Chapter 9
The next morning Obi-Wan felt much better. The cut on his leg had shrunk dramatically, and was easily covered with a bacta bandage. After breakfast, he began thinking about the events of the day before. Luna had saved his life and killed an enormous krayt dragon single handed using the skills he had taught her. They had backed off her training since discovering her pregnancy, but obviously she was ready to move on. If there still were a Jedi order, this would almost certainly have been considered one of her trials. It was high time for her to construct her own lightsaber.
"Come along, Luna."
She looked up from the news article she was reading on her data pad. "Where are we going?"
"To retrieve something of great beauty and extreme value."
…
"Uh…when you said great beauty and extreme value, this wasn't exactly what I had in mind. What is it that we're looking for?" Luna eyed the bloated carcass of the dead krayt dragon and tried to keep herself from gagging. The heat from the twin suns had dramatically sped up the decomposition process, and even at a distance, the stench was overwhelming.
"We're looking for dragon pearls. These animals have a gizzard similar to a bird. They swallow stones which stay lodged in the final chamber of their gizzard and when they eat something, the stones grind it up so that it can be easily digested. Over time these stones become smooth and polished from the constant movement and…"
Obi-Wan continued, but Luna wasn't listening. Dragon pearls! Of course! For a moment she felt foolish and wondered why she hadn't thought of it sooner. Dragon pearl jewelry was highly prized, exquisite, and very expensive. The pearls from this animal alone might be worth thousands of credits.
"What should we do?"
"Not we, darling. You. You killed it. You must harvest the pearls."
"But, I don't even know where a krayt dragon's gizzard is!"
"Use the Force for guidance."
A slight breeze brought a huge wave of the nauseating smell their way and sent a cloud of flies into the air around the dead animal. Luna looked at Obi-Wan suspiciously. "Is this some kind of Jedi thing?" He cocked an eyebrow in her direction and crossed his arms across his chest giving her his best stern Jedi Master look. "Aww, come on. Really?"
He relented a little. "I admit, it's a little unorthodox, but I promise it will make sense soon. Just get the pearls as quickly as possible and then we can leave."
She walked as close as she could to the dead animal, but soon had to stop. The oder was so terrible she began gagging and had to back away. It was no use. It wasn't that she was squeamish, but being pregnant had increased her sensitivity to smell immensely and there was no way she could get any closer.
There has to be another way, she thought as she observed a trail of sand beetles scurrying back and forth across the ground around the dragon. Suddenly something occurred to her. Sand beetles were scavengers. Her favorite subject to teach back on Corellia had been science and one of the more memorable units they covered each year was called "Scavengers of the Galaxy". It included several chapters on all things creepy crawly. The grosser it was, the better her students liked it. One fun fact they learned about beetles was that they ate carrion and, if there were enough of them, they could strip an entire nerf carcass in hours. That gave her an idea.
She closed her eyes and reached out through the force. There were millions of the sand beetles in the surrounding area. She summoned them all. In moments the carcass was completely obscured from view by a shroud of insects. It took some time, but she was patient, and before long the beetles dispersed. The only thing that remained of the krayt dragon was it's bones.
Now that the smell wasn't so strong, she was able to walk up and collect the pearls. They lay in a multicolored pile in the middle of the skeleton. As she approached, she noticed one in particular right in the center of the pile. It was a beautiful shade of green and glowed with a lustrous sheen. There was something about it that called to her as if she had been waiting her whole life to find that one stone. To her amazement, when she picked it up seemed to hum and began to glow brightly in her hand.
Suddenly Obi-Wan was at her side. She looked up at him with a million questions in her eyes as the beautiful dragon pearl continued to glow.
"It's yours Luna. It glows because you are connected through the Force. That crystal will be the heart of your new lightsaber."
…..
"I'm so proud of you Luna! How did you ever think of sand beetles?" Obi-Wan asked curiously. He listened as she explained and shook his head. "It showed great resourcefulness to be sure. "I can't wait to see what sort of a lightsaber you build."
They sat at the table with Luna's green pearl between them. The other 5 pearls were in a pile to the side. They were an assortment of colors and sizes the largest of which was about as big as a jogan fruit. All together they were worth a dizzying amount of credits. Obi-Wan sighed. How easy it would be to take them and disappear into uncharted space. If only they could leave all of this danger and secrecy behind and start over on some undiscovered planet…just the two of them and their little family. As appealing a thought as it was, he knew it was impossible. There was no way he could leave Luke here to fend for himself.
"I always thought lightsabers used Kyber crystals." said Luna. "How do you know the dragon pearl with work?"
Obi-Wan thought for a moment. "Yes, generally kyber crystals were used. Jedi younglings used to be taken to the Gathering on Ilum to find their crystals and then would build their lightsabers. That's what I did." He briefly wondered what had become of those caves and Professor Huyang, the droid who had instructed every Jedi for the last 1000 years on how to construct their lightsabers. He had probably been destroyed or at the very least had his memory wiped. It was too depressing to contemplate.
"I do remember reading in the Temple Archives that a krayt dragon pearl could be used as a lightsaber crystal, but I've never actually seen it done." he continued. "I have no doubt that your saber will be as unique and beautiful as it's maker." She smiled at the compliment. "We'll have to see about gathering some of the parts you'll need when we're in Mos Eisley next week."
"What do you think we should do with the rest of these?" Luna asked.
"Hide them somewhere I suppose. Who knows what may happen in the future. I'm positive they'll be very useful someday. Besides, we don't want to attract unwanted attention to ourselves by flashing a lot of credits around. We must be cautious."
Luna nodded in agreement. "Yes, you're right. I think we should save them also, but maybe we could sell just one. We did want to add another room and buy some things for the baby. And, we are getting married after all. Maybe we could use some of the credits for a honeymoon. Wouldn't that be nice?"
They really shouldn't, but she looked so hopeful he didn't want to say no. Maybe one wouldn't be so bad, he thought. "Hmmm…I'm listening. What did you have in mind?"
Luna got up from her chair and came to sit in his lap. "We could stay at the hotel where we first…remember?"
Oh, he remembered alright! There hadn't been a day since that he hadn't fondly recalled their first trip to Mos Eisley. He pulled her closer and began softly kissing her neck. "Keep going…" He whispered hotly in her ear.
"We could stay in and order room service, and take baths in real water for a change. Ooo…And air conditioning! How great would it be to sleep in a nice cool room."
He stopped for a moment. As a Jedi, Obi-Wan was used to living a simple life. He had never been one to over indulge in luxuries, but the thought of a few days in the air conditioned comfort of the Mos Eisley Towers Hotel was incredibly appealing.
Luna could tell his resolve was wavering. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gazed into his eyes. "I'll even bring along that green negligee you liked so much. Remember? I had that on the first night we…" Her cheeks blushed an alluring shade of pink.
A picture of Luna in the beautiful silk garment popped into his head. He pulled her tightly against him and kissed her until she was breathless. "Alright. Go ahead and make the reservation. I can't wait!"
