Chapter 23 Cardl's New Man
"Charges? Charges! I'll have YOU up on charges. You shot me!" Carlyle exclaimed.
"Oh get up, I shot the toe of your boot, I did not hit you." Bail replied in disgust as he dragged Carlyle up, "Although it was very tempting."
"What? No, I'm sure…" Carlyle's protest ended abruptly, "Oh….well, do you know how much these boots cost? Ruined! They're ruined, I'll sue…."
"Be my guest, I am sure I can afford to buy you a new pair of boots." Bail answered.
"You're going to have to do more than that; this is an outrage! You don't even have permission to be here!" Carlyle declared.
"I am the Supreme Chancellor; I have a right to go wherever I need to in order to be sure that justice is served; you should have told your man, Aang to turn your daughter over to the Jedi instead of having her brought here and hiding her. If you had, I would not be here." Bail told him, "These two have committed several very serious crimes; they must be tried in a Republic court and sentenced accordingly if they are found guilty. I was willing to compromise with you, Lord Carlyle, but your answer was to have your guards point weapons at us and now, I am through compromising. You may get away with a stiff fine, but your daughter will most likely spend the rest of her days in a Republic penal colony; I am sorry."
Several hours later they were back onboard the frigate with all three prisoners secured in the brig with the others. Before returning to his quarters to rest, Obi-Wan stopped by the medical facility to see Boba; he appeared to be sleeping when Obi-Wan looked in on him and, not wanting to wake him, Obi-Wan turned to leave, "Don't go, Master Kenobi." Boba said.
"You should be resting." Obi-Wan replied.
"So should you." Boba answered and then looked away, "I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry."
"Sorry? Why? You do not think any of this was your fault, do you?" Obi-Wan asked.
"I was weak; I didn't fight back hard enough." Boba told him.
"Yes, you were weak, Boba, because you were severely injured not more than a week ago and you nearly died; you weren't in any condition to fight back. That certainly was not your fault." Obi-Wan countered.
"Then I should have realized what Tyrien was; I should have called for the guard or…or tried to run." Boba said.
"Didn't you?" Obi-Wan wondered.
"Well, yeah, but not soon enough." Boba replied.
"Oh, Boba, there was nothing you could have done; Tyrien had everything well planned. He disguised himself as a doctor and got past the guard. You were still too weak to get away from him and he drugged you; but from what I understand, you put up a pretty good fight. Dr. Averill said the room was a shambles." Obi-Wan explained.
Boba smiled, "Yeah, heh, heh, heh," He answered and then frowned, "but he won in the end."
"No, we are all still here; he lost in the end." Obi-Wan corrected and patted Boba's arm, "You get some rest now."
"Yes, sir." Boba said with a weary sigh, "They all lost."
Obi-Wan smiled, "Yes, they did, in the end." He answered and then waved his hand, "Sleep now."
"Sleep, yeah." Boba repeated and closed his eyes.
Obi-Wan nodded in satisfaction and slipped out of the room where he met Bail Organa on his way in.
"Master Kenobi, I would have thought you would be resting." Bail said.
"I'm on way to do just that right now; I just wanted to see how our young bounty hunter was doing." Obi-Wan answered.
Bail smiled, "And just how is our young bounty hunter?" He asked.
"He's sleeping now." Obi-Wan replied.
"Sleeping? I am glad to hear it; he would not let Haris give him anything after what that monster, Tyrien did to him. You mind tricked him, I assume." Bail said.
"Yes; only because I think he needs to rest so he can regain his strength and he was hurting too much to get any." Obi-Wan told him.
"Oh, I understand completely, Master Kenobi; I am grateful that you did it. I have spoken with Anakin and he said he would come by to see him as well." Bail replied.
"Yes, I think that would set him well on the road to recovery." Obi-Wan answered.
"That is what he said. Now, I have kept you from your bed long enough; you should rest as well, Master Kenobi." Bail said.
"I cannot argue with that. I will see you in an hour or two." Obi-Wan conceded.
"Or longer." Bail suggested.
"Or longer." Obi-Wan agreed with a smile.
Bail nodded, triggered the door and went in; Obi-Wan headed to the living quarters.
"I hope you're going to your quarters to get some sleep." Anakin said when he met Obi-Wan coming the other way.
Obi-Wan crossed his arms, "And what would you do if I was not, Anakin?" He asked.
"Knock you down and drag you there." Anakin answered with a sly smile.
"Really? If I weren't so tired, I might just let you try." Obi-Wan replied.
"You'd lose; seriously, I really hope you're going to lie down." Anakin told him.
"Seriously? Well, I am in serious need of sleep; I cannot deny that. Since Devan and Kien are now in custody, I am going to take care of that need. I will see you in an hour or two." Obi-Wan answered.
"Longer." Anakin corrected.
Obi-Wan shook his head, "As long as it takes; it might be only an hour or two." He insisted.
"You are so stubborn; have it your way then." Anakin replied with a small laugh, "But you really should sleep all the way to Coruscant."
"We'll just see then, won't we." Obi-Wan said, "Where are you off to?"
"To see Boba Fett; I promised the Chancellor that I'd….well, you know." Anakin answered.
"Yes, the healing touch; he could use that right about now." Obi-Wan replied.
"I know; the poor kid. They treated him very badly; and this Viral wanted to haul him all the way to Smuggler's Moon to present him as a gift to his boss." Anakin said.
"What?" Obi-Wan asked incredulously.
"Yes, so that his boss could give him back to the Chancellor as a token of good will." Anakin informed him.
"Token of good will; who is this boss?" Obi-Wan wondered.
"I don't know, Viral refused to tell me; he's scared to death of him." Anakin answered.
"Hmm...that's interesting. He must be someone very powerful; I wonder if it's one of the Hutts." Obi-Wan speculated.
"Well, since they control Smuggler's Moon, that's a very good possibility." Anakin replied.
Obi-Wan stifled a yawn, "Well, my friend, I'm dead on my feet." He said.
"I'm sorry; I'm the one who kept pushing you to rest and yet here I am keeping you from it." Anakin admonished himself, "Go on, I'll see you in a few hours."
"A couple hours." Obi-Wan corrected.
"Yes, well; we'll just see about that, won't we." Anakin told him.
Obi-Wan sank down onto the bed with a heavy sigh and pulled his boots off. The Jedi master lay down, took a deep breath and gave in to his great need. Zak, already asleep in the other bed, stirred and turned to look at his master for a moment; satisfied, he drifted back to sleep.
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"I have not heard from my hunt keeper in several hours; I must assume that he has failed in his mission. I want you to track him down and when you find him, kill him and bring a piece of him to me." Cardl ordered.
"Where should I start looking, my lord?" Egan asked.
"You are a smart man, Egan; I am sure I do not need to tell you how to find him. Kill him for me and I will make you my next keeper." Cardl answered.
"I'll take care of Viral for you, Cardl; but I have no wish to be your keeper of the hunt." Egan replied.
Cardl laughed heartily, "Very well, Egan; I will find a new place for you. I will put you in charge of my import/export ventures. You have an eye for business; perhaps that will suit you better." He suggested.
"That could be interesting; I'll think it over." Egan answered.
"And while you are thinking, you will go after Viral?" Cardl asked.
"Yes, of course; we can decide on how you reward me after the job is finished." Egan said.
Cardl laughed again, "I like you, Egan; I think I like you more than I liked Viral." He told him.
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Anakin spent the better part of an hour with the sleeping Boba Fett; even in sleep, the ex-bounty hunter hitched a breath as Anakin's healing touch began to flow through him. When he was finished, Boba sighed in his sleep and completely relaxed, "He should sleep all the way to Coruscant; that will go a long way to helping him recover." Anakin whispered as he stood to leave.
"That and your touch, Anakin; thank you." Bail whispered back, "Dr. Averill is very interested in meeting you; I hope you get the chance to see him before we get to Coruscant."
"I'll make a point of it." Anakin promised in leaving.
When Anakin left the medical until, he wandered down to the docking bay; with nothing to do but wait until they reached Coruscant, his intent was to do what he had always done when he had little do, tinker with the vehicles docked there. As if he were sent by the Force, Ferri was already there watching the Clones as they performed routine service on one of the shuttles; his master sat nearby, obeying the mandate given to him by his superior, Master Kenobi. Anakin took a deep breath and walked over to stand next to him, "Have you ever gotten a good up-close look at one of those engines?" He asked.
"No." Ferri answered quietly.
"Would you like to?" Anakin asked.
"No." Ferri replied.
"No? Are you sure? Because that's not what I'm sensing." Anakin told him.
"What do you care?" Ferri asked.
"Come on." Anakin said, taking Ferri by the arm and guiding him forward.
"NO, what are you doing?" Ferri asked suspiciously as he tried to pull away.
"Alright, so you don't want to look at the engine; what do you want, Ferri?" Anakin asked, releasing him.
"To be left alone by you." Ferri answered.
Anakin sighed and shook his head, "Your master has asked me to help you; but I can't unless you want me to." He said.
"Well, I don't want you to; I don't need any help." Ferri replied.
"Yes, you do; but no one can force you into getting it. I'm sorry for you." Anakin said and turned toward his fighter parked nearby.
"Don't you hate me?" Ferri asked.
Anakin turned back and looked at him, "No; I am very angry with you because of what you've done, but that is very different than hate." He answered.
"Then why do you want to help me?" Ferri wondered.
"Because I think you acted out of jealousy and that jealousy was sparked by your own insecurity. I still hate what you did, but I can understand the reason behind it; it was very wrong, but I understand it." Anakin explained.
"What difference does it make if you help me or not? I'm still going to be sent to the Ag Corps." Ferri told him.
"Well, you don't know that for sure now, do you? And even if you are, if I can help you break through your insecurity, then you might not be tempted to betray anyone out of jealousy again." Anakin replied.
Ferri looked down and the floor, over at his master, who nodded, and then back to Anakin again, "I'll think about it." He decided.
"Fair enough; just don't wait too long or I may withdraw my offer." Anakin answered.
"Can I have a peek at your fighter?" Ferri asked.
"I'll think about it." Anakin said.
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Obi-Wan awoke two hours later feeling better than he had in days; he turned over and sat up to put his boots back on and noticed that Zak's bed was empty. He left the room and let the Force guide him to his apprentice; he found him on the observation deck staring absently out of the viewport and fingering the end of his Padawan braid, "What are you thinking about?" Obi-Wan asked as he came up behind him.
Zak continued to stare out, "Nothing really." He answered.
"Nothing at all?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Well, nothing important." Zak replied as he turned around to face his master.
"What's not important that you're thinking about?" Obi-Wan asked as he leaned against the bulkhead.
Zak knitted his brow and then looked down at the floor for a moment before turning his gaze back to his master's, "What would happen if I lost my braid?" He asked.
"Lost it? It's attached to your head, Padawan; how could you lose it?" Obi-Wan asked.
"You know; like if someone cut it off." Zak asked.
"Ah, well, in that case you'd be sent off to the Ag Corps and never become a knight." Obi-Wan answered with twinkle in his eye and a hint of a smile.
"I'm not joking, Master; what would happen?" Zak asked again.
"What has happened that would make you ask that?" Obi-Wan asked.
"I…nothing, I just want to know." Zak lied.
"I think we know each other better than that, Zak; what happened? Did one of them threaten to cut it off?" Obi-Wan asked.
Zak stared down at the floor again.
"Zak?"
"Tyrien…well, he didn't so much threaten…but, well…" Zak finally admitted.
"What did he do?" Obi-Wan asked, squatting down and putting a hand on each of Zak's, "Talk to me, Zak."
"He noticed it when…after they put me in that cell; he never said he was going to…but it was just the way he….he…I can't explain it. I really….never mind, Master; I'm just being stupid." Zak replied.
"It was just the way he looked at it; what did he say?" Obi-Wan asked.
"He wanted to know what it was and what it meant. It just made me nervous when he took hold of it; and then I got to thinking what would have happened if he had just cut it off." Zak answered.
"Then you would have just started to grow a new one." Obi-Wan told him.
"But it would be like starting all over." Zak protested.
"Well, it did not happen, so you do not have to worry about it; and even if it had, it's only hair, Zak; and it would grow back." Obi-Wan assured him.
"I know; it's just that I would have lost all that growth and I could never get it back." Zak said.
"I understand." Obi-Wan replied.
"You do?" Zak asked.
"Yes, it nearly happened to me, and mine was much longer than yours is now." Obi-Wan answered.
"What happened?" Zak asked.
"That is a story for another day; I just wanted you to know that I understand exactly how you feel." Obi-Wan said.
Zak nodded, "Thank you, Master." He replied.
"Your welcome; now, shall we find something to eat? I'm hungry." Obi-Wan answered.
"Alright." Zak said and headed down with him to the galley.
Afterwards, they headed in different directions, Zak to go see his friend in the medical unit, and Obi-Wan to track down Anakin.