Chapter Eight
Qui-Gon glanced back at Mace and Adi. The boy lying on the table shared Obi- Wan's hair color and size but the battered lifeless body had fuller lips and a chubbier face than his Padawan. Qui-Gon released the breath that he realized he was holding. "It's not Obi-Wan." Relief flooded through him. However, he was saddened that the family and friends of the boy would feel the same anxiety and loss that he had.
"We'll find him Qui-Gon." The warmth of Mace's hand on his shoulder assured him that he would not give up on the lad. The longhaired Jedi turned around to stare at Mace briefly and nodded before he walked away.
The air in the morgue suddenly seemed very thin. He needed fresh air. Outside the large medical facilities, Qui-Gon took a deep breath. Coruscant's air was not much better than that of the morgue because of smog and pollutants from the factories. But it was what Qui-Gon needed now. He relied on Mace and Adi to inform the clerk in the Morgue that the boy was not Obi-Wan.
A medical transport stopped suddenly out side the medical facility doors. Qui-Gon could not help but take a good look at the patient to make certain it was not his Padawan. An unconscious woman was taken into the medical center on a hover bed. He knew Obi-Wan was not lying in the morgue and his hopes rose again that he would get an opportunity to find him. A determination to make up for all that had gone wrong in the boy's life filled his body with urgency.
"Ben," Dex said. He untied the straps of his apron and tossed it into the laundry chute. "Flo and the other droids will clean the rest of the dishes. You can go home now."
"Home," Obi-Wan thought and nodded his head as he turned off the water. He had not given any thought to where he would sleep. The only gardens that he had seen since Qui-Gon had brought him to Coruscant were at the Jedi Temple. He would not go there.
"Do you have a place to stay Ben?" Dex switched off the cooking elements and looked over his shoulder at the youngster.
Obi-Wan didn't know what to say. He didn't have any place to stay, but he also didn't know what Dex would do about it. Could he try to contact the orphanage that Qui-Gon had told him about? After careful consideration he lied, "Yes sir."
Dex studied his face and Obi-Wan felt as if the man could see right through him. "Where?"
"Where what?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Where are you staying? I'll give you a ride in my speeder."
"It's not far from here," he replied, "I can walk."
"Ben, if you want to continue to work here don't lie to me. This is Coco town. The residential area is a far walk from here. If you need a place to stay for a while I can help you, but you must tell me the truth."
"I don't have anywhere to stay sir, I'm sorry," Obi-Wan answered, looking down at his feet, hoping Dex would not be angry with him.
"Where were you planning on going," Dex questioned.
"I don't' know. I was hoping that while walking, I would find a bench to sleep on. On the planet Luzick, I used to sleep in the gardens. I haven't seen any gardens here though," he said.
Dex laughed, "There are no gardens on Coruscant. Not unless you go to the Jedi. Perhaps there are other buildings with gardens, but I don't know where. And as for sleeping on a bench, you're not on Luzick. The streets of Coruscant are not a good place for naps especially during nightfall."
Obi-Wan looked at Dex as the Besalisk washed the grease off all four of his large hands. The man would most likely contact the security forces or the Jedi Temple. It was a mistake to tell him.
"Ben," Dexter sighed, "I have an extra room in my apartment if you want to stay with me. It's not very big and you can't stay there for too long, but you'll have a roof over your head. It's much safer than roaming the streets."
Obi-Wan could not stop the surprised expression from crossing his face at the Besalisk's words. "Thank you sir," Obi-Wan grinned. And then he wondered how safe it was to stay with a man that he just met. Like Qui-Gon Jinn, he somehow knew that he could trust Dexter. Perhaps the Force, which Qui-Gon and the other Jedi constantly talked about, helped to him to understand and accept this knowledge.
"My speeder is parked out back. Go get in it and wait for me, I'll be there in a minute," Dex instructed.
Obi-Wan nodded and went out the back door without any further conversation.
The doors slid shut behind the boy and Dexter activated the dish cleaning droid that leaned against the corner of the back wall. The droid immediately came to life. This was the same droid that he had told Obi-Wan was broken.
"Dee," Dexter spoke to the droid. "There are dishes for you to wash."
"Why do you allow that poor boy to clean the dishes while DC-25 is operating at top capacity?" Hilish the human waitress questioned as she opened a cabinet and removed her jacket.
"I know what I'm doing. It's no concern of yours Hil. I'll see you tomorrow night." Dex abruptly turned and walked toward the rear exit where Obi-Wan had just disappeared.
Dex's apartment was not much larger than Qui-Gon's quarters at the Temple. It was decorated with various trinkets that Obi-Wan had never seen before. The living area was furnished with a couch and two large comfortable looking chairs. A large desk with data pads scattered on top of it sat along the far wall and a large hover chair rested in front of the desk. The small kitchen was located on the left side of the room. Obi-Wan suspected that a man like Dex who cooked every day would have a large kitchen in his home.
"Ben," Dex began. "You can sleep in guest bedroom. It's down the hall to your right. It's the last door on the left. The bathroom is the first door on the left. Please sit down and make yourself comfortable. I need to speak with you." He waved his hand toward the couch and chairs in the living area.
Obi-Wan looked at Dex unsure what he should do or say. He did not know what the Besalisk wanted to talk about but he didn't think that it was good. He decided that he should not refuse to sit down on the couch.
"Would you like some tea? I heard that the Jedi drink tea quite often."
"No thank you," Obi-Wan replied. He began to fiddle with the sleeves of his tunic as Dex sat on the chair closest to the doorway.
"I need to know why you left the Jedi Temple."
Obi-Wan looked at Dex, wondering how to answer. Should he tell him the truth?
"Ben," Dex sighed when the youngster did not answer right away. "I need to know if you did something wrong. I don't need any trouble connected with hiding a criminal."
"I didn't do anything wrong... I don't think."
"You don't think?"
"I lost my memory," he said. Obi-Wan then told the Besalisk about the events that had occurred since he met Qui-Gon Jinn.
"Why did you leave? A Jedi's life sounds better than the life of a dishwasher. If you did fail the test, you would have gone to stay with a nice family who would take care of you. You wouldn't need to work."
"But what if I passed the tests? I knew how to do forms and katas but I don't know how I know."
"But?" Dexter prompted when Obi-Wan did not continue immediately.
"But what if I was on a mission with Qui-Gon and I forgot something that might cause him to get hurt or worse?"
"Well," Dex sighed again. "That's reason enough to throw away a potential future. A good future I suspect."
"Garen said that Qui-Gon is one of the greatest of the Jedi Masters. I didn't want to disappoint him. He asked me to be his Padawan. If I failed the test and was sent away it would have upset him."
"Yes I'm sure it would have. Do you think he's any less upset now? If he cares about you as much as I think he does, he's searching for you right now. And he is probably very worried."
Obi-Wan looked into the Besalisk's eyes. He had not thought about it that way, but he could not go back now; it was too late. Dex was right. It looked like he had made a very bad choice and now he had to live with it. "Qui-Gon is better off without me," Obi-Wan mumbled.
Dex nodded. "You better go and get some rest. You have more dishes to clean tomorrow."
"Yes sir," Obi-Wan replied. He walked down the wide hallway and opened the door to the second room on the left. The room was bare except for a large sleep couch, a large dresser, a closet, and an end table beside the sleep couch. Obi-Wan was painfully aware that he had no clothes to fill the closet or the dresser.
He had nothing but the clothes that he currently wore. They were the clothes of Obi-Wan Kenobi and he had no memory of previously wearing them. He could not wait until he could buy some clothes of his own. Perhaps he would be more comfortable wearing civilian clothing.
Obi-Wan removed his boots and outer tunic. Carefully he placed the boots neatly underneath the end table. He efficiently folded the outer tunic and placed it on top of the small table before he lay down on the sleep couch. Within minutes his exhaustion got the better of him and he drifted into a restful and much needed slumber.
Qui-Gon Jinn lay on his sleep couch, his thoughts centered on Obi-Wan. He could not sleep. He was relieved that the boy in the morgue was not Obi- Wan, but the lad could have gotten himself into worse trouble. Coruscant was not the safest place for youngsters without an adult companion. Some of the lower levels were not even safe for adults.
Qui-Gon could not help but wonder if he would ever find the youngster again. Security personnel and Jedi had already most of the hangars within walking distance from the Temple and even some further away. Other security officers were questioned, but none had seen a young Padawan by himself or a boy matching his description. The Master was afraid that the boy had masked his presence and snuck aboard a ship unnoticed by security. Obi-Wan could be anywhere in the galaxy by now.
"Grave consequences to Initiate Kenobi..." Yoda's words once again ran through his mind. If something happened to the young teen, he would never forgive himself. Yoda was right. He should not have turned his back on the Order.
Bant stared at the ships that filled Coruscant's night skies. Garen and Reeft stood on either side of her leaning against the railing of the balcony outside The Room of A Thousand Fountains. "I can't believe that we just found him and now he's gone again. I keep thinking that if I had been nicer to him, if I had been willing to believe he really was Obi-Wan maybe he wouldn't have left."
"Bant, that's not true. Master Mace said that Obi-Wan left because he felt he didn't belong. He felt like an outsider and didn't think he'd pass the tests." Reeft put a hand on his friend's shoulder.
"Master Qui-Gon will find him. He will not give up," Garen assured them.
"He could be anywhere by now," the young Mon Calamari argued wiping the tears from her eyes.
"Find Kenobi we will. Worry you should not. To sleep you must go," Master Yoda, said as he hobbled up to them, his gimmer stick thumping steadily on the tiles covering the balcony floor.
"Yes Master," Garen and Reeft simultaneously answered as the three friends turned to look at the small Master.
"But what if he doesn't come back? What if Master Qui-Gon cannot find him? If he is found, what will happen if he never regains his memory? It's almost as if he's still dead. He won't be the same."
"Initiates Garen and Reeft, speak with Initiate Eerin alone I will."
"Yes Master," they both answered and quickly left the balcony.
"Memory he lost, not his personality. With his friends help, surface remnants of his old self might." Before Yoda could say anything else, they were interrupted by the beeping sound of the Master's comlink.
"Yoda this is," he spoke into the small device he pulled from a pocket in his tunic.
"Master, Knight Monoly requests an immediate audience with the Council. He claims to have news of the missing Padawan," the voice of Docent Vant informed him.
"On my way I am," the small Master responded. He ended the transmission and turned to Bant. "Sleep you should. Unnecessary further discussion is."
Yoda hobbled away leaving Bant to stare after him wondering if someone had located her missing friend.
To be continued ...