Qui-Gon felt a small shiver run through his spine as he stepped off of the lift. Getting directions from 'squealer' he and a undercover police officer had made their way down to a low level of the planet, home to the prosperous slave market. Obi-Wan was in here, just yesterday, Qui-Gon thought to himself as he adjusted his cloak.
He saw the policeman tense beside him. The police of Domili had been searching for months to locate this market, and now this young man was here. Qui-Gon could tell that he was itching to pull out his badge-card and begin arresting everyone he had servo-cuffs for.
Qui-Gon leaned down toward him. "I know you want to put these people behind bars, and I promise that you'll get to do that. But not today, please, not today. I need to find some information about my Padawan, and if you begin busting sellers, I may never find him. So I'm asking you, can you wait? You know where it is now, so it would be no problem for you to come back with backup."
The young man, who was called Tesial, nodded. "Yes, Master Jedi. I can wait. My assignment today is to help you in your search for your Padawan, and I will do that."
Qui-Gon nodded and clapped a hand on the man's shoulder. "Good. Thought I'd be able to rely on you. Now," he said, scanning the crowded market. "We have to find this Tula character and find out where Obi-Wan went to."
He motioned to Tesial, and began walking down the crowded alley. On both sides, auctions were pending, deciding the fate of a poor slave. Qui-Gon witnessed a small girl being auctioned off, and he had the sinking feeling that none of the men bidding on her would treat her anywhere near decently. He shook his head, wishing he could teach the men a lesson with his lightsaber, but restrained himself. Soon he passed another tier with a young woman who was roughly seven months pregnant. The price was very high for her, with the aspect of getting two slaves for one on every bidder's mind.
All of this made Qui-Gon feel sick to his stomach, and he knew then that Abido had much more work to do on his planet than he ever thought possible. Qui-Gon pulled himself away from the heartbreaking sight of a young boy being pulled away from his mother, and nearly bowled into a young woman. She glared at him with dark eyes, that shone with a little curiosity.
"You watch it, ya Wookie!" she snapped. She studied Qui-Gon for a moment. "You looking for something?"
"Yes, actually I am."
"What? Male, female, adult, child?"
"No, I'm looking for a specific person up for auction here. His name is Obi-Wan Kenobi. I heard that a man named Tula had captured him yesterday."
The woman arched an eyebrow. "What do you want with him?"
"Well, my friend was in here yesterday, and said that he was a fine specimen, ideal for farm work. I'm in need of some assistance, so I figured, why not come here?"
The woman nodded, then thought for a moment. "Let's see, what did Tula have yesterday? He had a Dresselian, an Ithorian, a woman, a set of twins, and a young man. Was this Obi-Wan a human?"
"Yes. She said he was a male human, late teenage years perhaps. Lightish brown hair with blue eyes?"
The woman thought again, then nodded. "Oh yeah, I remember him," she smiled, "and boy was he out of it. Like the kid's never had spice before. Yeah, anyway, he's gone. Tula sold him yesterday for seventeen thousand credits. If you're still interested in him, you could contact his new master and make him a good offer."
"Who bought him?" Qui-Gon asked, his heartbeat increasing as he digested the information of his Padawan's 'sale'.
"Oh, I don't know that offhand. But I could get the information for you. Follow me," the woman said, turning around and making her way through the crowd.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
For the second time in two days, Obi-Wan found himself waking up on a cold floor with a splitting headache and aches all over his body. He looked down at where he had been laying and saw a small pool of dried blood. His hand went to his lips, where he found dried blood caked around them. He groaned and sat up, taking a look at his surroundings.
He was in a circular room, with no windows and no door that could be easily seen. He shook his head. They were attempting to break him by messing with his mind, but he knew that there was some way out. He would just never be able to find it. They just wanted him to stress trying to find it.
He gingerly wiped his mouth of with the sleeve of his clothes, then realized that he was no long in his Jedi tunic. He was now dress in what looked like a green mechanic's suit. He grimaced but finished getting the blood away from his mouth.
He then shook his head, trying to clear the fuzziness with no avail. At first he thought they had drugged him up again, but then he realized that this was a different feeling. It was just the normal fuzz that you get after being beaten. Just the normal pain and stiffness.
He glanced around the room once more, checking for any signs of life. He found none. So he simply sat in the middle of the room, calling on the Force to begin to heal his battered body. But for some reason, he found it very elusive, with a void in some areas. He frowned, having lost his connection completely.
It was a very weird feeling for him, not having any connection to the Force. It had been a part of his life since he was a child. Now it was just gone, leaving him truly alone. He shivered and pulled his knees to his chest, feeling as if a sudden chill had swept through the room.
He sat like this for hours, trying and trying to get a grasp on the Force, but couldn't find it. Then a part of the wall suddenly swept open, allowing several large men to enter. Obi-Wan groaned inwardly; he knew they were here for a free-for-all beating of him. Not willing to go down without a fight, even though he didn't have the Force, he jumped to his feet.
He caught the first man's fist in his hands, ignoring the pain, and slammed the palm of his hand into the man's nose. He howled in pain and stepped back. From the corner of his eyes, the young Jedi saw another man stepping up behind him with a electro-stick. He swung it at the Jedi, trying to paralyze him. Obi-Wan leapt into the air as high as he could, then landed in a crouch and kicked the man's feet out from under him. He caught the electro-stick and spun it around as if it were a two-sided lightsaber and jabbed the first man in the gut, sending him to the floor.
He felt a rough kick to his back, and flew forward into the wall. He felt a heavy weight behind him, and felt the man grasping his hands behind his back, rendering him nearly defenseless. The young Jedi struggled to free himself, but the man was far too strong. The second man stood up again, a stony expression on his face. He retrieved his electro-stick from off of the ground and approached Obi-Wan. Then he smiled, jabbing it into the Jedi's side.
For a moment, everything went white for Obi-Wan. This was followed by a blinding pain that seemed to spread from his side to every part of his body. He gritted his teeth as the pain wracked his body, unwilling to cry out in pain. Finally the pain lessened, and he fell to his knees in relief. Or would have, if the man was not still holding him up. He was hit again with the stick, this time being allowed to fall to the ground, where he was promptly beaten with hands and feet while the effects of the electricity lingered.
He was barely aware of a new man entering the room. "Enough," he said, kneeling down next to the Jedi. Obi-Wan's face was covered in blood, and his eyes were slightly out of focus and glazed. "We don't need you to kill him. Just rough him up." The man examined Obi-Wan for any major injuries, and found a broken rib. He shrugged it off, knowing there was nothing he could do about it and that it may actually play to their advantage.
He rolled the Jedi onto his back, then quickly turned him on his side again when he began coughing up blood. The doctor frowned. Perhaps the men had gone too far with this one? It wouldn't be the first time. Obi-Wan calmed after a moment, and the doctor nodded, reaching into his pocket for a syringe and a vial. He pulled the substance from the vial and injected it into the young man's neck.
He watched as Obi-Wan's body trembled slightly, then calmed. The last bit of consciousness seemed to leaved the Jedi's eyes, and he simply lied there, finally feeling no pain.
The doctor nodded and stood up. "This may work out for you. He has a broken rib, which is very painful. Put him to hard work and he'll be begging for the Metacanosol."