| Title: A Bond of Friendship: Story 7: A Fight for Life Author: Angel5000 **************** The next morning Qui-Gon and Binn were up before the sun rose. "How much more do we have to do before we can start setting things up?" Qui-Gon asked as he rolled his blankets up and set them into a corner of the hut. "It will take us perhaps two more days before we are done searching the files. Then we can help the boys in the search for committee members. That will take us another three or four days. So all in all, we can expect another week before anything can be started." Binn answered, putting his own blankets in the corner. "Then we should get started right away." Qui-Gon stepped over to where Obi-Wan was sleeping and gently shook the boy awake, "Wake up Padawan, there's much to do and the sun will be up soon." Qui-Gon said. Immediately the teen opened his eyes and sat up. The weakness from the previous night was gone and instead he felt refreshed and ready to walk for kilometers. "I'm ready Master." Quickly the two boys placed their blankets in the corner. By the time they were done Binn had a warm herbal drink ready for them, along with some bread. The herb drink was full of nutrients that would provide them with the energy they would need. "You two will continue with your search for the committee members while Qui-Gon and I keep searching the records. With your ID disks you should be able to rent a Landspeeder. If you leave now it shouldn't be hard to be back by sundown. Just remember, no goofing around. This planet can be a dangerous place after dark." Binn warned as he handed them their ID disk. Reeft grimaced, "Must we carry these things? It is a violation of my privacy!" He complained. "Reeft quit arguing about it. There is nothing that will change my mind about this." Binn said, giving Reeft a look that he knew well. "Now the two of you had better hurry, Lorenda is many kilometers from here by now." Binn said, following them to the door. "Yes Master, we'll hurry." Reeft said. Carefully he pocketed the ID disk and walked from the hut. As the two boys walked down the makeshift road they talked about their plans for the day and what they should do. Obi-Wan wanted to get a Landspeeder but Reeft was afraid to go back to the same place. "What do you want us to do? Walk the entire way? If we try that then it will be dark before we even get to the camp and the only other way to obtain a Landspeeder would be from a private citizen." Obi-Wan said, trying his best to convince his friend. "Is there a problem with getting one from a private citizen?" Reeft asked. "Yes! I doubt they would give us one and besides, that just makes us look like common criminals. If you're too scared I'll go in myself and get it but we are not borrowing one!" Obi-Wan responded. "Fine. We can get one from the Transportation Office, but if they decide not to sell don't say I didn't tell you so." Reeft picked up speed to show that he wasn't scared and marched right on in the building. "What do kids want again? Because if you don't have an ID disk I'm not giving you a Landspeeder." Marthani growled. "We have ID disks sir. We would like a Landspeeder please." Obi-Wan said politely, at the same time handing his disk to the Codi man. After he scanned the disk Marthani handed them a datapad, "Please fill out these forms and then I'll give you the transportation device you requested." Marthani's voice had changed from the menacing growl of before to the polite tone of a clerk talking with a customer. He had paying customers now and wouldn't risk them leaving. It didn't take long before the two boys were headed out of town. They had decided, after a long argument, that Obi-Wan would drive and Reeft would handle the datapad and all over devices. Obi-Wan did have more experience, having been a Padawan a little more than three years and Reeft a little less than three years. The ride was mostly silent. Obi-Wan spent the time concentrating on his driving while Reeft studied the datapad. Soon small camps began to appear along the side of the roads and Codi were seen mingling around. "Okay Reeft, how much farther do we need to go?" "Lorenda is now in Camp #3. That would be, that one." Reeft pointed towards a place not to far away that was surrounded by a makeshift wooden wall. "Are you sure they'll let us in?" Obi-Wan asked as he parked the Landspeeder near the gate. "I told you before that they would, and if not we have ID disks." Reeft stepped out and looked around cautiously, "Something isn't right here." He murmured. "Why? What's wrong?" "The silence, it is too quiet. There are no birds, no wild animals yet trees and wildlife surround us. Even around the camp there is not much commotion. You would think the Codi would be bringing in firewood or scavenging for berries or something but no one is around. What kind of camp is this anyway?" Reeft was whispering. "Let's get out of here, I don't like this place!" Reeft was already getting back into the transport when a guard appeared from the guardhouse at the side of the building. "Stop! Please present ID disks and state your reason for being here!" He demanded in a loud voice. Obi-Wan and Reeft turned around, startled at the abruptness of this strange person, "I am Obi-Wan and this is my partner Reeft. We are looking for a Codi female by the name of Lorenda. According to her ID records she should be here." The guard looked at them for a moment before his attention was diverted. His eyes shifted slightly and he glanced behind them. A sudden surge in the force told Obi-Wan that something was wrong but before he could move away he felt the swipe of an electro-jabber on his back. Suddenly the Padawan's legs buckled and he fell to the ground. Seconds later he saw Reeft fall a few feet from him. "Take them to cell block A1." The guard who had been speaking with the Jedi barked out. Their hands were jerked behind their backs and bound with electro-chains. Any resistance that the captives made would result in a shock of electricity being shot through them. Thick hoods were placed over their faces that cut off all visibility and made hearing nearly impossible. The men searched their clothes for weapons and after finding the lightsabers they were clipped onto the belts of the guards. Reeft could hear voices but the sounds were muffled. He tried to move around to a more comfortable position on the hard ground but the electro-chains shot painful shocks of electricity through his wrists. The guard turned around and kicked him in the side when Reeft cried out. "Quit moving around you little jerk!" He snapped. Obi-Wan heard Reeft gasp as the chains shocked him and he could hear his cry when the guard kicked him. This wasn't going well. What do they want? We haven't done anything wrong, have we? His thoughts were interrupted as someone hauled him up by his arms, causing shocks of electricity to shoot through him. Each jolt that he received made him weaker, which was a good thing for his captors and a bad thing for him. The two boys groaned as they were half dragged, half carried into the camp. From the way they were being moved it caused their arms to jerk against the cuffs, causing them to continue to receive jolts again and again. Obi-Wan fought to keep consciousness but the pain had became too great and his body couldn't take it anymore. Finally the pain stopped as everything went black... * * * * * When Obi-Wan opened his eyes two hours later he was laying on a cold floor. His hands were still chained behind him but the hood had been removed and there was a dim light in the room. "Reeft?" He whispered hoarsely. "I'm here Obi-Wan. How are you feeling?" Reeft asked in concern. "My head feels like I've been stepped on by a Bantha and my wrists are throbbing. How'd we get in this cell?" He tried to sit up but moaned and laid back down as the room began to swim. "They started dragging us and I guess that's when you passed out because the guard got angry that you weren't carrying your weight and dropped you. After that he tried to wake you up by kicking you a few times. It didn't work so he dragged you the rest of the way but he wasn't to kind about it. I couldn't see so I don't know where we went but it took them nearly five minutes to get us to this cell. Your head probably hurts because after they jerked the hoods off they tossed us in here and you hit your head pretty hard on the wall. It was bleeding for a little while but it's stopped by now." Reeft explained quietly. He had noticed that the guards passed by every so often and he didn't want to be overheard. "So how are we going to get out of this one?" Obi-Wan murmured. "I have no idea. Right now we have the disadvantage, we are chained with electro-chains and are suffering the effects of an electro-jabber. Plus you have lost blood from banging your head on the wall and we don't even know how to get out of here. My personal suggestion is to wait and see what happens." Reeft moved towards Obi-Wan to examine his head again. "Try sitting up again, but do it slowly. I need to examine that cut." Reeft said softly. Obi-Wan slowly sat up, "How will you examine it without your hands?" He asked, leaning back against the cool wall. "I'll just have to make do without them. At least until they take these stupid chains off." Reeft muttered, looking carefully at Obi-Wan's head. Gently he reached out with the force and began to examine the extent of the injuries. "Well, you don't have a concussion luckily, but you do have some bruised ribs, swollen wrists and that gash on your head. It should heal after a couple healing trances, though some bacta would be nice." Reeft concluded. "Thank you Healer Reeft." Obi-Wan said dryly. Reeft hadn't told him anything he didn't already know, or could have found out on his own. Before Reeft could respond they heard voices outside their cell door and a few moments later the door slid open, revealing four Codi guards, each dressed in a gray uniform. With them were three more prisoners, and someone who appeared to be a Healer of some sort. "Just toss them in there." One of the guards growled. "Please sir, my friend is hurt and needs a Healer and some bacta." Reeft said, fighting the urge to run. The guard scowled, "Shut up kid! What do you think the Healer's for?" He turned to the Healer, "You've got ten minutes." "But there are five people in this cell! You gave me ten minutes for the last cell and there was only three people in there." The Healer protested. "Well then I guess you have to move faster. You'd better hurry up because time is starting." He snapped. The Healer headed for Reeft, who was the closest to her, but he shook his head, "Please, check on him instead." He said, motioning towards Obi-Wan with his head, "My injuries are minimal, if any, yet he has a large gash in his head, bruised ribs and swollen wrists. It is important that he get care." Reeft said, reaching for her mind. He knew from the transportation experience that Codi aren't very susceptible to mind alteration but it was worth a try. Nodding, the Healer turned towards Obi-Wan and quickly began to clean and fix the cut. It took her less than three minutes to apply the bacta and rub an ointment on his ribs. When she looked at his wrists however, she realized that there wasn't much she could do for that with the chains on, "You must remove their chains. His wrists are swollen and red from the electric jolts he received after loosing consciousness and I am sure that it won't be long before he looses all use of his wrists at all. The only way to save his hands is to remove the chains and let me bandage them." She said to the guards. Her voice was professional and seemed uncaring but inside she was hoping desperately that he would agree. Working in this prison fortress wasn't what she called fun. It hadn't been her choice to come here, nor did she agree with the Guards methods of treatment. "You must be crazy! That gives them a larger chance of escape! The Eldero will have my head if the prisoners escape!" The guard responded. "Take the chains off their wrists and place them around their ankles. It makes escape even less probable and will allow their wrists to heal." She pleaded. "Fine. You," He nodded at one of the other guards, "remove the chains from them and place the chains instead on the ankles. But put the shock power on 8 and the sensitivity on high. I will not risk an escape." The guard turned back to the Healer, "There you go Dari, you've got what you want now hurry up. I'll give you only five minutes more." The healer, whose name was apparently Dari, nodded. She hurried to tend to the wounds of the other prisoners while the guards changed the chains. It may be possible that she had just made things worse for the two teenage boys. An eight on shock power was the maximum amount of voltage that a human could safely take but if the boys moved around too much then it could result in some very painful, and even perhaps fatal, consequences. The other patients only had minor scrapes or bruises and so Dari was able to return to Obi-Wan quickly. She made sure her back was to the guards as she applied the ointments and bandages to the boy�s wrists. "Do not move around much or the chains on your ankles will cause you extreme pain. If you are smart you won't move at all and will be silent. The only way out is to be sent to another detention camp and in order for that to happen you must be very obedient. I will return later, you will know that it is I when the door is tapped on twice. Do not worry child, I am here to help." She whispered this information to him, barely moving her lips. He nodded his understanding and she finished tying off the bandage. Abruptly she stood up, "I'm finished with these patients and sick of looking at this one's face. He reminds of a sick Bantha, take me to the next cell." She demanded. Though outside she sounded cruel inside she cringed as she said the words. Reeft and Obi-Wan could easily tell through the force that her words were not her true feelings. Nodding the guards stepped aside and she walked out. They scowled and closed the door quickly, making sure to latch the electronic locking device. No one spoke for twenty minutes. It wasn't until they were sure that the guards were gone that Reeft dared speak. "How do you feel Obi?" He asked quietly, helping Obi-Wan to ease into a more comfortable position. "Better thanks to the ointment and bacta. Hopefully these bandages will help my wrists, though having the chains put on my ankles did me no good." He whispered back. "Please, where are we and why are we here?" A small voice from the other side of the room asked. "Keep quiet child! You want to get us all beaten? The guards here are not as kind as the Law Enforcers on the streets. They would gladly take us out to the courtyard and beat us within an inch of our lives." Another voice, this one older and more aged replied. Immediately a third voice piped up as the younger one started to whimper, "Auntie, please don't say things like that! It scares me and it scares Jozu. We will get out of here, there is nothing we did wrong." This voice was distinctly female and sounded around twelve or so years of age. Before the Padawans hadn't taken the time to worry about their new companions, they had been to busy getting their wounds cared for, but now they took notice of them. The one who had spoken first sounded like a very young Codi male, around eight or nine years old. Obviously the second voice had been an adult; just by the way it had talked, though whether it was a male or female was still to be determined. "I'm sorry but we have no idea where we are but you miss, seem to know a bit about this place. Please tell us what you can, if it isn't of any trouble to you." Reeft said quickly. "We are in a detention camp. Codi who are objecting to the new government system and the presence of the Jedi on the planet run it. Those who work here are hired by the large and rich families who were so important before. I am against the large families running the planet so they have targeted me, my son, and my niece and now we are captives here too." A niece... a young son... someone who leads protests against the large families... a leader! Suddenly Obi-Wan realized what was happening, "You are Lorenda, aren't you?" He blurted out. The Codi woman gasped, "How do you know of me? I have never seen you before, I do not even know your names!" She replied. "I am Obi-Wan and this is my friend Reeft, we came here with our Masters to help set up the planet. Our Masters sent us to look for a list of people who could help lead the committee's and such, and your name was on it." He replied quickly. "Well then, if you are the Jedi sent to help us then I can trust you. Yes, I am Lorenda. This is my son eight-year-old son, Jozu, and my twelve-year-old niece, Cassiono. We were taken captives early this morning and have been riding all day to get here." She explained quietly. Reeft and Obi-Wan stopped listening after Lorenda introduced Cassiono. The strange thing about this girl was that she was not Codi like her aunt and cousin; instead she was human. Very human in fact. Her long, curly silver hair hung down her back and her eyes were a crystal blue, the color of a Sapphire jewell. "How could she be your niece if she is human and you are Codi?" Obi-Wan blurted out, accidentally interrupting Lorenda. Lorenda stopped and looked at Obi-Wan for a moment before answering, "She is not my real niece. A long time ago a human man and his wife came to our planet. The people of the planet do not usually let strangers come but this time they made an exception because he had friends in the area. As long as he stayed on his friend�s property and didn't bother us we were happy with it. His friend had a large amount of land though, large enough for five or six families to live comfortably. Because he had so much land he rented out portions of it to other families. These people built their own houses and had their own yards and everything. When the human came to the planet it was because he had no home left on his own planet. Hutts had taken everything. His friend gave him a home on his land, complete with a house, furnishings, a yard and everything. The human moved in and lived there happily for many years. He stayed on the property the entire time, never left and never bothered anyone. His wife had a couple of children and they seemed rather happy there. Soon, however, the man became bored with life and he ventured off the land. Although he meant no harm something happened, I am not sure what as he never told me, and someone came after him. I believe it was one of the larger families. Anyway, he did something to offend them and a hit man was hired. Someone tipped the humans off and they knew it would be impossible to get off the planet alive. I had befriended them soon after they arrived and was a good friend to them and they came to me in their times of trouble. When they explained everything to me I offered to help. I volunteered to get him off planet but I could only get him off, and as far as we knew they didn't want the mother and children, just the man." She paused and looked up at Obi-Wan. The boy nodded, motioning for her to continue. "He accepted and successfully got off planet. But when those who were after him found that he had escaped they grew angry and attacked every transport that was leaving and tracked down all those that had left. They caught his a couple days later and killed him. Then they came after his wife. She had left the kids with me one night while she was working late. I never saw her again. Reports came in that the Law Enforcers had found her body in a ditch. A blaster had shot the lady. A few days later Law Enforcers came to take the children away but I convinced them to allow them to stay in my possession. That�s how I got Cassiono and her Brother, Maktall." Lorenda stopped and looked up at the boys. Her eyes were misted and they could see her pain. "Where is Maktall now?" Reeft asked quietly. "He escaped. When they came after us he ran and hid, we all did. He hid best of all and they couldn't find him and we didn't know where he went. That was our secret weapon, we don't tell each other where we hide. These people have devices that tell if you are lying or speaking truthfully so it does us better not to know. Saves us from being beaten to death." Cassiono replied. Maktall and Cassiono... the names were so familiar... Obi-Wan wasn't sure where but he knew that he had heard this name before. "This Maktall, is he-" Obi-Wan was cut off a few seconds later when the door slid open. There wasn't a knock before so he knew it couldn't be Dari. A few seconds later a guard walked in, followed by two other Codi males. The males didn't appear to be very friendly at all. As soon as the two men stepped inside the Guard turned around and stepped out to guard the door. "I am looking for Maktall. So, which one of you are him?" The first man asked gruffly. Lorenda sat up in surprise, "Neither one of these boys is Maktall. I have told the guards many times, as have my son and niece, that Maktall is hiding. None of us know where he is." She was worried now. These men didn't have truth scanners with them. That must mean they were going to take one of the Jedi boys and pretend he was Maktall to please The Eldero. The man wanted all of Cassiono and Maktall's family wiped out. He wanted them dead and would stop at nothing to get it. "You lie!" The other guard shouted, slapping her as hard as he could. "We know one of these boys must be Maktall. Maktall is of the same age as these boys. Now tell us, which one of you is Maktall? The Eldero wants to see you!" His voice was hard and cruel. "I am not Maktall and neither is my friend. We are just visitors to the planet who were taken prisoner. If we are released right away we could help you find Maktall." Reeft replied, hoping he would fall for the bait. Instead the guard became even angrier and kicked him in the side, "Don't lie to me boy! If you don't answer me I'll kill you both!" He growled. The Eldero would be angry enough to kill him if they didn't bring back Maktall and right now he was willing to sacrifice the life of an innocent boy in order to save his own. "Don't kick him! He isn't Maktall you idiot! Maktall is hiding and we don't know where! So why don't you just leave us be?" Obi-Wan shouted out before he could stop himself. His angry outburst was rewarded with a slap on the face. "Watch you mouth child! Remember you are speaking to your elders! Perhaps we ought to teach you some manners!" The second man growled out. "That's a good idea. Now, why don't you tell us who Maktall is?" The other one said with a sneer. Unfortunately the boys didn't realize what was going on and if they did they weren't smart enough to avoid it. Instead they answered truthfully as they had been taught, "We do not know who Maktall is and we don't know where he is." Immediately the man slapped Obi-Wan while the other pulled Reeft to his feet. Pushing the boy against the wall he pushed his wrists into cuffs that would keep him standing no matter what. Angrily he pulled off a thin belt he was wearing and began to beat the teen's back with it. Reeft fought the cuffs for only a few seconds before he realized he was wasting energy. His next choice was the use the force to cushion the blows. It worked for a while but it was impossible to block out all the pain and before long he was too weak to cushion it at all. That was when he began to sob. Before he hadn't made a sound, just stood there with tears running down his face, but now he cried out loud and soon began to scream. He stayed as quiet as possible but it did no good. Obi-Wan was forced to listen to his friend�s painful cries helplessly. "Stop! Please stop! We don't know anything! I promise you this!" Obi-Wan begged. It was to no avail. Both men ignored him and continued to whip Reeft. The Jedi began to cry silently in his arms as they beat mercilessly on his friend. Finally, when Reeft thought he couldn't handle another blow they stopped and released the cuffs. Exhausted, he fell to the ground, his back sore and bloody from the beating. Next they turned to Obi-Wan. The boy knew what was going to happen and tried to get away but it was no good. They were faster than him and didn't have restrictions such as electro-chains. Angrily they shoved him into the cuffs as they had to Reeft. "Okay boy, this is your last chance! Which one of you is Maktall?" The man growled out. He would receive a beating, that was for sure, but the length of it depended on his answer. There was no way he could tell them who Maktall was or where he was hiding and since neither one of them was Maktall that was impossible to tell also. Besides, if he said that one of them was Maktall then one or both of them would end up dead. "I don't know where Maktall is! All I know is that he isn't one of us!" Obi-Wan said, his voice pleading. The men wouldn't accept his answer, no matter how much they believed it. Instead they began to beat him just as they had Reeft. But Obi-Wan had suffered injuries earlier that day and was still recovering, so he couldn't cushion the blows as long or as well as Reeft had. It wasn't long before the boy was begging for them to stop, no matter how much he wanted to fight it. Eventually they grew bored of beating him and not getting an answer. True, listening to the screaming was a fun thing but it wasn't helping them any. The Eldero would still kill them if they didn't get an answer. "Who is Maktall?" He yelled. Obi-Wan was unable to answer. The pain was so great that it took his breath away. As the sobs racked his body his mind barriers were unconsciously dropped and his thoughts became open to just about everyone. Outraged that they had beaten the boys for nothing the man kicked out his foot, landing it in the boy�s ribs. The already bruised bones screamed at the torture that they were suffering. Obi-Wan was unable to stop the low yell that escaped his lips. "Please stop..." Reeft mumbled, hoping with all his might that they would be merciful. If they were going to kill him why wouldn't they just get it over with? Master... One of the men scowled, "Leave them for now. But don't worry Child, we'll be back!" With that the two marched out of the room after landing another swift kick onto Reeft's stomach. * * * * * * * Qui-Gon jerked up suddenly before collapsing on the ground. The pain! The pain was so overwhelming! Where was it coming from? Where? "Qui-Gon? Qui-Gon what happened?" Binn asked, hurrying over. The man's hunched form worried him. "Obi-Wan... he's in pain. Lots of pain. Pain and trouble. His thoughts and feelings are wide open to me and somehow he is being hurt. Someone is beating him severely." He groaned again and his ribs felt as though they were broken. "I can't feel a thing from Reeft. His mind barriers are locked. Unconsciously I think. Wait! I felt him! His mind, it barely brushed mine. It was there for a fraction of a second as he called me. It's gone now. We must..." He bent over suddenly as his own stomach exploded in pain. "We must find them." He groaned and fell onto the floor, as the bond was suddenly open and flooded with severe pain. ***End Part Two*** |
| Part Three |
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