Untamed lands, untamed heart. - 9.107

[Mara Tallen]

She dragged in a heavy breath, and then expelled it just as slowly. Trying, in vain, to assuage some of the tension that seemed to dwell in every muscle fiber of her body. Somehow, she managed to walk through the officer’s common area without stumbling, concentrating intently on putting one foot in front of the other.

Back in her own quarters after talking to Glayde and Cirr, Mara sagged against the wall and slowly slumped to the floor. Her amber gaze was dark, irises and pupils narrow vertical slits in true feline form. She was very slowly losing the last vestiges of her control – but, leave had officially been granted and the next twenty-four hours hers to do with as her beast pleased.

“Just a little bit longer…we’re going now. I swear it.” She murmured, a faint, soothing entreaty to the beast that fought her tirelessly for control. Pain flashed across her features, tightening her lips into a grimace as she struggled back to her feet. There was no soothing her now. No more waiting.

Her fingers shook and made gathering her collection of blades more difficult than it had to be. A pair of tehk’la blades were tucked into the sheaths built into her boots, a long knife was belted over her right hip, and over the left was a coiled length of rope and two hunting knives. A number of other things and a change of clothes were packed into a small duffel bag, topped off with one of her Dissuader slugthrowers, loaded with tranquilizer rounds.

Just in case.

Mara pulled a jacket on, shivering as she shouldered the duffel and locked her quarters behind her. Tentative steps took her to Morgan’s door, where she had barely touched the access panel before the door slid open. Her slitted gaze rose to meet his, pain altering her features as she hung onto her humanity by the thinnest of margins.

“If…you still want to come…we have to go. Now. Barrrely holding on.” Her voice emerged dark and harsh, though a thread of a plea was buried somewhere within.

[Morgan Evanar]

"Okay." Was all he said.

She didn't need to speak for Morgan to see that Mara was holding on to the very edge with her fingernails. He knew this day was coming soon, and had packed for it. He grabbed his shoulder harness, jacket and a large hiking pack mostly filled with food. Mara's eyes were open, dully following the motion, but she was not there. Mara was undergoing a tremendous battle of will, and she was losing.

He put one arm around her shoulders and guided her through the ship's corridors down to the Novgorod's small ventral hangar bay, which was still mostly hidden behind palletized cargo. Mara climbed the half-height cargo with a burst of energy. The big kitty inside was ready to go, now. Morgan keyed the door to the tiny spacefaring vessel, and she slumped inside to the nearest seat.

Morgan started on the flight pre-checks. The small craft warmed up quickly, and within 2 minutes, they were ready to be underway.

"Shuttle 813712-AV to Novgorod control, requesting permission for departure."

"Permission granted, Shuttle. Safe flying." Behind them the bay doors opened, which left only a slightly shimmering at the edges force field between them and open space. The shuttles repulsor's whined quietly. With a metal on metal scrape, it was airborne in a gentle wobble a quarter meter off the deck. Morgan eased it out, and there was a static sound as they passed through the threshold into space.

He gave a glance at Mara, who held her sides. Her breathing was raspy. He'd never seen her look so haggard and exhausted.

"I can set the shuttle on autopilot. Is there anything I can do to help?"

[Mara Tallen]

Something in her gaze must have told him to do it, because she was well past the point of speech in any understandable form. Morgan turned his attention to engaging the autopilot while she freed her hands from holding her side to press her palms over her eyes.

Holding onto her human form...her natural form...was beginning to hurt more.

Mara heard his chair swivel to face hers and almost uttered a whimper. Almost. She'd never liked how vulnerable she felt in this state, but worse, she thought distantly, was having Morgan witness it. It was one thing to have him along for a hunt.

But to see this? Gods. It just made her feel that much worse.

She still, however, slid out of her seat and crossed the small space that separated them. Mara couldn't even bring herself to meet his gaze, she simply sat in his lap and curled up as best she could, resting her forehead against the side of his warm neck. The need for comfort outweighed her self-loathing in that moment.

Warm, which eased her shivering. Comfortable, which eased at least a little bit of the pain and pressure of her beast. Here, she could breathe.

[Morgan Evanar]

"We'll be planetside soon." He said in a calm, reassuring voice. He wrapped his long arms around her. He could feel her nod slowly against him, and her ragged breath smoothed somewhat. She was tired of fighting.

He briefly thought to tell her everything would be ok, but he didn't know how it worked, and didn't want to push any emotional buttons or give reassurances he couldn't back. The stellar charts were something he could rely on, and there was a nearby planet with a primarily Nitrogen/Oxygen/Carbon Dioxide atmosphere and a lot of plant/animal life. There just wasn't anything valuable on it. This far in the Outer Rim, no one cared unless it was more valuable than water. Morgan, not normally intuitive, could tell that she was ashamed, and he didn't understand why.

Mara had to keep it together for another hour, and if she couldn't, well, he could knock her out.

[Mara Tallen]

She lost track of time, and not in the good kind of way. More of the struggling-for-control-of-her-own-mind kind of way, as she tried to keep it together until they hit planet-side. Inch by inch, however, she lost ground in her mind, though she managed - only barely - to keep herself from changing physically.

As the shuttle broke atmosphere, even the comfort Morgan offered was beginning to lose its effectiveness. Mara sighed, tilting her head back and very slowly unfolding herself to stand. She cupped his face in her trembling hands for a few sweet seconds and kissed him lightly. Her slitted amber gaze flashed as she pulled back to let him take the shuttle off of autopilot.

Mara buckled herself back into her own seat, head titled back onto the headrest with her eyes closed tight. Hands folded together in her lap, though it was obvious that her beast was gaining ground physically as well - her wrists and knuckles began to slowly pop and distort.

[Morgan Evanar]

The shuttle touched down firmer than he intended, but they were in a rush. The landing struts compressed about halfway and then settled. Mara was anything but. She gave the crash webbing a look of confusion and anger, and her shifting, trembling hands were of no use. She let loose a feral cry of frustration. He opened the shuttle's only door at the back. Mara's head flicked from him, to the door, to the awful crash webbing. Her teeth were bared, and her longer than usual canines were longer still.

Morgan was out of his seat and undid the restraints with speed.

"Go." He pulled her to her feet and pointed her at the open door.

[Mara Tallen]

There was no fight left in her by the time Morgan pulled her to her feet, and even less control. By the time he pointed her towards the door and she'd taken half a step, she had shifted.

Her large, sleek feline form closed the distance between the seats and the door in a graceful leap. The sudden movement rocked the shuttle on its struts, considering how much larger and heavier she was in this form. Outside, she paused a few meters from the shuttle, the late afternoon sun already beginning to set off in the distance.

She shook herself after stretching, claws extended and digging into the sun-warmed grass and earth beneath. A deep purr of pleasure rumbled in her throat as she shifted slowly from side to side, until the breeze was blowing right into her face. She breathed it in deep, tasting it, letting her senses roll it around until they found what they were looking for.

There was water nearby, and whatever it was that passed for herd animals on this planet. A low, hungry growl rumbled deep in her chest as she stalked off into the tree-line, keeping low to the ground as she picked her way through the thick vegetation.

[Morgan Evanar]

Mara paused briefly to get her bearings and then loped effortlessly away. Like a shot, she was gone.

Morgan took a deep breath, counted to three, and then followed. When he hit the tree line he paused. He'd lost sight of Mara. Morgan knew he could just find her, but he wanted to do it the old fashioned way.

He moved when the wind moved to mask the sounds he made going through the thickening brush. Even as big as she was now, Mara's lack of height was an advantage here, although he had much better visibility. She was hunting mostly by scent until she was a much shorter distance from her prey.

He was near the edge of the tree line now and sat on a log. His brown hair blended into the tree behind him. His green eyes looked at the herd animals unblinking. He knew Mara was watching, too.

[Mara Tallen]

The vines and tangled shrubs offered enough cover as she stalked her prey. There was a group of eight, mostly females and their young, along with a male who had likely seen his last breeding season. Portions of his intricate horns were broken off, and there were relatively fresh scars on his shoulders from recent fighting.

He would do nicely.

She was not a patient hunter on the best of days, and certainly was far from it at that moment. Her nose wrinkled as she caught Morgan's scent, amber eyes tracking him as he perched gingerly atop a log. She rumbled softly before turning her attention back to her quarry. They had begun to move, lengthening shadows beginning to touch the water's edge as the sun set further.

There was another male...a young, strong buck stalked the opposite side of the river, searching. For a crossing point, perhaps, to challenge the older buck for his herd. With a replacement seemingly waiting, why delay the inevitable?

As the does continued to move downstream with their young, the old buck paused at the water's edge, taking the time for one last sip. As his head lowered, she burst from from the tree line. He startled, of course, and manged a few short, bounding steps before she was upon him. Front claws dug into his flanks and dragged him down with a spray of blood.

The buck's head shot back in sheer panic, his horns narrowly missing her head as a broken edge tore into her shoulder and broke off within. She threw her own head back and roared as she freed one massive paw and slammed his head forward. Her claws pierced his skull as her jaws tore into his throat, viciously long canines slicing almost effortlessly through flesh and scoring the bone deep.

A font of arterial blood coursed over her fur as she jerked her head to the side and swallowed the considerable chunk of flesh. Another snap of her jaws saw another piece of the buck's neck disappear, as she fed seemingly heedless of the injury that made her left front leg buckle slightly.

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan waited until Mara got most of her fill before he dared to move. At fifty meters, he paused. Mara ignored him. He waited another minute before he slowly closed the distance to 25 meters. She was impressive, but out of practice. That antler shard in her left shoulder was evidence enough of that.

Right now, she was close to his size, but had five points of very sharp damage. She looked up at him for a moment, and the back down at her kill and took another bite. Morgan was willing to bet that right now, at a dead run, he was faster. If not, he had other means of escape.

"You're going to need that antler pulled out." He said after stopping at 15 meters. He was willing to go no closer until she showed a sign of cognizance that it was more than the large feline in front of him.

[Mara Tallen]

She rumbled softly at him as she pulled back, blinking as she put weight on her left front leg and stumbled. The pain finally broke through the last vestiges of her adrenaline soaked fury and feast, dulling the predatory gleam in her amber gaze.

The Felacatian took a tentative, painful step, and then another before she simply gave up and sprawled out on the soft earth. Leaning on her right side to alleviate some of the pressure and pain, she gazed up at Morgan and then put her head down. Her heated breath escaped her bloody muzzle in tiny little whorls of steam, and quickly dissipated in the cooling evening air.

A soft, sated purr rumbled in her chest as watched Morgan approach tentatively. Carefully. She closed her eyes and sheathed her bloody claws as best she could. At the back of her feline senses, her humanity lingered and tried to retake control. But the beast wasn't ready to relinquish it yet, so feline she remained as he came ever closer.

[Morgan Evanar]

He knelt down in front of Mara and then moved to her shoulder. He ran a hand down her furred back, and could feel her body purring. She lifted her head to catch a glance of him, and the set it back down.

"This is going to hurt." Mara's breath sped up a little, but she didn't move. Morgan stared hard at the broken antler in her shoulder and closed his eyes. He needed to know what it looked like under the surface. There it was, clear as day, in a slightly tighter arc than he would have guessed. His hand wrapped around the bone, and pulled it free in a fast, smooth arc. Mara roared and immediately tried to get back to her feet.

Morgan reached around her body and pulled her back down with a grunt. Some of the air popped from her lungs in a big urrff.

"Stay down!" he growled back. Mara would always rush headlong into danger. She growled a low, a dangerous tone.

"It still hurts. Stay down." He repeated, his voice firm.

[Mara Tallen]

She growled at him again, a deeper, darker tone that spoke of her displeasure. But down she stayed anyway, her brief burst of adrenaline fading fast as he held her down, somehow managing to wind his arms between the heavy spikes on her back.

Her breath left her in a sudden exhalation, ruffling his short hair as she nudged him with her head. She shifted her position slightly beneath him, before putting her head back down, breath gradually easing back into a normal pattern. A purr rumbled softly in her chest, a sated tone to it, though pain made itself audibly present whenever she tried to move.

This time, she did utter a peculiar whimpering noise, the sound punctuating her purr with every rise and fall of her chest. With the last drops of adrenaline well out of her system and Morgan's proximity keeping her relatively calm, the pain rose to the forefront of all her senses.

It sounded as if she were trying to get back to her human form, only she still couldn't quite grasp it through the haze.

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan took a deep breath. When the antler had impacted her metal bone, the tip had shattered. He matched his pace of breath with hers, and at each full exile, a shard was teleported out of her. He could see 7 distinct pieces, ranging from a centimeter to a milimeter. Morgan started with the smallest first. Each time he did it, he felt a wet slap against his open hand. His brow was creased in concentration. He'd done this sort of thing practicing it, but it was different to apply it as a means of field medicine.

When the last shard hit his palm, he sagged, and gave Mara a pat. Mentally exhausted, he collapsed back into the grass.

[Mara Tallen]

When he patted her side, she discovered that she could move a little bit easier, though it still hurt enough to make her rumble with pain. Amber eyes blinked as if through a haze as she looked up at Morgan, and watched in a peculiar detached fashion as he collapsed back into the grass.

The lingering piece of her human self didn't have to nudge the beast to move, she did it on her own, dragging herself around through sheer stubborn will. She curled up in his side and half closed her eyes, chest heaving with labored breaths for several minutes.

She nudged his cheek gently with her nose as she caught her breath, her mostly feral mind unable to comprehend what human side was trying to tell her. All the beast knew was that something wasn't quite right, and as such, remained as alert as her pain and exhaustion would let her.

[Morgan Evanar]

"I'm ok." he managed. He gave her a clumsy pat. Truthfully, he had found the entire process of separating objects that were so tightly physically entangled incredibly taxing. It explained some aspects of his skill, like why the clothes came with people.

"I'm ok, Mara." he repeated between deep breaths. "Just tired." Morgan didn't need her to understand right now.

[Mara Tallen]

She gave a short huff of breath as means of assent, her raspy tongue darting out to lick away the smear of blood her nose had left on his cheek. Somehow, she managed to get up onto her paws, though heavily favoring her left front leg.

Gingerly moving around him, she stumbled down to the water's edge and waded in. She drank deeply before immersing herself in it, rolling back and forth to rid herself of the blood and grime coating most of the fur of her face and chest. After a few moments, she hobbled out of the water and shook herself as vigorously as she could, with one leg unable to bear much weight.

She wandered slowly back to where Morgan lay, and by the time she did, Mara had managed to somehow shift back into her human form. She dropped down to sit beside him in a less than graceful motion, amber curls damp as she ran an absent hand through them. She shrugged her way out of her jacket with a grimace, the fingers of her right hand curling into a fist so they wouldn't go poking at the gaping wound on her shoulder.

[Morgan Evanar]

"Hey." He managed. He opened up his left hand and held it up toward her. His eyes were still closed, but he knew exactly where she was.

"I got everything out." Mara's blood stained the splinters and Morgan's hand. Through the crushing exhaustion, there was a note of pride. He let his open hand rest on the grass next to her.

"I'll fix your shoulder in a bit." He added, and opened his eyes to stare at the sky, which started to change as the tightly wound binary suns began to set. He rolled his head over to look and winced. Mara was damp, and in pain. This was a great start to a sunset.He realized that all of the food and supplies were back in the shuttle, about three kilometers away. He hadn't expected to pull tiny fragments out of Mara's shoulder. What she had done was frankly stupid. If that antler had been ten centimeters toward her chest, he might be in the middle of a full-blown medical emergency. Mara had enough of a reminder of how foolhardy she had been.

[Mara Tallen]

"You...got the splinters out? With...your ability..."

Eyes wide with wonder, she sighed softly and let her voice trailed off, staring down at the antler shards in his palm. One by one, she tucked them in one of the pockets of her now ruined jacket, and laced her fingers in with his.

Her shoulder hurt like there had been a rancor gnawing on it for a couple of hours, but at least, she mused, the blood flow was easing down to a trickle. "S'ok...shoulder can wait." she replied after a moment, wondering why there was a sudden ache settling into her chest.

Mara bit her lip and simply refused to acknowledge it, attributing its sudden arrival to the shock of being wounded while so lost in her feral side. Normally even in her feline form she could exercise some manner of thought and restraint, but this was the first time since her teenage years she'd been held so completely in thrall by her beast.

Amber eyes clouded over as she stared down at their entwined fingers, lost in her thoughts.

[Morgan Evanar]

"Yeah." he said and closed his eyes again. He couldn't remember ever being this tired. It felt like that time he forgot to eat lunch and dinner. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. With his free hand he pulled a ration bar out of his jacket and tore the wrapper open with his teeth. He spit the wrapper and began to chew. Halfway through the bar, he paused.

"You should do this more often, your approach angle was crap." He managed with a tired laugh. Morgan knew once he got through the bar he'd have enough energy to carry Mara back to the shuttle if he needed to. He pulled himself up, and leaned gently against her good shoulder. He rested his head against hers and watched the suns slowly dip below the horizon.

[Mara Tallen]

"You know, this could have been such a lovely moment if you hadn't insulted me."

She smiled and tilted her head back for a brief moment to kiss his temple, before tucking herself back into his side. Her mind shoved the pain aside, lessening it to a dull roar for a short while, in an effort to stay in the moment with no distractions.

Her eyes slid half-closed as the suns finally disappeared, and cast the area into the dusk of evening. Instead of murmuring softly, she purred, her beast still close to the surface, pacing just underneath her skin. Still though, sunset, water, Morgan...really, all she needed was sand and a tropical drink.

And maybe next time with less of a gaping wound that was still trickling blood.

As if thinking of it were enough of a trigger, Mara winced and pulled away slightly, the motion making her more than a little dizzy.

"Morrrgan?" she mumbled, blinking against the wavering haze creeping in around the edges of her vision.

[Morgan Evanar]

"Mmm?" He asked, and then looked at her shoulder.

Mara was still bleeding out, and she hadn't said anything. He cursed himself for his lack of attention to detail.

"Oh shit." He wasted no time scooping Mara up and heading back into the trees. Mara draped an arm weakly over his shoulder. With no heed toward stealth, he crashed through the brush with surprising speed. Halfway there, he could feel her grip weaken.

"Mara! Stay awake. You've gotta stay awake." He stopped and gave her a shake. She was in shock. He closed his eyes and they were in front of the shuttle. He rushed in and put her in one of the seats and strapped her in. He needed to keep the wound elevated. Mara's eyes were open, but unfocused. He grabbed the shuttle's medkit with a hand and opened it.

"Morrrgan." She muttered. She was obviously fighting to stay awake. He pulled her face up to look at his.

"This is going to hurt." He said, she looked at him with a dull acknowledgement. He injected disinfectant and a tiny sliver of bacta into the wound. Mara moaned. It hurt, but not nearly as much as what was to come next. He packed gauze, which immediately bloomed red. He whipped the roll of bandages around her shoulder, and she let loose a cry as he wrenched each rotation tight. Her face was contorted in pain.

"Fluids fluids fluids." he muttered, and found a water skin. He would give her salt soon.

[Mara Tallen]

She was sort of there, and then again, not really there at all. Every time he called her name, Mara's consciousness rebelled at having to deal with the pain that kept drying to force her into a blackout. But she couldn't help it...amber eyes were dark and sightless, except for the odd flicker of recognition deep within.

Her beast growled at the forefront of her mind, fighting to be released again. That was always her way. When shit hit the fan or the pain was too much to deal with, Mara always shifted. But she couldn't do that this time. Couldn't use that escape, since that was the form she'd been hurt in. Putting her body through a shift would simply make things a fuckton worse than they already were.

"No...not now...can't shift...leave me alone..." she hissed through teeth clenched with pain. She wanted to pass out - gods, what she wouldn't give for the blessed dark oblivion right then and there, but Morgan insisted she stay awake.

So she tried. And her beast receded at the sound of his voice, chiding her again about her approach angle.

"Shut up, Morrrgan...she's a bitch to contrrrol on a good day...you trrry holding herrr back...when she's hungrrry..." she half groaned and half laughed, pure affection writ in her gaze for a brief moment where she lost her ability to hide it.

[Morgan Evanar]

He grabbed her face again, this time more firmly. He held her eyes level with his from a crouch. He knew he probably looked like a blurry tunnel-vision mess and sounded like he was being recorded in water, but she had to stay awake, and had to not shift.

"Mara, you're in shock. You have to stay awake." He repeated, and jammed a salt tablet into the water skin's spout. He put it to her lips, and she drank. In a way, it was a relief, but she was partly operating on reflex. He removed the skin when it started to spill around her lips. She breathed in clumsy, gasping breaths, and he kept her chin up. He watched her eyes roll around in her head for a moment before they settled on him and she smiled stupidly. Her eyes closed for a moment.

"I know, you beautiful idiot." And gave her a kiss on the lips.

[Mara Tallen]

Hell and damnation.

A splintered antler in her shoulder, shards he had to teleport out of her flesh, a wound that wouldn't stop bleeding, and pain that threatened to drive her unconscious...

...and it was the 'beautiful idiot' that stunned her into silence. Well, that and the kiss that followed it. Thank all the gods she didn't have to come up with a reply, considering she wasn't entirely sure she could have produced speech at all at that point.

Mara did manage to kiss him back, lifting her right hand to touch his cheek, as her left was still mostly numb and useless. "Sorrry, Morrgan...sh-should have said something...soonerrr." she mumbled after a breathless moment, looking very contrite.

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan took a deep breath.
"Stay awake, ok? I have to get us off the ground." Mara dully nodded. He turned from her and took a step toward the controls and then turned back around. Morgan undid her crash webbing and scooped her up. He took care to keep her head and shoulder above her legs. She groaned in pain when he shifted her to fit through the narrowed space to the cockpit.

He held her aloft while he maneuvered into the pilot's chair, and then settled her into his lap. His arms were long enough that he could reach the vast majority of the controls without disturbing her too much.

Morgan pressed the door toggle and keyed up for pre-flight. Unlike the rough landing, a smoother takeoff was not possible. He looked a Mara, who looked, well, she looked like a stunning woman in terrible pain floating near the edge of unconsciousness. Her amber eyes rolled around in her head at times, and keeping focus was a great task.

"Do you want to hear a story?" He asked.

[Mara Tallen]

"Storrry? Alrrright..." she mumbled softly as she blinked up at him, trying to remember to breathe as she fought to keep her eyes open. It was getting harder and harder to comply with his request to stay awake.

It wasn't that she didn't know she was supposed to stay awake. But actually doing it in the face of overwhelming pain was something else.

Her head lolled to the side, amber eyes slipping half-closed as Mara gazed up at Morgan and tried to focus. She winced as Morgan jostled her a bit, reaching around to one of the controls, and sighed as he settled back again.

Clouded eyes slid closed for a moment, then another until Morgan's voice echoed in her ears. They felt heavier than durasteel hull plating as she opened them back up painstakingly slowly. "What kind of ssstorrry iss it?" she asked absently, wanting nothing more than to sleep.

[Morgan Evanar]

"It's a funny one, but fraught with danger and stupidity. I'm going to tell you the first time I sliced for something more than just my own personal amusement. I told you I was in a gang of Nar Shadda street punks, mainly because I didn't have anywhere else to turn to. Social services in Nar Shadda are a nonexistent joke." He said, and jostled Mara gently. She could blink, but he needed awake.

"So anyway, I think I was 14. I pretty much snuck around and stole stuff for money. I've never been a violent person so for the most part I would smash and grab. I was an ok pickpocket but I didn't like doing it. Too much of a chance for confrontations. I've always been a good sneak, so on a dare, I broke into a rival gang's hideout. These guys were way more serious business. We didn't realize they were actually a front for one of the Hutt syndicates. They'd recruit enforcers from these guys. We just though it was stupid colors shit. Turned out they just kept us around for shits because we were a good test for new blood to tangle with. We weren't anything more than a minor pain in the ass, and we were of much more use intact."

Morgan shifted a control, and pointed the shuttle to adjust course slightly. The engines were at full burn already.

"So they worked out of a warehouse in outside of one of the main spaceports. I had a stolen speeder that I parked a few blocks away and scaled my way into one of the air vents. I was a lot smaller then, so it worked. You can actually move around slowly in those things without making noise if you're careful. I'm sneaking into this place, I'm a dumb 14 year old, and below me is a quarter million credit spice deal going down. I can hear all of it. Next thing I know everything goes to hell, someone lobs a thermal detonator, and spice goes everywhere."

"Everyone starts laughing, but since I'm in the air vent that spits air out, I just crawl for the office."

[Mara Tallen]

She giggled.

Wasn't a soft sound, or a warm laugh, it was a full-on nearly delirious giggle. Which wasn't a sound that often came from the woman, if ever.

But at least it meant she became a little more alert, if only briefly, as she tilted her face against his shoulder and shook slightly. Pain lanced across her senses but succeeded only in making her giggle turn a bit breathless. Mara managed to glance up at Morgan, amber eyes flickering with a bit of the warmth he'd recognize.

A look she hadn't cast in any other direction for a rather long time. If she hadn't been somewhere between delirious and passing out, she might have taken note of that fact.

"Morrrgan, you arrrre...sssumthin' elsse. Didja get out...or did...didja get caught?" she said softly, blinking as her vision wavered and darkened around the edges again. Absently, trembling fingers rose to trace the line of his jaw and lower lip, a wistful sigh passing her lips.

[Morgan Evanar]

"Both." Morgan said with a smile.

"Some people ended up dead from the blast, but most people just ended up incredibly high. It was a mood-enhancing spice. Everyone was panicked, and this big crate of it gets cracked and the bags pop, so everyone is sucking it down except for me. I got into the safe room and started on one of the easier electronic locks. I popped the control panel off and started running code breaks on it. This gran stumbled up the stairs, and I was thinking that he was going to kick my skinny ass. No. The guy gives me a hug and asked me if I wanted a sandwich. He told me he forgot where his grunkovot was. And then he asked if I knew where it was. I still have no idea what a grunkovot is. He told me it was ok and that he was going back downstairs and if I wanted to meet everyone since I was so cool, man. I declined, finish the crack 15 minutes later and made out with 30k in credits. Pocket change for them, but you know. Still. It was a really cheap safe."

[Mara Tallen]

"Grrrunkovot?!"

Another giggle this time, softer and more labored than the first. But in spite of it, mirth flickered in her eyes before fading back into the dark amber pools. She coughed and then grimaced as the contraction of muscles sent fresh rivers of pain shooting through her.

Eyes dark and nearly empty, she heard the smile leave Morgan's voice as he sharply reminded her to stay awake. And she tried to, but bit by bit, her eyes closed. Stubborn as Mara was, she couldn't hold it off much longer. Her beast was already unconscious, having succumbed soon after he'd begun his story.

Without her feral side for support, she began flickering in and out of consciousness.

Mara didn't hear Morgan's tight voice as he hailed the Novgorod and was granted swift entry back into the landing bay. She felt it when the shuttle landed roughly back in its spot, whimpering faintly at the jolt.

"Sssleeeep nnoww-" she slurred, eyes closing abruptly the rest of the way as she finally passed out.

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan's face became the picture of panic.

"Mara! Mara wake up!" He gave her a vigorous shake. She was out, and the Novgorod was another 15 minutes out. Morgan gingerly rested her head against the console to free his left arm. His fingers danced across the ship's controls. He sought any way to coax more power to the engines. It was an act of futility. The courier shuttle already ran on thin margins, and there was nothing to pull from.

He took a deep breath and evaluated his options. By standard flight it would be another 40 minutes. He knew where the Novgorod was, but didn't trust himself to thread the needle that far out.

The tiny shuttle had a good hyperdrive, though. Morgan knew exactly where the Novgorod was. He began a mathematical chant and brought up the hyperdrive computer. He began to type, his fingers guided by a mathematical Force borne intuition. Morgan focused on nothing but his place in the universe, and that of his targets. Even Mara faded by the wayside. What he was doing required absolute concentration. 400 digits later, the Force had run out of precision. Morgan wiped the sweat off his brow and pulled the lever.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"Captain, contact!"

Saine's outburst was almost deafened by proximity klaxons lighting up across every terminal on Novgorod's bridge, a deafening screech of alarms blasting over everything. Cirr didn't even have to give the order, and his helmswoman bucked hard into an evasive, keeping the unidentified craft from ramming into durasteel. Inertial compensation was slower to adjust to the course correction, and the sudden application of G forces pushed a few standing crew members to the ground as they accelerated hard on their z-axis, the nose of the corvette clearing the shuttle by a two meter shave. In the world of hyperspace entries, this was the kind of thing that any spacer would wake up in a cold sweat fearing.

"Status!"

Cirr's claws were out, instinctively stapling him firmly into his seat as his ship bucked. He barely even registered the IFF showing a friendly green.

"We're clear, sir!"

"Shjields and weapons!"

"Sir, it's..."

Now he had time to look. He was surprised, then he was angry.

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan immediately queued the comm system. He watched the frigate take evasive action.

"Shuttle to Novgorod. Medical emergency. Please open bay doors." Morgan's voice came through as in control but bordering panic.

"Ventral bay, Shuttle 813712-AV." came the near immediate response of Mallin.

The Novgorod stopped evasive manuevers and Morgan was able to put the shuttle down with a gentle scrape. He didn't bother with a power down, instead appearing in Vek-Vek's medbay, in front of the medical officer, with Mara in his arms.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

The surge of anger evaporated into urgency.

"Doctorr Vek to hangarr bay..."

He was out of his seat and gone, headed for the lift as soon as the words were out of his mouth. He had a very good idea from the inflection in Morgan's voice exactly who the medical emergency was for.

[Vek Vek]

"Captain..."

The Durwi physician blinked hard at the sight before him. There was no way this should be possible, but logically, if you eliminate the impossible, the outlandish that remains must be factual.

"...patients are present in infirmary. Beginning triage."

[Mara Tallen]

...the trees were thick, growing close enough together that it made maneuvering difficult under the best of circumstances. Seven soldiers were crouched together, mud-splattered fatigues making them nearly identical. The eighth was a few short steps away, equally muddy, but obviously feminine, with a head of auburn curls tilted back. Her amber eyes were half closed as she perched atop the fallen tree her troops were crouched beneath...

...she inhaled deeply, concentrating, letting her beast come to the forefront. Using her instincts and enhanced senses to try and pinpoint where the enemy was coming from. They had been successfully evading them for nearly a week while carrying out their objectives, but two days ago, their sensors went. Between her senses and the expertise of the Pathfinders under her command, it hadn't been the end of their mission. They had just one more objective. One more installation to blow up, then they'd be extracted...

...a loud boom reverberated through the trees, sending down a shower of leaves and small branches. A second came soon after. Louder. Closer, this time. She shouted for the men to move, and soon after, a third mortar hit, the shell exploding a few meters in front of her. The force of it knocked her back and subsequently off the tree, sending her sprawling to the ground. Her breath was knocked out of her, but she heaved herself to her feet and shifted...

...tried to shift into her feline form to run. Only she couldn't...and she couldn't get up, either. She thought she had, her mind told her she had, but in reality she was pinned to the ground with a charred branch through her left shoulder...

-that wasn't right-

-it hadn't happened to her-

-they'd lost Decker that way-

A growl escaped her throat, pain forcing the sound to emerge deep and guttural. Eyes flew open, wide with sheer panic as she tried to get up, only Morgan was holding her down. And talking to her though she couldn't make out the words. The sound at least cut off her growl as she blinked, recognition barely flickering in her gaze as she looked from Morgan to Vek Vek.

Mara tried to tilt her head to look down at her shoulder, but it resulted in a fresh wave of pain that almost drove her under again. Her heart felt like it was about ready to pound out of her chest as her panic-dulled senses finally recognized where she was.

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan pulled her face toward his with a gentle hand, having subdued her wild body back to the table with a combination of strong hands and legs.

"Mara." He said. He pulled her gaze toward his with a tender hand.

"We're back on the Novgorod." He took a deep breath.

"You're ok." He gave her a reassuring, gentle kiss.

[Vek Vek]

A gentle but firm hand rested on Morgan's shoulder, as the Doctor stepped into his realm.

"Require cooperation to administer treatment to patient."

From the motion of Captain Tallen, he could tell there was some resistance, and he activated a force screen at the table to keep her bound into a roughly prone state. His initial assessment determined a deep incision at her shoulder.

"Deep tissue impact, blood loss appears considerable."

He observed the woman's skin color and checked her pulse, all confirming his observations.

"Shock response appears onset. She requires temperature regulation. Thermal blanket, to your left, top cabinet, third row. With haste."

Whether Morgan asked or not, he was deputized as a nurse for now.

[Mara Tallen]

The tension around her eyes eased just the slightest bit as she focused on Morgan and shivered, the effects of shock settling firmly into her awareness. She'd have smiled, if she could, when he kissed her, only half hearing his words through the feral, panicked roar echoing in her mind.

Dark eyes trailed him as he moved, her head tilted away from her mangled shoulder as Vek Vek examined the wound. Mara normally had a very high tolerance for pain, but that threshold had been obliterated when the antler tore through skin and muscle and shattered on her metal-laminated bones.

A growl rumbled in her throat even as she pulled against the sudden sensation of restraint, redoubling her panic as her beast stalked the forefront of her mind. Pacing. Wanting out. Fingers and hands flexed, curling into into claws even as a thermal blanket settled over her. Morgan's hand brushed hers and she held tightly to it - maybe even a little too tightly as she shivered, amber eyes wide and almost glassy.

"You werrre...rrrright...apprrroach angle...sucked..." she managed through the haze of shock, blinking slowly as the ghost of a smile race across her features and then disappeared again.

[Morgan Evanar]

He felt her grip try and crush his. Against a normal human, he would have doubled in immense pain. With Morgan, it was another discomfort he would have to suffer to get her stable and nothing more. He unwrapped Morgan's field bandaging with a nod. There was no wasted effort here. Each was applied with firm steady tension that had probably saved Mara's life. The half-felecian was now in a trama ward with extra resources, and such, reapplying bandages was in the best interest of patient. The good doctor immediately applied a bacta patch to Mara's damaged shoulder.

Morgan moved aside the bandages he had hastily applied to allow he doctor to do his work. He grabbed Mara's free right hand and gave it a squeeze.

[Vek Vek]

"Blood pressure flagging. Core temperature abnormally low. Systemic shock. Considerable blood loss?"

From the stained field bandaging, it was mostly a rhetorical question, but Vek Vek had to be thorough. The bacta patch would stem the bleeding, serious or not, but it couldn't reproduce blood in a system that was starving for it.

"Biometrics showing increased metabolic impulse. Cardiovascular and hematocritical performance sub-optimal for aerobic metabolism. Source of felacatian blood to transfuse unlikely. Need to induce coma."

Something on his face displayed doubt about the procedure. He studied her face as Mara suffered the effects.

[Mara Tallen]

Morgan's tight grip on her hand helped stem the panic that lingered on the brink of overwhelming her. But her beast still paced, roaring in her head until that too began to pulse with pain. She wanted out. Wanted to be able to lash out.

Mara knew that if she shifted, she'd be dead in minutes. Her massive feline form would never survive on what little blood remained in her system. Even through her shock she just knew.

But transfusion? Even if Stali were nearby, she had doubts about her cousin's willingness. But any other of her mother's species would flatly refuse. "Eeeven if..you had...a Felacatian...no one wwwould give theirrr blood...nnnot to sssave a half-brrreed." She tore her gaze away from Morgan's as she spoke, though she clung to his hand desperately tight, casting glassy eyes up to Vek Vek.

"Jusssputmeunderrr...awwake hurrrtsss."

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan nodded. With the benefits of the Novgorod's medbay this was a much less risky procedure. The doctor swiftly procured a fine needle and stuck it into Mara's good shoulder. Mara let out a surprised yelp and winced.

"Shhh." Morgan said gently, and watched her eyes roll back when the sedative hit her system a second later. With a gentle push from the doctor, Morgan put Mara's hand at her side and stepped away.

"Is there anything else I can do?" he asked.

[Vek Vek]

The Doctor watched his patient go under, and for the next minute carefully monitored her vitals to make sure the anesthetic was bringing her into a controlled metabolic deceleration. With low blood pressure, and low heart rate, and her core functions hanging on, she had the best chance of recovering from this trauma. Until that happened, it was a function of time. Still, the Durwi needed more information.

"Yes. Explain. Nature of trauma. Circumstances of injury."

The tall humanoid delivered the truth of it with little to no fluff.

"She took an antler to the shoulder, doc."

Vek Vek half-blinked, dipping his head a bit as he mulled over the bizarre nature of the injury.

"Not the most common circumstance for emergency care. Surmise this to be due to Felacatian proclivity to involuntary feline morphology. Certainly not a physician-recommended use of leave time. Next time, more defenseless animal in cargo bay, perhaps?"

[Morgan Evanar]

"Not sure the kitty would go for it." He said, and looked back at Mara's limp form. He brushed her hair off her face and took a deep breath. She was pale, and the only indication of life was an achingly slow shallow rise and fall of her chest

"What's the prognosis?" he asked, his gaze unmoving from her face. Mara was tough, but anything beyond basic field medicine was out of his realm.

[Vek Vek]

Vek Vek remained deep in thought. For moments, he said nothing, tapping at his chin with an index finger.

"Function of time. Observation. Life signs appear stable, but metabolism must remain artificially depressed. With metamporhic cycle so recently stimulated, possibility of complication remains."

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan nodded slowly. He gave Mara's cheek a gentle caress and let out a slow sigh. He let his hand fall back to his side and turned to the doctor.

"Please let me know if anything changes, or if there is anything I can do." He said. The doctor nodded, and Morgan took a step back and looked back at Mara's supine form. Her face was calm, but she was pale, and her breath and heart were weak now.

Being with Mara was like being with... with a wild animal. At her core she was instinctive, even impulsive, but tough enough and smart enough to get away with it, usually. Morgan pushed the thoughts away and simply decided to hope she got better fast.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr waited at the threshold of the infirmary patiently. He didn't need to know the details to know the emergency was dire. No matter what he thought of the ridiculousness of the circumstances that brought them to this point, he knew exactly what was at stake. Only when Vek Vek and Morgan parted did he step forward.

"How jis she?"

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan looked up from his internal musings. Cirr. It was a good time to have a friend.

"She's tough, but she lost a lot of blood. It's up to her at this point." Morgan gave the shrug of a tired man.

"Be well, you beautiful idiot." He said to Mara's silent form.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

This wasn't a time at all to say I told you so, and despite the captain's incredulity of Mara's strange situation, he wasn't about to pop off about how damned dangerous and stupid this all was. It would be preaching to the choir with Morgan. The Jedi wasn't prone to stupidity without good reason, and he had to maintain that faith. They walked, a bit of urgency in their pace as they headed back to the bridge.

"jI can get us back to Dac. jI don't know about fjindjing Felacatjian blood to trransfuse, jif that's what's needed, but..."

Cirr saw something in Morgan's eyes that reminded him himself in a strange way. He knew exactly what that determination meant. Something all Cizerack seemed to know, and only a few forrda far between seemed to get.

The Captain averted his eyes, suddenly wondering how far he'd go when pushed by circumstances like that.

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan waived his hand as if to brush the thought of going to Dac away. He shook his head.

"They wouldn't willingly give her blood anyway. Mara's not full-blooded and that's a huge taboo. Not that it would stop me." Morgan said, and took a deep breath.

"In a way, it's my fault. Sure, she got herself wounded, but I'm the idiot that didn't notice she was bleeding out after I teleported all of the bone shards from her shoulder until she was passing out. I was tired but that's just an excuse." Morgan's normally even-tempered tone was flooded with frustration, and most of it was pointed at himself.

"This part is always the hardest." He said, and proceeded to open a ration bar and devour it. Kraast he was hungry.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr nodded grimly. Waiting. You always felt like you should be doing something. Then you look for that something, and with enough idle time, it can drive you mad. From his years as a mechanic, it was the part of his work that he never handled well.

He paused mid-stride to the bridge, and backtracked to the lift, pulling Morgan along.

"Come on."

[Morgan Evanar]

Right now Morgan needed some kind of release, and whatever Cirr had in mind was probably better than the ping-pong scenario games that he played with MARCUS on a daily basis.

He followed Cirr, but his brain was a screaming mass of thought, of possibility and emotion. Mara was so different than anyone he had been with. That sort of impulsiveness usually got someone killed on Nar Shadda, or you rose to the top. Morgan hadn't played it safe himself, but almost every job since he sliced formally became a calculated risk involving at least hours of study. Mara simply went. In a way, she had been lucky. That beast very well could have killed her. Their relationship was largely a reflection of her whirlwind nature, Morgan realized. He had no idea where things were going, either. How much of it was a product of a mutual biological need/desire?

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

The Captain compelled his Jedi companion to follow him to the galley, where the cooks were preparing the midday chow. The mess was full of the sounds of men at work, and clanging metal pans. Cirr whistled sharply.

"Eiyha!"

A human cook stepped out from the kitchen, wiping his hands with a kitchen towel.

"Yes Captain?"

Rank had its privileges, as did being a member of a species that took its carnivorous habits seriously. Cirrsseeto maintained a decent stock of the real thing, for when artificial formed protein rations wouldn't cut it.

"Two, errr...thrree bantha steaks."

He glanced back to Morgan.

"How bad do you want them burrned?"

[Morgan Evanar]

"I want it to make pained noise when I stick it." He said, as if anything different was an insult. Rare. Buttery. Steak. Morgan liked to know that he was eating an animal. He wanted all of the delicious. If you cooked it too much, it became a uniform brown... protein patty. There was enough of that without

Hell, he could eat raw with no effect, but there was something magical about a proper rare steak, just a little browned on the very edges, with a bright pink middle.

Now he wanted wine. That was moving into the realm of the unreasonable, he felt.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr looked to the cook, who seemed to get the gist of it, and nodded.

"Also, my usual. Therre's also a bottle jin the stockrroom. Whjite, wjith rred glyphs. Brrjing that."

The cook's face brightened with recognition.

"Oh yeah, that. I know the one. What is that, anyway? We got it on Dac and it's been bugging me."

The Captain's face suddenly became inscrutable.

"That's...tough to explajin. Somethjing frrom home."

The cook disappeared for a few minutes. First came a cage of thimiarr rodents and the strange bottle with two glasses. A minute later, a tray of perfectly rare bantha steaks. The cook held up utensils expectantly, and the Captain nodded and gestured to Morgan. Taking the bottle and the cage, he moved to the nearest table, expecting his friend to follow.

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan took a deep breath. Sure, he'd eaten rodents before, but it wasn't his preference. You'll eat damn near anything when you're hungry. Cirr had been out of the cluster long enough (and lived with Sanis long enough) to know that most other species didn't enjoy live rodents. Maybe Transdoshans or something. What about wookies? Who knows.

The pair sat at the table, the smell of precisely charred flesh wafted up. It was intoxicating. If Mara had managed to kill that herd beast without injury, Morgan would have taken it back with them. He'd done some study on how to kill and bleed similar animals. That had fallen by the wayside when...

Morgan took another deep breath.

"Thanks. This, this is fantastic." He gave Cirr a genuine smile.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirrsseeto held a hand up.

"Don't thank me yet."

He gestured to the bottle, pushing it toward Morgan, along with one of the glasses. The other glass he left inverted, and pushed away from him.

"Be carreful wjith that. jIt's frrom home. Kuuro'jeeta'ai. Don't know how jit goes down wjith humans, but jif you'rre anythjing ljike we arre, then you'll want to clearr yourr schedule."

Cirr carefully popped the seal on the bottle, and gave it a careful sniff, and an instant grimace as he turned to place a finger under his nose to prevent a sneeze. Recovering, he carefully measured two fingers of something that looked like milk. He eased the bottle down and carefully slid the glass over to Morgan.

[Morgan Evanar]

"Well, some things are different with me." He took the glass into his right hand and wafted some of it toward him. Morgan's nose scrunched, and then relaxed. It smelled spicy and like a forest. It had kick, whatever it was.

He took a sip.

"Not bad." He took another sip and gave an appreciative nod.

Morgan and Cirr started into the steaks. Morgan actually felt better. He drank more of the mystery drink.

"Hey. what's in this stuff?" Morgan's eyes were dilated.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

The Captain gave a little shrug.

"Not surre about everrythjing that goes jin, but Jeeta sap jis used, whjich affects us jin, uh, djifferrent ways. Me? Makes me happy, and jI stay up all njight, orr untjil enough alcohol brrjings me down."

As he talked, he examined the bottle, rotating it as he read the glyphs.

"Some people get crreatjive. Some want to have a lot of sex. Some have a mjinorr frreakout. Guess jit's yourr own perrsonal vacatjion jin a bottle."

Cirr reached into the cage, pulling out a thimiarr, and dispatched it with a clean bite to sever the head.

"Ejitherr way, jI'm on duty and you'rre not, so jit's on you to fjinjish that bottle. Guess jI can't orrderr you, but consjiderr jit a strrong suggestjion."

Setting the half-eaten rodent aside on a plate, Cirr studied his friend's expression. From his eyes, it looked like something in the jeeta was taking hold, but how much was anyone's guess.

"So, you and Marra. We haven't talked about that."

[Morgan Evanar]

"Yeah. It's a thing. She's physiologically complicated." He stated matter-of-factly.

"Apparently some of our sheet based quality time kept some of her complications in check." Cirr's ears drooped slightly. It wasn't the answer he was looking for.

"It's a thing. We're... I dunno what we are. Adults seeking physical release, I guess. We haven't talked about it much." He took a deep breath and took another drink.

"I've never been close to anyone like her before. She's a wind. An impulsive heedless wind sometimes." Morgan admitted.

"It's different. I mean, what do you want to know?" Morgan knew he was rambling but he was too high to care.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"Well, that about sums jit."

Stuffing the remainder of the current thimiarr in his mouth, Cirr chewed and swallowed, using the chow time to align his thoughts. What was he trying to say or ask? Talking about relationships with forrda was always strange territory to him.

"Back home, they'd say jif you gai arround wjith someone else herre orr therre, that was underrstood. Well, not for us, but you know. Women."

He shrugged at the strangeness of parsing the cultural relativity, and continued.

"But yeah. Gai arround a few tjimes wjith the same one, that's naturral. But once jit becomes, you know, a rregularr thjing, you'd betterr starrt thjinkjing about gjivjing them a urr'aiytaa, err, collarr, you call jit?"

Frustrated, the Captain shook his head.

"Not sayjing any of that though. Not rreally. But, jI'm wonderrjing jif you've thought of that?"

[Morgan Evanar]

"We haven't made anything official. I mean, I know we're physically exclusive but, well, yeah. I think the human, well, non-Cizerack pace for this sort of thing is typically measured in years. I was with Rhianna much longer than I've been with Mara. Very different relationships." He explained, and sort of knew he was talking past his fellinoid friend.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"Yearrs?"

Cirr's ears twitched, and his eyes went wide.

"Kosa. jI mean, jI knew you djid thjings djifferrently, but that's bjizarrre."

He waved his hands, dismissing his thoughts.

"jI guess jI just wanted to know. jI don't know why. Maybe jI'm just prrojectjing. Stupjid of me to thjink jit's ljike that everrywherre, rrjight?"

[Mara Tallen]

The stench of the accelerant hit her senses like a sledgehammer. Unrefined oil of some sort, she thought, taking a deep breath in spite of her strong desire to gag. Felacatian senses could sometimes be a curse as much as a gift.

But there was something else there. Lingering, just below the taste of the oil in the air. She paused, a hand extending to stop Jack from moving forward, placed against the center of his chest. Her partner for the last two years, he understood well what she needed in that moment and raised his own hand to halt the rest of the squad.

If she knew where he was, she could better concentrate and give herself over to her beast without needing to shift. On the flip side, she knew Jack Dekarte as well as he knew her. A shake of her head quieted the question she knew he was about to ask, but she didn’t have an answer…not yet, anyway.

Another deep, tasting breath…Cresh-Four. That was the strange undercurrent beneath the stench of raw oil. She ordered the fall back with a severe gesture of her free hand, something the squad obeyed with due speed. Carefully retreating the way they had come, they left little trace of their passing as they regrouped at the rendezvous point a klick away.

Once the rest of the unit had joined them and their commander was listening, she spoke. “Alright. The tree-line reeks of oil…I know, there’s a refinery not too far away and that shouldn’t be a surprise, but it was too pungent to be run-off. It was strong, and steady…had to be the raw stuff. Under it though, was Cresh-Four. I could barely smell it.”

“They know we’re here, then.”

“That would be my guess, Sir. They’ve probably dug shallow trenches and laced them with deadfall and oil, with the Cresh-Four ready to detonate and send everything up in flames. I’ve seen it before.”

“Alright. Khant, get a message to command. Locke, Benton, Hobbes, sensors up. Let’s assume we’re going to get hit and soon. Dekarte, with me. Tallen, do something about the tree line. Hume, take…”

Their commander kept issuing orders, but Mara stopped paying attention after he’d given her a task. She divested herself of most of her kit, quickly and efficiently, keeping only her shatter guns in their thigh holsters and handing everything else off to the men around her who’d be able to use it. Grabbing the matte black painted explosives case, she slung it over her shoulders and shifted into her feline form.

Quiet and able to cover far more ground, she’d be able to lace the tree line with mines and perhaps see to disabling some of the trench bombs. Jack paused at her side for a moment and tucked a modified comm device in her ear. Mostly so she could hear what was going on, but she could also use it to have them track her if she needed a hand. She lifted her head and winked a dark amber eye at her partner before disappearing into the darkness.

It was something she’d done dozens of times before. Plant a mine, activate it, shift back into feline form, find another spot, and repeat. Granted there were more intricate steps to take so she didn’t blow herself up, but that was it, effectively. The trench bombs were the difficult part. Disarming the intricately wired Cresh-Four that was meant to incite the conflagration would be time consuming, especially since there was no traditional det cap attached.

Just a tiny sensor pack in the center, blinking with a dull red light once she took the cover off. Alright, she mused, a remote detonator. Short-range, if she had to guess, by the lack of a receiver on the outside.

Short range. Remote detonator. The trench bombs weren’t meant to keep them from crashing through the trees, they were meant to keep them penned in. That was why their placement seemed so off.

She tapped the comm on her wrist and heard nothing but static. Assuming they were being jammed, she carefully shoved the last remaining mines and the matte black case into the edge of the trench. A large glass tube was snapped in half and tossed on top, its powdered contents settling everywhere.

Taking off at a dead run, she counted until she deemed she was far enough away and pressed the detonator in her palm. The explosion was impressive, even by her standards, setting not only the trench ablaze, but every surrounding tree in a twenty foot radius. The flames were a bright, unmistakable shade of green that arced high into the air; a warning her commander would understand.

She shifted back to her feline form and took a direct route back to their position. The sounds of the ambush reached her ears before the sights of it did. Shouts, rapid gunfire, the tell-tale thumps of grenade launchers. Rage suffused her feline features and drew an echoing roar out of her throat as she lept onto the back of a storm trooper and bit through the flimsy jointed armor to break his neck.

The air was ripe with the smell of burning flesh and fresh-spilled blood. Her beast reveled in it even as she shifted back into her human form and caught the KX-80 Benton threw her way. She’d barely begun firing before an explosion ripped through the air, sending blue smoke cascading through the area. She’d never been so glad to see Aurek company’s trademark in her life.

A moment later and that fierce pleasure burned like so much ice in her veins. Jack stumbled through the smoke and dropped to his knees as she reached his side, blinking up at her slowly, with confusion in his blue eyes. His mouth opened as if he were going to speak, only he couldn’t through the blood. She tried not to look at the mess of blood and splintered bone that was his chest, instead she heard herself screaming for a medic even though she knew it was too late.

The only outward indication of her nightmare was the faint movement of her eyes behind her closed lids. Nothing more, given the heavy sedation holding her in a restorative coma, and preventing her from waking up with a scream in her throat.

The monitors above her head, however, soon beeped with alarm as her temperature began to climb. It reached fever-grade quickly enough, a sheen of sweat glistening across Mara's brow. Morgan might have teleported the shards out of her shoulder, but the splintered antler had left behind an infection that now raged in her system.

[Vek Vek]

A small beep.

In the world of naval combat, alarms were noted with loud klaxons, but in the world of medicine, it was often the small and innocuous that held grave news.

Vek Vek looked up from his desk, and dashed over to the bed where Mara Tallen lay. He quickly double-checked readings, and shook his head.

"No. No no no. Temperature abnormal. Abnormal!"

With Mara's blood supply decimated from loss, the t-cells and other macrophages the immune system used to ward off infection were unable to respond in force. Her body had to use other means at its disposal, in this case to adjust the core temperature, which was now at 108 degrees.

"Infection introduced, resistant to benchmark antibiotic treatment. Need to...to...regulate core temperature."

Quickly too, before the Felacatian's own immune response cooked her to death. Vek looked for a solution, and found it in the far wall of his infirmary. There, six cubby-hole doors on the far end were held secure with latches. They were what amounted to Novgorod's morgue. Each door led to a rack that slid out on rails, allowing for cold storage of a body. It would have to do.

The trouble was moving her onto the slab. Vek Vek wasn't known for feats of strength.

He didn't waste any time, slapping at the wall comm.

"Medical emergency in the infirmary. Morgan Evanar to the infirmary."

[Morgan Evanar]

"A little. It's what you grew up with. That becomes your norm."

"Well, until the Empire was rolling along, for most humans, a long courtship was about aligning desires and resources. Women and men were treated equally. It was as much about partnership as anything else. I'm generalizing, of course, but..."

"Medical emergency in the infirmary. Morgan Evanar to the infirmary."

"Mara." Was all he said.

The look of worry was instant. Morgan closed his eyes as he stood and then vanished. He stood next to her for a moment, and then looked down. Her skin was clammy. He gently placed an oversized hand over her forehead. His frown deepened.

"She's burning up." He announced.

The doctor whirled. A sliver of the moment was dedicated to the mystery of Morgan's sudden appearance, and the rest was entirely dedicated to Mara's well being.

"Pick her up, follow me." The doctor instructed. Morgan cradled Mara, normally so full of energy. She was running along the cliff's edge of death. She felt small in his arms, small and fragile. Mara could be vulnerable, but never fragile.

"Here." Another instruction. Morgan obeyed. A moment later, his mouth opened to protest. She wasn't dead. Not yet. But he could feel the cold, and see the wisps of moisture in the air. He saw the sense in it all. Vek Vek gently pushed him aside.

"Is... is she..." Morgan couldn't finish the sentence. He felt the heat and dampness under his eyes.

[Vek Vek]

"No."

Not interested in dispensing bedside manner in the best of times, Vek Vek brushed past Morgan and headed to his terminal, checking readings from vitals monitors he'd placed on Mara.

"We have time. Refrigeration should alleviate core temperature spike, at least critically."

He blinked, looking at nothing, but his mind was moving ten steps ahead.

"No, no...not ideal."

A fit of typing, then a pause, then sifting through data on the holoviewer.

"Felacatian physiology affords little error margin. Metabolism and immune response...aggressive. Could isolate tissue and clone, but time prohibitive."

The doctor frowned.

"Nanotherapy. Perhaps. Difficult quandry. Preset to a handful of species. Can reprogram, but requires protein mapping. Alternative is aggressive broad-spectrum antibiotic introduction to patient's system. Side effects unpleasant and possibly dangerous."

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan's head bowed, and he covered his eyes. He was paralyzed, and could feel fluid starting to run his nose.

He took a deep breath and fought back.

"I have..." He took another breath.

"I have an exceptional immune system. Can it help?" he asked.

[Vek Vek]

"Not without proper protein analogue sequence. Introduction would simply manifest as virulent pathogen, and patient's own body would reject. Catastrophic consequences."

Back to the same dilemma. Vek inhaled deeply, closing his eyes to fully insulate his mind for a moment of deep thinking.

"Wait!"

Eyes snapped open and he furiously types on his keyboard, bringing up new data.

"Protein sequence. Analogous. Have seen a similar cellular structure in archives."

The Doctor pored through his databanks, at last coming upon an entry in the crew medical logs that read s'Ilancy, Loklorien.

"Binary stage metamorph. Calculating protein congruency."

It only took a scant few seconds to turn out 81.5.

Vek Vek reclined in his seat and pondered the figure.

"Probability for success, high. But not certain.

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan sniffed and looked at Mara, and then at the Doctor.

"Binary stage metamorph." He repeated, his mind on autopilot.

"s'Ilancy?" He asked, a mix of confusion and concern.

"She's persona non grata right now." Forever, far as he was concerned. Morgan stated while he wiped his eyes and nose with his sleeve. Stupid, considering the environment and situation.

81.5% was good odds. Of course, an almost 20% chance for death, but without it, those odds went up.

[Vek Vek]

"Is she?"

Was he making conversation? Vek shook his head. Not important. Inconsequential.

"Located. Drawer 17-A in the cold storage unit. If you will."

He gestured vaguely to the same wall Mara was located at, and the larger doors to the right that were the walk-in refrigeration unit.

"When protein sequence isolated, can 'infect', as it were, compatible sample to exhibit same protein sequence. If successful, immune response averted."

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan nodded moved, mindful of his left sleeve, a portion of which was coated in a mix of saline and mucous. He opened the drawer and scanned the carefully labeled vials. Blood samples. Of course, that made perfect sense. She was on the Novgorod right before everything had gone to hell.

"Right." He said, and carefully pulled the vial clear from the rest of the samples. There was so much hope in such a small vessel.

[Vek Vek]

Working quickly, Vek slipped the vial into a machine at the console adjacent to his desk. He then turned to Morgan, snapping his fingers as if suddenly remembering.

"Needle, large bore. Circumvent graphene. Right."

Rummaging in his sharps dispenser, he found a suitable needle, and attached it to his collector. A line was run from the collector to a sterile bag, which he hung from an IV tree.

"Need to analyze your own protein. Find common interface."

He glanced back to the cubby hole where Mara lay.

"Could take time. Concern over kidney failure..."

His voice trailed off, and he found himself once more. His small mouth set in an expression of grim determination.

"Preferable to death."

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan had read enough to know there were ways around kidney failure. None of them involved a highly active lifestyle.

"Whatever you need." He said, and pulled his jacket clear, mindful of the mess he had made. He closed his eyes when the needle closed in, and exhaled slowly. The needle went through the upper layers of the skin easily enough, but there was a distinctly higher effort for the Doctor at the semi-permeable graphene. He felt the needle embed into one of his veins. Morgan opened his eyes. Deep red blood swirled into the container, seemingly in slow motion. Once filled, the needle withdrew. A drop welled up. The needle was quickly replaced by a small bandaid.

He was distantly aware of a dull pain where the needle had entered his arm. His eyes lifted and located his blood, now being examined for usefulness.

[Vek Vek]

The Doctor furiously typed away, isolating protein strings in both samples. The lupine sample emerged as a hologram at his left, and Morgan's to his right. Incongruities were clear between the samples.

"Now to find protein analogue. Acceptable to your blood and matching the interfaces of the lupine sample."

Vek Vek's eyes narrowed as he looked at the protein matrix.

"Fortunately amino acid compilation is feasable. Will need one hour to fabricate enough for a suitable transfusion. Can speed binding with drawn blood using nanotechnology. Time not on our side if we wait longer."

[Mara Tallen]

She’d never dropped a weapon in her life. But she dropped that KX-80 like it was white-hot, so she could catch Jack before he hit the ground. Heavy as he was, she buckled to her knees, the echoing hollers for a medic echoing in the air around them.

So much blood. Too much. And the white sheen of sharp, shattered bones. She shook her head, pressing one half-gloved, trembling hand to the wound. “Jack, you gorram idiot…stay with me. The medic’s coming.” The words emerged strangled and tight with palpable fear.

With what little energy he had left, Jack shook his head, bloody froth trickling from the corner of his mouth. The sounds of the battle faded as her awareness narrowed, arms wrapping around Jack tightly. He fell limp a moment later, his heart stopped in mid-beat. ‘No’ fell past her lips in an endless, excruciating mantra as she let Jack go, a pair of field medics starting their methodical if frantic work.

But she knew that look. The glance that passed between them before they each looked up at her.

She clamped a hand over her mouth for a moment, halting the inhuman sound almost as soon as it had begun. Staggering to her feet, she looked utterly lost for a moment before a nearby detonation sent her back into full alert. Instead of diving for her discarded KX, she spun and shifted into her feline form. There was no time to dwell on the gaping hole in her heart, her beast wanted out.

She could hold the pain at bay - lock it away until she had the luxury of time and privacy to mourn. That was the escape her beast offered. So she willingly gave herself over and tucked away the human that couldn’t think past the pain. Jack wasn’t just her partner, he was her best friend. A big brother she counted on to keep her grounded.

Someone she failed to protect, when she had sworn she’d see him home safe.

Tears trickled from her closed eyes, hardly noticeable against the clamminess of her skin. The cold air swirled around her, visible whorls of warmth rising from her limp form. While the infection still raged through her system, the cold locker was at least having the desired effect of keeping her body temperature in slightly better check.

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan looked at the protein sequences with a dim understanding brought by a solid basic education, curiosity, and an agile mind.

"Thats... good." He said slowly, not out of uncertainty that it was feasible, but from uncertainty about the entire situation. This was a difficult thing, combining two unique biologies to treat a third. Freaks, all of them. Loklorien, perhaps the last of her kind, born of ancient genetic manipulation as a form of defense (or offense? He doubted anyone would know the truth), Mara, a walking taboo, and Morgan, the offspring of a discarded experiment.

He stood over her, the cold air interfacing with the hot air from her nostrils in faint breaths into light gray wisps. He delicately removed her auburn hair from her forehead.

Morgan took a deep breath.

[Vek Vek]

The hour ticked by painfully slow, and Vek Vek fastidiously monitored the synthesis. Right now, it was only a pint of blood, but that pint, if it worked, would buy them enough time to let Mara fight off the infection without risking organ failure from lack of blood. That time could be used to repeat the process, allowing the Felacatian the chance to fight a fair fight.

"We're ready"

They were words they'd both waited too long to hear. The Doctor moved the bag of fresh blood from the machine to an IV stand, which he wheeled close to the morgue cubbyholes. Pulling out the slab that held Mara's body, he quickly prepped her arm, found a vein, and established a line.

"Will bring her core temperature up, which will in turn accelerate her metabolism. Infection more active, but immune response, moreso. Hopefully."

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan rubbed Mara's extremities and held each for a minute to ease the burden on the rest of her body. Until she hit room temperature any insulation would be working against her. They were in the realm of uncertainty and he would do anything he could that would raise her odds of successful recovery.

[Vek Vek]

"Third cabinet, second level. Insulation blanket."

Morgan was looking for anything to contribute to the fight, and the Doctor certainly understood that drive. A life was on the line. If you didn't do your utmost to save a life, it was a betrayal of the highest form.

"Temperature rising."

He tapped a wall console, bringing up Mara's temperature reading as they worked.

"Fever symptoms expected. If temperature reaches 110 degrees, must consider alternative course."

[Morgan Evanar]

The little bursts of activity from Morgan kept him focused on being productive instead of desperate. He knew, medically speaking, that he was in way over his head. He placed the blanket over Mara. He carefully tucked it under her feet

"What's the alternative course?" He asked.

[Vek Vek]

"Aggressive multi-spectrum antibiotic therapy."

The Doctor brought up a holoscreen for Morgan to view. Right now they were wait and see, and had time to discuss the prognosis.

"Took a sample of blood at trauma site. See infectious pathogen here, here, and here. Isolated. Analyzed. Microbe is gram negative to conventional treatment."

The Durwi paused and elaborated.

"Resistances. Naturally occurring. Without extensive knowledge of the planet's xenobiology, must consider many options to destroy pathogen. Warfare analogy: carpet bombing."

[Morgan Evanar]

"Which would also destroy the helpful bacteria in her body, especially her digestive tract. Isn't that stuff hard on everything?" Morgan noted. There was only so much they could do. He wasn't a healer like Serena or Rhianna.

He took a breath and focused. There wasn't any reason why he couldn't teleport bacteria out, but there seemed to be a genuine element of difficulty regarding physical entanglement. His gift seemed to be more bound by universal laws than some of the other Jedi's.

"At least it's an option."

[Vek Vek]

"One I'm loathe to implement until necessary."

The Doctor looked at the thermo reading. They were now passing into 99 degrees. 99.1....99.2. Vek Vek leaned over her prone figure, tilting her head from side to side as he felt just beneath her jaw.

"Nodular swelling. This is reassuring. Immune response activating. Pulse..."

He glanced to the vitals readout.

"Weak, but measurable."

Vek Vek gestured to another cabinet.

"Second shelf. Breath mask. Will introduce a more rich oxygen mixture."

[Mara Tallen]

She bowed her head as she stood there, rain pouring from the blackened sky. The storm raged overhead, but still she stood there. Staring, quiet and still, down at the square stone that rested on the ground. Simply carved, it bore a traditional vine motif, wound around a family name. There was no first name, no date, or other identifier. Just…Dekarte.

Fingers rose to clasp the black-bordered tag hanging around her neck, clasping it tightly with a soft sigh. It had been almost two years since she’d lost him. In that year her entire life had been turned upside down and dragged through the fires of Mustafar. Well. Maybe that was a bit melodramatic.

A faint ghost of a smile tugged at her lips. Jack would have called her on that bullshit if she’d voiced it aloud. Would have smacked her upside the head and given her the stare that made her feel like a little kid who’d misbehaved. He always knew, somehow, just how to pull her out of the funks she fell into…always knew how to make her think instead of simply react.

Gods, she missed him.

The pain was still there, she mused, but two years had dulled its sharp edges considerably. She could remember him now without emotion constricting her chest. Could call up the bits of advice that would get her through just about any situation – and hear them again in the wry, warm tone that he always used.

She picked up the familiar scent long before the crunch of the pathway’s gravel heralded an arrival.

Holding perfectly still, she waited until the woman had stopped beside her. The woman’s voice echoed first, after a brief pause.

“Didn’t think you’d ever come.”

“I didn’t know if I’d be welcome.” She replied softly, fingers rising to push a sodden curl back from her cheek.

“You wouldn’t have been at the funeral, if I’m going to be honest. I was angry.”

“I would have come anyway if they’d let me bring him home.”

“I know.” The slender blonde sighed quietly.

“I’m sorry, Ly…I swore to you I’d bring him home safe. And I didn’t. And not a day passes that I don’t wish I could change places with him.”

“There were days, at first, when I wished for the same thing. Months I wasted being angry at you for…everything. After about six months, I sat down and actually watched that last holo-message he sent. Watched his face, his smile…listened to his voice…watched him tilt his head and snicker as he yelled at you for doing something boneheaded just off-screen…”

“…I tripped. Over a tree root.”

“Graceful. But it wasn’t until that point that I could admit it wasn’t your fault. He loved you like a little sister, you know.”

She smiled again, the expression a little less faint this time. Dark amber eyes glanced over to meet a pair of bright blue. “He’s the one that started calling me Hairball, by the way. And the damn name’s stuck all these years.”

“I’m the one that gave him the idea.”

A peal of laughter escaped her lips as she tucked her hands into the pocket of her jacket. “Why am I not surprised? I still remember the day he introduced me to you.”

“Oh, you mean the day I so tactfully asked if you were flexible enough to lick yourself?”

“That would be the day. I do believe I shifted and demonstrated that I could.”

“Yes…yes you did.” Ly failed at suppressing her smile, lifting fingers to press lightly against her lips.

“Yeah…that was not among my finest moments.”

They both fell silent for several minutes, lost to their own thoughts as they gazed down at the grave marker. The rain had let up, and the night sky was beginning to clear to a field of stars overhead.

“Mara, why did it take you two years to come visit him?”

“Mostly…work.” She began, knowing the woman would understand precisely what she meant. “They kept me so busy I never had any time to really deal with it. Also, I didn’t know if I could face you. Its…why I didn’t come to the house. I was just going to visit and leave.”

Ly wrinkled her nose and bumped her hip against hers, linking her arm through as well. “Well, you’re coming back for dinner. And you’ll stay the night, too.”

Beneath her closed lids, Mara’s eyes slowed their rapid movement, and eventually stopped altogether. The tears had stopped as well, leaving her skin warm to the touch but mercifully no longer damp with sweat.

100.2…

100.4…

100.9…

Mara’s breathing grew deep and even as her faint heartbeat grew more stable. Her temperature stopped rising at an even 101 degrees - still a fever, but now a beneficial one working in concert with the synthetic blood. The monitors chirped and beeped softly around her as the last of the readings came down to a normal level and indicated that the worst had passed.