#22 Calm before the Storm
Goose knew from the moment she stepped out of the gunship that she wasn't about to get any rest. The Resolute's hanger bay was filled by a flurry of commotion, with walkers being inspected and ammunition moved and loaded. It seemed that they were preparing for another battle, off again before the fires of the last battle had been extinguished. She hadn't the slightest clue what role she was to play in this, and didn't want to find out for as long as she could avoid it.
Blending in to the crowd of clones as best she could, Goose followed the current of walking wounded toward the medbay. Her thoughts were bleary, as if she had finally let go after the danger passed, and was now content to drift along. However, she wouldn't be of any use in this frame of mind, so when the group reached the medbay she did not begin to treat them, and instead left them to the capable med droids.
In all honesty, Goose was so worn out it was probably for the best that the med droids handled this, even though she normally would have insisted on doing it all herself. While the wounded waited their turn in pre-op, she continued on to the small on-call room adjacent to post-op. Her initial examination of it weeks ago had revealed only a cot, but she had a hunch that she hadn't looked hard enough.
After a moment of fumbling for a switch, her fingers found the sensor that triggered a wall panel to slide back. Before her was a sleep cycler pod, a sort of delta-wave inducer that gave its user five full REM cycles in only about twenty minutes. These devices were fairly common around hospitals, and were the main reason Goose had been able survive her grueling internship at Galactic Polysapient. A quick nap in one of these would hopefully give her the fuel she needed to last the rest of the day.
She set the machine for a standard cycle, then stepped into the claustrophobic pod and slid the door shut. While a sleep cycler did have its advantages, it was still no replacement for real sleep. Nonetheless, given the opportunity, Goose might have traded her soul for one back on Christophsis. When she emerged twenty minutes later, she was only marginally less tired than when she had entered and still ached all over. However, her head was much clearer, and she had to count that as a win.
It took Goose a while to notice it, but the gentle vibration of the deck was unmistakable. The ship was in hyperspace, although for how long she had no way of knowing. One thing was for certain– the ship was in a hurry. Although she should have been more concerned about the destination they were speeding towards, her mind was occupied with something else entirely. She'd be getting a new comlink today, even if it killed her.
Stretching her arms as she went, Goose walked out into post-op and was mildly surprised to see the med droids had already finished with the wounded. They were efficient, she had to give them credit for that. It took her a few tries to locate Jules among the many identical patients, but she found him eventually. He'd been given a new sling and quite a lot of pain medication, if his glassy eyes and loose expression were any indication.
"How you holding up?" she asked quietly, mindful of disturbing the other patients.
"Hm? Oh, fine…" Jules murmured, as if half asleep. "Did you need something…?"
Goose realized he was pretty out of it, but couldn't think of anyone else to ask for help. She pulled that ever-aggravating comlink out of her ear and placed it on his small side table.
"I know you went to a lot of trouble to find this for me, but I just can't get it to work," Goose said a bit self-consciously. "Do you know where I can get another one? Wrist mounted, preferably."
"Okay…" he replied, sounding vaguely disappointed. "Well, there might be some in the storeroom. Have you checked there yet?"
Sighing, Goose mentally kicked herself for missing something so obvious. Perhaps five rushed REM cycles weren't quite enough to get her functioning, after all.
"Thanks, Jules," she said somewhat sheepishly.
After a few minutes of rummaging around in the medbay's storeroom, she came across a box of field comlinks, none of them out of their original packaging. Despite their utilitarian and frankly inelegant design, Goose was nonetheless satisfied because they were wrist-mounted. She only paused to fiddle with the settings for a moment, then left the medbay to accomplish the next most pressing thing on her mind– taking a shower.
Walking quickly in an effort to avoid being dragged into the general hustle and bustle in the corridors, Goose made her way towards her quarters. She surprised even herself that she was able to find it after so many weeks away, and was pleased that none of her things had been disturbed. On the ground was her old duffel bag, right where she had left it, crumpled laundry in a pile next to it. The bunk bed remained, although she hoped she would never have to share the room. It was small enough with just herself.
However, what captured her interest the most was the 'fresher. Goose had spent the better part of the last week covered in ever-growing layers of dust, dirt, blood, and grime, and now it was time to wash it all off. Her uniform was no better off, having accumulated its own rips and stains, and she wasn't sure if she'd ever be able to wear it again. That didn't dampen her spirits, though, as she savored her first few moments under the hot spray.
Goose had to lather up three times to feel clean, and she kept scrubbing until the water going into the drain was no longer a dingy gray. No matter how much she would've preferred to waste all the hot water on the ship, she didn't linger too long. There was still a war to win, whether she felt like it or not. She toweled off regretfully, but was inordinately relieved to be wearing a clean uniform, at long last. For the first time in a while, she felt human again.
Her boots were still a scuffed and dirty mess, but she laced them on without a second thought and strode on out of her quarters, new comlink strapped to her wrist. It was easy to once again be swept up in the tide of troopers headed toward the hanger bay. Once there, she had little idea what to do, even though all around her the troopers seemed to be working diligently without any outside instruction. If anything, the activity had increased since she'd come aboard.
Among the crowd she spotted two familiar faces – Skywalker and Rex – and decided to get them to fill her in. It was true that she had more or less purposefully avoided it up until then, but now it was time to find out. The two of them were standing near the back of a group of clones who, unlike most others in the hanger, were just sitting around. As she drew nearer, Goose saw that they were listening to Skywalker's new padawan relating the story of her escapades on Christophsis.
"How did you ever get the shield down?" an interested trooper asked. "I heard there were a lot of droids."
"Okay, so there was a wall behind him, with a hole in the middle," she said suspensefully, a smile creeping into her voice, hands gesturing excitedly "then I pull the wall down on top of the droids, destroying them, and saving the General!"
She and Skywalker must have been the ones to take down the shield generator then, probably saving all of their lives in the process, not just Skywalker's. The relaxed troopers all chuckled, and a self-satisfied grin spread over the young Togruta's face. Goose glimpsed Skywalker's half-livid, half-proud expression and found it impossible to contain a laugh herself.
"Is that true, sir?" Rex asked after a moment, while still smiling, unable to suppress his amusement even in front of the General.
"Well…most of it," Skywalker was forced to admit, although a grin tugged at his lips as well.
It was good to have something to laugh about after so much drudgery. Goose hoped it would last.
"Alright, men, we've still got a job to do," Skywalker added authoritatively, once the mirth had died down.
"Yes sir," said Rex, then he raised his voice to the group, "You heard the General. Move it!"
With that, the small crowd dispersed to their many tasks and Skywalker immediately moved to intercept his talkative padawan before she could slip away. Sensing that it would be best to let them have their conversation in private, Rex had drifted a few discreet paces behind, although still within easy reach of the general. Seeing her chance to talk to him, Goose took a deep breath and sidled up next to him.
"So, where are we going?" she asked as casually as she could manage.
Little to her surprise, Rex wasn't particularly delighted to see her. Then again, he never did seem to be particularly delighted about much of anything.
"I see you finally decided to show up," he replied without answering her.
"You're not the only one who's been busy," Goose grumbled back. "Would you rather I left?"
"No. In fact, you play a key role in our next mission." Rex gave an enigmatic smile, then began to key up something on his datapad.
Suddenly suspicious, Goose tried to glance at it discreetly, but to no avail. She really didn't like how he'd said key role. It occurred to her that he could just be messing with her, but Rex really didn't seem the type. However, what kind of a key role was a noncombatant supposed to play?
"What exactly is this mission?" she demanded doubtfully.
He waited a beat, then said with a total lack of enthusiasm, "Jabba the Hutt's son has been kidnapped, and we're going to rescue him."
Goose had never encountered a Hutt before, but she knew them by reputation. The big, ugly, slug-like aliens were best known as spice dealers, slave traders, and the masters of crime dens across the galaxy. Why the Republic was getting involved with them, she had no idea.
"Jabba the Hutt?" she blurted, "I've never heard of him."
Rex replied with no small degree of disgust, "Some outer-rim crime boss on Tatooine. His own bounty hunters came back dead, so now we're going in."
That struck Goose as incredibly odd. It was unfortunate that the Hutt's kid had been taken, but that shouldn't be important enough for the Republic to divert this much of its resources.
"Why?" she asked, skeptical. "I was under the impression the Republic didn't like criminals."
"If we don't do it, then the Seps will," Res answered bitterly, "and access to the hyperspace lanes through Hutt Space is at stake."
It suddenly all began to make sense. None of this was about the Hutt kid, it was really just a power grab. Exclusive use of Hutt Space could mean the difference for the Republic in terms of regaining control of the outer-rim. It was a golden opportunity, militarily speaking. However, Goose was still wary of this so-called key role she had.
"Alright, but what does any of this have to do with me?" she asked cautiously.
"Comlink-relay records show that the captor's ship logged into the Galactic All-Species Self-Help Medical Database shortly after departing Tatooine," Rex explained. "The only file accessed by that ship was on Hutt childhood illnesses."
Goose narrowed her eyes at him even as her trepidation grew. Despite what Rex seemed to think was a clear line of reasoning, she was utterly lost. What did the GASSH Medical Database have to do with her?
"I still don't follow." she said flatly, "Where exactly do I fit in to this?"
"Think about it this way." Rex replied with an edge of exasperation. "Why would the kidnappers download a file on Hutt diseases unless their hostage was sick?"
Once more, clarity struck. The Republic thought whoever nabbed the Hutt thought the Hutt was ill, and they were dragging her along to treat it. However, this was a realization that did not please her in the least.
"I think I see what you're getting at, but I'm the right one for the job," Goose said slowly, hoping her voice would remain even. "My medical license is for humanoid species only, so I wouldn't be at all qualified to treat a Hutt. They're gastropods!"
Rex smiled wryly at her distress and handed her the datapad, which had the GASSH file on Hutts already loaded onto it.
"Then I suggest you study up, because you're the only organic doctor the Republic has for lightyears," he said a little smugly, "and there's no way I'm taking a med droid into combat."
She held the datapad numbly in her hands. It was out of the frying pan and into the fire, it seemed.
"And if I refuse?" Goose asked only half-jokingly.
Rex's expression became immediately unreadable, his tone neutral. "I hear the view of the guardroom from brig is real nice this time of year."
Goose sighed in defeat, "Then it seems like I'll be delighted to go. When are we leaving?"
"Dust-off in thirty," Rex replied, all business. "Make sure you're ready by then."
He then strode off purposefully, leaving Goose muttering unsavory comments under her breath at his receding back. She did not at all like the sound of this plan, especially since she hadn't heard any details about it. There was no telling what she could expect, but she was almost certain it would include a shootout of some kind, not something she was looking forward to. However, what almost concerned her more was that they expected her to treat a Hutt.
As a doctor, she was bound by oath to heal any being in need of medical aid, despite their species or role in society. It made no difference to her that the Hutt was the child of a criminal, and it wouldn't have mattered too much if he was a criminal himself. What worried her was that she was totally unfamiliar with Hutt physiology, and half an hour was hardly enough time to become an authority on the subject. This was war, after all, and the stakes were incredibly high. She doubted the Republic's army brass would be very forgiving if she slipped up.
She heaved another sigh, then skimmed the datapad as she made her way back to the medbay for supplies. The file was dishearteningly short, with precious little information on what diseases they were prone to or the symptoms they usually showed. A footnote added that not much is known about Hutts because they generally refuse to be studied, although it did mention that Hutts rarely ever took ill. That encouraged her somewhat, although there was almost no data on how common medicines affected Hutts or in what dosages.
It seemed likely that even if Goose did manage to diagnose the ailing Hutt, she wouldn't be able to administer anything for fear of overdosing.
Letting out an annoyed huff at the lack of data, Goose entered the medbay and immediately pulled up the files of species biologically similar to Hutts. It was dodgy at best, but using statistics gleaned from numerous other gastropodal species might allow her to extrapolate dosages. None of the species she researched were familiar to her, but their files were promising, being significantly longer and far more detailed.
After fifteen minutes of fruitless cross-referencing, she finally decided to give up. Even though the various species were alike biologically, they also had wide-ranging differences, and there was no way their information could be applied to Hutts. It was like saying the amount of chloroform it took to sedate a twi'lek would do the same for a Wookie just because they were both humanoid. While the twi'lek would fall in unconscious pile on the ground, the Wookie would probably just sneeze and then become very, very angry.
Despite her belief that they would be of little use to her, she downloaded all the files she'd looked at onto datapad, then started gathering up the few medications the Hutt file had mentioned. Goose then found a new pre-packed medkit in the storeroom and stowed all the medicine inside it, pausing for a moment to mourn the loss of her old medkit on Christophsis. She would miss her robe, which she had been planning on keeping regardless of the blood that had gotten on it that night in the shower. It, along with her pajamas, had been the last remnants of her civilian life.
But it made no difference now, because all of it had been vaporized by a Separatist tank, and she was happy not to have suffered the same fate. Suddenly remembering something, Goose slung the medkit onto her back and walked quickly to her quarters, mindful that she would have to be in the hanger in a few minutes. From the filthy fatigues she had been wearing only an hour before she pulled out the small flask she'd carried around in her back pocket the past three weeks.
It seemed like a much longer time than that, and she'd been tempted to take a sip on more than one occasion. Goose had stayed true to her silent oath, however, and was still saving it for a suitable certain-death moment to drink the whiskey inside. She turned it over in her hand a few times, happy that it hadn't gotten too scratched up in spite of the heavy fighting, then slipped it into the back pocket of her new fatigues.
Goose sighed for the umpteenth time that day, then left her quarters and started back toward the hanger. It was hard to believe that only over an hour ago she'd been in a battle, fearing for her life, certain that the inside of a crumbling Christophsis shopping mall was the last thing she'd ever see. However, it was even harder to believe that she about to go to another planet and do it all over again. For the purpose of her continued sanity, she forcefully pushed the thought aside and tried to distract herself.
To that end, she took out the datapad and began to reread the Hutt file as she walked, although she knew it was futile. By the time she'd made it into the hanger bay, Goose was busy scrutinizing a frustratingly incomplete diagram of Hutt anatomy and had long ago ceased paying attention to her surroundings. It was for this reason that she nearly tripped over Skywalker's padawan while absentmindedly plodding past a row of gunships.
"Sorry about that," she blurted automatically, after she managed to regain her balance.
The short Togruta girl stared up at Goose sharply, eyes narrowed as if looking for guilt. It occurred to her that the young jedi might remember her from the observation post back on Christophsis and become angry, perceiving another joke at her expense. A flicker of recognition did cross her face, although her expression had turned somewhat embarrassed.
"No harm done," she replied guardedly, no doubt remembering her earlier childish outburst, then offered a clumsy salute.
Goose fought the urge to smile at the awkward yet earnest attempt the kid was making at being military. Given some time, though, and she might get to be good at it.
"Just a tip, but the lower ranks are generally supposed to salute first," Goose whispered conspiratorially so no passersby would hear, meanwhile making no move whatsoever to salute back. Realizing her mistake, the padawan's cheeks flushed with both mortification and indignation while she struggled to form a suitable retort. "And I don't believe we've been properly introduced," Goose added quickly, hoping to assuage her temper.
For a flustered moment the young jedi did not respond, but must have realized that Goose hadn't meant any harm. "Commander Ahsoka Tano," she replied solemnly.
Again, she had to suppress a grin at the padawan's seriousness. Titles really did matter to her, didn't they?
"Doctor Gosling, Chief of Surgery aboard the Resolute," she said smoothly, with a polite nod. That was a bit of a lie since she'd never actually been appointed Chief Surgeon, although it was only stretching the truth a little because she was also the only organic surgeon on board. Besides, a fancy title like that might just be enough to impress the impetuous padawan. "Call me Goose."
Ahsoka looked as if she was about to say something, but just then Skywalker called to her from across the hanger bay. Panic registered on her face for a brief moment, but she quickly composed herself, muttered a goodbye, and darted off toward her master. Bemusedly, Goose watched her jog away, then shrugged to herself. That had certainly been an unusual conversation.
Seeing troopers begin to board the gunships, Goose decided she should probably follow suit. Before she could step aboard, however, a trooper she didn't recognize materialized by her side and told her Rex wanted her to ride down in a walker, where she would be safer. It was more likely he just didn't want her underfoot during the ground assault, and that was fine with her. Safe was good thing.
With one last forlorn sigh, Goose gave up on Hutts and tucked the datapad in her pack. Then she wandered up to the AT-TE walker the trooper had pointed out to her and took a tentative step in. She'd never seen the inside of a walker before, but given that there weren't any empty seats in the compartment in front of her, it was already full. Taking a look back out at the hanger deck, she saw that most troopers had already boarded their landing craft, and the other walker was sealing up its hatch.
It seemed she had no other option. Goose shuffled down the narrow aisle between the two rows of seated troopers, and settled down on the durasteel steps leading from the troop compartment to the cockpit. She wondered if it was against regulations to sit in a walkway, but as she looked around the cramped space none of the troopers raised any objections. In fact, no clone had given her more than a curious glance since she'd stepped aboard.
The atmosphere was a bit eerie on board the walker, the only sounds she heard were the occasional beeps from the craft's electronics and the clack of plastoid from the troopers' armor as they shifted in their seats. Nobody spoke, although after a few minutes it occurred to Goose that they were probably talking to each other on their helmet comlinks, excluding her entirely. It was then that it finally struck her that she was going into battle once again.
As she sat there in that darkened metal compartment, the haze she'd been walking through since leaving Christophsis slowly lifted, and a sharp feeling of fear plagued her once more. A chill settled over her as the main hatch hissed shut, and she felt her mouth start to go dry. As a landing ship slowly clamped onto the walker's armored hull to carry them down to the planet's surface, Goose couldn't shake the feeling that the quiet troopers sitting around her were so much like nerfs lining up peacefully for the slaughter.
A/N: It's hard to believe, but this is this story's one year anniversary! Equally hard to believe is that 64k words later we've only just gotten off Christophsis! *sigh* I'll write more once school gets out, I promise.
Please review!