Darth Vader Goes to Therapy

Kenobi's Truth

The conversation with his father left Luke exhausted, and he was kind of glad no one immediately came to take him from the interrogation room. He wasn't sure how long he waited. It could have been minutes, or even hours, but finally the door opened and in walked Kenobi.

Luke stood with a sigh, ready to follow him out...but Kenobi closed the door and sat down in the chair across from him. The expression on his face was grave, and Luke scowled, crossing his arms.

"You listened, didn't you?"

"You were well aware you were being listened to. Both of you did a good job in not revealing your true identities to the casual observer."

"We shouldn't have had to, so you'll forgive me if I don't take that as a complement."

"I don't blame you. Leia didn't like my plan, either."

"But you did it anyway."

"Whether you like it or not, Vader is an enemy. We couldn't just let you two talk and not monitor it."

"But you could have had an uninterested party do it."

"Perhaps." Kenobi was frowning, looking at Luke like...like it was the first time he was really seeing him. "You are not what I expected, Luke Skywalker."

Skywalker. Despite the situation, Luke's heart swelled to hear someone call him by that name without the need for correction. He wasn't sure if Kenobi said it because he recognized him for who he wanted to be, or if he said it because he wanted something from him. Perhaps it was both.

"Sit down, Luke. I'd like to talk."

"Clearly." As annoyed as he was, he sat down anyway. "Are you going to try to convince me not to trust Vader?"

"No." A strange look passed over the older man's face. "I...I wanted to tell you, first, that your mother didn't betray your father."

Luke hoped the conversation wasn't being recorded if Kenobi was dropping the truth like that. "This sounds like you're trying to convince me not–"

Kenobi held up a hand. "I am not finished. You wanted the full story, and Vader offered you his side of it. I am not saying he lied–he didn't, though his interpretations are not the same as my own. So, I think it would be best if I told you my story, and perhaps that will give you a better understanding of what happened between all of us."

Luke hesitated. "If you try to turn me against him...well, you heard. I've already made my decision."

"I understand. In fact," He hesitated, wincing before he continued, "I rather hope you'll use it to help him."

Luke...definitely wasn't expecting that, and he wasn't sure how he felt about it. Still, he supposed it didn't hurt to hear the man out. He leaned back in his seat and gestured for Kenobi to continue.

Kenobi took a deep, steadying breath, then began.

"My Master–or my teacher, if you're more comfortable calling him that, was Qui-Gon Jinn. I loved him deeply–he was like a father to me. Still, he had a tendency to ignore the Jedi Council, and it often got him into trouble. Though I supported him when necessary, in private we often disagreed. I was far more a stickler for the rules, so as you can imagine, there was some frustration there.

"We ended up getting involved with the Invasion of Naboo. We rescued Queen Amidala and her handmaidens, but the ship was damaged in the process, so we were forced to land on Tatooine. It was there that your mother and Qui-Gon met Anakin, and immediately Qui-Gon sensed something special about him. He had me analyze his blood sample and his midichlorian count was far more than even our Grand Master's. Qui-Gon theorized that Anakin was the prophesied Chosen One who would bring balance to the Force, and he freed him with the intent to bring him to Coruscant to train as a Jedi.