Chapter 4 - The Force's Call


Abafar would have been the last place she looked for her padawan but it was clearly what Cody had said in his message. The place was once a separatist mining colony but now it had a very low population. It was the perfect place for someone to hide long term, and Ahsoka tried hard to suppress the seeds of hope that sprung in her once they reached hyperspace. If Anakin was going to disappear the Abafar would be the perfect spot to do so. She couldn't believe he would do that despite the thought in her head. What would be so powerful to cause the distress she felt, and to shatter the bonds they held if not death? If he was still alive what would drive him to do something like this? The questions came so powerfully to her mind and she couldn't really get a handle on them so she suppressed them.

"We are about 18 hours out," she heard Hera say snapping her out of her thoughts, she wished they could move faster but it was not to be. She nodded back to the Twilek pilot. Hera was one of the best the rebellion had and Ahsoka was glad to count her as a dear friend. They had been in communication for a long time before the team had joined up with her larger rebel group.

"I am glad we got a lead to follow," Kanan said now, he was standing behind them a little bit unwilling to stay silent about the mission they were on right now. They were chasing after Kenobi's daughter who had gone to find the chosen one, Skywalker. Kanan hadn't really ever spoken to Skywalker himself but he knew him by sight at the temple. The Jedi was a legend for how quickly he progressed in his training and how efficient he was as a general in the clone wars. The masters seemed to be wary of him despite his successes. The rumor was he was arrogant and unwilling to learn to control his emotions, he put the lives of the people he cared about above the greater good. Kanan knew he was Ahsoka's master and she obviously held him in high regard and was among the Jedi who did see him as the chosen one.

"Ri-En is never going to be left alone after this stunt," Ahsoka responded, she had been worrying about the girl ever since she had left though she knew she was still alive. "I should have realized she was going to pull something like this. The signs were all there, she kept talking about the clone wars stories she had heard and her father's mission to find Anakin. I just never realized she was going to take that all upon herself, she's quite rash sometimes."

"Did Obi-Wan really believe he was still alive?" Kanan asked her. He wasn't too sure about the whole situation. He knew Skywalker was among the Jedi that the empire had reported dead but then again so was he. Ahsoka seemed to really believe he was gone, and she was his apprentice; their bond was strong. When she left the Jedi temple he remembered people saying that Anakin was never the same.

"Obi-Wan didn't want to believe that he had died," Ahsoka countered shaking her head and remembering Obi-Wan's determination to get back out there. He had listened to Ahsoka and Siri for three years but he couldn't stop himself from believing because Anakin couldn't be dead not with the Sith still out there. His daughter had been so much the same. She wanted to search for Anakin instead of her own father because she believed that was what her father would have wanted them to do, and to her credit she was probably right about that.

"Whatever the situation," Hera said to them, "Ri-En seemed to think this planet was important enough to check out. Maybe when she finds nothing it will shatter the belief she holds." Ahsoka didn't know how she felt about that happening. Ri-En's hopes and ideas made her so lively, what would she do when she faced the harsh reality of how the world really was. There was so much darkness around them and yet Ri-En seemed unaffected by it. Of course she did hide any negative emotions she had, she buried them and Ahsoka was surprised when the girl revealed them. It probably wasn't the best thing for the girl to do but it was a hard topic to address when she seemed unwilling to acknowledge them.

"I admit it is the perfect place to hide," Ahsoka replied, "maybe that's why she thought it would be the one to end her search."

"And if it is?" Kanan asked now because he could not deny the amazing abilities that Ri-En had. They had felt ripples in the force and not known what to make of them, maybe Ri-En felt them stronger and saw just what the force was calling her to do.

"It won't be," Ahsoka spoke now but the way she said it sounded as if she was trying to convince herself more than anyone else. She didn't want to believe it was true because she didn't want to face the heartbreak of shattered hope ever again.


The way he walked seemed to be important, like he had actually been something at some point and maybe that was true. Before the empire there were a lot more important people in the galaxy. Now it was governors and the Emperor himself. She wondered what he had been and really wondered what had happened to him that he had ended up here. Maybe he was one of the miners before the planetary structure had fallen into ruins. She had done her homework on this place, and she really was surprised that Ahsoka had not noticed. Then again her master was sidetracked with so much, bringing Obi-Wan and Siri back and then searching for information on the new Sith.

"Do you got a last name to go the one you gave me." He asked now. He was very curious about Ri-En, something about her was familiar but she was definitely too young to be someone he had know. She was no more than 14 by his determination, why would a 14 year old Jedi be down here without a master? Who would authorize something like this? Maybe she just had no other choice. Maybe her master had been killed by the same empire troops that were after her. That situation had the highest possibility of being what happened, particularly since her disposition kept changing from frustrated to sad. She put up a good front, not complaining to him, just smiling when she talked. She was obviously a good Jedi to be able to hold her emotions in such control. That was something he was never good at.

"Marris," she replied moving her head to the side and smiling. That was the last name that her and Ahsoka had made up for missions; she couldn't run around calling herself Kenobi unless she wanted empire attention about it everywhere she went. They continued to walk in silence when they reached a small cave opening. She followed him in to a very large room in the cave, she wouldn't have found this on her own it was perfect. It was lit by a small generator that looked home made and she gave a second glance at this person. Her wonderings about him were beginning to change. He walked to a metal box on one side and pulled out some dried meat. Then he walked to a container and poured out some water into a cup. He handed the meat and water to her and motioned for her to sit down.

"You are safe here," he said reassuring her. She felt the emotions of the day all crashing on her at once. She was strong enough not to cry but her force shields were beginning to slip a little. He quickly picked up on the sorrow and determined emotions that were coursing through her. There was something else as well, her force signature seemed to similar to one he had felt before but it had been so long he couldn't place it. "What's a girl like you doing out here on one of the most desolate planets in the galaxy?" He asked not wanting to pry but he wanted her to feel safe so that he could figure out how there were new Jedi and which one's had survived. Curiosity had continued to win out over his desire to continue his solitude. The force was urging him on like he was meant to meet this girl but he didn't want to leave here. He decided it wouldn't hurt to know more. He didn't have to leave this planet just because he talked to a young Jedi.

"I..." she paused looking into the man's eyes and the depth they had in them, she felt like she could trust him even though she was wary of everyone on this planet. This stranger, Owen Lars was not going to hurt her and he had just undoubtedly saved her life. She was nowhere near ready to go up against a Sith, even a young one in training. "I am looking for someone." She confessed seeing nothing go off in his expression, she had wondered if he was what she was looking for even though it would be a strange coincidence for that to happen. He turned away getting himself some food. She was eating as if contemplating whether to say more about it.

"And where is your family?" he asked now as if it was obvious that she should have one. She took a deep breath, breathing her sadness in and then she breathed out letting go of the things that had plagued her for so long. She had to be strong no matter what was happening around her. That was what her father and mother had counted on when they had left her. Abandoned, that was a word that small voice in her head kept telling her.

"I haven't seen my dad since I was three," she replied once again letting her emotions go with each word she said, "and my mom left to find him eight years ago, so I don't know where they are." A noise outside caused her to jump.

"Don't worry that's just the sandstorm," the man said his voice once again calming her. Whoever she was figuring out who her family were wasn't helping him determine more about the Jedi, though he wondered about how strong her force sensitivity was to use a mind trick at 14 and on a pretty tough target. The signature she gave off seemed to suggest that one of her parents at least was a Jedi he knew and he froze when he looked at her again. Her hair was auburn, her features were so similar but seeing the female version of them hadn't set off his recognition at all. This girl looked like his old master and suddenly he realized that was the force signature he was sensing in her was familiar because it was the one he was bonded to for so long. This girl was somehow related to Obi-Wan. She seemed to notice his expression change but she didn't say anything.

"How is it possible," he muttered turning away toward the wall and walking a few steps. This had to be some trick of his enemies to throw him off; surely Obi-Wan was dead and even if he was alive he would never have kids. She was suddenly confused, he seemed to shut back into his quiet shell very suddenly. The wheels in his head were turning about the girls father, if she really could be Obi-Wan's daughter. Who was she looking for on this planet, that answer seemed to be right in front of him as well. The force had brought him to the village and it had brought her, she was looking for Anakin Skywalker and she did not know that he was right in front of her. How long would it be until she found him out.

"Get some rest," he said turning to her a hardness in his voice now. She was more confused than before about him but he was right she needed to rest. She was very tired.

"I need to get to Pons Ora," she quickly said as he was walking out of the main part of the cave. He turned back to her and she once again saw the weariness on his face. What had happened to him to cause this? She hadn't really said anything, but he was reverting back to the more angry version of himself she saw when they first started walking away from town.

"We'll discuss it in the morning," he replied walking out of the main room. She sighed, her droid rolled up to her and beeped that she needed to sleep. She smiled at him putting her hand on top of his dome.

"You are right R6," she replied with a smile, "It's a good time to sleep, while we are still safe."


Anakin couldn't stop himself from rushing deeper into the caverns. It was dark down here but he didn't care. He stopped when he was far enough away to feel like she couldn't sense him anymore. He had lived in this place so long, under the safety of the dark side energy that surrounded here. Sidious couldn't find his light beneath it and he held his shields up strong but somehow the force had brought someone here to find him; it was playing a cruel game with him. He fell onto his knees deep in the cavern as he begged his mind to forget what was happening around him. This girl was obviously what he had pegged her as above, Obi-Wan's daughter, he had survived but she didn't even know where he was. He had worked so hard to escape his life as a Jedi in this place, to escape the call of the force that always followed him.

"Can I ever be free?" he asked the force now, he had so long wished the force would just take him into death, away from the darkness he was all but convinced he had caused. The world around him controlled by the Sith, everything was his fault. He hadn't been strong enough to prevent it and now he wondered why so many believed in him. He couldn't save them all. Tears now came as old wounds re-opened an anger he hadn't allowed himself to feel for so long. He'd lost the Jedi, who had been his family for so long and he had lost Padme who was going to have his child before Palpatine had killed her and ended his heart. He had been in pain for so long, what he had done to bury it was all for nothing because if felt it coursing through his veins now stronger than it had been in so long. His shields were still up but it never stopped him from feeling the force around him.

He had been so afraid and his fear had cause him to hate what he had become. He had run away from everything to get away from his dark side but now it was all crashing and flowing around him now. He couldn't run away from it, nothing that he did could save himself from it. Why did that girl have to come to this planet? What had he done to cause the force to do something like this to him? She had lost her family but there was still a strength that was evident in her, that was something he had never had in the face of loss.

"You were always so dramatic," he heard a voice in the force now, he had spent a long time shutting it out but it was breaking through with all of the pain his memories brought. The voice of Qui-Gon had begged him for so long to return to the world and take his rightful place by destroying the Sith and the darkness that put the force out of balance. He had never wanted to have the destiny that so many had thrust upon him from the time he was just a child. He had tried to outrun it for so long, because all he wanted was the people that he cared about to be safe. That was his sole reason for becoming a Jedi, to be strong enough to save them but he wasn't strong enough to save anyone. He was too drawn to power to really understand that it was the darkness he was meant to destroy. So many had died believing in him and they were so wrong, they had always been wrong about him.

"Leave me alone," Anakin said now telling the voice to go but he didn't have the same strength that had helped him all these years. That girl had shattered it by merely existing, proving to him that somewhere out there people were still fighting while he was here being such a failure. Couldn't they just accept that the Sith had won? Couldn't they just leave him alone to die?

"I didn't find you on Tatooine for nothing," the voice continued, "You know deep down that your life was meant for a greater purpose. Stop submitting to your selfish desires. Stop running from who you really are. You may find that the force is not a cruel as you think it is; that the world around you is not as dark as it seems." More tears flowed from his eyes, he had longed to believe for so long that maybe they could end the pain the galaxy felt. He had given up on that belief long ago; when he had lost Padme. She would have run to the ends of the earth for him when it all fell apart but he was too late to save her; to late to save anyone. His mother had also died because he was too late to save her.

"Can it return to me what I have lost?" Anakin questioned in anger. The voice didn't respond and he realized that it had gone. He had successfully blocked it out and ended the rush of the force he had felt. He closed it in his mind, letting the pain and fear disappear with it just like he had done for so long. He could get this girl off the planet and into safety then he could return to his life in solitude until the force allowed him to die. Little did he know the force had other plans for him.


"We are getting nowhere!" Taris shouted in frustration. Her battalion had been searching tunnels and other things they found in the area when the sand storm had set upon them. They had rushed into an old mining cavern and her scouts had not come back yet. She was beyond angry now that such a young Jedi evaded her, it was like the Tachi situation all over again. Her master would not be pleased if she returned without results. She shuddered to think of the consequences. Out of all the force sensitives he had on his side he had chosen her to be his apprentice, a task she did not take lightly.

She knew that Sidious had seen the strength of her connection to the force as a great asset but she believed he could change his mind if she wasn't careful. He was distant at times, sometimes speaking of the potential apprentice he had lost years before and this bothered her. He was dead set on finding the Jedi whom he believed to be powerful enough to surpass even her. If he ever did find the man she would make sure she destroyed him. It was that singular goal that drove her to excellence as a Sith, and it was that anger that she held onto with every mission she approached. It was that anger that she held now, especially with the changing winds of the force on this planet.

"We can't get a transmission out until this storm lets up," one of her troops said but she felt a calm coming over her. Whatever happened next she was ready to destroy the Jedi and return home, that goal drove her on and she felt the dark side collecting around her in it. This child was not the one Sidious was looking for and she would take great pleasure in killing her.


She woke up to the shock of cold around her, on this planet she didn't think there could be cold but she soon realized it was a coldness in the force that had awaken her. The dark side was present here. Something about this place echoed through her as she shivered from the feeling. Her droid was still powered down for the night and she didn't want to wake him, Owen Lars was also nowhere in sight, she wondered where he had gone with a giant sandstorm brewing. Maybe he could helper get to Pons Ora once the storm ended, then from there she could call her master and get out of this place. She knew she had to find the man she came for but the cold she felt frightened her.

She looked around the cave the Owen seemed to live in, it wasn't very home like at all. She looked at the many boxes he had scattered around the room, there were also ship parts and electronics everywhere. Maybe he had been trying to build a ship to get off this rock. She guessed there was no good organization strategy to living in a cave. She was still tired, some more rest would do her good. She was about to lay back down when something changed.

She felt the force calling to her from one of the larger boxes it was a burst of dark and light side energy calling that she did not expect. She starred at it as the room suddenly felt like it was getting smaller and the box in front of her was standing out as if it held something important. She must have missed something some detail that was calling to her now, her head was swimming from the thought. Memories of her parents reminded her that she must always mind her surroundings. How had she not noticed this box before. Her breath caught as she found herself being pulled into a vision.

"Ri-En!" she heard a voice calling her, "Ri-En!" Her head was pounding as she saw a man in view, he was unmistakably her father. He looked older and weaker than he had been when she had last seen him. He also looked so far away in the vision just like he was to her in life now. Though she barely knew him she always felt him missing from the life she knew among the rebels.

"Dad!" she called to him but there was dark energy swirling around them, she couldn't get to him. She couldn't move from the shock of suddenly being here.

"Have you found him?" was the question that came from her dad but his voice sounded like a thousand voices speaking to her. Images started flashing around her of battles and pain, many people dying. A strange man with long hair and a young boy. The Jedi and the dark side swirling around them but one image came into view clearly it was her father with the man she had met here they were talking but she could not hear. There was a love and admiration on her fathers face when he looked at the man in front of him. The man was dressed in Jedi robes, a strength and power seemed to rest on him a light so strong and yet a dark so dangerous. This was the chosen one, he was the one she was looking for. He was young her, less burdened and oddly free.

"Have you found him?" The voices said together again, it was a powerful sound both terrible and beautiful. She was fast pulled back into images of the deaths of hundreds of Jedi as they fought for their lives. He was there, the man who had saved her kneeling before someone dark and terrible, then again holding some woman he seemed to love dearly. There was so much pain around her as more images of death flooded into view. She saw her father in the distance from her being enveloped by the darkness she so feared. She screamed, closing her eyes to the images trying to shut out the pain.

She found herself back in the cave screaming from the vision she had seen, her droid had powered up and was beeping. She was backed against the cave wall dripping in sweat when he rushed back in called by the sounds of her screams. She looked into the face of the man she had spent so many years believing was alive somewhere and the feeling she had was not relief it was pain. It was like all she could see when she saw him was pain, the fear and anger that he possessed. The dark side was all over this place it seemed to rest on him, it frightened her. How could he be the one she was searching for with so much dark in him. She couldn't stop herself, she ran out past him into the storm.


Ahsoka sat up, another disturbance shot off in the force. Things were changing and colliding as she turned to Kanan. He had felt it too, whatever they were walking into was not what they had prepared for.


I don't know if I will be able to sustain fast updates when the work week starts. I am going to set a goal of writing one a week as well as working on my other stories.

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AWINTERCHILL