Chapter One – A New Life

Obi-Wan Kenobi stood at the foot of the Naboo Skiff. The heat from the molten planet of Mustafar hit him and for a moment he felt he was somewhere else. He looked directly ahead at his former Padawan Anakin Skywalker with sadness and regret at what he had become. Anakin's eyes burned fiery crimson as he returned the gaze.

"You turned her against me!"

Obi-Wan looked down at Padmé. She was unconscious and her body had crumpled to the floor. She looked peaceful, but Obi-Wan didn't want to take any chances. She had to get medical attention fast or her baby might suffer, and he knew it.

"You have done that yourself."

Anakin began pacing from side to side, all the time being careful not to step on Padmé or break Obi-Wan's stare. He began to take off his cloak, and he tossed it aside.

"You will not take her from me!"

Anakin had spat the words with such fury Obi-Wan was sure it had startled even the unconscious Padmé.

"Your anger and your lust for power have already done that Anakin. You have allowed this dark lord to twist your mind until now, until now you have become the very thing you swore to destroy."

The two men began circling each other in the space between the skiff and Padmé.

"Don't lecture me Obi-Wan. I see through the lies of the Jedi. I do not fear the Dark Side as you do."

The two men stopped walking and Anakin turned to face the skiff. Obi-Wan bent down towards Padmé to check her pulse.

"I have brought peace, freedom, justice and security to my new empire!"

She's alive, Obi-Wan thought.

"Your new empire?" Obi-Wan snorted.

"Don't make me kill you."

"Anakin, my allegiance is to the republic, to democracy!"

Anakin straightened up.

"If you're not with me, then you're my enemy."

"Only a Sith deals in absolutes." Obi-Wan plucked his lightsabre from his belt. "I will do what I must."

"You will try."

Obi-Wan ignited his blade, which shone bright blue. Anakin whipped his blade out, ignited it and back flipped in the air to land directly in front of Obi-Wan. It was Obi-Wan versus Anakin, light versus dark.

A tear fell from Obi-Wan's left eye. It hurt him when he thought about Anakin. He saw Anakin's fall to the dark side as failure on his part to support him. He had been living by himself in a secluded part of Tatooine for the few months since the duel on Mustafar. He had been instructed by Grand Master Yoda to look out for little Luke Skywalker who had gone off to live with his aunt and uncle on their moisture farm.

He lived in a small hut with nothing inside except a small mattress, a candle, an outdated refresher and stove and his personal belongings on a wooden table. He had his robes and two lightsabres. One belonged to him, and the other to Anakin. He had begun writing manuals which, in time, would allow Luke to build his own lightsabre. It was very complex, and required lots of time and concentration.

The hut had been a dirty mess when Obi-Wan arrived, and obviously uninhabited. The previous owner was nowhere to be found, and it seemed like he or she had been gone for years, as the thick layers of dust would suggest. Obi-Wan had since cleaned up the hut and while it may not seem much compared to his room in the Jedi Temple, it was respectable enough for him. He was used to sleeping on hard, cold, rough, muddy and wet floors during the Clone Wars, so this was at least better than that.

Since living on Tatooine, Obi-Wan had been using an alias; Ben Kenobi. It was a simple name, and Obi-Wan had always liked the name Ben. If the Empire ever came to Tatooine, it would attract a lot less attention than Obi-Wan. He rarely used his last name. He may have been revered in the Inner Rim and not the Outer Rim during the Clone Wars, but that didn't mean the Outer Rim systems hadn't heard of him. He had to be careful when deciding it was safe enough to give his name, and it had proven to be more difficult than Obi-Wan thought it would be.

Obi-Wan took a sip out of the cup of tea he had been holding in his hands. He didn't really want the tea, he really just wanted to keep his hands warm, but he thought he should have it while he can. Going shopping in the markets was dangerous, as there were lots of pick pockets and people who were just looking for a fight. Obi-Wan had had to learn some basic Huttese, and he was getting quite fluent in what he had learnt. The food on offer at the markets wasn't particularly nice, and the clothes weren't much better, but Obi-Wan couldn't afford to be picky.

Obi-Wan made sure to visit Luke at least once a week. He wanted to be a part of the youngling's life, and maybe one day become his Master. He doubted Owen would like it, but he didn't really have a choice in the matter. Luke was to become a Jedi and learn the ways of the light side of the Force when he became three years old. Obi-Wan had stressed that fact when he first brought Luke to them. They were delighted, but Owen would rather Luke became a farmer like himself. Had Obi-Wan not taken the fact that Owen has never left Tatooine into account, he might have though Owen was ignorant. But he understood that all Owen knew was farming, so he hadn't expected the young man to understand.

At night, there was no light in the hut, so Obi-Wan had bought a candle and some matches when he arrived. He had also had to make a door out of some old wood which had been given to him by Beru, along with a saw. Obi-Wan was so used to slicing through different materials with ease by using his lightsabre, the saw had tired him out, and by the time he had finished making the door, he had barely enough energy to fix it to the hut entrance. The door was a nice touch, but Obi-Wan really only wanted it to keep the Tusken Raiders out. He had heard many stories of the sand people hunting at night, and he didn't fancy being killed in his sleep.

There were some advantages to living in seclusion. He could practice his sabre skills without drawing unwanted attention to himself. He even managed to buy himself some parts to build a training droid. He needed to practice if he was to stay fit and make sure he didn't lose his touch. He could also meditate in absolute silence, minus the odd cry or scream from an animal. But there were disadvantages too, the main one being he got lonely. It was bad enough that his friends weren't with him, but the knowledge that most of them were slaughtered mercilessly was just too much to think about.

Apart from eating, sleeping, meditating and training there wasn't anything for Obi-Wan to do. He would offer to help on Owen and Beru's moisture farm, but he got the impression that Owen didn't feel comfortable when he was around. He wasn't sure why, but he didn't want to intrude where he wasn't particularly wanted. It was because of this that Obi-Wan brought Luke back to the hut when he visited. Luke had taken a special liking to Obi-Wan, and it baffled Owen and Beru as to why. Obi-Wan knew it was their connection to the Force, but he didn't plan on explaining it to Beru and Owen.

Obi-Wan took another sip of the tea, and spat it back into the cup. He screwed up his face in disgust and threw the tea out of the cup into a small ditch outside. It had gone cold, and Obi-Wan hated cold tea. Obi-Wan had gotten his taste for tea from his Master. His Master had loved tea, and Obi-Wan was expected to make lots. In time, Obi-Wan had learned to love tea too. It seemed Obi-Wan only had three friends left in the world; Master Yoda, Luke and his tea.