Chapter 9 Night Brings Little Sleep

By evening, the Chancellor was out of danger and resting, if a bit uncomfortably, in a well-guarded room in the medical center. Breha remained with him as he struggled to remain coherent through the fuzzy haze caused by the pain inhibitors. Gemma had come to see him, but Breha allowed her only to stay long enough to assure the child that her papa was recovering; after which, she sent her home with Keira. Reluctantly, Gemma complied; but only after Keira promised to bring her straight back to the medical center early the following morning, "Goodnight, Papa." She said as pulled herself up on her toes to kiss him on the cheek.

"Goodnight….Sweetheart." Bail replied, putting a hand on her cheek.

"Get well soon, Papa; so you can come home." Gemma told him.

Bail smiled weakly, "I will, I…promise; go with….Keira…now, do what…she tells you." He instructed.

"Yes, Papa." Gemma answered quietly as she squeezed his hand and then frowned, "Do you think they will send Boba away?"

"Not if I…have anything….to say…about it." Bail assured her, wrapping his fingers around hers, "Go…now."

Gemma nodded, "Yes, Papa." She said and then turned to Breha, "Goodnight, Mama; I will see you tomorrow."

Breha wrapped her arms around her and hugged her tightly, "Goodnight, my dear Gemma; and do not worry about Papa or Boba, everything will be put right." She replied.

Gemma sighed and shook her head, "I hope so, Mama." She answered.

Breha stood up, patted her husband's hand, "I shall be right back." She said.

Bail smiled, nodded and closed his eyes as Breha turned to take her daughter back to her governess and returned a few minutes later, "Help me, here." Bail requested as soon as she entered the room.

"Bail, I do not think…." Breha protested, seeing her husband struggle to sit up.

"Yes, I…know…what you…think; however…I have….work to do." He replied, "Help me."

Breha huffed and shook her head, "Stubborn men; all of them." She muttered to herself, but quickly moved to her husband's side and arranged the pillows so he could sit up, "Now, what is so all important that you must risk your recovery for it?"

"I want you….to bring….Mon here; I want…her to…explain to me…why…" Bail answered.

"I have already tried reasoning with her, Bail; she is convinced that our Boba is responsible for what happened, and she will not listen to anything I have to say." Breha informed him.

"She WILL…listen to…me." Bail insisted.

"Alright; I will contact her and let her know you wish to see her." Breha replied evenly.

Bail looked at her for a moment, "Are you…angry…with Mon?" He wondered.

Breha blushed and turned away, "Yes, for reasons that you should not concern yourself with right now." She answered.

"This has to do with…with Boba…does it not?" Bail surmised.

"Yes, but you should be concentrating on recovering, not worrying about my disagreement with her." Breha told him.

"What has…she done…beyond…arresting him?" Bail asked, "Tell me, Breh."

Breha closed her eyes, "We should talk about this tomorrow. What is done is done; and Master Skywalker and I have made sure it will not happen again." She said in response.

"What…happened?" Bail asked.

"Tomorrow." Breha promised.

Bail sighed and shook his head, "I know better…than to argue…with you….tomorrow…if you are sure…it will be alright…to do so." He conceded.

"Oh yes; they would not dare do anything now." Breha assured him.

Bail sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead, "I am…very tired…." He admitted and then settled back against the pillows.

"Yes, sleep now; and we will talk tomorrow." Breha said as bent down to kiss him and then stroked his hair, "At least we know now there will be a tomorrow."

He smiled, closed his eyes and let the pain inhibitors carry him into sleep.

Boba spent a restless night in a dank cell in the detention center; every sound was magnified and echoed throughout the cellblock, affording Boba little chance to sleep; not that he could in any case in light of the events that had taken place that day. This had always been his biggest fear while he was growing up in Tipoca City, he always worried that Jango would be caught by the authorities and then they would come there to take him too. Even after Jango was killed on Geonosis, he was constantly wary of being arrested. It seemed ironic to him that now, when he had found a decent home and was leading an honest life, he had been arrested and imprisoned. He sighed and turned over on the narrow cot; why was it every time he seemed to be getting his life on track, something always happened to screw it up? When he had at last finally begun to accept the Organas as his family, he was abducted by Micah and turned over to Micah's brother and the other poachers; he managed to escape with Zak's help, but then he had been shot trying to protect the Chancellor's wife. If that weren't enough, just when his life seemed to be heading in the right direction the damnable hunters had him abducted again. And now, once more, when another good thing had come into his life, this had to happen. Maybe Jango Fett's Clone son wasn't supposed to have a happy life; maybe he had to pay for everything his father did. He sat up and put his face in his hands and wept…..Jango would not have approved.

Four Jedi stayed up long into the night, discussing every possible solution to the riddle surrounding the attack on the Chancellor. It was inconceivable to them, even though the evidence was against him, that Boba Fett had perpetrated the crime. Even though the rest of the Council had been skeptical at first, they too had come to believe it was highly unlikely that Boba Fett was the would-be assassin. It was now up the Jedi Order to discover the truth behind all the deception laid down by the real assassin, and by Boba himself for refusing to divulge the young lady he had met in the very same building used to stage the attack. Finally, Obi-Wan suggested returning to the building at first light to see if Ferri could discover which apartment Boba and his female companion had been using. Perhaps then, some clue could be found that would reveal her identity. Then Obi-Wan and Zak would go to the detention center in hopes of convincing Boba that it would be in his best interest to help them prove his innocence. In the meantime, Anakin and Ferri would try once more to trace the movements of the assassin, or failing that, to at least try to discover more about him in order to uncover his identity. And so the four departed for their separate quarters after agreeing to meet for an early breakfast before heading for their first destination.

She tossed and turned, unable to bring herself to sleep; even meditation did little to dispel her anxiety enough to let her rest. When she heard the whispers of Boba Fett's arrest, it had been all she could do to control her shock. She knew that he had not done it, but she couldn't tell this to anyone….because then, there would be questions. Questions that she could not answer without risk of revealing the truth; a truth that must never be revealed. But if Boba Fett was convicted and sent offworld to a prison colony, what good would come of that? She stood up and began to pace; she was not sure what she should do. Perhaps it was time she talked with her master about it…and then she shook her head, she couldn't do that either without risk. Maybe she could talk to the other Padawans about it; the ones who knew Boba, and knew he couldn't have tried to kill the Chancellor. Yes, in the morning, she would feel out Zak Perrin and Ferri Cortis; and see what they had to say.

Mon Mothma stood out on her veranda overlooking the senate building. It saddened her to think that a good friendship had probably been destroyed because of what she had been forced to do. She shook her head wondering why her dear friends had taken the boy in to begin with. Surely they must have known they were inviting trouble; and now that trouble had come. Bail had nearly been killed, devastating Breha and terrifying their adopted daughter. Had they not opened their home to that bounty hunter, the boy would never have been trusted enough to come close enough to harm them. Despite Breha's insistence, Mon still could not disregard the overwhelming evidence against him. Boba Fett had to be the assassin; there was just no other possibility.

"Mother?" A voice sounded behind her.

Mon turned and smiled, "Ell, you should be in bed, darling." She said and she put her arm around the teenage girl.

"I couldn't sleep; why are you up so late?" Ellon Mothma wondered.

Mon sighed heavily, "Oh, I was just thinking, that's all." She answered, "So why can't you sleep?"

"I keep seeing….it was horrible; I just can't get it out of my head." Ell replied, and Mon felt her shiver.

"I know; but it's over, and Chancellor Organa is going to be alright." Mon assured her.

"I hear they have arrested someone; does that mean it won't happen again?" Ell asked hopefully.

"Yes, I am certain it will not; it was that bounty hunter they took in." Mon answered.

Ell pulled away from her in shock, "What? No, that's just not possible!" She exclaimed.

"Ellon, dear; why should you be so surprised?" Mon asked.

"Because I….I know him; do you know how much he admires the Chancellor? I…I just cannot believe he would do anything to harm him." Ell explained shaking her head and backing away from her mother, "It's…it's just not possible."

"Well, apparently you do not know him as well as you think you do." Mon told her curtly.

Ell narrowed her eyes, "Neither do you." She countered sharply.

"You will watch your tone with me, young lady." Mon warned.

Ell shook her head, "You are very wrong about Boba Fett." She said and then turned and left the room.

Mon let her go and turned back to the view; what was it about that boy that had everyone so convinced of his innocence?