Disclaimer: Star Wars is the property of Lucasfilm.
1. Sidious' Last Torture
Obi-Wan suddenly fell to the metal floor, the burning gone, his hands slamming against the durasteel. The floor hummed gently, indicating that he was probably aboard a space ship.
Obi-Wan opened his eyes, and slowly sat up, his fingers unconsciously caressing his throat, finding it intact. There was no-one around other than a single young girl, dressed garishly in red and yellow, who had rushed over to him and was trying to help him to a seat. "Do you need water? Come sit down, you're white, you need some rest. The Master Jedi will be back in a few hours; do you want me to contact him? Do you need food? I'll be right back, don't get up or go anywhere; I'm getting help, food and water."
The whirlwind of a girl was gone a moment later, and Obi-Wan looked around. It didn't appear to be any sort of med lab, nor was it a prison cell, for the doors at either end were wide open. What then, Obi-Wan mused. Sidious…. Somehow, Sidious must have saved me. For his own sick pleasure? To have the Last Jedi Master as some sort of prize? Or did he want to turn the last of the Jedi to the Dark side? He certainly respected Master Kenobi's power, but Obi-Wan would sooner die than betray all he'd ever lived for. Unless he thinks I know something about the whereabouts of other Jedi, he wondered.
"I will never betray the Jedi," he defiantly told the empty air. "No matter what you can devise to torture me, Sidious, I will never tell you anything. I didn't survive to be the Last Jedi Master for nothing."
It was clear that Sidious had somehow rescued and healed the Jedi Master, but why, Obi-Wan wondered. He began inspecting his throat with his fingers. Whomever Sidious had employed had reconstructed Obi-Wan's throat with exceedingly realistic results. Obi-Wan couldn't feel any scars, and could breathe easily, as if he'd never had his throat severed almost to the spinal cord. He idly noted that he was clean-shaven, and mourned the loss of his beard for only a moment before letting the feeling vanish into the expanse of the Force.
The strangely clad girl re-entered the room, which Obi-Wan recognised as the engine room of a spaceship, holding a jug and a glass, and another girl followed, clad in a fine dress that whispered importance, carrying a plate of typical space rations.
"The Queen was very worried when she heard you'd collapsed, Padawan Kenobi," the first girl stated as she filled the glass with water and handed it to Obi-Wan. A quick Force test let him know that it was safe to drink, no drugs of any kind, and so drink he did, for it eased the burning headache. Wait…. Queen?
Red and yellow dress, a young girl for a Queen…. Obi-Wan mused. This is very similar to something from years ago…. Naboo!
"Who are you?" Obi-Wan asked gingerly as the young queen handed him a plate of (unappetising) food.
She looked at him strangely, before replying, "I am Queen Amidala. This is Saché, one of my Handmaidens. Do you really not remember us?"
Obi-Wan's mind was running at lightspeed. He stood up, intending to meditate on his suspicions. If they were correct, and Sidious was trying to get him to spill all the secrets of the Last of the Jedi, they would let him have his space to complete the illusion. After all, what was he supposed to think? That he'd been sent back in time? Hardly likely. Usually Sidious' plots were far more subtle than that.
"I'm fine now. Thank you for your help, Lady Saché, your Majesty. There's no harm done."
"Please eat first, Padawan Kenobi. You collapsed after we installed the hyperdrive, and we must ensure your health," the handmaiden, Saché, insisted. "Last time we let you skip a meal Master Qui-Gon lectured Eirtaé and I for an hour, and now you've collapsed. I'm sure you wouldn't want to be responsible for the Master Jedi lecturing the Queen herself on your health," the blonde girl added wryly.
Repressing the urge to roll his eyes, Obi-Wan sat back down, accepted the plate of (unpoisoned) food, and ate under the watchful gaze of two young women. When they were satisfied that he wouldn't starve to death any time soon, they left him in the now empty engine room, and so Obi-Wan settled himself down to meditate.
The Force surprised Obi-Wan with its purity. It wasn't tainted by blood, death and the Sith. It didn't echo with the pained cries of thousands of Jedi Knights, Masters, and children. Obi-Wan let the cleanliness wash over him, and began searching the surrounding area for Sidious' dark presence.
Obi-Wan couldn't feel it.
Sidious wasn't nearby.
And the Force exuded a sense of, almost, smugness, as if it had achieved something great.
In the distance, Obi-Wan felt something more disturbing, though. Qui-Gon Jinn's well-known Force signature, accompanied by a clean, untrained, and untainted force signature which reminded Obi-Wan of Anakin before he joined the Sith.
Startled out of meditation, Obi-Wan made his way around the familiar ship, finding all the little details which had become obsolete over the years, or which were not present on the more recent Nubian space cruisers. Finding his way to the refresher on board, Obi-Wan noticed that every last detail was exactly as it had been when he was only twenty five, and the ship had become stranded on Tatooine.
When he looked into the mirror, it took all the self-control he had to not shout out in surprise.
Not even Darth Sidious could make someone appear thirteen years younger.
Yet staring him in the face was his own, Padawan self's reflection. Obi-Wan sat down with a thump.
So this isn't some joke. I'm actually alive again, in the past. Perhaps I can fix my mistakes? Remove both Darth Maul and Darth Sidious before they kill any more Jedi, and stop the line of the Sith in the process. I'll know what to do to keep Anakin away from the Dark side, and the Jedi Order will continue.
Taking it off his belt, Obi-Wan inspected his lightsaber thoroughly. Superficially it looked identical to most of the lightsabers he'd built during his life, but on closer inspection it was most certainly his second. There were no blueprints, so it couldn't be a replication. It was indeed the very same blue one that he had lost on Naboo, and when Obi-Wan ignited it and swung it around in the limited space of the 'fresher, he noted that its weight was identical. This was all the proof he needed to verify what he'd already concluded – somehow, he had a second chance.
Suddenly Obi-Wan felt something he hadn't experienced in years – the twinge of danger coming down his training bond with Qui-Gon. Rushing to the landing platform, he saw a little boy – Anakin – running through the sand towards the cruiser, while Qui-Gon fenced with a tattooed opponent – Darth Maul. Obi-Wan reached out with the Force, propelling Anakin faster toward the ship, and when Anakin had delivered his message, Obi-Wan rushed off to the pilot.
"Take off. Over there," he pointed to a cloud of dust with flashing lightsabers. "Fly low." Obi-Wan then ran back to the landing deck as the cruiser lifted off.
Qui-Gon did indeed launch himself onto the open landing platform, which began closing the moment one of the handmaidens – Eirtaé? – pressed the button. Obi-Wan resisted the temptation to jump down and finish the Sith apprentice off, as he realised that the ship would be leaving, the pilot following his instructions, not to mention that he would be exposing himself to Sidious unintentionally.
"Are you alright?" Anakin asked as they ran to Qui-Gon.
"I think so," he replied.
"What was it?" Obi-Wan asked, doing his best imitation of his twenty-five year old self.
"I'm not sure," Qui-Gon panted. "But it was well-trained in the Jedi arts. My guess is, it was after the Queen.
"What are we gonna do about it?" Anakin interjected, despite not knowing who the Queen was. Obi-Wan allowed a fond smile to pass his lips as Anakin's old selfless manner surfaced.
"We should be patient. Anakin Skwalker, meet Obi-Wan Kenobi."
Obi-Wan shook Anakin's outstretched hand, and nodded in reply when Anakin said, "Hi. You're a Jedi too? Pleased to meet you." Qui-Gon chuckled, and the pitch of the engines changed as the ship jumped to hyperspace.