Mission 'Madclaw Madness'

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

The armor weighing down on her was making it more and more difficult to breathe, especially with the dust and no protection from breathing it in. She was coated thickly in the stuff as it stuck to all the built up sweat from wearing the mask, her skin a mottled brown and powdery white that helped her blend further in with the surroundings. While it was an unintentional and beneficial development, it was far from comfortable. Wheezing, she did her best to bite back a coughing fit she could feel trying to escape her as she inched forward toward the sounds of swiftly crumbling rubble and barked orders as the Hutt’s main guards tried to get through into the back hall where she was.

Steeling herself for what she knew was coming, she prayed that the Seven’s luck was still with her through this even as she listened to the chatter over the comm. from Sev, Athar and Shine. As carefully as she could she prowled back down the hall, attempting to not only ignore the nearly intolerable pain in her back, but also her bruised body and tight chest from the explosions. They had to get out of there…all of them…herself included. C’mon Sam, you’re stronger than this. Push through it. You’ve got other things to do. The racket in her ear from Sev and Athar’s comms had her wincing, momentarily distracted enough that her foot slipped over a bit of rubble and forcing her to shift swiftly to slam against the nearest wall so that she didn’t fall outright.

Frell.

“There!”

“Break it down! Kick you bloody idiots! Get at ‘er!”

Her rifle clicked as it shifted in her grip, her eyes narrowing down the sights as her face tensed in pain and concentration. The business ends of two other guns aimed at her as the other four continued to work furiously to get the rubble out of the way. Using the wall to steady herself and give her a better support, she made certain she was the first to unleash hell. In the thick dust, however, it was difficult to see little more than vague shadows and shapes, streaks of blaster rounds slamming into the wall beside her as she tried to inch toward her exit without being struck in the close quarters.

A sharp cracking of stone and a sudden tumbling of rubble told her she was running out of time to be careful. Somewhere to her left a solid canister of something clanked against the ground and she leapt back on instinct, taking her further away from the potential danger, but also her exit. When no explosion came…no flash of light or ear damaging bang threatened to stun her…no concussive force slammed against her, she glanced sideways to see a growing billow of smoke. Growling, she barely slipped past another round of blaster bolts as she tried to use the smoke grenade to her advantage, hurrying toward it swiftly.

Scrambling could be heard through the smoke cover as the sharp crack of a slug-rifle sounded across the hall, followed by a doubled amount of blaster bolts. They’ve broken through! Dammit! Whipping around, she managed to slip through the broken wall into the back room to the sight of a dangerous obstacle course of twisted metal, broken and fallen plants and pots, scattered furniture and rising electrical smoke…not to mention wet and slippery tile where the small pool of water had been. Still…there was her way out, the bright sun flooding in from where the wall had erupted outward. She didn’t think twice about heading into the mess, even as a hoarse cough escaped her as her lungs tried to expel all the dust they’d taken in.

She had just started to try and slip through a break in two of the fallen pieces of metal latticing that had made up the ceiling and were blocking her way when a bolt of green, super-heated, gas scorched along the top of her right shoulder, earning a sharp cry of pain that turned swiftly to dismay as one of those metal panels shifted as she jerked from the pain. Her thigh was now wedged painfully between the two panels and she could do little more for a moment than force herself to twist around (causing more pain) and fire back at the form she saw moving to try and evade her. Two shots and it was down, but that wasn’t going to stop the others from coming through.

Without a thought, she slung the rifle over her shoulder (injured or not, at this point it didn’t matter) and reached down with both hands, pulling with a sharp tug that freed her leg again. Though…after she had she could barely see through the pain as tears clouded her eyes. With a swift heave, she slipped through the gap between them just as another several blaster bolts peppered the air where she’d been moments ago. With less than a thought, her rifle was in her hands and she turned to aim, pumping out round after round of red bolts until the clip was empty.

Several had fallen, but more were coming from the main chamber by the sound of the racket in the hall outside the room, and at least two were still in there with her. Unable to see them immediately, she turned and worked her way through the maze of debris. ”Shine, Sev…if either of you can hear me I’ve got f--” The loud report of that slug rifle sounded again, just an instant before hot metal slammed into her leg, causing her to fall to the same knee as it momentarily gave out. ”Frell!” A sharp hiss and a heavy grunt was given as she rolled back behind a tumble of stone, plant and furniture for some cover. Am I ever gonna get out of here? The short minute or two it had taken her to get to this point felt like hours, with only more ‘hours’ laying ahead of her before she could make it to the exit that was so close.

No time to think like that, Sammy…gotta go.

Peering around the side of her cover she caught sight of them gathering their numbers up where the slug-rifle-wielding man had posted himself.

”I could really use a fast pick up….and a lot of help,” she muttered to herself. Taking a moment to fight back the nausea that was starting up with the cocktail of pain and heat she was sampling, Sam shifted to her knees, got her right foot under her, pulled a flashbang from her belt and tossed it out. Ducking back down as bolts flew past her head, she shut her eyes and pressed her hands against her ears just milliseconds before the deafening bang and blinding flash of the grenade went off. Even as her eyes saw spots and her ears rang, she could see and hear enough to function…enough to shove herself up and forward, pushing through the pain in her leg and all but tumbling outside as those who had reacted swiftly enough to escape the worst of the effects (like she had) sent rounds of weapon fire after her.

[Jazen]

(Tal, when you read this, please don't be mad at me for using Athar. If there's a big problem with the small uses I used him for, just let me know and I'll fix according to your wishes. I just forgot to ask for permission last night T_T Gonna need to ask you to help me do Athar's little line of speech according to how he actually speaks though )

In a brilliant flash of light and a resounding crash, the wall in front of Shine exploded into fire, rock and sand. For a moment, Shine had to avert his eyes and for another moment, he had to pull the speeder back another notch or two. He'd expected them to use a decent amount of explosives to crack that outer wall....but not that much. Always try to use a little more then you need huh? At least it worked. Sand and dust floated around the area where the new door had been formed, Shine lightly pushing the speeder forward to come alongside it. Didn't want to mow down the others when they came out by rushing.

Drawing his blaster, Shine opened the door slightly and hopped out, turning and pointing the weapon towards the open gap. He...could see something moving in there, but with the intense light outside and the shadowed interior of the palace, the two different worlds made it impossible to see into the other. It would likely be the same for them; instead of seeing what waited outside, they'd see a big bright blur while Shine was seeing a big dark blur. Useful for setting up an ambush..but terrible for seeing who came out first.

So he sat there, waited, blaster trained on the door. The heat was unbearable and the sweat rolled down his cheek as he stood, waiting to see what came out of the that hole. Friend...or foe.

Suddenly, the sounds of blaster fire echoed from within the hole, making Shine tense for a second and to bring his finger just a little tighter around the trigger. And then silence.....no wait, not silence. In the confusion earlier, the mic in his ear had fallen out. Quickly replacing it into his right ear, he keyed it on...and heard the familiar voices of Athar and Sev cutting through a wall of static. Not entire pieces at first, just bits and pieces. He caught pieces of Sam too, though her's weren't coming through as clear. It made sense; if what he'd heard earlier before the mic had fallen out was true, she had been caught on the wrong side of the blast. Which meant that as soon as he had the others, he needed to head to the alternate exit point.

And pray she actually made it there to get out.

No, bad Shine. Girl's got rocket fuel for blood, there's no way she ain't gonna jet outta the hole. And when she does, we're gonna be there to catch her on the rise. His thought was broken when something stumbled out of the hole. Shine narrowed his eyes, aimed his blaster....and saw Sev stumble out with a massive Wookie on his shoulder, with Athar in tow. Shine could have laughed.....but seeing how beat up both the Wookie and for that matter, Sev was, that laugh died before it had a chance to sneak out. And Sam wasn't with them too...that thought clicked back into place to kill any chance of a come back laugh.

Keeping his blaster on the door until Sev was shoving the Wookie into the speeder, he waited till Athar was in as well, the Nautolan taking the passenger seat, before dropping his weapon and preparing to get back in. Sev's voice was encouraging him to do it faster and he was obliged to do it. Getting back in, Shine slammed the door and keyed the speeder for full power. He had to glance down at the datapad in the seat between them to get a reminder of where they'd planned the backup door...there, just a little off from the main door. Great.

"Don't need to tell me....DOWN!" Reaching over, he shoved Athar hard into his seat and drew his blaster, and fired two shots out the side...right into the chest of the merc guy who was sneaking out of the hole in the wall. The man slumped back into that gap, his feet the only thing left visible as he fell into shadow. Putting the blaster back and patting Athar lightly, Shine spun the speeder hard and shot away as fast as he could. "Sorry about that....but considering the alternative, I figured it was the lesser of two evils."

Coming to the corner of the palace, Shine jerked the controls to the side and keyed the power, bringing the speeder into a hard jerking turn around that bend. He could swear the engine whined against this move but he knew she'd be able to pull it off. He normally would have used a less stressing move on a speeder they're lives depended on, but just before the turn, he'd caught something from Sam. He was sure the others did as well; a call for them to hurry before a sharp cry of pain echoed over the comm before static took over again. That piece of lovely detail had Shine doubling his effort to get there before things got even worse.

Even without the map to guide him, Shine wouldn't have missed the gaping hole in the wall. Nor the blonde woman struggling to get away, favoring one of her legs. A leg that was covered in a red. And she was firing back into the hole in the wall. A gesture someone...no, someones from the look of it, was returning in spades. Cursing under his breath, Shine pulled his scarf up around his face, right up to the nose. Then he pulled his goggles down over his eyes and brought the speeder about hard, clicking the comm as he spoke to both Sam and the others above the roar of the speeders engine. Oh, and he drew his blaster too.

"On your six blonde. Did you miss us?

Athar, I'm going to bring the speeder beside her. Go up and above the hood, give her guests some fun when I come around the second time. Sev, get ready to fire out the side door until she's in. This is gonna be tight. Oh...and hold on. This next part's about to get bumpy. Very bumpy."

Pushing the speeder to its full power, he gunned it towards her....no, not at her actually. In front of her, to where a series of her pursuers were starting to make a rush for her under the cover fire of their fellows. Bolts hissed into the side of the speeder as it came into their path, but Shine didn't falter. He'd been under fire before, this was nothing. The first of the runners didn't even notice what was coming before the metal front of the speeder sent him flying. The second was in the process of turning before he met a similar fate, blaster firing wildly as he went. The third and fourth managed to turn about to the new threat...just in time to let off a couple of shots before kissing the sky.

One of those bolts burned true, hissing through the front and scalding the side of his right arm. Biting back the urge to flinch to it, Shine spun the speeder hard around and back the way it came. And when he did, he reached onto his belt and clicked the concussion grenade free. With a groan as his arm protested the move, he flung it out the window towards the gap before bringing the speeder hard about again, almost strafting in its own way, to power slide the speeder behind Sam, Sev likely already kicking the door open to help her get in. Athar was already leaning out and firing over the top of the speeder and Sev was dumping shots from the seat behind him, doing their part as Shine aimed his own blaster out the window and fired as fast as he could at the opening, to force them to duck into cover so the window of time for her to get in was better.

"Hey gorgeous, you look like you could use a lift." he called to her as he waited for her to get in behind him, "alright, let's kick up some sand." Hearing the door close and likely the shouts of the others to go, Shine brought the speeder around...hard, the engine now really not liking all this fancy dancing, before pushing the throttle to full power. Glancing back at everyone, he sighed as he reached around in his pocket. "Med kit at your feet...do what you can for now."

"Hurry lad..em speeders be on us soon!"

Grinning, Shine found what he was looking for. "If they can fly pieces." Clicking the device in his pocket, the rear was suddenly filled with orange, red and yellow, the sound of multiple explosions finding their way above the sound of the speeders engine. "Preemptive planning; isn't that what you guys were talking about earlier?" Huffing a chuckle, he pushed the speeder even harder; it was time to get outta dodge.

[Latus]

The door was closed and his pistol was drawn, ready to continue the fight. His heart raced as the breaths came short and sharp, air hissing through teeth that were clenched tightly together, eyes closed with the barrel to his forehead. In the back seat of the speeder Sev was in agony, the pain his stomach and shoulder running together to form a cover that threatened to smother him. He'd been shot plenty of times but taking a full powered heavy bolt to the gut was something different, a wound that could turn into a slow and painful death. Grunting his eyes slid open as Shine spoke for an instant before hollering “DOWN!” Though the soldier's reaction was not as quick as it needed to be the target fell before it became necessary ending in the grip of his pistol striking the edge of the door. His mind was drawn to the fair accuracy of the center of mass shots wondering if he would have been able to replicate that shot... if he was able... No, snap out of it. There is still a job to do. Sighing with a light groan Sev almost urged Shine on again before

"… I figured it was the lesser of two evils."

Later lad. We gottae find Sam.

The sharp jerk and burst of acceleration certainly didn't do much for the sergeant as he was compressed into his seat before nearly being thrown sideways out of the open window. His mouth opened to chastise the kid for his erratic driving but only a sharp hiss of breath came from him as he checked his pistol again, the edges of his vision beginning to lost focus. There would be time for that later if they managed to escape, if he survived. In the next instant Sam's voice broke over his headset before being strangled with pain; that was good enough for him. She would survive and at least they now had a pick-up location. Shaking his head he cleared the haze of pain and negative thought from his mind; get Sam out. Get her safe first. Taking several sharp breaths he fought the pain aside and pulled a grenade from his vest as the speeder bore down on their target.

The hole Sam had made was certainly hard to miss, the brilliant lines of blaster fire accentuating the cloud of dust that had yet to disperse. As they closed Shine quickly spoke his plan and, though Sev certainly had the temptation to put his foot through the kid's head for the driving he was unable to come up with a better plan in such a short period. Grunting he put the grenade to his lips and bit down on the pin, pulling hard. With a metallic report the pin popped free and, as they shot through the first time he stiffly lobbed the explosive up and out of the speeder, away from Sam and their projected path. He didn't wait to see if it hit anything before opening fire, hands steadying the laser weapon as round after round was sent downrange. As they spun for a second pass Sev leaned over the barely conscious Worrak to send several shots out of the other window and, while he was sure most of them had started to take cover for their own life and limb he doubted any of his shots hit anything.

Finally Shine hit the brakes hard and they hovered to a stop between Sam and the bulk of the incoming blaster fire. Grunting Sev pulled the latch and kicked the door open, Sam's armored form entering the speeder only moments later. He slid over from her until he sat between the wookie and the still armored Sam, leaning over her to continue firing. When Shine spoke again the sergeant had finally heard enough of him.

Talk later, Shine. GO!

An instant later the speeder had reached a respectable velocity and Sev's shoulder slumped in relief, eyes open, head tilted back to stare upward.

"Med kit at your feet..."

Now that is something I don't mind hearing out of him. Leaning foreword Sev groaned again, this time with less restriction from him. The pain had intensified from the increased stress of combat and his mental blocks were starting to erode as he allowed the pistol to fall from his hands into his lap. Moving his hand just slightly more it returned to his stomach where the nerves continued to scream. Breathing heavily he slowly doubled over as his eyesight blurred while they roamed the interior for the med kit. He spotted the red of the pack after only a moment and he reached for it, pulling it up and onto his lap. The sergeant was just about to speak again before a massive roar and plume of light lit the inside of the speeder followed an instant later by the roar of an explosion. Good... hope we won't be followed

Good job, lad... ye'd 'ave made th' Sevens proud... Taking a quick breath he nodded and looked to each of them in turn. Good job, we... *grunts* really showed them wha's wha'...

The compliment, meant to be ironic, was short lived as he turned over to Sam, the armored figure looking much worse for wear. An instant later his eyes were drawn to her leg, deep crimson seeping out of a fairly clean slug wound, and his own pain seemed to vanish momentarily. Looking down again at his hands he realized that, due to the pain, his hands were shaking far too heavily. He'd be unable to dress the wound like this.

Ah... we're lookin' worse fer wear, lass. Will yeh be... all roight till we hit town?

Nodding to her he gave her a half grin/ half cringe before leaning back against the seat once more. Just the act of breathing seemed difficult and though the adrenaline had quieted the pain momentarily it had returned with a vengeance. Clenching his fist he returned his free hand to his stomach. A sting of pain hit the fist and he quickly realized why; opening his hand he realized that the grenade pin was still wrapped around his finger. Taking a deep breath he turned to Sam and took her hand, pulling the thick glove off. He didn't know if the pain or loss of blood was causing the feeling of nostalgia but he gently slipped the pin into her palm before closing it around the small metal loop.

Et's no' gramma... but it'll do fer now.

Giving her a glance he pulled a hand back to his stomach and settled in. They would get to the settlement soon... everything would be settled up when they arrived.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

It had been a race for the speeder after making sure that Sev and the wookiee were safe from the cutlery-wielding chefs. Sev looked to have been hit pretty badly, but there hadn’t been time to think about it as the two hefted Worrak to the waiting speeder and all but shoved him in. The blur of motion once they got in, however, was far from pleasant. It nearly had his sword digging into his leg as he tried to get his blaster ready for what would, no doubt, be much needed cover fire. Athar could hear Sev hissing in the back, no doubt in no small amount of pain. Turning in his seat, he looked back at Sev, some of his inward thoughts seeping onto his face even through the pain.

Blue features set like stone and, for once since they’d met, Athar made his honest thoughts very clear.

”Sergeant! We come too far fer you ta give dat look, ya got et?! Dat gerl’s countin on all uv us. Ev’n you!”

It didn’t seem like any of it had seeped into his mind through the pain but…who knew. In another few moments the speeder was careening around the corner of the palace, bringing into view the utter…destruction…of the palace wall. He didn’t have time to even whistle at the damage as the first ‘speed bump’ was hit. Twisting around, he shoved his torso out the window and used the front windshield to steady his aim as a flurry of bolts sizzled through the air, Sam trying to hold her own against the seen (and unseen) assailants within.

By the time the others got there Sam was having more than a little trouble. Her third, and final, grenade had been tossed and she was relying on the full-automatic of her rifle, praying that it didn’t overheat before help arrived. Just as Shine’s voice broke over her comm. the charge pack released and fell to the ground, another shoved home less than an instant later. She hadn’t seen the grenade Sev had lobbed, but she sure saw the explosion…and the opportunity it presented as the return fire slowed considerably. Backing further, she let the weapon reach the point of nearly overheating as she switched to the three round burst to keep them at bay until the speeder slid in front of her to gun down several of her assailants. Panting heavily, she wiped her eyes free of sweat and dirt with a glove as the came back around, the door flying open in the process.

”Go Shine! Go!”

Hauling into the speeder, she shoved her rifle in the best place she could to not burn anyone and hoped she hadn’t landed on Sev as she pulled the door shut with a pained wince and gritting of her teeth as they took off like a bat out of hell. Panting, she couldn’t have even told you, at first, what was being said around her. Goddess, I can’t breathe with this gear on. With her eyes shut tight she could only barely manage to pull her earpiece out of her ear and shove it in a pocket, not even bothering with the throat mic. If I could strip this gear off right here I would be in heaven. …Another bead of sweat rolled down her face from her hairline, leaving a long streak in the dirt and dust on her face. With another wince, she swallowed hard to try and push back the sick feeling that came with the pain.

The explosions caught her attention, however, her eyes flying open and her whole body tensing as she jolted, sending a fresh wave of hellfire burning through her. Blinking, she finally started to catch bits of the conversation around her as she took stock of her companions. Athar looked…a bit bruised, cut in places, but nothing too horrible that she could tell. Worrak still looked just as bad as ever…Shine was fine as far as she could tell, except for a blaster graze she barely caught sight of…Finally her eyes stopped on Sev. He looks like hell…

“Ah…we’re lookin’ worse fer wear, lass.”

Got that right…

She winced again as she moved, her leg screaming bloody (haha) murder, along with the continuous pain in her shoulder and her bruised ribs and back that came from each breath.

“Will ye be…all roight til we hit town?”

She nodded just slightly and managed a little smile. ”What? The whole ‘wounded in battle’ look doesn’t suit me? I figured it might be an improvement. Ah well, I suppose I’ll live until we get to a doctor or…something…” She was putting on a good face…well…discounting the dirt and sweat. And blood. Still, as she looked him over, she noticed all too well the stomach wounds there and she paled beneath all that muck coating her skin. ”Goddesss, Sev! I’m good but not good enough for these injuries…Shine...” Her eyes had flickered first from Sev, to Shine, then back to Sev and his injury once more. ”Shine, we need to get somewhere ASAP. If you know of any doctors around here, step on it.”

If she’d thought she’d been shaking before, it must have been twice as bad now. She only noticed because she was having more than a little difficulty in pulling off her gloves again. Trying for another breath to steady herself, she had to actually look at her hands to manage to get one glove off. No sooner had she done so than Sev took the other and pressed something into her hand. A…grenade pin? Glancing from the pin he’d curled her hand around, then back to him, a look of utter confusion written in her eyes and on her face…only barely covering the sudden fear that was trying to eat away at her again.

“Et’s no’ gramma…but it’ll do fer now.”

Those grey eyes widened as her face flushed slightly, then paled again dramatically. This…was just too much. Nodding, she held the pin tight for a moment and hugged him carefully. ”Right…I think it’s great, Sev…now….now let’s see what I can do for you.” Bleeding leg? What bleeding leg? Throbbing and bruised ribs? What throbbing and bruised ribs? Injured shoulder? What injured shoulder? Right now her mind was too focused…first on getting her other glove off, then on hooking that precious pin to her gear carefully…then on peeling off that piece of leg armor the slug had punched through….

In baby steps she was able to complete the little tasks…enough to get a makeshift tourniquet on her leg to stem the bleeding from the rifle wound and find some pain killers. Sev was first, then herself…but…more than some pain killers…not only did she not have the experience to help further, but she didn’t have the space or the tools. Gripping Sev’s shoulder tightly, she finally managed a smile, first at him, then Athar, then Shine…though…she wasn’t sure he could see her while driving.

”Good job guys….really…Shine, Sev…we owe you guys a lot…”

For a moment she was quiet, the pain…eased….but far from gone as she looked back at Sev. ”Hey Sev…some vacation, huh?”

That…wasn’t what she’d wanted to say…

[Jazen]

The advantage of a desert planet like this was that aside from the odd dip in the sand dunes and the occassional rock formation here or there, it was all sand and empty space. Which meant that he could afford to glance around now and then to check something without fear of crashing their speeder into lord know's what and getting them all hurt worse then they already were. It wasn't like he was planning to drive while keeping his head turned on backwards to stare or anything, but it let him get a better look at the situation they were all facing at the moment.

Giving a double glance over the space before them and pushing a little harder on the acclerator, Shine glanced back over the seat to the trio of cripples that had taken it up. Sev, Sam and the wookie all looked worse for wear....Sev more then Sam. As for the Wookie well, he was more or less just slumped against his seat....probably getting the first real ounces of sleep in days. That was good; if he could move under his own power, at least a bit more then before when they got to the settlement, it would be all that faster for them to get away.

At Sam's voice urging them to get to a doctor, Shine glanced back over his seat again, sending another look over the man's injuries. He was in pretty bad shape. And regardless of what she said, so was she. The sooner they got back to the Cat and whatever ship Sam and company had used to get here, the better. So despite the dagger of pain it sent up his leg from the cut there, he pressed down on the accelaretor to the max, feeling the speeder boost for a moment as its engines went into overdrive. Mentally, he realized that the dagger had dug deeper then he first thought....he'd have to deal with that later though.

"Can't say I know anyone at all around here Sam. First visit...and probably my last. Too much sand and flith for my tastes. But the Cat is fully stocked with med supplies...frell I even got a small kolto tank. Should at least get you guys patched up enough till we can get to a real medical station."


They sat in silence for the next little bit as Sev and Sam worked to tend to the other wounds, gettingt them to the point where they'd at least be stable for the rest of the trip. A sharp pain from his chest as he took a long breath reminded him of the cut there and, reaching a hand to touch the place the knife had made its mark, Shine found the spot was still sticky with a new patch of red. The heavy driving must have done wonders to keep it closed. Seeing movement out of the corner of his eye, he looked over to catch Athar staring at him with those black eyes of his. With a sigh and a curt twitch of his head to the backseat, Shine turned to focus on the road for a moment. A tap on the shoulder and turned back, Athar holding one of the kolto patches the kit had held in his hand, already made ready for use.

Giving his thanks, Shine took the patch with a free hand, keeping the other steady on the stick. Reaching under his shirt, Shine took a deep breath and slapped the patch to the wound, biting the intital stab of pain that always came with sticking those things on an open wound. The stab gone, Shine sighed in relief; another spot he'd have to double check on his own time when they got back. Sam's voice of thanks had him smiling lightly, waving a hand over his shoulder at her.

"Don't mention it Sam. Any self respecting man would have done it. You just owe me dinner....or a race. Your pick." Trying not to chuckle to himself, Shine pressed his foot down just a wee bit harder...if that was even possible.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was night by the time they got back to the settlement, the perfect cover for them to get into the place without being spotted by any of the goons that might be working for the Hutt that were hanging around the place. Shine did a slightly longer then he needed to run around the place to get to where the hangars were, just to try and shake any tails that might be on them. Then he brought the speeder to an alleyway and hopped out, going over to the door behind him to help Sam get out of the vehicle. He suspected Athar to do the same witht he Wookie; he wasn't sure how Sev would get out, but he would aid him if he had too.

Glancing around the area and keeping an arm on Sam(and maybe Sev if the man needed it), Shine tipped his head towards the hangar where the Cat was resting in the basking lights of the hangar bay. "Alright, we got three people here that need some aid bad. Now, I could get you all fixed up here, but it'll take time per person, time we could spend better a different way by spliting up the injured.

Sam, if your alright with it, I say Athar takes Sev and your buddy there to your ship. I can have you ready within the hour and back to your ship before you know it.

The Hutt won't be looking for me or my ship, so its the safest place any of you can go. At least till we're off this sand ball with everyone in some shape that isn't bordering on intensive care."

[Latus]

Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out.

Breathe in, breathe out.

What little strength that remained within the sergeant from the day was slowly being sapped from him. Between reassurance from Athar, Sam's reaction to the pin he gave her (oh he thought that was immensely clever), and Shine's raving about the medical supplies his freighter had in stock the Sergeant's ears were ringing. He just wanted to enjoy the back of his eyelids and the peaceful ride back to the spaceport. A rattle and the report of movement from Sam announced what was coming. Cringing he opened his eyes and looked around the speeder finally settling on the number of small pills seated within his wingmate's hand; joy, rapture...

Thanks lass... Taking them gently from her he downed them with a quick sip from his water pack. The sip became a long gulp as he realized his own thirst... and how uncomfortable his small back was against his back. Gently pulling it off he sat it between his legs as Shine and Sam spoke back and forth, something about a race.

”Hey Sev,”

His eyes swung back in her direction, a painful smile coming to his face.

Hmm?

…some vacation, huh?”

The smile spread like wildfire across his face as he fought the urge to laugh at the comment. It certainly had been an interesting few days... at least now it was over. Aye... He coughed once, sending a spike of pain through his torso. Ah think th' best part was when we left... ah'm gonnae need anoth'r vacation after thus one.

Gently he reached a hand to her shoulder and shook it gently, kindly; it got his meaning across. Although, despite the pain, the injuries... both of them, and all the drama involved Sev could quite honestly say that this was the most fun he had had in ages. Mix together Sam, the gunfights, a pissy nautolan, explosions... how can you go wrong?

---

It was indeed night by the time the speeder pulled into the settlement. Sev couldn't tell if he had slept or not but he imagined it possible as there were spaces in time he did not recall. Or was that the painful boredom? Despite everything else he felt one hundred percent... well, almost that much better, the bulk of the pain was gone. In fact, his mood was much higher as well, the fact that he hadn't blacked out, coughed up blood, or died outright indicating that he had escaped quite a bit of the potential lethality of the blast he had taken; still burned like fire, though. He had to remind himself to write an upbeat note to the designers of his body armor.

As the speeder finally pulled to a stop he waited until Sam had gotten out before stiffly exiting himself, circling the speeder to offer Worrak his shoulder. Despite being forced to move much slower than normal he finally brought the pained wookie out and among the group. Shine spoke as he exited the speeder, stating the obviousness of their wounds and suggesting they split up; Sam and Shine to the Cat for the kolto and Sev, Athar, and Worrak to the Exodus for lesser patchups. Though the soldier knew he had no reason to be suspicious there was no way he could help himself. Sam was Sam and Shine... well he still had a level of paranoia around the naïve spacer. Groaning he shook his head and lowered Worrak to his own feet. The wookie was able to stand, at least, but was still unstable.

Ah dinnae agree tae tha'. Worrak needs th' kolto worse than any o' us an you're th' one tha' can take care o' him th' quickest. Athar or I can patch Sam up well enough an' ah'll be well enough fer now.

Pausing, Sev looked from Shine to Worrak to Athar, hoping that this could be resolved quickly. He didn't want to be caught without the ability to defend himself properly. Straightening up again he cleared his throat and spoke again.

Besides, if'n 'e won' be lookin' fer yer ship th' package would be safer wit' you. We can meet up in deep orbit or lightyears from 'ere. Ah dinnae care, jus' as long as thus wookie gets home.

The weak response from Worrak himself, one sounding like a mix of tearing cloth and a groan, served to accentuate the point. He didn't speak “Shriiwook” or whatever but he was sure it was something to do with his last statement... What else would it be? Sighing to himself he simply shook his head.

If tha' doesn't work ye can decide. Ah've go' some first aid en mah pack oan th' Ex which'll do meh some good.

It was an odd time to be thinking about alcohol but the bottles of the good stuff he had stuffed in his pack before leaving Umgul were quite simply calling his name. He knew he was going to have to crack one open after this particular mission.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

Yeah I'm not too happy with mine either and Sam is....really cranky...don't mind her. Nothing personal...just the pain ^_^;

---

“Thanks, lass.”

Yeah…don’t mention it…She didn’t say anything, but the smile and a gentle pat got the point across just fine to him, no doubt.

“Don’t mention it Sam. Any self respecting man would have done it. You just owe me dinner…or a race. You’re pick.”

Oh Via…really? I can’t think straight enough for this right now. For a moment she blinked at him, well…the back of him anyway, torn between amusement, sincere gratitude, and a bit of annoyance that something like that would be said right now. Finally Sam managed a soft chuckle. ”Sure…okay, no problem…but neither of ‘em are gonna be for a bit.” I foresee a sling in my future for a while…she mused silently and bit back another wave of that horrible sick feeling with a slight grimace.

The smile eased a few of her fears but…not many. Shock…it was on her mind. Sev had had quite a few drinks prior to their ‘little’ operation and none of the water needed to counter the dehydration alcohol brought on and with the high temperatures of mid day…and not the physical trauma he’d sustained…the man was in danger. Maybe he knew it, maybe he didn’t…but she knew, and it ate away at her. Hell, she was worried about herself; between the bleeding slug wound (slowed as it was), the heat, her own dehydration, and the difficulty she was having breathing because of the armor she was in Sam knew she wasn’t in any better a state.

“Aye…Ay think th’ best part was when we left…Ah’m gonnae need anoth’r vacation after thus one.”

It started as a soft snicker…barely above hearing level…then swiftly progressed into a light chuckle, though her bruised body was not appreciating it. Finally, that chuckle broke into a full out laugh. Of course, it was difficult to get enough air to laugh, let alone laugh while it caused so much pain to shoot through her ribs and lungs…still, she just couldn’t help it. After all the stress of these past few days his comment, so benign and honest, was just too funny.

”Oh ouch….it hurts to laugh! Darn it Sev!”

Still, she couldn’t help but keep laughing. After a moment she managed to calm herself, hooking her arm (with some pain) around his and managed a weak squeeze. His returned grip on that shoulder (gentle as it was) had her cringing, both from her previous injury...and the new one. Blasted blaster bolt. Still, she had to admit…some parts of it had been damn fun.

---

She’d rested her head back some time ago, fighting back the pain. Even with the medication her shoulder, her breathing, and her leg were problems. Try as she might to stay awake, she hadn’t been able to…and so it came as a surprise to her when the speeder stopped and she had to pick her head up off of Sev’s shoulder. She felt clammy…and disoriented, if only for a few moments, as she blinked around. Athar was helping Worrak out on one side of the speeder, the door on her side opened, Shine holding a hand out to help her. Still can’t…breathe with this crap on…Shifting, she’d slowly work herself out and onto his shoulder before stubbornly standing on her own. Gonna have to get it off soon. Sooner the better.

Soon as she was out, Sev was working his way out as well. Out and moving, it seemed. Blasted man is tougher than I am…that, or stupider. I’m not sure which. She let Shine talk as she hoisted out her rifle, resting it against the side of the speeder and wincing as she reached to shut the door. She already knew her answer, even as she watched Athar shoo Sev away once Worrak was completely out of the speeder. Feeling lightheaded for a moment, Sam propped herself against the speeder casually, grey eyes moving around the area for any suspicious behavior (or signs of pursuit) from the people around...not that there were many.

”Far as I can tell, Worrak here need fluids an’ food, no’ kolto…kolto don’t help malnourishment an’ he don’t look whipped. Beside, dat Hutt still unburyin’ himself. Sure he’ll be lookin’ but he don’t know what ship ta look for. Da one we fly ain’ da one I usually come in. Wookiee here will be okay wit me.”

Sam held up a hand, index finger up.

”Point of fact…Sev, you need treatment. I don’t care if you’re not bleeding, you know as well as I do you gut wounds are not to be taken lightly and neither you or I can treat those puppies. Now, I could go on with reasons why you need kolto, but I’ll stop there.” Looking over to Shine she shook her head slightly. ”Shine, you’re taking Sev.” Standing from her leaning place on the speeder, she’d wheeze another quiet breath as she turned her eyes back to Sev. ”And no arguments from you, please. You said I’m in charge for this, so here it is before you argue: you’re going with Shine, like it or not. If that means I have to either knock you out or escort you to make sure you go…” She shrugged.

Still, at the end of all of it, grim and gruff as she’d been, Sam managed a slight chuckle and a shake of her head. ”Figuring I have some guesses about your choice, so I’ll just say…Shine, you’re likely getting both of us. We can talk rendezvous details when we’re off the ground. Now…are we settled? Athar, can you deal with Worrak alone?”

Athar nodded a bit, the bruising from their escapades showing up swiftly along his features and his head tresses. ”No’ ta worry gerl. I got dis handled, right wookiee?” He wasn’t going to say it, but how she was looking, acting, had him worried more than anything else. She looked pale, tired, worried, frustrated, and worst of all she was looking both pained and ill. The best he could do was just try to get her to worry a little less. Worrak, weak as he was, just seemed ready to go. With a series of short…well they could only be described as chirps…a few huffs and a growl, Athar was pretty certain he got the message…especially with the nodding head.

Sam couldn’t help but look relieved, sighing gently and nodding herself. ”Great. Can we…go now? For the love of Via…please let’s go.” She was being tough about it, but the pain was still obvious in her eyes, especially as she turned and took a few, limping, steps to the end of the speeder in the direction of the maze of landing pads. Pausing, she turned carefully and took as deep a breath as she was able to press down the pain and sickness again. ”I don’t feel like being caught here…not at the end of all this…sooner we get going the better…”

[Jazen]

Shine tilted his head to look at Sev as the soldier questioned his suggestion about what to do with their injured parties. It wasn't surprising actually, that he questioned and pretty much told Shine that his idea wasn't the best one. Heck, he'd been doing it for most of this mission. But this time, while he did have a good point regarding the condition of the Wookie, Worrak, he was also wrong about him and Sam being alright. They were both far from it; heck, far as he could tell, they could all use a nice soak in the kolto tank.

But now wasn't the time to get all fussy about him arguing against Shine's idea again. They had little time before someone came looking for them under the Hutt's orders and more to the point, the faster the three of them got medical aid, the better it would be for their health.

There was also something else there....something hidden beneath Sev's words about them taking care of Sam instead of him. They'd just worked together to save their friend, Worrak, even if Shine had been stuck with the duty of driver and not been neck deep in enemies dragging the walking furball. And still, Shine could swear the man still didn't trust him. Okay sure, he hadn't been staring death in the face during the rescue, save for when he was doing the tango with the woman Panther...but come on, he came through right? That counted for something...or it should have.

The light groan from Worrak had Shine tilting his head to the Wookie, noticing that he was slumping slightly more then he was before. Made sense actually; he was likely tired, hurt, probably hungry and dehydrated. They really didn't have time to argue this...and Shine was about ready to just grab them both, say to heck with it and drag their hurt behinds into the Cat to get treatment...when Sam spoke up for him. Well, both Athar and Sam spoke up for him, tackling the points that needed to be tackled and, to Shine's amusement, pretty much countering the counter Sev had thrown to Shine's idea. For the first time today, Sam had, in a way, defended his position on the matter.

Stepping over to Sam's side at the speeder, Shine simply shrugged and turned to look at Sev, sighing. "Okay, here's what we'll do. Sam is right; you need treatment as much as she does. So like she said, your going in the juice first. I won't argue with our fearless leader here on that now simply because its right and because we don't have a lot of time to get off the ground. Once your in, I'll patch Sam up enough so that she'll hold together until your kosher, then I'll get her in to fix her up if I can.

Athar, I've got more then enough extra food. While I get these two inside, your welcome to borrow from the stock before heading back to your ship. Soon as I got Sev here in the tank and Sam decently patched, I'll head for high orbit and then contact you. Say....I dunno, an hour from now. I'm sure Sam can tell me how to do it.

Unless there's any other concerns, this is the plan I'm going to go with...and I'm not wasting a minute more in getting anyone here the attention they need." Catching up to Sam, who'd started moving for the hangar bays already, though she'd stopped by the end of the speeder and taking deep breaths, he slid an arm around behind her to act as a balance and support for getting her to the ship. Then he turned to Sev, offering to help him as well in the same way, even if he didn't want it. No time to argue it. "Athar, I'll see you on the flip side soon enough. Take care of your friend there; would hate for all the work you guys did to.....well, I'm sure you got it covered."

With Sam(and possibly Sev) on his sides, he moved as quick as he could into the hangar bay, shuffling his feet across the dusty and sandy floor towards the place where the ramp to the ship would be. Resting Sam and Sev against either landing pillar, Shine keyed the release for the ramp and turned back to look at them. As the ramp hissed to the ground, kicking up a small wave of sand as it did, Shine turned to Sam first. "Alright, your first Sam; Sev, give me a minute to get her into the ship, then I'll be back for you. And please just wait okay?"

Assisting Sam in the same way as before, he'd help her into the ship, bringing her to the ship's galley and sitting her on the table at its center. Grabbing a glass of water, he handed it to her before moving quickly back to the ship's ramp, not wasting a moment for her to tell him he needed to get Sev too. In quick steps he was down the thing, grabbing Sev and hustling him into the ship as well. They passed Sam in the galley as they went, Shine flashing a glance her way to make sure all was still okay, before turning the corner and bringing Sev to the med room door. Smacking the release, the room hissed open and he moved inside, indicating to Sev a small table nearby.

"Alright, grab that mask and get out of what clothes you can. I'll assist with what you can't get out of." Stepping beside the empty tank before him, Shine pushed the control to warm up the system, the opposite tank bubbling as the device prepared to transfer the healing kolto from one place to another. As that task started, he turned back to Sev, offering and then helping if need be to get Sev down to only his undergarments. He winced when he saw the true damage the man had taken....and realized just how right Sam had been about getting him aid first. "Alright, now let's get you in the tank....wounds like this, I'd say your gonna need four to five hours to be really healed.

Don't worry...I'll make sure she stays safe. Trust me on this." And with a nod and helping hand, he'd wait till Sev was in the tank and properly masked before hitting the start key. There he waited till he was sure the situation was secure and everything was kosher...before sighing and turning to the medical supplies behind him. One down, one more to go. What a day; I get to play driver and doctor. What's next.....teacher? Shaking his head, he went to work on finding what he needed to get Sam patched up as well.

[Latus]

While the suggestion he had seemed the most proper in his mind at the time all three of his companions were quick to reject the suggestion, still on the bend that he was the one to go into the kolto first. The other points were peanuts but this the counterpoints were certainly unexpected. The sergeant was about to speak against it, saying that the kolto would help with the wookie's atrophied musculature, or that Sam's leg wound would benefit most until the girl pulled the trump card. She was the commander of this mission, he had said so himself. Smiling he simply nodded and backed down gently waving a hand in dismissal and supplication. Its not going to work this time. Sam is the final word and I'd no more go against the order of a superior than she'd go against me in the Sevens.

Aye, lass. Ah'll no' argue. Jus' no fond o' yeh oan tha' leg fer long, es all.

With that much he was done with it, deferring to the reasoning of his “superior” in this mission, but the kid spoke up. The reaction Shine gave to his suggestion drew a sigh but, again, he was done with it. Wish I had him in the Sevens. Xavier would have pounded this naivety out of him within a week. However, as quickly as it started the conversation diverged to the important matter at hand, that Worrak was well taken care of and that everyone knew where they were going for the time being.

Seeing as Sev was going to be following Shine and Worrak was being tended to by Athar he simply stood at as much attention as he could muster. His rifle was against his leg and his posture was slowly bending at the hip. The meds were beginning to wear off and his stomach was the first to begin burning once more. His breath was soon more labored as final destinations were decided upon and the moment that Sam stepped in the direction of the landing pads he was at her heels.

”Great. Can we…go now? For the love of Via…please let’s go.” The sergeant saw the pain in her eyes. It was the most obvious discomfort he had seen out of her in the longest of times and, quite honestly, it scared him. She was strong, they all were, but he'd seen Sam crash a fighter and still joke as if nothing was wrong. Perhaps we're just getting old... ”I don’t feel like being caught here…not at the end of all this…sooner we get going the better…”

Ah couldnae agree more.

At that the five split into two groups, Sam, Sev, and Shine moving toward the Cat with Athar and Worrak going back toward the Exodus. As they staggered and hobbled out from the no longer necessary speeder Sev paused as Shine slid under Sam's arm, more of a help with it than the injured Sergeant was at the moment. In fact, he was having a difficult time keeping himself upright at the moment, walking with one hand gently placed over his stomach, the other clenching his rifle. When Shine caught his attention, motioning that he could carry them both Sev took a deep breath, shook his head, and walked onward, determined to make it to the kolto under his own power.

Their passage through the docks was unnoticed by anyone who wished to kill them and soon they had reached what Sev could only guess was Shine's ship, the “Cat.” A gesture from the kid later and the egress ramp was down, the trio stepping onto it within a few moments. Thankful for the brief respite and having made better speed than the others, Shine with Sam on his shoulder, he propped himself up against the hydraulics of the lift to catch his breath. His face and neck were moist with perspiration and his breath was slightly more labored than before. Though the pain was still reemerging he kept as much of his composure as he could and wiped the sweat off on his shoulder. Clearing his throat he pushed off the supports and onto the ramp.

"Alright, your first Sam; Sev, give me a minute to get her into the ship, then I'll be back for you. And please just wait okay?"

Sev paused for only a moment to let Shine and Sam pass.

Ye've no' seen many blaster wounds, 'ave ye lad? If'n th' initial bolts dinnae kill yeh all ye 'ave tae worry aboot es th' pain. An ah'm SO over th' pain.

He said the last part mostly to himself. With that he hefted himself up and into the Cat, feet falling noisily on the metallic floor as he made his way into the cramped and claustrophobic hallway. He had to steady himself for the last step and, as he hefted his body up and in he practically ran into Shine who was returning for him. Shooing him onward the sergeant simple followed the younger man as best he could. They did pass a room in which he saw Sam but all he could do was nod and smile in passing. The pair reached the med bay in a few moments. It was sterile, clean, and smelled of alcohol, not the kind Sev wanted at the moment either. A quick shudder ran up his spine as his host motioned to the table.

"Alright, grab that mask and get out of what clothes you can. I'll assist with what you can't get out of."

Grunting Sev placed his rifle down and slid off his pack. Dun fuss ov'r meh, lad. Go tend tae Sam, she's th' one tha' needs et. Despite his words, however, Shine stuck around as he shed layer after layer of his combat gear. After his pack he pulled off hic combat vest, throwing it onto a hangar, waving away any offered aid from the young man. From there it was his padded underarmor, combat fatigues, and “cool” vest before he reached the white tank-top that was his final layer. There were two burns visible on the white fabric slate, one almost directly on his stomach, the other on the upper part of his left shoulder at the edge of the sleeveless fabric. All down his arms were scars, old burns, stitch marks, even a davit in his upper bicep that carved in by about half an inch... memento mori.

Pressing his hand over the large stomach burn he could feel the ripples of melted skin and burnt fabric, the friction only adding to the pain. Another one... first on the stomach though. It took more than a twist for his belt, combat boots and trousers but they were tossed aside with no more ceremony than his upper bodily vestments. Soon he was down to his under-most garment, a pair of dark grays that certainly left little to imagination.

“Alright, now let's get you in the tank....wounds like this, I'd say your gonna need four to five hours to be really healed. Don't worry...I'll make sure she stays safe. Trust me on this." ”

Huffing the sergeant stepped behind the “doctor” to the cubic tank, looking down at the control panel. Groaning he reached past as the young man stepped away he grasped the timer and dropped the “stew time.” He always hated the blasted stuff, kolto; it seemed, in ways, unnatural. He never stayed in long enough for the scars to heal.

Half tha', two hours. No' ae moment longer. Ah hear one word o' argument an you lose yer front teeth. Quickly he mounted the tank and, placing one leg into the lukewarm liquid he stopped. Ah do trust you. Ye did well taeday.

With that Sev clamped the mask over his mouth and slid the rest of the way into the tank, the warm liquid calming him immensely. He would wait until Shine left the room, ensuring that the kid didn't tamper with the controls before allowing himself to drift away in the anesthetic drugs that slowly acted upon his senses.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

She was more than a bit impatient to get going. More than glad that Sev had actually stuck to his word on her making the decisions, she thought they were ready to go…when Shine started talking again. With a sigh, she glared back at Shine for half a moment to get her point across: stop talking and let’s get moving. Glancing back to Sev, she shrugged her left shoulder a bit. ”Yeah, I’m not fond of the idea either. Sooner this slug is out and this armor is off the better. Hells, I’m half tempted ta strip right here.”

Deciding she wasn’t going to wait for Shine further, she started off again…hoping to get the point across. Athar seemed to understand it, at least, as he kept dismissing whatever Shine was blabbing about food stock. There just wasn’t time for that sort of thing anyway. As Shine finally sidled up to her and tried to help her, it took her more than a bit of will power to not outright snap at him because of the extra pain the pressure of him trying to help added to her bruised form. Instead she simply tightened her jaw and narrowed her eyes as her body ‘adjusted’ to the new pain level. Honestly, she wanted him to help Sev…hell, she wanted to, but she knew the sergeant better than that. He was like her: part pride, part honor, part concern, all stubbornness. Far be it from her to order him around further unless it was honestly going to be detrimental to him.

And herself? Well, she could suffer the help…much as she disliked it. Especially if it got them moving, which it did. Still, she was constantly wary through the haze creeping around her mind…watching for some sign that she’d need to be off Shine and ready to defend herself and the others in an instant. Nothing came, thankfully, but it was something that hounded her thoughts right to the moment they reached the bottom of the ramp of what had to be the Cat.

“Alright, your first Sam…”

She took a breath to argue, then swiftly thought better of it. If it keeps us moving forward rather than arguing, whatever. Still, she huffed a bit when he told Sev to wait where he was. She understood the sentiment but at this point, after coming all this way under his own power, there wasn’t a point in telling him to wait. Eying the man as he leaned heavily against the strut, she sighed a little and started up the ramp with or without Shine’s help, Sev’s words earning a soft huff of a chuckle despite herself.

Into the galley she was led…an odd place if she said so herself, and settled against the edge of the table. ”Stop fussing, Shine…get Sev in here. I’ll live a while longer.” Taking the glass he’d offered her, she set it down again and started fussing with the gear that was weighing her down…hindering her breathing…sapping her of energy she needed for other things. It hurt, moving and twisting to start getting the gear loosened enough to get off. With the motion of her right shoulder drastically cut, now that it was seized up from all the stress and trauma (physical) of the mission, she was having to push through it and the pain…to force it to do what she wanted to reach the clips and clasps she needed. Finally some progress was made as Sev and Shine moved through her peripherals, the woman automatically pushing herself away from the table she was leaning against to follow them…albeit slowly.

Her attention was elsewhere…like the pain, and getting a nuisance of a clasp undone. Though, the thing looked as if it had been mashed together at some point and wasn’t going to come off any time soon. Wheezing a heavy sigh, she realized she was going to have to take cloth and armor, both, off because of it. Hearing the thwump of heavy cloth close by, she finally looked up from what she was doing and paused at the lit doorway. Grey eyes caught Shine first before, ”...sorry! Sorry…” Her attention swiftly shifted from Sev to the rest of the room, her eyes landing on a chair in one corner of it. That swiftly became her new place of interest as she headed for it, her cheeks a bit pink.

Sev shirtless wasn’t entirely new…she’d had to patch people up before, Sev included…but all the way down to the skivvies was something completely different.

Still, she’d seen what she’d seen. It was just in her nature by now to take in the full of a person. That’s what kinetic readers did, watch people, observe them. More than that, she had been concerned about Sev and so she’d been searching him, consciously or subconsciously, for injuries along the whole of him. She just…really, really, hadn’t expected him to be so…disrobed. The new, awkward, tension had another level of pain shooting through her shoulders as she tensed for that instant before working to try and release that tension again as she limped to the chair. She was sure to keep her back to the two of them as she hissed a bit while bending forward to start pulling the top of the suit (and all the gear that was, unfortunately, attached to it) off.

It took a painful few moments to ease the stuff off, but eventually it did come off, leaving her in little more than what was a tan tank top, which clung to every bit of her with the sweat, and a sports bra under. The scarring and grafting along her shoulder was only partly visible beneath the two, but she was hardly concerned with it at the moment. Finally she could breathe! Dropping the heavy gear on the floor, she gave a relieved sigh and finally turned to sink into the chair, her eyes closing and her head settling back against the corner wearily. She didn’t feel like she could move another inch.

“…to five hours to be really healed. Don’t worry…I’ll make sure she stays safe. Trust me on this.”

”I’m still in the room, you know…” she muttered under her breath in reply.

“Half tha’, two hours. No’ ae moment longer. Ah hear one word o’ argument an’ you lose yer front teeth.”

All she could do was groan at that and pick her head up, managing a half-hearted, quasi-glare at Sev before she finally glanced down at her leg. Blood was still seeping through the wrapping, tight as she’d wrapped it. No doubt from all the movement. Sighing, she dug around for the will power to get herself moving again and started pulling off the rest of the gear. Thankfully the rest of it came off with no trouble…other than her exhaustion…and the pain that was beating through the painkillers. They were wearing off swiftly, and it was beginning to really tax her. Still, with Sev in the tank (and thus easing her worries), she slid out of her boots, then swiftly unwrapped her leg and slid out of her pants before pressing the gauze tightly against her thigh again. She’d have to pull up one leg of the black, form fitting, shorts to get the area clear, clean, and the bullet out, but she could do that at any point in time. Keeping pressure on it was primary…she couldn’t afford to lose any more blood.

Glancing over at Shine, she watched him dazedly for a moment as he collected the gear he needed to patch her up. ”C’mon, Shine, we don’t have time for this…bring that stuff to me, as well as something to clean my hands with. I can work on myself. You need to get us in the air before we really are in trouble. And if you have anything to numb the skin that’ll be best…better than digging around without it.”

[Jazen]

If he heard from either of them that the other needed attending one more time, Shine swore he was just gonna knock them both out and tend to whoever he felt like working on. Case in point, yes, Sam did need attention soon. But she'd already made it clear as the head of this little operation that Sev was the one who needed the attention.....and considering any words from him had been met with glares and partial attitude, Shine just stopped trying to go against it. At the very least, it would get things moving along faster; something Shine should have picked up on a lot earlier.

Sam entering the room behind him was a bit surprising, but he'd put that thought aside as he assisted Sev(despite the man's attempts to push him away) as best he could until the man was ready for the juice. He had to suppress an urge to laugh when Sam almost tripped over herself as her eyes spotted the almost naked Sev. She turned herself to the nearest corner to start getting herself ready to be worked on abruptly after, Shine catching the slightest flush of pink in her cheeks as she did.

Shaking his head, Shine threw a "oh really" look at Sev when the man said he was only going under for a couple of hours. Still, Shine simply shrugged and made sure the tank was fully ready for the man and turned back to Sam as the tank sealed around him. "Sounds like a good idea; here, this should cover just about what you need." Shine turned to the nearby table and dropped the bundle he'd made for her there, spreading the items out rather quickly. Surgical scissors and a knife, clamps, forceps, several needles with painkillers inside them, cloth for blood and kolto patches. "If you need anything else, the cabinet there has all the stuff."

Stepping past her, he was about one step out the door when he stopped, looking back to her, then the tank. "Right, before I forget...." In two quick steps, Shine came back to the dial and, pondering it for a moment, turned it to three and a half hours instead. Sev might bash his teeth in for it later, but the additional healing and stamina recharge would be good for the man. Besides, he was already in the tank; by the time he came out, the deed would be done. He'd just have to deal with it. "There, now to get us outta here. I'll be back in a little bit to assist you as best I can...if you'll have that help."

The last part was said as he slipped through the door frame, not wasting any time to stop and chat this time. At a half jog, Shine made his way to the cockpit and slipped inside with practiced ease, dropping himself into the pilot's chair and hitting the start up for the main drive. The next minute or two was spent flipping various switches that brought power to his ship's individual systems, including the weapons, the shields and most importantly, the engines that could be heard humming to life in the ship's rear. Almost on time to the power up of his ship, the comm crackled and beeped to indicate an incoming message; a quick slap on his dash brought that message to life.

"Black Cat, this is Docking Control. We see your booting up your main engines; leaving I take it?"

"Aye aye, that I am. Got me a job to do and an employer who'll have my head on his royal platter if I mess it up or don't get it done on time. You know how those lovely Hutt's can be about such things, right?"

"Hmm, that I can. Wouldn't want to get a death sentence on your head for something simple. Just confirming you weren't doing a dry run was all. Just gimme a minute to make sure your credits cleared...........yep, fully paid. And thanks for the generous tip. Happy trails Black Cat; Control out."

"No no, thank you for the wonderful pricing. I'll remember that for next time I visit. Hope you sleep well there man. Black Cat out." Tapping the comm button off, Shine grabbed the Cat's controls firmly in his hands and pushed the thrusters to bring the Cat off the ground to a low hover. A click as the landing gear came up followed, and as soon as the Cat rose above the top of the docking area, Shine punched power to the engines and shot off over the city. Bringing the ship around in a slow crawl as he shot over cityscape and out over the open desert, Shine slowly brought the ship into a climb towards the atmosphere before really punching it in order to make orbit.

It wasn't long before the Cat was breaking through the planet's gravity well to the great vastness of space beyond, her engines pouring out full tilt in order to put them as far away from the planet as possible in short order. Lifting his eyes to the black, Shine glanced around for any visual sign of problems, then checked the radar to see if anything else had followed them at a distance. Nothing on short range or long range sensors told him there was danger coming, so Shine sighed in relief and let back on the engines...just a bit.

In his mind, a plan started forming, one that would give them time to heal their hurt and hopefully, dodge any possible pursuers from the planet. And that plan started with the approaching planetoid on his sensors; the primary moon of Tatooine, Ghomrassen. Entering the code he'd been given earlier, then encrypting the message he planned to send as best he could, Shine clicked the comm to life again. "Athar, this is Shine. I'm heading for a little stop on the far side of that big rock in space just a ways off. Whether we meet up there or meet after, it's gonna be about six hours to get my guests on their feet proper. Send me a reply on this channel; and if it comes to be, see you soon."

Clicking the comm off again, Shine plotted a course into the autopilot and clicked it on. The ship would get close enough on its own; and once it was within a certain range, his comm would ping to indicate that he needed to be back flying the ship himself. With that all set, Shine spun and made his way aft again, stopping by the galley to grab two containers of water and some light food(an apple and some dried meat) before he returned to the med room.

Sam had been busy in that time; she was stripped down to a light tank top and shorts. A bloody red mess was clear on her leg, the result of the slug to her leg; a slug that rested nicely in a tray beside her. Smiling as he came into the room, he placed the containers and the food next to her, then turned to inspect the wound. "I see you got the party started without me....looks like I just need to clean up and stitch it back together. And grab you some clothing to borrow if you need any." As he spoke, he did what he needed to, lightly cleaning the wound and checking for any extra damage he had to patch up. Provided there was none, he would start stitching the wound back together, a kolto patch ready for when he was done.

"Water and food, by the way, if you need either. We're heading to the moon to set down while you guys heal up; Athar might meet us there. Not quite sure yet, still waiting on his message. Feel better now that your not wearing fifty pounds of armor and heat magnets?"

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

Lat said to skip him this turn since there isn’t much use, really, in posting with a KO guy. As he said: “you don’t dream in cry—I mean Kolto.” Also, I’m assuming the table used was a small ‘surgical table’ of sorts…something that a person can sit on or lay down on with relative ease.

Here’s the link for her necklace: Sunstone Necklace

Also, I took one liberty with Shine…it isn’t big and if you want me to change I will, but I figure he’d be nice enough to give her some pain meds without being asked outright.

---

Watching as Shine laid out the items, she nodded slightly (more to herself than him) before hissing a bit at a stab of pain through her back and up to her shoulder. ”Thanks, Shine.” Without saying another thing she hefted herself up, being as careful of her leg as possible, and limped over to the short surgical table. With a stiff hop and no small amount of pain, she got herself up to sit on the table, her leg crying agony. Shine had passed her to head for the door when he paused, coming back and fiddling with something on the tank.

While she couldn’t see what it was he was doing, Sam had a pretty good idea of what was going on. Part of her mind considered reminding Shine about what Sev had said earlier, but honestly…she was just too tired and in too much pain to care, let alone argue. As he left, all she managed was a short, ”okay.” Chances were high she’d have most of the work done by the time he was back…after all, she’d stitched up enough people, Sev and herself included.

Using some of the sanitizing agent, she rubbed her hands together swiftly for several moments…enough for the combination of liquid and friction to kill whatever might be on her hands…then rubbed in a bit more of the sanitizer before peeling away the bloodied cloth that was now sticking to her leg wound. Picking up the scissors, she gingerly pulled the cloth of her shorts up and away from the skin and started snipping. It didn’t take long since the cloth hardly provided any resistance to the sharp edges of the instrument. More of that disinfectant was poured (this time on some cloth) to help clean the wound of the blood that was swiftly drying around it and over it now that a good amount of the bleeding had been stemmed. That, at least, was a good thing…it meant that there wasn’t damage to any major veins. It was about to start again, once she started trying to get the slug out, but for now it was hardly doing any serious bleeding.

Still, the thing stung like hell from all the sweat and dirt that had gotten into it. Getting up from the table as the Cat started liftoff, she limped over to the small sink embedded in one wall and washed her hands properly, then (with a new cloth) cleaned the wound and the area surrounding it before going back to the table and disinfecting it again. Not so much of a sting this time, thank Via. Managing to get herself up on the padded table again, she took the time to give the injury a good look over. The armor had stopped most of the speed of the slug, leaving it embedded in muscle but not deep enough that she thought she’d do much damage getting it out again. The glint of the end of it could be seen, vaguely, through the wound as she carefully held it open with her fingers…it hurt like hell to do, but it helped her get a clearer picture of if it was even a good idea to try and get the thing out.

Sighing, she used one of the syringes of numbing agent in four places around the injury. As cold numbness slowly started to take hold of the skin, she picked up the forceps and gently held open the injury with one hand while the other very carefully went about trying to get a good hold on the slug. It wasn’t overly difficult, save for the fact that the Cat shifted once causing the forceps to slip lose grip on the end of it. With a steadying breath she tried again, getting a tenuous hold on it and slowly working it out again. A soft clatter a minute later heralded the reemergence of the slug as she let it fall into the tray with the forceps. She didn’t even waste a moment in taking up the packaged suture kit and peeling it open as she wheezed a bit and fought back a cough. Damn blast did a lot of damage…

Shaking her head slightly, she ignored the rest of the pain as much as possible and started the first simple interrupted suture. It was called simple interrupted for a reason…it was; a single stitch (just a loop) that was tied off before cutting the wire and starting a new one. She knew a couple of others, but she didn’t have the time or inclination to try for them…or if it was even necessary to. So as she felt the Cat hit orbit with a slight exit shudder, then heard Shine knocking about somewhere outside the room, she looked down at the two small stitches she’d managed, her vision blurry and eyes tired. The wound was still bleeding a little, but nothing too bad. Even so, she put the needle down and sighed, pressing a new cloth to the injury. I’m just too tired to do any more…should just wait for Shine to come and help with the other three it’ll need. *sigh* I need some more pain killers…

As he came in, she looked over at him blearily, her face still covered in dust and dirt that had stuck to her skin in the aftermath of the explosion(s) and the fight to get out. Seeing what he’d brought she gave him a light smile, but had to stifle the urge to feel sick at the thought of any food. Water almost sounded good…she knew it’d be good for her…but her stomach turned at the thought of it too. As he set the food and water down beside her she reacted subconsciously by looking away from the stuff and swallowing hard before looking at him with another little smile.

“I see you got the party started without me…”

”Yeah…but…” Pulling the gauze away again, she’d let him inspect it. ”Not much more needs to be done, really…most of the bleeding’s stopped. What’s on there now just leaked over because I was putting some more pressure on it. Got two sutures in, though; should only need a few more.” As he started cleaning the residual blood off, she shook her head a little and picked her necklace away from her chest where it was sticking uncomfortably from the sweat.

”I’ll pass on the clothes for now, thanks, and…honestly? The very thought of food makes me sick right now. Just…too much pain, too much residual heat…not a good combo, but thanks for the offer. Still…some water would be good for her system in replenishing the blood and water she’d lost from the wound and the heat. Sighing heavily, she listened to him talk as she reached for the water without thinking. The automatic action caused a severe reaction as pain rippled from her shoulder, along her upper back, and down through the bruises along her mid-back and ribs. Immediately her arm retracted as she bit down on a whimper of pain and shut her eyes tightly as her mind snapped swiftly to focusing on her breathing.

Her right arm, curled up against her chest, was held in place at the forearm by the left hand as she used that breathing to batter back the pain. Slowly mastering it again, she managed a half-strangled chuckle and pried open her eyes again. ”Yeah…I foresee a sling in my future…” Almost fearfully those grey eyes flickered from Shine to the tank where Sev was floating, thankfully unconscious. If he finds out…she’d be in big trouble for ordering him in first. She had little doubt about that. Looking back to Shine, she’d give him a half smile that said volumes about her stress and pain level. ”Don’t tell Sev about that, alright? Well…I mean…don’t lie…but don’t offer the information either, okay? Last thing I need is him on my arse for ordering him in first.” She did actually manage a brief chuckle after that. ”I swear…the man may not be my sergeant any more, but dear Via he can still make me feel like he is…”

As Shine finished the last of the stitches and put the kolto patch over it, she sighed a bit and carefully got the water with her left hand. Turning hurt, a lot, but not half as much as extending her shoulder…let alone trying to lift something with it. Flipping the top open to the bottle, she took a few small, measured, drinks…careful not to overload her system. Snapping the top shut again, she’d sigh heavily and rub the inside corners of her eyes with her left hand, trying to ease out some of the discomfort. When she opened her eyes there was a hand with some pain medication in it hovering in her sight. Taking them from him, she’d look up appreciatively and pop them into her mouth, opening the water again and washing them down with a short gulp of it.

”Heh…thanks, Shine.” She’d sit quietly for a moment before carefully sliding off the table and onto her right leg, before testing the left, and the stitches in it. A few of them were a little tight, but nothing too bad. They felt to be holding pretty good, but she probably shouldn’t be running any marathons any time soon. Taking a few, slightly limping, steps over to the sink, she’d pause and turn carefully. ”Feels pretty good. Should hold up decently…not too shabby. So you said something about Athar meeting us on the moon?” Turning back to the sink and turning on the water, Sam went about getting as much of the dirt off her face as possible with one hand for a minute or two. Swiping the water from her eyes, she had just decided to let the rest of it stay to air dry and help cool her off when the comm. sounded loudly in the cockpit.

Blinking tiredly in the direction of the sound it took her a moment to realize what it was. With the pain medication taking effect she was feeling the exhaustion profoundly, her mind becoming foggy with it. ”Heh…bet that’s him. Athar, I mean.” Sighing, she’d limp carefully back to the table settle against it. ”Before you go check on that, though…is there a place I could go curl up for a while? I need the sleep.”

[Jazen]

”Yeah…but not much more needs to be done, really…most of the bleeding’s stopped. What’s on there now just leaked over because I was putting some more pressure on it. Got two sutures in, though; should only need a few more.”

Shine glanced up at her for a moment as he squatted down near the recently patched area, chuckling as she showed him what she'd been doing while he was taking to the skies. Indeed, the wound was cleaned, fixed up and two sutures were already in place, helping to bring the two ends of the wound closer together. All he had to do was give it another clean to get the extra blood that had spilled out and then slip a few more sutures through the skin to close up the wound. All things considered, there wasn't much for him to do. But he'd darn well do it right, little work or not.

Reaching for another wire to make the next stitch, Shine carefully slipped the needle through the skin on one side, stringing it across to the other and looping it through. Bringing it back over, he cut the wire right where it needed to be cut, then quickly made sure the stitch pulled skin closer together before locking it in place. He gave it a quick once over to make sure he'd done it right, then, satisfied that it was, started to get to work on the next one. Two or three more for safe measure should do it. "Alright, but I'll grab something for you to wear when your ready. I mean, I don't mind, your welcome to wear what you like but I think Sev might actually kill me if I let you do that.

As for the food and water, take what you feel you can take. If you don't want to eat, I won't make you. Not yet anyway. But the water, considering where we just launched from, might help with any dizziness from the blood loss. Plus, it has the added benefit of removing the taste of sand from ones teeth. That in itself makes it worth it."

He caught movement in the corner of his eye....and then heard a small whimper slip through Sam's lips as her body seemed to shudder suddenly.

Shooting to his feet so that he could see all of her, it didn't take him long to see the reason why she'd shuddered suddenly. Earlier, while he was more focused on Sev and then after when the wound was his priority, he hadn't really even given Sam's barely covered form a second glance. Now, with the distractions gone....well, he had no reason not to look. For two reasons of course, one practical...the other mostly the normal curiosity of a man taking hold. His eyes traced along her frame, both admiring the work done to create what he saw before him...and to look for any other wounds that might need tending. Especially after that jolt...what could have caused that?

"Hey Sam, what was that sudden shudder you just did there? Is there another wou......" his voice trailed off as he saw it. And how he missed it....hell, he should put his head through the hull plates for missing that damaged skin that was her shoulder and beyond. Shine heard himself wince as he looked at it and for the first time since he'd met Sam, understood how hard everything that had happened likely had been for her. With a scaring like that.....Shaking his head, he squatted down a bit and reached his hand up to take hers as she told him not to tell Sev about her little...reaction. "Hey, he don't ask, I don't tell. You did the right thing sending him in first though; his required kolto treatment ASAP while yours, even though are equally as bad, we can at least sew up and bandage till he's done."

Chuckling at the last bit and flashing her a small smile, he turned his eyes back down from glancing at her to finish the work on the last of the sutures. In, out, around, in again, out again, tie off, snip, check. Lifting his head, he admired his handy work for a moment, then nodded as if confirming it before reaching over for a nearby towel. Very, very lightly, he cleared up a bit more blood that had managed to leak out, then slipped a kolto patch over the wound and wrapped a bandage around that part of the leg to keep it in place. Not tight enough that it would put pain on the wounded area via pressure, but enough that the darned patch wouldn't fall off.

"Well, if he gets a little out of control, I'll just remind him who's ship he's on. And my rules say "No arguing with the wounded, they're always in the right." Getting to his feet, he gave her another look over..and spotted a small blaster burn on her shoulder. Must have clipped her on the way somewhere and was lost in transition compared to much greater wounds. Still, I can probably give her a bit before I fix that up. Turning slightly, he grabbed a small vial that contained pills designed to reduce pain and dumped a few into his hand before offering that hand to her. She didn't take long to snitch them from his hand, nor to down them in quick succession. A tribute to how much it hurt to probably do anything right now.

Taking a seat beside her, Shine smiled and glanced over at the kolto tank for a moment before twisting his head to watch her test herself and the patch over her leg. "No problem; I'm sure roles reversed, I'd be thanking you for patching me up.

Ah yes....I figure the Hutt will think we booked it outta the system, so if any of his boys get off the ground, they'll likely be watching the hyperspace lanes. They certainty won't expect us to still be in the system, nor be in it for much longer. The dark side of the moon has plenty of craters we can settle into the shadow of and hunker down till you're all at least in some kind of condition if we run into trouble. As for meeting Athar there...I said he could meet us there of hold up on his own somewhere if he felt that was safer....just waiting on a reply."

Almost on cue, the comm on his waist, as well as the one in the cockpit, pinged to life. Smiling, Shine hopped off the table and slipped the comm from his belt, keying it into the cockpits own system. "Just gimme a second to answer the call, then I'll show you to a nice soft bed to lay on." Turning, he stepped a few feet outside the room before clicking the comm to life. Sam wouldn't be able to hear the other end of the conversation, but she'd likely be able to hear him still.

"Shine here.....hey Athar. Got my message.....good.....yep, I'm heading for the dark side of the moon now. Yes, I know its risky in its own right, but both Sam and Sev need time in the tank before they can really be in any condition to fly far or deal with trouble......

Yea, I got soldier boy in the tank now. He'll be out in....oh....just under three hours by my count. Then Sam goes in and once that's all done, we meet up, dock up, land in a city, whatever works and I trade them back over to you.

Yes yes, she's fine. She's taken a licking, no doubt about that, but she's pretty stubborn as you already know. Nah, she's heading off to take a nap and breather.....sure, I will. I'll send coordinates as soon as I'm down on the moon. Yea, talk to you soon. Shine out."

Clicking the comm off, Shine turned back and into the med room, sighing a bit before giving Sam a wide and hopefully reassuring grin. "Athar says to contact him when we're down. Oh, and he also said hi, good to know your okay and that if I tried anything funny you have free rights to push me out the nearest airlock. Pretty sure he was joking about that last part...I think.

Anyway, you wanted a place to rest right? The quarters across from mine may not be a four star hotel, but they got a warm, soft bed, which counts for a lot. So, if you'll follow me kind lady, I'll show you to your room." Extending his hand to her, he'd wait till she took it before he stepped aside to let her out of the room, then helped her get to the front end of the ship, where the room in question was located. Coming to the door, he made sure she was stable before turning away to key open the door, watching it hiss open smoothly and cleanly. Moving to her aide again, he'd aim to guide her into the room to the bed.

"So, here it is. Though...frell, you ain't got a pillow. Let's see......well, if its not too strange, I can double as a pillow for a bit; I hear I make a very good manpillow. And I want to make sure you get the proper rest you need and that theres no complications with your injuries....so mind if I be something soft for you to rest your head on, if only for a bit?"

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

“Alright, but I’ll gr--….”

She had zoned out or…something…during most of what he had said. It wasn’t because she didn’t want to listen, but rather, she was busy with other things at the time, like getting water…then being in more pain. His sudden jumping at her reaction nearly had Sam jumping out of her skin and adding more pain to the situation. Lucky for all that she was a bit more disciplined than that…and certainly more tired than that.

“Hey Sam, what was that sudden shudder you just did there? Is there another wou…”

Even with his question her first reaction had been to tell him to keep the whole thing under wraps. She didn’t think he understood (how could he?)…and even if he did understand a bit of the history (or had guesses), she doubted he would understand her reasons. Despite everything that had happened to her, Sam hardly saw herself as a strong person emotionally, and so she worked hard to be as mentally and physically tough as possible. It may not have seemed like she did, considering her character and some of the personas she put up, but when it came to being around her friends…the ones from the Sevens…she most certainly did make that attempt. Her crash had been a devastating blow for her; mentally, physically, emotionally…it had put her at her weakest point and made it glaringly obvious. While she never really realized the fact that she hated it (not even to this day did she fully accept the fact that she’d hated it), Sam had honestly despised being so vulnerable. In her mind, she had the heart of a sand panther and so the rest of her should follow suit.

She was supposed to be strong, tough, able to do everything she could in the Sevens…but the body just wasn’t as capable as it used to be with her shoulder injury being what it was. So, her reaction…telling Shine not to mention the pain she’d shown because of it act up…was protection, a preventative step. Precaution. She was feeling vulnerable again, with the damage she’d taken in this mission and with her old injury becoming a serious problem, and she didn’t want to show that sort of vulnerability to Sev. Not again. She was tougher than that. She knew she was. So, instinct had her moving to cover the truth and then muscle through the rest of it. Lucky for her, Shine didn’t ask about her shoulder again.

”Thanks, Shine…for not saying anything. I know it was right, he was in danger and I couldn’t fix the situation…not like kolto or a proper doctor could. And I’m not worried about him ‘getting out of control’…I just…well, just consider it preventative measures. Right?”

As Shine headed out to answer the comm. Sam yawned widely, her ribs and back hurting from the intake of air that caused them to expand painfully. Still, the medication was slowly starting to work…a large blessing in a small package. For a moment she watched Sev floating peacefully in the tank and sighed. There was just…something painful…about seeing him like that, and it didn’t quite make sense to her foggy brain as to why. Yeesh…not like he’s in mortal danger, Sam. Get a grip, okay? Still, the sight bothered her enough to look away again as she listened to Shine’s side of the conversation. Too tired. That’s the problem. Everything seems...overbearing? No. Over sensit—no…over…ah hells, forget it. Whatever.

“Athar says to contact him when we’re down. Oh, and he also said hi, good to know you’re okay and that if I tried anything funny you have free rights to push me out the nearest airlock. Pretty sure he was joking about that last part…I think.”

Sam blinked at him a moment before answering bluntly, ”He wasn’t. Joking…I mean.” Shrugging her left shoulder slightly, she nodded to his next question and allowed herself to be lead off to whatever room he was talking about. ”Shine, I could sleep on an army bedroll right now and not care.” A sad, but true, statement…

As he lead her into the room and toward the bed she couldn’t help but think that a bed had rarely looked so good as it did right now. Bleary eyed, she’d settle down on it half a moment before immediately testing how it would be to lay on her back. Painful, was the answer there…and so she tried a side even as he kept talking. Something about a manpillow…? She’d already ruled out the option of laying on her right side (which was unfortunate since she liked laying on that side), and her left side was sore on the leg from the slug wound and stitches…not to mention her ribs. Still, it was tolerable so far. Rolling from her side onto her stomach, she sighed in mild relief. If her neck could hold up with her head turned to the side, this was the position to sleep in…though, that was a big if.

”Huh? ….uh…sure?”

She had only caught the very (very) basics of what his question was all about, but so long as he didn’t try anything funny…

”I guess…jus’ know tha’, if anythin’ ‘funny’ happ’ns, I will stick you in th’ airlock.” She paused half a moment as if pondering her comment. ”May no’ op’n th’ oth’r side…but it won’ be comfortable for ya all cramped in there.” The slight slur of her words was yet another testament to just how exhausted she was. Already she was starting to fall asleep, but (as expected) her neck wasn’t liking its position…forcing her onto her side again. Not that it registered much in her mind by that point.

…not much was…

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

So we’ve all agreed to finish the thread via IM

---

Shine

He barely managed to keep from chuckling at her response to his question, mainly because of what she'd said earlier regarding whether Athar had been telling the truth or not. Shrugging his shoulders, he dropped himself lightly onto the bed beside her and adjusted himself so that his back was against the wall, then waited for a moment as she rolled onto her side, using the upper part of his thigh as a makeshift pillow. Whether the fact that she was laying on him was good or bad obviously didn't matter to her at this point; in a few moments, she was slowly breathing as sleep took her, her body rising and falling slowly to back up the claim. He stayed there for a little while longer, watching her for a part of that time, the other half spent scrolling through the datapad in his hands to work on coordinating the best way to get off this rock when the time came. After all, all he had to do now was wait till he needed to land the ship...maybe grab a quick bite to eat...and then he'd be joining Sam in dreamland until he was needed for whatever reason. Likely Sev waking up and Sam needing to go into the tank instead. And then he had to wait for her to heal up while keeping the company of the soldier man during that whole time, a fun time that was going to be. After that, meet up with Athar, trade Sam and Sev off into their ship, say goodbye for now and then hightail it towards the Core Worlds to dump off the shipment in his cargo hold. After all, just because he'd helped screw the Hutt over didn't mean he wanted the Hutt to catch wind of that; doing his job would keep the damn slug off his case and hopefully quell any if at all suspicions.

A small beep from his comm told him that it was time to do the first chore of the day; avoid making them a spatter on the surface of a rocky tomb. Very, very carefully, he slid out from under Sam, leaving his jacket to hold his place as her pillow until his work was done. Heading off quickly, Shine made his way back to the cockpit and settled himself into his seat to gaze at the much larger planet of rock before him. Taking the ship off autopilot, he shifted easily to bring the craft down through towards the moon, watching his sensors for the best possible spot he could find. He found it.....a ridge sticking out from one of the craters would be the perfect cover.

Settling the ship down under it...a little close for comfort but it would work, Shine locked down the ship and powered down all outside lights. With that done and making sure the warning alarm was tied to his comm if anything came up, he headed back towards the rear of the ship to check on Sev. Nothing wrong there; so he tied that to his comm as well, to ping a different sound when the tank was five minutes from finishing. With everything he needed to do now done, and grabbing a quick meal, he made his way back to the room Sam was resting in and snuck his way back into the pillow position. Sighing and resting his head against the back wall, Shine smiled inside at how they'd managed to pull this off...and drifted to sleep watching the hypnotizing rise and fall of Sam's head.

---

Sev

By the fact that kolto knocks you out stronger than a fifth of vodka and an ass whoopin' Sev felt hardly any of his time in the kolto tank. When the time did start to draw to a close the anesthetic was slowly diluted until it was less kolto and knock-out agent and more straight water. Finally, his eyes fluttered open only to be met by the mild sting of the water. Grunting he gave a stretch, the pain having long since seeped out of his muscles. He wondered if his stew time was finished or if he was just getting more used to the anesthetics than others because of how many times he's been in the tank.

Oh well, it didn't matter. Taking a gulp of air he pulled himself to the top of the tank and gingerly crawled out onto the entrance platform, swinging his feet over the edge to get his balance back. Slowly he got to his feet and rockily made it to the base of the stairs pulling the towel off the rail as he went. Glancing at the control panel he smirked that he still had about 15 minutes left to the process. He chuckled at that.

"Always wake up only minutes b'fore th' damn alarm." His mood was pleasant, but as waking caught on he realized that Sam still needed to get in the tank. Finishing with the towel he hastily pulled on a pair of trousers and a light shirt before walking out of the med bay in search of the young woman, maybe shine and a good stiff drink as well.

He passed the doorway before he realized that it was occupied. Turning he stepped over the frame and stopped, smiling and crossing his arms.

"Ain't tha' ae pretty picture."

Sam laying against Shine looking as peaceful as you please. Was he jealous... sort of but it didn't matter. Sam was Sam, and he knew her quite well.

"Looks like yeh took good care o' her. Good lad."

---

Shine

The lovely thing about sleep is that time passes amazingly fast on the outside world while in the dream world, time passes much slower. You can dream an entire day in the short time of an hour for example. In this case, Shine merely dreamt about half a day on some planet in the Core, he couldn't remember which. A safe, normal day on a planet where trouble was as far from.......oh wait a second, he knew that beeping sound coming from the distance. Which meant that.....

Reality pulled itself back on him as his eyes flickered open and his ears started hearing the normal sounds of a ship at rest...and the not so normal sound of a voice speaking. Shaking the sleep for his eyes, he lifted them towards the door...and the man now standing there in front of him. For a moment, he simply looked at Sev, standing there in the doorway, smiling at the scene before him. Glancing down to Sam, then back to Sev, then to the chrono on his datapad…Shine shrugged.

"What can I say, I know how to treat a lady well. Anyway, your up early. You should still be in the tank at this moment, not standing there before me. How'd you manage that?"

---

Sev

He chuckled at Shine's reaction, the fact that the young man just drug himself out of what looked to be a deep sleep all the more humorous. At least that meant they were probably out of harms way for the moment.

"Lad, when ye've been en th' soup as much as ah hae en th' last five years ye'd have built up ae resistance tae et, too. Cannae resist th' full anesthetic but when ets diluted ah wake up nae problem. If'n yeh wannae go get th' tank set up fer her ah'll get her up.”

---

Shine

"I suppose that would be true. Not that I've ever had to float in the stuff myself I think...maybe once or twice." Grinning, he stretched his arms a little and cracked his neck once, twice and then turned his head on the sleeping Sam in his lap. Being able to sleep just about anywhere had its benefits, but some of those places....weren't just very good for the body. Oh well; it had its benefits at least.

"Next time, I'll make sure to have the full drugs working till your time is up. Anyway, that won't take me long to get that done; just give me a minute here."

Shifting himself slowly, he gently crawled out from under Sam, letting her head gently rest on the bed. Then he turned around and shook her, very, very carefully, as to not disturb any of her wounds...or aggravate any of the old ones. "Sam, wake up time, the sandman's come a knocking." Turning to Sev, he motioned with his head for Sev to come in and then stepped aside to let the other man through to the bedside. "Oh yea, and if we try anything funny, we're gonna end up in an airlock. Just keep that in mind."

Chuckling, he moved to the doorway and paused there, waiting for Sev to bring Sam along before continuing along to the med room. It really wouldn't take more then a minute to cycle the kolto with a fresh batch and set the system again for Sam to take her own three and a half hour nap. All he needed to do was wait for Sev to bring her in. "Okay; let's get those patches off and then into the tank with you. Ain't gonna need them while your sleeping in the tank after all."

---

Sev

Not responding he’d wait a moment allowing Shine to slip by before stepping into the room where Sam is sleeping. She looked like a dozing princess, a character out of a fantasy. A smile crossed his face but it was only fleeting. Stepping in he kneeled next to her and placed a hand on her arm. Gently shaking he tried to rouse her, to at least let her know that she was going to be going into the tank.

"Lass. Lassie... Sam, wake up."

---

Sam

For everything they'd gone through over the past couple of days, all the stress and planning and a few nights of fitful sleep (not to mention the new injuries), Sam was out. If Shine or Sev had thought she would be easy to wake up, they were dead wrong. Dead, because she was dead asleep.

Typically she didn't sleep this heavily, but it had been a while since she'd had to recoup from something like this. Maybe she was going soft...who knew. Either way, no matter how many times Shine got up or down she didn't budge. During her sleep she only barely twitched as her mind recounted things she'd never remember when she woke. Even now Shine and Sev's conversation wasn't heard in the least, and the only reaction Shine's shaking got out of her was a soft huff of air that was little more than a subconscious reaction while she slept.

Sev's attempt hardly earned anything more. A slight, barely audible, groan and a minor furrowing of her brow but little more. Still, she'd been asleep for a while...long enough for the pain medication to begin wearing off again...and the gentle shake had her shifting to try and stop whatever it was that was trying to jostle her and cause more pain. It was rolling onto her back that had her starting wake...if barely...with another wince.

Eyes closed, she fought the fog for a moment to figure out if she'd been dreaming something or if something had actually happened.

---

Sev

Every time he would gently prod her was just as gentle but just as firm as the last. There was no rush; Athar could wait until she was out of the tank before they went anywhere and he doubted, severely, that the Hutt would catch up to them here. He was careful around her shoulder, around her leg, around the old wound that she had gotten back in the Sevens... hell there was hardly a spot on her that was not in some sort of pain. An idea crossed him but... he immediately shot it down. It wasn't proper.

Slowly she seemed to be coming around and he carefully reached up to brush her hair out of her face.

"Cmon Sammy. Cap's go' some new recruits fer instruction taeday. Flyin' lass... back oan Corellia... back wit' th' Hawks. Ah know yeh dinnae wannae miss tha'.”

---

Sam

The movement of her hair caught some mild attention and she sighed heavily. She could always just ignore whoever it was...until words broke through her foggy senses. A part of her mind clicked and, while it had never been common for Sev or any of the other men to get into the women's barracks, her mind hardly registered that fact.

On instinct rather than rational thought, she reacted by rolling swiftly to the right to get out of the bunk she'd had against the barrack wall. Her shoulder protested, making her wince, but she was already prying her eyes open, and nearly scrabbling to get out as if she was late for something. "Ah'm up! I'm...frell!"

She'd practically run face first into Sev as she tried to get up, left leg half buckling under the pressure she'd started to put onto it in the process. Only the pain (and finding Sev blocking her path off the bed) had her stopping short and blinking. "Wha...?"

---

Sev

As she rolled out of the bunk Sev's eyes widened. That certainly wasn't the effect I was expecting but... it'll do. She had practically rolled right into his arms and, holding them out wide, he caught her, being careful around her shoulder and her wounds (that he knew about). Her reaction as well as her med addled question only served to make Sev chuckle. Shaking his head he wrapped his arms around her and, gently shifting her weight, pulled her around until he had both arms underneath her.

"Et's time tae put yeh en th' tank, lass. Ye must've been dreamin' aboot somethin' extraordinary there... did yeh miss reveille?” Lifting her up he moved up and out of the room and down the hall toward the tank.

---

Sam

For a minute all she could do was blink tiredly at him, wearing a baffled expression until she noticed how close they were. Not helping, Sam...cripes. More than a bit embarrassed now, she grinned to play the emotion down. "Hey, I coulda sworn you were talkin' about bein' late for flight...or training or...something."

With a tired sigh and a quiet groan, she didn't even bother to fight him lifting her up except for an obligatory protest of "I can walk, ya know," as she wrapped one arm over his shoulder, her head resting against his other. Talk about first times for everything...this is new. Still, it wasn't exactly bad. Apparently both Shine and Sev made good pillows. As they reached the small medbay of the Cat, Sam couldn't help but look at the tank with a measure of unease. "I don't suppose you'll let me out of going into the tank?"

---

Shine

He was already waiting for them to arrive, his arms folded across his chest as he leaned against the far wall, smiling. "Well, ain't that a pretty picture. I should have put cameras up to catch all of these lovely scenes going on." Chuckling again, he shook his head and stepped forward to them, coming up to the console and keying several of the switches and buttons to start the warm-up procedure. Turning an ear to Sam when she uttered about avoiding the tank entirely.

Sighing and twisting his head to look at her, Shine gave her a little wink. "Sorry Sam; much as Sev was busted up, you're just as bad. A bit worse maybe. You need to take a nap in here just like he did. Hey, at least you'll get to take a longer nap; and this time you'll come out feeling a whole lot better. You can have my word on that. Swear it on my rocket blood and the Cat herself. So you know I'm serious."

Turning around, Shine grabbed a small pair of scissors and glanced back towards Sam, holding them by their center and away from her as he approached. "Alright, we just need to get the bandages off. Kind of redundant to have kolto patches on when your going into a tank full of the stuff. Sev, I'll let you have the honors of that. Whenever your ready, we'll gently slip you in there; just sort of let your legs slowly slide down, almost like going down a water slide, just really slowly.

Should only make the hurt parts hurt a little bit. After that, its into dreamland again and then homeward bound." Flashing a wide, hopefully, reassuring smile, he turned back to check on the tank's progress while he left convincing Sam if need be to Sev. All the systems checked out.....tank was almost ready....all that was needed was the key ingredient.

---

Sam

She couldn't help but look at Shine like he had two heads as he seemed to be trying to explain how to get into a kolto tank to her. Glancing up at Sev, then back to Shine, she seemed to be trying to decide if Shine was 'for real' or not. As Sev let her down to stand carefully, she used him as a balance of sorts. "Riiiight..."

Finding the small knot in the gauze wrapped around her leg, she pulled it apart in a few motions and picked at it enough to loosen it and pull it off. "I'm tired, but not that tired. Just..." She seemed to consider whatever it was she'd been thinking of saying before stubbornly refusing it in her mind. With one hand on Sev she pulled her socks off and tossed them at her boots before letting go of him. She needed that left arm to pull the tank top off but even so it was....painfully difficult to do one armed. Still, inch by inch her bruised skin and old scars were revealed along her back and sides.

---

Sev

Even as they reached the infirmary and shine, speaking more than he needed to once again, began prepping Sam for the kolto tank Sev couldn't help thinking about their particular situation. He'd never been as close to her as he was right now... literally and figuratively. Shaking it off mentally he accepted the scissors in his partially taken hand and climbed the steps to the tank. Setting her down on the tank edge he would try to finish getting everything but her skivvies off so that the tank would operate efficiently. When it got to the tank top Sev stopped with the main clothes, removing the kolto soaked bandages as they would be superfluous in the tank.

"We all could have been alone fer thus, lass... we all couldae taken care o' ourselves. But tae hae us here an no' help... well." He smirked, removing the last bandage to her leg. "Tha's jus no' th' way et works, lassie." Standing back he withdrew the mask and handed it to her, helping her to get the thing strapped around her nose before stepping away completely.

---

Shine

"The man speaks truth. But I'm not gonna go into philosophy right now; makes my brain hurt a bit. So I'll just nod and agree." Taking the discarded bandages and tossing them into the bin a short ways away, Shine brought his eyes back to the controls, though they did slip from them for a moment longer to give Sam a longer then needed once over. Again, it was the whole "man checking out what was before him" thing coupled with his own curiosity as he looked over the scars covering her back and shoulder. Something that serious....could be any number of ways it happened. He'd seen similar works before though.....but those were on the bodies of some not so lucky pilots.

Guess she was one of the lucky ones. Still, he kept that to himself as his eyes went back to the controls to finalize the final steps. In the meantime, he let out a small whistle and smiled warmly. "I have to say, you are the most eye catching thing I've seen today. The suns ain’t got nothing on your brightness. Right then, moving along, sink up in there. Please don't make me have to beg you too...I hear I'm horrible at it."

---

Sam

Bashful? Hardly. If anything Sam was quite proud of her figure, scars and all. Most of them were light, barely visible, and the ones that weren't....well...nothing she could do about those. Added character, right? Sighing at both the men, she smirked impishly and shook her head a bit as she caught Shine's look. "Like what you see, Shine?" It was a rhetorical question...meant to put him on the spot, if only jokingly.

Still, the tank hardly earned any pleasing thoughts or memories for her. She could feel her heart rate jump as Sev helped her put the mask on. Do. Not. Want. Looking Sev hard in the eyes she forced herself to calm down and forced a smile and a slight, two fingered, salute before looking over to Shine. Breathe...just breathe, Sam, and it'll be over before you know it...

Turning and slipping carefully into the tank she felt her panic rising again and shut her eyes tightly. Corellia...no, that wouldn't help. The Hawks...again, not going to help. Sev, okay....Sev...Hunter...Archer...one by one she pictured them, cycling her thoughts through the various memories to get herself to calm down. She just hoped that Shine would -really- put her under. She'd likely been 'under' in one of these things more than any of them...at least, that's how it felt to her. Come on Shine...get this thing going...

---

Shine

"Like doesn't even begin to describe it Sam. But that's a conversation for a later or different time." He certainly wasn't shy about looking at her now, if for the fact that he had to be sure she was in the tank and ready before he kicked the thing into gear. It did allow him to see how hesitant she was about getting into the thing. Bad memories of the tank more then likely. It was enough to make him adjust the level of the drugs a bit more so that she would really be out. Considering Sev had managed to fight them off and wake up early told him that it wasn't high enough.

"You trusted us to be there before Sam; we'll be there this time too. Dream a good dream for us, alright." Waiting till she was fully submerged in the tank, Shine hit two buttons in quick succession. The first would start the flow of the gas into the mask, while the second would slide the tank door closed, the remaining kolto slipping in to fully fill the tank. He watched her slowly float in the liquid, her eyes wide only for a moment before the gases worked their magic...until they closed entirely.

"Sleep well Bomber."

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

Sev

He watched as Sam, his wing mate and friend, slipped into the tank. He'd pause for a moment until her eyes slid shut before descending the stairs to stand before the tank. Without even turning to look he spoke to Shine.

“Mighty fine patch job, lad. She didnae give yeh too much 'trouble, ah 'ope.”

Crossing his arms his eyes grew brighter, a smile settling over his face knowing that the problem of Sam's injury was now taken care of.

---

Shine

He waited those few extra moments to ensure that the procedure was going as planned before taking his eyes off the tank controls to glance at Sam again, watching for any obvious complications like her not being fully out. Sev had proved that was possible before. But there was no fluttering of her eyes that indicated that she was in a semi-awake state, nor was she jerking rigid or something like that either; no, just peaceful, serene sleep, only with her doing it on his lap as a benefit.

Tilting his head away from watching her(as much as he wanted to stare a bit longer), Shine turned to look at Sev, who managed to thank him for what he did. Shrugging his shoulders, Shine shook his head slightly. "I didn't do much; she had the slug out and was halfway finished by the time I got here. I managed the rest, gave her something to drink and gave her a few pills to kill the pain for a bit. Oh, and took the place of an absent pillow so she could rest. Thanks though."

Making sure the tank was set to signal when the process was near done, he walked past Sev on the way out, motioning with his head for him to follow. "Come on big guy, you likely need to eat something and quite possibly, drink something. Galley's this way."

---

Sev

As Shine spoke he forced himself to not judge the boy, not this time. As remiss as he was to admit it, the young man had helped them get out alive. He could put his personal qualms aside for now. However, as he did speak the sergeant stepped up to the tank to watch her a bit closer, to make sure nothing was happening, that she wasn't reacting negatively to the anesthetics, or that the oxygen mask had come loose (He'd seen it happen, it wasn't a pleasant thought). The offer of food was given and Sev turned, pausing to see what Shine was doing before quickly stepping after him; the concept of a bite to eat was certainly making his mouth water. However, something in the back of his mind bothering him. It took only a moment to figure out what.

“Ey Shine, hold up. Ah' got ae question.”

He stepped up to the young man, waiting to ask until he turned. The moment his second eye came into view Sev threw the punch into the young man's teeth. The blow was hard but not enough to loosen teeth; just enough to cause some pain. Shaking his head he withdrew his hand and flexed it, working out the soreness.

“Did yeh think ah was jokin'? Go behind me back like tha' ag'in an' ah will make sure yeh loose teeth. Ah say et'll take aboot two an ae half hours tae meant tha' split lip.”

---

Shine

He was about halfway to the galley when Sev mentioned something about a question, prompting him to turn around in curiosity. "If its about what I have, I have a full...." the incoming fist was the next thing he saw coming. More in instinct then skill, Shine took that extra step back from the blow; not enough to avoid it for sure, but enough to make the hit cause less damage then it could have. His bottom lip dripped several small drops of blood to the grating below as Shine stumbled a step or two back before finding his purchase again.

Spitting the blood slipping into his mouth into a far corner, Shine twitched his nose and shrugged, a little bit annoyed that Sev had done such a thing after using a false pretence of ‘nice’. "What, you needed more time in the juice. You'd never admit to it or let it happen, so I had to slip the control when you were out. Or is this about Sam using me as a cushion?" A small smile slipped across his lips, even though it hurt like hell as he turned to the storage unit for food. "Why, you jealous?" sending Sev a teasing grin his way as he looked about for something that would feed Sergeant Grumpypants.

---

Sev

He huffed and chuckled a bit as he cracked the knuckle he used to hit the kid with. He'd had just about enough of the arrogant little shiite and this was his time to make that clear.

“Boy, ah've been soakin' en th' soup before ye ev'n considered bein ae pilot. Dinnae pretend tae know wha's best fer anyone bu' yerself, an even then ah'm no' sure yeh 'ave any idea. Ah doubt ye'd ev'n und'rstand why ah did reduce th' time a' all.

As fer Sam, cheek doesnae suit yeh an loosenin' yer teeth further would solve little more than th' first punch. Th' reaction when ah first saw her layin' there, nothing, es th' best ah could say no matt'r wha'. Sam's 'er own lass, ah've nae reason tae be anythin' bu' supportive. If'n she chose yeh, however, ah'd question 'er taste an' wonder if she'd gott'n entae th' spice.”

Shaking his head he moved over to the cooler and, pulling out a piece of fruit took a loud bite before sitting.

---

Shine

"Bah, you don't know when I started flying, and egos got checked out at the door. Besides, what's done is done, so stop your whining about it. Unless your sore about the scar healing up, then I can't help you there." Shaking his head, he dug deeper into the mess of food at his disposal, pulling out some easy to cook dinners that he'd likely had for a while. Wonderful thing about them, they never really went bad.

Tossing one to Sev, Shine dug one out himself and slipped it into the cooker, flipping the switch in order to thaw it out. As he waited for that to finish, he turned back to Sev and leaned against the wall of the galley, chuckling. "By the by, remember that your on ‘my ship’, out in the fringes, far from anything resembling the military. So stop acting like your my commander, because your not. My ship, my rules; don't like them, the airlock is that way. In any case, this entire thing went well, so let's not sour it alright?"

Turning, he pulled his food out from the cooker and tossed it onto the part of the table opposite Sev and tested it with his finger. "Suggestions I can take, commands, not so much." He smiled a bit at that last comment, shrugging a bit as he chuckled. "Ah, so you are a bit jealous. Well, if that's the choice she makes, that’s the choice she makes. But don't worry; there's no spice aboard, so I believe her making ‘wrong’ choices because of it is highly unlikely."

A little beep came from his comm, the one tied to his cockpit. With a sigh, Shine glanced towards the far door. "So you wanna see our secret hiding spot or would you rather just fester back here?"

---

Sev

He didn't pause a moment at Shine's comments, though it was obvious that no matter what he said the punk wouldn't take no for an answer when it came to the jealousy, so deluding himself to make Sev out to be something he wasn't. Life came first, Sam found him; either way it would work out. That made him pause as he caught the frozen dinner which he promptly dropped in the trash; expiration date was a few months ago. Continuing to enjoy the fruit he could only shake his head at Shine's ‘threat.’

“Aye, do tha' an' yeh lose 'er forev'r.” As if you had any chance in the first place, he thought. “Ah dinnae care if et's yer ship as et was by Sam's request tha' ah come en th' first palce. Le's no ferget tha' ets yer doin' tha' ets sour at all.”

Shaking his head he moved toward the exit of the galley, throwing the fruit core in the trash.

“Why would ah' need tae know yer ‘secret Hidin' place?’ Ets either Chenini or Ghomrassen; first tour off Corellia we bagged ae smuggler pair who chose th' latter. Et's ae popular "hidin' spot." Ye' shouldae stayed en th' service, et'd tought yeh ae thing or two.”

Shaking his head he moved down the hall back to the tank room. Sighing in peace he smiled and started cleaning up his belongings for the transfer back.

---

Shine

"You threw the punch genius." Shrugging, Shine turned his head back to the cockpit himself for a moment as Sev continued speaking, pondering whether or not he'd made sure any way to detect them was covered. Tilting his head back to Sev with a sigh, he shrugged his shoulders again at the comment about sticking to the service.

"Moon's a big place. Besides, I'm not your average smuggler." There was something else behind those eyes of his when he spoke again, even though he hid it behind a mask of calm and laughter. "Well, the service was fun and all, but it had its limitations. Can't go flying whenever you want when you’re under orders. This life suits me just fine."

As he watched Sev start heading back towards the tank room, Shine cleared his throat and waited for the man to take one last glance. "Your welcome to any room but the upper right one if you need to rest. Just don't go lurking the tank room all day." Turning his back to Sev, Shine made his way back to the cockpit to watch the stars...and plot the fastest way out of here.

---

Sam

Two hours and forty-five minutes...a slight twitch of a few fingers. The anesthetic was wearing off slowly, but there was still enough to keep her under. Still, what parts of her mind were coming back to 'life' weren't happy...hence the twitching fingers, the light flutter of eyes behind eyelids, the hardly noticeable furrow of eyebrows...it was unlikely she'd remember whatever it was she was dreaming about, but it certainly wasn't pleasant.

Two hours and fifty-five minutes...the anesthesia was nearly gone. It was just how the tanks worked, stopping the gas in enough time for the submerged person to come awake enough to get to the surface on their own as the tank drained. At least she'd been given enough of the stuff to not come-to earlier, like Sev had. She would have struggled...panicked. As it was, her foggy mind was starting to come back around more fully and with it, the realization of where she was. Kolto had a very distinct feeling, and after so long of being in a tank like this back on Corellia...well, she knew the feeling, lucid or not.

She slowly moved an arm and the resistance of the fluid told her subconscious everything.

Panic started taking hold again.

Still tired and heavy from the anesthesia, however, her limbs refused to move like she wanted them to. She was stuck like this until she could get some control back. Hands were the first thing she started working....if she could get her mind to focus on her hands, it would start to clear up her thoughts and her ability to take control of the rest of her. Oh how she hated anesthesia. The smell of it still lingered in her sinuses, sticking to some of her taste buds...a sick, metallic/medicated, sort of smell and taste. Just get me out of here... It was the most clear thought she'd had yet.

It was a start.

The hand movement turned into the slight movement of arms and legs...still heavy, but better than before. Still too slow for her liking. Grey eyes opened, stung a bit by the kolto, and tried to make out the blurred forms she could see...anything to get the stimuli needed to wake herself up fully. Her shoulder still hurt as she rolled it out, testing it...not likely good for swimming up, but she had to get out. Now. Her anxiety levels were too high.

A slight push up with her left arm had her moving down in the tank enough to get her feet on the bottom, and she was awake enough, in control enough, to springboard up to the top of the tank with a press against it. Her head hit solidly on the closed top of the tank. It wasn't time to get out yet...but she needed to get out.

---

Sev

The sergeant had stayed in the tank room where he would be out of the way. All the better, he supposed, for staying away from Shine. He hated dealing with the little punk but was not going to allow it to get to him. Data pad out he was reviewing some old data, some long lost battle that he had flow in, apparently, lost in thought as to where his life would go from here. The new ship was being revealed soon, the lads were still on edge, and he was gone for so long... he wondered if Hunter had strangled Archer yet.

The movement took some time to catch his eye, as he was busy in reviewing the data (and she hadn't moved in several hours) so when he did notice something moving his head jerked upright. It was Sam, indeed, movements erratic and sluggish in the fluid. Standing he moved to address the tank properly, watch the last few minutes of her sleep in the soup. When it came to a point where he was seeing her open her eyes, thrashing around he knew that her mind was fighting the anesthetic. Quickly he had moved to the console and worked to drop the levels of everything and have her out. When he heard something hit the top of the tank he knew what was going on; he had felt it before.

Pressing the switch the metallic top slid open and before the hatches could open completely he had mounted the stairs and kneeled before the greenish tinted liquid, waiting for Sam to surface.

---

Shine

Time could fly one when wasn't really paying attention. Or distracted heavily by something...or sleeping. In this case, Shine had focused more on the former, working on the route he'd need to take to get away from this rock without attracting too much attention from any nearby spacers.....or the slug's hunters. Then, provided the meet up with Athar went well and the like, Shine would have to double time it to the Core Worlds if he wanted to make good time on the delivery he had to make for the Hutt.

He was in the process of finalizing some important details when the comm on his belt pinged....an indication that something was up with the tank. Frowning, Shine glanced at the chrono. It was....roughly fifteen minutes before Sam's appointed time to come out of it.

The comm pinged again, this time faster. That was the warning alarm signal...something was up with the tank. That was enough to get Shine up and out of the cockpit, thumping his way through the ship to the room in no time flat. Just in time to see Sev opening the tank and the flails of Sam from within the swirling liquid within.

In two steps he was there, stepping past Sev to palm the controls. "Woah, thought I made the gas stronger. Here, this'll help." Hitting the manual release for the tank, the kolto was sucked from the tank in short order, leaving Sam not in the juice but on the firm solid side of the tank. He touched Sev on the shoulder and then reached into the tank to assist her out...and prayed the man would get the hint to help as well.

"Come on Sam, we got you, we got you."

---

Sam

Okay, so the hitting of the head had hurt...pretty badly...but not bad enough to give more than a slight rub and try again. Movement outside the tank had her pausing momentarily before the sound of sweet freedom came. The hatch had opened and she was about to go for it when the liquid started draining. Swiftly. Okay....now she was confused...and heavy. It left her slumped along the side of the tank, trying to keep standing. ugh...difficult Managing to pull the mask off, she heard the words but didn't quite comprehend them for a moment as she glanced up, blinked, then realized what was going on.

Reaching up with her left arm, she'd let them help her out before pulling the mask off and sitting on the top step to the tank, trying to calm herself down. Pushing some of her hair away from her face she groaned a bit and heaved a sigh. She was almost awake enough to feel completely foolish...okay so she was awake enough to feel that, but she wasn't awake enough to hide it, her ears reddening a bit. "Thanks guys..."

---

Sev

Just as he was stepping up to the tank to let her out Shine burst in. Despite the fact that the tank was now open and Sam was free to get out, oxy mask and all the boy insisted on draining the tank, making getting her out that much more difficult.

“Shine...” He sighed, wondering how long the kid would survive working for a hutt if he kept this up.

Holding his tongue, knowing that any reprisal would do the kid no good, Sev simply lowered his hand to help Sam out of the tank. With Shine's help, his hand holding her other side they soon had her out of the tank and up on the low catwalk.

“An' welcome back tae th' land o' th' livin'.”

Averting his eyes from her lean and mostly naked form he took one side, waited for the kid to do the same, before helping her down the ramp and into a warm, dry towel.

“Ye're lookin' no worse fer wear; ah'd say th' soup did yeh well, lass.”

With the towel wrapped around her he was much less wary of looking at her, his smile beaming.

---

Shine

Glancing at Sev with an expression that said "what" for a moment, Shine turned his head and focused on the task of helping Sam out of the tank. Between the two of them, aiding her get out of the tank was a simple task as they pulled her free and down the stairs. Sev was the one who broke contact first as he went to quickly snatch a towel to wrap around her, Shine remaining to be a support to stand on.

Unlike Sev, Shine wasn't squeamish or embarrassed about holding or looking at a woman who was in her bare necessities. She wasn't fully naked and he had no intentions of that kind in his mind at the moment; he was more assessing how her wounds had healed and checking for any possible complications or sore spots.

"I'd say I hope you had nice dreams but considering one doesn't dream in kolto...well, I hope it refreshed your body and mind. Heh, and the stuff did it's job well," he said, gently tapping the spot where the bullet wound had been earlier. "Not even a scar. On any of the new wounds at that; skin looks brand new and just as nice."

Helping her to the small chair in the room, he turned his head to Sev and cocked his head. "Anytime your ready, I think she'd like some more covering clothes mate. Less you'd rather look sideways the rest of this day?"

---

Sam

"Yeah...bett'r here th'n in there" Her words were still a bit slurred from the effects of the anesthesia, but she was doing her best to fight it off. If she'd thought about it, or fully comprehended, his actions...his looking away...Sam -might- have laughed a bit at Sev, might have even thought it was 'cute'. Lucky for him she just wasn't thinking that straight. "Still hate th' stuff..."

As the two helped her down the ramp [steps? w/e], she had to really focus on walking rather than stumbling about. It was one thing to stumble around with medical staff, but something completely different with two guys helping you when you had personal issues with feeling weak or needing help. As Sev grabbed the towel, helping wrap it around her, she managed to formulate some sort of answer to Shine. "Did dream...somethin'...don' rememb'r what..." She sighed a bit and moved her right arm a bit, wincing as she tried for a good extension. Still no go...but at least she could move it a bit without hurting herself. Sort of. "Wasn' good..."

Slowly taking a seat, she eyed the stitches in her leg with a sort of mild annoyance. "These gotta come ou--...huh?" Looking up at Shine's comment to Sev, she blinked a bit, her mind chewing on the words and the meaning behind them.

---

Sev

Well it was good to hear that some things never change, Sam still hated the Kolto. Hell, if he didn't get in the way of so many weapons himself he'd never have gotten used to it in the first place. The dream was something, though. Must have been incredibly potent to come through the anesthetic. All he could do is pat her on the shoulder as she dried off.

“Nothin' lass. Though ah think ye're ready tae walk. Ah think, since ye're out, we can excuse ourselves whilst yeh get back intae some clothes.”

Stepping away he pulled the pile of clothes over to Sam from where she had laid them out before getting into the tank. Nodding, and pleased that she was safe he stepped to the door.

---

Shine

"Huh, you must be something special to dream, even a little in kolto. You got a wild primitive side I don't know about?" Chuckling, his eyes drifted down to her leg when she mentioned the stitches coming out. Glancing up, Shine looked around the med room for a moment till he spied the tool he needed, grabbing the cutters and dropping down to one knee.

Glancing at Sev, Shine gave him a nod, then turned back to the stitches. "Yea, I'll be right out after you. Drugged as she is, best not let her do this herself. It'll only take a moment." With very simple and careful moves, Shine clipped the wires in half, then slowly threaded them back out through either side, using a cloth to clean the little blood that slipped free from the little holes.

Tossing them into the trash, Shine patted her leg as he got back up, glancing at the clothes Sev had left for Sam. "Oh lord, if you've got to wear that gear again...I'll crank up the interior cooling for you. Anyway, your all set. When your ready, room from before is yours if you need it for anything, food is...well, where food is, just outside the room. We'll be in the cockpit calling Athar to get here.

Fine form by the way. Makes Bomber seem even more fitting." Stepping around and from the room, Shine passed by Sev and gave him a glance over his shoulder. "Just gotta call him down. Signal's already patched in; you ring, I'll drive. I do believe he's the crater over; we'll meet in the middle, trade off and you can be on your merry way."