NOTE: Very much inspired by The Exchange, by MissLearn. If you haven't read it, you certainly should!
NOTE: I named my medic Stitch before I read another fic (which I don't remember, so can't credit the author) in which the 212th medic was also Stitch. Great minds and all that. GRIN
As always, all rights in this work are given to those who own the copyright in STAR WARS.
AU. This story was formerly titled The Kenobi Triptych before it grew. When the Force throws Obi-Wan Kenobi through time to show him three different times in his life at different ages, he gets the opportunity to change things.
I. THE GENERAL
The world changed in the space between heartbeats.
In one moment, Jedi Master and High Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi stood aboard the Negotiator, in orbit above Utapau, listening as Marshal Commander Cody briefed him on General Grievous' location.
In the next, he stood beside Qui-Gon Jinn in the royal hangar on Naboo beside Qui-Gon Jinn and facing Darth Maul.
Before he could fully process what had happened, let alone how it had happened, Qui-Gon asked tentatively, "Obi-Wan?"
The voice he hadn't heard in more than a decade triggered a wave of griefjoy and a handful of other emotions Obi-Wan didn't have time to examine. Instead, he called upon years of experience and released all of those emotions to the Force before he managed a smile. "Hello there."
Just to confirm he was where he thought he was, he glanced over his shoulder. Yes, nine-year-old Anakin Skywalker had climbed into the cockpit of a Nabooian fighter and R2-D2 was settling into the astromech port of the same fighter.
Either this was the most realistic hallucination Obi-Wan had ever had – not that he'd had any hallucinations absent significant torture – or he really was back on Naboo, somehow.
Whichever was the case, whether this were real or not, his duty in this moment was clear, so he focused on Qui-Gon again.
"Yes, I'm Obi-Wan Kenobi. No, I don't know what happened. Yes, we must defeat Darth Maul." He flicked a glance at their opponent, who for some reason had not yet moved to attack. "I've preferred Soresu for a decade now. Don't engage him without me."
Maul sneered. "Two won't be harder to kill than one."
Obi-Wan smiled his best, most practiced, diplomat's smile. "Oh, that's hardly true. At the very least, it depends on the one and the two."
Then he reached out through the Force and grasped the hilt of Maul's saber-staff, yanking it toward him.
Maul stumbled a step forward with a snarl, his fist clenching around the hilt as he jerked it back to himself, igniting it as he did.
"You'd be surprised how often that works." Obi-Wan let his smile turn predatory. "I suppose we'll have to do this the old-fashioned way."
He ignited his lightsaber and settled into the opening stance of Soresu. Beside him, Qui-Gon took the opening stance of Ataru, emerald blade humming in harmony with Obi-Wan's sapphire one.
Maul attacked first, of course, swinging one end of his blade toward Qui-Gon, the other end held ready to block Obi-Wan-
-and the battle was joined.
Obi-Wan had thought fighting beside his former master again would be easy. They'd fought beside each other for more than a decade, after all, so why wouldn't muscle memory take over?
To ask the question was to answer it: for all that he'd been Qui-Gon's padawan learner for that long, it had been at least as long since the last time they'd fought together, and in the intervening years, Obi-Wan had mostly been a solo fighter.
Sure, Anakin had been his padawan and they made a great team, but the combination of Anakin's independent streak and sheer power level meant that the two of them fought independently as often as they fought as a team. Moreover, since the war had begun, Obi-Wan had been fighting beside troopers who used blasters, not lightsabers, so he was less practiced with another saber-wielder.
All of those factors taken together meant that Obi-Wan had all but forgotten what it felt like to fight beside Qui-Gon Jinn, and that made the confrontation with Maul almost as uncertain as it had been the first time when Obi-Wan faced the Sith alone, after Qui-Gon's death.
But Qui-Gon was alive now, a master of Form IV Ataru which was the near-opposite and presumed complement of Obi-Wan's own favored Form III Soresu. That meant that Obi-Wan could find his way to a formidable partnership with the other man, even if that partnership remained at a mostly surface level.
Obi-Wan focused on defending himself and his former master, while Qui-Gon pressed the attack on Maul, and now, for the first time...
For the first time, Obi-Wan dueled side-by-side with Qui-Gon Jinn as his equal. It was a heady feeling, and later, after this fight, he'd make time to meditate on that feeling. Meditate on it, yes, and savor it, too.
Without getting attached to that feeling, of course.
As they had in Obi-Wan's memory, they pushed Maul back through the laser gates. This time – possibly still too shocked by Obi-Wan's sudden change – Qui-Gon held himself back, keeping pace with Obi-Wan instead of bounding ahead to confront Maul alone.
This time, Obi-Wan knew that the fall down the plasma slough core would not, in fact, be enough to kill Maul – even after he'd cut the Zabrak in half – so he guided the combat away from the opening that really should have had a safety rail of some sort.
Or – he tried to guide the fight away from the core, but met with resistance. A moment later, he understood: Maul was attempting the same thing, except in reverse. He'd have to alter his strategy somewhat.
"You know," Obi-Wan said conversationally as he blocked a sideways swing of Maul's saber-staff, "I've already killed you twice. This time – you'll stay dead. I'll make certain."
With that, he switched from defensive Soresu to offensive Vaapad.
Mace Windu had taught him the basics of Vaapad while Obi-Wan had been a young knight, struggling with the death of his master and a padawan who was challenging, to say the least. Learning a new lightsaber form, and the philosophy that necessarily came with it, proved to be a different kind of meditation that kept his conscious mind focused while his subconscious processed whatever needed to be processed.
He'd never thought he'd use Vaapad in actual combat, but in this moment, it caught Maul off guard, and Obi-Wan landed a solid hit to the center of the man's saber-staff, cleaving it neatly in two.
Huh. Both halves of the staff remained active.
Obi-Wan made a mental note to examine the hilts after the fight was over.
Maul adapted surprisingly quickly to Obi-Wan's change in form, shifting his grip on both sabers and sliding back into a defensive Jar'Kai stance, probably confident in his skill with two blades.
Unfortunately for him, Obi-Wan's grandpadawan had excelled at dual-wielding lightsabers, which meant Obi-Wan himself had learned far more about Jar'Kai than most.
Drawing on memories of how he and Anakin had bested Ahsoka, Obi-Wan allowed Qui-Gon to continue a frontal assault while he spun on one foot into a flanking position, forcing Maul to change stance in return – or be bisected.
Maul barely brought a blade up in time to avoid what otherwise would have been a killing stroke from Obi-Wan.
Almost immediately, Maul blocked Qui-Gon with his other blade. For long breaths, the three held position, their blades locked and hissing against each other.
Then, clearly channeling a surge of anger, Maul Force-shoved both him and Qui-Gon back a few steps – not enough to send either of them into the far wall, but enough that Maul could regain his footing and try to press an attack.
For a non-specialist, Maul made a valiant effort with Jar'Kai, defending against Obi-Wan while keeping Qui-Gon occupied with fierce attacks, pushing the older man back toward the open core shaft.
That would last only as long as Qui-Gon allowed it to-
-which, Obi-Wan realized in a horrified moment, would not be long at all. Five steps away from the edge.
Four.
Three.
Two.
Instead of leaping over Maul's head, away from the shaft, Qui-Gon moved, dashing away from Maul at what Obi-Wan had once jokingly called point five past Jedi speed.
The sudden disappearance of one of his opponents caught Maul unawares enough that he didn't block one of Obi-Wan's Vaapad strikes.
The blade took Maul's head off and it fell, striking the floor with a sickening, soft thud before bouncing once, twice, and then rolling-
-over the edge of the plasma slough core and out of view.
The rest of Maul's body hit the floor.
"Well, kriff," Obi-Wan muttered.
He darted to the edge of the core, reaching through the Force, seeking the last flickers of physical life flowing through Maul's head…
…finding it and seizing it with a ferocity he would never admit to aloud.
He pulled the head back up the shaft until it floated stationary before him, then ignited his lightsaber once more to stab it through the center of Maul's forehead.
Obi-Wan directed the head to rest beside the rest of Maul's body.
He followed, nudged Maul's body onto its back with his foot, then plunged the tip of his saber through Maul's heart.
Then he murmured a blessing for Maul – not that the Zabrak would have appreciated it – and turned to face Qui-Gon-
-who stood at the ready, his saber still live.
"You promised an explanation," Qui-Gon prompted.
"This is neither the time nor the place for an in-depth explanation," Obi-Wan answered. "But I will open my shielding so you can judge the truth of what I will say now."
After a moment, Qui-Gon nodded and Obi-Wan thinned his shields.
"Not half an hour ago, I was standing aboard a Venator-class Star Destroyer, being briefed on a mission by my second-in-command. Then, somehow, I was standing next to you, facing a man I killed this very day…thirteen years ago."
Qui-Gon stared at him for a long moment before extinguishing his lightsaber and returning it to its place at his hip.
"That," he said, "should be impossible. And yet – you believe that's what happened."
Obi-Wan half-shrugged. "That, or I'm having an impressive hallucination or fever dream. But I don't remember feeling ill for quite some time."
Qui-Gon chuckled briefly before sobering once more.
"Do you know who he was?"
Obi-Wan returned his lightsaber to his belt and looked down at the decapitated body. "I've no idea who he was before, but now he's known as Darth Maul."
"Darth…" Qui-Gon's voice trailed off. "A Sith?"
"Yes. I'd hoped to learn his master's name."
"You believe he was the apprentice, then?"
"Yes," Obi-Wan said again. "The last Sith I fought told me a Sith sits at the heart of the Senate. I didn't – don't – want to believe that, but I would be foolish not to investigate if given the opportunity."
"The last Sith you fought." Qui-Gon shook his head, as though he couldn't believe what he'd heard. "Who was it?"
"I hesitate to say." He took a breath. "But we have more immediate concerns – I remember the Naboo being victorious largely because Anakin successfully destroyed a droid control ship – but my presence has already changed some things. We cannot allow the Naboo to lose this battle."
BREAK
The Naboo won this time, too – again, thanks to Anakin Skywalker's destruction of the droid control ship.
Obi-Wan could only be grateful for that victory, even as it meant he had to keep his hood up to conceal his face. He could trust Qui-Gon with the truth, but there was no explaining his sudden decade of age to Padmé Amidala, the Naboo in general, or even Anakin Skywalker, not when Chancellor Palpatine was en route to Naboo ostensibly to celebrate his homeworld's victory over the Trade Federation and was certain to take note of Anakin. Again.
A judicious amount of secrecy and concealment – by way of the excuse that he'd suffered a few relatively minor injuries during the fight with Maul and was currently recovering in a healing trance – was a small price to pay, though Obi-Wan was sad to miss the victory celebration. The Naboo certainly knew how to throw a party.
At the moment, though, he sat sipping tea with Qui-Gon in the quarters Padmé had given them. Shortly, Qui-Gon would go to meet the arriving Jedi Council – this time, the Council came to examine Maul's body, not for Qui-Gon's funeral – but for now the two men had some time to themselves.
After a moment, Qui-Gon set his cup aside. "Do you believe this…transfer is permanent?"
Obi-Wan shot him a sardonic look. "I have precisely as much information about my transference as you do, so I can only say, I've no idea."
Then he blew out a breath. "But in case it's not permanent…there are a few things you should know."
"The future is always in motion, Obi-Wan-"
"Your future is my past," Obi-Wan snapped. "And I would not see the galaxy at war again if I can avoid it."
Qui-Gon swallowed hard. "War?"
"War," Obi-Wan confirmed grimly. "In about a decade, the Confederacy of Independent Systems will secede from the Republic – or try to. The Republic will go to war to prevent that. And they will ask the Jedi to lead the war."
"But we're keepers of the peace," Qui-Gon protested. "Not soldiers. Not since the Ruusan Reformation."
"Which only means that most of us are severely, woefully, hilariously under-prepared to fight or lead others into battle. They'll still ask it of us. Demand it, even, rather than send any of their own people to war and...kriff."
"That's twice in as many hours that you've used language I know I didn't encourage."
"War does tend to coarsen one's language," Obi-Wan said, then held up a hand to forestall any discussion. "No, I should give you the very basics because we have no idea how long the transfer might last. You must listen, Master – and you must follow through. Or else…"
"War."
"Yes."
Qui-Gon straightened and settled in an attentive listening posture. "Very well. What should I know?"
"Most importantly?" Obi-Wan considered that for a moment, organizing his thoughts and asking the Force for guidance on what to say first. Then he gave himself a mental kick. The answer was obvious.
"The Senate is under the influence of a Sith Lord."
Qui-Gon's reaction was both immediate and predictable. "Impossible."
Obi-Wan shook his head. "I said the same thing when it was first told to me. The Jedi would have sensed it, I said, and Master Yoda reminded us all that lies, deceit, and creating mistrust are the tools of the Dark Side."
"Was it a Dark Sider who told you this?"
"Yes." Obi-Wan hesitated only briefly. "A fallen Jedi. I'm not sure if he has already fallen, or if he can be saved – if he wants to be saved."
"Then it was a masterstroke," Qui-Gon said. "Whether it is true or not, mistrust has been sown."
He hesitated longer this time. "…I believe it's true."
"Why?"
There was no censure in Qui-Gon's question, only curiosity, and something inside Obi-Wan relaxed. He hoped his reaction didn't show when he responded.
"Because there are too many intelligence leaks," Obi-Wan answered immediately. "I understand some are inevitable, but there are too many, too consistently. I've thought for a while that there are Separatist sympathizers in the Senate who are passing the information along, but some of the plans that leaked were…more sensitive than one would expect to leak. A Sith in the Senate would explain much."
"Highly placed, from what you just said," Qui-Gon said. "What else should I know?"
The second thing to tell him was almost as obvious as the first. "Anakin."
Concern radiated from Qui-Gon. "What about him?"
"He requires some…unconventional training."
Qui-Gon smiled briefly. "Ever the diplomat. What do you mean?"
"Moving meditation works better for him than sitting, and if you allow him regular contact with anyone outside the Order, it should be his mother."
Qui-Gon frowned. "Why wouldn't I have allowed him to contact his mother?"
Obi-Wan's lips pressed together. "It wasn't your choice – by which I mean Anakin wasn't your padawan. Maul killed you."
He tracked a myriad of emotions through the Force and across Qui-Gon's face in the instant before his former master regained his composure.
"That's why you didn't want me to separate from you."
Obi-Wan inclined his head. "With your dying breath, you made me promise to train Anakin, though I wasn't yet knighted myself."
Qui-Gon winced. "That was ill-done, and I apologize."
Obi-Wan blew out a long, slow breath. He had known Qui-Gon's request was unfair, at least as unfair as his declaration to the Council that he would train Anakin even without Obi-Wan's knighting. He had known it, yes, but hearing Qui-Gon apologize for the request eased something inside him that had been coiled too tight, too long.
With a master's ease, Obi-Wan set the tumble of emotions aside and said, "Being singled out as the Chosen One did him no favors, and neither did the allowances he was given."
Qui-Gon pursed his lips. "While I do not yet know Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi was not someone to give out special favors."
"They were granted over my objections." Obi-Wan didn't try to keep the bitterness from his tone. There was no need to do so if this were a fever-dream of some kind, and if it were real…well, Qui-Gon and the Council would just have to accept that Obi-Wan was not now and never had been a perfect Jedi.
But Qui-Gon looked both surprised and disappointed. "The Council overruled a master on a matter concerning the training of a padawan?"
"To improve relations with the Senate – and specifically Chancellor Palpatine." Obi Wan rose and crossed to look out the window overlooking the palace garden. Most of the flowering plants were in bloom, a patchwork of colors in a pattern he didn't immediately recognize.
"Why would the Chancellor care about a boy of nine?"
"I've asked myself that question many times since they first met – perhaps an hour from now? When the Chancellor arrives."
"What answers did you find?"
"None that I liked." Obi-Wan turned back to face Qui-Gon, leaning his back against the wall behind him. "Oh, the easy and obvious answer was that Anakin helped save the Chancellor's home world, and I even agreed that Chancellor Palpatine should offer his own thanks to Anakin beyond what Padmé did. But that should have been a singular event, not the start of a series of visits that spanned a decade."
Qui-Gon raised an inquiring eyebrow. "Padmé? Something between you and Her Highness?"
"Friendship," Obi-Wan answered. "Young Anakin, however, has already developed a very serious crush on her that…well. They're somewhat good at hiding it, but they are closer than the Order would normally allow. Please don't lecture me about it, Master. I'm very aware of all the ways I've failed as his master."
"I wasn't there," Qui-Gon returned mildly, "so no opinion I might have could be valid."
"You will be now," Obi-Wan murmured. "I hope you do better for him than I did."
He felt Qui-Gon's surprise through the Force. "You don't wish to train him, if you stay?"
Memories of his time with Anakin flooded Obi-Wan's consciousness – the struggles to find a form of meditation that Anakin could tolerate; the sheer joy when the young man found his lightsaber crystal on Ilum; the unique pain of stepping barefooted onto droid parts that never managed to find their way to their proper storage bins despite the Force being at Anakin's beck and call – and Obi-Wan smiled.
"No. I'd not trade my time with him, but if the transfer is permanent, there are many things I should attend to. There would be no room for a padawan in that life."
"I hope you'll have time to be his elder brother."
Obi-Wan smiled. "I'll make time for it."
The Force whispered to him, and he added, "Beginning now, if you'll be so kind as to fetch him from whatever trouble he's getting into."
Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow, but his expression cleared almost immediately. "You wish to prevent the first meeting between him and the Chancellor."
Obi-Wan shook his head. "I wish to change it."
Qui-Gon rose from his chair and started for the door. "You're adapting quite well."
Obi-Wan couldn't help snorting at that. "Adaptability is key to survival."
The door slid open as Qui-Gon said, "Then I can only hope Padawan Kenobi is adapting as well as Master Kenobi is."