Ballast
(n.):
Anythingthatgivesmental,moral,orpoliticalstabilityorsteadiness


"Medic!" he yelled over his shoulder, while trying to control the thrashing body on the gurney. Her eyes were wide open and afraid. "Medic!" She didn't know where she was or what was happening. The medcenter was a hard enough place to wake up without the heavy dose of drugs the medical droids had administered and the intubation tube running down her throat. Her breathing was rapid and shallow and her heart was hammering out a rhythm that would give a fully grown gundark chest pain. She was fighting the tube and she would hurt herself doing so. He took her thrashing head in his hands and looked her dead in the eye. Her hands locked onto his wrists with a grip that would have made his hand-to-hand combat instructor proud.

"Voxx, look at me. It's okay. Look right at me. Miraan, you are okay. You're in the medcenter on Onderon and you are safe, but you need to calm down. Blink once if you understand me." Her wide, bloodshot eyes peered up at him for a heartbeat and then she blinked. She was calming down but still shaking. Her panicked gaze never left his.

"Very good. Do you want the tube to come out? Once for yes." She blinked once. A medical droid came over and instructed him to move his hands. He did so, but she never released her grip on his wrists. "Okay, Voxx, exhale on one. Blink one if you understand." She blinked. "Three, two, one." The droid pulled the airway tube from the woman's throat. Once it was freed, the resulting coughing fit was enough to cause a bout of dry heaving that lasted about a minute. He waited patiently, keeping one hand on her shoulder to keep her steady. Finally, she leaned back on the gurney and looked up at him. She was still shaking but otherwise calm, and she was alive, which was the important thing.

"What happened?" she asked roughly. He had to smile.

"Well apparently someone was doing her job a little too well." He said, a bit of laughter coloring his voice. He couldn't tell if it was from real amusement or relief, but right now he didn't really care. "You disobeyed orders when your suit was compromised. You should have been the first one out." She rolled her eyes and let the barest hint of a smile curl her mouth upwards.

"I was kind of talking about the ship. How's the Devastator?" she asked and this time he rolled his eyes.

"The ship's fine. She's getting some repairs as we speak." She nodded slowly, laying her head back on the cushion. "How are you, though?" He asked. She looked at him with her bloodshot grey eyes and cocked an eyebrow.

"I feel like I was kicked in the head and tossed around by an angry wampa." She said, putting a hand to her forehead and staring up at the ceiling.

"You look like it." He said before he realized what he was saying. Her head snapped around and her eyes locked onto his. For a moment he wondered if he had offended her. The two stared at each other for a long moment. The silence held until both broke out into loud laughter. It was almost therapeutic, a release of the tension built up over the last few days by laughter. The fit lasted almost a whole minute, long enough for the duo to start getting strange looks from the non-droid medical staff. The tension had broken, and once their hilarity had subsided, the pair fell back into their usual easy conversation.

It was almost two hours later that the medical droid came by and administered some medication that would supposedly help Voxx sleep. She smiled blearily up at him as the drugs did their work.

"Thank you, Jax." She said, reaching out and taking his hand. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"For what?" he asked a moment later, but she had already fallen asleep. Her grip on his hand loosened, but he wasn't about to let go. "Never mind, you're welcome."


She woke up easier this time, now that she knew where she was and didn't have an artificial airway doing her breathing for her, she was able to ease out of sleep. She opened her eyes slowly, allowing them to get used to the white fluorescence of the medcenter, before she opened them completely. She stretched each of her limbs in turn, feeling the stiffness ebbing slowly from them. She then sighed back into the gurney fully content with the idea of going back to sleep.

"Ah, she lives." Said a voice on her left beside her head. She turned her head and saw a stormtrooper, an old clone like Jax, but it wasn't Jax. As far as she could see, he had all of his limbs. He was dressed in full armor and had the pauldron of a Captain. He was reading something off a datapad, his face set in a look of hard concentration. She looked a little harder and realized that she recognized him.

"You brought me my tools." He looked up at her and nodded.

"Captain Ado." He said holding out his hand. She reached out and grasped it. Had her arm always been this pale? "Pleasure to officially meet you."

"Sergeant Miraan Voxx. Good to meet you, Captain." She looked around the immediate area and saw no sign of her partner. All she saw were empty gurneys and gray medical droids. Ado returned his attention to the 'pad.

"Jax is back at the barracks. I relieved him about three hours ago." He said, apparently reading her mind. So he had stayed. The thought made her roll her eyes, but brought a smile to her face nonetheless. "He hasn't been getting any real sleep since the incident, so I told him to get a few solid hours. He needed it."

"I'm glad you did, Captain." She said, honestly. "Sometimes he just can't stand to leave anyone behind." Ado set the 'pad on the empty metal tray beside the gurney and leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

"It's how he was trained," He said seriously. "It's how we were all trained." He looked at her, his eyes so much like Jax's that it was almost unnerving. "I hope you understand that." She nodded.

"I think I understand better now."

"Good, because I'm going to level with you Sergeant," his tone was low. He looked over his shoulder as if to make certain no one was listening in on the conversation. He turned back to her, his face stern. "I have never seen him like this." She wasn't entirely certain what this was supposed to mean but she opted to keep her mouth shut as she felt Ado wanted to continue.

"He's always been a little on the distant side. Always kept his mind focused on the situation at hand, regardless of how he felt. During the mission when he lost his leg, he lost his entire squad. That's hard enough on its own, but he lost a part of himself as well. He wasn't a whole person and no one knew how to treat him as anything but an incomplete soldier. There's nothing worse for us. We could barely get him to come to the mess so he could eat, and I know he didn't sleep. He tried to brush it off but we all knew he was slipping. I was certain we were going to wake up one morning and find him…gone." Voxx felt her heart constrict. She remembered meeting him. He'd been resigned to say the least. "Then he was assigned to you, and we saw a difference within a week. He had his life back. I don't know what you did and I don't care, I just want you to know that I'm grateful to have him back." She inclined her head just a bit.

"Thank you, Captain." She said, her mind heavy with the information she'd just been given. "That's… well it's good to know. He's a good man." He nodded.

"I have very few brothers that are still alive, Sarge, I'm just trying to look out for the ones that are left. If you make him happy, then make him happy as long as you're able. Force knows we won't be around much longer."

"Is that why you're here?" She asked, vaguely indicating the medbay. He nodded once.

"What is important to my men is important to me. You happen to be important to Jax, therefore you are important to me." He said matter-of-factly. She opened her mouth to say something else when the door to the medbay opened. Two men in gray uniforms and the regalia of Commanders strode into the bay, escorted by Haskit. Ado leapt to his feet and saluted. The men were coming closer. She turned and tugged on Ado's arm as she sat up straighter and swung her legs over the side of the gurney. Her vision swam.

"Help me stand, Captain." He looked down at her quizzically.

"Are you sure? I don't think they-"

"Ado, help me stand." She cut him off, an edge creeping into her voice. He stared at her for another moment before taking her upper arm and hauling her up onto her shaking legs. Her vision blurred briefly and she swayed. Ado took her opposite shoulder and kept her steady. She stood at her best attention and saluted the three men as they approached. They paused, saluted and instructed both her and Ado to remain at ease.

"Captain, Commander, Sergeant Miraan Voxx." Haskit introduced. "Sergeant Voxx, Captain Torbald Mavik of the Ravager and Commander Jir of the Devastator." Both Captain and Commander bowed ever so slightly at the waist towards her, she returned the gesture still being supported by Ado.

"Please, Sergeant, take your rest." Jir said, indicating the gurney. "We have no intention of disrupting your medical care." Voxx nodded.

"Thank you, sir." She said, allowing Ado to lower her back onto the gurney.

"As we understand it, Sergeant, you are to be commended." Mavik continued. "It was very brave of you to complete as much of the repair as you did, even after your suit was compromised. The Kuati repair team have given you their complements. "

"I don't like to leave a job unfinished, Sir."

"So we hear. Your Commander stated already that you always follow through on every job, no exceptions. That is a trait to be admired and cultivated within our ranks."

"Just doing the duty that was given to me, Sir."

"Sergeant," Jir stated firmly. "We, in accordance with his Imperial Majesty and the Imperial Navy, would like to extend to you the rank of Lieutenant and a position on one of our newest Super Star Destroyers."


This is Imperial I-Class Star Destroyer Devastator reporting in, ready to receive orders. All crew aboard and accounted for. Systems nominal and prepped for extended space travel. Preparing for exit of atmosphere. Thank you for your hospitality, Onderon. Over.

Copy that, Devastator, orders on standby until confirmation of pre-voyage screening is received. Over.

Good copy, Fleet. Over and out.


I told you I'd upload two chapters this week didn't I? Never said I'd get them out on Wednesday. But they're up now so put out those torches and put the pitchforks back in the barn. Thanks.

I sincerely hope everyone had a safe and happy New Years celebration and that you all made resolutions that you can keep. Enjoy these two chapters and I'll see you with the regularly scheduled single chapter upload next week. And please consider leaving a review. It would make me happy.