thesaurus | ITT: SAD JEDI

Entry tags:

!caitlin,
#ic

ITT: SAD JEDI

Obi-Wan stood behind the little hovel he called home, tending to Rooh-the-eopie. He watched the first of the two suns sink below the horizon, halving the amount of light that bathed the desert. Dusk was here, and soon so would night, and so too would the bad dreams arrive: the images of terrified younglings and friends dying. But he closed his eyes against the early onslaught of thoughts. There was no need to let them plague him before their time; if he let them take him at any moment at all then there was no way that he could go on.

Opening his eyes, he stroked Rooh's snout carefully, calming her as she became restless. He made sure she was secured, fed and watered, then he moved onto her son, Tooh. Tooh wasn't big enough yet to be ridden, but that was alright. When he took Ferus to Mos Eisley they could walk and he would lead the eopies with them. He could ride Rooh home, or pick up some supplies and have her carry them. But the walk there would be good for them all, he thought.

Ferus Olin was inside the hut, taking care of whatever would pass for dinner that night. It wouldn't be long now before they parted ways, before Ferus took his leave to Alderaan, but for now the company was something of a comfort. Ferus was family, though they hardly got along perfectly. Ferus mouthed off, for one thing, and questioned Obi-Wan regularly. It was a little like having Anakin--

Obi-Wan stopped his thoughts again, patting Tooh and straightening up. Ferus wasn't Anakin. He never would be. But he had come closer to becoming Anakin than either of them dared talk about.

For now there was much pain for both of them.

He stood on the hill, looking east, toward the Lars homestead in the far distance. He waited for the second sun to set and wondered. He wished he could reach out with the Force to Luke, check that all was well, but he couldn't connect to him. Shouldn't, even if he could.

It was lonely in the desert, so far from everything, even with Ferus there. In some ways, Obi-Wan thought, more so because Ferus was there, comfort or not. They had both lost so much: friends, family, purpose. More than Obi-Wan could bear, he thought some days. But now they were guardians of the galaxy's hope. It would be a long, difficult job, but Obi-Wan would shoulder that burden. He only hoped that Ferus could too. He didn't know how the young man was coping. Obi-Wan barely knew how he was coping.

The sun finally disappeared, leaving him in relative darkness before the stars began to twinkle into life. He turned his chin up to the sky, searching for familiar constellations he would never find from this remote planet. He had never paid much attention to Tatooine in the past, even knowing it was Anakin's homeworld. It wasn't as if it should have mattered. But a remarkable amount of the galaxy seemed to orbit around this little planet on the outer rim.

And here they were, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ferus Olin. Two men, stripped of everything, almost ready to say goodbye. How long would they need to hold together before peace returned?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

There was a long moment of silent struggle before she finally said, "no one's that good."

There was a little less fire behind the words that time, though. It was quieter. More resigned.

There was a very faint, sad smile when he answered, "I know."

It was easy to call to mind again, all the ways he'd abandoned parts of what he was, had willingly thrown goodness to the wayside for results, for anger, for vengeance.

He wasn't that good. He understood her skepticism, and felt both sad and sympathetic towards her, whoever she was, whatever had happened.

Maybe it was just that grief finds grief. Anger finds anger.

"But I'm not lying to you", he told her, voice low, private.

The young woman nodded slowly at that, considering Ferus's words and weighing whether or not to believe his assurances. Ultimately though, she leaned forward a little, picking her drink back up and stared at it--before finally speaking.

"My dad was a business man around here," she said, struggling to keep her voice low. A few people around them seemed interested in the conversation. "He wanted to protect people. But he--and my brother--died after Ben Kenobi made them look like fools."

There was some muttering around the room from those who listened. Veeka's grip on her drink tightened.

Well, Obi-Wan had said he had a hand in what had happened. Her father had to be the corrupt man he had talked about, the one he had exposed. Something that hadn't come without backlash.

But Obi-Wan hadn't mentioned that the man had died, or that there had been others involved. Not that Ferus had asked. Still ...

Folding his arms on the table, he kept his attention on her still, willing this to stay between them, willing her to trust him. He still didn't feel sure of exactly what he was trying to accomplish, but he knew he couldn't leave this alone, either.

"What happened to them?"

Veeka was quiet for a moment as she considered it, reaching through muddled thoughts to gather together the story she had. The story she'd been holding onto for some time now.

She'd struggled to piece it all together.

Of course, the version she told might vary from time to time.

"We--all of us, even the other settlers," this said with a glare at some of the men around them, "went after your uncle and the Tuskens. My father said he was in league with them. And maybe dad didn't always tell the truth, but he was trying to protect everyone! My family chased Kenobi and the Tuskens off. But he was in league with their leader and she attacked us." Choking, she lowered her head. "She killed my brother and I had to get away. I never saw my dad again."

"I'm sorry."

He said it gently, seeing clearly how fresh the loss was to her, and he made sure not to think about his own. He couldn't do that if he was going to handle this with the care he had to, for both Veeka's sake and Obi-Wan's. He had no space in this, he told himself. He couldn't say he understood.

"My uncle ..." he said after a moment, "I know he's ... strange. But he wouldn't want anybody dead."

He had to try to defuse that assumption.

The young woman's shoulders shook. She gripped her drink tightly between her hands. She seemed to weigh that a moment.

"He told my dad to 'turn back.' He kept threatening him like that."

There was some rustling around the room, but no one interrupted, yet.

"Turn back where?"

He made sure to keep his tone carefully gentle still, but he wasn't afraid to prod. If 'turn back', something that simple, was perceived as a threat ... well, it meant that Veeka or her family had a reason to feel like they might be threatened, and Ferus wanted to know what that reason was.

"Home, I guess," Veeka groused. "But we couldn't go back. We had to make a stand against him and the Tuskens."

"Maybe 'cause Gault needed a scapegoat," a man nearby interrupted, voice dripping with disdain. "So we wouldn't take him on for his lies."

"Shut up!" Veeka snapped, spinning in her seat and nearly toppling over. The man tensed but didn't rise to the challenge.

Ferus moved instinctively to help steady her, but ultimately didn't touch her, didn't finish that movement. He looked to the man who had spoken up, measuring him. Whoever he was it seemed he was on Obi-Wan's side, or at least on his side of the truth.

Half standing, hands on the table, he took another quick look around the room. It seemed that tension in general was running high.

He thought for a moment to ask the man himself what he meant, but instead leaned forward to Veeka, put on a look of concern, and asked her. "What does he mean?"

For a moment, neither of them answered Ferus, eyes locked in a glare. But Veeka slowly looked up at him, her gaze struggling for a moment to properly focus on him. She squinted, almost accusatory, as if she'd forgotten who he was for a second there. But he appeared to be on her side.

"Dad," she choked. "People didn't like the ways he tried to get people to join the Call. Or what he was doing with the money. But it wasn't his fault! The Calwells were in on it."

The man who had interrupted stayed silent this time, struggling but not denying it.

Eyes darting to the man for just a second, Ferus looked back to Veeka, trying to keep eye contact. She was somewhat accepting of him, but she could decide otherwise at any point, especially with other people involving themselves in the conversation.

That said, Ferus was glad for the man and the way he kept watching them. Just by being there, he was helpful - Ferus hoped he wouldn't turn around or back out just yet, because his reactions and expressions were helpful to finding out the truth.

Weighing his words for a moment, he ventured, "That must have been frustrating to him. To be accused like that."

"Of course it was!" Veeka shot, voice raising as she got heated again. "His whole business was protecting the settlers from the fripping Sand People. But they still turned their backs on him!"

"He attacked us and blamed the Sandies," the man at the next table over growled.

Veeka struggled for a moment, expression wavering between anger and shame. She didn't know which one to feel. Ultimately, though, she was cowed and turned her eyes away. "It was for everyone's own good."

General statements sometimes got you more information than questions did, and Ferus was glad to see that that had worked. He looked to the man, noted the anger; looked back at Veeka and saw her conflict.

Whatever had father had done or hadn't done, it was clear that he'd been a dishonest man, one way or the other. Probably one with excuses and justifications. That's what Ferus was looking for now.

"He had a plan when he did that, didn't he?"

"Yeah," she agreed, straightening up a little. "If people didn't join the Call, then they'd get attacked for real. Dad made sure they were covered for when things got serious."

"Right," the intervening snorted. "He attacked us and conned us out of our money because he wanted to help."

Veeka tensed, grip tightening on her cup. She jerked, started to turn, faltered suddenly. She didn't fight with words though, either.

Again Ferus looked quickly to the man and gave him a tiny nod, a hopefully subtle signal to show that he was listening to him as well, that he was taking his side into account. The man might not catch it, but the young woman was still the priority in many ways, as she was the problem.

Ferus sat back down and looked at her, seeking her eyes.

"What did he need the money for?"

There was a beat of silence before Veeka said, "the farm. The vaporators."

The man snorted and asked, "Jabba's blood soaked credits weren't enough for him?"

Veeka just glowered.

The dishonest liar picture that Obi-Wan had drawn up and that this stranger behind Veeka was supporting started ringing more and more true. Veeka's hesitation made it all the more clear, and Ferus thought that if he could make her confront those mixed feelings she'd let go of part of the blame - hopefully, anyway.

It could go spectacularly wrong.

But he'd not go there just yet.

"Jabba? Jabba the Hutt?"

"You know another Jabba with his grimy mitts all over Tatooine?" the man asked derisively.

"He's an offworlder," Veeka snorted.

Ferus gave a quick smile, as if in apology of his ignorance and confirmation to why he wouldn't know. Of course, he knew about Jabba - the creature was notorious - but he wanted these people's words, not his own.

"I've heard rumours", he said. "He doesn't seem like someone you want to do business with."

The man laughed: "honest farmers wouldn't."

Veeka exploded.

She was on her feet in an instant, metal cup in her hand for a split second before it was flying across the room. Fortunately for the settler, her aim was off, and it clattered to the floor somewhere behind him, spilling liquor everywhere. He only had a second to look smug, however, before Veeka was stumbling forward. She nearly fell on top of him, but snatched at his collar all the same, balling fists into the fabric and growling into his face.

He was on his feet a second later, shoving her off but only causing both of them to stumble. He balled his own fist, ready to start swinging if she wouldn't let go.

"Ooooh nooooooo," came a moan from the entrance to the bar-side of the store.

Ferus was moving almost right away, but Veeka had surprised him with her anger - not that the anger itself had been sudden or unexpected, but the way she so quickly turned it into action was, and he thought he should have expected that sooner.

Reaching out to steady her as she stumbled back, he only held onto her for a short moment before he let go, aiming to step between her and the man, holding his hands up and giving the man a hard stare.

He'd catch that fist, should the settler decide to throw it.

"Enough", he said sharply. "She's grieving. Respect that or leave her alone."

Veeka blinked at Ferus for a moment, thrown off by the fact that he was holding onto her, even if it passed soon enough. It was a distraction--but fortunately it was for the farmer too, who paused, fist wavering as he looked between the two young adults. He was confused for a moment about who he should strike out against, and as a result ended up not doing it at all.

Instead he just spoke, voice low, "her father pulled the bantha wool over our eyes. I don't know what your uncle did or didn't do, but the man was a thief and a brute."

Veeka tried to shove past Ferus to get at the man again.

Turning around, Ferus made to grab her arms and catch her eyes, willing her to be still, holding her so should he need to. "If he was", he said, watching Veeka but speaking to the man behind them, "he still deserves respect in death."

But the man wasn't the only one who was wrong, and Ferus leaned closer to Veeka, watching her intently, now clearly addressing her.

"Anger won't help you", he said in a low tone, a warning. "It won't make you happy and it won't bring them back."

There was a moment of silence. The settler decided he wasn't interested in fighting Ferus, but neither was he interested in defending himself. He took a step back from him, back toward his table, watching the pair silently. Veeka, on the other hand, whimpered slightly, staring up into Ferus's eyes.

Her voice cracked, but it was still laced with anger and pain.

"I don't know what else to do."

ITT: SAD JEDI

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)