KENOBI! OBI-WAN!
by ardavenport
- - - Part 1
"Kenobi! Obi-Wan!"
Obi-Wan tensed, flipped over on his cot and looked up toward the Hailing Platform at the center of a nexus of metaloid walkways suspended from the vast ceiling above. He could see a cluster of colored specks gathered there, one of them tall and dark brown.
Leaping up in one motion, Obi-Wan hit the hard gray floor and ran down the narrow aisle between the rows of cots. People hastily pulled in yellow-clothed legs and arms out of the young man's way. A few grinned and raised their arms in support, but he did not slow down to acknowledge them.
At the end of the rows, he swiftly turned into the main aisle, running in the direction of the Hailing Platform Tower. Pristine pale blue, it rose high up above the sea of thousands of orderly rows of cots, the only tall structure in the vast, covered space. Except for the other Hailing platforms in the far distance.
"Running is not permitted," the evenly-toned synth-voice of an Attendant Droid called from behind him. Obi-Wan heard a low whir approaching quickly.
"Running is not permitted."
Eyes still fixed on the Tower, Obi-Wan slowed to a jog, moving to the side of the aisle. He jumped on the small people transport as it caught up to him. His pale yellow boots thumped hollowly on the plasti-form.
"For your own safety, please be seated," the droid instructed. Obi-Wan sat on the thinly padded center bench.
"The nearest Hailing Tower, please," he requested, his eyes not leaving his goal.
The droid nodded its boxy, bright green head, glowing yellow eye-sensors blinking. The transport accelerated, humming quickly past the long rows of cots that receded into the distance. The faces of people among them turned toward him, their curiosity a blur. But many others did not look or turned away, their uniformly-clothed muted yellow bodies going about their business, or just lying down passively among the cots.
"Kenobi! Obi-Wan!" boomed throughout the vast empty space above. Days of uncertainty, of waiting and wondering why Qui-Gon was late retrieving him vanished in the excitement of the moment. He would soon know what had happened.
The transport slowed, turned and accelerated again, heading straight for the Tower. Obi-Wan tilted his head back as they approached. Widest at the base, the tower reached all the way up to the catwalks and transport tubes suspended from the ceiling, like a pale-blue path pointing up to a false gray sky.
Even before the transport stopped, Obi-Wan jumped off, ignoring the Attendant Droid's warnings about safety. He ran to the stairs. The tower had lifts, but his own legs and the Force were just as fast and he could see the people at the top of the tower as he approached.
He flew up the stairs that wound around the outside of the tower, four steps at a time. The stair gratings clanged with each impact of the short pull-on boots he wore. He could not see the top of the tower until he was well past half-way up, but one turn finally brought the Hailing Platform and the people on it into view. There were the usual white-suited officials of the Charity Holdings, but also some persons in gold and dark reds and blues. No uniforms, but clean lines and rich colors defined the clothes of the people conversing amongst themselves. The back of a dark brown robe stood taller than the others.
Obi-Wan slowed his pace on the next landing. He focused his attention on the brown robe at the top of the tower.
It did not turn toward him.
His steps faltering to a stop, his purpose and hope evaporating. Obi-Wan, heart pounding, gripped the handrail, his senses still straining for a familiar response, but his eagerness plunged into something like desperation.
A face of a Holdings official turned in his direction, looking down.
Grasping the rail, Obi-Wan leapt up and balanced on it for an instant before jumping. Someone from above cried out.
With the air rushing past his body, the Force took him, whipping away his fear along with the wounded hope. Arms spread wide, it flowed through him, lightening the grip of gravity on his descent, guiding him toward an open spot of floor that rushed up to meet him.
His feet solidly thudded on the hard floor, the Force taking away the shock of the impact like an exhaled breath.
Wide eyes stared at him from the people closet to the base of the tower. Even the ones lying on their cots lifted their heads to stare at the young man who had suddenly dropped down from above.
Now needing to disappear, Obi-Wan quick-timed into the crowd of humanoids. They parted for him, staring, watching. None of them making any noise near him. But two rows away from the edge of the cots Obi-Wan became just another Humanoid wearing loose pale yellow pants and tunic, slender, average height, common brown hair on his head. The crowds were always thicker around the Tower with those more hopeful of being retrieved from the Charity Holdings. People still moved toward where he had landed, but they were looking for a body, broken on the ground. They did not know who he was. He ducked under the faces lifted up to see what had happened.
Obi-Wan walked quickly away from the scene, just another occupant of the Holdings. Attendant Droids moved in, big shiny green metaloid bodies with heads raised to full height above the crowd. They politely asked people to disperse. Obi-Wan hurried on.
When he reached a main aisle he headed back in the direction of his own cot, far in the distance across a field of thousands of others just like it. His breathing slowed from his exertion. Now he reached for calm, but anxiety fed by disappointment still fluttered inside him.
Unnoticed by so many others just like him, Obi-Wan looked back toward the top of the Tower. Most of the newcomers seemed to have gone, including the person in the dark brown robe. The person who was not Qui-Gon Jinn.
"Themtosi! Coolus!" the public voice sounded. They had moved on to the next person being offered retrieval from the Charity Holdings.
Obi-Wan only felt his Master's absence in the Force. He was probably not even on the planet. The anxiety in his stomach intensified. Obi-Wan kept walking and cleared his mind of thoughts. That helped a little.
Leaving the clumps of people near the Tower behind, he walked down the wide aisle past rows and rows of identical cots, the way receding into a distance he could not see the end of. Only every third cot was occupied with occasional groupings of twos and threes sitting or standing together.
The huge open space of the Charity Holdings reverberated with the low rumbles of thousands and thousands of people, mostly Humanoids of the planet, but a few other types. But as he passed them, Obi-Wan rarely seemed to catch people talking to each other. They moved about on the greenish-brown coverings of their cots; they stood; they sat; they walked, all dressed in plain pale yellow pants, tunics and boots, all loose fitting and generically designed to fit a wide variety of different bodies and appendages.
Passing him in the aisle, two people walked together, conversing. The friendship registered with him; such things did happen in this place. But the words glided out of Obi-Wan's awareness as soon as they passed him.
A short blue building under the artificial sky of the ceiling and its evenly-spaced sunlight-colored glow panels drew his attention. Obi-Wan turned at the next aisle leading leaded toward it.
"Peekolarit! Cheem!" he heard from above.
The small blue buildings dispensed and accommodated all the necessities of living, if not of life. Divided into four Service categories; each quarter contained Food and Drink, Bodily Waste Facilities, Washing, Hygiene and Clothing Replacement, and finally Medical Care.
Obi-Wan went to Bodily Wastes rooms first. There were only a few other patrons, as usual. The droids watched as Obi-Wan made use of the trough of flowing water. Privacy was a luxury not deemed necessary for the minimalist accommodations of the Charity Holdings, a constant reminder to the patrons that while their survival was ensured, they should act to free themselves if they wanted more.
Obi-Wan stared at the long list of "DO NOTS" posted in multiple languages in large letters on the wall, the only form of decoration in the Charity Holdings that Obi-Wan had ever seen. After wiping himself with the sanitary, disposable flimsies, he cleansed himself and his hands before exiting and going around to the Washing Quarter. There were more patrons there. And more droids. The Needs Buildings were always very well policed. And while the Attendant Droids' prods and blasters only fired stun charges, they quickly enforced even the appearance of rule breaking. The patrons quickly learned that it was best to always stay out of arm's reach of each other.
He stripped all of his clothes off and handed them to a droid. A small, purple-skinned Humanoid woman shyly smiled toward Obi-Wan. He nodded politely, but turned away as he stepped under the water showers. The Needs Buildings were the worst possible place to make acquaintances since it was forbidden in the rules.
The cleaning solution raining down on him was tepid at best, but it cleaned well enough and was acceptable for all species. He scrubbed his hair and rubbed the solution down the long strands of hair behind his right ear. The hair would not stay braided without the ties, so he wore it loose, keeping it tucked behind his ear. While he washed, he heard more names called out, two individuals and two families.
After stepping out of the rinsing shower and blowers, Obi-Wan saw the purple woman staring wide-eyed as an Attendant Droid explained how the Washing, Hygiene and Clothing Replacement Quarter was organized and what she needed to do. She must be new and had lingered too long.
The Attendant Droid that Obi-Wan had handed his clothes to gave him back similar and clean replacements. He dressed under the watchful eye-sensors of the shiny-green droid and left. He could not help the new woman. That was the eighteenth rule on things not allowed on the long lists posted on all the walls of the Needs Buildings.
Exiting the Washing Quarter, he went next to the Food and Drink Quarter. But he only stared at the entance for a moment before moving on. He was not hungry.
He walked on, passing more and more rows of cots.
"Aye!" a voice on his left called. Obi-Wan turned to see a tall, brawny red-skinned male with long length of hair hanging from the back of his head. Obi-Wan gave him a neutral look and did not slow down.
"You new here?" he asked.
"I've been here a few days," he responded.
"Really? I haven't seen you about," the male said. He was older than Obi-Wan and had a square jaw and muscular biceps bulging under his yellow tunic sleeves.
"This is a very big place. I'm just walking back to my area."
"Really? Any better than what I got here?"
"I believe all the areas are the same," Obi-Wan told him.
"Hmmm. Say you got any stuff? Any blow? Any wheeze?"
This person had to have just arrived to think that any such things were possible. Obi-Wan shook his head.
"Shambizi! Guri!" the voice called out from above.
"Really?" The red-skinned man looked hard at Obi-Wan. He was at least a head taller than Obi-Wan, possibly taller than Qui-Gon. "Not sure I believe that. Don't see how all these people could be so calm here without something to calm them."
"The droids maintain things very well here. It would be best not to cross them."
"Hah! I'm not afraid of any droid-nannies. They've only got stun sticks anyway."
They had been walking together down the aisle, but the bigger man walked closer and closer, forcing Obi-Wan to the right. When he stopped giving ground the big man just walked right into him, their bodies touching.
"Fraternization is not allowed," a mild-toned synth voice said from behind them. The big red man snarled and turned. Obi-Wan tried to walk on but the other grabbed his arm in a tight grip.
"Not yet. I'm not done with you."
"Fraternization is not allowed," the droid repeated, a long metaloid pole clicked into and extended appendage
Obi-Wan whipped his arm around, breaking the man's grip so he wouldn't be caught in the stun charge. Then he backed up and sat on the nearest empty cot, his hands out away from his body and visible.
The big man was tough. He shook off the first charge and advanced, grabbing the pole. But another, stronger charge from the droid's side arm made him wince. Five more green droids ran toward them from all directions.
It was over very quickly.
"You will be assigned a personal Attendant Droid to instruct you in the rules of acceptable conduct in the Charity Holdings. . . . " A vocalizer stated as the machines dragged the limp red man off with them.
The first droid only paused for a moment, its yellow eye sensors evaluating Obi-Wan before it swivelled its head away from him and followed the group.
As soon as it was gone, Obi-Wan got up and walked on. The heads of the other yellow clothed people nearby had already turned away from the activity. Order was maintained.
"Mashimo! Mynis!" boomed from the tower now far behind.
Obi-Wan supposed that if he had his lightsaber he could dispose of the droids easily, but he did not see the point. They were only attendants, blameless machines. And he had no lightsaber. Qui-Gon had that. Wherever he was. He had presented himself with as little as possible because he had to surrender everything on him that was not medically necessary to be accepted into the Charity Holdings. He could not even keep the ties for braid. The rules of the Charity Holdings were very strict.
After hearing six more names, he finally saw familiar designations on the signposts at the aisle intersections. Obi-Wan turned left, walked a way, turned right and counted to the fifteenth cot on his left. The two cots on either side of him were empty, their dark greenish-brown coverings fresh and folded. Empty cots on either side was the most privacy he was allowed. But Obi-Wan suspected that this policy had more to do with preventing over-crowding than the needs of the inmates of the Charity Holdings.
A few heads had turned his way as he passed by, but he did not lift his eyes to read the disappointment in their eyes that he had come back, that he had not been freed after all.
Pulling back the top covering, Obi-Wan lay down on his cot. He stared up at the light above. It was still hours until they would be dimmed for night cycle, but they never completely went out.
"Clumarin! Yatta!" he heard from above.
His stomach growled, but Obi-Wan was not hungry.
- - - End Part 1