Electric Bed Side Manor

[Koil Solus]

♠ THEME ♠
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Koil was a mortal man. He had been running on fumes for the past day. He could not remember the last time he had slept for more than thirty minutes at a time. But sleep would have to wait awhile longer.

Having fought that Sith Lord he had taken his fair share of injuries. Add together non stop skirmishing with the rest of the Sith Fleet had led to him only recently even finding out that Mand'alor the Chosen also known as Raz Solus, had been killed in action. Hearing Leandros's speech, seeing the people had led to him shortly leaving thereafter for a cigarette and for his injuries to be tended to.

Several MS-1800 medical support freighters flew overhead headed towards the same direction the Mandalorian had been heading. He was not sure who they were just yet. They were not marked with normal Mandalorian paint schemes or have any sigils that made him think they were an allied association.

Eventually he came to the relief area. Wounded survivors gathered or were brought here for medical aid or supplies. Many individuals came together in these hard times to assist one another. A convenience store using its products to help those in need. A gym opening up for housing people from weather. A tavern cooking turning into a soup kitchen so that everybody gets fed. His face had dried underneath his helmet since he had cried leaving Leandros's speech.

We're gonna make it. He thought. But he was grieving and could not find much solace in that. So many had died. In his hand he held the cultural archives of his people that he had taken during his fight with Darth Tagus. No doubt he had finished his deletion of the records. He placed the data container back in his secure pouch.

Koil walked over to an open cot he sat down. He groaned as he began to pull off some of his webbing. The electric charge of force lightening Tagus had sent at point blank range had gone through the right side of his torso and up through his right shoulder and down his arm. It had gone right back into Tagus since they had been in contact but now he was really feeling the pain through his entire right side.

Clunk, the sheath of his throwing knives clattered on the ground. Several were missing from having been used in the field. His Dirk slug thrower pistol with holster dropped shortly after. The weapon was empty, long ago its ammo had been spent. "Sonova-" He cursed as he tried razing his right arm over his shoulder. Had he dislocated it and and relocated at some point? After awhile he just dropped his arm. He looked down at his burnt armor wondering what piece to take off so the medics could get to the injury. His hands were still coated in ash. Koil would need to probably actually scrub it out of the fibers. Add that to the list of things he needed to do.

Archie made a short growl towards him. He had folloed him after leaving the speech. His own fur covered in dried dirt, ash, muck and blood. But he looked as happy as good be though maybe a hint of concern in his expressions. "Yeah I know you're smart but I think I need some body's help that has opposable thumbs, no offense." He said with groan as he began trying agian. The Dire Badger just snorted like it knew Koil was a di'kut for trying again and it was a pleasure to watch him struggle.

@Sreeya

 

[Keira Zale]

The sense of dread from not exactly asking permission to be here weighed heavily on her shoulders. She had always put humanitarian efforts first, and politics second. She had come from poverty, and if there was tragedy in the galaxy, she would be first in line to offer aid. Often times, this invited looters and other thugs that wanted to rob her of her supplies. There had been many times where she was run out of the very camp she had set up, and she had been lucky each time to escape with her life.

She hadn’t even had time to get a bodyguard assigned this time. News of what happened on Mandalore spread far and wide, and the Mand’alor was believed to be dead. The people were broken and devastated, and the planet was left scorched. When she first descended, she couldn’t believe the arid surface and the thick, black smoke that rose. The clean up efforts were a massive endeavor, and the bodies and parts had to be collected and buried properly.

They were short staffed because injured soldiers kept coming in. Most were quiet and let the nurses do their work, but some were extra grouchy and spat out threats for no reason. Keira had to remember that she still didn’t have a clue how the Mandalorian people operated. They were all walls to her, all hidden behind steely helmets that hid all emotions and traces of humanity.

She glanced up as a soldier walked in and slumped down on an empty bed. She saw he had a dire badger with him - here in a medical facility!! She walked towards him and folded her arms over her chest. By the time she came within a few feet of him, she began to quickly lose her nerve. She spotted all the decorations on his armor, knowing from meeting Leandros that this was an exceptionally important Mandalorian. She cleared her throat awkwardly and brought her arms to her sides.

“Hi um…” She blinked at him, “N-No animals in here...please..” Could the badger pass as a therapy animal maybe? She looked around for nurses, but they were all busy. He looked to be in bad shape and was struggling getting his armor off. She stood there awkwardly before realizing no one else was coming.

“May I?” She gestured towards his armor.

@Darasaurus

 

[Koil Solus]

His face was contored in displeasure as he felt several groups of muscles tense up. Letting out a slight gasp he dropped his arm. Archie just cocked his head towards Keira, shortly followed by Koil's visor turning towards the objecting woman. His face behind it gave an expression that said he was not exactly in a mood to care what she thought about animal privileges.

She maybe realized his stubbornness was not about to agree with her policy. Wherever he went Archie was allowed to go. If he was not allowed in here then Koil would have got up and found some medical assistance elsewhere, even if it was a veterinarian.

Koil raised his arm again feeling a little embararessed at being helped with his armor. It was usually enough for him to feel this way when a normal mandalorian had to help him. But this woman before him was not a Mandalorian. Still, he was not one to be picky. If she was willing to help him he would accept it.

"What's your name?" He asked her once she began assisting him. Whether she introduced herself or not he would say his own name. "I'm Koil Solus." He would point toward the grumbling dire badger as if he were deserving of the same respect as any mando'ade. "This is Archie. Be good Archie." when he got the chance he pulled out a small treat piece and tossed it to the badger. It was high in calories and used by both warriors and their multi-legged companions but did not exactly beat a warm home cooked meal.

He would look over at Keira noticing she was far too pretty to be in this sort of place. Even the prettiest of Mandalorian women tended to have scars or a broken nose. They had a way about them and she was clearly not mando'ade. "Is that a Coruscanti accent?" He commented on her way of talking. Soon he was down to his thermal undersuit from the waist up. His helmet remained on though. The stream of electricity had scared part of his torso where it had impacted. It was not until he had taken off his heavy armor how much he had realized the heat from it was now gone. The cool air, still filled with ash, was a bit more breathable.

Koil rolled up the sleeves of his undersuit. His arm tattoos stood out in stark contrast against his pale skin. "You don't look like a doctor." He added as he began to look around at the other wounded in the area. Most of the more severely hurt had been taken to more capable medical facilities. Lesser injuries were treated here or at least triage before moved on towards the relief freighters

@Sreeya

 

[Keira Zale]

He looked in her direction, and she had a pretty good idea that his expression was just as blank as the surface of his helmet. He made no moves to get the badger out, and she decided it wasn’t battle worth fighting. For all she knew, he would make a huge scene and probably blow up the place.

She was a little surprised he had asked her name. Normally they showed no real interest in who she was, “I’m Keira Zale!” She said cheerfully, pondering over his name. She had heard that name before - it was often intertwined with the likes of Leandros and the Mand’alor herself. Her guess that he was important was correct, and she knew she had to tread carefully.

Keira stepped forth to help him with his armor, taking off the pieces he couldn’t get to. Once he rolled up the undersuit, she paused to look at the pale skin and the countless tattoos. He was almost inhumanly pale, but she wouldn’t mention anything about it. What was more eye catching was the strange way his injuries wove through his arm. Keira gasped at the sight and leaned in for a closer look.

“This…” She whispered softly, “This was not done by a weapon…” She remarked in awe. Most of the injuries coming in were lightsaber or blaster burns, but this looked unnatural. She barely heard what he said next, and it suddenly dawned on her why he was asking so many questions - it wasn’t because he was a polite man making conversation, he was suspicious and trying to probe.

Keira pursed her lips at his comment about her appearance, “Look, no one here is getting their first picks of nurses...or patients,” She tied her hair back in a ponytail, scowling down at his arm as she wiped sweat off her brow. She realized who she was talking to and softened her tone, “We’re doing the best we can,” She spoke as she brought out kolto packs and began to apply them against his skin, “These injuries...they heal slower. We saw a few of these come in and nothing we use works on the especially dark ones. This came from a very powerful Sith.”

After she was done with the kolto, she glanced up at him, “Why isn’t anyone leaving this place? They remain here when the Sith can come back any moment…”

@Darasaurus

 

[Koil Solus]

When she asked about the nature of his injure he gave a single amussed huff. "Sure, uh Mrs. Zale. If you want to call a Sith Lord a weapon, I think that's appropriate." As she examined him more closely, never having seen force lightening's affects. Koil was not particularly used to being scrutinized so closely. Here he was, the least armored he had been in front of an outsider, an aruetii, since he had crash landed on Atrer III so long ago. He would be lying if he did not feel a little bit vulnerable all things considered. The Silent Badger did not like it.

"So your a nurse then? Nurse Zale." He repeated it outloud, a hint of mocking tone to his voice after her attempt at being stern with him. It sounded too much like a sitcom support character. It did not suit her in his own opinion. Then again he shared the same surname with literally hundreds of people. Well...maybe not so many anymore.

Reaching up to his helmet he unclasped it and lifted it up so the jawline of his helmet just stopped above his mouth. Pulling out a packet of cigaras he placed one in his lips. They were not as pale as the others. Some blood had collected at the corners of his mouth from when he had gained some other injury. It had sense dried though.

Everything Keira said he already knew. The War Councilor had seen first hand the damages of the dark side. The jaws of the man tightened as his mind thought of seeing the limits of Darth Tagus's ability to withstanding an electric current. Maybe I'll electrocute him to death. But before he could devise more brutal and just deserts for each of the Dark Council he heard Keira's confused voice.

"If we ran any time the Sith hurt us we would not still be here." He meant that in a literal and existential way. The Mandalorians would not be Mandalorians if they ran from a fight. The Sith Empire had brought enough to decimate the Mandalorians but that had been one time operation. They would not be able to do the same thing from a strategic stand point so soon after the last attempt. Plus if they did, well they would have to do with the grief filled rage of the Mandalorians. They had already lost. Some could argue that made them all the more dangerous. Koil felt dangerous.

The Silent Badger groaned and got out of bed to grab his lighter. It had been placed somewhere in his dropped equipment. Stuff was so much easier to find when he was wearing it. He grumbled a few times back and forth with Archie. The dire badger did not like when he smoked. He probably did not like the smell but also Koil wondered if the quadruped knew it was bad for his health. Right now Koil was not really in the mood to care. Once he found it he slid back onto the bed. At this point he was more or less blind due to the way his helmet was on his head. Flicking the lighter a few times he would bring it to the end of his cigara and inhale.

@Sreeya

 

[Keira Zale]

“Only Ms,” She interjected, perhaps a bit too quickly. She cleared her throat and looked away, fiddling with the kolto packs as he spoke. He was obviously still trying to identify what she was, and he hadn’t missed her diversion from the original questions. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, fidgeting slightly, “Okay, I’m not a nurse. I’m the Senator of Tirahnn,” She explained, “We’re short staffed, and I have some skill with first aid, so I thought I could help. I’m sorry for misleading you.”

She looked down at his arm, noting that it began to look slightly better already. In truth, he had no room to complain, but she would bite her lip. She began to put the supplies and materials when he lifted up a portion of his helmet and helped himself to smoke. She scowled at him, watching him toss up his muddy boots up on the bed and blowing out plumes of smoke.

Keira kept quiet for now, her blood boiling at the sight of how inconsiderate he was being. When he spoke about the Sith, she paused, thinking about exactly where he was coming from. She took in a deep breath and exhaled, folding some linens and putting them away. He looked entirely cozy where he was and had no intention of moving.

She left him alone for a period of time, many of the other soldiers having cleared out by then. Keira was on her way to ask him if he needed anything when a loud crash erupted near the back of the facility. She looked back and heard nurses screaming and rushing towards her.

It was unclear where it started but it was clear that a group of Mandalorians had burst in to take all the supplies and food. With the chaos on the planet, not every Mandalorian was united anymore. There was a time of instability and disorder.

As another small explosion erupted, Keira’s heart pounded against her chest. She quickly grabbed another nurse and ducked behind some crates, absolutely terrified. This was becoming far too much of a regular occurrence for her...

 

[Koil Solus]

Koil's face did a rather amusing but expression of confusion as well as curiousity. What in Hod Ha'ran's name is a Senator doing around here? Where is Tirahnn? He thought about this and would continue on with his momentarily relaxation. He flexed his hand into a fist from time to time. He could feel it getting better. The sooner the better. I've got to get back out there. This thought, in one variation or another continued until his eyes began to feel heavy. He needed sleep. But he was a bit afraid. Afraid of what he was going to dream of, the nightmares he could imagine.

For the Silent Badger he would not find out whether or not a nightmare had awaited him. He was jerked from his bed as his body instinctually reacted to the crashing sound. He was blind. His helmet, he still had it partially raised. He spat out the cigara and dropped his helmet with one hand and began doing the straps as he turned to look for the source of the loud noise. We're under attack again? I've gotta grab my gear.

As he saw just the trivial wanton of several mandalorians he relaxed. They were just thieves. His heart had been pounding but began to slow. Looking down he saw ash on his chest. This time he realized it was the ash from his cigara. He had wasted it, must have not taken more than two puffs before it had just slowly burned the rest of the way. The only way it had not burned him was because of his thermal undersuit.

That too was short lived was this realization as an explosion occurred. What now! He thought as his nerves frayed. Koil had no armor on his upper body. He had probably one magazine of ammo in each of his blasters at best. Yet still he had to move. He could not afford to just take the time to grab the rest of the things on the ground. I might be late...again

The closest people of the relief station dove for cover and he was already moving towards them. They were still helping and here for the mando'ade still here. Koil had always had some more consideration for the Aruetiise than the average mandalorian, or maybe he had just been more patient with them. Now he ran to grab the two people cowering behind the crates. He had to move them. "Five seconds before the debris comes raining back down and cuts all of us! Move!" He held out his hand to help them up.

Koil knew explosives and that blast had been charged to blow primarily upward. A characteristic for poor homemade explosives, for vertical breaching, or to just cause distractions. But all of them caused shrapnel rocketing upward and then to come back down as hot metal. This one was not any kind of accidental gas fire and ordenance teams would have removed any dangerous dormant explosive before allowing this relief group. Somebody had planted or fired something. Regarldess, the Echani did not want any of them standing under it when it came down. His thermal undersuit would not protect him from that.

@Sreeya

 

[Keira Zale]

Keira was absolutely petrified, but the woman beside her was much worse. She was rooted in place as Keira looked for a new spot to hide. She glanced up as the Mandalorian from before came over and told them to run, offering his hand. She began to reach for it, but the nurse remained where she was. Keira stared up at the man and grimaced, “Just go! I’m not leaving her!”

She was stubborn to a fault, and now was no different. Keira focused back on the nurse next to her, bodily pulling her with all her might to yank her away. The woman was in tears and refusing to budge, skidding along inch by inch. Keira screamed at her to no avail, yanking her hard by the arm to get her to safety.

As the Mandalorian guessed, the explosion went off at once. Shrapnel flew upwards, shooting in all directions. The initial force sent both her and the woman flying, and the nurse landed heavily atop her. Keira screamed as she felt some of the hot metal dig into her legs, and she could see nothing through a thick plume of smoke.

“Emi? Are you okay?” Keira coughed, trying to ignore the searing pain in her legs. Her vision began to clear and she realized she was clutching onto the lifeless nurse’s body. Keira’s jaw dropped, and she forgot how to breathe, hot tears rapidly filling her eyes.

“Emi?!” She screeched, completely unaware of her surroundings. She was still dazed from the explosion, and she was in no condition to walk.

@Darasaurus

 

[Koil Solus]

Koil moved to pick the petrified woman up. She was too afraid to move and he was not going to just leave her there. He bent down but another explosion triggered sending him through the air no different than the volunteers.

Everything looked dark. Why did he have a sharp sensation in his forehead. Sitting up from where he had been thrown he stared out at the area around him. He had several tears in his body glove. Protruding from the tears were pieces of shrapnel. They had imbeded themselves in him only a centimeter or two each but it still hurt. More of the metal and debris was outside of him than it was inside.

One of his eyes was seeing darker than the other. Then the Silent Badger realized half of his helmet had been blown away. Enough for his whole right side of his face from his cheekbone up to his forehead had been ripped away probably saving his life. Had he not been wearing it then he would have a piece of shrapnel the size of a grav ball in his head. Now his crimson iris peered out over the devastation that had recently happened.

Desperate cries punched through the ringing in his ears. Piece of dirt fell from him as he rose up again. This time he was a little slower than before. He winced as he came next to Keira. From his belt he pulled a one time use injection of Rev-all. "Use this." He held it between Keira and her friend Emi. His other hand pulled out his quickdraw blaster. He wanted to find out who was responsible for this and stop them before they could do it again.

@Sreeya

 

[Keira Zale]

Keira reluctantly pushed Emi off her, wondering how close she had come to dying herself. If Emi hadn’t absorbed most of the blow, Keira would have been torn to shreds. This would be guilt that would weigh heavily on her, just as she thought of the bodyguards she endangered because of her missions. She glanced up as her eyes began to adjust, spotting the Mandalorian from before.

She gasped at the sight of him, catching the unnatural, crimson eye. He wasn’t human - something that was shocking to her considering him being a high ranking Mandalorian. She shakily reached out and grabbed what he was holding, using the injection on herself. She felt relief almost immediately, the pain beginning to numb.

Meanwhile, multiple figures emerged through the smoke, guns leveled. One of the armored Mandos spotted Koil and lowered his gun,speaking rapid Mando’a “Why are you helping the bitch? All of this supply belongs to us. She has no business being here and is a lowly outsider,” From the insignia on his armor, it was clear he was a Fett. His men didn’t make any moves either, waiting for orders.

“Fetts need the supplies more than others and she keeps cutting us off and helping others,” He shouted, “Step aside...alor..” He was nervous, there was no denying it. He still owed his allegiance to a War Councilor. His men were watching.

@Darasaurus

 

[Koil Solus]

He watched Keira used the rev-all. The moment he was sure she had used it he turned to see a figure coming through the smoke. He was not alone. The Mandalorian raised his blaster pistol and held it on him until he saw the mandalorian lower his weapon, then would do so in kind.

He glanced down at the senator once more as he listened the Fett's words. He was not wrong. Koil would have probably just kept walking if he had seen this sort of thing a few years ago. But this woman had helped him and his comrades. He was not without honor towards that, even if they were of entirely different people. He was about to respond but the Fett was not done.

Fetts need the supplies more... Koil's hand tightened into a fist. That meant he was taking rations meant to be shared with the community. Those 'others' were Koil's brothers and sisters, comrades, and this this Mandalorian was quickly returning to the ways of the mandalorian civil war.

The Echani bent down to look at Keira's leg. "I think you'll be alright." He said to the Senator in basic before addressing the mandalorians. <what's your name?> He said back in mando'a a little bit louder than what he had said in basic. He wanted to know this Mandalorian's name for what came next. As he rose back up he faced the Fett and his entourage. Blood partially ran down his pale skin, just barely out of his eyes. Some of the damage to his helmet had cut through and caused his brow to bleed and he was only just realizing it.

@Sreeya

 

[Keira Zale]

Keira felt more than a little uncomfortable in the situation. She still couldn’t really stand, and she awkwardly tried to prop herself up by using a nearby table. She was keenly aware of the Mandalorians exchanging words - none of which she could understand. The same people that casually blew up the place and attacked innocents were now making conversation, and she was horrified. After a moment, she stopped moving, deciding she didn’t want any of the trigger happy men to suddenly shoot her.

She was shocked when the red-eyed Mandalorian turned to address her. The Fett bristled at this, clearly seeing the Councillor address the outsider first before him. He made no moves yet, but his body language was clear enough to express his displeasure. Keira simply nodded at the Echani, shaking where she was. She hadn’t even realized when tears had begun to stream down her face.

“Bardin Fett,” He said gruffly, “Should we kill her? She has seen some of your face,” His tone gave away the slimy grin spreading across his face beneath the helmet, “We know you hate anyone seeing your face, alor,” He slowly began to turn the gun towards Keira, “No outsiders belong here. Especially not after what happened. Come on, we can finish her off and go get some drinks and forget about all this.”

His men behind him cheered in agreement, waving their guns in the air. Keira bit her lip at seeing the gun aimed at her, and she closed her eyes and prepared for the worst. She felt pathetic crying here like this, shaking violently from being so afraid and inches away from death. Why did helping people always come at such a great cost?

@Darasaurus

 

[Koil Solus]

Koil nodded and looked down. "Bardin Fett..." he repeated it outloud as as he committed it to memory. He took a step away from Keira again, still keeping himself between her and Bardin. "Are you familiar with ni ceta tengaanar, Bardin?" It was a bit of an outdated and more brutal tradition that was rarely used these days.

When he got close enough he grabbed the top of Bardin's rifle and pulled it away from him while the muzzle of his blaster held underneath the Fett's chin. "You have endangered my life with your stunt. You have endangered your brothers' and sisters' lives, and you're right. I do hate when people see my face. Maybe I should just kill you right now and call us square." He knew that his clan members would level their weapons at him. His finger ready to pull the trigger in case one of them fired too quickly. "You two better lower your weapons unless I start thinking you mean to insult me too."

He turned his attention back towards Bardin. "Of course if you don't like that maybe we can call it even with you apologizing by cutting off finger and maybe we'll see how we go from there." If he had control of the rifle he would free it from Bradin's hold and sling it with one hand. With his left hand now free he pulled one of his last remaining throwing knives and tossed it up in the air giving it plenty of arc. It would fall, point down into a table. "You can use that."

Koil was ready to die. He never did anything half way. Part of him was doing this because the way they had treat Keira had pissed him off. But they had also done more harm to other Mandalorians than good. Right now he saw them no different than he saw the Red Skull Gang or Girsav. If he died taking out a piece of osik like this one from ruining the rest of the community then it would just be another name added to the list of people he had killed so far. He hoped that with one unobscured eye that Bardin saw how much resolve he had.

@Sreeya

 

[Keira Zale]

Bardin was utterly silent as Koil spoke, and his body language curled back to betray that he was more than a little unnerved. As he heard of the tradition and then explained the context, his blood ran hot, “What?! Over that bitch?” He hissed, “You want me to dismember myself because of some whore you’ve taken-”

“Alor,” One of his men cut in, placing a hand on Bardin’s shoulder, “He is still a councilor from the time of Mand'alor the Chosen. We spit upon her memory if we don't recognize his authority,” His tone was grim. The rest of the men were silent, but one by one they all began to lower their weapon. Bardin was shocked at his own men interjecting and not supporting him. He fumbled over his words for a moment, but took the knife in the end from Koil.

With that, he took off his glove to reveal his hand. There was the slightest bit of a tremble as he held the blade to a finger. Keira watched all this with confusion, fear and fascination all at once. She half hid behind a table, wondering what kind of strange ritual she was.

Bardin placed his hand on a table and paused for just a moment. With the helmet, it was impossible to see what expression he wore. In the blink of an eye, the blade came down and slammed into the table. There was no noise from his men, but a short grunt from Bardin as he tried to stifle his agony. The only other noise was Keira’s yelp before she quickly clasped her hands over her mouth.

The Fett drew back his quivering and bleeding hand, the knife dropping with a clatter on the table. He grabbed his glove and nodded his head to Koil, “..Alor…” through a choked voice. He said nothing more as he spun on his heel and walked the opposite direction, his men falling into place behind him.

It was moments before Keira moved a muscle, and her tears had long since stopped as she processed what had happened. She was still hiding behind a table, looking up at the figure of the Mandalorian that remained standing.

“I-I don’t know if I should be thanking you or running away from you..” She blurted out before she could stop herself.

@Darasaurus

 

[Koil Solus]

The muzzle pressed harder into the cloth covered jaw area. Just under the helmet there was no armor protecting the man. "It's not just for her." He genuinly did not like this Fett. His trigger finger itched wondering whether he should just take the man's life right then and there. But one of the other mandalorians spoke up. "You best listen to him" He said to Braiden. The man was the Alor of clan Fett apparently. But that did not make the Silent Badger waver. He held to his principles regardless of who he was up against.

He could have pushed and continued to explain why the man was deserving of this punishment. The War Councilor could have pointed out the harm he had done to others and the shameful way he was acting. But the man carried out the act and did so well. He did not cry out. At least that gave an inkling as to how he had become an Alor of his clan. "...Alor..." He said back. Bardin Fett was forgiven. He had paid for his wrongs with his flesh and Koil would not hold it over him any longer though it would take a lot longer for him to forget the events that had just transpired.

They left, his red eyes staring at them until they left. One finger had been enough. It still lay on the table with a small amount of blood running between it and the blade. Koil walked over to it, exhaling after realizing he had been holding in a breath. So much tension had been held in that moment. Whatever energy he had regained from the little bit of sleep in the past twenty four hours was gone.

The knife moved across the table as his picked it up. Some of the blood still dripping from it until he wiped it off and resheathed it. Then Keira's voice spoke up causing him to let out a tired laugh. "Knowing me you should probably be running." He picked up the finger to look at it then tossed it into a bihoazard bin along with other spent needles or bandages.

"...but you're welcome I suppose." The pain was returning. "You should probably rest that leg. It won't heal very well with you standing on it." He bent down and picked the injured senator up before carrying her to one of the open beds and setting her down as gently as he could.

Most people had either cleared out, were too sick to move, or just coming back after the explosion. A few marauders from his clan came by as he brought a simple bed sheet over Emi's corpse. He gave them orders to stand guard around the area. They seemed slightly perplexed or hesitant. He also gave them orders to alert him if any more looters were trying to take advantage of the battle's aftermath. That seemed to be more consistent with his reputation and they moved out without another moment's hesitation.

@Sreeya

 

[Keira Zale]

He switched from Mando’a to Basic at once, and she wasn’t surprised at his answer. He gazed at her with that single, piercing red eye that sent chills down her spine. It was unnerving to make eye contact with him, and she felt as if he could tear her to shreds simply with a gaze. She looked down, glancing over at her injured leg. The pain had subsided a little, but it still looked ugly and would take time to heal.

Before she knew what was happening, he had walked over to pick her up. She let out a gasp of surprise, shocked at how effortlessly he had done it. He didn’t even look at her, moving methodically as he kept his steely resolve. Her arm had hooked around his neck to support herself as she felt more than a little embarrassed. She hated needing help, and now one of the patients in her clinic was charged with it.

She muttered a quiet thanks as he eased her onto a bed, surprisingly gentle in his movements. She looked over at the carnage and clearing smoke, a pang of pain hitting her as she thought of Emi and the others that died for no reason.

“I don’t think those men were inherently bad..” She said after a moment. She was optimistic to a fault, and she always saw the best in others, “I think they were distraught from their grief. I think they were acting out. I was stupid to come to a place still reeling and mourning from pain. I got in the way…” She buried her face into her hands, clutching at her hair that was now full of soot and debris, “I’m sorry for causing this…”

@Darasaurus

 

[Koil Solus]

Keira spoke, trying to rationalize the other Mandalorians' actions. He kept his right arm close to his side to minimize the amount of pain he caused himself as he went to find some medical supplies. Technically he had not stopped the Mandalorians from taking the supplies and they had still taken some but that was fine. There were still some left over to treat the present injured.

Bringing over some kolto and bandages he looked at her injury. Koil knew his own first aid well enough. They were not bad men. He agreed silently with Keira though he had more to add if he wanted to.

"Looks like you didn't get hit in the artery." He said out loud during one of her pauses before continuing to remove the shrapnel and fix her up shortly there after. He used the one hundred proof alcohol among his gear to sterilize his hands. He brought out his pack of cigaras and set them next to the bed so Keira could reach it if she wanted but for now the Echani would refrain from smoking. The clear liquor stung some of the cuts he had on his knuckles but did the job and his one visible eye twitched at the sensation for a moment. Whatever he did not use he would pass to Keira.

"So you bombed Mandalore? Sorry, I thought Aadya Drast would be a bit shorter." he did not look up from his work as he made the jest. The War Councilor blamed the Sith Empire for the devastation of his people."Why did you come here?" Why was this woman even here to help people that were clearly not her own. It was obvious she did not approve of the violence. Then again he wondered if he could blame her. Clink, the piece of shrapnel fell onto the metal table next to them. Just like the knife used earlier it was still sharp and had blood clinging to it.

@Sreeya

 

[Keira Zale]

She realized she was venting, and it was a bad habit. A Mandalorian was probably the worst kind of person to vent to right now. He had lost family, brothers, sisters and had entire cities decimated. And here she was moping about her own pathetic failures. She wiped her face off and looked up as he pointed out she didn’t hit an artery - always with that matter of fact tone. Did anything really ever get to him? Despite her knowing everything he had gone through, he managed to maintain cool. He hadn’t even flinched during the altercation with the other Mandalorians.

As he picked out shrapnel, she hissed in pain, clutching the sheets beneath her. She ignored the cigara, but she winced and cried out softly from the pain. How had the man from earlier managed to cut off a finger without a true noise?!

His question threw her off so much, her eyes flew open. She looked momentarily horrified and her jaw hung open, “Wh-What? I’m not-” It took her a full second to realize he was being sarcastic. She didn’t even know that was possible for them. She was so distracted that she didn’t even notice he had taken care of her wound, her face bright red for taking him so seriously, “I came here because people needed the help. Wounds needed patching, medicine was in short supply and food was scarce. I wanted to remind the people here that they are not alone in the galaxy,” It all sounded so childish and idealistic it was almost sickening to her.

She looked at the way he had efficiently taken care of the wounds and kept calm through it all, “But you didn’t really need the help, did you? Not beyond helping take off the armor,” She managed a faint smile for the first time as she looked at him, weariness clear on her face.

“I have a habit of wanting to help people that don’t necessarily want to be helped, I guess,” She shrugged, easing back against the pillow behind her back. Keira looked away from him, “But it drives me as strongly as your cause for battle drives you.”

 

[Koil Solus]

It was amusing to mess with outsiders. So many of them had hangups on things that Mandalorians did not think twice about. Life was too short when your culture was war fighting or living in harsh environments. Koil was skeptical though. He heard Keira's claims for providing assistance. It seemed somewhat naive if she genuinely meant it. If not, then she was no different from the other non-mandalorians he had met.

"Needing help and accepting help are two different things." The War Councilor believed that they as a people would rise from these ashes. He believed fully that no matter what the Mandalorian people would survive this and come out stronger. But he also was not so proud as to say it would be easy and ignoring aid was appreciated. "Pride is many a warrior's undoing...." Another regurgitated lesson his father had taught him. So many of his kin had let their ego get in the way. "...even when it comes to beskar'gam."

He made sure a good amount of Kolto was applied to her leg wound. Any pants she was wearing would have some stained blood and a tear in it. The skin underneath would heal but after all the dirt and blood she was going to get on those clothes the senator was probably going to want to toss them.

Keira's wounds were taken care of and she would not risk further injury as long as she let her leg rest. He stood beside her, noticing she had not taken either of the cigara's. Then his right eye saw red. Reaching up to the exposed part of his face he looked through his left eye and saw blood on his finger tips. "Osik." He muttered. He had planned on removing the rest of the shrapnel he had taken by himself but his forehead wound was still bleeding profusely. It was far from serious but just an invonvenience.

"As selfish as helping out people against their will sounds...I think I will accept some help." His visible eye was closed. Several rivulets of crimson covering his eye for the time being while he looked at Keira from behind half of the helmet that was undamaged. One tattooed hand pointed towards the small pieces of shrapnel in his torso. They were not as bad as Keira but there were more of them. Koil pointed towards the side of his face that was exposed. "Looks like I don't have the best depth perception right now." He sat at the foot of the bed for the time being somewhat expecting her to just pull the pieces out right there and sew them up if she was capable though chances were she would probably inquire him to lay back down again.

@Sreeya

 

[Keira Zale]

She couldn’t help but smile a little when he admitted he needed help. He sat near the end of the bed, and she quirked an eyebrow, “Well? Come closer. It’s too much work for me to shimmy over to you,” She smiled faintly, deciding to lighten the mood a little. There had been too much tragedy lately, and she wanted to take a break from it.

Once he moved closer, she would reach to the medical supplies in the table next to the bed. She pressed down against the skin on his face to staunch the bleeding as she plucked out bits of shrapnel. It felt strange to be so close to a Mandalorian, but during times of war formalities usually went out the window. She began to clean the wound, no doubt the alcohol stinging him.

“I thought Mandalorians were humans only,” She said after a moment, “It’s nice to see them welcoming of everyone,” Keira spoke as she continued working around his eye. She had to make do with limited supplies, pulling out some medical adhesives that usually attached to opposite sides of a gash and worked as suture. Keira leaned in and carefully began to apply them against the forehead wound, ensuring she was as gentle as possible.

After a moment, she completed it with some bandaging on top. She didn’t even bother asking him to take the rest of his helmet off - she knew how they were about that. Keira drew back after a moment to marvel at her work.

“Almost good as new,” She grinned, “Another light scratch to add to your many, I’ll bet.”

@Darasaurus