Wounded Patience

[Astrid Gray]

Bastion - Hospital​

Some time had passed since the events on Jaminere. Thanks to the timely arrival of [member="Joycelyn Zambrano"], Astrid had gotten out of the danger and immediately into the care of local medics. Unfortunately they could only do so much there, and had her promptly onboard a ship set to return to Bastion. Astrid had been unconscious throughout that time, completely unaware of her own state and the state of things around her. She was left in the care of the Sith Empire's finest, following orders from the Emperor himself. Meanwhile, Ves had remained on the planet for a time, gathering the different elements on SINN's operation, and getting it offplanet. Once everything was organized and shipped back to Bastion, it didn't long before the young woman was at her boss' side.

The first couple days had been bad.

Within the first twenty-four hours of her being awake, Astrid was eager to get back to work - assuming she had just taken a nasty knock from the explosion. But it's when she attempted to move that it finally dawned on her, the sudden lack of weight from where her legs should be. The covers were ripped away to reveal most of them were gone, just up above the knees. Astrid had been numb, and had seemingly 'shut down' for almost two days with barely a word spoken to anyone. All she had said, was giving Ves instructions and orders, to tend to SINN's operations while she was hospitalized.

She did become more lively after a time, and just in time too as [member="Darth Carnifex"] had paid her a visit. Apparently something had happened on Jaminere, something that had kept the Empire's focus there for a while longer. Astrid barely remembered the specifics, as anything involving the planet was automatically tuned out. What had caught her by surprise however, was the Emperor's decree that she'd be hailed as a hero. The woman had opened her mouth, intending to refuse but ultimately decided against it. You didn't refuse something like that in front of the Sith Emperor. But it was clear Astrid didn't consider herself a hero, not when she had gotten one of her employees killed. Kaine's visit was short, leaving with the reassurance that if she needed anything, the Empire would provide.

But Astrid already some plans in mind, and once she had a secure datapad in hand she had gotten to work. First ensuring SINN was running on schedule despite her absence, then finally sending a message to someone from her past. One of the very few contacts she still had in the Underworld, at least within the ones had mother hadn't cut off before her passing.

All it took was a promise of credits to get [member="Daro Tarsi"]'s interest.

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Astrid Gray"]

Credits were good.

Opportunity was better.

Daro would be bad at what he did, if he hadn't been keeping tabs on miss Gray and her budding fortune in the Sith Empire. Quite a far leap from a street rat towards the Queen of PR in their nation of propaganda. But Daro wasn't one to judge- what brought bread on the table, eh? Especially if that bread was gilded twice and was worth its weight in gold, no?

It didn't take long- day or two and then one Daro Tarsi sauntered into the hospital room.

Flask in hand already, one of the nurses had tried to take it away, he had another one. Was fine.

Sharing is caring, eh? "Miss Gray, long time no see." Daro said, nodding, before flopping down on one of the chairs. "Hear you are in quite of a..... bind." Now that got the grin going. Dirty, he desperately needed a shave and the drip of alcohol was wiped away from a greasy wrist. But the eyes... the eyes told the tales and right now they were as sharp as ever.

"What can I do for you?"

 

[Astrid Gray]

Astrid was sat up in her bed, everything below the waist covered by a couple of blankets. She had clearly opted to wear something more comfortable at some point, rather than the usual patient attire, but it was nothing along the usually outrageous line she went for.

"Indeed it has, Mister Tarsi."

She had been a teenager the last time she had seen the man, and even then it had been an accidental encounter. Her mother had been adamant in keeping her away from that side of their life. To a point that she purposely arranged it so that either Astrid was away. The only reason the two had 'met', was because Astrid had arrived home a bit earlier than normal and ran into him as he was leaving.

Which then led to her being suspicious, and starting to snoop around...but that was an entirely different story.

Placing her datapad down, Astrid took a good look at the man seated before her. Not much had changed from how she remembered him, the same scruffy alcoholic look from years ago. Although now there was a bit more age to the appearance.

Hear you are in quite of a bind.

"That's one way of putting it." A moment's pause, checking her datapad again before looking back up. "Thank you for arriving so quickly." Courteuous, although Astrid held no illusion that it was because of a kind heart.

"I believe one of your companies; Trigen, Cogmind...they manufacture cybernetics, correct?"

[member="Daro Tarsi"]​

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Astrid Gray"]

For a brief moment Daro watched Astrid.

Few people knew of his direct connect to Trigen and yet here she was... resourceful little minx. Should have known that it wouldn't be possible to hide from the Sith Empire and their curious little people. Daro wondered if he'd have to burn through his records again or if he might as well just leave it be. A sigh and then Daro shrugged. "Look who is well-informed this time 'round."

A smirk then.

"They do indeed, miss Gray."

His eyes slid off her eyes, down her neck and patched upper-body, before gently resting there where the blankets were trying to cover up something... that wasn't there anymore.

"I expect that payment is not an issue?"

 

[Astrid Gray]

The corner of Astrid's lips twitched into a smirk. It was always enjoyable when she was able to catch someone by surprise, even if only slightly.

She took after her mother well in that area.

"It pays to always be well-informed."

And it didn't hurt to be part of a large faction as the Sith Empire, their reach far and influential. Something Astrid didn't have years ago. There always seemed to be a game of weighing the pros and cons for folks like Daro Tarsi. Were the credits on offer worth it, against being involved with the Sith? How much could they keep their presence to a minimum?

But there were also those that understood that principle, and much preferred to keep it so, to ensure a working partnership.

Astrid fidgeted slightly, watching as Daro's eyes lingered to where her legs use to be. The blankets were ultimately useless, they did nothing to hide the fact there were something significant missing.

"Of course, payment will be made in full." It wouldn't be coming from the Sith Empire though. This was more personal, and the only thing Astrid was willing to dip into outside of her personal funds; was SINN.

[member="Daro Tarsi"]​

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Astrid Gray"]

While she had made him temporarily worried he had repaid her with pulling attention to her legless nature.

Tit for tat.

Make sure to put her off-balance as much as she had him for a brief moment. Perhaps it was petty, but Daro had never claimed to be a saint. In fact nobody would claim that Daro was a saint. Ever. "That sounds good then." A shrug as he relaxed once more, fidgeting with the flask for a moment before making another deep sip and enjoying the burn on his tongue.

Then.

"What kind of specifications are you looking for? Light, heavy? Unobtrusive? Obvious? Combat ready?"

A shrug.

There were other options there, but those were the most obvious to him.

 

[Astrid Gray]

"Unobtrusive, of course."

Astrid did have an image to maintain, even if the newscasts never really showed her legs. There were still the meetings and social events that she had to physically appear at. And having a pair of robotic limbs would ruin the perfection.

"Keeping them light is a must, and I want some kick to 'em." If it had been anyone else, that would've likely came across as a pun. Not so effective when someone who was typically deadpan serious.

She had been awfully bored since she had regained consciousness. Relegated to only being able to use datapads to do her work, which wasn't a lot without being behind her desk. Nonetheless, Astrid had managed to procure a small number of datapads, each for a specific matter that had to be addressed.

One of which was quite relevant to Daro.

Astrid reached over to the side table, grabbing one of the devices. She briefly checked it was the right one before throwing it over to him.

It contained data and rough schematics of what Astrid had in mind for her new legs. She was no artist, so the diagrams weren't exactly spectacular. One of her artists at SINN could've done a better job, but Astrid was adamant on keeping only a very few aware of her current state. The important details were there however, labelled with plenty of notes.

She wanted a pair of legs that were capable of blending in, so they didn't appear robotic. But it went beyond that, and it was clear Astrid had difficulty trying to illustrate the next main point. The notes at least helped in that regard, describing a system that was capable of transforming them into blades and allowing her to move around with a spring-loaded based movement.

"Hopefully that's a suitable basis to work from, it's of course lacking the more technical details."

[member="Daro Tarsi"]​

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Astrid Gray"]

Eyebrow rose at the crude schematic drawn.

"You drew this?" Well, it wasn't horrible or anything. He'd have to redo most of it, because while it might look great on a piece of flimsiplast, there was ergonomics and viability to consider when designing cybernetics. It had to feel like an extension of yourself, otherwise it would simply be... a mess. His own cybernetic was a prime example of that, bulky, metal, after so many decades it was an extension of himself.

But it hadn't started that way.

"Not too bad- like the idea, very... ingenious. You do realize you will need training before it becomes useful, yes?"

Not even in the sense of acrobatics, but it was a new leg after losing her old ones. There were things to consider there. It would presumably take weeks if not months before she'd actually be effective with these... killer heels.

That got a smirk out of him.

 

[Astrid Gray]

Astrid wasn't a complete perfectionist, otherwise she would've been offended by the look on Daro's face. She knew it wasn't a masterpiece, instead opting to stick closer to outlining the function and purpose. As long as that was clear and apparent, she was happy.

"Yes well, it's a perfect example why I have artists on SINN's payroll."

Hours had passed before she was even able to get started on it, although it wasn't like Astrid was short on time lately. She watched as Daro looked over the schematic, almost seeing the cogs turning in the man's mind as he already began making mental notes.

"Oh yes, I'm well aware of that." Her attention shifted away, to anywhere but Daro.

The physical element part wasn't the only side that would take time to heal.

"I already have...ideas in mind for that, not just for the physical therapy." She already knew her stay in the hospital was going to last until the doctors and therapists were happy with her progress. That meant being able to walk again; probably the biggest hurdle out of everything.

Only once she was out of there, could Astrid focus on drawing out their full potential.

"Will there be anything further you need, Mister Tarsi? The doctors here have been adamant over keeping me on Bastion, so if I'm need to be somewere - they'll have to come here instead."

[member="Daro Tarsi"]​