Private Another Brick in the Wall

[Amani Serys]

Sylvia Virtos​

Amani readied herself in turn, following Sylvia’s lead and hopping out as soon as the speeder came to a halt. With one box in hand and her own supplies strapped to her back, she made a beeline for the door, only to skid to a halt when she saw a weapon stuck in Sylvia’s face. The healer mimicked her partner’s display, and thankfully, they avoided any undue drama.

The guard signaled for a few more workers, who appeared shortly after, joining them in retrieving the remaining supplies and expediting the process. With the all clear given, Amani accompanied the staff inside, and was immediately intercepted by a gaunt, older woman. Given her dress, she was one of the overseers of this operation.

“You! You’re the doctor, right? The one who answered the distress call?”

“Y-yeah. Amani. What can I do to help?’

“There’s a lot to be done. I can show you around here in just a moment. To be honest, I wasn’t sure you’d make it, what with how bad things have gotten out there.”

“Well, I had some help,” She smiled, pointing back to the magenta-haired woman, “Sylvia. She gave me a ride, and brought in some supplies on her own. Couldn't have gotten here without her.”

The overseer clasped her hands together in thanks, gesturing to Sylvia, “Bless you, dear. Now, come come.” She waved for them to follow, and they had only just rounded the first corner when Amani was struck with a sinking feeling in her gut.

The entire main floor had been cleared out to make room for cots and medical equipment, cluttered about in organized chaos that was barely holding together. Clearly they had been struggling for some time, and dwindling supplies were only making things more challenging. Rows of men, women, and children alike could all be found. Every one an innocent bystander turned to a victim of circumstances beyond their control. Able-bodied volunteers and hospital staff made the rounds, hollow and drained from endless work. This was the real tragedy wrought by war. The people forced to cower beneath the screaming rockets and volleys of gunfire. Casualties of a malfeasance that would never face judgement.

“...It’s even worse than I thought.”

 

[Sylvia Virtos]

Amani Serys

---

​

Though a few moments had already passed Sylvia drew the guard's attention with a nod when they walked in side by side, both carrying a box. "It's all good, by the way. I'd have done the same," she made sure to let him know. With a situation as tense as this, the spacer saw no reason to get upset. Getting a weapon pulled on you was never pleasant regardless, but this was far from the worst of the times it happened. Sylvia cared more about the fact he had not actually shot at her.

The guards moved on ahead while Amani and Sylvia were brought to a halt by the woman in charge. She seemed relieved to see the mirialan, an assumption that was quickly proven to be correct. That relief was sadly unsurprising, considering the state of the city. The hospital personnel more than likely had their hands full. After years of being told to suppress the feeling the spacer was still learning to not push away her empathy, though the sense of helplessness that came with it here made it all too tempting to shut that compassion off again.

You're not a Sith, karkwit. People are dying, deal with that chite like everyone else.

No emotional barriers, no darkness. It was important to care. Csilla had opened her eyes to just how awful death caused by violence was. It felt wrong to numb herself to that.

Sylvia gently smiled upon Amani saying her name and introducing her to the woman, though remained quiet until she was directly thanked for her efforts. She looked away; being deprived of positive reinforcement growing up made it all the more difficult to accept it.

"Just uh, doing my job," the spacer responded. She was being paid for the delivery at the end of the day, even if she gave the client a hefty discount. The fact it was barely enough to cover her costs made no difference, either. She did not gather the supplies and did not even pay for the fuel to get here. As far as Sylvia was concerned, she was not the one to thank.

Perhaps there was something she could do here, though. The box was taken out of her hands by a passing guard before following the overseer and Amani further into the hospital. Sylvia too was taken aback at the sight.

"Yeah, that's... really bad."

The woman fell silent for a moment. Somehow, she never even thought about how the hospital would look like on her way here, or how bad it could have been. She swallowed, trying to force down the lump that formed in her throat.

"H-hey, uhm..." Not knowing the overseer's name, she awkwardly paused until she decided to skip over it. "I'm no doctor, or much of anything, but... if there's anything I can help with..."

Sylvia had not been planning to stay any longer than she needed to originally, but those plans had changed.

 

[Amani Serys]

Sylvia Virtos​

The extensive strife that had overcome the hospital left Amani feeling empty, unsure of how to follow up. Just before they had arrived, she had let her optimism get the better of her, making the reality all the more crushing. It was a painful reminder of why she had refused to let herself get close to anyone or anything over the last several months. It always ended poorly. It was fate, she told herself.

"H-hey, uhm... I'm no doctor, or much of anything, but... if there's anything I can help with..."

For a moment she seemed surprised by the gesture. Not for a lack of trust in Sylvia’s character, but to hear it in that moment created something of an emotional whiplash effect. Even in this mess there was still good to be found. Amani offered a genuine, if also weary, smile. Meanwhile, the older woman beamed with appreciation, “I can’t thank you enough, we’ll take all the help we can get. Whatever you can offer, we’ve got openings to fill just about everywhere.” Despite the glum surroundings she remained kind and positive, even if the stress could be seen just hidden behind her eyes. It was clear even from their short interaction why she was helping to lead this operation.

“Any idea how long this is all going to last?” Amani asked, hoping to gain some much needed clarity on recent events.

“Couldn’t say. We got a transmission from some federal types saying they were organizing a military convoy to dispatch. Hopefully, they can quell the violence and restore some kind of order to this place. But they couldn’t give us a proper ETA before our communications got cut. A few hours? A few days? We just have to hope for the best.”

“We ran into that same problem. Weren’t able to hear anything from you guys for a while.”

“Right. It doesn’t bode well, if you ask me. I’m afraid some unsavory types may have learned about what we've got going on here.” She paused a moment, acknowledging the implications of further danger, “I understand if you two have any second thoughts about staying. And I won’t hold it against you if you decide to get out of here early. The supplies alone are more valued than you know.”

Amani shook her head, “I came here to help. So, that’s what I’m going to do.” Eventually, the woman would leave the two of them to their own devices, at which point Amani would turn back to Sylvia, “You don’t have to stick around if you don’t want to. We both saw how… unpleasant it could get.” She didn’t want to cast doubt on Sylvia’s resolve, after all her continued company would be a relief, but she hoped to make it clear that she still had an out all the same.

 

[Sylvia Virtos]

Amani Serys

---

​

An awkward tug of her lips was all Sylvia could react with. It felt more like a moral obligation to help out when she had the ability to do so rather than a choice to do the right thing. What she did not realize, however, was that her line of thought was a hypocritical one. Had it been someone else in her shoes, she would have seen it as a good deed. In her head, that hypocrisy did not exist.

"Anything to relieve just a bit of pressure," Sylvia commented. She had no medical experience, but there surely had to be something she could help with. Especially when the overseer pointed out just how many hands they were short. She still had the Force, if anything.

It was good to know that support was on its way, even if uncertainty continued to hang over the planet. Sylvia fell silent again as the conversation moved forward, occasionally nodding along with the overseer's sentiments. Hope was hard to find in places like this, but when there was nothing else to lean on it was important to hang onto it.

That also meant Sylvia was not going anywhere.

"Yeah. I'm sticking around too."

They had come this far. It felt like a waste of time going back now. The duo split ways with the overseer and before Sylvia went out to look for a place where she could be of help, she took inventory of her surroundings.

“You don’t have to stick around if you don’t want to. We both saw how… unpleasant it could get.”

The spacer turned her head towards Amani. Her awkward look had given way for something more reserved and serious, a demeanor more fitting for the situation they were in.

"That may be, but I'm here for the long run. I've been trying to become a better person, you know... actually do some good."

It was Ellie who had inspired her to at least try. After leaving the Sith, Sylvia had been fully occupied with keeping her own head above water. Now that she was doing well for herself, she was not doing nearly as much as she could to help others. Reconnecting with her closest friend, though things between them had been taken a step further by now, and seeing how Ellie acted like a shining example for all Jedi as far as Sylvia was concerned had opened her eyes to that.

"Come on, let's get to work."

 

[Amani Serys]

Sylvia Virtos​

"That may be, but I'm here for the long run. I've been trying to become a better person, you know... actually do some good."

“Hey,” Amani was quick to interject with some reassurance, “You are a good person, Sylvia. We haven’t exactly known each other for a long time, but without you, all those supplies wouldn’t have gotten here, and these people would be all the worse off for it.” If there’s one thing that kept Amani going over all these months, it’s her ability to see the good side of anyone. Through all the disillusionments and harsh reality checks, the silver linings were eventually revealed. She offered a smile, “But all the same, I’m glad to keep you around.”

"Come on, let's get to work."

Amani gave the room a cursory glance to their surroundings, flicking the mental switch that put her in ‘doctor mode’ before setting sights on a setup nearby. She turned to Sylvia, gesturing in that direction, “Wanna help me run through a quick checkup?”

For as dour as the hospital was, Amani was grateful that things at least seemed to be slow for the moment. Well, at the very least there were no immediate emergencies, that is. It would be nicer to ease Sylvia into it, rather than jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire.

The aforementioned setup was little more than a cheap cot alongside a standard triage kit. On it, a father and his young son sat close together. Debris dust clung to their skin and clothes, but they otherwise didn’t appear to be in any urgent trouble from here. Of course, that’s what they were going to figure out. Amani smiled and nodded to the father before kneeling down to meet the child at eye-level. Her voice shifted to a soft, motherly tone, “Hello there. Is it alright if me and my, erm, assistant?-” She glanced back at Sylvia a moment to check her reaction to the term, “-give you a quick checkup? Just like a visit to the doctor, you know?”

The child looked up to his father for assurance, returning a nod once he had received it, though not hesitating to mention, “I don’t like going to the doctor.”

Amani snorted a chuckle, “Yeah, who does, right?” She offered Sylvia the floor as she moved to take inventory of the tools and supplies in their kit, “Go on, take a look at him. Nothing crazy, I promise. Just see if you notice anything we might need to treat; Cuts, burns, whatever might look suspicious.”

 

[Sylvia Virtos]

Amani Serys

---

​

Amani's reassurance was met with an awkward silence. Sylvia was unable to find words to say. Clearly, the woman was unable to accept the positive reinforcement, even if she wanted to. Instead, she looked away with a sigh, a reaction that made her feel guilty on top of the awkwardness she already carried with her. Ultimately, all she could do was force a smile. Her feelings still told her she really was not that good of a person. Other people telling her otherwise were difficult to believe. Thankfully, Amani did not linger on the topic for too long.

"Sounds good," Sylvia responded slightly dejectedly as she attempted to shake off the negativity, or at least mask it. "And... Sorry about that. I'm aware that taking compliments isn't my strong suit." She would have added that she was working on it, but quite frankly, she had no idea where to even start.

Sylvia followed closely behind the mirialan to the father and son, feeling slightly unsure of herself but feeling slightly more confident when she followed someone who knew what they were doing. While Amani greeted the two, Sylvia nodded and softly smiled, leaving the talking to the former at first. Only when she was given the space to work did she step forward.

"I sure don't," Sylvia added to Amani's remark with a lighthearted tone, hoping to lighten the mood a little. "I'll be super super careful, okay?"

After the boy nodded, Sylvia knelt down. Apart from a few bruises and scrapes his arms looked fine, though when she looked down she noticed that his left leg was not as well-off. across his calf a part of his jeans was cut open, revealing a flesh wound.

"Come look at this," she quietly said as she turned her head towards Amani. Details were kept unspoken in an attempt to not upset the boy. "Calf, left leg."

 

[Amani Serys]

Sylvia Virtos​

Amani sighed and nodded, “...I get it.” She didn’t know much about this woman’s past, but she wasn’t going to press her on her personal demons if she didn’t want it. Though she perhaps didn’t feel it on the same level, Amani understood Sylvia’s reaction. “Just know you did a good thing here.” And with that, she let the topic drop.

Letting Sylvia step forward, Amani began to take stock of the kit. It seemed each setup in this area had the same inventory to work with, mostly essentials, with whatever few extras that could be scrounged up stuffed in as well. Thankfully, combined with the supplies they had just brought it, there would hopefully be enough to cover most non-severe cases for the near future.

The sound of Sylvia’s voice pulled Amani from her thoughts and over to their new problem: a laceration along the left calf. She zeroed in on the damage, giving the area a close examination now that they had something to work with. No damage beyond the separation of skin and muscle, and by now most of the bleeding had been done. He didn’t seem to have lost too much blood, at least not based on their short interaction, and so Amani considered themselves lucky that it hadn’t been worse. Should be a simple enough clean up job.

She blinked and looked back up to see the boy staring back at them, evidently nervous about whatever had so thoroughly gripped their attention. Amani gave him a flat smile to ease his worries, “Just a cut we’ll have to take a look at. Nothing too serious, but to be safe we’ll need to do some work.” She nodded to the father who reciprocated, gladly letting them do whatever they needed to make sure he would be alright. He gave his son a few words of encouragement, and then gave them the floor.

“Aaaalright,” Amani stepped back, snatching a nearby stool to prop the boy’s leg on, “Let’s have a look here.” She reopened the trauma kit, pulling out a piece of cloth and dipping a dose of antibiotic treatment onto it. “I won’t lie, this is going to sting a little bit, okay?” She then turned to Sylvia, taking her hand and placing the cloth into her palm, “Just hold this against the cut. We need to clear any risk of infection first.” Amani guided her hand over to the boy’s calf, placing it firmly against the cut and causing him to flinch. She frowned, but let go to allow Sylvia to continue the effort for her. With his focus on the pain from the antibiotic, Amani was able to take a syringe and quickly apply an anesthetic field block, which would begin numbing the pain over time.

Waiting for the anesthetic to take full effect, Amani sat back, and began to unwind a spool of thread for suturing. “So, once this is all over, what are you gonna do next?” She turned to Sylvia for idle conversation.

 

[Sylvia Virtos]

Amani Serys

---

​

With Amani stepping back in, Sylvia made sure to stay out of the way until she was handed a piece of cloth. With a nod she took it and gently placed it against the wound. The kid's reaction was to be expected; he vocalized discomfort, prompting Sylvia to shoot him an encouraging look. As she did, she could only hope that he had not seen anything too deeply traumatic on the way here.

"You're doing great. This won't take long, promise," her words of encouragement sounded. Combined with the stinging of the cloth, he was distracted enough for Amani to apply the anesthetic without issue. The boy did not respond beyond the look he gave her and the gritting of his teeth. The scene reminded her of the few times she had ended up getting a cut during dueling practice as a child. The ones stitching her back up had not nearly been as kind back then.

Sylvia's attention was drawn to the mirialan by virtue of her question, though one eye was kept on the cloth. "I don't have anything specific planned out. Just going back to making up for lost time with a certain someone, no idea what else beyond that." That certain somewhere was out there herself as well, fighting back against the worst the galaxy harbored.

"You got any plans?"

 

[Amani Serys]

Sylvia Virtos
​

"I don't have anything specific planned out. Just going back to making up for lost time with a certain someone, no idea what else beyond that."

​

Amani smiled, “Oh, a certain someone, eh? Sounds nice.” It reminded her that she had been running solo for Force knows how long now. Something she dwelled on for a few moments, before Sylvia returned the question.

"You got any plans?"

She shrugged, “Nothin’ special. After this I’m sure I’ll have to make another supply run and stock up. Feels like that’s about all it is these days.” Amani moved over to suture the boy’s leg, giving him a reassuring nod before starting.

“If I’m not fixing somebody’s leg, I’m searching for supplies, gathering supplies, delivering supplies. If I have to hear the word one more time I think it’ll lose all meaning for me.” The stitching job didn’t take long, and Amani zoned in on her work to focus on the finishing details.

“Alright. There may be some scarring, but we'll just have to wait and see.” She leaned back to put away her tools, grabbing a roll of gauze dressing in the process. The boy craned his head to observe the damage, unsure of how to react. “I’ve got one, too,” In response Amani pulled at her collar just enough to give a view of the electrical marks that spidered up to the base of her neck, “Yours won't be as...weird as mine, don’t worry. Some people even think they’re cool.” It was as much of a reassurance as she could give, and it seemed like enough to appease him.

Amani gave the leg a quick bandaging, and with the work done, she let the boy go, and he and his father were left to their own devices. “Nice work. Have you considered becoming a professional bandage holder?” She joked to Sylvia.

 

[Sylvia Virtos]

Amani Serys

---

​

"Yeah. As a spacer, I feel you there," Sylvia replied with her eyes still on the cloth. Supply runs were generally easy jobs with a decent enough payout, but the monotony of it all was mind-numbing sometimes. With how tumultuous her life had been as of late, though, it was much less of an issue. Of course, times like these were the exception to that rule.

"But yeah, it's definitely nice to have someone like her in my life. We got pulled apart at one point, but recently found each other again. I could talk about her until your ears fell off, but I won't do that to you," Sylvia remarked. How, despite everything that had happened between them in the past, she found herself sharing such a strong bond with someone so utterly amazing was beyond her. She would not let anything get between them ever again, though. Not as long as she had anything to say about it.

Amani's attention turned back to the boy and when she revealed the scarring it did not take much time for Sylvia to realize where it came from. Many students back at the academy had similar scars. The mirialan had gone through a lot, that much became clear right away.

"And I do too, actually," the magenta-haired woman chimed in. Putting away the cloth she still held in her hand, she lifted up her left pant leg a little bit to reveal a scar of her own, one that had been there for quite a long time now. Those who had seen that kind of scarring before could quickly come to the conclusion that it had come from a lightsaber, and it had been a close call. Sylvia was clearly lucky to still have her lower leg. "See? Pretty cool, right?"

With the boy stitched back up the duo were left by themselves again, opening the door for a small joke from the mirialan. Sylvia chuckled, happy to embrace any little bit of lightheartedness in such a depressing place. "I think tech is more my kind of thing," she responded as she found herself a place to sit. "Maybe I could build a bandage holder, though. Then again, any droid with hands could already do it."

Noticing small bits of Amani's scarring again, her demeanor suddenly shifted again. "That looked pretty nasty, by the way. Is it what I think it is, if it's not too much to ask?"

 

[Amani Serys]

Sylvia Virtos
​

Amani’s smile widened as Sylvia continued to dote on her special someone. In truth she probably could listen until her ears fell off. Something about people expressing that which made them happy was an infectious feeling, “That’s adorable. Hold onto that. Can’t have enough of it these days.”

Amani had turned her attention to the child, and it seemed she wasn’t the only one with battle damage to show, as Sylvia joined in to share the experience, “Yeah, like that!” Amani chuckled, keeping the conversation lighthearted, though doing a mental double take at the scar. Not that lightsaber injury was wholly surprising, given Sylvia’s nature. Even if operating totally on their own, it was like force-sensitives were supernaturally magnetized to one another. It’s not a matter of if you meet another , it’s when. And a decent number of their kind tend to like swinging laser swords at each other.

Once the boy and father had been cleared, Amani set to reorganizing the kit and cleaning up the workspace. Sylvia’s follow-up on her uniquely-patterned scar was not unexpected, but still she sighed as she recalled the path that led to it, “Yeah…” She lightly tugged at her collar again to show off the visible part of the scarring more clearly. In full, the scar originated at the center of her chest, with a web of electrical bolts arcing out from the center, fading just above her navel and just below her neck.

“Sith Lords are big fans of zapping people... I was on a mission on Yavin. Our task was to intercept a hand-off: the Grandmaster of the Silver Jedi, and rescue her. Obviously with such important ‘cargo’, there were more than a few big players on the scene. And obviously obviously, I was a bit out of my league…” She offered a flat, insincere smile. A weak attempt at acting as though the entire incident were well behind her now. “Coulda been worse, right?” Evidently done with pretending she was something else, Amani divulged the information freely, even if she didn’t outright call herself a Jedi.

“What about you? I know lightsaber damage when I see it.”

 

[Sylvia Virtos]

Amani Serys

---

​

Adorable. Perhaps it was, but to Sylvia too much had tried to rip it all apart for it to be that. Even if time ended up showing that the bond between Elle and herself had become stronger for it, neither had the innocence they once possessed anymore. The galaxy was going to make them fight for every single day together, if the past was anything to go by.

Ultimately, though, Sylvia had still smiled. She was not able to call Elle her 'girlfriend', but that was merely a matter of time. For Elle, the spacer would gladly wait for as long as she needed to. There was nobody else like her, after all.

The departure of the father and son had prompted a more sensitive conversation, even if Sylvia had not intended for it to be. Not just that, either; the story was the kind she would hear at a seedy cantina from the least trustworthy person present. Coming from Amani, though, the spacer was unable to label it as yet another tall tale.

"The fact you made it out in one piece is already impressive. Impressive is an understatement, actually," Sylvia remarked. She had seen her fair share of Sith lords show off frankly ridiculous displays of power in her time growing up. Taking a blast of Force Lightning was deadly enough to a Force sensitive, let alone someone who lacked such a connection. "I guess you're not with the Concord anymore? You're here instead of, well, anywhere they would be right now."

The question was then returned to Sylvia, which visibly caught her off-guard. While she should have expected it, the woman had been ill-prepared for the possibility. Quietly, she sat down close to Amani, her gaze affixed on a doctor tending to a bit of a nastier wound than what they themselves had handled. "I have to confess something first," she said with a lowered voice. "I... grew up in the Sith Empire. You already know I'm Force sensitive and they figured that out before my earliest memories, I think you can put two and two together." The words were followed by a deep sigh. Her head angled downwards to the floor. "I got shoved into the Sith academy in Bastion basically the moment I could walk upright." She leaned forward, leaning her arms on her own legs.

"Before anything, I'm not that anymore. Realizing everything was a lie took me longer than it should've, but at least I got out before I was sent to war. It could've ended much worse." Still, it had been dangerously close. "I just didn't know anything else, you know? I saw no reason to question anything."

"So that's where the scar comes from. I was... fourteen? fifteen? My overseer hated my guts, so harsh lessons sometimes spilled over into just being cruel. It had to do with the girl I talked about earlier. She was the golden child, I was the reject. Safe to say he wasn't happy we became friends." Sylvia scoffed. "She actually defected first. Looking back, that probably saved my life. It was the first time I doubted my beliefs. Though it felt like a stab in the back at the time." She shook her head in shame.

"It took me a long time to find the courage to leave. She was much braver than me. Still is."

 

[Amani Serys]

Sylvia Virtos​

Amani shrugged at the compliment. Evidently Sylvia wasn’t the only one lukewarm towards praise.

“Nah. I left after, uh…” if her last story seemed far-fetched, she wouldn’t even know how to explain the second part. That is to say, turning to the dark side for power, unintentionally taking part in the death of her surrogate father as a ploy to infiltrate the empire, and then rescuing the grandmaster from a Sith prison barely in one piece and losing her force connection after being unable to cope with the experience.

Well, probably just like that. But she decided against turning the conversation into a bizarre autobiography.

“…after I lost my Force powers.” She oversimplified.

Part of her felt bad about flipping the question on Sylvia. She’d been avoiding pressing her about the past until now, but now that they had gotten this far, she didn’t even think twice. To some extent it was done to take the focus away from herself, but she hoped Sylvia would only take it as far as she was comfortable.

Admittedly, the scope of her story was something Amani did not expect. The reveal that she had in fact been a part of the Empire took the Mirialan aback, and on the surface she may have come across as troubled by the information. She stayed silent, letting the woman finish her story before she replied,

“I’m sorry, that must’ve been hard… I’m glad you’re out though. Sounds like you've really got each other's backs.” The Sith we’re a complicated enemy. For as much anger as she carried for them, it was hard not to want to help them. Many were brainwashed, indoctrinated to not know any better than what their superiors told them. It was a casualty of any war, she supposed, but the Sith practiced it more efficiently than perhaps anyone else.

“We’re all victims to their corruption.” But they were also much more, and she hoped to ensure to Sylvia that she didn’t carry any resentment towards her.

 

[Sylvia Virtos]

Amani Serys

---

​

"You..." a taken-aback Sylvia uttered, an equally surprised look settling into the face that looked at the mirialan. A racking brain searched for words to say, but ultimately fell short. Sylvia could not even begin to imagine losing her connection to the Force. It was a near-essential part of who she was, but next to her was someone who gone through exactly that.

"Damn."

She looked away again. It was all she had. Sylvia's own story would only come after a moment of silence.

---
​

Once Sylvia's unintentionally-told story of her childhood had reached its conclusion and Amani made her comments, she moved her head in a way that wasn't quite a nod and not quite a shake. She had expected the initial reaction, but the words that came afterwards ultimately meant a lot more to her. Being turned away for her past was understandable and it would not have been the first time. Thankfully, Amani was a lot more accepting.

"Right bastards, they are," Sylvia concurred. And yet, even after leaving, she had kept contact with some in their ranks. Csilla had been the reason why she began avoiding the Sith altogether, though, even those who had no hand in the planet's destruction. As much as she had sympathy for certain individual members of their ranks, with each passing day Sylvia found their philosophy more unacceptable.

"But she's the one good thing to come out of that time," Sylvia added, her tone softening. "She's been there for me more times than I can count. I often wonder what she sees in me, to be entirely honest." Although it had gone unsaid, the heavy implication that she felt like she did not do nearly as much for Elle as she did for her hung around that what had been spoken aloud.

"I... I hate to bring it up again, so if you don't want to talk about it I completely understand, but... you were a Jedi at one point, then?" It was an easy thing to assume, considering Amani's history. "Imagine if history went a completely different way. We could have been on opposite sides. Good thing I got to my senses."

 

[Amani Serys]

Sylvia Virtos
​

“Mhm,” Amani confirmed Sylvia’s assumption with a nod, “Got inducted into the Silvers when I was eight. It was all I knew for a while. Being a Jedi.” She stared off into nothing, recounting her earliest days in the Order, before shelving the past with a shrug. “But times change, and now,” The healer sweeped her arms out, gesturing to the room around them, “I spend my time doing this.” Among other things, but no reason to retread old talking points.

Amani smirked at the mention of being on opposing sides, “Maybe so. I’m not exactly the greatest warrior the Silvers had to offer, so you probably would’ve kicked my ass,” She chuckled, able to find at least some levity in her history now that they were so far from it, “But, I much prefer being on the same side, yes.” As others continued to mill about, Amani stretched and waved for Sylvia to follow her away from the main floor, so they could get out of the way of the other workers.

“Though ‘An ex-Jedi and an ex-Sith walk into a war-torn triage camp’ doesn’t make for the most digestible opening to a joke,” She added as they cleared out, eventually finding unimpeded space where she leaned next to a broken out window, giving them a glimpse of the surrounding abandoned streets and buildings again, a reminder of the dour setting they found themselves in. Amani sighed and smiled wistfully, “Maybe once this mess blows over, we oughta meet up again sometime, maybe under less depressing circumstances, eh?”