Chasing a Demon

The Doctor Visits the Demon

As Hunter helped Omega stand, he stood up from the 'fresher floor himself, hanging up the towels and washcloth to dry.

"Stay here" he told her. "When you hear a knock, the female doctor will come in. Me and the others will be right outside, okay Ad'ika?" Omega nodded, not looking up from the floor. Grabbing the bag of her soiled clothes, he walked out of the bathroom.

"She's all clean, and I understand a bit what happened" Hunter said darkly to the others standing right outside the ship, talking to the female doctor. He threw the clothes in the compactor nearby, glad to be rid of them and for them to be out of his home. He turned and approached the group of brothers and the female physician.

"Hello, my name is Dr. Garthra, and I hear your daughter needs examined? Do you know what happened? All your brothers have told me was that she was sexually assaulted." The female doctor said, seemingly unphased.

The brothers all blanched, no one having actually said it aloud. But it was true. Omega was... raped. To heal, they had to first address it actually happened. Hunter thought he was going to vomit again, but held his ground. Echo put his hand up to his face in what, to anyone else, looks like a mindless movement. However, the brothers knew this small gesture was standing between him and losing his control over his emotions. Tech clenched his fists, and fixated on the ground. Wrecker simply looked downcast, like he would never be happy again.

"Yes, Omega was... raped. She was also drugged, but Tech was able to completely neutralize that situation and flush the drug from her system. He addressed her headache and dehydration. He also started to address the bruising that he could see easily. We wanted to be very careful not to cross any boundaries after what happened, even if he was simply treating her as a medic." Hunter explain. All of the brothers shifted, not able to look at Hunter while he spoke. They all felt that, to some degree, the whole thing was their own personal fault.

"Thank you, you did a great job Tech. As horrible as everything that happened to her is, if you hadn't addressed the drugging then none of the other healing would have mattered with her dead." Dr. Garthra said bluntly.

"Um, Doc, why are you not, um, upset, by this?" Wrecker asked, reflecting what they all had been thinking.

"Unfortunately" she continued, "child sexual harassment and assault begun rising when the was started, and has considered growing as a crime at considerable rates. I can't say I'm surprised anymore, especially given you guys took her to Ord Mantell. That's one of the top places in the galaxy right now for that kind of crime to occur."

Her statement was like a knife to the heart for the four men. They had done this. They were the ones who took her there. They were the ones who treated her safety with negligence. If they had just never taken her there. If they had taken her far away, and settled down somewhere safe... as a family.

Lost in their thoughts, no one spoke until Dr. Garthra cleared her throat expectantly. "Can someone show me where the patient Omega is?"she inquired, wanting to get to work. "Follow me" Hunter said, leading the way to the 'fresher.

"She has been bathed and is in clean clothes. She should be ready to see you." Hunter said quietly. Knocking on the door, Dr. Garthra asked "May I come in, Omega? This is Dr. Garthra. Your brothers had me come here to examine you." After a few seconds, Omega gave her consent and the doctor entered the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

The next hour and a half that passed felt like a whole day. The brothers waited outside, Wrecker kicking up dirt with his foot impatiently, while Tech read on his data pad, his leg jiggling anxiously. Echo worked on calibrating and cleaning one of his guns, while Hunter simply sat and stared off into the distance, with the day's events playing out in his mind on repeat.

"So... you said she told you what happened?" Echo asked first, returning to the previous conversation.

"Yeah..." Hunter said sadly. "She... she said her assailant looked like you Tech." Tech's face went white, realizing why she had had such a violent reaction to seeing him earlier but not to the sound of his voice.

"She said that she had her eyes on her drink at all times and doesn't know how she could have been drugged. Echo, if you remember, get access to Cid's security cameras and see if you can see what happened. It may also help us find this kriffing stranger. Next thing she remembers, and only thing she remembers, are snippets of it... actually happening." Hunter said, fighting back rage and tears again. Wrecker sobbed, and Echo and Tech had gone very still. They all contemplated what this meant.

After a bit more time, Dr. Garthra returned. "Okay," she began. "Omega was great and let me conduct a thorough examination. Tech, you did an excellent job treating her where you could. I anticipate no further issues or side effects from the drug being in her system. There is extensive bruising up and down her stomach and legs, as well as fairly deep cuts in her thighs. It looks as if she fought to some extent."

Hunter was going to be sick at the detail he had to think about this in. It had to be addressed, but he didn't know how he'd make it through. Seeing his distress, Echo walked over to Hunter and placed a hand on his shoulder, as a sign of support.

"Continue, Doctor." Said Echo.

"I gave her some medicine for any pain she may experience in her lower abdomen as well as more bacta patches for her more intimate cuts and scraps you can't heal Tech. Besides that, I was able to pull a sample for my rape kit. It will tell us potentially who the offender was. That will take some time to get the results in for though. Also, I did go ahead and examine her, and there should be no fear of her becoming pregnant or contracting a STD. Omega, in all actuality, got very lucky. I gave her my card, told her to call me with any questions or concerns. I know it can be easier for young girls to talk to a female doctor as opposed to male doctors. The only thing I suggest is keep an eye on the bruising on her neck and her breathing. That bruising will only get worse, and without being able to bring her in to a facility for me to perform more in-depth machinery scans, I can't for certain say there is no damage to her trachea. However, as of now, she is breathing comfortably."

"Thank you Dr. Garthra." Tech began, escorting her back to her speeder. "I greatly appreciate your help with this."

"Of course, it's the least I can do. It's one way I can help in this new post-war world." She stated before driving off into the distance. Tech returned to the group, regaining his composure. "We need a plan" he began, motioning to the others. "I... think it's best I stay away from her for a little bit. Maybe gradually... reintroduce myself. I don't think she will get any better me forcing my presence. Meanwhile, you three should take shifts being near her. From what I have read about child psychology, she will very likely have severe PTSD, and it could be quite some time until she starts behaving normally again. You will need to give her as much physical and mental reassurance as she needs. Meanwhile, we can take small jobs from Cid that only require two or three of us at a time to help keep some flow of credits."

The others nodded, having a plan in place. They headed inside to check on Omega, and with a sigh indicating the world on his shoulders, Tech sat down and silently cried as the sun set on the worst day of his life.