Medical Wing

Bruce returned with all haste to the Academy, the Lorrdian girl on his back and the Farghul boy in his arms. He made his way straight for the medical wing, calling for healers as he entered the patient bay, setting the now-unconscious Hssan down upon one bed and gently letting Janie slide down onto the edge of another to sit.

"But I don't need a bed," she protested, her eyes locked upon the blood-soaked makeshift bandage around Hssan's side.

"You need healing," Bruce answered, concern in his voice as he draped the boy's tattered shirt over a nearby chair. "Hssan needs it more, yes, but those bites went deep. The healers need to be sure the bone isn't damaged as well."

As he mentioned the healers, two already came, with a couple of medical assistants, and Bruce stepped away to give them their space, explaining, "They were attacked by redcrested cougars. Many people figured they'd gone extinct after the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, but apparently not. The girl took a bite to the left shin. The boy has a large gash in his left side."

They acknowledged this and began to examine their patients. Janie's healer coaxed her into laying down, which she reluctantly did so, her eyes worriedly locked upon Hssan's form the entire time. Guilt radiated from her; going that deep into the jungle must have been her idea, then, and she regretted it due to what had become of poor Hssan. Bruce managed to smile at her. "He'll be fine, child. And don't feel too bad; you survived, and now we know of a potential threat to our people and we can deal with it sooner rather than later."

She looked at him as he spoke, listening intently to his words and seeming unsure for a moment before finally nodding. Bruce nodded back, then, when her eyes returned to Hssan's form, Bruce took his datapad and left the healers to take care of the children, standing in the reception area near a window. He had meant to report the incident, but what he found instead made his brows furrow: This had been far from the first incident of cougar attacks. Other citizens who had normally enjoyed forest hikes found themselves victim to the creature's territorial attacks, soldiers near the control bunker had reported scattered incidents, some cougars had even been daring enough to enter the city of Kodeiv itself to seek out prey.

Bruce wondered why he hadn't heard about this sooner, but that was because many of the victims who'd ventured out on their own hadn't returned. Their deaths had only been recently confirmed, and the incidents at the bunker had coincided with the discovery of the victims, as well as isolated incidents within Kodeiv.

"So, they were biding their time," Bruce mused to himself. How large were their numbers, he had to wonder, but scrolling through the reports, it seemed the cougars had been quietly repopulating for quite some time, and their numbers were projected to be quite phenomenal. Meaning if these things decided to attack en masse...

Already he was attempting to establish a connection with Aerandir's own personal datapad, a connection very few were privileged to be able to make. The forces upon Belkadan were small; there weren't enough military nor Jedi to be able to handle what could be a massive assault by cougars. Once upon a time, perhaps, while Aerandir still protected Belkadan, but those times were past. And Bruce needed help.

Finally, a connection was established, and Aerandir's visage blurred into view on the datapad's screen, asking, "What's up, Bruce?"

"Belkadan appears to be under attack from within, via redcrested cougar." Bruce answered simply.

Aerandir's eyebrows had already risen and his expression became one of concern, but then his brows furrowed at the mention of "cougars." "Redcrested cougars? Are you sure?"

Bruce nodded, sure the man was just as surprised as he was. "Absolutely. Saw them for myself. Apparently so have several others on the planet." A brief pause. "... for some, it was the last thing they saw."

Aerandir gave a "tsk" of sympathy and shook his head, looking away for the moment, then back up to Bruce. "Are the students alright?"

Bruce nodded again. "Two of them had a run-in with three cougars, I'd sensed distress nearby the Academy and came to their rescue. One, a Farghul boy, had his side gashed and he fell unconscious before I made it back to the Academy, but he'll recover. Another, a Lorrdian girl, received a bite to the femur, but she seems more concerned for the boy than herself. They're fine, but according to the reports, the cougars that had survived have been silently reproducing to great numbers within the last several decades since the Yuuzhan Vong attack, and they're very territorial. However, our numbers alone can't repel them. We need help... which is why I've called you."

Aerandir's form frowned, then he nodded. "I would come help if I could, but I'm indisposed at the moment. I'm not even on Felucia. However, I will send word along the Jedi line and they should send aid. If the local populace is under attack, no doubt the story's will be getting exposure on the HoloNet as well. Reach out to the Republic, perhaps they'll send aid as well. As for Belkadan's government, well, who knows how they'll respond, but keep in contact with them, find out what their plan is."

It was a bit of a disappointment that Aerandir himself wouldn't be able to come to Bruce's aid; it would have been a great team-up like old times. Bruce himself had yet to visit Felucia; he was aware that Aerandir's wife Cassie had given birth to a daughter recently, and he would have liked to have seen the child. But for now, he had the present to focus on, and Bruce nodded. "Thank you. I shall."

"May the Force be with you, old Master."

"And you as well." Bruce ended the communication, and from there set about making connections, reaching out for aid, and reaching out to the government as well. As it turned out, they had already made the attacks known and were calling for external aid, even willing to pay hunters and poachers to help thin the numbers, as well as soldiers and Jedi to defend the people from the cougars while they were repelled. Perhaps even trained. Bruce had made sure to station experienced Jedi about the Academy to keep an eye out for the beasts and keep them from harming students or entering the Academy. Students themselves were prevented from leaving the Academy for their own safety.

They now had an unconventional war on their hands...

"Are you a healer?" came a male voice addressing the Cerean newcomer. It belonged to a middle-aged male Togruta in white robes, who had been traveling from an office back to the medical wing before noticing the newcomer. His years of experience allowed him to keep a calm composure, but his eyes betrayed the slight desperation that had befallen many inhabitants of the small academy, in their time of great need.

The Togruta seemed only slightly relieved at the confirmation, but he regardless went back about his duties, nodding and gesturing for the healer to follow. "Fortunately, the injured number is small when it comes to the Academy. Only two children, with relatively minor injuries." As they entered the patient rooms, the two said patients were in clear view, both resting on beds; a Lorrdian girl and a Farghul boy, both about ten years of age.

The Togrutan approached them, then stopped at the foot of the girl's bed. Her left thigh was bandaged. Gesturing toward her, he explained, "She was bitten. Fangs even reached the bone. And the boy," he nodded toward him, "he had his left side slashed open. Passed out before Master Terry brought him to us. We've managed to treat the surface wounds, but haven't been able to completely heal them, nor reach the girl's bone for treatment." His gaze fell upon the Cerean again. "What can you do?"

The Togruta watched as the Cerean examined the children with what seemed to be a heavy heart, before announcing the lack of anything "terribly hazardous" and commending them for the early treatment. The Togruta nodded, replying, "Yes, we did what we could. Once upon a time we would have been able to more thoroughly treat them, as well as contain this outbreak quite easily, but alas, there's nothing we can do about that. Things change." He sighed, then shook his head when the Cerean suggested resetting the bone if it were broken. "Not broken, fortunately, but chipped." When asked if the boy had regained consciousness, he shook his head again, more solemnly this time. "Not yet. I imagine he's merely recovering. It could have been much worse... Also, my apologies, but I didn't quite catch your name?"

As the Cerean gave his name and extended his hand to shake, the Togruta took it and nodded, giving his own name. "Zhak Ty. Pleasure." The assurance that more help was on the way was almost hollow to the Togruta, but he had to believe. The offer of being a field medic was certainly one they could use, since more injured were coming from other areas of the planet rather than the Safe Haven itself...

After examining the children's files, Knight Darkwater announced that Hssan needed only rest and Janie would need a minor surgery to remove the bone fragments. Zhak Ty nodded and only said, "If there is anything I can do to aid you, please let me know."

The surgery was going as expected and with zero complications. There was a slight "plink" as the Jedi Healer dropped a third shard of bone, coated in a dark crimson, onto the silver metallic tray resting on his right.

"Three down, one to go." Rai muttered to himself as he adjusted his grip on the small pair of tweezers he held in his right hand. With his left hand, he held the patient's leg steady and carefully opened the incision. He inserted the tweezers, his eyes searching for a good way to grasp the final, smallest piece of bone. He slowly maneuvered the tweezers around strands of muscle and flesh, his hands perfectly steady. Squeezing carefully, the Cerean was rewarded when the two prongs securely snagged the white shard of bone. "Gotcha." He smiled behind his face mask. Before he knew it, the last shard of bone was removed and it clattered onto the tray next to its three counterparts.*

*Setting the tweezers down, Raimundo took a quick second to roll his shoulders, loosening the muscles after the meticulous procedure. He sighed as he closed his eyes, feeling the warmth of Ashla comforting him. He felt at peace when he was at work, it was when he felt the most connected to the Force.*

*He opened his eyes and grabbed the proper tools to sew the young girl's leg shut. He held the needle in his right hand as he thread the string through its eye. Gingerly, he poked it through the skin, pulling the thread tight. Using the Force to stay his hand, the Healer began to stitch the incision closed.