Hello everyone! Welcome to the sequel of 'Dangerous Games'. I hope everyone will enjoy the continuation of the story!

Title: The Protector

Author: the-writer1988

Rating: T

Characters: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn's voice/ghost, Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, General Grievous and several original characters.

Summary: Hurt and damaged from his experiences at the hands of Count Dooku, Obi-Wan seeks healing on the planet of his birth. When the still-at-large General Grievous attacks Stewjon, Obi-Wan must put aside his fears of wielding a Jedi's blade and become the protector he was born to be.

Notes: This is a sequel to 'Dangerous Games'. It is probably best to have read that story first, however the events in 'Dangerous Games' will be covered in this story, so if you'd like to read this one without reading 'Dangerous Games' then please do so, as eventually everything will be made clear.

Disclaimer: The mouse owns Star Wars. I just like to play in it.

One: Place of Birth

Stewjon.

The planet was just within the Republic borders, a colony world for humans who had migrated to the system thousands of years ago. It was mostly a farm-world, a simple people who provided small trade to the outlying systems and parts of the Galactic Republic. Parts of Stewjon were home to a rare form of alloy that could be used to build star-ships, so the planet was considered an important asset to the Republic.

It had been an inspection by a visiting Jedi Knight to discuss trade routes with other systems that they had found a Force-sensitive child, his parents being the director of operations for trade. The young boy, barely two years old had been tested for Force-sensitivity and strength; the Jedi Knight informing the boy's parents that he had a high sensitivity to the Force, and it was their decision whether they gave their son to the Knight to take back to the Temple to train him as a Jedi.

Hovering above the planet in his Jedi starfighter, Obi-Wan Kenobi knew his parents had chosen to give him to the Order. As a child and then a young Knight, he had been glad of their decision to let him go. He couldn't have imagined being other than a Jedi Knight.

But now…

Now he wasn't so sure.

Once Obi-Wan had been a Jedi Master of the Jedi Council, a Jedi General in the Grand Army of the Republic, and now he felt lost and confused.

He sighed. There was no point in thinking about the past; getting pulled up in his memories of what Dooku had done to him, what he had nearly succeeded in completing. Obi-Wan guided his starfighter down into the atmosphere; slowing down as he neared the smallest spaceport Stewjon had on offer. He didn't want to go to the larger, open city. A Jedi coming to Stewjon had always been a big deal.

Yes, he was using his Jedi starfighter but he hoped that it wouldn't be recognised for what it was. He had tried to disguise it by getting it painted at a space-port on his way through the Minos Cluster, a system in the Outer Rim Territory which was on the border of the Mid Rim. Without a droid to programme in his hyperspace routes he had overshot his intended system and had taken advantage of the space-station, using it to refuel his ship and get it serviced and painted before continuing his journey to Stewjon.

He lowered his starfighter onto her landing struts in a small side-hanger, switching off the engines and opening the cockpit. He climbed out of the ship, grabbing his one bag of items and hoisting it over his shoulder as he began to walk away from the ship. Reaching the door of the small hanger and stepping through, Obi-Wan programmed in a passcode into the pad attached to the other side of the door. Only he would be able to access this hanger if he wanted to. He would pay for the docking fee with the minimal amount of credits he had on him.

He checked into spaceport security and given clearance to leave, Obi-Wan stepped out of the space-port and onto a grassy plain. A road lay ahead of him and he began to tread along it. He didn't know where he was going or what he intending on doing here.

Qui-Gon's spirit had suggested this place to him and he had obliged. Leaving Coruscant, leaving the Order and leaving Anakin behind had been difficult for him but he had felt that he needed to. Obi-Wan mooched along the plains following the road. He didn't even have a plan for this planet. He had just blindly come here on Qui-Gon's word.

You are here because it is a peaceful planet, unaffected by the Clone Wars. It is the place you need to heal.

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes at that. "I didn't think of settling in one place."

No, but you do have family here. Family who have not seen you since you were a small baby, replied Qui-Gon.

"They don't know me," said Obi-Wan shortly. "I can't just barge in to their lives and expect a welcome home."

On the contrary that is exactly what you will get.

"I suppose you are prodding me in the direction of my family because you think they can help me?" he had to ask this because he didn't want to burden anyone with his troubles. Talking about what he had been through with people who were his parents but were no more than strangers to him was not what he had had in mind when he set off on this trip. He was only here because Qui-Gon had suggested it.

They can help you but only if you let them.

Obi-Wan sighed.

It will take time for trust to be established.

"But it can happen," Obi-Wan finished. "I don't know where they live. They could be anywhere on this planet." Of course Stewjon had quite a small population so it would probably be easy for him to track them down. He carried on walking.

After a while, a small town appeared on the horizon. Land-speeders zoomed in and out of the village, and small children were running in the long strands of grass laughing jovially at their antics. The sun was burning down upon the plains in the midday heat.

Dressed in a simple outfit, mainly baggy trousers and a shirt, he walked towards the village. His Jedi robes that he had departed Coruscant in had been left inside his Jedi star-fighter. To heal he needed to disassociate himself with what he had once been. He hadn't renounced his place in the Jedi Order, he just felt that he couldn't be there presently. It was the way he was convincing himself that he would return to Coruscant.

Obi-Wan walked through the small town. The houses were made of strong timber and as he walked through, a woman called out to him.

"Hey, stranger! I haven't seen you around here before!"

Obi-Wan turned to face the woman who was stepping out from a taller timber house. She wore a plain plaited skirt, the shirt covering her chest neatly. Her face was bright and cheerful, her blue eyes shining brightly.

"I just arrived," he answered carefully.

"Have you come far? We don't get many visitors out here in the plains. They tend to go straight to the main hub!" the woman sounded quite excited to have a visitor in her small community.

Obi-Wan assumed the main hub referred to the bigger spaceport and main city. Did he want to say where he was from? "Just the core," he replied, not wanting to let on that he was from Galactic centre. "I'm looking for someone." He didn't exactly know where his family was based. The minimal information that the Jedi Council had on his records was that his family were quite prominent on Stewjon for being directors of the trade industry, but it had been stated they made it a habit to live in the open country, which was another reason for his decision to avoid the main city. Unless things had changed in the ensuring thirty-five years since he had been taken into the care of the Jedi Order…

"Oh, I'm sure I can help you find them," said the woman.

Obi-Wan bit his lip. "I'm looking for the Kenobi family." If they were well known then it was likely this woman did know of his family.

"Ben and Lau-rie Kenobi? They live not too far from here. Their son, Owen, is now the director of trade operations." She pointed to a hill on the horizon, past the end of the village. "They live on an estate about a five mile walk from here. I can get you a speeder if you like?"

Obi-Wan shook his head. "No thank you…?" he left his sentence hanging, hoping that the woman would get the hint.

"Soreen," she replied. "My name is Soreen. If you need any help while you stay on Stewjon, I'll be happy to help."

Obi-Wan smiled graciously. "Thank you. You've been very kind." He made a slight bow to her, and then turned and started to walk away, hefting the pack higher on his back.

"Good luck!" Soreen called after him.

He acknowledged her over his shoulder and continued on his path.

It took him another four hours in the blazing sunshine to walk the five miles to the Kenobi estate. He didn't want to rush there; he was quite enjoying the warm fresh air blowing on his face. His beard was growing back and his hair getting longer so that strands fell into his eyes. The scar on the right side of his face that Dooku had given him was partially hidden by the hair growth. It was a cruel reminder of what Dooku had done to him to turn him to the dark side.

He shuddered as that thought coursed through him. The Count had very nearly succeeded. Part of the reason he had chosen to take a break from the Jedi Order was so that he could come to terms with that, could think through and accept what the Count had forced him to do. He still believed he hadn't deserved the forgiveness of the Jedi Council, nor the forgiveness of Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala, not after what he had done, what he had tried to do…

Guilt welled up in him and he fought it back. Moping about the past wasn't going to help him.

As the sun began to fall, Obi-Wan crossed the top of a hill and looked down onto the plains. Ahead of him was a waist high fence that appeared to stretch for quite a few miles. There was a large house settled in the middle of the fenced area, about half a mile away. The house was unlike any property that he had seen so far on this world. It wasn't like the simple and small townhouses that he had seen earlier that afternoon, no, this house showed the wealth of his family.

The house had four floors and the ground floor stretched out further to the side connecting to what he assumed was a second built on house. It was like a granny-annexe but one that was well equipped for housing a large family. That too had at least three floors, large windows dotted around the walls, shining in the sunlight as it descended.

Obi-Wan started down the hill, mentally preparing himself to meet the family he could barely remember.

There was a path that led from an open gate up to the front door of one of the houses. Obi-Wan followed it, stopping at the red metallic door. He felt nervous; worried that he shouldn't be here. This people didn't know him. He was just a stranger to him.

You've come this far. You are not running away again. Qui-Gon gently prodded him in his head.

Obi-Wan scowled. Rolling his eyes he pressed the call button on the left hand side of the door. A short bell rung inside. Happy now? He retorted back at his Master. He couldn't exactly flee far enough away if he suddenly got cold feet.

The door opened and an elderly woman stood there, her auburn hair greying in long strands. Her eye colour was the same as his and she wore a long dress that ran down to just below her knees. As she saw him she gasped, her hand flying to her mouth.

"Hello," he said.

She recognised him. Judging by the expression on her face and the delight shining in her eyes, she knew who he was. He didn't exactly know what to say. He had just randomly turned up on his parent's doorstep.

"Obi-Wan?" the woman who was his mother gently asked, shock and surprise still evident on her face.

He inclined his head respectfully. He felt uncomfortable at the notion of calling her 'mother'. He could barely recall what she looked like, let alone connect with her in the way a son was supposed to do. What was he supposed to say? Probably the simplest answer would be suffice. "I decided to come for a visit, to meet my family." The last thing he wanted to do was to worry his mother over his mental state, though he disagreed with the notion that there was anything wrong, he just felt that he needed to think things through before he could even attempt to return to the life he had once led.

And then the woman pulled him into a hug. "My little boy, all grown up." She pulled away from him, searching his face. "I can't believe you are here…"

Surprised at the hug, Obi-Wan had nearly reacted by pulling away but he had decided not to. This was what families did. He shrugged his shoulders, still feeling awkward, still out of place. "Forgive me for surprising you. I should have called ahead." Retrospectively he should have done just that but it hadn't even occurred to him at the time he had departed Coruscant, nor when he had touched up his ship in the docking station.

His mother smiled gently at him. "It's a nice surprise. A mother likes to be surprised by her children. I never thought I'd see you again. I've seen your image on the holonet a few times… I am so proud of you and of what you have achieved."

Coldness enveloped him. How much did she know?

"When we heard about the clone war I stopped watching, I didn't want to know. I didn't want to hear that you had been killed… I would have regretted giving you to the Jedi Order. I am so glad you are safe."

Obi-Wan felt uncomfortable. Sure he was safe for now, but what he had seen, what he had done had scarred him deeply inside. He didn't let it show on his face, he didn't want to worry her. It wouldn't be fair on her.

"Come on, come inside. Ben and Owen are out at the moment but you can meet the rest of the family!" his mother beamed.

Anxiety fluttered inside his stomach. His mother had elected to not watch the holo-news but who else in his family still did? His defection to the Separatists, for only a brief period, had been made public, but what if other members of his family believed him to be a traitor to the Republic, to the institution he had grown up in?

With worry quivering away in his gut, Obi-Wan followed his mother inside.

To be continued…

Please let me know what you think!

So, here we are the first chapter of my new story 'The Protector', the sequel to 'Dangerous Games'. This chapter was just to set up the first part of this story, which involves Obi-Wan's family. Yes, I chose to name his father 'Ben', it seemed a good idea as he must have got it from somewhere. It was stated in the Jedi Apprentice books that Obi-Wan has a brother named Owen so he will be making an appearance. There are very brief details about Obi-Wan's family: they are quite a wealthy family which is why they have quite a large home and land.

Stewjon? Nothing is known about that world so I'm just using my creative liberty to hopefully create a realistic world and community throughout this story.

And Qui-Gon's ghost/voice is going to be spending a lot of time talking to him from the netherworld. Anakin is going to come into this story much later on which is why he is listed under the characters for this story but it will be a while before he turns up.

Next chapter: Obi-Wan meets the rest of his family.

I don't know when the next chapter will be up. I am away next week but if the next chapter is written and completed before this Sunday then I will post Sunday night, if not, it will have to wait until I'm back.

Until next time,

the-writer1988