Log:Sanctuary and Healing
Lira'una goes seeking Doctor Faidra to treat a life-threatening blaster-wound and finds comfort and sanctuary on the Haulin' Assets
OOC Date: October 2, 2024
Location: Nar Shaddaa
Participants: Lira'una, Bar'duur, Faidra, Aliisza, Bryett Cordair
Lira'una's presence is barely that of a wraith as she stumbles through the door of the familiar hangar, her usually graceful movements reduced to a stagger. Her small, lavender frame is shrouded by an over-sized black cloak that sways with her unsteady steps. The hangar, filled with the faint hum of machinery and the scent of engine grease, is one she's been to before -- Captain Bar'duur's place in the Dawnrise District.
Each step feels heavier than the last, her legs threatening to buckle beneath her. Her breath comes in shallow gasps as she presses forward, one hand clutching the inside of her cloak as though to steady herself. The arm hidden beneath trembles with weakness, and every time she puts weight on her injured side, a jolt of pain sears through her body, leaving her lightheaded.
For four hours, she's been chasing a name through the underworld of Nar Shaddaa. _Doctor Faidra._ The Rebellion told her to find this person. She just hadn't expected the search to lead her here. Now, though, her vision is starting to blur, and her lekku hang limply down her back, the usual vitality in her lavender skin now a sickly pale hue.
"Faidra?" Her voice breaks the silence of the hangar, weak and barely audible over the distant whir of machinery. "Doc... Doctor Faidra?"
She stumbles again, her body swaying dangerously, but she forces herself to stay upright. She can't afford to faint. Not yet. Not before she finds the help she so desperately needs. Each breath is ragged, each step a battle against the pain radiating from the blaster wound hidden beneath her cloak.
"Please... someone..." she whispers, her strength waning as she moves deeper into the hangar, hoping -- praying -- that Doctor Faidra is here.
Lira would encounter a droid first, he's always there by the entrance, he never sleeps, just takes time to recharge now and then, and even then, his sensors stay active just in case.. Lira is scanned, is she on the list? Definately fits the 'call the boss' category. It emits a low, deep warbling sound, closing the door behind her and triggering Bar'duurs comm.. Down the ramp of Haulin Assets he appears, looking toward the entrance curiously, before said curiously turns more toward concern and he rushes forward. "Lira? What happened?" Then he calls toward the ship. "Come out quick!" Apparently, to the awaiting doctor Faidra.
She's here, that Doctor. Faidra bolts down the ramp takes a few seconds to see what's going on and then boluts back up the ramp in to the ship. It's less than a few more seconds before she's bolting back down the ramp with medical bag in tow and sprinting across the hangar towards Bar and Lira.
Once at her patient, she looks to bar, "We need to get her on the ship and I need her on a bed, and I need it now bar, right now." Yeah, medical mode means she blurts out orders and doesn't care if it upsets people or not.
"Heyyy..."
Lira's using that kind of 'out of it' voice that people get when they're feeling light-headed, but she's using it with the droid that scans her by the door.
"..is there any chance you could... maybe call..."
Of course she's polite. Even when she's dying. But then Bar's coming down the ramp, rushing over, and some of the tension bleeds out of the girl's shoulders. With help _there_, that need to keep pushing bleeds away, and she loses her balance.
At least she was falling _towards_ Bar.
"Blaster bolts... hurt..."
Is that a huff of laugh? Is she _trying_ to laugh? It's hard to tell through the way she cringes in pain at the same time.
"...Faidra?"
The teen's blue eyes shift to Faidra for the briefest of moments and then close.
"Please be Faidra..." Just a whisper.
With access to try to figure out what's going on, it's not hard to find the source of the problem. Inside that oversized cloak that fits her like a massive blanket, she's only wearing what amounts to a sports bra and leggings, a utility belt and soft-soled boots. On her left side, right between the tops and the bottoms, there's a _very_ nasty blaster wound that looks like it's probably burned right through her skin. Cauterized, maybe, on the outside, from the heat of the burn.. but whatever damage it had done on the inside was causing havoc.
Big arms reach out to catch Lira, looping around her, shifting to find the most supportive way of holding her she can. Worry takes over on his expression but there's a sharp seriousness as well, and as soon as Faidra says she needs the girl on a medbed, hie scoops her right up, turning and carrying her hurriedly toward Haulin Assets, and toward the modest medbay inside, at least they have /a/ medical bed.. "It's alright, she's the doctor." He tells her while carrying her. He'd try not to jostle her, but well, speed takes presidence over comfort at the moment.
Once back in the ship, the orders keep being barked out, "Get that cloak off of her, and her gear" that's the first one that's barked out. One that Fai just trusts Bar to handle. "Sorry hon, but I've not got time to ask your pemission" she adds with her back to the both of them as she gets her medkit ready. Once ready she turns around to give the teen a look over, doing the full spectrun of checking eyes, looking the wound over, et all. "Okay hon, I've got you okay? I'm Faidra.." she adds placing a gentle now gloved hand on Lira's cheek and smiling like bright sunshine on a cloudless summer day on planets that have those.
Once it's all set up, Faidra goes to work saving a life, becaues this is what she does.
It's certainly not like Lira's in any condition to argue, though there may have been a few grumps along the way at the jostling which just couldn't be helped. They should have heard her grumping all the way to his hangar, trying to find the dang doctor! There was no way she was going to trust some random hack on Nar Shaddaa that said they knew what they were doing, and of all of her contacts, one name kept coming up...
Faidra.
So, if something needed to be done, there wasn't really a better recommendation than that.
"It's.. okay," Lira groans, doing what she can to help with the cloak. It's untouched by the bolt. So, maybe she wasn't wearing it at the time. Or maybe the fact that it's just a big black cloak instead of anything that resembles ARMOR means that it just wasn't covering anything.
Not that having an extra layer of weatherproof garment between her and the bolt would have done much good.
"Thank you." It's mumbled with a little smile on Lira's purple lips as Faidra's looking at her eyes, and she's squinting into the light. She's not _trying_ to fight the inspection. It's just a sort of reflexive cringe. "I'm... Lira. I'm... I had some friends... tell me to... find you."
Once the cloak is off, the belt is the gear is next obvious thing, which is where they'll find a bunch of pouches full of all sorts of whatever from comlinks to credit chits. There's no blaster on her belt, but there is a length of wood dangling from a clip.. about eighteen inches long. A collapsed San-Ni staff that the Zama-shiwo practitioners on Jedha are famous for using (along with some other more ruthless martial arts, like Teras Kasi).
"You... know this guy?"
Her voice is still weak, but she's squinting from Faidra to Bar, then, with a little cringe of a smile.
"I thought he owned a bar... turns out he's some... big shot ship captain."
Lira is carried inside, layed upon the table, and then the man is starting to pull off her jacket, followed by her top. "Sorry, this is nothing personal." He offers in the process, his motions just a bit brisk though he's careful not to hit anywhere sensitive in his process. Then he's working on her footwear so her pants can be removed if neccessary as well. "Just hang in there." He says softly, offering a warm little smile to Lira. "Hey, don't you know better than to judge a cargo load by the paint on the freighter?" He offers her good-naturedly, reaching out to give her hand a little squeeze.
"Little pinch hon" and that's the needle going in. "Just some pain control meds, it's going to feel warm and you're going to feel really sleepy okay?"
Faidra looks at the wound again and then to Bar and the concern on her face should tell him everything he needs to know. This is bad.
Out comes a Spray Hypo and over the surface of the wound it goes, this one no doubt has what it needs to make it so Lira wont feel anything.
"Bar.." she asks, without looking at him, "Hold her please."
To Lira? "Sweetie, I am so sorry... but I can't make the pain go away entirely. I want you to bite down on this.." and she hands a little, well, piece of wood wrapped in leather.
It's going to hurt, a lot, because what comes next is a Sonic Scalpel, water, et all, to debride the wound and cut the damaged bits... well, off.
Pretty soon there isn't much at all between the twi'lek and those working on her except the air between them, and it seems less about modesty than the chill of the air that she draws her arms up, crossing them for warmth.
"Paint on the... wait... are you... nngh... saying you're a smuggler, too, now?"
There's still humor in those words. At least she was _trying_ to be funny. Even if it didn't really come out that way. She huffs another little mirthless laugh, but then she winces at the swing from the needle. "Ow."
Pain. Okay. There's.. there's going to be pain. There was already pain. What's a little more pain, right?
"Uh-huh."
But then there's an opening of her purple lips, an accepting of that stick, and then a clamping down of her teeth.
"Ineehahom-ink-hyett-an-hell-hin-hi-hot-hot.."
Of course she waited until was biting on that stick to try to say whatever else she needed to say...
At least, maybe that meant the pain meds were working.
Bar'duur turns, reaching out for a cabinet to pull out one of those hospital gowns he was talking about. He reaches out to cover Lira up, carefully, in such a way that won't interfere with what Faidra is doing, to at least offer a bit of modesty to the situation. Otherwise he's just trying to make sure Faidra has what she needs, and looking concerned. Soon he's moving to hold her, as bidden, placing his hands on her shoulder and her hip respectively to ensure she cannot move out of the way. He's pretty big and strong, but if he has to he'll even use a knee. Hopefully it won't be required though. He winces, as Faidra starts getting to work, turning his attention back to Lira. "You're doing really good, do you do this often?" He asks, hoping to lighten her mood a bit?
"Okay, here we go.." and well, slicey slicey slicey. She cuts off the damaged skin, and even with the pain meds and numbing meds, that's going to hurt, more than likely a lot. Good thing she's biting down on the thingy now and bar is holding her down. "I hope to what ever passes for divinity now a days, that she does not." Back to being incredibly focused.
"Hunh-huh."
It's an 'answer' to Bar's question that probably conveys not nearly as much as her blue eyes do when they swivel over to him. And there's apology there.
Not sadness. Not even really regret. Sincere apology.
It wasn't really that she didn't want to be here. She didn't like that she was making them do all of this.. go through all of this. She didn't like that she was making them help her.
But then there's the cutting, and the screaming isn't just inhuman. It's... intwi'lek. Her eyes close and tears almost immediately slide out of the corners, dripping down past her ear-cones as she writhes -- unintentionally (though it's honestly hard to tell whether or not it's intentional) -- against the pain.
If there's one solace in all of it, it's that she's not very strong, and at only five feet tall and maybe a hundred pounds, she's also not very hard to hold down.
There's that nice thing to bite on that Faidra had offered, and Bar briefly reaches to tuck it into the Twi'lek's mouth, before he's holding her again. So at least there's that, if she managed to bite down on it, that's something at least.. right? The horned man concentraits on holding her down now, so Faidra can get her work done as quickly as possible. He looks like he wants to ask questions, but opts not to speak so Faidra doesn't get distracted..
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Aliisza is definatley one to poke around when left unescorted, especially in a place she has not been to before. Though any cat jokes might get one introduced to one of her little friends. Her ears perking up and forward as she peeks into the medbay. "Ohh, forgives me, please. I did not realize you had someone in a bunk here." She starts to duck back out again, but not before casing the place over as there seems to be a LOT more room in this ship than her own.
The medbay isn't terribly hard to miss, it's near the steps that go up to the upper decks and cockpit, at the fore end, off to one side. The medbay of this ship is not very big at all, just enough to treat an injured crewmember, really, but there's a bed and some emergency cots stowed away somewhere, for the odd emergency. Bar'duur had noted Aliisza peeking in so he moves along behind, clearing his throat to alert his presence before offering a friendly smile. "She's a patient, it's alright, I don't think there's any issue.. how's she holding up?"
Getting shot sucks. A lot.
Getting shot sucks a lot worse on Nar Shaddaa, where an honest doctor is hard to come by and _everything_ you touch is a recipe for infection, is even worse. For... 'reasons'... Lira didn't trust her care to just any corner clinic in Gearhead. She'd reached out to some friends to figure out where to go and was only given Faidra's name. Nobody knew how to reach her.
It took hours, scouring multiple levels asking some very careful questions of people she at least sort of trusted, all while trying to hide the fact that she had an open blaster wound hidden under her cloak and trying not to walk like wounded deer. A lot of being on Nar Shaddaa have prey instincts, and a wounded doe in the form of a five-foot-tall lavender twi'lek is just the sell-into-slavery-quick-credit windfall some of them need to put hyperfuel in their tanks.
Thankfully, Lira had recognized the hangar... and even more thankfully, the hangar had recognized _her_. Bar had, anyway, just before carrying her inside so that Faidra could do her emergency operation and fix all the internal bits underneath all the external burns.
It... did not feel good. Eventually, Lira simply passed out.
Even now, with Faidra lifting her head, she's groggy. But the blankets are a welcome respite from the cool air, only her bare arms and shoulders peeking out as she clings to the warmth and lifts enough to take a sip, her lekku having slithered forward over her shoulders and crossed a bit like a scarf on top of her collarbone.
"Thanks," the girl says softly to Faidra once she's swallowed, relaxing to let her head back down. Maybe she's still a teenager? Her sheer size (or lack thereof) makes her seem even younger than her nineteen years.
Then there are new people coming in, and her blue eyes shift from the doctor to Aliisza and Bar in turn, giving each a weary, hopeful little smile on her purple lips.
"How _am_ I holding up?" she repeats Bar's question, looking back to Faidra. She doesn't seem to recognize Aliisza, but she doesn't seem to mind, either. Not that she's in much of a condition to have an opinion on the matter, anyway.
Icy Blue eyes look up to Bar and Isza. The frown that forms on her face should be more than enough to get the point across. This young woman was very very close to dead. "It's fine Aliisza" she pauses a moment, "just, don't crowd her. You two can come in."
To Lira, she turns, and there's no doubt what Lira was looking for, Faira is incredibly kind, warm, caring, and gentle. She's a real doctor. A real and honest healer. Someone who truly wants to help people. "In truth hon.." she pauses a moment and reaches out to grab one of Lira's hands and sandwhich it between her own warm hands. "I am not going to lie to you dear, you had, a very close call." She exhales deeply and keeps the smile ever present, "I didn't have to replace anything thankfully. But you're going to be healing for a few weeks. That means, I want you where I can get to you encase you tear open your wound under any activity."
Aliisza hmms softly as she slips just inside the door, craning her heck a little as she peeks around thew corner as her brows furrow slightly. "Not big enough for even a half-tank? Hmm... I know I keep a stash of soaked bandages that might help as well." She starts searching her belt absently as if seeking where she tucked them away as it is always a good thing to have at least one on hand in her line of work, bit official and unofficial.
Bar'duur's expression shows a touch of concern as he watches Lira, listens to her speak. All in all, she's fortunate to have found this hangar, with Bar here, and Faidra, who had just happened to start staying at said hanger recently, one could say it was the will of the force if they believed in such things.. "Well you look /terrible/ but don't worry, Fai here will fix that she's very good at what she does." He offers with a warm sort of smile. He slips inside, moving to find something comfortable to lean against. He shrugs to Aliisza in response. "We could make the medbay bigger but we'd have to change the cargo bay a bit." He replies. "We've got the credits to be well-stocked, though." His emerald gaze turns back to Lira then. "And you don't worry about anything, we're happy to provide a safe place as long as you need it or want it.. my hangar should be known, among certain circles as a haven."
It's not the 'close call' that seems to bother her, which is telling in itself. She's not surprised she was near fatally shot. She doesn't even seem upset by it, other than the wince of pain, at this point. There's no obvious emotional trauma from having had a near-death experience.
No, it's the second part that makes Lira cringe.
"Weeks." It's a whisper of a word, pained expression on her features. "I don't have weeks. I need to..."
Lavender hands reach down for her waist like she's forgotten that she's wearing nothing except whatever bandage Faidra put on her under those blankets. What was she reaching for?
"...comlink... is my belt...?"
Well, she has her priorities: 1) make sure she's not immediate dying, 2) get on the comlink to whoever she needed to update on her condition, and 3) well... gratitude, finally.
It takes her a few seconds to even register that she hadn't said thank you for taking in a stranger from the street, for not demanding payment up front before services were rendered, for giving her a safe place to recover rather than just bandaging her up and dropping her back out in an alley...
"Thank you." The words are soft, but gushed sincerely, the warmth clear there in her eyes as she looks between Faidra and Bar. "Thank you. Really. I... I owe you... and I'll make sure you get paid for this. I promise. I didn't..."
It's to Bar that she focuses on, then, that smile turning apologetic.
"...I didn't know she'd be with you. I just... I was told to..." She winces again, taking in a breath. "...to find Doctor Faidra."
Then those eyes are back on Faidra, and she breathes out a soft sigh. "I'm glad I did. They were right."
Once more, back to Bar. "Certain... circles?"
Are they the same circles that sent her here in the first place? How do you ask that question, especially in such a vulnerable situation? What if Bar's a Sith spy and Faidra's here undercover? What if she's forced to be here? What if this whole thing is a bit Rebel-hunting-expedition?
So the thing about Faidra being Faidra, she's a doctor, in every single possible way that matters. She can read people like an open book. Firstly, to Isza, "Thank you Isza, I have everything I need, though a tank wouldn't go amiss..."
Ah, well, there's Bar doing his thang, to which he gets a glare from Fai. One of those, /hush, you're not helping/ glares. Then the whole credits and changing the cargo bay et all, "Just, keep me stocked up and protected and I'll handle the rest."
Back to Lira, "Child.." the response is like a mother being exhasterbated with, well, a child. "Firstly, commlink can wait. I'll reach out to my contacts in the Rbellion and notify your handler." Yeah, no one is TOLD to find her and TOLD how, unless they're a bounty hunter, or part of the rebellion. Not a huge leap of logic to make. "You, have to focus on healing. We'll focus on making sure whatever OP you're on doesn't go south." Faidra pulls her hands back and stands up, "So, rest" another pause, "Also, it's just Faidra, or Fai. Drop the doctor part Kiddo." For someone that looks no more than 25, Fai sure is acting like a mom a lot.
Aliisza's ears twitch at all the news here. She nods to Bar'duur's explination, then gives a slight bow as her offer is aknowledged, then as quickly waved aside. She smooths her own belt pouches flat again with a fait jangle of parts settling back into deeper positions in pockets and such. "Ahh.. so the Rebellion has fingers here. I had heard they had some local help, but seeing as I tend to move around a bit, it was not forthcoming as to where." She offers the invalid and doctor a small fanged smile, her canines tapepred neatly to fine points.
Bar's eyebrows knit just a bit as Lira protests her condition. "Hey now, don't overdo it, we'll get you back on your feet as fast as we can." He says to Lira, and then he looks around for her gear. "We don't need payment, it's what we do." He says with a casual sort of shrug, and he fetches Lira's comlink and places it in her hand. "I'm a contact for the Rebellion." He confirms. "Just a place where people can stop if they need a place or some information, I don't like to advertise it." His gaze shifts over to Aliisza. "You're pretty good at keeping secrets, right?" He asks with an almost playful smirk appearing on his face.
There's something akin to relief that flashes across Lira's features at Faidra's assurance that she has her own contacts in the Rebellion, that she'll use them to contact her handler... but there's also a bit of a cringe. Maybe it's pain, but it's almost certainly from that not being exactly the answer she wanted to hear.
"Thank you," the lavender girl repeats, looking up to Faidra with a little shake of her head, "but it's not... it's not exactly like that. That's how I found you, but they..." She cringes again. "...they don't give me ops. Not... usually, anyway."
Part of the whole and yet separate. That narrows it down to not 'regular military' or 'spy.' Contractor of some sort? Allied supplier? Smuggler? She's so young to be any of those things...
"I need to.. to call my.. boyfriend. Please? He's.. going to be worried and I don't... I don't want him out looking for me where I went."
Then Bar's at her side, placing the comlink in her hand, and she blows out a long, relieved breath, like she'd suddenly been handed the cure for everything that was bothering her.
Lira flips the comlink on, and crackles as the encryption locks into place.
"Bry?" Lira sounds weak and tired, like she just woke up. "Bry.. are you there?"
A few seconds pass before a male voice responds. "Lira? I'm here. Sorry, I lost track of time again," he says sheepishly.
Lira's laugh is soft, distant, and then there's a sound like a wince of pain. "No, you're... nngh... you're fine. I... remember that part I went out to get? And I told you to stay because.. ugh.. because Ko Hentota was a rough level? Well.. I had kind of a... disagreement with a few swoop gangers.. and I'm fine, now. I.. got shot." There's another, mirthless laugh and a wince. "Bound to happen eventually, right?"
"Are you okay?" he asks immediately, concern plain in his voice even through the link. "I can be there in just a few," he adds almost at once.
Faidra says, "Absolutely not!" Yeah, that's the imeediate reply skipping past and ignoring pretty much anything else.
"You can have visitors once we know you're safe and not before!" That last bit, loud enough to be heard over an active commlink.
Faidra turns to glare at Bar, "If she can't" she thumbs to Isza, "I will never forgive you." Okay, where the hell is this coming from?
Back To Lira, "You are confined to quarters until I say otherwise, am I clear?" The look on her face says she's not playing games.
lastly, back to Bar and Isza, "This is a teenage GIRL, not a hardend warrior! What is wrong with you?" For that matter, "The frell is wrong with which ever recuirter decided it was okay to throw a KRIFFING TEENAGER out in to this BANTHA PISS OF PLANET WITHOUT BACK UP?" Okay, Fai's mad."
Aliisza lifts a hand to touch her sternum as her ears wing out as far as they can in innocents. Her expression alone reads as 'Who me?'. The nshe snorts nad shakes her head slgihtly, "If I did not, I would have been removed from business years ago. Probably left behind some dumpster with just a blaster mark as a third eye. " She quiets as Lira talks to her 'boyfriend'. Her eyes flicking to the others in the room as if to guage their reactions as well to the news. Though having worked with Twi'licks before she knows they don't always show their true age once puberty blossoms. If only they could bottle that shit, they would take the cosmetics world by storm. Then Faidra is yelling at her. She arches a brow up as her ears fold flat to her skull. "How is it my fault that she was thrown to the wolves? As for girl, yes she is female. But I have seen some with the ability to appear from near-hatchling to ancient crone before. So I could not say which she is."
"Uhh, alright.." He starts to say to Lira, and offers a smile. "Just let him know you're safe." He agrees, before turning his attention to Faidra, eyebrows lifting a little bit, back over to Aliisza once more. "No one is blamingyou, or me, and well, yeah, child soldiers are a bad thing." He agrees. "I know some might disagree, but as a general rule, obviously." He then offers Aliisza a smile. "Right, well, we have to be careful, you understand. I know what it's like to not have picked a side before, and obviously, we're all about caution here.."
"No, it's.. it's fine," Lira answers the comlink. "Don't rush. Really. I'm okay. I found a doctor. But, she says it may take a couple of... ngh.. weeks. I can't.. I might need you to bring the ship and.. tell... dad." There's such a long pause before that last word. "He usually turns up... you know?"
None of this is exactly putting Bryett's mind at ease, but he is not going to disagree. When it comes to this sort of thing, Lira usually knows better then him. Still, the reluctance is clear in his voice. "Okay. If I see... dad I'll let him know," he promises her. "In the meantime I'll get the ship ready and move it closer," he says, just a hint of dubiousness present in his voice. She's been tutoring him, but this is the first time he will have operated it on his own.
The shouting in the background also doesn't fill him with a good feeling, but he suppresses that as well. "If anything changes, link me again, okay?"
Lira winces a little at Faidra's outburst, closing her eyes briefly. Life gets so complicated. Still, that comlink channel is still open, and seems to be the bulk of her focus, for the moment. Priorities and all.
"I will. Hangar 3, Dawnrise A." There's a pause as Lira looks briefly back to Bar, eyes seeking approval for a thing she's already done -- telling someone where to find them. "I'll... make sure they know. Or I'll link you if I the plan... changes. I'm in a... ngh.. a ship. Once you're here, I'm sure someone will help you... find me." She pauses, then. "If.. If I'm allowed visitors at that point. Speaking of which, I should go. I..." The words are there on the tip of her tongue. The unspoken 'I love you' hangs in the air. But it remains unspoken. "I'll link you soon."
"Hangar 3, Dawnrise A," Bryett replies at once. "I'll be there as soon as I can. Try to rest."
It's not until that link goes dead that Lira finally lets her hand settle back onto the bed, the comlink still in it, and blow out another breath.
"I'm not a child soldier," Lira sighs softly, closing her eyes again. "I'm not a child. And it's no one's fault. All is as the Force wills it. For better... or worse, I am where I need to be, and with who I'm supposed to be with. There's no need to... to be angry."
She stretches out a hand towards Faidra. Asking for hers? Just trying to calm her down? The patient trying to calm the doctor.
"It's okay. I promise."
The look on Faidra's face has turned to actual fury. Bar's seen that face. This isn't a joke. She's about to blow.
To Isza, "I was't yelling /at/ you. You were just in the same general area as bar."
She turns to Bar next, and it's there, her eyes are literally glowing red and she's practically snarling. It takes a moment before she manages to calm herself down, a little, before she turns back to Lira. Who will soon find a very angry Faidra leaning in and staring at her eye to eye.
"I" she grits her teeth, "have been doing this" grits them again, "for fifty three years." She places both of her hands on each of Lira's cheeks, "You /are/ a child, and I do not apprecaite being ignored and dissmissed out of hand." Another long pause, "So, fine, your boy friend can come, but if you put any of my people in danger, we are going to have a very VERY long talk." This time, the question, is asked, with Faidra almost nose to nose with Lira, "Do I. Make Myself. VERY. Clear?"
Aliisza listens to the fairly one sided conversation via coms. Then blinks as her own coms unit starts to vibrate. She makes a face after glancing at it. "Forgives, this is a picky client that has a couple crates worth of rifles they wish modded up." She waves to the gathered as she turns towards the hatch out, slipping an ear cuff on. She growls something in a gutteral language as she answers the signal as she slips out of the room. Her steps fading away within a few heart beats.
Bar'duur offers a friendly departing bit of words to Aliisza on her way out, before looking back to Faidra, with growing concern as she continues to show her anger. "Faidra, dear, please. She's still weak." He offers in a softer tone. "We should talk about this where we won't cause her any more distress." He offers in his calm, gentle tone of voice now, a bit of contrast to the big horned man's overall stature.
Welllll... Lira wasn't really doing the whole soothing thing very well. Maybe it had something to do with being the patient (and not a particularly good patient). Or maybe it had more to do with her focusing on talking to Bryett than listening to the woman who just saved her life.
Which.. honestly.. is probably a fair argument for being furious.
The girl doesn't seem to begrudge Faidra her anger. Not even when she leans over and takes both of her cheeks. There's no attempt to recoil, no attempt even to raise a hand to push her away. She just lies there, cringing a little into the volume and the sheer proximity of the anger, but she does nothing to stop it.
"Yes, ma'am," Lira says, once those last, punctuated words are out. The girl's voice is soft, sincere, and her eyes are open again, looking up into the face of the doctor with a defenseless kind of innocence that probably doesn't really help her argument about 'not being a child.'
"I'm sorry, Faidra. I didn't mean to make you feel ignored or dismissed. I promise you... we don't pose any threat to you. And I'll go as soon as I can. You've done so much for me already."
Once she's said that, she lets her eyes drift just a little towards Bar, but most of her attention is still on Faidra -- the women who was upset about being ignored a moment ago now getting the bulk of the girl's attention.
"It.. It's okay, Bar. She's right."
Faidra pulls back slowly and folds her arms under her bust, "Good girl." Yes, she really jsut said good girl. So what? Wanna fight about it? Anyway, moving on.
To bar? "I am, calm..." and there it is, the sudden surge of pain that slams in to her like an proton torpedo. She stumbles backwards and lets out a scream while raising her hands to her head and closing her eyes.
Bar'duur does not look all the relieved, still concerned, most concerned. He moves closer, around so he can stand near Faidra. "Mmm." He says at first, before she starts to show pain, and his concern changes to suprise as well. "Wha, Faidra?" He reaches out, as if he could help, but he doesn't know anything that /he/ could do about.. whatever is happening!
It's actually a little bit of a smile that curls those purple lips when Lira's called a 'good girl.' Or maybe it's just that Faidra didn't seem to be so angry, anymore. Either way, she was most certainly not going to fight about it.
What she was going to do, though, is over-exert herself getting up onto an elbow as soon as the doctor stumbles back and raises her hands to her head.
"Faidra?!"
She winces, sucking in a sharp breath as pain shoots through her abdomen, but being helplessly trapped in the bed when Faidra was obviously in distress didn't seem like a thing she was willing to endure, either.
At least Bar is there, reaching for her, which keeps Lira mostly horizontal and not ripping out whatever work Faidra had just done on her. Yet.
"What's wrong? What can we do?"
"I..." she forces one eye open while holding her head with one hand, "I..." she can't get the words out. She looks from Lira with that one open eye to Bar. The word that comes out, is simply his name, "Bar..." she stumbles again, "help..." The help, it comes out and the world slows to a crawl as Faidra goes limp and crumbles to the floor.
"Faidra?" Says Bar'duur, a bit more of a frantic tone forming in his voice now, watching helplessly as Faidra speaks, as much as she can. His hands keep holding on to her as if he could help, and then she goes limp and he reaches to catch her. "Faidra?" He carefully lays her out on the floor, jostling her, just gently. "Pooda I need Karlie.." He mutters, reaching for his commlink. "She's a synthetic." He adds suddenly, to Lira.
The sight of Faidra collapsing is almost more than Lira can take and remain seated. There's a tensing of every muscle in her body -- a desire to rush over, to lend some sort of aid, even if she was the farthest thing in the galaxy from a doctor...
But Bar was there with her, kneeling with her, and Lira being laid out on the floor with no doctor to help her wasn't going to help the situation at all. At least she seems to realize that, and for _once_ be a decent patient.
"Synthetic?" Lira blurts out, blinking. "She's a droid?"
That... changes things. Maybe.
Without offering any kind of explanation, Lira's eyes sink closed where she's sitting up in her semi-propped-up position. She breathes in slowly, and then lets the breath out slowly.
She'd only ever done this with her astromech, before. Was it even possible with a droid that looked, sounded, seemed every bit to her like a human? Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe it is possible and she just won't have enough training to do it...
...but she has to try. And so, with a last steadying breath, she bows her head and raises one hand towards the collapsed woman, trying to reach out through the Force. Trying to focus through her own pain, her own concern, on the figure cradled in Bar's arms.. to listen and communicate with those delicate electronics, to hear them, communicate with them, in a similar way to that which she might an organic mind.
But this is a droid. And a really, really advanced droid that she's never interacted with before. Who knows what she'll hear, if anything at all?
Faidra is, utterly lifeless. Outside the very very shallow breathing that would worry any doctor of biologicals. To make things worse, she starts seezing. It's not gran mal, but her body starts shaking from head to toe.
"Yeah she's a very advanced and unique one, like the replica droids." He says. If Lira shows any signs of trying to get out of the doctors bed, he'll be moving to push her back into it, however. "My wife is good with droids, and she's done /some/ work to an HRD before.. but she's not around right now." He explains, and then it's just.. him looking helpless for a few moments. "I'm going to go find her."
Lira's head dips, and she almost seems in pain, herself. Well... she _is_ in pain, herself, but she's also up against something she's never felt before. It's certainly not her little BB-droid that goes around beeping and booping so happily at her feet.
This is... different. A lot different. And then Faidra begins to seize.
Lira's breathing slows, her focus more centered than ever on the movements of the Force around her, the flow and the currents, like a river of light and warmth... a field that binds everything, penetrates everything...
"Stay, please... if you can... don't let her hurt herself," Lira says softly. Her eyes are still closed, her hand is still lifted. Watto would ask, at this point, if she thinks she's a Jedi or something.
"I can almost... it's so... so much... it's so beautiful, but there's so much..."
Core Code. That's what anyone familiar with droid brains would see. A beautiful little floating ball floating in the blacknes of nothingness.
Core Conciousness. is what anyone else would see. It's not calm though, it's a whirling twisting malestrom of errors, self diagnostics, and other issues. Somewhere in there though, is /Faidra/. What this deep connection to her form reveals to Lira? Dozens of Positronic Human Behavioral programs. She can eat. She can drink. She can perform any function needed to pass as human. She can be intimate. But there's no, /programming/ here. She's not just a set of incredibly complicated descision making trees, behavior programs and sub routines. She's, alive.
With her hands, in the crude, mundane world, Lira was really more of a... mechanic, where it came to these sorts of things. She couldn't design a droid, or a ship, or a blaster to save her life. But.. maintaining them? Fixing them? That was easier. Maybe that made her more like a paramedic, in Faidra were actually human.
But this isn't the crude, mundane world.
With her eyes closed, that connection with the Force blossoms around her, becoming slowly, gradually, easier to feel as she pushes her own worries aside -- as she stops dwelling on the sounds of the seizing and the complexity of the problem. When she can finally give herself over to the connection with Faidra's mind, it is... truly beautiful.
It's not circuits and pathways like a little city of racing cars full of bits of data and pillars of power and storage. It's so much more like the organic minds she's touched... and it's in chaos. It's like a raging storm of emotions -- emotions that are both algorithms and definitely not algorithms. But through the Force, those words mean little. They _are_ emotions. They serve that purpose. They contribute to the storm.
"Faidra."
It's Lira's physical body speaking, this time. It's a whisper directly into her mind, into the storm, towards Faidra herself.
"It's okay. It's all going to be okay. You're safe. I know what it's like to feel this way... so overwhelmed you can't think, but you're not alone. You don't have to figure it all out yourself. I'm here, Faidra. I can help."
She couldn't be sure what those words would sound like through the Force or if Faidra would even be able to pick them out through the maelstrom of panic. Would they be soothing at all? Would they make no sense to a machine-brain, however alive it might be, that had gone into complete self-protect mode?
In some ways, she hoped it was easier than communicating with BB-BB, whose thoughts were extraordinarily simple compared to that of organic minds. Maybe Faidra's would be able to comprehend more... to understand more of the soothing quality she was trying to project.
The voice that responds is at first, BOOMING. It's incredibly loud and overwhelming. It's Faidra, but, not?
Notice: Starting Core Conciousness Diagnostic.
Notice: Core Conciousness System Diagnostic - Complete.
Analysis: Multiple Sub Routines in Catastrophic Failure.
Notice: Attempting Sub Routine Restart - Failed.
Notice: Attempting Sub Routine Restart - Failed.
Notice: Attempting Sub Routine Restart - Failed
Notice: HRD-01FD Core Systems Functions catastrophic sensory overload.
Notice: Emotional Processing Sub Routines - Failed.
Notice: Cause Identified. Glass Data Burst from memory Sub Core Zero Zero One.
Notice: Memory Core Zero Zero One - Designated, Eyes Open, contains extensive Trauma.
"Glass Data Burst from Memory Core? What does that mean?"
With the minds of the two women linked, there was no sense in Lira trying to conceal her own thoughts, her own memories from this connection. Through the Force, it was a conversation of sorts -- one that most others without a lot of tech experience and just the right equipment would never be able to pull off.
And yet.
"Glass data burst.. a fragile memory? You... remembered something? A memory that hurts? Can you show me the memory that caused the failure?"
As mentioned, Lira's not a programmer. Or particularly tech savvy in general. But if there are a couple of traits that anyone who knows Lira would vouch for, it's an absolute sincerity and goodness that often stands out like a beacon on Nar Shaddaa. In one of the vilest parts of the galaxy, this little lavender twi'lek's absolute commitment to helping, even when she wasn't sure how at first, is unwavering.
She may not know exactly how to help Faidra -- not efficiently -- but she's intent on trying.
Notice: External Entity Detected - Analying
Notice: External Entity Analyzed - Entity Non Threatening. Counter Intrusion Measures Suspended.
Notice: Memory Core Zero Zero One - Eyes Open Data Burst Authorized.
Notice: External Entity - Stand by for Data Burst.
One hopes that Lira is ready for what's coming, beacuse it's pure data, pure memory.
This is Faidra's earliest memories, on Ryloth. From when she woke up, to when she..
Explosions. Pain. Incredible Pain. So many dead droids. So many dead HRD's. Big Sis? Big sis? Big sister is dead. So many dead Twi'leks. So much blaster fire. So much. Make it stop. Please make it stop. Why? Why are they killing us? MOM?! MOMMY?!?! Mommy why are you hiding me in here? Mommy why are you crying? MOMMY!!! Mommy is dead. Sobbing. Pain. Running. Hiding. Running. Always hide. Always run. Always alone.
Notice: Data Burst Complete. Memory Time Index - 16th Galactic Standard Day of the 12th Galactic Standard Month, Eight, BBY.
Lira'una is not, herself, a droid. Granted, even though Faidra is, that doesn't seem to be helping her on the 'dealing with emotions' front. But Lira can't simply take information the way that some droids can -- with complete emotional detachment.
What she can do is rely on her training.
This Jedi Order doesn't preach emotionless detachment like those of the Old Republic. Lira knows Jedi who are married, and she herself has a man in her life that she... well... she's fallen in love with. It isn't love that's dangerous. It's not love that twists a person's actions cruelly. It's the inability to let go of that love when it's time. It's the envy and greed that take that love and twist it into a monstrous version of itself.
Lira knows that as well as anyone. She's had to let people go. People she loved.
Her own family.
She's had to watch families killed in the heat of battle by Sith soldiers. She's watched men -- three separate men on three separate occasions, for reasons she still doesn't completely comprehend -- be decapitated so close to her that she got gore on her.
This little slip of a twi'lek, of only nineteen years old, has gone through more than anyone meeting her for the first time would suspect. No one would would expect those big, innocent eyes, so desperate to offer help and kindness wherever she could, is the same girl who could step over dead bodies in a battlefield without a second thought so that she could get to those who were still living -- who she could still help.
She could still help Faidra.
And so she takes deep breath as she processes those memories, as she _lives_ them through that connection, in the same way that Faidra had lived them. It was so much more than just watching a video playback. She could feel it, the fear and helplessness.
"I lost my big sister, too," Lira says softly once that index is shown. Her voice is gentle, not giving into the raw emotion that loss provokes, but not ignoring its impact on her, either. "She was killed on Ord Mantell. I was there. I was eight. I couldn't do anything. They almost killed my mother, but some good samaritans intervened."
There's a pause, then.
"I'm sorry that happened to you. I'm sorry you feel alone. I know what that feels like, too."
Another pause.
"You don't have to run. You don't have to be alone."
Bryett would arrive at the hangar to be greeted by an Executioner droid, the big black bot with red eyes is made to be intimidating, and it opens the small door to the hangar, so it can scan Bryette, making a warble sound to ask his name, but Bar had instructed the thing to allow him inside, so the droid is bound to reverse on it's tank-like tracks and gesture with it's buzzsaw appendage toward the open ramp of Haulin' Assets.. Inside the open cargo bay of the Assets Bryett would find.. noone, but there's a bunch of /stuff/ inthere, Off to his left, there's a small ships door, and inside upon the single medical bed lays Lira'una. On the groudn rests Faidra, with bar'duur sitting beside her, cradling her head gently in his lap..
After the Data Burst is sent, the Booming Pure Logic Voice goes silent. In the mindscape, there is the image of a young woman with her knees against her chest, her arms wrapped around said knees, and her face burred in to her arms. Rocking back and forth is the internal self image of Faidra. She's just saying "Sorry" over and over again.
It has taken Bryett a little longer then he is entirely comfortable with to get to this point. But he is still very much learning his way around Nar Shaddaa.
For that matter, he is still very much learning his way around the Twlight Dancer -- Lira's YT-2000 freighter that he has called home for hte last several weeks. The link from her, the word that she had been shot, definitely sent a chill through the dusty haired man and he hurried to the cockpit of the ship, ready and willling to immediately follow her instructions on just how to reach her.
Which is when just about anything that could go wrong, did go wrong. First the startup sequence of the ship refused to initiate, then he had issues with the port control. With the help of the complement of droids onboard he finally managed to get the starship in the air, cruising to their apparent destination. Except that he had locked onto the wrong beacon and followed it for several clicks before realizing his mistake.
He's going to blame it on that surge of worry hearing that Lira had been hurt.
Still, while he might have been later then he intended, Bryett does finally arrive, guiding the agile little freighter down towards the mentioned docking bay, the ship touching down lightly, steam venting from the repulsors for a moment before all goes silent.
At least until the hydraulics of the ramp engage with a quiet whirr, that metal strip descending, settling on the permacrete ground with a little clang. That is almost immediately followed by the appearance of the man in his rugged clothes, a look of concern etched on his features as he looks around, attempting to figure out just where he needs to go, what he needs to do next.
The hangars attached to the Dawnrise District are not small affairs. Each one is big enough to house a couple Corvette-sized capital ships with relative ease, which makes fitting several freighters not an issue at all.
Hangar 3, in particular, is one that belongs to Bar'duur -- a safe haven, apparently for those allied with the Rebellion, and on that front, the YT-2000 Twilight Dancer definitely has the proper clearance codes. Lira's little BB-droid, Echo, sees to that. In truth, Echo sees to a LOT of things for Lira, and as he's helping Bryett move the ship from one side of Dawnrise to the other, when prompted for an 'allied clearance code' for clearance to land, the little droid will happily provide latest ones published by the Rebellion High Command.
At that point it's just a matter of setting the YT-2000 down in a vacant spot and exiting to meet THE EXECUTIONER (slash butler).
Not far away is another ship -- bigger than the YT-2000, more obviously designed for hauling bulk cargo and carrying a larger crew than the smaller, sleeker little freighter Lira owns (though you underestimate the Assets at your own peril). It's that ship which THE EXECUTIONER leads Bryett to and up the ramp of. And even though there's no one there to greet him, there is that open door leading into the medbay just adjacent to the cargo bay.
And inside that medbay is a lavender-skinned twi'lek sitting semi-upright on a bed.
Lira'una is propped up on one arm with a couple of blankets draped over her in a way that makes it obvious, from looking at her bare arms and shoulders, that she's not wearing much underneath. Her lekku are curled forward around her shoulders, resting at the base of her neck like a scarf, and her eyes are closed. If there's a droid entering? If there's a man entering? She doesn't seem to notice. It's almost like she's sleeping, but she has one hand outstretched...
...and it's outstretched towards a pair of beings who aren't at all obvious when Bry first comes in. They're sitting on the floor at the foot of the bed, a large zabrak holding a young-ish looking woman (maybe in her 20s) who appears to have collapsed on the floor and was, at at least until just a moment ago (and might still be?) seizing.
But what's happening 'inside' that connection is an entirely different story.
'How' a link like this works is anyone's guess. The easy answer is that all things are possible through the Force -- understanding every possible language, reading someone's thoughts, even communicating with electronics through a kind of 'telepathic' link.
But it's one thing to communicate with a ship's security system, to ask it to 'pretty please open.' It's another thing to be inside the incredibly sophisticated 'brain' of an advanced human replica droid.
It's within this context that Lira and Faidra find themselves alone, isolated within their own minds, with the lavender twi'lek -- her own self-image -- moving towards the woman on the ground. And once there, she kneels close by, just in front and to the side, her knees touching whatever makes up the ground as she tilts her head a little.
"You don't have to be sorry," Lira's voice says into that abyss they occupy, her voice so soft and tender. "There was nothing you could do."
The muscular Zabrak man remains on the floor with the woman who's having difficulties, seemingly unconcious, not siezing at least, just completely out like a light. He looks up, watching Lira'una now as she does her thing, though his emerald gaze shifts to the newest arrival, assuming she's the Twi'lek girls BF and that he won't have to defend the ship at a moments notice. You never know, on some days though.
The muscular Zabrak man remains on the floor with the woman who's having difficulties, seemingly unconcious, not siezing at least, just completely out like a light. He looks up, watching Lira'una now as she does her thing, though his emerald gaze shifts to the newest arrival, assuming he's the Twi'lek girls BF and that he won't have to defend the ship at a moments notice. You never know, on some days though. "Welcome aboard the Haulin' Assets." He offers, clearing his throat a ltitle bit. "I am Bar'duur, this is Faidra.. Lira and I are aquaintences." He explains.
In the mindscape taht is Faidra's head, Fai looks up...too...Lira. Who knows how to explain things like this?
"I'm sorry" she says again, a broken record before she finally seems to game some manner of lucidity. "L...Lira..." she adds, it's broken, and the version of her in this /place/ flickers and /glitches/. "What, what happened?"
In meatspace, Faidra's body jolts in Bar's arms, it's not the full on seizing it was earlier, but there's a fully body convulsion that shoots through her before she's back to being stiff as stone.
As a general rule Bryett isn't particular reassured by meeting any sort of creature -- robotic or otherwise -- that can be referred to as the EXECUTIONER. It is probably a sign of his worry right at the moment that he hardly pays the unusual 'butler' no mind at all, simply falling in with the droid as it leads him away from the ramp of the freighter he arrived on, through the cavernous expanse of Hangar Three and towards the much larger freighter that looms over the Twilight Dancer noticably.
Noticably at least if one is paying attention to that kind of thing. Which admittedly Bryett is not at the moment. HIs brow rermains furrowed as the follows the intimidating droid up the ramp and into this second ship, passing through the cargo bay while trying to keep from proding his unlikely host to move faster.
Only when the medical bay comes in sight just ahead do his steps slow a little, that desire to race ahead and make sure t hat she is alright warring with that little burst of anxiety that things might be a little worse then Lira let on. It is not hard to imagine her downplaying the seriousness of the situation.
Deposited in front of the medbay, the dusty haired man takes in a slow breath and steps into the chamber, eyes immediately drawn to the bed where Lira is sitting semi-upright, that arm extended outward, but otherwise seeming very non-responsive indeed.
He would have surely checked out the rest of the medbay quick enough of course, but the sheer oddness of the lavender twi'lek's situation is enough for him to follow her gesture to the nearby floor where that Zabrak sits cradling the other woman present. At the introduction, Bryett simply offers a nod in turn, slowly stepping over towards the bed. "Bryett Cordair. Lira linked me and let me know what happened. You two are the ones that are helping her then?" he asks, though his brow arches just a little as his eyes sweep over the fallen Faidra as he does. Because it looks like maybe Lira's helpers also could use some help.
"Are... they both alright?" he asks quietly, finally glancing away from the pair on the floor, isntead turning towards his Lira, beginning to do a cursory examination, turning his own medical training to good use.
Is Lira flickering in Faidra's perception, too, when that little glitch happens?
Who's to say? Who's to say how any of this works?
If she is, Lira doesn't show any signs of being bothered by it. It's almost as if the young twi'lek sort of expects some amount of interference. Or maybe that she isn't sure what to expect at all, and so the fact that this is all constructed by... Faidra's mind? Her own mind? Both of them in concert out of some necessity to interpret the way the Force was allowing them to communicate?... well, it's too be expected, maybe.
Or to not be expected. Depending on your point of view.
In Faidra's mind, Lira isn't injured at all. There's no blaster wound. No bandage. Her self-image is clothed as she usually is, in that crop-top and leggings with soft-soled boots. She has a utility belt around her waist, but no weapons.
"You got a little overwhelmed," the twi'lek answers softly with a small roll of one shoulder. She's settled her hands on her thighs, just resting comfortably there by Faidra's side, much like a kid who was waiting her turn to play a game on the ground with her friend.
"You helped me. You saved my life. But not without some cost to yourself."
There's a pause, then, as Lira continues just to rest there, like it was the most normal thing in the world for them to be having this conversation... nowhere.
"How do you feel right now?"
In the outside world, Lira's entirely unphased by Bryett's examination. He'll find her naked under that blanket if he goes searching too much, but there's not so much as a flinch away from his attempts to examine her. A bandage covers a large area on her side and belly, but she seems otherwise unharmed. It's hard to tell through the bandage -- it covers such a large area of skin -- how extensive the damage was. But if the fact that Lira was doing this propped-up rather than sitting-up was any indication, it wasn't good.
Bar'duur looks toward Bryett and he shakes his head. "I assume, Lira is a Jedi? We've had a few aboard this ship in the past, I just did not know that Lira was one. It kind of makes sense now though.." He adds with a faint smirk. "She showed up, injured, and looking for a doctor, Faidra here fixed her up, and had an issue of her own.. she's an advanced synthetic."
In the real world, Faidra's body jolts again. Her fists clinch and her teeth grind.
In the mindscape Faidra's interpreted form /glitches/ again, almost like she's a broken hologram, one that blares red and blinding for a moment before subsiding. When she /flares/ up, she bursts out anger that Lira can feel. "They put you in so much danger!!!" she snaps. There it is again, the second glitching, more bright red, red is the color of anger isn't it? "At NINETEEN!!! Then send you to me and expect me to just... to just... let you... ". The glitching that comes next is rapid emotional shifting, all different colors, almost like different versions of her. One is angry and yelling. One is sobbing. One is rocking back and forth, shaking and saying sorry. Another one seems scared. It's like her /digital/ if such a thing exists in this universe, self, is shifting between all of the major emotions she's feeling in rapid succession.
In the real, the seizing starts again.
Notice: Glass Data Burst Detected from multiple Memory Cores. That booming faidra but not faidra voice says.
"Notice: Catastrophic Systems Shutdown Immenent. Prime System Core Extreme Sensory Overload Detected."
He's not a doctor.
At least he's not that kind of doctor. Even as he thinks that a brief smile crosses over his face, eyes flickering towards Lira's for jsut a moment, that examination ceases at least for an instant. No, he is not a medical doctor per se -- his fields being history and archaeology -- but he did have pretty good reason to get pretty proficient with treatment techniques. The field can occasionally be a dangerous place, that much more so when you work alone. One better know how to treat the general sort of injuries that come up.
And unfortunately, the way he sometimes does things learning to deal with little things like blaster shots or cuts from a vibroweapon do happen to fall into his wheelhouse.
That examination quickly resumes, gaze flickering between the monitors that give little readouts of all of Lira's vitals, and his physical examination of her. From what he can tell, it is largely that blaster shot that is the main injury, nothing else seeming particularly problematic - so no, he does not go questing too much further beyond the obvious.
Especially with her engaged with... whatever it is she's doing.
The fact that the blaster wound appears to have been well cared for sets him at ease and he finally glances back towards the pair on the floor as Bar'dur both explains a little of what is going on and makes his educated guesses in regards to Lira.
She seemed to feel that she was in a safe spot, among friends, at least that was the impression that he got over the link. But he doesn't know them. So the dusty haired man still shows a measure of caution, merely making a non-comittal 'mmmm' when the Zabrak speculates on what Lira might be capable of.
The mention that her doctor was an advanced synthetic though does make him glance over Faidra with a little more curiousity before giving a simple nod. "I guess that might explain part of this," he allows.
What skills he has in this regard are definitely better served towards being put to use on Lira, so he glances back towards her again. "I hope you know what you're doing," he says quietly.
"No, Faidra. Faidra! Please. Noone put me in danger," Lira insists, though she doesn't try to grab at the woman who's flickering between shapes in front of her.
She stays where she is, watching the glitching doctor with sympathy in her eyes. "I put myself in danger. It was my own fault. I went looking for a part for my ship in a dangerous part of Nar Shaddaa. Ko Hentota. There was a swoop gang, and they were threatening to shoot people. It wasn't the Rebellion. They helped me find you. Please... calm. My strength is fading. You saved me, Faidra. I'm going to be okay. It's all going to be okay. We're not on Ryloth. You're not alone. Neither am I..."
But even as she's saying those words, her own are drifting away, and back in the real world, Lira's propped-upright posture is beginning to collapse.
"It's okay, Faidra... it's all going to be okay..."
Her voice fades further and her image slips away, leaving the exhausted young Jedi to slump heavily back onto the bed. For a long moment, her eyes are still closed, her breathing deep and labored, like she'd just come back from running a marathon.
In truth, the pain from that wound was suddenly rushing back into her consciousness along with the exhaustion and, perhaps, just a faint sense of... futility. Like she could have done more... should have done more. That if she'd held out just a little longer, maybe there was some way she could have found something in that glorious brain to help without causing any long-term damage. She didn't dare ask those delicate electronics to delete memories, to discard them, or to disregard them... but maybe there had been a way to help her not be so overwhelmed by them.
It takes her a bit to open her eyes. To look up into Bryett standing over top of her. She blinks a couple of times, a slow, tired smile spreading over her lips, and then she's reaching up towards his shoulders.
"You're here," she whispers urgently, her face as light and happy as its been since she stepped foot onboard. It takes her a moment longer, hopefully by that point with Bryett leaning over and her arms wrapped around his neck like she was afraid to let him go, for her to remember...
"Faidra." She releases him just enough to look back towards the doctor and the zabrak. "She's... is she okay?"
Bar'duur wraps his big arms around Faidra when she starts to shift and move again, making sure she's held still when she starts to shake and react, holding her still as Lira had suggested he do earlier. He nods nods a bit to Bry, but he can't really hear what Lira and Faidra are.. communicating about, so that part of the situation he'll have to be caught up on later..
It's been, a very very long time since she woke up in Bar's arms. A /very/ long time. It's a bit of an extra shock to wake up to a man that's fallen asleep sitting up, holding her. "Oh..." she lets out, "kriff..." she adds as she raises her hands to rub her temples. "Oh no...." it's starting to dawn on her as she comes back to the land of the living. "Bar?" she looks around and sees Bry, Lira, and just exhales. "Well, this hasn't happened in a very long time..." at least she's lucid and seems to have some sort of idea what's going on as she softly tries to pull herself away from her sleeping bear of a man. "I'm sorry."
The vitals on the monitor are good, Lira appears to have been well tended to which is certainly a rlief to see. Really, the only thing wrong is that she is completely non-responsive. And while Bryett is no expert, while he certainly cannot be sure, he is certainly willing to wager that side-effect has little to do with her injury and instead reflects some effort to help the synthetic woman through her abilities.
There's so much he doesn't know about how they work of course and that concerns him a little. He doesn't know what sort of physical toll they might take on her, a toll that she is not ideally suited to giving at the moment.
But then she wouldn't be Lira if she didn't feel the need to throw herself into virtually any circumstances to help someone in need.
Tense, he slips one hand into hers, gripping it gently and as she stirs, as she finally opens her eyes an audible sigh of relief slips from the dusty haired man, leaning over that medical bed as she slips those arms around him, trying to minimize the amount of moving she needs to do.
"I'm here," he agrees quietly. "You gave me a bit of a scare," he adds, flashing a brief smile her way as he encourages her to recline more fully in that bed, to keep that injury as still as possible. The less it's disturbed now, the faster it will likely heal, something they can both be grateful for.
Naturally her first thought is for the welfare of someone else when she comes out of that induced trace and Bryett gives a quick shake of his head, unable to provide her an answer. At least not at first. How would he even go about telling?
Fortunately, the matter would appear to be resolved without him at all as the other woman present abruptly sits up, seeming none the worse for wear. At least as far as Bryett can tell. But really, how would he know? She seems to be able to speak, to be aware. Those have to be good signs right?
"I think she's fine," he finally says, offering his own prognosis to Liraon absolutely no definitive basis. But if it will set the slender twi'lek's mind at ease that seems reason enough for him. Slipping that arm around her, he helps her sit up carefully once more so that Lira can see for herself.
"I'm sorry," Lira's voice comes soft and affectionate, her eyes closing as she nuzzles just a moment longer against Bryett's neck before settling back onto the bed and turning her attention to Faidra.
It doesn't take long for her question to be answered. She can hear Faidra's voice, the stirrings of movement, even if she can't see her anymore from her reclined position, but having Bryett's arm around her to help her sit up does wonders.
Her posture isn't... great. It's not a 'proper' way to sit up. Really, Lira isn't doing much besides letting Bryett act as a backrest for her. Her body is a little canted into him, into the crook of his arm, and her lekku are shifting off of her shoulders. One curls loosely around his bicep -- not all the way around and not using it to support herself. Just clinging there, like she might rest her hand on his arm.
"She's not fine," Lira says softly, but it's gentle concern in her tone -- a sisterly sort of affection -- rather than anything scolding.
"Faidra... it's okay. Please don't be sorry. We've both had a kind of rough day."
Her purple lips curl into a small smile as she glances up at the man holding her.
"This is Bryett. Bryett, this is Faidra... the doctor that saved my life, earlier."
She pauses, almost as if expecting Bryett to stiffen at that description of her wound, and she bites her lip, her nose wrinkling.
"In fairness, I did tell you that I was okay _now_," she points out with an apologetic little cringe.
Fai manages to extract herself from Bar, moving to grab a spare pilow and blanket and lay the big horned man out so he can rest. She'll need help getting him to bed, but she'll bring that up later.
Once she's all done she manages to push herself up right and move over to the medibed where Bry and Lira are and without saying anything, she gently pushes Lira trying to get her to lay back down. Then, it's all focus and back to checking the wound.
As she works, "So, you" she looks at Bry and then back to Lira, "You both know what I am now. At least, one of you far more than the other... and I gather you have questions."
She does manage another look, locking eyes with Lira, "Thank you. I, don't know how you did that, no Jedi has ever been able to do that in my entire life. Or rather, they've never tried." She pauses to grab some supplies to help her change the dressing and bandages. "Most Jedi, used to say I simply wasn't, real." It's not even not a /leap/ of logic here, it's just a flat out assumption that anyone that could do what Lira just did, was a Jedi. "Oh and yes, I'm using the term Jedi instead of Force User, but I'm incredibly Old" pause break, "I was born 14BBY after all."
Lira doesn't _want_ to be pulled out of Bryett's arms. It's the safest, most comfortable place in the entire galaxy, but doesn't fight it, either. If anything, there's a little reluctance on the part of that lek that his his arm to slip away completely... but it too slithers back up around her shoulders so that she can lie flat.
Her hand, though. Her hand reaches out towards Bryett like being physically apart from him for more than a few seconds might make her unable to breathe. It's not a panicked reaction, but it is... natural. As a sapling stretching out towards warmth and sunlight, so too does Lira reach for Bryett.
"You're very real, Faidra," the girl says with a weak laugh, strained a little by the way she winces again.
There's that mention of her birthdate... 14BBY. Holy crap. Compared to how Faidra _looks_, that's a LONG time ago. Sure, in the realm of droids, Lira's own butler droid was probably at least that old, but he'd been memory-wiped like a billion times. She was more worried about his parts falling off than she was talking to him about what it was like in the days of the Old Republic.
Bryett, especially, must be interested... and if thinking that thought out loud, her blue eyes turned back to the man. Sure, there are records that stretch back thousands of years (some of questionable repute), but how many people do you get to talk to from that era who have an actual photographic memory?
"I know," she murmurs to Bryett while she's looking at him, "if I'm not more careful I'm going to end up with the whole Sith fleet looking for me... I've been told."
She cringes a little before looking back to Faidra.
"I'd like to know more about you," Lira says, "but, I don't have questions. Not... like that. You're a good doctor. And kind. You're a good _person_. The rest is up to whatever you'd like to share."
"I'm glad you think so" she replies rather plainly. She's focused on work more than anything else. "There, all done, you can go back to cuddling your boy lover here." She turns to Bry, "No offense, But I am" she gives him a look over, "around twice your age."
With that said and done she goes to put her things up and check on bar before finally, /finally/, sitting in a near by chair and looking somewhat relaxed.
"You and me both" she pipes up, "Can you imagine what those people would do with something like me?" Another dejected sigh as she leans back a moment and looks up at the celing. "I'm glad you emphasized the word you just did." She leans forward again and after crossing her logs and folding her arms up, she's back to it like nothing happened, "I have more questions for you, first..." pause, beat, "What... did you see?"
While Bryett isn't going to complain about anything that might help Lira rest easier, might keep her from accidentally opening that wound or doing anything else that might slow the healing process, that doesn't mean that he has any intention of going very far either.
Instead he perches himself on the side of her bed, and while he surrenders his hold on Lira, his fingers do remain very much entwined with her own, thumb absently stroking over the back of her hand.
Her comment about being 'okay now' only draws a brief smile from him, a faintly wry caste to the expression despite himself. "We can talk about in later. I'm just glad that you're alright."
Which is true. He also has no intention of 'talking to her' about that tendancy to get involved, to help people. That would be the height of hypocrisy, now wouldn't it given how they first met. How she came to his rescue too. It is one of the things he most appreciates about her afterall, even at moments like this when that appreciation is tinged with a healthy dollop of worry.
Again, he has no illusions about what he signed up for. And it's not like she has blinked twice at some of the more colorful chapters from his own past.
Sometimes simple acceptance is everthing.
While his focus might be mostly on Lira, the facts that Faidra shares about herself, about her existtence mades his eyes widen a little bit. For the most part he tries to respect people's privacy. Sure, he has a certain healthy interest in current events, but that's because todays 'news' becomes tomorrow's history.
And Bryett is all about history.
Which is certainly part of what makes her little revelation to be so fascinating. While there are plenty of long lived species in the galaxy, even considering the violence of the past few decades, the number of those beings with near perfect recall has to be immensely lower.
"Fascinating," he murmurs quietly. Does he have questions? Of course he has questions. But having shared a dance with Lira, having experienced something... profoundly different then anything he had ever experienced before he can respect that these two have apparently been through something as well.
And he falls quiet again to let them speak.
Lira doesn't have to be asked twice. Once she's finished being inspected and given permission to go back to Bryett, she's already snuggling closer, pulling his arm around so she can rest her head on it. And once more, her lekku shift, looping ever so gently along the length they can reach, all while her fingers remain laced with his.
Does it look like a supremely comfortable position for either of them? Probably not really. Is it made that much better because of those points of contact? The warm caress of skin-on-skin? Definitely.
"I'd rather try not to," Lira answers the comment about what they might use Faidra for. But then there's that appreciation for her word choice, and the twi'lek girl's smile softens.
"I've seen you in a way that most people will never have a chance to. It was an invasion into your privacy that I would never have done without your permission, if I wasn't worried about your safety and trying to help you.. if I had understood better what I would see. You _are_ a person, Faidra. You're no different than either of us. Not really."
But she's been biding her time, thinking while she was talking. Her lekku shift a little around Bryett's arm. Discomfort. Doubt.
"Your mind is... it's beautiful. I've never seen anything like it. But you were trying to feel so many things at once. And the memory I saw... I don't know that it's a good idea to describe it." Lira's voice is soft, barely above a whisper. "It was... not a pleasant one, and I don't know if it's a good idea to talk about it, yet. Maybe.. you could learn to meditate. It helps. To clear your mind. To allow yourself a chance to process your thoughts and your feelings in a way that's more manageable instead of all at once when you're not expecting them."
Fascinating eh? She's been caleld that before. Usually by a scientist that raised his eyebrow when he did it. She waggles a hand at Bry as if to say, /go ahead and ask me/. She knows the type. Always intrigued, always curious.
Fai's focus returns to Lira though and as she listens she forms a steadily brighter smile, before it slowly fades away at the mention of the memory. That, memory. "So you saw the day the Pykes murdered my entire family..." yeah, no, she's got no issues talking about it now. "I can't even imagine how the force interpreted my mind, I don't even know how to interpt myself. I'm more than just decision making trees, positronic behavioral programs, and sub routines. Much more than any protocol droid. I mean, just, touch me.." and she leans forward to hold an arm out to Bry. "I can eat, drink, breathe, and even be intimate. I have no core programming outside some basic level foundational things my mother put in here" she uses her not outstreched hand to knock on her head. "As for meditating? I don't know if that would work for me or not." She pauses a moment, "I'm scared. Honestly I am. What if... what if I need a memory wipe? I was a prototype... what if I wasn't designed to last this long?"
Tempting though it might be to pick the mind of someone who has actually lived through so much of recent history, so many important events and is likely to remember them all vividly certainly is hard to resist. Especially since his passion for his chosen field of study has been rekindled.
Indeed, there might only be one thing that could stay that curiousity, and as Lira lays claim to his side once more, as she curls up against him, any impulse to interject into their own conversation is stilled, at least for the time being.
He doesn't know exactly what the two of them have just been through, what they've experienced, but it sounds pretty profound and pretty personal. And since he has absolutely no intention of giving them their privacy now that he is actually here, the least he can do is allow them to speak without interruption, eyes flickering back and forth between Lira and Faidra with interest, making sense of things where he can.
He might not be a doctor doctor but his knowledge of sentinet biology is still far greater then his knowledge of artificial biology. At best he can offer some wild imaginings of what they might have experienced, but instead his focus remains on the woman nestled at his side.
Some of that is to offer her a degree of reassurance. They both seem more at ease together, his arm wrapped around her once more and that lekku clinging to his arm like Lira has no intention of letting go. Intellectually he knows that his presence with her probably wouldn't have made a difference. He's much more a scholar then a fighrer.
But it's reassuring for him too to have her clsoe once more.
When that arm is presented, when Faidra explains a little of what was seen, giving an outside observer some context to what the pair of them went through, Bryett does indeed reach out. If he can tell the difference between real skin, real flesh and blood and what Faidra sports it isn't apparent on his face.
"Still, the meditating might be worth trying. See if it helps before worrying about more extreme measures. I can't imagine stress helps with whatever you're dealing with. It doesn't for most organics at least," he muses. "I'd have to imagine there are some experts out there. Perhaps one of them might have more insight into what you're going through. From a more technical side," he continues thoughtfully.
"Or maybe you need to try and address it both from a synthetic perspective, and how any of us would try to do it. The construction of your body and mind might be different, but consciousness? Who's to say that it isn't universal?" he suggests.
There's a lot to unpack, here, and Lira seems increasingly careful about choosing exactly what she says. What originally started off as straight from her heart -- her views on Faidra being 'real' and a person, her concern, her suggestion to learn meditation -- soon turns to the Twi'lek opening her mouth and then closing it again before she actually says whatever the first thing that jumped into her mind was.
She decides to wait until Faidra's done speaking, until that last question is asked, so as not to interrupt. And even then, a few seconds pass before she ventures an opinion.
"I'm not a doctor," she starts, her blue eyes sardonically lifting to Bryett with a warm little smile, "of _any_ kind..." But then her attention is back on Faidra. "I don't know. I can't know. All I can tell you is what I saw... and honestly... it reminded me so much of how I felt after my sister was killed. I think that there's a lot of us who might have chosen memory wipes if we could, because at one point or another, it all felt like it was too much.. like we weren't designed to handle everything we'd been through."
She takes in a breath and then lets it out slowly, her eyes slowly sliding closed. Tired, maybe? Or slipping into her own meditation... collecting her own thoughts. She'd been up for so long, aside from when she'd fallen unconscious from the pain of the operation. She was _still_ in pain, but she didn't seem to want to stop talking. Or to let go of Bryett.
She feels him shift when he reaches out for Faidra, but she says nothing. She doesn't so much as move while he's speaking, just listening to the sound of his voice as he rests there.
"I think Bry's right. I don't think you need a memory wipe, but it may help to find an expert. No amount of meditating was going to help me when I came looking for you. But I think you need healthy ways to process what you've experienced. To understand what there is to learn. To accept what you can't change. To not let fear get its grip on you."
Once more those blue eyes open, finding Faidra.
"I hid in my room for two years after watching those men murder Salara, then go for my mother. I never wanted to come out again. I never wanted to perform again. I never wanted to talk to anyone again. I hid under the bed every time one of my parents dropped something in the ship. I was sure those men were going to find us... I was crippled by fear. But I don't fear them, now. It's not easy, but from everything I saw, you can learn to control it."
Faidra listens intently to both of them after taking her arm back, and yes, that skin was warm to the touch and felt just as real as anyone elses. Once they've both sai their peace, she leans back again in to her standard sitting pose of crossed legs and folded arms.
"I've been alive for nearly seven decades and in that time, I've lost so many people." She exhales and decides to just, info dump and let it out. Since Lira is sharing, she might as well. "Lira saw, the Pykes, wipe my whole life out" she says to Bry as she leans back and closes her eyes whiel talking. "They killed my mother, the two twi'leks I called brother and sister, and everyone else involved in the creation of me and my siblings." There's a long pause as she walks through it all. "Eight BBY." It's said as though, they should jsut know what it means. "My sisters, Feeora and Fayth and my brother Magnius" she adds, and there's some little streaks of silver glinting on her cheeks. "I've not seen them since."
"So, while there's a massive age gap here Liara, it does help... to know someone else has experienced the pain."
"But it wasn't just that day On Ryloth, I've been fighting my entire life. I fought with the Rebellion and survived Scarif." No doubt, that gets a /she bloody effing what??/ out of the historian. Yeah, this woman, was at the Battle of Scarif, and survived it. "I fought with the resistence against the order. I've fought, my entire life. I've tried to save lives and make a difference, my entire life. Not once, has anyone..." and now she's openly sobbing, "ever tried to save... me." She opens her eyes and fights back tears, and sniffles, and coughs, "Until what you just did Liara... thank you, so very much."
Biology over technology. And history over all of that. At least when it comes to his expertise.
For the most part Bryett tends to be someone who focuses on how to utilize technology rather then the hows and whys of it. He makes frequent use of the holonet, of staships and speeders. But that doesn't mean that he can fix a broken Holonet terminal. Or properly maintain a ship. He is slowly trying to broaden his understanding in that area, and to be sure it is of some interest from a historical perspective when it comes to judging the purpose of some of the artifacts and relics he occasionally finds or manages to lay his hands on.
Certainly he has ambitions of making himself a little more useful around the Twilight Dancer over time, better able to assist Lira and that complement of droids.
But that is a very far cry from understanding the kind of technology that Faidra represents and while he might not udnerstand the specifics of her construction and workings, he does have a grasp on just how little he actually knows on that front.
It is an interesting conundrum. How much of thought has to do with the construction of one's mind -- be it biological or articial -- and how much to do with experience, regardless of how it might be 'stored'. Those are questions beyond him -- even his limited medical training -- on a practical front, and a philosophical front as well.
Either way, it seems to Bryett that Faidra might need a little help on both fronts.
Seven decades. If her recall is indeed perfect, that is a lot of time to recall with clarity. A lot of time to recall of events that never fade, never dim. Memories -- good and bad -- as real and intense as the first moment they were experienced. Who wouldn't have some trouble processing all of that.
His eyes flicker back towards Lira for a moment, as she struggles a little, as her eyes have a harder time staying open. Really, it's a good sign. A sign that she's healing. That her body needs rest. Time to recover. But even still she wants to help, wants to share a little of herself. To make it a little better.
"That's Lira," he agrees quietly, lips curving into a smile, still cradling her close to him. But he too is laying back a little where he sits on the edge of that medbed, drawing her with him.
"I think it is definitely worth looking into an expert that might be able to help with the technical side," he says thoughtfully. "But maybe what you need most is to be able to share some of these memories. Sometimes talking about them does more to help us deal with them then anything else we can do. It could be the same for you," he muses.
Or not. He doesn't really know. But it seems worth a try.
The thanks brings a soft, warm smile to Lira's purple lips, and when Bryett reiterates _That's Lira_, she glances up and nuzzles once more against his arm.
There are far worse thing to be known for than compassion.
"You're not alone," Lira repeats what she'd told Faidra in that connection they shared. It's the same tone of voice. The same soft promise. "You've been through so much, but you don't have to do any of this on your own. It.. sounds like I'll be here for at least a little bit. And after I go, you can reach out to me any time. You can even travel with us some, if you want."
She grins a little more at that, but Bryett's shifting towards the horizontal and taking her with him... and she doesn't seem to dislike that notion even a little. So as he starts to settle back, she makes more room on the narrow medbay bed (she doesn't really take up all that much room in the first place).
She can't lie on her side with her wound healing, so she stays on her back and instead scoots as close as she can into Bryett's front.
Without a lot of squirming she has no intention of doing, she also can't free her blanket enough to invite him under it, so she looks over to where there's an extra sitting on the counter and raises a hand in that direction. And as if drawn by puppeteer's strings, it floats across, unfolding as it goes, until it settles down perfectly on top of him.
She obviously didn't intend on Bryett going anywhere.
With both of them sufficiently blanketed, Lira was left to truly nestle into the space Bryett's arms and chest provided, closing her eyes once more as she tucked herself under his chin.
"I don't believe you need to be saved," the girl says, sleepily, her voice slightly muffled, now. She didn't even seem apologetic about her need for sleep. It was just sort of.. taking her, and all she'd been doing was getting ready for it. "I think all of us can benefit from someone we trust being there to support us, sometimes."
Case in point. She nuzzles just a _little_ closer to Bryett, and then she falls quiet.
Fidra stands slowly and moves to Bar, showcasing a hidden aspect, strength. She slowly lifts him up in her arms and moves to take him out of the medbay. As she moves, she nods to everything that's been said. "A lot for me to think over." Stopping for a moment at the door way, she looks over her shoulder, "Thank you. Both of you. Feel free to rest in the ship. I'll see you both in the morning." With that, she's gone. Letting them both have that cuddle time.
