Chapter Text
The days following Palpatine's death--or, since Obi-Wan isn't trying to fool anyone but himself, his assassination--are a mess. Obviously there are massive investigations into the incident, both into the incriminating documents released by Palpatine and into possible foul play surrounding his death. With the timing of his 'suicide' so soon after his election, it really couldn't be more suspicious. If the High Council wasn't already certain Palpatine was the Sith Master, they would suspect some sort of mind-control or other Dark influences forcing Palpatine to throw himself out the window to his swift and messy death.
Considering the...nature of Ben's existence and his actions, that's really not so far from the truth.
As much of a relief as it is for the Sith Master to be taken out of the picture without any collateral damage, it turns out that the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic being assassinated by a time-traveling ghost causes some problems. Not least of which is having to write, with a completely straight face, an incident report where the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic was assassinated by a time-traveling ghost. Stranger things have happened to the Jedi, but none of those involved this much paperwork.
Obi-Wan gets called into a lot of Council meetings to tell them what he knows about Ben--which, as it turns out, is really not that much. He knows Ben served in some sort of massive civil war, he knows Ben survived the genocide of his people and had to live in a desert for about twenty years, and he knows that Anakin, at some point in the nebulous future-that-will-no-longer-be, killed Ben. Everything else in between, Ben didn't talk much about, and Obi-Wan knows better than anyone that it was impossible to get Ben to talk about something he didn't want to.
They don't know if Ben had used some sort of Sith technique, as Maul had implied. The way his presence in the Force mixes with those of others when he possesses them is undetectable, so there is no way to evaluate his Darkness or lack thereof. They don't even know if he was who he said he was--while Obi-Wan is convinced he and Ben are the same person (a less than flattering comparison after the recent assassination), the Council is less sure. Any knowledge Ben had of the Jedi and of Obi-Wan himself could easily have been retrieved from Obi-Wan's own mind, and there were no records of any sort of Master Ben in the Jedi Archives. Not surprising, considering 'Ben' was almost certainly an alias and he came from the future--even Master Nu's Archives weren't comprehensive enough to cover that.
What they do know is this: Ben had transferred from Obi-Wan to Maul, and then from Maul to Palpatine--Maul admitted to facilitating this transfer. After a few weeks of possessing Palpatine, it seemed Ben had gained enough strength to usurp Palpatine's will, then took control of Palpatine's body to first release huge amounts of incriminating information and then murder him.
They do not know where Ben is now. They do not know if Ben is even alive anymore, or as alive as a ghost could be, anyways. But if he is alive, he could be anywhere. He could be possessing anyone--he might even have a series of targets in mind to prevent the horrific tragedies of his future or any other number of unknown goals.
"Padawan Skywalker is likely at risk," Master Windu says at the tail end of a long meeting. "We have to make sure he's protected."
Obi-Wan blinks. "You think Ben would try to kill Anakin?"
"We don't know who Ben could target," Master Windu replies. "But from your information and the conversations we've had with him, it's clear that the two major players in his future tragedies were Chancellor Palpatine and Anakin Skywalker. We already know what he's done to the former."
"That's not the same! Chancellor Palpatine's already committed an absolute litany of crimes. Even without knowing what he would or could do in the future, he's unambiguously guilty now," Obi-Wan protests. "Anakin hasn't done anything of the sort--he's just a youngling. He's innocent."
"We know that. The problem is, we don't know if Ben cares about that," Master Gallia says, leaning forward. "From his point of view, killing Anakin would potentially save thousands of Jedi. In the face of that, would he truly wait until Anakin is properly trained and about to commit these horrible crimes before acting?"
The idea of Ben murdering an innocent youngling is so repulsive that Obi-Wan finds himself at a lack of words.
"If Ben were to kill Anakin, why wouldn't he have done so before now?" Obi-Wan demands when he shakes off his stupor. "He's had full access to my body, he's been with me--and Anakin--for over a month! We already know he could put me to sleep whenever he wanted! If he really wanted to kill Anakin, don't you think he would have taken the chance sooner?"
"Not if he wanted to ensure Palpatine's death, first. He may not have known if killing Palpatine would result in his own death--we certainly don't," Master Gallia replies. "Alternately, he has only now become strong enough to commit these murders--since he now seems to have the ability to switch hosts at will."
"Knight Kenobi," Master Windu says, "we don't want to believe Ben would murder an innocent youngling. But we cannot deny the possibility, and it is better to apologize to Ben for our suspicion than it would be to mourn Padawan Skywalker's murder."
To that, Obi-Wan has no rebuttal at all. He can see the Council's logic, as much as the concept turns his stomach. "How would you propose we protect Anakin from a possibly murderous time-traveling ghost?" he asks softly. "We have no way to detect Ben's presence when he possesses someone. Even if we removed everything from our apartment that could possibly be used to cause grievous bodily harm, he could murder Anakin with his bare hands, or the Force, or by possessing Anakin himself. How would we possibly stop him?"
"It's not...completely true that he's undetectable," Master Windu says. "When Ben possesses someone, he speaks with an extremely distinct accent. The only person he can take control of without raising suspicion is you, Knight Kenobi. Until we have a better grasp of the situation, it might be safest to remove Padawan Skywalker from your care."
The Council moves Anakin to Master Koon until they can be sure Ben isn't somewhere out there going on a revenge-fueled killing spree. Obviously, they don't tell Anakin that in those words--instead, they send Obi-Wan out on an off-world mission to investigate some of Palpatine's Sith dealings, so it's simply natural that Anakin would be placed with someone else in the meantime. It's a simple reconnaissance mission, lasting a few weeks at most. Long enough to see if Ben commits any other surprise assassinations.
As eager as Obi-Wan is to properly clean up the last remnants of the Sith, his mission partner leaves a lot to be desired.
"Kenobi," Maul says, crossing his arms haughtily.
"Maul," Obi-Wan says.
"I hear you wish to destroy my former Master's Sith legacy."
"That's not the point of this mission at all, we're just scouting things out before Shadows are sent in."
"Nothing would please me more than grinding Sidious's work into dust," Maul says as if Obi-Wan hadn't even spoken. He sweeps past Obi-Wan and into the ship that's been assigned for the mission. "Naturally, you will require my extensive talents and knowledge."
"Maul, you're a Padawan. Does Master Windu even know you're here?" Obi-Wan asks.
Maul waves his hand dismissively. "Of course he does. After all, who would be better to babysit a Sith-hunting Jedi than a Sith?"
"Former Sith," Obi-Wan corrects. "And, again, you're a Padawan. I outrank you. If anyone's babysitting anyone, I'm the one who's babysitting you."
"If that is what you wish to believe, then I shall not disabuse you of your illusions of grandeur," Maul says breezily. "Now stop wasting time and get in the ship, Kenobi."
Obi-Wan sighs, takes a moment to regret all his life choices, then gets in the ship.
The less said of the events of that mission, the better.
"--six underground crime rings, two Sith temples, and an indexed list of dangerous Sith artifacts. We also found evidence of, but were unable to locate in the allocated time, a sort of cloning operation which Maul says is meant to somehow bestow immortality. Obviously that didn't work out for Palpatine, but the Council should probably look into it," Obi-Wan says, sounding like he's fifteen seconds away from passing out on the Council floor. This certainly was not the worst mission he's ever been on, since he at least accomplished the mission objective, but it's still one of the biggest unmitigated disasters he's ever had the displeasure of experiencing. "The full details of our findings are in the report I submitted last night, and you are free to contact me should you require any clarification on any points."
"Thank you, Knight Kenobi," Master Windu says. "I'm sure your report will be as thorough and impeccable as always. Leaving aside the mission objectives, were there any interpersonal difficulties?"
Obi-Wan stares at Master Windu for a long moment, then sighs deeply. "Well," he says, "neither Maul nor I killed each other over the course of the last three weeks,"--though that wasn't for lack of trying--"so I think that counts as a success."
"I...see," Master Windu says.
"But all the same, I'd like to request we don't get sent on future missions together," Obi-Wan says. "If you want to know the details, they are in my report. May I please be dismissed?"
"Yes," Master Windu says. "Go get some rest, Knight Kenobi. We haven't seen any evidence of activity from Ben, so it should be safe for Padawan Skywalker to return to your care. We'll bring him back tomorrow afternoon, when you're not so tired."
"Thank you. May the Force be with you, Masters." Obi-Wan bows clumsily then stumbles his way out of the Council Chamber and back to his quarters.
It's frankly a miracle he gets back to his room unassisted, and he collapses on Qui-Gon's bed without even bothering to strip out of his tunics. He feels like he could sleep for a week.
Just as he drifts off to blessed unconsciousness, he feels a familiar presence pull the blanket over him.
Sleep well, Obi-Wan, it says, and Obi-Wan does.
The next morning, Obi-Wan wakes to the smell of fried eggs and freshly cooked flatcakes. He yawns heavily and pushes off the covers--apparently as delirious as he was last night he had still managed to get a blanket on top of himself--then pads off into the common area.
There's a full breakfast laid out on the dining table. Obi-Wan murmurs his thanks and sits down to eat, rubbing his eyes slowly. He's still not at 100%--it takes a lot more than one night's rest to recover from Maul's...everything. Somewhere through the fog of his mind he recognizes that the eggs are cooked the way he likes them best. That's considerate of Qui-Gon, he's never gotten them just right before.
Obi-Wan eats in comfortable silence, only realizing now that he'd accidentally skipped dinner last night in his rush to sleep. He's ravenous, and he clears his full plate in no time at all.
He hears a laugh from the kitchen. "You're hungry today, aren't you? Would you like seconds?" a voice says. It's...not Qui-Gon like he'd thought, but it's someone familiar. He can't place the name, though.
"If it isn't too much trouble, I'd appreciate it," Obi-Wan replies. He brings his plate back to the kitchen to get a bit more to eat, and...
There's a transparent blue ghost cooking flatcakes in his kitchen.
Obi-Wan freezes, staring at the absurd tableau. The ghost isn't really touching anything--obviously not, since it's incorporeal--but there are unmistakably flatcakes being cooked by some delicate application of the Force. By a ghost. In his kitchen.
Obi-Wan drops his plate and screams.
"--and you thought cooking me breakfast was the best way to reintroduce yourself?" Obi-Wan says, his voice steadily increasing in volume.
"In my defense, I said hello to you last night when you returned, you just didn't seem to register it," Ben says, his hands tucked primly in his transparent blue sleeves. His voice, not filtered through Obi-Wan's voicebox or thoughts, is lighter than Obi-Wan is used to. A little creaky and quiet, but measured and sure. "I figured since you were returning from such a clearly arduous mission, you could do with a home-cooked meal. I didn't realize my flatcakes were so mortifying."
"The problem isn't the flatcakes, Ben, those were very good--"
"Thank you."
"--the problem is that you went and assassinated a Sith Lord, was presumed dead, then showed up out of nowhere to cook breakfast! Do you not get how that might be a little inappropriate?"
"Now, Obi-Wan," Ben says, "you don't know I assassinated a Sith Lord."
Obi-Wan puts his head in his hands. "You aren't going to seriously tell me Palpatine walked out of that window on his own, are you?"
"No, I mean, I did do that," Ben admits. "But you can't prove I made that happen."
Obi-Wan takes a deep breath and counts to ten. "Ben."
"Yes, Obi-Wan?"
"I am begging you, please shut up for a little while. I'm having a moment right now. I'm having several moments."
Obligingly, Ben stays quiet. He simply takes a seat across from Obi-Wan at the table--though does it really count as sitting on something when he can't touch it?--and waits.
Obi-Wan doesn't know how his life came to this. Everything was so good and normal until Naboo. Then the Sith showed up, Qui-Gon died, he took on Anakin as a Padawan, got a time-traveling ghost living in his brain...
And now Ben, in all of his transparent blue ghostliness, is sitting at the dining table. Obi-Wan doesn't know what he thought Ben would look like, but this wasn't it. Somehow he'd imagined something like himself, but with his hair a little longer and a beard, maybe.
Ben looks old--like a completely different person. His hair is wispy and white and thinning heavily, there's an incredible weariness in his face and eyes, his skin is loose in places from either hunger or age, he's slouched slightly and he's dressed in what is certainly not Jedi robes but something that might charitably be considered a facsimile of them. He looks...weathered. Like durasteel that's been worked over too many times--stronger for it, but brittle, too. It's shocking for a man who isn't even sixty.
"I didn't age very well, did I?" Obi-Wan asks.
Ben sighs. "Nineteen years on Tatooine was not especially kind to my appearance, no. Fortunately, as a Jedi, I do not concern myself with vanity."
"I didn't say you looked bad," Obi-Wan says. "You're just...very different. You look like you've been through a lot."
"Most of that was before I looked like this," Ben says, gesturing to himself. "This is mostly due to sun exposure."
"I see," Obi-Wan says. "I'll do my best to not end up on Tatooine for the last third of my life."
Ben leans back in his seat. "Well, since Sidious is dead now, hopefully that won't ever become necessary."
Obi-Wan nods slowly. Now that the Sith is dead, hopefully they have enough of a lead to stop the future civil war and the destruction of the Temple and the Jedi. It's certainly hard to imagine that things could possibly go worse than they did for Ben.
"What happened?" Obi-Wan asks. "We thought you might have died after you killed Palpatine. I thought you were dead."
"I thought so, too," Ben says with a shrug. "My consciousness dispersed for a while after the assassination. Into the Force, perhaps. Obviously, it didn't last, and I came back."
"I see," Obi-Wan says, not really seeing at all. "Um. I'm glad you're back. I missed you, Ben."
Ben smiles. It's a fragile looking thing. "I missed you, too, Obi-Wan."
Obi-Wan purses his lips. All of his diplomatic experience never prepared him for how to deal with guests who are time-traveling ghosts. "Now that you're here...do you have any further plans?"
"Mm, yes, actually," Ben says. "Just one thing."
That 'one thing', it turns out, requires a ship, so Ben has to first go see the Council in all his ghostly glory and convince them that yes, he is a ghost; yes, he is a Jedi Master; yes, he's Obi-Wan from the future after twenty years of Tatooine sun; and no, he doesn't plan to murder anyone else, including Anakin. This process takes approximately three hours which thankfully Obi-Wan doesn't have to be present for, which frees him up for the unenviable task of having to explain to Anakin why he's going on another off-world mission immediately after coming back from a three-week long off-world mission.
"If you don't wanna train me then just say so!" Anakin says.
Obi-Wan sighs and kneels so he's at eye level with Anakin. "Anakin. I do want to train you. I'm sorry I keep getting pulled away on missions like this--I promise when I get back from this one, I'll be able to stay in the Temple for a while and give you more attention."
"You keep saying that, but you're always putting me with the little kids! I want to learn how to do cool Jedi things like flips and lightsaber stuff! I want to get my own saber!"
"You will get to do all those things, Anakin. With your talents, I have no doubt that you will excel at them," Obi-Wan says. "But you have to be patient. There are many things you need to learn before you can do all of the 'cool Jedi things'. You've only been a Jedi for a couple months--most of us take years before starting on any of that."
Anakin pouts. "But all that stuff is boring! I'm way better at it than everyone else, anyways."
"You're learning very quickly," Obi-Wan agrees. "I'm very proud of your progress. But I'm not putting you in those courses just to learn more about the Force--I want you to get to know the people in the Temple. One day, when you're a Knight, you'll work with many of them."
Anakin makes a face. "I don't want to work with those guys. Why can't I just work with you?"
Unbidden, the image of the Temple halls littered with the bodies of younglings pulls itself to the forefront of Obi-Wan's mind. Even after meditating on it for so long, he cannot understand what disconnect had led to Anakin committing such a horrific crime--was it this simple carelessness and apathy? This casual arrogance, the presumption of otherness, or even superiority, that made Anakin believe he could or should ever kill innocent people who only ever tried to help.
Ben will not kill Anakin--he believes Anakin does not have to become the traitor and murderer of his own future, and Obi-Wan has to believe the same. Anakin is just a youngling in need of guidance, and Obi-Wan will do whatever he needs to. He just...doesn't know how to make Anakin care.
"Uh, Obi-Wan? Are you okay?" Anakin asks.
Obi-Wan squeezes his eyes shut. There's a headache building at the back of his skull--he's still spent from his last mission. He opens his eyes again and nods. "Yes, I'll be fine. I'm just very tired."
"They shouldn't send you off on missions when you're tired. You'll get sick if you work too hard, that's what Mom always says," Anakin says, crossing his arms with a huff.
"Your mother is very wise," Obi-Wan replies. He sets a hand on Anakin's shoulder. "I'll be okay. This mission is important, but it won't be dangerous. I'll have plenty of time to rest on my way there. Please work hard while I'm gone, Anakin. And try to make friends, okay? I know things are different here than what you're used to, but the people here are all trying their best. They're good people, and so are you."
"They don't want to be friends with me," Anakin says.
"I think if you try to reach out, you'll find them more willing to befriend you than you expect," Obi-Wan says. "Please give it a try? I worry about you, Anakin."
Anakin sulks a bit, but eventually he says, "Fine, I'll try."
"And I mean really try," Obi-Wan says. "Don't just talk to someone and give up because you don't actually want to do it."
Anakin sighs. "Okay, Obi-Wan."
"Thank you, Anakin." Obi-Wan pulls Anakin into a hug. "Take care of yourself, okay? I'll teach you some new saber forms when I get back."
"You promise?"
"Yeah, I promise," Obi-Wan says. "So be good for Master Koon. I'll be back before you know it."
Obi-Wan's commlink beeps with a message telling him to come pick up his ghost, so he makes his goodbyes--and promises to bring some treats on his way back, too. Anakin's not happy to see him go, but at least seems willing to accept its necessity. Obi-Wan will take what he can get.
Obi-Wan reports back to the Council Chamber, just in time to see a Padawan hold the door open for Ben. Ben smiles and nods at her as he glides out. It's all very surreal.
"Do they really need to open the door for you?" Obi-Wan asks.
Ben shakes his head. "I appreciate the sentiment, though. I admit I'm not very used to walking through things yet."
"I...see," Obi-Wan says. "And were you able to convince the Council that your task needs doing?"
"I was," Ben replies. "We're going to Kamino."
Apparently the Council doesn't trust Ben and Obi-Wan to go on a mission alone to a planet that's been deleted from the Archives, which considering what happened the last time Ben was unsupervised, is fair enough. To that end, Master Ti is sent along to accompany them.
"I hope you know how to get to this planet?" she asks as Obi-Wan does pre-flight checks.
"Uh," Obi-Wan says. "Well..."
"I know how to get there," Ben says. He sets a hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder and it feels...not solid, but warm, like sparks of light against his skin. "It'll be easier if I can make the flight plan directly. If you don't mind?"
Obi-Wan looks up at Ben. "I...yeah. Okay."
Ben smiles, and there's a tugging sensation on Obi-Wan's mind, of warmth flowing in, and with a sudden snap, he feels Ben's presence there, twined comfortably with his like it had never left.
I'll make this quick, Ben says.
Ben navigates the flight plan computer, slowly at first, then more fluently as Ben settles into the sense and motion of their physical body again. It's not as unsettling as Obi-Wan used to find it, to have Ben take control like this. Master Ti asks about the flight plan--a fairly circuitous one, considering how far out Kamino is--and Ben explains it to her briskly. Not all of it makes sense to Obi-Wan, but it seems to make sense to Master Ti, since she nods knowingly and accepts Ben's judgement.
True to his word, Ben slides out of focus once the flight plan is set, letting Obi-Wan back to the front. He doesn't leave, simply nestling at the back of Obi-Wan's mind with a sense of great relief.
I missed this, Ben says. I can use other bodies, but this is the only one that feels right.
That makes sense, Obi-Wan supposes. It is his body, from a certain point of view. And while Obi-Wan's experience probably doesn't compare, it feels right to have Ben there, filling the hollow spaces of his mind with warmth and serenity.
Master Ti clears her throat. "Are we ready to take off?" she asks. "It looks like flight control has approved our departure and our window is only fifteen minutes long."
"Oh," Obi-Wan says, snapping back to attention. "Yes, let's go."
It's a long trip to Kamino. Obi-Wan spends most of it sleeping off his exhaustion from his previous mission, so he doesn't really know what happens in the meantime except that at some point Ben disentangles himself from Obi-Wan's mind to go have a philosophical conversation with Master Ti in the common room over several games of dejarik.
All Obi-Wan really knows is that by the time he's awake and feeling human again Master Ti and Ben seem to be very good friends and sharing a bottle of something that looks very strong.
"Are you even able to drink that?" Obi-Wan asks. He picks up the bottle and squints at the label. "Is this even legal?"
"Not for sale," Master Ti says. "But it's perfectly fine if you distill it yourself. We were sharing brewing tips."
Obi-Wan shoots a look at Ben. "You made moonshine?"
Ben raises a brow. "Obi-Wan, I was a General for three years, and then lived on Tatooine for nineteen. Do you honestly think I never came in contact with a DIY distillery? If you can get the right strain of yeast, you can ferment re-hydrated ration bars into a very strong liquor. Not that it does much for the taste."
Obi-Wan grimaces at the thought of it. He's had some pretty bad liquor over the course of his Padawanship, but he's pretty sure ration bar moonshine would take the top of the list.
He changes the subject. "How close are we to Kamino?"
"Only a few more hours in hyperspace," Master Ti says. "If you're hungry, there's some leftovers in the conservator."
"Thanks," Obi-Wan says, and escapes the scene before Master Ti and Ben start talking about other horrible things to make alcohol out of.
It's a quiet trip down to Kamino. Usually, Obi-Wan would spend most of his transit time reviewing cultural materials and mission objectives and strategies to reduce the number of times he gets shot at. For this mission, there's really not much to catch up on. Ben explains the important points--Kamino is an ocean planet that's often besieged by heavy storms, and the Kaminoans themselves are some of the best cloners in the entirety of known space. At some point not too long ago, a Jedi had commissioned a clone army to try and prepare for a war that may occur about ten years in the future. This order was somehow subverted by the Sith to help maneuver events into artificially generating the massive civil war of Ben's future.
"Or at least that's how I understand events," Ben says. "With everything else going on, there was never any chance to properly investigate matters. To this day I do not understand why the clones turned against the Jedi, nor do I understand the exact sequence of events that led to the war. It's probably fair to assume that without Sidious in play anymore, it will be easier to stop these events in their tracks."
Master Ti toasts with a shot of her borderline illegal liquor in silent agreement.
Their objective in Kamino is straightforward. They say hello to the Kaminoans, cancel the order for the clones, then go home. In practice, it's a little bit messier.
"You couldn't have told us to pack an umbrella?" Obi-Wan hisses at Ben as they make a mad dash from the ship to the front gates of the cloning facility.
"Hm," Ben says, looking as serene as ever and completely unbothered by the torrential rain. "It must have slipped my mind. I am so old, after all. My memory isn't what it used to be."
Obi-Wan is a Jedi Knight, so he doesn't cuss Ben out for being the most insufferable person in existence besides Maul, but he definitely thinks a lot of very rude things. By the time they get safely indoors, Obi-Wan is completely drenched and miserable.
The Kaminoans are surprised to see them, but accept it easily enough once Obi-Wan explains that they are Jedi. Master Ti, who is also drenched but manages to weather it with solemn Jedi grace, takes charge of the proceedings from there, asking about the terms of the contract and the progress of the clones. They get a lot of information despite having no clue what's going on. Bluffing, as Obi-Wan well knows, is a very important Jedi skill.
The Kaminoans treat them to a tour of the facilities, which Master Ti gracefully accepts. Obi-Wan tags along, feeling very superfluous, while Ben goes off to wander the facility unnoticed--apparently only Force-sensitives can see him, a fact that Ben is sure to abuse.
Obi-Wan looks around at the huge sterile facilities and wonders what it would be like to live in a place like this. There's none of the warmth and community of the Temple, no younglings at play or families or idle chatter--just the hum of machines and cavernous white rooms. It makes him feel cold just looking at it.
"We had to construct a new facility to accommodate the high volume of product ordered," the Kaminoan Nala Se explains, gesturing to the huge empty facilities. "We have never received an order of this magnitude, but we shall be sure to fulfill it to the fullest of our abilities."
"Yes, about that..." Master Ti says.
The Kaminoans are...less than happy to hear that the Jedi no longer require their services, but are willing to accept it when Master Ti tells them they are not looking for a refund on any payments already made. The Kaminoans, in the end, are interested in their business above all else.
"And what will you do with the existing product? Would you like us to dispose of it?" Nala Se asks.
Master Ti gets a dangerous look in her eyes, but wrangles her feelings under control and says, "No. We will take the...product as is."
The 'product', as it turns out, is nearly two thousand recently-decanted clones of the 'Alpha batch', plus a thousand more still incubating. Since it's a little difficult to transport three thousand infant clones in a two-cabin starfighter, Master Ti arranges for Jedi to return at a future date to pick up the clones as soon as they're able to accommodate the care of so many individuals. With the funds already paid, Master Ti commissions to have the existing clones' accelerated ageing reversed, and to finish the incubation of the current batch so they can be safely transported to the Temple.
"Very well," Nala Se says, as businesslike as ever. "I will make changes to the order as stipulated. We will halt development of future batches. We will care for the existing product until the Jedi retrieves them, and we will finish decanting the current batch and complete typical post-decanting procedures including health checks, inoculations, immunotherapy evaluations, and chip implantation."
Master Ti pauses a moment. "...Chip implantation?"
"So, um, now we need to allocate space for three thousand crechelings, aged about one to three years old because of the way they accelerate the earliest development stages," Obi-Wan tells the Council when they return. "To help with this unexpected situation, I've compiled a set of possible plans to where we can hold these clones, as well as how their future education can be modified from the standard crecheling curriculum to accommodate for their not being Force-sensitive. I'm not really sure where we'll have the funds for all of this, but since we were apparently going to pay a huge sum of money to the cloners for approximately four million or so clone soldiers, including their training and, uh, storage, I'm sure we can manage to find the money for three thousand."
Master Koon nods and thumbs through the report. "Thank you. Your insight is greatly appreciated. I see there's a mention of 'biochips' here. Can you elaborate on this?"
Obi-Wan nods. "It seems like one of the later addendums made to the Jedi's contract was the addition of biochips implanted in each clone's brain early in development. Nala Se informed us that they were to limit aggression in the clones, but when pressed, she said that such biochips could also be used to affect a clone's behavior in more concrete ways, to induce them to follow certain instructions, possibly even against their will. We don't know that they're supposed to do such a thing in this case, but considering what Ben's told us about how the war ends, it's not super hard to guess how those chips might be used."
A wave of unease ripples through the Council Chamber. It was one thing to hear Ben tell them that an entire clone army turned against them all at once. It's another thing altogether to pull back the curtain and see the mechanisms that might bring it about.
"We, uh, obviously requested that these chips get removed," Obi-Wan says. "Nala Se informed us that the chips alone aren't enough to render them active--there's some in-depth neural restructuring that has to occur at various stages of development for the chip to actually exert an influence on the clones' behavior, so we would probably be safe, but we said to get rid of them anyways just to be sure. The Kaminoans didn't like that, but we were paying them, so they didn't complain."
"I looked into the security records for who could have added the biochips to the contract," Master Ti continues. "And holofootage shows it was none other than our former Master Dooku. I do not wish to think poorly of such a highly-regarded member of our Order, but this leads me to believe he may be involved with the Sith. This requires close follow-up as soon as possible."
Master Windu bows his head. "Very well, Shaak. We'll send a mission out to investigate this immediately. Is there anything else?"
"The currently incubating batch will be decanted in two months' time," Master Ti says. "So we will be able to retrieve those clones then. Until that time, I have looked over Knight Kenobi's proposals for accommodating the three thousand clones we will be bringing from Kamino and agree with his judgements. It will not be easy to bring them all in so quickly, but I believe it will be feasible to have everything ready in time."
"Good," Master Koon says. "If that is all, then you may be dismissed, Knight Kenobi. We will contact you if we require anything further."
Obi-Wan bows and leaves, feeling very lightheaded. He's been spending too much time in the Council Chamber these days.
"Obi-Wan!" Anakin shouts when Obi-Wan gets back to his quarters, half a second before barreling straight into Obi-Wan's stomach. "You're back!"
Obi-Wan steadies himself and pats Anakin on the back. "Yeah, Anakin. I'm back. How were you when I was gone?"
"I was good!" Anakin says. "I made a new friend and everything. She's a Nautolan and she's teaching me how to swim. It's pretty wizard!"
Obi-Wan smiles. That's certainly better than he had hoped for. "That's great, Anakin!"
"Can you teach me those saber forms now, Obi-Wan? Please?"
Obi-Wan ruffles Anakin's hair, startling a squawk out of him. "Let's eat something first, then we can figure out where to go from there."
Obi-Wan spends the next few days more intensively training Anakin as promised and so hardly notices that Ben has made himself scarce, at least until Maul flags him down in the refectory and tells him to "go fix his ghost".
"I beg your pardon?" Obi-Wan asks.
"The elder Kenobi is impossible to have a conversation with," Maul says. "It is extremely annoying. Go fix him."
"Maul, you don't 'fix' people. They're not droids."
Maul rolls his eyes. "There is a problem that makes him unwilling to talk. Once the problem is removed he will talk again. How is that any different than fixing anything else? Go make him stop sulking. I will supervise your useless Padawan."
"Uh, no," Obi-Wan says. "I'm not leaving you alone with Anakin. Let me find someone, then I'll talk to Ben. Where is he?"
"I do not know. I saw him last in the Observatory Spire. With any luck, he will still be there. Let me know when you have fixed him."
Obi-Wan nods. He doesn't know why Maul's so interested in talking to Ben all of a sudden, but if Ben isn't feeling well, it's the least Obi-Wan can do to check on him.
He makes his way up to the Observatory Spire about half an hour later, and sure enough, Ben is there, staring out over the Coruscant skyline. He's sitting cross-legged, floating about a foot in the air and looks like he's been there for some time.
Obi-Wan clears his throat. "Ben?"
Ben turns to face him. "Obi-Wan? What are you doing here?"
"Maul asked me to check on you," Obi-Wan says. "He said you weren't feeling well."
Ben looks amused. "Not in those exact words, I imagine."
"Well, no, of course not--it is Maul," Obi-Wan says. "He does care. I just think it gives him an ulcer to admit it to himself."
"He's not used to being around people who don't want to take advantage of him. It's a work in progress," Ben replies. "I'm glad he doesn't have to be as miserable as he was last time around." Ben looks back out towards the skyline and lapses into silence.
Obi-Wan sits down next to him and looks out over the observation deck. It's a beautiful day, with bright blue skies and sparse cloud cover. Even the typically omnipresent smog haze seems lighter today.
"I'm sorry I haven't really talked to you since we got back," Obi-Wan says. "Are you okay?"
"Hm," Ben says. "I don't know."
Ben falls silent, and Obi-Wan sits silently, waiting.
Eventually, Ben sighs deeply and says, "This is all very surreal for me, you know. Being here in this time and place. Even now I feel like I'll wake up and be back in my hut on Tatooine." He flexes blue transparent fingers. "It was easier when I was sharing a body, I think. When you're incorporeal, nothing feels quite real. It seems like the slightest breeze will break me apart and scatter me to the Force."
"I'm sorry," Obi-Wan says. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
Ben shakes his head. "This is just the ramblings of an old man. I will be fine--it's simply a lot to get used to. I hadn't expected being pure Force to feel quite like this, is all."
Obi-Wan nods. The whole Force ghost situation is not something he'd ever thought of, much less thought possible--even before the time travel thing. It's hard to remember that not that long ago, Ben was alive. He had his own body and everything. How difficult would it be, to adjust from that place and time to his current state of existence?
"Is that all that's bothering you?" Obi-Wan asks.
Ben doesn't answer straight away. He lets the silence stretch, and Obi-Wan waits. Obi-Wan knows as well as anyone how hard it can be to find the right words.
"I..." Ben trails off, frowns, then starts again, "Have I ever told you about the clones?"
Of course Ben has--he's talked about Kamino and how the clone soldiers had killed the Jedi all at once, like a wave of death overtaking the entire galaxy. Somehow, Obi-Wan is sure that's not what Ben means.
"They were...good men," Ben says, looking out into the distance again. "Brave. Honorable. They were some of the best men I have ever known--and I have known a great many people."
"Did you love them?" Obi-Wan asks.
Ben nods. "How could I not? They were born into such a cruel world, for such a cruel purpose, but they shined with so much light. They fought for their brothers and a Republic that didn't respect them and so many people who would have been slaughtered without their defense. They fought for me, they bled and died and still trusted me to lead them long after they should have given it up. We shared our lives for three long years--they were my family in every way that mattered, and I wish I could have done more for them. They were better than I ever deserved. Of course I loved them."
Ben lets out a long breath with the weight of an entire world behind it. "I...never knew about the chips. Nineteen years, I wondered what I did wrong, how I could have misjudged my people so badly. Anakin, of course, I realized how poorly I understood him much too late. It just seemed...reasonable that my judgement was faulty elsewhere, too. I never wanted to believe my men were capable of turning against us like they did, but what choice did I have? My family was dead, younglings cut down and Padawans executed by the people they thought they could trust the most. It's a horrible sort of relief, to know now that the clones, at least, didn't truly wish to commit the atrocity they did."
"It won't happen again," Obi-Wan says. "We've stopped it. The Jedi will live on."
"Yes, and I'm glad for it. Don't believe for a moment that isn't true. I would never wish the war or its aftermath upon anyone," Ben says.
"You don't sound happy."
Ben looks back at Obi-Wan, then down at his hands, clasped in his lap. "No. I suppose I don't."
Obi-Wan looks at Ben, who looks more tired than he ever has. He must have been tired for such a long time--tired for so long that he doesn't even know what it means to exist outside of it. Gently, he reaches out to Ben with the Force, pressing against Ben's muted but warm presence with the only comfort he can offer--himself.
Ben closes his eyes. "I had hoped..." He rubs his beard slowly, then tries again, "I had hoped to apologize to my men. For not doing enough to help them, for not understanding whatever it was that led them to order me executed without even letting me explain myself. For ordering them to die, for making the wrong choices. It was always a futile hope, since the men I wronged do not exist. Just a pointless gesture to assuage an old man's guilt. I understood that well enough, and let go of the urge.
"But then, I had hoped to at least see them again. To have the good without the bad, to let them live in peace as they deserved. If they could build happy lives, it wouldn't matter that I couldn't be a part of it--they would be free and only answer to themselves," Ben continues. "But now they will never even be born. The men I knew and led...none of them exist, and none of them ever will."
"Preventing their creation isn't the same as killing them," Obi-Wan says.
"It's not," Ben agrees. "And it's better this way--it truly is. I debated for a long time about whether I should tell you about Kamino. In the end, I couldn't justify creating these men purely just because the life they would live now might be kinder than the one they lived in a darker timeline. That serves nobody but my own selfish ego, and they deserve better than that. Maybe I didn't kill them by preventing their creation. But they are gone nonetheless, and I will mourn their loss."
Obi-Wan's heart clenches. Somehow, he had imagined it a relief for Ben, to know that the agents who had destroyed the Jedi would no longer come into play. He hadn't even considered that Ben would have loved the clones so deeply before their final betrayal.
He moves over, closer to Ben, and puts his arm around Ben's shoulders. It feels just less than solid, enough for him to feel the strange tingling warmth of Ben's shimmering presence. "I'm sorry," Obi-Wan says. "I'm sorry you had to make that choice, Ben."
"I'll be okay," Ben says. "I just need some time to process it, is all."
"I know. But I'm here for you, if you want me to be."
That seems to catch Ben off guard for a moment. "Ah. Yes, I think I would like that."
Obi-Wan nods. "Your men...can you tell me about them? If you want to, I mean."
Slowly, Ben smiles and says, "Yes, of course I can tell you about them."
On the first anniversary of Qui-Gon's death, Obi-Wan wakes up at the crack of dawn and, instead of doing his usual morning meditation, brews a cup of Qui-Gon's favorite tea. He sets it out where Qui-Gon used to sit at the dining table, then brews a second cup for himself and breathes in the familiar aroma.
"I wish you were here, Qui-Gon," Obi-Wan says. "I wish you could meet Anakin and Ben and all the clones. It's been hard without you--I still feel like I never know enough, and I'm not ready for all these responsibilities the Council gives me, and I wish you were here to guide me. But you're gone now, and you always will be. I wonder if you'd be proud if you could see me now.
"Knighthood is harder than I ever imagined. Training Anakin, even more so. I don't know if you ever realized what you were asking, when you told me to take Anakin on--you were dying, after all. I don't know if I'm training him to your standards, but...I think Anakin is doing well. He's still a bit antisocial, but he has some good friends and he's almost effortlessly intelligent, at least when it comes to subjects he enjoys. I'm not sure I'll ever get him to study Intergalactic Literature on his own. He got his lightsaber just last month, and he's already a terror in the salles. I'm a little frightened of what I'll do when he inevitably gets better than me sooner rather than later."
Obi-Wan sips his tea. It's much more bitter than the mild aroma would suggest--Qui-Gon had always liked this blend the best for some reason, and Obi-Wan still doesn't get why. Maybe after all those years eating and drinking who knows what, Qui-Gon had lost his sense of taste.
"I think you'd like Ben. He's a ghost from the future, if I never told you that. He looks harmless, but he's an agent of chaos if you leave him alone long enough. I'm not sure what we expected, with him assassinating a Sith Lord and everything. He's been teaching me Soresu--I'm still not sure how I like it so far or if I'll stick with it, but when we're doing katas together...it feels right, you know? Like magic. Ben's got the best Soresu I've ever seen, so if anyone's going to convince me to switch, it'll probably be him.
"He spends most of his time floating around, being all ghost-like. He scared a lot of Padawans in the first few months, but everyone's used to him now. He still possesses me sometimes--which isn't as bad as it sounds, I swear--especially when he's teaching, and he says he sometimes possesses tookas in the gardens because they're cozy, but I think he's just comfortable being a ghost now. I asked if he wanted us to get him a body, like clone me or something and he could possess that? But he says he prefers being as he is. Luminous beings and all that. He teaches Initiates about using the Force and philosophy--I think he really loves it. Teaching, I mean. The younglings love him, of course. All of them want him to be their Master, but I think Ben's going to wait a while longer before taking on another Padawan. Too bad Maul is already Master Windu's Padawan, or he'd probably like to be Ben's Padawan--the two of them really get along now, which is kind of terrifying to think about.
"The clones are wonderful--we thought it might be difficult for them to adjust to Temple life since they're not Force-sensitive, but they've taken to it like fish to water. They're still so young, but they're startlingly intelligent--maybe part of their genetic engineering, or something else with their development. The Masters love them.
"There was some issue about half a year back with Jango Fett contacting the Temple to complain about us taking in his clones and canceling the contract with the Kaminoans, but since he signed away the rights for the clones to the Republic, there wasn't really anything he could do except try to break in and...release his clones, I guess? I don't really know what he was trying to do, but Master Windu caught him and sent him to the respective authorities. That's probably going to cause problems down the line, but I think if Jango wanted his clone sons, he should have thought about that before selling them all into military service."
Obi-Wan takes another sip of his tea. Now that it's cooler, there's a slightly sweet undertone that's not unpleasant.
"As for me, well. I'm good, I think. I miss you still, but I've got a lot of support. Not just Ben and Anakin, I've been talking to a lot of the Masters and learning new things, too. Bant became a Knight Healer officially, so she's doing great. Quinlan is, well, you know how Quinlan is. I've started teaching some classes for the Initiates, and it's hard, but I really think I enjoy it. The younglings have so much energy it's hard to believe I was ever like that when I was little.
"Sometimes I wonder what it would be like, if I didn't have Anakin. If I were just a Knight all on my own after your death, trying to figure things out. Maybe I'd be out on missions all the time, or throwing myself into some kind of research project in the Temple, or maybe I would be doing okay. I don't know if it would be better that way or the way it is now, and I don't really think it's that useful to dwell on it--I just think about it, sometimes. I'm happy where I am now, and I think that's what really matters.
"I hope you're doing well. I mean, you're dead, so that's kind of a rough start, but whatever comes after death, I hope you're at peace. Ben says that you might become a ghost like him, and yeah, I guess that's kind of heretical thing you'd be into, so if you're really out there listening, good luck on becoming a ghost. I hear it's difficult, but that's never stopped you before. And if you do become a ghost...make sure to visit sometime, okay?"
Obi-Wan finishes the tea in silence, watching the sun rise outside his window until his cup is empty and the tea on the opposite side of the table is completely cold. He feels warm inside despite the morning chill--mostly from the tea, but maybe something else, as well.
He dumps out the cold tea in the sink and rinses out the cups. Between the Sith and the ghosts and Anakin and the clones, he's had a pretty wild year. He sure hopes that isn't his Knighthood starting as it means to go on--he's not sure he can take that much excitement.
He sets his cups aside to dry, and feels a warm touch on his shoulder, not quite physical.
May the Force be with you always, Obi-Wan, he hears faintly, like a whisper in the wind.
Obi-Wan smiles. "May the Force be with you," he says. "Don't worry about me. I'll be okay."