 

[Alora Vizsla]

By this point Alora was putting on some of the finishing touches on the connection plate. Her hand reached off to the side to find a bacta dispenser to help sculpt the flesh into position to make it as aesthetically pleasing as possible. No need for a giant seam to mar otherwise fine craftsmanship. You could never take too much time getting the little things right.

"Oh?" She set the dispenser aside and pulled out a calibrator to verify the nervous system interface had good contact. Alora's honeyed eyes shifted to look up at her customer and patient for a moment. "Other plans, huh? Sounds like something big in store. Hopefully not before you spend enough time becoming familiar with your new limb."

"This might pinch. Or tickle. Or pinch and tickle." As soon as what Gwyn might mistake for rambling subsided, Alora activated the diagnostic to test the interface. No point putting the leg on just to find out the connection wasn't seated properly! Build and test in phases that was best.

With that done, the Cyberneticist paused to look up at Gwyn once more. "New knee. New foot. I took pin-point accurate measurements so it's the right length, but that doesn't mean you'll get up out of this chair and show me your best salsa. Probably sooner than later since you didn't wait a long time so your brain forgot how the leg worked, but it'll still take a short while. The more you use it, the faster you'll be able to do those 'plans.' Just don't become a frequent limb customer, okay? And remember to check in every now and then for maintenance. Even your favorite gun needs maintenance." So did an organic body, but they weren't here to discuss dietary bad choices.

Suddenly the young woman grinned at Gwyn's question. "Well, I'm always working on the Gambit. You don't know how grouchy he gets when I missed a good tune-up, or fitting him with the latest toys. Why I just installed this state-of-the-art sensor suite last week... We've been doing some tests with it out in the unpatrolled sectors. Best not to have people gawking. Plus, you know, I don't need people plowing into us not realizing we were even there."

POYO! Gwyneira Vizsla​