Cloning/Medical Facilities

For a long moment, no one dared to meet the epicanthix's gaze. Then, from the entrance of the medical bay, a female voice rang out. A choir of angels, a lark in the meadow, the soothing sounds of honey gliding across a piece of velvet that has been in turn draped across a lawn chair, bathed by morning sun and glistening dew. His heart in his throat, the Dandelion Knight turned on his heel, taking in the beautiful frame of - "Holy hell. Did you just come from a war zone?" Er, that is to say, the beautiful if albeit scruffy looking woman who stood in the door, wearing all manner of freaky deaky clothing and weapons. Dand coughed politely, gesturing with his unbroken arm in a extravagant bow - his words honeyed, his voice dripping with adoration, the man opened his mouth to begin "The Process". That is, before his face went white, and he clutched onto the wall for support.

Truth be told, the battle he had been in had, perhaps, taken more out of him than he had let on to the nurse. "I...I don't have this in me. No. That's no way to talk. You're the Dandelion Knight! Proceed at...half power. Half power." The man muttered, not exactly in a whisper. Clearing his throat, pushing off from the wall, Dandleion tried again. "That is to say...there IS a shower in here, but you would by far be more comfortable in the dorms. Larger showers you know," Dand said tapping the side of his nose and throwing a roguish wink her way. Inwardly, though, he was more than a little concerned for the woman. Truly, she looked worse for the wear. "Have you eaten, love?"

"While I would be among the first to applaud a beautiful woman showering in public...I may suggest that it would strain the hearts of some of the more critically injured here. That and the nursing staff can be...bothersome. Do what you will." Idly, Dand leaned closer to inspect the woman's weapons. A 9118 heavy carbine modified, a pistol, two sabers, one made of scrap and the other...bone? How perfectly dark. This and a horribly vile bag stained through with red. "I must insist, and for this I apologize, that you reveal the contents of your bag...the Jedi will make a fuss dear, and I for one do not wish to bring their particular brand of snarky and passive aggressive wrath down on our heads. A beautiful woman like yourself can understand this reasoning, no?"

Odd gear, and odder behavior. She was thin, a wisp of a thing really, perhaps underfed. Had she been living on the streets? Images of darker days, truly darker days sprang to mind at that thought, and Dandleion winced at the notion. Memories were bothersome things - though, if there was one thing Dand knew how to do, it was how to bury such things under miles and miles of denial. An easy smile springing to his face, he offered an arm to the woman in a friendly - albeit non-aggressive - gesture to escort her from the medical bay. "Please. Come with me to the dorms. You seem like you're used to...immediacy...but there is a proper way of doing things here, truly." Ha. Immediacy. A polite term for survival...something Dand knew a fair bit about himself. Not that he would ever admit it.

Don't do that. She rubbed the spot where she was cuffed. It wasn't that hard, and it did bring her all the way back, but it was not something Kent enjoyed.
Pardon my thought process. No one else was rolling on the floor like there head was exploding from the inside. I don't have any enemies here. But when I am the only one displaying any signs it seems fair to ask if i was the the only one attacked. Believe me...
The girl breaks eye contact
I have learned very fast that I am nothing special these last few days. Thank you for your help.
She looks at the girl, and the now clearly exhausted Adelle. I am guessing you want to spend time with her little one, but I think Adelle needs a rest. She certainly wont be any fun to be around in this state. Could you show me where the dinning hall is? Please?
Something about this kid was inviting, and she just radiated joy. Kent had know idea why, but she wanted more of it.

"Almost everyone here has what you don't. Training." Despite her exhaustion, Adelle picked up Morgan fairly easily, holding her close. Belatedly, she realized that no ten year old wanted to be treated like a little kid. Something Kent's eagerness and presumptions about what Adelle could and could not do made her bristle and triggered the maternal feelings she had for Morgan. She'd only just got back and someone wanted to take her child away. They hadn't even gotten a chance to say a proper hello. "Leave Morgan be, Kent. She's doing no harm. The dining hall is easy enough to find. Take a right out of this office, walk straight down the hall, and it's literally right outside the medical wing."

The look in Kent's eyes when she looked away flashed back into her mind. The girl had been through a lot from what Na'an had told her. Chased, under fire, uprooted... and mentally attacked upon landing. Adelle rested her forehead against Morgan's and closed her eyes. Maybe she'd been too strict. The Jedi that worked in the gardens often told her that transplants had to be handled gently for the first week or so otherwise they wouldn't take root. They'd simply wither up and die.

Holding Morgan with one arm, she reached out and laid a hand on Kent's shoulder. "Na'an thinks you're special. That you deserve training in what makes you special. Be proud of what you accomplish, not because you're born special."

Down the hall, a stream of insults and swears in Twi'leki echoed. Liarra Vao. More than likely having a bad day with a patient. Adelle rubbed her face and set Morgan down again, moving to a cabinet. Someone else could deal with Vao's problems today. She pulled a slim black case from the back of the cabinet, tucking it under her arm. Right now, Adelle wanted sleep. And maybe a few cuddles from her adopted daughter.

*A brief clatter echoed faintly through the medical facilities as Mina's fork met her now-empty plate. She had made short work of her meal, and her mood seemed to have vastly improved simply from having a full belly. Aerandir smiled and gently reached for her face, pulling free a strand of hair that had managed to enter her mouth along with her last bite. She didn't flinch, though she'd briefly frozen when his hand came near her face; he'd reacted without thinking again. Despite their easing relationship, he should've realized she probably wouldn't want anyone's hands near her face just yet.

But the brief moment had passed and she resumed chewing the final bite of food, this time seeming to actually savor the flavor before swallowing it. He was grateful he'd merely startled her, but he needed to control himself regardless; already he wanted to treat her like one of his own daughters when she, he was certain, still hadn't come to fully trust him. But now she looked bored, and Aerandir wasn't sure how much longer they'd be here. He looked forward, senses extending toward Adelle's office, where Morgan was. She seemed to be experiencing some slight pain, from her fingers... He was still curious about that new object he'd seen wrapped about her, glowing with an otherworldly hue. But she clearly wanted her mama right now, and he'd had his exchange with her already. He could find out more later.

He could also sense a bit of shock, clinging, relief, and then a bit of guilt from her as well. Just what was going on in there? He was deeply curious, but Adelle was there, and he had his own duties to attend to. Part of him wanted Lucy, but he felt it would be wise to keep the infant safely away from all of this. Maybe he could learn more about Mina...

Turning toward her, he asked,* "Do—"

*The question was cut off by a beep from his datapad. Frowning, he pulled it up, answering it, with a message from one of his subordinates nothing that he would "probably wanna see this," before switching to a new message.

A hooded figure, face obscured by shadows. A Muun, suspended helplessly in the air. Aerandir immediately stood, keeping the feed away from Mina's line of sight; he already knew this couldn't be good. Michelle, frowning and not wanting to be left out, stood up on the seat and leaned on his shoulder, peering at the datapad. Mia, brows furrowed, remained seated, thankfully, as the hooded figure in the footage began to speak.

That voice...* "No..." *Aerandir muttered, as the voice spoke of Muunilinst and order and war. Aerandir scowled at the screen, struggling to make out the figure's face in full, but it was significantly obscured by the hood. However, the constant talk of "order"... There was no mistaking who that voice belonged to. And then the Muun was sliced clean in two, eliciting only the faintest flicker of his eyebrows while Michelle gasped softly. The voice then claimed not to be a Sith nor a Dark Jedi, but spoke of himself as a sword, of the Imperial Remnant no less...* "You fool..."

"Jacob?" *Michelle asked, in similar disbelief.*

"I've made a terrible mistake," *Aerandir lamented briefly, expression weakening as he lowered his datapad. But then his face was once more sturdy as he resolved,* "No. The only mistake is his."

*Michelle frowned, pushing herself off of her brother and climbing down from the chair.* "Did he really turn to the dark side?"

"Better to be an annoyance to them than us," *he quipped without a trace of humor on his countenance. He then raised the datapad and keyed out a message, relaying this news along an encrypted connection toward both Bruce at Belkadan and toward home. They needed to know that one of theirs had fallen.* "This is disgusting. But I guess there had to be a reason he got on our nerves. Still, it almost makes me wish we'd treated him better, but all his law talk just didn't mesh well with... any of us."

"You already said it, he did this to himself," *Michelle tried to assure him, shaking her head, though she herself didn't seem entirely convinced.* "If there's a way, we can snap him out of it!"

"I'd argue he was too far gone even before we put our foot down. But it sounds like we have a new enemy in these 'Knights of Ren'... Who's this 'Ren' person anyway?"

"He said his name was 'Soku Ren'..."

*Aerandir scoffed.* "'Not Sith' my foot. Sith by another name then. 'Ren' must be a title, like 'Darth'..."

"'Darth' sounds cooler." *She then turned her head to the side, as though embarrassed to have given their enemy such a compliment.

Aerandir chuckled.* "Thanks for the ammunition for our inevitable encounter."

*She seemed to cheer up a little, but it was a different child's voice that broke up the moment.* "What's going on?"

*Mina! Aerandir felt somewhat ashamed of himself for allowing the traitor's message to make him lose sight of the moment. Aerandir had all but forgotten about his existence, so his sudden resurgence as a not-Sith had of course caught him by surprise. Putting away the datapad, he sat back down, smiling reassuringly at her.* "Oh, nothing, some numskull just apparently thinks he'd make a good bad guy."

*Her young green eyes studied him with concern, before asking earnestly,* "So you're gonna get rid of him?"

*Her expression and tone said it all: She'd found her faith in him, and whoever this new bad guy was, he was going to take care of him. Despite his earlier notions, he dared to take her hand; she'd willingly given it in the hangar on her own power, after all. She didn't flinch, taking his and squeezing it tightly as she could, and he squeezed it back gently. He smiled at her and nodded.* "I'll do whatever it takes to make this galaxy safe for everyone, especially you."

*Again she studied him and his words, the sincerity in his eyes...

And at last she smiled.*

*Kent seemed to be taking it well enough, which was reassuring to Morgan; there was no chance of her taking it back now and going with her now. But now Kent was asking if there was anywhere she shouldn't go, to avoid "stepping on more toes." Strangely, the question seemed more aimed at Morgan, which surprised and confused her. Why her? She would think it would be obvious where not to go, especially since the more restricted areas already had signs and guards designating them as such.

Unless she meant recent events, in which case...* "Um, I dunno, I just got back from the jungle and I've been gone two days!" *Deciding to just focus on the usual restricted zones, she sighed and raised her bandaged hands, counting on her fingers as she began to list,* "If you mean regular areas, then don't go to the jail, or the security area. The council chambers are usually off-limits too without a Master... Don't go in the tech labs, especially if you don't know what you're doing! And um... I guess that's it." *She shrugged and lowered her hands, then raised them one more time when she considered another area to count off.* "Wait! And the training area! Don't go without a partner! You could mess something up. Or hurt yourself."

*She held her hands up a moment longer, just to be certain there was nothing else that came to mind. Satisfied she had gotten the important places, she lowered her hands. ... only to raise them once more to count off the final location.* "And don't go outside! It's a dangerous jungle!" *Realizing her earlier statement and how that created an air of irony, she gave a sheepish smile and explained,* "I know that sounds weird, since I just said I was out there for two days, but I'm trained! And... other stuff." *The more in-depth details could come later, that would take a while and Morgan really just wanted to spend time with Mama.* "But really! Don't go out there alone!"

*Her hands finally lowered for good. That would cover it. Oh. Maybe one tiny thing, which she explained with an embarrassed, lopsided grin.* "And don't go into any strangers' ships..." *Her expression and tone gave away the fact that she'd fallen prey to such mishaps herself. While she didn't think it was her own fault, she still thought it was solid advice worth giving. But that was all she had left, except to add,* "I hope you feel better!"

The doors slid closed behind Kent and Adelle sighed with relief, almost deflating. She placed her hands on the examination table and leaned heavily on it, dropping her head between her hands. It had been a long week and even with Felucia's strong Force presence, she still felt a terrible weight on her mind and body. Like all the life had been sucked out of her and she was just a husk, a walking corpse. Or like she'd been crushed by the foot of an AT-AT but somehow still living. Adelle dragged a hand down her face, trying to collect her scattered thoughts, and then pushed herself upright. The black case fell from her arm and clattered to the floor, popping ajar. Adelle swept it up and inspected the contents. The transparisteel syringe chamber laid strapped down in its cutout surrounded by cushion, as did the prescription strength sedative. Adelle released the breath she'd been holding when she saw they were safe. She slipped bottle and syringe out from the straps and with the ease of practice, drew out a small dose and inserted the needle into her arm, depressing the plunger.

Wait. Morgan was still here. They were still in the medical center. She couldn't sleep here. Adelle sucked in air through her teeth. She must be tired if she wasn't thinking clearly. But the sedative was already in her bloodstream. There was no undoing that. Pursing her lips, she extracted the needle and placed it back in the case along with the bottle of sedative. A bead of blood blossomed where the needle had gone into her vein. Adelle slowly knelt down to be more at Morgan's level, hoping she at least had a few minutes before the sedative did its work.

"So," she said, "New weapon huh?"