In the Ghetto (D1 MA, Expecting)

[Ashla Vyliis]

Ashla's face grows dark. She then bows her head and mumbles something. You're close enough to hear this time to recognize it as the Jedi Code. When she looks back up, she's calmer. "There is no need to rub it in. I have said you're impressive. You're better than me." She looks back at the patient, mainly to avoid eye contact. "I was hoping you would be some know-it-all who was shitty at his job." Deep breath. "But I was wrong." She shakes her head. "There is no reason to patronize me. Any guide or someone else who has live in Nar Shaddaa could have found this place for you."

Ashla takes out her lightsaber and seems to inspect it. "Pride is not befitting of a Jedi. Of course, the Order is filled with prideful assholes. Not that means I shouldn't try to be better than them." At this point, it's reasonable to wonder if Ashla is talking Cole, herself, or her lighsaber. She puts it away and turns her attention back to Cole.

"Sorry for that. Pride is one of my.... problem areas. You did a great job that I could only dream of doing. You couldn't save the leg, but I didn't even consider it. Had a few things gone a little differently, you could have. And I know you mean your words sincerely. It was just my pride that would not let me hear them at first." She says it calmly, but Cole will be able to tell it is difficult for her.

[Cole Ormont]

He runs a hand through his hair, what is it about this woman that is so skroging disarming? Much like their conversation on holochat, Cole lets his guard down, concern furrowing his brow, "Ashla," his lips press together in a thin line.

But it wasn't any guide or local, he wants to say. You didn't have to help me, you could have left me to alleys of the district, he wants to say. But he sees how hard this is for her. He wonders what she really wants, if the Jedi code was helping her or if it was her pride forcing her into the mold of being the best damn Jedi she could be.

"I'm sorry if I sounded condescending," his tone, and his expression is sincere. "I didn't ask you here to prove that I was better than you," he remembers her suspicions and the ways she had twisted his words before, and knows he must be clear, "I wanted to see what you could do, what you know. You must have some skill, a kidney transplant isn't a simple procedure in a hospital with a full complement of staff and general anaesthesia."

This is the part where she slices me in half with that lightsaber and takes off with my gear and credits, now that she knows I'm weak.

[Ashla Vyliis]

"No. You didn't. Like I said, it was my pride that was frustrating me. I've been reading those texts. I watched you. Yeah. Some of it, I learned, but it's the damn Force. I was using the damn Force this whole time. I thought I was becoming a good doctor. I took pride in that. But I've realized that I blindly used some sort of mystical bullshit I don't care about and don't want. You are actually a good doctor with skill without some weird magic in your blood." Ashla looks down.

"I'm sorry for how I acted."

Ashla looks up again. "Well, just now. I was totally right before."

[Cole Ormont]

He can't help it, he laughs warmly as she recovers, "I don't get you one bit. Even if the Force helped you, that was still you. I mean, shit," he runs his fingers through his hair, "you're the one that wants to be a doctor, that's not Jedi magic," he makes a sarcastic twinkling gesture with his fingers.

"I didn't try to save that patient's leg because I'm a," he makes air quotes with his fingers, "better doctor than you. That's down to having the luxury of choice. I've never had to cut my losses, there's always been someone more experienced standing behind me, ready to take over the second I fuck up."

[Ashla Vyliis]

Ashla shrugs. "It will be one thing when I can control it. But if it was guiding me, I was just it's puppet."

Ashla looks around. "Well, that's no longer the case now. I don't think they've had a doctor with more knowledge than first aid in a long time."

[Cole Ormont]

He barks a short, derisive laugh, "and I promptly fucked it up."

Cole looks around. "You can go, if you want. I don't know how to make the Force obey you," and quite frankly, if she's pointing that magic at patients and helping them, then I'd call her the one in charge, not the other way around.

"I'll think about it, maybe I'll work out something. But I'm not going to make you hang around if you don't want to."

[Ashla Vyliis]

"Patient is alive. More than most would be able to say." Ashla shrugs. "My master didn't require me to be here. I am here because I want to learn. I want to be a doctor. Regardless of the Force."

[Cole Ormont]

Picking up the fusion lantern, Cole turns it off and puts it away, some of the feeling returning to his toes. He moves closer to the next cot, and that guarded, neutral expression is back, he indicates for Ashla to set about treating whom she can.

Waving the compact mediscanner over the patient, he consults the palm-sized diagnostic computer. Thoughtfully, as he administers an injection, "do the Jedi not train medics? is lightsaber-wielding battle-knight the only career path?" He keeps his voice low, for only Ashla to hear, giving his patient a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder and a smile that doesn't reach his eyes.

[Ashla Vyliis]

Ashla is silent until they move onto the next patient. "Of course, they do. You wouldn't understand." She shrugs. "At least, I don't think you would. I was happy. I was truly happy for the first time since my father died. I knew who I was, and I enjoyed it. Now, it's all gone. And the people who took it from me expect me to become one of them. I want to keep that part of me." As they get to the next patient, Ashla goes about looking him over. "This one's here for the drugs. Let's move on."

[Cole Ormont]

Cole shakes his head, "we treat them all;" there isn't a lot he can do, but he administers something for the fever, and a relaxant to make the patient more comfortable. "No, I probably can't understand. But maybe I know a little something like it. I signed on to the Navy for the minimum four-year contract because Group Commander Ormont threatened to disown me. Twelve months in I was told I could sign on for another four or wash out."

He pushes a hand through his hair as they move on to the next patient, "shit, Ashla, I'm 24. You already know what you want, all you need to know is how to get it. You're a Jedi because it beats prison, right?"

[Ashla Vyliis]

"Personally, I think not helping a junkie is helping them."

His dad seems like a real piece of work. At least, I got lucky with my dad. He was a sweetheart. "Yes...." Ashla wasn't quite sure where he was going with this.

[Cole Ormont]

Cole cocks an eyebrow slightly, "you'd let him die? that doesn't help him either."

The current patient is a simple gash. He cleans it with saline, closes the wound and redresses it. "So, there must be some stipulations on the contract, right? A list of thou shalts and thou shalt nots that will land your ass in prison if you don't obey. Skrog, how much time were you looking at, anyway?"

[Ashla Vyliis]

"He wouldn't have died. Wish he was dead, sure. But he would have lived."

Ashla shakes her head. "Nope. This isn't a military tour. The moment my Master says jail. I go to jail. Or the council. As for time, I was never actually charged, but I get the feeling that I would be basically spending the rest of my life in prison. Their biggest concern isn't what I did. It's what I could become. They don't want the daughter of Ruvrass Vyliis becoming a Sith."

[Cole Ormont]

"I could help, so I did. It's not on me to hand down justice for his mistakes." Though his expression gave away little, for every patient he had a quiet word or reassuring touch, he explained to each what he was going to do for them. From time to time he pushed the sweat-dampened curls back from his forehead, unaware or uncaring as they fell back over his brow.

In between, he continued to speak quietly with Ashla. "Shit, that's a raw deal. Have you told any of this to your master? I mean, the stuff about it making you happy. They can't just not care about it, not if they don't want you just cracking one day and shoving the business end of your lightsaber up the ass of everyone in sight."

[Ashla Vyliis]

"I did. She had me contact you so I could learn something about being a real doctor. I don't like saying good things about my Master, but she's generally supportive me learning medicine. Though she wants me to learn how to heal with the Force. I get it, but for me, it's not about healing people. It's the work itself. Regardless, until I get a 'medical license' I can't start practicing again. Not without supervision. Well, in the Republic. Theoretically, I can make practice here, just fine."

[Cole Ormont]

He works silently for a while, and the parade of patients is apparently never-ending. "Stick with it," he shrugs, sounds like she has her shit sorted better than I do, even if she doesn't know it.

"There must be more to your father than 'famous for being executed'. What as he like, y'know, when he wasn't killing people?"

[Ashla Vyliis]

"Oh. He was a wonderful father!" Ashla stops. His dad seems pretty shitty. I guess, I shouldn't rub it in. "At least, I think. He took care of me. Taught me stuff. I never went to actual school because we moved around a lot. We played a lot of game together. Albeit, some of them were to help him with his... needs."

[Cole Ormont]

"Needs?" Cole prompts her to elaborate. If he's bothered by her exuberance over her relationship with her father, he doesn't show it. "Sounds like you were close. What about your mother?"

[Ashla Vyliis]

Ashla makes sure no one is around. She doesn't care who knows, but she found the patients not immediately connecting their caretaker with a serial killer is usually for the best. "The killings. It was like a need. Not a desire."

Ashla shrugs. "I assume my dad ganked her." Ashla absent-mindly strokes her lightsaber. "Heh. Honestly, I don't even know if my dad and me were related or if he kept me as a souvenir."

[Cole Ormont]

The Navy didn't put much time into training their medics in psychology, but Cole enjoyed learning, he had a little grounding, and was able to start drawing some conclusions there. Nodding, "your file noted something about your colouring being rare, two Togruta with the same co-recessive genes?" he runs a hand through his hair, "I doubt it's coincidence." He'd figured that her mother had been out of the picture for some time, though that wasn't quite what he was expecting.

He notices that it's getting late, "thanks for showing up today." It felt pathetic, but if he said too much, she might lash out again. "I'll be coming back here, most days, if you ever get the urge to help out. If you don't," he shrugs to show that's okay as well.

[Ashla Vyliis]

"Oh. I figure I probably am his daughter. But he also confessed to murdering his daughter when she was a baby. I think he was trying to protect me but..." Ashla shrugs. "It doesn't matter. He was my father."

She nods. "Yeah. I'll see what I can do." Ashla swallows. "Thanks for showing me everything today."

[Cole Ormont]

"Yeah, sounds like it," and he means it, she genuinely seemed to care about her dad, a hella lot more than he cared about his.

"If you need anything, I'm a commlink away, there's no stupid questions."

[Ashla Vyliis]

Ashla nods. "I'll keep that in mind. I guess I'll see you later then."

[Cole Ormont]

"I hope so. All the best, Doctor Vyliis."


/scene