Private Another Brick in the Wall

[Amani Serys]

Tammuz-an
Sylvia Virtos

The last several months had been quite specifically tailored to the sole purpose of avoiding undue strife. Amani had seen enough of it in her time with the Jedi, and she had no intention of running head first back into the eternal flames of galactic conflict any time soon.

And yet, it seemed fate was hellbent on delivering it to her regardless. Even free of the shackles of duty and expectation, Amani had her fair share of run ins with violence during her time alone in the Outer Rim. It would be naive to expect a wholly peaceful existence on the fringes of society, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was just the universe’s designated plaything at this rate.

And no matter how hard she tried to be free of it, news of galactic events continued to burrow their way into her thoughts no matter how hard she tried to ignore it. So when a distress signal from the planet Tammuz-an reached her comms, that attempt at escapism was tested yet again.

Fine. If trouble was truly so unavoidable, Amani decided, then she would face it on her own terms. Rather than waiting for it to inevitably come to her, she opted for the more proactive approach.

Tammuz-an had a history of tension between different racial factions over its history. For the most part, it had been left in the past, but there were always those who couldn’t (or rather wouldn’t) move forward. Now, one city in particular found itself in the midst of a social upheaval as radical ideologues turned to full-scale civil warfare. Most civilians only wanted peace, and now the manufactured conflict has left those innocents trapped in the middle of a ruthless war zone. With resources on the inside straining, a distress signal was sent out in the hopes of reaching external aid.

Amani gave a long sigh, flicking a series of switches as her modest ship landed in a designated zone outside the city, “Alright. I guess we’re doing this.”

As she stepped out onto the rampway, the ship’s interior was flooded with the warm glow of the sunset that bathed the region. A sinister air loomed over the city itself, smoke and fire rising in plumes across the cityscape. Amani’s own supplies were limited, but her hope was that her skill set would be able to help these people in other ways.

 

[Sylvia Virtos]

Crossfire
Amani Serys

---

​

"Ah, chite, chite, chite... Anyone there? Force fething..." , a voice in that same landing zone called out in an imperial accent. The sentence was not finished; instead, the young magenta-haired woman let out an annoyed yet worried sigh. In her frustration, she had not noticed that the person who piloted the other ship that had landed here was now not too far away from her. Her back remained turned to the mirialan, keeping her focus on the speeder before her and remaining unaware of her presence. The comms device she had been fidgeting with was defeatedly tossed onto the passenger's seat.

Nothing had gone Sylvia's way ever since landing on Tammuz-an. She knew the risk coming in, but the job delivering supplies had never given her any serious trouble. Doing so in a conflict zone ended up being a little more involved than the spacer had originally anticipated, however. Until just after landing she had been in contact with the hospital where her cargo was headed for, but as if on cue, the line died when she finally got here. Now here she was, cargo loaded into the back of a speeder, not entirely sure where exactly the hospital was located and without a way to contact anyone inside.

Not to mention the deadly conflict that was unfolding all across the city. Beyond locating her destination, Sylvia had to actually get there without getting caught in the crossfire. Here was to hoping Ellie would not get too worried or upset if she got hurt for whatever reason.

The woman looked over her shoulder, her intention to double-check if her ship was locked up properly. What caught her attention, more, though, was the woman she had not noticed until then. She jumped a little, though quickly settled down, a sign that it was merely an unexpected sight. "Uh, hey," she said in uncertain greeting. "You looking to head out into the city? It's dangerous out there."

 

[Amani Serys]

Sylvia Virtos
​

Amani hopped down from her ship, giving the gloomy surroundings a once-over before her eyes fell to another figure nearby. The only other figure nearby that she could see. Still, it was better than nothing, knowing that she likely wasn’t alone looking to check things out. She had just begun to approach the magenta-haired woman before she turned around and caught sight of her in turn.

"You looking to head out into the city? It's dangerous out there."

Amani nodded, noting the speeder laden with a haul of cargo, “That’s why I’m here. You picked up the same call I’m guessing? I haven’t been able to get a response since I entered atmo.” Not the most reassuring welcome upon entry. Without any guidance, they might as well be running into the crossfire blindfolded. “Any idea what the situation is in there?” Distant howls of warfare resonated from within the city limits, an ill portent of things to come. “Besides, well… the obvious?”

 

[Sylvia Virtos]

With the mirialan's confirmation that she too had not been able to establish contact with the hospital came good news and bad news. On one hand, it meant Sylvia's comms device still worked. On the other hand, though, it was likely something bad had happened somewhere. The woman mentally crossed her fingers that a comms tower had been hit rather than the building that probably housed more than a few people that had no other way to go.

"I'm just the courier, but yeah. I haven't been able to contact them either," Sylvia responded as she pointed towards the collection of supplies. There were items of value in there, generally beyond the means of the average spacer. It had been someone else who had picked up the signal and put the package together, Sylvia's part in it was merely to get it to its destination.

"Any idea what the situation is in there?"

"Only whatever the news channels reported on," Sylvia replied, shaking her head, "Which isn't much. I was hoping to get directions, safer routes, that sort of thing. So much for that..."

Her comms with the hospital personnel had been the only source of information on the goings-on in the city, and without that she was essentially flying blind. This was going to be a rough day.

"You here to make a delivery too, then? I got room left to carry a bit more cargo," the spacer offered. She was going to have to head in regardless, this way the mirialan would not have to if that was all she had come to do.

Amani Serys ​

 

[Amani Serys]

Sylvia Virtos​

"I'm just the courier, but yeah. I haven't been able to contact them either,"

So it wasn’t just a problem for her. She feared as much, and confirming it didn’t exactly improve morale. “Going in dark, then. That’s risky business.” Amani thought aloud, as if it wasn’t already a risky job. Going alone even more so.

"You here to make a delivery too, then? I got room left to carry a bit more cargo,"

She rubbed the nape of her neck, “Of a sort. I’ve only got a little bit in the way of supplies. I’m more so here to lend my services at the hospital. I’m a medic.” Amani grabbed the rucksack she had set on the ramp, throwing it over her shoulder and jostling the medical resources inside. “It’s gonna be dangerous to run this solo, for either of us. Don’t suppose you'd be interested in sparing a seat?” She gestured to the speeder. If they had each other's backs, they might stand a better chance at success. Two heads are better than one, and all that.

“Don’t worry, this isn’t my first time in a firefight.” Amani tapped against the holster of her pistol. A quick reassurance that the healer wouldn’t be a liability. She figured if the woman was taking on this job, she was scrappy enough to get by. “Whaddya say?”

 

[Sylvia Virtos]

Another brave one, then. Sylvia had been running into more and more of those recently, perhaps a sign that it was time for her to get up and start doing her own part. Many had felt the wake-up call after Csilla's destruction, yet even though she had been there herself that day she still struggled to find ways to do much of anything. She was no warrior, she just knew how to act like one, and she was no medic like the mirialan was either. The woman did not feel compelled to call this outing a particularly good deed, either; it was no more than making a delivery. At least helping another out to let them do some good work was better than nothing, Sylvia supposed.

"It's not like I've got anyone else around to fill it," the spacer replied, "and I'm not gonna complain about having someone to watch my back."

With a small tug through the Force, she recalled the comms device on the passenger's seat back to her and pocketed it instead, an invitation to hop in. The action was done without thought, those who knew her were aware of her Force sensitivity after all. A good number of her friends were as well, in fact. When someone seemed friendly enough, it never came to Sylvia to hide that side of herself. "C'mon, let's go. Oh, and, uh, name's Sylvia."

A final check to see if the cargo was secured properly was done before carefully vaulting into the driver's seat. There, she opened a compartment to reveal a blaster, which was promptly holstered, and interestingly, a lightsaber hilt. Suddenly, Sylvia realized there was a potential misconception to clear up.

"Uh, I know what this looks like, but, uh, I'm not a Jedi or anything. If you were thinking that." Her imperial accent likely did not help matters much, either. Her past with the Sith was best left buried. The hilt was placed in a pocket on the inside of her jacket, where it did not draw any attention. "A-anyway, you ready?"

Amani Serys ​

 

[Amani Serys]

Sylvia Virtos
​

“Great!” Amani replied, a little too enthusiastically. Part of her was nervous about going it alone, and you never know when someone is going to refuse working in a team. She paused only a moment when she saw the woman display her force abilities, before taking the open seat beside her. For as long as she’d managed to avoid them, it seemed Amani couldn’t help running into force-sensitives lately. Perhaps the universe was trying to tell her something. Or just playing some kind of joke. That seemed more likely to her.

“Amani.” She smiled. As Sylvia made one last check on her own supplies, Amani did the same, rummaging through her bag and ensuring nothing of need was left behind. Just as she’d finished, the unmistakable glint of a lightsaber hilt caught the corner of her eye, which Sylvia was quick to clarify.

Not a Jedi. It was interesting to hear. Pretty much all of the force-sensitives she’d met had some sort of affiliation. It was fine by her though. Better, in fact. Amani wasn’t sure she could stand hearing any more Jedi sermons these days. As long as Sylvia wasn’t, y’know, the other kind of Force-sensitive, there’d be no complaints. The thought certainly crossed Amani’s mind, but she didn’t have any reason to mistrust the woman enough to jump to that conclusion. She waved her hand to dismiss any concerns, “No worries, it’s not any of my business. Ready when you are.” Part of her wanted to ask further, but knowing she had little interest in divulging her own past to others, she chose to extend that courtesy to her current partner.

After a beat, Amani shifted the topic to their current goal, “So, you have any experience with war zones?” A somewhat flippantly phrased question given the circumstances, but it was at least relevant information to have.

 

[Sylvia Virtos]

An awkward smile was sent Amani's way before Sylvia returned her focus on the city before her. She kept her Sith past mostly to herself, at the very least until she felt confident enough it would not come back to bite her. Amani seemed okay, all things considered, but there was no need to let her onto more than what was already revealed. Content to let that topic die off as quickly as it had come, the spacer hit the ignition and the speeder responded in kind by roaring to life.

“So, you have any experience with war zones?”

Just before Sylvia hit the accelerator she was hit with a question that she would have answered negatively until recently. She had not seen it coming, taking her off-guard.

"Sort of," her response sounded, trying to shake the chills that ran down her spine courtesy of the memories. "I was on Csilla when those evil fething bastards showed up. The Maw. I was able to get out of dodge before things got too hairy, but it was far from a clean exit." The woman sighed, still blaming herself for not sticking with Elle, instead getting off-world before she did.

History could have played out in a much different fashion, too. Sylvia had not been far off from her first deployment under the Sith Empire by the time she finally found the courage to leave everything she knew behind. She had been running from war ever since. Until now.

Sylvia suddenly realized they were still hovering in place, snapping her out of her thoughtstream. "M-my bad, let's go," she blurted out before the speeder shot forward and towards the city. The closer they got, the louder the sounds of conflict got.

"I can hold my own, though, don't worry. Hopefully it doesn't come to that."

Amani Serys ​

 

[Amani Serys]

Sylvia Virtos​

"I was on Csilla when those evil fething bastards showed up. The Maw. I was able to get out of dodge before things got too hairy, but it was far from a clean exit."

“...Damn.” Was the only response Amani could find, though suitable nonetheless. In a sense she was ashamed to admit that she learned about the events of Csilla just a little too late.

What otherwise seemed like a normal day became immortalized in memory when she walked into a dingy spaceport cantina to find every set of eyes glued to the news ticker that ran across the central viewscreen. Csilla, destroyed. If there was any silver lining to be found, it was the silent gratitude that the Force no longer spoke to her by then. All those lives, brief candles snuffed out in a flickering moment. An entire planet, damned to nothing more than cosmic dust buried in the dark between stars.

The sensation, Amani wagered, would be haunting.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that.” She managed a more proper, and sincere follow-up. She couldn’t help but wonder ever since, if she should have helped. If she could have.

They both had lingered on such events for too long, and thankfully Sylvia came to the realization soon enough, and they were off into the city.

"I can hold my own, though, don't worry. Hopefully it doesn't come to that."

“Force willing.” Alas, destiny seemed to have a funny way of dealing out bad hands. Around them, a number of buildings were abandoned and sacked, some aflame or even in ruin. Whatever had happened around here, it had quickly spiraled out of control into full blown chaos. She spotted a few shady figures, lurking from a distance and watching them as they passed. In this anarchy, there was no telling who wanted their help, and who wanted to gut them. Amani rubbed her thumb along the hammer of her pistol, “Doesn’t hurt to be prepared though.”

Still, no immediate danger had yet to befall them, and she turned to her driver once more, “You get any kind of info on where this hospital is? If it’s safe, surely it can’t be too far inside, right?” That was the hope, at least. Every second they had to spend in search, the more it seemed like the city would explode right on top of them.

 

[Sylvia Virtos]

Sylvia shot a tug of her lips towards Amani in appreciation. Growing up in a place where empathy was looked down upon, she was touched by such moments so much more now that she was in a better place. Still, it felt a little wrong to just accept it. "I came out alive, and ran into my best friend there after believing she was dead for like two years. Then came the massive whiplash..." She swallowed, the sound of it drowned out by the speeder's engine roaring.

"A violent death can reach out through the Force, if that makes sense. I know, hokey chite, but it's true. A single death can be pretty disorienting if you're not prepared. But an entire planet..." the woman rambled on, then falling silent as she involuntarily recalled the feeling. The memory was something just as chilling.

"Throwing up was just the start- sorry. I don't know why I'm dumping this on you." Ever since breaking away from the Sith and dropping her desperate bid to embrace the dark side, Sylvia had become much more prone to open up about her feelings without thought. She felt the need to rein it in, but once again went further than she would have liked to.

"I just know it's in the outskirts, somewhere," the spacer then remarked, looking to change the topic. "No exact location beyond that, so I guess we could circle around, like a spiral? Gradually deeper in until we find it." Amani was on edge, rightfully so, but Sylvia's hands were busy with handling the speeder already. If anything decided to shoot at them, she was dependent on the mirialan to shoot back if she could not get away in time.

"Actually, hold that thought," Sylvia suddenly said before taking a sharp right into a new city block, just before they passed it. A city map was being displayed from a holoscreen accompanying a few parking spaces further down the street, something she did not waste time making her way towards.

"It's still on, perfect. Keep an eye out while I find the place." She leapt out of the speeder after sliding it into the groove of the parking spaces. The strip was empty, unsurprisingly.

The map had a few too many indicators and the legend filter did not respond to Sylvia's attempts to toggle various types of waypoints off, leading her to conclude it had frozen up. The only choice she had now was to look through the mess.

Amani Serys ​

 

[Amani Serys]

Sylvia Virtos
​

Amani extended an ambivalent smile, letting her vent the experience uninterrupted until she cut herself off. There was something almost sweet about Sylvia readily expressing these feelings to her, though it was overshadowed by the undoubtedly traumatic circumstances that led to it. She had touched upon the very concept that Amani feared. All those deaths could possibly have been felt by Force users across the span of the galaxy. To have been up close to it must have been magnitudes worse.

“I understand... I used to, uh…” she tried to admit to her own experience with the Force, though trailed off before she could finish. The present demanded their full attention, and they had both looked to change the subject as they traveled closer to the source of their troubles. Sylvia’s discovery of a city map was a much needed boon; Having to possibly traverse the entire city in search of their destination would have been a nightmare, and not to mention exponentially riskier.

"It's still on, perfect. Keep an eye out while I find the place."

“Got it.” Amani hopped out of the speeder in tow to keep a better watch on their surroundings. “Try to find a residential district or something. Medical services tend to be nearby.” She offered her own experience on the matter. Generally close enough to easily reach a wide population, and just far enough to not be a disturbance.

The block had fallen eerily quiet, making every distant echo seem all the more amplified by comparison. Then, the faint hum of repuslorlifts broke the silence. On a street further down, a thoroughly vandalized speeder crawled past, coming to a stop as it spotted the two of them in the middle of the crossing. From this distance, it was too difficult to discern the details of their new guests, but Amani was far from eager to find out. “Just uh, don’t take too long, yeah?” Her finger fidgeted against the trigger guard, ready to spring to action at the first sign of action. Meanwhile, the speeder changed course, now creeping at a leisurely pace down the street, in their direction.

 

[Sylvia Virtos]

"Will do," Sylvia answered decisively, her eyes remaining affixed to the map in front of her. Amani sounded sure enough to instill enough confidence into the spacer to go along with what she said. After the third quick sweep of her eyes, though, she knew she needed to try something different if she wanted to rely on more than pure luck. A hand was placed flat onto the map and a pulse through the Force was sent through it, allowing Sylvia access into the tech behind the screen.

Much to Sylvia's chagrin, the paths she tried to push her way into ended up in dead ends. The map had taken serious damage, something not even mechu deru could just quickly fix. Software errors were one thing, but fried hardware was a different thing entirely. Regardless, she pushed on, defiantly fighting the faulty device.

“Just uh, don’t take too long, yeah?”

Amani's voice pulled Sylvia out of her concentration for a moment, her tone of voice being a little too concerned to ignore. The sound of repulsorlifts then filled her ears too, and looking towards the source she quickly understood where the worry came from. She had to think fast- there was little time to make a decision. The last thing she wanted to do was leave without the information they needed.

"That's bad. Listen, you gotta scare them off. Catch," the spacer called out to her as she took the lightsaber off her belt and passed it to the mirialan with an underhanded toss. "Just turn it on and stand there, people think twice when they think you're a Jedi." The fact she had a lightsaber in her possession prevented many an undesirable confrontation.

In the meantime Sylvia continued her search, though she kept an eye out for the other speeder that was slowly getting closer.

Amani Serys ​

 

[Amani Serys]

Sylvia Virtos​

If Amani had the time to, she would’ve refused the lightsaber, but given their circumstances there was no room to start expressing hang-ups. She caught the hilt, fumbling with it for a moment before tightening her grip on the weapon. They seemed heavier than she remembered them being. There was a pause as she relived old memories, her attention pulled away from their current threat and towards the saber itself. The study only coming to an end once her thumb found the activator switch. Hesitation and paranoia took control. Her palms became clammy, and her heart thumped louder and faster in her eardrums, preparing for the worst. Then, a violent beam of crimson burst forth from the emitter, confirming her deepest fears.

Or not.

She blinked, and instead the plasma glowed a majestic blue. It had just been her imagination. “Wow.” Amani stared at the blade with awe. It felt like a new experience, seeing it up close for the first time in forever. The humming repuslorlift continued to grow louder, and finally pulled her from her state of distraction. She readied a stance, and gave the blade a simple flourish. Nothing too impressive, but it was a movement that had been trained and practiced, something that returned to her naturally. The look on her face was that of one who had never seen such a weapon before, but her movements betrayed the signs of an experienced user. Amani finished her display by flicking the weapon downward, letting the blade point sear into the pavement underneath.

The speeder slowed to a stop, and it seemed as if she was locked in a staring contest with the vehicle. It was only a matter of seconds, but it felt much longer, the medic fearing that one slight misstep would ignite a volley of blaster fire. But at last, the speeder backed off, turning around another street corner and disappearing from view. Once she was confident the threat was gone, Amani shut off the lightsaber and offered it back to Sylvia. “Well...that was close. You get anything useful out of that?”

 

[Sylvia Virtos]

With Sylvia's attention split between the map and the speeder, progress was certainly slower. In the event the vehicle did not turn away she needed to know, there was little desire to be caught off-guard on her end. The short turn away from what she was doing had led to getting a fresh look at the tech behind the screen, though, which gave her exactly what she was looking for.

There we go, the spacer thought as she sent a pulse through the electronics. Her eyes moved around as though she was looking through something in front of her with occasional blinks to check on Amani, though the map had not directly responded to anything just yet. A few moments later most waypoints faded away, leaving only the residential districts. Sylvia let out a sigh of relief; working with faulty tech was always frustrating, so getting this done relatively quickly meant a minimal loss of time. It was not nearly as bad as it could have been.

To add to the good news, the speeder had decided to play it safe and backed off. Amani's well-practiced-looking stance was also noticed now that her focus was no longer divided, a sight she found to be curious. The most straight-forward explanation was that the mirialan had practice with more conventional blades, though the way she handled the lightsaber made her question that. It was not her place to question her history, though.

With the short distance between the two closed again, Sylvia took back her lightsaber and put it back where it came from. "It was, and I sure did," the magenta-haired girl replied as she shot Amani a grateful smile. "Thanks for covering me. I know it was risky, but at least it worked out. I'm pretty sure, anyway. Look."

Sylvia directed the mirialan's attention towards the map, which now looked much cleaner. She had not looked over everything just yet, but finding their destination was going to be a lot easier now. "The hardware was pretty damaged, but I, uh... how do I say this?"

Realizing that simply dropping the term 'mechu deru' would likely not help with clarifying anything, Sylvia had to take a moment to find another way to explain how she so suddenly got the result she wanted. She scratched her neck, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"I can read tech with the Force, it's complicated. Like, I can read the processes, I guess. Essentially, I brute-forced my way in. Not that the 'how' matters, anyway- I managed to filter out everything that wasn't a residential district. Finding the place should be much easier now. Care to lend me your pair of eyes?"

Amani Serys ​

 

[Amani Serys]

Sylvia Virtos​

“Here’s hoping that’s as bad as it gets.” A notion she almost immediately regretted saying out loud. Wouldn’t do them any good to jinx it now.

Amani drew her attention to where Sylvia had pointed, impressed to find that she had managed to alter the map itself for their needs. Her assumption that finer details of the ‘how’ would go over Amani’s head was a correct one. She was never much of a techie, usually relying on friends to help when such things went haywire. Though the healer had heard of Mechu-deru in passing, her understanding of that was similarly limited. Still, she could infer that it played a part in what Sylvia had described.

“Hey, I’ll take it. Whatever you did, worked. Nice job.”

It didn’t take long to find what they needed with both of them on the search. Amani poked the map, pinpointing the framework of a large building complex, sure enough, sat just between two major residential centers, “There, Amity Memorial Hospital,” A bit of a morbidly ironic name, given the circumstances.

“We could get there in just a few minutes with the speeder.” Amani couldn’t help but crack an optimistic smile, for now at least, things were looking up. Perhaps the worst really was behind them. “Let’s get a move on. People are waiting on us, after all.” A gunshot rang out, closer than the rest thus far, a baleful reminder that they weren’t out of the woods just yet. “Unless, you really want to stick around here a bit longer...” She joked, letting the tension relax with a playful smirk.

 

[Sylvia Virtos]

Amani Serys

---

​

Sylvia had been busy scanning the other half of the map when Amani vocalized the name of their destination, causing her to look towards the finger that pressed against the screen. She nodded as her own eyes confirmed it and suddenly felt a lot more optimistic about their chances to make a timely difference.

"Yup, there it is," the spacer remarked. The road from where they were to the hospital was committed to memory; hopefully her map reading skills would not fail her now. "We were due for some good luck here, I'd say. Thank the Force it's not on the other side of town."

Turning on her heel at Amani's rather agreeable suggestion, she saw little reason to waste more time than necessary and already began moving. The woman came to a sudden halt and turned her head towards the gunshot noise reflexively as it rang through the streets, though. Her face looked a little jumpy after that.

"Not really, no," Sylvia responded, her tone showing a tinge of concern. With the engine still running she hopped back into the driver's seat and waited for Amani to climb inside. "It should be fething illegal to move against relief workers in war zones, honestly," she complained.

With reality being the way it was, however, they simply had no choice but to keep their head on a swivel. Once the mirialan had taken her seat, the speeder's throttle was engaged gently until it had been turned around. Once it pointed in the right direction, the vehicle shot off towards the hospital at last.

"I don't get how the galaxy doesn't get tired of endless war. Then again, maybe that's for the better."

 

[Amani Serys]

Sylvia Virtos​

"It should be fething illegal to move against relief workers in war zones, honestly,"

​

“I think it is. At least, in most places,” One look at the lawless ruins surrounding them showed that this was not most places, “...I’m not sure if everyone here cares, though.” Not that specifics seemed to matter. These days, it felt like morality and legality were discarded with equal carelessness, whether it was an anarchic riot like this, or a proper military engagement. You’d think the conventions of war were less of a legally binding treaty, and more of a casual suggestion, given the state of the galaxy.

Amani hopped back in after Sylvia, recomposing herself for the remainder of their task. Along the way, she kept a mental note of different buildings they passed, ensuring they were still on the right track based on the map guide. It wouldn’t be long now.

"I don't get how the galaxy doesn't get tired of endless war. Then again, maybe that's for the better."

The mirialan gave a wry chuckle. It was a question she’d been repeating to herself for a while now. “You’d think after over 25,000 years of coexistence, people would have figured out a more agreeable way to express their grievances,” She rested a cheek against her palm, staring disappointedly at the devastation that passed them by, “Some things never change, I guess.”

There was a pause, before she returned to the last part of what Syliva had said, “How do you mean?”

 

[Sylvia Virtos]

Amani Serys

---

​

A history with the Sith had taught Sylvia that nothing was sacred in war. Although she had been lucky to never see the fields of battle in the name of the masters she was once conditioned to serve, the glorification of slaughter and conquest became more sickening to look back on as time moved forward. It was difficult to imagine being so unquestioning now, but all that showed was just how strong the Sith Empire's propaganda bubble had truly been. Sith Philosophy was simply what it was, nothing ever made one think about its validity.

Sylvia considered herself luckier than most. She had been faced with a different perspective before it was too late. As it turned out, the rest of the galaxy generally had a wholly different view on war and death. One that made a lot more sense when given even the slightest amount of thought. Those were the same people that lied, cheated, and stole, the galaxy was an ugly place in many different ways, but the spacer at least found a slight amount of solace in the fact that not everyone lived in nationalistic regimes that promoted fanatic worship towards the nation. Such zeal always led to a scary willingness to shed blood.

Not that war was not widespread across the galaxy. They were making their way through a war-torn city as the conversation happened. If anything, it was only getting worse.

At the end of the long street, the speeder took a right. The hospital was not far, now. Sylvia sighed at Amani's take on it all, hating that she had no choice but to agree. The Jedi were the ones most looked to as the wardens of peace, but after thousands of years the galaxy was no step closer. Surely there were good people among those who called themselves Jedi, Elle was nothing short of a hero following Csilla as far as Sylvia was concerned, but the larger their collectives became the worse they tended to get. The Sith, meanwhile, were the embodiment of everything that was wrong in the first place. They were still people, but only the genuinely misguided were not completely demented. Sadly, there were too many of those.

Then came Amani's question, looking for some kind of clarification. At first Sylvia failed to understand what she was referring to, though. Everything she had said made sense in her own mind.

"Oh," the woman replied to try to stall for time. Thankfully, the light bulb went off not long after. "I mean, if I understood, It'd probably mean I was one of them, you know? Madness is the one thing you don't want to understand."

A left. The hospital was in sight now.

 

[Amani Serys]

Sylvia Virtos
​

Amani nodded to her explanation. Just being in the middle of all the violence felt like it made her crazy. Time as a Jedi saw her on several battlefields, when one had already been more than enough for a single lifetime. Being face to face with the galaxy’s incarnate evils, be they Sith Lords, vile marauders, or Brynadul war beasts, each further served to break down her once unspoiled perspective of the reality she lived in. It seemed a miracle she managed to more or less retain sanity. Hell, her own experience in the Sith Empire practically saw Amani dissociating herself from everything around her just to keep pushing forward. How she wasn’t fully lost to the dark side was a question she stilled wondered about. As the hospital came into view she shook away her lingering thoughts, in return only offering a simple, “Yeah… I guess you’re right.”

The building still stood intact. Mostly. It seems that over the course of the conflict it had suffered its own damages, whether they were collateral from stray attacks or deliberate assaults on the hospital, it was hard to say. Amani had hoped at least that no one had made a genuine move on the safety zone. Even in a state of chaos like this, it seemed hard to go much lower than that. From the outside, it looked vacant. Maybe it was a good sign. They knew how to keep themselves unnoticed by the carnage that swept the city. Or it was a confirmation of her fears.

“Well, you ready?” She asked Sylvia, taking a look back at the cargo they had hauled all this way. Here’s hoping it wasn’t all for nothing.

 

[Sylvia Virtos]

Amani Serys

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Here was to hoping everyone inside was still okay. The direct surroundings of the hospital seemed to be clear, though the sooner they were inside the better as far as Sylvia was concerned. Being out in the open for too long was nothing short of asking for trouble. All they could hope for was that they had not been followed on the way here.

"We'll need to be quick the moment we park this thing. We got precious cargo sitting in the back and the last thing we need is for anything to get stolen," Sylvia remarked. Whether she was ready or not really did not make a lick of difference. There were six boxes, though unfortunately they were only with two people. Unloading it all would take a bit of time. With the street being empty, though, Sylvia was at least able to park the speeder right before the entrance.

With some practiced steering the spacer sent the vehicle into a drift, putting it parallel with the sidewalk while they had approached the building head-on. She wasted no time the moment the speeder came to a halt, hopping out and reaching for one of the boxes. "Come on, let's go," she called out as she lifted it up, after which she turned around and made a fast approach to their destination. Before being able to enter, though, a blaster carbine found itself aimed at her.

"Halt! Not one step further!"

A man had emerged from the entrance, looking a little confused and suspicious at the sight of Sylvia and Amani. The magenta-haired girl set the box down on the ground and raised her hands to her head, signalling she was no threat.

"We're friendly, bud. We heard the distress call, I brought supplies and my friend's here for medical assistance. Here, look."

With very clear and slow movements Sylvia crouched down and opened the box, revealing painkillers, bandages, and various other medical supplies. The sight put the man, likely a guard, at ease.

"Thank the stars... Sorry about that." The weapon was put away while Sylvia closed the box and picked it back up.