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There were rumors one would hear, sitting at the bar of a Tatooine cantina, of a Mando hiding out in the Wastes, protecting a foundling from the Imps (or the Hutts, depending on the version). You won't find him wearing armor, you won't find him in a blaster fight, you won't even find him taking up a bounty. Some might contest that he isn't a Mando at all, but those who know more about Mandalorian culture than just their battle prowess and ruthlessness know better. Ben Kenobi of the Wastes may have exchanged his armor for white tunics and brown protective cloaks, he may have hung up his blasters, but he clung to the one core tenant of Mandalorian culture that every Mando worth their armor sticks to. Children are the Future. This is the Way.
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It started slow. For a few years, the rumors passed around were just rehashing the old, by now familiar story: Imps (or Hutt goons) would run into Ben in the market (or a cantina), a heavily pointed conversation followed (or not, sometimes a fight broke out before words were spoken), and once the dust settled, Ben was the only one standing. But then one day, someone came looking for Ben specifically. It was a Togruta Mando wearing blue and orange armor with a short black cape edged in gold over one shoulder. They'd asked only for knowledge of how long Ben Kenobi had been on Tatooine, and nodded at the given answer, almost as if it had been expected. They asked a bartender to tell Ben that Snips and Rex were looking for him and could be found just outside the settlement's borders. After confirming the bartender would pass along the message, the Mando left without a backwards glance and no mention of how long they'd wait. When the bartender next saw Ben, they passed the info along, getting mildly worried when they saw how affected he was by the names. Ben thanked them, though, so they shrugged it off and went about their day. It was out of their hands, after all.
From that point on, though, Ben started getting visitors, other Mandalorians, generally clad in some mix of blues and oranges, but eventually more color mixes started showing up, too. There were Mandos in black and green, Mandos in browns, some in eye searing shades of yellow, a few with red stripes on primarily blue armor, the list went on. Some followed Ben out into the Wastes in their ships, others came and went, returning every so often with riches beyond the stars. Occasionally one or two would show up with a child or young teen in tow and settle down for a few months before heading back into the black. Sometimes they'd return with an older teen or a young adult with weary eyes and too many scars.
After a few months of this, something else happened. A couple desperate souls had seen Ben interact with a few of the more well known freedom runners while in town and decided to risk it. Two weeks later, a Mando in cheerful yellow and earthy green passed a grandmother an encrypted note that read, "Your brothers walk the skies." It was the first time since the grandmother's early childhood that she shed a tear. So word got out, and more slaves slowly started running to the Wastes. No one ever heard from them again, but every time someone took the risk and ran, two weeks later, a Mando known to interact with Ben would pass one of the grandmothers a note reading the same thing. "Your brother/sister walks the stars."
By the time Ben Kenobi had been a resident on Tatooine for nearly twenty years, the majority of the desert planet was Free, with only a few slaver strongholds left, though they weren't expected to last much longer. A lone hut on the outskirts of the Wastes was now the central hub of a bustling Mandalorian enclave, with force sensitive young being taught alongside their force null companions. And still, the word spread. If you're looking to slip your leash, run to Tatooine's Wastes. Ben Kenobi will set you Free.
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Ben wasn't sure how it happened, exactly. He never planned to become a freedom runner, nor did he expect to start an entire settlement full of Mandalorians and Jedi alike. He quite meant to live the life of a desert hermit, watching Luke from afar and paying for his sins and shortcomings. Somehow, that wasn't what happened.
"Ben! There's some droids here to meet you, they say they have an urgent message they need to give you! Want me to send them in?" Luke called from outside Ben's office.
Ben sighed. "Go ahead, Luke, now get back to your studies already! You can't exactly become a bounty hunter if you're falling behind in your marksmanship course, now can you," he admonished.
Luke opened the door, and Ben was struck yet again by how much the boy looked like his parents. His father's hair, eyes, and nose, his mother's height, smile, and heart. "Will do, and don't forget! You promised to teach me the next set of Soresu after lunch!" And off he went. Ben smiled. Ahhh, the wonders of youth.
A chirp and trill brought Ben back to the present as a cold weight settled in his stomach. In rolled an astromech, a familiar astromech, followed by an equally familiar protocol droid.
"Dear heavens, are you sure we're in the right place, Artoo? Oh, I would so hate to have come to the wrong place, that would simply be the most horrible—"
Ben stood up and cleared his throat. Both droids came to a stop just in front of his desk. "Hello there."
Artoo let out a greeting and extended his holoprojector. The recording that greeted him made his heart drop.
"Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope."