Hey guys! I am really excited about this story set in one of my favorite universes. I will be posting the last chapter of my RvB/Halo story next, but I took a brief break from that to write the first chapter of this Star Wars story. I think you will like this story, and I have some fun plans for it. I want to keep it pretty short, though (probably 3-4 chapters), but we'll see. This story features my favorite SW character, Obi Wan Kenobi, in the starring role, and it takes place on a totally new world with all new characters. The story was inspired primarily by the Clone Wars TV series. Please leave comments to let me know what you think! Thanks for reading!

Chapter 1

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, the Galactic Republic was at war with a group calling themselves the Confederacy of Independent Systems who wanted to separate themselves from the Republic's rule. These Separatists developed a reputation for cruelty and destruction perpetrated by their evil leader, a Sith lord, and the soulless droids that he commanded. Not all Separatists were evil, though. Some simply desired freedom.

"Ruling Council of Teret, I beg you to reconsider this decision. The Republic will make us strong, rich, and powerful! Their laws will guide us to a new tomorrow!" A young man with fiery red hair spoke with zeal in his voice.

"Councilor Hollume," a woman in her mid thirties addressed the speaker. Her black hair was done up tightly behind her head. "Do you dare press this matter when the council's decision was almost unanimous besides your vote? We want no more part of this Republic. The Separatists are our only chance at freedom."

"Freedom from what, Councilor Odoni? Affluence? Stability? You are all fools to reject what the Republic offers," Geralt Hollume stood in the center of the circle made by the ring of seated robed figures. They all wore the same simple grey robes. Seated in chairs of wood, the council of the planet Teret held their meetings inside the old palace, now empty of decorations and furnishings.

"The Republic is what has held our people back," an old Mon Calamari man said, struggling to stand to his feet. "They taxed us dry, while supporting a planetary government that made our king and galactic representatives rich and the common people poor. My son died to rid this planet of its rulers, but the Republic will only reinstate a new, powerful government here, and the cycle will start again."

"Juffan is right!" A middle-aged woman stated, "We placed you, Geralt Hollume, on this council because we thought it right to show respect to our former government. However, since you are so adamant in opposing the decision of this council, I motion that our former king's son be removed from his station!" There were murmurs of approval throughout the council. The young man's face turned red to almost match the redness of his hair. Geralt tore his grey robe off of his body to reveal his fine and costly clothes underneath.

"No need, council!" Geralt shouted, "For I am already leaving! I hope that the Separatists protect you when the Republic comes back to retake its planet!"

"What do you mean, Hollume?" asked Councilor Odoni. Geralt had a defiant look in his eye that troubled her. It was obvious that he had something up his sleeve.

"The Republic sent a representative to this planet, a Jedi, to keep us from joining the Separatists." The council became uneasy. Everyone began talking at once, and the situation was threatening to turn into a panic.

Sheyan Odoni shouted above all the other noise. "You lie!" she accused, "Our scanner would have picked up their ship!"

"It would have yes," Geralt smirked, "until I disabled it." A hush fell over the whole assembly. Looks of shock filled their faces. Councilor Hollume turned and walked from the circle of chairs, towards the large double doors at the front of the palace. He turned before leaving and said one last thing. "Oh, and by the way, I had the Jedi's ship shot down. Enjoy explaining that to the Republic."

Obi Wan Kenobi felt the top of his head to see if he was bleeding. Thankfully, he could see no blood on his hand, but his head still ached from the impact.

"This is why I hate flying," he groaned as he pulled himself from what was left of his red Jedi starfighter. He had managed to land the ship in some deep snow on the side of one of Teret's many mountains. The peaks were almost comically jagged and steep, and they were formed from strange, black rock that glistened in the sun.

Obi Wan dropped from his ship into snow up to his waist. The Jedi sighed frustratedly when he felt the cold snow slide into the top of his boots. He pulled his brown Jedi cloak tightly around himself to protect himself from the cold air.

"R4," Obi Wan addressed the droid that was protruding from its place in his ship, "What's the damage? Can you fix the ship?" The little red astromech was already in the process of extinguishing some lingering flames in the rear of the ship, shooting a cloudy substance from one of the many arms that could be extended from his cylindrical body. From R4's chirps and beeps that Obi Wan could hear over noise of the fire extinguisher, the Jedi was able to ascertain that the ship had been hit in several non-essential systems, and the communications were gone completely. The engines had been only minorly damaged though.

"Well, work on the engines, then," Obi Wan instructed. "Why bother with communications when it would be faster to fix the engines and fly out of here?" The droid chirped in agreement and started to pick away burnt pieces of engine with a claw arm.

Obi Wan took a moment to take in the view. The jagged rocks of the peak continued down the mountainside into a valley. In that valley far below he could see what looked like a city. It was hard to tell, though, for from this height all it looked like was a colorful rug that had been laid out to break up the endless pattern of jagged black rocks. All around this valley were steep mountain ranges as far as the eye could see. The mountains most likely covered the entire planet of Teret.

There was a ripple in the force. Obi Wan could feel that he was not alone. He turned slowly to see a man standing a ways above him on the mountain slope. He was dressed in a thick jacket, boots, and a warm hat that were all worn and faded with use. His gray-streaked hair and beard were long enough for Obi Wan to think that he did not much care for his appearance, and yet not so long to make him look like a hermit. The man had a long sniper rifle hanging from his back by a strap that was slung over his left shoulder, and protruding from beneath his jacket were the handles of what looked to be knives of some sort.

"Hello there," Obi Wan greeted with a slight wave of his hand.

The stranger nodded. "Greetings, Jedi." he said.

Obi Wan struggled to move up through the snow, closer to the man. "I do hope that you don't intend on fighting me. I'm not really in the mood, and this snow would make it rather annoying."

"No, I don't want to fight you, Master Kenobi," the stranger said.

The jedi was taken aback. "How do you know my name?" he asked.

"You know, that's the problem with our galaxy today," the stranger declared with a shrug. "People are always asking 'how' instead of 'why.'"

"That was not an answer," said the Jedi.

"Of course it wasn't," The man confirmed with a grin. "Now, you had better come with me. You crashed in a snow beast's hunting ground."

"What about my ship?" Kenobi asked. To say he was suspicious of the man who knew his name would be an understatement.

"Don't worry about it, the beast can't eat metal. This planet isn't that weird."

"Well naturally," Obi Wan sighed. "I am worried about the Separatists that shot it down, though."

"Oh, you figured out who shot your ship down?" the man asked.

"Well, the people of this planet are Separatists, and I came here to encourage them to stay in the Republic."

"So you don't actually know who shot your ship down." The stranger said this matter of factly, not as if he was purposely trying to be rude. Obi Wan could not help but take a little offense to the statement though. The man continued, "Well, we had better get going before we get eaten."

The stranger took off across the top of the snow. Obi Wan was amazed, until he realized that the man was wearing snow shoes. The Jedi told R4 to keep working and that he would be back soon, and then he headed after his new acquaintance.

Kenobi felt a little ridiculous trekking across the side of the mountain, since the only way to keep pace with his guide was by force jumping out of the deep powdery snow, and landing back into it about ten feet forward. He repeated this action over and over, and although it was not the most dignified way to travel, it was getting the job done. Eventually they came to what looked like a large, metal sled. The vehicle was long, with runners that lifted its body above the snow, and a large engine in the back.

"Here we are," the stranger declared. "This baby's got a teretium engine, so it can go pretty fast. Sadly, we're going to go down the side of the mountain, so we won't be needing it except to slow us down." Obi Wan looked at the steep descent. He had never seen a mountain slope that steep in all of his life. There were no trees, but that was no comfort because he saw many jagged black rocks that could easily kill them on the way down. "Yea," the stranger continued. "Using engines on a slope like this would be suicide. I've certainly never done it."

A deep, guttural sound interrupted their conversation. The roar echoed off the mountains, and left Obi Wan with a chill that was not from the cold air.

"Well that's unfortunate," the stranger declared.

"What?" asked Obi Wan, suddenly very concerned about their predicament.

"We weren't fast enough. The snow beast has caught our scent, so I guess we're going to have to use the engines after all." The man said this matter-of-factly, without the faintest hint of fear. He hopped into the front of the sled, and gripped a pair of handlebars. Obi Wan hesitated to get in.

"I thought you said that you have never done that!" Obi Wan objected.

"I did say that," the reckless stranger declared. "I didn't say it was impossible, though."

"You said it was suicide."

"Did I?"

Obi Wan seriously considered not getting into the sled. Then he heard another roar, closer. The Jedi jumped into the sled behind the stranger and held onto the sides tightly.

"You are insane," Kenobi told the driver.

"Probably," the man replied with another shrug. He pushed a button, and a chugging noise issued from the engine, but it did not start up. "I'm Orbel, by the way. Seth Orbel." He flipped a switch and pushed the button again, but harder this time, as if it would make a difference. The same chugging sound was followed by a high pitched whirr as the engine came to life. Obi Wan looked back to see bolts of energy bounce around the engine. It was unlike any engine he had ever seen before.

Something else that he had never seen before was what he saw behind the engine. Cresting the mountain top, and rapidly descending to meet them was a towering thirty foot, ape-like creature that had tough, black skin with patches of white hair and an enormous mouth filled with sharp teeth.

"It's here!" Obi Wan shouted, frantically patting the back of his driver.

The Jedi instantly regretted urging Orbel on, as he felt his body being flung backwards with the force of the accelerating sled. He struggled to sit up. The world around was passing like a blur, as the sled careened down the side of the mountain.

"Blast, it's like riding with Anakin!" The Jedi shouted. His body was jolted from side to side, as Orbel made swift adjustments to avoid incoming rocks.

"Snow beast gaining on us?" Orbel asked without turning his head.

The Jedi looked back to see that the creature was somehow getting closer to them, as it bounded its way down the almost vertical slope on all fours. He reached to his belt and put his hand on his gold accented lightsaber.

"It is!" Obi Wan informed. "I shall take care of him."

"His skin is like a rock, killing him will be hard even with a lightsaber!" Orbel explained. "Thankfully, I've never seen a creature in the galaxy that doesn't have eyes!"

"What do you intend to do?" Obi Wan began to get an uneasy feeling that Orbel was going to do something crazy again.

"On three, we're going to switch places!"

"What!?"

"One."

"Hold on a minute, how…"

"Two."

"Oh you certainly are mad!"

"Three!"

Orbel lept from the front of the sled, and jumped onto the left runner as it slid across the snow at breakneck speed. This gave Obi Wan time to quickly slide up to the handlebars. Sharp rocks were coming at him one after the other, and it was only with Jedi reflexes that he was able to avoid them. The Jedi was painfully aware that any turn that was a degree too sharp would end up flipping the sled and most likely breaking their necks.

He felt Orbel's presence behind him now, and he heard the man speak. His voice was coming from above, which meant that Orbel was standing up in the sled. He said, "Snow Beasts like to get in front of their prey to cut them off, when he does that, I'll have a shot at him. Easy." Obi Wan had no idea what was easy about shooting something in the eye while travelling at over two hundred miles per hour.

Kenobi heard the pounding arms and feet of the snow beast come alongside them, and then pass the sled. Obi Wan's Jedi reflexes kicked in, making the world slow down. He quickly hit what he guessed was the brakes, and was rewarded when the sled began to lurch with the reverse acceleration. In slow motion, the beast ran up to a giant rock protruding from the snow, and used it to stop itself and change directions. This was it. The beast was in front of them, and they would not be able to stop the sled quickly enough. In less than a second, they would be crushed, and Obi Wan was going to have to pull off some crazy force jump to avoid an instant death.

That was when he heard the bang. It did not sound like a blaster, but more like an archaic projectile weapon. He saw the bullet travel over his head, and meet the snow beast in mid air. It went above its massive, snarling mouth and into its black beady eye. It struck. Kenobi could see electrical bolts scatter from the beast's eye, and the monster was thrown backwards while still in the air.

The sled flew past as the creature hit the snow hard just a few feet away. Obi Wan continued to press the brakes, swerving to dodge more sharp rocks. He could hear Orbel shouting with elation. Kenobi was too shaken at the moment to share in the enthusiasm.

Soon reaching the bottom of the mountain, Obi Wan brought the sled to a stop. Orbel laughed in a way that made the Jedi doubt his sanity once again. Kenobi leaned back and took a deep breath, glad to be out of that situation.

"I suppose all's well that ends well," the Jedi declared.

"End?" Orbel asked. "What end? You just got here. You still need to find out who shot you down."

"Of course, but at least we don't have to deal with any more monsters."

"You deal with monsters every day, Kenobi, and most of them can walk and talk and lie. You work for the Republic, don't you?"

Obi Wan was once again suspicious of this man. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"I mean when you give galactic power to just a few hundred rich men and even put the Jedi under their sway, you end up breeding monsters."

"Is that so?" Obi Wan asked defensively. "So are you a Separatist then?"

"If you mean 'Separatist' as someone who is your enemy and aligned with the Sith, then no, but if you mean 'separatist' as a man who just wants their small corner of the Galaxy to be left alone and to be free of greedy, galactic governments, then yes. I am a separatist."

"Did you shoot my ship down?" Obi Wan asked.

"Yes, I shot your ship down to keep you out of the valley where the city is, and then I rescued you and brought you down to the valley where the city is." This sentence was said dripping with sarcasm.

Obi Wan smiled wryly, "I'm not exactly a stranger to sarcasm."

"Good. Then you get my meaning." Orbel paused, and looked thoughtfully at the ground. "I don't know who shot you out of the sky, but I will help you find out who did, alright?"

"I am grateful for the generosity," Obi Wan said guardedly, "but may I ask you why you want to help me?"

"Yes you may," replied Orbel. "And I will answer and say that I want to help you because I am about to introduce you to a city full of people who all want freedom from the Republic. They are good people, though, and they are not your enemies. They are not battle droids or Sith. They're just people, and I know you are a good man and I hope that if I help you, you will come to understand them."

"You say 'they'? Are you not one of them?"

"I was, once, but now I live in the mountains. It's better for everyone that I stay away. I still look after the people of the valley, though." Orbel bit his lip with an expression that made it seem as if he had said too much already. "Anyways, enough talk about me. Let's go meet the people that you came to subjugate, Republic soldier."

Obi Wan followed Orbel towards the city. The valley was warmer, thankfully, though still a little cold for the Jedi's taste. There was no snow, though, and the tall, sharp rocks were covered in blue moss and strange looking fungus.

Orbel had stopped talking, and Obi Wan was not in the mood to converse either. He was lost in thought, trying to figure out the man he was following. Such a strange individual. It occurred to Kenobi that no human could drive a sled like Orbel had, without the help of the force. The force would also explain how he knew Obi Wan's name, and how he was able to shoot the snow beast's eye. There was one problem though. Obi Wan did not sense the force within Seth Orbel.

Obi Wan stretched out his feelings to try and feel the force within the strange man, but he felt absolutely nothing. Not a trace. This made no sense, for only a corpse would have no force within them. It was almost as if Obi Wan's senses were being blocked, but that was impossible.

Kenobi followed Orbel to what looked like the outskirts of the city. There was a house carved into the sharp black rocks, and a man outside, harvesting mushrooms. He looked up to see the two men approaching, and his eyes grew wide under his wide brimmed hat. It was not Obi Wan he was afraid of though.

"Get out of here, sorcerer!" he yelled at Orbel. "Be gone!" The man ran into his house and the door slid shut with a hiss as it became sealed to the outside. Orbel looked at Obi Wan with a guilty shrug.

Obi Wan's senses were definitely being blocked somehow.

Well, what do you think? Star Wars has a huge universe and millions of fans, so I'm not surprised if I do not make everyone happy with what I've written, but how else do we learn if we do not receive constructive criticism? Anyways, leave your comments and suggestions as a review, and I will use them to help shape the rest of this story. Also, answer this deep, Star Wars question for me: do you think that the Republic turning into the Empire was inevitable, or could it have been prevented?