𝔸𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕤 » 𝕆𝕓𝕚-𝕎𝕒𝕟 𝕂𝕖𝕟𝕠𝕓𝕚

Chapter 21

When she stands she straightens out her robes with an elegant brush of her hands before giving him a weary smile and excusing herself from the room.

That was odd, he thinks.

Obi-Wan takes the time to really examine his surroundings now that he is feeling awake and well enough to process new information. He didn't fully appreciate how terrible he had felt during his rescue, now he feels refreshed and present.

He climbs out of the small medical bed and goes over to the other door in the room, the one Mon Mothma didn't exit out of, and finds the fresher as he suspected. There is a pile of dark clothing laid out for him, not the robes he had been wearing before. It feels wrong wearing anything but the robes, he isn't sure why, but he doesn't bother pondering it for too long.

In the mirror, Obi-Wan both recognizes and feels startled by the face staring back at him. He knows it's him, he remembers what his face looks like but it hasn't aged. He's been under ten years, right? Shouldn't he have aged?

He remembers the comment Han made that he didn't age a day. The boy was right. Obi-Wan doesn't understand the complexities that come with carbon-freezing but he never thought it would be used to stop the aging process.

His beard and hair are untrimmed and could use some maintenance, and his mouth still feels like chalk, he imagines he doesn't smell too nice either. Taking a shower is his first priority, then he can worry about trimming his unruly hair and finding a toothbrush.

--

Turns out he had to ask the nurse droid for a razor and other toiletries. The droid also released his medical file to him. Obi-Wan wanted to see for himself what condition his body is in after being frozen and not aging for ten years.

Except everything is functioning the way it should and his body is perfectly healthy, if not a little weak from no use. They did drop him into a bacta tank for a few days to ensure his body heals properly. And of course, there is the situation with his memory which bacta tanks can't cure but the doctor wrote down it will return with time. Just underneath that it says he is free to be discharged when he awakens.

He asked about his robes and the droid said they are being laundered and will be available this evening in his quarters. Since Obi-Wan has no idea where that will be, he thinks it's a good time to find the war room and this Mon Mothma.

Naturally, he gets lost. He doesn't recognize a single face that passes by, and each one either ignores him or stares at him and Obi-Wan can't decide which is worse.

Sucking up his pride, he asks the next person that tries to scurry by. He looks uncomfortable at Obi-Wans question, then looks over his shoulder at his pilot buddies as if asking for permission that none of them give (they look just as put-off), before turning back to him. "Just down there," he points, "and to the right."

"Thank you," Obi-Wan says, pretending like that wasn't the most awkward encounter he's ever had. Granted, he doesn't remember any of his previous ones.

The war room is exactly that--but it's too massive to be considered a room per se. There are machines and monitors everywhere, people sitting and standing in front of them, others scrambling around, there are glass screens highlighted in blue writing and a center console where the woman in white is standing next to a tan man in deep blue.

Everyone either stares or looks away quickly. It's making Obi-Wan feel uneasy.

When he is close enough to the pair, he can hear them talking in whispers. He hears his name being mentioned before he loudly clears his throat.

The two jump from their personal bubble and look towards him. The woman smiles and Obi-Wan can tell it's completely forced, the man, however, actually looks pleased to see him.