Private Where the light barely touches

[Jacen Voidstalker]

"Kark," he swore. He reached for the Force but it did not heed his call. He was done. Jacen was a stubborn man and he would try again, but there was something more important to do first.

"Is this...a doctor?" he called into the comm when someone picked up.

Jacen placed his hand on Lierra's shoulder. She was warm to the touch, though he didn't know if that was normal for her species.

"Breathe slow," he murmured.

 

[Lierra Lunora]

Lierra's eyes fluttered open briefly when he touched her shoulder, looking up at him with a strained smile. It helped to ease her nerves that he was trying to help her, instead of either leaving her behind or callously letting her die. She managed a slight nod when he told her to slow her breathing, inhaling deeply through her nose and then gradually exhaling through her mouth. "Mhm..."


Meanwhile, on the other line of the comm, a woman with a distinct drawl answered the call. She had a voice that made it difficult to tell how old she was, low with a subtle rasp. There was an amused chuckle before she finally spoke. "Yeah, this is a Doctor. What sorta trouble are y'in?"

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Was he supposed to use her name? Was there some kind of password? The world of thieves, assassins and crime was something of a black box to him. He had worked in law enforcement before, but he had been the hammer brought down by people who understood this world.

"I'm with Lierra at her safe house, she's been poisoned," he explained.

Why did she find this funny? He thought to himself.

 

[Lierra Lunora]

"Any idea with what? And through what means?" The doctor asked matter-of-factly, her fingers snapping at something in the background of the call. A Droid could be heard chirping faintly, as though it was some distance away from the doctor herself.

"Keep her talkin' and don't let the girl go to sleep, whatever it is." She added absently, writing down whatever information that Jacen gave her.

"I'll be there as soon as I can. Shouldn't be long." She said, hanging up.


Lierra opened her eyes briefly to look at Jacen, trying to focus on his words, the sound of his voice, anything.

"It'll be fine. You'll see." She murmured softly, trying to force a smile to reassure him.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

He gave the woman on the other end of the line everything he could, short of the name of the devaronian who had shot her. If Jacen had been an expert in healing with the Force he might have known more of the nature of the poison. He didn't.

"You will be," Jacen insisted. She had sunk back into the couch, the medkit open and pieces sprawled across the floor. The sedative might have been a good idea but now the doctor wanted her to stay awake.

A few months ago and he had been in the quiet shop run by his uncle on Mos Espa. He had hidden from the galaxy. And he had been bored.

"Let me see the wound," he insisted. Jacen wanted to rest, but he had been through worse. He had been through the very worst this galaxy had to offer.

 

[Lierra Lunora]

Lierra nodded at Jacen's request and twisted around so that she could cautiously lift the blood-soaked shirt up just enough to expose the oozing wound in her side. She grimaced as the fabric pulled against the sensitive injury and took a sharp breath.

"Ngh..."

The angry wound had dark scarlet streaks branching out away from the edges. There seemed to be some sort of black tar burned into her skin.

"Not ideal... Is it..."

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

"No its not," he admitted. He kept a hand on her shoulder and looked at the wound. He didn't have the strength to get up and inspect it properly, but he didn't have the medical knowledge either.

"Breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth. I will try and calm your mind," Jacen said quietly.

"It's all I have the strength left to do," he sighed. His voice was quiet, but the slow baritone was at least calming. As long as the idea of him touching her mind through the force was not panic inducing.

 

[Lierra Lunora]

Why was he going through so much trouble to help her? Lierra could not, for the life of her, understand the man's seemingly genuine altruistic nature. From a young age she'd been taught only to obey, forced into compliance, and honed as a weapon.

Jacen was showing her something she wasn't familiar with, which left her cautiously curious... And wanting to know more.

"If you think it'll help... Just uh... I'm not sure what you'll see if you do." She muttered, half trying to crack a joke.

Her eyes blinked shut once more and she exhaled a slow breath from her lips.

"Thank you... In case I don't get a chance to say it later. Thank you for trying."

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

"No need to thank, I'm not very good at this so..." Jacen said with a smile. He was an old soldier and humour at the very worst moments was a coping mechanism that had become habit. He had always been a better soldier than a jedi.

His head was pounding. The Force didn't come easily when he could barely remember his own full name.

Eventually it responded. A wave of warmth slowly wound itself around her mind. A fog between her and the worst of her pains, the worst of her worries.

 

[Lierra Lunora]

At first, the strange sensation was alarming, but it didn't take her long to recognize the similarity between it and the crux -- the nickname she and others like her used for the drug that their master's used as a leash. It was soothing and chased away the horrors of the world and the agony of dying. She could almost hear it humming a soft Lullaby to usher her to close her eyes.

If she was going to die, at least she would go somewhat peacefully like this. A tranquil death was not what she deserved, but she wouldn't turn the invitation down.

She wasn't sure how much time passed before she started to succumb to that siren's call, her mind idly wandering towards what would be the end of all her suffering.

That fate, however, was staved off by the metallic shudder of the door opening, announcing the doctor's arrival.


Wrivko was a noticeably shorter than Lierra, but she seemed larger in presence. The woman appeared to be in her late thirties, though it difficult to nail down exactly. Sandy blonde hair, cropped I just below the chin, hung halfway in her face to obscure the vivid scar that ran diagonally across her face -- likely from a vibroblade from the looks of it.

There was a black duffle slung over her shoulder and an armed battle Droid plodded along behind her. She gestured for the Droid to shut the door behind them and then strode over to the couch where Lierra and Jacen were seated.

Her eyes flicked over the barely conscious woman and she clicked her tongue.

"How many times do I have t'tell ya, kid? Y'gotta get yourself proper body armor." She scolded Lierra, dropping her bag onto the couch next to Jacen.

She spoke to him next, though she didn't turn her grey eyes towards him, she was too busy cutting open the side of Lierra's shirt so that she could work. "You don't look like the sort that usually hangs around Lierra... What dragged you into her mess?"

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

If he had stayed on tatooine he would never have been pulled through the vortex into this abject mess. He would have been bored. That wasn't a very jedi-like traight. He wasn't supposed to go seeking out excitement.

"She has a type?" Jacen asked, knowing exactly what she had meant.

"How do you know her?" he asked more seriously. He didn't like that someone else knew where the safe house was. This was not his world. He didn't understand the risks.

Jacen drew himself up and out of the way so that the doctor could work.

 

[Lierra Lunora]

Wrivko chuckled a little to herself at both Jacen's quip about Lierra having a type, and his more serious inquiry as to how the two of them knew one another. She gave Lierra an injection in the side of her neck, and then another, with a different syringe, to the wound directly.

"There aren't many legitimate doctors that work in the field, let alone who are willing to deal with the underground cartels. Most around here are grifters lookin' to scam someone out of their money, or pretending to be a medical professional. Amateurs, the lot of em."

As she started to clean Lierra's wound, she fell into a quiet focus, grunting on occasion.

Lierra head lolled back into the couch, her eyes rolled shut and her breathing even, but shallow. Whatever Wrivko had given her finally took effect, sedating the woman enough so that the doctor could stitch the wound shut without Lierra shrieking in pain.

"Her and I met years ago, when my late husband first got tangled up with the wrong crowd while lookin' for work. The two of them never really spoke much, but given her line of work, I ended up seein' her a lot at the clinic while she was bein' trained..." Wrivko explained, shaking her head while she worked.

Once she was satisfied, she wrapped the wound with a kolto gauze and bandage, then moved to wash her hands off in the sink.

"Now ... How did she get shot?"

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Jacen watched with interest. The speed she worked with her materials reminded him of the field surgeons he had seen whilst fighting for the Republic. Perhaps he had seen them more than he should have done. He wondered if she was ex-military.

"Trying to kill someone," he responded plainly. He didn't know how much he was supposed to tell this doctor. He stood clinging to the back of the sofa, looming over Lierra. He knew he needed rest too.

 

[Lierra Lunora]

Wrivko watched the man's demeanor as he stood over the resting woman, while she removed the black plastic gloves she'd been wearing. There was a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of her lips, as if something still amused her about the situation. It was clear to her that Jacen was exhausted, but he remained awake, dutifully watching over Lierra as if they were old friends.

"Mmm. She's lucky. That poison normally kills someone in about ten minutes or so. The wound itself isn't particularly serious. She should be ready to move from here in a few days or so." She explained with a wave of her hand, lifting her duffel off the floor.

"Y'know... wouldn't be hard for me to convince her handlers that she perished. Just a thought."

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

"You would do that for her?" Jacen asked. "None of them know of this place?"

It was an offer he didn't feel he could accept on her behalf, but interfering was what he did best. One of his weaknesses was thinking that he always knew what was best for those closest to him.

 

[Lierra Lunora]

Wrivko arched a brow at both of Jacen's questions, then she shook her head and laughed. "I would, yeah. She's a good sort, just in over her head with no real way out... Until now."

She shrugged a shoulder. "But she won't be able to stay here after that, someone'll recognize her. This safehouse is safe for a few days tops."

Her gaze lingered momentarily on Lierra's face and she sighed, looking back to Jacen. "From the way you're talkin', it sounds like you're plannin' on stayin' here with her?"

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

"No, well, for tonight," Jacen replied. That was not exactly how he would have worded the situation. Lierra was a paid murderer, he wasn't making a house call.

Jacen looked down at Lierra and rubbed the back of his neck. He needed to sleep off this headache.

"Tell them she died and I'll take her far away from here," he said firmly. When Jacen set his mind to a plan he followed through on it. He might not have always made the right decisions as a Jedi Marshal, but he had made them.

 

[Lierra Lunora]

There was a glimmer in Wrivko's pale eyes that conveyed her opinion of Jacen in that moment: she was grateful and impressed at the same time. She could tell by his answer that Jacen was not a part of the seedy underworld in which she and Lierra dwelled. No one from that life would have been so selfless.

She dipped her head and hefted her bag a bit further up her shoulder while her other hand gestured idly down a corridor. "There's a bedroom down that hall. You look like you could use some sleep. I'll take care of the rest and give you a call when it's safe to move."

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Jacen woke earlier than the owner of the safe house. She was still on the sofa, cushions tucked under her head and blankets tucked in around her.

His headache was going to be phenomenal, but he could feel the Force again. She did not feel restless to him and she was breathing easily.

Jacen poured himself a glass of water quietly rather than rummage around in the cupboards. To try and feel a bit more normal he found the sonic shower. He dropped his clothes in the bottom of the unit, where the sonic waves would shift some of the dried blood from them.

 

[Lierra Lunora]

The sound of the sonic shower humming in the background was what woke her at last. She stirred for a few moments and then reluctantly opened her eyes. Remarkably, she was quite comfortable nestled into the couch and tucked in. She found herself not wanting to move from the spot.

But she knew there was someone in the apartment with her, she could hear their footsteps.

Caution urged her up from the couch, her side twinging slightly from the movement. It hurt, but wasn't unbearable -- Wrivko must have worked her magic yet again. She could barely remember the doctor visiting through the fog of the medication.

"Hello?" She called out softly as she moved to the kitchen, and then gradually making her way towards the sound of the humming shower.