OOC: JP from
@Xandrya and
@sail3695âAttention all hands, this is the first mate. Due to the length of time and remote location of our next job, Captainâs ordered everyone to report to Medbay for a complete physical exam. Abby, youâre up first. Imani will be ready for you in thirty ticksâŠ.âThirty ticks was jest enough time fer a proper shower anâ fresh clothes what didnât stink of sweat. Afore today, only times Abby seen inside Medbay was if she got somethinâ hurt. She werenât sure at all of what to expect, so she double scrubbed everâ place, just tah be safe. Brushed âer teeth twice, too. Not knowinâ what Imani might wanna poke or prod at, the deckhand conjured less clothes might be better. With two minutes to spare, she showed up outside Medbay in a pair âoâ shorts anâ a tank top what read:
HAPâS LA FRONTERA
- Greenleaf -
So many great barsâŠand you came here?
The door was hanginâ open. âImaniâŠdoc? Doc Imani?â She tapped on the doorframe. âHere fer muh physâcal?â
âCome on in, Abby,â Imani looked over her shoulder at the redhead who was cutting it close with time, not that Imani was a stickler for punctuality. In fact, she herself had the occasional tardiness or two on record.
âGiven my new position, I need to go down this checklist if ya donât mindâŠâ She turned to face the young girl, directing her to a scale that wasnât there before. Once Abby settled in place, Imani recorded the displayed weight on her datapad. âDonât move just yetâŠâ From the corner of the scale, a green laser shone up adjacent to Abby which reached the height of the topmost part of her head. The scale then read her height. Imani then added that information in her datapad, which would automatically calculate the girlâs BMI, showing it was well within normal range.
Abby held still as numbers flipped anâ come tah rest, tellinâ her weight anâ height. âFive foot six,â the deckhand read aloud. âAnd one seventeen. Funny,â she shook âer head. âAinât grown any taller, but looks like Ahâm gittinâ wider. Is that normal?â
She smiled reassuringly, head slightly cocked to the side. âAs normal as can get. Youâre growing into womanhood, thatâs all. And the labor the captainâs got you doingâŠthatâs gonna tone you up. Alright, you may step down. Aside from recent injuries that have been previously recorded, are there any other medical issues I should know about?â
Abby thought on that one a spell. âNah,â she finally answered. âNot really. Regâlar pulled muscles anâ scrapes from hossinâ crates in tha cargo bay. Aside from that,â she give a shrug, ânada. All shiny.â Fer a sec she pondered why everâ medbay she ever been in had tah be so gorram cold.
I wager itâs a test, she finally decided.
Goose flesh check, or some such.Walking over, Imani patted the exam bed beside her. She reached for a band that when placed around someoneâs arm, would give that personâs vitals amongst other things. âHave a seat if you will, just gonna handle this real quick.â Imani pushed a button and waited a few moments. While so, she turned to Abby. âEverything good in there?â she motioned towards the girlâs head.
That one sorta threw Abby. âIn muh head?â she asked. âI sâpose. Ainât zackly been all tea anâ biscuits around here of late, but Ahâm makinâ it.â The arm band commenced inflatinâ, gettinâ tight on âer bicep so she could feel tha blood pumpinâ in âer veins. Then she remembered Thomas, a thought tah brighten her face. âItâs all lookinâ up, I reckon.â
Suddenly, she wondered if this kinda stuff was what Imani was askinâ about. âYah did mean âwhatâs on muh mind, dinya?â she asked the new doc.
âItâs certainly what I mean.â This last reading was automatically saved on the datapad, a small beep later and she was removing the band from Abbyâs arm. âYa know, mental health affects your general health and I'm making it so youâre all good.â She placed the items down then turned to Abby, leaning with her back to the counter. âAny other concerns, health-related or otherwise?"
The girl smiled as a quick memâry of tha last time sheâs asked that question crossed âer mind. Tha time Alana asked, she had tah admit some embarrassment fer worryinâ âbout tha bullet scar on âer
pi gu and wonderinâ if she could ever wear a bikini. The Doc had been kind in her assurances, all proved right when Abby did hit tha beach on Pelorum.
After dousinâ tha smirk, she opened âer mouth with another question. âCapânâs told us yer really good in a scrap,â Abby began. âAinât seen yah in action but once, when that Shepherd put âis hands on yah. Werenât even a tussle,â she shook âer head. âJest one really slick move anâ heâs begginâ fer mercy.â She stepped down from tha treatment table. âThem bikers what took me? Theyâs on me anâ I didnât have a chance,â Abby said. âCanât help wonderinâ how that mighta ended if Ah could handle muhself better.â
Abbyâs eyes lifted toward Imaniâs. âIâs wonderinâ if yah could teach me a few things? So I ainât so helpless when somethinâ like that happens again?â
âHope nothing like that happens again soon...
but if it did, you want me to train ya some? Iâll gladly teach you a thing or two. For exampleââ Imani motioned for Abby to move closer to her. She then turned around, taking Abbyâs arm as she went and placed it around her neck. âIf someone grabs you from behind, you can do a shin strike and scrape.â The interim medic demonstrated what she meant, placing the side of her shoe on Abbyâs shin and guiding it down without putting force in the movement. âYouâre first striking their shin, then dragging your foot down forcibly and with some strength behind it.â Imani tapped her arm twice and turned to face the girl. âIt works best if his shinâs exposed but then thatâd mean he wasnât wearing any pants.â Imani smiled then laughed a little at her own terrible joke. âYou think you got it? Thatâs just one of a multitude of techniques you can try."
The deckhand followed Imaniâs lead, slippinâ âer arm about tha womanâs neck from behind. Tha new docâs move werenât nothinâ sheâd seen afore, let alone expected. A shoe touched âer shin with a mild push, then slid down, tha heel trailinâ her shinbone til Imaniâs foot come softly down on âer own.
âYouâre first striking their shin, then dragging your foot down forcibly and with some strength behind it.â She couldnât quite conjure how well it worked. When Imani give âer arm coupla taps to let go, Abbyâs all set tah try it herself, anâ was jest âbout tah ask as much.
âIt works best if his shinâs exposed but then thatâd mean he wasnât wearing any pants.âLike tha crack of a whip, she was right back there. The bag on âer head smelled somethinâ horrible. Filthy burlap itched on âer face where she was bent down on tha table. She could hear tha knife, workinâ itsâ way through her tee shirt anâ bra as Lido cut âem tah scraps.
âAaaaabbyâŠâ His voice in âer earâŠa hand gropinâ âer bosoms til it slid down tah pull âer denims off.
She growed up beinâ tough, jest like Uncle Bob taught âer.
âDonât show no weakness, Chick Pea.â Anâ she tried. All âer life, she tried. But that one moment, as that manâŠthat Lido..hauled âer unders down, Abby cried, anâ she begged. SheâŠ
begged.âAaaaabbyâŠâThe response Imani got wasnât one she was expecting. It was as if Abbyâs mind was suddenly elsewhere. A blank expression on her face, those distant eyes... Imani quickly grew concerned, her hand hovering over the girlâs shoulder but not wanting to scare her.
Her hand clutched tha exam table, holdinâ âer steady as Uncle Bob said it again, clear as day.
âDonât let it showâŠ.donât let it showâŠâ From deep inside come tha shame; she fought tah push it back. It was shiny. Everâthingâs shiny. Sheâs in Medbay. Imaniâs teachinâ herâŠteachinâ âer some fightinâ moves.
âYou alrighty, Abby? I said something wrong, didnât I?â
At last, Abby turned toward âer newfound instructor. âNah,â she tried shakinâ it off. âItâs all shiny. But can Ah ask a favor? Can we do that again? Fer real? Ah wanna know how it feels.â
Imani thought on that for a moment. Abby was big enough to know what she wanted; what she
needed. If itâd help her sort out her business in that head of hers, then Imani was more than happy to oblige. âTry to make it realistic then, yeah? Come at me as if you want to choke me âtil my body gives...â With that, Imani turned away from Abby and walked a few paces away, waiting for the young deckhand to strike.
âLike a choke hold, yeah? Okay.â Imaniâs back was turnt, anâ sheâd moved off coupla paces. Fer a sec, Abby pondered how much arm strength she oughtta use. She kinda feared what sheâs feelinâ, tucked jest beneath âer skin as she come forward. Abby never put nobody in a choke hold afore, but she seen it enough in some of them spy shows she watched. And fer now, thinkinâ about that was one helluva lot betterân recallinâ that what haunted âer dreams most nights.
âWhen youâre a spy, violence is a tool. Use it deliberately, and without emotionâŠâEverythinâ she ever seenâŠeverâ time she heard it told, she sâposed tah bury her feelinâsâŠnot let âem cloud âer judgment or purpose. Til right now, Abby always thought she did that part right well. So, why come it is that a joke âbout a man not wearinâ pants could knock âer so far off kilter? It was plain as day sheâs gonâ need tah think on that a spell. Sheâs doinâ it again, gorramit!
Clear your head, jackass! Abby conjured it wise tah keep âer dominant hand, tha gun hand, free. She closed tha gap in a single stride, right foot forward, her left arm goinâ around Imaniâs neck. Her bicep tensed enough tah make this feel kinda real. The gun hand hovered behind Imaniâs right elbow.
Do no harm.An ethical code she'd not strayed from. Not yet anyway. Imani was not a licensed physician but she followed similar guidelines.
First it was the couple of steps approaching her, then the arm snaking around her neck. Imani would follow through with Abby's request, though she'd dial it back to prevent major bruising.
When the arm around her tensed, Imani kicked her foot back to make contact with Abby's shin. There was a small jump, as expected. She then scraped down her leg with enough force to make Abby let go, but she didn't dig a much as she could have were she being truly attacked.
Abby stiffened, knowinâ sheâs âbout tah get hit, waitinâ fer Imaniâs backblow.
I kinda wish I didnât know⊠âOOOOOOOAAAAAUUUUGGGGHHHHH!â First, tha kick startled âer, then a sheet âoâ pain rocked Abby from kneecap tah ankle. It was like that word in her booksâŠex-cru-ciat-ingâŠ..
â...It works best if his shinâs exposedâŠâAs Imaniâs heel done itsâ work, Abby nearabouts regretted wearinâ shorts tah her physical. She lost âer grip on tha medic, doublinâ over afore her hand clutched tha exam table.
âXiÄ hĂłuzi de Ă©rzi!!!, she hollered. âTHAT GORRAM HURT!â
She turned around. The instant regret in the form of a slew of lively language was
somewhat satisfying. Imani smirked, shaking her head as if taunting Abby. âI told ya itâd hurt, but now you know it works.â
Funny thing was, a sharp jolt âoâ pain like that done moreân jest promise a bruise on Abbyâs shin. All sudden like,her mind was blasted clear of all itsâ cobwebs. Anâ that, she reckoned, felt mighty fine. Mighty fine indeed. âHooo,
la shi!â she swore as she took tah hobblinâ about. âDamn if that donât work!â A giggle passed âer lips. One blow anâ sheâs staggerinâ like ole Rex on a bender. âWow, Imani!â Abby bust out laughinâ at herself, âthat hurts somethinâ fierce! Can yah teach me more? Mebbe have some practices?â
âThereâs plenty for your learning, Iâll be glad to teach ya.â She gently guided Abby back onto the table. With a smile, she underhanded the girlâs leg just above the ankle to take a look at the damage. Imani figured it was nothing time wouldnât solve as she slightly rotated Abbyâs leg one way and then the other. The minor scrape and bruising would likely be gone in a couple of days. âHere, let me give ya some aftercare cream,â Imani briefly left Abbyâs side, âIt ainât miracle in a bottle but youâll get a nice tingling feel on your shin. Think of it as my peace offering to you.â