Trust in the Force

Part 4

"I was not trying to steal anybody!� Obi-Wan protested. The girl had increased her speed even more and disappeared around a corner. �She asked me to walk her across the bridge, so I did, that�s all.�

The men reached for their truncheons. �All right, we�ll handle this. Move along.�

The younger man did so, obviously reluctantly, and after he�d gone a few steps in the direction of the bridge, one of the Patrolmen growled, �From now on, Jedi, you keep your hands off our kids!�

"I was only helping her,� Obi-Wan explained, shifting into a defensive stance.

"We don�t want Jedi help, and we�re going to make sure you remember that.� The Patrolman swung his truncheon and Obi-Wan, who had been expecting it, thrust out his hand with Force-assisted speed and grabbed it. For a moment, they stood motionless, locked together.

"She asked for my help,� Obi-Wan stated again, looking the Otorian straight in the eye.

"If she did, it was because she�s blind and didn�t know any better.� The second Patrolman brought his truncheon down, meaning to smash it savagely into Obi-Wan�s arm, but Obi-Wan was quicker, letting go and whipping around to his left. In one smooth, fast movement, he circled around on the ball of his right foot and swung his left leg out, sweeping the legs out from beneath the Otorian and sending him sprawling.

In control of his truncheon once again, the first Patrolman rushed him, swinging it high over his head. Reaching up, Obi-Wan caught the man�s hand, then let the man�s forward momentum assist him in throwing his opponent onto the pavement. Obi-Wan didn�t want to hurt the Patrolmen, as they would then probably insist on having him arrested for grievous bodily harm, but he did want to defend himself. The second Otorian had already scrambled to his feet again and as soon as Obi-Wan�s movements had afforded him a split second of opportunity, he took it, slamming the truncheon into Obi-Wan�s stomach and almost knocking the breath out of him. Without pausing, he aimed for Obi-Wan�s head next, but Obi-Wan ducked under the oncoming blow. Grabbing the man�s arm with one hand, he slammed his other fist directly into the Otorian�s bicep, hitting the pressure point there with all his might. The Patrolman�s hand opened involuntarily, and Obi-Wan caught the truncheon before it fell, then tossed it away, pushing the Otorian backwards at the same time.

Hoping that he�d bought himself enough time to get away from the fight, Obi-Wan glanced around for an escape route. But the first Patrolman was back on his feet again and coming in from his left hand side, waving the hard wooden club. Dodging both that blow and the accompanying kick, he made to answer with a kick of his own, but his robe swung heavily around his legs and slowed his movement just enough for the Patrolman to get a tenuous grip on his foot with one hand and his truncheon. At that exact moment when he was already unbalanced, something barrelled into him from behind, knocking him away from the Patrolman and into the cobblestones with bruising force. Feeling his ankles being pinned to the ground by the body weight of his attacker, Obi-Wan was surprised to feel first one and then a second person sit on him as well. He didn�t have much of a chance to consider who the third person could be, however. The Force screamed a warning and he managed to get his left arm up just in time to protect his head. The Otorians began to pound him wherever they could reach.

A repeated blow split one of the IV bags open, spilling the liquid across Obi-Wan�s thigh and onto the pavement beneath. When the puddle became visible, the patrolman closest to it stopped and stood up hastily, pulling his colleague up as well. Out of the corner of his eye, Obi-Wan saw that the third assailant was the young man who had falsely accused him. Laughing and congratulating each other on having beaten the shu-shu out of a Jedi, the Patrolmen slapped hands appreciatively with the young man and they all walked away. Obi-Wan didn�t listen to their laughter, feeling simply impatient to get back to Qui-Gon and regretful that he had that much less fluid for him. When he was sure that they were gone, Obi-Wan moved to get up, hissing at the pain when he flexed his left elbow. The Patrolmen had been very thorough, remaining seated in order to hold him down and yet shifting every so often to find a fresh place to bruise. He had to call on the Force to dampen the agony enough that he could stand.

Slowly, Obi-Wan moved towards the gates of the bridge, ignoring the young man who stood there, leaning against one of the gates with his arms crossed over his chest, staring at the damp spot on the front of Obi-Wan�s cloak and grinning widely. Somehow, Obi-Wan managed to get half a dennar out of his belt pouch to pay the toll and from there, it was a long, slow walk back to the spaceport. Pain shot through his arm with every step, and the bruised muscles elsewhere in his body protested as well. Occasionally, a cold wind cut through the opening in the front of his cloak and chilled his wet leg, making him shiver all over. Resolutely, however, he kept going, one thought foremost in his mind. He had to get the remaining saline solution to Qui-Gon. He�d been away too long already.

It was dark by the time he reached the ship. Ignoring the pain and the cold, Obi-Wan moved immediately to Qui-Gon�s cabin. The first IV bag was empty. He replaced it with shaking fingers, silently cursing the circumstances that had made him late, then laid his hand on Qui-Gon�s head, feeling the uncomfortably hot skin beneath his fingers. Using his left arm as little as possible, he gave the Jedi master another dose of medicine. Only then did he remove the soft plastic bags from his cloak, setting them on the tiny table next to the bed and gazing sadly at the remains of the one that had burst open. Thank the Force that the Patrolmen hadn�t got them all! Moving stiffly into his own cabin, he hung up his robe, awkwardly tugged off his boots and clothes, and hung his leggings across the stool to dry. His injured elbow protested almost every motion as he climbed into bed, pulling the covers up to his chin and shivering at the coolness against his skin. Eventually, he warmed up enough to be able to relax, and then he shut his eyes and put himself in a healing trance, knowing that he�d have to take care of himself first before he could do anything more for his master.