Private Vatbound

[Tae'l Vizsla]

It had been mere days since the events that led to this moment aboard The Recluse. Tayl had spent that entire time dreaming within the warm waters of a Bacta Tank, Much like her mother, Aloy Vizsla , who was still floating gently in the next room. Tayl's own skin was badly damaged, leaving black markings on her hands, feet and lekku even after the initial burns had been healed. It was as if the very life had been dispelled from these places by the dark side of the force, Even despite the Jedi's healing which had saved that broken life. Even so, she looked half a miracle, half a corpse. Much of the old flesh was beyond repair, missing too much organic matter to even heal. There was nothing to heal. It made her seem deathly thin, as if Iris Arani had pulled her from the other side.

And yet, she looked almost serene within the healing vat, Head tilted up and Lekku floating freely within the warm liquid. Some nights she may have had nightmares, true, but others were filled with the fanciful dreams of youth. Swimming on Kamino as a child, bathed in the warm ocean waters of summer. Spending time in the arms of her mother Tan'yill Vizsla under the red oak tree outside their old home on Roon.

Or the warmth of-

✱beep✱ ✱beep✱

✱beep✱ ✱beep✱​

✱beep✱ ✱beep✱ ✱be-✱​

The little heart monitor on her tank sped up abruptly as the young Twi'lek cadaver began to shake her head from side to side, bubbles of exhaled air escaping the rebreather stuck in her mouth. Fire. She could swear the fire was back, phantom pains in her face and chest were sharper than any knife she would ever handle.

And she could see it too. She could see it all. Alone in the darkness, surrounded by the great storm towering over her, there stood her old friend, Samara .
Her ivory hair blew in long strands, a beautiful thing shaken by the storm. But her face was no longer beautiful. It was full of hatred and fear. Bolts of crimson lightning danced from her finger tips, as did fire swirling around them as the storm became so unbearably hot.

The die was cast, and in a near instant, her flesh blackened like the shadow, turning to ash strewn by the storm before her very eyes. Try as she might, the inhibitor chip wouldn't even let her scream out in terror, She-



Her eyes opened for the first time in days. Wide and confused as she took in her surroundings, all bathed in the teal glow of the bacta tank that had housed her for so long, and would continue to do so for even longer still.

And then her hands. Her poor, blackened burnt hands, placed against clear glass that she could only just barely feel now.

​

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Iris Arani \\ Tan'yill Vizsla​

 

[Iris Arani]

Iris sent a hand on the glass. The scarred, pinkiless, cracked hand. Gently trying to reach the colors of panic and fear, soothe them. Could she hear in that vat? Iris couldn't remember if she could when she woke in her own. Just a lot of panic. Pain. Didn't help when she woke in the bed later all bandaged up and unable to move so much of herself without pain. Or at all. So much panic.

"You're going to be okay, Tayl."

Tae'l Vizsla

 

[Tan'yill Vizsla]

​

Tan'yill walked through the empty, quiet corridors of The Recluse, only the deep hum of the hyperspace engines accopanying her through the stroll. The heavy boots of her beskar'gam stomped against the metal floor. The thought that she could take off the armor and rest had not stuck her. Until now, when Aloy and Iris Arani had finally convinced the headstrong rutian to do so, after more than two days without sleep, watching Tayl in the bacta tank. Even wounded and tired, she still wanted to be ready. Ready for whatever menace they could come across. Ready for another fight to defend her family.

Their woes never seemed to end, and the fact that they were off Coruscant and heading far away from it all in hyperspace speed was a weak comfort. Only a handful of loyal mandalorians were aboard since the final battle against Apollyon The Betrayer . One which Tan'yill had given everything she had in. Completely emptied herself while the thought of freeing Aloy had kept her going. It had been messy, to say the least.

The battle had ended with their victory and Aloy being freed. Just according to plan. But and there was a big fething but... However, she had been badly broken mentally, and with the lower portion of her left arm missing.

While on the way to her and Aloy's cabin, to finally get some rest, Tan'yill passed by the well equipped ships bar and saw a protocol droid working behind the counter. She entered, figuring a nightcap wouldn't hurt. On the contrary, it would definitely put her to sleep once her head hit the pillow.

''Mrs. Vizsla? What'll it be?'' the droid asked politely with a male voice, ready to perform his duties and already having been notified of the ships new owners through its central computer.

''What...? Right now?'' Tan uttered groggy with a weak voice, barely scaring a child. ''Uh... What about a whisky? Some ice? Better leave the bottle while you're at it...'' she continued, a deep sigh leaving her chest as she looked around the quite spacious bar. The droid set a short glass on the counter, filled it with ice and poured up the drink, leaving the bottle on the counter as instructed.

''How are things going, mrs. Vizsla?'' the droid asked, apparently noticing the gloomy mood one of its owners was in.

''Heh... How are things going?'' she repeated in despair, and grabbed the short glass before her. ''Like chit? I don't know if it could be any worse, really... With my daughter stuck in a bacta tank for an indefinite time, and my wife being scarred for life on the inside... Thanks to your former owner...'' Tan continued and took a sip of the amber liquid. ''I don't fething get it why I'm still alive and breathing? It should be me in that bacta tank! Not her!'' she added, notably affected with heavy self blame.

Suddenly, her comlink buzzed and the robotic voice of the medical droid broke through, with words of Tayl's awakening. Without delay, Tan was off the chair and out of the bar, leaving the drink and the droid and running back to the medical bay where Iris had taken over the watch.

''Iris?! Is she awake?! What's her status??'' Tan'yill uttered once entering the room, feeling renewed energy get to her, and headed over to Iris who stood before the bacta tank.

Tae'l Vizsla ​

 

[Tae'l Vizsla]

Tayl's breathing began to slow as Iris placed her hand against the glass, her own moving as if to touch it from the other side.

She tried to speak. She wanted to speak, but the tubes in her mouth wouldn't allow it. She could only stare at her friend, still afraid. So very afraid. Not of death or the pain, no. Though the pain was still evident even despite the Bacta, even if less than before. More so she was just afraid of her own weakness in that moment. The only daughter of Aloy and Tan'yill Vizsla, warriors who had seen the rise and fall of empires and even played a role in it, potentially crippled and chair ground.

She could barely feel her limbs now. And floating in Bacta for several days at a time certainly didn't help.
She wanted out... But she already knew just from the feeling that it would be a bad idea.

So her eyes slowly shut, little bubbles denoting a long sigh behind that oxygenated tube.
But at least, she had Iris...

''Iris?! Is she awake?! What's her status??''

Reluctantly, she opened her eyes to greet her mother. Eyes whose vibrant green had been all but drowned out in the teal liquid, and silently pleaded for forgiveness. Tan'yill had never done anything to make her doubt her own place within this family, but her own shattered confidence had plenty. That, and Aloy's absence in her childhood. Always so busy... With war, usually. And when it wasn't war, It was politics. Politics that had Aloy stressed beyond her own breaking point, eventually leading to House Vizsla's exodus from Mandalore.

It spared her having to leave a home there, at least.

More bubbles...

She wanted to speak with them. Maybe to apologize to her mother for going off alone. Maybe to ask about Aloy, who she hadn't even seen since the incident.


Then she got an idea...

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Tan'yill Vizsla \\ Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

"Stable. Keep calm, er.. Miss." Right, treat this like talking to a patient's parent. She wasn't actually Tayl's daughter, but there were a lot of customs she wasn't sure of when it came to Mandalorians. And right now, she didn't want to accidentally make a problem that could upset Tayl further.

<Sorry. You're not done in there. Just stay calm. The droid will let you out when it's time.> Iris apologized right out the gate for speaking in Tayl's mind. Right now, it was the only way she could think to make sure the girl could hear her. And be heard. The colors around her made it obvious she had things to say.

"She'll be ready to come out soon. Once the Bacta finishes. Then it's bed rest. A lot of bed rest. And probably rehabilitation."

Tae'l Vizsla | Tan'yill Vizsla

 

[Tan'yill Vizsla]

​

"Stable. Keep calm, er.. Miss."

The Jedi's words were a weak comfort for the worried mother. Yet, her calm presence and sure tone were strangely soothing on her soul. Tan'yill searched her for a moment, before turning to Tayl and met her gaze through the bacta and glass separating mother and daughter. Tan could read the expression in the tyrians face and in her eyes, pleading for forgiveness. A forgiveness that were never hers to plead for, but instead Tan'yill's.

Tan'yill shaked her head no, before she reached for a notebook and a pen on the medic's desk, and quickly wrote down three words; ''We love you'', which she held up against the bacta tank while also saying it wordlessly. She kissed the tips of her fingers and placed them lovingly against the tank, never letting go of her daughters gaze. If not for this cursed bacta tank, she would hug her and never let go.

"She'll be ready to come out soon. Once the Bacta finishes. Then it's bed rest. A lot of bed rest. And probably rehabilitation."

Tan nodded ever so slightly at Iris giving her the status report. Tayl would be given all the time she needed to recover, and the best possible care that they could find in this unfair and cruel galaxy. Tan'yill's initial thought had been to go to the cloners that made her, on Kamino, in the hopes that they would have DNA and tissue left from the cloning process.

Tan wrote on the notepad again, and put it up for Tayl to see. It read; ''Hang in there, love. Everything is going to be okay. We are safe. Ma knows, and she is very proud of you.''.

Tae'l Vizsla , Iris Arani ​

 

[Tae'l Vizsla]

<You... can hear me?> Tayl's eyes widened and the sudden telepathy, both in awe and in the startling realization that Iris really could just read her mind... Or... could she? If it was a one way link than it wouldn't be nearly as frightening or useful as she thought.

Admittedly though, the sound of bedrest didn't please her either. Tired as she was, she wanted to be out and about like before. Not stuck in a jar like a Kiminoan shrimp on display...

Still, her mother's notes were comforting in their own ways. Though she really wishes that Tan'yill would realize she could hear her. Honestly, she'd like to hear her voice right now, regardless.

Instead, she closed her eyes and nodded slowly, a single tear becoming mixed with the bacta gel. Not that anyone would see much, save maybe more bubbles.

<Iris... If you can hear me... Please tell her? And... bring me one of Aloy's droids...>

<If you connect it to my armor... My neural link... I can speak...!>

<Please...>

She hoped, prayed even, that Iris really could hear her in there. Being just a silent cadaver was almost as heartbreaking as the events that placed her here.

​

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Tan'yill Vizsla \\ Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

Iris just nodded after a moment, turning her gaze towards Tan'yill.

"She wants her armor. And one of Aloy's droids. She can use her neural uplink to speak. I think she can actually hear us."

She glanced, briefly, just to make sure Tayl actually could.

Tae'l Vizsla | Tan'yill Vizsla

 

[Tan'yill Vizsla]

​

Tan'yill noticed Tayl's eyes widening at Iris, and figured the jedi used her mind to talk to her daughter. She would admit that it was making her a bit uneasy when the jedi used mind tricks, but right now it seemed to be of good.

''Wh- what's going on? Can she talk to you? Telepathically?'' Tan'yill stuttered, looking between them two.

''Oh, god! I'm fething stupid! Uhh...'' she said, giving herself a facepalm. Tan'yill had not slept or ate since before the event that led them here, and it was clearly affecting her thinking. ''Tayl? Your readings are stable. We're going to get you out of there and on your feet in no time! Your mother is alright and resting. We can't wait to hold you in our arms again.'' she explained, before nodding at the request of her armour through Iris.

''Right! You got it, love.''

Tan'yill was gone out the door to fetch the parts needed from the armor, namely the buy'c and the neural uplink, and one of Aloy's droids. The young tyrian also needed to rest and let the bacta gel do its magic, but if she wanted to say something just after she had waken up, you bet that she would. Tan'yill also longed to hear her daughters voice. She were soon back with the armor pieces and a small droid, and set it all up on a chair by the bacta tank. Now, Tan crossed her fingers that they could speak to each other.

Tae'l Vizsla , Iris Arani ​

 

[Tae'l Vizsla]

<So you can hear me!>

Tayl's eyes beamed at the thought! It didn't matter if the Jedi could read her mind, not now. All that mattered was that she could help. And help she did.

Tan'yill's warm words were met with a slow nod, and the colors of the force began to lighten in hue as hope and a newfound calm began to steadily take hold.

One of Aloy's many battle droids was set up in a chair beside the tank, sat down with Tayl's red accented helmet wired to the very droid brain itself. The poor and confused thing appeared to be a junkyard hybrid of OOM-series and a B2-series arm, which soon powered down partially so that Tayl could attempt a connection.

It was crude, of course... And very experimental. If the droid were to ever be compromised while connected to her in this way, digital chaos could be inflicted on the poor girl's cybernetically augmented mind. But they were safe, for now, and it was the only thing she could think of.

The droid was silent for a time, Tayl's eyes shut and eyelashes flicking as she tried to concentrate on using her neural link, wirelessly connected to her helmet.

Eventually, a few lights and even sparks would flicker inside the only partially repaired helmet and then-

. . .

"Can... you... hear... me...?"

The droid spoke. It wasn't exactly Tayl's words, but thoughts processed through the droid's own dialogue programs and then crudely spat out for anyone who would listen. It was if she had commandeered a fraction of the droid's digital mind for her own purposes.

"Is... it working...?"​

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Iris Arani \\ Tan'yill Vizsla​

 

[Iris Arani]

"Kind of. It's.. I'm not sure how to describe it."

The Force was the Force. That much she did know. Iris stayed with Tayl, trying to keep her calm as ever through the influence of the Force. Always trying to help her not freak out. She knew far too well how easy it could be to panic. Then, the armor. The helmet. Words.

She nodded once, briefly smiling.

"It is."

Tae'l Vizsla | Tan'yill Vizsla

 

[Tan'yill Vizsla]

​

Her badly wounded daughters first words following the fateful event got Tan'yill to exhale deeply in relief. Even though the voice was crude and distorted by using the droids vocabulator, there was traces that gave away Tayl's real voice in there. A mother could pick those tiny traces up with ease.

Tan'yill nodded while her eyes, full of hope and anticipation, resten on Tayl and awaited what her daughter would say or ask for, if she needed anything.

''It does, love. How are you feeling?'' Tan added, walking up close to the bacta tank again to let Tayl see and feel the support of her twi'lek mother.

Tae'l Vizsla , Iris Arani ​

 

[Tae'l Vizsla]

Her eyes beamed with excitement when they finally opened, glancing at all faces present as her features softened.

"It... sounds awful...Ha...! Hah...! Can't... wait... to do this... for r-e-e-e-eal...!"

The light inside her empty helmet would occasionally flicker throughout the sentence as Tayl tried to familiarize herself with the process. A small part of her wondered if she would be stuck like this, but at the same time, her throat did seem fine.

Admittedly, a lot of things were feeling better. Maybe there was still some soreness to her hands and feet. Black as they were. But it wasn't like before, and she had one person to thank for that.

"Iri-i-i-s..." She turned to face her strange friend from Denon

"I wanted to thank yoo-o-o-o-o-o-you... You saved my life... I won't forget i-i-i-i-i-i-i-t-t."

<Damn Aloy... get some better modulators why don't you>

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Tan'yill Vizsla \\ Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

Iris scooted back to give the mother and daughter a moment. Their moment. If anything, Iris was little more than a stranger here. A bounty turned friend. Well, maybe not a stranger. Still, she didn't want to intrude on the moment any more than she had. At least until she was thanked. She blinked in surprise, but smiled softly. Shook her head.

"I'm just glad you're alright. Don't push yourself, okay?"

Tae'l Vizsla | Tan'yill Vizsla

 

[Tan'yill Vizsla]

​

Tan'yill lighted up somewhat when seeing the eyes of her daughter beam with excitement, realising that the tyrian still had some happinies glowing inside her badly hurt but now slowly healing body. The little Vizsla's - well, not so little anymore - cute and uplifting smiles suited her as much as the carefully constructed beskar'gam she wore into battle. The tyrians first words through the droids vocabulator was yet another step towards something better than this path of misery their family had been led astray on.

From the awakening and the faint smile fighting with the mouthpiece, to the beaming eyes and the shaky voice. Small steps that bit by bit lifted a weight from the blue twi'lek mothers shoulders. Hope started to slowly fill the room, as Tan'yill glanced upon the jedi who Tayl so deeply offered her gratitude to.

''Thank you... Iris.'' Tan said most sincerely, and laid a friendly hand on the womans shoulder. ''I understand you and Tayl has known each other for some time...'' she added, glancing upon them both. ''I'm a woman of my word... You helped us defeat Apollyon... You're the reason my daughter is still alive...'' Tan continued, noticeably taken by the whole situation and adding two days without sleep upon that. ''Our door will always be open for you, and if we can be of any assistance to a jedi... House Vizsla will always stand ready to support you in any way we can...'' she promised, that emotional and tired gaze looking straight into the jedi's eyes, before a firm hand pulled her into a hug of friendship.

Soon after, Tan'yill let go of the young woman and slump down with the back against the bacta tank next to the one which held Tayl. Knees pulled up and elbows against them, her head sunk down and with that her forehead into her palms. Unavoidably, the questions soon started to rise in Tan's head. How did they end up here? What did they do wrong? What did the sith want? Why showing him- och herself when the battle was over?

''I- I thought we killed every one of them...? Room by room, floor by floor...? Did we really miss this one...?'' Tan doubted in murmur.

''We had no information that Apollyon had siths in her ranks... What happened...? Iris...?'' she said, looking up in search for an answer. A more detailed explanation of what they did, who this sith was and why they ended up fighting it without calling for backup. However, she could not fully distinguish each one of the question at the moment, only that she wanted to hear more of the events that caused such harm to their family and Tayl.

Tae'l Vizsla , Iris Arani ​