Post by Bobbi on Aug 1, 2022 13:33:24 GMT -5
Coronet City, Corellia
The Dead of night
”TRIN!!!”
The desperation in that voice shook the woman from her sleep with such shock that she was on her feet before she even could consider that her body had been at rest a moment before. She was up and moving before the waking world set in completely, stumbling through the dark toward the door of their bedroom. That had been Sol’s voice, and following closely behind it had been the sound of feet padding quickly down the hallway to meet up with her.
Even as she blinked and rubbed the sleep from her eyes he was there, his arms laden with a small form, all arms and legs, laying listlessly against him.
She was immediately more awake than she had been just that half a moment before. The form in his arms was too big to be Zachory, the hair too long. Tentatively she reached out for the girl, setting in at just that moment was the realization that Ureala wasn’t moving much at all. It wasn’t the lack of movement from someone who was fast asleep. She wasn’t curled against the form of her father, she wasn’t tucked up close and secure. The girl just laid there, dead weight.
“Sol, what happened?”
“She’s got a fever,” He told her quickly, the words tumbling out of his mouth with a swiftness that made them feel like water. Within his chest he could feel his entire world compressing even as the girl within his arms made a small plaintive whine, “She’s not breathing right. I’m taking her to the med center.”
There didn’t need to be a discussion about that. Trinity and Solomon both knew what was at stake here. These things had been talked about even before Ureala had rejoined her father, even before it had been a prospect to Trinity that she would be the girl’s mother. There had been risk of things like this since the girl's birth thanks to the drugs that Angel had been force fed just to accelerate the term of her pregnancy. Those drugs were what cloners used when they needed full grown clones as swiftly as possible, and Ureala had been exposed to them as an embryo. Her growth into a viable fetus had taken just days instead of weeks. The pregnancy had been full term in just a handful of weeks instead of months. The mark that left on the child left her open to things like this, to infections and a continued accelerated growth. There was only so much they could do to combat it.
Solomon’s words were given a sharp nod by Trinity, “What can I do?” She asked as she slipped toward the edge of the hallway to her right, giving Solomon space enough to pass her by.
“Call Cato. Call Darien, Kabel, and Geraint -- Ava-- make the calls.” The network would work outward from there. There were so many names, and Trinity had the list. She knew who they needed to call. Just then, he couldn’t remember the length of that list for himself.
In passing, Trinity reached out and laid a hand to his upper arm. Briefly he leaned in and laid a gentle kiss to her cheek, “I’ll call with news.” He told her before drawing back to move toward the stairs.
In the darkness of the hallway, Trinity nodded and let go of his arm, “I’ll be waiting.” Her own words were heavy with her concern, with the fears she shared with Solomon for the girl.
This was a possibility that they had dodged for so long now. It had been a thing of luck that it hadn’t happened before this.
With her back pressed against the hallway wall, she listened to the sound of Solomon making his way as quickly as he could down the steps of the little house they were staying in for their trip to Coronet. She waited until she heard the sound of the door closing behind him in the still of the night, she waited until the faint sound of their speeder was no longer a dull roar outside of the house.
It was only then that she allowed herself to sob softly, her right hand moving to cover her mouth for fear that the sound might wake Zachory. She stood there shaking, the tremble of her worried tears shaking her against the wall behind her. She allowed that to last only a few moments because she had to check on the sleeping boy. She had calls to make. She had a call to wait for.
There would be no more sleeping that night, not for Trinity St.James, or for Solomon Tekal.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The ride to the med center was not a long one, but it felt like the ride took forever. Every little bit of jostling as the speeder whipped through the city toward the med center had him glancing into the back seat where he had secured his little girl. There was no life within her limbs. There was no smile. Her head rolled, and she moaned softly urging her father to push the speeder just a little bit harder, a little bit faster.
Hey,” This glance wasn’t a long one. He barely caught sight of her as he kept talking, keeping his eyes on the way ahead of him, “Why can’t you trust trees?” There was a brief pause, just half of a breath before he continued, “Because they seem shady.” He knew there was going to be no reaction to that, but he had to try. He had to -- he glanced back toward her again, twisting just a little to see her and then his eyes were forward once more, “Come on bug,” he pleaded with the girl laying on the backseat, “give us a smile. Laugh for me,” His breath felt thick as it broke through his words, a small hiccup of sound as his hands tightened at the controls of the speeder he was driving, “--Anything. Come on, Uri. Please.”
No response came from the white haired half-Echani so he put his attention on getting them there in one piece. Thankfully, that late at night Coronet was not the busy hub of life that places like Coruscant were. If he chose his path right in Coronet, he wouldn’t have to worry about heavy night time traffic. That made reaching the med center easier.
It was that first night all over again, once they reached the med center. It was just as harrowing as Telos had been. They whisked the girl away, leaving him in a waiting area to pace, to sit, to climb himself up a wall. Which he did for what seemed like an eternity. But it ultimately brought him nothing but a higher sense of panic. He kept staring at the door she’d disappeared through, he kept watching for doctors, or droids, or whatever other medical staff might rush out to tell him what was happening, all the while massaging the palm of his right hand with the force of his left. Both hands were shaking, his entire body trembling with his fear for the girl.
It wasn’t going to help her, and this wasn’t Telos. She wasn’t a newborn, and he wasn't a fugitive. Just until minutes ago she had been a happy and healthy girl asleep in her bed. This was Corellia. This was his homeland, this was her home too because of him. This was safe ground and they were going to do everything they could to help the child.
He needed to calm down.
Solomon slipped himself down against an open space of wall between chairs, folding his knees so he was sitting comfortably, and he shut his eyes. After a moment, or two, of feeling his breathing he reached for an old friend, wading himself into the warm currents of The Force seeking comfort and reassurance from the flow of life’s energy. There he’d remain, his presence stretched out to his daughter, looking to comfort her and himself during this dark, dark night.
The Dead of night
”TRIN!!!”
The desperation in that voice shook the woman from her sleep with such shock that she was on her feet before she even could consider that her body had been at rest a moment before. She was up and moving before the waking world set in completely, stumbling through the dark toward the door of their bedroom. That had been Sol’s voice, and following closely behind it had been the sound of feet padding quickly down the hallway to meet up with her.
Even as she blinked and rubbed the sleep from her eyes he was there, his arms laden with a small form, all arms and legs, laying listlessly against him.
She was immediately more awake than she had been just that half a moment before. The form in his arms was too big to be Zachory, the hair too long. Tentatively she reached out for the girl, setting in at just that moment was the realization that Ureala wasn’t moving much at all. It wasn’t the lack of movement from someone who was fast asleep. She wasn’t curled against the form of her father, she wasn’t tucked up close and secure. The girl just laid there, dead weight.
“Sol, what happened?”
“She’s got a fever,” He told her quickly, the words tumbling out of his mouth with a swiftness that made them feel like water. Within his chest he could feel his entire world compressing even as the girl within his arms made a small plaintive whine, “She’s not breathing right. I’m taking her to the med center.”
There didn’t need to be a discussion about that. Trinity and Solomon both knew what was at stake here. These things had been talked about even before Ureala had rejoined her father, even before it had been a prospect to Trinity that she would be the girl’s mother. There had been risk of things like this since the girl's birth thanks to the drugs that Angel had been force fed just to accelerate the term of her pregnancy. Those drugs were what cloners used when they needed full grown clones as swiftly as possible, and Ureala had been exposed to them as an embryo. Her growth into a viable fetus had taken just days instead of weeks. The pregnancy had been full term in just a handful of weeks instead of months. The mark that left on the child left her open to things like this, to infections and a continued accelerated growth. There was only so much they could do to combat it.
Solomon’s words were given a sharp nod by Trinity, “What can I do?” She asked as she slipped toward the edge of the hallway to her right, giving Solomon space enough to pass her by.
“Call Cato. Call Darien, Kabel, and Geraint -- Ava-- make the calls.” The network would work outward from there. There were so many names, and Trinity had the list. She knew who they needed to call. Just then, he couldn’t remember the length of that list for himself.
In passing, Trinity reached out and laid a hand to his upper arm. Briefly he leaned in and laid a gentle kiss to her cheek, “I’ll call with news.” He told her before drawing back to move toward the stairs.
In the darkness of the hallway, Trinity nodded and let go of his arm, “I’ll be waiting.” Her own words were heavy with her concern, with the fears she shared with Solomon for the girl.
This was a possibility that they had dodged for so long now. It had been a thing of luck that it hadn’t happened before this.
With her back pressed against the hallway wall, she listened to the sound of Solomon making his way as quickly as he could down the steps of the little house they were staying in for their trip to Coronet. She waited until she heard the sound of the door closing behind him in the still of the night, she waited until the faint sound of their speeder was no longer a dull roar outside of the house.
It was only then that she allowed herself to sob softly, her right hand moving to cover her mouth for fear that the sound might wake Zachory. She stood there shaking, the tremble of her worried tears shaking her against the wall behind her. She allowed that to last only a few moments because she had to check on the sleeping boy. She had calls to make. She had a call to wait for.
There would be no more sleeping that night, not for Trinity St.James, or for Solomon Tekal.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The ride to the med center was not a long one, but it felt like the ride took forever. Every little bit of jostling as the speeder whipped through the city toward the med center had him glancing into the back seat where he had secured his little girl. There was no life within her limbs. There was no smile. Her head rolled, and she moaned softly urging her father to push the speeder just a little bit harder, a little bit faster.
Hey,” This glance wasn’t a long one. He barely caught sight of her as he kept talking, keeping his eyes on the way ahead of him, “Why can’t you trust trees?” There was a brief pause, just half of a breath before he continued, “Because they seem shady.” He knew there was going to be no reaction to that, but he had to try. He had to -- he glanced back toward her again, twisting just a little to see her and then his eyes were forward once more, “Come on bug,” he pleaded with the girl laying on the backseat, “give us a smile. Laugh for me,” His breath felt thick as it broke through his words, a small hiccup of sound as his hands tightened at the controls of the speeder he was driving, “--Anything. Come on, Uri. Please.”
No response came from the white haired half-Echani so he put his attention on getting them there in one piece. Thankfully, that late at night Coronet was not the busy hub of life that places like Coruscant were. If he chose his path right in Coronet, he wouldn’t have to worry about heavy night time traffic. That made reaching the med center easier.
It was that first night all over again, once they reached the med center. It was just as harrowing as Telos had been. They whisked the girl away, leaving him in a waiting area to pace, to sit, to climb himself up a wall. Which he did for what seemed like an eternity. But it ultimately brought him nothing but a higher sense of panic. He kept staring at the door she’d disappeared through, he kept watching for doctors, or droids, or whatever other medical staff might rush out to tell him what was happening, all the while massaging the palm of his right hand with the force of his left. Both hands were shaking, his entire body trembling with his fear for the girl.
It wasn’t going to help her, and this wasn’t Telos. She wasn’t a newborn, and he wasn't a fugitive. Just until minutes ago she had been a happy and healthy girl asleep in her bed. This was Corellia. This was his homeland, this was her home too because of him. This was safe ground and they were going to do everything they could to help the child.
He needed to calm down.
Solomon slipped himself down against an open space of wall between chairs, folding his knees so he was sitting comfortably, and he shut his eyes. After a moment, or two, of feeling his breathing he reached for an old friend, wading himself into the warm currents of The Force seeking comfort and reassurance from the flow of life’s energy. There he’d remain, his presence stretched out to his daughter, looking to comfort her and himself during this dark, dark night.
