Chapter 13 First Steps and The Others

"Chancellor." Obi-Wan said politely as he bowed.

"Master Kenobi, Anakin, I hope I have not interrupted your breakfast." Bail said as he eyed Anakin, just finishing off the pallie he had taken from his breakfast tray.

"Not at all; Galyn has informed us you have some news." Obi-Wan replied, glaring at Anakin who grinned back at him.

"Yes, good news, I believe. The Clones I sent to investigate this incident with Zak have uncovered information concerning the drug given to both of you." The Chancellor began. "They were told the effects of the drug are only temporary; when the drug has worked its way out of your system, the effects will wear off."

"Well, that's good news for me if it's true; I have no reason to believe anything the Belaridians have to say, but Zak has a more serious problem." Obi-Wan answered.

"I do not understand, Master Kenobi; I thought he was given the same thing that you were." Bail replied.

"He was, Chancellor; but the effects were different. Do you understand what gives us our sensitivity to the Force?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Yes, it has something to do with a life form, I believe." Organa answered.

"That's right, they're called midi-chlorians; the more of them you have, the more Force sensitive you are." Obi-Wan told him. "Well, some of Zak's midi-chlorians are actually dead; so even when the effects of the drug have worn off, Zak will never be as strong in the Force as he once was."

"Oh, I see; I am sorry to hear that. Are you sure there is nothing that can be done?" Bail asked.

"No, not that I am aware of." Obi-Wan answered. "Unless Anakin can do something; and we're not even sure that will help."

"I hope that is the case then." Bail replied. "Have you tried yet, Anakin?"

"Yes, unsuccessfully; but when the midi-chlorians become active again I will try again." Anakin informed him.

"Chancellor, why did you come here in person when you could have just as easily transmitted this information to us?" Obi-Wan wondered.

"Well, I wanted to give you this." Bail answered, handing Obi-Wan a small medal, "I know he refused it once, and if I tried to give it to him again myself, he would refuse it again. Maybe you could keep it for him."

"He does not want a medal for what he did, Chancellor; he has told you that several times." Obi-Wan replied.

"I know; but I would like him to have it all the same. He acted very bravely and I would not be here if he had not; being a Jedi does not change that." Bail said, "Please, Master Kenobi; it is the least I can do."

"Very well, Chancellor; I will keep it for him." Obi-Wan acquiesced and accepted the medal.

"Thank you, Master Kenobi." The Chancellor replied, "Oh, Boba would like to visit him again, now that he is conscious; is that possible?"

"Of course; Zak would enjoy seeing him." Obi-Wan consented without hesitation.

"Very well, I will take him up there this afternoon." Bail answered, "Now, if you will excuse me."

Anakin and Obi-Wan both bowed and Bail departed.

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Zak leaned on the crutches, extended his broken leg and then took a step with his good leg.

"Good, but do not lean on the crutches like that, use your arms, Zak." PT7 instructed.

"But that hurts." Zak protested.

"Oh, hmm…sit down then, and I will see what I can do about that." PT7 replied and signaled for ND25 as Zak hobbled to the chair and sat down.

"What is it, PT7?" ND25 asked as it returned to the room within minutes of being summoned.

"Zak is having difficulty because of pain in his injured wrist; I thought perhaps additional support would help?" PT7 suggested.

"Hmm…tsk…I had not anticipated this; perhaps we have begun too soon." ND25 replied.

"No, I have to do this, I can handle it; it doesn't hurt that bad." Zak argued.

"If it hurts, then it is aggravating the injury; I suggest delaying this until it is healed." ND25 told him.

"No, I'm doing this; I have to do this." Zak insisted as he struggled to stand.

"Zak, we have your best interests in mind; you must not push yourself too hard." ND25 said.

"ND25, is it not possible to reinforce the cast?" PT7 suggested, "I am concerned that it will be much more difficult for him if he has to wait until his wrist is completely healed."

"Hmm…tsk…you may be correct. Hmm…let me see what I can do." ND25 answered, "I will return."

"Thank you, PT." Zak said gratefully when ND25 had gone.

"It is my desire to see you on your feet as soon as possible, Zak." PT7 replied.

"That's mine too; I have something to do." Zak answered, finally managing to stand.

"Well, I am aware of your wish to return to Belarid; however, I must stress the importance that you not push yourself too hard. If ND25 cannot find a way to increase the stability of your wrist cast, then I do not think it will be possible for us to continue until your wrist is fully healed. I estimate that would be an additional week." PT7 said.

"I'm not waiting another week; I'm doing this now." Zak replied, stubbornly as he moved the crutches in front of him, extended his injured leg and then took a step with his good leg, "See, I can do it."

"Ah, you are a stubborn one. Very well, we shall proceed….with great caution." PT7 said. "However, ND25 must be present; if it detects aggravation to your wrist we will discontinue any further exercise."

"Fine; whatever, let's just get on with it." Zak answered impatiently.

"You will listen to me, Zak, or I will end all rehabilitation now until you are ready to cooperate." PT7 ordered. "Now, sit down and wait for ND25 to return."

"Oh, alright." Zak replied reluctantly and maneuvered back to the chair.

He did not have to wait long, however; ND25 returned quickly, "I believe this may be the solution." It said as he held up a black sleeve with a small opening at the end for a thumb and a larger one for the rest of the hand; a series of buckles ran the length of it, "This has reinforcements made of electrum and it will not bend."

Zak held out his arm and ND25 pulled the sleeve up over Zak's cast and fastened each buckle firmly; a strap extended between Zak's thumb and forefinger, around his palm and buckled on the top of his hand held the sleeve firmly in place, "There, how does that feel?" It asked.

"Fine, I guess." Zak answered, flexing his fingers.

"Not too tight?" ND25 asked.

"No, I don't think so." Zak answered.

"Good, now stand up and put some pressure on it and we'll see if it will work." ND25 instructed.

Zak again had to struggle to stand up, put his crutches in front of him, extended his injured leg and then, using the crutches for support, stepped forward.

"Well, how does it feel?" PT7 asked.

"Good." Zak answered.

"No pain?" ND25 asked.

"No; can I keep going now?" Zak asked.

"Yes, for a few more minutes; but you must remember, your ribs and internal injuries are still healing too, so you must still proceed with caution." ND25 replied.

"Would it be possible for him to take a short walk down the hallway?" PT7 asked.

"Yes, I believe it would help him get used to walking in the cast." ND25 consented.

A short walk down the hallway and back was all Zak could handle; exhausted, PT7 helped him back into bed, placed his leg back in the sling and removed the black sleeve. ND25 returned to check him and then it and PT7 left him to sleep.

When Obi-Wan and Anakin arrived a short while later, Zak was, in fact, sleeping, "This isn't right; why is he still sleeping?" Anakin asked.

Noticing Zak's crutches lying on the floor next to the bed, Obi-Wan answered, "He's been busy, Anakin; look."

"Oh, no wonder." Anakin replied, and then noticed the black sleeve laying on the bed table, "Hey, what's this?"

"I don't know…" Obi-Wan said.

"It is to reinforce the cast on his wrist." ND25 informed them from the doorway, "Could I speak with you out here? Zak should really be resting."

"No I shouldn't." Zak responded, "I have something to tell you, Master."

"Zak, you should be resting." ND25 scolded.

"I already did; I have to tell Master Obi-Wan about my dream." Zak insisted.

"What dream, Zak?" Obi-Wan asked.

"I remember what the voices were saying now, Master; the younglings." Zak answered.

"You mean the voices you heard after you fell?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Yes, they call themselves 'the others'." Zak said, "And they want me to help them."

"The others? Obi-Wan, wasn't that what…" Anakin started.

"Yes; tell me what else they said, Zak." Obi-Wan urged.

"Master? Do you know about the others?" Zak asked.

"Yes, he dr…." Anakin started to say.

"Anakin." Obi-Wan cut him off.

"You dreamt about them too, didn't you." Zak guessed.

"Not exactly." Obi-Wan answered, "I'll tell you about it as soon as you tell me about the rest of your dream."

"I don't think it was just a dream; I mean I did dream about it, but I remember it happening." Zak tried to explain.

"Alright, then tell me what you remember." Obi-Wan replied.

Zak then launched into a narrative about everything he remembered and Obi-Wan, as promised, told him about his dreams of Terak, the red lightsaber and the mention of the others, leaving out the part about Anakin killing Zak with the Sith weapon; he felt Zak did not need to know about it.

"So that means the Belaridians actually did kill their Force sensitive children?" Anakin asked.

"It appears so, yes." Obi-Wan confirmed.

"Then we're going to back to Belarid, aren't we, Master?" Zak asked, hopefully.

"We are, meaning Master Anakin and I, you are in no shape to be going anywhere yet." Obi-Wan answered.

"No, I have to go; I promised to help them." Zak insisted.

"And so you have by telling us what they told you." Obi-Wan told him.

"I have to do this, Master." Zak replied, calmly, firmly.

Obi-Wan looked at his young apprentice and suddenly understood why this was so important to him; if the younglings were the others and they had been murdered, Zak could have been one of them, now he had been given the chance to help all the ones who had not been as fortunate as he had been. If or when they were found, Zak needed to be there. But Obi-Wan had given Zak his word…, "But I promised I would never take you back there, Zak." He said.

"This is different." Zak answered.

"Alright, but I still want you to be a little stronger before we go." Obi-Wan compromised.

"How much stronger?" Zak asked.

"We'll see how you are in two days." Obi-Wan replied.

"And you won't go to Belarid without me?" Zak wanted to know.

"No, you have my word; we will wait until you are ready." Obi-Wan promised.

"What do you expect to find?" Anakin asked.

"Maybe nothing." Obi-Wan answered then turned to his brother and added grimly, "Or maybe bodies."

"That's what I thought; are you sure you're going to be up to that, Zak?" Anakin asked.

"Yes." Zak answered with conviction.

PT7 returned, ready to begin his next session with Zak, "Oh, I apologize, Zak; I was not aware that you had visitors. We can delay this session if you wish." It said.

"No, PT." Zak answered as he swung his uninjured left leg over the edge of the bed and then moved his right leg with his hands.

"It's alright; I'd rather stay and watch this." Obi-Wan added, "Anakin, you can go if you wish."

"No, I'll stay too." Anakin replied.

"Very well." PT7 said, picking up the reinforcement sleeve, slipping it onto Zak's outstretched arm and fastening the buckles into place. "Are you ready, Zak?"

"Yes." Zak answered as he slipped off the bed.

"Ah, very good." PT7 said encouragingly when Zak's left leg did not crumple beneath him.

PT7 then retrieved the crutches and handed them to Zak, "Would you like to go down the hall again?" It asked.

"That sounds good to me." Zak answered as he positioned the crutches and moved toward the door.

"My, you certainly have gotten the hang of this quickly." PT7 noted, "Build up your strength, and you will be out of here in no time."

"That's the idea; I have someplace to be in two days." Zak replied as he hobbled quickly down the hall.

Anakin glanced at Obi-Wan; the older man had a pained look on his face, "What is it?" He asked.
Obi-Wan stroked his beard absently, "I just hate seeing him like that." He answered.

"I'm sorry; I wish I could fix it." Anakin replied regretfully.

Obi-Wan looked over at him and clapped him on the back, "I know; but you can't fix everything, Anakin. He'll be alright; it's just going to take time." He said.

Two trips up and down the hallway and PT7 called an end to the session. Zak had no desire to quit even though he was tired, but knew better than to argue with PT7, the droid's threat of ending all rehabilitative exercises had not been lost on him. Obi-Wan helped him into bed just as ND25 arrived with his lunch.

"I hope you have not overdone it, Zak." It said as it removed the black sleeve.

"I haven't; PT wouldn't let me." Zak assured it.

"Listen, Padawan; I have to speak with Master Yoda and the rest of the Council about what happened to you. Are you going to be alright here?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Yes; and when you see me again, I'll be racing down the hallway." Zak answered with a grin.

"Well, we'll have to see about that." Obi-Wan told him, "I'll be back again tonight."

"Alright; I have some studying to do anyway and PT will probably be in again." Zak replied.

"Oh, Boba will probably be by to see you this afternoon." Obi-Wan informed him just before he and Anakin left.

"Really? That will be nice." Zak said happily.

When they were out in the hallway, Anakin asked, "When are you going to tell him?"

"Tell him what?" Obi-Wan asked as they entered the lift.

"About how much Force sensitivity he's going to lose." Anakin expanded.

"I'm not; at least not until I have to." Obi-Wan answered, "He has enough to deal with right now."

"And you're hoping I can help; aren't you." Anakin added.

"Yes." Obi-Wan admitted.