Calm in the Storm (Flashback)
Listening to the blaster fire, explosions and shrieking of monsters from outside, Harridin reflected that at least the commander of the Republic base on Ord Mantell had been telling the truth when heād said that this posting would be mostly ship- or base-bound. Of course, no one had ever said anything about Sith monster nerfshit dropping out of the sky to engage the base directly, but that part of it had even managed to throw the eclectic bunch of Forceys who ran the place off their stride a bit. Fighting eldritch horrors might be the average day for most of these people, but usually the horrors didnāt come to them.
Harridin also hadnāt expected to be quite as in-charge as he ended up being. This, he reflected in a quiet āhurry up and waitā moment in the fortified medbay, was what happened when your chief medical officer was also your field medic, a Force-healer and a Flame-wielding Jedi. It helped, though, from his perspective; with a healer like that in the field, while enough cases came in needing a surgeon, most had at least had some preliminary treatment, leaving them in a state where one less-than-perfect move wouldnāt be the difference between life and death.
When a soldier came in on a hoverstretcher with the Lead Apothecary refusing to budge further than armās length from him, a trembling hand hovered over the manās heavily bruised head, Harridin could tell where his primary focus had to be. He strode over as med techs lifted the patient onto a surgical table and barked, āStatus.ā
He hadnāt known Apothecary Fyet-Greystorm for very long, but he knew that normally she would have meeped when snapped at. Still, when it came to matters medical, all that shy stuff got shoved to one side, so she gave as good as she got. āSevere concussion and subarachnoid haemorrhage resulting in obstructive hydrocephalusā, she told him, hand still poised over the manās head. āI can keep the damage to a minimum for a time, but I canāt do any kind of repair with the increased intracranial pressure.ā
Harridin winced a bit. āCranial shunt?ā
Jallira shook her head. āEVD is the safer procedure since the haemorrhage can be repaired.ā
That got Harridin to relax a little, if not by much. External ventricular drains were one thing. Permanent drainage tubes in someoneās head were something else again. Still, both involved him pointing precision laser saws at someoneās skull, and while he would be the first to admit that he was a damn fine surgeon in general, he was no neurosurgeon. He was going to have to be incredibly on-game for this...
The little Jediās voice was somewhat strained - no surprise, given her current exertions - but kind and supportive as it knew how to be, and it was the most heād heard her say without meeping or hesitating that didnāt involve a direct diagnosis since theyād met. It helped. Seeing that she wasnāt going to be able to do whatever Forcey hoodoo she was doing to keep the patient alive much longer helped more.
No pressure, Harridin thought. Nooooooo pressure. With that, he picked up the laser saw and got started.
Several hours later, Harridin stepped out of medbay with a mug in each hand and a medkit over his shoulder. Theyād done good work, all told. The drain had gone in with no problem, the privateās subarachnoid haemorrhage repaired, and both Corporal and Jedi had moved on without a hitch. She always knew where she was needed, and seemed to use recognised medical techniques as well as her Forcey stuff. Whatever biochemistry background she had made her a fine anaesthetist too - the kind he wished heād had in his residency.
It was only after the last of the patients were treated and Jallira had gone out to get some air that he actually registered the Lead Apothecaryās shredded robes, bruises and mild limp. Now that he had, he figured that his duty wasnāt quite done yet. His time on Ord Mantell had taught him that anyone who was upright and able to get the job done shouldnāt be turned away in an emergency, so heād ignored her injuries for a time. Still, the healer in him wasnāt going to let that fly for long.
Jallira sat on a rock outside medbay, indulging in that deep, controlled breathing he recognised well enough from his own experience dealing with stress, post-traumatic or otherwise. He sat down beside her, not too close, and handed over one of the mugs. āAlright over there?ā
She nodded, taking the mug with a grateful little smile. āI ... just needed a moment, was all,ā she explained. āMy empathy gifts ... it gets ... overwhelming, sometimes.ā Not wanting to touch the idea of trying to deal with critically injured patients when you could theoretically feel all of their pain, Harridin scooted a little further away, just in case he was hurting her by accident. To his surprise, he got a tiny little squeak of a giggle and a shake of her head. āYou ... this is fine. You emanate calm, for the most part. In a storm of ... emotional input, it is...ā She hesitated a long moment, blushing as red as her hair and clearly having no idea why, before finishing with, ā.............nice.ā
Since he didnāt want to touch that either, for various reasons he wasnāt in any mental state to cope with yet, Harridin just nodded. āGood, ācos I also brought kolto patches and such. You might be able to heal all Forcey but takes less out of you to do it the old-fashioned way, yeah?ā
Heād almost expected an argument, given what he knew of her medical history. To his surprise, he didnāt get one. Instead, he got a nod and a tiny Jedi tentatively scooting over closer to him before removing her outer robe to show some fairly impressive claw marks and a painful-looking set of bruises. Wincing, Harridin got to work.
ā...How do Sand People find their way around the Dune Sea?ā
Harridin paused, trying to figure out if it was a serious question or not. With Jallira, it was hard to tell. Since he didnāt know what she was getting at either way, he just asked, āHow?ā
ā...........tusken radar.ā
While his amusement didnāt stop him from treating his patient, Rilus Harridin grinned, with the occasional chuckle, through the entire rest of the treatment.