Summary: One moment they are speeding on their way to Mos Eisley, only to be hit by a Force instigated sandstorm, and the next thing Ben Kenobi knows is he wearing his old armour with the Jedi insignia and Luke can't find the droids. What's a Jedi to do when he finds himself back before the fall of the Republic? Come up with a cover story more scandalous than time travel: "Luke, this is Anakin Skywalker. Anakin, this is my son, Luke Kenobi."
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25871575/chapters/62863183
Word count:100k(COMPLETE)
Chapters:19
Chapter 1 - The Kenobi Scandal
When one gets caught in a sandstorm there isn't much you can do.
Throwing himself on Luke and using his outer robe to cover their heads, together they closed their eyes and gritted their teeth.
And oddly, it wasn't the sound of the screaming winds that deafened him, but the sound of the Force, as if an ocean had risen and the waves were breaking against them.
When the storms were over, the Force was sparkling with the lights of thousands of Jedi scattered throughout the galaxy, and the gates to Mos Eisley were unguarded.
"Ben!" Luke exclaimed, "the droids are gone!"
He spun around and Luke went pale, "Ben?"
"What?"
Luke gestured to him, "You're not old."
Ben looked down at himself, his robes had been replaced with his old General armour. He pulled down the sleeve of his dark robe and found the Jedi insignia.
"What by the Force is happening?" he asked himself, Luke, the Force, and Qui-Gon.
No one and nothing seemed to have an answer for him.
It didn't take them long to figure out that they were two decades in the past. They had gotten themselves tea and were waiting back outside the gates while Ben got his head in order.
He had the impossible task of trying to think of a way to end a galactic Civil War, save the Jedi, and stop a Galactic Empire from devouring the Republic.
But what could he do, Ben had tried his best and that hadn't been good enough.
He looked at Luke, would knowing his son's future help Anakin understand what was on the line?
Ben worried that it would only make things worse.
Hey, Anakin, you were such a terrible person and father that I had to hide your child on Tatooine, the planet you hate more than the sand itself.
He sighed, no, telling Anakin about Luke would only crush Anakin's spirit.
What they needed was hope.
Ben needed Anakin to have hope in him, needed Anakin to trust that he would support him and Padme.
Which couldn't be done just by telling him, because there was no way Ben could just tell him, 'I know you and Padme are married and I support you entirely.'
Because that was a lie.
He understood but he didn't support what Anakin had done because of his love.
No, Anakin needed to know that there were consequences, that there were real risks, that-
That just because the Order had rules and faults did not give him the right to lose all sense when things didn't go his way.
Ben sighed, and breathed evenly, calming his mind.
The Anakin alive and breathing today was his friend and brother, and he had to believe the good in him could remain, or else the Force wouldn't have brought him back.
So the question was, how to convince Anakin that he loved him like family, as any human outside the Order could?
He looked at Luke and a sudden mad idea came to him.
On Tatooine, people had taken to calling him Crazy Ben.
Perhaps it was time to live up to that title. What was the worst that could happen? He was kicked out of the Order? He loved his family and he missed them terribly, but he had lived apart from them for nearly twenty years, just knowing they were alive was a blessing that sustained him. He didn't need to be a member of the Order to be who he was, and he would always be a Jedi.
"Luke," he began slowly.
The young man who he had looked after all these long years gazed at him with guileless blue eyes.
So like Anakin, yet so completely different. The worst thing that had happened to Luke was boredom. True, he had gotten into trouble, had a few brushes with the Tuskens, and he had survived Tatooine.
Yet the harsh planet had been unable to scratch away Luke's brightness, unable to dim his faith in the wider galaxy.
"I have a plan that is going to cause a lot of problems," he continued.
Luke raised his brows, "More problems than time travelling?"
Ben smiled, "Quite possibly, but I rather think people will believe a scandal before they believe time travel."
Luke sighed, "I know I'm finding it hard to believe."
"To begin with," Ben began, "When I offered you the chance to train as a Jedi, it was because I knew that you wanted to send an application to the Imperial Academy."
Luke nodded, "I wanted to train to become a pilot then join the Rebellion."
"A bold move, to want to join the Empire with the express goal of betraying it."
Luke crossed his arms, "I told you, I hate the Empire, they make everything worse. No matter how bad things were before, they make it worse. Slavery, crime, they even dissolved the Senate!"
"I told you I fought in the Clones Wars."
Luke nodded, "You did."
"I was- I suppose, I am, a High General of the Republic."
Luke gaped at him, "No way. That's amazing!"
Ben shook his head, "So is your father, Anakin."
Luke's eyes were as big as saucers, "What about your pupil, Darth Vader?"
"He works for the Empire, and will not rise to power for another a few years yet, never if we can prevent it."
"How do we do that?"
"Do you want to fight in the Clone Wars, Luke?"
"Of course, I do!"
Ben sighed, "Luke, this is- this war was a terrible thing. Both sides thought they were fighting for their lives, for the freedoms and prosperity of their people. And while the Emperor is evil, not everyone on the opposing side was."
"Aren't you just fighting droids?"
"No, but the droids gave the Separatists near limitless numbers."
"You're making it sound like there is more to it than that."
"Luke, the Republic voted for Palpatine as Emperor, the Republic is the Empire."
Luke shook his head, "That's not what I was taught. The Separatists-"
"Are working for Emperor Palpatine as is the Republic. Palpatine is treating this like it is a game."
Luke frowned, "Then whose side do we fight on?"
"You and I?" Ben reemphasized, "We are fighting for the people of the galaxy, the Jedi, and the clone troopers."
Luke made a face, "Why the Stormtroopers?"
"Clone troopers," Ben corrected, "because they are my friends, and they were created for this game with no choice but to follow where the Senate led them. So I need to find a way to stop this war and expose Palpatine as the fraud that he is without having him blame the war on the Jedi."
"We," Luke corrected in turn. "We will stop him."
Ben smiled, though his heart hurt too. A part of him wanted Luke to become the greatest Jedi Knight the galaxy had ever seen, to become what Anakin had never quite achieved, and another part of him wanted to keep him safe and sheltered.
"War is a brutal thing, Luke, you could die. You will make friends, come to care about the people you save, and you will lose them. No matter how hard we try, there will always be failures, mistakes, accidents, things that will change you, and parts of yourself that you will lose and never get back."
Luke set his jaw, "I understand."
"You don't," Ben said, "but you will. You have much to learn and I have much to teach if this the path you wish to follow."
And just then, Ben was entirely grateful to Owen, because while yes, Luke was young and naive, he was still old enough to make this choice for himself.
Anakin had been too old to join the Order yet too young to understand the sacrifices he would have to make.
Luke was just too old for the Order, but Ben knew him, knew that he could do this. Yoda was definitely going to disagree.
"I want to become a Jedi Knight, like my father," he met Ben's gaze very directly, "Like you."
Ben laid a hand on his shoulder, "Then I will teach you."
Luke grinned, "So what was your 'problematic' plan?"
"It involves a very complicated view of the truth."
"You mean, we are going to lie?"
"No, no, just shape reality to our benefit."
Or destruction.
Luke looked equal parts annoyed and amused, a benefit to being younger was that Luke looked at him as a mentor and less like a crazy old man. It was subtle, but from the talk they had had in his hut was different than his body language now.
"Alright, what is this complicated truth?"
"Firstly, the Jedi Order does not accept initiates above the age of five years of age."
Luke blinked at him, "I am not a five year old."
"No, you are not, and neither was your father. He was accepted at the behest of my Master, Qui-Gon Jinn, at the age of nine. Anakin found fitting in difficult."
"I'm going to find it difficult," Luke muttered.
Ben smiled, "Indeed, but I'm likely to take you with me as my Padawan Learner, what we call a Jedi in training before they are Knighted, rather than leave you alone at the Temple with the other Padawans. You will need as much training being a soldier as a Jedi."
"What if the Order says no?"
"Then I will leave the Order and I will train you anyway."
"But how can we stop Palpatine if we aren't in the Republic?"
Ben shrugged, "It is a gamble of sorts, I was- am, on the Jedi Council, and the Jedi don't have enough resources to spare a Jedi Master and a High General. I believe they will protest yet allow it, albeit grudgingly, until at least the end of the war."
Luke gazed at him, he was naive, but not stupid, "Was that the scandalous part? Me becoming your too old Padawan?"
"No. The scandal is that Jedi Knights are forbidden from having families and titles."
Luke blinked, "You mean I'm illegitimate? Did my dad even know about me?"
"Oh no, he knew, but he hid his marriage to Senator Padme Amidala of Naboo. No one knew who the father of Padme's baby was except for her and Anakin. So he did know of you."
"My mother was the Senator of Naboo?" Luke asked in an awed voice, then asked, "But wait, does that mean if the Order found out I'm a Skywalker...?"
Ben nodded, "Anakin is only a Knight, and while he is a great General, the majority of the Council distrusts him to some extent. He can be rather reckless and has a history skirting Council edicts. If his marriage to a politician was discovered then he very likely would be cast out of the Order."
"Because he fell in love?"
"More because of his abhorrence for rules. Exceptions for marriage have been made in the past, and Jedi aren't forbidden intimacy, but the fact that he didn't even confide the marriage with the Master who trained him, would look very ill."
"But why is it a problem?"
"Because attachments can lead to strong emotions that can both lead to a conflict of interests during our missions as well push us closer to the Dark Side. The Dark Side isn't a simple matter of choosing to be evil, it is a power that can corrupt your will, influence your actions and thoughts so that the person you become can be unrecognizable."
Luke swallowed, "That happened to Darth Vader, the one who killed all the Jedi?"
"Yes," Ben said, refusing to say that Vader and Anakin were the same person, he didn't want Luke to hate his lineage and he wanted him to look on Anakin kindly.
Few in the Order would be able to understand Anakin as well as Luke might be able to, considering how late he was about to start his training.
That and Anakin and Luke were in the same power bracket.
"So how do we avoid revealing we are from the future? How do we avoid telling the Order I am Luke Skywalker, Anakin Skywalker's and Padme Amidala's son?"
Ben was very pleased with the pride in Luke's voice. Luke's happiness had long since become the only source of his own. "We tell them you are my son. You become Luke Kenobi. Anyone who knows me will think it so scandalous a notion that it has to be true."
Luke laughed, "Too outrageous to be a lie?"
Ben nodded, "We shall stick rather close to the truth. I think I would have been around nineteen if I had sired you. Your mother died in childbirth and I left you with your family."
Luke tilted his head, "But if the Jedi accept initiates at the age of five, why didn't you just bring me to the Order?"
"Because your Uncle refused, he hates the Jedi. He thought I would just get you killed and I respected his guardianship over you."
Luke blinked, "Wait, is Uncle Owen why you didn't train me on Tatooine?"
Ben nodded, "Yes, he was very adamant I stay away from you. But I always kept watch. I was never far, just in case."
Luke looked thoughtful, "So do I lie about knowing you?"
"No, over the years it is possible for me to have slipped away to check on you, but you can say that I disguised myself as a hermit and that you didn't know I was your father."
Luke grinned, "Which isn't exactly a lie."
"No, it isn't," Ben said, "And like I said, it is unlikely that I would be tossed out of the Order, but if that happens, we will stay together. But we will tell them that I have come for you now, bringing you into the fold, because I received a distress signal. Your guardians were killed and I could not leave you."
Luke's smile fell, "Also, not a lie. Ben… do you really think we can change things? Do you believe we can stop the Empire before it rises?"
Ben nodded, "I know I have to try, and all we can do is trust in the Force, it brought us back for a reason."
Luke gave him a half smile, "I don't know about the Force, but I trust you."
Ben pulled the boy into a hug, "I am so proud of you, Luke, and I am sorry this is happening to you."
Luke hugged him back, "Thank you for being here, Ben, even if I didn't know you were always there."
When they finally climbed into the ship, it was a ship that he had stolen more than bought. The speeder that had made the time travel jump with them was a nice bit technology, but it wasn't worth what he swindled and mind tricked man into believing.
But then, he was Qui-Gon's Padawan, and right now he could have justified outright stealing the two-person pirate fighter.
Having done the math on where he would have been.
And he was about to take Luke into one of the worst battles of the entire Clone Wars.
Soaring with lights off, he urged Luke to be silent as Ben reintroduced himself to piloting in the most extreme fashion. An unneeded reminder of why he disliked flying.
The higher atmosphere was in chaos but as they reached the surface things grew quieter.
Ben wasn't fooled, everything on this planet wanted them dead. His memory was good but even he couldn't remember where he had been on the planet.
It would be interesting to discover if his younger counterpart was still running around as his double or if he had disappeared.
If he had disappeared then he could have only been gone less than a day or two. He wasn't overly worried. It would create more tension with the Council, but Cody could handle his absence well enough.
Though Cody, Gregor, and Waxer were going to be pissed about his random disappearance if this was the case.
He spotted the first clone after a half hour of ghosting the surface. Only his Jedi senses, and probably the illegal 'modifications' to the technology, had kept them from being spotted.
Luke stood out on this dark planet like a fish in the desert. Ben handed the shivering boy his outer robe. His own armour underneath was enough for him. Luke took the robe gladly as he mutely stared around at a world that had never known sunlight.
Ben had an urge to take Luke to Mon Cala, he was sure his reaction would be equally bewildered. Ilum was certainly going to be a treat.
Ben waved to the nearest troop, who greeted him with nod, but even under the helmet, Ben could feel his confusion.
Blue stripes.
"These are Anakin's troops," Ben said in a low tone as they made their way across the everchanging ground, "The 501st Legion."
Luke nodded.
"Where is Captain Rex, Mixer?" Ben asked, even after all these years remembering the men he had served with. Although he had almost referred to Rex as Commander.
Mostly because he had obsessed over the Clone Wars trying to spot all the places he had gone wrong.
"Half a kilometre ahead, Sir," he said, not questioning him or Luke being here.
Rex would, but then Rex was Anakin's right hand man after Ahsoka.
Ben paused, "Are you alright? You all seem a bit frazzled."
Noticing some edge in the air around them, the clones were typically at their best during a battle, even on Umbara.
Mixer hesitated, but then said in an almost monotone voice, "General Krell is not General Skywalker."
"Most of the Masters are nothing like Anakin," Ben noted with some amusement.
Mixer said nothing.
Ben, sensing that he wouldn't say anything else unless he forced the topic, dipped his head in acknowledgement, Master Pong Krell was killed on Umbara. But as he walked on, he wondered at Mixer's comment.
Was there something he didn't know about Krell's death? Rex had reported him eaten by something.
He paused to catch Luke as he stumbled into him, and by then they could hear people talking.
He heard Krell's dismissive tones, "The men don't need rest. They need the resolve to complete the task at hand."
"But sir-"
"CT-7567, are you reading me?"
Ben stiffened, holding his position, some of the clones had noticed them but Ben and Luke were standing at Krell's back and he was blocking their view of Rex who Ben didn't need to see to know.
"Excuse me, Sir?" Rex addressed Krell.
"I asked you a question, CT-7567. Do you understand the need to adhere to my strategy?"
Ben had literally lived through the genocide of his entire people at clone hands and he wanted to reprimand the Besalisk.
Rex continued to try and reason with him, "Sir, the terrain is extremely hostile. Despite the difficulty of the conditions, the battalion is making good time. These men just need a little break."
"Captain, do I need to remind you of this battalion's strategic mission in conquering this planet? Look back. See those platoons? Their mission is to take this city and take it swiftly. Time and rest are luxuries the Republic cannot afford. We are the key to this invasion. The other battalions are counting on our support. If we fail, everyone fails. Do you understand this? Do all of you understand this? Now, move on!"
"Sir, we're ready to bring our forward platoons in for a surgical strike on the city's defences."
"There won't be any need, Captain."
"Sir?"
"All platoons will execute a forward assault along the main route to the city," Krell said reasonably.
Ben's mouth actually popped open, the main road was mined and being watched. All the generals knew that, Plo had reported that to them long before Anakin and the 501st had landed, that much Ben remembered. His physical reaction garnered more of the clones' attentions, only Rex who was out of view wasn't aware he was there yet.
"But. Sir, General Skywalker's plan was to surprise them with multiple attacks. If we come in from the main route, they're likely to engage us in a full-frontal assault."
Luke nodded beside Ben.
Even a cadet understood a decent plan from suicide.
"Change of plans, Captain. I'm in command now."
Rex, the intelligent one in this discussion, spoke patiently, "With all due respect, General, we don't know what we're up against. It might be wiser to think first."
Fives, likely bolder because he knew Ben was there, stepped forward, "Sir, we cannot do a frontal assault after marching at this pace for twelve hours after the battle we survived yesterday on no sleep."
Rex stepped in front of Fives, "Sir, please, even an hour, just so-"
Then two things happened, Rex's eyes widened when he finally spotted Ben and Krell did something utterly unforgivable.
Krell pulled his lightsaber.
Ben did not care if Krell was only grandstanding, a General, a Jedi, did not draw on his troops.
Knowing how fast this could escalate, he raised his hand, Force pushing back both Rex and Fives, sending them meters back, they hardly had time to keep their feet before the sound of lightsabers clashing filled the clearing.
Krell's eyes were wide, and he growled, "Kenobi."
Ben smiled, "You sound like Grievous."
Krell leaned into the blades, "You weren't supposed to be here."
"Interesting," Ben remarked drily, "And you were supposed to lead the troops, not kill them."
"I was only motivating them. They are mindless animals."
Ben lost all sympathy for Pong Krell in that moment.
A long time ago he had been known as one of the best duelists in the Order, twenty years later of having little to do but practice his form:
He was better.
If Krell wasn't a traitor he would be trying to de-escalate the fight, he would be trying to bow out.
He did neither of these things.
The clones gave them space and Luke watched them wide eyed, Ben was careful not to glance at the boy again lest he make Luke Krell's new target.
Ben's Form III, Soresu was a defensive style and Krell relied too heavily on having two double lightsabers to give him an advantage.
But Ben had fought a resurrected Darth Maul and Savage Opress and not died. Krell wasn't that dangerous.
Being back in his late thirties was also much easier than his fifties in which he had been worn down by that Tatooine suns.
Force help him if he was going to retain his youth this time around. As a Jedi, his fifties shouldn't have slowed him down as much as that desert had.
Unable to even get a close strike, Krell snarled in his face, "What do you think you're doing here? Attacking a fellow Jedi Master?"
Ben's voice was even, as if they were sitting down for a cup of tea, "You drew on my Captain, and I'm wondering how you became a Jedi Master. I certainly wouldn't have passed you."
Krell smiled, "If I kill you, Dooku will take me as his next apprentice."
Ben's brows rose.
Maybe the Dark Side really did make people stupid.
He had just said that aloud in front of the clones, if he ran now, they would kill him.
But Ben didn't give Krell that chance.
Seconds later Master Pong Krell lost both his duelling hands. Ben cut right through the sabers as he had with Maul, but instead of simply breaking the sabers, Krell screamed from his hands being spliced, and he continued to scream as Ben flicked his saber back up to take the hands off at the wrists.
Ben glanced over his shoulder to Rex who was staring wide-eyed at him, "Mind setting your blaster to stun, Captain?"
Rex blinked at him, then raised his blaster, flicking a side switch and lock before putting an end to Krell's bellows.
Ben looked back to his charge, "Are you alright, Luke?"
Luke's eyes were too wide, but he managed a weak, "Yeah, I'm alright."
Ben signalled to the rest, "Everyone make camp, we'll be following General Skywalker's plan. And I'm supposing if you have marched for twelve hours you've made excellent time."
Low laughter rumbled through some of the troops, a breaking of the tension and exhausted relief.
Nothing like having one of your wizard generals turn on you to give you an adrenaline rush.
The officers approached him with that experience clear on their face, "General Kenobi," Rex said, "Thank you."
"You saved us," Fives breathed.
Ben waved it away, "I'm sorry you had to work with him. Do you have com I can borrow, I need to check in with Cody."
Rex nodded and passed over his com, a moment later a hologram image of Cody appeared.
The hologram image immediately crossed his arms, "Sir."
In one single word, a world of rebuke and judgement.
Ben had to hide a smile, "Commander, I trust all is well."
Waxer pushed into view, "All is well!? You disappeared into thin air!"
At least he knew now there were no Obi-Twos running around, "I was needed elsewhere."
Cody's face was blank, but it was still a scowl nonetheless, "Where did you go?"
Ben wasn't sure the science would support him, but he had a plan to stick to, "An emergency on Tatooine, I'm afraid."
Rex visibly startled before him, and everyone who had heard him looked at Luke who had until that moment been rather unassuming.
"And you couldn't have warned us? We were in the middle of a battle," Cody said, not yet aware of their unassuming addition.
"I lost my com."
"Sir, you were right beside me."
"Is everyone alright?"
Cody sighed, "We sustained minimal losses, but we wasted time looking for you that we could have spent resting."
"My deepest apologies, Cody, it was not my intention to depart like that," Ben said, thinking that if he had a choice he would have time travelled back before the war started.
Maybe before Qui-Gon had passed on.
Cody nodded, "Was the emergency handled?"
"Yes," he said, "I'm with the 501st currently."
"Skywalker was recalled before you left, where did General Krell take them?"
Ben looked to Rex who gave the coordinates.
"You're ahead of schedule," Cody noted with a pleased nod.
"I'm going to stay with the 501st on this one," Ben said, "I defer to your judgement with the 212th."
Cody's eyes widened, "I hardly think the 501st needs two Generals."
Fives tilted into the conversation, "Krell is a Sith wannabe who was trying to kill us by taking us up the main road."
Cody stared at Fives, then looked slowly at Ben, "Is he dead?"
"In custody, missing a few hands and his lightsabers," Ben said easily. "He will stay bound and we will drag him behind one of the walkers. If he dies en route from being eaten by something then that will be the Force's will."
Cody uncrossed his arms, "Did he hurt anyone?"
"Aside from ordering the 501st to march for twelve straight hours," Ben met Rex's gaze, "Or did I miss something?"
Rex shook his head, "No, that's all, General Kenobi."
Ben almost said, Ben is fine, but caught himself. "Is there anything else, Cody?"
"No, Sir. Would you like me to report all this to General Koon?"
"Did you tell him I went missing?"
"Yes, Sir?"
"Would you perhaps mind telling him I lost my communicator and was held behind?"
Cody stared at him a moment then nodded, "Yes, Sir."
The 501st and the 212th were used to stretching the truth in their reports. Cody, come to think of it, didn't actually need to make that many reports as Ben was his representing Council member.
"May the Force be with you, Cody," Ben said aloud for the first time in nearly twenty years. It wasn't something he had been allowed to say, and the freedom of it was elating.
He was a Jedi again, with all the honour and responsibility that held.
He no longer had to hide away, turning away from the pain of the greater galaxy.
Cody nodded, "And with you, Sir." Then he signed off.
Ben handed the com back to Rex.
"Sergeant Appo," Ben called.
Appo straightened coming forward and taking off his helmet, "Yes, Sir."
"I would like you all to meet my new Padawan, Luke. Luke this is Sergeant Appo, you are going to stick to his side and do everything he tells you. Appo, Luke is unaffiliated with the Order, he has no rank. He is no better than a civilian, he has no military training and no defensive training."
He felt bad about saying this in front of Luke, Anakin would have lost his temper if had said such things, even if they were true, but they needed to be said. For the clones, Padawan translated to Jedi Commander. Luke just wasn't ready for that yet.
Fives raised his brows, "And you brought him to Umbara? Even Commander Tano wasn't permitted to come."
Ben nodded, "It wasn't my intention for this to be his introduction to training." He clapped Luke on the back, and he startled but gave Ben a hesitant smile, "But trial by fire can make a man, no?"
It wasn't a belief Ben actually held, but in all honesty, the Umbarans weren't as dangerous as Luke going to the Imperial Academy.
Vader would have plucked him up within a year.
Luke not going to the Academy was one thing he and Owen Lars had been in perfect agreement on.
Owen had grudgingly agreed to send him straight to Bail Organa and be trained in the Rebellion before they let him go to the Imperials.
Their last conversation had been discussing the issues in letting Luke keep his surname might have caused. Ben had wanted him to change it from the beginning, but Owen had been adamant about Luke being his nephew and not his son.
"What were you before becoming a Padawan?" Rex asked Luke who was staring at them all with a bit of wonder and a bit of shell shock.
"Er, a moisture farmer."
The resulting silence was resounding.
Appo gave Ben an almost unfriendly look, "And you want us to keep him alive?"
Luke stiffened, "I'm not going to slow you down."
"You will," Ben said without malice, "However, we need an officer in the back in case of an ambush, and you will learn, Luke. You lack experience, not capability. I wouldn't doubt it if you could keep up with ARC fighters in the skies. But for now, listen to Appo and the other troops, duck when they tell you to duck, stay when they tell you to stay, and please, run when they tell you to run. All of these men have trained for war all of their lives, each has something to teach you if you let them."
Luke nodded, "Alright, Ben." He bowed his head to Appo next, "Thank you for this, I will do my best not to be a burden."
Ben had a startling realization: He finally had a Padawan who he could maybe trust to follow instructions.
Rex voiced it, "He's nothing like Skywalker, is he?"
Luke gave Ben a questioning look, Ben could only smile, "Anakin would have resented everything I just told you."
"Why?" Luke asked, "You're only being honest, and this is the first time I've been off of Tatooine."
Again, Appo gave Ben a 'why me?' look.
But Fives gave Luke a sympathetic one, "I remember my first time off Kamino, most of the troops here were thrown right into battle within our first days off-world. You really do adjust."
Luke gave him a grateful smile, "Thanks."
"Alright," Ben said, "Everyone, get some rest. I'm sure whatever Anakin has planned for us is going to require sharp minds."
"Yes, Sir," the officers chorused.
Ben gave Luke a gentle push to follow Appo.
Luke went, looking a bit like a lost eopie calf.
Rex stayed with him to discuss Anakin's plans and secure Pong Krell to the back of a walker.
He was going to be very battered by the time they brought him back to the Temple.
Luke was pretty sure he was losing his sanity, but if he was, at least he wasn't going to die on Tatooine.
That thought was one he instantly regretted.
A clone named Echo asked him, "You okay?"
He nodded.
"General Kenobi said he pulled you out from an emergency."
Luke hesitated then realized that a lot of people were going to want to know his back story, and the only lie he really needed to keep track of was not using either the Skywalker or Lars names. "My guardians were murdered by Imp- Separatists."
Okay, this might be more difficult than he thought.
"Why?" Appo asked.
Luke didn't know what to say, but he figured the truth, or their cover story was going to come out sooner or later. And really, why would the Separatists come after a nobody moisture farmer.
"Because General Kenobi is my dad," the words came naturally.
He knew Ben, had known him all his life, and the idea of a father had always been a distant one. Uncle Owen had made him believe that he was a nobody, a spicetrader. Him turning out to be a Jedi Knight and General from the Clone War era was mind blowing.
Finding out that Old Ben was too was more so.
But in many ways, he knew Ben better than he might ever know Anakin Skywalker even if he met him. The idea that Ben was his father wasn't an abhorrent one.
And honestly, if his choices were living in the wastes with Ben or with Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru on the farm, he would choose the farm any day.
He was really going to miss them.
The clones were staring at him mutely and finally, Echo echoed, "General Kenobi is your father?"
Luke nodded, "Luke Kenobi, that's me." He tried to smile but the circumstances surrounding it wasn't a smiling matter.
He was freezing cold even huddled in Ben's robe, and he had time travelled.
Time travelled.
Oh, and apparently Jedi Knights were phantoms of justice, but warlords who could turn on each with magical weapons that could slice through bone without slowing.
He was suddenly glad he didn't have Anakin's lightsaber anymore.
Was he even capable of moving the way those two had been. Ben had been all grace, like wind, moving from place to place without hindrance, almost faster than the eye could follow.
Appo stared at him, "So you're his biological son and his Padawan?"
Luke nodded.
"Do you know?" a clone named Hardcase asked, "Before yesterday, I mean?"
"Yeah, I mean, not as my father, he was just Old Ben to me. I thought he was just a hermit living in the Wastes."
"And you have no training?" Dogma asked.
"I can pilot," he said, feeling severely outclassed by everyone around him.
"How old are you?" Appo asked.
"Nineteen."
Appo and a clone named Dogma exchanged a look.
"What?" he asked.
Appo met his gaze, "Jedi don't have families outside the Order."
"Ben said there was going to be some issues with the Council."
Echo grinned, "I wouldn't worry too much about that, General Kenobi is on the Council."
Appo shook his head, "General Skywalker is going to be oh so amused about this."
"About Ben having a kid?" Luke asked.
"No," Echo said, "about Kenobi breaking the rules."
"Ben said it's not against the rules to be, um, well, just that to be married and raise children isn't okay."
Appo nodded, "But in that case, he probably shouldn't be bringing you into the Order when you aren't a youngling, and especially not personally taking you as his Padawan."
Luke stared at him, "Do you have a problem with it?"
Appo smiled at him, "No, I don't. General Kenobi is a great man, you should be proud to have him as both your sire and your teacher. And if you are anything at all like him, you will be very welcome among us."
Luke couldn't help smiling back, he just needed to survive the upcoming battles and then everything was going to be okay.
Ben didn't even know why he expected a different outcome.
His first Padawan was Anakin.
His second Padawan was Anakin and Padme's son.
Luke wasn't going to get into less trouble.
For that matter, giving him the last name Kenobi, probably was inviting more trouble, not less.
Because while Anakin might start trouble and purposely search it out wherever he went, trouble seemed to follow Ben around with the devotion of a Bantha youngling following its mother.
"So let's try this again," Ben said, falling back into his role as General with a near painful ease, "what part of stay out of trouble led to you flying a foreign ship into the front lines of battle."
"You said he was a pilot," Fives said.
Luke just grinned, far too proud of himself.
Ben was proud of him too, they had secured the base and they would be off this planet in a matter of hours once the second wave of troops came in. Luke had managed to sneak into the enemy's lines with Appo and pilot stolen ships, act as reinforcement for their frontline, and blow up the largest enemy starcraft.
But then hadn't Anakin managed much the same on Naboo before becoming a Padawan?
Ben sighed, "That's the last time I leave you alone with the 501st."
Rex smirked, "We both know that isn't true, he's a Kenobi too, after all."
Ben was unsurprised that Luke had confided in the clones, and he glad that the first time he gave his back story wasn't going to be in front of the Council, but nonetheless, he pointed at the Captain, "Don't you dare tell Anakin, I want to be the first to break the news to him."
Rex actually grinned this time, "Yes, Sir."
Anakin and Ahsoka met them on the docks. Rex, Appo, Fives, Dogma, Cody, Gregor, and Waxer were with them.
The 501st knew, the 212th did not.
Anakin smiled at him, "You wrapped that up rather quickly. But I heard Krell is on his way to holding so he can be questioned before imprisonment?"
"He threatened Rex and claimed to want to kill me to impress Dooku," Ben said, when really what he wanted to do was hug them both and beg for their forgiveness.
Nineteen years, it had been nineteen years.
He had missed them more than he had words for.
Ahsoka frowned, "It's a good thing you were there then, but why were you with the 501st and not the 212th?"
"I had to make a slight detour to Tatooine. When I landed back on Umbara, I was closer to the 501st, thank the Force."
Anakin scowled at the mere mention of his homeworld, "What in the Sith-spitting hells were you doing on Tatooine?"
Taking a page from Anakin's book, he stepped to the side rather dramatically to reveal Luke who had been gaping at the city around them. Luke turned those inquisitive eyes on Anakin and Ahsoka.
"Padawan Luke, I would like to introduce you to Padawan Ahsoka Tano and Knight Anakin Skywalker. Ahsoka, Anakin, I would like you to meet my son, Luke Kenobi."
And Ben knew this had every potential and probability to blow up in spectacular fashion as everything in his life always did, but just at that moment, the look on Anakin's face made it all worth it.
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25871575/chapters/62863183