While trying to convince the Lars-Skywalker’s that, according to the Jedi Code, Luke must begin his training imminently, Ben Kenobi is pulled away when a Bounty Hunter attacks looking for the body of Anakin Skywalker.
It's been a year since Obi Wan returned from his excursion with Princess Leia. Satisfied that the threat of Vader has passed, "Ben" Kenobi turns his concern to Luke Skywalker's increasing age. Ben believes that, if Anakin had begun his training at a more appropriate time, he wouldn’t have turned to the Dark Side. Delaying Luke's training any further could spark catastrophe for the Galaxy. This worry is seemingly proven after a farming incident sparks a forceful rage from Luke that sees a child almost die.
Despite this, Owen remains adamant that Luke will not walk the same path as his father. That night, Ben is plagued by a vision. The halls of the Coruscant Senate building:
“He’s too dangerous to be left alive!”
“It’s not the Jedi way!”
“Unlimited power!”
Ben meditates on his vision, deciding it must have been a memory of a security hologram seen at the time. Jedi Master Mace Windu had always been Anakin’s most vocal critic due to his age when joining the order. Ben ventures out to watch over the Skywalkers as they visit the cliffside grave of Shmi Skywalker, commemorating the anniversary of her death. Her grave lies next to that of Anakin Skywalker.
Seeing Luke's unprovoked and increasing unease, Ben makes himself known to the family, urging them to return home. Owen, now furious with Ben, confronts him.
The confrontation is cut short as an enormous black Wookiee, Black Krrsantan, attacks them. Beru and Owen take Luke and run. Ben puts himself between the family and the Bounty Hunter, but he shows no interest in them. He goes for the graves.
Ben moves to stand between the Wookiee and the graves. What does he want here? He won’t allow Krrsantan to desecrate these graves. So, the Wookiee takes up his arms, and they fight. Ben is agile, mostly avoiding being hit, but not taking out his saber. When Owen returns to help, Krrsantan turns to the easier target. Ben then tries to protect Owen, and the fight takes them closer and closer to the cliffs edge.
Owen slips. He falls over the edge. Ben force pushes Krrsantan into a nearby rock face and dives after Owen. The man hangs from a ledge. Ben reaches for him. Owen tries to grab but misses and loses his grip. He falls. Ben catches him with the Force. He’s still a way off the ground. Ben starts to lower him. Krrsantan strikes Ben on the back of the head. Ben drops Owen. He turns, lightsaber out, striking Krrsantan across the face and pushing him back again. He returns to Owen, but too late.
Ben hands the Wookiee over to the Hutts for interrogation and attempts to make amends with the Lars-Skywalkers. Luke, in another rage, orders Ben to leave them alone. Seeing a flash of his father, Ben does so. Instead, he investigates the Wookiee attack by returning to the gravesite.
What was he looking for?
The grave itself yields no results but does give Ben a hunch. The anniversaries of death are chaotic for balance. In Dathomiri custom, resurrections are more successful on these dates as heightened emotions create the perfect environment for the ritual. Was Krrsantan trying to claim the body of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker? If so, why? And who for?
Relieving Krrsantan’s ‘interrogators’, Ben interviews the Wookiee himself. His Jedi mind tricks don’t work on him, however. The Wookiee declares that he has been blessed by his employers with the ability to withstand anything used in the conventional Jedi Code. He will talk, but Ben will need to abandon his principles to do it.
So, Ben leaves. That night, he suffers the vision of Mace Windu’s death once more. But it is now joined by other memories.
“No, he will not be trained.”
“He’s too old.”
“The code forbids it.”
With permission from the Hutt’s, Ben is permitted to inspect Krrsantan’s ship. He finds, however, that he does not want to enter it. It has a malevolent presence about it, one that Ben is unfamiliar with.
Owen wakes, and requests Ben to visit. As he arrives, Luke makes his excuses and leaves. Owen asks the old Jedi some questions about the attack and makes a decision. Ben must find out who hired the Wookiee and stop them. If Ben’s theory is right, the perpetrators may return next year. They won’t be safe. Ben has to do whatever it takes. That was his promise, wasn’t it?
Ben can’t abandon his code.
Then they are doomed.
Ben visits Krrsantan again under cover of night. He finds him in his cell, asleep. With his mind weakened by slumber, Ben is able to break in and get the answers he’s looking for. While a lot of information is shrouded in the malevolent presence, he does learn where Krrsantan was hired from, and sees a name. Mace Windu. Ben reels and the Wookiee wakes, his mind closing. He doesn’t attack, though. He laughs. Ben has broken the code to get what he wants. He’s already lost.
Despite the malevolent energy surrounding the the Wookiee's ship, Ben knows it’s his only way off the planet undetected. He forces himself on, starts it up, and flies off. As he does, his confusion is eroded by a new feeling.
Hope.
Episode 02 Coming Soon
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