The Binarian Sabercat vs. the Medic

[Matthew Robinson]

Comm-beep went off in the semi-lit cockpit of the small transport. Matt was on call, circling the outskirts of the Pimbrellan League. The far outskirts.

Beep. Beep.

Matt slurped up the drool that started to pool down his chin. "Wha-what? I'm up. I'm up!" Tired-grunt left his mouth, palms pressing to push against his eyes, trying to rub the stubborn sleep outta them. The young man had been on call the past 56 hours and it was starting to show.

"This is Matt. What's the call, over?"

A voice crackled on the other side. "We've got reports of a supply transport down on Binaros. Medical attention is needed by at least two crew members. Are you in range?"

Hand groped for the switch to the auto-caf maker. "Yeah, I can be there at the bottom of the hour. Over."

"Good. Transmitting coordinates now."

Auto-pilot was set and Robinson was well on his way. "Let's see what kinda place this is," he spoke to his caf mug. "Ah, sabercats and man-eating plants." Dark-brows furrowed.

Well, feth.

 

[Matthew Robinson]

The blue glow of Binaros eclipsed the viewport. Hard to imagine any land down there at all. Just seemed like a bloated water world. Every now and then, Matt saw a pinprick of green and brown in the overall blue. One particular spot of jungle grew larger as the transport flew closer to the transmitted coordinates.

Sensors read the local temperature. It was hot. And humid. And there was tons of life. It was like Dagobah packed on an island in the middle of Dac.

Pretty soon his hazel-gaze could make out a thin trail of smoke coming from the damaged supply ship. His transport set down close by. The untrained empath frowned. He was definitely picking up on feelings of malevolence from nearby sentients. Or maybe that was just all that caf on an empty stomach. Slinging the strap of his med bag over his shoulder, he lowered the ramp and headed out to assess the situation of those in the fallen supply ship.

Ears already picked up on the moans of pain from here.

 

[Matthew Robinson]

There was a middle-aging woman. Looked like her shoulder was out ad she had several deep gashes on her forehead. Matt didn't hesitate. He knelt down next to her, outside their smoking transport.

"Oy, I'm a medic from the Kathol Outback Responders. Name's Matt. I'm here to help. Mind if I take a look?"

She gave a wide and partially toothless smile and shook her head, motioning for him to come closer. The empath felt her pain and it helped him pinpoint the severity of her wounds. Hands rummaged in his med-pac for some bacta patches. Peeling them off, gentle hands placed them over the worst of the older woman's abrasions.

"Anyone else around?" He leaned closer to the older woman, trying to use reassuring tones. Instead of a response he heard the unmistakable click of a charged blaster behind him. He turned to see a trandoshan. There was a second click. The woman with bacta patches covering half her forehead and partially toothless held a blaster barrel to his face.

"Just back up nice and slow sweetheart. We just want your ship. You don't 'afta get hurt."

Matt raised his hands. Bugger this barmey. "I'm guessing pirates?"

The old lady's grin widened. "The doc is smart, look a'that. Go on, back up to that clearing, there darling." Matt grumbled. His pride hurt more than anything. Too bad they didn't make bacta patches for that. If he ever got off world, he'd never live this down from [member="Bryce Bantam"].

 

[Matthew Robinson]

With a blast of hot air, Matt watched helplessly as the pirates boarded his ship. Well, his borrowed ship. And left him stranded. In the middle of a carnivorous jungle-world surrounded by an endless ocean.

At least the ship wasn't bought with the money invested by [member="Judah Dashiell"].

Then he'd feel really bad.

"You tossers!" Matt raised a fist and shook it at the sky and fading image of his transport. Shoulders hunched. And for a moment he was left in silence. That moment stretched longer until it was finally broken by the sounds of the jungle and its inhabitants around him. He went to go check the broken down ship the 'pretend suppliers' had left behind - specifically, the communication's relay.

Just as he expected, busted.

He could probably jerry-rig it. But it would take him awhile. Matt wasn't a mechanic. The real question? Would he survive long enough to put out a call for help.

"Bollocks." Hand rubbed at the back of his neck in frustration.

 

[Matthew Robinson]

Two days passed.

Two. Entire. Days. The medic was low on food and fresh water. He found a bit of herbs he was familiar with. Some fruits. But the water thing would be a problem. He didn't want to stray far from the safety of the broken-down ship. But if he wanted to survive, he had to. Shouldering a pack, he took one last look at the ship.

"Hope to see you again mate."

There it was. More talking to himself. Hopefully he wasn't going barmy. Shoulders set in a resolute stiffness and his lumbering steps took him further into the jungle. But the problem was, the medic felt like he was being hunted. Not a good thing for an empath.

A twinge of warning was all he got before a giant, fury body leaped into the back of his pack, taking him down and over the edge of the ridge.

"Ommphh-FETH." Matt glimpsed the form of a sabercat falling next to him as he tipped down the ravine.

Force help me.

Head knocked on something and everything went black.

 

[Tahira Solo]

When the doc went down, a shimmering figure hovered in the air just above his unconscious form. The binarian sabercat was already on its feet, predator-eyes trained on the easy pickings. The healer ghost's figured flickered from view and disappeared.

For a moment. Just as the jungle-cat lowered its haunches, preparing to pounce.

Tahira's shimmering form burst back into the waking plane, a swath of brilliant cascading from her figure. A roaring yelp left the beast's throat. Its paws stumbling in the underbrush. With its furry tail between its legs, it did what most cats did when they were scared; it ran.

The ghost of a girl knelt next to the medic.

"Matthew," she whispered, shimmering strands of chestnut-hair blowing in a breeze that just wasn't there. "Wake-up." It wasn't a gentle voice. It was commanding.






[member="Matthew Robinson"]

 

[Matthew Robinson]

[member="Tahira Solo"]

"Uggggrrrgghaaaa," Matt groaned. There was a voice. A blimin' girlie? Impossible. He must've gotten knocked on the head harder than he thought. Hazel-eyes popped open.

"I'm still alive," he gasped, hands slowly assessing his own limbs. Nothing broken. A few bruises. And.

He blinked.

Blinked again.

"You're a blimin' g-g-ghost!" Jaw went slack as she stared quite stupidly at the shimmering form of the girl leaning over him. "Wait. Am I dead?"

 

[Tahira Solo]

"No but you will be if you don't get up and pull yourself together, Doctor Robinson." A shimmering-hand raised. "Yes I know your name. Have you ever heard of the force master, Tahira Solo?"

The medic finally closed his gaping-maw and managed a quick head shake of his dark-floppy-haired head.

Chestnut brows rose and a small smile pulled at her lips.

"No? She was a master healer. Fought the sith and died by the sith alongside her husband. But enough about me. Let's talk about you, Matthew Robinson. You have potential. I'd like to help you." Her shimmering form stood. She would offer him a hand but in this case it wouldn't do much good.

 

[Matthew Robinson]

"Nononono - NO." With a grunt of effort, Matt stumbled to his feet. "I must be blimey blinkered or slodged because there is NO WAY this is even happening."

Tentatively, he stepped forward and waved a hand through her shimmering-form. The air felt cold. He snapped his hand back. He began to pick his way back up the steep hillside. He saw the set of prints from the sabercat and shook his head.

Must be going mad.

She spoke behind him. "You know I'm really here. You can feel me. Sense me. The force can tell you many things, Matthew, if you're open to it."

"Bugger off. Even if you are real. I. Don't. Care. Jedi. Sith. They're the same. I have no interest to learn and join their bodged-up dance." Her shimmering form popped right in front of him and he pushed right through her.

"Matthew. This is bigger than that and you know it. I can teach you to heal through the force. To help others. I know you've felt it before. When you work. If you turn your back on me, you'll turn you back on helping others."

Finally, he hauled himself back over the edge at the top, away from the rushing stream. Shoulders heaved as he sucked in deep lungfuls of humid, jungle air. Hand wearily pushed through his dark-mop. "I still think I might be mad. But. I'm listening now. If you can help me get off this rock, I'll agree to let you train me. Deal?"

Hazel-gaze finally looked up to the force ghost. She was a persistent little blighter. If he got out of this, he might try bringing this up with someone else in the Outback. Maybe [member="Sor-Jan Xantha"]. The kid was ancient. He must know something about force ghosts.

 

[Tahira Solo]

"I'll help you every step of the way."

Shimmering-form looked off into the distance at something unseen. "But you must get back to the shelter. There are dangers lurking here. Ones you're not ready to face. For now, focus on the light inside. Pull at it. See if you can project it. All living things share the force. If you stop long enough, you can sense it. Even on the cellular level."

"Why me?"

Myrtle-ellipses focused on the medic as he whirled to ask the question. She floated on by him, hoping it would encourage him to keep walking. They really didn't have that much time.

"The force lead me to you and I answered."

A simple answer but it was the truth.

 

[Matthew Robinson]

Matt still thought he was daft. Even after a few days. And then a week. Time seemed to pass slow and fast. Training was...harder than he thought. Probably because he was trying to survive, too.

Whoever thought some force ghost girlie would find him and help him fix an engine?

Yup, definitely going mad.

Still, it felt good to know something. At night, he could summon short bursts of force light. The stuff seemed to keep the binarian sabercats away but drew other, larger creatures. He had to be careful. He was even getting better at healing through the force. Well, at papercut level. But the medic was beginning to understand the science behind the mystical. He could sense the cells and nudge them back together.

Most of the time.

But things were about to change. He would try the engines tomorrow morning. And hopefully, he'd be off this jungle rock.

 

[Tahira Solo]

Morning light filtered outside the ship. Her shimmering hand moved through the shafts. She missed the warmth. She wondered briefly is this was a feeling that someone like [member="Darth Adekos"] would even understand. Perhaps if he died, he would miss feeling the cold of shadows.

She found Matthew outside the ship, working on last minute repairs. She knew it would work. She could sense it. Even if her nervous but hopeful pupil couldn't. Had she been like that once?

"Matthew, before you go. I want you to practice one more thing for me. Have you ever heard of a force shield?"

 

[Matthew Robinson]

Matt jerked up, banging his head on the piping of the underbelly of the ship.

"Blimey! Ugggh," the force-ghost girlie was growing on him but she still managed to scare the feth out of him. No footsteps. Just hovering. Hopefully he'd be able to sense her soon.

The scrappy medic dragged himself out and looked at her shimmering form. A moist, humid wind blew in from the jungle. His palm went up to rub at the forming goose-egg underneath his matted, dark hair. "Oy. Those I treated at Chalacta and Coruscant talked about it. Seen it a few times from the space wiza--I mean forcers. Let me guess, you want me to 'ave a go?"

She nodded her glowy-head.

Matt puffed out an exhale. "Fine. But then I'm getting in that cockpit and firing up the engines."

 

[Tahira Solo]

The master healer observed quietly. Making adjustments when necessary. But after a few tries, the medic picked it up. It could very well save him. And so could the other basic skills she taught him during their weeks stay on the jungle planet. Force light. Manipulation of objects. Basic healing. Force bubbles. Force barriers. There were others, too. And if Matt worked hard, he had the potential to be great.

Well, it was enough to keep him alive a little longer.

He would run into battles again, even though he denied it. And she wanted him ready to survive. The force lead her to him. And she had faith in the force. There was a reason for this. Even if he was the reluctant student.

 

[Matthew Robinson]

A hand came up and tossed a mock-salute to the fading and shimmering form of Tahira Solo. The ship rumbled beneath him. Hazel-gaze lit up. He couldn't help the crooked-toothed smile.

Finally, he was getting off this jungle-rock. He looked a wee bit more haggard than when he first arrived. But otherwise in excellent health. The green landscape quickly receded as he maneuvered the ship into the blues of the upper atmosphere and further still into the darkness of space beyond. It would still be a couple days until he reached a communication beacon and let those in the Outback know he was still alive.

Knowing Bryce, the man probably put out a search party for the missing TKO search and rescue member. Matt wasn't sure yet how embarrassing that was. Hopefully their financial backer, Judah Dashiell, didn't hear about this. He didn't want the man to start forming any doubts about his abilities all due to some marauding and ship-wrecked pirates and smugglers.

And eventually, he'd start to wonder if he was daft, mad, or both for seeing a force ghost.