Two Halfs of One Warrior • Obikin/Vaderwan One-Shots

He is the Lamb, He is the Slaughter (Moving Too Fast)

• Summary: Obi-Wan goes to Tatooine with his master to investigate rumours of a Force-worshipping cult. He finds more than he bargained for and discovers he has a bigger role to play for them then he ever could have imagined.

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Obi-Wan never should have let his old master drag him to this accursed planet. He had told him, very firmly, that he had no desire to be burned to a crisp underneath twin suns nor did he have any reason to follow Qui-Gon on his mission to investigate rumours of some gaggle of miscreants using Jedi-sounding terms, but lacking the grace and ethics of a true Jedi, to con locals into some mysterious scheme. Obi-Wan enjoyed mysteries as much as anyone, but he knew a goose chase when he saw it, and he had no desire to have to call the Council and ask to be recused from some backwater spice cartel again. He’d simply never hear the end of it. But Qui-Gon had laughed and asked Is doing it for your master, for old time’s sake, not enough?

And, well, Qui-Gon always did have a way of making Obi-Wan fold like wet paper. So he put aside his, truly, really quite interesting, work in the temple and packed his rucksack. Tatooine was far enough away, with limited transport options, that, at the very least, Qui-Gon was authorized to take a ship that the Order owned. If Obi-Wan was forced to hitchhike across the galaxy, to a planet he already detested, he’s sure he’d drive Qui-Gon insane with his bitching before they even got there. As it was, he only aimed to give Qui-Gon a few more grey hairs with all his bitching.

So they arrived on Tatooine, and it was just as hot and hellish as Obi-Wan imagined, and they got to work searching for this group that had been whispered about across multiple systems. They spoke of the Force and all her mysteries and seemed to agree with the Jedi about the Force flowing and existing in everything in the galaxy. Some locals took one glance at Obi-Wan’s robes and tabards and a flash of recognition appeared in their eyes. The little fake Jedis on this planet sometimes appeared in a simulacrum of the Jedi’s traditional garb. Kyber was rare enough in the Core, practically non-existent out here, but Qui-Gon heard rumours that they paid a high price for it, so much so that they briefly destabilized the price of slaves, after purchasing just the dust of crystals.

A mystery cult, because though everyone seemed to know stories - they all spoke of seeing strange people, with hoods pulled low over their faces, people who always seemed to get what they wanted, with one rumoured to be able to move things with his mind and voice - no one seemed to know who they were or what they worshipped. For the first few days, Obi-Wan still had his money on a spice cartel, though Qui-Gon insisted that it was something else. They travelled from outpost to outpost, following any lead to get closer to their goal.

It was a woman that sealed his and his master’s fate. Another seedy, derelict outpost with a thousand names, another day that Obi-Wan had written off as wasted until they saw her. It was impossible to tell the age of humans on Tatooine, the suns and the harshness of life here aged everyone far beyond their years. She looked to be in her late thirties or early forties, her face looked lived-in, carved from stone, but her hair was still dark and she moved with purpose and without the hesitation of pain. When she spotted the two of them, her eyes widened and when she saw the glint of their lightsabers, hanging from their belts, her pace faltered. She quickly turned and started hurrying off down an alleyway, glancing behind her nervously. That was all she needed to do to spark suspicion and interest in Qui-Gon. He darted off after her and with an exasperated sigh, Obi-Wan followed.

The huts and storefronts of the town, some carved out of stone, some seemingly made out of piles of trash and scrap metal, acted as a maze. The alleys twisted and turned, met other sidestreets at strange angles, and ended abruptly.