Obi-wan felt something tug at the edge of his awareness, demanding his attention. He paused his mending of his old robe, reaching out to the Force. It welcomed him as an old friend, and he found the disturbance easily.
Luke.
The boy's unfocused presence sent ripples through the force like a pebble in a pond. Only the will of the Force – and Vader's aversion to his old homeworld – had kept Luke hidden for so long.
Ben carefully finished the series of stitches he had been working on and donned his old cloak. He moved over to the kitchen and set the synthesizer to make two cups of the hot chocolate Luke loved so much, then put up his hood and headed for the door. It wouldn't do for Luke to come looking for him, only to be waylaid by Tuskens or the other myriad dangers of the Jundland Wastes.
Luke, as the Force would have it, had stopped in a nearby rock canyon. Ben took a moment to verify that there was no immediate danger, the made his winding way down the cliff. Luke spotted him, and Ben pulled back his hood.
"Hello there," he offered, a slight smile on his weathered face. "What brings you so far out into the Wastes, son?"
"Homework," Luke grimaced. "My schoolpad is unreadable, and my Aunt and Uncle aren't much for history." He looked up at Ben. "I thought you might know something about the Clone Wars."
Obi-Wan kept his face still, his only visible reaction a deep breath of air. Was this the moment he had been waiting 16 years for? Was the boy ready for the truth?
He will come to you.
No. There was no sense of anticipation, no wind to herald a moment of destiny, no feeling that the very air was humming. The Force was still. And the boy had a very difficult homework question.
"Ben?" Luke looked at him worriedly.
"I'm fine, Luke. Why don't we go inside? My house is just up the ridge." Ben started ambling back to the path up the cliff.
Luke reached out. "Wait – my swoop…"
Ben turned around. " You can leave it outside the house. The Sandpeople won't bother it." He pointed. "Just take it down that gorge. There should be a turnoff on your right, it leads directly to my house. Don't bother knocking, my door is open."
The boy nodded and hopped on his bike. Ben watched him take off with a sad smile. So much like young Anakin. Always on the move. Luke disappeared around a bend, and Obi-Wan started up the cliff, followed by bittersweet memories of days dead and gone.
He found Luke inspecting his weapon collection, having taken his advice on the door. The teenager had his hands clutched behind him, like he wanted to touch the gleaming swords and knives, but knew he shouldn't. Ben allowed himself a small smile as he quietly went for the kitchen. Young Luke never looked away from the wall as Kenobi passed behind him.
Ben took the two cups of hot chocolate out of the synthesizer, and headed for the living room. Luke turned then, the warm smell of chocolate having gotten his attention, and started a bit when he saw Ben.
"Come, have a seat and a drink." Ben motioned toward a chair across from him.
Luke took the offered seat, a bit of red rising on his cheeks. He picked up the hot drink, smelled it, and smiled. "You remembered." He started blowing over the top to cool it down.
"Of course I remembered, Luke." Ben took a small sip. "Now, what is your question? The Clone Wars?"
Luke nodded, then put down his drink to retrieve a small datapad from his pack. "I'm supposed to read the first chapter of the Clone Wars file." He put it on the table between them. "But I can't wade through…that. It's impossible."
"Nothing is impossible, Luke. Improbable, yes; difficult, yes; but not impossible." Ben picked up the pad and began scrolling through it. "Politics?"
Luke made a face. "Yeah."
Ben raised an eyebrow at him. "This is just as important as any of the battles, Luke. The true War was fought in the Senate, after all, not on the battlefield."
Luke looked skeptical.
Obi-Wan sighed. "My version of what happened is not likely to be accepted in an Imperial school, Luke. You should ask your Uncle for help." He leaned back, seeming to consider the matter closed.
"No, Ben, please! Uncle Owen would just tell me to go back to reading," he motioned in the general direction of the 'pad, "and I'm home schooled anyway." He waited a beat. "I want to hear the truth."
Ben looked up at him. "You want to hear the truth?"
Luke nodded.
"Very well." Owen is going to kill me. "The entirety of the Clone Wars was a sham. A massive manipulation to put Palpatine into power."
"What!"
"Sit down, Luke."
Luke slowly sat back down, a look of utter disbelief on his face.
Ben gave him a grave look. "What do you know of the Clone Wars?"
"Not much…I know that Palpatine was elected Supreme Chancellor long before things truly heated up, that Count Dooku was the head of the Separatists, the Republic used clone troopers and the Separatists used droids…oh, and there was a huge battle at Geonosis."
Ben nodded sagely. "Count Dooku was not the true head of the Separatists. He was merely a figurehead for Lord Sidious – whom you now know as Emperor Palpatine." He held up a hand, stopping Luke mid-protest. "Hear me out, Luke."
"In the Old Republic government, there were two major obstacles to gaining power: the Galactic Senate, and the Jedi Council. Palpatine was a shrewd politician, and a master manipulator. He knew that in a crisis, the Senate would look for strong leadership, and the Jedi would sacrifice their lives to protect others."
Ben took a sip from his drink, his eyes windows to a forgotten time. "He started that crisis, The Clone Wars, and watched everyone react as he thought they would. The Senate handed him a Clone Army – one that he had commissioned ten years ago, through indirect means – and voted him executive powers, so he might be better able to take action. They never stopped voting him executive powers, right up until he became Emperor."
"And the Jedi?"
"The Jedi Knights…guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy." Ben gave Luke a considering look, and shifted on his seat. "They were as blind to the Emperor's evil as the rest of the Galaxy. They were the Generals of the Clone Wars, and many thousands of them died protecting Republic worlds from Separatist invasion. Many, many thousands. Near the end of the Wars, they found out that Palpatine and Lord Sidious were one and the same. They went out to arrest him."
The wind kicking up sand against the windows was very loud in the ensuing silence.
"What happened?" Luke asked at last, no longer able to contain his curiousity.
"I couldn't say. I wasn't there. But the Emperor came out of his office, and the Jedi did not. He declared the Jedi Enemies of the State, accused them of treason, and had Darth Vader hunt them all down. That was also the speech in which he declared himself Emperor." He sighed. "For the purposes of your schoolwork, the Jedi attempted to assassinate the Supreme Chancellor. Depending on your point of view, it is called the Jedi Rebellion or the Jedi Purges."
"What about the Separatists?"
"The leaders died the same day the Jedi rebelled and Palpatine declared himself Emperor."
"Oh." Luke mulled this over. "That still isn't evidence that Palpatine headed the Separatists."
"You're right, Luke. I have not given you any true evidence of Palpatine's involvement." His intense blue gaze met Luke's. "You will have to decide that for yourself. No evidence remains, the Emperor destroyed it with the Jedi Order."
Luke dropped his gaze. "Who were the Jedi?"
"That is another story, for another time." He looked to the long rectangle of light coming through the window. "Does Owen know where you are?"
Luke jerked his gaze to the window. "Blast! I don't have much time – that south vaporator – Ben, thanks for the help." He fumbled for his bag, grabbed his helmet, then stopped at the door. "You will tell me, won't you? About the Jedi?"
Ben nodded. The youth smiled, waved, and dashed out the door with a burst of energy. Ben felt the roar of the bike as it took off down the sandy slope, then his house was silent again, save for the never-ending wind.
He picked up the two cups, placed them back in the 'washer, and returned to mending his cloak.