A Second Opinion

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Hazel Zanteres"] | [member="Irajah Ven"]

It had been quite clear from where he was standing that she needed it.

Light on her feet, shoulders shaky and pale skin, all the classic signs of a lack of nutrition. He might not know where the library was, but Irajah had been very elaborate with the medical information burned into his mind. It didn't all come in at once and usually Samson needed some kind of prompt, before it would actually pop up in his mind, but this one was relatively easy and simple.

"Of course, follow me." Immediately he turned on his heels and walked out of the library.

There in the corridor he waited for her, while studying the hallways and wondering.

Eventually he picked a direction: left - the right one, but only through sheer luck - and they walked. Eventually, after a few turns and stairways, they managed to arrive at the kitchen itself.

In truth they could have simply entered the dining room, rang a bell and had the food there, but Samson had made it a habit to simply go to the kitchen and eat there with the staff. They were friendly, the gossip amused him and they seemed to like his presence, especially the female assistants to the cook - but he wasn't entirely too sure why they giggled so much in his presence.

"Master Chef." It wasn't his real name, but it was a joke between them. "This lady has desperate need of some food, could you please cook something up for her?"

With that he settled down near the window, letting them do the talking further.

 

[Hazel Zanteres]

It had occured to Hazel that Samson was able to identify the tells - Terin probably did too and all it really did was make Hazel feel self conscious about it. Wishing she could just wrap her arms around herself and hide.

She knew her lack of proper eating was a fault of her own, all she needed to do was drop what she was doing at time and just simply eat.

But she was dedicated to her work, had been for years. And with the added concern and stress after Hoylin had somehow pushed her to work harder.

An excuse to try and distract herself from the situation. But she knew she had been kidding herself, it's why she had ultimately ended up taken a brief leave from Monastery to hopefully find answers - however long that would take.

And it if there was even a chance for a solution.

Hazel took the moment with Samson out of sight, to take a few deep breaths to calm herself. Then she followed where he had gone and left the library.

During the walk she peered around, taking in how spacious the manor seemed to be. Personally she couldn't imagine living in a place like this, far too many open areas for her liking. Then again a majority of her 'places' over the years had been the more confined sort. From her bunk durin the Republic days, to her quarters in Sanctuary.

Once they were in the kitchen, she gave the staff a polite smile. Though Hazel did flinch a bit at the various looks - ones of concern albeit, that were sent her way upon seeing the state she was in. Again that self conscious feeling was crawling back to the surface.

Instead she turned her attention back to Samson, who was now situated by the window. Hazel remained standing, much like she had in the library, unsure where to sit.

"So, I don't think I ever got your name?"

[member="Irajah Ven"] | [member="Samson"]​

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Hazel Zanteres"]

Samson gestured to the seat across from him, once it was made clear that Hazel wished to exchange words with him.

It would have been perfectly acceptable for him to simply pass the time waiting in silence. He was a silent man, introspective in the way that the tall mountain hummed to itself as time swirled around it and moved on, but he did not mind sharing a few words here and there. It would give him some opportunity to practice his social skills, which were lacking, if Terin was to be believed.

"My name?" It was a foreign concept even now.

He was the servant, the assistant, he need not a name to know his purpose.

But the people around him seemed to expect one regardless, as if it would make him a more understandable character for them to interpret and assign into the corridor of their expectations.

"I am called Samson."

This was the name picked by Irajah and it would do for his purposes.

"Hazel? A pretty name." He offered the compliment cautiously. In truth he did not know if it was a pretty name, it was simply a word, a word like any other word out there, but according to Terin it was polite to compliment a person you just met.

Seeing as the only two things he knew about her was her illness and her name... it did not seem wise to compliment her illness in this context.

 

[Hazel Zanteres]

Once seated Hazel was able to centralize herself. It wasn't much, her thoughts still a maelstrom of concern and worry. But the simple act of sitting down, waiting on something delivered a degree of easiness in her mind. It was a familiar situation, one that called back to her more hectic days in medbays, where she'd try and find a moment amidst the chaos to just breath. It allowed for the analytical side of her to creep to the surface for a change.

Her eyes wandered around a bit, ocassionally watching the kitchen staff at work - taking in the various scents and smells that were beginning to fill the room. Though Hazel always returned her gaze to Samson, watching the man with veiled interest.

He seemed quiet, preferred it even if Hazel wasn't mistaken. Didn't talk a lot unless it was necessary and seemed to fall back to his own thoughts whenever there was silence.

Even the way he spoke sometimes was off, it confused her. Though Hazel had mostly brushed that off as her mess of a mind screwing with her perception.

Then he gave her a compliment. She tilted her head to the right, her eyes squinting ever so slightly. It sounded almost awkward coming from Samson's mouth, the caution evident on his voice.

"Thank you. I remember my mother telling me that she fretted for weeks trying to think of a name. Said it had to be something special."

A warm smile appeared on her face, a rare sight as of late with everything that had happened.

Silence fell for a bit, before Hazel spoke up again.

"So, how did you meet Doctor Ven? Become her assistant?"

[member="Irajah Ven"] | [member="Samson"]​

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Hazel Zanteres"]

It seemed his compliment had fallen in good graces.

This was good, it meant that Terin had not been pulling his leg and people truly enjoyed being complimented.

Now that the ice was broken - he still did not know for sure what the Seneschal meant by that - it was time to delve deeper into their respective lives. Almost on cue Hazel already brought up how Irajah and him had met, which was where the awkwardness would truly start.

Because Samson and Irajah never had a conversation on their 'cover story'. As far as the clone was concerned, he could be simply truthful about it, because there was nothing to hide... there was nothing to be earned by hiding it.

"She made me into what I am today." He responded truthfully, but it was ambiguous enough that Hazel might think he wasn't being literal and would simply assume it was something he did not wish to speak of.

"I wouldn't be here without her."

Still annoyingly ambiguous.

Soon enough the kitchen staff brought steaming plates of food in front of Hazel, but only her. He had already eaten an hour back before she came around.

"Enjoy."

 

[Hazel Zanteres]

Again Hazel's head quirked to the side, a mix of interest and confusion as she looked upon Samson - it seemed to be a common thing after the man had finished speaking.

It was just the 'oddness' with how he spoke, the words he chose to use. It struck an odd cord in the Hapan, as if he was taking the time to figure out what to say, but what followed was not really expected.

She could pick up on the truth in his words, there was a bit of conviction behind them too. But again, it was certainly not what she'd expect to hear after asking how he met Doctor Ven.

There was something off about it, but Hazel couldn't trust that side of herself to gleam anything accurate.

Perhaps she had picked him off the street, looked after him and ended up falling into her debt.

Or maybe she literally hatched him in a lab or something.

Hazel let out a internal snort at the idea, citing it off as just her mess of her mind jumping to conclusions.

Instead her focus turned to the staff as they began placing the plates down on the table before her. She gave them each a grateful thank you, before digging in. Hazel managed to maintain some etiquete as she ate, but it was clear every now and then her pace would quicken,as if trying to make up for the lack of proper food in the recent days.

[member="Irajah Ven"] | [member="Samson"]​

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Hazel Zanteres"] | [member="Irajah Ven"]​

It took a few days before they finally arrived at Maena.

Those days were filled with quiet, silence and a few kind words shared here and there. It didn't seem as if Hazel was much in a talking mood and if truth was told Samson was quite content passing the time in quiet contemplation, while pondering on what he would say to Irajah once they were there. True, he had a good reason to intrude on her personal time, but something told him she wouldn't be happy about it regardless.

The ship reversed from hyperspace and the viewport was immediately dominated by the view of its surface.

Molten lava, fire, burning amber and every once in a while there were spots lit up by citiscape. It was a disturbing view and it was in fact that first time he had ever laid eyes upon it.

The first time they left his attention had been elsewhere.

"We are here." His voice sounded through the intercoms and would alert Hazel wherever she was in the freighter.

 

[Hazel Zanteres]

The few days journey had been a honest godsend for Hazel. As odd it probably sounded, she found some comfort being on the ship. Whether it was because of her years as a battle medic made it so familiar. Or due to the fact it meant she had passed the first hurdle, and was now on the way to a fixed destination. But it was still simply leading to yet another hurdle, this time getting help from Doctor Ven herself.

For the vast majority of the time, Hazel remained alone in her room just keeping to herself. Mainly on her datapad going over all the information she had copied there, ensuring she had everything. Though at some points she had to put it down, as seeing all the charts and results of the latest tests just ended up increasing her anxiety.

Between that Hazel was also able to calm herself down enough for the more 'to the point doctor' side returned. Taking some time to mentally compartmentalize the emotions she had been going through since. The stress was an obvious result of the situation at hand, dealing with a life threatening illness that until recently was completley familiar to her. Now it wasn't. Then the nervousness had likely stemmed from being somewhere unfamiliar, being around people she didn't know and the fact she was including them in this whole thing. And the worry, on the simple concern that she'd be turned away.

Aside of from that, Hazel did eat. Samson made sure of that. The Hapan would've otherwise have just gone through the days until her stomach audible protested. But Samson had made it a point to inform her when a meal was being prepared, and to ensure she joined him to eat. Not a lot of words were shared either, though neither were particularly distressed over that fact. Heck, they didn't even communicate that much at all, with the only real occasion being a few times when Hazel had actually left her room, and Samson found her just staring out the viewport.

So when they had finally arrived, and Hazel heard the man over the intercom, she knew exactly where to find him. Hazel looked much the same, the only real alteration in her clothing was changing into a short sleeved tunic. Both her lab coat and normal one were being neatly held over her left arm.

Though when she reached his location at the viewport, her face paled somewhat. It had never occured to her to look into Maena ahead of time.

What she saw surprised her, to say the least. And even from the up here she felt something in her just want to utterly recoil being near.

Hazel gulped slightly, before looking over and up at Samson. "Let's getting going, shall we?"

[member="Irajah Ven"] | [member="Samson"]​

 

[Kuzo]

When Irajah had recieved the message from [member="Samson"], she had frowned, ever so slightly. She didn't have time for this, for more interruptions and delays. Every day, she could feel the pressure of Gideon, roiling inside of her. Though she had already made her decision, already knew what was to come, she felt the urgency that came along with the insidious virus. She was running out of time. And while Carach was confident in what was to come, all Irajah could see was a dark precipice with no surety of what lay beyond.

She sighed, glancing up at the chrono on the wall. They'd be here soon. She'd sent him a brief response, acknowledging and letting him know that she wouldn't leave Maena before they arrived. Samson had full access to the facility, and she had insured that [member="Hazel Zanteres"] would be allowed in, provided she was accompanied by him.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, she pushed back from her desk. Rolling across the office without standing up, she unhooked her lab coat from the hangar before standing. Shrugging it on, she glanced at her reflection through the door to the small 'fresher. Her face was pale and pinched, dark circles under her eyes. She frowned, brushing her bangs low on her forehead. She needed rest, she knew. She needed some time off, to not worry about this- any of it.

But the arrival of Samson and a potential patient (ugh, this was why she had stopped seeing patients all together) made that even more unlikely.

Shaking her head, she turned away from the mirror and headed out of her office. She'd get her equipment set up and ready for their arrival.

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Irajah Ven"] | [member="Hazel Zanteres"]

The sight of the world did not worry him in the slightest.

Oh, he could acknowledge logically that it was a disturbing sight, but that was simply an acknowledgement of a fact. There were no feelings behind it, because Samson did not have a large frame of reference for normality. There were two worlds he had seen in the flesh, Maena now and Dosuun prior to that - lava and mountains, which one of those was the real oddity?

It was a question that made him wonder for a brief moment.

At least until Hazel tripped up to the cockpit and settled into the room. There was hesitation in her tone, it seemed to be born from her visual study of the planet and Samson understood it in that moment.

She, too, saw the disturbing nature of it, but for her it was more real.

"Yes." Samson agreed softly, before engaging the automated docking procedures. The facility beneath them would guide the virtual intelligence while they made themselves ready for departure. Though by the look of it Hazel had already changed outfits, he simply nodded to her and then left the room, leaving her with her thoughts. After about ten minutes the ship finally had gone through all the safety protocols and the pair descended from the ramp.

It rose up behind them again and Samson gestured for her to follow him.

The facility was a mess of angles, corridors and confusing routes, but it seemed to be per design and Samson's brain had been flash-printed to know the blueprints by its very heart.

They would find their way to Irajah.

 

[Hazel Zanteres]

Hazel couldn't help but let out a shudder when she took her first step on Maena.

There was just a cold chill that ran the length of her spine. The light that had settled within from her time training with the Jedi, wanted to simply recoil and hide from it. Her only saving grace was the fact she never learned more beyond the healing, never immersed herself deeper into the teachings and as such the overwhelming feeling of the planet's darkness caused just the equivalent of nausea in the Hapan. She knew Samson noticed, and she just automatically waved him off, muttering a silent 'I'm fine' without missing a beat in their walk.

But there was something else, hidden beyond Hazel's awareness. The small darkened speck that had wormed its way in back on Hoylin.

It was practically singing in response to Maena. Though it was muffled beneath the light, buried deep and too weak to crawl to the surface.

Over the course of their journey, Hazel gradually got better and the planet's effect on her diminished. Thankfully they're arrival to the facility put the Hapan in an odd state of peace, as it was a rather familiar location to be in. At least, it reminded her of other labs, hospitals and such.

Though Hazel's curiosity was nearly pulling her to go explore, but given how confusing the layout appeared she opted to remain close by Samson. Knowing that he was likely taking her straight to wherever Doctor Ven was in this maze.

[member="Irajah Ven"] | [member="Samson"]​

 

[Kuzo]

Doctor Ven had more than one lab space that she used, as point of fact. But she'd directed them to the one higher up, rather than in the deepest parts of the facility. The other lab was under serious bio-security- there, she researched the Gideon Virus, and there was no way she would be meeting someone like [member="Hazel Zanteres"] there.

A chime sounded (which seemed out of place) when the door swooshed open on silent servos, though Irajah didn't look up. She was kneeling on the examination table, focused on the portable scanner that hung over it, a small frown on her face.

"Who.... was.... tinkering.... with this..... blasted...... machine?" She muttered to herself.

"[member="Samson"], if that's you will you give me a hand? Someone tightened the arm on this too tight and I can't get it to swing anymore."

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Irajah Ven"] | [member="Hazel Zanteres"]

Amusement colored his expression when the moment he stepped on through Irajah was already giving him orders.

That was good, it meant that maybe she was finally easing into her destined role and would make this entire experience easier for the both of them. If there was one thing that Samson had no interest in, it was trying to act independently in a Galaxy such as this one, filled with strife and chaos and nonsense.

How a man had to figure out what was right or what was wrong was anyone's guess.

"Of course, Master." Samson agreed calmly, before shooting an apologetic glance at Hazel. He gestured with his hand for her to simply wait at the sideline for him to finish up his assignment.

It wouldn't do to keep his Master waiting for too long.

Large hands grabbed hold of the equipment and with what seemed like practiced ease large muscles tensed against the pressure, before the tension eased and the arm gave way to his strength.

"Like so?"

 

[Hazel Zanteres]

Before they had entered the lab, Hazel felt her stomach do a few flips against her wishes. She had hoped her nerves would've calmed down by now, but knowing that she was just a door away from hopefully finding some answers brought that all rushing back. That and the fact she was going to essentially be spilling her guts to a pair of strangers - she assumed Samson was likely to stick around, about one of most personal things to her. She hadn't even informed her parents of the fact her illness had changed, though there was quite a bit more they weren't aware of. Namely the fact that while she was a doctor, they weren't in the know that it wasn't exactly stationary.

She recalled a particularly ugly moment years ago, back when she was still in her early twenties and had made her decision to join the Republic Military.

Oh, they had been none to pleased to hear that. Because even though it had been a few years at that point, the incident with the Hutt and his slavers was still fresh on their mind.

Hazel's train of thought was interrupted by the door sliding open and following after Samson as he entered into the lab.

The Hapan's eyes widened, almost shining in surprise the moment she saw the room. There was an obvious but muted 'wow' at the tip of her tongue, but before she could say anything Irajah had spoken.

She gave Samson a nod and a small smile, stepping to the side as asked and took the moment to look around further.

This place blows what we have on Monastery out of the water. Ten times over.

It was probably an exaggeration, but it didn't lessen the fact that her jaw would probably have hit the floor if possible.

But seeing all this did something else for the Hapan.

It gave her hope.

[member="Irajah Ven"] | [member="Samson"]​

 

[Kuzo]

Not getting off the exam table, Irajah scooted back on her knees to let [member="Samson"] in. She watched, still frowning, but it was clearly at the too tight mechanism this time, not at him.

"Perfect, thank you," she said. Looking around for a moment to find the best way to clamber down, she waved off is offered hand and instead did an awkwardly little kneel then hop. For a heartbeat she teetered on her heels before regaining her balance.

Brushing off her lab coat self consciously, it was only then that she went to move toward [member="Hazel Zanteres"]. And just as immediately stopped, blinking.

"Why is everyone in this galaxy so maw cursed tall?"

Pause.

"That was out loud, wasn't it?"

Even in heels, the blonde woman towered over the doctor. Raj reached up, pinching the bridge of her nose and closing her eyes for a moment.

"My apologies. I've been.... working too hard lately. Can we start over? I'm Doctor Ven. And I assume you must be Hazel? Please come take a seat and tell me what you came here to talk to me about."

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Irajah Ven"] | [member="Hazel Zanteres"]

The offered hand was declined and Samson retracted it without too much of a worry.

If his Master wished to figure things out on her own, that was something the clone could respect.

For a brief moment he studied, with amusement, how she tried to get out, before she hopped out with a little jump. If he hadn't been a loyal servant of Irajah, he might even have chuckled a little, because it looked quite amusing. What was less amusing was her losing her balance and almost falling on her face.

His large hand was already there, steadying her in the moment and making sure she didn't make a fool out of herself in front of their guest.

Once the moment passed Samson resolved himself to fade away into the background again.

If Irajah had need of him, she would let him know.

 

[Hazel Zanteres]

As much as she wanted to go about examining all the equipment, Hazel remained where she was and kept her interests relegated to just looking for now.

Her attention shifted though when she heard the sound of heels suddenly hitting the floor, as Irajah had hopped onto her feet.

She gave her a small smile when the Doctor finally turned to her, though the expression turned curious when she suddenly froze. Followed by an unmistakable glint of amusement in the Hapan's eyes. Hazel just gave her a little nod in response.

"It's perfectly fine, I'm very familiar with that strain." Out of habit, she shifted her labcoat and overcoat to the other arm. "I'm Doctor Zanteres." It was automatic for Hazel to introduce herself like that, even though at this moment she wasn't here as a Doctor herself.

With a soft 'thank you', she walked over to where Irajah had indicated and took a seat. Hazel placed her coats over her lap, resting her hands over them and immediately began to fidget - right fingers drumming against her left wrist.

Hazel took a deep breath, the nerves drumming up again. She closed her eyes briefly, debating internally how to start the conversation that had been on her mind for the past several days.

The moment she opened her eyes, Hazel ripped off the band-aid. "I-I have an illness that's very...well it could kill me. Now for years I've dealt with it, but as of recently something changed. Something happened that I believe altered it - made it worse."

[member="Irajah Ven"] | [member="Samson"]​

 

[Kuzo]

It started with a slightly lofted brow when [member="Hazel Zanteres"] introduced herself properly. Followed by the other brow when she noted the nervous twitch in the other woman's hands- an all too familiar thing, one she knew well, and sympathized with the other woman on. Both those brows arched ever higher, however, threatening to crawl right off the good doctor's face as Hazel started to explain.

"Huh."

Blink.

"I'm sorry. Please, go on? I would of course like to run a few tests, including standard blood work, but can you tell me a bit more about your illness? What you know, your symptoms?"

Already, though her eyes were on the other woman, her foot hooked a rolling stool and pulled it beneath her as she sat. Hands reached out, one taking the other woman's wrist lightly between her fingers, index finger resting gently against her pulse.

[member="Samson"]

 

[Hazel Zanteres]

"Of course, I'm willing to do whatever tests are necessary." There was a look in Hazel's eyes, one filled with worry, but also determination. "Oh, and before I forget..."

She shifted her overcoat around, worming a hand into one until she found the datapad.

"This has well...everything. Has all the data across the years I've been dealing with this. Blood work, scans and so on." And even a quick look at it, made it apparent Hazel had been incredibly thorough about collecting everything possible. Starting from the medical reports when she was intiially had the drugs drained, right up to the most recent blood tests. Although, it was clear that at a certain point the results became suddenly a lot less robust, a sign that whatever machinery had been used had become no longer available after that.

"And I do want to preface this with an apology, as I'm liable to ramble. That and this...well has a abit of a story to it." She let out a weak chuckle, stretching a slightly shaking arm out knowing Irajah would want to check her pulse. Which at first glance seemed relatively normal, albeit it was a bit fast as a result of the Hapan's nerves.

"It began twenty years ago..." Hazel began to talk, it probably wasn't entirely necessary for her to talk about all of it, but it was apparent she had just wanted to get this off her chest. The fact that she never stumbled or stuttered after the first couple sentences was indicative of that. She started at the point where she had been kidnapped by slavers, taken as a prize by a Hutt and was injected with drugs regularly. Of which, near the end of her 'stay' had been dosed with a bad batch that had nearly wrecked her body. Thankfully, she had been saved not a day after and was able to have her body washed of them. "Unfortunately, it wasn't quick enough. Approximately ninety-six percent was gone, but that last four stuck - like a stain in my blood." Hazel continued, noting that the experience had pushed her to dive into the remainder of her studies even more. And that she'd wind up under the care of The Republic, which was how she winded up being approached by the Jedi Order at the time. "They let me learn, taught me their healing, specifically a technique that allowed me to 'self-heal' as it were, keep my body in a state of repair so that the infection couldn't spread." That and it had meant the medication she had been on since, would no longer be needed. After that, Hazel had touched on her military career as a Battle Medic, though only to mention the times when she had healed a wounded soldier too much. Each time causing the illness to spread a bit further, but noting that whenever she was able to replenish her self healing, its progress would be pushed back. "And for years everything was fine all things considered. It was kept in check and I regularly examined my blood to ensure nothing had changed - it remained consistantly normal until..."

Hazel paused, both her words and gaze seemed to drift away as memories of Hoylin surfaced. She couldn't help but tremble.

"I was offworld with the others, we were helping this city. Then something...attacked me, or touched me I don't know. What I do remember, is the agonizing pain. The worse it had ever been, my insides felt like they were on fire. But, thankfully I had help there. They helped boost my healing to push the infection back. And after that, well it hasn't happened again. But I've ran tests, not the best I'll admit - a lack of real detailed information, but I just know something has changed."

She let out a heavy sigh, her eyes falling directly towards Irajah's. The worry in her gaze, now coupled with fear.

"If you have any questions, please just fire away. I'll answer what I can."

[member="Irajah Ven"] | [member="Samson"]​

 

[Kuzo]

The longer Irajah listened the more everything outside of [member="Hazel Zanteres"]'s narrative fell utterly away.

There were certain similarities to her own story- not many, but just enough that it was easy to feel a certain level of empathy for the blonde woman. And of course, there was the professional challenge as well.

Really, only a moment after she fell silent, Irajah realized just how obvious the answer was. It was easy- for her anyway- since she hadn't been staring it in the face this entire time. Considering the circumstance, she could understand why it had been missed.

"I have a theory...." she said slowly, choosing her words carefully. "But the tests I'm going to need to run will take a little while."

She scrolled through the data pad, eyes scanning- but mostly to confirm that, indeed, the tests she wanted to run had not yet been done.

After all, who ran tests for a genetic disorder when one could pinpoint the exact cause of the illness? It would be insane to test for an underlying genetic condition as the cause.

Except that, if Irajah was right, it wasn't underlying at all.

"I'd like to upload these files into my system here, if that's alright with you? And then just a simple blood test...."

[member="Samson"]