Chapter 24

Obi-Wan dropped the knife at his feet. "Okay," he breathed, lowering himself to his knees, "Do whatever they told you to do."

He heard her breathing, obviously struggling with her choices. "Why are you doing this?" the mother finally asked, "Throwing your life away like that."

He exhaled through his nose and closed his eyes. "You have something worth fighting for," he smiled shallowly, "A family... - I had to leave what was dear to me behind a long time ago."

"You have no one?" she queried tentatively.

Obi-Wan thought of Anakin, Ahsoka - Satine. "No," he muttered to himself, "no one who should put themselves in danger because of me."

They were interrupted as the door to the test chamber opened. "Subject Ten, please step back," ordered a droid, stepping in front of Obi-Wan with metallic steps. The knife was picked up from the floor.

"What are you doing to him now?" asked Ten anxiously.

"You need not be concerned," a new voice replied gruffly, "Go on, take them away."

Obi-Wan listened silently as more droids entered the chamber and escorted the mother out.

I hope they don't hurt her.

"Kenobi," the newcomer finally spoke, and somehow the voice sounded strangely familiar to Obi-Wan, "I expected more from you - losing to an untrained woman - pathetic."

"I had no intention of fighting," he growled back, clutching his still bleeding arm tighter .

Force, he was beginning to feel dizzy.

She huffed condescendingly. "I bet even one of my droids could have defeated you. Don't you have any self-preservation instincts? I would have expected more from a Jedi Master."

Obi-Wan did not engage in her games. "Who are you and what do you want from me?"

The woman chuckled. "Have you forgotten me already, handsome?" she purred, placing a hand under his chin. He pulled his head away, but instead she gripped his chin in a vice grip, holding his head still.

"It seems you have left no lasting impression on me," he said heavily with the hand gripping his lower jaw.

The fingers gripped even tighter. "Interesting how much you relied on your eyes and connection to the Force," she analyzed, "Without that, you are truly nothing."

She leaned into his space. "Your master would be disappointed in you."

Obi-Wan bit his cheeks and fixed her with his milky eyes. "Tell me something I don't already know," he murmured neutrally.

"Oh, did I hit a sore spot there?" she challenged manically.

Ignoring her taunts, he kept his cool. "How about you tell me your name first."

He could practically hear her scowl. "I'll give you a hint," she hissed, "You and your master ruined my life - my research."

So slowly, a bad premonition of who he was dealing with crept up on Obi-Wan. "I doubt you've been released from prison."

She laughed. "Look who's talking. You know what they're saying about you? That you broke out. That you're dangerous. You're going to spend the rest of your life on the run."

"If that's how you're trying to get me to be your ally, it's not going to work," he returned, unimpressed.

"You? Ally?" she giggled, "Oh my dear Obi-Wan, your sole purpose for me is to find out more about you Force-sensitives." She stroked the side of his face. "I just want you to realize that there is no future for you out there. Besides, you won't escape me, I promise you that."

He was getting tired. "Are you done talking?" he asked impassively.

„Don't you dare fall asleep on me," she snapped and a second later fingers pressed into his open wound. Obi-Wan screamed and pulled his arm away. „That was unnecessary," he gasped, spitting out a glob of blood as he had bit his tongue. Now he indeed was wide awake – a courtesey of the adrenaline now rushing through his veins.

She huffed. „Maybe – but now I have your unwavering attention, I suppose."

Tell that to my circulation.

"I would be much better at paying attention if there wouldn't be more blood outside my body than inside."

She traced the scar on his face and then moved to one that crossed his chest. „I think you had worse," she breathed enchantingly, letting her hand sit against the base of his neck.

Obi-Wan resisted the urge to pull away. „You still didn't tell me your name."

The woman moved her hand to cradle his head again. „Stop pretending," she lulled, „I know that you know who I am."

He squared his jaw. "It would be rude if I guessed and I was wrong, wouldn't it?"

The hand tightened uncomfortably around his ear. „Say my name."

Obi-Wan held his head up, fixing her with unseeing eyes. „Jenna Zan Arbor."

„Good," she purred before finally letting go of him.

Jenna stood up and moved inside the chamber, presumably towards the door. „Bring him back to his cell," she ordered coolly, „And don't forget to take a sample."

The clicking noise of her shoes told Obi-Wan that she finally left but that didn't ease his mind. A few droids replaced her. One of them grabbed his still bleeding arm, stretching it out. Not a second later the stench of cleaning alcohol filled his nostrils followed by the sharp sting as the liquid was poured on his wound. Obi-Wan hissed and tried to pull away but the droid didn't let him go. Instead a second droid placed it's claws on his upper arm and shoulders to keep him in place.

Tense, he tried to listen to what the droid would do next, but couldn't assign the sounds to anything. A sharp sting went through his arm again as the droid began to sew the wound closed. Obi-Wan winced in pain - and was rewarded with another pair of metallic arms holding him still. He tried to breathe through the pain but the exhaustion that had been plaguing him for days now made that almost impossible. Not thinking, he tried to pass the pain on to the Force.

His body immediately went stiff and his brain stopped working as the electric shock cursed through his body.

Stupid. You're stupid, Kenobi.

When the shock finally subsided he noticed that he was lying on the floor, a puddle under his head. He must have fainted.

Groaning, he sat up slowly, gingerly putting a hand to his head. His cheek was wet as well but it didn't smell like blood.

Drool.

Obi-Wan huffed and lowered his hand again. "How undignified," he muttered to himself. He noticed that his arm was bandaged and that there was also a small tape stuck to the crook of his elbow.

Did they take blood?

He remembered how Arbor had said something about taking a sample and somehow that fact didn't sit well with him.

Slowly he stood up and reached out a hand, carefully sliding one foot in front of the other. Soon his fingertips touched the cold metal of a wall and a further inspection of the room told him that he was in some kind of small cell. Completely empty and maybe just big enough for him to lie stretched out on the floor if he wanted to. The door had neither a lock nor a latch on his side and sank completely into the surrounding wall.

Obi-Wan pressed his lips into a thin line and stepped back before sitting down against one of the walls. The metal was cool against his bare back and he found himself longing for at least a thin blanket.

The Force-suppression collar pressed uncomfortably against his throat and Obi-Wan wondered if it had somehow gotten tighter but a short probing with his fingers that his skin was swollen instead.

Probably burned.

His thoughts circled to the other prisoners. He was number 13 and the mother was number 10. What about the rest? Were there more than 13 people down here?

Exhaustion soon claimed him and he fell asleep slumped against the wall.

"Rise and shine!" Arbor's voice suddenly blared through a pair of speakers after a while, startling Obi-Wan from his unrestful sleep.

He grumbled under his breath and ran a hand over his face. "...Just shut up..."

She cackled. "Not quite awake, my dear?"

Obi-Wan didn't care for an answer and instead closed his eyes again, letting his head rest against the cool metal. He felt exhausted and drained.

Shortly thereafter, his cell door was jerked open, followed by the familiar clack of heeled shoes on the floor. "Don't you think your behavior is rude?" feigned Arbor.

Huffing, Obi-Wan shrugged. "You're not very accommodating either."

He felt her lean down toward him. "You chose to disobey me...," she hissed, now clearly incensed, "...and you cost me three of my droids."

Arbor leaned in closer so that he could feel her breath on his face. "... And I liked these droids."

Obi-Wan swallowed and squared his jaw in response. "This wouldn't have happened if you removed this," he tapped the collar, "I'm sure."

Jenna snorted and pulled back. "You still don't get it, do you? I can't remove it."

Furrowing his brows, he shot her a questioning look which earned him another laugh. „It was built with the intention to never be removed again," she explained gleefully, „So no locks – anything. Closed is closed. The only way to remove it is to cut it."

She again came closer to him and traced the collar with one of her fingers. „Unfortunately, it was made from Beskar, so not even a lightsaber can cut it," she chuckled, „You would loose your pretty head before you get rid of the collar."

Beskar. The chancellor really spared no expense.

Obi-Wan didn't let his concern show and instead fixed her with a neutral expression. "If you want to study the Force, then I am the most inappropriate test subject imaginable."

Her hand trailed up to his cheek and it sent an uncomfortable shiver down his spine. He wanted her to take it away. "You may not be able to use the Force as you please, but the medichlorians," her finger traced a vein on his neck, "They are still flowing through your veins. They still react without you knowing - to joy, fear... anger. It is a question of willpower, my dear. How far will you go to get back what you lost?"

She lightly touched the collar once more before she finally pulled back again. "Stand up."

He stood up, planting his feet steadily on the floor. Her presence didn't intimidate him. Obi-Wan knew that he could probably easily overpower her but that wouldn't get him any further. This complex was a maze. He would never find his way out on his own.

And then there was the strange device on his spine. Whatever it was - he was sure that it was nothing good.

„Hands," was the next thing Jenna ordered and Obi-Wan complied with a grin on his fine.

„You know," he chuckled as she fastened a pair of shackles around his wrists, „Usually one starts with buying dinner first."

The scientist said nothing and instead pulled him forward by his upper arm.

Just as he almost reached the threshold of the cell, the alarm suddenly went off. The deafening noise made Obi-Wan's head ache and disoriented him. Absently, he rubbed his temples, only subconsciously registering how the droids told Arbor something about an escape attempt. He was then pushed roughly back into the cell and the door closed with a hiss, taking the noise away.

Obi-Wan again was left in dead silence. He knew that the other prisoners would not bother to get him out as well.

The Jedi part of him told him that this was the wisest, safest decision - but the simple human in him – that one felt alone, abandoned.