Chapter 3

"Why are we going to Tatooine?" Rey frowned, as Ben steered the Millennium Falcon back into space. She checked the readouts of the planet that Ben had plugged in as their coordinates when they had returned to the ship. "It just looks like a sister planet of Jakku. More desert."

She received no reply, consistent with how unusually silent Ben had been since they had left Niima Outpost. When Unkar Plutt had given him the name of Rey's father, the young Solo's eyes had gone wide, and he had proceeded to prepare for the next steps in their journey without a word. Even his thoughts were closed off from Rey, which should have annoyed her, but instead just made her more concerned.

"Ben?" The gentle call of his name worked wonders on her fiancé's countenance like nothing else; she could see him physically relax, even if only slightly. "Why are we going to Tatooine?"

Ben sighed heavily. "Because," he explained. "It has an important place in Jedi history. My family's history... and yours. My grandfather was born there. My uncle was raised there until he was 19. And, if what Unkar said is true, and my hunch is correct, your grandfather lived in exile there, as one of the greatest former Jedi in history."

Rey's eyes widened in absolute astonishment. "My grandfather?" she breathed. "One of the greatest Jedi... in history?"

"In history," Ben repeated, and his voice was gravely serious. "Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. Also known as... Ben Kenobi. One of the few survivors of the Great Jedi Purge. The man who trained my grandfather and my uncle in the ways of the Force. The man for whom I was named."

Rey gasped, and her eyes filled with tears. And all at once, a voice flashed into her brains, one of the many voices she had heard when she had touched Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber. Rey?... These are your first steps... "What... what happened to him?"

Ben's gaze snapped over to her, and he actually smiled. "Now that, my beloved wife-to-be, is quite a story. And unfortunately, I am not in a position to tell you all of it. But we will uncover the whole truth. I promise you."

Jumping to hyperspace allowed the couple to arrive in Tatooine airspace in only a few galactic hours. They touched down on the outskirts of...

"Mos Eisley spaceport?"

Ben nodded towards his lover. "The stories of the Skywalkers and Kenobis converge here more than any other place in the galaxy. We are going to investigate here and see if we can find anyone who knew your grandfather when he was exiled here. Or at least, knew of him."

The walk to Mos Eisley did not take nearly as long as the one to Niima Outpost. Everywhere they went, the galaxy's power couple received shocked stares, but Rey had learned to not let the fame bother her. Following Ben into a bar meant for more wealthy socialites, she watched as her fiancé engaged the bartender.

"We're looking for someone with information about the Skywalker and Kenobi families," and Ben flashed some money at the bartender to indicate he and Rey would pay handsomely.

The bartender smiled. "You might check at the Banai estate. Right on the edge of town. You can't miss it."

"Thanks a lot," Ben nodded his gratitude. With a jerk of his head, he indicated for Rey to follow him.

The Banai estate was a ostentatious castle set on a high dune, not far from other stone mansions that looked largely abandoned and in various stages of disrepair, so that the only active residence in these parts stuck out like a sore thumb. Ben pointed to the abandoned castles.

"Those once belonged to the Hutts."

Rey frowned. "What are the Hutts?" But Ben didn't answer as they approached the large, oaken front doors. The young Solo knocked with purpose, until a gentleman answered the door.

The caller had brown skin, even deeper brown eyes and tufts of grey hair that Rey noticed were still streaked with some black. His face was wrinkly, but in a friendly way; if Rey had to estimate his age, he looked to be about in his mid-to-late seventies, maybe pushing eighty. Upon setting eyes on Ben, the gentleman frowned and peered closer. He even took Ben's chin in his hand and turned the young Solo's face this way and that. At last:

"Anakin? Are you in there?"

Baffled, Ben gave no reply, and the gentleman finally released him. After a long moment, he smiled. "I always wondered when you would come." He held out a hand. "Kitster Chanchani Banai, at your service."

"I was born a slave, the same as your grandfather, young Solo," Kitster explained, as he led Ben and Rey into a fancy dining hall and poured them both a glass of fine Tatooinian wine. "He was my best friend growing up."

Rey stared in disbelief. "You mean to say that Anakin Skywalker was once... a slave?"

Kitster nodded grimly. "He never liked to be referred to in that way. He would always insist that he was a person first." His eyes grew wistful. "He had a lot fire in him, Anakin did. If he hadn't gotten out of that life, his spirit could have gotten him into a lot of trouble. Course..." and his gaze shifted over to Ben. "It did get him into trouble anyway."

Ben did not seem moved by Kitster's revelations, nor the implication behind some of the old man's words. "How did you know who I was? That I'm related to Anakin?"

Kitster smiled. "You have his eyes." His brow creased as he thought harder. "The shape of the face, in some respects. And his spirit, oh yes, his spirit. It helped him to stand out... and caught the attention of the Jedi."

Here, Rey perked up. "The Jedi discovered him. Tell me, did one of them go by the name of Obi-Wan Kenobi?"

Kitster's eyes went wide, even as he frowned. "No... the Jedi who came for Anakin, and I'll never forget it, his name was Qui-Gon Jinn. Long beard, a fine head of hair. Very somber and stoic. He stayed with Anakin and his mother for a few days. But... I remember..." His wrinkles contracted deeply as he worked hard to retrieve what must be a distant memory. "I remember Qui-Gon talking to someone named Obi-Wan on a comlink. Perhaps he was a Jedi associate stationed close by. But nobody by the name of Kenobi ever entered Mos Eisley... at least not until..."

Rey leaned forward, on the edge of her seat. "Until what?"

Kitster nodded and gave a wave of his hand, as he moved to continue his story. "Qui-Gon Jinn freed Anakin from slavery by tricking his owner into a bet on a podrace - a very fast and loose form of racing involving small aircraft... and a lot of gambling. The Boonta Eve Podrace was the most famous around these parts, but it was discontinued when the original Empire took over. Anyway, Anakin won that very race, and with it, his freedom. Meanwhile, I continued to grow up a slave, bouncing around under the ownership of the Hutts - a powerful crime lord species that pretty much ruled this planet and system until, oh... a little before you youngins were born. In those days, the Hutts acquired as many slaves as they could so that we could be counted, and taxed."

Ben frowned, wrinkling his nose in disgust. "Taxed?"

"It means we had to pay money to the Hutts," Kitster explained. "Almost all of our earnings went back to them."

"I know what it means..." Ben scoffed, offended, but fell silent when Rey shushed him.

"Eventually, my last owner freed me, and I began working as a majordomo at various Mos Espan estates. There, I made my fortune, and eventually retired here." Kitster gestured around him. "During my career... the Jedi fell. And the Empire rose to power. For a long time, I believed that Anakin had been lost in the slaughter. But over the years... I heard rumors... about Anakin becoming a powerful Sith... seated at the right hand of the Emperor. And with these stories... strange stories... legends... happenings out near the Western Dune Sea... the Jundland Wastes. And every story was traced back to one name."

"Kenobi," Rey breathed.

"Kenobi," Kitster nodded. "Everyone knew him as Old Ben Kenobi. A hermit, lone wolf. He kept to himself mostly, unless there were scuffles with the moisture farmers and Tusken Raiders, particularly near the Lars ranch. Kenobi always took a special interest in that farm."

Ben nodded. "My uncle grew up on the Lars farm."

"Ah," Kitster nodded. "That explains it, then. Probably protecting Luke Skywalker, is that right?"

"Yes," Ben nodded.

"Eventually, not long after the destruction of the First Death Star, we learned that Ben Kenobi had disappeared. Gone off-planet, around the destruction of Alderaan. He never returned. Old bastard is probably long dead by now."

"He is," Ben confirmed. "He was killed in a lightsaber duel with Darth Vader."

Kitster drew his face into a tight line, his eyes wide. And he shook his head. "Poor, poor Anakin..."

"Mr. Banai," Rey ventured. "You say that Obi-Wan Kenobi lived out near... the Jundland Wastes?"

Kitster nodded. "A desolate, wild area. Plenty of wild creatures. Crawling with Sand People - another name for Tusken Raiders, mind. They say his old hut is still out that way, just sitting there, abandoned. By why such an interest in Kenobi, child?"

Rey stood to her full height, even as her head swam with the information Kitster had revealed. Her ancestor - the Jedi survivor... her ancestor - the hero... Her ancestor - the outlaw, watching from afar her future uncle by marriage... Her ancestor - killed at the hands of Darth Vader, the grandfather of the man she loved, in a brave last stand. He must have been so scared... living all those years alone in the wilderness ... then facing down a Sith... "Because... I think he might be my grandfather."