Finally, they arrived at their ship.
The five strangers, Jesse has taken with him, stood outside.
One entered the ship after seeing them, and Kix and Jesse came hurrying out.
"How is he?" Jesse asked.
Rex described short what happened.
Kix nodded. "We have to hurry," he said, and they made they way into the ship.
"The chips?" Anakin asked, only looking at the strangers. He needed all his willpower to stay focused, because he had no strength left.
"Later, Commander," Kix said.
"No!" Anakin exclaimed, and everyone was surprised about the strength he got in his voice.
"We are free, Vikka-terak*," the white Twi'lek said.
Anakin smiled weakly. "Do you know where to go?", he asked. Kix began to get inpatient, but he could sense, that his tiny Jedi would fight, if he wouldn't let him talk to them.
The strangers nodded.
"Good," Anakin said, the strength leaving him.
"Thank you for everything. We have to go now. There is still a long path before as," one of the strangers said.
Anakin only nodded and waved a little bit as the five people went their way.
With that, the clones carried him into the ship to the one medical coat with the med droid. It wasn't a medbay, but it was enough to save a life.
The Padawan was laid on the coat and Kix began to examine him.
"Take the chip and the detonators," Anakin ordered to the other clones.
"Let them blow up… then contact Master… show them the devices. Tell, their man is dead. He blew up Jabba's…. Jabba's goods," he continued with his last strength. He closed his eyes. He did everything he could to safe his fellow slaves. All energy he had left him.
"Hey, ad'ika! You have to stay awake!" Kix exclaimed.
"Try…" Anakin mumbled.
The others stared, shocked and afraid of loosing their tiny Jedi.
"Out with you!" Kix ordered. "You have your orders!"
Jesse, Hardcase and Rex saluted. "Sir, yes sir!" they shouted. Determined to follow their precious Commander's orders.
Kix removed the cloth, rapped around Anakin's stump.
"That doesn't look good," he said to himself.
"I can't give you an anesthetic. I am sorry. That will hurt. I have to cut away the infected areas. There is nothing I can do with the things I have," Kix explained.
Anakin nodded and prepared for the pain.
Kix began with his work. He hated that he couldn't take away the pain but the anesthetic they had was too strong for Anakin's weakened body and the painkiller they had wouldn't help at all, for the reason they were too weak.
Anakin couldn't help but to cry out. It hurt more than the explosion or the cauterization.
Maybe because there wasn't any adrenalin left in his body, or he had nothing to protect, to be strong for. It could also be, because the cutting needed more time than the explosion or cauterization.
Somehow, despite the pain, he had to see it, so he looked.
It didn't look good, what Kix did. It was bloody, but somehow it didn't disturb him. Perhaps because it was nothing compared to the things he already had seen in the streets at Mos Espa.
"Thank you," Anakin murmured. Kix looked up, irritated, but didn't stop in his work.
The young Padawan's eyes were glassy. Kix couldn't be sure if he was clear in mind, or hallucinated. Nevertheless, he answered, "Your welcome."
The thought of hallucination wasn't farfetched. Anakin knew it was Kix before him. But he still was remembered of his mum, when she cared about his wounds, he got from fighting with others, burning himself at work or being punished by a master or a client from their master.
Obi-Wan was angry. Maybe not angry, but a mix between irritated and angry. Anakin was to come back with the wanted man and Jabba's goods, but not only didn't he came back, he didn't even commed personal. The wanted man was dead and the goods destroyed.
For a short moment, Obi-Wan had thought that Jabba would cancel their agreement, but despite being mad, the Hutt didn't seem to see the guilt by his Padawan.
So in the end, the mission was a success and Obi-Wan and Cody returned to their ship, but the Jedi Knight was still mad at Anakin.
Cody and Obi-Wan were greeted by Hardcase who cleaned his blaster from the sand, that got into it.
"Where is my Padawan?" Obi-Wan asked immediately.
"Probably in his bunk," Hardcase answered, mistaking Obi-Wan's harshness with concern.
Obi-Wan nodded and entered with Cody.
The Jedi went straight to the bunks. Meanwhile, Cody called all the clones together before they could say something.
Cody wasn't pleased either.
"Padawan!" Obi-Wan exclaimed as he approached Anakin, who laid in his bunk.
Anakin jumped a bit and sat himself up, his right arm still covered with the blanket.
He hadn't the energy to stand up.
Obi-Wan didn't seem to notice something wrong. He didn't seem to look at Anakin at all.
"Why didn't you come back? Why didn't you commed yourself? It was your mission, the first you had to lead," Obi-Wan began and didn't let Anakin speak, "It was your responsibility to report. I thought you were ready. I thought since you were so professional despite being at your home planet, I thought you could do that. But seeing now, that you weren't able to report back, just because the mission failed, I probably was wrong. And I know that you only found the man dead and Jabba's goods destroyed, so you didn't fail it personally. But doesn't that made it worse not to report personally?"
"Master…" Anakin began and stand up, despite the dizziness which came instantly and his wobbling legs.
"No Padawan, you…" Obi-Wan began but stopped as he saw Anakin tremble, his pale skin and then his stump. Half of Anakin's right forearm was gone. The stump was heavily bandaged.
Obi-Wan's eyes went wide, and he felt to his knees.
"What… what happened?" he breathed.
"I am sorry Master, that I failed you," Anakin said weakly.
"No, no. I… I didn't realize. I was wrong. Lay down. You have to rest," Obi-Wan interrupted, got back to his feet, picked his charge up and laid him back down in the bunk.
"It wasn't the Commander's fault!" shouted a clone, Hardcase, while entering a hurry.
"He was injured, he couldn't report. And the goods… They weren't only things," he began to explain, but Obi-Wan signed him to stop.
"It's alright, Hardcase. I saw the injury. I am sorry, that I assumed that Anakin was at fault. It is me, who was wrong, I am sorry," the Jedi Knight said.
"I am sorry too," Cody, who had followed Hardcase with the others.
"But now, what happened. How did you…" Obi-Wan began to ask, but stopped as he looked at the stump.
"My hand?" Anakin asked. Obi-Wan nodded sorrowfully.
Anakin began to tell,
"The man Jabba searched was an overseer, and these goods were slaves on the run. We found the slaves, while one was about to get her chip removed. The overseer came shortly after us and triggered the detonator of the chip. I pulled it to me with the force, but my pull was so strong that it was in my hand before it explode. So I lost my hand. Jesse, Hardcase or Rex shot the overseer. And that was right, he probably would have attacked us. I ordered Jesse to take the slaves to Kix and let he remove all their chips.
Rex then carried me to helpful people. They stopped the bleeding, bandaged it and gave me a painkiller. Then we made our way here.
On the way, a sandstorm came, so we had to hide over the night. My wound got infected. So Kix had to cut the infected area away.
We let the slaves go, and I ordered to let the chips explode, so we could 'prove' that the goods were destroyed."
"Oh Anakin. I am so sorry. I shouldn't have let you go, I…" Obi-Wan began to apologize, but Anakin shook his head.
"I am glad that you let me go. So we were able to safe fives live. Not only safe them but also free them. A hand is a price I am willing to pay for that. It was worth it," Anakin said, smiling.
"Sir, if I may speak. I hope you won't always pay such a prize. Someday there isn't anything left for me to patch up," Kix replied.
Anakin had to grin, and the others chuckled a bit.
"I will try to haggle a better price next time," the young Padawan said.
"Well then, I think it is time to fly back to Coruscant," Cody said, and they all agreed.
"I have one question left," Hardcase said, suddenly.
They all looked at the clones.
"What means 'Oda pon dona'? You said it, in the morning after the sandstorm. You were in delirious, but I still wonder" Hardcase continued.
Anakin blushed.
"Do you mean 'Ooda pon tona'?" he asked, saying it right.
Hardcase nodded.
"It means 'I like bubbles'," Anakin said, a little embarrassed.
Everyone looked at him confused.
"It was my first real sentence in huttese. My mother told me that there existed water that bubbled. I was so fascinated by the idea that 'Ooda pon tona' became my favorite sentence back then," Anakin explained, looking sheepishly at the ground.
Luckily, he didn't see the clones trying not to laugh.
Obi-Wan smiled. "I think I like this sentence, too," he said.
"Ooda pon tona," Cody phrased and nodded seriously, "Yes, a good sentence."
Anakin looked up, seeing that nobody laughed at him, only smiling, maybe grinning, but without bad intentions in their eyes. That reassured him, and he smiled, too.
After that and in a better mood, Anakin got to sleep, and the others started the ship to get back to Coruscant.
After arriving, Obi-Wan brought Anakin instantly to the healing halls.
A Padawan healer fetched them Chief Healer Vokara Che, a blue Twi'lek.
"Why is it always you, Kenobi?" Vokara Che said while entering the room.
"This time it isn't me, although I would prefer that it was me," Obi-Wan answered and pointed at his Padawan who sat exhausted on a chair.
Che couldn't help but stare for a second. She already saw a lot of severed limbs and also some children with severed limbs, but the view of a child with a severed limb was always cruel.
"You must be Padawan Skywalker," she said, and Anakin nodded.
"Can I look at your arm?" the healer asked.
"Of course," Anakin answered and stretched his right arm out.
"Thank you," she said and examined it.
"There isn't much we can do anymore. Some medicine for the fever and the healing. Regular changing of the bacta and bandages. Maybe some salves to smooth the scarring. And I will get in contact with professionals in the area of children prosthetic," she concluded.
"Professionals?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Despite the beliefs of the society, prosthetics for children are still hard to construct. Of course, for normal civilians, it isn't a big problem. But if Skywalker want to continue his training, his prosthetic can't be a normal one. It has to have a high durability, but also the fine motor skills have to be as good as a real hand. It has to feel as real as possibly for using the force. He also has to be able to feel at least a little bit with the hand. If he grabs someone, he shouldn't crush him. Or be able to say if something is hot or cold. Jedi prosthetics aren't mass products. But the adult body isn't growing anymore and not in constant change like a child's body. That's the reason I will contact professionals, so he gets a good prosthetic," Vokara Che explained.
"Wizard," Anakin exclaimed.
"Anakin, getting a prosthetic isn't 'wizard'," Obi-Wan criticized.
"I mean what the prosthetic has to be able to do," Anakin replied. And Obi-Wan realized that Anakin meant the mechanical aspect. He sighed. He was sure that he needed a good meditation and long rest.
"Alright. Knight Kenobi, you should go and report to the council. I will keep your Padawan here to get the routine check done and to examine the rest of the body. That will take some time," the healer said.
Obi-Wan nodded, despite not wanting to leave his Padawan's side.
"Thank you, Master Che. I will get him, when I finish the report," he said and left.
"Master Che, can I learn to heal with the force, too?" Anakin asked as Master Che continued to examine him.
"Did you show any potential in healing?" she asked.
"Not that I know, but a lot of people say that I am 'the chosen one'. Obi-Wan says that I am strong in the force. I don't know what being the chosen one means, but it has to be good for something, hasn't it?" he said.
Vokara nodded and then asked, "Do you have a reason, for wanting to learn healing with the force?"
Anakin thought about what to say, but decided to tell the truth.
"On Jedha, I couldn't save one of the troopers. He was badly hurt and there were no medics. I got him back to the camp, with the help of another trooper, but he didn't make it. I wasn't able to save him and I can't change that anymore, but I want to be able to save others when I am out there. There isn't always a medic near or there are too many injured. I want to be able to help even after the battle. I want to be able to reduce the number of dead. To make sure more troopers will survive the missions," he explained.
Now it was Vokara's turn to be in thought.
"Let me think about it. I will contact you or tell you, when we meet again to talk about your prosthetic. I know that every one of the healers in these halls had potential in healing, but I doubt that it is impossible to learn force healing without having the potential. But you have to make yourself clear that it won't be easy, even as the chosen one," she answered finally.
"You think that I am the chosen one?" Anakin asked curious.
"I don't know. But right now you are my patient," she answered and began to get him the medication.
*Vikka-terak - literally means "a child of the desert," and therefore in once sense means any member of Tatooine slave culture. But it's also used idiomatically to refer to someone who has achieved their freedom and is now alone, without family or chosen kin ties (From fialleril's Tatooine slave culture)