Chapter 7 Friends Lost

Boba sighed in relief as the guard removed the binders; without a word, the guard left the cell, and the door slid closed behind him. Rubbing his wrists, Boba sat down on the cot in the corner; at least his hands were free now, and he wasn't in the pitch dark. He was relieved that the Chancellor would not die, and he was grateful that his family stood with him; but he knew that be of little use when he was brought to trial. He shook his head; it couldn't be helped, there were some things that had to remain secret. Still rubbing his wrists, he laid down and closed his eyes; at least Bail would not die, he thought.

----------

Breha was still angry when she returned to the medical center; her anger spilled out in waves that Anakin could sense without effort through the Force. And her anger was understandable; though physically unharmed, it had been apparent even to Breha that Boba had not been treated well. As she walked down the hallway toward the bacta treatment room, she was met by Mon Mothma who was just leaving. Eyeing her coldly, Breha started to move past her, "I am relieved to know that Bail is going to be alright." The Vice Chancellor said.

"I have nothing to say to you." Breha replied without even looking at her.

"Breha, I don't like this any more than you; but you cannot deny the…" Mon began.

"It is not that which angers me; I have just returned from the detention center where I was kept waiting for over two hours while they pretended to have lost Boba so they could interrogate him without counsel. I could tell when I finally did get to see him that he was ill-treated; they had no right to treat him like that no matter what he is accused of, and YOU had no right to allow it." Breha answered.

"I assure you, Breh; that I would never have allowed them to do anything to…." Mon began again.

"No, you just turn a blind eye to their methods as long as you get what you want." Breha cut her off.

The Vice Chancellor stared at the floor, unable to deny Breha's accusation; and yet, she could not bring herself to admit to Breha that she was right, "I'm sorry you feel that way." She replied, "I'm just glad Bail will recover."

"Thank you." Breha said icily, "I understand you will need to see him because of the Office you share; but I think you can consider our friendship over."

"So it has come to that? All the evidence points to Boba Fett; how can you allow your judgment to be so clouded?" Mon wondered.

"It is not MY judgment that is clouded. I have sheltered that boy for four years; I know his character, he is brash and quick to anger, but he does not have it in him to kill Bail. He would never harm any of us. And if you were not so quick to pin this on someone, you would see that Boba is also not foolish enough to, not only use a weapon that would incriminate him, but leave it where it would be found so readily. Instead, you try to force him to confess so you can impress the citizens with your immediate success. That is what angers and disappoints me, Mon." Breha explained.

Mon nodded, "I think I am doing what is right, Breha." She answered, "I'm sorry you can't see that."

Breha shook her head and continued on without responding; Mon Mothma watched her for a moment and sighed sadly, knowing that she may very well have lost a good, no two, very good friends.

Padme was still in the waiting area when Anakin returned with the Queen from the detention center; Gemma Organa sat next to her, "Finally! What took so long?" Padme asked.

"Well, we weren't able to see him right away." Anakin answered, not wanting to concern Gemma with the details, "We can talk about it later."

"Is Boba alright?" Gemma asked.

"Yes, he seemed to be; he was just glad to hear the Chancellor was going to be alright." Anakin answered.

"They did not hurt him, did they?" Gemma asked.

"I don't think so, Gemma." Anakin replied.

"They had better not; or they will have to answer to Papa." Gemma said.

A young woman with long reddish hair peeked into the waiting area, "Keira!" Gemma exclaimed, leaping up to embrace her.

"How are you, Gemma? I heard about what happened and came straight here; how is your father?" She asked as she wrapped her arms around the girl.

"I think he will be alright; but they have arrested Boba." Gemma answered.

The woman squatted down to Gemma's level, "Oh my! Why would they do that?" She asked.

"They think he was the one who tried to kill Papa." Gemma told her as she began to cry.

"Oh here now; do not cry, I am sure they will realize they are wrong." Keira assured her.

"I don't know if we've met; you must be Gemma's governess?" Padme asked, standing up to greet the young woman.

"Yes, I have been with the family for two years now; since Gemma grew out of her nurse." Keira answered and then hugged Gemma tightly, "You must not worry about Boba; I am sure your Papa will not allow anything to happen to him."

"But they have ev-ee-dence to prove he did it." Gemma said.

"Well, sometimes the evidence is wrong." Keira replied and then stood up, but put her arm around her charge, "Now that I am here, you do not have to stay if you do not wish to."

"Alright; I would like to see my own children and let them know everything is alright." Padme answered, "I'll just go down and say goodbye to the Queen."

Gemma pulled herself from Keira's grasp to hug Padme, "Thank you for staying with me, Lady Skywalker." She said.

"You're welcome, Gemma; I would never have left you here to wait by yourself." Padme replied, "And don't worry about anything; the Jedi will figure everything out."

Gemma sighed and shook her head, "I hope so; I am very worried." She answered.

"Well, you don't have to be; it's going to be alright." Padme assured her.

----------

"Oh, Bail, you should have seen him, he looked like he did when he first came to us; distant and distrustful. Anakin thinks he had been bound since his arrest and that they kept him in a darkened cell, hoping he would confess; but we made sure he would not be mistreated any longer. I just hope we can find out who has tried to make it seem as if he had something to do with this. I was rather harsh with Mon; she seems to not be concerned about what the examiners were doing." Breha told her unconscious husband, "I do not know if I will ever see her the same way again."

The door slid open, revealing Padme, "Breh? Keira is here to be with Gemma; I think Anakin and I are going to go now." She said.

Breha turned in her seat and smiled, "Yes, of course; you have your own family to worry about. If there is any change, I will contact the Temple. Thank you for staying as long as you have." She replied.

At that, Padme entered the room spreading her arms to embrace the regent, "There is no need for thanks; that's what friends are for. Anakin says there will be a Council meeting as soon as he arrives to decide what to do next; we all know Boba didn't do this, we just have to figure out how to prove it." She answered.

Breha stood and clung to Padme tightly for a moment, "I am so grateful for friends like you." She said.

----------

Padme shook her head as they headed for the Temple, having just heard from Anakin what had occurred at the detention center, "I'm afraid there will be much to answer for before all this is finished." She said.

"Yes, even if Boba had done what he is accused of, he should not have been treated like that. I think Examiner Hannon will be looking for another position." Anakin surmised.

"To say the least; Bail will be very upset when he hears what happened over there." Padme agreed.

"I just hope Boba can get over this; he looked…well, I've seen that look before during the war, he looked worn down." Anakin told her.

"Well, that's what they wanted, wasn't it?" Padme asked.

"Yes; and fortunately we put a stop to it; it only took a slight mind brush on Hannon, to know what they were doing. I think he was surprised that I knew; but I think he's smart enough to know it had better end. And the Queen made sure they understood there would be no more interrogations without a defender. I also got the impression that Hannon wasn't the only one doing the interrogating; they were ganging up on him." Anakin answered.

"Well, I know they sometimes use that to press for information; but it should only been done if they are certain their suspect is guilty." Padme replied.

"And that's the problem; I think they have already decided, based on what they've found, that Boba IS the assassin." Anakin said.

"And they don't think it's odd that Boba would have left that 'evidence' in plain sight for them to find so easily?" Padme asked.

"Apparently they think he is a very stupid killer." Anakin guessed, "In any case, the Council will decide where to go from here; there must be a way to find the real killer, we just have to figure out how."

----------

Ferri stood waiting patiently in the Temple speeder bay for his master's arrival; he would accompany Anakin to the Council meeting along with Obi-Wan and Zak. He was not looking forward to presenting what he had sensed because it seemed to strengthen the case against Boba Fett; and having become better acquainted with the former bounty hunter, he, too, had doubts about his obvious guilt. What they needed to discover was the identity of the third person who had been in that hallway; hopefully, his master had been able to persuade Boba to reveal that information. Anakin's yellow speeder came into view and slowed in preparation for docking. As the speeder slowed to a stop in one of the berths, Ferri greeted his master with a bow before holding a hand out to help Padme step out, "Thank you, Ferri." She said.

"My pleasure, Milady." Ferri replied politely and turned toward Anakin.

"No, he wouldn't tell us." Anakin answered before Ferri could even ask.

Ferri shook his head, "Who is he protecting?" He wondered.

"I don't know; but we had better find out if we have any chance of proving that Boba wasn't up on that terrace." Anakin said.

"I know he wasn't on the terrace; I figured that much out when I felt sensed him for certain in the hallway. But I don't think they are going to take my word for it in a courtroom." Ferri told him.

"No, not based on what they've already found. What I'd like to know is what he was doing there to begin with and how his weapon got up there." Anakin replied.

"He said something about keeping a secret; whoever he was meeting, they didn't want anyone to know." Ferri surmised.

"Yes, but why?" Anakin asked.

"Anakin, you seemed to have left me out of the loop here; what are you talking about?" Padme asked as they left the speeder bay and entered the Temple.

"Oh, sorry; I don't know what I was thinking. When Ferri and Zak went to that building, Ferri sensed Boba and someone else in the hallway outside the room where the assassin was. Apparently, Boba was there with someone; but he won't tell us who or why." Anakin explained.

"And was this someone female?" Padme asked.