Chapter Text

‘Lost In Transit’

Chapter 1; MIA

The outer rim sieges were absolutely draining.

Fighting endless battles. Losing countless men. Achieving nothing. Almost three years of war and it had sucked the life out of Obi-Wan. He was tired. It did not help that Obi-Wan and the 212th Attack Battalion had been tasked with tracking down Grievous. 

It was not going great.

The General of the Separatists was a coward, retreating the second a battle was starting to favour the Republic. The few confrontations Obi-Wan managed to have with Grievous were few and far between. 

Grievous was planning something. He was starting to move closer to the Core and with Dooku in an unknown location Obi-Wan had a bad feeling about the whole ordeal. It was troublesome.

“Grievous fled. Again.” Obi-Wan remarked over his holoconnection with Commander Cody, “He did leave some of the stolen lightsabers behind. I’m taking those back to the ship.”

“ Acknowledged. We are pushing back the clankers. Further orders, sir? ”

“No, Cody, I leave the battle up to your insight, I have no eyes on the field at this moment.”

“ Acknowledges. ”

Obi-Wan hummed, “Do you need aid on the battlefield?”

“ Negative, General. Retreat to the ‘Negotiator’ at your earliest convenience. We’ll clear the remaining clankers. ” Cody replied.

“Acknowledged. We shall reconvene on the bridge for a debrief.” Obi-Wan noted, “I might have some trouble receiving your call but I should be there within three hours. Kenobi out.”

Letting the hologram vanish, Obi-Wan turned back to the lightsabers and gathered them, placing them carefully in his shoulder bag.He recognised Shaak Ti’s lightsaber as well as his second lightsaber. Who the other two belonged to was not known to Obi-Wan but he would ensure the Kyber was handled respectfully. 

Taking a deep breath, Obi-Wan walked away. Obi-Wan’s second lightsaber had been stolen from him a long time ago during one of the many times he had gotten captured by the Separatists during this never-ending war.

At least Obi-Wan gets to be in the field. He had spent a lot of time on paperwork and preparation duties during the past year. While hunting Grievous and Count Dooku was tedious, it was better than going through the supply documents for hours upon hours.

Not that today had allowed for a lot of action. Grievous had fled the moment the 212th arrived in the atmosphere, clearly in a hurry since he left some of his trophies behind.

Most of the GAR was fighting elsewhere. Obi-Wan had broken off to see if he could recover some data before it was all deleted. Some of his men were working nearby to retrieve documents and files.

Though, Obi-Wan had not heard much from them since they parted ways. He should check up on them.

Frowning at the odd feeling he got, Obi-Wan started walking in the direction of the main console room of the compound. His eyes widened as he spotted two dead Vode, the very same he had left behind before.

Before he could call it in, a sting on his neck distracted him. It took less than a second for his mind to blur and his vision to darken.

Obi-Wan knew he was in trouble when he felt paralysed, waking moments after being ambushed. 

His limbs could not move as someone tied him up and started dragging him along. 

“Well, well, well, look who the tooka dragged in.”

Blinking slowly, Obi-Wan tried to get his eyes to focus.

“Cad Bane.” Obi-Wan gritted. “I don’t know if you noticed, but now is not a good time.”

Obi-Wan knew he could do nothing about this. Tied up and clearly under the influence of a sedative or Force Suppressor left little option. Especially not with Cad Bane dragging him through the empty hallways of Grievous’ old hideout.

It was not new to see a bounty hunter during this war. 

Not now that the Separatists decided it was a good idea to put a bounty on any Jedi captured. Dead or alive. The only luck Obi-Wan had on his side was the fact that he was worth a lot more credits alive.

As High General, he was negotiable. It was also a large blow against the GAR. 

Sure, they would manage without him, but that did not mean Obi-Wan would not be missed. 

“Oh Kenobi– you know I don’t care.” The bounty hunter replied. “A million credits for a lone Jedi. I bet I can get more for you.”

“I am not worth the trouble, you know that.” Obi-Wan mused, “Haven’t you learned from the last time?”

“Last time, there were two of you.” 

True. Obi-Wan had been with Quinlan. Not that it helped in apprehending Cad Bane but at least neither of them had died.

The bounty hunter knew that all too well. Obi-Wan needed to bargain.

“Grievous won’t pay, neither would Dooku.” Obi-Wan mused, “But the Republic might.”

They wouldn’t. 

The Senate did not care enough about the Jedi to bargain for Obi-Wan’s return. Not unless he had some alternative benefit they could use. 

The Republic was notorious for not negotiating with bounty hunters. Individual systems might but not the body of the Senate.

“Don’t try to play me as the fool, Negotiator.” Cad Bane replied, dragging Obi-Wan and making him lay down on a carbonite freezing machine. 

Kriff. 

Watching as the bounty hunter booted up the machine, Obi-Wan knew he had to try and stall. Buy himself time. Obi-Wan tried to struggle, frantically thinking of how to get out of this one. He had to warn Cody. He had to do something. 

“We can talk about this–”

“I don’t have the time to bargain with you. I learned from last time, Jedi.” Cad Bane growled, “Sleep tight.”

“No wait–” 

Then the world went dark.

—-----------------------

- 14 AFE - 

Unrest had ruled the streets of Ord Mantell for a long time now.

Few dared to show it openly, fewer dared to directly oppose their oppressors who had made their planet a military system. The Empire had taken over and it showed. 

While the major capitals were borderline Imperial military bases and even the smaller villages felt the oppressing nature of the Empire slowly suffocating them.

There was bound to be unrest.

After fourteen long years of dealing with it, some of the locals had had enough. Some started to whisper. Some started to plot in secret. Whispers of a group of rebels had spread far and wide. Mysterious figures that silently sabotaged the Imperial forces whenever they could.

They were careful. They had to be careful. Especially with the heavy military presence on the planet. The rebels mostly targeted the locations in smaller towns. Trading cities where a lot of supplies came through.

“Make sure your holocamera is on.” Wenn Siddir, an older and inactive ally to the rebels, reminded the two younger men. Wenn was too old to actively fight. He aided in different ways. Providing medical services and tech supplies wherever he could.

“Why do we wear these again? Kind of damning if we get caught.” Rall adjusted the device attached to his chest.

“If you get caught, you’re dead. You won’t get a trial.” Wenn replied. “And if they do try to keep you alive, you better hope you die before they get you.”

It was not supposed to dampen the spirit of the younger rebels. It was meant as a kindness, a warning for what the consequences could be to this.

“Still doesn’t explain why.” Rall’s friend Oddus was more nervous, he was right to be.

“The more we learn about their operations, the more we can play in on that.” Wenn replied, “We might learn something about their base. The hangar could be a valuable target for a more pointed attack. Repeat the plan to me.”

Rall took a deep breath, “Intercept the incoming shipment, disable the droids flying it, crash it into the hanger, do as much damage as possible, get out.” He summarised, “Make sure it looks like the droids malfunctioned to keep our cover.”

Wenn nodded, “Get as much footage of the hangar– that’s our future target. Good luck, boys.”

“See ya, old man.” Rall saluted while Oddus quietly nodded and followed his friend.

They had one shot at this. The more they learned about the hangar, the more damage they could do later on. The chaos would cover their comings and goings, hopefully, and they both remembered the plan.

Rall puffed his chest out as he walked out of Wenn’s tiny clinic. He was excited. They were going to make a change today. “Make note of the date, Oddus, we’re gonna make a difference today.”

Oddus was less certain of this. “...Maybe we shouldn’t do this.” 

“What?” Rall frowned, “Of course we should.”

“...It’s dangerous.”

“Well, so is doing nothing.” Rall pursed his lips, “Have you not noticed how the troopers are doing more shifty kriff? We have to remind them we are not to be messed with.”

Unlike Rall’s nobel, if not very naive, stance on things, Oddus seemed to have a better idea of the potential consequences of getting caught. He too had seen the oppression but he knew that fighting it might just be futile. No one fought against the Empire. For good reason too.

Letting the conversation sizzle out, the two young rebels activated their cameras. 

They would infiltrate the cargo ship mid flight, overtake it and crash it. 

Time to stir some trouble.

—------------------------

Alarms bleared as the ship slid through the hangar, breaking apart and flipping through the area, leaving a good amount of damage behind.

The ship seemed to come apart at the seams, instead of a ship it looked more like a pile of rubble and wires.

Unbeknownst by all, a crate marked with countless stamps from countless systems had broken free and broke open. 

Things had gone off the rails a bit. Rall and Oddus had had some trouble disabling the droids. Their plan on making the ship crash into an mostly empty hangar had not only gone poorly, they also underestimated the amount of Troopers there were on site. 

Rall had barely managed to leap back to his and Oddus’ ship before the ship crashed but that meant that they were both trapped inside the hangar, pinned down under blaster fire.

It was not looking good.

Their first act of rebellion might just be their last.

Trying to think of how to get out, Rall was distracted when the ship suddenly made a groaning noise. The metal whined as if something bent it, moving it. But that was not possible. It should not be possible.

Rall and Oddus froze as their eyes locked onto the origin of the noise. Blaster fire halted as everyone watched the ship with confusion and interest. They could use this distraction, they could–

A hand punched through the rubble, catching the attention of both the troopers as well as the rebels. 

Time froze as the hand grabbed onto a piece of metal which had once belonged to the ship. The figure pulled themselves up slowly, climbing out of the space they had been in and onto the wrecked ship.

Rall’s mouth dropped open as the armoured man stood on unsteady feet, supported only by holding onto the piece of metal he had used to pull himself out of the crashed ship.

A copper haired humanoid man, dressed in robes and battle armour stood on top of the rubble. His copper coloured hair was messy, pale skin bore a sweaty glow, his limbs twitched irregularly. His build was lean and athletic, his posture slouched with weariness. The man wavered on his feet, managing to remain upright but clearly unsteady. 

The man’s armour was white, covered in battle damage and scuff marks. The sigil on his shoulder proudly bearing the symbol of the Jedi Order which fell so long ago. A shoulder bag woven with fine colours and sturdy material was slung around his shoulder. 

With his features almost shining in the dim light, his eyes glowed blue but seemed glazed over, unseeing but drawn to the light regardless. 

The man looked ethereal. 

A sense of peace washed over Rall. Despite the ship they just crashed– one that the man had evidently been on– Rall was not scared anymore. 

That was a Jedi.

A real, living, Jedi.

The fear of being caught, of being shot, faded. The Jedi would help them. If any being had a reason to hate the Empire, it was a Jedi. 

Rall had never seen a Jedi before but he recognised the armour and the sigil. Clone Wars era plastoid that was worn by the Jedi Generals and Commanders. The beige robes below it completed the picture entirely, as did the metal cylinder idly hanging from the man’s belt.

He looked just like…

“...General Kenobi?” Rall couldn’t help but ask, leaning closer to Oddus.

Oddus flinched violently when the Jedi turned his gaze in their direction. Blue glowing eyes aimed in their direction but not quite on them, like the Jedi could not see them. 

It clicked then.

Why the life form never showed up on their radars. Why they had missed the presence of the Jedi before. The sweaty glow, the unsteady movements, the glazed over eyes– all signs of Hibernation sickness. Had the Empire captured a Jedi and kept him in carbonite?

Rall couldn’t ponder on it when the sound of blaster fire distracted him.

—----------------

A loud high pitched noise rang through his ears making his head ache. 

Obi-Wan blinked, his gaze blurred and unable to focus. His legs felt unsteady, his limbs sluggish. Nothing felt right. Not Obi-Wan’s body, not his mind and most damningly, not even the Force. 

Feeling air fill his lungs for the first time in a long time, Obi-Wan took a few deep breaths, smelling the scent of metal, oil and blaster bolts. Obi-Wan greedily breathed the air in, ignoring the burn in his lungs and the dryness of his mouth and throat.

Hibernation sickness. Obi-Wan had been frozen for a while. A long while.

Something was wrong.

Horribly wrong.

Instinct told Obi-Wan to move and he did his best to do just that. He moves, focussing solely on the Force– or rather, the shambles that were left of it. What was once a roaring river, now seemed like a dry desert. 

The Force felt wrong, it felt hurt and ripped apart. 

Feeling nausea take over, Obi-Wan turned and got to his knees, dry heaving. He had nothing in his stomach to throw up. The dryness of his throat caused Obi-Wan to cough, unable to stop the itch that took over. 

He was cold. Very cold.

An incredible sadness overwhelmed Obi-Wan. The Force was grieving. Something horrible had happened. Obi-Wan could feel it.

When Obi-Wan settled a bit, he felt confident enough to get to his feet only to realise he was somewhat trapped. Surrounded by darkness Obi-Wan’s blurred vision tried to see but it was no use.

His muscles ached but otherwise seemed normal. It was clear that Obi-Wan had been kept in carbonite for some time– he recognised the signs. Sadly, it was a popular way of shipping bounties.

Cad Bane had likely known that if Obi-Wan managed to clear whatever paralysing drug he had used from his system, Obi-Wan would be too difficult to transport.

At least Obi-Wan was not tied up. He still had his armour and his bag– his lightsaber. There was no way Cad Bane would let him wake up without being there to tie him up the second he was unfrozen. Cody must have apprehended the bounty hunter.

“Cody–?” Obi-Wan’s throat felt like he swallowed sandpaper. It hurt to talk. 

Something was wrong.

Something was wrong.

Something was–

Blaster fire finally hit his ears, a familiar sound at this point. Obi-Wan needed to ground himself. He needed to get stable. He needed to snap out of this and purge whatever the kriff was still in his system.

Obi-Wan’s head ached as he tried to focus on the Force but Obi-Wan knew he had to move. He could be in enemy territory for all he knew. Cad Bane had seemed insistent on selling him to the highest bidder, he might have awoken in the middle of a deal.

Focus. 

Focus on the Force and let it guide his path.

Obi-Wan’s gaze tilted upwards. 

Light. There was light up there. If only Obi-Wan could reach it. The Force guided his hand forwards, feeling around for a moment before his hand found a ledge.

Despite his burning muscles, Obi-Wan felt the Force pull him upwards. He had to climb, blind as he was. But the Force was with him. It would guide him up to the light, just like it always had.

When Obi-Wan got closer to the light and reached the top of whatever hole he had been in, the blaster fire suddenly halted.

Obi-Wan could sense others but he was too busy with peering in the direction of the light. He was alive and he was out. Free after Force knows how long in carbonite.

“...General Kenobi?”

Obi-Wan’s head snapped into the direction of the voice. His sight blurred and unable to really see but aware that there were two living beings somewhere there. One of them seemed awed, the other scared.

A blasterbold impacted a surface not too far from where Obi-Wan was sitting.

Turning to the source, Obi-Wan sensed a good amount of enemies. Despite being basically blinded, Obi-Wan’s senses were starting to return to him. It was a miracle he stood but the Force was with him more now than it ever had.

The Light embraced him like an old friend.

At the sound of more blaster fire, Obi-Wan held his hand up. The Force freezing the blaster bolts mid air before returning them back to whoever shot them. 

The Force took over Obi-Wan’s tired and aching body, moving him. Obi-Wan zoned out, his consciousness not ready for the brunt of the battle he was now in. 

When Obi-Wan got back to himself, his muscles ached much more than before, his legs wavered and finally collapsed to the floor. The lightsaber in his hand, which he did not remember grabbing in the first place, slipping from his grasp.

“Come on!” A hand landed on his arm, forceful and insistent.

Not an enemy. Not a threat. Obi-Wan resisted the urge to pull back, wary from the insistence. Wary of the strangers.

He had to treat this as enemy territory. Imperials was an unfamiliar term to him but he knew the two beings in front of him truly feared them. 

Something was wrong.

Something felt off. 

The Force was trying to hide it from him, keeping him surrounded by Light too bright to look through. 

Obi-Wan blinked tiredly as the hands moved to pull him up. As he was lifted up, Obi-Wan lost his consciousness, slipping into the comfortable world of sleep. 

—-------------------------

A bright blinding beacon of Light rippled through the Force. 

The Force, which had been so distant and hurt, ripped to pieces by the Dark. The warriors of the Light had all but been snuffed out. Only a handful remained now, still out there and still trusting the Light. Many had fallen, either to those that sought to kill others or those that lost their fate in the face of undeniable Darkness.

After the fall of the Republic and the rise of the Empire, the Force had never truly recovered. 

Which is why, in the midst of such Darkness, the ripple of pure Light was all too noticeable. 

The sudden burst with Light so bright it could not go unnoticed.

An old Jedi, crippled by defeat and exiled to never be seen again, lifted their head. The Light, which was far from him, brushed past him. A familiar warmth, a soothing Light, an old friend. 

A young man froze in place, the girl holding his hand giggled as she felt a tickle of the Force. Sharing a look with the woman he was with he confirmed that she had felt it too. Something had changed. 

A bold Rebel tripped over his own feet, eyes wide as the ripple of light passed him. The teen next to him frowning but curious. Something was stirring in the Galaxy.

Two teenagers, separated from birth and worlds apart both stopped in their tracks, confused by the familiar wave of comfort and ease that washed over them. 

A grown woman, hardened by pain and sorrow, carrying the burden of survival that was weighing heavily on her, felt lighter than she had in years. A bond, long forgotten and weakened over time pulled at her conscious.

Hope. 

Something, no, someone steady in the Light despite the Darkness which ruled the galaxy now. 

They were not the only ones that felt it. 

The Inquisitorius fell silent. All of them. They too sensed the Light and knew then that they were far from finished with their task.

Their leader, one of the most feared Sith in the current Galaxy, froze. His breathing stilled. Disbelieve settled before anger took over. Someone was pretending to be an old friend. They would pay for that with their lives.

The Emperor on his throne, surrounded by the spoils of victory and basking in the pain he had caused still. An old enemy had arisen. A threat which he had been quelled long ago had returned.

A Light which brought hope to many was also a homing beacon to those seeking to quell it.

A disturbance in the Force no one could quite ignore.

—------------------

Obi-Wan: *minding his own damn business gathering intel*

Cad Bane: *Appears to mess up Obi-Wan’s day*

Obi-Wan: Ahhh kriff… ( ˶°ㅁ°) 

Obi-Wan: *Wakes up in the dark and blind* Ahhh kriff…

Force: Oh! Oh! Friend who is not avoiding me out of fear! *immediately helps Obi-Wan out*

Obi-Wan: Why do I have a feeling that’s gonna have consequences later on?

-Meanwhile-

Literally every Force Sensitive in the galaxy: *Feel a very strong wave of the Light and now know that shit’s going on* (O_O)!

-----------------

AN:

I've rewritten the first chapter like three times before I finally managed to get something I kinda like.

When I was writing I was chatting with a friend and he was able to help me figure out if carbon freezing can be done over a long period of time. I knew I didn't want to use the Force as a time-travel tool in this fic and wanted to include carbon freezing from the start. I would have bend the rules on how that works if we did not stumble upon a story of some Jedi stuck in carbonite for centuries before getting out (he lost his mind but let's not talk about that :p) Obi-Wan is suffering from Hibernation-sickness but I bend the rules a bit because he is Force Sensitive and because the Force did help him out a lot back there. Anyways, if you hadn't noticed, I do follow the rule of cool. Is it cool or pretty? Then I'll ignore the finer details (example: Obi-Wan climbing despite just being unfrozen).

Also, I've made art for this chapter on Tumblr, check it out!

Hope you guys enjoyed!

!!!Also, small notice, updates will slow down on all fics again with deadline season approaching and I have to focus on school stuff until June. After that I'll have more time to write again. That does not mean no updates at all, it just means there will be less updates so chapters will take a little longer to be released!!!