Obi-Wan sat cross-legged in his garden niche, journal in his lap. He sighed deeply as his thoughts tried to gel into something that would be fit for archiving. He closed his eyes for a moment and let the Force caress him. He tapped the stylus on the page and then continued to write.
Our meditation seemed endless, and when we finally parted I was astonished to discover that we only had a few hours before the day began. We walked back to the dormitories hand-in-hand and, when we parted to go our separate ways, she kissed me on the cheek.
So I'm sure you can understand my confusion when I walked into the cafeteria and saw Shaylynn sitting alone with Garen. She didn't even look up at me when I passed the table.
At least Garen said hi.
A rustle of leaves had Obi-Wan tensing and stuffing his journal into the folds of his robes. He relaxed as the familiar form of his Master stepped into the clearing. "Master! Is something wrong? Am I needed some place?"
"No, and yes, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon said with a warm smile. "A message came for you this morning. It seems Kaight wishes to meet up with you this afternoon."
"Kaight? The Twi'lek? But why?"
Qui-Gon shrugged. "No clue. I was hoping that your curiosity would prompt you to go so we could find out."
Obi-Wan laughed and his Master smiled. It was good to hear his Padawan laugh.
An hour later found Obi-Wan in the open-air market, located on a middle level of Coruscant's tiered landscape. He had no idea where Kaight was to meet him, as the message simply said the market. He was on guard for a trick of some type, knowing that the slavers from the night before might want to get revenge.
He paused at a stall selling jewellery and scanned the crowd casually. He picked nothing up in his periphery and he sighed inwardly. So far, nothing out of the ordinary had happened and Obi-Wan was about ready to leave. He mentally mapped an escape route and started on it slowly. He took four steps when the Force warned him, but before he could turn, someone jumped on his back and covered his eyes.
The spicy scent of perfume common among Twi'leks assailed his nostrils and warm breath tickled his ear.
"You weren't thinking of leaving, were you?" A sultry voice asked, a hint of amusement in the tone.
Obi-Wan turned as Kaight slid off his back. The two faced each other and Kaight dropped her gaze. "I mean, I wanted to thank you for saving my life last night. I was still kind of miffed and, well…" she spread her hands helplessly. "Forgive me?"
Obi-Wan smiled and chuckled. "I guess. And really, it was not a problem."
The two started off, re-tracing Obi-Wan's path through the market and occasionally bumping into each other playfully. Once the market had been traversed several times, the pair found their way to a small tapcaf for a late lunch.
As they sat sharing iced milk, Obi-Wan took a deep breath and blurted, "Kaight, did something bad happen to you because of the Jedi?"
A long pause followed and Obi-Wan opened his mouth to apologize. Kaight cut him off with a sigh and she put down her spoon.
"I don't have proof that it was the fault of the Jedi in charge, but I do know that things got worse after the Jedi got involved."
"What happened?"
"My family, along with other Twi'lek families, had moved from Ryloth to my home planet of Bestine to help expand business. For as long as I remember we lived in peace. When I became a young adult, some of the shadier folk took an interest in the Twi'lek children."
"They wanted to sell you as slaves to the highest bidder."
"Exactly. Our families entered into a bitter debate that quickly turned into a hostile war upon our people. The businesses they had poured their souls into were vandalised, robbed and even boycotted. Our families had to choose between our well-being and the prosperity they were slowly working to achieve."
"Let me guess. The Jedi were sent in to mediate and things went from bad to worse?"
Kaight nodded sadly and scraped off another spoonful of iced milk. "They sent four Jedi to mediate. It turns out that one was double-crossing us and secretly worked to discredit the others. The renegade Jedi also went so far as to help plan an attack that would aid the slavers into kidnapping us."
"I'm sorry, Kaight. I'm sorry it had to be like that. Not all Jedi are bad."
"But not all of them are good, either."
Obi-Wan caught Kaight's gaze and held it. Kaight was the first to look away.
"I managed to escape the slavers and found myself here on Coruscant. I've lived in relative peace and anonymity here. Until, of course, they caught up with me last night." She looked back up at Obi-Wan. "So again, I thank you for helping me."
Obi-Wan regarded his Twi'lek companion thoughtfully. "Kaight, would you accompany me to the Temple this evening? I'd like you to join my Master and I for dinner."
Kaight's eyes went wide. "I don't think…that is, I don't know…"
"I promise that I will do everything in my power to protect you."
"So, I guess the question is, do I trust you?"
Obi-Wan nodded. "Do you?"
Kaight gave the young Jedi an appraising look before nodding slowly. "Yes. I think I can."
Dinner was spectacular. Kaight and I helped Qui-Gon make a spicy roasted nerf by staying well out of his way and watching holo-vids. Desert was more iced milk, but that was fine. The company more than made up for the simplicity of the meal.
Afterwards, Kaight and I stayed up talking until well past midnight, which is when I escorted her home, just to be sure she was safe. She gave me a hug before disappearing into her apartment.
It's funny; I thought Shaylynn really liked me and that Kaight was less than thrilled with my existence. Now it seems that the tables have been turned…I'll have to talk with Garen and find out what happened at breakfast today. I'll also have to ask Master if girls are always this finicky.
