It has been nearly 3 years since the collapse of the Galactic Republic. The brave and legendary Jedi Order, which had valiantly defended the Republic and all planets under its jurisdiction, has been eradicated under Clone Order 66. Few Jedi escaped, and even fewer are still alive.
Enter Mos Eisley cantina on Tatooine. To the unsuspecting citizen of the galaxy, it looks like any other cantina you would find on any other planet. But those on Tatooine know it's a hive for criminals, smugglers, and bounty hunters alike. Here, we find one of the last remaining Jedi, and not just any Jedi, one of the greatest of the order. During the Clone War, Obi-Wan Kenobi was a great and powerful Jedi Master who commanded legions of clone troopers, and trained the Chosen One; Anakin Skywalker. Now, he's an aging wizard in self-exile, a living reminder of a more civilized age.
Kenobi was enjoying a fresh Correlian cocktail. The old man never got out much, but he thought he might as well enjoy the fruits of this desert planet while he can. Obi-Wan observed the diverse crowd of the cantina, which different people of different species conversed about their jobs and life under the Empire. Of course, he also observed the criminal underworld within the Cantina, with low-life criminals discussing the recent atrocities they've committed, and laughing and drinking to their hearts content.
Suddenly, one of these men sat down next to the old Jedi Master.
"Hey old man, want to buy some deathsticks?" The criminal asked.
Kenobi didn't even pretend to acknowledge the offer.
"C'mon, these death sticks ain't the off-brand stuff you see in a dumpster, this is the A+ quality stuff, imported straight from Corascant. Trust me, I've tried it myself, you won't regret it old-timer. If money is the issue, I even have a discount for those of the older age."
Obi-Wan smirked and continued to sip his cocktail.
"Alright old man, you want to laugh at me?" The thug then pulled a blaster from his hip and placed it under the table. "I tried being nice, hand over all your credits."
The Jedi reached for his lightsaber, but knew that would definitely make a scene, and a mess. So he opted for the diplomatic route.
"You don't want to rob me." Kenobi waved his hand to entrance the thug.
"I…I don't want to rob you." The criminal holstered his blaster.
"You want to go home and rethink your life." Obi-Wan continued.
"I want to go home and rethink my life." Immediately, the thug got up from his seat and walked out of the cantina, much to the confusion of his friends. Obi-Wan finished his cocktail, then exited the cantina.
The blazing hot twin suns orbiting the desert planet shined upon the Jedi, compelling him to raise his hood to protect against the suns. He walked to his speeder parked outside the cantina and hopped on. He thought the friends of the one he essentially hypnotized would be back for him, so without haste he drove away.
Later on, Obi-Wan arrived at his home. An old building overtaken by the desert on the exterior, but the interior just barely classifies as a home for two, but the aging Jedi didn't mind. Protected him from the infamous sandstorms the planet was known for. Obi- Wan detached his lightsaber from his sheath and put it in a box near his makeshift bed, inside the box being another lightsaber, the weapon used by his former student Anakin.
Obi Wan smirked at the sight of the saber. A reminder of a more civilized age, he thought to himself. He placed his lightsaber next to Anakin's and closed the box.
Later in the night, as Kenobi was in bed, he was awoken by a ghostly echo. "Obi-Wan."
The Jedi recognized the voice, but did not believe what he was hearing. No more Correlian Cocktails after today he thought. But the voice echoed again.
"Obi-Wan."
Obi was now certain of the owner of the voice and attempted to respond.
"Master Qui-Gon?" He said in shock.
"Yes, my old friend."
Kenobi got up from his bed and stood in the center of his home.
"Master Yoda told me about being able to contact you, but I guess I never gave it much thought. Nor did I even try." He said.
"Do or do not, there is no try. That is what he taught us after all."
Obi chuckled. "Yes he did. Speaking of, has he spoken to you? Is he okay?"
"Master Yoda is alive and well, but he is not the one I am concerned for at the moment."
The grizzled old Jedi looked for somewhere to sit down, and stared at the dirty floor in melancholy.
"A dark cloud as risen over the galaxy. The Republic is gone. The Jedi are gone. And the mastermind behind it all was right under the Council's nose. "Chancellor" Palpatine was the true Sith Lord all along, and he….he made Anakin his new apprentice."
"Yes. Yoda told me."
"Do you feel them Master?"
"I do not know what you mean Obi-Wan."
"When our brothers and sisters become one with the Force. Do you feel them?"
"Do you?"
"I feel the Force getting weaker and weaker by each day. I feel the Light being snuffed out by the Dark. I feel the days of the once proud Jedi Knights are over. The Sith have won."
Obi-Wan looked at his ceiling as if he was looking straight up to his master's spirit. There was a short pause.
"To answer your question my old friend, yes. And you are right. The Force is out of balance. The Shroud of the Dark Side continues to hold its tight grip on the galaxy as a whole. Where there was once hope, now only holds fear."
Obi-Wan nodded his head in agreement. "Unfortunately."
"That is why you must train the boy."
Kenobi was perplexed. "Master, I already trained Anakin, just like you asked me before you….died."
"I am not talking about Anakin."
Obi gave his words thought and came to the conclusion. "You mean Luke?"
"Ah, that is his name."
"No. No out of the question."
"The boy is the son of Anakin Skywalker, he is more than capable of going through the necessary traini-"
"That isn't the point Master! I….I can't. Not after what happened with his father."
"Obi-Wan…" The spectral of Qui-Gon spoke softly. "…You cannot blame yourself for Anakin's fall to the Dark Side. You trained him the best you could."
Obi-Wan sat back down on nearby furniture. "Maybe. Maybe if I didn't ridicule him or be so critical on him all the time. Maybe if I was just a little more patient, he…he would still be here." The hardened Jedi Master had tears in his eyes.
"Then it is as I feared. You've inherited my cynical nature."
Obi chuckled. "Huh, I guess I did." He wiped the tears from his face.
"According to what Master Yoda told me about how you trained Anakin, you were a much better teacher than I ever was."
"All I ever wanted was to live up to your teachings Master."
"You did all that and more Obi-Wan, and I could not be more proud to have called you my student, and now my equal."
Obi's melancholy was replaced with a smile.
" Now, back to what we were discussing. Luke."
"Even if I wanted to teach him, Owen and Beru wouldn't allow it. Even Master Yoda-"
"Oh Obi-Wan, even in your old age, you still have lots to learn. Even I didn't listen to Master Yoda most of the time. Now that I think about it, it's probably why I never sat on the Council. With all due respect, if it were up to Master Yoda we would be in hiding forever."
"Alright, lets say I train Luke. Then what? We march up to Corascant and defeat legions and legions of these…Stormtroopers? Not to mention the boy is only 3 years old.."
"No, of course not. We must be cautious. Wait until the boy ready and able to learn. And there must be other rebel cells around the galaxy.
"I can name you only a few and all were crushed by the Empire within weeks." Obi Wan pointed out. "I understand what you are saying Master, but I'm still not sure this the right idea."
"Then meditate on it Obi-Wan. Let the Force guide you. I'm sorry but I must go. I can only hold this form for so long. May the Force be with you my friend."
"Goodbye old friend, may the Force be with you."
There was no response.
"What am I saying he IS the Force now." Obi thought to himself.
The Jedi stroked his beard and gave thought to what his Master asked of him. He was apprehensive on taking on another Skywalker under his wing. He decided to do what Qui-Gon suggested and meditate to give him focus on what to do.
Using the Force to move the few furniture he had away from his living room, he went down on both knees, placed his arms on his legs, closed his eyes, and let himself give in to the Force.
When Obi-Wan opened his eyes, he realized he was in a dimly lit corridor. He saw that in his right hand he held his lightsaber and was dressed in his traditional Jedi robes. He saw no other option but to trust in the Force and persevere through the hallway.
The corridor felt endless to the Jedi, feeling that every step only makes the hallway longer. He thought about what he would find at the end. Would it be the answers that he was looking for?
Obi-Wan felt the hallway decrease in temperature the longer he walked, so much so that at a point he could see the air exiting his lungs. The Jedi kept on until he finally reached a closed electric door. Kenobi tried to open it but to no avail, then stopped in his tracks. He felt a presence, something he hasn't felt since that fateful encounter on Mustafar. He also heard what he thought was someone breathing, but only if they were hooked up to a machine.
Obi-Wan turned around, and made eye contact with the source of the presence he felt. Towering above him, and in all black. His armor looked less like armor and more like a walking life support system, and it's irregular breathing made it seem like the being was more machine than man. "Look how old you've become." The machine spoke.
"I'm sorry have we met? I've killed many hulking monstrosities in my time so you'll have to remind me where you come from."
"Hmph. This monstrosity is of your own doing, Master."
Obi-Wan froze. Could this truly be…"Anakin"? Obi spoke with fear in his voice.
"Anakin Skywalker was weak. A child who was a puppet of the Jedi Order. And I am well accustomed to killing children." The horrid figure reached for its belt and pulled out a lightsaber. "Even more so….with Jedi." It activated the saber, brandishing a crimson red blade.
The Jedi then realized that the cyborg standing in front of him was not the little child from Tatooine, not the young man who he raised and trained, not his best friend, but a heartless,half-man, half-machine Sith Lord known as Darth Vader
Obi-Wan responded with activating his lightsaber, with his own teal blue blade. His blade hand extended outward and other arm forward, his classic defensive stance. The Sith Lord gripped his lightsaber tightly with both hands, centering himself and his saber, preparing to attack.
Vader raised his blade perform a power blow to the Jedi, but Kenobi parried the attempt with a strike of his own. Vader dodged and refocused his attention.
The cyborg unleashed a flurry of slashes and swings against the Jedi, once again however, Kenobi blocked each incoming strike. Obi-Wan kept his pace, but could not believe that a being of his stature and with all the machinery on him, could move so fast.
Vader kept on the aggression. The Dark Lord amped up the speed of his attacks to put pressure on Obi-Wans defense. 3 strikes a second, 4 strikes, until it reached the point where Kenobi was deflected 5 strikes all from a single target. Significantly less than he had to deal with when Vader was Anakin, but Obi-Wan could feel the extra power and strength with each blow. Every strike he blocked, all he felt was his opponent's hatred and anger guiding him, turning him into a well-oiled machine of pure fury. So when Kenobi saw an opening, he took it. The Jedi masterfully parried the Dark Lord and slashed him through the chest.
That only made the Sith Lord even angrier.
Vade held his saber in the air, and slashed downward. Kenobi caught the strike, and the two were engaged in a clash. Their lightsabers colliding created a magnitude of sparks.
"You should've killed me when you had the chance Obi-Wan." Vader said, his face covered in the crimson light of his saber. " And now you will reap what you've sown."
The Dark Lord ended the clash with pushing Kenobi down to the ground with all his might. The cyborg put his lightsaber on his belt, then extended his right hand, calling upon the Dark Side of the Force.
He lifted Obi off the ground using the Dark Side and began to throw the Jedi across the room. Vader use of the Force was powerful, and the Sith showed absolutely no mercy. Every slam, every collision with the wall had Obi-Wan feeling unimaginable pain. Each collision felt as if the Jedi was being run over by a speeder over and over and over again.
Vader finally slammed him back to the floor. While Kenobi tried to stand back on his two feet, the Dark Lord concentrated his power, and unleashed a devastating force push so powerful Kenobi went through the previous mentioned locked door, and ended with a collision with a wall. Kenobi fell to the ground in pain, dropping his lightsaber.
The old Jedi Master struggled to even breath. Some of his ribs were shattered in the force push, and he grew fatigued of the fight. But as stubborn as he was wise, Obi-Wan attempted to call on the Force to reach his lightsaber a few feet ahead of him. The Force answered, but not to him.
Vader grabbed Obi's light saber, and put it on his belt, and unsheathing his own saber.
"Anakin . I'm sor-"
Obi-Wan felt his windpipe being crushed, and he reached for his neck.
"Your apology means nothing to me." The Dark Lord extended his right hand, utilizing the full power of the Dark Side of the Force to telepathically choke the Jedi.
Vader raised him above the floor, leaving the Jedi floating and struggling to breath.
"You left me to die on that hellish planet. You left me to burn. By the time the Emperor found me, I was ready to die. The fire consumed , that was not to be my end. I was put on an operating table to be reconstructed into what you see before you. The Dark Side kept me alive. The Dark Side gave me strength. The Dark Side saved me when the Light failed me. I channeled my anger and my hatred to keep me sustained until the operation was complete. I was reborn. And ever since that day, I have longed for one thing and one thing only. My hand…"
Vader pulled Obi-Wan to him and grabbed his neck with his left hand.
"...on your neck. And my lightsaber…" He activated his crimson red saber. "...through your chest."
As soon as the Dark Lord plunged his lightsaber through Obi, the Jedi exited his meditation.
He couldn't believe what he saw. Was that monster truly what Anakin became? Obi-Wan slowed his breathing to calm himself down. Saying that vision was a lot to handle for the Jedi was an understatement.
He decided he needed some fresh air. Kenobi grabbed his robe, put up his hood, and exited his home and greeted the Tatooine breeze.
He thought he must've been in there a while, as it was approaching dawn. Obi witnessed the beautiful twin suns from the east.
The vision gave Obi a harsh realization. He now knew what exactly his apprentice became. Knowing this and what occurred, a face to face encounter would only lead one of the last Jedi to his death. Obi came to the conclusion that it was not his destiny to defeat the Sith.
But then he thought about his master's words. About Anakin's son, Luke.
The young boy that Kenobi brought to Owen and Beru to protect him from the Galactic Empire. From Darth Vader.
To train Luke Skywalker? The Jedi used to only train young children from birth,and Obi-Wan knew Owen would never allow Luke to go through that.
But Obi-Wan accepted that. He would train Luke when he is older and willing to learn. Until then, he would stay in hiding and protect the boy.
"I'll do it." Kenobi called out to his master. " I'll train the boy the best I can. I promise you."
For a few minutes, Obi only had the calmness of the desert as company.
"Then the galaxy will receive a new hope."
Obi smiled at his master's words. And decided that after all that, he definitely needed a drink.
He hopped onto his speeder and headed back to Mos Eisley. Those Correlian Cocktails are to die for.