"Master Kenobi, do you accept this mission?" Mace asks.
"I don't understand why I need to fake my death in order to save the Chancellor. And how are we to trust Hardeen?" Obi-Wan questions.
"It was the Chancellor's direct order, Master Kenobi. You know we can't disobey him." Mace replies.
"Surely a shadow would be better for this mission, I have no experience in this whatsoever." Obi-Wan counters.
"You have experience with a blaster. And you have so many friends and Jedi that would mourn your death, therefore selling the lie." Mundi states.
"And that's exactly why I object to this mission, I will not willingly allow them to experience grief that is not needed. My padawans have already lost people to this war, they don't need an extra burden of grief right now." Obi-Wan fiercely declares.
"Well, I'm afraid it is not up to you, Kenobi. You have been selected for this mission and you will see it through or else there will be consequences from the Chancellor to the Jedi Order." Mundi commands.
"Enough of arguing. A right to object, Obi-Wan has. But cannot grant him this objection, the Council cannot, only Chancellor can." Yoda states.
"I will go and visit the Chancellor then. May the Force be with you, Council Members." Obi-Wan says and leaves.
"Master Kenobi, what a surprise." Palpatine says as Obi-Wan walks into his office.
"I am not here for pleasantries, Chancellor." Obi-Wan declares. "I decline the Rako-Hardeen mission and I will not partake in it."
"Tsk tsk. I am afraid that is not up to you, Kenobi. I have personally appointed you to handle the mission." Palpatine states.
"Every Jedi has a right to decline a mission, Chancellor. I am merely declining this one." Obi-Wan says.
"I understand that, but the Supreme Chancellor is ordering you to take on this mission. If you do not, then there will be major consequences." Palpatine threatens.
"You can't threaten a Council Member." Obi-Wan states.
"A Council Member is nothing compared to a Supreme Chancellor. The Jedi serve the Senate, they serve me, and that is your only purpose." Palpatine declares. "If you do not accept the mission, then the Jedi will suffer severe consequences for this act of disobedience, and you will be branded as a traitor to the Republic for failing to protect me." Palpatine walks over to Obi-Wan and walks slowly around him.
"Imagine all the Jedi that would be put out on the underbellies of the Coruscant, imagine all the haters enacting their revenge on the defenseless ex-Jedi. What do you think would happen to your Padawans, hmm? They would have nowhere to go, they would probably even starve to death. And what about that dear Healer of yours? What do you think would happen to dear mother? I bet she wouldn't survive a day in the streets." Palpatine whispers.
"You can't do that." Obi-Wan states, his voice shaky.
"Oh, but I can. And I can do much worse, I can kill all of them, even the younglings. Your Padawans, dear Healer Che, and I'll make you watch it all, as you would have been the one to cause them all to die, and then finally, I would kill you lastly." Palpatine declares. "So, what is your choice?"
"I'll do the mission." Obi-Wan mutters.
"Good, now get out." Palpatine says and Obi-Wan leaves.
Hexaday was Vokara's favorite day of the week, and no, it wasn't because that was her only day off of the whole week, it was because it was the day that Obi-Wan comes over to have tea with her, at least when he's not on missions that is. But she just heard that he was planet side which means she gets to see her bright son again, and she's always grateful when she sees him outside of the med-bay.
What she was not expecting when she opened the door for Obi-Wan though was to see him almost having a panic attack and about to burst into tears.
"Hey, hey. It's okay." Vokara ushers. She leads Obi-Wan to her sofa and sits him down comfortably; he starts hyperventilating and rubs soothing circles into his back. "Follow my breaths, okay?" Obi-Wan nods and follows her. "1 in, 2 out, 1 in, 2 out. Just keep doing it, Obi." He follows her example, and she gladly sees that his breathing starts to even out.
"Sorry." Obi-Wan mumbles.
"There's no need to be sorry, darling. Do you know where you are?" Vokara questions.
"I'm in your apartment." He replies.
"Good, where are we right now, besides my apartment?"
"The Temple."
"Excellent. And you are you with?"
"I'm with my mom." Obi-Wan whispers.
"Good. Are you feeling better now?" Vokara asks, concerned.
"Yes. Sorry for disturbing you." Obi-Wan says.
"You could never disturb me, and I don't want to hear that word while you're here again, you have nothing to be sorry for." Vokara comforts him. "Now, you want to tell me what caused this?"
"I have a new mission I need to do." Obi-Wan states. "I have to fake my death and pretend to be a bounty hunter."
"The Council wants you to fake your death?!" Vokara angrily questions, Obi-Wan looks down ashamed. "Hey, I am not mad at you, Obi, only at the Council and whoever ordered this."
"The Chancellor ordered it and then ordered the Council to have me play the part." Obi-Wan admits.
"Were they at least going to tell me or your padawans?" Vokara inquires.
"No, Mundi said they needed the emotions from you guys to sell the lie." Obi-Wan says, his voice shaky.
"You can decline the mission though, right?" Vokara asks but she's afraid of the answer she knows she'll get.
"I tried too, I objected to the whole mission while talking to the Council and then I went to the Chancellor himself, I just came from there actually." Obi-Wan states.
"It's your right to decline a mission, Obi. They can't just make you take a mission you don't want." Vokara declares.
"I know!" Obi-Wan helplessly replies. "I told that to the Chancellor, he knows it too but then he said that if I didn't, he would brand me as a traitor, but not only me, all the Jedi. I told him he couldn't do that and then he just said he can do it because he's the Supreme Chancellor. He said he'd kick all you guys to the underbellies of Coruscant." He exclaims, tears pooling in his eyes.
"Shh, it's okay." Vokara says.
"No, it's not. He threatened to have all of you guys killed. He threatened my padawans, and then he threatened you, he said he'd kill you and make me watch the whole thing, and then he said he'd kill me after everyone was dead." Obi-Wan cries, Vokara looks at him stunned, not because Obi-Wan was crying, he's a very emotional person, at least when he's around her, but because of what the Chancellor threatened to do. How dare he?!
"You're right, it's not okay. He doesn't have any authority to do that, Obi. He can't." Vokara softly says.
"But he's the Supreme Chancellor?" Obi-Wan says.
"Yes, but he's the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, he doesn't have permission or jurisdiction to kill a whole people group, and if he ever were to, we wouldn't just die, Obi, we will always fight back." Vokara states.
"What about the mission? He said I can't decline it." Obi-Wan mumbles.
"You can decline, and you will. He can't make you do that, taking the grief of others out of the picture, it will mess you up too. And as your Healer, you are unfit to do this task." Vokara states, smirking.
"I'm just scared about what he said, Mom. I don't want you to die because I rejected one mission." Obi-Wan says.
"I won't and it's not just one mission, son. This is a huge mission that should not just fall on one person." Vokara declares. "Now you stay here while I go take care of some business."
"No! You can't go, you don't know what he'll do." Obi-Wan says in surprise.
"Don't worry, I'm not just going to go up to his office, that would be irrational." Vokara ushers. I'm going to make him visit the med-bay. She darkly thinks. "Now you stay here and take a nap, you look exhausted."
"Fine, but don't do anything you'd regret." Obi-Wan states. Vokara smiles at him and gives him a quick tight hug, she then leads him to her guest room which has all of Obi-Wan's stuff in there as he stays here sometimes, maybe more than sometimes. Obi-Wan tiredly plops on top of the bed and snuggles into his blanket.
"I won't. If you need me, call me. I'll be back by tonight. Rest up, my sweet Obi." Vokara says. "Love you." Vokara says and smuggles a sleep suggestion into the words.
"Love you, Mom." Obi-Wan says and falls asleep quickly. Vokara smiles and closes the door quietly then comms someone she knows that'll help her.
He wasn't currently on a mission right now, so there was no reason to pretend to be a big crime boss in the underbellies of Coruscant, but hey, since when does he listen to the guidelines of being a Jedi?
Right now, he was currently gambling on a speed racer, and he was just about to win but then his comm interrupts him, in the last second of the bid too, now he just lost that shiny yellow and black speeder, the person on the comm better be ready to hear him yelling at them.
He looks at who is calling him, never mind, he would never yell at Che, only if he had a death and he doesn't right now, he's enjoying this "mission" and would hate to see it end with his life, but not from a crime boss, no, it would be from an angry Healer.
"Quinlan Vos, I need your help." Che says as soon as he picks up.
"With what?" Quinlan asks surprised.
"I need you to put the nearest hospital near the Chancellor that he would go to in case of an emergency out of order. No killing." Vokara says.
"I think I misheard you, Che. You want me to put a hospital out of order?" Quinlan questions.
"Precisely. And I want the Chancellor to have an "accident", so then he could be transported to my med-bay." Che states.
"What did he do to make you so mad?" Quinlan huffs.
"He threatened to kill the Jedi and most importantly, my son. And he wants my son to enact an impossible mission that should be put onto no one, not even you." Che declares.
"Okay then. Remind me to never get on Obi-Wan's bad side." Quinlan chuckles. "I expect you'll be receiving Palpatine in an hour."
"That fast? I'm impressed. Thank you." Che says.
"Well, people do say I'm an overachiever." Quinlan boasts but Che already left. "Rude." He mutters. "Now how do you put an entire hospital out of order?" Quinlan mutters, he then catches a huge rat scavenging for food.
"Hmm. Perfect."
Vokara is currently prepping her med-bay as she is filling an IV full of anesthesia that would be lethal to anyone.
"Master Che! Prepare to receive the Chancellor, he was just bitten by a rat! A huge one!" Master Kwan shouts from down the hall.
"What about his hospital?" Vokara asks, playing along.
"It was overrun by rats; they all went crazy and destroyed everything." Kwan informs.
The doors burst open and Palpatine is laying on a cot, he is brought to the bed and then the healers leave.
"Oh my, that is quite the bite you have there." Vokara says as she looks at the huge teeth marks on his left leg.
"Well, the rat was not a typical sized rat." Palpatine says.
"Hmm, I see." Vokara says. "Before I put you to sleep, I need to ask a few questions." She says as she inserts the IV filled with the medicine into his blood, but she does not release the liquid yet.
"Of course." Palpatine says.
"Did you, or did you not, threaten Obi-Wan Kenobi with the death of the Jedi and himself?" Vokara says, her voice completely different.
"That is none of your business." Palpatine says.
"Oh no, it has to do with all my business, Palpatine." Vokara growls. "Now answer the question."
"Yes, he needed to complete a mission, and I will not accept no for an answer." Palpatine replies.
"And what was the mission?" Vokara inquires.
"I don't see how this has anything to do with my leg." Palpatine counters.
"Maybe not, but I want to know." Vokara says. "But I already know the answer, you wanted him to fake his death so he could be a bounty hunter and protect the weak Chancellor."
"It is the Jedi's job to protect the Senate, including me, and I will not be called weak, he is needed for a real threat that will occur." Palpatine protests.
"No, you are sacrificing him just to save your skin. It will not only affect the ones who love him, but it will affect him also." Vokara counters.
"Maybe so, but that's what he is for, to serve under me just like all the other Jedi." Palpatine replies.
"The Jedi don't serve you; we don't serve anyone, we only protect the helpless, and I guess you fall into that category than." Vokara says.
"Enough of this! Treat my leg or else I will have you arrested." Palpatine demands.
'Arrested for what? I have done nothing wrong." Vokara declares. "I am merely questing you."
"No, you are fighting your son's battle. What did he do? Did he come to you crying because of our meeting? Does he need his "mother" to fight his battles for him? Because he's just like a weak youngling?" Palpatine states. "Maybe he should be seen by a mind Healer, clearly if he can't handle one mission, he is no good to the Republic, I'm sure I could recommend some people, or maybe I could recommend a hospital for him?" Vokara glares at him and a part of Palpatine cowers back.
"You dare threaten and insult my son in front of me?" Vokara growls. "I was going to let you live, but now I have changed my mind." Vokara declares and releases all the medicine into his veins. Palpatine looks up at her fearfully.
"What did you give me?" He demands.
"Simple, I gave you anesthesia, but I gave you an overdose, you won't be waking up anytime soon." Vokara says.
"How? Why did you even have that ready?" Palpatine inquires, his eyes starting to get droopy.
"The hospital and the rats were no accident, Palpatine. You can thank Quinlan Vos for that, but I'm afraid you won't be able to, not for a while." Vokara states. "You shouldn't have messed with my son, Palpatine. You messed up big time and turn, you will die." Palpatine looks at her and takes his final breath, then stills.
"Master Kwan, the Chancellor appeared to have an allergic reaction to the anesthesia, he's dead." Vokara reports into her comm. "Call the clean-up crew, you guys can deal with the rest." She says and leaves. She walks by Master Windu and Yoda as she walks to her apartments, ready to spend the whole night with her child.
"We're too late, he is dead." Mace says, stopping in his tracks as Vokara walks by them.
"Go to rest then we can. Tired I am." Yoda says, yawning.
"Master Yoda, Healer Che just killed someone." Mace scolds.
"Killed a dictator she did, see no problem I do." Yoda replies.
"How did you even become Grandmaster?" Mace questions.
"Don't know how I do. Now rest you will, or permanent lines on your forehead there will be." Yoda replies. "A party we will then have later."
"A party? Really?!" Mace asks, shaking his head, why did the Force hate him?!
"Yes, party for no more annoying Chancellor. Invite Ahsoka, I will, real partier she is." Yoda says and walks away.
"Darn, troll. Wise Grandmaster, he is, sure, I'll believe that once I see a flying bantha." Mace mutters and leaves for his room. Force, he needs a break from all this chaos.