Whoosh! Obi-Wan ducked just in time to avoid being decapitated. His own lightsaber snapped up just in time to block a second blow from his adversary. Obi-Wan pushed back and went on the offensive, trying to both fight and avoid looking at his opponent. He tried to get lost in the humm-CRASH! Of the battle tried to focus on surviving, but everytime he looked up his focus wavered as he saw Anakin, his friend, his brother, on the other side. He didn't know how long he could hold out.

It seemed like it had been hours. Obi-Wan's muscles ached, but he couldn't stop. He had to survive, he had to beat his opponent. A small part of his mind still believed that Anakin could be saved, or that he should run, escape, fight another day. But he didn't. Each of those thoughts was met with a flashback of the holovid yoda had shown him, the horror that had been his former apprentice destroying the Jedi Order. He couldn't stop. Obi-Wan would not let Anakin's crimes go unpunished.

They were near a cliff. At least, Obi-Wan thought so. He didn't dare take his focus off of the fight for a moment. He couldn't afford to. He had to keep fighting, he had to win. Swing. Parry. Parry. Thrust. He was relying on the force to guide his motions; his vision was full of sweat. Or was it tears? He couldn't tell.

Suddenly, at the edge of his mind he felt a slight tug. An opening! Knowing that this was his only chance, Obi-Wan swung with all his might. He heard a scream of anguish, but he paid it no heed. His hand came up, and with all his might he pushed outward with the force. His vision cleared for a moment, and he saw an image that would haunt him forever. Anakin, his apprentice, his comrade in arms, his friend, his brother, flying backwards off of a cliff, his right arm a stump just past the elbow. The only sound was Anakin's scream of rage and pain, following him all the way down. Obi-Wan didn't watch him fall. He collapsed there, on the edge of a cliff above the volcanic rivers of Mustafar.

Obi-Wan's eyes snapped open and he sat up, breathing hard and covered in sweat. It had been almost two and a half years, and barely a night went by when his sleep wasn't plagued by nightmares.

He looked up and finally registered the light of Tatooine's twin suns streaming through his window. With groan he heaved himself out of bed and began readying himself for the day. Today was market day in Mos Espa, and he needed to get supplies. He let his thoughts wander as he went about his routine, slipping on his coarse farmer's tunic and poncho, carefully concealing his lightsaber beneath the bulky garment.

Already market days had become almost automatic for the former Jedi master. He drifted from stall to stall, purchasing his wares without comment, barely seeing the people around him. The only people he truly saw were the Lars family and their young child. No one would've suspected who they really were, who the child really was. But of course that was the idea; if it were ever to get out that Owen and Beru had adopted a Skywalker, the son of the betrayer of the Republic, who knows what would happen. Nothing good, that was certain.

The twin suns were past their zenith when it happened. On the edge of Obi-Wan's consciousness he felt a tug, a twinge, a sting. For the first time in months Obi-Wan felt the touch of the Force. At first he flinched, wanting to shy away from this reminder of the past. But he knew there must be a reason for this feeling, so he took a deep breath and relaxed.

He almost regretted the decision. The touch felt dirty, as if it had been bathed in oil or dragged through the mud. The Dark Side. Moments later he heard the whine of engines, and saw a flight of ships approaching from above. Imperial Shuttles. As they approached the touch of the Dark Side grew stronger.

Obi-Wan had heard rumors of the Emperor's servant, his sith apprentice. He had hoped they weren't true, that they were just rumors. But this confirmed otherwise, for it was well known that the Emperor himself never left Coruscant. Someone was coming down, someone well versed in the Dark Side of the Force. He knew what he needed to do. He needed to get the Lars family out of there, and himself as well.

But he couldn't. Feelings welled up inside him and he felt the need to go watch, to see the Emperor's pet. He began moving towards the hangar, breathing deeply and masking his presence in the Force as he did so. It would do him no good to be discovered.

Unsurprisingly a crowd had gathered outside the town. The Empire's hold on Tatooine was not strong, and the people did not yet fear them. They wanted to know what was happening. What did the Empire want? Five shuttles, they murmured. Only a hundred troops? It wasn't a full scale invasion. Obi-Wan pushed his way to the front as the first shuttle's door opened.

Ten Imperial Stormtroopers filed down the ramp, creating a tunnel of sorts for whoever was to come. At the top of the ramp a dark figure appeared. Their presence was palpable even to the least Force sensitive in the crowd, an aura of cold and fear. Their dark cloak billowed as they reached bottom. The crowd was silent. Behind them an imperial officer scurried down the ramp. He moved past the dark figure to the front of the crowd, and pulled a data pad from beneath his jacket.

"Ahem!" the officer cleared his throat and adjusted his uniform, "It has come to the attention of the His Eminence, the Emperor that the people of Tatooine are harboring a traitor! Multiple sources have corroborated the evidence that a former Jedi is being hidden on this planet. By the order of the Emperor, the entire planet shall be subject to search, beginning here, led by the Lord Darth Vader!"

Obi-Wan started. Vader! But that could only mean… He looked up at the cloaked figure. The only other time he'd heard the name Vader was when Palpatine had accepted… the traitor as his apprentice. This was a disaster. He had to find the Lars's and get out of here, get both Luke and himself far away from this monster. He began scanning the crowd, and blanched when his eyes fell on the family in the very front.

He was about to start moving towards them when a sudden movement caught his eye. No! The dark figure, Vader, was dashing forward, straight towards the Lars family! Obi-Wan began running but the crowd was moving, closing him in! He heard screams, and above everything he saw Luke, being held aloft… What was going on? Then the boy, and the arms holding him, disappeared. A shock wave burst through the crowd, a Force blast, and everyone was knocked off of their feet. Obi-Wan's reflexes kicked in and he was up and running towards Vader, who was now running towards the shuttle. Questions flooded the back of his mind but he pushed them down, his only concern to rescue Luke.

Vader dashed up the ramp, pushing Stormtroopers out of the way. Obi-Wan followed, and heard the sound of the engines start up just as he reached the ramp. The ship began to lift almost immediately, and he had to leap to grab the bottom of the ramp. He started to heave himself up when he felt a sudden drag on his foot.

He looked down and saw the Imperial officer hanging off of his leg, clearly absolutely terrified. No time for questions, Obi-Wan began pulling himself up onto the ramp. With a heave, he lifted himself over the edge, using the force to drag both himself and the officer all the way inside. Just as the officer's foot cleared the edge the door closed completely, sealing with a hssss.