Reed and Schyrt had been a bit disappointed in not being able to go planet-side. They knew something must be down on the planet with no name other than an alpha-numeric designation, especially since they would be dropping off someone in dire need of medical supervision. But as usual, they devoutly went about their appointed tasks with no questions asked and no answers given.
The Jet Razor un-docked from the Twilight Stalker after the capital ship had been put into stationary orbit, and began it's descent into the gray orb of the perpetually fog-enshrouded planet. The planet's surface itself was mostly dense forest with several small freshwater oceans covering the surface, but from space all the planet's features were masked by the Dark Side imbued water vapor which some long-forgotten Sith Lords had created, presumably as some sort of defense against Jedi invasion. If it served any other purpose, those intentions had been lost to the ages.
The comm beeped in the cock pit and Raezyr hit the button to answer. "Get back here as soon as you can. Mannix is still thrashing around."
"I thought you sedated him before we brought him aboard," Raezyr answered.
"I did. In fact, I gave him enough tranq to knock out a gundark," Trychon confirmed.
"Then why is he thrashing?"
"How in Chaos should I know? I'm not a med droid."
The big Sith punched in the coordinates, and the codes to the ancient base on the surface of THX1138 and after confirming they had landing clearance, started the automatic landing cycle, then headed back to give his brother a hand.
Sure enough, their small apprentice was thrashing around even though unconscious. Raezyr helped strap him down, but despite his size and strength it took all they had to get the boy immobilized.
Once the ship had landed, they exited the ship while using the Force to levitate their charge, now strapped to a backboard with his arms across his chest and even a strap across his forehead. They moved quickly through the dimly lit hangar as a few lights here and there slowly flicked on as the base itself was still initiating it's power up.
The walked the corridor to what they assumed was some sort of ancient laboratory. Mannix had stopped his thrashing and gone completely limp on the short walk through the base and the two brothers were able to strap the boy down into an examination chair of some sort.
"Now what do we do with him?" Raezyr asked.
"Well, help me get these monitoring cables hooked up to him so the computer can monitor his vitals," Trychon instructed. "That's the first step." When it was accomplished, Trychon picked up a scanner and began taking full body readings of the boy.
"What do you think he's gonna need?"
"Dammit, Raez," Trychon exhaled through clenched teeth, showing a bit of rare exasperation. He was about to snap at his brother, chewing him out when he remembered the last time they were here. The fog, imbued with the Dark Side, had an unsettling effect for anyone trying to fight it. He took a deep breath, allowing the Force to flow through him and felt the misplaced anger dissipate.
"Look brother," Trychon began again. "I'm not a doctor. Your guess is as good as mine. He's from a tiny unknown race and I'm sure his physiology is going to be different than ours, maybe too different... oh wait a tick." The ancient Sith computers suddenly came up with a file full of medical information on the Taxl race, then started cross referencing it with the scans that had just been taken.
"Looks like those monks were known to the Sith for some time," Raezyr said, noting the activity happening on the computer screens.
"This is perfect," Trychon noted. "It might take me a bit, but I'm going to the main computer room. From there I'll create a program that will interface with not only the computers here in the lab, but the computers that keep the colony of... worker drones, I guess... running smoothly.
"My program will monitor Mannix's status, figure out what he needs to return his condition to acceptable standards for the Taxl race, and then order the worker drones to attend whatever has to be done, whether it's food or exercise or whatever," Trychon finished explaining, then hurried out the door.
Raezyr stood alone with the boy. Suddenly Mannix' eyes flared open and strained against the straps holding him in place until Raezyr was worried the boy may cause injury to himself. Dark! Bad! Dark! the boy's thoughts screamed unbidden into Raezyr's mind, and the Sith quickly closed off the unwanted contact. He needn't have bothered as the boy slumped back into unconsciousness as if the incident hadn't happened.
It took Trychon several hours to get his program implemented, and he explained to his brother the reason was all the logistics which needed to be taken care of: power, lights, heating and cooling and various other systems which normally deactivated when the base was not in use.
Raezyr brought up Mannix' recent outburst on the way back to the ship.
"You know, the kid's mind may be shot," Trychon speculated. "I mean, we inadvertently put him through more than a living being is normally capable of surviving."
The other Sith thought about it for a long time and they walked in silence. They were powering up the Jet Razor before either spoke again. "But if he's insane, how was he able to send his thoughts so clearly? He's never been able to do that before."
Trychon thought a moment, then grinned. "C'mon Raez, you know that ancient Sith saying: 'The difference between insanity and genius is two seconds under a flame thrower."
February 25, 2011
February 24, 2011
641. Taking out the Trash - Trychon
The remaining days of the trip to Hoth were fairly quiet. Dianna was unapologetic to Raezyr for needing the time alone, but for him no apology was required. Things were back to a relative normal between them after that night, though it was apparent that she was still a bit distraught. It didn't matter how much the missions they described to her sounded like fairly routine errands. They always ended up taking longer than planned, involving a lot more fighting than planned, and incur a lot more injuries than planned. Raezyr's persistent limp had not improved, and he refused to talk to her about it. She just hoped to see that annoying limp just as it was when he returned to her.
The goodbyes, besides those that took place in private, were short and to the point as usual. Long and tight hugs were given to both of the Sith by Dianna. She whispered to Trychon to keep Raezyr safe, as she normally did.
Schyrt and Reed quietly went about their business, loading various crates that were filled with mission essentials, like ales and spirits, as well as a few other items that they weren't sure if they'd need, massive firepower and explosives. It was pretty routine for them, but Di's worried glance towards their precaution didn't go unnoticed.
Deera waved from the corner of the room, with an awkward smile. She was obviously still struggling with her near death experience and wasn't entirely sure how to deal with it. Trained assassins are usually on good terms with their own mortality, but it had been too long since the Twi'lek had been in such a situation.
After their exchanges, the Sith headed off to THX-1138, to see what sort of shape the facilities there were truly in. If they were as good as the defensive mechanisms in place, they'd be pretty well off. If they weren't, then they'd have to figure out a plan B.
Their time in hyperspace was in many ways the same as it always was. The biggest difference was that rather than sparring in random sections of the ship, they sparred in and around the med-bay. Rather than drinking in the common area, they drank in the med-bay. Then when it came time to talk about Dianna, they again opened up the ales, and discussed her in the med-bay.
"Look, I know she was just projecting, and when she's calmed down and really thought about it, she'll realize there's some serious issues with her line of thinking." Raezyr mused his thought while he took another gulp out of his tankard. "But will common sense prevail over her feelings, or will this become a persistent issue?"
"I don't have an answer for you there, brother." Trychon popped the top off another ale and passed it to him as an alternate to consoling him.
"We actually already were looking at settling down in our own round about way. Do you think she'd come to Den Var with us if the right opportunities were there?"
Trychon was about to answer when the speaker interrupted.
"We're preparing to exit hyperspace, Masters."
"Very well." Trychon noted, depressing the nearby comm button. "Well, Raez..."
Then as the ship's gentle humming switched tones as the sublight drives kicked in and the lines outside the viewport solidified into glaring stars, another noise interrupted. An insistant beeping was joined by a heavy gurgling noise. The Sith's attention quickly shifted to the bacta tank, where Mannix was now thrashing around in a panic.
A quick glance over the medical readouts showed no abnormal amount of pain that he could be experiencing, given the chemicals coursing his body. Raezyr was just about to point out that perhaps the timing of the boy's awakening was no coincidence when they were interrupted a third time.
Dark. Bad.
Both Sith simply stared at the boy, who had stopped his manic movements and was now simply looking at them and pressing his hand up against the transparisteel container that held him.
Neither of them knew what to say to the boy, who had never before been able to communicate to them through the Force like this.
Kill me.
Raezyr looked to Trychon, who began preparing the system to sedate their patient.
I'm sorry. Raezyr reached out to touch the other side of the bacta tank. We still need you, Mannix.
The goodbyes, besides those that took place in private, were short and to the point as usual. Long and tight hugs were given to both of the Sith by Dianna. She whispered to Trychon to keep Raezyr safe, as she normally did.
Schyrt and Reed quietly went about their business, loading various crates that were filled with mission essentials, like ales and spirits, as well as a few other items that they weren't sure if they'd need, massive firepower and explosives. It was pretty routine for them, but Di's worried glance towards their precaution didn't go unnoticed.
Deera waved from the corner of the room, with an awkward smile. She was obviously still struggling with her near death experience and wasn't entirely sure how to deal with it. Trained assassins are usually on good terms with their own mortality, but it had been too long since the Twi'lek had been in such a situation.
After their exchanges, the Sith headed off to THX-1138, to see what sort of shape the facilities there were truly in. If they were as good as the defensive mechanisms in place, they'd be pretty well off. If they weren't, then they'd have to figure out a plan B.
Their time in hyperspace was in many ways the same as it always was. The biggest difference was that rather than sparring in random sections of the ship, they sparred in and around the med-bay. Rather than drinking in the common area, they drank in the med-bay. Then when it came time to talk about Dianna, they again opened up the ales, and discussed her in the med-bay.
"Look, I know she was just projecting, and when she's calmed down and really thought about it, she'll realize there's some serious issues with her line of thinking." Raezyr mused his thought while he took another gulp out of his tankard. "But will common sense prevail over her feelings, or will this become a persistent issue?"
"I don't have an answer for you there, brother." Trychon popped the top off another ale and passed it to him as an alternate to consoling him.
"We actually already were looking at settling down in our own round about way. Do you think she'd come to Den Var with us if the right opportunities were there?"
Trychon was about to answer when the speaker interrupted.
"We're preparing to exit hyperspace, Masters."
"Very well." Trychon noted, depressing the nearby comm button. "Well, Raez..."
Then as the ship's gentle humming switched tones as the sublight drives kicked in and the lines outside the viewport solidified into glaring stars, another noise interrupted. An insistant beeping was joined by a heavy gurgling noise. The Sith's attention quickly shifted to the bacta tank, where Mannix was now thrashing around in a panic.
A quick glance over the medical readouts showed no abnormal amount of pain that he could be experiencing, given the chemicals coursing his body. Raezyr was just about to point out that perhaps the timing of the boy's awakening was no coincidence when they were interrupted a third time.
Dark. Bad.
Both Sith simply stared at the boy, who had stopped his manic movements and was now simply looking at them and pressing his hand up against the transparisteel container that held him.
Neither of them knew what to say to the boy, who had never before been able to communicate to them through the Force like this.
Kill me.
Raezyr looked to Trychon, who began preparing the system to sedate their patient.
I'm sorry. Raezyr reached out to touch the other side of the bacta tank. We still need you, Mannix.
February 18, 2011
640. Taking out the Trash - Trychon
"You're going to have to really explain this all to me someday, because right now I just don't get it." Dianna ranted as she moved about the room restlessly in a fashion somewhere between pacing and storming. Her mind was obviously racing through dozens of things she was trying to decide whether or not to say. She was trying to hide her thoughts by mindlessly picking up random trinkets throughout the room and looking at them briefly before putting them back.
Raezyr just watched her movements from his spot sitting on their bed. He glanced out the viewport and allowed his eyes to glaze over as calming lines of hyperspace streaked past. He looked back to his lover to see her glaring at him with hurt and anger mixed in her expression, hands on her hips. It was obvious she was trying to be calm and fair about the situation, but it didn't take a strong Force connection to see that she was extremely unhappy with the situation and his decision.
She turned her back to him again and walked towards the viewport behind her, finally leaning on the small sill that surrounded it, with her head hanging towards the ground.
She turned her head as though to look over her shoulder at him, but she kept her eyes shut. "Why, Raez? Why do this? Why do this now?"
Raezyr forced his sigh to be loud enough for her to hear it. "This is me, Di. This is who I am and what I do. I know it seems nonsensical at times. What we have to do doesn't come with a step by step guide where I can explain to you what we're doing and why with two weeks notice guaranteed. This is all I know how to be though, and what I have to do to be it."
"That's a bunch of Quarren droppings and you know it. There's a lot of things you could do. Your skills would be very marketable if you chose to do anything else at all. You take random trips to find artifacts you seldom know what they're for. You chase after ghosts and prophesies and training that really only leads you to do more of the same, over and over."
Raezyr walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Are you suggesting we should join your crew?"
"You know I'm not. That wouldn't work for so many reasons."
"Should I join a rival crew?"
She turned around and gave him a half hearted shove in the chest, just enough to make him choose to let her go, or allow them to both tumble to the floor, which was tempting but probably not the best time. He let go and allowed his momentum to carry himself a step backwards while she responded. "Damnit Raez, I don't know. No."
"The fact is that as inconvenient as our lifestyle can be at times, it's also what's allowed us to be around each other so much. If I were to just go find some... job... somewhere... like a normal guy... we'd never be able to make our schedules match up."
Dianna's face turned into sad resignation. "But Mannix..."
Raezyr picked her up and carried her back towards their bed. "I told you, we think we've found a couple of places to check out that will be able to do more for him than either of us could on this ship or on Hoth, and without getting into some Republic stronghold medical facility."
He set her down next to the bed, and kissed her. She didn't offer any resistance, and allowed herself to melt into his embrace for moments at a time.
Then she gently pulled herself away again, and threw a sideways glance at the chrono on the wall.
"It's my turn to keep an eye on Mannix."
"Babe, Trych said it was fine." Raezyr protested.
"I know, Lover. I'll talk to you later though. I have to go." And with those last words, she did.
Raezyr just watched her movements from his spot sitting on their bed. He glanced out the viewport and allowed his eyes to glaze over as calming lines of hyperspace streaked past. He looked back to his lover to see her glaring at him with hurt and anger mixed in her expression, hands on her hips. It was obvious she was trying to be calm and fair about the situation, but it didn't take a strong Force connection to see that she was extremely unhappy with the situation and his decision.
She turned her back to him again and walked towards the viewport behind her, finally leaning on the small sill that surrounded it, with her head hanging towards the ground.
She turned her head as though to look over her shoulder at him, but she kept her eyes shut. "Why, Raez? Why do this? Why do this now?"
Raezyr forced his sigh to be loud enough for her to hear it. "This is me, Di. This is who I am and what I do. I know it seems nonsensical at times. What we have to do doesn't come with a step by step guide where I can explain to you what we're doing and why with two weeks notice guaranteed. This is all I know how to be though, and what I have to do to be it."
"That's a bunch of Quarren droppings and you know it. There's a lot of things you could do. Your skills would be very marketable if you chose to do anything else at all. You take random trips to find artifacts you seldom know what they're for. You chase after ghosts and prophesies and training that really only leads you to do more of the same, over and over."
Raezyr walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Are you suggesting we should join your crew?"
"You know I'm not. That wouldn't work for so many reasons."
"Should I join a rival crew?"
She turned around and gave him a half hearted shove in the chest, just enough to make him choose to let her go, or allow them to both tumble to the floor, which was tempting but probably not the best time. He let go and allowed his momentum to carry himself a step backwards while she responded. "Damnit Raez, I don't know. No."
"The fact is that as inconvenient as our lifestyle can be at times, it's also what's allowed us to be around each other so much. If I were to just go find some... job... somewhere... like a normal guy... we'd never be able to make our schedules match up."
Dianna's face turned into sad resignation. "But Mannix..."
Raezyr picked her up and carried her back towards their bed. "I told you, we think we've found a couple of places to check out that will be able to do more for him than either of us could on this ship or on Hoth, and without getting into some Republic stronghold medical facility."
He set her down next to the bed, and kissed her. She didn't offer any resistance, and allowed herself to melt into his embrace for moments at a time.
Then she gently pulled herself away again, and threw a sideways glance at the chrono on the wall.
"It's my turn to keep an eye on Mannix."
"Babe, Trych said it was fine." Raezyr protested.
"I know, Lover. I'll talk to you later though. I have to go." And with those last words, she did.
February 15, 2011
639. Taking out the Trash - Raezyr
Two days later, Raezyr was taking his turn in the med-bay, watching the limp, unconscious form of the former Taxl monk bobbing up and down in the small tank of the mircle element, the substance which accelerated the natural self-repairing capability of most known species to a supernatural speed. Wounds and illnesses which might be fatal at worst, take years to recover from at best, could be cured in a matter of days or weeks, depending on the severity.
Mannix would always have scars, sure but the bacta treatment he was undergoing would ensure that the scars would have minimum pain. Bacta couldn't restore the lost flesh and nerves. It wasn't capable of regenerating lost limbs. It couldn't make the young man's body recover beyond it's natural capabilities. For all it's so-called 'magic,' Mannix would still have months of rehab to undergo even after the bacta.
The big Sith was drawn into a trance-like state with the thrum of the ship's hyperdrive, the hum of the medical apparatus, and the soft bubbling of the bacta tank when another noise caught his attention. The comm panel light was blinking.
"Go ahead, Reed," Raezyr said after hitting the push-to-talk button. When in hyper-space, it was standard practice to keep time by the Galactic Standard, which was set by whatever time it was on Coruscant. At this time of night, Raezyr knew the only two people who would be awake on the ship were Reed who was the pilot on duty and himself, and the habit of using the Force told him there were no others awake.
"Master, we just received an incoming message for you and Master Trychon," the voice informed him. "It's encrypted, so I can't open it, but the data packet is extremely large. My guess is that it's a holo-recording."
"Send it to the comm-center holo projector, then wake Lord Trychon. Inform him I'll be there momentarily, if he'd like to join me," Raezyr said. He didn't wait for Reed to reply, but instead switched the comm off.
He could only think of one person who would have the luxury or extravagance to send an encrypted holo-recording.
-------------
Trychon entered the comm center, still pulling his tunic on, his eyes bleak and red from restless sleep. Despite the fact they were relatively in the clear after assassinating Sootoo the Hutt, no one had been able to rest. Not with Mannix in his condition and the uncertainty of what to do with him in a long-term sense.
"Is it him?" Trychon asked his younger sibling. Neither needed to speak the name.
Raezyr handed a mug of caf to his half-brother. "It's his encryption, but the data is so degraded that I'm having a hard time getting it to que up on the projector."
"Let me take a look." Trychon sat down in the seat the bigger Sith vacated and began working on the problem. It took several minutes, but he finally spoke again. "Got it. Well, the important part of it, I hope. I had to cut the visual, so it's audio only, and it'll be fuzzy at that. Let's just hope there's nothing Master Eiron wanted to show us."
It seemed like ages since they had heard from their dark Master. They hadn't seen him in person since they had fled from the Academy on the Sith homeworld of Korriban with the Jedi and the Republic in pursuit, looking for revenge for what had since been dubbed the "Massacre on Curuscant" by the news media groups.
In fact, they had gotten so little instruction from him that they considered him to be their Master in title only. Most of the teaching they received had been from Sith Holocrons and ancient tomes pilfered from the Academy on Korriban and the ancient Sith base on the fog-enshrouded planet of THX1138.
Trychon cued up the transmission and hit play. Lord Eiron's voice issued from the speakers, heavily covered in static. It was still so bad they had to play it back several times, often arguing over certain sections. When they had finally finished interpreting the message, they could only hope they got everything correct.
Essentially, their Sith Master had given them another mission. They were to travel to an ancient Sith world named Meisos with all due haste. The natives there were apparently warriors and naturally Force sensitive, but the real treasures were kept by their leaders. Some sort of important crystals that were uniquely attuned to the Force. Naturally, they were both reminded of the mission that brought them to Mannix.
The two brothers sat sipping caf in silence, taking in the new information and each trying to piece it into their current situation.
"You know what we have to do, Raez," said Trychon eventually.
"Yeah. It's not the best plan, but it's not like we have another option," the younger brother replied. "Di's gonna be mad," he added.
"She's your special lady friend," Trychon stated flatly.
"I know."
The older Sith suddenly grinned.
Mannix would always have scars, sure but the bacta treatment he was undergoing would ensure that the scars would have minimum pain. Bacta couldn't restore the lost flesh and nerves. It wasn't capable of regenerating lost limbs. It couldn't make the young man's body recover beyond it's natural capabilities. For all it's so-called 'magic,' Mannix would still have months of rehab to undergo even after the bacta.
The big Sith was drawn into a trance-like state with the thrum of the ship's hyperdrive, the hum of the medical apparatus, and the soft bubbling of the bacta tank when another noise caught his attention. The comm panel light was blinking.
"Go ahead, Reed," Raezyr said after hitting the push-to-talk button. When in hyper-space, it was standard practice to keep time by the Galactic Standard, which was set by whatever time it was on Coruscant. At this time of night, Raezyr knew the only two people who would be awake on the ship were Reed who was the pilot on duty and himself, and the habit of using the Force told him there were no others awake.
"Master, we just received an incoming message for you and Master Trychon," the voice informed him. "It's encrypted, so I can't open it, but the data packet is extremely large. My guess is that it's a holo-recording."
"Send it to the comm-center holo projector, then wake Lord Trychon. Inform him I'll be there momentarily, if he'd like to join me," Raezyr said. He didn't wait for Reed to reply, but instead switched the comm off.
He could only think of one person who would have the luxury or extravagance to send an encrypted holo-recording.
-------------
Trychon entered the comm center, still pulling his tunic on, his eyes bleak and red from restless sleep. Despite the fact they were relatively in the clear after assassinating Sootoo the Hutt, no one had been able to rest. Not with Mannix in his condition and the uncertainty of what to do with him in a long-term sense.
"Is it him?" Trychon asked his younger sibling. Neither needed to speak the name.
Raezyr handed a mug of caf to his half-brother. "It's his encryption, but the data is so degraded that I'm having a hard time getting it to que up on the projector."
"Let me take a look." Trychon sat down in the seat the bigger Sith vacated and began working on the problem. It took several minutes, but he finally spoke again. "Got it. Well, the important part of it, I hope. I had to cut the visual, so it's audio only, and it'll be fuzzy at that. Let's just hope there's nothing Master Eiron wanted to show us."
It seemed like ages since they had heard from their dark Master. They hadn't seen him in person since they had fled from the Academy on the Sith homeworld of Korriban with the Jedi and the Republic in pursuit, looking for revenge for what had since been dubbed the "Massacre on Curuscant" by the news media groups.
In fact, they had gotten so little instruction from him that they considered him to be their Master in title only. Most of the teaching they received had been from Sith Holocrons and ancient tomes pilfered from the Academy on Korriban and the ancient Sith base on the fog-enshrouded planet of THX1138.
Trychon cued up the transmission and hit play. Lord Eiron's voice issued from the speakers, heavily covered in static. It was still so bad they had to play it back several times, often arguing over certain sections. When they had finally finished interpreting the message, they could only hope they got everything correct.
Essentially, their Sith Master had given them another mission. They were to travel to an ancient Sith world named Meisos with all due haste. The natives there were apparently warriors and naturally Force sensitive, but the real treasures were kept by their leaders. Some sort of important crystals that were uniquely attuned to the Force. Naturally, they were both reminded of the mission that brought them to Mannix.
The two brothers sat sipping caf in silence, taking in the new information and each trying to piece it into their current situation.
"You know what we have to do, Raez," said Trychon eventually.
"Yeah. It's not the best plan, but it's not like we have another option," the younger brother replied. "Di's gonna be mad," he added.
"She's your special lady friend," Trychon stated flatly.
"I know."
The older Sith suddenly grinned.
February 11, 2011
638. Taking out the Trash - Trychon
Whatever was left of Sootoo the Hutt's forces must have decided that it was best to leave the intruders alone from that point on, as they waited in silence for their ship to pick them up. Nobody spoke another word until the Razor was in position to blow a hole in the building and they commed to warn as much.
The entire group backed away to the center of the room, and then they stood between the wall and Mannix, who was still being held midair by Trychon and Raezyr. After the rubble settled around them, there was still a massive cloud of dust in the air as the group moved as one in silence to escort Mannix aboard.
"We're going to have to make a hasty trip to dock up with the Stalker." Raezyr noted as everyone but the Sith prepped themselves for a bumpy ride. "Dianna, please take over the piloting. I have to stay with Trychon to make sure that Mannix does not get thrown about."
Dianna nearly paused to think if she should protest to stay and support the Brothers and their young student, but thought better of it and headed up to the bridge. It was only seconds before her voice was heard over the loudspeakers to remind everyone to hold on to something.
-----------------------
Despite their concern about making it back to the Stalker, there was little interference as they made their hasty orbital rendezvous. Not many planetary systems are truly prepared for a cleared ship to come out of the spaceports and blow a hole in a building right inside a metropolis. Whatever resistance that was ready to be scrambled wasn't enough to keep up with the Razor, in any case.
Trychon and Raezyr wasted no time once aboard the Stalker. Not even waiting for the docking hatch to seal, they made their way to the small medbay, where they could begin administering real help to the boy. Dianna was the next one out of the smaller ship, and she headed straight for the command deck, unsure as to whether or not Trychon could split his concentration enough to have already plotted a course.
When she jogged through the sliding doors, she stopped at the first available terminal. Pulling up a course, she could see that he had indeed already plotted a course. Two short jumps out of the system at random directions and intervals, and then headed to Hoth.
She turned around and headed for the medbay.
When she arrived in the medbay, they already had the boy submerged in a portable bacta tank. It was barely large enough to fit an adult male of most species, but there was plenty of free space for Mannix to float freely. He had tubes injected into his body interspersed at rather small intervals, another advantage to his small body, she supposed.
Trychon and Raezyr were standing over him, not moving. She wasn't afraid to say something, but at the same time, she didn't really want to, either. She watched the boy float up and down for a few minutes, knowing there was no real hurry to the discussion she was about to have with them. Regardless of what was decided, the random jumps were necessary.
After several minutes, which felt like years, she finally spoke up. "Well?" Was all she was able to croak out of the full question she wanted to ask, despite the apparent brevity of 'Well, how is he?'
Raezyr didn't look up, but she didn't expect him to. She grabbed his hand and held it as he started to speak. "Well, obviously he's getting Bacta pumped into him as fast as his body will take it. The tank has also taken over his heart, and other major organ functions. So that's one less thing for us to worry about."
"You were keeping his heart pumping?" Dianna asked. Normally, she thought her jaw might drop at such a statement, but now all she could do was stare at the boy.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him nod at Trychon. "It doesn't take two Sith to levitate a boy. I was holding him in place. We didn't want to take a chance on the stims failing and his heart shutting down. Trychon's fine control is a bit more refined than mine."
She forced a smile in Trychon's direction, though he didn't look up.
She tried to form her next words as carefully as she could.
"I'm uh... I'm not looking for an argument, babe... but Mannix needs the best medical help we can get him. Hoth does not fall under that category. The bacta is great, and we're lucky the Stalker was fitted with some, but he deserves more."
"Sweetheart," Raezyr started, his voice barely above a whisper. "He doesn't have some incurable disease. He has massive burns over his entire body. All they'd be able to tell us besides the fact that every one of us besides Mannix is very wanted by various governments is that he needs to spend some massive time in a bacta tank and, Force willing, a lot of rehab."
"I have very little experience with rehab. At least for others, and for anything of magnitude." She sighed.
She decided the next several days would give her a chance to try and change her lover's mind, if she still thought he was wrong. They returned to their group silence. The only noise between them was the steady thrum of the hyperspace engines, and a nearly imperceptible buzz coming from the machinery in the medical bay.
"You two can go if you'd like. I'll keep a watch on Mannix." Trychon offered, with his eyes closed as though he was staring at the young apprentice and the machinery keeping him alive through his eyelids.
Dianna was the only one to move, and then only enough to rest her head on Raezyr's shoulder.
The entire group backed away to the center of the room, and then they stood between the wall and Mannix, who was still being held midair by Trychon and Raezyr. After the rubble settled around them, there was still a massive cloud of dust in the air as the group moved as one in silence to escort Mannix aboard.
"We're going to have to make a hasty trip to dock up with the Stalker." Raezyr noted as everyone but the Sith prepped themselves for a bumpy ride. "Dianna, please take over the piloting. I have to stay with Trychon to make sure that Mannix does not get thrown about."
Dianna nearly paused to think if she should protest to stay and support the Brothers and their young student, but thought better of it and headed up to the bridge. It was only seconds before her voice was heard over the loudspeakers to remind everyone to hold on to something.
-----------------------
Despite their concern about making it back to the Stalker, there was little interference as they made their hasty orbital rendezvous. Not many planetary systems are truly prepared for a cleared ship to come out of the spaceports and blow a hole in a building right inside a metropolis. Whatever resistance that was ready to be scrambled wasn't enough to keep up with the Razor, in any case.
Trychon and Raezyr wasted no time once aboard the Stalker. Not even waiting for the docking hatch to seal, they made their way to the small medbay, where they could begin administering real help to the boy. Dianna was the next one out of the smaller ship, and she headed straight for the command deck, unsure as to whether or not Trychon could split his concentration enough to have already plotted a course.
When she jogged through the sliding doors, she stopped at the first available terminal. Pulling up a course, she could see that he had indeed already plotted a course. Two short jumps out of the system at random directions and intervals, and then headed to Hoth.
She turned around and headed for the medbay.
When she arrived in the medbay, they already had the boy submerged in a portable bacta tank. It was barely large enough to fit an adult male of most species, but there was plenty of free space for Mannix to float freely. He had tubes injected into his body interspersed at rather small intervals, another advantage to his small body, she supposed.
Trychon and Raezyr were standing over him, not moving. She wasn't afraid to say something, but at the same time, she didn't really want to, either. She watched the boy float up and down for a few minutes, knowing there was no real hurry to the discussion she was about to have with them. Regardless of what was decided, the random jumps were necessary.
After several minutes, which felt like years, she finally spoke up. "Well?" Was all she was able to croak out of the full question she wanted to ask, despite the apparent brevity of 'Well, how is he?'
Raezyr didn't look up, but she didn't expect him to. She grabbed his hand and held it as he started to speak. "Well, obviously he's getting Bacta pumped into him as fast as his body will take it. The tank has also taken over his heart, and other major organ functions. So that's one less thing for us to worry about."
"You were keeping his heart pumping?" Dianna asked. Normally, she thought her jaw might drop at such a statement, but now all she could do was stare at the boy.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him nod at Trychon. "It doesn't take two Sith to levitate a boy. I was holding him in place. We didn't want to take a chance on the stims failing and his heart shutting down. Trychon's fine control is a bit more refined than mine."
She forced a smile in Trychon's direction, though he didn't look up.
She tried to form her next words as carefully as she could.
"I'm uh... I'm not looking for an argument, babe... but Mannix needs the best medical help we can get him. Hoth does not fall under that category. The bacta is great, and we're lucky the Stalker was fitted with some, but he deserves more."
"Sweetheart," Raezyr started, his voice barely above a whisper. "He doesn't have some incurable disease. He has massive burns over his entire body. All they'd be able to tell us besides the fact that every one of us besides Mannix is very wanted by various governments is that he needs to spend some massive time in a bacta tank and, Force willing, a lot of rehab."
"I have very little experience with rehab. At least for others, and for anything of magnitude." She sighed.
She decided the next several days would give her a chance to try and change her lover's mind, if she still thought he was wrong. They returned to their group silence. The only noise between them was the steady thrum of the hyperspace engines, and a nearly imperceptible buzz coming from the machinery in the medical bay.
"You two can go if you'd like. I'll keep a watch on Mannix." Trychon offered, with his eyes closed as though he was staring at the young apprentice and the machinery keeping him alive through his eyelids.
Dianna was the only one to move, and then only enough to rest her head on Raezyr's shoulder.
February 04, 2011
637. Taking out the Trash - Trychon
Raezyr reached out to Mannix in the force and felt an acknowledgement in return. He wished he could get more from the kid, but that was all he knew how to send at this stage in his development. We're going to have to speed up his development, based on his performance today he thought to himself.
He was close, he could sense the boy exhausted and a sudden feeling of triumph. Almost there. His feeling of unease wasn't abating. He began to push himself harder in the force, increasing his speed.
Raezyr turned the corner to a long hallway, and saw his apprentice turn the corner at the other end. The boy stopped at the intersection and waved, panting heavily.
His lips parted to yell something to his master, but instead he let out a piercing scream as his body was engulfed in flames. Raezyr dashed down the hallway as quickly as he could, helpless to help a young boy who was falling to his knees, being tortured and eaten alive by the scorching inferno.
Raezyr dove forward, wrapping his arms around Mannix and pulling both of their bodies to the left and out of the reach of the continual flow from the other direction. After rolling to a stop, the Sith could see that there was no flame to douse on the boy. Anything on him capable of burning already had.
A quick glance in the direction of the original attack showed a man in Mandalorian armor, laying on the ground and weakly laughing. His own strength was fading quicker than Mannix's, though from this angle it was impossible to tell where Mannix had managed to subvert the man's armor. It didn't matter. Raezyr picked the man up in the force and squeezed as hard as he could before throwing his body crashing into the next room. His life force flickered out before his body skidded into the far wall.
The Sith quickly turned his attention to the small body at his feet. The damage was bad. Really bad. There was no time to worry about how it looked though. He quickly went to work administering stims to hopefully keep internal organs from shutting down in shock.
The stims seemed to be working, as they had the unfortunately necessary side-effect of keeping the person conscious, and also that much more aware of their own agony. The boy began thrashing around aimlessly, with his body taking over for logical thought. With no hope of reducing the pain or damage, his instincts forced his muscles to do something. Anything.
He screamed again, feebly through his vocal cords, but deafeningly through the force.
"Damnit Mannix, hold still!" Raezyr shouted at him, trying to restrain him from hurting himself further and overriding the chemical powers of the stimulants.
What the hell is that?! Trychon asked him over the constant force 'noise' that Mannix was somehow creating.
It's Mannix. He's down. It's bad. I've kept him out of shock, but he won't hold still. He's going to kill himself. I'm going to have to... DAMMIT! Trych, I can't get him to hold still!
Trychon didn't have to respond. Raezyr knew what he had to do.
--------------------------
Trychon got on the comm.
"Trident to group. No more time. We're exiting as quick as we can, whether that's through the front door or we need to make a new door. Meet up at 'Point Delta'."
He took off through the building, knowing that Deera and Dianna would be following as quickly as they could. He chose the meeting point nearest to where he believed Raezyr and Mannix to be. He didn't think there was anything he could do to help at this point, but he had to try.
The Force scream got suddenly louder as Trychon heard his brother mentally mutter 'dammit' several more times.
-------------------------
Dianna and Deera caught up to the two Sith brothers standing next to a smoking, charred lump hovering in the corner of the room they'd labeled 'Point Delta'. As they got nearer, she was able to recognize it as some semblance of a body as she noticed the limbs dangling awkwardly to the sides and she feared the worst.
Then as she stopped at their side, her hand flew up to cover her mouth, shocked to see the lump was moving imperceptibly.
It was Mannix, she knew it in her heart and because of his size. His eyes were darting back and forth rapidly, and his jaw was locked open, though only the raspy remains of what was surely once a scream came through.
Their comms came alive, as Schyrt called from the Razor. "Ship to ground team, we're inbound and locked in on your comm. We'll be there momentarily, please clear back from the center of the nearest wall." Good. Dianna thought. Plan Delta had been for he and Reed to double time it to the ship and bail them out at the nearest point. It meant a hasty exit. It meant things went bad.
Dianna's eyes went back to the boys arms and legs, which were hanging unnaturally from their joints. She was doing everything she could to keep her wits about her.
"Raez?" She stammered.
"Raezyr, what happened?"
The Sith turned to her, but she couldn't see his expression behind his mask. His voice was different than she'd ever heard before. "I had to Dianna. I had to do it. He was thrashing, and the growing cellular damage would have killed him." Then he shook his head as he turned away from her.
She couldn't understand what had happened. She reached out for Trychon's shoulder. As he turned to look at her, she could see the pain in his eyes as he closed them.
"His arms and his legs have been shattered, Di. We have to get to the Stalker to have a chance at saving him."
He was close, he could sense the boy exhausted and a sudden feeling of triumph. Almost there. His feeling of unease wasn't abating. He began to push himself harder in the force, increasing his speed.
Raezyr turned the corner to a long hallway, and saw his apprentice turn the corner at the other end. The boy stopped at the intersection and waved, panting heavily.
His lips parted to yell something to his master, but instead he let out a piercing scream as his body was engulfed in flames. Raezyr dashed down the hallway as quickly as he could, helpless to help a young boy who was falling to his knees, being tortured and eaten alive by the scorching inferno.
Raezyr dove forward, wrapping his arms around Mannix and pulling both of their bodies to the left and out of the reach of the continual flow from the other direction. After rolling to a stop, the Sith could see that there was no flame to douse on the boy. Anything on him capable of burning already had.
A quick glance in the direction of the original attack showed a man in Mandalorian armor, laying on the ground and weakly laughing. His own strength was fading quicker than Mannix's, though from this angle it was impossible to tell where Mannix had managed to subvert the man's armor. It didn't matter. Raezyr picked the man up in the force and squeezed as hard as he could before throwing his body crashing into the next room. His life force flickered out before his body skidded into the far wall.
The Sith quickly turned his attention to the small body at his feet. The damage was bad. Really bad. There was no time to worry about how it looked though. He quickly went to work administering stims to hopefully keep internal organs from shutting down in shock.
The stims seemed to be working, as they had the unfortunately necessary side-effect of keeping the person conscious, and also that much more aware of their own agony. The boy began thrashing around aimlessly, with his body taking over for logical thought. With no hope of reducing the pain or damage, his instincts forced his muscles to do something. Anything.
He screamed again, feebly through his vocal cords, but deafeningly through the force.
"Damnit Mannix, hold still!" Raezyr shouted at him, trying to restrain him from hurting himself further and overriding the chemical powers of the stimulants.
What the hell is that?! Trychon asked him over the constant force 'noise' that Mannix was somehow creating.
It's Mannix. He's down. It's bad. I've kept him out of shock, but he won't hold still. He's going to kill himself. I'm going to have to... DAMMIT! Trych, I can't get him to hold still!
Trychon didn't have to respond. Raezyr knew what he had to do.
--------------------------
Trychon got on the comm.
"Trident to group. No more time. We're exiting as quick as we can, whether that's through the front door or we need to make a new door. Meet up at 'Point Delta'."
He took off through the building, knowing that Deera and Dianna would be following as quickly as they could. He chose the meeting point nearest to where he believed Raezyr and Mannix to be. He didn't think there was anything he could do to help at this point, but he had to try.
The Force scream got suddenly louder as Trychon heard his brother mentally mutter 'dammit' several more times.
-------------------------
Dianna and Deera caught up to the two Sith brothers standing next to a smoking, charred lump hovering in the corner of the room they'd labeled 'Point Delta'. As they got nearer, she was able to recognize it as some semblance of a body as she noticed the limbs dangling awkwardly to the sides and she feared the worst.
Then as she stopped at their side, her hand flew up to cover her mouth, shocked to see the lump was moving imperceptibly.
It was Mannix, she knew it in her heart and because of his size. His eyes were darting back and forth rapidly, and his jaw was locked open, though only the raspy remains of what was surely once a scream came through.
Their comms came alive, as Schyrt called from the Razor. "Ship to ground team, we're inbound and locked in on your comm. We'll be there momentarily, please clear back from the center of the nearest wall." Good. Dianna thought. Plan Delta had been for he and Reed to double time it to the ship and bail them out at the nearest point. It meant a hasty exit. It meant things went bad.
Dianna's eyes went back to the boys arms and legs, which were hanging unnaturally from their joints. She was doing everything she could to keep her wits about her.
"Raez?" She stammered.
"Raezyr, what happened?"
The Sith turned to her, but she couldn't see his expression behind his mask. His voice was different than she'd ever heard before. "I had to Dianna. I had to do it. He was thrashing, and the growing cellular damage would have killed him." Then he shook his head as he turned away from her.
She couldn't understand what had happened. She reached out for Trychon's shoulder. As he turned to look at her, she could see the pain in his eyes as he closed them.
"His arms and his legs have been shattered, Di. We have to get to the Stalker to have a chance at saving him."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)