Chapter 14 Ferri's Regret

Viral tried several cells before locating the one he was looking for. The bounty hunter lay on the floor near the wall with his legs pulled up against his chest; he turned his head to see who had opened the door. As Viral stepped into the cell, the boy made a feeble effort to move away from him.

"It's alright, kid; I've come to take you out of here." Viral told him.

Boba inched away, "I don't…know…you." He said.

"I know; but I work for someone who is very concerned for your welfare." Viral replied, "Now, I'm not going to hurt you."

Boba slid another inch or two toward the back wall, "Who…would….would that…be?" He asked.

"He'd rather remain anonymous for the time being; trust me, it will be alright." Viral assured him.

"No." Boba answered, and kicked out at Viral as the man attempted to undo the straps of Boba's leg restraints.

"Stop fighting; I don't want to hurt you." Viral said as he grasped one of Boba's legs and squeezed.

"No, please." Boba pleaded, trying to free himself from Viral's hold.

Viral sighed and shook his head, "I didn't want it to come to this." He said, then his hand from Boba's leg to one of his bare injured feet and squeezed.

"AAAHHH! NOOO!" Boba cried out and writhed in agony.

"Then stop fighting." Viral commanded and released his foot, "Alright?"

Breathing raggedly, Boba nodded.

Viral smiled and patted Boba's leg, "Good boy." He said and finished unfastening the leg restraint straps.

"Where?" Boba asked, still trying to catch his breath.

"Where? Oh, where are we going? You don't have to worry about that." Viral answered he stood up and then reached down and pulled Boba to his feet.

"Why…are…you…here?" Boba asked as Viral forced him to hobble toward the door.

"I told you; I've come to get out you of here." Viral replied, taking a tight hold on his arm and pushing him out the door.

"But…why?" Boba asked.

"You ask too many questions." Viral told him.

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Obi-Wan tripped on the root of a tree, but managed to catch himself on its trunk. That had been happening more and more frequently as fatigue began to effect his coordination. He remained, leaning against the tree for a moment trying to get his breath back before stumbling on. At the last moment, he caught sight of Devan's loose blond hair and dodged behind a tree just as her crossbow bolt sang past him, and he heard her curse. Stealing a glance at her, he sighed wearily and moved away while she was reloading. He heard Kien crashing through the underbrush and altered his course again to avoid him. A vornskr made a leap at him which he managed to dodge only to have another leap on him from a different direction. The second predator latched onto the shoulder of his cloak, so Obi-Wan rammed that shoulder into a tree. Immediately, the vornskr lost it's grip and fell bonelessly to the ground. Obi-Wan did not bother to check whether it was dead; he just took off at a run as the remaining vornskr laid into his partner. He considered himself incredibly lucky that the animal had only gotten a grip on his cloak. But he knew he could not keep going like this for much longer; where the devil was Anakin?

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Ferri slid off the seat, curled up on the floor and began to sob. Clive sat down, cross-legged, next to his apprentice and pulled the boy to him, "It's alright, Padawan." He said soothingly as he cradled the boy.

"What have I done, Master?" Ferri sobbed, "What have I done?"

"You've made a terrible mistake. But…" Clive started to reply.

"They could die; what was I thinking?" Ferri interrupted, still crying.

Clive sighed and rubbed Ferri's back, "You weren't thinking, Ferri; and that was your biggest mistake." He told him.

"I…I was so blinded…blinded by…." Ferri began and ended with a new fit of sobbing.

"Yes you were; but at least you see that now." Clive replied.

"Too late; I've…it's too late." Ferri cried.

Clive smiled gently, "Well, it came late; but it did come." He said.

"But they could….they could die because…be…" Ferri could not finish as he was struck by the gravity of what he had done and he began to cry again.

"That is a possibility; and one that you and I will both have to deal with if it happens. But Master Skywalker may be able to prevent it." Clive said.

"I don't deserve to be a Jedi." Ferri cried.

Clive closed his eyes and held Ferri tighter, "You have let your personal feelings, your animosity cloud your judgment; but, Ferri, you have realized this was wrong, and that is a step in the right direction. You have been blessed with the gift of the Force, and you have a wonderful special talent; you must never forget that." He told him gently.

"But…after what I've done…the Council…I'm finished." Ferri stammered.

"Well, you don't know that. You will have to answer for what you've done, of course; but you can't know the decision of the Council until they make it." Clive replied.

"No one will ever trust me again…and they shouldn't not after this." Ferri said.

Clive sighed again and shook his head, "That will be something you will have to earn back because what you have done was a serious breach of trust; but it will happen in time, you'll see." He assured him.

"Not if they send me away; that's what they should do." Ferri answered. "It's what I deserve."

"Oh, Padawan; fortunately, that is not your decision to make. Let us both just stay in the moment and worry about the future when it becomes the present." Clive said.

Ferri squeezed his eyes shut and clung to his master, "I wish I could." He said.

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Aang stretched in his seat; it would still be several hours before he reached Myrkr. He wondered how much luck Banyon would have in locating the rebellious Devan Carlyle and her nefarious partner, Kien Valier; and if he did manage to find them, how much trouble he would have capturing both of them. He hoped that the pair could be stopped before any more harm came to the boy they had kidnapped or they would all have to answer to Chancellor Organa; something he did not wish to do. If he could just manage to get them both back to Verdant, Carlyle would make sure they never left again. But if he and Banyon failed, and they managed to carry out their murderous plans and leave the planet, the Carlyle name would be dragged through the mud and the family business finished…and that would mean that Aang would lose one of his biggest clients. Aang was not about to let that happen.

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Bail finished yet another circuit of the entire ship; plagued by worry and concern for all those down on Myrkr, he found he could not sit still for more than five minutes at a time. He had finally heard from Captain Ged who had told him they had reached the bunker, had Advar Tyrien in custody and that Anakin had gone down to the sublevel where Tyrien claimed Boba was being held. Ged also informed him that there had been no sign of either Master Kenobi or his young apprentice, Zak. He sighed and began to walk the ship again.

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Zak strained against his bonds as he heard Boba cry out loudly from down the corridor. What was that monster doing to him? If only he could get free, he could help his friend. Where was his master? Where was Master Anakin? And who was the new player in this deadly perverted game? Zak fought against the chains above his head and against his own mounting anger toward Ferri, who was responsible for him being in such a helpless position. Suddenly, his lessons, lessons learned from the wise Master Yoda, and his own master came to him. Anger was pointless and it was a Dark emotion, a clear path to the Darker emotion, hate; he had to calm himself and turn back to the Light again. Be calm, Zak; he told himself; you must stay calm. He closed his eyes and took a deep relaxing breath, and let the anger fade away. Trust in the will of the Force, he told himself, even if I cannot feel it, I must trust in it. He nodded his head as he accepted this truth. Trust in the will of the Force, no matter what it brings.

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Frustration had given way to anger as Devan watched yet another crossbow bolt disappear into the darkness without hitting its mark. This was getting ridiculous; surely she or, for that matter, Kien should have managed to hit that damn Jedi at least once. The man was shackled and had been on the run for hours and presumably injured by the first vornskr that had attacked him…and since then, both of them had seen the mangled remains of other vornskrs who had not fared well against him, but surely must also have drawn blood. Kenobi couldn't even use his Jedi abilities, so how could he possibly be able to continue outmaneuvering both of them?

"Devan?" Kien's voice sounded on her comlink.

"What are doing, you idiot? He might hear you." Devan whispered angrily back at him.

"I thought this was worth taking that risk." Kien answered.

"What?" Devan asked.

"I've just come across the bodies of three vornskrs." He told her.

"So what? I've come across a couple too; that's no reason to risk alerting him." Devan replied.

"No, you don't understand; one of these was cut right in two and the other ones have blaster wounds." Kien explained.

"Damn it; the Chancellor's men must have gotten here already. We have to find Kenobi and end this now." Devan said.

"But, Devan, the other one; a blaster wound couldn't do that." Kien argued.

"What are you saying, Kien?" Devan asked.

"That this was done with one of those laser swords like Kenobi and the cub were carrying." Kien answered.

"Impossible; we took both of them and they're with Tyrien in the bunker. I'm sure if the kid escaped, he would have let us know." Devan refuted.

"Then that must mean there's another Jedi out here. I don't like where this is heading, Devan." Kien replied.

"Then we have to take Kenobi out and get off this planet." Devan told him.

"I think we should just cut and run now." Kien suggested.

"Well, I don't; and I thought you wanted revenge for what he did." Devan said.

"That was before another Jedi entered the picture; an armed one. I'm finished and going back to the bunker, Devan." Kien replied.

"Alright, I'll make you a deal; we continue for another…say…hour and then call it quits. Then we can take off and torch the woods from the ship to take care of him and anyone else that might be in there." Devan proposed.

"Half an hour and you've got a deal." Kien bargained.

"Forty-five minutes, final offer." Devan offered.

Kien was silent for nearly a full minute before answering, "Alright, forty-five minutes; but no longer."

"No longer, I promise." Devan assured him, knowing she would be able to convince him to staying much longer if she needed to.

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Anakin looked to his right, and in the dim light, he could see two figures approaching the lift. He pulled his lightsaber from his belt without thinking about it and moved toward them. The larger of the two pulled a blaster out and held it to the smaller one's head. Anakin moved a little closer and recognized the smaller figure as Boba Fett.

"I don't know who you are, but I think you had better let the boy go." Anakin ordered.

"Well, I don't know who you are, so I think I'll keep him." The man answered.

"If you shoot him, I will kill you; you understand that don't you?" Anakin threatened.

"Really? With what? I don't see a weapon." The man scoffed.

Anakin sighed, shook his head and ignited his lightsaber, "Now, you see a weapon." He said.

The man said nothing, but took a step back, dragging Boba with him.

"I really don't have time to play games with you. Let the boy go…" Anakin started.

"Or what? I'll regret it?" The man cut him off.

"No, you won't live long enough." Anakin answered.

"If you attack me with that laser sword, you stand a pretty good chance of hitting this boy; you wouldn't want to do that, now would you?" The man asked.

"I'll take that chance." Anakin answered as advanced a couple more steps.

"Don't come any closer; I'm warning you." The man said.

"I told you, if you shoot that boy I will kill you." Anakin threatened again.

The man shifted his aim from Boba's head to Anakin's chest.

Anakin shook his head, "That would be a big mistake." He told him.

"I disagree." The man said and fired a shot at Anakin.

"DROP, BOBA!" Anakin yelled as he angled his weapon to deflect the shot coming toward him.

Boba deliberately buckled his knees and the startled man lost his grip on the boy's arm as he went down; and with a startled look, realized, too late, that he was about to be hit by his own blaster bolt. The bolt struck him in the left shoulder and slammed him against the wall.

Anakin moved quickly to disarm the man, kicking the blaster beyond his reach and then he reached down and grabbed the front of his tunic pulling him up, "Now, who are you and where were you taking the boy?" He demanded.

The man, being in too much pain to resist Anakin, confessed, "Viral; my name's…Viral…I was…taking the boy….to Nar Shaddaa."

Anakin shook Viral, "Why?" He demanded.

"AAHH, my boss; my boss wants him." Viral admitted.

Anakin shook him harder, "What for?" He asked angrily.

"I…don't…" Viral began and was cut off.

"Stop playing games, why did he want the boy?" Anakin asked again.

"OHHH, please, he was…going to give…him to the…Chancellor as a…a…token…of good…will." Viral answered.

"Alright, then who is your boss?" Anakin asked.

"Oh, no…torture me…if you want…I can't…I…he'll have me…no…" Viral said, refusing to answer.

Anakin shoved him hard back into the wall, "You're as bad as that piece of garbage upstairs." He said with disgust as he turned his attention to Boba, lying on the floor with his knees once again drawn up to his chin.

"Boba?" Anakin called gently as he touched the boy's shoulder.

Boba raised his head slightly and looked up at him, "Master….Skywalker?"

Anakin smiled at him, "How are you doing?" He asked, putting a hand on Boba's forehead.

"Not so good." Boba answered.

"Yes, you've got a fever." Anakin replied as his gaze moved to Boba's bare feet, "What a mess you are, Boba Fett."

"Yeah, heh, heh, heh….Master Skywalker? Zak…Zak is here." Boba told him.

"Is he? Alright, I'm going to get you some help and then I'll have a look around." Anakin said as he pulled out his comlink, "Commander Ged? I've found him, but there was also someone else down here trying to take him. I need one of your men to come down here to take him into custody."

"Good news, sir; I'll send someone down straight away." Ged answered.

"Thank you, Commander." Anakin replied and then smiled at Boba and began to remove the restraints around his ankles and wrists, "We'll have to wait until Commander Ged's man gets down here before we can get those binders off."

"The hunt!" Boba said suddenly and then tried to sit up.

"What?"

"Devan came down a while ago, she said…that it was…about to start….they had…Zak…and...you have to…" Boba explained, fighting to get up even as Anakin pushed him gently back down.

"Easy; are you saying they're hunting Master Kenobi now?" Anakin asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm sure…of it…and then….then Tyrien…he came down…he said it…he said it won't be…too much longer." Boba answered.

"And Zak is down here too?" Anakin asked.

"Yeah…Devan told me…and I think…I heard them…when they brought him down." Boba answered.

Anakin heard the lift door open and turned as two troopers emerged and came toward them. The first one wasted no time cuffing Viral and dragging him to his feet as the second one knelt down next to Boba, "I'll take care of him from here, Master Skywalker." He said as he first unlocked the binders and removed them.

Boba sighed with relief when he was free of them; Anakin rubbed his wrists carefully and then patted his shoulder and stood up, "Master Kenobi's apprentice is here somewhere too. I'm going to go find him." He said.

"Yes sir." The trooper/medic replied.

"I…think I…he might be…on the other side…of the lift." Boba told Anakin.

"Alright, I'll find him; you just relax, you're safe now." Anakin answered.