Mastery of Isolation

Xe Z Sheu-fuh

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Fortunately, they had a professional assassin among them nonetheless. Xe inched forward, her lips parted ever so slightly and big, blue eyes shimmering with the office light. Her left hand clutched between her breasts, the Zeltron kept her right extended out toward their lord of the castle and masculine savior. "We lure him out. Darvoul thought he could overpower you," her, actually, "and his partner will surely believe the same." She paused and drew her hand back for a moment to touch her bottom lip with two fingers. "But, you already know who they are, don't you?"

"How did you..?" Zahlan's shoulders had drooped further as the pheremones did little to arouse the Zygerrian to lust, but helped ease the tension that kept him fiercely alert. He'd forgotten all about mentioning they'd tried to get to him once already. With a drawn out exhale, the barrel of the pistol lowered to point at the desk. "The Zabrak. Ancestors help me if he's taken another."

Xe's hand slowly reached out to slide up the top of Zahlan's forearm. She smiled as gentle strokes sought to further put the man at ease. "The disease is a smokescreen. Something inside them can spread to others?" Or was there an actual parasite being carted around eager for a host? Neither was terribly appealing.

"I... don't know." His eyes followed the Zeltron as she slid around the desk and drifted in closer to him. There was a certain warmth her kind radiated in close proximity. Was it any wonder he wanted to slap her in chains? How could a man so wealthy and powerful let such beauty elude him? "They tried to grab me, but I avoid them. Grabbed what I could to outlast them in here. Hoped it was a delusion and this disease would just go away."

Slowly her hand slid back down to his hand to guide the blaster lower and lower. The thin fabric of her dress did little to separate their bodies as Xe pressed against his side. After a few more seconds she rolled the pistol out of his grasp. "It will go away, Zahlan. We'll make sure of it. Won't we?"

@Herrith
 

Agrafena Landis

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If there was as good a time as any to step in and do something, this was about it. The Zeltron tapped into her uncanny ability to influence others--thank whatever stars that she wasn't on the receiving end--and the Zygerian, Zahlan as his name turned out to be, soon crumpled from the high strung idiot he happened to be only a few moments ago. He seemed to be falling into a pit of persuasion with Sheu-fuh. Odd, considering how he likely wouldn't hesitate to put a collar on her neck if he got the chance to. Judging from experience, clearly he would not. Landis shifted her stance, her left foot finding a place slightly farther forward than the other one while her hands rose.

Even Aggie, through all the mask filtration systems, found a part of her wanting to listen to every word Sheu-fuh said, hang on the edge of her speech. She shoved that thought down. Professional. Stay focused and get the job done. The moment the pistol moved out of the Zygerrian's grasp, Landis' respirator misted her visor as she pulled her pistol, catching it with her left hand and taking two steps back, immediately yelling through the mask and leveling the weapon his direction, safety thumbing off and power starting.

"Don't move and raise your hands away from your sides, where I can see them! I will kriffing shoot you if you do not comply, understand?!"

Aggie's sympathy for the man was gone. He was a slaver, locked himself away with supplies he didn't need for his own selfishness. And now he was in the way for her to continue her investigation. Useless until this disease was contained, and a detriment to her mission. Eyes flicked to the Zeltron for a moment to see what she would do before Landis took another step back, knowing exactly where her handcuffs were as she got them both in her vision. Doubtful that Sheu-fuh would try to intervene--but she preferred to see what she was dealing with, and not have a Zeltron persuade her weapon from her hands.

At least she was good at distracting Zygerrians.
 

Xe Z Sheu-fuh

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Part of the Zygerrian wanted her. Why wouldn't he? Also his leering gaze before the mess started said more than words ever could. Pressed against him, cooing how strong and capable he was in saving them all... Nothing helped better than to appeal to a man's pride and desires. Given more time she might have even had him curled up in her lap -- though only because he was obviously panicked by a creature that wanted to infest him. It was pretty revolting to think about.

A soft, heated groan followed Landis' shout. "Republic," she sighed, left hand wrapped about Zahlan's shoulders, "this is not helping." Slowly she untangled herself from the man and looked up at him with a slight pout. "Don't worry. I'm sure the doctor has a plan other than threatening to arrest the presumed slaver while surrounded by other presumed slavers, on their own station, when there is a parasite spreading through the population."

Xe turned her head aside to look straight at Landis. "Don't you, Doctor?" Why was the woman pretending to be a law officer now of all times? Yes, the Republic's personnel probably all had the 'duty' and the 'authority' to arrest criminals. That didn't mean Xe approved of Landis putting that above the duty of saving lives. One crisis at a time.

In case that pistol turned in the Zeltron's direction, however, the pink woman slowly backed away from Zahlan more than was needed for a clean shot. How fast could a doctor kill two people several feet apart? Fast enough not to get dropped after the first one?

Zahlan gritted his teeth, a flame lit despite the warm blanket that'd been metaphysically wrapped about him. "The Zabrak is still out there, and you're wasting your time trying to arrest me?"

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Agrafena Landis

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Of course, Aggie could have just shot the guy.

She certainly had permission, and could deem this impossible to contain, have the frigate nuke the station. The Republic was dumb like that. Peace and prosperity. Of course, her pistol always had a stun magazine in it--she left the lethal blasts to the rifle sitting over her shoulder, where a normal bolt was both effective and useful. Her eyes flicked over to the Zeltron as she tried to reason about not getting the guy in trouble. Why? He was no use to her. Plus, why would the other slavers, who, as far as she knew, were locked out of his office, stand up for him?

Then again, she'd seen some pretty odd things in the galaxy. And these two had hardly explained a thing to the Doctor herself, so the concept of a Zabrak still 'out there' was fairly foreign to her. Especially when she hadn't even known who they were looking for was a Zabrak in the first place. Kriffing hell, these two were confusing to say the least. Her shoulders relaxed slightly as her eyes flicked to Sheu-fuh for a moment before returning to the Zygerrian--Zahlan--as she had only found out a few seconds ago.

"You're right."

The pistol lowered to center mass of the Zygerrian.

"I'm not threatening to arrest him, or even trying to arrest him."

At this point, Aggie considered the Zeltron an ally. Mysterious, yet helpful. But this Zygerrian was just in her way.

She exhaled and her finger squeezed the trigger. Selfish garbage...

At least she was only stunning him.

"I just need the medical supplies, one syringe of which we wasted on you."
 

Xe Z Sheu-fuh

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A less disciplined person might have popped the blaster now in Xe's pink hand up at Landis under the circumstances. Someone being shot before your eyes could have that effect. Fortunately, the Zeltron's hand stayed at her side with the weapon in her grasp. Things were getting out of control now. They were walking a tightrope and the good Doctor seemed to be doing everything possible to cause that rope to sway or wave in an effort to throw them off. Landis was lucky she had Xe to deal with; she was less likely to take drastic action. But that only went so far if there was any hope to preserve her cover. Zahlan's irrational response or barricading himself from the rest after Xe had left helped.

"Well," a smile flickered across dark pink lips, "imagine if he'd shot us or a stray bolt shot one of the boxes instead." One syringe wouldn't make the difference in their success. It could mean one person suffered or died. Landis was on the side of the fence that believed everyone (except the criminals) would come out on top in the end. She had that luxury. Xe did not.

"Why don't you handle distributing the medicine? I'll take a look around for our parasite-infecting partner. Unless you wanted to dose everyone taking shelter in here just to be safe?" Slave merchants and buyers the lot of them, of course. Somehow, didn't seem likely, but the Doctor getting shooty on an unarmed man hadn't been high on the possibility list either.

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Agrafena Landis

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Aggie lowered the pistol and set its safety, holstering the weapon as she pulled her rifle to the front of her body on its sling. She pulled a hand to her radio as she locked eyes with the Zeltron, who seemed to have little to no misgivings about what happened. At least she hadn't tried to cause more trouble. Now the question was if there were going to be any more slavers looking to cause an issue with two Republic troops. Which was why she was now about to call in to Léon as she swept the stuff off the shelves onto a nearby cart.

"It was a stun bolt, he'll be fine. If that's really what you're worried about. Go ahead and look for the infected Zabrak. I'll likely be assisting my partner down in the quarantine areas."

Landis zipped up a pack of injectors and then pulled zip cuffs off of her belt, clipping them around the Zygerrian's wrists and dragging him into his chair, making sure to tie some extra zip ties to the chair itself. He wouldn't need to go anywhere as she took the supplies he wasn't using and gave them to people who needed it. As for the slavers here, it was unlikely they were infected--though once she was done with the larger problem, those could be focused on. She checked her rifle as she refocused on the Zeltron.

"Go. Don't get into too much trouble. I hope you realize I didn't want to stun this guy."

Aggie nodded and keyed her radio, pushing the cart out of the room at the same time to talk to Léon.
"How is it down there, Specialist?"

"Fine. Been a while since you checked in. Anything special happen?"

"I got more supplies, if that explains anything."

"Understood. See you here. Don't die."
 

Xe Z Sheu-fuh

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It was because Landis fired a stun bolt that thing hadn't gotten any worse. Xe just smiled as the doctor explained and tried to placate her slaver-liaison officer. And despite these pleasant circumstances it would probably still be a pain in the ass to convince others why Landis was still alive now; but she'd talked herself out of worse.

"What trouble could a simple Zeltron get into, Doctor?" she asked with widened eyes and arched brows. Never mind all the talk of having killed a man. "I'll take care of things here while you treat our employees." Didn't matter what had transpired or the doctor's disinterest in being a one-woman army. Landis was still Republic and would probably throw Xe into a cell if her superiors ordered it for being slaver scum. They had mutual interests. Far from certain Landis would turn a blind eye to a pink woman not being counted among any arrested.

Once Landis left, Xe's blue eyes turned to the restrained Zygerrian. She could cut him lose, except... This could be an opportunity.

With a small buzz of excitement among the other owners in the Doctor's wake, Xe stepped into the common room with her hands up for attention. "Please, everyone, stay calm. Zahlan had to be sedated, but everything is in order. No one's being arrested," yet anyway, "and the medical personnel have the disease under control. This will all be over shortly."

Her eyes bounced between the many faces that sooner swarmed her, ears ringing with a clamor of questions and accusations. None of which interested her. They could all be spaced for what their opinions and concerns were worth. However, there was one whose thoughts were of interest. Actually it was the way they avoided the swarm and took a roundabout course toward the office.

Knife in hand, its length pressed against the underside of Xe's forearm, the Zabrak stalked into view of the open doors to Zahlan's office. It hadn't been easy to tear herself away from the rabble, but there were pressing matters to attend to. Only from where she stood the Zabrak couldn't be seen.

As she started to move closer a hand took hold of her following a sharp pain in her neck.

"I knew you would come," a male's voice hissed as the pain lessened slightly. "Now I will receive two for the price of one. You with the Doctor's favor will escape this station and carry us to the stars. As it was meant to be, long ago."

Xe could feel her naturally elevated heart rate quicken and her knees weaken as the man released her. A drug? Poison? Onset was too rapid to be the infection the others suffered. Her shoulder pressed against the wall in an effort to remain her feet.

The Zabrak strode pass and headed straight toward Zahlan's office. "It'll be all over in a minute, for you," he called back over one shoulder.

As her eyes grew hazy, Xe mentally chanted to remain calm. Empty herself of the pain, the anxiety, and the worries of life all around. Make it count. One slightly deeper breath at a time to enrich the blood.

When the man began to lean in over Zahlan, Xe's entire body threw itself forward. Her arm whipped around and sent the knife sailing across the distance with a grunt. Hers wasn't the only sudden exhalation in the moment; the Zabrak's was short and followed his body slumping over Zahlan.

Knife embedded in her target, two unsteady steps carried the Zeltron forward. She collapsed against the door frame to Zahlan's office. "Sorry," she wheezed, "already got my shot." Maybe it had tried to...join with her as it meant to with Zahlan? As Darvoul had with the Zabrak? As whatever had to Darvoul in the first place. Hopefully that shot worked the way Xe had hoped under these conditions. Even if it did, she'd wager the Republic still wouldn't thank or acknowledge the effort to prevent the disease from spreading further. Damn tunnel vision. Oh, speaking of which... Xe held on to the wall to keep from retching.

@Herrith
 

Agrafena Landis

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Landis scoffed while the Zeltron quickly responded. A lot of things, in fact.

Once she was down with Léon, she immediately felt better, pulling up the cart and offloading some more medicine. She nodded to Léon, attempting to hide a smile while he went back to work. He noticed that she was acting a bit more happy than usual and turned his head slightly to look at her while he hooked in an injector to a sick person. Simultaneously, Aggie knelt down beside the supplies to check her gear and tapped into her radio, contemplating whether to ask how things were going. She hesitated when her partner spoke.

"What's got you smiling?"

"I sent a stun blast into that Zygerrian who's in charge of the whole thing. Tied him up. Extra paperwork but...worth it."

"What about our lady friend?"

"Supposed to be back up there doing..something. I gave her a radio, hold on."

Aggie keyed her comms and spoke, hiding her amusment immediately.
"How goes it up there, Sheu-fuh?"

Hopefully there wasn't a death squad after them and she had missed her chance to overhear about it.
 

Xe Z Sheu-fuh

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The padded thump of a body echoed through the office. It left only the sound of labored, heated pants in its wake.

Landis' voice pierced the air. A polite shriek to sensitive ears.

A few seconds passed before the radio was retrieved. It shifted and nearly dropped from numb fingers. "Pomei," Xe forced between her lips. "Just," she breathed as she sank to the floor beside Zahlan's chair, "pomei." A Zeltron didn't care about peach colors to describe her situation. A pink woman thought of pink things -- also they were native species of fruit. Similar to pomegranates. Only cuter, of course.

"Long as it didn't get anyone else," Sheu-fuh paused to draw in a few deep, calming breaths, "you should be safe. Oh," a laugh quickly turned into a cough, "and long as you didn't give me the wrong medicine." Well, the guy had said it would have been over in a minute; and it had been far longer than that since the infection. So Xe trusted the Doctor shouldn't be charged with malpractice -- and being a liar since she'd complained about a 'wasted' shot before leaving.

"How are you doing?"
Xe let her eyes drifted closed. It hurt to move. Hurt to see. Hurt to talk. Hell, hurt to breathe. That was okay though, right? She was still alive, and the bad guys were not. The other bad guys; Zahlan was still limp, but breathing in his chair.

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Agrafena Landis

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Aggie listened as a weak voice she hardly identified as Sheu-fuh's crackled through the piece in her ears. She didn't sound okay. Landis made signs with her hands to get a medical bag and an injector to Léon, then pointed toward where she had come from. He handled first aid better than she did, and was significantly better at the talking aspect of keeping someone conscious. She listened while the woman explained her situation, relatively vaguely to be sure. At this point she probably wasn't thinking clearly, evident from the question sent her way. Agrafena ran a couple ideas through her head and exited on Léon's trail.

Léon arrived to the main room first, having breezes through the main hall and knelt down, scooting the woman till she was flat on her back and tried to set her arms at her sides.

"Me? Doing great. Saving lives and poking people with needles at the expense of the Republic. Just another day at the office."

He started his work, checking for symptoms and finding similar cases as he had seen down below. Landis was catching up, trying to make sure nobody questioned a tall, wide striding man storming past their doors in combat armor.
 

Xe Z Sheu-fuh

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The Zeltron let out a soft groan at being disturbed. Once on her back, her hand reached toward the ceiling as she murmured, "Red, your lips are a summer's ray." The already elevated metabolism was in overdrive; her blood the battleground of a particularly aggressive 'strain' of parasite against the drugs and her immune system. Fortunately it was one that had begun to wind down by the time Léon arrived.

After a few moments Xe's eyes cracked open. "Where am I?" From where she lay and from what little she could see as her eyes adjusted to the light, the room didn't look familiar. Was that a wall or the ceiling? Was she laying down? Xe didn't remember laying down.

Off to one side lay the motionless Zabrak corpse, and not far from that Zahlan's restrained figure. Just as Landis had left it... more or less.

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Agrafena Landis

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Léon checked her pulse and pulled out the injector from its bag, placing it beside himself while also looking for anything that could possibly be unnatural for a Zeltron. Of course, they had just enough metabolic difference that that was hard to tell exactly. He shook his head and gripped her hand to keep her at least slightly aware as her eyes fluttered open, brain clearly confused as to what was happening.

Landis, on the other hand, stepped over the Zabrak's body and made sure to record it with her helmet cam, flipping the corpse face up with a shake of her head to document what happened here. She scanned the body of the figure before returning her eyes to Léon, who immediately questioned her about the injection.

"Is the shot working? If not I may have to give her something to slow down her heart rate, it's dangerous for a humanoid."

"Give it 30 seconds, she's a Zeltron. If it doesn't slow down, do what you have to do."

He nodded and unzipped his pack, counting her heartbeat afterward with a finger. Aggie looked at Zahlan and walked over, slinging her rifle to lean over the Zygerrian and check for anything that could have changed. She didn't trust this scene at all.
 

Xe Z Sheu-fuh

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"No more," Xe groaned as she let her eyes drifted closed again. "Too many people have stabbed me today already." The punctures along her collar had all but healed, though there was evidence of irritation and fragility to the skin there.

Her blue eyes slid open then narrowed a hair at the intrusion of light. "The Zabrak's dead, right?" Her head rolled a bit to one side then the other trying to figure out where the corpse was. There was a corpse. Had to be. It was that or she'd only imagined severing his grip on life, and that could have consequences.

"I think he wanted to do more than make us sick." A breath was sucked in and expelled slowly. "You should take him with you. Figure out whatever was influencing them, and caused them to spread the disease." With a soft cough, the Zeltron stopped trying to croak the words out. "Ahm.. water?" Except to ask for something to help with her parched throat, anyway.

Wouldn't want Landis to have a silent Zeltron after all. The woman might start to feel neglected.

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Agrafena Landis

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Léon nodded after looking at her eyes for any unusual dilation and the like before tossing the injector to Landis, who stowed it in her hand. Sheu-fuh wasn't showing any indication that the injection wasn't working, and doubling up isn't exactly the smartest idea on the planet. Léon brushed a glove across the irritation on her neck. Landis checked the Zabrak for life signs before shaking her head. Dead as far as she knew.

"By my professional opinion...yes, deceased."

She had second thoughts about taking the body with her. More paperwork was a headache, and this was contained as far as she knew. Leave some other research team to figure it out. At the same time, she took an oath, as long ago as that seemed. Léon would have agreed more with her first sentiment, especially in present affairs within the Republic...but he'd do as she said in the end. Aggie snapped out of her thinking to the woman asking for water. Léon snapped his fingers, knowing that she blanked out here and there, and smirked under his mask.

"Can we spare any that wouldn't jeopardize our own well being?"

Aggie made a sarcastic tsk before shaking her head, speaking in a tone dripping with humor.
"No, Specialist, I think we're running too low. Bummer."

As she did this, she untucked her canteen from her vest and held it out to Léon.
"One caveat, though. Kinda strange for some random Zeltron to be able to take out a Zabrak hand to hand, especially alone. You sure you're just a lowly friend of the Republic?"
 

Xe Z Sheu-fuh

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Xe felt a bit of relief at the canteen being fetched, but it was short lived. Her eyes shifted to Landis as she inquired further. "I'm a Zeltron surrounded by thieves, murderers, and slavers, Doctor. A girl like me doesn't survive by being the most beautiful creature in the room." A soft, dry cough interrupted her. "Not alone, anyway."

"Can I?" her eyebrows lifted slightly, curious if Landis was going to hold the water there like a carrot forever. "Tell me how things went with the 'employees.'" Wouldn't be any time for the pink woman to talk as she indulged her thrist.

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