Slavery Is A Crime

Chapter 4

- Unknown System

Obi-Wan finished getting dressed in the pants and looked at himself in the mirror on the back of the room's door. "Not looking too bad, Kenobi..." Obi-Wan mumbled to himself with a small smile. Obi-Wan then called for Aiko. "You're fin- oh my!" Aiko's cheeks went slightly pink as she stared at the Jedi with a small spark of passion in her eyes. Aiko then shook herself out of it and said, "You look very handsome. Just give a minute and I'll ask my Master which he would rather have you do." In a flash, she was out the door.

Obi-Wan sighed and sat down onto the bed in the room and just looked around. A moment later, Kenobi almost jumped when he heard the room's door open again. Kenobi turned around and his eyes widened slightly when he saw Aiko's Master, the man with the deep voice from earlier. "Ah..." the man smirked. "You were right, Aiko... he is a fine specimen in this outfit," the man said, giving Kenobi a look over, then he grimaced and walked towards Obi-Wan.

Kenobi gulped a little in fear as he waited to see what the man would do. To his surprise, the man only grabbed his chin and moved his head to the left, then to the right as he observed both angles of Kenobi's face. The man then shook his head and looked back at Aiko and said, "I shall be kind and let him wear the vest... but whatever you do, SHAVE THAT BEARD! With it, the profits on the bids for him will lower."

Obi-Wan swallowed hard. It wasn't that he was emotionally attached to the beard, it's just... he's just so used to it being on his face. He's had it for most of his life since he finished his training as a Padawan, it helps him hide most of his emotions... to say the least, he loved the beard because he's had it for most of his life now. Oh well... it'll grow back... stop being such a youngling, Kenobi! Obi-Wan mentally scolded himself.

Obi-Wan opened his mouth to say something, but cowardly closed it again, afraid he would get whipped for speech, just like on Kadavo. The man raised an eyebrow. "You were going to say something, slave? What is it?" he asked. "Um... I... um..." Obi-Wan quietly stammered. The man's eyes narrowed. "SPEAK! NOW!" he yelled. "W-what is your name?" Obi-Wan asked. "M-Master..." he quickly added. The man sighed. "It's Braz. Sorry about yelling at you. I tend to get grumpy and impatient from time to time, but other than that, I'm genuinely a friendly guy," Braz stated.

Obi-Wan blinked for a moment trying to process things, then replied with, "I am... Ben." "No last name?" Braz questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Well, you didn't tell me your last name either. Why should I tell you mine?" Obi-Wan sassed. His brain told him not to, but he just had to do it anyway.

Braz growled. "Listen here... I could easily kill you before the auction, but I'm keeping you alive for the profit you'll bring. So you've got no business asking what my last name is, slave," he growled, spitting out the word "slave" with disgust. Obi-Wan lowered his head in submission. "Y-yes Master..." he submissively replied.

Braz shook his head and brought out an electro-whip. Obi-Wan's eyes went wide in fear and he began backing away from his abuser. "You've got a mouth on you, Ben... I think that tongue of yours needs to learn how to be tamed..." Braz growled out as he brought his arm back getting ready to make the first lashing. Aiko just covered her tear-filled eyes.

Obi-Wan stared at the whip fearfully as it was brought down and wrapped around his right arm. Kenobi screamed in pain as the electricity coursed through his veins, filling them with burning energy. "Please, Master! M-make it stop, make it stop!" Kenobi cried out. Eventually, after Braz was satisfied with how much pain he had put Kenobi through, he retracted his whip. "And there'll be a fresh smack if you mouth off again*..." Braz warned as he turned and left the room.

Aiko uncovered her eyes, then ran over to Kenobi. Kenobi flinched and moved away from her. "D-don't touch me... fellow slaves only make things worse!" he yelled in fear. As he said that, his mind had a flashback to Kadavo. "Jedi only make things worse!" Kenobi had just now said almost the same thing. What was slave life doing to him...?

~

- Unknown System 

Later in the day after the incident, Obi-Wan awoke from his nap in slight discomfort. His head was killing him again, not that he would tell Braz or Aiko that. Speaking of Aiko, she walked into the room with a sad smile and slight fear in her eyes.

Why would she be fearful? Obi-Wan thought, then sighed as he remembered. Aiko scurried over to him and tried to avoid eye contact. "Aiko..." Obi-Wan started. Aiko looked up but didn't look him in the eyes. "Aiko, I... apologize for my... behavior... earlier today," he said carefully.

Aiko smiled a little and finally looked him in the eyes. "It's all right, Ben. I'm used to it," she stated. "You... forgive me, then?" Obi-Wan asked. Aiko nodded and grinned a little. "I couldn't be mad at you," she said. Obi-Wan grinned a little. "Thank you," he replied. "You're welcome, but..." Aiko's small grin dropped and turned to a frown. "You will not be liking what I'm going to do now..." she said.

Obi-Wan could only think of one possible thing that it could be and sighed. The beard must go. Obi-Wan thought with a mental sigh. "Let's get it over with..." Obi-Wan said. Aiko gave a grim smile and began to get a razor out of the bag she had brought into the room with her.

Obi-Wan swallowed hard as he watched Aiko put shaving cream onto her hands. Aiko then began putting the cream onto his beard. "I must warn... it's not very often that I have to shave the beard off a handsome slave like you, so I may accidentally cut you," she warned as she put more shaving cream on his beard. Great... like I need more cuts on my face. Obi-Wan bitterly thought.

Aiko wiped her hands off on a towel, then grabbed the razor and began to shave Obi-Wan's face. "So... where did you come from? W-what planet, I mean," Obi-Wan asked, trying to start up a conversation. Aiko smiled. "I came from the planet Lothal," she replied, cleaning off the razor and shaving another spot of his beard.

Obi-Wan decided to ask her another question. "I-if you don't mind me asking, um... how did you, uh..." "Become a slave?" Aiko volunteered as she cleaned the razor off and again began shaving his beard. Obi-Wan nodded. Aiko gave a small grim smile. "I, originally, was just a plain old dancer who danced in shows put on as entertainment for my family, but then, shortly after I turned nine, I was taken by slavers..." Aiko cleaned the razor again.

"They took me to Tatooine, brought me to Jabba the Hutt, sold me to him, and... well, I became one of his palace dancers. Then, one day, Braz came along and bought me from Jabba. I've been here ever since..." Aiko finished as she cleaned the razor again, then she smiled. "You're looking very handsome so far," she said as she reached into her bag and pulled out a mirror, then proceeded to show Obi-Wan how his face looked.

Obi-Wan looked at himself and winced at how terrible his head injury looked, then he looked down to where his beard was with a half-smile, half-frown. Half of his beard was already shaved off. He then looked towards Aiko. "What made you want to be a dancer?" he asked as Aiko began shaving the other half of his beard.

Aiko smiled. "I wanted to be a dancer since I was two. I watched my sister be a dancer and decided that was what I wanted to do." Aiko cleaned the razor and shaved another spot of his beard. "I would always practice my dancing after everyone had left the dance floor and the room," she said, again, wiping the razor.

"That's... interesting. I was forced into slavery because of an accident that happened with some Zygerrian slavers. I was brought to Kadavo and... well, I guess your Master found me there, then?" Obi-Wan questioned. Aiko nodded. "You should've seen yourself before we patched you up. No offense, but you looked terrible, Ben!" Aiko said as she began shaving off his mustache.

Obi-Wan chuckled a little. "It's all right... I can only imagine how I looked," he replied. Aiko smiled. "Well, the beard is now gone. Take a look," she said, holding up the mirror again. Obi-Wan took the mirror and looked at himself in it with slightly wide eyes. The last time I saw myself this clean-shaven was when I was a Padawan! he thought.

"Well, here's your dinner," Aiko started, handing him two slices of bread. "And here's your vest," she continued as she pulled a vest out of her bag, one that matched the pants he was wearing. Obi-Wan proceeded to put it on as Aiko said, "I will be back early in the morning to awaken you and make sure you're presentable for the auction. Sleep well, Ben." Aiko exited the room. "Thank you!" Obi-Wan called after her, then, from how hungry he was, began scoffing down his two slices of bread.

*Footnote: If you got the slight reference to K-2S0 from Rogue One, you're a legend.