AN: Alright, kids, this chapter was going to be WAY different than it ended up being, but this is some important shit to cover before the next two to three chapters. I'm getting started on the next one right away, and it's pretty substantial, so...give me a few days on it. I'll have it up by Friday at the latest, I think. Prepare for the shit, my lovelies! It's happening! Can you feel it? I SURE CAN!

Chapter 25: Entrapment

"Intel from Fulcrum shows that there are major rebel groups here, here, here, and..." Hera bit her lip, her finger circling around a large section of the map of the Outer Rim surrounding Lothal before she touched her finger to the representation of a small system, the spot lighting up in bright blue. "And here." She stood back and examined the map, her hand stroking her chin as she checked her work, and nodded. "Lothal stands as the Empire's stronghold in this portion of the Outer Rim, from here," she said, drawing a line across the area, "to here, encompassing all these other groups."

"We've all seen Trayvis' message," Kanan said, his arms crossed as he sat on the couch and looked at the map, the people around him grumbling their displeasure with the situation. Except for Ezra. Ezra sat close to the Jedi, his eyes at the ground, and said nothing. "He's made us seem like some dangerous insurgents, lying about the things we've done, and with the increased Imperial presence, it's only supporting his lies. He's offering a reward for our capture, and it's a big one."

"Worse is that his message has been broadcast all around the sector," Hera said, her arms crossed over her chest. "Including to the worlds where these other rebel groups are located. Not only is the broadcast a deterrent to rise against the Empire by comparing rebels to dangerous criminals, but it's made it impossible for our groups to unify." She sighed, her lekku twisting in irritation. "No unity, no rebellion. They can end this all before it even begins."

"Are the other rebels getting the same priority treatment that we are?" Zeb growled. "Or are we just lucky because Lothal is so important?"

"That's certainly part of it," Hera muttered. "The fact of the matter is that Lothal is just too important to the Empire as a military base, production center, and communication's hub, and it's unparalleled in the natural resources it produces, all of which are vital to the Empire's ship building programs." Hera took a deep breath and zoomed in on a map of the sector, the Lothal system centered in the space before them. "All activity out here, all communications, all shipments to other worlds is controlled by Lothal. And now with Tarkin here, and with this sector broadcast by Trayvis..." The pilot shook her head. "It isn't good."

"No wonder Fulcrum is giving us the cold shoulder," Sabine said bitterly. "Contact with us is a death sentence for any hope of resistance. Nobody wants to come to Tarkin's attention..."

"Lucky for us, we can use Lothal's importance out here to our advantage," Kanan said, standing and tapping the image of the planet, and the hologram zoomed in, enlarging the image and displaying a map of Capital City. "The transmission towers out here serve as the central communication hubs for the entire oversector. If we can take control of the main transmission tower, we can broadcast a message of our own. Something that can inspire people to stand against the Empire, here on Lothal and across every system the transmission can reach."

"A message like that could rally any other rebel groups out there, and civil unrest can very, very quickly become a widespread resistance," Hera said, a wide smile on her face as she looked at the map. "The Imperial presence here would be forced to spread themselves thin in order to deal with it, which gives us and any other rebel groups out there more freedom to operate." She nodded. "I like this plan. It's a long shot, and it's absolutely insane, but I like it." Smirking, Hera looked over her shoulder to the lone figure sitting in the corner of the room, the small area glowing with red light from a small pyramid floating in the air before him. "What do you think, baby face?"

"Call me baby face one more time, and you just see what I do to your ship, Syndulla," Obi-Wan snarled, his hand snatching the holocron out of the air and gripping it so tightly the edges dug into his palm. He glared at the group, a scowl on his face that effectively conveyed the depth of his displeasure with the situation. "You're all making a grave mistake. Planning this..." Rolling his eyes, he waved his hand in the air. "This pointless gesture is only going to draw attention to you and your crew. You will be captured, and you will be killed. Very publically." Obi-Wan leapt to his feet and cleared the map with a wave of his hand, the holoprojector shutting off and the lights in the room brightening. "Next time, we hold the meeting in my ship so reason can assert itself."

"Kenobi, get back here, this meeting isn't over!" Hera said, rushing to grab the Sith Lord as he turned to leave, the man looking with irritation at her hand upon his arm. "This plan will work," she said, her tone pleading and almost desperate. "I know it sounds completely crazy, but if we can create rebel sympathies here on Lothal, we can continue to operate in the area. We can-"

"You will die," Obi-Wan whispered in a flat, calm monotone, chilling and commanding, and the Spectres collectively shivered. "You are correct. The plan is good. The plan will work." Kenobi rolled his eyes. "You will be an inspiration, no doubt, a symbol of hope and a thousand other foolish, pointless sentiments that will threaten to make me lose my breakfast." Kenobi smiled, a false, wicked thing that didn't reach his eyes. "But you are wrong about the Imperial response. If you think that Tarkin will leave to chase smoke when the fire is burning in Lothal, than you are very badly mistaken..."

"But why?" Kanan asked, coming to stand beside Hera and placing a hand on her lower back. "If there's unrest across the sector, they can't just ignore it so they can catch one group."

"Oh, won't he?" Obi-Wan asked, laughing harshly when the Jedi's eyes narrowed. "You don't believe that catching the ones that struck the match is a worthwhile effort?"

"At the expense of letting everything else burn around him?" Kanan scoffed. "I don't think so.. Tarkin isn't so short-sighted."

"Maybe not, but he is vindictive, and you better believe that any successes we have on his watch will be taken quite personally." He sighed, holding his hand out, and the holocron floated into the air and he casually struck the corner with a finger, setting the pyramid to rapidly spinning in the air before him. "Of course, you assume the match we strike will become a wildfire, when in reality, our efforts will do nothing. We may cause unrest and disillusionment, but none of that will matter."

"Of course it will matter!" Hera said firmly. "The Empire is oppressing people all across the galaxy, our message-"

"Words, Syndulla," Kenobi hissed. "Words. What are words without action?" He laughed bitterly and spun the holocron again. "Sophistry and empty promises. Your message of hope and defiance is meaningless without action to support it. If we can't make the Empire look weak, if we can't shake people's belief in its overwhelming strength, than your message will spread discontent among people too afraid to do anything about it. An impotent rebellion, doused before it could even be lit."

"Well, you just love to bring a party down, don't you?" Kanan said with a roll of his eyes. "There are other rebel groups out there, Kenobi, that information comes from Fulcrum. This push might just be the one they need to unite."

"Kanan, these other groups don't matter," Kenobi said, running his hands over his face and scratching at the smooth skin of his cheeks. "What matters now is that Tarkin is here, not just to defend Imperial interests on Lothal, but to come after your group specifically." Kenobi grinned. "Would you care to know why?" He didn't wait for Kanan to answer as he jabbed his finger against his chest. "You're a Jedi. The only rebel cell led by one, and that is a very powerful thing, not just because of your skills as a warrior, but because of what you represent." Obi-Wan chuckled softly at Kanan's dumbfounded expression and patted the man's cheek. "You want to talk about spreading symbols and hope and messages, Jarrus, you do that simply by existing, and that is far more dangerous to the Empire than any single rebel cell." Obi-Wan laughed. "A Jedi Knight. Now that is something a rebellion can unite behind."

"W-well, what about you?" Kanan asked, his voice tight and higher in pitch in sudden panic. The weight of his expectations just increased ten-fold, and he wasn't happy. Traveling with Hera, making trouble for the Empire, that was one thing, but a greater rebellion, and with him as a centerpiece...it was too much. He knew Hera always worked toward something bigger, but suddenly it felt very, very close, and Kanan wasn't sure he was ready for another war.

"I am no Jedi..." Obi-Wan said softly. "And more than that, I am not out in the open like you are." Kenobi snatched the holocron out of the air. "I am the Shadow King, something to be feared. To the galaxy, the Force wielder Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Negotiator, is dead. There's just me now. But you, Kanan..." He drew closer to the nervous Jedi, the taller man's jaw clenched tightly as he watched the predatory Sith Lord. "Since you have taken a student, you have been much more open about who and what you are. People are beginning to talk." He leaned in closer. "Jedi...there are still so many who remember what that means. And with all your successes, with all your defiance against the Empire, those that don't know are quickly learning."

"So w-what, you want me to lead a rebellion?!" Kanan shook his head as he backed away. "I can't. I'm not even a real Jedi, I-I-" He took a deep breath. "I like what we have here. I like causing trouble for the Empire when I can. I like helping people when it's needed. But this..."

"Kanan..." Hera said gently, slinking up to the Jedi and taking his hand in hers. "Kanan, calm down, focus. Nobody talking about something bigger, not yet." She squeezed his hand and smiled up at him when she felt his pulse racing beneath her fingers. Seeing him now, it was so easy to forget that Kanan had fought in the Clone Wars, and had lost everything. It was no wonder he was afraid. "The Empire fears you, that's all. They're just worried you will inspire faith in something other than the Empire. Isn't that right, Kenobi?" she said, sending the Sith a pointed glare.

"...exactly so," Obi-Wan whispered, eying the pair carefully. "All this means is that you're in a position to do something about the Empire in the area, as you have been. This message of yours would be ignored if anyone but you sent it. That is all." Kanan said nothing, dropping into the seat instead, his hands clasped on the table. Obi-Wan could feel fear, pain, images of war, the memory of his Master's death, so much terror and trauma dragged from the recesses of Kanan's mind and into the light. Moving forward would not be easy for him. Kenobi would have to speak to the Jedi's lover. She was in a better position to help Kanan than he was. After all, Obi-Wan had difficulties letting go as well.

"We gave you our plan, Obi-Wan," Hera said, her fingers lightly tracing Kanan's jaw as she left her side and stood before the Sith. "You seem to think it'll work." Kenobi scoffed. "And then there's that. Words without action. Do you have a plan?"

"Do I have a plan..." he mockingly repeated. "Of course I have a plan, Hera, and my plan right now is to advise you to be patient." Obi-Wan drew up, holding his ground when the pilot frowned. "You haven't fought Tarken, so let me explain exactly what he is going to do to us. We will capture this communications tower, and he will be on us before we have a chance to even send the message. Even if we do get the message out, even if we do manage to escape his grasp, he won't stop hunting us until he has found us and captured us. And he will. The man had a childhood of being forged into a hunter on the Carrion Plateau on Eriadu, and he takes those lessons with him everywhere he goes."

"How can you know all of this..." Hera asked, and Obi-Wan smiled faintly.

"I've been inside his mind. I've seen him for what he is. It's...admirable, really. He's a worthy adversary." He took a deep breath. "He won't stop until we're captured, and when we are, he will make examples of us, and it will be so brutal, it will be enough to keep any other rebel groups from rising. And that will be the end of it." He grinned devilishly. "Unless we put those words to action. Unless we strike a blow against him that is both decisive and devastating. We can't hold Lothal, but if we can make the Empire look weak and vulnerable when they stand against us..."

"Then it's not going to matter that we lose Lothal, the damage will be done," Hera finished, a wide grin on her face as she understood. "Our message can take root if we show them the Empire isn't invincible."

"How?" Zeb asked, and Hera shrugged.

"I don't know, but it sounds like Obi-Wan has something in mind." She looked expectantly at the Sith Lord, and Kenobi just stared blankly back at her. "...well? What's the plan?"

"Oh." With a flick of his wrist, the holocron was spinning in the air once again. "I've got nothing."

"...what?!" Kanan was on his feet and standing before the Sith in no time at all. "You sounded like you had a plan! You said you had a plan!"

"How can I have a plan, Kanan, I don't have all the information yet!" Obi-Wan snapped. "Sith Hells, be patient."

"The longer we wait, the more control Tarkin will have here! We need to move while we still have a chance!"

"Tch, you sound like Fulcrum..." Obi-Wan muttered. "We can't make a plan until we have an idea of what Tarkin is working with."

"Oh, is that it?" Kanan asked, his eyebrow questioningly arched. "Well, no problem then, we'll just walk on in to see him and ask him about his plans for us. I'm sure he'll tell us everything."

"I'm sure he would," Obi-Wan said, chuckling softly. "Or we could just do it the easy way and wait for my contact to give me the information."

"...you have a contact?" Hera asked, and the Sith rolled his eyes.

"Of course I have a contact, Syndulla. Kriffing hell, what do you think I've been doing the past few days?"

"Well..." Kanan cleared his throat. "We've actually had something of a betting pool going on that one. Sabine thought you were out hunting for Thrawn, Ezra thought you were sequestered away in meditation, Hera thought you were celebrating your defeat in a bottle, I thought you were spending some quality time with a few beautiful women, and Zeb thought you were sitting around in a dark corner, rubbing your hands together and laughing. Evilly." Obi-Wan groaned and rubbed his temples.

"Well done, Spectres, you are truly an inspiration..." He pointed at Zeb. "The cat wins."

"Ha!" Zeb shouted, standing and pointing at Ezra. "I told you!"

"Wait, seriously?" Ezra asked, turning his gaze on the Sith just in time to see the golden eyes narrow.

"No, you idiots! I was investigating the situation on Lothal, as I said I would!" Obi-Wan growled and ran a hand through his hair when the Spectres looked away sheepishly. "That was the deal, was it not?"

"It was," Hera said softly. "We weren't sure if you would keep your word."

"Tch. Insulting."

"You can hardly blame us," Hera said with a devious smirk on her lips. "It is very difficult to trust your baby face."

"Hera Syndulla, I am a Lord of the Sith, and you are of a slave race," Obi-Wan hissed. "There was a time I kept hundreds of your kind in my palace specifically for the purpose of pleasuring me and my men, and I have been longing for those days, so call me baby face one more time!"

"Alright, can we all agree that we aren't going to make a slave out of our pilot?!" Kanan said firmly, and Obi-Wan rolled his eyes.

"That depends on her, Jedi," Kenobi said, his eyes fixed intently on the Twi'lek. "Don't worry. If it comes to that, I'll share her..."

"Alright..." Kanan said, flushing slightly and grabbing Hera's arm to pull her away from Obi-Wan. "Let's not make the Lord of the Sith angry, Hera...we don't..." Kanan swallowed hard. "We don't want that to happen."

"...oh." A wide, amused grin spread across Obi-Wan's face as he looked at the Twi'lek and the Jedi, the man standing defensively before the beautiful pilot, his fingers lightly brushing against the woman's hand, a small, discrete gesture. "Oh, Sabine..." the Sith drawled, the Mandalorian perking up and looking at him from where she leaned against the wall. "Are Mommy and Daddy still pretending that they don't kiss?"

Sabine snorted with laughter and rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah."

"We are grossly off-topic," Hera said flatly. "Your contact. Is it someone we can use? Can they get information to us?"

"Oh yes..." Kenobi said softly, and Hera leaned in, waiting for him to elaborate, and pouted when he didn't.

"Well, who is it? What kind of information do they have access to?"

"Don't worry about it," Obi-Wan said. "Just know that the info is good. Tarkin is in a meeting today to discuss his strategy going forward with Lothal and his plans to root us out. Once I have that information, we can begin to formulate an attack." He took a deep breath. "The longer we wait, the stronger Tarkin's position..." He shook his head. "I don't like any of this. We should abandon Lothal, we need to get out while we still can."

"What's this?" Kanan drawled, his arms crossed in front of his chest and a wry smirk on his face. "Is the mighty Sith Lord afraid?"

"I'm not afraid, Jarrus," Obi-Wan snarled. "I just don't want to lose any of you." Kanan immediately started to respond before the words sunk in, and when they did, he stopped and gaped at the Sith, at a loss for words and the frank sentiment. Everyone else seemed to react in the same way, the room falling silent save for the hum of the lighting. A swift chime cut through the air, and Obi-Wan fished out his comlink from his belt, looked at the identification, and grinned. "Speak of the Empire and they will appear," he drawled, holding the comlink up. "My contact." With a clever smirk on his face, Kenobi pressed his finger to his lips to indicate the need for silence, and he answered the com, putting it on the table so everyone could hear the audio-only call.

"Ben speaking," Obi-Wan said as he answered the com. "Who is-"

"Ben!" There was a heavy, shaking sigh of relief on the other end. "Ben, it's Maketh, I-"

"Maketh!" Obi-Wan said, his voice lighter, his accent pleasantly clipped and smooth, a lit to his voice that was categorically charming and kind, so unlike the darker, heavier tone he usually affected, more dangerous, seductive and sensual than the innocence he wore now. "Oh, Maketh, I didn't think you'd call!" He laughed, short and nervous. "I was worried you wouldn't, and it's gotten so late..."

"S-sorry..."the woman stammered, and they could hear her clearing her throat. "I didn't mean to worry you..."

"You're safe, that's all that matters..." Obi-Wan said, smirking as he leaned back. "How was the meeting with Tarkin?" The woman groaned softly, something between nerves and terror.

"Not good..." she whimpered. "Ben, he killed two people! Killed them!" There was a muffled whimper, followed by quick, hurried sniffling. "Commandant Aresko and Taskmaster Grint, they...t-they ran the Imperial Academy here, they-" Her breath hitched. "They're dead, Ben..." she said in a voice raspy with emotion she was trying and failing to hold back. "Tarkin says they had allowed that...that Jedi to run around for too long and he killed them!"

"Calm down, dearest..." Obi-Wan cooed, the Spectres gathered around the table looking at him with growing understanding of who he was speaking to. "You're alright, that's what matters..."

"But for how long?!" she asked frantically. "I'm doing all I can to stop these rebels, Ben, but if the military hasn't done it, how can I?!"

"We'll find a way, Maketh. I was brought in to..." Obi-Wan bit his lip to keep the smirk off his face as Kanan's jaw dropped. "I'm here to manage these rebels. I'll protect you, my dear, sweet Minister..."

Maketh Tua? Kanan mouthed at Obi-Wan. Minister Maketh Tua?! With a smirk of tremendous satisfaction, Obi-Wan nodded and leaned back in his seat.

"You can't..." she whimpered. "You don't understand, Ben, Tarkin is holding everyone accountable for failure from now! And these aren't just normal rebels! Not only do they have a Jedi, but Tarkin says this group is led by the Shadow King." She whimpered softly, the Spectres leaning in closer to the com. "The Shadow King! Ben, he hasn't been defeated before!"

"So I've heard..."

"W-what if I'm held responsible for the next failure?" the Minister gasped. "Tarkin's bad enough, but he's called in the Mandalorian Moff to deal with this rogue element!" Obi-Wan hissed as he sucked in a breath and held it, the pupils of his blazing, glowing eyes narrowing into pinpoints in his intense focus. Even Satine tensed and shifted uncomfortably. "I saw her today, she is terrifying! A-and she brought the Death Watch! Not to deal with the rebels, to deal with internal affairs! They're here to keep us in line, since Tarkin says we're getting slack in the absence of Governor Pryce."

"Moff Bo-Katan..." Kenobi said breathlessly, his gaze distant for a moment before he focused again on the com. "That is...not what I was expecting..." She said nothing for a moment, the only sounds coming from the com the woman's muffled sobs.

"I need you, Ben..." she whimpered. "Please, I...I-I don't want to face this alone..."

"And you won't," Kenobi said softly. "I'm in the middle of some test flights, but I'll be over as soon as I'm finished. Leave the door unlocked and give me a few hours to get back to the barracks and wash up."

"Y-you could wash here," she said almost desperately. "Please..."

"...an hour, then," he quietly promised. "I'll see you soon." Obi-Wan cut the connection and leaned forward, his fingers steepled and pressed to his lips in thought.

"Kenobi..." Kanan whispered in the tense silence. "You're sleeping with Lothal's Minister?!" The Sith Lord absently nodded, and Kanan began to laugh. "Oh, yes! I won the bet!"

"Oh, you are such a child..." Hera groaned, earning her the flash of a wide, brilliant smile from her lover.

"Bo-Katan..." Obi-Wan muttered, his eyes closed as his mind wondered, the Spectres falling silent to allow the Sith the chance to speak, but he said nothing, the silence quickly becoming heavy and awkward as they sat with the Minister's words.

"That's...good, isn't it?" Sabine tentatively asked. "You said she's an ally..."

"But you also said she's been out of touch for a very long time," Hera countered. "People change, and Mandalore has been staunch in its support for the Empire since the beginning."

"Regardless, she's close to Tarkin, everyone knows that..." Kanan muttered. "I've heard they're very close, know what I mean?"

"I know..." Obi-Wan said absently. "Damn it, of all the...I was hoping for Thrawn, or more Inquisitors, or Maul and Vader, but her..." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he stood. "Damn it, why did it have to be her..."

"I don't understand," Ezra said. "She's your ally, right? As good as it is to have Minister Tua working for you, this Mandalorian's a Moff, right? And if she's close to Tarkin, you couldn't possibly have a better person here to support him. We could turn the tables on this whole operation!"

"And for what?" Obi-Wan hissed, the teenager immediately drawing back and falling silent. "So we can kill Tarkin? So we can liberate Lothal from Imperial control?" He laughed, harsh and bitter, and the Spectres shivered. "A pointless endeavor. As discussed, Lothal is too important to the Empire to allow it to fall from their grasp. An Imperial defeat here would only see the Empire bring its full weight to bear, and then what? Bo-Katan will be exposed, the Mandalorians revealed as traitors, and they would die. All of them."

"W-we can't let that happen!" Sabine shouted. "The Empire is already crushing Mandalore! I thought our leader was complicit in their control of us, but if she's keeping her head down to protect us..." She shook her head. "No, Mandalore has suffered enough."

"I will not waste years and years of careful planning for a temporary victory here," Obi-Wan growled. "I will not have my Mandalorian resistance exposed and destroyed, especially not for the likes of Tarkin. Not now, it's too soon, I'm not ready..." He shook his head and stood. "I need to meditate on our course of action before I see the Minister..."

"Kenobi, wait!" Hera said quickly, grabbing the Sith Lord's arm as he passed her, and furious, dangerous eyes snapped in her direction, a fierce scowl on his face that made the breath catch in her chest, and Kanan quickly rose, his senses alert as he felt the Force grow heavy and dark. "Tarkin is..." Hera squeaked, wincing at how weak she sounded, and she shook her hear and cleared her throat, meeting the Sith's gaze again, but stronger this time. "Tarkin is the Emperor's right hand, isn't he? He's vital to the Empire, he's a crushing hand in the Outer Rim. If we take him out, if we can use Moff Kryze to kill him-"

"No." Obi-Wan tore his arm from the Twi'lek's grasp. "I don't know if this is a set-up. He may not be here, but I still need to contend with Thrawn, and Bo-Katan's presence here could very well be his idea, which makes this a trap. More than that, Tarkin is the best connection I have to a secret project the Empire is conducting. Something big and important, something big enough to go on without him, and I will not throw away Bo-Katan and all of Mandalore simply because Tarkin is an inconvenience!"

"He's more than an inconvenience, Kenobi!" Hera countered. "In the Outer Rim, he is the Empire!"

"And if he dies out here, what do you suppose the Emperor will do?!" Obi-Wan scoffed, a look of disdain on his face as he looked at the Spectres. "Short-sighted, simple-minded fools, the whole lot of you! Tarkin's death means war, understand? If you think it's bad now, then you have no idea what Palpatine is capable of, and without an army..." He grit his teeth. "We are scattered. We could put up a fight, but we aren't ready, not yet..."

"But we could be," Kanan said quietly, gently pulling Hera away from the Sith. "You wanted to do something big, something to show the Empire is weak. This could be it. There isn't a better way to show that the Empire can be defeated than by taking out Grand Moff Tarkin! We don't even need to kill him, we just need to show that it's a bad idea for even him to mess with us!"

"Only to have our resistance crushed!" Obi-Wan snapped. "We aren't ready! Not now, not yet."

"Kenobi-"

"I already have the blood of one Kryze girl on my hands!" The silence that fell upon the room was cold, still and heavy and so unlike anything Kanan had felt from Obi-Wan before. He had known that Obi-Wan had suffered losses and still agonized over them in the moments he had to himself, but before the team, he had always been safely tucked behind his walls. But now there were cracks, and through them, Kanan could see fear of loss deep within Kenobi.

"Hey, Obi-Wan..." Kanan said, his voice low and soothing as he reached out for the Sith, the man quickly flinching away from the prospect of being touched, and Kanan respectfully took a step back.

"I won't lose her too..." Obi-Wan whispered, his voice so small and thin it could barely be heard. "Not her, I can't..." He shook his head. "I'll deal with the Empire," he growled, stronger this time. "You focus on your message and an exit strategy."

"We will..." Kenobi left without another word, his long stride carrying him across the room and out toward the cargo bay to the ship's loading ramp, and the Spectres breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"Well..." Zeb said. "Everything's gone to shit."

"It's not all bad," Hera said, sighing heavily as she looked around the room. "Having a high powered contact like Minister Tua almost makes this all worth it. We can be much more effective if we use information she provides us."

"Maybe so, but this attack on the Empire?" Kanan shook his head. "I don't know. There's a lot going on, and we need to act soon. This isn't a big window of opportunity here."

"This whole thing with Moff Kryze bothers me..." Sabine said nervously. "The Shadow King is right. If something happens to her, Mandalore will fall. We can't use her to strike out against the Empire. Our hands are tied."

"But we can't leave the people of Lothal to suffer." Hera said thoughtfully as she pulled up the recording of Trayvis' message, playing it for a moment before anger took hold of her and she shut it off. "We need to do something. Even if it's just sending the message and retreating. Words without action, I know, but the action can come later."

"Whatever we do, we need to decide quickly," Kanan said as he looked about the room. "We'll wait for Kenobi to get the details from the Minister, but after that, we need to move. Sometimes, words are more powerful than weapons. I'm sure the Negotiator understands that." The group nodded silently, all except Ezra, who sat staring at the door through which Obi-Wan left. Kanan frowned. It was unlike the opinionated boy to be so silent. "Ezra?"

"Excuse me..." he mumbled, pushing back from the table and leaving the room, heedless of the calls from the others, and before he knew what he was doing, Ezra was running across the ravine, away from the cave where the Ghost was hidden and toward the slowly retreating figure in black. "Kenobi!" the teenager said through his heavy breathing, his voice raised, but not loud enough to echo off the red rock walls of the canyon. "Kenobi, wait!" He didn't, leaving Ezra to grit his teeth and run faster, slowing to a jog and then a walk as he came beside the Sith Lord.

"You were awfully quiet today, Bridger..." Obi-Wan said, his tone lazy, almost bored and weary. "Why is that? Did you realize that all your opinions are either wrong or idiotic?"

"Y-yeah, something like that..." He had been looking straight ahead, avoiding the teen at his side, but now, gold eyes darted to look at the reticent boy, his gaze fixed on the ground before him, his bottom lip caught between his teeth. "I was...wrong. About my vision, about Trayvis, about my parents, I..." Huffing, Ezra ran his hand through his hair. "About a lot of things, or...or about everything. I'm sorry..."

"That's quite a change of heart..." Obi-Wan drawled smoothly, looking the boy over. "What brought this on?"

"I-I just did some thinking, and this whole situation..." Ezra bit down on his lip harder, a slight flush to his cheeks as he peered up at the Sith Lord and found his expression disbelieving and vaguely annoyed. He quickly looked away. "...Cody talked to me back on Bandomeer."

"Ah..."

"I've been an ass."

"Oh yes, very much so." Ezra glared at the Sith, but couldn't keep the smile from tugging at the edge of his lips when he found Kenobi amused.

"Look, Kenobi, this is all still new to me. I don't know anything, and-"

"All the more reason for you to shut up and listen," the Sith growled, and anger quickly flashed through the boy before it vanished completely.

"...I know." Ezra stopped and leaned against the wall of the ravine, and the Sith Lord slowed, continuing to walk for a moment before he returned to stand before the boy. "I forget, you know?" the teen whispered. "That you're so much older than Kanan, that you have all this experience, that you're an actual Master. I just..." He growled and ran his hand through his dark hair, a scowl on his face. "I've never taken directions well, following orders just isn't something I do. I've been on my own for so long, I've never had to. You couldn't trust any of the crooks and con men I ran with."

"Well, that certainly fits the whole rebel thing you have going." Obi-Wan frowned and pointed a lazy finger at Ezra. "Which is precisely the problem. We don't have a unified rebellion because everyone wants to do things their own way. If we are to ever have a chance of defeating the Emperor, we need unity. We need people to follow commands and orders. We need people to listen. If everyone simply marches to the beat of their own drum, we are left with a cacophony, not a melody." Obi-Wan took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. "No music, just chaos, and the Force will not stand in support of such."

"...I understand," Ezra said, his head bowed. "I do. I'm trying to do better, but..." He shifted against the rock, trying to alleviate his mounting irritation, and the glowing eyes on him did nothing to help his unease. "Look, it isn't easy for Kanan to teach me, I know that. He says he's not a real Jedi, and I'm not patient enough, and..." He shook his head. "But I respect him. He took me in when I had nothing, he showed me I could be more than I am."

"Mm, but this isn't a matter of rapport, is it, Bridger?" Obi-Wan asked, and Ezra sucked in a sharp breath and met the fiery gaze for a moment before he looked away, and slid defeated to the ground.

"When I was on the asteroid with the Inquisitor..." Ezra began, his voice shaking as he drew his knees to his chest. "I felt the Dark Side. I used it. I didn't mean to, but...Kenobi, I was so scared, and when I touched the Force, I felt...power." He shivered. "All the fear left me and I was filled with such anger, such hatred, I thought I...I-I..." He shook his head. "I thought I could murder someone. I knew I could. I wanted it. And...I didn't feel like myself. That wasn't me, I'm not like that!" Ezra ran his arm over his eyes when he felt tears threatening to fill his vision. "I've never been so afraid in my life..." He finally looked up at the Sith. "You're the Dark Side, Kenobi. Tell me how I'm not supposed to be afraid of training with you."

Obi-Wan looked at the boy for a long while, long past the point that the teenager could no longer meet the fire of those golden eyes, the silence broken by the gentle breeze through the ravine and the cry of hunting lothcats in the plains beyond. The boy was young, young enough to be his own son, but he didn't have the raw talent of his children. He wasn't so innocent and as Luke. He wasn't so cunning as Leia. But Ezra was bold and rambunctious, just as his twins were, and while Luke and Leia had known the Force all their lives, Ezra was only now just coming into it. He checked his comlink for the time, rolled his eyes when he saw how much time had passed, and with a heavy sigh, he took the saber hanging from his right hip and handed it to teenager as the Sith sat down beside him.

"I was also afraid when I first felt the touch of the Dark Side," Obi-Wan said softly, tapping the lightsaber that Ezra now carefully, reverently held. "Back when this was still my weapon. Back when I was a Jedi." Obi-Wan chuckled softly as he looked up into the sky. "Sith Hells, that was so long ago...I was older than you are now, but I was still a Padawan. Still learning. Nothing could have prepared me for it."

"...why did you do it?" Ezra asked quietly, the lightsaber in his hand lighter than he expected, certainly lighter than Kanan's blade.

"Oh, much for the same reason as you did," Obi-Wan whispered. "My Master was in danger, seriously outmatched by a Lord of the Sith, and I reached for the Dark Side to save his life."

"And you were afraid?" Obi-Wan reached up to stroke his beard and frowned when he touched his bare skin, the teen at his side laughing softly at his displeasure.

"I was, yes," Kenobi said. "I felt the Dark Side in the days leading up to the fight. I don't know if I was sensing the Sith Lord we would fight, or the Dark Side within myself, but..." He hissed and shook his head. "It was terrifying, and it came at a time in my life when I was vulnerable and alone." Obi-Wan looked at Ezra, the boy's wide blue eyes fixed intently on him, and he smiled sadly. "Which is how the Dark Side found me. It's how the Dark Side finds all its children. The lost, the wounded, the frightened, the betrayed...all of us, united by fear and loss and pain, and the darkness comes with promises to end it all."

"But the Dark Side is frightening," Ezra said. "I-I've never felt so cold."

"It is frightening, yes," Obi-Wan whispered. "Until it's not. When you feel alone when you should be surrounded by family, when you are betrayed and cast out by the man that was like a father for you, when you're...replaced by something younger and more talented. When the Force itself isn't there to catch you when you feel like you're falling..." Obi-Wan laughed bitterly. "That's when the Dark Side is there." He shrugged. "The cold isn't so bad when it's all you have."

"...that happened to you?" Ezra asked. "You were abandoned?"

"By my Jedi Master," Obi-Wan sighed. "He threw me away so he could train another. A younger student, one with a greater potential in the Force. He and I were...kindred spirits, I suppose. But he was a child, and he overshadowed me in everything. It was easy to feel jealous, and when my Master decided to end my training so he could train him..." Obi-Wan shook his head. "Jealousy, desperation, depression, fear and betrayal. I was unbalanced, and when I reached into the Force, nothing reached back to me." Obi-Wan took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "You know the Force, Ezra. What does it feel like to you?"

"I-I don't know," the teenager said. "It's just a feeling, you know?"

"No, I don't know," Obi-Wan growled. "You hear the running of water but are ignorant of the river. I rest within the water, I feel it's flow, the currents, the life that lives within it." He pressed his finger to Ezra's forehead. "Feel, apprentice. Know that which guides you." Ezra held his breath and slowly nodded, closing his eyes and exhaling slowly, clearing his mind like Kanan had taught him.

"I...I feel...warm." The teen smiled softly. "Like...like a breeze, or water, or...I don't know. Everything gentle and comforting and warm..."

"Yes, good..." Obi-Wan said, a small smile of satisfaction on his face before it dropped away, leaving his expression cold and harsh. "As a Jedi, the Force was my constant companion, but on that day, when I was reeling off balance, I reached for my friend the Force, it ran cold. You know the feeling."

"The Dark Side." Obi-Wan nodded.

"The Dark Side, yes. Cold and uncompromising and powerful and frightening for a boy that had only known warmth and comfort from the Force. But it balanced me. I was...stronger. Faster. More focused than I had ever been, and it was the darkness that gave it to me." He took the lightsaber from his left hip, the twin of the one Ezra held, and flicked it on, the red blade hissing and humming and casting red shadows around them. "When the cold balanced me, I kept reaching for it, and before long, I felt comfort in the chill that ran through the Force and it stated feeling...good."

"Y-you weren't afraid anymore?" Ezra asked quietly, his eyes focused on the red blade. Obi-Wan shook his head.

"Not then, no. The Dark Side felt good. It was liberating, powerful and pleasurable, an ally greater than my understanding of the Force as the Jedi taught. I was stronger than I had ever been, and the more I used it, the more I wanted to use it." Kenobi sighed, his free hand clenching, and Ezra could feel his heart jump as his entire body was spiked with bone-chilling cold, a deep reverberation in his chest that seemed to come from the very air around him. "Dark Side seduction...the Jedi used to cite power as the temptation toward the darkness, but the fact of the matter is that the Dark Side just feels good. Power, yes, but passion too." Obi-Wan drew red circles in the air with his saber. "I felt the fear again later. When I was confronted by what I had become, how far I had fallen, the things I had done in the embrace of the Dark Side..." He sighed heavily and powered the lightsaber off, looking at the black and silver hilt as he gently held it. "All that was left to do was face what I had become. There was no turning back. I was Sith long before I knew it."

"...is that what is happening to me?" Ezra asked, his voice shaking, and Kenobi looked the boy over, a faint smile on his lips.

"No. No, that's why Yoda made you my charge." Obi-Wan stood and extended his hand out to the boy, and for a moment Ezra just stared at the offered hand. Breathing deep, he took his hand and let the Sith pull him to his feet. "I was left to navigate the Dark Side on my own, but you, Bridger, have me to guide you."

Ezra breathed a sigh of relief, a weight suddenly lifted off his shoulders. The cold he felt, the fear within him suddenly didn't seem so intimidating. He had seen the Grand Inquisitor, a creature of evil ruled by the Dark Side, and the knowledge of the darkness he had touched haunted him, filled him with doubts, with the terrible notion that his own path lay cast in darkness, his end aligned with the Inquisitor he feared. He was lost, even with Kanan to guide him, because the Jedi was as lost in the darkness as Ezra. But then there was Obi-Wan, a creature that didn't just prowl the darkness like a predator, but mastered it, could clearly see it's twisting, winding paths, knew intimately the natures of the savage beasts that hid in the shadows. With Obi-Wan to guide him through the darker pulls of the Force, Ezra didn't think he'd ever truly be lost.

There was something else about him, though. Kanan had always been a mentor, a teacher, an older brother, a best friend, but Kenobi was none of these things. Ezra wasn't sure what it was. Perhaps it was that, despite his youthful appearance, Obi-Wan was much older. It maybe was in the way he carried himself, proud and confident, each step taken as if in the knowledge that everything he walked upon belonged to him. Perhaps it was that he seemed wise and knowledgeable and terribly, terribly dangerous. But to Ezra, in that moment, he looked at Obi-Wan Kenobi and saw a father.

"Thank you, Obi-Wan..." Ezra said softly, handing the lightsaber back to the Sith Lord. "I won't disappoint you."

"Oh, it's far too late for that, Bridger, words cannot express what a disappointment you are to me." Obi-Wan frowned as he checked the time on his comlink. "And now I'm going to be late to see the Minister." He sighed heavily and pushed Ezra into the path in the ravine back the way they had come. "Come on, I'll get you back to the Ghost."

"I can get back myself, you know..."

"Nonsense, it's getting dark. Kanan would attempt to kill me if something were to happen to you, and we don't want to piss off dad."

"Tch..." Ezra rolled his eyes, a wry smile on his face. "Alright, alright..." Breathing deep, he walked beside the Sith Lord, his strides relaxed and slow, as if he didn't just complain about being late. As if being late wasn't even a thing he concerned himself with. He could feel his presence through the Force, dark and powerful and commanding, a thing to be followed, and a thing to be feared. "Hey..." Ezra said after a moment of silence. "Are you really, you know...sleeping with Minister Tua?"

"Mm, I am, yes."

"H-how did you do it?"

"Oh no, I don't think so..." Obi-Wan said with laughter in his voice. "I see through you, apprentice, and nothing I can teach you about the Force or women will work on Sabine Wren." Kenobi's chest inflated with pride, a deep, amused laugh in his chest when the boy beside him flushed a fierce red. "She is Mandalorian. The whole lot of them are impossible. She's far too good for you, in any case."

"You know, Kanan would teach me about girls if I asked..." Ezra said slyly, and Kenobi laughed and rolled his eyes.

"He would if Syndulla allowed him. Which she won't." He shrugged. "Face it, apprentice, in this, you are on your own."

"I wasn't asking about that anyway!" Ezra said louder than intended, flushing deeply and looking away from Kenobi. "I was just...you know, a lot is riding on the information you get out of the Minister." He looked up at the contemplative Sith Lord. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm not sure yet..." Obi-Wan muttered. "To be frank, I'm not certain yet that this isn't a trap. Tarkin and I have met on opposite side of battle on many occasions, and all of them have been difficult fights. He's a clever enemy, and one that knows me very well. What's more, I stole his ship a few years back, so I'm certain he wants to get even."

"...wait, what?"

"Oh yes," Obi-Wan said proudly. "Stolen ship, destroyed research stations, an Imperial orgy broadcast over the holonet, Gungan pornography..." He waved a hand in the air dismissively. "Big mess. Don't worry about it."

"Alright, see, when you say that, it makes me worry about it."

"What am I going to do..." Obi-Wan shook his head. "I'm going drive the Minister into the mattress, for one. Get all the information I can out of her, and after that..." Obi-Wan's gaze drifted up to the sky, the man breathing deeply as he felt the Force, tense with anticipation. "We shall see. But for now, apprentice, I think we are going to attempt to build your lightsaber." Ezra's gaze snapped up to Obi-Wan, a wide grin on his face and excitement dancing behind his eyes in an eager excitement that reminded Obi-Wan of Luke.

"Do you think I can do it?!"

"That depends entirely on you, apprentice," the Sith said, amusement in his voice. "But I think you will find yourself successful in your attempts now." He nudged the boy on his back as the cave where the Ghost was situated came into view. "Go. Tell your Master, I'm certain he will want to be there when you build it." With a bright smile toward his new mentor, Ezra took off running down the ravine, and as Obi-Wan watched him go, he couldn't keep the ache out of his heart as he longed for his own children.