The group reached the hangar where the Falcon was stored and stepped
inside. Han beamed with his usual pride.
"That's your ship?" Obi-Wan said somewhat skeptically, but as politely as possible.
Han's face fell. "Yeah, there a problem?" he asked defensively.
"No, no problem."
Lowering the ramp and leading the way, Leia said cordially, "Why don't we all go inside?" She was followed by Han and Obi-Wan, but Indy caught Luke by the sleeve and pulled him back a few steps.
"There's something weird going on, isn't there?" He asked quietly.
"I'll explain later," Luke said as he quickened his pace to catch up. Indy sighed, feeling hopelessly lost.
Inside, the group sat on the Falcon's cushioned bench seats. Once settled, Leia turned to Obi-Wan.
Obi-Wan was a bit surprised as to why this so-called apprentice was doing all the talking while her master (who strangely appeared to be the same age), remained quiet. Out of respect, he turned towards the Jedi Master as he spoke. "I was sent here on an assignment from the Council to look into some local uprisings. It seems there are some small groups opposed to the current leadership." He was about to go into more detail when he paused, his eyes flickering over the two look-alikes. The one with shorter hair seemed interesting in what he was saying, but the owner of the ship was regarding him with a somewhat suspicious eye. Hesitating, he asked Luke, "Excuse me, Master, but I'm not sure it would be wise to discuss the details of my investigation in," he searched for a fitting word, "broad company."
"No, it's fine. Anything Leia and I can hear, Han and Indy can too," Luke replied. "And please Obi-Wan," he added, "just call me Luke."
"Yes, of course," Obi-Wan said, a bit confused. These Jedi did not seem to him like the normal, by-the-code type he was used to. "Anyway, during my investigation, I learned that the situation was much more serious than anyone had expected. It turns out that several of these radicals are plotting to assassinate Senator Organa." He sensed an unsettled feeling coming from the others, especially Leia; but she managed to keep her composure. "I was trying to capture the leader of this group this morning before I ran into you."
Luke and Leia locked eyes for a moment, then he turned to Obi-Wan. "I'm sorry to have interrupted your assignment."
"Oh, it's no trouble really. I should probably have called Coruscant and requested some backup, a Jedi Master to come help. It's really not something I should be handling on my own at this point, only being a Padawan." He suddenly felt a little ashamed of himself, and cast his gaze downward for a moment. Then, he hesitantly submitted, "Of course, it would take a while for anyone to get here, and seeing as I already have a Jedi Master and another Padawan here." He trailed off, and for a while there was no response. "But it's not my place to impose upon you either, as I'm sure you have your own business to attend to," he added quickly. Inwardly he berated himself for obviously bothering the strangers.
Leia was staring at Luke urgently, and he was bent forward with folded hands on mouth in deep contemplation. Indy was observing all of this in silent confusion, figuring it would be explained to him sometime and there was no point in trying to understand it.
Next to him, Han had been silent as well as he took in the whole situation. Then a slow smirk began to tug at his lips as he leaned forward intently and said slowly, "Now wait a second- you're asking for our help?"
"Well actually I was just asking-" Obi-Wan looked to his fellow Jedi, then back to the spacer who had addressed him. "Yes, I'm asking for your help."
This caused Han to break into a full grin. "Ah, the irony," he said as he let out a half laughing breath.
"Excuse me?" Obi-Wan was very confused by the peculiar behavior of all these people.
"Nothing," he said with a wave of his hand. Then his eyes brightened. "Hey, is there any kind of reward for this sort of thing?" Leia shot him a glare, which he countered with an innocent raising of his eyebrows. "What, I'm just asking!"
Before Obi-Wan could think of anything to say in response to the ridiculous inquiry, Luke spoke. "We would love to help you, Obi-Wan. However, we need some time to talk certain things over as a group. I hope you understand."
"Certainly," the Padawan said with a nod of his head. "If it would be alright, I would like to go get a few things from my ship. I should be back in not too long, and it would give you time to discuss the matter among yourselves."
"That sounds good," Luke said as he stood. Obi-Wan did the same, and bowed respectfully before him. Feeling very awkward, Luke oddly half-bowed back, hoping it was close to the right thing to do. He had done some research on the old Jedi Order, the Code, and their practices, but now that he was confronted with them, he wasn't sure how to act.
Obi-Wan didn't seem to notice, or if he did was too polite to say anything as he turned and left. Luke hit a button on the wall, closing the ramp behind him.
As soon as Obi-Wan was gone, Indy said, "Now would someone please explain what is going on?!"
The other three looked at each other, unsure of where to begin. "Well, you see," Luke said. "First of all, the planet we're on is Alderaan, which was Leia's home planet."
"Yeah, I remember she told me about it," Indy replied gently. "So we're in your galaxy, but in your past?"
"Yes," Leia said. "Around 45 years in our past."
Indy looked confused. "How do you know that?"
"Obi-Wan died when he was about 60, and that was 8 years ago," Leia replied.
"Wait," Indy said, pausing. "Do you know him?"
"He was my mentor," Luke said quietly.
"The British guy?" Indy asked, only getting more perplexed.
"What?" Leia asked.
"Never mind. I'm just trying to get this straight," Indy said, continuing slowly, "This Obi-Wan guy is someone you knew when he was older? Or, will know when he will be older?" His words sounded confusing even to him. Luke nodded. "Wow, that's a little weird."
"You're telling me!" Han spoke up. "I still can't believe that, that kid is that crazy old man!"
"You knew him too?" Indy asked.
"Yeah, guy was a few bolts short of an engine if you get my meaning," Han snorted.
"Han," Leia admonished.
Luke ignored his friend's comment. "There's no way we are going to get involved in this. It would lead to nothing but trouble. We already have enough to worry about as it is. We just need to figure out how to get everyone back where they belong."
"But what about Bail?" Leia asked.
Taking a deep breath, Luke replied slowly, "Leia, we already know he's going to be ok. This has happened in the past. Obi-Wan has already dealt with it."
"You don't know that! What if he was going to catch the assassin this morning and we changed that!" Leia countered. Luke scratched his chin in consideration.
"I'm confused again," Indy said. "Who's Bail?"
"Her father," Han replied.
Indy's brow furrowed. "I thought that Vader guy was her father?"
"He was her real father, but Bail was her adopted father."
"Ah. Well that does present a problem."
"Luke," Leia begged, "I know you said we should try to avoid getting involved in something like this, but it's too late now- we're already involved. You heard Obi-Wan, he said it would take a while for other help to arrive. I can't leave this to someone else. We have to help. Please."
After a long pause, Luke conceded, "All right, we'll help, but we can't tell him too much about ourselves. As of now, we are here on a family respite. I'll assure him that Han and Indy will be helpful in the mission. Under no circumstances can we tell him my last name." Han and Leia nodded in agreement.
"Why's that?" Indy asked curiously.
"Because, it's also my father's name, and Obi-Wan trained my father," Luke said evenly. Indy seemed to understand. "And," Luke said with a deep breath, "one other thing. If this were to go wrong, if we failed." He paused as he quickly glanced at Leia briefly. "If we failed, it could change our entire history."
A solemn silence fell over the group. Finally, Han said seriously, "Let's not fail."
"That's your ship?" Obi-Wan said somewhat skeptically, but as politely as possible.
Han's face fell. "Yeah, there a problem?" he asked defensively.
"No, no problem."
Lowering the ramp and leading the way, Leia said cordially, "Why don't we all go inside?" She was followed by Han and Obi-Wan, but Indy caught Luke by the sleeve and pulled him back a few steps.
"There's something weird going on, isn't there?" He asked quietly.
"I'll explain later," Luke said as he quickened his pace to catch up. Indy sighed, feeling hopelessly lost.
Inside, the group sat on the Falcon's cushioned bench seats. Once settled, Leia turned to Obi-Wan.
Obi-Wan was a bit surprised as to why this so-called apprentice was doing all the talking while her master (who strangely appeared to be the same age), remained quiet. Out of respect, he turned towards the Jedi Master as he spoke. "I was sent here on an assignment from the Council to look into some local uprisings. It seems there are some small groups opposed to the current leadership." He was about to go into more detail when he paused, his eyes flickering over the two look-alikes. The one with shorter hair seemed interesting in what he was saying, but the owner of the ship was regarding him with a somewhat suspicious eye. Hesitating, he asked Luke, "Excuse me, Master, but I'm not sure it would be wise to discuss the details of my investigation in," he searched for a fitting word, "broad company."
"No, it's fine. Anything Leia and I can hear, Han and Indy can too," Luke replied. "And please Obi-Wan," he added, "just call me Luke."
"Yes, of course," Obi-Wan said, a bit confused. These Jedi did not seem to him like the normal, by-the-code type he was used to. "Anyway, during my investigation, I learned that the situation was much more serious than anyone had expected. It turns out that several of these radicals are plotting to assassinate Senator Organa." He sensed an unsettled feeling coming from the others, especially Leia; but she managed to keep her composure. "I was trying to capture the leader of this group this morning before I ran into you."
Luke and Leia locked eyes for a moment, then he turned to Obi-Wan. "I'm sorry to have interrupted your assignment."
"Oh, it's no trouble really. I should probably have called Coruscant and requested some backup, a Jedi Master to come help. It's really not something I should be handling on my own at this point, only being a Padawan." He suddenly felt a little ashamed of himself, and cast his gaze downward for a moment. Then, he hesitantly submitted, "Of course, it would take a while for anyone to get here, and seeing as I already have a Jedi Master and another Padawan here." He trailed off, and for a while there was no response. "But it's not my place to impose upon you either, as I'm sure you have your own business to attend to," he added quickly. Inwardly he berated himself for obviously bothering the strangers.
Leia was staring at Luke urgently, and he was bent forward with folded hands on mouth in deep contemplation. Indy was observing all of this in silent confusion, figuring it would be explained to him sometime and there was no point in trying to understand it.
Next to him, Han had been silent as well as he took in the whole situation. Then a slow smirk began to tug at his lips as he leaned forward intently and said slowly, "Now wait a second- you're asking for our help?"
"Well actually I was just asking-" Obi-Wan looked to his fellow Jedi, then back to the spacer who had addressed him. "Yes, I'm asking for your help."
This caused Han to break into a full grin. "Ah, the irony," he said as he let out a half laughing breath.
"Excuse me?" Obi-Wan was very confused by the peculiar behavior of all these people.
"Nothing," he said with a wave of his hand. Then his eyes brightened. "Hey, is there any kind of reward for this sort of thing?" Leia shot him a glare, which he countered with an innocent raising of his eyebrows. "What, I'm just asking!"
Before Obi-Wan could think of anything to say in response to the ridiculous inquiry, Luke spoke. "We would love to help you, Obi-Wan. However, we need some time to talk certain things over as a group. I hope you understand."
"Certainly," the Padawan said with a nod of his head. "If it would be alright, I would like to go get a few things from my ship. I should be back in not too long, and it would give you time to discuss the matter among yourselves."
"That sounds good," Luke said as he stood. Obi-Wan did the same, and bowed respectfully before him. Feeling very awkward, Luke oddly half-bowed back, hoping it was close to the right thing to do. He had done some research on the old Jedi Order, the Code, and their practices, but now that he was confronted with them, he wasn't sure how to act.
Obi-Wan didn't seem to notice, or if he did was too polite to say anything as he turned and left. Luke hit a button on the wall, closing the ramp behind him.
As soon as Obi-Wan was gone, Indy said, "Now would someone please explain what is going on?!"
The other three looked at each other, unsure of where to begin. "Well, you see," Luke said. "First of all, the planet we're on is Alderaan, which was Leia's home planet."
"Yeah, I remember she told me about it," Indy replied gently. "So we're in your galaxy, but in your past?"
"Yes," Leia said. "Around 45 years in our past."
Indy looked confused. "How do you know that?"
"Obi-Wan died when he was about 60, and that was 8 years ago," Leia replied.
"Wait," Indy said, pausing. "Do you know him?"
"He was my mentor," Luke said quietly.
"The British guy?" Indy asked, only getting more perplexed.
"What?" Leia asked.
"Never mind. I'm just trying to get this straight," Indy said, continuing slowly, "This Obi-Wan guy is someone you knew when he was older? Or, will know when he will be older?" His words sounded confusing even to him. Luke nodded. "Wow, that's a little weird."
"You're telling me!" Han spoke up. "I still can't believe that, that kid is that crazy old man!"
"You knew him too?" Indy asked.
"Yeah, guy was a few bolts short of an engine if you get my meaning," Han snorted.
"Han," Leia admonished.
Luke ignored his friend's comment. "There's no way we are going to get involved in this. It would lead to nothing but trouble. We already have enough to worry about as it is. We just need to figure out how to get everyone back where they belong."
"But what about Bail?" Leia asked.
Taking a deep breath, Luke replied slowly, "Leia, we already know he's going to be ok. This has happened in the past. Obi-Wan has already dealt with it."
"You don't know that! What if he was going to catch the assassin this morning and we changed that!" Leia countered. Luke scratched his chin in consideration.
"I'm confused again," Indy said. "Who's Bail?"
"Her father," Han replied.
Indy's brow furrowed. "I thought that Vader guy was her father?"
"He was her real father, but Bail was her adopted father."
"Ah. Well that does present a problem."
"Luke," Leia begged, "I know you said we should try to avoid getting involved in something like this, but it's too late now- we're already involved. You heard Obi-Wan, he said it would take a while for other help to arrive. I can't leave this to someone else. We have to help. Please."
After a long pause, Luke conceded, "All right, we'll help, but we can't tell him too much about ourselves. As of now, we are here on a family respite. I'll assure him that Han and Indy will be helpful in the mission. Under no circumstances can we tell him my last name." Han and Leia nodded in agreement.
"Why's that?" Indy asked curiously.
"Because, it's also my father's name, and Obi-Wan trained my father," Luke said evenly. Indy seemed to understand. "And," Luke said with a deep breath, "one other thing. If this were to go wrong, if we failed." He paused as he quickly glanced at Leia briefly. "If we failed, it could change our entire history."
A solemn silence fell over the group. Finally, Han said seriously, "Let's not fail."