First Reply Skinless

[Fenn Stag]

Coruscant
22:37 Local Coruscant Time
Romi Jade Memorial Hospital

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Was supposed to be a simple job.

Smash, grab, extract with blackmail evidence.

Now, he was face-up in a hospital bed, beaten, bloody, drugged- and without his armor.

The lights came to him first-

Then the cavalcade of sound. Machinery. Voices. Aliens. Basic. Huttese. Everything else. He looked around, turning his head. He was in a bed. Not handcuffed. He could still move his hands- though everything was slow. Like a bad connection on a holocall. Everything felt behind. Just a few fraction of a seconds. Not fatigue, not wear. Drugged. He looked down more. His eyes, blue and sharp, looked, hard, down.

No armor. No weapons. Different clothes. Hospital-issued. Dark brown and grays. No shirt. Trauma indicators- bruising, contusions. IV lines. He looked up at the ceiling. He reached up and touched his face. No helmet, no gauntlets. No weapons on him at all. He sat up, and heard more voices outside. Words like 'awake' and 'he's' flooded his now-working ears. He turned his head towards the hallway, catching himself in the security cameras in the distance.

He sat up on the bed as the Doctor came in.

He'd probably be released- after a litany of questions he didn't know how to answer. Fenn did a lot, but he never lied to a Doctor. He told them the truth, as much as he remembered. He was supposed to extract after meeting someone on Level 981 about some evidence, take it, and handle the thugs that they reportedly brought with them to deal with the Black Sun. Some Corporate evidence for a Senator, if he remembered correctly. Someone to squeeze in the Republic. Or was it the Empire?

He couldn't remember. It wasn't his job to do that. It was his job to do the dirty work, not the smart work.

He spoke after a brief conversation with the Doctor-

"How long have I been out?" The reply was not welcome. He was brought in nearly 48 hours ago, give or take. He grimaced. A lot could happen in that time. Chief among the questions he had-

Where the hell was his gear? His armor, his weapons. His skin.

He stared at the wall. Someone had some explaining to do. Someone had to pay. And someone would. He sat up more, and took a deep breath. The Doctor wanted him to stay for observations, for more tests. Fenn was not going to have that. No, he had a mystery to solve, and people to hurt. That at this point, rightly deserved it.

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[Zandra Ruus]

People balked at seeing a Mandalorian in full armor just standing vigil in a hospital for ostensibly no reason, but Zandra had bigger things on her mind. One of her brethren was clinging to life in a hospital bed, that came first. The people of Coruscant were not her concern anymore. However, being on her former homeworld was a bit of a shock to the system. There were no better doctors though, everyone would come to a place like this if they could afford it...

"Don't move too fast Vod, it'll be easier on you if you just sit still for a bit."

It was with a small degree off irony that she spoke, Zandra did not handle being still well either. Then there was the issue of speaking to someone a few years her senior like he was some kid. He probably knew better than to thrash around, but instinct was instinct, fighters had to fight. It was commendable, if not a bit crazy.

"I know this is not how you'd like to wake up, but there's a lot I have to explain. Just sit back for a little while and I will tell you everything... Maybe together we can make sense of this whole mess..."

She wasn't sure how good Fenn's memory was, or if he could even really understand her, but she had to try. The black armored figure strode up to the bed and held out a hand, placing it on Fenn's shoulder. She wasn't the softest hand, but she could comfort a comrade when needed. Part of her wished she could remove her helmet, but her adherence to tradition forced her to remain fully armored.

"There was a fight, somewhere on the lower decks. More like a damn war, I found you covered in blood and surrounded by dead men. I knew I had to stim you, get you stable, bring you to the best damned doctors I knew to find. I don't know too much besides that..."

Fenn Stag

 

[Fenn Stag]

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Sounds. Sounds formed into speech. Speech formed into words. Words formed into sentences, into thoughts, into questions, statements. They processed slowly. The sedatives he had been placed under, either when he first got here, or by the hospital were starting to wear off. Starting to. He sat up further on the bed, further and fully upright. He looked down at his arm- a beskar woven mechanical marvel. It was crafted by the best of the beskarsmiths, and looked remarkably similar to his still in-tact right arm. He wiggled his fingers in his mechanical arm, opening and closing his fist to test it. A little slow, but he knew that was because his mind was still slow.

Fenn had no idea who she was, and he didn't prescribe to her Crusader ideology. Not many did. The main reason he didn't- was because he slew Hakon Fett. Honorable combat, sure enough, but it was still a sore subject for him and Crusaders. Killing a champion of their cause was more likely to put you on a shitlist than a happylist.

He remembered a violent altercation. Lots more than just him. The memory was blurred, like looking underwater. He ran a hand through his hair, gaining more composure. He took a deep breath. His blue eyes moved over to her, slowly, like a predator scanning a field for a meal.

"Who are you?"

And more importantly- stripped of his armor, presumably not by her, how did she know he was a Mandalorian (albeit, not a very good one lately)?

Zandra Ruus