Title: Another Path to Follow
Author: Milady78
Timeframe: KOTOR 2, JA AU
Characters: LSF Exile, Obi-Wan
Keywords: AU, time travel
Summary: Qui-Gon does not take Obi-Wan as a padawan learner. In desperation the Force sends the almost thirteen year old into the Old Republic era so that he might learn under a different master.
Disclaimer: Star Wars belongs to George Lucas. I'm just borrowing his World for a bit.
Warning: This is an AU. This will not be a retelling of the game with Obi-Wan simply added to the crew. There will be changes to canon. Some changes are small. Some are rather large.
This story is also posted to the Jedi Council Forums. There will likely be 1 to 2 more chapters posted on the Jedi Council than here at any given time. The link is on my profile page.
Prologue
The future is always in motion. It ebbs and flows. Each decision. Each action. Each inaction by sentient beings around the galaxy changes its course. It is the way of the Universe. The Way of the Force.
Always in motion. But sometimes the future flows down a path it should not follow. The Force knows many of the possible future outcomes. It tries to direct, guide, encourage the better destination. But sometimes it is not enough. For in the end it is up to the individual. And they do not always see the possibilities. They choose the easier path. They misunderstand. They cannot hear. They ignore. Even those who should know. Its chosen few who are born with the ability to feel Its presence. Trained to hear Its whisper in the wind. Even they sometimes choose another path.
Always in motion. A comfort to many. A reminder of hope. Of free will. But not to all. Not to a young boy crying into his pillow on a distant planet far from all he knows. His dreams shattered. All his hopes for the future gone. This is not the path the Force wanted. The boy is one of Its chosen. One with the potential to blaze as a sun. One whose presence could have affected the lives of sentients around the galaxy for generations to come. But no longer. The Force did not wish this to happen. It tried to direct his destiny down a more preferred path. The ancient one had heard Its warnings. He had tried to intercede. To manipulate events so that the boy would be trained. But his chosen mentor did not listen. The mistakes of another blinded him to the potential of the boy. His pain dampened Its voice. He ignored Its call. Now the future is forever changed.
But perhaps not. Perhaps the boy can be sent to another. One who had always listened to Its voice. Who had suffered for doing so by those who did not understand. One who blazed as the boy might. Yes, when the time was right she would listen to the Force. She would train him. And until then she would protect him to the best of her ability. There is a risk, but it is the boy's only chance. The Force has never taken such drastic steps before. It likely never will again. But this once It will act rather than whisper and forever change the fate of one and perhaps through him the galaxy. The rest is up to others. The boy and the individuals he touches as he travels on this new path. For the future is always in motion.
The Force wraps the boy in Its embrace. He has cried himself to sleep. It whispers, "I will always be there. You need only to listen," before sending him on his journey.