Ask Crossed Paths

[Roland Rook]

Theme​

Roland moved to the side as a pair of security droids marched passed. He entered the office he had been approaching and looked around. A man stood behind an ornate wooden desk. A case containing some artifacts sat behind him. The business man wore a suit and cleared his throat and looked up as the Mandalorian entered. "You're a bit late on the follow up Mando. You better be a better hunter than just some trigger man." Roland was here under an alias. He was taking a page out of the Sith's book and having multiple names. It wasn't the first time he had gone under cover either. "Maybe I'm just better than the people you've hired so far." The armored man took a few steps into the room. He was under no dillusion that he was the only one the business man had hired to find out who had stole his book or something.

"My head of security went missing. Based off of what's already been gathered there were some people he left with at some gambling den in Little Cala. Skull mask or faced guy and some pretty arkanian woman." The man's hand waved in the air like he suspected they were some common thugs. "You don't think you're man betrayed you?."

"No. There wasn't any money. If Bruss double crossed me it would have been for cash." That answer only brought more questioned to Roland's mind. "The only thing missing was the book?" The man nodded. That was odd. "Trackers haven't worked on finding him, no major scuffles that happened around the city at that time?" Maybe things got hairy for someone and they needed to get patched up. They wouldn't have gone to the hospital to get a shark bite looked at. "You can visit the hospitals and probably grease some palms if you think you're..." He looked the blued-iron plates of the supposed bounty hunter for a moment in his pause. "...charismatic you could probably get those files."

"What about...medical treatment that's off the books?" Roland raised a hand and pulled the hood back since he was indoors now and no longer needed it up. The sun shown through the office windows and glinted off the engravings around the cross-shaped visor for just a moment before more clouds cast a darker shadow than before. "Give me a minute." The man waved for the Mandalorian to leave as he pulled out a commlink to make a few calls.

--Quite a bit later--​

Roland sat in his ship as the rain had returned to pouring down over the section of the city. The ship was in low power mode. His helmet sat on the dashboard next to him staring back at him. The early afternoon of the long day was darker than normal making the various bright city lights pop in contrast. The Mandalorian sat in his firespray class patrol ship and looked at the commlink information he had recieved. He was the one that would be reaching out to this Doctor.

Leaning back in the chair a little he held the commlink a little closer as he thought about many more calls he was going to need to make. He hit the call button to ring towards the line anoter potential doctor who seemed legit my most standards. A glove hand raised to the face to rub his eyes and then slowly drop down to the room temperature kaf in the container in the cup holder. Roland wouldn't be surprised if it went to voicemail. Maybe he would take a nap after this.

@Killa Ree

 

[Dr Ilana Morata]

As of late, the good Doctor had needed to sleep more and more lately and couldn't figure out why. It felt as though the nights weren't long enough, and the patients all annoyed her to one degree or another for their complacency. It was a sea of idiots, one after the other, and she was tired of them all, their grabby needy whiny--

Let's be honest... you miss him.

The voice was a sibilant hiss in her head, her own, always her own. She scowled, taking another long drag of her cigara and watching the smoke twist and writhe.

"Shut the kark up," she snarled, scowling when suddenly her comm buzzed to life. The hour was insane; the person on the end better be, she was losing patience and gaining patients. And it showed.

Her voice was low in volume, and rasped harder than usual, golden eyes gleaming in the low light.

"Doctor Morata, what's your emergency, and how many patients?"

She took another long, slow drag of her cigara, waiting for the other voice on the line to either bore her to pieces or at least keep her entertained enough with useless medical drama to fill the void of her time. Why not? They were all just waiting to be dead eventually, why not speed up that process a little more?

@Darasuum

 

[Roland Rook]

He cleared his throat and made a slight coughing sound as he heard the phone answer, straightening in his seat a little. "Ah, just me. I've got..." He looked down at his spotless armor. "Yeah...I can only feel one hit." He tried to make audible noises of pain and injury. It wasn't too hard considering he knew what it was like to get shot.

Standing up from the seat Roland would walk over to his weapons locker and unlock it. Inside numerous small arms were kept and the posing point hunter reached in and pulled out a pistol and eyed it knowing it was light damage. His eyes dropped back down to his stomach knowing that shooting himself in the following moments was not going to be pleasant even if he was prepared for it. He hoped that it would be enough. He had some plastoid plates of some trooper armor that he keeps just in case a plate or two of his beskar'gam needs substitution but they are nothing special. The Rook clan member did not want to ruin his armor to just set the stage for some under cover work. But then again, some times sacrifices have to be made.

@Killa Ree

 

[Dr Ilana Morata]

Her throat was dry. When was the last time she took a drink of anything?

She couldn't remember. Instead she shifted off the dingy mattress, wincing as her spine crackled in protest to the movement. "Location?" came the crisp tone of her voice, attempting some level of professionalism into her tone, but she felt annoyed. Only one hit, and the guy was calling in? Should've just gone to an emergency clinic rather than wasting her time... but she was still moving, comm pressed close and her eyes closed for a moment.

"Message me on this number your location, and a doctor will be there as soon as they can dispatch." She rattled off a number, then clicked off, taking a few moments to sit on the edge of the bed, head lowered. When she rose again, she padded over to the shower for a quick douse-off, not even bothering to look in the mirror. She already knew what she was going to see.

Amber eyes, with the faintest coloring of gold in the irises, just enough to delineate sclera's amber coloration from the iris itself. Donning her professional armor and stashing away her vibroknives and stun, she was moderately ready. Long white hair had been shortened; it now reached barely past her ears, highlighting the harsh, cold angles of her features.

She sighed, and picked up her bag before donning on a waterproof cloak. This already felt like it was going to be a long night.

@Darasuum

 

[Roland Rook]

The uncovered eyes of the Mandalorian looked around the interior of his ship and quickly thought of an answer. "On the move at the moment." He replied and set the weapon he had been eyeing back in the storage locker.

He took note of the number she provided and inhaled to say something else but the communication link was already cut. Roland sighed and set the comm link back down. Walking to the storage section of his ship he debated whether or not he was in the mood to really commit to this injury.

He made sure any visual indicators of his identity as a Sector Ranger were hidden. His appearance and that of his ship looked like just a bounty hunter or mercenary's vessel. He sent the Doctor his ship's location at the starport. He had his Seeker Droid and Surveillance Droid both exit the ship and take descreat positions around the parimeter of the hangar his ship occupied just so he would get a little chirp when someone began approaching his ship. Out of all the Outer Rim locales, Nar Shaddaa was probably his leased liked.

Now came the difficult part. The waiting part. He knew the person arriving was supposedly a healer but Roland was suspicious of everyone, especially when on Nar Shaddaa. His DL-18 was pulled from his holster and switched to stun just in case. All he wanted to do was ask this Doctor some questions and once they arrived he had a feeling they would realize the complete lack of injuries Roland had.

@Killa Ree

 

[Dr Ilana Morata]

She hated this place.

Rain sleeked down in thin ribbons to the ground, sheeting where it met rooftops and hissing down buildings. She scowled absently and pulled the cloak tighter around herself, skirting puddles and feeling eyes on her every step she made. Hardly a surprise, even with the rough outer covering on she still stood out worse than a Bantha at a Coruscanti banquet. The location wasn't far enough to justify hiring a cabbie, and she needed to clear her head.

It took all of twenty minutes by the time she finally arrived to the starport. Her other hand lowered to her stun blaster, feeling the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. If there was a shootout, there was no evidence of it here. She continued stalking forward, trying to see hangar numbers to find her latest quarry...

And soon found it.

She stalked forward towards the ship, spine stiff and tall and face smoothed to a neutral mask. She wanted this to be done and over with, and then she could go back to her room and be alone again. After all, she could only take so many weak-livered members of the galaxy before she'd want to drink herself to death. Perhaps he would be a change of pace, but she doubted it.

Only one way to find out.

It was unlocked; she approached the entrance, her voice carrying on ahead of her in case the patient was a twitchy shooter anxious to get a shot in. "Doctor Morata here; you rang?"

When she finally did approach... her eyes narrowed. Her voice was a hard, cold rasp as she glowered, amber eyes narrowing. "You're looking mighty healthy for someone who was shot."

@Darasuum

 

[Roland Rook]

Before the Doctor's arrival the armored man would pick up his helmet again and don it, returning to anonymity. He checked and double checked the interior of his ship to make sure things were where he wanted and looking how he desired it. Just as he expected he got a little chirp as the Doctor approached and he got a look at her. His eyebrow cocked underneath his helmet. He had not been expecting someone that looked to have a degree of cleanliness and proffesionalism that he got from just looking at the image his droid relayed to him. "hm" He murmured and then heard her call out to him which sounded similar to the voice on the commlink.

He walked towards the entrance of the ship and met her just inside the threshhold. "Rawl" He said as his introduced name. "Of course most people just call me Mando." The reason for that was obvious.

"I have been shot just not today." He nodded and knew that her suspicions meant she was liable to leave. "Sorry for the lie but I'm looking for someone. Someone you may have patched up or if you just heard about somebody getting hurt."

@Killa Ree

 

[Dr Ilana Morata]

She blinked at him a couple of times, water trickling down and puddling on the floor from her cloak, gripping her medical bag to stare at this... man just nonchalantly declaring what he just did. A spike of irritation surged but she tamped it down and scowled visibly, amber eyes flickering coldly as she surveyed him again. The visor and the stun didn't go unnoticed. "Patient confidentiality," she snapped at him, jaw gritting.

"You mean to tell me, I walked through this bloody downpour in this karking miserable hour to entertain a Mando for information I cannot legally disclose?" she finally managed to utter out, glaring at him with hands shaking, they were clenched so hard. "You want information, you'd best be making it worth my time," she finally managed, features smoothing once more, the grip on her bag easing.

She had to keep her calm, she had to be level-minded. But honestly, she was sick of this. She was sick of people pinging her for useless things like this, at moving for the sake of others. Being a Doctor had its' perks... but one of those perks didn't include injury to idiots. Instead she stood there, watching him. It seemed he expected her to run... well, now she wasn't going to. She knew it was trite to be obstinate, but really, what else could she do? She was up already, might as well make the most of her time.

@Darasuum

 

[Roland Rook]

He was pretty sure that if he had not been wearing a helmet some of the Arkanian's spittle would have hit him in the face with house frustrated she was. Both hands raised to show they were empty and he was taking her point. But she seemed to be willing to play ball for a price. "Of course. I understand." He brought out a small case that looked like it could probably hold a few charge canisters for blaster pistols. Inside however was neatly placed credit chips and a few different types of currency. Roland closed it though after the Doctor got a glimpse of it.

"Can I offer you something to drink or...." His cross-shapped visor looked the wet doctor up and down. "...a towel?" He would be able to pour her something easy enough and get something she could at least dry herself off with. If he were in her shoes he would be leaning towards the livid side as well.

The under cover ranger was glad she wasn't completely opposed to providing info. But he also wasn't sure if this Doctor would tell the truth or even have information that was worth while. "How familiar are you with Karkarodons?" His eyes watching her intently.

@Killa Ree

 

[Dr Ilana Morata]

Her gaze flickered to the display of credits, brows raising a fraction. "Yes." In answer to both a drink and a towel; though her clothes were mostly dry, it would help. She had met another Mando before, but that Buckethead took off his helmet before her; she wondered idly if all of them were so stubborn as to keep their visors on. Must be a cultural thing, not that it mattered to her. At his last question however, she unclenched her hands, instead slowly crossing her arms to survey him again.

Maddeningly also, she could barely catch much in emotional reaction from him as well; perhaps he simply kept his personal feelings under guard as well. She kept her features neutral... but the face of Bruss flashed into her mind before it was dismissed. "As a species? Not much," she shrugged, her tone crisp. "I know of their anatomy, and basic physio, but if you mean I've had any as patients... no."

All true, actually; when they met, he was not her patient. She could still remember the screams, but.. she couldn't focus on that now. Instead she kept her face as emotionless as possible, staring him down with arms still crossed. "Why do you ask?"

@Darasuum

 

[Roland Rook]

Roland reached up into an overhead compartment and fished out a clean and folded towel. Walking over to the woman he stood in front of her and handed to her before moving past and heading to another compartment that held a cup and a bottle. It was tihaar and nothing really special when compared to other batches.

"How about patients that have received bites from a shark or something of that nature. He poured some of the spirit into the glass for her and it out for her to take if she was done drying off. The Ranger recalled the time frame of when the building with the tome had been broken into. It was still a few weeks ago but there was a trail he was following. He could feel it. "How about two, maybe three weeks ago? Have any client with bizarre injuries worth noting? I'm not so much looking for an injured sharkboy... more so his potential affiliates." He hoped that was convincing considering he was playing the bounty hunter role. It was easier to lean into the stereotype in this case.

The cloaked warrior set the bottle down and to the side though not out of reach of either of them. "You ever turn down potential patients?" He crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side slightly as he stared at the golden eyed doctor.

@Killa Ree

 

[Dr Ilana Morata]

Sharkboy?

Ah... but no, Nar Shaddaa was too large for that sort of coincidence. Or was it? The weight of the tome suddenly felt a little heavier on her mind... but it was safely stowed upon her ship with her droid and safely locked away. For now. Instead, she merely blinked at him, head tilted slightly. "Can't say I've treated patients with those maladies, no," she responded coolly, taking the towel to rub down the waterproofing, then shedding her jacket to towel off the rest of her. At the glass she merely tossed the towel across her shoulders and took the glass. Tilting her head once in thanks, she chanced a sip. Nothing she'd ever tasted before... but no worse than the usual whisky she'd have alone.

She noted he didn't remove his helm to join her in such refreshments. Golden eyes watched every movement, noted every vocal change and attempted to read into him, yet maddeningly a stone wall remained. She would have to bide her time, then. "I have, a couple times," she answered calmly, amber eyes unreadable as she took another sip.

"People beyond any medical help, or those whose occupations or mentalities go against my oath," her voice replied quietly, taking a sip. "'Do no harm' is a big one. Slavers, too, gangsters of a certain type... but that's not something you want to know about, I'm sure," she spoke, head tilted slightly. She was being honest so far; it was true, she hadn't met anyone that fit those credentials. Then again, most of her patients were people that liked things that went boom.

@Darasuum

 

[Roland Rook]

"But nobody like that recently?" He pressed the subject. There was a calmness to her expression but her eyes told him she was suspicious of him. Roland couldn't blame her. But it also made him remember to minimize his expressions to only what he wanted her to see. That easier said than done if the Mandalorian was being honest with himself.

"Hmm..." He murmured and thought about other possible leads. "What about jedi or sith? Meet any of them before?" If she were a civilian and unaware she might mistake one for the other. Sometimes witnesses don't even realize their memory might hold a clue. The booted feet of the ranger walked along the deck of the ship towards one end of the room in slow pace. He had been sitting down a lot earlier and since the Doctor was still standing as well he wasn't about to sit.

@Killa Ree

 

[Dr Ilana Morata]

Why was he still dogging the issue? Clearly, it seemed as though her answers weren't satisfactory enough by his standards, and she scowled, perking a white brow. "Nobody like that recently," she answered calmly, but still she eyed him, then glanced to the case then back at him.

At the question of Jedi or Sith, however, she stood taller, a slight huff escaping her lips. "If you're implying have I met anyone missing limbs recently, no, nor have I met any patients willing to flash a bright blade at me." She watched him pace, keeping herself as deliberately poised and calm as possible, amber eyes cool and calm. "I have, however, had a recent uptick in patients reporting undead attackers, and with blaster fire wounds," she deliberately looked him up and down, "and vibroknife weapons. Strange indeed it seems that you should ask about bites; I have not had any patients like that, nor Karkarodons to grace my examination table," she stated, amber eyes limpid in the subtle light.

Seemed like he lived much as she did, sparingly, with little need for decorations or frivolous décor. If he hadn't pinned her with questions and led her falsely, she would have admired him better for his own living conditions, clean as they were, but she wasn't in the mood. Her ire was lessening, but behind it, a well of exhaustion always lingered.

@Darasuum

 

[Roland Rook]

While he wasn't technically a member of the Bounty Hunter's Guild he still very much was a hunter. The same could be true of more or less every Mandalorian. But it came in handy when tracking down wanted criminals.

The woman before him was smart, judging by the way she spoke. She was specific and accurate with her words, no doubt telling the truth. But in her line of work she had to be careful. Roland could only imagine what secrets a mob doctor overheard. That was when his eyes drifted towards the bag she had brought and wondered if she was the type to pack heat.

The subject of the undead, that was definitely something he was interested in. He would circle back to it maybe but it was not what he was after in this case. Then again, the under cover ranger could tell she was getting aggravated. Stopping, his visor tilted to look down at the deck of the ship and he made an amused hum. "Sorry. I don't mean to interrogate you." Taking a few more steps the man would grab one of the other cups for himself. "Do you want to sit down?" There wasn't a lot of it available that were particularly comfortable. The interior of the ship was fairly spartan partially due to Roland cleaning up before the Doctor's arrival as well as his lack of decoration as of yet.

One of the gloved hands pulled out a straw from one of the containers and he placed it inside the empty glass. His hand grabbed the bottle of tihaar and poured until there were a few fingers worth of the liquor. "I lured you here under false pretenses and soured first impressions." Walking over to the box with his credits he opened it and picked up a few big chips. his helmet kept the Doctor in view. "How much would you charge someone like me for a blaster wound to the gut?" He wondered if he was going to need her services at some point in the near future.

@Killa Ree

 

[Dr Ilana Morata]

She blinked, mildly surprised and taken aback at the change, both to his apology and his statement of luring her here. Her shoulders dropped and she sighed, taking one seat and leaning back into it, arranging long limbs with a graceful practice. Absently, her hand brushed over her neck as though to brush away long hair, but then paused, brushing away a few longer pale strands from her face. "Thank you," she replied quietly, taking another sip.

She eyed him again for a moment, then the credit chips. A contemplative hum slipped past her lips, amber eyes then tracking up to his visor. She was sure many wanted to know what manner of being was behind that, but honestly, it hardly mattered to her. What was the most maddening was he seemed calm, even when she was furious at him. True, he did not know the scope of which the good Doctor would be willing to use should she feel threatened, but he seemed to not view her as a threat, or some novelty.

Interesting.

"Depends on many things," she answered honestly, crossing her ankles and leaning upright, elbows on her knees and head still tilted slightly, contemplating. "Severity of wound, life-threatening situations, how much surrounding damage, cost of medical intervention..." she let her voice trail off, finishing the last of her drink. "Why? Don't plan on head-diving into a bunch of bounty hunters, do you?" She knew snark wasn't usually tolerated by most in the galaxy, but truth be told she was tired and etiquette was never one of her strongest points.

@Darasuum

 

[Roland Rook]

Before he gave his answer her fished out some large denomination credit chips that mostly filled on hand. Walking over towards the Doctor he would set the money down beside her. "That's for taking up your time." Roland walked back over to the container and closed it up, stowing it away. "Head-diving would be at least option F or G on the list of backup plans." He joked back. She was paid whatever would have probably been a decent bill from the arkanian. Part of the ranger wondered if she would just leave once she had some credits in hand but so far she had seemed to have a sense of resolve about her.

Taking his cup which Roland had yet to drink from, he raised it so the straw could sneak under his helmet for a moment as he took a sip. Looking at Ilana, Roland could tell she was hiding something. Knowing that didn't help since it could be anything she was holding back. She was trying to keep her emotions in check but parts were shining through.

@Killa Ree

 

[Dr Ilana Morata]

Well, at least he had a sense of humor, another interesting fact to tuck into the corners of her mind. Rawl… perhaps not a real name, but a name she could go by if necessary. For a moment, she held the credit chips, eyes not leaving him. There was a silent open for her to leave, but there was something pricking on the back of her mind.

"Anything else need knowing?" she spoke, eyeing him with a cool, amber-eyed stare. If the company had been better from the start, his joke may have pried the slightest hint of a smile, but for now her features remained cool and calm, watching his body language. Though most indicators were in the face, it was other things that clued in, but yet still, she could read nothing emotionally from him. It was... rather refreshing, actually, to be around someone who wasn't outwardly emotive and 'loud', so to speak.

But then again, that type of calm might have been typical of a Mando, she wasn't expert enough to know.

@Darasuum

 

[Roland Rook]

The head tilted to the side after the Doctor asked her question. "What they say about Mandalorians is true, we do love our toys." He had a pistol on each hip, numerous integrations in his armor, a few grenades and and clearly flew a ship with military gunship level armaments. "You wouldn't happen to be able to point me in the direction someone that might sell what I'm looking for?"

Weapons were being trafficked through Naboo which was relativly close to this portion of the galaxy. Evidence suggested Black Sun was involved and had been popping up elsewhere in the galaxy outside of their normal areas of operation. But Naboo was also far enough away that it wasn't convenient for him to travel to often. The eyes behind the helmet looked at the woman before having a final question. "If I really do get hurt you mind if I call your hotline again?" He spoke with a degree of seriousness. He was going to be sticking around and a mob doctor on call would be better for an actual bounty hunter to have than rely on the normal hospitals.

@Killa Ree

 

[Dr Ilana Morata]

She set the glass aside, slipping the chips into an interior pocket of her bag before rising. "You can't swing a dead cat without hitting an illegal or legal armory close to here," she replied easily, tilting her head to the left. "I knew a few places... if they're still running, they haven't been killed yet."

At his last question, she paused. Bending over, she began to rifle through her medical bag, until she produced a slim card. A single number was printed on it. No name, no identifiers beyond that number. "Next time you call me in without injuries, I'll give some to you on the house."

Then... she winked. Stood, and pulled on her waterproofing, drawing the hood over her head, grasping her bag. "Thanks for the drink," she rasped, and paced out, head held high without a backwards glance. Unless she would be interrupted she would continue on out, meeting the last vestiges of a rainy sunset with the same confident stride she went through, one last parting set of words lingering behind her.

"Til next time, Rawl."

@Darasuum