Chapter 1: Running from the Past and Future

Obi-Wan felt a tug in his mind. It wasn't a jerk. It was gentle. Like a nudge. His eyes fluttered opened and he saw the young smile of his charge. Obi-Wan rolled onto his back, pushing away the blankets.

"Anakin–morning," Obi-Wan muttered to the small boy with bleached hair. He rose up, blankets falling to his feet. "How long have you been awake?"

The boy shrugged as he dragged Obi-Wan to their cramped kitchen. "Not long," he answered. "I fixed the bike. Replaced the generator."

Obi-Wan breathed deeply, his nose stung by the stench of dirt and humidity. He slept longer than he intended. He should have been up earlier to help Anakin with their broken speeder bike. "I'm sorry, Anakin," he apologized. "Didn't mean to leave you to do the work."

"It's all right," Anakin said, not upset at all. He loved working with machinery. It was a meditative exercise for him. "As long as you make breakfast."

Obi-Wan started cooking hotcakes, the only ingredients they had left in their sparse supply. They needed to go into town for groceries. He cooked enough hotcakes for the two of them, giving Anakin an extra slice as he was a growing boy and Obi-Wan… well, he realized that he was never going to reach the height he desired.

As Anakin scarfed his hotcakes, Obi-Wan took his time. He picked at his hotcakes as his mind wandered off to last night. He had a bad dream. A nightmare. He kept him awake and when he slept, it was restless.

"Nightmares again?"

Obi-Wan looked up from his plate to Anakin. The boy was perspective. He always seemed to sense whenever things upset Obi-Wan, even when Obi-Wan had his shields up. Anakin was a talented boy. A very special boy.

So, Obi-Wan knew better than lie to him. After all, he promised Anakin he would always be honest. "Just the one," Obi-Wan replied, taking another bite of his hotcake. "I'm all right."

The frown on Anakin's face meant he didn't believe the last part. Anakin's blue eyes narrowed and Obi-Wan felt a small poke in his mind. Obi-Wan gave Anakin a look. "What did I say about privacy?"

"What did you say about honesty?"

"I told you the truth."

"Except the part where you are all right," Anakin countered, taking his plate from the table to the sink. "Are they getting worse?"

Obi-Wan shook his head. "It's not visions, Anakin. Just dreams and dreams fade in time."

"But what if—"

"We would know if they were close by, Anakin," Obi-Wan insisted, his mood souring. He didn't want to talk about him. "Do you sense them in the Force?"

Anakin paused for a moment and Obi-Wan imagined he was checking. After a long minute, Anakin shook his head. "No."

"Neither do I," Obi-Wan agreed and a smile came back to his face. "We're safe for now. Let's just enjoy the peace we have at the moment."

Anakin nodded in agreement. For the past two months, they had been hopping from city to city, planet to planet and galaxy to galaxy. It has been nonstop for them. Either they run into someone from the Jedi Order or—worse—they run into Qui-Gon Jinn and Dooku.

But right now, Obi-Wan didn't want to think about his old master or his grandmaster. He and Anakin deserved the peace and quiet today. To spend time relaxing and working on Anakin's Force training. Anakin has been begging Obi-Wan to train him in the next level of katas, so perhaps Obi-Wan would do that today. After all, the boy was becoming more powerful by the day. Soon, he may even beat Obi-Wan in one of their little skirmishes.

The young man sighed. It was unfair for Anakin to live like an outlaw. He should be in the Temple alongside fellow padawans, learning the Force in a safe and secured haven. Anakin deserved to have stability and freedoms that are being denied from him living on the run. But Anakin couldn't have that. Not if the prophecy is true. If Anakin really was the chosen one, he needed to be protected. Even if that meant being away from the Temple and living on the run. Anakin needed protection and Obi-Wan volunteered to be his protector.

Obi-Wan never imagined his life to be like this. When was a youngling, he dreamed himself as a Jedi Knight, living in the Temple and taking on missions for the Republic. He didn't imagine he would be a disgraced Jedi on the run, raising a small, extremely Force-sensitive child. But he had to. There was no choice. Not after he learned of Qui-Gon's and Dooku's plans for the boy.

Obi-Wan shivered at the thought of his old master, Qui-Gon. That man betrayed everything he once stood for. His sudden fixation on the prophecy and desperate need to save the galaxy only drowned him in the darkness that Dooku led him to. Obi-Wan's grandmaster corrupted his master, turning him to the Dark Side. No one saw the change of their nature. They blinded everyone in the Temple. Everyone but Obi-Wan. He saw what became of his master. He tried to reason with Qui-Gon, but his master brushed his concerns off. Qui-Gon simply told him to mind his business and listen to what he told him. Obi-Wan followed Qui-Gon instructions. He did as he was told. After all, he was only a padawan. He traveled with his Master and Grandmaster to planets on questionable missions, but he never said a word. He stayed obedient until they met Anakin.

And only then did he do what he had to. He stole Anakin in the middle of the night and fled. He couldn't go back to Temple. It would be the first place Dooku and Qui-Gon would look. He couldn't talk to the Council. They wouldn't believe him. Not with Dooku as a member. That left Obi-Wan by himself, raising a three year old boy.

That was many years ago now. Anakin was no longer three years old. Instead, he's a ten year old boy, happy to be with Obi-Wan. He didn't blame Obi-Wan for his life. In fact, Obi-Wan sometimes believed Anakin actually enjoyed living the life as an outlaw.

"Obi-Wan?"

Obi-Wan flicked his eyes back to Anakin. "Yes?"

"I was thinking about going to the junkyard today," Anakin started, "to pick up some mechanical pieces for a project. Will that be okay?"

Obi-Wan drummed his fingers on the table. It was dangerous to go into town. Their faces were well known and they couldn't alert the Jedi or Qui-Gon and Dooku to their location. In the early years, Obi-Wan spent a lot of energy defending himself and Anakin from bounty hunters and greedy civilians. It took him a lot more effort if a Jedi made an appearance. The Force seemed to side with them as they always managed to escape. But, Obi-Wan knew it was only a matter of time until they could no longer run. Obi-Wan only hoped that it didn't happen soon. Anakin still needed more training.

Anakin's eyes widened. "Please?"

Obi-Wan stared into those pitiful blue irises. He disliked it when Anakin did that look. Obi-Wan struggled to say no to a face like that. "Fine, but we'll go later in the day. When most people are gone. Okay?"

Anakin beamed and became light on his foot. He didn't even mind doing the mindless chores around their tiny house. He cleaned with eagerness, whistling a tune Obi-Wan's never heard before. When done, Obi-Wan took Anakin to their living quarters and instructed him in a new kata. Anakin did remarkably well. He struggled at first, like any padawan, but eventually he balanced himself out and did the kata correctly. They practiced a few more times and they did a short duel with sticks.

When the sun was getting close to the horizon, Obi-Wan decided it was time to head to the junkyard. Anakin begged to drive, but Obi-Wan said no. "You're not old enough."

"Doesn't mean I can't drive! I'm a good pilot!" Anakin argued.

"I have no doubt," Obi-Wan said. He's seen Anakin pilot small vehicles, but a speeder bike was too dangerous for a young man. "But let's obey the laws for now."

Obi-Wan drove to the nearest town. Anakin excitedly got out of the speeder, looking around with round eyes at the environment around them. To him, a new planet was a new wonder. To Obi-Wan, a new planet was evaluating the type of dangers it presented. Obi-Wan observed the area, spotting all the exit points they needed to know.

They strolled down the street, hoods up to hide their faces. There were barely any civilians roaming the streets. That was good. It meant less people to worry about recognizing them. They arrived at the junkyard and received permission from the owner to search his yard. Minutes later, Obi-Wan found himself on top of a heap of junk, the setting sun behind him. Anakin was on another heap, digging through the metal scraps looking for something specific.

"Anakin?" Obi-Wan called to him. "What exactly are you looking for again?"

"A piece of a protocol droid."

A piece of a protocol droid? "Why?" Obi-Wan followed up.

A sly smile slipped easily on Anakin's young face. He was so young. "Don't get mad, but I want to build a droid for us."

Obi-Wan rubbed his temples. "And why do we need a droid?"

"To help us out," Anakin answered. "Having a droid translator would come in handy if we come to a planet that doesn't speak basic."

"Or we could learn the language?" Obi-Wan offered. "It would be good to learn different languages and communicate on a more human level."

"Or we could have a droid to help us easily assimilate into the planet without stumbling into problems like we did in Ithor."

Obi-Wan frowned at the memory of Ithor. Not Obi-Wan's finest moment. "That may be, but it is important to not always rely on machines."

Anakin rolled his eyes. "I know, Obi-Wan. But, come on," he whined. "It'll be useful to have. It doesn't have to simply do translations. I can program it do other things like security or cooking and cleaning."

It was Obi-Wan's time to roll his eyes. "You are not getting out of chores, young man," he said. "But, if you still want to build a protocol droid. I won't stop you."

Obi-Wan could see Anakin's smile growing higher, pushing his cheeks up. "Serious? I can build it?"

"Consider it a lifeday gift," Obi-Wan said as he made his descent down from his heap. "Just don't go too crazy. I don't want an annoying droid."

Anakin didn't hear him. His excitement of allowing to build a droid got him to furiously dig through the scraps. Obi-Wan chuckled to himself. That boy certainly had a lot of energy in him.

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan called to him. "Five more minutes."

"Okay!" Anakin answered, climbing up a new heap to search.

Obi-Wan went back inside the junkyard's shop, taking shelter from the humidity. The coldness in the room was welcoming. He didn't life the heat. Anakin was fine with it. He adapted well with different temperatures. Well, the exception being extreme cold. The boy despised snow.

The junkyard owner was grumbling about payment and whatnot, but Obi-Wan promised they would pay once Anakin got what he needed. The owner grunted his retort and went to the backroom, leaving Obi-Wan to mindlessly wander around the shop. There was so much junk that Obi-Wan didn't know what half of it did. He was sure Anakin could figure it out. He was rather talented with machines. He looked at one part and immediately knew what it was and how it worked. Obi-Wan did his best to encourage Anakin's interest and the protocol droid was one of his ways to show Anakin his support, despite his dislike of droids.

Obi-Wan picked up one of smaller pieces on the shelf. He examined the piece carefully. He tried to think like Anakin, but it was difficult. He never seen the part before. He guessed it was for a K-unit droid based on the shape, but he could be wrong. He probably was wrong. He hardly knew anything about droids.

"It's a part for jet thrusters of an R2 unit," said an eerily voice behind Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan dropped the object and twisted around to find Qui-Gon Jinn standing right behind him. Obi-Wan's lungs pinched as he fell back, ramming into the shelves and rattling the objects. Obi-Wan looked passed Qui-Gon and saw blood trailing out from the door the junkyard owner walked through earlier.

A smug smile of victory overcame Qui-Gon normally calmed face. "Hello Obi-Wan," he said, brushing his cloak back to reveal his lightsaber. A warning for Obi-Wan to not do something stupid. "I think it's time you and I talk."