Chapter 1
Tiny eyes closed tightly and a small round mouth hung slightly ajar. Soft deep breaths cycled from the bundle as it stirred suddenly in Obi-Wan's arms. Obi-Wan Kenobi held the swaddled newborn close to him, readjusting in his seat to find a more comfortable position, careful not to bump the hulking form of the Bessalisk seated on his left or the Bith on his right. The vibrations and the thrum of machinery from the commercial transport could be felt through the poorly padded seats. It was all that could be afforded that would draw as little attention as desired.
It already must have seemed an odd sight to begin with, a lone man in his late thirties, donning a brown hooded robe with a single pack of luggage and a newborn baby cradled in his arms sitting amongst a diverse assortment of spacers in a cramped, dingy shuttle. Despite his intense focus on the child, Obi-Wan peeked from time to time at the surrounding travelers. Many of them seemed unassuming but he could sense otherwise. No one on board knew the art of calming their minds and emotions; Obi-Wan could feel it all. Lust, greed, anxiety and above all, fear. The shuttle was writhing with it.
Further up the row of seats on the shuttle, was a particularly boisterous group. Four men seemed to be passing the time with a match of Dejarik, making plays in between gulps of a drink that Obi-Wan could smell potently from his seat. Obi-Wan glared their way, into the back of a Devaronian, quite recognizable by the two protruding horns from his head. Their ruckus grew louder as a play was made and one of the small projected gladiator monsters tore off the head of another on the round table. The holographic projection of the victorious monster let out a screech that was drowned out by the guffaws of the passengers and the loud trading of gambled credits.
Obi-wan felt the baby squirm in his arms again and returned his attention to the child. With his eyes still shut, the baby fussed before letting out a wail. Disturbed from its sleep, he cried and wriggled uncontrollably in Obi-Wan's arms. The Devaronian turned to glare over his shoulder, spotting Obi-wan with the baby.
"Hey, shut that thing up," he barked. Hearing the demand, Obi-Wan paid him no mind as he shushed the child and desperately rocked him. "You hear me, meat?" the Devaronian called back. With his head still bowed low over the baby, Obi-wan took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
Peace… Be at ease. Obi-wan looked within to harness the peace he needed, but he felt none. Instead, he only saw himself, cradling the swaddled baby in his arms as he stepped off of the boarding ramp of the personal corvette starcruiser of Senator Bail Organa, nothing but uncertainty in his mind of what lay beyond.
Not long before, he saw himself standing beside the young woman in the medical center of Polis Massa. Sweat and tears ran down her pale, soft face as she uttered her final words-words of hope, but he couldn't help but doubt them and they brought him only pain.
He felt that pain as he sat in the cockpit of the sleek Naboo made star skiff. Flying from the hellish volcanic world of Mustafar, his face was buried in his soot and heat scorched hands, trying with all of his training to clear his mind of the horrible image of a man, mutilated and engulfed in flame, screaming his name. Fear, pure hatred and pain was all he had felt from him. Clenching his eyes shut, he dove deeper, he had to. He had to find peace. After battling the war of emotion welled up in his very being, he took another deep breath and wiped all of those haunting images from his mind. For the moment, he found serenity. Reaching out through the Force, he allowed the serenity to surround him like an aura and focused intently at the distressed baby. "Peace… Be at ease." Almost instantly, the wrestling child fell still and its beet red face eased as its cries faded and settled to a soft whimper before falling silent. Obi-Wan grinned slightly but was suddenly struck with the anticipation of danger. The child was asleep once again but not in time enough to appease the Devaronian.
"Hey, meat, I talk to you! Look at Olar when Olar talk to you!" The Devaronian chucked a half filled bottle at Obi-wan. Obi-wan felt the impending danger close in on him like a wave through the Force. Without taking his eyes off of the child, his reflexes acted beyond even his own control. Mere inches from hitting Obi-Wan in the head, the bottle had slowed as it approached and his hand snatched it from before his face. He looked up from the baby, glaring at the Devaronian as he slowly set the bottle onto the floor. He didn't have to look around the cabin to know that nearly every eye was on him now. He could feel it all as if every being on the transport was labeled with it on their foreheads. Shock, surprise, some admiration, anxiety and above all, more fear. A tense still seized the passengers as whispers fluttered through the air. Obi-Wan heard words in many dialects, one of which he clearly understood.
"Jedi." It passed like a whisper, but Obi-Wan was very aware of its utterance. Inwardly, he chastised himself, how could he be so careless? As he gazed about, he took note of a small handful of gruff passengers, watching him closely. He carried his gaze to the boarding hatch. He could feel the ship slowing down and its systems shifting from flight to a landing phase. Obi-wan took a deep breath, knowing what was soon coming. He would have to move fast and by no means whatsoever, put the child in danger.
The droid attendant emerged from the cockpit of the transport and rolled on treads to the hatch. The ship landed and the engines audibly calmed down. Obi-wan fought every urge to shoot up from off his seat and wrestle his way past the preceding passengers. He had to be calm, he had to trust in the Force to guide him.
"Welcome to Mos Espa," the rusted droid cheerily said with a dilapidated vocalizer the hatch opened and nearly every passenger stood from their seats and shuffled into the aisleway. One by one, the passengers that watched Obi-Wan intently, stepped off the ship first. Obi-wan carefully kept an eye on them, reaching out to feel their emotions, their intentions were obvious.
As the cramped transport slowly emptied, Obi-Wan finally reached the hatch. The night air was cool to his face, not as he remembered the sweltering heat of Tatooine's twin suns from his last visit only three years ago. As he descended the steps to the sand blasted landing pad of the circular hanger, he scanned about with his eyes, trying to catch the whereabouts of the suspicious passengers. He didn't stick around.
Obi-Wan readjusted the pack on his shoulders as he held the baby close and started off to the exit. He ducked into the shadows down the wide open corridor of the space port. Obi-Wan pressed on, without a single clue of where he was going. All he had to go on was his instincts, guided by the Force. After navigating the corridor, he came to the entrance into the city.
Cast in the shadows of the night, Mos Espa was warmly lit by the orange glowing lights in the dome roofed hovels of adobe. Few commuters stalked the dark streets. Obi-Wan started off away from the space port.
They were following him, he could sense it. He wouldn't hazard a look, risking the advantage he had of their false anonymity. He could feel their anticipation and their fear. They would not engage him here out in the open. They were watching to see where he went and would strike when he was at his most vulnerable. He couldn't let that happen.
Obi-Wan looked about, assessing his options. Up ahead a man argued with a stubborn Eopie. Across from where the four legged pack animal sat, three stout, brown hooded Jawas stood around an unoccupied land speeder parked in the alleyway between two buildings. Obi-Wan passed an alley where he spotted from the corner of his eye another local walking towards the main street. He felt the presence of his predators closing in, now hastily pushing from behind.
The image of a thought came clearly to the Jedi master's mind guiding him on what to do, it was an invigorating feeling. Once again, he reached out with the force focusing on the animal as he drew closer to it from behind. Obi-Wan walked casually but close to the wall of the buildings to his right. As he focused on the Eopie, he found that startling it was much easier than needing to calm the baby in his arms.
The Eopie let out a guttural cry as it jumped onto its spindly legs. Its long tube-like neck whipped back, pulling the reins away from the man's grip before suddenly charging across the street. The man called out angrily to the animal as it charged into the pack of Jawas, startling them with high pitched cries. The Jawas scattered like insects across the street.
At that very moment, Obi-Wan heard a harsh exchange of curses as the man from the alleyway collided with one of the hunters. Now was his chance. Mustering all the speed he could without looking suspicious, he darted to the corner of the street and ducked around the corner behind a rusted, sandblasted moisture evaporator. His diversion worked but now the predators were on a hot pursuit, he could feel their anticipation. Obi-Wan continued close along the adobe building and stepped into the next alley way, staying close behind an alcove behind one of the buildings.
Holding the baby close to his chest with one hand, he reached into his robe, grasping the metal hilt with black gripping. He held it out and ready to ignite. His lightsaber was the last and final giveaway of his true identity as a Jedi - as a fugitive - and therefore was only to be a last result. He couldn't risk the Empire finding him here. But he would do everything and anything he had to in order to protect the child.
Watching the mouth of the alleyway intently, Obi-Wan saw four shadows run by down the street, even spotting blasters in their hands as they passed. With a sigh, the Jedi Master's eyes closed as he let his hooded head rest against the back of the building. He clipped his lightsaber back to his belt before leaving the alcove and inching to the mouth of the alley. He peeked around the corners, spotting the last of the four shadows disappear around the corner down the next street.
He had to move quickly, knowing his deception would only last for so long. Looking across the street, he saw three stories of adobe hovels stacked on top of each other. They were dark with only a handful of the numerous windows lit with that warm glow. From what he could tell, very few people actually lived there. Looking down the road again, he set out to cross it. Halfway across, he stopped short just as a weathered landspeeder zipped by, blowing sand up in its path. Obi-Wan shielded the baby from the cloud before starting off again.
He finally reached the crude steps that emerged from the adobe, leading to the second and third stories, directly to the arched doorways set just beneath the domed rooftops. Obi-Wan moved quickly up the steps leading to a second story entrance. Taking a quick look around, Obi-Wan checked to see he wasn't spotted. He swiftly waved his hand before the door and it slid open at his will. He quickly ducked into the darkness, waving his hand again to close it behind him.