REIGN OF FAILURE (PG-13)
Author's Name: Flip-Wan
Summary: It's been months since Anakin Skywalker has left the Jedi Order. The Republic continues to crumble, the Jedi are suffering with a great loss, and with two years behind the events of the Clone Wars on Geonosis, nothing has been the same. Many Jedi feel it could never be fixed, blaming it on Anakin's decision to leave the Order. Fingers point to his Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, for not stopping his apprentice. But with the Council concluding it was never his fault, he is faced with haunting visions of the past and the future, seeking out the source of a dark voice in his head, a source that will change his life and the galaxy's fate forever.
Disclaimer: All recognizable Star Wars names, places and resources aren't owned by me, but by the great Jedi Master himself, George Lucas and Lucasfilm Ltd. Nothing was settled for payment to write this story out of his characters, but I only wanted to write it because the Force was telling me to. The Force tempts me and I follow. I also want to give credit to Mariah Carey's song "Through the Rain" because without her inspiration, this story would never have come to be. And to the many writers who have come up with their own ideals to the Star Wars genre, without any of us, the dream of a galaxy far, far away, would never have gotten this far along through the years. May the Force guide us all into better light.
Key Characters: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, Padmé Amidala Skywalker, Bail Organa, Qui-Gon Jinn, Sabé, Mace Windu, Anakin Skywalker [Darth Vader], Darth Sidious, Darth Tyranus [Count Dooku], Bant Eerin
Spoilers: Caught Between Feelings, A Clouded Future, Fighting The Dark Side (Some of my other work)
Time Frame/Genre: AU. Two years after AOTC. Three months after Anakin decides to leave the Jedi Order. An ideal concept for Ep.3.
Author's Note: Before you, the reader, start to read this, please note that I wrote this like two years ago. Hence, no spoilers to it. Please note that this is my incite on the end of Ep.3, if you feel you don't want to be spoiled, don't read it. This is way before I was getting spoiled with this Ep.3 truths. So, it has some of the concepts in the actual view of Ep.3. But it's still my own original thought. This was also written from the eyes of General Obi-Wan Kenobi, but in my original/rough copy it was in third person POV. This ended up that way, but if you oppose, well, you're just going to have to deal with it, 'cuz I ain't gonna waste my time trying to change the whole thing – it's all the same concept. Either way, it's my work, original and my own from my mind.
Things in indicate bonds between Master and Apprentice or some mental connection. Things in italicized and color () indicate thoughts from that certain person. The voice indicated within : : is that of an evil being of the dark side. Yet, Obi-Wan doesn't realize it is actually the dark side of himself.
PART ONE: REQUESTING A VISIT
The halls of the Jedi Temple were just not the same anymore. No Jedi could dare look at each other in the same way. Times had changed tremendously since the events on Geonosis. Anakin Skywalker, the Chosen One, who was prophesied to bring balance to the Force, was now gone. He left three months ago. Several Jedi fled the Temple, hoping to never look at the pain of being blamed for the corruption of the Republic. Time had slowed down, never to reach the height of excitement again.
The Jedi were more than just the protectors of peace and justice. They were the mediators and police of the galaxy, and the height of the judicial branch, but sat alongside them, to ensure the galaxy was a peaceful place. They were never suppose to be soldiers, directing troops to attack or take out anyone who couldn't reach a settlement. It was the only way to stop the corruption. To take it out by force. Not a negotiation. Not a peace treaty. By Force.
The 'Republic' was in much need of some changes. Many feared it would all crumble right along with the disappearance of the Supreme Chancellor. It was rumored that the Republic was crumbling from the inside out. And it was near to impossible to save it if the Jedi continued to assume the position as peacemakers. It was then, two years ago, during the beginning onslaught of the Clone Wars, Bail Organa released a vote to take action against the Separatist Movement, who felt the Republic could do nothing to save the galaxy from turmoil. This released the actions of the Clone Wars and the Military Creation Act into power, under the lead of the Jedi. Something no one wanted to face. No one.
The Republic ceased to exist as the days of the Clone Wars brought many planetary systems to flee from the Republic's hands. It was now under the power of the Emperor...Emperor Palpatine. Many Jedi feared the new way of running things, going into hiding. The Sith Lord's act to control the Republic proved his point in the new rule of Emperor Palpatine. The Dark Side. He still hid in the shadows, waiting and watching. And now no one was safe from his power.
A lone Jedi walked the corridors of the Jedi Temple walls. The halls were sparsely populated, with only a few hundred still around to see the action of the Republic without being hidden in the shadows. But this Jedi carried a huge amount of weight on his shoulders. Obi-Wan 'Ben' Kenobi, now 37 standard years old, had grown into a well-known general throughout the galaxy. He still wore the confides of the Jedi robes in the Temple, but wore the black jumpsuit of a general when in battle along with an armor suit when it was needed. His hair was cropped short, but longer than he had as a Padawan, and his beard was well-groomed, but both appeared to discolor as time passed. He was given much respect from his superiors in the Judicial Branch. However, the Council still looked at him as nothing more than a Jedi Knight.
But for the Judicial Branch and the Imperial Senate, now under the authority of Bail Organa, was far beyond the control of the Jedi. Every day, since Anakin left the Order three months ago, Obi-Wan seemed to become slower in his actions. Caught up in pain a Jedi was never to have. But too many Jedi, too many people, pointed fingers at him. He, too, thought that the High Council would expel him for not stopping his apprentice. He was told over and over again it was never his fault.
Then who's fault was it? He thought.
The Council said it was Anakin's choice alone, no one else's. He didn't want to believe that. For years now, he had felt the powers of the Dark Side. The way it beckoned him in the past. Taunted him. It was hard to claim which pain he felt more, his or Anakin's. Perhaps it was both of us. But it attacked Anakin, because I had become too old. He was much easier to take down. But why now? Why such the long wait to attack? The reason for it was that Jedi began training at such a young age, to avoid the temptations of the Dark Side, but Anakin wasn't like all Jedi. He started training late, just as Obi-Wan was taken as an apprentice a few weeks before his 13th birthday–the dreaded thing most young Jedi feared. Without a master at the age of 13 standard years, a Jedi was unworthy to continue his training to become a Jedi Knight and sent off-planet to join the AgriCorps to help wasted, desolate planets with agriculture struggle or depression.
Obi-Wan shook with fear again. He walked into the Room of a Thousand Fountains. It was the only place where he felt totally free. Safe. The Living Force alive around him, calling to him. The very existence in the room was comforting to him. It didn't matter what a Jedi really did in here because they could all reach a sense of calm a simple meditation couldn't show. The man-made streams and ponds went on for miles and levels of the Temple. The ground was covered with grass and small paths leading to the infamous waterfall at the end of the room, into the huge lake that went as deep as five stories of the Temple. It was enormous. The room was the means of escape from anything around Coruscant. The comfort it brought was undescribable. A screen of glass, which could be removed, acted as a skyline, when requested.
Obi-Wan stopped at the highest waterfall and looked up, bringing in its cool contents to soothe his aching muscles. He was already in enough pain from the war that the Healers couldn't seem to heal. The very scars of losing a battle that could of stopped the Clone Wars still remained on his arm and leg.
Obi-Wan treaded around the lake a little more and paused, lowering his shields. He hadn't done it in a long time, and even refused to ever let Anakin see he did. There are so many things I never got a chance to tell you, Anakin. Master Qui-Gon would of tormented me to tell you, but somehow I couldn't. Perhaps you weren't ready. But now I feel you are. Why did you have to go, Anakin? Why couldn't I see it coming? Obi-Wan sensed a familiar brink in the Force, but ignored it.
"Lowered your shields you have. And ignore me you do. Do that often you do not," a voice cracked with amusement.
"You always found it amusing for me to never listen to you, Master Yoda." Obi-Wan turned to greet the little green master.
They each exchanged bows and turned to look at the waterfall, again.
"That I did when you were still young. Grew quickly you did, into a great Jedi Knight."
He shook his head, denying it. "Thank you for the compliment, Master, but I owe you and Qui-Gon credit for that."
"That you do. Talked to Qui-Gon, have you?"
Again, Obi-Wan shook his head. He knew how much Yoda wanted him to contact Qui-Gon through the Force, but he never found it possible. Obi-Wan knew a Jedi was suppose to lose their identity before becoming one with the Force, but Yoda had said it was possible for a Jedi to uphold their identity when they became one with the Force. However, Yoda had his own thoughts on the matter, which still haunted him. As much as he liked Qui-Gon as an apprentice, as well as a Jedi, it haunted him to think he'd be the first one to ever keep his identity. Obi-Wan wanted to ignore it for the longest time, but ever since the start of the Clone Wars, the thought of contacting his old master was growing. He needed a guiding light – a light only given off by his former master.
Yoda sighed deeply, pushing pebbles at the lip of the lake with his wooden stick. "Blame it on yourself you do for Anakin leaving the Order. Beckoned him the Dark Side did. Too powerful for anyone to stop it, even himself. The way the dark side controls one's mind and believe lies as truths. Take it down you could not on your own, Obi-Wan. Blame it on yourself, you could not or should not."
"But I felt like I could of done something, but didn't."
"Sometimes, the Force draws us to do or not do certain things," Yoda addressed. "Your training had nothing to do--"
"Maybe I just didn't do enough," he said, quietly.
"Train him the best you did. Impossible it was to train him, denied it for too long I did." Yoda turned to look at the gloomy Jedi. "Take him up as your Padawan you requested as Qui-Gon's last wish. Strong he was to take down that droid ship at such a young age. Remember that so well I do. Agreed the Council did, but I did not, to train him. The scars he carried and still does of being a slave, no one could rid him of. Two years ago, exceed his mandate to protect the Senator to tend to his mother, led him one step closer down the other path. Behind your back to marry was wrong, but a choice he made on his own. To the conversations he shared with Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. It all lead to it, but saved him you did. Accept your help and understanding he could not. Trust he lost from you once the Clone Wars began."
Obi-Wan sighed and looked down. "I saved him?! More like held him back as Padmé described it."
"Knew what was best for him you did, Obi-Wan. He did not. Rebellious he was, much like you. But learned your place you did."
"Learned my place? Yeah, I guess I did," he surrendered another sigh. "But he could not," he shook his head in dismay. "It's not good for me to look at this and say that none of it was my fault. Some of it, sure, but all of it and I would agree instantly. Don't you see how much I tried to keep him here, Master? He still is a Jedi, he just can't accept the fact he is not my equal. For a long time he wanted to face the trails, but I knew he wasn't ready. We all did."
"Argue with you a lot he did. But the same you both were. Rebellious."
"So we were," Obi-wan managed a smile. "But how will I know if I did my part if he won't see it?"
"The truth can be the hardest thing any of us can accept," Yoda paused to see the young Jedi grow interested. "but better to hide the truth than let the lies guide us to where we hope is the end of our journey." Yoda hesitated, watching Obi-Wan look at the waterfall again and think deeply about the statement. "If the truth he does not want to hear, then the truth he will not let guide him. Did all you could, Obi-Wan. But now, you must accept what isn't there and let it tell you something far beyond what even I could tell you. It's in your mind and in your heart. What you shared with him, as what you shared with Qui-Gon, will give you the answers you need."
"What are you trying to say?" Obi-Wan tried to hide his uneasiness.
"Contact Qui-Gon," Yoda said immediately.
"I can't." Obi-Wan choked.
"Afraid you still are about his death. Fear that it will leave even more scars on you than it already has? But even he pleads to talk to you. Told me he has."
Obi-Wan looked down. "Have you talked to him?"
"For only a brief time. But talk of the memories he shared with me he did. And you. Misses you he does, and know of it, he does, you fear to contact him."
Obi-Wan shook his head in denial. Yoda could sense the uneasiness increase. Yoda had come to realize the wariness in the Jedi Knight for quite some time. The way he would defy the Council to permit him such things they could not allow, but still did. The worst of it was denying the fact he would never contact Qui-Gon, no matter how much the Council requested he did. They spoke of it, saying that Qui-Gon had much to say, but could only tell Obi-Wan because he was the one and only apprentice he grew rather close to. So close, many had said they shared a father/son relationship rather than a master/apprentice relationship. And it was rumored that Qui-Gon would be the first one to attain his identity, and not quite become one with the Force, but be one to actually contact. The great Jedi that have come to pass before Qui-Gon and after would only become mere guides in the Force, but not one that could be contacted. To actually see him when a Jedi talked to him or called him out.
"Too much like Qui-Gon you have become, Obi-Wan. Deny that no one could. The Council saw it when you became a knight and no Jedi could ever cross your path thinking you were a younger Qui-Gon."
Obi-Wan shied a smile. "I guess I am, huh?"
"Say that like a bad thing you do," Yoda chuckled.
"No, Master. It's just been too long. 12 years—"
"And 12 years his apprentice you were," Yoda interrupted him. "Conversations as friends you had. Made it unique, your Master/Padawan bond. Impossible was it to do the same for Anakin?"
"We had a few, but none like me and Qui-Gon," Obi-Wan admitted. "I don't think we really could trust telling each other certain things, especially personal ones."
"So, told him you never did of your adventures with and without Qui-Gon? Each adventure a lesson waiting to be grasped they are," Yoda instructed.
"Only a few," he looked away. "Like he really wanted to hear about the times I left the Temple, or the incidents at a few cantinas."
"No." Yoda shook his head. "Told him you should of. Created a much stronger bond it could of. Create one like that you had with Qui-Gon."
Obi-Wan bit his lip. He was getting annoyed by the accusations of his bond with Qui-Gon and Anakin, but he let it sink into his soul. "I made a mistake – many. But why do you keep questioning me about Qui-Gon?" He said, cooly.
"Question you I am not. Telling you merely if a stronger bond you had with Anakin, turn to the Dark Side he might have not," Yoda stated.
"So, it was my fault? Now, you see it and tell me that it was my fault," Obi-Wan's voice rose slightly. "But we're not completely certain he is an agent of evil just yet, Master. Somehow, I'm not convinced he is."
Yoda sighed, looking down. Upset was in his eyes. He couldn't argue with a man who wasn't ready to accept reality. Obi-Wan even knew he couldn't accept the past. The future was clouded, but it was always in motion and it hurt to never see it as clearly as he used to. No one could. It was like the future was dark and shady, that it could never come or exist.
"Why did you come, Master?" Obi-Wan managed to say. He closed his eyes and collected his thoughts.
"Padmé wishes to see you. Requested it was. Trust it she does to see a dear friend."
Obi-Wan wiped his face. As much as he wanted to see Padmé, he never wanted to face her knowing her hurt and her pain. She was crushed when he told her that Anakin was no longer a Jedi and left the Order, disappearing right along with Emperor Palpatine. They never really talked much about it, and Padmé excused Obi-Wan's request to just have a nice, friendly conversation. He couldn't ask more from her, only wanting her to feel safe around him, but now the trust was riding on thin ice for three months. A cold chill ran down his back.
"She actually wants to talk to me?" He managed to say.
"That she does. Talk to only you she will among the Jedi here. Only one name she mentioned. You it was, Obi-Wan," Yoda said quietly.
Obi-Wan took a deep breath and looked at the sky of Coruscant. I can't hide from it forever.
"Hide and hate it you will. Regret it, I can sense," Yoda answered the unspoken statement.
"You can always sense my regret, Master Yoda. And I don't want to deny that I wish to talk to her too."
"So, go to her you will." Yoda said, more than questioned.
Obi-Wan looked at the lake, remembering the memories he shared with his Mon Calamari friend Bant Eerin, here. He nodded after a long time. "Yes, Master, I will go and visit her."
"Make amends you should, Obi-Wan. Friends you are, no longer that of authority," Yoda directed. "Dear friends."
Obi-Wan didn't have to lie about that. He wanted to make amends with Padmé. They had know each other for 12 years now, and it was one beyond what one would consider was right for a Jedi and ex-Senator (ex-Queen). They were more on a level of brother and sister rather than a loving relationship as everyone thought. The rumors had spread quickly through the Temple, thinking that Obi-Wan was trying to take Padmé away from her husband, Anakin. But he respected their relationship as much as he shared a short one with Sabé, handmaiden to Padmé when she served as Queen of Naboo. They could never stay mad at each other, and it was more as bickering. It never got physical and if it did, then all trust would be lost. And it never lasted for long. The only comfort Padmé could get now was from Obi-Wan.
"I will, Master. I hate for anyone to stay mad at me forever," Obi-Wan slipped a sly grin.
"Good. On the same page you both must be, or lost all trust will be. Let that happen we cannot. Important she is if the galaxy is to ever see the light of beauty and freedom again." Yoda managed a smile on his old face. "Send our wishes we do."
"I will tell her, Master. And thank you." Obi-Wan returned the gesture. "May the Force be with you."
"And with you always, Obi-Wan," Yoda bowed.
Obi-Wan bowed and watched the small green master disappear along the path and out of his view. He turned back to the waterfall, watching it create ripples around the lip where it met with the water. He recollected all the memories he shared at the beauty of the lake with his friends. With Anakin. With Qui-Gon. He could never deny that Anakin was like him, as he was like Qui-Gon. They were all connected strongly.
Would things be different if Qui-Gon was still alive? Would Anakin not have left the Order if two were permitted to train him? If not, then Qui- Gon, the man who truly wanted to train him as his own. I know how much you wanted to train him, Master. The Chosen One. He is the Chosen One. But now, can he still fulfill it from behind another influence? I'm sorry, Qui- Gon. I'm sorry, Anakin. Obi-Wan thought, sadly.
He looked down into the water and saw the image of himself and Anakin, Master and Apprentice side-by-side. 12 years ago. 9 years ago. 6 years. 2 years. And months ago. He waved his hand over the water and the images disappeared to ripples. As it cleared, he stood there, looking at the lone reflection of himself. Then he saw a ghostly image of Qui-Gon. He turned around quickly only to realize no one was there, but the familiar ping in the Force of his Master was close by.
"Master?" He questioned.
To be continued....