Echoes of Us

Hello everyone! I'm back with another story. (I do intend to get back to the others at some point, promise.) But I do have an excuse, and is that I am injured such that the only way I can write at the moment is through dictation software.

So I decided to make it a challenge and write an entire story through dictation, the better to help myself not lose my mind completely right now LOL

Hopefully you enjoy reading!

/

One

The Naboo landscape was alive with nightlife. The silvery moon threw dappled light over the camp sight, and tin foil stars twinkled in the heavens. Crickets chirped steadily, and around me others snoozed or snored. But I couldn't sleep.

I could only stare at Anakin Skywalker, fast asleep next to my Master Qui-Gon Jinn. Already, the boy had supplanted my spot beside him.

I'd never been the most remarkable, the fastest, the calmest, or the best apprentice. I knew that. I also knew that for months now I had been insisting on my readiness to take the trials.

But I have to admit that it stung to be so hastily shunted aside in favor of a boy. An overage boy. A temperamental boy. A dangerous boy. Because no matter what Qui-Gon said, I knew that the only reason for my sudden readiness in his eyes was because of the little boy with blond hair, sky blue eyes, and a thunderstorm signature in the Force.

But I wasn't upset about it. Really. At most I felt irritation, confusion, and perhaps a touch of betrayal.

Not upset.

Mostly not upset.

It was, more than anything, concern for Qui-Gon. This course he was choosing… this path he was so set on going down with the boy… I had no good opinion of it, and much bad. But I also knew too well his stubbornness. He had decided that Anakin Skywalker should be trained, and so trained he would be.

No matter what the governing body of the Order to which he'd pledged his fealty had to say about it.

I huffed out. Rolling over onto my stomach, I shut my eyes once again. I would need all the sleep I could get in order to be ready to fight tomorrow. But sleep still eluded me for a long time.

At some point, I opened my eyes. But I didn't find myself awake. I found myself in unfamiliar, gossamer-like surroundings, my hands only half corporeal, my vision blurry. Slowly things cleared.

"Where am I?" I wondered aloud, taking in the pitiful little hut with furrowed brow and aching heart. It was an awful place, but my heart went out to whomever lived here, since it was obviously occupied.

"In the netherworld of the Force," a voice behind me said.

To my credit, I didn't jump. Well, not a lot. "Force. You'll give me heart failure, man," I uttered.

Old man, really. Sixty-something, maybe, or in his early seventies. He had a wasted look to him that somehow suggested a once-held handsomeness, of which only the faintest vestige now remained. The man smiled. "I forgot," he mused.

"Forgot… what?" What is this? What's going on? Is the Force giving me a vision? Are you the embodiment of the Force? That one I could buy. For all his eyes were haunted, they were wise too. Very wise.

"What I was like young," he said fondly.

Something was very wrong with that statement; I couldn't quite put my finger on it until he said,

"Obi-Wan, I am you from the future."

I couldn't help it. I laughed.

The old man didn't. "I understand your reticence. But it's true."

I sat down on the stone bench, hard. Only then did I realize that it wasn't a bench at all. There was a blanket, old and tattered, and beside it scraps of cloth that had clearly been used as a pillow for a long time. A bleak, icy void opened up inside me, and I could no longer laugh. Could only stare up at the man.

We share the same eyes, I realized. That's what I found familiar about him.

"You… You're really me from the future?"

Obi-Wan– old Obi-Wan – nodded. His smile came with soft sadness, subtle tragedy. "A worrisome thing for one so young, no doubt," he remarked wryly. Knowing that you will end up like me .

"I… I…" I struggled for something to say, but my mind was a near blank. I didn't understand this, I didn't understand what was happening, and I didn't understand what in the galaxy could have happened such that I, in my future, should be living in such a place as this. Unless… Unless, I thought hastily, this is meditative retreat?

"I'm afraid not. I have lived here in exile for many years."

I felt my cheeks heat up in the realization that this me either knew my thoughts or could read my expressions so well. To be honest I didn't really want to know what he saw. I felt cruel.

"Why am I here?" I asked, my voice cracking. "What's going on?" Exile? What had possibly put me in exile?

"It's complicated, Obi-Wan. (You should call me Ben, or else this will become confusing very quickly.) But suffice it to say that I am dead."

I worked over for that for a moment. "Dead?" I coughed. Dammit, I shouldn't have said that aloud; I sounded too afraid. Un- Jedi.

Ben only nodded. "Yes. Dead. Nothing to be afraid of. In fact it's a good thing I would say."

A good thing? It seemed that he and I, my older version, differed a lot and how we defined certain things.

"A good thing," said Ben, probably reading my thoughts again. I really didn't like that. "Because I'm going to tell you how I ended up dead, and how the Jedi were destroyed by the Sith. I'm going to give you the chance to change things, Obi-Wan.

"Do you accept this chance?"

I struggled to get my thoughts in order. Exile. The Sith. Ben Kenobi. A chance to change things. To not let the Jedi — the Jedi be destroyed?

Well, it wasn't much of a choice was it?

"Yes," I said. "Yes, I'll do whatever I have to. You… You'll be giving me your memories?"

"Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that. You aren't going to remember any of this," said Ben sadly.

"What—? But then—how will I do what I must? How will I change anything?"

"There will be something of an echo left, from what I understand. My skills and abilities will be passed on to you. Additionally, you will have a sort of impression of the memories I share with you. With the guidance of the Force, and with you trusting your feelings, hopefully things can be righted."

Hopefully. "There isn't… There isn't any other way?"

"Unfortunately not. What I am doing almost violates the cornerstones of existence. I managed to find a loophole, but time travel violates the very nature of the way the galaxy operates. This is the best I can do."

I swallowed hard. "Please, show me then. And I will do my best; I will do what I must."

"I know that you will, Obi-Wan. But I also ask you to remember one thing: Be kind to Anakin Skywalker." And with that, my entire universe changed forever when he took my hand and showed me the disaster and the desolation to follow.

/

The Sith was a tall, monstrous creature whose red blade spun faster than the speed of light itself.

I didn't know how I did it.

All I knew was that I became almost possessed, something like muscle memory taking me over, turning me into a creature of battle. One whose technique, speed, and skill even this deadly Sith could not beat. When it was done, the blur fading out, I found myself standing over a decapitated corpse, a strange nausea welling up inside me that had nothing to do with the body before me.

"Well done , Padawan." Coming up beside me, Qui-Gon clapped me on the back, though he wore a faint frown. "I had no idea you had taken up Soresu, nor become so adept at it."

Me neither. "Er—yes. I… I've been practicing." I guess…

I mean, I knew what I'd done, technically speaking. The Sith's body was… right there; it was self-evident, the whole thing. And yet… I truly had no idea what had possessed me.

I'd be loathe to admit as much, though, because I wanted him to keep wearing that proud look. Don't judge me.

We headed out from the place of battle to rendezvous with the others. The greater Battle, it seemed, had been won—with some help from Anakin's illicit flying. A fact he quickly redirected in order to gush over the defeat of the Sith.

"Wow! You got him? That's amazing! What'd you do?" Anakin asked Qui-Gon.

Qui-Gon . My hackles rose yet again, much as I tried to the contrary.

"Nothing," the Jedi Master replied. "It was all Obi-Wan."

"Really?"

Previously, I would have just pushed off the kid's question, but… something inside me nudged the opposite direction. I guess it was just the way the little boy's eyes eagerly scanned my face, or the awe in his expression, or the way the misty words once more echoed in my mind: Be kind to Anakin Skywalker. "Well, I did my best," I mumbled, and feeling myself flush I ducked my head. "It was nothing, really."

Qui-Gon's smile was in his voice. "Now he chooses to be modest."

It ought to feel like a dig… and yet, it didn't. It felt like warmth. Maybe even… praise.

Maybe—new thought—maybe Qui-Gon didn't undervalue me as much as I'd believed.

/

The Theed Palace was quiet. Too quiet. Everywhere I walked I felt as if shadows might leap out from the walls to attack me. Each subtle sound proved sinister. I saw red lightsabers everywhere.

When the hand reached out and touched me, I leapt, whipped round, and shoved my hand into my robe pocket, a heartbeat from going for my lightsaber.

But of course, I was wearing pajamas.

Anakin's eyes had gone wide. "Sorry," he whispered. "I… I didn't mean to startle you. I just… I was happy to see you, and—" He looked down at his feet, slippered feet.

The Queen had been kind enough to loan us all clothes as we stayed over for the Peace Parade and to help some measure of reconstruction along.

"Sorry," he mumbled again.

My first urge? To rail at him and explain why he never, never snuck up on people like that, at least not after big battles in which millennium-dead Sith had risen from the grave. But something tender blossomed inside of me at the sight of him worrying his lip, and the wilted way in which he stood.

I reached out and touched his arm. "Take heart, Anakin. I'm not mad. You just… surprised me, is all. I'm sure you can understand."

"Oh, absolutely! I'm really sorry about that!"

"You already mentioned that," I remarked. I squeezed his arm, then let my hand drop. "Consider it forgotten, hmm?"

"Okay." He sighed out.

Somehow, we had begun walking, side-by-side, through the winding halls. They no longer seemed so desolate with him beside me, though of course such was silly. How could a little boy help me with any potential threats?

"So," he started, "you couldn't sleep either?"

I supposed it had been rather obvious. "No," I admitted. "Not especially."

"Oh. What're you worried about?"

I stiffened. None of your business, tot. "It's… complicated. Let's speak of something else. Are you excited for the Parade in a few days?"

He shrugged. "It'll be alright. I'm more excited to start my Jedi training with Master Qui-Gon."

Yes. Start your training under my master. But… Qui-Gon wouldn't be my master soon enough. Already, I'd learned that the Council had agreed to confer on me the level of Knight due to my defeat of Maul. There was still something of a sting, but far duller, and in its place also came a strange—dare I say relief?

This is good, I kept thinking for some reason. It's good for Anakin to be trained by Qui-Gon . It was quite inexplicable, the thought almost not my own. Yet…

"Yes," I smiled. "That must be very exciting for you."

"Definitely," Anakin enthused. "I can't wait to become a Jedi, and then go back and free all the slaves."

I hadn't realized that the little boys dream extended beyond his pre-supposed glory in being a Jedi. The idea that may be the reason he wanted to become a Jedi was so that he could go back and free his people started an ache deep within my chest, a familiar and yet new ache. "That sounds like a very good goal," I told him.

He smiled at me. "Thanks, Padawan Kenobi. You're nice." He seemed to so marvel at the fact.

"Go ahead and call me Obi-Wan," I said. "After all, you're to be my old master's Padawan. We'll be almost like family."

Anakin's eyes lit up. "I'd like that!" he cried.

"Good."

Only later did I realize that maybe he had been so enthusiastic about calling me by name. Maybe he meant the part where I said we'd almost be like family. Yet I was pretty certain, whatever he thought I meant, that Anakin Skywalker and I had just… had a moment of bonding. Before this night, we had been tentative acquaintances. Now, for better or for worse, we had become allies.

Once again, the words echoed in my mind: Be kind to Anakin Skywalker.

That night, I vowed to do my best, always.

/

Notes:

I'd love to hear your thoughts on where to take this story. Hearing your suggestions always makes it more fun to write, because then we shape the story together! To be honest, I have a very general idea where the story is going, but other than that don't know for sure yet.

Updates should hopefully be daily for a bit, though I don't know for 100% sure. Chapters probably will range from 1k-2k words (given that dictation takes so much time lol). Also, if there are typos—which I'm sure there are as dictation does that haha—feel free to point them out. I will fix them at a later date when able xD.

See you at the next chapter, Rivkah