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It had only taken a little under an hour for Obi-Wan and Sari to find a space freighter to rent. Of course, it had nearly depleted all of the Jedi's credits, but it helped that he could pilot himself. There was no need to involve anyone else.
Sari wrinkled her nose as they stood surveying their new acquisition in the hangar bay.
"Are you sure this thing will fly?" she asked sarcastically. The small space ship had myriad scrapes and dents all along the hull, and the paint was peeling in more places than it was sticking. She couldn't help it. She started to laugh out loud.
"This is just a hunk of junk!" she laughed.
"We'll make it," Obi-Wan replied, silently trying to convince himself that he was right.
After boarding and completing all the preliminary flight checks, they were ready to go. Following lift off, Obi plugged the disk into the ship's nav computer and pulled up the coordinates of their destination.
"Melkior," he murmured.
"I've only heard the name. I don't know anything else about it. Do you?" Sari asked from her place in the copilot's seat.
"All I know is that they are typically closed to outsiders, and mired very deeply in their culture's traditions. I remember an old Jedi master mentioning their devotion to family above all else."
"Do their traditions involve slavery?"
Obi-Wan shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I guess we'll find out in a few hours." With that, he punched the hyper drive, hoping to the Force that it would work. Sari herself was holding her breath with her eyes shut and only opened them when she felt the ship surge forward pinning her to the back of the chair.
Obi-Wan slowly let out his breath and slumped back in his seat. "Whew! I'm glad that worked," he admitted with a small grin.
"Me, too!"
After a few moments of silence, the two became aware that they were alone with nothing to do for the next three hours. Obi-Wan pretended to fidget with the controls, while Sari looked through her pack for the food she had picked up on the station.
"Are you hungry?" she asked as she pulled a small bag out and handed it to him. He took it and thanked her.
Again, an awkward silence filled the cockpit. Sari was the first to break it.
"Would you tell me about your life? I mean, I don't know very much about you really. I'd kind of like to know who you are and how you became... yourself. Does that make sense?" she asked clumsily. She was typically very articulate, but around Obi-Wan, her tongue became tied and her brain regressed back to a silly fourteen year old.
Obi-Wan shifted in his seat so that he could face her. "What would you like to know?"
"Anything.... EVERYTHING!" she exclaimed. "Tell me about your childhood.... um... your master.... your adventures.... Anakin... whatever! I just want to know you." The soft smile on her face sent a tingle through his body. If she wanted a star he knew he would somehow get it for her. He'd do anything she wanted.
Clearing his throat, he began.
"Well, I've lived in the temple for as long as I can remember. My childhood was spent in training to become a padawan. Being a Jedi knight was all I ever wanted. However, I was somewhat of a hothead and that almost cost me my chance at knighthood. Master Yoda, from the council, arranged for Qui-Gon and myself to be on the same mission in hopes Qui-Gon would take me as his padawan."
"Why wouldn't he want you?" Sari sincerely questioned. "I'll bet you were a model student."
"Not exactly," he said with a mischievous grin. "Plus it didn't help matters that Qui-Gon had once had a padawan who had betrayed him and gone to the dark side, so he was very hesitant to take another."
"The dark side? What do you mean by that?"
"Let's see... Just as there is light and dark during a day, the Force also has a light side and a dark side. The dark side is evil and greedy, but can be quite seductive in the power it offers. Any Force user runs the risk of falling under its spell."
A cold chill ran up Sari's spine. "Have you ever---?"
"I think I came close once." Sari's eyes widened in surprise at his admission. "It happened about six years ago on the planet Naboo. Do you happen to remember the trade dispute there that was broadcast on the holonet?" Sari nodded. "Well, my master and I had been assigned that mission. We had discovered the presence of a Sith lord--- someone like a dark side Jedi. To make a long story short, we ended up in a duel with him."
Obi-Wan suddenly stopped and looked out the viewpoint in silence. Sari could tell he was reliving the memory in his mind. "What happened?" she whispered.
"He killed Qui-Gon, and then I killed him. I still remember the rage I felt as I swung my light saber right through that demon. It gave me power... a power that I know I could not control if ever unleashed again."
Sari looked at him with new eyes. Here was a man taken from his family as an infant, forced to watch his only 'family' die right in front of his eyes. Then, he himself had been a killer, whether out of necessity or not. She couldn't imagine killing someone and then carrying the burden that knowledge would surely bring. She reached across and grabbed his hand.
"I'm so sorry," she confessed.
"Don't be. Everything happens for a reason. Because of all of that, I obtained Anakin as my padawan. He's been a handful at times, but still a blessing. I wouldn't have it any other way."
The Jedi went on to tell her about some of his missions, both as a padawan and as a master. He told her about some of the friends he had made over the years, like Bant and Cerasi, Nield and many others. She was dumbfounded when he told her about Zonoma Sekot and its mysterious secrets he and Anakin had uncovered. Never before had he had such a rapt audience. He was enjoying sharing his life story with Sari.
"Wow! You've certainly lived an event-filled life! Don't you ever think about slowing down for a while?" she asked innocently. The words stabbed through his heart like a dagger. For a few seconds, all he could do was stare at her.
"I never used to," he answered. How could he tell her that ever since meeting her, slowing down was all he was thinking about?
Something in his eyes told Sari what his words didn't say. Slowly, she stood up and moved right in front of him. He swiveled his chair so that she could step closer to him, and then slid his hands around her waist. She placed her hands on his shoulders and softly placed a tender kiss on his forehead. Obi-Wan pulled her down onto his lap and gazed into her eyes.
"You are making me think about things I've never thought of before, Sari Zendar. I've always been too busy to worry about slowing down, but now... " His voice trailed off as he gently caressed her cheek and placed a kiss on her waiting lips.
The kissing didn't stop there. The two continued with kiss after long, passionate kiss. They were in no hurry and just wanted to savor every touch as if it was the first and last. Breathless, they eventually pulled apart and leaned their foreheads against one another.
"Mmmm," Sari moaned. "That was nice," she said with stars in her eyes.
"I agree," Obi-Wan whispered with a smile. Then he began nibbling on her earlobe and made his way down her neck, reveling in the shivers of pleasure that were rippling through her body.
"This... this is dangerous," she groaned, moving her neck so that he could get to the other side.
"What is?" he asked in between nibbles. His warm breath on her skin made her head spin, and all she could think about was getting more of him.
"Us... here... alone... doing this." She could sense the aroused state of her own body and was getting the feeling that he was having the same problem.
"I think you're right," he said before moving his assault back to her mouth. "What do you think we should do about it?"
Only one thought went through her mind. Suddenly, she stood up and looked boldly into his eyes. Then her hand moved to her jacket and began to slowly unzip it. Obi-Wan bounded out of his seat and stood only inches away watching her every move.
"Sari, I--," but before he could finish, the alarm sounded loudly in the cockpit signaling their reentry from hyper space. Both were startled, to say the least, but had to laugh at their luck.
"Sari, I hope you hold that thought," Obi-Wan said as he moved to work the controls.
Sari chuckled inwardly at their situation and peered out the view port. There before them loomed the planet of Melkior and, she hoped, the lives of twenty children depending on her to save them from a life of slavery. Quickly, she regained her composure and tried to focus once again on the task at hand. If their mission was to work, she would have to forget about a tryst with Obi-Wan --- if only for the time being.