Chapter 14

Luke ended his meditation feeling even worse than when he began, something he would not have thought possible. He wasn't sure what to make of the visions. He wasn't sure what to think about anything anymore. But he did decide something—he ought to be spending more time with his son while he had the chance.

Reaching through the Force to locate Benji, Luke came to the somewhat disconcerting realization that the ship had landed while he was mediating. How long ago he didn't know, but Mara was no longer onboard. Benji was in the belly of the ship with Odonnl and seemed happy enough; Luke decided it would be best not to interrupt and risk pulling his son down into his depression.

Instead, Luke thought he would track down Mara and figure out what all he had missed while he was meditating. Both of the aliens on the crew—what were their names again?—were in the engine room, so Luke stopped to peek his head in as he passed by.

"Do you happen to know where Mara went?" he asked.

The Kerestian hesitated, but the Togorian replied, [Chieftain Jade has gone to take care of the rogue employee.]

"Rogue employee?" Luke asked.

The Kerestian answered quickly. "It's nothing. Just part of the business. She'll be back soon. In the meantime, is there anything we can help you with?"

The Kerestian had seemed uneasy as soon as he spotted Luke, and now seemed overly-eager to change the subject. "How exactly does one take care of a rogue employee?" Luke directed the question to the Togorian.

[There is only one punishment for crimes against the company,] she replied in a level voice. [Execution.]

"What? Execution?" Luke repeated. Mara was about to execute someone? Luke blinked several times, wondering if he could still be dreaming.

"Faughn knew the rules before she played the game," the Kerestian offered. Luke stared at him dumbly, his mind utterly unable to comprehend how his words could possibly justify the taking of a life in cold blood.

Luke pushed his pain and confusion to the side as he realized he had a new mission: he had to stop Mara before she did something she would regret.

"Do you want to play chase?" Benji asked.

Odonnl looked around. They had finished removing the crash webbing from the cargo and were waiting for Dankin to return with the delivery details. There really wasn't anything else to do until Dankin got back. And if it would keep Benji from thinking too much about his mother, Odonnl could hardly say no. "Just for a few minutes," he replied.

"Okay! I'll run, you chase me." Benji took off down the narrow path between the crates.

Odonnl gave Benji a few seconds head start, then took off after him.

Benji was fast. He climbed nimbly over the smaller stacks and sprinted through the open areas between the piles of cargo. Losing ground and starting to feel winded, Odonnl slowed down to strategize. Benji had been running a similar pattern with each lap, staying near the perimeter of the room, so Odonnl decided to try and cut him off at the next corner. He sliced through the middle of the room and managed to get in front of Benji as he came out of the corner. Spotting Odonnl, Benji immediately slammed on the brakes and attempted to spin back in the opposite direction. His feet got caught in the loose webbing at the base of a stack of crates, and Benji went sprawling into the stack. The stack toppled over.

Amongst the bangs and thuds of the crashing crates, Odonnl heard a low groan. "Dankin!" Odonnl exclaimed, fearing the pilot was crushed beneath the cargo.

A plaintive "Help" from beneath the pile confirmed Odonnl's fears. He rushed to begin moving the crates to unbury Dankin, though the crates were heavy and awkward to move with only one person. Odonnl had noticed Benji getting to his feet, apparently unharmed, and wondered why he wasn't helping. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Benji was standing a few meters back with his right hand stretched out before him. His eyes were half-closed in concentration. Odonnl took a step back when several of the crates began to move, to rise as though lifted by unseen hands.

Unfortunately, they didn't rise very high. Benji continued to stand with his hand outstretched, but the crates moved less than half a meter before quivering in the air and then falling back to the floor, eliciting another groan from beneath the pile. Odonnl immediately returned to pushing the boxes and called for Benji to help.

Benji stayed where he was. He took a deep breath and reached out with his hand again. This time the crates barely twitched.

"No, Benji," Odonnl snapped. "Come here and help me push." Benji complied, trotting up and getting a grip on the crate Odonnl was currently trying to dislodge. With the two of them working, soon enough crates were moved that Dankin could shove his way free.

"Are you okay?" Odonnl asked.

Dankin nodded. "Sure." He winced as he took a deep breath. "It only hurts when I breathe."

"Good. Then we better get back to work," Odonnl said with a smile, offering Dankin a hand to help him to his feet. "Are you okay, Benji? That was quite a fall you took." Odonnl turned to see Benji was sitting on the floor hugging his knees, his face turned away.

"I'm sorry," Benji squeaked, making no move to get up.

"It's okay, Benji," Dankin replied. "I'm fine. Really." He knelt beside the boy and put his arm around him.

Odonnl knelt down on Benji's other side. "Don't worry about it. It was an accident. And that's actually not the first time someone's gotten lost in the cargo," he said lightly, unsure why Benji would be so upset over a few displaced crates.

"I should have helped. I should have been strong enough to help," Benji whispered despondently. His body trembled as he fought back tears. Dankin and Odonnl exchanged a look, not certain what to say.

"Sometimes I wish I was a street rat," Benji murmured.

Odonnl had no idea what to do with such an odd confession from someone who was essentially a prince of the Republic. Dankin looked equally confused, but seemed to feel he must say something. "Why would you say that? You have a family that loves you."

"Because if I didn't have a family," Benji cried, "then I couldn't disappoint them."

"Benji—" Dankin began, but stopped short when Odonnl raised his hand. He had a feeling Benji had more to say.

After a moment Benji continued. "I was supposed to be trained as a Jedi by my cousin Jacen. But . . ." He hesitated, his lower lip quivering. "But he wouldn't train me. Because I'm too weak.

"I can't use the Force very well, not like my dad, not like the rest of my family. I try, I just, I'm too weak." Benji was openly sobbing now, his face buried in his hands.

Odonnl placed his hands on Benji's shoulders. "Listen to me, Benji. I need you to hear this." Benji took a shuddering breath as he lowered his hands and looked up to meet Odonnl's eyes. "Just because you aren't physically strong, or gifted in the Force, that doesn't make you weak. Don't you ever believe that. Not for a second."

Benji nodded solemnly and wiped at his face with the sleeve of his tunic. Odonnl pulled him into a hug. "And besides," Dankin added, "Not being trained by your cousin may turn out not to be such a bad thing after all."