siiiiigh im going to regret this but day 4 with Drift?
Hiiii Gaea! @kkrazy256 also asked for day 4 so I smashed their guy Rem in there too! This may make little to no sense to anyone else though hfdjksahgajlsh
Day 4: sensory deprivation, hallucinations, "you're still alive in my head"; 685 words
“It’s…not going to be pleasant,” Remedy said. His voice was as flat as ever, but with a rare undercurrent of apology that made Drift’s eyes widen. The CMO of the Coruscant Guard was a tough old bastard, never apologizing for anything and running his medbay with an iron fist. Hell, Drift had seen him go toe-to-toe with Fox more than once, and Fox was scary.
So Drift could only assume this bacta dip was going to suck space balls.
“I can’t put you under,” Remedy continued. “Your system is still coming off the spice and stims and whatever fucked-up concoction that excuse for a medical practitioner gave you -” here Remedy’s eyes tightened slightly, as they always did when Pharma was mentioned - “so you’re going to have to be awake in the tank.”
Drift would nod, if he could, but his recently re-implanted artificial spine was a searing line of pain down his back, so he said nothing as the CMO went on.
“You won’t be able to see, hear, or move. Whatever you do, kid,” he said, pinning Drift with an intense gaze from behind his glasses, “Don’t panic.”
At the time, Drift hadn’t understood what he’d meant. It was just a dip in a bacta tank, right? True, Drift had never actually been in a bacta tank - Remedy guarded the two tanks the Corries had been allowed like a space dragon of legend, only using their limited supplies on the very worst of cases.
But still. How bad could it be? Maybe Drift could even get some sleep. Imagine that.
—
Drift did not get some sleep. The residual stims, spice, and Pharma’s serum kept his system humming, a shaky sort of wakefulness that set his teeth on edge.
Being submerged in bacta was nothing like the water training exercises on Kamino - the fluid around him was almost heavy, restricting his movements as though he were an insect set in amber. He couldn’t see, couldn’t hear; Drift floated through space, totally alone.
Not alone.
Drift flinched - it was all he could do, with every limb weighed down and nearly immobilized. His jaw clenched under the oxygen mask. He would just - pretend he didn’t hear that.
He drifted. Heh. Drifted. That was funny –
You’re even more of an idiot than I thought.
No, nonono. He was not losing it in here. Losing it was postponed until a later date. He would not panic, he would just breathe, and breathe, and breathe, and ignore the voice that sounded so familiar–
Awww, c’mon, don’t ignore me. Don’t you miss me?
No. Who would?
That supercilious voice seemed to be coming from everywhere, somehow. Well, Remedy, for one, it hissed. Do you really think he’ll forgive you for this?
I didn’t kill you, Pharma. He did.
He did. But you pushed him to it, didn’t you? All this could have been avoided if you weren’t such a braindead fool. It’s all your fault. His pain is on you.
He – there wasn’t any other way –
People do seem to have to keep fixing your mistakes, don’t they, Drift? First your batchmate Wing, now Remedy…tell me, how long do you think it’ll be before you get him killed, too?
Shut up.
Are you a betting man? I’d put long odds on him even making it to the end of the year, with your track record.
Shut UP! You’re fucking dead, Pharma, so just shut the fuck up.
Dead? Of course. But here in your mind, I’m still alive.
You’re just a hallucination. Just a figment of my imagination–
You may be right. But that doesn’t mean I’m not telling the truth. Pharma’s voice seemed to come from everywhere somehow, enveloping Drift in its poison.
Now. Shall we begin where we left off?
Where we left o–
Agony. A searing line of pure pain traced down the length of Drift’s spinal implant, like a scalpel cutting into his flesh. Like when Pharma had cut into him to tear the implant from his body, leaving Drift bleeding out and useless on the floor.
No. No, not again.
Yes, Pharma’s voice said with glee. Again.
