Chapter Eleven: Obi-Wan's Plan

He hadn't slept well at all last night. The thought of Legolas being injured or worse had kept him awake, but Legolas's telepathic message had calmed him down by a fraction of an had slept like the dead, surprisingly enough, but he supposed she hadn't slept much over the last few days. Running from bounty hunters did make one tired, not that he was speaking from experience, of course. So, tired and worried, Obi-Wan made his way back to Mos Espa. Arella stayed on the ship with strict orders to stay there. He might need her later and he didn't want anything to happen to her, and he especially didn't want to lose her. Legolas would never forgive him if either of those things happened, and he wouldn't forgive himself either.

He entered Mos Espa about five minutes after leaving the ship, his stomach growling at him the whole time. And now that he thought on it, he really was rather hungry. He had plenty of money to get something to eat, but he quickly vetoed the idea. He might need all ninety-five wupiupi to free Legolas, and he couldn't afford to spend even a little. When he reached Toroo's shop, he found Legolas sitting outside, cleaning a few spare parts.

"Obi-wan? What are you doing here?" The elfling asked when he noticed the unkempt Jedi. "Kriff, you look tired." Obi-Wan smiled tiredly.

"I'm here to free you, obviously. And as for being tired, I actually slept rather well last night." Obi-Wan replied, the tired smile still on his face. Legolas gave Obi-Wan a look that clearly said he didn't believe the Jedi before setting the part in the small, clear, plastic bin next to him.

"So, how did you sleep?" Obi-Wan asked. Legolas picked up another part and began to clean it.

"Rather well, actually. Master Toroo woke us up at the crack of dawn and he didn't give us any breakfast. But a nice woman came by looking for a servant and she gave us each a pallie." He replied. "That prostitute came by, too. She asked master Toroo about me, but he refused to sell me to her. He called her a… well, I'm not sure what it meant, but it wasn't nice. After he called her that name he told her to leave and never come back." Obi-Wan looked a little sick.

"Did she leave?" He asked. Legolas could tell by the tone of Obi-Wan's voice that the Jedi was nervous.

"No." Legolas sighed. "Master Toroo told her that if she wanted to have me so badly, she could wait until the slave auction and buy me from him then." Obi-Wan swore he felt his heart skip a beat.

"Legolas, did he say when the auction is?" The Jedi asked. Legolas shrugged.

"No. Why?" He asked. Obi-Wan shook his head.

"No reason. Now, do not get into any trouble. I will get you out of here. My word as a Jedi." He replied.

"Obi-Wan, if you want to buy me, you're going to have to find a way to earn a lot of wupiupi in a possibly very short amount of time. I'm sure that slavers ask for a lot of money when it comes to slave auctions and the slave trade. And, Obi-Wan, be careful. Be kriffin' careful."

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Obi-Wan entered the shop, surprised at the absence of slaves. A young boy with a mop of messy black hair, tan skin and bright blue eyes looked up and smiled at him.

"Good day, stranger." He greeted. Obi-Wan smiled.

"Good day, young one. Can you tell me who's in charge here?" He asked.

"Me. At least, until my father gets back. How may I be of service?" The boy remarked cheerfully.

"Can you tell me when the slave auction is? My son's in need of rescuing and I think the auction is my only chance to get him out of here." Obi-Wan told him. A look of respect came over the boy's face.

"It's in eight weeks. And I reckon you don't have a job, but my dad's in need of an assistant. Pays eighty wupiupi a day, since this place is such a mess and the work's kind of hard." He told Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan did the math. It was probably the best offer he was going to get.

"Deal." He said.

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The suns were setting as Obi-Wan hurried towards Toroo's shop. Toroo raised an eyebrow when he saw him.

"I'd like a quick word with my son, if you don't mind." The jedi demanded before the Twi'Lek could say a word.

"There are no visiting hours, mister. The slave auction is in eight weeks, if you want him back that badly. Besides, he's already in trouble for offending Jabba's messenger this afternoon. And he hasn't quite learned his lesson just yet." Toroo retorted. Obi-Wan could feel no pain coming from Legolas, so he assumed the elfling was in one piece.

"I'm sure he meant no offense. Either way, I have a right to speak to him, since I'm his father." The Jedi replied. He was completely calm. At the moment, anyway. And he knew full well that that could change in a split second.

"And I'm his master. That makes me the higher authority, here." Obi-Wan quickly let go of his anger before replying.

"The only authority here is me. I am his father, and I demand to speak to him." Before the Twi'Lek could reply, the prostitute Obi-wan had had the misfortune to meet the previous night walked in.

"Kee chai chai cun kuta?" Toroo demanded harshly. The woman merely smiled seductively at Obi-wan, but the Jedi paid her no mind. "I told you to stay out."

"Easy, my fine friend. I come in peace." She told him as she reached out to caress Toroo's cheek. Toroo, however, grabbed her wrist and gripped it tightly.

"The business your kind does is never peaceful. Now, get out. I don't need any trouble here." He retorted. Obi-Wan stood off to the side, calmly watching their exchange but impatiently waiting for the woman to leave so he could talk Toroo into letting him see Legolas.

"It's only a job, Toroo. Besides, those little boys are awfully hard to resist." The woman laughed. Obi-Wan felt sick. If she got ahold of Legolas… well, it was just one more reason, if not the primary reason, to scrape up as much money as he could before eight weeks were up. He didn't even want to think about what the woman would do to his little friend. He hadn't lied when he had said Legolas was his son. Legolas was already becoming like a son to him, much like Anakin, who was back on Coruscant.

Obi-Wan was greatly relieved when the woman finally left after a short, somewhat heated argument with Toroo. It had been in Huttese, so he hadn't understood much of it, except for "es chu ta," so he got the gist of it. Toroo turned back to him as soon as the woman left and sighed.

"I don't have the patience to argue with you mister." He told Obi-Wan resignedly. He looked over his shoulder and shouted something in huttese before turning back to Obi-Wan. "Your son should be here in just a few moments." Obi-Wan smiled.

"Thank you very much. I appreciate it." The Jedi replied. And he really did appreciate it, and so much more than words could say.

"I hate that woman, you know. And she's so hard pressed to get her hands on your kid. I had two daughters, beautiful, kind. The best daughters there ever were. And Jabba took them away from me." Toroo told Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan nodded. He did understand, if only somewhat.

"I'm sorry for your loss." He replied quietly.

"I suppose it's my fault. Sold 'em myself." Toroo sighed. "Prostitutes like her remind me of what I've done." Before Obi-wan could reply, Legolas entered the shop. His hair was disheveled, bruises marred his pale face, and he looked hungry.

"Yes, master?" He asked in a weak voice. Toroo gestured at Obi-Wan and the elfling's eyes lit up when he saw the Jedi.

"You have two hours." The Twi'Lek told Legolas.

"Yes, master." Legolas replied. He grabbed Obi-Wan's hand and pulled him out of the shop. As soon as they were out of the shop, Obi-Wan picked Legolas up and they headed out to the ship.

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"It isn't going anywhere, Legolas."

"So?"

"So slow down, young one." The elfling grudgingly put his spoon down and swallowed the mouthful of soup. Arella smiled sleepily and patted her friend's back.

"You didn't have to sell your freedom to get mine back, you know. It wasn't the only choice you had." She whispered. Legolas shook his head.

"We had no money and nothing to trade. It was the only thing we could do. The only thing I could do. Don't look at me like that, Arella. This was my choice and I do not regret it." The elfling replied.

"I would regret doing something like that." Arella muttered. Legolas choked on his soup.

"Oh?" He gasped. "Do you think I want a slave chip shoved under my skin? Friends look after each other, and that's all I'm trying to do. I could have left you here under Toroo Thoorn's oppression if you had told me that's what you wanted."

"That's not what I meant." Arella retorted.

'Well, than what did you mean?" Legolas exclaimed. Obi-Wan lay a hand on Legolas's shoulder.

"That's enough, both of you. We're all tired, we're all stressed, I get that. Fighting amongst ourselves won't help, okay. We have to stick together. If our plan works, we'll be off-planet in eight weeks." The Jedi told them. The younglings nodded. Obi-Wan was right. Fighting never fixed anything. "Alright, Legolas, I should probably be getting you back to Toroo Thoorn." Legolas nodded and grudgingly stood.

"Bye Arella. Oh, where's Yeep?" He asked. Obi-Wan smiled.

"In a deep Force-induced sleep in the bunker." The Jedi replied. Legolas grinned.

"Good. What's your plan?" He replied.

"I found a good paying job, and I think I'm going to be able to rake up enough Wupiupi to get you out of here." Obi-Wan replied.

"And if you aren't able to rake up enough Wupiupi?" Arella asked.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Obi-Wan replied.

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Huttese Translations:

Kee chai chai cun kuta- What are you doing here?