Chapter 4: The Myth
«Do you mean that this ghost started the rebellion? Was he the rebel's chief?» the child asked. «And how come you know this story? Did they catch him? It's not in the books either, and it should be. I mean, the Emperor was defeated so the rebels were 'the good guys'.»
«You really should go to sleep now…»
«Grandma, please. Tell me the end of this story. I need to hear it.»
The light in the room flickered for a moment. If the child hasn't been so focused on her grandmother, and the older women hadn't been so lost in memories, they could possibly have noticed a faint blue shimmer in the corner of the room, behind the old woman's back. Something in the color of an old holo recording.
None of them noticed.
The storyteller continued her story.
«Another year passed. A stranger, a women who'd known the Jedi Order before the purge came to Tatooine. She was now a part of the resistance, and she was always on the move to avoid being caught or even related to the rebels. Her visit to Tatooine wasn't really planned, but the freighter she'd hidden in after escaping the storm troopers after a rebel attack in Xarenth landed there and the crew obviously intended to make good use of the bars and cantinas in Mos Eisley. She had no plans of doing likewise.
Instead she decided to hire a transport and go to the outskirts. It was not something she'd planned very well, but for some reason she felt an urge to see with her own eyes how Anakin Skywalker's family were doing. She set out in the morning and by evening she reached the Lars' moisture farm where Anakin Skywalker's stepbrother was living with his family. They received her friendly enough, though somewhat reserved, for the first couple of minutes. Then they noticed the cylinder hanging from her belt.
'Who are you?' Owen Lars demanded to know,'I thought the galaxy finally was rid of the Jedi but that cylinder resembles a lightsaber. Out! You leave now. In this very moment, and tell old Ben that we don't want any of his kind snooping around here'
The door was firmly closed behind her before she had the chance of letting another word out.
'Not good,' she muttered, 'I need to find shelter before the night falls. The desert is no place for an outlander at night.'
She decided to aim for the mountain ridge that forms the western border of the Jundland Wastes. Maybe she could find a cave that could give her shelter for the night. Preferably before any krayt dragon considered her a tasty snack before it's evening meal.
She was lucky. After only an hours seeking she found a small cave in the cliff. It wasn't much of a shelter, she could barely fit in, but there were also some boulders that would be a good camouflage for her speeder. That certainly was a pre. She settled in for the night and made a protein cube her dinner.
She woke early. Years in hiding had sharpened her senses and she almost felt a presence outside the cave. Someone, something was there, waiting silently for her to make her first move. Carefully she got up on her knees and peeked out. Nothing. Not even the sand moved. Everything was still. Calm. Quiet.
Yet the presence was waiting. She could feel it.
She slid out from her narrow shelter. Still nothing to see. Wait…what was that? One of the boulders apparently had changed it's shape from the evening before. Nothing moved. The presence she'd felt for a moment was gone. Blocked? Then she heard a voice, a voice so familiar that it almost brought tears to her eyes. A voice she'd never ever believed she would hear again: 'Hello there.'
For a moment she was dumbfounded. She wanted to scream. She wanted to laugh. She wanted to cry. She did nothing for a moment, then the tears won. 'Mas…I mean…General…I mean…Obi-Wan, you're alive. You live. You're here…How…Where's….is Skyguy…?' Her voice stilled and only sobs could be heard in the early morning.
The extension of the boulder rose graciously from the ground and wrapped her into his arms.
'I prefer Ben now, I'm here as you can see and I'm definitely alive, though there was a time when I wasn't too sure about that part myself, and no - Anakin isn't here. He's…gone.'
She looked up at the familiar face. The ginger hair and beard had definitely got more silver streaks than it had the last time she'd seen him and the Tatooinian twin suns had caused some more wrinkles. Still he looked pretty good for a human male of his age.
'Come with me. I believe your speeder is well enough hidden here. The jawas seldom come to this area and the sand people mostly stays in the open desert or up in the mountains.'
A good 30 minutes walking and climbing led them to a small hut. It was located under a cliff wall and a small plateau had formed in front of most of the hut was a cave formed in the cliff, something that made it pretty easy to defend if any attackers should turn up.
'Welcome to my castle,' Ben said dryly and held the door open.
She followed suit. The room inside was tidy and unexpectantly cosy. A small bench, serving as a kitchenette was situated to the left wall. To the right the cave was slightly deeper and she could see a rough bench covered with a woven carpet, and a small table made up of one single rectangular block of stone. Obviously his force abilities must have come in handy when it came to moving that block. It seemed heavy. The back wall of the cave revealed a small niche, barely large enough for a sleeping couch.
'Sit,' he urged,'I'll make us some tea, and maybe you'd like something to eat as well. I have some dried meat here. Or maybe the remaining stew from yesterday would be OK?'
She gratefully accepted the offer. The protein cubes were nourishing, but far from tasty, and she'd been living on those through the entire flight.
'Please, tell me… What happened. How did you survive the purge. What happened to Skyg…I mean Anakin. Are there any more survivors? '
So he told her.
When she'd digested the story (and shed some extra tears when he told her about the events on Mustafar), she told him about the rebellion. 'Come, please join us. We need everyone that can possibly help us, and you would be of so much worth for us.'
'I'm too old to rebel,' he answered with some of the old twinkle in his eye, 'I finished that part of my life years ago…'
Then he continued more seriously:'My place is here now. I have heard about the rebels, but it is important that I'm not linked to them in any way. I cannot under any circumstances be seen or mentioned in any situation that has anything to do with them. General Kenobi officially died years ago, so did Obi-Wan for those who knew him. It is truly important that he remains dead. Only crazy old Ben is left and he'd better stay here in his mountain cave, unknown to the galaxy. I cannot tell you why, but you must trust me in this.'
'You're still young. You once were one of the most talented padawans of the order and if you hadn't been forced to leave the way you did, you'd truly have become a great knight. However, as things turned out it was for the best. The Force was with you, and us. If you'd still been a member of the order you'd most likely been killed as so many others were. Now you're alive and with your formidable skills you can be of help to the rebels.'
'Stay here with me for a couple of days. You're welcome to sleep on the bench. Let's talk this through and agree what must be done. It's good to see an old friend, even for some days only. When you leave, you must promise me never to come back here. Not to this place and preferably not to Tatooine. There are reasons for it, but I'm not allowed to tell anyone. Besides, it's best for your safety - and other's- that you don't know.'
She stayed for three days, then she left. She never saw Obi-Wan Kenobi again.»
…
«So he really stayed there for the rest of his life?» the granddaughter asked incredulously. «He was never seen again?»
«Well, he actually was seen again. Once. It was a couple of years before the Emperor's reign ended. He helped Luke Skywalker…» She swallowed the lump suddenly forming in her throat «…save Senator Organa from the Death Star. There he was killed for the fourth time, by Lord Vader. In a light saber duel. This time it was final. Obi-Wan Kenobi was actually dead.»
The child yawned and looked up at her grandmother.
«I wish I could have met him. And I wish he were here to defeat the First Order if they ever come to our planet. If he could fight the separatists and the Empire then he could probably grouse them as well.»
The older woman chuckled. «Let's hope it won't be necessary with any grousing of the First Order. Besides, keep in mind that this is only a myth after all, and not even a well known myth. History is written by the conquerors, not by the conquered. Sleep well my child, and sweet dreams until the morning comes.»
The old woman stood up and straightened her back. She definitely was less flexible than in her younger days. Then she left the room and silently closed the door behind her. «Ahsoka Tano, you're really becoming an old relic. This story should possibly have remained untold.»