Work Text:
Tanalorr’s Promise
Story (One-Shot Version):
“Mast—Obi-Wan?”
The long minute spent staring at the open air in shock quickly disappeared. It was not Qui-Gon Jinn returned.
Obi-Wan looked up, the voice strangely incredulous. A human-looking Jedi with bright green eyes, tousled red hair, and face framed by a neatly trimmed beard was paused mid-stride just outside the doorway.
Said Jedi was dressed not in the robes of the Order, but in what looked like scrappy civilian clothing. There was also a rather small, compact-looking explorer droid peeking out from behind the Jedi’s back.
The only reason why Obi-Wan was able to identify the person as a Jedi was the rather unusually long lightsabre hilt attached to the man’s waist. Even stranger, the Jedi was giving him a rather unsettling and bewildered look.
“Hello there,” Obi-Wan politely began, uncertain even as the Force suddenly hummed in curiosity “I am Obi-Wan Kenobi.”
Those bright eyes blinked several times, before a bark of surprised laughter filled the air. Then, the rather strange Jedi stepped forward, extending a hand to shake.
“Hi, I’m Cal Kestis, Jedi Knight. This is BD-1. I couldn’t help but overhear what Master Jinn just said—”
Obi-Wan tried not to flinch.
“—but wanted to know if you wanted to be trained by me instead.”
Cal was no stranger to the weirdness that was his life – regardless of his being number one on the Empire’s Most Wanted list. It was the fact that both himself and BD-1 had been simply dumped here by whatever the hell they had walked into on Tanalorr.
And by ‘here’, Cal and BD-1 had somehow ended up in the moldy depths of the Jedi Temple.
The conditions and the method they had used to get out of those hazardous depths, and into the actual habitable places in the Temple had certainly shattered what fleetingly fond memories he had left of the Temple itself. If the Jedi Council members had still been alive, and if he had had the courage to actually confront them about their neglect of the actual foundations of a storied building, he would have.
But… that had not been just irritation and annoyance talking. Shock had enveloped Cal when he emerged from those depths and discovered that he had been ‘thrown back in time’.
The Jedi Councilors – alive.
Jedi he had remembered seeing in passing as a youngling – all so much younger and alive—
Even now, Cal was still trying to figure out if his accidental – he was sure it was accidental – walk back in time had somehow messed up the actual fate of the Force. That his very presence all of those days – weeks ago while hidden in an alcove and trying so hard to not listen in – had somehow caused Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn to not accept Obi-Wan Kenobi as a padawan.
At least his skills in evasion, and BD-1’s penchant for distractions and trouble had not been dulled. Even if his recklessness in offering Obi-Wan Kenobi – the General Obi-Wan Kenobi at the cusp of thirteen – apprenticeship had almost caused them to get caught.
In the end, they managed to ‘borrow’ a small spacecraft without being noticed. At least Cal didn’t think they had been noticed. Passing off excuses as to why they didn’t want to be discovered by Temple Guards or Jedi alike to Obi-Wan had been more difficult than he anticipated.
Teenage Obi-Wan was just as scarily observant as the holos and whispered rumors about General Kenobi was, during the war. Cal kind of regretted his offer of apprenticeship to the young man, but the hope he had seen in Obi-Wan’s eyes as a padawan who had not been ‘washed out’ into the Corps, was too powerful to turn away from.
Cal barely remembered that by the time he had been apprenticed to Master Tapal, virtually no one was involuntarily going into the Corps anymore. Everyone was being apprenticed left and right to any Jedi who needed help – whether on the front lines, medical, or otherwise.
Obi-Wan had told him he had been destined for the AgriCorps; that he had thought Master Jinn had been his last hope for apprenticeship. Cal couldn’t even picture Obi-Wan as a farmer; seeing only the inspirational General of the Republic.
But, if the rejection by Master Jinn had been Cal’s fault, then it was very likely that he had already altered timelines and fates. Even before he had offered Obi-Wan a place as a padawan.
It was there, in the relatively cold cockpit while calculating hyperspace jump coordinates as they left Coruscant’s atmosphere, that Cal made his decision.
He told Obi-Wan about Tanalorr.
Or at least a version of the exploration he wanted to conduct through Koboh to get to Tanalorr. If he was here, if it was several decades before the Fall of the Republic, then Cal was determined to change fates. Prevent the Empire, Darth Vader, the Inquisitors – everything that haunted his dreams – from happening.
Change what he could so that he could save those he cared about, even if they either didn’t know him, didn’t exist yet, or had betrayed him. Save them from a worse fate.
Save Prauf.
Save Master Cordova.
Save Cere.
Save Bode.
Because as much as he had been hurt, the anger coursing through him terrified him. And a part of him also hoped that even as this teenage Obi-Wan Kenobi looked to him for guidance, Cal could use the memory of the great and shining beacon of what it meant to be a Jedi to keep himself on the straight and narrow of the Light.
But first, securing Tanalorr and investigating whether or not whatever the hell had transported him here kept existing or not, was the first order. It was a tall order to change the fate of a galaxy, and Cal wasn’t even sure where he should begin. Tanalorr would allow him to sequester away from the prying eyes of the Jedi Council as he planned his next moves.
Even if those moves would likely be decidedly strange to a teenage Obi-Wan.
Yeah, Cal hadn’t thought that far ahead when the idea of changing the galaxy’s fate hit him. He had been glad Obi-Wan had been there when they were sneaking in and around Koboh though.
The creatures had still just been as nasty as ever. Evading the Bedlam Raiders had been easier with a second set of eyes – and Cal had been readily impressed with Obi-Wan’s sabre skills.
Between them, using the Force had come much easier, more strangely naturally than Cal’s own scattered usage. He couldn’t help but wonder at times if it was because of what he had done during that final fight against Bode, that areas of the Force had felt strangely muddy, painful, and difficult to access.
With Obi-Wan by his side, those areas had felt more refreshed, lighter, and easier to access. Still a little difficult and sharply painful, but Cal had been long used to using terrain and his environment to his advantage – rather than wholly depend on the Force.
When asked by Obi-Wan as to why he didn’t simply use the Force ‘like a normal Jedi Knight’, it took some creative wording to convince him that they were relatively incognito for this ‘mission’. It helped that Koboh was in the Outer Rim; Jedi rarely ventured out this far.
Obi-Wan likely thought that Cal was a Shadow, and training him as such.
It didn’t help that Cal either dual-wielded or used double-blades at times, depending on the type of fight, enemy, and terrain advantage he had. Even he himself remembered the secrecy surrounding those who walked that path, and ‘supposed’ types of blades that Jedi Shadows wielded.
He went with the assumption, ignoring BD-1’s near-silent chortle.
The more Obi-Wan filled in the gaps with his own assumptions, the more Cal was able to simply let the narrative take its own course. Koboh was the first stop – not counting the Observatory on the moon – and then when they were finally ready, Tanalorr was their destination.
At present, the oddity that had ejected him from where he had been in time, no longer existed on the planet.
Cal looked up, trying to let the gorgeously painted sky calm him. It was both a good and bad thing that the ‘tear’ if he could call it, no longer existed.
Good – no other unexpected person could walk through.
Bad – Cal was starting to have doubts on how he could accomplish changing the galaxy’s fate. That he missed Merrin, Greez, and even Kata. That even if he miraculously made the galaxy better here, he wanted to go home to them.
“M-Master Kestis!”
Obi-Wan’s call of his name – Cal was still getting used to being addressed as ‘Master’ – caused Cal to snap out of his musings. He narrowed his eyes, spotting the deepening dark smear that was an unknown ship descending the atmosphere, path clearly directly towards them. No other ships – or fleet for the matter – followed.
What… or who had found them?
“That’s not a Republic ship,” Obi-Wan began.
Even before the ship began to scream through the atmosphere in that eerily familiar way that Cal identified solely as a TIE variant, it was the overwhelming feeling of burning lava that crashed upon both of them. Anger, rage like nothing he had felt before pressed down like an impossible weight upon his shoulders – driving him to the ground.
Whatever he had felt through Cere’s final echo was nothing compared to feeling this oppressive, choking fear, as the TIE screamed – closing the distance with frighting speed—
“Cal!”
Like a nova blast searing across his senses, the miasma of fear and despair that had gripped him, disappeared. Cal blinked, looking over to see that Obi-Wan had a firm, if not painful grip on his left arm. BD-1 was trilling in worry on his right shoulder – poking him with the blunt end of a stim.
The TIE had landed a few meters away from them. Though the overwhelming feeling of anger and rage was still there, it seemed to be held at bay.
A hiss echoed across the expanse; the TIE variant was depositing its pilot. It was much too late to run to the other side of the valley where Cal had landed their spacecraft – exactly where Greez had parked the Mantis in the other time.
“I have this Cal,” Obi-Wan suddenly stated, tone unusually firm.
Cal felt him let go, bewildered at the sudden change from gangling teenager full of questions to confident attitude that seemed to belay years and years of maturity—
“Make your way back to the ship now, Knight Kestis. Leave Darth Vader to me.”
Cal’s head whipsawed from Obi-Wan to the TIE and the dark, imposing figure that emerged from it, and back to the teenage padawan—
—no…. Jedi Master.
BD-1’s flat blat spoke for his own stunned silence.
Cal and BD-1 hadn’t been the only ones who had been transported back in time. Somehow, tangled up in this was also Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, along with what seemed like memories of Jedi Master and General Obi-Wan Kenobi.
But, Master Kenobi had perished at the end of the war, hadn’t he? Purportedly killed by Darth Vader himself.
It was too much for Cal to process, much less understand. Regardless, he snapped out of his shock, hurrying to catch up to the venerated Jedi in teenager form.
“No, I won’t leave you to face this monster alone, Master Kenobi,” Cal stated, determined. “Wherever you are from time, the remnants of the Jedi Order perished at the hands of him and his Inquisitors.”
He had not gotten to Cere in time after failing to capture and defeat Bode, and falling from the plateau. He would not leave anyone else to fight Darth Vader alone – regardless of who they were. The monster was just too strong for one Jedi alone.
“I know,” came the surprising answer, just as they both saw the Dark Lord of the Sith stop a few meters away from them.
As imposing as Darth Vader looked with his black armor, helmet, and cape billowing in Tanalorr’s breeze, the Sith seemingly looked ever so slightly bewildered. Or as bewildered as someone that imposing could be.
Cal had a feeling that Darth Vader had not expected to encounter him, much less a teenage Obi-Wan Kenobi.
“He’s somehow tracked me down,” Obi-Wan continued. “He’s only after me. You can escape. Get back to Coruscant. Emperor Palpatine is Darth Sidious, Vader’s master. Warn the Council what is to come. Prepare them. Change the course of history with their help.”
“Not without your help, Master Kenobi,” Cal stubbornly stated. BD-1’s echoed beeps sounded just as obstinate as Cal’s tone.
Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw the teenager nod once. Obi-Wan’s eyes were completely focused on Darth Vader, and not once did they flick from the dark monster. Then, Cal saw him take a step forward, lightsabre in hand, but not ignited.
~~~
You were the Chosen One!
I HATE YOU!
You were my brother, Anakin. I loved you.
Anakin is gone. I'm what remains.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Anakin. For all of it.
I'm not your failure, Obi-Wan. You didn't kill Anakin Skywalker. I did.
They were words that had been spat towards each other – never forgotten by him. Or by the half-mechanical, half-flesh of what used to be Anakin Skywalker, and now only Darth Vader.
Obi-Wan felt Cal Kestis’ fear, even though the young man was doing his best to calm himself and draw upon the Force – readying for a grueling fight. As much as he wished that Kestis had listened to him and simply ran to the ship and escaped, a small part of him was glad that Kestis was there.
He was a teenager, with still-developing muscles and body. Even with the Force as his ally, Obi-Wan wasn’t certain that his very young body could withstand the force of Vader’s blows.
If it came to blows.
“She’s still alive,” Obi-Wan called out. “Still alive and years away from her fate, Darth. You don’t have to do this. Change this. Break it. Break this cycle of pain and suffering!”
Silence answered; the Force balanced on the precipice of hope or ruin.
~~~FINI~~~