Forget Me Not

27

The black silhouette stepped across the threshold, entering the tumbledown garage at a leisurely pace, the aspects of his attire gaining detail and colour as he left behind the blinding sunlight. Heeled boots tucked over tight leggings overlaid by a flashy coat that was adorned with dual pistol holsters. Red eyes, set in a gaunt, blue face, were shaded by the grey-brown, low-brimmed hat of none other than Cad Bane. Bony fingers hovered over the handle of one such pistol as those beady eyes scoped out the prize that lay before him, protected by the arms of unconditional love. 

Blue eyes, kind and confused, met the gaze with something akin to desperate frustration. He did not understand why everyone was interested in the unassuming, innocent creature that was his protégé. 

How that protégé was me was beyond me. Why would Obi-Wan willingly give his time and his energy for me? I was a nobody, living the life of an outcast and a criminal, partly by my own choice and partly by the choice of others. Obi-Wan was upper tier – almost top of the upper tier, in fact. Apart from the rest of the Jedi Council and the Chancellor of the Republic himself, he was rivalled by none. What was I to him? Could it be possible that I reminded him of the Hero With No Fear, Anakin Skywalker? I certainly hoped that wasn't the case: I didn't want to be betrayed the same way as Obi-Wan had betrayed him with the Hardeen incident.

"What do we have here?" Cad repeated his question, amusing himself by strutting right up to the stony face of Mace Windu. "It would seem we have a pretty little treasure, just waiting to be snaffled. Wouldn't you agree, Master Jedi?"

Mace regripped the hilt of his unignited saber, eyeing the Duros suspiciously. He had not counted on a bounty hunter sweeping past and sniffing out the price tag that had been planted on my forehead. Mace was a Jedi; this should have been no inconvenience. He should simply have commanded his clones to take both Obi-Wan and me into custody, and the bounty hunter, seeing the clones in action and the reward being removed, would flee for the hills. However, this bounty hunter was not just any bounty hunter. This was Cad Bane. And Cad Bane didn't like to lose.

"Who's that?" Obi-Wan whispered to me, his eyes glued to the blue-skinned being as he chatted casually with Mace.

"That's Cad Bane," I whispered back, trying not to slur my words as exhaustion and fever crawled back in. "He's a bad guy. He wants to capture me so he can sell me to the Jedi for whatever ridiculous price they're offering."

"So they're going to be negotiating for a while?" he asked innocently.

"Negotiating probably isn't the right word, but, yeah, I guess you could say that."

"Then we should leave. We should slip away while they're distracted. If they're going to be talking, or arguing, then we should make the most of this opportunity." His eyes were shining with hope, glistening with the eagerness of his idea.

I glanced uneasily at the discussion-turned-fistfight, eyeing the bounty hunter and the Jedi with clone troopers as they wrestled over who would gain possession of me. At the start of the fight, when everyone was fuelled by adrenaline and caught by surprise, was the time to make our move, and I sucked in a breath, casting my net of trust far enough for it to drape over Obi-Wan. "Let's do it."

He ducked under my arm, settling it around his shoulders as he gripped my waist. Crawling backwards with me, he slipped away from the noise and chaos, guiding me into the shadows. They sheltered us, ushering us along the edges of the garage until we found a hole in the far corner. Obi-Wan checked that the area outside was safe, then squeezed through, reaching back to help pull me after him. 

Once we were in the stifling heat of broad daylight, Obi-Wan sat on his knees, panting. "What's next, San? Can you walk?"

I grimaced. "I think I can. But I don't suppose you happen to carry hyposprays on your person, do you?"