Chapter Text
The box had sat untouched in the back of the closet for years. Few knew it was there and even fewer knew of its contents. Ten years ago when Obi-Wan and his newly formed family moved into this home, the box had remained a secret that the former Jedi had shared only with his trusted spouse, and former clone trooper escort, Rex. Over the years, the number of people who shared in this secret had expanded on a need to know basis, and then only in the vaguest of details. There would be many in the universe who would steal the box and its contents, had Obi-wan not been discreet, and use it for evil, or sell it for the considerable amount of credits that it would surely fetch to an interested buyer. Though he could sell it himself and live comfortably for several years and still fund the growing Jedi order that he had spent a decade building from the ground up, Obi-Wan had never even entertained the thought. It was under his protection only; it belonged to some one else.
Finally after over a decade of waiting, it was the appropriate time to open that precious box once again and pass on its contents to its proper owner.
Tattooine had been the home of Obi-Wan, Rex and their four adopted daughters for as long as the new Jedi Order had existed. After the events of Mustafar, and the successful elimination of the Sith's attempted rise to power, the previous Order had crumbled. Order 66 had been carried out, killing thousands of Jedi, and making a serious attempt of the lives of both Obi-wan and Yoda. The council had fallen to Sidious and Vader's blades, and a generation of younglings had been lost in the carnage as well. It had taken Obi-Wan several years, the dear friendship of Bail Organa, and the love a of good man to even begin to shake off the devastating losses he had suffered, and even longer to begin to his efforts to reorganize the Order he had so loved once before.
There had been considerable resistance to the idea. Many remaining Jedi were as shocked and jaded as Obi-Wan had been, astounded that their Order had been blinded to such a seemingly obvious Sith Lord, and made such a commitment to a war that had simultaneously broken the spirits of the Jedi who fought in it, and forever tarnished the image of the Order among the Republic. Some survivors, like Obi-Wan, still maintained some celebrity for their heroic actions during the war, but overall, the Jedi had become the punchline to a bad joke they themselves helped set up. It had been hard to argue the Order's rebirth to embittered, and betrayed remaining Jedi, let alone the public who had watched the Order burn from the inside, victims of their own lack of vision.
Still, Obi-Wan knew that the rise of a new generation of Jedi was inevitable. Each year, new Force sensitive children were born and would need the guidance of an older, more experienced generation to guide them in their journey with the Force. Certainly without guidance, more Force sensitives would tumble down a dark path, and cause even more problems for the universe than the Jedi Order ever could. It was partially in this spirit that Obi-Wan had taken in his girls. See'ra, Esrai and Riva had come first, later to be joined by little Karis. They had all been orphaned and as in need of a family as Obi-Wan himself had been. He and Rex provided vital training for their developing Jedi skills, but more importantly, they provided a stable, loving home. In the many years, the girls had come far in their training, surpassing Obi-Wan's secret hopes for them. The youngest, Karis, was twelve now and already attempting to convince her parents to allow her to leave the nest early in order to pursue dreams and adventure as a padawan. Her older siblings had branched out as teens to help out the recovering Order, but Obi-Wan's heart simply couldn't accept losing the familiar presence of his youngest, or think of how empty the halls of their home would be without at least one of their precious children running through them. Watching Karis mentally prepare her arguments for rushing off into adventure and the great unknown made the former Jedi master feel as old as the universe. Had he ever been this young and impulsive? Surely his dear old master would gladly tell him about his past enthusiam had Qui-Gon lived, but life had quelled any wild desire in Obi-Wan now. Too often had he seen young padawans rush in unprepared to battle. Too fresh in his memory were the lightsaber burned corpses of younglings left by Darth Vader. The universe was a dangerous place for those who dreamed of exploring it.
Still, both See'ra and Esrai were out in that same universe making memories, and learning for themselves the mysteries of the living Force. The worry he felt every day they were out of his sight made him want to drink. Now in her twenties, See'ra had spent her teenage years following quite literally in her father's footsteps. Everywhere Obi-Wan had gone, she had followed like a shadow. Every meeting, every argument with other Jedi survivors, See'ra had been there for, watching and learning the art of the Great Negotiator. Obi-Wan had too often felt that she had been the padawan he had never been assigned, and when a new council and Jedi code was established, he had made it official. For her efforts in assisting her father, and upon demonstration of her considerable skills, See'ra was made one of the first Jedi Knights of the reformed Order, to Obi-Wan's extreme pride. Hell, Obi-Wan himself had been knighted for less. He had nearly embarrassingly teared up during her knighting ceremony, and later wept openly in Rex's arms in privacy. Emotions he had never felt for Anakin during his padawan years threatened to burst through Obi-Wan's much cherished calm. Anakin had been a padawan; a brother. See'ra was something else altogether.
When she moved out, Obi-Wan lingered whenever he could in her old room. Rex had often teased him, but the Jedi warrior who had endured war and heartache, was kept up at night with fears of his daughter not eating enough, and bringing home strangers her fathers would not approve of.
Esrai's absence had been easier to tolerate, knowing that she was at least under the watchful eye of fellow Jedi. Whatever her father had not been able to instruct her on, Esrai picked up in several classes held in the new Jedi temple on Coruscant. Her loss had been gradual, spread over the course of weekend classes, then semesters abroad, until finally she had been approved to become a padawan learner. Even if Master Yoda himself had become her master, Obi-Wan would have protested her leaving. So it had fallen to Rex to both comfort his husband, and guide his daughter to the right master. Everyone who had volunteered for the job simply wasn't good enough for Obi-Wan's exacting standards. They were too inexperienced, too jaded, or simply too inept to properly guide Obi-Wan's precious daughter and after failing Anakin so badly, the once confident Jedi master was cautious to take her on as his own learner. He had learned from his experience with Anakin, and had guided a much older See'ra with success, but Obi-Wan was hesitant to take on another padawan. To lose his daughter like he had lost Anakin would surely be a fatal blow. Besides, he was much too busy with his other children to just focus on the studies of one of them.
After many sleepless nights of tolerating his spouse's neurotic worrying, Rex took charge and called in a favour from the only Jedi he would ever trust with the care of his daughter: Ahsoka Tano. Winning her back to the Jedi had seemed impossible during the war, but after the disaster of the attempted Sith takeover, and fall of the old Order, Ahsoka had slowly begun to build trust in the future of the new Order. There was still some reluctance on her part to trust Obi-Wan, since just as her master had before her, Ahsoka too often saw Obi-Wan as part of the council and therefore, part of the problem. Her grief over Anakin's troubled loss, and close friendship with Rex had gone a long way to repairing her relationship with Kenobi, and her mortification when she accidentally caught Obi-Wan “inspecting” his favourite clone had guaranteed that she had begun to see the former Jedi master in a new light. Though she had struggled with the idea of taking on a padawan of her own, eventually Ahsoka had agreed, and Esrai couldn't have been happier. These days the two girls were in every corner of the galaxy, working to rebuild the Order, but still dropped by for family dinners and long, embarrassing talks about a much younger Kenobi.
Fortunately for Obi-Wan's nerves, Riva was a bit of a homebody. At sixteen, she was just starting to take an interest in the greater universe. A year older than Luke Skywalker, and only a short drive away from him, the two were inseparable. Their closeness had convinced Rex that Luke would take after his father and try to elope with the girl, but so far the clone had no evidence to prove a romantic relationship. This did not stop him from using his many skills to gather intelligence, however.
Obi-Wan instructed both Riva and Luke on the Force in their home, along with young Karis. While Luke and Karis dreamed of adventure, and exploring the galaxy, Riva preferred to read. Her passion was knowledge, and all too often, she reminded Obi-Wan of the stern guardians of the Jedi library. It was a common sight to see Luke working away on a speeder engine, while Riva reclined on the ground next to him, lost in her datapad.
“Master Obi-Wan?”
The young voice, breaking slightly with the onset of puberty, broke Obi-Wan out of his thoughts. Standing cockily in the doorway, Luke Skywalker appeared to be waiting to the best of his ability. His constant fidgeting, and bored expression all too clearly betrayed his paternity to Obi-Wan. Too many times had the master lectured the student on focus, and patience, only to now have to repeat these lessons on Anakin's son.
“Master Rex says that Leia should be here any time now. Her ship landed safely, and he was going to meet her.”
Obi-Wan fought the urge to frown. It would surely set the boy against him, as his father had whenever Obi-Wan had scowled at him, but....For all of his natural skill, the boy simply didn't listen to any authority. His Uncle Owen had nearly given up trying to teach the teen the farming business, and Obi-Wan had repeatedly clarified that simply being married to Obi-Wan did not grant Rex the title of Master, or when Luke was especially intolerable, the title of Mistress either. The embattled Jedi decided on this special occasion, he would take the higher road, and only correct one of Luke's many mistakes.
“Your sister is to be addressed as Her Royal Highness Princess Organa when she arrives,” he chided. “You are not a child anymore, and must respect what is proper. A great deal of trouble can be avoided in life if you are respectful of the culture of others.”
As surely as if Obi-Wan had traveled nearly thirty years into the past, familiar blue eyes rolled in defiance of the Jedi.
“'Kay.”
Luke disappeared from the door, and out of Obi-Wan's sight before more lecturing could take place. The old master closed his eyes, inhaled deeply and counted slowly to ten. He would learn from his mistakes with Anakin and lead Luke into a proper adult relationship with the Force, and an understanding of the way it held all living beings together. Perhaps this was the wrong day to open the box after all. Perhaps another day, much further in the future.
Sighing, Obi-Wan bent and scooped the wooden box from its hiding place. It was tightly sealed with a Force responsive lock that would open only with the proper command. This meant that the box was safe from the hands of non-Force sensitive treasure hunters, and would prove a difficult challenge to any of his Jedi children. It had been his main defense against Anakin's prying as a teenager, and had safely guarded many of the Jedi's more....sensitive items in the past. Of course, he strongly suspected Anakin had finally broken the lock on one occasion, after seeing his apprentice skulking out of his quarters, looking red faced and mortified. Served him right for snooping.
Obi-Wan ran his hand over the top of the box. It had been a while since he had held it, but something seemed amiss. It felt lighter than it should have. Obi-Wan gave it a cautious shake as not to disturb the item inside, and heard nothing.
Shit.
His heart pounding, the Jedi commanded the lock and wrenched open the box. The breath caught in his throat as he stared into the empty chamber. Gone. It was gone!
Obi-Wan slumped against his bed, mind racing. How had this happened? When had this happened? Had he been so careless that an intruder had passed into his home unnoticed? Tattooine was more than a little rough in certain areas, but to rob a Jedi Master of a treasure only a handful even knew about?
By the time he heard a speeder pulling up to the house, Obi-Wan had very nearly destroyed his bedroom, looking for the smallest hint of what had happened. There was simply no trace, no disturbance, nothing.
Rex entered the home with excited voices. A princess and her twin brother loudly joked around, the sounds of light rough housing reaching Obi-Wan in his despair.
“The birthday girl and boy are here!” Rex shouted. “And they're ready for that cake you promised!”
Rex, something has gone wrong.
No sooner had Obi-Wan thought the words, the clone burst through the bedroom door, blaster at the ready. His eyes accessed the situation. Distraught husband curled against the bed, and enough personal debris to suggest either a desperate search or an attack. Seeing that his spouse was unharmed, Rex reached for the Jedi's hand and pulled him close to him.
“What in the hell happened here? Was there a break in? Should I tell See'ra and the girls to delay their arrival? Are we in danger?”
The Jedi shook his head, while watching the hall for listening ears. Riva and Karis were leading the twins through the kitchen, looking for the birthday cake that Obi-Wan had not finished making.
“I don't know what happened,” Obi-Wan said at last. “It appears that we're the victims of a robbery. Nothing was left behind, nothing is out of place, and they only took one item.”
He gestured to the open and quite empty box that lay on their bed. Rex's eyes widened, at once realizing the seriousness of the situation.
“It's gone then.”
Obi-Wan nodded.
“Some one has stolen Anakin's lightsaber.”