An Attempted Awakening Pt 2

An Attempted Awakening Pt 2
Date of Scene:	30 March 2025
Location:
Synopsis:	The group works in tandem with a healing specialist in an attempt to wake Thaarin's brother.
Cast of Characters:	159, Cayde Alexis, Pike Windu, Annelia Belask

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Athena (159) has posed:
That night, the group would eventually find themselves shown to their quarters by the protocol droid, and hopefully fully settled in by the next morning.

Little will have transpired during those hours. However, a couple hours before noon, the four of them would find themselves once again summoned to the infirmary. The transmission notifies them that a specialist from the Order's own rank, previously stationed at a medical research station on the other side of the moon, had just arrived at the Temple of the Kyber and wanted them all to be present for a particular procedure she had in mind for the guest they'd brought in from the Unknown Regions. Perhaps it would be effective in waking him...

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    What sort of procedure required everyone to be present, Cayde wonders. Or even benefited from it? The unconscious patient hadn't awoken at all, so presumably he is not familiar with any of them save for Thaarin. But he makes his way to the infirmary as requested anyway.

Pike Windu has posed:
    Pike answers the summons and makes his way to the infirmary. He is ready to assist in any way.

Athena (159) has posed:
When they arrive at the infirmary, the specialist and several nurses are there waiting for them. They'll also notice that Thaarin, at some point, must have been admitted, he's resting on a mediberth looking concerned.

The specialist bows politely in greeting. "I'm sorry I couldn't arrive earlier," she says, "I had some other urgent work to attend to. However, today, I'd like to try a technique that's a bit riskier and difficult to perform. However, I do believe that if we can manage it, we may be successful in waking him. The nurses here reported that at some point last night, your... guest showed slight signs of improvement. He didn't wake, of course, but his comatose state has risen to a shallower level." She pauses. "Anyone with a mote of ability in mind powers should assist. We'll need all the help we can get."

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde frowns, glancing over at Thaarin. Was he all right, or was he just here for his friend's sake? When the healer mentions she'll need help, he glances at Ann, and she can feel him searching for her approval.

Pike Windu has posed:
    Pike listens carefully as he visually inspects the patient. When his colleague mentions mind powers, Windu smiles and nods as he looks at Cayde.

Athena (159) has posed:
When Cayde looks over at Thaarin, one of the nurses interjects. "Oh, last night he came in asking for a sedative to because he was having trouble sleeping, but we decided to run a few tests on him just to be safe and discovered his blood pressure is even higher than the last time we checked. Since we don't know much about his physiology and have no idea how long he's had high blood pressure, we decided to admit him to keep an eye on him." She pauses, checking on of the monitors. "It does seem to have lowered since you all arrived. Interesting."

The specialist glances over at Cayde, but doesn't say anything. The young padawan won't need the Force to see that there's some reluctance there. She nods at Pike, then turns to Ann. "We wanted to ensure that you felt comfortable with your padawan assisting," she says. She doesn't mention Cayde's history, but she lived here on Jedha. She had to know...

Annelia Belask has posed:
    "If you don't know much about his physiology, how do you know the original blood pressure was high?" questions Ann, eyebrow raising a little. "Did you tell them, Thaarin?"

    Shrugging it off, she looks down to Cayde, and simply nods.

Pike Windu has posed:
    Master Windu says, "I have no objections, if that quiets any doubts, Cayde."

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde nods once Ann gives a confirmation, arching a brow at the healer a bit apprehensively. She was the one asking, so why was she uncertain about her own request for help?

Athena (159) has posed:
Thaarin arches a brow slightly and folds his arms. He seems to think they're overreacting, but there's no way to know whether they are, or if Thaarin is concerned about his own health as Cayde is thoughtless about accidentally eating something that might give him a severe rash.

"We don't," the nurse says, "but we were unable to get a clear answer from him about whether the original measurement was high or not, so we decided to be conservative."

The specialist glances at Pike, then at Ann, then at Cayde, a brow raised slightly. "Your opinion is duly noted, Master Windu," she says, "but I don't believe you were terribly familiar with Cayde before he became Ann's padawan."

However, she says no more about the matter. When Ann simply nods, there's a slight pause before she finally says, "You're aware, of course, that you still have full responsibility for your padawan, though I am leading the exercise, then," she says, with a nod. But she doesn't wait for Ann to respond before continuing with, "Well, then. I suppose we shouldn't waste anymore time." She gestures for them to follow her, but lingers in the doorway for a brief moment, "Ann, will you stay here with Thaarin? It seems that having one of you around at least lowers his blood pressure." A beat. "We'll get a feed set up in here. So that Thaarin can have visibility into what we're doing. And," she adds. "just in case anything... happens, you'll be able to know immediately and intervene, should the circumstances call for it, since we'll be right across the hall." Then she turns and heads for the room where Thaarin's companion is being kept.

She wouldn't say it, but no one needed the Force to see the Cragmoloid in the room. She knew about what had happened with Tomi. The feed wasn't for Thaarin, it was so that Ann could watch Cayde. They wanted her far away enough that she wouldn't disrupt whatever they had in mind for the procedure regarding the Force, but close enough to do damage control if Cayde... lost control.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    But how does the healer know lowering Thaarin's blood pressure is even good? If whatever it was before is normal then maybe it's a bad thing. Ann might be thinking the same thing; at the very least he's sharing that notion with her.

    Anyway, given what happened with Tomi last time, it was to be expected, right? Cayde just sighs under his breath and tries not to show this resigned self-deprecation.

Pike Windu has posed:
    The specialist's words sink in as Pike follows her. Now his own doubts begin to form.

    "Have you tried more conventional treatments? Perhaps this procedure should be a last resort."

Annelia Belask has posed:
    "Yes, I understand that people like to cover themselves," says Ann in response to the note about being responsible for Cayde, in a tone that's -mostly- joking.

    "Sounds like you might need me to eye Thaarin in case lower pressure is a bad thing, too," she adds, brow raising- but acquiescing to stay by the door rather than continue through.

Athena (159) has posed:
Cayde's quiet sigh either goes unnoticed, or ignored. "Yes," the specialist says to Pike, "and it appears that whatever Navi and Cayde tried last night had some effect. However, for this procedure, we'll need more hands, and to be more careful."

The nurse whispers something to the specialist, who frowns, but doesn't respond to Anne's comment. She then escorts Cayde and Pike into the room, then closes the door, dimming the lights. "We will begin this procedure first by meditating, then connecting to one another via the Force," she says, "we must forsake reality entirely, and embrace the nature of our task completely..."

Once the others have filtered out of the room, and a droid brings in a feed for the security camera in the other room, Thaarin seems to understand what the others are attempting to do. His eyes widen, and he suddenly and instinctively leans forward as if to get up, forgetting temporarily that he's partially secured by the blood pressure monitor. "Not safe," he says. The machine monitoring his blood pressure beeps urgently and the readout shows the bar skyrocketing into the red zone.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde follows the healer into the room, and nods at her instructions, closing his eyes and trying to focus. But it's not easy...he has been...distracted lately. He can't seem to keep Tomi off of his mind, and the events that surrounded him at the Temple prior...

Pike Windu has posed:
    Pike's own doubts cloud his mind and he is unable to fully connect with the Force.

    "If you think this is best for your patient, very well."

Athena (159) has posed:
The specialist notices right away. <You -must- clear your minds> she reiterates. <Embrace the Force> The lights turn off completely, and then Cayde and Pike will be able to feel the specialist reach out in the Force, attempting to assist them in clearing their minds.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde struggles a bit until he is able to connect with Pike and the healer, their presence guiding him away from his emotional baggage. Now just what did this specialist have in mind?

Pike Windu has posed:
    Pike's mind clears. He senses the specialist, Cayde, and the patient...

Annelia Belask has posed:
    "Alright, lay back a moment- not safe how? Because there's always some risk with this kind of procedure, but if you've been holding out on something extra-special about your friend, best it come out sooner than later," says Ann to Thaarin, frowning as she walks across the room to him.

Athena (159) has posed:
Cayde won't be left in the dark as to what this healer specialist has in mind. As soon as Cayde and Pike are able to clear their minds, the healer guides them to a deeper level of meditation. If they follow her, and lean into their connection to her, this level of meditation does require them to completely detach their minds from their physical bodies, and focus all their attention on entering the mind of Thaarin's companion.

For a second, Thaarin doesn't respond, instead, he just anxiously watches the feed. But then he finally relaxes and leans back with a sigh, and his blood pressure drops slightly. "...The nurses," he begins slowly, choosing his words carefully. "They know." He shakes his head. "Waking means..." he looks thoughtful, "danger. For them. But..." Then he suddenly deflates, and his expression becomes incredibly weary and sad. "He wakes," he says, "Or he dies."

He rests his head in his hands. "Why must they... be so good?" he asks, looking back up at Anne, brows furrowed.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Leave his body completely? But...Cayde hesitates, suddenly fearful. What if he can't come back? Would he be trapped in another's body forever? What if he wasn't ready to wake yet?

Pike Windu has posed:
    /Trust in the Force, Padawan./

    Pike isn't sure if his thought will reach Cayde. But he tries anyway.

Athena (159) has posed:
Regardless of whether Pike reaches Cayde or not, the specialist will sense the young Padawan's uncertainty. <If you can't do this> she warns. <Then pull out now. After this point in time, there will be no turning back or making critical mistakes> she says.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    As much as Cayde wants to help, all the fear and uncertainty of past catastrophes just rushes in as soon as the healer tells him this is some kind of point of no return. He could feel it...she had requested his help, but hadn't felt very confident in it, given the fiasco that had occurred with Master Tomi. What had happened to the Arkanian, anyway? They'd managed to destroy the creature that had been keeping him trapped in his own nightmares, thanks in the most part to Ann, but had the man been able to make a full recovery?

    He sighs and withdraws then, shaking his head. It wasn't worth the risk...he's more of a liability than anything else.

Pike Windu has posed:
    Pike senses Cayde's presence diminish. The Jedi Master focuses on the comatose patient, minding his own advice to trust in the Force.

Athena (159) has posed:
The specialist seems slightly relieved that Cayde had withdrawn. She makes no mention of it to to either Pike or Cayde though, and proceeds to guide Pike to a deeper level of concentration. They'll find themselves on the edge of the unconscious alien's mind now.

Cayde will have to make his way out of the dark room quietly, and close the door behind him to not disturb the specialist or Pike.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde sighs and leaves the room as quietly as he can, looking rather defeated. He heads across the hall back to the room where Ann and Thaarin are watching, trying to hide his disappointment in himself as he sits down next to his master.

Annelia Belask has posed:
    "It's what we agree to do when we join the order. Try to better the galaxy for whoever's in front of us, basically. Doesn't always work, but always worth a try. The wise part is figuring out what to do when it doesn't."

    She turns rather pointedly to Cayde- but it's unlike the pointed looks she often gives officials and the like- more to indicate an example of what she's saying. "Take Cayde here. Went in to try to help. Didn't go the way he'd hoped. Saw that it wasn't in the proverbial cards today and pulled out safely. Maybe didn't fix it himself, but showed good control and a sense of caution and good judgment. You did well in there, even if it doesn't feel like it, Cayde."

Athena (159) has posed:
Thaarin watches Ann for a moment, his expression pensive. He smiles faintly at her and there's a hint of admiration there as well. He may not have understood every word she said, but he seems to get the gist.

He nods at both of them, then signs /Thank you/.

He offers then offers Cayde a compassionate smile, and pats him on the shoulder.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Ann's words serve to encourage him a bit, and he tries to let her know that, connecting to her presence as he leans against her shoulder slightly. <Thank you Master>