"Events will take their course, it is no good of being angry at them; he is happiest who wisely turns them to the best account."

FORGE THE PATH

Chapter I : The Turn of Events

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, there was a great war called the Galactic Civil War, fought between the Galactic Empire and the Alliance to Restore the Republic, a rebel faction striving to revive the Galactic Republic.

Princess Leia Organa, a leader of the Rebel Alliance, and the Rebel spies managed to steal the plans of the Empire's super weapon, the Death Star, and started to retreat to Alderaan, the princess's home planet, aboard a starship. Although she was captured during the run, Princess Leia was able to store the vital information inside a droid R2-D2's databank.

Droids R2-D2 and C-3PO managed to escape from the starship to a nearby planet called Tatooine using an escape pod. On the planet, the droids were bought by farmer Owen Lars and his nephew, Luke Skywalker.

R2-D2 escaped, claiming to be a property of "Obi-Wan Kenobi," causing Luke and C-3PO to search for it the next day. They found it, but were attacked by Tusken Raiders, primitives of Tatooine. The unfortunate group was eventually rescued by a mysterious old man who called himself "Ben Kenobi."

Kenobi took the group to his home, where he revealed his true name to be "Obi-Wan Kenobi" and recalled his old friendship with Luke's father. Obi-Wan also gave Luke his father's lightsaber and revealed that Luke's father was betrayed and murdered by Obi-Wan's old apprentice, Darth Vader.

The group later discovered Princess Leia's message in R2-D2. Obi-Wan tried to persuade Luke to accompany him to Alderaan. Luke refused to go until he found that his aunt and uncles were murdered by Imperial soldiers that were searching for R2-D2 and C-3PO. Obi-Wan, Luke, and the two droids started to search for a way to travel to Alderaan.

Smuggler Han Solo and his hairy partner, a Wookiee named Chewbacca, agreed to take the group to Alderaan aboard their starship, the Millennium Falcon, for a high price. When the group reached its destination, the crew found nothing but asteroids. They immediately learned that the planet was destroyed by the Death Star. Unfortunately, the Millennium Falcon was pulled aboard the Death Star by its powerful tractor beam. In search of a way to escape, Luke, Han, and Chewbacca searched for the way to escape while Obi-Wan separated from the group to disable the tractor beam...

Successfully disabling the tractor beam, Obi-Wan started to head back to the docking bay where the Millennium Falcon was. But as the old man headed back, he saw a tall figure equipped with black armor from head to toe, Darth Vader, across the hallway facing him with his red lightsaber ignited.

As Darth Vader walked toward Obi-Wan, the old Jedi Knight ignited his own blue lightsaber.

"I've been waiting for you, Obi-Wan. We meet again at last." said Darth Vader with his robotic voice. "The circle is now complete. When I left you, I was but a learner. Now I am the master."

"Only a master of evil, Darth," said Obi-Wan as he swung his lightsaber at Darth Vader.

The evil knight in black defended the attack with his red lightsaber and defended again when Obi-Wan connected his attack with another swing. The old knight took a step back as he parried Darth Vader's jabs. Obi-Wan immediately defended Darth Vader's lower strike, whirled around, and tried to land heavy strikes on the evil knight. However, Darth Vader successfully parried the attacks. The duel continued with both knights showing no sign of weariness.

"Your powers are weak, old man," mocked Darth Vader.

"You can't win, Darth," said Obi-Wan coolly. "If you strike me down, then I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine."

As the fight went on, Darth Vader said, "You should not have come back."

Both men became more aggressive. There were more lightsaber strikes being volleyed. It was impossible to know who was winning and who was losing. The heat of the duel grew.

The lightsaber battle eventually brought Obi-Wan and Darth Vader to the docking bay where the Millennium Falcon was being guarded by a group of Imperial Stormtroopers. The soldiers saw the battle and left their post to rush to the scene of action. This left the Millennium Falcon unguarded. From the other side of the docking bay, Luke's group, who did not know that the lightsaber duel was taking place, and the rescued Princess Leia ran to the starship.

As the rest of the crew went on board of the Millennium Falcon, Luke stopped and saw Obi-Wan dueling Darth Vader. The old man was able to see the young Skywalker and made a small smile.

Obi-Wan deliberately let his guard down and slowly closed his eyes. Darth Vader took his chance and struck the old knight with all his might.

Before his dying moment, Obi-Wan was able to hear Luke scream, "NOOOOO!"

Silence and serenity fell upon Obi-Wan.

...

...

...

Something...

...

Something...

...

...Something is not right here, thought Obi-Wan Kenobi.

The whole place was black, and something was wrong.

It's dark. Dark and oddly warm, Obi-Wan continued to think. Then, Obi-Wan opened his eyes.

The sky. The old man saw the sky. It was blue and had white puffy clouds. Is this what it is like to become one with the Force? thought the knight. This is strangely...normal.

As Obi-Wan lifted himself up, he noticed that the ground was grassy. The old man looked at his body. He was still in his white tunic and white pants with a solid brown robe over them. I'm still in my normal clothing. All intact.

When the knight decided to check if he still had his possessions, he noticed something incredibly out of place. His hands...They were young.

"What the blazes?" Obi-Wan said quietly. However, he quickly realized that his voice sounded different, too. It sounded younger.

The knight touched his face, then his hair. After several minutes of self-inspection, the Jedi came to a conclusion: He became younger.

This must be the process of becoming one with the Force, Obi-Wan reminded himself. Try not to get too excited, Obi-Wan.

The now-younger man checked his current possession. Within his robe he found his lightsaber on his utility belt and several credit ingots. Obi-Wan thought, Strange, I'm not suppose to have anything by now.

The knight carefully observed his surroundings. He was in a hilly grassy terrain. Most importantly, he saw a small town not too far from where he was.

Obi-Wan updated his conclusion: He was probably alive and young again.

Well, thought Kenobi, this is rather an unexpected turn of events. The knight pulled his hood up and began to walk to the nearby town.

By the time Obi-Wan reached the town, the sun started to set.

Well, this is a rather small town, thought the knight as he walked into the town. All the buildings (all two, three, or four stories high) looked slightly medieval. The roofs of the buildings were made of blue and green tiles and the walls were made of white bricks. In the center of the town stood a tall, thin mechanical structure. All in all, it was a small, quiet town.

Obi-Wan saw a middle-aged man passing by and decided to ask him which planet he was on. Perhaps I should ask if the planet is under Imperial control while I'm at it, thought the knight.

"Excuse me, sir," said the cloaked knight as the middle-aged man passed him by.

"What is it?" asked the man.

"This may be a silly question to ask," continued Obi-Wan. "But, exactly what is the name of this planet?" He expected a burst of laughter, a snicker, or maybe a warm smile if he was lucky. What he actually received from the middle-aged man was a very confused look.

"What...planet?" the confused man droned.

"Uh... I mean, what is the name of this planet?" Obi-Wan asked again.

"What...the...heck are you talking about? This planet is a planet," the man replied with a small frown.

"Oh. I see," said the knight. So, this is an unnamed planet? Then, I guess the Empire didn't reach this part of the galaxy yet, he thought. "Well, with that business aside, what is the name of this town?"

The frown on the middle-aged man was replaced with a smile. "Well, you are currently in Kalm, a small and peaceful town. This place is abundantly supplied with 'Mako' which provided by the Shinra Electric Power Company," he said.

He must have recently memorized that last line. He did not sound that natural, Obi-Wan thought. But something caught his mind, so he asked, "Can you tell me what this 'Mako' is?"

The middle-aged man commented, "Young man, you must have come from a very remote area to not know what Mako is."

Well, the 'coming from a very remote area' part is actually true, thought the cloaked knight.

"Mako is a new form of energy that's developed by the Shinra Electric Power Company. It replaced all other energy sources such as coal and oil," said the man. "It's very popular due to its efficiency, I should add."

"Interesting thing, this 'Mako'," Obi-Wan calmly said. "I would like to ask one more thing. What is this 'Shinra' company?"

The man replied with the smile still on his face, "Well, the Shinra Electric Power Company, or simply Shinra Inc., is the company that is responsible for developing Mako energy. It is a huge company that is actually supplying nearly every towns and villages on this planet with Mako energy! Quite impressive if you ask me. Oh, and you can find the main Shinra HQ in the metropolis, Midgar."

"Midgar?" Obi-Wan asked with a confused frown.

The middle-aged man sighed and went to the entrance of the town. "Come here," he said.

Obi-Wan went to the entrance to see the vast grasslands that reached the horizon. The setting sun colored the land with gold, making the sight spectacular. "What am I suppose to see from here?"

"Over there; south-west from here." The slightly irritated man pointed at the place shrouded by dark clouds. "Midgar is there."

"Well, at least it is distinguishable," Obi-Wan said with a wry smile. "It is the most unsightly view from here."

The middle-aged man sighed and asked, "Well, is that all the questions you have?"

"Actually, I would like to know where I can sleep for tonight," Obi-Wan said.

The man had a serious expression on his face and asked, "There is an inn, but do you even have enough gil?"

'Gil' must be this planet's currency, thought the cloaked knight. And now that I think about it, I don't think they will receive credits. "Well, umm..."

"...Don't say it," the man said with an 'I-pity-you' expression. "You know what? I'm feeling quite generous right now so just take this, you poor clueless man." The man handed Obi-Wan two green paper bills with a notable '100' on them. "It's two hundred gil. Use it wisely on your journey."

A smile formed on Obi-Wan's face as he said, "Well, I don't know what to say."

"A 'Thank you' would suffice," the man said with a small smile.

"Well then, thank you mister..."

"Wiki. James Wiki."

"Well, thank you Mr. Wiki."

And with that, Obi-Wan went to search for the inn.

Such a clueless man...James thought. Although, I wish I could have seen his face. That hood of his was doing a good job concealing it.

...

...

...

And I don't know his name, too. Crud.

After several minutes of walking around the town in search of the inn, Obi-Wan found out that the inn was one of the buildings that were near the entrance. Silently cursing at himself, the cloaked knight went inside the inn.

The inn was rather simple. The floor was completely made of wood. The walls were made of white bricks, just like the outer wall of the inn. Simple pictures were hanged here and there. The only thing that was a little out of place were the strange pipes that were traveling across the edges of the ceiling.

Obi-Wan approached the innkeeper and said politely, "Good evening."

"Good evening," the innkeeper replied.

"I would like to stay for one night."

"One night? That would be twenty gil."

Obi-Wan took out the hundred gil paper bill from within his long brown robes and gave it to the innkeeper. Good thing I met that generous man, Mr. Wiki, the knight thought. The innkeeper received it and gave him four green paper bills: one with '50' on it and the rest with '10'.

"The room is just upstairs," said the innkeeper. "Enjoy your stay."

Obi-Wan nodded and headed upstairs. There were three beds and a wall mirror in the room.

The Jedi knight decided to get a closer look at his face. He walked to the wall mirror and pulled his hood down. In the mirror stood a man with auburn hair, a short beard, and smooth pale skin. The man with blue-gray eyes stared back at Obi-Wan. I definitely look younger. I looked like this when I served as a general during the Clone Wars, thought the knight. He then neatly folded his robe and placed it on the chair.

Obi-Wan then took out his lightsaber from his utility belt and inspected it. It still looked the same: metallic, a smooth grip, etc. He then tested if the lightsaber still worked. As the knight activated his lightsaber, a long bright blue blade was ignited from the device. Satisfied, he deactivated his lightsaber and hid it under his folded robe.

The knight then went to bed and contemplated on what had happened. As he meditated, he remembered two things. I still don't know exactly what happened to me, and I cannot sense Luke through the Force, he thought. After staying awake for a few minutes, the Jedi drifted into a dreamless sleep.

Obi-Wan Kenobi woke up early the next morning. He went to the bathroom and brushed his teeth and washed his face. When the Jedi was finished, he got his lightsaber, put on his robe, pulled up his hood, and left the inn. As the knight left Kalm, he noticed that Midgar was still cloudy as it was the day before. Well, there is my next stop. Let's see if I can find something useful in that "Midgar" place, he thought.

The cloaked man walked away from Kalm. When he was certain that he was far away enough, Obi-Wan stood still and let the Force rush through him. Then in a blink of eye, he ran so fast that all he was was a blur. In about a minute, Obi-Wan, nearly reaching his destination, stopped dead and began to walk to Midgar. It wasn't only the sky that looked dead around here, thought the Jedi as he walked on the gray infertile ground. Even the ground looks dead.

Obi-Wan stopped when he reached the closed gate of Midgar. From the gate, he was able to see what Midgar was like. Through the transparent wall, Obi-Wan only saw huge heaps of trash. An endless field of trash. There was also an incredibly huge plate that stood over the endless field of trash. "There must be the city on top of the plate," The Jedi said to himself. "The only way to the city must be through this junkyard."

Allowing the Force to flow through his body, the knight leaped over the tall wall and landed on his feet. Obi-Wan started following the "road" and went deeper into the dark field of junk.

As Obi-Wan continued to walk, he found a particularly clean and colorful building standing out among the rest of the trashy structures. However, it wasn't just the quality of the building that caught the Jedi's attention. He was able to sense something, something he hadn't sensed ever since he ended up in this strange planet.

The Jedi Knight opened the tall doors and went into the building. Wow, Obi-Wan thought in awe. The building was moderately tall. The walls were made of clean stone, the floor of clean wood, and the light (despite being quite dark outside) shined through the stained glass, illuminating the whole room. Wooden seats were moderately aligned. In the front of the room, a small patch of flowers was growing. The person in charge of this building is doing a great job maintaining it, the knight thought. Well, I hope the owner doesn't mind if I stay here for a while.

Obi-Wan slowly walked into the building and sat on one of the frontmost seats. He closed his eyes and began to contemplate his current situation.

I was slain by Darth Vader, which should have turned me into a Force ghost. Instead, I become younger and end up in an unknown planet that is far from the Empire's reach. To make matters stranger, I still cannot sense Luke Skywalker. What am I suppose to do now? Should I try to go back, or should I accept my destiny and stay here for the time being?

As Obi-Wan continued to contemplate, he sensed something within the Force. It wasn't powerful. Nevertheless, he could still sense it. Someone was approaching this building. The Jedi Knight remained still, waiting for the mysterious one to come.