Chapter 11: Lost Legacy
Location: Jundland Wastes
Several hours later...
Awakening, Ben was briefly disoriented as to his location, before remembering his present circumstances. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he checked his chrono and discovered that he had slept for well over ten hours. It was longer then he had intended, and precious time had been lost because of it. The need to empty his bladder became his primary concern, and he quickly scrambled up the ladder after recovering Jacen's jacket. Darkness had fallen over the desert, but it wouldn't be long before the sun had risen once more. Artoo was still where he had left him, and he emerged from standby mode the moment he detected movement.
"It's just me, Artoo," Ben assured, pulling on the jacket.
The R2 Unit twiddled out a comment, stating that the boy had overslept, an accusation he made no attempt to deny.
"We'll be leaving soon, I've just gotta take a leak," he stated, exiting through the side door.
Approaching the edge of the cliff, the boy unbuckled his pants and lowered them past his hips. Reaching into his boxer briefs, he pulled out his penis and began to urinate, relieving the pressure that had been building in his bladder. Once he had done his business, Ben did up his pants and re-entered the building through the door he had used. Artoo was nowhere to be found, instead he heard a banging noise coming the main living area. Unclipping his lightsaber, the boy carefully maneuvered himself through the kitchen doorway. He found the R2 Unit behaving strangely, banging itself against what had been a display table. He couldn't help but worry that the astromech was malfunctioning, just like he had during the Killik Expansion.
"A-Artoo?" he asked, concern creeping into his voice.
The droid ceased what it was doing, swivelling his head and fixating his spotlight onto the boy.
"What are you doing?" he questioned, trying to shield his eyes.
The R2 Unit twiddled out a comment, stating that he had visited the hut before and that it belonged Obi-Wan Kenobi. Ben was surprised by this revelation, but he could feel the Light Side of the Force permeating the building. The youth couldn't help but wonder if his grandfather had ulterior motives for leading him to the hut, yet had mentioned nothing.
"Well why didn't you say anything?"
The astromech twiddled a response, replying that the boy had never asked, further added that he had scanned the room and had detected something that had been hidden away. It seemed inconceivable that anything could have gone undiscovered in nearly forty years, especially when both his father and his aunt had visited the hut at different times in the past. Humoring the droid, Ben approached the display table and found that he had managed to smash a hole into the synstone. A portion of the material had been patched up, and could've easily been dismissed as a home repair job. Peering into the newly made hole, the boy discovered something metallic had been wedged inside. Realizing that Artoo had been correct, he stuck his hands inside, discerning that the object was a lockbox of some kind. Gripping the box, the boy gave it a tug, dislodging it and sending him onto his backside. He quickly distracted himself from the momentary embarrassment by focusing his attention what Artoo had managed to uncover. It was indeed a lockbox, crafted from durasteel and engraved with letters from the Aurebesh alphabet. Tracing his fingers across the engravings, he was able to make out the letters corresponding to Forn, Osk, Resh, Leth, Usk, Krill, and Esk. When combined, they spelled out two words: FOR LUKE, meaning that the lockbox was meant for his father. He was tempted to open it and the droid had even offered to cut the lock off with his utility saw, but the boy shook his head in disagreement.
"It wouldn't be right, Artoo," Ben stated, "Master Kenobi left it for dad, he should be the one to open it."
He nonetheless gave the container a gentle shake, feeling something heavy sliding around inside. Placing the lockbox on the floor, Ben took a seat and fished a ration bar out of one of the pocket of the jacket. He hadn't eaten since leaving Courscant, and his hunger had grown to the point where he could no longer ignore it. It was tough to crew and tasted like stale cardboard, but at least it was better then nothing at all. He washed it with water from his canteen and promptly rose to his feet, ready to head out once more.
"Ready to go, Artoo?" he asked.
When the droid twiddled out an affirmative, Ben reached down and retrieved the lockbox, heading for the front door. Sunrise would be in less then five hours, and the boy had no desire to be traversing the desert under the oppressive heat of two suns. From their position on the ridge, he could make out the lights of a settlement in the distance, likely Bestine. His heart sank at the distance they had left to travel, but knew that complaining about it wouldn't get him there any faster. Sighing, Ben made for the slope and began heading down, the unforgiving desert awaiting him.