Thanks for your reviews! As a way of saying thanks, I will write a one-shot about one of the Imperials before the events of this story. The poll on my profile will allow you to choose which one you would like to see. :-)

Azumi Heuk was the northeastern area of Changying. Since most of it was completely untouched by sentient beings, it held a sense of wild freedom to it. The sounds heard in this area were of nature: the water rushing down streams and rivers, the leaves blowing in the wind.

So when the sound of a panicked scream and almost a dozen blasters being snatched out of their holsters was heard, it was definitely not normal.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi?"

"The Jedi?"

Obi-Wan stood still despite being held at blaster point. "Yes, that is me."

"But—you—" Jifo stuttered.

"How did you survive Order 66?" Rowan asked.

"With the help of the Force, my friend," Obi-Wan replied, spreading his hands calmly in a shrug.

"But—but how did you get here?" Carh'la asked, wide-eyed and pale.

Obi-Wan sighed. "I sensed a disturbance in the Force."

"What?"

"In other words, something felt unusually wrong,"

"What do you mean by unusually wrong?"

"Well the state of the galaxy right now is rather unstable, but what I felt was even worse than normal."

Kobayashi shook his head. "So you sensed something wrong and came out of hiding for it? How bad is it?"

"Bad," Obi-Wan said evenly.

"Don't start getting evasive," Carh'la told him, putting her blaster away, much to everyone's surprise. "We promised that we wouldn't tell anyone else."

"What—but—Carh'la that's treason!" Zhymmia gaped.

Carh'la shook her head. "We're already treading that line, Zhymmia."

Obi-Wan looked at Carh'la curiously before asking, "How much do you know about Lo?"

Everyone paled.

"How much do you know about him?" Kerrick asked.

"Quite a bit," Obi-Wan answered quietly. "And judging from your reaction, you know that there is something more to him,"

"Such as…?"

"Such as his true identity,"

"How do you know that?" Kobayashi burst before he could stop himself.

"The Force, my friend," Obi-Wan said cryptically.

Carh'la shook her head. "Let's take this from the beginning, Kenobi. Why did you come to Nihoma?"

"Well, as I said, I sensed a disturbance in the Force," Obi-Wan explained. "The disturbance was someone accessing the Force instinctively. I thought it was perhaps a rogue Jedi or a Force-sensitive individual who had no previous training whatsoever. Whatever the cause, the person was causing utter mayhem. I had to find him.

"When I started to follow his trail, I found myself on an outpost. I had to hide rather quickly because of Imperial presence there, and I hid on a frigate going to Nihoma. That is how I arrived here."

"So… so you didn't even know he was here when you arrived?" Ooke asked.

"No, I did not," Obi-Wan answered. "In fact, I didn't even realize he was on the planet until two days ago."

"That was the day we arrived!" Marrax sputtered.

Obi-Wan let out a soft laugh. "I thought I sensed something odd when I saw a group of Imperials…"

Kobayashi closed his eyes temporarily just to catch his breath. He was standing in front of a Jedi! Now what were they going to do?

"How much do you know about Lo?" Moeema asked in a determined tone. "Tell us everything."

Obi-Wan remained silent for a moment before sighing heavily. "I know his true name. I know who he really is. I know that he doesn't remember anything of his past for some strange reason."

"You… you know who he is?" Zhymmia whispered, sounding horrified.

"Yes, I do,"

"What's his name?"

"I believe you would know him as Lord Darth Vader,"

Suddenly, Kobayashi heard footsteps behind him and everyone turned around. Vader was standing in the doorway, looking tired.

"I'm hungry…" he muttered.

Obi-Wan brushed past them and walked up to the boy.

"Where is the kitchen?" he asked Kobayashi.

"Uh… the kitchen is through the door on the right from the foyer," Kobayashi answered. "But… there isn't a cook,"

"Why isn't there a cook?"

"Everyone was given the week off for Unification Day," Kobayashi explained. "And no one knows we're here because we left earlier than expected."

"Wonderful," Obi-Wan muttered. "Well then I'll have to make something."

"You can cook?" Numel asked, sounding incredulous.

"A Jedi is taught many things," Obi-Wan said with a gentle twinkle in his eyes.

"Kichita is a great cook!" Vader exclaimed happily.

"How would you know that, Little One?" Moeema asked.

Vader paused, somewhat confused. "I… I just know."

"Let's go inside, shall we?" Obi-Wan suggested. "Come along, young one,"

Kobayashi and the other Imperials followed Obi-Wan and Vader inside the retreat and into the kitchen.

The kitchen was a large area. The left, back, and right walls all had counters attached to them. There were cabinets above and below the countertops.

Obi-Wan began sifting through the different cabinets. "Well let me see…"

As he searched, Kerrick silently motioned for them to leave the kitchen and return outside.

The instant they did, everyone began yelling at once.

"He's a Jedi!" Zhymmia nearly yelled. "How can we trust a Jedi? I—I thought they were all dead! What are we going to do?"

"There's no way he's staying near Vader," Moeema interjected. "He'll hurt him!"

"What are we going to tell the others? Why did you make us say that blasted promise, Carh'la?" Jifo bellowed.

"Are you sure he won't try to kill us first since we know his secret now?" Ooke said.

"I say we shoot first and ask questions later!" Numel piped in.

Rowan held his hands up to calm everyone.

"Be quiet, all of you," he said. "Let's calm down and think this through logically."

Kerrick stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Kenobi doesn't seem to mean us any harm. He said that himself."

"What good is that to us?" Jifo retorted. "He's a Jedi, we can't trust him!"

"Just because he's a Jedi doesn't mean he's untrustworthy," Shiine snapped.

Kobayashi remained silent. He knew why Shiine was arguing that point. The man had a loyalty to the Jedi… he felt that he owed them. Of course, none of the other Imperials knew of this secret.

"Look, everyone needs to stay calm," Kerrick intoned. "If you panic you won't think properly."

Kobayashi bit back the chuckle that threatened to escape. Of course Kerrick would say that; he was known for his cool head during any crisis. At least he gave the impression of being centered.

Everyone grew silent, waiting for Kerrick to continue. "Now, we need to figure out what to do."

"And let's look at the argument from both sides," Carh'la said. "If we are to figure out his motives, we must see things from his perspective."

"Very well," Rowan sighed. "What is his perspective, then?"

"Well, he's a Jedi, so his best idea would either be to cause trouble and fight the Empire or to hide from us," Carh'la began. "Master Kenobi has chosen to come out of hiding. His claim is that he was searching for a 'disturbance in the Force.' Would a Jedi really come out of hiding because he senses something wrong in a galaxy already so, as he put it, 'unstable'?"

"That doesn't make sense," Kerrick shook his head. "Why would a Jedi concern himself with balance when he's in hiding?"

"It is how the Jedi are," Shiine intoned. "Even when faced against the worst of odds they still try to do everything they can to help."

"You make it sound like you admire them," Jifo noted, sounding incredulous.

"I never said I did," Shiine shook his head. "I'm just saying that the Jedi work that way. It's still pretty logical for him to come out of hiding for something like that. You have to remember his exact explanation for the disturbance: he sensed someone instinctively accessing the Force, those were his words. If someone is using the Force, one would automatically assume it's a Jedi; wouldn't that be enough incentive?"

"I suppose," Ooke shrugged. "B-but I still don't like it."

"Then let's look at it further," Carh'la continued. "He came out of hiding to find a possible fellow Jedi. That part is valid. The next part of his story is that he ended up on an Imperial outpost and had to stowaway on a frigate which inadvertently took him to Nihoma. Judging from the way he explained how he sensed Vader, I would assume he arrived far before we did."

"Is there any way he can prove that?" Kerrick asked.

Kobayashi thought for a moment before snapping his fingers. "The Kakegoe Mmona!"

"…The what?"

"Kakegoe Mmona translates to Unified Jubilee," Kobayashi explained. "It's a song about Unification Day. It's a Nihoman tradition to sing this song in public areas just before the holiday. In other words, you'll hear it in restaurants, cantinas, theaters, schools, everywhere. Many a time, people gather together and start parading around on the streets singing it! If Kenobi really has been here longer than us, then he's bound to have heard it at some time."

"Would he be able to recognize it?" Rowan asked.

"Well, the word mmona appears in it numerous times…" Kobayashi muttered. "Um… right before they begin to sing the song, they all shout the title of it, Kakegoe Mmona, so he'd recognize the words,"

"Let's go try it," Carh'la said, taking Kobayashi with her. The two entered the kitchen once more to see Vader and Kenobi busy cutting vegetables.

"Kenobi, you wouldn't happen to know the words Kakegoe Mmona, would you?" Kobayashi asked, trying to sound calm.

The Jedi paused from his work. Vader did too.

"Ah, I believe I heard those words being used a lot a few days ago," Kenobi replied. "Then they'd suddenly burst into song."

Kobayashi laughed. "Yep, that's Kakegoe Mmona all right!"

"Oh, is that what it's called?"

"Yeah, it's a song for the holiday,"

"I see,"

Kenobi looked at them for a moment longer, almost as if he knew what they were doing. Then he resumed his work. Vader, however, did not.

"What's wrong, Little One?" Carh'la asked him.

"You called him Kenobi," he said in an even tone.

The Jedi paused.

"Well, yes, we did," Carh'la said matter-of-factly. "Do you know that name?"

Vader stayed quiet, looking from Carh'la to Kobayashi to the Jedi. He sighed and looked down at his vegetables, shaking his head. "I don't know,"

Kobayashi was more than concerned about the boy's abnormally low tone. What was wrong with him?

"Little One, are you alright?" he asked.

Suddenly, Vader closed his eyes and banged the knife on the table. "I'm fine,"

The sound brought everyone else into the room. "What happened?"

Vader leaned against the counter, looking up at the ceiling and sighing again. Kobayashi was too shocked to say anything at all.

"I think it's time for you to lie down," the Jedi said calmly, walking towards Vader.

"No,"

"Now, young one,"

"Why should I?"

This wasn't like the boy they had been taking care of at all!

The Jedi placed a firm grip on Vader's arm, looking into his eyes. Vader began to settle. Kenobi then gently led him out of the room. Everyone else stood in astonished silence.

When the Jedi returned, Moeema turned on him. "What did you do to him?"

"What did I do to him?" the Jedi repeated, sounding a little exasperated. "I understand that you aren't going to trust me, ma'am, but you must be reasonable. The boy did not start acting negatively until you mentioned my name."

"So what does that mean?" Ooke asked.

"It means that whether he knows it or not, he has all of his memories quite intact and—"

"We already know that!" Jifo interrupted.

The Jedi paused, waiting for the panic to settle before continuing, "It means he has all of his memories intact and they're resurfacing."

"They're… they're what?" the words tumbled out of Kobayashi's mouth before he could stop them.

"Has the boy ever acted out of character before? As in he has not been extremely excitable and curious?"

"There are times," Rowan nodded.

"Those are his memories resurfacing," Kenobi explained. "I'm afraid he's not going to stay your 'little one' forever."

"We never expected that," Moeema snapped.

"Then what did you expect?" Kenobi asked.

Everyone went silent. Eventually, Shiine shrugged and said, "We didn't know what to expect."

Kenobi sighed. "All I can tell you is that those memories are coming back with a vengeance. The slightest slip-up can make him furious or upset. Mentioning my name is not exactly the safest thing to do."

"Does he know you?"

"All too well," Kenobi said darkly.

"It wasn't this bad until you came along," Moeema growled.

"Moeema, enough," Carh'la muttered to the other woman.

"I'm sure it wasn't this bad before," Kenobi sighed again, seeming to age in front of Kobayashi. "My best theory is that it has slowly been growing worse over time… has… has he ever lashed out in anger?"

Kobayashi remembered the battle over Dantooine and shook the shiver that began creeping up his spine.

"He… he lost it one time," Kobayashi finally said.

"What do you mean?"

"It happened two weeks ago… he got scared and the hyperdrives died…"

"You mean a Force Reaction?"

"What?"

"Force Reaction is a term we use for innate use of the Force with one's emotions. If a Force-sensitive child grows scared or angry, the Force reacts to his or her emotions. A lot of times an item may go flying or something may break."

"Does the power ever go out?" Kerrick asked.

"That can happen, yes,"

"Can it affect an entire fleet?"

"It would require and extremely powerful Force-sensitive," Kenobi nodded. "And I do believe Lord Vader fits that description rather well."

"So that's what it's called," Kerrick blew out a breath. "Anything else we should know about?"

"Well first tell me what happened two weeks ago,"

"Right!" Kobayashi nodded. "Um, so Vader used Force Reaction because he got scared and it knocked out the entire fleet. We lost power and got knocked out of hyperspace. What was unfortunate was that we landed right in front of Dantooine, which apparently was where the Rebels were hiding. Both sides kind of blinked at each other before opening fire. A battle ensued and in that time, I was sent to protect Vader.

"Eventually the Rebels got a boarding party on the Executor and broke into the room in which we were hiding. I got badly hurt and apparently, from what I have heard (since I got knocked out I can't give you an eyewitness account) Vader simply… lost it."

"He did," Jifo continued for Kobayashi. "He did just lose it. The entire fleet felt it. Even the Rebels felt it. He grew furious and panicked and started slaughtering any Rebel he could find. I ran off to find him because I had a sneaking suspicion that what everyone was feeling was coming from him. When I found him, he was in the medical wing just… just slaughtering those soldiers. I was scared he would kill me too. I managed to snap him out of it but he wasn't the same for days…"

"You weren't the only ones to feel it," Kenobi muttered. "I felt it. That's what made me decide to find the cause of it."

"You sensed it?" Zhymmia gaped.

"Yes," Kenobi answered. "And if I did, then there is a large possibility that the emperor did as well."

"What?"

"Just a suspicion," Kenobi shrugged. "After all, the reason you felt his emotional backlash was because of your connection to him."

"Our… we have a connection?" Numel sounded bewildered. "Wait, wait just a minute. Start from the beginning with your Jedi mumbo jumbo. How do we have a connection? Why do we feel when he's angry or upset? We're not Jedi!"

"No, you're not," Kenobi replied. Kobayashi could have sworn he heard him mutter thank the Force for that. "However, if someone develops a connection with a Jedi or Sith, they can sense the person's emotions if all the emotional barriers are let down."

"What emotional barriers?" Carh'la asked.

"You see, someone like Vader would have a great deal of emotional barriers to keep himself in check. These barriers would allow him to hide his emotions from others to avoid attention. With a person like Vader, who is extremely powerful in the Force, anyone who has been in contact with him long enough would feel it. You all are from his squadron. You get saturated with his emotions constantly. Spending so much time with him and risking your lives alongside him in battle develops a certain type of Force connection. With that in mind, if Vader were to ever lower his barriers and grow angry or scared or upset, you would automatically feel the emotions as well. Think of it as an echo of his emotions."

"Can he read minds, too?" Kerrick asked. "Because he didn't even know how to speak when we first ran into him in this state… and yet within a day he knew exactly what we were saying. Is that because of memories or because of something else?"

"It might be a mix of both," Kenobi replied. "Did he ever do anything irregular, such as, perhaps, looking distant or losing concentration?"

"The first night on the Executor he placed a hand to my head and just stared at me for at least ten minutes," Kerrick said earnestly. "And then he could talk!"

Kenobi laughed. "Yes, that's a mind reading technique. He went into your mind and watched your memories. He probably replayed them over and over in his mind to understand the meaning of the words used."

"So that's what he meant," Kerrick leaned against the wall. "This whole time, whenever we ask where he learned how to talk, he says it was from me!"

Kobayashi watched the exchange with interest and assimilated the new information. Listening to the conversation and watching the interaction made him realize that the Jedi was actually helping them. Could he actually be trustworthy?

Carh'la stepped forward. "We apologize for our treatment of you earlier… we just… didn't know how to react to finding out that you are a Jedi."

"It's quite understandable," Kenobi chuckled. "Had I been in your position I might have done similar."

"But what are we going to do if he remembers?" Ooke asked. "I don't want to have my neck wrung just because I was trying to take care of him!"

"I do not believe you should be concerned about Vader harming you," Kenobi said honestly. "He might be disoriented, ashamed, even angry… but I do not think he would kill you. Even if he tries, I will make sure he does not succeed. Besides, I believe you should be more concerned about the emperor's reaction to all of this."

"We don't even know if he is aware of the situation," Moeema admitted in a far less biting tone than earlier.

"He probably is aware that something is wrong," Kenobi surmised. "After all, Death Squadron has been out of contact with the Empire for four weeks now, has it not?"

"Yes," they all muttered.

Moeema suddenly asked, "Do you know why in the blazes he was trying to get himself killed yesterday? He always does the craziest things! He sneaks onto other ships, runs into the monarchs of Nihoma… he's a wreck! You said he knew you… did you know his mannerisms before… before…"

"Before he became Darth Vader?" The Jedi finished for her. "Yes, I did. He was far different back then."

The Jedi's eyes grew distant as he continued to speak. "The boy back then was always trying to help others. He wanted to save everyone. He was extremely reckless, though. I can see him jumping into the battlefield, flying right into danger…"

"He fought in the Clone Wars?" Kerrick asked in a shocked tone. "But—but he was twenty-two when the war ended!"

"Yes, he was," Kenobi nodded. "He sustained a permanent injury in the Battle of Geonosis when he was nineteen… that was his first battle. The boy fought in many battles during the Clone Wars. Many Jedi met their deaths during that war."

"And many Jedi killed others," Jifo supplied in a dark tone.

"I will not deny that a number of Jedi fell to darkness," Kenobi sighed, suddenly looking very tired. "Vader was among them. That is why he is Darth Vader today."

The room grew thick with tension between the Imperials and the Jedi. Seeking to ease the mood, Kobayashi said, "Well, that's the past. Besides, we have more to worry about now… but this is a vacation, guys, so let's just relax, okay?"

Most of the Imperials let out a snort of laughter. "Typical Koby: relax first, worry later."

Obi-Wan hadn't felt anything so comfortable in years. Tatooine didn't provide much comfort, after all, and the Jedi Temple was cozy but not luxurious. Obi-Wan had never sought luxury…

But Force this was nice.

He was lying on his bed in the bedroom he shared with Numel, Shiine, and Kobayashi. The room next door held Anakin, Jifo, Rowan, and Kerrick. After them was the women's room. Ooke and Marrax had a room of their own. The rooms all looked the same: warm and cozy. Obi-Wan hadn't been anywhere so nice in what seemed decades.

After yesterday's heated conversation before breakfast, everyone had decided to lounge around the house to calm down for a while. Today they were going to swim in the lake. For once, Obi-Wan had no qualms with the vacation; it was much needed for all of them. He was just worried how Anakin would react; the boy had been in a bad state yesterday.

His worries were what had awoken him at five in the morning when the rest of his roommates were snoring in their beds. Sighing, he got out of bed and put a robe over his sleeping tunic and pants, washing away the traces of sleep with cold water. He then walked to the room next door, sliding the wooden door open and slowly walking towards Anakin's bed, which was closest to the balcony.

When he got close to the bed, he saw that the boy was sleeping peacefully. He turned to walk away when he heard "Kichita?"

Restraining a sigh, he turned to see the boy watching him with half-open eyes.

"Go back to sleep," he whispered softly, sending soothing waves through the Force as he had yesterday morning.

The boy yawned and then settled into his bed more comfortably, heeding Obi-Wan's advice for once.

A few hours later, Obi-Wan was standing in the kitchen drinking a glass of water when he sensed the boy approach him from behind. "What is it, little one?"

"… Kichita… is… is my—my name Anakin?"

Obi-Wan spat out the mouthful of water he had and then went into a coughing fit. He felt Anakin patting his back.

"Is my name Anakin?"

Obi-Wan finally managed to catch his breath and then looked at the boy. He looked a little tired, but he still had that innocent twinkle in his eye. He was just curious. The name must have appeared in a dream of some sort. "…Well… yes, it is."

Anakin smiled and then hugged Obi-Wan. "I knew it! I knew it was I kept hearing it over and over again last night! I knew it! I knew it I knew it!"

Obi-Wan awkwardly wrapped an arm around the boy in order to calm him. "Are you feeling up to swimming, Anakin?"

Using the boy's name brought tears to his eyes, but he blinked them away.

Anakin gasped in excitement. "Yes!"

The boy ran out of the room and straight outside. Obi-Wan blinked for a few moments before shouting, "Wait, no Anakin, don't swim in your nightclothes!!"

The results for the most recent poll are up on my profile. Please review!