Author's Notes:
To explain this in the simplest terms I can, the storyline alternates between 33-32 BBY, 26 BBY, and 12 BBY -- three "separate" storylines that all tie in together.
If, in the course of reading, you come across something you're unfamiliar with, I recommend checking the Wookieepedia at StarWars (dot) Wikia (dot) com.
Also, don't jump to conclusions about anything; things aren't always what they seem initially.
Disclaimer:
Star Wars (c) George Lucas
Across the Universe
Thoughts meander like a
Restless wind inside a letter-box:
They tumble blindly as they
Make their way across the universe.
Coruscant, 26 BBY.
"I wish you had gotten to meet him."
Obi-Wan looked at the woman seated on the floor of the prison cell. Her knees were pulled into her chest; her grey eyes were unfocused, staring absently at the floor in front of her. Was this really the same woman he and Qui-Gon had chased across the galaxy seven years ago? It couldn't have been – that woman had been reckless and proud, holding her head high even through the shame of defeat; this woman was broken, her vitality sapped. She had always had the pallid, sickly appearance common amongst the Balosar people, and she had always looked a bit underfed, but now she looked positively gaunt – her eyes were sunken, her cheeks were hollow.
"Meet whom?"
"My son."
A son? She had a child? This once proud woman had been confined by the responsibilities of motherhood? It seemed impossible; he had seen her off and on over the past seven years – meeting as friends and as adversaries – and never had she once mentioned having had a child.
"I had always hoped the two of you would meet," she said, leaning her head back against the wall behind her, turning her absent gaze to the ceiling. "I had hoped that one day he could train to become a Jedi. I had wanted to ask you to train him."
"Tepeu…" She should know damn well the reasons why he couldn't do that. Had she learned nothing about the Jedi order through all their time spent together? For one, it was ultimately the council's decision; for another, even if he wanted to train the boy, regardless of the council's decision, he already had a Padawan. And, of course, he didn't even know if the boy was Force-sensitive.
"He's five years old," she said, more to herself than to him. She closed her eyes. "He looks like me, but – but he has his father's eyes."
Obi-Wan swore he saw the faintest of smiles tug at the corners of the Balosar woman's mouth as she thought of her son – or was she thinking of his father?
Abruptly, she looked up at him. "Obi-Wan, please, train him. He'll be a great Jedi if you'll just – "
"Tepeu, listen to me. It isn't up to me to decide if he can be trained as a Jedi; you don't even know if he's sensitive to the Force."
"But he is!" she said, and her voice was suddenly filled with more emotion than he had heard from her since her most recent arrest. "He – he can sense changes in emotions, and – and can sense the energy in people, and – "
"So can you," he reminded her gently, kneeling in front of her. "That's not uncommon for a Balosar; you of all people should know that."
"Obi-Wan – Ben, please. Please, as the last request of an old friend – " She took one of his hands in hers, looking at him beseechingly.
"Tepeu, you know why I can't promise you that," he said. "I can find someone to look after the boy, but I can't promise you that I will train him; I can't promise you that he can be trained at all." He heard footsteps approaching in the corridor outside the cell and stood. Her hands fell limply beside her on the floor; she seemed almost dazed, as though unable to believe that she was being denied her wish.
"Master Kenobi, your meeting with the council – ?"
Obi-Wan waved the young Jedi away with a dismissive hand. "Yes, yes, I know. I'll be there shortly." Once the young knight had gone, he turned back to the broken woman in front of him. He stooped and gently kissed one of her cheeks; her gaze remained absent as she made no move to acknowledge the kiss.
"Why is this happening?" she asked quietly as he stood.
"I don't know," he lied. "But I'm sorry that it is." It was obvious why it was happening; she had taken a gamble, and she had lost. Had she expected a life of crime to end in any other way? Surely not. He crossed the prison cell without another word, pausing at the door to look back at her again. "I truly am sorry, Tepeu," he said, and he meant it. He waited for any signal to indicate she had heard him, but was only rewarded with silence, as he knew he would be. "Good-bye," he said softly, and exited the cell, knowing it would be the last time he would speak with the Balosar.
