Everything Or Nothing

[Connor Harrison]

Feeling the dead weight of her by his side, Kayleigh was right – she was weak and couldn’t be expected to move on. So Fixx did the next best thing. He stopped and brought his arm under her thighs and gently lifted her, straining as he moved slowly as not to suddenly hurt her.

"I’m not…leaving you in a ditch."

Trying to carry her more horizontally, with her arm around his shoulder, would be better, if she could cope. The more they moved away from the shuttle wreckage, the signal on his com beeped louder.

”Fixx, this is Brooke. The ID on your ship has been confirmed as a Republic craft that should be stationed above orbit. It was stolen – the Chief has brought in Special Ops to move in on the Republic High Command as we speak.“

Fixx processed the information in his head.

”It may be possible the man Admiral Tyven identified as the one selling Republic secrets, Commander Collins, is behind this. His position is still unchallenged and it could be that both you and Admiral Tyven are targets for his lackies. She shook the hornets’ nest, now they are retaliating.“

Fixx looked down at Kayleigh, unaware of what she could hear.

”We’ll pressure him – meanwhile please stay safe because we know where you are, but so do they. We can’t risk moving in yet without evidence - “

He sighed at the mention of the word evidence, something he’d been told would be found later against Kayleigh. She had been telling the truth all along and he’d been played the pawn.

” – and I suspect it was on his orders that you bring in Admiral Tyven for the Chief for interrogation, and that way he could wipe you both out and all traces of what you know. Stay safe – don’t broadcast out. I’ll keep Vorana in on this too.“

The signal chimed off and Fixx was now moving down the incline of the mine where the scree turned into dark soil, sand and dry grass. Grass plains started to roll into view and one of the large Attahox lakes was on the horizon, a few settlements dotted around that looked like mining colonies.

"Kayleigh…you still with me…?"

[member="Kayleigh Tyven"]

 

[Mariya Pyne]

Everything sounded quieter, as if the volume on the world was lessened. It felt much more peaceful. Fixx said something to her, but it didn't sound like there was urgency in his voice, so she simply mumbled something incomprehensible in return. She felt the weight of her legs removed, and her body position shuffled. It felt somewhat relieving, though another sharp pain coursed its' way through her side before once again slipping into comfort.

Fixx...ID confirm.....Republic craft...stolen....possible... Tyven identified... selling...secrets...behind this...position...still unchallenged...now...retaliating.

Kayleigh heard bits and pieces of the conversation. It didn't make much sense to her what they were talking about. The gentle bouncing of her body in his arms was consuming most of her conscious attention.

"Kayleigh…still...me…?"

"Hmmmmm?" The word would drag and drown off, her mouth never opening.

[member="Fixx Kearney"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

"KAYLIEGH!"

His shout was sharp, like a bolt, ringing out on the edge of the mine. Fixx knelt down with her and felt a wave of panic, resting her body against his – there was nothing he could do to help the internal injuries, and he couldn’t see anything.

"Vorana, this is Kearney – I need you on the surface now. Track my signal, but get here quick, I’m losing Tyven."

The first contact with the Republic Intelligence had been [member="Felicity Vorana"] - right now she was the only one who he knew was stationed above the planet ready to help bring their Admiral in. But right now he needed her ASAP.

Two cruisers rumbled by overhead. He looked down at Kayleigh and held her wrist up.

"ADMIRAL – come on, talk to me, stay with me, tell me where it hurts."

He shook her gently, but with vigour.

"Stay with me! Where does it hurt?"

[member="Kayleigh Tyven"]

 

[Mariya Pyne]

Her eyes snapped open in surprise at the shouting of Fixx. A small groan from her lips would let him know she was still awake.

"Jeeeez Fixx, I'm right here. No need to shout."

A short smile formed on her face as she fixated on his eyes. A few short breaths would follow before her answer to his question made its' way from her lips.

"My side..." There was short pauses in between her words to breathe in small amounts so that her chest would not pain her as much. "At least two of my ribs are broken. I can feel pressure... like they are pushing inwards... I'm sure there is more to it, but that is all I can focus on."

A bit of the color in her face was beginning to flush the more she spoke, staying awake was becoming more of a challenge.

[member="Fixx Kearney"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Her voice was a relief to his ears, and he sighed and dropped his head for a second, rising to meet her gaze; she looked tired, drained and helpless and it was his fault.

"You scared me for a second."

Fixx cupped her hand around his.

"I’ve got an agent to track our signal and get us out of here and get you to a med-bay. Try to take it easy, small steady breaths and don’t move too fast."

Gently pulling back the hair matted to her brow, Fixx kept his eyes on the skies and the land around them. If this was the more industrial side of the planet, the lack of activity would make sense as this meant tools were down and everyone was away.

He looked back down at her.

"I’m…I’m sorry.."

[member="Kayleigh Tyven"]

 

[Mariya Pyne]

"Maybe next time....You'll find a better pilot." The blonde coughed again, trying to clear the dirt and dust from her lung still. The armor of hers was not only worn in battle and situations involving heavy activity to protect her body from being shot up or broken, but also to compensate for the severe lack of oxygen that could be pumped through her body with one of her organs missing to perform that other half of the work.

She swallowed back the small pool of blood that had formed in her mouth immediately after so not to worry Fixx, though her face made a distasteful grimace as she did so. A small yawn forced its way out as she looked up with him toward the skyline, the sun was on the decline, retreating slowly back behind the trees off on the horizon. She shivered, a tremor of cold vibrating through her body, though it was warm out only moments ago.

"It's....Ok...Sometimes things....Happen."

[member="Fixx Kearney"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Kneeling beside her, almost wrapping himself like a protective shell around her broken body, Fixx tightened his eyes as he felt her body gently spasm with the pain of talking and even breathing. How had he been in the cockpit and walked with bruises and a sprain but now Kayleigh was fighting for her life?

He had taken her away from the peace of the Republic city, into a rogue transport and now crashed upon the surface. Accused her of treason with no evidence, only orders. His duty had ruled his heart, as it always did.

"Try not to talk – stay with me and look for the rescue party, nice and slow breathing, come on."

Fixx lowered his head and it came, two tears bristling on the edge of his eyes that he bit down on his teeth to stem, half anger and half sadness at hearing her weak voice.

He had damaged their relationship and now it was unclear if it could ever be repaired.


[member="Kayleigh Tyven"]

 

[Mariya Pyne]

Kayleigh nestled herself into his arms a bit further, following his instructions. Her hand slowly lifted up towards his face, resting against his cheek until she felt the water from his eye roll down to her fingertips. She calmly directed her index finger to wipe his eyes clear of the tears that had formed within them. She was tired, so very tired. The pain running through her side was becoming more numbing than anything. Perhaps she was getting used to it, much in the same way that a person gets a tattoo becomes numb to the pain after some time. Or maybe it was something else, she didn't really know. She knew that if the pain went away it would give some reprieve. Perhaps her body was working overtime to somehow fix her up, but it was a draining process. She was exhausted. She needed to just....Close her eyes. She wasn't sure how much more she could force herself to remain conscious.

"It's ok...Fixx. They'll be here...I'm going to sleep soon I think...I'm sorry...That I yelled at you."

[member="Fixx Kearney"]

 

[Felicity Vorana]

"Mr. [member="Fixx Kearney"]. We got your coordinates and I am sending a med team for you now. I want full report on this and we will talk in my room about this incident." She said to him after hearing his voice on the commlink. She knew that trouble would come as he came to the Republic from his eyes. He was so concerned about the orders that he didn't even think about their intents. Giving a small sigh she left her cup of coffee on the desk and moved for the Hangars. "Okay people, we have some Republic personnel to save. I want a medical team on the board immediately and get me the pilot right now." She ordered the men around. He said that Admiral Tyven, which was a great asset for the Republic was badly injured. Then they had to make sure that they arrived there in time before it's too late. After minutes the medical team and the pilot arrived. Late, they were late.

"Alright, everyone to their places. Double time, move on!" She shouted. Men, they were always so slow. Jumping to the shuttle, she gave a nod to the pilot to depart for the surface. The Hangars were lively, everyone wanted to save their admiral of course, because she did a great job in Hangars. After seconds, she could see them, Admiral Tyven looked to have only little time. "I see them. Marking the land now, land the shuttle there." She marked the land on her datapad which should make it appear in the pilot's datapad. "Mr. Kearney. Come in. We see your ID tag in the system. Try to keep her awake and we'll be there in minutes." She hoped that minutes weren't that late, and they could save Admiral [member="Kayleigh Tyven"]. And after that someone had to pay for this crime.

 

[Connor Harrison]

Fixx looked up sharply as Felicity came over the com, and he stroked Kayleigh's brow gently.

"Felicity hurry up - look for the wreckage, you can't miss it, and get those meds ready because she needs something doing now!"

He pulled back Kayleigh's hair gently and shook her shoulders.

"You can sleep all you want in a moment, we just have to get you fixed up. Help is here, come on, look."

Wiping the perspiration from his jaw, Fixx looked up to the skyline as a couple of small blips appeared coming down form the atmosphere above.


[member="Felicity Vorana"] | [member="Kayleigh Tyven"]

 

[Mariya Pyne]

The shaking of the blonde's shoulders would be met with no physical resistance. The girl had slipped into a pleasant unconsciousness before he had finished relaying information to Felicity. Her head would not adjust to the view of the incoming drop ship, or the words spoken by her lover. Instead, the quiet vibration of her body from the shaking would be all the response Fixx received from her.

The force of the impact that had sent the admiral from one end of the drop ship to the other was enough blunt force upon collision to cause a Myocardial Contusion. The internal bleeding associated with the impact of the rib fractures had ruptured small pockets within her and the internal bleeding that had been largely ongoing since the crash was finally taking its toll. Her body had forced the remaining energy reserves to conserve the most precious life functions, essentially forcing the woman into a self-induced coma. With a drastically lowered blood pressure, Kayleigh's body would begin to enter shock.

An apology was far from the last thing she wanted to say to Fixx.

[member="Fixx Kearney"] | [member="Felicity Vorana"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Fixx went cold as Kayleigh started to convulse and go into shock – her body was giving up. He brought his knee up to keep her head slightly elevated and rested his hand on her stomach.

"Breathe…come on….breathe….steady…."

His body was hollow, his chest rising hard with each breathe that he wanted to give to Kayleigh. Looking up at the sky, a transport deftly skimmed across the clouds and circled the crash site before coming back on itself and coming down away from the pair on the grassy plains, beyond the mine. Another transport, a fighter, followed.

"COME ON!"

Fixx shouted and beckoned the crew spilling out towards them, consisting of three beings – what looked like 2 medical professionals and a guard.

Kayleigh went limp in his arm and he glanced down to see her enter a near comatose state. As the beings approached, two humans and a Zabrak, Fixx gently laid her had back on the grass. The fighter touched down on the gravel.

”Ok what’s happened.”

The Zabrak began to check for response on Kayleigh.

Fixx kept calm, focused and spoke only what mattered. "Our ship crashed and she’s suffered internal injuries, I suspect broken bone and internal bleeding. Attention is waning and she’s giving up."

”Admiral Tyven, can you hear me?”

Her eyes were devoid of that sparkle as the medic shone the light in both, looking for the tell-tale signs. For the first time in his life, Fixx felt totally useless.

”Ok I suspect a traumatic aortic rupture, possible abdominal aortic aneurysm. She’s in cardiogenic shock, blood pressure dropping.”

Fixx watched the human aid pull out a fine needle full of yellow liquid and inject it into her abdomen, his feet falling back a couple of steps as another aid ran over with a stretcher. More medical talk, more action – Fixx was numb.

”Sir we need to get you che – “

Fixx span and held a finger to the guard. "You focus on HER, not me, alright!" It wasn’t an order.

Even as his name was called, he didn’t hear it – his attention was on the bodies around Kayleigh.

[member="Kayleigh Tyven"] | [member="Felicity Vorana"]

 

[Mariya Pyne]

Everything went dark. Quiet. Peaceful. Her body no longer ached with the racking pain from the crash. There was nothing that could hurt her. She awoke, laying in her bed at home on Coruscant. She heard a pair of voices coming from down the hall. She recognized them immediately. With an abundance of joy she flipped the bedsheets over herself and slid her legs off of the side of the bed, her bare feet touching the cool surface of the wood floor. She stretched briefly before releasing a short yawn. Kayleigh heard her name called from the other side of the home again.

The girl replied to the voice this time. "Coming!" That's strange. My voice...It sounds...Younger. She stood up from the bed and wandered to her mirror. The blonde's eyes widened as she looked at herself. Her hands rose to touch her face and move along the slender curves of her youthful body. I look....15 again. She took a deep breath, feeling a massive influx of oxygen into her lungs that she hadn't felt in ten years suddenly surge into her body felt invigorating. She was full of life and energy once more. The pure perfection of her youthful body was magnificent. She sprang forward and darted to the room where she had heard the voices.

"It's about time you got up, K! You're going to be late for school. Your father will drive you today."

A radiant smile beamed across her face as she raced to hug her mother and then her father. "I'm sorry! I overslept this morning. I was awake late studying for this test."

Suddenly the words she was speaking felt oddly familiar, as if a case of deja vu was hitting her. Regardless, she continued. "I'll just eat on the way to class. We can leave now, just let me change." She raced back into her bedroom and got ready in record time before meeting her father. As they made their way to her school she chirped up with a cheerful bliss in her voice that she had been well known for. "Dad, do you think we can go to the Naval Academy this weekend? I'd like to look around some more and maybe talk to some of them."

"I think we can probably spend some time there if you'd like to go. I will see what we can do." If nothing else her father was proud that he had a daughter so interested in the Republic that she would spend her free time learning more about it. Though as he finished speaking he would look to the girl with a bit of nervous horror. Her face had begun to turn pale, and she appeared to have passed out.

When next the girl awoke it would be days later. A hospital bed would be where she found herself, surrounded by her family and a few classmates. She'd missed the weekend entirely, and felt drained of energy. A doctor stepped into the room and asked that the family step out for a moment while he spoke with her. "Kayleigh, it's good to see you awake. However I need to relay to you the seriousness of this situation. Please know that we are doing everything we can for you. You have an advanced stage of lung cancer. Unfortunately at this point we cannot perform radiation as it will not suffice as a long-term solution. Though the cancer appears to be contained, we are suggesting to surgically remove the symptomatic organ. This will likely save your life, but will inhibit your ability to perform a large variety of physical activity."

The girl sat stone faced as the information was relayed to her. She was now certain of what was happening. She had been here. This was a past memory. An event recorded in her brain from a decade ago that she was now reliving. She had no physical control over the situation as it unfolded, as she had already made these decisions, took part in these conversations. She was along for the ride, a victim of her subconscious demanding her attention.

She continued to watch the sequence, but was unable to force herself to wake from this dream. She didn't understand, why now she was unable to wake after the realization that she was dreaming, when that had been the key to waking from every single dream she had ever had. The realization of the dream is what woke one from that dream. She was beginning to panic, unsure of what to do or how to escape her mental prison. She was afraid.

And then the world went dark again. Quiet. Peaceful.

The men lifted her into the transport as Fixx stood by, beginning to administer a blood transfusion and adrenaline in hopes to raise her blood pressure at least in the interim. She would need immediate surgery to repair the damage and block off the ruptured arteries or veins to prevent further bleeding. A number of needles connected to various tubes and packs would be injected into her arms and hand as they continued to try and wake the admiral from her state.

[member="Fixx Kearney"] | [member="Felicity Vorana"]

 

[Felicity Vorana]

After landing the ship just minutes later they contacted with the Agent, she sent the medical team first to examine the wounded Admiral and also the Agent. But the work was just beginning. She had to report this little incident to the Headquarters, and probably it was going to be a big pain. She liked to just sit and while drinking a sip from her coffee and do her job but this was bigger than that. She was still surprised about how Agent [member="Fixx Kearney"] would fall for that setup, they didn't give you the rank for this. But she decided to let this issue drop, wasn't the time or place to do this anyway. She moved back to the ship's outdoors, she wanted to see the crime scene herself, and check on them and answer some questions in her mind. Yes, the medical team already started their job, they were moving the Admiral to the ship. "Be quick! We don't have a lot of time." Then turned to the Agent. "Kearney, get to the briefing room as soon as possible and I want you to explain me what the hell happened here. I know it is not the place or time but the medical team is doing their best, so give them some space. I hope you took a record of the voice." She then went for the Admiral, and cleared her hair from her face, dusty and tangled from the crash. "You are going to be okay. Just stay with us."

Then she went back to the ship, started to wait Mr. Kearney in the briefing room. They just survived a crash, and she wanted to give him a time. He was probably wounded as well, but he was the man not to show it. And guilt... That was showing much bigger than the wound itself. She prepared her terminal, it was going to be used a lot soon.

[member="Kayleigh Tyven"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Knowing there was nothing he could do in trying to push through and be with her, Fixx brushed his hand through his dirty hair and wiped his face to try and peel away the feeling of failure clinging to his skin; but it was rooted far deeper now than just the surface – it made him sick.

Kayleigh was in the best hands now, literally her life was on the line and all because Fixx Kearney, agent of the Republic, had acted with his head like always without regard as to who or what got hurt. Only now it was someone genuinely cared for.

The blunt instrument had struck a killing blow. And the last thing he needed was a lecture, and one came just at the wrong time from Vorana, her red hair and black jumpsuit making her look one who could break bone in the blink of an eye and still look alluring and in charge. Except she wasn’t in charge, not of him.

He turned, over his shoulder, to see her – she was the one calling, bemused and perplexed by her attitude.

"Sorry?"

The sharpness was back in his voice.

"What happened? One of YOUR transports was piloted by a defector who tried to kill us both – probably HAS killed one of us, that’s what happened."

He didn’t need to act aggressive, he didn’t answer to her so he simply stood his ground as she laid false sentiment on the Admiral.

"Sort out your own problems before you come down here acting all high and mighty."

Fixx looked over at the medical team, a few glimpses of Kayleighs limp body could be seen on the stretcher, already dotted with needles and adrenalin drips. There was nowhere for him to go, so he strode with purpose towards the ship as another fighter came down from above and circled the perimeter.

[member="Kayleigh Tyven"] | [member="Felicity Vorana"]

 

[Mariya Pyne]

While the medical team proceeded to perform emergency life saving measures on the admiral, a few momentarily paused to look toward Fixx and Felicity as they argued over the finer details of their situation they were now faced with. "We need to move her, we don't have much time and we don't have the proper equipment to treat her here. The more time we waste the less time she has." In reality, they had very, very little time left. The adrenaline and blood being forced into her body would suffice for only a short period before the bleeding overcame the capability of her weakened heart, or gave out due to the forced overdrive of adrenaline.

Her dreams would be quiet now. Restful. The void of darkness had swallowed her subconscious as well. Time stood still. There was no past, no present, and no future. No light, no dark, no sound or colors. Someone had flipped the 'Off' switch in her mind, while her body fought fiercely against the God of Death. And quite a battle it would be, she just didn't know it. As the adrenaline poured into her bloodstream and coursed through her body her heart rate skyrocketed with her blood pressure, while simultaneously the EMTs force-fed her body a fresh supply of blood cells.

As they lifted Kayleigh into the transport to take back up to orbit the team looked back to Fixx. "Coming, sir?"

[member="Fixx Kearney"] | [member="Felicity Vorana"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

The med-team caught his attention as the thrusters began to warm up on the medical ship, Kayleigh on board with every second critical to saving her. Fixx looked at the terminus inside the dropship where Vorana was. He started backing off towards the medical ship.

"You want a report? You get to the frigate where they’re taking her, and when I’m ready I’ll talk – I’ve got more important problems right now than cleaning up mistakes made by YOUR department."

He shot her a look and then jogged over to the med-ship. Pulling himself up and on to the back of the holding bay, the door slid shut behind him and immediately the ship started to rise. Fixx looked out to see the fighter escort them, with the units on the ground securing the now burnt out crash site.

Fixx would fill Vorana in on the latest when she gave them time. He wasn’t answering to a unit that had now put the life of one of their best, and innocent, operatives on the line. With the sound of the engines behind them kicking into full gear, the muted chatter between the medics was tuned out by Fixx as he looked at the armed guard staring out of the window – already his senses were on alert to protect Kayleigh from another attempt on her life.

It really seemed nothing was as clear as imagined.


[member="Kayleigh Tyven"] | [member="Felicity Vorana"]

 

[Felicity Vorana]

There was no way to talk with the angry agent right now. She knew it when she talked first, and she went with it anyway, hoping that the things she thought wouldn't be true. But they were. She opened her holocommunicator and talked to the man outside " Look, I would know if that was Republic's fault." She stopped just to open her datapad to see the data that she thought was interesting to say the least. The blue color filled the small room in the Agency ship, revealing something that even shocked a cold blooded person like her. No, it wasn't wrong. In fact, they would be dealing with someone more dangerous than she thought. "Fixx" First names, well, that was a first. "There are some things that I can't say in front of the audience. I'll not get into the frigate, because there are so much information here that I can't leave unattended. But, come and talk with me later in the HQ. And that's not an order."

As the ship slowly started to depart from the surface, she left the Agent with the Admiral. They needed time, and she was giving them time. She just hoped that everything would go okay and they would save the Admiral, even though it looked a little difficult. But she brought them the best medical team in the Republic, being an agent had those advantages, whenever you want you would get the help you needed. "See you both in the HQ." She told, this time sending the message to the Admiral too, maybe a hopeful voice could make a difference.

[member="Fixx Kearney"] [member="Kayleigh Tyven"]

 

[Mariya Pyne]

The transport quickly lifted up into the atmosphere once Fixx stepped in, rising to meet the darkness of space and the orbit of the Attahox system. Awaiting them would be a ship with a med-bay much more capable and suited to handle the type of emergency at hand. The effects of the adrenaline and blood transfusion were beginning to lesson, as her heart was weakening, overworked due to the adrenaline and unable to maintain the blood flow carrying precious oxygen and glucose to the brain and primary organs. One of the technicians seeing to the girl observed her vital signs and immediately turned back to the technician that had been preparing her documentation to present to the med-bay team who would shortly be performing surgery on her to repair the internal bleeding.

"Jason! Code blue! She's slipping! CPR and Defib, NOW! Get me a dopamine drip and make the call to base, we need surgeons and doctors ready to go immediately! We're out of time!"

The man did as instructed without hesitation. This team was well experienced, and knew what they were doing. If anyone was going to save her, this was it. Carefully and quickly Jason passed the defibrillator to his superior, stepping back only momentarily to pick up the dopamine pack and begin prepping the bag for injection. CPR was immediately performed following the shock to her body to try and stabilize the ventricular fibrillation and the call was placed to the capital ship waiting to receive them that they were in dire need of support as soon as they docked. The doctors and surgeons on board would begin to prep for their expected arrival.

[member="Felicity Vorana"] | [member="Fixx Kearney"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Fixx rocked gently in his seat at the rear of the speeding transport. He linked his fingers and rested his brow on the tip of his fingers. This was a total nightmare - the result of an intelligence unit in tatters. Who was operating for who? What were the boundaries? Was the whole unit a joke?

It needed a shake-up. It needed to re-establish its place as a crucial and effective intelligence cell in the Republic that was taken seriously as a first line of covert ops into enemy territory, not some expendable pencil pushers who could be cast aside when they found answers the big wigs didn't want to hear. Kayleigh was a result of that, lying here with a broken body; manhandled by strangers like she was a doll with puncture wounds and needles a plenty. Fixx was the product of the system, and he had put her there.

Not noting where the ship was going, the light around them soon got brighter as they came quickly into a hangar. Fixx looked up, palms sweaty and heart racing as the door was pulled open and the teams moved faster and more effective than any special forces.

A group of five medics were around the stretcher racing through towards the med-bay. A hover droid flew above with technical data and a floodlight above the Admiral as the team conversed. Fixx moved out behind them as a shadow - no one cared who the battered agent was, because all eyes right now were on saving Admiral K Tyven.

As the team enetered a blastdoor, one turned back to Fixx and held out his palm.

"Sorry sir, but you know the drill."

About to speak, Fixx took a fleeting glance over the medics shoulder, but it was too late. Kayleigh was through into the emergency med-bay where all the life or death injuries were treated as soon as they came into the hangar. Fixx nodded and turned away.

He flexed his grubby fingers into his hands and looked down at his body. He was a mess, but that was nothing compared to what he would be if Kayleigh never came out of the med-bay alive.


[member="Kayleigh Tyven"] | [member="Felicity Vorana"]