"Luke," Padme gasped as Obi-Wan took the tiny bundle. For a moment she was quiet, awed by the beauty of her son. "Oh, Luke."
Another wail permeated the room followed by a shriek, Padme's body arching as she delivered another person into the galaxy. The medical droid made cooing sounds, then suddenly reappeared with another child.
"It's a girl," Obi-Wan said with a reassuring smile.
"Leia," breathed Padme, smiling.
To the Jedi holding two small bundles of life, all seemed good once more. For a moment, he forgot the slaughtered younglings, the man he had trained, the same man whom he had left to burn to death. The miracle of a birth had made him forget…Anakin.
And then he remembered, his face beginning to twist into a mask of grief. He caught himself, but not before Padme saw.
"Obi-Wan," she whispered softly. "There is still good in him. I know it." She sighed, and Obi-Wan recognized what was about to happen. He'd heard that sigh from hundreds, no, thousands of clone soldiers before they breathed their last. Inside, some small part of his mind was still able to reel in disbelieving horror that he should hear such a sound from Padme.
"There is still good…" and it came. A quiet sigh, the last breath. Slowly her light in Force dimmed and went out. The children began to cry, sensing it. And Obi-Wan cried too, grieving that the Jedi were lost, that Anakin was lost, that Padme was dead, and that her death was the first encounter with the Force these two would encounter.
And Obi-Wan continued to weep.
It had been two hours, and Yoda was deep in thought. Obi-Wan had not reappeared since he had carefully handed the children to the droid and then retreated to his cabin aboard Bail's ship. Uncertain, the Senator and the Jedi Master waited until the droids certified the children safe for travel, then returned to the ship as well.
Bail had waited for Yoda to confidently give orders, but the green gnome had been silent and distracted, until Bail lamely suggested they might try and locate any surviving Jedi.
"Yes, yes; locate any survivors we must," Yoda had muttered, then began to turn and head down the corridor.
"Master Yoda?" Bail had called after him, pausing when the small figure turned. "You'll have to guide us."
"Of course," Yoda had said, calling on the Force for guidance. Suddenly the little master stumbled over an unseen object, then landed on his rump.
"Master Yoda!" Bail had rushed forward, then stopped, realizing he had nearly scooped the Grandmaster from the floor like a toddler. "What's wrong?"
"Incredible, this is," Yoda rose, climbing back to his feet. "Assist as I can, will I. But rely on the Force I cannot."
Bail's eyes widened. "How-?"
"Meditating, Obi-Wan is," Yoda had said, a hint of wonder in his gravelly voice. "The Force surrounds him, flowing into him, it is. I can sense nothing."
"This is…unusual?" Bail had ventured, as Yoda led the way with sudden confidence down to the bridge. To the Senator, who understood little of the Force, it seemed odd that the Grandmaster seemed so cheered at being parted from the very power that made him what he was.
"Unusual, yes." Yoda grunted. "Seen this before, I have not. Heard of this before, I have not. And nine hundred years old I am!"
"What is it?" Bail asked.
"The Force moves through Obi-Wan. A path of correction, it sets before us."
Bail stopped short, gaping at Yoda. "Kenobi will know how to fix this mess?"
"Only the next step, will Obi-Wan know," Yoda said firmly. "And that is all we need."
Hundreds of millions of light years off, a platoon of clones was having a very bad day. A hissing energy blade cut them down without mercy. Even to an inexperienced eye, the wielder of the lightsaber was avoiding the typical elegance associated with the weapon.
This was pure, efficient killing.
As the last one fell the lone figure gathered the Force and picked up all the bodies, tossing them out the containment field into space. A warning flared in the back of her mind, and vanished inside the hatch of the cargo tugger sitting in the bay.
The Jedi remained undiscovered as the pilot remarked to a crew member about the clones taking an early break from their posts, and the ship slipped out and headed down to the surface of a planet unknown to the stowaway.
Brushing a tendril of blonde hair behind her ear, Siri Tachi sank into meditation, and then reached out into the Force, broadcasting a cry across the galaxy meant for one man.
Obi-Wan?
Hazel eyes snapped open, and the bearded man suddenly drew a deep breath, as though rising from the dead. Glancing around the room in a little confusion, Obi-Wan took in the surroundings, wondering how long he had been meditating.
Phew, is that me? Obi-Wan sniffed once more and wrinkled his nose, then stripped and tossed his clothes into a cleaner before ducking into the fresher for a sonic shower. Judging from his sense of smell and a grumbling stomach, he had been meditating for a very long time.
Both Senator and Grandmaster glanced up as the door hissed open. Obi-Wan stepped in gingerly.
"By the Force, Obi-Wan!" Bail half rose, but was stopped by a raised hand.
"I know, I wasn't expecting it either." Obi-Wan ran a hand through brown hair, peppered with silver. "I've heard of stress doing this to people, but I thought I'd experienced that so many times that it was impossible."
Yoda glanced at the young man, noting his demeanor. "Grieved, you have."
"Yes, master." Obi-Wan glanced to both, then took a seat and a breath. "I know what we need to do."
To his mild surprise, neither said anything, simply looking to him for orders. Then Obi-Wan understood that Yoda had at least perceived somewhat that which had been happening to him for the past three days.
"The first thing is the children," Obi-Wan said, then glanced at Bail. "You find yourself growing close to Leia, no?"
Bail nodded, unabashedly. "My wife and I have always wanted a child. There was a stillborn daughter…we'd like another try."
"She's yours, for a time," Obi-Wan said, noting the distressed look that crossed Organa's face. "Someday, the galaxy will call for her. Prepare her for it."
"I will," Bail acknowledge. "She'll be like a daughter. She is our daughter."
Obi-Wan nodded. "The next bit concerns the both of you. Though the Jedi have rather spectacularly failed their jobs, it's no reason to go hermit – which I admit at first I was considering."
Yoda stirred slightly, but remembered what he had sensed happening to Obi-Wan the past few days and said nothing. Kenobi continued when he saw he would remain uninterrupted.
"To come out and openly oppose the Empire would do us little good," Obi-Wan said. "For now, people are still dazed and starry-eyed. The Jedi are traitors, the Emperor their savior. He uncovered a heinous plot and destroyed it, almost dying himself. He ended the Clone Wars. As of now, the galactic populace will hear nothing bad about him."
Bail canted his head in acknowledgement. "There are a few who are not so enchanted."
"We'll need to find them," Obi-Wan said firmly, "and start organizing."
"Revolt, speak you of?" Yoda finally said, entering the conversation. Obi-Wan shook his head.
"Not for a long time. Not till the blinders come off the galaxy. For the time being we find those who are willing to see and teach them to open the eyes of others. We prepare for war, we pick at the ideas that raise themselves up against democracy." Glancing at the Grandmaster, Obi-Wan continued. "And you will lead it, Yoda."
"Hm, what will you do, I wonder?"
Obi-Wan didn't respond, instead glancing to Bail apologetically. "I'm sorry, Senator, but the grandmaster and I must discuss some things in private. He'll be out shortly to begin coordinating with you."
Bail, recognizing a possible conflict between two powerful Jedi masters while having an alternating desire to share the news with his wife, left rapidly. As the door hissed closed, Obi-Wan turned to Yoda.
"We were wrong."
The bombshell landed and left the room silent for only a moment, then Obi-Wan poured out his explanation.
"We were wrong. The whole Jedi council. How could we on the one hand say that love is of the Force and outlaw attachment? How can we deny feelings of anger? We damned hundreds, if not thousands of Jedi to a way of living that alienated us from the world, and from the Force itself."
Yoda opened his mouth to speak, but Obi-Wan continued passionately, his voice rising even as he stood and paced the room. "No wonder we couldn't see through the dark side into what Palpatine was doing! We alienated ourselves from people, from their hearts, Yoda!"
Obi-Wan stared through a viewport into space, then turned around, quieter. "No wonder there's little unrest at seeing the fall of the Jedi. They see us as hypocritical monks. Families are fine for others, but for the Jedi, whom we claim is a normal person who's simply closer to the Force than the average person, the attachment a family brings could bring them closer to the dark side. We're the sword wielding diplomats, keeping guns from being drawn but not giving input for solving society's problems."
"Sound like yourself, you do not, Obi-Wan," Yoda warned cautiously.
"I'm a different person, Yoda," Obi-Wan continued, calmly. "I'm not going to be a biological super-peacekeeping droid-like monk any more. The Force has given me a new path, and I'm following it."
"What path do you speak of, Obi-Wan?" Yoda asked, a little sorrowful. His old friend had been grieved too deeply, he was sure. For now, the grandmaster would ask questions, let Obi-Wan pour out all he had to say, and then he would respond. Yet even as he thought this, another part of the wise little gnome observed the calmness, the peace, and the energy that emanated from Kenobi. And it wondered.
"The Force has tasked me with rebuilding the Jedi Order," Obi-Wan said after a pause. "Me, not you."
Yoda was silent, shocked at the statement. Obi-Wan continued. "I will represent a new era. The Force calls for you elsewhere, to be a leader, to influence ideas. But the Jedi are mine."
"Taking Luke as your son, you are?"
Obi-Wan shook his head. "No. I've an old friend who will be Luke's adoptive father. Luke must be trained to be a part of this world. As must I, before I take a new apprentice. We shall train apart."
"The name of Luke's master, I must know." Yoda said. Obi-Wan grinned.
"A non-Force user, named E'taan, and his wife, Valara."
"Know these names, I do not," Yoda said disapprovingly.
"No reason you should," Obi-Wan replied. "They're part of my network of friends and associates. Luke will be getting parents, not simply a Master. I'll be in his life, but as a teacher and friend, and that is all."
"Hmph." Yoda wasn't impressed. "And who will be your new master? Teach you how to be a 'real person', who will do that?"
"Life itself," Obi-Wan replied with a grin. "I'm going to do something I should have done years ago. Sink or swim - its happening."
Standing and crossing over before the grandmaster, Obi-Wan knelt and stared at Yoda, removing his mental shields. "The Force told me clearly to do all these things, and I don't know anything else," he said softly. "Search me and you will see."
Hesitantly Yoda probed Obi-Wan's mind, then recoiled as his presence was struck by the blinding light side of the Force. Opening his eyes once more, Yoda realized Obi-Wan had little idea of the confirmation his old master had just received.
"Right you are, Obi-Wan," Yoda said sadly. "A new generation of Jedi will you raise up, and my blessing you have. The Force is finally with us once more."
"Thank you, master," Obi-Wan said gratefully, before turning and heading for the door. "I've got to give these coordinates to the bridge."
"To what system, go we?" Yoda asked, activating his hoverseat and following Obi-Wan.
"Don't know," Obi-Wan tossed back over his shoulder. Reckless, he is, Yoda mused. Rubbed completely off on Obi-Wan, Anakin may have. The grandmaster's humorous musing was struck down with Obi-Wan's next words.
"Siri's alive. When we find her, we're getting married."