The waiting room of the clinic was spartan, filled with simple, but well-made furniture. Despite the simplicity, Aishen felt cramped in the room, each piece of furnishing took up space that the room could not afford to spare. She across paced the small room impatiently, eager to leave this planet.

[i]So much for being the best doctor in the region.[/i]

It would perhaps be more accurate to say that Doctor Fion was the only real doctor in the area, not that he was a bad doctor. The people living here, primarily farmers, did not have much need of a professional doctor, nor could they afford his services. Those living here either grew strong enough to survive, or they died early. Life was harsh here, and death was simply a fact to the inhabitants.

"That'll be 2000 credits."

The secretary spoke dispassionately, ignoring the grimace that flashed across Aishen's face as she wordlessly transferred the payment.
Her funds were running dangerously low, despite having just turned in a bounty.

"Thank you. Have a nice day," said the secretary, as Aishen walked out of the clinic.

Even though it was merely a formality, the secretary was one of the nicer people she had seen. Outsiders were an anomaly here, and other than the few men who did business with the occasional trader that passed though, contact with foreigners was non-existent. Aishen had no doubt that they'd be talking about her for months. She didn't care, for she didn't plan on coming back. In the first place, she had only landed here out of necessity. 

"Fucking bastard," she muttered under her breath.

It wasn't entirely clear whether she was referring to the man who had shot her or to the doctor who charged an exorbitant amount for the procedure. Perhaps it was both.

[i]If only the bullet had passed a bit more to the left...[/i]

Aishen sighed. She had long ago learned that it was useless to speculate on the past. There were thousands of things that could've gone better in her life, and speculating on the past would inevitably lead to a litany of complaints that was neither productive nor good for her disposition. Still, she couldn't help but worry about how little money she had, given her debt, as she walked towards her spacecraft.

Aishen stood in front her ship, the [i]Thunderfish[/i], taking a moment to admire it. It wasn't much to look at, but she had effectively rebuilt the entire ship, having repaired and replaced nearly every part at least once. She had bought the ship shortly after she fled from Shentang with what little of her parents' fortune that had not been confiscated by the Imperial Secret Service. Spaceships were not cheap, and even less so in shady dealerships where the ships were acquired through undisclosed means. Under such conditions, it had been a miracle that she found a ship, even if the ship was an obsolete model in bad shape from neglect.

Snapping out of her reverie, she entered the spacecraft, and set course for Concillium. She was initially suspicious of the offer from O-12. After all, her history was not exactly clean nor a secret. Still, everything seemed to be proper and the job paid more consistently than bounty hunting did. Perhaps she would finally be able to pay off her debt.