Chapter 11 A New Quarry
Zak could hear voices in the next room and knew that the doctor was still with Boba; he hesitated only a moment before opening the connecting door. Boba was seated on the edge of the bed with his face turned away from the doctor and his wounded arm. Bail stood on the other side, quietly talking to him and watching as Averill worked. Boba spotted him standing there and grinned, "Hey, Zak; it's alright you can come in." He said.
"I just wanted to see how you were doing." Zak replied.
"Oh, Dr. Averill thinks I'll live." Boba said still grinning, "Ouch."
"Well, hold still, Boba; I'm nearly finished." Dr. Averill said as he finished sealing the injury, "That slug took quite a chunk out of your arm; I want you to rest for a couple of days, at least."
"I can't; we have to catch those hunters." Boba objected.
"You will do what the doctor recommends, Boba; and leave those hunters to my men." Bail told him.
"Why?" Boba asked.
"Because if you don't; this will not heal properly. You do not want that, do you?" The doctor replied.
"No." Boba sighed.
"No; I thought not." Averill answered, pulling a sling from his kit.
"Whoa, wait just a minute; what's that thing for?" Boba asked.
The doctor slipped it over his head and attempted to place Boba's arm in it, "No way; this makes me look stupid." Boba protested.
"Just because I have sealed off that wound does not mean it is healed. Keep moving it around and you know what will happen don't you?" Dr. Averill replied.
"What?" Boba asked.
"It will start to bleed again; and I do not think you want that." Bail said.
"No, you wouldn't, would you, Boba?" Zak added.
"Oh, it would bleed? My blood? Well, no…I…if you put it that way; I guess not." Boba answered and submitted by placing his arm in the sling.
"A wise decision, Boba; I want you to wear this for the next few days, but I will be back to check on Master Kenobi, so I might just as well have a look at you too." The doctor replied.
"How is Master Kenobi?" Boba asked.
"Well, fortunately, the slug that hit him did not hit anything vital; I removed it and he should not have any further problems. He also has a cracked rib, a slight concussion and he may always have a scar on his cheek. However, being a Jedi, he will probably be back on his feet tomorrow; although I will recommend that he rest for another day or two." Averill explained.
"But those hunters are still after him; we need to protect him." Boba said.
"I don't think Master Obi-Wan will want us to do that." Zak replied.
"It doesn't matter what he wants; he needs to be…" Boba started.
"Yes, it does matter; we cannot stand in Master Kenobi's way. He has a right to do what he wishes; I know him, Boba, well enough to know that he will not hide." Bail cut him off.
"But he's not up to it; Dr. Averill said so." Boba protested.
"In a day or two, he will be; in the mean time, he will stay here and regain his strength. The hunters are not bold enough to come here; they are cowards who will wait until they think he is alone." Bail assured him, "And speaking of resting, you should get some rest yourself."
Boba opened his mouth to say something, took one look at the expressions on everyone's faces and then said only, "Yes sir."
"Now, it is your turn, young…Zak, is it?" Averill said, turning his attention to the young Jedi.
"My turn? I wasn't hurt." Zak replied.
"You were limping, Zak." Bail pointed out.
"Oh, but that was the leg I broke last month, it's fine really. Master Obi-Wan said it was just because the muscles are still a little weak, that's all." Zak explained.
"Meaning no disrespect to your master, Zak, but he is not a doctor." Dr. Averill answered.
"No, but I think he was right; it felt better after he worked on it." Zak argued, "I'm fine."
"Zak, it would put my mind at ease if you would let Dr. Averill check you anyway." Bail persisted.
"Alright," Zak conceded, "but there's nothing wrong." He sat down on Boba's chair.
The doctor pulled up the hassock, "Prop your leg up here and I will just have a look." He instructed.
Zak complied without a word and the doctor ran his diagnostic wand up and down the leg, "When did you say you broke it?" Averill asked.
"About a month ago." Zak answered.
"Hmm…the recuperative ability of the Jedi never ceases to amaze me. The good news is that the bone is stronger than ever." The doctor said.
"And the bad news?" Zak inquired.
"Is not all that bad; you have strained all the muscles surrounding the break." Averill informed him.
"I told you there wasn't anything wrong." Zak replied.
"Oh, but there is; you have to rest your leg or…." Averill began.
"I'll break it again. How long?" Zak finished and asked.
"A day or so. I assume you were wearing a brace at one time." Dr. Averill answered.
"Yes, Master Obi-Wan made me bring it with me." Zak replied.
"Good, I want you to start wearing it." Dr. Averill told him.
"But that will just make my leg weak again." Zak objected.
"Right now, your leg muscles need rest; just for the next two days." The doctor said.
"Is this going to happen every time I do something difficult? Because if it is, then I'm not going to be able…oh, no." Zak shook his head sadly.
"No, no, this is a temporary setback; it has only been a month. An ordinary person would probably still be wearing a cast, and you are far ahead of that. I can assure you this will not be an ongoing problem." Averill said.
"Oh; thank you, sir." Zak replied.
"Now, go get some sleep; this has been a difficult day for all of you." The Chancellor said.
"Yes sir; good night." Zak answered as he stood up and walked back to his room.
"Good night, Zak." Boba answered.
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Bail walked the doctor downstairs to the door, "Thank you for coming, Haris." He said.
"Anytime, you know that, Bail; I will come back tomorrow to check on all of them." Averill replied.
"Alright, come early and you can breakfast with us." Bail answered.
"Oh, not that early; I would rather see Master Kenobi get as much rest as possible, how about lunch instead?" Averill suggested.
"Lunch it is; good night." Bail said.
"Good night." Haris echoed.
Bail watched him until he reached his speeder before closing the door.
"If there is nothing else, sir; I would like to retire now." Micah said behind him.
"Oh, yes; of course, Micah. I should have told you earlier." Bail told him and then headed for the stairs, "Dr. Averill will be joining us for lunch tomorrow."
"Very good, sir." Micah answered with a bow. "I hope Master Kenobi was not injured too badly."
"No, he has a concussion on top of the injury to his side that will slow him a down. But he should be up and about by tomorrow; and then in a couple days, he should be back on his feet." Bail replied.
"Glad to hear it, good night, sir." Micah finished as he left the entrance hall.
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Breha was brushing her hair when he joined her in their room, "Haris has just left; Master Kenobi is resting and both boys are as well." Bail said, coming up behind her and taking the brush.
"That's good….Bail, how is Boba? I mean, well, about…" Breha asked.
"Softening, I believe. We just need to give him a little more time." Bail answered as he began to brush her hair.
Bail saw her smile reflected in the mirror; he kissed the top of her head, "Do you know what happened up there?" She asked.
"Not all of it; but it appears as if the hunters are no longer hunting our chyrax." Bail told her.
"Well, that can only be a good thing; poor beautiful creatures, they never hurt anyone." Breha replied.
"It is good for the chyrax, but it is not good for Master Kenobi." Bail answered.
"What do you mean?" Breha asked.
"They are now hunting him." Bail explained.
She turned to look at him, her eyes wide with shock, "What?"
"Apparently, they found hunting Jedi was far more interesting than hunting chyrax." Bail continued.
"They? How many are there?" Breha asked.
"I do not know for sure; Master Kenobi said the one who shot him told him there were at least three, but we must assume there are more; and there is someone called a keeper…." Bail shook his head.
"Keeper? What is going on, Bail?" Breha questioned.
"I do not know; I will speak with Master Kenobi tomorrow when he has had a good night's sleep. Hopefully we can figure this whole thing out before they try again." Bail answered. "Do not worry, they will not come here; I believe the presence of the Clones puts them off and why we were able to get him down from the summit without incident; they do not want to fight with the Clones."
"I am not worried for us, darling; we are well protected here; but Master Kenobi will be a target as soon as he leaves here." Breha replied.
"Not if we catch these so-called hunters first." Bail said.
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"Well, the hunt is off at least for the rest of the week." Moran announced.
"What? I think you're being too cautious, Keeper." Kien replied.
"This has nothing to do with caution, you fool." Moran answered, "Barclay hurt the Jedi just bad enough to put him out of commission for several days."
"So, we just wait for him to come out; we have scopes, we don't have to get that close." Orlan suggested. "He won't even be leaving the house; too bad Barclay's shot was such a good one…well, at least he got his money's worth." Moran said.
"Why don't you tell them the rest, Moran?" Devan asked.
"What rest?" Moran shot back.
"The part about the concussion; I believe that was your doing….keeper." Devan replied, "You hit him too hard, Moran."
"Well, I had to stop him, didn't I? It's only going to be a couple more days." Moran answered, defensively.
"That's alright, Moran; we can make a lot of plans in two days. The Jedi won't escape next time." Devan said.