Chapter 23 An Old War's End
"Master Kenobi?" Obi-Wan's comm sounded.
Obi-Wan pulled the comm from his belt, "Boba, I thought you would have joined us by now." He responded.
"We've just met with some old friends." Boba answered.
"Terak and the hunters?" Obi-Wan assumed.
"No sign of Terak; but we did run into Devan and Kien." Boba replied.
"Are you alright?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Dena and I are fine; Devan's not very happy right now. She tried to take Dena's blaster and managed to shoot herself with it. I thought maybe we should take her and Kien back to your ship before coming to help you." Boba said.
"Yes, that would be best; but this may be over before you join us. Contact us once you have reached the ship and I will advise you if you are needed." Obi-Wan instructed.
"Will do, Master Kenobi; Boba out." Boba finished.
"Well, that's a relief; at least we won't have to worry about that pair crashing our party." Anakin said.
"I assume that they are not your friends?" Park interjected.
"No, in fact, it is probably lucky Boba managed to get to them before they did something really stupid." Anakin answered.
Park sighed, "If by this you mean stilling one of the growlers, then I fear they have already done something 'really stupid'. I had already learned before our meeting that a still growler had been discovered by Li's people. Li had come to the conclusion that the one called Ferri was responsible." He explained, "I did not say anything of this before because I did not feel it was relevant. Apologies."
"Well, I suppose it isn't; Ferri is safely away from Li." Anakin replied, "How much further?"
"Not far; I sense the rest of your people just over that hill." Park answered, "And the Lodge is just beyond them; they must be waiting for you."
"Cody?" Obi-Wan called through his comm.
"Right here, Master Kenobi. We have a structure in sight, but there does not appear to be any way inside." Cody replied.
Obi-Wan turned to Park who smiled, "That is the Lodge; I will show you the way in." He assured them.
"I have someone here who knows how to get in, Cody; sit tight, we will join you shortly."Obi-Wan informed the commander.
"We'll be waiting." Cody replied, ending the transmission.
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Zak's fingers curled, he moaned, biting his lip as he tossed his head. Blood trickled down his chin and dripped onto the floor inside the stanchion, "Almost, Li." Asjen assured the Clan leader.
But her assurance was followed by the failing of yet another system, leaving another panel darkened.
"Almost is not good enough, Asjen." Li replied, "That was our weapon."
"It can be mended once his will is broken." Asjen began.
The wall opened and Geon entered, "Stand down, Asjen." She ordered.
"Geon, what is this? Rebellion?" Li demanded, "I am disappointed."
"You have grown too greedy, Li; and your greed will destroy the Lodge Clan." Geon replied, "Stand down, Asjen."
"You are a fool, Geon; you are in no position to be giving orders." Li told her.
"Oh, yes, I am." Geon countered, standing aside to allow Park to enter
"Park! Why does this not surprise me. So you have finally come to challenge me." Li stated.
"No, Li; I have come because you have gone too far. Harnessing this boy is wrong; he is not one of us. I have brought his people to free him." Park told her.
A ginger-haired, bearded man dressed in ivory colored tunics and trousers entered followed by another, taller man with shoulder length golden hair; this one dressed in brown tunics and trousers. A cylinder hung from the belt of the shorter of the two; while the taller one held a similar cylinder in his right hand. And following them, several other men clad in armor and carrying what Li could only assume were weapons.
"Release him." The bearded man ordered as he stepped toward the stanchion.
"We cannot." Asjen told him.
The man turned his attention to her, blue-gray eyes locking onto hers, "Release him now." He ordered again calmly.
"You do not understand; this boy is all that is keeping our Lodge running." Asjen objected.
"I don't care about your lodge." The man said evenly, and then turned his attention to captive, "This boy is my apprentice; you will release him now."
The bearded man's companion stepped up and with a flick of his wrist, a glowing, humming light emitted from the cylinder in his hand, "Do it now." He commanded.
"Easy, Anakin." The bearded man said quietly, placing a hand on his taller companion's arm.
"They're torturing him, Obi-Wan; look at him." The one called Anakin replied.
"I know this." The one called Obi-Wan told him and then looked at his companion who nodded and stepped back.
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Obi-Wan, followed closely by Anakin, entered the harnessing room just as Park finished speaking.
The Jedi Master's eyes drifted to his apprentice suspended inside one of the black metallic frames,
"Release him." He ordered as he stepped toward the imprisoned Zak.
"We cannot." One of the women told him.
Obi-Wan turned his attention to her, blue-gray eyes locking onto hers, "Release him now." He ordered again; his calm tone hiding his growing anger.
"You do not understand; this boy is all that is keeping our Lodge running." The woman objected.
"I don't care about your lodge." Obi-Wan said evenly, and then looked up at Zak, "This boy is my apprentice; you will release him now."
Anakin stepped up and ignited his lightsaber, "Do it now." He commanded.
"Easy, Anakin." Obi-Wan said quietly, placing a hand on his friend's arm.
"They're torturing him, Obi-Wan; look at him." Anakin replied; failing to understand how his brother could be so unconcerned.
"I know this." Obi-Wan told him, "But without their help, we may cause Zak further injury...or worse."
Anakin, realizing he was right, nodded and stepped back.
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The one called Obi-Wan then he turned once again to Asjen, "I will do what I must; with or without your help." He told her.
"Continue." Li ordered.
"Do not do this, Li." Park pleaded.
Li ignored him; Asjen nodded and turned away from the intruders to run her hand over the console in front of her. Zak moaned again as his head jerked back and his fingers began to flex convulsively.
"Very well, you leave me no choice." Obi-Wan said as he pulled the cylinder from his belt, "Destroy the console, Anakin."
Anakin moved toward the console, shoving Asjen roughly out of the way as he raised his glowing cylinder above his head, "No, don't; that will surely destroy him." Asjen warned.
"Then stop this now." Obi-Wan commanded as he moved to cut Zak out of the stanchion.
"This is not our way, Li." Park reminded the Clan leader.
Li bowed her head in defeat; if the one called Anakin destroyed the console, Zak's Power would be lost when he moved on. Park was right, to waste the Power was against the way of the Clans; Li had no choice, "Do as he wishes, Asjen." She instructed.
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With a sigh, the woman, Asjen, nodded, "As you wish, Li." She replied.
Anakin lowered his weapon and moved to allow her access to the console, "Do not attempt to free him until he has been released from the harnessing." Asjen warned as she waved her hand over a portion of the console. The humming of the energy field subsided and Zak sighed as his head lolled forward. Obi-Wan closed his eyes and reached out to the young man, brushing his mind gently. At first, Zak recoiled from the touch, but Obi-Wan persisted, gently soothing the raw edges left by Li's earlier forceful probes; slowly, Zak began to relax and draw comfort from his master's Force presence.
The Clan members watched in silence as the master connected with his apprentice easing the younger man back to consciousness. Zak licked his lips and swallowed, his eyelids flickered, "Master?" He whispered, raising his head.
Obi-Wan opened his eyes and smiled as he reached up to brush the back of his hand against Zak's cheek, "Yes, Padawan." He replied gently, "You seem to gotten yourself into a little trouble."
Zak smiled weakly and tried to laugh, "Just...a little?" He answered.
"Just a little." Obi-Wan repeated, "We are working to get you out."
"Out...would be...good." Zak said, then his eyes glazed and his head jerked back before dropping to his chest.
"Zak?" Obi-Wan turned to Asjen, "What just happened?"
"I...the system seems to be...no, that cannot be." Asjen stammered and then turned to face the Clan leader, Li.
"What? What cannot be?" Li demanded, "What has happened?"
A low growl came from Zak as he lifted his head, "Tog vants free. Lit Tog go." He murmured in a voice not his own; and then his eyes opened, so unlike Zak's, wild and feral, and fixed on Li.
"What is Tog?" Anakin demanded.
"The growler." Li replied her eyes locked with Zak's, "But that is not possible." She insisted.
Obi-Wan turned to Park for an explanation, "The growler harnessed in the far stanchion is called Tog." Park explained.
"Harnessed to these same systems?" Obi-Wan asked, "The ones that Zak was harnessed to?"
"Yes, the one called Zak was controlling Tog." Asjen answered.
Obi-Wan sighed and turned to Li, "Your probes destroyed his defenses; if they were connected by this harnessing, then Zak could not stop Tog if he decided to invade his mind." He said.
Li tore her gaze away from Zak, "Asjen, finish quickly; perhaps young Zak's release will break Tog's hold." She instructed as Zak began to struggle within the energy field.
Obi-Wan reached up and touched Zak's face, "Be still." He ordered, throwing the Force into the command.
"NO!" Zak cried, jerking away and turning his feral glare onto his master, "Za ees na ma."
"He will injure himself if he continues." Li said urgently, "Hurry, Asjen."
"Be ready; I am withdrawing the light." Asjen warned.
Zak's struggling intensified as he felt the energy field weakening. The beams binding his waist retracted, unwinding down his legs to his knees; with a powerful kick out, Zak managed to free his lower legs. Then the beams holding his upper body likewise began to recede, allowing Zak greater freedom. To prevent him from injuring himself by struggling, Obi-Wan wrapped his arms around his Padawan, "La go." Zak demanded, struggled harder as the beams continued to retract.
Anakin joined his brother in restraining the young Jedi until Zak slipped to the floor. But freedom from the energy field did not seem to deter the growler or loosen its hold on Zak's mind; and he continued to fight the pair who struggled to bring him under control. He screamed unintelligible curses at them, his arms flailing, once connecting painfully with Obi-Wan's cheek, before they managed to wrestle the young man to the ground. Not knowing what else to do, Cody stepped forward with a sedation hypo; Obi-Wan nodded and the Clone commander injected the contents of the hypo into Zak's neck. Zak continued to fight, but the struggling became weaker and weaker. As Zak succumbed to the sedative, Tog's hold on him seemed to slip; the wildness in his eyes faded and he blinked in confusion and then looked away, "I'm so...sorry...Master." He whispered as a tear formed and spilled down his cheek, "Couldn't...stop...him...too...weak...couldn't..."
"Hush, now." Obi-Wan told him, gently brushing the tear away, "This was not your fault, Padawan."
"So, so, sorry." Zak murmured.
Asjen knelt down and removed the band from around his head, "Apologies; this has never happened before." She told them.
Obi-Wan ignored her, focusing instead on easing his apprentice into blissful unconsciousness. Anakin stood up and waved his hand, "Never mind; what's done is done. We need to take him back to our ship; do you have something we can carry him on?" He asked.
"Yes, I will fetch a mat." Geon offered and left through the wall opening.
Anakin crouched down next to Obi-Wan, "What should we do about Tog?" He asked.
"Tog should be freed." Park answered before Obi-Wan could respond, "If I could use some of the compound your commander used to subdue young Zak, we could remove him and release him without incident."
"But that will leave us with no Power at all, Park." Li protested.
Park turned to her, "Then you will learn to live as we do; using only what Power you need." He told her as he placed an arm around her shoulders, "It is the way of our people; you have only forgotten it...Mother."
Li shook her head as she pulled away from him, "Free the growler; we will go secure another. And soon the Lodge will be strong again." She declared.
Park sighed and turned away from her as Cody moved to sedate the captive growler and Asjen shifted to the console controlling its stanchion. Moments later, the unconscious growler was pulled away from the stanchion and Asjen removed the band from around its head. As the last of the energy produced by the growler's Power drained, the lights began to fade in the control panels. In preparation for the darkness that would follow the complete loss of power, Cody ordered his men to power up their portable torches. Geon returned with the mat to find only those beams lighting the room. As Zak was carefully eased onto the mat, Obi-Wan stood and turned to Cody, "Destroy everything in this room." He ordered calmly.
"No!" Li cried, "You cannot mean to leave us with nothing."
"Your greed has left the Lodge with nothing. And so, just as the first of our people, you must start again; the Cave Clan will help you. But we will never allow you to sacrifice the needs of the Clans to satisfy your greed." Park told her.
Zak and the growler were taken out and Li began to weep as Cody's men began to destroy the systems housed in the harnessing room. Obi-Wan took it upon himself to destroy the stanchion that had nearly destroyed his apprentice; turning his anger onto the apparatus before releasing it into the Force. Anakin watched him for moment; understanding the anger, but confused that his friend seemed to have allowed it to get the better of him. With a sigh, Obi-Wan turned to regard him for a moment in the blue glow of his weapon, "Feeling better?" Anakin asked.
"No; I should not have lost control." Obi-Wan answered as he powered down his weapon and clipped to his belt.
"Well, I'm sure it's not the first time your Jedi control has slipped." Anakin assured him with a pat on the back, "Besides, it's not like you killed anyone."
Obi-Wan shook his head but seemed to relax a little and then smiled, "Try telling that to Master Yoda." He replied.
The Lodge Clan had deserted the Lodge as the lighting failed; when the Jedi and the rescue party emerged from the Lodge, they were gathered around Li in uncertainly and confusion as the last of the sunlight faded behind the hills. Li pushed through the crowd to confront the Jedi, "You have brought chaos here." She stated accusingly.
Park appeared suddenly, "They have brought reason, Li; can you not see that?" He told her, "Do you still not see that your greed has brought your Lodge to this?"
"I see nothing." Li spat out venomously and turned away.
Park sighed, "I fear she will never understand." He said sadly.
"I'm sorry, Park; we did not come here to cause a war." Obi-Wan said, running a hand through his hair.
"You have caused no war. This trouble began long before your young Jedi fell from the sky; you have only brought an end to it." Park told him.
"Will you be alright with no shelter?" Anakin asked.
"We will be alright." Park answered.
"What about the growlers?" Obi-Wan wondered.
"The growlers are our children; we have nothing to fear from them. You, on the other hand, will not be so lucky." Geon replied as she joined them, "And so, I will go with you, to your ship."
Obi-Wan bowed, "We are in your debt." He said.
"No, Jedi; you have brought an end to the rift between our Clans. You owe us nothing." Park corrected.