Disclaimer: I intend no infringement on the rights of Lucasfilm and related affiliates by writing this fic. The Maker owns everything.
Summary: The Republic is in chaos. The Senate is in shambles. The Jedi are in hiding. And through it all, Qui-Gon Jinn will fight to prove that the bonds of love can conquer anything – even the Dark Side. But what happens if he's wrong? The final installment in the Jedi Trials saga.
Author's Notes: I apologize extensively for my long hiatus, and hope that this chapter makes up for it. Enjoy!
Turmoil and Sacrifice
By Kekelina
Chapter Eight: The Will of the Force
"I know you know where I am, and all I have to say to you is this: catch me…if you can."
Darth Dementor's words were being broadcasted across the HoloNet almost instantaneously, the taunting statement of the Sith Lord echoing throughout every home in the galaxy. Panic gripped the hearts of every living sentient in the crumbling Republic, and collectively, they held their breaths.
Who would take up Dementor's call and end this war?
On Alderaan, the mood was grim as the Council debated their next move. For hours they had been in closed quarters, along with Bail Organa and the still-recovering Chancellor Amidala, seeking out answers to the questions they now faced.
It was a trap, that much had been established immediately. Dementor was toying with them, taunting them, trying to draw them out into the open to exploit their weaknesses. The Jedi were still far too incapacitated to launch a counter attack against the Sith.
"He is only one man," Senator Organa protested. "I see seven able-bodied Jedi before me!"
"You forget, Senator, that one man single-handedly destroyed both the Jedi and the Senate in a day."
"He's more powerful than we ever imagined."
"We must regain our strength," Master Ti added. "Survival is our first priority."
Both Bail and Padme bristled at her words; though Chancellor Amidala was still recovering, her fire and spirit had returned in full force.
"And what of the survival of millions of innocent people," she replied angrily. "Do they not deserve our help?"
Master Windu's voice was cold as durasteel. "It would be wise for you to calm down, Chancellor. Anger has no place here."
"With all due respect, Master Jedi," Padme said, her tone matching Windu's in intensity. "I refuse."
The circle of Council members twitched uneasily, but none spoke, so she continued.
"My people are out there dying while we sit here and deliberate!"
Bail Organa nodded his agreement. "We understand your losses and grieve for them – we do – but more innocent lives will continue to perish at the hands of Kenobi unless we stop him."
"Believe me, Senator," Depa Billaba began softly, "no one wants to see Dementor destroyed more than the Jedi."
"But to rush into a known trap is foolhardy and dangerous," Mace Windu finished for his former Padawan.
Dementor's power was still too unknown to the Jedi. His abilities were still widely a mystery, but he was obviously very strongly in tune with the Dark Side of the Force.
Yet Dementor had already revealed his weakness: he was arrogant. So arrogant and confident in his power that he thought he could trap the Jedi in some elaborate plan, cornering them like a hunting nexu captures its prey.
They would exploit his weakness and use it to conquer him, but only once the time was right.
This was not that time.
But Senator Organa, displeased by the reaction he was receiving, turned toward the wisest and oldest member of the Council. "Master Yoda," he appealed, "what do you suggest?"
Master Yoda sighed and closed his eyes, his mind reaching out to the chaotic tendrils of the Force. They offered little in the way of answers, and more in the way of questions – questions that would require much meditation and communication with the Force.
One thing was certain:
"Regroup we must. Rest. Soon shall be the time for action, but not now it is."
"Catch me…if you can."
The words tortured him, the clipped Coruscanti accent, which had once sounded so peaceful and kind, now dripped with anger and the festering decay of the Dark Side.
The message was intended for him, Qui-Gon was certain. Obi-Wan was trying to lure him away from the Jedi, to meet on equal ground and fight for the last time.
The duel of the fates.
Destiny.
The word had weighed heavy on his heart since his conversation with Anakin. His Padawan had been so confident in his words, so sure of the fate he was assigning to them both.
Qui-Gon did not deny that now, one with the Force, Anakin was privy to more knowledge of the Force than the Jedi Master, but he could not believe that the Force had willed this.
Suffering.
Despair.
Death.
No, this was not the Force he had followed since birth. It couldn't be…
Yet the voices and pictures of the What-Could-Have-Been still haunted his memories, glimpses of a universe that was the same in every aspect except one:
Anakin, not Obi-Wan.
Could it really be true? Had destiny decided before the dawn of time that one of them would turn? Was his death on Naboo the only deciding factor?
He had always taught his Padawans that the Force was always in motion, that they could change the future. But now he was unsure, for he had faced two different universes, and despite their circumstantial differences, the end result remained the same.
"You were my brother, Anakin! I loved you."
The pain in the older Obi-Wan's voice echoed in his own. He sympathized with this Obi-Wan, a man he had never met but felt as if he knew. He recognized his heart as it broke on the flaming terrain of Mustafar. It was the heart that Qui-Gon had always admired in his Padawan, the one that despite his dry humor and brooding silences, truly and deeply cared. It was the heart told Qui-Gon that his apprentice couldn't possibly be fully gone, the heart that would never let him believe it.
He heard all these things in the older Obi-Wan's voice, as he spoke to bitter, wounded Anakin.
Betrayal.
He recognized it well now. It stung – painfully, devastatingly – but the knowledge that no matter what choices they made, their worlds would end the same was even worse.
No, Qui-Gon rebelled.
He could not believe in a Force that required his Padawans to lose everything and turn to the Dark Side. He would not allow it to destroy everything he had ever loved – not in this universe, not in any.
He would find a way to fix this.
Yoda's words rang in his head:
"Drive out darkness, darkness cannot. Only light can that do. Drive out hate, hate cannot. Only love."
Qui-Gon knew what he had to do.
Still residing in the Council meeting, Bail was beginning to tire from trying to change the Council's collective mind. He was weary of the politics at hand, and like Padme, ready for action. But the Jedi were adamant in their decision to stay and heal.
He was beginning to get a headache.
Suddenly, his comm chirped.
"Bail here," he replied.
"Senator Organa," a panicked voice on the other side of the transmission replied. The room quieted to listen. "Someone has stolen one of the starfighters and left the planet."
"Qui-Gon," Mace Windu mumbled irritably. The other Council members nodded their agreement.
"Why didn't you stop him," Bail chastised his head of security, with more than a little annoyance creeping into his voice.
"I…he – " the man on the other end paused, seemingly confused. "I think he mind-tricked me, sir."
To the side, Master Windu "hmmph'ed" as the Senator rubbed his temple. He had heard stories that Master Jinn was a maverick; the times they now lived in hadn't seemed to change that. "Gather the squad, we'll bring him back to – "
"No," Yoda interrupted firmly, causing Bail to halt mid-sentence.
"Sir?" his comlink chirped.
He quickly shushed him.
"For once I agree with the Senator," Windu declared, his face hard and his voice displeased. "We need to bring Qui-Gon back before he gets himself killed."
"No," the venerable Jedi Master said again, quietly.
"But Master Yoda – "
"Listen to me, you will," he reprimanded, pointing his gimer stick at Kit Fisto menacingly. "Go to any length to save his former Padawan, Qui-Gon Jinn will."
The Senator furrowed his brow, confused by the Jedi's words. And while it seemed some of the other Council members were confused as well, Master Windu had clearly grasped Yoda's meaning.
"You speak of redemption."
It was not a question, but Master Yoda nodded anyway.
Bail, Mace, and several other Jedi shook their heads disapprovingly. Bail did not claim to have extensive knowledge of the Jedi Way, but he knew enough to know that once a Jedi crossed over to the Dark Side, there was no returning.
"It will not happen," the stern Jedi Master replied. "Kenobi has been lost."
"Stubborn Qui-Gon has always been. A trait he passed down to his apprentices, hmm?" Yoda sighed, and then smiled slightly, as if part of a secret none else shared. "Strong in the Living Force Qui-Gon has always been. Follow its will, he must."
"And if it leads to his own demise," Adi Gallia remarked with almost a hint of disrespect.
Yoda's ear twitched, but he did not reply.
