Log:The Road to Recovery: Hurt Feelings

The Road to Recovery: Hurt Feelings

Location: Medical Lab, D'Qar
Participants: Ambrosia Greystorm, Sesti Gath, Jax Greystorm, Maeve Zavir, Kasia Ciph, Rake, Tess Ul'Datha, Aola

"Be careful." Tess is hanging around the medbay for reasons, "They don't like it when you tell jokes around real sick people." And she's found sandwiches. Maybe from a vending machine. Maybe she just always has sandwiches. One should always be prepared for such situations as eating sandwiches, though.

"Only if you joke about losing a limb around a patient who has just lost two," Alk mentions in his usual holier-than-thou tone, his elbow joint now shiny clean as he goes about testing the monitoring systems on Hex's patient bed while said patient is in the bacta tank. "And want to help buy him a limb so he knows he owes you. Even /I/ would not attempt that joke." Although, when Alk has attempted a joke is anyone's guess.

"Who said I was joking? Those bastards must breathe too much recycled air or something," Rake says in as serious a tone as he can muster. "In fact, as I recall there's supposed to be something coming up where a lot of us might be exposed. If there ain't a vaccine now, I suggest the med-techs get to work on one." Finally, he lets out a gruff laugh. "On a more serious note, I think I might need some antibiotics or some blood tests done. Some of the wildlife there... well I got a pretty damned strong stomach, but I spewed my lunch after coming in proximity, didn't even touch the damned thing, a big damned cannok." He then looks to Tess. "And Private, while you're here, I got something for ya. Damned proud of how you handled yourself on Felucia. Weren't for you, I don't know if we'd have been able to take down that Rancor without some more casualties." He reaches into his pouch and withdraws a leather-bound object and hands it to her."

Rake looks to the droid, "You got a sick sense of humour for a tin can, I like it." He chuckles. "How's the patient doing anyway?"

The Major is grounded. In medbay terms, that is. After attempting to pull Kort's gun on Alk and being generally disruptive and disorderly with her words, they hit her with the sedative again. Maybe they woke her up too soon the first time. The final bacta treatment is at end, at any rate, and she's swaddled up in her little robe again, tucked back into bed. Half-closed eyes watch the world with delayed comprehension. If any. Maybe she just sleeps with her eyes open.

"Yeah, but you knew he'd lost one. Turns out I'm not on the HIPPA mailing list." That was so last week, Tess is over the sting now. "I can't help if what I say and what I do don't mince up. I certainly don't hope to have a couple strangers pretend to understand that I wanted to help because I like the dumbass, but I wanted to tease him because teasing people is what I do... and how I show people I care about them." Tess furrows her brow and shakes her head, "I mean, I'm a soldier.. right? I think I am. At least I pretend to be one... so if I joke about something, I just sort of do it because the alternative sucks."

Tess motions around, sandwich in hand, "Anyways, I was joking, since I didn't send out a 'Tess was just joking' mail to all the strangers... I wouldn't tell him he owed me seriously... I'd just tease him about it. And -will- tease him about it... because I'm not going to pretend it didn't happen... that's for his loved ones to do."

Then Rake is breaking her rant up with sentimental statements and gifts... Tess stares at the leather wrapped bundle, then up at the Sarge, "Seriously?" Because she's not convinced yet.. not until she accepts the bundle and opens it to reveal a dagger made of a rancor claw. "Oh shit... now I just have to learn how to use this..." Sentimental Tess, "oh.. uh.. Thanks. I'm just glad we all made it back."

"No one is pretending it didn't happen," Kasia voices from her spot in a chair beside the empty bed that's been occupied by Hex so much recently. When he isn't in the bacta. She shoots Tess a surly look, having gone back to that again. Hmph. There's more she wants to say, the snark is right there on her lips, which curl just slightly, but the words are bitten back as she folds her arms across her chest, and looks away. No picking fights with soldiers, she'll lose, but if she has to lose somewhere, this IS the place to do it. Help is nearby.

Rake chuckles. "Well, it's more a trophy than something you'd want to bring to a real fight, but it's made from the claw of that Rancor we took down. Made one for each of the team, even gave one to Hex, before he tried to stab Ori with it and he got it taken away." He then looks to the afformentioned patient's bed, then to Kasia. "Calm down, the private didn't mean nothin' by it." Maybe he could just sense the tension building. "When you're knee deep in the shit for a living, joking is about the only thing that keeps you from losing your mind or putting a plasma bolt in your mouth. You should see how bad we give each other hell in the field."

Wheel of Greystorm, turn, turn, turn, tell us of the brood did we earn. Tonight, It is Jax. The fighter pilot wasn't wearing his uniform but a simple shirt, pants, and jacket. He nods his head to Rake and Tess. Then slides by Kasia, "Hey Kas, I hope Hex is feeling alright. I'm going to stop by and visit him later." Then he moves to sit in the visitor chair next to Amber. "Hey Mom, Need anything? Alk.... you annoying tin can. Seems like you got everyone on the mend." Then looks around at the tension in the room. "What?"

Tess motions, both hands even, at Rake in a 'he gets it' sort of way, but she refrains from adding any controversal new commentary to further sink her into the hot seat, at least until she does, "I'm just saying that I like Hex... if I didn't I totally wouldn't joke about his life altering situation."

Secretly, Ambrosia's eyes have found their mark, staring listlessly and groggily to her right, through the glass pane at the Twi'lek in the tank. It all began to drift back today, in pieces. Like Hex...poor guy. A flutter of empathy tugs at her newly healed heart. Kind of hurts. Letting her eyelids succumb to their heaviness, she sighs. And Gerratt...what was with the datapad? Where is his voice? So confused.

"Jax," she mutters, letting her head roll on her pillow to face him. One eye manages to open and confirms his identity. Yes, that's her kid. One of them. Her left hand creeps its fingers along their short runway of sheet towards him before the binders halt her progress. "Dammit," she sighs so softly it almost doesn't count as a swear. "Be a good boy," she continues on, a bit slurred. "Open..." her wrist flops to indicate her problem. (because she is a problem)

Watching Amber's vitals as she was returned the second time around, Sesti's face is grim as she listens to the talk, and she shoots a sympathetic look to Kasia, then returns her attention to the Major. When Jax arrives, she looks to him with a little easing of her shoulders. "Hello," she says quietly, then Amber starts talking, and she pauses. When she asks her son to be a good boy, she looks back to her boyfriend with a slight shake of her head. She comes around to the side to the woman's field of vision. "Major?" she asks quietly.

The suggestion from Rake to calm down only seems to ruffle Kasia more, but she's tired, and she looks it, and this particular subject is still raw. "I am calm." The words are soft, but unhappy. It's likely that she doesn't understand, she isn't a soldier, so how could she? Her battles are of the different sort. At least they are for now, there's a lot of fighting left to do. If she has more to say she's distracted by Jax's arrival, which helps to soothe some of the uncharacteristic anger. "Hey. He's improving. Slowly. I'm sure he'll be happy to see you." He gets a wan smile before he moves on, and then she lapses back into silence.

Rake raises his hands in defeat. "Sorry. Look, Hex is a good kid, and he's got youth on his side with this. He'll bounce back and with the doc here and the advances in technology, I guarantee he'll be as good or better than new. It's just a matter of time. Just don't expect him to go swimming laps unless it's in a round pool." He then offers a wink to Tess.

Rake then looks over towards Jax, "How's the major doing? I can't say that I'm too damned upset I missed that action, but I've seen my share of it in my life. Just new names for the same shit, is all."

"Mm?" Ambrosia slowly tears her focus off Jax's face and settles it unsteadily on Sesti's. Maybe a little cross-eyed at first, but a blink or two rectifies that. She wets her lips with her tongue, swallows and arches a lazy brow. Fine facial motor control! Her eyes twitch left towards the sound of Rake saying her 'name', but return to the doc. "Your droid's a pissy sortoffffellow." Lipsmack. Swallow. Heavens, it's like trying to talk around her own sock. Clearly it's time for a drink.

Jax gives Sesti a smile. "Hey." Then he looks up Ambrosia, "Yeah no... Dad told me about what you did earlier. He said if I don't let you loose until you get the doctors approval. He'll buy me that puppy, I always wanted." He looks up at Rake "Sorry Sarge. She's doing good enough to be ornery and raise hell." He says with a grin. "And can hear us." He looks to Kasia, "I will. tell me if he needs anything." He looks at Tessa, "You alright?"

"Mm?" Ambrosia slowly tears her focus off Jax's face and settles it unsteadily on Sesti's. Maybe a little cross-eyed at first, but a blink or two rectifies that. "Yer dad's ancomplisss, Jax. A lousy one, 'parently." She wets her lips with her tongue, swallows and arches a lazy brow. Fine facial motor control! Her eyes twitch left towards the sound of Rake saying her 'name', but return to the doc. "And your droid's a pissy sortoffffellow." Lipsmack. Swallow. Heavens, it's like trying to talk around her own sock. Clearly it's time for a drink.

Tess seems content to her solitude and quiet, finishing her sandwich, until addressed by Jax, "oh yeah, I'm good... just pulled my butt muscle getting off a shuttle." All is well.

Kasia's gaze is drawn back to Rake, studying him for a few moments before she nods, leaving the matter there. Instead she gets to her feet, nodding to Jax as well. "I will. Thank you." Another of those tired smiles follow, but it's faint, and fades quickly, and then she turns to make her way for the door. "I'll be back when he's out of the tank." If she isn't passed out in a corner somewhere, which could very well happen at this point.

Rake chuckles at Tess's comment about her butt muscles. "Means ya need to do more PT. Not much can't be solved with rigorous amounts of PT. Ain't that right, Major," he says, looking towards Ambrosia and speaking loud enough that hopefully she could hear. "These new soldiers, they just ain't like us old dogs I guess. Too soft." Of course, it was all a bunch of bullshit. If anything, the newer recruits were more organized by far than Rake and Amber had likely been during the days of the Rebellion.

The Shistavanen's eyes venture towards Kasi, giving her a nod. "Best thing you can do for Hex is be there, really be there. Get some rest, some food, that way you're alert when he wakes up. I know when I came out of the bacta, it was always nice to have someone there when I woke up. Granted, I prefer my women with a bit more hair."

"You'd be hard pressed to find someone who does PT more than me..." Tess says quietly, defensively, about her work out regimen. Nevermind that she's eating a ham sandwich, there's nothing to see here. Grumbling around her eats.

Sesti Gath notices the lip smacking, and she nods to the pissy sortofdroid to get some water with a straw which the droid will hand to Jax as he's the furthest from the belligerent patient. She lightly takes the Major's hand to assess her pulse for herself, while she talks. "He can be," she agrees. "He tends to be a bit zealous about doing his job by the book, rather than by the patient. We do need to assess your brain activity to see if you have had any changes before we restarted your heart. The fact you recognize Jax and, well.. Alk. That is a good start. Your instincts to fight are also proven to be intact," she adds with a bit of a lopsided grin. "You also have been exhibiting some signs of hallucinations which seem to be igniting your fight instincts. We need to keep you restrained for the time being so that you do not hurt your children." The water that has been handed to Jax gets a nod. "Let her have a sip every four or five seconds. No long drinks, unless /you/ want to clean up if she vomits."

Into the medical bay another steps, no injuries on her person but the knowledge of others wounded had her checking in. For Aola, there was a slight measure of guilt. As the others fought their way through what seems like one brutal ground skirmish she had been celebrating her promotion from cadet to Blue 4 after her exploits in combat missions had been reported. The blue-skinned Twi'lek peeks in through the door, noticing the crowd quietly and crossing her arms over her chest as if she were hesitant to intrude. Still the 'new kid' after all.

Jax takes the water from Alk. Then he stands and moves and holds it where his mother can get a drink, "That was just hurtful and mean. I know it's the drugs talking." Mostly. He says looking up at Aola comes in. He gives her a head nod. "Hey Flt officer." He laughs at Rake, "Sarge were you ever a P.E. teacher in Coronet City. I had a coach that would say the same thing." He looks at Sesti, "You look tired. You going to get some rest?"

Tess is sitting on one of the medical beds finishing her sandwich in one hand and turning a dagger fashioned from a large black claw in the other. To be fair she has no real aptitude with blades, but she's figured out a pattern that hasn't cut off any of her fingers... yet. Her feet are locked together at the ankles and she's absently swinging them like a pendulum at the knees, humming some tune to herself that sounds vaguely like 'I wish I was an Oscar Myer Wiener'.

Rake chuckles at Tess. "Keep up the good work, private." He then moves over to the Major's bed. "Major, I could use a promotion, but I guess now ain't exactly the time to discuss such things. Just figured with the meds, and well, hallucinations, you might be privy to grant me one." He winks, then gives a nod to Jax and Sesti. "I'll come back when ya ain't so damned busy doc. My problems are pretty damned petty." Eyes focus on Jax. "Well, I never taught P.E. on Corellia, but I did teach land survival to a shitload of flyboys for the Republic. Had a school on Yavin IV for a while, not far from the old rebel base there. The jungles there were great for teaching the right skills." There's a pause, "Maybe I should start some training again, but next time on Felucia. Not many hellholes that provide better training, everything there wants to kill ya. Anyway, I should get going, my stomach's grumblin' and if I don't get to chow early, they don't give me bigger portions of the protein."

The initial look of smug ownership that Ambrosia don in response to Sesti's notation of her in-tact instincts is soon to fade, when the Zabrak /keeps/ talking. By the end of her speech, she's glowering. The insidious insinuation coupled with not getting her way stings doubly so. "I w--" and there's a straw almost up her nose. Her chin dips aside just enough to lip-fumble with it while her glare continues to try and pierce the soul of the offending Gath.

• Sip*Sip* Nothing to see here...

"You don't know what I see. That's not..." She coughs lightly aside, sort of into her shoulder, and re-swallows that greedy half ounce. "That's not going to happen. You /know/ I would never..." But does Ambrosia? Maybe the real focus of her anger is at something inside. "You can't keep me caged like a damn animal!" And the heart monitor picks up a quickening of her pulse. Yup. She's pissed.

Jungle survival with Rake? That just sounds like a recipe for a miserable time, still the newly minted flight officer nods to the man as he passes her by in the doorway and then steps through, folding her hands in front of her. "Hey," she greets, looking between those gathered in the medical bay and the wounded filling the beds. "Looks like it was a rough one last time," she says quietly. Given that it was a ground fight, the young pilot would probably have been worse then useless, but that doesn't mean that she's not feeling a little guilty for not helping.

"Failucia training sessions?" Tess looks up at Rake dubiously, "Yes, if you want to teach recruits to get killed by assassin trained grass..." She sucks the last crumbs off her thumb and shrugs, "Count me in." To Aola, "It was crappy... and I got eaten by a giant tullip. I hate Felucia and I wouldn't mind shooting missiles at it. If not until everything is rendered into glass, at least until the tears stop..."

Belated wave, "Tess Ul'Datha. I pulled my butt muscle." Explaining why she's here.

"You are right, Major. I do not know what you see, but judging from what I have seen, it is something I hope I do not see," Sesti replies with enough clinical tone for it to sound more like fact than sympathy. "And that is the very reason we need to keep monitoring you, until you stop seeing whatever it is that we cannot see." Her eyes match Amber's weary as they are, and the ire doesn't seem to perturb her, or draw pity. "We need you back, Major. All the way back, before we can let you go. I almost lost you to a shot through the chest, I do not want to lose to the demons in your mind if I can help it." She steps aside a pace to lean down and kiss Jax. "I will. Maeve should be arriving soon, I am going to go out and brief her, and then I will just go to my bunk, rather than all the way to the Hawk."

Aola, the blue Twi'lek pilot, is visiting and healthy. Tess is also healthy except for having a pain in her ass. Jax Greystorm is healthy and holding a cup with a straw next to his mother so she take sips of water between being cantankerous. He kisses Sesti, "Alright." He looks at Ambroisa. "Mom, just don't try to run off or kill the droid until they clear you. I'm sure they'll let you loose."

Quiet voices come from outside the medical lab itself, questions both asked and answered in a tone that is familiarity and professionally brisk at the same time, medical jargon and short hand medical slang exchanged before Dr. Zavir is escorted to the door of the facility itself and steps inside. Holding a datapad in one hand and clipping a badge to the front of her blouse that marks her as a Visitor, Maeve sweeps a slow look around the room as she takes note of the salient details. I.E, number of patients, disposition of said patients, attending medical staff and droids, and anything else that interferes or interacts with same. Setting course toward the two that she does recognize, she heads for where the Greystorm's are (mother and son), "Did I hear something about potentially beating up a droid?"

Aola herself doesn't really seem to be saying much. She'd came in to offer support and check in on the wounded, but the pilot hadn't interacted much with the ground troopers who'd received their injuries. She was new to the resistance and a had spent most of her time around the other fighter pilots, but she's still sort of lurking and listening to the introductions and discussions, her lekku coiling unconsciously around her neck in physical manifestation of her nerves.

"Killing your offspring and team sort of defeats the purpose of dying for them, doesn't it?" Ambrosia passes a hardened glance between them. "Hm?" She snaps. But then Sesti leaves and she's still restrained to the bed. To make matters worse, her back itches. Like /really/ itches, square between her shoulder blades. Unbeknownst to her, that's precisely where the blaster rifle struck. The old rebel's face twitches and contorts, torn between a disgruntled pout and bitter laugh. She eventually settles on stone cold neutrality. That's what they expected from her, right?

'Be good to them, let them be good to you.' That's what she and the other girls were taught, so very long ago. Maybe the same motto can be effectively applied here. Cooperate. It's her only way out.

"Didn't touch it," Ambrosia replies to Maeve with another resentful look cast upon her son. "How could I? I'm just an infirm..." Lowering her hackles just a hair, she turns her face away from the water and closes her eyes. Vision's getting a bit dizzy again, and her spiked blood pressure probably isn't helping.

Okay, Tess has tried, like really really tried, not to say anything... she's already angered half the infirmary, but the Major? That's just begging for trouble, "Did you shoot at them?" She asks with a glance in Ambrosia's direction, "I mean, that would be terribly unprofessional, but... I mean Jax..." Motioning with both hands, "I'd get it..." The joking part aside, she takes on a serious expression that cuts through the look of a kid eating a sandwich, "I wont pretend like I've been in a lot of combat, but I do know that expecting people to go into a fight and cross our fingers just hoping like heck that nobody dies isn't how this works..."

"I've always found that word to be suitably insulting and vague," Maeve notes as she tips a nod at both Ambrosia and Jax, then around to those in the immediate vicinity. "The actual definition of the word suggests having a condition of weakness or illness that usually lasts for a long time and is caused especially by old age." She taps one fingertip lightly against the shock proof water proof crush proof life proof case around her datapad, "The definition of 'old' is the variable that keeps changing, however. A old age is nothing but replication error caused by cellular decay, not so much as the passage of time, measured by solar years of course," she pairs a brief gleam of a smile with her last remark. "If you're feeling like you could chew up steel and spit out nails, and use one of those nails to disable a droid, I don't think Old qualifies, do you?"

She angles a curious look toward a blonde haired, green eyed woman wearing a knit scarf along with an olive shirt, pale slacks and dirty looking boots. "The power of positive thinking is, however, strongly recommended. Just like the statistics presented on soldiers who are convinced that today IS a good day to die; invariably they manage to find a way to do so."

Jax looks at Tess a bit confused and then says, "What no? It wasn't a First Order droid. It's one of our Medical droids she tried to shoot." He looks at Amber, "You don't like getting medical treatment. You won't lay there and heal. Mom you got shot through the heart and set on fire. If we take off the restrains. You will just try to escape. You tried to escape when Wedge was born. I remember it." He sighs and goes to sit down. "Oh and before you folks without the last name Greystorm Ask. This is Dr. Maeve Zavir. She's a Colleague of Sesti's, a friend, and I trust her. She's also runs a clinic on Nar Shaddaa. She's seen as much combat injuries there as we drag in here."

Aola waves a hand at the doctor with a nod of her head before she stands, the young Twi'lek finally speaking up even if it is as she departs, addressing the Major with all her injuries and frustrations. "I'm glad you're okay Ma'am. I'm sure that you'll be working your way through the enemy in no time." Nodding her head to Jax and Tess, she steps back from her perch and turns towards the doorway. The newly promoted pilot has a fighter to maintain after all!

Tess earns a scowl from the Major, who then takes a moment to eyeball what's left of her sandwich. And then the Flight Officer. "No shit."

Angry buttons have been pushed, now everyone's a target! It may be time to put Ambrosia back into her druggy timeout. Or just ignore her until she falls asleep. "Not old...and I believe it was the other way 'round, kiddo. I 'member the fire bit. Put it out. Lost my knife. Cowardly little bastard arrives behind his mask and I tried to get you kids downstairs..." Her voice gets strained and she coughs, clears it, and goes quiet. She's unable to roll over and show them her backside, so the simple act of squeezing her eyes closed will have to do. Those weathered hands are set to shivering again and the irritation manifests physically. Or pain. She isn't telling, at any rate.

Tess shrugs when her words meet to deaf ears! It's a family thing anyways and she's just a private. So she reaches into the pockets of her cargo pants and pulls out another wrapped sandwich, pulls some of the silvery wrapping free, and takes a bite. "It's not positive thinking or silver lining... it's just a fact. We're all dumb asses for doing war as a profession... if we were smart we'd have invented a new form of Protein shack and sold it on the holovid." Another shrug, smiling around her sandwich, "Instead we decided to kill people for a living... I mean for good reason.. We didn't pick the happily ever after job. Jus' sayin'."

Chuckling, Maeve walks over and rests one hand briefly on Jax's shoulder, "Thanks for the introduction," she says quietly before sweeping a careful look over Jax himself then turning back to those gathered. "Though, at my clinic, I deal with a lot more patients who are strung out from spice and other addictions than combat wounds. With the exception of pit fighters and those who 'fell down' on their way to or from the gambling halls." She clips the datapad to her belt and tucks her hands into the pockets of the jacket she's wearing. "And, I have a superior supplier of caf who makes weekly drops, so that's a plus. And.." she sweeps a look over Ambrosia, recognizing the 'leave me the <insert obscenity here> alone' tone and marks it for what it is, to tip a nod at the blonde. "A new protein shake typically takes the market by storm. You just have to find a former sports cheerleader who’s turned her rep into a life coach to then be your spokesperson to pitch it to the market. She'll do vid slots and info ads, release a series of high selling exercise and motivation discs, downloads and VR programs, all of which you guys get the royalties on in a standard sixty forty split. You can retire to the life you've always dreamt of," she shares that brief gleam of a grin. "You just need the recipe, first."

Jax shakes his head. He moves to sit down. His and he takes a few deep breaths. "I'll be around Doctor if you need help." Then starts to close his eyes and appears to breath as if clearing his mind. "NO problem Mae. They billeting you in the hotel in town?" He shrugs at Tess and her philosophy, "Yeah Still don't mean you want it to happen or let your friends and family die."