Beauty in The Eyes Beholder

CHAPTER TWO

The time it took to get the infirmary only took 20 minutes. In Olyone's mind, it took 20 hours. She had to mentally prepare for the excruciating pain that immediately followed every step. It didn't help that her core muscles only added more pain every time she drew air into her lungs. Dzukya doesn't say one word to motivate her; he just helps his comrade the same way she has done for him in the past. The two of them slowly inch their way down the hallway, past people's sly gazes.

'Screw these bastards! If they're waiting to see me break...they have another thing coming!' Olyone thinks.

The two of them finally reach the infirmary. One of the medical droids waves Dzukya over to an empty table, and with his help, Olyone makes it onto gingerly on to the bed. She just lies there, then she feels the prick of an injection needle into her midsection. Her body starts to slowly uncoil...the joy of pain killers. A full body scan is completed as quickly as it starts. The medical droid looks at the results of the scan, then looks at Dzukya.

"The injuries are non-life threatening. She will have to rest for at least a week before she can return to her duties." With that, the medical droid walks away.

Dzukya shakes his head. "Man, you can just see his patient care just ooze out of him." He hears a slight, low laugh coming from Olyone and looks down at her. "Well...I'm gonna assume that the drugs are kicking in now." Olyone very slowly nods her head as her eyes begin to close. Just then the infirmary doors slide open and a familiar voice is heard.

"Hey Sgt. Dzukya, what are you- oh, my goodness!" Pvt. Lenck sees Olyone laid out on the table and makes a beeline to them. "When I said I would meet up you later...this ain't what I had in mind. What happened to her?" Dzukya look over at the private with a small smile.

"She didn't take to the loyalty officer's flirting...at all," jokes Dzukya. Just then he hears a small snort coming from Olyone.

"Your...jokes..." Olyone's eyes finally close. The pain killers take her under. Dzukya and Lenck leave the infirmary to let her rest.

TWO DAYS LATER:

Dzukya exits out of a briefing room. He does his best not to let his feelings show but every once in a while, his lips begin to tense up.

"Every time, the same thing: hurry up and wait! I've seen that video nine times already. That time I wasted could have been used for some shuteye." Dzukya continues to mutter under his breath when he sees Pvt. Lenck coming down the hall in the opposite direction. The private's clothing is drenched in sweat. Lenck locks eyes with the Sergeant and quickly narrows the gap between them.

"So - just finished running all of Coruscant?" Even unhappy, Dzukya can't go without a wisecrack.

"No, sir. Just finished the last part of my physical trial," replies Lenck.

"Don't call me sir, I work for a-Wait a minute! What do you mean 'last part,' " Dzukya asks.

Lenck explains what he meant with an almost kid-like honesty. "Running a trail, in full fire gear, on Harloff Minor."

Dzukya almost can't believe his ears. "Harloff...Minor?! That sauna of a planet? How long did it take to complete the run?"

The private answers the question with a simple shoulder shrug.

The sergeant's eyes almost get to the size of teacups. "What do mean you don't know?"

"I lost track of time after the first hour," replies Lenck.

"The first hour?" The sergeant reluctantly asks Lenck when did he know that he passed the trial.

Lenck answers, "When everyone else in the group dropped like flies."