Inside of Ogby's Department store, the PD-10 droid's legs whirred and kicked as Volacca held her by the neck with one massive hand and raised her into the air. "Oh... oh, my..." she said, anticipating a long trip to the repair center in her future. "Perhaps some Berask Musk would suit sir better?"
Just then, Obi-Wan rushed in catching Volacca's attention. "You!" He said, igniting his blue lightsaber. "Put the droid down!"
Volacca snarled at Obi-Wan, his sharp yellow teeth gleaming. Out of the corner of his eye, he noted the store's escalator not far away. He threw the struggling droid straight at Obi-Wan and ran for the second floor. PD-10 screamed as she flew threw the air at the Jedi. With a smooth swoop of his lightsaber Obi-Wan cut her in half at the waist - causing her to land in two pieces on either side of him.
Her perfume containment units leaked from her upper half as her bottom half still whirred and kicked a few feet away. Tiny sparks crackled from the severed wires of her interworkings dangerously close to the flammable liquid. "Oh, dear..."
Customers on the escalator were quick to jump out of the creature's way, some leaping over the handrail to the side heading downward. To avoid the panicking customers, Obi-Wan leapt 20 feet into the air to the upper floor - pushing off and over the railing before landing gracefully on his feet. Lightsaber still ignited, he continued his pursuit of the blue menace.
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Nahlia and Zep rushed into the department store in mid argument. "I'm telling you, he went in here."
Nearby a Firefly droid flew over the PD-10 extinguishing the fire around her as a human security guard watched from a safe distance. Once the fire was out, a small box shaped maintenance droid beeped and twittered as it rolled in to begin cleaning up the mess.
"Phew!" Zep held his nose. The samples of perfumes and musk stored within the droid had all leaked onto the floor creating an overwhelming fume. "Guess the customer wasn't satisfied."
"Excuse me?" Nahlia asked the guard. "Did a young Jedi come through here?"
"Jedi?" He said thoughtfully. "Well that would explain a few things..."
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The tall shelves around Obi-Wan were well stocked with children's toys like blobby blasters, kerflibbadoos, pluplo puzzlers, and walkienackies - none of which he had even heard of. Raised since infancy in the Jedi Temple, toys were never a part of Obi-Wan's daily routine and at the moment were the last things on his mind. He had the very distinct feeling that he was being watched.
He continued down the long aisle of toys carefully, noting the sound of breathing somewhere at the end of it. Obi-Wan kept his lightsaber lit and at the ready as he prepared for whatever was awaiting him. Just then, a 9-year-old boy burst out from around the corner and pretended to fire at Obi-Wan with his toy blaster. "Gotcha!" Seeing he'd surprised Obi-Wan, the child chuckled almost maniacally. His mother came after him quickly and ripped the blaster out of his hand.
"How many times have I told you not to do that!" She scolded then turned immediately to Obi-Wan. "I'm so sorry. I-" The woman stuttered a bit as she realized he was holding a lightsaber. "A Jedi? Oh, I am so sorry if he bothered you, Master Jedi."
"He's not a Master, he's just a Padawan." The boy snapped back, still scowling over his mother taking away his blaster.
"He is correct." Obi-Wan admitted.
Before his mother could respond, the boy continued. "My Dad says that Jedi are tools of the Republic and when they aren't going on missions to benefit the elite class they just sit around the Temple living off the taxpayers' money."
With that, his mother smiled awkwardly at Obi-Wan - the horror at her son's lack of tact all over her face.
Obi-Wan simply raised an eyebrow in response and with a forced smile said. "Lovely child."
A few aisles away, Volacca had heard the woman, child and Jedi talking. 'Just a measly Padawan, huh?' He sneered. He knew even with his thick muscular frame, sharp claw like hands, and talent with a blaster, he had little chance against a Master Jedi - but a Padawan, he thought, was another story. 'Can't be that tough to take down then, can he?' He unsheathed his blaster and peeked around the corner. He observed the woman and child go between the aisles while Obi-Wan stepped out from them. 'I better play it safe,' Volacca thought as he sized up the Padawan again, 'If I get caught, Diora will kill me... and knowing her, she won't do it quick either.'
The steel shelving units that held the toys were over 20 feet tall and about 50 feet to the end. Finding one of the thick support beams in the middle, Volacca pushed hard on the unit and toppled it - causing a domino effect on the adjacent aisles.
Startled by the commotion, the woman and child froze in place and were about to be crushed by the falling shelves when Obi-Wan used the Force to push them both out of the way. They flew through the air and landed safely, out of the way, in a pile of shaggy Bantha dolls.
Customers screamed and ran as the last of ten shelving units toppled and crashed against the wall. Obi-Wan could see Volacca running from the scene but the cries of a trapped child stopped him from continuing his pursuit. A female security guard had already made it to the scene and was trying to figure out how to get the toddler as well as her father out from underneath the heavy shelves. Obi-Wan rushed over.
"Hang on, sir." She told the barely conscious man. "I've called for assistance, just hang in there... we'll get you out."
The child's hysterical crying tore through Obi-Wan. 'I should have stopped him, somehow...' He leaned down to see the extent of their injuries. The little girl appeared to be unharmed but her father was barely moving as he lay with his daughter cradled in his arms protectively. Obi-Wan grew pale as he watched blood run down the man's forehead from a head injury.
"We're short on time." Obi-Wan said grimly.
"What can we do?" The woman asked.
Obi-Wan didn't respond but instead closed his eyes and concentrated. In order to free the man and child, he had to set the six long tall shelving units upright again - a significant order, even for a Jedi Master. Obi-Wan relied on his training from Qui-Gon and Yoda, and had faith in his abilities. He removed all doubt from his mind. Slowly the shelves began to rise, Obi-Wan strained from their size and weight but he remained determined. He wouldn't just try, hewoulddo.
Behind him, Nahlia and Zep appeared and watched in awe as the six huge shelving units raised into the air. Obi-Wan almost made it look easy, with a cue from his hand the shelves were set back into their rightful place - the only evidence they had fallen being the toys and dolls strewn through the aisles.
The guard rushed over to tend to the man and his young daughter. Moments later, emergency medics came to help as well. The female guard, satisfied with the condition of the two victims smiled at Obi-Wan. "I think they're going to be all right. Thank you."
Obi-Wan reluctantly accepted the thanks with a slight bow of his head. Still in the back of his mind was a feeling of responsibility for putting the man and child in danger in the first place. He hadn't brought Volacca in there, but he had pursued him with ferocity through the store. He continued to mull the events over in his head in an effort to discover what he could have done differently.
"That was incredible." Nahlia gushed. "You saved their lives."
"How did you happen to be here for that by the way?" Zep asked pointedly.
"It was Volacca." Obi-Wan explained. "He must have pushed the shelves over to distract me so he could escape."
"Do you know which way he went?" Nahlia asked. "Maybe we can catch up with him?"
"I don't think so," Obi-Wan told her. "He's too far ahead now." He began to wonder how Qui-Gon would react as he explained how the suspect he was pursuing destroyed half of Ogby's, almost killed a father and child, and still managed to get away. He sighed, not looking forward to rejoining his Master. "How did you two find me here anyway?"
Zep shrugged. "We just followed the path of destruction and there you were."
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"Thanks for walking me home." Nahlia said as she and Obi-Wan strolled down a low lit Coruscant street in the Paltry district.
"I'm surprised that Mr. Wilco didn't offer." Obi-Wan didn't bother to hide his abhorrence for the man from Nahlia - she seemed to feel the same way. One thing he couldn't figure out is what she saw in him in the first place.
"Oh, him." Nahlia chuckled. "Apparently the guy he 'borrowed' the speeder bike from showed up at the store with a few friends. Zep decided to make a quick exit - not unlike the way Volacca did when he saw you."
At the mention of the creature's name, Obi-Wan went silent and looked at the pavement passing in front of him as he stepped.
Nahlia observed his change in demeanor and immediately wanted to bite her tongue. "You're doing it again."
"What?"
"Beating yourself up... focusing on the negative." Nahlia tried to console him. "You saved them. You're a hero."
"Except that, they wouldn't have been in danger in the first place if I had-"
"It wasn't your fault, Obi-Wan." Nahlia put her hand on his shoulder supportively. "You couldn't have known what that monster was going to do."
"I should have caught him sooner." Obi-Wan kept his eyes down. "I should have stopped him. If my Master were there he would have found a way-"
Nahlia stopped abruptly. "You'll never be your Master, Obi-Wan. You can only be - you." She smiled. "From where I'm standing that's not such a bad thing."
Obi-Wan managed a small smile in return.
"You're going to be a great Jedi Master one day." She said softly.
"You think so?"
"Of course." Nahlia stepped closer to him as she spoke from her heart. "You're smart, and brave, and honorable..." She touched the front of his shoulder again lightly, the thin brown fabric of his robe yielded to her as her fingers brushed along his muscular upper arm. "and strong..."
Obi-Wan blushed a bit and shook his head slightly. "Unfortunately, there's more to being a Jedi than that." He smiled at her again, this time much more warmly. "But thank you."
'What am I doing?' Nahlia wondered as she took her hand away. 'He's a Jedi, he's not interested in girls like me... or girls at all for that matter.' She glanced behind her at the entrance to a shabby looking grey building. "Well, my apartment is in there," She pointed at the dark arching doorway. "So... I guess I better go in and get some sleep." Nahlia knew she should go, it was probably for the best even if she didn't see him again, but something kept her feet firmly in place.
"It is quite late." He agreed hesitantly.
"And I have to go job hunting... again..." Nahlia could see a distraught look come across his face as he thought of yet another thing that went badly that night. "But it's not your fault," she chided him gently. Not getting so much as a smile out of him this time, she decided to reach out to him again. This time her slender white fingers caressed his chin and lifted it just enough so they had eye contact. They remained close. Obi-Wan kept his arms crossed downward in front of him, between them, but did nothing to move her hand from his cheek, or to stop her from moving closer. With one smooth movement, Nahlia picked up her chin and pressed her lips softly on his. He didn't shut his eyes, but remained still as he watched her eyes close as she kissed him once, then slowly pull back.
Dazed by the experience, after a moment he asked almost in a whisper. "Why did you do that?"
One corner of her mouth curved into a little smile. "I was afraid I might not get another chance." Normally, Nahlia would never have considered such forwardness but she had been caught up in the moment, and a pair of soulful blue-green eyes. She stepped backwards towards the building's entrance still smiling. "Good night..."
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Volacca wearily approached the open hatch of his ship "The Artifice." It was a sleek black cargo ship, which actually belonged to his employer Narcime Venu. Volacca had long desired to own the ship, ever since he began working for Venu several years before, but another more favored employee was interested in her as well.
Inside, he found his co-employee relaxing in a chair. Diora Dega was a beautiful humanoid female with white skin and long, light blue hair that she always wore down. Beneath her thick tresses hid a hideous surprise, she was a cyborg. Both her ear and right eye had been replaced with machinery, thanks to their employer Venu as part of one of his bizarre experiments. She didn't seem to mind, she got her money, she could now see and hear better than anyone in the galaxy, but her outer beauty had been marred and with it her humanity.
Diora didn't turn her head as Volacca entered. She had heard him coming way back when he entered the docking bay by recognizing the sound of his footsteps crash landing on the stone flooring. "Did you make the delivery?" She asked.
"Yeah," Volacca informed her. "The little black and red guy took it. What was his name?"
"Maul, I believe."
"Mm. He said his," Volacca went into a mocking impression. "Master will be pleased." The thought of the dark creature with the piercing red eyes caused him to shudder. "The guy gives me the creeps."
A smirk crossed Diora's face and she finally turned to face him. "I thought he was kind of cute."
"You would." A hint of jealousy in his voice, he settled into a wide padded chair across from her.
"If I were you I wouldn't let him hear you call him little, you'll find yourself sliced up into little pieces and served with some red Kianto wine."
He puffed out his chest. "I'm not afraid of him."
"No, of course not." Her smirk grew more mischievous. "Oh, by the way, have a nice run?" She chuckled.
Volacca snarled. He hadn't even realized she was there in the bar when he faced the Jedi. "Funny. Thanks for the help by the way."
"I was busy."
"Doing what?"
"Some reconnaissance for the boss." She pointed at her cybernetic eye that doubled as a holographic recorder which she used to transmit images to Venu. "You remember that special project he told us to keep an eye out for?"
"Yeah."
"Well," She gloated. "apparently he thinks I've found the perfect subject."
TO BE CONTINUED...
