Common Ground

[Choli Vyn]

Polis Massa Medical Complex and Archives
Trextan Voidstalker

Nothing made sense.

The past few weeks were a blur to Choli. Honestly, she couldn't really put two and two together. Everything had felt so strange. Surreal. For the longest time, the olive skinned brunette thought that she'd never fly again. Never see any of the Rogues. Never talk to Chloe or Jan or Asmus. That it would all end right then and there on that muddy trench when the glop grenade got her and everything had gone black.

But it didn't -- And Choli didn't know if this was better or worse.

There were red lines along her wrists and legs where she'd been cuffed. A few bruises here and there and broken ribs, mainly due to the crash. The days that followed were blurry and confused. As if she were an observer watching through a thick haze of fog; the answer right there in front of her but out of reach.

When they found her, she'd been told that the First Order had dropped her off at a neutral area. Honestly, all in good health considering. No signs of torture trauma, so that was a plus. No, that wasn't the problem, Choli thought to herself, jaw flexing tight. The problem was that she didn't remember it. Nothing. It was all a fuzzy blank. Choli had no reference of time, yet they told her that it had been at least a month since the Battle of Kaeshana. A month.

How did she karking lose a month??!

Choli sat in one of the med-bays at the Medical Center, the tiny doll like nurse observing her bioscans. She wore a medical gown, standard and just as annoyingly drafty. Her hair was loose in dark waves, eyes sunken as if she hadn't slept in days. A call had been sent out to the alliance about her whereabouts, but they'd only known who to contact by her solider tags. Choli hadn't been awake for the transfer or the drop off.

No memory at all. Everything just... gone.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

Choli Vyn

Polis Massa

"I am fine." The words were almost growled in frustration. They came from the curtained off unit opposite Choli.

"Evidently not. Were it not for the what happened in the incident the diagnostic run suggests there is a fault in the neurological interface," replied an artificial droid.

An emphatic sigh followed. He'd made the statement quite clearly to Jacen that after Kaeshana he wanted to return to fight for the Order again. Now it would look like he was still being affected by what had happened and was avoiding duty by claiming his arm was playing up.

Two Kallidahin and a Twi'lek walked down the centre of the ward. The latter pulled back the curtain. They revealed a young man glowering at a medical droid. He was perched at the end of the bed as if he refused to accept his treatment and lie back. He had no shirt on. His right arm was clearly artificial and hung limp at his side, connected to a computer by three cables. His chest was red and scorched down the same side as the arm.

"This is Mr Voidstalker," the Twi'lek spoke. The medical team spoke amongst themselves as if Trextan wasn't there. "He was on a an alliance transport moving through the sector. He crushed a blaster pistol with his new prosthetic. The exploding chamber has caused several lacerations to the skin over his ribs and led to minor burns."

"What do the diagnostics say?" Asked one of the small Kallidahin. The other was silent, perhaps limited telepathy.

The twi'lek murmured something and pointed to something on the screen.

"Could be a psychological rejection?"

"That occured to me too."

"Treat the burns for now, we'll consult a specialist and a technician from the manufacturer."

"Excuse me?" Trextan spoke up for the first time. "When will I be out?" He looked genuinely affronted at being spoken over.

"Oh we'll be able to discharge you soon but not to active duty yet. Though I don't think there is a transport your way for another week. Rest for now, don't use the arm any more than necessary. We need to do a few more tests and treat the burns."

"Alright." But a few moments after the team had left and the droid had disconnected his arm he swore quite loudly in frustration.

 

[Choli Vyn]

Polis Massa
Trextan Voidstalker

It was the letter that broke her. Funny, not the fact that the past month was a complete blank, but that the Rogue Squadron commander-- no -- her friend, had taken the time to write.

Choli's finger swept over the datapad display, reading over the message. The digit shook slightly, trembling in the swell of the emotion. It immediately fisted as the noise and chatter across the way rose. The sudden grab and sling of the curtain revealed a boy -- no, a wounded teenager struggling with his cybernetic enhancement. He was pissed, frustrated no doubt. It was an emotion that Choli could identify with.

Swallowing hard, the olive skinned female swung her attention back to her datapad. It was as if the guy's own emotions fed her own. I don't want to stay here, she thought to herself, feeling that fine trembling again. Maybe that's why in the next instant, Trex would be able to catch from his peripheral the slender teenage girl in the hospital gown with the thick, raven hair start to remove her IV. The mottled bruised skin hurt as Choli tugged at the line, wincing as she felt it slip out, blood scattering in tiny red beads on top of the crisp, white bedsheets.

"Feth!" she cursed, trying to ignore the pain as she worked on the other sensor.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

Trextan looked up, roused from his selfish wallowing. It was the embarassment that fuelled the hurt. One moment he'd been in an alliance shuttle, loading his blaster. The next he was on the deck, ears ringing and heat spreading up his side.

He looked from Choli towards the entrance to the unit in disbelief. Amusement managed to take the edge of his frustrated expression.

"Careful!" He hissed. It was easy for him to consider leaving and rebelling against his medical team, but her sudden action presented a dilemma. He thought about calling the nurse to make sure the girl didn't hurt herself. He didn't know why she was here. But if she could go, why couldn't he? Still undecided he slipped off the edge of the bed and crossed the unit floor quickly, looking towards the station at the end. There was noone there.

She was bleeding from where she had pulled the IV recklessly. Trextan grabbed the box next to her bed and pulled out a dressing. He didn't think about the arm, about the way his mind still struggled to come to terms with it being part of him. And as such his two hands worked together to carry out the delicate task of pulling free the dressing. There was a lot of his father in him. When there was something he felt needed to be done for the benefit of others he just got on with the job.

"There's nowhere to go!" He added quietly. "No passenger shuttles in until tomorrow, I asked."

 

[Choli Vyn]

It was the sudden movement and appearance of the lanky stranger that startled Choli. Those hazel green almond shaped eyes went wide, and she instinctively became wary, drawing her bloody arm close to her chest as if to protect it. The only issue being that mid Trexton attempting to wrap it, it trapped his hand mid movement and accidentally brought his artificial hand close enough smack against her chest.

That started a whole new sequence of events as Choli dropped her hand, the gauze slipping from her bruised wrists and the girl quietly shifting back on her medical cot.

"I'm fine." she managed to say, swallowing hard and a bit out of sorts at the fact that the half naked stranger was hovering over her. Dark forelocks flopped over his youthful angular features, deep set eyes staring down at her through heavy brows. From this distance Choli could see how the burns had swept over his flank. Nothing too bad, but the red mottled skin must have hurt when it happened; likely still stung. That he'd moved so fast also told her a bit more. Cues and clues, Chloe had told her. Be observant. It was just hard to when her eyes were red-rimmed and the tears threatened to prick hotly at the growing frustration that rose within them.

"It doesn't have to be a passenger shuttle." it wasn't hard to read between the lines.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

The artificial nerves had been tuned to be as close to Trextan's other arm as was possible. Once he'd set a mind to a task he was just as stubborn as his father and grandfather, but the flush to his cheeks and mild stammer that followed showed he'd been knocked off course a few degrees.

"Sorry... I... Erm. arm." There was no arguing this time as he made her straighten it out and gave it a quick swab. He held a small dressing over the puncture in her skin with two metal fingers and then taped it down deftly. His metal fingers were body temperature. The powercell kept it that way as otherwise the metal appendage would suck all the heat from his body.

The realisation that she was wearing a rather free gown and that he'd left his shirt on struck him as soon as the job was done. It was obvious that he then kept his eyes elsewhere.

"You can fly?" He asked sharply, the interest in his hushed tones obvious.

 

[Choli Vyn]

Choli only has experience with second hand cybernetics. The cheap kind that the Jawas had fixed up and retrofitted to create junk into something serviceable. The thought or consideration that the teenager's own cybernetic arm was as temperature regulated as her own didn't dawn on her. Why would it? Her mind was just on simply getting out. Leaving here and being useful. Not stuck like some invalid because I can't remember what happened?!!.

He made her straighten out her arm, wiping the beads of blood away with a swab. A flicker up caught the red welts over his chest and ribs. Bare olive legs shifted under the flimsy excudebof a medical garb. The white color, the scent of bacta, everything was making her nauseous.

When he finished, Choli gave him a curt nod in answer, muttering a half murmur of thanks. Yup she could fly. That is if the last month was all the First Order had taken from her. The frustration rose anew and the sudden shift and jerk of her medical gown gave a rustle as she searched for the heart monitor sensor.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

"Okay, you can fly, okay," he said each word in quick succession. Trextan turned a shoulder so he couldn't see the airy gown shifting.

She wouldn't see his eyes darting around them as he tried to decide what to do. It wasn't as if he always made the best decisions. They would be arriving at the maw now, looking for the danger. There was an expression that haunted his thoughts. It had been frozen on the face of the woman who had died to save him on Kaeshana. It had been on Jacen's when he had thought himself about to die, right before Trextan stood in the way and lost his arm.

"I'll help," he whispered harshly. "But I need dropping off on the way. An asteroid in the system."

 

[Choli Vyn]

Pop! Pop! Pop!

The vital sensors and biometric scanners came off her olive skin with the distinct pop of suction cups. They left little red rings on her skin, an imprint of circles that joined the constellations of bruises there. The dark slash of her brows drew tight, red rimmed eyes managing to catch their bearings as emotion fed her focus. That and steely determination.

He wanted to come with me? Wait, the frown intensified into a half glower, "You don't seem to be in a state to leave this place." Maybe a blow to his ego, but it was just observation on his injuries. Bare legs swung over the edge of the bed and she made to stand.

Only to promptly stumble as her legs, unused to walking for a month, promptly made her knees buckle and she felt herself collapse.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

He turned rapidly. The metal arm was hardly a comfortable cushion but it caught her under the arms. Unfortunately whilst it had more than enough strength to lift many times her weight, it didn't preclude the rest of his body from almost being dragged over. His right foot braced and he managed to stay upright.

"Oh I'm the one in no state to leave?" He asked incredulously. "Might wait for that shuttle so I don't get squashed into an asteroid. How good at flying are you anyway?"

Looking down to ask the question drew attention to the fact that he was still holding her. Right arm wrapped around her chest and left hand flat against her shoulder blade. An abashed looked crossed his face and he looked away. She had an athletic build, light but firm and those were not things he should have been thinking.

He hissed through clenched teeth as he caught up to the fact that she was against the dressings and raw wounds down his right hand side.

 

[Choli Vyn]

That thick mass of hair swung as she was caught, knees buckling as choli's feet did their best to find purchase. It didn't help matters that much like a drowning man clinging to another to save themselves, so did the Rogue do the same. Her hands went latching against anything she could find. Her slender, but athletic body seemed to bounced against Trextan, the wince and hiss of pain coming off from him prompting Choli to try and untangle herself.

“Damnit!” The curse went ripping from her mouth, right hand ending up curling and grabbing her bedsheet. The pull dragged it down, sending her pillow and the fabric fluttering down. Monitors beeped and they swung for a bit as Choli pulled over to brace against the bed.

“i can damn well fly!” she hissed out, frustration coloring her face red along with confusion, guilt, and a sense of growing desperation. What had occurred during the entire month?!! Why couldn't I remember it.

They were making more noise, thing clattering. If they became a bit louder, the nurse would pick up on it.

“Gorram it!” Hot tears stung her eyes, a familiar stubborn expression a mirror of what Trextan had worn before.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

Trextan really didn't know how to deal with this. He didn't know how to deal with it at all. He spent so much time worrying about himself that he didn't have much practise consoling others. He was a teenager after all and one particularly wound up in his own problems.

Working on solving the immediate issue he took a step forwards and hoisted her back so she could perch her rear back on the bed. His right hand gripped her left shoulder and his left her right as he stepped in front of her.

"Quiet!" He hissed. "I believe you. I do."

He wasn't certain if he did, but with those tears streaming down her face and the desperation in her tone he wasn't about to say so. He let go of her and reached out to push the power button on her monitor. It fell silent. "Ill get you to a ship. Do you...Erm...Have any clothes?"

 

[Choli Vyn]

There was another string of curses; was that Huttese? Could very well be. The teenager gave the appearance of aggrevation but it was directed internally. Her hands came up, fingers running through the thick raven mane and away from her almond shaped eyes. If one peered close enough, they'd be able to tell that they were almost color shifting. At once appearing hazel, green, blue, then gold.

Her hands went flailing down, curling thickly on the cot bedsheets. Lips turned into a straight line, jaw flexing. Her gaze swept over her clothing, taking stock of the medical robes and of course the upward draft. While she wasn't modest after being a rogue for so long, the combination of losing her memory, being questioned on her flying abilities, Janes’ letter, and her growing frustration was a sour cocktail to swallow.

“No, I woke up in this.”

Those slanted eyes went darting up and over the cyborg. Who was he? And just…

A flick of her eyes cause sight of what could only be the medical robe that had been left aside for Trextan. Choli boldly, and maybe foolishly, made the attempt to make a grab for it.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

Trextan had no idea what she had said but it certainly sounded colourful. He was wracking his brain to try and think of something to say to calm her down - and failing abysmally - when she lurched for the robe.

With one hand he reached to steady her, with the other he took the robe off the hook and brought it within her reach; with the entirety of his mind he tried to ignore the amount of thigh revealed by the hospital gown.

"Look, I can't get out of her without you..." Seeing her expression he quickly shifted the wording that followed. "...It would probably be easier if you had me to help you walk out of here.

"I can get a wheelchair or try and support you on your feet if you want to try again. We'll find you... something..." He gulped. "...To wear and get to the hangar. How does that sound?"

With his head out of his own problems it seemed he'd forgotten to struggle to use his new arm.

 

[Choli Vyn]

The flickered gaze barely went floating over the teenager as Choli found a bit of balance by resting her hip against one of the scanners. Thankfully, it wasn't on rollers so she didn't go stumbling back. With rushed, jerky motions, the Rogue took the robe and slipped it on, the cold draft no longer slipping in over her back and her butt. At least her bare ass wasn't in view anymore.

“I don't need a wheelchair,” she snapped back, but there was no venom in her voice, only frustration. Her legs still felt a bit weak but she could feel her toes.

Gorram, it focus Cho! She is a lieutenant commander for Force sakes! You were trained for this sort of poodoo. Janes words from his letter came to mind again, and trembling fingers tied the straps of her belt in front of her.

“Fine.” Hazel green eyes flickered to steel.” You can come with me but don't argue with what I say.” Odds were from looking at him she had more experience with trying sneak out of a facility.

Kinda.

“I need pants.” A flex of her lips and an upward dart of those almond shaped eyes upon Voidstalker’s own.

“And a ship.”

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

He was in no place to argue. He asked a few questions of himself and provided no answers in return: was her condition so serious he was putting her at great risk? Was she potentially dangerous? Would she actually be able to fly? When she had pants would this feel less awkward? Those answers could come soon.

"I've got some!" He realised suddenly. "And I agree not to argue for now."

He returned to his bay. There was a bag under the bed as they'd brought him in with it. They'd stripped the blaster packs but left him his lightsaber, rations and spare clothes. He pulled on a vest and fished out the spare pants. Military issue, lots of pockets. At least there was a belt threaded through them.

"These will be big."

He tossed them onto Choli's bed and pulled the curtain himself rather than letting her stubbornly try and it and fail. What was the point in being quite so stubborn he thought to himself hypocritically.

An alarm went off, but he sighed in relief when it went off in the next unit. Two nurses rushed past the entrance to theirs. Then another strode right in with a cart of drugs.

"Mr Voidstalker, you should be changing into your gown, not more clothes."

"You should check out that alarm with the others." He felt a twinge of guilt at using the Force in that way, but the human turned and walked away. "We've got a window!" He hissed through the curtain at Choli.

 

[Choli Vyn]

“I'm going!” Her low hiss cane muffling back, Choli taking the pants and slipping them on. Every second meant that she was getting used to using her legs again. A wince and a muffle and then a wiggle to slip them over the curve of her bum. Ugh, commando was one thing in a flight suit, but pants? An entirely different matter.

At least they were baggy.

The belt buckle gave a link as she tightened it around her waist. She had the appearance of a beggar; white hospital gown dress, baggy pants and bare feet. Not to mention the thick mess of her hair right now that likely made her appear to be some Mos Eisley Salvager.

Better than nothing. Testing her balance, she took a few steps forward. Her feet gave a slight trembling but they carried her weight.

A sudden slink sound and the curtain was drawn back, revealing the girl.

“Come on.” She told him hoarsely, trying her stubborn headed best to take charge and move forward.

There was a wide hall to the right. The exit to the ward straight ahead. Every step was taken with the girl trying to brace herself on one thing. It was just muscle weakness, she could walk it off

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

Trextan watched as she made tentative steps. His head turned from her to the ward exit, looking for the nurse to realise he'd left a cart of restricted drugs and shake off the mind trick. A feeling of anxiety welled up within him. She was even more stubborn than him and he didn't want her to snap again. He stepped back and forth awkwardly.

With a sigh he made up his mind. He was letting people down and acting awkwardly like a teenager - even if he was one - wasn't excusable.

"I'm sure your legs will be fine soon, but for now let's gets moving."

He moved up beside her left side and reached for her left wrist. "Come on, I don't have a stick so put your weight on me until you've got your balance." His metal arm started to wrap around her waist.

 

[Choli Vyn]

Choli gave a small flinch at the stranger coming beside her, his cybernetic arm curling around her waist and helping her along. It wasn't in fright as much as feeling startled. At this distance her hair had a mind of it's own, the thick strands fanning as they swayed, clinging to whatever they could find. His chest, his chin, the metal of his arm.

A protest arose in her mouth as if she would say she was fine. However, the movement at the corner of her eye near another set of medical cots trapped it before she could utter it.

"Fine." she breathed out, bracing herself against him as he guided her along.

Her eyes shifted into a stormy hue of gray. Determination. Now to find out just where they were.

"Where is the hanger?" she managed to ask, the pair crossing the threshold towards another corridor.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

"Huh? Oh right."

Trextan could have replied instantly, but that would have required admitting he wasn't quite sure. He was still frustrated at himself, but somehow he'd ended up swept up in this girl's own personal quest.

Now I came in through the emergency department which was next to the two hangars, then through the ward and...

He adjusted his grip on Choli as an excuse to slow his pace as they approached the turn. He tried to ignore the tickle of hair across his shoulder.

"This way, towards the turbo lifts." He said firmly, taking them towards the left. "What were you in for?" He asked, hoping he wasn't taking some girl with a fatal condition.