The Delusions of Dreamers

Five

Qui-Gon Jinn grabbed his lightsaber and ignited it.  "Who's there?"

A figure stepped into the light.  "The name's Cad Bane," he grumbled.  The blue Duros with red eyes had a gravelly, low voice, and Obi-Wan had to admit that it sent shivers up his spine.  He had two LL-30 blaster pistols strapped to his waist, but the Duros also sported a wide-brimmed hat, and Obi-Wan thought it looked quite stupid.

"Nice hat you have there, Cad Bane," Obi-Wan said.

"Why thank you," he growled, tipping his ugly hat.

"What do you want from us?" Qui-Gon asked.

"Well, I happened to hear your little conversation," Bane explained slowly, "and turns out I could use some credits.  You give me some money, fifty credits or so; I'll take you where you want to go in my ship." He took a few steps closer to the group of three, and Qui-Gon squared his shoulders.

"Why should we trust you?" his Master inquired, pointing his green lightsaber at the man.

"None of you knew I was standing in this room just a minute ago.  If I wanted to kill you, I would've done it already."

Qui-Gon seemed to think about that for a second, and then he relaxed a little.  "Fair point." He put his saber away and sat back.  Obi-Wan was glad this Cad Bane didn't seem to be a threat.  He wasn't sure he could survive another fight today.

"So what happened to you all? It looks like someone threw you into a trash compactor.  And what's the Duchess of Mandalore doing with two Jedi?" The Duros sat down a few feet away from them.

"That's none of your business," Satine spat.  She probably wasn't happy that they had a way to get off Mandalore.  But Obi-Wan couldn't let her scare away the pilot.

"Actually, it is his business," the Padawan corrected.  She glared at him.  "He is our ticket to safety, which makes him our ally." Obi-Wan winked at Bane.  He just stared.  "Anyway, I'll tell you how we got into this mess."

He tried to sit up, but then hissed in pain.  Satine hesitantly helped him, pushing his back with her cool hands.  That's when he realized how much of his skin was exposed, and he blushed.  How embarrassing.  Obi-Wan hoped he was nice to look at, at least.

"Sorry," he coughed.  "So, that's my Master, Qui-Gon Jinn," the Padawan pointed to the older man.  "and I'm Obi-Wan Kenobi.  We were sent to protect the duchess, and long story short, we ran into a lot of trouble."

"Old Mandalorians," sighed Qui-Gon.

"Drunkards." Satine scrunched up her nose.

"And exploding speeders," Obi-Wan rolled his eyes.  He hated flying more and more every day.

"Interesting," mused Bane.  He took out one of his pistols, and the Padawan froze, but Cad Bane simply started polishing it.

"So, what brings you to Mandalore?" Qui-Gon asked.

"Well, you know.  Delivering supplies.  Paying off debts.  Nothing special."

Obi-Wan smiled to himself.  'Delivering supplies' was usually code for 'smuggling spice and what-not.'

"How about you all get cleaned up, and then I'll get you something to eat." Cad Bane holstered his pistol and looked at them.  "We'll leave in the morning for Tatooine.  I have some errands there that can't wait, and after that, I'll take you wherever you need to go."

"Perfect," Qui-Gon agreed.

Bane got up to turn on more lights in the workshop, and Satine went to wash up with the rusty sinks at the back of the building.  Obi-Wan scooted closer to his Master.  "Are you sure we can trust him?"