Ask A Black Eye

[Wodan]

When the medical station was built in the aftermath of the occupation of Eiradu, none of the staff were expecting the volume of traffic that they were now having to deal with. As one of the main staging posts of the invasion into ISC space, most of Corellia’s casualties had been evacuated to Medical Station 118, floating halfway between the planet and its sun.

Wodan sat in a private room, the only benefit his rank as Sith Champion gave him in this situation. The room itself was silent, cold and dimly lit, all to the Firrerrian’s desire. He could still feel the burning of the plasma on his skin, though the agony of his wounds had long since disappeared under the cocktail of drugs flushing through his system. The doctors had to double his dose due to his body's natural fortitude to toxins and medicines alike.

He was barely covered with just a thin sheet covering his privates, the rest of his body was open to the cool air. Between his natural healing ability and the bacta gel he had been covered in, the worst of the burns which covered most of his lower half, had already begun to heal. Bright silver marks and slices scared his body where the worst of his burns had taken hold. In contrast his upper body had gotten off lightly with only a few scrapes and bruises, all easily healed in time with little to no scarring.

His face on the other hand was different, the left side was a mess. The aforementioned concoction of bacta, medical practice and his body's healing factor was perhaps all that had kept him alive. From the bottom of his cheek to the top of his temple, ear to nose was a great red mess of torn and burned flesh and skin. In its centre and worst of all was his eye, the once glowing golden orb was gone. A shard of durasteel had fractured off and embedded itself in the soft tissue of his eye. Only the thickness of his helmet had saved it from fully skewing his brain behind.

Letting out a slow breath, his hand reached up and brushed the shard around his neck. That at least hadn’t left him in Corellia only an eye and his shredded dignity and shattered prestige.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair hadn’t led any missions into ISC space just yet. While the timing was strategic to hit the Consortium, he heard reports from all sides that the Sith had underestimated the enemy. Somehow the President always seemed to be one step ahead of them. The Bothan Spynet was credited for his superior intel and work was being done to attack their critical infrastructure.

When he heard reports of Corellia and about Wodan, Altair set aside his work. Though the Clove drama had left him reeling and a different version of himself, he wasn’t entirely gone. That familiar pulse of concern and rage on behalf of his friend surged all over again. He wasted no time in making his way over to Eriadu.

There were whispers around the medical station as he arrived, the familiar set of horns inviting salutes and nervous mutterings. Altair ignored all of it, making a beeline for the room that held Wodan. The doors hissed open and the tiefling appeared, still dressed in his Commander uniform.

For a moment, he stared at his friend, taking sight of the damage. The missing eye, the burns, the damaged face. It was so much worse than he expected. Altair’s eyes widened in surprise and he didn’t move for a few seconds. He curbed any emotion threatening to break free, taking slow steps towards the other man.

“What…happened?” He asked slowly, anger seeping into his tone.

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

He had hoped Altair would show, though he wasn’t sure how quickly the Tiefling would have been able to. In the dim light with only one good eye Wodan could see Altair’s eyes widen, his mind hesitating as he looked upon his friend's mangled body and face. Wodan knew it was bad, the look in Altair’s face however told him the truth.

Wodan didn’t really know how to feel at that moment, there was plenty of relief and joy in seeing his friend come to check on him. Part of him wanted to crack a joke about the situation, ‘Ran into a Blaster Bolt’ or something like that, but a larger part of him just wanted to flounder in negative thoughts. He had lost again, first to a pubescent teen, now to a robot. The former had cost him a little dignity and prestige, the later had cost him that again plus an eye. He wanted to hate, it was easier than the pain and contemplation about what had happened, to angrily blame it all on everything else, on Anaris, on Emryc, the ISC General, the Imperial tactics, even on Altair himself.

His single eye flicked up to Altair, his voice was croaky having not said a word in over a day. “I am sure you have seen the reports.” He began. “My attack failed. I was hit, now I am here.” His eye flicked away landing in a thousand yard stare down the room.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair said nothing in response to Wodan’s words initially. Of course he had read the reports, but that was very different from getting first hand account from Wodan. From his friend. Perhaps the last one Altair had left, or so he thought. Wodan likely blamed Altair for some of this as he was in the upper echelon of command.

“Well..” He said with a sigh as he walked over to sit down next to the bed, “Is it too soon to make cyclops jokes?” Altair asked hopefully. It was a very subtle hint of his normal personality shining through. It was in the tiefling’s nature to make entirely inappropriate jokes with anyone he considered a close friend.

“You’ll be up and moving in no time,” Altair reassured him, “But I’ve built up significant mope debt, so lay it on me.”

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth at the cyclops comment, which he tried to force away. It was relieving to see Altair show a little of the personality he had before the Clove affair, though losing an eye wasn’t what he was expecting to do to get some emotion from the big beast.

He was right between the excellent care the Sith received from the Empire and his natural healing; he would be out within a few days and back to full working order in a couple of weeks at most. Pushing himself up in the bed a bit as Altair sat down next to him, he clenched at the pain of the raw flesh rubbing against the bed sheets. A sedative right now would be great, let him sleep through till his skin healed so he could walk and get out of here.

“What have you been up to? Got your own Consortium scalp yet?” His voice was still hollow as he spoke. As much as Wodan was curious as to how his friend was doing, he didn’t want to talk about himself or Corellia in that moment, not until he could get his words straight.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair knew Wodan well enough to tell when he didn’t want to discuss a topic. He scoffed at the question, shaking his head, “Too busy lining up our military forces at home,” He said. He wasn’t sure the strike against ISC was smart. The Consortium seemed better put together than the Alliance or the New Republic. He had a feeling Corellia wouldn’t be their only loss.

“I got promoted to Lieutenant General after Yavin,” Altair said. They hadn’t really talked about Yavin since he came back a different person from there. The tiefling was talking more now, but Wodan would still see the differences between now and how he used to be.

“I think this war is going to divide a lot of groups,” He said quietly, “I’m coming to terms with the fact that I’m Imperial before I am Sith,” It was difficult to admit aloud, especially when he knew where Wodan stood, “But know I will never act against you unless I’m absolutely forced,” Altair said, his gaze lowering. They were cryptic words, he knew, but with each passing day he had concerns about his path compared to others he knew.

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

His head rolled over towards the Tiefling with a genuine smile on his face. “Congrats mi’dude. You deserve it.” Wodan was happy for his friend he had given more than most to the Empire, including his heart in a way, it was right he was being awarded for everything he sacrificed and lost.

“I think that was evident with the Lieutenant General instead of Darth Horns.” He joked, although his voice was still empty of its usual emotion, head shifting back to neutral as he took full stock of what his friend was saying. Pretty much that if push came to shove he would pick the rank and file over the Sith elite, it wasn’t surprising to Wodan. He had seen Altair do it time and time again and it had gained him the loyalty of a vast section of the Imperial Military.

As the Lieutenant General went quiet into his own contemplation, Wodan joined him, unknowingly they both were thinking about similar outcomes and destinations. Though the means at which they reached them were definitely different.

@Sreeya