I Need Some Help

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

Dosuun
[member="Irajah Ven"]

He had no idea what he was doing here.

As far as he was concerned the First Order was a bunch of egotistical children who claimed to be more than they actually were. He didn't particularly care for their politics, nor did he like their practices or uniforms. To him they were just a passing fad, like the Sith Empire and the Imperial Remnant and whatever else had come before. He was sure that within a few years they would be gone.

Much like every galactic government.

That was his opinion on it, and because of that opinion he didn't care to interfere.

In truth, Val was perfectly happy to let everyone do whatever the hell they wanted as long as no one he loved got hurt because of it. So far the First Order had left his homeworld alone, and thus he didn't particularly care what they did. Some, like Taheera, might have thought of that as selfish, but...well someone like him was allowed to be selfish every now and again, that was why he was here after all.

A few weeks back a Pirate had embedded a knife within his back. He'd attempted to dig the blade out more than a few times on his own...but it hadn't worked out so far. He could still feel it every time he moved. The sensation was not a pleasant one, and thus he had come here to Dosuun. Supposedly there was a surgeon here that could help him.

"Number 87!"

Val frowned and looked down at his paper slip.

He was number 89.

The Viking like giant let out a small sigh, slumping in his seat and wincing as one the blade pressed into his skin.

 

[Kuzo]

It had been an incredibly long morning.

The emergency services wing had been going nonstop since she'd gotten here. Burns, falls, broken bones, cardiac arrest, one care of an accidental overdose - all standard ER fare, but in an endless hell of repetitive calamity.

Looking more haggard than usual, Irajah looked up from the room console. One of the administrators had just stuck his head in and she didn't stop entering data from the last patient while she looked at him expectantly.

"We're bumping the next patient straight to the OR- someone screwed the bantha and triaged him wrong."

"Maw karking-" Irajah swore as she moved to stand up, still tap tap tapping the last few key strokes in. Holding up a hand, he shook his head.

"Not you. We're sending Staler- she's supposed to be in the OR today anyway. Calin and O'ben are due in soon. With the three of you, we'll be able to clear the backlog a lot faster. I've also called in a few other folks, but I don't know when they'll get here."

He smiled with what she supposed was supposed to be encouragement as she plopped back on to her stool.

"Sending 89 in to you now, Doctor Ven."

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Irajah Ven"]

"Oh good." He said quietly, standing up from the rickety plastic chair and nearly knocking it over as he did so.

The nurse gave him an odd look, but he tried to give her his most charming smile.

Val hesitated for a second more, and then followed the nurse to the right place. He'd never actually been to a hospital before. Usually when he visited healers or doctors it was in a tent or some kind of a clinic in a small village, this...this was new to him. Civilization was a foreign thing, and so far it had been rather unpleasant. There was so much noise here...the speeders, starships, the people, it was all so very loudly, it made him flinch every few seconds.

It was necessary though.

No outer rim doctor, at least not outside of the First Order or Galactic Alliance, had the experience necessary to remove this blade. The Vibro-blade was buried deep beneath his skin, between bone and muscle next to a nerve that if severed...could apparently leave him paralyzed. He had tried not to think about it on his way over here, but...well every step caused him a spike of pain throughout his back, not something he could really ignore.

The nurse opened the door in front of him.

"Wait here."

"Sure." He answered her with another polite smile. "Do I undre-"

The door was slammed before he could finish.

 

[Kuzo]

"I do NOT have time for this," Irajah muttered darkly as the door slid closed behind her and she hurried out of the room she'd been in. It seemed like everything that could go wrong today, would. Not enough ER docs, freezing computer systems, and the nurse bringing the next patient to the wrong room. Moving the patient made less sense than moving the doctor of course, but that didn't mean that it was any less annoying.

She would never admit it aloud, of course- but this level of busy suited her. Oh, not physically. Physically she was on the verge of exhaustion. The dark bruises on her arms, neck and torso were deep, angry- covering more of her skin than they normally did. The circles beneath her eyes were almost as dark as bruises themselves, but at least those were easy to explain. Right now, everyone working ER shifts had them until they fixed the staffing problems.

But this level of activity, of sheer physical exhaustion meant that she had no mental energy left for anything beyond the moment. The task at hand. She could barely contemplate what she and [member="Boo Chiyo"] were going to do for dinner that night, let alone anything more sinister. It had been hours since the sound of that single word had echoed in her head.

Perhaps, that was why she kept volunteering for these shifts.

She paused, ever so briefly, just outside the door to the correct (sort of) exam room. Breathing in deeply for a moment, she plastered the 'professional' smile on her face before stepping up and letting the door slide open.

"Good morning," she said bright, but subdued, as she walked in to the room. "I am so sorry for the wait. My name is Doctor Ven. What seems to be the problem today?"

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Irajah Ven"]

"Well Doc, you're not going to believe this." Val had no idea what sorts of cases were usually found on a planet like this. He imagined that the crime rate was rather low within the First Order, if only because punishments tended to be rather harsh.

Without hesitation Val pulled off his shirt.

The Nurse hadn't said anything about undressing, but at a certain point the reality was that the doctor would have to inspect the scar on his back and likely do some sort of scan, waiting around to be told to undress would just end up annoying him. He tossed the garment onto the table, his muscles flexing slightly as he pointed towards his back in the general direction of where he knew the knife had embedded itself, a stabbing pain pushing into his muscles as he did so.

"There's a blade." He winced slightly as he pointed. "Stuck somewhere around...here."

Ow. "I need you to get it out."

Val figured that it was best to be direct.

This doctor was likely somewhat busy, and preferably he would like to have the blade out of his shoulder as soon as humanly possible, especially since every few seconds he could feel more scar tissue forming around it as his body tried to protect itself from the foreign object that was no embedded inside of him.

 

[Kuzo]

She blinked, but otherwise didn't respond, just waiting patiently at first while he started to explain, and then just pulled off his shirt. Well, at least he was a straight to the point sort. No beating around the bush, no 'so this is embaressing but-' just-

"Karking maw."

Irajah stepped forward, tilting her head slightly as she looked at the angry, fresh scar on his back.

This man. Had been stabbed. Months ago by the look of it. Maybe longer, if the wound had a tendency of reopening- which with part of the blade still in it was very likely. And he was only just now.

Seeking.

Medical attention.

The cute ones were all crazy. Absolutely bug-karking nutters.

"May I?" She waited to touch his back until she received a bit of a nod. Very gently, she reached up, small hands delicately probing the site. She could tell it hurt, but probably not much more than every single time he moved.

"We're going to get out the portable scanner and see what we can see," she said firmly. "If you can, I'm going to need you to lie on your side or stomach, whichever is more comfortable. If not, we'll do this standing, but it will take a minute."

She moved across the room, drawing a small, wheeled cart back toward him a moment later.

"Can I ask, what happened, precisely? And how long it's been like this?"

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Irajah Ven"]

"Three weeks." Val said plainly as she slowly maneuvered himself on the table.

He was tall enough that his feet hung off the edge of it, but that was a problem he would have to learn to deal with. His toes wiggled inside of his boots, an involuntary motion that was spurned by the touch of cold metal against his chest. He tried to keep his arms still, not quite sure what he was supposed to do with his hands now that he was just laying there.

"I was in a bar." He explained quite plainly. "Some men accosted me, one stabbed me. I'm quite tall, as you've probably been able to tell and he stabbed...downward, when I knocked him back the blade...snapped, and well here we are."

Should he tell her?

He supposed he should.

"Before you start...I'm not exactly human." Val had never been this honest this quickly with someone, but if she was going to operate on him it was only fair.

"Not sure what I am." He admitted. "But I heal faster than normal. While this may have only been three weeks, I think its about a years worth of healing for a regular human...the blade...yeah."

Val had no medical training or anything of the sort, but he knew that would complicate things.

 

[Kuzo]

Three weeks. Not quite human. Fast healing.

"Well, at least that clears that up," she said, a touch drier than she intended to. Mystery solved.

Sort of.

Actually no, not really at all.

Though at least it did cover a series of questions that would have come spilling out of her if he hadn't clarified. So, it was something at least.

Hovering over his back, she passed the scanner slowly over the area. Her gaze was on the read outs however, and her frown deepened as the data came scrolling across it.

"It's incredibly close to your spinal cord," she murmured, glancing down at him. "You were lucky. Another centimeter over and you wouldn't have made it this far, improved healing or not."

She was saying that a lot lately it seemed. Also what came next.

"Might I recommend a slightly..... safer hobby? You know. Over getting in to bar fights with pirates."

Sliding the scanner back again, she settled her hip against the counter.

"It will involve surgery to remove- but I suspect you knew that. But because I can't sell it as life threatening, you're going to have to wait for an OR to open up. You have two choices- I can admit you, and schedule the surgery for tomorrow, or you can head back to the waiting room and hope no one dying comes in before the next room opens up. The way today's been going though, there's a good chance it will still be a long wait. At least if I admit you, you'll get some place relatively quiet and comfortable to rest."

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Irajah Ven"]

"I don't do well in confined places." Val said honestly.

He came from a world where cities were almost completely unheard of. Hospitals were...well they were a thing of mystery. This room in it of itself was fantastically small, making him feel like the walls were closing in on him. Perhaps that was an affect of his height, or perhaps the hospital was simply too new for him. Either way Val was feeling more than a bit claustrophobic, and the idea of staying in such a place made him want to walk out the front door and never come back.

That wasn't even to mention that he had absolutely no money, so the longer he stayed here the more credits...or whatever they used for payment here he would have to come up with.

"Is there another place I can stay?" She would likely insist on him staying in the hospital with the blade so close to his spine, but he had spent the last three weeks with it there and he doubted another night or two would really change all that. "Hotel? Hostel? The Streets?"

It appeared he would stop for a moment then he continued. "Your place?"

Hitting on your doctor probably wasn't the best idea, but Val needed a bit of humor right about now.

 

[Kuzo]

Irajah blinked.

Then smirked slightly.

"To be fair, the private rooms in the hospital are bigger than any of the rooms in my apartment. And they offer room service here. Won't get that at my place."

She paused tapping information in to the data pad and studied him for a moment.

"I can't make you stay," she said finally. "And yes, there are hotels in the area. But to be fair, they'll also have pretty small rooms. And no, I don't recommend vagrancy- especially for a non-citizen." She looked at him evenly. It didn't take a brain surgeon to figure that he didn't belong here.

"How about this- I show you the private room and then you can decide what you want to do. Sound fair?"

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Irajah Ven"]

He frowned for a moment.

”Perhaps you misunderstand.” This was where they would run into problems, he already knew that much. From what he guessed, hospitals liked money. It could provide care and pay nurses and...well pretty much do everything that hospitals needed to do, unfortunately Val had no money.

”I don’t have a lot of money.” Better than saying no money. ’I likely can’t afford to stay in a private room.”

Or any room at all for that matter.

It probably would have been a lot better for him in the long-term, but at a certain point...There was nothing he could do about it. Val would just have to bite the bullet and try to live on the streets for a night until they could get him the operation.

Then...well then he would have to find a way to pay off his debt.

 

[Kuzo]

Irajah's frown followed his, though hers was more thoughtful.

"If you were a citizen of the First Order, your medical expenses would be based on your income," she said slowly. "But unfortunately there's not a lot I can do for people coming for care who are not. For aid, I mean. The civilian hospitals are open for treatment, but you are correct, that would get expensive."

It was impossible to be sentimental about one's patients- most of them anyway. It would be too much, too hard, to do the job and feel a level of personal responsibility above and beyond a certain point. Irajah was a good doctor- she cared, and wanted to be sure that all of her patients received the best care possible. But there were limits to what she could reasonably offer. And inviting strangers, even attractive ones, to stay at her house was not something she was particularly inclined to do.

"I may be able to finagle scheduling the OR, even without admitting you. You can stay in the waiting room, and if a slot is open before that one, we can get you in faster."

She tapped a few keys on the data pad. "The first slot that I can guarantee is very early tomorrow morning. But it could be sooner. I'm going to get your name on that list, just in case."

​Looking up at him, she offered what she hoped was an encouraging smile.

"I do have a private office, but I admit the room isn't much larger than this one is. But it has a window and a couch?"

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Irajah Ven"]

"Couch is fine." Val said with a slight smile.

It was true enough.

He had spent the last five decades or so sleeping in some very uncomfortable places. Cave's, beaches, the floors of taverns. A couch next to all that would seem like heaven. Then again for all he knew it was the lumpiest couch in the galaxy, so perhaps he would have to reserve judgement until after he actually slept a night on the thing. Not to mention that his feet would likely hang off the end, but...well that nearly always the case with him anyway.

"I will pay for the operation." He assured her. "It might take me some time."

He wasn't rich by any means, but there were some things at home he could sell...some things that he could do to earn money. "But I will pay."

There was an edge to his tone, an assurance that he would in fact pay every cent. It was clear that no matter what Val was, honorable was a term that applied to him as well. He shifted slightly so that he could get a better look at the doctor, blue and orange eyes settling on the woman.

 

[Kuzo]

Irajah looked up from the data pad at the tone in his voice. Her eyes met his and she nodded slightly. She believed him, his sincerity.

Because of the necessity to get his information into the system, she had to look back down at what she was doing, missing the appraising look he was giving her as she spoke.

"To be honest, my primary concern is your health and recovery, not the credits," she said, hazel eyes casting over the inputs. After all, she got paid whether the hospital did or not. Better that they got paid, since it kept the doors open, but the reality was that sometimes people didn't pay. She didn't think that was the case here, but it happened. Pushing dark curls out of her face with one hand absently, she keyed in the final details.

"Alright, all set, though I'm going to gloss over the fact that you'll be waiting in my office," she commented, looking back up at him with a smile. Pushing off of the edge of the counter with her hip, she headed to the door.

"After you're dressed, I'll be waiting right outside and we'll head up."

​[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Irajah Ven"]

Val pulled on his clothes without much hesitation. They weren't fancy or anything, and he'd lost his armor some time ago. He pulled on the shirt first, then tugged on his pants. Boots came last of course, and eventually he managed to tie them even with the injury in his back. A grimace crossed his faced as he sat up, the pain of the blade stabbing a bit more. He shifted, and then stood up, trying to hide the odd way he had to hunch so the knife didn't go stabbing any deeper.

He opened the door. "Alright."

There was still a measure of discomfort around him that was more than obvious. The blade in his back was bothering him enough that the pain showed across his face. Perhaps he should not have waited so long to head to a proper doctor...but...well things weren't always simple.

"How do you like living here?" Val asked as they began to wander down the hall.

He had heard rumors of the First Order, had even seen some of their soldiers, but he'd never had a first hand account from anyone that actually lived there. Perhaps they had gotten a bad reputation. HIs opinion on them had already been mostly formed...but maybe she would change his mind.

One never knew.

 

[Kuzo]

Irajah had been waiting for him with a repulsor-lift chair.

​"Hospital policy," she said with a smile and a shrug. Her tone and demeanor were friendly, but it was clear from the stubbornness just beneath it that they weren't going anywhere until he sat his tall self down. Once he did, she settled in behind him, pushing the chair effortlessly (the chair, after all, did most of the work).

"It's nice," she responded. "Everything is clean and well organized. The schools are top notch. This facility is amazing- they really take care of their citizens, which is not an assurance everywhere else in the galaxy."

Honestly, it was the safest she'd felt since.... she deliberately shifted her thoughts away from that, focusing on the back of [member="Valkyrien Aurelios"] 's head instead.

"Where are you from? What's it like?"

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Irajah Ven"]

"I'm from the outer rim." Val said, though that seemed like a bit of a cop out.

"A planet no ones ever heard of." It was true. "Only about five thousand people live there."

To say that Val came from a more 'rural' world was an understatement. Vilith didn't even have a starport, and most of the time people got by as simple farmers or other jobs that people on a world like this couldn't even imagine. Val had always liked it though. There was beauty in the simplicity of it all, and in truth he couldn't help but smile a bit every time he talked about it. Even now, with the knife dug into his flesh he couldn't help but hold that small smirk.

"Farmers mostly, a few blacksmiths." He shrugged. wincing as he did so.

"It's simple." That was an understatement. "Not as busy as it is here."

Plus there were no undertones of oppressive soldiers and military expansion hanging around everywhere. Something he'd noticed not only about the First Order, but other galactic Governments whose worlds he had visited.

 

[Kuzo]

Irajah nodded, familiar with the picture he painted.

"My own homeworld was more rustic too- at least than here. Not like yours. Probably somewhere between here and there," she commented, rambling a little absently. It was just a natural turn of conversation. She rarely spoke about her own home these days.

They moved through the medical center, Irajah occasionally offering a nod or a wave to someone. White surfaces gleamed- large glass panels let in bright light. The facility was fairly new, well built and laid out. Everything was well marked and lit, clean- much like the rest of Avalonia.

Carefully, she steered the conversation back. Not because she wanted to pry, but because it was better than talking about herself.

"Simple's nice. What do you do? Somehow I have a hard time seeing you as a farmer," she said with a small smile.

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Irajah Ven"]

"I'm a farmer." Val said with a smile.

It was true too, in a way.

He hadn't tilled a field or planted a crop in nearly half a century, but it had been the occupation he'd held the longest in his life. He and his now passed wife, Aerith, had owned a farm on Villith. A place he still visited every now and again. There they had made their life together, toiling away happily in their odd little ignorance as the days had passed on by and slowly turned into years. After her passing Val had abandoned the little farm, yet no line of work had ever stayed with him for so long.

"It's winter." Again technically the truth. "Not much to do back home right now."

Also true. "So I take to traveling."

Though in truth it was more like wandering than any sort of travel. Usually he had no idea where he was going to end up, and in truth he liked it that way. His life was simple, easy, and...well most of the time not dangerous.

 

[Kuzo]

Whelp.

That's what she got for assuming things. And didn't that just beat all? Really, she should know better than to judge someone's profession by their appearance. After all, how often did that happen to her?

"Well, let's get you traveling again, shall we?" she said with a smile as they paused in front of her office door. Swiping her key card, she bumped the door open with her hip, maneuvering the repulsor chair inside.

As promised, the office was only a little bigger than the exam room had been. But the entire upper half of the outside wall was transparisteel, letting sparkling sunlight flood the room. A desk, two chairs and a couch (also as promised) were the only furniture. Several knick-knacks were set carefully along the edge of the desk, and two paintings hung on the inner wall. A small holoprojector on a shelf cycled through a series of what looked like personal photographs, with a series of datacubes stacked neatly on either side.

Irajah eyed him, then eyed the couch dubiously. It was comfortable- she could lie down on it (and often did, such was the life of a doctor), but it would probably be a little short for the much taller man. A soft, warm lap blanket in reds and browns was folded neatly along the back.

"I'll have one of the nurses who won't rat me out bring you something to eat," she said, stepping back to give him room to stand. "I have to return to the ER, but as soon as my replacements get here I'll check in on you."

​[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]