Part Ten

There was nothing left to do. Obi-Wan and Anakin had spent most of the night estimating what the medical bill would be and, truth be told, they both knew it was going to be exuberant. Obi-Wan was once again cursing his never-ending naivete; all his time as a Jedi, all his time in the Halls of Healing, and it never occurred to him to know how much it all cost; they had one hundred bacta tanks that the Coruscant hospitals used in emergencies, the healing Crystals of Fire that only Jedi knew about and could use, all the bandages and medicines and gauze and other amenities all had to come from somewhere, had to be paid by someone. The commissions from their work must have gone to it in part, and suddenly Obi-Wan was wondering just how much their commissions cost. His head hurt by the time the pair had at last gone to bed. Anakin had trouble sleeping because of his cast and shoulder, and he kept curling into Obi-Wan's side, nuzzling into his night tunic and offering soft moans and mutters.

There was simply not enough time in the day to take on another shift, not and still train Anakin even remotely to Jedi standards. Anakin once more offered to do odd jobs for money, but even so Obi-Wan doubted the income would be sufficient to pay the upcoming medical bill; they were already only barely scraping by. They couldn't sacrifice more food or any other necessity. They were at their wits end, and hours after Anakin finally could fall asleep Obi-Wan was awake, staring at the ceiling, cursing himself and praying forgiveness from Qui-Gon as he once more failed his Master in this last and most important promise.

There was nothing left to do; he had to ask for more money from his employer, the foreman.

He already knew what the reaction would be.

His mind was elsewhere, he was exhausted, but still he got up before dawn and gently tugged Anakin out of bed and out into the main boulevard. Instead of moving through Form I, the pair knelt together on the ground and meditated. Anakin of course found it difficult to concentrate, and the sun was coming up before they both could sink into the Force, and Obi-Wan slowly took him through the sutras.

When they at last stood, Obi-Wan found a woman walking up to them. "Is the boy alright?" she asked.

Obi-Wan blinked.

"Yeah!" Anakin said brightly. "I broke a wrist and I popped my shoulder, but it's fine now!"

"Oh, I see," the woman said. "I'm sorry I won't be able to watch your exercises for a while, then. They're so beautiful to see in the morning; it's the best way to start the day. I hope you feel better soon!" she added, waving brightly before dashing away, back to whatever job she was headed for. "Oh," she added several meters away, turning around. "Let me know where I can sign up for those lessons next time, alright?"

Obi-Wan turned bright red. "People watch us...?" How embarrassing!

"Maybe we can get money that way!" Anakin said brightly, thrilled at the idea.

Oh no, oh noooo it didn't work that way... Obi-Wan audibly groaned and put a hand to his face, rubbing it. "Isn't it time for you to change for school?"

Anakin nodded. "I'll do some research doing my study periods and ask the teachers what kinds of salaries they get and let you know. See you at lunch!"

Obi-Wan didn't even have time to protest before the boy dashed off, no less energy than if he hadn't just been to a medcenter. The former Jedi could only sigh as yet another thing seemed to run away from him, and he took a deep breath, resolving that he would at least get one thing right today. Turning, he started implementing his limited plan.

Circling around, he started talking to some of the other first shift workers - specifically those that didn't work for his foreman. He asked about any collective bargaining organizations they were a part of; he was forced to cycle through several names until he finally got a reaction on the word "union." Obi-Wan learned very quickly that the types of disputes he and his master negotiated were extreme cases - to be expected given they were galactic peacekeepers. On small scale, workers belonged to unions and unions bargained with employer or corporate teams over contracts, minimum wages, work time, employee health and safety, discrimination, dismissal, and child labor. Most of the men and women he talked to were part of the union but not active participants. Obi-Wan could not get the details he desired, but he was able to discretely ask about pay and conditions and other basics that his fellow day laborers experienced, and that gave him a rough outline to shoot for. It also showed him, even more, how stupid he had been to accept the job the foreman had offered - it was blatantly unfair but he had been so desperate for work and so uncertain of what to expect he had grabbed the first offer he had, at last, received. He was certain Qui-Gon was in the Force, frowning in disapproval.

"Mistakes are not marks of shame, Padawan mine, they were opportunities to learn. Repudiating yourself will serve no purpose and only delay what needs to be done."

Obi-Wan steeled himself, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, focusing on his self-imposed task, and reached to the Force. It touched him back, a gentle caress on his presence.

He marched over to the foreman, already on the worksite. "Sir, I would like to speak with you."

"Make it quick," the man said, "time is money."

"Yes, sir. I would like to negotiate a new contract for myself and for the other employees under your care."

The foreman looked up from his clipboard - a rarity indeed. "You what?" he demanded.

"I have been speaking with other laborers from other sites and have come to the realization that some features that are standard for construction employees seem to be lacking in the contracts that I and others have signed. I'm certain it is but a simple oversight, and so I hoped to bring the matter to your attention and that we may fix the problem together in a way that is beneficial to both your superiors and your subordinates."

The foreman blinked. "You're fired," he growled.

Obi-Wan blinked. "I beg your pardon?"

"The firm's belly up, there's no money to spend on fringe benefits like holidays and weekends."

"Or health care? Or paying your employees minimum wage? Or ensuring their safety with proper equipment?"

"Get off the site, you're fired. I ain't gonna speak to some dreg from the lowrises who suddenly thinks he's educated. Good luck feeding that kid of yours."

And he walked away.

For a split second Obi-Wan felt blinding panic. No work meant no money meant no food and no rent - space, with the way old man Jafan chased after his tenants they'd be evicted that evening! The foreman was known to blacklist his employees, he wouldn't be able to get a job and... A breath and the split second past. This was personal, true, but it was still a negotiation, and Obi-Wan was more than adequately trained. Qui-Gon saw to that.

In three steps Obi-Wan once more placed himself in front of the foreman. The overseer did not respect Obi-Wan, and he'd participated in one or two missions where Jedi were looked down on. A demonstration of resolve was in order. "Sir," he said politely, "I am afraid I cannot leave here until the contracts have been renegotiated. If I leave you will be forced to go into mediation, and that would be a waste of everyone's time."

"Leave or I'll have you removed."

Obi-Wan's gaze hardened. "I will not."

The foreman started speaking on his radio, and as he did the Gungan Augara came over. "Obi? Whatsa going on?"

"I am attempting to renegotiate our contracts so that we may be treated more fairly," Obi-Wan answered, his hard eyes never leaving the foreman. "My overtures have been met with my walking files."

Augara's eyes nearly popped out of their eyestalks. "What? Hesa fired you?"

"So it would seem, and he's currently calling security to have my physically removed from site." He gave a small, slightly sad grin as he turned to his Gungan friend. "You may want to distance yourself from me; I imagine things are about to get a little less than cordial."

"Disa no fair!" Augara exclaimed, stomping a foot onto the ground. "Hesa havin' no right for doin' dis!"

"I don't disagree," Obi-Wan said, "but if he is gong to respect my voice he will have to see that I will not back own." He saw the foreman again walk away, and to Augara he said, "This will take a while. I will see you later I hope," and the former Jedi simply followed, standing in front of the other man and saying nothing.

It was, perhaps, twenty minutes before Naboo security guards finally arrived on site. One was a burly man with thick arms and the other a woman of dark skin and toned muscles. He had had a lot of time to think, and with a clearer mind Obi-Wan had narrowed down his options and discovered one to two advantages he had. He knew that this negotiation in the long term would go well, but the short term petrified him, and so he did not think on it; one problem at a time, as his master sometimes said.

The woman walked right up to the foreman. "We got a report of a disturbance of the peace. What seems to be the problem here?"

"This dreg won't leave the work site. I fired him and he's trying to raise a stink over it," the foreman said, once more looking at his omnipresent clipboard.

The burly security guard turned to Obi-Wan. "You were fired?"

Obi-Wan had already prepared his answer. "I believe a more precise phrase is an illegal termination."

"What?" the guard asked.

"Unless things have changed radically in the last several months, galactic law states that it is illegal to terminate any employee because of association to or disagreements with a collective bargaining group. A union. I approached the foreman this morning and offered to help him renegotiate the contracts of myself and the other employees to a more mutually beneficial arrangement. That was when he terminated me."

"Stupid dreg's lying now," the foreman accused impassively, still working on his clipboard. "I fired him because he's a lazy sack of skin. He doesn't do his job."

Obi-Wan expected that and turned to the two security guards. "You may speak with anyone on the job site. I perform admirably."

"So," the burly guard said, "Point is you've been asked to leave."

"I've made no disturbance, used no abusive language, had no intention of anything other than renegotiating my contract."

"Come on, sir."

"I will not leave unless you arrest me."

The two guards looked at each other. Security forces were a unionized faction as well, and Obi-Wan had met more than a few officers and policemen who took their contracts very, very seriously. Throwing out terms like "illegal termination" and "renegotiation" hit a very sensitive button. Many galactic employees had studied the old labor riots on Coruscant several hundred years ago, when security laid down their weapons and joined the protesters. Like the Jedi that still remembered the Sith, the Unions still remembered the Coruscant Strikes. Also, this was one man's word against another and no physical advances had been made, making the waters very muddy for the two. As yet, with no obvious disturbance of the peace, there simply was not enough ground to arrest Obi-Wan. It was a judgment call, on neither of them were comfortable making.

"Well?" the foreman demanded. "Get him off my site."

"Nosa, no! Disa bombad mistake!"

Obi-Wan blinked, surprised as he turned to see Augara and the dozen other fellow employees standing, watching the scene. The surprise evaporated quickly, however, as he realized what an opportunity he had been given. To Augara, he asked, "What are you doing?" while glancing to watch the reactions of the foreman and the security guards.

"Wesa helpin' you," Augara said, marching to the front. "If you arrestin' Obi, you arrestin' all of us! We wantin' better work conditions and better payin'. Nobody leavin' until wesa heard!"

Obi-Wan calmly turned to the foreman. "Sir?" he asked politely, "Will you fire them as well? In front of security no less?"

The foreman scoffed and looked at the security guards. "You wanted a disturbance of the peace? Now you got one. He's keeping my employees from doing their job."

Obi-Wan closed his eyes. He knew this was a possible scenario; he had hoped for Anakin's sake that it would not come about. Even as the burly guard put a hand on his shoulder he turned once more to Augara. "After your shift," he said, "talk to the other companies here, ask to speak to union representatives. Tell them about Vidar, about the conditions and the wages, tell them everything."

"But what about you?" Augara demanded.

Obi-Wan offered a wry smile. "I've been captured and interrogated before, I doubt this will be anything like those times." He remembered his very first bout of indentured servitude, on Bandomeer with the Hutt corporation Offworld, and the many other times since. This would be a walk in the park by comparison. Turning back to the guards, he said, "Is there anything I should be aware of? Any procedure you wish me to follow?"

The dark skinned woman, quiet up to now, asked, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Want is a word that means very little to me," Obi-Wan replied. "I simply do what I must."

Binders were clasped to his wrist and he calmly followed the two security guards to their transport. Processing, as the guards described it, took several hours of hurrying up and waiting. It was almost lunch before he realized Anakin would be looking for him and wouldn't be there. Anakin was independent, he could more than take care of himself, even injured as he was, but his emotional state would be on entirely different story. He would pitch a fit worse than what lead up to his broken wrist in the first place. He needed some way to run interference before the boy started using the Force in his anger.

"Excuse me," he said politely to the dark skinned man who was processing him. "Is it possible for me to contact someone?"

"Your litigator?"

"Alas, I don't have that, but there are two people who should know of my current situation."

"Well, you can only call one," the man said.

Obi-Wan internally groaned, knowing this would also upset Anakin. "Her name is Shamde Orlie. She is a social worker." If he called Anakin first he would drop everything to be with him; and it simply wouldn't be helpful for either of them.

It was well into the afternoon when he had any visitors to his cell. He had been deep in meditation, listening to the quiet puzzlement of the security that couldn't understand why he was there when he saw bright visions of a frying pan and heard a long string of Huttese expletives.

Oh, dear, he thought to himself.

"Language, Anakin," he said, opening his eyes.

Anakin merely scowled in response and started swearing vehemently out loud. "You shoulda called me!" he shouted. "You said you'd call me and you didn't and-"

Obi-Wan looked down. "You were my first thought to call," he replied quietly.

Anakin quieted, but still glared sourly at him. "But I was only allowed one call."

"And that shoulda been me!"

Obi-Wan narrowed his eyes. "Actually, I can say your displaying every reason why I shouldn't have called you first. You would have dropped everything and come rushing over. Did you even go back to school when you realized I wasn't at the jobsite?"

Anakin sputtered indignantly before yelling, "That's entirely beside the point!"

The dark-skinned guard, Mayuntha Typho, giggled.

Obi-Wan turned to her. "Milady Typho, I appreciate your concern, but could you not laugh at him? It makes matters worse."

"Sorry," she replied, "he just reminded me of my son Gregar when he was that age."

Shamde took the opportunity to finally get a word in. "Might we be allowed in to see Mr. Kenobi?"

Mayuntha sighed. "A moment for procedure," she replied, running a wand over both of them. Once they were all clear, she activated a panel and let the two into Obi-Wan's cell, closing the force field behind them.

Anakin stomped right up to Obi-Wan and, much like Siri had before, punched him. "You idiot! What'd you do to get arrested? And why was Augara and everyone so upset about it when I got to your job?"

Obi-Wan ignored the question. "Anakin, your shoulder!" he admonished, He immediately reached out, running his hands along the shoulder that had only just been reset, scanning with the Force and sending soothing waves, in case it was hurting. "You only just got out of the med-center and Healer Koilana told you not to move it around so much."

Anakin wasn't listening. "I was worried!" he cried out. "You weren't there and no one would say anything until Augara explained that you said something to the foreman and got yourself fired and arrested and I thought we didn't have any credits so why did you go and get yourself canned?"

Shamde sat down with them. "Yes, I have to wonder why you decided it was a good idea to lose your primary and solitary source of income."

Obi-Wan sighed, running a hand through his lengthening hair. "While I have left the Order, I am still a Jedi. I do what I must."

"That answer's not good enough, Obi-Wan!" Anakin stomped his foot down again.

"Anakin, you've every right to be upset," he said, straightening. "But you're letting your upset and anger control you. Take a breath and calm down. Yelling at me won't solve anything."

Anakin was still fuming, but he sat down in a huff and crossed his arms, glaring at him. Obi-wan decided that he would take what he could get.

"I talked to many other workers this morning on my way to work," he said. "I've come to the realization that the contracts that Augara, Vidar, myself and all the other workers signed, aren't industry standard. Not even close. To say nothing of how our dear foreman will dock our pay at the slightest inclination. We weren't being treated fairly and I decided a renegotiation was in order. When I brought that up, that was when I was illegally fired."

Anakin was still frowning, but Shamde was jotting notes down quickly.

"As a Jedi, I've a great deal of experience in negotiation and mediation. So I peacefully continued to insist that we negotiate." Obi-Wan shrugged. "I expected that I'd be forcibly removed from the site. This is hardly the first time I've been incarcerated and I must say that the Nabooan are very, very kind to their prisoners."

Anakin's mercurial nature shifted as he went from angry to curious. "You've been in jail before? How? What happened?"

Obi-Wan smiled. "Those stories, Padawan, are best left for another day." He turned to Shamde. "In the long run, I believe it will work out. I doubt that my attempts at collective bargaining will end up anything like the Courscant Strikes from centuries past. But the short term is my immediate concern."

"No doubt," Shamde replied, ever the professional. "What do you need from me?"

Obi-Wan sighed, and for a brief moment, his exhaustion grabbed hold of him. He hadn't slept at all the previous night, his intended days of break had been cut short once Anakin had needed to visit a med-center. He wasn't at a breaking point, at least in terms of physical stamina. But he was still grieving and mourning and he had been like this for months. Anakin helped, but at times like this when Obi-Wan had to make decisions that Anakin just didn't understand, that he felt most alone. So very, very alone.

"You are never alone so long as the Force is with you."

Sound advice from his master, words he tried so very hard to live by, but while he was absolutely certain he was doing the right thing by staying with Anakin, he didn't know completely on whether or not the Force was really with him in this choice.

Anakin was suddenly in his arms and Obi-Wan couldn't stop the instinct to just hold on tight, despite the fact that it was a sign of attachment.

"I..." he swallowed. "I need help, Milady Orlie. I need help." A deep breath and he was sitting up straighter again, and Anakin was still close in his arms. "I won't have Anakin ending up in whatever Nabooan equivalent of social services you have here just because I'm in jail and can't look after him. Our landlord Jafan is quite exacting in getting his rent on time and I expect that he'll evict us once he finds out I've been fired." Obi-Wan rubbed his temple. "We have enough food for the week, though I hope to not be in here that long."

Obi-Wan turned to Anakin. "You need to stay in school and stay on top of your studies."

"But!"

"No buts. I know that you and I will always talk about a decision and agree on something. But you know that your schoolwork is very important. Don't go slacking off on it. Keep up with the exercises I've already shown you, especially mediation before bed and once you wake up."

"I want to help!" Anakin insisted.

"I never said you couldn't," Obi-Wan ran a hand through Anakin's hair. "I just said that you can't slack off in your studies." He Looked to his Padawan. "And inform me before you go off and do anything drastic."

Anakin gave his most innocent look.

Obi-Wan sighed.

"My primary concern is that Anakin is taken care of," he said turning back to Shamde. "I just don't know how right now."

The social worker brushed it all aside. "I'll stay with Anakin tonight at your place," she said brusquely. "Now, since you've asked for help, I wonder if this means that you'll call on our Queen, seeing as how you do know her."

Obi-Wan shook his head. "Queen Amidala is busy in helping to rebuild Naboo and fix all the wrongs that the Trade Federation has done. My problems should not distract her as she has very important work to be doing."

Shamde frowned severely, and Obi-Wan knew she didn't like that answer, but she was a professional and said nothing about it. "And if I start suggesting other programs that you and young Anakin more than qualify for?"

Obi-Wan bowed his head. "Yes," he said quietly. "I'll take any help I can get. I have had to learn, once again, that pride will lead to more hardships."

To this, at least, Shamde gave a soft smile. "Once Anakin is in school tomorrow, I'll drop by again with more filework and we'll start looking at specifics."

Anakin glared at his datapad. It had been two days since Obi-Wan had been arrested. Bail had been nothing but a joke, given that they had no credits and as nice and friendly as Shamde was, she wasn't Obi-Wan. She had stayed over for two nights now, going over everything she'd gone over with Obi-Wan so that Anakin knew where they stood on everything (something he appreciated) but there were just little things she didn't seem to get. She would remind him of his meditation at night, but once she said that, she pulled out a book to read so that she wouldn't disturb him. She would wake him up at sunrise and tell him to meditate, then start organizing files and datachips for what she would be doing over the course of the day. She wasn't trying to be a distraction, but she just wasn't Obi-Wan! Obi-Wan who sat with him, gently nudged him both in the bond and in the reality, whose gentle presence was like an anchor for Anakin when he got confused, something he glanced to, get an idea of what he was supposed to be doing, and start doing it.

This didn't even get into the nightmares. Shamde tried to console him when he woke up sweating and screaming, but she was a professional and she wasn't family. She wasn't Obi-Wan, who just let him hold on in the middle of the night, she wasn't Obi-Wan who would do something as small as running his hand through his hair that settled his swirling emotions in seconds. She was nice and caring but she wasn't Obi-Wan.

They'd filled out all sorts of forms and filework for various agencies that Naboo had for those who were struggling to get by, to ensure that they weren't evicted and could still put food on the table. Augara had stopped by frequently, both to check Anakin and with Obi-Wan, to say how things were (not) going at the worksite. Several more people had been fired, and all had followed Obi-Wan's peaceable example. So far. Augara thought that some were getting angry enough to do something that Obi-Wan labeled as "stupid" and Anakin labeled as "fair". Obi-Wan kept telling Augara what should be done at each moment with each possible scenario, quoting the Coruscant Strikes extensively.

Anakin, himself, was frantically researching anything and everything he could think of. But he just didn't know enough. He didn't understand Naboo law, the strikes on Coruscant were hundreds of years ago and Anakin couldn't see how the methods of back then could do anything about what Obi-Wan was doing now.

Obi-Wan had explained that he was using diplomacy to mediate a situation, that it was something that Jedi often did.

When Anakin had demanded if that meant that Jedi ended up in jail all the time, Obi-Wan had chuckled and said no. Jedi were neutral. He couldn't be in this situation because he was most definitely on one side.

Anakin thought about going to his diplomacy teacher for help, but dismissed that immediately. This was a problem with Anakin and his brother. They could handle it themselves. Obi-Wan was already handling things, even while sitting in a jail cell. So Anakin would work his hardest to do his part as well.

Anakin angrily closed the window on his datapad about the Coruscant Strikes. This wasn't helping. He needed to do something other than just research! Anything! Trying to reach for the Force didn't help at all! (Probably because he was so angry... But he had every right to be!)

Kohse peaked over his shoulder. "Whatcha mad about?" she whispered.

Anakin took a deep breath, trying to breath out his anger so that he wouldn't take it out on her. She was a marvelous help in Diplomacy, but she was younger than him and it often showed.

"I'm trying to learn about unionizing and collective bargaining and what to do when someone is unfairly put in jail," he whispered back, glancing at the diplomacy teacher who was crouched by another student.

Kohse nodded and sat back.

Anakin sighed. He had promised Obi-Wan he wouldn't slack on his schoolwork, and Shamde always looked over his work once she came over. Stang, he was tired. All this extra research was wearing him down and two nights of poor sleep wasn't helping.

A message popped up on his datapad as he poked at the essay he had been writing.

"here, lookie at this! :D" the message proudly proclaimed, with a small article.

Anakin threw back a smile at Kohse for her attempt to help and briefly scanned the article.

He stopped.

He read the article.

Again.

Oh this was brilliant! He turned around. "Kohse, what made you think of this?"

She shrugged, giving a large grin that showed off her missing baby teeth. "My mommy's a reporter," she whispered back. "An' a lotta diplomacy's done with media stuff."

Anakin gave a huge smile as well. "Can I come visit her?"

Kohse nodded enthusiastically.

That night, there was a big splash all over Theed, about how Obi-Wan Kenobi, the hero who had saved a person buried in rubble after the Invasion, was now in jail for simply asking fair wages and health benefits through mediation.

Author's Notes: And this is the last of the inspiration we had for the fic. The rest of the author's notes will no doubt be filled with lots of whining and complaining about how there were no ideas and how hard it was to write and how long it took. We'll try to keep the self-pity to a minimum.

Jedi Obi-Wan starts to peak through again, though not (yet) with the results he wanted. Whether he realizes it or not, he's doing just fine. He just needs to believe it. Maybe someone should help him with that...

Anakin gets to shine, too. He's nothing if not creative. :) Some of his problems are showing, however, in that he only trusts Obi-Wan with certain things when he should let go and take the help from others, just as Obi-Wan is doing. Pride goeth before the fall, and all that.

At last, Obi-Wan asks for help. It's hard for people, particularly those who have been self-sufficient for such a long time, to actually ask for help. There are people out there who just think they can handle it on their own, even when all the signs are there that one misstep will ruin everything. Obi-Wan should have asked for help much earlier, especially where Shamde has made many suggestions. Obi-Wan at least admits he needs help. (Granted, it took something drastic...) Some don't even do that and keep getting in worse and worse situations thinking they can handle it all. That's just sad.

And for those of you thinking Obi-Wan should be in something other than construction, well, he was desperate and took the first offering he had. Also, the Living Force put him in construction so that this could happen. ^_^ People are going to be better off with Obi-Wan in construction.

Not that he'll always be in construction. Opportunity is going to bat him on the head, but for now, even sitting in a jail cell, he's right where he's supposed to be. Mwahahaha.

Next Chapter: A protest.