Chapter 6: Dagobah

Obi-Wan thought Yoda's heart would break when the tiny Jedi looked upon the body of Luminara Unduli, one of the last of the Jedi trained in the old ways left in the galaxy. There was only Yoda left now, all the others either having abandoned the Jedi ways, as Ahsoka and Kanan, or never knew them to begin with, like the younglings that had been raised as Mandalorians. He was alone, the Jedi gone, the Force stained black with the Dark Side, and Yoda was growing impossibly old. By the Master's own admission, soon enough, he would be dead, passed on into the Force, and with him, the old ways of the Jedi would be gone.

He seemed strangely at peace with this, Kenobi thought. Perhaps Yoda understood now the simple truth that the Jedi as they had become were a relic, ancient and outdated, done in by their own blindness to the tides of the Force, bound in service to a Republic that no longer existed. Their extinction was inevitable, and had been for a thousand years, but the Force could never be destroyed, and in time, new warriors of the light would rise to maintain the tenuous balance that the Force eternally struggled for. It happened to the Sith as well, destroyed by their own ambition, their own greed, the Dark Side itself slaughtering its servants in order to force them to change, to begin anew, different than before, but stronger. The Jedi now suffered the same fate. Perhaps the new Jedi would be different, just as Darth Lumis' new Sith would be different. That had yet to be seen.

Or perhaps Yoda's peace of mind was simply because the insufferable Master had developed the same, blindingly bright presence that Qui-Gon had acquired in his final years. Perhaps the little wretch was at peace because he was stupidly immortal. Kenobi didn't bother to check. He couldn't. He couldn't even look at the little Master without being blinded by searing, painful light. He didn't want this. The last thing Obi-Wan needed was another ghost haunting him, though he suspected it would make it far easier to train the Mandalorian Force sensitives were Yoda able to simply go to Carlac any time he wanted. Kenobi briefly considered striking the Master down specifically for that reason, but eventually decided against it. He wasn't sure how much influence the Jedi had, and didn't want him influencing his Mandalorians toward the light to stand against the Sith. It would make the formation of his own Sith Empire significantly more difficult.

Obi-Wan winced as flames crackled, and quickly looked over his shoulder to look at Yoda, Ahsoka, and the ghostly Qui-Gon standing before the pyre where Luminara burned. He hissed and quickly looked away, resuming his predatory pacing, his movements graceful in their fury, his golden eyes periodically looking back toward the flames, each time sending pain tearing through him, the bleeding wound torn open again and again, the gash becoming wider, deeper, more gruesome with every glance, a constant reminder that his last friend and lover was dead.

The Dark Side howled and pulsed within him, powerful and vicious and wrathful, the darkness amplified by the cave he paced in front of. For a place as pure in the Force as Dagobah, it was both ironic and logical that a place of such intense darkness should exist here. A nexus of the Dark Side, swirling with cold and fear and anger, with lust and hatred, terrifying to thise that stood in the light, seductive to those that already walked the dark path, and Obi-Wan reveled in it as it amplified his pain, his anger, his hatred, two vergences resonating with each other and allowing the darkness to pulse stronger. Yoda's presence dampened its reach, however, and the strength of the Dark Side emanating from within the cave concealed the Master's presence in the Force. In his own way, Yoda had made the Dark Side his ally.

"You know, father," Luke said softly when Kenobi once again looked in the direction of the pyre, "you are allowed to be over there."

"I'm aware of that, Luke, thank you," Obi-Wan glowered, his attention snapping to his son, the teen's face warm and welcoming as it always was. Luke smiled knowingly.

"Because it really looks like you want to be over there."

"I don't." Obi-Wan hissed in frustration as he renewed his pacing. "Leia!"

"Patience, father," she said in a singsong, almost admonishing tone, her eyes closed in focus and a clever smile on her lips, a black, tattered cloth held reverently in her hands. Her smile grew wider when her father began to curse. "You're disrupting my focus with your pacing. Luke's right. You should go be with the others."

"No." The response was harsh, almost petulant, but the pacing stopped. "What if you find something? I need to be here."

"Father, the pyre is right over there," Luke said, gesturing with his hand to the clearing in the swamp not a hundred meters away from their place by the cave. "It would take literally less than ten seconds to get to you if we used the Force to aid our speed!"

"And I'm not getting anything anyway..." Leia muttered, sighing in frustration and opening her eyes to look at the cloth in her hands. "I'm sorry, father, I'm not-"

"Leia, sweetie, you are strong enough," Obi-Wan said, kneeling in front of the girl and laying his hand on her cheek, his anger and tension not forgotten, but put to the side so he could father his child. "It's not your fault I lack your talent, I've no ability to teach you this..." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I never asked Quinlan how he used his powers, we all just knew he did. He'd know what to do..."

"...I'll keep trying," Leia said softly, shifting slightly as she settled, her eyes closed and reaching through the Force to the cloth once again, her face drawn in concentration as she tried to remember how she had done this before. Obi-Wan moved to resume his pacing, but stopped when Luke reached out and took his hand.

"Father..." Luke said softly, sending warmth and comfort through the Force to the Sith Lord, and Obi-Wan shivered, the sensation of sympathy and understanding still foreign to him from the darkness in which he sat. "I'm so sorry about your friend. I can sense how much she means to you, even now..."

"How much exactly can you sense..." he asked dryly, an eyebrow arched in the boy's direction, and Luke furiously blushed.

"E-enough..." he mumbled, his eyes cast to the ground, and the Sith Lord chuckled softly, looking the boy over carefully. When had Luke gotten so tall? It seemed like not so long ago that he stood just beneath his waist. He'd be a man soon enough. It felt like...an accomplishment. For nearly fifteen years, he had raised two children, kept them safe and hidden from the grasp of the Empire, and now, Luke and Leia were nearly fully grown, a few months shy of fifteen, their powers in the Force considerable, their training going better than anyone could have ever expected.

"Luke's just embarrassed because the other day, a girl in town was making eyes at him..." Leia said softly, an amused smile on her lips, her eyes closed as she tried to feel the memories of the cloth.

"I know what to do, Leia!" Luke said in a tone that seemed to suggest they had this conversation before, and the boy turned a brilliant shade of red when his sister flashed him a victorious smile, and his father gave him the look. He may be in trouble, and Luke was in no hurry to return there again, not after their last misadventure. He and Leia had ended up stranded on Tatooine for nearly two weeks doing nothing but Uncle Owen's bidding. It was a nightmare, and Luke was certain that their father had given their Uncle additional things to add to their chores. "But I haven't done anything!"

Obi-Wan frowned, gold eyes looking right through his son, and Luke turned his gaze toward the ground as he felt his father's presence gather around him. Slowly, the Sith Lord nodded, and returned to his pacing, and Luke breathed a sigh of relief, his eyes drifting to the pyre where the Jedi were gathered. They were talking now, huddled close together by the fire as it burned, and even from here, Luke could feel the grief hanging heavy in the air, all of them having forged a deep, close connection to the woman. It was a profound sadness for the loss of life, the extinguishing of such a bright, beautiful presence in the Force, but unlike his father, the grief didn't cling to them, didn't tear into them like a thousand razor sharp knives, didn't leave them broken and bleeding and hopelessly angry.

After a few moments, Luke could see Ahsoka leave the group, the Togruta slowly making her way through the swamp toward them, and Obi-Wan stopped his predatory pacing, his glowing eyes narrowed as he watched her approach. She moved almost completely silently, passing through the waters of the swamp with hardly a splash, the result of years of training under the guidance of one of the greatest trackers and hunters the Jedi Order ever had. Even her presence in the Force had been significantly reduced, a mere ripple on a lake instead of the waves a woman of her talent should have caused.

"It's safe to go back now, if you want," the Togruta said softly as she entered the Sith Lord's clearing beside the mouth of the cave, her orange and white face streaked with barely visible lines, and to anyone that looked close enough, it was obvious that she had been crying. It took Luke a moment to remember that she was trained by an emotional Master, and even before the Jedi fell, she had left them. This wasn't a Jedi.

"Why would I want to be there?" Obi-Wan snapped. "Do you want to be there?"

"...no." She smiled sadly, and with a sigh, Obi-Wan took her hand and sat her down next to Leia, the Sith Lord sinking to the ground in front of her. Luke sat on the Togruta's other side and gently took her hand, sending her all the sympathy he could, and he felt her slowly begin to relax. "Do you think Vader killed her?" she whispered after a long silence. Kenobi didn't move, didn't even look at her, but he could feel three pairs of eyes on him, the kids looking at each other nervously.

"I don't know," Obi-Wan said softly, giving the kids a reassuring smile. "It's possible, but that's what I'm trying to find out." He held out his hand to Leia, and the girl put the cloth in to his hand. "It's a piece of the robes Luminara was wearing, I was hoping Leia would be able to tell us what happened, but..."

"I can't do it..." the princess said softly, her tone regretful and disappointed in herself, and Obi-Wan quietly cursed under his breath.

"I cannot teach her. I lack the talent." He looked at the Togruta intently. "Did Quinlan ever say anything to you about how he used his powers? About how they worked?" The Togruta looked at Leia, carefully studying her.

"...she's like Quinlan?" Ahsoka asked softly, and Obi-Wan nodded when his daughter looked to him to answer. "It's a rare gift," Ahsoka said, a pained smile on her face. "Take caution how you use it. Master Quinlan often felt emotions through the objects he touched, and depending on what it was, there could be rage and hate and pain, as I suspect you'll find in that," she said, pointing to the cloth in Kenobi's hand. Leia looked at her defiantly.

"I'm not afraid of the Dark Side," Leia strongly proclaimed, taking the cloth back from her father. "And if I can help father find out who did this, I'll endure anything."

"Someone's hunting our father," Luke quickly cut in. "He thinks this is his work, and we need to know how he managed to do this." Ahsoka nodded.

"Yes, I've heard..."

"Thrawn..." Kenobi growled, his jaw clenching as golden eyes fixed on the pyre. "I got the name out of the head of one of the Inquisitors I killed today..."

"Thrawn?" Ahsoka repeated, her eyes widening and looking at the Sith Lord. "Admiral Thrawn?"

"...you know him." It wasn't a question. Ahsoka nodded, and Kenobi could feel the change in her, the rising concern, the sudden hint of fear.

"I know him..." she quietly repeated. There was no point asking Kenobi if he was sure about his conclusion. There was no doubt he was. Everything about this situation screamed the work of the Imperial Admiral. "He's a Chiss," Ahsoka said in a light, airy tone, a slight smirk on her lips when Kenobi frowned and looked at her in confusion. "I know," she said, nodding knowingly. "Our friend the Emperor doesn't elevate anyone but humans into positions of power."

"So what's a Chiss doing in the Imperial Admiralty?" He paused, the edge of his mouth twitching in a repressed sneer. "What even is a Chiss?"

"You wouldn't have heard of them," she said softly. "Blue skinned, near-human, hail from the Unknown Regions." Kenobi whistled.

"What's a man like that doing here? And in service to the Empire, no less, they aren't touched by Sidious' reach, so why?"

"I don't know," Ahsoka said softly. "We don't know much about Thrawn, actually. He's difficult to pin down. But we do know that he's a tactical genius, and for an alien species to achieve such high rank in the Imperial military, you know he has to be something special."

"A dangerous thing, to be sure..." Obi-Wan mused. "And we really know nothing?"

"I'm sorry, Obi-Wan," Ahsoka sighed. "I wish I could be of more help." She frowned. "I should be of more help. We need an inside man. We need someone to infiltrate his ranks."

"I can-"

"You can't," Ahsoka said firmly, poking the Sith Lord in the chest. "Obi-Wan, he knows everything about you, and it seems very likely he captured and killed Luminara. Maybe she's not your equal, but she was strong. Talented. Smart and resourceful, and it wasn't enough."

"Is he Force sensitive?" Kenobi glowered. "Or is he just so smart that he's precognicient."

"I don't know!" she cried. "We don't know, and he's too dangerous to approach directly, not until we know more." Ahsoka sighed heavily. "For now, you need to keep low and avoid whatever bait he throws your way while we gather information."

"What else could he possibly bait me with..." Obi-Wan growled, and Ahsoka held her breath and subtly indicated to the twins beside her. The blood drained out of Obi-Wan's face. "No..." he whispered, shaking his head. "No, he can't know about them. If he did, Sidious himself would come after them."

"Then we need to keep it that way," Ahsoka said firmly, and with a sigh of bitter resignation, Kenobi nodded. She was right, of course, but Luke looked horrified.

"Father, you can't just do nothing!" the boy cried. "Leia and can take care of ourselves, you don't need to worry about us!"

"I always worry about you, Luke, no matter how capable you may be." Obi-Wan sighed and looked at the three before him, Leia's face drawn in concentration, Luke a mix of indignant and worried, and Ahsoka calm and collected, the Fulcrum knowing exactly what needed to be done. "In any case, she's right," Kenobi said. "Until we know more, going after him is only going to play into his hands. We will be patient, and while we are waiting, we will learn."

"I'll start seeing if I can get a spy close to him," Ahsoka said, taking a small datapad out of a pouch on her belt and quickly running her fingers over it. "It might be difficult, though. We'll need someone of high rank within the Imperial hierarchy if we want to get close enough to learn something of value."

"Contact Bo-Katan," Kenobi said quickly. "She-"

"Is connected to you, oh great and mighty Shadow King, it's unreasonable to believe that she isn't under investigation." Obi-Wan's jaw clenched tightly, and Ahsoka reached out to lay a comforting hand on his arm. "She is vital to the Empire, they aren't going to hurt her. Not yet, in any case...but we can't trust information we get from her. It could be fed to us specifically to lead us into traps, and she's been under tight watch for a few years now."

"Well, Tarkin does like her..." Obi-Wan grumbled. "If not Bo-Katan, then who?"

"I don't know..." Ahsoka sighed heavily. "I may have to start from the ground up, it could take some time." She groaned, rubbing at the protrusions on her montrails. "This Admiral Thrawn has very quickly made himself my top priority. A man like this could very quickly pick apart the entire rebellion." She took a deep breath and looked at Kenobi, her eyes searching him as she quickly thought of what to do next. "Do you have a plan?" she quietly asked, and Obi-Wan nodded.

"Yes. I've been looking for people to add to our cause. I think I have someone for you, though..." He smirked deviously. "I think you may already be in contact with them. They fly aboard the Ghost." Ahsoka's eyes lit up with recognition.

"Hera Syndulla," she said, smiling softly. "Yes, I have been in contact with her. We've been watching her for a time. It seems she's expanded her crew quite a bit the past year. The Specters, they call themselves."

"Mm." Kenobi grinned wickedly. "I've joined their crew."

"...you what," Ahsoka asked, completely deadpan. "You joined a team? You? The lone, solitary Lord of the Sith?" She reached out and laid a hand on her forehead, her eyes narrowed in concentration and her face drawl with concern. "...are you feeling well?" Kenobi hissed and waved her hand away.

"Stop it! I'm not a child, Lady Tano!"

"No? You look like it." Ahsoka grinned at Luke when the boy snorted with laughter he desperately tried to repress. Obi-Wan rolled his eyes.

"It's not like I joined them because I'm lonely, you twit," Obi-Wan grumbled, his arms crossed over his chest and glaring at Luke and Ahsoka as they laughed. At least Leia wasn't a traitor. Leia was meditating. "Do you even know what's on that crew?"

"I do, as a matter of fact," Ahsoka said, her tone cocky as she turned her nose up into the air. "Spectre 1, Kanan Jarrus, designated leader. Previously a bounty hunter, thief, and drifter, motivated to action after the events on Gorse and Cynda a few years back." Slowly, Obi-Wan began to smirk. The Fulcrum didn't know. Kanan had been very good at keeping himself hidden. "Spectre 2, Hera Syndulla, pilot of the Ghost," Ahsoka continued, oblivious to the change in the Sith Lord. "We were alerted about her through your attempted work with her father, Cham Syndulla. She's the one really driving their rebel activities, which is why she's the only one we have contact with." Ahsoka frowned when she saw the smug grin upon Kenobi's face. "What..."

"Oh, nothing..." Obi-Wan casually drawled, satisfaction rushing through him when he felt the Fulcrum's irritation. "You've been busy, I know, I can't expect you to know everything about your potential recruits..."

"What is it, Kenobi."

Obi-Wan grinned. "Kanan Jarrus," he said, leaning in toward the unamused Togruta, "is a Jedi." Ahsoka's face was cold, impassive, expressionless for a long while before she slowly began to process the words the Sith had said. Irritation faded away into disbelief, shock, and then finally, elation.

"A Jedi?" she asked, shaking her head. "An actual Jedi?"

"Not exactly. He was a Padawan, but he was in the field when Order 66 was executed."

"He was a purge survivor..." Ahsoka gasped. "How could I have missed this?!"

"Kanan is, admittedly, very good," Kenobi said. "He-"

"Who was his Master?" Ahsoka quickly interrupted, almost frantic in her excitement, her usual cool completely forgotten.

"Depa Billaba," Obi-Wan said quietly, observing the Togruta carefully as she sucked in a sharp breath and held it, her lips trembling slightly before they curled upwards into a joyous smile, her blue eyes wide and wet with tears as she reached into her memories and found exactly what she was looking for.

"Caleb Dume..." Ahsoka whispered, her hands covering her mouth as she swallowed an excited laugh. "Kanan Jarrus...is Caleb Dume." She imagined him in her mind, the young Padawan she had barely known, his dark hair messy and his teal eyes curious far beyond comfort for the tradition-bound Masters. She could see that teenager now in the image of Kanan Jarrus, so different, and yet, she didn't know how she hadn't seen it before. She looked at Obi-Wan, the Sith Lord's eyebrow arched as he studied the emotions that rushed through her.

"You knew him, then?" he asked, and the Togruta shook her head.

"Not well, no. I saw him occasionally with Master Billaba in the Council meetings, but we only spoke once. When I was leaving the Jedi." She rubbed the back of her neck and looked away from Obi-Wan. It wasn't his fault that she had left. There was tension between her and the rest of the Jedi since they accused her of the Temple Bombing that she was innocent of. She stayed for Master Quinlan, and when he fell to the Dark Side, when he rushed to the Sith of the Sith Lord Darth Lumis...her reason for staying was gone. She was afraid, trained by a Master that embraced the Dark Side, and no amount of Jedi training could have saved him. The Jedi couldn't save anyone, least of all her, not when she felt susceptible to darkness as well. But times like this made it feel like it was Obi-Wan's fault.

"An awfully emotional response for someone you only spoke to once..." Obi-Wan gently prodded, and Ahsoka took a deep breath to arrange her thoughts.

"The conversation we had...stuck with me, I suppose. He had a dream, about you and me. The three of us, together." She closed her eyes and imagined that day, her younger self so lost, so confused, so hurt, and young Caleb, bright and inquisitive, his enthusiasm catching, his belief in the dream he had so sincere that even she almost believed it was a vision. This isn't goodbye, Ahsoka Tano, Caleb had said. I feel like we'll meet again. We're going to get to know each other really well. I can feel it. She wondered if Kanan remembered the dream - no, the vision - if he even remembered her. She supposed that soon enough, she'd find out. The Spectres on the Ghost suddenly became much more interesting.

"A vision," Obi-Wan said softly, and Ahsoka nodded.

"He said he got the feeling that you could see him," she said. "He saidyou were looking at him, that it wasn't part of a vision, that it was you."

"A linked vision," Obi-Wan said, sitting back and highly amused. "Yes, we have had those in the past. The Force has been showing me visions of him for a very long time. It's possible I was lost in the Force when he had this vision of his." Ahsoka wiped her eyes and grinned at the Sith Lord.

"Funny how these things seem to work out, isn't it?"

"It is," Kenobi whispered, looking over his shoulder at the pyre as it slowly began to burn out, and he felt his heart ache. "I just wish that us coming together wasn't at the cost of Luminara's life." His hand tightened around his robes. "She deserved better than this. She deserved better than me," he hissed, the glow of the golden eyes intensifying as the Dark Side was drawn to him. "I should have been able to save her, how could I have failed again?!"

Ahsoka reached out and gently took the Sith Lord's hand when Leia gasped softly, her body tensing and shaking for just a moment, her eyes flying open and looking at her suddenly concerned father, the Sith Lord quickly grabbing hold of her shoulders.

"I saw it, father..." Leia whispered, excited and frightened all at once, her limbs shaking with emotions that weren't her own. "I saw what happened."

"Good girl," Kenobi gushed, kissing his daughter's cheek, and she wrinkled her nose, but couldn't conceal the smile on her lips. "What did you see, princess?"

"It was..." Leia frowned, her eyes drifting upwards in thought. "It was clouded, father. Very hazy, for the most part." She frowned, a very serious expression on her face. "I think she's been dead for a long time. I'm sorry..."

"I had hoped I wasn't so blind..." he muttered. "I thought I couldn't sense her because...I-I thought-"

"You don't need to explain yourself, Obi-Wan," Ahsoka said softly. "Yoda didn't sense it either."

"She wasn't Yoda's to protect..." Ahsoka reached out and grabbed the Sith Lord's hands in her own, felt pain and guilt and hatred rushing through his blood, thick, strong cords of the Dark Side wrapped around his entire being. She could understand why he so often reached for darkness, though she would never do it herself. Such tight bonds were difficult to escape, and it made her all the more grateful that Quinlan had managed to break free in his final moments.

"I don't have to tell you if it's too much, father," Leia said as she dropped the cloth and pinched the bridge of her nose, her eyes closed as she willed the Force to take away the pain in her head. The flood of emotions and memories she got from the torn bit of the Jedi's robe was overwhelming. "We could wait until-"

"No," Kenobi said swiftly. "No, I need to know." Leia nodded and took a few deep breaths, calming her heart as she settled back into herself.

"It's vague, but it looks like she was helping to smuggle supplies to a village in...I-I don't know where." She shifted uncomfortably, her brow furrowing in concentration as she tried to recall exactly what she saw. "Then...I-I don't know, father, it's so unclear, I don't understand exactly what's happening..."

"Try, sweetheart," Obi-Wan said softly, reaching out through the Force to lend her strength, and with a sigh of relief, Leia slowly nodded.

"She walked into a room and was...caught." She frowned. "In a stasis field, but it wasn't just stasis, everything is...hazy. From this moment on, nothing is clear." Obi-Wan and Ahsoka gave each other a knowing look.

"It's a containment field..." Kenobi whispered, leaning back on his hands and looking up to see the stars through the willowy trees. "No wonder I couldn't sense her, she was completely cut off from the Force."

"Did you see how she got trapped?" Ahsoka asked the girl, and Leia frowned.

"No, but I felt it. She was running to help villagers that were taken as hostages when the Empire arrived. She was leaving, but...she couldn't leave them."

"That sounds familiar..." Ahsoka grumbled. "The same thing happened to me on Raada but...I left. A lot of people I had come to care about died. Figures that a Jedi Master couldn't bring herself to leave."

"Surely she sensed the danger..." Obi-Wan said sadly. "She was better than blundering into traps."

"The Force is dark, Obi-Wan," Ahsoka said patiently. "You walk the darkness, but for one so in the light as Luminara Unduli, to remain hidden means limiting the use of the Force. She may have sensed the disturbance, but she wouldn't have been able to sense where it was coming from."

"And she wouldn't have left the people to suffer anyway..." Obi-Wan sighed. "Jedi are so predictable..."

"You did kill them easy enough..." Ahsoka said sardonically, and Obi-Wan rolled his eyes.

"But it didn't matter," Leia said, her voice trembling with anger. "When they caught her, the Empire killed them anyway." Leia looked away from her father. "Then they killed her..."

"Who," Kenobi snarled, and both twins winced, the Dark Side suddenly swelling, devoid of grief and filled with nothing but pure, cold hatred.

"I-I don't know," Leia said, her voice shaking with the chill. "I've never seen him. He isn't human, maybe...Pau'an? But I've never seen a Pau'an like this one before."

"Eyes like mine?" Obi-Wan asked, and Leia nodded.

"Not exactly, but...yeah."

"Red lightsaber? Sharp, pointy teeth?" She nodded, and Obi-Wan could feel the rage course within his blood like poison. "Nu sua'bukle kiazudyti anas su'musiv zo geisti'moteris! The Grand Inquisitor." He quickly kissed the top of Leia's head. "You're wonderful, my princess. Thank you." He took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair. "It's seems very possible that the Inquisitors are working with Thrawn. The Admiral may be out of my reach, but the Inquisitors aren't."

"If they're working with Thrawn, you can't go hunt them, Obi-Wan, we talked about this," Ahsoka firmly commanded, but the Sith Lord just flashed her a devilish smile.

"I won't need to. The Grand Inquisitor has been made aware of another Jedi that escaped the purge." Ahsoka could feel her heart stop in her chest.

"Oh, no..."

"And lucky me, I just joined their crew." He flashed Ahsoka a mad grin. "My friend, the Force. Always taking me where I need to be. I stick with the Specters long enough, and I'm bound to run into the Inquisitors, and that will lead me right to Thrawn."

"It may also lead Thrawn right to the Ghost," Ahsoka pointed out. "You need to be careful, or it's going to be much more than just Thrawn you have to deal with."

"I'll be careful..." Obi-Wan said softly, his attention elsewhere. "I'm beginning to have a very good idea about my next move..."

"Obi-Wan..." Ahsoka warned, and the Sith Lord put his hands up.

"I'm well aware of the danger. My children are at stake, I'm not fooling around," Kenobi said, his voice low, serious and dangerous. "As we discussed, I will continue my actions as the Shadow King, and between attacks, I will be on the Ghost so I can train Kanan." Obi-Wan rolled his eyes when Ahsoka glared at him. "Not in the ways of the Sith, Fulcrum, in the basics! He's out of practice, his training is incomplete, and if I didn't show up when I did, Kanan Jarrus would be dead right now."

"You know..." the Togruta said with a sly smile. "For a Lord of the Sith, you sure do save a lot of Jedi."

"There aren't any Jedi anymore, Ahsoka. You, Kanan, my Mandalorian younglings...you're all something different. Something better and stronger. It's going to be a new galaxy when we kill Sidious, and with him dead, gone will be the ways of the Sith as they were for a thousand years. Perhaps the new Jedi and my new Sith can...coexist. To ensure that balance is maintained."

"Quinlan always said you were touched," Ahsoka said with a smile on her lips. "It'll never work."

"And yet here we are, Ahsoka Tano!" Kenobi said, throwing his arm around her shoulder. "Jedi and Sith. Working together!"

"I'm not a Jedi!"

"I'm not you're average Sith!" Before she could stop him, Obi-Wan quickly kissed the top of her head and ducked under her arm when she moved to push him away. "Come on, kids," he said to the twins, and the two got up and brushed themselves off. "We have a great deal that needs to be done before I bring you home." Grumbling, the twins gathered their things and rushed toward the clearing where the pyre had been and Yoda and Qui-Gon stood speaking, the kids using the Force to throw swamp water and logs and stones to slow the other down. Obi-Wan sighed and shook his head, extending his own hand and calling the piece of cloth from Luminara's robes to his hand.

"...she was always kind to me," Ahsoka whispered, touching the edge of the cloth, and Obi-Wan's hand tightened around it.

"That kindness is what got her killed." His hand began shaking slightly from the tension that gripped him. "But she wouldn't have had it any other way. I-I just wish..." Obi-Wan bit his lip, shook his head, and looked away from Ahsoka. The Togruta's hand resting on his shaking shoulder. "Luminara Unduli, Quinlan Vos, Satine Kryze..."

"...Plo Koon," Ahsoka said softly. "Asajj Ventress, Barriss Offee." A sad smile tugged at the edge of Obi-Wan's lips, and he silently pulled Ahsoka into his arms, and for a long while, neither moved, the only sound in the air that of the wildlife and the distance, excited chattering of the twins as they talked to Yoda and Qui-Gon. "...we've lost so many."

"...I know." Ahsoka leaned back and looked into his eyes.

"Don't let them have anyone else. You keep those Spectres safe." He didn't say anything, but Ahsoka could feel his resolve through the Force, a silent promise to her that all would be well in his care. "I've got news regarding that...other matter," she said, laying her head on his chest, and relaxing to the sound of his strong, slow heartbeat. "You were right. Scarif is impossible to get close to, as is Orson Krennic."

"Damn it, really?" He held her tighter, placing his chin upon the top of her montrails. "Oh, I was so hoping that he'd be an idiot...we have nothing, then?"

"Mm, didn't say that." Ahsoka smiled against his chest when he gently began stroking the lekku that ran down her back, a deep and persistent longing within him for physical affection. That last of his lovers was gone. There wouldn't be anyone else. The Togruta moved even closer to him. "It's not much, but I have a name. The lead scientist on the project. Galen Erzo."

"Hmm..." Obi-Wan kissed the top of Ahsoka's head and let her go, the two walking close to teach other through the swamp toward the twins. "Do we know his location?"

"No, but we know a little about him." She smirked softly. "Turns out, it's nice to have Separatist allies. Go figure." Ahsoka punched the Sith in the arm when he flashed her a superior smirk. "Our allies on Vallt gave us everything we need to know about him, since he was imprisoned there during the Clone Wars." Kenobi hissed.

"You know, one would think that, as leader of the Separatists, I'd know more about what was going on in my territories than I do."

"You were leader of the Separatists for less than a year, Obi-Wan, nobody's holding it against you," Ahsoka said as she patted him on the back, and she smiled when he rolled his eyes. "He's an energy researcher," she continued. "And you get one guess as to the focus of his research."

"I'm willing to bet it's kyber crystals."

"You'd be right." Obi-Wan groaned loudly and grabbed his hair in frustration.

"Sounds like a man we need dead."

"I'd be inclined to agree if it weren't for a few things. First," she said, counting off on her fingers, "he has a daughter that's wrapped up with Saw Gerrera."

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. "Oh, great. More crazy. Gerrera's worse than Cham, you know, why are we even letting him close to our rebellion?" A lazy, mischievous smile crossed Ahsoka's lips.

"Oh, you know it's bad when Mad Darth Lumis, Destroyer of Worlds, says you're crazy."

"Oh, ha, ha, you're very funny, Lady Tano." Kenobi shrugged. "So his daughter's a rebel, so what? What is he?" Ahsoka leaned in closer to the Sith Lord.

"A pacifist..."

"Is this a kriffing joke?" Kenobi asked, and with an amused smile, Ahsoka shook her head. "He's got a funny way of showing he's a pacifist if he's gone to make weapons for the Empire...unless..."

"Unless he was forced to, which is what Bail was thinking too." She grinned. "That sounds like the perfect ingredients to make a saboteur."

"This...is good," Obi-Wan said slowly, a faint smile coming to his face as he thought on the idea and liked it more and more each second. "I don't know how possible it will be to get to him, but I'll keep an ear to the ground for more information about him. If we can find where he's stationed, perhaps we can find a way to get to him."

"I'm sorry I don't have more," Ahsoka said, extending a hand toward the Sith Master. "I'll keep working on it." Obi-Wan tightly clasped her hand.

"Little as it may be, all your information was extremely valuable. Thank you." He gently kissed her hand, a playful, mocking look in his eye, and the Togruta very quickly tore her hand away from him.

"You're worse than my Master ever was," Ahsoka drawled, and Kenobi just laughed.

"And wouldn't he be so proud. Luke! Leia!" The twins quickly looked over to where their father stood, their lightsabers extended in their hands as they practiced under the supervision of Qui-Gon and Yoda. They looked toward the Jedi and the spirit, and Yoda gave them a quick nod, and the twins bounded off, their sabers swinging at each other all the way back to the Umbra. With the kids gone, Yoda waddled through the swamp and climbed up on Ahsoka's back. If she minded, she didn't show it.

"Fine children, they have become," Yoda said softly, looking at the Sith warmly. Kenobi averted his eyes. He couldn't look at him, not with how blinding he had become. It was worse than Qui-God had been. "Raised them well, you have. Worried, was I, that lead them to the Dark Side, you would."

Obi-Wan scoffed. "If they want real power, they can reach for it themselves. I've already inflicted this pain on Anakin Skywalker. I won't force it upon another." Yoda closed his eyes, then softly grunted in approval. "You go next week to train the Mandalorians?" The Jedi nodded.

"Younglings, they are no longer. Warriors of the Force, they have become."

"And one day soon, they will topple an Empire..." Obi-Wan sighed in satisfaction and turned toward his ship. "I'll be back next month with the kids for their birthday. I'll see you then." He didn't wait to hear what any of them had to say. He wanted off this planet. The air smelled faintly of smoke and death, and while such things didn't bother him, it did when it was his friend's lingering presence could be felt all around him. Obi-Wan was certain he was going to be sick.

"Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon said, appearing next to him in a soft, blue glow. He felt...distraught. "I'm sorry. I should have sensed her, I should have-"

"Shut up," Kenobi growled through grit teeth. "It's over. There's nothing left to be said."

"Please, if you would just-" Obi-Wan held up a hand to silence him, and the spirit complied.

"She was being held in containment," Kenobi quietly explained. "Until I felt her, the other day, her body was cut off from the Force. You can't expect to be where the Force is not."

"Her absence should have alerted me that something was wrong. I should have been more vigilant."

"...yes," Obi-Wan growled. "Perhaps you should have. But then, nobody ever expected you to babysit Luminara Unduli. She was...strong. Capable. She didn't need someone to mind her." He lowered his head when he reached the Umbra's boarding ramp. "...but I should have."

"So..." Qui-Gon asked softly. "Are we good?" Obi-Wan stood for a long moment in silence, his hand clenched tightly against the roaring swell of darkness within him, all pain and anger and bitter, bitter hatred. Qui-Gon had failed Luminara, yes, but not so much as Kenobi did, and he had never failed the twins...

"Yeah..." Obi-Wan said softly. "Yeah, we're good." Qui-Gon closed his eyes, a relieved smile on his lips as he vanished, leaving Obi-Wan to enter his ship, and set course for anywhere else but Dagobah.