Dyslexia: Missing words, misspellings ahead because the author has a Language Disability.
Summary: They died together, and they woke up pissed. Sweeping in on the wings of chaos, little Obi-Wan finds himself with a new Master. Older Obi-Wan delves in deeper into Mandalorian culture than he expected. And Satine may very well be pressed to violence to protect those she loves. T/M rating.
Inspiration: Moulin Rouge in which Ewan's lover is named Satine. So please picture Satine as Nicole Kidman. Also I wanted to try my hand at two Obi-Wans.
Prelude
For those of you who do not know, the Moulin Rouge (2001), in which Ewan McGregor stars, the story begins with telling you that Satine dies at the End.
This is not a fix-it, it's a romance and a sci-fi, and in this story, they die in the Beginning ;D
Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman as Satine
Satine spoke his name as he held her close, confusion and worry, succumbing to denial as she said, "I-I- I'm dying; I'm so sorry"
He was shaking, there was nothing but her, there could be nothing but her.
They were in love.
Love conquered everything.
All you need is Love.
Tears spilled down his cheeks as he tried to call her back to him, if by strength of will, by the force of his love, he could be with her, always.
"You'll be all right, you'll be all right," he said to her as they knelt there on the stage, the curtains drawn, and they were lost in a sea of red and white rose petals, the rest of the world falling away.
In her blue eyes, he saw the truth that he was not ready to face but he could not deny her when she asked for him to hold her.
"I love you," he said, as if that were the truth that could set them free from this nightmare.
But she had been right from the beginning, he was a fool.
Satine smiled up at him, her voice weak as she said, "You've got to go on."
He shook his head, bringing her tight to him, "I can't go on without you."
Her expression softened, "You've got so much to give, tell your story."
"No," he said as her strength seeped away.
But she fought for him even as she struggled to breathe, "Yes, promise me, promise me."
"No," he answered, not to her demand but to the distance growing in her eyes as she began to let go.
Her life, his love, slipping away from them.
Satine's final words on this earth were, "Yes, that way, I'll always be with you."
Prologue
"No. It can't be."
Maul, Darth Maul, who Obi-Wan had cut in half, smiled down at him from the Mandalorian throne with Malice, "We meet again, Kenobi."
His mind spun as his gaze fell on the woman who had held his heart from the beginning.
He would have given her everything if she had simply asked it of him, but she never had.
Maul's smile looked more like a grimace as he drawled, "Your noble flaw is a weakness shared by you… and your Duchess."
Obi-Wan knew how this ended, to love was to lose.
He knew that, had always known that.
Maul had taken Qui-Gon from him, had set his entire into motion where his choices were made out of debt he could never pay.
He was a Jedi, his own heart didn't matter, even if it felt as if it might cease beating as Satine clawed at her neck, fighting for breath.
"You should have chosen the Dark Side, Master Jedi."
Obi-Wan could not stop the flare of rage. When first they met, he had been but a Padawan still under his Master's wing.
Only killing Maul had earned Obi-Wan his Knighthood, only completing his promise to Qui-Gon, another death, had Obi-Wan earned the rank of Master.
Maul's voice was smug as he said, "Your emotions betray you. Your fear, and yes, your anger. Let your anger deepen your hatred."
Obi-Wan could not deny those emotions, but they did not rule him even as he felt the arms of death closing in around him.
He knew how this story ended.
"Don't listen to him, Obi…" Satine choked.
"Quiet," Maul said, tightening his fist.
Hope, stupid and foolish, but a part of him still searched for a way out, his words were certain as he spoke, attempting to hide from the Sith how very much Satine meant to him, "You can kill me but you will never destroy me. It takes strength to resist the Dark Side. Only the weak embrace it."
Maul sneered at him, "It is more powerful than you know."
Even on his knees, Obi-Wan raised his chin, "And those who oppose it are more powerful than you'll ever be."
Maul just stared at him, so he went on. Hoping to give time for a miracle, knowing that had been a fool to come alone. Anakin would have come if he had but asked.
But just like Satine, he hadn't.
"I know where you're from," Obi-Wan said, "I've been to your village. I know the decision to join the Dark Side wasn't yours. The Nightsisters made it for you."
"Silence!" Maul roared. "You think you know me? It was I who languished for years thinking of nothing but you. Nothing but this moment."
Obi-Wan almost made a quip then, but Satine's breaths were becoming more shallow by the moment.
"And now the perfect tool for my vengeance is in front of us. I never planned on killing you. But I will make you share my pain, Kenobi."
A sabre of night and starlight ignited and Maul pulled her onto the blade.
He went to her, his soul dying as he was allowed to go to her, "Satine."
Obi-Wan had neither the words nor the time to express how deeply he loved her, how she had rewritten his world and had cherished her always, no matter the distance between them.
He knew that her death would do the same, that he would never be able to forget her.
Never truly let her go.
Satine reached up a hand to touch his cheek as he pulled her closer, "Remember, my dear Obi-Wan… I've loved you always. And I always will."
Obi-Wan bowed his head to her, their foreheads touching as she became one with the Force.
Closing his eyes, he felt his own story end.
Chapter 1 - Knowing How it Ended
In death he saw everything, how the war ended, how the Jedi fell, how Anakin succumbed to the darkness, and a single question was posed to him by the Force.
If you knew how it ended, would you live through it again?
Obi-Wan didn't know, truthfully, because there was a great deal he would have done, had done, for his people, and yet more he might have done for Anakin.
But he remembered the weight of Satine in his arms.
And the rest fell away, they had been lovers once but that's not what he held onto, those weren't the moments that made him doubt his path as a Jedi Knight.
No, for the love in her eyes, for the love in his heart.
To have lived and to have known her, there was only one answer.
What is your answer, Master Jedi? The Force asked.
"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return," he answered to the universe he had fallen into when Maul had cut him in half.
Unlike Maul, Obi-Wan had neither the will or inclination to survive such a thing.
Even knowing how it was going to end? The Force asked.
Satine appeared before him reaching for his hand, and he smiled, reaching for her hand in turn, "Until the end of time."
Satine's smile remade his heart, "I will always love you."
So be it, the Force declared before unceremoniously shoving them back into reality.
Duchess Satine Kryze had a few choice words for being murdered by an undead Sith Lord, watching Obi-Wan die, then being thrown back into reality at the feet of another Sith Lord.
None of the words were proper for her station.
Though, she supposed, given her death and dethronement, maybe the title of Duchess didn't belong to her.
Regardless, Satine had only a moment to look up into Obi-Wan's beautiful blue eyes, before he kicked at the Count leaning over them.
She scrambled back from the sound of lightsabers igniting around her. As she got to her feet, only then did she feel the snow covering her boats, the cold tugging at her.
Satine pressed her hand to her centre where the Darksabre had pierced her.
What is happening?
But, resurrection aside, Obi-Wan was duelling Count Dooku.
Both their sabres were blue and they moved like the wind, as if they were a piece of this wintry landscape, a piece of clear sky given human form.
Dooku, oddly, wasn't pressing the attack, but a woman with white hair with two sabres flew at Obi-Wan from the side.
At first Satine thought it was Asajj Ventress, who she had seen only in recording, however, that notion was dispelled as Obi-Wan easily, too easily, disarmed her.
"Stop!" Dooku yelled, as Obi-Wan crushed the girl's lightsabres, the small explosions from the kyber shattering contained in the Force grip Obi-Wan used.
She had seen her Obi-Wan use his gifts before, but today was different.
But of course, today, they had both died and come back to life in a different place, standing before the leader of Separatist faction.
Obi-Wan danced back, guarding her, she realized, even as she saw that there were other Jedi, or Sith, though given the light colouring of the robes, they were likely Jedi.
Were they traitors?
And where were they? She couldn't place this cliffside but the distant mountain range looked vaguely familiar.
"Enough!" Dooku called again, "We are not enemies."
Satine reached out a hand, placing it on the centre of Obi-Wan's back. He shuddered, but he seemed to settle, his breathing easing.
It was her only clue as to how scared or angry he had been when they 'appeared'.
"Is that so, Count Dooku?" Obi-Wan asked, his voice scathing.
Oh, he is definitely pissed.
"Who the karking hells are you!?" the girl whose sabres Obi-Wan had dispensed with screamed at them, or more specifically, Obi-Wan.
"Padawan!" Dooku bit out sharply, glaring at the girl, even as he lowered his sabre and turned his other palm out toward Obi-Wan in a gesture of peace, "We mean you no harm."
Obi-Wan didn't move.
Satine knew she would be lessening his mobility, but she was freezing, and confused, and she needed some grounding. She did the boldest thing she had ever dared with Obi-Wan in public. She stepped to his side, wrapping her arm around his slim waist.
He didn't discourage her, in fact, he wrapped his free arm around her in turn, pulling her closer but turning his body so she was still more behind him as he held up his sabre in defence. She could see his face now, and he was searching the faces of the group in front of him.
Including Dooku, there were twelve Jedi, which was a sizable amount by any measure. Obi-Wan didn't seem to recognize any of them but for Dooku.
Dooku spoke to him as if speaking to a wild animal, "We felt you in the Force, and then you appeared. Do you know how you came to be here, brother?"
Obi-Wan frowned at him, "You're a Jedi Knight?"
Dooku nodded, "You called me Count, I am a Jedi Master, I can bear no other title. Where are you from?"
Obi-Wan didn't answer that as he asked, "Where are we?"
"When are we?" Satine added, Dooku's hair was peppered black, younger than the figure she knew.
"We are on Galidraan," Dooku said.
She and Obi-Wan tensed as one as if the Would-Be-Sith had struck them with a vibro blade.
Obi-Wan looked up the horizon, searching for threats.
"Obi-Wan," Satine said, her fear and dread colouring the words with meaning.
Galidraan had been the beginning of the end for her people.
Obi-Wan extinguished his blade and Dooku immediately did the same.
"Everyone, hold on," Obi-Wan called to the group as he pulled her to his armoured chest, she didn't argue, just wrapped both her arms around him.
She admitted to herself that she liked Obi-Wan in Mandalorian armour even as he used the Force to pull on the snow beneath their feet and brought them all sliding down the cliffside.
Satine had just enough time to see over Obi-Wan's shoulder to a Mandalorian warrior above them on the mountain side who had been sighting them in their scopes.
Only for their supposed enemy to watch them toss themselves off a cliff.
Was it really any wonder why she loved Obi-Wan?
Obi-Wan had them rolling in the snow and it was like being caught in a snow maker, but his rolling kept them from being buried.
Once it finally stopped, Obi-Wan was pulling her to her feet and found herself stumbling in the deep snow while her world was still spinning.
The other Jedi hadn't been so successful, as they dug their way out from the snow.
The Padawan girl popped out of the cursing and spitting mad.
Count- Master Dooku, of course, had not been caught beneath the snow, though he looked a bit ruffled, snapped, "Padawan Vosa, you will hold your tongue."
The girl swallowed hard, and nodded tursely.
"Take cover," Obi-Wan told them as he pressed them under the shelter of trees.
Spotting a dark shape in the snow, Satine reached for Obi-Wan's stolen helmet that had travelled with them as the Jedi took shelter under the trees as well.
"Everyone accounted for?" Obi-Wan asked.
Dooku nodded, the others, aside from Vosa, looked utterly shellshocked. He asked, "Who are you and why did you just send off the cliff?"
"I won't apologize for saving your lives," Obi-Wan said in turn.
"Save our lives from what?" one of the Jedi asked.
Satine was the Duchess of Mandalore, she knew very well what happened to her, had studied it, one of the defining conflicts between her and Obi-Wan's peoples.
So it was she who answered for Obi-Wan, "Do you honestly mean to tell me you don't know how much danger you've put yourselves in?"
Dooku looked down his nose at her, "Do you think it is normal for this many Jedi Knights to attend a single mission?"
Anger tightened her gut as she shoved Obi-Wan's red helmet at him as she faced off with insufferable embodiment of self-assured arrogance. "I think you are fools," she growled, knowing that more than half of these Jedi hadn't returned to the Temple. "Why would you ever involve yourselves in Mandalorian business? Did you honestly believe any true Mandalorian would ask for your help? That any warrior would ever ask your people to fight their battles for them?"
Dooku's mouth thinned, eyes narrowing, "Do not presume-"
"Presume what? That you must all be moronic enough to not realize this was a trap? That you're being used by the very terrorists you thought you were here to destroy?"
"How do you know-"
But her blood was boiling, she had been overthrown by the very organization these people were about to empower. The power that had torn her system, had broken her own family, had ruined everything she had worked so hard for.
To give her people a purpose and future that went beyond war and destruction.
"Why are you here!?" she demanded.
"Satine," Obi-Wan warned, more likely her volume than her words that echoed in the valley.
Dooku stared at her, "The Senate-"
"The Senate? Right, I forgot, the famed Jedi Order, in all their wisdom, are incapable of thinking for themselves. You're about to start a system wide civil war and bring incomprehensible suffering to millions, if not billions. But you don't care, do you? Because you're nothing but the Republic's dogs, turning against your own morals and religion to bow to a corrupt government you left to rot and fester!"
Dooku stared at her with dark brown eyes, but she had moment to realize what she had said, and she spun to look behind her, "Obi-Wan, I didn't mean-"
He held a hand, his face soft with understanding and regret, "It's alright, Satine, because you're right. The Jedi Order failed their mandate, and has been failing for a long time now. And the galaxy has paid the price for that failing. Time and time again, the Order has sided with the Senate, over the people, over the Force. It's why the Sith won in the end."
"What are you talking about?" one of the Jedi demanded, "The Sith? The Sith are long dead."
She turned to look at the man, but she saw the calculating look on Dooku's face.
Obi-Wan huffed, "Not now. Dooku, get your people out of here and go home, I'll sort out this mess."
Satine looked at him and warned, "Obi-Wan Kenobi, what are you planning?"
He reached out a hand to touch her cheek, "Stay alive, Satine, and I'll do the same."
He put on his helmet and activated his jet-pack, he had a moment of hesitation in adjustment, then he was soaring up the cliffside like a professional.
"Obi-Wan Kenobi?" Dooku asked, his voice full of shock, "Qui-Gon's Padawan?"
Satine didn't even pretend like she was entertaining answering that question, "Where is your ship, Dooku? Or was it your intention to start a war?"
He frowned at her, "Why would our answering a plea for help start a war?"
She glared at him, "You know why."
"I want you to spell it out for us," he said in turn, the other Jedi looking lost even in their trained reserve.
"The terrorist organization you were here to destroy were the ones to trick the Senate and have pointed you at another faction of Mandalorian warriors who intended to put an end to their extremism."
Dooku looked at her for a long moment before stating, "Very well, we will leave Mandalore to take care of its own business. For you are correct, our people have a decidedly unpleasant history, and if there is any confusion for our reasons of involvement, then we would be prone to inflaming the situation further."
"Master!" the girl nearly screamed, "They are lying!"
Dooku turned on her, "Komari, you have proved yourself ill suited for knighthood. I had hoped you would have gained control over your emotions over the years, but despite my best efforts, you remain undisciplined and incapable of adapting to diplomatically sensitive matters. You've put yourself and your company in danger because you could not hold your temper."
Komari's expression fell, "Please, Master, I didn't mean-"
"You attacked Kenobi with the intent to kill," Dooku pressed, "a fellow Jedi."
"He tried to kill you!" she exclaimed, outraged and panicked.
"No, he was not, he was defending his charge, and that you could not sense his Light within the Force speaks more prominently of my failure to train you than nearly anything else."
She gaped at him, her eyes filling with tears, "Master Dooku-"
Something about the way she said that creeped Satine out, and she didn't miss the moment of disgust that flashed across Dooku's features.
Had the Padawan fallen for her own Master?
Knowing Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon as she had, she knew the type of violation that was. There was a sacred trust between Padawans and Masters, something that transcended the bond between a child and their parent, a partnership between generations. A teacher who was expected to give all and a Padawan who was expected to trust.
Familiar like bonds sometimes happen, there was certainly love and admiration for both parties, but that was different than…
"Master Dooku," Satine cut in, her voice hard, "Are we to stand in the cold until nightfall or did you mean what you said about withdrawing your involvement in this conflict?"
Dooku nodded, turning his back and leading them through the forest.
Komari fell far behind, and the other Jedi gave Dooku pitying looks that he ignored as he passed through them.
If she didn't know what he became, she might have pitied him as well.
But she was far more concerned with the trouble Obi-Wan was undoubtedly getting himself in.
Obi-Wan was reeling, he died, she died, now he was going to meet another hostile organization of Mandalorians.
He hadn't been bad at that until the Sith had stuck their nose in it.
How did Maul even survive?
Better question, why did Obi-Wan keep assuming he was dead?
The jetpack was kind of fun, he had to admit, even the armour gave him a certain amount of security.
But then, it was beskar.
Or maybe Cody was finally rubbing off on him.
He saw a familiar suit of armour darting through the trees and landed in clear view.
Jango Fett came to an abrupt stop, "Who are you?"
"Obi-Wan Kenobi," he said without taking off his helmet.
"Are you with the Watch?" He asked, his blaster in his hand but not pointed, he didn't need to, he was fast enough to outshoot almost anyone else.
"I'm not. I'm here to help you. Through the Governor of Galidraan, Death Watch has pleaded for the Senate's aid and the Senate answered with a group of Jedi. The attempt was to frame you and yours as the terrorist organization. I intercepted the Jedi and they are retreating."
Jango stilled, "Are you insane!? We're all dead! The Jedi will never leave us be now that you killed-"
Obi-Wan shook his head, "No, no one died, they are just leaving."
"How?" Jango demanded, "How did you get them to leave?"
"I told them the truth."
Jango fell quiet.
"What's your name?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Fett," he answered, "Jango Fett."
"I would like to join you against the Watch."
"Why help a stranger?" Jango asked, voice thick with suspicion.
Here, Obi-Wan switched out of Basic, "Because Death Watch is bad for Mandalore."
Obi-Wan couldn't see Jango's smile but he heard it in his next words, "Ib'tuur jatne tuur ash'ad kyr'amur."
Today is a good day for someone else to die.
Obi-Wan repeated the sentiment, though, with a slight sense of unease, as he had died today.
And the Force had shown him the future, not all the why's or players, but he had seen the Temple in ruin and Anakin looking at him with Maul's eyes.
Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi felt as if everything was slipping away, if he could make them understand that he was earnest in his apology, "I wish to tell all the Jedi Masters that I feel genuine remorse for my decision. It felt right at the time, but I've come to see how wrong it was. I want nothing more than to have back what I once had. I want to be a Padawan. I want to be a Jedi."
"Have again what you had, you cannot," Yoda said. "Different you are. Different is Qui-Gon. Every moment makes you so. Every decision a cost it has."
He heard people walking into the High Council room, but he couldn't turn away from the people deciding his face.
Ki-Adi-Mundi spoke up, "Obi-Wan, you have violated not only the trust of Qui-Gon, but the trust of the Council. You seem not to recognize this."
"But I do!" Obi-Wan exclaimed. "I take responsibility for it and I'm sorry for it."
"You are thirteen years old, Obi-Wan. You are not a child," Mace Windu said with a frown, he didn't look at the people who had entered either. "Why do you speak as one? Sorry does not make the offence disappear. You interfered in the internal affairs of a planet without official Jedi approval. You defied the order of your Master. A Master depends on the loyalty of the Padawan, just as the Padawan depends on the Master. If that trust is broken, the bond shatters."
The sting of Mace's words made Obi-Wan wince. He did not expect the Council to be so severe. He couldn't look at Qui-Gon.* (Watson)
"You're full of banthashite, Mace," a voice said into the heavy silence.
Obi-Wan spun and found a Mandalorian dressed in red and black armour with a lightsabre hilt at his side. Beside him stood a beautiful woman with startling blue eyes, and then Master Dooku.
Mace stiffened looking up at the new arrivals, "This is Jedi business, Mando."
"Funny," the Mandalorian said, "Because it sounded like you were trying to disown the boy for the very reason you sent him into a warzone in the first place."
Qui-Gon's shoulders stiffened, "That's not why we were sent into conflict."
"No, I'm sorry, you are correct. You sent Tahl there into a warzone on her own. A conflict that resulted in her losing her vision and nearly her life," the Mandalorian said with far too much familiarity.
Qui-Gon's voice lowered, "That's no place for a Padawan-"
"Then perhaps you shouldn't have left him there, and as to whether thirteen is the legal age of adulthood or not he was your charge, Master Jinn."
Obi-Wan's breath caught, and he flinched away from Qui-Gon whose presence in the Force spiked.
"I ordered him to come with me."
"Yes," the stranger said, "and he disobeyed because he is a stubborn teenager like most males his age."
The woman spoke, "And isn't his staying to fight with a child army, whose elders were trying to annihilate them, exactly what you train your Knights to do?"
Yoda spoke, "War, place for Padawans to be without their Masters, it is not. Trained our Knights are, but prolonged warfare, place of the Jedi it is not."
The Mandalorian let out a sound that might have been a laugh, but it was so terribly bitter it hurt to hear it, and he almost spat the word, "Liar."
Yoda frowned at him, "Speak of what you do not know, you do."
"I don't know?" the Mandalorian repeated, a thread of rage in his voice, "You knighted my Padawan years early so he could fight for you, you sent my grandpadawan to the frontlines and made her a commanding officer of an entire battalion. Yet you dare to lecture me on what you are and aren't willing to expose our young to?"
"Who are you?" Mace demanded. "What right do you have to speak among us?"
The man reached up to take his helmet and said, "I am Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, High Council Member of the Jedi Order, and High General of the Grand Army of the Republic. A rank you promoted me to because of my experience and early exposure to war on Melida/Daan and all the asinine missions you sent Qui-Gon and I on."
Obi-Wan could only gape.
Master Obi-Wan Kenobi.
The idea of him becoming a Master and a Council member was almost more surprising than the idea of time travel.
Which, time travel.
Time travel?
If this was a joke, it was weird.
"Asinine missions?" Tahl asked, a smile in her voice.
The Mandalorian, no, himself, from the future, shook his head, "This Council has had severe lapses in judgement over the decades, and yes, I do consider myself a part of that. However, Dooku was right when he left the Order, why did you think it was a good idea to send Qui-Gon after a Sith Lord when he couldn't even stop Xanatos, his own fallen Padawan? Mace, or even Dooku, would have been a wiser choice."
There was a resounding silence at this statement.
"Perhaps," Master Tahl said in an amused tone, "We should backtrack to how you managed to time travel?"
Obi-Wan's Mandalorian, adult, Master Jedi counterpoint, merely shrugged.
The woman, however, answered, "Obi-Wan and I were killed by a Sith Lord, the same one who killed Master Jinn, I remember seeing the fate of my people, my planet, and Force asked me if I would relive it, even knowing how it ends. I said yes and Obi-Wan said yes, and the Force dropped us at Count Dooku's feet, averting one of the Jedi Order's most colossal mistakes in a hundred years."
Obi-Wan felt as if everything was happening too fast, it was too much information.
The Sith were real? That's how he was going to die? That's how Master Qui-Gon was going to die?
How could a Council Member, any Council Member sound so bitter about the Jedi Order?
And what war had he been involved in to get a military rank? Obi-Wan hadn't even known the Republic had a Grand army.
"Dooku, a Count he is not," Yoda said into the deepening tension.
"Dooku became one of the Lost after Qui-Gon's death. I never blamed this Council or the Order for Qui-Gon's death, only myself as I had still been his Padawan at the time. But seeing this today, remembering this-" the Master gestured to him standing there awkwardly afraid that this older version of himself would do something that would incline Qui-Gon to not take him back, "I see how you would condemn compassion in favour of following the rules. You made me believe that the only path to becoming a great Jedi was to follow the rules. But you valued Qui-Gon for the opposite reason, even when he infuriates you, you value him. Yet you punished and humiliated me for doing what I felt was right."
The Master Jedi in Mandalorian armour looked at Qui-Gon, "What did you think, that I stayed to fight because I enjoyed living in an underground tunnel while getting bombs dropped on us, that I enjoyed watching my peers dying and starving around me? That I enjoyed killing?"
"You stayed because you fell in love, you stayed because of attachment," Qui-Gon answered.
The bearded man shook his head, "Perhaps I did, and I learned what the Order does not teach you, does not explain that outside our community, affection and loyalty are fickle, that blood and family matter. As soon as Cesai died, I learned that no matter my intentions, no matter what I sacrificed or gave to them that I would never truly be a part of them. I had no way of knowing that I wasn't just giving up the path to knighthood, but my community. You taught us that the Jedi are a part of the Republic, that we are a part of all people within our borders. But that is not how we are seen nor how we are treated."
"So you think your regrets excuse your actions?" Qui-Gon asked, sounding defensive.
And if he could, he would have shut his older self up, because he could not see how this was helping him.
"No," his incarnation said to Qui-Gon, "It is an explanation for why it was your responsibility, the Order's responsibility, to not let a Padawan go without a lifeline. Yes, you answered when I called, and I am grateful for that. But I cannot stomach the hurt and embarrassment you had me swallow this day to assuage your egos and hurt pride that your authority dare be challenged. Not when you elected me to the Council for those same skills, not when you gave me the lives of millions of soldiers and asked me to wage war for a reason I did not agree with."
"If you're so bitter," Mace asked, "Why come back?"
The Mandalorian smiled, "I came back to hand in my resignation and I came back to assist in your current crisis, but mostly, I came back to ask myself a question."
Obi-Wan's own blue eyes reflected back at him from an older face, as the Mandalorian came to stand before him, "The Sith will rise again, the Senate will decay further, the Jedi Order will fall, and everyone you ever loved or cared for will be taken from you. Do you truly still wish to be a Jedi Knight?"
Obi-Wan felt himself go pale at that grim reality spoken so directly from this person that might have been him.
He wasn't completely sold on the whole time travel idea, but he saw this man in the Force, felt their kinship, knew that the words he spoke were true.
He swallowed hard and answered, "Yes."
"Why?" the Mandalorian asked, "Why? Everything good in your life, Obi-Wan, is taken from you. Knowing how it all ends, how can you still want to be one of them?"
"Because you're wrong," he said, his heart thundering in his chest as everyone watched him intently.
The Mandalorian arched a single brow at him.
So Obi-Wan repeated, "You're wrong. I couldn't have lost everything, you didn't lose everything. You still have the Force, no matter what happens, you always have that. And you're wrong about what I learned on Melida/Daan, yes, they turned on me, but that didn't make me want to stop helping them. I don't want to settle down, I don't want to belong to one people, I want to help as many people as I can no matter what the personal cost. It doesn't matter if I'm happy, or content, and whatever happened to the Order, no matter what evil arises; I know the galaxy is better with the Jedi. The galaxy needs people who put others before themselves.
"And that's why I want to be a Jedi Knight, because however it ends, I want to know I died doing the best I could for others and not myself. Because in the end I don't matter. I'm just one person, a part of something bigger."
His older self stared down at him and said, "The Force will always be with you, whether you are with the Order or not."
Obi-Wan gave into the need to wipe his sweaty hands on his robes and struggled to give his anxiety to the Force, "I know but…" he had to pause to gather his thoughts, to say exactly what he meant. "No people is perfect or always right, no matter their intentions, but the Order is my home, they are the ones who taught me to speak with the Force. They are my family, and I never wanted to abandon them, I just couldn't turn my back on those who were suffering either. Qui-Gon had to take Tahl back to the Temple but they didn't need me for that. I just wanted to help."
Master Tahl spoke, "Had I not been dying, I would have chosen to stay. In fact, it's why I got hurt, the Council ordered me back and I delayed. In doing so, I put Qui-Gon and his Padawan at risk, I put whoever the Council would have sent to rescue me at risk. We shouldn't punish Obi-Wan for that, he is a young enough Padawan that he should have never been exposed to that to begin with."
Mace shook his head, "Enough, Padawan Kenobi has not been exiled, whether Qui-Gon takes him back is his choice to make. Now is the time to discuss our time travellers, how the Order falls, who the Sith are, and what exactly happened on Galidraan."
Obi-Wan was grateful the attention was taken off him as Master Dooku began his tale, beginning with the disturbance in the Force, the materialisation of Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and Duchess Satine Kryze of Mandalore, and ending with his decision that his current Padawan, Komari Vosa, was ultimately unfit to take the Knight Trials.
"You should have told us first, or before us so we might have spoken with her," Mace said with disapproval.
"She tried to kill another Jedi," Dooku said.
"Who attacked you," Mace argued.
"In my time, she became a member of a Dark Sider cult," Master Kenobi remarked.
Mace actually put his head in his hands, and Obi-Wan couldn't blame him.
"How many Sith are there?" Sifo-Dyas asked.
Master Kenobi shook his head, "I only know of three, Darth Maul, Count Dooku, and Darth Sidious. Regrettably, we never discovered who Darth Sidious was, only that he was both Darth Maul and Dooku's Master."
Everyone looked at Master Dooku who frowned and asked, "You're telling me I join the people who killed my Padawan?"
Master Kenobi smiled at him sadly, "You believed us corrupt and when the Council was unwilling to change, you changed. Like I said, you blamed the Council for Qui-Gon's death."
"I would appreciate, Kenobi," Qui-Gon said through his teeth, "That you cease speaking of me as if I'm not standing right beside you."
"Why should I do that?" Master Kenobi asked, "When last we stood in this chamber you denounced me so you could take on another Padawan. You, the Great Maverick who rarely did as anyone told you, lectured me at age thirteen about not abiding your commands only for you to deny me the common courtesy of graduating me properly before taking another apprentice."
Qui-Gon stared at him, "I-"
"Yes," Master Kenobi interrupted, "there were mitigating circumstances. But my younger counterpart may stay with you, I will not. I died today, I currently lack the patience to tip-toe around your pride, Master."
Qui-Gon glowered at him.
Duchess Satine asked, "Why is the Temple so hot? Is your cooling system down?"
"Someone hacked our system," Tahl said.
"It's Xanatos," Master Kenobi said, "He put the relics in the energy core so when you reset the power to reset the cooling system the Temple will blow up."
Everyone froze.
Qui-Gon asked, "You couldn't have led with that?"
"My apologies, I was distracted by your bullying the thirteen year old you just pulled out of a civil war."
Even Obi-Wan winced at that phrasing.
Tahl let out a short laugh, "He's right to be upset with you, Qui-Gon, Council members. Obi-Wan hasn't turned to the Dark Side yet Xanatos is attempting to bomb the Temple."
Qui-Gon rubbed his face, "This is why I didn't want another Padawan to begin with, it isn't them, it's me."
Duchess Satine smiled at him, "Dooku becomes a Sith Lord and starts a galactic civil war. Besides, Obi-Wan makes up for a thousand mere Dark Siders."
Dooku's expression made Obi-Wan suddenly grateful he was not him.
Better to be to join the Agricorps than to learn he had been responsible for a galactic civil war.
But then, looking at his older self, dressed in Mandalorian armour stating that he had been promoted to the Council because of his military expertise wasn't exactly something Obi-Wan felt like bragging about either.
AN: So this is actually a plotline I've been working on for about a year but the elements didn't fit with my other stories. Yes, I know I have too many, but it's the cream that rises to the surface. Other than updates, desires, thoughts, feedback, elephants, or reactions? Please?