My Front Porch Looking In: The Search for Truth

This is the writing-in-progress sequel to My Front Porch Looking In. This is an alternate universe/what if? fanfiction based off George Lucas' Star Wars universe. No money is made off this story, and all film dialogue belongs to Lucas, 20th Century Fox, and Lucasfilm. I will be posting the first few paragraphs in a couple of days; I'm giving some readers a chance to catch up on the prequel.

A/N (Author's Note): If there are grammatical errors, such as stuttering or repeating of words, it is more than likely intentional. This is meant to be read as a diary of things that are being written down as they're happening, only we're not actually reading diary entries: we're hearing them told from someone else's perspective. Think of it also as a movie that is shown from one side. That's the reason for the story title. Also, at the end o the story, in order to make sense, the narrative will shift from being a first person to a third person in order to prevent confusion on the part of the reader. Any other important notes will be denoted by A/N and will be highlighted in blue.

okay, I'll wait patiently

Chapter One: Surprising Revelations

“She’s what?!” Obi-Wan stopped the eopie abruptly. “Tell me you didn’t just say that.”

“No, that’s what I said. She’s my sister…or was anyway.”

“But, how? You weren’t even born on the same planet.” Obi-wan said.

“I matched her DNA with mine. It matched nearly perfectly except for the difference in the midi-chlorian count. But I…I never told Anakin about it. He was under the impression that I was his sister by blood.” I replied softly.

“But you’re not? You’re not related to Anakin at all?” He asked.

“No. And for that, I’m thankful. I shouldn’t be but I am” I replied. He spurred the eopie on again as I leaned against his back. “How much further?”

“Three or four more miles. Are you tired?” He asked, his voice filled with strain.

“I’m fine. Maybe I should ask the same of you.” I said.

He sighed. “Once we give Luke to the Lars we’ll go back to the ship.” Silence settled between us for the rest of the way. As we approached the homestead, I sat up. Anakin had told me about it…and the grave that my mom was in. Owen was on a small hill near the hovel watching the twin suns; he heard us approaching and turned around. Beru came out to meet us as Obi-Wan got off the eopie and walked to her, withdrawing Luke from his cloak. He quickly explained to her the situation and asked her to keep Luke safe, to which she promised she and Owen would. Obi-Wan handed Luke over to her and she joined Owen on the hillside. Obi-Wan paused and turned back to the eopie. We stayed for another minute before Obi-Wan got back on. We were about to leave when I happened to turn around and I saw a sand storm on the horizon. Two alarms started to sound on the homestead as Owen and Beru turned to see the storm. Owen motioned for us to go inside, so Obi-wan grabbed our stuff off the back of the Eopie and tied it up near the hovel. Beru went inside first, followed by me, Owen and finally Obi-wan. Obi-Wan shut the door and locked it.

The quick movements didn’t set well with the tubes and I winced, sucking in a sharp breath. Obi-Wan was instantly by my side helping me to a chair. He rested his hand on my stomach and healed me some, but not completely. The medical droids had said that no amount of Jedi healing or even the latest technology would be able to fully restore me back to my old self. But it did help to ease the pain enough to where I could breathe without hurting.

“Is she all right?” Beru asked with concern. I hadn’t ever met her before now but I instantly took a liking to her.

“She’ll be fine. It’s just….she’s a little sore from her injuries.” Obi-Wan replied. I hated being talked about in the third person but what can you do?

Beru handed Luke to Owen and went into the kitchen and came back out with a tray of drinks. “I’m sorry I don’t have much prepared; we weren’t expecting company.”

“We weren’t expecting to stay. I apologize for the inconvenience.” Obi-Wan said blankly.

I noticed that throughout the whole thing, Owen remained deathly quiet. I couldn’t tell if it was his nature or if he was just very, very cautious. “Anakin told me a little about his trip to Tattoine two years ago. I wish I could have been here.” I said after a minute or two of silence. I made sure I directed my statement to Owen.

“He never mentioned he had a sister. But Shmi had mentioned you once or twice when she was here.” Owen said then he handed Luke back to Beru and left. Friendly fellow…I’m being sarcastic, by the way.

“I’m sorry. He’s usually not this way with people.” Beru said, stammering.

“It’s all right, Beru. As soon as this sand storm is over, we’ll be on our way.” Obi-Wan said.

I suddenly got a strong desire to hold Luke in my arms again. “Beru, may I hold him?”

“Of course.” She said with a smile as she handed him to me. I cradled him in my arms. He was awake now and he looked almost exactly like Anakin did when he was born. He looked at me and smiled. I touched his nose but he grabbed my finger and held it. My hand closed around his, as it had done with Anakin not so long ago. It was hard to believe that the brother I had grown up with, the boy I had loved so much, the man that never knew the truth, had turned against me and his beliefs. I sighed. I hoped with all that was in me that Luke would never become a Jedi like his father. Or, at the very least, he wouldn’t follow the same path as Anakin did.

This time, I'll update the story by chapter.

good job kenobi is fun rereading it again lol but i will keep quiet about it all lol

cute, very nice

Chapter Two: Finding a Home

“Storm’s letting up” Obi-Wan said a few minutes later. “We should be leaving in a few minutes.”

“Obi-wan, do we have to?” I asked.

“Yes we have to. The longer we stay here the more danger we put the Lars in.” He replied. I handed Luke back to Beru, who was sitting beside me.

“We’ll keep him safe, I promise.” She said. I hugged her, trying to believe that they would. “Again, I apologize for Owen’s actions. It’s just…he’s not very approving of Jedi.”

Obi-Wan had our luggage but he held my arm as we walked out to the eopie. He secured our things then lifted me up on the eopie. He paused a minute and looked in my eyes. I too was remembering when we first met. He had helped me down from an eopie similar in the way that he helped me back up. I leaned down and kissed him. “We should go” he said and climbed on in front of me. He spurred the eopie and it stood up slowly and started to walk away from the homestead.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“The hills. I think there are some places to live up there.” He replied. “Far enough away from civilization but yet close enough to where I can keep an eye on Luke.”

“But won’t Owen hate you for that? He didn’t seem like he liked you very much. Or me for that matter.” I said, leaning against his back.

“He won’t know” was all I heard in response. “Hang on; we’re going up some steep hills.” I tightened my grip around his waist as the eopie started his upward ascent. When we reached a level and somewhat flat place, Obi-Wan stopped the animal and got off. “Wait here, I’ll be back” he said and disappeared beyond the rocks. I heard strange noises in the distance and knew by experience they were wild animals native only to the hills. The eopie shifted uneasily; he probably knew those animals well too.

“Come on, Kenobi” I muttered. The suns were gone, and the moons were out. The temperature started to drop and I pulled my robe tighter around me. I heard something in the rocks. “Obi-wan, is that you?” I whispered. No reply but I heard the rocks moving. I couldn’t reach my lightsaber but I remained as still as possible. I soon heard breathing nearby and the Eopie started to back up. I grabbed the reins and held him still as best I could. Almost too soon to realize it, I heard growling, the Eopie reared up *though I didn’t know it was possible* and I was thrown off along with all our things. The eopie took off back down the way we came but whatever had scared it was staring straight at me. The only thing I could see clearly was its eyes. I didn’t move, afraid that if I did it would attack. I shouldn’t have worried though because Obi-Wan was there instantly and killed it. He helped me up. “Are you all right?” he asked.

“Yeah. Just a little shaken up, but I’m fine.” I answered. I heard the frustration and regret in his voice and knew that he regretted leaving me alone. I winced. I had been jarred more than I realized.

“The hovel is up this way. It’s deserted but there are enough supplies there that we can survive a month or so.” He wrapped his arm around my waist to support me. As he guided me up the path, he kept looking behind him and over his shoulder to make sure we weren’t being followed. I felt him getting tired and I stopped. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, just need to rest a minute.” I said. He had me and our luggage and I did it more for his sake than mine, even though my stomach felt like it was on fire. He dropped the luggage and leaned against a rock, his face turned towards the stars. “Obi-Wan? Are we safe? From Anakin I mean.”

He sighed. “Honestly, Petra, I don’t know. This is about as far out of the Republic as I dare to go. Come, we should get moving.”

He straightened up and walked toward me, helping me stand. “How much further?” I asked.

“Not far. I promise.” He replied. He again picked up our things and we resumed our journey.

Very nice, it's reminding me of how much I used to love reading Star Wars books

Chapter Three: Home Sweet Home?

Thirty minutes later, we arrived at the top of a hill. It was somewhat level but well protected by rocks; there was a small, hard mud hovel not far from us. There was a light burning in a window.

“Welcome home” Obi-Wan said softly.

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” I said bitterly.

“N-no. I’m sorry; I guess I wasn’t think…never mind, let’s get inside before it gets any later.” He said dejectedly. He opened the door with the Force and led me inside. It wasn’t too bad…after all I had lived most of my life in a hovel similar. “I know it’s not the same but we can make it better. The bedroom and shower are through that door.” He pointed to a door not far away. “I’d start a fire or something but there’s nothing to start it with.”

“There should be a switch…over here.” I said, walking over to the wall. I flipped a hidden switch that turned on the heat.

“I didn’t know that was over there.” He said. I shrugged.

“It was one of the few luxuries my mom and Anakin and I had. We were too important to our masters to freeze to death.” I said blankly. He took our things to the bedroom and unpacked. Even if he wasn’t raised to be a husband, he had certainly learned to be a great one in the past 12 years. I couldn’t imagine spending my life with anyone else; and as I watched him unpack our things, my love for him grew. The care with which he had taken care of me the past few days; the way he had protected me, not just recently but throughout the years.

“I probably need to clean your wounds.” He said. I sat down on the bed and took off my outer tunic; underneath was a tank top which I took off as well. For the first time, I noticed the scars and the tubes containing antibiotics penetrating my stomach. “I should be able to remove the tubes. The droids said when and how to. It may hurt though.”

“I can handle it.” I replied. He knelt down in front of me and rested his hands on my stomach. With the Force he carefully, slowly, painfully pulled out the tubes, clamping the free part in between his fingers to stop the flow of medicine. I winced and grabbed his arm. He looked up and stopped what he was doing.

“I’m sorry, is it hurting you?” He asked.

“A little.” I said. He kept his eyes on mine as he finished pulling them out. He removed the container, which held the antibiotics, from around my waist. He then proceeded to wet some cloths with alcohol; when it made contact with my skin it stung and then became numb. He cleaned the wound and made sure there was no bleeding before wrapping a clean white bandage around my stomach and back.

“Now how does it feel?” He asked me, his hand resting on my shoulder.

“Better, actually; thank you.” I said, looking up at him. He bent down and kissed me. “Obi-Wan, did Anakin kill Zett and Luke?”

He sighed and sat down beside me. I pulled on my tank top. “He didn’t kill Zett; Zett was killed by troopers on a landing platform. But Luke…Luke was killed by Anakin, yes.”

I wanted to cry; needed to grieve, but my tears were spent and I was exhausted. “Why would he do this to us?”

“The Dark Side changes many things about people. I can hardly believe it myself.” He said. I leaned against him, the pain in my stomach considerably less than before. His arm wrapped around my shoulders. We sat like that for several minutes before I fell asleep, escaping my troubled thoughts and spirit for a few hours.

great as usual Obi, very sad

so sad but good update kenobi keep up the good work

Oh, poor Petra.
It's easier to follow now that you post longer. The emotions come across more smoothly than when it's all chopped up into little updates. I mean, little updates are good. I just prefer long ones.
By the way, I remember where I left off.

Lossëndil said:

Oh, poor Petra.
It's easier to follow now that you post longer. The emotions come across more smoothly than when it's all chopped up into little updates. I mean, little updates are good. I just prefer long ones.
By the way, I remember where I left off.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I am thinking of changing the way I update on theforce.net; but unfortunately the updates there are further along in the story and I post when I write more. One reason why I tried to limit an update to every 2 weeks; but I may lengthen it, I don't know. My readers have dwindled down to about 2 so yeah...

Chapter Four: The Beginning of a New Life

I awoke to the sound of sizzling, which I knew was coming from the kitchen. I pulled on my robe and walked out of the bedroom. “What time is it?”

“Around 10:30; I was up earlier but I didn’t want to wake you.” He said, poking at something in a pan.

“You’re cooking breakfast? I don’t think I can survive another attack” I said sarcastically.

“Very funny, it doesn’t look too bad.” He said, and then the smell of burnt food filled the air, followed by smoke. “Never mind.”

I grabbed a towel and grabbed the pan’s handle and took it outside, dumping whatever it was out on the sand. “Open some windows” I said, coughing. He waved his hand and two windows in the kitchen opened. In a few minutes, the air had cleared. “Maybe I should cook.”

“Hey, I’m a Jedi, not a chef.” He said. He unwrapped a new package of meat, which was similar to bacon and set it on the counter. I placed the pan in the sink and ran cool water over it, then I grabbed a clean pan and restarted breakfast. Fifteen minutes later, we had an edible breakfast; it wasn’t lavish or plentiful but it was enough. “I’ll clean up” Obi-Wan said after we finished eating. “You look tired” he rested his hand on my arm.

“I’m fine, Kenobi; honestly” I replied. Ever since Obi-wan had removed the tubes my stomach felt better and it wasn’t quite so sore. I had thought that perhaps Obi-Wan would have struck up a conversation during breakfast, but what was there to talk about except what had gone wrong in our lives? “You wash, I’ll dry.”

“Why do I get stuck with the dirty jobs?” He asked.

“Because you’re so good at it, Obi-Wan” I replied. I knew he was just kidding though.

“Petra, I can’t go by the name of Obi-Wan anymore” he said as he washed the dirty dishes.

“Why?” I asked, really not knowing why.

He sighed. He hadn’t slept well the night before. “Because it’d be safer; the Emperor will stop at nothing to destroy those who threaten him.”

I let out a breath of frustration. “It’s not fair. Anakin had no right to kill our family. He didn’t…he didn’t…” the tears started to fall afresh down my cheeks. He stopped washing the dishes and pulled me to him. I was so frustrated, and, and hurt. “I’m sorry, Kenobi. I just…it’s not your fault.”

He didn’t say anything for a long time. That’s when I felt really guilty. “It’s no one’s fault” then he fell silent again. Something was wrong with him but I didn’t pursue it at the moment.

A/N (author's note): if it looks like there might be grammatical errors, such as the double "and" above, it's more than likely intended. This IS meant to be a diary of sorts told from one person's perspective. Also, read this as if she's writing her diary as everything happens. See first post for more info.

still very sweet, Obi

Chapter Five: A Day Alone

The next day, I decided to take a look at the moisture vaporator near our hovel. I took it apart and realized that it needed to have new parts. I made a list for Obi-Wan, I mean Ben, of all the things I needed. “Will you have enough credits?” I asked him.
“I think it’ll be enough for now” he replied. “I’ll be back by dark. Keep the door locked unless you absolutely have to go out.”
“Yes, sir” I said with a slight smile.
“I mean it, Petra.” He said sternly. He started to walk out when I remembered something.
“Wait a second. You could use these.” I pulled out several credits from a pouch that was lying on the table. I handed them to him. “They’re a little rusted, but they’re still valuable.”
He looked at them in his hand. “Where did you get these?”
“When we left Tattoine, Qui-Gon gave them to me. I want you to use them.” I closed his hand over the credits.
“I can’t…we should save these for later” Ben said softly. He handed them back to me. He turned to leave but stopped at the door. Next thing I knew, his lips were on mine and my body was crushed against his. “I love you” he breathed.
“I love you too, Kenobi” I said in response. “But if you want to be back before dark, you should go.”

He released me. “Don’t wait dinner on me.” He left, shutting the door behind him and locking it with the Force. I looked around the hovel. Although there wasn’t much in it, there was furniture around. And even though I knew cleaning the floor was out of the question since it was dirt, the amount of dirt on the floor was ridiculous. I found a flat piece of metal in the cellar and used it as a shovel, pitching it out the now-unlocked door. Once I removed about three inches of dirt, I then realized how hard the floor underneath was. So I just finished removing most of the dirt. Once that was done, I wiped down all the furniture and the kitchen, getting them as clean as possible. I stopped when there was a catch in my side, making it painful to breathe.
Sitting down on the bed, I picked up a duffle bag. Ben had enough time to go through our quarters and get the essentials that we needed, including a change of clothes each. But I felt something different at the bottom. I pulled out the clothes and discovered a picture frame in the bottom. Activating it, I realized it was a picture of me and Ben with Anakin. It wasn’t long after Ben and I had married. I flipped a switch and it switched to the next picture; it was one that was taken during the clone Wars. I knew there were more photos but I didn’t feel like looking at them at the moment. I switched off the frame and lay down on the bed. My mind started to wander to my parents. I didn’t remember them much; but I remember being scared when I couldn’t find them. I also remembered that I had been playing in their ship, even after I had been told not to, and the next thing I knew was that I was on a foreign planet. I sat back up. I didn’t know why this had started to bother me at that moment, but I knew that sometime soon, I would have to find my parents.
I opened my eyes and realized that I’d been asleep for several hours because light no longer filtered in through our bedroom window. I heard noises in the main room and got up, yawning. I saw Ben in the kitchen again. I groaned inwardly; he was cooking again. “Ben, we can’t afford…”
“I know, I know, but I’m going to learn how to cook this thing.” He said in determination. I sighed. I walked into the kitchen.
“It’s done.” I said, patting him on the shoulder.

He looked at me then at the pan in confusion. “It is? It doesn’t look like it.”
“Trust me, it is.” I took a towel and removed the pan from the stove. I smiled when I saw what it was. It was a delicacy; something my mom and Anakin and I never ate much, but when we did get one, it was a treat.
“I thought about waking you but you looked so beautiful that I couldn’t disturb you.” He said, touching my hand. I looked at him. He kissed me on the cheek and placed the strip of meat on a plate, slicing it with a knife. He started to put half of it on another plate.
“Don’t bother about doing that” I said, placing my hand on his. “We can share a plate.”
Not to sound idiotic, but it seemed as though that was what Ben wanted in the first place. We ate dinner in silence for the most part. When we finished, I washed the dishes and he went to our room to meditate as he had been doing for the past few days. He wouldn’t tell me why he spent so much time in meditation; and I didn’t ask. I looked through the things Ben had bought. I found the parts for the vaporator, but it was too dark and dangerous to try and fix it that night. So I set the things away and restocked the shelves in the kitchen. I turned out the lights in the main room of the hovel and went to the bedroom, being careful not to disturb him. As usual, he was sitting on the bed, shirt off, his legs crossed under him, and his eyes closed in meditation. I took a quick shower and pulled on a t-shirt and shorts even though the nights got cold. Sleeping with someone is warmer than sleeping alone.
“Did you lock everything down?” Ben asked without moving or opening his eyes.
I sat down beside him. “Yes. Did I disturb you?”
He opened his eyes. “No. I couldn’t concentrate very well.” He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me against him. “Vader is still alive.”

A/N: If I'm posting too often, or if there isn't enough space between lines, let me know. I decided to backspace the story in Word, hoping that it would make it look more like book format; but if it's too closely spaced, I can change it back.

The spacing is fine with me. But then, my screen has a funny resolution, so it might look different to others.
For now, while I'm still ahead of the story, posting is fine. But when I enter new grounds it may be faster than I'd prefer. We'll see when we get there.
It's nice that Obi-Wan and Petra have a little peace to themselves for the moment.

its fine kenobi don't worry about it i like this format

Lossëndil said:

The spacing is fine with me. But then, my screen has a funny resolution, so it might look different to others.
For now, while I'm still ahead of the story, posting is fine. But when I enter new grounds it may be faster than I'd prefer. We'll see when we get there.
It's nice that Obi-Wan and Petra have a little peace to themselves for the moment.

Click to expand...

oh trust me, probably by the time I get it caught up here, I'll be posting a LOT slower simply because I only have a month until school starts back up, and I haven't found a whole lot of inspiration or motive lately!

caught up, I've been busy, keep up the good work Obi

Chapter Six: Regrets

I had been leaning against him but I sat upright. “He’s what?”
“I didn’t kill him as Yoda told me to, and now…” He sighed. “I failed again.”
“You couldn’t have known. The Emperor…” I started in but he stood up abruptly.
“Didn’t you hear me? I didn’t kill Anakin. I left him to die on the lava banks of Mustafar, hoping he’d die. I turned my back on him and left him to a slow and painful death, and now the Emperor has resurrected him into a masked monster.” Ben fell silent; he was breathing heavily, mainly out of anger. I always thought that Ben had killed Anakin; and as bad as it sounds, I had hoped he had killed him. Ben had turned his back on me, but I knew he was crying. I got up and went over to him, leaning against his back and wrapping my arms around his waist. I felt his body heaving with sobs and I didn’t know what to do to help him except just let him cry. There was only one other time I remember him grieving so deeply and openly; when Siri died. My chest was against his back and we stood like this for several minutes, but eventually, I felt him calming down but also tiring. I moved away and took his hands. “Both of us need some rest.”
“I should resume my meditation” Ben said, wiping the tears away.
I wiped some remaining tears off his cheek. “You should go to bed and go to sleep. Meditation will be there in the morning.”
“Fine, I suppose I can’t argue with you and win.” He said sitting down.
I smiled. “No, you can’t, so don’t forget it.”
He waved his hand, shutting off the lights. A few minutes later, I was lying against him with my head resting against his chest, his arms around me and his steady breathing filling my ears. I wish I could have gone to sleep as quickly and easily. But I didn’t move for fear of disturbing his much needed rest.
When I woke up the next morning Ben was gone as usual, but he left a note on his pillow. Dearest, I’ve gone riding up to the Wastes; I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, but I’ll be back before dark if all goes well. I’ve already fixed the vaporator, so no need to go outside the hovel today. I love you.
I sighed, staring up at the ceiling. Several days before, Ben had caught a Bantha and tamed it so he could ride it. I also knew that Owen had gotten angry with Ben for keeping watch over their homestead and had ordered Ben away, even though I knew Ben still kept watch, just at a greater distance. I got up reluctantly and got dressed. I picked up where I had left off the day before and finished cleaning the hovel. When I finished, I sat down with a book I had been reading prior to all this, a gift from Malee. In it, I realized that I had marked where I left off with a couple of pieces of paper. Pulling them out, I remembered what they were: Siri’s file and my file. So, I set the book aside and read through the files again, looking for clues, but to what I didn’t know yet. There was, of course, no record of who Siri’s parents were….rather, our parents. But Serenno was her place of birth, and I knew that if I was going to find my parents, that’s where I had to look. The only problem was; how were we going to get there safely? I knew Ben wouldn’t go for the idea easily; I’d have to convince him, and I’d already tried that once.
“Petra, what is that?” Obi-Wan asked, walking over to me.
I handed him the sheet of paper. “A letter from my mother; I’m not sure how it found its way here.”
There was a moments silence as Obi-Wan read the letter. “At least she’s doing well.”
I sighed. “Obi-Wan, I should go visit her.”
He handed the letter back to me. “Absolutely not.”
“Why?” I asked. I really did want to visit her and take Anakin with me.
“It’s too risky.” He simply replied.
“Too risky? I could take a transport and be back in a week or so” I said crossing my arms and standing up.
“Petra, you heard what I said; you aren’t to go to Tattoine. Understood?” His eyes bore into mine, and I knew that was the end of the discussion.
“Yes Master” I replied sullenly.
I smiled bitterly at the memory; I knew then that the end of that conversation was the firm tone of voice and the hard gaze he gave me. But if Ben told me ‘no’ this time, I was going whether he liked it or not, even if I had to sneak out at night. I decided to approach him when he got home.

But I didn’t follow through because Ben had come home looking troubled. When I asked him why, he said that Qui-gon had spoken to him at an abandoned Tusken Raider camp. “Why a Tusken Raider camp?”
“Petra, it’s none of your concern” Ben replied gruffly and he walked away into the bedroom. Well, he was in a lovely mood today. But I decided to dismiss his attitude because of recent events. Sighing out loud, I returned to my book, this time actually reading it. But I kept the documents tucked away in one of my drawers in the bedroom.

A/N: and if you're wondering why there are paper files when the SW universe is so advanced, well.....don't wonder. It made it easier to hide that way.