This is what happens when I actively avoid homework and other important things. I finally stop picking at stories and get something finished up. Today we get to go back and watch my Jak and Daxter OC do her thing. I'll admit, I'm not 100% happy with this installment. I've been picking at it off and on over the last 6 months or so and I feel like it's kind of disjointed. But, I really couldn't think of any way to fix it without a complete rewrite (which means this would never have been posted) so here it is.

More adventures with Dr. Lucie as she struggles with her forced employment into the Dark Warrior Program. I play abit more with Lucie's back story, which may or may not be completely set in stone for whatever future musings I have on her character. Future wise for the story, I can see another chapter coming up. I've got a couple small ideas that I can work into an actual chapter, but beyond that I'm out of steam. Maybe I just need to spend some more quality time with Jak and Co. to get my inspiration flowing again.

As Always: Read, Review, and Enjoy.

-The Beckster

Examinations

Prisoner physicals started first thing on Lucie's second day. Fifteen prisoners, fifteen physicals, fifteen reluctant patients who needed to go through a full barrage of tests, fifteen people who would probably need to be force fed medication. At least they'd get a break from the dark eco experiments. Not that they would appreciate what she was trying to do for them, but it made Lucie feel a little better about things. It gave her a sense of control.

The physicals were long and taxing physically and emotionally. Some of her patients had been less than compliant and unwilling to be treated. A few tried to resort to violence, but were quickly subdued by the ever-present armed guards. One was thoughtful enough to tell Lucie what he thought of her by relieving himself on the exam room floor. Try as she might, Lucie couldn't separate the convicted criminals sitting on her table from helpless victims. Each prisoner's file had a detailed record of their crimes. She had a few murderers on her hands and a couple deserters from the Guard, but as she checked their dead eyes and searched for veins in their scarred, emaciated arms to draw blood she felt pity for them. Nobody deserved to be put through this ordeal, regardless of their crimes.

Lucie's arrangement with the warden was that each cell would be scrubbed and sterilized while the subjects were taken out for their physical; when they returned they'd get a full, nutritious meal. She personally escorted each prisoner from their cell to her office, accompanied by a handful of guards. She had only gone through her first seven and she had already found three subjects with intestinal parasites and one was confined to the recovery room receiving IV antibiotics for a severe case of pneumonia.

It was a slow and painstaking treatment that would keep the frail woman bedridden for a week at least, but Lucie couldn't treat anyone with eco-based medicines. Due to the experiments, their bodies had become conditioned to violently reject any eco. She also had to keep their systems free of any eco for the sake of accurate test results.

Lucie knew from the start that nursing the prisoners back to full health would take much longer than Praxis would like. The man was impatient, but she had a signed contract and this was her domain. She knew, however, that he'd find some way to remind her who was really in charge.

By the time Lucie had reached her last patient she was exhausted. Thus far, she seven cases of intestinal parasites, one case of severe pneumonia, a fungal infection, and all fourteen previous patients were malnourished, dehydrated, and bearing the marks of physical abuse. The only patient in the recovery room was the woman with pneumonia. Her monitors, IV bag, and two armed guards nearly filled the space. Lucie left her heart drop when she remembered that the child was her final patient; she prayed fervently to the Precursors that he was in good health. Who knew how the guards had treated the Baron's "Prize Catch" when no one was around.

She steeled herself and led her entourage back to the prison block. The whole area smelled strongly of chemicals and astringent cleaners. She peeked into her previous patients' cells and was mildly pleased to see they had been provided with clean clothes and some were even gnawing on their food with a bit of enthusiasm.

The boy barely had a chance to react before the guards grabbed him and dragged him out of the cell. Lucie avoided making eye contact with him as he was dragged through the halls like an animal. She didn't properly look at him until he was seated on her examination table, cringing under the glare of his guards.

Lucie turned to them and squared each of them with a look. "Get out," she ordered. She could tell that she wouldn't get anywhere with the boy if he was being watched every second.

"Ma'am, we have orders to watch the prisoners every second they are out of their cells."

"He's a half starved, severely dehydrated child. You can wait outside the door. I doubt he'll be able to do anything in the two seconds it would take you to come back in should he try something."

"We have orders." The guard protested.

"And I'm ordering you as a medical professional. Get out of this room. I won't get reliable answers from the child if you're eyeing him like a couple of hungry crocadogs. I will call if I feel threatened in the least." Lucie leveled them with a steely look.

The two KG exchanged a look before stepping back. "We will be right outside the door. If we hear anything suspicious we will return."

Lucie shut the door behind them quickly. "Damn grunts; I hate the military," she muttered darkly, reaching into a cupboard for a gown. She handed the cloth gown to the boy on the table.

"Alright, son, lose the prison rags and put the gown on," she said gently. The boy gave her a hesitant, slightly embarrassed look. "I won't look, okay?" Lucie said, turning to face the wall. "Just let me know when you're done, and don't stab me in the back."

After a minute she heard the boy softly clear his throat. She turned and gestured to the scale in the corner. "Hop on and I'll get your measurements." It took the computer a moment to scan the boy's height, measure his weight, and inform Lucie that he was slightly underweight. Lucie took that time to ask some questions.

"How old are you, kid?" He didn't answer.

"You got a name? I'd hate to have to keep calling you "son" and "kid" and stuff." Again he just stared at her silently.

"You're not a big talker are you? Take a seat back on the table."

The boy shrugged and sat down.

"Well, I know you understand everything I'm saying." Lucie picked up a handheld scanner and began to go over the boy from head to toe. "Praxis thinks that you're a real channeler. I think he's finally gone insane. The only channelers in recent history have been descended from the Mar bloodline, and you aren't royalty, kid. You could be a distant descendent of a Sage, I suppose. A true sage hasn't been seen in over a century. As you know, they were all hunted down by the Metal Heads. If there are any sages out there now, then they are doing a very good job of hiding. You could have a random genetic mutation, but that's a one in a million chance. Any other mutation on the genes and you wouldn't have been born." Lucie finished her scan and plugged the scanner into the computer. "All that and you still don't have anything to say?" she commented, waiting for the scans to upload and compile.

"I suppose it's a bit of a welcome relief, my last patient wouldn't stop screaming at me. Can you even talk?" Lucie watched the boy for any reaction. He continued to sit there with the same untrusting glare he had when he was asked to step on the scales.

Lucie turned to the computer and zoomed in on the boy's throat. "Nothing seems to be wrong with your vocal chords. You must be one of those silent types. Or is it just me?"

No reply.

Lucie sighed, "Listen, kid, I don't want to be here anymore than you do. I hate being here, and I loathe everything they're doing in this hole. It goes against everything I stand for. But like you, I have no choice in the matter. You know how Praxis is and you know that he gets what he wants." Lucie paused, glanced towards the door and lowered her voice before continuing. "I'm a doctor. I give life, I don't take it. And these experiments they're doing are completely pointless because they only prove that dark eco kills. We've known that since the beginning of time." Lucie paused to watch the boy's face change expression from hostility to a mild curiosity. "I want to help. I want to save lives. I will do everything in my power to sabotage this project, and I want you to know that. I want you to know that I'm not another heartless monster like the other people in this project. I'm not throwing you to the crocodogs. I'm trying to do my best without raising suspicion. I'm delaying the experiments; I'm ensuring that you are healthy and safe. I… I just want you to know that I'm trying to help you. I wouldn't wish this on anyone."

Presently the computer pinged and an information box popped up. Lucie read it quickly; the boy's blood-eco levels were incredibly high for an average citizen. She only saw levels like that in people who worked in the eco refineries. "Damn, kid, you're going to need a detox," Lucie sighed again, turning back to the child. "With that cocktail of eco you must have been working at the munitions factory. It's not going to be pleasant, but it will keep you out of the cell for a few days."

The boy gave her a questioning look.

"You do know how an eco-detox works, right?"

He shook his head.

"Where have you been for the last twenty years? We have to clean all of the residual eco out of your body." The boy's face grew alarmed. "Don't believe the myths; a body can live perfectly fine without eco. You won't be at your peak, but you'll live well enough. I've never been detoxed, but I've treated enough people to know what it'll be like. The most severe aftereffects reported has been living with the feeling that you've got a bad flu: body aches, lethargy, and a general feeling of fuzziness. You'll be relatively miserable for a couple days, but once your body adjusts you'll be fine."

The boy still looked unconvinced, so Lucie offered him a comforting smile. "Look on the bright side, you're being treated by the person most qualified to do it. I invented the procedure. Your symptoms probably won't be half as bad since your body isn't oversaturated with eco, as in cases of eco poisoning. You'll be fine in a few days." Lucie turned back to the computer to put in orders for the boy to be moved to the recovery room. "Unfortunately, since you've got all four ecos in your system this will take a little longer than normal. Each detox agent only works for one particular eco. Green has to go first, then blue, yellow, and red is last."

She moved to a cabinet on the opposite end of the room and pulled out an IV bag filled with translucent, reddish liquid. She turned to put together a tray of equipment she'd need to start the IV. "Are you going to let me do this easily? Or do I have to call in the brute squad? I'd really rather you didn't try and break my nose while I start the IV." Lucie inquired quietly but earnestly as she turned back to the child. She reached for his hand and he let her take it without complaint.

"I'm really sorry about all of this, kid." Lucie apologized as she slid the needle and catheter into a vein on the back of the kid's hand. "I'm putting it in the most comfortable place I can, but I'll warn you now that I won't hesitate to stick it in your elbow and immobilize your arm if you become a problem. I've seen people do enough crazy things during a detox that they don't mean. I trust you; I wouldn't give this option to anyone else in the cell block. Try to hold onto your freedom, kid." Lucie hooked the steadily dripping bag onto a stand and gave the child a final look. "Remember, I'm on your side."

"Oh, boys!" she called to the guards outside the door. "You can come in now."

The words had hardly left her mouth before the small examination room was filled; the guards taking up almost half the available space with their hulking armor. "The boy needs to be detoxed, so he's going to be spending a few days in the recovery room. Your services are no longer required, and you are dismissed. Report to the warden and then go about your business." Lucie turned away from them and helped the boy off the examination table. The medicine worked extremely fast and the boy was already looking unsteady. She led him to the recovery room and placed him in the bed farthest away from the woman with pneumonia. His immune system would be compromised without the additional help of eco.

As Lucie settled the boy into the bed she did a mental recap of her patients. She could give them medicine and treat their ailments, but she'd never get them back to perfect health. She'd have to get as close as possible before their experiments started again. After his detox, the boy would be one of the first to be able to start his trials

She left the boy in the company of his guard and returned to her desk. The Baron demanded detailed reports on all the prisoners and the sooner she let him know, the sooner she could return to her patients.

By mid-afternoon, it had become apparent to Lucie that her assumptions about the boy's detox were all wrong. It wasn't progressing as it would for moderate over exposure to eco. He was reacting as if he had eco poisoning; as if his body had begun to rely on eco to function. His eco levels had been high, but not that high. He had quickly sunk into a state of partial lucidity; alternating between staring blankly at the ceiling and tossing and turning through feverish dreams. Lucie found herself spending more time hovering by the boy's bedside as the day progressed. By early evening he developed a fever and Lucie sat down to play nurse and wash his face and neck with a cool compress.

The Baron dropped in once and was less than pleased to see his prized catch lying semiconscious, looking sickly and pale, and shivering with fever chills. His mood changed considerably when Lucie explained how he was having a stronger reaction to the detox than was expected. He became excited at the prospect that the boy was different than normal people. Lucie bit her tongue rather than telling the Baron that there was no way the boy could be a channeler. He simply had a higher than average affinity for eco. There were probably thousands of people out in the world with his same level of affinity, they simply were never treated for eco poisoning because of their tolerance. None of those people would be able to channel eco though. Now was not the time to get into that argument with the Baron. Perhaps another day she would be able to make him realize that channelers were extinct in the Haven area thanks to him and his war.

Lucie did not sleep well that night. Her thoughts kept flying back and forth from concerns about the boy to anger towards the Baron. Her contract did not allow her to stay overtime and she had to trust the care of her patients with one of the others in on the project. She would have preferred to watch the boy herself, even if he had been given a heavy sedative. He'd be out for well over eighteen hours, but she worried about him none the less. There was nothing she could do for the boy while the detox ran its course anyway.

It took three days to completely detox the boy. It was another week before Lucie felt comfortable sending him back to his cell. The shock to his body has left him as weak as a newborn croc-pup, and, much to the boy's distress, he had been temporarily blinded. The Haze was a side effect of the detox – the body's natural reaction to the medication that occurred only when all of the eco had been removed. She would have preferred to keep him under her care until he had fully recovered his strength, but her colleagues were growing impatient. They wanted to see progress in their test subjects, and the child was the last one to be returned to his cell.

In the end, it was for the best that Lucie had sent the boy away to finish his recovery. As much as she had mentally prepared herself, she still found she was growing attached to the boy. He just seemed too innocent for the world and, oddly enough, lost and confused. Haven City was only so big, and even young children understood the grim reality of their lives behind the walls. The boy was too young to have known a time when travel outside the walls and to other cities was allowed. He intrigued her, and he troubled her. His bright, blue, cautious eyes stirred up maternal feeling she thought she had buried long ago. Only she hadn't realized it until it was too late.

It had started as nothing more than probing for information; partially to satisfy her curiosity and also following the Baron's orders. It was appalling how little information the boy's file had and Lucie began to suspect that the Baron really had plucked the child randomly off the streets. There was nothing personal about him – no name, no date of birth, not even a record of his arrest. The Baron had given her the task of discovering the boy's name. Once he had regained lucidity, Lucie began guessing names hoping she'd hit near the mark or at least annoy him enough with her guessing game that he'd open his mouth. She worked alphabetically; picking a new name every time she addressed him and watching closely for any changes in the boy's body language or mood. A couple times she picked a completely ridiculous just to try and make the boy smile. Only once did she see his lip twitch that she interpreted as a smile. The name game continued until she accidentally picked the wrong name. It had slipped out unconsciously, just another name on the list; but once it passed her lips the damage was done.

She was checking his eyes to make sure the last of the Haze had cleared up, and she made a comment about finally being able to see his blue eyes again. She called him Willem, her son's name.

She hadn't realized how much her expression changed until the boy's face changed. His brow creased and his mouth pulled down into a confused frown. She sat back and continued the examination as normal, but the damage was done. She gave the child before her – a boy she knew was going to be tortured for the sake of a madman's dream – a connection to her son. The more she thought on the subject the more similarities she created. They would be about the same age. The boy had been in good health before his arrest, he wasn't from the slums; they could have gone to school together. They could have even been friends… in another universe.

After that, no matter how hard she tried to continue her guessing game, in her mind she always referred to the child by her son's name. She didn't know if the boy had caught her slip or noticed anything different in the way she treated him, but if he did he never acted any differently. He remained mute and cautious until the day he was returned to his cell. Lucie was giving him a final check-up before the guards escorted him back to his cell, and as she had been for the whole week, sue took one last chance to play her name game. The boy still did not say anything until she stood up to fetch the guards. Then a quiet voice asked her to wait.

Lucie stopped, her eyes widening in surprise as she turned back to face the boy.

"My name is Jak," the child stated. Lucie noticed a change in his expression, a slight softening of his face and a gleam in his eyes. He trusted her.