Traits Of Descent

Prologue

Five years after the events of The Phantom Menace.

Obi Wan Kenobi sat across from the couple whose family's lifestyle was about to change. He tried to hold his emotion in, yet they could see it anyway regardless of them not being Force sensitive. Obi Wan figured that his revealed compassion for them made himself and the Jedi seem more human. They needed all of the compassion they could get. The family was about to endure more than Obi Wan could imagine.

Across from him sat Ghill and Abri Helan. Each had a hand bound together as if it would gain them more strength. The husband, Ghill, stared back with a blank look. The wife, Abri, emitted enough emotion to stretch outside of their low-rent apartment on Coruscant in what would be their last known residence as themselves. She curled her blonde locks with her free hand in an obvious nervous tic. It was she who broke the silence after Obi Wan's explanation.

"We...cannot come back here...ever?"

Obi Wan winced at her question. He tried to eject all of the sadness he felt when he spoke. He failed. "I am afraid so. The Deponent Security Program was designed for people in your situation to ensure their safety.

Ghill spoke in his Coruscanti accent, "And disappearing from the face of the galaxy is the answer?"

Obi Wan sighed. "Unfortunately, yes. You must understand, you have done the Republic a great service. You sent one of the high-ranked members of this crime organization on Coruscant to Kessel for the rest of his natural life."

Ghill sniffed. "That won't stop them."

"Perhaps not. You did show them that the public will not tolerate their actions. You were in the right place–"

"At the right time. Yes, I've heard it before, Master Kenobi. Chance encounter, destined meeting, it was all in the Sabaac hand. Premonition took me to that spot at that point in time. I stopped to bring dinner home for my family and instead I brought them nothing but fear. Now we have to start a new life, not as ourselves but as total strangers with new names. How do you think we can manage that, Master Kenobi?"

Obi Wan sighed silently. He was afraid of this kind of reaction from the Helans. He had to endure many challenges over his life as a Padawan and a Jedi. Watching his own Master die in his arms was up there. Training the teenage Anakin Skywalker was not far behind. Facing an innocent family who had been thrust into the underworld of a crime syndicate and telling them they have to leave their beloved home forever while changing their identities was fast becoming one of the most emotional ordeals that Obi Wan had to go through. Perhaps that was why he and Anakin were chosen for this assignment. He remembered Master Yoda's reply when he asked him how he was to explain this to the family.

"Find a method, you will, Obi Wan. Stronger than you think, you are."

He wished he could agree with his Master. Nevertheless, he had a duty.

He faced the couple and sternly said, "I know that you feel betrayed. You are thinking that after your service during the trial that this is the price for your heroism. I cannot stress enough the fact that you and your family are still alive. This organization does not want that. They will want retribution."

Abri snapped, "You mean revenge. They will really come after us?"

"I'm afraid so. To ensure that doesn't happen, the Jedi Council and the Chancellor devised a way for you to disappear." Obi Wan edged the sealed data pad he brought with him across the table to them and explained, "Your new identities are on here. They were randomly chosen. As was your destination. No one on the Council knows of it. There is a code to access an account that contains enough credits that will get you by for a little while. They can be exchanged automatically to whatever currency is used on the system you are on."