Part III
Obi-Wan had sensed the clone troopers before he actually saw them. Three years of fighting alongside the elite soldiers had ingrained their Force signatures in his mind. The majority of them felt the same in the Force, but there were a few who stood out in his mind. In particular Commanders Cody and Alpha. Obi-Wan had spent nearly as much time in Cody’s presence during the Clone Wars as he had Anakin while he and Alpha had counted on one another for survival at the hands of Asajj Ventress. It was neither of those clones that he sensed on Roon then.
The only comfort Obi-Wan had at the moment was that Luke was spending the day with some other children and their parents at the seaside. Obi-Wan himself had meant to go, but there had been too much to do at the shop for him to take off in the middle of the week. With luck the clones would be gone before Luke returned.
“What do you think they’re doing here?” Gavin, his co-owner in the shop, mused as a group of three clone troopers in full battle gear strode past the open garage doors. “The Empire’s never had any business here.”
“The Empire still has no business here,” Obi-Wan clarified, his right hand instinctively reaching to the place where his lightsaber had once hung when a pair of them stopped across the street. “They should stay on their side of the galaxy.”
As though they had heard him, the two clone troopers crossed the street and entered the shop. Obi-Wan forced himself to relax, knowing that hostility would only get him into trouble. They were passing a datapad between them and Obi-Wan happened to glance at the information on the screen. They had come looking for Obi-Wan Kenobi; General of the Clone Wars and Jedi Master. All that they would find, though, was Ben Kenobi, father to Luke and widower of Shanni Kenobi. The name of his supposedly dead wife had come from a girl whose life he’d saved on Corellia nearly a decade before. For some reason her name had stuck with him when he’d needed to create a past for himself and Luke.
“We’re looking for Ben Kenobi,” one of the clones said without preamble.
Taking a half-step in front of Gavin, Obi-Wan inclined his head briefly. “And you’ve found him. My name’s Ben Kenobi. Will you be needing something fixed?”
“We need information.”
Obi-Wan struggled to keep his right hand from moving up to his jaw in an all too familiar gesture. “And just what type of information are you after?”
“We’re looking for General Obi-Wan Kenobi.”
Obi-Wan had to laugh outright at that; at the clone’s sheer audacity. “I don’t know where you get your information, but I’m just a simple mechanic. Whatever my name is, I don’t know any generals.”
“Where were you during the wars?”
“All over the place,” Obi-Wan shrugged, idly scratching at the corner of his jaw. “Corellia, Duro, Velusia. We were on Coruscant when it was attacked.”
That caught the clone’s attention. “We?”
“My wife and I,” Obi-Wan amended, heaving a great sigh. “She was killed in the hospital plaza when it was destroyed. We had just been to see the midwives.”
“How old are you?”
“Thirty-four.”
There was no reaction from the clones, so Obi-Wan assumed that Gavin didn’t react to the fact that he had removed six years from his age. Age was not something that Obi-Wan had ever truly concerned himself with, but he knew that the clone troopers in front of him would be aware of his age. That there was a humanoid Ben Kenobi who was the same age and bore something of a physical resemblance to the errant General Obi-Wan Kenobi would not be overlooked.
Just to be certain, though….
“The man that you are looking for is not on Roon,” Obi-Wan said calmly, focusing on projecting the words into the clone’s minds.
“The man we are looking for is not on Roon,” the one with the datapad said to his companion.
“You can leave now.”
“We can leave now,” the same one echoed.
Both clones muttered something that could be interpreted as a farewell and left the shop. Only when they had turned down the street did Obi-Wan relax his shoulders. He started to turn towards the office at the back of the shop, but was brought up short when Gavin suddenly stepped in front of him.
“What the hell was that, Kenobi?” the smaller man demanded, his voice a low hiss even though there was no one to overhear them.
Scrubbing a hand over his face, Obi-Wan grabbed hold of Gavin’s arm with his free hand and dragged him back towards the office. He didn’t want to have the conversation he knew was going to follow in a place where they could be interrupted.
“The clones repeated everything you said,” Gavin said as soon as the door to the office was shut. “Their voices got all dead and they repeated you almost word for word. What’s going—You’re him, aren’t you? Fierfek! That was one of those Jedi mind trick things, wasn’t it? You’re General Kenobi!”
“Will you please keep your voice down, Gavin,” Obi-Wan said as calmly as he could manage. In truth, the only thing Obi-Wan wanted to do in that moment was find Luke and get off Roon. He’d been a fool to think that he and Luke could hide there forever.
“Oh no! You’re telling me what’s going on. Starting with why you never told me that you’re the Negotiator.”
Obi-Wan sighed, slumping against the edge of his desk. It was really little more than a table where he could do the necessary paperwork for invoices and other mundane tasks. Tasks that Obi-Wan had taken for granted until that very moment. He could have easily lied or used his talents to convince Gavin that he wasn’t Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, General of the Clone Wars. The thing that stopped him outright, though, was the simple fact that Gavin was his friend and he owed Gavin the truth.
“You don’t honestly think that I could have told you who I really was, do you?” Obi-Wan asked as he crossed his arms over his chest. “You know as well as I do that Jedi were being hunted and killed all over the galaxy when I arrived. That they were being hunted for more than a year after I arrived. It’s not safe for me to be Obi-Wan Kenobi any longer. I have other obligations.”
Gavin stared at him in confusion for a moment before he blinked, his expression softening. “Luke.”
“Luke.”
“He’s not your son, is he?” The words were spoken as a question, but Obi-Wan knew that it was a statement.
“It doesn’t matter who Luke’s father is,” Obi-Wan said instead. “The only important thing is keeping that little boy safe. And since Roon is now in the Emperor’s sights, it is no longer safe for Luke and me to remain here.”
Gavin jerked slightly as the words registered in his mind. “You’re leaving.”
“I have no choice,” Obi-Wan said honestly.
Vader wasn’t supposed to know that the Emperor was actively searching for Obi-Wan. He had found out, though, a fact which he kept hidden from the Emperor. It wasn’t so much that Sidious was looking for Obi-Wan that caught Vader’s attention—he was one of the few remaining Jedi –it was that he was doing it in secret. And that he was doing it after Sidious himself had decided to let Obi-Wan stew about in exile. Vader knew instantly that there was something being kept from him if he wasn’t allowed to know about the search or the reasons for it. Some secret that his master was keeping from him.
That fact alone was enough to raise Vader’s ire. It was secrets the Jedi Council had been keeping from him that had caused him to turn away from them. If they had simply allowed him into the restricted areas of the Jedi archives he might have been able to find out about Darth Pelagius’ teachings on his own without having to rely on Sidious. Vader knew the archives contained that information because he had conducted his own search of the archives in the weeks following his recovery. If Yoda had just told him what he needed to know so much would have been different.
The Republic and the Jedi Order could very well still be standing if he had just been given the chance to save Padmé.
It was a fruitless wish, though. Only when his mind had begun to clear after the fires of Mustafar did he realize his turning to the dark side had been inevitable. The dreams had led him down the path, true enough, but they were created by that same path because he had already been walking upon it when his nightmares had begun. Vader wasn’t quite sure what the turning point had been, but the murder of Dooku had fixed his course to the dark side. Sidious had been able to worm his way into the vulnerable Anakin’s consciousness and created Vader.
Padmé had been a sacrifice. She had been offered up by Sidious so that he could create a new apprentice. Padmé and his child had died in order to create Vader and the Galactic Empire. One day Vader meant to ensure that the Emperor paid the price for his actions.
For the time being, though, there was little he could do. Vader wasn’t strong enough yet. His injuries had not healed to the point where he was powerful enough to defeat his Master.
So he would wait.
Vader knew that he was meant to have died on the shores of Mustafar so whatever forces had kept him alive were not finished with him yet. He would use the advantages given to him and ensure that all who were responsible for his suffering shared in his pain before the end.
It had taken a huge amount of willpower for Obi-Wan to not rush off to the shore and get Luke. Rationally he knew that the boy was safe for the moment and that no good would come of him scurrying about in a panic. That would only draw attention to them. It would be better for them to leave in the dead of night. That Gavin already knew his secret would make things easier. Obi-Wan felt better that the other man knew because he would not be abandoning him and the shop without any notice.
After finishing his conversation with Gavin, Obi-Wan returned to the place that had been his home for the past two and a half years. He’d always known that it would never be a permanent home, but he’d become attached to it. It was filled with memories of Luke. The little boy had grown so much, become his own person, while living on Roon. Even so, there was so much of Anakin in him; the untainted Anakin that he had met on Tatooine so many years ago.
Now it was time to leave that all behind and Obi-Wan didn’t know where to take Luke. All of the places he had planned on when he had first taken over Luke’s guardianship were no longer an option. The Empire had firm footholds in all of Obi-Wan’s intended destinations. Fortunately it would be easier to flee this time because Luke wasn’t a newborn. At two and a half, Luke would be able to hide and fight back should anyone attempt to grab him. It was still dangerous, but nowhere near as dangerous as it had been when Luke was an infant.
When he arrived home, Obi-Wan immediately began to pack up the essentials. The very first thing he did, though, was don a dark leather trench coat and his lightsaber. His Jedi robes were far too distinctive and Obi-Wan had left them behind on Polis Massa when he, Yoda and Bail Organa had gone their separate ways. The long coat was a suitable replacement as it allowed him to hide his lightsaber just as the robes had before. At first Obi-Wan was unsure of what to do with Anakin’s lightsaber, but in the end he clipped it to his belt alongside his own. So long as it was on his belt he wouldn’t have to worry about someone stealing it.
Less easy to pack were his and Luke’s belongings. Obi-Wan had never truly owned anything before arriving on Roon and in only a few short years had managed to accumulate a great deal of things. True, much of it was related to Luke—clothes, toys, learning tools –but until then Obi-Wan had never realized just how much stuff there was. And the bulk of it would have to be left behind as they’d be traveling light. So while Luke was still away, Obi-Wan packed several changes of clothes for the both of them and a few of Luke’s favourite toys. There would be a great deal of space travel in their future and the toys would keep the small boy occupied.
“Daddy, I home!” Luke shouted as he burst through the front door.
Leaving his packing for the moment, Obi-Wan entered the common room to find Luke making a beeline for him while Gavin’s wife Meryssa hovered near the doorway. Scooping the blonde whirlwind into his arms, Obi-Wan offered Meryssa a warm smile.
“I trust that he didn’t exhaust you too badly,” Obi-Wan chuckled as he carefully balanced a squirming Luke against his hip.
Meryssa returned his smile easily. “He wore out my boys which is the best I could have asked for. I’ll gladly take him along any time if he can wear Tion and Zander out that easily.”
“Tion and Zander couldn’t catch me,” Luke chirped, wiggling out of Obi-Wan’s arms. “I ran faster.”
Obi-Wan had to laugh out loud at that. There was nothing smug or confident about the statement as there would have been with Anakin, just a little boy’s joy at being able to play with older children. Initially, when he had first arrived at the Temple, Anakin had been the same way. Being so old, Anakin hadn’t fit in with the younglings and had always been so happy when the other Padawans would allow him to join their games. In his teens, though, that joy had been replaced by a smugness when Anakin began to realize that his abilities far surpassed his peers. Obi-Wan hoped that things never became that way with Luke.
“I’ll leave Luke to tell you about our day at the shore,” Meryssa said by way of farewell as she backed towards the door.
Obi-Wan inclined his head, thanking her once more for including Luke in the outing. “I know that Luke has always benefited from you motherly influence.”
“Bye Missa!” Luke shouted absently, already immersed in a game he had tugged out from behind the sofa.
There was nothing remarkable about their farewells. Nothing to keep it locked in either his or Meryssa’s memories, but it would be the final time that the two of them met. And Obi-Wan would genuinely miss her. Meryssa had been invaluable to him when Luke was still an infant. She and Gavin lived close enough that she had been available whenever an emergency arose. Obi-Wan could still vividly remember when Luke had begun teething. The very air around Luke radiated with the pain the little boy was feeling and Obi-Wan could find no sense of what was wrong with him. He’d feared that he’d harmed Luke in some way. Obi-Wan had been on the point of panic when he brought Luke to Meryssa only to be informed that his teeth were growing in and that he needed something cool to gnaw on to help with the pain. Having two boys of her own, she had been an invaluable source of information. And while Obi-Wan didn’t doubt his abilities to keep Luke safe, he was not so confident in his ability to raise the boy. Things had hardly turned out well with Anakin.
Obi-Wan waiting until after Luke had fallen asleep before gathering up the two packs with their belongings and leaving the only home Luke could remember. He was able to barter passage on a transport to another district and sat with Luke sleeping soundly on his lap in the back of the vehicle’s cab.
His actions could be viewed as an overreaction, but the truth was that he couldn’t take the chance of Luke being discovered. Luke was still very young and impressionable and Obi-Wan feared what would happen if the Emperor found him then. Even Anakin with his maturity hadn’t been able to overcome the Sith Lord’s manipulations for the simple fact that he had been close to the man for most of his life. So Obi-Wan had to keep Luke hidden as long as possible. The clone troopers were aware that there was man named Kenobi living on Roon which meant that before long both the Emperor and Vader would know. By the time the two men were able to do anything about it Obi-Wan hoped to be far from the system.
It was just a question of where he and Luke would end up.
While he’d waiting for Meryssa and Luke, Obi-Wan had toyed with the idea of making a home in the underwater Gungan city of Otoh Gunga. Boss Nass had become quite fond of Padmé and Obi-Wan was sure that the Gungan leader would help to hide her son. It was Obi-Wan himself who refused to put the Gungans at risk. Beautiful and secluded as the city was, it was too close to many of the locations that had been important in Anakin’s life. What had ultimately been the deciding factor was a half-remembered HoloNet report mentioning that Vader made a yearly trip to the Nubian capital of Theed to visit Padmé’s tomb. If Vader ventured to Naboo while he and Luke were on it there would be no stopping the Sith Lord from tracking them down.
The same went for Coruscant. Obi-Wan longed to return to the place he would always consider his home, but so long as Luke was dependent on him it was impossible. He didn’t fear what would happen to him, but if Vader captured him there was no telling what would become of Luke and that was a risk Obi-Wan was not willing to take.
“I hope that you will forgive me for this when you are old enough to understand,” Obi-Wan whispered into Luke’s soft hair. “But you are Anakin’s only chance of fulfilling his destiny so you have to be kept safe. Even from your own father.”