Star Wars Fic and Meta - From All The Spaces Between Times - Chapter 46

[elrhiarhodan]

Title: From All The Spaces Between Times
Chapter: Chapter 46 - To Make Connections and To Remember
Author: elrhiarhodan / elrhiarhodan / elrhiarhodan
Fandom: Star Wars, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars — Obi Wan Kenobi (TV), Star Wars — Jedi Apprentice Books
Characters Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn, Shmi Skywalker, Anakin Skywalker, Watto, Quinlan Vos, Padmé Amidala, Sabé, Darth Maul, Yoda, Mace Windu, Adi Gallia, Quinlan Vos, Professor Huyang, The Force, Plo Koon, Vokara Che, Siri Tachi, Aayla Secura, Bant Eerin, Bruck Chun, Xanatos du Crion, Sheev Palpatine | Darth Sidious, Hego Damask II | Darth Plagueis, Komari Vosa, Bail Prestor Organa, Bail Antilles Prestor, Rael Averross, Nim Piana, Original Characters, Other Characters To Be Added
Pairings: Obi-Wan Kenobi & Shmi Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Qui-Gon Jinn, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker, eventual Obi-Wan/Qui-Gon Jinn (we’re getting closer)
Word Count: ~ 6100 this chapter
Spoilers: None
Warnings/Enticements/Triggers: None

Summary: Obi-Wan Kenobi has never known it, but he has always been the Force’s Champion, destined to suffer infinite sadness in defense of the Light. On his last turn on the wheel, responsibility for The Chosen One, the false child of prophecy, had been thrust upon him with no warning, and Darkness held the upper hand.

But this time, the Force has marshaled its power and will protect its Champion until the time is right, no matter how long Obi-Wan has to wait and how much he has to suffer.

Or,

Obi-Wan is reborn as a twelve-year old.

He wakes up on a slavers’ ship, with all of his prior life’s memories intact, and he’s bound for Tatooine with a Force-inhibitor collar around his neck, a bomb implanted in his spine, and no way of knowing what state of the Galaxy is in.

Just another day in the life of the Force’s Champion.

Chapter Summary: Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon are on their way to Alderaan, the Garden of the Galaxy, but the journey there brings a small surprise between them. Nothing can change, and yet everything does in a way.

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From All The Spaces Between Times — Chapter 46 - To Make Connections and To Remember (On AO3)

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Meta — Chapter 46 - To Make Connections and To Remember

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357,353 words, 65-ish chapters

More words this week than the last few, and a lot of that has to do with firing story synapses.

Ideas are flowing like water. I’ve started writing out of order again, always a good sign (hence the 65-ish chapters) because I’m skipping forward. Plugging up plot holes, finding whole new threads, finding a possible sixth book or potential sequel (not quite sure how this major new development will play out). But I’m kind of motoring along in my brain and (gasp!) taking notes so I don’t forget stuff. I’m 60 years old now and I’m on the downhill slide (although I am physically feeling better this week).

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Just in case you might not be an Star Wars OT nerd, the ship that Leia was on in the opening space battle was called the Tantive IV, a diplomatic or consular vessel in service to House Organa. In this timeline, the Tantive II belonged to House Prestor. Per Wookieepedia, the Tantive IV was a corvette-class Corellian CR90 with a Class-2 hyperdrive and armaments. The Tantive II was similar, but slightly smaller, with fewer armaments and a shorter fuel range.

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I’ll be honest, when I wrote the original dream sharing sequence back in Chapter 9, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with it. A friend had asked for it, finding it very romantic, and I’m a soft touch. It didn’t feel out of place in the story, but honestly, I knew I couldn’t make a big deal out of shared dreams. Jessebee’s Side Slip series is based on Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan being Master and Padawan through a long-term dream relationship before Obi-Wan wakes up. It’s one of the best time-travel stories written and sadly the series is unfinished.

So I felt that writing an extensive dream-relationship between master and padawan would be too close to Side-Slip for comfort, even though the story itself had no other connection.

So I’d mentioned it a few times, but never really built it out as a major plot point. Then I dipped my toe into the life bond. Again, it’s a brief plot point in Chapter 24, a passing mention by Xanatos to Qui-Gon as he’s recovering from the Zeltros Phlegm:

Xan scrubs his face. "All right, I am so done with you, Qui-Gon Jinn. But I have one more interesting thing to mention."

"Oh?"

"You and your padawan might be forming a life bond."

Qui-Gon waited for his old friend to burst out laughing, but the laughter never comes. "You’re serious?"

"Yes."

"And how did you come to this conclusion?" Qui-Gon doesn’t believe this isn’t one of Xan’s more elaborate jokes.

But it isn’t. "Bruck noticed it last night. When he came in to check on Obi-Wan, who insisted on spending the night at your side, he noticed that when Obi-Wan had let go of your hand, your heart rate slightly increased. As soon as he took your hand again, it slowed down. He thought it was an interesting coincidence so he mentioned it to me. I did too, and came in, then sent Obi-Wan out of the room for a few minutes so see what would happen. Your vitals went a little wavy — nothing serious, but heart and pulse spiked, temp went up and down, respiratory rate increased. Blood oxygen dropped and picked up. When Obi-Wan returned, everything leveled out. Your antibody levels increased when he took your hand."

Qui-Gon still doesn’t believe it isn’t more than coincidence. "And how are my levels now?"

Xan checks his datapad. "Perfect."

"And Obi-Wan isn’t in the room."

"No, he’s not. But I’m tempted to stick monitors on both of you to check your readings over the next week."

"No, not happening. And whatever you think this is, it’s nothing more than coincidence. Life bond with my padawan of three months? Don’t be ridiculous."

"You’re probably right."

"You’ve been watching too many holo-dramas."

"Likely." Xan grimaces. “But still…”

"No buts. Say anything about this to anyone, I’ll sit on you and pull out your nose hairs. One by one."

Believe me, I never forgot about it, because yes, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan were always going to have a life bond. But I didn’t plan on incorporating the shared dreams into it. Not until I was reading about Force Dyads and how co-dreaming is apparently one of the signs/hallmarks of a dyad. I’m not elevating Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan to a dyad, but I figured why not borrow the dreaming for the life bond? It fit in rather nicely.

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There was a fair bit of build up with Cornen Pre, professional slimy jackass. What do you think about him?

And Seili?