Bitter Goodbyes
Rey's heart leapt to her throat at the question, and her eyes widened.
"I don't… not much."
Master Windu frowned and Rey's gut twisted. She lowered her eyes, trying to stamp down the vaguely nauseous feeling the look inspired. She'd known she wouldn't be good enough to be a Jedi, but she didn't think she'd be disappointing her master this early.
"Do you know their names?"
Rey jerked, her mind immediately putting it together. "Kenobi is a common name on Stewjon. I didn't assume…"
Master Kenobi smiled smally. "You are correct. It is common. However, we ran your blood and it seems that you are, in fact, related to me."
Rey stared at him.
"What?" Poe asked, glancing incredulously at Rey.
Rey cringed. She hadn't told either of those two what she'd found on her mission with Jess almost two months ago. She honestly felt like she was still processing all that she'd found on the ship, in the large chest that she'd found hidden in a smuggler's compartment, so well hidden, surrounded by Force dampeners and anti-scanner tech, that the only reason that Rey found it was that D-0 had showed it to her after he'd verified her identity.
"I discovered much information about my parents… Anaya-Lan Kenobi and Din Djarin."
"You know their names!" Poe asked, grinning. "That's amazing."
Rey shrugged, not quite managing to give him a convincing smile. It had been strangely relieving to learn that her parents had died. That they hadn't left her. And then she'd been sickened at her relief. She'd cried and Jess had held her. Now, all she could feel when she thought of them was a mess of sorrow and guilt that no amount of meditating had helped her make peace with.
She looked between her master and her, she supposed, uncle.
"They were… There was a recording. What they left me revealed a lot about my history."
The three Jedi masters glanced at each other whilst Skywalker's scowl deepened.
"If we go back to the Millenium Falcon, I can show you. I think it will be easier than explaining."
Master Windu nodded. "That sounds reasonable, Rey. Master Unduli, I am sure that you, Knight Skywalker and your padawans are capable of overseeing the senators' safety and comfort."
The older Mirialan Jedi bowed. "Of course, Master Windu."
Skywalker's scowl deepened for a second and Rey set her jaw against the wave of anger and frustration that clashed against her shields.
However, he turned on his heal and joined the other Jedi in leaving, the two troopers who had followed them in shadowing them, both sporting new scars on the sides of their heads, which they covered with helmets before they went through the doors.
Master Kenobi inclined his head forward. "Why don't we go?"
----
Obi-Wan stood shoulder to shoulder with Mace, Cody Ponds, Finn, Chewbacca and Poe as Rey knelt in front of them. D-O was sitting in front of, in between them and a chest engraved with a Rancor surrounded by a long, thin, winged dragon, who's tail was hooked around its head.
She pressed her hand against D-O's head and the droid went very still, a flickering hologram projecting in front of him.
A pale woman with deep red hair, pinned around her head in a braided crown, and grey eyes came into focus.
Obi-Wan stifled his gasp as he realised that she was his niece.
He was given to the temple too young to remember his family. Some Jedi had contact with their families, and many visited their home planets to stay in touch with their cultures. Obi-Wan had never had the desire; he'd preferred to learn about Stewjon from afar. Seeing the woman's face, her smile warm, even as her brow creased in worry, almost made him regret the decision.
He could see the connections between her, him and Rey. They had the same small features, the same pale skin, and the same stormy eyes. Rey even had a similar cadence to her voice, the unique Stewjoni accent that was so often mistaken for a refined Coruscanti one.
"Rey, my dear, if you are watching this, then your farther and I are dead."
She gave a shaky sigh, blinking her eyes rapidly.
"I am so sorry," her voice was husky as a tear fell down her cheek. "Your farther and I did not want to leave you there, but it was the only way. There was no other habitable planet within range where we'd be assured of your anonymity."
Anaya-Lan swallowed. "You are… special, my darling. Your light shines so, so bright. We thought… we thought it would be safer to part you two. We didn't think that we'd be found. Not so soon."
"I'm so…" her voice broke. "I'm so, so sorry, little one. You don't… you don't deserve any of this."
She paused, looking down at the ground before she glanced back up. "D-0 will show you all that you need to know of us, of your history and of what you are. Please, please, know that you are wanted. I love you more than I can ever put into words. And I am so sorry for what I have done with you."
The recording picked up the groan of the ship around her, the familiar sound of a hyperdrive being pushed to its limits rattling around Obi-Wan's head.
"Goodbye, my lightbringer," Anaya-Lan whispered, before she stood up from the chair she had been sitting on.
A few moments later, a man with tanned skin and dark hair replaced her.
He gave a sigh, his deep chocolate eyes filled with a kind of grief that Obi-Wan wished he couldn't relate to.
"I don't have much time, Rey," he began. "But there are things you need to know."
He held out his hand, showing a pendant of a horned skull on a black corded necklace. Obi-Wan instantly recognised it as the symbol for the true Mandalorians.
"This will be in the chest. When… if you find any Mandalorians show this to them, they will take you in."
The man's eyes lowered. "Wren has the dha'kad now, and I cannot put my helmet on again, but my armour is your legacy. I know you will wear it well."
He leant his elbows in the table, clenching his fists together as he stared back into the camera.
"If you can, find Fulcrum… you must find her. She will have a baby with her that has a necklace which matches yours. She will train you."
He ran a hand through his hair. "Gods, we should have left you with her… We thought you would be safer apart from your brother. She said that you are both so powerful… more bright than she could ever imagine… but we were fools, thinking we could outrun the Empire, and the galaxy was blind to think its terror was over."
He refocused on the camera, as if he could reach across and touch the viewer. "Rey, you are meant to be a Jedi. And I…"
A tear fell down his face. "It will forever be my greatest regret, in this life and beyond, that I could not watch you and your brother grow into the fierce protectors you will become."
He breathed a sigh and the tears flowed more freely. "I'm so sorry Rey'ika. I wanted so much more for you… If you ever find your brother… and I hope to god you do, you may be shocked by his appearance… he's a little, well, green."
He broke off with a humourless bark of laughter. "If you ever find your brother, tell him that I'm sorry too, and that I wish I could have said goodbye, that I could have told him I loved him one more time."
The ship shuddered around them and the man, Din Djarin, swallowed. "We should get the chest hidden."
He a watery smile. "You will do great things, Rey Kenobi of Clan Djarin. I love you, more than I will ever be able to show."
The last thing that was heard as the man reached forward to turn the recording off, was the blaring sound of an alarm and a whispered. "I wish we could have done better."
Obi-Wan wasn't the only one who had to blink tears out of his eyes when the projection flickered off.
Rey was openly crying as she stepped forward and slowly opened the chest before anyone could say anything.
This time, Obi-Wan could not hold back his slight gasp.
Stacked in one corner, taking up about a quarter of the space, was full beskar armour, unpainted. The shoulder puldrons and the helmet were laying on the top. One of the shoulders had the same racor as on the front welded onto it.
The rest of the chest was filled with a motely mix of weapons, datasticks, books and other small bits. One of them was a smaller wooden box that was latched with a Force lock.
Rey stared unseeingly at the contents, as she slowly stood. As soon as she'd straightened, Finn wrapped her in a tight hug, quickly joined by Poe and Chewbacca, with the two droids bumping into her legs.
Obi-Wan sent out a thin vine through the Force, suffusing it with a delicate comfort. He was surprised when Rey soon acknowledged it, sending her own thrum of thanks through the Force. He hadn't thought that she would notice it. Anakin still failed to pick up on many of the subtle Force interactions that Jedi shared; or, rather, he refused to. He didn't understand that communicating through the Force rather than in the physical world was more natural and genuine for most Jedi, since they were all often called upon to be the calm mediators. The silent communication was only for them, and ensured a level of truth and earnestness that could not be assured in the physical world.
Anakin was so powerful, everything around him was so loud, that he often didn't grasp the fact that small interactions in the Force could have a large meaning, and he had always been obstinate about listening to Obi-Wan when he attempted to explain them.
The group pulled away shortly, Rey rubbing the last tears out of her eyes as they turned to face them.
"I have read through many of the books and datasticks in there. They were mostly learning modules for history, language, art and battle tactics," she admitted. "But I haven't touched the armour. I… haven't been ready for the memories it holds."
"Memories?" Obi-Wan asked.
Rey shifted uncomfortably. "I can see what has happened to an object when I touch it."
"You have psychometry?" Mace questioned.
Rey shrugged. "If that is what it is called."
"It is," Mace confirmed, before he gave a small smile. "I believe we are quite well balanced. Do you have visions?"
Rey nodded. "We both do."
Obi-Wan raised his eyebrows. That would be interesting.
"I believe it is time that we each talk to our padawans, alone," he announced.
He looked into Rey's eyes and she smiled slightly, sending a thrum of understanding towards him. There would be time for them to talk later. They would be training together more often than not, after all.
Then he cast a glance at Chewbacca and Poe, who both nodded.
"We understand that Rey and Finn need to train," Poe explained. "Chewie will probably want to work on the Falcon but I want to try and find someone who can show me around the fighters. I'm not used to the older model."
Cody stepped forward. "I can do that."
"I'll join you, vod," Ponds agreed.
Poe grinned. "Good. Let's go then and leave the Jedi to their Force business."
They all nodded their goodbyes and the astromech, BB-8 followed them out.
Chewbacca said goodbye as well before he disappeared into the Falcon and Mace quietly lead Rey off into the ship once they'd exited the freighter.
Obi-Wan turned to Finn, smiling. "I know a rather lovely garden that nobody aboard this ship visits. Shall we converse there?"
Finn returned his smile with a slightly uncertain one of his own. "Yes, master."