Ask Nar Shaddaa New Blood

[Dr Ilana Morata]

-Theme-​

This was, perhaps, the worst place she had ever had the dubious pleasure of working in.

She had been tossed, thrown, kicked, and pummeled by a disgusting example of prime humanity and his lovey Gamorrean sidekick. She got to smell slimy pig up close and personal(which she knew she wasn't getting out of her lab coat for weeks , dry cleaning had murderous rates even by her standards), and various threats of things being stuffed o shoved in places she had considered unique and would have been interesting to witness with anyone other than her, and promptly patched up this merry duo's third companion before presenting the bill.

Which was why she was being tossed now.

She sailed out of the open door with an indignified thmp, bringing out a racked, ragged grunt from the disheveled doctor, then a snarl as her wrist sang with the abuse of catching some of her weight.

As if that wasn't going to add insult to injury enough, a bag of cred was tossed at her feet, before they snarled something so charming in Huttese.

She spat at the ground in disgust, the world tilting in a way she knew wasn't quite right. Thank goodness they hadn't taken her bag too, though to be honest it was simply one of many. She just didn't want to get more medical supplies on top of the onerous debt she already owed to a few supplier companies, and they could even be more vicious than the Hutts as far as their... cutthroat... industry was concerned.

On top of that, the dim sound of thunder rolled above the ecumenopolis overhead.

She really didn't want to get rained on... but she didn't have a choice. It was an annoyance... but just another nuisance to the growing pile. She staggered, then slumped against the duracrete, closing her eyes.

Perhaps the rain would help clear her dully ringing head.

@Rimrald

 

[Atuu Skirata]

~Theme~​

Narsh' as Atuu commonly heard it referred to in his travels between the rims was a place he had only seen from orbit until now, passing by and making stops on the orbital refueling platforms was as close as his tribe chose to get. Within two hours of being on the surface he quickly realized why that was the case, having seen a protocol droid get yanked to pieces by street rats and hearing the ring of blasters in the distance shortly after landing his ship. But through an exchange of credits for knowledge Atuu had gotten a tip about a 'medical professional' as they were described to him.

He could feel the eyes on him, he regretted keeping his armor on but he felt even less certain of locking it up in his TIE/RG. Moving through the streets of this eternal light bulb caused the normally secluded young pilot to stop and stare up in amazement a time or two. But a quick and hard shoulder from behind as a group of veritable refuse passed him by, a large pig like creature flanked a pair of other aliens who muttered something in a language Atuu did not know. Instinctively reaching for and resting his hand on the DC-17 strapped to his thigh, he scowled and went to spit but remembered he had a helmet on and dribbled on his own chin before moving on.

Coming around the corner of the street as a light rain began to patter off of his helmet, Atuu first noticed her unique look for a human and then her disheveled appearance. With a quiet clearing of his throat and growing nerves he shot a glance back and forth with hand still on blaster "Uh- You alright love?" Atuu questioned while walking over to retrieve what he assumed to be her bag and moving back to lightly place it at her feet.

@Killa Ree​

 

[Dr Ilana Morata]

Oh, great.

She wasn't up for the whole 'damsel in distress' thing. In fact, it was nothing new for her to be tossed around like a sack of potatoes or thrashed about to satisfy most gangsters' urges to vent out their frustrations. But she hated audiences, and loathed those that pitied her. She got it, she was an armorless woman, in a nasty backend planet, in a filthy coat.

But pity was not something a gangster had. Nope, seemed this one was a good guy. And good guys were often the ones to get shot at. She should know, she repaired plenty of them before.

She brushed away some strands of thick white hair to gaze up with bright amber eyes, features expressionless. Her eyes flicked back at her bag, then back up slowly, looking at his armored torso and helmet for another beat.

"...Fine," her voice rasped out, and she winced at the dry sound. Slowly clambering up, she glanced down at her coat and had to suppress a groan, fruitlessly pawing at the greasy stains some of her most recent encounter left with their grubby hands... paws. Whatever.

"Know a place for a good drink there, stranger?" she spoke again, her raspy voice punctuated by the rolling thunder ahead. She felt pretty damned disoriented still, but if she focused long enough she wouldn't stumble, or more annoyingly, trip.

She couldn't deal with another stain, she had another coat but it didn't fit right.

@Rimrald

 

[Atuu Skirata]

Watching the woman get to her feet Atuu took the moment to shamelessly, from behind his helmet give her a strong once over. Curious as to what she was, clearly some form of human but not one he had encountered or at least that he could remember encountering. "If you rub some dish soap on the grease an' soak it, it'll get those out" he remarked from experience. It wasn't often that he could get out from under his craft without being absolutely covered in greases and oils from the many standard maintenance tasks. "White inn't a color I've 'ad to get grease outa before though.." He trailed off as she asked about where one might find a drink on this planet or moon.

"Atuu." He said plainly as he relaxed his hand from blaster and looked around at the many signs and lights "I'm about as new as you can be to dis rock." Shifting his weight for a moment and pointing down the street "That way maybe? I'd say ask a local but uh.." He trailed off stifling a chuckle recalling the last few hours on the planet "Say you wouldn't know where I could find a doc' around here?" Atuu asked giving her a second more thorough once over and immediately biting his tongue realizing he might be talking to the right person.

The rain was picking up as the thunder rolled in once more, keen on getting out of the elements Atuu was already lamenting in his head about having to let his flight suit air dry, less he risked shrinking another one in a dryer.

@Killa Ree​

 

[Dr Ilana Morata]

She blinked a couple of beats, staring at the helmeted guy as she woodenly began to process what exactly he had said.
"Ah... yeah."

One hand absently brushed over her jacket again, then gave him the side eye, slowly bending over to grasp her bag, and wobbling forward , catching herself on the wall and clearing her throat as she straightened. Odd accent inflection, armored... Mando. "It's not easy to keep clean," Ilana muttered mostly to herself, making one last perfunctory attempt to straighten her blouse and coat without much success.

Ah, kriff it. Flynn could cover the bill next time, his half-cloak cost more to keep clean.

She let out a wry chuckle as he asked if he knew a doctor around; she groaned, stretching her arms over her head and feeling every bruise, cut, and abused cell sing in protest. "You're looking at one," came the tired sigh, as she turned to face him once more. Perhaps if she leaned on the wall closest to her, she could pull off her exhaustion as nonchalance.

"What can I do for you, Atuu?"

@Rimrald

 

[Atuu Skirata]

Rolling up his right sleeve of the flight suit after detaching the bracer to reveal a mostly bandaged forearm with a slight grimace from beneath the helmet "I covered it with basic disinfectant and wrapped it... Caught myself on the venting systems pipe when my ship started to overheat, caught a nasty burn." His knuckles and tops of his hands covered in small scars and spots of discoloration dotted his forearms from old burns as a result of digging around in engine compartments. "This time it looks like it could get infected, I 'aven't had access to quality meds for a bit now." His tone trailing off as the pain of the last weeks events seeped back in to his head, rolling the sleeve back down and affixing the bracer with a wince.

"I don't suppose you take payment in labor or need a system diagnostic run, need a pilot for anything?" He asked in genuine desperation while trying to mask it in his voice he could count in double digits how many credits he had left after resupplying upon landing and the thoughts of selling off one of his weapons really didn't sit well with the young Mandalorian. "I didn't get your name when I asked around 'bout a doc, what do they call you 'round 'ere?" Atuu wasn't exactly convinced that he was talking to someone who was all on the up and up seeing as she looked like she'd just been ejected from a garbage compactor after getting crunched up a time or two.

But then again the premise of losing an arm to infection wasn't exactly a great option either.

@Killa Ree​

 

[Dr Ilana Morata]

So. Another Buckethead wanted her to patch him up and get him all set for the next round of suicidal antics, or whatever Mandos were into these days. For a bemused second, she wondered idly if she had been knocked for more than just a couple rounds, or if this was some odd lucid dream where everyone bent over and allowed their physicals to be as painless and easy as they were in holo ads.

Ha.

What a dream.

But nope, there he was, holstering his gun and flashing his arm. She scowled absentmindedly... and could feel her shoulders slump. She was too tired to argue medical bills and ask for a medical history; most she would probably get would be a blank stare and some questions anyways.

"First thing's first."

She winced as she stood upright, then clenched her jaw, determined not to topple over.

"You need a cold compress; we can discuss payments later." Her gaze pierced through his helmet, almost as though she could see him. Her crossed arms tightened, and she scowled. "Second thing; never use an alcohol-based disinfectant just once. There are germs and microbes everywhere."

She was bone tired, and just thinking about what this guy might've done made the dim headache at her temples pound more insistently.

"Right, let's get a drink first though. For third, I have no painkillers." She leveled him with another stare, voice deadpan.

"For fourth, if I'm kept in this rain for much longer I'll send you my drycleaning bill. So let's go." She bent over to grab her bag, mildly proud that she had barely resisted the urge to vomit at the sudden movement, then stood, stalking away with her head held high and her spine stiff. Her pride was already sore enough without some random trigger-happy feeling pity for her.

@Rimrald

 

[Atuu Skirata]

His mind settled a bit when she recommended getting out of the rain, seems like minds were at work this day. "I used a sterile fluid mix, my -" Pausing before he could finish the sentence as a brief wave of sadness passed over him "-family. Taught me how to care for basic wounds." He trailed off as they started down the street towards the nearest bar like signage "I think I saw a place called the Twisted Transistor down this way a bit, a drink will do well enough for a painkiller until I can get my hands on something in pill form."

Straightening his verbal posture to rattle the sadness from his tone Atuu would shoot a glance at the clearly bruised woman, knowing better than to offer a woman who didn't ask for help; help. "I'll just hold a cold bottle on it." He remarked dryly as he wiped the now steady stream of rain from his visor, keeping silent beyond the splashes of his boots in the forming puddles as they moved towards the next block. The sign sporting a flashing yellow transistor and the name in aurebesh quickly approached, hustling forward with a few quick steps to get the door for the woman who avoided his question earlier.

"First one's on me ma'am." He said while now under the buildings small blue awning, removing the helmet from his head and throwing it under his right arm. Holding the door open by keeping his foot in the track of the automatic slider and pulling the thermal mask from his head and down around his neck to reveal medium length pushed back hair partly matted from travel; his hazel eyes taking on a light blue tint from the rain as he forced a small one sided smile at the woman in hopes of lightening her clearly sour mood.

@Killa Ree​

 

[Dr Ilana Morata]

At least he wasn't completely useless.

She glanced up at his tone, judging his posture, his verbal cues... interesting. She supposed most would feel a tug of empathy, being adrift... but she just couldn't grasp that concept. To become so attached that their parting could be emotionally painful, another concept she struggled with... it just didn't settle with her. She was eager to be rid of any cues of her family; unfortunately, she was reminded of them every time she looked into a mirror.

"Good," she rasped in response to his comment about knowing basic first aid and using alcohol; she knew most preferred their medical professional to be clean as possible, but hey, she mostly stayed away from strippers and loathed using most drugs that used instruments like needles.

But a drink always took that edge off after a long day of working in slummy planet cities where gangsters had a friend of a friend make a call for a blaster burn, bad drug or vibroknife fight. It was almost too much edge and no fun sometimes.

She flinched at being called ma'am; some residual part of her that resented others not calling her Doctor, or even at least Doc. And a slap in the face reminder that she wasn't some young, dumb kid out to take on the galaxy; not that she ever had any of those ambitions, but still. "Doctor Morata," she finally replied, amber eyes meeting his own gaze squarely, before stepping in to the dingy bar.

Thankfully, it seemed mostly empty. She made a beeline strait for the furthest dimmest booth she could find, thankful none of her former employers were around. She really just wanted to grab a bottle of cheap whiskey and curl up for a while, but there was this young guy first. No use wasting time though; she nodded to the server droid, pointed to one of the corner booths, and pointed to a Corellian brand she figured the boy... Atuu? … wouldn't mind so much.

"So you repair ships."

@Rimrald

 

[Atuu Skirata]

So she really is a doctor? She looked like one out of a bad holo crime flick currently but cleaned up she could be more convincing. The thought of his people being out and adrift in space somewhere tormented him, if only he had taken another thorough look at the hyperdrive, taken another hard look at the couplings or the actuator. But it was too late now, to wallow in things that might not have even been his fault, hyperdrives malfunction all the time; or at least that was what Atuu was telling himself to stay in one piece mentally.

Snapping back to reality from idle gaze towards the woman in white and reminding himself not to stare. "Corner booth?" he piped up "Doc' Morata-" he continued "-where in..." He trailed off noticing her point towards a low end bottle of Corellian and raised his own hand at the droid "You gotta' bottle of Shesharilian?" His question was rhetorical as the bottle of mid-line vodka was a bar staple "Bringit yeah" he chirped as he dug out a few credit sticks and dropped them on the end of the booths table before scooching in not necessarily waiting for Doctor Morata.

"I fix, I fly and I can find my away around most craft with a yoke and a throttle." He replied while setting his helmet down and giving the visor one last wipe "Born on a ship, feels funny anytime i'm away from one for too long." Atuu idly spoke as the droid was fussing behind the bar with a bottle and a pair of glasses. Taking a moment to remove his gauntlet and role his sleeve up

"Oi, Ice too.. Please." His brain was on nothing other than wanting to curl up in the cargo hold of his fighter with a blanket and strip off his armor, to just be alone and clear his mind to formulate how in the galaxy he was going to find his people. But he had to feign interest if he was going to start planning anywhere beyond a the next day.

@Killa Ree​

 

[Dr Ilana Morata]

"Didn't know Mandos could take off their helmets," she rasped dryly, giving a bemused glance at the helmet, then back to his face when she slid into her own seat. Vodka... she could tolerate the stuff. But she needed something to clear her head, and she wasn't picky about the choice. If it could clear her out and make her feel a little more clean than the rain had, she would be a happy Doctor.

Or at least as happy as she could muster an emotion to be.

"Hmm."

She glanced down at his arm, then set down her bag. From within she snagged a pair of gloves, slipping them on before removing the bandage slowly, eyeing the damage.

"No infection; it is just raw because you have kept chafing at it." She deliberately kept her tone remote, lightly turning his forearm to get a better look. "Mostly second degree... some third degree. Decent aid skills," she finally admitted reluctantly, grabbing a small tube of bacta paste, then glancing at him.

"It's going to sting a teensy bit," she spoke dryly, lips twitching in wry humor. "Or as some of my colleagues say, a massive pinch."

So she gently began to clean the wound again, head bent to her work. She was careful to remove any foreign material, clean and dress it. By the time she was done applying the layer of bacta paste it had been almost twenty minutes; she sighed and straightened, feeling her back protest at the move.

The drinks were there, thank goodness. As soon as those gloves were off she wanted to pickle her liver to the point where she wasn't even certain of her own race anymore.

@Rimrald

 

[Atuu Skirata]

"Didn't know you knew anything 'bout us-" he quipped back slightly less dry "-some adhere very strictly to the way, others pick and choose in dees' turbulent times." Watching her unpack the bag and slide on gloves he almost asked if she planned to wash her hands, opening his mouth and pausing for a second choosing to instead say "I find the helmet bit a tad much."

Taking a glance at the bacta paste a wave of relief came over him, she had decent supply of the good stuff and he knew he would be feeling tip top soon enough, plus the clear liquor would help. As she began administering and doing the doctory things with his arm Atuu couldn't help butt turn his head to focus on other things in the small bar and tensing abruptly with a "HrrrMMmmm" as she cleaned the wound. Giving no more indication of his extreme discomfort, although it was just that. After what seemed like a lifetime he could feel the new dressing being wrapped and returned his attention to her, slightly flush and with a cold sweat on his brow.

Leaving his sleeve rolled and the bracer beside his helmet Atuu nodded towards the droid and slid the credit chit forward before dropping a large ice cube in a rock glass and pouring a double. Sliding it towards the good doctor with two fingers and repeating the pour for himself.

With an eyebrow upturned he raised his glass slightly "To'a day without anymore unpleasantness" and took a long sip before setting the glass down. "Pardon my curiosity but..." He paused knowing there was no smooth or non-obtuse way of asking "What kind of species are you?" He asked with a cocking of his head, her snow white hair and almost lily white skin offset by the deep amber eyes captivated him but he was doing his best to remain respectful as he was still in stabbing range.

@Killa Ree​

 

[Dr Ilana Morata]

Her lips twitched again; definite amusement at the shot he lobbied back at her, one eyebrow raising sardonically. "I may have patched one or two of you," she remarked, leaning back to shuck the gloves off into a small biohazard container within her pak and scrub her hands with an antibacterial non-wash.

She stiffened as he asked about her race. Why did it even matter? So many seemed keen to know... it was that same drive to know family. To have bloodline or a cause... she didn't understand that process. Family died or disappointed you, or worse yet betrayed your trust. They were not worth the effort bonding or communicating with them, and even children, in their way, did not entirely fulfill the necessity to continue or propagate a species. They were units to a machine called culture, and she used her medical instruments to heal when they erred or got lost.

The worst part of it all was that she herself was not entirely certain of her race. And she loathed uncertainty.

"My mother was Arkanian," she remarked dryly, taking a long gulp of the ice-laden drink with a sigh.

"Beyond that, who cares? I am simply a doctor."

@Rimrald

 

[Atuu Skirata]

Taking another smaller sip of the drink Atuu rocked the glass around in a circle on its corner as he got a very short response. Got it, family is a rough subject for her too. "When you spend most of your life in a flight chair yuh' dun't get to see the many magics of the galaxy." He said truthfully, almost feeling wide eyed at the prospect of finally getting to spend some time planetside in the near future. But then that thought scared him slightly and he quickly dismissed it, yearning for his safety in the ship he called home.

"Arkranian.. Interesting." He said with a slight nod before reaching to itch his under eye scar and shifting in his seat; rapping his fingers on the wooden table and letting out a breath before knocking the rest of the glass back with a wince and a hard gulp. Removing the cap from the bottle and pouring himself another double speaking as he poured. "So I wasn't juss' looking foh a doctor in the present but also for the future. If things work out the way I'm hoping they will in the near future I would have some peace of mind knowing we have an expert on call." He said motioning to her with his glass before putting it to his lips.

"Suppose you'd liketa' be ona' retainer?" Once he had creditflow sorted that was, but the devil was in the details. If she was competent with burns, cuts and serious matters of the sort she would be invaluable for a group of mandalorians who could easily become targets of prize seekers and glory hounds.

As he finished his remark a new song started in the background, not loud enough to dwarf conversation but present to be a breaker of silences.

@Killa Ree​

 

[Dr Ilana Morata]

"I think I've seen too much of galactic magic," she replied, swirling her glass idly and watching the cube clink on its' sides. In truth... she envied others' freedoms. She loved her work, she loved her job... but if there was some way to be isolated from her studies of the residents of this galaxy, she'd take it.

Unfortunately, comforting distraught patients was one such downside. Especially crying children... she had no idea how to deal with those small units.

An expert? She raised a brow, downing the rest of her drink and giving him a wry side-eyed glance as she snagged the bottle for her own poured amount. "I'll work for a starting fee. But I won't work on a cheap wage, and if I'm on call, you'll need to have a better tag than my name." Truth was... she was bored. She wanted to do something other than work for gangs... why not expand her horizons a bit?

She waggled a finger at him. "I'm not working for charity though. And not on your ship. You call me, I'll come. And you'll get the bill later."

She slid her eyes away from him, and, releasing her glass, put her head into her hands for a moment. Maybe if she just closed her eyes for a bit, the room would stop spinning like a bad holovid on a wheelie ride. The drink helped at least; she no longer felt like ripping a body to pieces. Or falling to pieces herself.

She really just wanted to leave, but she wasn't certain if she could right this moment.

@Rimrald

 

[Atuu Skirata]

"Well lucky you" Atuu said with a smirk, but he was envious in his own way. The loss of his people had not fully settled within him yet, not entirely processed but as he was finishing his second drink he could feel it taking hold. Recalling he hadn't eaten yet today Atuu slowly closed his eyes in defeat and let out a sigh as he reopened them. Reaching for the bottle to see she already had it in hand and instead chose to reply to her other comments.

"No no no, I wouldn't be playing fair if I wanted you all to myself. I need ta get a few things in order before I'd start needing you on a regular basis...potentially." With a short and light chuckle his mind flashed to the future imagining who he might fall in with next; the chances that one is always getting blasted to hell. "You'll be paid well." Atuu said snapping back to reality and almost showing a tinge of insult at the notion he would want charity.

With that he grabbed the bottle once she was done and poured another double. Leaving the cap off of the bottle Atuu somberly clinked his glass against it and took a long sip. Noticing the good doctors posture and body language he extended a finger in her direction "Do you have place to sleep off that slumpin' ya got in the street earlier?"

@Killa Ree​

 

[Dr Ilana Morata]

"No."

And it was galling to admit as much. She loathed when others would start to take pity on her; it felt like a slap to the face. "But I know a place to stay. And I can always just find a corner..." but the thought made her shudder briefly, eyes opening to glance up. "I appreciate it. And you have a deal."

She slid the bottle back towards him, tilting her head as the room stopped spinning quite so much. "So what about you? Traveling the galaxy... must be intense."

@Rimrald

 

[Atuu Skirata]

Bantha piss... Well you can either offer to share the cramped cargo area of the fighter or admit other than that he didn't either. "I was planning on bunkin' in my ship, it'll be tight but you're more than welcome." He offered earnestly to the woman while narrowing his view at her slowly deteriorating state. "Because i'll be 'onest love you don't look so good, I might have to break out the doctoring soon." He chuckled lightly as he grabbed the bottle with a slightly looser grip than normal and wiggled two fingers at her. "Glad to have agreed on the terms of cooperation." Flashing a genuine smile while continuing to beat back the creeping thoughts of regret and sorrow.

"Up to you, won't hurt my feelings if you wanna go find a corner." He offered with a tinge of sarcasm masked behind a smile and a long pull from the bottle. How awful would it be to put a new business associate out on their first meeting? He would have to re-arrange some supplies but it would work if she took him up on the offer.

@Killa Ree​

 

[Dr Ilana Morata]

She gave a one-shouldered shrug, lips twitching into the faintest version of a smile. "I've fared worse. As for a place to sleep... there is a hotel room, probably. Dirt cheap, not the most secure, but..." she shrugged, exhaling. "There are worse places to sleep. Gangsters don't care about guys with guns."

Her lips took on a wry grin, though it seemed more a grimace as she downed the rest of her drink, then stood. "I'll send the bill later... til next time, space cowboy," she quipped wryly, limping her way out.

He covered her drink; it was only fair she would hold off immediately billing.

At least until after she had gotten a shower and some decent drink in her. But first to find a place to sleep away the wooden feeling in her brain...

/End Thread

@Rimrald