Chapter 10

The moment they arrived in Mos Eisley it was evident that things had changed. Many of the store fronts were boarded up and panhandlers stood on every corner. There seemed to be a lot more bars and casinos than there had been, and some even sported signs advertising adult entertainment. The city was a space port, and so it had always been a bit rough around the edges. But now that the Empire had taken control, a more sinister element of society had begun to emerge. Even here in the Outer Rim the influence of the dark side could be seen and felt clearly.

Their first order of business was to find a buyer for their dragon pearl. Before they left, they had chosen the least ostentatious stone to sell, and buried the rest in a small box close to the hut. Near the market place they found a jeweler who was more than happy to help them.

"A dragon pearl! These are hard to come by. Where did you get this?" asked the owner of the shop. He was a short, elderly human male who was mostly bald with a round pot belly and a thick grey mustache that twitched back and forth as he spoke. He wore a jeweler's loupe in one eye and sat on a tall stool behind a glass counter filled with glittering necklaces and bracelets.

"It's a family heirloom." Luna said. "My grandmother gave it to me. We hate to sell it but.." she rested her hand on the slight bump in her abdomen that was becoming more noticeable every day.

The jeweler looked up and smiled kindly. "I understand completely. Such a blessing, children! I have 5 myself."

He looked back at the stone and squinted carefully. "It's a nice specimen. Blue is a popular color, but it's small and oddly shaped. There's also a flaw, see here?" He indicated a slightly discolored area on the bottom of the pearl. "The best I can offer you is 15,000."

Obi-Wan's eyebrow's raised. He could sense that the man wanted the pearl badly. It was probably worth more than that, but 15,000 was still a lot of credits. It would certainly be more than enough for what they needed. He and Luna shared a look. She glanced down at a tray of beautiful gold rings in the case and winked at him. Of course! He kicked himself for not thinking of it sooner.

"If you'll include a set of wedding bands we have a bargain."

….

Later that afternoon, they walked past the Regional Government Office Building. Obi-Wan slipped into a shop across the street to wait and pretended to browse while Luna went in to assess the situation inside. As expected, the place was crawling with Storm Troopers. She came back out several minutes later looking disappointed and shook her head. Obi-Wan's heart sank.

"I don't think this is going to work. There are just too many people in there who might recognize you. Besides, I saw the Judge performing marriages. He was actually very intelligent and articulate so I don't think a mind trick would work on him. There has to be another way."

If there was, he couldn't think of one. By now they were several blocks down the road on the way back towards their hotel. They walked in silence, both lost in thought. Obi-Wan reached up to stroke his beard but belatedly remembered with great annoyance that it wasn't there. It had almost returned to it's original glory but Luna had insisted that he shave again for the trip. Now, in addition to not being able to marry the woman he loved, he had to endure the uncomfortable itching and irritation that went along with regrowing his beard yet again. His mood was quickly beginning to sour.

As they passed one of the many casinos that had sprung up since their last visit, a large group of rowdy teenagers staggered into their path. They were making quite a scene yelling at passers by and pushing each other around.

Obi-Wan reached protectively for Luna's hand and started to steer her safely around them. At that very moment, an Ithorian exited the casino. He wasn't paying attention to his surroundings and accidentally walked straight into the middle of the group. He clutched his bag closely as they started to crowd around him.

"What ya got there, hammerhead?" One of the teens said as he poked at the bag. "Looks like you won big!"

"Look, I don't want any trouble…" the being stammered and started to back away. He looked very worried. Obi-Wan paused and took a deep breath. This wasn't going to end well, he could sense it. Looking the other way when someone needed his help went against everything he stood for, but he knew he shouldn't get involved in anything that drew attention to himself.

The situation quickly escalated and a second later a heavily muscled young man with tattoos covering his face punched the Ithorian in the stomach and shoved him to ground. He grabbed the bag and viciously kicked him when he tried to protest. The Ithorian doubled over trying to protect himself while the brutal assault continued.

"Help!" Wheezed the poor being. The group around him began laughing.

Terror rolled through the Force until Obi-Wan could stand it any longer. He had to do something. "Go inside and get a security guard." he told Luna. She nodded and went to find one. By now the group was gathered in a circle watching the beating and cheering the ringleader on.

"Let him go." Obi-Wan's voice was low, but had a dangerous edge to it. They all turned at once.

The tattooed boy in the middle of the circle momentarily stopped what he was doing and looked up at him with contempt.

"Who's going to make me? You, old man?"

"You might be surprised." he said dryly. Old man? Where had that come from? He pushed the unfortunate thought out of his head as the boy came at him trowing punches. He easily dodged the sloppy attack and while his assailant was off balance, hit him squarely in the face knocking him out with one punch. He crumpled to the ground in a heap, dropping the bag as he fell and Obi-Wan caught it before it hit the sidewalk. Just then Luna returned with the security guard.

"Hey! What's going on!" Yelled the guard. The other teens scattered, running in all directions.

"What happened? Are you alright?" he asked the Ithorian as he helped him to his feet and dusted him off.

"Yes, just a little shaken up. I'll be fine. Those hooligans were trying to rob me. This one…" he pointed at the unconscious youth, "was beating me up."

"Do you want to press charges? I can contact the authorities if you'd like."

A quickly suppressed look of panic crossed his face. "NO! Uh…I mean, no thank you. That's not necessary. I got my things back and I just want to go home."

The guard gave a resigned shrug. It didn't surprise him. The customers who visited these casinos never wanted anyone to know that they'd been there. "Ok, suit yourself." he said and walked back into the casino.

Obi-Wan walked over and handed the Ithorian his bag. He accepted it gratefully. "They might have killed me if it hadn't been for you, sir. Thank you! I owe you my life!" he said. "What's your name?"

"Ben."

"I'm Aamaw. You must allow me to repay you, here…" he began digging in the bag and pulled out a handful of credits.

"Oh, no. You don't need to do that. Anyone would have done the same."

Aamaw looked at him skeptically. "If you think that then you must be new to Mos Eisley. At least let me buy you a drink at the bar over there." he pointed across the street. "It's the least I can do!"

Obi-Wan looked in the direction he was pointing and his face broke into a wide grin. He nudged Luna with his elbow. "Look! I'll admit it isn't quite what I had in mind, but it would get the job done. What do you think?"

She shook her head and laughed. "Why not?"

Right next to the bar was a small, tacky looking white building. In the window was a blinking neon sign that read:

Chapel of Love

Weddings Performed 24 hours

Walk-ins Welcome!