Title: The Gift - A Siriwan Story AU

Author: Obimom

Timeframe: Begins in Before the Sage, continues in Saga to Tatooine

Characters: Obi-Wan, Siri T, Adi Gallia, some Qui-Gon and Yoda

Genre: Drama & Romance

Summary: At the age of thirteen, Siri had visions of herself and Obi-Wan's future in the caves of Ilum.

This is mostly a Siri and Obi-Wan centered story - events, missions etc are touched on, familiar events mentioned but not gone into much detail. I just wondered what would Siri do if she knew some things about her future and Obi-Wan's future, and how this knowledge might affect the future.

This may not update as regularly as my previous stories since I am now working full time, but it is completely written, so it will be finished.

Dedicated to the many Siriwan fans...you know who you are...

And as always, Thank you Val for the beta and suggestions!

THE GIFT

Chapter 1: Ilum

Ilum was cold. Not just cold, it was freezing. It was an ice world set in a remote part of the galaxy, tucked away and unseen by most, but a refuge for the Jedi and their Padawans. Atop the tallest icy cliff and protected by the Gorgodons was a crystal cavern, the destination of masters who brought their young Padawans on a journey to find their crystals and build their lightsabers. In many cases, a young Padawan found more than light saber crystals, they found warnings and truths about themselves, and sometimes visions of their future.

Jedi Master Adi Gallia brought her 13 year old Padawan, Siri Tachi, to Ilum to take her first journey into the caves, to seek her crystals and to see what the force embued cave might show her. It had been two days since they had arrived and they had taken the option to land their small transport on the ledge in front of the cave rather than climb the sheer icy cliff. The Gorgodons scrambled, flew about and made a fuss. Adi wielded her lightsaber only to keep them away from herself and Siri, and along with her force persuasion, soon settled them down. Adi and Siri then made their way into the mouth of the cave. There the master had squeezed the young padawan's shoulder in encouragement and sent her on her way.

Adi now sat in silent meditation just inside the entrance to the cave, the sharp blue sky behind her a constrast to the bright, sparkling ice that lined the ledge and surrounded the mouth of the cave. Gorgodons slept peacefully around the ledge and inside the cave entrance, having been assured two days ago that these two small strangers meant them no harm.

Adi sighed as she meditated. She chose not to meddle in what Siri was going through; Siri would tell her what she would when she returned. This was an exercise in patience, it would do the young Padawan no good to make her feel hurried. She had to find her own way, in her own time. Meditation kept Adi reminded of this lesson. Patience. Peacefulness. Serenity. The cool air blew in and nipped at her from time to time, and she could sense the snores and breathing of the creatures behind her, but nothing would disturb her. Siri needed her Master to be calm and at peace.

Deep in the recesses of the cave was Siri. Her small frame was barely visible in the darkness, but whenever she found a room filled with crystals, which seemed to glow and sparkle with their own light, her shoulder length blonde hair would shimmer. The visions of long dead Jedi and their dire warnings, which she had found on the first day of her journey had frightened her, and then annoyed her. She had stomped away impatiently.

"I don't have time for this! I need to find my crystals!" she had said to herself.

But then she remembered her Master's admonition; to listen to the warnings and discern if they were true for her or not, and don't be overly alarmed by them and to move on peacefully. She had settled down then and taken her time, forcing herself to remain calm and patient.

Late in the second day she had stumbled into another room filled with crystals. Her blonde hair shone like a halo in the crystal's light, her blue eyes reflected the sparkle of the stones. She had already been through so many of these caves and had not found her crystals, she had prepared to move on when she stopped. She had a feeling that she should stay. She carefully made her way to the center of the room, a clear space in the middle surrounded by hundreds of crystals of different colors. She looked around, turning her slim figure 180 degrees, gazing at the brilliance in the room. She listened again to the force and knew this was where she needed to stay. She finally sat down in the middle of the room and prepared to meditate.

As she closed her eyes, she felt the pull of the force lulling her into a dreamlike state. Her breathing slowed as she felt the air shimmer around her. She felt herself floating, perhaps in space, maybe in time, she wasn't sure, but soon she felt she was in a different place. Her eyes felt heavy, but she slowly opened them and was amazed to find herself in the middle of a battlefield, lying on the ground with burning buildings nearby. She was in dreadful pain and knew she was dying. Someone held her; embraced her. A soft quivering voice, velvet and cultured in spite of the distress in it, spoke gently over her.

"Siri, please don't die. Don't leave me. I can't bear it."

She heard herself say "Of course you can, Obi-Wan. You will go on. You have to. You have much to do yet.

Obi-Wan! Obi-Wan Kenobi was the one holding her so tenderly, weeping over her? She looked up into the face of an adult man, his ginger hair and beard surrounded a face soaked in dirt and blood, but she would know those eyes anywhere. His blue/gray eyes held something she thought she would never see. They held love, and heartbreak. She wanted to reach out to him, to assure him that this was only a vision, but she found she couldn't. Instead she pressed something into his hand and murmured "I will always be with you. I love you."

She shook herself and was back in the cave. She shivered and found that she had wrapped her arms around her legs and tears had been falling down her face. Obi-Wan? They love each other in the future? All he is to her right now is a friend and usually a nuisance, although she would never admit to him that she found him very cute and his changeable eyes mesmerising. Does she admit this to him sometime later on? She hoped not. The code forbade this kind of attachment. And she was...she was dying.

"This is how I die? On a battlefield with Obi-Wan Kenobi holding me? Surely this vision must be wrong," she mumbled to herself.

She settled herself, feeling that there was more.

Soon she felt herself drifting again; felt the same shimmer as before, and then suddenly a wall of heat slammed into her, and she gasped. She opened her eyes to find the temple burning. She gasped, horrified at what she saw.

Younglings fallen over the temple floors, strange looking armored soldiers that blasted at anyone who tried to stop them, and in the center was a lone figure swinging a lightsaber. She couldn't tell for sure, but it looked like he swung it at an initiate. No,it couldn't be! She closed her eyes tightly in horror at the vision, and then felt the intense pull again.

She was thrust again into the shimmering vortex, and she could feel the heat becoming more and more intense. When she began gasping and feeling as though she would choke in the intensity of the heat, she suddenly stopped. She opened her eyes again.

The burning temple had become a raging lava field with two men battling desperately, their lightsabers clashing violently against the sizzling red flow of molten ash. She recognized one of them as Obi-Wan, but did not recognise the other. Her heart began to pound as she observed Obi-Wan fighting desperately, passionately. He seemed determined but heartbroken. She didn't understand that, but before she could ponder it the two combatants faded from view, and then to her horror a dark, helmeted visage rose from the lava, harsh mechanical breathing echoed through the lava bed, and in his dark gloved hand was a red lightsaber.

She blinked, and suddenly she felt a tug as the vision changed and she was now on a blazing desert, the heat still intense but not as dangerous as on the lava planet. There she saw an older, grieving Obi-Wan standing in front of an old hovel, his cloak masking most of his face as he shielded himself against the harsh suns and wind. She observed him gazing at the setting of the dual suns. When she looked more closely at him she was struck by the loneliness and grief in his eyes.

She blinked and opened her eyes. She was back in the cave, shivering in the sudden chill after experiencing so much intense heat in her visions. Tears stained her cheeks.

"What was all that about?" she wondered shakily. "Why did I keep seeing Obi-Wan?"

"Connected, you and Obi-Wan are."

Startled at the strange voice, she looked around but saw no one. "Connected? But attachments are forbidden."

"Yet connected you are," the mysterious voice whispered.

"But I died! And all those horrible images. Is that what Obi-Wan is going to go through?"

"Those are events that will take place after your death. They cannot be stopped. Yet your future is connected to his."

"What does that mean? I'll be dead!" She demanded. She didn't like cryptic messages or visions that made no sense.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi will be in the center of these events. He will lose everything he holds dear, yet he will stand true. His light will not burn out. He will survive, and the future of the Jedi will be in his hands, and in yours if you choose to be part of that future."

"How can I be part of his future if I'm dead!"

"A blessing and a comfort to him you will be if you choose wisely, child. When you are older, understanding will come."

The voice went silent and Siri sat, stunned.

She didn't know what to make of any of this. Somehow, in their future, she dies and Obi-Wan suffers great loss, but somehow they are connected, even after all of that. She shook her head and rubbed her hands against her temples, trying to comprehend.

Suddenly she felt very drowsy. She laid down in the center of the cave and soon was in a deep, dreamless, force induced sleep, wrapped in a peaceful aura. After several hours she awoke, the visions and the voice seemed far away. As her eyes opened, she became aware of two violet colored stones glowing more than all the others. They seemed to be calling to her. She rose up and went forward, bent down and plucked them up. She gazed at them as they sparkled and shimmered in her hand. She felt the rightness of them.

These were her crystals.

TBC