Chapter 3:

Anakin Skywalker

He definitely had a concussion.

Severe headache, loss of consciousness, nausea. He cracked an eye open, before shutting it again. Sensitivity to light…

Obi-wan let himself lay there for a few minutes, and tried to recollect his mental faculties before attempting to reopen his eyes. He groaned into the cold metal floor underneath him and brought his hand up to rub the sore spot on the back of his head.

Next to him, he heard a fearful intake of breath and a sharp shuffling sound as someone quickly backed away.

He tensed. He wasn't alone. Gently as he could, he lifted his headand turned it towards the origin of the noise.

A little boy, dressed in a filthy tunic, was pressed into the corner of the small, windowless room, watching him fearfully. Obi-wan let himself relax. Just a kid, he thought. And a small one at that.

"Hello there," he mumbled, stretching his legs out on the floor.

The boy tried to scoot further back into the wall, but could gain no purchase. Realizing he was cornered, the boy let out a quiet whimper.

"It's okay. I won't hurt you," Obi-wan said kindly. He sat up gingerly. "I'm a Jedi."

The boy didn't respond, just continued to watch him, warily.

Obi-wan's stomach rolled uncertainly as he lifted his arm to check the back of his head for blood. Finding nothing, he let his arm fall back down. "My name is Obi-wan. What's yours?"

The boy continued to watch him. It was unnerving. Obi-wan mentally berated himself for being made uncomfortable by a toddler. At least what he thought was a toddler – the boy was very small. He didn't have a lot of experience with little kids. Whenever he helped in the crèche it was always with the older children.

He gave the kid a look over. If he was on the pirates' ship – which seemed the most logical assumption based on the events that had led to him being smashed in the back of the head with a hydrospanner – the boy in front of him was probably a slave. Oh great. I'm on a slave ship…He couldn't think of anyother reason a kid as young as this one would be the ship. And it would account for how dirty he was. His pale skin looked covered in dirt and sand, both of which blended into his tunic and trousers. Even his hair was caked in sand. The only thing that really stood out were his eyes – bright blue, and sharp. The kid was smarter than he probably let on.

Deciding to change tactics, he reached down to his belt (which he was surprised they'd kept on him, even if they had confiscated his lightsaber) and plucked off a silver food capsule.

He held it out to the boy. "Are you hungry?" The blue eyes watching him narrowed in a combination of confusion and suspicion. Obi-wan wiggled the silver tube in between his fingers. "You look hungry. Here. It's food – it's not great, but it's food."

The boy assessed the situation, glancing back and forth between the shiny food capsule and the strange man attached to it. Very slowly, he unfolded himself and leaned forward. Pausing half way, to make sure Obi-wan gave no indication of moving, the boy grabbed the food capsule out of his hand, and quickly scrambled back into his corner.

Obi-wan watched for a moment as the kid started frantically unscrewing the capsule before resting his pounding head on the cool metal wall behind him and closing his eyes. If he really was on the pirates' ship, then he was pretty well screwed, he decided. With no information to go on, his master would be hard pressed to find him. He fingered the heavy collar around his neck. Step one of getting off this ship would getting rid of the Force-suppression collar. If Master Qui-gon was close enough, maybe he could reach out to with their bond…

"Thank you."

Obi-wan opened his eyes again and looked over at the boy. "You're welcome," he replied, surprised at the speed in which the kid had eaten the food capsule. Although he didn't know why he was surprised. The kid looked half-starved.

"I'm Anakin," the boy mumbled after a few moments.

Obi-wan opened his eyes again and gave the boy a friendly smile. "Hello, Anakin… Do you know where we are?"

Anakin shrugged and licked protein powder off his fingers. "On a ship. We're going to Nar Shadaa."

"Nar Shadaa?"

Anakin shrugged again. "That's what the others said."

"There's others on this ship?"

The boy nodded. "I was in there, in the hold with the other slaves. Then they put me in here. It was warmer in there…" As if on que, Anakin shivered and brought his knees to his chest.

Obi-wan frowned. "Why did they put you in here?" Anakin didn't respond, just sniffed. Deciding to let it drop, Obi-wan rearranged his legs into the Lotus position. Even if he didn't have access to the Force, meditation would help him clear his mind. A question popped into his head before he could settle in.

"Anakin? Where are your parents? Are they in the hold with the others?"

The boy's lip quivered violently, before burying his face in his knees. "I don wanna talk about it," he said into his legs.