Private The price of freedom is heavy, (but I will pay it every time)

[Anakin Stormrunner]

The moment he was captured, Anakin knew it came with a deadline. He knew that once the corpos got what they wanted out of him, they would sell him to the hutts. He knew, but knowing and seeing were two very different things.

Over the course of his stay, time had faded into maybes and what if’s. In the eternal darkness of his cell, he could track it through the changing guard shifts and the sporadic meals. It was faulty and every time he fell asleep he could lose anything from minutes to days. He didn’t know how long it took for them to tire of him. Not until later. Not until he was free, huddled in a back alley clinic sharing desperate whispers with a woman he thought dead.

When they came for him, it took him too long to realize something was wrong. At first he was just glad to be out of his cell, with its too low ceiling and too cold air that pulled at his scars and dug it’s frigid claws into his open wounds. He savored the few moments where he could stand to his full height and the pain on his injuries was faint. He savored it, knowing that it would be fleet; knowing that on his return he would be bleeding and broken once more. Lost as he was the pain laden haze that dogged his every step in this cursed place, it took minutes to realize what should have taken him moments.

They weren’t going the right way. They had never been going the right way. From the moment he stepped out of his cell, they had led him down a different path. “Wh-“ His first attempt at speaking was painful and rough. Barely above a whisper, he fought to be heard and lost in a coughing fit.

“Where are we going?” His second attempt was better, though it still scratched against his throat and threatened to send him into hacking coughs once more.

The two guards glared at him and for a moment he was sure his words would be met with silence. Then one spoke up. “We’re getting rid of you.”

“Don’t talk to it!” Called the second guard. She shoved him from behind, baton crushing his broken wing.

“Come on man, it’ll be dead soon anyway-“ He could barely hear them past his own scream of pain. Spots danced across his vision as he stumbled forward. He couldn’t fall, they’d only beat him more. So he stumbled and he screamed and by some miracle he kept from toppling forward.

They were moving again, down unfamiliar hallways and past unknown doors. Each step sent pain sparking across his taloned feet and up his legs. Still he kept walking. He had to keep walking. Weakness meant pain and his state, pain meant death. Then again, he’d be dead soon anyway.

The hallway changed around them. It’s walls shifted to dark durasteel and the tiled floors faded to simple duracrete. He could hear speeders in the distance, and knew that his time had come to an end.

Spice blue eyes darted between the guards. He was going to die, but he’d be damned if he went quietly. He was depuskalta. He was free in every way that mattered. He’d never give them the private of seeing him beg.

When they arrived at the security checkpoint, Anakin took the moment to sweep his gaze across the ship that he’d be shuffled into. Perhaps he could have escaped from it, had he been at full health. As he was, he was struggling to even stand on his own. His body was a tapestry of injuries. Bruises mottled his face and his back was a mess of blood whip marks. Not to mention the fact that he couldn’t fly. His left wing was mutilated beyond recognition and even if it wasn’t his muscles had atrophied too much for long flights.

He couldn’t flee, but he’d be free by the end of this one way or another. Sure he’d leave his family here, but he trusted them. He watched the Amakivva community grow from its creation and he knew they’d survive.

When they were through security, he walked to the ship with his head held high. A silent act of defiance to show he was still free. They’d never get the privilege of seeing him struggle to his death. He would face it with bravery and freedom burning in his eyes.

Xan Deesa

 

[Xan Deesa]

As Anakin was led to the CorpSec ship, cameras started to move on their own. A number of them zeroed in on him and his captors, while others monitored the rest of the prison. Only after he was onboard did the cameras return to normal. But the technological disturbance didn’t stop there.

As the ship started up and the pilot opened the navicomputer, a slight stutter occurred on the screen. But other than that, nothing else happened. The ship flew off and the air traffic control gave them the all-clear... except the air wasn’t.

“Watch it!” The co-pilot shouted and yanked the controls to dodge another ship flying past. They barely missed the other freighter but it threw them directly into a nearby skylane, forcing them to go with the traffic for a bit. While the pilots were arguing over the near-miss, the astromech droid plugged in to help with the course. It seemed fine, but in reality something else was happening inside it.

Finally they got out of the traffic, flying higher and higher towards the atmosphere. They were alone and almost free to jump to hyperspace.

Then it started.

At first the comms went silent. They couldn’t send or receive. Then the navicomputer was next, not responding to any coordinates or tasks inputted for it. The last to stop responding were the controls as if the autopilot took over. The pilots, understandably very confused, tried to figure out what was suddenly going on with the ship.

When they couldn’t sort it out, they ordered the astromech droid to plug in. It did as it was told... except it didn’t solve the problem. With a few twists of its scomp link, the bulkheads to Anakin’s cell sealed off as the ship broke through the atmosphere. The guards, trapped outside, banged against the door and tried to override it to no avail. The ship was in space, but not responding to anything the crew did. The pilots shouted at the droid and were about to pull it away, but with a final twist and the sound of its tracks magnetising, it was all over for the crew. The doors to the outside opened up and the vacuum of space sucked everyone out. In a few seconds, the ship fell dead silent and all the crewmen were lost to the void.

The ship closed up again and turned around to fly back to Denon. The astromech droid stayed where it was and opened the cells’ bulkhead. The ray-shield of Anakin’s cell deactivated and soon the astromech droid came rolling in to slice off his binders. It beeped at him to follow and helped him to the cockpit to the best of his abilities. When he finally arrived, a hologram opened up on the dashboard. A hologram of someone he knew very well.

”You better strap in. CorpSec is gonna be sending ships after us any moment.” Xan ordered him urgently as the ship flew seemingly on its own.

Anakin Stormrunner

 

[Anakin Stormrunner]

Crimson light flashed across his eyes. Quick, repetitive. Sirens assaulted his ears as the bulkhead doors slammed shut. Something was wrong. For a brief shining moment he hoped that someone had come to rescue him. No. It was impossible. His friends in Darkwire thought him dead and though other amavikkan knew about his relationship, or lack there of, with the hutts; they had neither the man power nor the ability to rescue him.

When the bulkhead doors hissed open and the sirens cut off, he stayed seated.

No one came.

When the doors to his cell swung open, he stayed seated.

No one came.

Time dragged on and no one came. Something was definitely wrong. Anakin pulled himself to his feet. He ignored the burning pain in his legs, the screaming of broken bones and oozing cuts as he held himself up with the wall. All he had to do now was walk.

Walking hurt. Each step jarred his broken bones and sent sparks of pain arcing across his oozing cuts. It wasn’t long before he was leaning on against the wall for support. He gasped from the exertion and the pain; he cried from the liquid fire scorching his lungs with each heaving breath. He was a phoenix, burning from the inside out only to be reignited with each step. He didn’t stop moving. In the desert, to stop was to die, and though the icy air of the ship clawed at him, he knew that this place was as much a desert as the infamous Tatooine sea. If he could move just a little more, he would find an oasis. Someone had come for him. They would help him, they would heal him.

He didn’t know what to expect upon arriving at the bridge. A crew of pirates perhaps, maybe a team of shadowrunners that had fished his information out of the infinite threads of the holonet. In the end, it was none of those, not truly. It was Xan. Xan, who he had entrusted with the secret of his people. Xan, who had shared the secret of her enslavement with him. Xan, who he had watched die.

She was dead. This couldn’t be her. His mind screamed at the impossibility and yet his desert sang with truth. She stood before, whole and hale.

No, that wasn’t right.

She wasn’t standing. She wasn’t even there at all, not really. Her form flickered above the standard holoprojector which sat before the pilot’s seat. When had he sat down? It was all a blur.

She was talking. Her lips were moving but he could scarcely hear the words. “Xan?” He whispered, the hoarseness in his throat no longer just from lack of use. He could feel the tears in his eyes as he held them in. He could feel the tears on his cheeks as he let them fall. Water was as precious on Denon as it was in the desert. You had to know what you were crying for. This? This beautiful miracle? It was worth all of his tears.

“I thought you were dead!” The words echoed in the air, shrill with hope and desperation. He barely recognized them as his own.

It takes him too long to register her words from what felt like an eternity ago. Too thin fingers fumble for the straps. He buckles them blind, teary eyes never leaving the image of Xan before him. He ignores the painful pressure against his bruised ribs. It was easy with her in front of him. Everything else faded in the wake of the revelation, the fear and the pain replaced by shock and joy.

“How are you here?” Not to mention more than a little bit of confusion. Something had happened, something had allowed her to survive that fateful fight. A part of him, deep within his desert and singing of payment, knew that it was far from a pleasant story.

Xan Deesa

 

[Xan Deesa]

Anakin was understandably quite confused by her appearance, but she didn't have time for that at the moment. "Yeah, it's me. Now sit still, you're hurt." she quickly ordered as the ship moved back to the atmosphere. Almost immediately after entering, alarms started to blare and lights started to flash.

Her hologram looked back to him as spoke further. "I am dead! But not really, it's... it's a long story, I'll explain later." she hushed him. She felt bad for treating him like this, especially given his reaction to seeing her, but now was not the time to chat. "Droid, get him something to drink and a medpack. Now!" she barked and the droid obeyed. In no time at all the astromech droid had a canteen and medpack being pushed in front of it with its center foot. A compartment opened and a little arm even produced a ration bar for him. "Patch yourself up. We'll get you to a doctor once we're safe." she spoke more gently. "It's good to see you again, Ani." she continued with a smile.

The smile faded when a message came over the comms, demanding the ship's crew to comply and follow them. From the windows, they could see two other escorts flying in formation. "Yeah sorry, crew's sort of drifting in space." she quipped before the ship slammed into one of the fighters. It spiralled and lost control as it plummeted down to Denon. The other fighter quickly took evasive action and fell back to open fire. "Hold on to your lunch." she warned as the ship started to spin, drop, elevate and roll all over the place. The poor droid tried to do its best to help Anakin, but Xan's flying was making it difficult. "Droid, plug in!" she ordered. It quickly plugged in and she took over its systems once more.

Using the extra processing power, she took over the turrets of the ship. Very quickly a dogfight erupted as Xan fired back at the fighter. More blips appeared on the radar as extra fighters were scrambled. "Something tells me they're not happy." she quipped with a chuckle as she sent them into another evasive manoeuvre.

Anakin Stormrunner

 

[Anakin Stormrunner]

Xan brushed him aside, all but shoving medicine and supplies into his hands. He understood of course. Now was far from the best time to talk. Still, it didn’t stop the small seed of anger burning deep inside him. His heart burning in rage and grief and bittersweet joy. Later, he would convince himself it was towards the situation. He’d whisper quiet words about the injustice of her situation, the loss of her body and the loss of his wing. Now though, he simply slipped the food between the folds of his prisoner’s uniform. The water followed soon after, a couple drops less than it was when he got it. The urge to guzzle down the sacred liquid was strong, but experience told him that would only make it worse.


With everything else out of the way and his emotions firmly locked away, Anakin finally examined the medpack.

“It's good to see you again, Ani." Xan’s voice filtered through his ears as his hands filtered through the material in the pack.

“I missed you.” His voice is faint in his ears. All of his attention is focused on the medpack. Finally he finds it, a bacta shot. It was old, like the rest of the stuff, and obviously low quality. Leave it to the corps to neglect ship safety regulations.

Skeletal hands go to grab the shot just as the other ships begin to fire. Pain flairs through his chest as the momentum sends him lurching forward. Tears prick his eyes and he scrambles desperately for air.

On instinct, he brings the bacta shot down on his thigh. Almost instantly the pain in his chest dies down. Another shot and his wing begins to numb. That wasn’t right. Though bacta was a rarity on Tatooine, he knew enough to tell that something was wrong. The ship jerked to the right, eliciting another cry of pain. He’d deal with that later. Right now, he had to worry about surviving.

A search of the medpack revealed bone stabilizers and hyposrays, but not a single bacta shot. He went to grab a hyposray, but Xan sent the ship spiraling into a nosedive. It flew past his head to the far wall. By the time she was done, it was out of reach.

With nothing else to do, Anakin focused his attention on the fight. “Just-” Pain blossomed in his chest. It stole his words and left him gasping for air. “Just get us out of ‘ere.” Another turn, another stab of pain. “Please.”

Xan Deesa

 

[Xan Deesa]

While his words were faint, she still heard him. It meant a lot to her, but right now there was no time to express how much she missed him. There would be time for that later. As she tried to get away from their pursuers, she still kept an eye on him. When the spray flew out of his hand and against a wall behind him, she felt a little bad. Though it was justified when a missile flew past where they just were.

Through the grunts and cries of pain he managed to get a few words out, though she didn't appreciate it one bit. "The kriff do you think I'm trying to do, bird brain!?" she snapped at him as she yanked the ship into another turn. An enemy fighter flew past and the cannons came to life. The fighter exploded and the transport flew through the cloud, throwing off the other fighters for a moment. She took that chance to turn the guns on one and shoot it down as well. The last one still stuck on their trail and managed to score a few hits on the transport. "Kark this." she grumbled as the power cut and the ship went into a flat spin towards the planet below.

When the enemy's line of fire was broken, the engines came back on and the transport pointed straight up at the fighter. "Bang boom." she quipped as the cannons roared. The last fighter exploded and the ship spun around just in time to miss a few cloudcutters as she zipped them around. The droid beeped and she smirked. "There we go, tracker's disabled. We're in the clear." she explained with a heavy sigh.

"Okay, you can treat yourself." she muttered with a chuckle as the astromech droid unplugged and handed him the spray. "Know of any safe zones that could still be operational? Your fear of technology has thrown me in the blind over here." she asked him as the ship calmly floated through the air.

Anakin Stormrunner

 

[Anakin Stormrunner]

"I can t'ink of a few." Accepting the hypo from the droid, he began the arduous task of cleaning his wounds. "Lets see, dere's one on Seven corners, but dat may be a little conspicuous. Anoder down in da tunnels on Hinsa street, but I dont know 'ow well I can walk." He sighed and ran a clawed hand through his hair. Only to wince as the strands tangled around his fingers and pulled at the wounds. Washing it was going to be a pain.

"Oh!" He drew his mind back to the problem at hand. "Dere is one near da docks. A junk store on Fisher's street." The name had always made him laugh. There hadn't been fish in this city for a long time, and the docks were built long after that. Even so, it didn't elicit so much as a chuckle now. It wasn't the time for laughter. "Here, give me control of the nav, I'll type in the address."

Moments later they were off, shooting towards the chelik-ta. Anakin was focused on the medicine again, applying the last of the hypos and using the single bone stabilizer to reinforce his leg. Then it was gone. The meagre medical supplies used up in his attempts to heal. "We need to call a doctor when we get dere. I t'ink I'm stable for now, but I can't say about da insides. Plus, I can't feel my wing anymore. I t'ink da bacta did somet'ing to it. Maybe it was a bad batch or somet'ing."

Xan Deesa

 

[Xan Deesa]

Anakin quickly went through the options and figured out a good spot to hide out. To help him stay comfortable, Xan's hologram replaced with a reflection of the navicomputer to keep him from having to move around. Once he pointed out the area, her hologram returned and the coordinates were confirmed. The ship gently altered course and blasted off towards the district.

He applied the last of the medicine and mentioned needing to call a doctor. At the mention of not feeling his wing, Xan seemed to grow concerned as she looked at him. "Ani... your wing is a mess. I don't think there's anything usable left anymore." she explained softly. To show him what she meant, the holoprojector gave a live, mirrored image of himself. It turned around to show both of his wings and the damage done to the one. "That wing is gone, Ani..." she muttered softly. "I'll find a doctor for you. Hopefully Doc Painless is still operating, I've been struggling to keep an eye on him." she explained to him as her hologram returned.

Eventually the ship reached their destination and touched down in a secluded area. "Lean on the droid, it'll help you to the safehouse. Once you're settled in, get something set up with connection to the holonet. I'm gonna get rid of the evidence." she insisted as the little droid stood beside Anakin. Once he was safe and sound, the droid went back to the ship and it flew off. It was out of sight in no time, sailing in an aimless direction to crash somewhere far away from any CorpSec patrols or civilians.

Anakin Stormrunner

 

[Anakin Stormrunner]

The Chelik-ta wasn’t empty. It wasn’t cold and lifeless. It wasn’t painfully small. It was everything that his prison wasn’t. When he got to the entrance, a run down shop absolutely coated in graffiti, he didn’t even have to say a word for the wookie woman to let him in.

She had thought him dead. It was obvious by the look on her face, the tremble in her hands as she signed.

When he made it to the safe house itself, a little basement beneath a hidden trap door, it was obvious the other occupants had thought the same.

There were only three of them, huddled together in the far corner. There was fear in their eyes, a tired desperation that he would look back upon and blame himself for. Now though, he simply stumbled towards the table.

All safe houses were different. Some were more social based, full of pillows and blankets and painted with the colors of the city. Some were utilitarian, safe in their baron secrecy. This one was small. The walls were edged with storage units containing food and water. A community food bank, emergency stashes for catastrophes. Saved up over the years, added to with a methodical caution.

His knees slammed into the bench which sat before the table. Pain bloomed across his leg and he screamed, collapsing to the floor, only just able to grab the lip of the durasteel table. Bit of tach clatter to the ground as he pulls himself up. Unseen, the other occupants stand.

"Ipada?" One of them asks, her voice high and hopeful. There are hands on his shoulders, another pair on his chest. They pull him to his feet and situate him on the bench.

"Yes?" He answers in basic, his burning mind unable to make the translation.

Minuets pass in silence as he regains his breath. Finally, he speaks. "I need a holopad."

The youngest of the three runs back to their little corner, bare feet slapping against the mural on the ground. It was new, added after his assumed death, and depicted a red bird with wings spread wide. Ekkreth.

She returns with a holopad and a blanket. They former is pressed into his hands and the later gets wrapped around his shoulders. It settles against his broken wing, worrying in the lack of pain. He pays it no mind. Refuses to think about the state of his wing least he start crying again. Instead he turns on the holopad, upping the volume and flicking to the projection feature.

"Ready when you are, Xan." He says to the empty air.

Xan Deesa

Translations

Spoiler

Chelik-ta Safehouse, specifically one on the freedom trail.

 

[Xan Deesa]

The moment it turned on and connected to a signal, Xan's hologram came to life in front of Anakin. "Whoa! That was a thrill ride! I gotta crash more ships, that feeling is wack." she called out as she shook her head a little. Looking back to him, her features darkened for a moment. "We really need to get you a doctor, Ani." she muttered. Her hologram turned into a map of the area with several contacts listed next to it. "These are all the doctors in the area. There's really not many options." she commented. In truth, there were only three options that she trusted.

But one name stood out among the rest. Doc Painless was a name she trusted with her life. He might look sketch, but she knew that his work was top line. The only issue was that they couldn't move Anakin around. He was going to have to come to the safehouse to tend to Anakin's injuries... unless he planned on carrying Anakin himself. "Ani... I know you don't trust people with these secret places. I don't blame you. But... we need to get you help. And Doc Painless is the only name I trust on this list." she admitted as her hologram returned, crouching down in front of him with her hands resting on his legs. She was glad that she didn't have to worry about hurting him.

"You know him, Ani. He's not sus or anything. We can trust him." she reassured him. Her hologram turned into a text box as she started to type a message.

::Hey Doc. It's Xan. Anakin is safe but he's hurt bad. Come to this location as quick as you can.:: she typed out for him, but didn't send. "Your choice, Ani. Just hit the send button... or tell me to leave it." she spoke gently as her face appeared in the middle of the text box, watching him with soft eyes. She hoped he agreed and didn't try to be stubborn about it.

Anakin Stormrunner

 

[Anakin Stormrunner]

He needed help. If he continued like this, he'd be dead in a gutter by morning. Still, to bring an outsider here was dangerous. It had happened before, freeborn joining them on runs and jobs, but never before had he brought in someone unaffiliated with the trail. "It's- I...." He didn't know what to say. Will to live warred with his wish for secrecy.

Finally, after an eternity of silence, he decided. His hand shot out, pressing the send button. "Kark, Xan." He went to run a hand through his unruly shoulder length hair, but stopped when it sent pain shooting up his shoulder. "Not like I got much choice."

Doc would keep his secrets. He had to. He'd blabbed about the trail to enough people. Spice blue eyes glanced towards the other occupants. He should let them know. "Dere's someone coming. A doctor. I- I trust him."

He tried to smile, but the movements pulled at the cuts on his face. He should probably warn Doc, tell him to bring enough materials. This was definitely worse than what the man usually dealt with, that's for sure. "Does dat t'ing have a medi-scanner? We need to tell Doc what 'e will be dealing wid. It's definitely more den he would be used to preparing for."

Xan Deesa Doc Painless

 

[Xan Deesa]

To Xan's relief, she wasn't going to have to argue with Anakin to get the Doc into the safehouse. The message was sent and Xan's hologram reappeared with a hopeful smile. He reassured the others that the Doc was safe and Xan knelt down in front of Anakin. "Don't worry about it. You'll be up and running in no time with his help." she muttered as she stood back up again.

He asked if they could scan him and Xan thought for a moment. "Nope. But I think a few pics or hologram images of you would get the message across." she explained before looking to one of the others. "Hey, come grab the thing, make sure you get a good view of Anakin." she spoke, hoping that they would listen to her. If not, she was sure that Anakin would ask them to do the same.

Once they did as asked, she used the camera on the device to take photos and make holographic images of him before she sent them to the Doc. :: He's in really bad shape. You better bring enough goodies, cuz he's being held together with flex tape at this point. :: she sent him as well to give some clarification. With all of that done, she sat down next to Anakin and rested a non-existent hand on his shoulder. "Now we wait. Try not to die on me in the meantime, I'll be really ticked off if you just drop over." she teased him with a smirk. Her focus now was to kill time and make sure he was awake while the others got ready to receive the Doc. He wasn't too far from their location, so it would hopefully not take too long.

"You eaten those things I gave you yet? I'm sure you're starving right now." she asked him with concern as she turned to look at him.

Anakin Stormrunner Doc Painless

 

[Doc Painless]

Down in the furthest depths of Denon, in the wretched little underworld settlement known as Smogtown, the man called Doc Painless slowly ticked off the days on his calendar. He measured everything from That Day, the day the whole life he'd built for himself up in Seven Corners had come crashing down. The day he'd gone from covert Darkwire sympathizer - and sometime participant - to hunted fugitive, wanted for terrorism and murder. He knew, with grim precision, exactly how long Post-That Day (or PTD for short) it had been. He knew it to the hour, to the minute even, measuring from the moment CorpSec had burst into his clinic.

Only a few minutes before he'd killed for the first time... though not for the last.

The Doc tried not to think about that too much. The training - and moral support - he'd been getting from Shai Maji had helped him cope, but it was still just like she'd told him it would be: he had never forgotten the face of that first man he'd killed, or any of them, and he never would. The oath he'd taken to do no harm was well behind him now, and there was no going back to it, not while on the run and hunted by an oppressive corporate police state. He just had to keep trying to do more good than harm. Being the only medical professional in the lawless slums of Smogtown gave him the opportunity to put some good into the world.

Then again, he'd already had to shoot some folks just to stay alive down there.

His new digs couldn't come close to his old clinic; he might've had a back alley setup in Baker's Row, but it'd been well-equipped with good quality diagnostic devices, surgical instruments, and medicines. Now he was working out of a shack converted from a broken industrial-scale air scrubber, using only the few tools he'd managed to carry with him... plus whatever he could beg, borrow, or steal, mostly the latter. Still, the Doc had quickly become well-regarded in Smogtown. He couldn't do the kind of sophisticated cybernetic surgery he'd performed back in Seven Corners, but the people here mostly needed the basics: sutures and splints.

That and treatment for the endemic lung disease brought on by the town's namesake smog.

The Doc was wrapping up one of those straightforward procedures, putting the final medical staple into a long cut that idiot Wonzak Blork had earned himself in another nasty bar fight, when his datapad chimed. He frowned, brow furrowing as he heard the sound. He'd been off the grid for a while now, hiding from CorpSec by staying off the streets and networks alike. There were few people outside Smogtown who knew how to reach him, and if they were trying, it had to be important. "You're good to go, Wonzak," he said, waving the Houk out of the improvised medical chair. "Stop pissing off the Gamorreans, or you'll be back tomorrow."

Wonzak grumbled as he headed out the door, but he had the good sense not to talk back to the man who'd patched him up a dozen times now, almost for free. No one had any credits on Denon except the execs, and in Smogtown no one had any corporate scrip, either; the Doc got paid mostly in food, favors, and useful scrap, just enough to build a lean but livable existence out of. Anything coming from outside could easily upset that balance, though, and throw his life back into chaos. But he was who he was. If good people were in trouble, he couldn't turn away. With a heavy sigh, the street medic picked up the datapad and read the message.

::Hey Doc. It's Xan. Anakin is safe but he's hurt bad. Come to this location as quick as you can. He's in really bad shape. You better bring enough goodies, cuz he's being held together with flex tape at this point. ::

Anakin? The Doc flashed back to That Day, when the crackdown at the Blue Flame had sent everything to hell. As he'd later heard, Anakin had been captured by CorpSec, and probably brutally tortured for what he knew about Darkwire. The street medic hadn't expected to ever see him again, let alone alive; it was no surprise that he was in rough shape if he'd just made it out. The pictures were... bad. The Doc had never been close with Anakin, had been more than a little intimidated with the young man's obvious power and easy way with violence, but it still felt like a punch to the gut to see him in this state. Feth those Corpo sleemos.

:: I'm on my way, Xan. Get him to rest and eat something. I'll be there as soon as I can. ::

Ever since the loss of his first clinic, the Doc had gotten in the habit of keeping a "bug-out bag" on hand, full of the supplies he'd need to take with him if some emergency ever drove him out again. He grabbed that bag, filled it with what supplies he'd managed to scavenge or barter for over his time in Smogtown - less than he would've liked, but far from nothing. Then he opened his short-range comm, untraceable because it used local airwaves rather than a Corpo network, and called in a favor. He didn't have a ship or a speeder, but there was a taxi driver who owed him for pulling bits of broken bottle out of his leg two weeks back.

There were a lot of bar fights in Smogtown, probably because there was little else to do.

It didn't take long to reach the junk shop on Fisher's Street, though to the worried Doc it felt like an eternity. With a quick "Thanks, we're even" to the Rodian cabbie, the street medic hopped out of the taxi and headed into the store, pulling up his jacket's hood and keeping it low over his face. Cameras were everywhere on Denon, and he was still on the CAD's most wanted list. The Wookiee woman at the front didn't even say a word, just ushered him through, into the tiny safehouse hidden beneath the shop. The Doc slid down the ladder, keeping his duffel bag clear of the rungs as he descended. He didn't want to break any vials.

"I'm here," he said, stepping forward... and wincing as he caught sight of Anakin.

Anakin Stormrunner | Xan Deesa​