Chapter 17 The Fugitive
The Force alerted the Jedi a split second before Boba made his bid for freedom. Obi-Wan made a grab for Boba's arm seconds too late, and the young man managed to slip from his grasp. As the lead guards recovered, those in the rear brought their blasters up, "NO!" Zak cried and Force pushed the one nearest to him causing the shot to go high striking the ceiling while Ferri did the same with the other.
"SHOOT HIM!" Hannon ordered and pulled his own sidearm out.
Obi-Wan pushed the weapon down, "You will not." He stated as he watched Boba disappear around the corner.
"After him." Hannon ordered and then turned to glare at Obi-Wan as he brought his weapon up and pointed toward Obi-Wan's chest, "You have just helped a prisoner escape. There is a law against that."
"No, I have just saved the life of an unarmed man who you would have shot in the back." Obi-Wan corrected, pushing the barrel of the weapon aside.
"I'm wondering how he managed to get free. You put the binders on him, Examiner Hannon; why weren't they secured?" Anakin wondered.
"I thought they were; maybe you should ask the Queen, she had her arms around him while I was binding him." Hannon replied.
"Are you accusing the Queen of helping him to escape?" Obi-Wan asked incredulously, "I would think twice on that if I were you."
Hannon huffed with annoyance, "And while you're interrogating me, my prisoner is getting away." He sputtered, pushed Obi-Wan out of his way.
"So are you going to shoot him on sight, or give him a chance to give up?" Obi-Wan demanded, taking Hannon by the arm.
"He's an escaped prisoner; I have the right to…." Hannon began, trying to extricate himself from Obi-Wan's grip.
"He has not been convicted of any crime; if you shoot him, and his innocence is proven, then you will be as guilty of murder as the assassin who killed the Vice Chancellor's aide." Obi-Wan cut him off.
Again, Hannon tried to free himself, "I think you want him to escape, don't you; that's why you're stalling me." He guessed.
"We will go after him; that way at least he won't be shot." Anakin said.
Hannon shook his head, "Then YOU will answer to….to…" He stopped, unsure of how to finish.
"To who? The Chancellor? Yes, I am sure he is all for you hunting his son down like a common criminal." Obi-Wan finished for him.
"The Vice Chancellor; she is in charge now. You will answer to her." Hannon told them.
"And you believe she would approve of you shooting him?" Zak wondered.
"She would not approve of allowing him to escape." Hannon countered.
Obi-Wan shook his head, "Zak, you had better follow those guards; Boba may have been foolish in bolting, but he does not deserve to be killed for it." He said.
"Yes, Master." Zak replied and took off at a run.
"Meanwhile, we will go and explain to the Vice Chancellor what has happened; and I will try to assure the Queen that Boba will not be harmed." Obi-Wan finished.
"That is going to be difficult knowing there are armed guards chasing him." Anakin pointed out, "Ferri, why don't….now where has he got to?"
"If I may, Master Skywalker; I believe I saw him pursue our prisoner just after he pushed me." One of the guards informed him.
Anakin sighed, "What am I going to do with him?" He wondered.
Obi-Wan clapped him on the back, "They say what goes around comes around, my brother." He answered with a smile.
"You're gloating." Anakin observed.
"I never gloat." Obi-Wan countered as he turned back to the courtroom.
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Boba did not look back as he bolted down the corridor; he heard Zak's cry and heard the bolts hit the ceiling, showering him with bits of ceiling tile. Without pausing he rounded the corner heading toward the stairway knowing that Hannon and his men would be on his tail. At the next intersection he turned down and stopped to catch his breath and listen for any sound of pursuit; he heard nothing, either he was very fast, or Hannon was slower to recover than he thought possible. He was just about to continue on when he heard the sound of footfalls and chanced a peek around the corner; Ferri stood in the hallway just off the main corridor, "Blast it; what does he think he's doing?" Boba whispered to himself.
He triggered the nearest door, checked to see if it was empty and then ducked inside, closing the door behind him.
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Ferri slowed down when he turned out of the main corridor in pursuit of the fugitive Boba. Reaching out to his post cognitive ability, he closed his eyes for a moment, visualizing Boba's path, then headed swiftly and with purpose toward the intersection and turned in the direction Boba had gone, stopping before the nearest doorway. He triggered the door, however he found it locked; shaking his head, he waved a hand over the mechanism and the door slid open, "What are you doing here, Cortis?" Boba demanded, leveling a blaster at Ferri's face.
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Breha reeled and Obi-Wan reached out to steady her before he and Anakin led her to the nearest seat, "You mustn't worry, Your Highness, Zak is with the guard who went after him; he will not let any of them hurt him." Obi-Wan assured her.
"Well, I think this proves your bounty hunter's guilt." Hannon said.
"It proves nothing except that he felt he could not win; and if you refer to him as a bounty hunter one more time, you will be sorry." Breha countered angrily.
"But surely you must see that this makes him look guilty." Mon added.
Breha glared at her, "I have nothing to say to you, Vice Chancellor." She retorted, "This is partially your doing."
Mon Mothma shook her head and sighed, "I was only doing my duty; the evidence was clear. What would you have me do, pretend it did not exist?" She wondered.
"You might have looked into why it was found in such an obvious place. Not only do you think Boba capable of murder, but you think him stupid as well." Breha replied, "I have always thought of you as a person who did not judge others solely on their past. Boba Fett has become a respectable young man; how long a list of accomplishments must he have before his childhood is put behind him? How much good must he do to make up for the influences of Jango Fett?"
The Vice Chancellor looked down, studying the pattern on the floor, "I don't know, Breh." She murmured softly.
Ell brought Breha a glass of water, "I believe in him, Milady." She told her.
Breha smiled, "I was not aware that you knew him so well." She answered.
"Well enough to know he is not capable of harming anyone he loves." Ellon told her.
"Then you know him very well." Breha said, taking the glass from her, "He is fortunate to have friends who believe in him."
"You would be surprised at how many friends he has, Milady." Ell replied.
"Sadly, he seems to have just as many who are not his friends." Breha added, looking pointedly at Ell's mother.
Ellon smiled sadly and looked in Mon's direction, "I know it does not seem so now, but she has a good heart." She answered in her mother's defense.
"I used to think so." Breha replied with a sigh and shake of her head.
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Bail shifted, and tried to get up, "Oh no, you don't." Haris ordered, standing up quickly.
"I must; he has done exactly what I had feared he would. They will kill him." Bail argued.
"You must have more faith in the Jedi than that. They are there; Master Kenobi has sent his apprentice with the guards. Zak will not let any harm come to him." Haris assured him, as he gently pushed him back onto the pillows, "And Master Skywalker said his apprentice went after him as soon as he ran."
Bail shook his head, but did not resist further, "I can understand why he ran; all the evidence is against him." He replied, "And I…blast my weakness, I cannot help him."
"It will be alright; our Boba always lands on his feet eventually." Haris said.
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Zak kept pace with the guards; he could sense their anger at Boba's escape and he knew they would not hesitate to shoot the young man if they felt he would not give himself up. Zak had no intention of letting that happen. As they turned down the hallway, Zak reached out feeling for his friend's presence; he was surprised to still find Boba Fett had not yet left the building. Weighing his next decision against his conscience, Zak let the guard pass by the hallway he knew Boba had turned down; he only hoped his master would understand why he had made that decision….he had also felt Ferri's presence, and he hoped Ferri would be able to convince their friend to surrender himself back to the authorities.
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Hearing more footfalls, Boba grabbed Ferri by the arm, pulled him into the room and slid the door shut, "Why are you here?" He repeated.
"I'm here as your friend, Boba; you can't run from this." Ferri told him.
"I don't need any friends." Boba replied.
Ferri shook his head, "Everyone needs friends; you have some good ones, and you're just going to pitch all to the side?" He asked.
"What good are friends going to do me when I end up a thousand light years from here?" Boba asked, still pointing the blaster at Ferri.
"Is that what you want? To end up a fugitive and be on the run for the rest of your life?" Ferri asked.
"What choice do I have?" Boba asked.
"The choice to face up to the charges against you." Ferri answered.
"That's easy for you to say; you're not facing a life term on Kessel." Boba retorted.
"No, but I did face something like that when I betrayed Zak and Master Kenobi on Myrkr. And I was told you can't run away." Ferri replied, "And in this case, you'd be running away from something you didn't even do."
"No one believes that." Boba reminded him.
"Well, I do, and Zak does; and the Jedi Council does." Ferri informed him, "The Council has already assigned investigators."
"I can't…" Boba trailed off, sighing and shaking his head.
"And what about her? Will you just desert her after everything she's done for you?" Ferri asked.
"She would be better off without me." Boba answered, "Look, why don't you just get out of here; it's dangerous to be near me right now."
Ferri's mouth gaped as a thought, Boba's thought came to him, "You can't honestly want them to kill you." He said aghast.
"Better that than shipped off to a prison colony." Boba replied.
Without warning, Ferri's arm came up, knocking the blaster from Boba's grasp; and then, before Boba could react, Ferri Force pushed him hard into the wall. Boba lay on the floor stunned as Ferri pulled his arms in front of him and secured the dangling binder to his right wrist, "I won't let you do that." He said.
"Why didn't you just let me go?" Boba asked, "I'd rather be dead."
Ferri sighed and shook his head, "It's not going to come to that; don't you have any faith in us at all?" He wondered.
Boba scowled at him, "So, what are you going to do now, traitor; turn me in?" He demanded.
"No." Ferri answered.