Slavery Is A Crime

Chapter 3

- Unknown System

Obi-Wan's eyes scrunched shut as he heard a deep, gruff voice yell, "WHEN IS HE GOING TO WAKE UP?!" He then unscrunched them as he heard another, more soft and gentle voice reply, "Master, he has been greatly injured. Please... let him be... let him heal... then he will awaken."

"NO! He must be awake before sunrise tomorrow! AND I expect him to be a ready specimen for the auction in the afternoon," the same deep, gruff voice from before, which Obi-Wan could now read was a male's voice, said.

Obi-Wan listened as the soft, gentle voice, which he could now read as a female's voice, replied, "Master, healing takes time and-" The male cut her off. "I don't care! He is my slave so I make the rules with him."

So that's where I am... Obi-Wan thought before listening to the rest of what the man had to say. "And I say that he needs to look presentable. So, just clean off the wound on his head enough that it's an easy make-up covering bruise, then remove the bandages from his arms and do the same with them. Am I understood?" the male voice asked. "Yes, Master..." the female voice complied. "Good. Now... get to it, skug!" he ordered before, from what Obi-Wan could hear footstep-wise, retreating from the room.

Obi-Wan sighed a little as he tried opening his eyes. He was capable of doing it, it just hurt to do so because of his throbbing head. What in the Galaxy had happened again? Right... Zygerrians... Kadavo... rescue... explosion... Obi-Wan groaned just thinking about the explosion. That was when the owner of the female voice, a human female with a very... revealing... outfit on, heard him.

After Obi-Wan looked her outfit over, he suddenly felt uncomfortable and hot under the collar as the woman's attire was but a two-piece palace dancer's costume. He felt his cheeks heating up more each time he glanced over. The woman seemed to smile a little and giggled. "Your face is very red and I think I know why." she pointed out. If Obi-Wan's face could be any redder, it had just turned that shade.

The woman giggled again. "It is... because of the outfit, isn't it?" she asked curiously, sounding suspiciously younger than she obviously looked. She couldn't be any younger than at least twenty... right...?

"My name is Aiko," the woman, now known as Aiko, introduced herself. "And your name?" she asked, both out of curiosity and genuine politeness. "It's um... it's..." Obi-Wan cleared his throat and went with the first name that came to mind. "Ben," he answered awkwardly. How could he not be awkward when the woman was dressed the way she was?

Aiko giggled again. "Nice to meet you, Ben. If you don't mind me asking," Aiko said as she grabbed a damp cloth and began to clean his wounds, "where are you from? What was your occupation before you were a slave? Were you born into slavery? How old are you?" Aiko asked in rapid-fire.

Obi-Wan chuckled and began answering them one by one. "Well, I was originally born on a planet called... Stewjon, I think... it's in the Outer Rim. I don't remember much of it though as I was brought to Coruscant when I was merely a baby, almost a toddler actual," he described.

Aiko looked at him with interest as she took the damp cloth and brought it slightly closer to the Jedi's forehead. "This might hurt..." she warned before gently placing the cool cloth again Kenobi's head wound from the explosion. Obi-Wan winced slightly, but let the woman do her thing.

"As for my occupation before slavery, I-" He paused, wondering if he should tell her if he was a Jedi or not. Better not... "I was trying to help make peace in the Galaxy." There, that wasn't much of a lie, was it? he thought. I am fighting peace in the Galaxy... the only difference is that being a Jedi, I get to carry around a lightsaber while doing so.

Aiko continued to gently wipe Kenobi's forehead with the cloth. "So... you said you were brought to Coruscant when you were a baby... does that mean you've been a slave since birth...?" she asked. "What?" Kenobi asked, then realization hit. "Oh. Oh! No, no, no, no, no... I was brought to Coruscant because... um.. my home planet was in danger and I had family on Coruscant." Another half-truth since the Jedi were his family now.

"And your age...?" Aiko asked curiously. "It's um..." Obi-Wan awkwardly coughed. "Thirty-two..." he mumbled. "Thirty-two?! Why, you still look like you could be twenty-five, maybe thirty!" Aiko exclaimed. How the girl understood his mumbling was beyond him, but it did make him smile to hear her words.

"If you don't mind me asking... um... how old are you?" Obi-Wan asked. Aiko smiled. "Thirteen," she replied. Obi-Wan's eyes went wide and his face began to turn red again. Oh... her age makes this feel even more wrong than it already is... he thought.

Obi-Wan awkwardly cleared his throat. "So... I'm to be sold tomorrow then?" he asked. Aiko frowned and nodded. "Unfortunately, yes..." she said. Obi-Wan sighed, then looked up with hope. "Do you think maybe you could help me escape?" Aiko sighed. "I cannot," she replied. Obi-Wan looked down in disappointment. It was worth a shot. he thought.

"Now," Aiko started. "Let's get you ready for tomorrow? Shall we?" asked the teen as she began rummaging through a bag next to her. Obi-Wan eyed the bag nervously. Does she have electro-whips in there? Obi-Wan thought fearfully, then thought of something better. The keys to my binders, maybe? Before Obi-Wan could ask any more questions, Aiko smiled as she pulled something out of the bag.

What she pulled was definitely not what Obi-Wan had expected. She had pulled out an article of clothing. "This is what you'll be wearing to the auction," Aiko stated as she pulled out a pair of royal blue pants with gold trim at the bottom of the legs and around the waistband. "Um... i-it's very lovely but... um... where uh..." Obi-Wan awkwardly coughed. "Where's the shirt?" he asked.

Aiko just stared at him like he had grown a second head, then she began to laugh. "There is no shirt, silly!" she exclaimed in amusement. Obi-Wan didn't find it very funny and just raised a brow. "Depending on what my Master chooses, you'll either being wearing only a vest of the same design as your top, or no shirt at all." Aiko casually explained as if it was an everyday thing.

Obi-Wan could feel cheeks heat up slightly after she explained what was to be done. "Well, I'll leave you to get your pants on, just call me when you're done," Aiko said with a smile. Obi-Wan gulped. Oh, how he wished he were back at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Best not tell Anakin about this situation when–if–I get back... he'd never let me leave it down.