Kenobi was sitting in his kitchen as he caught up on the latest Imperial news. It wasn't anything overly interesting and Obi-Wan was very skeptical about the authenticity of most of these stories.
For example, he very much doubted Kamino's complete economic collapse in three short months was solely based on the end of the war. Yes, the shutting down of the cloning facilities did probably hurt them severely, but the Republic paid them so much for the Clone Army that they would have been fine for a long while. More likely, the Empire was suffocating them to death through taxes and tariffs. Why would they do such a thing? Simple. The cloners knew a little too much about the Emperor's agenda.
He took a long sip of his Serronian coffee and moved onto other articles. He found one about the uprisings on Kashyyyk by the "savage and primitive" Wookiees. How the "brainless animals" were resisting Imperial occupation by any means necessary. He shook his head dismissively.
Here was an article on the Tusken Raider attacks. They were horribly inaccurate once again. Kenobi wondered where the differences in this specific story had come from: the troopers here on Tatooine embellishing their recollections to their superiors or the press altering the the take to praise the Empire. It was likely a mix of both.
He busied himself by looking at the stock market. It actually hadn't changed much since the Imperial takeover. Some businesses skyrocketed, some dropped, some still fluctuated. It would level out soon enough.
Kenobi's head snapped away from the charts as a thump from the other room caught his attention. He dropped his drink onto the tabletop.
"Sahrea?" he asked the door. More rustling. He could sense something was very wrong. Her fear was so strong, it even ramped up his own anxiety.
He darted into the bedroom. Shan was thrashing about in her sleep, almost as if she were being attacked. Obi-Wan knelt down by her side.
"Sahrea!" he said, shaking her shoulder lightly. She opened her eyes instantly, as if she hadn't been sleeping at all. The Gray was sweating and breathing heavily.
"Obi-Wan?" she murmured, grabbing his arm frantically. Her brows were drawn together. Her eyes were glassy, her mouth parted.
"Shh, it's alright." he responded, brushing hair off her forehead.
"What's wrong?" he asked her, putting a hand to her cool cheek. Shan swallowed.
"Nothing. Bad dream." she muttered. She was lying again. Using some mental steel, he did not confront her about it. He would later though. Instead he sighed and dropped his hand. That was when he noticed some fresh blood on her shirt.
"Has your wound reopened?" he asked, dropping the sleeve of her blouse to check the the bandage. It was clean. There wasn't a speck of red.
"It's fine. I am a bit hungry though." she answered immediately, trying to change the subject. He let her. Shan sat forward and Obi-Wan helped her to her feet.
"Are you feeling up to going into Anchorhead? I'm afraid to leave you alone, but I do need to go back into town for some more medical supplies." he asked her. His small cache in the bathroom would not be sufficient enough to fully treat her wounds. He would need more. She gave him a weak smile.
"You know me. I'm always up for an adventure." Kenobi chuckled.
"I wouldn't exactly call shopping for bacta gel an adventure." Shan held her injured arm close. Ender rolled up and beeped worriedly to her. He had previously been in standby mode in the corner.
"Hi little buddy. I'm fine." she told him. Kenobi went to his top drawer and pulled out one of his clean tunics.
"Put this on. We'll get the blood out of your shirt later." he said, handing her the tan tunic. She took it and he left the room. A few moments later, Shan came out, trying to tie up her hair with one hand. The shirt was big on her, but there was something satisfying about knowing she was wearing something that belonged to him.
"Let me help." he offered. She dropped her hand. Kenobi came up close behind her, running his fingers through her silky hair. He pulled it back and tied it in a short ponytail on the nape of her neck.
"Thank you. Let's go." she said, glancing over her shoulder at him. It made his heart flutter. Curse her for having the ability to break him down with one glance. He did not remember it being this hard to be around her during the war. Something had changed. Their attention was diverted as Ender beeped quickly at Sahrea.
"Of course you're coming." she responded like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "He hates to get left behind." she added when she saw Kenobi's confused face.
"So what's the story with the droid?" Kenobi asked as they exited his home. Sahrea squatted down and stroked his metal top. The MSE whirred.
"I rescued him when I was on Kashyyyk. You know, before the Imperial occupation. He was going to be scrapped along with other Republic droids, so I took him and had a Wookiee friend of mine repair him." she explained. Ender beeped happily and turned in a circle. Sahrea slipped her hand under the MSE and picked him up with her good arm. She placed him on the back seat.
"Wookiees are good friends to have." Kenobi said as she hopped in front of Ender.
"Indeed they are. So what have you been doing with yourself these last few months?" she asked as Kenobi headed out into the sea of sand. He made a large U-turn and headed the opposite way.
"Living the quiet life." Kenobi replied truthfully. Sahrea thought for a moment.
"Do you like it?" she asked, her voice soft. Obi-Wan sighed.
"In some ways. It is very different from the non-stop chaos of the war." Shan's aura was pensive.
"I enjoy it, but it gets boring sometimes, being alone. I don't even have my order to return to." she said. "I gave up leadership to Lano. He's been the one running things and my being there would be an extra danger to them." she explained, her voice troubled. Kenobi looked over to her.
"Hopefully you can return to them one day." he replied. "And for you it would be boring, Sahrea. You were always one for excitement." he added after, trying to lighten her mood. The Gray smirked at him, the wind whipping thin strands of loose hair over her face. Kenobi forced himself to focus on what was up ahead. He maneuvered around a rock embedded in the sand.
"So what is happening with the nightmares?" he asked her. Now felt like a good time to bring it up and they never beat around the bush with each other. No games.
"What do you mean?" she replied. He tapped his thumb against the steering mechanism.
"What I mean is that you look like you haven't slept in days." he replied. Shan's aura coldened.
"That's cause I haven't." She answered. She paused for a moment. "It's nothing to worry about. It'll pass." Kenobi could tell she wasn't telling him the full truth. Again. What he didn't know was why.
They took a path that Kenobi had found weeks ago. It's a little long and out of the way, but it wasn't well known and a speeder could easily fit through it.
Anchorhead appeared in front of them as the rounded a corner. There were a surprisingly good amount of places to visit for a small town on a backwater planet like this: Gribeeyu's Repair Shop, Garitana's Cantina, Krayt Dragon Cantina (built on the death sight of a real Krayt Dragon; whether true or a publicity scheme, no one knew) Henbert's, and many others.
There was also a Otto's Swoop Racing Track. Well technically a pod racing track. They are the same thing for the most part, just different names, but Tatooinians had called it pod racing since the beginning. Otto's is for those who wanted to have fun. The more serious racers could be found at the Anchorhead Grand Arena, the sister track of the one in Mos Espa.
The buildings grew in size as they got closer and closer. A large trunked creature carrying baskets on its side was being led out by a Toydarian as the Clone War veterans made their way into the town.
Ben smiled at Shan's fascinated face. She did this every time they visited a new world. She loved traveling and seeing new places. That he understood. How she could possibly find the dirty streets of Anchorhead interesting, that was beyond him.
Kenobi parked his speeder in the center of town. He grabbed a cloak off the seat and pulled it on as he got out. He went around the other side and put Ender down first before helping the Gray out. He pulled out her pale white cloak and draped it over her petite shoulders.
"Thanks." Shan said as flicked up the hood over her hair. "Where are we off to?" she asked as they started walking.
"Henbert's. It's on the west side of town." he replied as they passed a pair of Ithorians lugging a large crate full of metal parts. There were a few Twi'Lek males hanging out in the shade of the buildings and a large, four legged creature with a saddle waddled by on their right. Kenobi dropped his head as two Imperial Sandtroopers patrolled past them.
"Anchorhead is... interesting." she noted. She spotted a Mandalorian bounty hunter with green armor and a blaster pistol hanging from his hand. A mythosaur skull was printed on his one shoulder and he had a jetpack on his back. He turned his head and made eye contact with the Gray through his T shaped visor. They both stared for a good long moment before Obi-Wan tugged on her elbow.
"What?" she said with a bit of a bite. "Don't make eye contact with anyone, especially bounty hunters." Kenobi looked over his shoulder. The Mandalorian was gone.
He led Shan into Henbert's Market. Henbert's was the only place in Anchorhead that sold decent food. There were others where you could shop for cheaper, but most of the food was rotten and old.
Once they passed through the opening carved out of the thick sandstone wall, Kenobi could see the extent of Henbert's.
It was a large, open space with wooden poles stabbed deep in the ground. They held up heavy tarps to block the sun above. A large variety of fruits and plants from all over the galaxy were placed neatly in crates around the store.
Along the right wall were refrigeration units that held gallons of the blue colored Bantha Milk, meats, fish, and other temperature sensitive items. To his left were the baked goods. Dantooinian bread, Grepa Cookies (an Alderaanian specialty), Juka Berry Cakes, you name it.
Kenobi grabbed a satchel made of a scratchy material and dropped a few of the red and blue Juka berries in it, followed by a container of Nubian Molasses. He might as well do some grocery shopping while he was here, especially if Sahrea was going to be staying with him for a few days. That realization brought up a flurry emotions and a long train of thought he chose to ignore.
"Question for you." Shan stated as they made their way to the bread section. "Ender said that when you showed up, those Sandpeople called you the Blue Breath or Blue Death. He couldn't tell." she asked. Ender beeped accordingly. Kenobi dropped a few loaves in the bag before answering.
"It's the Blue Death." he said as they made their way toward the top left area of the store. That was where the medical supplies and spare droid parts were located. "It's just an old myth." he replied.
"The Blue Death?" a Quarren interjected, overhearing the conversation. Shan turned to him.
"Yes. You've heard of it?" she asked him. The male nodded, the tentacles on his chin swaying from the movement."
"I know the story, yes. It is a Tusken legend of an otherworldly being with a blue sword of light who single-handedly slaughtered an entire village of Sandpeople. Men, women, children, everyone." Shan listened intently while Kenobi ignored the male, plucking what he needed off the shelves.
"The Raiders believe him to be some kind of malevolent deity that punished the tribe for allowing outsiders onto their land and not protecting it." he explained. "No one knows the truth of the legend though." This tidbit made Shan's eyebrow go up.
"Interesting. Thank you for the story." Sahrea replied. The male nodded and returned to his shopping.
"That's curious." she said with a look at Kenobi. "It's just an old story. It was probably pirates who killed them." Ben explained as they moved to stand in line to pay. "They've done it before." Behind them, a group of young kids came barreling into the market.
"A blue sword of light, that sounds a lot like a... lightsaber." she said, dropping her voice on the last word. Although the Empire didn't give two credits about this wasteland, there was still an Imperial presence here. The Empire had outlawed any speech relating to Jedi, that included lightsabers, kyber crystals, temples, the Force, anything. They took it seriously too.
"But if that is true, why would a, you know, murder an entire village of Sandpeople? Even the children. That is against everything they believe in." she asked, shaking her head. Kenobi looked at her out of the corner of his eye.
"I don't know. But they saw me with mine once and now they are all terrified of me." he whispered, changing the subject. That was one that could get very sticky if Sahrea started poking around it.
Up ahead, Ben heard the Twi'lek cashier chastising the yelling kids, trying to get them to leave. They moved up as the woman in front of them took her items and headed out. Kenobi put his bag up onto the counter.
"That'll be twenty-three credits." the clerk said as they checked out. The group of kids, rather than leaving, all congregated around the door to their left. A very frazzled looking man with a small, golden haired infant wedged himself between Kenobi and Shan as he headed for the exit.
"I'm sorry." he muttered quickly in passing. He and Kenobi locked eyes for a second before the man turned his attention to a woman waiting outside the door.
"Beru!" he called to her. He handed the infant off to the woman before taking his bag to the back of the line.
"Are you gonna give me my money or what?" the clerk bit at them. Kenobi snapped back to the present.
"Oh, yes, sorry. Here you go." he said, dropping the currency in the Twi'lek's purple skinned hand. He grumbled under his breath as he stashed it away in the register.
The three made their way out of the store through the side door, Ender weaving around the shoppers' feet the best he could.
They passed the woman from earlier, who was still holding the infant. The small boy pointed at Kenobi and gave a cute laugh. Shan raised her eyebrow at him.
"Stop that." he stated instantly. Shan gave him a dismissively look. "I didn't say anything." she replied, her voice high. "That was adorable though." she added with a smirk. Nothing got past her keen gaze.
As they exited the market, the three stopped and pretended to mingle on the side of the store as a small troop of Stormtroopers marched down the street, being sure to keep their hoods pulled as far down as they could. As soon as the convoy passed, they continued on. As they turned a corner, a voice caught their attention.
"So the hermit's alive after all. Haven't seen ya in weeks, Ben Kenobi."