Chap 6
At the temple Master Windu had been told there was a call for him and as he waited, the young Padawan, was nervous, this was her first day in the communications room, and she stuttered into the microphone.
"What" Obi-wan Kenobi… Oh my…." she had been so excited, as they had been looking for Obi-wan for quite a while that she pressed the wrong button, and instead of transferring the call to Mace's comm, she cut him off.
Master Windu and Qui-Gon had just returned from OrulShai III searching for Obi-wan when the call came in. Master Windu grabbed the comm. unit off the Padawan and said Obi-wan, Obi-wan!"
The Padawan looked stunned and said "I'm sorry Master Windu I pressed the wrong button, I cut him off Sir"
Mace's face turned red, but Qui-Gon put his hand on his shoulder. "That's alright Padawan, however, if he calls again I want you to tell him to come back to the Temple," Qui-Gon said trying to calm both Mace and the Padawan down.
Mace released his frustration to the force and followed Qui-Gon. "Where are you going?" he asked.
"To replay the call, we do still record all incoming calls don't we?" he questioned Mace.
"Oh, yes, yes, we do"
Qui-Gon went to the consol and replayed the message. They both listened to the anguish in the boy's voice, and by listening to the message; they could hear the despair in every word he spoke. Qui-Gon played the message a couple of times and then he said to Mace "Listen to the background noise do not listen to Obi-wan's voice; they listened to the background noises, hearing a series of coughs, and the sound of an infant whimpering.
"It sounds like his brother is sick," Mace assumed.
"Yes and Obi-wan was calling for help, he doesn't know what to do for a sick child." Qui-Gon confirmed.
Mace's face went pale, and he sank into the chair, "We have to find him, where do we look," he remarked.
"Come we will speak with Yoda, maybe he can help us." Qui-Gon said.
They found Yoda waiting for them in the Council chambers, his meeting had just finished, and he had sensed Qui-Gon and Mace had returned he wanted a detailed report of their trip to OrulShai III.
"What news of young Obi-wan have you?" he asked.
"Master we have just come from the communications room, Obi-wan contacted the Temple, just a few minutes ago."
They told Master Yoda of the conversation Obi had with the Padawan on duty, and how they believed he was calling for help. Mace had kept Yoda informed of their search while they were on OrulShai III. Letting him know that the authorities had been searching for the two boys since their parents were killed, and that some one burned down their barn. Qui-Gon and Mace went to the homestead and found the grave of Obi-Wan's mother and signs that someone had ransacked the house. They stayed on OrulShai III looking for him; however, their search did not turn up either Obi-Wan or his young brother O'wan. Therefore, they returned to the Temple, and that is when they got Obi-wan's call.
"Possible is it, that here on Corruscant he is" Yoda seemed to believe this may be so.
"What makes you think he might be here?" Mace inquired.
"When lost and frightened, young humans are, feel safe in familiar surrounding they do. Studied the human species for many hundreds of years I have, Obi-wan thought of the Temple as his home, the only family he knew. Search Corruscant we should, check the local authorities, for any homeless youngsters." Yoda said.
"We should check the hospitals just in case Obi-wan might take his brother to one." Qui-Gon added.
Obi-wan arrived at the doors of the orphanage, he did not want to leave O'wan, yet he did not have a choice. He wrapped O'wan in the blanket, and knocked on the door, it opened, and standing there was the same woman he had seen the other night.
"Hello she said cheerily, can I help you young man," she asked.
"H-Hello I—I – my brother is sick, I think he has a cold or something, and I can't look after him anymore.Our mother died, and I am his only family, his name is O'wan, and I wrote you a note it is inside his blanket. Please take him, he's sick, and I don't know what to do" he shoved O'wan at her, she took the little boy, however, before she could say come inside to Obi-Wan, he ran off.
"Wait," she cried out "Come back" she called after him, but he kept running.
Obi-wan ran out of sight and then stopped to watch. She stood in the entrance for a moment, and then she took O'wan inside and closed the door. A small sense of relief came out of Obi-wan in a sigh and a big breath, but then he realised he was alone. The weight of his guilt was a heavy burden; he had abandoned his own brother. His relief turned to despair and he wandered into the Park, it was midday now and people were walking through the park eating their meal. He walked past the Gardeners shed at one end of the Park, which was near the public fresher block, just as the Gardener locked the shed and left. Obi-Wan watched him walk out of the Park, and Obi went behind the shed where it was quiet to sit and think.
Sitting against the fence, he could see a window right at the top of the shed, just under the roof; he wondered if the gardener had locked it. Obi used his force abilities and jumped up to the ledge, and he pushed the window. It moved slightly, he pushed it again and the old rusty catch broke. He opened the window and climbed in, it appeared he was in a loft, and it had a fine layer of dust over the floor. At one end was an old ladder going down to the bottom.
He could see all the Gardeners tools, hoses, and sprinklers, hanging on the wall. The mower and other equipment covered the floor. He looked at the ladder, and could see several of the rungs near the top were missing. No one had come up to the loft for a very long time, and Obi-Wan thought he could sleep here at night, and leave before the gardener arrived in the mornings. Obi jumped down to the floor, and rummaged through the cupboards to see if there was anything to use as a bed. There were three big boxes in the corner and in them were pieces of cloth, the gardener probably used them to clean his machinery. He pulled out some big pieces, and he found a big pile of sacks in the corner, he took a few sacks and stuffed the pieces of cloth in them to make a mattress, remembering what Gypsy had said about not taking too much from one place, so no one would miss them. Using the force, he jumped back up to the loft and laid his bed under the window.
Finally, he sat down on his bed and began to think of what he had just done to his brother. He felt lost and alone and now he had given his only brother away, and he cried. After a while, he dosed off and when he woke, the sun was going down. He knew Gypsy would be worried about where he was, so he twisted the latch on the window so it would appear locked. Then he climbed out closing it, and jumped to the ground. Gypsy was pacing the floor when he got back, she could tell the minute she saw him without O'wan that he had made his decision.
"You have given him to the Orphanage haven't you?" she asked.
"Yes" he replied.
She could tell he had been crying, so she pulled him into an embrace, which he gladly sunk into. "It will be alright Obi-Wan, he will be fine" she tried to convince him.
After a while, Obi-wan said. "Gypsy you don't have to worry about me anymore, I found a place to stay. That's were I have been just now, It is nice and it is near the park."
"Oh Obi, are you sure?" she inquired.
"Yes it is small but I have a bed and it is right by the window, it is big enough for me," he answered.
"That's good because I am leaving in the morning this is our last night together," she explained.
He smiled and snuggled in closer to her. "Thank you, for everything you did for us, I will never forget you"
"Look after yourself Obi-Wan, and I am sorry I cannot help you anymore," she explained.
"I will be fine I promise"
The next day Obi went back to the building next door to the orphanage, and climbed up on the roof so he could keep a watch out for O'wan. From his vantage point he could see the garden and play area, were the orphans played. After a couple of days, he saw O'wan; he was playing in a sand pit, and he was the smallest one there. Obi-wan released the breath he was holding when he realised O'wan looked healthy. Now that he had made sure O'wan was all right, he decided to find a job.
He trudged around going from place to place, nevertheless, with no luck, it had been three days since he had eaten, and he felt sick, probably from hunger. By the time darkness fell, he was walking past Dex's diner and could smell the food. He wondered if he could do a job for the owner and maybe they would give him some food.
He went inside and asked the waiter if there were any jobs. The waiter was a droid, so she yelled out "Hey Boss, there's a kid here to see yah!"
For some reason Obi panicked when she said the word - kid. He looked behind the counter and a big being with four arms started towards him. Obi-wan thought (if he grabs me I will not be able to get away, and he might send me to the orphanage.)
So Obi-Wan panicked and grabbed the plate of food off the counter, bolting out the door, his heart was thumping loudly, now he was stealing food, and before that he had stolen clothes, he felt so ashamed. Obi-wan never wanted to be a thief, and he did not like how it made him feel. Nevertheless, he was very hungry so he kept running until he got to the park and then he slipped into the gardeners shed. The food filled him up, and for the first time in three days, he slept with a full stomach.
Each evening before he climbed into his room, Obi-wan went to the pond and washed him-self, he wiped his clothes, and cleaned any dirt off them, and sometimes he would wash his clothes, so they would dry by the morning. He had not found a job yet, however, the force seemed to insist that he stay in the park.
A week after he had taken O'wan to the Orphanage, he had an urge from the force to go back there. He stood down the road a bit from the entrance and watched. Soon an expensive hovercraft pulled up outside, and out stepped the couple from his dream. They went inside, Obi-Wan sat on the steps waiting, and soon the couple came out carrying O'wan.
Obi-wan stood up and walked over to the hovercraft and when they got to him, O'wan saw Obi-Wan and squealed "Obi, Obi"
The couple stopped in front of him, "Hello can we help you?"
"Hello" he answered, "I mean no disrespect, and I am not asking for anything, I just wanted to make sure my brother was alright?"
"O'wan is your brother?" The woman asked.
"Yes, I am unable to look after him, so I thought the best place for him was here. Will you adopt him?" Obi-wan asked.
"Well yes, we would like to adopt him, are there any other relatives besides you" the man asked.
"No Sir, our Mother and Father are dead" he answered.
"When and where did they die, if you don't mind me asking," the man said.
Obi thought for a moment and then decided it did not matter, if they knew. "On OrulShai III, my Mother and Father had a farm there. My Father died a couple of years ago, and My Mother and my Stepfather died on the farm recently," Obi-wan explained.
"What is your name child?" the Man asked.
"It is Obi-wan Sir," he answered.
"Do you have a place to live Obi-wan?" the man asked.
"Yes Sir, I just came to make sure my brother was going to a good home that's all, I have to go now. Please take good care of him, he is a good boy" he said to the woman, and touched his brother on his shoulder.
"Obi come too?" O'wan asked.
"No O'wan remember what I told you before, I cannot come with you, do not worry O'wan I will be all right and so will you, good bye O'wan"
As he turned to leave the Man grabbed his arm "Wait, please take this"
Obi-wan looked at the man's hand and in it were some credits. "No Sir I couldn't take your credits, you keep them so you can buy O'wan things, he will need lots of clothes and stuff, and you might need the credits," he stated.
The man exchanged a smile with his wife and placed the credits in Obi's hand.
"I can afford to look after O'wan, please take them, and if you ever need anything, here you can get me on that number." He handed Obi-Wan a card which had his name on it and a Comm unit code.
Obi-Wan put the card and the credits in his pocket and smiled "Thank You Sir, you don't know how relieved I am, that O'wan has a home."
However, before the man could say anything else, Obi-Wan turned and ran away, and he did not stop until he was out of sight.
The woman called out, "Please come back" when Obi-Wan bolted off.
The man said to his wife, "Do not worry, I will ask my friends to find him and make sure he is all right"
Obi-Wan ran down the lane and he smiled, he had a debt to pay, so he kept running until he reached Dex's Diner. The diner had only just opened so there was no one in it, and he walked in looking at the being with the four arms.
Dex saw the boy and bounded towards him, shouting "Come back to rob me again have you, you little thief"
Just as Dex got to within striking distance, Obi-Wan held his hand out, showing Dex the credits, and he closed his eyes, not wanting to see this big brute pound him into the ground. Dex stopped in front of the shaking boy, his hand outstretched with enough credits to pay for many meals. When Dex had not knocked him down, Obi-Wan opened his eyes; he jumped slightly when he was eye to eye with Dex who was just standing there watching him.
Obi-Wan thought he better apologise for stealing. "I am sorry for stealing from you 'Sir', I didn't have any credits, and I was really hungry. Please accept this for the meal I stole, I promise I won't do it again, and if this isn't enough I will work for you until it is paid for," he said quickly. "I notice that the sign that says 'Dex's Diner' is in need of cleaning, I can do it for you, I can do anything, and I can wash dishes" Obi-wan said in a rush, and when he finished he just stood there not knowing what else to do.
Dex started to laugh. "You're a brave boy; coming in here like that I could have crushed you. So you want to pay me Ehh!" he growled.
"Yes Sir" Obi stammered.
"Very well then," he took some of the credits. "I have taken enough for the meal you had the other day and enough for a meal now, sit down over there, and I will feed you." He barked as he laughed, slapping Obi-Wan on the shoulder.
Obi-Wan had not counted the credits when the man gave them to him, and now he realised he had plenty of credits. There were plenty left over for a meal every day for a week.
Obi-wan relaxed when Dex brought out a big meal and a large glass of muju Juice, and the large being sat down opposite him and said. "So you can clean my sign, can you?" he questioned.
In between mouthfuls of food, Obi answered "Yes Sir"
"Ok then how about tomorrow morning at day break, I will have everything here to clean the sign and a ladder ready, you think you can have it finished before I open for the day."
"Yes Sir," Obi-Wan said smiling.
Obi-wan went back to his shed to get some sleep and felt happy that O'wan had found a home, and he had found a job. The next morning as he promised, Dex had the ladder and cleaning equipment waiting for him, he worked very quickly using force speed, and in no time, at all he had finished. Dex came out to inspect the job, and was surprised that the boy had finished and there was not a speck of dirt left on the sign. Dex showed Obi-Wan where to put the tools and then he told him to come inside, as the morning meal was ready. Obi-Wan liked Dex he had a kind heart, and he was a good cook. Obi-wan felt better about himself today, than he had in many weeks, he actually felt happy. Dex sat down next to him and started to ask him questions.
"What's your name Kid?
"Obi-Wan Sir" he replied.
"Have you been around here long, Obi-Wan, where do you live?" Dex inquired.
Obi-Wan did not sense anything mean about him, and he seemed to be an honest man. So Obi-Wan said. "I came from another planet a few weeks ago with my family, and I live down near the Park."
"You have family here?" he asked.
Obi-Wan did not want to lie, yet he knew if he said he was alone, he might end up in the orphanage. Therefore, his next statement was not really a lie. "I have a Brother, we came here together."
Dex presumed it was an older brother and just nodded, and Obi filled his mouth with food, hoping he would not ask him any more questions. Dex was going to ask what his brother did for a living, but at that moment, several people came in to order food.
"I Have to go and cook now, but come back tomorrow, and I will have another job for you, ok Obi," Dex said.
"Yes Sir I will be here early tomorrow, and thank you"
Obi-wan quickly finished his meal and left Dex's, he did not like talking about him-self, and he did not want to lie to Dex either. He walked down to the corner, and was just about to cross the lane, when he saw two men walking on the other side heading towards Dex's. Obi-wan jumped back into the shadow of the building, he recognised their clothes, and they were Jedi.
(What are Jedi doing around here) he thought.
He watched them, and wondered if they would go in to Dex's but they kept walking down to the end and waved a ground cab down, they got in and the cab took off. Obi breathed again, he had finally found some work, and he did not want the Jedi finding him and sending him away. Obi-wan wanted to save enough credits to get a proper job, and then one day he was going to see O'wan, he had put the card with the mans name on it in a safe place, and one day he would contact him. Then he would go and see O'wan.
Walking through the park Obi-Wan sensed danger, he could not see anything but the closer he got to the clump of trees, the warning from the force became stronger, he stopped and decided to go back the way he came. Obi-wan jogged back up the path, when he heard a scream, he turned back to see two rough looking men attacking two young women, who had just walked past the clump of trees.
The men where trying to steal their bags, Obi-wan force ran back and tackled one of the men who hit one girl with his fist. The other girl kicked the man and ran to her friend. However, the brute grabbed her hair and threw her to the ground, but before he could hit her again Obi-Wan tackled him.
The two girls huddled together, and watched, while Obi-wan tackled both men, he was holding his own against them until a third man came up behind Obi-Wan, hitting him with a piece of wood. Obi-Wan fell to the ground and as he did, all three men started punching him, and kicking him. The girls were screaming loudly, and attracted the attention of the security guards, the three bad men saw them coming and ran off.
The guards arrived and checked the girls for injuries, and then they went to see how the boy was, they had beaten him so much he was unconscious.
"Is he with you?" one of the security guards asked.
"No he heard us scream and came to help?" the girl said.
"What are your names? he asked.
"My name is Marlee," The girl with the blonde hair said. She had a gash on her knee, and some bruises on her face.
The other girl whose arm was swollen said, "my name is Sarah."
The security guard crouched down examining Obi-Wan "He has a nasty crack to his head; there is quite a lot of blood. I think that he has some broken ribs as well. I will call for a hover car to take you all to hospital," the security guard said.
On the way to the hospital, Obi-Wan opened his eyes, his vision was blurry, but he could see some one with blonde hair sitting next to him. "W-who are you" he stuttered.
Marlee brushed back his hair and said, "My name is Marlee and this is Sarah, you were very brave back there in the park, those men could have killed you?"
"They were trying to hurt you, I couldn't just watch them hit you like that!" he moaned. His head was hurting, and he lifted his hand up to feel it. "Where am I, where are we going?" Obi asked.
"I think Sarah broke her arm, and I have a cut leg. Don't worry we are all going to the hospital," Marlee said
"The hospital, no I don't want to go to the hospital, I want to go home!" Obi said as he tried to get up.
The medical droid pushed him back down "Lay still, your head is bleeding."
Obi-wan looked out of the window; they were in a hover car, so he lay back down. Nevertheless, he was scared; he did not want to go to hospital. They would ask him questions and check his fingerprints on the Database, and then the Jedi would find out he was on Corruscant. He had to think of something. He closed his eyes and examined himself with the force, and realised he was in bad shape. He had cracked his head open, and he had two broken ribs; he needed medical attention. Therefore, he would bide his time and make his escape when the time was right.
tbc...