The Standard Assassination

[Akio Diachi]

Akio nodded in acknowledgement. He hear her apology, but didn't respond. It doesn't matter anymore. Nothing mattes anymore.

The way to Theed was long and quiet except for the sounds of Akio's murmurings as he medicated himself. He disinfected his wounds, despite the fact that the cuts and burns were extensive and the throbbing shot on his back, Akio knew his greatest problem was the amount of blood loss he had sustained. Along the way he kept sneaking glances at Dryzl. The assassin could only imagine what she was thinking right now. And why that mattered to him, he still didn't know. When they reached the port, Akio mustered what little strength he had left and limped through the back door to the yatch. Stiffness was beginning to set in and the lack of sleep in over 50 hours didn't make things any easier. When he was satisfied they were alone, he shuffled up the ramp into the ship's medbay. The supplies and equipment here were enough to constitute a small hospital. At last a break in the bad news.

The Chiss immediately grabbed a bag of synthetic hemoglobin and made a dripline into his left arm. His right arm was too badly burned to take a needle. With a satisfied sigh, Akio grabbed a tray and began gathering supplies. He had patched himself up enough times to know his way well around the chamber and it was obvious. At last he sat on one end of the medical table. His eyes glazed over and hallucinations danced before his eyes. Some were the face of what had happened, his masters, waking dreams, and swirling colors. Unable to take it anymore, he slumped forward. His body crashed onto the floor. Akio watched from unseeing eyes as he hit the floor and faded to semi-consciousness.

[member="Erud'ryz'ladre"]

 

[Erud'ryz'ladre]

[member="Akio Diachi "]

The two rode in a silence that to Dryzl, at least, was rather uncomfortable. His stony cold shoulder he gave her bothered the Chiss more than she would admit. But, there was nothing more she could besides follow through with her statement.

They eventually made it to Theed, and after putting the speeder into park, she followed Akio to his yacht. Dryzl would have offered to help steady him, but she was uncertain as to how he would react -- something which the Chiss rarely suffered from. Even so, she kept a watchful eye on the assassin, in case he began to go into shock or, worse, collapse unconscious.

When the two Chiss arrived in the med bay of the ship, Dryzl took a moment to look around. There were all sorts of medical equipment, some of which she could only marvel as to how Akio had gotten his hands on them. Her curiosity was soon satiated, though, and she turned back to the other Chiss...in time to see him tumble to the ground.

The woman dove forward, managing to keep his head from hitting the floor. "Akio!" she exclaimed, trying to pick him up. Waving a hand in front of his face procured no response. Frowning with worry, she managed to lay him out on the table and fixed his needle, setting back up the dripline and the blood. Her actions speeded with urgency, she felt for a pulse under his neck, reaching over at the same time to grab a small penlight.

Good, there's a pulse. It wasn't dangerously faint, but it still was not as strong as she would have liked. Taking the penlight, she then flashed it briefly in his eyes. A little response, so he's not... What? Comatose? Dead? Dryzl didn't know what she was doing, she was a soldier, not a medic. Basic first aid was as far as she went. "Akio, don't....don't go anywhere," she told him sternly, then began to search for something that could tell her what to do.

 

[Akio Diachi]

The Chiss watched with mute eyes as the world around him seemed to shift and change. He wasn't in the stolen ship anymore, he was back on the training grounds. As a child. His first kill, a human farmer from a local village was tied to a stake.

"You must kill him, you must relieve the worlds of his life, it is his destiny to be killed by you. You must do this," his master informed him coldly.

The eyes of dozens of other Umbarians were watching. The sun was out, the sky was clear. The knife in Akio's hands seemed so heavy, despite the fact that he had trained with it for hours from sun up to sun down. Akio was already the outcast. The sands of the training grounds were soaked with the blood of the already executed prisoners. The other acolytes had no trouble doing, why is it so hard for me?

"Kill him," snapped the master. "Now!"

Akio didn't have time to think. He rammed the blade in the back of the man's neck. Blood gushed out onto his hands as the body went lip.
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On the table, Akio's mouth recounted every detail. His body convulsed as he roared, "NO!"

A 2-1B and DD-13 medical droids hummed to life. Each flanked the table and began an analysis of their new patient. Akio's hand reached out to defend the body instinctively. "Dry--"

The shout was cut short by a sedative injected by the 2-1B, "We are here to help you, please remain calm."

The metallic pair got to work repairing their sedated patient.

DD-13 looked to Dryzl, "I am afraid the patient has sustained massive amounts of head injury coupled with blood loss. There will be a level of brain damage present, and we are unsure what the results will be. However, we will do the best we can according to our command matrix to save the patient."
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Cold. The air. Its crisp. Clean. No vegetation. Soft sound of humming. Ship. The gravity--artificial. In orbit. The light, florescent. In a industrial area of sorts. Cannot distinguish what kind. Why don't I open my eyes to find out?

Akio blinked as the cold, white light met his eyes. His left arm had an IV in it. When did that get there? He looked around. He was shirtless, only wearing a pair of shining blue shorts. Akio looked around. Medical bay. Of course. He blinked.

"How did I get here?" Akio wondered aloud.

[member="Erud'ryz'ladre"]

 

[Erud'ryz'ladre]

[member="Akio Diachi "]

Dryzl watched as the droids began to work on Akio, feeling useless as she stayed out of the way. Brain damage? What kind of brain damage? Will he remember what happened? If not, that would pose a serious problem; Akio the assassin would assuredly try to kill her, and even if he didn't the little bit of change might never come back.

On the other hand, the Chiss might have turned into a complete and total wuss, something which was equally dreadful. I would much rather have him kill me, she thought bitterly.

Despite her attempts otherwise, one of the droids sensed she was distressed, and suggested she give Akio some privacy. The Chiss understood the logic behind it, and, ignoring her instinct to stay, left. But not before instructing both droids to notify her if anything happened.

Now alone, Dryzl wandered around the yacht, poking around and creating a mental map. It was a nice yacht, if a bit on the lavish side, and she wondered, briefly, if he'd stolen it. Not that it mattered much -- they were already on it, and more was at stake than some rich person losing their ship.

Speaking of which -- it was probably a good idea to get this bird off the ground, just in case Olivia changed her mind. Sending a notification to the droids, the Chiss quickly located the cockpit, and it wasn't long before they were locked in orbit around Naboo.

That done, Dryzl began to walk back when one of the droids alerted her to Akio regaining consciousness. Momentarily relinquishing her discipline, she ran.

It took but a few seconds for her to reach the med bay, where she saw Akio look around. "Move!" Dryzl commanded to the droids, rushing forward and giving the other Chiss a once-over.

Odd, but she wanted to hug him. Hypocrite. Hypocrite, indeed. After a moment of indecision, she opted for grabbing his good hand instead.

"Akio, how do you feel? What can you recall?"

 

[Akio Diachi]

Akio blinked and looked at the woman in front of him. His initial response was to gawk--one that he couldn't suppress. He looked at her stunned for several minutes, taking in every detail until it began to get awkward. Part of him wanted to place who she was, the other part was admiring her features. He subconsciously took her hand in both of his. "Feth, your pretty." He rubbed his face and stretched slightly, regretting it when he did, "I feel like--like I got ran down by a pack of drunken banthas . The last thing I remember--" his voice trailed off.

The world was tilting around him, careening, spinning, spiraling. The strange buzzing that kept assaulting his ears didn't make it any easier.

"The patient is still in critical condition it is recommended--" Began one of the droids.

Akio waved his hand at it angrily, "Stop, stop, stop, that hurts, go away."

Akio took a few deep breaths, steadying himself on the table as the droid silenced itself and moved away. He blinked twice, that was a really good question. What is the last thing I remember? He bit his lip for a moment in thought. An image flashed before his eyes of blood across the floor and a dead, fat human sprawled across the floor. He blinked and gripped Dryzl's hand for support.

"I--I am an assassin," he began slowly, "but I don't--I don't know why. I don't think I liked it. No, wait I didn't like it. I was far from home on Kaut. Yes, that's it. Kaut," He thought a moment, "No, that's not right. I--don't--have a home. I was alone. Always alone. I'm lonely. That's it. Lonely. Always lonely. Ugh," Akio pressed Dryzl's hand to his temple, wincing. If his head would just stop pounding he could think properly. "But I don't--I don't remember you. Who are you? What happened to me? And where are we?"

[member="Erud'ryz'ladre"]

 

[Erud'ryz'ladre]

[member="Akio Diachi "]

Dryzl began to feel fidgety the longer Akio stared at her. Why was he looking at her like that? He must have looked at her like that at least three times now. Perhaps something was wrong? What if there was too much damage to his brain? What if--

"Feth, your pretty."

Well then. It appears the attraction has stayed, she thought wryly. Dryzl began to wonder what that implied, but before she could he tried to move, prompting one of the droids to step in.

The male waved it away, and she waited patiently for him to gather his thoughts again.

He doesn't remember me. He barely remembered what happened. Oh, heavens. Once again, she was put in a position where she could forever shape Akio's life from here on out. Quite frankly, the thought was nowhere near pleasant -- she didn't want to dramatically alter the lives of people, she just wanted to keep them from harm.

"You were an assassin, but as of..." Dryzl tried to do the mental math, found she was too tired to care, and ad-libbed,"...as of several hours ago you decided to change that. You decided to become a better man than when we met. Which, funny enough, was just this morning. I am Erud'ryz'ladre, though you had seemed to take a liking to my core name, Dryzl." She snorted. "One day, I will have to teach you your mother language. But I am getting off-topic. You and I met this morning, when you killed a former ward of mine. For some reason, you felt guilt over your actions, so we paired up to track down your employer." The Chiss decided to skip over the part with Chief One -- later, she might fill him in on that, and maybe even work at finding his family, but Akio was not in any condition to hear that. (Odd, though, that she felt no qualms about telling him they met over a murder.)

"We succeeded in finding the woman who hired you, but it ended up that you had to choose between saving me or bringing her to justice." Dryzl's mouth twisted slightly. "You chose me, and we allowed the woman to escape. Somewhere along the way, however, you suffered severe wounds, so you and I came here." The Chiss's red eyes looked around the med bay. "As you were the one who led us here, I would like to assume you own this yacht. Then again, you might have stolen it, too."

She returned her gaze to him, eyeing him closely. "Where is Kaut?"

 

[Akio Diachi]

All of this was a lot to take in. Almost too much right now. He shook it off as his head dizzied.

"The patient is in no place for exertion," one of the droids quipped, "we recommend he rests."

"Will you go the feth out of here?" Akio shouted annoyed. "I hate droid, your so noisy, I remember that much!"

The droid turned hesitantly and sulked away. Akio turned to Dryzl and smiled, he had a hard time suppressing a giggle, "it sounds like I am a stand up guy." He realized he was flirting and forced himself to stop. She had asked a question and he needed to answer. "Kuat is a core world, the base of the KYD, which is one of the largest ship-makers in the galaxy. Its also one of the wealthiest planets in the galaxy as a result," he sighed, "its a beautiful planet, all things considered."

Akio finally stood, grabbing Dryzl's arm for support. "That metal head was right, I am tired and could use sleep. Can you take me to a bed? This table is pretty uncomfortable."

One of the droids began to warble quietly in protest.

Akio grabbed a nearby box of bandages and tossed it at the droid. It bounced off the droid's head harmlessly.

"For the love of gods can you not shut the feth up you di'kuti?" Akio roared. "I am about to come over there and rip your voice box out. If your so worried stay at the door or something. Just get off my shebs and leave me alone!"

[member="Erud'ryz'ladre"]

 

[Erud'ryz'ladre]

[member="Akio Diachi "]

Dryzl found herself unaccustomed to such a lively Akio. It was almost the exact opposite of what he'd been, returning from the estates, and she feared she may start to miss that old one before she got to know this new one.

Either way, the Chiss was honourbound to make sure Akio was alright before she left.

If she left.

I am leaving! the woman thought angrily. I cannot stay here and play nursemaid forever, or pursue an impossible happy ending. That would be wrong and out-of-line.

"I cannot say I have ever visited it, but I am sure there will be an opportunity one day." She wrapped an arm around Akio, making sure to be mindful of his injuries. While the droids had done a pretty good job of speedily patching him up, the former assassin still was not ready to get back into action. "I believe I passed the captain's quarters somewhere. Come on."

One of the droids warbled in protest, and Akio flung a box at it, yelling threats and insults. Without hesitation, Dryzl situated herself so that while she still supported him, the woman was also in front, standing nose-to-nose with the other Chiss. Her free hand clasped around Akio's mouth, cutting his words off sharply.

"Knock that off!" she hissed, in a rare display of rather intense (for her, anyway) emotion. "The droids are simply doing what they are programmed to do, and the last thing we need is for you to be an ebeucot and damage yourself further." Her red eyes shone menacingly. "And before you even think of challenging me, it is imperative that you take these things into consideration -- One, I am at least an inch taller than you; two, I have at least ten pounds on you; three, you are severely weak while I am in near-prime condition; and four, I am not going to be leaving any time soon." She gave him a moment to let that sink in. "I am going to remove my hand, and I better not hear another word out of you. Do you understand?"

With that, she removed her hand and resituated herself once again so that she could help Akio get to the bed.

This is going to be a long period of recovery, she thought drearily.

 

[Akio Diachi]

Having Dryzl so close was electric. Her anger, her energy was like a shock of lightening. It made his breathing short and quick, which hurt his broken rib. Her breathing was warm, strong. She is tense. Its not just about the droid. Its something else too. Akio struggled to suppress a smirk as she took her fingers off his lips. She's not leaving anytime soon. That sent shockwaves of joy through his battered body. He wasn't sure what had gotten into him but it felt--different. Good, perhaps. Bad, he didn't know. As he shuffled along he knew two things, it hurt to walk and he was glad she would be there until he got better. She was kind, and it felt good with her arm around him. He leaned fondly on her. It was more than just because the deck was swaying around him. He could have walked and made his way if he wanted. And he could have slept on the table too. It wasn't about either of those things. Its about getting her to touch me isn't it?

He wasn't sure why the idea didn't bother him. He knew it should. He knew it would have before. But now, he didn't seem to really care. When they got to the bed, he gingerly let himself down. It was so soft, very different from what he was used to. Sleep was almost washing over him in a moment, but he wasn't read you sleep just let. He gingerly pulled Dryzl closer. His voice was getting weaker, warning him that he couldn't get much more out before he drifted to sleep. Much needed, life-giving sleep, that would restore his weary cells and repair his damaged body.

Pressing her ear close to his lips, he whispered, "Thank you--for taking care of me." He paused as his mind began to drift off to half-sleep, "I know I don't know you right now, but maybe I should. Some day I will find a way to repay you for what you have done."

Akio gave her neck a soft caress before finally surrendering to sweet sleep's embrace.

[member="Erud'ryz'ladre"]