Monkey Business

[Darth Metus]

A T Z E R R I​

Talos Port Medicomplex​

All was White.

The crash cart shuddered as it thundered through the facility, moving at a pace far faster than Human feet could muster. At each side and rear, a behemoth of fur and armor pushed as quickly as they could; much to the protest and surprise of the medical staff. "Ang on Commanda." said the one on the left. "We'll ave you pached in no 'ime." It was a small wonder that the crash cart's occupant had managed to remain out of it during this thrilling journey down the corridors. However, the ApeX Commander had taken one hell of a hit.

The mission was nothing out of the ordinary.

ApeX had been commissioned for security work, per the usual. The customer was concerned about the potential theft of their shipments before leaving port. As such, Commander Malok and his men personally saw to the precious cargo's departure. At first, all had been going well...which meant that not a damn thing happened. But that quickly, and explosively, changed. Whilst making a round, the Behemoth of Behemoths heard a light plink!. The noise drew his attention to the ground, where a crudely-made explosive laid.

He hit the dirt.

It went off.

All was White.

Malok squinted against the uniform light fixtures that glared down upon him. Flourescence, combined with his current state, only prompted an annoyed huff to escape his nostrils. "Are they dead?" The question caught the one on the left by surprise, and quickly prompted a toothy...yellow...grin. "Ew kno it!" Well, that was comforting to say the least. "Where are w-" began Malok as they hit a corner. They turn was hard, causing his wounds to s-c-r-e-a-m in protest.

"Sorry sir! Finding a medic...There! You! Help?"

The words of the ape on the right were addressed to one [member="Irajah Ven"]...who would be greeted to the sight of three apes skidding a pilfered cart to a halt.

"Commander took a blast, he's banged up real bad!"

"You've gotta help him!"

"Or we'll skin ya!"

Malok groaned.

 

[Kuzo]

"I just want to say thank you again for all of your help," Irajah said with a smile. If it didn't completely reach her eyes, well, no one really expected it to, all things considered.

"Oh, it was our pleasure, Doctor Ven. I just wish we could have done more."

So did she. Irajah had come here, following a particular researcher and his work. It had turned out to be a complete dead end- none of the actual evidence supporting the grandiose claims he had been making about his research. It wasn't until she'd come to inquire that his superiors had even grown aware of the puffed up claims. The whole trip had been a massive waste of her time, and they knew it.

Their concern of her connection with the First Order was, honestly, baffling. She suspected they were far more worried about disappointing them than in her personally. But it wasn't their fault. Just the fault of one, bragging researcher. She took some amusement in the fact that his tenure was being reviewed over it, just, not enough to really make her feel better about the whole thing.

Ah well.

Irajah was heading through the facility, back to her ship, when things took a turn for the surreal.

She pulled up short as the three apes did, blinking in surprise up at the towering figures.

"Um- I don't actually w- did you say skin me?"

She peered over at their apparent commander, her eyes widening slightly.

"Get him into the room right there," she said tersely, not really caring about the threat so much as about the state of the being on the cart.

"Well move!"

​[member="Malok"]

 

[Darth Metus]

"Don't be rude you kuk!"

"Kark off ya limp banana!

Between the unnecessary glare of the lights...the cacophany of two bickering apes...and the rampant pain, Malok's patience was below zero. If he had the strength, he would have reached up and throttled both of the fools where they stood. However, there was darkness tugging at the edges of his eyes; and a fresh weariness began to sink into his bones. He knew this feeling - any man who had taken a blow to the face knew it quite well. Malok was on the cusp of passing the feth out.

"If I die because the two of you are being stupid..." he groaned.

That was enough to have the two stooges snap to attention and finally listen to [member="Irajah Ven"]'s words. Together, they wheeled the ApeX Commander into the room, occupying the space where a bed typically was.

"What do we do now, miss?"

[member="Irajah Ven"]

 

[Kuzo]

"You," Irajah said, addressing [member="Malok"] on the cart, "Are not going to die. Because of them or otherwise."

She looked up at the other two. While she was dwarfed by them, she was used to it. She was also used to being listened to, particularly in a hospital setting.

"You three, on the other hand, are going to get out of my way or I won't be able to make the same promise." She grinned, but it wasn't a particularly pleasant one, more teeth than smile. "Shoo! He's in good hands."

She promptly turned her back on them, leaning over the injured ape. She didn't wait to see if they listened, simply assumed that the would.

"Talk to me," she said, her voice softer now as her eyes scanned over him. She didn't need instruments to show the obvious damage, but internally?

She hooked the medical cart with her foot, drawing it and the portable scanner over. A few quick taps and the machine recalibrated for Ma'alkerrite with a nauseatingly cheerful tweet.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

Keep him talking, if she could. Figure out how extensive his injuries were. The first two things on what might be an alarmingly long list.

 

[Nicair Claden]

"You really need to stop doing this to yourself." The Mandalorian was laying on the ground of the hospital with one arm being extended by what appeared to be a doctor. The man had his helmet off only for the sake of the horns getting in the way of the ground.

"I couldn't set it myself and I was in the area." Nicair's shoulder was offset, this much could be seen even with his armor on. It was at this moment that three large creatures roared past with a similar creature on a crash cart. They were speaking to each other in loud voices. They were all armored, blood trailed behind them. Military? Security? He had never seen such beings before, he was fairly sure he'd remember the behemoths. This was all seen from a sideways perspective of course, added to the intrigue.

"Tell me. Do you even feel this anymore? How many times have I had to put your shoulder back in or stitch you back together?" The doctor asked as he fully extended Nicair's arm and rotated it, preparing it for reinsertion.

"The only reason I pay you is because you use still use archaic stitches and I couldn't do it myself." He let out a breath as a jolt of pain emanated from his dislocated shoulder.

"Yeah I remember when you tried to do it yourself. You boiled your own hair and put a hardening resin on it for a needle. Should be a surgeon with those hands, had to be steadier than mine. Breath in." He did so. It was swiftly released as the doctor pulled back on his arm and deftly guided it back into its socket. Needless to say his shoulder cracked. His arm fell to his side as the doctor released and stood erect. The Mandalorian got to his feet and rotated his arm, sore, by now he could probably dislocate it on his own if he really tried.

"Who was the big guy that got wheeled by? Saw wounds like that when the Clans and Crusaders still asked me along, explosives, probably fragmentation."

"Deduced all that from a few seconds, huh? You should work here, get a real job. Don't know who it was. Why don't you ask him yourself?"

"Point." The Mandalorian picked up his helmet and put it on as he started following the blood trail. This was met with pointless expressions like "Come back!" and "You can't just do that!" All were ignored.

[member="Irajah Ven"] | [member="Malok"]

 

[Darth Metus]

The more ignorant of the three apes, Lieutenant Striok, had half a mind to make good on his threat to skin the Doctor in response to her command. However, the wounded Ma'alkerrite smothered all angst with but a solid grunt of authority. "Righ then. We'll ah...We'll be outside." The warriors did not tarry any longer within the room, lest they incur wrath divine. Instead, they took up protective positions outside the door. As for Malok, he took notice of the woman's change in tone. It was soft. It was...enough to allow the Behemoth to breath a painful sigh of relief.

"I was on the job, security at the point." he began, only to be temporarily distracted by the delightful chirp of the machine. "Customer had concerns over an attack and he was right - got an explosive lobbed right between my legs." Malok then attempted to look down upon the damage - a vain attempt to sit up despite the grievous pain. However, so much as leaning forward created enough pain that he simply flopped back down upon the cart.

As for the unexpected visitor, [member="Nicair Claden"], he would eventually come upon the three Behemoths. They would not be in much mood to conversate and even lesser mood to let him pass.

[member="Irajah Ven"] | [member="Nicair Claden"]

 

[Kuzo]

"No no, don't try to move," she murmured, her tone calm and soothing. "Lie still."

Explosion between his legs. Ho boy. She hit a button, the whirring of the scanner starting even as her other hand fished through a drawer. She discarded the first injector after checking the dose. That wouldn't help at all. The second one however, she pulled over.

"I'm going to give you a mild anesthetic," she said. "Until I get a full picture of the level of damage, I don't want you to be too out of it. But it'll ease the pain until we know what has to be done."

She adjusted the injector slightly, then leaned over and hit the comm button. Did they have his species blood on hand in this backwater? She doubted it. Fortunately, there were other options.

"I'm going to need three units of plasma to room.... what room even is this? You know what, it doesn't matter. Three units to the room with the giant apes outside of it."

"What? Who is this?"

"This is Doctor Ven. Three units to the three apes. NOW."

She turned back to [member="Malok"], injector in hand.

"Alright, let's get you comfortable. What's your name?"

 

[Darth Metus]

Oh, this woman was a Saint.

To the wounded Behemoth, anything to take the edge off his pain was worthy of praise. And this woman was only inches away from providing it. As such, Malok gave [member="Irajah Ven"] a nod of gratitude - the best thanks he could muster in his current state - before relaxing upon the cart. There wasn't any point in trying to sit up, after all, the past thirty seconds had taught that much. "I truly appreciate your help, Doctor." he said, eyeing the injector within her grasp. And then she asked his name.

"Malok." was the simple response. He did not attach any titles, current or renounced. He did not inflate his presence by any means. Right here, right now, he was just a bloody ape in need of stitching up. "What's your name, ma'am?"

 

[Kuzo]

In a moment, physical relief would go flooding through @Malok. Cold at first, then a comfortable numbness. It was just a local, so it wouldn't impair his other abilities, but Irajah didn't underestimate the benefit of having pain seriously reduced.

"Most people call me Doc Ven," she said with a quick, slightly crooked smile. "But, technically I don't work here, so you can call me Irajah if you'd like. Now. Malok. let's see just what kind of a battle field story you'll get to tell to everyone back home, yes?"

It could have been worse, she thought to herself as the scanned did it's initial pass. It could have been better, but, it definitely could have been worse.

"All things considered, you're very lucky," she said a moment later. "The good news is, you're going to survive, as long as your men don't skin me," she continued with a slight smirk. But her expression turned serious again. "Bad news is that I'm going to need to get you into surgery immediately."

She paused, indicating shadows on the scan. "You have internal bleeding that can't wait. It's a good thing your friends brought you straight here. We can thank them on the way."

 

[Darth Metus]

The Behemoth blinked.

The miracle of modern medicine saw fit to dramatically reduce his pain, near instantaneously. This was very much appreciated by Malok, as evidenced by the release of his tension upon the cart. His breathing was just a touch easier. Just a tad slower. Then came the good news! He'd live! Fantastic. Relief continued to wash over Malok like waves. Then the bad news...surgery. Internal bleeding.

For the average soul, surgery to remedy internal bleeding was a godsent. They would live. They would walk away from their injury in one piece. Yet for Malok, surgery meant down time. This wasn't something that would pass with a simple bath in bacta for an evening or two.

"Irajah." he breathed, his tone even. "Thank you. I'll see to it that no one skins you."

He smirked ever so slightly.

"I'm ready for surgery. Just one question...how long will I be out of commission?"

[member="Irajah Ven"]

 

[Kuzo]

"Oh. Well. I appreciate that. I would be hard to do my job without skin. Very unsanitary."

The trace of humor faded though a moment later.

"That depends on you. If you try to force yourself up and about before you're ready, you'll set back your recovery immeasurably. If you rest and allow your body to heal? A week. Less with bacta therapy. You won't be down and out long, but you will need to rest."

She eyed him. She didn't need to know him well to see that he was the kind of person who chafed under forced inactivity.

Hitting a series of keys on the scanner, she sent the imaging to the OR. Pausing, she looked at him for a moment and then smiled.

"I'll need some help getting you to surgery," she said with a small smile before turning around.

"Alright you three, you can come back in now."

Rather than call for hospital staff, she wanted his friends (family? She had no idea) to help bring him down. Having that kind of connection when getting ready to go into surgery was important- both for the patient, but also for their support. In truth, in some ways, it would be harder on them than it was on him. At least the wait.

[member="Malok"]

 

[Darth Metus]

"A week huh?"

That wasn't bad at all. In the back of his mind, Malok had feared that the time would have been in the weeks or months department. But approximately seven days? Ha. That was a vacation.

"You won't have any issues out of me Irajah," he began. "A week off...yeah...no issues at all." With that said, he settled all the more upon the cart, just as his trio of subordinates entered the room.

"What's the damage, doctor?"
"He gon live?"

Malok raised a hand to silence them.

"I'll be fine, just off my feet for a week." The Ma'alkerrite trio breathed a sigh of relief as they took their places around the cart. [member="Irajah Ven"] would have to give directions of course, and they wouldn't be running this time, but at least she wouldn't be heaving a several hundred pound ape. As they began the first push, the Behemoth reached out.

His fingertips gingerly brushed the good doctor's hand in passing.

"Thank you."