Chapter Text

‘Rid’runi Be Mand’alor’

In his quest to bring his newly born nephew to Anakin’s step brother, Obi-Wan ‘Ben’ Kenobi accidentally passed through a Force Nexus which transports him to another world where his dormant soulmark finds new life. 

Realising his predicament, Obi-Wan sets out to find a way to get them back to their own timeline to ensure Luke would have his family. Except it isn’t that easy when old enemies hunt you down and a certain soulmate is trying to pin you in place.

—-------

Chapter 1; Freezing

How a tiny detour had Obi-Wan end up on a completely different planet than the one he had been travelling towards was truly in character.

He wasn’t bitter about it.

He wasn’t.

Although, the frigid temperatures of the one he ended up in was definitely not part of the plan. Obi-Wan had been heading for Tatooine, not Nelvaan. Of course their public transport ship had to break down. 

Of course they had to make an emergency landing on the icy cold planet and of course Palpatine’s new troopers showed up.

Obi-Wan had to leave the hanger and even the port, finding refuge in the icy snow planes on a quest to find somewhere to keep the baby he was carrying warm. Jedi robes might be warm, they were not warm enough to deal with the frigid cold of Nelvaan nor were they waterproof.

Not a great combination all things considered. 

Then there was the Force. Obi-Wan had cut himself off from it for the most part but even then he could feel the presence of something strange. It moved oddly. It moved dangerously. Something was going to happen and Obi-Wan was not sure if it would be in his favour or not.

Obi-Wan had been strutting through the snow for hours before he found a tiny village by pure luck. Not the native inhabitants, but a town of outerworld prospectors.

Keenly aware of the eyes on him, Obi-Wan crouched in on himself a little more as he searched for the local cantina. When he found it, he entered it with little hesitation but not before shaking off the snow that had gathered on his robes and under his boots.

He was definitely going to get sick after this.

“Oi! Either in or out! Don’t stand in the doorway, icicle.”

What a warm welcome, “Apologies.” Obi-Wan muttered, closing the door and stepping further inside.

A humanoid woman glared at Obi-Wan as she scrutinised the newcomer. “What idiot goes out in this storm with no equipment.” 

“A desperate one, I suppose.” Obi-Wan replied, “Is there a fire?”

“Reserved seats– what the kriff is that?”

Obi-Wan looked down to his chest to see the outline of the child pressed against his chest fuss. Moving his soaked robe out of the way, Obi-Wan revealed little Luke’s face to the woman.

“Oh for kriffs– Astor! Get the blankets down here. Before they get hypothermic!” She shouted as she moved from behind the counter and ushered Obi-Wan into the larger part of the cantina. “Sit down, icicle, take those wet clothes off and sit down.”

Hesitantly, Obi-Wan allowed himself to be dragged away but hesitated when the woman held her hands out for Luke. “I don’t–”

“Come on, children are the future, if you want to be in theirs you better avoid hypothermia.” She deadpanned. 

Handing Luke over to her, Obi-Wan did as he was told and moved towards the fire to hang his outer robe on the drying hook. 

His eyes had glanced around the room to spot threats before he entered but now he had the time to truly look around. There were a bunch of locals, watching the scene from afar but not moving to interfere. They seemed to be more curious than anything else, some perhaps a bit concerned.

“Everything off.” The woman repeated as Obi-Wan went to retrieve Luke from the woman. “Astor, give the lad the blanket.”

Turning to where a man was carrying a stack of blankets, Obi-Wan nodded as he accepted a thick pelt from the man. Relenting, Obi-Wan wrapped the blanket around him as he stripped below it as he sat down on the sofa in front of the fire.

His pale skin was red from the cold, Obi-Wan shivered as he crouched into himself for a moment before looking at the woman again. “Can I have Luke back now?”

She seemed hesitant to hand Luke back but did so. “We’ll fetch you some food. Do you have his in that bag of yours?”

Obi-Wan tugged little Luke against his chest as he sat back and 

“Yes.” Obi-Wan nodded, “Though I am positive it’s frozen solid by now.”

The woman reached out for Obi-Wan’s bag but Obi-Wan intercepted her to grab onto it himself and fetch the formula he carried.

His lightsaber was in that bag, as were the armour pieces he had worn during the war. No one could see it or they might either sell him out or get in trouble for not doing so. Obi-Wan wouldn’t put these beings in that position.

“Our specialty,” The man, ‘Astor’, smiled as the woman took the bottle and headed off. “Your son looks warm and dry at least, you did well with carrying him against your skin.”

“Believe it or not, I know something about frigid climates.” Obi-Wan mused.

Astor hummed, “I think Elise would have something to say about that.” He retorted, “What brings you here?”

“Passing through.”

“Not without equipment, I hope.”

Well, it was not like he could use gear for frigid planets on Tatooine. His face must have betrayed his hesitance because Astor frowned, “Borrow some at least.” He pointed out. “You look well travelled, you ought to know better.”

“He will be warm, he won’t get sick.” Obi-Wan clenched his jaw. Force if Luke got sick because of this detour he would never forgive himself for it.

“But you will.” Astor pointed out. “Listen, stranger, I won’t ask about your business nor the trouble you find yourself in but you are no good for your son like that.”

“He’s not mine.” Obi-Wan corrected, his face fell as he continued. “He’s… he’s my brother’s. I am taking him to his uncle off planet so he won’t be dependent on me for too much longer.”

Astor seemed to want to say something but chose against it and settled for putting three blankets around Obi-Wan’s shoulders and walking off to do whatever duty he had in the cantina.

Alone, while still heavily scrutinised by the locals, Obi-Wan pressed his lips against Luke’s head.

Force, Obi-Wan was tired. 

He had been walking for hours through a snowstorm just to avoid getting into a fight with Palpatine's troopers and giving away his current location. Being out in the open like this was a risk but Obi-Wan was well aware that not accepting the help the locals were offering would be suicide.

They were right when they said Obi-Wan was borderline hypothermic at this point. He was definitely getting a cold but it would be much worse if he didn’t take precautions now.

Obi-Wan’s eyes started to droop by the time the woman, Elise, returned with a bowl of soup and a warm bottle of milk for Luke. Rather than taking the bowl meant for him, Obi-Wan sat up to take the feeding bottle and moved Luke so he could comfortably drink his milk. 

“Your soup will get cold.”

“I do think the heat would give my system a shock.” Obi-Wan excused– poorly from the looks of it.

“Have it your way, icicle.” Elise gruffed, “Luke was it? What’s your name?”

Ah…

Well, Obi-Wan was not a common name.

“Ben.” Obi-Wan replied.

“Just Ben?”

“Just Ben.”

“Very well, just-Ben, eat your food and then–”

A quiet gasp came from behind Obi-Wan, cutting Elise off as she turned to Astor. The way he was seated allowed him to see the majority of the cantina but there was one blindspot behind him. The entrance to the back where the kitchen likely was.

Astor looked shocked as his eyes peered at Obi-Wan’s now exposed back.

The blanket he had around his shoulders had dropped a bit when Obi-Wan started feeding Luke.

“Sorry, active soulmarks are rare is all.”

Active?

Obi-Wan had been born with a dormant soulmark. Soulmarks were uncommon to begin with, something for humanoid subspecies, active soulmarks were outright rare. The markings that Obi-Wan had carried on his spine had never shown any signs of being active.

“Mine isn’t active.”

“It is.” Astor shook his head, “Was it not before?”

Pursing his lips, Obi-Wan decided not to comment as he raised the blanket to cover his marking again. 

Sensing that the conversation was over, Astor took his leave followed by Elise. Obi-Wan was left pondering what it all meant.

Soulmarks were a mystery. They weren’t researched too well because of their rarity and almost no one wanted to be researched if they had one. Not to mention that an active soulmark meant little because of the vastness of the galaxy– your other half could be anywhere and unlike popular belief, fate did not just drop your soulmate into your lap.

Why now? Why now that Obi-Wan lost everything? Why now that he was going into his exile?

—--------

Elise and Astor had been kind enough to provide a room for the night when Obi-Wan had claimed he was ready to leave after the sun had long since set.

Luke had been sleeping tightly before Obi-Wan even put him down. Obi-Wan himself had more trouble finding rest. 

Something was different.

Something had happened and he didn’t know what. The Force was reaching out to him and it hadn’t been for the past weeks. Not since the Jedi were slaughtered by the Clones. Not since the end of the war.

Glancing at the datapad that had been on the table when Obi-Wan walked into the room for a moment, Obi-Wan picked it up and dared to take a peek at the holonet.

Instead of the reports of the end of the war or the demise of the Jedi, Obi-Wan read something else entirely.

‘The Mandalorian Empire closes its space borders’ and ‘ Emperors refusing to talk; How much longer can this war go on?’

Utterly confused, Obi-Wan continued to read through articles. This was not what he remembered. There was not a single mention of the Jedi in the news– nothing about the Temple burning, nothing about the war ending, nothing about Palpatine.

Nothing at all.

Even when Obi-Wan actively searched for it. Instead he found old research papers about how Mandalorians killed the Jedi.

It was dated back several decades.

Except that had never happened, not in Obi-Wan’s timeline.

“Force, no.” Obi-Wan muttered. 

There were accounts of it happening. Somehow ending up in a place that was not quite like the one you were used to. Vague accounts of Jedi that claimed to have come from somewhere where things happened a little differently.

It changed everything.

“No, no, no–”

It explained why his Soulmark activated. It also suggested that there was likely that Luke had no family here.

They were both alone now.

If there even had been any allies left before, they were completely out of the equation now. 

No. No that couldn’t be. Obi-Wan needed to know for sure. He needed to bring Luke to Tatooine– his family might be there. Obi-Wan couldn’t take care of Luke.

Leaving the datapad on a table nearby, Obi-Wan walked to the window and gazed out over the dark snowy planes.

“Force, have I not done enough? Has Luke not lost enough?” Obi-Wan lamented. It took Padmé, it took Anakin, now it took Luke’s remaining family.

Perhaps it was his imagination, perhaps it truly happened, but Obi-Wan could have sworn he felt the Force brush past him in solidarity. As if it mourned with him.

But the Force was alive. It wasn’t freshly ripped to shreds and seemed to have recovered from losing its own Jedi. As if being there restored a tiny bit of the Light that was dimmed decades ago.

Obi-Wan cried silently for hours.

—----

Worn out, Obi-Wan made sure Luke slept as he made his way down to the bar in hopes of finding some water to freshen up.

Considering the late hour, Obi-Wan had not expected to find Elise and Astor quietly conversing in the dim light of a bunch of candles.

He didn’t mean to listen in on a private conversation– he truly didn’t.

“– ori’haat, cyare , I saw it myself.”

Astor spoke Mando’a.

While Obi-Wan’s was a bit rusty, he knew enough to follow the conversation.

“If his Runi’aliik is like– like his, then we must inform the Empire. They will want to take him in.”

“That would be our alii’nar .” Astor hummed, “Though, the verd is a shifty one. You saw the way he acted.”

“Still. They must know.” Elise concluded, “We keep him and his ad here as long as we can until they can take them.”

Dread washed over Obi-Wan as he realised that he was a Jedi– possibly one of the last ones in this universe as well– in the same house as Mandalorians. Mandalorians who had killed the Jedi in this timeline. Mandalorians who had never liked Jedi.

If they had seen the two lightsabers in his bag or his armour that bore the logo of the Jedi Order proudly painted on it.

Trying to ignore the newly discovered sense of danger plaguing his senses, Obi-Wan backed away quietly and took a deep breath. 

They were not amongst friends after all.

Going out without gear in this weather was suicide but Obi-Wan suddenly didn’t feel as badly about ‘borrowing’ a few quality of life things. 

Unhooking a white coat he had spotted before and taking a set of water resistant clothes, Obi-Wan quietly returned upstairs and got back into the room.

He had the advantage of the dark as well as the fact that they didn’t know Obi-Wan knew they were planning to sell him out. All he needed to do was take his leave quietly and find transport off planet. 

They thought they knew who Obi-Wan’s soulmate was and it didn’t seem to be a good thing.

Obi-Wan was quick to gather what little belongings he had and carefully scooped Luke up to create a makeshift baby carrier for him. Luke would be warm and safe below Obi-Wan’s outer robes and newly acquired coat. 

“I’m sorry, love.” Obi-Wan whispered as Luke groggily looked up at Obi-Wan, confusion and discomfort in his little eyes. “Go back to sleep.” He coaxed as he rocked his nephew and wrapped Luke up comfortably.

The white coat would help him blend in with the environment and keep both of them dry and warm– or at least warm enough to survive the frigid climate.

Well, at least it was unlikely that Obi-Wan was a fugitive nor was it likely that anyone knew his name. Revealing that he was a Jedi would be unadvised still but there was no ‘High General Kenobi’ here.

Once he was geared out, Obi-Wan double checked if everything was in order and raised the hood of his outer robe before raising the hood of the white coat over it. Hopefully the waterproof cover clothing would keep them dry. 

Taking his bag, Obi-Wan lifted it over his shoulders and glanced around the room. There would be no saying how long it took for them to find more supplies but the kitchen was still occupied and Obi-Wan would rather not risk losing whatever headstart he would gain from leaving now.

Heading towards the window, Obi-Wan gently lifted the window and climbed out. One of his hands was on Luke’s back– even if he was tightly wrapped, it was better to be safe than sorry.

Leaping out of the window quietly, Obi-Wan landed soundlessly and let the Force help him run through the quiet sleeping town of prospectors with an unbelievable amount of speed.

Letting out a breath, Obi-Wan prepared himself for a long walk and vanished into the night.

—------

As the sun came beyond the horizon and the first prospectors awoke to find their ways down into the mines they were exploring, the cantina owned by Elise and Astor slowly started to prepare for the day.

They were closed during morning hours, only opening after the sun past its highest point but there were still plenty of duties to be done before then so the couple was up early in the morning.

“Is he awake yet?” Astor asked as the midday hour was nearing.

“I thought he looked a bit tired, so I let him sleep.” Elise replied, “Shall I go ask if he needs help with Luk’ika ? Surely the boy needs to be fed by now.”

“Do that.” Astor nodded, “Oh, I spoke to some representatives– they asked for proof but I only had the security holo. I sent it over yesterday.”

“Good.” Elise nodded, “The sooner that’s done, the better.”

Elise’s sister in law was a Mando’ad. Her first spouse had been a Mandalorian, they had died young and Elise left the Mandalorian Empire when she met Astor. They settled with some friends, hoping to get lucky in the mines on Nelvaan only to end up opening their cantina.

Astor had connections to the Empire too– having lived there for most of his life before following Elise off. Neither were considered traditionalists but both understood the importance of duty. They had a duty to the Mand’alor and thus needed to report the suspicious figure after seeing their Runi’aliik.

Walking up the stairs, Elise frowned as she felt an odd chill. They had a well isolated home– it shouldn’t be this cold.

Knocking at the door of Ben, Elise listened by the door for movement. “Ben? Dear are you two awake?”

No reply.

“Ben? I’m coming in.” Elise announced as her hand reached for the door.

The door was locked.

Panicking a little, Elise called out to her husband, “Astor?! Get the spare key!”

Moments later, Astor appeared– spare keys in hand– and rushed over. “What is it?”

“Give me that, cyare .” Elise took the keys and unlocked the door, barging in the now empty room. “ Dikut’e or’dinii! ” She exclaimed.

“Oh Manda .” Astor cursed below his breath as he walked to the window where snow had blown in. “Did he jump?” He muttered as he leaned out of the window and glanced down, “That’s two stories.”

“We have to call the Alor !”

—-------

Obi-Wan: *Just lost everything and tasked with bringing a baby to safety*

The Force: So, I know this is bad but hear me out–

Obi-Wan: Force damn it.

Elise: Astor! An icicle just walked in with a baby! Get the blankets!

Obi-Wan: *Too tired to argue or comment on the nickname*

Astor: *Recognises Obi-Wan’s soulmark*

Astor: huh

Obi-Wan: *Panicking because it was dormant all his life*

Obi-Wan: I’m just going to pretend that isn’t happening.

Astor & Elise: *Having a private conversation*

Obi-Wan: I shouldn’t listen in.

Obi-Wan: *Listens in anyway*

Obi-Wan: *Get’s terrified realising the potential danger he got Luke into*

Obi-Wan: *Leaps out of the window*

Elise: What the kriff?!

—------

Ori’haat - It’s the truth, I swear - ‘big truth’

Cyare - beloved

Runi’aliik - Soulmark

Alii’nar - duty

Verd - soldier or warrior

Dikutla - idiotic

Or’dinii - fool

Alor - leader / chief