NOTE: I don't own anything to do with Star Wars, and all rights in this work are hereby given to those who do.
This story is based on the original trilogy of films and the prequel trilogy of films, with occasional reference to other parts of the Expanded Universe. (Legends, I think it's officially called now?)
Luke lingered at the party celebrating the destruction of the second Death Star and the death of Emperor Palpatine far longer than he should have – by which he meant he stayed long enough to see his sister – sister! – slip away with Han Solo.
Not that Luke had any objections to Han as a potential suitor. He just didn't need nor want even a hint of the details of his sister's sex life.
Still, their departure meant he could leave as well. He commandeered Threepio long enough to find out if there was a place he could bunk for the night within the Ewok village or if he'd need to sleep in the Imperial shuttle he'd borrowed on his way off the Death Star.
Thankfully, there was a hut available. Even more thankfully, said hut was across the village from where Leia and Han had retreated.
Luke thanked his hosts and turned to step into the hut. Some instinct made him pause and look across the gathering to where he'd seen the Force ghosts – Yoda. Ben. And…his father.
His father, Anakin Skywalker, whose image had shifted from a middle-aged man to a younger man about Luke's own age as he'd watched.
No trace of their images remained now, not even a hint of a glow beyond the fires that would shortly be banked for the night.
Still, Luke murmured, "May the Force be with you."
An echo of the words whispered through his mind, the voice unfamiliar but comforting, as he finally ducked into the hut to try to sleep.
BREAK
The furs piled on the floor had been comfortable and warm enough that Luke slept solidly until sunlight peeked through gaps between the branches and leaves that made up the walls and roof of the hut.
Luke yawned, his eyes clenched tightly against the morning light, dappled as it was, and for a long moment, debated trying to sleep a little longer despite the sounds of the Ewoks beginning their day.
Then he sensed Leia's mind, entirely too alert for the morning after a party, already busy cataloging all that would need to be done to fully and finally dismantle the Empire. Han was awake too, even if his presence in the Force was less focused, and Luke smiled at his friend's grumpiness.
But if both of them were up and about, there was no excuse for him to be a layabout.
Luke stretched his arms over his head, interlacing his fingers and turning his palms outward to deepen the stretch. As he lowered his arms, he opened his eyes-
-and nearly leapt to his feet.
Across from him, seated cross-legged on the floor, was a man about his own age with reddish-auburn hair that was cropped close except for a single thin braid that dangled from beneath his right ear down to his chest.
The man grinned at him, friendly and open. "Hello there."
With a thought, Luke's lightsaber flew to his hand and he ignited it.
The man sobered and held up both hands, palms facing outward. "Peace, Luke."
Luke glared at him. "You know me?"
The man blinked, apparently confused. Then his expression cleared. "Oh. Right. You knew me like this."
The man's image shifted, a beard growing in, his hair graying…
Luke stared at him. "Ben Kenobi?"
The man – Ben – inclined his head. Luke stretched out through the Force, searching his feelings for memories of his too-brief time with the older Jedi. The same blue aura shimmered around him as had done the night before around him, Yoda, and Anakin Skywalker, yet his presence in the Force felt almost as it had when he were alive.
Luke deactivated his lightsaber and lowered it to the furs beside him, his gaze flicking around the room.
"The others are not here."
Luke sensed something behind the other man's statement and paused a moment, searching for a clue to refine his impression. Finally, he surrendered.
"Why not?"
"Master Yoda was tired," Ben replied. "And ready to join the Force. Anakin-"
Luke's breath stilled as Ben's pause stretched.
"Anakin, I think, was ashamed. Yes, he returned to the light – or at least repudiated the dark – in his final moments," Ben added before Luke could protest. "But I think the memory of the things he did during his decades in the dark was simply too much for him."
He was a coward.
The thought darted unbidden across Luke's mind, and Ben regarded him with a compassion that suggested he'd caught the thought, or at least suspected what Luke was thinking.
"Guilt is a terrible emotion to carry," Ben said quietly. "And now that he is one with the Force, releasing his guilt to the Force would not, perhaps, have the effect it might have while he still lived. He made the best choice he could in the circumstance."
Luke nodded slowly. He'd have to consider Ben's explanation later. Right now, the more pressing question was, "Why are you here?"
"I volunteered."
Which was exactly as incomplete a response as Ben had intended, judging by the wicked gleam in his eyes. Luke gave him the expected response.
"Volunteered for what?"
Ben sobered. "First, to speak with you and Leia. Then…we will discuss that after."
Luke glanced around. "The hut will be crowded with the three of us."
"And not nearly private enough."
Luke considered for a moment. "The Falcon?"
Ben nodded. "Bring your sister."
He faded from view.
BREAK
Obi-Wan paced the common area of the Millennium Falcon, remembering the too-brief time he'd had to train Luke while en route to Alderaan in the minutes before it was destroyed. An echo of the tear he'd felt through the Force as so many million lives were suddenly, viciously extinguished surfaced in his memory and he pushed it aside. He had no time for self-indulgence now.
"…are we doing, Luke?" a female voice came into his awareness. Leia, probably. "The fight isn't over yet. I need to contact Mon Mothma, so we can start rebuilding the republic."
Her voice had gotten closer, and Obi-Wan turned to see her approaching from the main ramp of the Falcon. Luke followed and, behind him, Han Solo.
Leia stopped when she saw him. Luke mirrored her response, but Solo took another step, causing first Luke then Leia to stumble forward. Solo frowned.
"My thanks, Captain Solo," Obi-Wan said immediately, "for allowing us to use your ship. The conversation I need to have with Luke and Leia really shouldn't wait."
"Who are you?" Solo demanded, his hand drifting toward the DL-44 blaster holstered low on his hip.
Luke sighed in an exaggerated manner. "You know him, Han. Ben Kenobi. Though looking much younger than when we met him."
Solo still appeared skeptical. "Lots younger."
Obi-Wan shrugged. "One of the benefits of being one with the Force is that I can choose how I look. Why wouldn't I choose to appear in my prime?"
"General Kenobi?" Leia frowned as though deep in thought. "I remember you visited me once on Alderaan…your hair was longer, and you had a beard."
"I visited you more than once, Leia," Obi-Wan said softly. "But that was the last time."
"Why?" Leia asked – demanded, really, and Obi-Wan smiled.
"You are so like your mother," he murmured.
"I like to think so," Leia said. "She was a wonderful mother and a better queen."
Obi-Wan blinked, and then realized he was an idiot. Of course she would make a different association.
"I didn't know Breha Organa as well as I would've liked," he said. "I meant your birth mother, Padmé Naberrie. Though she was also an excellent queen."
The reference to their birth mother surprised both twins. Luke recovered slightly faster.
"Will you tell us about her?" he asked.
"Yes, please?" Leia added.
Obi-Wan considered the request. He hadn't meant to start with a history lesson, but perhaps that was the better choice. Certainly it would appeal more to Leia's curiosity, which might be the only thing that could overcome her sense of duty and keep her on the Falcon until he had finished.
"Certainly," he agreed. "Though I'm not as certain Captain Solo will be interested."
"Do you want me to stay, Your Worshipfulness?" Solo's tone was gentler than Obi-Wan had ever heard it before. Not, of course, that he'd known the man very well or very long.
"Not if you don't want to," Leia said. "And I mean that. It's our family, Luke's and mine…and she's dead now, so you'll never know her for the story to have any meaning for you."
"It does." Solo rested a hand on her shoulder. "Because it has meaning for you. How about this – I'll check over the ship while you guys talk. Then you can tell me whatever you want me to know later."
"Thanks, Han," Luke murmured.
With a squeeze to Leia's shoulder and a clap on the back for Luke, Solo slipped past them and disappeared into the cockpit.
Obi-Wan sat at the table and the other two joined him.
"How did you meet her?" Luke asked.
"I was a Padawan, an apprentice, when my master, Qui-Gon Jinn, and I were assigned as ambassadors to resolve a dispute between the Trade Federation and the government of Naboo," Obi-Wan began. "But when we arrived, the Trade Federation attempted to kill us."
Allowing the Force to enhance his memory of events, Obi-Wan told them of his adventures and experiences with Padmé, which led to telling them about the Anakin he'd loved as a brother.
He concluded with, "I was with Padmé when she gave birth to you – the first to hold either of you after the medical droid delivered you. In another universe, I would've been an honored uncle to you both, perhaps even your pledge-parent."
The twins were silent long enough for Solo to bring them glasses of water and a tray of meats and cheeses and then return to whatever else he'd been doing before Luke took a breath.
"Thank you for telling us," he said. "I'm grateful to know even that much about my parents. But this isn't why you asked to speak to us this morning, is it?"
"No," Obi-Wan admitted. "But as it turns out, it's a good background for the reason I do want to speak with you."
Leia shifted in her seat and started to rise. "There's so much to do. I should-"
"There will still be much to do after we speak," Obi-Wan said. "And perhaps more than you now imagine."
She frowned at him briefly. "Explain, General."
"Please," Luke added with a glare toward his sister.
"Forgive me for starting with the obvious, but sometimes the obvious needs to be spoken aloud," Obi-Wan said. "You're both very strong in the Force."
"I am a Jedi," Luke declared, but Leia shook her head.
"I don't know anything about it. My parents – the Organas, I mean – gave me very basic information about it, and about the Jedi, but that's all."
"It's enough to start," Obi-Wan said as reassuringly as he could. Then he looked at Luke, striving to appear supremely unimpressed but not angry. "And you. You know less than a tenth what I knew before I became Qui-Gon's padawan, and you claim to be a Jedi?"
Luke flushed but looked away. "In training."
"Perhaps," Obi-Wan allowed. "And perhaps being a Jedi is not the admirable thing you think it is."
"But – you're a Jedi." Leia's expression showed as much confusion as her tone.
"And the Jedi Order failed when we were needed most."
Saying so aloud for the first time was far easier than Obi-Wan had expected. Thousands of times easier than the initial realization had been, and hundreds of times easier than the self-examination which followed the realization.
"Failed?" Luke repeated with a frown. "How? When?"
"Where should I begin?" Obi-Wan spread his hands wide.
"How about with who you failed the worst?" Leia suggested.
"The Republic," Obi-Wan replied automatically, then frowned. "Or, perhaps, Anakin, as his failure cascaded into the fall of the Republic."
Both would be excellent places to begin.
The unexpected voice that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once made the twins jump to their feet, searching for the newcomer. Luke's lightsaber came to life in his hand.
"Who's there?" Luke demanded. "Show yourself!"
I have no form that you would recognize.
The voice sounded both male and female, as if two people were speaking in unison. If he were actually breathing, Obi-Wan's breath would have caught.
"All is well, Luke," he said. "I recognize this voice, though I never thought I'd hear it again."
You have not communed with me in a very long time.
"My apologies," Obi-Wan said and focused on Luke. "Put your lightsaber away. This is no enemy."
"Then who-?"
"The Force itself," Leia murmured.
Obi-Wan smiled at her. "Your insight serves you well."
Finally, Luke deactivated his lightsaber and hooked it to his belt. "I didn't know the Force could speak."
Obi-Wan arched an eyebrow at him, and Luke had the grace to flush. Certainly Obi-Wan didn't fault Luke's ignorance; there'd been other, more pressing, matters to educate him on, but Luke's acknowledgment now only highlighted the inaccuracy of calling himself a Jedi.
Please explain your meaning, Obi-Wan.
Obi-Wan gestured for the twins to retake their seats. "As I said, I first met Anakin on Tatooine. What I did not tell you is that he and his mother were slaves."
Both twins gasped, instinctively reaching for each other's hands for comfort.
"When we left Tatooine, we left his mother behind. That was our first failure with Anakin. The second was not finding a way to free her after the Battle for Naboo."
"Why didn't you?" Leia demanded, the fire in her eyes reminding him so much of Padmé that Obi-Wan's chest tightened.
"Me, personally? Because I was grieving, newly knighted and with a padawan whom everyone would be watching – and by extension, they would be watching me in ways I was never prepared for nor ever wanted."
"Why would they be watching you so much?" Luke asked quietly. "Because he was too old, as Master Yoda said?"
"Partly," Obi-Wan allowed. "But largely because Qui-Gon believed he was a child of prophecy, the Chosen One who would bring balance to the Force. Everyone in the Order was watching, waiting to see what would happen."
Luke and Leia both nodded, and Leia's expression softened.
"I understand, a little bit," she said. "I grew up a princess, with all eyes on me. It's not entirely the same, of course, but-" she trailed off with a shrug.
Obi-Wan acknowledged her statement with a nod, then took a deep breath. "My third failure with Anakin was allowing him to keep company with Chancellor Palpatine against my better judgment."
"You didn't know he was a Sith," Luke protested. "Nobody did."
"No, but he was no Jedi," Obi-Wan retorted. "While I was a youngling, I rarely saw anyone who wasn't a Jedi, and even then a Jedi was always with me."
"Why was Palpatine allowed to see Anakin?" Leia asked.
"He was from Naboo, and Anakin was one of the ones who helped win the Battle for Naboo. More, Palpatine was the Supreme Chancellor, and the Jedi Council decided it would be beneficial for the Order to indulge the Chancellor's interest. When I questioned that…" he shrugged.
"Politics," Luke muttered.
Leia glared at him, and he glared right back.
"We have different experiences with politics," he said. "You grew up immersed in it, seem to thrive in it. I didn't and don't."
"My fourth failure with Anakin," Obi-Wan interjected, "was a result of the circumstance. Because he was the Chosen One, I kept to the Jedi way as strictly as I could. It is to my shame that the only time I told him I loved him, that he was a brother to me, was after he'd fallen to the dark side and we were trying to kill each other."
His words fell into the silence, and it was some time before Leia finally took a breath to speak.
"Not all of those failures were yours alone."
"Some were." It had taken years of meditation and reflection for him to release the guilt he'd felt at his failures, but now he could recognize that he'd failed and how he'd failed and, most importantly, attempt to rectify his failures with Anakin by not failing Anakin's children.
"And you're telling us this because?" Luke prompted.
"Because the two of you will determine how the Jedi tradition will continue," Obi-Wan said. "And I hope that you can avoid my mistakes and failures. There is much I would change if I could-"
Is there? The Force asked.
"Of course," Obi-Wan replied immediately.
Such as?
This was no time for a quick, flippant response. Obi-Wan considered for a few minutes before answering, "If we're speaking only of Anakin, I would ask to take the Trials earlier, so I would be a knight when we went to Naboo."
"Why that?" Leia asked.
"Because as a padawan, I had no choice but to follow Qui-Gon's orders except in extreme emergencies. As a knight, I would stand as his equal in the Order."
"Even though he was your master?" Luke asked.
"All knights were equal. At the least, the Council could not dismiss me simply because I was a padawan. At the most, I would attempt to ensure Anakin had choices in his life. And, though it has little to do with being a knight, I would find a way to free his mother."
What of the Sith?
"I'd like nothing more than to kill Sheev Palpatine before he could arrange the invasion of Naboo," Obi-Wan declared. "He was greedy and evil, and the galaxy would've been better off without him. That said, if I could actually do so, Anakin would remain a slave on Tatooine, ripe for someone else – possibly someone worse – to find and abuse him."
Thus you understand balance.
"In hindsight, there were thousands of Jedi and only two Sith – always two, the master and the apprentice," Obi-Wan said. "How else would someone balance that disparity than by destroying most of the Jedi?"
"I suppose they could have trained more Sith," Leia said thoughtfully.
Obi-Wan smiled at her. "The reason there were so few is due to their nature. Their greed would lead them to see even those on the same side as competition, and they would fight each other until there were only one or two left. Then the cycle would begin again."
Would you? If offered the chance to go back in time, would you make these changes? Correct these failures?
That called for even more contemplation than earlier questions, but ultimately Obi-Wan shook his head.
"Speculation is an intellectual exercise, but if I had the chance to go back and change things in reality? I couldn't, because by changing one thing, a thousand other things would be changed that I can't predict, and what might the results of those changes be? How many more people might die that lived? No, it's good that I don't have that chance."
"But you'd have so much more knowledge," Luke protested. "You could use that to save more people."
"And," Leia said, "to guide the Jedi Order away from their failures."
Obi-Wan chuckled. "Which means only that they – and I – would find new ways to fail, no matter how hard we tried. We are none of us perfect, no matter how much we might strive to be."
You are not called to be perfect, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You are called only to do your best.
"I should hope I always have done." The words nearly stuck in his throat. "Though I know that hope is in vain."
Do better, you will.