Unscheduled Maintenance

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
The journey back from Far Harbor aboard the Revenant was one which Tegaea was in a state of irritation throughout.
She’d gone there with what she had thought was good intel, and it had all gone to hell. She’d gotten out unscathed, but Elpsis had been hurt by a metal claw to the shoulder. That wound would recover, but she still felt bad for it having happened.

As they pulled in to the Ashira’s Light, Tegaea knew she was going to get a tongue lashing from her wife. That didn’t worry her so much as the fact that she didn’t want anyone else to get the blame for her actions.

Going to the medical bay she sought out Elpsis to see how the Firemane was doing.

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Tegaea Alcori"]


In addition to getting a claw stuck in her shoulder, Elpsis had suffered burns and concussive damage while evading the spider droid's giant laser beam. However, she'd taken well to painkillers and bacta. She smiled slightly when Tegaea entered. A lesser person might have gloated and said something along the lines of 'I told you so'. However, she was actually a decent person. No wonder she'd been a terrible Jedi.


"Hey, Auntie. They got the claw out. It's...somewhere here," she said. Her hand reached out towards the bedside table to find the big claw. However, being blind she had trouble seeing it and proceeded to accidentally knock it over. It hit the floor with a loud clang.


"Eh, whatever. After careful consideration, I've decided blood and claw play ain't my thing. It's kinda icky. Hope the Third Pillar won't mind." However, sensing her aunt's downcast attitude, she turned more serious. "You ok, Auntie?" An expression of concern crossed her features.

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Elpsis Elaris"]
“We don’t do bloodplay anyway, dear,” Tegaea said reassuringly. “We all just like a good time, we don’t go too extreme.”

She picked up the claw and put it in Elpsis’ hand. She was still distracted, but figured she should tell her niece.
“I’m bracing myself for Siobhan to get mad. In a way I deserve it – you know that – but I worked on the best information I had at the time. I just know she won’t see it that way. You know how it is with her sometimes,” she said. Elpsis very likely did know.

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Tegaea Alcori"]


Elpsis sighed. "Yeah, I do," she said knowingly. "She gets mad because she cares, but she can still be a bit of a jerk. Well, I don't blame you. Chit happens and you know better now." Elpsis, stop being mature.


"You two are gonna be ok, right?" she asked, sounding just a little anxious. Her only frame of reference was the rather dysfunctional marriage between her adoptive parents, the Kallikoras. Tegs and Sio were not her parents, either adoptive or biological, but they felt like that sometimes.

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Elpsis Elaris"]
Tegaea nodded, then realised that was a silly thing to do with a blind girl.
“You’re right, Elpsis, she cares. She wants to protect me, and since I’m not a demi-goddess with superpowers like her she’s afraid I’ll be lost. I understand it, even if I find it frustrating at times, I am glad she cares.”

“We’ll be fine, sweetie. After all, Siobhan’s not exactly the poster child for steady, well-considered decisions.” Memories of the many times she’d come back with limbs missing, close to death, filled her.

“She’ll probably just insist I take the Phoenix with me in future,” she said with a laugh.

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Tegaea Alcori"]


"Well, the Phoenix does fit you. 'sides, it's a nice ship." She was a bit biased since she'd heisted it. Right before storming the Omega and getting her eyes fried. She reached out and hugged Tegaea gently.


"I'm glad that you two'll be ok. I like you two together. You're kinda like an, uh, another pair of mothers for me. Especially you," she flushed strongly, acquiring a skin tone that perfectly matched her flaming red hair, and looked down for a moment, as if unsure how Tegs would respond to that.


In the meantime, the Revenant had emerged from hyperspace. There was a welcoming committee ready for them. Both the Phoenix and the Karishzar awaited them, in addition to a host of smaller warships that prowled across the vast expanse of the void like ravenous sharks. The pilot would be summoned to the Great Scarlet Flame, Firemane's new command ship.

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Elpsis Elaris"]

Tegaea smiled and gave Elpsis a kiss on the cheek. "And you have come to be a daughter to me too, Elpsis. You're a good girl, and I'm glad you're finding a path. The two of us, we are family in spirit if not blood."

There was a call from the bridge, and Tegs went to look ahead.

Staring down the twin capital ships did not fill Tegaea with a whole lot of confidence. Still, at least she wasn’t an enemy trying to attack. That’d be suicidal!

As they came in to land she saw that Tempest was waiting for them along with a couple of Firemane troops.
As Tegaea descended the stairs with Elpsis in tow she nodded to the Dahomian.
“Good to see you again, Tempest,” she said cordially. This writer’s characters didn’t tend to hate each other unless they were on opposite sides of a war.
“And you too, Tegs. Sio’s waiting for you in the suite. She’s…uhh…not too happy.”
Tegaea sighed and nodded. “Well, least I had Elpsis with me. Did you want to take her to the medic?”
“I will later, but Sio wants to see her too.”
“Ah. Well, better get going then.”

Tempest meanwhile came forward and gave Elpsis a gentle hug, avoiding her wounded shoulder.
“Good to see you again, Elpy!” she said. She didn’t kiss her, as if waiting for the redhead to make the first move. She wasn’t sure where exactly she stood with the pyromancer and didn’t want to make things more awkward.

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Tegaea Alcori"]


The words of her aunt and surrogate mother figure put a very broad smile on Elpsis' face. She wore it until they stepped down the stairs and walked right back into Awkward City. It was a popular location. She ended up in it more than she'd like.


She ran straight into Tempest. That was...awkward. She rolled her eyes when the Dahomian informed them about Auntie Sio being unhappy with them. That was probably a tremendous euphemism for Auntie's mood. For the time being, her mind was elsewhere.


"Hey, Tempy. It's good to see you. You, uh, look good," she replied...awkwardly. She returned the hug with the arm that was not attached to a wounded shoulder. Then she planted a kiss on Tempest's cheek as opposed to her mouth. That was a middle ground between not kissing her at all and locking lips with her. It was both sweet and frustratingly, unintentionally vague.

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Elpsis Elaris"] / [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
Tempest did not have a chance to work out the exact social implications of this kiss before she remembered her mission.
“You’d best get going. Come see me afterwards, alright, Elpsis?” she suggested just a little too eagerly.
Tegaea grinned at the pair. “I’ll get you a private room at the bar and setup a tab for you,” she said.

She led Elpsis through the ship to near the rear where the executive offices were located. As she approached the door to the study she knocked and opened.
“Hi, Sio, we’re back!” she said.
She knew Siobhan would be in a bad mood, but her being worried about that annoyed her.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Tegaea Alcori"]


"Come in," Siobhan ordered, in a tone frosty enough to make Kaida proud. Almost. The door opened, as if pulled by an invisible hand. The matriarch was sitting behind her desk. She did not look that well. "Sit down."


Elpsis looked rather put out and a bit anxious. "Uh, hi, auntie. We're alright. Don't be mad with Auntie Tegs! She knows she..."


Siobhan cut her off with an impatient gesture. Given her expression, her face might as well have been of granite. "Elpsis, sit down and be quiet," her eyes turned to Tegs. "I am glad to see you're not dead or maimed. I got your pilot's report. Let's go over it. You arrived at the space station, floating above a death world." Her tone was chilly.


"Upon arrival, you realised that the place was crawling with Sith and criminal scum. For some unfathomable reason, you decided to attend anyway. Predictably, it turned out to be a trap, and you had to flee, whilst being attacked by a bunch of war droids and you were lucky not to get vaporised by a warship. And a Sith blew up the station."


She made no mention of the operatic hologram. Perhaps the pilot had not been aware of it, or Siobhan did not consider it important so far. "What the hell were you thinking? Were you even thinking?" now she got loud.

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
Tegaea felt her face go red. She was being berated by Siobhan without any empathy or understanding from her wife. More, she was being lectured in front of Elpsis. She’d expected an angry response, but she’d expected her wife to have been worried. Here, Siobhan just looked angry.

“I wasn’t aware our pilot had ESP and was able to perceive what happened inside the station,” she said sourly. “Truly, he should be promoted so he can use these hidden talents within our intel department.”

“It’s quite simple, I made a mistake – though I think an understandable one. However, the intel I had on Far Harbor was good, and the invitation specified there was a limited auction being held. So when I arrived there were no obvious warnings; there were some other transports, sure. We were taken in to private booths. Nima and Elpsis both sensed the Dark Side. By that time though the auction had started.”

She stood, not content to sit like a guilty schoolgirl to be lectured by the headmistress.
“Did your omnipotent pilot tell what happened next? The auction was a sham, hijacked by a droid group called the Contingency. The doors were sealed and they attempted to tempt people to their side, mainly the droids – HK-36 was there for instance. We tried to get out and they used a debilitating mind power on us. After recovering we fought our way out, thanks to Elpsis and Nima, and as you can see Elpsis was quite badly hurt in the fighting. The station was foolishly destroyed by a Sith but we got clear in time by using the Revanant.”

“I have apologised to both Elpsis and [member="Nima Tann"] for endangering them, and also thanked them for their help. Was I thinking? Yes. What was I thinking? I was thinking it’d be nice if I could get out a bit and do things. I can’t sit in a golden cage forever. The intel didn’t mention anything about Sith, so some tweaking of our spy agency might be in order. Further, we can have backup on hand for the next occasion we might go out of our sphere.. A cruiser or even a couple of frigates will make most enemies take notice.”

She had not gotten loud herself, but she stared at her wife firmly. If her wife didn’t accept her explanation or continued to make an issue of it, she would reply in kind. She would not be bullied by anyone, not even her wife.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Tegaea Alcori"]


Perhaps in her anger, Tegs did not realise that ESP was not required to see what was going on in front of you. After all, she had somehow known about Sith ships right after landing at Far Harbour. Likewise the droids had been right in the hangar, keeping the Revenant from escaping. Besides, Sapphire had broadcast across the station who was responsible for its destruction.


Either way, Siobhan would not budge. Both ladies were stubborn, prideful and pissed off. "Elpsis, go to your room."


"But..."


"Leave."


"Oh, for goddess' sake, can't you quit the queen fest, Sio? Just get over it." Looking like a puppy who'd been kicked, Elpsis got up. Her gaze travelled from Tegs to Sio. She looked pained. "Both of you are letting your anger get the better of you. You should focus on what matters. Like that we're alive. And that unless that annoying robo voice watched too many cliche holodramas, a bunch of evil robots want to go on a rampage."


"I'll take your opinion into account. Now leave, girl. Go talk to your imaginary friend. Maybe she'll give you a vision," Siobhan ordered tersely in a dismissive 'the grownups are talking, you're a silly child' style voice. It did not sound like she cared for what Elpsis had to say. Whether this was because she dismissed claims about robo genocides like a certain Turian Councillor or was too angry to think about anything else at the moment was another question.


"I'm afraid it doesn't take ESP to figure out what's right in front of you, Tegs. Like a giant droid. All you need is to do is use your eyes and ears," she said flatly. "And Sith vessels were identified as you landed. So don't shift blame to my agency, people I work with and trust. The Revenant has stealth systems. Good ones. If you were so eager to find out what was going on, you could have sent Nima and Elpsis to investigate. You endangered yourself - foolishly and recklessly."


"And two of my people. Now Elpsis and Nima can take care of themselves." Siobhan had a tendency of not paying much attention to injuries unless they led to very serious maimings, coma or significant psychological trauma. After all, you could always build new limbs!


"You're not action girl anymore, I'm afraid. Are you that determined to 'go out and do something'?" she demanded rhetorically. Her words were slightly slurred and her blood pressure was increasing at an unhealthy rate, but she carried on.


"You call this a golden cage. Well, let me remind you that you chose to retire to a 'life of leisure', only deciding to get out after I pointed out you weren't doing your job. So don't play the victim card and act as if I'm locking you in. Do you have the slightest clue how I would have felt if something had happened to you? Or you'd fallen into the hands of a Sith or whoever these machines are? How much it would have hurt me? How it would have affected the kids? I suppose not!" Pot, kettle. She felt a spike of pain in her chest, but did not care.

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
Tegaea was usually someone who was very level headed, calm, responsible. However, the accusations stung, but it was her wife’s treatment of Elpsis which pushed her over the edge.

“No, you can stay, Elpsis,” Tegaea said flatly. “I’m not sure why you’re doing this, but Elpsis has been nothing but a friend to us, and you are treating her like garbage. I will not stand for it!” she said hotly. “Apologise to Elpsis, she has no part in this.”

“How much would it have hurt you? By the sounds of it you sound like you’re more worried about your ship and your crew than me. Is that what I am now I don’t want to be the action girl or the business executive? Just an annoyance who couldn’t do her job? I thought I might get a bit more respect from you, or is respect only measured in what magical powers someone has? I’ve seen what you’ve done with the company, turning it into your personal empire. It’s not my interest so I’ve not contested. But you might be able to order your bootlickers around, but you will not order me like a tin soldier!”

The argument had escalated rapidly beyond the facts of the matter, and become something much more emotional and raw.

“And you, Siobhan Kerrigan, lecture me on not being careful? On charging into danger? How many times did you ride off to battle Sith Lords and monsters, only to come back nearly dead, missing a limb or organ and make me wait to see if I’d be a widow? Did you ever care what that would have done to me?”

Tears were starting in the corners of her eyes.
“All I want, all I ever wanted is to help people and then enjoy what we earned with you and our adopted children. But if you don’t want that then there’s no point me being here with you anymore. If you can’t forgive me for one mistake which ended up with no harm then how can we be married?”

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Tegaea Alcori"]


Siobhan was red in the face. "I will not take orders from you. Or anyone else," she growled. She ignored Elpsis, who looked close to tears and gave the impression of someone who'd rather be elsewhere. Since Tegaea had elected to stand rather than sit, she towered over her shorter wife. This made Siobhan slightly uncomfortable.


So she got up. However, as she got to her feet, she swayed, as if off-balance. This made her even angrier. Raw emotion clouded her judgement. "I did what I did to protect us! Because no one else can. And of course I care about you! But if you think otherwise you can g...," she slurred the last letter. Pain spiked inside her chest, and her breathing became laboured. She was struggling to breathe.


"I can manage just fine without...," she struggled to form words, but they did not leave her lips. The expression on her face was one of fear. Startled and frightened, she looked towards her wife. Weakness overcame her legs and to stabilise herself she held on to the desk, leaning forward. But then her limp arm gave way and she fell.

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
Anger instantly, totally and suddenly turned to alarm.
“Siobhan!” she cried. She looked at Elpsis. “Get a doctor, now!” she shouted frantically.

She didn’t know what had happened to her wife, but Siobhan would not fall like that unless something was seriously wrong. Even if she’d slipped she had the Force, and could easily levitate. Then Tegaea realised what must have been the cause and fear struck through her.

You knew she had a bad heart, and still you pushed her.

She literally vaulted the desk, scattering papers without care and turned her wife over, gently lifting her onto the table.
She hit the table communicator’s panic button. “Someone, we need a doctor in here right now!” she cried to whoever might be listening on the emergency line.

“It’s alright, Sio, help’s coming, you’ll be alright,” Tegaea said to Siobhan, but it was unclear if her wife could hear her.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Tegaea Alcori"]


Siobhan was still conscious, though this might not be a good thing. It meant that she was aware of what was going on, but unable to act. For the first time in many years, she was helpless. Tremendous pain swept over her, like dozens of knives slicing into her flesh. She did not just feel fear, she was terrified. Her face was as white as a bed sheet when Tegs laid her on the table.


Siobhan tried to reach out to her wife, but her hand refused to rise. She struggled to speak. "Sor...," with great effort she managed to get the one syllable out before her tongue went limp, swallowing anything else she might have wanted to convey to her wife.


Dimly, she could hear Elpsis calling for a doctor. Then the young empath was at her side. She could feel the energies of the Force flow through her as her niece's warm hands touched her shoulder and cheek. It dulled the pain somewhat and eased her transition into unconsciousness. "You'll be fine, Auntie. You hear me. You're gonna be ok. You...can't go," Elpsis sounded frantic, afraid and desperate.

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
Footsteps, and several persons in various states of dress and readiness entered. First was a Firemane medic who had happened to be passing when the alarm went off. She immediately took charge, and after Elpsis had slipped Siobhan into the grip of Morpheus she administered some drugs to help relax the muscles and break up the clots.
Producing her scanner, she was examining Siobhan when Doctor Osway entered. The good doctor looked like she’d just gotten up…or come from somewhere where a robe was the first thing she could grab.
“Situation?” she ordered.
Tegaea looked wretched. “We were discussing…no we were arguing…and then she collapsed.”
The judgement in the Twi’lek’s eyes were damning. “There’s no time for recriminations now, I need to get her to a hospital right now so she can be saved.”
“I’ll get you whatever you need.”
“Medivac, hospital ward, Doctor Pender. Fortunately, she is on board. Medic, administer TPA. Have you located the clot?”
“Yes, Doctor, right side, neck.”
“Right, lets’ move. Elpsis Elaris, I need you to use the Force in any way you can to keep her brain functioning.”
“Call me when you have news,” Tegaea said.
“I will,” Osway said curtly.
And then they were all gone, leaving Tegaea alone and slumped in the chair her wife had just sat in.

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Tegaea Alcori"]


"I...uh...ok, I can do do this." Could she? As a matter of fact, Elpsis had no clue. She was a moderately capable healer, but not a great one by any stretch of the imagination. She could heal minor ailments, mitigate someone's pain and set a broken bone if she really taxed herself.


But to keep someone's brain from collapsing was an entirely different league. Wisely, she did not say that. Fear flared up inside her, then she pulled herself together. She had to help keep Auntie Sio alive, so she would do that.


Great White Wolf, Heavenly Mother, please don't let her die, pulling at the tangled web of power that was the Force, with a prayer to her goddess on her lips, she tried to pour every inch of power she could muster to keep Siobhan's brain from shutting down.

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Elpsis Elaris"]
It was later.

The medical staff had worked well; they were after all some of the best (and highest paid) medical professionals in this quadrant of the galaxy.

Several hours later Doctor Osway, now in proper gown and shoes emerged. Elpsis had been sent out soon after they’d arrived and been able to hook up some life support systems.

Tegaea, who had been waiting anxiously the whole time presumably with Elpsis, rose to her feet.

“The news is promising,” Osway said seriously. She saw Tegaea’s relief. “But it is not certain. We were able to remove the blockage, apply the necessary drugs and perform an emergency catheter insertion to find and deliver the necessary medicine. Due to the speed of her reaching care and the efforts of Elpsis here, the results should be positive. Her neural and motor functions should not be impeded, though she may well have some short-medium term memory loss. That memory may or may not return.”

“Thank you for your work, Doctor,” Tegaea said softly.

“You are welcome. I hope you now see the importance of not overstressing someone with this sort of condition,” she said sternly.
“Yes, of course. May I see her?”
“You may go in. She may be awake soon, but no more than ten minutes with her. She needs her rest and calm.”

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Tegaea Alcori"]


Siobhan awoke in another hospital room. This was not an unusual occurence for her and so she was not unnerved. What she found disconcerting was the fact that she had no clue how and why she'd ended up here. Or where the room was located. She was reasonably certain that it was a Firemane facility.


The light was bright and she tried to raise her hand to cover her eyes, but it would not move. It also felt to her as if the right side of her face was unnaturally rigid. Slowly she adjusted. At least it did not feel like she'd lost any limbs or was was not physically restrained. But she felt weak, exhausted and slow.


Maybe she should go back to sleep again. "T-Tegs?" she spoke aloud when she heard footsteps coming from outside, slurring a bit. This was very disconcerting to her. The weakness of her voice caused her some distress.