Private The Black Marsh Files: Don't Fear the Reaper

[Katarine Ryiah]

Location: Coruscant
Objective: Investigate Local Murders
Tags: Gatz Derrevar

Seasons don't fear the reaper
Nor do the wind, the sun or the rain

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Murder on Coruscant! As life continues busy and chaotic on the city planet local authorities are baffled by a recent string of murders. In three days the police have discovered three bodies, all disposed off indelicately in the meat packing district. Each body appeared well cared for and showed no signs of struggle, but each was missing it's brain. Utterly baffled, the chief of police requested the help of the Jedi Investigators to help solve this issue. Jedi Master Katarine Ryiah, having extensive investigator experience was dispatched to the crime scene. Accompanying Master Ryiah is padawan Gatz Derrevar whose medical training will prove valuable to the investigation. Can the Jedi solve these bizarre and ritualistic murders before more citizens are in danger? ​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Training Saber
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

In spite of the reason behind it, Gatz was glad to be out of the Jedi Temple.

It wasn't that he wanted people to be murdered. What kind of sociopath would? But his days in the Temple were filled with long nights of studying, all in a vain effort to catch up to his peers. He was utterly failing as a Jedi Padawan. Compared to that, investigating murders seemed like a breeze, even with how morbid the reports had made them seem.

And to make things better, he was even shadowing an actual Jedi Master. One that wasn't Valery Noble for once. He was a firm believer that learning in the field was more efficient than book learning. So, maybe today, he would actually pick up some skills that would contribute to his failed training. That was probably a little too hopeful, considering his track record. But he'd rather be hopeful than miserable.

The Jedi Master he was shadowing today was... well, if Gatz hadn't been told otherwise, he might have confused her for a Knight. She was young. Or, at least, she looked it. He supposed so did Valery, and she was in her forties, so maybe this Master Ryiah was older than he assumed.

Either way, you didn't become a Jedi Master by collecting bottle caps. Age wasn't the sole thing that determined capability, nor wisdom.

"Why brains?" Gatz was asking himself, just as much as he was asking Master Ryiah, "what kind of serial killer pulls the brains out of his victim's skulls?"

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

Tags: Gatz Derrevar

---

Katarine was standing in the alleyway where the last victim had been found. Gatz was with her and so far she was able to discern that he had a good mind, even if he didn’t believe so. As if to demonstrate that point he asked the question they really needed answered.

“what kind of serial killer pulls the brains out of his victim's skulls?"

That was the million credit question as undoubtably if they could figure out the motives behind this very unique signature they would find their killer.

“I am not sure what purpose the brains serve. I doubt he’s selling them. All the other organs are intact, according to the medical examiner. If he were selling on the black market why waste the payout the other organs would provide?”

She said “he” of course but it wasn’t set in stone yet. History did show that male serial killers were more violent and given the removal a male was likely. It was a working theory for now.

“We should go see the bodies soon. I just want to get a sense of the dump site. Sometimes acts like these can leave behind impressions. What do you know of psychometry?”

---

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Training Saber
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

Gatz was no stranger to working with scum. He'd been scum. Scoundrels, smugglers, thieves, thugs, and murderers had been his kinsmen, loathe as he was to admit it. But in all his time in Hutt space, Gatz had never met a bone fide serial killer. It stumped him, trying to guess at this killer's motives. All the men and women he knew killed out of greed, or fear, or hate.

This was something else. This was not a random crime. This was practiced, precise, and pre-meditated.

"Serial killers often take trophies of their victims," Gatz added to Master Ryiah's musings, "teeth, blood samples, that sort of thing. Small tokens, easy to hide away in a house or apartment if someone ever catches onto them. But brains? How would you hide that? How would you even preserve that and keep it as a trophy?"

Then the Jedi Master asked after an ability he had no skill in, but had seen first hand.

"I saw Valery Noble use it once, in a bar back on Naboo. Helped us track down a Sith Knight who was kidnapping children," Gatz frowned at that memory, "I know it's awfully taxing though. Even on Val, and I watched her nearly shake apart a space station once."

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

Katarine agreed with his line of thinking. A brain was an odd choice of trophy for exactly the reasons Gatz had mentioned. He was right, this was no trophy. The brain served some other purpose.

“I agree. I think the brain must serve some other purpose than a trophy.”

She was still staring at the chalk outline when he spoke about seeing Master Noble use the ability in question.

“It can be, but I don’t think whatever we find here will be strong enough. The body was found two days ago. If anything we may get a whisper in the Force. “

She knelt down and was about to place her hand inside the chalk outline when her deep green eyes lifted to the padawan.

“Do you want to try?”

Now was as good as time as any to learn she figured. Though many times someone had to be born able to use this power, but it didn’t always manifest at first. It was difficult to learn so she did not expect the padawan to perform brilliantly but she did want to test his comfort zones and work on his confidence to try new things.

Gatz Derrevar

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Training Saber
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

Him? Capable of Psychometry? Master Ryiah must not have been given the memo. The only thing he was good for was jumping, lifting rocks, and hitting things with a lightsaber. Everything else that had to do with the Force eluded him—he was an abject failure, despite his raw strength. Hell, he'd been personally tutored by the Chief Healer once, and he still couldn't do more than mend paper cuts with the Force.

"I'm not sure I'm capable, Master," Gatz admitted with a sigh, "I'm... not a particularly talented Padawan."

It was hard to admit his own failure. It reminded him that all the time Valery had sunk into him was wasted. That the trust Briana had placed within him was unearned. He'd been granted faith and kindness by many Jedi, neither of which he had ever deserved, and now he wasn't even able to make the best of that.

But Gatz had returned to the Order for one reason: to try. If he turned down the chance to learn something knew, then he really was failing all of the people who had pushed him toward this second chance.

"But... yes." Gatz nodded, "I'd like to try. What—what do I do?"

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

​

​

Location: Coruscant
Tags: Gatz Derrevar

Katarine could feel the conflict within the padawan beside her. She knew well the feelings of doubt and not living up to the Jedi name. For a long time that was how Katarine had felt about her own training. Even now in a galaxy filled with Valery Nobles and Romi Jade's who was the insignificant Katarine Ryiah? But she had been forced to confront those feelings and had worked to try and get them under control. If left unchecked those feelings lead to hesitancy and that could get loved ones killed. The people of the galaxy needed the Jedi to be strong, and strength often started within.

She was glad he was willing to at least try. She wasn't expecting much because honestly the crime happened so long ago they would be lucky to get a glimmer of what the killer was thinking, or feeling, or wearing, or even a smell. Even something small could be useful.

"You need to center yourself in the Force. Feel it flow through you, in, and out. You place your hand here, in the middle of the chalk outline, and calm your mind. Let go of everything you feel around you. Focus only on the Force. Sometimes when we deepen our focus we can get flashes of the past, but we must block out everything around us. Breath deeply and push your senses to the edges."

She smiled encouragingly at him. True this was an advanced technique but Katarine was a very firm believer of learning when the time calls for it and right now anything they could learn about their killer would be helpful.

​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Training Saber
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

Advanced techniques like this were beyond him. Hell, many basic techniques were beyond him. Gatz didn't think trying would result in anything, but what was the point of being a Padawan learner if he wasn't willing to learn? Even if he failed, wasn't failure supposed to be the best teacher? Not in his experience, perhaps. But maybe things were different now.

Besides, centering himself in Force and allowing it to flow through him was something he could definitely do.

"Any wise Jedi proverbs before I give this a go?" Gatz asked, as he leaned down near the chalk outline, "like 'do or do not,' or some other mystic witticism?"

Ah jokes. The telltale sign that he was uncomfortable or scared. And in a way he was both: uncomfortable in letting this Jedi Master he didn't know witness his upcoming failure, and scared that she'd realize he wasn't worth the time. How funny. Twenty-five years old, and he was still afraid of falling through the cracks of the Order. Just like when he'd been a kid.

Gatz lowered his hand to the ground, and closed his eyes. He banished that fear, and it coiled back up in his heart where it always slept. He reached out for the Force, teeming on a planet as populated as Coruscant, drowning him in a tidal wave of energy that he could neither avoid nor swim with. So, instead, he allowed himself to be pulled along with it. Away from the loud city noises, and the polluted smells. Away from the warm encouragement of Master Ryiah and the cold durasteel ground.

A breath was sucked in, and exhaled.

And Gatz listened.

There was a whisper on the edge of his hearing, nothing more. There was no sight, nor touch, nor smell, nor taste. Nothing but the void, echoing with a sound he could barely make out. Faint words, broken up, making the sentences being spoken indecipherable. Until one—just one—wasn't.

"—back to Doctor T'suro at the clinic."

And then Gatz belted out a gasp. His legs gave out, and he went from kneeling on the ground to sprawled out on his ass. Tremors ran through his body, weakened from the effort, despite how small it was. Gatz was exhausted... but accomplished. For the first time since rejoining the Order, he'd actually managed to succeed in something that wasn't sparring with other students.

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

​

Tags: Gatz Derrevar

“Any wise Jedi proverbs before I give this a go? …… "like 'do or do not,' or some other mystic witticism?"

The corners of Katarine’s lips twitched up as if she wanted to smile but she remained silent to help him concentrate. Katarine knew humor and sarcasm well. They were the same tools she reached to when she was nervous. Perhaps she and this padawan had more in common than both realized.

She waited silently and watched as he centered himself. He did this well. She could feel his senses stretching out. After a few moments he gasped and fell backwards and Katarine rushed forward. She wrapped a steadying arm around him and could feel he was shaking.

“It’s okay. Breath. “

She took a moment just to breath with him, in, and out, while also glancing over his form to make sure he wasn’t hurt. These were powerful things to be trying and she knew they came with shock and exhaustion. She wanted to make sure he didn’t go into complete shock.

“Are you alright? You did very well.”

She smiled at him, her deep green eyes on level with his and welled with concern and pride as his accomplishment.

​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Training Saber
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

There was an arm wrapped around him, and it took Gatz a few moments to refocus on the present to figure out who it belonged to. Right. Master Ryiah. She was probably the only thing keeping the back of his head from cracking against the ground. Which was nice—most people would have just watched him fall and let him concuss himself.

He was still getting used to being surrounded by people who didn't want to kill him. And he wasn't sure he'd ever get used to having people care about his wellbeing.

Master Ryiah told him to breathe. So he did. It helped ease the tremors wracking his body, and straightened his erratic mind. Psychometry wasn't something Gatz thought he'd ever be capable of—it was supposed to be a rare skill to develop. And, technically he wouldn't really say he 'developed' it, considering he only heard half a sentence as a whisper. But that was still more than he had anticipated hearing.

It didn't magically fix all his other struggles, but at least he was good for one more thing. Maybe the people in his life would keep him around a while longer.

"Yeah I'm fine. Thanks for not letting me crack my skull open."

The praise was weird to hear. He wasn't used to that kind of thing either. The longer he stayed away from Nar Shaddaa, the more Gatz began to realize just how damaging his time in Hutt space had been. Praise shouldn't be a surprise, and receiving compassion shouldn't be either. Yet, to Gatz, both still felt foreign. He just wasn't used to people outside of Valery Noble and Briana Sal-Soren caring about him in the slightest.

Most of him still thought that even the two of them shouldn't care about him.

"All I got was something about a Doctor T'suro and a clinic," Gatz forced his mind back on track, "but I don't know what clinic. And I've got to imagine there are quite a few of those even within just a few miles of us."

To say nothing of how many were on the whole planet.

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

​

Location: Coruscant
Objective: Solve Murder with my badass padawan friend
Tags: Gatz Derrevar


"Yeah I'm fine. Thanks for not letting me crack my skull open."

Katarine gave him a quizzical look. Of course she wasn’t going to let him crack his skull open. The look softened after a second as she realized he may have suffered a lot of abuse or mistreatment. Her own childhood had been riddled with that and she knew it could be weird to adjust to a better environment. Kat had read his file before the mission but there were some things words wouldn’t communicate.

She stared at him for a split second with this softer look, noticing as she did so that he had beautiful blue eyes. Realizing that might be kind of weird she reached for her own sarcasm to play off the moment and make him more comfortable.

“No problem. If I return the padawans damaged they tend to yell at me and it’s a ton of paperwork.”

She smiled to let him know she was kidding and gently helped him to his feet. She held on to him while he spoke, wanting to make sure he had his balance.

He explained about a clinic but worried that he didn’t know what clinic. Katarine however could see the path ahead. Only by quieting one’s fears and worries was that path viewable. Time would teach that and she would help as much as she could.

“Fear not. We have a name and that is a lot more than we had twenty minutes ago. We will visit the medical examiner to see the body. While there we will ask about this Doctor T'suro. There are ways to find those who do not wish to be found.”

Making sure he was steady on his feet she motioned for him to follow her back to the speeder so they could head to the medical examiner and see the victims.

​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Training Saber
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

"No problem. If I return the padawans damaged they tend to yell at me and it's a ton of paperwork."

"Somebody should tell Valery that. She damages me all the time." In spite of everything, Gatz laughed.

He let the Jedi Master pull him to his feet, and took a moment to balance himself on shaking legs. He let out an exhausted sigh. That had taken just as much out of him as healing did. Why was it that he was always some one trick pony? Good for one thing, and then either too tired or too useless to help any further?

At least we have a lead, however small. Gatz reminded himself.

Master Ryiah clearly had a plan in place, and Gatz could find no reason to argue. She was the real investigator, after all. He was just the ride along. He wasn't exactly looking forward to examining a bunch of dead bodies missing their brains, but no one said a Jedi's work was glamorous. So Gatz followed the Jedi Master back to the speeder without complaint.

He drove, of course. He always drove. Before he'd been a Jedi, he'd been a smuggler. And before he'd been a smuggler, he'd been a pilot. A life of crime had only made him a better one. The life of a Jedi was likely to do the same. Flying a speeder in Coruscant traffic was far less dangerous than navigating an asteroid field in a freighter, but it resembled his favorite pastime enough that it put his mind at ease.

And allowed it to really think about their serial killer.

Whomever this 'Doctor T'suro' was, they had to work at this unnamed clinic. And their unnamed clinic couldn't be that far from where the bodies were dumped. Coruscant was a packed place—no way their killer could move a body any significant amount of distance without someone catching them in the act. The further they went, the more people they'd bump into, and the greater the chance of being discovered.

"While we're investigating the archives, we should place a call to the Temple," Gatz suggested, as he changed lanes to lower them to the coroner's office, "have them dig up a city map from the archives, and make note of all the clinics in or near the meat packing district."

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

​

Tags: Gatz Derrevar

Gatz took the drivers seat of the speeder and Kat was only too happy to let him. She was an abysmal pilot in her time, but nine hundred years of stasis had made her an even worse one. The technology was new, the buttons didn’t make sense, and when she tried to operate new tech she felt like a grandma asking her grandkids how to show her to use a holo remote control. She sat in ease, watching the traffic zig and zag and thanking the Force she wasn’t the one driving.

His insight about calling the Temple was a good one. She beamed in approval. “You may have the makings of a fine investigator.”

The ride was over a short period latter as it turned out. Gatz brought them down smoothly in front of the clinic and Katarine got out of the speeder and looked up the building in front of them. It was pretty plain as far as structures went but she supposed the dead didn’t require glamor so the city saved credits where they could.

They walked inside and a Bothan receptionist took them downstairs where the air was noticeably colder. As they walked down a sterile brightly lit hallway they saw a human female walking towards them.

“You must be the Jedi they sent. I am Dr. Vars, the M.E who examined the last body.” She took out a packet and opened it, handing them each a small black moist cloth.

“Tear this in half and put one in each nostril. The charcoal helps with the smell. The police didn’t want anything embalmed until you had a chance to see the remains.”

“Yes we are with the New Jedi Ordwe. Thank you.”

Katarine did as she was told and found herself surprised that in a century nobody had found anything new to overcome the smell of death. She supposed why mess with what works?

Dr. Vars lead them inside the examination room. It was even colder in here and there were three tables all covered with white cloths that clearly had bodies hidden beneath them.

“This is the most recent victim.”

She removed the sheet to show a naked and clearly dead female Twi’Lek laying face up with a cold blank stare. It wasn’t a pretty site. The skull was sliced open on the top and the cavity inside was empty.

“What do you see?”

She spoke to the padawan beside her. He was the medical expert here. She also wanted to get his insights before she pointed things out. It was better to learn if given space to grow she had always found.

​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Blaster Pistol
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

"You may have the makings of a fine investigator."

"Once in a blue moon, I manage to impress," Gatz shrugged, "don't get used to it. I'm still a Padawan at twenty-five for a reason."

Huh. Gatz remembered a time when that joke would have hit... funnier. Now it just sounded self-depreciating. Had his humor always been that glum? Or had the last year of pain hindered his ability to get a laugh out of himself? He genuinely wasn't sure. But he was concerned that even his classic self-defense method was no longer doing its job.

Flying and telling bad jokes were all he was good for. What need did anyone have of him if he lost those things?

But Gatz forced that depreciating thought out of his head, as the Bothan receptionist took them down a flight of stairs, and introduced them to the medical examiner in charge of the most recent body. She handed them each a cloth, and Gatz knew immediately what it was for.

He didn't bother. This was far from his first corpse.

Even in a room with three bodies, Gatz didn't make a face. Perhaps that was the one good thing Nar Shaddaa had left him with: the ability to be unphased by foul odors. The whole Smuggler's Moon was one big celestial body of rot, and it seemed he had taken a part of that rot within himself. It wasn't something to be proud of. But there wasn't much he could do about it now.

Master Ryiah wanted his input on the newest body. Gatz wasn't sure he'd have much to offer. He'd only just started studying the medical field. Oh, he knew how to suture wounds just fine, but examining a whole corpse? He wasn't sure he'd studied enough to add anything of value.

But he took a step forward anyhow. Even if he came up empty-handed, they'd come to investigate the bodies. So he should probably do that.

Much to his surprise, Gatz did notice something immediately: the cavity in the Twi'lek's head wasn't cut open. It had been burned open. He could see it in the charred edges of the skin. And the cuts themselves were far too precise to have been done with a blade. There was no fracturing of her skull, or chipping of bone that would have been bound to happen if their serial killer had tried this with a knife.

"This was done with a precision laser." Gatz said after a minute or so. "The cuts are too precise to have been done with a blade, there's not enough random damage to her skull for it to have been forced open, and the edges of the opening are burned."

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

​

Location: medical examiner office
Objective: examine bodies
Tags: Gatz Derrevar

Katarine could sense that Gatz needed to learn that time was only one matter in someone’s training. Age and rank did not always go hand in hand. Katarine had moved up the ranks of the Jedi very quickly because of her own horrible up bringing, but that didn’t mean that she was a better Jedi then someone else. In time this lesson would come, just like so many others. Time was a crucial teaching aid but could be a frustrating one.

His evaluation of the skull was impressive and Kat agreed with it. He was better at this than he would let himself admit.

“Good eye. That means he didn’t kill her in the alley. He has a secondary location where he performs this. I’m guessing he has a bit of space too. This woman has no ligature marks and she’s well fed and fit. She had room to move around.”

She looked at the M.E and asked “Were the other bodies similar?”

“Yes. All clean cuts. All well cared for. “

The sheets were removed to confirm what the doctor had said.

“So this isn’t his first time. He’s done this before. Enough to perfect what he’s doing.”

“There was something odd. All the victims had pain killers in their blood work. What type of killer removes pain from his victims?”

Katarine frowned and she stared at the third body but her eyes were unfocused.

“He isn’t a sadist. He doesn’t want to kill these victims. It’s not about the kill. It’s about the trophy.”

She meant the brain of course. She looked at Gatz to see if he was thinking along the same lines.

​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Training Saber
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

Gatz listened as Master Ryiah made her conjectures, his brain whirling to come to a conclusion of his own. Precision lasers were common medical technology, used in a vast array of surgeries. Only the skull was damaged, and even then, just enough to remove the brain. It wasn't random or forced. The rest of her was remarkably untouched, and even healthy. Or, she would have been considered such, had she still be alive and in possession of her brain.

"Definitely done somewhere else," Gatz agreed, "like a clinic maybe? Where access to a precision laser cutter would be pretty standard?"

Of course, that only solved one half of the problem—if it even solved it at all. For all they knew, the clinic wasn't much of a lead. And if it was, they still didn't know which one this 'Doctor T'suro' could be found, if they could be found at a clinic at all. It seemed every answer led to three more questions, and Gatz found that to be annoyingly similar to his studies.

Too many questions, and no one to answer them. Yeah, that was something he'd gotten used to since returning to the Order. He'd have groaned, if the situation wasn't serious.

The medical examiner mentioned painkillers in the patients' bloodstreams. That surprised Gatz. He'd never heard of a serial killer who cared about his victim's pain. Hell, he'd never heard of any kind of killer who cared about their victim's pain. Even the lives he'd taken... well, he'd never thought much about how much pain they might have felt.

Now he had another thing to dwell on, at night. As if his sins didn't burden him enough.

"But why?" Gatz forced himself back on track, "why brains? That's too hard of a trophy to hide. What, is he putting them in the fridge? Friend comes over to watch the game, goes to grab a beer, but surprise! No beer, just some dude's grey matter on the top shelf."

Gatz shook his head, "it doesn't add up. There are easier trophies to take. There's a reason for the brains."

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

​

Tags: Gatz Derrevar

The corners of Kats mouth twitched upwards as the joke about the grey matter in the fridge, but she didn’t let herself smile. The situation was serious and she did not want to offend the doctor.

“Thank you for your assistance Dr. Vars. Do you know where we could find a doctor Tsuro’? We were hopping to get their opinion on the case as well.”

Dr. Vars frowned in confusion. “I have never heard of that physician. There is a team of brain surgeons at Coruscant General. You could try them.”

Katarine raised her eyebrow at Gatz for a second and then thanked Doctor Vars once more. Together she and Gatz made their way back out the hallway and to where they had parked the speeder.

“I think it’s time to start getting that list of clinics and any name resembling Tsuro’.”

She got out her comm unit so she could call in and ask for a search of the name and clinics like Gatz had suggested but there were a lot more buttons than she was used to. She hit a few and the unit gave a piercing cry. She felt her cheeks go pink and finally after hitting a few more buttons was able to connect to the Temple so she could request a map of clinics and a search for Dr. Tsuro’.

“What do you think our next move should be?”

​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Training Saber
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

Well, Doctor T'suro was a strike out. At least here. Maybe the Temple would pull something relevant on that end, though. Or Coruscant General. Really, if any place on the planet had cutting edge medical technology, it would be there. It wasn't a bad idea to stop by, maybe see if their elusive Doctor could be found there. One way or another, this medical professional would turn up.

Unless they'd gone to ground. Then it'd be a little harder.

Gatz followed Master Ryiah out the door. He watched her fumble with her comm unit, brows furrowing as she seemingly failed to connect to the Temple the first time. But, hey, maybe she'd just fat thumbed the wrong button. Who hadn't done that before? So he let the matter drop, especially after he watched the Jedi Master flush ever so slightly. Far be it from him to exacerbate her embarrassment.

"What do you think our next move should be?"

"It'll take the Temple a bit to put together a map and list for us. Maybe we should follow up on that lead about Coruscant General? Might be a bust, but it's better than standing around looking pretty all day."

Any lead was better than no lead. Gatz wasn't certain how the clinic, Doctor T'suro, Coruscant General, and the need for brains lined up. But they had a better chance of figuring that out by visiting the hospital than they did by throwing theories at each other. Or, actually, they had a better chance of figuring things out if they did both of those things at the same time.

Multi-tasking. That solved cases all the time, right?

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

​

Tags: Gatz Derrevar

"I agree. I'm sure the hospital will be crazy but it's a good start."

Once again Gatz drove and that was probably a good thing. The trek to the hospital was complicated and as they got closer there were a lot of emergency only lanes and weird parking situations that Katarine would have panicked with. He got them there safely however and soon they had entered the sterile and brightly lit hospital lobby. It was always like stepping into a different world when you entered a hospital. They were somewhat total institutions that had their own protocols. Honestly they made Kat nervous but she supposed she should be over that by now. She had spent three years in the hospital in Theed to combat hibernation sickness.

They walked up to the front desk where a harassed looking woman was giving orders to a service droid. She turned to smile weakly at them and asked "How can I help you?"

"We are with the new Jedi Order and we had some questions about brain surgery. Would there be any doctor available to see us?"

"Are you a patient?"

"No."

The woman suddenly looked alarmed but also slightly intimidated. That happened a lot when the public dealt with Jedi, or at least it used to back when Katarine was a knight. She had no idea how the Jedi were perceived in this time period.

"Let me send a page and see who is available. Why don't you take a seat in the waiting room?" She spoke in a somewhat shaky voice.

"Thank you."

She and Gatz walked over to the waiting area, but Katarine did not immediately sit down. Instead her eyes were drawn to a large list of small metal plaques that had the names of donors and important people who contributed to the hospital. There were thousands of names on the plaque. Next to it was some basic hospital artwork and some decorative plant life. Everything was pretty typical.

"So tell me Gatz, does the galaxy ... accept the Jedi well? Are we on good terms with most civilians?" She wasn't sure if that question made sense or not. In her day Republic space was mostly alright but the outer rim held a lot of Jedi hate. She just wasn't sure if it was odd that the receptionist had seemed uneasy to speak with them or not. Maybe in these days Jedi were intimidating, but even now she could feel the unease radiating off the receptionist.

​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Training Saber
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

As someone who was fatally wounded on the regular, Gatz had become quite accustomed to hospitals in many different forms. Whether that hospital was Valery Noble 's guest bed stained with his own blood, or the medbay on New Cov, or the utilitarian hospitals of Denon—it didn't matter. They were like a second home, which meant that they were really the only home he had these days.

Oof. That was morbid and depressing.

So, stepping into Coruscant General was like a homecoming. It was different from the Healing Halls and the Vonnuvi Enclave run by Master Amani Serys but it was familiar to him all the same. And, he supposed that if he was really dead set on walking the path that the Chief Healer had, then hospitals really would be like his home. Medical professionals—Jedi or otherwise—didn't exactly work short hours.

Gatz stayed silent as Master Ryiah talked with the receptionist, who seemed a little meek in the face of two Jedi. Not surprising. How often did the average person actually get to meet one, even here in the heart of Coruscant? As the woman rushed off to find them a doctor or surgeon who was hopefully not in the middle of surgery, Gatz took a seat in the waiting area.

"So tell me Gatz, does the galaxy ... accept the Jedi well? Are we on good terms with most civilians?"

Gatz turned to Master Ryiah with a puzzled expression on his face. Of all the questions he expected her to ask, that one hadn't even registered to him. Wouldn't she have a better idea of that than him, being an active Jedi Master who presumably worked abroad regularly? Or was she a more insular Jedi, like those who took the Barash Vow? No, that didn't make sense. She wouldn't be on this assigned duty if she'd taken the vow.

"Depends on where you're at." Gatz shrugged, "the Core and Inner Rim like Jedi pretty well, but there are still trillions of people compared to thousands of Jedi. They know of us, hear plenty about us. But bumping into one is like seeing a myth with your own eyes. Once you get to the Mid Rim, people start to get more skeptical and suspicious, but most places still accept and welcome Jedi there. Then you get to the Outer Rim... and Jedi are villainized in many places there, if people believe in them at all—and there are people who don't, even on Nar Shaddaa."

Gatz paused for a moment, before adding, "why do you ask?"