[Accord] To the Void.

[Berlioz]

OOC: Open to members of the Accord!

Two days.
​

Two days, it'd taken to arrive. Asteroid J-1314-009, lovingly dubbed "The Void." In these two days, Artemis had finally had the time to sit and reflect, as did her newly found comrade. Granted that she'd never met the man up to two days ago, it was hardly appropriate to see him as a step-son of any sort. That's how things were with Lex, at times. The distance, the subtly implied lies and mutual recognition of it. Yet, for all her character, she couldn't turn the man, or his son, away. She simply couldn't.

Alone, she sat atop the burgundy linen sheets of her mattress within her ship's bedroom. Vas, simplistic as he was, had opted for the privacy and seclusion of the ship's small cargo compartment, after gifting the woman a small knife. She didn't mind, they both needed space and she knew it. Her eyes gazed upwards at an ornate, oval-shaped silver-rimmed mirror atop a modern metal countertop. She rose a hand to her long black locks, twirling them with her index finger for a moment.

"I need to change."

She gingerly bit her lower lip, staring back at her reflection. She needed to change, not only her appearance, but her person. The Galaxy felt very different from outside the bureaucratic confines of her office with Manaan. The daily debates and negotiations with the Selkath and industrial scientists were gone now.

To her shame, she missed those precious talks.

She stood up from her mattress, his knife in hand. A hand rose to her hair.

"My lady," the ship's built-in AI spoke through the intercom, "We are approximately 8 minutes and 14 seconds from arrival. Shall I hail the Docking bay?" Her bedrooms door slid open, sealing shut shortly behind her.

"Indeed. Hail them, let them know we're coming. Get us a docking bay, and me and Vas'll do the rest."
​

Freshly cut, her hair was spiked and brushed to the side, a close buzz through the left side of her head - deliberately rough to try and change her image. Two circular earrings coupled around her left earlobe in asymmetry. A brown, long coat with rigid collar hugged her thin frame, accompanied by a black tube top with an exposed abdomen. Upon looking at herself in the mirror, save the glasses, she couldn't recognize herself.
​

Good.

​

The asteroid floated freely in space. Its lights dimmed and shone in a loop amidst the black void surrounding it, calling all ships to port. Artemis sat at the cockpit's mauve leather seat, staring forward as the asteroid grew ever larger in their approach. Her eyes glanced to the top-left of the circular cockpit's glass, eyeing a large freighter pulling to port as well. A busy place, it seems. Two fighter ships suddenly flew past hers at top speeds, approaching the single, vibrantly glowing hangar in the center of the asteroid. She rose a brow,

Fighters? The Republic doesn't own this place - why's there a Military presence here?

Closer they drew to the docking bay, the bright orange shield ever expanding until-

Light.
​

Artemis' eyes widened slightly, absorbing the view as the ship's autopilot navigated the colossal heart of the asteroid. Stalagmites and stalagtites, the size of skyscrapers, pierced the ground and ceiling, covered in lights and colors from its lively inhabitants. Like blood its streets and skyways flowed with lights as vehicles and ships alike busily passed through the great open space. Her eyes narrowed a bit, noting a particularly large stalagmite - where the freighter and fighters were headed. She leaned to her side and pressed a small switch,

"Vas - we're here. Get your stuff."

She looked back forward, seeing the stalagmite's rocks part open. She blinked, seeing a sudden massive gap open for the freighter.

The entire stalagmite was the starport. The whole thing, top to bottom, rock-covered hangars. She reached forward, slowing their ship's approach slightly to see the cargo freighter completely vanish within the colossal stalagmite, only for its stone walls to seal shortly behind it, effectively swallowing the entire ship.

Her eyes traced back forward, seeing a small opening along the rocks, a direct course from her ship. She narrowed her gaze, reading: 0079.

From a small hangar bay door emerged a Mon Calamari. Artemis took a moment to look around, seeing Vas step out of the hatch of her pearl-white ship. She looked back towards the tan, businesswear-clad alien and gave him a warm smile and nod. "Hello, sir." The Mon Calamari smiled, returning her greeting with a polite bow of the head. He looked towards her ship, widening his large eyes for a moment and releasing a faint whistle.

<"Corellian LVT960 - wow. I don't think I've seen one of those in a long time.">

She smiled, "Yes, I'm rather fortunate to have it. It's an amazing ship, as comfortable as they come."

The man nodded, <"Well, I suppose we ought to get business then. It's around 1,000 credits a night for the Bay, you may stay as-">

"I'm purchasing the hangar."

He tilted his head slightly, the fish-alien's lips turning to as close a smile as his jaw structure would allow him. Artemis' expression remained unchanged, staring intently at the man from behind her spectacles. She licked her lips slightly, tilting her head forward as to reflect the light from her glasses and obscure her eyes. The Mon Calamari released a deep, guttural chuckle and continued,

<"1,000 credits a night, and you may stay as-">

"200,000."

Artemis and Vas paced down the damp, rock-covered corridor of the "Starport" interior, approaching an elevator. Artemis' long, brown coat swayed slightly with each step, her black heels clattering against the polished steel floors as she went. Black tip-less gloves adorned her hands, which then reached into her tan slacks' pockets as she tucked the hangar's access card to safety.

"I saw some Military ships - fighters - as we approached. I figure that's worth investigating. What do you think?"

The two stepped into an industrial elevator and with a whirr began the long way up towards the Crucible district.

​

 

[SonOfTheo]

[New practice - monologues and material not pertinent to subject at hand in my posts will be italicized and shrunken to font-size 2 so you know you don't have to read them.]

On the first day of the flight Vas had slept like a dog; it'd been the first time in three weeks he hadn't had slept with a pistol under his pillow on lumpy floor mattress and he'd finally been deep in space, where no one (unless Artemis was unexpectedly homicidal) could get him. The second day had been spent lounging about the ship. He'd ransacked Artemis's cargo hold, without her permission, just because it was something to do. All he'd found had been some meager rations and feminine hygiene products years out of date.

In one box he'd found something else though. One of the durasteel crates adjacent to the bed Artemis had rolled out for him had obviously been used before as a bedside footlocker. Vas found a Sullustan leather briefcase containing a fake Manaani passport, a dry razor, a bottle of the most expensive cologne he'd ever seen, an old datapad (locked and encrypted of course), a fifth of spice liquor, a knife (standard configuration, not a vibro), breath mints, a bottle of water, and most importantly a fine, crinkled grey suit. The suit was almost his size but made for a man a little taller, a little gaunter. Vas figured maybe he would get it tailored later, and it sure needed to go through a washer to get the wrinkles out sometime soon, but for now he rolled its sleeves up a little ways and it was fine. It almost fit perfectly.

He knew without needing affirmation from Artemis that it was his fathers. Whether she had ever seen it on him was uncertain; the case looked like it had been left on the ship on purpose either for a future romantic getaway or in case things got bad on Manaan as they had done and Lex had needed to run and take Artemis with him. Lex was usually good about planning for that sort of thing. Usually.

---

Vas took great advantage of the ship's shower and then changed into the suit. He stepped onto the asteroid called the Void, home of the enclave governmental entity called the Accord, to find Artemis haggling with a customs guy over the price of the hangar itself. She bought it for a cool 200k, an astoundingly ostentatious flourishing of limited funds in his eyes, and then they started walking. He didn't pay attention where too, he was too busy bouncing around the older woman with pointed questions about the purchase.

"Two hundred thousand cred on this piece of shit?" he cried, exasperated and waving all around the corridor to indicate he meant the entire stalactite she apparently owned now. "You better pony up to the municipals because they're going to be howling about this! You can't just buy some guy's turf, Artemis! What's worse, you were a Republican until ten minutes ago, so you have no credibility with these people!"

She brushed him off like she might do a small spazzy dog. <"I saw some Military ships - fighters - as we approached. I figure that's worth investigating. What do you think?">

"I think they might be a little pissed at you, 's what I think. This is a sovereign foreign power, they tell the Republic and the Sith both to fuck off pretty frequently. They have a military, duh."

 

[Berlioz]

She smirked, "If there's anything I learned in my time in business in business, Vas - everything is for sale. Everything. It doesn't matter what bloody flag's on the front lawn, you throw enough money at someone and they'll take the flag, burn it and hand you the ashes." The Industrial elevator continued to ascend upward, rattling slightly as they rose. Resembling an elevator less and more a cage, it was rather cramped for a Starport's elevator. "As for a private Military - I can certainly hope so. Contractors are much easier to haggle with than actual politicians that have to pretend they're not for sale." The Elevator suddenly came to a jerking halt, causing her to take a step forward to retain her balance. The elevator's two steel doors slid open.

​

Artemis rose a surprised brow, capturing the view. The asteroid's interior had been hollowed into an industrial aesthetic, fusing both rock and steel buildings into the asteroid itself. She took a step forward, tuning Vas out for a moment, He sure is more vocal than Lex. People and aliens alike paced through the corridors of the asteroid's interior in casual attire, a great many bearing a Militaristic demeanor about them. The short hair, broad shoulders and straight posture were dead giveaways. Her eyes shifted towards a central space, which there-in everything revolved around, it seemed. She paced forward, to then eye a neon-lit sign reading 'Trinity.'

Trinity Plaza.

A gathering of voices reached her ears. She gestured for Vas to follow, and hastily walked towards the origin of the sound. The closer they came, the closer the voices turned to shouts, which then turned to protest. The two paced along a metal catwalk that ran from one stretch of the plaza to the other, getting a bird's -eye view of the crowd below. Mostly composed of Twi'Leks, the crowd bore shoddily painted signs reading: "BRING HER BACK", "DREAMS NOT DANCE", "BREAK THE CHAINS" as well as other slogans, in Hutteese. She looked over at Vas for a moment, then back down.

Artemis rested her arms against the catwalk's metal airs, leaning forward and watching the protest. Her lips twisted to a slight frown, the Slave Trade. That's what they're on about. Poor bastards. Artemis' eyes rose towards the top of the cavern while the protest continued, taking a brief sniff of the air. The air itself seemed slightly damp - which made sense, given the cave's interior. Her mind began to turn, thinking as her gaze remained fixed on the protest.

I don't recall seeing a single hospital on the way in. You'd think it'd be clearly labeled so that anyone in a panic could find it along the skyways - but apparently not. She glanced around the Crucible district, I don't see any mention of a medical provider in here, either.

She looked towards the Crowd - seeing them growing louder and more frustrated as they continued. "We'd better get down there. Soon enough this is going to go awry, as non-violent protests normally do."

 

[Outlander]

Bria hurried through the tunnels and streets of the central district, trying to make a beeline towards the growing protest. With the blockade around Triton, the Accord military was being stretched thin, and they hadn't been able to stomp the slave trade in Ryloth while their ships where do scattered. Undedstandably, the Twi'leks on the station wanted immediate action, even if the Accord couldn't give it to them.

Trinity Plaza was almost completely packed with Twi'leks and miscellaneous other species. She tried pushing through the crowd, making her way towards the large sculpture in the middle. Three independent legs meeting to intertwine in the middle. It was supposed to represent unity and cooperation, but it obviously wasn't doing that now.

Hands scraped at the mandalorian's armor as she pushed through the throng, but they weren't trying to hurt her. Not yet.

Within moments of reaching the structure, she was climbing up towards the top. It was a long way up; past the catwalks surrounding the square, and an ideal place to address the whole crowd.

With her robotic arm wrapped around the top, she leaned out bodily and began speaking, her voice, enhanced by the armor, audible over the entire crowd.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all your friends and loved ones imprisoned in Ryloth or abroad. I'm sorry we haven't been able to help them. The situation over Triton has kept us away longer than it should have; but we haven't forgotten the Twi'lek people. As soon as possible, we will be returning to Ryloth to free your people and wipe out the slave enterprise. If any of you still wish to take our your frustration..." She paused, considering her next words. "I offer myself for you to take those frustrations out on."

With that, Bria slid back down the statue into the crowd. If anyone wanted to take the Accord's failures out on someone, she'd take up that role. It was the least she could do.

 

[Berlioz]

"Oh no."

Someone took the architecture along the center of the plaza and began to climb it, clad in heavy armor. She narrowed her eyes slightly - it was a woman, blonde and short-haired. Artemis looked over at Vas, completely oblivious to the absurdity of telling a grown ass, armed man to stay put. "I'm heading down there - if there's one thing that all peaceful protests have in common - it's anger." She looked down, hearing the woman shout,

<"I offer myself for you to take those frustrations out on.">

Artemis' left eye twitched. This woman was a lunatic.

She quickly dashed past Vas towards the catwalk entry, hearing the crowd grow louder and louder as someone blissfully volunteered to feed the flames of their fire and dissatisfaction. Her heels moved as fast as they could, clattering across the metal floors and approaching the crowd as rapidly as she could. On her way, hands shot from the crowd as they tried pulling the Mandalorian inside. If their voices weren't being heard through sound alone, then perhaps the addition of a beat-to-hell Void Council member would expedite the process.

 

[Claire (AI)]

"Mistress Bria I thought the purpose of your intervention was to put an end to this ridiculous protest not turn yourself into a punching bag for their misplaced anger."

Claire spoke through the Bria's earpiece as she monitored the situation through the many security cameras dotted around the Plaza.

"Would you like me to route law enforcement to your location?"

 

[SonOfTheo]

Vas watched the crowd move and chant like a wave of pent up frustration. A demonstration against slavery, a practice he'd been peripherally involved in before. He couldn't bring himself to feel guilty. The slaves the family had profited off of were always accepting of their lot, had usually been in service a decade or more by the time such lowlies as the Kalgarovas got around to being able to auction them.

Some poor lawman climbed up ontop of a statue in the plaza's center to engage the mob, telling them they could beef it with her if they felt so inclined. Cynical about law as ever, he posited she either a) actually wanted to play martyr for whatever reason or b) was posturing so she could beat the ever living hell out of some dissidents and look great on paper for the trouble.

Artemis had ideas of her own. She looked towards the Crowd - seeing them growing louder and more frustrated as they continued. <"We'd better get down there. Soon enough this is going to go awry, as non-violent protests normally do.">

Vas turned his head toward her with a look of fright. Down there in the plaza was a maw of seething fury that would tear apart sensible people just as easily as it would an institution. "What?! Don't you dare go-" and she was off.

He'd have to follow her, she was his living credit card and he needed her and her support to get at the nul-Kalgarovas. He slipped his hand in his suit's waistband to feather his blaster - aware that the first person to draw heat at tonight's entertainment would die screaming as the mob beat them to death. He seethed under his breath, "Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. What are you doing. Damn it."

 

[Outlander]

Some of the Twi'leks at the edge of the mob accepted her speech, leaving peacefully.

The majority, however, did not.

She covered her exposed head and face with her wrist gauntlets as fists and elbows and legs began raining down on her. They where difused somewhat by the armor she wore, but the bruises that began forming beneath where a testament to how much force was actually getting through.

"No." She said through gritted teeth. "Let them get it out of their systems." She didn't want security forces to turn the mob into a full blown riot. Although, her actions became more questionable as one large Twi'lek gave her a swift uppercut, landing right beneath her jaw and flinging her bodily back into the statue.

 

[Berlioz]

"Off, off, damn you!" She swore, trying to muscle her way into the crowd to little avail. Armored or not, durasteel plates colliding with flesh underneath at a collective pace can still lead to fractures, or worse. 25lbs of pressure - that's all it bloody takes. Bone dependent but- She drew nearer to the crowd, grabbing a young female twilek's shoulder and giving her a gentle push, "Excuse me!" She squeezed past her, placing her left arm along a much larger red Twi'Lek male's bicep as he rose a fist, "Excuse me-" the Alien rapidly turned and gave her a resounding push, sending her colliding through the crowd backwards like a bowling ball. She collapsed backwards, landing flat on her back with her head striking a Twi'Lek's foot on the way down. The tall, vibrant red Twi'Lek shouted, <"Do not interfere! We were promised action, and we've seen nothing!"> Artemis winced slightly, leaning upright as other voices rallied behind the red Twi'Lek,

<"Another damn human, trying to silence us!">
<"You're just as bad as her!">
<"We deserve better!">

Artemis glanced about, seeing the angry Aliens' faces as the armored martyr's beating continued. Her eye twitched slightly, "This accomplishes nothing! Violence besets violence - you aren't accomplishing anything by-"

The Doctor was immediately interrupted by a blaring alarm, as red sirens rang throughout the Crucible district. Armed guards emerged from a nearby Office with stun batons in hand. Artemis' head spun slightly, still reeling from the impact. Her ears rang slightly, yet she could make out a single word.

Crucible.

The platoon of guards with stun batons slowly crept towards the crowd, as an automated voice rang with the sirens: "You are in direct violation of Void and Accord Law. Violent protests are not allowed on Accord property. Disperse immediately - or face rapid arrest."

Artemis gathered her senses, and sat upright.

<"We demand justice for Ryloth!">
<"You promised us aid, damn you!">

The shouting continued to escalate. Artemis finally stood, and a sudden kick to her back sent her colliding forward once more, knocking her glasses from her face and sending her forward. Her eyes looked past a nearby set of legs, eyeing the armored woman as she continued to take her beating. Artemis winced, grabbing her glasses and tucking them into her slacks' pocket as she tried to continue forward towards her.

 

[SonOfTheo]

Artemis was trying to inch closer and closer to the Mandalorian taking the brunt of the crowd's wroth and Vas could see the closer she got, the more the crowd would make her pay for every foot. Their rhetoric had adopted her as an oppressor, the source of their plight, within seconds of her interference. It was time Vas interfered. What was worse, the po-po had arrived.

<"You are in direct violation of Void and Accord Law. Violent protests are not allowed on Accord property. Disperse immediately - or face rapid arrest.">

Artemis took a kick across the lower back that sent her sprawling and that was when Vas began to sprint. He rushed through the thinnest groups of people knocking them aside and weaving out of the way before they could retaliate, and in the last stretch to Artemis he bent forward so his center of mass was lower, picked up speed, and scooped Artemis up like a wee babe.

He screeched the word 'damn' fifteen times as he sprinted full tilt toward the safety of a glowing neon blue sign that said 'cafe' in Huttese.

He kicked open the door viciously and put Artemis down inside, scaring the ever living shit out of a Zeltron waitress carrying a tray with six cups of piping hot spice coffee, all of which ended up on the floor as the Zeltron leaped away so as not to take burns.

---

Vas lay with his back against the door, panting.

 

[Outlander]

Bria's eyes widened in shock as security arrived, armed to the teeth with riot suppression equipment. She stopped covering her face, waving to the armed guards. "Wait! Sto-" Paying for the lapse in defense, the fist smashed into her nose, the cartilage making a sickening noise as it broke under the impact. All she could really do was curl up into a ball, just trying to keep her vitals protected. At this point, she wasn't sure if the presence of security would make the situation any worse.

 

[Berlioz]

Artemis had felt a kick strike her ribs shortly before her head spun. She suddenly felt weightless, bouncing slightly for a brief second until she heard a loud crash. Upon gathering her senses, she realized she was laying on the floor of a building's interior, seeing Vas press his back against the entrance. Gauging from his breathing, he must've just done something physically rigorous, such as-

Her eyes widened in sudden realization. She sat upright, holding a hand to her side. Part of her wanted to argue - yet she knew he'd made the right decision. She lowered her head, tightly shutting her eyes.

This was about to get bloody.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

97 seconds.

The armed guards of the Crucible paced forward, the mob anxious and thirsty for escalated violence. An automated voice called out as the Sirens overhead momentarily ceased: "Disperse. This is your final warning." The crowd remained, and what ensued could only be described as a pit. A gas grenade shot forward onto the crowd - erupting with a thick, pungent texture. Upon inhalation, lungs were lit ablaze, eyes bloodshot and vibrant scarlet. The Crucible's Platoon, adorned in heavy pauldrons and sealed helmets - charged forward, stun batons ready. The mob was instantly rendered helpless to fight in the dense gas, blinded, choked and crippled.

Instantly the Plaza was a lit with screams. The Crucible pushed through the crippled mob, in a brutal display of efficiency. Those who fought, were beaten to the ground with electric discharges while suffocating. A Void Council member was rapidly swept up from the center of the plaza, carried out of the blood haze before she could be caught any further amidst the riot control.

Several of the Twi'Leks that were raving two minutes ago now found themselves with beaten, bloodied faces. Mucus and blood poured from nearly orifice as the gas did its work, crippling those unfortunate enough to have lingered any longer past the automated voice's warnings. Bones were broken, choking screams were heard. 97 seconds it had taken the Crucible to completely decimate the mob, leaving coughing and hacking Twi'Leks amidst the center of the plaza within the thick, pungent light green gas.

10 seconds later, all of the mob had been arrested. Several ventilation shafts opened throughout the top of the plaza, filtering the gas from the center statue. The automated voice spoke,

"Thank you for your cooperation."

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Artemis rested on her knees, her palms covering her face and nose as the pandemonium outside was eradicated. She swallowed heavily, taking several deep breaths to calm her nerves. She was trembling. Oh my god. She hunched forward, resting her forehead against the cafe floor. She tightly shut her eyes, hearing the fizzle of gas as it vented through the upper plaza. She winced slightly, giving herself a solid 40 seconds of silence before she rose to her feet. A small cut bled from her right cheek, while a blackening bruise could be seen from her abdomen along the right.

She took a couple steps towards Vas, "I...Thank you. That was extremely foolish of me, I'm sorry."

She glanced towards the door, "I think it's okay to go outside now. It's over. I'd like to take a moment to treat whoever I can out there, if you'll let me. Victims of a lachrymatory agent attack need Diphoterine." She glanced over her shoulder towards the terrified Zeltron waitress, "Ma'am, can you please get me whatever medical supplies you have? Particularly anything for washing your hands, or face?"

She rose a hand to her black-rimmed glasses, adjusting them back on her nose as the Zeltron waitress approached with a white box. Artemis looked towards the door, "Please let me through."
​

 

[SonOfTheo]

Out the window Vas watched the typical proceedings of unruly crowds and municipal justice unfold. Tear gas, batons, handcuffs and stretchers. A minute and a half of brutality ending like nothing had happened. At least he and Artemis were alright. When it was mostly over Artemis apologized. His voice hoarse, he reciprocated. "It's fine, you wanted to help, I get it."

He realized it might be up to him to teach her how people behaved at times when they were irrational and afraid and just wanted to lash out. Just like she was already teaching him that everything boiled down to money after a certain point.

But Artemis was already entering business mode again, bidding the poor coffee covered waitress to scrounge up as much 'diphoterine' (which apparently meant hand-soap?) as she could.

She asked to be let out to go help again. Seeing that the coast was mostly clear Vas backed away from the door as Artemis rushed outside with a box of salvaged medical supplies the waitress had given her. Vas reached a shaking hand in his pocket for a credit chit and slipped it into the zeltron's hands, compensation for the coffee and more importantly the shock. He apologized in Huttese and she nodded, still wide-eyed. He left to go follow her.

---

He caught up to Artemis a second later and started looking around to see if he could spot the Mandalorian who'd climbed up onto the statue to corral the crowd unsuccessfully. He thought he found her in the center of all the mess, lying curled up on her side. Assuming she was alive under all that steel, he held a hand out for her. "Hey, that was insane. You look all banged up even through that armor. Got a friend who'll treat you if you follow me."

 

[Outlander]

Bria stayed in her own protective cocoon as the violence ensued; the entire crowd being 'efficiently' coralled and brought to bear. Her eyes watered as the fringe of the gas threatened to pull her under. But, just as quickly as it started, the situation was under control. Around her, a group of soldiers, each in full armor, made sure there where no more attackers. They each looked somewhat confused as she waved them away to help deal with the injured.

A man approached. Bria hadn't seen him in the crowd, but with so many, she might have just missed him. She took his helping hand and got to her feet, the bruises already beginning to hurt beneath the armored plates. "I'm fine. If you have a friend with medical training, she needs to help the wounded."

 

[Berlioz]

Artemis knelt down besides a younger male twi'lek with olive green skin, holding a small box of medical supplies by her side. She ran a hand through her hair, eyeing the young man's bloodied face. A stern veil masked her sympathy as she opened the box, inspecting its contents. Sterile bandages, wraps, coagulant, one small vial of cheap kolto, disinfectant, some hand soap, some cotton balls, a needle and thread. She took a deep breath, pulling her tip-less gloves from her hands. Her eyes examined his face for a moment.

Nose displaced, unnatural twist at the bridge. Open gash along left lekku, bruised lips.

She brought a hand the young man's nose, taking a quick breath, and snapping the bridge of his nose back to place with a fervent twist. Her brow twitched slightly at the sensation of shifting bones. Been a while since I felt that. She leaned backwards, dabbing some a cotton ball with alcohol, Not sure if that's a good thing or bad. She leaned forward, cleaning the gash along his lekku with gentle care, on one hand, it's an old experience I haven't had in a while.

She rested the bloodied cotton ball by her side, pulling out the spool of thread and reeling out around 8 inches' worth. She rose the needle to her face, holding the thread by the needle's tiny orifice. She swallowed, noting her slightly trembling hands. Relax. Easy. She took a deep breath, slowly exhaling through her lips, and gingerly ran the thread through the needle eye. Still here. Focus.

Her face drew closer to the young, unconscious twi'lek's torn lekku. She shut her eyes, looking over her shoulder at a limping twi'lek female. Artemis spoke loudly,

"If you need medical attention - don't go anywhere. Just stay put, breathe. If you're bleeding, apply pressure to it. If you're not, help someone who is. I'll be with you as soon as I can."

She released a quick exhale, and pierced the young alien's tissue with the needle. Pass after pass, she made, pulling his severed flesh together with careful strokes. The stench of drying blood reached her nose, recalling her of her time spent in the Coruscanti ER. I hate that smell. She finished sewing his lekku, plucking it shut with a tight knot. She rested the needle atop her lap, and commenced bandaging the sewed wound.

A warm trail of blood flowed down her neck from her cheek. Her eyes shifted, eyeing a Twi'Lek couple, where the blue-skinned female's reclined against a wall and clutching her leg. Her yellow-skinned husband, assumedly, was knelt by her side and trying to comfort her.

Artemis' eyes shifted to the main plaza, seeing some of the protesters leaving the site in heavy metal cuffs. She then noticed Vas along the distance, standing besides the martyr that escalated the ordeal to this point in the first place. She frowned, Lunatic.

Her eyes looked back towards the couple across from her. She took a brief breath, approaching the two. Upon arrival, she knelt down besides the young female, "Hello, my name is Artemis Kalgarova. I'm a Doctor from Corusanti Health. Would you mind if I looked at your leg, please?"

Artemis' eyes glanced towards Vas.

Don't fucking let her go anywhere. Not without explaining what the hell all of this was about in the first place.

Artemis leaned forward atop the woman's dislocated knee. Or without explaining what the hell she thought martyrdom would accomplish before an angry mob. Artemis' eyes looked towards the female, "I'm sorry. This is going to hurt." She took a short breath, firmly grasping the woman's knee. Maybe these people were right in protesting. Maybe the people in charge here really are incompetent. Upon exhaling, she rectified the woman's knee, leading to a loud shriek across the plaza street.

These people need help, damn it.

Artemis gave the two a thankful nod, seeing the woman's tears flow as she tightly gripped her lover. Artemis noticed a cut along the side of her head. She kneeled down, pulling the cotton balls and alcohol out once more. Artemis' gaze shifted for a moment, eyeing Vas and the Martyr. She frowned, tilting her head forward and extending her index finger towards the Martyr and curling it inward, Bring her here.

Artemis looked back towards the couple, "I'm sorry this stings. Please be patient - cuts like these, though small, can become disastrous if left exposed in damp caverns like this due to fungi. Just relax, everything's fine. The worst is over now."

She continued treating the woman's cut, a voice reaching her ears,

<"Hey. You a Doc?">

Artemis looked over her shoulder, seeing one of the armored Crucible guards. She nodded, turning her attention back to the woman before her.

<"Alright. Hey - bring those guys over here. We got some civilians that're beat up and don't have insurance. Legally, we can't touch 'em. You mind?">

Artemis release a quiet breath, "No, I don't. Have them line up by the wall there." She nodded to the side of the cafe across the street, and a moment later, a small group of 4 had aligned the wall, resting and groaning as they sat and waited for their turn.

 

[Asteroid]

Much to Claire's surprise an Accord security unit was called in to disperse the violent crowd without her requesting support. Within a matter of minutes the crowd of Twi'leks had left, leaving a few battered souls laying on the floor as a passing medic began tending to them.

"I warned you that this was a bad idea Bria, now look what you've done."

Claire switched on the speaker to Bria's earpiece so she could speak to the doctor tending to the Mandolorian's wounds.

"The reasoning behind Mistress Bria's actions are hard to explain I'm convinced that she has contracted a neurological disorder from many repeated blows to her head, however, she will not let me examine her brain to prove my hypothesis."

 

[Minuteman75]

Rens Ahim had came around a corner by one of the streets, when he heard angry voices and spotted a crowd of pissed off Twi'leks. The young Mon Calamari, wearing his red trademark jacket and brown pants grew nervous. To say that the spacer had some bad history with mobs would be an understatement.

Yet just as Rens was in the process of fleeing toward the opposite direction, when he noticed the Tail Heads were beating on someone. He froze in complete horrified realization, reliving a memory where he was a little kid again back on Onderon and his parents...

"No, no, don't think about it. Not here, not now."

Rens whispered to himself, clutching his head with both hands as the scene in front gotten worse. Then the riot police moved in with gas and suppressed the mob. Breathing and exhaling heavily, the nineteen year old Mon Cala looked up again and shook his head. Whatever this mess was about, it didn't improve anything in Rens thought. He wanted to walk way, but for some reason he couldn't. Instead the reddish brown skinned Alien made his way toward the cafe, where the a couple of injured protesters were lined up, while somone, a doctor likely, tending to one of the wounded.

Shaking all over, Rens slowly apporched from behind the lady doctor and asked awkwardly.

"Uh...excuse me lady how I can help?"

 

[Berlioz]

"Stop, lo- look at me. Look here." Artemis spoke to an injured human civilian that'd been caught amidst the mob's final moments, suffering from a fierce blow to the temple. <"Where..."> he could barely mutter. She held a bloody index finger front of his face, "Here. Look at my finger. Hey, hey-" she snapped her right hand, capturing the older, bearded man's hazel eyes onto her hand, "Good, good..." She knelt down before him, sharply staring into his eyes. Dilated, unequal pupils. Slurred speech, shoddy balance and dizziness...She swallowed, Possibly mild traumatic, possibly full-blown, I can't be sure. She tightly shut her eyes, turning her head away from the older man as she brought into a slight coughing fit, the stench of iron and blood taxing her lungs.

A voice caught her attention, causing her to turn her head. The right side of her face was covered in drying blood from a cut she'd received across her cheek - yet simply hadn't had the time to address. Her eyes narrowed slightly, quickly scanning the Mon Calamari from head to toe. Flush skin complexion, well-oiled with focused eyes. Young. She nodded, rising to her feet. Her eyes glanced down at her brown business slacks, which'd been splattered with scarlet. She winced slightly as she stood, her body angrily reminding her of the bruise along the right side of her exposed abdomen. She took a short breath, and paced down the line towards the next patient, extending a finger to the seated, deranged old man with the brain injury.

"TBI, possibly M, I can't tell at the moment. Either way, I can't treat him with anything that I have on hand. Take off your jacket, lay him down and make sure his head's tilted upward so he can vomit outward onto his chest. From there..." she swallowed, "Leave him be. Just- we'll figure it out in a moment, we've still got people to look over."

She released a sigh of relief, Helping hands're always nice. Her eyes glanced down at her reddened hands, noting a chip along her right ring finger's nail, ruining the white circular Alderaanian pattern she'd painted above a layer of glossy black.

"Motherf-"​

She shook her head, Business, business. She squatted down infront of another two Twi'Leks - clearly a family.

 

[Minuteman75]

He cringed, spotting the blood on the doctor's clothes, a business suit no less. Excuse she didn't expect to treat any patients today was Rens' opinion, listening to her instructions. What but this is my favorite-

Rens shut up that line of thought, deciding to get it over with. Sighing, the smuggler put the jacket down and proceeded to lay the old man on it, who was muttering crazy words. He shook his head again at the mess, wondering what was the point of it.

 

[Berlioz]

He cringed, spotting the blood on the doctor's clothes, a business suit no less. Excuse she didn't expect to treat any patients today was Rens' opinion, listening to her instructions. What but this is my favorite-

Rens shut up that line of thought, deciding to get it over with. Sighing, the smuggler put the jacket down and proceeded to lay the old man on it, who was muttering crazy words. He shook his head again at the mess, wondering what was the point of it.

Artemis looked over towards the Mon Cal as she finished treating the the older man and child. From the look of it, those were the last of the injured excluding the unconscious man on the floor. Artemis looked down at her hands, noting the blood stains along her clothes as well. She paced over towards the Mon Cal, "Excuse me, this is going to sound a bit odd, but me and my friend're rather new to the Void. What the hell was that police force, and what were the Twi'Leks raving about? Do you know?"