Jediya Quest

Chapter 4

The first thing he felt when he woke up was the cold stone floor beneath him. That was Obi-Wan's foremost clue that he was no longer in the Arling village. Slowly opening his eyes, he noticed that the area farthest away from him was a barred door that was guarded by two Trians. They assumed that the prisoner was still unconscious and were talking quite freely in front of him. Deciding that, for the moment, it would be in his best interests to play along, Obi-Wan closed his eyes and remained still.

"So, Cotar, is this guy really a Jediya?"

"Well, that's what the boss said." Cotar turned to look at the person in question. "Personally, though, I don't see how he could be. Just look at him. The poor lad's a mess."

The younger of the two guards nodded in agreement. "I hope he is a Jediya. It might even help if he is in a weakened state like this."

"What are you talking about, Jad?"

Jad shifted his lance so that he could lean his weight on it and raised one hand to gesture towards Obi-Wan's cell. "He may be easier to manipulate if he is in this poor condition."

"Manipulate? Sithspit, Jad. Have you been using spice again? You can't manipulate Jediya!" Cotar shook his head.

Raising his hands defensively, Jad continued. "I'm not saying that it would be an easy task, a right one, or even a possible one. I'm only repeating what I overheard the boss being told by the Rey."

Cotar straightened up considerably when he heard this. "The Rey? You mean that Makono himself has been overseeing this man's capture?"

Obi-Wan struggled to keep the surprise from showing on his face. He wasn't surprised that Makono has orchestrated his capture. He was more shocked at the title that the guards had attributed to Makono. A person who was given the title of Rey was the Eloylian equivalent to king. For Makono to be using that title so soon meant that he had amassed a good deal more power than Obi-Wan had expected.

The guards continued to converse back and forth, but Obi-Wan tuned them out. He had already pieced together that Makono planned to manipulate him into seeing the Trian point of view. Instead of further dwelling on the situation at hand, Obi-Wan turned his concentration inwards and began a healing trance.

He remained that way for hours. In fact, no one took notice of him until a stately looking Trian marched down the hallway and stood in front of the two guards. The Trian was wearing a dark red robe that was lined with a design embroidered in gold thread, providing a remarkable contrast against his lightly colored skin. He looked down his pale nose at the two guards with his piercing black eyes.

"The prisoner should be awake by now. Why is he still sleeping?"

The younger of the two guards had to fight to keep his knees from shaking. "We-we're sorry . . ." Jad stammered.

Cotar broke in to save the young soldier from further embarrassment. He bowed his head and spoke in a calm voice. "We apologize for giving you cause to come down here into the prisons, noble Rey." No one noticed as that word called Obi-Wan out of his trance and he slowly turned his head a little closer to the bars.

"Seeing as how the Jediya is in such an injured state," Cotar continued, "I thought it best that he rest for a while. He looked most poorly, and I did not want to bring dishonor on my family name by having him die on my watch."

Rey Makono stared thoughtfully at the guard. Finally, he broke the silence. "I will overlook this small infraction for the time being. Even I can understand not wanting to bring dishonor upon a family name."

Both guards bowed again, thanking him in a most reverent manner. Makono shook his hands out of his sleeves and folded his arms. "Open the door," he commanded. Jad rushed to unhook the keys from his belt and unlock the door. He pulled it open while Cotar accompanied Makono into the cell.

Obi-Wan's back was to the approaching Trians, and he thought it best to continue his charade. He kept his eyes closed as he sensed the two aliens move in front of him.

"Would you like me to wake him?" Cotar asked.

"That won't be necessary. I'll take care of that myself." Makono stood for a minute observing the Knight's injuries before delivering a swift kick to Obi-Wan's ribs. The Jedi's eyes flew open as he drew in a ragged breath of air. He hunched over to catch his breath and threw a sideways glance at Cotar. The guard was looking at Makono fearfully and was hurriedly moving his right hand through the Eloylian motions of a forgiveness prayer.

Maybe pretending to be unconscious wasn't such a good idea after all . . .

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Jediya," Makono said with a sneer.

Obi-Wan managed to ease himself into a sitting position. "Thanks," he cracked while holding one arm protectively to his ribs. "I've always enjoyed a warm welcome."

Makono wrinkled his nose and gave Obi-Wan a sarcastic smile. "Well what did you expect, Jediya . . ."

"Kenobi," Obi-Wan offered with a false smile.

"Jediya Kenobi. When you arrived on this planet, you went straight to those treacherous Arlings. I could have you executed for collaborating with the enemy. Instead, I am going to offer you the chance to help us."

"How thoughtful of you," he answered dryly.

Makono face flushed for a moment as he looked ready to snap at Obi-Wan. Then he unfolded his arms and brushed his hands down the sides of his robe. "I will pretend I didn't hear that comment." Makono turned and started to walk out of the cell, when he paused and looked back at Obi-Wan. He motioned for the Jedi to rise.

"Follow me, Jediya Kenobi. You will listen to what I have to say."

Judging from the looks on Jad and Cotar's faces, Obi-Wan decided that he better follow the Trian leader. He pushed himself up from his knees and began walking after Makono. After only a few steps, however, the room began to swim. His footing faltered and Obi-Wan began to sink back towards the ground when a steady arm caught him. Obi-Wan turned his head and found himself looking into the concerned face of Cotar.

"Be careful, Jediya. You are still weak."

Somewhat perplexed at the guard's kindness, Obi-Wan nodded his thanks and used Cotar's shoulder to steady himself. Then he let go, and followed slowly after Makono.

* * *

He stood in the center of a large stone room while Makono talked to him. The Trian's voice reverberated throughout the room, the sound bouncing off of the stone walls and the domed ceiling. Every once in a while, Obi-Wan would shift his weight from foot to foot in an attempt to keep his legs from falling asleep. Despite his efforts to concentrate on the prejudicial propaganda that Makono was spouting, the Jedi's attention span was rapidly diminishing.

"So you see, Jediya Kenobi, the Arlings who unfortunately reside on the same planet as my people are physically and mentally inferior. They do not deserve to live on the same soil as Trians. My people are the true Eloylian race."

Obi-Wan shook his head in disagreement. "That is not true. What have the Arlings done to show that they are an inferior race?"

Makono laughed as if the Jedi Knight was questioning the obvious. "Look out how they run as we pursue them into the forests! They do not even attempt to defend themselves. They simply hide and hope they are not found. They are cowardly fools!"

"No," Obi-Wan calmly countered. "They are wise and brave. They see that nothing good can come from violence. It is those who seek blood that are the fools. It is those who pursue the innocent that are cowards."

Makono's dark eyes narrowed to onyx slits. "Wouldn't your precious Order be fools then? The noble Jediya, the guardians of the galaxy, always standing with a light sword in hand."

Obi-Wan blinked to clear his blurring vision. I thought that healing trance would have done the trick. Guess I'm not as well as I thought. He blinked once more and then looked at the pale skinned humanoid. "The Jedi stand for peace. We fight with our lightsabers only when it is the last remaining course of action. We are defenders of peace and justice, not blood thirsty warriors."

"And who determines what that justice is? Who are you to say that I, that the Trians, are not doing the right thing in eradicating the Arlings?"

"The Force says. And if you can't feel the Force, then your conscience should dictate to you the difference between right and wrong." Except why do I have the feeling that he has a faulty conscience?

Obi-Wan opened his mouth to say more when a wave of dizziness swept over him. He gritted his teeth against it, but soon found himself sinking to his knees anyway. His head turned to look to the side as he heard Makono's low laughing.

"Why, I do believe that we pulled you off of those antibiotics a little too quickly, Kenobi. I myself have never experienced tigra wounds, but I know that their venom can wreak havoc on a human's biological chemistry." A small snort of satisfaction escaped from his nose. "Not that it matters whether you succumb to fever again or not. I can see that you will not help our cause. It is a pity, though, that you may not be coherent enough to respond to what happens when we make an example of you. It must be shown what happens when one attempts to oppose Trian superiority."

I'd make a retort to that except I'm afraid that if I open my mouth I may be sick, Obi-Wan thought as the room continued with its slow rotations. He just watched with mild detachment as Makono strode over to a comm unit located on the far wall and requested for a guard to come up and take the prisoner back to his cell.