Perils of Peridea

Chapter 3 - The Truce

Perils of Peridea
Chapter 3
The Truce

Ezra sat in the remains of the med bay. Thrawn was looking thru the cabinets and drawers, trying to find any supplies of worth that may be salvageable. Like most of the ship, things were broken and damaged and strewn about, becoming rendered useless. Ezra hated being injured as much as he hated getting medical treatment, he hated the fact even more that he had to let Thrawn be the one to do it. But for all he knew he could have broken bones, if not healed properly it left him in a very dangerous position, not to mention the possibility of it getting infected. This was a risk he had to take. He had to trust that Thrawn would not make him worse, break more ribs or even rip his arm off. Ezra shuddered at the thought. He had to think that Thrawn needed him alive for a reason or something, that he had some use for him, alive at least. He didn't detect that his offer at a truce was deceptive, so he would cautiously play along for now. He always had trust issues, but thankfully he had the Force as his own internal warning system. Thrawn finally approached where Ezra was sitting and placed his findings on the table. Some standard supplies for wound care, he frowned down at his meager offering.

"Contrary to what rebels may think, the empire does not think medical necessities are of great importance. We are all expendable and replaceable, especially storm troopers. Officials may be a little harder to come by, but they can be easily replaced." Ezra nodded at Thrawn's explanations, remembered seeing a lot of 'changing in the guard' in his time fighting imperials. Thrawn continued, "Thankfully we are provided with basic wound care for injuries, but unfortunately for you, they don't believe in pain killers." Ezra grimaced. "Hopefully you have a high pain tolerance."

"I'm sure it's better than yours, and I highly doubt you have a gentle touch." Ezra smirked, trying to hide his nervousness.

"Take off your shirt so I can inspect your injury."

"A little ironic, first you injure me and now you treat the wound." Ezra scoffed as he began to unfasten his top, not going to lie, this was incredibly uncomfortable for him, and the painful part hadn't even started yet. He slowly and gingerly removed his injured arm from his sleeve and let out a sigh as he left his bare back to face his mortal enemy. "Well, how bad is it?"

Thrawn looked the frail boy up and down, he was a little surprised to see how full of scars his body was. He was so young, how much had this child gone thru? Not that he cared, but it surely piqued his curiosity. Wasn't like there was anything else of interest here. He looked at the blaster wound, the burns around the hole looked minor at least, the wound was deep but didn't go down to the bone. He could easily clean it and place some antibacterial ointment on some gauze in it and cover it with the bandage material to prevent infection. With no x-ray or scanner it was impossible to tell if anything was broken. Thrawn honestly didn't know why he had shot him in the shoulder and not taken a kill shot, the boy had been close enough. Something had held him back, he wasn't sure what or why, and that annoyed him. He placed his fingers on Ezra's shoulder blade. Ezra hissed and flinched from pain but also nervousness, not expecting Thrawn's fingers to be so cold and sharp, he tried hard not to tremble. Thrawn could feel the warmth coming from Ezra's body. Was that his normal temperature or was the wound already becoming infected? He doubted the latter but of course wasn't sure. Ezra tried hard to keep calm and control his breathing, struggling not to whimper as Thrawn felt around the bone, checking for fractures. He lowered his hand and began to touch Ezra's ribs, a whine finally made it thru Ezra's lips. He regretted it the moment he opened his mouth, but it was a reflex he could help.

"Did that hurt?" Thrawn asked.

Ezra caught his breath, "A.... a little."

Thrawn continued with his inspection. Gently pressing against his ribs as Ezra struggled desperately to hold back anymore whimpers, squeezing his lips together and holding his breath as if his life depended on it. It was uncomfortable and not just from the pain, this whole situation made his skin crawl with discomfort. Ezra was surprised Thrawn was being so gentle, it made him feel more nervous than if he had been rough on him. After feeling his ribs Thrawn picked up his left arm and began to extend and move it. Thankfully it still had full range of motion, it would catch or pop in some positions but it didn't appear to be broken. Perhaps minor fractures if nothing else. If anything he would need to wear a splint to brace it. They could easily make one out of a sheet or something if need be. He was young and strong, he would heal no problem. It did make him a little less useful to have one bad arm, but all things considered, it could be worse. He did also have several new cuts on his arms from the glass that had floated in the air during their journey from the shattered windows, but all the wounds were shallow and unremarkable. Thrawn began to walk around Ezra, looking him over as he saw the small nicks scattered on his face and scalp. Ezra glanced up at him nervously. Thrawn bent down and lifted Ezra's chin, looking him dead in the eyes. Ezra couldn't help it this time, his body instinctively trembling as their eyes met. Ezra felt a chill run thru him. Thrawn's piercing red eyes analyzing him, staring deep down into his very soul. Ezra swallowed hard, trying not to break, until finally Thrawn released him and walked aside. Ezra rubbed his face and caught his breath, he did not like these mind games.

"Well, the injuries you have sustained seem superficial. Your shoulder wound appears deep but does not go down to the bone, you will have to take caution to prevent infection. Without the ability to do radio graphic imaging we are unable tell if anything is broken, but you can still move it, if anything you might have hairline fractures or possible chipping. I suggest you find a splint to brace it with so it can rest and be immobilized, I'm sure you could find a small sheet to tear and make use of."

"I guess that's not that bad...." Ezra spoke, trying hard not to sound nervous, but his voice was dry and betrayed him. "Is that it?"

"Now I must treat it. Hold still, and if you need to scream in pain, I wouldn't mind."

"Oh how thoughtful." Ezra sneered, Thrawn smirked back.

Thrawn prepared some of the ointment on the gauze and held it up to the injury, "Are you ready?"

"Just do it." Ezra grimaced, hating the anticipation, closing his eyes and bracing for the worst.

"Very well." Thrawn pushed the medicated gauze deep into the wound.

"AHH!" Ezra's eyes went wide and his body locked from the pain, it hurt ten times worse than the actual shot did.

"Sing for me Bridger, like a song."

"Stop enjoying this!" Ezra panted, his voice tense and cracking from the pain.

Thrawn smirked, "Hold still or it will take longer." He unrolled some of the bandage material and began to wrap it around his shoulder, causing Ezra to cry out again. "There. Done. Were you this much of a baby when your rebel friends had to patch you up?"

Ezra struggled to catch his breath as he touched the bandage material that was carefully placed around his shoulder and ribs, "I can't say. None of them ever shot me before." Well, Sabine almost did. More than once.

"Well hopefully I won't have to repeat that, at least not without taking better aim first." Thrawn stood up. Ezra looked at himself in the mirror, not wanting to admit that he was shocked at the great job Thrawn had done. "Don't get it wet or dirty. We don't have antibiotics, that ointment and bandage material is the only thing between you and infection. Get bad enough and you may need an amputation." Ezra flinched and shuddered at the thought, putting his shirt back on. "I have no experience in that, but I'm sure I could find a sword to make a nice clean cut."

"Thanks but I'll pass on that."

"Suit yourself." Thrawn turned to go.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"Contrary to your belief Bridger, but I have much better things I would like to attend to today." Thrawn glanced back and frowned. "Thanks to your friends, most of the ship is damaged and most supplies and provisions are lost in space or rendered useless. I will need to make an inventory of what we have and salvage anything of use. Speaking of, would you care to assist?"

Ezra grimaced but held his shoulder and remembered the truce, "Yeah, I'll help."

"Splendid. We can cross the medical room off the list. I will start in the helm, you can take the kitchen."

"Sounds like a plan." Ezra walked off down a hall.

"Bridger?"

"Yeah?" Ezra turned around.

Thrawn blinked at him for a moment before pointing down the other way, "Kitchen is that way."

Ezra grimaced and tried not to blush with embarrassment, "Yeah, I know. I was just uhhh.... looking for the refresher." He shoved past him and Thrawn smirked with amusement.

"Refresher is that way too."

"Shut uuuuuuuupppp.....!"