Private Saving Graces - One good turn

[The Monster]

A GS-77 gunship dropped out of hyperspace over the planet of Naboo. The ship in question was battered, beaten and was venting atmosphere from multiple hill breaches across the ship. The ship's droid brain was barely operational, managing to jump the ship and it's mostly dead passengers to the nearest settled system. On board fires raged as the Droid brain attempted to put them out, but cascading system failures prevented it from completing the operation. On board, the scene of a fight, no, a war was strewn about the ship. Bodies were everywhere, men had holes in their chest, limbs we're missing, and the top half of a fighter's torso was lodged one of the many hull breaches across the ship. Meanwhile in the hold, multiple people were strewn about across the room, all having been killed in various ways, to include one of the men having a broken sword shoved through his head at an odd angle. But at the far end, a single figure lay there on the floor, blood seeping through many stab wounds, blaster burns, and gunshot wounds. His armor was in tatters, the durasteel plating cored and absolutely destroyed, his hand guards and shin plates shredded, his helmet visor cracked from the repeated blows to the head. To the average observer, he should be dead, but the shallow rise and fall of his chest spoke a different story, as the somehow the man clung to life, if only just. Once within range the Droid brain sent an automatic hail to any nearby settlements that it was declaring an emergency, multiple dead and a single casualty in critical condition and that it needed to land immediately. And then one of the engines failed, belching fire out the exhaust as a fuel line inside the engine exploded due to all the damage, leaving two remaining to limp the ship to whatever destination might accept them. The Droid brain looked on as multiple well established medical facilities denied it landing rights, as it's transponders came back as unidentified. Quickly processing the situation, the Droid brain vented the remaining atmosphere where the fires were on board, sparing the hold, which solved one problem but created another. It wouldn't have long to stay aloft so it instead began making a beeline for what appeared to be a large private estate with a landing pad sizable enough for it to touch down and at least not have the ship fall out of the sky. It would continue broadcasting it's distress call over all channels, the automated systems and synthesized voice taking an almost pleading tone as it repeated the phrase over and over.

"Mayday mayday mayday. To any medical facilities in the area, there is a tier 1 casualty in critical condition aboard. We need assistance and cannot stay airborne, multiple systems failing. Engaging in controlled descent to make planet fall, requesting immediate medical assistance, this is an emergency!"

Meanwhile in the cargo hold Sergei could feel the ship rumbling through space as the Droid's brain desperately tried to find a place to land, but that wasn't what he was focused on. He instead was replaying the fight over, and over in his head, keeping himself thinking, mentally speaking so that he didn't pass out from blood loss. And he'd lost a lot of blood already. His arms and legs already had tourniquets on them, having been hit before he boarded the ship and only having enough time to forcibly stop the bleeding to keep fighting. He weakly coughed as he could feel his blood begin to pool in his lungs as he kept repeating to himself over and over.

Stay calm, stay focused. Stay focused, stay alive.

Sergei remembered his training, and how his instructors had taught him to ignore pain and force himself to stay awake. How they had drilled it into his head, and with his already iron will, it was relatively easy for him to pass any tests that focused on this portion. And the body could be made to do extraordinary things on sheer will alone. He coughed again, spitting bloody mucus out of his mouth onto his visor as he was shaken by the ship entering atmosphere. They were about to make planet fall. He immediately came back to the present, and instinctually reached for a shotgun that he'd acquired from one of the pirates. And he silently thanked that the tourniquets had cut off enough circulation to his arms that he just simply couldn't feel anything anymore. He fumbled with the weapon for a second and managed to bring it across his lap as he checked the chamber. It was loaded. So he'd at least get one before dying. Not a bad showing for a former special forces soldier, killing almost thirty men alone in a most brutally efficient display of combat prowess, rage, and sheer unwillingness to die. And if he would die, he'd die with his dignity. He wouldn't beg, he wouldn't break. He'd go down like he should have years ago on that fateful day. He just hoped that he hit the right one since he'd started seeing double a while ago. Then again, it was a shotgun.
Gianna Aegis

 

[Gianna Aegis]

Location: Naboo [Sprite Gate Shore]
Tag: The Monster

“Guide them in here – The landing pad can take a hit if they can’t land properly. We’re the closest facility in the area.”

Also, the nearest facility that didn’t have some sort of shyness when it came to the unknown. Every time Gianna accepted someone to Spritegate Shore she ran the risk of making her home a target. Still. She could never turn anyone away that needed help. She signaled the few individuals that either worked or lived on the property to meet her at the LZ with supplies and droids so they could begin assessing the damage. It was a bright, sunny day, without a cloud in the sky. Naboo was often considered an idyllic world but it almost felt wrong for things to appear so cheerful when something was so very, very wrong.

The Knight picked up a crash medi-kit on her way out the door and proceeded to make a mental plan to deal with what could possibly be on board. A patient with a critical status? That could be anything. The last time she’d had an incoming call like this it had been a young man with severe injuries from the first battle on Atrisia. The second…The second was like nothing she had ever seen. The dead walked. That in itself was horrifying. “Make sure we have the surgical unit prepped. As soon as we identify the blood type, we need transfusions at the ready.”

The sound of a starship screaming across the sky caught her attention. Jade eyes followed the smoking trail it left and she bit her lip. Would it even be able to land at all? Or would it just crash and turn into a burning bonfire? The young woman mentally called to the other Jedi present and communicated the need for assistance. Rather than let the pilot or droid brain try and figure out a controlled descent the people below turned to the Light. Multiple minds wrapped around the ship like a thousand supporting hands. They slowed the fall. Brought the ship in.

Landing gear that sparked and sputtered extended to take in the shock. The ship looked, for the most part, like it had been eaten up by a Force Storm and spit out the other side.

The ramp came down.

No one came out. The flame-haired woman signaled that her team move forward and the medics descended on the ship like a swarm of locusts. They breached carefully, calling out, looking for the patient that needed assistance. There a lot of bodes. It looked like a bloody massacre had taken place. The survivor wasn’t upfront in the cockpit. In fact, no one was there, just a droid brain. “Is anyone here?”, Gianna called out, feeling through the Force, for a soft, steady sign of life. She could feel someone here. Someone struggling.

Eventually, she made her way to the cargo hold and an invisible Force guided her forward. The hem of pale green robes whispered across the floor while she dropped down at the side of a soldier. Her palms were immediately sticky. Knees, feeling damp. She didn’t need to look to know what it was. It smelled of copper. “My name is Gianna. If you can hear me—I’m here to help.”

Distantly—She could hear one of the Jedi knights getting sick. The scent of death rolled through the air in a sickeningly sweet perversion of a floral perfume. The longer they were exposed to it the more they knew what lay beneath. Death, so much death. “We need to get you out of here.”

This thing was a tin can death trap. Get him out, get engineers to stabilize it before something went wrong and the ship caught fire. Or worse.

 

[The Monster]

Sergei listened intently as the engines were whining, or from his position nearly screaming from the stress they were under as multiple systems began to fail onboard the vessel. He couldn't think straight let alone hear himself cough and sputter as the ship shook while attempting to get itself to the landing pad.

And then without warning it settled down. The ship stopped shaking, and for the first time in the last 6 hours of non-stop fighting he'd just endured, Sergei felt a calmness overtake him. Like the air itself was trying to calm him down and get him to relax.

He struggled as it was eating away at his resolve to try and stay awake.

The nearby landing pad was a welcome sight to the panicked droid brain as it deployed the landing gear when it got close and if the ship could breathe a sigh of relief it would as it lowered the ramp and began powering down unnecessary systems before more things caught fire and failed.

Sergei meanwhile realized that something wasn't right with his original assumption. He was remembering what some of the soldiers he'd fought with in Republic Space told him about, what were they called? He couldn't remember. His mind was a haze as he could feel himself getting close to the end of his strength. He heard the ramp fall for the vessel and instead of hearing someone storm up the ramps and angry yelling, he heard, concern?

Sergei had to let them know where he was. That he was still alive. Weak hands went to his helmet as tried to undo the seal, fumbled and tried again. He tried to yell but his voice was hoarse, and instead started coughing up more blood for his trouble. And what started as weak turned into a violent bout of painful coughing as Sergei tried to make any noise that would let them know he was here. And then he saw her enter the room.

Gods above she was a beautiful sight, either magnified by his blood loss and the fact that Sergei could stop struggling. He gestured to his helmet where the release was and weakly tried to croak out.

"Helmet...... Release.... Lungs..... Two..... Hours....." He tried telling her all the information he could to help.

The info that the fastest way to get his suit off, was to take off the helmet, and then remove the body glove as the plates were being held on by prayers and luck at this point. She'd probably cut most of it off anyways. That he also had a punctured lung, and as best he could remember, one of his tourniquets had been on for around 2 hours. Before he could say anything else he started hacking up blood again, spraying it across his face shield as he couldn't mentally suppress the pain anymore.

And then Sergei's world went black as he finally, mercifully passed out from the pain. His heartbeat was slowing, but his own interventions had ensured that he had more than a fair chance of pulling through. The tourniquets, injections of adrenaline and pain killers, all had gotten him this far to make it through the fight and to this mysterious lady's doorstep. Now all Sergei would have to do was let the nice looking lady do what she needed to, to save him.

Gianna Aegis