Over the next few hours he drifted in and out of consciousness. Washed out contours, fragments of conversation meshed together, never making any sense.

When Obi-Wan finally woke up he didn't know where he was or what happened. He laid in a cot in an unfamiliar medical bay. First thing he did was to make note of all the possible escape routes and to consider how to get intelligence on this place. On the wall behind him he saw an unknown symbol that looked a bit like a crude version of the emblem of the Jedi Order.

It took some time for the memory to get back. The time travel business, the destruction of Alderaan, the Death Star, witnessing Kenobi's (his own) death…

Obi-Wan quickly sat up on his temporary bed, the suddenness of that action began to make him fill lightheaded. Swinging his legs over the cot he put his head between his knees. While he was waiting for his head to clear he noticed that beside his cot sat the stolen military jacket neatly folded on the floor with his boots, on top laid Kenobi's lightsaber. After checking on his own lightsaber which was still hidden in his sleeve of his inner tunic he relaxed. Once his head cleared he pulled his own saber out of it hiding spot and plucked the older lightsaber of the ground to compare them. They were essentially the same the only difference was that Kenobi's spoke of battles Obi-Wan had never fought and now would never get the chance. Obi-Wan's blade told of battles yet to be fought, battles Kenobi would never have to fight.

Because he was gone. The only person who knew the truth about Obi-Wan, who knew him at all was dead. Kenobi had just disappeared, literally. Never had he felt so alone before, not after the death of Qui-Gon, not when he had been captured by Ventress. He was stranded in a time not his own, in a way abandoned. It hurt to think of Kenobi's death. Obi-Wan clutched his heart; the phantom pains had subsided but were still there deep within him. He wondered if they would ever completely vanish.

A worried beeping interrupted his train of thoughts.

Obi-Wan smiled when he saw Arfour peeking curiously around a corner into his room. The droid sounded concerned. Obi-Wan shook his head, sometimes he could believe Anakin's rambling about droids having a personality. Arfour's programming was female and it sometimes felt as if Obi-Wan dealt with a mother hen. He felt fond exasperation towards the droid.

His astromech rolled over and practically shoved a datapad in his hands. From Arfour's beeping Obi-Wan concluded that it contained the information on the Empire the droid had downloaded from the Death Star computer.

It was a broad wink that he should get up to date on history. He switched the device on. Where should he start?

The Empire's chain of command caught his eye.

Of course there was Palpatine as the head of state. Obi-Wan clenched his jaw. This man was responsible for the war Obi-Wan had lost friends and family to. If he ever came face to face with the Emperor he would be hard pressed not to enact vengeance on the Sith Lord. A humorless smile spread on his lips. Palpatine's ugly soul now showed on his face. What that man had done left a bad aftertaste on Obi-Wan's tongue.

He scrolled down to the second in command and had to fight the urge to throw the datapad against the wall. Kenobi's murderer stared back at him with the black visor. Vader. The cyborg had slaughtered the Jedi, Obi-Wan's family, most likely even Anakin. Tears of fury filled his eyes and he clenched his fists. Never before did Obi-Wan hate a being with such ferocity like this menace born from the Dark Side.

It took great effort to take a step back mentally. Taking deep even breaths Obi-Wan released his emotions into the Force. Just thinking about Vader and the Jedi brought him far too close to the Dark Side for comfort.

After he calmed down he checked on people he knew from his time with the republic navy, people who might recognize him. His thoughts wandered to the encounter with Yularen. The admiral had transferred from the navy to the Imperial Security Bureau where he held the rank of a colonel. The man had probably seen the resemblance with Obi-Wan's alter ego but had dismissed it. It had been sheer dumb luck (if one believed in luck, which he did not). He should alter his appearance a bit.

He scratched his beard in thought. His beard. Without it he would look a lot younger and different.

Arfour pulled at Obi-Wan's sleeve and offered the razor hidden in her insides. He shook his head. Arfour spent far too much time with Artoo. She picked up a lot of bad habits.

He had just finished when the door to his room swished open and Princess Leia entered.

She stopped short when she noticed that Obi-Wan was awake.

"I didn't know you were awake, Knight Kenobi."

"Obi-Wan is fine. Please have a seat." She followed his invitation and moved a stool next to him.

"You seem better." She looked him over.

"I feel like death warmed over." He said a wry smile on his lips. "So what did I miss after I passed out?"

She grinned. "Not much. We escaped, they tracked us and Luke blew up the Death Star."

Major galactic history summarized in one sentence. Wait. What? His disbelief must have shown on his face since Leia explained the situation more in-depth. "We analyzed the plans hidden in Artoo and found a weakness, a small one but better than nothing. A two meter wide exhaust vent. Two pilots missed and they had used the computer and then Luke did his attack run and in the middle of it shut it off and he actually hit it. We had incredible luck."

"That was an impressive feat." That would have been a shot even Anakin would have had problems with. Luke must have used the Force. "So how is the hero doing?"

"We held a ceremony in Luke's and Han's honor earlier today. Now General Dodonna has gotten hold of him and is interrogating him and Han on every detail of the battle, again. Otherwise he would be here with me. He checked on you a few times a day. He'll be happy to see you awake." She smiled again then she became serious when she noticed the lightsabers on his bed. "I'm sorry for your loss."

Obi-Wan laid his hand on Kenobi's weapon. "Thank you. How's Luke handling it?"

"I don't think he's handling it at all. Ever since the fight with the Imps he tries his best to keep distracted."

Obi-Wan watched Leia when she clenched her fist. Apparently Luke wasn't the only one not handling his grief although Leia's pain was most likely greater than the boy's. She had lost her homeplanet and every person she had loved. He could already feel the pain transforming into anger and resolve. Leia was balancing on the edge of the abyss. If she were Force sensitive she would be in danger of falling to the Dark side.

Obi-Wan halted that train of thoughts. What if she was? Most Force sensitive probably never found out about their ability now that the Jedi were gone. Gently he extended his senses and brushed against her presence. She didn't shine in the Force like Luke did because she hid in the Force itself. The shields around her mind were strong but crude. That spoke of a lot raw talent but no training whatsoever. From what he found he couldn't be sure that she was Force sensitive but it became far more likely. If she was he would have to teach her control at the very least.

And he would have to decide what to do with Luke now that Kenobi was no longer able to teach the boy. He was too powerful to be left untrained.

"Princess Leia?" A medic called when he opened the door. "Senator Mothma wants to talk to you about something." With a look at Obi-Wan she added. "And I need to check on Knight Kenobi's progress."

The medic gave him a detailed checkup, he felt like he was turned inside out and upside down before she declared that he was getting better. She wanted to keep him in the med bay for a bit longer for observation. When Obi-Wan had been handed over into her care after arriving planet side he had shown symptoms of shock and severe exhaustion. Now that he thought about it he hadn't slept since before he crashed on Tattooine, no, since before his departure from Ryloth. He had been awake for three days before he had fallen unconscious. The healer recommended that Obi-Wan should get some more sleep before she left.

Slowly Obi-Wan drifted into the state between waking and dreaming, losing himself in the Force's currents.

Somehow the situation felt quite familiar. A young overly talented boy blows up a giant space station with next to no instruction in the ways of the Force. Both were from Tatooine and both were Skywalkers. Obi-Wan sighed. Like Father, like Son. "If history is truly repeating itself then somebody will come up to me and will ask me to teach the boy because of some special destiny." He murmured under his breath.

"History is truly repeating itself". An ethereal voice said. The voice sounded suspiciously like Kenobi. His body still hurt everywhere after his death experience. So he groaned as he turned towards the disturbance he felt in the Force but nothing was there.

"Am I asleep or am I hallucinating?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Neither" Obi-Wan could nearly hear the self-satisfaction. Then seriousness penetrated the Force. "I'm sorry that I have to ask this of you. But Luke is the only one with a chance to defeat Vader and if he remains untrained he is an easy target for the Dark Side. You must train him."

Obi-Wan frowned. "You know just once I wanted to teach an apprentice I choose myself."

The Force vibrated with amusement. "Well, I did choose him that means technically you did as well." With that the disturbance disappeared again.

After a few moments of silence Obi-Wan decided to turn around and resume sleeping before his brain registered what happened. Obi-Wan shot up with a start.

"Kenobi!" Obi-Wan shouted. "Get back here!"

Had this really just happen? Or was this his own subconsiousness that told him his decision before he made it? The groan that followed had nothing to do with the pain. This was just great. Anakin was – had been bold, stubborn, extremely gifted with the Force and reckless to a point where it bordered suicidal. And from what he had seen Luke was very much like his father in that regard. Qui-Gon had made him promise to train Anakin and now his own alter ego had dumped a Skywalker on his lap. In a childish gesture he pulled his blanket over his head and hid under his pillow. What had he done to deserve to teach another one?

A knock on the door interrupted Obi-Wan's annoyed musings.

A man with an impressive white beard entered uninvited who wore the uniform of a military general. Obi-Wan was tempted to ignore his manners and Force-shove the man out of his room. He really wanted to be alone right now.

The officer approached him. "Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, I am Jan Dodonna, General of the Alliance to Restore the Republic."

"A pleasure" Obi-Wan took the offered hand trying to stay pleasant.

"Princess Leia informed me on you and your situation. I'm sorry about your father. I met him once during the Clone Wars. He was a great tactician, a brilliant military leader. You look a lot like him, you know."

"I know." Considering he was the exact genetic copy it wasn't so surprising.

"You'll be a great asset to the Alliance. Just the presence of a Jedi here has boosted the moral of the troops."

Nice, did that mean he would become the poster boy of the Alliance like he had been for the Republic?

It knocked again. Was his room some kind of conference room? He was getting cranky by now.

Luke peeked in the room. "Obi-Wan you're finally awake. That's great. Can I talk to you, alone?" Luke was a bit hesitant of asking that considering who was in the room. "If that is alright with you general?"

The general nodded with understanding and left. Luke dragged the stool Leia had used earlier over and sat down next to Obi-Wan's bed.

"You know about the Force, right?" Luke asked nervously.

"Yes." He replied after he took a deep breath and released his frustrations into the Force.

"It's about Ben. He just disappeared. Just like that he was gone." Luke's shoulders dropped. His pain and distress seeped into the Force.

"I know." That was something Obi-Wan wondered about as well. He laid a hand on Luke's shoulder hoping that it conveyed his sympathy and understanding. He wasn't that good at consoling grieving young man.

Luke looked up. "Is this normal for Jedi?"

Obi-Wan shook his head. "No it was the first time I witnessed something like this. I'm sorry I can't answer your question." Luke looked crestfallen.

"There is something else. When I did my attack run on the Death Star I think I heard a voice. It sounded like Ben." Saying it out loud sounded even crazier than in his head.

Obi-Wan laid a hand on his newly shaven chin. "What did it tell you?"

"It told me to use the Force and to trust in it, and suddenly I knew when to fire the torpedoes." Luke answered.

"That was the Force speaking to you. You sometimes hear it speaking with the voice of a mentor or a teacher. That you heard it speaking to you proves that you are strong in the Force. You can always trust in the Force. It will lead you true."

Luke was relieved and yet he kneaded his fingers in nervous embarrassment. "It also said that you would train me…"

Obi-Wan closed his eyes and sighed in resignation. That was the issue, wasn't it? Should he train the boy? Luke was old, far too old to begin training. Force, Anakin had been too old to begin training and he had been only nine years old. Luke was nineteen. Mace Windu would have a heart attack if he knew Obi-Wan was even considering it. He looked at Luke. The boy looked back at him with expectance in his eyes. He felt the Force gave him a small nudge. The voice had been right; if Kenobi had chosen Luke as a Padawan then so had Obi-Wan.

"Luke, do you really want to complete your training in the Force? It will require sacrifice and lifelong dedication from you. It is not a life you should choose lightly because once you started walking down that road you have to walk it to the very end. Being a Jedi will dictate your life, you can't say in the middle of training that you don't want it anymore. It won't be easy but I'd be willing to teach you."

Hope lit up in Luke's blue eyes. "I promise I won't disappoint you. I'm willing to learn."

"Then Luke Skywalker I'll take you as my Padawan learner."

Halfway across the galaxy Darth Vader stood near the window in his office aboard his Star Destroyer. The Sith Lord stared out into the endless darkness of space deep in thought. Only the menacing sound of his breathing interrupted the silence.

He had reported the destruction of the Death Star to his master and as anticipated Lord Sidious had not been pleased. But since Tarkin had held sole responsibility for that technological bogy Vader wouldn't face any punishment. Tarkin was lucky that the explosion had blown him to pieces. If the Emperor had gotten hold of him his death would have been a gruesome, drawn out affair.

As Vader had prophesized the day went down in history. Just not in the way the Emperor would have preferred. Vader on the other hand was secretly pleased. He had personally killed Kenobi, that money pit called Death Star had exploded and became scrap metal and Vader now got the chance to end the rebels with his own hands.

He was torn from his contemplation when a knock sounded from the door.

"Come in"

A seasoned military officer entered.

"You sent for me, Lord Vader." Wulff Yularen held himself like a man who knew his place in the galaxy and who lived long enough to no longer fear death. This enabled him to face Vader without as much as a tremor of nervousness.

"Yes. You were stationed on the Death Star." Vader flipped through a file.

"Yes I was." Yularen answered, hands clasped behind his back. The military pose hadn't changed since the Clone Wars.

"Yet here you are in one piece while it has been destroyed." Vader closed the file with deliberate slowness. Any other officer would sweat bullets by now. It was a test to see if Yularen still was who he had been. "Care to explain why."

Nothing showed on Yularen's face but he could feel a slight embarrassment in the Force. That intrigued Vader. Yularen was high enough in the command chain that he didn't need leave to leave. But as the commanding officer of the Imperial Security Bureau of the Death Star he must have expected that someone would ask questions.

"It was a feeling Lord Vader. Earlier that day I met a young naval officer who escorted the Princess to her execution. He looked familiar. I checked the documents, they were alright. Later I heard that they were a rescue party. It was supposed to be impossible to rescue someone from the Death Star. Yet they pulled it off. Then I heard about the analysis of the rebel attack on the trench. It was supposed to be impossible to destroy that space station. Then I remembered why the young officer looked so familiar. He did remind me of Obi-Wan Kenobi. As you know I served with Kenobi and Skywalker during the Clone Wars and they were known to pull off the impossible on a regular basis. So on merely a hunch I decided I had matters to attend to, somewhere else."

That was interesting. It seemed that it was the will of the Force that Yularen survived.

"Could Kenobi have taught a student?" Yularen asked after a short silence.

Vader turned his back on the colonel staring at the stars. That was the question, wasn't it? Could his old master have taken on another apprentice? It would certainly explain a few things. The student could have pulled Kenobi's lightsabre to him using the Force. The backlash of a tearing training bond could have sent the apprentice to his knees. And Vader had felt that the pilot used the Force to target the exhaust vent.

A pity he hadn't paid attention on the Death Star which one of them was the possible student. Vader had use for a trained Force sensitive; he could train him as his own Sith apprentice and challenge the Emperor for the title of Sith master. But that would require absolute secrecy.

Vader knew Yularen already suspected something with the Sith Lord and openly speaking about his old master was a sure way to die quickly. Killing him would be easy yet Vader was reluctant to do so.

Over the years Vader had kept an eye on Yularen. They had sometimes been at odds during the Clone Wars but they had worked well together. Yularen was a competent officer with principles and those were so hard to come by these days.

Vader had noticed that the colonel had made sure that he always held a position near the Emperor but never in his inner circle. He was influential but never in the spotlight. He was a quiet observer, he knew more than he let on and he never let anyone look over his shoulder. Vader's spies had also reported that Yularen was concerned and dissatisfied with the corruption in the higher ranks of the Empire and some of the decisions the Emperor had made in the last few years through the man was intelligent enough to keep it quiet. Yularen was a man one would want on their side.

"Colonel Yularen how long would it take for you to establish an imperial agent in the ranks of the rebellion?"

Yularen wasn't surprised. "It depends on their recruiting method, less than three months."

"Then do so. You won't tell anybody about this. From now on you'll report only to me." The 'if you value your life and that of every person you care about' went without saying.

"Yes, Lord Vader."

"You are dismissed."

With a slight bow the colonel left Vader's office.

As much as Vader hated to admit Kenobi was fairly competent as a teacher. After all he had taught Vader in his younger years. If he had taken another student the boy had the potential to either be a nuisance or a powerful ally.

Either way Vader had to act before the Emperor got wind of it.

AN: Yeay I'm done with ANH. Everything fell into place. Now we'll step off the beaten path and move into deep AU territory. I know where I want this story to go but unfortunately I don't know the way. For one I have no idea what happens between episode 4 and 5 or in the EU in general. I have a basic storyline for what happens next but if there are characters or events you want to see I am open for suggestions.
Beta'd by potterfanforever. Give credit were credit is due.
So I hope you had fun reading and look forward to the next update though it may take some time.
Have a nice day.