Obi Wan stared down at the planet frowning. It looked just like any other desert planet he'd ever seen with its patches of tan and brownish red. The gravitational pull and coordinates were exactly what the navicomputer indicated. There was no observable evidence whatsoever that would indicate anything strange or unusual about the small outer rim world that filled most of the view port in front of him.
Nonetheless, the fact remained that something was off.
Next to him, Ahsoka wore a frown identical to Obi Wan's. So she hadn't missed it either. Obi Wan wasn't surprised. Ahsoka may be young, but she was remarkably perceptive for her age.
"Master, is there a Jedi temple on Tatooine?" Ahsoka inquired. She asked it slowly and hesitantly as though she thought it was a stupid question and was embarrased to be asking.
Of course, under any other circumstances, it would have been a stupid question. The Jedi would hardly have a temple on a small, Hutt controlled world in the outer rim. There were maybe a half dozen systems with any Jedi presence in the outer rim, and those were only small, temporary bases. Ahsoka knew full well that there could not possibly be a Jedi Temple on Tatooine. And yet, Obi Wan understood exactly why she had asked the question.
There was something about the way the force moved, small eddies and undercurrents. Something subtle but unmistakable. Simply put, it wasn't as random, as unorganized as it ought to be. Obi Wan had never really thought about it before, but the effect was familiar enough. In fact, it occurred on a much larger scale on Coruscant, in the very Jedi temple that Obi Wan had spent nearly his whole life, and Obi Wan quickly realized that this was exactly how the force felt whenever a group of Jedi were gathered together.
But of course, that was impossible. Perhaps there needn't be Jedi on the planet, only a significant number of force sensitives, but even removing that constraint, the math simply didn't work. Generous estimates put the frequency of force sensitive beings around one in 10 million, and Tatooine's life readings were small - well under a million sentient beings. The odds of having more than a handful of force sensitive beings… Well Obi Wan wasn't going to try to do that calculation in his head, but they had to be practically infinitesimal. Odds were against there being even one force sensitive on Tatooine. And yet… it did have a certain energy in the force. An energy that would be more typical of a Jedi stronghold.
This could be bad, Obi Wan realized. A concentrated force sensitive population that the Jedi didn't know about… It could easily be some plot of the sith. Perhaps they ought to abort the mission and inform the council.
The more Obi Wan considered it though, the planet did not feel threatening, not really. He was being silly. They were Jedi, and this was no cause for panic. So in response to Ahsoka, Obi Wan merely shook his head. "I don't know what this is, Ahsoka. Just stay close and stay alert."
Ahsoka only nodded, seemingly as lost in thought as he was.
Maybe there is some sort of naturally occurring force phenomenon on this planet? Obi Wan thought. He pulled up what data the Jedi had for Tatooine on the ship's navicomputer to see if there was mention of some such anomaly.
Nothing. The files described the local government (the Hutts and their gangs), the local economy (an unsavory mixture of smuggling, gambling, and the slave trade), and the climate (hot and dry). No mention of anything out of the ordinary where the force was concerned. Heck, there were hardly even any Jedi to ever come from Tatooine from what the records showed. That made sense - it was far outside their typical recruiting grounds - but did not explain the planet's unusual force presence.
Despite his hesitance, Obi Wan steered the ship down towards the surface and landed as near as he dared to Jabba's palace. He and Ahsoka approached on foot from there, her with an infant Hutt in tow.
They arrived at a large iron gate, and Obi Wan cautiously knocked three times. Immediately, a mechanical eye emerged to greet them. Ahsoka held Rotta the Hutt up to the eye, and the gate immediately began to rise. A Gammorean appeared and ushered them in.
Soon, they stood in front of Jabba who let out a grunt that sounded pleased to Obi Wan's ears. He reaches out with short arms, and Ahsoka passes Rotta to him. Jabba said something which a protocol droid quickly translates, "The Great Jabba the Hutt thanks you for safely returning his son."
Obi Wan smiles. The hard part is over.
The negotiations that follow are simple. Jabba is accommodating, and this is Obi Wan's real specialty. The trade routes are secured, and the Republic will live to fight another day. Mission accomplished.
Afterwards, Jabba invites them to stay for a while as guests. This is an invitation Obi Wan would honestly prefer to decline. The scene is more what he would expect from a club on Coruscant's under levels than in the headquarters of a political leader (not that he likes spending time in those either). It is all an entirely inappropriate setting for his young padawan and not exactly his cup of tea either. Something about this place just feels icky. He knows though that it wouldn't do to offend the planetary leader he had just secured a treaty with. And so Obi Wan puts on his most winning smile and answers, "We would be honored to be your guests, Great Jabba."
Jabba lets out a booming laugh. "You speak well, Kenobi," the protocol droid translates. "Please enjoy all the delights of the home of the great Jabba the Hutt, Daimyo of Tatooine."
A twi'lek woman soon appears and offers Obi Wan a drink. She is a slave, he realizes, and he feels a tightness in his chest at the knowledge, the vague icky feeling of the place coming into focus. Nonetheless, he takes the drink, not wanting to offend Jabba at the moment.
That is when Obi Wan notices the small boy trailing behind her, carrying another tray laden with empty glasses. No doubt, this is the serving woman's son. A slave too and no more than 4 years old, Obi Wan realizes with pang.
The boy has some human ancestry, Obi Wan notices. His lekku are not all that pronounced, and his skin tone has splotches of tan. That is somewhat rare in the core worlds but probably common enough here. Anyhow, it is not the most interesting thing about the child because a moment later Obi Wan realizes with a start that the child is force sensitive. He lowers his shields a bit to confirm, and yes, this boy is very strong in the force. Exceptionally strong even. They will have to find a way to get the boy to the Jedi where he belongs.
That's not all though, Obi Wan realizes, surprised as he senses yet another strong presence in the force. Runs in the family maybe, thought Obi Wan. It was fully possible for there to be siblings or cousins here who were both force sensitive.
Obi Wan's surprise turns to outright shock though when he lowers his shields a bit more and finds that there are not just two but three, four… Obi Wan senses as many as five force sensitives in the immediate vicinity, aside from himself and Ahsoka. All untrained and all very strong.
This is not good. Not good at all.
Judging by Ahsoka's wide eyes, she's noticed too. Not caring that he is being rude and might offend Jabba, Obi Wan excuses himself, saying that he and Ahsoka had really better be off. Jabba makes a comment in Huttese that the protocol droid apparently decided shouldn't be translated, and Obi Wan and Ahsoka are practically running in their rush to leave.
Once they make it back to the ship and have safely cleared the atmosphere, Ahsoka finally dares speak. "Why… Do you think Jabba has been capturing Jedi or something?"
"No, not Jedi," he responds. "They are all force sensitive but completely untrained. Maybe even all children from what I could tell."
"But how? Why?"
"That I can not say. But I will say that I don't think it's only Jabba's palace. The whole planet feels weird. Like there are way more force sensitives on Tatooine than a remote planet in the outer rim has any right to have. In fact, I've never seen this concentration on any planet without a significant Jedi presence."
"So what do we do now?" Ahsoka wondered.
"Now we report this to the council and await their orders." Obi Wan picked up a small holo recorder and entered the frequency for the Jedi council chamber.
The transmission was accepted almost immediately, anxious as the council was to hear news of their mission. "Ah Kenobi. And Padawan Tano. Return Rotta, did you?" Yoda greeted.
"Yes master," said Obi Wan. "Though there is something else you should know about happening on Tatooine."
Obi Wan explained what they had found. Five force sensitive beings within Jabba's palace. Who knows how many more throughout the entire planet. When he was done, everyone sat silently for a moment.
It was Kit Fisto who finally broke the silence. "Perhaps the force just runs in some of the families on Tatooine," he said. There was not a lot of confidence in his voice, and Obi Wan got the distinct impression that the Jedi master didn't even believe his own words as he spoke them.
Mace shook his head. "We don't have a whole lot of data on the matter for obvious reasons, but from what we do have, force abilities do not really pass from generation to generation very well. The offspring of even a strong force sensitive would have maybe a 50% chance at being noticeably force sensitive, and even then it's usually quite diluted, not enough to become a Jedi. Of all the Jedi in the order, only a small handful are suspected to have inherited their abilities. It's far more common for force sensitives to appear randomly, born to parents who have no significant force ability."
"There are certain species among which force sensitivity is known to occur at a much higher rate though," Depa Billaba pointed out with a nod at Grand Master Yoda. "Though you said the boy you say was a twi'lek, did you not?"
Obi Wan nodded. "His mother was definitely a twi'lek. The boy looked like a twi'lek human hybrid to me, though I could be mistaken. But with all due respect, it doesn't seem all that likely, Master Billaba. We do not know of any such species on the planet Tatooine."
"Hmm," Yoda said, frowning thoughtfully. "Agree with Knight Kenobi, I do. Going on, something more sinister is, I fear. Investigate this more, you must. But careful, you must be."