Chapter 5: Bits and Pieces

"Anakin! What is this thing doing here? And while we're at it - what is it?" Jedi Knight, some would say 'Master', Obi-Wan Kenobi's voice rang with a tune mid-way between exasperation, pain and for a keen ear: despair. This was the third time this week he had stepped on…well…something when he was on his way from the couch or the bedroom to the 'fresher. And every time he did so, said 'something' appeared to be equipped with sharp edges or corners, which made the meeting between foot and 'thing' an unpleasant experience.

Two bright blue eyes in a round face peeked out from the padawan's bedroom.

"I believe," the young person said, "it's the tail of a model starship. Actually it is a AEG-77 Vigo."

Obi-Wan scrutinized the debris with a keen eye.

"I believe you're right, but that doesn't answer my second question: What is it doing here on the floor and where does it come from?"

"You've made it, Master!"

"I what?"

"You've made it," the young voice was more certain now, "don't you remember? When we came home…I mean, when we moved in here…that is, when I inherited your old bedroom you said that I could keep some of your old spaceship models."

Obi-Wan nodded thoughtfully. Actually he had offered Anakin to keep some of his own old models, being quite sure that they wouldn't really fit in in a Master's bedroom and somewhere, back in his mind - way back actually- a small insisting voice told him not to throw them away. After all he had spent many happy hours building them, sometimes while listening to his own Master's tales about space travels.

"I know I did that, but my assumption was that they should stay in your room, Anakin, not being spread out on the floor like this."

Anakin wouldn't be defeated so easily.

"If you were wearing your boots, it wouldn't hurt," he informed.

Obi-Wan sighed. Obviously this was going be another battle of wills with his young and quite headstrong Padawan.

"I shouldn't have to wear boots inside my own…our own…home. The floor should be barefoot safe at all times."

"Why?" Anakin demanded to know.

"You will realize why as soon as we start to go to missions," Obi-Wan explained. "Do you remember the marshland of Naboo? Where the Gungans live?"

Anakin nodded eagerly, hoping fervently that the mentioning of Naboo would lead to a tale that somehow involved Padmé. The hope was in vain.

"Well, that mission lasted only for a few days, but missions can be more long lasting…"

Obi-Wan's voice trailed off as his brain was lost in memories about a certain extended mission to Mandalore and several other planets.

"Master? Why do you get that weird expression in your face?"

His musings were mercilessly disturbed by his Padawan's voice.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just an old memory. What I was about to say was that missions may be long lasting and sometimes in uncomfortable places where we need to keep our boots on at any time. They are comfortable, but at home I like to have my feet get as much fresh air as possible.

Anakin scrunched his nose, and sniffed…

"Don't you even try that. I did go to the 'fresher this morning and I did not use only the sonic cleaner as someone else I know. My feet are perfectly clean, and besides I do wear socks."

This time it was Anakin's turn to object: "But Master, water is weird. That is something you drink. You don't waste it by soaking your body in it. And you said the sonic cleaner was a good substitute. You said so yourself…"

….

Obi-Wan's next encounter with Anakin's 'somethings' came three days later, when he actually had begun to believe the boy had understood that he should keep his belongings off the floor in the common room.

After consuming several mugs of silpa tea during a long evening where he tried to guide his Padawan through his assignments, he woke in the middle of the night and realized that the high consumption of tea just before bedtime as usual was not the best idea in the galaxy. He simply had to go to the 'fresher. Some bodily functions needed to be obeyed, jedi knight or not.

He never came that far.

Actually he came just two steps outside his bedroom, and thus just one step left to the 'fresher door, when a new 'something' caught up with him and pinched his right foot.

In pure astonishment he tumbled towards the opposite wall with a low 'thud'.

"Ow! What in the nine sith hells is that?"

He switched on the light with a slight movement of his hand. Right, frivolous use of the Force wasn't supposed to happen, but sometimes it could come in handy. As it did now.

The creature which had caused the pinch was definitely a mechanical 'something', but not like anything he had ever seen before. The body was oblong and less than a foot long, two rather large wheels was welded to it's rear part so it could clearly move quite freely, two smaller wheels could be seen in the front area - just below a pair of slightly scary claws which probably had given him the pinch.

He lifted up the small droid and scrutinized it further. It seemed to be made up from bits and pieces of…well…everything that could be found in a crate containing mechanical and electronic junk. Somehow the thing seemed to not like him because it clicked something that seemed most of all like a threat with it's small claws.

"Who, or rather what, are you?" he mused, "I have a pretty good idea where you come from, but where did he get the parts from?"

With a resolute movement identified the power switch on the belly of the droid and switched it off. A high pitched, rather annoyed, 'beep' was the last sound heard from the creature. Silently he brought it back to his room and stowed it away under his bed, hoping that it wasn't able to somehow switch the power back on by itself. He had already learned that his Padawan was a very skilled mechanics and had a feeling that the droid could have a couple of built in surprises.

The following night Obi-Wan stayed awake. Even though he preferred sleeping at night he was quite curious to find out where his Padawan got all the mechanical bits and pieces, so he intended to investigate just that.

A few minutes after midnight he heard a low hiss from the door to the padawan bedroom and the sound of two feet, obviously not wearing boots, shuffling over the floor. Then a new hiss from the entrance door.

The apartment was quiet.

Stealthily Obi-Wan left the apartment, shielding the best he could in the Force. He did not want Anakin to understand that he was being followed, at least not for the moment. Quietly he followed the Padawan down to the main level and then a couple of flights further down. Cautiously he peeked around a corner, just in time to see Anakin disappear into the laundry room.

"Oh!"

A sudden understanding struck him. The ventilation of the laundry room was probably going directly out into fresh air, or- as fresh as the city planet could make. A small boy like Anakin could probably sneak out quite easily from there, as long as he knew how to stop the rotating fans. He was sure a skilled mechanic like Anakin had figured out that days ago. As silent as he had arrived he turned around and chose a more conventional exit from the Temple. He'd had enough of climbing ventilation ducts as a Padawan… Doors were strongly preferred when he had an option.

His assumptions were right. As soon as he came out he descended a couple of flights just in time to see Anakin's small stature disappearing into a hooverlift going down.

Not good.

How would he know where Anakin decided to leave the lift? There were almost hundred levels before the actual planet surface was reached. Desperate times needed desperate measures and with a quick sprint he managed to open the doors to the shaft and jump down upon the roof of the hooverlift before it had descended to much.

Thank the Force, nothing broken. The moving compartment didn't even move too strongly when he landed.

Thirty some levels down the lift slowed down and stopped, and Anakin exited.

Fortunately nobody was waiting in line to take the lift to another destination so Obi-Wan managed to sneak out without being noticed. Again he was following in Anakin's wake. The boy was good, but this was a dangerous area. Carefully Obi-Wan checked that the lightsaber could be reached easily, just in case…

Then he saw it. A huge pile of junk was gathered in a square area, lit by some quite modest lights. He could see Anakin pulling a bag from inside his tunic and begin to pick pieces of junk from the pile, -pretty much like a maid shopping groceries on the market. He almost chuckled by the thought of how Anakin would react if he ever got to know that particular comparison.

From time to time he could see eyes glowing in the dark alleys around the square, but for some reason they, whoever or whatever they were, did not make any attempts to attack Anakin. Good for them.

Finally Anakin seemed to have filled his bag and he set off in the direction they had come from. Obi-Wan barely managed to disappear behind a corner to avoid being seen. He saw Anakin enter the hooverlift again, and cursed silently to himself. Jumping down upon a lift was one thing, jumping up was something quite different. He would have to find another lift and get back home as quick as possible. He really, really wanted to wait in the apartment when Anakin came back.

He barely managed it. He had snapped 'the thing' from under his bed and barely sat down in his favorite spot on the couch when the door opened quietly and Anakin entered, just as silently as when he left.

Obi-Wan rose and with a flicker of his hand he switched on the lights.

Qui-Gon would not have liked this. I'm getting used to frivolous use of the Force. This is the second time this week. I hope he would have understood that in this case it's a necessity.

"Welcome back home, Anakin," he said plainly.

The boy's eyes seemed for a moment to transform into two big blue marbles.

"Ma…ma…master….?"

"You are aware that you are supposed to sleep at night? Preferably in your own bed?"

"I…I….yes, Master," Anakin's voice trailed off.

"And I presume you are already familiar with this little fellow?"

He pulled 'the thing' from behind his back. Anakin lit up.

"Oh. One C - there you are. I thought you had lost your way and disappeared from the apartment," he said.

"One C?"

"Yes. That's his name. He's the first droid I've made here on Coruscant so I named him One C . C stands for cockroach. When he's moving he resembles one. I used to make droids back home, at least I made one, and Threepio was beginning to function very well when I left so I decided to make a new one here for a new Threepio would be too big to store. They would never allow me to make one of those."

"But why?"

Anakin looked stubbornly at his Master. "I like making things and One C can pick things from the floor and get things and do all kinds of useful stuff, at least when he doesn't steal my models or tools or other things and pull them out here. I have to fine-tune his navigation skills a bit. He was supposed to collect things, not spread them out."

Obi-Wan was not so easily diverged.

"Anakin," he said softly, "I followed you tonight."

"Oh…"

"You headed for a level some thirty below here to find whatever you've got in your bag. You were observed by at least a dozen of the regular inhabitants down there, and you were extremely lucky that they didn't attack you. Those levels can be dangerous."

"But they didn't attack," Anakin stated triumphantly.

"That doesn't matter. They could have. And I am not so certain that you would have won that fight."

"But you were there, Master. You could have defeated them with your 'saber. I'm sure you could."

"I might," Obi-Wan agreed, "but fighting is not what we aim for. You were an intruder to their area and if I had been forced to fight them to defend you, what could that have made me?"

Anakin swallowed.

"Right," Obi-Wan continued, "that would have made me a killer. It's a tough life down there and even though they would not have been right to attack you, you were the intruder disturbing them. They might want to defend themselves and what little they have left down there. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Anakin's big blue eyes seemed suspiciously wet for a moment.

"I…I think so, Master. They are somehow slaves down there. They don't have a master, but they are slaves of the life they're living because in reality they cannot chose to live anywhere else…"

"Yes, that's right. So I want you to promise that you won't go down there alone again. Not ever. Or at least not until you have become a Senior Padawan."

"I promise, Master. But where shall i get my bits and pieces from then? We don't have any money on our own so I cannot buy stuff, and I cannot really steal it from the hangars either," he sighed.

A small impish smile spread over the young Master's features: "I said 'alone', Padawan. And that's a promise I want you to keep, but if you ask your old Master to follow you on an excursion every now and then, preferably in full daylight, the answer may very well be 'yes'."