Chapter Nine
Qui-Gon sat in a meditative position in his living area for most of the night. Finally giving up on finding his calm center, he slowly stretched his stiff limbs and stood up. He decided to make some tea before he resumed searching for Obi-Wan again. The chances that he would ever find his Padawan again were not good, but he just couldn't give up on the lad. He knew he would spend the rest of his life searching for him if he had to.
The sound of his door chime interrupted his thoughts. With a sigh, Qui-Gon abandoned his half prepared tea and tapped a button on the door control panel. The doors slid open with a hiss.
Master Mace Windu stood on the other side of the entrance with a warm smile, "Good morning," the dark skinned Master said, opening the conversation. Qui-Gon could only wonder if the other man was in a good mood or just trying to cheer him up. Either way it disgusted the Jedi Master
"That is a matter of opinion," Qui-Gon grumbled and stepped aside to allow the Council Member enter his apartment.
"Qui-Gon, I'm glad you're dressed because we must leave now," Mace told him, the smile he seemed unable to hide still covering his face.
"Mace," Qui-Gon groused, "I'm going to look for my Padawan as soon as I finish my tea." He did not want to participate in whatever scheme his friend had devised to cheer him up. Obi-Wan was out there somewhere possibly in trouble. He needed to find the boy
"Really! I'm going to bring him back. I thought you might want to join me," Mace replied, his brown eyes locked on Qui-Gon's sapphire eyes.
"Do you know where he is?"
"Knight Monoly's friend Dexter Jettster, who owns a small diner in CoCo Town, contacted him last night. He said that a boy came into his restaurant looking for work. He used the name Ben Kenobi and Dexter said that he wore Jedi clothes. He also has a Padawan style braid behind his right ear."
Qui-Gon's heart began to race. Could they have really found him? Who else would use the name Ben Kenobi? "Where is he now?"
"He's still there. Dexter apparently decided to help the boy by hiring him. He let Obi-Wan stay with him to keep him off the Coruscant streets. He told Monoly to have someone meet him at the diner at the ninth hour. Dexter said that Obi-Wan would be there cleaning dishes. He'll send the boy to the dining area for a break when we get there."
"What are we waiting for? Let's go," Qui-Gon replied as he started for the door.
Obi-Wan watched Dex as he prepared some strange looking food that he had never seen before for first meal. The diner had only a few customers in the morning. The second and last meals were normally the busiest. The regular patrons seemed to enjoy Dex's cooking.
Obi-Wan put the last plate in the drying unit and looked up at his boss. Before he could say anything Dex spoke.
"Ben, why don't you take a break? Hil will bring you a glass of Jawa juice," Dex told him continuing to stir the food that was beginning to sizzle on the grill.
Obi-Wan nodded, switched off the water, and put his hands underneath the drying unit. He thought that a break would be good. Hillish had told him that he would need to rest whenever he could because once the diner got busy it might be awhile before he got a chance to take another break.
After drying his hands, Obi-Wan walked into the dining area. The lad sat down at a booth at the far side of the diner. He began to look around the dining area as Hillish walked toward him with a glass of Jawa juice on the tray that she held in her arms.
"Here is your juice, Ben," Hillish informed him as she sat the glass on the tabletop.
"Thank you Hil."
A movement from a booth few meters away caught his attention. Obi-Wan's heart seemed to skip a beat as he looked at the two men who had just stood up. They both looked directly at him.
"Ben, are you ill?" Hillish questioned.
Obi-Wan quickly stood up and hurried into the kitchen, leaving the server's question unanswered. He nearly ran into the droid waitress WA-7 as she exited the kitchen carrying the tray of the food that Dex had prepared.
"Obi-Wan wait," Qui-Gon called to him as he entered the kitchen.
"Dex, what's going on? You knew they were here didn't you?" Obi-Wan demanded.
"Who's here? Do we have more customers?"
"Ben," Hillish began as she stepped into the kitchen. "What's going on? Are you in some type of trouble?"
Obi-Wan looked at Hil and then back at Dex, before he started to walk toward the back exit.
"Ben stop! You can't outrun the Jedi. Where do you think you're going to go?"
Obi-Wan stopped, turned around, and glared at Dexter. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed movement near the sinks. An operational droid that he had never seen before hovered in front of the sink cleaning the soiled dishes at a much faster pace than he had. "You lied, the droid is operational," he said looking directly at Dexter. The door to the kitchen slid open again and Qui-Gon entered with Mace Windu.
"Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon spoke again. The Jedi's deep voice reverberated off the walls of the small kitchen demanding attention.
"Leave me alone. I'm not a Jedi," Obi-Wan took a step backward toward the door.
"You're not a dishwasher either Obi-Wan," Mace spoke for the first time.
Obi-Wan looked at Mace and then Qui-Gon. He did not know what to say or do. The boy had realized that leaving the Temple was a bad idea, but how could he go back now after what he did?
"I think you are a Jedi," Qui-Gon took another step closer to the teenager. "I know one day you will be a great Jedi Knight."
Obi-Wan shook his head and glanced at Dexter as if hoping the Besalisk could tell him what to do.
"Obi-Wan," Mace began, "Sit down and talk to us about this. If you don't want to be a Jedi we can find another suitable place for you to stay rather than cleaning dishes."
"Obi-wan," Dex said using the youngster's real name for the first time. "Listen to what they have to say boy. They're Jedi. They will not force you to do anything you don't want to do...unless you are a criminal of course," he chuckled.
Obi-Wan felt defeated. If he ran, the Jedi would easily catch him. The planet was unfamiliar and he did not know any places to hide the way he had on Luzick. Reluctantly he nodded his head and turned to walk toward the dining area once again. Hillish followed Qui-Gon and Mace out of the kitchen keeping an eye on the two Jedi like a mother protecting her young.
Obi-Wan returned to the booth where he had sat at earlier. Mace and Qui-Gon joined him, sitting on the opposite side of the booth.
"How are you?" Qui-Gon asked, watching as Obi-Wan quickly took a sip of the Jawa juice that the waitress had brought him.
"Fine," the boy said as he crumpled the fabric of his tunic pants. The material becoming more wrinkled with each movement of his hand.
"Have you been eating regularly?" Qui-Gon asked.
"Yes, Dex is a very good cook. He makes sure that all of his breathing employees are well fed," the boy replied still looking at the soiled material of his pants.
"There are a lot of people who are worried about you," Mace stated.
"I'm sorry," Obi-Wan spoke quietly.
"Why did you leave?" Qui-Gon asked.
"I...I just couldn't stay. I don't belong with the Jedi," Obi-Wan said his voice was tight with tension. He had not expected to see Qui-Gon Jinn again.
"But you are a Jedi. You came to the Temple as an infant and the Jedi raised you," the longhaired Master assured him.
"I don't remember being a Jedi though," Obi-Wan finally lifted his head to look at Qui-Gon. "How can I be your Padawan? What if we're in the middle of a dangerous mission and you get hurt because I didn't remember something? An innocent person could be injured because of me. I can't take that risk. Maybe you can take me to the Orphanage or something," the lad once again lowered his gaze.
Qui-Gon stared at the boy. He did not know how to answer him. He was certain that the boy was meant to be his Padawan. However, the child's words were true. It would not be good for Obi-Wan to forget things in the middle of a mission. He now realized that the Council's decision to send Obi-Wan away to an orphanage was the correct thing to do after all. Perhaps he was being selfish in his determination to train the boy. Perhaps Yoda was right and because he left the order, he had destroyed Obi-Wan Kenobi's chances of being a Jedi Knight. The least he could do now was let the young man go. This was a hard decision, but it would give Obi-Wan a chance at a normal life. A life he never would have had as a Jedi.
"There is another option," Mace spoke quietly interrupting the silence that had filled the space between the three of them. Both Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon looked at the Council member with surprised eyes. "We could send you to the Agricultural Corps. If you have any problems with controlling your abilities with the Force, there will be other Force sensitive beings nearby who could help. You seemed to enjoy the gardens at the Temple, so working in larger gardens might interest you."
"Well it would be better than cleaning dishes," Obi-Wan smiled. It was the first time the boy had smiled since Qui-Gon saw him exit the kitchen.
"I'm sure it would," Mace nodded. The overhead lighting gleamed on his baldhead. "And if you regain your memory, one of the workers in charge can contact the Council and let us know."
Qui-Gon knew that if he was nearby he would stop by wherever they sent Obi-Wan to make sure that the boy was ok. Perhaps he could determine if the boy had started to remember anything during his visit.
"Good," Mace said when Qui-Gon did not voice any complaints about the suggestion. "I'll contact Agri-Corps as soon as we return to the Temple. A transport should be ready to take you there in about two days. That should give you time to say goodbye to your friends this time."
"Thank you Sir," Obi-Wan said feeling relieved. He wanted to say goodbye and thank Dexter for his help.
Mace slowly began to stand up, "I think we should go."
"Master Windu," Obi-Wan spoke tentatively. "Before we go back to the Temple can I please speak with Dex? I promise I won't try to run away."
Mace glanced up at Qui-Gon who nodded his head. "Of course Obi-Wan, we're all very glad that he took care of you for us."
Obi-Wan's head bobbed up and down slightly with a nod. Qui-Gon watched him walk back into the kitchen. He contemplated the difficulty he would face when he had to say goodbye to the boy that should have been his Padawan.
Obi-Wan walked slowly into the kitchen. He did not know exactly what to say to Dex, but he felt he had to say something.
Dex was busily preparing another strange breakfast dish while the dish cleaning droid quickly cleaned the dishes and wiped the counters with its multiple arms.
"Dex," Obi-Wan spoke after a moment's hesitation. His voice was barely louder than a whisper. "I just wanted to thank you for letting me work here and giving me a place to stay."
"It was nothing Obi-Wan," Dexter looked at him. "Someone once gave me a chance a long time ago. I was constantly in trouble and if it was not for him, I wouldn't be here today. I owe you Jedi a lot. You must always remember that everyone needs a chance sometimes. Of course whether or not they accept the opportunity to change their lives is up to them."
Obi-Wan nodded and glanced at the dish cleaning droid as it began to place dishes into the drying unit. He knew that despite knowing Dex only for a short time that he considered the Besalisk a friend and would miss him and his cooking. "The cleaning droid was never broken, was it?"
"No. The droid is in perfect working condition," Dex admitted.
"Thank you again for helping me. You will always be my friend," Obi-Wan took a step closer to Dex.
The Besalisk pulled him into a tight hug and patted the boy's back lightly with all four of his appendages. "Come back and visit anytime, Obi-Wan. There will always be a glass of Jawa juice waiting for you here. If you ever need another place to stay you are welcome to my spare room anytime."
"I'll try to visit you, Dex. I would really like that," Obi-Wan grinned. His arms only reached the sides of the large being, but the boy returned the hug nonetheless.
"Me too," Dex said as they slowly separated.
"Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon said from the entrance to the kitchen, "We need to return to the Temple. Mr. Jettster, thank you for watching over Obi-Wan for us."
"He's a good kid," Dex nodded.
To be continued...