Prologue

Oh, Force, oh merciful, Force! I thought the shock would kill me, after all these years.

I knew he was there. I don't know how I knew it, for I didn't sense him through the Force, but as surely as I was standing there in shock, trying to breathe, I knew my padawan was down there. Somewhere.

All the old pain came rushing back and I had to clutch at my heart. I could not control this emotion, and the others looked at me. I shook my head and left for a quiet corner to sit, and review the last five years of my life.

Empty, grief-stricken years, all because my padawan had disappeared. He would have been a great Jedi, and his loss was a great loss to the Order and to all the beings whose lives he would have touched, perhaps saved. A great personal loss to me, his master. I loved him.

When I had returned to Coruscant, alone, they all wanted to know why. None of them asked. I wandered the Temple with an empty heart and vacant eyes. They thought they knew why, and wondered why I didn't let my grief at Obi-Wan's death flow into the Force, why I wouldn't allow them to hold a memorial service for him. Even I wondered why, and now I knew – I wasn't sure he was dead. I wasn't sure he was alive. Without knowing, I couldn't let him go.

How he ended up on Tatooine, amongst the Hutts, traders and spacers, in that harsh and unforgiving dry environment – I didn't care. If he remembered his training – I didn't care. If he remembered me, or who he was, for that matter – for that, I did care.

My padawan was there, and I would find him. I would bring him home.

Chapter 1. The Chosen One is Found

The Trade Federation had set up a blockade around the planet Naboo. This was most interesting, considering Naboo was neither in the center of the galaxy nor that important to the Trade Federation. This action might have been easily overlooked, but Naboo's Senator Palpatine was a strong voice in the Senate, and he would not let his planet suffer. He fought hard, but he faced indifference and opposition; he hadn't had much luck yet in getting the Senate to offer aid.

His valiant efforts, however, caught the Chancellor's attention and sympathy and he had decided to act unilaterally. He had appealed to us, the Jedi for help – negotiate an end to the blockade, as his personal ambassador.

I, Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, was often the first choice for such negotiations, and I was asked to take this mission.

As I prepared to leave my quarters, having reviewed one last time the mission briefing, my eyes wandered over to the closed door of my apprentice's room – my long missing padawan, and once again a curl of hope rose within me – would this mission bring word of him? I stubbornly clung to the hope that Obi-Wan was alive, and that I would find him. At its touch, I stuffed the thought away even as I turned away, for Naboo was nowhere near Phindar – nowhere near where my padawan had been lost to me.

After five years, I hadn't given up hope of finding him. After five years, I expected to find nothing. Each mission raised a specter of hope, only to have hope dissipate into disappointment, no matter the mission's actual success or failure.

Stop expecting to find him, accept that he is gone, I reminded myself. If the Force wishes you to find him, you will – if he is even alive!

A diplomatic ship carried me to the Trade Federation command ship since I was there as an ambassador for Chancellor Valorum, not there as a representative of the Jedi. The Neomoidians were courteous enough, and sent a droid to escort me to the conference room. I was, however, kept waiting.

With a shout of the Force, I was on my feet, knowing my ship and its crew had been destroyed, and poison gas was flooding the room. It's not easy to poison a Jedi, and I fought my way clear when spindly battle droids tried to confirm my death. I had almost burned my way into the bridge when droidekas with shield generators intervened. That, I couldn't handle alone, and I managed a burst of Force-assisted speed to get away, when I stumbled across a waiting fleet of invasion craft.

My easy mission had just turned difficult. I had to get down to the planet and warn the Chancellor. I shrugged and moved, for I had little choice but to sneak aboard one of the ships and let it carry me to Naboo.

Once on Naboo, I slipped away without incident and was running through the forest when I was accosted by a gangly amphibious being, who just wouldn't heed my waving arms and cries to move out of the way. I had no choice but to throw myself over him and hope that the machine passing over us would not crush us.

I was trying to get on my way, when the creature, Jar Jar Binks by name, mentioned a hidden city, which he then reluctantly informed me he was banned from. In short, he led me there, the Gungans refused to help the Naboo, but loaned me a ship to get through the planet core to get to the Naboo. I took Jar Jar with me, for the Force whispered he might be of help in the future.

After a most interesting journey, we surfaced in Theed and worked our way along the city streets. My timing was fortuitous. The Queen and her party were being escorted to a prison camp, her guards those stupid battle droids. I jumped right into them and with a few swings of my lightsaber, destroyed them all. I introduced myself, induced the Queen to accompany me back to Coruscant, and together we were able to steal her ship and blast away from the planet. During our escape from the planet, our hyperdrive was damaged and the only place we could get to, to try to find parts to repair it was Tatooine. The planet below us; the planet where my lost Obi-Wan was.

My simple, turned to difficult, mission was even more complicated now.

We landed on the outskirts of Mos Espa and I decided to take Jar Jar with me. He would make me less noticeable, and I could keep an eye on him at the same time. We hadn't gone far when Captain Panaka of the Naboo and one of the Queen's handmaidens, Padme, followed after, trying to get our attention. The Queen wanted Padme to accompany us. I demurred, but finally gave in, and the three of us set out across the hot sands.

Mos Espa was a typical space port, bustling with all sorts. I headed for the port area, for I figured shops dealing with space craft would be clustered nearby, as would the usual seedy cantinas and pleasure palaces and plain cafes. No matter the planet, the layout was always similar.

I saw a likely looking shop and led us inside. A Toydarian, his wings fluttering in anticipation of a buyer, hurriedly called in a small blond human boy to mind the counter and took me outside to look over the parts. My eyes lingered on that boy; something told me he was important and I had to keep an eye on him. That was intriguing, for I could not imagine why the Force was calling him to my attention.

I finally found a part to repair our ship, but the Toydarian would not accept what I had to offer. I needed local currency, and I had none, nor access to any. I would have to wait to see what the Force sent me, so I led the others away to see if I could find another shop with the part that would take my Republic credits.

I lost track of time and the weather, and it was the small boy from the Toydarian's shop, Anakin Skywalker, that warned us as he passed us on the street of the impending storm. He was right, we needed shelter and soon. He offered to take us to his home, and we agreed, for it was surely the Force's will.

It was small but tidy, presided over by his mother, Shmi. She had a quiet strength and dignity about her, in a worn and tired body. What a Jedi she would have made, had she had the Force with her. She welcomed us with barely a raised eyebrow and offered to share their meager meal.

We talked of various things and ultimately it ended up with Anakin offering to help us by pod-racing. His victory and the proper bets on our part would ensure we would get the part we needed, and the Queen would get to the Senate and plead for help.

To make a long story short, we placed the bet with Watto and helped Anakin get his pod into racing form. Sometime during this, I managed to get a spot of blood from Anakin's arm onto a chip and transmitted it back to the ship. I asked them to run a simple test on it. They would have no idea what kind of test it was.

The answer was stunning. Anakin had a midi-chlorian count higher than Master Yoda – the boy was exceptionally strong in the Force. When I asked, his mother said there was no father for the boy, and I believed her. There was no deceit within either one of them.

I wondered, and the more I wondered, the more certain I became. Anakin Skywalker was the Jedi of prophesy. He was the Chosen One, and he had to be freed and brought to Coruscant for training.

Of course, I never lost sight of the fact that my long lost padawan was here somewhere. I searched for him when I could. I had many worries to disturb me: I had to get the Queen to Coruscant; I had to free Anakin and get him accepted for Jedi training, and; I had to find Obi-Wan. In some ways, the last was the hardest, or what I most feared and anticipated.

How I knew he was here, when I could not sense him in the Force, baffled me, but that was a minor problem to address later. I had to find him first.

What would I find, when I found Obi-Wan? What had the mind wipe really done to him? What had the last five years done to my bright and eager padawan? Would he even be Obi-Wan?

And then I saw him.