Chapter 5 – Reunion and Remorse
"Are you okay?"
The young man, her savior, walked toward her. He placed a hand on her shoulder.
"You don't look so good."
Leia gawped at him. Something about him was so incredibly fascinating, so inexplicably familiar.
"I need… water," she rasped.
The young man, Luke, nodded. "Come with me," he said. "Can you walk?"
Leia attempted a step. She wobbled.
"Here," Luke said. "Lean on me."
She did. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder. A little ways away was a speeder, rusted and red. They arrived, and Luke helped her into the passenger seat.
"Hold on," he said. "I'll get you some water."
She sunk into the vinyl padding and closed her eyes. True to his word, Luke returned a moment later.
"Here," he said, offering her a canteen. Leia snatched it from his hands, unscrewed the top, and drank greedily. Luke walked around the hood and got into the driver's seat. He started the engine.
"Wait," Leia said. "Where are you taking me?"
"Somewhere safe."
"I have coordinates."
"So do I."
"You don't understand." Having drunk her fill, Leia screwed the top back onto the canteen and placed it on her lap. "I was sent here by someone."
"Biggs Darkligher."
Leia was stunned. "You know Biggs?"
"He's my best friend," Luke said. "Or at least he used to be."
"So you knew I was coming?"
"No," Luke said. "But Biggs told me about you when he came back six months ago."
"He did?" Leia said. "What did he say?"
Luke flashed her a look. "He told me all sorts of things."
"Such as?"
Luke chuckled. He pressed his foot to the accelerator. Leia's inertia carried her back, and she was glad for her foresight to seal the canteen, otherwise the water would have spilled everywhere.
"Do you think this will impress me?" Leia yelled over the wind. Luke gripped the wheel and grinned, his blonde hair whipping behind him. "I'm a pilot, you know! This is nothing."
"Speed doesn't mean much in space," Luke replied. His smile broadened. "Your little fighters are quick, this is fast."
Somehow, the speeder reached another gear. Its engine groaned under the strain.
"You're a maniac!" Leia cried.
"Takes one to know one!"
Leia wasn't actually afraid. She trusted Luke. The engine, less so. It held up, though. A few minutes later, the speeder began to slow. The wind died down and Leia was able to hear herself think again.
"Just for the record," Leia said. "I'm not impressed."
"Oh yeah?" Luke said. "Not even by the part where I saved your life?"
"They weren't going to kill me," Leia said.
"Whatever," Luke said. "Technicalities."
Leia shook her head, hiding a smile. "All right," she said. "Thank you for rescuing me. Is that what you want to hear?"
"What do you think about my speeder? It's nice, isn't it?"
"Ugh," Leia said. "You're insufferable."
No wonder he and Biggs were friends. They had that same boyish buoyancy.
"So what did Biggs tell you?" Leia asked. "Do you know about the pact?"
"What's that?"
Ok, so clearly not.
"He told you about me, though."
"He sure did," Luke said. "He told me you were a great pilot."
"And?"
"That's it."
"Really? Nothing else?"
Leia could tell that there was. She saw it in Luke's face.
"Tell me," she said.
"He thought you were hiding something."
"Like what?"
"He doesn't believe you are who you say you are."
"Oh," Leia said. "I see."
"So who are you?" Luke asked.
"None of your business."
"Actually, it kind of is," Luke said.
"And why is that?"
"I promised to protect you."
"So?"
"I'd like to know who I'm protecting."
"You know what you need to know," Leia said.
Luke was silent for a moment. Then he said, "We can't stay on Tatooine. It's too dangerous."
"Is this Tatooine?" Leia asked.
"Sure is," Luke said. "If there's a bright center of the universe, you're on the planet that it's farthest from."
"Why can't we stay here?"
"You're wanted by the Empire," Luke said. "Nowhere is safe for you now, but especially not here."
"So where are you going to take me?" Leia asked.
"I don't know," Luke said. "That's for Ben to decide?"
"Who's Ben?"
Ben turned out to be a tired old man in a dusty brown robe. He emerged from a sandstone hut to greet them when Luke parked out front. Leia stepped out of the speeder, and Ben looked at her for a long moment, his wise eyes searching.
"Princess Leia of Alderaan," he said. "Welcome."
Leia stopped in her tracks. "What did you call me?"
Ben looked at Luke. "Stormtroopers?"
"A dozen. I dealt with them."
"I see," Ben said. "Then it's time to go. I'm afraid there's no time for you to say goodbye to your aunt and uncle."
"That's okay," Luke said. "I don't need to."
"Hold on a second," Leia said. She pointed at Ben. "How do you know about me?"
"Your father was a good friend of mine," Ben said.
"Bail Organa?"
A twinkle in his eyes. "Him too."
"Who are you?" Leia asked.
"I am Ben," Ben said.
"Care to tell me more?"
"Not particularly," Ben said dryly. "Not now, at least. We must be going."
"Not a chance," Leia said. "I'm not going with you unless I know I can trust you."
"You can't know that," Ben said. "Trust takes years, decades to form. We don't have that sort of time."
"Give me a reason to go with you."
"If you do not, the Empire will capture you."
"I can look out for myself."
"I don't doubt it. But this is beyond you, young Leia. You have no idea what you're up against."
"And you do?"
Ben nodded. Leia's eyes narrowed. Abruptly, she asked:
"What do you know about Darth Vader?"
Ben's face turned pale.
"Darth Vader?" he said. "Why do you ask?"
"I met him."
"When?"
"Yesterday."
Ben stared at her, unblinking.
"Perhaps we should talk," he said.
"I agree," Leia said.
Ben headed back into the hut. Leia looked at Luke who nodded.
"Don't worry," he said. "Ben can be a bit… opaque. But you can trust him, honest."
Leia would make up her own mind on that matter.
Luke led her into the hut. He ducked under the doorway. She did not. To the left, a humble living room. The floors were dirt, the walls were stone. There was a circular table, a bench wrapping around it. Ben sat on a wicker chair and stroked his chin.
"Take a seat, young ones," he said, gesturing to the bench. Leia realized it wasn't a bench at all, but a rugged protrusion, hewn out of the rock of the sandstone wall.
"We're going to need to find a ship," Luke said.
"We will deal with that in due time," Ben said. "First, we must discuss the details of the princess' escape."
"Don't call me that," Leia said, flinching.
"By your title?"
"It's not my title. Not anymore."
"Would you rather I call you Cadet?"
"Call me Leia."
"Very well." Ben smiled, although Leia couldn't tell for sure if it wasn't a grimace. "Tell me, Leia. How did Vader find you?"
Leia hesitated at the wording. How did he find me? That implied he had been looking for her. Had he been? If so, why?
"He came to the Academy," Leia said. "He was interested in me."
"How so?"
"He knew I was a good pilot, I guess."
"An exceptional one, based on what Luke's friend told us."
"I suppose," Leia said modestly.
Again, Ben attempted that ambiguous smile. "There's more to it, though. Isn't there?"
"Yes," Leia said.
"Tell me."
"The first thing he said to me… it was weird."
"Weird how?"
"He said… The Force is with you."
Ben did not speak. The chin stroking proceeded apace.
"He took a sample of my blood. He said he was testing for… I don't remember. Midi somethings."
"That's… not good," Ben said.
"Why?"
He did not answer, asking, "What happened next?"
"I was planning to run away before he could find out who I was. But there wasn't enough time. He came back and said I had to come with him."
"Did he say why?"
"No. It was…" Leia stopped herself before she could say 'scary.' She was a soldier. Things weren't scary. "It was weird," she said instead. "He figured out who I was. But that didn't seem to interest him. He started talking about someone else entirely."
"Whom?"
"Someone named Obi-Wan."
Luke laughed. Obi-Wan did not.
"What's so funny?" Leia asked.
"You're talking to him," Luke said.
"Talking to who?"
"Obi-Wan Kenobi," Ben said. "That is my name."
"Wait, I thought your name was Ben?"
"And I thought your name was Appenza."
Touché.
"Vader knows you," Leia said. "How?"
"A long conversation," Ben said, "for another time."
Leia frowned.
"Tell me more," Ben said. "I must know everything that happened."
"Why?"
"This is very important. For your safety, for Luke's."
"What does Luke have to do with this?"
"Everything."
She looked at Luke. Luke looked at her. She could tell he was just as in the dark as she was.
"Leia," Ben said. "Speak."
"I told you everything already," Leia said.
"Are you sure?"
Leia was about to say yes, but she stopped. The question which had been nagging her resurfaced.
"Something he said… it struck me as odd."
Ben leaned forward.
"He said Obi-Wan, well, you, and my parents, the Organas… he said they stole me. He said they stole me from him." She recalled the virulence in his voice, the unbridled rage. "He spoke as if I belonged to him. As if…"
"As if what?"
Leia did not know.
"I've told you everything," she said. "Now what?"
Ben was silent. He looked to be deep in thought. Leia turned to Luke instead.
"I don't know how we're going to find a ship," he said.
"Is there a city around here?" Leia asked.
"There's Anchorhead, but that's just an outpost. The closest major settlement is Mos Eisley."
"Then we'll go there."
"It'll be dangerous. The whole place is bound to be crawling with stormtroopers."
"They didn't seem to be too much of a problem for you."
Luke accepted the praise with a grin.
"Luke will do well to protect you," Ben said. "But you must be careful. Remember your training, Luke. Violence must be the last resort, especially now. There cannot be any reports of a man wielding a lightsaber in Mos Eisley."
"Wait a minute," Luke said. "You're not coming with us?"
"I cannot," Ben said.
"Why not?" Leia asked.
"Because," Ben said, "I have business to which I must attend."
"Business?" Luke said. "What sort of business?"
Ben gave him a wry look. "Nothing too important, I assure you," he said. "Saving the galaxy, that is all."
"What are you talking about?" Leia asked.
"You will not be able to leave this planet unless I stay behind to distract him."
"Him?"
"Vader."
"What makes you think Vader will come to Tatooine?" Luke asked.
"He is on his way now," Ben said. "I guarantee it."
"For me?" Leia asked.
"Yes," Ben said.
"Why?"
Ben opened his mouth. Then closed it. He stood from his chair.
"I have something for you," he said.
"Answer me," Leia demanded. Ben did not. He walked across the small space toward a wooden crate. He opened it, the latches creaking loudly.
"Luke will show you how to use this," he said.
Leia wanted to yell at him, but now she was curious. She stood from the bench.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Your father's lightsaber."
He produced from the crate a cylindrical tube, of lustrous metal, sturdy yet sleek in design. It looked similar to Luke's laser sword, even more similar to Vader's. As she looked at it closer, Leia realized it wasn't just similar to Vader's, but identical. It was the same design.
"I don't understand," Leia said. "My father? You mean… my birth father?"
Ben handed her the hilt. Leia, with trembling fingers, took it. It molded to her hand, as if it had always belonged there.
"Leia's father was a Jedi too?" Luke asked.
"Yes," Ben said.
"A Jedi?" Leia said. "That's… no. I don't think so."
"Try it," Ben said.
Leia was eager to do so. She pressed the trigger, and a bright blue blade emerged. Like the other two she had seen, or rather, heard, it made a melodious sound, a deep hum. She gyrated her wrist, testing it out. It weighed like nothing at all.
"The lightsaber is the weapon of a Jedi Knight," Ben said. Leia was mesmerized by the blade. It was beautiful. "Your father wielded it proudly before his death."
Leia deactivated the blade. Ben's words hit her like a blow to the gut. "He's dead?" she said.
"He is," Ben said.
For some reason, she had not thought about him very much. Her birth parents had never been of much interest to her. But hearing that her father was dead, it made her wish for the first time that she could have met him.
"How did he die?" Leia asked.
Ben seemed to be considering, as if he was searching for the answer. Did he not remember?
"Perhaps we should sit again," he said. They did. Leia clutched the lightsaber in her lap. "Your father. Luke's father. They were both pupils of mine."
"Our fathers knew each other?" Luke asked. "Were they friends?"
The question made Ben uncomfortable. He held his knees and looked away, unable to meet Luke and Leia's inquisitive gazes. "I suppose you could say that," he said.
What sort of a cop out answer was that? Leia didn't understand why he was being so shifty about this.
"What happened to them?" Leia asked. "Our fathers?"
"They were killed," Ben said.
"By who?" Luke asked.
Ben looked at Leia. "I believe you already know."
Leia felt herself go cold. "Vader," she said.
"He must not find you," Ben said. "That is why I will stay behind. So you and Luke can escape."
"But what are you going to do?" Luke asked. "He'll kill you!"
"He very well may," Ben said. He didn't sound too concerned about the prospect. "I have trained you well for two years. You have become an exemplary Jedi. I wish we could have more time together, but fate will not have it. We must part ways."
Luke stood. "I'll stay," he said. "Let me fight him."
"No, Luke," Ben said. "You must protect Leia. That is your duty. This is mine."
The old man got to his feet. He extended a hand to Luke, who took it. Ben placed his other hand atop their clasped ones.
"I am proud of you," he said, and his eyes were glistening. Leia considered it appropriate to stand herself. "Do you want to know the last thing I said to your father?"
Luke nodded eagerly.
"I said exactly what I am going to say to you now," Ben said. "You are strong and wise. I have taught you everything I know, and you have become a far greater Jedi than I could hope to be."
Luke started to object, but Ben looked to Leia. "And to yours," he said. "I said simply this: I loved you."
Ben released Luke's hand. He did not wipe his eyes, and a tear slipped down his cheek. "I loved you," he said again. "And I am proud of you."
It was an eerie moment. Because Leia got the sense the man before her, living and breathing for now, was no longer alive. His fate was sealed. Vader had already killed him.
"Thank you," Leia said.
"No," Ben said. "Thank you. Thank you, both. You are the galaxy's greatest hope." He placed a hand on her shoulder, smiled a sad smile. "Go, my students. Be safe. Be strong. The Force will be with you. Always."
Δ Δ Δ
Obi-Wan watched the reunited twins get into the speeder and drive away. He felt a wrenching sensation in his stomach. He had not told them. Should he have?
No. It was too dangerous. They would find out in time, he had no doubt. When it was right, they would learn. And they would hate him for keeping such a secret from them. The girl would be furious. She certainly seemed the irascible sort. The boy would be confused. He would think, maybe Ben hadn't known. He idolized him, in that way. Ben could do no wrong, he thought. But in time he would come around to his sister's point of view. He would hate him for it. In a different way, perhaps. A cold, embittered anger. He would think of his old master in a new, harsher light. One closer to the truth.
But Obi-Wan, knowing all that, still hadn't told them. It was for their own good. What if Vader caught one of them? Their ignorance would protect them. And since Vader already knew about the girl, a calamity in its own right, at least he wouldn't be likely to have much interest in the boy. Unless he had known there were twins. In which case, that would be a disaster. But he hadn't known. Because Padmé herself hadn't known.
He watched now as her children disappeared beyond the horizon. He thought of Padmé, what she had told him on her deathbed. There is good in him. I know there is… still.
Did she mean that? Did she know something he didn't?
"Bah," he said. No point dwelling on this. He'd had nineteen years to think. No revelations were about to present themselves to him. It was time to go.
He gave his sandy abode one last look over. He had no fond memories of the place, surely. Nonetheless, nostalgia crept up on him. He saw young Luke, just sixteen at the time, seated cross-legged on the floor, certainly a bit bewildered, but not lacking in enthusiasm. Obi-Wan had never meant to train him so soon, or indeed, not at all. But circumstances had forced his hand.
The circumstance in question being the girl's disappearance.
His old friend Bail Organa made contact with him the night after it happened. He had been panicked.
She's gone! She's just gone! Could Vader have gotten her?
No, said Obi-Wan. He does not have her.
How do you know?
He hadn't known. He couldn't possibly. But he said it with assurance, for that was what Organa needed to hear. If Vader got his hands on either one of the twins, the galaxy's fate would be sealed. He had decided then and there to train the boy. That way, if the girl did end up in Vader's possession, at least Obi-Wan would have a head start. It was a risk. He knew that by training the boy, he could potentially reveal his location. Yet Vader's aversion to this world worked in his favor. He blotted it out, so Obi-Wan theorized, because of the horrors of his childhood, and as such, he would not detect any disturbances which Luke's training might produce.
The thought crossed his mind that there was another who might sense the boy's training. The Emperor had no such blind spot when it came to Tatooine. Yet the Empire did not come to snuff him out. The training proceeded without incident. Could it be that Tatooine was so remote that the Emperor could not detect his training of the boy? Perhaps. Yet Obi-Wan knew there was a chance. The Emperor may very well know all about Luke Skywalker, and was merely waiting for the opportune time to exploit this information.
Obi-Wan would do what he could to thwart him. Even when he was dead, within the next few hours or so, he could still influence worldly events. Master Qui-Gon had shown him how.
So when he left the hut and clambered atop his trusty dewback, Obi-Wan did so without hesitation. He was confident, excited even. In an odd sort of way. He was ready to die.
Or so he claimed. The human in him, the sliver of which still survived, was apprehensive about this suicidal endeavor. The tension in his muscles, the palpating of his heart, faster and faster, as if realizing that it wouldn't have much longer to beat. Yet he swept these animalistic impulses aside, closed his eyes, trusted in the Force.
At long last, he would be at peace.
His life was one of agony, of regret and remorse. His failures, his foibles. And within the hour, he would confront the object of his misery, the one he hated yet still loved. His eyes glazed over, like so many times before, drifting into the past.
As always, he first saw him as a boy. Small and sandy-haired. Cheerful and childish. Petulant and precocious. He grew before his eyes, soon taller than Obi-Wan himself. A strapping young man, handsome, confident, inflammatory. He grew darker, wearier. The weight of war on his shoulders, the burden of deception. His blue eyes burned gold and he screamed.
I hate you!
And Obi-Wan replied.
I loved you!
He thought of his children. Of Luke, whom he knew best. So much like his father, in mind and in body. Just as reckless, just as bold. Of Leia, whom he wished he knew better. Defiant, assertive. A brilliant pilot, a natural leader.
Anakin would have been so proud of them. But Vader would only view them as tools. He must never find them. He must never corrupt them. With the Force as my ally, I will do everything I can to stop him.
This heartless machine. This innocent boy.
His dewback ground to a halt. Under the two suns, off in the distance, two shuttles, one about a hundred yards away from the other. Obi-Wan held a hand to his eyes. There he saw him, an inky silhouette, his presence bathing the sandy vale like an inescapable umbra. He was still. Although Obi-Wan couldn't so much as see it, he sensed Vader was staring at him in the same manner Obi-Wan stared now. Unblinking. Frozen. Adrenaline pumping in his veins.
Obi-Wan slid off the dewback and began to approach.
His oldest friend; this heartless machine.
His greatest enemy; this innocent boy.
Author's Note: I always love writing from the perspective of old Obi-Wan. He and Vader are similar, in a sense. They both wallow in regret, but the former does not act on his pain, he keeps it bottled in. And they wonder why he aged so much in nineteen years! I hope the upcoming TV show stays true to his character; if done correctly, it could be a poignant culmination of both the Prequels and Clone Wars. Fingers crossed! You can do it, Disney!
