A/N: So it's been a while, eh? Woops. Thanks to everyone who stuck by this thing in the interim, you guys have been fantastic.
In this chapter, I took some liberties with the mechanics of Force connectivity, so if you think I said something weird, you're right.
Punching in the coordinates of Kamino, Obi-Wan glanced up into the glass of the ship's cockpit at his diminutive co-pilot's reflection. Boba sat, thinking to himself, while Obi-Wan watched. Looking at a member of the next generation with his own genetics wasn't something the Jedi had expected from his life, especially since that member bore no more physical resemblance to the Knight than any of Jango's other clones. Aside from the child's appearance, though, he had seemed to pass on a trait or so: slow metabolism, a slight allergy to medi tape, and most concerning, Force sensitivity.
Boba had a somewhat higher midichlorion count than Obi-Wan had expected. He would never have been picked to train at the temple, but with his level of discipline, Kenobi expected that the boy could gain a higher level of unity with the Force than some of the less conditioned knights. Except, of course, that he wasn't going to train him, because that would be a terrible idea. A deadly hunter who could go for weeks with little food or sleep, think his way around his prey and attack with exceptional accuracy who was also trained in the use of the Force? No. No.
"What does the Force feel like?" Boba asked suddenly, still staring off into actual space, surprising Obi-Wan with the absolutely unheard of act of initiating a conversation.
"Well… that's a bit like asking what smell feels like. It's difficult to say, because I have never gone without the sense. In fact, you can probably answer that question better than I can, considering your recent misadventures," the Knight explained. Boba did not acknowledge the answer, but Obi-Wan didn't expect him to; he'd given up on manners for the moment, opting to focus on more basic social rules such as the relative acceptability of making death threats with your eyes (low-moderate, better than with gestures).
"What does using the Force feel like?" Boba wondered instead after a few minutes of silence.
"Like a pressure or warmth in your core, depending on who you ask. The exact sensation depends upon how exactly you are using it."
"Like when I'm shooting."
"Hm?"
"When I shoot, the pressure helps me aim the gun."
Oh no.
"Yes. Many Force sensitive people do find some manifestation of this ability in their lives before formal training." Stop. "Once you can recognize the feeling, it becomes easier to apply in various situations." Stop. "The first stage in recognizing your connection with the Force is through meditation." Emergency override: Master Mode Off.
"What's meditation?"
As they touched down on Kamino, Obi-Wan was still giving a detailed lecture on the foundational principals of the Jedi understanding of the Force. He couldn't help it- over the past decade, teaching had crept in to become a part of who he was. If he did it well, and if Boba could develop a connection with the living Force, perhaps his life would not be consumed by what seemed to be the inexplicable twin forces of resentment and revenge that were currently devouring his father. Boba was still young enough to grow up free from such troubles. After all, Anakin had been Boba's age when he began training, and he had turned out…
Hm.
Taun Wi met them as they entered the facility, drenched from the few moments they had spent on the landing dock.
"Commander Kenobi; welcome." She seemed slightly cool to him, but smiled warmly at Boba. Obi-Wan couldn't blame her. Completely lying about your identity for any amount of time does not usually create the most solid basis for a lasting friendship. "You called complaining of an error in our process, I believe?"
"Not an error per se. An anomaly," the Jedi explained carefully. "It seems Boba does not share 100% of his genetic material with Jango."
There was a long silence. Obi-Wan did not usually find silences awkward, starved for them as he had been while raising Anakin. He didn't think Boba minded them either, though he suspected that the child found the discomfort of others amusing, which probably had something to do with that. The look that Taun Wi was giving the Knight in the interim, however, was making this silence a particularly awkward one.
"That would be an error, Commander," she said at last, "and an unlikely one at that."
"Yes, I am certain that it is quite unusual, but I must insist that I review the particulars of the process which created Boba," Obi-Wan replied. Taun Wi bowed and had them escorted to Jango's old apartment while she retrieved the files.
As the door closed, the Jedi immediately turned his attention to Boba, who he was not surprised to find staring back at him. No doubt the child was waiting for a moment when he wasn't paying attention to retrieve any number of weapons which Jango was sure to have hidden in places that the sweep team was unlikely to find. After a few moments of weighing effectiveness against guilt for best possible child-sized headlocks, the door slid open again, revealing a somehow thinner than usual native of Kamino holding a small box. It occurred to Obi-Wan that a strong breeze might break this newcomer in half, when he noticed the sweat beading on the man's forehead.
"Commander Kenobi?" he squeaked. "I uh, you're here about an error in the unaltered clone?"
"An anomaly in Boba's DNA," the knight rephrased.
The man pushed the small box towards the Jedi, eyes wide and watery. Out of the corner of his own eye, he could see that Boba had temporarily lost interest in trying to stab/shoot/poison him, temporarily enthralled by the scene. Obi-Wan took the box and opened it slowly, brow furrowing as he uncovered the contents.
"It's a toy. It's…" he squinted down at the little stuffed animal, suddenly noticing the familiar rips and fades in the fabric, "my toy. Jango gave it to me when Jaster found me."
"I was one of the technicians assigned to working on the unaltered clone," the man explained.
"Boba," the Jedi interjected absently, mind working furiously as he pieced together what had happened before the technician could explain. "You were missing some piece of the DNA for Boba and you retrieved it from this toy."
"I thought it was Mr. Fett's," the man said earnestly, clasping his shaking hands in front of him. "There was radiation damage to the sample we took to make his requested unaltered copy. He was away and genetic samples are destroyed in the process of creating large batches, so there was nothing on hand to pull from. We were on a tight schedule and he wasn't set to be back for another six months. I came to this apartment to look for toiletries, but nothing was here. He had only left a few non-essentials and that doll, which I found a hair on."
"It's not a doll, it's..." Obi-Wan replied defensively, trailing off as he looked back down at what was definitely a box containing a small doll. An obviously ferocious yet serene doll which clearly spoke to his deep inner strength and/or early childhood love of fluffy woodland creatures. "That was quite reckless. He could have picked it up at a market. It might have been the merchant's hair, or anyone in the line of production."
The man shook his head. "The doll looked used, and Mr. Fett is very wealthy. I thought it must have been his, and he had intended to give it to his son as some sort of, um, sentimental-" he cut himself off as Boba narrowed his eyes at him. Obi-Wan put the lid back on the box. He agreed with the boy in that sentimentality was not one of Jango's prevailing characteristics, but the mood did seem to strike him every decade or so. "Please, Sir, if you would let me call off the files search. Please don't tell anyone. There will be no lasting damage to the unaltered clone… if anything it will make the DNA more resistant and less susceptible to degeneration. It was only 25% of possible human variation, and my tests indicate that both samples were from Concord Dawn, which made them relatively similar and… and he looks the same, and-"
"It will not be reported to anyone on Kamino," Kenobi assured him, "but do please send me the files for my inspection."
"Of course, Sir. Right away, Sir." The technician bowed and reached for the box, but Obi-Wan stopped him.
"I will relieve you of this item," he stated. The technician bowed again and left. Obi-Wan and Boba followed in silence, maintaining the quiet until they were well off-world.
"What does 25% of possible human variation mean?" Boba asked flatly.
"Well, for reference, a parent or non-identical sibling usually have 50% of any DNA which might be different between humans in common. A half-sibling, aunt or uncle would only have 25% similarity," Obi-Wan explained, projecting cheery animation over an inner monologue which had devolved into confused wailing. Such was life when Jango was involved. This was why Jedi didn't have families.
Boba nodded, face as neutral as ever, but with a slight hollowness of expression which suggested that his brain was making the same noises as his uncle Ben's.
"So I'm not my father's clone," he recognized, watching the stars go by without seeing them.
"No," the knight replied, fishing in his utility belt for another nutri-pack to turn into a slurry for the boy, "you're his son."
Boba nodded again and sat back in his seat as the ship's com buzzed to life. Obi-Wan answered, and a bed-ridden Anakin flopped his arms at him urgently.
"Obi-Wan, it's the medichlorions, the explosion-"
"Prevented them from allowing you to connect with the Force."
"Yes! And Boba-"
"Was also affected, suggesting that he has some ability to use the Force himself."
"Right! And we have to-"
"Find a way to get Jango to tell us where and from whom he acquired such a device."
Anakin paused, frowning. "I feel left out."
"That's what happens when you ignore me and use small children to diffuse booby traps," Obi-Wan retorted. Noticing an odd motion beside him, he looked over at Boba, who had his hand outstretched, making squeezing motions with his hand. "Boba, what are you doing?"
"I'm choking him with the Force."
"You can't use the Force over electronics. Also, don't choke Anakin," the Knight admonished.
"Actually, I've been thinking about that, and you probably could-" his ex-apprentice began, before Obi-Wan flicked off the com.
Boba retracted his hand and crossed his arms. The Jedi sighed. Well, he definitely wasn't going to be the fun uncle, but as long as Anakin wasn't the fun cousin who tells the child that he can call someone up and choke them to death, this might be salvageable. He'd just have to wait and see if Anakin was going to figure that out.
