Chapter One: Black Out
Warning: themes of sexual abuse, rape, and child loss will be prevelent in this story.
"You two look horrible," Anakin murmured once they were in the emergency transport and flying to safety. If he focused, he could still feel the agony of the Togruta colonists, the fear in the mines, the relief that they were rescued, the terror of being captured yet again by the Separatists…
So he ignored all that, and focused on the two shipwrecks collapsing to the floor and grinning with inflamed gums and dirty beards. Every trooper was quiet, probably out of shock.
"All in a day's work sir," Rex answered, accepting a canteen of water from a trooper. "Thanks vod."
"Surprised the Zygerrian didn't kill you - I would have."
"Ah Wolffe - nice to see you."
Anakin cracked a smile, though he was staring at his master. The man looked horrible - ashen face, dirty tunics - really, why the fuck did he stop wearing armor? Truthfully, the Zygerrians probably would have stripped him of it but still...he wondered if Obi-Wan still had his prized knife that Satine had given him years ago, or it was somewhere on The Negotiator or even at the Temple.
Commander Wolffe chuckled, looking to Anakin. "They're okay."
"Yeah…" Anakin knelt beside him, wiggling a glove off and pressing a hand to Obi-Wan's brow. He had a vague memory of Obi-Wan doing this to himself as a kid - and a more vivid one of doing it to Padme when she pushed herself too hard. "You're burning up."
"I'm fine, Ana - "
"My wife is disabled, Obi-Wan," Anakin murmured quietly, just low enough for Obi-Wan to hear and Obi-Wan to hear only. It wasn't public knowledge, and he be damned if anyone found out now. "I know when someone is not feeling good and trying to hide it."
Obi-Wan looked at him, then brushed the hand away. "I'm fine."
Anakin gave a rough snort, and sat cross-legged on the hard floor. At least he was physically okay - Padme would probably yell at him if he came home with yet another broken bone.
"There's only room for one sick person in this house, Padme had snapped once before he took her in his arms and swung her around until she laughed.
Fine physically.
If he thought about it too much, the Queen's nails could be felt scraping down his -
"Wolffe," Anakin asked, looking upwards at the clone veteran. "We nearly there?"
"You have a comlink."
Anakin rolled his eyes, listening to Rex chuckle before giving a hacking cough. He glanced at Obi-Wan, whose eyes were closed. Tapping his wrist-comm, he asked: "We there yet?"
It wasn't long before the emergency transport settled onto the cruiser. Anakin helped Obi-Wan stand, though the damn man brushed away the offer to be guided to medical.
"We should see Ahsoka's people off."
Rex nodded his agreement, rising with the help of Wolffe.
Seriously. Those two together share a brain cell.
The doors whooshed open, and the Governor and Plo were waiting for them, Ahsoka and R2 by their sides.
No one spoke despite the chatter in the hangar. Anakin felt his shoulders relax a tad at the familiar chatter and fumes and clanks of a hangar. Droids beeping, people shouting in several languages, at least one fire being extinguished somewhere.
"What took you so long Skywalker?" Plo murmured, putting his hands behind his back "We've been for hours."
"Convincing and failing Obi-Wan to head to the medbay." Anakin stepped out of the transport, letting the clones file out, still bearing most of Obi-Wan's weight for him.
"You failed."
"I'm fine," Obi-Wan muttered while he gently pushed Anakin away. Even with his mental shields up it was entirely too easy to spot his exhaustion. "I will rest once we have seen the good governor off."
"Is that so?" Plo asked, beginning to lead their group to the shuttles that would take the colonists home.
"I thank you, the Jedi, and the Republic for saving our lives," the governor replied in his creaky voice.
"Ahsoka is the real hero," Anakin answered. What the hell is his name? "Without her creativity, I don't think we would've gotten your people to safety."
"Indeed. Padawan Tano, might I have a word in private?"
Ahsoka glanced to Anakin, who shrugged. She smiled, and stepped away from their little group. "Of course."
Plo gestured to a few paces away, leaving Obi-Wan and then Anakin to follow.
"A fine job, Master Kenobi - though a bit dramatic."
"All in a day's work, Master Plo."
"A likely story, but not a realistic one."
"Pardon?"
"You've been gone eight days Obi-Wan," Anakin tried to smile, though it wore thin. This mission...he felt so...old. Disgusting. He really wanted a shower. "You had everyone pretty worried."
"I believe even the Chancellor was concerned," Plo murmured wryly.
Anakin glanced at Obi-Wan, who looked even paler than he did five seconds ago. "Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan, you okay?" He put a hand on his shoulder.
Obi-Wan glanced at him, eyes a little glazed. "Mmm - oh fine fine."
"Wha - Obi-Wan!"
He didn't even have time to do anything - Obi-Wan had passed out cold on the hanger floor.
"Oh my," Plo kneeled down, hands fluttering, not sure what to do.
Anakin was there, checking for a pulse and grimacing when he felt it weak and fast. Not bad, not good. Someone must have pulled the medical alarm - the lights were flashing, the sound screeching in his ears, Cody and the higher-ranking officers of the Third Systems army were pushing everyone back, creating space, creating a path for the medical team.
"Should we move him into a recovery position?" Plo asked quietly.
"No - he could have a spinal injury. Obi-Wan," he tapped a finger against Obi-Wan's cheek, granted with a involuntary grimace. He breathed a sigh of relief, though this close he could definitely sense the pain Obi-Wan was in, the sheer agony. Dozens of fractures all over his body, muscle tears, inflammation…
All unfiltered, and the lights weren't helping. Neither was Ahsoka's worried voice in the background, people shouting -
Those damn lights.
'General Skywalker - why so chaste? Surely a man of your stature would attract dozens of admirers?
Anakin shut his eyes, feeling a crackling behind his ear. His epilepsy implant...it must have been fried...
"Sir." It was Kix, putting a hand on his shoulder. "We have him - come on, you need an exam."
He cracked his eyes open, watching Obi-Wan be gently eased onto a hard-board and then a stretcher. "Kix...I need a suppressant. Now or - "
Kix understood, taking a package from his belt and taking out a syringe. The medical team hurried away, barking out orders.
A sharp pinch to the neck, and Anakin breathed a little easier. A little. Not much.
"Obi-Wan?" he croaked, well aware Kix would have his hide if he moved from sitting on the floor before a botched exam was completed.
"So you really want to know the verdict sir?"
Anakin gave a noise of discontent while he walked into the exam room, leaning against the exam table. It was dark in the room, save for the light of the x-ray machine. It had been fourteen and a half hours, and Obi-Wan had just been brought out of surgery. "Do I Helix?"
Kix snickered, putting the numerous x-rays onto the screens. He had been dragged into surgery about halfway through it, taking over for one of the exhausted doctors. "This is probably the most impressive hit Kenobi has ever taken - Helix, start with the left arm."
"Dislocated left shoulder with a tear of the deltoid muscle - we did surgery to correct that. Complete break of the humerus. Seven of the eight carpals in the wrist are fractured. Three of the metacarpals out of five fractured, with the phalanges being a mix of bones."
Kix shifted to the right arm. "The right arm is better - only partial fracture of the humerus, one carpal and metacarpal fracture, and bruising and mild fractures with the phalanges."
"Good thing he's ambidextrous," Anakin muttered while massaging a spot between his cybernetic arm and his flesh. His own health was precarious at the moment - nothing was broken, but the cruiser wasn't equipped to deal with things like epilepsy and mental assessments. As usual. "You set all those?"
"Set, split, did surgery when we could - we're being careful where we put the boneknitters, just because there's so many broken bones." Kix looked grim while he shifted to the chest. "Both clavicles fractured - left worse than the right. Ribs took a bad beating - breaks, fractures, lungs bruised - it's a miracle nothing pierced a lung, though the right was close to collapsing."
Anakin glanced over to the doors when they whooshed open, trying to offer a smile to Ahsoka. She hopped onto the exam table, making herself small. Without a word he put a hand briefly on her shoulder, not reacting much when she leaned into his side and closed her eyes. He wondered when she last slept.
Helix sighed while he continued to speak. "The General has a pretty nasty concussion - probably due to trauma and severe dehydration. Any more and his brain would have become inflamed. There's a compression of two spinal discs too, and a muscle tears bear his spine."
Kix changed the x-rays. "We had to treat and sew the gashes on his back - so were so infected they were green and appearing to gather maggots -"
Ahsoka grimaced, putting her head between her legs and taking in a shaky breath.
"What else?" Anakin asked wearily, rubbing at Ahsoka's back. She was just bone beneath her sweatshirt.
"Pelvis dislocated, muscle tears - not too bad. We had to pop the femur head back into socket on both sides." Helix grimaced. "Both kneecaps were out of place, with the right one shattered - we had to replace it and reconstruct the tendons."
"The rest isn't too bad," Kix continued, "just some mild fractures, partial breaks, and a few full breaks in both feet. Those should heal pretty quick - there are a few muscle tears and some tendons we'd like to keep an eye on, but overall - full recovery."
Anakin snorted, rubbing a hand over his face and realizing he sorely needed a shave. He knew his wife would tease him relentlessly about his scruffiness. "Full recovery…"
"Yes but…" Helix sighed, then glanced at his brothers before speaking. "This isn't necessarily related to the Kadavo stint but - his liver is not doing well. If he doesn't reverse the damage - "
"Caused by alcohol?"
"Among other things - but yes. He'll need a new one if he keeps up like this or there's a slim chance he'll make it to forty."
"A new one shouldn't be a problem right?" Ahsoka asked in a small voice. "We live on Coruscant."
"True - but he'd be living on borrowed time. Five, ten years - fifteen max.
Sighing, Anakin stared at the x-rays before looking at the medics. "Good luck convincing Obi-Wan to stop drinking."
"Someone will have to, or you won't have Obi-Wan Kenobi around by the time you're fifty."
Anakin nodded, rubbing at his arm again. Studying the x-rays, he realized -
"Has anyone -"
Kix cracked a smile, understanding instantly. "Oh - you're doing that task sir."
"Satine - "
"What did he do now? He's been silent for weeks."
Anakin managed a smile, looking at the Mandalorian Duchess. It was a little surreal, even after all these months, comming her when something went wrong. He filled her in, watching her face shift from vague amusement to horror.
"...you've - my God, how is he alive?"
"No idea - Satine - he needs intensive care our cruiser cannot support... we're not sure if he'll make it without it, despite his surgery."
Satine sobered a little, wiping the tears from her face. "You want to use the medical station on the edge of Mandalorian space -"
"It's a Neutral Medical Station - "
"...of course. I'll tell my men to stand down - "
"I suspect they know, Anakin - I'm telling you."
Anakin opened his mouth, then sighed and nodded. There was never any point in arguing with her. "Right."
Silence. He could hear the radio playing the show tunes in the background. The Greatest Showman, or something like that. He hadn't been able to watch or even listen to any of the latest musicals or adaptations lately.
"When will you be docking?"
"Umm - " he glanced at the clock on the wall. "Eight hours."
"I can be there in ten hours - "
"Satine, he's in pretty rough shape. I don't know - "
"Anakin he's my riddur - I will be there."
Sleep didn't come once they were on the Neutral Systems Medical Station. He didn't even want it to. He stayed in his office, filing flimsiwork slowly, carefully trying to give updates, trying to condense weeks of -
A pager bleeped. Anakin rubbed at his neck, eyes watering while he glanced at it.
Me-Me: :)
Anakin smiled, reaching out and taking it in his hand. Muscles screamed at him, and he stood, trying to work things out. It was a system they had worked out - if she heard a rumor he and the fleet was safe, she would message a smiley face and he would message back -
Ani: :D
Safe.
His standing projector shrilled, and someone from command came into focus.
"Sir?"
Anakin put the pager on the desk, and glanced at the projector. "A ship coming in?"
"Yes sir - I contacted Captain Rex, he'll meet you in the hangar to welcome Duchess Kryze."
"Ahsoka sleeping?"
Anakin glanced at his clone captain before shaking his head and turning back to the hangar entrance. He had felt rather exposed in the hangar - too many Separatists, too many Neutralists, too many people from factions he barely even knew about. "I don't think any of us are Rex."
"The mines...I think I actually envy General Kenobi."
He snorted, well aware the captain was chuckling. It was nice, to joke around again - at least until…
"Sir...I didn't what you meant about growing up a slave until - "
"Most people don't - General Secura does. That's about it...some might say the clone army are slaves."
"Most don't want to admit it." Rex stared straight ahead, watching at the far end of the hangar, where the doors were opening for a ship. "Do you believe that's our esteemed duchess?"
"I believe it is."
An old blue shuttle came in carefully, like the person who was piloting it hadn't used a ship in a few...years.
Satine was piloting, her tense face focused on landing. There was no one on the shuttle with her - she had come alone, without an escort.
How did she manage that?
"The General picked a good one," Rex murmured.
Anakin nodded in agreement, wondering if Obi-Wan realized how incredibly obvious his relationship was...unless he didn't care.
The latter was probably more likely, considering Satine was stepping down the ramp wrapped in a hemmed Jedi cloak, her hair bound in a simple braid over one shoulder.
"Duchess," Rex muttered, nodding his head.
"Captain - Anakin." Satine cut an imposing figure, true, though that didn't stop her from giving Anakin an embrace when she was close enough. She always smelled of citrus. "How bad is he?"
But her Force presence...oh my God, Obi-Wan what the hell did you do?
Anakin managed a smile, offering his arm to her. "He's doing okay now - just unconscious. We had to handcuff him to the bed when the anesthesia wore off the first time and he tried to stand."
Satine gave a strained laugh while slipping her hand in the crook of his elbow. "Obi-Wan just cannot sit still," she murmured while they walked. "Is he allowed visitors?"
"Kix said no - Helix and Jon say yes," Rex folded his hands behind his back. "I'll keep Kix occupied m'lady."
"Thank you - any idea when he'll wake?"
Anakin sighed, palming the door open and entering a hallway. He was quiet while they passed a king that had declared himself Separatist some time ago, only exchanging brief nods.
This was a place of recovery, not battle.
"No. But he's showing signs of healing - that's all that matters."
Author's note: Hello there my dears. As you have gathered, the next bit of the "Secrets" universe begins a few weeks in the past, largely from Anakin's pov. It will catch up, don't worry ;)
This chapter begins just after Kadavo, and will continue to just after the Hardeen arc (:
It will be much tears and angst and a higher rating and yay, I'm excited.
ii Digestive Reader ii
