Thank you all for your comments! I've been able to update daily because I had a few chapters written before I began posting. However, I haven't completed Ch. 10 yet, so you may or may not get an update tomorrow! To Laura of Maychoria: Thank you for your thoughts! Don't worry, I have every intention of seeing this story through the very difficult recovery stage of our poor Obi!
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Obi-Wan and Flyn were in the transport on the way back to the compound from a late-afternoon Game. Flyn watched Obi-Wan as he gazed out the window. His sadness had seemed to dissipate. Now she was seeing…nothing. He just didn't seem to care anymore, and that scared her.
"Well, I'm up to twenty-one now." Obi-Wan stated it matter-of-factly. He had killed twenty-one men. He was having a hard time feeling anything. Did he care anymore? He just didn't know. Obi-Wan was beginning to believe Zirta. He was without honor.
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Mace and Qui-Gon had searched several arenas on the northern continent that day. There had been no sign of Obi-Wan. They were now at their fifth arena and were asking a worker questions. The woman had been reluctant to answer questions from Jedi Knights at first, but once she realized she wasn't personally in trouble, she cooperated.
"Has there been a new contestant in the Games here recently? One who isn't Aurelian? One who's bigger and stronger than Aurelian men," Mace asked calmly.
The woman laughed. "Well, that wouldn't be hard! But I have heard some stories of someone like that fighting in the cities on the west coast. He's unbeatable from what I've heard and creating quite a sensation."
"Thank you!" Mace and Qui-Gon hurried out of the arena and headed for the west coast.
They chose to go to the largest city first. They arrived there in the early evening. They went straight to the largest arena and pulled aside a security guard. "We've heard stories of a non-Aurelian gladiator who's unbeatable. Do you know of him?" Mace was all business.
"Oh, you must mean The Flame! He's unbeatable, alright and definitely not Aurelian! He's way too strong and tall for that! In fact, you just missed him. He fought here this afternoon."
Mace and Qui-Gon looked at each other, their hope growing. "Do you know where he went from here?"
"Well, let me look at the roster. We keep a running list of scheduled participants in all the Games in this region." She went over to her desk and flipped through the list. "Nope, he isn't scheduled for any more Games this week. Sorry."
"Do you know where his owner lives?" Qui-Gon tried not to sound too eager.
"Nah, we don't keep track of that information here. Considering this whole industry isn't completely legal, the owners would never agree to us knowing their personal information."
Mace's face was it's usual neutral, but frustration could be seen in his eyes. "Thank you for your time."
As they walked towards the exit, Qui-Gon was rapidly losing his calm center. His breath started coming in pants. His hands curled up into fists. Mace gave him a sideways glance. "Calm down, Qui-Gon. This isn't over yet."
"We were so close! He was just here! Why couldn't we have gotten here just a little sooner!"
Mace put his hand on Qui-Gon's shoulder. "I'm just as frustrated as you, Qui-Gon. But we can't lose our calm or our focus. I suggest we start questioning everyone we can about Obi-Wan's owner. Someone has to know something about her."
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Flyn and Krana met in the trees near the fountain. Krana knew very well that Zirta had listening devices throughout the employee areas. She trusted no one. They felt this was one place they could go to have a private conversation. Flyn glanced around them before talking. "Were you able to find out the location of the negotiations?"
"Yes, I was able to access her secret files. Jancy has found a way to send a message without it being recorded and sent to Zirta. We'll send a message to one of Zirta's aides at that location after Zirta goes to bed. We'll try to convince her that we're calling on behalf of Zirta and want to be put in contact with the Jedi immediately."
"Good. The Jedi need to be informed of how many guards and employees they'll be facing if they try to storm this place. Find out when they plan to come so I know when to deactivate the electricity in the outer wall."
Krana nodded. "Well, let's hope this works!"
"You two be careful, but get in contact with the Jedi!"
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Obi-Wan got up from the dinner table and started to head out the door. Zirta quickly got up to follow him. "Where are you going?"
Obi-Wan barely even slowed down. "For a walk. I need some air." That house was becoming a prison to him. He just felt the need to get out of there for a while. The compound was pretty quiet. It seemed everyone was already in for the night. He walked around the entire compound and stopped at the place with the fountain.
Obi-Wan sat down on a picnic table, resting his feet on the bench. He liked this place because it was nestled in some trees. It at least gave him the illusion of privacy. His head turned as he heard a twig snap somewhere to his left. He then saw one of Zirta's employees coming towards him with a feral smile. She was one of the women gawking at him in the exercise room the other day. Obi-Wan casually watched her as she got closer.
"So, I finally get to meet you in person. Since the Boss keeps you under lock and key so much of the time, this is a rare opportunity. In fact, I've been waiting for this opportunity since I first saw you in the exercise room." She looked Obi-Wan over slowly. "Stand up."
Obi-Wan did as she said. Why shouldn't he? He just didn't care anymore. He stood there and held her gaze as she moved her hands up his arms and down his chest. "Just so you know, if Zirta catches you, she'll kill you," he said calmly.
The woman moved her hands down his stomach. "I'll take my chances." She circled her arms around him and pulled him into a kiss. She moved her hands down his back and then down underneath the waistband of his leggings. Her hands came back out as she ended the kiss. She quickly pulled at his drawstrings.
"What do you think you're doing?" Zirta's outraged voice rang out. She stood there aiming a small blaster at the other woman's chest.
"Oh, Boss! Come on, I was just having some fun! I mean, we all want a taste of him!"
"He is MINE!" Zirta's voice was shrill with rage. "I told all you to keep your hands off of him!
Obi-Wan quickly retied his drawstrings and stood in between the woman and Zirta. Always when he thought he didn't care anymore, something happened to prove he did. "Don't."
An icy coldness entered Zirta's eyes. "Get out of my way," she said dangerously.
"No. You won't kill me." He backed up closer to the woman behind him, ready to guard her. "Let her go. She won't bother me again."
The other woman piped up. "Yeah, Boss, I promise! I won't even look at him again!"
Zirta was panting. Her rage was obviously still boiling. Finally, she lowered her hand. "I suggest that you relate this experience to your fellow employees. The next woman who tries to touch MY Obi-Wan dies!"
The woman ran towards the entrance to the employee building. Obi-Wan gave Zirta a disgusted look before heading back to the house. Zirta stayed back, her body quaking with rage. She tried to calm herself down.
Thoughts swam in Obi-Wan's head. He went upstairs and into his old room. What else would Zirta be capable of in order to keep him in her grasp? He felt that his own brittle self-restraint was ready to snap. He was sick and tired of being seen as nothing but an object – a plaything merely for pleasure or for making a profit. He was quickly growing tired of being controlled.
Zirta strode in a few minutes later. She was obviously still angry. "Why are you in here? This isn't your room anymore!" She pointed out into the hall. "Go into OUR room!"
Obi-Wan stalked out of the room and into Zirta's. He was quickly getting to the breaking point with this woman. He worked to keep his temper in check. He wasn't quite sure what he'd be capable of if she kept this up, but he knew it wouldn't be pretty.
Zirta angrily walked up to Obi-Wan. "Why did you let her touch you?"
"As you keep reminding me, I am a slave. Who am I to say no to one of your employees?"
Zirta slapped him across the face. Obi-Wan grabbed her arm and pulled her roughly towards him. His eyes were hard and cold. "You will never do that to me again."
Fear entered Zirta's eyes because she knew he meant it. She had no doubt that he could kill her right now with his bare hands if he allowed himself to. But Obi-Wan was intelligent. He had to know that he and the other slaves wouldn't live long if he ever did anything to her.
Obi-Wan finally released her arm and turned away. "What do you want from me? My very soul?"
Zirta was rubbing her arm where he'd held her. She could tell that there would be bruises there soon. "When I touch you…When we're together, you're so robotic. I want some… reciprocation."
Obi-Wan slowly turned around. His eyes had gone from cold stone to burning flame. "Reciprocation? You want RECIPROCATION?" He walked towards her looking like a volcano about to erupt. She started to back up. "Alright, ZIRTA, if that's what you want, so be it!" Obi-Wan threw her onto the bed. He got onto the bed and straddled her, holding her arms down as he got down into her face. "Just so we're clear on this, I'M in control tonight, not you!"
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Obi-Wan lay in the bed next to Zirta unable to sleep. He moved her arm off of him with disgust and got out of bed. He slipped on his leggings and went out onto the balcony. Obi-Wan sat down in the chair, propped his feet up and looked up into the sky. It was a clear night with many bright, twinkling stars. He used to be able to draw comfort from such a sight. Now he felt nothing.
Obi-Wan had to wonder what he was becoming. He looked back on what he'd done just a few hours before and couldn't believe it. He never would have thought himself capable of such behavior. His temper, frustration and humiliation had definitely gotten the best of him. Am I becoming a monster just like Zirta? He felt empty, devoid of purpose. The missing presence of the Force was a gaping black hole. There was nothing, nothing!
Obi-Wan knew that he was dying inside, slowly but surely. Would he be forever and irreparably changed by the time his master could rescue him? Obi-Wan started to question himself about everything. Was he doing enough? But without the Force, what could he possibly do in this fortress? Were the lives of twenty-one worth saving, even if it meant one hundred would die? Should he fight back more? But how much more would Zirta tolerate before she made good on her threat? Would the slaves who would die think his rebellion worth it? Obi-Wan felt like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. Oh, Master, please hurry!
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It was the middle of the night, and Mace and Qui-Gon were still hard at work. They had questioned everyone they could about Obi-Wan's owner. One woman had even remembered her name – Flyn. The woman remembered Flyn being a gladiator trainer. That made sense, since the real owner would not what her identity revealed. Other people had seen her transport taking her and Obi-Wan across the sea to the southern continent.
With that news in hand, Mace had called his well-paid informers to focus on getting information on the officials from the southern continent. As Mace and Qui-Gon readied their transport to head for the southern continent, Mace's comlink beeped. "This is Windu."
A husky woman's voice came through. "I found some interesting things for you. First of all, there is a woman in this area who is known to have a great many gladiators. There are even rumors about a large training compound somewhere. The frustrating thing is, no one seems to know her identity – they just know OF her. But they say she's always on the lookout for new blood. I also checked some things on Prime Minister Zirta. She has a lot of holdings, though nothing that can really be checked further back than a few years. She has corporate ownership on top of corporate ownership, to the point where it's hard to trace what she actually owns. It does seem she has considerable wealth, but that also is spread out and hard to find. I was able to dig a bit into her personal assets, but I didn't find all that much out of the ordinary. She did buy a large piece of land several years ago. It wasn't valuable land, but it seems she still holds it."
Mace glanced at Qui-Gon. "Can you give us the location of that land?"
"I can probably did that up for you. But it will cost you extra."
"Do it." Mace closed the communication. "This Zirta sounds like someone who is good at covering her tracks."
Qui-Gon nodded. "Indeed. Why take such pains to cover your tracks if you have nothing to hide?"
Mace hopped into their transport. "Let's head over to the southern continent. Hopefully she'll contact us with the location of that land soon."
As they headed over the sea, Qui-Gon's comlink beeped. "Jinn here."
A tentative voice asked, "Are you Obi-Wan's master?"
Qui-Gon flew forward in the seat. "Yes! Do you know where he is?"
"Yes. He's here at Zirta's training compound. There are a few of us here who want to help him escape. But this place is highly fortified. Do you have people who can help you?"
Qui-Gon muted the comlink. "I'm sure Lahrna would be willing to help. She'll probably lend us her security forces." At Mace's nod, Qui-Gon opened the comlink again. "Yes, we have people who can help us."
A sigh of relief came through. "Good. We've got about seventy-five employees and guards here. The outer wall is electrified, but we will see to it that it's deactivated when you arrive. There are always eight guards with their pikas, which is a very vicious animal, on duty at any given time. There are cameras all over the place. Blast, I forgot about those! We'll have to try and deactivate those as well. I'm currently sending you the location of the compound."
Qui-Gon waited a moment. "Got it. Okay, it's 0320 standard hours. Plan for our arrival at 0630 hours." He paused. "How is Obi-Wan?"
The woman hesitated. "Physically he's fine. He's being kept in the main house. You'll know it when you see it. I need to go. Best of luck, Jedi!"
Qui-Gon shot Mace a worried look. "You heard her hesitation."
Mace's face was resolute. "He'll be back with us in just a few hours. We'll do all we can to help him through this."
Qui-Gon nodded. "I'm going to call Lahrna."
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Flyn quietly walked up to the doorway of the camera monitoring station. There was only one very obviously bored woman working. Flyn aimed her dart gun and shot the woman in the neck. Almost instantly she fell to the floor. She put the woman into the storage closet and locked it. Just to be sure, she went over to the main switch and turned off the cameras.
Flyn then made her way to the maintenance room. She deactivated the auto alarm and then turned off the main power switch to the outer wall. Okay, we're all set on this end. Let's hope the Jedi have things ready on their end.
