From what little Obi-Wan already knew about the First Order from conversations with Bail and Leia Organa, he knew enough to be wary of whatever Kylo Ren thought he was. But at the moment, he didn’t have the information he would need to make the important strategic decisions he would have to make, and being cut off from The Force as he was currently meant he couldn’t rely on his own instincts or abilities to guide him in the right direction. And so, Kenobi decided that the best thing for him to do at the moment was keep himself as far from the situation as his consciousness was from the Force. Once, and if, his connect returned to him at the will of the scientists, it might change his approach.
But then, he might not. While he knew so little about the future that he didn’t want to pass too much judgement, it seemed clear to him that something had gone terribly wrong with the plan that he and Master Yoda and set into action. The Empire, it seemed, hadn’t been defeated so much as it had been knocked out for half a round. It was only a couple decades since victory had been achieved that the hold and power of the Empire had reared its new but equally ugly head. Kenobi had meant it when he’d told Bail that all they could do -- all anyone could do -- was keep fighting, but he wasn’t sure he had it in him to be the General he used to be. He’d lost hope when he’d lost Amidala.
It was her death that kept him from closing himself off completely from The Force when he’d taken up residence on Tatooine. He felt her, sometimes, in the flow and change of the sands, but more than that, it was important to him to search The Force for answers about her death. He refused, truly refused, to believe that she’d died because the loss of Anakin had broken her heart. Instead, he was sure that Palpatine had somehow used the Force to drain her strength, power and life to keep alive the charred and dying Skywalker that Kenobi had left to slip into the rivers of burning, white-hot lava. He thought that the Force might have some answers, or that Master Qui Gon in his occasional visits might have some insight. But thus far, the whispers of the Force’s purpose had given him more questions than answers.
And now he was here, and Ben couldn’t help but wonder if he might feel her here, somehow. It was different, seeing Leia here as she was. She looked a great deal like her mother, and so even cut from the Force and Padme’s identifiable presence, it was like Amidala was still here. She lived in the power and intelligence of her daughter. Luke Skywalker, thus far, Kenobi had gone out of his way to avoid. He might change that soon, but there was so much about that relationship that he felt he had to prepare for before he proceeded.