Saga A Certain Point of View (Obi-Wan and Yoda POVs)

Toni- There probably is a lot Obi-Wan wishes he had done differently with Anakin, but in that time period there was only so much he felt capable of doing. That said, I think that Obi-Wan learned a lot from his and Anakin's mistakes to now begin to guide Luke. That is how I see it anyway.

 

Obi-Wan

Something had been nagging at Obi-Wan during his discussion with Luke. As they left his cave in order to walk to Luke's landspeeder, Obi-Wan knew it was more than the sensation of the Living Force telling him that Luke needed to accompany him on his mission and receive his Jedi training. It was something else. As he had said many a time in his youth, Obi-Wan Kenobi had a bad feeling about this.

It began to grow as they found the slaughtered Jawas and their ruined Sandcrawler. Luke looked at the discarded gaffe sticks among the corpses and made an assumption that anyone else would have done: that the Tusken Raiders had caused this slaughter. But Obi-Wan knew differently. Aside from the fact that he had lived as hermit amongst all of these beings in their own habitat for years, that he had observed them and--to some extent--interacted with them on a limited basis, he recognized the footprints in the sand. His bad feeling was growing worse, and urgent.

Instead of giving into that fear, Obi-Wan found himself embracing what Anakin once called his "teacher-mode." He began by pointing out all of these details to Luke: to make him more aware of his immediate surroundings and the subtleties that were so glaringly apparent in a situation that seemed otherwise. Obi-Wan could sense Luke's mind absorbing these details like a sponge. He was learning.

Obi-Wan knew whose side-by-side footprints these were, who made the precise blast-points on the Crawler, and it disturbed him greatly. He would never have forgotten. Once, during the Wars, their predecessors had fought alongside him, had been commanded by him ... Imperial stormtroopers. But these had not been all of the regular garrison here, but were more elite: more like their clone trooper brethren. Obi-Wan remembered what he had heard in his times at the Mos Eisley cantina and elsewhere about the 501st: Vader's Fist.

Unfortunately, Luke had adopted Obi-Wan's deductive reasoning and observations to his own realization. Luke spoke aloud about how these Jawas and this Crawler had actually taken and sold him the droids in their company now. Then he realized that the troopers had been tracking droids and had probably followed them ...

"Home!" Luke immediately ran towards his landspeeder.

To get back to the Lars moisture farm.

"Wait, Luke!" Obi-Wan cried out, "it's too dangerous!"

Obi-Wan inwardly cursed himself. He'd known that the information Artoo held were most likely plans to the Empire's new battle-station. He had had enough contact with Bail in the past to realize the Empire had been working on it for quite some time, though further details eluded him beyond that. But it was important: so important that the 501st, possibly with Vader himself, was sent to retrieve the stolen plans.

He should have known that they would send troopers here. Obi-Wan wanted to stop Luke. For a few moments, he was concerned that the 501st would be there waiting for him or, worse, Vader himself. But then Obi-Wan remembered that Vader wouldn't have come here. He certainly didn't sense him anywhere on Tatooine. And he also sensed that the danger had passed for now.

The physical danger.

Obi-Wan thought about running after Luke, but he realized it was already a wasted effort. He was not as young as he once was and even in his younger days--when he had been more fit and disciplined ... less exhausted by life, using the Force to buoy him through the desert would take too much effort. Even if he could, he remembered the lessons of Order 66: how even at his height of power and skill, his Form III ... his Soresu would not keep him safe from all blaster bolts. If Luke had not chased Artoo here when he did ...

Luke had left the droids behind. Logically, he knew he needed to stay with them: both their way far too valuable to leave on their own ... especially now. A part of Obi-Wan wanted to reach out to Luke as the landspeeder drove away, to stop him, to ...

But he couldn't stop him. And he couldn't do any good for the Larses now. A part of him wished he could be there with Luke to .

 

Yoda

Yoda sat in his hut on Dagobah: letting the Force gently flow into him. From far away, on a planet far more dry than his own, he sensed and saw some of the images of what had already transpired. The Force had been nagging at him for a while now.

Here, on Dagobah--after passing his Test in the Cave--Yoda could farsee far more clearly than he had in a long time. He saw the droids, and then Luke. Even as untrained as he was, the boy was a bright star in the Force. That star glowed with eagerness, impatience, passion, and a very troubling reckless streak. At the same time, Yoda also sensed grief, and pain, but tremendous amount of compassion and determination.

Troubling events had already shaped young Skywalker's life and Yoda knew that there would be many more to come. Then the other child ... Leia, pain, and a large spherical grey moon in the stars. The ancient Master's large brown eyes opened wearily. A part of him hoped that Obi-Wan had chosen wisely, but he also knew, in his heart, that neither of them now had much of a choice.

Yoda did not need the Force to tell him that events were transpiring and a great convergence in the Force had already begun.

 

Obi-Wan

Now that Obi-Wan gained the impetus to act, everything was falling swiftly into place. Obi-Wan packed very few belongings. In fact, most of the objects that he did own--his notebooks containing information on lightsaber construction, some practical Jedi lore, and training katas, along with training remotes and a portable crystal furnace--remained back in his hut. The books were well-preserved and they would not be detected by any energy-scans of the area and the equipment would be registered as little more than scrap. Obi-Wan made sure to limit just what knowledge lay in the books: with little about Jedi training practices and tradition being mentioned in there save anything that would allow Luke to hone his own abilities.

Luke did not need to know about the late Order's prohibitions against attachment, or the Prophecy of the Chosen One, or even how many Padawans a Master could take. These were things he would discover time on his own, and the rest would just be information that no longer applied to the Jedi situation. Obi-Wan had thought long and hard about attachments, and in the end decided that Luke and Leia--having had familial backgrounds--did not need to know the old ways to that regard. Both he and Yoda agreed--after all--that just as the Sith had once done, the Jedi had to adapt and change in order to survive.

If something happened to himself or Yoda, at the very least Luke would have something to continue to help him train and improve himself: and those after him.

No one would find them. The Imperials were not here for Obi-Wan. They didn't know where he was, and they had no idea who Luke was. There would be no reason to search the planet once they were and even they did, Obi-Wan's hut hid and blended in well in the Wastes.

The Jedi Master had only taken one wistful look at the hermitage he had lived in for almost two decades--noting that this would probably be the last time he would see it again--and joined Luke on his landspeeder.

Obi-Wan's plan was simple. They would go to Mos Eisley, sell Luke's speeder for some credits, and then hire an under-the-radar pilot and freighter all the way to Alderaan. Yet it didn't surprise the Jedi Master when they were accosted by patrolling Imperial sandtroopers. He knew the Empire was still searching for the droids and it was only a matter of time before they were tracked.

Yet instead of this being a setback, Obi-Wan knew he could use this situation to his advantage: as a learning opportunity. Luke observed him as he reached out with the Force and gently tweaked the automatic reactions of the troopers in front of him. Actual clone troopers would have been easier to manipulate, but these men had been conditioned to obey for so long, it gave the Jedi Master just enough "weakness" to exploit.

Obi-Wan smiled bemusedly under his beard as Luke watched the trooper repeat Obi-Wan's own words back at him and tell them to leave once Obi-Wan commanded him to. When Luke asked him what happened later, Obi-Wan explained to him that the Force could influence "the weak-minded." Even though Luke didn't seem sure as to what had happened, somehow Obi-Wan knew that the young man had instinctively sensed him using his mental suggestion technique and would one day soon learn from it.

The Jedi Master felt unease when they were told by the Cantina to leave the droids outside, but the patrols had passed and there were enough droids outside to let the two blend in for a time: as opposed to leaving them in the middle of an open desert. Obi-Wan eventually found the Wookiee Chewbacca and began conversing with him about booking passage on his partner's ship. He wanted to remain as inconspicuous and discreet as possible in this "wretched hive of scum and villainy."

All went well ... until two thugs began to harass young Luke. Obi-Wan tried to diffuse the situation. He recalled his years of experience as the Galaxy's dubbed "Negotiator" and tried to buy them both drinks. For Obi-Wan's troubles, the thugs pushed Luke to the ground and began to come for him with their weapons dr

 

No doubt about it; there certainly is something special about Han Solo. Poor guy, surrounded by Force users, seems to be a magnet for them!

These perspectives from Yoda and Obi Wan are fascinating. Obi Wan's thought processes with regards to telling Luke about his father and whether or not to follow him back to the Lars' house were gut wrenching.

As for Yoda, I guess he has been watching Luke for a long time!

 

dm1- I always thought that the famous "Solo luck" was really the Force's favour. I figure that Obi-Wan had to make some pretty difficult moral decisions. One thing that was brought to me attention by the really creative and talented blank101 was the question of why Obi-Wan had never come to the defense of Luke's adopted family. It was an issue that perplexed me for a while and when I started on this fic, I realized I would have to address it somehow. I hope I did it justice.

And, well, Yoda said it himself in the movies with regards to watching Luke. I hope you like the rest of this. Thank you for your feedback, dm1.

 

Obi-Wan

The escape from Mos Eisley was as predictable as Obi-Wan had expected. He and Luke had hid the droids in a storage chamber while they sold Luke's speeder. Luke expressed more relief than sadness when facing the inevitability of having to sell his possession: hoping never to come here again. Obi-Wan thought of reminding Luke just what he had learned here: that every skill and experience would serve him in his stead and it was more than just a place of loss.

He decided against it, however, with the Force nudging him. Obi-Wan knew that one day Luke would come back to Tatooine: and he would value what he had found and lived here. Right now, at this time, they had a mission to accomplish and Luke's eagerness to leave Tatooine was more of a useful impulse than a detrimental one at this point.

Han Solo lived up to his bragging: and perhaps by his actions even exceeded it. Not only had they gotten away from Imperial groundtroops, but the Millennium Falcon had outrun two orbiting Star Destroyers into hyperspace. The Corellian smuggler had certainly learned quite a bit as a spacer and on the fringe of the Galaxy, but Obi-Wan saw real tactical skill in his flying abilities. He had definitely had formal flight training of some kind and combat experience. His blaster work against the troopers pursuing them proved that much. Perhaps Solo had gone into the Imperial Academy at one point in his life before going into the criminal underworld. He would not have been the first. Certainly, his recklessness and his obvious attachment to an alien would not have been tolerated in the Imperial military status quo, but it was all the better for him and Luke that they had found him.

A reckless pilot could also be a very talented one. And a good friend. Although Luke and Solo were not particularly getting along, if Obi-Wan squinted his mind's eye, he could almost see the Force pushing them together into something like a friendly rivalry, or camaraderie. Luke had such potential, but Han was a very experienced spacer and wise to the Galaxy in some ways that even Obi-Wan had not fully experienced. He was no stranger to recklessness, or daring, or passion. Just like Luke. Just like Anakin ...

Obi-Wan settled his thoughts on how the Force brought people into one's life for a reason: even if it didn't seem so apparent at first.

On route to Alderaan, Obi-Wan decided it was time to teach Luke more about the Force. He introduced the young man to the training remotes that he brought with him: devices that Temple Younglings had once trained with as soon as they learned how to stand and walk.

Obi-Wan knew the exercise they began together: with Luke facing the remotes as one in Shii-Cho or Form I of lightsaber combat. For over a thousand generations, if not more, Jedi had built the foundations of their defensive and combatative lightsaber skills with this Form. The Jedi Master decided it wasn't important for Luke to know the full history behind the Form: though he did tell him the name and some of what it hoped to accomplish. He just needed the young man's muscle memory, augmented and guided by the Force, to begin to learn these lessons: to one day soon build from them.

Luke got stung by the stun blasts more often than he deflected them. He could see the young man getting frustrated, but also containing that impatience. This was a good thing. This Form-training with the remotes and without them would allow Luke to learn the basics of lightsaber combat: on when to block, or parry, or deflect bolts of energy. Most of Luke's initial enemies would be people with blasters: seeing as lightsabers were so rare these days after the Purge. His movements would teach him where and how to move and let himself flow with his weapon and with the Force as well as knowing what positions to strike in the air and where.

Obi-Wan was pleased with Luke's astoundingly quick progress, though this did not surprise him. He made sure to show his praise to Luke. So many times, he had been too controlled with Anakin: not wanting to inflate his ego. But all

 

Yoda

Yoda fell amongst the swamp reeds. It wasn't like Kashyyyk: where he had dropped his gimer stick first and was slowly buffeted by the murdered echoes of his peers and students. It was worse.

The ancient Master lay in the muck: writhing as billions of lives simply vanished into oblivion. No, he managed to remind himself much, much later. Not oblivion. The Force, the trembling Force, took their essences in: as comforting and as loving as it had always been in their lives. But it was awful. It felt as though he died countless times in just a few hours.

For a few moments, the Jedi Master thought he felt Qui-Gon Jinn's hand on his shoulder: slowly helping him back to his feet. He felt sadness from the Force spirit's essence, but a determination and an understanding that only slowly dawned in Yoda's agonized brain.

The ancient Master blinked and found himself alone. He had to sit down. Yoda gingerly crossed his clawed feet under him and set his gimer stick across his mud-stained knees. There was a wound in the Force: something that had not happened in a very long time. It had been worse than the deaths of attrition and atrocity during the Clone Wars. It had been worse than the Jedi Knights dying across the Galaxy almost twenty years ago: and over the years afterward.

It was an entire planet: wiped out of existence by a terrible power. On a whim. With the wound in the Force, Yoda could almost sense the Dark Side lengthening across the Galaxy. This was it. Either the Galaxy would surrender, or parts of it would be galvanized into one last ditch effort against the monstrosity that did this. Yoda already knew the answer. He also knew that he would not be able to survive another disturbance like this one. Already, just coming to this ginger sitting position, he felt like he had aged another hundred years.

Yoda felt tired. So utterly tired. The life energies of Dagobah began to flow into him as though sensing the ancient Master's pain and wishing to replenish him. He knew which way the Galaxy would choose. The Sith had done this. They had made a weapon. But it would be their undoing. Because if there was one thing Yoda knew it was that if the Galaxy were a beast that knew it was going to die, no matter what it did, wounded and righteously angry it would fight back to the very last against those that did this.

But the ancient Master had already seen something else. As the visions of the weapon and the destroyed world of Alderaan cleared--a part of him wishing that he had seen this earlier, had had some way to stop it from happening--he also saw another figure.

Obi-Wan.

Just as they had at the end of the Clone Wars, Yoda's eyes blinked open: sadly.

 

Obi-Wan

It was the moment.

As Obi-Wan stood in a hallway of the Death Star--of this station the size of a moon that he knew murdered Alderaan--he thought of the events of the last few hours as the hulking Shadow strode towards him.

They had discovered that Alderaan had become an asteroid field: an entire planet turned into waste and debris. Obi-Wan had been all over the Galaxy, had seen and experienced things that most people could never even begin to imagine, but nothing prepared him for the pure destruction and desolation that remained drifting in the place of a once-peaceful and beautiful world.

Obi-Wan had thought there was no way that anything could have destroyed Alderaan. The Force told him it was more than just a natural or cosmological disaster. Someone or something purposefully obliterated the Core World. Han Solo was skeptical. He pointed out that there was no way even the entire Imperial Starfleet could have destroyed that world: a thought Obi-Wan shared.

The Jedi mourned quietly for Bail Organa, and his family: for Leia who would no doubt know about what happened to the only world and people she had ever known. Former Senator Bail Organa had been a hero: a quiet hero that saved lives and funded and founded a group that would liberate the Galaxy.

It was a crippling blow for the Rebellion. For the Galaxy. For ... sentience itself.

Then Solo had to pursue a lone short-range TIE Fighter and they came to a moon that was no ... moon at all.

And then Obi-Wan knew.

The hollow sound of a respirator echoed through the chamber as he had no choice put to ignite his own azure blade once again.

Under Obi-Wan's suggestion, Solo had hidden them after the Death Star had pulled them in. It was then that Obi-Wan knew, for certain, three things. First, Leia was on the Death Star and that Luke and Solo had to get her. Second, they all had to escape the station with the plans in Artoo so that the abomination could be destroyed.

And third, Obi-Wan was not going to join them.

After the Jedi Master determined that Artoo could access the Death Star's systems, he left to begin disabling the tractor beam that held their ship. Luke tried to stop him: to join him. Obi-Wan looked at the boy--the young man--standing in front of him. He wore stolen stormtrooper armor. It reminded Obi-Wan of the armor he sometimes wore back in the Clone Wars when he lead his troops into battle. But he was an old man now: an old tired man that was tired of wars. This material fight was not his battle anymore.

He briefly remembered being Luke's age and wandering the Galaxy with his own Master ... before he died, before Obi-Wan took up so many responsibilities. But most of all, he saw Anakin staring right back at him. He had almost been unsuccessful in masking his presence here. But he had sensed ... Vader's. The Dark Lord was on this station and he knew it was only a matter of time now.

Obi-Wan stressed that Luke protect the droids: to save other worlds and peoples from the fate of Alderaan. This was bigger than them now. Obi-Wan wished he had had more time with Luke. He understood Luke's reluctance to leave his side now after just having a taste of the learning that he required, that he needed. But looking at the blue eyes that were so like Anakin's he knew that it was more important that Luke survive.

He had put a hand on Luke's shoulder and told him, "Your destiny lies along a different path from mine," then he turned to open the exit hatch and leave on his mission. But then he knew he had to say one more thing. There were so many things he wished he could have told Luke then. So many wishes and regrets. So much praise. But all he could do was combine it, take all the sentiment and with the Force behind his voice say one more thing.

"The Force will be with you. Always."

It was the last thing he had said to Luke. As he went away, he did something else as well. Obi-Wan began to purposefully reveal parts of his Force signature. He knew. He knew that Vader would not be able to resist.

Actually disengaging the tractor beam wa

 

Like how you capture the thought process here and obi-Wan's acceptance of what's about to happen. Will you follow his POV after he becomes "One with the Force?"

 

Toni- Oh, you'll see. You'll see.

 

He briefly remembered being Luke's age and wandering the Galaxy with his own Master ... before he died, before Obi-Wan took up so many responsibilities. But most of all, he saw Anakin staring right back at him. He had almost been unsuccessful in masking his presence here. But he had sensed ... Vader's. The Dark Lord was on this station and he knew it was only a matter of time now.

Obi-Wan stressed that Luke protect the droids: to save other worlds and peoples from the fate of Alderaan. This was bigger than them now. Obi-Wan wished he had had more time with Luke. He understood Luke's reluctance to leave his side now after just having a taste of the learning that he required, that he needed. But looking at the blue eyes that were so like Anakin's he knew that it was more important that Luke survive.

He had put a hand on Luke's shoulder and told him, "Your destiny lies among a different path from mine," then he turned to open the exit hatch and leave on his mission. But then he knew he had to say one more thing. There were so many things he wished he could have told Luke then. So many wishes and regrets. So much praise. But all he could do was combine it, take all the sentiment and with the Force behind his voice say one more thing.

"The Force will be with you. Always."

Literal - how am I supposed to go back to working on my own story when I'm so busy wiping my eyes?

 

Valairy_Scot- Well, I'm sorry, or glad to make you cry. You might want to prepare for more. I'm adding the other part today.

 

Obi-Wan

"Obi-Wan," the Dark Lord intoned, "we meet again at last."

The Jedi Master didn't say anything. Instead, he focused all of his attention on his former apprentice: at how far he had fallen. He had left him without legs or an arm on Mustafar. He had ignited on fire before he just couldn't take it anymore, and turned away: carrying his lost lightsaber with him. It was just as horrible to look at him now.

Artificial arms and legs had replaced his lost organic limbs. His badly damaged lungs were being supported by an obvious respiration-regulation mechanism. Even his entire body--its flesh horrifying seared on the lava bank--was encased entirely in the black suit. Obi-Wan also didn't need to see behind the Dark Lord's death's head mask to know that his once blue eyes were consumed by a hateful yellow-red sclera.

It occurred to Obi-Wan that the Sith Lord had been like this for almost two decades. For two decades, while he had been in his hermitage on Tatooine--the sands and heat polishing the hard edges out of his very being--this apparition or remnant of the man he once knew continued to suffer in that suit, polishing his skills on the all the killing and maiming he could do in his power: removed from all fellowship and having nothing left but hate.

Obi-Wan expected Darth Vader to lunge for him: to pummel him mercilessly with his new lightsaber with its hilt so much bulkier than his former lost weapon and shining with a light like crimson blood. Instead, Vader held up his blade and his head bobbed forward: his weapon inches away from Obi-Wan's own.

"The circle is now complete," the Dark Lord said, "when I left you, I was but the learner," the admission almost startled Obi-Wan, too used to remembering Anakin's old recklessness and the eventual arrogance that was his downfall. But then the voice boomed out, breaking that brief reverie, "Now I am the Master!"

Despite his words, the Dark Lord remained unmoving: almost ... cautious and defensive despite the barely restrained blood-lust emanating from his Force-signature. Vader had learned well. Anakin had always had trouble restraining himself when he wanted something, but what Anakin might have lacked at times, Vader had made up for through paying the ultimate price, the ultimate lesson: a lesson that Obi-Wan still--to this day--regretted ever having given. But Obi-Wan sensed Luke. He also sensed Leia as well: albeit in a more distant, less defined way. The Jedi hadn't been in her presence in a long time. The Princess must have maintained her meditations and unconsciously trained mental shielding exercises well.

Yet they weren't at the ship yet. Obi-Wan knew it was only a matter of time: especially when he could sense Vader's 501st not too far away from their position. Something had to be done: to distract those troopers and Vader from the fleeing intruders.

Obi-Wan thought about Vader's secret apprentice and the horrors he must have put the young man through. He thought about the Jedi Purges, the galactic genocides, and the destruction of Alderaan. In part, Obi-Wan was responsible for all of this. He had made Vader: perhaps not by himself, but in the process of training an apprentice, he had unleashed a monster upon the Galaxy. The Jedi Master regarded Vader and a certain familiar resolution flowed inside of him.

His voice, when it came to him was filled with determination and a certain resignation, "Only a master of evil, Darth."

The Force compelled Obi-Wan to lunge forward.

And then the duel began.

It was a much different duel from the one they had on Mustafar all those years ago. Gone were the flourishes, the elaborate counters, the athleticism and the powerful telekinetic oppositions. Those were the movements of younger men in the prime of their lives: at their peeks. Now, Obi-Wan knew that they were shadows. A wearied out-of-practice old man and a cripple held together by hatred and cybernetics.

Despite this, Obi-Wan fell into Soresu and an economy of movement easily enough. Yet he also noticed that his own opponent was doing somet

 

Yoda

The ancient Master sighed as the Force confirmed what he already felt. Obi-Wan had become One with the Force.

Yoda sat in his hut and immersed himself into the currents of the Force: letting his mind enter deeper and deeper into its ever-shifting currents. The clean energies of Dagobah buoyed his essence to touch the newly ascended spirit of the boy--the man--he had once trained like so many others as an Initiate and become so much more.

Qui-Gon had explained enough about the process to give Yoda an understanding of just what Obi-Wan had gone through. Right now, his fellow Master was still in a state of flux. His essential self had not melded completely into the Netherworld of the Force like most others and kept its sense of self, but he wasn't ready to manifest as anything beyond a voice or a mere presence.

Yoda had wished that Obi-Wan had remained in this plane longer. Certainly, he was far better at relating to Luke than he would ever be and Luke had already made a connection with him. Even though the Ascension of the Whills was a state of tremendous achievement long-forgotten by the Jedi Order, Yoda knew that Obi-Wan could only appear or communicate to Luke sporadically at best. And there were rules: great cosmological rules that even Yoda himself wasn't completely at all familiar.

Nevertheless, Yoda was grateful when Obi-Wan's reassuring presence touched his mind. They began to converse: in a fashion. Yoda could feel the elation and joy from Obi-Wan's spirit: filling him with a hope he hadn't experienced in a long time. They really had learned something special from Qui-Gon. They began to talk about a lot of things ... about the plans they tentatively made so many years ago.

Obi-Wan claimed he found the missing part of their plan. At first, Yoda couldn't believe it. Once, long before, he had full belief that someone that had gone to the Dark Side could at some point before they really fell redeem themselves, but after the Clone Wars--after Dooku and other fallen Jedi ... after Anakin Skywalker--he had lost all faith in the concept of redemption. Once one started down the dark path, it would dominate their destiny forever. Even intellectual knowledge of other Jedi that had overcome the Dark Side in millennia previous was not enough for the ancient Master's jaded cynicism now.

Even so, Obi-Wan was somehow even more compelling in death than he was in life. Slowly, tentatively, a plan and contingencies began to form between them. Yoda already knew that at some point Luke would seek him out under Obi-Wan's spiritual advice. Yoda could have summoned Luke at this very moment, but he sensed that now was not the time.

Obi-Wan agreed. The ascended Master explained that much of Luke's combat training would come from the Rebellion and his own personal honing and practice of his abilities. Yoda intellectually understood what Obi-Wan meant. If their plan for the children had possessed phases, Phase One was providing them a stable familial environment and life experiences to acclimate themselves to ordinary life in the Galaxy and to instill morals in them. Whereas what they talked about now was Phase Two. This vague 'Phase Two' entailed combat training and work with the Alliance to Restore the Republic.

Leia already had significant experience with mental shielding, hand-to-hand combat and blaster-fighting. It was now Luke who needed to hone his skills: in piloting, unarmed combat, blaster combat and utilizing his lightsaber combat skills--such as they were--to deal with enemy soldiers and warriors. If and when both twins had to be taught how to fully use the Force, that would be the equivalent of 'Phase Three': of which Yoda reluctantly conceded that Luke at this point would eventually be the closest to achieving.

There were many reasons they had made these roughly divided 'Phases': that in the event that something happened to them, the twins could recover enough lore and build off of their diversified fields and accumulated knowledge to train themselves to the level that they needed to be. It did seem li

 

He and Yoda had been right all those years ago. The Dark Side could not be defeated by violence or combat. Even if he were able to destroy Vader this day, it would not save the Galaxy. He looked briefly at Luke. That young man would be instrumental in restoring balance to the Force. But not in a direct way. He looked back at Vader--at the blackness that surrounded the remnants of Anakin Skywalker--and it all fit into place.

This was it. The missing part in his and Yoda's plans. For a millennium, the Sith had slowly and insidiously undermined the Jedi Order and the Galaxy through sowing disharmony and fear behind the scenes. But for two decades, the Jedi had also operated behind the scenes helping whenever they could: learning and helping the next hope--the new hope--to survive to the sunrise. Anakin's own children were immensely important. Palpatine had slowly changed Anakin with fear and greed: had planted those seeds in him to make him into the thing he was now.

Obi-Wan had also planted his own seeds long before ... and now one more. Obi-Wan remembered Padme's last words to him on Polis Massa when Luke and Leia were born. Obi-Wan had destroyed Vader's physical power long ago: sabotaging the Emperor's former prized pupil. But that wasn't enough. It wasn't just the material existence of Vader that had to be destroyed. It was the spiritual essence: the hate behind it.

Now, Obi-Wan would take the first steps to sabotaging that hatred. To planting the seeds of hope. Everything he had said and done before and in this context--in this fight--had led to this. Now he had to act.

Obi-Wan smiled at the facade of Vader. Now, everything hinged on his mastery of Qui-Gon's teachings: of his last technique. The Jedi Master had long since moved past the fear of physical death.

There was no death. There was only the Force.
...

Aches, pain, and old age sloughed from Obi-Wan's very being as his spirit soared through the Force. But distantly, oh so distantly, Luke began firing his blaster at the troopers in a rage. Obi-Wan fought off the joy of the Force's embrace for the next few moments, to make sure his work had not all been in vain. He sent his thoughts into Luke's mind.

"Run, Luke, run."

Then, after that and for a time, there was only the Force for Obi-Wan Kenobi.

That was so terribly poignant, sad, and yet beautiful.

I'm starting on one box of tissues now...have 6 more lined up.

 

Valairy_Scot - Thank you, Valairy. I wanted to make this as poignant as I could. This was a very important part of Obi-Wan's development as a character and an integral part of Luke's education in the mysteries of the Force. Also, I think Obi-Wan knew a lot more than what he was letting on in that fight with Vader: hence that smile.

And, remember this: there is no death. There is only the Force. Obi-Wan will be back.

 

Obi-Wan

The transition into the Netherworld--while maintaining his own sense of identity and having it driven home further that his focus determined his reality--was both exhilarating and disorienting for the spirit that was once Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Who was still Obi-Wan.

He felt light. It was as though he were thirty-seven years old again and at the pinnacle of his strength as a young man and a practitioner of the Force. Yet he knew he looked exactly like he did when he became One with the Force: only more luminescent, more radiant, just ... more. The Jedi Master was an extension of the Force, but at the same time embodied a segment of it that no other being quite could.

Just as others did.

His mind--bound by flesh and time--could see multiple pathways of existence: different worlds, possibilities of what could have been, of what would be, and never be. All of them lay down different lines of thought and non-linear perception. It had taken the firm presence of Qui-Gon Jinn to acclimate him to new this new mode of existence: of ascension.

He also found out that Qui-Gon himself had not been idle. While Obi-Wan and Yoda had carried out their sides of the mission, the long-dead Jedi Master had fulfilled his own task. Obi-Wan found himself among the presences of friends: of all the Jedi that died in Order 66 and the Purges that followed. Warmth and camaraderie filled the missing parts of his heart again as they surrounded him and he knew--now--that he was finally home.

Yet even here, Obi-Wan didn't forget his duty. There were still a few more tasks that needed to be accomplished. However, Qui-Gon also made him aware of a few details with regards to their state. Obi-Wan felt that his powers had increased exponentially in the Force. He felt stronger and clearer than he ever had when he was alive. If he had possessed this strength and clarity in the material plane, he would have easily defeated Vader.

But that was not the nature of these powers or this new state. Qui-Gon explained to him that there were rules. For all of the ascended spirits' powers, with only a few exceptions they could not interfere directly in the living world. The living had to fight their own battles and make their own actions. To do anything else be no different than acting like the legendary Sith spirits that were said to haunt ruins, be bound to objects, or attempt to possess the living.

However, what Obi-Wan and the others could do was guide particular individuals in the material plane. They could work with a living being's own natural strengths and occasionally offer key advice and even assist their senses at times of need. Obi-Wan knew that advice--that information--was even more crucial for his mission than anything that direct physical or metaphysical intervention could ever provide.

Qui-Gon told him, fondly, that he was a natural learner. Even before he fully passed on, he had told Luke to run. But he did more than that. As Luke found himself in an X-Wing against the Death Star, he had managed to manifest as a whisper in his young student's mind: reminding him to let the Force flow through him. By giving him that prompt and gentle reminder, Obi-Wan assisted Luke in firing the torpedos to where they needed to go: an act that both Saesee Tiin and Plo Koon approved of as the station exploded from its own internal stresses.

Luke himself remembered the lesson on Hoth when was captured by the Wampa: telekinetically pulling his lightsaber to him to deal with the creature. Obi-Wan knew that Luke would survive even in those harsh conditions. But he also knew that it was time now. Luke had been trained as much as he could by the Rebel Alliance High Command and their soldiers. It was time that Luke furthered his training in the Force.

It would not be enough yet for Luke to find his journals and equipment on Tatooine. Books and learning aids were one thing, an actual interactive teacher was something entirely different. That was when Obi-Wan gained just enough power--from Luke's own Force signature and the elemental harshness of Hot

 

It was good to see that Obi Wan learned from his interaction with Anakin in order to improve his teaching methods with Luke. His observations about Han were also very insightful.

Wow, Yoda's reaction to Alderaan's obliteration was stunning, the phases of educating Anakin's children were well thought out, even with Luke's deviation from the plan.

You update so fast, it's hard for me to get in here to comment. That's great, though, much better than having to wait months for an update, then forgetting which story I was reading!

See you on the other side of The Move!

 

dm1- Thank, my friend. It's funny. More often than not when I write one of these fanfics, I mean them to be shorter than they actually are. The scene with Vader and Obi-Wan was the first idea I had in mind when I started this. That's probably why I update so fast because I want to lead into things as swiftly as possible, though that also means I have edit a few times on here afterwards.

I thought that if Obi-Wan could feel Alderaan, Yoda would definitely feel it and it would not be pleasant. I also do believe that the Jedi did purposefully plan for the twins' upbringing and Rebel experience to fill in gaps in the training and experience that they could not give them as Jedi. I also think it helped make them even more well-rounded and adaptable people in the new Galaxy. I'd wanted to finish this before The Move but it no longer seems possible and I want to do this thing the justice that it deserves.

But thank you for following this story. I truly appreciate it and I hope to continue it once The Move is completed.

 

WOW stunning beautiful pieces of insight in Obi-Wan and Yoda

love to read more and PM please

 

earlybird-obi-wan - Thank you and I definitely will.