High Mountain Clinic
Jelucan
They weren't kidding. Ganaire guided the practically running troopers to the entry to the surgical suite. They gently placed the injured trooper on the table and retreated from the table. Dr. Merkel looked around quickly at the five troopers standing in a circle around the room. His initial thought: Firing Squad.
"Okay, you fellas are more familiar with his armor. One of you get up here and help me remove it. Lem stepped first. "Now the rest of you, out! You're destroying my sterile field which is bad for your buddy."
Surprisingly, they complied without protest. "Herk."
"Pardon me?" Dr. Merkel asked.
"His name is Herk," Lem replied.
Within a couple minutes the armor and under suit were cut. Lem collected the pieces and stacked them out of the way.
"Do you have another doctor or nurse? Is it just you all by yourself?" Lem seemed concerned.
"Usually there are two of us, but it's the slow season and my partner is on vacation off planet." Dr. Merkel looked at Lem for a moment, then said, "Go wash up. Get out of that filthy armor, shower, and change into the pants and tunic hanging in the bathroom. Scrub your hands and forearms at that sink over there – the big one. Then bring a pair of the gloves from the box and I'll help you don them."
Lem was a little hesitant at first, but as the doctor spoke he reclaimed his courage and commitment to Herk, his brother. He was in the bathroom stripping down within seconds.
Out in the lobby, Ganaire observed the activities of the soldiers as they looked nervously from window to window.
"You boys must be thirsty and hungry. Could I arrange to get you some food and drinks?" That seemed to grab their attention. They all looked at a slightly older gentleman who was not in Stormtrooper armor. Mental note – he's the boss, Gan deduced.
The "boss" answered. "Yes ma'am, we'd be mighty appreciative for that. We're pretty parched and have missed a meal or two today. Thank you for your kindness." Commander Pikson noticed the pretty, petite lady at the desk when he entered behind the crew. Something about her seemed familiar, but he couldn't place it.
Ganaire used the comm and called the house. Thane answered. "Hello sweetheart. The soldiers here have been without food for a couple meals. Could you grab the tray of sandwiches I made for the benefit tonight and bring those over? Also, the bottles of the spring water are stacked in the garage. Bring a pallet of those. Just put everything in the employee lounge. I think that's all for now. Thank you honey." She turned to Commander Pikson who gave her a warm smile and nodded in thanks.
The next few minutes were tricky. She set an activated com unit on her desk behind the counter which allowed everyone on their channel to hear the communications between the Commander and his troopers. They were posting guards outside, which meant Kendy would need to be ready to move.
The door chime rang and a few of the troopers stepped aside as a young man in slightly oversized dress pants, a dress shirt, and a tie approached the desk. It was Grhan.
Whatever I say or do, just go with it. For some reason, Ganaire didn't have this in mind, and she was half terrified, and the other half fighting laughter. "How are you this morning?"
"Well, Mrs. Ganaire, I do have some information on your replacement Bacta Tank. I know it's been a terrible inconvenience, but I think we have come up with a solution that will help make up for some of that."
"I'm listening," she said.
"Well, your faulty tank is repaired and going through quality assurance testing that should take another couple days. It will be shipped within the week and be here for installation in around three weeks. As a thank you, were sending you a brand new Bacta 7 series with four refills of Bacta completely free of charge." Grhan was smiling like a Loth Cat.
"A free tank? Really?" Ganaire said, feigning surprise.
"Yes ma'am. We know you purchased the tanks for the hospital in Valentia, and it's such an unusual malfunction that you experienced here. By the way, is Dr. Merkel available for a quick chat? I wanted to apologize personally and give him the good news."
"I'm sorry, he's in a procedure right now and will be for a while. I'll let you give him the good news about the second tank. I'll just tell him about our repaired one."
"Thanks Mrs. Ganaire. You're the best. I have a couple more stops to make in Valentia before I head off planet. Call me if you think of anything else you need."
"We will, thanks! Have a safe trip."
As Grhan left through the front door, Commander Pikson was sending his troops to monitor communications in the large vehicle they arrived in. He had two Troopers posted at either side of the front of the building. The Commander had stayed behind and was sitting in the waiting area reading datapads. The door opened and it was his Lieutenant.
"Sir, the information about Captain Ree just arrived. I thought you'd want to see it right away."
"Thank you, Lieutenant."
Ganaire was in a full blown panic. These are the soldiers looking for Ciena! Could this get any worse?
"Mrs. Ganaire?" The Commander was standing at the desk waving his hand gently in front of her face.
"Oh! My goodness - my apologies. I was thinking about tonight and... well, you know," she made a twirling motion with her finger to show thoughts spinning into the air.
"Oh, yes ma'am, I sure do. I was just wondering if you could check on Herk for me? I know people probably bug you a lot during these -"
"Of course." Ganaire placed her hand over his and turned to walk to the back. Geth didn't move his hand. It was... it was... Shake it off you imbecile. What's the matter with you!? Geth moved his one hand off the counter and waited while she was gone. About a minute later, she returned. She appeared stricken, her complexion was pale and she approached him slowly. "Commander, they are currently performing resuscitation maneuvers. His heart has stopped three times. There was no choice but to remove the leg from the knee down. They have not been able to start on his head wound. If he doesn't respond to this round of..."
Ganaire's eyes dropped and a tear fell on the counter by Geth's hand. He looked up and his heart leapt. He was devastated over Herk. But this woman doesn't know Herk. She has kindness in her for people she doesn't know. She might not even sympathize with Imperials, but she cares about this young man who she's never met and may never meet. Something in Geth was awakened at that moment. it reminded him of someone long lost to him.
Geth noticed the nice woman's smile and eyes when they first arrived, but that happens from time to time. This woman was generous and kind to others. It touched him. Maybe more so because he might be losing one of his men.
"Is there anythng I can do for you, Commander. It's a... strange question at a time like this, I know." She placed her hand on his other hand and he looked up and had a grim smile. "No thank you, Mrs. Ganaire. I just appreciate your checking. Thank you." He slid his hand away and returned to his seat.
"Ganaire," she said. He looked up, confused. "My first name is Ganaire. Most people call me Gan." She smiled at him and said, "I think they brought the sandwiches. Let me go check." As she walked away, Geth's head was swimming.
Idiot! "Geth! My name..." is Geth. He let his voice trail off to finish the thought in his head as he was clearly too late. My name is Geth Pikson. I had a wife and two young children who I'll always love. Would you ever want to see a man who will always love and miss his family?
Usually, well before this point, he would have flicked away any remote interest a woman incited. It was as easy as thinking of his late wife and the pain of losing that kind of love once. It was a very effective relationship repellant.
The boys sometimes encouraged Geth to accept attention from women. It was good natured. They all knew where he was from and what that meant. They never pitied him. Though Geth had never understood why, he frequently received unwanted attention from women, and this required uncomfortable retreats.
So what was happening here he just couldn't explain. Geth shook his head and stretched, then pulled up the information for Captain Ree. The first section was labeled Jelucan. He skipped over this to the section titled ACADEMY:CORUSCANT. Two sentences in, Ganaire returned with sandwiches and water for him and the men. He thanked her, then as she opened the door, he asked her not to tell the men what she knew about Herk if she was okay with that. She smiled - such a warm, lovely smile - and said there wasn't any new information.
Geth watched Gan hand sandwiches to the men in the transport and outside. Each one must have said something appropriate, Thank the stars! She patted each young man on his arm and even put her hand on the side of Piper's helmet and he was nodding. Good thing he was sitting. He was almost her height seated.
When she came back in, Geth's mouth was moving before his brain kicked in. "Would you like to join me with a sandwich?" It caught her off guard, and her sweet expression changed into a look of concentration, or maybe confusion? "Of course you have so much to do-"
"I'd enjoy that very much," she said. She set the sandwiches and waters down and took one of each for herself. She pulled up a chair and sat across the small coffee table from Geth. She took a bite of her sandwhich and said, "Mmmmmm."
"Yes ma'am, they are quite good. Did you make them?"
She pointed to her mouth as she chewed, but nodded a yes. Once she swallowed she smiled. "These are the easiest things to make, but every time there's a fundraiser or benefit, I get asked for 'Gan's sandwiches'. They have started calling them 'gandwhiches'."
"How do you do it?" Geth asked innocently, then caught her expression.
"I beg your pardon, Commander?" Geth froze mid-chew. "What makes you think I would share my famous sandwich recipe with you when: A - I barely know you, and B - you don't even know if I sympathize with Imperials. I could just as easily be waiting here every day for a group of Imperials to show up so I can give them food poisoning with my sandwich recipe."
She held a very straight face for a good five seconds, then the tiniest crack of a smile broke on the corner of her mouth and Geth laughed lightly. He threw his hand to his neck and made choking noises, then laughed once more. A strange thought entered his head. Maybe she is a New Republic sympathizer. Maybe not. For some reason, in this moment, he didn't care. "My name is Geth," he said.
Lem walked out from the back and into the lobby. He was covered in blood and had clearly been sweating profusely. "Commander, I regret to inform you that Herk died. The doctor - he really did everything he could. He's pretty broken up over it. I'm so sorry I couldn't be more help, sir."
Geth stood up and hugged his trooper like a father hugs his son. Suddenly Gamaire felt like she'd been punched in the gut. That is how a loving father would hug his son. My sons have never really been hugged by their father. She felt the tears welling up and turned to walk into the back and see if she could help Dr. Merkel. When she got to the operating room, he was sitting on a rolling stool in the corner of the room.
"Dr. Merkel? What can I do to help?" Ganaire asked gently.
"Nothing, Gan. I need to clean him up and prepare him for transport. They have a refrigeration closet on their shuttle. I just need 30 minutes."
"If you change your mind, just comm me." Dr. Merkel seemed lost in thought. "Dr. Merkel?"
"Oh yes, of course, Gan. I will." Gan left him in the room with the dead soldier and returned to the front. The Commander was outside with all the troopers gathered around. Their helmets were off. It was clear their were a lot of tears being shed. This must be an especially close knit group. It was an odd scene. In all those years before, Gan had never seen a Trooper without his helmet on. Certainly never one crying. She suddenly realized those were real people - young men like her sons - under that intimidating armor.
Gan began picking up the trash from the sandwiches when the words: Ciena Ree ACADEMY YEARS caught her eye. A datapad was sitting on top of the stack the commander had with him. Gan's hand instinctively began to reach for the data pad. She stopped herself just as one of the troopers was entering the Clinic to use the refresher.
Ganaire had finished cleaning up and, in the process, slipped a data card into the datapad the Commander had left open with Ree's information. She finished copying the contents and slipped the card in her pocket. She was tempted to simply take the datapad and replace it with one like it. The Clinic had dozens, mostly empty. She wished she had someone else to ask. The comm! She'd call… Kendy. She was far enough away and could watch for people coming in to prevent Ganaire from getting caught.
She clicked on the come, "K.I, come in. It's G.K., over."
"K.I. here, over."
"Critical info on Imp datapad. Copied, but existence will be problematic. Advise. Over."
"Is there basic X-ray technology on site?"
"Yes."
"Zap it. K.I. out."
Without giving it a second thought, Ganaire grabbed the datapad, moved swiftly to the diagnostics suite, laid the pad under the X-ray, went into control room, and proceeded to zap the pad three times. She rushed out, grabbed the pad and emerged into the reception area to find Commander Pikson gathering his things. Think, Ganaire, think!
"Commander, may I speak with you for a moment?" Geth set his handful of datapads down and approached the desk. "Maybe in…um…private?"
"Oh, no! We didn't even think of paying for the services. Don't worry-"
"No, no – you misunderstand me. I'm sorry, I just thought we could have a word. In private?"
"Uh…well, sure." Suddenly Geth felt like an awkward kid who would trip or forget how to talk from nerves. Ganaire led him into the employee lounge area and turned to face him.
"Did you hear that? It's the HoloPhone. Can you wait just one second. Just one second and I promise I'll be right back."
"Sure." Geth sat in a chair to reassure her.
Ganaire rushed to the reception desk, acted like she was answering a call, grabbed the fried datapad and, after making sure no one was looking, set it on top of the Commander's stack of datapads. Then she rushed back to the lounge.
"It was nothing. A salesperson." Geth stood again. He towered over the petite Ganaire. She noticed his very strong, broad shoulders and large hands. His jaw was square and chiseled as it seemed most of these Trooper types were. Only he was a Commander.
"Ganaire? Did you have something you wanted to say?" Geth was confused, but willing to play this out for at least a minute. That's about all he had before one of his men came looking for him.
"Well, I just thought it might be nice if…maybe…" Gan was struggling. She was about to blow it. She couldn't think of a single thing to say.
Suddenly she felt herself embraced in two very strong arms and, after a very brief pause to give her the opportunity to protest, Geth's warm lips found hers. At first it was a straightforward kiss, but Ganaire's arms reached around his neck and she leaned into Geth which added some fuel to a simmering fire.
Now they were in a desperate kiss, parting lips and breathing harder with each second. Geth's large hand held her at the base of her neck while his other arm wrapped around her tiny waist and lifted her off the ground to meet him in the air, face-to-face. Geth's initial, almost desperate kissing became slower and more tender. He pulled his lips away to lightly kiss her cheeks, forehead, and he even brushed her eyelashes with his lips. Ganaire was on fire inside. She hadn't felt passion like this in many, many years.
Geth slowly lowered her feet to the ground and never lost eye contact with her. His hands moved to her shoulders. "I... I'm...not sorry. I'm sorry I'm not sorry. I can't explain myself. I don't do that. I mean I've done that, but I don't do that. Like this, I mean." Geth grimaced and looked up at the ceiling.
"You'll be gone soon. I heard you're leaving?" Ganaire said, biting her lip with an overwhelming sense of despair. This makes no sense! What am I talking about?!
Geth was on autopilot now. "What if I didn't have to leave here in a few hours? Would you…see me?"
Ganaire could only answer from the place inside of her that had been devoid of love, passion, and peace for so long. "Yes. I would see you." She looked down and quietly added, "Even if it was only once – if that's all it could be." Ganaire couldn't look him in the eye. He embraced her and she hugged him back.
He held her - it felt like she'd always belonged exactly where she was. In her heart she knew this was it. A man she'd only known for an hour, and would only see once before he was gone forever. She was glad she had her cheek against his chest, where he couldn't see her face, because she felt as if she knew the Commander better than this stranger who was controlling her words and actions. "I don't know how yet, but I'm going to be here tonight, in Valentia. Could you meet me at the Imperial Operations Center at 8:00?"
Gan spoke, her head still pressed against his chest with a big, strong, warm hand holding her there against him. "There is a nice hotel that hosts sabaac tournaments and conferences across the road. Above the lobby are roo...uh, a restaurant. I mean there is a restaurant or..." Stars help me, what am I talking about? Ganaire still couldn't look him in the eye. Fear, embarrassment, excitement… she wasn't sure what she was doing.
Geth felt his heart doing flips. Somehow he had unlocked a part of himself that had been dead for so, so long. "I'll leave a message for you at the desk?" he asked hesitantly.
Ganaire finally looked directly up at his face and made eye contact. "I'll be there at 8:00."
Geth leaned down and kissed her sweetly one last time, then whispered in her ear, "Are you an angel? Did you find me, or did I find you?"
The question would have to linger in the air as boots could be heard approaching. Ganaire opened the fridge and was taking out the last few waters when Pax entered. "Sir, we're all loaded up and ready to go." He saw the waters and asked, "Are these more for us ma'am? You've been so kind already. I think we have plenty to last us until we make it back to base. We'll never forget the hospitality shown to us in the High Mountain region of Jelucan.
"It's the least I could do..."
"Paxson, ma'am. Or Dimps." Gan immediately saw the origin of the nickname. With dimples that would melt a young girl's heart, this boy was beyond handsome. Who knew the Empire made them all so good looking? Thank goodness I didn't have girls.
"Dimps - Paxson - speaks for all of us, Ganaire. Thank you." Geth smiled, looked back and winked. Ganaire's heart burst with excitement. My knees are weak. I'm weak in the knees. What on Jelucan is happening to me?
Surgical Suite
Dr. Merkel looked like he was going to drop. Exhaustion had set in long ago. He was cleaning the surgical suite, returning the various implements. His thoughts were deep and disturbing. Had Herk survived, he would have needed a Bacta Tank. It was that simple. No matter how much all the smart lunatics in his asylum wanted to believe the Bacta issue was resolved, it was a certainty that a brand new tank would be flown in if Herk was too tenuous to fly. The Imperials would be here indefinitely. And he'd have to leave the safety of his Clinic to treat Ciena at Ganaire's home. There was only one answer. One particular syringe would not be accounted for. It was safely back in his pocket. In truth, many would have called it mercy. His head injury was severe with brain tissue exposed and damaged. He would not be able to speak, swallow, breathe on his own, or manage his daily routines without total care. Merk would never be "Merk" again. Dr. Merkel thought he had survived the war with his integrity intact. I guess I was arrogant to think I could escape paying my dues.