The Honorable Ones

[Cassius Droma]

The Gozanti-class cruiser flew through the endless blue tunnel of hyperspace, rumbling ever so slightly due to poorly-adjusted dampeners. A cursory look over the vessel would indicate to even the most casual of observer that this was not a military vessel. Indeed, the various sloppy red markings, carbon scoring, and hastily welded weapons indicated this was a pirate vessel.

Onboard, the ship was similarly a mess: there were so many missing panels that it was a miracle the ship was airtight. Exposed wires hanged from the ceiling, and there seemed to be a thin layer of grime throughout. The crew of the vessel, totaling about twelve, had mostly settled in for the night. Only a small number were actually awake and milling about – mostly the backup pilot and navigator in the cockpit, a few in the galley playing sabacc, as well as one that was currently creeping around the cargo bay.

He had on a helmet, somewhat Mandalorian in appearance, and a half-cape that was draped over his left shoulder. The rest of his outfit was typical mercenary gear – utilitarian shirt and pants, along with a multitude of different tools and blaster gas canisters. In the dim light of the bay, the figure swiftly and silently ducked behind a cargo container. Taking a quick look around, the mercenary reached up and unlatched their helmet, revealing their true face: Cassius Droma.

Reaching into an already exposed panel, he began to fiddle with the various wires and buttons, trying to remember what his Utai mechanic friend had told him before he left on this mission.

For the past month or so, Cassius had been tracking a small band of pirates that was ferrying slaves and other illicit goods into his part of Wild Space. About a week ago, just as he had caught up with them, an opportunity had arisen to infiltrate the pirates and sabotage their efforts. After stealing some gear, he’d become one of the crew’s new gunslingers and pilots.

Luckily, he didn’t have to hide amongst them for long until the opportunity came to dismantle the group. Near Sullust, they had managed to nab a First Order officer – a doctor, apparently. She’d fetch a high price on the black market, for sure. Whether it was due to her gender, position, or species, there was definitely someone out there who would pay top-dollar. Their captain had decided right then and there to turn towards the Outer Rim with their prisoner and find a buyer, not wanting to risk being caught by a stray First Order patrol.

Cassius figured this was a good a time as any – they were now in neutral space, and he’d just managed to get into their encrypted holo-communications and grab their lists of hideouts and associates. He wasn’t too keen on saving an officer of the First Order, but the Jedi in him told him that no one deserved whatever fate these pirates had in store for her.

His index finger curled around a large cable. He tugged at it… felt right. Taking a few deep breaths, he braced himself against the cargo container. First, he pulled the cable, a large spark leaping out and crackling with spent energy. Around the ship, large clunking sounds could be heard as individual rooms went into lockdown. Next, he pulled the cable that would unlock the small brig that held the doctor.

It wouldn’t be long before someone wizened up and tried to reverse the lockdown. Cassius had to reach the cockpit before that happened.

[member="Dr. Aes'ona Terrani"]

 

[Prennis Keeoli]

/ [member="Cassius Droma"] \​

†††​

"What in the void?..." Aes'ona breathed, raising her hands together to slide her stuncuffs up the metal cage's bar she was shackled to. As she did, she shakily stood, the jacket that a pirate had spat on and thrown back in her lap falling to the dirtied floor.

They had never shut off the lights before.

The doctor threw her head to the side, trying to get a stray hair pulled from her bun out of her face. Just then, the room was enveloped in red. "What's going on?" she called loudly, straining to reach the front of the cage to peer down the ship's hallway. "Are we--? Ugggh!" Her question was abruptly cut off as her stuncuffs activated and sent a strong warning jolt coursing her body. Immediately, she crumbled and the cuffs pulled her backward, causing her to hit her head against one of the rusted pipes.

"Ah, ah, ah. You stay dere, pretty lady, " the drawl of a pirate come through the darkness, his voice obscured by the ringing of her ears and her disorientating, splitting headache, Aes'ona recognized the speaker. She groaned and attempted to retreat further back in the cage, though all she could do was coil tighter into the fetal position.

Another barked seemingly for further away, "Karkin' 'ell, mate, we won't even be able ta sell 'er fer drinkin' money if ya keep beatin' 'er up."

"I ain't--"

"Clamp it, you two knuckle-draggers!" a third man shouted. "Stop arguing an' check out the gods darn lights!"

A two-man chorus of hesitant 'yes-sirs' sounded before they went off in different directions. The leader went in a third, probably off towards the cockpit, as his footsteps neared the doctor, stopped and then moved on. She didn't represent a threat--not in her state.

 

[Cassius Droma]

Helmet back on, Cassius briskly walked down the corridor that would lead him directly to the cockpit. He could already hear the loud banging emanating from the crew quarters – the men trying to get out. Up ahead, he spotted the small group that had been playing sabacc now standing next to the brig. Brog, one of the lieutenants, ordered the other two of lesser rank to go figure out what was causing the malfunction.

One of them began to walk in Cassius’s direction, and he paused for only a moment as the shaggy-haired pirate addressed him. “Ya know what’s goin’ on, newbie?” Cassius slowly shook his head and shrugged slightly. He had already gained a small reputation for not talking much, but for getting the job done. After bloodying the noses of two of the pirates and giving a third a bad blaster burn during their first encounter, no one really bothered to interact with him much.

As the pirate passed him, Cassius tracked him as he made his way back towards the mechanics bay. He continued on until he stopped in the doorway of the brig, eyeing the prisoner through his visor. A multitude of thoughts raced through his head in that moment, chief of which being, Would the galaxy really miss a First Order officer?

Maybe not the galaxy, but someone would. If she really was a doctor, and actually helped people… even if those people were First Order… she didn’t deserve to die. Not like this.

Taking another glance down both ways of the hallway, Cassius pressed the button next to the door that retracted the bars into the ceiling. Normally, only the captain would have access to the brig, but with Cassius’s sabotage, anyone could get in. Stepping inside, he knelt next to the coiled-up woman. Retrieving a small remote from his belt, he pressed a small button, and her shackles suddenly popped off.

“Let’s go,” he said simply, his voice deepened and filtered through the helmet, giving it a metallic bite.

His plan was to keep up with the ruse for as long as he possibly could, but barging into the cockpit with their prisoner would certainly set off some red flags, even for the less bright members of the crew. Luckily, most of them should still be in their quarters…

[member="Dr. Aes'ona Terrani"]

 

[Prennis Keeoli]

/ [member="Cassius Droma"] \​

†††​

"L..." Aes'ona groaned as she heard Cassius open her cage and approach her. As he knelt down, she forced herself to sit, knees huddled to her chest. "Leave me alone," she pleaded, voice hushed but desperate as she saw him reach for what she assumed would be some sort of weapon.

But her eyes went wide when he produced a remote instead. For a moment, she thought it meant a fate worse than a knife, but the flashing green light turned out to usher in freedom instead. At least, some amount of it. The quality of his voice was less welcomed, but a reprieve from her restraints for whatever his reasons was.

Wordlessly, she brought her hands into her lap, but only had time to rub the burns around them a few times before she forced herself to use them to push herself up off the floor. She padded after him, only stopping to grab her uniform's jacket up off the floor and sling it over her shoulders.

 

[Cassius Droma]

Cassius gripped the prisoner – Dr. Terrani, if he recalled correctly – by the bicep, but not too fiercely as to cause any sort of additional discomfort. He had to make sure it looked like he was leading the prisoner somewhere, rather than just letting her go. As they both made their way down the hallway, he leaned towards her and whispered, “Stay close to me, stay calm, and you’ll make it out of here.” As menacing as his voice probably sounded, he tried to be supportive and sincere while still keeping a sense of urgency.

After a short walk down some stairs, they were in a galley/lounge area and the cockpit was dead ahead. One of the men that had been playing sabacc earlier was standing next to the long table, and immediately took notice of the two of them, eyeing Terrani specifically.

“Where you takin’ her?” he asked, stepping closer. This gave Cassius pause – this man was one of the quicker draws of the pirate gang. He was positive that he could out-draw the man with assistance from the Force, but there was still a linger of doubt…

Suddenly, the door to the cockpit swished open, and the pilot began to step out. Knowing that he would not be able to uphold the ruse any longer, he snagged his A180 blaster pistol and fired at the pilot, the high-pitched warbling sound of a stun bolt filling the cabin. The man dropped to the ground, his body now holding the door open.

Cassius whipped his arm towards the gunslinger, but he was a microsecond too late on the trigger. A red bolt of plasma struck him in his upper chest. There was a large shower of sparks as it pinged off of a tibanna gas magazine, rupturing it. He only just managed to get the second stun bolt off before he recoiled in pain, grunting as he slouched over slightly.

“Blast,” he hissed. Reaching up, he batted away the mangled metal fragments of the magazine. A small patch of burned skin was now exposed to the open air, but he didn’t have time to think about that. Just as he was about to tell Terrani to go towards the cockpit, some type of explosion rocked the ship, and they were suddenly thrown out of hyperspace. This brought Cassius to one knee as the vessel lurched forward when it reverted to realspace.

Somewhere, someone who was trying to fix the lockdown had caused a catastrophic failure.

“Blast,” Cassius repeated, louder this time.

[member="Dr. Aes'ona Terrani"]

 

[Prennis Keeoli]

/ [member="Cassius Droma"] \​

†††
Aes'ona let out an unceremonious yelp and pulled away from the undercover Jedi he stunned the pilot and then was shot by the gunslinger. Any further reaction was cut short by the violent lurching of the ship. She stumbled to and fro for a few moments, trying to shift her weight from foot to foot and keep her footing. Finally, she fell in the opposite direction from where Cassius knelt. Two blunt force head traumas did not cancel each other out; in fact, the doctor would find later, if she survived this and had time to assess her bodily damage, that she had a concussion, but right now she was only sure of the pounding pulse in her head and the crimson red streaming into and around her left eye.

Though her healer's instincts were damped, her survivor's were not. She got up with some difficulty after crawling about a meter towards Cassius, looped her arms under one of his, and tried to help him up, hoping that he would know more about flying a ship than she did.

It was just like firing a blaster before she took it upon herself to learn more than the basics: she understood the theoretics, but none of the steps that one would go through to practice it. Maybe this situation would be the catalyst that propelled her to learn, just like the second battle of Dagobah had given her reason and desire to learn about weapons.

If he needed it, she would let him lean out her as they shuffled into the cockpit. She tripped while stepping over the pilot, the canvas cloth of his jacket getting caught on the plastoid component toe guard of her boot. It was easy to shake herself free, though, and continue into the cabin.

 

[Cassius Droma]

He felt an arm snake under his – the doctor was trying to help him up. If she only knew who he was under that helmet, she might not be so willing to help, even though he was trying to rescue her. With a grimace, he made it to his feet, nodding to her. “I’m alright,” he said, his now-heavy breath causing static in his voice modulator. Adrenaline and instinctual Force powers were starting to dampen his pain and heighten his awareness.

Stepping into the cockpit, they were met with a cacophony of blinking red warning lights and sparking panels. With a sinking feeling in his stomach, Cassius went over to the pilot’s station, trying to tap in a few commands. Nothing. Not even the diagnostics were responding. For a moment, he chastised himself for damaging the ship so badly… but then remembered that what he done was easily reversible – some idiot must have pulled a big cable somewhere.

Briefly, he weighed their options. He could try and kill the power and just let them drift through space to hopefully be picked up by a passing freighter… but there was still the problem of the pirates onboard. He looked up, and through the viewport, he spotted a moon not too far away.

“Escape pod,” he said tersely. “We’ve got to get out of here.” It was never something he liked to suggest. Spacecraft had so many failsafes to keep something like this from happening… so when it was time to abandon ship, it was serious.

Hopping back over the body of the pilot, he made sure the doctor was following behind him as he made his way down the corridor. The ship rocked back and forth, causing him to lean against the wall at times for support – the gravitic stabilizers were stating to fail. Soon enough, the inertia dampeners would go, and they would be getting to the moon in a ball of fire rather than an escape pod.

Soon enough, with the ship nearly falling apart around them, they made it to the escape pods. Cassius yanked open the hatch and looked to the doctor. “Jump in.”

He had no time to make sure she was securely fastened in a seat before jumping in himself and pulling the hatch closed, making sure it was sealed before hitting the launch button…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOAu17Yq5kQ

[member="Dr. Aes'ona Terrani"]​

 

[Prennis Keeoli]

/ [member="Cassius Droma"] \​

†††​

​

The following two minutes nineteen seconds represented the first time in her life that Aes'ona wished she had decided to attend flight school instead of medical school. At least then she might have been more prepared. Less of a spacephobe, whose gut squirmed its way up into her throat at the escape pods descending velocity and who suddenly became claustrophobic as well at the idea of open space being barely restrained to either side of her.

†††​

The doctor came to, unsure how long it had been, but uncaring because she had sworn she had been about to die however long ago. She tried to sit up and found that she was relatively unrestricted; only a few wires and some miscellaneous debris lay over her lap, but she brushed it off easily. She couldn't stand, however, and not only due to the truncated cabin of what remained of the escape pod, but the debilitating pulsing in her forehead.

Wincing, she rose a hand to hold her temple. When she felt something sticky, she brought it back and saw the crimson reminder on her fingers. Even that light touch was enough to rupture the barely-formed blood clot and the stream once again ran into her eye. It wasn't much though, so a single mop of her forearm was enough to keep the blood flow at bay for the moment. But it wouldn't for long, not without a bandage.

As luck would have it, a haphazard glance to her right revealed to her a small First Aid hatch near where the door would be had it not been ripped off during their crash.

Wait, that's-- That was right. Their. Not hers. But who even was he? And did she really want to stay?

Whatever the answers, there was no time to find them now. Instead, Aess'ona crawled on her hands and knees over to the hatch and, rearing up, reached for it. It took a few moments of straining with the pressure seal, but she finally got it and...

She frowned. Nothing. The pirates had probably used it for something on board and never thought to put it back or replace it.

 

[Cassius Droma]

The faint sounds of shuffling and scraping started to wake him from his painful slumber. In a jolt of panic and anxiety, Cassius quickly looked around, fearing the sounds were coming from sort of predator. No, it was just the doctor, crawling to the other side of the pod. With his heart still beating in his chest, he looked around at his immediate surroundings. For some reason, his vision was restricted… oh – the helmet.

Reaching up, he unlatched the seal and with a hiss, the helmet was released from his head, and he took in a deep breath. He had almost forgotten just how filtered his breathing was when he had it on. Setting the helmet down on the floor of the pod, Cassius began to peel off the various bits of armor from his mercenary outfit. Along the way, he found some new injuries in addition to the burning sensation from the ruptured tibanna gas magazine, including a throbbing headache and possibly a fractured rib.

He looked over to the doctor as she reached for the first aid panel, only to come up with nothing. “Not surprised,” were his first words, unfiltered yet strained. “Blasted pirates could barely take care of their ship, much less keep up with things like med kits.”

Finally, he managed to get himself down to the bare essentials – his utilitarian pants and shirt, as well as his belt. His lightsaber, secure inside of a cylindrical tool pouch at the small of his back, stayed where it was for the time being. No reason to give that up just yet.

Shifting himself into more of a cross-legged seated position, Cassius tapped at a blinking console to check their current situation. “There’s power… barely,” he muttered. “I wouldn’t use it for anything other than an emergency beacon… which doesn’t seem to be working at the moment. Could’ve been knocked off in the impact.” Indeed, if the door had been ripped off, so too could other vital components have been left in some sort of debris trail.

“How’re we looking outside?” he asked. She was, after all, closest to the door.

[member="Dr. Aes'ona Terrani"]

 

[Prennis Keeoli]

/ [member="Cassius Droma"] \​

†††​

"...Fantastic," Aes'ona mumbled as Cassius relayed their situation to her. It was a bad time to be an organic doctor when you were stranded on an uncharted moon with a stranger and the most important thing that needed fixing was the mechanized body of your escape craft.

She shuffled out the doorframe and, shielding her eyes from the bright sunlight, stood up. She had taken but two and a half steps out onto grass charred from their landing before falling back against the pod, barely bracing herself on the outer hull with an elbow. When she was stable again, she tried to scan the horizon but, when her vision adjusted to the light, found it to be obscured by tall trees and thick foliage.

Though the landscape foiled her initial plan, she glanced down at her feet. Visually following the cindery scar that their landing had carved a few feet into the forest gave her a general idea of the trajectory of their fall and, if Cassius was right, in which direction they might scavenge the beacon's parts.

Grunting in pain as she pushed herself off the ship, hunched down into the doorway, and squinted at Cassius because of the sun in her eyes, she asked with a sigh, "I don't suppose you have a compass." They didn't technically need to know the cardinal direction of their fall, but it surely wouldn't hurt. Plus, Aes'ona got the feeling by the looks of the surrounding forest that it would be easy to get turned around once they set off.

Even if he didn't, they might be able to make one.

 

[Cassius Droma]

The doctor asked about a compass. For a brief moment, he wondered why she would want one, but then understood: if they were to go anywhere outside of the pod, they’d need to know which direction to come back to. His first instinct was to tell her that the Force would guide him, but he didn’t want to tip his hand just yet. Instead, he reached to his belt, where his datapad was. One of its many functions was as a compass.

He grimaced as the screen was cracked. Flipping the on switch, there was a brief electronic whine before sputtering out. “Well, not anymore,” he sighed. For being an ace pilot, Cassius had certainly brought them in hard. Then again, as he recalled their fiery entry into the atmosphere, he remembered all sorts of systems shutting off or malfunctioning. The medkit was undoubtedly not the only thing missing from the pod.

On his hands and knees, he made his way out of the cramped escape pod into the open air. The blinding light only served to make his headache worse for the moment. Standing up to his full height, he stretched out his stiff legs; it felt as if he’d been in the cockpit for a long patrol. Closing his eyes, he took in a deep breath, connecting to the Force in the surrounding area. It helped revitalize his spirit and body somewhat – the burning on his chest didn’t stop, though.

“I think as long as we stay within sight of the pod while we look, we’ll be fine,” he said, as he reached down to his boot and pulled out a small, silver dagger. “We can also mark our path if we need to.”

He gave her an once-over, and asked, “You alright, all things considering?” They were both moving and talking, which was a good sign. Luckily for the both of them, if anything was wrong, she was a doctor.

[member="Dr. Aes'ona Terrani"]

 

[Prennis Keeoli]

/ [member="Cassius Droma"] \​

†††​

​

The sun glinted off the shiny face of his dagger. It wasn't much, but it was enough to catch Aes'ona's attention. For a moment, she looked fearful before she reminded herself that they were in this together and that killing her served no one, and her gaze resurfaced calmer.

Despite how it hurt her to do so, Aes'ona smiled, and replied, "I wish I could say I've been worse off, but this is a first." Out of habit, the doctor felt for the shield pendant around her neck. For some reason--probably to preserve her market value--the pirates had left the necklace alone, and by some miracle, it hadn't broken in the crash.

Then she leaned over to eye the burn exposed on his chest. "I wish I had something for that. How bad is the pain?"

The bantha in the room--rather, in the wild--could be addressed later. The burning questions. Who was he? And why did he help her? But first, her medical instincts drove her to tend, as best as she could, to his wounds. Her own could wait.

"It's pretty hot out," observed Aes'ona. That wasn't good for a burn. "Let's go to the river first. I'll be able to make a cold compress." With that, she expected an argument, so she continued quickly, "Even if we can call for help, you might not make it until they arrive if that gets infected." Furrowing her brow, Aes'ona looked directly at Cassius. Her hazel eyes help a great amount of sincere worry. "Please. The beacon will still be there."

If the doctor listened very closely, she could just make out the trickling of water over a gravelly bed. Or, was that just the muted ringing in her right ear?

 

[Cassius Droma]

He spotted the pendant around her neck as she reached for it – emblazoned with the emblem for the First Order. Not for the first time, he was reminded of the fact that he had saved someone from an organization that he had every reason to believe was evil, fueled by the dark side of the Force. Yet, she had not acted evilly in any way – just… normal.

She asked how badly the burn was, and he blinked for a moment, catching back up to the present. He ducked his chin, taking a look. It was just above his chest, about four inches in diameter. Some pieces of fabric were still embedded in the now burned skin. “It still burns,” he needed to be as honest as possible, but also didn’t want this to take first priority. “But I’ve had worse.” As he said it, he knew that he now sounded like the macho man that needed to always grit their teeth through the pain.

To the river? If Cassius’s hearing was right, there was indeed a body of water close by – but it seemed to be in a different direction than where the beacon might be. Before he could even protest, she reiterated that finding the beacon wouldn’t be any good if he was dead by the time help arrived. She was stern, no doubt a result of having to deal with stormtroopers trying to refuse treatment.

He wasn’t about to be the same as a stormtrooper.

Putting up a hand in defense, he nodded. “No, no, you’re right. We shouldn’t let this get any worse. Let’s get moving.” Reaching back inside the pod for a moment, he pulled out the cape that he had been wearing before. They were going to need cloth, after all.

He began to lead the way, leaves crunching under his boots. A small, creeping worry came to mind. There was a possibility he could try to heal the burn using the Force – he’d done the act before, but on someone else. At least for now, he could silently try to channel energy into his side, which was still sore from the crash.

[member="Dr. Aes'ona Terrani"]

 

[Prennis Keeoli]

/ [member="Cassius Droma"] \​

†††​

He had accepted.

Aes'ona breathed a sigh a relief. It had taken quite a bit out of her to be that stern, even for but a few moments, and she wouldn't have been able to nag him further if he had refused to let her take care of him. "Thank you..." she said as the started off in the direction he led them.

For a few silent minutes, as they walked, Aes'ona wondered if she had doomed herself. If she had already expended too much energy. Probably not, but if she continued to be a hypocrite and left her head injury untreated, she would be doomed anyway. After this and after we find the beacon, I'll get to it, she told herself.

It surprised her that part of her didn't want to do the second item on that mental to-do list. Her current situation was like Carida and the New Republic Ball all over again--though obviously sans rising skyscrapers, fancy dresses, and the rising faction. Rather, the way that the wilderness reminded her of her escapade was just that, there was no First Order here. No one to tell her how to do her job. No remnants besides the few trinkets that reminded her of her pledged loyalty: the clinic pin secured on her uniform jacket left in the pod, the small logo printed underneath the right strap of the front of her undershirt, and the embossed First Order medical logo on her plasteel identification armband.

In her mind, the exception was her necklace, though she was certain that her companion didn't understand. It was a reminder of her heritage...in even more ways than she even realized.

After a while longer, they came upon a medium-sized river. If they were so inclined, they might be able to bathe if they were to be here for an extended period of time, as they were likely to be.

Stopping and turning to face Cassius, she took his cape and began measuring it against his wound to get an idea for the size the compress needed to be.

When she was content, Aes'ona stepped away and down onto a sandy stretch of bank and crouched. She ripped off a rectangle of cloth, folded it over a few time, and carefully ran it under the flowing water as not to get any sediment onto it and compromise the already very unsterile rag.

"That should do it," she declared, standing up and walking back over to Cassius. "Hold that." She handed him the crude compress before ordering, "Arms up." She looped the now-ripped cape around his chest just below his wound as not to cause undue irritation and marked the length out with her fingernail. "You're good." She ripped again, a thin strip down to size with a little extra allotment to become a horizontal sling. Walking back around to his front, Aes'ona held the compress to his burn. "Tell me when to stop." With that, she began gently pressing the relatively cool cloth into him. "Sorry," she apologized proactively. "I promise I'm not trying to hurt you. I just want to make sure it stays."

Whenever the pressure became too much and Cassius told her to stop, she would gently tie the sling around his back.

 

[Cassius Droma]

As they reached the river, Cassius mentally noted how clear it looked. There was a good possibility that it was potable, which greatly improved their situation. Of all the planets and moons they could have landed on, they were actually pretty lucky. It could have been volcanic, or a barren desert, or even a frozen wasteland. A terrestrial, arboreal environment was the best one to have crashed on. They’d still have to transport the water though, and find a way to boil it so as to destroy any harmful microbes. There was probably something in the pod they could use.

The doctor prepared the cold compress for the burn, and he made sure to do everything as she said. There would be no arguments from him. In addition to the luck they had crashing in such a fruitful environment, he also counted himself lucky to be with a medical professional. He might have been able to heal himself with the Force, sure, but it was still far and away from an actual doctor making sure he wasn’t going to die.

As the cool cloth pressed against his skin, he winced only ever so slightly, the smoothing cold mixed with the pain of the pressure. She apologized, and Cassius shook his head. “Like I said, I’ve had worse.” His mind flashed back to when he’d barely escaped a battle with the Empire, his A-wing barely having any life support left. He had spent a few days completely unconscious in a bacta tank – it was probably the worst he’d ever been injured. Eventually, he told her when to stop, and it was tied around his back. Cassius moved his shoulders and arms around a little bit, to make sure it was secure.

“You sure you’re fine?” he asked, pointing to the small patch of red at her temple. “I’m no doctor, of course, but I know that can still turn out to be pretty nasty.” Not that there was much they could do for an internal head injury at this point. Not with conventional means, that is.

“I think if we head back to the pod, I can fashion a container we can put water into,” he said, also remembering that there was a small canteen attached to his armor back at the pod. As he took his first steps back towards their crash site, a shiver crept up Cassius’s spine. Frowning, he looked around, carefully scanning the area. Nothing. That feeling was there, though, at the back of his mind…

That they were being watched.

[member="Dr. Aes'ona Terrani"]

 

[Prennis Keeoli]

/ [member="Cassius Droma"] \​

†††​

"Hmm?" murmured the doctor at Cassius's inquiry, unsure what he meant until he gestured at her head. "Oh, I'll take care of it soon, don't worry." Even though she didn't count fixing herself as a high priority, she did have a plan. Not a great plan, but a plan that was appropriate considering the pair's current predicament.

As they began walking back to their craft, Aes'ona nodded and offered, "I'll get a fire started." It'd serve two purposes, and more as night fell and they wanted warmth and cooked food: a way to boil the water he collected and to sterilize the bar pin on the back of her brooch.

She had forgotten most of it, thanks to working in a medbay with electricity and the latest technology on some comfortable station or star destroyer for almost all of her career, but her father had taught her the fundamentals about survival during her breaks from medical school. Even a doctor has to know bushcraft, S'ona, he had said during their first lesson. Maybe even more so that a stormtrooper. Not only could it save your life, but you're more likely to have them relying on you.

As a specific memory flashed across her mind, she couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Just please tell me your blaster still works." If not, she could find two sticks to rub against each other, but that wasn't her first choice. So many blisters all those years ago; though, if it was life or death, she'd take them gladly.

 

[Cassius Droma]

Dr. Terrani asked about his blaster, and Cassius nodded. “It should…” his voice trailed off as they neared the pod. The A180, while a somewhat older design, was certainly sturdy. Reaching back into the pod for a moment, he grabbed the weapon from its leather holster and tossed it to the good doctor. “Don’t use it too much. Might need to catch some dinner later.” His tone was somewhat playful, but there was a serious edge to it. While the two of them were probably more than capable of fashioning spears to hunt for food, just being able to shoot it was sometimes easier.

Clambering back into the pod, Cassius looked for anything that could be used to hold water. Eventually, he spotted a boxy panel that looked to be structural. Grabbing it, he noticed it was a little bit loose. A few good shakes, a pull, and some assistance from the Force, and it broke free. Holding it in his hands, he theorized how much water could be stored in it… a gallon, perhaps? A good amount, that was for sure.

“I’ll fill ‘er up,” he said as he slid back out of the pod, taking the container with him down to the river. Returning after about a minute or so, he set the container, now full of (mostly) clear water, down on the ground next to where Dr. Terrani was building the fire. Sitting on the ground, he sighed. The burning sensation in his chest was starting to numb, and his head was starting to clear.

The next step would be to find their distress beacon, if it was nearby, or even attached to the pod in the first place. There were some inherit risks in activating it – since they were in unclaimed territory, any number of people could find them. The First Order, the Confederacy, the Outer Rim Coalition… or maybe more pirates. Whoever it was, it was better than living on an empty planet for the rest of their lives.

He eyed the doctor for a moment. Without really knowing why, he said, “I’m uh… I’m Cassius, by the way.”

[member="Dr. Aes'ona Terrani"]

 

[Prennis Keeoli]

/ [member="Cassius Droma"] \​

†††​

In the time he was gone, Aes'ona gathered an armful of logs and kindling and arranged the latter in a lean-to formation before messing with the heat settings on the blaster. It wasn't hard to singe the lichen growing on one of the twigs, but it took much more effort to coax the smolder into an open fire. It was on the small side as to not produce too much smoke that might give away the position of their makeshift camp should they not have been alone.

As Cassius introduced himself, Aes'ona pushed herself up from blowing on the fire and sat back on her haunches. She bit the side of her lip, trying to quell her desire to snap at him. "Aes'ona," she replied instead. She stood slowly to avoid making her headache worse. "But call me whatever you want. Balance knows your friends did."

Before more hostility rolled off her tongue, the doctor ducked into the ruined pod and emerged with her uniform jacket. She walked back over to the fire and knelt beside it, nestling the container into the flames before starting to fiddle with the clinic pin on the jacket's left breast pocket.

"You know how to suture, by chance?" she asked dryly, not looking up from the back bar brooch now in her hand that she was trying to pull the pin needle out of.

 

[Cassius Droma]

A pang of guilt throbbed in his chest as he heard her tone. He grimaced and recoiled a little as he thought back to the treatment she received at the hands of the pirates. Could he have stopped it earlier? Maybe, but then he might not have been able to get the intelligence he needed… the intelligence that ended up getting smashed on the way down here.

Was it even worth it?

Even as she stood and walked towards the pod to retrieve something, he attempted to explain himself. “Look, uh… those guys weren’t my friends. I had gone undercover to try and find out more about not only their operation, but those of other pirates in the Outer Rim. I was the one that sabotaged the ship initially – locked down the ship but unlocked your cell. That was intentional.”

He shifted to his knees as the doctor returned to their little campfire. She seemed to be trying to get the needle from a pin on her uniform. When asked if he knew how to suture, it clicked. Her head wound still needed to be tended to. Cassius scooted closer, saying, “Not exactly, but I’m a quick study. I’ve been patched up a few times, so I think I know the basics.”

While he’d received some survival and first aid training, anything too serious was handled by the medics back at base. If anything, he could use the Force to assist him, since where her injury was, she hopefully wouldn’t be able to see his fingers move.

[member="Dr. Aes'ona Terrani"]

 

[Prennis Keeoli]

/ [member="Cassius Droma"] \​

†††​

When she had first knelt down the fiddle with the brooch pin, she had put her hands up in mock surrender. "Fine, they weren't your friends," she corrected herself quickly, though knowing that didn't better her opinion of him, this Cassius. For all she knew, he was just saying that to defuse the situation and get off this rock alive, at which point he might recapture her just to sell her off for a ride home, wherever that was for him now.

Aes'ona sighed while she flipped the first few inches of her jacket's left sleeve inside out and began to pick at the seam with the now-separated needle. It took all of her not to scoot away from him as he neared her. "I haven't--I've not looked...at the wound. How much thread do you think we'll--we will need?" she asked, still not looking up at her situational companion. The doctor bit her lip lightly and allowed her shoulders to slouch forward. Her throat seemed to dry and her eyes began to burn, but a forceful swallow fought away the latter sensation.

Truth be told, she was more angry at Cassius for saving her than not. After all, she deserved all that had happened to her: Dagobah, Fondor, Lothal. The dominion of Sullust was just the straw that broke the tuskcat's back on the matter. It was the galaxy's way to balance out all the evil she had done. Most of it had been unintentional and the rest hadn't been her choice, but it was all evil nonetheless.

Aes'ona, after clearing her throat, immediately swallowed another lump in her throat and waited for an answer.