Chapter 3
Names
Obi-Wan sipped his tea and silently studied his most unexpected guest. Sprawled on the couch across from him lay the mysterious boy from the hospital. He was wrapped up in a blanket and fast asleep, finally looking peaceful. Now what I am supposed to do?
"He can't stay here, you know." Nejaa reminded him softly, so as not to wake the boy. "You probably shouldn't even have brought him here in the first place."
"I know," Obi-Wan sighed. "But what would you have done with him?"
"I really can't say," Nejaa sighed. "So when will you call the Council?"
"In the morning." Obi-Wan replied. "It's too late now, everyone is likely asleep."
"You know they wouldn't mind being woken up for this." Nejaa pointed out sternly.
"True," Obi-Wan reluctantly conceded.
"Why don't we place that call now and get it over with?" Nejaa suggested.
"Yes," Obi-Wan nodded after a moment and set his tea aside.
Master Halcyon nodded and the pair of them rose and headed out. Obi-Wan paused at his doorway to glance back at his most unusual guest. The boy remained completely dead to the world and so he left without worrying…too much.
I hope he's smart enough to stay put if he wakes up…
Something was off. He wasn't sure what at first. But then it came to him. He was entirely too comfortable. In his childhood, his bed had been a simple shelf with some sheets and a pillow. More recently it was a cell-like room with a cold metal cot. And most recent of all was a wide variety of uncomfortable places from ship holds, to sewer pipes, to sharp rocky ground. Now he was very comfortable, probably the most comfortable he'd ever been while asleep. He opened his eyes.
He was in a very cozy room, laying on a couch, and wrapped up in a blanket. The lights were dim though not completely out. Next to the couch was a low table with a cup sitting at the far end. It was very quiet, and he sensed that no one was around.
For a moment, he couldn't fathom where on Corellia he was. Then he remembered…
He'd snuck out of the hospital, but he'd forgotten all of his things in his panic. And then a pair of Jedi had tracked him down. Surprisingly, the Jedi hadn't killed him on the spot for being a Darksider. And then he'd blacked out…
Where am I?
His eyes darted around the dimmed room, desperately trying to place where he was. Nothing came to him. He'd never been here – wherever here was – before.
If I was a Jedi…(hah! what a laugh!)…where would I take me if I didn't kill me…?
This place looked like a room in a house, or an apartment. It was a living space that served the Jedi. This had to be the Corellian branch of the Jedi Temple. And that meant—
Sithspit! I have to get out of here!
He clumsily squirmed upright, hindered by the warm, soft blanket. He peeled himself free of it, swung around, set his feet on the cold, hard floor and staggered towards the first door that he saw. But before he reached the door, a dizzy spell hit him so hard that he ended up on the floor.
Agh, I feel awful…
When the room stopped spinning, he slowly sat up and glared at the door which was still so far away. He wanted so badly to escape from this death trap, but his own body was betraying him. After holding out for so long it simply couldn't anymore, and it couldn't have picked a worse time to quit on him.
I'm going to die, he thought miserably.
The door abruptly whooshed open and two men came in. They were the two Jedi from earlier. He flinched away from them, but couldn't do much more than that. They both stopped dead at the sight of him.
"Oh, you're awake." The bearded Jedi remarked, clearly surprised. "Are you feeling better?"
He stared at the Jedi dumbly. "What?" he croaked.
"Are you feeling better?" The Jedi repeated slowly, like he was speaking to someone who spoke poor Basic.
Are you kidding? "No," he growled.
"Perhaps you should've stayed in the hospital," the other Jedi retorted sternly.
He tensed up angrily. "Perhaps you shoulda left me alone!"
"And left you to what?" The first Jedi interjected before his irritated-looking companion could fire back a reply. "To leave you wandering the streets in hospital-issue clothing without any money?"
"S-shut up!" He snarled and scooted back over the floor until his back hit the sofa he'd been passed out on earlier. "Leave me alone!" Let me go!
"Unfortunately we can't do that," the bearded Jedi sighed. "Now," the man started to slowly approach him, "let's get you off this floor—"
"Stay away!" he hissed, pressing himself into the back of the sofa. "Don' touch me!"
The Jedi immediately paused. "Can you get up by yourself?"
"I don't need your help!" He spat sulkily and curled in on himself. "Go away!"
The Jedi crossed his arms over his chest and his concerned expression turned as stern as the one that seemed permanently fixed on the face of his companion. "I can't 'go away,' these are my quarters. I live here."
So I am in the Corellian Temple. "Then show me to th' door and I'll leave," he growled.
"I can't do that," the Jedi told him.
"Why not?" he demanded. Because you're going to kill me?
"You aren't yet well enough to be released," the Jedi pointed out, "and you lack appropriate clothing and money."
He had no response to that, so he just glared up at the Jedi, his prison guard. Why are you drawing this out? Why don't you just kill me?
The Jedi sighed heavily and took the last few steps that closed the distance between them. "Come now, be reasonable." The bearded man held out his hand to help him up.
"Why are you bothering to care?" he asked suspiciously.
The Jedi frowned. "I'm not sure that I'm following you."
"I'm your enemy," he muttered. "You shouldn't be helping me. You should've killed me or left me to die."
"Why are you my enemy?" The Jedi asked slowly.
"Don't play dumb!" he snarled. "You know why."
The Jedi hesitated for a minute before saying anything more. "Let's start over. I am Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi. Who are you?"
This is unreal. He stared at the Jedi blankly. Does he seriously expect me to answer that?
"Well?" the Jedi prodded when he remained silent.
He does, he blinked, surprised. Well tough. Names can be traced. You're not getting anything from me. "Who's he?" he asked, pointing at the second Jedi.
"I am Jedi Master Nejaa Halcyon," the second Jedi replied stiffly.
Great, a Jedi Master! No wonder he's such a jerk. Even though he was terrified of them, he made no attempt to hide the contempt that he was feeling at that moment.
"So, who are you?" Master Halcyon growled.
He pressed himself even tighter against the back of the sofa and kept his mouth stubbornly shut. I'm not telling you anything!
"You can make up a name for us to use if you like," Knight Kenobi suggested hopefully.
Well… "Vader," he decided.
"What sort of name is that?" Master Halcyon asked suspiciously.
Knight Kenobi didn't look any happier with that answer, but he accepted it nonetheless. "Well let's get you off this cold floor." And then, before Vader could try to slip away, Kenobi leaned down and hoisted him up to his feet.
"Don't touch me!" Vader squeaked furiously. However, lacking the strength to resist, he had little choice but to allow the Knight to settle him back on the sofa.
Knight Kenobi wrapped the blanket back around him and then seemed satisfied. "There, now," he turned to Master Halcyon, "I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Yes," Master Halcyon nodded curtly and strode from the apartment.
When he was gone, Knight Kenobi turned back to Vader huddled on the sofa. "Can I get you anything?"
"No," Vader growled. But then his stomach betrayed him with a particularly loud growl.
The Knight raised an eyebrow. "Hungry?"
"Yes," Vader mumbled, knowing it was pointless to try and lie further.
"I'll get you some soup," Knight Kenobi said and vanished from the room.
Vader slouched down as low as he could on the sofa and waited impatiently. Straining his ears, he could hear Kenobi messing around in the next room, fixing up some instant soup. Against his will, his mouth started to water.
Five minutes later, Kenobi returned with a steaming bowl of Hoi broth. "Here you go."
Without a word, Vader took the food and ate it as quickly as he could. Since the Hoi broth was steaming hot, it wasn't very fast, but it was still faster than a leisurely meal. The bottom of the bowl came too soon and he glanced up at the Jedi warily.
Can I get more food out of him?
Before he could bring himself to ask, Kenobi took the empty bowl and vanished again. In another five minutes, he was back with another bowl full of Hoi broth. Vader took the bowl back and began eating again. This process was repeated one more time before there were any words said.
"You can spend the night on my couch," Kenobi offered.
"What if I don't want to?" Vader challenged.
"You could sleep on the floor, I suppose," Kenobi mused, "but I wouldn't suggest it."
"What if I don't want to spend the night here?" Vader growled.
"It's late, I'm not taking you anywhere else," Kenobi frowned.
"I could just leave in the middle of the night," Vader threatened.
"I wouldn't advise doing that," Kenobi replied dryly. "The Temple is full of Jedi and if you try to slip out, someone will catch you, and then neither Master Halcyon nor I can protect you."
Vader paled. Sithspit. "Great…held prisoner in a building crawlin' with Jedi."
"Think of yourself as a guest here," Kenobi suggested. "Now, how about a full name?"
Vader worked his jaw back and forth as he thought. "Dar'ti Vader," he replied at last. Never thought any of Mom's folktales would come in handy…certainly not like this.
Kenobi stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Alright."
Hah, he didn't catch it! Dantillan stories must not be all that popular… Vader polished off the last of his final bowl of Hoi broth and slumped over sideways on the couch.
Knight Kenobi took the empty bowl and sighed. "Get some sleep, young one. There are more things to do tomorrow."
"Like what?" Vader asked sleepily. Now that his stomach was finally full, it was getting harder and harder to stay awake with each moment that passed.
"There is a trip to arrange," Kenobi answered cryptically. "Now sleep, you need to rest if you wish to regain your strength."
"Fine," Vader mumbled and burrowed under the blanket.
"Rest well," Kenobi sighed and left the room, turning off the light after him.
Laying there in the dark, sleep rushed up on him and tried to drown him. But he resisted its siren call for a while. He needed to do a little thinking before he let his brain turn off for the night.
There was something about Knight Kenobi that niggled at the back of his mind. There was something about his voice that was familiar. And then it clicked in his brain. Knight Kenobi was the man who'd caught him in the slums and dumped him off in the hospital.
This is all his fault! Vader buried his face in a couch cushion and growled. Why couldn't he have left me alone?
I'll get him for this…in the morning.
