Bond of Brothers - Vader/Obi AU, Skywalker Redemp

(cough, cough...ahem....) *deep breath and a smile*

Hello again! Caslia here with another Anakin Skywalker AU. It?s about Anakin Skywalker (duh!!) and Obi-wan Kenobi and their friendship somewhere after Episode III.

It focuses mainly on Anakin and Obi-wan, but they will be joined by other characters later in the story. Redemption for our favorite sith, Darth Vader, is a possibility and for those you who read my Children of Vader, this one does not include Cally Starshine as much as the other. Besides her, no other original characters, so just enjoy.

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Bond of Brothers

Padme Skywalker has finally been captured by the Empire. Palpatine found her and prepares her death. Five years after giving birth to the twins, Luke and Leia, Padme is murdered.

Yet before her demise, Padme sends out coded messages across the galaxy, each giving a lead as to where one can find the location of the hidden Jedi twins. To Obi-wan Kenobi, serving the rebellion, she sends a message to meet her on Naboo, and the same message to her husband, Lord of the Sith Darth Vader.

Padme has more up her sleeve then the two rivals racing each other to find the treasure and the children. Padme believes that as they discover they must once again work together, the bonds between Obi-wan and Anakin can be reawakened.

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This is part one of The Sibling Series, which actually is just three fics, but series fits so much better than trilogy. But you can read the fics separately, or as one, and they arn't long or hard to get either.

It's exam time for me, so this fic won't be as daily updated as Children of Vader, but the posts shouldn't be that far apart. The first will be up in a very short while.

Caslia

 

More or less the intro
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//You know, I never knew life could be so simple. I always thought there was some big secret hiding in the Force, some cryptic message about who we?re supposed to be. //

//Even as a child, I thought there was more to everything then there appeared to be. And when I got older and things changed, I began to wonder if maybe I was meant for greater things. Adventures and glory so grand that even the Force would bow down before me. All I had to do was to be strong enough?powerful enough to decipher what the Force was trying to tell me, and I would be greater than all beings. //

//I was a fool. //

//But I didn?t know that then, when I choose my path in life. I didn?t know it even when I received the message and started my journey. A journey that would lead me to the last place I thought I?d return?home. It was only after coming home and realizing what a fool I?d been had I also discovered the simplicity of life. //

//Because life is about family and friends. Faith and loyalty and honor. About love and dreams, hopes and cares, worries and fears. Darkness and Light, forgiveness and healing. Children and lovers, sisters and brothers. Oh yes?life is about brothers. //

//There was an old tale I heard once from some traders when I was just a boy. Of a young warrior on a planet long ago renamed. Then, the planet was broken up into civil war and there were two lords fighting for control. One lord promised the warriors of this planet peace and good land in return for their support. The other lord offered as much gold as a man could carry along with titles and servants for those who fought for him.//

//Now, there were two brothers that were both warriors and had been taught to be the very best warriors of all. One was patient and worked through the hard life as a warrior, the other, the younger brother, thought of the future and setting aside some money for his wife and himself.//

//So when the lord of one land offered gold and a future, the younger kissed his wife goodbye and went off to fight. The elder brother knew he and his younger had enough land and enough gold, so he sat through the war and offered sanctuary for the wounded and the dying. The younger thought his elder a fool for not taking sides and went farther and farther from home to fight for his lord. The younger brother off fighting soon forgot about his wife and the future and fought only to kill and gain titles and money. He grew cold till even the lord who employed him grew frightened of him. //

//When at last he return to the lands that were his and his brother?s, it was to take them for his lord. But when the couple that were his kin were pulled from the castle, the younger could only watch as fate turned against him. His lord had grown so frightened of the young warrior, he had ordered the soldiers to rape and murder the wife and kill the elder brother. The younger could not stop it. He watched his wife die and his brother as well as the elder fought to protect the woman that was his sister-in-law. //

//When the castle was ransacked, to the surprise of all, they discovered a maid hiding in the cellar. In her arms was the wife?s babe. The young warrior was shown his son and his heart burst with pride. But before he could reach down from his horse and take the babe, his lord rode up and snatched the child. //

//He held it up be a leg and looked it over, as if examining a piglet at the market. The brother?s soul cried in fear for his son. Would the lord take this child from him after he had slaughtered his family? Hadn?t the warrior served the lord well? The brother found he could not seal off his heart as the child was dropped down a well and his kin?s bodies burned. //

//The young warrior felt his heart brake and when they returned to the castle of the lord, in the night, the warrior crept into the lord?s bedchamber and ran him through. In the morning, the warrior had his head cut off as punishment. But the other lord won the war and peace ruled over the planet for another thousand years

 

Looks like you're off to a great start, buddy!

 

Thanx Kriss
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The sky was clear and the day bright outside the palace of Naboo. Not a cloud in the sky and the wind blew gently. Yet there was no laughter from children down in the courtyard, no smiles this day. Because there was no one left to smile.

Padme Skywalker, also known as the former Queen Amidala of Naboo, stood over the desk in her Throne room and typed as fast as her fingers and tumbling thoughts would. The message was short, but she had no time to be elaborate. No time left for anything.

Her hands shook uncontrollably, but it wasn?t from fear. For what was there left for her to be afraid of. Death? Hardly. How could she not welcome death with all the loss in her life? Her two beautiful twins taken away from her. Her protector called back to the rebel fleet. And her Ani?her loving husband?

Padme wiped away her tears with the back of her hand and fought down more. It wouldn?t do any good to cry. She needed to focus, needed to type and type quickly.

"If ever you still hold some love for me, my love, come back to me." She whispered as she hit the send button and prayed it would hurry. The lights on the datapad blinked and Padme waited. Force be with her, let the message get out!

A loud laser shot sounded out side of the closed Throne room doors and Padme looked up. They were here. Screams from her handmaidens penetrated the door, but the former queen had no time left to feel anything for her friends. Everything weighted on this message. Sabé and the others knew that. They died for her and for the future of her twins.

The door banged open and men dressed in Imperial storm trooper uniforms filled the room. "Freeze!" one of them commanded.

For a moment, Padme complied. Then her eyes slid to the datapad and a smile crossed her face.

The message had been sent.

The Force had answered her prayers. Now it was time for action. Padme dived for the drawer in the corner of the throne and grabbed her blaster. Shots rang out throughout the room and troopers dropped like flies.

Padme didn?t really think she could escape, but she was d*mned is she would go down without a fight.

A shot came flying at her and she ducked, but the next one got her gun hand and she dropped the blaster. A trooper kicked it out of reach. She looked each trooper over, waiting for one of them to make a move. But the Imperials had become warily of the young woman and approached slowly.

Slowly, they surrounded her, and Padme knew it was over.

Five years after giving birth to the twin children of Anakin Skywalker, now Darth Vader, Padme accepted her fate.

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Now before you flame me and say that in both of my fan fic stories I've killed Padme in the beginning, go back and read over that last post.

Caslia

 

Hey
This looks really good
Hope you won´t kill Padmé, I kinda like it when she sticks around.

 

No friction in this fanfiction! Heehee!
I've gotta hand it to ya, buddy; you've got a real way with words, so keep it up!

 

Thanx anino...anaino........... ............thanx all!
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"More enemy fighters coming in on our port side, General!" A young man at one of the stations called over to General Obi-wan Kenobi. The ship rocked and sent people tumbling to the deck before Obi-wan could reply. He remained up right only by gripping the arms of his chair and holding on.

The lights over head flickered and the alarms continued to blare. Voices cried out over the radio, some from pilots in the fighters, others from the captains and generals fighting on the other Alliance ships. All in all, the peace mission to Felis had turned into an Imperial ambush.

"The fighters are spread thin enough! We?ll just have to deal with them ourselves!" Kenobi yelled over the noise.

"Sir," one of the men assigned as his aide called to him. "This ship is a convoy. It doesn?t have weapons." Kenobi had barely known the man very long, but even before they had left Dantooine behind and made their way to Felis, Obi-wan had already decided the aide was a more a politician than a fighter.

"What!" Obi-wan?s face reddened and he fought to keep his patience. "What kind of rebel ship in Imperial territory doesn?t have weapons?"

"This was a peaceful mission, sir. We didn?t expect the Empire to know we were coming!" The man muttered, but Obi-wan had already turned back to the battle. Imperial Star Destroyers filled the view-port before him and the constant scream of Tie fighters could be heard over the red flashing alarms and the radio chatter.

The ship rocked again and Obi-wan struggled to remain on balance.

Over the radio, he heard a desperate cry for help that mirrored his own internal plea. "This is Green Two! I?ve got one on my tail and I can?t shake ?em!" The voice was young. Obi-wan guessed eighteen; maybe twenty. "I could use some help here!" The boy cried out again, but his next transmission was that of a death cry, and Obi-wan closed his eyes. How many would die this day?

"I want fighters on the //Lethal// and send a squadron over to protect the //Medical Frigate//!" The comm. officer obeyed Kenobi?s commands immediately. X-wings and older fighters flew past the view-port; Obi-wan watched as the first group attacked the nearest Star Destroyer.

The battle went on, the ship rocking from blasts and the tie fighter swarming on all sides. And in the moment Obi-wan thought he just might give up hope, a cheer sprang up from the crew. Kenobi looked up in time to see the //Lethal// go up in flames and the Alliance X-wings soar away victorious.

"Alright," Obi-wan commanded, "tell all craft to jump to hyperspace through that new exit vector! We?ll meet back at Dantooine in forty-eight hours!"

The rebel cruiser and her small fleet of fighters jumped into hyperspace where there was once a Star Destroyer and the stars turned into streaks of light before Kenobi; leaving the Imperials behind. The crew cheered and slapped each other on the back, for the moment happy to just be alive.

Obi-wan slumped back into his hair and hid his eyes in a hand.

He must have sat there awhile, his thoughts still at the battle and his emotions fighting to control the grief that rose up from those lost. Each death he had felt in the Force, each one of those men out there had been his own.

"You did well." A voice said, and Obi-wan looked up to see Mon Monthma standing before him. She was dressed in her senator robes, but it was clear from the bandage on her forehead and the rip in her clothing that she must have played some part in the battle.

Ever since coming to the Alliance fleet six months ago, she had been Obi-wan?s friend and advisor. And though she was a politician and he a fighter, they had stuck together through the hard times.

"Ah, Mon," Obi-wan said, sitting up, "I see you also had your share of action."

The red headed young woman nodded. "Yes, got caught sleeping and was thrown from my bunk. Went down to the hanger to see if I could help and was hit by a flying hydrospanner.

Obi-wan had to smile. Mon, young and re

 

Yes! Congats all around! Only 3 more exams to go! Yes, yes yes! That means more posts soon!

Caslia

 

Great story so far... Hope the exams go well.

 

Thanks, Broken-Sabre!

The next scene is more of a flash back, kinda so you get the idea of how this all started. But listen carefully, cuz what happened is important later on.
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The three of them were in Obi-wan and Anakin?s old apartment the day after they had lost Skywalker. The Jedi Order had yet to even guess a time of great turmoil was coming when they would all be slaughtered and Palpatine had yet to take the Throne. So except for the loss of Anakin and the sudden discovery of Padme being pregnant, nothing was wrong.

"What do we do now?" Padme asked quietly, sitting on the couch, hugging her knees to her chest. She felt like a little girl who had just found herself all alone in the world.

"Don?t worry." Cally told her, laying a hand on her friend?s shoulder. "It?ll be alright."

Obi-wan snorted and stood up from the couch that was across from them. His eyes were tired and red, like the others. His shoulders were hunched over and he seemed drained. He crossed the room and looked out the window at nothing. "Alright? How do you intend to make it better?"

"Obi-wan?" Padme started, but Obi-wan cut her off.

"It was you who helped him escape the council, Cally. You allowed him to return to the Sith. If he?d stayed here, we might have been able to save him." Obi-wan?s anger rose a notch, but he kept it firmly under control.

The Anakillian shook her head sadly and turned so that she was facing Obi-wan?s back. Her eyes were sad, but she spoke with conviction. "Anakin had already chosen his path in life. I?we couldn?t change that. I have always promised to aid Anakin any time he wanted help. And he needed it then."

"To fall to the Darkside?!" Obi-wan turned on Cally, his heart torn by her treachery. "Have you become a fool like Anakin? Has Palpatine warped your mind as well?"

"Hardly." Cally informed her friend. "But Anakin made a choice and I respect that. But don?t worry. Anakin will come back. It may be many years, but in time he will return."

Obi-wan shook his head in exasperation.

It was only seven months ago that Anakin had accepted Palpatine as his Sith master, though he had not known the Supreme Councilor was evil then. Anakin had blindly followed the Sith ways and then had heard through rumors that while he was away performing justice for the Republic that his wife had betrayed him and gone to his former master?s bed. Anakin had return to Naboo in a rage and had renounced any vows he had made to Padme, leaving the young queen in tears.

But it had not stopped there. To send him over the edge, Palpatine made sure that it looked as though Skywalker?s mother was killed by Obi-wan as revenge for taking a new master. Anakin had blamed the Jedi Council and everyone but himself. He had fled the Jedi order only to be caught by Jedi and returned to Curoscant as a prisoner.

He was waiting judgement from the council when Cally Starshine had returned from a visit to her home planet. Starshine was furious with the council and with Palpatine, but could find no proof to point the blame at the Sith ruler, not matter how much help she had from Obi-wan and Padme.

The council, under the leadership of Jedi Master Yoda, decided Anakin was a threat to great to allow him to live, but Obi-wan persuaded them to give Anakin a lesser punishment. They would strip him of the Force. Forever. Cally, immediately upon hearing the verdict, had broken into the former Jedi?s cell and helped him escape the Council and his fate. Starshine?s loyalty was to Skywalker first and his family second. The Jedi Council knew this but never guessed she would put the Sith before the Jedi Order. Anakin, believing Cally to be the only one who had not betrayed him as she continued to love him no matter what road he chose, trusted her and the two escaped.

Cally returned the next morning without Skywalker to face whatever punishment the Council deemed worthy of her. They could think of none horrible enough.

"Don?t be angry, Obi-wan." Padme leaned forward and took the Jedi?s hand and squeezed it gently. "C

 

Yes! Today was the last day of exams! No school tomorrow and Friday is optional!
***************

The light on the comm. blinked and sounded that a message had arrived. The noise startled Obi-wan out of his reminiscence of the past.

He looked up and struggled to get his barring. The flashing light reminded him he was in the present on board a rebel ship on its way back to Dantooine. There was no Anakin or lava, no Cally and no Jedi. Just Vader, a war over the galaxy and a message from Padme.

A message?

Obi-wan sat forward and keyed for the message to play. In the time he had not spoken to Padme, a lot could have happened and he would not have heard about it. Or maybe the former queen had finally changed her mind. Maybe at last she would tell Obi-wan were to find the twin children of Skywalker so he could train them as Jedi. He doubted it.

Even if he ever found the twins, Obi-wan wasn?t sure if he would be able to train them at all. Not after his failure with Anakin. If he had tried hard, if he had only been more of a master and less of a friend, maybe Skywalker wouldn?t have fallen. If, if, if!

The comm. beeped again and Obi-wan looked down to find a written message instead of the holo he had been expecting. What was this?

Kenobi brought the datapad closer and wondered why he couldn?t read it. Looking up he realized in his tired state, he hadn?t turned on the lights when he walked into the cabin. The room was pitch black. Feeling like a fool, Obi-wan stood and activated the lights, then looked down at the message Padme had sent him.

What she had written made him choke with fear and his pulse quickened.

// My dear Obi-wan. I need your help. Some events have taken place on Naboo and I need you to come home as soon as you possibly can. The twin?s future is at stake. //

//Padme//

Padme. Padme was in trouble. The twins were in danger and they needed him. What was he doing sitting around here? Obi-wan needed to get to Naboo as fast as light speed could take him!

Obi-wan jumped up from the couch and ran into his small bedroom and started to stuff clothing into his duffel bag. His short time with the rebels as well as his life-long service with the Jedi had taught him to pack very light so he had few belongings and was ready with in five minutes.

On his way out the door, something caught his eye and Kenobi turned to see his holo player sitting on the table next to the bed. He couldn?t leave that behind.

Inside that holo player were the last few holos of Anakin Skywalker and his family. Some were of the night Anakin had been given the title Jedi Knight, others of his wedding. There were a few of the four of them on Naboo and two of Padme with the newborn twins. After those were one of Cally before the battle of Mon Calamari and the last was of them all. Anakin stood at the center, his right arm wrapped around Padme?s waist. Obi-wan was to his friend?s left, his hand on the youth's shoulder. Starshine was crouching in front of Anakin. They were all smiling.

Obi-wan hadn?t looked at in five years.

He grabbed it and headed out the door. It would take three days to get to Naboo. And he needed to get the ship to pull out of hyperspace to allow him to disembark. Obi-wan didn?t really care what the rebel leaders would say when they discovered one of their generals was leaving the fleet and stealing one of their ships. Kenobi had to get to Naboo.

Padme needed his help.

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Caslia

 

I'm working to get the next post finsished. It's the Vader one I promised. So, if there is any one reading this, I WILL get it up.

Caslia

 

Just the usual comment (great work, keep going, looking forward to the next bit...) No seriously, I think it's quite a page (or screen?) turner!

 

Great work...I'm going to cry now, quite powerful work.

 

Oh! Oh, replies! I think I'M the ones whose going to cry!
***************

The rebel fleet shot into hyperspace through what was left of the //Lethal// and left the Imperials behind. The small fleet made up of three Star Destroyers, now down to two, and a few Tie squadrons seemed to hang in space in anticipation of the outburst. When none came and the dark figure left the bridge, all breathed a sigh of relief.

And Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, returned to his chambers fuming.

They had lost those rebels. Again! Even when they were on a peaceful mission and had little gun power, the Force was still with them and they escaped his grasp. Vader felt like crushing someone. No Imperials presented themselves as targets.

"This is pointless!" Vader roared as he entered his quarters and the doors slid shut behind him. "I have been chasing after rebels for almost a years now!"

Anything was better than sitting around waiting for news from his spies and then attacking a fleet that always escaped! Were there no more Jedi left to hunt down? Vader stormed over to the view port and stared out. Nothing but Tie debris greeted him. The cold, uncaring stars glared at him, mirroring Vader?s own look hidden behind the mask.

"Curse those rebels." Vader muttered under his breath. He was so bored with chasing after them. But he wasn?t sure what he would do when he at last destroyed them all. Stand around in Palpatine?s court?

Vader shivered at the thought.

He didn?t like being stared at by all the noble men and women, some of them with pity in their eyes. He had no use for their pity nor their talks of what was in fashion and who was going out with whom.

He was a warrior, by the Force! He should be out there taking worlds for the Empire! Not chasing after pests that would eventually die out any way. But it was the Emperor?s order that he destroy the rebels, and Vader had to obey his master. He knew the consequences of not doing so. But it was so?boring (!!!) just sitting around like this.

From across the room, a loud beep sounded and Vader turned in vexation. Now what?! he wondered. What did they want now? Was he never to be left in peace?

"What is it?" Vader asked into the comm., struggling not to reach out with the Force and throttle the person on the other end. That would NOT eliminate his boredom or fix his problems. It would, on the other hand, make him feel better.

"Milord." A squeaky voice said on the other end. "You have an incoming transmission."

"From the Emperor?"

"No, milord." The little man replied. "It?s from the Naboo system. Shall I patch it through to your private quarters?"

The Sith did not answer. Vader?s heart had frozen and his breath (what little he had) was caught in his throat. The Naboo system. HER system. But why? Surly she would not contact him?not after all this time. How long had it been since?since THEN? Eternity? No, more like?five years. Maybe six. But why??

"Milord?" The little man on the other end of the comm. asked. Vader broke from his dream-like state.

"Patch it through." He ordered and cut the transmission before he heard the other?s response. The Naboo system. Home. NO! What HAD been home. Before the Jedi and that accursed Obi-wan Kenobi had changed everything.

The comm. unit beeped again and Vader keyed it to activate the message. How had these few years changed her? Would she look the same as he remembered her? What would she say?

Yet instead of a holo message, a written one popped up on his datapad and Vader scowled. She had not contacted him via hologram? Why not? He read the message silently.

// My Lord Vader?Ani. I know it has been over five years since we?ve talked to one another. I?ve been quite busy lately, but I have had plenty of time to think. And, against Obi-wan?s better judgement, I?ve decided it?s time to tell you something. //

//When you left Curoscant all those years ago and joined Palpatine, I was pregnant with your children. Yes, children. You have twins, Ani. A boy and a girl, both very strong in the Force. They?re abo

 

Oops! None of you will EVER read this if it's all the way down here!

UP!
Caslia

 

I Love it! I love it! I love it!
Its great.

 

Thanx, Crystal!
***************

By the time the damage reports came in, it was night by Curoscant time, so Vader had to put off his departure for Naboo.

As he lay in his bed of oxygen tubes and hoses, Vader thought about his twins. What would they look like? Would they both be like their mother? Or would one of them have his looks. Those that he had had before the lava pit.

Curse that Obi-wan, Vader thought silently. Any child that had ever seen the hulking black figure that was the Dark Sith had either run in terror or cried themselves into hysterics. His mask and armor frightened them all. Why would his children be any different?

Because they were HIS children. He had a son and a daughter.

That thought had continued to echo through his mind the rest of the day after reading the message. He and Padme had had two babies. Babies he had not seen grow up because of Obi-wan and his need for revenge against his former apprentice. Vader stopped himself and mulled over those last few thoughts.

Why would he, Darth Vader, care about watching children grow up? They were useful to him and nothing more. It was simply an advantage that they were his own twins, which made them all the more loyal to Vader and all the more powerful. They had the blood of the Jedi?s Chosen One in them. They might be even stronger than Vader himself!

But he could not let Palpatine find out about the twins. That would be a mistake. The Sith would want Vader to go and find them of course. But then he would require his apprentice to kill the offspring of Skywalker. And Vader did not want that to happen. They were, after all, his children as well as Anakin Skywalker?s. Though he no longer went by that name did not mean he no longer carried the same blood. Did it?

No of course not, Vader chided himself. Anakin and Darth were one and the same. One was simply stronger and had prevailed in the end. And it certainly didn?t matter which had fathered the twins. In the end, the result was the same.

As he drifted off, Vader wondered who he had been when the twins had been conceived. It made little difference, but still he wondered?

***************

He blinked and looked around. Where was he?

Screaming filled his ears and he turned to see the Emperor Palpatine. Before him, lying on the floor, was a younger version of Anakin Skywalker. The young Skywalker let forth yet another scream as a bolt of Force lightening from Palpatine rocked his body. He cried out in desperation.

"Father! Help me!"

Father? Father! Son! But what could he do? The Emperor was so strong. Was his child to die by this monster? No! But what could he do? Where was the other? The girl twin? Why was she not here to save her brother?

A scream so loud that it broke his eardrums echoed off the wall and he fell to the ground. For a moment, he was blinded, then the blackness was carefully stripped away and he looked upon the face of the young Skywalker. Or, the young Skywalker looked down at him, he wasn?t sure which.

The boy?no, the man was smiling. Yet at the same time, tears fell from his ice blue eyes. HIS eyes! Son! Son, father?father!

"Father, I won?t leave you!" The boy insisted. Then the world went black again and no matter how much he struggled to open his eyes, he could see nothing. Then a voice echo through the Darkness.

"Come home, my love. Your children need you."

Children?son, daughter?daughter, father?father, son. Twins?brother and sister. Brother?Obi-wan?Sister?Cally?Cally?Obi-wan?Padme?Jedi?Jedi?NO!

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Anakin sat up in a rush and nearly bumped his head into his oxygen tube.

Dreams! They were only dreams! He was Vader! Darth Vader!

Vader took deep breaths and tried to calm himself. The dream began to slip away into his subconscious but the images stayed with him. He struggled to block them out.

Gaining control of himself, Vader thought hard and allowed his anger to rise. Something had caused these dreams to return after five years. And that thing was Padme and her message. Padme calling him to come back to N

 

UP!

Caslia

 

Holy cow! Woah, that dream bit was so intense I almost forgot to breathe! *choke choke!*

 

Thanx, Kriss!

Caslia

 

Looks like it's time to update...

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Mon followed Obi-wan down the hallway as he made for the hanger. She ran to keep up with his fast pace.

"You can?t just leave, Jedi Kenobi! The Alliance won?t know where you went. And what of the Empire? What do you think they?ll do to you if they find you before you find the queen?" She picked up her robes that had been hindering her from catching up with the Jedi and ran. She hated these Senate robes.

Obi-wan smiled grimly. "My dear Mon. It is no safer for me to go save the queen then it is for me to stay here, where the Empire is even MORE likely to find me."

Mon sighed in vexation as they rounded a corner that brought them almost to the hanger. "Please, be reasonable." She told Obi-wan and reached down to take his duffel bag from him. His grip became like iron and the two stopped and stared at one another.

"You can?t go alone." Mon told him angrily.

"I?m not." Obi-wan told her. "The Force and the memory of my dead brother Anakin is with me." He reached over and gave her a peck on the cheek and turned into the hanger.

"I swear, Jedi Kenobi;" the young Senator called after him. "You?ll regret this. The Alliance needs you!"

"So does Padme." He called back over his shoulder as the sliding door shut between them.

Obi-wan sighed and started searching for his ship among all the others that the rebels had started to acquire. Mon was a nice girl, that was sure. And she had become a good friend. But this little crush she had on him was starting to get out of hand. He was too old for her ?and his heart belonged to another.

It had been a while since he had seen Sabé, but it was impossible to forget her. The way she walked, the smell that had lingered on her clothing?

Obi-wan shook his head. He had time later to remember his lost love. As of right now he was on a mission to save his ?sister-in-law? and could not be muddle-headed. Sabé was a part of the past, dead for almost five years now. So was Anakin.

The Star Rider came into view just as this thought passed through Obi-wan?s mind and he was thankful for the distraction. He looked over at the ship with mixed feelings and started towards it.

Anak?.his former apprentice had loved ships. Had built and flown them. But this one had been different than all of Skywalker?s.

Because this one was Obi-wan?s.

Obi-wan had always been considered the perfect Jedi role model by the council. But that wasn?t a true as the masters had liked to think. Before coming to the Academy, he had had dreams just like young Skywalker.

But his hadn?t been to be a pilot. His had been to help construct a piece of art.

And that?s what the Star Rider was. Named after his former apprentice, the ship was just as bold and had the same ?need for speed?. Obi-wan had worked hard after Qui-gon?s death to complete the blue prints, his old master had always encouraged his love of art.

For a moment, Obi-wan almost let his mind slip to the builder. Anakin had built the ship for his master. Anakin had made this creation with his own two hands. It was a symbol of two things. One, he cared enough for Obi-wan to give this a present to his master the year Anakin became a Jedi Knight. And second, of their friendship and brotherhood. The moment passed and Obi-wan gave a sigh of relief that those memories had not come rushing back.

Slowly, he walked up to the ship and ran his hands over the hull. She truly was a beauty. He walked over to the ramp and keyed it to lower. Obi-wan quickly climbed inside and headed for the cockpit. No time to caress his wonderful ship, he had to get to Naboo.

Kenobi wondered if there would be more than Padme that would be coming back with him, he realized size would not be a problem. His ship was large enough it even had a hold for one fighter in the rear. If Padme?s guards and handmaidens came along, there would be enough room till they met back up with the rebel fleet.

Obi-wan gained clearance and shot out of the hanger. As he set the coordinates for hyperspace and took off, his mi

 

up

 

Still great, buddy!
See ya VERY soon!

 

*Checks her calander*

Two days and...

18 hours of flight time

I intend to sleep the whole way
Caslia