6
Chapter Nine This is NOT the way
Djin rode a speeder bike at top speed over the uneven terrain. Alongside him rode Cara and Oolie. Oolie was shouting through the comm-link as other Mandalorians rode to their left and right and beneath them. Oolie shouted to Cara, one power board has been spotted, to the left of the green ridge. As one the three speeders turned to the left. Cara signalled the other two men that she would go low and they should pick altitudes above her so they could scan different areas.
Djin spotted the power board. The Child, for some reason, was wearing his brown cloak again, and was clinging to the center of the power board. The Child was laughing and was that singing as well? The Child looked behind him and seeing the three that he knew he raised an arm from the Board to wave at them. The action changed his balance and suddenly the board flipped over, and the Child was clinging to the underside of the board which began to wobble.
Djin's heart was in his throat because he did not think he could reach the Child in time. Next to him, Cara launched a spear with a lanyard attached to it. The spear hit the edge of the board and caused it to wobble even worse. Cara very slowly slowed down her speeder which slowed down the speed board. The Child shifted his grip on the underside of the speed board and began to wail in a pitiful fashion.
While Cara slowly slowed the Board down, Djin speeded up and did a flyby where he grabbed for the Child. The Speed Board wobbled again and Djin missed. The wake of his speeder was so powerful, the Child was blown away from the Board and fell, and fell and fell…
Suddenly the falling Child was matched by two speeders with a heavy tarp between them. The speeders matched the fall of the Child until they got under him with the tarp between them. The drivers raised their speeders until the Child was in contact with the tarp. Once the Child was safely nestled within the tarp the two drivers slowed their speeders and made a slow turn to meet up with Djin. Djin brought his speeder to a halt and waited for them. He was shaking with fear and adrenaline and he kept blinking to make sure the Child was safely on the tarp.
The two speeders came alongside Djin and Oolie lifted the Child by its robe and handed him over to Djin who hugged him tightly. Oolie paused and then said, "no charge for retrieval and delivery brother, but you'll probably have to pay for the fuel.
Djin looked at his brother and his nephew, who also was the Campra tender, who was the other speeder pilot and said, "Thank you for the life of this Child."
"This Is The Way, Djin. It's what we do for all Mandolorians." Oolie reached out and grabbed his brother's forearm. With a wave, he and his son detached the tarp from their speeders and with slow turns headed back to the settlement.
Securing the Child to his land speeder Djin mounted and set course for the settlement. He used the commlink to notify the others that the Child had been found and was safe. The acknowledgements of the other Mandalorians were received and then Djin and the Child rode in silence, with Cara next to them. Finally, Cara signalled she would fly ahead, leaving them some privacy.
Finally, the Child looked up at Djin and reached out his hands—to be picked up. Djin shook his head and stared at the Child. "You put our Clan and many others in danger! That is not the Way. We Mandalorians have many enemies—we cannot risk losing one of our own to his own foolishness. Whether you take the Creed or not, you are of my Clan and you will not risk your life foolishly ever again! Is that clear?"
The Child looked at Djin with amazement. The man in the helmet had never spoken to him like this before. Using strong words and with so much anger in his tone. Surely, the man in the helmet understood that even though he was a youngling, barely 50 years old, he could always take care of himself. Of course, today he had been startled by the board taking off so swiftly but there had not been any real danger. He could always have used the Force to control the board…he just had been enjoying himself first. He was certain the man simply did not understand. He tried using his words, saying "everything was fine, there was no danger" in his own language.
Djin exploded, "Yes there was danger! You do not eat or sleep enough and every time you use a sorcerer's spell to move things you get weaker and weaker. This has to stop! You have to stop using spells and start eating and drinking and sleeping and growing!"
As the words came out of his mouth, Djin finally realized and accepted what he had to do now.
Djin used the Commlink to contact Pumar, when she answered, he told her they were coming back, and he wanted her to bring what she had made for the Child to the front of her house. Her answer with just the slightest hint of surprise, was a firm yes.
Then Djin used the Commlink to contact Cara. When she answered he told her, in rebel battle code, that she would be needed upon landing and what he needed her to do. She made him repeat the instructions three times, but at last confirmed.
When they landed, Pumar and Cara were waiting for them outside of the house. He shut the speeder down and picked up the Child. The Child reached out for his travel Pram but Djin held him firm. Djin looked at Pumar and Cara and received their nods that they were ready. Djin then held the Child away from his body. Faster than any droid, Cara reached out and grabbed the Child's ankles, somehow at the same time using her hands to push up his robe exposing his ankles. Pumar reached out, pulled the left leg straight and put the spiral bracelet on, starting at the ankle and working her way up to his knee. The Child screamed with indignation. Ignoring the scream, Pumar did the same with the Child's right leg.
Djin, then dropped the Child's arms and grabbed his legs so the Child was face down looking at the ground. The Child screamed again, with indignation and anger and immediately lifted his right arm and pointed it at Cara. Cara reached for the arm, forcing the hand to point away from her and muttered under her breath, "I don't let anyone use the same weapon on me twice, Whomp Rat". Pumar pushed the robe sleeve aside and fastened a wrist bracelet on the Child's wrist all the way up to the elbow.
After the third bracelet had been placed, the Child lifted his left hand and held it up. From the fingertips came the crackle of lightening. Fortunately, the lightening only traveled about a foot from the Child before disappearing. The Child tried again, which made it easier for Cara to grab his arm. Pumar reached for the arm and the Child did an impossible wiggle out of the Djin's arms. Landing on the ground he faced the three adults and screamed at all of them. He then turned to run.
A rope suddenly fastened around his middle and he was yanked off his feet. He was dragged back through the dusty soil with sparks of lightening crackling from his left hand. A large, heavy boot was place on his elbow and he looked up to see the Man in the Helmet with his foot on him. The Man in the Helmet looked down at him and ordered, "Stay still now!"
So shocked he was at the Man in the Helmet speaking to him like that he hesitated, giving Pumar enough time to reach his hand and it was Cara who put the final bracelet on his left arm—she started at the elbow and worked it down to the Child's wrist. As soon as the final bracelet was on him, the Man in the Helmet lifted his foot and bent down to pick up the Child. Furious, the Child struck the Man—hitting him over and over again with both of his hands slapping and punching the helmet while a steady stream of curse words came out of his mouth.
Djin, did not hesitate. He walked over to the bench in front of the building, sat down and flipped the Child over so he was laying face down across Djin's legs. Sighing, Djin muttered to himself, remember, -never in anger, always to teach-. Djin shoved the Child's robe up over his legs and backside and back till the entirety of the green skin was visible. He noticed, with resignation, that the Child's robe was soiled. Making a note that when next the Child was dressed the hippen was going to be affixed to the Child so firmly that it would take several keys and blasters to remove it, he took off his left gauntlet.
Then, with no expression whatsoever in his voice he spoke, "You are a foundling. We two are a Clan. I am the Senior member of the Clan. You will do as I say until you are of age. I told you to stay in this dwelling until you had slept and eaten some more. You disobeyed me and stole a power board. You could have been killed or injured, or worse, someone else could have been killed or injured. This is unacceptable and you must never do this again." The Child wiggled under his hands and more swearing came from the Child.
Djin hardened his heart and softened his fingers. "You have earned this punishment. I am the Senior of our Clan and so must deliver your punishment." Taking two fingers he slapped the Child firmly on his backside. There was a yelp and more yelling. "This punishment will continue until you apologize and promise you will never disobey me again." And he used his two fingers on another area of the Child's backside. Another yelp. The fingers were applied all over the Child's back, including his legs.
It was only after the fingers had been used on the bottom of the Child's feet that the yelp was replaced with crying.
Djin stopped and said, "Are you sorry you disobeyed?" The Child shook his head in one last act of defiance. Djin sighed and applied the fingers again, this time to the bottom of both feet. The crying became a wail. Again, Djin stopped and said again, with no tone in his voice. "are you sorry you disobeyed? This time the crying went on and finally the head nodded. Djin continued, "do you promise you will never disobey me again?" Another pause and the Child's head nodded again.
Djin lifted the crying child into his arms, pulling down his robe. He looked the Child in his eyes…those big, emotional eyes were full of tears and sadness. Djin spoke, "You will now be washed and dressed. You will always wear a hippen until I say differently. If you remove the hippen again, you will be punished again. When you are dressed you will be fed. Since we do not have the analysis of what nutrition you need, you will be fed, you will sleep and as soon as you fill the hippen we will analyze the waste and determine what nutrition you need. When you are not eating you will be sleeping until the analysis shows your nutrition intake is adequate.
The Child burst into tears again and added a wailing more suited to a dying flower. Djin looked at the Child's eyes, so big and full of tears and spoke again, "Your fluid intake will increase to compensate for your tears." Whatever the Child expected to hear from the Man in the Helmet, this was not that and the crying continued with every more dramatic wailing.
Djin stood and looked at Pumra, his tone was soft and firm, "will you please show me how to bathe and clothe and feed him?" Pumra said, "Certainly".
Djin said "thank you" and walked past Pumra and Cara to enter the house. Pumra and Care exchanged looks that meant, "I think someone has decided who is in charge." They nodded with satisfaction and followed the head of the Mud Horn Clan into the house.