THEY ARE PRIMITIVES - Part 3
by ardavenport
"Master, I believe the woman is still armed," Obi-Wan spoke what he sensed from her through the Force as well as what he could simply see from her body language.
Qui-Gon replied with a small smile. "I am absolutely certain of it." He did not sound too concerned. Obi-Wan nodded; while the entire fortress had attacked them, he had not felt in any imminent peril. The Force all around him, moving in concert with his Master, he'd stayed in control of their part of the battle at all times. Among the blaster bolts and droids, they had fought off quite a few edged, thrown projectiles as well.
"She threw knives at us, Master, just solid metal. They're even less effective than blasters."
"She is not accustomed to the blaster, Obi-Wan. Remember, these are primitives, my young apprentice. They are not our objective."
"But they murdered the ambassadors–"
"The Ithnun claimed they were murdered. But we have not confirmed the circumstances of their deaths, nor is it our mission to judge," he admonished.
Obi-Wan lowered his blue eyes respectfully. "Yes, Master." Qui-Gon sighed. Their rescue mission had failed. It had probably failed even before they had arrived. The ambassadors sent to the primary moon of Plodnum were dead. Their only task now was to retreat and leave.
They both suddenly turned together. The woman had stood up.
"There are medical supplies in that cabinet." She pointed at a tall wood and metal cabinet of many compartments on the opposite wall. "I'm going to get something for my friend here." She did not wait for their permission. Qui-Gon nodded to Obi-Wan and he immediately strode over to the cabinet. The woman glared at Qui-Gon when she found her path blocked.
"We do carry some medical supplies. They are quite effective for injuries like that. If you wish, my apprentice will help you."
She sneered back. The top of her head barely reached the top of Obi-Wan's chin, but she did not tilt her head to look up at either of them. "I'm sure you know all about them. But I prefer to have some of our own tools anyway. Just in case your 'apprentice' isn't as able at 'helping' as you say." Qui-Gon gave Obi-Wan a tiny nod of approval and he answered it, silently acknowledging the unspoken language of gesture and Force sense between Master and Padawan.
Obi-Wan hastily leaned back when the woman swung an upper cabinet door open. A smile of satisfaction curled her lips before she turned and pulled out a black metal box emblazoned with blue symbols and a large clear plastic jug with a fairly universal symbol for 'water' on it's label. She turned and took them back to the man. Obi-Wan followed.
She cut away the arm of his blue and green striped shirt above the injury across the biceps of his upper arm with a utility cutter from the box. Obi-Wan kept his eye on the cutter in his side vision as he opened a pouch on his belt.
"This will help you clean the wound." He slid the end of the small, flat bag open. "You'll only need a little." The woman laid the cutter back down into the box very carefully.
"It's fine, Tras." The man smiled at the woman. He was older, with sandy graying hair, but his face was wrinkled in all the places that a smile would make it so; he smiled like he meant it. And the woman's hard expression softened. He turned his body so his wounded arm faced Obi-Wan. "Do your best," he encouraged.
Obi-Wan dabbed at it with a white antiseptic/anesthetic pad, first around the edges of the wound and then in the center where the fabric was burned into the man's upper arm. A clean, sweet aroma mixed with that of the burnt flesh. The man straightened with a look of amazement.
"It stopped hurting," he explained to his companion's worry. "I mean, it still stings, but it's...not anything like it was." Obi-Wan held his arm firmly.
"You shouldn't move it for another minute. Then we can clean the wound," Obi-Wan instructed and his patient nodded willingly. "Do you have any sterile cloths? To clean it with?"
Tras stared back at him and then down to the medical case. "Uh, yes." She looked down into it, her eyes passing over all the things that she could use to kill or disable this 'Obi-Wan' person with. But the other, larger one was too far away. She couldn't attack one without bringing the other one down on her; she would have to get them both at once. If she could. She brought up a packet of clean pads and some bandages and put them in Dani's free hand.
"I'm Dani Orliss," he introduced himself as Obi-Wan took a pad from him. "I'm Leader of the Rathinun Ruling Council, and, well, overall carrier of the flame around here." He spoke casually of the titles that made him the leader of millions. "And..." He looked down at his arm. "...We don't have anything like this. But, I guess you know all that. About us." Tras noticed that Obi-Wan didn't answer, but kept his eyes on the blackened wound as he cleaned it and the reddened skin around it. She wondered if he was allowed to speak to them. He looked to be a full adult, though a young one, his medium brown hair was short and stiff, with a long braid behind one ear tied with colored bands. And a caudal tail stuck straight out from the back of his head. Impractical as it was, the style was doubtless a symbol of his rank as an apprentice to the older one.
"...And I've got to tell you that we've been having a cartload of trouble just trying to contact those 'traders'. Well, that's the polite word for them. They're pirates, really. Otherwise we have to get everything from the Ithnun. And believe me, they never, ever let us forgot it. The Ithnun used to claim that they were lords of the whole universe, but that was a long time ago," Dani ended with touches of sadness and humor combined. Obi-Wan did not say anything as he finished cleaning the wound, but Tras could tell he was listening as Dani added, "The people here...they hardly have any chance at all to see that there's a whole galaxy out there. Worlds they've never even dreamed of." Dani was very good with people. And judging by this Obi-Wan's wordless response to Dani's chatter, it seemed that these Jedi were 'people' after all.
Tras took the soiled cloth and charred fabric and tossed them back into the box. She kept her head down and stayed silent. Talking, this was Dani Orliss's strength, his domain. He was the politician, the one with the personality. And good looks. And his very nice smile. Tras had long since worn out her younger woman's crush on him. He was far too married anyway and her Guardian's oaths forbade any intimate relations. But...after all this time, he still looked good. And he had thrown his own body between her and Obi-Wan's light sword. She knew that impulses like that spoke truth.
Obi-Wan sprinkled another powder on the wound now and covered it with a larger pad.
"We were responsible for the negotiators' deaths," Dani confessed and Obi-Wan paused in winding the bandage around his arm. "But it was an accident. You see...we...we wanted to bring them here. Show them that everything that the Lords-above-all Ithnun were telling them about their 'subjects' on these backward moons wasn't true. And that a lot of the things they were claiming about themselves was just a load of hoshlops peelings, too." Obi-Wan had finished wrapping the bandage but his hands remained on the closure as he listened. Dani had his complete attention. "But the Guardians we sent to...kidnap them...they used darts and...we didn't know the drug would kill them." Dani's own blue eyes met Obi-Wan's. "We didn't know," he finished sincerely. He looked down and moved his arm, testing it. "It feels good. Thank you."
Obi-Wan sat back and seemed to break that momentary connection between them. "It should heal in a few days. But there might be a scar."
"Days?!" Tras exclaimed.
"Might be a scar?" Dani looked down at his upper arm. "We really don't have anything like this."
"Obi-Wan."
The young man started and turned to his companion. It wasn't too loud, or too deep, but it was a strong, resonant voice, the voice of authority. He came over to them and Dani flashed him a winning smile. The tall man did not respond to either Dani or Obi-Wan. He crouched next to them, his long, dark robe massed about him on the floor. He picked up Dani's discarded coat.
"I don't think that will fit you," Dani told him. The corners of Obi-Wan's mouth twitched but the older Jedi seemed to have no sense of humor. He went through the inner pockets.
"This, " he said, holding up the jeweled emblem. "Was fixed to Ambassador Leorg's arm." Obi-Wan looked shocked. Orliss cringed. He had ordered the surgeons to remove it from the body. It was distinctive and decorative and they could show it to the Ithnun to prove that they held the negotiators without revealing that they were dead.
"We didn't defile the bodies," Orliss said quietly, his tone suddenly serious.
The Jedi sat stone-faced through his explanation about the emblem and the cremation rites they'd given to the negotiators. He put the emblem away in a side pouch on his belt, stood up to his full, enormous height and went back to the other side of the room. Obi-Wan followed.
"So, now it looks like we steal from the dead. We've made a wonderful impression on them." Tras noted as they watched the two of them together. "And you won't be able to get to that one so easily in any case," she finished, pointing at the taller, older one. She closed the metal box, opened the plastic water bottle, took a drink and passed it on to Dani. He started to reach for it with his wounded arm, then thought better of it and used the other.
"Hmph. Give me a little time." She shook her head and sat down next to him. He took a drink and set the bottle down between them. They sat with their backs against the wall, as the two Jedi went back to the big map. Time, Tras thought. Given enough time, could these two cut through the rock walls?
End Part 3