13 Ruin
Ossus
Obi Wan set the stolen ship down near the abandoned ruins. Yes, this is the place, he thought as he began switching off the controls. Before him were the ruins of an old Jedi Temple, abandoned for centuries. He sighed wearily as he rose from the pilot's seat and walked to a small common area.
As he knelt for meditation, he closed his eyes and breathed deeply; calming and centering himself. He focused on his breath as he quieted his mind. Qui Gon had been noticeably absent from his meditations since he left Tatooine. It looked like he would be on his own for this encounter with Vader. He trusted in his master's teachings. They would serve him well and guide him to where he is meant to be.
Sitting in a meditative position in the abandoned temple, Obi Wan felt a sudden sense of calm wash over him. He opened himself up to the Force in a way that he hadn't done in ten years. When he felt himself fully connect, like a song being played was heard again for the first time in years, rich and vibrant. A brilliant blue light swirled around him as he gave himself to the Force.
Across the galaxy, Lord Vader snapped to attention. A presence that I have not felt since... The Imperial officer was droning on about another small rebel cell rumored to be in this sector, but Vader ignored him as he turned, his cape whirling behind him, to the bridge.
"Captain, change course for the Adega system," he commanded.
The Captain swallowed visibly as he followed behind the dark lord. "But, my Lord… The rebel cell…"
"They are insignificant. Change course now," Lord Vader commanded as he brought up one dark gloved hand.
The Captain nodded. 'Y-y-es, my Lord. It will be done." He motioned for the officers below him to begin plotting the new hyperspace route. "What is our final destination, my Lord?"
Vader's breath could be heard across the bridge. Beads of nervous sweat broke out across the Captain's forehead as he awaited Lord Vader's response.
Vader focused on the brilliant pulse in the Force. Obi Wan... He has finally surfaced on… "Ossus."
#
Obi Wan lost track of the number of days he waited inside of the ancient temple. In the evenings, he would return to the ship to rest only to return inside the temple after dawn. It could have been a week or two, he wasn't sure. His rations were beginning to run low, so he took to the ship's galley and found an operational food synthesizer on board. After a quick morning meal, he headed down the loading ramp back to the temple to wait for Vader.
The sun was lowering into the sky when he was about to head back to the ship for the night when he felt a sudden cold feeling creep up his spine as the hairs on his arms rose.
Vader.
Obi Wan didn't have to turn around to know that his former apprentice, the man he had loved like a brother, was standing behind him. He felt an ominous sense of dread as the sound of Vader's mechanical breathing filled the room. Slowly, he turned to face him after ten long years. Vader looked more like a droid than a man, tall and imposing figure all in black. Obi Wan glanced down at the black boots that encased the cybernetic legs. The chest plate that controlled the suit that kept the man inside of it alive. And, above all, the dark helmet hiding the scarred visage of the man he used to know and love. "Anakin…"
"That name means nothing to me now." Vader said darkly. "You should not have returned, Obi Wan." His hands stayed close to his sides, hovering near the lightsaber which hung from his belt.
Obi Wan's eyes fluttered to a close as he heard the deep bass voice coming out of the vocalizer. This was not Anakin. This was not Anakin's rich baritone. This voice belonged to someone else, someone cold… heartless… calculating. He ran a trembling hand over his beard, smoothing it down over his chin as he drew in a calming breath in an effort to regain his composure. He let go of his emotions. "It is the name of your true self. Remember who you once were."
"Anakin Skywalker was weak. He is no more." Vader said as he paced in front of Obi Wan. The dark goggle-like lens of the helmet never strayed from Obi Wan.
Obi Wan felt a wave of sadness rise up, which he let drift away. He could sense the turmoil deep within Vader. The dark warring with the light. "I feel the conflict within you. Let go of your anger and hate, Anakin."
Vader stopped pacing, and turned to face Obi Wan. "You do not know the power of the dark side, Obi Wan."
Obi Wan refused to believe that Anakin was lost to him. "Padme told me there was good left in you. She believed that with her last breath! I believed her then, and I still do!"
"Don't speak her name to me!" Vader raged at him.
The floor trembled beneath Obi Wan's feet as Vader paced, like a caged animal, his mechanical breathing the only sound in the ruined temple.
"Anakin… there is light within you still, I can feel it! Come with me! Put this all behind you - live the life you were meant to have!" Obi Wan tried one last time.
"You're wasting your breath, Obi Wan. Anakin Skywalker is dead. I destroyed him."
I've failed, again, Obi Wan thought as grief washed over him. "Then, I will do what I must." He pulled his lightsaber off his belt and palmed the hilt.
Vader turned his head sharply, the sinister black helmet looking down upon Obi Wan. He could feel the power of the Force was still strong with Obi Wan. A sinister thought came to mind as he called his saber to his hand with the force. Obi Wan was still a powerful Jedi… if he could persuade him to join with him...The blood red blade ignited as he shifted his feet into an offensive position. "It doesn't have to end like this, Obi Wan. Join me… be at my side, and together we could defeat the Emperor. We could rule the galaxy as it was meant to be ruled." Vader raised one black gloved fist in the air. "Together, we would be unstoppable."
Obi Wan backed away from Vader. Disbelief laced his voice. "I would never join you, Vader. I serve the light, just as I did before."
"Then you will die, my old master."
Vader leapt across the temple floor, his lightsaber bearing down upon Obi Wan. Obi Wan ignited his blue blade just in time to block the blow. The sounds from their lightsabers clashing reverberated throughout the ruins. Obi Wan felt his muscles straining under the weight of Vader's strikes as he struggled to block each powerful swing of the blood red lightsaber Vader wielded. Obi Wan pulled deeply from the Force, pulling it into his center to stay calm and focused. He felt the Force gathering around him, and with a mighty push, flung Vader back into the temple wall behind him. Focusing intently on the large pieces of stone, Obi Wan lifted and pushed it towards Vader.
Vader, anticipating the move, fueled by his rage and anger, and pushed the large stone aside, slamming into the temple wall.
"You've grown weak, my old master." Vader said with a sneer, hoping to bait Obi Wan into giving into his anger.
Obi Wan twirled his blue lightsaber with a roll of his wrist. He shrugged off Vader's snide remark. "The Force is my ally, Vader."
"So, you accept that the man you once knew as Anakin no longer exists?" Vader released the red plasma from his lightsaber as he paced in front of Obi Wan, who had lowered himself into a kneeling meditative position. Vader felt his rage growing. Obi Wan, always so righteous, even now when the Jedi are gone, he clings to their outdated beliefs. Vader gave in to his rage as he unleashed a blast of rubble from the temple floor at Obi Wan.
Obi Wan, having sensed the blast, found that bright center deep within himself, and leapt up out of the way. "No, I accept that you have locked Anakin away! I can feel him within you!" He dropped in a low lunge in front of Vader. "Anakin, you were deceived. As we all were, by Palpatine!"
"He showed me the truth!" Vader raged, as he flung his lightsaber towards Obi Wan, who ducked out of the way at the last second. "The lies of the Jedi are no more!" Vader fumed as he recalled the saber hilt to his hand.
Their lightsabers snapped and hissed as they clashed once more. Gone was the lithe and finesse of Anakin's old fighting style. Vader moved with power, brutal and lethal. His strikes came in hard and fast, a bold mix of the differing lightsaber forms to counterbalance the limitations of his cybernetic suit. Obi Wan felt another wave of sadness wash over him as he realized that Vader was correct. Anakin Skywalker was no more. He was lost, hidden deep away inside of Vader.
Obi Wan looked up at the precarious stone ceiling above him and pulled it down with the wave of his hand, burying Vader under the rubble, as he fled from the ruins of the old temple to his ship.
Once on board, he quickly flipped the switches up and grabbed the controls, bringing the ship up towards the atmosphere and towards space. As he came into the black of space, he saw the massive star destroyer in orbit above the planet. He punched in the coordinates for Tatooine as quickly as he could, then fled into hyperspace leaving Vader and the Imperial star destroyer behind him. He breathed deeply as he ran a shaking hand over his face.
Back inside the ruins, Vader pushed the rubble off of him and threw it aside. He stumbled into the open air of the old courtyard. Through the broken visor of his helmet, he watched as Obi Wan soared through the clouds into the beyond.
#
Lydia tossed and turned, failing to get comfortable. He had been gone for well over a month, but she still wasn't used to being alone in the small hut. She rolled over onto her back as she stared up at the darkened ceiling. Sure, she was used to waking up in the middle of the night to see him dressing but she knew he would return as soon. His nightly vigils at the Lars homestead, she had quickly become accustomed to. Or seeing him seated in meditation when she woke in the morning. But, this constant sense of being alone was something she had forgotten how empty it felt.
She rolled back over onto her side, falling into an uneasy sleep.
A large garden surrounded her. She let her fingertips run over the tops of the white and yellow lilies. Before her was lush rolling hills of green. She sighed as she breathed in the sweet fragrant air of the idyllic garden as she sank onto the bench. The view was magnificent. In the distance, a snow capped mountain loomed. A warm breeze caressed her skin as she closed her eyes and relaxed in the sunlight sanctuary.
"Lydia…"
Hearing her name, she opened her eyes to see a man standing before her. He wore simple brown robes, and had his long brown hair pulled back from his face in a loose top knot.
"Hello." She smiled at him. "Have we met?"
There was an air of familiarity about him that she couldn't place.
He gave her a half smile. "Perhaps, once long ago."
Lydia sighed in contentment as the sun warmed her face. "This place is beautiful."
"Obi Wan needs you to wake up now, Lydia." His eyes became serious as the smile slipped away. "He's wounded. He needs your help, my dear."
"Obi Wan? Who is Obi Wan?" Lydia cast him a look full of confusion. "And, who are you, for that matter?"
The man chuckled. "I had forgotten. You know Obi Wan as Ben. My name is Qui Gon."
"Obi Wan ...is Ben?" Lydia stood quickly. "And, he's injured?"
"Yes, go now out past the old krayt dragon cave. Hurry, Lydia!"
Lydia woke with a start. She flung the blankets off as she leapt out of bed. She dressed as quickly as she could. After grabbing the med kit they kept in the kitchen, she raced out of the small hut.
Flying over the desert sands, following the blinking dot on her datapad that she had hooked up to the speeder, she watched for Ben. "By the Force, I hope I'm not too late." She murmured as her eyes scanned the desert. As she raced past the old krayt dragon cave, she saw him limping slowly. She gasped as she watched him fall into the sands.
Lydia stopped the speeder close to him as she hopped out and ran over to him. "Ben!"
Obi Wan raised his tired eyes to see the morning suns glinting off her blonde hair as she knelt beside him.
"I've got you," she whispered as she slipped under his shoulders helping him to stand. "C'mon, let's get you home."
Obi Wan nodded as a lone tear slid down his dusty cheeks. "Home."