Teaser Chapter

This is the first chapter of a Star Wars fanfic I've been working on for quite a while. I guess I'll post this for feedback. Critique, compliments, whatever. Or ignore it. Your choice. Anyways, the fic is tentatively titled Legacy and it's an AU beginning at the end of Episode III.

Obi-Wan looked around with tears in his eyes. The Temple was in ruins, bodies of Jedi lying about, brutally murdered. He began to cry again every time he saw another youngling. He didn't dare enter the crèche for fear of what he might find. In any case, he had a job to do. The transmitter in the archives had to be recalibrated so no other Jedi would perish. He forced himself not to open the door and look as he passed the crèche.

As he entered the archives, he looked around in sadness. Nearly half of the great room was destroyed. As he looked closer, it was only the Padawan-level access areas that were ruined. He figured as much - Palpatine had no use for such basic skills. He would want only the Jedi's most closely guarded secrets.

That thought gave him an idea. Veering slightly off course, he went to one of the more advanced - hence, untouched - databanks. Pulling a datachip out of his belt, he quickly typed in his access code and downloaded the section’s data onto the chip. One task completed, he quickly typed in another command. The entire section was completely erased. The Jedi couldn't risk letting Palpatine gain access to the files on the Unknown Regions. Just to be sure that no information could be retrieved, he quickly ignited his lightsaber and plunged it deeply into the heart of the data sector.

His impromptu task completed, he clipped his lightsaber onto his belt as he ventured deeper into the archives. He input his access code once again, and silently tuned the beacon to the secret “Run and hide” signal.

He heard Master Yoda come up behind him. Turning toward the ancient Jedi Master, he began to report his actions when, suddenly, he felt a faint hint of a presence. He narrowed his eyes as he looked toward the entrance of the archive. "We must go, Master Yoda. I sense something."

“Also sense it, I do. In the crèche, the source is.”

Obi-Wan had started toward the door with his lightsaber at the ready, only to freeze at Yoda’s words. He whirled around, frowning. "The crèche? I passed the crèche earlier and not felt anything..." His voice trailed off as he felt another spark. This time he could isolate the disturbance.

He bolted toward the door. Sprinting through the maze of hallways that he had memorized over the years, he shuddered at the unfamiliar empty feel of the halls. Once he found his way to the crèche, he hesitated before opening the door. What if it was a dying child? He wouldn't be able to take such suffering. He knew he didn’t have a choice, however. Drawing a deep breath, he pressed the controls.

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The door whispered open. He froze, looking at the scene before him. The walls, covered in scorch marks that only a lightsaber could make. The hovercribs, all overturned or destroyed. The meditation area, for the older younglings, was torn up.

There was only one thing worse – the younglings. Scattered around, like rags carelessly thrown, were the tiny bodies of the innocent children. Some looked like they were sleeping, while others stared blankly at nothing. He could see the burns where the lightsaber had sliced some, while others had their hands still resting loosely on their crushed necks. Obi-Wan turned away, though it was too late to stop the images from being burned into his mind.

His breath caught in his throat as he heard the weak, muffled wail of an infant.

He ran in the direction of the sound. As it grew louder, he gently Force-lifted broken hovercribs and shards of glass, searching for the baby. He finally found the source under an overturned hovercrib. Gently lifting the crib and then the blanket underneath, he saw a tiny baby girl.

Scooping her up and inspecting her, he saw with great relief that she was unharmed. Swaddling her in the blanket and holding her close, she calmed down immediately as he sent waves of reassurance to her. He was still puzzled that he could not detect a Force presence. Searching closer, he felt the same wisp that had caught his attention before, and just as weak. It seemed strange to him that the Jedi would have taken such a Force-insensitive child.

He hadn't been able to spend any time in the crèche within the past year, so the identity of the child was still a mystery to him. He smoothed down her red curls and unconsciously rocked back and forth. He turned toward a noise in the hallway. Seeing the silhouette of Master Yoda in the hallway he held out the now sleeping child in the direction of the ancient Jedi.

Yoda hobbled forward and peered at the tiny bundle. "Know this one I do. Has a natural shield she does. Her Force presence you could not sense, hmm? Saved her, that did. Mara Jade, her name is."

Obi-Wan nodded. He remembered hearing about her, now. It was told how incredible this new youngling was, and how lucky Master Ghen was to have found her on a mission.

Indeed, the same thing that had called Obi-Wan to Mara had happened to Master Ghen - he had felt a sliver of a presence for a moment at a time, and followed it to an orphanage. He had searched deeply to find the source, and had come across her. He could feel only a faint amount of the Force around her, but he tested her midichlorian count anyways. He was shocked to see that her count was over 19,000.

Obi-Wan was sure that her shielding was what had saved her. She must have been hidden under the hovercrib, and been silent enough that the evil being that had slaughtered the younglings had not noticed her. Thanking the Force for young Mara's life, he followed Yoda out of the crèche. He said a prayer for the younglings that had not been as fortunate as young Mara, and silently closed the door to the crèche one last time.

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The aging Jedi Master hobbled down the hallway, halting only when he heard Obi-Wan's voice. "Wait, Master Yoda. I must know."

Yoda turned slowly. "If into the security recordings you go, only pain will you find."

"I must know," Obi-Wan repeated.

Yoda shook his head, but did not try to stop him again. He ambled after the younger Jedi into the security room. He saw as Obi-Wan watched the holo rewind, and then play again. He watched his face turn white as the new Emperor revealed himself, along with his new apprentice. The apprentice that was responsible for the destruction of the crèche. The apprentice that once was Anakin.

"I can't watch any more." Obi-Wan’s shaking fingers fumbled for the switch as Yoda looked on knowingly. Obi-Wan cradled the baby, more for his own comfort than hers. He looked at Master Yoda, too shaken to speak.

"Remove this new Emperor, we must. Have the galaxy ruled by Sith, we cannot. Go I must to fight this Emperor - find his apprentice, you shall."

Obi-Wan's eyes widened. "Let me fight the Emperor. I can't fight Anakin - he's like a brother to me."

"Too strong, this Sideous is. Gone, is Anakin. Twisted by the Dark Side, young Skywalker has become. Fight Darth Vader, you shall, not Anakin."

Obi-Wan, accepting his fate, sadly nodded. "But, Master Yoda, I don't know where he is. How will I find him?"

Yoda had the nerve to smile. "Search your feelings, Obi-Wan, and find him you will."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Obi-Wan sat down, trying to meditate, trying to find Anakin. He opened one eye to see how Mara was doing. Satisfied that she was still sound asleep, he resumed meditation. Where would Anakin have gone? The Force, as it often did, replied in the voice of Qui-Gon Jinn. You already know - where has he always gone? "To me," he answered aloud, but he knew it wasn't true. He got up, gently picked up Mara, and headed toward a lone speeder. He started up the speeder and headed toward 500 Republica.

Two and a half months in one paragraph

So, yeah, I know. I haven't updated in two and a half months. Instead of updating on everything that happened in that amount of time, I will sum it up: A hell of a lot happened, chaos ensued, and it's now back to relative normal. I don't want to say any more. Maybe I will later, but I don't want to.