I don't own Star Wars.
You Fought in the Clone Wars?
As he worked on Threepio, wishing protocol droids were designed and built to be more robust although he wouldn't have wished them any other way since it gave him something to do, Luke wondered if he was in over his head. Ben Kenobi had a reputation as being a strange old hermit that few actually bothered with, and because Uncle Owen had worked long and hard to keep Ben away from Luke, especially since the young man had dim memories of the older man's interest in him, Luke was not sure what to make of him.
While he seemed friendly enough, Luke wondered if the man was as mad as they claimed, although he was surprised Ben had once gone by the name of Obi-Wan Kenobi. School had never been good for Luke; the schools nearest to the farm were poorly maintained, the technology had been out of date and falling apart due to lack of real investment in repairing it, the teachers had been far from nice, and while Luke had made many friends, there had been more than a few bullies, but even he had heard of Obi-Wan Kenobi. A general of the Clone Wars, and known as 'the Negotiator.'
Surely this couldn't be old Ben? He knew he was still trying to separate the two in his own mind, but he would need time. But there was something genuinely comforting about the man who was supposed to be a strange old hermit who lived out here in the Dune Sea, the ultimate middle of nowhere.
As he worked, he took in the hovel they were in. It was nothing unusual compared to what he had seen over the years on Tatooine; it was just a conventional if small, spartan hovel, cluttered with desert junk which you could be sure to find all over the planet in various states of disrepair or age, but it still managed to radiate an air of time-worn comfort and security. But Luke didn't see anything else that indicated what the mans' hobbies and interests were, and he hadn't seen any sign of a weapon which was worrying but it could be there were others in other parts of the hovel he hadn't seen yet.
Most people living this far out into the Dune Sea and being so close to the Jundland wastes would be well-armed because of the Tusken raiders - while the Tuskens didn't like people venturing into their territory, that didn't mean they batted an eyelid to doing the same to moisture farmers living and working near them, but something about Kenobi told him this man was anything but harmless, and Luke had no idea why that was. Luke is in one corner repairing Threepio's arm, as old Ben sat nearby, talking.
Luke scoffed - while he was surprised someone who seemed to know his father had compared their appearances, he felt this was going too far. There was no way his father had been involved in the Clone Wars - and he spoke as he worked, "No, my father didn't fight in the wars. He was a navigator on a spice freighter."
It had been a bitter blow for him to hear that about his father, but then again his aunt and uncle always became more than a little reluctant to talk about his parents. He hadn't even known his parents' names until he was about 10 or so, and that was it.
He hated it.
He hated not finding out anything about his parents, and he hated the way Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru always went quiet whenever he brought them up until Owen became stern, and stopped him from asking any questions. While Uncle Owen was a loving man, Luke had learnt from a young age never to cross him.
Ben chuckled thoughtfully as he rubbed his beard. "That's what your uncle told you. He didn't hold with your father's ideals, and he thought he should have stayed here and not gotten involved."
Luke stared at the older man, not in disbelief despite his best efforts. He had always had a strange sixth sense about others. Uncle Owen didn't like it, but it was very useful. He could tell this man was telling him the truth.
But hearing his father had fought in the Clone Wars and was actually a hero….
"You fought in the Clone Wars?" Luke asked, still finding it hard to believe after spending so long thinking his father was nothing more than a mundane space freighter navigator he was in fact a soldier fighting in one of the most devastating wars the galaxy had ever experienced.
Kenobi visibly grimaced at the mention of the Clone Wars. Even more confirmation he had been involved. Luke had met his own fair share of people who had seen and experienced the devastation wrought by the droid armies of the Separatists organised by Count Dooku and the Clones of the Old Republic. Their reactions were virtually identical. "Yes, I was once a Jedi Knight the same as your father."
A Jedi?
Luke had heard of the Jedi growing up; a secretive, mystical organisation run by mad old wizards who had a power nobody could understand but were seen as the guardians of peace and justice within the Old Republic. But then it was all torn down when the Empire had been established because of the reported treachery of the Jedi, who had tried to kill Palpatine in his own office because they wanted power for themselves. Palpatine had given orders to the clones to wipe them out, and ever since that day the Jedi had been spat on and the survivors hunted by Darth Vader.
To hear his father was a Jedi was even more shocking and Luke was left wondering if there was anything else he needed to know about his father, which was not lies or half-truths. He was not sure if he believed this, but he would wait until he got more proof.
Luke looked down sadly, "I wish I'd known him."
He didn't know what had happened to his parents, but after hearing how his father was apparently a Jedi, he wondered if his mother had been one too, but he had been orphaned at a young age so he had never known his parents.
"He was the best star-pilot in the galaxy and a cunning warrior. I understand you've become quite a good pilot yourself," Ben added with a kind smile at Luke, who looked away happily, pleased that he had something in common with his father. "And he was a good friend. Which reminds me…," Ben stood up and he walked over to a chest. "I have something here for you. Your father wanted you to have this when you were old enough, but your uncle wouldn't allow it. He feared you might follow old Obi-Wan on some damned-fool idealistic crusade like your father did."
"Sir, if you'll not be needing me, I'll close down for a while," Threepio said after Luke had finished reattaching the droid's arm.
"Sure, go ahead, Luke said while Ben returned carrying a short metallic cylinder like a baton, "What is it?"
"Your father's lightsaber. This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight," Kenobi explained as he handed the weapon almost reverently to Luke. "Not as clumsy or as random as a blaster."
While he had been holding the lightsaber, Luke had been examining it before he pushed a button on the handle. A long blue beam shot out about four feet and flickers there. The light plays across the ceiling, humming and purring constantly. Luke experimentally waved it gently, listening to the hum; he had used enough blasters over the years to know he was holding a kind of 'frozen' blade. The amount of power and control over the blade was incredible, but he felt something odd with his sixth sense, a kind of familiarity.
But there were other things there, but Luke was unsure what they were, but he felt cold…
Ben continued with his story, "An elegant weapon for a more civilized age. For over a thousand generations the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic. Before the dark times, before the Empire."
Luke, who hadn't really been listening, being so fascinated by the lightsaber suddenly turned with questions but he saw the look on the old Jedi's face. "How did my father die?"
A haunted look crawled over Obi-Wan's face and Luke knew he was not going to like what he was about to hear. "A young Jedi named Darth Vader, who was a pupil of mine until he turned to evil, helped the Empire hunt down and destroy the Jedi Knights. He betrayed and murdered your father. Now the Jedi are all but extinct. Vader was seduced by the dark side of the Force."
When Luke heard how Anakin Skywalker was a Jedi, he had wondered if Darth Vader had known him, but to hear this… was devastating. But as he heard this, he wondered if Vader had done something to his mother as well, but even if he didn't he had still murdered his father and forced him to grow up without his parents.
Darth Vader was going to pay.