Sylvana stumbled into the common room with Arrek. Everyone else had already started heading to mess for the noon meal, and so the room was nearly empty. She didn't notice Sci sitting at the terminal in the far corner as she lowered her brother into one of the soft chairs and began checking over the makeshift bandages that had once been her right pantleg.
"Oh good, you're back. Where did you two--" Sci cut himself off as he took in the battle-scarred duo before him.
Sylvana looked up with mild surprise, and raised her eyebrows slightly as she saw the minute makings of perplexed concern shadow over his face briefly. She half smiled, masking her pain and concern for her brother with flippancy. "Just went for a walk, Major."
He just looked at her, "That must be some pretty rigorous walking you did, to come back looking like that."
"Well, we kind of got lost and ran into a smattering of trouble," Arrek grinned to hide his own pain.
"You should see the other guys," Sylvana quipped.
"I don't think I want to," he moved over and spoke as he gave the Lorrdains a once over, wincing almost unnoticeably in sympathy. "I'm not going to lecture you two, you're grown mostly-rational adults. Besides, I trust you've learned the hard way on this and won't be wandering off, alone, in the bowels of Coruscant again any time soon." Shoulder and leg are obvious, the way he's holding his arm to himself... he must have a few cracked ribs. Hope there's no internal bleeding. Bruised knuckles....
Sylvana and Arrek exchanged a quick glance, then saluted him. "Correct as usual, King Friday."
She winced with the salute, probably injured her arm. Blood on both her hands, black eye, bruised knuckles.... His gaze fell on the deep surgical-like gash on her cheek, directly splitting her old scar. "Well, if I'm King, then you two have to listen to me." Thought went into that cut, and the way that blood falls away before down indicates a slow process. That must have hurt pretty badly. He shook his head slightly, "Go get yourselves to the medbay and take a swim in some bacta, looks like you both could use it."
Sylvana smirked, "Keep looking at me like that, and I might get ideas, Major," she said with a wink. The Field Agent didn't wait for a reply as she helped her brother to his feet, and the two headed for the door, tossing a "Later, Zed!" over her shoulder.
They hadn't gone far down the hallway when they realised neither knew just where the medbay lay.
"I don't care if you're Han Solo, there's no way you can have ANOTHER pure sabacc," Elassar Targon threw down his card-chips as he stared at Myn Donos. "Somebody shoot me, my luck has completely gone!" he said as he threw his arms to either side dramatically.
"Okay," Wes Janson said as he drew his blaster. "Anyone for fried Devaronian?"
"I take mine medium rare," Kell Tainer said dryly, setting his cards down. "I quit."
Without a word, Ooryl Qrygg stood and left the table.
"Where's he going?" Kell asked.
"We don't know," Runt Ekwesh shrugged. "Maybe he doesn't like fried Devaronian?"
"He's going 'findsmanny' again," Myn said as he began gathering up the cred-chips.
Wes stood, shoving his blaster back in its holster, "Well, what're you guys waiting for? Let's go see what he finds!"
"Well, if we walk in one direction long enough, we're bound to find someone who knows something...."
"That's what got us lost earlier, do you really want to try that again?"
"Be honest, do you think one of the starfighter squadrons are going to try and beat us up?"
"They wouldn't have to try very hard, seeing as we already are!"
"Let's just keep walking."
"Sounds like a plan."
"There he goes!"
"After him!"
A gaggle of starfighter pilots chased a purposefully striding Gand down the hallway.
"Wait for me!" Myn shoved the last of the cred-chips in his pockets and took off after the rest.
Sylvana and Arrek slumped against the wall, and slid to sit down. "I don't feel so well, Sis. It's like I've got a Gundark ballet going on in my head."
"That sounds about as awful as I feel right now." She shook her head as she categorised their situation.
Arrek obviously had suffered a concussion and blood loss. Her own faintness was bound to be a result of her own extensive, yet hidden, injuries. If they didn't get somewhere where she could get them fixed up properly, they were going to fall asleep right there and fate would have to find them a way to the medbay by itself.
Arrek yawned and lay his head on his sisters shoulder once again as he passed into unconsciousness. Sylvana's eyelids were heavy, but she forced them with all the inner strength she could muster to stay open. She reached down to check his pulse. It was strong, but irregular in its beating. A smirk placed itself on her lips as she realised the irony of their situation, and what she was about to call out.
"MEDIC!"
The call for a medic bounded along the hallways and reached the pilots' ears. Wes broke into a sprint, "That's Sylvana!"
He rounded the corner around the same time as Ooryl did so, and rushed past the Gand to the siblings leaned against the hallway wall. "Gods...." He rushed over and knelt beside them as the others soon gathered around. "Syl, what the sith happened?"
She grinned at him, "Nothing much, Wes."
"Sylvana...."
She waved a hand weakly and chuckled. "We got lost, could you tell us how to get to the medbay? Arrek's probably got a concussion, he should be looked at better than I can without a medkit."
"You don't look so hot yourself," he told her worriedly.
"I'm fine. Please don't tell Derek, he was taking me to a park tonite - still is if I can help it - and I don't want him knowing any different. We got back... and we're... safe... and...." Her voice trailed off as the adrenaline that had been rushing her system for the past several hours finally turned her loose. Without warning she fell, unconscious, against him.
"Damn!" Wes put a hand to check her pulse, only to notice her blood encrusted hands, one bearing a gash across it to the tip of her third finger.
Elassar had already knelt down to check Arrek over, noting his pulse irregularity and his pupil reaction to the light. "What happened to these two?" he asked as he finished looking Arrek over, and quickly took a glance at Sylvana as Wes picked her up.
"We'll find out later - let's get them to the med-bay. Runt, you get Arrek." Without another word, he shouldered past the openmouthed pilots and started jogging to the med-bay with the unconscious girl in his arms.
Runt followed the Major's orders quickly, and was soon carrying the human boy swiftly toward the medbay. Ooryl ran on ahead to let the medics know there were incoming wounded. Elassar, Myn, and Kell looked at each other curiously.
"I'm not asking."
"Me neither."
"Let's go find out anyway."
The three pilots followed in the others' wake.
"So, who are they? Obviously you know them."
Wes scrubbed a hand over his face. "They're a brother and sister from Terra... she's Hobbie's girlfriend."
"Hobbie has a girlfriend?!" The others asked in unison.
"Well... they don't seem to know it yet - but yeah." Wes grinned, "They're a cute couple, don'tcha think? Blue and green hair...."
Myn shook his head, "That was probably one of the crueler tricks you've played on him."
"It explains his lack of dates since last summer though," Kell put in.
Runt laughed, then stopped shortly. "Has anyone told Hobbie they're in the medbay?"
Wes looked at Runt, "I don't want to be the one to tell him."
They watched as the doctors removed her jacket, revealing shredded, bloody arms. "Gods, no wonder she passed out," Kell said quietly, taking in a hissing breath.
"What do you-" Wes turned to see. "Sith! No kidding, I'm surprised she didn't pass out long ago." He sighed, shaking his head, "What happened to you, Syl?" he asked her quietly under his breath.
"Ooryl thinks she must be made of stern stuff."
"I think she was probably running on pure adrenaline, it's amazing she didn't entirely break down," Elassar commented.
"She'll need new clothes," Myn said absently.
"I know someone who won't mind my lending her one of her flightsuits," Wes said, turning and leaving the rest to sit in amazement.
Ooryl just stood and left, without a word.
Myn shook his head, "There he goes again." He stood as well, "C'mon guys, let's go wait in the waiting room... and pull straws on who gets to tell Hobbie."
The medics worked on Sylvana and Arrek simultaneously, sewing up their wounds. When they had finished with Arrek, they did a quick test, then put him into a bacta tank to let the goo work its magic. Sylvana took considerably longer to sew up, the lacerations on her left arm being much more severe. They also sewed up the gash on her cheek.
As they were finishing up her cheek, Sylvana's eyes fluttered open, "Wha-?"
"It's alright, Miss, You're in the medbay," a young doctor spoke from somewhere above and behind her. "You and your brother were awfully torn up, what happened?"
"We got lost on the lower levels," she replied as he snipped the end off the final stitch. She sat up, looking down at the millipede that seemed to have wrapped itself around her left arm. "Good work on the stitches," she commented with an analytical voice.
"Thank you," he answered. "I heard you were a doctor yourself, backwater planet of some sort."
Sylvana nodded.
"Have you ever had bacta before? I'd like to put some patches over those so the healing would be more complete."
She shook her head, "No, we don't have bacta on my world."
"Alright, it'll be just a quick test, and we should know within a few minutes whether it'll be okay, but you shouldn't have any trouble, seeing as your brother obviously isn't having any."
"Works for me," Sylvana held up her right arm, the raised welts seeming to have settled into scabbed over scratches.
He took a small blood sample, then moved off. When he returned he regarded her curiously.
"What's wrong?" she asked in confusion.
"Your wounds, both yours and that of the young man with you. Why didn't you come in earlier?"
"We came in as soon as we could."
"May I ask when the injuries were received?"
"In the wee hours of the morning, I guess."
"Yesterday morning?"
"No, this morning, not too long ago."
"That's impossible. Are you sure you're not mistaken?"
"I'm positive."
"Both of your wounds had the look of at least a full day, if not two, of healing."
"Maybe we're just quick healers."
"I've never seen healing like that in humans before."
"Maybe we're not run-of-the-mill humans?" Sylvana chuckled.
"Run-of-the-mill?"
"A term from my homeworld - it means usual."
"I see," he turned and went to check on the test, then shook his head. "That's strange."
"What's strange?"
"You're allergic to bacta. Do you mind a simple wrapping?"
"That's all we have on our homeworld, I'll be fine."
"I'm sorry that your cheek will scar."
"It was scarred before, anyhow."
"Still," he returned with a few rolls of gauze and began wrapping up her right forearm.
"Don't worry about it, I'll live," she favoured him with a grin.
"Yes, we're quite sure of that."
They spent the next several minutes in silence as he finished wrapping up the one arm, then began carefully wrapping up the stitches covered left arm. "Just put a piece of tape over my hand, I'd like to be able to use it," she instructed.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, it'll get to breathe some. Don't worry about the one on my face either."
"I don't know about that...."
"Well, I'm a doctor too, you know, and I know that I'll be fine. If anything happens, I'll take full responsibility, okay?"
"Yes ma'am!" he chuckled.
Sylvana sat and watched her brother bobbing in bacta. She'd already assured the pilots that they were going to be alright, and of course she'd let them know all about what had happened later on.
She looked down at her bandaged arms. She had been lent a khaki blue sleeved and collared flightsuit, from some unknown friend of Wes's, and had rolled up the arms so as she wouldn't overheat.
Great. I'm a doctor, carry a laser scalpel, and am allergic to bacta. I may as well change my name to Phanan, she thought glumly as she smirked to herself while watching her brother bobbing unconsciously in the sticky stuff.
Her thoughts turned ever inward. That dream... this whole thing was too much like that dream. The thoughts spiralled downward as she began to wonder just how many of her dreams had been, or would become, truth.
She was startled from her reverie by a hand falling gently on her shoulder. "Doctor Lorrdain, I presume?"
She looked up at the handsome man standing at her shoulder. Something seemed awfully familiar, then she realised that he looked exactly like Faace. That meant this was probably the real Garik Loran. She straightened immediately, "Captain Loran, h-how can I be of service?"
"How do you know me?"
Sylvana started. Oh, sithspit! Think quick, he probably doesn't know about Rent-a-Rogue.... "You... look like an actor?"
He folded his arms, narrowing his eyes as he regarded her, "Or maybe you've met my clone?"
She blushed as she sighed in relief and snapped her fingers, "Oh yeah, clone... something like that." She smiled.
The side of his mouth curved upwards in a smirk, then he chuckled. "Actually, I was hoping I would get to meet you, Dr. Lorrdain."
"Sylvana."
"Then call me Face." He noted the mission tags on the obviously borrowed intel flightsuit. Inwardly he shook his head.
"Why were you wanting to meet me?" she wondered in confusion.
"I've heard quite a bit about you." He looked over at the bacta tank, noting the outreader. "Your brother's going to be in there for a while yet, would you care to go for a drink with me?"
Sylvana nodded as she grinned, "I could use one."
"Shouldn't you be in bacta yourself?" He motioned to her bandaged arms, and stitched cheek beneath a black eye.
She shook her head and shrugged, "Turns out I'm allergic."
He raised an eyebrow. Interesting....